//------------------------------//
// One Trusty Yak 
// Story: The Immortal Dream 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

The first thing I did after meeting with Valey was seek out Nicov's company. The second thing I did was eat.

I had no idea how to carve and eat a whole raw melon, but Fort Starlight was equipped to feed and shelter an entire standing garrison, so fortunately I didn't need to. Nicov led me to an open-air courtyard in front of a bisected airship hull that had been turned into a cafe of sorts, with tables aplenty for ponies to eat at. I took a chair, and he eschewed one since they weren't really built for yaks, and for a while, I ate in silence, trying to figure out what to ask first.

"...So Nicov," I eventually said. "You're not, like, tied up in any weird politics here, are you? Any bozos competing for your loyalties? Or are you still independent on behalf of Icereach?"

Nicov chuckled. "Many try. None succeed. Nicov not have brain for pony politics. Science pony Halcyon get harassed by powerful ponies who want her help?"

"Yeah," I said with a sad shake of my head, "don't you know it. Nothing makes sense here. It feels like everyone's playing by their own rules, or there's some key context I'm missing that I can't understand anything without. Ironridge is big and wonderful, but I feel like I'm coasting through a gauntlet of close shaves on nothing but luck and grit." I gave him a wan grin. "Don't suppose you know any secrets that would completely explain everything that doesn't make sense in this city? Like, say, what all the power players are playing at?"

Nicov snorted. "Told pony, Nicov not have brain for these things. But might have heard something. Ask specific question."

I hesitated. "...Okay. You know what everyone has against Jamjars? I came here with a griffon called Gerardo, and he really didn't trust her. I'm pretty sure he's in cahoots with Valey, and she doesn't trust her either. And there's probably others I've met whom I'm forgetting."

Nicov rumbled in thought. "Jamjars very old friend of group of important ponies from Steel Revolution. Valey was leader. Elise also involved. Friendship end poorly for some reason. Something that happen just before Valey return to Ironridge. Then something else happen. Been at loggerheads ever since." He rubbed his shaggy chin. "Might have actually been three somethings. Not two."

"Three somethings," I said. "So they've got a long history of being at each other's throats, then. It's not just an isolated incident?"

Nicov nodded. "Yak think so. First incident involve pony Starlight, who this fort named after. Nicov think it involve reason why she not come back to Ironridge with Valey after long travels. But only Valey know for sure. Other incidents probably have to do with Cold Karma. But also mystery."

I nodded slowly. "So the Steel Revolution was, like, twenty years ago, right? And you say Valey was the leader of this important group then. How old is she? Because she looks pretty young. Jamjars I know was a filly back then, and even she's way older than Valey looks now."

Nicov shrugged. "Nobody know. Valey flirt with anyone who ask. Nicov think that mean Valey not know herself."

"Yeah..." I stretched uncertainly. "It's just that the last time I met someone who was clearly involved with events around that time but looked way too young to have been important back then, it was probably because they were... you know..."

I didn't want to say a changeling.

Nicov seemed to understand. "Maybe Valey changeling. Maybe Halcyon changeling. Maybe Nicov changeling. Important? No. Important thing is what ponies trying to do."

"What is Valey trying to do?" I pressed. "I mean, keeping a military garrison in a presumably-secret fort like this doesn't exactly scream normal, you know?"

"Valey not like Cold Karma," Nicov explained. "After Steel Revolution, Valey leave Ironridge. When Valey return, try to take over city with friends. Have trouble because before revolution, friends do some questionable things in Ironridge. Valey most questionable of all. Halcyon heard of pony called Shinespark?"

"Several times," I said, recalling the statue in Dead Herman and Leif's - well, Senescey, now - her advice on getting a suit that could protect me in the Flame District.

Nicov rumbled. "Shinespark like Ironridge princess. Before Steel Revolution, Ironridge have big change. Shinespark belong to family that get forced out of power. Shinespark promise to make Ironridge way it used to be. Many ponies not like new Ironridge, and so like Shinespark. Then war happen between old and new. Shinespark leave with Valey after war, then come home and help rebuild. Once Ironridge rebuilt? Ponies blame Shinespark and Shinespark family for war. Cold Karma take over instead. Valey think Cold Karma lie about Shinespark to get power. So build fortress with friends and friends of friends to keep Cold Karma from owning whole city."

