“Are you leaving as well?”

The stallion Midnight spoke to was at the head of a small caravan of ponies. A few pulled carts behind them, and all were laden with supplies and weapons. We had seen two other groups on our way toward Bulbs, but none as large as this. They all told the same story.

“Aye,” said the stallion. “Lots more gunna be leavin’ after us. We just ain’t gunna wait around to start t’ starve first. You and yer... friend should plan t’ leave too.”

Midnight nodded. “We will. We just have a few errands to finish before we move on.”

The stallion shrugged. “Well, best of luck t’ you, ma’am.” He turned his head, whistling at the ponies behind him, and the caravan moved on. He gave me a brief nod before continuing down the road, but the other ponies who noticed me started for long enough to make me uncomfortable. I scooted closer to Midnight, giving her a light tap on the shoulder.

“Let’s get going. We’re almost there.”

She glanced at me, then back at the caravan. “Alright,” she said.

Against my better judgement, I was traveling undisguised. It was a test. I wanted to see how ponies would react to me. Being with Midnight would lessen the shock, I figured, even if they did not know what I was. Thus far, everypony we had encountered had had the same reaction. I was ignored, or gawked at, while whichever pony was the leader of the group addressed Midnight. The looks, at least, never lead to hostility, though I would not want to travel this way alone. Midnight was my shield against being perceived as a monster.

We reached Bulbs at noon. Our final goal was Professor Pitch’s laboratory, but since the facility was along the way I wanted to stop for the night and see what information I could gather. I had decided to look for the Crystal Shards where I could. I only needed to find one or two. Then Chrysalis would come to me, and I would make sure she didn’t do anything stupid with them. That was my long-term goal. That and killing Fugax next time I ran into him, if he didn’t self-destruct before then.

“So why are we heading to Bulbs?” Midnight asked when I had first explained my plans.

“I want to check on a few things, especially now that ponies are leaving. Why are they running out of food? The plantations seemed pretty robust before the NCs took over, and they seemed fine after, so what changed? Also, it’s still worth asking if anyone knows anything about the Crystal Heart, even if it’s unlikely we’ll get any good information.”

“Where was the Crystal Empire, Worker? Are there any ponies left there?”

“It’s to the north... a long ways away. And...” I searched my memories. “It was the last bastion of peace and stability after the war. Chrysalis sent some of the Hive to get love there. We were discovered, and I don’t know what happened after that. It was in decline though.”

“Hmm. Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing it. I’ve never been farther north than Baltimare.”

“Me too,” I said. “At least in this life.”

When Bulbs came into clear view, I stopped. The flat metal walls loomed on the horizon. The plantation behind it was hidden by the hills, but even in the dwindling light I could make out a few ponies wandering back and forth between the two areas. I could not remember if I had spent any time at the facility before seeking out Seeds. Maybe briefly, but my memories of that time were simply gone, so starved had I been. This time I had plenty of energy in reserve, and Midnight’s friendship to sustain me. I turned to look at her. She tilted her head at me.

“Why’re we stopping?”

“I think I should disguise,” I said. “I’ve been here the most. I don’t want the wrong ponies to recognize me.”

“Who would recognize you? Did they ever learn you were a changeling?”

“Well, Garlic is dead, and so are most of his underlings who saw me. Tulip as well, probably. She was with the Steel Rangers when they fought New Canterlot. Even if she is alive, I doubt she’d be here. Cathode might know what I was, if she’s well by now. But she only got a brief glimpse. Spare Parts... Spare Parts I thought was dead, but she ended up in New Canterlot with a bunch of other conscripts. So now she probably is dead...” I frowned, a buried memory coming back to me. “Regardless, the whole marketplace saw me undisguised after I got kicked in the head. I don’t know what happened after that. I was concussed, so all I remember is waking up in one of Garlic’s cells. But that’s a lot of ponies watching me get dragged out to the plantation. I’m sure the story spread.”

“Maybe they forgot about it in that little war of theirs. Or when the NCs took over.”

“Maybe...”

“But did you do anything other than get dragged off?”

“Well, I don’t remember... I might have fought back...”

“Ponies fight all the time. Nothing unusual about that.”

“But I was unusual. Ponies can see I’m not like them. I look like a monster to them.”

“So long as you didn’t start attacking random bystanders, I think you’re fine. Even if ponies do recognize you, what are they going to do? Kill us? They’re a city, not a bunch of raiders or some mindless mob. Even in Seeds we took pride in holding onto the last scraps of civility we had left. If they don’t want us around, they’ll kick us out. Then we can just move on to Maize or wherever you’re planning to go next.”

“Yes, but—”

“Worker.” Midnight smiled at me. “You told me you wanted to make friends with ponies. This is how to starts. And I’m here to vouch for you. We can do this together.”

“Alright,” I said, sighing. I started forward again, doing my best to suppress my shivering as anxiety wracked me. Midnight trotted beside me at a relaxed gait. I could feel the confidence in her mind. And the hints of amusement. I wanted to ask her what she found funny about this situation, but I was afraid of whatever I would say coming out as a squeak. I needed to calm down. I needed to breathe. Act normal, I told myself. Whatever that meant.

Bulbs glowed in the evening light, its shadow long against the dirt behind it. Just like the first time I had come to the facility, a guard stopped us before the entrance. This mare was lavender, with blue spots on her flank. She frowned at Midnight.

“What the hell is that?” she asked, pointing at me.

“She my friend,” Midnight said, taking a step forward.

The mare raised an eyebrow. “You know that’s a changeling, right?” she asked. “Has it told you—?”

“I know what she is,” Midnight said. “We’ve been friends for quite a while now.”

“So you’ve been feeding it?” The mare made a disgusted face.

Midnight glanced at me. “Sure, she’s my friend. What’s wrong with that? It’s not like you can run out of good feelings.”

The mare stared at me, still cringing. I smiled back, heart racing. She turned back to Midnight, sighing.

“Ugh... I’ll let you in, but don’t let the changeling out of your sight. And if we find you impersonating anypony, you’ll have to answer for it. We already had an incident with one of them. Don’t make any trouble.”

“We wouldn’t dream of it,” Midnight said.

The guard escorted us into the city. As we passed through the gate, something beeped at me. Another of the guard ponies raised an eyebrow, but the lavender mare told him she had cleared me. The stallion shrugged, then nodded at Midnight.

“Welcome to Bulbs, ladies,” he said.

“They don’t even recognize me,” I muttered once we were out of earshot.

“Are you disguised as a different changeling?” Midnight asked.

“No,” I said. “We all look identical.”

“Huh. Must be the dress.

The first place we went was the market. It was sparser than when I had first seen it. There was still plenty of foodstuff, but most of the auxiliary stalls were gone. There was no Berry Wears to be seen. I got several strange looks, but nopony seemed curious enough to stop us. What struck me was the quiet. It was not silent, ponies still conversed, but the sounds they made echoed in the empty air. Each syllable lasted long enough to emphasize how few voices were actually speaking. It made the space feel empty. The air was cold.

“Another one?” somepony near us said.

“Hell, they got mares too?”

I would have laughed, but I was too nervous. My instincts told me I needed to avoid attention. But if I wanted ponies as friends, I would have to be myself all the time. I could feel their gazes burning into the back of my skull. I would just have to get used to it. I quickened my pace, and ducked into the stairwell. My claustrophobia had lessened significantly since I had last been here, but the cramped quarters still made my chest tighten. It was a welcome relief from the marketplace.

