BLAM!!

I threw myself into a hard right turn, the next move in my desperate dance to evade my pursuer, all while simultaneously struggling to contend with both my broken rib and the freshly bleeding trio of gashes that claws had carved into my right side. And just as I had banked, tilting a full ninety degrees to get the sharpest turn, another shot from the pearl-white revolver slashed right by me, a shot that would’ve struck if I hadn’t moved. With a pained grunt I craned my head back as I completed the sharp turnaround, and I saw where Blackhawk snapped his wings shut and dropped, plummeting down in a nosedive to bring himself to my altitude. In response I quickly righted myself from my turn, then beating my wings frantically to start climbing back up. But Blackhawk had measured the speed of his descent, expecting just a maneuver, and as quick as his wings had closed, they reopened before he banked, coming in towards me and bringing his sidearm to bear.

BLAM!!

With a loud hiss, a rifle round shot by my right side, coming from up above. Without looking I knew I was in the line-of-sight of one of Blackhawk’s wingmates, one of the griffins of the Talons’ 63rd Strikers. And up ahead and just below, Blackhawk’s second subordinate soared by, this griffin under hot pursuit from Archer, who was keeping him at bay with his twin three-o-eights. But with one at my right and another above, my only choice was to turn left. Already they had pushed me closer to the surface, towards the battle that raged in Buckley’s own backyard. Now I was no more than two hundred yards up, and still Blackhawk was trying to force me down further.

I couldn’t let that happen. But Goddesses, I just couldn’t shake him!

With a hard hook I put Blackhawk at my back and poured on the speed, doing everything in my power to ignore the painful fire burning through my torso. But just as soon as I leveled out, one of Blackhawk’s griffins came down before me, flying in from above and adjusting his course to meet me head on. He had gotten away from Archer, and behind me, I could hear where my own wingmate’s weapons sounded again, exchanging fire with the other griffin that had formerly been in pursuit of me; the two Strikers had traded places!

In a split second I ground myself to a stop, only long enough to adjust my direction before I threw myself back into motion. With wings scooping at the air like oars I climbed straight vertical and set myself quickly back into my original speed, and the charging griffin overshot, unable to match my ninety degree turn in time. But in looking back, I found Blackhawk just as he lined himself up for a straight shot at me, using my momentary pause to put me in his sights. He charged me with shocking speed, and with focused eyes on me, he flexed his claws in readiness to attack up close again. Thinking fast I turned away from my ascent, and with a single desperate thrust of my wings, I swapped my climb to level out and dodge to his left. And right after, I let myself drop, meeting his move with the exact opposite. But this time I let myself meet his charge, taking hold of my rifle saddle’s firing bit and zeroing in on him.

With a sharp crack, both of my rifles fired. One, two, three – with quick chomps on the trigger I got in three pairs of shots, and to my satisfaction, Blackhawk lost the momentum in his charge, two of my shots hitting home in his armor’s chest plate. And with the counter successful, I pulled myself back to get away, and the two of us passed each other by before I leveled out parallel to the surface. Then I was hooking right to come back around, moving in another tight turn to get the jump on Blackhawk while he recovered, preparing to charge him myself.

But instead, I saw him already leveled out, and already his revolver had been sighted for me. A single flash from the barrel, another clap of the heavy pistol that reached me even over the rage of the battle below, both occurring in unison with the fiery pain that exploded through my right foreleg. I screamed in agony, my wings snapping shut in reaction to send me into a freefall. Through the familiar thick fog of pain, I desperately tried to focus back on my wings to keep my attention off the blazing wound, to get them back open and get the air under them. Only with great effort did I feel them again, to get them away from my sides and fanned out full. But it was when I managed to get my focus back when I found Blackhawk just a wing’s beat away, and I couldn’t move fast enough to evade before I was hit again. He tackled me right in the air, smashing headfirst into my chest to draw a second agonized cry from me, my rib buckling again as the force of his hit raced through me.

“You’re only delaying the inevitable!”

That voice… burning with hatred’s fire... a mutual feeling.

My eyes snapped back open when he roared, and I saw Blackhawk just in time as he pulled his claws back to swipe, and lunging, I threw up my forelegs to protect myself. I caught his blow, my legs stinging as they were forced back. But still I held, long enough to push his paw to the side, throwing him off balance enough for me to throw a swipe of my own. He leaned back to avoid my swinging hoof, the two of us coming to a full stop as we both beat our wings to stay airborne. But when I tried to get free, back-beating my wings to pull away, I felt where his right foreleg had hooked around my lower back, vicelike in its hold. It was all I could feel before I found Blackhawk rearing his claws back for another attack, and with a fearsome cry he threw another punch. Again I managed to block it, but I felt the difference in strength, and the sting intensified, drawing a short yelp from me as I recoiled from the impact.

“You’re never taking me back!!” I screamed defiantly, bringing my forelegs back up when he threw yet another punch.

But this time, his claws took hold, wrapping around my right foreleg and pulling to the side; with a cry I felt as my wounded limb erupted with fresh agony as my flesh constricted around the bullet inside. “I’ll drag you back bloody and broken if I have to!” came his venomous reply. I screamed again as the pain rapidly swelled under the application of further pressure, nearly unbearable to the point where I felt like he was going to rip my leg off! In desperation I threw my free foreleg forward to try and get myself out of Blackhawk’s hold. Though I didn’t see, I certainly felt as my left front hoof connected solidly with my enemy’s skull, and that excruciating pressure was lifted as my adrenaline-charged punch knocked the big griffin out of focus.

Gasping, I pulled my wounded limb free at last, my eyes falling onto the bullet hole that had already bled generously, turning my coat red in several narrow trails as it continued to bleed. But before I could recollect myself, my jaw ignited with a tremendous grating sting, and my head snapped violently to the right. And suddenly I was falling again, knocked aside by Blackhawk’s most powerful punch that sent tumbling head over tail through the air. Though in a daze, I scrambled for new purchase, bringing my now freed wings open and flapping to try and catch the air again, to stop the spinning. And thankfully, I found the leverage I needed after just a couple dizzying seconds of my tumbling freefall, and my wings settled on the wind to halt the momentum from Blackhawk’s punch.

“You can give up now, or we can keep doing this the hard way!” From up above, Blackhawk shouted his confident call as I slowed to a crawl, turning in midflight to face him. He had already settled into a hover, watching me with an intense glare as I came to a stop. And he had drawn his revolver again, the pearl-white sidearm held at the ready in his claws. “It’s your choice, Nova!”

Wincing, I felt a pulse from each of my wounds together, a single painful wave that shot through me to remind me of how much damage Blackhawk had inflicted on me already. But it wasn’t enough to force me into submission… no, nowhere near enough. Face to face with him again, my breathing begun to pick up, and I glared in return, baring my teeth as I let my own hatred come out for him to see. “You’re going to have to kill me first!” I shouted back.

“I’d love nothing more than to do just that!” he responded; I kept my eyes on his pistol… already preparing. “But this isn’t about my revenge anymore! This is about you and about how important you are to General Vance now! He needs you back, and I’m going to bring you back!”

“I don’t care what Vance needs!” I spat. “I was his slave once already! I’m not going to be his slave again!”

“He’s not giving you a choice, Nova, and neither am I!” Blackhawk replied with searing anger. “I swear to you, if you weren’t the key to Hayward’s survival against its enemies, I would’ve seen you and everypony in Hopeville dead long ago, and that beloved town of yours burned to the ground to put an end to all this! But as it stands now, I see that I’ll just have to keep fighting you until you’re too weak to fight back! And if tearing you apart is what it’ll take, then it’ll be the least I can do for my wife!”

Fuel.

His words, his threats… just fuel for my desire to end him, to get my own revenge and leave his unfulfilled. That bloodlust… something I hadn’t ever felt before, much less with this level of ferocity… but it was all I could think of. It was all I wanted, all I wanted from staring into the eyes of Gracie’s killer… and I welcomed it, letting it manifest itself in me in the form of my hatred that made me his equal on this battlefield. “Unfortunately for you, I don’t have any kind of orders barring me from killing you right here and now, Blackhawk!” I called back, huffing an angry snort as my body begun to tense.

And bearing his teeth to me in return, that hateful aura around him flaring up like its own raging inferno, he begun to pump his wings faster, rising up from his hover. "Then let’s see what you’ve got!”

And I answered his challenge.

*** *** ***

Music...

…

Music??

…

Yes… Yes, I was… I was hearing it… In the dark I was hearing a… a guitar. Yes, I remembered the sound. It was back in Buckley when I’d heard it first… back on their grand stage, when I had been trusted and respected enough to be given the honor of taking part in one of their grand concerts. But now I was hearing it again, something that I had been absolutely certain I would never hear outside Buckley’s fences… and so soon after my exile, too… What would have normally been the lingering haze of sleep was instead wiped away by a curiosity that gave me a solid shove into alertness. My eyes came open with little struggle, and I saw for a second time the Hopeville survivors that were scattered within the radio station’s control room. Yesterday, as an immediate ‘renovation’, the dormant terminals that had occupied roughly half of the room’s floor had been ripped out and thrown outside to make way for others, and only the computer that controlled the door for the station’s fallout shelter remained in its place, still active and glowing its eternal green. In our spot just outside those doors, I had shifted in my sleep only enough to tuck myself up against the west wall, with Blake still underwing, having copied my movements to adjust to the slight repositioning. Together we shared our space in the corner, and beside us on our left, Ivy was already awake, looking intently toward the other side of the station… toward where the melody of the guitar was gracing us with its soothing presence.

The silver unicorn caught my eye just as I made to turn away, stopping me. And without a word, she greeted me with a delicate smile before nodding ahead, back toward where she had been watching. There I looked, sweeping over the others, and noticing only then how the greater majority of them were awake… watching just like Ivy was. Among them, I could see only a couple that were still sleeping – little Melody tucked between her father’s back and mother’s side, a younger unicorn mare and a smaller filly beside her, both among the newest members of our group, and another mare with both her little colts huddled up tight with her and still at rest, the stallion of their family awake and looking over them, all four of them ponies joined in from the wasteland beyond. But when my eyes fell upon the wall I had been resting against, they finally found where a small area had been completely cleared away, giving the space to a single mare, the one responsible for drawing in everypony’s undivided attention.

