My Pipbuck jabbed uncomfortably into my side as I stirred awake, reflexively making me attempt to roll over and pull the heavy blanket further over myself. I was surprised to not only still feel the jabbing sensation, but found myself thrown off the edge of the bed by my own strength. I fell out headfirst, letting out a loud grunt as half my body flopped onto the floor. As the pain in my side ebbed away, I writhed my rear hooves free from the twisted blanket and let out a long sigh.

"Aye, yer finally awake. Had a bit of a close call with yah." The gravelly and oddly accented voice of a stallion spoke up from next to me. He sounded almost like a pony from Trottingham, but it was slightly different, rougher somehow. Mostly I'm surprised I've never heard an accent like his before. I rubbed at my eyes with my hooves, squinting up to where the voice came from. "Let me be tha first ta tell yah, if yer friends hadn't flagged us down, yew'd be nuthin' but another corpse by now." I stared up in my blurry vision, gazing at bright yellow pony who sat on a large white chair no more than a leg's length from me. I felt myself get pushed off the bed completely, my flank slapping against the wooden floorboards quite painfully.

"My... friends?" I asked groggily, my stiff muscles painfully reminding me that I was still recovering. At least with the only copies of the Mirror Pool project files safely entombed in my Pipbuck, I could finally give my body a rest. My eyes refocused on the strange pony in front of me, his yellow outline reforming as a bright raincoat and hat, while the stranger in question was actually a unicorn ghoul. His charcoal black coat had shallow, crimson-colored cracks running across it, the only hair on his body I could see was a great, big, bushy, grey beard. The one thing that really stood out from him though were his eyes. They were about the lightest shade of blue I had ever seen on a pony.

"Yessir, yer group is certainly an odd lot, what with that griffin, steel ranger, an' ghost in tow, but they seemed like nice enough folk ta me!" He let out a wheezing laugh. "Well, I dun' actually know, but they didn't shoot me when they asked fer help. It's sad that it says a lot about a pony when they don't shoot yah or rob yah blind."

I felt myself slide back underneath the bed, almost as if being pulled by an invisible force. I dug my hooves into the wooden floorboards and scrambled to slide back out, getting up as I felt myself get pulled the other direction. I tried to stop, but I slammed into the other side of the small room we were in, smacking against the wall as the ghoul laughed.

"Woah now, looks like it's time ta git back ta the helm." He said as he got up off the toilet that he had been sitting on, holding his hoof out and steadying me. It wasn't how he said it, but moreover what he said that made my brain strain to put things together. His horn glowed faintly as his magic gripped the doorknob to the tiny room, the gears in my mind having just enough time to figure out where I was. A small, simple room that had a toilet placed as it's only real chair, the now constant rocking, and the only other time in my life I had heard someone use the word helm.

His magic swung the door inward, the floodlights outside of the room confirming my fears. I felt like I had been bucked in the gut when he stepped out, the endless rolling of the ocean greeted me as he turned and trotted out of sight. The darkness of night matched with the howling winds drove the fear I felt deep inside to hook into me, taking root as my heart started to race. My stomach churned as I tried to keep myself steady, my throat trying to tell me what comes next. I threw myself towards the toilet, shoving my head into the foul-smelling bowl and heaving hard, spilling the remains of Brass's stew into it.

"I hate boats." I grumbled out between heaves, the low rumble of thunder filling the air. At least staring into here, I could at least pretend I was on dry land, or at least on really windy and wobbly land.

"Oh, you're awake." The soft voice of Willow came from behind me. I would have liked to see where she was poking through, but my stomach and the boat was making that a really bad idea. "I'll go tell the others, unless you'd like to be left alone?"

"Actually, I need to know something." I groaned as I felt us hit another strong wave, sending the boat bobbing and rocking stronger. I heaved again, sending what I hoped was ACTUALLY the last of the stew down the drain. "Back on the riverbank, you looked at me as if you knew what was coming, like you knew the megaspell was going off? Could you tell?"

"Oh well, I didn't really know." She sounded embarrassed as I heaved again, listening as best as I could while my seasickness make it extremely hard to concentrate. "I just felt it in my horn, you know?"

"No, I don't" I used my hoof to wipe the sick from my muzzle. "Earth pony and all."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Now she sounded ashamed. "I was a unicorn before all... this." I assumed she was looking herself over. The boat jolted and a wave washed across the deck as another burst of thunder shook the air. "Maybe you should come down here with us, it looks like it's going to get pretty bad out."

I heaved again, this time nothing came up, which was good I suppose, it still hurt though. "Yes, I suppose I should just walk across the constantly tossing surface of this deathtrap to find a door. A door that I'll use to get further away from the lifegiving air I'll need for when this hunk of junk sinks."

"I can stay up here with you." She said with a note of hope. "Well, if you don't mind that is." she paused for a moment. "I don't think the others like when I'm around."

"I'm sure that's not true. Hold on." I said as I turned my head, watching the door to the room swing freely as we rocked against the growing waves. I got to my hooves slowly, keeping my right foreleg wrapped around the lip of the toilet to steady myself. Another sharp jolt forced the ship up quickly, slamming me back down as yet more water rushed over the deck. The ice cold water ran into the room, washing along the floor and my hooves before slipping back over the railing that was the only barrier between me and the merciless deep.

The freezing water brought the fear of drowning bubbling back up to the front of my mind, forcing my legs to act. I jumped over to the door, slamming into the wall as I swung it, nearly closing it before another strong wave tilted us to the side. The heavy wooden door swung back as I tried to steady myself, the round copper handle catching me off guard as it slammed into my head. I yelped and kicked the door again hard, slamming it shut. I held my hoof to my right eyebrow, feeling it was tender to the touch, but it wasn't bleeding.

I trudged over to the bed and climbed up onto it again, pressing myself into the corner as Willow watched me through the floor. She gave a small laugh as I pulled the blanket back over me. "I'll tell the others you are alright." She said before dipping down and out of sight. How she could be so calm about being able to pass through things, I don't think I'll ever know. Well, thinking about it, I don't really WANT to ever know how that feels. I like touching things, being able to touch things was kind of nice.