Midnight yawned. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Well,” I said, yawning with her. “It’s getting late. First we’ll get a room for the night, then we can ask if anyone knows about the Crystal Empire. Or about Chrysalis, though I doubt she would have come to the Fields.”

“That’s not much to go on...”

“I know, but it’s all I’ve got for now. I’ll find out what there is to be known, and then improvise. It’s what I’m good at.”

“Alright. So where are we going to get lodging?”

“I know a place.”

Light Ray was behind his conveyor belt bar when we walked in. All signs of the NCs’ decorations were gone, but it seemed no one had bothered to replace them with anything. The walls were bare, making the whole place seem desolate. I glued myself to Midnight’s side, my nerves finally getting the better of me. There were several other ponies scattered about the room sitting at refurbished wood tables. Most starred, and a few started muttering to each other, but no one stopped us until Midnight stepped up to the bar proper. Ray had been staring at us, bug-eyed, since the moment we walked in.

“What the fuck is that?” he asked.

Midnight gave a playful tisk. “She is my friend. I hope you don’t greet all your patrons like that. Or do you not need the business? With all those empty lots down there, I’m sure this place is booming.”

“Oh don’t give me any a’ that shit,” Ray said, rolling his eyes. “You can’t jus’ waltz in here with a whateverthefuck and not expect people t’ ask questions.

“Hey, that’s another a’ them Changelings!” one of the ponies behind us shouted. “Looks just like tha one the NCs dragged off.” I turned my head toward her, brow furrowed. Even she didn’t realize I was the same person? Was my battle regalia really so deceptive?

“Shit, should we call Cathode?”

“Lady, d’ya know what those do to ya?”

Midnight swiveled around to defend me. Everyone in the bar was focused on us, but only one of the ponies had stood up. The rest watched from where they had been sitting, concerned but not scared. Only one seemed to be angry, but I could sense just as much confusion. I turned back to Ray as Midnight started addressing their comments. The stallion only frowned at the commotion, raising an eyebrow as he formulated his thoughts.

“Alright. Alright!” he shouted over the crowd. The room quieted. Midnight turned back to him.

“Look, ain’t none of my business what you’re doing t’gether, but the last time one of them things showed up it caused quite the panic. Somepony almost killed their friend because they thought he was actin’ weird. Hell, Wattson still won’t let anypony into the generator room, and he wasn’t even there. I don’t know who let you in t’ the city, but I don’t want you stayin’ here. I don’t want your business. Who’s t’ say your not a changeling yourself, ma’am? You both could be deceivin’ us by lookin’ honest. I don’t see any sense in riskin’ the trouble.” Behind us, the crowd murmured their agreement.

I sighed. I’d feared a response like this. I feared worse, actually. After being on the receiving end of his wrath, the civility of Ray’s rejection surprised me. I knew of one way I could gain his sympathy, but it was equally likely to bring out his anger. His reaction thus far made me believe he wouldn’t become violent, so I decided I had nothing to lose by trying to persuade him.

“Light Ray,” I said, speaking for the first time. “Tumbleweed didn’t save Spare Parts. I did.”

Shock; anger; confusion. I saw the emotions play out on his face. Then his mind found an understanding, and his eyes widened. “That... that was you?” I nodded. “That... that makes a helluva lot of sense, actually. But then... hey you got my kid sister shot!” He slammed a hoof down onto the converted conveyor belt between us. I heard several other ponies stand up behind me. We were surrounded.

“I didn’t ask her to defend me!” I said, putting my hooves up to wad him off. “Look, I... back then I didn’t care about anypony but myself, but she helped me. She believed I was actually Tumbleweed and she helped me anyway. When... when you came to confront Garlic, I thought she was dead. I realized I was sad, because she had helped me and gotten hurt for it. If it weren’t for her, I... I think I’d still be trying to deceive ponies. I’m trying to be honest now. She was right about ponies being able to change.”

Silence hung between us. Finally Ray sighed, backing down. “Dammit, Parts...”

“I was there, at New Canterlot,” I whispered. “I saw her there.”

“That? Oh, shit... yeah the NCs swung by after they got smashed at Tubers. They ‘conscripted' a bunch of ponies who were workin’ the plantation that day. Happened so fast nopony knew what happened.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t able to do anything to stop the fighting. I... I couldn’t save her.”

At this Ray looked puzzled, then he threw his head back and laughed. “Oh don’t you fret about that. She made it through, safe and sound. Hell, I took off after those bastard’s as soon as I heard what they did, but by the time I got there t’was all over. Parts was helpin’ them bury their dead, bless her bleedin’ heart. I didn’t know whether t’ hug her or yell at her for tryna help her captors again.”

I blinked. Now it was my turn to be confused. “Oh... I assumed...” I felt a sudden flush of relief. “Well thank goodness. I thought everypony who was fighting died there.”

Ray shook his head, sobering. “Plenty did, but she was smart... or lucky, I guess. Always made sure t’ keep somepony else in front of her. Course, it’s a shame that they probably died for her, but I ain’t gunna lie and say I ain’t prepared to kill a few dozen t’ keep her alive under normal circumstances.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there when you did it the first time, ha ha...” My laughter petered out as soon as it left my mouth. A new kind of silence hung in the room.

“Guess you’re right... I already did...” he muttered.

Midnight cleared her throat. “So, about that room?”

“Oh, uh...” Another murmur passed through the ponies around us. “I’m still not sure it—”

“Well fuck me six ways from sunday. Ya’ll couldn’t help but crawl back t’ me, huh?”

The new voice boomed from behind us. Cold panic swept through me as I spun toward it. The rest of the room followed my gaze as the double-door swung closed behind the pony who had just entered. She had an eyepatch over the right side of her face, and a new scar that crawled out from beneath it, running down to her neck and up to her mane. She wasn’t wearing her battle saddle or any barding, but had a shiny bronze star stuck onto her chest. Spare Parts was not the only one who had survived Unity’s scourging. Hairpins had made it through, same as me. Her smile was as wide as it had ever been, and it only grew wider as she approached Midnight and I. I couldn’t tell if it was vicious or genuine. My mind was too busy mapping out a battle plan to read her emotions. I could trust Midnight to fight with me, but I didn’t think we could kill enough to stop the alarm from getting out—

“Pins!” Midnight squealed, trotting forward to embrace the former slaver. They squeezed each other, then parted, giggling. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Shit, girl, ah run th’ place now! Nopony else wanted th’ job after ah got back from the war, so ah went ahead and started playin’ sheriff. Ah should be askin’ what you are doin’ here. They finally run you outta Seeds?”

Midnight laughed. “Oh, no, I just decided to see a bit more of the world. And you, Pins? Sheriff? Really? Things truly are falling apart around here, aren’t they?”

“Hah.” Her smile cooled. “Well, yeah. Things ain’t going too well here. Anywhere, frankly. Nothin’ we c’n do but move on, turns out...” Midnight raised an eyebrow, but Hairpins didn’t elaborate. Instead she said, “so how’d ya end up with him?” She pointed her chin toward me, acknowledging me for the first time. “Nice dress, by th’ by.” She winked at me.