She was wrapped up in loose, torn, dusty barding with a weathered heavy brown cloak draped over her back. Seeing her head, I found her colors, a blue-grey coat with a medium length ashy mane that was much like Gunny’s in its shade. And through her mane poked out a shorter horn, the tip of which flickered with pale white light, the same light that was wrapped around the black six-string acoustic guitar that floated before her chest. The strings moved on their own accord, guided by the unicorn’s telekinesis as she played out her song, gentle like the morning as everypony begun to stir. In steady rhythm she plucked at the strings, shaping a repeating melody, simple yet beautiful and lyric. And as she played, her eyes remained closed, though she would slowly shake her head in time with the tune as it progressed, repeating a previous phrase. At the sound of that instrument, so well-preserved… looking almost wholly new… I found myself staring as the mare played, her tune already… unfortunately… winding down. I could tell in the pace as it slowed just ever so slightly, each repeat of what must have been the concluding phrase containing slightly fewer and fewer notes, until only a final pair of notes rang out together, a perfect interval whose lower pitch sounded softer than the other. And then, after just a short moment of silence, the mare continued, picking up right at the beginning of the same song and playing it through again.

“I woke up for my second time about a half hour ago to find her playing that guitar of hers. After that I couldn’t get back to sleep again, more out of wanting to hear her play than actually being tired.” In a courteous whisper, Ivy drew my focus back to where she lay close by. And leaning her head closer to me, she added, “For a second though, I almost thought she was from Buckley.”

I gave only a nod of reply.

As her song progressed from the top, the guitar mare’s eyes came open before she looked over her attentive audience. To each and every one of them she passed a small but comforting smile, and though she received few reactions among them, that smile didn’t yield a single inch. Even with her attention diverted from her instrument, the song continued just as smoothly as its first run, played from memory, from the knowledge of the patterns in the strings. And looking from one pony to the next, the guitarist’s eyes drifted to our side of the room, soon falling onto me as she found the newest face to awaken. “Morning.” she greeted, dipping her head.

“Morning.” I replied in kind, returning her gesture just a little more sluggishly before she focused back on her guitar, looking to its neck to watch the strings.

“It’s lovely though, isn’t it?” Turning back, Ivy was now looking to me directly as she whispered her question. “I’ve never heard anything like it.”

“It is…” I agreed, a smile of my own trying to tug at the corner of my mouth; I didn’t let it form… warming as the music was. “It’s… not something I’d expect out here.”

“And look at her.” Ivy added, giving a nod towards the music mare. “She’s been out and traveling like that for who knows how long, and still she’s carrying on like any normal pony would.”

“What do you mean, normal?” I asked, the both of us looking towards the newcomer.

“Don’t you see her barding?” Ivy questioned back. “Look at her belly.”

Cocking an eyebrow, I took a second look at her insistence, tracing along the guitarist’s frame. And though once concealed at my initial quick look by her barding, this time I slowed myself to take the time to study closer. Though the old sand-brown barding and similarly colored duster, both quite baggy, covered her from neck to flank, there was still no hiding where the fabric bulged around her belly. I had missed it first only because of the loose fit of her gear, but now I could see that this wandering mare was indeed an expectant mother. In fact, she was very pregnant, as her belly had rounded to the point where its base nearly touched the floor while she sat on her haunches.

While no expert on the matter, I felt that she was due to give birth at any time, likely within the week. And Goddesses, she was wandering around out there like that, without companions or guards to keep her and her unborn child safe?

“Perhaps she came here for protection.” I quietly suggested, leaning back.

“I don’t know.” Ivy responded. “Gunny told me earlier that she came in overnight, right after I got back to sleep actually, and that she only wanted a place to rest her hooves. No matter what her reasoning, though, they’d bring her in either way with her being pregnant.”

But as curious as this mare was, this wasteland musician, my train of thought promptly shifted tracks at Ivy’s mention of Gunny. “What time is it, Ivy?” I ventured.

“I imagine it’s just approaching dawn now.” she answered. “It was still pitch dark out when I stepped outside a couple hours ago.”

“And you said Gunny was out then?” To that she nodded. “Has he been up all night?”

“Well… I’m not sure.” She replied after a pause, a small frown marking her muzzle at the thought. “But I do know that he was planning on waking you up soon.”

“He was?”

“When he came back inside last, he told me that some group came to the station, newcomers that’re armed with some serious firepower.” she said, my ears perking up with intrigue. “Apparently Saber already knew this group from before the Talons’ attack, and according to him, they helped in the town’s evacuation and were actually largely responsible for keeping casualties so low.”

“If they’ve stuck around since the attack, then it almost sounds like they’re protecting us.” I observed. “Maybe they’re from Challenger if they fought back against the Talons like they did.”

But Ivy only shook her head. “No, definitely not. Gunny said that they called themselves foreigners, said they were from a different region of the wastes. Apparently they arrived to the southeast just two days ago, only intent on coming and going. But after the attack, they’re sticking with us.”

“So what’s going on with them now?” I asked.

“Gunny said that Captain Saber’s arranging a mission, and it’s one he intends to start today, even after what happened yesterday.” Ivy explained. “I think he’s actually gathered most of the ponies he wanted to talk to about it. Anypony else he might want to join up with whatever team he’s gathering is going to be asked a little later when we’re all awake.”

A mission… even after Hopeville?

Right out of the gate came a feeling of unease, an immediate doubt for the wisdom behind bringing about a task onto a group that was still early in its recovery from yesterday’s trauma. Having seen how most everypony had been sleeping, and how those who weren’t had been dragging themselves, worn and weary, I felt… no, I knew that our ponies were in no shape to be undertaking any kind of strenuous task, heading out into the wastes to Luna-knows-where. And on top of that, there was the matter of security, of keeping what happened yesterday strictly to yesterday, and to prevent anything like it from happening again later on. The radio station was by no means a fortified structure. In fact, it was anything but fortified. The old building was all alone in the southeast, surrounded on all sides by wide-open fields, with only one shallow hill that overlooked it on the north side, all more than adequate to stage an attack on the site. For us, the number of ponies in the ranks of the Stable guard force and the number of non-combatants was uneven, with far fewer guards than civilians. Even while Saber had implemented training procedures to show as many as he could the basic knowhow of using a firearm, there were not many that had received the full training of a regular guard. As such, with our enemies roaming free across the southeast, our position here was a delicate one, and our choices were difficult to decide. Stay, and we at least had a roof over our heads. Leave, and we would have no way of telling how thick the enemies’ numbers had grown, how many patrols were outside simply for the objective to intercept any and all traffic, or what route, if any was even remotely safe. Stay, and we would be a stationary target, and we would be a curiosity to any and all who passed nearby; either way, we were exposed… and there were dozens of vulnerable ponies here.

“I see.”

With her same small frown remaining, Ivy shifted in her place and looked out towards the control room exit. “I can tell you’re not very fond of the idea either.” she said. “I was planning on heading outside myself so I could see what was going on, maybe overhear a few things. But since Gunny came looking for you, I could stay here instead and keep an eye on Blake for you while you’re gone, just in case he wakes up.”

Blake.

My little brother’s familiar form was tucked away under my wing, wrapped up cozy and warm in his blanket from Hopeville, still sound asleep. Through the whole of the night I had been able to rest without being stirred, and I hoped that that in turn meant Blake had been able to do the same. If that were the case, it would be the best that I could have asked for, especially with what Blake had been forced to endure because of my reputation with the Talon legion. Sleep was the one thing that he needed plenty of in the immediate moment, and after three consecutive days of exhaustion, there was no way that he could sleep too much. Of course… as soon as he was feeling up to it… there would come the time where I would need to sit down and talk with him, and not just to comfort him through his own ordeal. I would need to talk to him about how he was feeling, and discover through his responses how the past had affected him. I needed to make sure he would be alright, that he would be able to speak his fears, his doubts, his concerns, and be able to gain some relief from having me hear him and offer him any support that I could. I wanted to make sure that he would be able to rebound from this… and to do that, we would have to sit down and talk… together like adults.

No more kid stuff…

…

But first, I would have to wait for the appropriate time, because now wasn’t it. There would be a time for it… but for now, Blake needed his rest.

“Sure.” Carefully, I let my wings come unfurled to hold them out flat and stretch, unable to keep back a tired groan as I did so. “I’d appreciate that.” I replied to her, lightly shaking out my wings and drawing a soft rustle from the feathers. “I’ll make sure not to take too long. I’ll just see what Gunny needed me for, and then I’ll be right back so you can do what you want to do.” And slowly, to keep from disturbing Blake, I pulled myself up to all fours. “If at all possible, I want to stay with Blake as much as I can today. I don’t want to go on any scouting missions or take up watch duty. I need to be with him when he wakes up.”

“I won’t say that that’s a bad idea, Nova.” Ivy remarked back, words touched with sympathy. “Celestia knows the both of you could use the extra time together to rest.”

One by one, I stretched out my legs, stepping away from Blake as I did; once again, he didn’t stir at my departure. “Everypony here needs the extra rest.” I elaborated lowly. “But I also have a child to take care of. I think that gives me a little more of a reason to make sure that I stay put.”

To that, Ivy gave a single short nod. “Yes, it should.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

But just as I faced the control room exit, I felt a single touch on my left foreleg. “Would you do me a favor, Nova, and let me know what’s going on out there when you come back?” Looking over to find Ivy’s curious eyes, I watched as she retracted her hoof from me, tucking it back against herself. “If there’s anything that I might be able to help out with today to take some weight off others’ backs, I want to know what it is.”

“Sure thing.” I assured. “I’ll tell you everything they I hear.” And after nodding together, I turned away and proceeded out of the control room, putting the guitar mare’s music at my back.

Past the exit, I was immediately greeted by a number of new faces, ponies who had come to stay in the neighboring room who had not been sleeping there the night prior. There were well over twice as many ponies here now, if not more, even despite the damaged roof and the light rain that made its way through the holes and onto the floor. Despite its condition, they were one and all awake and listening in to the guitar on the other side of the wall; having been laying directly below one of the holes in the ceiling, one stallion was even using his own saddlebags as blankets to keep the rain off him, just so he could get a seat to listen to the music.

Light and quick I stepped my way through the thick crowd, careful to stay out of the way of their opportunity to listen in to that thing of beauty, and passed into the second room. There were only a few ponies lounging here, spaced out in small circles of fours and sixes along the walls, while much of the floor space was taken up by the packs, weapons, and provisions of those who had gone to see the guitar mare. The entry chamber was the same as the previous, with only a little over a dozen resting inside, families speaking in soft voices while a couple others still remained asleep. I felt perhaps a little less than half of our group was outside, wholly unbothered by the lingering rainfall from last night’s weather system. And upon stopping before the station’s already open entry doors, I saw that the rain was indeed falling steadily, but only as a light shower. Still, despite the system’s currently dissipated strength, the soil outside had been moistened up, evidence that the rain had picked up from time to time throughout the night. And a curious swipe of a hoof past the doorway confirmed my observation when I collected up a clot of darker brown, cooler and wetter to the touch.

