“What's it like to be part of something bigger?”

There's a word about it, I think. About things getting bigger? Begins with an 's' sound?

“Escalation?”

That's it! I suppose that's what it all felt like. Go back a few, I don't know, weeks? Months? I was just some nobody running at a wall. Then I met other ponies and became part of a group to survive. We got involved in things like a big riot and then I became an outcast for a while. I had to spend days fighting for my life, both waking and in a deep sleep or whatever they called it.

Yet that entire time, all we were doing was struggling and garnering what we could. Trying to keep the spark of hope alive. Sometimes we were soaring, gladly taking stock of every little tool, morsel of food, and scrap of clothing we could find. Others, we were worried, casting eyes over old documents, and failing to find our way free. Every time we moved forward, something tried to push one of us backward. Difficulties lay on and gradually I felt my life hit the ground galloping as I realised that every day was going to have something happening now.

It's kinda hard to say how that feels. A lifetime of unthinking chores suddenly switched to a daily struggle to become the pony I wanted to be. That ongoing struggle to claw our way through our plan. The plan to give us a shot at escaping Fillydelphia once and for all.

That required a lot of things, but more so it had become mixed in with the tale of Fillydelphia itself. Chainlink Shackles had his plans to usurp power and Red Eye's machinations were coming to a head in the wastelands, with Protégé carrying out his will to stop a rebellion before it happened. A greater tale than our own was coming to its head, yet the things that mattered most to those two powers were also what we needed.

A little group of slaves against an army of slavers that was fighting amongst itself. Our only hope laid in getting there before them and getting away before they even noticed. Somehow though, I felt like I could do it. Aurora Star's secrets, Sundial's story; they all led to this mountain at the same time. While I wore Sundial's PipBuck, something just felt right about it having been me to be here to see this happen.

Before anything could be done though, we had to work with Protégé and his allies to get in. He worried me. Ever since he'd left Ministry Station, Protégé had just looked lost and scared underneath that stoic expression. With his nose in a book for the entire first part of the journey, which side of the fence of loyalty he fell on was becoming rather unclear to me. He might see the truth and help us, or he might topple back to the teachings he knew best.

“That wasn't all, was it?”

What do you mean?

“Protégé wasn't your only issue to deal with, was he? You saw Unity.”

I...

“They were taking Unity to the mountain.”

They were.

Before anypony else, there was Unity. The mare I'd only met a few times, yet she had always been there like some impossible mission to find and help bring out! Her and, well...the one she sought.

You asked what it's like to be part of something bigger?

Well, this was how I felt. Desperate. Because I could see everything I ever wanted falling slowly into place. We had an objective, the ponies we sought to get were either in place to be rescued or so close to have a chance at reaching. Our supplies were ready and hidden back at the Mall in a place I could reach them. We had found Ministry Station!

Now I was desperate, because for me, for my friends, for all our days we'd lost to slavery, I finally felt like I knew the way. We'd get whatever secret lay in that mountain, use it to unlock whatever there was in Ministry Station, and find our way through the Outer Metro to the outside world! Be it through being able to turn on that portal, or simply to unlock some door to the Outer Metro lines that led outside like we'd always planned!

This was something bigger now. This was the beginning of the end. The place that would mark the start of events that would befall Fillydelphia when the world changed. A turning point in history that we would be caught at the centre of.

Of course, that was if we could even survive this journey. My first excursion outside the Walls had almost taken my life multiple times, and this foreboding mountain held its own dangers. Threats that aimed to keep us from ever feeling like we were any closer to freedom. Or more particularly, to keep me from finding Unity up there, even if I had to go to the very edge of the world itself.

Then of course, there were those who didn't want us to make that journey alive at all...

Glimmerlight hummed to herself, picking up a small pack and thin bolt-action rifle off her bed using telekinesis. In the faint light of jury-rigged bulbs strapped to rafters, she checked the weapon over. Little sharp tugs of magic worked the little lever thingy, and she peered into the empty hole the bullets went into beside it. Her magic tugged on the trigger lightly to test it, pointing the barrel up into the sky. The weapon made a sharp, clean snapping noise of metal on metal.

Satisfied, she slung it on her back, and danced her way to the door. It felt awkward as her body slewed one side to the other, bobbing her hindquarters about, and humming in tune. I'd never be caught dead doing that. (Well, not sober anyway, so I had discovered.)

Her home was rather abundant with half-finished gizmos and little self-made devices hanging off the walls or lying over a desk. Her eyes drifted across what seemed to be a hot stove attached to a large spark battery, and I felt her lick her own lips. Clearly, she had something in mind to cook on that by the end of today. Suddenly, the reason for the rifle became much clearer.

Aside from that, it was clearly somewhere she had set up herself. Cables leading outside were connected to a row of pink Hearth’s Warming lights that twinkled above her bed and fireplace. Her Initiate robes hung drying in the corner near a collection of scavenged foods. With the technology, the colourful lights, and her own bouncy mood, I couldn't help but feel a pang of envy to have such a cosy little homestead all to herself.

Then of course, I remembered the future and bit that feeling back hard.

“Okay!”

She cheered the word out, before bumping her front door open with her hips and dancing her way out into the village, humming loud and proud.

“Alright, everypony!” Her voice carried out across the entire little village’s common ground. “Who's up for some hot food tonight?”

Ponies looked up from their everyday tasks with bright smiles. Some cheered. I saw the wrinkled old elderly village leader grin and look up from cleaning some clothes in a bucket. Life was going on as ever in the little town. With ponies helping maintain each others wooden buildings or stretching leather over the roofs to keep out any rain. Others sat and sewed with some pumping from a large tank in the centre of town. I recognised it immediately as a scaled up version of Glimmer's scrap-built filtration system judging by the hoses and sieve-like rain catcher on top. Clearly, Glimmer had done a lot of good for this place.

Prancing her way across the square, her eyes moved to another certain building that bore a clothesline outside of it, along with a few hastily repaired toys sitting by the porch. I could see little crayon drawings across the lower walls of the exterior walls. The door opened to let out the sounds of light playful argument.

I recognised the squeaky little coltish tone immediately.

“But mom! I wanna come! I wanna see the woods!”

“We'll see when you're older, my dear.” Coral's calmly maternal voice spoke down to the little foal being dragged on one of her hind legs. “But not today.”

“You always say 'we'll see!’” Chirpy let go and ran in front of her, stopping only to set his floppy hat back on his head again. “The last five times out of six you meant no!”

Coral stopped and patted his head, making the hat droop down again. It never failed to amaze me how serene and at ease she had once looked. A far cry from the bitter mare of today.

“And you always count very well, hun. Now go on, your friends are over there. Go play till Glimmerlight and I return, okay? We'll have a barbecue tonight.”

She winked down at her son, clearly knowing the reaction that it would make. Almost immediately, Chirpy Sum bounced up to his hooves and ran in a circle around her, repeatedly squeaking about a 'toast up.' Finally, he leapt up onto her back so he could hug her neck from behind, rubbing his cheek against her mane.

“Thanks, mom! I can't wait! I'm gonna go tell all my friends!”

“You do that. Now stay out of trouble.”

“I will!”

Leaping off her, he went scurrying across the village, not even spotting Glimmer as he galloped on past and shouted to the other foals playing on a ramshackle-looking set of swings. Chuckling, Glimmerlight only trotted toward Coral, and called out to her.

“Ready to head out? Gotta leave enough of the night to play in! After all, I'm about as excited as he is. You hear that Riot Rush found an old stack of some wine? The sooner we get back, the sooner I can test that shit out!”

Coral Eve only laughed and shook her head, trotting past Glimmer and giving her a tug with a hoof on her saddlebag strap.

“I swear, sometimes I feel like I've got two kids. Come on, then.”

They trotted out of Creaky Hollow together, waving goodbye to the rest of the town before entering the incredibly thick, dead woods that surrounded and protected their home. Not for the first time, I found the sensation oddly easy to immerse myself in simply as Glimmerlight in a memory orb. Only when I realised I couldn't think what she thought then did the illusion break. Not that it stopped me trying. All the same, to feel the wind on her brow and the confident trot she did like nopony else could was a joyous feeling. An example of a way I might someday want to be able to trot. Oh how I wished. To be able to go forth with my head up, smiling to everypony around and chatting freely.

Maybe even be able to flirt a little if I met the right-

Oh my, being Glimmer was really getting to me. Inwardly, I cringed and curled up a little, even if Glimmerlight only skipped over an uneven rocky slope down an embankment.

“You've had some good months with us now, Glimmer.” Coral moved down more hesitantly. “When you first arrived you kept saying you might move on. What's keeping you?”

I felt Glimmer put a hoof to her chin while waiting on her friend.

“Well, I don't know. I could joke and say it's the great parties and getting to watch Thunderstrike when he cuts the logs...”

Coral's eyes hardened a little, and Glimmer quickly waved a hoof.

“Joking! I said joking! Really, I guess it's just, hmm, being able to be who I want? You all accept me. You let me do what I wanna do. You ask me for help, rather than barking orders and calling me 'Initiate' every day. There's no ranks, no chains around my neck telling me when I go where and who I do what with. It's just free out here.”

She smiled as she spoke, before laughing.

“Although of course, the fact that we all got absolutely fucking hammered as a welcome party for me until I was singing the old anthems from atop the searchlight platform certainly gave me a little incentive!”

Even Coral had to chuckle, giving Glimmer a prod to keep moving.

“Well, I'm glad. You've certainly brought a certain energy to the place. Chirpy likes you.”

“He's adorable! I love the lil'guy! Comes over and helps me with my math when tinkering. You taught him well!”

Coral pushed aside a branch, holding it for Glimmer.

“Not much of my own. He's a little sponge, so he is. Takes in what he sees very easily. Easily susceptible to being told what to think, though, so don't go filling his head with too much of that attitude of yours.”

Coral's voiced turned briefly stern, prompting Glimmer to make a mock 'Who, me?' motion and laugh. Rolling her eyes with a smile, Coral simply followed my sister further in.

Frankly, there wasn't much to really see. They were hunting for something to shoot and drag home between them, yet with both staying silent to presumably not scare anything away, I was left rather without much input. I could only trying to guess what Glimmerlight was thinking each time she stared into the distance. She did seem to look to the West quite a lot.

“Glim, there.”

Her head whipped around as she dropped low. The dry branches rustled slightly beside her, and I felt her mouth move in a silent curse. Coral was already behind a huge fallen trunk and poking her head out toward a clearing.

“Radgator, eighty metres.”

“I can make that shot,” Glimmer whispered lightly, settling forward and lifting the rifle from her back. With careful movements of magic, I felt her move the bolt up and back before carefully slotting in a small bullet.

Slowly, she settled in, taking aim down the top of the weapon. I could see the radgator lying motionless on a log over swampy ground! A small one, I hazarded a guess at by my own limited knowledge. It didin’t look huge, but then I'd only known radgators as fancy meat my masters sometimes ate.

“Aim for the skull, Glim. Try to-”

“I know, Coral, I know.”

It seemed to blink a little. One beady eye looking directly at the two hidden ponies. Slowly, I felt Glimmer lick her lips, and felt her hoof moving to the uncovered trigger so her magic wouldn't give them away. She wasn't aiming at it, but there was a wind. Was she compensating? I didn't know enough about shooting. And then...

A gunshot echoed out over the forest, and the radgator spiralled off into the deep swampy water, thrashing and swimming away rapidly!

Glimmer hadn't fired!

Two more gunshots followed the first, breaking the quiet air!

“What in the hell is all that about?” Glimmerlight leapt up, gun held ready in her magic now.

Coral ran up the embankment, looking into the distance from a higher level above the treetops. She pointed. “I saw a muzzle flash a few hundred metres that way!”

Other noises were drifting in. I felt positively deaf without my own hearing, but Glimmer was still sharp. There were voices crying out, followed by howls and whoops between each of the bursts of gunfire! It sounded like a-

“A hunt.”

Coral looked down. “What was that? What is it!?”

My sister didn't even hesitate, but took off into the trees, shouting over her shoulder. “Somepony's being chased! They need help! That's raider war cries!”

Leaping over fallen branches, she didn't even look back to see if Coral was following, and just sprinted into the dense forestry in the direction of the shooting. Skidding over broken ground, she almost collided with a tree when turning around an old cobblestone wall. The sounds were getting closer when I felt her legs start to burn from the sudden effort. Even as her breath strained to keep up with the exertion, it still felt worlds away from the little air I got on account of my disease. The sensation was thrilling! I was a fit and able pony rushing to help somepony else!

Then up ahead there was another wicked snap of a hunting rifle, followed by a sharp cry of pain. I felt Glimmer speed up, snorting as she pushed herself onward! I heard raiders laughing! They'd gotten their prey!

Then she emerged above them. Atop a dusty slope, Glimmerlight held a commanding view of the situation before her! Three raiders were surrounding a dropped body upon the floor. Each bore a patchwork of dyed fabric and foul tattoos, and carried long barrelled but rusty rifles by their sides. One of them was shuddering so heavily I thought him in the middle of a fit!

Glimmerlight didn't even hesitate, I felt her own rifle whip up and take aim before the trigger pulled. The tinny snap of Glimmer's hunting rifle sounded small by comparison, but one raider below immediately screamed out loud and fell away from the prone body, clutching a knee that had burst over the ground. She began swearing loudly, scrambling for something in a pack almost immediately. Any other pony would have been on the ground screaming! How had they managed that!?

“W-W-W-What the fuck!?”

“Up there! Get her! Gethergethergether!”

Glimmer dropped down, turning her back to a massive and precariously placed boulder by the edge of the slope as two shots whipped past her. One pinged from the rock and blasted tiny fragments against her back. Fumbling with hooves and magic, she loaded another round to the single-shot rifle, and leaned out on the opposite side of the boulder.

I saw the raiders swivel. They'd been waiting!

Both they and Glimmer fired at almost the same time. Theirs slammed in the boulder, making Glimmerlight flinch and causing her shot go wild above the treetops. Hurriedly, she reloaded and blind fired, just to stop them from rushing her cover; at least I thought that was what she was doing! I felt gripped by a fear that made no sense. I knew Glimmer survived!

Bullets would hurt though. Oh no...don’t get hit, sis’.

The raiders whispered to one another. Frustration went through me as I failed to hear what it was. I could have heard that if I'd been there to help her!

Freshly loaded, Glimmerlight dove forward into the trees, crawling along the top of the slope to try and relocate. Rolling up, she popped up from behind some old brown bracken, rifle aimed.

There were no raiders.

“Shit.” She muttered to herself, looking each way.

I saw movement behind the rock she had just passed. Right at the edge of her vision. See it, sis! See it! Come on!

She saw it! Her rifle turned and slammed a shot into the thick dead vegetation there. I heard a high pitched squeal and a raider fell back down the slope, hooves to his ear. The raider began thrashing, the same one who had been shuddering earlier! Spasms as he sought to get up, foaming at the mouth! Glimmer moved up, trying to get a lead to finish it, running right up beside the pony they had been chasing as he lay on the ground! I heard her worried gasp.

It was Rough Diamond! He lay on his side, pale and bleeding from the stomach with his scrappy looking big bolt-action rifle lying across him. But he was still breathing!

“Diamond...”

The raider with the shot knee suddenly collapsed over out of cover, passing out from shock, maybe? Blood loss? The other, however, was getting up missing an ear! Glimmer spun to see him more clearly. She took aim on him!

A smaller shot came from her right, throwing up dust by her hooves.

“Mag-fed pistol, bitch! I can fire again! Don't move!”

From the bushes, the last raider emerged, hunting rifle still by his side on a battle saddle with a thick pistol held in his magic. Glimmer went rather still, breathing hard. I could feel the fear running through her. A chill down her spine.

“Drop the rifle.”

“Okay. Okay...” She complied, her own small weapon falling out of her magic.

The raider advanced, standing in front of her. He was disfigured, bearing a horrendous deliberate pattern of scars on his muzzle. With his multi-coloured mane in a mohawk, he seemed to be fighting down mad giggles. The other one moved over, clutching his ear and scowling at Glimmer. His hooves kept pacing at the ground, like he was eager to go somewhere. I saw pinprick eyes, signs of heavy drug use.

To Glimmer's great shock, even the mare on the ground began to get back up while jamming a three full syringes of what looked like Med-X into her leg. These multi-coloured raiders just didn't seem to feel pain the same way others I'd seen did! The way Glimmer's eyes went from injury to injury and saw them still standing as they passed out huge quantities of drugs to one another gave me a clear idea that she was noticing it too.

“Oh, looks like we got lucky here! Wildcard's gonna love having a little cheerleader come back with us too! Pity the big guy don't let us take stock to the tents for some fun if we're selling them, but we'll have to see if ol'Wildy will let us have-”

The solid WHAM of the huge boulder Glimmer had once used for cover careening into the two bucks made him simply disappear to the right, out of Glimmer's perspective. A rush of air blasted down into the clearing behind it, as the enormous rock flattened the raider against the other slope.

Very slowly, a trail of red simply leaked out from below the boulder's new resting spot.

Both Glimmer and the remaining raider looked upward, seeing Coral with a furiously glowing horn standing atop the slope with a pained look on her face as each magical spark exploded off her malfunctioning horn.

The raider raised her weapon. Glimmer didn't give her the chance. She leapt past, grabbed Diamond's rifle, and aimed up.

“Ignore this.”

Diamond's rifle barked louder than even the raider's hunting rifles, blasting the raider's muzzle clean off and spinning her around. Lacking a mouth, nose, or even eyes, the raider still wriggled on the ground, trying to hit something with brass hooves, making a sickening gurgle from an exposed throat. Standing up, Glimmerlight racked the bolt and aimed down again, firing once more to the still twitching body as those drugs took effect. That ended it.

Wildcard's raiders. I couldn't help but worry if we ever had to face any of them. Drugs scared me enough with what they could do to ponies without an entire gang of overdosed psychopaths.

Coral Eve hurried down the slope as Glimmerlight turned back to the fallen Diamond.

“It's Rough Diamond, Coral! He's hurt! We have to get him back!”

To my surprise, Coral hesitated.

“Glimmer, I told you about this...”

“Coral, he's hurt! Help me!”

Glimmerlight was trying to tear off her own hunting clothes to staunch the bleeding on Diamond's stomach. Grabbing his rifle, she tried to lift his frame onto her back. Coral looked unsure, casting her eyes at him and around at the raiders.

“I told you those tattoos of his were of gangs! He's in with raiders!”

“He's a trader!” Glimmerlight barked back. “This isn't the time now! He's dying!”

I sensed what was happening here. The start of their falling apart. Coral Eve stamped a hoof. I could see that authority in her eyes, the one I'd seen in my own time. Her stare met Glimmer's head on.

“Don't you see how messed up these drug crazies are? They didn't care that they had a knee blown off! What if they're harming their own to find us, huh?”

“I...no!” Glimmer recoiled, lifting Diamond onto her back more properly and already beginning to move. “You've seen him before! You heard him talk! He's not one of them! Why would they be chasing him before they saw us?”

“To lure us, Glimmer!” Coral was following, but looking increasingly unsure herself, although I lost sight of her when Glimmer turned around. “They know you come out here!”

“But why now? How would they know? He'd have died before we got here from the village!”

Glimmerlight rounded on her, meeting the stare hard. She stood up the embankment a little, looking down at her friend. I felt her eyes dampen as she pleaded, clearly fearing for somepony she cared about. Only, I feared I knew who was right here...

“He...he can’t be a raider! This doesn't make any sense if he was! Coral, please help me! He's dying! They can't track an injured pony! We'll keep him in my home! Locked inside if that'll help! I'll blindfold him when he leaves! Please, Coral!”

There was a silence between them. I could feel my sister’s face twisted in terror. The pony on her back groaned, shifting. A weak voice was heard.

“Who...help...they're...they're trying to...to...” He choked and I heard the rattle of blood in his throat. “Get to Brim...stone...argh...”

He gritted his teeth, delusional with pain. I felt Glimmer choke back a whine of worry as the warm sensation of blood trickled onto her back. Eventually, she seemed to come to a decision herself, struggling to get up the embankment again under the well-framed stallion's weight.

“I'm helping him! This just doesn't make sense! Even the craziest raider wouldn't plan it like this, the chances are just astronomic that it’d work!”

I knew that tone in my sister's voice. She wasn't going to give up on him. Just like she hadn't on me. Her mind was set on saving this pony.

“Glimmer...” Coral started to speak, seeing her friend move off back to the village. A few seconds passed, before the sharp sound of hooves came closer and I felt the weight eased as Coral helped lift him back. Her voice hissed, a horrible hint to the bitterness that I knew would swallow her someday.

“You had better be right.”

What caught me out more on waking wasn't the sensation of returning to a substantially weaker body this time.

It was the sudden shock of being plunged into a freezing cold.

Wintry air snapped at me, sending my body shivering even before I opened my eyes and gasped aloud and the sheets of white before me. I was swaying back and forth in a land of endless snow, a sound of metal crunching and rolling coming from below me even as I grasped onto the only warm object I could feel near my hooves.

“Oof! Murky! Throat! Need to breathe!”

Finally, I got a sense of my surroundings, finding myself clamped onto Glimmerlight lying beside me. Squeaking an apology (About three words all at once. I was sure she understood me by now) I let go and instead dug myself into the blanket that covered both of us.

Only now, as I got my bearings on the real world again, did I really get another look at where we were.

The swaying and metal sounds were the train. We lay on the back deck of it, still caged in to prevent escapes, but open to the air with a view behind the train as it climbed and climbed and...

Okay, we were pretty high up.

