Nightfall did nothing to dampen the fantastical nature of the Crystal Capital. The Crystal Palace continued to dominate the city's skyline, its dizzying spires framed by the glassy inner surface of the shield dome. Glowing aether gems floated in the strange energies emitted by the Palace, the same energies that made the icy expanse bloom and the frigid gales turn to warm breeze. Each fragment slowly orbited the palace in chaotic patterns, giving the appearance of a swarm of moths dancing around a lantern's flame.

The suspended shards could not be identified as such from the ground. Instead, their bizarre phosphorescence made them appear to be floating balls of light — much like tales of will 'o the wisp in heartland Equestria. The veritable armada of fairie lanterns warmed the hardened surface of the Palace with their glow, casting fleeting reflections on the shield dome above and strange shadows on the dwellings below.

At the edge of the shield dome, the great ships moored, dropping anchor in prepared staging grounds laden with fuel, foodstuffs, and munitions. Combat air patrols with small ships and night-shift fliers circled at the edge of the dome, their crews ever vigilant for trouble. Even the mighty Majestic slumbered in silence, the only indication of life being its slowly blinking running lights and a few fleeting shadows of night guard on patrol.

The city itself seemed to sleep. Very few lights flared in the crystal pony dwellings in the outskirts. Those that did were the feeble glow of lantern lights, in stark contrast to the sterile, harsh radiance of Equestrian electric lamps. Near the city center, however, the glow at street level intensified, suggesting more than just ambient lighting from the Palace's aether gems. Indeed, one point of the star-shaped city was brightly lit, becoming a brilliant arrow pointing north. The market district hummed with activity. Night market shopkeepers hocked their wares, bars and restaurants buzzed with patrons, and Crystal Ponies and Equestrian visitors alike chatted and chortled the night away.

Tucked in a quiet block between two shops closed for the night was a small, squat building. The structure was in fact distinct for its lack of distinction. Unlike other Crystal Pony shops and dwellings, it was not composed of carved crystal or adorned with iridescent paint. Instead, its walls were made of simple stone and mortar, its furnishings of painted wood, and its roof of layered slate shingles — an architectural style that was uniquely Equestrian. A small easel sign bearing a carved-wood likeness of a studded horseshoe stood on the sidewalk, advertising the establishment's name: The Six Carat Horseshoe.

The interior of the Horseshoe matched its exterior aesthetic, with stone and wood being the dominant construction materials. Rough granite slabs formed the floor, punctuated by table fittings and vertical spars that supported the rafters. A stone hearth made its home in the far corner of the building in which a roaring fire burned. Despite the fact that the establishment was quite small, the high ceiling and limited lighting dispelled any lingering sense of claustrophobia.

Discs of seasoned wood laid on stacked rough-cut stones formed the tables. The tabletops were a wonder unto themselves, each being composed of massive cross-sections of what appeared to be a single ancient tree trunk. Efforts to count the number of growth rings would prove futile, only adding to the mystery. At the rear corner of the establishment was the bar, a long hardwood counter made of planks cut from the same trees as the tables. Like their circular counterparts, they were unvarnished, keeping all the dings and dents of everyday use, preserving it even through the Crystal Empire's magical slumber.

Strange ditties wafted through the establishment, the product of two Crystal Ponies upon the small stage at the Horseshoe's rear. One manned a xylophone, its bars made of glittering Crystal Empire stone rather than traditional Equestrian wood. The other sat behind a more familiar looking drum set. The The music was atonal and arhythmic, more ambient than melodic, and seemed to give the patrons of the Horseshoe the impression of being inside an enormous crystal.

Firefly tossed back her crystal berry mead, licking her lips and savoring the sweet, but sharp flavor of the Crystal Empire's native crop. Though she couldn't care less about the local music, she wasn't there to listen to some garage band perform. She was at the Horseshoe for a drink and bit of respite. The mead satisfied her needs for now. It was a welcome break from the "near beer" they were served on board ship. Had she the choice, she would gladly have dumped their entire stock overboard.

"Damn shame we can't grab a few kegs to go! Beats that near beer pisswater any day!" Sunburst smacked his lips as he finished a long draught from his flagon. "We could just take the ARC ship out to the edge of the shield dome and have ourselves a deck party!"

"And then get your wrinkly ass thrown in the brig for inappropriate use of Auntie Celestia's hardware!" Eastwind chuckled.

"Worth it!"

"You're not a Manehattan U frat boy anymore, Sunburst! Act like it!" Firefly gave Sunburst a mock glare. The old sire could be a hoof full sometimes, especially after he'd gotten a few drinks in him.

By the time she'd gotten to the bottom of her first flagon, Sunburst was already midway through his second and showed no signs of stopping. Normally Firefly would have joined him. Drinking contests were common and Firefly even held the unofficial squadron record for speed on the "7-gun salute," a gauntlet of liquor shots that rapidly escalated in both strength and pungency. But not today. Firefly was taking it easy. There would be no drinking contests, no crazy antics. She wasn't even sitting at their usual table, instead choosing a seat at the bar where she could nurse her drink in peace.

The rustic theme of the Six Carat Horseshoe might have proved off-putting to those with more refined tastes, but Firefly found it comforting to be reminded of home. The proprietor had done an excellent job replicating a bar from a small Heartland Equestrian town, right down to the 'lucky' horseshoes over the door and the carved wooden horseheads on the fireplace mantle. The bar itself stocked all sorts of spirits, beers, and wines, many of them now hot commodities seeing as the recipes were aged over a thousand years. A few imported kegs and bottles of Equestrian and Griffon beverages catered to patrons with simpler tastes. Firefly often sampled the various liquors and beers when she had a chance, finding a particular liking to the earthy but pungent flavors of southern Aquellian spirits.

"You need anything else, lieutenant commander?"

Firefly turned to the husky baritone voice of the Crystal Pony behind the counter. He was an older stallion with a faded blonde mane and cyan coat that glittered with the characteristic crystal sheen of the Empire's denizens. A tiny tuft of a beard grew on his chin the same color as his mane and tail, giving him a sagely, wizened look. Had it not been for the coat unique to all Crystal Ponies, he could easily have been mistaken for an earth pony in Equestria.

"You're not Navy, Castle! No need to call me commander in here!" Firefly dismissed the formality with a wave of her hoof. "You can make up to me by grabbing me another flagon of crystal berry mead, though!"

"Coming right up, Firefly," Castle chuckled.

Castle was the bartender and sole proprietor of the Horseshoe. A quick conversation revealed his love of other cultures and individual eccentricities. Unlike the other Crystal Ponies, who seemed to be in perpetual culture shock when talking to Alliance forces, Castle was perfectly at home conversing with Firefly and her squad. A few squadron nights at the Horseshoe and Castle was very nearly caught up with most of what had transpired during the Crystal Empire's disappearance; or as Castle preferred to call it, the "extended vacation."

"You seem awfully quiet tonight," he said as he poured Firefly's drink. "You're usually hammering down your second shot by now!"

"It's just one of those days," Firefly replied flatly.

"I can tell! It'd have to be pretty rough to wipe you out!"

Firefly frowned. Castle was doing his duty as bartender to keep his patrons engaged and entertained, but this was something she preferred not to talk about. Thankfully, he caught on to his faux pas quickly.

