Prologue: Life is Turned Upside-down

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Florenway was a small village on the western border of Equestria, with vast open fields flanked by mountains, it was a bustling agricultural settlement known for growing crops and medicinal herbs.

Mist Veil landed just outside of the village entrance. Her pale gray fur long enough to give passing locals pause as she pulled her flight goggles up to rest on her head and put on the pair of glasses waiting in the glasses case within her well-worn saddlebags. The pegasus mare paid them no mind, reaching back with a wing to adjust the simple hairtie keeping her long, washed-out orange mane in a low ponytail. After checking the contents of her saddlebags, she walked calmly into town.

As she made her way through town, past quaint cottages and immaculate flowerbeds, she caught snippets of conversation from a several groups of far more vibrant ponies that she recognized as the local gossips.

She reached a larger building, stopping to pull out a short list of items.

A mare and her friends stood chatting nearby. "See? She shows once a week to buy food and leaves! Does she even have a job?"

"Can't you see she has monochrome syndrome, I heard that really tires a pony out..." her friend replied, looking over at Mist in embarrassment.

The mare scoffed, waving a hoof. "Pfft, that's no excuse!"

Mist looked at the brazen mare. "I can hear you." she deadpanned.

"Whatever..." the mare led her friends away, clearly annoyed.

Mist blinked. "Okay then..."

Putting the encounter out of mind, Mist walked into the building, the sign above the door read Apothecary. The interior was dark polished wood, a reception desk, and a several seats by the front window. Mist walked over to the desk and pressed the small bell sitting on top of it.

"Coming!" A voice called out from the back room behind the counter. A second later, a unicorn mare with her mane tied up in a bun stepped out. "Hi Bluebell, how can I help you?"

As she leisurely walked to her next destination, Mist's wings ached from the strain the ten minute flight to the village had put on them, and the weight of her saddlebags put pressure on her sides that her chest did not appreciate as it ached dully in protest. The cool spring breeze was a welcome relief for the headache pounding above her eyes. In the scant few minutes it took her to reach the bakery near the middle of the village, she felt drained, longing to collapse into her armchair at home and relax.

Almost done...

Walking in, she approached the counter.

Stars... There's so much stuff I can't eat anymore... At least I have one silver lining.

Mist noticed she was being served. "Hi, can I get a carrot cake please?"

"Sure, that will be ten bits."

After paying and placing the boxed cake in her bag, Mist left the bakery. She took off her glasses, the world going slightly fuzzy until she replaced them with her goggles. She checked her bags wre secure and took to the air.

Finally I can go home...

There was smoke in the distance, Mist propelled herself forward, and headed towards it.

Is it a dragon?

Minutes ticked by, the plume of smoke growing in size as she got closer. She could see something large and red sitting at the end of a long strip of torn up ground. A crash site and as she approached it, she could tell it was some sort of hulking, metal airship. The front badly dented, the four propellers in the wings spewing smoke and a large crack in the front windshield. She flew up to the windshield, peering through the glass.

She pulled out a pocket knife from her saddlebags, chipping away at the cracked glass until it gave, crumbling into a pile of shards and a hole large enough for her to fly through. A figure was passed out at the controls, they wore black gloves, a white button up shirt under a black vest and a gold chain around their neck with a bedazzling gold dollar sign hanging off it.

"Hey? Can you hear me?" she called out, flying over.

She heard a strange click from further in.

A rough voice growled "Don't move."

Mist looked past the individual passed out in the pilot's seat. Standing upright, gaze trained on her, a firearm more sophisticated than anything she'd seen before held in his left hand, was a figure wearing steel-toed boots, light brown pants, a buttoned shirt under a dark brown vest and a wide brimmed top hat.

He paused once he got a good look at her, surprised. "What the 'ell?"

Mist hovered away from the chair, moving slowly and deliberately as she kept her eye locked onto the weapon pointed at her. She quietly landed on the wooden floor, carefully placed her knife on the ground, and kicked it towards the wary bodyguard for good measure.

"My name is Mist Veil, I have experience working in search and rescue," she explained calmly, clearly. Old habits clicking back into place. "Your friend, he's not responding, I can't tell if he's hurt or not."

Her attacker's eyes narrowed, but he clicked something into place on his weapon and returned it to the holster attached to his hip. He walked over, carefully inspecting the still unconscious male.

"Looks like he banged his head on the controls..." he muttered, carefully picking up his cohort. He shot her a stern look. "You, follow me."

Mist nodded and followed him deeper into the ship, trotting to keep pace with the brisk walk of the other. They reached a room with several plain, simple beds spaced out along the walls, an operating table and equipment in the back right corner and a fridge and several cabinets of medical supplies and medicine in the far left corner. The orange mustached gunman placed his friend on a vacant bed, removing the two top hats and placing them on a nearby table.

Right Hand Man wasn't sure what to make of the creature but that could wait, Reginald was his top priority. He walked over to the cabinets in the back of the infirmary, grabbing bandages, disinfectant, and a pack of cotton balls. He placed them on the bed and went back to put on a pair of rubber gloves, he wouldn't take any chances with his boss.

The creature, Mist, stood far enough away to give him space while he parted Reginald's styled mop of brown hair and got a better look at the head injury, just a bump, and with a curt nod he began applying first aid. Now if the Toppat leader would just wake up. Right had training as a field medic, most of the Toppats knew at least the basics, but Right wouldn't be relieved until his friend was awake and alert.

"Is he alright?" Mist asked from behind him.

"Just a bump on the head, wouldn't say he's out of the woods yet," Right said. "Still, the boss has been through worse, should wake up soon."

He secured the bandages, put everything back where he found them and dumped the gloves in the rubbish bin. Right dragged a chair over to Reginald's bedside and sat down, watching Mist as she took off her saddlebags. He could see signs of fatigue, subtle as they were. The tense way she stood, the stiffness in her wings, the fact that her fur looked paler than before, but her poker-face was convincing.

"What are you supposed to be then?" he asked gruffly.

Her surprise at being addressed was brief and her answer cordial. "A Pony, specifically a Pegasus. You?"

"Human," he replied catiously. "Never seen a pony like you before."

"Never seen a Human before," Mist replied, absentmindedly rubbing her chest.

"Go pull up a chair girl, you look like you need it." Right said with an eye roll.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not repeatin' myself."

Mist dragged a chair over to sit next to him. He sat back in his own chair and waited.

"So, why'd you 'elp?" Right asked.

"I saw the crash site and didn't think about it, just moved." Mist replied.

"That wasn't just search an' rescue training, you had a weapon pointed at you an' you kept your head. Who are you?" Right asked.

Mist, as calm as ever, replied. "Mist Veil, I worked as a mercenary under the alias Bluebird. Stealth and rescue specialist, I was the mare sent to steal or negotiate when all other avenues aren't an option."

Right nodded. "You know where we crashed?"

"In the plains between my house and Florenway, on Equestria's southwest border."

"An' where on Earth is that then?"

"Where is Earth?" she replied.

Right Hand Man was starting to get annoyed. "Look, I'm not going to listen to your cock-and-bull story, I'll admit you tried to 'elp the boss, but don't take me for a fool. Where the 'ell are we."

"In relation to where you were before? No idea." Mist shrugged.

Right was losing his patience. "I aught to throw you in the brig..."

She looked at him quizzically. "I haven't done anything wrong, did I say something wrong?"

Right sighed. "Just shut up an' stay put."

Reginald Copperbottom awoke with a pounding headache and the feeling of bandages wrapped around his head. He sat up, the last thing he remembered was wrangling the airship into a smooth landing after something had ripped them from above the New Mexico Desert and repositioned the ship elsewhere, damaging it in the process.

"Reg!"

The Toppat Chief looked over to see the ever trustworthy Right Hand Man sitting on a chair by his bedside and the strangest, oddly adorable, pegasus he'd ever seen in the seat beside Right. Much to his shock it was a living, breathing creature.

"...I believe I hit my head harder than expected..." Reginald said slowly.

Right shook his head. "The pony's real boss, smashed the windshield to 'elp you."

"Hello." the pony said respectfully.

"Really? Well then," Reginald nodded politely at the pegasus. "I'm grateful for your assistance. I am Reginald Copperbottom, leader of the Toppat Clan and this, is my second-in-command, Right Hand Man."

"What do we do with her Boss?" Right asked.

"If her intention was indeed to just get us to safety, we can't lock her up," Reginald mused. "Right, do you have any idea where we are?"

"The pony said we're in Equestria or somethin'. But I can't be sure, we won't know for sure 'til nightfall."

Reginald sighed. "I need to see the extent of the damage and check on the rest of the clan..."

"Not with a head injury you're not." Right stated firmly. "An' I'm not leaving you in 'ere alone with her."

Reginald rolled his eyes, reaching over to his two top hats, he pulled his revolver out from its hidden compartment. "Then tie her up or something, I can just shoot her if she tries anything."

"I'm right here you know." Mist deadpanned.

"See? You have nothing to worry about and one of us needs to check on the others." Reginald added.

Right didn't look convinced, but stomped out of the room anyway. Reginald relaxed slightly, turning his attention, and his gun, towards the pony. "So, mind answering a few questions?"