She popped her head back up, a confused look on her face. "Your friend Longbow wants to know how 'you of all ponies' can get seasick." She scrunched up her muzzle as she thought about it. "Then your friend Brass started laughing a lot. Is it some sort of inside joke, or something?"

"Tell Longbow that it's because waves are unpredictable, the ground isn't." I said as the ship jolted again, slapping me against the wall roughly. "And tell Brass that next time I take out the Maruader, he gets to ride where the trunk was."

Willow dropped below the deck again as the wooden floor creaked loudly, the wind now howling relentlessly outside. The gears in my head hadn't stopped spinning since I found out some random boat saved us. That didn't make any sense! Fillydelphia didn't have a working port and the fishing around there was lousy from the radiation. So what were they doing in the Delamare? A loud boom of thunder shook the walls as the boat weaved and bobbed, the storm growing worse by the moment.

"Again, I'm sorry." Willow said softly as she rose up through the floor, her voice filled with regret as she sat down on it. "About your mother."

"Ah, well it wasn't your fault, but that's something I'd rather not talk about right now." I didn't want to think about it anymore, I had been through enough turmoil in the last forty eight hours, let alone the last two weeks. Actually, I have no idea how long I'd been out. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Uhmm." Willow seemed to be caught off guard by the question. "Well, we all were pretty tired once we got on the boat, so we all slept for a while. I don't think we've been more than a few hours, but ever since I regained my memories, time has been hard for me to keep track of."

"But, you... still need to sleep?" I asked slowly, not even sure if a normal Alicorn would ever need it. "Do you still need food or anything?"

"No, I don't suppose I need much of anything anymore." She spoke with a sigh. "But when I slept, I could see my old life. The ponies I knew from around that cruddy, little town; my cruddy, little house..." She smiled a sad smile. "My cruddy, little husband." She trembled softly and stifled back a sniffle."

"You mean Ponyville?" I asks slowly. I knew it was small and dilapidated, but cruddy wasn't the word I would have used. Well, maybe now after 42 ran through.

"No, that's just where I grew up." She sighed softly.

"Tell me then." I patted the bed next to me, giving her a smile. "If we're going to be stuck on a boat together for a while. I'd at least like to get to know you a bit."

She looked hesitant, probably trying to think of any reason not to. I wonder if she was always so shy before the goddess got to her, or if it's just a side effect of being locked away for years inside her. "Do you really want to know about me?"

I braced myself as the boat shuttered, a crash of thunder outside made my mane stand on end. I banged my head against the wall as we pressed on into the storm, getting startled as a plank popped out and dropped on to the bed next to me. "Yes, actually. I'm sure that the others feeling uncomfortable is just because they don't know you yet. Besides, talking is helping me not feel so sick." I leaned over and looked inside the hole, smiling as I gazed upon a hidden bottle of apple-flavored wild pegasus that was still two thirds full. "So, where does one go from Ponyville?"

"Well, I went where I wanted mostly." She said as I hoofed the bottle from the wall, wrapping it in the blanket so it wouldn't roll away. "Both my best friend and I, we wanted to go out and see the wasteland, find amazing treasures, get rich, then retire somewhere nice like Tenpony." She sighed again, this time with happy nostalgia.

"I remember that feeling." I said before clamping my teeth around the cork, yanking it up with a satifying pop. "Young, dumb, irresponsible." I let the feelings of my teenage years soak back in. I mean, I still had them, but between gangs, manticores, killing joke, and the increasing amount of crazed faction ponies, real life had somewhat dulled the feelings down. "But adventuring is expensive. What's your talent? Has to be something good to make enough money to live that style life." I held the bottle in my hooves and lifted it, feeling as the liquid burned in my throat, making me feel warm and relaxed.

"Well, uhmm. I don't really have a name for it.... but, I can see things underground?" She said slowly. I could tell she was struggling to describe it to me.

"Can't anypony do that with a lantern or light spell?" I asked before taking another drink. Willow seemed to be relaxing more and more as we talked, and I was glad that she was opening up. There is no more room in my life for strangers, but with the company I've been keeping, new friends are always welcome.

"That's not what I mean." She said with a small laugh. "I mean, I can see things when they are still IN the ground. Chests, bodies, bullets. Once I even found a Stable!" She rubbed her chin thoughtfully with her hoof. "We never did find the entrance though, they seem to hide them extremely well."

"You can see through the ground?" I cocked an eyebrow at her as we hit another large wave. "How does that work?"

"If my Dad were here, he could tell you in the most unintelligible science talk you've ever heard." She laughed and smiled. "All I know is that my horn would hum and I could see everything under me."

I took another drink of the sweet whiskey, the soft throbbing from my head hitting the wall over and over was slowly disappearing. "Sounds like the perfect talent for an adventurous pony, did you and your friend ever hit it big?"

"Nah, the best things we ever found were some old emergency shelters that were stocked with plenty of food and medical supplies. That brought us a few thousand caps in total, but it's hardly worth mentioning." She waived her hoof dismissively. "Well, not compared to our business, we found lots of interesting things for other ponies. They would pay us an exorbitant amount to find the simplest things."

"You two had a business together?" I smirked and thought about how well Sky and I worked together. "Who was the boss?" I brought the bottle up to my lips, taking a long pull from the now half empty bottle. "Who made the deals and chose the contracts?"

"Definitely Mud. She could talk her way into or out of anything." Willow's expression brightened as she remembered her. "She once sold a set of Vertibucks to the enclave only using a single, near pristine rotator cuff we found in a scrap heap as 'proof'. They paid her two thousand caps and thought they were getting a steal!"

I would never scam a customer like that, but I couldn't help but laugh at that. For the first time since she regained her memories, I heard Willow sounding like she was actually enjoying herself. She held up a hoof as she panted and tried to stop laughing. "Best thing was, Mud was just a name she pulled out of her flank before the deal! So for a good month, the Enclave was running around the wasteland in the middle of the rainy season, asking if anypony knew where they could find mud!"

