Sky. Such a simple word for something so complex. One word that combined so many things. Sky was light. It was night. It was storms, rain, wind and sun. Well, yes technically each of those was made up of a myriad of other effects but combined they made up something that had such an impact on the lives of ponies in the wasteland.

And somepony had decided to reduce all that to a three letter word.

Shifting in the reclined and plushly padded chair, I turned from my port side window to look around the luxurious, if very outdated, cabin of the Vertibuck. Situated at the back of the cabin, Foxglove and Seafire were playing a game of checkers on a glass and hardwood coffee table in the center of a semicircular sofa; finished in a very deep red fabric that I assumed was velour. In front of me, Mantis snored loudly, his head lolling back in a fully reclined leather chair just like mine. Smoking stared out of a window as he leant against a small minibar, complete with fridge and mini-stove, finished in the same glass and hardwood as the coffee table, watching the wasteland wizz by below us. Xyalia stood placidly watching Foxglove and Seafire play, her lithe zebra physique absorbing the occasional bump or jolt of turbulence with ease. Lastly, I glanced to my left at Helix, curled up and sleeping peacefully on a wide shezlong type affair which was cantilevered off the wall of the cabin and finished in the same red fabric as the sofa. At this angle, her distended tummy was well pronounced and filled me with a strong pang of guilt.

I knew she shouldn’t be with us, I knew she should be back at Stable Twenty-Five, probably looking after Tungsten and taking it easy, but here she was. I still wasn’t sure how she had convinced me to let her come and not to hoof cuff her to the bed. Something about making sure she stayed out of harm's way, being needed as the best doctor or physician in the whole wasteland, and how she couldn’t sit by and not help us save our stable.

Tearing my eyes away, I examined the rest of the cabin interior. Finished in a mix of hardwoods and brushed metal accents, the retro styling it was very comfy and luxurious. It was a shame it was probably going to get ruined with mud and scratched by weapons, but we needed it.

Getting up from my seat, I wandered past Smoking toward the flight room at the front of the craft and slipped inside. This was very different. Everything here looked like it had been lifted straight from the military version of the vehicle. Heavy duty buttons and switches, all large and chunky so that they could be easily hit with a hoof or a wing. They even had small raised dots on every one so that a unicorn could feel and identify switches in the dark. But there was only one way to make the machine fly, and that was with a pegasus.

Minor Wings was strapped into the mechanical harness, gently beating his wings to control the aircraft, flying us through the sky. We were only fifty meters or so off the ground, nowhere near the maximum height the machine could achieve judging by the altimeter, but it was high enough to avoid obstacles and immediate gunfire and low enough to land quickly if there was a problem. This was less about problems with the Vertibuck and more about Minor getting used to flying.

“Hey.” I announced in a low voice, closing the sliding door behind me with a soft click. Minor just nodded, keeping his attention on the controls and world outside. Standing the co-pilots zone I observed the wasteland beneath us passing by, tapping my hoof slowly. “So. How are thing going?”

“Fine.” Minor replied, still focusing on the horizon.

“Good.” I nodded glancing around at the dials. “Need any help?”

“No. Thank you. I’m good.”

“Need any food.”

“No.”

“Anything to drink?”

“N—yes actually.” Minor paused. “There is a sparkle cola in my bags there on the floor.”

“Sure.” I smiled, glad for something to do.

“How are things in the back?” Minor asked as I pulled out the bottle, popping the cap and slipping the newly minted currency into his bag. “It’s very quiet.”

I nodded, floating up the bottle with a piece of medical tube to act as a straw. “I think that's partly because the bulkhead and door are enchanted to reduce noise, just like our tents were, and because there isn’t much happening. Mantis and Helix are asleep. Smoking is silently watching the world go by, Seafire and Foxglove are playing a game of checkers at the back and Xyalia is watching them. But I bet they will all need to sleep again soon enough.”

“What about you?” Minor asked between sips. “How are you after last night?”

I shrugged “I am ok. I suppose. Just sorry we had to leave Tungsten behind.”

“But he’ll recover sooner at Twenty-Five.” Minor added brightly.

“If he recovers at all,” I replied glumly.

Minor didn’t seem to have an answer, or he was too focused on flying to respond. So we both stood quietly in the cabin watching the world roll beneath us. Since leaving Twenty-Five we had passed quickly over an area of mixed shrubland, but that had petered out into a dusty and desolate expanse of earth with no vegetation in sight but the occasional tumbleweed. I didn’t know much about geography, but I was surprised there could be a vast lake one side of a mountain range and what could easily be describe as a desert on the other. It didn’t look like it had rained here in years.

We’d been flying at a considerable pace for eight hours now, and it had just been mile after mile of arid, cracked dirt. At least it meant we were unlikely to be attacked as we flew as there was nowhere for ponies to hide and no reason for them to be out this far. I was glad we had the Vertibuck, unable to imagine how we would have coped spending seven days trekking across this terrain.

“Hey.” Minor’s curious voice brought me back to reality.

“What?” I asked, immediately following Minor’s outstretched hoof and got rather a surprise. In the distance a tower, or more precisely, a spire stuck out of the desert floor, surrounded by a few dozen smaller lumps. “What the heck is that?”

“I have no idea. Look, there are more buildings around it.”

“How far away is that?” I asked, leaning forwards to get a better look.

“Less than two miles now, and closing. We’ll be over it in just under five minutes.” Minor glanced at me for the first time since I’d entered. “Do you want me to stop?”

“I’ll go rouse Mantis, maybe he knows this place.”

Slipping into the rear compartment, I prodded the sleeping green lump awake.

“Hey, Mantis. Wake up.”

“Huh.. what.. uh.” He sat up, his hat falling off his head as he looked up at me. “Yeah, what?”

“We’ve spotted what looks like a church or spire sticking out of the dirt.”

“Wow, are we there already?” Mantis pulled himself up and made his way into the cockpit and stared out at the approaching obelisk and the collection of what was now quite clearly smaller buildings spreading out from its base. “Yeah, this was the place I was going to suggest we stay on our third night. Don’t know its real name, I just know it as Dirtville.”

“Dirtville?” I dead panned. “Imaginative.”

“Yeah, Dirtville.” Mantis rubbed the sleep from his eyes and turned back to the cabin. “It’ll be getting dark in a few hours, so I suggest we set down and make for the spire. We won’t be needing the tents.”