“What? Oh, we—”

The door burst open again. Cathode stumbled through, eyes wide. “Sorry ma’am. I didn’t mean t’ take so long. Mister Lichen needed some help with his—” She stopped, eyes widening. “Oh dear. Another one?” I smiled despite myself. Cathode had a few more scars, but she was one of the few ponies who seemed to be universally nice to everyone around her, and I was glad she had recovered from her previous injuries.

“Nah,” Hairpins drawled. “Th’ same that ah told ya’ll about. No need t’ fret over him, though I don’t think ya’ll shoulda jus’ let a changeling pass without lettin’ me talk t’ ‘im. But this here’s an old friend, Midnight. We both grew up in Tubers.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Midnight said, shaking Cathode’s hoof.

“A-ah, yes—”

“I’m sorry for the trouble I caused,” I blurted, stepping up to shake her hoof as well. Cathode took it instinctively, then looked shocked that she had done so.

“Ah, no hard feelings mister... uh, what trouble was that, again? Have we met?”

“Yes. Well, sort of,” I said. It seemed she had a few gaps in her memories as well. Maybe she hadn’t fully recovered from the battle after all...

Before I could decide how much of my involvement with Garlic’s overthrow I wanted to disclose, Midnight continued her conversation with Hairpins. “So, how do you know Worker, Pins?”

“He’s got a name—?”

“She enslaved me,” I said, interrupting. Midnight gasped, taking a step back.

“Boss enslaved ya’,” Hairpins said. Her smile was gone. “Ah wasn’t in any place t’ argue with him. You ‘n’ ah both paid tenfold fer our choices back then. Even b’fore the NCs got us we had no reason t’ keep quarrlin’, ‘n’ you know it.”

“Hairpins...” Midnight whispered. “You were a slaver?”

The orange mare huffed. “No. Ah did two runs, ‘n’ this bastard made sure the last went t’ shit. We needed th’ caps t’ get t’ Tenpony, that was all. Not a one of us coulda gotten honest work if we tried, ‘n’ not a one of us wanted t’ stay in the Fields a minute longer. Boss knew it was all goin’ t’ shit long b’fore the NCs decided to blow it half t’ Tartarus. Like ah said, ah’ve paid tenfold. Th’ others paid with their lives.”

“So they’re dead?” I asked.

“Yeah, Changeling.” Hairpins glowered at me, her lone eye smoldering with dark memories. “They’re all dead.”

I felt... very little. I wasn’t sure what I had expected—I had assumed them all dead, until Hairpins had returned. Learning that she was the only survivor of those original slavers felt somehow wrong. Incomplete. It was not a happy or sad fact to me, just an odd one.

“Why did Boss want to leave so badly?” I asked. “What’s wrong with the Fields?”

“Hold on,” Midnight interjected. “You can’t just gloss over this whole slaver business! Pins, explain yourself! Worker told me all about what you did to her—and Worker, why aren’t you upset about this?”

Hairpins narrowed her eyes at me, but a sly smile returned to her lips. “What story, dare ah ask, did th’ changelin’ see fit t’ tell about little ol’ me?”

“She told me about how you enslaved her! She didn’t use names, so I didn’t realize right away but—she told me that you killed a filly, and would have killed a few others if she hadn’t saved them all! And then you hunted her down, just for petty revenge! I cannot believe you are the same Hairpins I used to know. The things you did to her—”

“Midnight...” I realized I needed to diffuse the situation. The other ponies in the room were mumbling again, many looked shocked or outraged. If a fight broke out, I had no doubt one or two would decide to attack me simply on principal.

“What? Worker?”

I cleared my throat. “I... I might have exaggerated some parts. And left out others.” I hadn’t told her about leaving Tumbleweed for dead, and I had never bothered to specify which of the slavers had done what cruelty to me. For all I knew, Midnight was putting the blame solely on Hairpins; though I did feel she deserved a fair share of it. I had also neglected to tell her about Boss’s betrayal, and our interactions with the NCs.

Hairpins laughed. “Well, looks like we got some explaining t’ do...”

After hashing out the details of our history, the room seemed to calm somewhat. Our small group now sat at the bar, nursing a variety of drinks. The other patrons had returned to their own business, though a few of the more curious ponies lingered at a polite distance to listen to our conversation.

“Alright,” Midnight said. “So you didn’t give the beatings yourself, but you still helped this ‘Boss’ character. I’m still very disappointed in you, Pins.”

She shrugged. “Ah got in with unfortunate company. They were good ponies at first, but livin’ out there breaks everypony eventually. Jus’ th’ way it is.”

I frowned at that statement. “Got in? How long were you with them?”

She shrugged again. “Eight months, a year, maybe? Ah don’t recall exactly.”

“Oh. It seemed like you’d known them for longer.”

“When ya live as long as ah have, ya learn t’ make friends fast. They go quick.”

We sipped our drinks.

“Why?” Midnight asked. “Why join them in the first place?”

“Well, ah’d just got back t’ the Fields, was lookin’ fer work, ‘n’ Tumbleweed introduced me. They seemed like they were doin’ good work at th’ time. Boss was all about killin’ raiders back then. Hell, he’s the reason there’s so few of ‘em left in these parts. But... well, our luck just went sour. We killed the wrong pony around Tubers an’ they ran us out. We’d been avoiding Bulbs from th’ start on account a’ Tumbleweed’s feud with Garlic. That balefire egg that slagged Chard? The buck that did it bought the egg from Boss. Word spread that we were behind it, and soon we were banned from every major settlement in the Fields. We started scoutin’ out some border towns down south, past th’ swamps, but they ain’t got much of a civilization there. Make just enough t’ support themselves ‘n’ not much more. They had no room for us so we had t’ start tradin’ with th’ NCs.” Her brow furrowed as she spoke.

“Boss got in good with th’ prince, for a while. Ah think they might a’ met before, but they weren’t friends. His magic was th’ strongest they’d ever seen. Wanted t’ recruit him. They even housed us for a while, but that got old real quick. You know how they are: buncha assholes ‘n’ fanatics. Hell, ah’m right sure Boss knew early on they were workin’ with th’ zebra. But still, it wasn’t until they told us their little secret that we knew we needed t’ get outta dodge.”

“Secret?”

“About Garlic and his lot. About th’ Plantations and th’ Fields. It’s all a lie. The crops they’re growing? They ain’t rad-free. The magic Garlic and his kin said they were using t’ keep th’ ground healthy? It’s all a sham. Just a performance. Ah couldn’t believe mah ears when he first told me, but it’s true. Things have been growin’ just as well as they did b’fore you an’ that buck offed Garlic. Th’ crops are mutated and poisoned.”

Midnight blinked furiously, taken aback. She took a long drink of her whisky, and then stared at her glass, muttering to herself. I only frowned.

“Is that... a big deal?”

Hairpins shrugged. “Ya’ know, ‘s funny—knowin’ it was a lie doesn’t really change anything. Life’s th’ same as it was b’fore. ‘Cept now we understood why ponies around these parts don’t live as long as ponies in other parts of th’ Wasteland. We’re eatin’ up way more rads than we ought t’ be. Ah left th’ Fields when I was ten, so I didn’t ever think about it much, but it’s kinda obvious in hindsight. Everypony I knew growin’ up died a’ some form a cancer. Up north, it’s maybe one in four. If we include ponies who die by the bullet or the whip, one in seven, ah’d bet.”