I doubled over laughing as suddenly my troubles from the last few days seemed nowhere in sight. Not even the rough waves and booming thunder could get me down, which wasn't exactly true as just then, a strong wave bashed into the ship and threw me to the floor. I watched in horror as the half full bottle flew through the air, slowing down as it started to glow bright white. I looked up to see Willow's horn shining brilliantly as she levitated the bottle to the bed, jamming it between the wall and the sheets.

"I didn't know your telekinesis still worked." I said as I tried to get to my hooves, the alcohol making my coordination a bit off as it started to sink in. I'm really glad my mutation didn't keep me from getting drunk off sweet apple whiskey.

"Me either." Willow said in amazement. "I haven't been able to use it or any spells in this form until now. But I just reached out by reflex... hold on." She huffed and glared at the bottle for a moment. "Nope. I can't seem to use it at all now."

I shrugged and walked my way back towards the bed, being thrust toward it as the ship jerked and rolled back. I slammed my chest against it as I clambered into it again, grunting as I sat down. "So, you two had a treasure finding service." I said as I hooved the bottle back up, taking a long long drink as she nodded. "Where was it? I'd like to meet this silver-tongued mare sometime." Maybe see if I could win in a battle of negotiation... "you know how it is, talk business pony to business pony."

She looked at me puzzled. "No, I don't know." She said sternly, glaring at me for a moment before a smile crept across her muzzle. "I see what you did there..."

"Ok, ok." I smiled and pointed my hoof at her "That was revenge for the whole unicorn comment earlier." I looked at the bottle as I raised it again, noticing that only a third of it was left.

"Well, we had set ourselves up in Futura." Willow said with a slight amount of pride. "Tiger Lilly just fell in love with the architecture there."

I spat out the mouthful of whisky at the name, watching in slight sadness as the mist floated through a surprised Willow. "Tiger Lilly!?" I nearly screamed. "Your best friend is the dealer in the house of tomorrow!? Owner of Lost and Found!?" I watched as Willow smiled and nodded happily.

"Yes! So you know of her then?" She leaned forward as I felt my jaw drop.

"Know her!? That no-good, undermining, silver-tongued rogue has swindled me out of more caps in one go than the average trader makes in a month's time!" I growled out, wedging the bottle back down. "I can't believe your best friend is the evil, scheming mare that Skyline kept pushing for me to date." I folded my hooves against my chest with a huff as Willow tried to stifle her laughter. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

Skyline and I made constant trips to Futura. The whole settlement was founded in what used to be a pre-war showcase for 'The Homes of Tomorrow'. The whole settlement doesn't consist of more than 4 or 5 large homes surrounded by sheet metal shacks, but it being smack in between Appleloosa and Baltimare made it a good hub for trade. The one place I made sure never to miss when I was there was Lost and Found, as Tiger Lilly always had some new, rare piece of pre-war arcano-tech that she wanted to pawn off to me. I had even recently contracted her team to find me something, although she charged me far too much for what it's true worth is, but that spark battery controller was that last part the Marauder needed.

I giggled as her laughter sunk in, infecting me with it's unrelenting pleasantness. "Ahhh, you know, I don't normally say this for mares older than me, but I do actually find her rather attractive." I nodded and grabbed the bottle again, drinking again as I brought her up in my mind. Her sandy-colored tan coat nearly matched her strawberry blond hair, her always determined look gazing out from behind a pair of bright red, round rimmed glasses. And don't even get me started on how she showed off her flank every time I was around...

"She's not old. She's only what, thirty..." Willow gasped mid sentence and smiled as she looked up at me "Uhm...." raising her hoof to point at me, making me look down. "Looks like maybe the scheming mare you hate so much, isn't so bad after all..."

As my faced turned what was probably the color of a ripe tomato (not that I'd ever seen one outside of pictures in books), I gasped and drug the heavy blanket over my stiff neathers. "It's the alcohol, I swear!" I yelped in embarrassment, pulling the near-empty bottle close. "Oh Celestia, why can't I get her out of my head now!" I leaned back and hit my head against the wall several times, thumping it quite hard as the boat tilted and threw my head against it harder than I wanted, making me wince.

"Oh my!" Willow gasped, clearly enjoying my torment. "You know... she told me once what she wanted if she ever met a stallion as talented as her." Her voice dropped to a sultry, teasing tone. "She said she would want to strap you down and put that silver tongue of yours to good work." The fact that I hadn't had a good rutting in a LONG time (that I could remember at least) along with the booze clouding my mind made it so easy for the images to form in my head.

"You're evil..." I grunted out as I tried to fight the urge to clop myself in front of Willow. I found that the solution was easy. Keep my hooves and muzzle busy by drinking! I tilted it back and took a few quick gulps of the apple-flavored goodness.

"Trying to distract yourself by drinking?" Willow waved her hoof slowly before pointing to the bottle. "Well, that won't help much longer."

The door to the room slammed open, startling Willow and causing me to scream like a little filly. The Ghoul with the raincoat trudged in and closed the door with a slam, dripping heavily from the storm raging outside. He looked with a small frown down at the bottle in my hooves before levitating his rain gear off with a sigh. Well, that sure did the trick, mood killed!

"Now look what yah went an' did. Yah drank the bottle o'whiskey I was savin' fer when I got back with my ex-wife." He said as he levitated it from my grip.

"Oh... a wave knocked... and I just... " I turned and gestured at the wall in an attempt to explain, all the while starting to feel horrible for effectively stealing his special whiskey. Spending so much time scavenging can make a pony forget what's not theirs sometimes. "I'm sorry. I'll replace it when we get to a trading post."

Willow and I just sat and watched as he lifted the bottle to his lips, drinking the rest of it without even the slightest hint of the burn. A smile grew across his face as he laughed. "I'm jus jokin' with yah!" he said as he tossed the empty bottle into the corner. "That greedy bitch died in the war over a century ago, I'm glad she went up with everythin' she got in tha' divorce! Yah shoulda' seen the look on yer faces!" He walked over to the toilet, levitating the top off and pulling out a half empty bottle of scotch. "The only crime here is that yah started without me!"

