//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: Evasion // Story: CRISIS: New World Order // by GanonFLCL //------------------------------// The thunderblizzards had finally moved far enough north from Goldridge that the settlement’s inhabitants could leave their homes and walk outside. Rarity had not been able to see through the chaotic snowstorm outside the old checkpoint’s windows until today. At long last, after two months of curiosity, she could finally get a good, honest look at the settlement that Tick Tock and Pewter called their home. To Rarity’s surprise, there weren’t any other structures besides the old checkpoint building. Instead, the other settlers had dug their homes directly into the mountainside itself where the storm could not possibly affect them. The doors that led inside were round and carved from solid stone, and reinforced with a tough-looking metal that Rarity had heard called “durasteel”, which seemed to live up to its name. Lightning rods poked out of the mountain near the doors, which Pewter had said were connected to generators inside to give the inhabitants power to generate heat. The settlement was not as nearly as populated as Rarity had thought it was, numbering only a few dozen ponies, mostly families, which included the young, old, and in-between. They were a colorful, friendly bunch from what Rarity could see, and they apparently looked to Tick Tock and Pewter as their leaders, which she found delightful. For now, those two were diligently working with every settler family individually to ensure that the evacuation process was accomplished efficiently and hassle-free. The others in Rarity’s group did what they could to help hurry things along. With so many ponies to move from here to Hope’s Point—as well as Aculeata’s changelings down below—they still needed to wait for the regular snowstorms to clear up enough for such a journey to be possible. That meant they had just about two or three days to get everything together, and the faster they did so, the sooner they could move. The thunderblizzards would still be pounding New Pandemonium City for another week, but Goldridge could not afford to fall behind. So, Apple Bloom and Weaver, who were the most physically fit, helped Pewter with assembling wagons to use for transporting those who could not walk on their own—the old, the infirm, or the very young—as well as personal belongings. Symphony and Bluebolt, who worked spectacularly as a team, helped Tick Tock organize the settlers in gathering their families and belongings so that nothing and nopony was left behind. Flurry Heart and Venture stayed down below with Aculeata and Comet to gather the sixty or so changeling young together to move across the Great Expanse. Sundial assisted in planning the route out and organizing the timetable for departure. At the moment, Rarity was helping Tick Tock organize a list of the many, many things that she herself needed to make sure were taken from the checkpoint building as they were either irreplaceable or crucial for the journey, including photo albums, family heirlooms, foodstuffs, and clothing. Among these was Sundial’s grandfather clock, as without it she obviously had no way of communicating with Clockwork to ensure that things went smoothly in transitioning Rarity and her friends home. Tick Tock knew well enough how much trouble that could cause from the last time this had happened and she’d been cut off from communicating with Time Turner. It was about an hour after breakfast when Pumice and Scoria came running down the stairs from their room into the den where Rarity and Tick Tock were working. The two weren’t wearing dresses as Rarity was accustomed to seeing them wear, but what looked like robust hiking gear. She hadn’t seen the twins so excited in some weeks, and wondered what all the fuss was about. “Mum! Mum!” Pumice said, running up to Tick Tock and excitedly tugging her sweater. “It stopped snowing outside!” “Hmm?” Tick Tock mumbled. She and Rarity glanced out the window to see that there had been a lull in the snowfall, the first one all day. “So it has. What of it, honey?” “We want to go into the mountains and dig!” Scoria said, hopping up and down with a big smile on her face. Tick Tock frowned and shook her head. “Girls, this is no time to be thinking about that. We’re all very busy right now, and there’s no time for you to go out digging.” Pumice pouted, her eyes widening. “But Mum, you said we could go digging when the snows cleared up.” “You promised,” added Scoria, equally pouty and wide-eyed. Rarity knew the classic puppy-dog a little too well. Her sister had done it to her so often growing up that she’d developed an immunity, at least when it came from Sweetie Belle. The twins were a little different. They were good at it. It probably helped that they worked as a team, and that they weren’t related to her. It wasn’t fair. “I know I did, girls, but that was before we had to go through all of this business with leaving and all that rubbish. You know we’re trying to get ready to move to the big city, right? Aren’t you excited about that?” “Yeah, but you promised,” Scoria insisted, tugging on Tick Tock’s sweater as well. “If we’re moving to the big city, we might not have a chance to go digging again!” Pumice cried. “Yeah! This might be our only chance!” “Please, Mum!” “Please!” Tick Tock grunted. “Girls, I said ‘no’, and that’s final. We’re all very busy here getting things prepared for the move, so Daddy doesn’t have time take you digging anyway. We can’t just drop everything like that, okay?” “But Mum, Ambrosia said she would take us!” Scoria huffed. “She said that if you said it was okay, she’d take us up to go digging!” Pumice added. “Please, Mum!” “Girls! That’s enough!” Tick Tock shouted, stomping a hoof on the floor. “Ambrosia isn’t old enough to be taking you two out there all by yourselves and she doesn’t know the first thing about the mountain pass, not like Daddy does. I don’t need to risk the two of you or Ambrosia getting lost out there. No digging.” “But Muuum!” the twins cried together. Rarity cleared her throat. This had gone on long enough and her heart was practically breaking. How Tick Tock could resist the twins’ routine was frankly mind-boggling. “Tick Tock, may I offer a solution?” Tick Tock pressed her hoof to her temple, clearly beyond exasperated. “Anything, Rarity, please.” “How about I take the twins out? I recall the mountain pass well enough to keep us from getting lost, and I believe I’m old enough to be responsible for them, loathe as I am to admit it.” Rarity then gave a coy grin. “Besides, I’m something of a gem-hunter myself, if you recall. I might be of some help.” The twins gawked at Rarity, wide-eyed. “You’d take us digging, Miss Rarity?!” “If your mother allows it, girls,” Rarity replied sweetly. Tick Tock narrowed her eyes at Rarity, then took a deep breath and nodded. “Fine.” “Yayyyy!” the twins cheered. “But!” Tick Tock continued, gesturing towards the two of them sharply. “But, you two are to listen to Rarity and do whatever she says, okay? Just like you do with Daddy when he takes you digging.” “We will, Mum!” Pumice said with an excited nod. “We promise!” added Scoria. “And bring Ambrosia with you, too,” Tick Tock said. She gave a sidelong glance at Rarity. “Trust me, you’ll need the extra hooves with these two along.” Rarity smiled. “Thank you, darling. This will be good for them, you’ll see.” “Don’t thank me until after you’ve spent the afternoon out there with them,” Tick Tock chuckled. “Now, it’s just before noon, so that means you should have about, oh, six hours or so before it starts getting dark. Sundial told you all about making sure not to travel at night in the winter, right?” “She did. I assume that even with the winter ending soon it’s still not safe to travel at night?” “Not at all, no. Wintertime around here likes to surprise you. It looks calm out there now, but it’ll pick up by early evening, I guarantee it.” “Hmm. Well, what does Pewter usually do when he takes them digging, then?” “Typically he takes them straight to the northern caverns first thing so that they can make camp, then they spend a day or two in the mountains digging before coming home. Since we don’t have that kind of time, just stick to the closer trails. There won’t be as many gems, but it’ll be enough to scratch their itch without making me worry.” Rarity set her hoof on Tick Tock’s shoulder. “I’ll take good care of them, darling, I promise.” She then turned to the twins. “Okay then, girls, do you have everything you need to do digging, hmm?” “Yup!” they said together. Pumice showed off their saddlebags. “Bags for carrying jewels!” Scoria hoisted up the most adorable pink