//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16: A Night to Remember 
// Story: Fallout Equestria - The Code of Honor 
// by FireStorm2247 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 16: A Night to Remember



“My heart is full when you are by my side.”




“Nineteen… twenty… twenty-one… and twenty-two.” 

In front of me, Saharra was once again taking inventory within the lead wagon, looking over and nodding in turn to each instrument case stashed within the cargo hold. The twenty-second case was what I currently held by the handle in my jaws, a larger box containing a horn we had uncovered from the storage room, and at the concertmaster’s nod, I trotted up the open tailgate to deposit the instrument inside with the others. “Thanks, Nova.” she said, turning to me with a big smile. “Hey, would you do me a favor and tell Ludwig that the first wagon is almost full? Since the second wagon has our wounded inside, we still need to fit everything we can in this one, but I’m afraid that the piano and probably one or two of the other larger instruments will have to be stored in the second one. This wagon still needs space for personnel to move around in. So, would you please let him know for me?”

I nodded in reply. “Yeah, of course. I’ll go tell him.”  

“Thanks.” 

With that, Saharra turned her attention to stacking up the instruments around her, working at arranging them into neat rows like building blocks, whereupon she would begin using bungee cables to secure the load to the wagon wall. But as I turned away and stepped hoof back onto the concrete of the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre’s driveway, I couldn’t help but pause and look back to the wagon again, taking in the sight of the spoils of our journey. With all the destruction of the Old World around us, after spending all morning traversing this ruined city, it had been so unbelievable that these instruments, these treasures, had remained untouched for so long. This was especially a mystery regarding the Moonrise Grand Piano (as Ludwig had come to name the albino gem of an instrument), which had not even been protected with its own special environmental case, unlike the other instruments we found; and still, it sat for one hundred and seventy-five years, perfectly new and preserved. 

Now, I was staring back at twenty-two instruments, all loaded up and ready for relocation back to Buckley, and still more were on the way from the storage room, including the piano itself. Aside from that piano, we had found twenty-eight instruments in total, and after each of them was inspected, Ludwig had tallied up our find to a total of three flutes, two oboes, three clarinets, two alto saxophones, one tenor saxophone, one bass clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, one euphonium, and one tuba, along with which were additional string instruments to add to Buckley’s already extensive collection including three violins, two violas, and one cello. It was a tremendous find, and though we were all more than happy with what we had discovered, Ludwig had expressed a shred of disappointment at the lack of both a baritone saxophone and a contrabass clarinet, instruments that Buckley’s many musicians, sadly, did not possess. But regardless, everypony in the convoy, even the wounded, was in fresh spirits as we begun to load up, preparing for the trip out of Marefax and back to Buckley Air Force Base. 

Facing forward, I set a brisk trot for the double doors and passed into the entrance chamber, whereupon I took a second to run a hoof over the back of my neck behind my patrol cap, catching some of the rainwater that had accumulated on my mane there; the rain had picked up to a steady shower now, not heavy, but still constant and still accompanied by frequent thunder and lightning. Inside the theatre entrance, a pair of unicorn guards were coming out of the hallway and into the room, lugging behind them the hefty tuba case. “Hey guys,” I called, slowing to a stop as they approached. “Saharra said that a couple of the larger instruments will need to be loaded into the second wagon. My guess is that she’ll want you to set that beast aside until the piano comes along.”

“Sure, no problem. Thanks, outsider.” one of the bucks replied.

Exchanging nods, we passed each other by and continued on with our tasks, and I trotted along into the first hallway. Unlike when we had first arrived, the hallway was now clear of the picture frames we had encountered, cleared away to make life easier on those who had been assigned to the challenging task of carting the grand piano through the building. Just a few seconds into my trot, and I was already hearing Ludwig’s voice echo along the walls, a female guard answering him as I came up to the entrance to the maintenance wing. The door had been pulled back, allowing room for the piano where it hovered just beyond it, floating only inches above the floor as it was engulfed with telekinetic magic. The instrument almost took up the entire hallway all on its own, and had only fit within the maintenance hallways after disassembling its detachable legs and shutting the heavy lid closed. In the chamber itself, already past the doorway, Ludwig and Hope were focusing on the instrument together with horns alight, carefully guiding the great piano forward. 

“Careful now, careful.” Ludwig urged, a slight strain in his voice as he kept his magic going. 

“Mother Celestia, she’s a big girl.” Hope grunted, taking a step back as the first inch of the piano cleared the doorway; it just barely squeezed by the hinges of the door.

“Hey, Ludwig…” I gently called.

“Yes?” 

“Saharra sent me to let you know that the first wagon is almost fully loaded and ready.” I explained. “She said that the piano and maybe a couple of the larger instruments will have to be stored in the second one though.” 

“Okay. Thank you for letting us know.” Ludwig replied, still focusing on the movement of the piano. “Nova, if you wouldn’t mind doing me a favor now… head back to the wagons and have another unicorn come and help us. Raemor’s guiding the piano from behind it, and Hope and I are well enough, but another horn would make this go by faster. I know the commander is looking to leave as soon as he can.” 

“Sure, I’ll get somepony to help out.” I assured, then asking after a moment’s pause, “Is there any way that I can help you three move that piano along?” 

“Thanks for the offer, outsider.” Hope replied, digging her hooves into the floor as she grunted again. “But this is a job for telekinesis. The commander could probably use you outside though, keeping watch with everypony else.”

With a short nod and farewell, I headed back out the way I came, quickly traversing the hall and returning back to the theatre entrance. The process of loading up the instruments had been a repetitive one, with only a small number of guardsponies running back and forth with cases in tow, Tracer keeping the majority of his force on watch in the courtyard. This method had gotten me well-acquainted with carrying orders between different groups while they went about their tasks, with the only difference being the increase in rainfall… still pouring stronger even as I paused by one of the sets of open double doors to look outside. The shower was moderate, normal, but I caught sight of a rather bright flash of lightning gleam against the buildings on the opposite side of Starlight Avenue, illuminating the raindrops themselves in its split-second glow. Thunder sounded right afterwards, my ears perking at the crack of noise that was followed by a rippling rumble which slowly faded into the horizons. In the past, I had only been outside with a light shower with the occasional distant rumble of thunder to accompany it. Back then, I had found comfort in the wild weather… but this storm was much bigger, my ears picking up the steadily shortening gap between the flash of the lightning and the strike of the thunder when they occurred; if the rain kept picking up, it was going to make getting out of Marefax more difficult and more dangerous… it’d give the local raider and ghoul populaces another curtain to lurk behind, adding to the infinite number of hiding places they already had in this jungle of urban ruin.

Taking in a breath and letting it out, I trotted back out into the rain, turning left and heading over to the second wagon of the train. Near the tail of the carrier, I saw Shore standing with his head bowed, and Bolt and an earth pony stallion that I didn’t recognize were standing a few paces ahead of him, keeping guard outside the driveway’s entrance and scanning the road. Each of them, as well as the other guards I saw around and within the fountain, were all taking the rain quite well, some sitting near perfectly still at their assigned posts while others continued to patrol back and forth with slow steps, each with complete focus on Starlight Avenue. However, much to my amusement, I found that Shore was, futilely, trying to keep his reading glasses from getting too wet, and I heard him as he let out a frustrated sigh. 

“You’re probably not going to win, Shore.” I remarked with a polite giggle, causing my soggy-maned friend to crane his head around to look at me; yeah, his glasses were definitely wet.

“I know. I guess seeing water spots on my lenses is better than seeing nothing at all though.” he replied, tossing his mane to shake out some of the accumulated water in his hair. “How are things going in the theatre?”

“The piano’s almost out, now.” I answered. “I’m actually looking for the commander. Is he by this wagon?”  

“He stepped out into the street, actually.” Shore replied, nodding ahead. “He should be just beyond the entrance.” 

“No, he’s coming back now.” Bolt suddenly spoke up, the grey unicorn calling out to the road as I turned to look. 

“What’s going on?” the convoy leader asked, trotting back onto the driveway. 

“The outsider’s looking for you, sir.” the unnamed guard stallion answered, nodding back to me.

“Commander. Ludwig’s looking for a little more help to get the piano moving.” I explained. “He says another unicorn would move things along considerably. And also, Saharra says that the piano’s going to need to be loaded into the second wagon, and maybe another one of the larger instruments as well.”

“That right?… Bolt, go ahead and lend Ludwig a hoof.” At the commander’s order, the unicorn guard passed a quick affirmative before trotting away to the theatre. Then turning back to me, he added, “There’s still five wounded in that wagon that aren’t going to be back in action for the rest of this trip because of their injuries. They need space.” 

“These wagons are pretty big though.” I countered. “Do you think that maybe just the piano could be loaded up inside?” 

“There’s no room in the other?” Tracer asked. 

“Saharra wants to leave space for Kenzie and anypony else within the wagon to move around if need be.” I explained, looking over to the first wagon at the opposite end of the courtyard. “The bulk of the instruments are already loaded in though. She’s tying down the load now.” 

“I’ll go ahead and have a talk with her, see if she can fit a few more cases into the first one.” Tracer replied, stepping up beside me. “If we need to accommodate a couple instruments into the second one, I’m sure we can manage.” 

I nodded at his plan of action, then asking, “So, is there anywhere you want me to be, commander?” 

“I’ve actually already had Archer set up a sniping position on the roof of the nearby hotel, said that he’d have a good view of the street and the courtyard from there.” came his answer. “He insisted on flying up there despite his recovering wing. Sophie didn’t like that much, but I’ll be honest when I say that I’d prefer to have a couple snipers looking over the road. If you want to join him, I’d appreciate the cover of that sniper rifle of yours.”

“Sure. I’ll give him a call.” Raising a hoof up to my headset, I spoke into the microphone. “Hey, Archer. It’s Nova.” 

After a moment of silence, “How are you doing down there, Nova?” 

“Well, I’m a little wet, but I think we all are at this point.” I answered with a little laugh. 

“I hear you. Storm’s picking up.” he replied over the com-link. “So, what do you need?” 

“Um, just calling to ask if you wanted any help.” I asked. “The commander told me you set up a sniping position down the road.”  

“Yeah, I set up shop on the roof of the hotel next-door to the theatre. It’s a perfect vantage point to cover the road, and I still have full view of the wagon train.” the pegasus stallion responded. “You’re welcome to join me if the commander doesn’t need you on the ground.”

“Actually, things are almost finished down here, which is why I called.” I explained. “Once the piano’s out, there should only be one or two more trips left before we can leave.” 

“Glad to hear that.” Archer replied. “Why don’t you come on up then? An extra set of sharp eyes could do some good up here.” 

“Alright. I’ll be there.” Lowering my foreleg back away from my headset, I nodded at the commander where he waited beside me. “I guess I’ll head on up to where Archer is, help him cover the road.” 

The commander gave his own nod in reply. “Sounds good. But once we start moving again, you and Archer come back down and join us on the ground. I need everypony together when we’re mobile.” 

“Of course.” With that, I snapped open my wings and beat up into the air, hovering above the second wagon before winging away down Starlight Avenue, keeping just above street-level. It was a very brief flight back to the hotel, and after coming up to the wall facing the road, I hooked straight upward to pass by all six stories, and at the roofline, I halted to a hover and leveled myself out in the air. After a quick search, I found my fellow flier lying flat on his stomach, with the fifty caliber Longbow already set up on its bipod just behind the edge of the roof, stock tucked up against his right shoulder and long barrel facing the street by the theatre. Currently, Archer’s eyes were off his rifle’s scope, the stallion taking a quick break to wipe rainwater from his face with his left foreleg. 

“I thought you were supposed to stay off that wing.” I commented, hovering in to land behind him and tucking my wings back against my sides. 

“I was.” came Archer’s simple reply.

I couldn’t help but frown as I walked to his left side, standing just before the edge of the roof. “Didn’t it hurt trying to fly up here, though? I mean, that hollow point hit you hard.” 

But Archer was rather undaunted. “Yeah, it hurt. My guess is that I’ll be feeling it something fierce overnight.” 

“Well, don’t hurt yourself too much.” I replied concernedly, reaching around to bite down on my sniper rifle’s stock and pull it free from its place on my back. 

“If it means getting this job done, then that’s something I can bear through.” At that, he looked back at me, watching as I set Blue Fire’s Torch onto the stone. “Besides, anything I can do to help move this thing along quicker is something that I won’t pass up. Truth told, I’m starting to get a little tired of this city.”

“You and me both.” I agreed wholeheartedly, lowering myself down on my belly beside him. “I’ve seen enough here already, between the raiders and ghouls, and all the scraps of history hidden here. It’s… tiring… to say the least.” 

“Speaking of that,” Archer responded. “how are you holding up, other than being wet like the rest of us?” 

I paused in my assembly of my rifle’s bipod, locking eyes with the pegasus at his question. “Well… I could be better… I could be worse.” I answered with a small smile. “I don’t know… the whole place is just wearing me out, making me tired.” Turning my attention back to my rifle, I spread the legs of the bipod to a V shape, finishing the setup before setting my rifle into place at the edge of the roof. “You know, when you come from a place that was still living by pre-war values even as it tried to learn about the wasteland outside, history tends to leave a mark on you, especially if you follow it close in your studies and come to appreciate that history. Seeing everything I’ve seen here just doesn’t mix well with that.”

“It makes you wish things were like they were all those years ago, back before territory and natural resources were anypony’s concern.” Archer replied. “Believe me, I know. I’ve wished it more than a few times myself, and there’s occasionally something I come across in my travels that make me think of old history, too. It’s always there no matter where you go.”

To that I nodded. It was easy to match the meaning of his words to the present, as his mention of ‘different circumstances’ reminded me of his reaction to the video log we had found in the electronics outlet, of how bitter he was at hearing about Lightning Strike’s hope that the Old World’s pegasi population, having been ordered to retreat above the clouds, would return to the surface to help the earth ponies and unicorns restore Equestria to its former self; puzzling as that had been, it was an action that justified his words, and made me a little curious. “Like the um… like the electronics store? That video log we found?… I’ll be honest, your reaction to that recording was a little surprising…”  

However, that only got the pegasus buck to look away again, not even nodding as he slowly turned his head and looked out onto Starlight Avenue. “Well… that’s a little more complicated.”

Another louder rumble of thunder sounded as I made to reply, the noise drawing my focus back to my rifle. With the bipod out, the weapon was fully assembled and ready for use, and quickly shifting myself into a proper prone position, I brought Blue Fire’s Torch to my shoulder. Out over Starlight, things were still quiet, but my elevated position on the hotel roof allowed me to take in just how much rain was coming down now. The solid shower was like a gray curtain against the black faces of the ruined buildings, illuminating with white in time with the lightning that continued to strike around the city. Thankfully, my view of the street was still relatively clear, even without the aid of my scope, but it was the rain itself that was starting to get to me. It was getting to the point now where my mane and tail were completely drenched, my patrol cap suffering a similar fate, and even the padding on some of the plates on my M.P.D. armor were beginning to soak; I liked the rain… but now wasn’t the best time to become a soggy pony.

Once more, I tossed my mane in a futile attempt to shake out some of the accumulated rainwater in my hair. “Goddesses… I’m definitely going to see Marlena and Gisela again when we get back.” I remarked.

“It’s a nice place they run isn’t it?” Archer replied. 

“Yes it most certainly is.” I answered with a smile. “I’ve been there once already, but hopefully they won’t mind me visiting again so soon. I really want them to fix up my mane.” Archer cocked an eyebrow at me then, cracking a small amused smile of his own that made me giggle. “Sorry, I just don’t like my mane all flattened out like this, at least not without it being combed back first. Right now, it just feels like a mess, and I want it back to normal when I’m singing at the concert tonight.”  

At that, Archer’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh… I didn’t know you were singing.” 

I nodded, smiling even wider. “Mhmm. Ludwig wants me to sing a piece for the concert. He said it was his way of helping to establish a peaceful relationship between Buckley and my own group.”

“That’s one way to do it.” Archer replied, nodding with approval. “My guess is that if Ludwig chose you to be a part of the concert the day before, then you must have a hell of a singing voice.”

I cocked my head in a modest shrug. “Well, that’s what he told me. I believe it though, and I had a lot of fun practicing last night.” 

“What song are you singing?” Archer asked.

“It’s called The Voice, arranged for solo singer and a small ensemble.” I explained. “It’s a very powerful song, and Ludwig said it was composed during the wartime era as a tribute to Celestia and Luna. Oh it’s wonderful!” 

The pegasus stallion chuckled. “Buckley’s musicians put on concerts regularly, and most everypony on base gathers in the concert hall to see each and every one of them. Those concerts – that’s what we love about our home the most, and it’s those performances, the fruit of all the hard work and practice that Buckley’s music makers put into their talent, that we really fight to protect in this world. They’re truly things of beauty, every time.” 

“I can just imagine… and I actually get to be a part of that tonight.” I couldn’t help but shake my head, my words softer in the rain as I faced the street below. “It’s such a privilege, truly. I can’t wait.” 

“I look forward to hearing you sing, Nova.” came the pegasus’ reply, the stallion giving me a small but genuine smile when I met his eyes again. “I have a feeling you’re going to be great on that stage.”

Thankfully, this time, I wasn’t blushing at the stallion’s kind words. “Aw, thanks. I hope I do well, especially considering how important these concerts are to the community.” 

“Ludwig always makes the right choices when it comes to picking members for his ensembles.” Archer responded, once more facing the street. “He saw musical potential in you. That means something.” 

“Heh… maybe you’re right.” Well, if nothing else, I’d definitely to my best to prove Ludwig right in his choice, to justify his belief in ‘the caged songbird’ that was my musical aptitude. Cherished as these concerts, and every song within them, were to Buckley, I knew that in the end, all I could do was give it my all, to let my love of music be my guide, and to dedicate the performance to my brother, my friends, and Archer too; while it’d be nice… I didn’t truly need Buckley’s appreciation on the stage. 

But Marefax wasn’t the air force base… and we still had a job to finish.

Facing forward with new determination, I brought my right eye down to the scope of the Torch and sighted down the red crosshairs. Down below, Starlight Avenue was still clean, and by what remained of the theatre fence separating the courtyard from the road, a pair of convoy guards, nearly fully concealed within the steady rainfall, patrolled on the sidewalk.

“Commander… how are we looking down there, sir?” Archer spoke up in question beside me.

“The piano’s almost outside now.” Tracer responded shortly after. “Hey, make sure to load those disassembled piano legs into the second wagon so they stay with the instrument they belong to!” When I looked, I could just make out movement in the courtyard, one of the guards trotting over to the hulk of the second wagon. “We’re about done down here, now. One more trip should do it.” 

“Sounds good, sir.” 

“And how are things looking from your crow’s nest up there, Archer?” the commander asked him. 

“Street’s still clear. We not seeing anything right now.” the pegasus answered.

“Good. Keep watching from up there until you see the wagons moving. When you-”

“Wait…” I had heard their words as they conversed… but I had kept my eye glued onto my scope… and something had just come out into the open farther down the street, having emerged from the neighboring structure to the theater just north of the train’s position. “Archer, I think there’s something on the road… just north of the theatre. See it?” 

It was definitely a pony, I could see the shape of the figure, but even as I kept my eye on it, another flash of lightning revealed to me a second figure behind it, seemingly materializing out of the rain curtain. “Shit… commander, there are two potential hostiles approaching your position from the north.” Even as he spoke, the two guards patrolling by the street had turned tail and swiftly galloped back into the courtyard, Tracer passing out the order to hold positions and stay alert.

But that wasn’t all…

“Archer there’s more!” Three more specifically, all coming out of the same building that the first two had come from at the sound of the thunder echoing across the sky.

“Make that five, commander.” the pegasus stallion added, voice low. “…and they’re moving slow. They’ll be peeking out around the right side of the courtyard in a moment.” 

“Everypony, keep your eyes on that right flank.” Tracer ordered, quiet but sharp. “Ludwig and Saharra, get that piano loaded up and then make your last trip into the theatre to get the last of the instruments. We need to get out of here.” 

Then, another flash of lightning, bright, once more illuminated the road long enough for me to clearly see the five unknown contacts on the street; they were slowing to a stop just outside the courtyard. “Archer, did you see that?” I asked over the sound of the rain. “They’re stopping.” 

“These guys can’t be just random wasters…” came his tense response, a sharper blast of thunder ripping over the city’s sky. “Commander, what do you want me to do here?” 

“Give them a warning shot.” Tracer replied. “Get them the hell away from the theatre entrance.”

“Roger.” Only a moment later, and the Longbow roared out, its voice like thunder all on its own, and through my scope, I saw as all five unknown ponies threw themselves down to the road in response to the fifty caliber shot. 

But then, “Sweet Celestia, third floor in the building ahead!!” 

“Son of a bitch! Raiders!!” 

Through the rain, muzzle flashes sprouted to life, flashing like a strobe light from the building parallel to the theatre, and the roar of an alarmingly loud volley reached my ears, making me gasp as gunfire from at least a dozen windows rained into the courtyard. And even as frantic orders blared through my microphone, the Buckley guards scrambling for cover behind the wagons and fountain, I spotted even more contacts emerging onto Starlight Avenue from the north, pouring out from the towers further along the road. 

“Goddesses… Commander, be advised, I’m seeing a whole platoon of those raiders down there on the street, at least forty strong!” Archer urgently spoke, his warning carrying through the com-link. “They’re coming for you!”

“Get to work everypony!” came Tracer’s order. “We’ve got to hold out until the rest of the instruments are loaded up!” 

With that, I pulled the Torch up tight against my shoulder, sighting in for the street. “Nova, it’s open season on those bastards!” Archer called beside me. “Let’s hit them and keep the train from getting swarmed!” A sharp, quick affirmative later, and I clamped down on my rifle’s firing bit, centering my crosshairs on the first target of choice. The raiders at the front of their growing cluster on the street were already drawing parallel to the courtyard, each putting fire downrange onto the wagons, and the hostile I chose first was armed with some kind of saddle. Though the heavy rain prevented me from making out the fine details, I could see enough of the figures to line up my shots, and chomping down on the bit, I fired my first round. 

My target dropped as the shot echoed in the air, and beside me, Archer fired a second round from his own rifle, taking down another member of the crowd of enemies. Then, right as I swung my crosshairs up to set up my second shot on a new target, a line of explosions suddenly ripped across the face of the building where the raiders had sprung the ambush, the 40mm grenade machinegun on the first wagon blasting the front of the already crumbling structure to pieces even as a missile from the launcher on the other carrier screamed from the courtyard and smashed into the street, blowing away a trio of raiders at the front of the cluster. 

Now the battle was engaged in full, heavy fire exchanging from both sides even as a recognizable psychotic shouting reached my ears, the scene looking literally like a warzone as I brought my crosshairs down on my second target. With a sharp crack of sound, the Torch fired again, another raider falling to the street as the bullet hit home before Archer took another shot, making our combined fourth kill. Then, as my rifle fell back into position from the recoil, I brought my scope down closer to the courtyard’s northernmost entrance, catching sight of a pair of hostiles closing in on the driveway there. These two were melee attackers, the silhouettes of two larger club-like objects hovering between them. Already, I knew what their plans were, and with all of Buckley’s ponies facing the street, they would be in the perfect position to get the jump on the first guard they came across by attacking from the side. 

I’d already seen this maneuver in the past, and I wasn’t letting that happen. 

BLAM!

My third shot felled one of the melee attackers, though only crippling one of the legs and keeping the raider from continuing his approach to the courtyard. However, unhindered by his comrade’s injury, the second target continued, now only booking it down the rest of the street at full gallop with another trio of raiders falling in behind him as he moved. As I quickly sighted in, Archer firing another round beside me, the small pack of attackers closed in on the north entrance, and I took another shot.

Miss!!

I growled as the Torch reset itself from the recoil, taking my mouth away from the trigger to speak into my microphone. “Heads up! There’s raiders entering the courtyard from the north! Watch out!” 

Not waiting for a reply, I bit down on my rifle’s firing bit again and returned to looking through the scope. By now, the four raiders I had seen before were already in the courtyard, but I saw as a pair of guards ducking by the lead wagon of the train found the raiders as they crossed onto the driveway, engaging them before they got too close. Back on the street, the raiders were seeking cover behind open windows on the ground floors of the western buildings and the fallen rubble that pockmarked the street, digging into semisolid positions; one such position was blown away as another missile flew from the courtyard and blasted another crater into the street. Still, not one of the enemy ponies was aware of mine and Archer’s position on the hotel roof, and their choice of cover didn’t protect their flanks. With most every raider on the street in plain sight behind my scope, I picked a target, and without pause, lined up the crosshairs and fired; even through the rain, I saw a spray of blood from the headshot I delivered to the unsuspecting raider. 

As I realigned my rifle from the recoil, my ears perked, but not at the sound of the fighting or of Archer firing his fifth shot. With another flash of lighting winking in and out of existence, the rain began to ease, just slightly, enough for me to begin making out the finer details of the fight we found ourselves in. Now, I was beginning to make out tattered leather and rusty metal on our attackers, crude melee weapons and worn rifles and pistols… grinning faces. Yeah, these guys were definitely Marefax raiders. 

“Nova, I’ve got to reload!” Archer called over the steady roar of the gunfire. “Keep hitting them!” 

I shifted to settle the Torch back into my shoulder, returning the stock to its place before lining up another shot. I could see the raider’s features now – ashy green mane, patches of hair missing, and a muddy brown coat, currently shouting something I couldn’t hear as he fired shot after shot from a combat shotgun; I put a hole right in his torso.

It was then that I heard Archer as he loaded in a new magazine for his own rifle, and pulling back the massive bolt of the .50 cal, he chambered a new round by pushing the bolt closed once more, resettling himself as I sighted in another shot. By now, some of the raiders on the street were beginning to stir, the enemies by those recently fallen from mine and Archer’s sniper work looking frantically along the ground; they were searching for us. 

But others were fully on the move again, and from the top of my scope, I caught sight of more raiders running for the fight, reinforcements. I didn’t know how many were left, and though a fresh bombardment from Kenzie’s grenade machinegun struck the face of the building hiding raiders on its third floor told me that we were making progress, the train still had to have been outnumbered. The reinforcements themselves numbered well over a dozen, another pack of raiders drawn to the sound of battle… but then I saw…

“Oh Goddesses… ARCHER, LOOK!” At the front of the fresh support, I saw a terribly familiar machine of war, a mobile gun unit built on a heavy iron carriage supported by two large wheels, long and narrow barrel pointing out to the fight as the crew of five unicorns pushed it forward with their combined magic. 

And Archer saw it, too. “Shit! Everypony, they’ve got a twenty millimeter rolling in from the north!” Archer warned urgently through his radio. “I say again, flak gun twenty millimeter heading your way!” 

“Merciful Luna, how the hell did they get their hooves on a Talon gun?!” a male guard demanded through the gunfire echoing around him. 

“Oh that figures!!” another male spoke up.