With a quick scrape along the doorframe I cleaned off my hoof, then scanning along the outside to look for Gunny. Despite the early hour, there was a considerable amount of activity outside. Three small groups came into my immediate sight one after the next, the first two of them made of five members who were moving with a slow, aimless, but uniform stride following the shape of the station. They were but a short ways away from the building, simply taking the time to create their own way of dealing with the trials of the recent past. The third group had only three, a family with their young child who were the farthest away from the station as they watched the colors change on the east. Apart from them, I spotted a half-dozen ponies garbed in their 181 security rigs that were split up into three pairs, part of the night shift as they made their final runs before the change in personnel that would be coming up soon. And when my eyes fell to the perimeter’s northeast corner, I found, much to my pleasant surprise, the familiar shape of Hopeville’s commandeered twenty millimeter flak gun. The Overmare was facing eastward, the weapon locked down into position and the long slender barrel jutting out protectively from the gun’s housing as the crew remained ever watchful; it was surprisingly heartening to see that gun out there, to see that it too had come out intact from Hopeville’s capture to continue to keep watch over us.

Giving the weapon a single nod of approval, I let myself take in a long breath, then letting it back out in a slow exhale before I stepped outside. And first came the touch of the rain, a dozen drops falling across my back in but a second. It was rather lukewarm when it touched, complementing the comfortably cool outside temperature. At its greeting, my body’s efforts to stir were gently nudged along, and I felt myself beginning to ease the rest of the way away from the lingering drowsiness of sleep as I followed the wall to the northeast corner.

Really… I was reminded of Buckley’s spa…

Coming up to the station’s corner, I followed it around and onto the north side. And here, I found an entire assembly along the wall, gathered up in a loose circle. Gunny was the first I spotted within the circle, the closest to me out of the group. Raemor was by his right side, and Shore was to his left, the latter looking to be the most fatigued out of my three friends. Captain Saber was farther down the circle, standing at Raemor’s right side as was Sergeant Madeline, the turquoise-maned, white-coated unicorn I’d met yesterday. With her was one other pony garbed in 181 security barding and a personal pipbuck, a peridot earth pony stallion with a grey mane and tail who I assumed to be Sergeant Mobley. And next to him, fully enclosed in her steel armor, was Sierra, the last familiar face in the assembled group. But past them, there were others, nearly a dozen new arrivals, and they were all lined up before a sight that I hadn’t expected to find… a sight that halted my hooves midstride.

At first glance, what I saw was a wall of midnight blue steel, standing over thrice as tall as the new ponies that were standing alongside it. But then I saw the four large wheels at the bottom that faced me behind those unfamiliar faces, all four of them on this thing’s right side alone, with four more undoubtedly at the other side to balance it; that alone was the indicator as to what exactly I was seeing.

A vehicle… I was looking at another vehicle.

From this angle the body of the strange craft resembled a sort of rhombus in its shape, with the back of the vehicle shaped at a slight obtuse angle, while the plating at the top of the vehicle’s nose lowered slightly down to make a sloped front, where I could see a viewing port in the center of the frontal armor and a pair of dormant headlights below it. The vehicle was armored, like Lily, and while nowhere near as thick and bulky as Buckley’s beast, the plating itself looked more than formidable. But at the top of the vehicle, mounted on the roof, were its most important features – its weaponry. It was equipped with two systems in total, one placed at the center of the vehicle’s roof, and the other placed at the front lip of the roof. The center gun was without question its signature weapon, a monstrous and intimidating array consisting of two massive rocket pods, each with nine tubes, built on either side of a squat steel pillar that connected them to a rotating dais atop the vehicle’s hull. And with it, the second turret at the front was made only of a single weapon, a familiar-looking grenade machinegun mounted similarly onto a rotating platform. At the very back of the vehicle was a pair of short antennae, with a raised point between them to break the roof’s otherwise flat shape, perhaps some sort of panel or hatch. But seeing them brought my eyes to the final detail on the vehicle, a symbol painted in pale white that sat at the top back corner of the hull – I recognized the partial moon, surrounded by the black that was the night sky… it was the mark of Princess Luna.

Leaning back to take in a breath, I thought back to yesterday when we had first returned, when Sergeant Madeline had told us of how the Talons’ takeover of Hopeville had played out. And seeing this machine, I had absolutely no doubt that this was the very vehicle that she had mentioned then, the very one that had likely kept Hopeville from being utterly flattened. And seeing this new vehicle and its crew in person… I wholly agreed that these newcomers, whoever they were, had some serious tech at their disposal, tech that could very well rival Buckley itself… Goddesses… that in itself was quite the thought.

“Hey, Nova.” With a start, I came back into reality when I suddenly found Gunny’s eyes on mine, trying to get my attention off the mechanical marvel behind him. “Hey.” he greeted, taking a step back. “I was going to go ahead and let you sleep, but I’m glad you woke up on your own. We’re going over the final details now, so at least you’ll be able to catch that before we leave.”

“Leave?” I blinked once in puzzlement, glancing briefly past him and to the circle; Shore, Raemor, Sierra, and Saber were already looking my way, and the others were beginning to do the same. “What’s going on?” I ventured, looking back to Gunny for answers.

But with a shake of his head, the unicorn only turned around, beckoning for me to follow. “Come on.”

“Gunny?” Uttering a light huff, I trotted off after him. “Gunny, what’s this about?” I asked him again, more forcefully as I drew up beside him to try and look him in the eyes.

“Bring her over, Gunny.” But instead, it was Madeline who responded, the white mare motioning me onward with her hoof before she faced front again, addressing the new arrivals when she added, “This is the other pegasus that we mentioned earlier this morning – our pegasus. Nova’s her name.” And so, no closer to an answer, I followed after Gunny to join him in the circle as was requested, stepping up between him and Shore; out of my peripheral sight, I could see as Shore made no effort to even glance my way.

“Well, well.” And after I took my place, I spotted as one of the new ponies studied over me, a blue earth pony stallion with a darker yellow mane and tail. “I haven’t seen so many pegasus ponies in one place for years. Half thought they up and vanished for good from time to time. But the fact that two pegasi are here, and in the exact same location, no less – I think that kind of proves me wrong.”

“Hi.” I replied, quickly recovering from an unintentional moment of silence.

“The name’s Vinnie.” the blue stallion introduced, giving a little dip of his head in reply. “I’m the buck in charge of this bunch here. Or, well, I’d normally be the one in charge. Technically, with the current situation, the buck in charge is that guy over there, the only one not garbed in black.” Indeed, the thing that stuck out about this new group of eleven was that they were quite uniform. The newcomers were all wearing basic combat armor that had been painted over with a coat of black to erase the vintage army green, or all of them except one. A smaller unicorn stallion, light orange in color with a short black mane, stood at the far end of the newcomers’ group, and he was wearing only a light set of combat barding, colored in that green camo that the others had replaced. It was a familiar color, and I remembered it well. But what I thought was once a rig that was one hundred percent green camouflage was broken in one place, where a patch was stitched into the chest plate over the heart; it was a black badge, a simple rectangle with white letters spaced with dots etched into it.

S.E.R.A.F.

“I’m Jocko, Challenger advance scout.” the orange unicorn spoke up to me. “Nice to meet you.”

But it was definitely Challenger’s colors.

“Alright, everypony. Let’s go over this one more time so we can get this thing going.” From my right suddenly came Saber’s voice, carrying through with ease despite the captain’s fatigue, and together we turned our attention over. “Last night, the final scout that I had sent out to the northwest four days ago returned with her report. It was the last report I needed.” he began. “She reported that the raiders holed up in the Stable had finally moved on, heading back into the region in a big hurry. While she couldn’t say for sure what had sent them packing, she did thankfully manage to get a look inside. She reported that One Eighty-one was, by and large, finally deserted.”

The Stable??

“With that in mind… I’ve decided to carry out my plan to head back to the Stable, and I intend to kick this mission off within the next hour.”

Oh Goddesses…

“There are two objectives to be accomplished on this mission.” Saber continued. “With the last report that came in, I’m confident enough to believe that a small unit will be more than enough to kill off whatever raiders might still be inside One Eighty-one. As such, the mission’s first objective will be to eliminate any enemy presence remaining in the Stable. Understand that this is not a task to pursue recklessly. Should we find ourselves outmatched, I will expect everypony to comply with the order to abort. This mission has been tossed around for weeks, and it is One Eighty-one that we’re dealing with… but it still isn’t worth your lives. Afterwards, should we secure the Stable, our second task will be to find anything salvageable inside and bring it back here. This includes both basic supplies, as well as any item from our past life that might have survived, whether it be a book, a trinket, a rifle, anything.” Here, the captain took a moment of silence, looking among his subordinates to receive understanding nods. “It’s my hope that something will have survived in there that can remind everypony about One Eighty-one… and in the way that really matters. That’s to say, it’s my mission… my wish… to find something in there that can remind us about what we learned in our previous life, the good experiences we had, and the memories we made that are worth cherishing… the things that shouldn’t be forgotten out here.”

Nopony could miss how the captain sagged under the subject of the Stable, and the revelation of his great wish… and I knew that most everypony felt the same weight he did as he laid out the plans for a mission that had once only been a tentative, reluctant idea. And like when it had been mentioned the first time, everypony was listening on in silence, their words held at bay by the mere thought of our old home… of their final memories within our steel walls where both they and their lessons learned were safeguarded. Everypony from the Stable in our circle had their own personal reasons to be hesitant now, just as they had before, and I could definitely see that hesitation. Shore and Mobley’s bowed heads, Gunny and Madeline’s uncertain looks… most everypony in my company shared that terrible page of history. And those who didn’t – Raemor and Ivy – they had their own histories, didn’t know what we had gone through, didn’t experience it how we did. But they did know what kind of impact could be born of such a tragedy, knew the severity of the scars that had followed in its wake and now lingered with us, and so they too shared in our silence, out of respect for our trials.

“The team that’ll be making the trip will consist of fourteen members total.” But still Saber pushed past his emotions, picking up where he left off. “And while I had intended to lead the team alone,” Saber explained. “Sergeant Madeline requested that if I don’t stay here, then I should go with a second-in-charge. Therefore, both Madeline and I will each lead our own squad, and Sergeant Mobley will be placed in charge of keeping things at the station running as smoothly as possible.” And then, he gave a single small nod to the white unicorn. “Madeline.”

“As Saber mentioned earlier, the team for this mission has been comprised of fourteen volunteers.” Madeline spoke, taking over. “They’ll be divided into two groups for this mission, and the first will be a team of unicorns that will be put in charge of our new wagon’s protection as well as bringing out items from the Stable and loading them up for transport. And seeing as how the same ponies that brought the wagon in three days ago have volunteered for this mission, I feel it appropriate to have Mavis, Quinn, Gyro, Sylvia, Tiny, and Boulter serve as its crew along with myself.”