pickaxe Rarity had ever seen. “And tools for digging them out!” “Excellent! Then go and get Miss Ambrosia, and we can get a move on, hmm? You heard your mother: time is of the essence, so no dilly-dallying.” Rarity brushed them away with her hoof. “Go on.” The twins rushed for the tunnel entrance to go fetch their changeling caretaker, leaving Rarity and Tick Tock alone. Tick Tock cracked her neck. “I appreciate this, Rarity. I’ve been worried for weeks about how I was going to handle the twins through all this work. I knew they were going to bring up digging, but with Pewter so busy too—” Rarity gently rubbed Tick Tock’s back to soothe her nerves. “Never you mind, dear. What are friends for, after all?” Tick Tock gave Rarity a brief smile. “I’m really glad you’re here, you know? Apart from Twilight, you were the one I got along with the best.” She paused, then grinned. “Well, and Pinkie and Fluttershy, but I doubt anypony couldn’t get along with them.” “I appreciate that, darling. Now, you go ahead and focus on the task at hoof, hmm?” Rarity smirked and adjusted her mane ever-so-slightly. “I have gem-hunting to do.” ***** Rarity hadn’t been exaggerating about having some recollection of the Goldridge Pass. While she hadn’t spent much time here, she remembered enough bits and pieces from her travels so long ago that she could put together a fairly good idea of where she was and where she was going. Besides that, she’d been mindful enough to use an old trick to ensure that she and the girls wouldn’t get lost: marking their trail as they went. It was easy enough to do with some scrap metal that she’d brought along that Pewter wasn’t using, and the girls wouldn’t be distracted by it. Rarity was quite interested in Ambrosia now that they were all traveling together. She’d met the changeling caretaker a couple of times over the winter as she was one of the only changelings that came up through the tunnels to visit the checkpoint building, primarily to spend time with the twins. Ambrosia was currently in her pony form, which was a creamy pink pegasus mare with a golden mane, her cutie mark a trio of cherries. The twins led the way through the pass, for the most part. Rarity just made sure that they followed her directions to that it would be easy to find their way back when the time came. It had been nearly two hours now so they’d need to think about turning back soon, but she wasn’t about to detract from the fun that the twins were having. Rarity actually marveled at the twins’ skills in their work, impressed that ponies so young could do such hard work so well. They worked splendidly as a team, in fact. Each twin, their horns aglow, were searching for any hint of a jewel buried under the golden rocks of the mountainside. When they found one, they would take turns thwacking away with their adorable little pickaxes to dig into the rock and unearth their quarry. It was rather like watching Spike when he was younger, though the twins were not quite as quick as he was. “I always enjoy watching them work,” Ambrosia said, a soft smile on her face. “They have such a passion for it.” Rarity nodded, and noted the soft green glow coming from Ambrosia’s horn. “They do get a certain joy from it, don’t they?” “Yes. It is a tasty emotion, joy. Hard to find in such abundance, but I find it comes most from those who truly enjoy what they do.” Rarity tilted her head. “So, how did you come to be the twins’ caretaker, anyway? You aren’t much older than they are. You’re, what, fourteen?” “Yes, fourteen. I was one of Mother’s first children. As we are her eldest, we are the first to have the opportunity to go out into the world and integrate into the societies of others.” Ambrosia smiled and looked into the distance. “I have chosen to stay in Goldridge, because I found enjoyment in the twins’ company when they were younger.” “They certainly have that effect on others, don’t they?” Rarity said, looking fondly at the twins as they worked on digging up another jewel. “What of the others in that first ‘clutch’, as your mother calls it? Where are they?” Ambrosia shook her head. “I do not know where they are, only where they were going and not if they succeeded. My sister, Carina, traveled west to the kirin settlement. My brothers, Carapace and Imago, went to Hope’s Point. My other brother, Pedicel, also went to Hope’s Point, though he was intending to go further south.” “My my, how ambitious for such a young age to be traveling alone like that.” “Oh, they did not travel alone. They traveled with merchants that passed through Goldridge. This was last year, during the summer. I have not seen them since. I am the oldest of the hive here in Goldridge now, besides Mother of course. I learn much from her, and from taking care of my younger siblings. And the twins, of course.” Rarity tilted her head. “Are you looking to take on the role your mother has when she is gone?” Ambrosia smiled and shook her head again. “No. But I would like to help her however I can. Mother is important to me and to all of our brood. Someday, though, I would very much like to see more of our world. Travelers who pass through tell us so many interesting things—” Suddenly, several small rocks clattered down the trail ahead of the group. The twins didn’t notice, as they were too engrossed with cracking open a large rock to get to the gems hidden within. But Rarity noticed, and Ambrosia did too, though the latter only seemed to have noticed the noise. “What was that sound?” Ambrosia asked, looking about for the source. “The storm is calm, so that was not thunder, and we would have felt an earthquake.” Rarity eyed the rocks and tried to trace their path down the mountainside to see if there was something amiss. That’s when she spotted movement, and that’s when she herself was spotted. Three ponies—two unicorns and an earth pony—came bounding down the mountainside, knocking rocks loose as they moved in quick leaps and hops. Even the twins noticed them at this point, and backed up towards Rarity in surprise as the trio of strangers came down onto the trail in front of the group. “Good afternoon to you, miss,” the earth pony said, looking to Rarity with a certain gleam in his eyes. “Isn’t it just a lovely day today?” Rarity glanced between the earth pony and the two unicorns who were fanning out to block the trail ahead. Tick Tock had never mentioned any ponies living in these mountains besides the Goldridge settlers, and these ponies were definitely not from Goldridge. They were dressed in odd, mishmashed clothes and had rather thuggish builds and faces. She didn’t like this one bit. “I suppose it is,” Rarity said, stepping forward to make sure she was in front of the twins and Ambrosia. “Might I ask who you are?” “Oh, we’re just weary travelers, miss,” said the earth pony with a too-wide smile. Rarity noticed he had a few teeth missing, which had been replaced with gold ones. “Yeah, weary travelers,” said one of the unicorns. Rarity noticed this one had a wicked scar along his nose and a rather unfortunate underbite. “We got caught in those awful storms a few months back and had to camp in these cold, dreary caves,” the earth pony continued in a mopey tone, “and we’re dreadfully short on supplies, you see.” “Dreadfully short,” said the other unicorn, who Rarity noticed was missing one eye, which had been replaced by a glass one. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to spare, would you?” asked the earth pony. “Maybe some food, or water, or maybe some clothes?” He gave her a coy grin. “That coat you’ve got there looks awfully warm.” Rarity stayed calm and took stock of the situation as best she could. She was no fighter, she knew that much. She didn’t know if Ambrosia could defend herself but wasn’t going to assume she did. The twins, of course, were too young and also likely didn’t know much about such things considering how Tick Tock had raised them. Pewter was likely strong enough to handle this sort of thing on his own, but he wasn’t here. Was that why these ruffians were accosting Rarity now? Still, the route behind Rarity was clear as far as she could tell. She took very slow, careful steps in that direction, making sure that the twins were moving along with her. She formulated a plan as quickly as she could all the while trying to keep the three thugs’ attention on her instead of the others. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything with me to spare, no,” she said, gesturing to her sides, where she wasn’t carrying any saddlebags. “But, I’m sure if you to head along the trail here down to Goldridge, they’d be happy to help you. We’ll just step aside so you can move along—” The earth pony shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Oh no, no no no, they wouldn’t help us, miss, not at all. I’m sorry about that, but I don’t think they much like folk like us.” “Don’t like folk like us,” said the first unicorn, who Rarity was calling Scar in her head. “Not at all,” said the other unicorn, who Rarity was calling Glass. “Well, I’m terribly sorry to hear that,” Rarity said, stepping further back. The trio of thugs followed her step-for-step. “Well, I’m afraid that we can’t be of that much help to you, then. As you can see, we have nothing of value on us.” She briefly turned to Ambrosia and whispered as quietly as she could: “When I say so, darling, run.” Ambrosia seemed to be a pretty smart girl, because she nodded in understanding without hesitation or questions. “That’s alright,” said the earth pony, taking another bold step forward. “But I thought of something just now, yes I did. Maybe you’re valuable to Goldridge? That would make you valuable to us, now wouldn’t it?” Well, that was all Rarity needed to hear. “Run!” she shouted. Ambrosia turned tail and took flight, soaring back towards Goldridge. The two unicorns, who seemed just a little slow on the draw, didn’t react in time to catch her, especially not when Rarity lit up her horn to distract them. Then Rarity caught sight of another pegasus darting from the mountainside above, just out of sight. He was heading straight towards Ambrosia. Rarity clenched her teeth. “Oh no you don’t.” She flared her horn and grabbed the pegasus’s right wing, dragging him back. He swiveled and swung about in the air like a top as he tried to regain his balance. Rarity heard movement behind her as the earth pony charged. She turned in time to raise a little shield of magic to defend herself. The earth pony bounced right off of it, but Rarity lost focus on the pegasus. Luckily, he was so disoriented that he fell to the ground instead of giving chase. Ambrosia got away, disappearing into the billowing fog. “Aww, now why’d you go and do that for, miss?” the earth pony chuckled as he regained his bearings. “We were just starting to have a little bit of fun.” “A little bit of fun,” chuckled Scar. Rarity looked between the earth pony and the two unicorns, whose horns were now lit and ready for anything else she might try. She protectively stepped in front of the twins, who huddled at her side fearfully. She knew that she couldn’t possibly take on all four of these brutes on her own, not with the twins here. Maybe if she were younger or if she had practiced combat magic a little harder, but this was no time for “maybe”. Rarity cleared her throat. “I suppose we’ve reached a point where we’ll have to parley, hmm?” The earth pony grunted and smiled. “What do you think this is, miss? You think you can just talk us into agreeing into some kind of arrangement?” “Yeah, what do you think this is?” chuckled Glass. “No, but I believe I can convince you not to make things unpleasant for any of the parties involved. Whatever your intentions are for us,” Rarity said, glaring at the earth pony, “I can assure you of one thing: it will do you no good to harm me or the young ones.” “And why’s that?” asked the earth pony. “Because at this very moment there is a pony in Goldridge that is the best swordfighter on the continent, with blades sharp enough to cut through steel. She’s a dear friend of mine, you see, so if she were to find out that anything happened to me or the girls here, well, it could get very messy.” “Hmm… on that, we are agreed,” the earth pony said, dusting off his shirt and smiling wide. “Your other friend might have gotten away, but that just saves us the time of sending a ransom out. Your swordfighter friend will just have to make due.” Rarity nodded. “If using us as ransom is your intent, so be it. Lead the way to wherever it is you plan on holding us so that we can get out of this awful cold, yes?” The pegasus, who had righted himself and joined the others, gave Rarity a curious look. Rarity noticed he was missing an ear. “Why’re you being so cooperative, lady?” He turned to the earth pony. “I don’t like it, boss. It’s fishy.” “She’s being cooperative because she knows she can’t fight her way out,” said the earth pony. “She’s smart. That’s good. I like 'em smart. That means they won’t try anything dumb.” The earth pony gave Rarity a gentlecolt’s bow and gestured along the trail behind him. “After you, m’lady.” Rarity grunted. The words and gesture sounded so wrong coming from him. Pumice tugged at Rarity’s coat. “Miss Rarity, I’m scared.” “What’s going on?” Scoria asked. “Are we in trouble?” Rarity smiled gently down at the twins. “Oh no, dears, not at all. We’re just going to go with our new friends here, okay? They’re going to give us some shelter from the cold.” The twins looked at the earth pony, who was smiling at them. They shied away instantly. Pumice clutched Rarity’s cloak. “But he’s mean—” “—and smelly,” Scoria added, wrinkling her nose. “Aww, don’t be like that, little ones,” the earth pony laughed, taking a step forward. “I can be your friend, if you’d like.” Rarity grunted and put herself directly between him and the twins. She didn’t say anything, and she didn’t need to. The intense glare on her face did all the talking for her. “Oh ho, or perhaps not,” the earth pony chuckled. He then stepped back and gestured towards the trail again. “Shall we, m’lady?” ***** It was late in the afternoon at Goldridge and the snows had started picking up again. Not enough to be a nuisance, but enough to be noticeable. Pewter was busy preparing dinner for the entire settlement with some help from a few of the other settlers and had set up a large picnic area of sorts out in front of the checkpoint building. Since it was getting late in the day, most of the settlers were finishing up the last of their work before dinnertime and getting ready to call it a night. Bloom took her seat next to Bluebolt and Symphony at one of the smaller tables that had been set up. Flurry and Venture had just headed down to the tunnels with some of the food that was already done explicitly to take it to Comet, who was hard at work making sure his partner and her brood were taken care of. Weaver was busy helping Pewter with cooking at the moment, but Sundial had saved a seat for him next to her. Now that he’d started coming into his own, Bloom had to admit that Weaver was actually a pretty decent guy. Bloom was looking forward to dinner, not just because she was hungry, and not just because Pewter was cooking another fabulous meal, but because after dinner, she, Bluebolt, and Symphony were going to engage in some more training just to get a little more time before they had to leave Goldridge. She’d already learned quite a lot, so she felt much more confident in herself and her ability to handle anything thrown her way now or in the future. She noticed Tick Tock at one of the other tables looking a little nervous, and figured it was because Rarity and the twins weren’t back yet, especially since it was getting late. Bloom wasn’t quite as worried—Rarity was responsible and attentive, so they were certainly on their way back already—but she understood. With everything going on right now with the evacuation preparations, Bloom didn’t see the need to get nervous and distracted. Rarity would take care of things just fine, and she hoped Tick Tock understood that. It was at this point that Ambrosia came flying down the mountain pass like a bat out of hell. “Tick Tock! Pewter!” she shouted. Everypony’s attention immediately went to the approaching changeling, and they hurriedly gathered in a circle around her as soon as she landed. Now Bloom was getting a little concerned. Hadn’t Ambrosia been with Rarity and the twins on their little digging adventure? “Ambrosia? What is it?” Tick Tock asked as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes widened when she seemed to realize Ambrosia was alone. “Where are the girls? Where’s Rarity?” Ambrosia took a second to catch her breath. “We were walking through the pass, and these strangers came down from the mountain, and they surrounded us, and—” “Wait wait, what?!” Tick Tock exclaimed, instantly going into a full-on panic. “What strangers? Where was this? What happened?” “Rarity told me to run and get help,” Ambrosia said, shaking her head. Her horn started glowing black. Bloom had learned well enough by now that meant: there was fear in the air. “She stayed behind with the twins, Mrs. Tock. She even stopped one of them from chasing after me.” “Did you see anything else?” asked Pewter, taking hold of Tick Tock before she sunk to the ground. “Y’know, what they looked like or where they might have been going?” “I only got a good look at a few of them. They were wearing weird