“They must’ve beaten a Legion unit!” a concerned female guard responded. 

But what the hell would the Talon Legion be doing in a condemned place like Marefax??

The former Talon flak gun had indeed been given a touchup by its current owners, armored plate smartly placed at the front to provide the internal components additional protection from direct fire. But with them were wicked metal spikes jutting out from the steel, a limbless and headless torso impaled upon them just below the barrel; under those spikes, a white rectangular plate contained a single word written in dried blood – RUN.

Oh, screw these guys!

With a growl, I sighted in on the flak gun, another bolt of lightning and rumble of thunder accompanying a shot from Archer’s rifle. His round dropped one of the unicorns of the gun crew pushing the weapon forward, and I brought my crosshairs onto a second one, the unicorn shouting orders. 

*click

Empty! “Crap, crap, six and done, six and done!” I mentally berated myself for being stupid enough to forget, and hastily I scrambled up to a sitting position. “Archer, I’m reloading!” 

“I’ve got em!” he called back, the Longbow roaring out another round as he kept his sights on the enemy flak gun. 

“Brock, steady on that missile launcher!” Commander Tracer’s voice spoke up through my headset. “When you see that flak gun, let loose!” 

“I got it!” 

Craning my head around, I reached a foreleg back to my right-side saddlebag and undid the flap, forcing it back before digging in. As Archer fired another shot, I found a new magazine at the bottom of my collections, and pinning the clip against the fabric, I guided it up to the lip of the bag and tossed it out, whereupon it clattered to the stone surface. Keeping my bag open to save time, I knocked the clip over to the waiting Blue Fire’s Torch and threw myself back down onto my belly, returning my rifle stock to my shoulder. Then, I reached for my spent magazine and ejected the clip, pushing it aside before reaching with both my hooves to the fresh one. But it was then that I saw, to my dismay, that this clip only had two rounds left in it, two brass casings visible in the tiny slit down the center of the magazine; this had been the partial clip left over from my usage of it at the Shimmermist Farm.

But two was better than none, and wasting no more time, I righted the clip and guided it into the weapon, successfully locking it in place before quickly pulling back the cocking handle and pushing it forward again. Then, taking up my proper prone position again, I bit down on the firing bit and once more looked into the scope. I caught sight of the enemy gun crew, now nearly upon the courtyard, just as Archer fired another shot from his rifle, taking out another one of the pushers by the flak gun. But just as quick, another raider took the fallen one’s place, keeping the lethal weapon moving at a steady pace as the battle continued to rage. With a growl, I drew my crosshairs up to one of the unicorns guiding the weapon along, and I fired. 

My shot sparked along one of the twenty millimeter’s plates, the bullet drawing up short as another shot from the Longbow smashed into my former target’s chest, knocking him back. “Come on, Nova, focus!” In my head, I repeated those words again and again, taking just a little more time to get myself calmed down as I swiveled the crosshairs back onto the flak gun. Once again, a new raider took the place of Archer’s latest kill, this unicorn coming from just behind the gun from a new cluster of six raiders, rushing in to join in the fighting. 

“The piano’s loaded up!” Tracer’s voice once again sounded. “Just a little bit longer, everypony!” 

“Ludwig better hurry up!” a female guard responded, grunting as she either ducked or emerged to fire. 

“One more trip!” another mare spoke up.

One more trip… we were almost ready to move!

Taking in a breath, I pulled my crosshairs left to bring them onto another one of the pulling crew, centering the sights right to the raider’s skull. Then, exhaling slowly, I squeezed down on the bit, the Torch firing once more; headshot. 

But now I was out, and as the Longbow sounded once again, dropping another member of the gun team a second later, Archer’s rifle likewise went empty. “Come on, Nova! Reload!” he urged me, already reaching for another one of his armor’s pockets as I pulled back from my scope and firing bit. “Come on!” 

In response, I hurriedly sat back up onto my haunches, scooping up the empty clip I had set aside, balancing it on my right hoof, and then throwing it back into my saddlebag. But as I made to reach for my last magazine, likely at the bottom of the pack, bullets whizzed up and smashed into our position, eliciting a startled yelp from me as I fell backwards onto my back. Beside me, Archer frantically scrambled back, dragging the Longbow with him as more shots continued to pepper our cover. With a grunt, I rolled back onto my side, bringing myself around to quickly grab my own weapon by the stock and pull it back; thankfully, the Torch hadn’t been hit. 

“Damn it, they found us!” Archer spoke as I caught my breath; my heart was pounding something fierce! “You alright, Nova?” 

“Yeah, I’m not hit…” I answered after a breath. “You?” 

“I’m fine. We’ve got to relocate to a new rooftop, though, and fast.” the steel-blue pegasus replied. 

“There it is, Brock! Nail that gun!” came a male guard’s voice over my headset. 

Though I didn’t see, I heard as another missile launched from Brock’s turret, the detonation of the warhead reaching my ears a moment later. But then, “Goddesses, they shot the missile out of the air!” And I heard the ringing repeating cracks of sound that was the twenty millimeter entering the fight; the gun had gotten a line on the courtyard!

Suddenly, a scream of pain pierced into my headset, making me wince in shock. 

“Oh shit, Brock’s hit! He’s hit!!” 

“Get down!!” Tracer shouted to the frantic female.

Goddesses, that twenty millimeter was chewing them up! “Archer, they’re in trouble!” I called to the pegasus. 

“I can’t get a shot on that flak gun!” Kenzie’s recognizable voice shouted, another series of detonations sounding over the continuing gunfire. “It has to be drawn farther down the street!” 

“Pack up your rifle, Nova!” Archer replied to me. “We need to move! We’ll move to the theatre rooftop and set up there!” 

Right away, I reached for my rifle and folded up the bipod, returning it to its place under the barrel, even as the frantic conversation from the courtyard continued, Tracer calling, “We need somepony back on that missile launcher! Who’s got flash grenades?!” 

But then, an entirely new voice sprung up over the com-line, a mare who likewise spoke with desperate urgency. “Commander Tracer, this is Vikki from team two! Please come in! Commander??” 

“Vikki, we’ve been engaged by a small company of local raiders!” Tracer responded. “We’re about ready to move here, but we’ll be fighting our way back to you! What’s your situation?!” 

“Sir, we’ve been engaged at the Cirrus Communications compound by the Talon Legion!!” she cried. “They came out of nowhere!! We’re pinned down!!” 

Goddesses, the Legion was here??

“Damn it!…Vikki, we can’t reach you right now!” Tracer replied. “You’ve got to dig in and keep them back!”  

“No, sir, we need you to send Archer or that outsider back to us!” Vikki hastily explained. “We need the Eagle Eye online so we can get artillery support! They’ve got flak guns, and they’ve trapped us! Please send help!!” 

“Nova!” Right away, the commander had called me, ripping my focus back to him. “Are you hearing this?? I need you to go back to the industrial park and get to the Eagle Eye! Do you hear me?!” 

“I hear you, commander!”

“Get out of here! Go!” And after a pause, “You two, get ready to move to that missile launcher! The rest of you, toss the flash grenades!” 

“Oh Goddesses… Archer I’ve got to go!” I called, the pegasus buck already at the east end of the hotel rooftop. 

“I know, just go!” he replied, snapping his head around to look back at me with firm eyes. “Help our other team!”

“What about you??” 

“We’ll make it out of this, don’t worry!” he answered, eyes narrowing to a glare as he stomped a hoof. “Just go, damn it!” 

With a grunt, my mind racing, I turned away from the pegasus stallion and reached down to pick up the Torch by its stock in my mouth, then craning my head around to quickly refit the rifle back into its secure place on my back. Then, swiftly securing the rest of my gear, closing my saddlebag and flicking the safety of my saddle off, I turned to face the south and ran full gallop across the rooftop. With my running start, I snapped open my wings just before I leapt off the rooftop, and beating my wings frantically, scooping at the air, I launched myself skyward. 

I quickened my pace swiftly as I left the first battle behind, quickly coming upon a cluster of the taller towers we had passed on our way to the theatre. I weaved in between a neighboring pair of them as I climbed higher up, and as I passed by the twenty-story giants on Franklin Avenue, I leveled out on a southbound course and poured on the speed, giving all I could muster. The rain was pelting my face because of the pace I set, and even now, lightning regularly flashed, the thunder easily sounding over the wind rushing by me. Below me, Marefax’s skeletal towers flew on by, like decaying claws reaching up for me to drag me back to the surface. I was flying low in the city airspace, the rooftops just a short drop away, and even through the rain, I could just make out the streets themselves as they cut the city up into blocks and districts.

Bringing my eyes down onto my pipbuck, I kept my pace going in the air as I dialed in my local map. Archer’s advice on switching to the local variant had proven to be very sound, as I was presented with a complete layout of all of the structures we had discovered on our journey through the city. Though they were widely spaced across most of the glowing green square on the display, the markers that made the industrial park were clustered close together, and they were shown to be directly south and just west of my current position as I moved. I lowered my computer away, locking my eyes onto my new trajectory and adjusting course before urging my wings to work faster, pushing myself even faster through the rain. 

“Vikki, this is Nova.” I spoke into my microphone. “Can you hear me? I’m on my way over right now.” 

“GAH!” came the mare’s yelp of surprise; I heard as bullets ricocheted from some sort of metal barrier close by her. “You’re the outsider, right?! Thank the Goddesses! Please, please hurry! We’ve already got multiple wounded, and we can’t get to our wagon’s grenade machinegun! We need that artillery support, yesterday!”

“I’m almost there, just hang on.” Even as I spoke, I felt that I was flying far faster than I ever had before, and below me, the buildings were moving by one tower per second. I had kept my altitude perfectly level, the buildings growing steadily shorter the farther from the city center I flew, and by now, I was already at the outskirts of the downtown sector. In the far distance, I could just make out the support arches of the great suspension bridge that was the Silver Arrow Crossover; the industrial park was just to the north of that. 

Adjusting my approach, I angled left and let myself glide into a steady drop as another flash of lightning accompanied my maneuver. At a quick glance at my pipbuck’s local map, I found that I was coming up on a familiar landmark, one we had passed when first entering the city. Though I didn’t physically see it, the Lightning Brothers Electronics Outlet, sitting on Maple Street, flew by below me as I drove on towards the industrial park, now close by. And now that I was close, my ears picked up new fighting from directly ahead. Rifle fire was heavy, constant, showing fierce combat, and meshed within the growing noise, I recognized the repeating claps of sound signature to the twenty millimeter; I would be coming in hot, landing right into the middle of the approaching combat zone.

Having traversed half the city in minutes, my pipbuck revealed that I was coming up on my target markers, and the familiar six to eight story buildings that marked Parkington Street showed that I was seconds away from crossing into the industrial park. With that, I lowered my altitude even further, passing right over the Parkington apartments’ rooftops before dropping in to no higher than six stories above street level. Now, focusing ahead, I could make out muzzle flashes in the rain, at first only one cluster to the southeast of my position. But then a second one appeared by that, just to the south of the first, followed swiftly by a third farther to the southwest of the second, and a fourth just west of the third, until I was looking over the entire scope of the battlefield. I was definitely in the industrial park now… but I couldn’t see which building was which! The rain was becoming too thick, picking up swiftly again as a new bright flash of lightning illuminated the landscape, a shockingly loud thunderclap sounding all around me. 

Briefly, I halted to a hover and looked over my pipbuck again, quickly scanning the local map before finding the Cirrus Communications marker. And after a couple of looks, I matched the marker to the compacted formation of muzzle flashes at the center of the field, the second group I had identified. “There… Vikki, I’m here!” I called, launching myself forward and angling in to land. “I’m coming in fast from the northwest!” 

“Thank Luna!” came the mare’s reply. “We’re dug in just outside the Cirrus Communications building, right at the main entrance! Please hurry!”

I was already on the way, now dropping down to no more than two stories above the ground before leveling out, making my final approach to the second team. Now the surface was visible, enough for me to see the road that we had taken from the industrial park to the city’s downtown border as it approached. But it was right when I crossed it that some of the muzzle flashes I had been seeing became brighter, pointing right for me! 

A barrage of bullets, repeating rounds from assault rifles, blasted hot lead at me as I raced by the Madison Piano Company building, where I could just make out one of the Talon positions to my left. There was a cluster of black-armored infantry, at least six that I could see, behind deployable steel-plate cover – the same that had been used in their attack on Hopeville. And with them was another team, this one stationed with a twenty millimeter flak gun pointing south, ablaze in magic as it was reloaded by its crew. As I crossed the street, I suddenly felt the left side guard of my armor absorb three impacts almost simultaneously, not penetrating, but stinging my side with jolting force as the impacts pushed me off course. But still, I managed to save myself from crashing, leaning with the direction of the push before I concentrated my strength and snapped myself into level flight again, then beating up a wingbeat to get the Talon iron sights off of me. 

Then, finally, I spotted Buckley’s cargo carrier, the vehicle positioned parallel to the face of the Cirrus Communications compound, with the tail end facing the open double doors that made the building’s entrance. Within the entrance plaza, some of Buckley’s ponies had clustered together into a tight circle, having arranged an improvised position that provided full cover from all angles – a ring of unevenly shaped concrete slabs that had been set in a wide loop around them, providing room for the guards within to maneuver and to pop in and out of cover to return fire. The wagon, however, had been deserted, sitting a short but treacherous distance away as fire pounded away at the makeshift fortification that the guards had effectively trapped themselves in; there were only ten guards within the circle, two of which were curled up on their sides, wounded and out of the fight. 

With the fire coming in from opposing directions, I had no time to properly land. The position came up within seconds, and I had still been going nearly full speed. I managed to snap my wings out full as I angled in towards the position, dropping my speed just enough for me to calculate my quick approach. But then, as I let myself drop, more fire from the left and the right caught me, and both of my side guards intercepted two more rounds each that sent me tumbling the rest of the way down to the ground. I ended up landing on my back then, skidded across the ground before sliding headfirst into the concrete barrier, coming to a jarring halt. 

“Outsider, are you okay?!” Through my daze, I recognized Vikki’s voice, and a second later, I found myself staring up at a mantis-green earth pony mare with a drenched purple mane, looking down at me with wide violet eyes. 

I shook my head, trying to shake off the aftershock of my landing as I rolled onto my side. “Yeah, just a bump on the head…” I assured as best I could. “Ow…”

“Stay low, outsider! The Talons have us boxed in!” a nearby buck warned nearby, then reaching up to blind-fire a single round from his carbine. “And they’ll keep sending rounds at us if it means keeping us away from our wagon!” 

“We’ve chased back two attempts they made of sending teams to jump on us at close range while the rest keep us pinned!” Vikki explained over the noise of the fight, both of us crouching low as I regained my senses. “And there’s still energy mines farther out to keep them from charging us directly, but they’ll make another attempt soon, so we need to get you hooked up with the Eagle Eye, now!” 

“Where is it?!” I asked, wincing away as a bullet whizzed right over me. “It’s not on the wagon right?!” 

“No, I snagged it right after the Talons showed up!” a second mare spoke, a magenta unicorn with a red mane ducking down just beyond Vikki, levitating the familiar camera unit low over the ground and tossing it to me. 

“But we’ve got some trapped wounded taking cover behind that wagon!” Vikki explained. “We need to get to them, too!” 

“There’s only ten of you here!” I replied concernedly, pulling the Eagle Eye close to me. “All the others are behind that wagon?!” 

“Yeah, six of them, and only a couple of them can still fight!” she answered, briefly turning to call to the unicorn mare behind her. “Now, come on, we need to get this on you!” At her prompt, I adjusted myself on my hooves, keeping low but lifting my belly high enough off the ground to allow the unicorn guard to wrap the Eagle Eye unit around me and fit it back into its proper place. “Cale, this is Vikki!” she spoke, watching as the unicorn guard secured the camera into its place. “The outsider made it to us and she’s almost ready to go! Get those smashers ready, because you need to save our hides here!” 

“The gun crews are standing by.” came the artillery coordinator’s reply. “We just need you to show us our targets and we’ll give you some breathing room.” 

“There, it’s secure!” the unicorn guard shouted, giving one of the unit’s cables a final tug before scurrying back to her position.

“Everypony! Flash-bangs, on my mark!” Vikki ordered, trotting back to a vacant position by a concrete slab to my left, and as I turned and followed her movement with my eyes, keeping low, she leaned against her cover and looked back at me. “Get ready outsider! This won’t distract them for long!” 

With a nod, I let my wings snap out as another flash of lightning illuminated the rain all around. Then, after a pause, Vikki shouted the command, and each fighting member of the team within the stone circle tossed out their own individual stun grenades, the black metal apples sailing away and disappearing into the rain one after the other. Instinctively, I shut my eyes, ears perking at the sharp pops of sound springing up in a quick wave. Just after, as I let my eyes opened, I flinched as a shockingly loud detonation erupted with green light to my right, very close to the barricade. “Talons coming in from the west, heads up!” a guard buck shouted, the unicorn immediately turning his military shotgun up and over the barricade and firing three consecutive shells, those closest to him adding fire with their own rifles. 

“Outsider, go! Go, now!” 

Vikki’s urgency was met with more rounds from the Talon attackers smashing into the west side of the barrier, forcing the three guards who had managed to put some shots downrange to return back to cover. But the unicorn stallion at the center had not been quick enough, and he cried out as he was blown back from a particularly powerful round, flecks of his blood spattering onto the wet concrete to be washed away by the rain; he’d taken a direct hit to the shoulder! 

That was all the motivation I needed, and with a grunt, I launched myself vertical, wings beating frantically to carry my weight in the straight climb back into the sky. The distraction brought by the barrage of stun grenades had won me enough time to climb high enough to where the ground was once again hidden by the steady rainfall, and after several seconds of not being shot at, I let myself come to a hover as I brought a hoof to my headset. “Cale? Cale, I’m up!” I called. “The Eagle Eye’s ready!” 

“I’m bringing the camera online now.” the artillery coordinator replied to me, the aforementioned machine already whirring in its place under my belly. “Stay on the move up there, outsider… and Vikki, use flares to mark targets. Smoke won’t work in this rain.” 

“I’m sending the first flare out as soon as I get an opening!” came her sharp reply as the fighting continued to rage around her. “You’d better be ready when I do!” 

Once more, I was left with welling anxiety and frustration as I flew south to get into position and properly cover the battlefield. Easily, I would have much rather been attacking enemy positions from the air. With the rainfall as thick as it was, I knew I could use it to my advantage to stay cloaked from eyes on the surface, especially with my natural gray coat color blending easily into the steely haze created from this bout of more volatile southeastern weather. But instead, I was stuck doing nothing as the Buckley ponies continued to hold out for their lives while this damn machine activated, not even allowed to lend my own guns to the fight.

I knew that what I was doing was what was needed, REALLY needed, but… ugh!

Then, as I leveled out into a slow and casual circular circuit (annoyingly out-of-place with the firefight below), a bright ball of red light suddenly sprouted on the surface, easily cutting through the rain and revealing my distance from the street below as it sailed northward in a gentle arc from where it had been fired. A second later, and the flare had come to a stop, burning brightly even as the rain continued to pour upon it. “There’s a flare on the first target, Cale! Artillery’s cleared hot!” Vikki’s voice called through my headset. “We need the one-o-fives to hit it now!!” 

“I see it, Vikki.” Cale replied, the camera buzzing under me once again. “We’re firing. Danger close. I say again, danger close.” 

“Everypony down!” 

The ensuing silence between our communications was immediately accompanied by another rumble of thunder that proceeded multiple flashes of lightning. Below, I winced as another one of the team’s energy mines detonated, the plasmatic explosion proceeded by the sharper blasts of a trio of frag grenades, whereupon the repeating cracks of sound from a twenty millimeter picked up again, all of this accompanied by constant rifle fire, creating an ominous symphony of warfare below. 

Then, the flickering flame of the flare lingering on the ground sprouted into a raging inferno as one after another, two artillery shells smashed down onto the designated target area with a deafening roar. “That’s it, you got it!” I spoke, watching hopefully as the towering flames created from the detonations were swallowed up in the rain.

“Ha! That got one of their flak guns!” Vikki called after. “Perfect hit!” 

“The gun crews are reloading.” Cale responded, voice calm with focus. “Mark another target for us and we’ll take it out.” 

“There’s two more clusters, one to the south of us, another to the southwest!” Vikki explained after a pause. “I think we can make a run for the wagon now! If you just fire south of our position, you can at least get the rest of these guys off our backs until we get our vehicle back into the fight!”  

“Range?” Cale asked. 

“I’ll send a flare to our wagon! Fire fifty yards directly south of that position!” 

“Understood, send it. Outsider, make sure you stay-”

Cale’s voice suddenly cut out from my focus at a sharp thunderclap of sound. However, the sound came not from the sky, but from a decipherable rifle just to my left, and as the fifty caliber round slashed right over my neck, a griffin sharpshooter materialized from the rainfall and gave chase as I dropped from the air in panic.

Holstering the large rifle quicker than I would’ve imagined, the griffin swapped it for his second primary rifle as adrenaline bucked me into action, and I immediately brought my wings out full and took off, shooting northward as fast as I could. “Cale, I’m under attack!” I cried, hooking hard to port as carbine fire strafed just to my right. “They’ve got a griffin with them, and he found me through the rain!” 

“We’ve fought them with artillery more than once, they’re bound to know what we’re up to.” Cale replied with worry. “Nova, you’ve got to shake him off, and Vikki, get to the wagon and make it quick. They’ll be spreading out now.” 

I was torn from the conversation as I executed a sharp right turn, another two rounds from my attacker’s carbine streaking right past my tail as I weaved. Then he copied my maneuver, following my path exactly before opening up again. One after another, three bullets sailed by me before a fourth struck my right flank plate, absorbed by the armoring there before I banked and hooked left again, swerving in a hectic zigzag. By the next maneuver, climbing up sharply with another right turn, I knew that I had to easily be out of the industrial park, but still the griffin pursued, and when I cast a quick look back, evading left as my pursuer fired again, I found the griffin’s form against the rain… and if I remembered my history, this griffin lacked the pearl-white revolver and the scar across his right eye that the Talon leader who had attacked my friends – Blackhawk – possessed. He was like the other griffins I had seen, brown fur along most of his body with white feathers on his head and neck, talons on his forepaws and a long tail; but this griffin was just a soldier of the Legion.

“I’ve marked our wagon with a flare!” Vikki’s voice sounded again over my headset, cutting through even as I attempted to circle around and backtrack. “Send another barrage!” 

“Nova, I need you back there!” Cale spoke up, much to my aggravation. 

“This griffin is still chasing me, damn it!” My opponent cut me off, turning nearly at a right angle to meet my wider arc, and suddenly drove forward, aiming to close the gap between us. But then I pulled a trick of my own, and as he continued, I ground myself to a halt, coming to a brief hover before I immediately turned left and fled back the way I had come. This, at least, had bought me time, as my adversary disappeared within the rain again as he likewise came to a stop. “Okay, Cale, I got away for a few seconds. I’m only going to be able to make a quick pass.” I explained, letting my ears guide my way back to the fighting. “After that, I’ve got to fight this griffin.” 

“Be careful up there.” the stallion replied. 

“Okay, look for that flare, I’m making my run.” I settled into a moderate pace, letting myself slow to what I believed was a safe speed, but still looking regularly over my shoulder. 

With a steady buzzing of gears, the Eagle Eye unit moved under me, swiveling in its turret and zooming in and out as Cale searched for Vikki’s second target flare. Helping the process along, I dropped altitude in a gradual descent, keeping myself flying straight all the same. Only a few seconds later, and the dim flashes of gunfire ahead of me were accompanied by a brighter flickering object. It almost looked like they were shooting at the flare, until a line of six explosions suddenly strafed across the ground, dangerously close to those muzzle flashes farther south; even more followed in their wake, a frantic but fiery barrage coming from the Buckley team’s cargo carrier. 

“Alright, I see the flare. Firing, fifty yards south past the marker.” 

Another pair of shells were on their way now, and having completed my pass, I quickly angled right and cleared out of that area, making sure I was well away and above the immanent impact zone of the howitzers. Then, when I judged my new position as a safe place outside the battlefield, I came to a hover and immediately faced the north, bringing my pipbuck to my eye-level. The compass was marked with one hostile marker, my adversary. As I had initially assumed, he had still been behind me even after I had slowed to give Cale his chance to find Vikki’s second flare. But when I tried to activate S.A.T.S., to use the spell to intercept the target on his approach, nothing was picked up. If it hadn’t been for E.F.S., I would have ultimately assumed that I was alone in the rain. But no… the marker was moving slowly to the right as the griffin moved, concealed by the downpour; even another flash of lightning couldn’t illuminate anything directly ahead of me. 

Directly ahead… one more look at my compass, and I saw as the marker begun to slide even quicker down the right side of the display, and just as it looked to come at me head on, I bit down on the firing bit and triggered S.A.T.S. again… nothing… but then, with a start, I adjusted my place in the air and beat upwards to face the falling rain directly; the griffin wasn’t above me either. 

To my right, two more howitzer shells slammed into the industrial park, and a white-hot bolt of agony ripped across the left side of my neck just as I leveled out in the air. I cried out, or tried to, only to be cut off as another bullet struck my belly from below, knocking the wind out of me as the Eagle Eye unit took the round, snagging it within its delicate array of mechanical parts. The combined hits knocked me out of my place, and I dropped a short ways as my aerial opponent shot by me before I caught myself in the air, leveling back out. 

“Outsider, I just lost my video feed!” Cale called into my headset. “Are you okay?!” Indeed, the camera had saved me from a bullet in the gut. But now, the artillery no longer had its eyes to shoot accurately, and there was still some fighting left on the ground. 

To Cale, I could only grunt a reply, gritting my teeth and shutting my eyes tight as the side of my neck burned with scorching pain. But as I made to reach a hoof up to where the bullet had grazed across my neck, to hold the already bleeding wound, I stopped myself, eyes snapping wide open as I forced my body to work through the shock of the injury. I beat upwards, driving myself to a vertical climb as I searched through the rain for the griffin. This time, I found him just as he completed a sharp arc to come to a hover above and to the west at me, presenting himself with the perfect angle to make use of his .50 cal.

As he reached for the larger rifle slung across his back, having already put away his carbine, time slowed to a standstill as I pulled up S.A.T.S., my jaws already clamped around my saddle’s firing bit as I lined up for an attack. Two dialed-in shots for the griffin’s torso, and I executed the spell, my rifles belting out hot words to my attacker. He jerked in the air, both pairs of shots hitting home in the belly plate of his black Legion armor. The consecutive hits staggered him just enough for him to lose his place in the air, though he quickly caught himself after a brief plummet. But I was on him in a split second, and completing my vertical ascension, I matched his altitude as he pulled his sniper rifle back up in front of him. My guns fired again in unison with the thundering fifty, and I felt the passage of the bullet as it raced just past my right side. My own shot went wide as well, and by that time, we had closed the distance to each other. Both of us evaded from what would’ve been a head-on collision, the griffin dropping farther down as I peeled away to the right. But then I hooked back around, banking sharply to the left even as my right wing joint popped from the twisting maneuver. The griffin was attempting to lead me, the scope of the .50 caliber attempting to draw a line similar to my flight path. 