“Sergeant Mobley, I’ll have you help them with checking the wagon harnesses when we’re done here.” the captain interrupted, long enough to give a nod to the peridot stallion.

“Of course, captain.” came the second sergeant’s response.

“The others will take their orders from the captain, and will be the ones who will enter the Stable upon our arrival and engage the enemy inside while my team keeps watch for any raiders that might be on the surface. Once the Stable is cleared out, we’ll be the ones looking through it to find anything that might be intact that the first team didn’t decide to pick up on their own.” Madeline continued. “The ones on Saber’s squad will be Gunny, Shore, Raemor, Sierra, Joker, and Daisy.”

“Since Vinnie and his crew have volunteered to remain with us,” Saber added. “I’ve been able to allocate more ponies to this mission than I would have been able to normally. As such, they’ll take over the majority of the lookout responsibilities left open while the mission is underway. And with their help, this station will remain secure in our absence.” And here, he turned to look back to the assembled newcomers. “You ponies have already helped us out more times than you ever needed to. But I really, truly appreciate you offering your protection to us. I can’t thank you enough for this.”

With a small polite smile, Vinnie gave a little shake of his head. “Given how bad things are for you lot right now, I don’t see any reason why we can’t stick around for a little bit longer. So long as Jocko here lets us stay, then we’ll help keep an eye on things so you can go after this Stable of yours. Besides, most everypony out there won’t want to tangle with this place with an IFV on call. Long as Lil’ Luna here is on patrol, this place will be locked down tight, I promise you.”

“You do approve of this plan, yes Jocko?” A unicorn mare from Vinnie’s group questioned, stepping forward to catch the scout’s attention.

“My orders were to get you to Challenger in a week’s time from when I was assigned my mission.” Jocko responded. “And seeing as how we made good time getting back down here from Rio, I think I can spare a couple more days… But I can’t lie and say that that wouldn’t be cutting it close. Like I told you all before, this thing with the Talons and the Black Blood has been going fierce for two weeks now. It’s really a war out there in Ashton, especially now after the Legion’s latest move.” To each of the new ponies, he had met them with a firm look, eyes alone reminding them of the gravity of the situation. But then he turned to Saber, easing up to add, “But in the end I’m of the same mind as Vinnie. You’re more vulnerable here than at Hopeville. There’s no buildings to protect you, not as much ground to make a good strategy with. On top of that, it’ll give me a chance to repay the pegasus that helped to get a warning out to Challenger that the Talons had been operating in the region in the first place.” And for a moment, he looked to me, just a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth that startled me into meeting him. “If she hadn’t gotten Shotshell out of Plainwell, I’m not sure when Challenger would’ve discovered the Talons operating undetected in the region… hell, could’ve been just now, and we would’ve been in a shitload of trouble.” Then, to Vinnie again, “So yes, I’m fine with your plan, and I’ll do my part here too. Just do me a favor and remember – I’ve given a couple days, two, maybe three tops. But after that, I’ll need to get you and your team to Challenger so that you can report in and get shipped out.” And he looked back to the machine behind him. “Whether you get sent to The Warpath or Searchlight, I cannot understate just how important you’ll be out in the field.”

And to that, Vinnie gave Challenger’s scout a satisfied nod. “Sounds more than reasonable to me.” he replied. “I’m glad you see it that way.”

But even after hearing out the arrangements, the agreement… only one thing kept itself latched to my thoughts… and it banished Vinnie and Jocko and all those other newcomers from the picture entirely. “You want to return to the Stable now? After everything?”

I spoke it outright, unafraid. It was just something that I couldn’t keep locked up inside, even if I tried. Instead, I only shivered, unable to keep my eyes from drifting down to the dirt. The first time that our beloved One Eighty-one had been brought up had been eight days after we had left it behind. I remembered. And when I had gotten that terrible reminder, I had been unable to ultimately decide whether I wanted to support or oppose the idea of returning… because I had wanted to do both, at the urging of two clashing voices.

And once more, like there had been when Saber first reminded us of home, there were two parts of me, each vouching for one side of the spectrum or the other. Despite weeks on the surface, despite everything, there was still that part of me that wanted so dearly to see the Stable again, to see the great door open, to walk inside and see my old life all around me. I wanted it back… Goddesses, I really wanted it back. The shelter that the Stable provided, the life that the Golden Fire bloodline had created for those it saved… returning to that way of life… now that Hopeville had been lost to us, it was something that we needed, and not just because of our fate on the surface, but because we needed it to live… to keep living… It was the return of that longing that I had felt before, coming back to life in a blink from the reveal of Saber’s latest mission. Only this time, it was no longer restrained in the shell of simple uncertainty, but was strong when my thoughts dared to wander, dared to bring to light what could be the worst case scenario, the gravest threat that we now faced – defeat… the failure of our efforts, the deaths of our survivors, our friends… the ultimate destruction of our group.

It was on our doorstep with the loss of Hopeville… there was no hiding it.

And with this, so came that second part of me.

It was the fear from before, returning side by side with that sense of longing and sharing the same potency, the same strength in its struggle to overcome its rival. Now, more time had passed, more time in which the Black Blood had their way with the Stable, free to do with it what they pleased. And I was reminded of my fears from before, all of them, together.

The first ever battle I had been a part of took place in there… and even to this day, it had been my worst… because it had claimed my parents. My father had died first… right in the entrance… right where I was standing when I had fought at his side. He had been surrounded, trapped, before he used that detonator to seal the Stable from the inside. And I still remembered those last few seconds that I saw his face… that final smile he gave me before he went down, giving his life so that his family could escape.

Goddesses, why did he smile?

And then death took my mother from me, the mare that Blake and I needed to cope with the death of our father. She died right there with me at her side, with only a few parting words to give, one simple request that I move on, recover, and find a strength within me to help those who needed it. “Let me go, Nova… and help the ponies here. They need you…” That was what she said, what she wanted me to do. She said that when the time came, I would do the right thing… and she said it like I already knew my way, like my path was set in stone. And then like that she was gone, leaving me, just barely an adult, terrified of the future and half-dead with grief, to safeguard a young colt, the last family member I had, all on my own.

My fears came from that battle alone. Even with my desire to return, to see home again… I still feared to tread there again. I feared to see what the Black Blood had done to it all. I feared to relive the escape all those weeks ago, to be reminded of every detail that I was certain to remember. And I feared to see the aftermath of the battle… the blood… the bodies… the faces of ponies I once knew, of classmates and teachers and workers… and Crystal… and my father…… I feared to see my parents again… my father’s corpse and my mother’s grave…

I didn’t want to see them like that…

And those were my fears. They were alive in me now, the source of my words to the others. And in just seconds, I could feel their eyes upon me; Captain Saber was the first one to catch my attention when he took two steps from the circle.

“Why?”

For a long moment, the tired captain stared, letting my question drift in the air. He wore a look on him… one showing that he had anticipated that question long before its appearance, even with how exhausted he still was. “Look…” Instantly, I could distinguish the struggle in his tone, struggle stemmed from trying to find the right words. “I know that… I know it doesn’t seem like the best of plans right now. Everypony here is thinking the same way if they haven’t done so soon as I had brought it up again. But I’ve been talking about this for weeks now, and we-”

But with a stomp of a forehoof, I stopped him. “But why??” I repeated, sharper to take command.

“Because!…” As if ripped out of a trance, his volume snapped up to match mine. And in the ensuing pause, he sighed heavily. “Because we’re a dying group…” he answered, a genuine direct answer… the revelation of our leader’s darkest thoughts that quickly put me into submission. And with the truth set on the table before the whole assembly… I could feel the atmosphere change, a terrible depressing darkness settling over us. “Look back to the past, Nova.” Saber said, now speaking softer as he recomposed himself. “We left One Eighty-one with two hundred and ten souls. When we beat the invaders at Hopeville, then there were a hundred and sixty, and now, after we lost Hopeville entirely… now there’s a hundred and twenty.” Through it all, our eyes stayed locked, even as a quick shiver ran through my body; I couldn’t stand hearing this… “You may not have seen it yourself yet,” he continued lowly. “but look into their eyes. Hear how quiet they’ve become. Everypony we have left… this latest blow has drilled into their heads that everything they did to rebuild, that everypony they’ve lost, was all just a waste for an impossible goal. They’re starting to give up, Nova. And everypony who joined us from outside – they’re afraid now. They came to us for a shot at a fresh start, followed the rumors of safe harbor in the Equestrian southeast. They took a chance and lost, and they’re afraid, because now they’re once again under attack from the very things they sought to get away from.” Here, he let himself slow down and stop, turning away to leave me staring sadly after him. And he took in a breath, letting it out as dead silence took his place. Nopony else dared to speak in that silence, only waiting; Goddesses… never before had I seen Saber so downhearted.

“You’ve got to understand, Nova… everypony.” When he finally spoke again, he stepped fully out of the circle, moving with slow, heavy steps to the center. “I’m not doing this for the sake of doing something to take our minds off what were just put through… twice.” And he raised up his left foreleg, slowly bringing the limb up to point at the radio station itself. “I’m executing this mission for them… for all of us. I’m doing this because I want to be able to bring something back here from the Stable… even if it’s just a single book… I want to bring something back that can give our ponies some hope, something that can encourage and inspire all of us to keep going with this uphill fight that we’ve gotten thrown into…” His foreleg lowered back down to the ground, soundless through the rain as he bowed his head again. “I’ve led our group of survivors ever since we stepped hoof on the surface…… and I can’t stand seeing us like this… I want to bring back the strength and the faith that we once had, our resolve, and if there’s anything that’ll give us some kind of hope out there, then it’ll be a remnant of our previous life, something that survived there just like we have here, something that’s still alive even in the face of near insurmountable odds… just like us.”

Hope…

…

Never lose hope.

…

“At the very least… I’ve got to try.” Saber concluded bravely, a heartening tone layering over the words. “If Crystal were here in my place… I know it’s what she would’ve done.”

Never lose hope.

Stable 181’s words…

After their successful takeover of the Stable from its corporate masters, the Golden Fire bloodline had shaped it using only their ideology, their set of beliefs that was the family’s personal embodiment of the legendary Elements of Harmony. It was how they made themselves a code to follow, which in turn became their way of carrying the elements with them in as close to a physical fashion as possible, without the necklaces and the crown that made the elements’ material vessels. As the end times drew ever nearer, that ideology was viciously guarded, and was reinforced with a set of ideas and rules, words that were shaped with the sole intent to provoke inspiration, restore strength, and give hope. With this kind of refinement, they had shaped that belief into a sort of warning, for them and for those who would become their future followers, as if they knew it in their gut that the end would come from the war. And so, when the bombs finally did fall, their ideas provided the bridges that the virtues represented by Elements of Harmony crossed in order to find those that 181 sheltered. Through the Golden Fire ideals, those bridges, the virtues that were the Elements of Harmony were saved from the apocalypse, and we, the Stable’s residents, became their Stables in turn, where they could manifest, grow, and continue to commit to their purpose just as they had done before the end.