clothes, and they smelled bad, and they looked like they weren’t all that healthy.” Ambrosia hung her head. “I’m sorry, that’s all I saw…” Sundial carefully pulled Tick Tock in for a tight hug. “Easy, Mum, take some breaths, aye? Come on now, breathe. Breathe easy.” Tick Tock was hyperventilating. “I shouldn’t have let them go… I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t...” “C’mon now, Mum, I’m sure they’re just fine. They’ve got Rarity with them, aye? She’s a good mare, and she’s yer friend. She won’t anything happen ta them.” Tick Tock passed out. “Shite.” Pewter, white as a sheet and breathing almost as heavily as Tick Tock had been, seemed to be managing some semblance of focus. “Deep breaths, Pewter, deep breaths,” he told himself. He took some of said deep breaths, then turned to Sundial. “C’mon, Sundial, help me get her inside before I pass out, too.” Sundial nodded, and helped Pewter carry Tick Tock over to the checkpoint building and take her in. Ambrosia watched them go and took a deep breath as well. “I should head down and tell Mother. She will want to know what happened.” “Hang on, before you go, I’ve got some more questions,” Bluebolt said, holding up a hoof. “Did these strangers say anything, or did they just attack you guys out of the blue?” Ambrosia brightened. “Oh! Yes! They said they needed supplies and that they’d been camping in the caverns for the winter to avoid the storms. They also said something about maybe Rarity and the twins being ‘valuable’? I’m not sure what they meant.” Symphony nodded, clenching her teeth. “A ransom, then. Cheap bastards, using little fillies as hostages.” “And Rarity, too!” Bloom added, stamping her hooves into the snow. “Bunch o’ dang ol’ cowards! Shoot, wait ‘til I get mah hooves on 'em, I’ll show 'em who’s boss!” Bluebolt paused in thought for a moment, then turned to Symphony. “Songbird, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Symphony nodded and took a deep breath. “Of course I am, pecha. Way ahead of you, actually.” Bloom looked between the two, confused. “What’re y’all talkin’ 'bout?” “We’re gonna head after them,” Bluebolt said with a confident grin. “Nopony hurts my friends and gets away with it. It’s what my mom would do. Even if I don’t always see eye-to-eye with her, on this we can agree. So, we’re gonna hunt these jerks down, yeah?” Bloom paused, then nodded and puffed out her chest. “Count me in, too. I ain’t gonna let these varmints threaten mah friends neither. It’s what mah sister would do, it’s what Princess Twilight would do, an’ it’s what I’m gonna do.” Bluebolt clapped Bloom on the shoulder, proud. “Glad to have you with us then, Bloom. We’ll see if all your training’s been paying off, huh?” Symphony hustled over to where the construction supplies were, and hoisted out a thick, heavy metal bar. She gave it a few test swings. “It’s no sword, but it’ll do the job. Come on, let’s go get our friends back from these bastardi.” The trio hurried over to the slope leading up into the pass proper, and were surprised to find Weaver already waiting for them. He was wearing his old uniform, though at the moment wasn’t wearing his goggles. How and when he’d gotten changed was a total mystery to Bloom. She hadn’t even seen him in the huddle earlier. “Weaver? What’re ya doin’ all dressed up in yer old clothes?” Bloom asked. “I thought Sundial told ya not ta wear 'em 'round so much?” “I need my uniform to make the best use of my abilities,” Weaver said. “And what’re y’all gonna use yer abilities fer?” “You are going after them. I want to come with you.” “You do?” Bluebolt asked, tilting her head. “Yes. I want to help.” Symphony nodded her head and clapped Weaver on the shoulder. “I’m not one to turn down a little help when it’s offered, amico. Glad to have you aboard.” Weaver nodded in return. “Thank you.” “Well, let’s not waste time talking, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Bluebolt said. “Sundial told me the nearest cavern entrance is a few hours north, so that’s where they’ve got to be. Let’s go!” ***** As the little group moved their way through the mountain pass and the snowstorm started regaining in intensity, Bloom began to worry that they weren’t getting anywhere. After nearly two hours of searching they’d seen no sign of Rarity and the twins, nor of the ponies that had accosted them. There were no hoofprints to track thanks to the snow, either, but at least they’d found Rarity’s markers, which were just hunks of sheet metal that she’d staked into the rock. After finding so many, however, Bloom was convinced that the cave they were looking for was a lot further north than Bluebolt was suggesting. She apparently wasn’t the only one to be thinking along those lines. “Bolt, pecha, I’m starting to think we might be wrong about this whole thing,” Symphony said, blocking her face from the stronger winds that were blowing through the pass. “If those ponies that took Rarity and the twins were camping in a cave near here, we’d have seen it by now.” “Not necessarily,” Bluebolt said, flying up to Rarity’s next marker. “The cave Sundial told me about is just around the bend— aha! There it is!” She pointed off around the next part of the pass, where there was evidence of a cavern entrance in the mountainside. With their goal in sight, the group approached slowly and quietly, ready to attack anypony that was a threat and to save their friends. The cave entrance was rather small and particularly dark, so they couldn’t see very far inside when they managed to get closer. They could see that the walls weren’t lined with gemstones like the northern caverns were, as these ones had been mined out many years ago. The group approached the cavern and split off into pairs: Bluebolt and Symphony on one side of the entrance, Bloom and Weaver on the other. It was small enough that they were still within earshot despite the wind. Symphony drew out the metal bar she’d taken with her and held it with her magic. “Okay, so here’s how this is gonna go,” she said. She gestured between herself and Weaver. “Me and the big guy are gonna go in first, all sneaky-like. When we’ve got these cretini where we want them, we’ll give the signal for you two to come in after us, cut off their escape, and make sure the hostages are safe. Capisce?” Bloom and Weaver nodded. “Okay, good. Bolt, Bloom, stay out here and wait for the signal. If you see anypony else coming, hide until they leave.” “What if they head inta the cave after ya?” Bloom asked. “I think Weaver and I can handle ourselves, amica, so don’t go getting yourselves into trouble on our account.” Symphony then turned to Weaver and nodded. “Okay, bel colpo, let’s move.” Weaver nodded in return, and he and Symphony entered into the cave. Bloom and Bluebolt waited outside in the snow as the storm got heavier, and heavier, and heavier. And they waited. And waited. And waited. Until finally, after several long, cold minutes out in the snow, Symphony gave them the signal to come in: a little bird-like whistle that both Bloom and Bluebolt recognized. The two of them rushed into the cave, ready to fight. But they found nothing worth fighting over. It was just Symphony and Weaver waiting for them inside, the former annoyed and disgruntled, the latter as stoic and thoughtful as ever. “What gives?” Bluebolt asked. Bloom looked about the cavern for any sign of, well, anything. “Yeah, where’re the bad guys?” “There nothing here, pecha,” Symphony grumbled, gesturing about. “The cave’s been mined out completely, there’s no evidence there’s been a camp here in months, let alone weeks or days, and it doesn’t even go back very far. Looks like a cave-in might’ve sealed the way further through into the mountain.” “So they’re not here?” Bloom asked, worried more than ever. “If they’re not here, then where the hay are they?” “Probably further north in one of the larger caverns,” Bluebolt muttered, stomping her hoof on the ground. “Crap. That’s gotta be, like, another three hours or so from here, probably more. Crap crap crap.” “Well? What’re we doin’ waitin’ 'round here? Let’s go get 'em!” Symphony shook her head. “We can’t. That storm outside is picking back up really bad, and it’ll be nightfall within the next hour or so, and that’s a generous guess. And you know what Sundial said about traveling at night: cattive notizie—bad news.” Bloom huffed, aggravated. “So, what, we’re just gonna leave 'em out there with a bunch o’ no good varmints all night? C’mon, girls, we gotta—” Bluebolt set her hoof on Bloom’s shoulder. “We can’t risk it. If we get caught in that storm at night, we’ll be in worse shape than whatever’s happening with Rarity and the twins, no matter what it is. We’ll just make things worse if the