I ground to a halt just before the rifle fired again, roaring in unison with another bolt of lightning. The round passed right in front of me as I let myself drop, falling over backwards into a short freefall. And with a twist of my body, I rolled left and back upright, then pulling up to level out as I drew Fire Rose from its holster. Up came S.A.T.S. once more, my maneuver putting me right in line with the griffin once again as he finished loading another round into the chamber. Two shots, left wing, and with the rainstorm’s thunder sounding, my mother’s pistol struck out at the griffin and nailed him, the second shot hitting the joint dead on; with a cry of pain, the griffin went spiraling down to the ground.

I immediately gave chase, keeping Fire Rose held tight in my jaws as I dove downward to catch up to the tumbling enemy flier. Only moments later, and the surface came back into view, forcing me to halt my momentum and level back out into a hover just shy of the ground. But the griffin was already there, currently laying on his left side on the edge of the street just to my right. Though being the enemy that he was, I couldn’t help but pause, my eyes widening just slightly as a mild shock swept over me. The griffin had landed on the already crippled wing that I had hit, and now, the limb was hideously broken, mangled where it lay splayed out from his side. But what was worse, the griffin had not landed on just solid concrete, which would’ve been hard enough by itself. No, the flier had landed within a mess of thick chunks of rebar that had been blown free of the industrial complex it had formerly helped to support, and I saw the pointed metal pike that had impaled him through his lower torso, the wickedly sharp point having been more than sufficient at driving through his armoring; he had nearly missed it, too…

Now, looking down on the heavily wounded griffin… I felt a tinge of guilt pushing its way through the adrenaline that surged in my veins. 

I had dived down with the intent of finishing the griffin quick and painless, even after he had lost his ability to fly. The sooner I killed off this flier, the sooner I’d be able to help Buckley’s team fight their way out of the Legion ambush. But that was before I saw this…… I could see him shift in the rain as I stared from my place of dominance in the air, his right front leg slowly moving as he tried to ball up his claws into a fist, letting out a weak series of coughs. There was no way the griffin would be getting right back up from that to fight again, and in truth, it was a miracle and a half that he had even survived the drop, even if he had managed to slow his plummet with his wings… he was completely at my mercy now… just like how Ivy had been at the mercy of Gunny when the barrel of his riot shotgun had been pressed to the back of her skull, just like Blossom at the hooves of the Black Blood when she was being raped in the news radio building. I had seen this kind of thing before in my two weeks plus in the wasteland, and it was true that I could have chosen to leave one or both of them behind and let fate have its way, to let the raiders have their fun with a defenseless mare, to let Gunny blast Ivy’s head open like he had wanted to. But both of those cases were different than the one I found myself in, because I had not been directly responsible for the situation those two mares had found themselves in. Blossom had been captured and held prisoner by the winning side of a large battle, taken as the spoils of war, and Ivy had integrated herself with the wrong faction at the wrong time, with Shore finding her as the only one left alive from the raider party that had ambushed Lucky Hallion and his wagon. 

But now, I was the only one here at this very moment. Shooting this griffin down had cost my adversary, at the minimum, a shattered wing and a crippled torso, and miraculously, he was still alive. Had he died, I would’ve called him another kill and moved on… but all he was now was utterly helpless… and I was the one responsible for it.

Already, different thoughts were battling one another for control. One urged me to put the bastard out of his misery, one more bullet to the brainpan to end it all for him. After all, he was a soldier of the Talon Legion, the faction launching an all-out assault on the Equestrian southeast. Hopeville, Plainwell, Ashton, whether he had been to any of these places yet or not, his faction had invaded my home, killed twenty of Stable 181’s survivors, and an officer of his faction had attacked my friends, made me his personal target. This griffin was just a soldier, but of the same enemy party – why not just leave him to bleed out and move on? At least I’d give him the rain and lightning and thunder to keep him company until his dying breath. Why not just turn away, let him pray for mercy from the Goddesses?

Because… I did this to him…

I could easily say that I had never hurt anypony this much, ever. Every fight I had been in through my efforts to help Hopeville rebuild, grow, and survive had led largely to quick kills by the combined power of agile flight and accurate shooting. Those whom I had not dispatched instantly had been killed shortly afterwards by those I fought alongside. But I had never left any that had survived a direct engagement with me, let alone just barely and with a whole mess of hideous injuries. That, and I had killed more raiders than anything else in my time on the surface. There was no sparing raiders like those that lived in Marefax – psychos who were already long gone – and there was no mercy to be given to Black Blood ponies who were nothing but one great raping and murdering disease on the face of the southeast. I had seen something in Ivy the night we had encountered each other, my gut instinct telling me that somepony so young who had joined the ranks of the Black Blood had to have a story as to the why of her actions, something that would show her real innocence; Ivy was an exception. But this… this wasn’t something I could just turn away from. I had expected the griffin to recover from the fall, at least enough to avoid being impaled on a metal stake, and I had braced myself for our battle to continue on the ground. But now, the griffin below was critically hurt because of me, and I knew he was out of the fight… more and more, the urge to help him was pressing me to move.

After all, he wasn’t a raider… ruthless as they were, the Talon Legion had a history that had begun as soon as the wasteland itself had. What if this griffin had a family to go back to in Hayward, like the soldiers of Challenger who might’ve had families in the southeast’s capitol city? What if this griffin had some kind of occupation back in his home, like Challenger’s metalworkers? If General Silverlight’s stories added up, Hayward was very similar to Challenger in all of those ways…… no… for this soldier, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt, and I’d give him the chance to leave this place and recover. With how badly I’d hurt him, even if it was through fair combat, it just didn’t feel right to leave him or execute him. 

Hell, maybe it was just the connection we shared together, seeing as how I had been run through the leg just a couple hours back; I wouldn’t be forgetting that for a long while. 

Two tremendous explosions to my left drew me out of my thoughts, and I looked to see as two raging clouds of fire rolled up into the air from the artillery shells that had smashed into the battlefield. “Be advised, Vikki, we’ve only got one more shell left from our stock. If you need it, we need to make it count.” Cale warned through the com-link.

“I don’t think we’ll need it now!” Vikki called, an air of triumph in her voice. “That last barrage nailed their right flank! I think we can push them back!” 

I didn’t catch how they pulled off another artillery strike without the Eagle Eye, but either way, it was beginning to sound like the Legion attackers were beginning to falter. The rolling flames from the howitzers quickly melted away in the rain, only to be replaced by another long barrage of 40mm grenades from Buckley’s wagon, a twenty millimeter flak gun still adding its own hot words to the fray. 

If I was going to get this griffin out, I had to stop thinking and do it now.

Holstering my pistol, I flew down the rest of the distance to the ground below and pulled up to backwing and drop to all fours in a gentle landing. The crippled griffin lay just in front of me now, coughing again as he attempted to get free and move. The futile effort brought him back down as he let out a ragged groan, definitely feeling the metal in his torso. But that was when I stepped into his line of sight, and right away, the griffin tensed up, going silent as I slowed myself to a cautious walk, glaring; a quick search showed me that his rifle was far from his reach, having landed several pony-lengths south down the road.

“Ah… shit…” the griffin coughed again at his attempt to speak. “Thought you… thought you were Buckley’s pegasus… Didn’t think I’d be taken out by the one… Blackhawk was talking about.” 

“Shut up!” I sternly retorted, making my way up to him; I had no interest in talking about that name at the moment. 

“What… what are you doing?” the griffin questioned, cringing away as I closed the distance between us. “Why isn’t your weapon drawn?” 

“I may have beaten you up there, but I’m not letting you die like this.” I replied, looking the griffin in his avian eyes. “It doesn’t feel right killing you when you can’t fight back, and… it seems like an evil thing for me to just let you bleed out onto the pavement.” 

“You… you don’t sound so… sure of yourself.” he remarked, grunting as the metal ground against his innards. 

I really wasn’t… and to be honest, my previous explanation had sounded better in my head than when I had spoken it aloud; it made me wonder for the seventh time just why I was helping this griffin… yes, I was counting. “Look, believe it or not, I was impaled with metal today, too, so I know that pain you’re going through.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “And truthfully, I don’t think anyone should suffer through that, even if he is an asshole working for a bunch of other assholes.” Swiftly, I added, “But fair warning – if you make any move for that rifle on your back or try to attack me while I’m helping you, I’m going to put a bullet in your skull. I just want that to be clear.”  

The griffin actually let out a single note of laughter, then coughing in a stronger fit afterwards. “You’re… a strange one…” 

Well, I at least had a good feeling about him taking heed to my words. “Just shut up and focus on getting this thing out of your gut.” I stepped around to get a better view of the wound, standing perpendicular to the griffin’s sprawled out body. “Okay… I think you’re going to have to push yourself off this thing. Can you brace yourself on your front legs?” 

“I can try…” he weakly answered, carefully moving his forelegs to set his claws into the pavement. Again he swore, still managing to get his front paws under him. But the metal spike, at least from what I could see sticking out from his left side, looked to be shifting; I was no medical expert by any means, but I had a feeling that the metal had the potential to cause a lot more internal damage.

“Wait, stop.” Despite being in the presence of, for all intents and purposes, an enemy, the griffin obeyed my words and ceased, still keeping his paws on the ground despite his trembling forelegs. “Let’s take this slow.” 

The griffin soldier let out a sigh, sagging as he took in a deep breath. “Okay… what do you want to do?” 

“I don’t know how secure that pipe is, but if we move the wrong way, I think it might break. I don’t know how possible that is, but if that happens, then it’ll take more than just healing potions to fix the wound.” Weighing out my options, I stepped around the griffin and stopped in front of him, the soldier looking up to look me in the eyes. “I don’t have anything that I can cut that metal with, and tampering with it will probably make a mess of your insides.” I explained, looking over the griffin’s head to the bleeding wound. “I think we’re going to have to pull you all the way off.” 

“I don’t think I’d want… to take that too slow…” Again the soldier coughed, but this time coughing a loud and ragged note whose strength sent red flecks to the ground. “I hope this didn’t punch through… anything vital.” 

“Okay, you’re bleeding out, and you’re coughing up blood now.” I retorted, making no effort to hide a little irritation. “When I’d been impaled through my leg, a quick yank was all it took. The sooner you’re off of that thing, the better.”

“You didn’t… get a full fucking body piercing though… now did you?” 

Touché. 

“Then if nothing else, we’d better get you up quick before Buckley’s team drives away the rest of your comrades.” I argued, a little more civilly. “Over my headset, it sounds like you’re not exactly winning anymore.” 

But it was that argument that won a little more impact, and I noticed how the griffin’s eyes widened for just a second, the soldier then letting out a sigh. “They’re strong opponents… have a huge advantage with those Old World guns and machines…” he said, shifting his forelegs before he shook his head, another weak note of laughter leaving his beak. “The Old World’s going to play a big role… in the weeks to come… Blackhawk’s been saying that for a long time now.” 

“We’ve got to pull back! Cut through the suburbs and rally back at Delta Station! Move!” 

The anonymous mare’s voice cut through the griffin’s words, making him cock his white-feathered head with a start at the orders that came through his own portable radio – the rectangular black box clipped to his chest plate. I used the moment to press forward, saying, “If we don’t get you off this thing, you might not get back to your friends. And I can’t take you as a prisoner. Buckley won’t allow that.”  

That sealed it. “Fine… fine, let’s get this over with.”

With that, I approached him, looking once more over him before I came to my decision. The best way to get through this was if I helped pull him up from in the air, and I communicated this to him as I beat into the air, hovering in over him. “You’re bigger than I am, but I can use your armor to get a hold of you and pull you off of this thing.” The griffin merely nodded, enough of an indicator to me that he was ready, and slowly, I moved in to hover right above him before reaching both forelegs down to the armor protecting his shoulders. Though it took a moment of searching, I found two places where I could grasp on the armored padding, despite it feeling more like an awkward hug in the process. Ignoring this, though, I spoke up once more, saying, “Okay, on three, I’m going to need you to push yourself up, and I’ll pull at the same time.” 

“I got it.” came his reply. 

I nodded, holding his shoulder armor tight. “Okay, ready?…… One, two, THREE!” 

Gathering my strength, I beat my wings to give me additional pull as I tugged hard on his plates. The griffin yelled out a long and painful cry, and I grimaced as I heard the metal sliding along his flesh. But still, the soldier kept going even as he took in a sharp breath and cried out again, forcing himself up with his forelegs as I pulled him up from above. Then, with a final sickening sound, the metal rod slipped from the wound and the griffin was free. 

He immediately toppled back to the ground as a thick spurt of blood splashed to the rain-soaked pavement, and his larger body nearly carried me back to the ground with him before I let go of his shoulders. Again, he let out a cry, his right paw snapping over to clutch the hole in his torso as I flew around to land by his head. “AGH!… Shit, that burns!” 

“Settle down, keep calm.” I urged the legionnaire, lowering my head to try and look him in the eye. “I panicked when I had that metal slab pulled out of me, but I learned that you can’t do that. You have to keep your head clear. Just breathe.” Already, the soldier was managing to at least keep himself from crying out again, letting his now bloody paw settle back to the concrete as he fought to get his breathing leveled out. “There you go… just breathe.” I encouraged, reciting some of the words of comfort my own friends had said to me, back when I had gone through this very same thing; over the next few seconds, he was beginning to calm. “I’m uh… guessing this was your first time going through something like this?” I asked after a moment, cautiously making an effort to lighten the mood as the Talon soldier pulled himself together. But the griffin only looked at me, cocking an eyebrow and wearing a mildly annoyed scowl; I nearly facehoofed as understanding hit me. “Oh… wait… bad use of words. Um… my mistake.” 

But still, the griffin eased, giving me a small nod. “Yeah… first time.” he answered, then letting out a sigh. “You?” 

I nodded back in return. “Yes, mine too. Hurts like nothing else though doesn’t it?” 

Despite the scenario we found ourselves in, two enemies sharing a sudden and unplanned truce, the griffin laughed again, a light but lasting chuckle. “Yeah, that’s putting it pretty lightly.” 

“Raptor, report in!” The same mare who had first spoken through the griffin’s communicator called out again through the diminishing sounds of the fighting, drawing both our attentions back to the radio. “Buckley’s artillery will have us zeroed if we don’t move, so we’re falling back to Delta Station! Have you finished up in the sky?!... Raptor, respond! Are you okay?!” 

For a moment, the two of us exchanged looks… I knew that I’d have to leave, and very shortly. Plus, judging by the griffin’s expression, I felt that he knew the same. “What are you going to say?” I asked.

Silent, he turned his attention back to his radio, raising a foreleg to tap a claw against one of the buttons. “Rayne… this is Raptor.” the griffin spoke. “I’ve been shot down, my left wing and foreleg are broken, and I think I’ve got a couple busted ribs… I’m getting off the street to take cover…… That pegasus really wanted me dead, but the last hit I scored chased her off.” 

“Yes, I see your beacon on my pipbuck!” came Rayne’s relieved response. “I’ll come to you and get you to the rally point! Just hold your position and I’ll find you! It won’t be hard to sneak past this Buckley group!” 

“I understand… I’ll hold position here.” With that, Raptor let his claw off the radio, then turning back to me as he shifted to lay on his belly. “You’d better go. I’ve held my word, but any other Talon soldier that comes over to find me is going to shoot you on sight.” 

After a pause, I nodded to him, letting my wings fan back out as I prepared to return to the Buckley team. The griffin had made a convincing story, and since he hadn’t tried to kill me up to this point, I knew that he was giving me my window to escape, to disappear back into the rain. And though a part of me felt like I should’ve given some sort of farewell gesture or word… my mind just couldn’t come up with anything to do so. In reality, we were both still enemies. He was a soldier of the Talon Legion, the force that Hopeville would fight again and again if it appeared on our horizons. And whatever the Legion’s intentions were here in the southeast, I had a feeling that Raptor would continue to obey his orders and fight against Challenger and the southeastern settlements. Though it was actually kind of depressing to think about, I was fairly certain that if we were to ever meet again, we would clash just as we had today, even after this. It was a strange situation… but now, the deed was done. Raptor was free, and I knew that he’d recover to live and to fight another day, and maybe even to see Hayward – his own home – again someday. 

But as I turned away and stepped forward, my wings ready to carry me back up, Raptor spoke up one last time. 

“Why did you spare me?” 

I paused, lowering my head as the sound of the rain took over, now free of bullets and flames. In the silence, I tried to think once more as to the why of my actions, to be able to give him an answer that would sate the question. I really, truly did try, and I knew that he wanted to know. Hell, he called me a ‘strange one’, and today made the perfect example of that designation; it proved him perfectly right. I had made multiple arguments in the privacy of my own thoughts that supported my actions – that it didn’t feel right killing him when he couldn’t fight back, that I didn’t want to just blatantly execute a wounded soldier. But there was still a part of me that felt differently about those arguments, a part of me that felt that they weren’t really reasons why. Maybe there was a deeper and more moral motive as to why I had spared him, buried somewhere under all the other churning thoughts and all of the new memories that our journey to Marefax, and our time in the city itself, had given me in just seven or eight hours. But Goddesses, for the life of me… I just couldn’t find that reason. I was too tired, my body was tired, my mind was tired, and my heart yearned for the coming night tonight in Buckley, to be back with my baby brother and with my friends, and to immerse myself into the musical treasures guarded behind Buckley’s guns. I just wanted to be done with this place, this ruined city. We got what we came for, saved what deserved to be saved… now, I just wanted to leave. 

Finally though, after what must’ve been a solid thirty seconds or so of standing in the rain, I looked back at the griffin soldier over my shoulder, and with a small smile and a shake of my head, I answered him. “I don’t know.” And facing back forward, I got a quick running start before I launched back into the sky, leaving Raptor to await his reunion with his companions; soon, it would be my turn to rejoin with my own. 

***				***				***

“Goddesses, Buckley ain’t never looked so good.” 

From just behind and left of me, I heard one of the stallions speak just as my eyes settled on the air force base, resting in perfect peace just beyond the crater-filled landscape surrounding its viciously defended perimeter. At last, at last, we were on our final approach back to the base, having pulled our wagons off-road for the last leg of the return trip to save ourselves time. It had been over a four hour journey, after bringing every team from the mission back together again, from Marefax to familiar turf, and everypony in the wagon train had had their fill of walking. Me? I didn’t care how much walking had to be done. I was just glad to leave Marefax at my back, and to put Buckley Air Force Base in front of me once again. 

It wasn’t my own home, but I had to agree with the unnamed guardspony. Buckley’s giant hangers were all visible to us, as was the A.T.C. tower and the club building next to it (which was called, as I had learned from idle chatter amongst the guards during our return journey, Club Eternity). All of these buildings sat strong and proud against the light gray backdrop of a late afternoon sky, which I had come to appreciate and be much more thankful for after today’s expedition. The wasteland sky had returned to its normal cloudy self, the rainstorm we had been soaking in back in Marefax having dissipated roughly two hours into our journey back. This now gave me a perfectly clear view of Buckley where it lay, and I gave a nod of approval at the sight of that place, that place that was full of life and home to a thriving community, of which I felt I was now, more or less, a friend to. “Yes.” I remarked. “Buckley does look rather beautiful, doesn’t it?” 

To my left, I caught sight of the male guard who had spoken before as he trotted by. He slowed his pace long enough to look back at me, giving me a small smile and nod before proceeding ahead to the lead wagon. 

With Shore and Raemor by my right side, I was keeping pace to the left of the third wagon in the train, all three of us walking at the center of the column. As the train continued onward, the chatter of the guards swiftly picked up in volume and energy as they drew ever closer to a well-deserved rest. Talk was being passed around about trips to the spa, prayer sessions at the church, a night with friends at Club Eternity, and much to my embarrassment, my ears had picked up a talk between two guard bucks of how one of them was apparently supposed to receive a “special present” from his marefriend for being brave enough to volunteer for the Marefax expedition.

After letting my cheeks burn from having overheard that bit, I had decided to strike up some conversation with Shore and Raemor, and had jumped right away into the subject of the concert. Though Raemor had been present in the air traffic control tower for the Marefax meeting, he had not fully shared my excitement for the upcoming event. In fact, throughout the majority of the return trip, my old unicorn friend had been largely silent, and had more than once confined himself to the silence of his own thoughts. Idle talk with him was concernedly short, and though I was curious as to what was on his mind, I kept myself from pressing the matter as per his request.

Shore, on the other hoof, was looking forward to the concert nearly as much as I was. Having heard of it multiple times already, he told me that he intended to ask Gracie to join him in attending Buckley’s event, and had also, much to my pleasant surprise, revealed to me that he had begun developing some feelings for her. In his explanation, he had blamed the wasteland for bringing these feelings to the fore of his mind, pointing out that the cause had been the difficulty of keeping Hopeville alive with everything that Stable 181 left us with. Of course, I had seen Shore keeping close to Grace, a specific instance being after the burial ceremony for those lost in Hopeville’s battle against the Black Blood. In response to that, my friend had explained that the two had been growing closer throughout our time on the surface, Grace often coming to him for emotional support. Apparently, her level of guilt in regards to her duties as chief medic in Hopeville had been more severe than she had let on during my talk with her all those days ago. But, on a brighter note, the two had begun to bond through other means, Shore making frequent trips back to the clinic to help her, and learning a bit about medicine in the process. In turn, she would join him on patrol or share meals with him and his parents. And within the past week, the two of them had made it a habit to sit outside late at night to watch the sky, admiring the cloud cover for what it was, together ignoring that it blocked away the sun and the moon behind it. 

In the end, Shore concluded that there was nothing overly intimate between them yet, and that they had done nothing to show that. Still, this was welcome news to me, and I vouched for him, expressing my opinion that a romantic relationship sprung from their long-lasting friendship might shape into a very strong connection between the two, should Grace feel the same way towards him. Predictably, that was what made the scientific stallion nervous, and while I told him that it was understandable, I also made sure to encourage him as to the opposite, to emphasize how important this could turn out to be. The two of them had been friends for so many years, and each had played a major role in each other’s lives. He knew this just as much as I did, knew how many times the two of them had been there for each other, both in times of struggle within Stable 181 and in the good times growing up together. And I made sure, through my own words, that he knew just how much meaning was behind that. 

Though my words didn’t serve to make him more courageous, my friend had appreciated my support on the subject and spoke his assurances that he’d think all of that through before the time of the concert. And I made sure that I kept the fact that I was singing in the concert a secret, because now, I had something else that I could devote my vocal performance to tonight, and I’d be damned if I didn’t give my friends the best sound my voice had to offer. 

Several minutes passed, during which time the train circled behind the blasted warzone around Buckley, which years of artillery bombardment in defense of its territory had created, and merged onto the smaller road that connected the base to the Old World highway to the west. Now, having just wrapped up the more casual topic of dinner, myself, Shore, and even Raemor, hoping to get ourselves another one of the Buckley orchard’s fruit dishes before the day was up, I looked up ahead just as Buckley’s main gate begun to open. Beyond the fence, civilians and other guards were already beginning to assemble, much like they had when my friends and I had been captured and led here. Within the base itself, things were largely quiet, the silence only broken by the moderate yet solid roar of Lily, the base’s metal behemoth of a tank currently rumbling north along the eastern runway; Goddesses, that tank was on the other side of the base, and I could still hear its engines loud and clear.

Scattered out along the base grounds, ponies from the residential quarters of were beginning to flock to the gate, some of the citizens of the settlement already assembling into two rows, one by each of the gate’s watchtowers, for the wagons to travel between. I could hear voices coming from the slowly growing crowd by the gate’s twin watchtowers, shouts and even cheers rippling out to us as we closed the distance between ourselves and the safety of the base. To my amusement, some of the train guards were already calling out happy energetic responses, shouting out the names of friends and loved ones and waving. I could virtually feel as a great wave of relief swept over the expedition force, washing away Marefax’s shadow, casting aside all the reminders of the wounds everypony had received fighting the city’s psychotic populace, and replacing it with the joy of finding home again, and bolstering the knowing that the expedition was a total success for Buckley. 

We had completed both objectives in the city as stated in the original meeting. Every instrument that had survived in the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre, including the great pearl-white grand piano, had been removed from storage and loaded into the wagons before Commander Tracer had pushed the raiders back, taking out their flak gun and killing off the greater majority of the attacking force. Likewise, the Cirrus Communications team had been successful in finding multiple intact machines, terminals, and components, and had completely filled their wagon with gear that would serve to reprogram Buckley’s air traffic control system into a regional broadcasting system; it was Commander Tracer who had said that the tower would, once having undergone the appropriate modifications, be able to communicate with anypony in the region holding a working radio, including Hopeville and the few pipbucks contained within the settlement. 

And finally, the artillery team, though having used all but one of its shells, had gone through the entire expedition without any direct engagements, save for one attack from a couple of stray sand hornets. The fifty caliber machinegun on the munitions wagon had easily done its part to protect the howitzers and their gun crews, and they had experienced no casualties or injuries. If there was one setback to be found in the expedition, it was that the Eagle Eye camera, the only one of its kind that Buckley possessed, was destroyed. Though confident in Tech Sergeant Lela’s ability to get it running again, the artillery captain had been adamant in claiming that it would take weeks to get it working properly again. In the meantime, Buckley’s artillery teams would have to make use of their training experience in order to judge distances to targets and fire their guns accurately. It was declared only a minor hindrance, and was utterly trivial when knowing that the cherry on top of the whole ordeal was that it had gone without a single casualty. It was a genuine testament as to the skill and organization behind Buckley’s fighting force, and I, for one, was truly impressed… even if, in the end, there remained a certain longing in the back of my mind, a wish that Buckley might put that skill to use in helping Challenger and the smaller settlements that the city attempted to nurture and protect. 