"I'm sorry, Firefly. I didn't mean to pry," Castle apologized.

"It's fine. I'm just a little strung out today. Stressful week."

"Well, let's not make it any more stressful then. Your drinks are on the house tonight. It's the least I can do for one of my most loyal patrons!"

"Hey, what about me?" Sunburst's voice called out behind her.

"You don't count, Sunburst!" Castle scowled. "You're paying for your own drinks tonight, old sire!"

"Mind picking something out for me, Firefly?"

"Keep dreaming, Sunshine." Firefly barely cracked a smile. She could hear Sunburst shift on his cushion behind her and resume his conversation with Eastwind, though she mostly tuned out what was said.

They meant well. All of them. Firefly sighed. Maybe Sunburst was on the right track. A couple shots from Castle's liquor shelf would make her relax for certain. With Castle's offer of free drinks, she could certainly load up if she wanted. But Firefly knew that numbing wasn't going to help. She had to go back to her friends.

"I'll just take this with me, Castle."

The bartender nodded and waved her off. Firefly picked up her flagon in one hoof and trotted back to the table on the other three, arriving just in time for Sunburst to finish his anecdote.

"... so this kid says to me, 'But Chief, you don't understand! This girl! She had a flank that could pull a train! It wasn't just a flank, it was literature!'"

"And you agreed with him?" Eastwind's response was a mixture of mock disgust and quiet amusement.

"Of course I did!" Sunburst snorted in feigned indignation. "I am a connoisseur of flank!"

"I'm surprised you didn't get court-martialed for harassment."

"Now hold on, there!" Sunburst raised his front hooves in a halting gesture. "I might have agreed with him, but I never actually said it out loud. Just because I was in Mu Lambda Pi at Manehattan U doesn't mean I'm unprofessional."

"So what did you actually say?"

"I told him," Sunburst crossed his hooves across his chest and in the gruffest possible voice emulated a Navy Recruit Division Commander. "'Son, I don't care how big her flank was, you're swabbing the hangar deck for the next week!'"

"Good call... chief." Firefly snickered. "I knew there was still a bit of RDC left in you!"

"Firefly!" Sunburst waved to her. "You're just in time for my next fantastical tale of life on the San Palomino!"

"I can guarantee I've already heard this one."

"Oh c'mon! You don't want another go just for old time's sake?"

"Thanks for the offer, chief, but I'm good. Now where the hay is Thunderlane?" The sound of opening doors caught Firefly's ear.

"Speak of the devil..." Eastwind said.

"... and he shall appear!" Sunburst finished.

Firefly's eyes quickly followed, falling upon several ponies in military flight jackets filing in: a griffon, an areion, a few pegasi, and finally Thunderlane. The rookie seemed entirely unaware that he was being watched. Instead his attention was being held by the story he was telling, the hoof and wing motions to go with it, and the celeste-coated lady pegasus listening with rapt interest. Eventually, Thunderlane seemed to realize where he was and — apparently with great reluctance — said his goodbyes and approached the table.

"Sorry I'm late, ma'am," Thunderlane said, snapping to attention.

Before he could salute, Firefly waved him off. "Cut the formalities, kid. We're off duty!"

"Sorry I'm late... Firefly." Thunderlane hestitated before enunciating her name, as if it were a word in a foreign language, one that ponies were unable to even vocalize like indigenous Aquellian or Unyasan click-tongue. Firefly smirked at Thunderlane's level of fluster. For all his credentials and coltscout demeanor, he seemed absolutely stymied by seniority.

"Pull up a cushion and have yourself a drink." Firefly said, patting the cushion next to her. "I promise we don't bite!"

The Horseshoe's seating accomodations were quite literally down to earth. As opposed to high bar stools and elevated tables in a typical establishment, the great tree tables were laid close to the ground, with cushions placed around them to allow ponies to lie or sit down as they saw fit. Firefly sat down into a cushion next to Eastwind, shuffling her own wings as she settled in.

"So much buzz about artifacts and history flying around, and all you jokers care about is the mead!" Castle laughed as he brought over a flagon of mead for Thunderlane.

"Do we look like eggheads to you?" Firefly retorted.

"Eh, Eastwind kinda does when she wears glasses." Sunburst squinted as he spoke, feigning the vision problems of old age.

"But you obviously don't." Eastwind paused to give the punchline some extra weight. "Seeing as your alma mater was Manehattan U after all!"

"Why I oughta..." Sunburst shook his hoof in mock consternation, to which Eastwind responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Excuse the foals," Firefly chuckled. "This is their opportunity to act out, so they take all the silliness they can get."

"Thank you, Castle." Thunderlane said, giving a nod of acknolwedgement to each pony as he spoke. "Firefly, Sunburst, and Eastwind? It's an honor to get the opportunity to fly with you!"

"You're a real piece of work, aren't you, kid?" Firefly smirked. "You ever going to stop being impeccably polite?"

"I was always taught to be polite to my superior officers, ma— Firefly." Thunderlane managed to catch himself before slipping back into formalities.

"Army brat?"

"Nah, I'm first generation, actually," Thunderlane replied, finally hitting his stride. "During my stint in Wonderbolt Academy, Fleetfoot, one of the instructors, kind of took me under her wing. I picked up the lingo and the culture quick."

"You didn't go Wonderbolt after the war?" Firefly raised an eyebrow.

"They left the offer open, but I'd already fallen in love with the military life by then." Thunderlane shrugged.

"No kidding."

Firefly was genuinely intrigued. Though not military, the Wonderbolts were Equestria's premier aerobatics demonstration team and the flier equivalent of rock stars. Trottingham United and Sapphire Shores had nothing on them. To even be accepted into the academy was every Equestrian Pegasus' dream and to pass selections was a fast track to stardom. Ponies would have killed to be in Thunderlane's position, and he just turned them down — to do military grunt work of all things.

"He really is a poster boy for recruitment!" Sunburst laughed, slapping the table with a hoof. The laugh was contagious, quickly spreading to the other members of the squad. Even Thunderlane ventured a nervous chuckle.

"So who's your marefriend, rookie?" Sunburst asked after he'd finished.

"Marefriend?" Thunderlane cocked his head to the side, entirely puzzled. "I don't have a —"

Firefly rolled her eyes. There he went again! Sunburst's ear for gossip and tongue for needling were at it again.

"Nonsense!" Sunburst grinned like a hyena, his eyebrows waggling. "You think we didn't see that cutie walking in the door with you?"

"I —" Thunderlane tried to formulate a response, but it was quickly drowned out by other squad chatter.

"Knock it off, Fratburst," Eastwind said, punching Sunburst on the shoulder.

"What? I was just hoping to hear a good story!"

"Walking in the door? Wait, you mean Stormy?" Thunderlane said, cutting everypony short. "We're not together!"

For a moment, there was no response from the squad, save for a raised eyebrow from Firefly. Sunburst looked at Eastwind and smirked, to which she responded with snickering. Firefly shook her head as Thunderlane stuttered and stumbled with his words before finally regaining his composure.

"It's not that funny, guys!" He scowled. "I was just being friendly, seeing as this is the first night in country for both of us. She's one of the new officer recruits! She's from Ponyville, too. Can't believe we've lived there all our lives and never remember meeting each other!"