folks back at Goldridge have to come searching for us, too. They don’t have the numbers or the time with all the evacuation prep.” Bloom looked between the two, despondent. “But what about Rarity? What about the twins? What if somethin’ happens to 'em while we’re all sittin’ cozy back at the checkpoint?” Symphony took a deep breath and shook her head. “If this is actually a ransom situation like Ambrosia made it out to be, then those cretini won’t harm anypony unless they think we’re not listening to their demands. They’d be stupid to think we’d get anything back to them during the night with these storms raging about.” “And without telling us where they’re holed up so we could find them and listen to what they want,” Bluebolt added. “Listen, Bloom, we’ve gotta get back to Goldridge. We tried our best, but we’ll just have to try again in the morning when the storm clears up a bit. We don’t have much of a choice, you know that.” Bloom shook her head and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Yeah, I know, but I’m worried 'bout 'em.” “So are we,” Symphony agreed. “But I don’t think Rarity would want you, or any of us, to risk getting ourselves hurt or killed trying to find her. Remember, we don’t even know where she and the twins are. There are nearly a dozen cave entrances north of here within a reasonable distance, and we don’t have time to search them all.” “We barely even had time to make it to this one,” Bluebolt added. “C’mon, let’s get back to the checkpoint and get something to eat. We can set out first thing in the morning.” Bloom sighed and nodded, not liking the whole thing but knowing there was nothing else they could do. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right. If Rarity found out somethin’ happened ta me while tryin’ ta help her, she’d kill me.” The group solemnly walked out of the cave, and set out on their way back south towards Goldridge. Except for Weaver, who headed north. Bloom noticed him first. “Weaver? Hey, you’re goin’ the wrong way. This way’s south,” she said, gesturing towards the trail she was heading down. Weaver shook his head. “You return to Goldridge. I will continue the search alone.” Bluebolt raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you hear a word we just said in there? The storm’s picking up.” She gestured around herself as evidence, for the snow was falling harder and the winds had picked up to the point that she had to raise her voice. “It’s just gonna get worse by nightfall.” “Correct. However, it will not affect me.” Bloom could hear the anger in his voice, even see it in his eyes. She knew he was emoting more often, but she’d only seen positive emotions up until now: joy, laughter, pride, etc. This was the first time she’d seen him angry. The fire in his eyes reminded her of Sundial’s raw determination and focus. It was a little unsettling, and Bloom was more than a little glad he was on her side. “My uniform protects me from the elements, helps me with my abilities. I will be able to travel without heeding weather, terrain, or other factors. I can continue unimpeded.” Symphony and Bluebolt shared a brief look with one another. “Really?” Symphony asked, sounding a little doubtful. “Are you sure you’re up for all of that by yourself?” Weaver nodded. “I will continue the search. If I find Rarity and the twins before morning, I will help them escape from their captors. If I do not, I will return to Goldridge to inform you all of my progress. It will save time on the following morning’s search.” Bloom tilted her head. “An’ you’re sure ya won’t have no trouble? That getup o’ yers’ll really keep ya safe?” Weaver adjusted his goggles over his eyes. “Yes.” Bluebolt let out a breath and shook her head. “Okay, far be it from us to talk you out of this crazy plan of yours. Just be careful out there, okay?” “Yeah, Sundial and Flurry would kill us if they found out we let anything happen to you,” Symphony added with a little grin. “Well, more like Sundial’ll kill us. Flurry doesn’t seem the type.” Bloom stepped forward and patted Weaver’s shoulder. “Thanks, Weaver. Make sure ta bring 'em home.” Weaver paused. “I will do so without fail.” Bluebolt smiled. “We’ll make sure Sundial and Flurry know.” She turned to Symphony. “C’mon, we’d better get back to the checkpoint before we get caught out in all this.” Symphony nodded. “Right.” She turned to Weaver. “Grazie, amico.” Bloom turned to follow them, but gave one last look at Weaver as he vanished into the shadows of the mountainside without a trace. “D’ya think he’s gonna be okay goin’ off by himself 'n' all that?” Symphony scoffed. “I don’t know what that guy’s thinking half the time, but if he says he’ll be okay, he’ll be okay. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about him this winter, it’s that he’s an honest guy.” Bloom nodded. “Flurry 'n' Sundial want us ta trust him. I guess it’s time we started doin’ that.” With that, the group turned and headed back south towards Goldridge. ***** Rarity hadn’t been able to sleep all night. That much was a given, all things considered. For one thing, she wasn’t very comfortable in the little cage that the brutes had thrown her into, not just because of its small size but because the floor was absolutely filthy. She could barely stand to have her hooves in the stuff on the ground beneath her, which felt like slimy moss or fungus or something else equally gross. She suspected her captors had put the cage in this spot in particular just to torture her. For another thing, the cavern was dreadfully dark save for a few lanterns off in the distance, and she didn’t feel safe going to sleep in the dark when those thugs were around. She’d seen the way they looked at her and she didn’t trust them one bit to keep to their word of not harming her—or otherwise—if she wasn’t awake to know about it. If she were by herself, she might have considered using that to her advantage to escape. Most importantly, however, she was desperately worried about the twins. They weren’t here with her, so she couldn’t be sure they were okay. All she had to go on that the twins weren’t being hurt or touched in an unsavory fashion was the word of these ruffians, and that wasn’t exactly reassuring. She could hear the twins’ pickaxes against the cavern walls some hundred or so feet away from her, but she couldn’t see them. Still, she’d learned their rhythm rather well and so knew it was them digging into the walls, not somepony else. Putting the twins to work while their captors waited for word from Goldridge seemed needlessly cruel, but considering how valuable some of these jewels could be, the brutes’ motivations made sense. She didn’t appreciate being used as leverage to make sure the twins did what was asked of them, either, but she’d been forced to give the twins encouragement to follow along. So all she could do was wait, and worry, and wish that she wasn’t so tired. She couldn’t tell what time it was, but she got the feeling it was early morning at this point. That’s when she heard hoofsteps just off to her side coming towards her. She glanced into the darkness and saw that there was nothing and nopony there, though it was hard to see anything anyway no matter how hard she tried. The thugs kept all the lanterns with them—except the unicorns, who used their horns for lights—so it couldn’t have been one of them fumbling around in the dark. No, Rarity was sure she’d merely misheard something, perhaps a rock falling or a thunderclap outside the cavern. Then, a voice spoke practically next to her ear: “Rarity.” She jumped back and hit the wall of her cage, not hard enough to jostle it—it was pretty heavy—but enough that it had made a sound. Luckily, nopony had heard it except for Rarity. And, of course, the source of the voice. “Are you hurt?” it asked. Rarity raised an eyebrow and carefully lit her horn as dimly as she could. It was enough that she could just barely make out Weaver’s goggles over his eyes. “W-Weaver? What in the world—” She shook her head. There was no time for questions. “No, dear, I’m not hurt.” “Good.” She saw his tilt his head slightly left then right. “Where are the twins?” Rarity gestured off towards the far end of the cavern. “These brutes are forcing the poor dears to dig for jewels. They’re somewhere over there, but I’m not sure where, exactly.” Weaver looked towards where Rarity was pointing, nodded, then turned back to her. “I will retrieve the twins and the keys to your cage after eliminating these threats.” He started off towards the sound of the pickaxes. “Wait!” Rarity blurted. Weaver paused and turned his head. “Yes?” “I want to make sure that we’re clear on this, darling: don’t… don’t kill anypony. Do you understand? I’d rather