I winced, listening. Getting blamed for a war after helping to rebuild from it? Or having that happen to one of your friends? I... didn't know what I would do if that happened to me. An older, more experienced, more self-confident me might just react exactly like Valey had. But I really didn't want to imagine a scenario in which I would have to find out.

"You think Jamjars had anything to do with Cold Karma coming to power?" I asked, trying to stay focused. "Did those happen around the same time? I know she's really influential with them and I've never been able to figure out why."

Nicov shrugged. "Jamjars was little filly when travel with Valey. Still young when Cold Karma appear. Younger than Halcyon. Nicov doubt she help found company unless she secret genius. But Valey definitely not like Jamjars take Cold Karma side."

"So do you know what Cold Karma actually does?" I pressed. "I know they provide air conditioning to the city, and since everywhere would basically be uninhabitable without it, the can act like they own the place. But I've met a lot of their leaders, and they don't act like an air conditioning company. Everyone there seems to be doing their own thing."

"Nicov know little about what Cold Karma do," Nicov apologized. "Maybe Cold Karma do nothing. Maybe Cold Karma do whatever want. Ponies here not care what Cold Karma do. Just want nothing to do with Cold Karma."

He pointed around, and I took in all the ponies going about their business in the plaza... several of whom were giving me curious glances. I shuffled in my seat.

"Is that really all you do here?" I asked. "Just... chill out beyond Cold Karma's sphere of influence?"

Nicov chuckled. "No. Valey keep ponies very busy. Most ponies here mercenaries before follow Valey. Know how to do sneaky work. Valey like to know things that happen in city."

"Mercenaries, eh?" I took another look. Well, a lot of the ponies did appear armed, and most of them had well-toned physiques, completely ignoring the training dummies several were whacking on the other side of the compound. "You know, these soldiers... How strong do you think they are? I haven't actually gotten to spar with anyone since coming to Ironridge."

"Strong," Nicov said. "Very strong. Fought in real fights, in Varsidel. But not invincible. Story say Valey become leader by beating every mercenary at once, all by self with no weapon."

I squinted at the army of buff, heavily-armed ponies. There were how many in this plaza alone, a dozen and a half? Two dozen? Plus however many were sleeping, or working, or anywhere I couldn't see them... "I don't buy it," I told him.

Nicov chuckled. "Yaks embellish war stories all time. Ponies probably same. Still, Valey impressive enough to become leader for reason. Act silly, but very strong. Nicov try fighting her once and could not land single hit for entire hour. Then Valey threw match so could get lunch. Not count as real win."

"Yeah, but if she couldn't finish you off in an hour either..."

"Valey not try." Nicov shrugged. "Pretend to read book while fighting. Said want to finish before would attack. How dodge Nicov attacks with face in book, Nicov will never know."

Now I turned my squint on him. "You're embellishing your loss too, aren't you?"

"...Maybe was not quite hour," Nicov admitted. "But close. And Valey really did read book."

I just shook my head. "Anyway, though, she's trustworthy? You're here with her because you think this is the right place to be?"

"Maybe not trustworthy," Nicov admitted. "But good. Nicov think Valey care for minion ponies. Maybe even care too much."

"How so?" I flicked my ears.

Nicov rumbled. "Yak can tell when pony push self hard. Not take breaks. Take fight personal. Good fight is fight where can laugh after. Not how Valey fight."

I thought about that for a minute, and decided to change the subject. "So, you mentioned Shinespark. Any idea where I could find her?"

"Is mystery," Nicov muttered. "Valey know for sure. Braen know too. Probably not many other."

I tilted my head. "Who's Braen?"

"Pony who bring you here," Nicov explained. "Shinespark daughter."

My eyes widened. I glanced around to see if I could find the petite, heavily-cloaked mare, but the plaza was busy and she was nowhere to be seen.

"Very important pony," Nicov told me. "Not supposed to leave fort. Sometimes does anyway. Gives ponies no end of trouble."