"Already on a nickname basis, huh?" Eastwind perched her chin atop her hooves and leaned on the table as she listened to Thunderlane. "Sounds like the beginning of a great love story!"

"Or a trashy graphic novel." Sunburst snickered.

"I don't think your 'gentlecolt' mags count as graphic novels, Sunburst!" Eastwind shot back.

"Hey what is this? Lay into the old sire night?" Sunburst decried the retort in mock offense.

"Every night without fail!"

Firefly continued to study Thunderlane as the others carried on. His expressions ran the gamut from amused to nervous to mortified. Like his earlier reactions in the hangar, these seemed genuine, if a bit awkward. Firefly found it easier to relax when she knew that she wouldn't have to foalsit or constantly bang heads with the neophyte.

Thunderlane finally took a sip of his drink. "Hey... this stuff IS good!"

"Told you so!" Firefly grinned. "If the Crystal Ponies can make one good thing, it's their Crystal Berry mead. You haven't drank until you've tried this stuff!"

The look on Thunderlane's face was that of pure joy. The rookie had that strange schoolboy charm about him; a bit of impeccable politeness, a dollop of naivete, all mixed in with a dash of wit. He'd said this was his first time out of the country. With his reactions, Firefly had to wonder if this was his first time with alcohol as well.

"So one thing I was wondering on my way here..." Thunderlane said as he set down his drink. "Why is this place called the Six Carat Horseshoe?"

"Ah! That's a story for the ages, isn't it?" Castle had just arrived to bus the empty flagons and bring fresh drinks for Eastwind and Sunburst.

"Here we go again!" The older pegasus rolled his eyes.

"Shhh! Let him tell it! Thunderlane hasn't heard this one before!" Eastwind pushed at Sunburst's shoulder playfully.

Thunderlane looked slightly bewildered, but listened with intent curiosity nonetheless. Firefly smirked. Castle could spin yarns with the best of them. She'd already heard this one like the others, but the tale never got any less entertaining.

"Once upon a time, there was a simple Crystal Pony and his beautiful marefriend." Castle twirled is bar rag like a sash and did his best impression of a curvy mare's walk, much to the fliers' amusement.

"The Crystal stallion treated her like a princess. He doted on her day and night and brought her everything that she could possibly want!" As he talked, he stood up on his hind hooves, pantomiming the carriage of golden serving platters and the motions of scattering bits from a pouch on the streets.

"Soon he decided that it was time to consummate their relationship. He found the finest goldsmith in the Crystal Capital and commissioned a set of golden horseshoes studded with diamonds that shone like the sun!" Castle pretended to show off his front fetlocks, as if they had just been adorned with the golden horseshoes of which he spoke.

"But all was not well." The bartender bared his teeth and reared up, doing an impression of a furious Ursa, before quickly dropping down to all four hooves.

"As it turns out that mare was a bitch and filed for a divorce!" Castle grinned a goofy grin and tapped his hoof on the table.

"Women, am I right?" Sunburst smirked at Castle. Eastwind punched him on the shoulder.

"Hold your bridles, I'm not done yet!" Castle held up a hoof to interrupt. In an instant, he was back to storytelling and pantomime. "That clever stallion got her back. He took one of those studded horseshoes and sold it off for a tidy sum," he said as he mimed dropping bits in a pouch.

"Which was enough to purchase a plot of land—" he traced a square in the air for the plot of land "—and make the down payment for building a bar."

"The bar was named the Six Carat Horseshoe in honor of the one thing from that stallion's ex-wife that actually got him somewhere!" Castle ended the story with a flourish, slinging the bar rag over his shoulders like a champion boxer would with his towel. "And that's how I came to be the proprietor of this fair establishment!"

The applause began with the customary slow claps from Sunburst. Clapping spread across the table to Firefly and then Eastwind. But then others joined in until all of the adjacent tables were applauding the performance. Each pony at the table bore the same silly grin that adorned the faces of Sunburst, Eastwind, and Firefly.

"I'm sorry for your loss?" Thunderlane's response was more of a question than a statement. Combined with his quizzical expression, it was obvious he was unsure of whether to be happy or sympathetic.

"Sorry?" Castle scoffed. "Nonsense! She was a bitch all along. I was just too blinded by her generous show of flank to notice."

Castle swung a hoof as if clocking an imaginary foe across the face. "But now I've got my own house, I own a bar, I sample alcohol and food all night, and I get to make ponies happy every day. I think this is a much better deal then being stuck with her!"

"I'm right there with you, brother!" Sunburst raised his flagon in salute before taking a hefty swig.

"Glad you're happy now, Castle," Thunderlane finally said. "Lesson learned. There's only so much you should do for flank."

"Damn straight!" Castle chuckled. "You catch on quick, kid! I like you!"

"Go take care of your other customers, Castle!" Firefly grinned as she waved him off. "The Timberwolves aren't your only patrons!"

The barkeep chuckled as he trotted off to tend to his other customers, leaving full flagons in his wake. Firefly finally began sipping at her second drink. As she put the flagon down, she continued to observe Thunderlane.

"So Thunderlane. How's your first night in country?"

"Pretty good," he replied after a quick swig of his mead. "I was used to having sterner COs from OCS and post-war deployment, but I guess I could get used to this. It's a hay of an adjustment though. So many new ponies."

"You don't know the half of it," Eastwind said. "The Timberwolves are just one flight out of a whole squadron. VFA-108 is made up of all the combat flier teams and aircrews on the Majestic."

"The Commander gave me a rundown of the order of battle while we were going over the air group's area of the ship. I don't think I'll ever remember all the other flight names."

"We don't expect you to. Hell, I don't even think Brahma remembers all of them. Guess that's what name tapes are for on our uniforms, eh?" Sunburst said.

"Guess so." Thunderlane smacked his lips as he took a long draught. "So what makes Timberwolf so special? Did I get assigned to spec ops or am I going to be cleaning latrines the rest of my deployment?"

Firefly smiled. The kid warmed up quickly. Firefly put her flagon down as she explained. "No latrine duty. Not yet, anyway. Timberwolf is the point of the spear. If the CAG needs pirates sliced, it's our job to do it."

"Good thing I took the air combat maneuvering course at Wonderbolt Academy, then!"

"You're kidding, right?" Sunburst raised an eyebrow.

"Relax, Sunshine." Firefly raised a hoof in a halting gesture. "If his credentials didn't clear, he wouldn't even be here. Unless there was some colossal snafu back at MEPS, of course. I'm hoping that's not the case. Is it?"

"No ma'am!" Thunderlane jumped to respond. "I did a quick tour out before I transferred to VFA-108. We saw light action against pirates near Trostislava."

"Good, so you know what it's like to freeze your flank off!" Firefly replied. "Just don't expect to freeze in peace. I guarantee you the highwaymares that hang out in the southlands are pussycats compared to these guys. Once you step outside that shield dome, you're fair game."

"I'll try to keep that in mind, ma'am."

Eastwind chuckled at Thunderlane. "'Ma'am this and ma'am that. They must have drilled you hard at academy, rookie!"

Thunderlane grinned sheepishly, rubbing a free hoof over his mane. Eastwind and Sunburst laughed. Firefly sniffed at the needling and said nothing further. There was a momentary pause as all squad members dipped into their drinks.