I had to fight not to simply grab my sister again when I saw the sight before us. Since I had entered the orb with Glimmer, the train had moved far from Fillydelphia. I could see Filly far below us, down in the plains before the mountain and glowing red from the industry and flames within. That colossal crater shifted and warped to my vision from here, dominating the centre of the city. Yet even with all its sweating heat, the cold mists up here were almost obscuring it behind what looked like a veil of white satin. It was just one lonely city amongst the endless wastes that stretched out to rolling hills on every other side in the valley.

We were far from there now.

“You doing all right there, lil'bro?” Glimmer, recovered from the assault upon her windpipe, tucked in the blanket and rubbed my back as I held my hooves against the cage.

“Y-yeah I...j-just so high.”

It truly was. The train had meandered across various levels of hills, slowly gaining height on each pass to cross tall bridges. I could still see the bridges down the slopes below us, their curved, patterned metal supports stretching dozens of metres down the gaps between frighteningly sharp cliffs and jutting talons of rock. Those bridges were dark. Abandoned and forgotten in places wastelanders rarely came, but still providing a way for those who dared.

And of course, everything was covered in a glistening coat of fresh snow. It carried all the way to the hills shoer of the valley floor in patches, but up here it had fallen for weeks. Now it covered all, and hung in icy drifts that arched over the edges to ravines and clifftops. Some dropped away like waterfalls below us, others ominously hung like claws above us.

Around us, long drifts carried away toward mountainside forests. The snow was deep, deeper than I’d ever imagined it could go; sometimes coming up almost a quarter of the train's height either side, with white sprinkles blowing off the top layers in the mountain breeze.

It was all so strangely tranquil, and the air felt cleaner and sharper up here. Yet as we passed around a rock face, strong winds blew away from the mountain before us, feeling like they were trying to shove us nearer to the edge of the tracks, where I saw a sharp drop suddenly emerge on the perilous route.

Glimmerlight sat up, moving beside me and casting her eyes across the spectacle. The train jolted and squealed on the tracks, leading us both to grab hold of the cage for balance.

“You're afraid of heights? I wouldn't have thought that'd come naturally to a pegasus.”

I bit my lip. “Not really heights so much as not feeling in control.”

The train weaved around a corner and rocked toward the near edge of a cliffside, leading me to squeak and shove myself away from it, directly into Glimmer. This felt too unsteady! I could see rocks falling from where we just passed! The floor angled as we began to climb again.

“I think I see what you mean. Well, just imagine what it'll be like when you can fly by yourself. All in control!”

She poked my side, yet I only looked back at her, confused.

“But Weathervane-”

“Screw what that old cook says. You're going to fly someday. If it takes us years, it will. I'll be your super sexy fitness instructor for those wings! The one pulling you out of bed before sunrise every day for more wing-ups and gliding lessons! Hey...there’s an idea.”

She stopped briefly, before looking back at me.

“You can you lift your wings, right?”

“S-sure.” I spread both of them, still wincing slightly but finding it surprisingly easy now. It startled me just how natural it was beginning to feel. I couldn't deny a little spring of happiness inside me every time I just felt them move.

Glimmerlight looked around it, carefully toying with the feathers a little, her tongue poking out in thought.

“Yeah. That's a thing.”

“What? What is?”

She grinned at me, leaning back again and holding the blanket open for me to snuggle in too. It was so cold out here.

“You can't fly right now, but who says you couldn't try gliding on those things?”

My eyes shot open. That was...

That was...

That was a really good point.

She obviously saw my shock, laughing and tugging me in close to squeeze me in a tight hug. “Now there's a little thing to keep you wondering away! Might even replace Pip in your dreams at night!”

I felt my face turn red. “I don't...”

“Murky, your ears twitch when you're lying. I know.” She laughed and ruffled my mane while I simply tried to giggle it off a little. “It's something to hold close, Murky. Just think on it, okay? Maybe we can find time to see what you can make of it later when we're back in Filly.”

Forget thinking on it then! I wanted to think on it now! I thanked her more than a few times for the idea, clutching close under the blanket as we watched the landscape roll by. Slowly, Fillydelphia began to disappear under the whirling snow and thick clouds that hung lower than the ceiling in the sky. I spent most of it imagining it! I could be swirling out there with the snow! Flying on the winds! Who cared if I couldn't gain height or flap right? It was more than I ever dreamed! I had to ask Weathervane about it! Maybe he knew something and just hadn't wanted to give me false hope?

I wanted something to look forward to again. This, perhaps, was it.

There didn't have to be any words between us. She no doubt knew from my somewhat clingy hugging of her that the idea had cheered me up from my fear up here on what, to me, felt like the edge of the world itself.

“So what do you dream about her then? Judging by what you said in the Roamer...”

With a gulp, I tensed up, searching for something. I knew what her joke was, yet there was still some answer I could give to try and, uh, deflect the topic!

“N-not that! I um...” I blushed. “Sometimes I dream of her coming and saving me from Shackles. L-like, y'know, shooting her way in and having a big fight with him!”

She grinned, prodding my shoulder. “Go on.”

“Then um, well, she wins! She would, right? He'd fall down after Pip uses her magic to slam him into the ground!” I giggled, enjoying the thought. “Then she'd come over to me and break the chains he'd put on my hooves. We'd be trotting away from the body, but he isn't dead! He suddenly runs at us, all covered in blood and really scary! He'd shout that nothing would take me away from him, that I belonged to him!”

I bit my lip, staring out over the landscape.

“But she would just stop and suddenly turn, with a revolver raised and her PipBuck's um, Sa-targeting thingy on him! Then she'd say 'Not any more' just before she pulls the trigger one last time to make me free forever. Then I, uh, wake up, usually...”

“Storm the castle, kill the baddy, get the buck, huh? I like her style. Keep dreaming that one, Murky. Maybe someday it'll come true.”

It was somewhat refreshing to hear her casually joke on it. I laughed with her. We talked of a few other things, but in time, I couldn't help but raise the topic. We had just been in an orb after all. I had to know how she was feeling.

“Sis’, about Diamond and Coral...”

I felt her tense beside me, but her hoof stroked my mane.

“I know...I know..” I saw her bite a lip. “It's looking kinda obvious now what I did, huh?”

The words were flippant, but her tone wasn't. The train bounced, turning against the wind and sending a biting cold washing over us. Briefly, I saw a colossal peak still stretching above us, before the white mists covered it again. I turned back to look up at her.

“Well, um, we don't know yet, right?”

Something didn't feel right about it. Bonecrusher in the arena had mentioned it was Wildcard who killed Diamond. Just internal fighting in the Big Four? Or had it been something else?

Right now, I didn't feel right casting that shaky theory to Glimmerlight. Setting up the wrong idea at this stage would be awful. I had to speak to Brimstone, find out what he remembered about how they treated one another. He was their leader, he'd know.

“I guess it, hmm...”

Glimmer's voice trailed off. I did my best 'cute curious look' until I saw her giggle and give in, yet her eyes still looked sad.

“Sorry, I meant to say, I guess it wasn't really Diamond that got me there. It was seeing Coral looking at me like that. She was my friend, Murky. My best friend in Creaky. That might have been the last time we ever spent together as friends before the village was destroyed.”

“She still cares, sis’.” My voice felt weak and without much conviction, but I still tried. “When we were getting out of Ministry Station! I saw you and her helping one another a few times to move. Coral wasn't leaving you behind.”

Glimmerlight went quiet for a minute or so, her eyes trailing across the snowy rocks around us. After a moment, I realised where she was looking. West. This time, I knew what lay out there in that direction. Bucklyn Cross.

Her parents. How long had she been keeping that one down? Especially now.

Then it finally hit me. What it was that had drawn Coral Eve back toward her friend. At her heart, Coral was a very motherly kind of pony who felt responsible for others.

Coral Eve had just seen Glimmerlight lose her parents.

I knew Coral by now. No amount of bitterness and anger she held would stop such a thing crying out to her caring heart. As horrible a thing as it was, that event at Bucklyn Cross might have just given Glimmer and Coral the key to putting the past behind them. They'd both been hurt, they'd both lost almost everything of their past lives. Now that they'd found one another again. All the bickering between them must have begun to just feel, I didn't know, smaller by comparison, maybe?

Could such a thing ever truly fade though? It explained Coral's conflicted opinions lately.

Finally, Glimmer spoke again.

“Ministry Station, Murky. I can't put in words what that was like. I'm sorry if this sounds bad but...when I was there? I think I knew what it was like to be who you were before I met you. I didn't have any say! I couldn't choose anything for myself! It was just...routine. Doing whatever that place wanted me to do.”

I saw her wipe an eye.

“It's only right it was you to save me from that, Murky. You're the only pony I know who'd understand it and have the right, I don't know, heart to pull anypony out of it. I spent so long trying to protect you and help you that I hadn't even considered how vulnerable I was myself. Thanks, Murky...”

She held me close. The pair of us hugging upon the back deck of the train, as much for the cold as for the meaning of the moment. I felt her ruffle my mane again, as though making up for lost ruffles in our time apart.

“I miss them, Murky. I know what happened and I know I maybe don't talk about it. But I really miss them.” She sniffed. “But I've made it this far and I've not removed it from my mind. I was tempted. I almost did, once. But Coral stopped me and...I know I'm going to make it.”

She paused, before saying something that almost made me want to cry on the spot, simply out of how much it meant to hear.

“I don't need the orbs anymore. I've got you.”

We lay and watched the landscape for a while. Sharp formations of rock were interspersed by snow-laden trees that swayed in the harsh winds. Very soon, as we got higher, the blizzard’s snow began to blow between the cage around us, this wind growing stronger. Below us, I could see the rails had changed from their solid pre-war design to a somewhat more ramshackle kind. Possibly made nearing the more desperate last few months of the war, or even by Fillydelphia under Red Eye.

We were nearing the destination, I'd heard Grizzly announce the time from inside the carriage; perhaps twenty minutes away at this slow pace we had to take now. With the cold getting so much more cutting, we made the decision to head back inside.

The inner side of the carriage wasn't really meant for ponies. Storage crates filled with pickaxes, shovels, and other tools were lined up beside rolls of fabric that we'd taken to using as covers against the temperature. The harsh oaken floor and thin metal sides of the train really didn't offer much comfort to anypony.

Coral Eve lay near to the door we'd come in through. She had wrapped herself up warm and remained mostly silent for most of the trip. She hadn't ever said it, but I was happy to know she was 'with us' now, if only because our escape would help her in pursuit of her son, to bring him back to her. All the same, I saw her offer me a thin smile. I gingerly waved back as we passed by.

Brimstone didn't actually rest against a wall, but rather right in the middle of the train. In passing, I wondered if it was to avoid his colossal weight overbalancing the entire thing if he was leaning to one side. Surely that couldn't be the case? Either way, 'our' spot was just beside him, where Glimmerlight now settled down. The barred windows held no glass, and the entire carriage was chilly, sheltered only from most of the wind.

Old Grizzly and Ragini were nearer the top of the carriage, organising our various supplies between them. I saw numerous single-shot rifles or rusty looking pistols partially dismantled as they maintained them. Glimmer had offered her aid earlier, but the slavers seemed less than willing to have a slave doing so, particularly Ragini. The griffon seemed dark of eye ever since she had gotten her 'revenge' on the Shades, even more so than before. Protégé's words to her, whether it had been worth it, seemed all too telling now.

In truth, the bodyguard simply looked dissatisfied and angry. Trapped with nopony else to exact vengeance on other than perhaps Shackles himself. Very quickly, her plan became a bit clearer to me.

Well, I wasn't going to complain if she did.

There were a couple small crates of ammunition pried open beside them that contained other things too. Winter clothing, bandages, a crowbar, and healing potions glowing purple. There was even a small saddlebag with a couple sachets of Radpurge, meant for Glimmer and Coral. Protégé had sent Ragini to collect some before we left. Beside it, I saw a sack full of RadAway and couldn't help but feel the urge to acquire some, if I had the chance. That stuff was my lifeblood. A little shiver passed through me. It was never nice to remember what lurked in my lungs, just waiting for me to be vulnerable and without anything to stop it. I still sometimes had bad dreams of choking and drowning in my own blood until I awoke in a sweat, grasping frantically for my canteen.

Frankly, my breath came weak enough as it was compared to other ponies. This thin mountain air wasn't helping much. I was having to suck in air a little too loudly to be comfortable.

“Doing all right, squirt?”

Brimstone's deep voice rumbled out, clearly having noticed me shake. I nodded hesitantly and sat down on the blankets. I dearly wanted to ask him about Diamond. But not with Glimmer around.

“Y-yes. Just nervous.”

“Average day then.” Brim grinned and grunted, patting my head very carefully before he turned his head to keep me within sight of his eye. “Got that little spud gun of yours ready?”

My what? I cast a look to Glimmer for aid, but she was already toying with Coral's lantern she bought a few days ago, trying to install a gemlight into it for greater brightness.

“S-spuds?”

Brimstone made a low noise. “That pistol by your side. Is it loaded?”

“N-no. They said we'd get bullets when we need them.” I glanced up the carriage. “Old Grizzly said so. This is still a slaver thing, I think.”

The big raider arced his head right around to see the crates of ammunition. “Just be ready to grab any if you need it. They know we escaped. They know what Protégé wants. If anything happens? Be ready.”

His tone went rather dangerous toward the end. Only now did I realise why he sat where he did.

He was being a barrier between us and the slavers. Allies or not, Brim wasn't taking any chances. Even if Pro-

I looked up. Now that was something. Where was Protégé? The spot he'd occupied when I left out the back with Glimmer held only an empty rug, his revolver and (to my surprise) his eyepiece sitting alone.

Truth be told, I wanted an excuse to leave anyway. The constant clicking of bullets being fed into their housings were already beginning to make me uncomfortable.

“I'll, um, be back in a second, okay?”

Getting up, I trotted toward the other end of the carriage. He must have went into the next one. Brimstone made to get up, but with a little glance from Glimmer sat back down, leaving me to go. Having to stop a couple times to keep my balance every time the train bumped or rocked I made my way past the slavers.

“You don't like Shackles, do you?” Ragini didn't look up from snapping bullets into the magazine.

“N-no.” I kept moving, pausing only at the door itself to look back at the griffon. One eye rolled up, her head side on to me. “Not, um, particularly.”

“Guess we got three things in common then, flightless. You wanna kill him, get in line.”

I gulped, my hooves pushing the door aside a little and feeling the wash of cold flow over me until my teeth chattered on the spot. “Y-you can g-go f-f-first. Fine with m-me.”

“Just so long as we got an understanding.”

That was more than enough reason for me to get through that door post-haste. Stepping out between the tracks, I had to quell the fear of the grinding wheels just below me. The sound made me wince. Every single grind of the connectors and sharp clacking of two carriages bumping into one another sent a spike of uncertainty up my spine. Hopping over, I shoved myself into the next carriage quite quickly.

Different from the thin, crude metal of the carriage we were in, this one was almost entirely wood. Fillydelphia's trains often were simply a mish-mash of all the intact carriages they had to hand. Red paint peeled on the walls behind huge minecarts lashed to the floor on either side. Up ahead though, I could see a red tail protruding from behind one. Protégé.

He must have heard me slam the door shut. His voice was quite quiet, probably only easy to hear if you were me.

“Too crowded in there for you, too?”

“Well, maybe. It was just getting too cold outside and I didn't really feel comfortable.”

Protégé wandered out to the centre of the train, in better view. I noticed he'd brought a rug with him that he now sat on. His eyes didn't so much as look at me as just always outside the window.

“This place tends to do that. We don't see snow this heavy in much of Equestria anymore. Certainly not with the warmth around Fillydelphia in the ambient air. The cold takes some getting used to.”

Trotting up, I looked out the large window myself and saw the treacherously sharp peaks misted in the distance, before settling down on the rug. Getting as comfortable as I could, I took out my journal and opened a new page. Sketch. That'd help me get my mind off things. Just sketch some nice things. Maybe Unity? I hadn't mentioned her much, not with Grizzly around. Only Glimmerlight knew. But I could still sketch her, draw that flowing mane of hers when it wasn't all scraggly and ruined by slavery.

As I did so, that all too recognisable sound clipped into only my ears. Since the metro, I'd had the PipBuck on near silent volume out of habit. I still felt the hairs on the back of my neck stick up if it went off too loud. The smell of those...things was still so memorable that I sometimes thought got a whiff of it from my nerves alone. It made me more worried than ever about making noise.

Beep!

I clutched the PipBuck close under me, watching Protégé to ensure he didn't look over. To cover myself, I simply kept sketching while I listened. Shapes. Yes, shapes. Make life from shapes, from curves and lines...

Beep!

Click.

Before anything else, I already heard the sounds of mining in the background. I recognised the picks hitting stone from the metro. There was heavy breathing close to the microphone.

“I...whew, it's Sundial...of...of course! There's so much to tell, I don't have time!”

The urge to hunker back and listen intently was powerful, yet my art was my cover to not look as though I was doing anything else. I just kept drawing, the broken charcoal tip in my mouth softly arcing to make the shape of her torso.

“We're inside the mountain, now! They brought us up through the night! They let me have a few hours to myself, and threatened us if we didn’t return. I...I had to go see her. See my Sky. She had been so worried about me, even my family didn't know where I'd gone! I tried to be calm for her but I was the one more scared than any, because I could feel the temptation to try and run away from all of this! Just take Skydancer, my family, and just go!”

The flick of a tail, the wisps of a wavy mane. I had to concentrate, and not react to the sadness of his story, but just listen for information. I couldn’t draw attention from Protégé.

“My dad's still out on deployment, he doesn't know yet. I don't know why but that makes it feel easier. He has enough to worry about. If there's anypony who doesn't need to see more suffering than he already has, it's him. But I got to be with Sky, that's all that matters for now. I needed it. She needed it. I couldn't explain much, just a cover story that it was all a misunderstanding! We lay on the roof together like we sometimes do and looked at the stars.”

I heard him fight back a sob.

“She asked me, 'Why does this have to happen in our time?' I've asked that so many times to myself and I still don't know. I just held onto her tightly and tried not to let her see me cry. Why can't this all be over? I just...I just want to go back to enjoying each day when I see her! No more stupid Stable drill alarms scaring everypony! No more end of the world hanging over us! No more...all of-of this!”

I had to bite my lip. Looking up, I saw Protégé glance over, as though reading my expression. I tried to smile and go back to my drawing.

“Whoever's listening...you'll know what I was like when I first met her. How I was all awkward, then you'll have heard me once I’d been around her. The banter we shared. The little jokes. How she'd tease me while I was recording. I'm so scared I'm going to lose all that. I need to do this. Get that money, get out of all this, and know we'll be safe! That's why I'm on this forsaken mountain! That's why I had to spend an hour waiting in the snow for them to get that little door on the mountainside open. Why I'm stuck in this gem mine trying to spy on a pony who is just as scared about this as I am.”

I was really fighting hard now. The charcoal in my mouth was shaking, needing to be put to paper to steady it and draw the little flicks of her ears and the soft eyelashes.

“Even those few hours were enough to keep me going. We spent them together. Just the two of us. On the roof. Getting food. In her apartment...anywhere. Just feeling her beside me as we lay there in her bed, feeling our love, and for just a short while, being able to forget everything else. To hear her voice, her teases, and see that little smirk on her face. A little bit of magic to remind me what I'm fighting for. I just want this to end. To end so I can go home to her! I-”

“You will cease noise. Cease this talk of foalish worry.”

I knew that voice. I blinked and sat up a little.

“Get back to work.”

“Yes...yes, Doctor Heartcare.”

Click.

Doctor Heartcare? That was who I knew as Magister Heartcare, the crazy ghoul from the crater! I felt like if I were smarter, I could have figured all this out a little more, but it was just one more piece of the puzzle. The refugees were being taken by Heartcare to work for the Zebras on...something that involved memory magic and learning spell orbs?

All the same, I just couldn't keep my mind objective for too long. Sundial and Skydancer; even just hearing him talk like that made me feel wretched. My charcoal dotted across Unity's cutie mark, before I spotted a little drop of liquid fall from my face onto the picture. Screwing my eyes shut, I wiped them and kept drawing. It was like a sense of sadness mixed with a stupid, childish envy I wished I could get rid of! Just the way that they treated each other. How he had her to fall back on, somepony more than a friend...

“Murk, are you alright?”

I jolted up. The picture below me being what I saw before even him. I'd drawn Unity, yes. But I'd drawn her looking right out the page at me with a little knowing smirk. The same one I could imagine that Skydancer had to look at poor Sundial.

The same one I bet she and her friend shared too. She was doing everything that Sundial was to help save somepony she cared about too.

“Murk? I asked, are you alright?” Protégé had moved over and I gasped, snapping back to reality and slamming the journal shut before he could see what I'd drawn.

“I-I'm fine! Just, um, being me.”

“Something you drew made you weep?” He sat near me, looking genuinely caring, but I didn't much fancy confiding in him right now.

“No no. Just scared...” I searched for something to distract the conversation, “I don't understand it, really.”

“Don't understand what?”

Frantically trying to think of a subject, I saw the untouched fields of glittering snow outside, and pointed out the window. “You bring slaves up here. Get them working on some mountaintop. But I know it wouldn't take any amount of sneakiness to just move out and away in this weather. Disappear into the night. No walls to keep you in. How do you keep slaves from escaping?”

Yes, good quick thinking, Murky. Ten points.

“Why?” Protégé grinned slightly, a rare smile from him since Ministry Station. “Getting tempted?”

I gulped, holding the word a little too long. “No...”

“Good.”

Protégé shifted, turning more toward me. I could see his eyes were somewhat lifeless and sunken. Clearly he still felt the after effects of whatever that place did to him. I'd seen the same look in Glimmerlight at times. But I knew he wasn’t wanting me contained here, why say that?

“Good, why?”