Reginald studied the mare as she explained herself. Her fur and mane showed only the barest amounts of care had been put into them. She was thin, not alarmingly so but he could see her ribs slightly showing through her fur. Behind her goggles, her left eye was somewhat milkly, unfocused and her right eye was trained on him. He took note off how still she was in her seat, almost doll-like. Despite her run-down state, there was something about her, a bit of fight left in her, and Reginald was intrigued.

It was clear her initial concern for him was genuine, if the Airship Division truly was stranded here, he'd need to build the clan up again, reclaim their empire, and this mare could help him achieve that. He wouldn't let the Toppat Clan die now.

And Reginald was impressed by her selflessness. "A mercenary eh? I'm afraid to say it but we could use all the help we could get. Would you be interested in becoming a member of the clan?"

Mist sat stunned for a moment. "You... You want someone like me in your gang?"

She couldn't believe it, surely he was joking. A weak thing like her? Impossible, it wasn't like she quit her job as Bluebird because she wanted to. She'd give anything to go back to doing what she loved.

Her body wouldn't allow it.

"Gang?" Reginald chuckled. "We Toppats are a high-class organisation that steal the finest treasures and riches known to man! A family of skilled combatants, researchers, and people from all walks of life! We're far superior than some common street gang."

"Even so, I'm retired," Mist stated. "Not by choice but you don't need someone like me. I'm a liability."

"Who says I'm recruiting you for your physical capabilities?" Reginald retorted. "Right now we're sitting ducks in what could be enemy territory. You know the area, you handle yourself well in a crisis, and I'm holding you at gunpoint. If I offer you a place in the clan, you should take it," he smirked, aiming the gun at her head. "I could have you locked up you know, give you no say in the matter..."

He grinned cheekily, setting the gun on the table. "But that wouldn't be all that honorable, you alerted Right to my condition and a Toppat always rewards a good samaritan such as yourself."

"If I refuse your offer?" Mist asked catiously.

"Then I'd owe you a favor at a later date, or negotiate a deal of some sort," Reginald shrugged. "It's the principle that matters, Toppats are loyal to their own, honorable in their ways, and I, as their leader, uphold the clan's values."

For the mare, it was too good to be true, too tempting. Her life before was like living in a daze, ignoring how isolated and lonely she was, days of pain and monotony blended together and her only company was her drive to get out of bed, to do something, even it amounted to her listening to the radio all day, it was still something.

Mist mentally prepared herself. "Will you take my health into account? I'm not well..."

"Is it a medical issue? We can adjust your accommodations or provide specific meals but I doubt any of our medical professionals can help." Reginald said.

Ears splaying back in embarrassment, Mist explained. "Wheat intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome... I get fatigued easily and I... also have monochrome syndrome," seeing he didn't recognize the term, she continued. "The first two are fairly obvious, can't eat wheat or I get a sore gut. Monochrome syndrome is when a pony stops using or expressing their special talent, the magically enhanced skill unique to that pony, due to trauma or extreme changes in their physical or mental state. Visible signs are the dulling of color on the pony and trouble using their innate magical abilities. Pegasi use their magic to fly so, I have to rely more on my wings to stay aloft. Unicorns and Earth Ponies are affected differently though."

Reginald held up a gloved hand. "I'm sorry, did you say unicorns?"

"Yes, there are three different types of ponies native to Equestria. Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns." Mist explained.

"Fascinating, and your special talent is separate from the magic that allows you to fly?"

"Yeah, our special talents are something we enjoy doing to the point that our body enhances our skill with it magically," Mist said. "I've been working towards being able to fly without my magic though," she smiled, a small, hopeful one. "All of my health problems aren't an issue are they? I understand if they are though..."

The Toppat Cheif waved her off. "We'll keep you out of combat and put you down as having a wheat allergy, nothing we haven't done before. You'd be primarily working with Right or Myself as we get a feel for this place."

"You're taking the whole stranded in Equestria thing fairly well." Mist noted.

"Well I'm sure we'll find our way back eventually," Reginald replied, grinning as he extended a hand out to her. "So, what do you say Miss Mist Veil? Want to join The Toppat Clan?"

It was a gamble and she knew it, but the Toppats didn't have the assumptions others had about her or her skills. In fact, she could say Reginald was seeing her at her worst, sore, tired and uncomfortable as she was. What else did she have left to lose?

At least I can still be of use...

Mist nodded meekly, shaking his hand with a hoof. "I'll join."

The two of them looked over towards the door as Right walked back in, the man ignoring Mist in favor of addressing Reginald.

"I got Thomas looking after the crew, a few cuts and bruises but so far you're the only one with significant injuries," Right reported. "As for the ship, the propellers need to replaced, engine's busted so we've only got the emergency power, an' the front of the ship is pretty banged up, looks like we hit a building or somethin' in the crash," he looked at Mist as he flatly said. "the windshield needs fixing too."

At the mention of the ship hitting a building, Mist felt her a pit form in her stomach.

Reginald looked thoughtful as he gave Right his orders. "Once everyone's healed up we'll focus on patching up the windshield and the hull, the backup generator runs on a separate system so we won't have to worry about power for a bit, and I'll look at the engine myself once I'm free to move around but make sure no one starts poking around the ship's electronics. I don't want someone accidentally starting a fire... As for that building, I noticed a house just before we crashed and presumed we missed it..."

Mist ran a hoof through her mane and sighed. "Ponyfeathers... That was my house..."

Reginald and Right shared a look. The Toppat Leader cleared his throat as he smirked at the annoyed pegasus. "Well it's a good thing you've decided to join us then, Right if you could show her to an available room in the Living Quarters?"

Right nodded. "Alright girl, this way."

"Ok," Mist said and quietly kept pace with the Right Hand Man as he walked with purpose down the hall.

Hours later, Mist was called up to the bridge of the airship, her saddlebags in her room and her flight goggles replaced with her glasses. She found Reginald and Right Hand Man looking up at the night sky.

The two of them turned to face her as she approached, Reginald stepping forward and looking much better than he did earlier in the day and his two top hats back on his head. "It appears we owe you an apology... You were right about our current location. Between Right Hand Man and myself, we could travel anywhere even with a damaged navigation system but this?" he gestured at the soft purple hue of the night sky. "We can't recognize any stars, we have no idea, geographically, where we are... This isn't anywhere near Earth."

Mist felt for them, Reginald looked grim and Right, impassive as he appeared to be, was more focused on his boss than the pegasus. Mist was apologetic as she spoke. "I've been all over the world and I've never seen anything as advanced as this ship or your weapons. And experimenting with dimensional rifts and portals has been banned for over a thousand years, it's simply too dangerous. I'm so, so sorry Sir, but there is no way to return you all home."

"What am I going to tell the rest of the clan?" Reginald groaned and sighed. "...We should get the ship operational first..." he dismissed her with a gesture. "Thank you for your concern, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes Sir." Mist nodded and headed towards the door.

From behind her, she heard Right snicker. "Aw, she's takin' a likin' to you Reg. Sir, that's cute."

"I'm making you go with her for her first mission..."

"... Fair enough. 'Least I can keep her out of trouble."

Author's Notes:

I was inspired to write this story because, I'm not well myself. Several very bad cases of acid reflux hit me hard in 2019, I lost a lot of weight, there were times where I could only have a few bites of food, spend all day in agony, or even be hit with an unexpected bout of pain for no reason, and now something as simple as changing my bedsheets results in discomfort and mild chest pain.

I found out I have wheat intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome, I've removed wheat from my diet, along with the food that gives me reflux, and I have noticed improvements. But, I still do have to be careful, one wrong movement can still give me chest pain, while it's more of a dull ache, it still saps me of my energy, and a reminder that I can't do as many things as I did before. It's the same with food, I eat a brownie? It feels like my intestines are inflamed, eat too much, too little, too early, or too late? hello acid reflux.

In short, I feel weak, fragile, and I hate it.

I wanted to write a character that also experiences the same thing and making the best of her circumstances, while incorporating things I like to create a sort of antihero, or at least a bad guy with a good heart.

Reginald and Right Hand Man are my favorite Henry Stickmin characters too, so you can bet I wanted to have my OC be a Toppat! And I like the idea of Reg and Right helping a clan member live with something like that. It's obvious wish fulfillment and I don't care! It's my story.

I hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Las Pegasus Part One

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Mist sat in a comfy desk chair across from Reginald. The man himself seated at his desk in his private quarters with Right Hand Man watching the duo from across the room.

Her new boss smiled sheepishly. "I'm confined to my room for the next few days, doctors orders," he was still subdued but there was a determined air about him as he spoke. "I'm not going to sit around twiddling my thumbs however, I need to know exactly what we're dealing with in this world, our weaknesses, our limitations, and you are going to help."

"Where do you want me to start?" Mist asked.

Reginald rested his arms on the desk, leaning forward. "You mentioned our technology is superior, yes? Let's start there. Can you think of anything obvious to you, that could be a challenge for the clan in the future?"

"Resources," she stated simply. "Unless you have the means to manufacture equipment or parts necessary for maintaining the ship or your weapons, you'll eventually run out of supplies," she hummed in thought. "Any money you've got is worthless unless you can break it down into raw materials, gems are useful though. They have a wide variety of uses and applications across the globe, so even the lowest quality gemstone can be sold for a decent price."