“Everypony form up on me!” Up ahead, Commander Tracer was standing on the left side of the road, calling out just before the first wagon came to a halt in response to his order, the others following suit as the red earth pony spoke up. “I don’t have to tell any of you how important this expedition was for Buckley.” he said, the guards from the wagon swiftly gathering together around the commander. “Through your efforts, this base will be able to reach out to the outside world within the safety of its own walls, and we will soon be on the road to learning everything there is to know about what life on the outside is like.” Together, Shore, Raemor, and I trotted up closer to the commanding officer, stepping up to the outside of the assembled group to listen in. “Mother Shimmer’s plans for Buckley’s future are beginning to unfold now, and I can see in many of you a sense of hesitation at the execution of these plans. But remember just how long Mother Shimmer has guided Buckley, how she had led our grandparents and our parents from being simple wanderers from a corrupted Stable to becoming the most powerful settlement in the entire southeast. Throughout her history with us, her commands have been few and far in between, her leadership has been fair and kind, and her decisions have always been made for the betterment of our home. And I know that each and every one of you still places your faith into her, and knows these things to be true.” Here he paused as murmurs and nods passed along the assembly, and he was silent long enough to look among each of his subordinates surrounding him in a half-arc. And as a small smile touched his lips, he added, “With this in mind, these are my final orders for you. First, make sure to take in and understand this achievement, and take pride in knowing that you’ve all helped to make this happen. Because while many are still nervous about integrating into the outside world, I have every faith that what we have done today will mark a giant step towards a brighter future for our children, and our children’s children.” Again, approving nods and words went around the group. “Secondly, also make sure to understand how much it means to Buckley’s artisans that we accomplished our goal at the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre.” Tracer went on. “These instruments will serve well in the concert hall, and it’s thanks to all of you that we’ve brought them back to be played, admired, and preserved here in Buckley.” To my private approval, heartier cheers went up at the mention of our collected treasure from the Old World theatre, and even I couldn’t help but let out a celebratory holler with the assembled guards. “And finally… everypony here – return to your friends and families, relax and spend time together. You have all more than earned the rest of the day and the coming night off. And that is the most important order of them all, so if I see any of you in uniform tonight, I will personally haul your asses back to your waiting loved ones.” Together, the guards begun to laugh and talk together as Tracer let those words settle in, and with a final nod, he finished with, “The pulling teams need to take their cargo wagons to their specified locations, and the spare howitzers need to go back to the munitions hanger. The guard detail is dismissed. Welcome home, everypony!” 

With that, our much livelier wagon train was on the move once more, and within the next minute was crossing the perimeter back into Buckley. As soon as the first guards passed the fence, the entrance came alive with shouting voices and hooves stomping the pavement in applause, the growing crowd of civilians and the occasional sentry welcoming the expedition home with all possible heartfelt sincerity. Mares and stallions from the crowd meshed quickly into the train as it moved, some passing praise and congratulations on a successful journey, and others sweeping up and embracing their husbands and wives, their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Whoever they were to one another, things begun to take a turn for the emotional, and though the entire journey had only been made in around half a day, it was, considering Buckley’s circumstances, entirely understandable. And on top of that, I couldn’t help but smile as I crossed the perimeter with Raemor and Shore at my side. For this settlement, it was indeed a time to celebrate the accomplishment it had made, and more important, the efforts of those who took the greatest risk in executing Buckley’s first tentative step into the outside world. I was glad to have done my part to help in its mission, and I had every bit of faith that this mission had indeed set a course for a brighter future outside the cage of isolation, a new world that Buckley would hopefully share one day with Challenger, Hopeville, and the other settlements of this growing region of Equestria.

“Nova! Nova!” 

At the sound of my name, I came to a sharp halt, ears perking. Even through the growing noise of the crowd, I heard the call that carried my name as it cut through the voices. And moments later, as I scanned the line of Buckley ponies to my left, the little gray colt with the blue and white mane and tail who was the culprit wormed his way between two of the Buckley citizens in attendance of our return, carrying the biggest smile on his face. 

“Blake!” As my baby brother wound his way in between two mares watching the convoy pass, I ran ahead and closed the distance to him just as he freed himself. With a leap, he threw himself into my chest, hugging me tight around my neck as I scooped him up against me, bombarding his neck and shoulders with affectionate nuzzling. “Hey there, baby brother!” 

“I’m so glad you’re back, Nova!” he replied, likewise nuzzling up against my neck as he stayed latched to me. “I missed you so much!” 

I let myself giggle at that, and shifting, I sat back on my haunches before gripping Blake head in my forehooves, pulling him away to look him in the eyes. “Goodness, Blake, I think your hugs are getting stronger every day.” I replied, chuckling again as we looked into each other’s eyes; Goddesses, his smile was the most adorable and heartwarming thing I had ever seen.

“Good!” he said back, pulling himself out of my hold only to throw himself against me again, the both of us laughing together as I hugged him tight once more in an effort to match his strength. This time, I had no intention of letting go, even as the fourth wagon passed on by behind us, and I only closed my eyes, so eternally grateful to be back with my brother again.

Then, I felt another hoof on my back, a gentle touch that brought me to look up and to my right. There stood the bright red unicorn mare with a pink and white mane and tail, my favorite medical mare, smiling down at me. “Hey, Grace!”

With a laugh, she pulled me into a great big hug, resting her head over my neck. “Welcome back, Nova. It’s so good to see you again.” 

“I’ve missed you, too.” I replied, hugging her with my right foreleg even as I kept hold of Blake with the left. “I’m so glad to be out of that city.” 

“I’d have to imagine so.” Releasing me and taking a step back, I was met with sympathetic eyes. “I was worried about you three, what with all the dreadful stories we’ve heard about that place from Lucky Hallion and Challenger. Hopefully we’ll be refraining from making another trip to a big city for… well, the rest of our lives.” 

I nodded, oh so very vigorously. “Oh, you can count on that.” 

Smiling at my assurance, I watched as she turned her attention to a patiently waiting Shore, the buck giving her a smile of his own before she swiftly embraced him, forelegs around his neck as she pulled him in. “Oh Goddesses, I missed you, Shore.” 

“Likewise, my friend.” he gently replied, draping a foreleg over her back, Grace leaning into his hold. “How are you?” 

“So much better now that you’re all back safe and sound.” Gracie answered him with a giggle, leaning back to briefly nuzzle along his neck, pausing as she found Raemor where he stood keeping quiet farther away. “Good to see you in one piece, Raemor.” she happily added. 

“Thank you.” the old stallion replied, dipping his head in greeting. “It’s good to be back where it’s safe.” 

“How are you holding up, Raemor?” I asked, both Blake and I looking back to him where we sat together. 

“I’m well enough.” he answered, slowly moving into a walk again, following the wagon train as the last howitzer passed us by, the main gate rattling closed once more behind the gun team. “But I think I could use another visit to the church after I clean myself up.”

I cocked an eyebrow at the brevity of his response, a concerned frown quickly shaping itself on my face. I suppose that a short reply was something that I should’ve expected, especially given how little he talked on the way back to the base. But that didn’t stop me from becoming worried about him. True, we had only been traveling together for a couple days, but that was beside the point of my worry. He was still a member of our group, our team, and that made him an ally that I cared for, whether he wanted that to be the case or not. “Do you want to talk?” I asked, cautious. “I’ve noticed that you haven’t been in the best of moods since leaving the city…” 

“I appreciate your concern, Nova, but no thanks.” he replied gently. “You’re back here with your friends and your little brother. I would rather you enjoy the time with them than worry about an old stallion like me. I’d rather just dismiss myself if you have no further need of me.” 

“Come now, Raemor.” Grace spoke up, Shore releasing her to allow her to step around and approach him. “You may think we aren’t exactly comrades-in-arms, but you can talk to us about anything that’s on your mind whenever you wish. Whoever of us is around will listen, I assure you.” 

At that he gave a little shake of his head. “Honestly, I’d rather not go into detail about it.” he replied, turning away from us to face the direction of Buckley’s church. “Let’s just say that I… didn’t find what I was looking for in that city.”

Grace cocked an eyebrow, attempting to decipher his response. “Whatever do you mean?” However, despite her pressing, the old stallion merely walked on by, leaving us at his back as he followed the train and the dispersing crowd of civilians deeper into the base. “Oh…”

“Something about Marefax certainly hit a sensitive spot.” Shore observed, turning back to me with an equal expression of puzzlement as my own was. 

“The poor dear.” Grace spoke softly, sympathetically. “I hope he tells us what’s going on. We can’t help if he doesn’t tell us what’s wrong.” 

I sighed. “It was hard for everypony – for us and for Buckley’s team. And for Raemor, right now at least, I just don’t think he’s comfortable telling ponies he’s hardly known about his personal thoughts. We can’t blame him for that.” 

“I know… I just hope he comes around.” Grace replied, both she and Shore nodding.

“Me too.” Looking down and to my left, I could see Blake as he gazed up at me with curiosity, searching for answers. “Don’t worry, baby brother.” I assured him, lowering my head down to nuzzle along the side of his face. “Raemor’s just had a bit of a day.” 

“Was the big city that bad?” he asked. 

“Yes, it was a very bad place.” I answered, sagely nodding. “That’s why I didn’t bring you along that time. Marefax is no place for a growing young colt like yourself. It’s far too dangerous.”  

“Oh…” Pausing, Blake leaned up against my foreleg, resting his head there. “Are you okay, big sister? You weren’t hurt or anything?” 

“Well, I was hurt.” I explained gently. “But Buckley has good ponies living in it, and they took care of me while Gracie stayed with you. So don’t you worry, I’m perfectly fine.” 

Looking back up, Blake’s smile returned to him, making me smile along with him. “That’s good.” 

“Hey, Nova!”

The sudden call of my name drew my attention to the left where, amidst the few remaining civilians that mingled with their returned companions, Saharra came trotting towards us. The concertmaster mare was still garbed in her combat rig, but her assault rifle had been discarded, likely left with the wagons as they split up to head to their various destinations. “Hi there.” I greeted, letting myself rise to all fours as she approached. 

With a smile, she came to a halt before me, then asking, “Glad to be back?” 

“Yes, and it’s certainly a far sight better than when I first came into Buckley’s territory.” I replied, casting an easy smile back to her. “Don’t worry, I’m not holding it against you. Just stating the facts.” 

“I understand. Believe me, I do.” she assured, pausing to pass a look at my little brother. “And how are you, little one?” 

“Good, now that my sister’s back.” he happily piped up. 

Saharra nodded, a light and good-natured laugh escaping her. “I can imagine.” she replied, looked back up at me. “Hey, Nova. I just came back to tell you that Ludwig’s looking for you. Now that we’re back home, he wants to start getting set up for tonight’s event.”

Ah yes… it was time. “I was already planning on heading back to the spa to clean up. Equestria gave us a long enough shower as is, but another meeting with Gisela and Marlena would see me back to my normal and cleaner self.” 

“Yes, that’d be a good idea.” Saharra agreed. “You have some time, but Ludwig wants everypony to be at the rehearsal in about an hour or so. You know where to go.” At my nod, she dismissed herself, passing a quick hello to Shore and Grace before setting pace at a steady trot back towards the concert hall building to the northeast. 

“Rehearsal?” Gracie quickly questioned, cocking her head in curiosity as I looked to her. 

“Yeah, I need to get going and drop off my gear at the shack.” I explained. “After that, I’ve got some things I need to do around the base for Ludwig.” 

“You’re leaving again?” Blake asked, his voice already tinged with worry.

“Oh no.” I assured swiftly, turning to face my young sibling and look him in the eye. “I’m not leaving Buckley again today, I promise. But somepony wants me with them this evening to do something. I just have some tasks to do to help out.” 

“But you just got back…” my baby brother protested with a frown. 

“Oh, I know baby brother.” I replied, giving him a delicate nuzzling along his forehead. “But I have to do this, especially since it’s a surprise that I’m making for you and the others.” 

At that, Blake’s ears perked up as he locked eyes with me. “A surprise?” he questioned, a small and interested smile returning to him. “What kind of surprise?”

“A good one.” I spoke, intentionally brief as I cocked an amused eyebrow.

“Well yeah, but what is it?” he pressed, rolling his eyes at my prior response.  

I giggled at the adorable question. “Well, if I told you what it was, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, silly.” 

Blake smiled bigger. “But if you tell me, I’ll still act surprised.” he offered, nodding to urge me to give in.

But I didn’t. “Oh no. That’s not how these things work, goofball.” I countered, whereupon my baby brother sagged in defeat. 

“Aww… okay…” 

With a polite little laugh, I leaned back forward and place a kiss on his forehead. “But don’t worry. I know you’ll love it when you see it.” To my private satisfaction, those words got him to smile again.

“A surprise, huh?” Grace then put in beside me. 

“Yep. A surprise for you and Blake and Shore and Raemor. All of you.” I replied, giving my friend a single determined nod. 

“Hm…” Judging by the faint but present smirk on her face, I had a feeling that Grace was already beginning to fit the pieces together… but, at least Shore still looked fairly clueless as to the nature of my surprise; that was still a victory. “Well, if you need to get this done, then we should probably get moving.” 

I smiled back before turning away from her, joining my brother at his side as we faced the residential quarter. “Yeah, good thinking.” 

And as we begun the walk back to our shack in the north residential quarter together, I focused ahead, carrying that smile with me through each step; I could hardly wait for the coming night!

***				***				***

With a final powerful chord, suspended at full strength from the grand assembly of brass and woodwind instruments, Ludwig gave a wave of his conductor’s baton and cut the note off as the piece finished, every single player halting their sound simultaneously as the concert hall went silent. And then, with a nod, Ludwig lowered the baton away, the players assembled before him relaxing as mutters of approval went around. “Ha! Well done!” Ludwig spoke, a big smile on his face as he looked approvingly amongst his ensemble of musicians, stomping a hoof on his podium in applause. “Well done indeed! This has been an excellent dress rehearsal, and each and every one of you is sounding absolutely wonderful!” Pausing, the proud music director buck turned to face the large congregation of all of the participants of tonight’s concert, looking back and forth between us, taking in the sight of our presence. At this point, after not only rehearsing my own song in front of all these musicians, but now being among the ranks of so much musical talent, I was nearly shaking with excitement. Everypony who was on the roster for performing in the concert had been summoned to the performance area, from Buckley’s large symphony orchestra, to the singers of Buckley’s church choir, to the DJs and techno-wizards of Club Eternity, and even a youth ensemble comprised of over a dozen children of varying ages, as well as six adults who supervised their rehearsals and played tunes with them. Between every ensemble, it was safe to say that there was well over a hundred total musicians that would be making the magic happen; and to think that that was over one-eighth of the settlement’s total population! 

“You’ve all put so much work and care into this, and I think this will be an outstanding concert because of your efforts.” Ludwig continued. “And remember, thanks to the efforts of all those who journeyed to Marefax today, we now have a full complement of instruments in the orchestra. For the first time ever, we will be playing music of the grandest scale, of the larger genres that may very well have never been heard since the war itself. Because of this, our performance tonight will be one-of-a-kind.” 

“Hey, and don’t forget the outsider!” 

From somewhere in the crowd, Saharra’s voice called out to Ludwig where he stood, and immediately I shrank, flushing in embarrassment as Ludwig and several of the nearby musicians turned their gaze to me. “Yes, most certainly.” Ludwig agreed heartily. “Please, applaud her! Her voice is truly a gift upon the outside world!” 

Though I shook my head, waving a hoof to shoo away the compliment, hoofs against the floor made my effort a feeble one. Thankfully, whether it had been my utterly embarrassed composure or not, Ludwig mercifully raised a hoof up to bring the applause to silence, whereupon he returned to speaking again. “As of now, we have just under an hour before the concert will begin, and we will open the doors to Buckley’s citizens in around thirty minutes” he explained. “In that time, please make sure to take care of any final errands and preparations, whether it be getting dressed, checking instruments, anything. When you’re not performing, you’re free to sit amongst the audience on the ground floor and partake in any of the dances that are a part of our repertoire for the night. Just remember the order of the songs on the roster for tonight’s event, and keep track of the concert’s progress.” Pausing, he turned to look back at the orchestra on stage, glancing back and forth between them and the rest of us on the floor. “Are there any questions for me before we disperse?” 

After a moment, I raised a foreleg, the only one to do so. Once he spotted me, I asked, “When should we return back behind the stage when it’s our turn to perform?” 

“I’d recommend you come backstage to get ready when the song before yours begins, which goes the same for everypony.” Ludwig explained. “For you, Nova, you should return at the start of The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun.”

“That comes right after The Mummer’s Dance, which is Loreena’s first vocal solo of the concert, if that helps.” Saharra added.  

I nodded. “Okay, I can do that.” However, if I remembered the concert program I had seen correctly, I didn’t have to sing until near the end of the event; ooh, I’d have so much to listen to before then!

“Any other questions?” This time, silence met Ludwig’s query, and with a smile, he gave us a nod. “Very well. I’d like the orchestra members to bring their stands backstage while the choir sets up their risers and the Eternity ponies prepare their equipment. Remember that the choir is opening the concert after the children’s ensemble plays their piece as the audience finds their seating. Also, I need all of our soloists outside of the ensembles – those being Loreena, Saharra, Glider, and Nova – to head to the backstage dressing room. Moonbeam’s waiting to fit you with your concert attire and makeup… except for you Glider. You don’t get makeup.” 

“Aw, damn it.” remarked the brown unicorn pony with a smooth crimson mane close by my right side, rolling his eyes with a smirk; he was Buckley’s principle pianist, and would be showcasing the Moonrise Theatre’s grand piano that we had recovered from Marefax. “You just know how much I love wearing me some eyeliner.” 

“Maybe next time.” a mare next to him teased, an albino earth pony mare with a flowing golden mane; this pony was Loreena, a popular singer in Buckley that was adored for her small-ensemble work in the settlement’s concerts. “But come along, we need to get ready.” 

“Y’all have fun putting on your silly dresses.” another buck at the front of the crowd spoke with a polite chuckle, a red-orange unicorn stallion with a wild black mane. “DJs don’t do fancy clothes.” He was, in fact, one of several DJs at Club Eternity, known specifically as DJ Flynt; he would be playing as part of the instrumental accompaniment in my own song. 

“Says the buck wearing orange-lensed glasses.” Saharra countered.

“Jealous.” 

“Dresses??” My question drew the conversation to a halt, Ludwig turning to look at me with surprise as I realized that I had, much to my embarrassment, more blurted out the question rather than asked it civilly. “Sorry…” 

“It’s okay, outsider.” Loreena responded, giggling politely as she stepped forward to meet my eyes. “Yes, aside from those in the larger ensembles, the soloists in each concert are tasked with wearing special and more ornate dress-clothes for their appearance on stage. Normally they pick what they want to wear beforehoof, but since you are new to Buckley, Moonbeam will have likely picked one for you already.”

“And she always knows what to pick from our storage.” Saharra chimed in. “I don’t know what she’s specifically chosen for you, but I’m sure you’ll like it, even if you’re not a big fan of dresses.” 

“Oh no, it’s not really that… it’s just that, back in Stable One eighty-one, we didn’t have dresses.” I explained. “Or at least not like… the ones for special occasions like this one. The most we ever had were just gowns and things.” 

“Moonbeam keeps quite a selection.” Ludwig replied with a smile. “They’re all pre-war and wartime dresses, all perfectly preserved. Some of them were even made by the hooves of Rarity herself. You might like what you find.” 

Wait… whoa… “The Rarity? As in the mare who ran the Ministry of Image??” 

“The very same.” Ludwig answered. 

I cracked a smile, impressed. “Oh wow…” Up ahead, Loreena and Glider made their way towards the stage, whereupon Saharra followed after them, snapping me back to focus so that I could do the same. With a quick chat, the concertmaster decided to take the rest of us to where this Moonbeam pony was waiting, and as we left, the assembled musicians in the performance space begun to go about their final preparations. The backstage entrance was a polished metal doorway that was built into the left side of the back wall of the stage, a second door sitting just to the left of that. Both of these doors would be concealed at the official start of the concert by some sort of drop-down panel, which would divide the wall from the two raised platforms at the far left and right ends of the spacious stage; this panel would leave just enough space behind it to conceal the groups that would wait their turn during the song that came before them. 

But just as Saharra’s horn came alight to open the door, said door swung open on its own, whereupon a tide of energetic and laughing children came pouring out, forcing her to scramble out of the way as they rushed out onto the stage. As I watched amusedly, after stepping back to take safety from the stampede, I noticed that some of the Buckley colts and fillies that came onto the stage were carrying a pair of colorful and hollowed out plastic tubes on their backs. There were reds and purples, yellows and oranges, greens and blues, each one pair varied from the other in length. With them were older children, two of them carrying cello cases slung over their backs, a third carrying a smaller violin case – one of the new violins from the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre. These were the younglings of the settlement’s youth ensemble, all of them emerging onto the stage in swift order. A pause followed, whereupon Saharra stepped forward to check beyond the door again. “Oh, please go ahead.” she said, stepping back. “We can wait.” 

“Thanks.” Next from the door, a big deep-voiced unicorn buck emerged with horn aglow. In front of him, a big percussion instrument on a tall metal frame was pushed forward on small wheels, the instrument composed of an array of wooden rectangular bars that were laid out like a two-tiered table, each bar with a letter engraved in the material and a sort of metal pipe underneath; atop it rested two mallets with heads wrapped in green yarn. “We’ll be out of the way shortly.” 

Behind the big unicorn, another smaller unicorn stallion was likewise pushing another one of the percussion instruments forward, this one an exact copy of the first. “Wow. I’ve never seen instruments like these before.” I remarked, glancing at Glider where he stood next to me. 

“These are marimbas.” the buck explained, watching as the members of the youth band continued out onto the stage, one of the older children hauling out a compact electronic keyboard behind the marimba unicorns. “Each one of those wooden bars you see makes its own pitch when struck by a mallet, and those pipes underneath them allow the sounds to resonate. They’re not used as often in our concerts, but when you get to hear them, they’re really something.” 

“And what about those plastic pipe things?” I inquired, turned back to the stage where the orchestra members had now almost fully cleared out, making way for the children. “What are those?” 

At that, Glider chuckled. “A childhood favorite of mine – they’re called boomwhackers.”

I cocked an eyebrow, making the stallion smile bigger as we exchanged glances. “What… seriously?” 

He nodded. “Yeah, seriously. Each one of those pipes makes its own pitch, determined by the length. I think each of those kids is carrying two of them that are the same note. They’re a boatload of fun when you’re learning about music, and we always start the kids off with some experience with them.” 

“They’re all unicorns.” I observed curiously. 

“You kind of have to be in order to play the boomwhackers, or at least a pair of them at once anyway.” came Glider’s reply; indeed it was that there were four unicorn colts and four unicorn fillies, all eight of them telekinetically removing their respective “boomwhackers” from the strap holders that had secured the strange instruments to their owners’ backs. 

By now, the rest of the youth ensemble had entered the stage to set up, the last of the personnel behind the two unicorns pushing out the marimbas being three string players, each with a viola in tow, and a unicorn mare levitating what I recognized to be the bass clarinet case that we had uncovered from Marefax. “Alright everypony, let’s not keep Moonbeam waiting.” Saharra spoke up, taking the lead and disappearing behind the door to the backstage area.

Loreena followed up behind her, and Glider let me enter afterwards before he closed the door behind us. The backstage area of Buckley’s concert hall was very similar to the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre, with a short but wide hallway leading to a four-way intersection. Saharra led us down the next hall branching right, which hooked inward to follow the curved shape of the back of the stage itself. Our trip was short, however, and after a left turn at the end of the second hall, Saharra led us to a set of open double doors. 

“Ah, Saharra, come in!” A cheery mare’s voice from inside the room greeted the concertmaster as she trotted inside, returning the greeting with one of her own. “Oh good, you’ve brought everypony. Please come in, come in.” At her beckoning, Loreena, Glider, and I followed Saharra inside, where we came face to face with a quintet of closed closets built into the far wall of the otherwise open chamber. The only other additions to the room included a pair of long wooden dressers, each with its own full body mirror leaning against the wall next to it, to the left, and five large privacy stalls – changing rooms – to the right; a single light built into the ceiling provided a moderate level of light for the room. 

“Moonbeam, I know you’ve met Loreena and Glider before.” Saharra spoke up with a chuckle. “But I’ve got one of the outsiders with me who’ll be singing in the concert tonight. I’d like to introduce you to her.” 

From ahead, Saharra stepped aside to reveal a peach-colored unicorn mare with a darker orange mane, meeting my eyes with a curious stare. “Hey there.” I gave her a tentative wave. “I’m Nova… one of the outsiders I’m sure you’ve heard a bunch about.” 

“I certainly have heard a lot about you and your friends.” Moonbeam replied, laughing nervously with a faltering smile to match. “I must admit, I was nervous about you at first. I didn’t know what a group of outsiders might have had in store for Buckley. It certainly put a kink in my schedule, what with me looking over my shoulder every other minute for some crazy knife-wielding psychopath.” Wow… thanks… “And now here I am, about to give you a dress for our newest concert. My, my, how quickly things have changed.” 

I was more than ready to change the subject, especially considering that she had supposedly been searching for a psychotic pegasus mare… who just so happened to be small and lightweight and fragile, smaller even than Moonbeam herself was; I mean come on, I was literally the embodiment of…… not-scary-rampant-psycho-murderer-mare. “Well, this concert certainly is something.” I said, a short but awkward moment of silence filling the room just before. “It’s really an honor to be participating in it.”

“I heard you singing during the rehearsal a little bit ago.” she commented, much more easygoing now. “You have a voice to match some of our own singers here.”

“She just doesn’t believe it yet.” Saharra remarked with a chuckle. 

“I’ll believe it,” I assured, a little laugh of my own escaping me. “but only if my friends say the same thing.” 

“You’ll prove it to them soon enough, outsider.” Glider encouraged. 

“And if you’re going to do that, you’ll need to look the part as well.” Back in front of me, I saw Moonbeam as she turned away to trot up to one of the closet doors, the center one of the five. “When you were rehearsing your piece, I had managed to get a look at you and take in your natural colors, outsider. I have a dress here that I’d like you to try, as I think it will complement those colors rather well.” 

As she opened up the closet, I took a step forward, as of yet unable to see any of the said dresses that might’ve been behind the doors. “Do I really have to wear a dress for this concert?” I asked, hastily adding, “I have nothing against dresses, truly. It’s just that I feel like I’m not trusted enough around here to wear one yet. It’s like Ludwig said back there, some of your dresses were made by Rarity. I mean, if I were to damage it…” 

“You’re right to be concerned, and I appreciate that.” Moonbeam answered, closing the first door and moving to the fourth closet to the right, rummaging through it. “These dresses and their preservation are my prime concern and passion here on base. But truthfully, the concerts themselves are much more important than articles of clothing.” Pausing, Moonbeam let out a soft ‘ah-ha’ as she found the dress she was looking for. “Still, it’s been tradition in Buckley for soloists outside of the largest ensembles to wear the more elegant clothing rather than just standard black or white gowns or full tuxedos. And hopefully, you will like the one I’ve picked out for you.” It was then that she stepped back out of the closet and, with horn shimmering soft light, brought before my eyes her choice. 

Hanging on a simple metal hanger was a graceful and breathtaking silk dress of pure sapphire. At what I distinguished to be the front of the dress, small diamond and sapphire gemstones glinted at me in the light of the room, and along the fabric, threadwork in the form of three thin silver lines wove in gentle curves from the front to the end of the dress. There looked to be two parts to the outfit, with what looked to be some kind of cloak that extended slightly up and outward from the main body of the dress. On the whole dress, there was nothing that was overdone, no excess decorations or fluff, nothing that threatened absurdity or outlandishness. Instead, its elegance was combined with what I felt to be a rather simple design, something that was made to express grace and beauty, but doing so while carrying with it a degree of strength, of confidence and spiritual fortitude. 