“I wouldn't want to know you'd killed yourself, Murk. This mountain keeps slaves in by being impossible to escape from other than via a train. Low visibility, sharp cliffs, far from anywhere, and with tundra-like temperatures even at the best of times, but that's not the real danger. It's the snow, Murk. Similar to the rain in Fillydelphia. Not acidic, there’s no real toxins in the air up here, but it holds minor radioactive properties.”

He saw the slight recoil I made away from the window, away from the suddenly very foreboding snowy landscape in the dark of the night outside, quickly waving a hoof.

Protégé shook his head. “Don’t worry. We're safe in here, it's only a very weak trace of it below the cloud level. Just strong enough that if anypony spent enough time in it, getting covered in the snow while trying to get anywhere, they'd die before they got half way down the mountain without impractical quantities of medicine. You shall have to be very careful, Murk.”

I huddled up against a crate. The beauty of that pure white, seemed starkly twisted now.

“Gee, now I feel so much more comfortable.”

Protégé seemed mostly unconcerned, however.

“With any luck, we shouldn't need to spend any much time in it. I notice you have your canteen. We shall top it up before we leave and get you some spares that Grizzly acquired for all of us. That shouldn't be too hard. Guards will be light outside for the same reason. The real fight is inside.”

As he spoke, I couldn't help but feel an ear twitch. I had heard a wooden thump from further down the train. I looked up at it, before putting it aside as just another sound of this machine moving.

“What do you think we'll find?”

Protégé sighed, actively lying down to avoid the cold air whirling through the open sides. “I'm not sure, Murk. Something pre-war. Maybe something that would ignite what lies in Ministry Station, judging by what they said. A key to that sealed room? Although I gather they got in already. Perhaps they can’t really use whatever’s in there. We already found that portal down there, I suppose. I presume you're happy with that result.”

I bit my lip. It almost felt worse hearing him casually refer to our escape attempts than to be the stoic slave master preventing them. Now I didn't know where he stood on it.

“W-well, G-Glimmer said it wasn't working.”

“Unless this mountain has the information. Shackles wouldn't hesitate to own such a thing, the power it would give him to find slaves from all over the wastes. I don't even know how it works. Maybe it needs something on the other side? Yet I sense it's something else down there. Something else at the core of all those strange...things, and ambiances.”

I heard another faint tap again. If Protégé saw my worried glances, he said nothing. It stopped, and I tried to forget about it.

“M-maybe a megaspell orb creator? W-we found these spell orb thingys that let unicorns learn spells they didn't know. B-but you know that, sorry. I mean, what if it were something that did that on a huge scale?”

I didn't want to mention the healing megaspell Weathervane had used to save my life, but it certainly sounded plausible to me. Could something that scale malfunctioning have caused Ministry Station to take on that otherworldly feeling? It felt like memories were leaking out of magic itself down there. Oh, this was all too complex for me.

Then there was a third tap.

This time, I didn't let it go. Protégé had been around me long enough to recognise when I was getting spooked. (Strangely, most ponies seemed to see me as some sort of early warning system now.) He didn't say a word, but looked around as though expecting something.

“Down there.” I whispered to him, pointing further forward into the carriage. A cluster of supply boxes were affixed past the minecarts in this car. We moved toward it, me wincing every time his hooves came down on a creaky bit of wood. Did sneaking feel as natural now that I genuinely found it an annoyance to hear others not being as good as I was?

There it was again. Just ahead! Just...in the boxes?

I had to stifle a gasp. We had a stowaway! A spy? A Shade!?

I pointed with a hoof, before I saw Protégé lift an iron bar from beside the minecarts and take the box's lock with magic too. We look to one another and I saw him mouth the words.

One.

Two.

I drew a sharp breath.

Three!

He yanked the box open! We both launched forward! I expected a shrill warcry of a raider! The swearing of a slaver!

Instead, I heard the high-pitched squeak of a colt.

“So sorry, Mister Protégé! So sorry! Sorry! Sorry-sorry-sorry! Please don't be angry!”

I almost smacked my own face to check I wasn't imagining it. Right up out of the box, came the little form of Chirpy Sum, covered in sawdust and wrapped in an entire box full of pristine blankets and wore one almost like a cape. He held his hooves together as he pleaded.

“I just really really wanted to see outside and around and they all keep telling me I'd be a really big pony in the new world but I couldn't wait and it sounded like an adventure and here I made this cape and its what will let everypony know I'm out on a quest to see things and explore and be with you and Assistant Murky and Mister Grizzly and see what you see and learn so I sneaked out of the logistics place when I was bringing my homework to you when I saw you going to the trains with Murky and-”

He had to stop, taking in a gigantic breath.

“-and I-”

“Chirpy! What are you-” Protégé shouted the word to interrupt, pulling him out of the box with his magic, standing the foal before him. “Have you any idea how much danger you're in here? Master Red Eye would be livid if anything were to happen to you!”

I saw Protégé glance at me rather harshly. Oh dear, I knew there were going to be words about a certain pegasus putting ideas in the colts head.

That wasn't what worried me more though.

“But Mist-”

Protégé spoke over him, pacing back and forth, hoof on his forehead.

“We shall have to get you on this train immediately, when it heads back to Fillydelphia. Ragini will accompany you the entire way to keep you safe. Blast, this will leave us one short...”

That wasn't what worried me either.

It was the worry that if there was one pony on this train who would, for once, hear better than I did to recognise the sound of a certain colt's voice and the sound of his name being shouted...

I could already hear the hooves galloping across the carriages, before the door slammed open behind us. It surprised me, how much of a panic I felt. Shouldn't I be elated? Overjoyed? This solved a problem!

Instead, I only felt worried for what would transpire.

Coral Eve stood in the doorway, snow whirling in from behind her. She was already breathing hard. I could see her horn was already glowing.

“Chirpy!?” She shouted his name, eyes training from side to side until finally she spotted him beside us. Then she was moving, rushing forward.

Chirpy just stood there, in shock, with his eyes widening. As what he was seeing caught up with him, his mouth split into a smile larger than I might have thought possible on such a small pony. He rushed forward, shoving his way past Protégé. Chirpy didn't have to gallop far, before his mother dove forward and grabbed him, her front hooves grasping and holding him against her chest.

I couldn't help it. I felt my eyes get a little damp at the sight. Seeing her constantly stroking his back and mane as though just to make sure he was actually there from second to second, or hearing his rapid-fire sentences that barely made any sense as he spoke with his face buried into her neck.

Behind them, I saw the others moving through on hearing the commotion. Glimmerlight's eyes went wide, her mouth gaping in shock as she saw who it was, and heard his shrill voice in the air.

“Mom! Mooom! You're back! You're back!”

“I am, my darling! Oh thank goodness! Thank goodness you're safe! I’m here now...”

Among the ponies watching on, I saw the reunion I had dreamed of for her. Heard her voice flow back to that caring pony I'd seen in Creaky Hollow as she rocked back and forth with her son, whispering and reminding him she was there for him now. I heard him trying to talk through deep sobs, saw her joining him with tears running down her filthy cheeks and drawing clean lines through all the accumulated dirt of slavery.

I wouldn’t even dare Protégé to try and take him away from her now. The train wouldn't survive if anypony did.

Chirpy opened his eyes, looking over her shoulder as he saw Glimmerlight moving quickly in. He gasped loudly, pawing at his mother to get down and rush to my sister.

“Auntie Glim-Glim! You came with her! Auntie Glim-Glim!”

Leaping up onto her back, just as I'd seen him do to Coral in Creaky Hollow, he hugged her neck. Glimmerlight wiped her eyes and laughed, bending down to swing him around and grab him in her hooves.

“Good to see ya, lil'rascal! Geez, you've grown!” She laughed, cradling him and ruffling his mane. I recognised the way she did it all too well.

Chirpy just galloped from one to the other, back and forth, hugging and leaping onto them. Hyper as only a colt could be. Seeing the three of them, I couldn't help but notice Brimstone back away into the other carriage. A wise move, if harsh on himself. Chirpy could have that explained later. But for now...wow, just...

...wow.

A little time went by. Protégé moved to collect his things before returning and sitting near the edge of the carriage, simply watching with a steely expression. Grizzly and Ragini stayed in the other car, while we 'caught up', as they said.

It wasn't all good.

The look on Coral Eve's face as she saw Chirpy's cutie mark was a fight between elation and personal sadness. She had missed him gaining it and looking overjoyed for him as he talked about what it all meant and how he had been doing a lot of maths to become an architect was heartbreaking. She was putting on such a brave face for her son.

It was Glimmer, who really solved it. Announcing to everyone she would organise a cute-ceañera (Whatever that meant) for both Chirpy and for myself. Allegedly, because I never got one. Really, I just saw it as her just trying to get me drunk again.

The motion helped ease the tone, to start from scratch, and let the lost past be at least recreated. Truth be told, I wondered if, while I had been the first thing to help bring them together again, Chirpy might be the glue to seeing the two mares into a better future as friends again.

I could hope.

Only I knew it was a ticking time bomb. Eventually, those three words just had to come up.

“And! And! And I got to learn how to shoot a laser gun! They let me fire one in the range because it's got no kick to it so I could hold it in my mouth! It was red! Can I get one, mom?”

Coral sniffed, still almost in disbelief and pulled him in close with a hoof.

“When you're older, sweetie. We'll see about finding a blue one. You always liked blue, didn't you?” She waggled her mane a little to him, making him laugh.

“Hehehe! I like blue! But I like red too! It reminds me of all the help Daddy Red Eye gave me when he taught me how to shoot it!”

Coral went very still, just staring at him. I saw Protégé look up from further away, no expression on his face. His hooves slowly started to backpedal.

“Mom?” Chirpy patted her chest. “Mom, what's wrong? I-I'd like blue too. If...”

Coral lightly pushed him down, toward Glimmer and myself. Oh dear, I knew that look

She stood, shivering lightly with a deathly look upon her face. Without any warning, she spun, galloped forward, and swung her hoof sharply across Protégé’s face. The unicorn fell back, taken completely by surprise. She was on him long before Ragini got through the door behind us! A hoof held against his throat, she pressed him back into the corner, beating away the limbs that tried to shove her off.

“You look at me, you slaver!”

Her words snapped out, barking at him. She saw Ragini's rifle pointed, and her horn sparking into life.

“You dare make this into a firefight with my son in here, griffon, you'll lose more than your wings!”

The standoff was set. Glimmer and I pulled Chirpy back, putting him behind the pair of us. Brimstone threw Grizzly behind him, coming up behind Ragini and, standing ready. Yet Coral didn't care.

All the same, everything felt on the edge of disaster now. I could swear even the train was rocking harder.

“LOOK AT ME! What have you been teaching my son!? What evil ideas did you put in his head? Telling him his father was that monster in that city!”

“He-” Protégé choked on his words, her hoof pushing firmly down on him. “He was being...educated...kept safe!”

“Kept safe and indoctrinated! Do you have any idea what it's like to hear him call that beast who's did his level best to kill me for his slave industry 'father?’ Do you monsters even know what that word truly means? His father was a great pony! A pony taken away from him before he had the chance to know him!”

I could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Ragini's finger closed on the trigger, gun levelled to her head. Yet that horn only grew in light, Protégé knew its power. I saw him waving to the griffon, trying to signal her away even as he twisted when she pushed her hoof down harder.

“I had to raise him alone in the wastes! The same wastes that took the pony I loved! Now I come here, find my colt, who was all I had left has been made to think some slave lord is his...his...”

I actually gasped in shock, her horn lighting more like a proper unicorn's should. The thought of what Coral could do if she could control that raw power was terrifying. Her eyes glowed for just a second, the pupils shimmering with light. Or was it just the reflection from the hanging lanterns above?

Those lanterns really were swinging more. Why were we speeding up?

“Let me ask you one thing, slaver...” She leaned close to him. “Do you honestly look on this now, see the reality of what you've done to so many parents across the wastes and think this is right? After all you've seen in that fu-in that Station? After what I saw it do to you too?”

Protégé's eyes were rather wide. I saw his mouth try to move. He had no answer, although lacking much breath was no doubt not helping. I couldn't look too much though, as the entire train bounced and rocked madly. Thrown to the side, Coral Eve fell off him.

Ragini’s barrel turned, and I saw Brimstone bash the griffon's weapon aside, even when she made to fire, sending a shot whipping through the window. I heard them scuffle, saw her talons swipe at the raider. Protégé rolled to the side, falling into me.

Everything buckled again. The landscape was hurtling by outside! Even Coral seemed to notice it.

“Pro-Protégé! Should we go this fast?”

Ragini slammed past us, hurled into a minecart. I heard Chirpy shriek, and saw Coral get up and run to where Glimmer held him safe.

“No, it should not!” Protégé shouted, leaping to his hooves and pulling open the next door. I followed him as we ran away from the developing brawl between raider and Talon, to go further up the train. Two more carriages were bouncing and hurling up from wall to wall. I felt the wheels actually lift off the tracks! Terror gripped my heart at the feeling of vertigo, before it slammed back down and briefly threw us both off our hooves. The clacking and roar of metal on metal was deafening. At the end of the train, Protégé turned and bucked open the driver's door.

“Driver! What is the meaning of this? Slow down!” He cried into the room as he struggled in.

I saw the corpses first. Two ponies lying gutted at the side of the room, lengthways. I had to choke back the urge to vomit, before my attention was taken by the driver who now stood there.

He turned back to us, lifted up his big, plaid cap and revealed a crazed smile and multicoloured mane.

“Why slow down? It's fun!” Wildcard cackled. “WHOO WHOO!”

He honked on the train’s horn pulley as he spoke, pursing his lips and making train noises at us.

“Slow it down!” Protégé lunged at him. “You'll make it crash off an edge! Murky, get the brake!”

Wildcard didn't even have to struggle. Protégé went down in a flurry of hooves from the big raider, grabbing the unicorn's mane in his magic and holding him up, before shoving him away with his hooves. I saw Protégé try to lift a stoking rod with his magic, but Wildcard’s horn fizzled, shocking Protégé with a magical charge, and wrenched the improvised weapon away. He danced on the spot, and bucked the smaller unicorn out of the driver's compartment entirely!

“You all said you wanted a faster pace to this journey, didn't you!?” He laughed madly as he cranked a handle forward.

I simply stood rock still in terror as those mismatched beady eyes glared right through me.

“Well be careful what you wish for! I'm always listening! Chugga-chugga! Chugga chugga! Round and round the big train goes, where it crashes...”

He snapped the brake lever off. I saw us heading toward a sharp bend through the whirling blizzard, one at the edge of a drop off the hill!

“...NOPONY KNOWS! BAAHAHAHA!”

The train shuddered and twisted, arching up before rolling off the side of the tracks with a shuddering impact. I screamed as I felt gravity disappear, and a sensation of my whole world being turned around when the entire train spun over and over. I saw him thrown around in my whirling vision, until I was stunned by the intense pain of slamming again and again against things I couldn't see, everything a noisy blur. I heard his psychotic laughter filling my ears, mocking me.

Amongst the tortured scream of metal, I felt myself being sent crashing through the windscreen of the train. Bitter temperatures washed over my already numbed body. My wings attempted to spread, desperately trying to catch the savage wind. Instead, they simply made me spin madly, as both the burning engine carriage and I were cast into a cold and dark void that dropped away over the edge of the cliff; my scream lost to the empty air.

A hard floor clanged beneath my chin as I tripped and went clattering across the ground. My hooves felt like lead, numb and tired. Everything looked blurry. Just a vague red and grey haze around me in...in a hallway? A street? Where...what was I?

Somepony nearby was breathing hard. Galloping. They passed by me, stopped...came back. Hooves wrapped around my neck, tugging me. I could hear somepony shouting in my ears, crying for me to get up and keep going!

Somehow, just anypony asking it of me got me up. They supported me, a soft touch yet so determined and eager. Their voice was just muffled. A mare's? S-sis’?

I could hear ponies behind me, dull drifting sounds of chase and bloodthirsty cries. An overwhelming fear passed through me. We were fleeing from something, knowing that to be caught would be worse than a quick death! Why did I know that?

Wha...what was happening?

We fell again, together. Holding onto one another as we tumbled and rolled, careening down something to a soft ground. We stood up, together, supporting one another.

So far to go. We wouldn't make it?

Make it where?

I felt the touch of another pony fading, felt the world drifting away as cold, sharp ice cut into my body and I felt my throat swell. Pain...such pain as it broke the ice and let me surface back to-

-life!

I gasped, convulsing and making spasms on the spot. My eyes flickered open to see darkness above. Fierce flames were spread around me in the thick of a heavy snowfall, their embers drifting with the cold white through the air in the pitch darkness of midnight. The train, devastated and scattered all across a deep snow field, was burning and snapping as the wood fell apart.

I felt so cold. So very cold. I’d landed in a snowdrift amongst the wreckage, half a foot below the surface with the falling snowflakes already settling over me.

The pain properly hit the moment I tried to move out of it. I cried out, a hoof going to my side when I felt a hot lance pierce through me. Daring to look down, I saw a shard of metal stuck into me. I was covered in bruising. A rib felt broken. I couldn't see right through one eye!

Panic. Panic from pain was rising! I barely even felt the sudden wracking cough growing in my throat until I sprayed a light mist of red across the deep snow drift that had saved my life, just as well as it was now slowly killing me. I had to move...

It made me cry. It made me whine and squeal, but I got up. The grappling hook by my side had stopped the shard of metal digging in any further. It was small, I could still trot.

Staggering, dizzy, and tired; I moved through the wreckage. I cried out for my friends. The carriages at the back looked more intact! They could be alive! There weren't any bodies around!

Convulsing, I fell to my side and crunched into the soft powder again. My lungs felt huge inside me, swollen and sore! The stabbing pain in my side getting worse every time I hacked and spluttered. Crawling, using the snow to grasp and drag myself along, I moved among the fires, trying to find something! Anything!

There!

The carriage we had been in! I saw the box Old Grizzly had brought! Step by step, I made my way toward it, seeing that little purple glow sticking out of the snow. My hooves were already getting numb with my short size sending them deep under the top layer. The wind kept blowing my mane across my face. Outside of the fires, I could see nothing, no great vista as I had before, just a dark void punctured by the occasional shadow of a tree.

Almost falling, I grasped the box, tugging it upright to see purple objects fall out. Two healing potions! I forced myself up onto a length of iron sheared from the train to get myself out of the snow, and bit down hard on a piece of wood. This wouldn't be pretty, but I knew it had to be done!

“Come on, Murky…” I muttered to myself, gritting my teeth into the wood. “You're strong now! You survived being impaled in a Pit! You can-”

I reached down, pulling the shard free of myself.

In some time, I hadn't quite shrieked and squealed like that. Blood leaked from my side, my cries turning into a sick coughing before I greedily downed both potions, pouring a quarter of one onto the wound itself. I didn't care what amounts were needed, I just wanted all of it! I had no time to worry about rationing, if I didn’t get enough in the first place, I’d never get out of this.

Quickly, the pain began to fade as the strong magic did its work, the tingle as my flesh re-knitted into a tender, closed wound. That dealt with, I dragged my saddlebag open, grateful that it was still with me, so that I could down the entire contents of my canteen, about a quarter left.

With that, I lay back on the slab of metal. I had time now, time to think. Sweating from the fires so close to me, even while shivering as that very sweat tingled in the cold winds, I wrapped my wings and tail around me. What to do?

The front engine carriage was down here, shattered and burning. Looking up, I could see flames from others still at the top of some giant slope. The ones my friends had been in must have rolled more gently. They weren't utterly smashed like the front engine. There was some comfort in that. There weren't any corpses around, I smelled no burning flesh. This had been their carriage! My friends likely weren't dead! If I had survived that in the front car, they likely were injured but alive. If I waited here, I had something to keep me out of the snow and fires to stay warm! Wait till morning, find my friends! They'd come back to look here, I knew it!

Almost on cue, I heard movement nearby. Somepony spluttering as they shoved aside some metal. I stood up, wincing as I did and looked over toward the driver's cab. Protégé?

The sight of somepony came into view. A stallion. A large one. Brim!

Nope.

I thought it was just the snow, but that white coat began to get clearer the more I looked at it. I didn't want to be left alone with him! Wildcard had lived! He was right over there!

“I don't see any gorgeous little pegasus bodies!”

His head looked around. I crouched low behind the metal plate. The shape moved around the wreck, magic lifting a machete from near to him and tapping on every metal surface as he searched.

“That means we get to play hide and go scream! Come on little birdy!” He laughed gleefully, quickly looking around every bit of scrap, even those far too small for me to hide below. I could see the horrible wounds, burns, and spilled blood across him. He didn't even seem to care!

I...no, I couldn't stay here. He'd find me long before morning.

Yet as I looked into that darkness, I couldn't help but remember what Protégé had said about this place. About the snow.

“Come out, come out! Come play with me! I said come out!” Wildcard's voice dropped, and he angrily threw aside some scrap. Fuming, he picked up the pace and stormed around. “You don't wanna play with me, huh? You little fucking rat! Why not!? Everyone always plays with me, but you won't! COME HERE!”

That was enough incentive to go. The murderous rage set him galloping around, squealing like a pig and stamping on places I might have managed to fit into! Turning, I galloped off toward the heavy plumes of smoke, trying to stay hidden as I got away from the site.

The snow sank beneath me, and I almost fell; my side hurt so bad. My chest did too, my bandages soaking through from Wildcard's last encounter with me. Gasping with the pain, I couldn't do anything but limp, galloping was too much for me. Every metre I would look over my shoulder, and see him moving around back there.

Slowly, I pulled myself away, heading into the black. I tried to stick to rocks to stay out of the snow, but it was so deep! Wildcard became a blur through the smoke. He stopped shouting, and I simply heard his blade sliding over rocks. My heart clenched in terror, I had no cover, I simply had to get enough distance before he came this way. His whoops started up again, echoing around.