Never lose hope…

So simple… but so meaningful.

That was perhaps the Golden Fire family’s chief rule in their way of thinking. And looking at it now, hope was, in a way, the family’s own unique virtue… and as such, it was a virtue that we as a group possessed through our life in the family’s Stable. Hope, faith, confidence… no matter the word that was used for it, it was that and both the actions inspired by it and those executed to retain or restore it that was spoken of in those three simple words. It was that desire to survive, to keep our traditions and our values alive in difficult times, to progress and to build with those values that we shared with the Golden Fire family. It was the desire to do good, to be inspired from and to bring back ponykind’s pre-war age of peace, and to have faith that good would prevail over what would become a dark and lawless world that we shared with our founders.

And now, that was the thing that Saber wanted to bring back with his newest mission. That was what he felt was being put at risk. That’s what he wanted to preserve… and seeing that drive in his eyes… understanding…

“Then I want to come with you.” I finally responded, softly clearing my throat as I came back from my thoughts. “I want to go back to One Eighty-one with you.”

The captain only looked back to me again, and in the silence, let his shoulders rise as he took in a breath, the slowly letting it free. “I had a feeling you would.” he remarked… a sliver of admiration in his words there that made my ear just slightly twitch. “You’ve got your parents’ spirit in you, that’s for sure.”

And there I could see the corner of his mouth rise, just slight, but enough to show the tiny… yet rather heartening smile that he gave me.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” The very question that I myself had only just answered came from Gunny, my friend leaning into my vision from his place at my right side. He himself, after hearing both Saber and I out, did not look very approving at my proclamation… nor did he seem convinced that I was in the proper condition to take part in Saber’s task. That concern was written on him like a book this time, provoked by all of my trials from the recent past. It was that protective nature of his, the part of him that was among the traits that I admired him for the most that I saw here again. “Don’t you think that you might just want to rest for a little while longer?” he asked, gentler… and a little hopeful, hopeful to an affirmative answer at his suggestion.

“No.” I let myself use a tone to match his in my reply, shaking my head to combat his concerns. “No… I’m okay, Gunny.” I said, as reassuringly as possible. “I’m okay because… well, because I’ve realized something.” In response, my friend remained silent, only listening. “I’ve realized that I often tend to get wrapped up in my thoughts… and there have come times where I’ve gotten them so tangled up that I’ve lost sight of some of the important things… and this is one of those things. Saber’s right on this, about everything. We aren’t broken, but we are dying… and with two homes stolen away from us… well who wouldn’t be on their last legs.” At that came a slight nod from the brick-red unicorn. “But just because we might be weakened to such a state doesn’t mean that we have to keep falling.” I continued to him. “No matter how critical the situation, there’s always a way to progress back up again… and in our case, Saber’s right. Stable One Eighty-one grants us a chance to give ourselves some hope, something to remind us of who we were, and that we don’t have to just let that be buried by what we have to do up here. Even if that chance is slim, it’s still enough to get me involved in this. It’s enough for me to want to make a positive difference for everypony we have left, to try and make up for my mistakes. And I need to take the opportunity, especially when it’s sitting right in front of me.” I noted swiftly how a frown begun to take shape on Gunny’s lips, the stallion none too pleased to see me pull the blame-against-self card. “I’m being presented with a chance to contribute to my ponies.” I added fast, cutting him off before he could even think of voicing his disapproval. “And if I stay, then all I’m doing is letting my head keep me from doing something important. I need to get away from that before it becomes a habit.”

“Well, that’s good and all… But with what happened to you in the Stable… I’m sorry, but I really don’t think you’d do well back at One Eighty-one.” Gunny responded after a pause; his worry for me still held tight in his voice. “I’ve seen how you react when that day is mentioned, Nova. I know how sensitive this is, and it’s justly so… but you’ve already got enough on your shoulders that you’re trying to recoup from without going back home and reliving its loss.”

“And what about you?” I pressed curiously. “What about Shore?” To my left, I saw the black stallion looking sidelong to me, only to face forward again when I tried to meet his eyes. “And Saber?” I continued anyway, turning back to Gunny. “You’ve all deemed yourselves ready.”

“We’ve steeled ourselves for this, Nova.” Gunny explained, Saber giving a little nod behind him to agree. “Yes, we all lost a great deal when the raiders invaded, and yes we’re all still anchored to our past. We’ve all got scars, some of which will last a lifetime. You however, have had things happen to you that have not happened to any of us, both in the Stable and on the surface.”

“He is right you know.” From behind Gunny I caught sight of Raemor. The old stallion took a step out of the circle, leaning forward to spot me. “You just got back to safety after being a hostage, after having Blake’s life threatened, and after your exile from Buckley, and you have all of that sitting on top of Gracie’s death and the deaths of your parents. That’s a great deal of weight that rests on you, and I would like to respectfully voice my own concern that should you return to the Stable, you might very well put yourself closer into harm’s way by reliving your home’s invasion. And believe me, Nova, you will relive that day, to some extent or another.” And at his waning, he too settled into a troubled frown. “You can trust me on that.”

And when he leaned back again, Gunny met my eyes in his place. “I’m just worried, Nova.” he added to Raemor’s words. “You really should take some time to just relax, to recover and to let things come back down to some level of normality again. And in my opinion, throwing yourself at something that’s going to cause you more harm than good later isn’t the way to do that.” And then he reached out, lifting a foreleg to set a hoof against my shoulder. “I only want to see you get through the aftermath of all this recent crap. I want to see you put it behind you, get yourself back on your hooves, and move on with what you’ve got right in front of you.”

But this time, to what had to have been Gunny’s prime concern, I actually smiled just a little. “I know you do, Gunny. And that’s what I am doing.” I answered, glancing then to where his hoof rested against me… a dear friend’s comforting touch. “When the Stable was first brought up again, I was terrified to go back there. You know that I didn’t want to see One Eighty-one again, not as a shell of its former self, looted and defiled. You know that I didn’t want to see those who didn’t make it out… just laying where they’d fallen, with no burial to let them rest in peace like they deserve… And believe me, Gunny, it’s because of those very things and more that I’m just as scared to go back now as I was before. But… you remember what I said about realizing something important?” A nod from him answered. “Well… I’ve also just very recently realized that… if I let it, my past, and all my fears that had be born from it, can take over what I do, permanently if I let it go far enough. My past can trap me, and I can’t let myself fall that far, to the point where I become useless because I spend all my time weighing my history and wallowing in my guilt. And that’s one of the most important reasons why I want to go. I need to come to terms with everything that happened that day… I need to face it without hiding myself away in my own thought. Otherwise, like you were saying, I’ll never really focus on what’s happening now, what’s right in front of me. I’d just… stay lost in all the bad that’s happened.” And it was that, my resolution that was taking wing, that got my friend to begin to ease away from his own fears, visibly so as he lowered his hoof away from me. “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let myself run from what happened before and destroy myself over it, not anymore.” I said; I found myself having no trouble keeping up my little smile… for the first time in… well… a good long while. “I’m going to help again. I’m going to help us again, not some other group, but us, our group…”

And in reply came a very hopeful sight, when Gunny too cracked just a faint smile of his own. That was definitely something that he didn’t mind hearing, and through that smile I knew that I had talked my way into coming along.

But really, I wasn’t bothered by that. Because this time, unlike the previous night, everything I said to him had been the truth. No secrets, no white lies. Everything I told him was genuine.

Because this was something that I really, truly needed to do.

*** *** ***

With a grunt, I ground my teeth together at the pain in my torso that swelled as my wings snapped out full to catch the air again, muscles flexing despite my body’s protests. For the fourth time I recovered from a chaotic spiral, slowing myself back to a nominal speed to get myself reoriented with the ground. And when I finally leveled out, I found myself hovering high over an open field, pockmarked with the freshly smoldering craters made by Buckley’s howitzers. With them were the tiny dots that were the bodies of the first kills of the battle, the Talons’ first casualties before the Guardian Project’s launch. Blackhawk and I had taken our dogfight outside of Buckley’s perimeter now, the both of us consequently leaving our wingmates behind, who continued to fight their own battle to add to the chaos on the ground; Archer was engaged with both of Blackhawk’s Strikers alone.

I had a full view of the rear lines of the Legion’s invasion force from here, the last troops that had yet to enter the field but marched steadily towards it. From my new angle on the battle, I could see where the Talons and Buckley’s defenders had come to a fresh stalemate. Buckley had been pushed back all the way to the west runway now, and the median between it and its twin now made a natural divider between them and the Legion. But Lily had made her grand entrance to the dance, the great mechanical colossus having passed the west runway to come to a stop at the median; she was turning now, coming about to face the fight and preparing to engage the enemy front head-on.

But my war was here… and Blackhawk came back into view, settling into a hover in the upper left corner of my vision, not even fifty yards away.

“Are you ready to surrender?!” he called, his voice carrying on the air. “Or are we really going to keep doing this?!”

My wounds called for him with another burning pulse of pain, begging for mercy as I hissed at the sting. Now both my right and left sides were bleeding freely from Blackhawk’s claws… and the bullet wound on my right front leg wouldn’t stop bleeding either. “Fuck you!!” I screamed back, defying my body’s commands.

To that, Blackhawk holstered his revolver, slamming it back into the chest-mounted carrier before he held out open paws. “You can’t beat me, Nova!” he called. “You’re no soldier!”

“And you can’t kill me, Blackhawk!” I shouted in reply. “Because you’re under orders not to! That pretty much means you’re stuck, doesn’t it?!”

But to my shock, I actually heard, for the first time, a laugh come from the griffin, short and mirthless… dark… a single note that made me flinch. “Wrong, Nova!” he said. “It just means that for however long you intend to resist, everything and everyone you care about is at risk! It just means that I’ll have to keep taking from you until you finally break!” I could only growl, a reply I knew he couldn’t hear. “Maybe eventually I’ll kill somepony you really care about, maybe that protective unicorn friend of yours, or maybe your brother!” My blood was at a boil by his poisonous threats; my body begun tensing back up as I readied another charge. “So I guess we’ll just have to see how much you can stand to lose before you finally accept your true role in this war!”