I was a thread away from speechlessness. “Goddesses… it’s beautiful.” 

“I had a feeling she’d like it.” Saharra remarked quietly from her place nearby, leaning over towards Loreena who let out a polite giggle. 

“It’s one of Rarity’s designs, likely made during the later years of the war.” Moonbeam explained to me, smiling as she removed the hanger and set it aside, analyzing the masterpiece with loving eyes. “A lot of her more complex designs came during the pre-war era, back when her duties in the ministry didn’t take up her time, at least as far as I know.” 

“How did you come across it?” I asked, likewise looking along the rest of the dress as Moonbeam checked it over. 

“Rarity didn’t just make dresses for her friends.” she answered. “Back before the ministry took up her time, she made quite a name for herself in the fashion business, and her dresses took up places in markets all around the country. Even during the war, she still had some spare time to do what she loved the most, and her designs were still highly regarded.” 

“As for how Buckley has its own,” Saharra added. “a lot of the musicians that Stable One Ninety-two took in had their own concert attire, and some of the more renowned performers in Marefax came with some of Rarity’s dresses. The Stable, with Buckley following after, has kept them safe ever since the beginning of the wasteland days.” 

“Wow… I’m almost afraid to wear it. I don’t want to damage it.” 

To my apprehension, though, Moonbeam shook her head. “Oh, don’t worry about that, outsider. We’ll get this dress on you right quick.” Pausing, she turned back to the other three soloists, giving them the command to sit tight while she fitted me with my dress, and then, facing back to me, she nodded for me to join her as she presented the shiny blue fabric. “Alright, go ahead and start by fitting your head through here. Once you do so, I’ll do the rest.” 

With a nod, I complied, tentatively stretching out my neck before she slid the dress over me. My head fit easily through the hole, whereupon the dress rested atop me like one big cloak, before Moonbeam’s horn flashed with light. I immediately recalled the feeling of being picked up by telekinesis, back in Proudspire when Gabriel had tried to assassinate the settlement’s young leader. This time, the spell only lifted up my right foreleg to slide the limb through the leg slot at the front, Moonbeam doing the same to my left foreleg right afterwards. The spell startled me, though only slightly, and to the point where I was soon lost in discovering how my forelimbs looked with the equipped dress. The silk ran down to just past my knees, and with a light gasp, I discovered that the gemstones adorning the dress were arranged on the chest of the outfit, the alternating diamonds and sapphires starting at my shoulders and working their way down the silk in a V shape, the point ending at the base of my chest. At the center of my breast was a larger sapphire gemstone, circular-cut, that glittered softly with the smaller stones to either side of it. 

I raised a forehoof to touch the stones, tracing the left side up to my shoulder, then tracing the edge of the silk that fit comfortably around the base of my neck. Then, lowering my hoof back to the floor, I looked over my shoulder to see that Moonbeam had, true to her promise, already secured the majority of the dress to me. The dress had covered my upper and middle back, wrapping around my torso to equally cover my belly, all of this ending just shy of my hips. But my hindquarters were then covered with what looked to be a second part of the dress – the wide and long cloak-like attachment had been sewed into the main body of the dress, beginning at the shoulders and fanning out along over my sides and back. Moonbeam was now smoothing out the silk before letting it fall gently over my haunches to cover my hind legs, flanks, and my tail. Then, lifting up the left side, I heard as a pair of buckles clicked, connecting the back of the dress’s tail to the main body; upon doing the same with the other side, Moonbeam was finished.

“There.” she proclaimed, nodding as she trotted back around to stand beside me. “How does it fit?” Experimentally, I stretched out each of my legs, taking a couple of steps to feel how I moved with the priceless dress covering my body. It was a comfortable fit, a little loose, but still secure… with the only exception being my wings, which were not able to move; they had been pressed to my sides by the main body of the dress. However, when I expressed this concern, Moonbeam only smiled. “Ah yes. Let me fix that for you.” she replied, turning to trot back around to my left side. “A little alteration magic should solve the problem.” 

I cocked an eyebrow, following her with my eyes. “Wait, what are you doing now?” 

“You’ll see. Just hold still a moment.” Again, Moonbeam’s horn came to life with light, but this time much brighter, the light even seeming to pulse as she focused on my left side. To my shock, I saw as the fabric of the dress begun to split, as if an invisible pair of scissors was cutting into it, and Moonbeam guided the bizarre spell to cut through both the outer layer and main body of the dress until, wrapping the limb up in telekinesis, my wing was able to easily unfurl and open up wide again. It was then that the unicorn’s first spell then worked in reverse, and like a healing potion for dresses, the precise cuts Moonbeam had made immediately fused back together, wrapped delicately around my wing joint until the light from her horn faded away into nothing. 

For a greater lack of descriptive sentences, the words expressing my stunned mindset amounted only to, “Holy crap…” I gave my now free wing a couple of flaps, admiring how the gray feathers, every single one of them undamaged and present in the places they should be, meshed into the sapphire fabric, the dress now like a backdrop of the moonlit sky in the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre’s mural. “How in Equestria did you do that??” 

“It’s an alteration spell, a pre-war dressmaker’s favorite.” Moonbeam answered, executing the same procedure on my other side. “I learned it years ago from a book. It’s ideal for mending tears and adjusting the size of an article of clothing, but only so long as you don’t use it too often. It can be very taxing if it’s used on a daily basis.”

“I have a feeling that it would be hard to find a spell like that out where you come from, outsider.” Loreena chimed in, casting a smile our way as Moonbeam brought my right wing out with her telekinesis. 

Considering that the spell was used for altering the fabric of dresses… well, yeah. 

With a final nod, Moonbeam declared herself finished, letting the light of her horn fade away. “Feel better?” she asked me, to which I gratefully nodded; both of my wings moved just as they had in my M.P.D. armor. “Good, good. Now then, I have just a couple of things to add to this dress, and then, I’ll need you to have a seat by one of the dressers. Gisela and Marlena may have cleaned you up, but a little makeup goes a long way, and that’s something that you must have up on stage.” 

Wait a second… “Makeup?… Wait, I’ve never worn makeup before.” 

“There’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” Moonbeam asked, trotting away to the leftmost dresser and opening its bottom right drawer. 

I frowned thinly. “Is it really necessary?” I asked, dubious. Back in Stable 181, there had been a collection of mares who had spruced themselves up with various makeups, – powders and eyeliner and eyeshadow and other things of the like – but I had never really understood the point of the stuff. Sure it might’ve made mares look more appealing to the Stable’s stallions, but it was my mother who had indirectly influenced me to stay away from the stuff. She had said that is wasn’t makeup and a desire to prettify herself that had attracted my father to her, that it was her natural looks and personality that had done so, and that that was good enough for her; therefore, natural looks were my kind of thing.

“You’re in a concert, my dear pegasus.” Moonbeam replied with horn glimmering back to life, multiple containers floating on up to the top of the dresser. “Even if it’s light, I think a small application of some basic makeups will make a lovely final touch on you.” 

Yeah… I guess there was a first time for everything. “I guess… just so long as you don’t brush my mane or anything. I like that just the way it is.” 

“Of course. Although, I do have a couple of trinkets for you to wear, some extra things that match the dress.” Moonbeam replied, closing the dresser drawer to trot back over to the closets, this time opening the far left one. “A little extra decoration, especially the right kind, can really make an impact on how you present yourself.” 

Well, that was certainly a little more appealing than makeup. “What do you have?” I asked, stepping over to stand a distance behind the dress mare as she rummaged through the closet. 

“Just a couple of things.” she explained. “I already planned ahead when I picked out that dress for you, and I think they’ll compliment the outfit perfectly… Ah, here they are.” A moment later, and the mare emerged with two items in her telekinetic grasp. “What do you think of these?” 

The first item was a bracelet, a basic design that consisted only of a single curved plate, but with the steel-blue color of the metal, very similar to Archer’s coat color, glinting in the light from a recent and thorough polishing. The second item, however, was a breathtaking flower, a sapphire daisy with twelve lush petals and a vibrant yellow center; underneath it was a metal clasp. “Oh my… that flower’s gorgeous.” I commented with a smile. 

“It was freshly picked from the orchard, and not even an hour ago, actually.” Moonbeam replied with a matching smile. “If you’d let me, I’ll go ahead and put these on, and you can go see how they look in the mirror.” 

I nodded my approval. “Yeah, sure.” 

At that, Moonbeam stepped up face to face with me, first bringing up the metal bracelet. “Right or left foreleg?” she asked, to which, after a moment of thought, I raised my right foreleg. With her magic, she levitated the bracelet up to the waiting limb and clasped it down, fitting snugly between my knee and my hoof. “It’s an interesting replacement for that computer of yours isn’t it?” she commented, nodding in approval as she looked the trinket over. 

I agreed with a laugh. “It’s much more comfortable, too.” 

“Indeed.” she replied, sharing my laughter. “And now, the flower.” The beautiful blossom hovered up over my head, and at her command, I bowed as she craned her head up to see. Then, with a flick of her magic, I felt as the clasp under the flower slipped into my mane and closed, holding the daisy in place on the right side of my head, right by my ear. “There. Let’s have a look at you.” 

At her gesture, I followed the unicorn over to one of the full-body mirrors… and I stopped as the mare in the reflection met my eyes. Never in my life had I pictured myself trying to wear spectacular clothing, to dress myself up in such a way that would completely reverse my generally tomboyish physical appearance. Never, ever, had I believed that I could even come close to resembling a ladylike figure, a mirror model of some of the mares who had lived in Stable 181. And yet now, staring back at me was a reflection of that very figure who donned a gorgeous blue silk dress, with glimmering diamonds and sapphires on her chest and silver threadwork that wove along her sides like thin ribbons of moonlight. The steel-blue bracelet around her right foreleg glinted in the mirror, and the flower in her mane sat perfectly still, tilted at just a slight angle by her ear. 

In my eyes, what I saw was an icon of genuine ladylike beauty and grace… and… “Goddesses… that’s me.” The words came out in a whisper, my reflection and I shaking our heads in unison. Had I attempted something like this back in One eighty-one, I would have laughed at myself for the sheer ridiculousness of it all. And had I thought of the possible existence of something like this on the surface world, with the way it was now, I would have discarded the thought immediately. This was not something that belonged in the wasteland… this was something that didn’t belong to our world. But now, in Buckley, I was a wastelander utterly transformed by history’s treasures, the secrets that all those howitzers protected.

As Moonbeam trotted back to the dressers, giving me all the time I needed while she prepped my makeup, I shook my head before looking up to the ceiling. With all of this, I just had to wonder if, somewhere up there, my parents were looking down upon me, their little filly… now looking every bit a lady as I, or they, could have ever imagined. I smiled at the thought, and I swore I felt my parents smiling back at me. “Mom… dad…” I thought to myself. “This song’s for you.” 

***				***				***

Voices. 

Beyond the door, I heard the gentle roar of ponies’ voices as the citizenry begun to file into the concert hall for the upcoming performance. Saharra and I were together outside the back of the stage, the both of us having undergone our full dress-up before we dismissed ourselves. For me, Moonbeam had used only a small dosage of makeup that consisted of light powder on my cheeks and neck, a thin layer of eyeshadow, a single application of eyeliner, and a small touchup job on my eyelashes for what she said to be “more definition”. Saharra was now wearing a deep crimson dress that matched her natural coat color, with patterns of gold silk etched into the sides and the chest; a cerulean sash adorned with diamonds stretched from her left shoulder and crossed diagonally across her chest, hooking back up and around behind her forelegs. 

“It doesn’t sound like the youth ensemble’s started yet.” Saharra observed. “They’ll be playing the welcoming tune shortly, though.” 

“Will I have time to find my friends?” I asked her.

“Oh certainly.” she assured. “Just make sure to use the other door instead of going back onstage. The door will take you right back out to the main floor.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go ahead and find them, then. I’m really excited to listen to the other ensembles.” 

“Oh I know. You’re positively gushing with enthusiasm.” the concertmaster teased; it was true. “Just remember to come back to the stage at the start of The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun. You’re up after that.” 

“I will.”

With that, Saharra about-faced, and with a smile, said, “Alright then, Nova. See you on the stage.” 

Going our separate ways, I immediately raised a hoof to the door handle, turning it and pushing the door open. On the stage, the divider panel had already been lowered, concealing the backstage area from the eyes of the audience, and without the door to barricade the way, the sound of the voices reached my ears in full. “Sweet Luna, there’s got to be hundreds of ponies in here.” I muttered, turning my attention to the second door nearby and trotting over to it. The door led directly to a single hallway, a narrow walled-in walkway with a gradual downward slant that eventually leveled out at the main floor. Setting my pace at a steady trot, I followed the hall all the way back down until I emerged onto the floor. Without the wall blocking my way, I was allowed to take in the full sight of the concert hall… and it was impressive to say the least. 

The grand balcony above the main floor was filled with ponies, with well over a couple hundred already having taken seats while more still steadily filed in. On the main floor, families and small groups of friends were taking up spaces for themselves, spread just far enough apart from one another to allow a comfortable arrangement for each to sit together. The layout reminded me of a park where families would have picnics, and it spread all the way out to the opposite end of the concert hall, the giant space already taken up by another couple hundred attendants. 

Now, the question was how I was going to find Gracie, Shore, and Blake in this gigantic crowd. And yet, no sooner had I asked myself this when I heard my name close by, traveling to my ears even through the noise of the steadily growing assembly. But instead of finding my friends as the culprits, I was surprised to find Commander Tracer nearby as he gave me a wave. The commander of Buckley’s armed forces was wearing his blue and black combat armor, all of the plates having been repaired to new condition and with his copper, bronze, silver, and gold medals polished to a brilliant shine. On his head, he wore what I recognized to be a beret, made of black fabric with an Old World military patch sewn into the front, containing the red shield, open feathered wings, and two steel spears in a V shape surrounding the cutie marks of Celestia and Luna that made the Equestrian Air Force logo. 

“Oh, hello commander.” I greeted, dipping my head. 

“You look nice, outsider.” he replied, returning the gesture with an easygoing smile. “Looks like you spent some fashion time with Moonbeam.” 

I nodded with a chuckle. “Yeah, she really knows her stuff… She picked this for me since I’m singing up there later in the concert. It’s a really pretty dress.” 

“I can’t say I’m surprised that Ludwig would pull something like that.” Tracer remarked, shaking his head in amusement. “It’s a good idea, really. I look forward to hearing you.” 

“Thanks.” 

From behind the commander, I saw as a couple of citizens stepped aside for another pony, a mare I recognized as Buckley’s Master Sergeant, Amber Dawn, who was currently pushing a small, white, four-wheeled carriage with her forehooves. Tracer, following my gaze, spotted her and gave her a warm smile as she stepped up beside him and lowered herself to all four hooves, bringing her wagon to a halt. Her own outfit likewise consisted of combat armor, the lighter variant, with her own medals likewise cleaned and glinting; she lacked the beret that the commander wore, but otherwise looked very similar to Tracer’s own uniform. “Hey, Amber.” Tracer hailed. “How’s the little guy?” 

“He’s just as excited for this concert as everypony else is.” the amber mare replied, giggling as she peered into the carriage… what I now recognized to be a baby carriage. Then, looking back up at me, Amber Dawn gave me a smile of her own. “Hello, outsider. How do you like the concert hall?” 

“Oh, it’s great.” I replied, forcing my attention back to her as I mimicked her smile, then looking back up at the balcony. “It’s even more impressive at seeing just how many ponies are coming in.” 

“Most of the settlement files in for these concerts.” Tracer explained, swinging his head down to look into the baby carriage, adopting a rather fatherly smile. “This is Oscar’s first.” 

“Oscar?” I asked. 

“He’s our son.” Amber answered proudly. 

Oh… OH! “You two are married…” 

“That’s right. Have been for years, friend.” the commander answered, both parents turning to me and swiftly taking note of my surprise; they replied with silence.

I was quick to apologize, even though they hadn’t called me out on it. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that you two… well, you know, with you both being officers here…” 

“It’s okay.” Dawn replied with a shrug. “But while you might think it’d be awkward for Tracer to pass orders to me, and for both of us to work together as ranking ponies on base, we’ve grown more than used to living two lives.”

“On normal days, we spend a few hours out on base training the guards, inspecting vehicles and equipment, tending to whatever Mother Shimmer needs us to do.” Tracer explained. “We’re different ponies then, but outside of that, we get the rest of the day to be with our son, to be ourselves as a family.”

“Do you want to come see him?” Amber then offered, nodding even as I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “He’s wide awake and full of energy.” 

“Um… sure.” With a timid smile, I approached the baby carriage, stepping around the right side of the wagon before peering inside. There, in a pile of clean white blankets, a baby colt lay with stubby legs spread out as he writhed and kicked in his bed, wide curious eyes looking this way and that as the baby pony took in his new surroundings. Little Oscar had a bright orange coat that complimented his mother, and already, a lock of dark green was growing on his head and hindquarters, the beginning of a mane and tail that resembled his father’s hair color. And when those wide and curious eyes fell on me, I just couldn’t contain myself from the overly adorable sight. “Oh, isn’t he just the sweetest little thing?” 

Beside me, Amber Dawn chuckled again, lowering her head down to nuzzle her child. “He’s our angel.”

“How old is he?” I asked.

“He’ll be five months old next week.” Tracer answered with pride. 

I turned back to the little colt. “Aw, he’s adorable.” But then, Oscar suddenly let out a cute little wail, smiling big as his forelegs reached up for me, making me lean back in slight surprise. 

But to my cluelessness, Amber laughed, saying, “I think he wants to give you a hug.” 

“Uh…” 

“Don’t worry. He does this a lot for some reason or another. All our closer friends have been subject to his baby hugs.” Tracer added to my left, similarly amused as I looked up at him. However, at my hesitation, he only gave a nod. “Go ahead, Nova. I trust you.” Again, I faced the child, Oscar uttering another squeaky cry with forelegs swiveling while he waited for me. And shaking my head, with a baffled smile, I complied with the young one’s demands. 

Carefully, I lowered my head into the carriage, bringing my muzzle down to Oscar’s waiting forelegs. When in range, the baby colt’s hooves latched on, embracing me as he burbled incoherent toddler words. A hushed note of laughter escaped me at that, my breath passing over him as his little forehooves patted along my face, whereupon I tentatively nuzzled along his chest and belly. “I think he likes you, outsider.” Amber spoke beside me. 

After a moment, Oscar’s forelegs let my muzzle free, and I pulled back away, giving the baby his space. “He’s so cute.” I complimented in reply. 

“Thanks.” To my right, I felt Dawn’s hoof press my side, and looking at her, I saw a look of slight but noticeable concern. “Hey, um, I was actually hoping to find you tonight, just to get something off my back.” she said, to which I cocked an eyebrow. “You know, back when you first arrived, I was just doing my job bringing you in, making sure that you didn’t turn and try to attack anypony on the base and all that… but at the same time, I was kind of being a jerk to you and your friends… and even your little brother in one case. So… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for all of that. I know that you’re a friend of Buckley now, so I was kind of hoping that we could start over.” 

I smiled at that. “I think we can safely set all of that stuff behind us now.” I replied, noticing how the master sergeant visibly eased. “I’m glad you apologized though, not that I would’ve minded if you didn’t. But in regards to my brother, yeah, some of the stuff you said was annoying… and I did call you a smartass because of it. But, like I said, I think we can put all that in the past where it belongs.” 

“I’m glad to hear that.” Amber replied, raising a foreleg to me, whereupon I bopped my hoof to hers. “So, would you like to join us for when the concert starts? We’d be glad to have you.” 

“I was actually looking for my other friends.” I explained, looking past her and into the crowd. “If I find them, I can bring them back here.”

“I saw Archer farther back.” Tracer replied, nodding towards the entrance doors of the main floor. “I think he was with a couple of your friends.”

“Oh, good. I’m going to see if I can find them, then.” Already trotting away in search, I called back to add, “When I do, I’ll bring them to you.” 

“Sounds good.” Amber answered. “We’ll be here.” 

With that, I focused back ahead, scanning along the mass. At the moment, I couldn’t find any familiar faces amongst the base’s civilians, and the crowd was continuing to thicken. But thanks to Moonbeam, I had an easy solution to the problem, and with a flap of my wings, I sprung up above the heads of the multitude of ponies. Though that caught the surprised attention of those nearest to me, I only cracked a small smile as I hovered to continue my search, and finally, after a moment, I found a familiar pink and white mane amidst the field of color. With a short flight, I found Gracie standing with Shore and Blake, all three free of weapons, armor, and saddlebags, looking this way and that as they likewise searched for me. Thankfully, there was enough space to land easily by them, and hovering in, I tapped Gracie on the back before landing on all fours beside her.

My approach had startled her, as I had playfully intended, and she was shocked further when she turned to face me. At my presence, she took a surprised step back as she looked me up and down, eyes widened. But that surprise quickly morphed into a big smile. “Oh my Goddesses, Nova!” she exclaimed, lunging forward to wrap me up in a hug, an embrace that I happily returned. “Wow, look at you!” she continued, releasing me as she looked over my outfit again. “You’re so pretty!”

I laughed at her compliment. “Thanks, Gracie.” I could now chalk that commendation up as one that I had only formerly thought I would never hear.

“Whoa! Cool clothes, big sister!” Blake then spoke up, stepping up to my right before I likewise embraced him. 

“Hey there, baby brother.” I responded, nuzzling along his forehead. 

“Was this the surprise you were talking about?” he asked, looking up at me in open curiosity. 

“Just part of it.” I answered, releasing him as Shore stepped up beside Grace. “You’ll see the rest soon enough.” 

Then it was Shore’s turn, the both of exchanging our own embrace. “Hopefully I won’t mess up your dress, friend.” the stallion said, the both of us releasing one another. 

“Oh don’t be ridiculous.” I assured, waving a hoof dismissively. “This is one of Rarity’s designs. I don’t think a simple hug is going to do anything to it.” 

“Rarity’s??” Gracie exclaimed, to which I nodded in reply. “Oh wow, that really is something.” 

“I know it.” I agreed, stepping back from Shore to give myself some space. “Hey, where’s Raemor? Is he coming?” 

“No, I’m afraid not.” Shore answered, adjusting his reading glasses. “We had found him just before we came here, but he wanted to be left alone.”

“He still wouldn’t tell us what was wrong.” Gracie added concernedly. “But, perhaps he’ll come by later on.” 

“Hm… I think in the next couple of days, I’m going to see if I can’t get him to open up to us a little bit more.” I replied after a moment’s silence. “I was kind of hoping he would come, too.”

“Archer came with us, though.” Grace explained with a smile, nodding behind me when I looked back up to her.

Sure enough, when I craned my head around to look, I found the steel-blue pegasus standing a short distance away, looking to have just finished mingling with one of the civilian stallions who was trotting back into the crowd. The pegasus was now completely stripped of armor and weapons, and he wore no barding or saddlebags. No. He was completely bare, steel-blue coat fully exposed… and Goddesses, I had to say he was quite a sight. The handsome stallion was sturdily built, not bulging with muscle but still toned and physically fit, and with that, he also maintained the sleeker and… well, frankly, sexier… ahem… character of the pegasus species. I could tell by looking him over that he had made his own trip to the spa to wash up, his coat devoid of discolorations, and his midnight-black mane and tail a single solid and unblemished color. His wings, like my own, were well-kept, not a single feather out of place; even the brutal injury that his left wing had taken in Marefax was completely gone. However, I found one feature about him that was particularly striking, that feature being the stallion’s cutie mark. I recognized the shape of a puffy cloud, from the bottom of which lashed out a lightning bolt. But the strange thing about it was that the whole mark was done up in black, with a lingering charcoal hue surrounding it like an ominous aura of smoke on his coat. 

“Nova…” The stallion’s voice snapped my attention up to his eyes… those strong, striking hazel eyes. But to my surprise, I found that those very eyes were looking at me slightly widened, Archer’s mouth hung just barely open as he approached me… as if he were trying to find the right words to make his next sentence with. But then, frozen in place, I found my right foreleg being delicately hooked in his, and slowly, the pegasus raised the limb up to his muzzle before placing a tender kiss just below my bracelet. 

Then, bowed over the leg, his eyes flicked up to me. “You look absolutely beautiful.” 

Oh… oh my…

In half a second, I found myself blushing hotly as Archer released my foreleg, now smiling back at me with that small but confident smile of his as he patiently waited for a response. “I… I bet you say that to all the mares.” I managed, cocking my head to the side in a futile attempt to hide my embarrassment.

But the stallion shook his head, still keeping that smile. “Hardly.” 

Somehow, someway, my blush intensified… any moment now, I’d be bursting into flames. 

“Oh… th-thank you…” 

Then, my ears perked at the sound of a procession of quick and lively musical notes, and I turned to find that the youth ensemble, having already been set up, was now beginning their tune as the crowd begun to go silent. The ensemble had set themselves up so that the eight younger unicorn children carrying the boomwhackers were lined up at the front of the stage. Behind them, set up in an arch, were the eight older string players of the ensemble, and on either side of the formation was one of the ensemble’s marimbas, each attended by two older unicorn children. The ensemble’s electronic keyboard was set on the far left side, wielded by a young earth pony filly, and the bass clarinetist, an adult unicorn mare, was set on the right. The boomwhackers were striking the floor to accompany the steady melody coming from the right-side marimba set, and the two double basses, played by adult earth ponies, added to the music as their players plucked at the strings with their hooves. Then, another layer of sound was added as the second marimba set took over the melody, with the strikes of the boomwhackers growing in volume as the music continued to build upon itself.

Music to the rescue!

“Oh, they’re starting.” As the catchy tune continued, I motioned for Archer to join me by the others, my friends coming to stand by me. “Commander Tracer and Amber Dawn are set up just over that way. I told them I’d bring you all to them when I found you.” 

“Sure, lead the way.” Grace happily replied; to my great amusement and approval, she was already bobbing her head to the energetic beat of the tune. Thankfully, appealing as the melody was, Gracie still followed behind me as I guided my companions back through the crowd. And as I led them on, I quickly found myself humming with the introductory tune as it progressed. 

Now, the concert had truly begun!

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

With a laugh, I happily stomped my forehooves on the floor in applause, the concert hall erupting with cheering from the hundreds of ponies inside. On the stage, the children set their boomwhackers to the floor and smiled, waving to the crowd as the string players set their instruments down to bow on their own accord, the talented marimba players, bass clarinetist, and young pianist doing the same. A moment later, and the ensemble swiftly gathered up their instruments, the adults of the group helping to move the larger instruments as Buckley’s youth ensemble cleared off the stage, the applause beginning to fade. 