I felt the snowfall pick up, but quickly realised that conclusion was wrong. I just was far from the fires that it wasn't melting in the air now. It got in my eyes, landed on my back, made everything damp! My fleece felt thick and heavy, and I had to pull out my goggles just to see better. Slowly, the fire got further away, becoming just a pale glow through the mist, as I simply headed away from wherever I heard Wildcard. He too was venturing out, squealing in the darkness, insulting me. Sometimes shouting that he saw me before I heard him hacking at a tree.

Gradually, his voice faded too.

Before long, I couldn't even see the fire.

I passed trees, worked around rocks, and moved into the mountain's landscape. I hadn't realised how cold it could get. The fires had kept me warmed but out here it was...

I couldn't feel my hooves.

Every step, they trudged right up to my underbelly. The pain faded on my side as everything began to lose feeling. My teeth hurt from chattering, my loose tooth shaking about. I needed a rock to get on to stay out of it. I had to.

Looking around, I realised I couldn't even see more than a foot in any direction. There were no lamps, no lights, no moon to show me the way. This was the deep wilderness, where night was absolute. Even my eyes, so used to working in darkness, had nothing to see by. Occasionally, I'd stumble across a tree, then a group of them. I realised I was nearing the edge of a thick forest, invisible to me until I was right beside the ghostly snow-coated trees.

Gradually, I began to feel a burning sensation in my throat. My rad-sores tingled, stinting on my snout and leg.

“Oh please, no, no...”

I had to head back. Wildcard would be gone! I couldn't survive out here! Then I realised I didn't even know which way that was. I wasn’t sure if I’d curved or not when running away from him. I tried to find my hoofprints, but the snow had already covered them further back than a hundred metres or so!

I was lost.

Unable to think straight, I tried to gallop. In a flurry of snow, I only ended up tripping. My whole skull felt thick and clotted. A headache began to pound so hard that against the low whipping of wind it felt like drums. A light cough started as my throat began to itch. My chest tingled.

“Glimmer!”

I cried out, before roughly coughing. I screamed again. And again after every minute or unsteady trotting. The snow was building and I was having to fight to stay on top of it. The wet slosh was coating my body as I struggled to find a way to...to anywhere. I tried to look at my PipBuck, Glimmer said the map worked, yet all I found was that it had been covered in a veil of slush. I couldn't see anything on its faded screen. Even wiping it off, it held nothing but blank surface up here.

“Coral! Brim!” I shouted to the mountain, expecting no reply as hope began to drain from me. The fear truly began to set in. I had to be a long way from the train by now. I was...

I was so alone.

I moved idly in a circle, hoping to find some sort of direction, but I found nothing but more trees, not even any fallen ones I could shelter under. Taking clumsy steps, I slipped and trampled my way along, accompanied only by the howling of the icy wind and the crunch of my hooves. I clutched myself every few steps, hopelessly trying to warm up, my head pounding. I couldn’t even see right, my swollen eye making me half blind, as though this wasn’t already impossible to see through.

Yet, eventually, as I rounded the edge of the forest, my hooves found an uphill slope. Perhaps I could make it to the sharper mountain cliffs if I headed up? I could find shelter!

Struggling, I heaved myself forward, trying to head upward. Every few steps I staggered, coughing and choking. I had to keep wiping my goggles with my sleeve as they misted up. With my little light on the PipBuck, I tried to see anything, but the snow just reflected the light back in and almost blinded me. Yet it showed me I was right, there was a slope! I had to go uphill and find rock walls, even if I realised I had no idea if where I’d wandered out to still faced them or not.

I had to try. I didn’t have a choice.

The memories of my coma induced dreaming were faded, but I couldn't help but remember the feeling of an empty wasteland with nopony to meet.

Long minutes passed, time a mystery to me as I just kept trying to keep move upwards. To climb this mountain. It took me minutes to move a few meagre feet. Every step growing heavier, I eventually realised that I couldn't even feel the ground.

And then I didn't even realise that my body was shaking so much that I'd fallen over until I saw the way the snow was falling, my numb limbs idly kicking at the hole I’d made in my collapse. I couldn’t see. Couldn’t think. Lazily raising a hoof, I tried to pull myself onward with the snow beating down on my face. I felt so helpless, a million miles from anywhere I knew in a cold, forested tundra.

The feeling grew inside me, the fear moving with it. I knew the sensation by now. My stomach churned and grew hot, a strange feeling amongst the chill world. My chest thumped, and I found I couldn't breathe in. It erupted hard, a spasm of my entire body as I fell again to my side, wheezing and coughing. I saw red fall onto the snow, again and again. It kept growing. My nose felt blocked, my throat running hot and bitter with metallic iron...I...

The coughs kept coming, a bubbling filling my throat. I couldn't breathe! I felt blood running back down my throat, clogging into me! Desperation filled me. I started flailing with my hooves, dragging myself up through the snow, inch by inch. Please, find something! I started sucking hard, trying to swallow down and get any air in. I sucked out of my canteen, tried anything.

In the minute and a half it took me to finally lose control of my body from lack of oxygen, I made it another ten feet, crawling before finally collapsing in the snow. It began to fall atop me, burying me while I lay twitching and terrified. I couldn't feel anything other than my burning throat as I laid my head down, only moving when my body convulsed, before lying still when all efforts to get any air failed.

A fever dream mixed in with a numbing cold. I dreamed of no true images, no ponies aiding me or Stable Dwellers shooting slavers. I merely felt enclosed, trapped; an abstract sense of being unable to move or breathe played out with every second feeling longer. It was like back in the crater, when I had passed out, only much, much worse.

Something was tugging at me, making my body shift and move uncomfortably. It hurt and I moaned loudly.

Then something hurt my ears. A noise. Somepony screaming in my ear for me to wake up. I felt something jammed into my mouth, an acidic taste washing into my throat and making me choke and retch. I vomited hot blood, falling back into the cold reality around me. The calm of the dreaming broken as snow lashed against my face and I felt that same object thrust into my lips again. Citric burning flowed down my throat, yet with it brought a calming chill, separate from the cold, that eased the harsh swelling within me.

The last barriers of unconsciousness shattered away.

“Murk!” Somepony screamed into my ear again, knowing it would be heard much more!

I grasped the sachet, my hooves lazily pawing around it. I choked and coughed again and again, the fight between RadAway and my sickness wracking my body harshly. Opening my eyes, I couldn't see much through my misted and snow-filled goggles, but I could see my own body, the exposed flesh of my wound pale as a corpse from the cold.

Hooves were pulling at me, just like in my dream. I felt myself being lifted and thrown over somepony's back. I wearily clutched around their neck. Finally, I dropped the empty sachet and tried to breathe, a thick and entirely unsatisfying wheeze making its way in. Any oxygen was a shock to the system.

The pony beneath me was moving, struggling hard as he moved forward. I clung to them, my back legs drooped to either side of their torso. Only with a flash of red and black did I realise who it was. I could see an eyepiece blinking, pointing back toward me.

“P-Pro...”

“Hang on, Murk. Just hang on!”

It seemed to take hours. It could have been minutes. He carried me uphill, in an entirely different direction to where I'd gone. We moved past clumps of trees until I felt the wind lessen, a looming rock wall growing ahead of us. Near to it, through my mostly blocked goggles, I saw the black gap of a cave. Two figures were looking out of it. One ran out, azure blue magic carrying a thick blanket.

There had never been any sweeter feeling than seeing my sister's face as the warmth of a heated fabric was wrapped around me, carrying me out of the wind and into the cave.

Finally, in a better way this time, I passed out knowing I would be all right.

“It would have to be you, wouldn't it, eh?”

I sat shivering in a blanket, sucking deep on a packet of Radaway. Before me a fire glowed in the cave and kept most of the outside air's freezing temperatures out. Technically it was destroying my night vision to stare into it, but I just didn't care. It looked warm and I wanted to feel warm.

Glimmerlight sat beside me, a hoof around me and another blanket draped over her as well.

“If any of us were going to be the one who got thrown away from the rest and got lost, it would be you and your luck. I'm just glad you still had your PipBuck. Protégé wouldn't have found you otherwise.”

Yes, Protégé. He'd saved my life for sure. Not just me even. His E.F.S had been the one to detect spot most of the others and group them together until they found the cave. My sister, Brimstone, Coral, and her son Chirpy had all made it here. The mother and son were huddled at the back, Chirpy silent after the horrible shock to his system. He held close to his mother's chest, as she gently stroked his mane over and over. Her face looked as traumatised as her son after having to carry him through that. Brimstone was near the entrance of the cave, staring out into the black void and little wisps of snowy white in the air that whirled in the blizzard outside.

Of Grizzly and Ragini, nothing was known.

Protégé was near us, helping build the fire to ward off his own chill. Everypony looked weak. I saw a few empty healing potions in the corner, and yet most still bore a good few bruises. It turned out that Glimmer had protected Chirpy with her body in the crash, and taken quite a bad slam in doing so. Protégé had fallen back into the second wagon, explaining why he hadn’t gone out with me. Thankfully, aside from the front engine carriage, the rest hadn't gone right off the edge of the small cliff like mine did, instead sliding and rolling after the twisted rail caught them. My friends had gotten clear either before the fall or had been thrown from the train in the crash. Only the one I'd been in had plummeted right away.

If I hadn't been thrown clear through the window...

“Here, keep drinking, Murk.” Protégé lifted a purple potion to me. “Can you see through your eye again?”

“A-a bit.”

My body still ached. I'd still been recovering as it was, and even after three potions it still didn't feel right. At the very least, I wasn't in any danger anymore. Vision had yet to fully return to my right eye and it all felt swollen. I felt worried, this wasn’t the first time it had happened to my eye, yet the feeling of worrying about any long lasting problems felt trivial, given what slavery had done to my body over the years anyway.

“Yes.” I muttered to Glimmer. “It would be me.”

“Hey, don't feel down about that, lil'bro.” She smiled and gave me a careful squeeze. “As I hear it, you got all the way back up from that lower part of the mountain by yourself in conditions that, by all rights, should have dropped you much earlier than it did. Hell, I'm impressed.”

I blinked, looking up at her with wide eyes. “R-really?”

“Just the wild stallion within driving you on, Murky. You're stronger than you think you are.”

All the same, I saw her looking a little worried. I'd been around Glimmer long enough to see it in her eyes.

“We'll get you out. I'm not going to lose you to some disease when we're this close. We’ll make it. We will.”

“I-I'll try.”

“Just, hang on, okay?” She leaned down and hugged me. “I know it's getting worse. But we'll keep finding you that Radaway. Not long now, just hang on...please...”

She stayed close to me for a little, before patting my shoulder and getting up to go back to her work. She'd recovered a few weapons from the wreckage before they got away, and now spent time trying to keep them clean from all the ice forming over them. I simply tugged my blanket in closer and went back to sipping that foul orange juice to quell the burning in my lungs and throat. I had to go into the back of the cave twice already to throw up and I didn't much feel like it again.

Still, I managed to feel a little better from Glimmer's words. Coral nodded in agreement, before going back to coddling her son. The poor thing barely knew what was happening. All around me, those in the cave were huddling as best they could. It was freezing in here. The walls were lined with a thin layer of ice, and I could feel the hard stone floor numbing me where I sat. I'd tried to just sit quiet and draw with my journal open in front of me, but it wasn't any good. My teeth kept dropping the charcoal.

“S-so, what do we d-do now, Protégé?” I still chattered as I tried to resist the chill of a gust of wind. It swept through the cave past me, and whipped the fire to one side.

“We can't go back out there, n-not now.” I saw him bite his lip, pulling fabric over himself, much like all the others. “We'll need to last the night first, and it's only g-going to get colder as the weather front closes in. In the morning, we'll make a decision.”

“Colder!?” I squeaked a little, before coughing badly.

I heard Brimstone shift back from the entrance and stomp across to the fire before setting down. “Aye. The wind's getting stronger out there. Temperature's going to drop hard. Just keep the fire up.”

Protégé didn't look up but simply nodded blithely, and prodded at the fire a little more. We had a small stack of wood drying beside it that Brimstone had brought in. He was the only one of us properly able to resist the cold out there for any length of time. Brimstone occasionally went for wood; Protégé worked the fire, and managed to produce a small book to distract himself; and Glimmer kept working on our equipment using said warmth. After a little time, she took my battle saddle from me to straighten out the broken parts of it. Seeing the mouthpiece all bent like that genuinely made me feel quite sad. It was my saddle I'd always wanted.

Instead of just simply sitting watching her, I moved over to Coral and Chirpy.

“Is he all right?” I spoke to Coral, sitting in front of her and looking at the shivering little foal.

“He's with me.” She spoke flatly, as though that's all that needed be said.

Chirpy looked at me and, bless his little heart, tried to smile a little. “H-hello mister assistant Murky.”

“Hi, Chirpy.” I leaned over and stroked his mane a little. Truth be told, I was feeling a little protective of him myself. I didn't like seeing foals in hardship. “You gave us a little s-scare back on the train, in that b-box.”

I tried to laugh with it, but he just quaked. “I didn't want t-to make anyone angry. I just wanted to help. You're not angry, are you, mom?”

Coral Eve took a second before shaking her head and clutching him close under the rugs they had over them. “No, darling, not at you.”

“Is it b-because I got my cutie mark without you there?” The poor thing looked on the verge of tears, like he was suddenly afraid he'd done everything wrong these past months.

“No! No, it's not. Mommy's just...just missed you.”

“I missed you too, mom.”

I bit my lip, trying not to intrude. Yet, I could see how upset all this with Chirpy made Coral. If I could maybe even help a little to break the ice on it and help repair this.

“H-how did you get your cutie mark, Chirpy?” I attempted a cheerful tone, and winced internally as I saw Coral's glance at me. I hoped she’d see my point, and let him talk. It was better than nothing. It had to be.

The colt struggled and sat up a little, he looked to Coral as though to see if she agreed to him talking, and saw her nod.

“Well, I-I was in the classroom? We were learning things about how to build stuff, o-okay? All the numbers and angles and cool stuff like that! They were, um, using a lot of really cool things I didn't know yet! I learned to do trigonometry!”

Trigo-what-now? Oh great, there was a ten year old in the cave and I was still the least educated pony for miles.

Chirpy it seemed was getting more into it, looking at myself and Coral alternately as he spoke, gaining speed and volume as it gave him something to think about other than the trauma he'd been through.

“It was really complex and I had so much fun! The teachers s-said I was a natural. Then we did things like...um, like, weights and measuring how much materials could take or hold up! We got to make little things with clay blocks and bricks! Then we learned what makes archways stay up and how to make safety rails really strong!”

Forget it. That decided it. Red Eye was the best thing to ever happen to the wasteland if that last thing was what he was teaching kids.

It was about that moment, to my surprise, I saw the others were looking over too. Even Brimstone, albeit at a diplomatic distance on the opposite side of the fire from them, turned his ear to it all. Chirpy looked a little taken aback by the attention, before continuing.

“Well there, uh, there was this teacher who came in and he was doing architecture with us! We didn't like him 'cos he was stinky and shouted at us if we did it wrong. But, um, he marked my test? It was right but he said it was wrong! He was trying to say it’s the big side squared that's equal to the square root of the other two sides squared! But it's actually just the length of the big side if you're square rooting the other two first! You don't square it too, if you have a square root in the equation already!”

Chirpy coughed, pulling his blanket away a little to show his cutie mark. “Then, uh, he sort of didn't say anything for a while as he worked on it, then this appeared and everypony knew I was right.”

I saw Coral's face flush with abject pride as she heard her little colt reel off things that I imagined neither her nor I got. However, I did see both Protégé and Glimmer grin widely and nod.

“Well done, Chirpy.” Protégé spoke warmly. “I believe I know who you meant too. I may have to remind him of that should I need amusement someday. When you next see hi-”

“Excuse me?” Coral's eyes narrowed, darting up to Protégé's. I saw the slaver flinch. Of course, that moment on the train had been cut rather short. The two shared glances, a tension growing in the room as I heard Glimmer pause her work and look over.

After a few seconds, Protégé turned away and went back to tinkering with his eyepiece between his hooves, clearly not having meant to say it, and regretting the habitual instinct. Coral Eve watched him for a few seconds before simply sighing.

“Well done, my dear. I always knew you'd be a smart colt. I'm proud of you.”

“Aww, thanks mom.” He bashfully leaned into his own shoulder, before he leaned up and hugged her tight. “I don't know what made you angry. I just want everything to be happy.”

“It will be. It will be.” She stroked the back of his mane, mouthing a quiet 'thank you' to me.

Wow. Had I actually made the right choice in helping someone with words?

“Well, well...” Glimmerlight snapped the mouthpiece back into place on my saddle. “We heard your little story, Chirpy. We already know Murky's too. Hey Brim, how'd you gets yours then?”

“For what reason?” He rumbled, looking out and guarding the entrance again.

Glimmer sighed and rolled her eyes at the rest of us. “Look, we're all stuck in this dank cave freezing cold till morning. We can either sit depressed or have something to keep us going. So come on, how did you get that beast of a mark?”

Brim looked back, around at the rest of us and seemed to sigh in exasperation. I didn't imagine his mentality dealt with tough times by sharing stories very much.

“When I killed my first pony. Not much older than the colt there. Father had broken the back of this town over near the Everfree, and we'd all moved into it. Looting, selling off prisoners; usual stuff. I saw this little green-haired filly, one of the villagers, trying to pull her toy back off Limb Hack. He one of the young bucks in the clan at the time, and son of my father's biggest rival; till that rival became me anyway.”

He grunted and adjusted how he was sitting, his one eye staring into the fire.

“Hack fell when she pulled it back off him. He got his knife out just before I went for him. At the time, I only wanted to kick the shi-”

Brimstone paused at Coral's careful cough.

“Hmph, fine...wanted to beat him up because he kept trying to push me around for being younger, despite being almost as big as him already. Quick grower, heh.”

I saw him smirk at some memory.

“Stomped him down from behind. Didn't care about the filly, just wanted an excuse to take him down. Only after it was done, that filly thanked me and galloped off out the town. Dunno what happened to her. Got my mark after that. Thought it was cos I beat a rival. Father said it was.”

Glimmerlight trotted over, patting the side of his enormous shoulder. “But now you're older you see what it actually meant. A shield?”

“Bloody, broken, rusted. Not something you'd see a hero carry. Fits me then. Figured it out years later, but of course I couldn't let that on to the Clan. You don't show weakness. You don't show hesitation. You rule You kill. Only one pony I ever mentioned it to was in the late days when I was getting tired and old. The one pony in the Clan who I knew wouldn't see it as weakness.”

I blinked a little at that. One pony? Hmm.

It was something of a surprise to me that Chirpy didn't seem afraid of Brimstone. He simply sat wide-eyed and listened to the story. Perhaps Protégé had explained things long ago? Or his mother and Glimmer had before I got to the cave?

“Mom, how did you get yours?”

That was that then. The thing to keep us all occupied and distracted from the rapidly dropping temperature was to be cutie mark stories. Slowly, we all ended up closer to the fire, sharing in its warmth as Coral told her tale. That it was off in another village, one far from Creaky Hollow, that she grew up in. How she had, even as a filly, been the one to watch out for the other foals she played with, and matured quickly to take care of them as the eldest of the children.

“Yet, it wasn't until somepony tried to take one of them away that I really figured it out, my first time properly using telekinesis that tore the colt from that slaver's grasp and back to me before we ran. That's when this thing appeared.”

My eyes shifted to her cutie mark, that tidal wave shape. I wasn't sure I got it. Her magic only became like that after her horn rot damaged her control of it.

She must have seen me looking, for she gently explained.

“Water is life, Murky. At the top of it all, it's what takes care of us all as much as air itself. I realised then that it's because I wanted to help other ponies to grow. I felt responsible for them, because I wanted to see them be better than what the wasteland was offering them.”

Glimmerlight nudged her on the shoulder. “And the wave shape to remind nopony to underestimate their power and start messing with them, just like the tidal waves!”

“I suppose you could say that.” I saw a wistful look in Coral's eyes behind that calm smile. One way or the other, she'd lost a lot of what her magic could have been thanks to one stupid disease long ago. I knew how she felt all too readily.

I told mine again after that. My story of how I'd misinterpreted it. Protégé hadn't heard it, nor had Chirpy. My story had to pause every couple of minutes to suck on some Radaway or to shiver deeply. The cold was getting worse. I could see some of us getting paler and drawing everything we could to cover one another. Brimstone even sat right beside me to act as a windbreak, while I chattered my teeth and tried not to tear up while remembering that day on the rock farm. Yet, feeling them all around me, listening intently, I tried to cheer it up. I even tried to make a joke about how it had demolished the part of the wall that some of the other slaves had just spent time building!

A few little smiles grew amongst my friends. I saw Protégé chuckle lightly. The feeling at having said something to make that happen made my chest swell. Murky, the comedian! I could perform in Tenpony! Draw pictures by day and make everypony laugh by night, and be happy forever! Maybe I could even get a show on the radio and tell jokes to the whole wastes.

After about ten seconds, I began to realise everypony was staring at me and wondering why I was giggling madly to myself in my own overactive imagination. All except Chirpy, he was laughing with me, before stopping suddenly and looking around as he realised the 'joke' was over. Biting my lip and blushing, I tried to hide it under a cough and turned to Glimmer.

“So um, how did you get yours?”

“Oh please.” Coral chided, but I saw the little smirk at the edge of her mouth. “There are children in the cave.”

“Oh come on, it's not that bad!” Glimmer protested back, putting hooves on hips.