"Huh." I looked back to Nicov. "Anyway, this fort is where you live now, right? Like, your permanent residence?"

Nicov nodded. "Fort Starlight hospitable to yaks. Ironridge not like yaks much after Steel Revolution."

That got my attention. "Wait, for real? It's not just batponies they sometimes treat... you know..."

Nicov shrugged. "Is understandable. Yak Ambassador Herman orchestrate Steel Revolution war. Trick sides of Ironridge into fighting. Very evil yak. Church leader personally excommunicate after Herman die in fighting. But to Ironridge, yak is yak. Not see many noble yaks to set different example."

Suddenly, the name of Dead Herman made a lot more sense. "The Sky District town to the east..." I started.

"Dead Herman built on Herman grave, in spot where Herman slain," Nicov told me. "Settlers originally ponies who fought in revolution. Enemies of Herman. Maybe bad taste, but there much worse ways of reveling in victory."

"So this place is cool with you?" I nodded around at the fort, suddenly a lot more appreciative of it.

"Valey at center of revolution," Nicov explained. "Know how everything happen. Friend to yaks. Also from Icereach!" He thumped his chest. "So double friend!"

"Any chance she's a friend to batponies, too?" I asked, tentatively willing to ignore her bizarre greeting if it meant being able to trust someone influential. "In a non-weird way?"

Nicov chuckled. "Valey is batpony. What Halcyon think?"

I relaxed a little, finishing my meal. "Well... she told me she and Kitty have a really uneasy truce, so she'd probably appreciate it if I got Kitty back home. But I'll be able to come back here and visit, right?"

Nicov nodded. "Once Halcyon know way in. Which is same way as way out! Ready for leave now?"

"Yeah." I stood up, realizing I had no idea what to do with my melon and probably wouldn't be able to carry it and a slumbering Kitty at the same time. "Say, er, do you want this?"

"Nicov put melon to good use," Nicov promised, accepting the giant edible.

"Awesome," I said. "Then let's go get Kitty."





Moments later, well-rested and substantially more at ease, I had Kitty on my back and was marching for an intact ship hull Nicov insisted contained the way out. The yaks of Icereach always helped me relax, with their simplicity and straightforwardness and immense might and jolly cheer, but here, after spending so long in a city where nothing was truly trustworthy and nothing made sense, I felt it double. I had an unbreakable ally in Nicov, and more importantly, he could vouch for others I could then trust too.

This place, I resolved, I would come back to. Not least because Valey probably knew a whole lot of things that might make Ironridge make more sense.

We entered the ship, and for a moment I couldn't quite understand what I was seeing. A metal contraption hung from the ceiling, a huge cloud of twisted rails that wove together like an avant-garde sculpture, connected to a bank of machines on racks and those to a tiered dais with a metal cone suspended from a steel arm above it, pointing at the center and looking like a laser cannon or massive drill. Several other ponies were here, but it was the machine that tugged at my mind, my memories... and I realized with a cold chill where I had seen this - or, at least, the cone and the pedestal - before.

There had been one of these hidden away in the lower half of the hideout in Icereach, where I had been stranded by Aldebaran.

I almost asked what it was, and then I remembered Valey had already told me.

"That's a teleporter," I said, weakly pointing a hoof. "Isn't it?"

Nicov beamed. "Halcyon smart!"

Hastily, things started rearranging themselves in my brain. The teleporter in the hideout... I had looted a pattern card from a terminal connected to it. At some point, I tried to analyze the contents of the pattern card, and discovered it contained a set of spatial coordinates in a proprietary format I could recognize but not read. That card probably controlled the teleporter's destination!

Furthermore, a mystery that had confounded me and I never found any answers to was why the lock on the door to that room in the hideout was backwards. Now, it made perfect sense: another teleporter somewhere else was probably attuned to that one's location. That was actually an entrance.

And the pattern card I still had, if inserted in a teleporter like this, could probably take me right to that entrance's other side. Still sitting there in my bag was a one-way ticket to the hideout's owner.

...Who was probably the Composer. And also a windigo. Not something I should pursue unless I was very, very ready.