The piece that they had played, serving as the greeting song to welcome everypony to another musical event, had perfectly fit with the purpose it had been given. It was so lively, so colorful and rich, and so otherworldly, quite in the literal sense of the word. Whether it was supposed to be one of the concert’s “dance tunes” or not, I had found myself up on my hooves and swaying with the beat, and Grace had saved me from looking like a total fool by joining in my dancing with equal enthusiasm; to my pleasant surprise, the Buckley citizens around our spot on the floor had only smiled at our shenanigans, a couple of them even dancing together in response.

I loved this concert already, and we had so many more songs to go!

As the youth ensemble exited behind the divider panel, my eyes caught motion coming from the ceiling, and I gawked at the sight of a wide platform lowering down from the ceiling. It was suspended by multiple steel arms, the whole thing like an industrial-grade elevator as the system mechanics above it faded out of sight, the lights of the performance space suddenly dimming to almost complete darkness, leaving only a small array of lighting units to illuminate the stage. As the platform slowly descended, the corner of my vision caught movement from the stage, and once more, applause roared back to life in the hall as Ludwig emerged. Carrying a smile on his face as he trotted onto the stage, Buckley’s music director was garbed in a handsome tuxedo with a white shirt and bowtie and a black overcoat, and his blonde mane was combed back and smoothed out. 

Adding my own hooves to the noise, I watched as he trotted over to the front and center of the stage, facing the audience of hundreds and giving a humble bow. Then, the stomping cut out with uniform swiftness, and with horn glowing, Ludwig spoke. “Welcome, one and all, to a brand new concert!” he announced, his amplified voice carrying across the entire performance space. “I will be brief, but I do have an announcement to make… As you have likely heard, Buckley has made its first venture into the outside world today, sending an expedition out into the wasteland beyond our fences for the first time in almost seventy years. The goal – to find and secure Old World technology that would ultimately give us a foundation to make an attempt to integrate into the outside world. But hoof-in-hoof with this was an objective devised by Buckley’s musicians – to find Old World musical instruments that survived the balefire apocalypse, and to bring them under Buckley’s protection. And I am proud to say that both of these objectives were completed successfully, and with no loss of our own.” His words were met with strong applause, voices cheering… although, I noticed, not as loud as before, as my friends and I likewise applauded Ludwig’s words. “Tonight,” the director continued, the noise dying away. “Buckley’s musicians are proud to bring you a special event, one that would not have been possible without the valor and bravery of our homeland’s fine guardsponies and the commander that leads them. Everypony, before we begin, please give a round of applause to Commander Tracer and any and all Buckley guards that are present for tonight’s concert. They’ve earned the praise!” To my approval, the audience’s response was much stronger as they stomped and cheered, and with a smile, I turned to my left to where Commander Tracer sat nearby, giving a small wave before Amber Dawn reached over, drawing him in to face her and planting a loving kiss on his lips. “And now,” Ludwig’s amplified voice continued, drawing my gaze back to the stage. “without further ado, I present to you Buckley’s artists from every corner of the musical world, here to present to you some of the finest treasures from the Old World.” 

As Ludwig dismissed himself from the stage, the lowering elevator behind him came to a halt, the steel arms setting it down soundlessly on the stage before they were released from the clamps on the platform, retreating back into the ceiling from whence they came. On the platform, a set of iron pedestals arranged into four levels held an assembly of around fifty mares and stallions, all standing side by side and holding, whether on music stands or telekinesis, songbooks from the church. 

Buckley’s church choir would be starting off the concert tonight, and from the front row of the risers, an earth pony mare garbed in a simple black cloak stepped down as applause once more carried through the concert hall. And after a deep bow, she turned about and faced the choir, raising her right foreleg that brought every singer to attention. And then, with a fluid motion of her hoof, the choir sounded its first note.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

With a final motion of her leg, the choir conductor commanded the ensemble’s final chord, the fifty voices up on the risers sustaining the sound at a surprisingly soft volume. And slowly, the chord faded out into nothingness, the ethereal grace of the song’s ending eliciting a shiver to travel up my back. Silence was allowed to follow the song’s closure, that final chord ringing in my ears as I greedily kept it in my memory. Then, the concert hall was alive with hearty applause that I eagerly joined with, watching as the conductor turned and bowed with a smile. 

“Goddesses, I love the sound of those voices.” I commented over the noise, leaning over to where Blake, Grace, and Shore sat by my right side. 

“It’s awesome!” Blake cheered enthusiastically.

“It most certainly is.” Gracie agreed with a giggle, Shore nodding beside her. “It’s so soothing, so elegant.” 

“It looks like they’ve got another song for us, too.” Archer remarked, turning to look at me where he sat by my left side, between myself and Commander Tracer, Amber, and little Oscar. 

Already, the applause was fading out, and when we all turned to the stage again, I saw as the conductor once again faced her ensemble, right hoof coming up again as the choir came to attention. And with the same fluid motion, the voice of the choir graced our ears once more.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

With a sigh, I smiled and bowed my head as the final breathtaking chord rang from the choir, basking in the purity of the sound and the proceeding silence as the choir conductor cut her singers off. I was among the first to stomp my hooves for the beautiful song, my brother and my friends all following suit with the rest of the hall. Up on the stage, the choir conductor once again faced us, and together, both she and her ensemble bowed to their admirers. This time, the applause went on for what seemed like minutes, the choir standing tall and proud and taking in the approval of the audience. But when the ovation begun to fade again, movement from behind the stage’s divider panel caught my attention. A red-orange unicorn stallion with a wild black mane, DJ Flynt, leapt out onto the stage, and behind him, a cluster of half a dozen others came filing out. The applause immediately reignited as Flynt grinned to the crowd, looking out into the audience through his orange-lensed glasses and trotting up beside the now-amused choir conductor. “Hello Buckley Air Force Base!” the DJ called, horn alight to cast a similar amplification spell to Ludwig’s. “Yeah!” 

I couldn’t help but smirk as my ears took note of the extra-enthusiastic cheering coming from some of the mares in the audience. 

Trotting on by, likewise giving waves and smiles, three of Flynt’s crew members (consisting of two unicorn stallions and one mare) carried with them a heavy black table with two large built-in speaker boxes and cables coiled up neatly on its flat back. Upon bringing it to the right side of the stage, they set it on the floor, whereupon the mare of the team immediately took hold of the cables and unwound them with her magic, guiding them to some sort of outlet on the stage wall. 

“Man, I’ve gotta say, there’s nothing quite like hearing the church choir.” Flynt spoke with energy as his team set up shop. “They’ve got a lot of talent in order to belt out a sound like that, and you just know their hearts are two hundred percent into their music. How about y’all give ‘em another round of applause, huh?” 

The audience immediately complied, causing, I noticed with a laugh, the choir conductor to flush before she bowed again. At the far left end of the stage, a second team of three unicorns, all mares, were setting up a similar speaker array to the first as, behind them, another unicorn mare, electric blue with a neon purple mane and tail, emerged carrying an electronic keyboard and an instrument stand in her telekinesis. This instrument she brought up to Flynt, whereupon she swiftly set up the stand and placed the keyboard atop it. 

Adjusting his glasses, DJ Flynt continued with, “But I tell you what, there just comes a time when you need a little more rhythm in life. The church might pack the melody, the elegance… but we at Club Eternity pack the beat!” The crowd’s voice rose once again as the energetic DJ paced along the stage; to his right and left, his teams of lively unicorns were coming to attention, waiting for their cue as their contraptions were set. “I think it’s time that we give y’all a taste of that tonight.” Flynt asserted, trotting back around behind the assembled keyboard to join the mare at its keys. “And to all you guys and gals on the floor,” he added, drawing a hoof past all of us as he kept that smirk up behind his glasses. “don’t disappoint us by not getting up and dancing. Because these next few tunes are made just for that!” With a laugh, the DJ looked between his crews, the choir conductor snappily raising up her foreleg to cue her singers, all of whom had set aside their songbooks to stand relaxed on their risers. And getting nods from both teams, Flynt faced the keyboard and gave the nod for his portion of the concert to begin.

And as the first electronic notes rippled out through the speakers, my friends and I all stood as the DJ commanded; within seconds, we were one and all moving to the beat.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Even as the song continued to die away, the ponies in the audience were already cheering and laughing together as Flynt, his fellow DJs, and the choir all continued to smile and grin together. I was facing Blake, with Shore standing by my left side and facing Gracie as we let ourselves relax from our dancing, which had been everything but skilled or professional. In truth, the stomping and spinning and jumping to the beat might have been, to some, the most ridiculous-looking thing in the wasteland, especially in my case with the dress I wore. But not one of us cared – we were having fun, my outfit and makeup were just fine, and all of our energy now merely served to fuel our laughter that followed the song’s closure. It had come as a total shock to me that electronic music had, somehow, been shaped to coexist with choral tunes back during the olden days. It was certainly not a combination I had been expecting, and yet, I had just heard it and danced to it, with all my friends, old and new, at my side. 

And there was still a whole night left.

From the ceiling, the metal arms of the elevator reappeared, falling silently to the stage as DJ Flynt once again amplified his voice with a spell. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” As the spirited DJ and his team soaked in the approval of the Buckley citizenry, the metal arms locked back into place on the platform that held the choir, and with a light groan of metal the elevator begun to recede back up to the ceiling, carrying Buckley’s church choir with it as the ensemble members waved their farewells. “Give one more shout to the church choir for me! They’ve done good tonight!” Flynt added, backing up a few steps to watch the elevator as the audience heartily obeyed his encouragement.

As I recalled the dress rehearsal, I knew that what was coming up next were tunes from Club Eternity itself, music that wasn’t paired with a different ensemble, but only pure electronic music from the Eternity DJs themselves. Though the phrases I had heard from the rehearsal earlier in the day did not chalk up the club music to my absolute favorite genre, what I had heard was very pleasing to the ear and quite catchy… epic, as Flynt himself had callx. Either way, it had still been amazing to learn that the tables up on stage, powered through Buckley’s spark generators, packed all of the dials, buttons, and other components that they needed to create a huge range of different timbres. They could even mimic whole choirs and orchestras, create their own percussive elements with an electric touch, and create a seemingly limitless number of background effects to create a diverse genre of music. All in all, I was more than ready to hear a couple of full tunes in this style.

With the elevator locking back into the ceiling above the stage, Flynt turned his attention to the audience, looking among us over the rims of his bizarre glasses. “Alright, everypony. We’re gonna keep dishing out the beats for y’all now with a club favorite.” he explained, trotting back to his place by the electronic keyboard. “I tell you, I don’t know why, but this next tune we’ve got lined up really gets me thinking, gets the mental gears going. I think that when you spend enough time with all this equipment, blasting through hours upon hours playing through some of these tunes and tinkering around with them, it makes you look back on the past… and it makes you think – ponies like Vinyl Scratch and DJ Foxtrot really knew what they were doing back then. They really knew how to make something that could impact a pony, inspire them… now those are a couple of pre-war idols for us guys and gals in Eternity, and if those Old World DJs are up there listening to us tonight… well, these next jams go out to them, and they go out to all of you in the audience tonight, who’ve got the blessing to hear what they’ve left behind for us.” 

Then, adjusting his glasses, his smirk returned to him as he left his reminiscent speech. “Now let’s get this party started!” 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Through the noise of the dancing crowd on the performance floor, I barely heard as the song cut away. But I did hear as a new tune picked up right away, emerging lightly into existence, as if forming from the voices of the hundreds of ponies around us. 

Around me, Shore, Grace, and Blake had been dancing at their own paces to the last song, none of them even looking to be anywhere near tiring. Even Commander Tracer had been on the move during the previous tune (more because of the pressuring of his highly-amused wife), somehow moving his legs to where he looked to be trotting in place; I had no idea how he pulled it off, but at my inquiry, he had explained to me that the dance move was called a shuffle… Goddesses, more power to him, because I had no clue. Only Archer had been the more relaxed among us, seeming to prefer listening to the music rather than dancing to it, as he was still doing now. 

“Don’t quit now, big sister!” Blake called, already dancing as the tempo of this new song begun to solidify. “The music’s starting up again!” 

I laughed in reply to my baby brother’s enthusiasm, gladly trotting up to his side to take up a position to dance with him. “Oh don’t worry about that.” I assured, once again allowing my body to sway and my head to bounce as my ears picked up the beat. “I’m right here with you.” 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

“Well, I’m already tired.” Grace spoke, leaning against Shore where he stood as the second of Flynt’s songs came to an end, catching her breath. “I need to take a break from all this dancing.” 

“I’m glad you said so.” Shore responded looking down at her as I grinned. “I was near done myself.” 

“Aw, you guys are no fun.” I teased, turning to Blake where he continued to prance about near me; the beat of that last tune was still planted firmly in his head. “You should take some lessons from Blake. He’s a regular bucking bronco over there.” 

Yeah, he was definitely blending perfectly with everypony else on the performance floor, as not a one of them were tiring at all; I guess we outsiders had a thing or two to learn about dancing.

“Goddesses, you guys and girls are a damn fine crowd!” The mare next to Flynt with the neon purple mane and tail spoke now, giving a hearty wave from her place behind the keyboard as Flynt begun to tap away at its keys; a single, unaccompanied melody echoed through the building, a repeating phrase that I could already move to. “I love being here on this stage, it really is something else.” the mare progressed. “And this is actually my first time up here. I-” Her words came to an abrupt stop as cheers were thrown her way, both from the performance floor and the balcony, startling her for a brief moment before she smiled again; her blush reminded me of myself as I added my own applause. “Alright, everypony, don’t make me start stuttering up here. That’d be embarrassing.” she spoke, her amplified voice carrying through the noise to provoke a light round of laughter. “But thanks, either way. We’ve got one more Eternity melody lined up for you now, a personal favorite of mine that I think will keep all this energy in here flowing smoothly. So make sure you all got somepony to dance with out there on the floor!”

“I want to dance with Gracie! I call her!” 

Right away, I found myself laughing the hardest I had all night at my baby brother’s claim, and when I faced him again, he was already standing before her, the red unicorn staring down at him with a cocked eyebrow and nearly shaking as she attempted to contain her own laughter. “Oh, I don’t know, Blake.” she replied, averting her gaze in thought even as a suppressed chuckle escaped her. “You should say please if you’re going to ask a lady to dance with you.” 

“Yeah, where’s your manners?” I teased. 

“Um… I mean, please?” 

Again, Grace and I laughed. “Oh, don’t worry Blake, we’re just picking on you.” the medical pony assured, mussing up my brother’s mane as he smiled. “Let’s have a dance. I’ll pull through one more for you.” 

Hm… oh, idea!

But when I turned, I found said idea sitting rather motionless on his haunches amongst the shifting crowd, smiling a small smile to the stage as the unicorn mare finished her speech. “Hey, Archer!” My voice caught his attention, the pegasus turning to me with curious eyes. “You should come dance with us.”

“Oh… no thanks. I hope you don’t mind, I’m just not much of a dancer. I like listening to the music more than moving to it.” 

“Aw, come on, it’ll be fun.” I pressed, trotting up to him to jab at his shoulder. “After all that dancing we did together in Marefax dodging the bullets and knives of psychotic raiders and persistent legionnaires, I want to see you dance for real this time.” 

The handsome flier chuckled, shaking his head at my persisting. “There’s a difference between those two things, I’m afraid.” he replied, looking away again. “You go ahead and have fun. You’ve earned it after what you’ve done over the past couple days.” 

Well, somepony was being difficult. 

“Alright, alright. But if you change your mind, you come right over with us.” He gave a nod at that, focusing to the stage as the next tune begun to pick up, and relenting… for now… I turned back to Blake and Grace and Shore, rejoining them as they one and all got back into their groove. 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Okay… over ten minutes of virtually nonstop dancing, and even I was starting to get a little tired. But Goddesses, I certainly wasn’t complaining. 

Like the others before it, this latest score from the Eternity DJs slowly faded away into the noise of the crowd, which quickly intensified as each member of the group on stage stepped away from their instruments and equipment to bow and wave. Despite my pleasantly weakened limbs, I put all my strength into adding as much sound to the applauding as I could, my brother and friends doing the same with their own hooves. 

“Wow, you guys are always an amazing crowd!” Flynt spoke up through the steady noise, again amplifying his voice with a spell. “It’s always great to show off some new stuff, and I’m glad you’ve all enjoyed our time up here on the stage!” Laughing through his amplification spell, the DJ was forced to wait as the approval of the crowd continued to bear down on him and his friends. “Goddesses, it feels so good being up on this stage, being with all of you and sharing this music we've got. It really is something special that we keep here, something that, personally, I’m damn proud to have in my life. That Old World corporation that built the Stable that belonged to our grandparents actually made a good choice in that regard.” By now, things were becoming quiet again amongst the audience, enough so that my ears perked at a noise coming from the stage; once more, the great elevator platform built into the ceiling was lowering towards the stage floor. “Again, myself and all my crew here – we’d like to thank you all for spending your night with us and having a good time, and now, the night’s going to keep moving on ahead by taking things down a few notches.” Pausing, he passed a glance up to the lowering platform, pointing a hoof up to the machine as it moved. “As everypony remembers, Ludwig was talking about Buckley’s first trip into the outside world. Now, we all know that there are a lot of us who were hesitant at that move, and even though it’s already gone and done, I’ve got a feeling that more than a few of us are still feeling the same way. However, these next pieces that are on the list for tonight are ones that are going to be played for you through one of the very instruments that was found out in that old city way to the north of our fences. As a personal request to you all, I’ve got to ask that you test out your opinions when you see the instrument coming down to the stage. It definitely got me thinking, and I think it’ll do the same for everypony in here, too.” Then, looking back to the audience and passing a snappy salute, he smirked once more behind his glasses. “Mares and gentlecolts, please welcome to the stage Buckley’s principle pianist – Glider, and please welcome Buckley’s newest piano that he’ll be playing on for you tonight!” 

At the great wave of applause that followed, DJ Flynt and his team exited the stage, carrying all of their gear with them as the elevator continued to lower. In response to the next approaching song, the Buckley ponies around me begun to sit back down, the gesture swiftly spreading across the entire floor. My friends and I followed the example, with Grace and Shore sitting to my right while Blake took up his place between my forelegs, thereby allowing me to rest my chin atop his head. “It’ll be interesting to hear what that new piano sounds like.” To my left, Archer came to sit beside me, with Tracer, Amber, and little Oscar just nearby. “I’ll be honest, there’s a special place in my heart for piano music, at least some of it.”

“Oh?” Smiling to the pegasus as he sat, I asked, “What’s your favorite kind of music? I mean, your absolute favorite.” 

“That’d be the stuff that they’re probably holding off until the last chunk of the concert.” he replied with a chuckle. “More times than not, the last segments of the concerts are home to small ensemble songs, which are Mother Shimmer’s personal favorites. You’ll see.” 

My ears perked as a light gasp seemingly rippled along the onlookers, and upon drawing my attention to the stage, I saw with instant admiration the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre’s grand piano. The pearl-white instrument was fully assembled, lid opened up full and all legs standing strong on the platform, and the white paint coating that spanned its entire body seemingly sparkling in the light of the stage. And standing beside the keys, Glider looked out to the crowd with a small smile, giving a bow to the crowd as the applause once again faded away into nothing; this time, complete and total silence overtook the building. As Glider faced the piano, standing relaxed before the keys, I caught notice of an expanded setup on the platform. On either side of the piano, music stands were arranged into three long arches, split at the center to create an open aisle, and behind the setup of stands, a short line of different percussion instruments were sitting unattended. These consisted largely of a couple different types of drums and other percussive instruments, most… well, all of which, unfortunately, I could not identify by exact name. And finally, farther to the left, a tall boxlike podium sat farther away from the setup. 

At the moment though, Glider was the only pony on stage as his horn came alight with magic. 

“That piano is so beautiful.” Grace spoke up in a whisper, as if afraid that she would smash the tranquil silence like some windowpane. 

“And perfectly preserved.” Shore added, nodding in approval. “It was certainly a miracle that it hadn’t been destroyed.” 

“What kind of sound does that big piano thing make?” Blake questioned under my head; I smiled at that.

Up on the stage, the glow from Glider’s horn enveloped the piano’s keys, whereupon the buck sat down on his haunches. Then, balancing himself in his sitting position, he brought his front hooves up to the keys, gently touching the first keys in his memorized piece. And lifting my jaw off Blake’s head, I lowered my muzzle by his ear as I watched the stage. “Well, let yourself listen, Blake.” I encouraged. “It sounds a little bit like this.” 

And Glider began.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Beautiful. 

Having never heard piano solos back in Stable 181, I was utterly speechless at the first solo that Glider had presented us. Even as Buckley’s ponies applauded the pianist as he took a professional bow, Shore, Grace, and I were looking between one another, equally amazed at what we had heard. Over the course of the concert thus far, I had been more than impressed with the music that I had heard up to this point. The youth ensemble had presented a very unique work, with instruments both exceptional and bizarre, giving that song a very otherworldly character. The choir had presented music that had taken on a very ethereal quality, music whose elegance, fluidity, and pure Goddess-like beauty made me shiver. The DJs brought out a new genre, one that had belonged to public parties and clubs back during the days of the Old World. That music had been lively and exciting, music that you just couldn’t not dance to. But Glider had shown me something that, in my own opinion, ranked up with the characteristic of the choir hymns. The way his hooves and his magic glided across the keys and worked them into creating the mystery and grace of that piece… it was like the choir was being expressed through the instrument itself, and it had ranked to be my favorite piece thus far outside the choir’s performance.

By now, the applause had settled at Glider’s silent command, the buck already down on his haunches before the keys as he lifted up his front hooves to his starting pitches. “So what’d you think of that, Blake?” I asked in a hushed voice, smiling as I lowered my head down by his. 

“It was really cool.” Leaning back to look me full in the eyes, he smiled back. “I think a lot of ponies back home would like it too.” 

I leaned over to nudge the side of his face, Blake adjusting his seat between my forelegs as we turned our attention back to the stage. “So do I, Blake. So do I.” 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Now I really wished I had some sort of background information on these songs.

As I applauded at the end of Glider’s second solo, I couldn’t help but reflect on some of the songs I had heard. It was clear that what they were presenting, at least up to this point, were songs that had been made in the Old World by pre-war and wartime musicians. However, I felt that this last piece, in particular, had been meant to tell a story, or perhaps express a scene. Though nopony made any remark on what the actual title of each of these songs had been, I felt that Glider’s second piece had been reminiscent of something in nature, back when that nature was green and blue and white, lush and vibrant and thriving… a meadow perhaps, or even the sky. 

Goddesses, that piece would make excellent flying music… so long as I wasn’t dodging a hail of bullets of course.

Already, Glider was back at his position, with the crowd going silent as he readied himself for another song. As he did, I felt my little brother as he hugged my right foreleg, and I quickly responded by resting my jaw on the top of his head again. “How are you doing, Blake?” 

“This is fun.” he replied, staying still to allow me the opportunity to use his head as a table. “This place is almost as nice as Hopeville.” 

I chuckled, nodding at the opinion. “Yeah, I think so too. But only almost.” 

“Almost.” 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

With Glider’s third piece complete, the unicorn stepped back and away from Buckley’s newest treasure, and at the hoof stomps that thundered to life again, he took a deep bow to his audience. However, unlike DJ Flynt, Glider remained perfectly silent as the cheers and stomping and clopping hooves continued, only bowing again as the noise sustained itself. A moment later, and the unicorn buck gave a third and final bow before exiting stage left. But right after him, movement came from the opposite end of the stage, and the applause of the audience reignited as new musicians emerged onto the stage. Trotting into view in a single-file line, unicorns and earth ponies garbed in dresses and tuxes of black and white carried with them string instruments of each shape and size. Violins and violas floated in telekinetic grips, and cellos and the larger double basses rested on the backs of earth ponies as Buckley’s symphony orchestra begun to file in. Pony after pony walked into view behind the stage’s divider panel, the dozens of string players eventually giving way to woodwinds. Flutes and clarinets glinted in the stage light, oboes and saxophones and the two bassoons from Moonrise within the mix, as well as the Moonrise Symphonic Theatre’s bass clarinet. Then came the brass players of the grand ensemble, two unicorn stallions with the preserved Moonrise horns emerging first, followed closely by a half dozen trumpet players. Then came the larger of the brass instruments, four trombones coming out behind the trumpets, whereupon two euphonium players emerged. The Moonrise Syphonic Theatre’s tuba followed at the tail end of the brass section, hovering in the telekinesis of a larger unicorn stallion, who was then followed by the final members of the settlement’s orchestra, the percussion players who trotted to the back of the elevator platform to take up their respective positions. 

Goddesses, there was easily over a hundred ponies in this group!

The lasting applause, and the strength of the cheering voices, told me that this was perhaps Buckley’s main attraction, and even as the large host of musicians begun to ready themselves, sitting, standing, opening their music folders, the concert hall was still full with the audience’s approval. Then, a second later, and two final members of the orchestra emerged. Saharra, her violin and bow hovering by her side, stepped out with the tuxedo-toting Ludwig, the both of them trotting out to the center of the stage side-by-side, causing the already energetic applause to push to an even greater volume. 

I put all my energy into coaxing as much sound from my own hooves as I could as the two took their bow together. But of course, much to the amusement of my friends and I, they had to stand and take yet another bow as the crowd continued to sound their praise. With another few seconds though, the concert hall eventually came back down to silence as Saharra wordlessly trotted to her own position, sitting on her haunches behind a music stand at the very right end of the violin row of the orchestra. And as the concertmaster prepared her instrument, Ludwig brought over to the center of the stage the waiting podium, levitating it to the very back of the elevator platform and setting it evenly to the floor before he took up his own place atop it, facing his ensemble. Now, the building was absolutely silent as the music director slowly swept his eyes across the stage, and I was motionless with focus as the director’s horn came aglow once again. From within his tuxedo, his telekinesis removed a thin white baton with a small wooden handle at its base, which came to float up in front of him.

At the sight of the baton, the entire ensemble, as one, came to attention, all instruments at the ready.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

At once, the building seemingly exploded with applause as Ludwig lowered his baton; I was cheering right along with them.

The ensemble of a hundred plus ponies was an absolute powerhouse of symphonic music. The piece had featured every family of instruments both alone and together, and aside from the percussion setup (with only something that Archer had called a set of timpani drums being used in the percussion group), almost every single instrument within them had been utilized. Even those which had been deemed by Archer as ‘different’ in being in an orchestra had been used, instruments such as saxophones and trombones and the bass clarinet and tuba being used to support the movement’s primary voices. And with the energy of the music, I was able to discover Ludwig’s true self, the director stallion completely absorbed by the music he conducted. Up on that podium, with nothing but his baton, he was an entirely different pony – his baton was to him like Cross’s rifle was to me, and his passion for music was like my natural ability to fly. There was such strength behind Ludwig and his orchestra, such purity in the sounds they produced together as a family. 