There was a brief moment of staring between the two, before both just laughed. Oh how it warmed my heart more than any fire against the chill in the air to see that they were finding a little more common ground now. At least, until a whip of cold air surged through the cave. I saw everypony shiver and clutch close to themselves or somepony else. (I was just clamping onto Glimmer to warm her...yes, that was it)

“W-w-well.” Glimmerlight ruffled my mane as I slowly let go. “It's n-not as crazy as my other stories. See, I'd been learning how to do orb work even as a f-foal. It just interested me! I kept thinking how it'd let me relive the best times of my life over and over.”

I saw her clutch her rug tighter around herself. Somehow, I could guess it wasn't just from the cold.

“I guess that's not how it turned out, huh? But regardless, back then we were springing a surprise party for one of the other initiates. Only he stumbled in on it while we were setting it up! I was so disappointed. I'd even painted up a banner after 'acquiring' some paint from the stocks we weren't maybe supposed to touch. The birthday boy, though; he asked me to use my magic on him. To make him forget he'd seen it!”

Despite the cold, she smiled warmly.

“Th-that did it. H-he got a great party from the rest of the younger generation in Bucklyn. I did good with it, and gave him a memory orb of the day. Kinda what I want to do more for again. Like the one I made for you Murky.”

“Hey!” Chirpy poked his head out of the veritable cocoon of fabric his mother had wrapped him in. “C-can you make one for me!? I wanna remember the time we went out and pretended we were saving a Princess from that cave in the woods!”

Something about seeing that look on Glimmer's face as he asked made me feel warmer than any fire. She laughed, agreeing to do so once we got back.

“So what about you?”

Glimmer had spoken again, her head turned toward Protégé. The unicorn looked up, as though surprised somepony asked.

“M-me?”

“Yeah! How did you get that big ornate cutie mark anyhow?”

I saw him look rather unsure, his eyes turning away. He sat a bit apart from anypony else, his dark coat making him seem a little faded in the cave.

“It's...not worth mentioning.”

“Aw, c'mon!” Glimmer encouraged him.

“Really! I mean it!” His voice turned sharper, his head looking to the side. “Just...just while reading something about the past. It appeared then. Th-that's all...”

There was an odd silence. The awkward look on his face said a lot about how little he was describing about that mark he had. The mark of the circling Princesses, simplified as it may be. Yet overlayed with that unusual red eye in the middle. I understood how the past might relate to the Princesses, but that eye made no sense. He got it as a foal, but didn't meet Red Eye till long after. I had a few thoughts about the eye, none I wanted to dare ask.

My mane whipped up, and I heard almost everypony else gasp as a frigid chill raced through the cave from the outside. The fire spluttered, almost blowing out; and without it I began to feel that icy creep of the temperature in the near pitch darkness. Chirpy squeaked and clutched in close to his mother.

“We must rest.” Protégé stated it rather clearly. “We won't be any use tomorrow for this if we are all running on no sleep. We'll take watches, keep the fire going large.”

“I'll take first watch.” Brimstone rumbled and trotted to the side of the cave to cover it as much he could. “Pair up. Body heat will help more than anything right now.”

To be honest, sleep sounded good about now. My body was weak and tired after everything in the last day and that horrid climb in the snow. I saw Coral begin to settle, pulling the blankets around her and Chirpy. Naturally, those two paired well. That sounded good. A chance to just close my eyes, staying warm next to my sist-

I saw her already beside Brimstone, grinning madly at me. I knew exactly why.

“Oh, you're evil.” I hissed at her, trying to look as incredulous as I could.

“I know.” Glimmerlight only smiled innocently back.

Well, nothing for it. I trotted over, dragging my blanket around the fire to sit down beside the slaver who 'owned' me. I could never really forget that fact right now. He was throwing some thin sticks onto the fire, before shifting back against the wall and drawing the blankets up with his magic.

“Are you feeling quite recovered, Murk?” He asked it quietly when I laid down beside him, each wrapped in our own blanket as his magic dropped another one over the top of both of us. I saw Coral and Glimmer do the same for their own pairs near the fire and settle down. Brimstone kept his back to the fire, one hoof protectively around the mare at his side to keep her warm.

Of course, I could see her peeking and very likely enjoying the sight of us lying beside one another to share warmth. She and I needed to have a very big talk one of these days.

“Y-yeah. Just a sh-shock. I know how Chirpy feels.”

“Happens to the best of us, Murk. Don't worry about it. We'll g-get by, like in the metro.”

There was a brief silence between us at that. The metro had been a nightmare for both of us, having to go through that place twice. More so for Protégé, and whatever it had made him realise about himself.

“I guess.” There wasn't much else I could think to say.

“However, I am glad to see you are no longer the slave you once were.”

That caught me off guard. I twisted to look at him, but saw only a serious face looking back from beside me.

“Y-you are?”

“I am. Even from the start, I had wanted to see you be more like yourself. Don't you remember what I told you when we first met? That you had to taste freedom to truly know?” He smiled thinly. “I think you're starting to.”

I'd never really thought of it like that. Sure, I'd told myself I was no slave of my own mind any more. That I was nopony's property. But I'd never really felt that last step of owning true freedom yet. Hearing that from Protégé, well, that meant a lot.

“Now settle down, get some sleep. You'll need it, I imagine.”

It didn't take long for most of us to drift off, despite the cold. I saw Glimmerlight happily lounged over against her protector, warm and recovering. Chirpy went out like a light, his mother taking some time to fall asleep as she just kept staring at him in disbelief. I could see it in her eyes. The fear that if she slept, she would wake up to him gone again. It took her some time to finally relax.

As for myself, I didn't last too long even with the cold. The fire and being close to somepony else under the blankets was enough to let me rest, even if my sleep was light and filled with restless dreams of Unity and the fear of what would happen if I didn't use this opportunity to get her back.

Just hold on, Unity. I'll be there for you.

Just like you had been for me so many times before.

I found myself waking in the middle of the night.

Slowly, I shifted, opening heavy eyes to see the fire burning bright before me. Brimstone sat watching the cave entrance like some immovable sentinel. He hadn't woken any of us.

“Murk?”

I looked to my side. Protégé lay on his front there, tired eyes looking over at me.

“Can't sleep?”

I lay down on my belly, sighing.

“I can, or could. I'm just not used to feeling like this. So much happening, so many things; such, um, scale?”

“Scale is correct.”

“Yeah, such scale of everything. I just, uh, can't settle for long. All my life I was always catching small naps and knowing nothing was really happening. Now everything is happening, and I just don't know how to switch off.”

He nodded, turning his head to look back at me more properly. I could feel him shivering through the blanket. Clearly he was as unused to the cold as I was. Heck, he probably had the same trouble sleeping as I did.

“Just try to think on something that's a constant to you, Murk. Like your friends, or your greatest dreams.”

“Mhm.” I nodded, seeing my journal lying to the side, a thin layer of frost over it. “Protégé can, uh, I ask something?”

He looked surprised, before slowly nodding. “Of course, as always.”

“How did you get your cutie mark? I mean, you wouldn't have known Red Eye when you got it.”

Protégé went rather still, his eyes taking on a sad and faraway look. Slowly, I felt him shift and get his hooves below him to lay more properly.

“I did not feel comfortable speaking of it amongst all listening. I'm sorry.”

“I, uh, understand?”

Protégé didn't acknowledge my words at all. “Speaking to you though, as somepony who understands what it's like, I suppose I might feel better about explaining. Suffice to say, you have made a mistake. Yes, my mark bears a shape similar to that of Princess Celestia of the sun and Princess Luna of the moon, their symbol from an old world. The red eye is...”

I saw him make a gesture not common to him: a nervous biting of his lip.

“Suffice to say, times were...different when I was brought to Fillydelphia than when you were Murk. Master Red Eye was still gaining much of his control over the slavers. A great number carried out the things they did before being employed. Ways of...identifying their slaves.”

I felt a shoot of cold down my spine. It wasn't the temperature of the cave.

“That eye is not my cutie mark, Murk.” He sighed. “It's a brand.”

I didn't even know what to say. I really didn't. Of course I wouldn't have known. Protégé had been a slave here years before myself. Any others who had fallen prey to such a horrific practice would no longer be alive in Fillydelphia's conditions by now.

“I-I'm sor-”

He continued quickly. “Yet, scar or not. It is a part of me now. I signify it in my mind, wear it proudly to cast away the terror and loss of self that they sought to impress upon me. I feel no shame...”

‘Frankly, Protégé,’ I thought to myself, ‘you don't sound it.’

Yet at this moment, I would never dare imply that out loud. The topic needed to change. If it didn't, I knew I was liable to want to blurt some awkward pity. All the same, I couldn't help but lay a hoof on his shoulder through the blankets, just to let him know he didn't have to consider it a shameful thing to talk about.

“So, you said you read something to, um, get your real mark. What was it?”

He settled down and made a small smile again. “The old world, Murk. A book written by Twilight Sparkle herself. 'The Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide, Version Two.’ Covering the history of them till our modern day. Once I finished, I saw my own mark upon my flank. After reading of Celestia and Luna, the balance of that which was once great. Yet it was not reading of peace that brought me to realising what it was I wanted to recreate. No, it was the upheaval and restoration that stemmed from it. The tale of Nightmare Moon. When an imbalance brought the land into darkness, and there lay a terrible choice at the hooves of those who could save it.”

Eyes closed as though remembering it all, he spoke in a hushed conviction, as we huddled together and tried not to wake the others with our talk. If Brimstone heard, he gave no sign.

“The older sister, Celestia, she had to bring the world to the light once more, even if that meant having to sacrifice her own sister to the moon for a thousand years to do it. To commit a dislikeable, yet necessary act for Equestria to survive. Sacrifice, Murk.”

Lying beside him, I thought back to the things my mother had told me. The stories she had imparted to me as well. I knew these myths to some degree, if hazy on names and specifics. I tilted my head, speaking slower than he was.

“But...didn't Nightmare Moon return, and was defeated by six ponies coming together and using the magic of their friendship to make a more lasting solution? You said you finished the book before seeing your mark so, um, m-maybe you got it from, uh...”

There was a silence as he looked right at me, staring through my eyes.

“...uh, that bit?”

Protégé looked at me for some long seconds, clearly thinking, before making a dismissive sound, and lay down again.

“Try and get some sleep, Murk.”

“I...”

“There is a lot to do tomorrow.”

That was that. He turned away, lying with his back against my side as I settled down beside him again to try and daze off. It actually stung me inside, and made me feel wretched to look on him. To see somepony with as much courage, intelligence, and kindness so indentured. He could have been somepony so much greater.

Please, Protégé. Why do you have to follow him? Why use that loyalty you speak so highly of on Red Eye?

Morning didn't feel much better than the night before.

We had left the cave promptly, Brimstone having woken us at sunrise. The big raider had taken watch all night, not holding to his word to wake anypony else up to replace him. Somehow, I had a feeling that had been his plan all along.

After a brief inventory and packing up of our things, we left anything not immediately needed in the cave and moved out into the deep snow. Heavy mountain mist ghosted in the crisp morning air around jagged rocks and steep slopes of satin white. Coral and I had crafted our woollen blankets into things we could wear, sewing rough winter barding together against the icy air.

Our mission hadn't changed. We needed to find where the trains stopped up here, and get in. Using my PipBuck and his E.F.S, Protégé led the way by waypoints and maps. Glimmerlight came behind him, alongside Brimstone and myself. To keep me from the snow, I'd spent much of the journey on Brimstone's back much in the same way Chirpy rode on Coral with his little hooves wrapped around her neck. I really hated having to be cared for like this, but my sickness left us no choice. I'd burn every bit of anti-rad medicine we had if I were to wade in that stuff again.

All the same, while I had found it a land of haunting snowy trees last night, today it almost seemed like a new world. Stunning, clear views reached out before me every time the mist cleared in the immense, mountain range. Below, I could see the slopes leading to the valley that held Fillydelphia, a sight that had be yearning to stop and sketch. I contented myself with just staring wide-eyed at it all, seeing the world from a new perspective up here, so close to where the clouds started. Indeed, the top of the mountain on the other side went right through the cloud layer.

I wondered what was up there.

Even as I stared up, hearing Glimmerlight and Protégé discussing directions ahead of me, my eyes caught something on a ridgeline above us. Something dark and moving.

“Up!” I screamed, pointing a hoof! Weapons were drawn, Brimstone tossed me down below him, and I saw Coral's horn light up!

Above us, that shape dived from the ridge, spinning and landing upon a tree branch next to us. The impact shaking the snow from it, bending the trunk as a jet black griffon gripped it with her talons.

“Been looking for you lot all morning. Late risers?” Ragini smirked, before nodding more respectfully at Protégé. “Plan still to go ahead?”

“Indeed.” Protégé holstered his revolver, bringing my PipBuck to his face again instead. “The mining camp shouldn't be much farther. I had been hoping you'd spot us around. What of Grizzly?”

“The old stallion's up ahead scouting out the camp. We found it last night in the storm before bedding down nearby. Was considering slitting a few throats out of boredom if you didn't turn up. Follow on, I'll take you to him. This may not be easy, given what we're up against.”

“Then let's take a look. Lead the way.”

A couple of sharp rises and falls later, our slow trek brought us to the outskirts of Grindstone and Shackles' mining camp. I heard it before we saw it; the sounds of slavery were recognisable anywhere. Moving chains, shouted commands, and the ordered crump of hooves in unison over snow. Yet as we reached the ridgeline and Grizzly's hideout beneath a fallen tree, I got my first look.

Nestled within a sheltered basin of a plateau, the camp was definitely not built after the balefire. Well constructed wooden huts still stood strong under the snow upon their roofs. In particular, I saw one building supported on stacked stones and cement beside a railway with small cranes and offloading facilities. Another long hut seemed to be a dormitory! This wasn't just some small refuge, this had been a full facility! My eyes travelled closer to the base of the mountain's peak and saw the entrance to the mines itself.

This was no small door. Over thirty metres tall, it was a colossal mouth on the mountain itself that yawned out from the rock face. Jagged at the top, like teeth ready to snap down shut, it curved around the sides to make a wide entrance that now bore multiple tracks of minecart rails and processions of workers going in and out! I saw carts filled with rock, metals, and even gemstones!

“This used to be a gem mine in the times before. Impressive?”

I felt Protégé shuffle up beside me, the thick overcoats we both wore rubbing in the tiny space of Grizzly's crudely built observation shelter.

“It's, uh...”

“I figured you did find it impressive. It'd explain why your mouth was open.”

Trying not to squeak, I snapped it shut and shook my head. “N-no it wasn't. I was just yawning.”

“Of course.” He tried to grin, but on his tired face it merely looked forced around the deep worry in his eyes. “The peak mining facility was one that was set to be Fillydelphia's next major source of local material. Saves a ton on import fees, I'd presume. Only it got bought out by the Ministry of Arcane Science on account of the high gem yields found within. Not much other documentation, given it only went active and operational a few days before the world ended. I don't think the Ministry even got official confirmation that it was theirs.”

And yet Aurora had been up here long before that, I would bet.

I felt myself squashed to the side, Old Grizzly pushing his unsubtle bulk into the post with us. Pressed between them, I could only squeak when either moved. The old stallion looked down at the station.

“You want to get in there, Protégé?”

“That would be the plan, yes. We need to find whatever it is they want from Aurora to get that door in Ministry Station open and keep it for Master Red Eye, not their little coup.”

Old Grizzly shuffled back a little, turning to look at the younger slaver. “You really think this could become an all-out coup, kid?”

“Master Grizzly, you didn't see what was down in that metro. The old memory machines, the clandestine research, and the effect in the very air itself. The influence with such a facility would see them ready to make a claim for power. If any number of my theories are correct about that place, it would give Shackles a foundation to claim Fillydelphia in Master Red Eye's absence.”

“Very well.”

Hearing Protégé talk of that, I could feel the shiver he made close beside me. I had to talk to him directly about that all. I was the only pony who could possibly understand it. Who had shared it all both in and out. Compared to the stern and confident slavemaster I'd known in the weeks before, it felt almost wrong to see him so fragile, no matter how he spoke or tried to hide it.

There was a shoving from behind. I whimpered and felt myself being shoved down a little as somepony else crammed in. Glimmerlight giggled and shimmied in right on top of me to get to the front, resting her chin on my head after ruffling my mane.

“See? Plenty of room! I've snuggled with more ponies in smaller spaces after a party in Friendship City!” Glimmerlight winked at the three of us. “So what we got?”

“I'd make a joke about three and a half ponies in a post I built for two,” muttered Grizzly, winking at me, “but I think I count as two in my old age. Anyway...”

Grizzly cast a hoof out, pointing around the facility he’s been watching.

“We've got the entire place rounded by a mesh fence topped with wire. Guard posts on each corner, a sealed gate, and ponies watching over the main entrance itself. Slavers trotting everywhere and an old bell I'm guessing they're using as an alarm. There's been some poor sod stuck out in the cold all night manning it.”

I cast my eyes out over the camp itself, following each of the defences he had spotted. Grizzly was right, this was a pretty secure area up on the mountain. I could see a group of bushes leading up to the wire though. I knew at least I could have gotten to the fence itself if it were just me or maybe one other pony. I'd go along that iced up riverbed, stick below those rocks...

Yeah, I could do that. I wouldn't want to, but I was allowed to think of plans too even if I was too much of a coward to actually carry them out!

“Hey! Look lads and ladettes! Da boss is back!”

I heard the shout from the encampment below, shuffling forward a little from under Glimmerlight to stare down. A small group of raiders came pouring out of the dormitory, rushing across the snow toward the gate. Shrinking back a little, I saw the crazed form of Wildcard sauntering through, dragging a gutted mountain beast behind him. It looked like a tusked boar with thick fur.

“Brunch is on me! Carry it in! Get all the thigh bones out! I hate thigh bones! Leave the hips though! I like the hips!”

“Yes, boss! Dis is gonna be great!”

They were his raiders, like the ones in Glimmer's orb!

My sister stayed silent, hunching down low to watch them with me, and seeing those tattooed and pierced monstrosities that called themselves ponies stagger around. They worked with frightening speed to strip and skin the beast right in front of everypony else, like animals! Two of them poured alcohol over the still raw meat, occasionally drinking it themselves. or injecting and crunching more devious substances into both their own bodies or the carcass.

They were drugged into a permanent state of insanity, following the look of their chief, Wildcard. Even as I watched, two played some game with a knife stabbing around their hooves, trying to go faster and closer before it sank deep into the flesh.

The raider merely laughed instead of screamed, holding the limb up with the knife in it, his other hoof pointing to it like a puppet as he made it jiggle.

“Kid, I'm not seeing a way in here. Harsh as it is to tell. If we'd been on that train then maybe in the night we coulda' slunk in but now? With all this in daylight?”

“There has to be a way, Grizzly.” Protégé seethed, clenching his teeth as his eyes looked for a way in. “This is the only way in, we have to make it work!”

Grizzly snorted, casting a glance behind us where Coral waited with Chirpy, Brim, and Ragini. “Not going to be easy if we don't even know who's on our side.”

“Hey!” Glimmer snapped, leaning over me in the tiny area. “That's her son, what did you expect?”

I looked from side to side as they snapped at one another. About who attacked who. About keeping it together. It was all above me, a distant argument as focused on the camp instead.

Something didn't seem right. Sundial had said he went through a small door. That was anything but small! I tried to look for a second way in, one that might fit his description, but nothing caught my eye.

Something else, however, did.

Somepony else did.

I almost shoved past the others, pulling Grizzly's binoculars from his hooves to look through them. He didn't even notice as he half argued with Glimmer and Protégé over how to go about this. I'd seen a whiff of orange and red hair! There, between those huts!

I adjusted the focus. A rather amateur attempt, but after a few tries I finally got something resembling a clear look.

Down between two huts, the colours stood out to me all too clearly. Chained to a doorway, lying on her side below a frayed blanket, I saw Unity! They had her up here already and she was still outside! I fought the urge to rush through with my own plan to sneak in immediately. She looked so cold! Shivering and dirty, her mane unkept and bedraggled. Yet I saw her defiantly stare any slaver that passed her in the eye.

I quietly muttered to myself with a smile, “You go, Unity…”

Behind me, the argument continued.

“If we go in one at a time, we'll get spotted early.”

“Yet if we all go at once, we get spotted together.”

I held a hoof up. “Um, I-I...”

“Brute force will only get us so far too, Protégé. Think a distraction could clear a way for some of us to go inside?”

“M-maybe if w-we, uh...” I tried to make myself heard.

“Yeah, and then who gets left in the killer snow, huh?” Glimmerlight looked at him seriously, “You need everypony you can get in there.”

“Excuse me everypony, I'm so sorry but I-”

I realised they had all suddenly looked at me, and I felt far too much in the spotlight.

“...I mean, um, I might have an idea.”

“Absolutely preposterous!” Grizzly hissed his words. “How are we meant to trust something based on a nothing that you heard in some diary?”

We all sat in cover, a few hundred metres away from the camp to discuss my idea. I hadn't even finished telling it when Grizzly had spoken out.

“You want to sneak in there, get one particular slave, get back out again, and then locate something we don't even know exists!?”

“I trust him!”

“Trust who?” Grizzly threw up his hooves. “Protégé, our best bet is to wait for darkness. Find the next supply train and use that to sneak inside. There is no other method in.”

“But there, um, is!” I blushed, almost falling back behind Glimmerlight. “And It's not all of us! It'll just be, uh, me. I'll sneak in and get Unity out. You all can search for the other way in! It's there, I swear it has to be! There must be something else near to the station, in the rock face or something!”

“If the squirt wants to get that pony out, then he's going to.” Brimstone drowned everypony out rather easily, that empty eye socket staring down Grizzly. “Murky isn't the sharpest tool in the city with some things, but if he says he trusts something, I believe him.”

I sat almost in disbelief. I'd never imagined Brim held that much faith in me.