"We do have a collection of jewels in the vault... I'd rather not sell them unless it's absolutely necessary."

Mist thought for a moment, she did have money stored away, she could live quite comfortably if she wanted to, but... there was always the risk she'd be recognized and the last thing she wanted was to be dragged back to Canterlot.

She hesitated. "...I could pay for important stuff, food, supplies and stuff...At least while you're starting out?"

Reginald looked surprised, a grateful smile spreading across his face. "That's very generous of you. We can work out finances later, I don't feel like tackling that just yet."

"No worries Sir, you're still recovering after all and I have nothing better to do." Mist replied.

Reginald nodded. "And the governments of this world?"

"Well the main political powerhouse is Equestria, ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Mist explained. "As a whole Equestria is a peaceful kingdom, to the point where the criminal underworld settled into several major population centers. Las Pegasus has a thriving black market, Manehatten is colloquially known as Supervillain Central, and Canterlot itself is home to the Equestrian Branch of the Thieves Association. The almost utopian state of Equestrian society hides the criminal underworld all by itself."

Reginald smirked. "You don't sound too fond of your own people." he noted.

"No one wants anything to do with me," Mist stated. "I don't have any family I care to go back to so why should I sing the praises of a country that values conformity and social standing over understanding and self-expression?"

She was bitter, old emotional scars reopened for nth time, she left because it was either a life by her own rules or treated as a doll to be shown off and cooed at by socialites with more money than sense. She felt emotionally drained just thinking about it. "Anything else, Sir?"

"Yes, how's your room?" Reginald asked politely.

She wasn't expecting that question and scrambled to answer him. "Fine? I need to get a few things when I head to Florenway next week-"

"Next week? If you need anything, you can leave today. In fact, we need some parts to fix the engine and I was wondering if there was anywhere nearby that sold them," Reginald said, opening a draw and pulling out a list to show her. "I've written the base components as well if it turns out we have build the parts from scratch."

She looked at the list he placed in front of her, trying to make sense of the unfamiliar script. "... Sir, I can't read this."

Reginald hummed in thought and handed her a pen and a piece of paper. "Write something."

She took the pen in her right wing, writing Toppat 4 life and returning the pen. Reginald studied her little message.

"I'll have to set time aside for us to learn each others written language. Fortunately I seem to have come across an abundance of free time until I'm fully recovered," Reginald said, gesturing at Right Hand Man. "A certain someone won't let me do anything more strenuous than paperwork..."

"You're lucky you didn't crack your 'ead open on the flight panel..." Right retorted.

"We're lucky I landed the ship safely," Reginald replied and looked at Mist. "Anyway, why don't we get started while you're here?"

Mist nodded. "Sure, the written version of Ponish is a mix of letters and images derived from the pre-Equestrian pony languages of Old Ponish, Ancient Glyphii, and Auld Faelic," Mist said. "Names, especially those of people, places, or important events, are written in Faelic, with runes or images, a carry-over from when names were said to have a magic all their own. Numbers, units of measurement, and related terms are in Ancient Glyphii as modern day Ponish carried over the ancient pegasi numerical and measurement system. Everything else is written in Modified Ponish, an alphabet based on Old Ponish used by unicorns pre-unification."

Mist used her note as an example, pointing a hoof at the first word. "See this, it's an amalgam of the words top hat and tribe since we don't yet have a way of writing Toppat properly in Ponish and clan is a Griffish word that I don't know how to spell in Ponish."

Reginald watched her intently as she moved on to the next word. "This is the number four, represented by four lines spreading out from a single point like feathers on a wing, all numbers from zero to nine share the wing motif, numbers above nine are... complicated."

"Reminds me of roman numerals." Reginald commented.

Mist nodded and drew his attention to the final word. "This is the word life in Modified Ponish."

Reginald, now with the knowledge of what was written, looked at the message amused. "So, it reads Toppat 4 life..."

Mist felt embarrassed as she heard Right snort in amusement.

"An amusing way of displaying the intricacies of the written word," Reginald agreed. "Ours uses a twenty-six character alphabet and ten numerals, here let me give you an example..."

Mist's room was spartan in design, a bed pushed up against the wall, a dresser at the foot of the bed, a small table and chair, and an empty shelf next to a door that led to the attached bathroom. She sat on her bed, sorting through the contents of her saddlebag.

Kinda glad I didn't keep anything important at the house.

She pulled out a long, deep blue coat. Her own feathers, elegant white plumage, adorned the cuffs and collar. She laid the coat out on the bed, it was followed by a patchwork black and blue cotton turtleneck and matching pants. Finally, she dropped out four cushioned boots on floor by the bed.

Her old outfit, it was as if she never quit, it was like Bluebird was still some unsung hero and not a myth forgotten in the fast-paced current of society.

Mist pulled out a heavy black case from bag and placed in her lap. She opened it, the dark, tinted lenses of a her work goggles glinted back at her. Setting her glasses on the pillow behind her, she put the goggles on, and looked around. They still fit, bringing the world into such a sharp level of clarity that it rivalled the keen eyesight of a normal pegasus. It was a novel experience. Still wearing the padded piece of gear, Mist began pulling out various trinkets and spacing them out in front of her.

A piece of a blue curtain she'd cut off, from a film set in Applewood.

A blue silk coin purse she'd stolen from her grandmother.

A jewelry box filled with sapphires taken from every jewelry store part of the largest store chain in Equestria.

A powder blue feather boa she'd gotten as a gift in Las Pegasus for rescuing a mare from some pigheaded stallions that wouldn't take no for an answer.

A small teddy bear in blue pajamas she'd (rightfully) stolen back from her old Flight School friend.

Each item was a memento, proof of what she did, a reward for herself, her treasures. Mist hefted her saddlebags up to test the weight, they were still heavy. She checked both bags, one had her medication, nothing more than a few carefully labelled bottles and boxes, and an umbrella lay forgotten at the bottom.

In the other was a large sack of bits. Mist forgot she had it in there. With a bit of effort, she got the sack of bits out onto her bed.

Wow I saved up a lot of money... What was I going to do with it again?

Oh yeah, buy my own... airship...

She sat staring at the bag in contemplation. She had enough money in the bank to buy necessities for herself and she didn't see a reason to continue hoarding bits. Setting everything aside, Mist slid off the bed, dragging the sack behind her with her left wing, it hit the floor with a thud, and dragged across the metal floor as she left her room with determination. She was aware the Right Hand Man was following her as she lugged her cargo along, her wing protesting at the strain.

"You want some 'elp there girl?" Right asked from somewhere behind her, his steps a slow steady rhythm against the metal floor.

"Nope," she grunted, grabbing the sack in her other wing. "I got it."

She wanted the satisfaction of doing it herself, to prove she could. As proof she still could. She reached the door to Reginald's room at the other end of the hallway and Right walked past her to open it for her, smirking.

The look on her boss' face as she hauled the sack onto his desk was worth the minor ache in her wings.

Right Hand Man stood beside the pony as he listened to Reginald brief them from his desk chair.

"Now that repairs on the ship's exterior are underway, we need to get things ready for the work on the engine, and that means getting a hold of the necessary parts."

Right already knew this, the pony already knew this, but it was good to let his boss talk, to see him take charge after the events of the last few days. Ensuring Reginald recovered properly was always a chore, the man had a habit of taking on too much work, too quickly, and often into the dead of night. It meant Right would have to drag him away from his desk or put up with Reginald when was bored.

A bored Reginald was a cunning Reginald, and a pain in Right's backside. The pony kept his boss occupied thankfully, between Ponish lessons, finance management, and whatever work Right let him get away with. If it weren't for the complete silence of the ship's engine, Right could almost believe it was just another bog standard mission, get a feel for the new recruit, and get the job done.

"You two will heading to the city of Las Pegasus for the parts we need to finish repairs," Reginald stated. "Mist, you'll be in charge of the clan's budget for the cost of supplies. Purchase what we need and return as quickly as you can. Since this is your first mission, Right will go with you to see how well you do. Listen to him if something goes wrong."

The pony nodded. "Yes Sir."

Right stood just a bit straighter as Reginald addressed him. "Right, this will an undercover mission. You are to monitor Mist and make no mention of the clan to the locals, should you get in trouble, prioritize keeping yourself and Mist safe and away from danger. We don't want to alert the world to our presence just yet."

"Got it." Right said.

With a nod, they were dismissed. Right looked down at the pony. "I'll meet you outside the ship in half an hour. Make sure to pack for a long trip."

"It'll only be day-and-a-half long flight to Las Pegasus." the pony pointed out.

"What? You gonna fly us there?" Right asked in skepticism.

"Yeah."

"You? Who couldn't lift a sack of money without strainin' yourself?"

"Bits are seventy-five percent pure gold! They're heavy!" the pony protested.

Right walked over to stand in front of the door to his own quarters, crossing his arms. "So let me get this straight, you think you can carry me an' all of our gear for the trip all the way to Las Pegasus?"

"Yup."

The pony was crazy, she was bluffing, he was sure of it.