I was at a loss for words, and judging by the looks on Shore and Gracie’s faces, I was most definitely not the only one.

But thankfully, Ludwig was coming to my rescue, as after a quick bow to the audience from his place on the podium, he turned back around to the Buckley orchestra, bringing swift respectful silence back to the building. And with that, we moved right into the next gemstone of Buckley’s musical prowess. 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

At the close of the second tune, Ludwig once again took his bow as the audience voiced their ever-strong admiration for Buckley’s orchestra. However, as he turned back to face the ensemble he gave a quick nod, and within the group, the string players, one and all, set aside their instruments and stood. Then, with a voiceless command from Saharra, the concertmaster led her fellows to the right side exit of the stage.

The sight of the leaving orchestra members made me cock an eyebrow. “Hey, Archer… what are they doing? Are they done already?” 

“Oh no. They transition like this from time to time.” the pegasus answered. “I guess they’ve got something for a wind ensemble coming up.” 

“What’s the difference between the orchestra and a wind ensemble?” During the rehearsal, every participant of the concert had been present, with no group of ponies leaving or entering the stage when a song was rehearsed. 

“Wind ensembles are groups that are made from brass and woodwind instruments only. The orchestra is the group that has the string players in it.” Archer replied, turning briefly to me to pass a small smile. “You probably already know the difference in sounds, but have a listen. You’ll probably like what you hear.” 

The two of us faced forward again, Ludwig now bringing his partly reduced ensemble up to attention as the last of the string players left the stage at their backs. “Well, why wouldn’t I like what I hear?” I asked, smiling with the pegasus as Ludwig’s baton begun to move once again.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Oh my.

With a powerful sustained final chord, the wind ensemble’s piece came to a close. Out of all three full ensemble pieces I had heard up to this point, this had definitely been my favorite, and the applause I gave with the rest of the audience exemplified that. This piece had been particularly deep, bold and even a little emotional, and contained within it a number of memorable melodies. One of them that had particularly struck me was a melodic phrase within the clarinet section, the ensemble’s twenty or so clarinet players dividing into three different sections to deliver a touching figure, one that I found myself replaying in my head even as the song had progressed further; sure, I had heard a section of it during the dress rehearsal, but hearing the whole thing like that…

“Goddesses, that was brilliant!” 

I could just barely hear Archer chuckle at my remark over the thunder of the crowd. “It’s a good one.” he spoke up, leaning closer to me so I could hear him. “This one’s been played a little more frequently than some of the others. According to Ludwig, it’s actually an Old World military tribute, played to honor Equestrian veterans and serving soldiers during the war.”

“Oh… like Macon and Misty.” 

The pegasus nodded in response, the concert hall beginning to quiet around us once again. “Exactly like them.” he agreed, turning his head to look at me… again noting the nostalgic touch in my words; my guess was that by now, he could pick that up like a gunshot… Goddesses, I needed to find a way to bottle up that melancholy nature of mine… or something. 

I passed him a faint smile of assurance. “I guess that explains why it felt so deep. It was lovely.” 

“Yes it was.” Archer agreed, once again giving me that small smile of his.

Then, from above, the familiar sound of the stage’s machinery turned both our attentions to the front once more. The elevator arms were coming down from the stage ceiling, and each of the now standing members of the ensemble stayed in their spots as the machinery ran through its process again. Without words, Ludwig stepped down from his podium and off of the elevator platform onto the stage, taking another bow for the crowd as the elevator arms latched onto their places. Only when those arms begun to lift the platform back up towards the ceiling did Ludwig move, and after a final bow and a quick vocalized thank you with his voice spell, he turned and exited the stage, carrying a collected smile with him; I had a hunch that, deep inside, he was dancing with the success of his wonderful ensemble.

Now, the stage was empty as the audience diminished to level, quiet idle chatter, to which my friends immediately took part. “What’s happening now?” Shore spoke up. “Is the concert over?” 

Archer volunteered a reply. “No not yet. If this concert’s arranged like a lot of the other ones, then there’s still a couple more songs to go yet. And they usually save the best for last.”

“What’s the best ones?” Blake questioned the pegasus. “I liked that DJ guy. I think his songs were the best.”  

I smiled a little as Archer chuckled at my baby brother. “Well, for Buckley, the best ones are usually comprised of the smaller ensembles, groups of friends or families who make their own groups.” he explained to the colt. “There’s larger groups too, but the thing about them is that they all sing and play music that was outside the pre-war and wartime norms. That’s to say that they perform the stuff that wasn’t as popular way back when. That’s generally Buckley’s favorite music, even though its ponies cherish all the music held here.” 

“So, you know the music by ponies like DJ Flynt and the stuff that the orchestra played. That was what ponies in the Old World listened to more frequently.” I added to Archer’s description. “These groups coming up perform entirely new stuff. In a very limited sense, it’s a mesh between the two genres… kind of.” 

He looked back up at me, cocking an eyebrow at my… partially helpful explanation. “What other music is there other than all of that?” he inquired, gesturing to the stage. “We’ve heard a bunch already.” 

“A lot more than you might think.” I replied, looking back up to see the stage; the elevator had finished its cycle.

“Sometimes Club Eternity puts on jazz tunes for concerts.” Archer added, cocking his head in a shrug. “I guess not this time though.”

“Aw, that would’ve been fun to hear, too.” But then, a fresh wave of applause cut off the conversation as a familiar pony entered the stage. Loreena stepped out onto the stage with a graceful stride, garbed in a night-black dress with a pearl-encrusted chest piece etched into the silk which beautifully complimented her flowing golden mane; and behind her, her ensemble begun to emerge. Saharra was first in line, her pristine violin and bow hovering alongside her as she walked. Behind her was a unicorn stallion with a viola, followed after by an earth pony mare with a cello and its bow over her back, secured to her own dress with a silk harness like a rifle. After her came a familiar-looking stallion, a grey unicorn with an ashy red mane whom I had met the day before, back when Ludwig first brought me to the stage to hear my own voice. He carried with him a guitar of sorts, but not the acoustic one I had first seen him with; this was a little different, with a wider, stubbier body and a slightly thinner neck, and the instrument itself was carried along with its own compact speaker box. 

At the same time, from the opposite end of the stage, two other familiar faces entered into the view of the audience. DJ Flynt, and the electric blue unicorn mare who had been with him before, both came carrying their own electronic keyboards, keyboard stands, and amps. Flynt himself had removed his orange-lensed glasses for this next tune, allowing me to see his amber eyes that had been formerly hidden away. And behind them, a big unicorn stallion with horn brightly lit came into view carrying a whole array of different drums, six in total of varying sizes and shapes, and all hovering behind him like a train. 

Already, Loreena herself was at center stage as Saharra took up a position by her right side. The other two string players, as well as the guitar stallion, were already set in their own positions, the viola behind and to the left of Loreena, and with the cellist by his right side. Behind them, the four others begun setting up their equipment as Loreena gave a bow to the applauding audience, smiling at her positive reception to the stage. Much like the orchestra, Loreena was forced to take another bow as the applause and cheers sustained themselves, and upon her third bow, she gave an inaudible yet visible laugh. By then, the crowd finally relented and diminished into silence, allowing Loreena’s voice to cut through. “Thank you.” she spoke, dipping her head as her soft words reached my ears. “What a special night it is to be here in our great hall. And, indeed, it’s always a great privilege to be up here on our stage to perform for you all… For over fifteen years I’ve sung on this stage, but despite the experience that’s come from this, every time I come up here, I feel that I always enter something new, a continuation of a musical journey, and a journey of discovery. The two songs that my group will play for you in this last leg of the concert tonight are the result of long nights studying from the notes of performers from Buckley’s first generation, and even back from the ponies who lived in Stable One ninety-two. This first piece holds a connection to the time before even what we know as the pre-war era, and is a reference to seasonal plays that groups of actors would put on. These actors were called mummers, and their plays originated from Equestria’s northernmost lands in what were perhaps some of the nation’s earliest years. They were very open performances, purely for the entertainment of the populace, and were played in streets and local pubs. These plays also encompassed a tremendous array of subjects, both personal and public, and over time, these carnival customs spread to other regions of Equestria. Though I’ve made this piece in homage to that specific era, it still amazes me that even after the end times, the knowledge of these very ancient customs has survived all these years. And it’s particularly inspiring for me as a singer to know that our home protects not only music, but also the history behind that music. So, without further ado, here’s The Mummer’s Dance.” With a final bow, Loreena craned her head around to look to the back of the stage. Having been given the time because of the singer mare’s speech, DJ Flynt, his partner, the guitarist, and the drummer had fully set up their instruments and equipment. However, while Loreena received nods from three of the ponies, DJ Flynt instead motioned towards her with a hoof, smirking as Loreena shook her head. “And, as DJ Flynt likes to say,” she added, facing us with an amused smile. “please, feel free to find somepony, or a group of ponies, to dance with.” 

Ooh, another dancing song… hmmm…

Flynt’s horn glowed just before a single droning pitch emerged into existence, rising from complete nothingness and slowly growing in volume. Then, beside him, his partner’s horn flashed with light, enveloping her own keyboard as a beautiful melody emerged atop the drone. At the same time, Saharra, the viola player, and the cellist, drew their bows across their strings in a sustained chord, which changed to another, and to another as the melody progressed. This got me to rise to all fours, to prepare myself to dance, and with me, my friends likewise stood. But as Shore and Grace faced each other, with Blake giving me some stepping room, I turned my eyes to Archer.

With two pickup notes from the drum set, the song’s beat was set, the entire ensemble of eight now playing, and I allowed myself to move in time with the rhythm. As I begun to gently stomp my hooves with the beat, moving from right to left, I slowly drew closer to Archer until the stallion looked me in the eyes. I put on my sweetest smile for him as I let the dance carry me, and I took small steps forward to make my way directly in front of him, putting some sway into my movements and executing a slow but full spin in time with the music; then we were face to face. 

“Come on, Archer.” I urged, still letting my body sway with the music. “Dance with me.”

On the stage, Loreena’s voice carried out with long tones on the syllable ‘oh’, and the truly musical voice made me close my eyes as I let myself fall into another slow spin, showing off a little for Archer with stepping hooves and swaying body. I opened my eyes again as I came full circle, and I was pleased to find the handsome flier rising to all fours as I faced him. He looked amused at my probably-less-than-expert dancing, and yet he looked a little… shy perhaps? Still, with a chuckle and a shake of his head, Archer fully rose to face me, looking me in the eye. “Alright… as you wish, Nova.” 

Loreena’s voice sung out once again just before Archer took his own first tentative steps, moving in a simple dance – left hooves out, right hooves connect, right hooves out, left hooves connect, left, right, right, left, left, right, right, left. After just a short moment of observation, I begun to copy his movements as encouragement, moving opposite of him to stay fully in front of him – right, left, left, right, right, left, left, right. It was an easy dance, but with Archer dancing with me, it was easily the best one, and as the melody repeated back to the beginning, the two of us settled into the rhythm together, with Shore and Gracie partnered up nearby, and Blake happily doing his own little dance, too.

This was, for me, the best part of the concert thus far, with everypony I knew, and with all of those on the hall’s floor with us, dancing together in more organized and graceful movements. But with this, I also knew what was coming up soon. 

One more song after this one, and then I’d be the one up on the stage.

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

The sustained drone from the beginning of the piece was the last element of the music to fade away into nothingness, and before me, Archer kept his eyes on mine even as the audience heartily applauded Loreena’s amazing voice and the talent of her group. Now, I had a new favorite song out of the whole of the concert. With this tune, the new dance element that accompanied it provided a different experience. The dancing was not the wild and formless jumping and stomping that was the case for Club Eternity’s music. No, no matter how simple, the dancing that I myself, and everypony around me, had executed – there was a sort of pattern to it, a system of steps. For Archer and I, it was as easy as could be, and it was still uniform. Much to my amusement, it had taken Archer some time to actually get into the dancing like I had done. Though he started the movements to the tune, and I had come to copy him, the start of his dancing had been a little lethargic, slow as if he had just woken from a nap. Perhaps dancing wasn’t his favorite thing in the world, and it was what I had come to gather from him, but with a little help from some energetic encouragement and yes, the dreaded batting of the eyelashes… which I didn’t mind doing at all, especially with the advantage of the makeup I wore… I got him to dance like I wanted him to. When he put the effort into it, he was actually a really good dancer, and throughout Loreena’s first song, we found ourselves quite literally dancing ‘round in circles and in rows’ with each other, circling each other while stepping in time with the music, and pacing forward and backwards side by side. By the middle of the piece, we had come to achieve long moments of synchronized movements, which had, much to my embarrassment, attracted a small ring of spectating citizens who had added stepping hooves to our dance to give us the beat on their own, encouraging us to continue our dance together all the way up to the song’s conclusion.

Now, with the song ended and our small personal audience returning to their peers, Archer and I took a step back to give each other some room, and with a small… and bashful little laugh, I spoke first. “That was a lot of fun, Archer. Thanks for dancing with me.” 

“Yeah, it was fun.” he replied, bowing his head to me with that small smile of his. “Sorry it took me a bit to get into it… but I’m glad I still took the opportunity. You dance very well.” 

“Oh stop it.” I retorted, none-too-successfully hiding the light blush the sprung to life at the compliment. “You dance far better than I do.” But the stallion let out a note of laughter at that, shaking his head. “You do, I mean it. You dance as well as you dodge bullets.” Again, the pegasus silently retaliated against my attempted compliment, this time partly unfurling his left wing as his smile shifted to a smirk. “Um… I mean…” Wow… smooth, Nova, smooth. “Stop being so difficult!” I snapped, reaching over to punch the flier in the chest, blushing all the more at my expertly tactful choice of praising words. “That was a bad analogy there, but you know what I mean. I’m trying to compliment you.” 

“I know, I know. I’ll stop.” he assured, raising a hoof to calm me just as Blake came trotting up to my left. 

“Hey, you were right!” he energetically spoke up to Archer through the strong applause of the crowd. “That was good music!” 

“It’s my favorite out of them all.” I replied, pulling my little sibling into a quick hug. “I’ve never heard anything like it.” 

“Loreena’s very popular in Buckley. She’s highly regarded for her creativity and her love of musical history.” Archer then explained, pausing to look back to the stage. “Looks like there’s going to be a song or two before her second one though.” Around us, the applause faded out, and upon following Archer’s gaze back to the stage, I found that Loreena’s entire ensemble had already vacated the area, clearing out their instruments and equipment and leaving the stage empty once again. But already, the elevator was on the move once more, lowering slowly down as the noise of the audience fell to nothing but murmurs. 

The silence caused a sudden icy bolt to race through my body, making me take in a short, sharp breath… that jolt of anxiety came from knowing what was coming up. 

It was time for me to get to the stage.

“I wonder what this one’s going to be like.” Blake spoke up, looking thoughtfully up to me. “I hope it’s as cool as the last one.” 

“I don’t think Buckley’s going to fail to deliver, not after everything we’ve heard up to this point.” I answered, briefly turning my eyes away from the stage to lower my head down by Blake’s. “If you liked the last song as much as you say, I’m sure you’ll like the next just as much, if not more so.” Bumping my muzzle against his cheek, I then stepped back, running a hoof along my chest to smooth out my dress. “But I’ve actually got to leave for a little bit. I have something I need to take care of.”

My little brother’s eyes immediately widened in surprise; for a brief moment, they reflected the eyes he’d look at me with when leaving him to go on an actual mission. “Huh? Why are you leaving? The concert’s not over yet…” 

But I gave him an easy smile, reaching a hoof over to stroke his mane reassuringly. “It’s just part of my surprise, baby brother. I promise.” I replied. “When you see me again, you’ll understand.” 

“Oh…” Understanding and easing at my response, he returned my smile with one of his own. “Okay. Will I like the surprise?” 

“I hope so.” I answered him. “I’ve worked hard on it for you and for our friends.” 

“Taking off, Nova?” 

Past Blake, both Shore and Gracie were likewise looking my way, the latter of the two cocking a knowing eyebrow; I think it was safe to say that Grace knew what I was up to… oh well. “Yep. It’s almost time to show you all that surprise I’ve been working on.” 

“Alright. I look forward to… seeing that surprise of yours.” The red unicorn passed me a wink before looking back to Shore, the egghead wearing a puzzled look behind his glasses. 

“Where’s Nova going?” 

All he received from Gracie was a punch to the chest, my cue to depart.

Turning around, I began across the floor back toward the side entrance of the stage, passing by Archer where he had taken a seat nearby. Passing him, we both remained silent, with the steel-blue flier dipping his head to me as I walked, and with a smile I returned the gesture before focusing ahead. Many of the friends and families in front of me willingly adjusted themselves to make me a path, though not fully evacuating their spots. Whether it was the positive growing of my reputation in Buckley, or if it was merely the very valuable dress that I wore, I found myself exchanging brief but friendly greetings with several of the groups I passed by, many of which were not a part of our company during The Mummer’s Dance. And this time around, there wasn’t a single bitter glare or hesitant glance that I had caught; it was a much better change of pace.

The plentiful three-word exchanges were an encouraging addition to my mental preparations as I emerged at the front of the stage access corridor. Much to my surprise, DJ Flynt was standing at the opposite end, the door held open in his telekinesis as he looked out at the back of the stage. His gaze, covered now by his orange-lensed glasses, swung to me right as I took my first step into the corridor, and the DJ nodded for me to join him, passing a quick wave with a foreleg as I picked up the pace to meet him. “What’s up, outsider?” he greeted from his place. “Welcome back to the stage.”

“Hey, Flynt. What’s going on?”

As I joined him, he stepped aside to let me enter the stage before he closed the door behind us. “The next group’s about ready to go. Most everypony here is going to be heading onto the stage within the next minute or so.” the wild-maned unicorn responded, trotting up by my right side as he nodded ahead.

Indeed, a small collection of ponies were gathered behind the divider screen, currently assembled in one large group as they passed along conversation in hushed words. There were five mares, all earth ponies, garbed in flowing white dresses with varying patterns woven into the fabric. With them was Saharra, her trusty violin and its bow hovering just over her head, wrapped in a dim cerulean glow. She was the one to spot us first, and with a quick word, departed from the other mares to join Flynt and I. “Ah, good. You made it.” she said, smiling to me. “Right on time, too. The next song’s coming up shortly, and once the audience gives us a round of applause, we’re going to start.” 

“Are all of you going out there?” I asked curiously. 

“I’m not.” Flynt answered. “I’ll be staying behind the divider with you until we go out there for your solo.”

“The rest of us are, and the rest of the ponies that’ll be joining you for your song are going to meet up with you when this piece is done.” Saharra added in explanation. “This song requires a big chunk of Buckley’s musicians to perform, and they’ve all got parts.” 

I grimaced as my stomach turned once again, another jolt of nervousness passing through me at the mention of my upcoming solo. “So… what song is this exactly?” I asked, ignoring the tension best I could manage. 

“Well, you already know the name.” Saharra replied, her violin drifting down by her head as she looked the instrument over. “But if it helps to jog your memory, this is the first song that you ever heard in Buckley. I remember seeing Mother Shimmer showing you the concert hall, and you walked in on a rehearsal. This is the song that we were rehearsing that day.” 

Though it took me a moment, the music was something my mind quickly picked up on, shaping the memories for me. “Oh yeah, I remember. Oh, that song was so pretty… at least what I’ve heard of it anyway. Those mares are good singers.” 

“That they are.” Saharra concurred, craning her head around to glance back at the group. “And now you get to hear the full tune, with them singing their solos and with me sawing away on my violin like a madmare.”

I raised an eyebrow at the chuckle that proceeded her remark. “Sawing away?...”

“Just an expression.” she replied, letting the violin drift back up above her as she looked my way. “This piece is difficult, and the solo I have is a little crazy. But it’s just so much fun to play, so energetic. This song’s my personal favorite.” 

From the other end of the divider panel, Buckley’s ponies once again set a strong roar of stomping and clapping hooves and vocal cheers, and passing a glance between Flynt and I, Saharra gave us a smirk as she leveled her violin beside her. “I guess it’s time.” Behind her, the five singer mares were separating, with three moving to the far end of the divider screen while the other two walked one behind the other to the opposite end, all five remaining concealed behind the panel as they took up their positions. 

“Good luck, Saharra.” Flynt replied, jabbing the violinist’s side as she turned to face the stage. “Rule that stage.” 

“Do well.” I added with a small smile. “I look forward to hearing you out there.” 

“I’ll do my best.” the concertmaster replied, looking back at me. “And Nova… relax.” she added with a smile of her own; the applause outside faded away. “When you’re turn comes up, you’ll do well, too.” 

Though a hushed note of laughter escaped me at her optimism, I obliged the mare with a nod, to which she turned and faced forward again, taking in a breath and noiselessly letting the air out. And then, I watched as she took her first steps forward, moving elegantly past the nearby pair of waiting singers and stepping hoof onto the stage as a soft, haunting drone sounded from the ensemble at the opposite side of the divider.

And with that, I was one song away from my surprise. 

***				***				***

<-=======xxXVXxx=======->

***				***				***

Damn.

Though I hadn’t seen the performance, I had definitely heard it, and now I knew just how well Saharra could play her instrument of choice. The song had been divided into two parts, the first a very lyrical section in which the five singer mares combined their voices into a beautiful song with flowing sounds and impactful lyrics. This section transitioned into Saharra’s feature, the second section, where she showed off a quick and sprightly melody that had gotten the entire audience to stomp their hooves in time with the beat she set. It had been a grand song to hear, and had been performed with the largest assembly of the concert, as it had contained the greater majority of Buckley’s orchestra members, as well as a number of its church choir singers; though it was so hard to decide between them, Loreena’s first song still ultimately remained at the top of my favorites list, even despite the power of the much larger ensemble. 

From the empty space at the right side of the divider panel, Saharra trotted back into the backstage area, both Flynt and I meeting her halfway. “Saharra, that was awesome!” Flynt congratulated, his voice nearly concealed as the crowd continued to cheer. “Hell of a job out there!” 

“I’ve never heard anything like that before.” I added, the concertmaster passing an appreciative smile between us. “You really know how to saw away on that violin of yours.”

“Thanks guys. Melodies like that are always a blast to play.” she responded, her violin and bow hovering in by her head. “That piece hadn’t been played for months prior to tonight. There’s a lot of other tunes in the same genre, of course, but I kind of miss this one in particular.” Outside, the applause of the audience was beginning to fade, and I could make out the churning of the elevator gears as the platform was once again moved, being lifted back up to the ceiling above. “Well, it’s about that time, Nova.” Saharra said, facing me as she nudged my chest with a hoof. “Are you ready?” 

Oh boy…

“Yeah… I guess I’m as ready as I can be.” I replied, giving a weak laugh as another pang of nervous tension moved through my stomach. “Goddesses, I’ve never been this scared for something that didn’t directly threaten my life before.” 

“Oh, don’t be scared, Nova.” Saharra encouraged. “And don’t let the audience get you worked up. When you go up there, you just sing and have a good time. You know the song pitch for pitch and word for word, and you’ve got a beautiful voice. You have absolutely nothing to fear.” 

I took in a slightly shaky breath, slowly and quietly letting out the air. “I know… it’s just my first time and all that… I mean, there’s a lot of ponies here.” 

“Eh, we all go through that.” Flynt spoke up in reply, trotting into my peripheral sight with electronic keyboard and stand in his telekinesis. “My first ever appearance on stage, I was stammering so many words when I talked that my chattering teeth could chew through metal. Of course, that’s an exaggeration, and granted that was years ago, but you get my point. We’ve all gotten nervous going on stage at some point, but it’s natural. And besides, Saharra’s right. When you’re up there, you let the music you play take you, wrap you up like a blanket. You focus on making your best sound and enjoy the time up on that stage, and your fears will slide right off of you.”

“Yeah?” After a moment, I gave those words a nod. “I’ll certainly try.”

“You’ll be great, Nova.” Saharra’s eyes flicked up to look behind me then, and I followed her as she waved to see a new unicorn mare emerge from the backstage doorway. This young mare, teal-coated with a bronze mane and tail, levitated a shiny flute beside her, the instrument made of polished silver with glinting golden keys, and giving us a wave, Saharra welcomed her. “Bree, good to see you. Are you ready?”

“Of course.” the flutist happily replied, joining us in our circle. “Now where are the others?” 

“Right here, right here.” The hurried reply came from a stallion likewise emerging from the open backstage entrance, the very same pony who had played the guitar for The Mummer’s Dance. The gray unicorn with an ashy red mane and tail carried with him the same instrument he had used in Loreena’s song, except it was now alone, bereft of its amp. And right behind him, a new unicorn buck with a khaki coat and an orange mane and tail came holding a single drum, a frame drum with a two-headed wooden mallet. “Looks like we’re right on time.”

“We’re just about to head on out.” Saharra said, nodding as the two stallions joined our group. “The full ensemble’s here, and I think the stage should be set now.” 

“And is our outsider friend here ready?” the drummer stallion asked, passing me an easy smile when I looked his way.

“I… think so…” 

My bashful muttering elicited a chuckle from him. “Ah, come on. You should follow Bree’s example. She’s always eager to be up on that stage.” 

“Yeah, your premier showing is one of the best times when you’re performing in music!” the flutist encouraged with soft energy, her eyes passing over the keys of her flute. “And your first song only happens once, so have fun.”

“She’s the only one that didn’t get nervous her first time.” Flynt whispered to me, chuckling. “I stand corrected.” 

My uneasiness yielded enough for me to share the quiet laughter with him. “Lucky her.” 

“Alright everypony, let’s line up.” Then looking back to Saharra, I saw the concertmaster depart from our circle, motioning for the rest of us to follow her towards the right end of the divider panel. “Nova, you get to be at the front of the line. Come on up.” 

“Do the soloists always go first, I imagine?” I asked the violinist, taking in and letting out a breath as I moved to join her; Goddesses, the concert hall was almost entirely silent outside.

“In small groups such as ours, yes.” Saharra answered, stepping back around behind me as I came to a halt. “Now, when you start going onto the stage, try not to show that you’re nervous. Be confident and be graceful in your stride, and represent the characteristic of the song you’re singing. The Voice is a tribute to the Goddesses themselves, and is as beautiful as it is powerful, so represent that in your physical movements and your singing together, and make sure that when you get to the front and center of the stage that you take a bow. The soloist always bows…… you ready?”

I exhaled first, pursing my lips as the concertmaster’s words imprinted themselves into my thoughts, before giving her a slow nod. “Yes, I’m ready.” 

“You’ll do great, outsider.” Bree’s voice assured behind me. 

“Let’s do this.” the drummer buck spoke up confidently.

It was time.

“Alright. Remember, when we start the song, listen for the drone from Flynt. For the beginning, we’ll follow your lead, and after that, it should be straightforward.” Saharra added, then giving me the nod to move. “After you, Nova.” 