“As do I.” Coral spoke up, moving behind me. “It only stands to reason to try. You want to wait for nightfall so we can huddle down and barely survive again? Fine. We can hunt until then for this other door.”

“Frankly, I'm not sure what you say is worth much anymore, pony.” Ragini simmered from nearby at Coral, “After that stunt you pulled on the train. Attacking your master, you're lucky I don't just take you off and-”

“Just try.”

Old Grizzly threw his hooves up.

“Enough! We need every pony we can get, distrust or not.” His voice snapped at them both, and he stared them both down. “I don't like your tone, slave. You better learn your place, more allowing slavers present or not. But I equally will not have you throw this away on petty distaste, Ragini. Both of you understand? Just can it. Now, Protégé?”

I saw Coral sit without a change in expression. Grizzly began looking to Protégé as though for aid.

The unicorn sat quietly, before nodding. “Coral Eve is correct. It merely makes logical sense to search for this secondary door while we have the time to do so. What else would we be doing? However, Murk, I am concerned about this idea of yours. Do you really understand the danger? That is Shackles' camp now. If you're caught-”

“I really want to help her.”

To my great surprise, he smiled. Standing up, he moved to the outer edge of the shallow ground we'd cleared of snow. “I understand, Murk. I witnessed your passion to help those you care about in Ministry Station. If you wish to do this, I cannot stop you. Given what you say about this mare, about how Grindstone seems to have appropriated her, it leads me to believe that perhaps she has a greater role to their plans than we may be appreciating. Taking away an asset to them could perhaps aid our own quest here.”

That was a point. I'd never thought about that before, why they had lied about her stallion to get her again. Was it something to do with her special talent? I didn't even truly understand it yet. What was it she’d said?

“I told you my special talent was bringing ponies together, Murky. This is how I do it. To create objects that forever remain as a link between ponies.”

Create objects as a link. A memory? I toyed with that statue in my hands. It was true that sometimes when I held it, I remembered Unity better, I felt more honest with myself when I remembered the times.

Did Unity know memory magic in a way I didn't understand yet? If even possibly true, she had to meet Glimmer. My sister would figure it all out.

Protégé nodded at me and the rest, clustered in our little hole.

“Get ready, Murk. We'll support you from the observation shelter and lay ready to give you two a distraction to get out. They have outlying patrols and buildings that I'm sure Brimstone and the others can bring some attention to instead of you. Meanwhile, Ragini and Grizzly? You two search for this additional way in.”

“Hrmph. Fine.” Grizzly didn't look too pleased, but stood and picked up his old Equestrian Army rifle, “If you believe this is the right idea, Protégé, I won't distrust you. If there's anything out there, we'll find it.”

Ragini nodded, strapping her twin rifles over her shoulders and wing restraints. They headed off immediately, clearly itching to do something other than sit still.

“Now, Murk?” Protégé looked to me and handed over a flare, “Good luck. Fire this off if you need us to start anything.”

I had most of my things on me already. Taking a swig of my canteen to ward off the ambient radiation in the snowy air, I made sure that Rarity's Grace was all loaded and that the grapple gun functioned right too. I had a few of our medical supplies in case Unity needed any. My journal and other unneeded items I left with Coral Eve to save weight, but I kept Unity's little statuette of Littlepip next to my chest. It felt right. Strapping on my goggles and wire cutters from Glimmer's tool kit, I felt as ready as I ever would be.

Actually, that was a complete lie.

The moment I stepped up, hopping over rocks to begin my journey, I felt the dread come down. Could I do this? I'd asked myself this question every time I had to do something myself, and I never felt any better. But this wasn't dark Fillydelphia with all its hiding spots and rules I understood and had in my memory. This was a wasteland, a mountain with horrible, drugged raiders and slavers who weren't playing by anypony's rules anymore! I couldn't...

“Hey, lil'bro. Shall we get going, then?”

She suddenly trotted up next to me, a lever action rifle slung by her side for easier movement. All geared up with her tools and Ranger Initiate robes strapped closer to her body in a more form-fitting style.

“S-sis!?”

Glimmerlight simply grinned and ruffled my mane. “You seriously didn't think I was letting you go into the shit alone, did you? After how far you came for me down in the metro? Let me get fucked over every day if I'm letting you do this without me backing you up.”

Behind us, I heard Brimstone make a deep chuckle. “No change from normal then.”

Glimmer's head bolted around, eyes glaring daggers at the big earth pony sitting with a wry grin. I couldn't help but make a little giggle myself, before being shoved by her hoof and saw her make a little pout.

“I try to act all 'wingmare' for you and this is what I get from you all? Psh...stallions.”

I saw the grin on her face though. She lifted a hoof, and with a little laugh, I bumped mine against hers.

“Let's go rescue your friend, Murky. You and me, the dream team, huh?”

“Hehe, y-yeah...”

Both of us cantered off away from the group. Myself hopping from rock to rock to avoid the snow while trying not to over strain my weakened body. Gradually, we came to the top of the small hill and looked down at the camp. Through my binoculars (He hadn't asked for them back. By my logic, that meant they were mine now!), I saw Unity again, in the same place as before.

“She's still there, sis’.”

“Then let's go get her, Murky.”

Together, we dropped off the hill, sliding or sneaking down into the bushes to make an effort to finally have Unity back and with us as a group. They wouldn't take her from me again. I wouldn't allow it. Not after this time.

Not ever.

Tnk!

“They hear?”

“No...no. Do another.”

Tnk!

Glimmer's cutters sliced through another little bit of wire in her magic. I was glad she was doing this. They looked complicated for hooves. Instead, I sat still and listened out for anything while she made the cuts. The journey up had been tense, but I felt a little surge of pride that the route I'd spotted had worked. We'd gotten to the fence completely unseen!

Tnk!

“Last...one...there!”

Tnk!

The square section of wire popped off rather sharply. We both froze. Looking up, I saw the guard post a dozen metres away behind the bush that obscured this section of wire. A rifle barrel protruded in the opposite direction.

Looking at one another, we breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, her magic lifted the wire away, leaving us with a little hole to squeeze through. I went first, feeling the chill as I pushed my belly close to the icy rock beneath us, and wriggled my way in before quickly rushing between the two nearest huts. Behind me, Glimmerlight shimmied her way through, dragging the block of wire with her. As soon as she reached where I was, her magic settled the piece back roughly where it should be to cover up our way in.

“Hard bit done?” She whispered to me, grinning that grin. Oh how I was happy for that optimism along with me.

“N-no?”

“Pity.”

The huts seemed to be mounted up on short legs to prevent them from being snowed over. Digging a little snow away with my hooves, I pushed my way under the one nearest to me. I didn't feel anything, but a few sips from my refilled canteen felt only the best idea. I'd have to use the snow to get around here in such broad light. Well, light by the wasteland's standards anyway. There was still enough dullness to just fade into shadows behind larger snow drifts against buildings, I thought. That could work. As I moved across the loose stones and hard earth, I heard hooves creaking the floorboards above me, maniacal laughter twinged with curses, and the sound of meat tearing. I gasped, this was the raider's cabin.

I shook my head. They didn't know I was here. Now, to get an idea of my bearings.

Hearing Glimmer squeeze under the hut too, I shifted toward the front and poked a little gap in the snow drift covering that end. A perfect little hidey hole to watch and observe.

A cart bumped past, sliding on the slush kicked up by so much movement in and out of the main place. Across the encampment I tried to look for Unity, but the place I'd seen her was out of sight. Somewhere further up the street. I'd have to knock too big a hole to stick my head out.

Thankfully, I had an old tool that had served me well still on my person. Shoving that little mirror into the snow, I angled it to see further up the street, simply praying it didn't glint too much in the white glare outside. A white mist drew down over the street and blocked my vision. Darn. Patience.

“Murky.”

“Hm?” I looked back quickly to Glimmer. She was looking around the back.

“There are two guards moving down the fence. I don't think they'll see the gap we made, but I think they just came on patrol. They aren't leaving that area. Ah, fuck.”

She hissed the word, clearly having seen them stop, cutting off our route back.

“Could we sneak past?” I bit my lip.

“Not a chance. Not even you.”

I sighed, bonking my head lightly on a leg of the cabin. “You're right. F-fff-feathers.”

She turned back, smirking as she had to adjust where she was lying under the low floor. “Still working on sayin' that, huh? Gotta come from down deep! Can't believe we've not got ya to say it yet.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my mirror. The mist was beginning to lift a little, a harsh wind blowing it away and carrying ice crystals like sharp rain. Blinking as some flew into my hole, I wiped the glass and squinted to see in it.

There she was!

A few cabins up, chained to a supporting beam, I could see her cream body protruding out from the meagre rug. Unfortunately, she was surrounded by slavers. One of them-

Oh no!

One of them picked up her chain, unhooking it from the post! They were...

“Glimmer, they're moving her!”

“Where?”

“I don't know! C-c'mon!”

We had to move! Even as I watched, the slaver started dragging her away, Unity with her head held as high as she could from the collar. Retrieving my mirror, I crawled under the hut and through the snow that had blown under. Let it irradiate me, I needed to get moving! Slavers wandered by the edge, their hooves mere feet from me.

“Hard to get good ale up here. I miss the Roamer.”

“Don't complain. Alternate was to work for Slit. Hear she got given authority over the whole factory district now?”

“...point, mate. Point.”

“Hey! Hey you!”

A third slaver ran up, a big one in somewhat nicer looking clothing. I waved at Glimmer to stop as I saw the form of Grindstone behind him.

“Has there been word from the Ministry yet?” Grindstone's voice was quiet and breathy, yet the slaves stood to rigid attention before him.

“Y-yes, master!”

“Anything on the orb experiments? I haven’t received communication from the old prison in this blizzard.”

They went silent briefly and could see Grindstone's leg step forward.

“Well?” He broke into coughing even as the shouted line was spoke, his apparent aid helping him stay on his hooves.

“Yes, they...they got through this morning and reported another failure, sir. The batch we used, they just can’t handle what its showing them. They aren’t coming out showing what we want. And they’re, well, they’re not really usable again after it...”

Grindstone stomped a hoof in the slush below him and grunted.

“Well then you radio them back and tell them to start again. Use some newer orbs this time, see if that helps. Her notes ended around about this stage of her work, so if you need to find more to test with, then you find more! And get teams checking the stallion in the Ministry again, see if there’ more information in his memories, it got us this far to find her work, and that machine holding him won’t last forever. So get to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, master!”

The pair galloped off, back the way they had came. Grindstone sighed, waved his aid away, and passed by as I breathed a sigh of relief, waving for Glimmer to follow me. How many orbs must they be going through if they were having to find more matches of them?

Briefly, I recalled that the orb machines also required ponies to sit in them, and began to worry about exactly what they needed to ‘replace’. He’d also mentioned that machine I'd found near Mister Peace; the thing with the stallion stuck in it. So it had been what led Grindstone this far? It explained why they knew things we didn't. Some sort of special memory orb machine maybe?

And that stallion. Could he be...

Unity had said that Grindstone was one of her masters, hadn't she? Or was I just making that up to fill gaps? No, it couldn't be. That stallion had looked too clean to be a slave. But what if it was?

Sighing, I knew I needed time to think.

This wasn't going to get easier either. Up above, the floor was cracked, rotted through and with a great many holes to the rooms above. There were...

“Hey how come the boss gives us this shitty room but those wankjobs who never give us no loot get the better one and get first choice of steak?”

I could see raiders above me. About half a dozen of them, three laid out on the floor quivering in spasms while the other three lounged on old seats. One was fiddling with some little rainbow-coloured powder on a table. Another was clamouring, angrily trying to coax more out of an inhaler. The last, the one who's spoken, had multiple bottles of alcohol in his magic at once.

“S-s-s-s-shuuuupp...” The one with the inhaler seemed to vibrate, grinning and scowling back and forth as he smacked the drinker on the side of the face, receiving an almost bestial snap of the teeth in return.

“I'm fucking hungry! That's what! I'm going over there!”

He got up, smashing the bottle on the floor. Shards fell across me and I covered my head. Thick hooves stomped above me before a door slammed, leaving me alone with the disturbingly twitching raiders. They didn't even speak, just laid there or partook in substances I dared not even imagine the potency of. Glimmerlight shuffled up beside me and together we slowly crawled on.

We stopped almost immediately. They'd been talking like Wildcard wasn't there. He was. Just sitting in the corner staring at the wood. I could hear him breathing deeply, sucking in air through his teeth and shivering when it came back out. Not moving, just...breathing.

I tried to ignore him, tried to ignore the thought of that head suddenly turning to look directly at me. He'd know. He always seemed to know. What worried me was just how sane he seemed to be sometimes. Like somehow working out we'd be on that train.

Broken bottles, needles, spilled drink, and bones crowded along with us beneath the floorboards. I had to bite my tongue to not gag as we navigated our way through. I just prayed I didn't feel a little jab on my hide somewhere. There were worse things than sharp edges down here. Above me, I heard a raider scream and thrash, some sort of manic high kicking in before he laughed madly. These raiders were insane.

I almost squeaked out loud as he suddenly moved and rolled onto his back.

Glimmer nudged my shoulder, pulling me back to reality a little. I realised just how much I was shaking while peering up at him right above us, lying still near the other raider who was rolling back and forth on the ground like an animal. Cautiously, I put one hoof in front of the other again, drawing myself toward a gap in the snow drifts on the other side, feeling the wind churning in through it.

“Who's theeeere?”

We both froze. I saw Glimmer's eyes go wide.

“Boss? Is someone there? Who's there, who's there, who's there, who'stherewhosthereWHO'S THERE!?”

The raider above us swivelled, getting up, his hoof near Glimmer's head. He leapt up and down on the spot. I felt Glimmer pushing me to move. Crawling heedlessly, I tried shoving glass aside with the thicker sleeves of my winter clothing. Dragging myself through, I inched toward the hole! Had he seen us?

“I heeear somepony! Somepony around here! Can feel the itchy mane and the twitchy hoof and all the little signs of a sneaky thing!” Wildcard sat up and started scanning the room, breathing deeply with excitement.

The other raider spun in circles, screaming. A half-brick smacked into his head from across the room.

“Shut it! You've 'ad too much o' that shit!”

The manic raider howled, charging his colleague. The table smashed apart. The drug dust flew into the air as they brawled. Others awoke, leaping into the melee. Soon, the floor was splintering and cracking apart as their weight and strikes tore into the rotten wood. Wildcard fell over, howling with laughter at the sight. His hooves banged near me. Sometimes his face looked down, but with eyes closed while laughing

Terrified of him opening his eyes, I hurried onward. We crawled, and crawled, rushing as best we could. I froze as I saw my hoof about to land on a sack of bloodied needles, whimpering when I had to crawl around a wooden post and press over half-rotten brahmin guts that had fallen below their sick den.

Finally, I reached the freezing snow drift and pressed through, biting my sleeve to stop the hyperventilating. Irradiated snow or not, I couldn't help but slow down and try to breathe in the cool air again, before helping pull my sister out. We stumbled through the deep drift to the edge of the building, before I poked my mirror around it, using the raiders' saddlebags they'd left outside as cover for myself.

Unity wasn't hard to spot. She was in the middle of the camp, being taken toward that giant entrance! We'd lose her if she went in!

“G-Glimmer? We're not going to catch her.”

“Yes we will, Murky. We'll-”

“No!” I turned to her, looking her dead in the eyes. “We're not. She's too far. W-we need a distraction!”

She stopped and nodded, understanding what I'd meant. “The flare?”

“We need that to get out. I mean another distraction.” I turned away again to look around. “M-maybe something like them finding another fence cut? Or getting the raiders to fight each other out here? Or...”

“Or I have some fun, and give you a chance to get her.”

I stopped and turned, seeing Glimmerlight leaning back against the hut wall, spilled raider packs beside her from scavenging and juggling a grenade in her hoof with a manic grin.

“Or...that.” I squeaked the words a little, “Will y-you be okay? On your own?”

Glimmer grabbed the apple-shaped ball in her magic the next time it went in the air, settling it into a big robe pocket before drawing her levered carbine off her saddle. “Murky, sweetie? You just concentrate on reaching Unity. I'll give you all the distraction you'll require. I can be quite the mare of action when needed after all. Do remember where I grew up.”

She winked, and I needed no further convincing.

“Good luck, sis’.”

“Just be sure to fire that flare off the moment you get her and I'll come running to find you.”

With that, she checked her load and turned to rush around the opposite side of the hut, disappearing behind a set of old minecarts. I had to remind myself to keep pushing on as I watched after her, thinking myself the luckiest pony in the world to have her as a friend.

“Right.” I took a slow breath and lowered my head down, thinking it all through. “Right, let's um, do this?”

I looked either side of me, seeing no way out that Glimmer hadn't already took. I could keep sneaking under huts, but the snow would take its toll eventually and it was far too close. I needed a new way.

In front of the raider hut, a mass procession of minecarts started to trundle back to the mines after dumping their loads at the train station. Wheeling across the cleared concrete road, they passed in and out of the mist that was settling in again. I rummaged in the raider's pack, locating the whitest sheets or rugs I could before holding them around me. I really hoped that this would work. Who said I had to hide in the dark all the time?

The mist descended, and I ran out.

Clad in white, amongst a near whiteout while the mist passed over, I rushed toward the minecarts. Suddenly, a big form appeared through the whiteout conditions. A slaver! Dodging around her, I heard a shout. Please don't have seen me! Please don't have seen me!

While I darted amongst the crowds, I heard hooves move.

“Who was that? What little weasel is out of line!?”

She had! She'd seen me! The mist was already dropping, it had only been a few seconds! It was supposed to last longer! I ran among the carts, trying to run up the line. Slavers started turning, heads swivelled. Slaves I shoved past complained. This was a really bad idea! The mist had got me into the line, but staying hidden as I inched toward Unity ahead of me was proving so hard! I'd gotten twenty feet, I only needed to go another thirty! She wasn't far ahead! How was I going to get her away from-

“You there! YOU!”

I didn't stop! Looking back, I saw the slaver spot me! She was coming! Carrying a cane in her magic, the slaver rushed for me, outrunning me in a straight line! I almost fell as I spun to shove though!

“What made you think you could leave the line?”

If I could just push through enough of the crowd and carts I could-

There was a sudden eruption of earth from across the camp. A deep and snapping explosion whipped into my ears, like a nail into my skull from the sharp sound that echoed off the mountain face. Tripping, I felt a slave fall over me, burying me under them until I had to squeal and roll out the way of a grinding wagon wheel, feeling it catch my mane for a second while it ran over it!

Chaos broke out amongst the slavers. They clearly hadn't expected an attack up here. I heard multiple whipping shots from the same direction Glimmer had clearly thrown the grenade. There were screams. Automatic fire barked from a guard tower. The slavers were all looking that way!

Up ahead, I saw the slaver taking Unity break for cover, dragging her after him into a hut to take shelter. That was better! From the distance, I heard the heavy retort of a revolver. I remembered that scope on Protégé's sidearm. I guess he wouldn't have just sat idle, flare or not. Amongst the running slaves as they all tried to get off the road and into cover, I sprinted directly for Unity, or rather the hut she was in! In and out! Smash and grab, Murky! Just...without the smashy bit! (Or the grab bit. I didn't think she'd like that, um...)

Ahead of me, I saw Grindstone burst out into the open, the donkey standing out amongst the others. His aid bellowed orders for the frail old slaver, getting the guards to organise and rush for the commotion. They didn't see me, but they were blocking the street!

Swerving to the side, I hopped up onto a barrel and dove between the huts. Well, if I couldn't go under, through, or around, I'd go up! Kicking out my leg, the mouthpiece flipped in front of my mouth, the aiming sight all nicely positioned. Firing my grapple above, I shot it up onto the roof of one of the low huts, using it to pull myself up there. I heard wood crack from the hooks under my weight, being drowned in snow piling off the roof in one massive wave from the impact. Spluttering, I bit down on the battle saddle's grip and felt the mechanism winch me upward until I could grab the roof with my hooves.

Gunfire erupted behind me, a group of slavers peppering a tower where a guard frantically screamed for them to stop. Glimmer sure had them in confusion, firing on each other! The whoop of raiders cheering it on from the sidelines, seemingly oblivious, only served to make the situation feel almost deranged. At least they were-ARGH!

A shot slammed into the roof beside me. On the ground, I saw a slaver screaming at me, the words being lost in the madness. The pistol aimed again, while I screamed and ran across the roof, trying to stay low. I didn't even hear the individual shot, but the hiss of air was as unmistakable as it was terrifying. I slid, almost falling over the slick roof and off it all over again as I galloped and leapt to the next one, disappearing into the deep snow that rested atop it. This was the one Unity was in!

The subtle movement all around me gave enough of a reason to take my mind off that as the snow started to move from this roof too. Ooooh noooo!

Taking me with it, the sloped roof dumped its entire load out the front of the hut. My throat burned from a sudden, hacking cough as some of it got in my mouth. Whether from rads or just choking on the snow, I didn't know. Struggling, I slammed my hook into the fragile roof, scratching deep into it as I slid toward the edge. I slowed, my grappling hook keeping me on the roof, albeit dangling off the edge until I could clamber back up. With it now cleared, I started to look about. I had to stay up here. I'd never get in the front door if it was locked! There had to be a way in the top in such snowy conditions, surely! What architect wouldn't think of that!?

Presumably, the one that created an acid refinery with no safety rails and silly doors that opened both ways, I reminded myself.

All the same, I saw a little trapdoor on the back end, padlocked shut. Switching my saddle to Rarity's Grace I took careful aim, praying nopony else would take a shot at me up here. Then, I bit hard and fired!

And...fired!

...fired?

Click.