the twins don’t have to experience such a thing.” Weaver nodded. “I will ensure the threats are dealt with nonlethally.” “Thank you, dear.” Weaver then headed off towards the sounds, disappearing into the darkness as if he were never there. A moment or two passed. Rarity saw one of the lanterns in the distance go out. “Stupid lantern,” came the grunt of the pegasus thug. “I thought we’d had enough oil—” Then there was a sharp crack, so loud that Rarity could even hear it from here, followed by a pained scream. Rarity grimaced. She couldn’t see what had just happened even if she tried, but it certainly sounded like Weaver wasn’t messing around. “Help!” screamed the pegasus. “Help! There’s something— ahhh! Get away! Get away from— ahhhh!” The other lights in the back of the cavern started moving towards the source of the noise, save for one. Based on the two approaching lights being steady and bright, Rarity knew it was the two unicorns coming, not the earth pony. The lights reached their downed companion, and Rarity heard talking coming from the pair of silhouettes that she could just barely see. She could just make out a silhouette of the pegasus as well, lying unconscious on the ground. “What the hell?” said Glass. Rarity could see his horn light moving about as he looked around. “What did this to him?” “I dunno, but I don’t like it,” said Scar. “Who’s out there?! Show yourself!” “Come on out, coward!” called Glass. “You think you can just walk in here and—” Rarity noticed a third silhouette creep up just behind them without making a sound. The two unicorns seemed to notice they weren’t alone, turned, then shouted in surprise and leapt back far enough that Rarity could see their lights separate a fair distance apart such that they no longer overlapping, thus making their lights weaker. “Holy shit!” shouted Glass, clearly in a panic. “What the hell was that?!” “I don’t know!” shouted back Scar, his light shifting to and fro as he searched about. “Did you see its face? Red eyes! Red! Like those things out in the Blood Mire.” “I told you this place was haunted,” Glass said, his voice full of fear and dread. “I told the boss it was haunted, but he didn’t believe me. Why didn’t he believe me?” “I said it was cursed!” said Scar, just as afraid. “Cursed, I tell ya—” There was another sharp crack, and one of the unicorn’s lights went out. Rarity wasn’t sure which of them it was at first, until: “Oh sh-shit!” sputtered Glass. “G-g-ghost! Help! Boss! Boss, there’s a ghost—” Rarity saw his light turn and run back towards the only remaining lantern at the back of the cave. Then, there was another sharp crack, and the unicorn’s light went out, and the cave was silent again except for the distant sound of pickaxes. Rarity herself had never seen Shadowstep in action back in the day, only heard the stories about what he was capable of from Tick Tock and Flathoof. She understood now why the two of them still had nightmares about him to this day. A pony with that sort of ability and with that sort of psychopathic personality would inspire terror in anypony. Rarity was just glad Weaver was on her side. She gazed out into the darkness for a long moment, staring at the flickering lantern light off in the back of the cavern all by itself beyond a short bend in the path. The twins’ pickaxes then stopped digging away at rock, and the cave went eerily quiet for the first time in hours. Another long, long moment passed. Rarity wasn’t sure what to make of it all, and hoped the quiet was a good thing. She saw some odd shifts in the lantern light, but whatever was happening over there was too far away to see or hear. This was followed by another long moment. Then there came the sound of hoofsteps. Several sets, actually. Rarity lit her horn so that she could see, and did so just in time that she could see the earth pony boss’s face slam against one of the bars of her cage, hard. She leapt back in surprise. The earth pony was bleeding from his nose and lip and had a nasty black eye. Weaver’s hoof was pressed against the back of his head. “Go on,” he said. Rarity could hear the anger in his voice, and was even a little frightened by it. She noticed that Weaver had pulled his goggles up so that she could see his eyes again, which were alight with fire and determination she hadn’t seen before. Rarity tilted her head slightly and saw the twins a few feet behind Weaver. Their saddlebags were filled to the brim with jewels, and they both wore cute little smiles on their faces, apparently oblivious to what was going on in front of them. The earth pony gulped, then gave Rarity a big, bright smile; she noticed he was missing more teeth now than before, including one of the gold replacements. “Terribly sorry, miss, we were just having a bit of fun—” Weaver pressed his hoof harder against the pony’s head. The pony hissed in pain. “Right! Right, we weren’t having fun, we’re just… we’re sorry, and it will never happen again, and we’re going to turn our lives around. I swear it.” Weaver released the pony’s head gently, then wordlessly gestured towards the cage’s lock. “Oh, right, sorry about that, let me just—” The earth pony fumbled in his pocket for the cage’s key, unlocked it, and opened the door. He even gave a polite little bow as he gestured for Rarity to leave. “Sorry again, m’lady.” Rarity just eyed the pony with disdain, then stepped out of the cage, head held high, nose in the air. “Yes, well, it certainly wasn’t five-star service.” She gave a look to Weaver, nodding appreciatively, then turned to the twins. “Girls, are you alright?” The twins nodded as one. “Sure are, Miss Rarity!” Pumice said. “Lookit all the gems we’ve got!” Scoria added, gesturing to her saddlebags. “Wait until Mum gets a look at this!” Rarity chuckled quietly, amazed that the twins were so full of pep after working through most of the night and not getting much sleep. “I’m sure she’ll just love it, dears. Is that all for you?” “Uh huh!” Pumice said. She pointed at the boss pony. “He gave them to us.” Rarity nodded in understanding. “I see. Is that all of the gems that you and your companions had, sir?” The boss nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am, that’s the lot of them.” Rarity paused in thought, then gestured to the twins. “Girls, why don’t you leave some of those jewels here. Those saddlebags look awfully heavy.” Scoria tilted her head. “But these are our gems, Miss Rarity. We dug them up ourselves.” “That might be so, dear, but these poor gentlecolts seem like they’re dreadfully out of sorts. Perhaps we can show a little generosity, hmm? After all, they were kind enough to give us a place to stay out of the storm outside.” Pumice nodded. “Okay, Miss Rarity!” She used her magic to hoist out about a half dozen of the larger gems on top, which Rarity could see were each rather high-quality and unblemished, and placed them by the boss pony. “Here you go, Mister.” Scoria followed suit with some of hers as well. “Thanks for letting us stay in your cave. It was smelly but at least it was warm.” The boss pony looked down at the sparkling gems in wonder, then looked at Rarity, confusion all over his face. “Ma’am?” Rarity knelt down close to him and gave him a polite smile. “You’ve done a very bad thing here today, my good fellow, but I can tell you and your companions are desperate. Maybe greedy, too, but certainly desperate. If you’ve promised to turn your life around, consider this a chance for a fresh start, hmm?” The boss, clearly humbled, hung his head and nodded. “You are too kind, m’lady. Thank you.” “A little generosity goes a long way. Just be sure to pay it forward.” Rarity then rose back up and turned to Weaver. “Is it safe to travel outside, darling? I haven’t the foggiest idea what time it is.” Weaver nodded. “The storms cleared out just before I arrived. This was the last cave I checked before I had planned on returning to Goldridge.” Rarity smirked. “Ah, well that was lucky. Goodness knows we needed a little bit of that. Come along then, let’s not dilly-dally any longer than we need to. I am in desperate need of something to eat, a nice, warm bed, and maybe a bath, and I’m sure the twins do, too.” “Aww, we’re not tired—” Pumice started to say until she let out a huge yawn. Scoria opened her mouth to try and finish Pumice’s sentence, but all she managed was a yawn of her own. Rarity rolled her eyes. “Mmhmm, of course you’re not, dears.” Weaver knelt down between the twins. “You can ride on me if you want.” Pumice and Scoria didn’t even argue, just took off their saddlebags and hopped onto Weaver’s back without a word. Rarity took their saddlebags in her magic and put them over her own back to carry, surprised at the weight despite how