“Is it safe to land?” Minor asked cautiously. “What if we land above another building and it collapses or something.”

Mantis just shrugged. “Well, I’ve never had that problem so… just be ready to take off again.”

Mantis and I moved back into the rear area and began to kit up.

“What’s going on?” Seafire asked. “Something wrong?”

“No, we’re just close to the place Mantis had planned for us to sleep, so we’re going to set down, scout it out before setting up camp.” I replied, slipping into my ASA suit.

“Their should be no one around, it’s been deserted every time I’ve stayed there.” Mantis slung his sniper rifle over his back and pulled on his hat. “But it’s best to be prepared.”

As Seafire helped Foxglove prepare herself, I moved over to rouse Helix. “Hey,” I whispered in her ear, my hoof stroking her mane. “Hey, wake up.” My love's eyes fluttered open. “Hey sleepy.” I kissed her on the forehead. “You need to armour up. We’re about to set down and set up camp for the night, but we need to be cautious.”

Helix smiled at me and returned my kiss. “Sure.” I passed her Tun’s old barding and helped her into it. “I’ll stay at the back, out of the way.”

“Good idea.” I smiled, relieved she’d offered without my needing to prompt her.

Minor tilted into a gentle bank and orbited our intended landing zone, allowing Mantis and Smoking to get a clear look out the windows at the half-buried town below.

“All clear from the outside, looks like nopony's home,” Mantis called. “But be on your guard, we’ll move over to the chapel, check it out and then call you over if it’s safe. Make sure you have torches at the ready.”

“We all have our PipBuck lights,” Smoking replied in his low voice. “That won’t be an issue.”

“Ok, moving in to touchdown,” Minor called out from the cockpit. “Step back from the door. I’ll open it as we pull in.”

I grabbed hold of one of the hoof grips over our heads as we swung in smooth and low, the Vertibucks storm engines kicking up a plume of dust around the craft. The door began to open, air tumbling around the cabin before we touched down with a slight jolt. Mantis and Smoking leapt out first, rushing straight to the bell tower. Pushing through the churning dust, they pressed themselves up against the wall and ran a quick sweep of the area with their guns before beckoning Seafire and I to follow.

The unsettled dust shimmered in Jury’s sapphire glow as we galloped to the steeple. Mantis pulled back a slatted panel that covered part of the arched peak of the church and stepped through into the tower. After he gave the all clear, Smoking, Seafire, and I followed him carefully inside. I was met with a thick darkness, lit only by the soft glow of our PipBucks. Dust clung to every surface inside the tower, the floor creaked as we moved and spiders scuttles away from the invading light as we entered. A giant copper bell occupied most of the space with ropes from a pull mechanism leading away into the darkness. I followed the ropes with my eyes and took an involuntary step back seeing the ropes descend into a dark abyss that occupied the center of the tower, our small platform topping a tight spiral staircase that descended into the gloom.

Flicking on a torch strapped to the underside of his rifle to light the way, Mantis started down the rickety wooden staircase, testing each step before putting his weight on it. His sweeping beam highlighted broken beams, detritus, and loose cables blocking our way, while our PipBucks illuminated everything in a gentle, yellow glow, casting twisted shadows with the overlapping light.

The walls were inscribed with graffiti, centuries old now, faded and flaking, and occasionally gave way to relieve stained glass windows whose panes were backed by solid walls of dirt. It was hard to pick out what the windows were depicting through the grime, but many seemed to show a large sun-like motif while others showed something that bore resemblance to a moon.

Reaching the bottom, we all passed through a narrow stone archway and entered into a cavernous space so large our PipBucks couldn’t illuminate the whole space fully, only show weak and vague outlines of beams and trusses far above our heads. Shouldering his weapon, Mantis broke off and headed towards another nearby alcove. I heard several large clanks a grunt, and then felt the wood beneath my hooves begin to vibrate ever so slightly. Above us, ancient incandescent bulbs began to flicker to life, their filaments slow to warm, casting a sickly yellow-green glow that began to fill the room.

“Oh my…” Seafire put a hoof to her muzzle in awe. “Where… where are we?”

“We are in the the central hall of The Church of the Two Sisters.” Mantis replied, stepping up onto a dais that sat at the intersection of what seemed to be four wings that made up the church. “Impressive, isn’t it.”

That it was. Sweeping, heavy wooden beams held aloft a vast and ornate roof high above our heads. Arched windows on every side held more stained glass depictions of ponies of every colour and race. Wooden benches ran in rows towards the end of the longest wing, leaving a central passageway that lead up to another raised plinth at the other end, on top of which sat a great stone sun carved out of stone, and behind that was a vast stained glass depiction of a huge, pure-white Alicorn, her wings spread wide, her image backed by a giant yellow and orange sun emblem, the same one I had seen earlier.

“It's all so well preserved…” Smoking noted, running a hoof over the curved armrest of the nearest bench. “No wood rot, no corrosion, no mould, nothing.”

“Probably some kind of magically imbued spell,” I offered; it was the only thing I knew of that might explain it. “But it would’ve been a huge effort to enchant everything in the building.”

Seafire nodded. “Agreed, but given the obvious cultural and religious significance of the place, I am sure that the ponies who built it considered protecting everything from damage the very least they could do to honor Celestia and Luna.”

Helix, Foxglove and Xyalia appeared beside me from out of the archway. “Minor is wondering what he should do with the Vertibu-” Helix’s question was cut short as her eyes cast over the sight before us. “Oh wow….” She muttered in awe, sounding exactly like Seafire. “This is…”

“Incredible…” Foxglove finished in disbelief. “I never knew that ponies could build something so, beautiful, so intricate, so…”

“Pretty.” All of us turned to look at Xyalia. “It is very pretty, isn’t it?”

I found myself chuckling. “Yes, I suppose it is pretty.” I patted her casually on the shoulder and decided to ignore her slight flinch, making a mental note not to do that again.

“I used to use one of the smaller rooms off to the side but given there is a group of us, we may as well set up in the Luna wing.” Mantis began to shove the pews aside, clearing a central space for us all to gather. “Set up the stove in the center, I’ll go up and tell Minor where to stick the Vertibuck.”