Right shook his head in disbelief. "Alright girl, I'll let have a go at it once we leave the ship, if you can hold all that weight an' stay in the air, we'll do it your way. You crash even once an' we're walking the rest of the way. Got it?"

The pony nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Don't call me Sir. Save the bootlicking for the boss." he growled, swiping his card to open the door to his room and walking inside.

The pony wasn't bluffing.

Right sat on the pony's back, mindful of her saddlebags, a hand on the brim of his hat, and the other holding onto the pony's mane. She wasn't flying high enough to risk injury if he fell off and they were moving at a steady, leisurely pace, but it was noticeably faster than walking.

"You sure you can keep this up?" he asked.

"Yup, we'll stop in White Tail Woods for lunch and reach the river by sundown," she replied. "I know a good place by the riverbank to set up camp for the night."

A sea of grass was below them as they flew in companionable silence, something Right could appreciate as it meant the pony was taking the mission seriously and not using the trip as an excuse to try and cozy up to him like so many other fresh faces to join the clan. He'd seen how passive she was with Reginald, eager to please, too eager. It hinted at something, either she was using the clan for her own gain or it was a sign that the pony had been put through the wringer enough times to do some serious damage to her self-esteem.

It was his job to figure out which.

If it was the first, she'd be kicked out by the end of the month. Having your own reason to join the clan fine, plenty of people joined for one reason or another, but if you endangered the clan for personnel gain, you'd tossed out the nearest exit. Right had weeded out those types before, her being a pony wouldn't change that. She'd slip up sooner or later.

However, the second outcome was trouble, not fot the clan per say but for the pony herself. In the past, they'd gotten recruits from broken families, runaways, or picked up off the street. Those members of the clan always had it rough, people who didn't mesh well with the violence and high stakes of a heist or a shoot-out. But the clan was all they had, their only refuge when society had given up on them. Right had no idea how to handle them.

Reginald knew though, what jobs to assign them, what things they needed, who worked best together. It was that excruciating level of detail and effort Reginald put into running the clan that made it what it was today, pulled it from the trainwreck the previous Toppat Chief had been steering it towards. And, Right knew the boss had noticed something about the pony, he wouldn't have asked her to join the clan otherwise. So, he supposed he just had to do his job and keep an eye on her.

Mist landed hours later in a small clearing in White Tail Woods, Right getting off her back to claim a seat on a fallen log. At heart she was an endurance flier, using the wind to her advantage but it had been quite some time since she'd flown for longer than it took for her to reach the village, and by the stars did she feel it.

Her wings felt like they would fall off, her chest twinged in pain from exertion, and she was glad to be able to rest. She walked over to and sat down on a large rock.

Right startled her as he spoke up. "Oi, you holdin' up alright?"

"Yeah, just gimme a bit..." she replied automatically.

"You don't look it," he commented. "Can't have you passing out on me."

She was annoyed by the remark "I'm not that bloody weak..." she grumbled, sliding her saddlebags off.

"Jus' don't want you hurting yourself for the sake of the mission." Right replied calmly.

"I need to do my job, I get it," Mist grumbled. "I'm not stupid."

Right raised an eyebrow. "No , you don't. We're a team, we 'ave a job to do, an' there's no room in the clan for self-sacrificing idiots that don't look after themselves."

Mist felt her heart sink, ears lying flat against her skull, and she focused on fishing her lunch and painkillers out from the depths of her bag.

She heard Right sigh.

"Listen Mist, I appreciate the gusto. But you can't keep pushing yourself like this, Reg an' I noticed you ain't in the best of shape an' we can't 'elp you if you don't speak up. Toppats look out for each other."

"Sorry Sir." Mist replied meekly.

"I told you, don't call me that..." Right complained. "We'll take it easy for a couple of hours. If you feel up to it, we can fly the rest of the way to camp, an' if not I don't mind walking there. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Alright then."

They ate in silence, Mist wasn't one for small talk and it appears Right wasn't either. The painkillers did their job and the respite helped her regain her strength. Mist wasn't sure why Right made a big deal out of her pushing herself, it felt like he was butting in, he had no idea! The pain was temporary and she'd been through worse. The last thing she wanted was to slow them down, to be a disappointment. She felt fragile enough as it was and she didn't need it rubbed in her face that she was a shadow of her former self.

Her own body did that already.

Chapter 2: Las Pegasus Part Two

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The sun was setting as the pony landed by the riverbank, Right carefully climbed off her and began searching the modest clearing for a good spot to put up the tent. From the corner of his eye, he saw her lumber over to a flat rock and sit on it to catch her breath. Right had to give her credit, she was good at hiding her pain, but not good enough to fool him, and she was going to run herself ragged at the rate she was going.

He found ground flat enough for the tent and removed his hat, opening a compartment in the side and pulling out a collapsible tent. It would fit one of them, but it was better than both of them being out in the elements. With his hat back on, Right started to put the tent up.

"Do you need help?" the pony asked.

"No," he said, then added "if you want to be useful, could use some stones and wood for a fire."

Getting a few rocks and branches was easy enough and if she wanted to help it wouldn't do to just have her sit around. She had more work ethic than she did self-respect, he needed to put a stop to that. Something to work on, he supposed, but she had some fight her which Right respected. He didn't need a yes-man, he need a teammate and someone who could do their job without the kiddie gloves. Unless she earned a high rank in the clan, her passiveness was going to make her a target.

He stepped back to look at his handiwork, the tent was easy to set up, he nudged it with his foot and smirked when it didn't collapse in on itself. Turning around, Right looked for the pony. Her bags were left nearby and faint hoof prints in the dirt led into the small thicket of trees that surrounded their camp. He had to remind himself that she wasn't some hopeless rookie, with how calm she was Right found it hard to believe she was an ex-mercenary, but he saw the way she held herself during their first encounter.

She was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Right would give her fifteen minutes to get back to camp before he went searching for her.

Right watched as the pony made a campfire. Once the sticks were organized with the ring of rocks, she stepped back and Right started to walk over to light it. The pony held up a hoof, he paused and was surprised to see the pony extend her left wing.

Sparks of lighting danced across her feathers as she concentrated, she aimed her wingtip at the campfire, and Right took a step back is shoch as a bolt of lighting arced off her wing and struck the wood, setting it alight.

He raised a brow at her. "You could've warned me."

"Sorry." she replied sheepishly but she still looked proud of herself regardless.

Right dragged over a log to use as a seat by the fire. "S'that somethin' all pegasi can do? Or jus' you?" he asked as he let go off the log.

The pony hesitated, Right sat down and waited. It was no skin off his nose if she didn't want to share.

"It's... Complicated," she settled on. "Pegasus magic enables the manipulation of air currents, moisture, sunlight, and a whole host of things that connect to the weather. Lightning manipulation is a skill only used by law enforcement, environmental specialists, and ponies whose special talent revolves around it. I use it as a survival tool."

"I wasn't sure I could still do it," she added. "I've lost so much of my magic it's only a matter of time before I'm grounded for good."

"The monochrome syndrome?" Right commented and got a nod in return. "Any way to treat it? Get you back on your feet?"

"Even if I'm able to express my talent in some capacity, the underlying issues are still present. It's just something I have to live with," the pony looked frustrated. "Barring black magic, nothing can be done."

Right had a hunch. "An' I suppose there's a price to pay if you went with that option?"

"Who's to say I'd still be me at the end of it all? Would I be willing to throw away my morals for an easy fix to my problems?" the pony suggested seriously. "I'm not out of the running yet, so I'd rather save that as a last resort."

Right silently agreed with her.

The pony walked over to her bags and pulled out a metal container, carrying it in a wing as she took a seat next to him by the fire. Popping the lid off, she offered the contents to him. "Rice crackers, want some?"

Right wordlessly reached in and grabbed one, their conversation falling to the wayside as they ate.

"You'll get the tent, I'll keep watch outside." he stated after a while.

She just nodded and made a noise that sounded like confirmation. Right looked up at the darkening sky, it was still strange to look up and see unfamiliar stars, a different sky. Right wondered if the clan would ever fully recover, they'd certainly been in dire straits before but this was on another level. The Toppat name didn't have any clout here, many of the ship's crew were now permanently separated from their families, and Reginald was the one who had to pick up the pieces.

Still, Right supposed there was a silver lining to all of this, the clan would come out the other side stronger, they had an entire world at their fingertips, and the pony was already showing promise.

Mist walked out of the tent the next morning dressed in a black T-shirt and a pair of gray, plaid shorts. She slipped her saddlebags on and pulled out her flight googles and a small, wooden charm on a twine necklace. As she put her googles on, she passed the charm over to Right, who was clearing up the remains of the campfire.

He looked skeptical as he examined the charm. "Some sort of ID?"

"Cloudwalking charm, can't walk around the city without it."

"You're joking..."

Mist wasn't fazed. "You'll see."

They packed up the tent, removed any traces they'd been there and took off.

Mist enjoyed the early spring weather, flying with the wind, towards the giant clouds that made up the foundation of Las Pegasus. As she began to climb higher into the air, she felt her passenger tighten his grip on her mane.

"Oi! 'ow far up are we going?" he asked.

"We'll be flying up for the next few hours, Las Pegasus is a cloud city."

"Don't you dare drop me..."