many jewels they’d taken out. By the time she was done getting the bags comfortably on herself, the twins had fallen asleep. “My, that was fast,” she muttered. She gave a brief smile to Weaver. “Thank you, darling. Let’s get them home, shall we?” Weaver nodded. “Yes.” And with that, they left the cavern without looking back. ***** Sundial flew as high as she could to get a good look at every inch of the mountain pass late that morning, an hour or so after breakfast. The clouds and fog weren’t as bad after last night’s storm passed through, so she had plenty of breathing room to get to a good vantage point. It felt good to fly freely again, even if she was stressed beyond reproach as to why she needed to be flying so fast and high. But after nearly an hour of scouring Goldridge Pass, she’d yet to find anything of note. Until, at last, she spotted movement just off to the north along one of the narrow trails. It was just the barest hint of motion, hardly enough to notice unless somepony was watching every speck of the mountainside like a hawk. She soared as fast as her wings could take her towards the curious speck. As it grew larger and clearer, she increased her pace until she was flying so fast she thought she’d burst. She came to a screeching stop in the snow on the trail just a few dozen feet from Weaver, who carried the twins on his back as well as a set of heavy, gem-filled saddlebags, and Rarity, who carried another, similar set of saddlebags. “Oh my! Sundial!” Rarity blurted, putting a hoof to her heart. “You scared me half to death, darling. You really should give some warning before you land like that.” Sundial wasted little time in approaching the group, a relieved, ecstatic smile on her face. “Bloody hell, do ye have any idea how worried we’ve all been about you lot? What happened? Are ye okay? Nopony’s hurt, are they?” Rarity smiled weakly, as she was clearly and thoroughly exhausted. “We’re all just fine, dear, thank you. The twins are asleep, though, so do keep it down, would you?” Sundial turned to see the twins were indeed sleeping quietly as they lay draped over Weaver’s back. “Well, would ye look at that,” she murmured quietly. She turned back to Rarity, curious. “So, what the hell happened?” “Can we share this story back at Goldridge, please? I’m awfully tired and in desperate need of something to eat, and if I don’t get off of these hooves of mine soon I might just collapse.” “Fine, fine, but at least tell me something, aye? How’d ye get away from those ponies what abducted ye? Ambrosia made it sound like they were a fierce bunch.” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Well, if you must know right this instant, Weaver here found us earlier this morning and gave those ruffians a little lesson in how to treat their guests, hmm?” She gave Weaver a little grin and gently patted his shoulder. “He rescued us.” Sundial turned to Weaver, and gave him a wide, proud smile. “Thank you, lad. Ye’ve got no idea how happy everypony will be when they find out—” Weaver shook his head. “I did not do this to prove myself useful or to make anypony happy. I did it because Rarity and the twins are my friends, and I wanted to help them when they were in need.” “Aye, lad, but everpony will be thankful all the same. Ye’ve done good.” She clapped him on the shoulder lightly. “Ye’ve done really, really good. I’m proud o’ you. Flurry will be proud o’ you, too. And you should be proud o’ yerself, aye?” “Ahem?” Rarity said, clearing her throat. “Sorry to rush things along, but we need to get moving, don’t we?” “Och, right, come along then. Here, let me take those,” she added, gesturing for Rarity’s saddlebags. Sundial led the group the rest of the way to Goldridge after a few more hours of travel. In the meantime, en route, they were joined by other members of the search party that hadn’t been quite as far north as Sundial had been: Bluebolt, Symphony, and Apple Bloom. “They’re all okay!” Bluebolt called as she swooped down to greet the group. “You have no idea how worried we’ve all been!” “I can imagine quite a bit, dear,” Rarity said, giving Bluebolt a weak smile. “I’m no stranger to worrying about friends in danger, hmm? “Did you fight off all of those asinos yourself, Rarity?” Symphony asked, bright-eyed with curiosity. Rarity shook her head. “Actually, Weaver did all of the heavy lifting in that regard.” “Oh yeah?” Symphony gave Weaver a proud grin. “Nice work there, Weaver. Sono fiero di te—I’m proud of you.” Weaver tilted his head. “Thank you, Symphony.” Bloom hugged Rarity tight. “Thank goodness nothin’ happened ta ya, Rarity. I’d’ve never forgiven mahself if y’all got hurt or somethin’.” “I’m quite alright, dear,” Rarity said as she returned the hug. “Weaver tells me you girls tried to come looking for us last night?” “Yeah, but we got cut off by the storm,” Bloom grunted. “Lucky fer us, Weaver was able ta get through it!” She turned to Weaver, looking a little curious. “How’d y’all track 'em through the storm 'n' stuff, anyhow?” Weaver shrugged slightly. “I have learned how to use my abilities to track ponies in many conditions. I merely needed to seek out the caverns and investigate them briefly. We would have done the same had there been no storm.” “Huh? I figured ya had some kind o’ fancy doohickey in them goggles o’ yers or somethin’.” Rarity nodded. “Well, I’m certain he does, darling. He seemed more than capable of seeing in the dark of that dreadful little cave.” Weaver shook his head. “Incorrect. I can see clearly in the dark without the goggles via my abilities. It is not too dissimilar from mundane night-vision.” “Wow, neat!” Bluebolt said with a grin. “I didn’t know you could see in the dark.” “That explains a lot, actually,” Symphony said thoughtfully. “Cool.” Sundial looked amongst the group with a beaming smile. “Just listen ta you lot gushing all over him. Wasn’t much more than two months ago all o’ ye were giving me stink eyes for bringing him along, aye?” “Told you she was never gonna let us live it down,” Bluebolt muttered. As the little group made their way closer to Goldridge, the twins woke up from their little nap and were able to walk on their own just as they were making their way directly into the settlement. From the top of the slope leading down, it was clear that there was quite a commotion, as Pewter was organizing a larger search party. Sundial fluttered down towards him. “Oy! Pewter! No need for that any more, aye?” She pointed off towards the slope where the others were descending. “We found them!” Pewter looked to Sundial, wide-eyed. “You did?” His eyes followed Sundial’s hoof, and he broke out into a big smile as he saw the others approaching. “You did! Thank Harmonia. I’m going to go get Tick Tock.” He bolted off for the checkpoint building faster than Sundial had ever seen him move. By the time the group reached the bottom of the slope, Tick Tock burst out of the checkpoint building in a flash. Her eyes were red from crying and lack of sleep. “Where are they?!” she shouted. Sundial pointed off in the group’s direction. Tick Tock was upon the group like a tiger, scooping up her daughters into a ferocious hug. “Girls! You’re okay! You’re okay!” “Oy, Mum!” Pumice cried as she squirmed in Tick Tock’s grip. “You’re hugging too tight!” “Let go, Mum, you’re embarrassing us!” Scoria groaned as she tried to dislodge herself. Tick Tock didn’t relent, and if anything simply hugged them tighter. “I’ve been so worried. So, so worried. I thought I’d lost you…” She sniffed loudly, tears running down her face. “I was so scared…” “We’re okay Mum, honest!” Scoria grumbled. “Can you let us go now, please?” Pumice huffed, still not able to get away. “Nothing happened! We’re sorry if you were worried, Mum, we are!” Tick Tock looked to Rarity, a small smile coming to her face. “Rarity, you’re okay too, thank Harmonia…” Rarity returned the smile. “I am, darling. I’m terribly sorry for all the fuss. I did what I could to make sure the girls were safe, and as you can see we’re all doing just fine.” “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Tick Tock shook her head, a relieved smile coming to her face. “What happened? How did you get away?” Rarity cleared her throat and gestured towards the twins. “Your girls have the full story if you want to ask them. They’ve been simply dying to tell you all about their little adventure in the mountains.” Tick Tock raised an eyebrow, then loosened her grip on the twins to give them a stern look. “Okay, girls, tell me everything that happened.” Pumice beamed. “Well, we were going through the pass yesterday with Miss Rarity—” “—and Ambrosia,” Scoria added with a smile. “Because we asked you if we could go digging, remember?” “And we