I took another look at the teleporter and took a deep breath, steeling my resolve. This wasn't something I needed to worry about right now. I wouldn't attempt a stunt like that until much late-

And then it hit me: I was so distracted by the teleporter half of the machine that I had completely forgotten about the other half. The cloud of rails. Because I had seen that before too: it was part of the Aldebaran's engine. The technology that somehow harnessed windigo power to keep the ship in the air.

"Alright," I said warily, "How's this thing work? It looks pretty sinister."

"You waited until your way out to ask that?" one of the attendants asked, looking at me sideways. "Everyone's bothered by it at first. At least, everyone who isn't a teleporting unicorn. But..."

Another attendant looked warily at me. "Isn't that a public enemy on your back?"

"This pony Halcyon," Nicov explained, introducing me. "Friend of Nicov and Valey. Not come to fort with teleporter. Need now to escort enemy home."

The attendants relaxed a little, all five of them. I wondered why a teleporter needed so many ponies constantly guarding it. Maybe it was just that valuable?

"Well, good enough for me," the first one said. "Still, she's probably not really sleeping, and I'd rather not give away trade secrets while she's around..." He glanced nervously at Kitty.

"Oh, for..." I clenched my teeth. "There's gotta be a reason you don't like her other than just that she and her mom are involved with Cold Karma."

Another attendant shrugged. "It's a good enough reason for me and everyone else. That 'company' is an autocracy with no interest in governing. They treat ponies like science experiments, philosophy experiments or tools, depending which division you're looking at. And her family helps prop them up."

I sighed. This wasn't a fight I wanted to get into, particularly when it was getting in the way of understanding what the ponies of Fort Starlight were doing with windigo technology. "Hey, Nicov, could you take her outside?" I asked, offering him Kitty. "I really wanna hear about this teleporter before I use it."

Nicov grunted, hoisting the slumbering mare with little effort and stomping out of the room.

The attendants relaxed further. "He did just vouch for you, right?" one asked. "To be absolutely sure?"

"I heard it," another said.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm not really looking for a side in a war, but so far Cold Karma's been pretty indecent to me and right now I'd rather choose you guys if push came to shove, but it would help if you weren't super suspicious just because I'm apparently fraternizing with the enemy." Hopefully they wouldn't find out who was providing me with room and board...

"Fraternizing with the enemy?" a new voice said, and suddenly Valey fell out of the ceiling. Everyone jumped, the attendants included.

She flipped in midair, landed on her hooves and straightened her beret. "Please, Socks. It's called spying." She glanced over her shoulder at the attendants and nodded. "And she's probably good. So, you on your way out?"

"How's your teleporter work?" I asked, not about to let her change the subject.

Valey shrugged. "The teleporter itself? Beats me. Exact same way a unicorn teleportation spell works, which if you know anything about mana tech you'd know normal mana tech can't do. The cool part is the thing that powers it." She pointed at the rails.

I flicked my ears, listening.

"See... this might sound creepy..." Valey explained. "That thing's called a harmony extractor. Living ponies have this thing we call harmony, that's like a catalyst that's part of what makes us alive. It's involved in all our magic. Not used up, just involved. You know what a catalyst is?"

"I am a scientist," I pointed out.

"Boss. Anyway, the fact that machines don't have this harmony is what accounts for pretty much every single discrepancy between what machines are capable of and what ponies are capable of," Valey went on. "Unicorn horns, wings, you name it. You know, these?" She flexed her wings. "I dare you to make a flying machine that actually works on account of things the size of these. They're magic. Point is, a harmony extractor, like... You hook a pony up to it, and it borrows their harmony. Then you can attach it to other machines, and let them do things that normally only ponies can do. Like teleporting. Cool, right?"

"Or airships?" I guessed. "Making them fly like a pegasus?"

"Bingo," Valey told me. "Now, exactly how we do it is a trade secret that we're trying not to let too many goons run off with, even though that might already be a lost cause, so sorry if I oversimplified a few things along the way there and didn't hand you a complete set of blueprints as a gesture of goodwill. Truth is, actually balancing the input so it doesn't either do nothing or explode is really hard, because machines take a lot more harmony than a single pony can provide and hooking up multiple ponies in series is unpredictable because weird magic stuff and synchronized emotions and blah blah blah. But we've got it working fine enough for teleporting, which only takes a single burst of power anyway! You stand on that pedestal, everyone else here hooks up to the machine, someone presses a button, and away you go."