The floor was nowhere near as comfortable as the bed, but it was at least semi-warm. I stretched and let out a yawn as I heard a loud knocking in my ears. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep when the knocking turned into a pounding, making my head hurt.

"Captain! Get up, Captain! The cloud cover is gone and I think the storm blew us off course." A stallion's voice called out through the door. I smirked as I lay there, thinking how odd it was to be referred to as 'Captain Backlash'. I don't know why, but I kind of liked it. I should make Brass call me Captain from now on.

"Hold on ta yer bits, I'm comin'!" The gravelly voice of Captain Tempest in the bed above me spoke so loud that it almost hurt. Right, still on a boat, and definitely not the captain of said boat. I opened my eyes slowly, sitting up far too quickly and hitting my head on the bed frame above me. I rubbed the back of my head as I regained my focus, watching as the old ghoul kicked one of the empty bourbon bottles from last night across the floor.

He levitated his coat and hat on as he stood, making sure they were on just right before opening the door. I whined and covered my eyes as an amazingly bright light poured in from outside, a calm, cool breeze blew into the room that made my flank feel extremely good seeing as I think I had managed to go the entire night without getting off. Now if only the breeze could help soothe my aching pride.

I slowly pulled myself out and across the floor with a groan, getting to my hooves with little problem. A good day's rest and my body loved me again! Well, I think it was a day, Willow never actually did tell me. Regardless, onward to the outside! I stepped forward and hoofed at the door handle, pulling it open to blind myself with the light outside. I slammed the door shut and blinked a few times, the odd after image of calm waters seemed eerily blue to me.

I quickly threw the Captain's blanket around me like a cloak and opened the door again, now able to withstand the onslaught of light if I squinted hard enough. I stood in shock as I looked out over the bright blue water, tracing it away from the boat to where it continued with where the horizon should be, but then it kept going. It was just like it was in my dreams. It was... the actual big blue sky!

"Dun' jus' stand there!" The captain called from my left, leaning out of what must have been the wheelhouse, which wouldn't be surprising, except it was up a flight of stairs and the front of the ship went on another twenty yards past it. "Git up here an' out of that blasted sunlight before yah get burned!" He said before disappearing back inside, the squeaking sound of the steel hatch grinding away at my hungover brain.

I slowly turned my head and looked down the rear end of the ship, quite amazed to see that it went on for another twenty yards. I've seen ships this size moored at Friendship Island every now and again, but never have I been this close to one, and never have I heard that any of them ever head south to Fillydelphia. Not to say that it never happened, but this whole mess was just one great enigma I needed to figure out. I made my way to the stairs, climbing up to the deckhouse as the door swung open again.

"Oh hey, Backlash! Isn't it great!" Brass shouted gleefully. "We're on a boat!" He giggled and ran past me down the steps. "If only mom could see me now!"

I groaned as my stomach gurgled at the word boat. I know I've been looking at it, and I can feel that we've been bobbing up and down, but my brain for some reason wasn't convinced it was real until he said it. I quickly ran down the steps and threw myself against the railing, throwing up again as I purged the cocktail that had been mixing in my gut overnight. I coughed as I hung limply and looked into the water, watching as a few flicks of silver traveled up to the spreading sick. The large fish schooled around it for a moment before deciding it wasn't food and swimming off.

I heard the low, single rumble of thunder on the horizon, looking up for the storm clouds but found none. I was just about to mention it to Brass when a loud whistle grew in the air. I curled up and ducked against the railing as a large black object crashed into the water and exploded maybe fifty yards away.

"YOU HAVE ENTERED A RESTRICTED ENCLAVE MILITARY ZONE. CUT YOUR ENGINES AND PREPARE FOR INSPECTION." The amplified voice of a stern mare came from above, drawing my gaze to the lowering Vertibuck over the rear of the ship. "THE ENCLAVE WISHES YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR COOPERATION IS HIGHLY APPRECIATED."

I pulled myself back up using the railing, slowly making my way to the back of the ship as the door on the side of the large black vehicle opened. Four armored pegasi trotted out and formed into pairs of two, each group heading up separate sides of the ship. Their exotic-looking, magical energy weapons, shiny carapaces and bug-eyed helmets made them look like other worldly invaders from the Space Captain Andromeda comics I used to read as a colt. I watched as they turned and disappeared into the ship without a word, Captain Tempest was walking down from the deckhouse slowly as the other crew ponies onboard went about their various tasks.

"You there, remove your cloak." A mare's voice called from the Vertibuck's hatch, making me cringe. The way she ordered me to do things reminded me of Strawberry Sorbet, a military pony through and through. I turned to object, finding the sheet ripped over my head as she tore it off. I squinted and raised my hoof to cover my eyes, only to find her take my hoof, twist it painfully, and before I knew what happened, somehow found myself flat on my back next to her. I clenched my eyes shut as the bright sun beat down on me.

"Attempting to assault an officer while inspecting the breach of a forbidden travel zone is in violation of the Civilian Enforcement Act under article four, subsection seven." She tweaked her hold on my hoof, making me whine as pain shot through my shoulder. "You are to be held by the Enclave as a prisoner until a court can be convened to try you of your offences."

"Oh cut yer yappin', what's yer chest say... major?" Captain Tempest shouted as he approached. "The only thing he's guilty of is havin' a hangover, he's not in any shape ta fight, I mean, jus look at him! Black eye, light sensitivity, an' absolutely no coordination." I wasn't sure if I should be glad he was defending me, or insulted by the way he was going about it. "Other than him, the H.M.S. Gallant and her crew are at yer service!"

I felt as the Enclave mare loosened her grip slightly, but not enough to let go of me. "Then as Captain, I expect you to keep a tighter reign on your crew members." She released my hoof and stepped back. "And you are correct. Major Silver Star of Enclave R&D. You have entered a restricted area, Captain, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but inspections are just part of the rules. I'm sure we'll be out of your mane in no time. Can I ask why you have entered this area?"