“So that’s why everyone’s leaving. You told them.” The caravans made sense now. It might be more peaceful here, but the potential of a longer future seemed more enticing than the certainty of a short peace.

“That she did,” Ray stated, breaking back in to our discussion. “The land is poison. The Fields ain’t long for this world. It’s going from the Wasteland’s normal barren to dead and salted. Boss coulda saved us all a lot of trouble if he’d spread th’ word, y’know. Instead of trying to make a quick buck and skedaddle while we all die.”

“Ah never said ah had th’ best judgement of ponies... plus, we wanted t’ leave before the NCs started their little war.”

“Holy shit...” Midnight said. “I guess I picked the right time to fly the coop.”

“Well, yer welcome t’ come with us,” Hairpins drawled, returning to her easygoing demeanor. “Th’ last caravan leaves at th’ end a’ the week. We’re all makin’ preparations as we speak. Ah was thinkin’ a goin’ t’ Manehatten, or New Appleloosa. Tenpony’s too stuffy fer me, ah reckon.”

I shook my head. “No. We have other plans.”

“Like what?”

“We’re going to the Crystal Empire,” Midnight said before I could decide how much I wanted to explain to Hairpins. I shot her a horrified expression, but she seemed not to notice.

Hairpins froze for a moment before giving a delighted hoot. She fell onto her back, legs kicking in the air, laughing uncontrollably. Midnight frowned at me, then shrugged. I looked between her and Hairpins, then turned toward Ray. He only rolled his eyes.

“Uh, miss Hairpins?” Cathode prodded the cackling mare with a forehoof, but to no avail. She turned to us instead. “Why do you want to go all the way up there?”

I ignored her, instead stepping toward Hairpins with a sour look on my face. She had burnt through most of her initial reaction, and was now only giggling into a forehoof. I pushed her back onto her hooves, forcing her to acknowledge me.

“Why is that so funny?” I asked.

“Oh, no one particular reason...” she replied, wiping a tear from her eye. “Ah, but by Celestia, that is truly th’ last place ah expected t’ hear about again. What could ya’ll possibly want there? Ain’t nothin’ but snow. Snow an’ death.”

“How do you know that?” Midnight asked.

“Shit, ah been there!” Hairpins was suddenly somber. “Me ‘n’ a few assholes went up that way lookin’ fer treasure. Got as far as th’ caves before th’ cold ‘n’ monsters did most of us in. That’s how I knew Tumbleweed in the first place. I was with his cousin, Barbwire. Poor sap was too scared t’ try makin’ it back t’ the’ Fields with me. Then ponies ran me outta town before I could convince him otherwise. Figure he’s probably still there...”

I frowned at her story, recalling that I’d heard part of it before. “So you’ve gone all the way up there? Have you ever heard anything about the Crystal Heart?”

She cocked her head at me, eyeing me suspiciously. “That... is exactly th’ treasure we were tryin’ t’ find. But we didn’t get so much as a whiff of it. How’d you know about it?”

I glanced at the ponies around us. Most of their attention was still on us. I had hoped to diffuse the situation between Midnight and Hairpins and leave, but now that I knew she might have a connection to the Crystal Shards I wanted more information.

“It’s a long story,” I said. “Are you sure you didn’t find anything?”

“Ah can’t be too sure,” she drawled. “Mine’s a long story as well.”

I pursed my lips. I felt no humor from her, and she wasn’t smiling. Her response wasn’t just to mess with me. She was holding back. Did I want to tell her about Chrysalis? Did I want her to know my goals? I had told her as little as I needed in order to appease Midnight, but I was not comfortable divulging more to my former captor. I had not forgiven her. I doubted I would ever be able to trust her, despite how well I understood her. But I needed whatever information I could get...

“My Queen is looking for the Crystal Heart. It’s broken, and its pieces are scattered everywhere. Before... a short time ago, she had many of the pieces. I think we were close to completing it. I need to find one or two before she does. If she assembles it, I don’t know what will happen. She wants power. That’s all she’s ever wanted. And now she hates ponies more than she cares about living. She has nothing left. If she gets that power, I don’t know what she could do. But she wants to hurt ponies. All ponies.”

“Yer Queen?”

I went on to explain who Chrysalis was, our history, and her fate. Hairpins whistled when I finished.

“Well fuck me...”

“So, do you know anything?”

She nodded her head slowly, her vision on the distant past. “Ah reckon ah do, but ah don’t trust ya’ enough t’ say it.” Before I could protest she snapped her head up, nodding suddenly. She locked her one good eye on me. “Tell you what, ah’ll come with ya’. Ah know how t’ get that far North without any trouble, an’ I c’n help ya’ get through a bit a’ th’ caves. After that ah don’t know what we’ll find, but if we leave soon we should be able t’ beat yer queen t’ the Empire. Even if she can fly, there’s a lot in the Wasteland that c’n slow her down.”

I blinked in surprise. “Why would you want to come with us?” I asked.

“Because ah don’t trust ya’, an’ yer too honest t’ be being honest. Fer all I know you’ll just use that power t’ do worse than this Chrysalis, an’ ah got no qualms with killin’ ya’ if it comes t’ that.”

Cathode’s eyes widened, and she shot me a worried look. The room was silent around us.

“What if I killed you first?” I replied.

Hairpins shrugged. “Ah still trust Midnight t’ do th’ right thing.”

I stopped myself from looking back at my friend. I still had trouble sensing negative emotions from ponies, and I did not try to check what Midnight was feeling. I wanted to believe she thought better of me. I wanted to believe Hairpins didn’t have a point. I wanted to stop Chrysalis, but doing so would mean taking possession of the power she sought. What would I do if I got my hooves on that power? What could I do?

Feed...

You can help...

I turned back to Midnight, and she smiled at me. If Hairpins could lead us straight to the Empire it would make our quest much easier. I knew she was competent, and she shared the same emotional implacability that I looked up to in Midnight, but I would never have considered asking her to join us. I assumed she would feel the same as I did, but she had made the offer with little hesitation. I realized that I had spent all of my early life hating her, almost from the day I was born. By comparison, I was only a small bump in the long road she had traveled. I understood for the first time why she had not held a grudge against me. It was the same for me now. My life in Seeds had dwarfed the time from my emergence to the battle at New Canterlot. The hatred from my infancy had been extinguished. My time among friends and peace had buried the ashes. Hairpins was right: we had both paid for our choices. There was nothing left between us but a graveyard of friends.

“Alright,” I said. “You can join us.” She would be my guide, I told myself, nothing more.

“How do you know Hairpins?” I asked later.

Midnight and I were alone in one of Ray’s rooms, the door locked behind us. Hairpins had agreed to come with us after making sure the last few caravans were ready to leave, and after working out a few other details we decided it was time for bed. Midnight sat next to me on the wide hay mattress, humming as she recalled her past.

“Well, we grew up together, at least for a little while. We both lived in Tubers, and you get to know all the other kids in the city as you grow up. It’s a small enough place that it just happens. I think I had a crush on her for a little bit, but she wasn’t interested. And too much older besides. She left Tubers when I was almost seven. Tubers wasn’t that great a place to live unless you liked farming, so she went North to see the world. I cried for a whole day when I realized she was gone.”