The sound almost made me wince from bad memories, only cut back as I chided myself and kicked the safety off it. Pulling the trigger again produced that almost musically polite crack of the small rounds it used, and the padlock pinged off. I took one last look back to where I thought Glimmer was, seeing ponies sheltering from any direction, unsure where the attacker was. Grindstone strode amongst it, but the fighting seemed to be dying down. This was my chance.

Funny, that right before I was about to do it, I felt every weakness come back to me. The fuzziness in my right eye, the pain in my chest, the magically sealed splinter wound from the fall, but I had to do this. Just a little further to get her again.

“C’mon, you can do it Murky!” I willed myself, I had to be brave now! I had to be determined!

I turned, grabbed the edge of the trapdoor with a hoof, and opened it before diving right down into it. Rarity's Grace was ready! It wasn't that high! I even landed on my hooves, and stood ready to hold up the slaver! Legs spread, resolved and ready. I could-

I felt a sudden strike across the back of my head, before suddenly feeling very dizzy indeed...and sore...

Even before I'd gotten a look at the room, I collapsed to the ground.

Somepony was pulling me. Lifting me up. I heard a voice shouting at me.

Urgh, how many times had I gone down hard in pain lately. I hadn’t passed out, but the world felt unsteady.

“...urk...”

The room was spinning. I saw only the haze of lights, blurry messes of colour that spun as I felt the floor again. Somepony grabbed my hoof, pulling me unsteadily up. I blinked a few times, trying to reassert myself.

“Murky!”

With a rush, my senses came back. Gunfire from outside, the crackle of a fire and its warm heat upon my back, and the sight of a shape close to my face...somepony's eyes.

A few more blinks and I finally got my bearings. I was in the cabin. Trashed furniture lay around me as the battle restarted outside. My head hurt. I'd been hit with something like...like a...

I forgot all that, as I refocused to see who it was standing before me. Unity was bent over, trying to keep me from falling. I could feel her wavy mane brushing against me as she put a hoof around to keep me steady.

“I'm sorry, Murky! I'm so sorry! I didn't realise it was you! You just suddenly dropped in front of me! What are you doing here!?”

“I-I came to...wait...” I blinked, wincing as a hoof went to the back of my head, “...didn't realise it was me?”

Blinking more, I looked around. It was a prison cabin, with a thick cage to one side of the room. I could see a slaver lying on the floor, the one who'd been pulling her. He laid there, completely unconscious, with a snapped plank of wood over his head. The cage door hung open, a set of keys still in it.

Gradually, my mind put together the events of a trapped unicorn using telekinesis. Unity had-

...woah. So much for her needing my help.

Despite that, I couldn't help myself from turning in near shock to her, helping myself stay up by leaning on her. Unity shifted me to the desk of the prison, sitting me in the chair, a hoof holding my head up.

“Are you okay? I'm so so sorry! I really didn't mean to. I just-I was trying to get out and-”

“Yes!” I blurted it, “I-I came to get out-I mean you out-I mean out of here! Unity...”

Head hurting or not, I couldn't help but suddenly smile with a small laugh.

“...you're here! I finally found you again!”

I couldn't quite tell if it was just her bruises, exertions, or a genuine blush as she leaned forward and hugged me tightly.

“I'm so glad to see you, Murky. I saw you in that weird station with your friends! Just never thought I'd see you on this mountain. I've been trying to get out myself and get away from these weird places and what they want from me! It was all a trick, Murky! They never took me to Red Eye's Unity. Just straight to Grindstone.”

Her head was over my shoulder as she embraced me, but I felt her suddenly quake a little.

“They said it'd been a lie. He wasn't there. He never had been...” Her voice was strained, clearly not having had anypony to let this out to. “I'm lost, alone again, Murky. I don't know where he is!”

I was no good at comforting ponies much. I simply held my hooves around her for a few seconds, allowing this brief moment of having somepony else friendly nearby, to share in warmth in this cold land. I had to fight myself from blurting out how much I'd worried. How many fears I'd had for her and the struggles since I last saw her. About what I'd learned about Littlepip not escaping or how I'd finally decided I was not a slave, but now wasn't the moment. I simply wanted to make her feel better.

Slowly, she let go and leaned back. “I heard the gunfire, Murky. Saw it as a chance to escape. We should go before whatever it is stops. They wanted me for my talent, Murky! I won't let them have it! We-we have to go, now. We-oh...oh Murky...”

Unity stopped, leaning back.

“Your neck...”

I almost shivered a little as I felt her hoof gently stroke around it. Over the dry, blistered and cracked skin from Shackles' radioactive collar. I so wanted to tell her all about it and just get it out to a friend, but we had to get going. I merely nodded and closed my eyes.

“It's been...been hard.”

“I'm so sorry. I'll listen later, okay? I promise. We have to get out of here.”

Yes, that was true. I nodded, wincing a little more at the pain in my head. I saw a frying pan on the floor and gave her a look after casting my eyes to it. She bit her lip nervously and shrugged.

“It...was just what I had to hoof. Uh, sorry again...”

For some reason, I just chuckled, casting away the pain of thinking about what Shackles had done to me forever. It was all so ridiculous to have finally found the first mare to ever help me, and she immediately whacks me with a frying pan.

An explosion blew in one of the windows. Snow careened into the cabin as we ducked behind the desk. Glass shattered above us, the door blowing open. We both looked out over the top, seeing slavers running around outside.

“What in Equestria's going on? Did you do this?”

“N-no, not exactly!” I took a few breaths, trying to think how best to get out of here.

“Then what are-”

A round blasted through the wooden side of the building, passing right above us and out the other side again! Bullets were more powerful than I thought! Unity pulled me down, asking again.

“What are you doing here if this isn't you?”

“L-long story! But I had to come and get you first! There's some g-good ponies with me! I just...”

I bit my lip hard, fumbling with my many pockets until I came across the statuette she had given me. I felt my cheeks flush a little.

“I just couldn't leave you. You saved my life with this.”

Her eyes went to the little scrap metal model, widening as she saw I still had it.

“We're going to get out, Unity! We'll help you find your stallion, but we need to get out of here. I saw you all chained up and I couldn't just leave you after you did so much, and this statue meant so much to me to help me live when I almost died and...I wanted to come g-get you and-”

Unity's hoof lifted my chin up, stopping my rambling.

“After all this, you kept it?”

I gulped and nodded. She smiled warmly, lifting it in her magic.

“I'm so glad it brought your good luck, Murky. That it meant so much to you. That's my talent you see. To project a sense of memory into something physical. That it can help remind us of somepony we know no matter how far away they are. A memory strand bound to a small item to forever make us feel like we're never quite alone, so long as we still believe in them.”

Her magic tucked it back into my fleece neatly.

“That tells me all the words you could ever say, that you believed enough to come all the way to the ends of the world up here to try and find me again. Now you drop in from the roof like that, huh? Pretty heroic for a stallion like you.”

She prodded my side as we waited for a chance to make a move. I tried not to squeak in embarrassment. She'd called me a stallion. Not just a little buck! Had I grown up that much?

“I, uh, heh...” I gulped, “it isn't just me though.”

“Still, zipping onto the roof to swoop in and try and get me out that cage? Pity I already managed it. Did you think you'd get to be my rescuing knight in shining armour or something?”

Unity giggled a little, clearly just glad for somepony else to be here to even share a joke with. Normally I might have just blushed and stammered, but I simply found myself laughing with her. It was true. I'd come all this way, through fire, snow, and darkness to find her and she'd already broken free herself. Just my life.

Wait a minute...dropped in...

Who said I couldn't go back the same way to get out again!?

I looked upward at the hole I'd come in through. It still lay open enough to fit two ponies!

“Unity, we have to go now. Up and out?” I started to lean upwards using the chair, trying to aim my grapple hook to the edge. “Hold on, I'll um, raise us out!”

“I hope you're better with that thing than when we last tried this, Murky.”

She wrapped her hooves around me, holding on tight. While I took careful, aim, I heard her speak again.

“You know, when I asked your name you just said 'Murky', is that your full name?”

“It...”

Had I only told her that bit? I must have. Why did I do that? Probably I'd just been embarrassed.

I still was.

“It's...the only bit that matters.”

That felt good to say. Throwing off another chain that bound me to what I was. She looked confused, but let it slide. Holding myself still, I bit down on the saddle to let the hook rock out. It flew right through the hole, into the sky above! I'd missed!

Outside, I heard somepony shouting in.

“Retcher, you got that mare? Grindstone wants her in the mine! Safer! Come on, move it!”

Oh dear. Up above, the hook kept flying up. I tried to bite down hard to make it zip back to try again, but that'd take a few seconds!

“Retcher! Come on, buddy!”

“Murky.” Unity hissed into my ear. “Come on!”

I'm trying! The hook came tumbling back to earth, before with a little stroke of an idea, I hopped to the side a little, making it fall and drag back into the roof, catching on the ledge of the trapdoor before it came through! I didn't waste time, biting down to raise us both up slowly, the wire taking our weights fine, if a little sluggishly.

“Retcher you swine, I had to get across under fire to tell you this. Come on you lazy-HEY!”

A slaver ran in the door, rifle at the ready. He saw us lifting toward the hole, almost standing in surprise before the gun raised! Unity's horn lit and I saw his magazine fall out of the weapon, the tug on the weapon causing the one round he'd already chambered to go wild into the roof beside us! My hooves reached up, grabbing the edge of the trapdoor and struggling with all my little might to pull us through, my chest and side stinging badly under my bandages! Crying out in pain, I flopped onto the slick wet roof, feeling Unity roll out after me. We had to get a breath after that, just to-

Crack! The roof exploded into splinters beside me! Then another hole, closer! I shrieked and rolled over again, as Unity went the other way, both of us coming to our hooves. He was firing from below! Clearly a bit dumb to shoot at the mare his master wanted!

“Murky! This way!”

Unity immediately galloped over the roof, trying to keep her footing, leading the way to the edge before simply leaping off! Trusting in her, I did the same, diving headlong away from the wood being carved up by rifle rounds. Dropping to ground level, I landed in the same snow drift she did, sinking deep into it. Spluttering and flopping my hooves around, I strove to get out of it as fast as I could! Was it just my imagination to feel my chest tighten so quickly? The stress? Breathing shallow and fast, I crawled out of it, fumbling for my canteen. Unity popped her head out of the snow, her wavy mane soaked and hanging straight down before clambering after me.

Both of us were shivering, Unity in particular since had no proper winter clothing. Between the two cabins, we could see ponies still firing toward the outskirts of town. Presumably, somepony had spotted that shots were coming from Protégé's position. I heard a guard crying in pain nearby, begging somepony to help him from a gunshot wound. The others had to be ready by now. It was time to meet up, to fire the flare, but this was a really bad place to do it! We needed better cover.

“Wait, wait! I can call for help, but we need to find someplace safe! Do you know anywhere?”

Unity stroked her chin for a second, her other hoof trying to wipe any snow off of her. “There's a small storage area near the fence a couple dozen metres from here, I think. Big iron boxes! Would that work?”

I nodded. Not wasting time, the pair of us galloped off around the back of the cabins together. Slipping on slush or huddling in small places as slavers rushed past, even the short distance felt lethal. Bullets whined over our heads, the slavers firing at their attackers. There were no griffons, Shackles presumably unable to garner any from their loyalty to Red Eye, so the slavers lacked any kind of eye in the sky. Something I imagined Glimmer and Protégé were exploiting for all they could in the thick, mountain terrain.

One cabin was on fire, sending embers floating in the snow toward us as we ran past it! Up ahead, I could see the storage area she meant, a collection of strongboxes for mining equipment. That'd be perfect. It was like a little bunker for anypony of smaller stature like Unity or I. Waiting for a lull in the fighting, we darted toward it. I hadn't gotten a few feet before dust kicked up around my hooves. I heard Unity yelp as more impacted before hers. We almost fell into one another, rounds dancing off the ground as somepony aimed at us! They were trying to hit us!

Thankfully, Unity had apparently more calm than I did under fire! A slab of metal lifted from the storage area in her magic, whizzing out to stand between us and incoming fire. Small indents bulged near my head as rounds hit it. Some flew right through it and narrowly missed us! I felt splinters of metal shoot off the back of the floating plate, stinging as they pinged and cut at us, before we both leapt into better cover. We both stuck low, and I fumbled with my saddlebag. I needed that flare!

In the distance, I could hear voices shouting. Wildcard's whoop as he rushed out somewhere. I dearly hoped it wasn't for my sister.

I couldn't help but keep trying to force down the feeling that I hadn't heard Shackles around here yet. I knew he was here, hopefully just inside and not waiting to pounce again out here.

The last time I was escaping him, it had been to get Lilac away.

I never forgot the heartbreak he had caused in me after catching me escaping.

No...not this time. Not ever again! Not with Unity!

I felt that flare inside. It would call in my friends! I wasn't alone this time and they would help me get her out of this nightmare for the last time! Unity was going to join us and this was the moment when it happened!

Drawing it out, I finally got a good look at it. Long and red with Pinkie's grinning face on it. Amongst the madness of a firefight, I could have sworn it winked at me. Pinkie, not now...

A round sparked off the cover we were in. I heard Unity cry out and duck down. We huddled together, the fire kicking up around our hooves as others got closer. I dropped the flare! There was so much fire! We needed help now! Screaming to try and make myself brave (It made sense to me!), I dove out, grabbed the flare, pointed skyward, and pulled the ignition string!

With a magical crackle, sparkles collected around the tip, before half of the stick rocketed up into the sky. I lay on my back right below it, watching it soar into the sky. Beside me, Unity followed it up with her eyes as the glowing, crimson projectile flew higher and higher before erupting into an intense glare of light! Exploding in the air, it made the shape of a grinning pony, before falling into becoming a lit beacon hanging in the wind to fall slowly, casting a haze across the entire mining camp.

“I sure hope they can help, Murky! Your friends looked powerful last time I saw them in that metro station!”

She pulled me back into cover, as I glanced over to see those firing at us stop to look up at the light. I heard in the distance a sudden, all too recognisable, warcry. A half-ring of snow fired into the air outside of the compound after it. Brimstone and Coral were doing their work. I felt myself grinning. My friends were coming. I'd gotten to Unity, found she was safe, and now we only had to get out!

“They will!” I smiled and shouted to Unity as we lay beneath the sparkling hue of the flare above. “My sister, she's coming! Glimmer said she'd come to wherever the flare went off from! She'll be along any minute!”

Nearby, I heard a sudden crack of a rifle. Was that her trying to get to us now? A small gunfight broke out, then died off again as somepony hid. Then a few more shots...and another, getting closer! That was her! I could recognise her short-barrelled rifle's sound!

“Your sister you told me about, huh?” Unity smiled widely. “Glad to get to meet her if she's the one coming to bail us out!”

“Oh!” I felt my face flush as I heard Glimmer's voice in the distance coming closer while firing. “You'll love Glimmer! Such a great sister! She's really kind and sweet and caring and really funny and just so nice to everypony and-”

Glimmerlight suddenly emerged at the gallop through the snowy mist, screaming at those she shot at.

“Thought you could take a damn shot at me, huh!? Have some of this then, you fat-assed, inaccurate cunts! Hope whoever it was that skiffed my fantastic flank gets a bullet through his dick for that, you fuckers!”

Glimmer raised her rifle and cracked off two more shots, her magic levering the action rapidly, before diving headfirst in and rolling up between the two of us. She was grinning wildly from the exaltation of a battle, her adrenaline high.

“Oh hi, kids! You see this, Murky? That bastard almost got me! Look!”

She twisted, proudly showing the side of her flank near her cutie mark to myself and Unity pretty bluntly, the small seep of blood from a very minor wound across it. She seemed to miss my aghast expression as she pulled her robes back down again.

“How fucking wrong is that? That's like a buck I once knew wanted me to put on his cousin's dress while he did me over his desk! Like hell! Just what kind of sicko shoots at somepony's ass!?”

Unity cast a sideways glance at me, her slight grin saying it without even having to speak a word. I just blushed and shrugged.

After a few seconds, my sister looked from one of us to the other and rapidly shook Unity's hoof.

“So Murky found ya, huh? Good to meet you, Unity! I'm his big sis'! Betcha he's told you all about me. He's sure told me all about you!”

She cast a little wink to me, before looking back at Unity. I tried to hide my face in my hooves.

“Oh, has he? It's...lovely to meet you, Glimmerlight.” Unity blew a strand of her mane from her face and shook Glimmer's hoof back. “I can't wait to meet the rest of his friends. Shall we perhaps, y'know, go do that? I'm all for bonding and the friendship of Equestria but...”

“But not under fire?” Glimmer accentuated it by blind-firing over our heads to keep the slavers back.

“Rather.” Unity nodded a little. “Got any ideas?”

“Always.” Glimmer smiled widely. “Not all them exactly relevant but I'm sure I've got one that works! This way!”

For all her joking, Glimmerlight was pretty serious about getting us moving. Her magic tugged me up, shoving me ahead as she gave us cover. Unity and I ran behind the cabins again, swiftly followed by my sister. Up ahead, I saw a guard out of a back door. He was turning this way! With a flip of my hoof, I brought up the saddle's mouthpiece and bit hard, firing the remaining two shots from Rarity's Grace down the line between the huts! Pings off of the wood and stone signalled I'd missed, but I saw him scream and leap back inside again.

“Can't say I ever imagined you to be the shooting sort, Murky!” Unity got back up from the gap she'd hid behind.

“I'm still not, really!”

Glimmerlight leaned around the hut behind us and fired again, before rapidly reloading, her magic doing all the work.

“Lil'bro! What's up ahead?”

Leaning ahead, I poked under the raised huts. I couldn't see any hooves running nearby, but there were some up closer to where we had come inside! They were going to come this way!

“Sis! They're coming in a second! We're trapped! The way under the wire's blocked off!”

“Ah, shit.” She swore deeply, looking back up herself to see, and pulling a grenade from her pack again. “Maybe if I...”

“Wait!” Unity cried out, gently taking the grenade from Glimmer and moving to the wire nearer us, shoving the grenade under it. “Get behind something! We'll blow a hole under it in the soft ground! It's just all dirt up here under the snow!”

Glimmerlight shared a glance with me as we ducked behind cover, Unity joining us a second after setting the grenade to go off.

“Hey, seems the damsel in distress is rescuing us, Murky!”

I rolled my eyes, hearing Unity chuckle. “Not the first time.”

Covering my ears with my hooves, I cringed and waited for the-

The sudden blast of the nearby explosive sent a shock of pain shrieking through my body. Dizzied, ears ringing, I felt Glimmer lift and pull me along with them through the hole under the wire. I saw snow kicking up from rounds as everypony looked toward the explosion. I saw one smack into the side of Glimmer's saddlebag and deflect off something yet still bowl her over with a cry. Amongst my silent, deafened state, I only felt my mouth moving as I screamed something to her, Unity and I both tugging her along, trying to get behind some rocks outside the compound's perimeter.

We were pinned. We were outside, but unable to move! Shaking as sound returned, I tried to look for any help. The fire was coming from a guard tower. I saw ponies trying to re-angle a fully-blown machine gun to face us! I felt panic rise, we couldn’t dodge that!

The pony I was looking at had his head evaporated.

The one beside him screamed, covered in blood, before his neck exploded, gurgling as he went down. I could still hear his hooves kicking at the tower walls.

“Up here, you stupid ponies! Come on, flightless! Move!”

Ragini rushed down the rocks, scoped rifle in talon as her other arm waved us away. Glimmerlight choked and grit her teeth, getting up to move on her own. Unity and I helped one another, pushing up through the snow toward the crest of the hill surrounding the camp. If we could just get over it! Ragini took a couple more shots, before switching to her energy rifle, firing scything, red blasts toward the camp that snapped and hissed as they struck snow-covered roofing.

I could see Old Grizzly up ahead. His eyes lit up as he saw Unity, one of his 'favoured' slaves. The big earth pony was aiding Ragini, firing with his army rifle to support her as she too pulled back.

“You were right about that other entrance, kid! Come on! We'll lead the way, it's not far! Was some old emergency exit from the mines or something! Not actually hard to find!”

He pulled Unity over the rocks while Glimmer and I struggled over ourselves. I was struggling to breathe. I'd clambered through snow the whole way. The radiation wasn't so bad, but it made me wheeze, combined with my lack of air at the best of times. I sat sweating in the cold as I fought to suck air down.

“Where's...the...others?”

“Distracting that lot on the other side. Follow us, we'll get you there!”

Old Grizzly and Ragini didn't hesitate, moving off immediately. Looking down the length of the hill, I could see Protégé in the observation shelter, using the scope on his revolver as best he could, Chirpy hidden down beside him. Closer to the compound, I saw an old, rickety building explode as Coral shattered the entire small structure, a couple of slavers going with it! Brimstone's warcry was somewhere in the distance. I saw Ragini wave to her master, who then waved down to Coral. The signal was out, we were pulling back to the entrance.

So began a series of terrifying ordeals. Slavers were chasing us as we fled across the deep snow. We took cover behind thin trees and small rocks as best we could. I caught glimpses of Brimstone, always at the back, hurling things or making counterattacks toward them. A true example of his fieldcraft at work, brute strength being only one of his talents. He kept engaging them amongst rock formations, or when they crested a hill he was waiting below. The cold intelligence he bore to slow their advance was as fascinating in its operation as it was terrifying to behold.

Coral Eve carried her son, galloping near Protégé. With her child, she took no chances, rushing as far as she could instead of sticking around to fight. Glimmer and Ragini took her place, stopping to take potshots or snipe as slavers made their way toward us. Three times I was pinned, with no cover other than having to dig into the snow itself and pray they didn't shoot near me. Three times I had to gulp the remainder of my canteen out of fear of the radiation in the snow. Unity was sometimes with me, other times with Grizzly.