"I won't fly straight up, we'll gain altitude at an angle." she said reassuringly.

She heard Right grumble but the rest of the trip was relatively smooth. Mist wasn't sure if it was the increase in physical activity or the fresh air but flying felt easier than it had been yesterday. She shrugged it off as simply having one of her good days.

It felt nice to be out on a job again.

She reached Las Pegasus hours later, hovering above a cloud road. Warily, she poked it with a hoof, the surface responding to her touch and providing resistance. She landed gently, the cool, soft clouds a novelty after spending so much time on the ground.

The flashy lights and extravagant buildings of Las Pegasus lay before them, she glanced behind her, Right was still sitting on her back, staring wide-eyed at the magical marvel of pegasi architecture and engineering.

"But, these are clouds."

"Yup."

Right looked at her. "You're standing on clouds."

"Yup."

"An entire city on bloody clouds..."

"You can get off, it's safe as long as you wear the charm." Mist explained and Right cautiously got off her, testing if the clouds could hold his weight.

He realized what he was doing and cleared his throat. "Right then, where to?"

Mist kept her voice down as she lead Right into an alleyway. "Getting the parts from a licensed distributor would be ideal, pretend we're a couple of co-workers on a business trip, or some hobbyist tinkerers on vacation," she picked up a second pair of hoofsteps from behind them. "Cutie Marks are the main way to identify a pony, I've packed this outfit on the off chance someone recognizes me, or we need to head to the black market if legal channels are a bust."

The sound of a wing concealed blade was familiar, Mist acted on instinct, pivoting around to stand on her hind legs and jab her would-be assailant in the eye with her hoof. The stallion stumbled back. Grabbing at his injured eye, he lunged at her with the knife.

She sidestepped the sloppy attack, a sweeping kick knocked his legs out from under him, the fall taking him by surprise, and she used it to her advantage. Mist dropped back onto all fours and pinned the other pegasus beneath her, snatching his knife out of his grasp with a wing and pressing the blade to the side of his throat.

The stallion tried to struggle, she put her hoof on his wing. She applied pressure, just enough to convince him to stop moving.

"W-what are you going to do?" he asked shakily.

Mist answered calmly. "Nothing, provided you don't pull another stunt like that again."

"I'm sorry, I needed the money-I didn't have a choice!"

It always came down to money and she didn't even have it in her to feel disgusted. "Money?"

She sighed, reaching into her bag with her free wing and pulling out a few hundred-bit coins to toss at his houves, her tone clipped. "Leave the city, make a new life for yourself. You can be better than this."

She removed the blade from his neck and let him go, the stallion scrambled to scoop up the offered bits and galloped off in wide-eyed terror. She looked over at the Right Hand Man, his hand was hovering over his holster, watching the situation intently, and he relaxed once the stallion was out of sight.

He nodded at her. "Good job, waste of money though..."

"Better him getting a second chance and wasting it, than not having a chance at all." she said, tossing the cheap switchblade into a nearby bin.

Mist walked down the alley, Right not far behind. Sticking to side streets, back alleys and the lesser walked paths behind buildings, Mist soon came to a stop in front of a small store. The exterior simple and functional, void of flair and the shop itself was tucked away behind an amusement park, the chatter of the crowd and fanfare of the rides nothing more than muffled background noise.

"This is Rapid Repairs, the parts and service provider for maintenance around here." she said.

Mist headed inside.

Shelves of mechanical parts, tools and gizmos lined the walls of the repair shop. Mist walked over to the counter and addressed the bored retail worker that sat on a stool behind it. A few quick words and a brief glance at Mist's list was all the salespony needed to point them in the right direction. Right pointed out the better pieces amongst the piles of metal doodads while she went around the back to buy a pegasus wagon to haul it back in.

An hour later, Mist was hitched to a sturdy wagon filled with their purchases, Right walking beside her as she pulled it down the street.

"You're not going to try an' fly back with that thing, are you?" he asked.

"No, there's a balloon lift we can take down to the ground and walk back," she explained. "Anything you wanted to do before we leave?"

"Nah, best to get this stuff back to the ship."

She nodded. "Alright then."

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Mist looked behind her to see an older mare, accompanied by the stallion from earlier. Right looked none too pleased with the apparent delay.

"Can I help you?" Mist asked neutrally as the other ponies approached.

"Well, we were wondering how we could help you," the mare said. "You did my boy a kindness earlier today and we wanted to repay you for your generosity."

"If he used the money to support the two of you, that's good enough," Mist said. "I'm sorry, my client is expecting this delivery."

"We could help you, you're headed for the lift, right? My husband's a delivery colt, he could fly your cart to your client in no time! Where are you headed?"

"Florenway, might be too far out for him." she replied.

"That little town in the fields west of the Smokey Mountains right? He can make the trip in under a few hours." the mare stated.

Mist looked at Right for confirmation. "Sir?"

He took a good look at the wagon, then at her. He looked thoughtful. "We'll be riding with the cargo..."

"Oh that's not an issue, happens all the time with his moving company." the mare reassured him.

Right was relieved when they reached Florenway without issue. They had, by some miracle, completely avoided the airship and the other ponies, insistent of helping, had left without issue. Right followed Mist through town, they were getting plenty of looks from the locals and he didn't like the way a good number of them turned their noses up at him. It wasn't his problem though.

His problem was the pony pulling the wagon. Mist looked fine, but even then, he could see she was forcing herself to keep moving. She was tense, subtly looking for threats, and a far cry from the mercenary he'd seen in action at Las Pegasus. He took note of the quiet whisperings and curious stares ponies directed at Mist specifically as they reached the village entrance.

"Come on girl, nearly there," he said, walking ahead of her. "The boss will be surprised to see us back early."

He looked back to see her smirk. "Just doing my job, Sir."

Right shook his head, the pony was definitely crazy. Either way she'd gotten the job done, he'd have to keep an eye on her though. Couldn't have her hurting herself, she was a valuable asset to the clan, and Right was impressed by what he'd seen. Sure she'd need some bad habits curbed, proper treatment to get her back into shape, and maybe a pep talk.

But that was Reginald's department, not his, and he'd prefer to not open that Pandora's Box, thank-you-very-much.

The walk back was quiet and uneventful, the wagon was hauled into the ship's storage and the Toppat Chief took one look at Mist and ordered her to clean herself up and get some rest. Right trudged into Reginald's quarters, flopping down into the seat opposite his boss.

Reginald raised a brow at him. "You can give your report to me tomorrow you know."

"If it's all the same to you boss, I'd prefer to get it out of the way." Right stated.

Reginald nodded and gestured for him to begin.

"Hard to say how she'll do in the future, she's dedicated at least, and can protect herself. Might want to keep an eye on her though, bit of a self-sacrificing idiot that one." Right stated and launched into a recount of the mission.

Afterwards, Reginald rested his chin on his hands, brow furrowed. "...I'll have to look into her reputation at the village, Mist has been of benefit to the clan, the question is if we've convinced her to stay... If she'll remain loyal." Reginald looked tired. "The crew are growing restless, they want to get back to work, and I don't blame them. This is all we have now, without Mist Veil providing us intel and funds we'd be worse off, we'd be flying blind with no idea how to proceed, and I doubt I'd be able to keep the crew in line without the promise of getting back to business as soon as possible."

His boss sighed, relief palpable. "At least we have what we need to repair the engine. The ship should be operational in a few weeks, provided everything goes smoothly," Reginald nodded courteously at Right. "You've done well, take the rest of the day off. From tomorrow, I want you overseeing the rest of the repairs."

"Take the night off yourself Reg, I don't want to find you asleep at your desk again." Right grumbled.

Chapter 3: To Walk Among the Common Folk

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"What do you mean the comms are down! They haven't worked since we got here!" Reginald explained to the Toppats he'd assigned to repairing the engine. It had been a week since they'd gotten everything they needed to repair the airship. "I don't care if you all can't stand to be off your phones for more than five minutes, we need to get the airship fixed!"

A week and Reginald wondered if he'd survive to see the ship take to the skies or keel over from stress. He did his best to respect his clanmates, he really did. But it was moments like these where remembered that most of them were idiots. He sighed at the confused expressions of the crew. "We'll fix the comms after we fix the engine."

Murmurs of agreement filled the room and the crew got back to work. Reginald climbed up the ladder out of the engine room and navigated his way to the bridge.

"Sir?"

He turned around to see Mist Veil walk towards him, trying to carch him on his way past. The pegasus pushed her glasses back up from where they slid down her nose.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked.

"Um, it's about the prisoner in the brig..."

"The prisoner in the brig?" it took him a moment to remember that yes, there was someone in the brig still, a security guard or something. "Oh... Him, what about him?"

"I just wanted to ask why we're keeping him locked up." Mist said.

"I... You know I can't recall..." Reginald wracked his brain but the reason, whatever it was, didn't come to mind. He looked at the mare, she had the look. The one he'd seen when she got an idea. And in the short amount of time he'd known her, an idea usually meant one of two things.

She either thought of something useful, like how she'd introduced them to the marvel of food preservation spells a few days ago.

Or it was such a nice thing to do that he wondered how she became a mercenary in the first place, like the pile of bits sitting in the vault.