"So..." Thunderlane began again. "How long have you been flying together?"

"Since the end of the Continental War," Sunburst said.

"You're pretty much the All-Equestrians of the squadron, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that!" Firefly put a hoof to her chin and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Two out of three of us anyway. Eastwind is actually from Cirria."

"Sybaris, to be precise," Eastwind added. "I flew with the 77th before I transferred into the Alliance fleet."

"The Cirrian 77th Wing? 'Antares'?" Thunderlane was incredulous. "I heard they were the best fliers in the fleet!"

"You flatter me," Eastwind said, jokingly fanning herself with a hoof. "I actually wasn't a first string combat flier. My unit ran logistics for the 77th before the war. When one of the main line units was wiped out in a skirmish, my flight got pressed into service as a stopgap."

"Then they decided they liked her so much that they stuck her with Sunburst and I," Firefly finished. "And here we are!"

The Crystal Pony band kicked into yet another number, this time more upbeat and less ambient. Firefly buried her muzzle into her drink. Ambient before was fine. Firefly could just let it fade into the background. But this was... obnoxious.

"What's up with this weird-ass music?" Sunburst echoed Firefly's sentiment.

"Yes, because ethnic music obviously classes as weird-ass by default." Eastwind scowled at Sunburst.

Firefly could understand why. Eastwind was well-educated, well-traveled, and not natively Equestrian. Sunburst was a Manehattan U fraternity colt in spite of his age. This wouldn't have been the first time they'd disagreed over something based on fundamental differences in upbringing.

"I'm sure I'd like it more if I were a Crystal Pony." Sunburst said.

"It's music night. If you signed up, you get to play," Firefly said flatly. "I don't like it either, but you don't hear me belly-achin'. Besides..."

Scattered smatterings of applause amid the buzz of background chatter and the clinks and clanks of utensils on counter-tops were the reward of the Crystal Pony musicians, who quietly packed their instruments and trotted off stage. Before they'd even set hoof in the bar proper, however, stage hoofs had filed in from the back rooms with music stands, microphones, speakers, risers, and seats. The stage hoofs were quickly replaced with pony musicians, enough to fill out an entire Equestrian big band. With all the motion and commotion, it seemed a big production was about to take place!

"...if Crystal-y stuff isn't your cup of tea, don't worry. Moon Shine and the Sun Riders are up next!"

"She's that actress turned singer, right?" Thunderlane ventured.

"Mmmmhm!" Sunburst closed his eyes and grinned a goofy grin as if recalling some fabulous memory. "And a damned fine one if I don't say so myself!"

"Do you even remember what her face looks like, Sunshine?" Eastwind teased. "Or are you too busy 'connoisseuring' her flank?"

The sound of feedback on the microphone interrupted Sunburst's retort and drew everypony's attention to the stage. The band halted its tunings and hummings and fell silent as its final member of the band showed herself. The earth pony mare's coat was a lucious cream, accentuated by the slinky, sequined red dress that hugged her curves and shimmered as she moved. Her wavy mane and tail were by contrast a jet black that seemed to shine in the glint of the limelight. Red lipstick and sky blue eye shadow framed perfect teeth and velvet red eyes.

"Good evening fillies and colts!" She spoke with a honeyed sweetness, a deep alto that oozed sultriness and played to her military audience. "Most of you know me already, but for those who don't, I'm Moon Shine, and these fellows are the Sun Riders!"

Applause and more than a few wolf whistles went up from the now gathered crowd. Moon Shine was by all accounts well-dressed, well-proportioned, and well-aware of the effect she had on her audience. She flashed a winning smile and pulled the mic closer to her lips.

"Fighting pirates, cleaning up the streets, and training a Crystal Army can't be easy! On behalf of all Alliance nations, we thank you for your service!" The mare blew a kiss to the crowd, drawing a few smatterings of further applause. "The ESO wants to give back by giving you all a little taste of home!"

"But enough with the theatrics. I'm sure you didn't come here just to hear me talk..." She released the microphone stand, allowing it to clatter back into place. The voluptuous mare wheeled around, giving her tail a flick and her hips a shake as she stood up in front of the band. Moon Shine gave one final glance behind her and winked to the audience before counting off the band into their first number.

"Now that's more like it!" Sunburst crowed. "None of this amateur hour horseapples! Good old proper big band music!"

"I thought your ears were on your head not between your legs, Sunburst." Eastwind rolled her eyes as she teased.

As the band kicked up, the bar seemed to attract even more military patrons. Ponies, griffons, aerion, and creatures of all sorts from all different units filed in until it seemed that most of the fleet staff who were allowed shore leave were in that tiny bar.

"Is that who I think it is?"

Firefly turned her head at the familiar voice. "Forge, you son of a bitch!"

'Forge' grinned as much as a creature with a beak could grin. Firefly stood up from her seat and lifted up her front legs to embrace him. The griffon returned the bear hug, being careful to keep his talons from digging into Firefly's back.

Though Chief Warrant Officer Victor Forgewing was nearly a half-head taller than Firefly, he considered was small for his species; small for griffons meaning anything close to pony-sized. By Equestrian standards Forge might have been average height, but his barrel chest and beefy limbs kept most would-be troublemakers at bay. His feathers were an ash grey tipped with red on his pinions and his crest. The tuft on his chest was striped with black bands on its white fluff, looking almost comical with how built Forge already was.

"Firefly, you crazy spitfire!" Forgewing's low Aquellian accent immediately showed through.

"How've you been, birdlion?" Quickly breaking the embrace, Firefly hooked her fetlock through his wrist and pulled him close to bump shoulders. "After missing out on the pub crawl last week we thought they'd shipped you back to Aquellia to clean up after the nationalists!"

"That'd be too easy!" The griffon laughed. "Nah, I've been up to my elbows in gun grease and aetherdust! I should have just left tuning the repeaters to the unicorns. If I wanted to sparkle, I'd have let my daughter put glitter in my feathers!"

"Careful, Forge," Sunburst joked, throwing his barb across the table. "You might grow an extra pair of wings from the stuff!"

"Wouldn't that be something, huh? A double griffon! I'd be a living legend!" Forge pointed to Sunburst with a single talon and winked, clicking his tongue after the word 'legend.' "I'm going to clobber that seaman apprentice who decided it would be funny to plaster photos of it all over the armory office. We'll see who's laughing when I stick the master chief on his sorry arse!"

"Get 'em good, Forge," Sunburst said, waving his hoof in what could only be described as an Equestrian's best impression of a handed creature's 'thumbs up.'

"Too right," Forge nodded. "By the way, Firefly, I've been meaning to introduce you! This is my mate Atal!"

Out of the shadows behind Forgewing stepped a slender, snake-like figure. Firefly immediately recognized it as that of an adolescent dragon. While lacking the size of the elder behemoths that comprised his brethren, Atal still towered above Firefly and Forge, his body from head to tail easily being three pony-lengths long. Atal's wings were folded neatly by his side, but Firefly could still make out a soft glow that seeped out from beneath them. Firefly's eyes followed the glow out from under his wings to the strange markings on his shoulders and arms. Tattoo-like lines formed angular, unnatural patterns in his otherwise deep green scales, the lines glowing a faint blue in the dim lighting of the bar.