Tossing down my saddlebags, I found myself wandering to and fro between the columns and pews, examining the wall carving, tapestries, statues, and paintings. The variety of art was incredible, and slightly bizarre. Certain pieces looked truly ancient, the wooden frames turned grey as the colour had washed from the surface, while others looked modern, even contemporary. I paused before a particularly large-framed depiction of what looked to be a city hanging from the side of a mountain. ‘Canterlot - The City of Celestia’ read the brass plaque underneath. Wow… so that is what Canterlot looked like.

I was about to return to the others when a glint caught my eye. Turning, I saw the polished door handles to a pair of double doors set back and away from the main wing of the church, a heavy chain looping through the handles and sealed with a hefty steel padlock.

What on earth? It was totally out of position in such an open and religious place.

The double doors looked carved from single pieces of dark, solid oak and depicted six symbols, none of which matched any of the other motifs I had seen. A trio of apples, trio of butterflies, a trio of balloons - really? - a trio of diamonds, a rain cloud unleashing a rainbow lightening bolt and finally, in the centre of the door, a six pointed star with five smaller stars around it. Casting my eyes up, I read the words arching over the door.

“Sanctum of the Elements.” I spun around at the voice to see Mantis standing right behind me. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump, but yeah… the Sanctum of the Elements.”

“What’s inside?” I asked, turning back to the locked door.

“No idea. Never been able to open it.”

I reached out experimentally with my magic, gently taking the lock in my grasp. When nothing bad happened I began to probe the lock, feeling the tumblers with my magic. It was very hard to do and almost impossible to feel if I was moving anything correctly.

“I’ve never been able to pick it.” Mantis piped up as I dropped the lock with a sigh. “Tried cutting it a few times too, but no luck. It’s enchanted, just like everything else.”

“What did you try?”

“Hack saw, file, even had a small grinder on me one time, one of those little electro-magical ones.” Mantis shrugged. “It's probably not worth it, it’s a church, not a military bunker, so it's probably just got a bunch of old statues behind it. Come on, dinner is on the go.”

I turned to follow before an idea popped into my head.

“Hold it.” Returning to the door, I leaned forwards and placed the tip of my horn against the chain. “Cover your eyes.” I gave Mantis a moment, shielding my own eyes with the filter spell, then brought the welding spell down, full force onto the chain. Magical sparks spewed from the point of contact, the chain and handles beginning to glow first red then white hot in mere moments. It seemed to be having no effect on the chain whatsoever, except to bring it and everything around it almost to the melting point. Wood smoke began to sting my nose, the oak charing in the wake of the immense localised heat; it seemed the protective spells only went so far.

But two minutes later, all I had managed to achieve was give my mane the rather pleasant aroma of burnished oak. Giving up, I stood back, rather sorry I’d damaged the beautiful door. “Yep, enchanted.” Was all I said before turning my back on the smouldering door.

Clunk.

“Well.” Mantis grinned as we looked back at the door, now minus its handle and locking mechanism. “Looks like it opened afterall.”

The doors let out low, eerie moans as I forced them open, the unenchanted rivets that held on the door handles dropping onto the floor with a tinkle. Darkness enveloped the room, only vague shapes revealed by the light from the hall behind us, two long pony-shaped shadows cast on the intricate tiled floor. I cautiously stepped over the threshold, illuminating my PipBuck and horn. Seven tall statues stood in a semi-circle around a central dais which held aloft a dry fountain. Dark drapes backed each statue, enclosing it in its own small alcove of fabric.

I peered at the nearest statue. “Applejack - Bearer of the Element of Honesty and head of the Ministry of Technology.” I cast my eyes up the wooden statue of a mare in a smart business suit, a heavy raincoat and a stetson. Her stern yet hopeful expression was a strange sight; perhaps the carpenter had been going for another emotion but had...

“Gah…” I jumped as the lights flicked on, illuminating the whole room. I gave Mantis a glare as he stood bemused next to the switches. He gave an apologetic shrug then turned back to the statue next to him.

“Spike - Loyal Assistant of Twilight Sparkle and the Ministry of Arcane Sciences,” he read aloud. “A dragon? Huh… never heard of him before. Who you got over there?”

“Applejack and Fluttershy.” I paused before the statue of an aging pegasus mare in a sweeping formal dress, a wreath of flowers resting on her long flowing mane. “Bearer of the Element of Kindness and Head of the Ministry of Peace.”

Mantis laughed behind me. “Check this out. Pinkie Pie, Bearer of the element of Laugher and Head of the Ministry of Morale. Who has balloons for their cutie mark? Her mane is mental too, it's like a pink cloud.”

“Rarity, Bearer of the Element of Generosity and Head of the Ministry of Image.” I looked up and found myself rather lost for words. Despite her age, Rarity was still incredibly beautiful. I had no idea if the carpenter had taken a little artistic licence with these pieces, but even if they had, she still might have been the most beautiful mare I had ever seen, ‘Besides Helix’ my inner pony corrected. I rolled my eyes and examined her lovingly crafted mane and tail, swirled in such a graceful manner as to make her look majestic. The tight fitting dress she wore didn’t help matters either, part of me thinking her curves were maybe a little too much for a place of worship.

The last, central statue of the seven, was of a dorkishly cute, unicorn mare with a tri-toned mane and tail and a cutie mark with a complexity that rivaled my own; five small stars around a central six pointed star, all of which were cheerfully angled and shaped to look as if they were twinkling upon the mare's flank. ‘Twilight Sparkle - Bearer of the Element of Magic and leader of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences,’ the plaque proclaimed. ‘I wonder what level of magic a pony can achieve when her special talent is magic?’ my inner pony mused.

I felt a small smile creep across my face; something about this place just felt uplifting.

When I turned to the last statue, my smile vanished. Now I think I knew why the room had been locked.

Unlike all the other statues, bar the dragon, who stood on all fours, this statue depicted its subject rearing up energetically. I recognised the armour this pegasus mare wore; I had seen it back in Stable Twenty-Five. Sculpted from an almost onyx black wood, the articulated and insectoid like armour went from her neck to the tip of her tail, which was made of six different shades of wood, the same six shades used to depict her multicolored mane. However, it was the blood red paint splattered all over the statue and the single word that had somehow been engraved into the magically enchanted surface that made my blood run cold.

‘TRAITOR’

“So this is Rainbow Dash,” Mantis murmured after a long pause, his humour of a moment ago none-existent.

“Why would some pony do this?” I asked, hoof over my mouth. “If she was worthy of such a shrine, then why would somepony desecrate it like this?”