I got to my hooves slowly, looking up at the very official sounding mare. She wore a tight fitting dark green suit over her light pink coat, a plethora of small medals on it showing she was quite adept at her job. Her silver mane glinted in the sunlight, only matched in intensity by her equally silver eyes. She frowned as I looked over her, Captain Tempest moving to speak before being cut off from behind.

"Ma'am, we've found something." The low voice of a stallion droned as he poked his helmet out of the side of the ship. The young officer brushed past me and trot toward the open hatch, the Captain and I following curiously as she quickly dipped inside.

"Let go of me!" Skyline called as she was drug up the stairs on the back of one of the soldiers, her forelegs and wings bound together with rope. "Backlash, get them off me!"

"Skyline!" I tried to push past the officer, which I should have known was a bad idea, but then again, that's why I normally like to talk before acting. Once again, I found myself inexplicably on the floor, my chest hurting as this time my hoof was pulled around my back painfully. "Let go of my sister!" I yelled out against the cold steel floor.

"She is your sister?" The Major asked boredly in disbelief. "Unlikely, her pallet doesn't even match yours as a siblings should. We'll have to run her through the system to see if she's a runaway. You two, take her to the Vertibuck." I listened as nopony moved a muscle, silence filling the air before the Major spoke up again. "Private, I just gave you an order."

"And now," The smooth voice of Carlotta preceded the sharp click of her service pistol's hammer locking back. "You are going to rescind that order." Oh Celestia, that griffin know's how to save our flanks!

"I'll have you know that interfering in the detention..." Silver Star spoke with authority, drifting off midway through her sentence as I heard Carlotta's armor creak slightly before Silver Star released her grip on me.

"And I'm telling you, I don't care. Now let my marefriend go, or I'll make sure that a bruised ego is the least of your injuries today." I turned my head and watched as the Pegasus mare stepped over me and turned around slowly, looking Carlotta dead in the eyes.

"Do what she says, cut her loose." Silver Star said without taking her eyes off of the armed Griffin. "I am only going to give you all ONE chance. If you don't surrender, I am authorized to send this boat and all its occupants to the murky depths below." She lowered her gaze as Skyline's bindings were cut quickly, using her muzzle to gesture for the soldiers to head out. "And that is not a threat. If you refuse, it is a promise. I only ask that you reconsider for the sake of everypony on board."

"I only ask that you run your pretty little self along, get back on your transport, and be glad you all can still run away with your tails tucked between your legs." Carlotta cooed as the soldiers stepped up past us, trotting back toward the Vertibuck. The Major walked past me slowly, keeping a wide berth around Carlotta. "Oh, and Major?" The pegasi stopped mid step, looking over with a glare that could melt steel. "I would like you to know that your cooperation is highly appreciated."

We all breathed a sigh of relief as the Major turned the corner, trotting back down the deck toward the waiting Vertibuck. Skyline bolted up the steps and pressed into Carlotta, hugging her tightly as the griffin put her pistol back on safe.

"Captain Tempest, Do those deck guns still work?" Carlotta called out as the old Ghoul stepped back outside. Wait, deck guns? What kind of fishing boat had deck guns!? HOW DID I MISS THIS?!

"Yew betcha, Miss Carlotta! Jus gotta warm up the ol' targeting system from the bridge!" He yelled back as he turned toward the stairway, trotting up it as the black transport dipped down along side the boat. I watched curiously out the hatch as the flying ship shimmered in the light of the sun, skimming over the water to slowly pivot around to face us.

"Carlotta, what's going on?" Sky asked in a panicked voice, prodding the stern Griffin as she stood with a frown. "Why do we need the guns? Aren't they just going to leave?"

"Sorry, but she wasn't lying. If we don't fight, she will sink this ship." Carlotta ran her talon through Sky's mane, keeping her expression cold. "It's us, or them, and I'd rather not lose you or Backlash. It wouldn't look very good on my record if I let a client die."

I heard the low drone of hydraulics powering up from outside, piquing my curiosity as Longbow and Brass ran up the stairs in a panic. "Backlash! They left a bomb on board!" Both of them called out in near unison. Brass stepped in front of Longbow. "We need you down here! You have to disarm it!"

I turned and followed them down the stairway, heading below deck and into a long corridor that with the exception of the bulkheads, ran the length of the ship it looked like. They lead me up into the forward most room where an Willow was staring underneath a large wooden table that had been bolted to the floor. I pushed past Longbow and got down low to the floor, looking up to see a large brick of plastic explosives wired to some sort of plastic and brass clock mechanism which had all been screwed into the table. I let out a low whistle as I looked it over, each piece of the clock was held in place by an extremely small pin that if tampered with, could jam the inner workings of the machine. Each screw had a wire running to it, probably a failsafe against removal.

"We need your skills with taking things apart. I've seen wiring like this before and can walk you through disarming it, but your hooves and muzzle are a lot more steady than my magic." Longbow said as she got down low next to me. "If you try to separate it from the charge, it will explode, if you stop the timer, it will explode, if you try to unscrew it from the table, it will explode." She let out a soft sigh, her look gave me a hint of sadness. "I've seen this kind of bomb before, they only give access to this kind of training to star paladins or stealth experts and it's the only reason I can recognize it."

The room shuttered as the deck gun above fired, the boom drifting off quickly into the open ocean before the rear gun fired as well. "With that gun firing, steady hooves mean nothing. But maybe if this is designed anything like an alarm clock, then...." I slid myself around the front of the table, getting a look at the other side of it. I watched as the gears and springs inside twisted and clicked. "Yes, the mainspring is still wound, although, not very tightly." I said as I pushed myself back, the room shook again as the gun fired, the resounding crack of the round ripping into the Vertibuck echoed back shortly before the loud whoosh of a rocket passing above us. "We have an hour, maybe an hour and a half before it's set to go off."

