Arata had sprinted after Bullwhip. Although he had not broken into a cantor yet he was moving only slightly slower than Arata. Bullwhip was walking with a conviction that Arata hadn’t seen in anypony before. He ignored everything that passed him and walked in the most direct path to his destination.
Bullwhip stopped just before entering the bar. He slowly reached a hoof up and pulled down the wide brimmed fedora he wore, just enough to shade his eyes. In a stark contrast to his previous attitude he gently opened the door and walked inside.
With a quick glance around the room he was able to spot Blaze. Blaze was sitting at the bar, his head lazily resting against his left hoof. There was a half empty mug of cider in front of him along with a plate of some half eaten food. Blaze’s sleeves had been haphazardly rolled up and judging by the wrinkling of his shirt, he hadn’t changed in a while.
Bullwhip sat at the empty stool next to Blaze. The bartender noticed the noise and turned to take his order.
“What ‘ill ya have?”
“A mug of something strong, a friend just passed away,” he said removing his hat and placing it on the bar. “Oh, and pour out a glass of something nice too.”
Neither Blaze nor Bullwhip acknowledged the other. Bullwhip’s words just hung in the space between them.
The bartender returned shortly with two glasses. He placed one on the bar in front of Bullwhip. It was a dark amber with a thick foam on top. The second was the color of pale straw, and seemed to bubble endlessly. This was quickly poured out. As the bartender emptied the glass, Bullwhip quickly raised his to his mouth and swallowed the drink as fast he could. He then slammed the inverted glass onto the table.
“You know, when I first hear about what had happened I was going to come down here and make a scene. Maybe shout at ya’ a bit, or throw a punch or two.” Bullwhip declared. “And I was going to, until I got to the front door. Then… then it hit me. That’s not what Vox would’ve wanted me to do. If she knew you were this depressed, she would have wanted me to cheer you up.”
“You’re doing a damn fine job at it,” Blaze grumbled.
“You bet your ass I am.” Bullwhip responded. “How many ponies have come down here to talk to you?”
“They all knew to leave me alone,” Blaze barked.
“Bullshit,” Bullwhip laughed, “They just don’t know how to talk to ya’ in a state like this. Celestia, I don’t even know what I’m doing right now, but at least I’m giving it a shot. Leaving you here to drown in that mug isn’t really my style.”
“Draft, another cider,” Blaze ordered to the bartender.
“Make it two,” Bullwhip called.
“I thought you weren’t gonna let me drown in my mug,” Blaze scoffed placing a few bits on the bar.
“Of course not! How can you drown when I’m here to pull ya’ out of it.” Bullwhip said, “You’re stuck with me if you like it or not, and you can bet your ass I’ll drag out of here from time to time.”
Blaze took a sip from the glass that was just placed in front of him. “You’re as stubborn as always.”
Arata, who had been sitting at a table close by, listening to their conversation, was shocked by Bullwhip’s attitude towards Blaze, but he did have a point. No one had come here to talk to Blaze, they had all just let him be. Maybe not saying anything was worse than saying the wrong thing.
‘I’d better get back to camp and see if I can help Ivory,’ Arata thought, getting out of his chair to leave the bar.
“You, Arata right?” A voice called from a table in the corner.
Arata turned to find that it was the mayor calling for his attention. “Mayor? What are you doing here?”
“I came to get a drink, I haven’t managed to do anything since you showed me what you can do.” She said. It was clear she had already had more than ‘a drink’.
“Oh, yeah, sorry for scaring you like that,” Arata apologized.
“Well we are dealing with some pretty scary stuff apparently, and I would much rather see it like that then coming face to face with whatever it is you guys are fighting.” The mayor continued. “Besides, my reelection bid is coming up soon. This may work out for the best.”
“Uhh, what do you mean?” Arata asked, not quite liking the direction the conversation was headed.
“How would everypony vote me out of office when I’ve been dealing with all of these threats that are closing in on the town?” Arata was cut off before he had a chance to answer, “They wouldn’t! Plus, I’ve got you. My proof that things are as bad as I say they are. Arata, you work with me and I’ll keep this town running smooth for years to come.”
Arata didn’t know how to answer, or if he should answer, but he heard a faint voice calling out to him. “Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Devil Arcana.”