“Uh, guys, dinner is… oh my…” Mantis and I looked round. Seafire and Helix stood in the doorway, Seafire’s voice stolen from her. “Who would do such a thing.”

“Somepony clearly thought she deserved it for running away.” Mantis shook his head with a wry grimace. “Though, that would mean this took place after the bombs fell.”

“Running Away?” Helix asked, unable to tear her eyes from the form of Rainbow Dash.

“It's just a story, but it's said that, on the day the bombs fell, Rainbow Dash fled Equestria, abandoning her fellow pegasi to the radiation of the mega-spells: the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, abandoning her own kind in their darkest hour.” A glance down the small brass plaque confirmed his information.

“Going by the statue, I would say that story was true.”

The next morning I sat on the dusty tiles of the church trying to break into the churches Lost and Found hoof locker Mantis said he’d found it on a previous visit to Dirtville and secretly stashed it away under a set of busted floor boards behind the church's colossal pipe organ. His original attempts at picking, then trying to break off the padlock were clear, but he’d never managed it. I was equally stumped when my cutting spell simply bounced off the lock - damn these ponies and their need to imbue everything in the damn building.

Well, almost everything, it turned out the locker itself wasn’t protected, so I just cut the end off. Gently tilting it on its side, the rather heavy contents of the locker slid onto the dusty tiles and we began examining our finds. Inside was a early generation PipBuck, a battered but mostly intact pre-war briefcase, a rather nice hat complete with fake flowers and ribbons, a couple of wallets filled with some prewar coins and notes, a switchblade - which I guessed was confiscated rather than lost - , a battered book entitled Zebra Infiltration Tactics and a sturdy yellow steel box with three pink butterflies on it. Knelt on the floor, I began sifting through our find.

“Not a bad haul,” Mantis mused, though sounding rather disappointed. “I was hoping for guns or ammo.”

“In a church?” Wiping the sleep dust from my eyes; I hadn’t slept well despite the quiet surroundings, or maybe that was the problem. “I don’t think this place was close to the front lines, and clearly wasn’t important enough to get a missile of its own. I highly doubt we’ll find anything like that.”

“Well, we should get something decent out of this.” He pulled the yellow, butterfly marked box towards him and opened it up. “Huh, lock was broken. But, dang... check this out!” He happily placed two super strength restoration positions on the floor. “And a good selection of bandages and painkillers too.”

“Doesn’t look like that kit was ever used for anything more than knee scrapes.” Helix appeared over my shoulder, levitating up the small cache of medical supplies. “That's probably a nearly complete MoP emergency kit.” My love rested her chin on my head. “What’s in the brief case?

I pulled it towards me and then tried to open it.

“Locked, two four-digit combination clasps.” I sighed. “But…” I turned it around. “Nothing to stop me from…” I brought up my filter spell and quickly cut through the two hinges on the bottom of the case.

“Hmmm.” Mantis smirked. “I can see that spell being very useful. Screw having to pick locks, you can just cut everything open.”

“Well, if it's too thick I risk incinerating whatever is in the box as I cut through,” I reminded him, opening the case backwards. “These are fine, but a proper safe I may struggle with.

Turning my attention back to the contents of the case, I was greeted with a selection of cardboard folders on the left side, a small built in communicator, and another smaller lock box.

“Anything interesting?” Helix asked as I began rifling through the folders.

“All looks to be Stable-Tec documents.” I passed up the second folder to her. “I’ve got invoices, memo’s, some kind of draft speech, a time table...” I set the first folder aside. “A bunch of concept sketches for the ‘Fillydelphia Stable-Tec Hub’. Damn thats a big building.” I set the third aside and looked down at the final folder at the the bottom of the pile. “Ah, now that is more like it.”

Well, it didn’t say anything about anti-unauthorised personnel countermeasures.

Cautiously, I flipped open the folder and slipped out the documents, or document as it turned out. A single ring bound book, in comparatively poor condition compared to everything else. This was either a lot older than all the other documents or got used on a far more regular basis. With a slight intake of breath, I opened the book.

Nothing.

Every single page was blank. I flipped back and forth through the entire book three times before I accepting that there was nothing to be seen.

“What the hell?”

“Hmmm?” Helix was too busy packing the medical supplies into her saddlebags to notice my plight. “Something wrong?”

“It’s blank,” I replied, irritably “It's totally blank.” I passed her the book. “Look.”

Helix flicked casually through the folder before passing it back to me. “Well, it is supposed to be top secret.” She reminded me playfully. “You must not have what it needs to be legible.”

With a reluctant sigh, I set the book back in its folder and set it aside, turning my attention back to the brief case and the small lock box. The keyhole was more elaborate than any I had seen previously, seemingly needing a triangular shaped key of some kind. I probed it experimentally with my magic but might as well have been prodding it with an oven mitt for all the feedback I received; picking locks wasn’t my forte to start, let alone something of this calibre.

“Fran? Have you read this?!”

Looking up from the safe, Seafire was holding open the top secret book, her expression stunned. She was flicking back and forth through it as if her life depended on it.

“Read what?” I asked surprised. “It’s blank; well to me anyway. I can’t read it.”

“You can’t?” She looked at me quizzically. “What about Helix?” My love shook her head, looking just as surprised as me.

“But you can?” Mantis inquired, bewildered.

Seafire nodded vigorously.

“Well, what does it say?”

“It's a list, must be of addresses.” Seafire flicked back to the first page of the document. “Stable-Tec Hub, Pommel Street, Bloom Business Park, Fillydelphia. Ministry of Technology, Ministry Row, Castle District, Canterlot. Sweet Apple Farm, Sweet Apple Lane, Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville… that's a lot of Sweet Apples… Zebra Town Square, Zebra Town, Ridge District, Canterlot. Substation 4, Canterlot Line 4, Twilight Suburb, Canterlot. Substation 5, Canterlot Line 5, Twilight Suburb, Canterlot.” Seafire was rattling off the addresses faster and faster, making my mind reel with every word. “Number six through sixteen only have descriptions, no locations… Water Processing Station 1, Blue Moon Lane, Eternity Lake, Eternity Valley…”

Seafire stopped. We all stared.

“It's a list of stable addresses,” I muttered, astonished. The four of us exchanged looks, no wonder it was top secret. “How… how many are there?” I asked, more to break the silence than out of any real curiosity.