I was thrown into the table as the ship wrenched sideways, the blast of a rocket hitting the back of the ship filled my ears temporarily with the sound of ringing. I flopped back onto the floor and stared up at the time bomb screwed into the table above me, hoping that we stayed afloat long enough to either disarm the bomb, or make it to shore. The smell of smoke and sounds of shouting above prompted me to slide out from under the table and get back up. Longbow's horn glowed as her armor let out a set of loud clicks, opening up as she quickly jumped out of it.

"Brass, take my suit and help the Captain!" She yelled at him with an assertive voice, then turning to me. "Backlash, you need to go with him. I need time to form an idea on how to deal with the bomb in case you can't disarm it."

"I kind of like it when you order me around like that." I grinned over to her as she sighed with a frown, turning and running down the smoky hallway toward the stairwell. Brass rolled his eyes as he walked over to the suit, his horn glowing brightly as I heard a plethora of clicks and whirrs inside it. The cloth lining was rearranging itself inside, changing sizes to fit somepony his size.

"Go and find out what we need to do to help." Brass barked up at me in his best attempt to copy Longbow. I mulled over the idea of tormenting him later over the fact that he kept trying to hit on me, watching as he stopped and stared at me in confusion. "Go on! This will only take me a minute." He shooed me away with his hoof. I turned and climbed the stairs to the deck, coughing as I walked clear of the billowing smoke.

"Aye! Yah morons git below deck and put out those fires!" Captain Tempest screeched at two stallions who were trying to spray down a blaze that was raging on the rear deck, smoke snaking up into the sky from the twisted hole that ripped through the side of the ship. A red streak of movement caught my eye out along the water, the smoking remains of the Vertibuck was strewn over a wide area, Skyline was circling it along with Carlotta, hopefully looking for survivors. "An' yew, Backlash! Dun' just stand there! Git down there an help the poor lads put it out! I can't restart the engine when it's on fire!" The Captain's worried voice pulled me back into focus before he climbed the stairs back up to the deck house.

Another boom on the horizon caught my attention, the slow moving explosive shell arced towards us, crashing down between the boat and the Vertibuck wreck. Whatever the Enclave were guarding had to be pretty impressive to fire shells over the horizon with even that much accuracy. I backtracked my way down into the hallway that was now completely full of smoke, I crouched as low as I could get and wished I still had that blanket to help breathe. I yelled to get over the now constant roar of the fire that raged somewhere before us. "Brass! You ready yet!?"

"Yeah! I'm here!" The heavy steps of the power armor vibrated the floor slightly, reminding me that there was maybe a pony's height of space underneath our hooves that kept us from the bottom of the sea. He activated the lantern on the helmet and levitated a fire extinguisher off the wall, snaking the hose in front of himself as we came up to the first sealed bulkhead. I put my hooves through the wheel and grunted, spinning it to unlatch the door. I pulled it open slowly as smoke poured through, the orange flames of the raging inferno shot out the open side of the boat.

"Stand back!" Brass shouted as he walked up, the unnerving groan of melting steel filled the choking air before he squeezed the handle of the 120 year old device.

Nothing came out.

Brass shook the device in frustration, depressing the release lever with his magic a few times before throwing the device to the floor. "Damn valve is probably corroded shut!"

"We need to get the sprinkler systems working!" I waved my hoof toward the ceiling, trying to clear the smoke. A heavily rusted iron pipe ran between sprinklers at the top of the wall, a thin red wire ran just above it, disappearing into small boxes that were connected to each nozzle above the pipe. As long as the engines were off, the system didn't have any power feeding to it. "Brass, can you cast a spark spell on the sprinkler line?"

"A... spark spell?" His voice came through the speaker hesitantly. He sounded... ashamed? "No. I'm sorry, I don't know how." He lowered his head and scuffed at the floor with his hoof. "I only know how to use telekinesis and light. Those are the only two spells I've ever needed."

"And that's fine, Brass. It's not like you've ever needed to save a burning ship before." I tried to comfort him, flopping down onto the floor to avoid the thickening smoke. "The system should have it's own compression, so all we need to do is get those lines open and the water will come out on it's own. If only we could jump the engine, even if just for a moment..." The gears in my head whirred to life and stuck a crazy thought into my head. "That's it! Brass, I need you to find me a good length of wiring and either a spark battery or a small energy crystal."

He looked confused for a moment before disappearing back through the hatch. I kept myself low and looked along the metal floor, feeling about in the thickening smoke for nearly a minute until I could feel the handle of a hatch. I hoofed it up, opening it to reveal the maintenance access for the below deck bilge pumps and pulled myself into the small space. I wedged myself as low as I could get, my head barely sticking above the floor as I heard Brass step back into the smoky hallway. The thought that I was sitting maybe only a half an inch above the depths sent a chill up my spine.

"Backlash!" He called out, his voice booming through the suit. "I'm back, but the smoke is thick enough that I can't see, even with the headlamp on!"

"I'm over here!" I waived my hoof up out of the hole as I found the old pump and followed it's wiring back, stopping as I realized what he had just said. "Just... follow the sound of my voice. I should only be a few steps aw..." I looked up out of the hole just in time for him to take a step onto my face.

"Oh Celestia! I'm sorry!" He cried out, stepping back and lowering herself to the floor. "Longbow gave me a small energy crystal and this much wire." He floated over a small roll of spare wiring that I hoped to Celestia was long enough, dropping both items next to me as I rubbed my sore nose. "What next?"

"When I tell you to, levitate the other end of the wire up to one of the boxes that sits over the sprinkler system." I leaned down and bit down on the wire, unspooling it as I hoofed open the plastic pump circuit housing. Just as I thought it would be, the energy crystal was cracked and the insulated wiring had corroded, leaving the contacts exposed. I leaned in and threaded the new wire around behind the exposed, old one. Another large blast shook the boat as the Enclave gunfire closed in on us.