Firefly ruffled her wings as she looked the creature up and down. "No kidding. A sorcerer-dragon!"

Dragons were uncommon, at least to a mainland Equestrian like Firefly. She'd heard that outside the Heartland, dragons were not considered 'exotic'; apparently they mingled regularly with other ponies. But even more uncommon than normal dragons were sorcerer-dragons. Their ability to fly, fight, and cast made them valuable assets to the Alliance. Firefly had seen a few regular dragons on board ship, but this was her first time being formally introduced to one, let alone a sorcerer.

The dragon bowed politely. When he finally spoke, his words were slow, deliberate, and carefully measured. "A pleasure to meet you, commander. I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Atal al-Adria."

"Atal, Atal, we're off duty!" Firefly held her hoof up in a halting gesture. "I hate being called commander when I've got a drink in hoof! Makes me feel like I'm still in charge or something! Forge has said a lot about you! Guess you're some kind of genius?"

"Genius, no," Atal chuckled softly. "Well-read, yes."

"Humble, too!" Firefly laughed.

"Don't let his bookworm looks fool you, Firefly, he's a killer in there!" Forge smirked.

"The only killing I do is on the numbers. I work with the arcanist teams handling artifacts for the Crystal Ponies."

"Color me impressed." Firefly whistled to emphasize her remark. "I never took dragons to be the intellectual type."

"Much like how most creatures never took Equestrians to be the fighting type?" A subtle smirk crossed the dragon's face. "There are two sides to every coin, Firefly. You may have seen my kind be ferocious brutes and cunning tacticians, but I serve my unit best as a simple scholar."

"Scales, hooves, beaks, and claws! We're all one big happy family!" Forge cawed. "Isn't PEACE a beautiful thing?"

"I can never call it PEACE with a straight face." As if to drive home the point, Firefly put a hoof to her lips to suppress a snicker. "Seriously, who comes up with these names?"

"PEACE" was the acronym for the Pax Equestria Allied Commerce Entente, or as Firefly liked to put it, "the most pretentious possible name anypony could give a group of nations." The name predated both the Continental War and Firefly's military career, though years of use had corrupted it to "The Alliance" among military circles or more rarely, "Pax Equestria." Either was preferable to PEACE — at least to Firefly.

"Probably some wowser like the captain, amiright?" Forge chuckled.

"Can't disagree there."

"Speaking of the cap'n, I heard he went off again today."

Firefly's eyes narrowed. "And where did you hear that?"

"Hangar crew. A couple of the blokes working on the ARC ships said he gave one of the squads a sound thrashing today."

"Oh, so you heard..."

Forge cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. It took a moment before understanding finally set in. "That was you?"

"Regrettably." Firefly snorted in annoyance as thoughts of the encounter flashed through her head again.

"I am told this is the usual treatment for senior officers." Atal said.

"Only for those who don't fly under the radar with him. Unfortunately, Skywind seems to have developed a taste for combat fliers. He should know by now that we operate best when we're given the license to do what we do best."

"I empathize," Atal nodded in sympathy. "My old commanding officer in Stalliongrad was the same way. He micromanaged everything down to the last detail."

"It's a bitch, isn't it?" Firefly spat. "If I wanted my reins yanked, I'd pay for it and I sure as hell wouldn't have Skywind be the one doing it!"

The swinging of the doors was bearly audible against the backdrop of the Sun Riders' tunes and the constant chatter of bar patrons. But the moment the newcomers stepped into the bar, the chatter went silent, leaving the band playing into dead air. The palpable change in atmosphere immediately attracted Firefly's attention. The commander squinted to see past the faerie lamp lit tables closer to the door. Her gaze swept across her squad's table, showing that the other Timberwolves were just as fixated upon the new arrivals as she was. A low growl issued from Firefly's throat as recognition set in.

"I think that's our cue to get going..." Forge said in a low voice. "I'll try to catch you after the show, Firefly."

"Stay out of trouble, birdlion. You too, Atal." Though she addressed the two, her eyes continued to be fixed upon the newcomers.

"I will do my best, Firefly."

Firefly immediately trotted back to her table. As she approached, Thunderlane turned around slowly, continuing to sneak glances at the arrivals out of the corner of his eye, as if breaking line of sight would result in immediate aggression. "Should we be worried? They look like they mean trouble."

Four dragons sauntered past the Timberwolves' table, taking seats at a table in the near corner of the bar. As they did, Firefly recalled that upon their arrival at the Horseshoe, that table had been empty and had indeed remained unoccupied even when the bar had begun to fill with guests wanting to see Moon Shine. The dragons ran a full spectrum of colors: red, blue, green, and gold. Each one was also far from behemoth-sized, but still larger than Atal, being both taller and more muscular.

Unlike Atal, who wore the canvas flight jacket common to other Alliance fliers, these dragons clinked and clanked as they moved. Segmented gold metallic armor plate covered thier chests. The jangling noise came from woven baldrics tucked into studded leather belts upon which were suspended coin-like ornaments. At first, it appeared that they were all wearing cloaks, but these were quickly revealed to be their wings folded upon their backs. The dragons ignored the rest of the ponies, proceeding to their table as if they were the only patrons in the bar.

"They're Alliance," Firefly spat as she took her seat, finally answering Thunderlane's question. "Doesn't mean we have to like 'em, though."

"Who are those guys?" Thunderlane asked, cocking his head to the side quizzically.

"You see that emblem?" Firefly pointed to the shoulder pauldron of one of the dragons. Closer inspection revealed a roundel with a sword piercing a snake's skull that had sprouted a pair of demon's wings. "They're from the Pyrian Asymmetric Conflict Group."

"Special Operations Forces?"

"Tier One."

"I thought we got our SOF support from Stalliongrad Guard and Royal Equestrian SF."

"We do." Firefly snorted as though the very thought drew her ire. "The Pyrians decided it wasn't enough, so they sent their own SOF teams with us. The admiral wasn't happy."

"If they're good enough to get a Tier One designation, we should be glad to have them on our side..." Thunderlane slowed as he spoke, uncertain of whether to sate his curiosity or let the subject go. "Right?"

"Not these guys," Eastwind filled in for Firefly. "ACG knows their stuff, but we've never seen anypony act like more of a flankhole over it than them."

"It's not all about body counts and performance numbers, kid," Sunburst said, "as much as the Captain tries to make it out that way. Team dynamics are important, too, and these guys only seem to play for themselves."

"The captain is Pyrian, too, right?" Thunderlane's ear flicked as he tried to recall everything he'd learned that day. "Is he ACG?"

"Pfft." Firefly pursed her lips and forced a sputter. "His pasty ass isn't tough enough for ACG. I'm pretty sure he had some connections in the Pyrian Council of Regents to get him aboard the Majestic, especially as Captain."

Thunderlane leaned his elbows on the table and perched his head on his hooves. The rookie's furrowed brow indicated that he was deep in thought. The rest of the Timberwolves nursed their drinks in silence, stealing furtive glances at the dragon team several tables over between sips. Even the music seemed to fade, becoming listless noise in the background. Finally, Thunderlane spoke.

"What's up with you guys and the Pyrians anyway?"

Firefly and Eastwind looked at each other, then to Sunburst. The elder flier merely shook his head and waved them off with a hoof. Firefly sniffed in vexation.