"What is it Mist?"

"Can I look after the prisoner?"

"Explain." he ordered.

"I thought maybe I could convince him to join. Talk to him and... Stuff." Mist said as her left wing played with a loose strand of her mane.

It was a sound idea in theory, but not one Reginald trusted her with. Mist was eager to prove herself, true, but it didn't mean he was going to put blind faith in her abilities. The clan's future relied too much on her already and it was an incessant, nagging thought that Reginald hated. All it would take is Mist flying off and alerting her government of the airship's location before they finished repairs and any chance for the clan to survive would be dead in the water. He'd pulled this clan out of the wreckage when he became the leader all those years ago, reinstated the clan's old policies on trust and honor, and Reginald would be damned if he lost it all now because of one mare.

"No," he said curtly. "We can't risk him informing the authorities."

Mist nodded. "Fair enough, I'll be in my room if you need me."

Reginald watched her leave, he contemplated giving her something to do, a test, something to see if his concerns were valid, but he saw her daily for writing lessons and he knew from the security feed in the living quarters hallway that she only left her room to eat or follow orders. Her willingness to do whatever he or his Right Hand Man asked of her was... Unsettling. And then there was her health, he'd seen the way she barely moved in her seat during meetings, the instinctual reaction of a hoof flying to her chest in response to pain, and most days it was as if she was fine.

But Reginald would catch her looking envious at the crew's lunches, or staring out a window at the sky as her wings hung limply down her back. There was no way she was faking her condition. It meant the mare relied on the clan, he could kick her out and she'd be left with no one to help her.

Mist said it herself, no one wanted anything to do with her and it wasn't because of her choice of career.

The Toppat Chief felt a headache coming on as he walked into the bridge.

The new windshield was already in place and the repairs to the rest of the front was underway. Reginald saw his Right Hand Man looking out at the vast landscape, pensive.

Reginald stood beside him. "You know, Mist was asking about the prisoner in the brig..."

Right sighed. "She gettin' too nosy?"

"Not nosy per se... but aggravating, I don't like how much of a do-gooder she is. With how much of a key factor she is for our plans, I'm worried she'll bring this all crashing down on our heads." Reginald expressed his concern and Right made a noise in agreement.

"You need her put in her place," his second-in-command said thoughtfully. "Make sure she knows the future of the clan comes first."

"Precisely," Reginald nodded. "Although, I'm not sure how to go about it, appearing approachable and cordial with her has gotten us this far..."

Right looked over at him, as if the answer was obvious. "She's an ex-merc, jus' draw up a contract an' hire her until she earns her hat."

"You can't be serious? Surely it's not that simple." Reginald pointed out.

"We've seen her type before, a bootlicker tryin' to secure a good spot because it's the best, or only, option they 'ave. Can't get more simple that that," Right shrugged, calm as ever. "O'course you could threaten her, get her too scared to try anythin' but I dunno how that'll go in the long run. Could make her double down on those bad habits of hers."

"You have a point, we need to be delicate."

"Not we, You." Right stated and Reginald was stunned.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're the one with doubts Reg, you're the one who 'as to talk it out with the girl, not me."

Reginald frowned, it was true he was the more sociable of the two of them, but if Right was adamant about what needed to be done then...

He voiced his conclusion. "You don't believe she could betray the clan, do you?" he asked.

"No, she's too honest, too respectful fot that. Would sooner 'urt herself than sell us out. Nearly did, too." Right said.

That wasn't what he expected to hear. "She did? When?"

"Saw her the morning after we got back from Las Pegasus, the girl was moving slower than usual an' looked like death. I reckon she jus' pushed past the pain for your lesson with her that day." Right explained and Reginald thought back to that day in particular, for he had noticed she'd been more subdued.

"She said she was still tired from the mission."

Right nodded. "She does that, makes it seem like she's fine when she's not," he gave Reginald a knowing look. "Told you she's a self-sacrificing idiot... Still, if your that worried about her pullin' a fast one us, then take her on a mission. Go to that village an' get a feel for how the locals see her. You've been meaning to do that anyway 'aven't you?"

"I have been meaning to scope out the village. I trust you'll hold down the fort while I'm away?"

Right smirked. "Sure thing, Boss."

Flying like this, as if riding some majestic steed in a fantasy epic, was exhilarating. Reginald was mesmerized by Mist's steady wing beats, the glimpse of her former strength as muscles moved and stretched to keep them in the air.

"Will you be alright?" he asked, his paranoia a small, niggling thought in the back of mind almost drowned out by the sense of freedom and wonderment he felt.

She could fly higher and knock him off, not that it would work, he had a parachute in his hat if the worst happened, but the thought was still there.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Mist's reply. "Yes, you're lighter than Right Hand Man and it's only a ten minute flight."

"What can you tell me about the village?" Reginald asked.

"Florenway is home to about a few hundred ponies, primarily earth ponies and unicorns," she explained. "The nearby mountains are dotted with herbs and the climate here makes farming a breeze, the village specializes in growing crops and herbs, which are exported to other parts of the kingdom."

She sounded resigned, defeated. "It's why I moved out here, I needed access to the right medication while being far enough away from my old stomping grounds that no one would find me."

He had assumed as much. "I take it you made a few enemies during your time as Bluebird?"

"No, but I was well-known by the public, I was wanted by the law, and a few of the bigwigs in the criminal world wanted to recruit me for my skill," the mare said. "I couldn't risk joining another crew at the time, I wasn't fit to do my job. Hay, I'm not fit to do my job now but I've improved... a bit."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah... I've had days where I could barely eat or sleep, where every little movement sent a spike of burning pain up my oesophagus, and flying to the village left my fatigued..." Mist sounded animated, frustrated. Reginald had never heard her be this lively. The mare wilted slightly, as if she made a mistake. "Sorry Sir, you have enough on your plate as it is. The village is just up ahead."

They landed smoothly, Mist waiting patiently for him to get off before swapping her flight goggles for her glasses and adjusting her saddlebags. Reginald looked around the village entrance, a simple dirt path with a handful of ponies milling about. A few of them were looking at Mist with disgust as the pegasus plodded down the path.

"I go by Bluebell while I'm here, a former weather pony too sick to work," Mist said as Reginald walked beside her on her left side. "My special talent's close enough to a weather-based one I can get away with it."

At the mention of her special talent, Reginald glanced down at the symbol on her flank. A white feather with beams of light coming of it, each of which was a different colour. Though the mark itself was as washed-out as the rest of her. His curiosity was piqued.

"What is your special talent?"

Mist stopped, clearly taking a moment to process the question. "Sir, you don't just ask a pony that, or look directly at their cutie mark unless it's for identification."

So, it was something private? A significant detail to be shared among close friends? Reginald filed the thought away for later, Mist looked rather uncomfortable about it.

"Forget I asked, so where to?" he steered the conversation on to a new topic.

"I need to go to the apothecary to pick up my meds," she replied, pointing to a large building by a rather modest plaza with a fountain in the center. "The plaza has the apothecary, an inn that doubles as the local watering hole, the town hall and the guardhouse."

"I'll wait for you outside, maybe question the locals." Reginald said as they reached the apothecary, Mist nodded and went inside.

It was as if her presence was a deterrent, for it wasn't long before Reginald was approached by an elderly mare.

He smiled cordially. "Hello."

"Hello, I couldn't help but notice you with young Lillian there, friend of hers?" the mare asked.

Reginald wondered what was going on. A case of mistaken identity or something more worrying? "I believe you are mistaken, my friend's name is Bluebell."

"Is that what she's calling herself?" the mare looked sympathetic. "I know this will be a bit of a shock, but your friend isn't who she says she is," the old mare shook her head. "I moved here from Canterlot a few months back and I couldn't believe my eyes, that my friend's granddaughter was all the way out here, nopony has seen her in years."

This was certainly an interesting piece of information. A runaway, it made sense with her clear disdain during her brief mention of her family. "Really? She never told me much about her family."

"A shame, she ran away from Canterlot after her grandparents took her in, out of goodwill after her mother passed. Heir to the House of Winters and one day she just up and leaves, taking some of her grandmother's jewelry with her," the mare was displeased. "A good-for-nothing layabout and thief that doesn't even take part in the community."

Reginald was puzzled. "Well she is rather ill-"

"Well she can't be that sick if she flew you here, we have so few weather ponies out here she shouldn't be making up excuses to avoid work. That mare is just like her mother, abandoning her family to live her own life," the mare ranted and sighed. "If you are her friend then maybe you can talk some sense into her. Convince Lillian Meadows to go pay her family a visit. She won't listen to me."

It was then that Mist walked out the apothecary, the slightest look of annoyance upon seeing the elderly mare quickly hidden by a mask of indifference.

Reginald walked up to the pegasus, all smiles. "Bluebell! I was just having a rather interesting conversation, care to join me?"

The old mare waved him off, almost in a hurry to leave. "Don't let me keep you, have a nice day."

Mist sighed as they walked. He looked over at her, itching to confirm the truth of what he'd been told, and shot her a sly grin. "Lillian Meadows, eh?"

The pegasus looked irritated, but remained silent. Reginald raised a brow, this wasn't something he could just ignore if the information was valid. He spoke to her more sternly. "Something you're not telling me, Mist?"