I tried to reconcile this with what I had seen in Icereach and the hideout. The Aldebaran didn't appear to be pony-powered; it was hooked up to a mysterious box. And everything about it I had actually observed said it was windigo-powered, instead. And there hadn't been a visible power source for the teleporter in the hideout, although Ludwig had said he was there to provide power to the hideout as a whole, and he cut the lights on us so he was probably telling the truth...

Conclusion: that box on the Aldebaran contained a windigo, and hooking up windigo-related things to harmony extractors had very powerful results. I didn't tell Valey what I had realized.

"So, think that'll do?" Valey raised an eyebrow at me. "Satisfied with our spooky and mysterious tech now?"

"...Why are you trusting me?" I asked, conditioned by Ironridge to be suspicious of everything. "You're not trying to bait me into joining your side too, are you?"

Valey shrugged. "First off, you didn't try to devour my soul when I scared you back there. Just punched me out a little. And ninety percent of Ironridge wouldn't be that courteous, so I like you. Second, I know literally all of Cold Karma is courting you right now, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to make them back off outside of a very narrow treaty that only applies to dudes in this fort. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be on my side unless you've got a thirst for impossible odds and certain doom. But it would be pretty neat if you at least stayed neutral once they get you, and I didn't want you to only remember me as the boogeymare who was nice enough to let you step on my face."

"I'm not of a mind to get gotten," I told her flatly. "If I join up with anyone on Cold Karma, it'll be for my own goals and own purposes, and not theirs."

Valey gave me a look. "Which are?"

"...Mostly getting back at the branches of Cold Karma I like even less," I admitted. "But also getting things to make a little sense around here."

Valey grinned. "Well, if you're dumb enough to take on that entire behemoth at once, maybe I've got a place for you here after all! Maybe. But live your life a little, first. Make the most of your innocence while you have it. Bananas, I've known far too many who dedicated themselves to a cause far too early, myself included."

Now the attendants were looking at Valey sideways. "Boss, you know this mare from somewhere?" one asked. "It's not like you to be so..."

"Uh, yeah, she's my great-aunt's second-cousin's niece-in-law. Twice removed." Valey scratched her rump. "I think. Good family friend! Hopefully not prone to megalomania or having a god complex." She glanced at me. "You're not, right?"

I took a step back. "Megalomania? No way." The opposite, if anything.

"Nice." Valey poked her head out the door. "Hey, yak boy! Just about done in here. You wanna bring back the curmudgeon? I'm ready to get her out of my fort."

Nicov stomped back in, carrying a slightly-less-feigning-sleep Kitty who now had her eyes open. For a moment, Kitty and Valey locked eyes, and something so intense passed between them that I felt a brush of static move along my coat. Kitty made a kissy face. Valey made a complex wing gesture I had never seen before. Whatever was between these two, I was certain it was more personal than one working for a company the other didn't like.

A moment later, Kitty was on my back and I was on the dais, watching as the attendants all hooked themselves up to the machine. They did it using helmets, I noticed, but the helmets attached to their rumps instead of their heads. Bizarre... Also, all five of them had special talents. Odds were decent that was significant, since you didn't just stack five non-batponies in a room and expect them to all have one.

Before Valey could press the button to send us away, I took one last look around the room. Nicov was waving. The machinery seemed to crackle presciently. The console with the activation switch, where Valey was, had a slot on the top with a pattern card sticking out.

If I ever wanted to have an adventure, all I needed to do was come here and change out the keys.

Valey pressed the button.

Flaaaaaaash!





I felt as if I was getting yanked, one hoof at a time, through a spring-shaped hose. My eyes saw nothing, my ears heard nothing, my nose smelled nothing and my sense of touch was utterly overstimulated. And then, in an instant, it was over.

My sight returned, and I found myself standing on a similar dais in a room hewn from stone... Day District, probably. Right? Ansel's talk of Earth Districts and the fact that there was a Day District and a Night District when you went about both of them only at night was wearing away at my ability to keep them straight. The district with Eaststone Mall.