"They're rich beyond our wildest dreams," she began. Her emphasis of the pronoun and forceful tonality made her disdain immediately clear. "They have money, they have tech, and they have political clout, so they act like they run the whole damn Alliance. It's like they already forgot that Equestria bailed them out of a world war or something."

"Isn't the CAG from Pyre, too?"

"Not by a longshot. Brahma went to Naval Academy in Pyre for conversion training, but she's full-blooded Equestrian. Grew up in Canterlot, if memory serves me."

"So being from Pyre automatically makes you soulless?"

"Damn close. They care about making money, keeping themselves safe, and not much else."

Thunderlane shook his head at Firefly's prognosis. The look on his face reflected his incredulity. Was this what R&R was supposed to be like? The rookie flier stood up from his seat. "This is a little too heavy for me. I'm hitting the dance floor. Maybe Stormy will still be over there."

"Go get her, tiger!" Eastwind goaded.

While Sunburst and Eastwind continued to dip into their drinks, Firefly left her flagon alone, instead closing her eyes and breathing a long sigh. She felt a twinge of guilt for railing about her issues with Pyrian politics. After all, she'd once been in Thunderlane's horseshoes; far from home, dropped in a jumble of ponies who were expected to work together not because they wanted to but because their survival depended upon it. Thunderlane was starting fresh, he didn't need to be burdened with the previous war's baggage. A sudden eruption of laughter from the dragons' table broke Firefly out of her reverie.

"You know, someone of my abilities could make a killing out there on the open market!" The red dragon boasted. This one was of stockier build, being similar to Atal in height but nearly twice as wide at the shoulder. His arms and legs held substantial muscle and, if Firefly squinted into the dim light, faded battle scars.

"I hear that overseas they're looking for mercenaries!" He continued. "I bet I could make double what the Alliance is paying us for this job!"

"Wishful thinking." The response was clipped and flat, bordering on apathetic. "With the Alliance moving in on everything, there won't be any mercenary business left in a few years."

The speaker was a blue dragon, a female judging by her timbre of voice and slimmer, more lithe frame. Firefly's eyes narrowed as her vision fell upon the glowing gold lines traced across the dragonness' scales. ACG had a sorcerer-dragon.

"In fact," the dragonness contined, seemingly unaware she was being watched, "I'd argue that the more goody goody you get, the worse the underworld becomes. Evil always finds a place to rest its head. Sometimes, it's in places you don't expect it to be."

"More firepower will solve that in two shakes," the red one sneered.

"You can't fire blast every problem away, Khog!" The blue dragon snorted in mock disdain.

"Nonsense, Roshina! When at first you don't succeed, call ACG and we'll make the problem disappear!" Khog's laugh was quickly joined by the others.

"There's more to statecraft than warfighting, Khog," Roshina said, finally allowing a chuckle at her squadmate's enthusiastic responses. "Scorched earth isn't exactly conducive to an Equestrian invasion!"

"Invasion?" Khog scoffed. "More like vacation! At least the fighting's good when we get it!"

Firefly snorted at their rhetoric. To be anti-war was one thing. To disparage a security operation at the behest of the host nation was another entirely. Pyrian arrogance knew no bounds.

"I can't hear horseapples over here with them yammering on like that!" Sunburst growled.

"Leave 'em, Sunshine," Eastwind said, waving him down. "Dragons are as dragons do."

"And they'd do best to shut up!" Sunburst leaped to his hooves, nearly stumbling over the cushion as he did so. His inattentiveness to personal volume and poorly coordinated hoofwork immediately marked him as inebrieted. Sunburst had just hit the critical mass of drink.

"Oh for the love of — "

Firefly didn't get the chance to finish her epithet. Before any of the other Timberwolves could grab him, Sunburst had departed his seat and strode right up to the dragons' table. Firefly put her hoof to her forehead and sighed in exasperation before giving chase.

"Hey scaly! Keep your blabbermouthing down! Some of us are actually here for the show!" Sunburst's rebuke was rude and to the point.

Khog halted mid-conversation, pausing for a moment before standing up from his seat. As he turned around, he stood up to his full height and spread his wings, enlarging his silhouette even further. In the dancing glow of fairie light, Khog seemed to grow to unfathomable size, towering over Sunburst in both stature and build. The older stallion remained unfazed, however, his courage inflated to titanic levels by his alcohol intake.

"Good! You can actually hear me over yourself!" Sunburst continued to needle him.

"Let me ask you something, little pony," Khog snarled angrily, pausing a moment before his question for extra emphasis. "How quickly would you like to die?"

"I don't intend to," Sunburst shot back. He pointed with a hoof, wobbling on the other three. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Sunburst!" Firefly hissed at the stallion and hooked her front leg around his, dragging him away before giving him a shove back toward their table. Sunburst stumbled while attempting to regain his footing, tripping and tumbling until he finally ended up face-first on his cushion seat, where he stayed for the time being.

"Apologies for the interruption," Firefly said flatly, before turning around to trot back to her table. "As you were."

"Arrogant ponies!" Khog snarled angrily, wisps of smoke blowing out of his nostrils, stinging Firefly's olfactories with the pungent odor of burning phosphorus. "Always thinking you own everything! Whether it's countries, contracts, or tables at a damned bar!"

Firefly stopped dead. Even though it was technically Sunburst's fault for being stupid drunk, Khog's last statement really got under Firefly's skin. How dare he! They were the ones who acted like they owned the place! If Firefly were the owner of the Horseshoe, she would've given them the boot long ago!

"Excuse me?" Firefly whirled around and glared at Khog, meeting his gaze with the same laser beam stare that she'd matched with Skywind earlier that day.

"You heard me," Khog glowered. "You will not tell us what to do at our own table. We sent for it ahead of time, so we will do as we please with it!"

"Wrong, lieutenant." Firefly shot back, giving a quick glance at the dragon's rank tab. "Need I remind you that you work for the Alliance? I don't care if you're Pyrian, Equestrian, Aquellian, or mud. You — "

"I don't take orders from little ponies like — "

"Shut your hay hole when I'm talking, boy!" Firefly snapped, jabbing Khog in the chest with a hoof and looking him right in the eye. "You listen to me, lieutenant. You can take your patronizing and shove it up your scaly ass! The second you signed that contract, you chose to represent something greater than yourself, so act like it! If you're not going to do it to win hearts and minds, at least do it to stay out of trouble!"

Khog growled a guttural growl, blowing additional smoke at Firefly, his claws balled as if he was about to punch her in the face. Firefly's eyes burned from the smoke, but she stood her ground, her wings partially opened and her hooves light on the ground, ready to counterattack if Khog made a false move. Moments dragged into seconds as the pony and the dragon stared each other down. Finally, a blue claw crossed in front of Khog, pushing him back as Roshina stepped in front of him.

"You'll have to forgive Khog's enthusiasm." In stark contrast to Khog, Roshina's address was unnervingly calm, a hint of amusement playing at the edge of her voice. "He's very excited about the prospect of cutting his teeth on things that test his mettle. He means you no harm."

Firefly glared back at Roshina. "I would hardly consider implicitly threatening to roast me alive 'meaning me no harm.'"