In that instant, my hatred was suddenly pushed aside, startling me into nearly skipping a beat of my wings. Blackhawk’s eyes were on me the whole time, watching, waiting for any sort of response to his sudden and shockingly bizarre choice of final words. And yet there had been no change of tone when they had been spoken, that same deep, hateful color that shaped all possible sincerity filling every crevice of his threat. But still, I looked on in surprise, an unwelcome feeling that dulled the anger that had brought me my focus. “True role??” I called, trying to regain my former concentration as I eased back into a solid hover. “Are you crazy??”

“Come on, Nova!” came his answer. “You’ve seen how the Legion operates! You’ve worked in our ranks, seen one of our leaders, know of our goals and how we work towards them! And so you should know by now that my superiors wouldn’t be after you unless they had a real reason! And I told you before, that this isn’t just about my revenge anymore! There are greater forces at work here than petty desires now, and you have become one of them!”

The more he spoke, the more my eyes settled into a familiar glare, the fire behind them returning; Blackhawk was losing it… “What are you talking about?!” I demanded sharply.

“You haven’t seen it yet, Nova, but Vance was ready to give you a new higher purpose, something greater than just simply trying to survive in the wastes!” he snapped. “Vance was going to give you the power to guide the direction of this whole conflict because there is power in you!” Then, he reached a forepaw back up to his chest plate, once again taking hold of his revolver and bringing it back out from its holster. “And you used that power for the first time when you woke up the Guardian Project!”

*** *** ***

Two days… two days brought us back…

Heading due southwest yesterday morn, we had left behind the last known landmarks of the region by the evening of the first day. In between, we had diverted an hour of our time to scouring the ruins of the Southeast Regional Power Plant for any additional supplies or salvage that could have provided use. In that time, I’d come to learn that the power plant collected solar energy as its power source, and then had converted that energy into the electrical power that had been used by all the southeast. It was an interesting diversion of thought to think that one plant had once supplied power to the whole city of Marefax, plus three additional towns and a scattering of farmhouses altogether. To think also what it might be like if it could work again… that too was quite something to think about. But time’s march had been cruel on the plant. One hundred and seventy-five years had whittled it down to but a husk, an industrial corpse that was barely standing on its own anymore. The compound had, back in its day, been comprised of the main facility, a solar collection tower, and a great fenced-in field of panels, the solar collectors that the plant had utilized. Out of what had to have been two hundred solar panels, barely two dozen were standing in the graveyard of rusty frames and useless scrap that had been left behind by scavengers. The solar collection tower, which had likely stood taller than the plant itself, had collapsed entirely, leaving nothing but twisted steel to mark its final resting place. With it, there had been a number of transmission towers, steel lattice spires that had once connected the overhead power lines as they stretched away north before gradually hooking east, back to Marefax. But out of what had once been a line of towers, only three were standing in our sight amidst spaced mounds of steel, and one of those still was looking ready to come down as it leaned on two weak legs. The plant itself was the only thing standing, and even then it was greatly decayed. The front wall had seen a good deal of damage, with both corners having caved in, and the main entrance itself having been blasted open in some sort of skirmish. Similarly, a portion of the east wall had collapsed, the stone and metal of the exterior spilling out onto the ground with the wreckage of catwalks, mangled filing cabinets and office desks, rotted computer terminals, and useless machinery. And the inside – you could barely tell what room was what in there anymore.

And despite our hour-long search, we had scrounged up an unfortunately short list of useable items – scrap metal plating for our salvaged wagon, a half-dozen bottle caps and three bobby pins from the aged corpse of some poor scavenger, a beat-up nine millimeter pistol with four shots in a locked strongbox, and a small bottle of pain killer pills buried under some rubble.

Still better than nothing…

After the power plant we maintained our course southwest, leaving it and the regional border at our backs, and putting a vast desert of nothingness before, and eventually, all around us. And throughout the rest of the day, that was all that we could see in any direction, and with it, the rain had been a steady companion. After a small break in the weather, the rain had picked back up again, walking with us out of the southeast and back into the desert beyond it. That day we had gone until the sun had fully set, and even a couple hours beyond that. Saber had pushed us to keep up a steady pace, the better to get to our destination, search it, and get back to the others. As such, we had all become more than tired when the captain had decided to finally call it a day. With only a small dinner for each of us from the limited supplies we had for the journey, we all went to bed hungry, tired, and wet, and the continuing rain forced us to sleep under and inside the wagon to keep from soaking further. We were one and all thankful that it was a cargo carrier that our ponies had scavenged, a large four-wheeler wagon complete with an intact roof and its own array of iron reinforcements.

The wastelanders who had it before didn’t need it anymore, and the Talons had been the ones to ensure that, so said Boulter.

Then we were up to an early start the next morning, and by midday, we had crossed into chillingly familiar terrain. What was once just flat dirt begun to rise and fall into rolling hills, each differing in size, but all short in height and wide in diameter. And what was once just patches of the dead yellow grass became a whole field of it, now moistened up from the ongoing rainfall and swaying in the accompanying wind. By midday we had crossed back into uncharted land, back onto the road that we had been walking when our time on the surface began. And from then to now, we moved with that knowing, with the guarded… weary… anticipation that came with the fact that we were, one more time, on the final stretch to Stable 181…

To where all of this began…

Just behind me and to the left, the rumbling of our new wagon’s heavy wheels was as constant as the light rain and moderate breeze. We had just crossed over another hill to emerge onto a smooth patch in the earth, extending out a hundred yards ahead to the next hill and rising only gently up towards it. I was moving at the wagon’s pace, keeping myself just outside the inner ring of guards made from its assigned crew. Just ahead and to the right, walking apart from the rest of us, Shore kept himself out of the way, still just as quiet as before. He had been like that for the duration of the journey, speaking only so often to the rest of us. The last time I had heard him had been back at the old power plant, and before then, when he had been saying goodbye to his parents back at the radio station. Though he had settled into a calm state of focus when our trek began, just as alert for danger as was required of him…… Goddesses, I wanted to hear his voice…

On the other side of the wagon, though out of sight, was Raemor and Ivy, the both of them having stayed closer to the front of our group with Saber and Madeline the whole way through; thankfully, the both of them had been more than willing to welcome conversation, for however brief a time. Covering our backs were Joker and Daisy, and it was easy to note how much closer those two had become. Beginning as guards of the same shift before 181’s loss, the two had developed a much closer bond, which had, encouragingly, only been strengthened at the weeks gone by… to the point where they could almost be called lovers. Up above, keeping a watchful eye on the landscape, Sierra was aloft, the two of us having decided to take overwatch in shifts. Despite her power armor, she was able to stay in the air for several hours at a go, and she insisted that she take more time up high between us, claiming that her suit was designed for aerial operations; along the course of our journey, she had become more open with my friends, and with the others too, gradually easing her way into our little circle. Gunny was my partner in our trip, staying the closest to me to help me in keeping our right side monitored. He had been the most collected of all of us, alongside Saber and Madeline, and was the least prone to let his mind wander off to the past.

And finally, protected by Madeline’s designated pulling team where he sat aboard the wagon itself, Blake was silent but awake. Just before we had left the station, right after I had volunteered, my baby brother had woken up, and just in time to find me explaining to Ivy our new mission. He had asked me only once if he could join me, and this time I was in no particular mood to deny him the opportunity to accompany me. This time, I had said yes only because I was not willing to separate myself from him again. After Stable 184, I became just as stubborn as he had always been in the past. I refused to let him leave my side, and Saber had relented nearly as swiftly, knowing my help would be more than valuable on his mission, thus willing to oblige us. With both Blake and I of the same mind, my brother became part of the team, despite how limited his role in the mission would actually be. Still, that had not stopped me from taking some time to oblige one of Blake’s earlier requests – to teach him the basics of the use of a firearm. When I had first proposed the idea the day before now, I had done so with the utmost care. And even then, Blake had shown some hesitation at the idea. His first kill had been sudden, a split-second decision, one that had saved a life, and yet given him his first real taste of what a battle was like. Because of the Talons, he had been thrown into the fire without restraint, and it had left marks after its passing. Still, after some gentle coaxing on my part, Blake had shown his bravery and taken the opportunity for a quick lesson to learn the basics from me.

And it had been in that time when I had gotten my chance to have my talk with him, to ask and to learn just how he had come out from all of this.

He made it known to me that what he had gone through had been the most terrifying days of his life, and at my request… he told me everything. He had recounted how he had been captured from Hopeville in the first place, how a pair of griffins, likely under Blackhawk’s command, had dragged him kicking and screaming from City Hall. He told me how he had cried out my name, begged for my help… help that I hadn’t been able to give. And he told me of how helpless he felt when I did not answer his cries, when instead, he had been forced into binds to be taken away from Hopeville. Then came his recollection of the time when he had been forced into the Talons’ explosive collar, that it took a unicorn’s telekinesis to hold him down and another unicorn’s magic to close the collar around his throat. He told me of how afraid he had been when he had only been able to see me through a monitor, and only as a helpless mare that was shackled and unable to fight back. Then came his fear, the most petrifying fear he had ever felt, when he knew that I was out there, but was unable to see me. He said that when I had gone off alone, and when he was around friends, whether mine or his or both, that it was different. He felt safer then. But for over a whole day, he had been alone, wrapped in chains, sitting in the clutches of a pony who had kept his hoof poised over the detonator of his collar. And after that, I was driven ever further into guilt when he talked about our escape from the Talons’ prison. Never until then had Blake been subjected to such a battle, one in which I had been throwing him this way and that to keep him out of the Talons’ crosshairs. Both on the ground and in the air, Blake had been just as much of a target as I had been, and the two of us had barely escaped intact, even with Master Sergeant Amber Dawn’s best efforts. And finally came the battle for Buckley itself, and he told me of his time trapped inside Lily, a bulletproof shell, but a cage at the same time when he had been an involuntary part of the mighty tank’s charge against the enemy. He had been with Lily for nearly the whole duration of the fight, even when the beast had taken a hit. And when the Talons fought Buckley’s defenders for control of the vehicle, Blake had been forced to cower through it all. Even after my friends had gotten him free, he had still emerged into the very heart of the fight. And that was when he made his first kill… and he was not hesitant to tell me of how he still saw the back of that stallion’s head, perfectly intact one moment, then facing him with a bloody gaping hole. It was an image that had, in his words, stuck to him like glue.

And that was that.

When he had finished, toughing through those horrible memories which had, as I had expected, resided at the forefront of his thoughts, nothing stopped me from breaking down one more time. The tears I cried then, they came because of what my dear brother had been put through. They came because there had been so many times where, in any other circumstance, I would have pulled Blake away and faced down the monsters that he had been forced to fight himself. They came because Saber had warned me of the consequences that taking Blake away from the safety of home would bring, and I had heeded his words only to face those very consequences anyway.