The room was small, and only housed the teleporter itself, the power source apparently stored somewhere else. Kitty lounged atop my back. There was one door, wooden and relatively modest. I opened it.

Beyond was a storeroom of sorts, dimly lit and filled with a few crates and sacks and a large number of barrels. One opened door showed a broom closet, and another, positioned such that it probably led to the teleporter's power room, was triple-padlocked and chained shut. A door on the far side of the room was slightly ajar. I headed for that one.

Past this was a narrow hallway with several doors. As I pondered which one to take, one of them opened and a batpony stepped out, giving me a look as he walked past. I checked behind him. It was a bathroom.

Following him through the door at the end of the hallway, I finally found myself in the establishment proper: it was a tavern. The barkeep was an older, heavyset batpony mare with sharp eyes and an expression of unfathomable, ancient weariness that could only belong to an elder god or a customer service representative.

Tables and stools filled the room, modestly populated to a degree that felt neither crowded nor barren. The walls were plastered in memorabilia and decals that looked native to foreign nations: flags bearing coats of arms, well-dusted paintings of landscapes, a few exotic weapons, and so on.

And set into an alcove in the wall, next to the bar counter, was yet another blast from the past: an alicorn statue, the exact same kind I had seen in the hideout. And on Coda's throne, though this one wasn't disfigured. The gemstone on its choker glowed with a dim ruby light.

"...You." The barkeep sized me up. "That patron on your back is on our blacklist. Leave her outside."

"No worries," I urged, "I'm escorting her from the premises. One sec."

Outside, the night greeted me, along with a very unwelcome heat I had almost gotten used to not having. "Alright," I told Kitty, "carry yourself from now on."

Kitty yaaaawned. "Halcyon owes Kitty one entire wallet of cake," she reminded me, sitting and rubbing her eyes with her tongue poking out. "Not more. Not less. One whole wallet of cake."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, wondering how much time I had to go back in and inquire about that statue. Morning was close, and I needed to buy cake or Kitty would have a fit... I probably had time. "Wait here a sec. I'll be right back."

On my way back in, I glanced at the tavern's sign. The Gates to the Underworld, it read. The place I had been told to visit if I ever needed an extra-legal get-out-of-jail-free card by, like, three different ponies.

What were the odds that 'help' was actually at Fort Starlight, and I had put off the sidequest for so long I wound up entering through the back door?

When I entered again, the barkeep gave me a nod and went back to polishing a mug. But now that I had a minute to look at the patrons, I quickly recognized one. And from the looks of things, he recognized me, too.

"Hey there, little bat!" Howe greeted, saluting me with a mug. "The Howenator sees you took his advice! How'd it go? And can he buy you a drink?"

"It's almost sunrise," I said, taking a seat across from him and figuring I had met this particular pony enough times without getting betrayed that it wouldn't hurt to talk for a bit. "Not gonna stay long enough for that."

He nodded. "I can schmoove to that. Long night?"

"Yeah, you can say that again," I sighed. "Listen, important question. Assuming I'm going to trust you with the answer: how trustworthy is Valey?"

Howe chuckled. "Makes a world of difference who you ask. And whether you're her friend or her enemy. And whether you want to be her friend or enemy. She keeps her promises, but she's picky about who she gives her loyalty to, see."

"What's her story?" I asked. "How do you know her?"

Howe swilled his drink and belched. "Not even the Howenator knows every step of that mare's history, little bat. First he met her, she was a ruffian working for the Yakyakistan ambassador to Ironridge. Nasty bloke called Herman. Everyone knew her as the terror of Ironridge. Then she ran off and founded a personality cult, see. Ol' Howe's an... urp... expert on cults. They're his favorite source of coin. So believe him when he says he's seen a lost cause or two in his time. You know how you get bands of folks with this us against the world mentality, and they get completely closed off and unable to appreciate the good things in life? That sort of thing. Hate to see it, as well as it might pay. Ridiculously tragic. You ever joined a cult?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You having an off day, buddy?"