Seafire flicked to the last page with her magic. “Assuming they haven’t skipped any… one hundred and one.” She sounded as numb as I felt. At least my body felt numb. My mind was churning like one of the whisks in an alge processor.

We had a list of stables. Not only a list but exact addresses. And on top of that, we had the address of what I could only assume was Stable-Tec’s headquarters in Fillydelphia; where else would you build your first stable, your prototype? Perhaps that was the city I’d seen in the memory orb. Fillydelphia. It explained a few things, for one why the orb had been at Seventeen; even if it didn’t explain why it’d been left behind. But more importantly, I now knew two things, where to get the construction plans for Stable Seventeen and, perhaps more critically, where I might be able to get spare parts.

“Seafire?” Helix asked. “What does it say the address of Stable Twenty-Five is?”

“It says…” Seafire flicked through the file. “Hu… no address given, just ‘The Platinum Range’ and what must be GPS co-ordinates.”

“And what about Stable Twenty-Seven?” I asked.

“Tunnel 1, Big Gem’s Inc, Bluemoon, Eternity Lake, Eternity Valley.”

‘Bluemoon, so that was Viewpoint’s real name’ my inner pony noted. Eh, I prefer Viewpoint.

When the folder had said ‘Enchanted With Anti-copy Countermeasures’ I worried Seafire would find herself unable to speak or perhap collapse from a magical shock unleashed from the book, but it seemed reading the information out loud so somepony else could copy it down wasn’t something the magic was able to stop. So that’s how we spent the next hour sitting in the back of the flying Vertibuck, Seafire reciting while I copied all the information into my PipBuck manually.

“Stable Ninety-Eight, grid reference is 898,762,922.” Seafire waited as I slowly typed in the data. ”Stable Ninety-Nine, Hoofington. Hmmm… that's all we get for that one. Stable One Hundred has no information. Stable one hundred and one, ‘Castle’, huh, it's in apostrophes.”

“Maybe it’s not actually a castle. Maybe a rock formation or a local name.” I suggested as I typed. “So, Stable one hundred and one, ‘Castle’...”

“Everfree Forest. Grid reference 084, 254, 192. And that’s all of them.”

“Hmmmm. That is a lot of Stables. It’s a shame the list doesn’t say what is in them.” I scrolled back up through the long list. “This could be really useful.”

“How so?” Seafire asked, tucking the book away in her saddle bags.

“Some of them must have equipment we can use to repair Seventeen. Even if it’s not perfect, we could substitute in parts, fit it all up again.”

Glancing up, I expected Seafire to be looking hopeful, or at least excited, but what I got was… pity?

Seafire’s shoulders slumped, her sad blue eyes looking into mine. “Fran. Seventeen is gone. We’ll get back who we can from those… monsters… and then, then I’m going to find somewhere else to live.”

Out the corner of my eye, I saw Helix, Foxglove and Xyalia, who were spending some quiet time fixing our various pieces of barding, glance nervously in our direction. Mantis and Smoking were up front with Minor and I was glad they couldn’t hear where this might be going.

“Why wouldn’t you want to go home?”

“I…” Seafire started. “I… I can’t put it into words. I just get the feeling it’s always going to broken, no matter how well we fix it up. We have no idea what went on down there once the doors closed. Those bodies on the surface, Tungsten mentioned they’d managed to restore some internal power, but that was over three weeks ago… and to be honest I’m not sure the rest of our Stable will even be alive after all this time.”

Seafire curled up on the velour sofa, her eyes downcast and body slumping.

I didn’t know what to say. I looked back to the others who were all dumfounded. Well, Helix and Foxglove, Xyalia just looked confused. The sad thing was, she was right. They could all be dead, or have been sold onto other slavers, or reduced to nothing but skin and bone locked in some rusty cages. We just didn’t know.

I felt a tail brush against my leg. Foxglove had set down her needle and thread and moved over to Seafire. Settling herself down next to the white unicorn, she nuzzled her mane gently, a hoof stroking her long orange mane. Seafire looked up, surprised at the touch, but upon seeing who was caring for her, she began to relax and her expression slipped from worried, to bemused to content.

Quietly rising, I took the space where Foxglove had been working and resumed her work on what turned out to be Seafire’s barding.

“Is the green one her daughter?”

I looked up at Xyalia, who was still looking curiously at Seafire and Foxglove.

“No… why?”

“Strange, it should be so. I can feel it.”

“Feel what?” Helix asked.

“Their love for each other.” Replied the Zebra simply. “It's not the kind of love you and Helix share but it is equally as strong, and it's growing.”

Everything was going smoothly until we reached the far side of the dust plains that afternoon. Either the weather had turned or the heat from the plains was causing some kind of atmospheric disturbance. Either way, everyone on board was taken completely off guard when the Vertibuck dropped like a stone, then was thrust back up again in a howl of wind and groaning of metal.

“What that…” I managed to utter before the Vertibuck pitched again, this time as if hit upwards from the side, pitching the whole aircraft onto its side before dropping back to the level again.

“What the hell is this?” I heard Smoking yell at Minor from up front.

“Updrafts!” Minor yelled back as the vehicle pitched again. “And downdrafts and shit…” All of us were slammed forwards and the Vertibuck hit something before pirouetting away.

Multiple alarms sounded as I dragged myself over to Helix and clipped her into one of the reclining chairs with my magic, then moved on to helping Seafire with Foxglove. Xyalia, meanwhile, had somehow braced herself with all four hooves between the minibar and the central table. Up front there was a shouting match taking place.

“Get us away from the cliff!”

“I’m trying!”

“Well, try harder… ouch!”

“I am! It’s not… ugh…. easy.”

“Can you land?”

“No ide-agh…”

The Vertibuck lurched again as something grazed the underside with a terrible rending sound. I grabbed my chair and clung on for my life. My stomach was left behind as we spiraled upwards again before everything went light as if there was suddenly no gravity. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then it all stopped. I looked out of the windows, but all I could see was grey. Bright greyness on all sides.

“What was that?” Seafire asked next to me. “Where are we?”

“Minor?” Smoking asked. “Where are we.”

“Ummmmm… clouds. Must be in the clouds. Altimeter says four thousand feet. Top of the ridge line perhaps.”

“Get us on the ground. We need to check for damage.” Minor ordered then stuck his head round the door. “Everyone alright back there?”