Five long minutes of terror, fleeing and worrying for everypony around me as I felt my energy reserves rapidly drop. Unity was flagging too, not exactly having been treated well in their hooves. It stung me to see her look as dirty and bedraggled as any slave. She deserved better.

The slavers eventually seemed to cease the chase as the weather closed in. A heavy snowstorm kicked up with mist to match it. Strong winds tore at us and drove the fighting apart. I heard Grizzly shout that we were close, but his voice faded into the distance. In an instant, I found myself rather isolated from most of them, only the nearby Glimmer and Unity with me.

“Glimmer! Unity! D-don't wander!”

“I won't, Murky!” Glimmer moved closer to me. “Stick together here! I-it's gonna get c-colder again as this mist comes down! K-keep moving the way we were.”

“C-chin up, Murky. We'll make it!” Unity tried to smile, but shivered all the worse. I saw Glimmerlight drift a thicker coat to the almost bare slave, providing at least something to protect from the wind.

This mist was getting worse, visibility was disappearing faster than we could move. Snowfall got in our eyes. We had to be close now! How much farther was it? Passing a tree, I saw it bending and tossing so hard that it looked like it wanted to tear itself from the ground under the wind!

Then we heard something echoing amongst the mountains. An animalistic howl. Another, then another. Pony voices mimicking the cries of wolves. I froze just as Glimmer did. We shared a glance. Both of us recognised them from earlier. From a memory.

“Wildcard's raiders.”

They were on the hunt. I could hear them whooping nearby. Just like the lands near Creaky Hollow, the drug-addled psychopaths were bounding, heedless of the cold, through the snowy forest. I heard screams of finding tracks, bloodthirsty promises, and even the occasional gunshot into the air. Sometimes, I thought I saw dark shapes moving amongst the trees. They had overtaken us!

“Keep moving Murky. Just keep moving. Keep moving!”

She sounded as scared as I felt. Holding close to one another, we staggered and tripped over hidden trunks and rocks in the snow. I felt ill inside, my chest tightening for sure this time. I struggled not to cough. Not now.

We just couldn't see! I even tried to check my PipBuck but it hadn't been anywhere near this entrance to maybe spot it on the map. At least not without the indicator. Only an E.F.S would give me to locate things!

“Tracks! Yeeeeah tracks! Followfollowfollow!”

“Coming to get yooooou!”

They barked and sung behind us. It was definitely our tracks! Pulling at Glimmer, I whispered into her ear.

“We can't outrun them. We don't know where we're going. They do!”

My sister thought for a second, looking around. Then she suddenly galloped up an incline toward a large rock sitting precariously, settling down behind it.

“Then we ambush them, Murky. Just like in the memory. Only this time, I win.”

We waited.

Without really intending to, the three of us somewhat crowded together against the cold. Unity was between the two of us given her lack of winter clothing. I could feel her shivering as much as I was and hear the chattering of her teeth. She gripped my front leg and pulled me into a small hug.

“I n-never said thanks, Murky...for coming.”

“It's, um, okay.” I muttered.

“Really. I just...I didn't know what was happening. I don't know what's going on anymore. I just...can't remember. I don't even know why.”

She sank her head down, but Glimmerlight lifted a hoof and rubbed her back.

“Hey, hun?”

Unity lifted her head, and Glimmer smiled.

“When we get away from this forsaken mountain, give me a chance. Memory's my thing. Whatever talent you have, those slavers wanted it. I'm sure you saw in that station that all this is to do with memory magic. Maybe that's got something to do with it?”

Unity nodded, her head shivering badly against the cold. So was I. The snow was beginning to form around us.

“Just give me a chance, “Glimmer continued, “I'll take a look into your mind, see if I can maybe draw out anything forgotten into an orb. Then we'll see.”

My sister looked at me and smiled.

“Get to use my talent on something good for a change.”

Softly, I leaned in, hugging both of them tightly.

We'd figure it out. We'd figure it all out. Together.

There wasn't much opportunity to enjoy the moment, unfortunately. My ears twitched, a sound coming in across the nearby area. There was somepony coming.

Seeing my ear perk up, Glimmerlight swivelled around, weapon aimed. I hunkered down, closing my eyes as Unity and I held close behind the rock, trying to hear from where and who! It was soft...just tiny steps...and crying?

“Wait a minute…”

I stepped out from behind the rock, hearing Glimmer hiss for me to get back. This was no raider! I rushed down the incline again, into the mist to the area we aimed to catch them in! A small shape was forming through it all. A very small shape, a foal!

Chirpy!

I found him staggering forward, crying his little eyes out and turning pale from the cold. Shivering as he stumbled through deep snow, the little foal collapsed as he saw me. I rushed forward, catching him only to find little legs pulling into my neck.

“M-M-Mister Murky I-I lost her! W-we fell when they shot at us! I can't find my mom!” He wailed into my neck. “I can't find anypony else!”

“Ssh...ssh...” I stroked his mane, turning to carry him back. “Auntie Glim-Glim's up there. We got you.”

The name I hoped would calm him, somepony he dearly loved. I just heard him cry more, worried for his mother. I knew the feeling. I-

More sounds came to my ears. More ponies galloping around. Coming this way! I realised starkly just how close they were by the sounds they made! I heard them froth and scowl, a horn blew. They really were thoroughbred hunters beneath all the substances!

Turning, I tried to get going, to run! But they were so close, I wasn't even half way back before I heard one scream.

“There he is! He's got the little morsel!”

Screaming, I tried to run, but carrying another pony when I felt so numb and weak was never easy. Behind me, out of the forest, there came three raiders. Whirling nets above them and drooling openly below slack mouths they quivered and charged at me.

Glimmer's rifle rang out, and I saw one drop, his knee exploding. Immediately after, a second shot slammed into their chest. Glimmer had learned her lesson. She wasn't allowing those pain-killing drugs that Wildcard's bunch used to have any chance to help them!

I dropped to the ground to give Glimmer clear line of sight, but found the raiders had opened fire at her instead. Rounds whizzed and cracked over my head and chipped off the rock. I lay in the middle of the gunfight, quivering and holding Chirpy beneath me.

I heard Glimmerlight shift to the side, moving away from her position in the mist. To my luck, with the threat of Glimmer out there, the raiders avoided me, seeing where I was as a killbox for any other shooters.

“Don't you worry little buck! We'll come for you soon enough! Chomp-chomp! Wildy wants you again! He doesn't get to kill many ponies twice!”

My hooves rattled against my own head as I shook and tried to drown them out. No, I’d not allow that, I wouldn’t!

Nearby, I heard and slightly saw Glimmer suddenly raise from behind bark, rifle aimed. But even from where I was, I couldn't see the raiders. They had dropped down behind old, dead vegetation.

“Shit.” Glimmerlight muttered to herself, before looking at me.

I nodded my head toward a set of bracken I could hear some sounds from. This close, I could hear their wheezing breaths. Glimmer suddenly span her rifle and fired into that location. A raider cried out in pain, and fell out of cover, clutching her neck. Glimmerlight fired again, and again. The shots slammed into the raider's sternum twice, but she simply kept moving. I saw her fumbling with a series of needles, unable to gather the concentration to use them. Slowly, I watched her bleed out.

Behind me, Glimmerlight moved cautiously forward again, keeping behind any bracken and trees. The waiting game was on again. Only, Glimmer had to use so many shots on these raiders that I knew she only had a couple rounds left at most. Thankfully there was only one left.

Near to me, the raider she'd first shot twitched, then rolled over, laughing. He kept rolling until he fell into a ditch, a missed shot from Glimmerlight ripping into the earth where he was.

I heard her curse, and knew why. With her lack of rounds, and now two of them to deal with, the odds had just swung back. She had to reload soon, then they'd just rush her. How had that raider survived? Seeing him sit up and roll with such wounds was just wrong!

I had to move. Had to give her a way to know where they were! I had to get Chirpy out of there too! Slowly, I started trying to crawl away from the fire lanes while it was quieter, pulling Chirpy with me. If I didn't get away from this skirmish quickly, they'd use me as-

“Don't move, little morsel!”

A sudden burst of gunfire threw up the snow in front of me. Squealing, I froze. Then to my horror, both raiders began to simply stand up. Glimmer's shot whipped forward and snapped one in the shoulder.

The raider kept coming. She didn't care. Simply standing back up, dripping with blood from her shoulder and nose, the tattooed nightmare kept coming! She strode over to me, looking out at the bushes.

“We know you're out there! How many shots left? Want a gamble? Can you shoot both of us before we shoot them?”

I saw the barrel of a gun point at Chirpy. I tried to hide him, to put him behind me! The thought of putting myself in the direct firing line terrified me, but I had to.

“We liiiike a gamble. Likes it, likes it!” The male raider squealed happily. I could see numerous needles in a bracelet. Each was filled with various colours of liquid.

There was no reply from the snow around us. Glimmerlight has disappeared.

“Wanna play, girl?” The raider looked around. “We gots you all caught up! We know you can get one of us, we don't give a shit! Thrill of the gamble, y'see? Wildy's gang likes that shit! C'mon! Try and kill both before we pull the trigger! Which one of us bites it before your runts do?”

I didn't want to imagine what Glimmer was feeling. She was a good shooter, but not that good. I could hear her trying to reload silently, too quietly for the raiders to know. I simply hoped and pleaded that Glimmer be good enough...please. I just didn't want them to shoot. These murderous drug-takers didn't even know reality from the dream. They'd not hesitate to kill Chirpy too, after they'd had their fun!

Yet no shot came immediately. I didn't blame her being unsure over whether to try.

Both raiders made a disappointed sound.

“No show? Well in that case, we'll-”

The boulder we'd hid behind earlier thundered past my vision, blurring through the air to crush the female raider. I heard bones splinter and an eruption of red sprayed upon the snow, as the rock carried the broken body ten feet away and struck the ground like a meteor. Everypony around looked up and across. A haze of unbridled and uncontrolled magical power surged around where it had last resided, linked to where it now lay.

“Oh my…” I breathed, as I turned, and saw the source of the monstrous power.

“Don't...you...dare...point one of those things...”

Coral Eve burned with magical power around her horn, a second layer of magic throbbing around it, her eyes glowing with light, focused entirely on the stunned raider! I saw the rock start to vibrate, as though it were nothing but a pebble.

“AT MY SON!”

The boulder didn't fly at the other raider. The magical energy coursing through it simply shattered it under the sheer pressure of Coral's telekinetic push, with a sound like an artillery shell going off. The storm of fragments snapped trees and dug deep into the ground, while followed by the concussive wave that tore the snow from the ground, and snapped bark. A tremendous crack of air pressure, like a thunderclap, rolled across the mountain valleys, blasting a sphere of empty air around us from the snowfall. A hundred fragments of heavy rock, and an impact like a sledgehammer in the air hit the raider, and I saw no more of them behind the rush of suddenly red snow..

Gradually, as the snowdrops began to fall again in our area, I looked up. Around us, I saw twenty feet of devastation from the rock, heading outward in a cone; trees having fallen to their sides on all sides. Slowly, the mist itself that had been blown away began to settle around us again. At the centre, Coral simply stood panting. Smoke drifted from her dangerously crackling horn, her face a mixture of sheer anger and horrid agony.

And then, there was absolute silence.

Nopony even knew what to say. I could see Unity speechless behind Coral, mouth agape. Glimmerlight emerged from her hiding spot, gun held slackly by the sling. I stood up slowly, shivering so much I could barely even stay upright. Chirpy, beneath me, simply began trotting toward his mother, rushing to her side when she fell over on her side. Using magic cost her dearly. This had drained her utterly. Perhaps even a burnout.

Chirpy clambered up the incline, falling against her side and hugging her neck tightly. Slowly, I saw her hoof raise and wrap around him, holding him close.

Any tranquil moment would have to wait. Through the trees, I heard more raiders. More shouts and commanding voices. Looking from pony to pony, they saw the truth. We had to keep moving. I heard others coming behind Coral, before the huge shape of Brimstone Blitz arrived.

He was, as ever, right to the point.

“Entrance this way, move now. There's a huge hunting party coming this way. Brutus among them.”

I heard him growl the name of his old subordinate. But the name filled me with a fear. The minotaur was coming in the distance. Glimmerlight and Unity went with me, while Brimstone lifted Coral and her son onto his back. If she held any complaints about it being Brim, she didn't say them or simply couldn't.

Behind us, a howl came through the trees.

“I hear you all! I can smell ya like a gumdrop on Hearths Warming Morning, rascal! Wildy's comin'!”

Wildcard was in the forest himself now. If I wasn’t already freezing, I’d have felt a chill.

We galloped, and fled into the lessening mist, disappearing as fast as it had come. I could start to see shapes behind us, a growing mass of darkly clad ponies rushing to catch us. A rock face was ahead as we passed by some buildings. Just small outhouses and shelters, likely how Ragini found the way in. Then suddenly ahead, a small but thick metal door into the mountainside. A rough construction of logs surrounded it, but the metal behind seemed strong enough to deter an army. Grizzly was still pushing it open, with Ragini and Protégé galloping out to help us in. Chirpy leapt onto Protégé's back, while I helped Coral down. Ragini picked up Glimmer, my sister beginning to flag, the bruise on her side growing from the impact earlier.

Even as we stumbled those last few feet, I heard Coral trying to speak to me.

“Just like once before...”

“I know, ssh..um, save your strength?”

She groaned and I pulled her upright. It wasn’t far, but I could hear the raiders leading the charge behind us! Some shots cut through the air above us!

“Helping Glimmer again, she...” Coral coughed, “she deserves it. Even if she needs to...to sort herself out. I still care for her...”

“I know, Coral! Please. Hurry!”

I did know. I'd known for a while, but to hear her say it, that meant a lot. No matter what truths we found out, I knew they would endure the reality and the arguments about it. I had confidence in them.

Hard metal under my hooves told me we'd made it, before passing Coral to Grizzly as he helped her inside to the dark interior. A rock cave with a mounted cage walkway through the middle of it, held aloft by scaffold, even though it was only a foot above the cave floor.

I went back for Unity. I needed to make sure she was fine. There was only her and Brimstone still outside, staring back at the rushing group coming. Ahead of them all, I saw that cybernetic monster with his eyes glowing and pistons whirring as he sprinted implacably through the snow, kicking it up in his wake. Behind it, I saw Grindstone hobbling with the remainder of the slavers, his eyes meeting Unity's and my own.

Wildcard came out of the trees on our left, twin machete's cutting lines in the snow.

Behind them all, atop the hill far back, having been aiming to cut us off if we had gone downhill...I could see that huge silhouette of a massive pony. I knew only one slaver it could be.

He was looking directly at me across hundreds of feet. I couldn't tell any details, but I could feel his eyes burning into me. Slowly, I saw a hoof raise, a collar dangling from it.

Shackles, Grindstone and Wildcard. They were all out there. Yet we had escaped them for now. They couldn't get to us before we closed the door behind us and blocked it. We were safe.

Slowly, we both turned away from them, Unity casting a disgusted look at Grindstone before she went. The two of us trotted together to go inside.

Yet we both turned back as the roaring voice carried across the hills.

“Brimstone Blitz!”

Tinged with electronic noise, the minotaur had finally spoken in a deep voice, carrying a strange accent. That unique tinge to his voice making him sound almost unearthly, inexplicable. Brimstone stopped before being about to pull that door shut once we were through.

“Brimstone Blitz!” The shout came again. “You and I, old Warlord! We shall settle things! The Legend of the Bloodletters! My rightful throne remains to be claimed!”

Those massive metal claws snapped shut, sparking as they each took an entire tree down either side of him in one pincer-like cut!

“Atop this mountain, when the time comes, we shall lay to rest a grudge and story! A duel of titans beneath the sky! You and I, Warlord! You and I!”

Brimstone only stared back, before turning away without a word. I saw on his ruined face a distant look. An old pony almost beyond caring for such 'legendary duels'. Slowly, he simply trotted away without saying anything in return, holding the door ready, and ignoring the taunts from behind him. Unity and I rushed in, getting inside before he slammed it shut, and cast us all into darkness.

I'd done it.

We'd done it.

We had come up here and gotten Unity back.

She was with us! Finally, finally with the rest of us after so long. After so many times being torn apart. I had been through darkness, fire, and ice to find her at the tip of the world, but now after all that, I could only think four words.

It was worth it.

Now we had a real chance to rest in shelter for once before whatever happened next did. Whatever secrets we'd find in here could wait until we were ready again, yet the race was still on. Sleep was beyond the time we had.Indeed, there was scant enough to get off our hooves and take some food and medicine.

The way in led to a small system of tunnels bearing scaffold platforms. Nothing exactly impressive, yet the way the tunnels expanded said a lot about what might lie ahead. In this dark, blank area we simply found spots and took a chance to breathe.

Or at least, try to breathe in my case. Glimmer had seen the truth, but I didn't much want to think on it. The snow was making it worse up here! I was shivering, and feeling hot in my chest. Now more than ever, I felt scared for it claiming me. Not after I’d come so far.

Not only had the scale escalated around me, so had the stakes. The more I found to love, the more I felt I had to lose.

I forced the thought down. I didn't want to think on that now.

To be fair, we were all shivering. The cold of the snow and wind outside had set deep once the adrenaline had worn off. Our clothing was soaked through, and our hooves numb. We each just found our own way to try and take our minds off it for now.

Brimstone Blitz sat silently as ever. Watchful of the ways in, guarding them ceaselessly. He hadn't said anything since Big Brutus had shown up.

Coral Eve lay recovering with her son, Glimmerlight aiding her. Her horn sometimes sparked on its own, lighting the darkness with a thin, blue haze. According to Glimmer, she hadn't burned out, but it had caused her a lot of shock. I hoped she'd be fine. We might need her power. A power I'd been sorely underestimating.

Ragini and Grizzly did some looking around, while Protégé joined them, sometimes. He mostly spent his time with that small book he'd somehow still brought.

Unity and I meanwhile...we simply found somewhere quiet to catch up. She told me of how they had dragged her down to the metro, about the same ambience she had to resist and of how they intended to use her as some sort of 'memory signal projector'.

Finally, I knew why they wanted her.

“My power, you see...” She drew out my statuette that sat between us, atop the page of my journal we'd been looking at, “I told you it's to bring ponies together. It's like I put a little bit of myself or somepony into something simple, like this statue. Not, well, literally. Just a replica, a sensation. A little magical field of memory, so they'll never feel alone or separated when they have it. I used to sell them in Friendship CIty on things like photo frames or treasured items, mostly for those whose lovers went on long caravans. It's like a magical signature. Everypony has one, not just unicorns.”

“So, Grindstone wanted you to do that for something else?” I couldn't help but feel horrible for her, such a beautiful talent to be so misused.

Unity looked down. “Yes. I don't know on what.”

She leaned against my shoulder as her magic flipped more pages in my journal. We went rather quiet. I just didn't know what to say more on it. Gradually, she moved back through the pictures I'd drawn since she had last looked, before looking at how many pages remained past where we'd first met.

“Murky, what's in those earlier pages?”

My heart dropped a little. “J-just...old memories. Before I m-met you. Bad times. I didn't draw happy things then.”

“I'm so sorry.”

There was another soft silence as she respectfully avoided them, instead looking at the ones I'd drawn of my mother, or even herself, and smiling a little. My nerves relaxed somewhat, seeing her chuckle happily at the ones of me flying. Just anything to feel friendly, to calm down.

Soon, I heard somepony trotting up. Protégé moved around the corner and looked briefly at us.

“Unity, I regret I did not get the chance to say hello.” He nodded his head. “Are you quite alright to accompany us?”

Unity nodded, not really coming off my shoulder as he spoke. I sensed that it was similar to Coral and her son. Unity and I were just afraid because of how many times we'd been split apart. My very first friend was finally here with us all.

“I'll be fine, really.”

“Excellent.” Protégé's voice was quiet, weaker than normal. “We'll be moving out soon, you two. You did well back there. We've come this far. Let us push just a little further. See what the source of all this madness truly is.”

He stood there silently for a second, looking at us, before turning and leaving to return to his book. I just couldn't shake how sorry I felt for what he was going through right now, especially as he kept it so private. A determination to succeed for his master, yet his own mind was showing him how vulnerable he'd been to orders and suggestion. Now he just felt so...distant. I'd always thought him a lonely soul. Every time I visited his office in the past for a 'talk', he had always looked suddenly happy, like he craved company. Just like he was deeply missing...some...pony...

My eyes crept back to Unity for a few seconds, watching her look longingly over my drawing of a handsome stallion with a beautiful mare, before looking back the way Protégé had gone. I felt myself wanting to say something, as thoughts gathered, scattered, and revolved in my head for a few seconds of rapid worry.

Hmm...nah. Couldn't be.

Old Grizzly's voice was curt, but authoritative.

“Alright everypony. We have to get going. This game isn't won yet, even if we hold more cards than they do.”

Gradually, we began to get up. I reloaded Rarity's Grace and settled everything on me again, my soaked fleece feeling icky to get into. Unity and I had almost fallen asleep against one another, before being roused to get moving. I could see Coral Eve back on her hooves again. Everypony (and griffon) was ready.

Time to see truly what this was all about. The answers to what this all meant lay just ahead.

Answers that would define what would certainly be the most important few days of my entire life.

“You seem to talk of this mountain like it's...special. Like it's something really defining to you.”

Yes, you could say that...

“...why?”

Well, it's simple, really.

By the end of it, we would know the truth.

“About what?”

Everything.

Footnote: Perk Attained!

Just That Little Further – The end is in sight. Everything stands against you and you feel like you've got nothing more to give, yet you still find the energy to stick it out just that little bit longer or the heart to endure just that little more to perhaps just make it. You may sprint or perform other physical tests for a quarter longer than before.

Next Chapter: The Legacy of Aurora Star Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 14 Minutes