“That’s it? You seemed much closer.”

She pursed her lips. “Well... I ran into another friend, Dahlia, a few years back. I knew her less than I knew Hairpins, and I was still elated when I saw her. Sometimes, seeing ponies from a long time ago, it’s a good thing in and of itself. They survived, just like you. It can bring you together. With Hairpins it’s the same. We were friends, and I thought I loved her. And for a moment, it looked like she’d made something of herself, but she’s so apathetic... I don’t understand how you can forgive her for what she did. If somepony did those things to me...”

“I...” I hadn’t been alive long enough to relate to her nostalgia, but I could understand in the abstract. If I could have seen Maggy again, I knew I would be overjoyed. And Fugax... “I ran into a friend, in Baltimare. Another changeling. He used to be a good changeling like me, but now he’s worse than a raider. He found a way to feed off of hate, and so he causes pain and misery to get more power. It’s killing him, but he won’t see any other way to survive. Hairpins... Hairpins did bad things. She helped hurt me, but even then... well, I’ve seen real cruelty.”

Midnight nodded, focused on the ground. I let the silence linger for a moment.

“Midnight, thank you. For everything today. That wouldn’t have ended well without you.”

“Oh, no problem Worker... it’s like I said, I’m here with you. It’s better for everyone if you can be yourself...” She yawned again, and settled in on the bed. I watched her sleep for a moment, and then felt a sudden weight on my eyelids. The day’s emotional trials had exhausted me. I lowered my head onto the stained pillow before me and closed my eyes...

“Ya’ sure there ain’t any zombies left?” Hairpins asked two days later.

“Yes,” I replied.

We were approaching the abandoned airfield. Hairpins might know how to get us to the Empire, but if anyone would have some actual insight into the Heart it would be the professor. We had left Bulbs earlier that day. Hairpins had been coordinating the exodus from Bulbs, and made sure the last few convoys were ready before parting. Ray and Spare Parts had said their goodbyes to us that morning. Seeing Spare Parts again had been an underwhelming surprise. I apologized for the trouble I’d caused her, and she accepted it nervously, again thanking me for saving her. I found that I didn’t have much else to say, and she looked scared of me more than anything. Cathode saw us out an hour later, waving goodbye. She seemed to be the only one genuinely sad to see Hairpins go. The other security guards had simply nodded farewell and gone about their day.

“Everypony likes Cathode better,” Hairpins had explained. “But th’ poor gal hates bein’ in charge.”

We had made good time to Pitch’s laboratory. I told my two companions to wait while I went in to get her. I flew over the area where the mines lay—I suspected the NCs had cleared them out, but I had no safe way of confirming my hunch—and made my way inside. I was struck by how clean the hallways were. The dust and rubble had been cleared away, as well as the muck left by the shuffling zombies. The old cabinets and broken tables had disappeared; only those that were salvageable had been repaired and refitted.

I smiled as I heard a soft humming come from Pitch’s makeshift bedroom. I peeked my head inside and found her with a feather duster in her mouth. I cleared my throat.

“Ahh!”

The duster flew through the air as Pitch swiveled to face me. She moved to fast and tripped over a nearby chair, spilling herself and a stack of books across the floor. She yelped in pain and then scrambled back up, backing up a few paces as her eyes focused on me.

“Who are you!? Oh Celestia, another one?”

I rolled my eyes. This was getting old. “It’s me,” I stated. “It’s Worker.”

“Oh. Oh! But... it’s been so long. What... what happened?”

I told her.

“Oh Rolling... oh dear... oh and what they did to the others—”

The thin wail that escaped her lips was a sad simile of weeping, but it was all she could produce. I said nothing as she rode out the waves of despair. They were strong enough that I could feel them, just barely. I didn’t reach any further, but I put a hoof on her shoulder as she cried. The moment stretched on, and I found myself thinking back to the battle I had just described. Telling it as a story let me skip through the more painful details, but as I now ruminate on it that pain rushed back. I still missed Rolling and Surprise; and it was more than loss. I felt guilty for what happened to them. For being a bad friend.

“I’m sorry to rush you,” I said, knowing that if I didn’t speak now I would soon start crying myself. “But I need some information, if you have it. I need to know about the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh... oh yes.” She sniffled. “Yes, I understand. I can... well, there’s a lot I can tell you about it, actually, but it will take a while. And it’s all muddled, you know. I’ve had nothing to do but clean and organize, and this place is almost spotless so my mind is starting to slip again. I might not remember something important until after you leave, and then... then I’ll be all alone again...”

“Come with us,” I said, pulling her away from those thoughts. Even before reaching Bulbs, I had planned to take her with me. She had been Rolling’s friend. I owed it to him to take care of her if I could. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk on the road. I’m going to the Crystal Empire. My... a friend of mine is with me. You won’t be alone.”

“Oh... but... but what about... all this?” She waved a hoof across her face. I smiled.

“You’ll be okay. I’ll be there for you. Ponies have accepted me, and I’m a monster. You’re already one of them. You just look a bit strange. We can do this together. Especially since we have two normal mares with us.”

She thought on my words for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right... oh, I know you’re right. I’ve known I needed to leave this place for a while, I just... I stayed because I held out hope for Rolling... and before that, I hoped maybe I could save the others... but... oh, give me a moment. I’ll be right back.”

She vanished into her room. I hear the rustling of leather, then the clatter of metal and plastic. She emerged with a small saddlebag. She nodded at me. I turned to lead her outside, but a sudden chill stopped me. The cold sensation from the Applejack statuette was back, but slightly stronger. I pulled it out with my magic, but I could see no change. Pitch stepped up to my side, making a curious noise. Then she saw what I was holding.

“Oh! Seems that we match now.” She pulled out a small figurine of Rainbow Dash. My eyes widened. The same cold sensation emanated from it as well. It was another mind somehow less than a mind. The solid absence of emotion. I felt dizzy trying to wrap my mind around it.

“What’s wrong?” Pitch asked me.

“Nothing. Well, maybe something, but we need to get moving.” It was almost midday, and any shelter was still a ways away. Pitch put the figurine away and walked out the door; the cold faded as I followed her, but the last whiff of it lingered at the edge of my senses.

If Midnight was shocked by Pitch’s appearance, she did not show it, and Hairpins had, apparently, seen a few ghouls during her travels.

“Yer not even close t’ th’ ugliest ah’ve seen,” she drawled. “Y’ain’t got nothin’ t’ worry about.”

“Oh, um... thank you?” Pitch shuffled closer to me and Midnight. “So, where are we going?”

“Back to Bulbs.”

“Maize,” Hairpins said at the same time as me. I raised an eyebrow.

“Why Maize? The rest of the Wasteland is out past Tubers.”

“We won’t need t’ go there. Ah told ya, ah know a faster way. We c’n make it t’ Maize tonight, easy. After that we’ll head to th’ NCs—”

“The Stable? Why!?”

“Calm yerself, Worker. Like ah was sayin’, we don’t need t’ travel through the wasteland. That’d take too long an’ be dangerous besides. The NCs got a port, y’know. We might have t’ wait a while, but there’s at least one ship that comes by every so often. They trade with ‘em, just like those sea ponies. We c’n take a boat straight up north. Won’t be any trouble at all, ‘least until we get there. Ah know a few folks who’ve gone that way already.”