“Yeah… think so,” Seafire called back. “Helix?”

“I’m ok, though this strap is digging into my shoulders,” She replied, tugging at the three point harness.

“Well, stay strapped in just in case it happens again.”

“You sure you’re ok?” I asked Helix, reaching across to take her hoof.

She nodded. “Yeah, just my shoulders.”

“I think I’ve found somewhere flat enough,” Minor called back. “Can’t see a thing though.”

A moment later there was a slight thud as we touched down. The vertibuck settled on a slight incline to the right but it was flat enough for the time being. We all unclipped and got gingerly to our hooves, all except Xyalia who just relaxed her brace position. Zebra’s were weird.

Stumbling out the door, I couldn’t see the other end of the Vertibuck the fog was so dense. Minor fluttered down from the cockpit door followed by Smoking, a bruise beginning to form on the side of his head. Seemly, this was the only injury, which I was thankful for.

“Everyone activate your EFS,” Smoking said. “We don’t want anyone getting lost in this. Seafire, can you look round the back of the ship, see if we took a hit on the rear, and Fran, I think we scraped the bottom too, so if you could have a look.”

“Got it.”

The ground was mainly rock, covered in small tufts of moss and lichen, so no need to worry about getting muddy. I wriggled my way under the craft and illuminated my horn. A minute later, I found a long shallow scratch near the front of the aircraft. I had no idea how we’d managed to hit the underside, but it seemed we’d clipped some kind of rocky outcrop. Feeling out with my magic I was relieved to discover the armoured hull was just bent but still intact. I made a few quick welds with my horn to stiffen the plates up again as best I could before wriggling my way out again.

“Fran. Over here.”

I followed Minors voice round to the prow of the Vertibuck and winced. A sizable hole had been torn in the pilot's side quarter, breaching the first layer of armour, the offending piece of granite still embedded in the metal.

“Can you fix that?” he asked, as I took a closer look.

“Hmmm, yeah. Could do with some basic tools. Lump hammer if we have one, and a crow bar…”

“Yellow contact, due north,” I heard Smoking whisper sharply over my Pipbuck at exactly the same time I noticed it on my own EFS, before a second and third appeared.

I motioned to Minor to get back on board, pulling out Jury. The three contacts were heading straight for us, but with the thick fog there was no way either group could see the other to gauge intent. I scilently ushered Helix and Foxglove back aboards the Vertibuck, the rest of us clambering back aboard as quickly and quietly as we could. Until…

Pffft. Pffft. Pffft. Oww.

I looked down and sighed. ‘Oh look. An anesthetic dart.’ My inner pony noted sarcastically. ‘Ohhhh, great…’ I would have retorted but sleep seemed so much more inviting.

“So, who are they?”

“Steel Rangers. Got to be Steel Rangers. Nopony else has armour like that.”

“But they don’t look the same as those old pre-war posters. They were all grey, not black.”

“And their armour doesn’t cover their whole body. I am pretty sure that Steel Ranger armour covered everything.”

“You’re all forgetting. Steel Rangers were mainly earth ponies.”

“And?”

“Have you guys seen a single one of them without wings?”

“...”

“Good point.”

I cracked open my eyes.

The world was sideways, but my companions weren’t. In my immediate field of view were Helix, Smoking and Foxglove, all lying on their side, their hooves bound together with thick plastic zip cuffs. I tried to look down at my own legs but I couldn’t move my body at all.

“Hmmmm?” I grunted with confusion.

“Fran!” Helix called out with relief, trying and utterly failing to wriggle towards me. “You’re finally awake.”

“Hmmm. Hmmm.” I grunted back agreeably. “Whmmmm… Whammm… What ha…”

“We got shot with stun darts.” Smoking clearly guessed my question. “But you got hit by two.”

“Hmm.” I rolled my eyes. “Is.. Is… Every…” My drowsy response was interrupted by the clanging of metal behind me.

“Hey, get your hooves off me,” I head Mantis snap. Clearly this had no effect as he continued to yell and resist whatever was going on.

“Hey! Where are you taking him,” Seafire ask sleepily.

All of this was ignored as Mantis’ angry voice faded to nothing as he was taken away. I exchanged a worried glance with Smoking and Helix.

“So… so… whooo are they.” I managed to ask with the articulation of a pony who had downed half a bottle of whisky. “Not Steeeeeeel Wrangers?”

Smoking sighed, thinking. “They are Pegasi, so probably Enclave. But from what we know of them, I can’t see why they would have been on the top of that mountain.” He huffed. “We still don’t know enough about this world.”

“Perhaps we were high enough up to be considered a threat,” Helix offered, trying to pull off her hoof cuffs. “Owww… these are too tight. I’m beginning to lose feeling.”

“Use your magic,” I suggested.

“Fran… think about what you just said.” My love teased, but she wasn’t able to hide the pained expression on her face.

“We’ve tried that. They’re enchanted. Magic just slides off. And if you bite them you get a magical shock… that really hurts,” Smoking babbled, but I was more concerned with Helix.

“Hey. Stop moving, you’ll only make it worse.” I tried again to shuffle over to Helix, but my progress was pathetic. I could see tears welling up in Helix’s eyes as she began to panic; she really wasn’t used to being bound. “Hey!” I called out. “We need help in here.” I tried to squirm upright, and managed to flop over so I lay on my other side, now facing the bars of our cell. I could see two sets of hooves, one deep blue, the other a lovely shade of dark purple that were both clad in shiny metallic black armour. “Hey! I’m talking to you.” I kicked the cell bars and recoiled as I received a painful electro-magical shock. At least that got the guards attention.

Squinting up into the brightness from the overhead lights, I could see two seemingly regular ponies. It was hard to make out their features as the top half of their heads were covered by their armour and their eyes obscured by visors, probably fitted with EFS displays

“You have done up her hoof cuffs up too tight. The mare behind me. She needs help.”

Both ponies glanced from me, to Helix and then turned around again.

“Fran…” Helix whimpered. “I can’t feel my hooves. I can’t feel…”

“Hey!” I yelled again. “You are hurting her.” They continued to ignore me. “For Celestia’s sake. Listen to me! She’s pregnant!” That seemed to get their attention.