…
While Arata was at the bar, Ivory Shield was busy getting Gear up to speed on what was going on. They had been in the supply tent for only a few minutes and Gear was already discovering copious notes left by Vox. What had been her work bench was littered with designs for the pistol she used. It seemed that in the past month, she had been trying to make several modifications to it, although the notes didn’t specify why.
“Ivory Shield, I have a few questions before I go any further into this.” Gear said.
“Go on,” Ivory said.
“Very well, you say these ‘Personas’ and ‘Shadows’ only existed in the lake until recently correct?” Gear asked as if waiting for confirmation, but continued on without it anyway. “If what you told me about the way Vox summoned her persona is true, then it would make sense that these diagrams are for the modification that allowed her to do so. Do you have the gun? I would like to take a more detailed look at it to figure out exactly how this mechanism works. Perhaps I can also find out why it allows for the summoning of Personas.”
“I doubt that will happen.” Ivory said. “Last I knew of it, Blaze had the gun with him, and he won’t be letting go of it easily. As for figuring out how it works, you’ll have to do the best with what we have around here. I’m sure Vox left some form of notes on this. It would be unlike her not to.”
“Right, I’ll keep searching then. I’ll let you know if I find anything.” Gear said returning to his search.
Ivory walked out of the tent and sat down. She wanted to give Gear some space to work. Asking someone to go through their dead coworkers belongings first thing after returning to camp wasn’t exactly the best way to introduce them to the team. She sat outside for almost an hour waiting for any sign from Gear that he had discovered something.
“Ivory,” Arata called as he walked down the path towards Vox’s tent. It wasn’t so much a path anymore considering that most of the tents had been removed leaving an empty clearing.
“Good you’re back,” Ivory greeted, “How are Blaze and Bullwhip doing?”
“Well, they seem to be doing better than I expected. Bullwhip looks like he knows how to help Blaze.”
“Ivory Shield! Come here quickly!” Gear called from inside the tent. Both Arata and Ivory hurried inside.
Inside a sharp static screech filled the air.
“What is that noise?” Ivory asked scanning the room.
“It sounds like some kind of radio,” Gear answered, “It sounds like the noise is coming under the weapons rack.”
With the help of Ivory and Arata, they were able to move the rack of spears revealing the top of a metal lockbox sunken into the ground. The combination lock and key hole were positioned so it would be accessible without needing to dig the box out of the ground.
“Give me a moment, it won’t take long to have this opened.” Gear’s horn lit up and the dial of the lock began to turn. It only took a minute for his spell to take effect and the box popped open.
Gear lifted the content out of the box. There was a radio which was glowing a faint blue. The same glow that Vox’s magic had.
“I don’t understand why this went off all of a sudden…” Gear said inspecting the radio.
Arata reached into his bag and pulled out the radio which Vox had given him. “This must be what’s causing the screeching, Vox gave it to me.”
“These radios are both different from the others scattered about the place… It looks like they’ve been modified to work on a wave length based on Vox’s magic.” He said comparing the two devices.
“I can’t believe you figured all of that out that quickly,” Ivory said.
“It’s a trick I have done a few times.” Gear said, “It’s very effective at keeping the signal strength strong through interference.”
“She gave this to me so we would be able to contact each other if somepony fell into the lake.” Arata said.
Gear also pulled out a notebook and a small picture frame. “This appears to be her notebook-” Gear said “Would you like me to go through it?”
“No!” Arata said impulsively, “I want to let Blaze have a chance to read it first. I’ll talk to him about it. It’s the least I can do.”
“That’s fair enough,” Ivory Shield agreed. “What was the last thing from the box?”
“Just this picture,” Gear said passing the frame to Ivory and Arata.
In it was a picture taken of Blaze and Vox at this year’s Hearts Warming Eve. They were standing in front of a statue of a heart in one of Canterlot’s parks. A thin dusting of snow covered the entire scene. Even through his serious demeanor, Blaze’s smile was pronounced, and in no way forced. This was a smile that neither Arata nor Ivory Shield had seen before. He pulled Vox tight against him and she looked almost as happy as he did. But to Arata there was something more. It was the way she looked at Blaze while the picture was being taken. It was as if she was trying to plead with him, as if some guilt was overwhelming her. Arata realized what must have happened in Canterlot, this was where Vox had confessed her true intention to Blaze, this is why Blaze believed there was no way to save her. Vox chose to hold onto this memory despite all of this.
“I… I think Blaze should see this too,” Arata said taking the picture from Gear. “I’ll be back with Blaze...”