I had cried because Blake had gone through so much that he shouldn’t have had to go through.

I had cried because I was so, so very sorry…

But it was then that Blake, for the first time, had come to my rescue, to be the shoulder to cry on when it was I that was always prepared to do the just that. And hugging me, wiping away my tears for me, he told me that he was okay in the end. He told me that even with how terrifying those days had been for him, he was still going to be there for me. He said that he was going to be as strong as he could be, and that he wasn’t going to let what happened keep him from doing his part, from fulfilling our father’s final wish to look out for me. He said that he was going to be better than the things that scared him, that he was going to be brave and strong… he said he was going to be just like me.

In the end, I pulled him into a hug that we must have held for minutes. And from deep down in my heart, I told him how much I loved him, how I loved him so very much, and that I was so proud of him… so proud…

And so, trained and equipped with his own personal sidearm, a nine millimeter pistol donated to him by Tiny, Blake was now an official contributing member of our squad.

No more kid stuff…

“You okay, Nova?” My ears perked at the question, which had come in as a gentle intervention to my thoughts. “You’ve got that lost-in-the-clouds look again.” By my left, Gunny was looking down to me in simple curiosity, awaiting an answer. But despite whatever initial concerns he held, I gave him a small but more confident smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Or at least, as much as the present moment allows, given the circumstances.” I answered, to which he gave a nod of agreement. “I was just thinking about Blake… I’m sure you heard our talk.”

I was pleased to see Gunny share my smile, the corner of his mouth rising when he said, “Yeah. Bits and pieces, anyway.” he replied.

“He’s becoming a very brave young stallion.” Taking a glance back to the wagon, inside which Blake remained, my smile broadened. “There are a hundred different ways that he could have come out worse because of the Talons, but he took his natural fear and used it to better himself. He bested everything that I feared would destroy him… He made it, and he didn’t give up no matter how afraid he was, even when he was unable to do anything but hide. He’s changed, and is still changing from all of that. But he’s changed for the better. He’s become stronger, he’s found new courage, and he’s become more determined to keep following the road that the Talons had shaped for him, one that had once only held the purpose to force him into submission. And Goddesses, I’m so proud of him… for everything he’s done…” And meeting Gunny eye to eye again, I concluded with, “He’s given me new courage too… something that I know I’m going to need today.”

And when I nodded to my right, gesturing in the direction that our team was following, Gunny understood.

“I’ve noticed how Blake has changed. And you’re right.” he replied. “What he went through – it really should have affected him differently than how it did. He should have been scarred from it, from the fighting, from all the death he witnessed… and perhaps it did leave a mark on him, or at least the kind we normally think of.” He too looked back to the wagon. “But if it did, then he isn’t giving the past any room to get at him. That shows just how closely he’s followed the old teachings, how closely he’s taken in those lessons left by our founders.” And I found myself nodding my agreement. “And it shows how important it all was to him, and still is to him… and how devoted he is to protecting it now.”

And turning back to me, “He’s come to more greatly appreciate his origins now, because of what he was forced to see and to do. And that’s something positive to come out of it all, to know that what we were taught to value and protect in our minds has survived not just in us, but in the generation behind us, and to know that Blake exemplifies that with the new strength that he’s found in himself.”

Yes he did… yes he did.

“Alright, everypony! Gather round, listen up!”

At the front of our unit, Madeline had slowed herself to draw up beside the wagon, she, Gyro, and Boulter joining Tiny and Mavis as they pulled it along. Just beyond her, Sierra was winging her way back into the air, arcing to the east as she resumed her patrol. Now Captain Saber was in the lead, the first to cross onto the shallow incline that made the next hill. With a gentle nudge from Gunny, both he and I trotted ahead to join up with Madeline, Raemor and Ivy coming around the front of the wagon and falling in just as Joker and Daisy drew up behind me. “Sierra just wrapped up her first flight around this area. And she confirms that there is an old screen door built into the back of this last hill.” And we all knew what that meant. “We’re walking over One Eighty-one right now.” Madeline said, Sylvia and Quinn joining the rest of us from the wagon’s left side. “We’re here.”

No voice came to reply to her as we continued up this last rise. There were no whispers of anticipation, none of fear, nor of success. There was only the quiet among us, the silent, cold realization that we had, after almost a month on the surface world… come full circle. From Stable 181 we had left all those days ago, and to Stable 181 we now returned, to the grave that was now all that remained of our past. We were all joined together in the feeling that being here gave, a single mind within which a tornado of emotions and sensations ran wild. Anxiety fused with focus, grief with happiness, wrath with acceptance, fatigue with energy… they were all there… the companions that would accompany us into our lost home.

“I don’t…” Madeline was the first to brave that terrible silence, but even she had to clear her throat before she could clearly speak. “I don’t think I need to go over all your roles in this again, because I know it’s been the only thing on our minds for the past two days now… And the fact that we’re here… well, anypony can correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel that that’s been more than sufficient in keeping your respective tasks fresh in your heads. So… I won’t say anything more… just that I want each and every one of you to be careful. This may be home, where good memories were made, where we found safety and love and wisdom… and peace… but this place isn’t worth your lives… not anymore. So please, watch out for each other, protect each other, be alert for any raider that may have stayed behind here. I and Saber both want each of you to come out of this undamaged. And I think you know that that means more than just staying alive.”

“That’s right.” Past the others, Saber was finally looking back to us from his place at the lead, his tired eyes only half-open over his shoulder. “I haven’t brought you all this way to remind you of what happened here, or to force you to relive what you went through that day. I came here to find closure from the past, to put this place to rest for good. And I came here in the hopes that we could find the strength to put this behind us once and for all… because it needs to be done.” And with that, he faced forward again. “But the most important motive – I devised this mission for the sake of us, for the sake of our future. I planned this to help everypony we have left, to give them the strength to let One Eighty-one go, and the courage to hope even after Hopeville. I want us to miss our first home, of course. I want us to remember it. I want us to think back on the place where we made our identity, where we learned what was really important in this new world. I want us to remember everything that we’d been given by the Stable. But at the same time, I don’t want it to be a burden, an anchor that might prevent us from moving ahead.” And after a sigh, “I want us to miss Stable One Eighty-one, but I want us to let its death go, and to instead live in gratitude that we were once the privileged ones to call it home.”

We were near the summit of the final hill.

“So get with your teams, and let’s get this done.” Madeline said, nodding to the captain though he did not see. “You all know what to do.”

Though no acknowledgement replied to her, our group begun to disperse at her word. Passing into my line of sight, Raemor and Ivy picked up their pace to a trot to catch up to Saber and Shore, both now making their way atop the hill. And to my right, Joker and Daisy jogged past to catch up. “Hey, Gunny.” Just as the unicorn next to me was about to get my attention, I beat him to the move, stopping him just as he made to encourage me to follow after him. “I’ll catch up. I just need a minute.” And to a raised eyebrow, I gave a little nod back over my left shoulder to explain myself, gesturing to the wagon. Thankfully, that was all I needed for Gunny to understand, only nodding a reply before he faced front with his usual focus, moving on ahead as the rest of our team stayed close to the wagon, checking over their weapons.

With that I slowed, looking to the wagon as I came to a stop to watch it move on ahead. And when the back wheels rolled by, there was my brother, and already he was looking to me, leaning out over the edge of the wagon floor; I was certain he already heard. “Hey Blake.” I greeted him, veering left to fall in behind the wagon, matching its pace.

“Are you going back into the Stable now, Nova?” came his reply, straight to the point.

And I couldn’t avoid noting how… different he sounded. Weeks ago, his question would have been brought on a frightened tone, made from the natural fear that came from a child with no exposure to what occurred on the surface world. But though that apprehensive quality still existed, it was far more diminished now than it had ever been; really, now, he sounded… just curious, with that level of anxiety reduced to a level that was naturally needed by everypony to concentrate and remain alert… it wouldn’t hinder him out here. “I am.” I answered him, craning my head back to meet him at his elevated position. “I’m going to help Saber and the others look… look through it…”

But there was a crack in my voice at my answer, despite the simplicity of the task at hoof. And Blake caught it right away, his right ear giving a little twitch. “Are you okay, Nova?”

I had a feeling he would’ve asked that. And to that question, I gave him a little smile and a shake of my head. “Blake, I think it’s a little too late to be asking that question.” I gently responded. “Because really, I feel the same way that everypony else here feels. I have ever since you and I joined up with the team. And now we’re here at the Stable, back to where everything began, and we’re going inside again for the first time since we left it… This is a special case, Blake, and it’s one that you can’t avoid fearing in some fashion or another.” And to my words, words which the presence of Stable 181 beneath our hooves made difficult to formulate, Blake only continued to watch me. “But to answer your question, little brother, I would say that I’m feeling… confident, in myself and the others and in our ability to make our way through this. I’m feeling hopeful that Saber’s mission will be a successful one, and that he’ll realize his dream. So all in all… I’d say yes to your question, Blake. I’m scared, I’m hesitant, but I’m also determined to help Saber get what he wants from this, and nothing is going to change that. And if you haven’t found out what all those emotions feel like when they’re all mashed together, then all you’ll need is some more time, and you’ll understand what I mean.”

“I think I know now.” Blake replied, a little smile touching his lips to match my own.

But as much as I wanted to hop aboard with him, scoop him up in a big hug again, a quick glance past the wagon showed that my team was rallying at the top of the hill. “Alright, Blake. While I’m in the Stable, I want you to do something for me.” I said, my baby brother attentive as I spoke. “I want you to stay inside the wagon at all times, just as a precaution. But with that, I also want you to help keep an eye on things outside while the rest of us are down below, and listen to Sergeant Madeline. You’re equipped, you’re trained, and so as long as you think you can do that for me, I want you to be a full part of this team.”

“Yeah, I can help.” Blake answered right away, his smile growing wider as he answered with enthusiasm. “I’ll help watch the wagon.”

But though I admired his eagerness, the glimpse I caught of the nine-millimeter pistol secured around his right foreleg, and the belt of extra magazines tightened up around the left, kept me looking upon Blake with a motherly eye. “Just remember what I told you when we were training to use that weapon together.” I spoke up, adding just a little sternness to get his focus back to me. “That pistol you were given is for emergencies only. Use it only if and when you have to. You got that?”

“I got it, Nova.” Blake assured without haste, keeping that same smile as he observed the weapon holstered around his foreleg. “It’s like you said – no more kid stuff. I promise I’ll be careful with it. Just… you be careful too, okay? When you go in there – you be careful.”