There was a clang behind me as the cell door was opened. I wriggled to flop back over onto my other side. The mare approached Helix and pointed her hoof right at her stomach. A small light appeared at the end of her hoof and began to grow in intensity, as if it was charging up. “Hey! What are you doing!” I shot fearfully at the mare, trying in vain to escape my bonds. “Whatever you’re doing, stop! Don’t you dare hurt her!” I lashed out with my telekinesis, trying to knock her hoof away. The spell collapsed and I received a harsh shock from both sets of cuffs.

“No!”

Helix convulsed as the light suddenly flashed, a bolt of energy hitting her in the stomach, before spreading over her whole body. For an instant, Helix glowed, then the light retraced its path, back into a small point of intense light and back into the mare's hoof.

Helix’s eyes were still wide with fear and shock but besides that she seemed totally unharmed.

“I’m… I’m fine.” She assured me, still sounding shocked herself. “It just made me tingle.”

“What did you do!” I writhed on the ground.

The mare ignored me, instead bending down to Helix’s hooves and… completely releasing her? To our combined amazement, a gentle prod of a wing encouraged Helix to her hooves before she was lead out of the cell and sat down on one of the guards own seats, a guard positioned opposite her with battle saddle pointed at her. ‘Well, I suppose it’s an improvement.’ My inner pony commented.

“Hey.” I called up to the mare. She looked at me, her sagging power armour indicating she wondered what the heck I wanted now. “I’m not sure of you understand me but… Thank you.” After a pauses she gave a slight nod before raising her weapon, relocking the cell and resuming her duty of guarding us.

Who were these ponies?

Despite this kind gesture, I wasn’t sure if I should’ve felt safe just yet. After around twenty minutes, Smoking was dragged away just like Mantis, but Mantis wasn’t returned. This practice continued until just Foxglove and I remained in the cell, Helix having also been lead away. At least she had been allowed to walk, unlike the others.

Eventually, I heard the clang of the door behind me, and I was hoisted to my hooves. I gave Foglove a reassuring look before I was dragged out of sight through a heavy stainless steel door. The corridor beyond was hune straight out of the rock and lit above by bare yellow tinted bulbs that hung from the damp ceiling. At the end, the corridor split into a ‘t’ junction but I was marched into an ancient looking elevator directly opposite. Upon our exit, the walls were the same stone but now of a much smoother and pleasant finish with the light coming from recessed pure white bulbs behind frosted glass.

Passing through another stainless steel door, my eyes widened in surprise. We had entered what looked like a huge underground office filled with terminals, each in their own little booths, with filing cabinets and chairs. Most of the stalls were empty, but occasionally, I caught a glimpse of a pony sitting behind a glowing terminal, tapping away. None of these ponies were wearing armour, but robes. That wasn’t what was odd about them, though. Almost all of them were black, or a dark green, blue, red or purple. Their manes were very dark toned too, yet shimmered in the low light as if they were slightly bioluminescent. However in the gloom of the room I couldn’t make out much else, but it left me feeling apprehensive.

Reaching an office on the opposite side of the room, I was carried through a frosted glass door. The door had a symbol engraved on the surface of the glass: a moon surrounded by six pairs of long triangular arrows, side-by-side and evenly spaced. It was very similar to the moon symbols I had seen at the Church of the Two Sisters, however the double pointed arrows made it look like the moon had teeth.

My restraints were suddenly cut and was dumped into a surprisingly comfy wooden chair before a long hardwood table. The feeling of comfort was then immediately quashed as magical straps wrapped themselves around my hooves and pulled tight, pinning me to the chair. I gave my hooves a gentle pull. Nope, stuck.

I forgot entirely about my restraints the moment I looked up. The hovering, multi-limbed robot off to one side was one level of strange, but the pegasus mare before me; except she wasn’t a pegasi, at least not like any I’d ever seen and was downright unsettling.

Although basically pony in shape, there were some clear differences. Her ears were taller and thinner, her pupils vertical slits, her mane was a deep, shimmering, almost metallic, blue bordering on black, and most disturbingly, two fangs protruded from between her lips on either side of her muzzle where a ponies normal canine teeth would be. She wasn’t just a pony, it was like she was a dragon pony. No, it was more like she was part pony, part bat.

“Gooood morning to you!” I was shaken from my stunned gawping by a cheery, pompous, metallic voice erupting to my left. The hovering-spider-bot-thing was addressing me? “May I introduce myself? My name is Mr. Squeaky, and I will be acting as your interpreter today.” Interpreter?

“Now, down to business.” Mr. Squeaky boomed enthusiastically. “I have some questions for you, young Miss, please answer honesty, else I will be forced to incinerate you.” He let loose a small burst of flame from an arm mounted flame thrower. I started making a concerted effort to get out of the chair. “I jest, I jest!” The robot boomed again. “Though it seems my humour capacitor has yet to fully recharge, so I suspect that came out a little more aggressively than intended.”

The mare sighed.

“Anyway, questions! What is your name, young Miss, and where have you come from?”

I considered for a moment. It was clear that by doing all the interviews separately we would have no chance to converse and potentially lie. It also meant I had to decide if I wanted to lie, hoping that the others had chosen to withhold information, or if they had simply told the truth. Either way, if our stories contradicted at all, they would know.

I really only had one option that was safe.

“My name is Francium Actinium. I come from Stable Seventeen,” I replied, watching the mare closely. She gazed at me levely and calmly with her vertically slitted eyes, which were a rather entrancing shade of violet.

“Where is your Stable?”

“Under a water research facility on the edge of Eternity lake.”

“How did you come to be outside the Stable.”

“An accident forced two fifths of the Stable to be evacuated.”

“Where are you heading now?”

“Appleloosa.”

“Why are you heading there?”

“To rescue some of our stable who were taken captive.”

“How were you planning to get there?”

“By Vertibuck, over the mountains.”

The mare held up a hoof, before Mr. Squeaky could ask the next question. She opened her muzzle to speak, but rather than a voice, she emitted a complex series of very high pitched squeeks and titters, so high in fact, I’m sure some of it extended beyond my range of hearing.

“The Paladin asks if you are aware of just how impossible your task is?” I glanced at Mr. Squeeky as he hovered patiently, waiting for my answer. The mare continued to watch me calmly.

“Well…” I paused, considering my response. “Does the Paladin know about the successes we have had since leaving our Stable?”

The Paladin squeaked some more. I briefly wondered how the robot was talking to her as it wasn’t making any squeaks of its own, until I spotted a small ear bloom protruding from the Paladins left ear. Was she going deaf?