"Naw." Howe burped again. "The Howenator is definitely having an on day right now. Point is, she changed her ways. Stopped running around with the same group all the time and... like... went back to being the terror of Ironridge. It's weird, little bat. See, she's got this philosophy, like... How did it go again? Something about getting dunked on..."

"Focus," I urged, wrinkling my nose at his breath. Was that coming from his drink? "Getting dunked on..."

"Ol' Howe's brain is too greased to remember, dudette," Howe apologized. "Just trust him that it all makes sense when someone explains it well. Anyhow, Valey's a friend. She's decent to any batponies who look like they need it. And she likes bananas."

"Noted," I sighed, feeling my time here wasn't being that well-spent. "Hey, different topic, but what's that statue in the corner?"

"Oh, that?" Howe looked over at the alicorn statue. "Thing's called a Dusk Statue. Relic from the Griffon Empire. Batponies used to use it to worship the Night Mother. Said you could talk to her through them. The Howenator's tried it and is pretty sure it's bunk, but maybe that's because he's not a batpony. Now, the Night Mother skedaddled long ago, but... urp... between you and me, some of the patrons claim that particular statue still works..."

That was as good an excuse as any to excuse myself. "Really? Cool, I'm gonna go check it out."

"Have a good one!" Howe called after me.

I walked up to the statue, inspecting it and noting that the barkeep was watching me. It was right next to the bar, after all...

This one looked exactly like the ones in the hideout, except I was pretty sure their choker gems had been emerald, and this one was ruby. I stared into its eyes, and got the same, familiar sensation that I wasn't quite alone. Whether this statue did anything or not, I could tell it had once been considered holy.

Hey, I told it in my mind, closing my eyes and bowing my head. Not sure if you work, or are listening, or can do anything if you are. You're a goddess who used to look out for batponies, right? Well, I'm up to my hooves in sticky situations and powerful folks who are interested in me, so if you could look out for me, too... I'd appreciate it. I dunno what happened in that war where you left, but I'm probably not the only one who would appreciate it if you came back.

"Praying?" the barkeep asked when I lifted my head.

I glanced at her. "Err, yeah. That alright?"

She snorted and shook her head. "It's false solace. The eastern gods are dead and gone."

"Then why's this statue here?" I asked, suspicious.

The barkeep shrugged. "Sometimes false solace is better than none at all."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"In the old days," the barkeep went on, "they could hear your thoughts. You didn't have to speak it out loud. It was private. These days, if you're desperate enough to go to a dead god for help, you might as well say it out loud. If anyone will do, let everyone hear."

I looked at the statue. "I'm not desperate, really," I said. "Just a little lost. Figured if the Night Mother was listening, I'd tell her I'd want her back."

The barkeep shrugged. "You're not the first. Surprising how many survivors of our dying race still pine for the shepherd who got them all killed. If you really think you'd be better off going through that again, keep praying. You probably won't change her mind, but who knows? Maybe she's still listening."

I studied the barkeep. She looked at least sixty. Probably a survivor from the eastern continent, or at least someone with very close ties to it before the war. The more I looked, the more I was reminded of Mother. I wondered what price she had suffered in that cataclysm.

"...What's your name, by the way?" I asked, turning to go.

"Barkeep," she said, polishing a mug. "Just call me Barkeep."

A fake name. Just like Leitmotif, and, I suspected, Mother. Looking at the statue again, I could almost feel the weight of the war's sorrows like a physical presence.

I was born out of that war. Mother sacrificed everything, including half of her body, to get me out of it and to safety. Everyone I met who remembered it, probably even including Aldebaran, was broken by the experience, and I was... not whole, but for different reasons. The war in the east clearly didn't rest as heavily on my shoulders as it did on ponies like these.

How many other batponies in Ironridge had been affected by it? Had Valey? How about non-batponies?

It didn't quite seem fair that I should escape unscathed when so many others didn't. I probably didn't have a lot of room on my plate for new oaths and promises, but I quietly made one anyway: if I ever got a chance to help right that imbalance, to undo some of the harm caused in that war that everyone else was shouldering, I would take it.

For the first real time, I felt a spark of loyalty toward the land of my birth. Maybe once I got an airship, I would go there and see what I could do.