"To be fair, he was minding his own business until your stallion came over to — shall we say — 'admonish' him." Roshina gestured toward Sunburst's passed-out form, still face down on the cushion.

"And to be fair to Sunburst, Khog was being highly disruptive," Firefly countered. "I'm going to repeat what I said to Khog. We're not in the Crystal Empire to make asses of ourselves."

"Again, I can counterpoint with your stallion."

"That stallion can be fixed with a night's rest and a cold shower. I'm not sure how you're going to fix Khog..." Firefly said. Khog snarled ferally and pressed forward, a balled fist again threatening Firefly's face. Once more, Roshina pushed him back, keeping herself between Khog and Firefly.

"Patience, Khog," Roshina said. "Fisticuffs will not solve this problem, either."

Despite her impassiveness, Roshina maintained a presence that was nearly overwhelming. Her entire countenance exuded cool confidence, as if it were a simple matter of fact that everything she spoke of was the truth. Even Khog was prompted to rein himself in and back away. To Firefly, this was highly disconcerting. She felt something strange in the pit of her stomach, a feeling that she couldn't quite place as she looked Roshina in the eye.

"How about this," Roshina continued. "Why don't we go back to the way it was before? You tend to your table and your ponies and I tend to my table and my dragons. We can pretend we never had this little spat and get on with our lives."

"Yes. Let's." Firefly said through her teeth.

"I'm glad we could agree on something." Roshina grinned a toothy grin. "Pleasant evening to you, Lieutenant Commander... Firefly."

By the time Roshina had bid her farewell, Firefly was already trotting back to her table. The flier gritted her teeth. She'd finally placed that feeling. It was guilt. Not just regular guilt from regretful action, the self-doubting kind of guilt; the feeling that she was wrong even if she wasn't at fault. Firefly shivered as she settled back into her seat. She prided herself on being able to stare down death and make him blink. She could gun and knife fight a thousand pirates without batting an eye. But Roshina's presence somehow shook her — and she didn't like it.

Upon return to her squadmates, an awkward silence settled over the table. Thunderlane had since ventured off to the dance floor, where he could be seen with the celeste-coated mare from earlier, dancing to a slow tune from the band. Eastwind was busy watching over Sunburst, who remained face-down in his cushion, and Firefly could do little more than stare at her drink and brood. Meanwhile, the Pyrian dragons continued to carry on as if nothing had happened.

The silence was broken by Thunderlane's return. The rookie chattered excitedly with his dance partner as they approached, completely oblivious as to what had just transpired. He was clearly excited, accentuated by the band kicking into an upbeat number for the swing dancers near the stage.

"Guys! You should totally get out on the dance floor! Moon Shine's got some really awesome numbers pl—" Thunderlane stopped mid-sentence as he saw the state of the table. "I missed something didn't I?"

Eastwind looked at Firefly, who barely acknowledged Thunderlane's arrival. The Cirrian lieutenant patted Sunburst on the head before turning to Thunderlane. "What was your first clue?"

"What happened?"

"Sunburst tried to pick a fight with a dragon." Eastwind's reply was matter of fact, seeming to imply that this was what usually happened when Sunburst got too drunk.

"I thought the old sire could hold his liquor?" Thunderlane cocked an eyebrow.

Eastwind shook her head. "He wishes he could. This isn't junior year at Manehattan U."

"I can hold my liquor just fine, thank you!" Sunburst slurred as he suddenly sat back up. Eastwind sighed and Firefly mumbled something unintelligible — but disapproving nonetheless — into her flagon. Despite his vehement denial, it was clear Sunburst was no longer in any shape to continue the night.

"I... should probably go," Thunderlane's companion said, an awkward smile on her face. The pegasus mare backpedaled a few steps before turning around and promptly trotting off. Thunderlane opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out at first.

"I'll... see you around..." He managed as she wandered out of earshot. Thunderlane was crestfallen. His ears drooped and he let out a long sigh as he sat down on the cushion and allowed his forehead to hit the table's surface.

"Stupid, stupid," he mumbled to himself before picking up his flagon and finishing off the rest of his mead in one long gulp.

"Yes," Firefly finally spoke clearly, answering a question that had not yet been asked. "It's been that kind of night."

"I think Sunburst has had enough fun for now," Eastwind said. "We should probably get him back to the ship. I can have Castle call us a cab."

"We'll manage," Firefly said as she stood from her seat. "This wouldn't have been the first time we've dragged his drunken flank back to his bunk. C'mon, chief! Up and at 'em!"

"I am not a geriatric! I can walk myself!" Sunburst slurred in reply.

"I'm sure you can, chief. Why don't you lead us back to the ship?" Firefly motioned with her head and slipped under Sunburst's left front leg, draping it over her shoulder like a wagon yoke. Eastwind mirrored her action on the other side until they could prop Sunburst up on his hind legs and walk him home, however slowly.

"Clear us a path, rookie. MEDEVAC, coming through!" Eastwind snarked.

"Ah, right." Thunderlane was hesitant, but assumed point nonetheless. With polite excuses and gentle nudges of his hooves, he parted the coming and going ponies and cleared a path to the door.

"Oi!" The greeting came from Forge, who had taken a seat at a table near the door. "Firefly! Where are you off to? The night is still young!"

"Not for the chief, I'm afraid," Firefly grunted. "Besides, I've got PT in full battle rattle scheduled for tomorrow at the flank crack of dawn. Wasn't planning on staying the whole night anyway."

"Right then. See you tomorrow?"

"Oh-seven hundred. I need you to do some tweaks to my RA-16 before our flight."

"Again? I just replaced the scram rails and recalibrated the aethero-optical resonator the other day! Girls and their guns, I swear!"

"Oh-seven hundred, birdlion! I'll see you in the machine shop!"

Forgewing made a mock expression of disgust and raised a middle claw at Firefly, to which she replied by sticking her tongue out. As she hefted Sunburst upon her shoulders once again, Firefly waved goodbye to Forge and exchanged nods of acknowledgement with Atal. Finally, the Timberwolves made their way out of the bar.

As the Timberwolves left earshot of the Six Carat Horseshoe, the sounds of music and revelry grew faint. The brilliant lights of the market district faded into the night, replaced by the dim flicker of fairie lanterns strung up along the main streets. The walk back to the carrier was was conducted in silence.

The quiet gave Firefly time to think. Something else that Roshina had said that night didn't sit well with her. An Equestrian invasion. The words turned over and over in Firefly's head as she walked. In a roundabout sort of way, Roshina was right. A once-proud nation now had foreign soldiers walking its streets and foreign warships flying its skies. The last time this happened in Firefly's lifetime, the Griffons had almost taken over the entire Equestrian continent. Nopony hesitated to call that an invasion.

Firefly had never considered herself much of a patriot, but she held to the basic belief that Equestria was doing something right in the world. After all, in the wake of the Continental War, they could very easily have left the griffons to fend for themselves. Yet they did not. Prior to her deployment to the Crystal Empire, Firefly was even offered a posting at Fort Ventus, the new joint operations center being built in Aquellia to further cement Griffon-Equestrian relations. She didn't fight for supremacy, she fought for Harmony.