“Why not mention this earlier?”

She shrugged. “Ah still don’t trust ya’. Also ah wanted t’ see if ya’ had any better ideas.”

I didn't. I’d never been out of the Fields, aside from that foray into Baltimare. I had no idea how I would get to the Crystal Empire. I could have simply flown north, but I had no idea if I could last off of the energy I had on me now. I needed Midnight with me to survive; and I wanted her with me. I wanted to experience the journey with my friend.

The trip to Maize was uneventful. Hairpins was, for the first time since I’d met her, quiet. She kept ahead of us, at a distance, surveying the horizon as we walked. I followed, my eyes locked on the back of her neck. Behind me, Midnight engaged Pitch in conversation. She asked about her past and the time before the war, but the only details Pitch offered about the Crystal Empire were things I had heard already from Spike.

Despite my earlier words of encouragement to Pitch, I had only a little hope that I would be accepted at Maize. Bulbs had lessened my paranoia at being undisguised, but the same logic that drove it still applied here. I was different. I was a monster. All evidence pointed towards a sour reception.

“Worker... you can’t be accepted if you don’t show who you are...”

“I know, Midnight, I know. But at some point—”

“Ah agree with him,” Hairpins said. “We’re stayin’ here fer th’ night ‘n’ nothing more. No need t’ risk any trouble.”

“Yes, but she—”

“Or, y’know what? Do what ya’ want. Ah won’t stop ya’. But ah don’t see no point in riskin’ mah own skin fer th’ sake of yer ‘personal growth’ or whatever. Ah’ll get mah own room t’night—”

“No. Don’t worry about it,” I said, disguising as Rarity. “I have to take this one step at a time, Midnight. They accepted me in Bulbs, that’s good. Thank you for helping me through that. But now there are more of us: we’ve got me, a former slaver, and a ghoul—one normal pony won’t balance that out. Once we get through Stable 111 I’ll feel safer, but until then there’s too many factors we can’t control.”

“I think you’re giving up too soon,” Midnight said. “At the Stable you’ll be a wanted pony, but here they have even less reason to fear you than at Bulbs. You have no enemies here.”

“He’s also got no friends...”

“I don’t believe ponies are math equations,” Pitch said. “But I know enough statistics to avoid gambling. I agree with the changeling.”

Hairpins shrugged at her words. I looked at Midnight. She had a slight frown on her face, but did not avoid my eyes. The matter was settled. I turned around and continued toward Maize. I reached out with my mind, and felt a slight disappointment in Midnight. Anxiety gripped my chest, and I pushed a bit deeper. There, buried below her love and her worries, was a profound doubt. On a whim I pushed into Hairpins’ feelings. The same doubt was there, naked and unashamed. Her words came back to me: Ah still trust Midnight t’ do th’ right thing.

Do you trust me, Midnight? I wondered. Am I the type of person to do the right thing?

“Hmm? Worker? Did you say something?” My ears flew up, but I stopped myself from reacting further. I took a breath to calm myself.

“No?” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, sorry. I thought I heard you mumbling.”

A single guard greeted us at the gates of Maize. There was no interview, no watchful pack, and no device to detect the presence of a balefire egg; just one tired stallion who nodded to us and muttered his directions when we asked after lodging. He gave a grunt when Midnight thanked him, and then we were on our way again. The facility had power now, but it was only a marginal improvement from the total darkness I had first experienced with Rolling. Dim lights smoldered in the hallways, producing only enough illumination to show the position of a door or a turn in the corridor. Ponies appeared suddenly and then vanished again, dodging past us with practiced reflexes. My heart leapt each time it happened.

“Takes me back t’ Tubers,” Hairpins muttered to Midnight.

“Yes. One of the many reasons I preferred Seeds: you get to see everything.”

“Goodness,” Pitch said. “There’s so little infrastructure left...”

“And this is one of the better-off places,” Midnight added.

We got two rooms for cheap, and then set off to find some food. Only Midnight and Hairpins needed to eat, but I saw no reason to risk splitting up our group.

“Paranoid little thing, ain’tcha?” Hairpins teased.

“I don’t like this darkness,” I shot back. “Or tight spaces.”

Hairpins asked a few strangers about where to find dinner, and after a brief debate with Midnight we decided where to go. The bar Midnight chose turned out to have real lighting. I breathed a sigh of relief as we entered. I almost thanked Celestia before remembering I didn’t worship her, nor Luna. Chrysalis was right out as well. Thank Midnight’s luck, I settled on.

“Thank Celestia,” Pitch said as she walked in behind me.

Dinner was quiet. Midnight and Hairpins chatted a bit about the fate of a mutual friend, but after their food arrived they were silent. I was tense the entire time they ate, glancing at every twitch of every shadow around us. Pitch kept getting suspicious looks from the bartender and a few of the patrons, and each time a new pony stepped inside the bar I would revise my mental battle plan. I let out a breath when the two mares finally decided they’d had their fill.

“Still weird to think about...” Midnight said as we moved slowly through the twilight corridors.

“What’s that?”

“That it’s all poisoned.”

“Oh. Ah know what ya’ mean. Tasteless, silent death. Heck, we all might be leavin’ too late, far as ah know,” Hairpins said with a morose laugh.

“Most likely,” Pitch agreed. “Radiation damage is permanent and cumulative. Plus, there’s no way to know how the megaspells might have amplified or modified it. Nopony ever had a chance to do any research on that particular aspect of magi-physical coupling.”

I felt cold fear from both Midnight and Hairpins. Pitch seemed unaware of the effect of her words.

“It’s a shame, really, how much we lost in the war. All this death, and for nothing. Ponies living and dying in misery and sadness. What kind of life is this? How could we have given this to our children?” Her voice wavered, on the verge of a wail. We had stopped walking now, Hairpins and Midnight stewing in a growing despair beside me.

“Yeah, uh... you said something about a Magi-what-now?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Oh! Magi-physical coupling. That was what we called the specific interactions at the intersection of magic and science. It was quite an interesting field, but too young to produce predictive results—indeed, the whole point of the field was to determine whether the magic/science coupling could produce a more general framework than simple empirical models. Twilight Sparkle even produced a lecture series on the subject! I almost went to her colloquium in Baltimare, but work got in the way—a stroke of luck, in retrospect...”

“Uh, and why’s that?” Hairpins asked, clearly as confused as I was.

“Well, that’s when the attack happened.”

“Excuse me,” said a voice from behind us.

I spun around, my battle instincts once again triggered by recognition. I knew that voice—it came from a figure at the edge of my vision. Cobb, the plantation owner of Maize.

“You’re back,” he stated. “Boss is dead.”

I blinked. How did he—?

“Uh, yes?” Hairpins replied. She tilted her head at the stallion, eyeing him up and down. Behind us Midnight and Pitch made questioning noises, but otherwise made no move. “The NCs killed him.”

“Alright. Good to know. Twist... I need to speak to Twist...” Cobb nodded his head and moved past us, vanishing into the shadows as silently as he had come. The four of us stared at the space he had occupied for a moment before we recovered. Midnight looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Who was that?” Pitch asked.

“Cobb,” I stated. “He runs the plantation here.”

“Strangest fucker ah ever met,” Hairpins drawled. “Even Boss was creeped out by him.”