I continued to wrap the wiring around, struggling to find a way to keep it connected. "This would be so much easier if I didn't dump all the stuff from my saddle bags then lose my saddle bags anyway!" An extremely discomforting groan emanated along the length of the ship. If we couldn't get the fire out, the steel frame could give way and take us straight to the bottom.

I watched as the wire glowed softly, Brass's magic helping to secure it. "Backlash, you don't have to do this all on your own. I'm here, and all you have to do is ask for help." He spoke down, now trying to comfort me. I smiled to myself and hoofed the wire back up out of the hole, watching as he floated it up towards the wall. "Uh, Backlash, the wire isn't long enough!"

"Damn it!" I yelled and slammed my hoof on the floor. "Without the pump, I can't transfer the power!" I knocked my head against the floor plate above. "Think, think, think!"

"I have an idea." Brass said slowly, his words hinting that he didn't really want to use that idea. I heard as he repositioned himself, the wire going taught. "Ok, Backlash. Turn it on!" He said, for some reason anticipating... pain?

"Brass, what are you doing?" I asked, standing up and digging my hooves against the floor plate to pull myself out.

"Backlash, stay down there." He called over sternly. "I'm using the suit to bridge the circuit. Just trust me, it's the only way this will work."

"You don't understand, Brass, these crystals carry enough charge to fire magical energy weapons. That means it holds enough charge to kill a pony ten times over!" I strained and pulled myself out of the hole, coughing heavily as the black smoke stung my eyes.

"Backlash, I know the risks." He laughed as he spoke with a hint of sadness. "Besides, if it doesn't work, we'll all be dead anyway." He turned off the lamp on the helmet with another chuckle. "Best thing that happens is that it only fries the suit and Longbow might be pissed enough to throw me overboard while I'm still in it."

I laughed nervously, the gears in my head not giving me any other solution. "Well you're going to have to be the one to tell her you fried it. I've already got the blame for wrecking yours." I slid back into the confined space, scooping the small red crystal into my hoof. "Hold on to your butt!"

I scraped the old crystal away, hoofing the new one in place. The pump let out a groan before sputtering a few times and dying, running just enough of a current through the wire I had put to throw the sprinkler system valves open with a screech. I heard Brass let out a scream before the armor dropped to the floor, the wire falling as his magic faded. The pressurized water immediately sprayed out along the hallway, the hiss of cooling steel was music to my ears as I scrambled out of the hole.

"Brass!? Talk to me, Brass!" I coughed and stumbled toward the bulky suit, feeling as my hoof pressed against the chest plate. I leaned down and pressed my ear against the side of it, listening through it as best I could, trying to block out the world around me. "Brass, I need you to say something!" My ear twitched as I thought I heard something, but frowned as only silence followed.

"Ow....." the muffled sound came from inside, making me gasp and laugh. If the sprinklers going off was the sound of music, the set of clicks that came from the unlatching armor was like hearing music for the first time. You'll never appreciate any sound the same way after that. Brass let out a groan as the water sprayed down onto him, looking up at me slowly. "You're in the afterlife as well? Then this must be hell." He grinned and stiffly got to his hooves.

I smiled and prodded him with my hoof. "Yeah, well at least now you know why I hate boats." I wheezed and choked, stumbling forward. "We should probably leave."

Brass and I trot forward, stepping through the bulkhead with relief, Brass using his magic to close and seal the door. The both of us were gasping to take in large amounts of less smoky air. I trotted over to the stairwell, climbing up towards the bright light streaming in from outside as I heard Captain Tempest laughing.

"Dun' worry, Major, I won't hurt yah. I'm sure that were it left up ta her, she'd have left yah out there ta die!" Major Star was still alive? That's the first good news I've heard today! Maybe we can convince her that the the Enclave should just leave us alone. What am I thinking? She's probably got some super villain plot all cooked up that she's going to spill out and practically beg for somepony to try and stop. And you know what? Two super villains is enough for me, she'll have to find somepony else to fight, I'm on fucking vacation for now.

"When I get off this floating scrap heap, I'm going to make sure that the Enclave sends out EVERY LAST SHADOWBOLT to hunt you down." She raged as I stepped outside, tugging and struggling against the line of rope Carlotta was finishing tying her up with. The Major huffed and flopped down, her fury receding slightly. "Look, If you let me go and turn yourselves in, I'll do my best to get you life imprisonment. But I can't promise you that."

"Jus' shut yer muzzle while I'm still tryin ta keep us afloat!" Captain Tempest yelled back as he walked up to me, not even flinching as the Enclave cannon fired again. I watched as the round whistled overhead, barely missing us. "Please tell meh that ya managed ta put the fire out? We've drifted inta their range an they're getting a wee bit close fer comfort!"

I nodded and shook the water off myself as best as I could. "Yes, if you couldn't tell, I got the fire suppression systems working again." Captain Tempest turned and bolted up the stairs with an amazing spryness for a 150 year old pony. I swung my gaze down to Silver Star, watching as she glared at me, turning her gaze to Longbow as she walked out behind me. "So, Major. About that bomb you left downstairs."

"Bomb? What bomb!?" She looked back at me, genuinely confused.

"The one under the table your squad placed there!" Longbow shouted, smacking the tied up mare with her hoof. "Don't play coy."

"Longbow, she's telling the truth." I put my hoof on her shoulder.

"But..." Longbow looked back to me, even more worried than before. "Then who put it there? The Enclave are the only other ponies with access to tech like that."

"Other than you... Steel Ranger." Silver Star glared up at Longbow spitefully. "Was this incursion a plan by the elders? How much do they know about the project?" I watched as Longbow pushed me out of the way and put her hoof on Silver's neck, the pegasi mare slumping over before I had a chance to react.

"What are you doing!" Sky shouted, diving down from above to shove Longbow off her, leaning down and putting an ear to her chest. "You're lucky you didn't kill her!"

"Calm down. I just hit the same point that Isaac hit on the Doctor." She rolled her eyes and looked over to me. "Backlash, we need to have a talk later." And with that, she walked inside, disappearing as Skyline hoisted the Major onto her back.