Or so she liked to tell herself. Firefly grunted as she continued to lug Sunburst's inebrieted form through the streets. For all the trouble it was, she was thankful that he'd passed out inside the shield dome instead of running out into the cold. Firefly was actually working up a sweat dragging him back home. It was a welcome distraction from the thoughts that harried her.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Sunburst slurred his way through the security gates to the fleet base, making Firefly shake her head. "Put me down, Windy!"

Operating Base Topaz was located at the southwest point of the Crystal Capital. Firefly could still make out shallow furrows and unfinished irrigation canals on the base outskirts — the last vestiges of a berry farm that was built over when the Alliance was granted the land for use as a fleet operations center. The Majestic lay docked to mooring towers just inside the gates, the vessel's superstructure casting long shadows upon the Timberwolves as they returned "home."

"Hello, Awake," Eastwind teased Sunburst. "I'm Eastwind!"

"Jackass." Sunburst nearly tripped as they boarded the lift at the base of the mooring tower.

"Does this happen every squadron night?" Thunderlane asked quietly.

Firefly looked to him as Eastwind and Sunburst continued to prattle on. "Sunburst getting hammered? Absolutely. Sunburst picking a fight with dragons? Not so much."

"If you guys and ACG are both regulars at the Horseshoe, I'm surprised it isn't a regular occurence."

"Well, that's the thing. ACG usually doesn't go anywhere near the Horseshoe. To be honest, nopony does. We're the only real regulars. Us and Forge's boys anyway. You just lucked out. Castle decided to accept the offer of hosting an ESO show, so everypony ended up there tonight."

"Right." Thunderlane shrugged. "Well, at least dancing was fun!"

Firefly barely cracked a smile. Thunderlane wasn't so bad. Staying positive had to count for something after all. "Glad somepony had a good time tonight."

"You should have gone out on the dance floor, too, Firefly!" Thunderlane suddenly said.

"I don't dance, kid," Firefly said, shaking her head.

"What? They tell me you're an ace flier... and you can't dance?"

Firefly raised an eyebrow. "Air combat maneuvering is different from dancing, kid."

"I mean yeah of course firefights and fast flight are different, but if you've got the coordination to do ACM, you've got the coordination for some simple swing dance. The steps aren't too hard. I could even teach you!"

Firefly chuckled. "Thanks for the offer, but no."

"You'll change your mind eventually, ma'am."

"Thunderlane, what did I say about calling me — "

"I'm not drunk!" Sunburst slurred as the halting of the lift jolted him into momentary consciousness.

Firefly put her hoof to her forehead again. Sunburst was still drunk. It was time to get him to bed. Firefly and Eastwind repeated their actions at the bar, lifting Sunburst onto their shoulders and dragging him out of the lift and down the corridor toward the male crew quarters. The elder stallion complained the whole way with half unintelligible babble and the other half slurred curses.

"Sleep it off, old sire!" Firefly said as she lifted Sunburst one last time and rolled him into his bunk. She went over to his foot locker and removed a canteen, placing it next to his pillow. "Remember to hydrate when you get up tomorrow. We've still got PT hangover or no hangover!"

Before Firefly had even finished, however, Sunburst was fast asleep, his snoring echoing throughout the bunk block. The lieutenant commander let out a tired sigh. It was time to hit the hay herself.

"PT is at 0830 tomorrow," she said, addressing Thunderlane and Eastwind. "Thunderlane, please do me a favor and kick Sunburst's drunken flank out of bed since he's sure to sleep through his alarm."

"Got it. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yup. Oh-eight thirty. Don't be late." Firefly turned and stepped out the hatch with Eastwind in tow.

Firefly detoured into the head, the crew quarters' head, trotting over to the sink to splash water on her face. One quick glance in the mirror was telling. Sacks clung to her eyes and a weary miasma seemed to hover about her head like a wayward stormcloud. Firefly shivered as the cold water struck her skin. Skywind. Roshina. The flight back. The day was very taxing on her. Firefly wanted to sleep, but she also knew what sleep brought.

"You okay?" Eastwind's question was accompanied by a hoof rested upon Firefly's shoulder. Her touch was soft as her voice. In spite of her mischeivious nature, Eastwind could still be nurturing when she needed to be.

"I'm fine. Just tired." Firefly's response was sluggish, genuinely mirroring her words. Her bones seemed to ache and even her shoulder felt tender under Eastwind's touch. Despite her discomfort, Firefly hesitated to brush Eastwind's hoof aside.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Wasn't your fault, Windy," Firefly sighed, finally collecting herself enough to push the hoof off her shoulder. "Sunburst just can't hold his drink like he used to."

"I meant ACG. Gods know that Sunburst hasn't been able to hold his drink since he got out of Manehattan U." Eastwind's wan smile when speaking of Sunburst lifted the mood, if only slightly.

"Dragons are as dragons do." Firefly's eyes remained firmly fixed upon her reflection. "Nothing I can do to change that."

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right," Eastwind continued, also taking a glance at Firefly's reflection. "I know that look."

"What look?" Firefly propped her hooves up against the sink and closed her eyes, allowing what was left of the water to drip off her muzzle.

"That look you get when something bugs you but you don't want to let anypony see it." Eastwind gave her a sidelong glance.

Firefly gritted her teeth, but didn't move. She was a leader, a fighter. She didn't let things bother her. Even if they did, she had more important things to worry about than dragons and their petty games. Why couldn't Eastwind see that?

"I'm fine," she repeated. "Just tired."

Eastwind sighed. "You know I worry about you."

"Don't."

"I'll try not to," Eastwind said softly before trotting off to her bunk. "But just remember that I'm here if you need me, Firefly."

Opening her eyes again, Firefly stared long and hard at her reflection in the mirror. A multitude of thoughts and feelings danced across her eyes. She was better than this. She didn't have room for uncertainty. Firefly never wanted to worry Eastwind. She never wanted to worry anypony. Leaders didn't make their company worry, they were the ones who worried, but brought their company home in spite of it. Firefly shook her head one last time to throw off the persistent droplets that still clung to her muzzle — and perhaps the thoughts that clung to her mind.

With a weighty sigh, Firefly trotted back to the crew quarters, where Eastwind was already fast asleep in her bunk. The lieutenant commander shed her jacket and uniform shirt, tossing them at the far end of her bunk where she'd retrieve them in the morning. The coarse cotton of the sheets was strangely comforting after a day's labor. A twist of her hooves wrapped the sheets around her and lined her head up with her pillow. Firefly glanced one more time at the squad photograph perched upon her foot locker.

Firefly closed her eyes, shutting out the thoughts that the image evoked. She tossed and turned as she struggled to push them away. There were more important things to worry about than old memories. With a deep breath and a face full of pillow, Firefly recanted her PT schedule for the next day in her head, using the comfort of lists and routines to calm her down. Her thoughts mollified for now, Firefly slowly drifted into fitful slumber.

Author's Notes:

A Crystal Tune

Set List for Moon Shine and the Sun Riders
Glenn Miller Orchestra - A String of Pearls
Glenn Miller Orchestra - In the Mood
Bobby Darrin - Beyond the Sea
Glenn Miller Orchestra - “Equestrian Patrol”
Glenn Miller Orchestra - “Fillydelphia 6-5000”
Frank Sinatra - It's Only a Paper Moon
Glenn Miller Orchestra - Moonlight Serenade
Benny Goodman Orchestra - Bugle Call Rag