“Do you know why he is... the way he is?” I asked.

“Ah ain’t got a damn clue.”

We left at the crack of dawn the next day, stepping from one twilight to another. I had never before been so thankful for the sun. My claustrophobia had started to creep back in the night. I had woken in darkness, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. A cold hand crushed down on my chest.

“Worker? Worker what is it?” Midnight asked.

“I—” The chill was already fading; whatever nightmare had disturbed me was already gone. “I don’t know. A bad dream.” I realized that I was undisguised. Strange. I had fallen asleep as Rarity. I thought of putting her skin back on, but at that thought the cold sensation around my chest crept back into my perception. Strange, I thought.

The moment we were out of sight of Maize I undisguised again. I did not want to risk the sensation returning. I picked up a few nearby rocks with my magic and sent them flying. Then a few heavier ones. I ran through a few disguises of ponies I had glimpsed in the past few days, and then levitated my pistol and my knife before returning them to my saddlebag.

“Are you alright?” Midnight asked.

“I think so,” I said. “Just testing my magic. Last night, after my dream, I felt... strange.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked. I could feel the worry in her mind. And below that, the return of suspicion. And further below, the guilt. I suddenly felt like crying.

“N-no,” I said, turning to smile at her. “Midnight, you’ve given me more than enough. Please believe me. If I need help I’ll let you know.”

She looked into my eyes, then looked away, nodding. I frowned. Ahead of us, Hairpins and Professor Pitch had stopped to stare back at us. I was still not sensitive enough to feel their curiosity. I cleared by throat.

“Midnight, is something wrong?” Do you still trust me?

“Last night...” she whispered. “Last night, you were mumbling in your sleep. Right before you woke up. I didn’t catch all of it, but you were speaking to somepony. ‘Come out,’ you said. ‘I’ll eat you. I’ll eat you and then I’ll find the rest.’ I thought... your eyes were open. I thought for a moment you were speaking to me.”

This time I could not stop the tears coming to my eyes. “Oh... oh I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Worker,” she said, putting on a smile. “You just gave me a bit of a scare. Nothing we haven’t seen before, you know? I realized what was happening. I poked you and you woke up right up.”

“I’m still sorry,” I said, wondering why I felt as guilty as I did. I could feel that she was being genuine. I knew she would not hold it against me. “Did... did I say anything else? Was I talking about the crystals?”

She shook her head. “That’s all I remember. I assumed you meant the crystals. I don’t know what the eating me bit was about—”

“I would never do that.”

“Really? Never?” She grinned at me, the dour mood abruptly shifting. I could tell she was making a joke, but I was missing the punchline. It wasn’t funny for me to think about eating ponies.

“I don’t get it.”

“What? How long did you spend in Seeds? Did you never—?”

“Hey ladies, let's get a’movin’!” Hairpins called back to us. “Ya’ll had plenty a’ time t’ chit-chat last night. Ah ain’t sleepin’ in no swamp if ah c’n help it!”

Midnight giggled and trotted forward, resuming her earlier gait. I went after her, feeling somehow dislodged from the moment.

“Midnight, what did you mean—?”

“Oh don’t worry about it. Explaining a joke ruins the fun.”

I decided not to press her, but I couldn’t let the exchange go as we continued on. I had not told Midnight about what I did that first time I became a griffin. I had told no one. Being reminded in such a jovial way, even accidentally, felt like a kick to the gut. And now we were headed to Stable 111. The memories of that day—that day—burst up into my mind again. The taste of cooling meat. The pain and fear. My grief over Surprise. Rolling.

I lingered at the back of our group, keeping my head down and looking back often to wipe my eyes. I managed not to sob, taking slow, deep breaths to calm myself. This is good, I told myself, better to break down now than when we get there. Thankfully, nopony noticed my crying.

We marched on until night fell. The sound of the ocean crept into my conscious so slowly I failed to notice it. I did not realize we had arrived at the battlefield until I stumbled into a large, smooth stone on the ground. I blinked in the darkness. Beside me, Midnight lit up her horn. It was a grave marker. There were hundreds around us, spreading out in all directions. A dirty marble color, already stained by the salty sea air. They twinkled at us as we stepped through them. Roughly half were marked with a short spiral, the others by a drawing of roots. Many of the spirals had names carved underneath them. The roots were mostly blank. A few headstones were blank altogether. The field was scattered, graves clustered in some regions and absent in others. The dead had been buried where they fell.

I did not read the names I saw. Hairpins and Midnight had stopped for a closer look, but I cleared my throat and plodded on. I was tired from the day’s travels, and I wouldn’t be able to stand lingering here. Already I felt a familiar pressure in my cheeks. I needed to sleep. To reset myself emotionally; to let myself forget.

“Let’s go,” I said, disguising as Rarity. “We all need sleep.”

Stable 111 was a ruin. Tents and wooden shacks had been erected on the cliffside, dotting what remained of the Stable’s fortifications. The remains of the barricades and bunkers had been turned into the foundations for shelter. Our group passed through the outer area unimpeded; no pony seemed to be awake at this hour. A few fires and a luminescent crystal showed us the way to the stairs. An unpleasant odor filled the air as we descended, the stink of unwashed ponies drenched in salt. At the bottom of the well, more tents greeted us. They were clustered near the southern hallway entrances, presumably where the Stable’s original housing units were located. The facilities we passed by as we circled the central floor were dirty, and many looked like they had been raided for salvage.

Amethyst’s statue was the only object in the city still pristine. Even in the near-darkness of night it glistened. In fact, the twilight only made her appear more sublime. Water no longer ran down her cheeks, and the shadows had turned her expression from one of sadness to fury. Darkness shone in the gemstones on her body, and a tiny flame burned in each.

A figure sat at a fire below her, their silhouette barely discernible against the dark walls around them.

“Excuse me,” Hairpins drawled. “Ah don’t s’pose ya’ know where we might find a place t’ sleep?”

The stranger turned toward her voice. “Ah,” she spoke. “Welcome back, little pony.” Through the fire behind her blinded me to the details of her face I knew immediately who it was. Aegis had survived the last battle of New Canterlot. “You may sleep in any place you find comfortable. Most of these shanties are abandoned. Take any you need.” She spoke in a hoarse whisper

I stepped behind Midnight, hoping Aegis had not seen my face. She was one of the few people who would recognize this body. And the only one besides Spike who would realize it was a fake.

“What? What happened to everypony?” Pitch asked.

Aegis shrugged. “They fled. Or they died. We received many stragglers from the Fields here. Chard and Tubers are abandoned. Half of Maize visited here. Yet we could not support more than our own. So they left until we did not require them to leave. Many more left because they see no future here.”

“An’ you? Why are you still here? Yer prince is dead. You got no friends or army left. Why stay?”

“And where else would I go, pony? I was Queen of my people, and Princess to yours. What remains here is mine by rights of the old world. I have all this, and nothing else.” Aegis sighed, looking up at the statue before her. “It is I who should be asking you: why have you come? Why visit this kingdom of the dead?”

Hairpins coughed, and had a rare moment of hesitation.

“Ah’m fixin’ t’ get on a boat an’ sail outta here. Figured it was th’ safer than travlin’ by hoof.”

Ages tilted her head to look at the rest of us. My heart leapt.

I can’t be seen!