Mist, instead of flinching like he expected, frowned as her voice oozed sass. "Let me guess, Lillian's a lying, ungrateful pony just like her mother. Oh I'm sorry, I don't want to live as an extension of my family's assets, or act like someone I'm not because my self-centered, two-faced, hypocrite of a grandmother didn't give a flying feather about me until my special talent could be used to further her standing in society. I left because I'm not a rutting trophy to be gawked at, ordered around or married off!"

Reginald was impressed by the self-righteous fury that rolled off her in waves, she was normally so calm the outburst took him by surprise. It also eased his own doubts about her for the time being, it was clear she'd sooner isolate herself again than try to return to polite society.

Mist stared at nothing, letting her mind wander while Reginald stopped to chat to another pony. They'd been walking around for the better part of an hour, her boss spinning a yarn about being a part of an airship enthusiast club that hired her for weather management and navigation. She glanced over to see, not for the first time, her boss being pulled aside by a concerned villager wanting to warn him about her behavior and troubled past, and Mist stared at the ground as she tried to ignore the worry worming its way into her thoughts.

Would she be kicked out before even getting her hat? Or would she be tossed in the brig, kept as resource of information and money until they no longer had a use for her? She tried to put it out of mind, tried to think about something, anything else. It wasn't working, she was working herself up, and her internal struggle to not let the stress get the best of her only added on to the whirlpool of emotions she was caught in. Her throat felt tight.

She couldn't break now.

"Are you alright?" Reginald asked, walking over and studying her. "Do you need to sit down?"

"I'm fine," she lied, her voice far more calm and steady than she felt. "Can't really stand around for too long anyway, wanna take a break for lunch?"

"Do you recommend anywhere in particular?"

Mist led him to her usual bakery, they weren't far from it anyway. "I'd suggest a sandwich or the ELT, egg, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Doesn't have hay or flowers in it, and I don't know if the amount of sugar used in the baked goods here is safe for you or not," she explained as they walked inside the homey building. "Ponies need sugar as a regular part of their diet, so baked treats, confectioneries, and desserts are staple foods."

"And what are you having?" Reginald asked as he browsed the modest selection of sandwiches on offer inside a glass display.

"Probably just a slice of carrot cake," she shrugged. "It's one of the few things I can eat here that doesn't trigger my wheat intolerance."

She watched her boss look around the store, as if he was realizing just how limited her options were compared to everyone else. The conversation paused as they bought their food and took a seat at one of the outdoor tables.

"What can you eat?" Reginald asked her.

Mist looked up, stabbing her fork into her cake. "This, fruit, vegetables, rice, rye bread, and eggs. Still have to avoid fatty, greasy or spicy foods because otherwise I'll have a crook gut and stomach acid up my oesophagus. I stuck to sandwiches, carrot cake and rice crackers because I just don't have the energy to make anything. A shame, I miss being able to cook."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, you don't have to keep buying your own food you know. We have a cafeteria on the ship for a reason." Reginald stated.

Mist focused on her food, holding her fork in her left wing. "I just don't want to be a bother, I have to follow a meal plan to manage my condition, and I don't want to inconvenience anyone by going to the kitchen outside of mealtimes anymore than I already do."

They ate quietly, Mist zoning out as she ate, and Reginald content to let her do so. Having something to do, to focus on, helped ease her state of mind back into something approaching normalcy. Mist was still stressed, but emotionally drained as she now was the mare wanted nothing more than to get her errands done and spend the rest of the day lying on her bed and...

Mist remembered she needed to buy herself a new radio, her old one destroyed along with the rest of her house. She'd been so busy learning how to write in English, teach her boss Ponish, and try her hardest to not get lost navigating the airship (Right had started following her around after he found her the first few times she got lost trying to get to the cafeteria) that she'd forgotten she had very few possessions and ever fewer ways to pass the time.

She had money after all, she may as well use it, and it wasn't like she was well enough for casual flights over the countryside anymore.

Mist was lying on her back on her bed, orchestral music quietly playing from the radio that now sat on top of the chest of drawers at the foot of her bed. Her quiet afternoon ended when someone knocked on her door. She hefted herself up and walked to answer the door, it opened with a mechanical hiss.

The Right Hand Man looked down at her. "You 'ad tea yet?"

"No."

"I was gonna grab a bite to eat before the rest of the crew rush in, want to join me?" Right asked. "Need to talk to you 'bout something anyway."

Well, Mist was hungry enough to actually eat something, and four O'clock in the afternoon wasn't that early for her. "Yeah, Thanks for the invitation Sir."

Right led her down the hall with an eye roll. "You don't 'ave to be so formal with me girl, jus' don't give me any sass an' don't be an idiot."

"You're my superior, Sir. That would be disrespectful." Mist said.

"True, but I don't work with folks looking to kiss my arse to get in the boss' good graces," Right stated. "Bein' respectful is treating your fellow Toppats like they're people an' not actin' like the smallest mistake will send you packing, you 'aven't messed up yet an' I can tell you don't plan to."

"I wouldn't want to bother-"

"S'no bother, we'll be working together in the future, the Chief's idea," Right said as they reached the cafeteria and headed into the attached kitchen. "You'll be our eyes an' ears when we start gettin' into the swing of things. You an' me will be the one's getting whatever information we need for Reg to start planning heists an' other missions."

Mist dug out her tin of rice crackers from within a cabinet, turning around to see Right pulling out a sandwich from the fridge. She followed him out to one of the many empty tables in the cafeteria and voiced her thoughts. "An undercover reconnaissance team? Be nice to work with someone again."

"You 'ad a teammate then?"

Mist nodded as she sat down next to him. "My partner in crime, had to cut ties with her when I quit, too dangerous."

"Too dangerous to keep associating with her?" Right guessed and she nodded, offering him a cracker.

"Red Dawn is her codename, she's one of the most powerful unicorns I've ever met, we became a well-known duo over time and knew it'd be too risky to stay in contact once my health started deteriorating," Mist said. "If we ever swing by Manehatten, I wouldn't mind paying her a visit. Bet she wouldn't turn down a chance to work with me again."

Right nodded. "It's never easy finding people that work well with you," he looked thoughtful. "I 'eard you were asking 'bout the prisoner in the brig the other day..."

"I was curious, the boss said no, so I didn't ask again after that." Mist stated and munched on a cracker.

The man wasn't angry, nor disappointed, merely passively observing. He shrugged. "Gotta admit, it's a good idea, convincing 'im to join but with everything goin' on with fixing the ship, we don't need the risk of 'im escaping. 'Specially not after the way he was brought 'ere to begin with."

Right Hand Man was disgusted as he recounted the tale. "It was a few days before we got 'ere. He was a mall cop, a few of the crew 'ad one too many drinks and thought it'd funny to bring 'im to the ship an' rough 'im up a bit. I was the one who found 'em. Toppats don't target innocents, stealin' is one thing, fightin' police tryin' to take you down is one thing, but we don' go around beatin' up innocent bystanders who haven't done anythin' to us."

Right sighed. "Threw the poor bloke into the brig, and scared the living daylights out of the idiots who attacked 'im. Was gonna tell the Chief but then all of this happened."

"Are you alright?" Mist asked, concerned.

"Don't worry 'bout it, once we're in the air, I'll tell Reg the full story an' see what happens. He's not goin' to be happy, hates it when someone ignores what it means to be a Toppat, we're not thugs, we're better than that," Right shrugged. "You jus' keep your 'ead down an' rest up. You'll get a chance to earn your hat soon enough."

Chapter 4: Bluebird, Phantom Thief of Hats

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Mist met her boss and his second-in-command in the bridge. She had been asked to wear her Bluebird uniform, so she strolled in wearing her patchwork turtleneck and pants, her boots that muffled her steps, and her signature blue coat and work goggles. It felt good to stroll in walking on two legs, front hooves gripping her coat in an almost pompous display of confidence. Walking on only her back legs also eased the near constant pressure on her oesophagus, the dull ache that usually accompanied moving or standing almost gone, and just a flicker of discomfort.

"How long can you stay upright like that?" Reginald asked.

"Depends, frequently moving around or moving quickly will aggravate my condition, so anywhere from five to fifteen minutes," she replied. "If I focus on moving and don't stop, I can push myself to keep going for half an hour or more. At least until I can't tolerate the pain and get too tired to keep going."

Reginald nodded. "I see, and your outfit? Is that just for show?"

"No Sir, the amount of Alicorn-Level spells on this prevents the need to wear protective gear," she stated. "Magic is deflected, ballistic weaponry and projectiles bounce right off, extreme temperatures are a non issue, and while I can still be smacked around and feel pain, serious injuries are impossible to obtain while I'm in uniform. Pockets in my coat have a bag-of-holding charm on them to store anything I need."

Right spoke up, pointing at her goggles. "Those got any bells and whistles on 'em?"

"Tinted lenses, hides my eyes from view so people can't tell I'm blind in my left eye, vision enhancement and night vision charms on the right lens to counteract my vision impairment, shortsightedness and night-blindness," she rattled off. "Can also see the residual magic left behind by others, good for tracking."