Despite the seriousness of his words, I couldn’t keep myself from uttering a little giggle. “Hey, it’s my job to be the protective one.” I chided playfully, quickly adding to him, “Don’t worry though. I’ll be back again before you know it.”

“Okay.” Blake replied after a quick pause, apparently satisfied with my answer. “I’ll see you when you get back, then.”

“I’ll see you again soon, baby brother.” I said back, dropping out of the wagon’s pace to begin making my way around it. “I love you.”

“I love you too, big sister.”

Now it was time to focus.

Once I had solidly fixed my eyes on the hilltop, I found everypony already assembled there, Sierra being the last to join them as she hovered in from above to land among them. When I passed the wagon by, I picked up my pace to a slow gallop to join up with them, and on the way I made sure to check over my equipment again, just to be safe. My saddle was as it had always been, with my markspony carbine on the right, and dear Cross’s battle rifle on the left. Back at the radio station, I had done a little ammo exchange with what supply we had left, trading in a percentage of my more common assault rifle ammo for just a few more of the heavier-hitting three-o-eights to have some more shots available with Cross’s weapon. With them, Blue Fire’s Torch was at its rightful place across my back. Though two of the clips I had for the weapon were stashed away in my saddlebags, all three were now loaded up with armor-piercing rounds that I had won through trade back in Buckley. And covering my flanks were my saddlebags, with all the items I had left in them in check. All of this was over my Manehattan Police Department armor, fitting me perfectly as it had always done, and proving to be a rather comfortable suit of traveling wear during the long journey here. But the one new addition to my otherwise traditional setup was my new sidearm… and though it had taken me some time to decide, I had eventually forced myself to yield to the past… to accept what happened in Buckley… and finally take Mother Shimmer’s gift as she had wanted me to do before. Shimmer’s pistol was secured in its holster around my left foreleg, its sapphire and black colors glinting even in the dreary grey of the afternoon. After putting it on at the radio station I had learned from Gunny, who had requested a moment to look over and admire the beautiful weapon, that the pistol was chambered for the mighty fifty caliber round, or more specifically, the fifty caliber action express round, one of the most powerful pistol cartridges that had been made in the old days. But with its tremendous power came a tremendous rarity, as a fifty caliber round of any shape or grain was far less common than other rounds. Gunny’s knowledge of firearms explained why Shimmer had only supplied me with four clips for the pistol, making for a total of only twenty-eight rounds.

But with that aside, I was able to take some comfort in being fully decked out again, equipped for my next task the way I should be; it helped me feel a little more ready for what was coming.

As I crossed over the rest of the hill, slowing as I neared the others, I found that everypony in my assigned team had turned their attention in the same direction, following the curve of the hilltop to some landmark toward the east. And when I had come in range of the others, Gunny immediately waved me over, pointing out in the same direction even before I joined up with him. “Nova, look over there along the hill face.” he stated, watching me as I drew up beside him. And when I did, I traced my eyes along the hilltop, following its curves as it stretched onward like its own miniature mountain range. The slopes that stretched away from either side of the winding crest varied in their gradient, smoother and shallower the closer to us it was, but steeper in sections the farther out it went. But perhaps no more than a hundred yards to the front of us, wedged between two such shallower segments where the hilltop arched back to the north, was a gap in the earth. And just barely in sight, I could see the wood and metal edge that was tucked into the crevice there, one side of an old rickety frame.

The door…

“There it is.” Gunny remarked, echoing my own silent words as he lowered his hoof back to the ground.

“Looks like the raiders set themselves up a camp outside.” Up at the front of our group, both Saber and Sierra were observing the sight on their own. “Tin cans and bottles and wrappers… couple of old fire pits, too.”

“Something to keep the main entrance secure.” Saber replied to the steel-clad pegasus. “There’s no guard detail I can see though. You were right.”

“Nothing’s on E.F.S. either.” Sierra chimed, her visor unwavering as it studied the grounds near the door. “I say we move in, Captain.”

“And I agree.” Turning back to look over his shoulder again, Saber then promptly ordered, “Everypony check your weapons, then follow me in. Let’s get to that door, quick and quiet.” And at once came the cocking of weaponry, the release of safeties, and the light hum of magic for the unicorns in our company as one after the next, they readied their weapon of choice and followed after Saber. Reaching forward to take hold of the firing bit of my saddle, a quick flick turned the safety off, making me fully battle ready.

One of the last ones to check over their equipment, I fell in line at the back, moving behind Gunny as Saber led us down the southern slope of the hill and towards the first door. The whole way there was silent, just the way I had hoped. And behind us, the wagon was beginning to cross over the top of the hill, its crew guiding it toward the smoother terrain below as they continued southward. At just about ten yards from the door, we had stepped hoof into Sierra’s aforementioned raider camp. A whole mess of trash from countless previous meals had been left behind by the Black Blood here, scattered over a rather wide area in every direction from the center of the makeshift guard post; I had a very grim feeling that the majority of this wreckage had once been housed in Stable 181’s food storage.

But nice and easy, we came upon the door, stacking up behind Saber along its left side and coming to a stop just as he raised a foreleg for us to hold. “Anything Sierra?” he asked, looking back to the armored mare next to him as she looked in turn toward the entrance.

“No.” came her reply. “The compass is still clean. But we should play it safe and assume that that unit your scouts found left behind some stragglers, and that we’ll end up finding some once we get inside.”

“Agreed. Let’s get in there, but keep it tight, everypony. We need to stick close together at least until we get to the atrium.” the captain ordered, turning his eyes from Sierra to face Ivy, the second closest to him. “Would you mind doing the honors?”

“Not at all, captain.” At Saber’s word, the grey mare’s horn shimmered with gentle light as she stepped forward from the line and faced the door, and with a light creaking of the aged hinges, the old door slowly swung open, revealing the cave beyond it that was our entrance. “It’s clear.”

“Good. Sierra, you’re on point with E.F.S.. For the time being, you’re our eyes in here. I’ll use my pipbuck to update Madeline on our progress.”

“Yes, Captain.” came her response, after which she gave a quick nod to the rest of us. “Everypony on me. Let’s go.”

With that, she moved on through the door, and with a click, the previously pitch-black tunnel was bathed with bright blue-white light, cast by a flashlight mounted on the housing of her compact minigun. Captain Saber moved in after her, his head bowed over his holstered pistol secured to his right foreleg, and behind him was Ivy, her lever-action repeater held close in her telekinesis. Raemor followed her with both his automatic pistol and his fire axe drawn, and behind him was Shore, muzzle hovering over his energy saddle’s firing bit. Joker and Daisy moved in together after him, the former holding a ten millimeter SMG in his telekinetic grip, and the latter wielding a scoped assault rifle. Then I was upon the entrance… and my hesitation made itself known when I abruptly froze at the open door, at the sight of the tunnel’s dirt walls beyond it. But it didn’t take hold like it wanted to, as Gunny acted quick, giving me a strong nudge on the back of my neck as he followed at the rear of the line; his touch drew a startled breath from me… but thankfully, knocked me out of what would have become one of my trances. “Sorry…” I spoke up quickly, shaking my head and moving into the tunnel. “Sorry…”

“It’s alright.” Gunny assured softly behind me, the door at our backs swinging closed with a light rattle at a pass from my friend’s magic. “I’ve got your back.”

The tunnel leading to the Stable door was made with two total turns. After a short trip down the first of the three lanes, I turned left onto the second, the longest of the three, and also the widest, supported with a framework of wooden beams and pillars that hugged the shape of the passage. And up ahead, I could see to the far end of the lane just as Sierra turned right into the final corridor, Saber following close behind. I kept my eyes locked there, watching as each of our team moved single file to disappear around the final bend. For each pony that left my sight… I grew all the more anxious… until Daisy rounded the corner, coming to a stop in my line of sight a second later; it took all my willpower to continue at that point, despite how much I told myself to just keep going. But I did… I moved, hugging the tunnel wall until there was no more of it to bar my vision…… and after three steps out into the open, into the last short lane… I found everypony again, no longer in a line, but frozen in an unorganized cluster as they merely stared ahead in silence.

Here the entry tunnel came to an end…

Here, for the first time in four weeks, I found myself face to face with… with home…

Here, as I came to a stop at the back of the group, I beheld the great gear-shaped door of our Stable, the yellow 181 painted at its center still bright as day against the blackened steel.

“The console is still intact.” At the front of the group, Saber was already inspecting the control pod positioned to the left of the great door; I was glad he had such an easy time focusing…

“So this is one of the fabled Stables.” Sierra remarked, hushed as Joker and Gunny both passed her to take a look at the door controls with the captain.

“The light’s flashing red, just like it’s supposed to.” Joker spoke up. “The reactor must still be working, or at least enough to get adequate power to the door.”

“I’m surprised the raiders didn’t blow all that up after we left.” Daisy added from her place farther back.

“No, they’ve been using it.” Saber replied. “It’s no strategic place with its distance from the southeast, but everything we left here has benefited them greatly. Even they wouldn’t want to just blow up the power supply, not when Shore got everything functioning again before we ran.”

“Fucking vultures.” Joker grumbled.

Without reply, Saber turned back to the door panel, letting out a light sigh as he reached a hoof up to the lever on the center of the console. “Alright everypony. If there are any raiders left in here, they’re going to know we’re coming as soon as this door opens. So be ready for anything and everything.”

A moment he took to gather everypony’s silent affirmatives, and I got the time to show to him my nervousness as I settled down, lowering my mouth to my saddle’s firing bit. Then, when he was satisfied that his team was set, he faced front, and with one swift motion, pulled back the switch.

From the other side of the door, following a sharp hiss of air, an alarm blared to life, buzzing once before a brief pause and sounding again every other second, warning that the door was opening. Then, steel ground against steel as the air continued to hiss, the hinge-arm within sliding down and forward from its resting place against the ceiling. After a couple seconds, the arm connected with the door, the pulling mechanism sliding into its port and locking down. And finally, as the alarm went silent, the internals of the opening arm whirred to life, and the great door was pulled back from its frame with an ear-piercing shriek of steel. But what would have been a grand return to a lost home in any other world, only became a nearly unbearable arrival when suddenly, as the door was pulled all the way back, the most disgusting odor assaulted my nostrils. And I wasn’t the only one to recoil from the horrible stench, as a collection of grunts accompanied me when I turned my head away, nearly gagging when I did. But out of the corner of my eye, I could still see the door as the hinge-arm released it and folded back and away into its place on the ceiling. Red light poured in through the gap between the door and its frame, and with the light came a drifting grey fog that slowly made its way out to us. And then the door rolled away to the left, tucking itself back behind the wall, giving us a full view of the Stable’s entry chamber…

A place right out of my nightmares…