Pitch gave a short gasp, and Midnight shifted subtly to block her view of me.

Thanks, I thought.

Midnight’s ears twitched, and she glanced back at me, eyebrows furrowed. Before she could speak, Aegis resumed her conversation with Hairpins.

“Your friends will be sailing with you, I assume? You are in luck. The ship you seek arrives tomorrow. They set sail by nightfall. Though I wonder, what preparations have you made? I see you have no provisions for a long journey.”

I felt a jolt of panic from Hairpins. “Are ya’ll so dead yer market’s gone too? Ah’d assume the Stable’s still producin’ food.”

Aegis laughed. “Oh, I see. Yes, the market still sells, though we will not give more than we can afford to. I do intent to live long enough to rebuild. The chance to achieve Gleaming’s vision is past, but I can at least restore my own glory.”

“Y’know, ah never quite understood what ya’ saw in that stallion.” Hairpins spoke slowly, her tail flicked angrily. “Can’t say this place was worth all th’ trouble he put ya’ through.”

“If you have a grievance, speak it plainly, little pony. I do not have time for games.” The levity in her voice had vanished.

“Well... I do thank you fer yer hospitality—but it don’t make up fer yer former husband’s antiks. He killed my friend, y’know. He killed all my friends.”

Aegis shrugged again. “Many more of mine died for him. What do you want from me, pony?”

“Just... why? Why did you fight with him. What did Tumble die for?” Her voice wavered, her sadness coming clearly to my ears as well as my mind. Aegis was silent for a long moment.

“I did not love him,” she said. “He may have loved me, as one my love their favorite painting, or a loyal pet, but that was a high esteem in his mind. He truly loved only three things: himself, his vision, and his mother from whom he took that vision. I agreed to marriage because I, too, loved his vision. I loved the version of it where I stood by his side at the top of the world.”

“I first met him on the battlefield. It was a terrible day. A terrible, glorious day. It was the fifth week of my tribe’s glorious war. My father had led us into the Fields to conquer and pillage. We had already scourged the western mountainside, and the wetlands above them. We continued our sweep north, driving the ponies out from their decrepit cities and into those cold fortresses. We believed we were on the verge of extinguishing what remained of Equestria. Of finishing our ancestor’s great mission. My father had declared that this day we would overrun Chard, the first of those final strongholds.”

“Unfortunately, it was not much of a battle. We sought glorious combat, but all we could do was siege them. Their walls would not break, and their gates were unapproachable. We would starve them out, it was the only option. Father seethed as each day went on, but it was our only option. I felt his impatience. I too wished to fight. To purge these hated ponies. I wished to honor my ancestors with their blood.”

“It was on the third day when they arrived. New Canterlot. As soon as the sun rose they swept down upon us without warning. We had heard rumors of them, but we believed they were only just rumors; an arrogant upstart. They slaughtered us. We were unprepared for the sheer power of their army. My father raged at his troops and inspired them to suicidal bloodlust, but such ‘tactics’ are child's play to real war-thought. We were shattered utterly.”

“In the midst of an open field of carnage I saw him: Gleaming Armor. He was their leader, still only a youth, and even through my hatred and despair I was awed by what I saw. His power was unmatched. He held his ground against ten of us. He was far above any soldier I had ever glimpsed in my life. It was then I knew I had been wrong. I had been taught that ponies were weak, yet here was the true potential of a warrior. Here was power I had been unable to even dream of. After my father and brothers lay dead and broken beneath New Canterlot’s hooves I called for a retreat. I knew we had lost. We all knew we had lost. But unlike my despairing soldiers, I had a new vision. I had seen a glorious new height, and I wanted to reach it.”

“We retreated to the southern swamp. There, amid the muck of decay, we lay in wait for New Canterlot. Their vanguard appeared on the fifth day, scouting for signs of our return or resistance, not suspecting that I had anticipated them. We surrounded them easily. It would have been a glorious end for my tribe: vanquishing Gleaming in combat before falling to the sheer power of his soldiers, but instead I sought a future for us. I demanded a parlay, and offered to join my forces with his own. I and my three loyal necromancers reanimated two of his soldiers who had fallen to our blades. Gleaming’s vanguard looked aghast—he merely laughed. It was then I knew he would accept my proposal.”

Aegis gave a spiteful snort. “But that Lute, she protested. She cursed us, calling our magic ‘dark’ and dangerous, and insisted we would only bring ruin. I still recall the words Gleaming replied with: ‘They say a small spark can ignite great change—but I prefer we be a roaring fire of certainty.’ The power of the unicorns would conquer the land; the power of the zebra would raise an army from the ashes and hold it.”

Hairpins laughed through clenched teeth. “An’ how’d that work out fer ya?”

Aegis’s eyes narrowed. “If you choose to mock me, little pony, I can retract my ‘hospitality.’ True, we failed to realize our vision, but it was not my doing. Gleaming brought about his own fate: first by trying to make use of that pitiful bug, then by accepting the ‘salvation’ of those accursed alicons. The city’s shield would have held through any siege, and yet he simply let it down—! I sympathize, now, with Lute. Gleaming listened to none of our warnings about anything. My tribe, the bug, Unity... they were all tools to him. Tools to learn how to use, and then to be used in the service of his vision. So, no, little pony, it did not ‘work out’ for me, but it was not my downfall. Gleaming is gone. His comet has fallen. I will rise from his ashes.”

“Yeah... well, best of luck t’ ya with yer warmongering...” Hairpins turned away in a huff, clearly unsatisfied with the answers she’d gotten.

“Um, excuse me?” Midnight said, taking a step forward. I slid further back into the shadows. “What was that you said about a comet?”

“Oh, little pony, did you not know?” Aegis laughed. “It was the reason for Gleaming’s absolute assurance—the reason for his army’s power. The comet passed us by these past few months. As it approached, magic in the land grew stronger. Gleaming knew of the timing, and launched his conquest as the comet waxed. You might have felt it, your magic subtly growing, being able to perform spells outside of your normal range. Some of his soldiers even claimed that, at perigee, one would be able to see it in the night sky—if only the night sky could be seen at all. But it has long since waned. The height of its amplification has long past us, and Gleaming was dead long before it had finished rising. Another tool of his that only inspired false hope.”

“Oh... I’ve never heard of that.”

Aegis shrugged. “Few would remember such knowledge. None in my tribe knew of it.”

“I think I read something about it once,” Pitch mumbled. “Though we didn’t have many astronomy textbooks in the lab. The stars didn’t factor into much of what we did there.”

Hairpins, already near the stairway, grunted impatiently. I nodded in silent agreement.

“Well,” Midnight said. “Thank you for the information, and letting us stay here. But it seems we must be off.”

“You are quite welcome, little pony. I too, must retire soon. Sleep well, and may we both live to see the glory of my empire restored.”

What fools, I thought. Gleaming, Chrysalis, Aegis, Fugax, Unity... the only means of power they can conceive of is subjugation. I would be different. I would never need to be Queen; just a good friend.

Footnote: Level up.
New Perk: Silent Gallop - You have mastered silent movement, allowing you to move quickly and still remain quiet. You can Sneak at full speed with no penalties.
Global Perk: Secretariat Comet - Magic users in Equestria no longer receive +1 to all magic rolls and lose their bonus spell slot.