At her command, I set my hooves firmly under me, held my head up, and with a final exhale, I set my eyes forward and moved. Upon stepping into the dimmed lighting on the stage, I was face to face with the great audience, the hundreds of citizens and guards on the balcony and the floor sitting in rows and clusters. Facing it from the stage, the performance hall suddenly appeared much bigger than it had before, and all the eyes spread across it were now on me. I felt the weight of the spectacle on mind and body alike, which pressed even harder as I was first met with a second of uncomfortable silence. But I kept myself moving in what I considered my most ladylike walk, keeping my head up and my eyes open as the other members of my group begun to file out behind me. The silence was mercifully short, and the concert hall filled up quickly with strong applause… no cheering, I noticed... except from Blake; oh Goddesses, I heard him over the clapping of the hooves! 

My little brother’s carrying voice brought a warm smile to me, and I only barely kept myself from laughing, as I took up my space at the front and center of the stage. Coming to a stop there, I faced the applauding citizens and gave a deep bow, holding the pose until my ears picked up the slow fading of the noise. Then, craning my head back around, I looked upon the others as they set up. They were all close by, taking up positions on either side of me. To my right, Bree stood just beside me, flute lazily floating before her chest. The guitar stallion stood slightly behind her and to her right, instrument sitting upright on its base, and making the end of the diagonal, the drummer unicorn stood with drum and mallet likewise hovering in front of him in a resting position. Then, looking to my left, I saw Saharra where she stood close by, her violin and bow floating close, and finally, DJ Flynt created the second point of our loose ‘V’ formation, and was securing his keyboard to the stand. 

A second later, with the audience going quiet once again, and Flynt passed me a nod that I returned. He was ready to go, and I to listen, and with Saharra giving me a quick smile, I turned and faced the audience. Then, from the silence, that familiar open drone chord drifted into being, and with a soft breath, I let my first note ring. On the word ‘I’, I sang out the original sustained note and added the fluctuations I remembered from rehearsal. Then, I carried through the phrase, singing, “hear your voice… on the wind.” I looked out into the crowd as I sung, passing my gaze slowly along the many faces as Flynt’s keyboard changed its chords with my words. The first chord then returned as I took another breath. “And I…… hear you call out… my name.” At the close of the last word, I heard the drum begin to sound, setting the tempo as I moved on with, “Listen my child, you say to me.” I began to sway with the music as the guitarist joined in. “I am the voice of your history.” The song was picking up, rising to an inevitable peak as I sang out, “Be not afraid come follow me. Answer my call and I’ll set… you… free!” I let out the last word and held it strong, Saharra responding as her violin bloomed out from the calm with a solo, Flynt setting the beat with unison changing notes, and the guitarist matching the pace with the quick rhythmic plucking of the strings. 

Then, on Saharra’s last note, I carried on with, “I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain. I am the voice of your hunger and pain. I am the voice that always is calling you. I am the voice… I will remain.” I put more energy into my swaying, moving shoulders and hips as Bree responded to me with a short call on her flute. Then, I replied to her melody. “I am the voice in the fields when the summer´s gone, the dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow. N'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long, I am the force that in springtime will grow.”

I let out a silent breath at the release of my last note, letting my body fall still. Then, with guitar and keyboard lingering, Saharra entered with a solo, stepping up beside me as her bow moved quickly and fluidly over the strings. With her solo taking over, I looked out into the crowd as Saharra played. But it was after a second of searching that I finally found the faces of my friends in the audience. Blake had literally climbed up onto Shore’s back to see me, and he wore a big and open-mouthed smile as Shore simply gawked in amazement. Gracie leaned left and right in time with the song while Archer wore that small smile again; all four looked right at me. 

With a smile of my own, I locked my gaze to those of my friends as Saharra’s feature wrapped up, and taking a breath, I sang accompanied only by Flynt and a feature from the drummer. “I am the voice of the past that will always be filled with my sorrows and blood in my fields. I am the voice of the future! Bring me your peace!” The last word I sustained, long enough for me to let my wings come unfurled. “Bring me your peace and my wounds – they will heal.” At my last word, the guitarist played a transitional phrase to which I resumed my swaying motions again. Then, directing my sound to my friends, I sang, “I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain. I am the voice of your hunger and pain. I am the voice that always is calling you. I am the voice!” At the last word, I prepared myself for the final phrase, summoning focus and strength. “I am the voice of the past that will always be! I am the voice of your hunger and pain! I am the voice of the future! I am the voice!” The song was at its grand moment, with Saharra and Bree exchanging an instrumental melody underneath my own, Flynt, the guitarist and the drummer playing powerfully beside them. “I am the voice!” I repeated, singing even stronger, the full power of our group wrapping me up. “I am the voice!” I sang a third time, taking in a full breath as I sang for the fourth and final time, “I am the voice!!” I held the final word as the group reached the peak of its crescendo, closing my eyes and lifting my head up to face the balcony as Bree and Saharra sounded together, Flynt and the guitarist and the drummer supporting us to the end. And with a final thundering roll from the drum, and then a stomp of my hoof, the final chord played, I cut off my voice, and our last notes echoed across the concert hall as all six of us fell silent. 

To my alarm, that silence lingered even as I opened my eyes again, and for a frightening second, panic begun to set in. Had I done something wrong? Did I not sing well?? 

But it was then that the ponies before me erupting into applause, cheering voices strongly accompanying stomping and clapping hooves. Amidst them I could see all of my friends… Blake was literally bouncing on his hooves as he cheered. Gracie was beside him, clapping and laughing. Shore raised a hoof to me, sharing in Grace’s smile and speaking words that I couldn’t hear. And Archer’s small smile grew, just slightly, the flier nodding in approval as he stepped his left hoof to the floor in cooler applause; wow… my friends really liked my singing.

I was lost in their reactions, and I could only smile in appreciation of their approval. It was to the point where I had nearly missed when Saharra called my name, the mare having to jab my side to get my full attention. Looking to her, I saw the concertmaster smiling as she gestured to the cheering crowd. “Come on, Nova.” she urged with a chuckle. “Take a bow.” 

“Oh, right.” At her command, I faced the audience to bow my head again, holding the pose in thanks to the praise my voice was given. Then, after a moment, I stood up straight, tucking my wings back against the silk covering my sides as I looked back around to Saharra. With my bow having been taken, she gave me a nod before gesturing to the other members of our group. One after another, with the drummer stallion taking the lead, they made their way off the stage, and I took up the end of the line behind Saharra as we left the hall at our backs; upon crossing back behind the divider panel, the applause lingered to mix with flowing chatter among the audience.

“Wow…” 

“See, we told you you’d be good.” Saharra replied to me, immediately wheeling around to face me. 

“You sounded great out there.” Bree added with a heartfelt smile. 

“You’ve got a hell of a voice, friend.” Flynt remarked thirdly beside her, setting his keyboard aside. “Nice job.” 

Goddesses, I was not used to this many compliments… “Thanks, everypony.” I spoke up over them, smiling as I shook my head. “I think it went well, too. But I’m not the best by any means… I just sang and… well, that’s it.”

“But you do have a clearly natural talent.” From back behind Flynt and Bree, I glanced over to see the familiar face of Loreena, the white unicorn mare approaching our group as the members of her own ensemble prepared their instruments behind her. “That was very well-done, Nova.” she continued with a small smile, both Bree and Flynt stepping back to give the singer some room. “You shouldn’t be so modest about your skill. You really have great potential in music, and you’d do well to remember that when you go back to your own home.” 

But to her words, I gave a thin frown. “Well…”

“Hey. Remember, Nova, that this is Buckley’s principle singer that’s saying this.” Saharra voiced next to me. “That means something.” 

“In all honesty, I’d welcome you to stay in Buckley, and I’d gladly take you in for vocal lessons.” Loreena continued. “I don’t teach nearly as often as I write and sing, but I would happily show you what I know if you had a couple of weeks to spare.” 

Wow… a teacher to hone my singing, and nonetheless a teacher that was Buckley’s most renowned singer out of them all. Ludwig had made mention of lessons first, back when my piece had first been presented to me, but to actually hear somepony offer her time to become a vocal tutor for the betterment of my singing was… shocking. I hadn’t expected it, and despite my surprise, that musical part of me immediately leapt into action, prompting me to give her an affirmative answer. Even if just a couple of weeks, a short life here in Buckley, protected from the Black Blood and the Talons by their firepower and their skill, while learning how to truly sing like the musicians of the Old World under Loreena’s wing, was extremely enticing. Behind its fences and its canons, Buckley Air Force Base possessed its own culture which was ferociously and jealously guarded, and to become a more permanent part of that culture, and not just as an instrument of diplomacy, would’ve been a tremendous honor to attain in my life on the surface…… 

But that’s where the good parts of the arrangement ended, and at Loreena’s kind offer, I ultimately found myself shrinking away, ears slightly pinning back as I averted my eyes. It wasn’t because it was an uninviting offer, not in the slightest. In fact, I was surprised that she of all ponies in Buckley would extend such a proposal to me in the first place. But despite the fact that I was thoroughly enjoying this night, that I didn’t want it to end, tomorrow would see my return to the world outside, and within two days, I would be back in Hopeville… that little pre-war town with no fences, no howitzers, and no music. What had been intended as a couple of hours to help a settlement with its problems had turned into nearly two days of remaining on base, discovering Buckley’s history, its technology, and aiding the community in completing its most important objectives. And with how Mother Shimmer and Commander Tracer spoke in approval of mine and my friends’ efforts to aid the settlement and its citizens, I actually felt that I was a genuine part of this community. 

This was magnified tenfold with my successful performance on Buckley’s concert stage, with the heartening applause that I received… but no matter how accepted or liked I was in Buckley, this base, with all the advantages it possessed over the settlements of the Equestrian southeast, was not my home. My home was out there, sitting in the dust and dead earth of the open fields of the southeast, protected by only a small force of Stable guardsponies… ponies who survived with me, who fought the same battles, carried the same goals. Hopeville, its survival, was still my mission… I had not forgotten… and Hopeville was still my home; no other place, no matter how big or small, no matter its history, would take that title. 

“Nova?” Loreena asked, her gentle voice pushing its way into my thoughts to disperse them. 

When I looked again, I found the singer curiously waiting for a response, any response at all. But with a sigh, I shook my head. “In truth, a part of me really does want to stay, even after I initially told myself that I wouldn’t. I mean, now that I’ve more or less earned the trust of the community, Buckley has so much to offer somepony like me.” I said. “But… outside Buckley’s fences is where my real home is. And while I’m honored that you’d offer to teach me, I still want to go back to my own ponies.” To that, Loreena slowly nodded, an understanding smile accompanying her. “I just can’t stay here any longer than tomorrow morning, because I’m still needed back where I come from. There’s a lot that I have to do to help keep my home settlement alive. Hell, I’ve already stayed far longer than I’d intended… not that it wasn’t worth it in the end. But you understand… I need to go home soon.” 

“I do understand.” the white mare replied. “If nothing else, though, I would hope that you’d take to my advice about your singing. You really would do well to remember that you have that talent, and that it truly is a special thing about you.” Pausing, the singer’s smile grew. “Perhaps the ponies that share your home with you would take heart in hearing your voice someday. Keep it in your thoughts.”

Heartily, I nodded my agreement. “Thank you, Loreena. I will.” 

“Hey, Loreena. We’d better get going.”

At Flynt’s suggestion, the white earth pony turned to face the entrance to the stage. “This is the last song of the concert that I’ll be singing, Nova.” she explained, craning her head around to pass me a wink. “I’ll talk to the crowd again to give you some time to settle back in with your friends.”

“Go on ahead, Nova.” Saharra encouraged nearby. “Enjoy this last song.”

That sounded terrific. “Alright. Thanks, everypony.” 

With a smile and a parting wave, I left for the stage access corridor as Loreena and her ensemble gathered at the corner of the stage divider. As I opened up the door, Loreena trotted back out onto the stage, the crowd immediately applauding her entrance while I made my way down the corridor and back out onto the open floor. Despite the acknowledging of Loreena by the crowd, the ponies in front of me immediately gave me space to walk when I drew close, and I found myself giving warm thanks left and right at the fresh wave of approving remarks and smiles that washed over me. It was one thing to have received brief friendly comments and polite gestures on the way up to the stage, but seeing so many of Buckley’s ponies actually showing approval at how I had sang up on that stage, seeing the smiles and the waves and hearing the hearty congratulations… well, I was definitely a believer in Ludwig’s claim now; I had a feeling now that he had been right in saying that my time up on the stage would play an important role in attaining not only neutrality towards Buckley, but also a possible friendship between this base and my own home.

Within the next few seconds, I spotted my friends sitting together just beyond another Buckley family, and as I made my way around the last group in my path, I found that our own group had increased in size. Not only had Tracer, Amber Dawn, and little Oscar joined us, but also sitting close by was Ricochet, of all ponies, with the lime green, white-maned unicorn mare Hope from the Marefax expedition sitting at his side. And lastly, there was a trio of Buckley children, two earth pony colts and one unicorn filly, who were currently conversing with Shore. However, it was Gracie who first came to greet me, briskly trotting forward as a comical squeal of happiness escaped her throat. I was already prepared for the hug that quickly came, and we both found ourselves laughing over the lasting applause as we embraced each other. “Goddesses, Nova, you were fantastic!” she said, squeezing me tight. “I had no idea you could sing so well!” 

“Neither did I.” I quipped, patting the red unicorn’s back as she released me. “So, you liked it?” 

“Liked it? I loved it!” Grace answered, taking a step back as she gestured behind her. “We loved it!” 

“I have the distinct feeling that Saber will be hearing about this when we return home.” Shore spoke up with a chuckle, giving me a hug of his own. “Well done, friend.” 

His lower volume matched the decreasing noise of the crowd as applause once again faded. That was my cue to take a seat for Loreena’s next, and the concert’s final, song. When Shore and I let each other free, I quickly returned to my old spot between Grace and Archer, with Blake coming over to join me, taking a seat at my right side as I sat back down. “Did you like my surprise, Blake?” I asked as I situated myself.

Nodding ever-so-vigorously, the colt replied, “Yeah! You need to sing, like, all the time.” 

By now, though, the concert hall had again returned to silence as the stage was set, and certain that we would be discussing this later, I instead leaned down to place a kiss on my young sibling’s head; he was happy with my singing, and so, my mission had been accomplished. 

“Thank you.” Up on the stage, Loreena’s elegant voice addressed the audience, and I turned my attention to the platform where she stood front and center. Behind her, all of the same ponies that had performed in her first song were already set and waiting. But with Saharra, the violist and cellist (all three with instruments plugged into familiar-looking speaker boxes), the guitarist, the drummer, and Flynt with his DJ partner, there were new members in the group. A second drummer, a unicorn mare with a small set of smaller wooden drums, stood beside the big unicorn stallion at the helm of the drum set, now complete with cymbals. With her, a second guitarist had entered, another unicorn mare with an identical guitar to the stallion who had played during my own song. And finally, the stage elevator had come down to bring the Moonrise grand piano back onto the stage; Glider sat behind the keys of the pearly white relic. “Thank you.” Loreena continued, drawing all eyes to her. “Each concert that Buckley’s collective musical minds arrange and perform has its own great value. But tonight’s performance has been a particularly special one, because it is, in a sense, a musical interpretation of what Buckley’s future will entail. With the brave mares and stallions that ventured into the Old World today, the story of our home transitioned into a new chapter, one in which we all may very well enter the outside world ourselves and become part of a growing society beyond our fences. It’s both a fascinating and intimidating turn of events, and I’m quite certain that there are many that share my sentiments… but in truth, I feel that Mother Shimmer is really pulling us in the right direction, and that in the long run, Buckley will prosper because of her efforts.” Pausing briefly, Loreena looked back around at her expanded ensemble, getting nods all around before she faced the audience once more. “This last song of our concert tonight is one that I chose to commemorate these events. It is a piece that I was inspired to write after reading of desert life in the Old World. Specifically, I read of the life of traveling merchants and explorers in the great San Palomino desert in the Equestrian southwest. In the years before the wartime era, and even before the historic banishing of Nightmare Moon by Princess Celestia, there were several communities that existed within the desert itself, and ponies and caravans would often travel between them with goods from the lands beyond to trade. It was interesting to discover that there was a collaborative effort amongst these desert villages to sustain one another, and at times, there would be larger towns that would store away goods for future trade or even distribution amongst the smaller ones. With all of this, explorers from those lands beyond the desert borders would venture to these communities to discover the desert culture for themselves. From what limited information I’ve been given on life beyond our gate, it was quite fascinating to discover that the settlements out in the southeastern wasteland actually follow this lifestyle, where a larger town provides and trades with small ones. At first this piece was a culmination of my attained knowledge on the villages of the San Palomino desert, but after discovering the connection that the region that Buckley shares with outside settlements held to this history, I’d like not only to dedicate this work to Equestrian antiquity, but also to this newest chapter in Buckley’s life and the outsiders who came and helped to make it possible.” Though previously entranced by Loreena’s speech, attempting to absorb the wealth of knowledge she possessed on Equestrian history, my ears perked at the crescendo of muttering that briefly rolled through the concert hall; thankfully, it descended back to silence just as quickly. “Because of Mother Shimmer’s plans, and the time and effort that the outsiders she had asked for help from gave to us and to our home, we ourselves are drawing a connection to the history of the San Palomino traders in that we too will soon be traversing new lands and exploring new possibilities.” Then, with a small bow, casting a smile to the assembly, she said, “Thank you all for coming out tonight and for partaking in yet another successful concert. We will close the night with this newer piece of mine called Caravanserai. Again, thank you all for coming…” She paused to crane her head around, looking at DJ Flynt as he gave her a smirk, prompting her with a wave of his hoof. “And since Flynt would never fail to remind me,” she added with a light laugh. “I must say, please feel free to find somepony to dance with.”

At her last remark, chuckles rolled along the chamber before she and her ensemble took up their positions. Then came the gentle hum of a drone pitch, followed by a quick plucking of guitar strings and a ghostly echo of sound from Saharra’s modified violin. The ponies assembled on the floor took the cue instantly, and there came the moving of hooves as dancing partners were found and matched up while the gentle music continued. To my right, I saw as Shore held a hoof out for Grace, the red unicorn taking it with a smile. With them, Ricochet and Hope were likewise pairing up, and to my left, Dawn and Tracer, with Oscar cradled up in his mother’s left foreleg and tucked against her chest, were facing one another as the music progressed with a gentle and spaced melody from the guitarists on stage. 

“Hey, Nova…” 

Beside me, Blake poked my right foreleg, the colt looking to his right as I found him. “Yes? What is it?” Following his gaze, I found that he was looking towards the children who had come to join our little group; all three were waving at us. “I think they want you to go with them.” I observed with a small smile, giving a little wave back to them.

“To dance with them?” he asked, looking back between myself and the beckoning foals. “I think they were with us yesterday when we played hide and seek…” 

“I think so, too.” I replied, nodding over at least one recognizable face from the trio. “Do you want to go with them?”

“Ooh, can I?” he asked back, craning his head up again to look to me.

“Of course you can.” I answered with a giggle, then giving his back a gentle nudge. “Go ahead and have fun. I’ll still be here.” 

“Cool!” Right away, my eager little sibling ran off to meet the children, each welcoming him openly as they led him into the crowd, guiding him to their own group somewhere out on the floor. 

When he disappeared from my sight, I faced the stage once again, taking in the continuation of the drone as the two guitarists continued to pluck away at their strings, carrying out the asymmetrical melody that sat atop the sustained strings. But as the guitars slowed over the drone, another voice spoke to me. “Nova…” When I turned, I found Archer’s hazel eyes waiting for me, the stallion flier giving a small smile as I looked to him. 

I returned his smile with a bashful one of my own… I had a feeling of what was coming. “Yes… Archer?” 

“May I have this dance?” 

Oh absolutely!

But that’s not what I said, not when the perfect opportunity came up to poke fun at him. No, instead, I cocked my head to the side in suspicion, raising an eyebrow as I said, “Oh, so now you want to dance with me.” 

At that, the pegasus slightly yet visibly cringed, nervously clearing his throat. But he remained silent, making the perfect reaction, and I made no attempt to hide the mischievous grin that spread along my face. Oh! Was that a blush on his face?... YES it was!

Top score!! 

The pegasus didn’t even respond to my sly grin, instead only scuffing a hoof along the floor as he found himself in what was, to him, an awkward scenario. But with his priceless reaction, I quickly decided to show him mercy, and letting my grin fall into that bashful little smile he had likely begun to associate me with, I reached over to place an assuring hoof on his right leg. “I’d love to dance with you, Archer.” 

For a moment, the steel-blue flier looked back into my eyes, whereupon he cracked a smile as he slowly shook his head; he knew he had been messed with, but he let me win. Instead, he raised his leg, my hoof tracing along his coat before he took it in his own and rose to his hooves, then helping me up to all fours with him. 

Then, as we faced each other, Loreena's beautiful voice rippled out through the hall as she sang,, “This glancing life is like a morning star, a setting sun or rolling waves at sea.” Her words literally echoed through the chamber. “A gentle breeze or lightning in a storm, a dancing dream of all eternity…” 

As her last word faded away, drums begun to sound to establish a moderate but dance-like tempo as the guitars and the drone continued to play. And together, Archer and I began to move with the music, stepping to one side and then to the other, and looking into each other’s eyes all the while. 

“The sand was shimmering in the morning light, and dancing off the dunes so far away.” Loreena sang out with the drums. “The night held music, so sweet, so long. And there we lay until the break of day.” Saharra’s violin played out again to carry Loreena’s melody. As it did, I let myself break from our formation in a slide before I executed a slow twirl, keeping my hooves in time with the drums while my dress rustled with the sharper movement. Archer kept himself moving as I faced him again, smiling that small smile at me as I moved back to my spot directly before him. Then Loreena sang, “We woke that morning at the onward call, our camels bridled up, our howdahs full.” Glider entered at the start of her phrase with simple but powerful chords. “The sun was rising in the eastern sky, just as we set out to the desert’s cry.” 

With a short transition from the piano, Loreena’s voice intensified. “Calling!” she sang, Saharra playing a short melody with her that the cello beautifully branched from. “Yearning!” Saharra and the cellist continued their combined melody over Loreena’s words. “Pulling!” The stunning melody repeated, making a springboard for the last line of the phrase. “Home to you!”

With a strike of the drum set, the two percussionists as well as the guitarists now set a stronger emphasis on the beat, with Flynt and his partner adding their keyboards to the mixture as the song transitioned into its next section. “The tents grew smaller as we rode away, on earth that tells of many passing days.” Loreena continued. “The months of peace and all the years of war, the lives of love and all the lives of fears.” With a brief entrance from the drum set, a previous verse returned. “Calling!” Loreena sang out, Archer and I now circling one another as we danced to the beat. “Yearning!” At an entrance from one of the keyboards, I let myself twirl again as Archer continued to pace. “Pulling!” The two of us met face to face again, returning to stepping from side to side in parallel. “Home to you!” 

A cymbal in the drum set crashed to end the phrase as the powerful beat continued, and now, Archer and I swapped our direction, I with a graceful slide and him with a turn, to circle each other counter-clockwise. “We crossed the riverbeds all etched in stone, and up the mighty mountains ever known!” Loreena’s melody continued. “Beyond the valleys in the searing heat, until we reached the caravanserai!” With a rolling transition from the drum set, Loreena sang out, “Calling!” Completing a full circle, Archer and I drew up side by side, synchronizing our steps to move as one. “Yearning!” Right hooves out, left hooves close, left hooves out, right hooves close. “Pulling!” The two of us locked eyes again as we danced, confident in our movements. “Home to you!” I watched as Archer, still keeping in time, moved out of our formation, stepping ahead of me as the verse repeated even stronger. “Calling!” As I stayed with the same dance, Archer let himself spin, using both his hooves and wings to make the maneuver snappier. “Yearning!” He came about to face me before I moved back up towards him, keeping my hooves in time with the music. “Pulling!” Again we locked eyes as we continued to move, no longer in corresponding motion. “Home to you!” 

The beat given by the drums then cut out, leaving the rest of the group to move ahead with their own intermezzo. At this point, Archer and I came to a gradual stop, but now, coming to our standstill, I couldn’t help but laugh. Goddesses, I was just so overjoyed! Between the powerful music, the dancing that I shared with Archer, and the fact that my friends and I were having fun together, this night was truly a special one!

And before me, Archer shared that laughter with me. For me, seeing that he was enjoying this time we spent together gave me strength, made me grateful for this time we shared… and seeing him as he was in that moment made me move toward him, drawing up face to face. And with a courageous push, I moved forward to drape my forelegs around his neck, pulling him into a tentative hug.

“What is this life that pulls me far away?” The song had now calmed as Loreena’s voice softly sang. “What is this home where we cannot reside? What is this life that pulls me onward?” I felt with a blush as Archer’s cheek brushed against my neck. “My heart is full when you are by my side!” 

With a phrase from the drums, the ensemble returned full strength. “Calling!” Even as the powerful verse returned, Archer and I did not dance. “Yearning!” I felt the stallion’s foreleg come up around the back of my neck. “Pulling!” He drew me into a full embrace of his own as Loreena sang out. “Home to you!” I must’ve been blushing hotly… but I hugged him even tighter in response. “Calling!” He pulled me in against him, wrapping me up. “Yearning!” I closed my eyes now; I was lost in this moment. “Pulling!” His head came over the back of my neck, and I nuzzled into his mane. “Home to you!” 

The song now begun to calm as Loreena’s ensemble played on from her final word. And through it all, Archer and I stayed locked together – I didn’t let go, he only hugged me closer, and we swayed to the music in a gentle rocking that put me in a state of peace. In his embrace, I felt strong, I felt safe, and with the music wrapping around us like a blanket, I felt that there wasn’t a single thing out there that could bring me harm. 

It was like Cross… but it was stronger… I knew it was.

And all of this, our recognition as friends of Buckley, the music we beheld, my song on the concert stage, the embrace I shared with the only other pony of my kind that I had seen on the surface… all of it had come on this night, this night that was the culmination of our actions in Buckley, for the scars we had taken, for the road we had walked. 

This night was Buckley’s gift to us… and this night was truly a night to remember.



Footnote: Level Up!!

New Perk: The Professional - If you can’t be seen, then you can’t be stopped. When sneaking, your critical hit damage with pistols and precision rifles do an additional 25% damage. 

Quest Perk: The Might of Buckley - By helping Buckley in fighting through Marefax in the name of its traditions and its newest goals, you’ve won the full trust of the community and the benefits of fighting alongside their superior training. Your small guns and sneak skills are increased by +10, and you gain a permanent +1 bonus to agility. 

Skill Notes:

Sneak (75)

Updated SPECIAL Attributes:

Strength: 4
Perception: 8 (+1 when Scout Flyer is active, +1 when Alertness is active, +2 when both are active)
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 8 (+1 when Scout Flyer is active)
Luck: 7