were digging and we found all sorts of gems, Mum, just like we wanted to.” “But then these big stallions showed up, and they were really mean—” Pumice wrinkled her nose. “—and smelly—” “—and ugly, and Miss Rarity was all tough and brave—” “—and then Ambrosia flew off to go tell you about what was happening!” Scoria shook her head. “We were scared at first, Mum, but Miss Rarity told us that everything would be okay as long as we kept calm and did whatever she told us, so we weren’t scared anymore.” Pumice nodded. “Yup! And then the mean ponies took us to a cave we haven’t been to before—” “—and there were all sorts of gems about, Mum!” Scoria added, eyes wide with wonder. “All over the walls! Big ones and small ones and some we’ve never seen before!” “And then the mean ponies told us to dig—” “—and they said that if we didn’t dig, they’d hurt Miss Rarity!” Scoria turned to Rarity and smiled. “And we like Miss Rarity, so we didn’t want them to hurt her. She told us it would be okay, though.” “So then we started digging, just like they asked!” “We found a lot of gems, Mum!” “And we were working all night, too, way past our bedtime.” “But then Mister Weaver showed up, and he and the mean boss pony wrestled—” “And then they went and had a little talk,” Pumice said, tapping her chin. “They talked over breakfast I think, but the boss pony was a messy eater because he had ketchup all over his face.” Scoria nodded excitedly. “And then the boss pony told us that we won the game!” Tick Tock finally managed to get a word in edgewise. “The… game?” The twins nodded as one. “Yup!” “He said that we were all just playing a fun game,” Pumice said with a bright smile. “A game of digging!” “And that because of how good of a job we did, we won!” Scoria added with an equally bright smile. Pumice pointed at the saddlebags filled with jewels that Sundial was carrying. “And then he gave us our prize! All the gems we dug up—” “—plus a bonus because we were so good at the game!” “And then we all got to leave!” “But we gave him some of our prize before we left, because Miss Rarity asked us to.” “She said it would be nice, and I felt good after doing it, so I guess she was right!” Tick Tock blinked, then stared at Rarity, looking totally and absolutely lost. “Should I ask?” Rarity cleared her throat and gave Tick Tock an innocent little smile. “Ask what, dear? The girls did a simply fantastic job at the little digging adventure game we were all playing. You should be very proud of them.” Tick Tock looked between her daughters, clearly baffled by the whole thing, then pulled them in for a hug. “Of course I am. I’m so proud of my little winners.” The twins giggled. “Thanks, Mum!” they said together. Tick Tock rose up and turned to Pewter. “Pewter, honey, can you take the girls for a little bit. I’m sure they’re hungry after their little adventure.” Pewter nodded. “Of course, hon.” He beamed down at the twins. “C’mon, girls, let’s go get some breakfast, hmm? You sound like you’ve had quite a day!” “Okay, Daddy!” the twins chirped. The twins bounded over to Pewter and followed behind him as they headed inside the checkpoint building. Tick Tock immediately turned to Weaver, who was still in his uniform, though he’d long since pulled down the hood and goggles. But Sundial knew she wasn’t afraid of him this time. Not because she didn’t look like she was, or because she said she wasn’t, or because anypony—or changeling, rather—was telling them that was the case. Sundial knew because Tick Tock had just stepped up to Weaver and wrapped him up in a big hug. “Thank you,” she breathed, tears welling in her eyes. “Thank you so much…” Weaver was given clear pause, and seemed unsure of what to do. But, after a moment, he returned the hug, albeit slowly. “You are… welcome,” he said. “You really are different from him,” Tick Tock said as she pulled back from the hug and fiddled with his goggles. “I’ve spent the past twenty-one years afraid of a shadow. I let that fear get to me when I met you, and I’m sorry. You’re more than just a shadow. You’re a good pony.” Weaver blinked, clearly unsure of what to say, and looked to Sundial for guidance. She just gave him a wide, proud smile and a nod. “Thank you. I’m glad to have—” He then froze up and stared off towards the mountain pass, his eyes focused on something. Tick Tock tilted her head. “Hmm? Is everything alright? Was it something I said?” Sundial raised an eyebrow, unsure what he was doing. He looked unnaturally tense. “Weaver? You okay there lad?” Weaver then bolted away from the group without a word. “Bloody hell?!” Sundial blurted. “Weaver! Where are ye—” Her eyes widened when she saw what he was running towards. It looked like a pony, but Sundial was well aware that it was not. The pony-like thing was clad in red and black armor from head to tail. The way it moved was just slightly off and not quite natural, and if anything more mechanical. It had no mane or tail whatsoever. It noticed Weaver running right at it and, without hesitation or panic, it just drifted off the ground with a burst of propulsion from its hooves. Sundial clenched her teeth. “Shite!” Like Weaver, she bolted towards the armored pony like a rocket. The pony weaved just under her charge and shot off towards the mountain pass. Sundial swept in again to try and catch it, just barely grazing its hind legs this time. It was enough to jostle its thrusters, and it lost altitude and nearly crashed into a rocky outcropping. Weaver sprinted towards it as fast as he could to tackle it before it rocketed away again. Then, his eyes widened and he dove quickly to the side as it deployed a shoulder-mounted rifle and fired at him, just barely missing. “Bloody hell, don’t let it get away!” Sundial called out as she flew down towards the thing. The armored pony then kicked off its thrusters again and leapt over Sundial as she tried to tackle it. She didn’t graze it this time. It soared out over the group to try and take a different route away from the conflict. But a metal rod impaled it through the helmet and went straight through the other side. The armored pony crashed down to the ground in a heap, electrical sparks firing out of the gaping hole left behind. Symphony blew a puff of air up towards her horn, a smug grin on her face. “Azzeccato. You can thank me later.” Bloom recoiled at the sight of a pony with a gaping hole in its head. “Wh-what did ya just do, Symphony?!” “Relax, Bloom, it’s not a real pony,” Bluebolt snorted as she glared at the thing. “It’s an AMP Trooper: Armored Mechanical Pony. Basically, it’s a robot that the NPAF uses as soldiers. Cannon fodder, really. Lightly-armored, but well-armed.” Symphony approached the crashed robot and hoisted up another metal bar, then smashed the thing’s head in. Once, twice, three times. She then spat on it for good measure before impaling the rod in its back. “Buon viaggio,” Symphony snorted. “We use these things for training back home to keep us fresh in case we ever get attacked. That’s why you aim for the head, by the way: that’s where it keeps the central processor. Damage that and it’s basically junk.” Sundial came over and grunted as she examined the mechanical thing. It looked to be in decent condition, minus the damage that Symphony had done to it, and minus some clear wear-and-tear along its sides. “How in the bloody hell is there one o’ these things all the way out here at this time o’ year?” Weaver tilted his head as he looked it over. “It is a Scout-class AMP. It was lightly armed for self-defense only. A cheaper model, easy to deploy en-masse. The NPAF would likely send out hundreds in the hope that one makes it through the storms. This is just speculation, of course.” “Did you say ‘scout’?” Sundial asked, eyes wide. “Shite…” “There’s a good bet the NPAF knows we’re evacuating,” Symphony grunted, kicking the robot. “These things transmit data constantly, and the NPAF prides itself on its communication technology. Good thing we caught it before it got away, otherwise it might try to track us while we’re leaving.” Sundial turned to Tick Tock. “Mum, I think we might need ta leave sooner than we expected. The thunderblizzards are still raging up north, but we’ve only got a few days before the NPAF can start making a move, aye?” Tick Tock took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll let Pewter and Aculeata know. We’ll start making preparations to leave by lunchtime.” She shook her head and headed into the checkpoint building. “Bloody hell, I just can’t catch a break.” Rarity groaned and hung her head. “And I was this close to getting some sleep, too.” Sundial shook her head and eyed the broken robot, then grunted angrily and kicked it again just for good measure.