"As do we." Sky glared and strained to carry the mare as she turned towards the door. "Just come find me once you're done up here. I'm going to go see if I can help out with anything else."

The deck below us rumbled as the arcane engines came to life, the entire boat jerking and rolling slightly as the Captain steered us away from the enclave guns. I walked across the deck as we pulled through the smoke that had plumed from earlier, walking up the steps to ask him where the closest civilized area was, and if we could make it there in the next forty-five minutes. If not, the Enclave might have been our only chance out of here.

"What do you mean three hours!?" I plopped my flank on the floor as we steamed ahead across the great blue expanse before of us. We had gotten out of range of the Enclave guns, but forty minutes was all I was willing to estimate was left on that bomb below us, and it was too risky to disarm.

"I'm already givin' her all she'll take!" Captain Tempest hadn't even taken his gaze off the horizon as we spoke. "Any more an' I'm riskin' ta tear her in half. 'Ave yah not seen tha gapin' hole back there?"

"Yeah, and I've also seen the giant deck guns that are kind of out of place on a fishing vessel!" I walked up the the windshield and pointed my hoof to the boxy, computer-controlled cannon on the lower deck. "That missile should have blown this boat in half, but it didn't because this ship is armored for some reason. Not to mention, you were just randomly sailing along the Delamare and found us? That all spells out a completely different story to me." I turned and looked to the captain, seeing that he he was now looking at me with a defeated expression.

"Yew are correct that we didn't jus' happen upon yew at a chance, but I've been sailing tha Gallant fer neer 130 years now. That Mare and her Ministry put those... monstrosities on mah ship, armin' her usin' some excuse about not havin' enough patrol boats fer the coast." He smacked his hoof on the wheel. "Said I'd be doin mah part ta defend Equestria, right before they went an blew it all ta hell. Now I can't even take the blasted things off her, seein' as nopony has the equipment ta do it."

He looked sad as he spoke about his ship, but I couldn't blame him, seeing as I feel just as strongly about the Marauder. But finding us still didn't make sense. ARG! Why couldn't I have just asked last night when we drunkenly swapped life stories!? "But why were you in Filly?"

"Fer the same reason any pony would, cause I got paid ta be there. Was told that I might find some folks needin' a ride ta Manehatten." Captain Tempest sounded hesitant, like he probably shouldn't have said anything about it. "Look, I'm grateful that yah helped save my ship, an I might consider talkin' about it later, but right now we've bigger problems on our hooves."

I sighed and turned to leave. "Yeah, but this conversation isn't over." I walked over to the door, hesitating as I contemplated pressing him for more. My knees felt wobbly for a moment, drawing my attention down to them before the door swung open, slamming into the top of my head. I backpedaled and sat down as I saw stars in my vision.

"Oh Geez, sorry Backlash! I didn't expect anypony to be there" Brass called out, propping the door open. "Also, I took care of the bomb!"

"Do you ever normally expect ponies to stand behind doors?" I groaned out as got up and stumbled forward, rubbing my sore head with my hoof. I looked up as my vision returned to normal, Watching Brass puff up his chest in pride. "Wait, what did you say? How did you disarm it?!"

"We didn't need to!" Brass nearly yelled, barely containing his excitement. He was positively vibrating as I stared at him in confusion. "Come on, I know you want to ask!"

"Ugh... I'll humor you this once. Only because you nearly burnt your flank off down there to save us." I smiled and sighed. "How did you do it?"

"Well, you couldn't remove it from the table without setting it off, right?" He turned and pointed his hoof out towards the sea, nodding for me to take a look. I walked over to the door, staring in disbelief at the sight before me. Carlotta and Sky were placed on each side of a large, brown rectangle, slowly drifting over the water away from us. "Nopony said I couldn't just remove the table from the boat."

-------------------
LEVEL UP!

+11 Repair

+4 Survival

NEW PERK: Technomancer - You are the Macguyver of your generation. There isn't something you can't do at least once with a little WD-40, Duct Tape, and insperation! When using the repair skill on inventory items, you no longer need a duplicate item to restore durability, just an item of the same base type. When using repair on any other object, you recive a bonus five points to repair if you are carrying scraps assossiated with the object. (IE: Electronics for terminals, tubing for hydraulics, ect...)

Author's Notes:

So! I'm going to actually start using the Author's notes section to do the normal thanks and such. It should give a more accurate word count as well as accommodate the ever growing thanks I like to give out to all who inspire me. Also! I'll use this section to explain things that might be confusing or are brought to my attention through comments and such.

For this chapter, I'd like to point out that Captain Tempest accent is NOT that of a pirate, it's supposed to be scottish. Accents are hard to write well and I realize, even more difficult for the reader to interpret without help.

Anyways, onward to the thanks!

Super props to Kkat for starting this whole amazingly awesome universe and allowing us to fill it with our own ideas. Many thanks to Somber for expanding that universe in incredible ways for 57 chapters and counting. Much love to Mimezinga for keeping the innocence alive while simultaneously taking all my feels. Thanks to No-One for inspiring me to actually do something with my ridiculous amounts of free time. I thank Stonersky for keeping the Bad guys good and the good guys so delightfully bad. Thanks to John Colt, who's amazing story has kept my mind sharp when it comes to plot development.

And now for a new Author to thank! (Yes, I realize I thank a lot, but I need to, they all inspire me)
Thank you Hnetu (Hidden Fortune) For managine to surprise me with some of the most incredible ideas that I wish I could have been smart enough to think up. Treasure Hunting is truly a great story so far and a delight to read.

Back to the usual, with Bad Pun my editor and pre reader. Thanks for sticking with me, even though it takes time away from writing your fic to handle both John and I.

Thanks to the Fallout Equestria IRC channel for being a non-stop, round the clock, insanely entertaining chat that I feel I can relax and be myself in.

And last, but nowhere remotely close to least, is you, the reader. You hold the most important part of my story, the magic that brings it to life. I thank you a million times over for sticking with me, and I hope I can continue giving you an entertaining story for quite some time to come.