“We are well aware of your group's exploits since leaving Stable Seventeen,” Mr. Squeaky answered imperiously, as if I had insulted him somehow; maybe I had. “However, the Luna Guard are in possession of far more information regarding Appleloosa than you are, and we believe that we can come to an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?” I cocked my eyebrow curiously at the Paladin. “What kind of… wait.” I looked to Mr. Squeeky. “Luna Guard? You’re not Steel Rangers?”

For the first time, the Paladin showed some kind of emotion, annoyance, directed at Mr. Squeeky with a sideways glance.

“Ah…” The robot mumbled. “I believe I will be cleaning the lavatories for a week now I have said that.”

I could help but chuckle.

Collecting herself, the Paladin had a brief, high pitched conversation with Mr. Squeaky. I looked around, seeing the two armoured Luna Guard who had escorted me standing just outside the door, energy weapons at the ready.

We weren’t seemingly in any danger, but I couldn’t help but think that we wouldn’t be getting out of this any time soon, which was bad enough as it was. Every day that passed was another twenty-four hours for the happenings at Stable Twenty-Five to reach Appleloosa, allowing them to bolster their defences, or simply kill the rest of our stable as retribution… or probably just petty spite knowing slavers. Looking back at the Luna Guard Paladin, I examined her more closely. Her mane did actually contain several greying hairs, which were hard to spot against the rest of her sparkling mane. Her elaborate armoured helmet rested on a table behind her along with a long articulated piece that looked rather like a tail shield. Both looked complicated but not particularly well armoured, made from multiple overlapping pieces rather than hune from a single billet. The armour seemed designed as much for intimidation as it was for protection, even compromising on the latter to look as imposing and threatening as possible.

“Miss Actinium,” Mr. Squeaky brought me back to the present situation as politely as he could. “Paladin Mango Smoothie wishes to know why you have a pregnant mare with you if you are intending to go into combat?”

I opened my mouth to respond, and then promptly shut it again. I knew the reasons why Helix was with us, but they did defy all rational sense. I’d planned to make her stay back once we reached the outskirts of Appleloosa, acting as our medical back up should it be needed, but even so, I had my reservations about her even being out here.

“I… I don’t really know.” I said eventually. “We tried to talk her out of it, but…” I groaned into my hooves, knowing that Helixs presence was definitely against my better judgement. “She might possibly be the best doctor or physician in the wastelands. Given that injuries are basically certain, and that when we reach Appleloosa we’ll need to get as many slaves ready to run in the shortest time possible, she will be invaluable.”

“So you intend to rescue all the slaves you find, not just the ponies from your own stable?” the hovering robot asked, surprised.

“Well, I… yes, of course. Why not?” I’d never considered it, but now that Mr. Squeaky mentioned it, I supposed I had always intended to rescue every pony we found. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Mr. Squeaky seemed to ponder my answer, or was simply relaying it to Mango Smoothie. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that I saw a nod of approval come from the Paladin while she was considering her response. But there was no reply, instead she simply waved her hoof at the two guards. The chair released me and I was ushered out of the room under my own power. Guided a few doors down, past more booths and meeting rooms, I was directed inside and felt a wave of relief hit me.

“Are you alright?’ Seafire asked the moment the guards shut the door on the room where everyone was seemingly being held after their interrogation. Everypony was fine, if a little nervous, relaxing around an identical wooden table. I nodded to Seafire, but I had a more pressing thought on my mind.

“Her name is Mango Smoothie?!”

“Hello again!”

Mr. Squeaky gazed around at all of us as he hovered next to Paladin Mango Smoothie. The old mare had taken a seat at the head of our table, flanked again by guards. The setup was much like it had been in our interrogation, only we were all back together and not clamped to the chairs. Helix kept absentmindedly rubbing her fetlocks where the ties had been digging into her skin, but it seemed everyone else was unharmed, if a little drowsy from the sedative we had all been darted with.

“Our Paladin wishes for this briefing to be, well, brief.” The robot left everypony hanging, as if that were meant to be a joke. When no pony made a sound he pressed on. “Firstly, I regret to inform you that you are prisoners of the Luna Guard. However…” Mr. Squeaky raised his voice as Smoking and Mantis began to stand. “Our gracious Paladin wishes to make you an offer, after which, if you complete the assigned task, you will be set free.”

Glancing around I could see that everypony was less than agreeable with that notion; Smoking and Mantis especially so, but with two armed guards in the room, and two more outside, and a flamethrower equipped robot at the other end of the table, everypony was keeping quiet.

Paladin Mango Smoothie waved a hoof and Mr. Squeaky continued. “You are to accompany several members of the Luna Guard to acquire supplies. You will take your Vertibuck and head to the pick-up point. Your job is to help guard the supplies until they can be loaded and then you will be escorted back here. Once the supplies have been confirmed, you will be free to leave.”

“What kind of supplies?” Smoking asked curtly, eyeing Mango with suspicion.

“Nothing dangerous, explosive or immoral,” The robot replied.

“So what is the cargo?” Smoking pressed. “And why can’t you get it yourself. You said you were just picking it up.”

“You are just picking it up.” The robot responded jovially. “We can’t go because we are not on very good terms with those who have what we need, but there should be no need for violence if all goes to plan.”

“If you aren’t on good terms, do you really think a bunch of wastelanders like ourselves will fare any better.”

“Yes!” Mr. Squeaky replied again, sounding a little to happy. “I would be lying if I said it wasn’t dangerous. But everything has been considered and contingencies planned.”

“And if we refuse?” Seafire asked, cautiously.

“Then you will be held until such time that you agree to our demands.” For a moment I thought Mr. Squeaky’s voice unit had broken, but then I realised. Mango Smoothie was standing, her hooves on the table looking far more intimidating than a pony had any right to. Her bat wings flared, eyes contracted to vertical slits and her fanged teeth exposed, Mango hissed at us like a snake. “And to make sure you come back,” Mango continued, her voice ringing so high it made me want to cover my ears. She thrust out a hoof and pointed at Helix. “She will be staying here.”

Author's Notes:

Its been over a year, but Ouroborous is back! Well, at least not dead...
I will admit that this chapter isn't as good as I want it to be, but I have been stuck on it for so long and interrupted so many times that I have decided to get it out there so I can move on to far more interesting events.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading in a few hours what has taken over a year to write... savour it!
- E