//------------------------------//
// Nothing To It 
// Story: Innavedr 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	Eagle Eye sat, slumped against the dimly lit wooden boards that formed the foundation of the Steel Wing's brig.  As the zeppelin veered along its course, his violet hair swayed across his lavender head.

There was a shuffling sound, like a badly coordinated dancer stumbling through the darkness.  After a few seconds, a canteen rolled through the bars of the brig and rested against one of Eagle's splayed hooves.  He glanced unemotionally at it, then tilted his lethargic gaze to the figure beyond the bars.

"There, kid..."  Josho grunted, leaning against the bars.  "It took some shoving ponies around with my horseshoes up their nostrils, but I was able to get you some decent spring water."  He shrugged.  "And not, y'know, the crud they usually dog bowl prisoners in this place.  Figured you might wanna pour something down your throat that isn't whiskey, for a change.  Especially considering how much the latter tears about your insides something fierce."

Eagle Eye looked back down at the floor.  His shoulders slumped.

Josho grumbled.  "Look, will you just take the friggin' canteen?  All things considered, there really aren't a lot of ponies on board this ship who'll do you a favor.  The least you can do is remain hydrated."

At last, the lavender unicorn muttered, "It doesn't matter."

"Don't start leaking on me again, fruit salad," Josho uttered.  He glared through the bars as he said, "It's not half as sucky as you might think.  You're a potential witness here—and that means you can still be of use to Ledo.  There's no reason the enforcers have to lay a single hoof on you.  Why, if you play your cards right, you might even be able to return home."

"You mean if I somehow do all I can to betray my friends," Eagle droned.  "Like Zenith did."

Josho blinked.  "Like who?"

Eagle flashed him a frown.  "See?!  You don't even know who is who!  You don't even care!"

"I know that you got a chance for freedom so long as I can put in a good word for ya," Josho retorted.  "Face it, kid.  You were never much of a fighter to begin with.  What have you got to defend?  All your family is far away, down south, and—"

"Josho, all my family would rather have me dead.  The only ponies I ever cared about were scattered like leaves the very moment you and your precious enforcer buddies decided to dispense justice in the middle of Foxtaur."

Josho's nostrils flared.  "Look, kid.  You saved my neck quite a few times back there.  Heck, on board the train?  You could have spilled my oily, greasy guts, and yet you didn't.  Don't you see?"  He sighed and slumped against the bars.  "I'm trying to give you a second chance too."

"A second chance at what?  You call this grace?"  Eagle's eyes grew misty as he snarled a the walls of the brig.  "Somewhere... up north... Belle and Pilate are on the run.  Shell and Filta and every pony with something to prove to Ledo are chomping at the bit to nab them."  He looked up, a tear or two trickling down his bright cheeks.  "And when they do, Josho, they're going to shackle them, interrogate them, torture them, and kill them.  And th-there is nothing I can do about it..."

Josho was silent.

Choking on a sob, Eagle bowed his head and curled his manacled hooves to his face.  "If all I have to look forward to is knowing that for the rest of my life... then I-I think d-death is the best thing I can p-possibly look forward to..."

Josho opened his mouth, but lingered.  He lingered for too long, and in a weighty shuffle he lurched away from the brig, trotting his lonesome way up the steps and onto the main deck of the Steel Wing.  A brisk wind kicked at his graying mane as crew ponies dashed left and right, minding their various stations.

As Josho approached a cabin on the far end, he passed under the shadow of Captain Filta and a pair of officers looking over a map from an upper platform.

"Enforcer Josho..."  Filta said from above.  "Getting some of that rest I suggested?  Good.  We will need all the help we can get in tracking down these vile enemies of the state."

"Right..."  Josho grumbled without looking.  "Better hang 'em up by their kidneys."

"Hmmph..."  Filta's lips curved as he gazed at a map floating before him.  "The Council will decide, whatever the case."  The officers beside him chuckled.

Josho said nothing.  He opened his quarters and lurched inside.  The wooden framework of the zeppelin creaked and groaned all around him.  He marched past his bed and made for a cabinet.  Opening it, he produced a tall bottle with sloshing tan liquid.  He trotted over and sat on the edge of the bed.  His horn glowed as he fumbled and fumbled with the cork.

Then, suddenly, his horn lost its glow.  He blinked, and his hooves went slack.  The bottle fell to the floor, rattled, and rolled towards the far wall as the Steel Wing made a veering turn.

Josho's breaths came heavier and heavier.  He gnashed his teeth and ran a hoof over his face, hissing through tight lips.

"Friggin' bleeding heart, I swear..."

He pulled at his mane and groaned.

"Bleeding heart.  Nothing to it.  Nothing to it.  Nothing..."