Reginald looked pleased. "I have a task for you, a test of your capability as a stealth expert. Overseen by the two of us," he gestured at his Right Hand Man. "You'll head to the back of the ship for a simulated heist."

"We want to see what you can do, get to the vault an' take something back to your room without gettin' captured," Right stated. "The Boss an' I will be tryin' to stop you. Avoid goin' through the engine room though, can't interfere with repairs."

"Treat this as if you were hired to sneak aboard the ship, the crew are working on the ship or in their rooms. Since they don't have a grasp on your limitations, I've ordered them not to engage you, unlike us," Reginald explained and smirked. "Yes, if we spot you we will act accordingly, you'll lose if you get sent to the brig. Are we clear?"

Mist was excited, a heist! Granted, the fact she was going to be pitted against her boss and the Right Hand Man was a bit worrisome but it meant it would be a controlled exam that took her condition in to account.

She hoped.

Mist nodded. "Understood Sir."

"Boss... You sure she's still on the ship?" Right asked over the radio.

Reginald, waiting in the gallery hallway in the vault, had a sinking feeling as he activated his walkie-talkie, the ones owned by him and his Right Hand Man were only communications devices that still worked. "...What did she do?"

"I've been going up an' down the ship an' haven't run into her yet, could be usin' the vents but in her condition? Doubtful."

It was something she'd do though. "Head to the vault, we'll cut her off there."

Mist having the time of her life, a wide grin made her cheeks sore as she watched Right walk straight past her.

Light refraction really was one of her more fun techniques to use. Every hair and feather was covered in a microscopically thin layer of her magic that changed the way light bounced off her. She was undetectable to the naked eye as the Right Hand Man led her directly to her target. Mist followed him into the vault, taking in the various treasures, and the mountain of money.

She hadn't felt this energized in a while. She stood on her hind legs, struck a pose, and deactivated her magic.

Showtime.

Right noticed her immediately. The game was on. Mist shifted her footing, watching as her opponent walked forward, a dented, metal baseball bat in hand. She snapped open her wings, flitting to the left to avoid his swing, and stepped back.

Bluebird was back.

"You need more blue things." she quipped, slipping around him and jumping back as the bat sailed past, he missed again.

It would be easy, to just go invisible and take something, but that defeated the purpose of the mission. She was Bluebird, her appearance a performance, a message, a declaration. Look at me, your defenses mean nothing, and I will do as I please.

It was a dance between the pair of them, Right was skilled, swinging with precision and almost landing a hit on multiple occasions. Mist was quick on her feet, using the barest amount of movement to dodge the man trying to bring her down. She couldn't keep it up for long however, seconds felt like minutes as the ache in her chest grew, her lower back starting to protest her prolonged bipedal posture. With the clock ticking, she took to the air, refracting light to hide once more as she glided to land on top of the giant ruby in the middle of the vault.

"Oi! Show yourself!" Right barked, scanning the room for any sign of her.

She took the time to search for a target, her new trophy, and eyed the mannequins to her right. They wore hats of different kinds and a small, dark blue top hat with a black band around it caught her eye. Still hidden, she jumped off the ruby, landed behind the mannequin, and swiped the top hat as, upon touch, her magic rendered it invisible as well. Placing the hat on her head, she carefully walked towards the other exit. As the sound of the door alerted Right, she made herself visible, tipped her hat to him, and bolted out of the room with her coattails swishing behind her.

She stopped dead in her tracks at the gun pointed at her face, Reginald smirking as he stood before her.

"You are a hard one to catch Bluebird, but we have you-urk!"

Mist jabbed the Toppat Chief in the stomach, he doubled over, gun clattering to the floor, and Mist fled down the corridor.

Pressing herself up flat against a wall, she hid herself as Right ran past. After a few seconds, she made the trip back to her quarters, a slow one to ease the pain in her already fatigued body.

She had to stop a few times when the chest pain spiked suddenly, making her grimace and pray she wasn't discovered. By the time she made it back to her room, she was breathing heavily, very uncomfortable, and very much done with moving around for the day. Tossing the hat onto her drawers, she removed her outfit, tossing the clothes over the shelving unit by the bathroom door, put her work goggles into its protective case, and put her glasses back on.

She lumbered over to her radio and turned it on, music filling the room as she increased the volume so it could be heard out in the hall. She flopped on to her bed, wings stretched out as she lay on her back, and waited for the various aches and pains to lessen to a point she felt could tolerate for long enough to drag herself to over to see her boss.

There was a knock at her door. Too tired to move, she called out instead, sounding as winded as she felt. "Come in."

She sat up as Reginald walked in with Right trailing behind him. Her boss looked none the worse for wear, to her relief.

"Well done," Reginald said, glancing down at the hat and turning down the volume of the radio. "You put on quite a show back there, how did you turn invisible?"

"Light refraction via magic, old pegasus trick to catch the sunlight needed to make rainbows. Everything's all automated these days so the traditional weather magics aren't taught anymore."

Reginald waved her off "We can discuss that later, for now get some rest. You've earned it."

"Yes Sir," she said, however something still bothered her. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

The Toppat Chief was taken by surprise. "...No."

Right smirked. "It'll take a lot more than a punch to the gut to take 'im down girl."

Mist breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good... I was worried I might've hurt him. I don't fight to seriously injure or kill."

"Nah, Reg's jus' a wuss." Right said and Reginald scoffed.

"Yes well, I'd like to see you get sucker punched in the stomach and see how you handle it..."

"Then maybe don' stand there yappin' next time." Right retorted.

"So... You want this back, or what?" Mist asked, pointing at the hat still sitting on her drawers.

Reginald shook his head. "Keep it, it will be your hat when we formally add you to the clan."

Mist was at a loss as it hit her, she really was going to be a part of The Toppat Clan, They wanted her to stick around. This wasn't just an unspoken agreement between her and them, she was going to be one of them, and she'd earned it.

"Uh, thank you, Sir." she said politely and stared at her new hat.

She heard Right leave the room. "Come on Boss, I'm takin' you to the infirmary."

Immediately after she heard Reginald protest as he was dragged out the door. "I am fine-Ow!"

"That's a load of bull an' you know it." was Right's blunt reply.

Right noticed a few things after that day. Mist had taken to flying around the crash site, not for more than ten minutes at a time, but it was always strange to see her lazily soar past a window as he went about his business. She left her room more often, usually dressed in her Bluebird getup, sans goggles, and making an effort to walk on her hind legs.

Amusedly, he realized she was training. Though it was more acclimation than actual training, the mare getting a feel for what her limits were, familiarizing herself to how to use her skills with her condition, and it was clear she was making progress.

She seemed more vibrant too he observed. It was in the little things, like how she'd appear at breakfast looking well rested, or generally just leaving her room more often. Right would find her either in the archives, or at the bridge.

Right still followed her to the cafeteria, if only because the two of them had meals at around the same time, so it was convenient. Mist wasn't the most sociable, polite enough but otherwise kept to herself. The crew avoided her for the time being, officially she wasn't a Toppat yet, and the Clan kept their distance until she was welcomed as per the rules. It didn't stop them from getting ideas and Right had to pull rank more than once.

LeTouche was getting nosy, Right had given the Frenchman enough warnings, and the rest of the airship division was just as curious. It proved to keep them motivated at least, the sooner the repairs were done, the sooner Mist would have her welcoming ceremony and the crew would begin the age-old tradition of hazing. He hoped they didn't get carried away, they haven't had a clan member as fragile as her before.

Not that he thought she was, but it was the truth. Objectively she was less capable in the field than even their weakest members, which was why the clan was broad in scope, everyone had a role to play, and a benefit to the clan. It was why Reginald assigned him to keep an eye on her, Right worked best in the battlefield but he wasn't just dumb muscle. He could work just as well out on the street, acting as a silent bodyguard or offer a good dose of rationale and common sense when needed, well, when his dogged determination to complete the mission didn't get the better of him.

But that was why he made a good team with Reginald, the leader of The Toppats could see the bigger picture, knew when to pull back. Right had recently asked why he was assigned as Mist's partner and Reginald had smirked as he explained.

"She's a sensitive one, she'd do best with a member of the clan that can be patient with her and adheres to the clan's values of honor and loyalty. I can't think of anyone else, other than myself, who would put their own ambitions aside for the clan's stability and prosperity."

Right thought Reginald wasn't giving the girl enough credit.

Right made his way down to the bridge, he'd checked the archives and hadn't seen hide nor hair of the pony. And yup, there she was, sitting in the pilots seat cloud gazing out the windshield. The two of them had an agreement, he didn't tell Reg she'd been in the chair (Reginald already knew, and didn't actually care since she never touched the controls), and she'd keep quiet about his late night climbs on to the roof to star gaze (Mist's last trip to Florenway had resulted in her bringing back an astronomy book that she was painstakingly translating to English just so he could read it. Reg was right, the girl was too damn nice), and nether minded the presence of the other.

"See anythin'?" he asked, casually standing by her left side. It was another thing he noticed, she preferred to have people to her left since she looked that way more often to compensate for her blind eye.

"There's a storm approaching, felt the change in the air out flying earlier." she said.

"'ang on, don' you ponies control the weather?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, but we don't have proper weather management this far from major cities, it's every pegasus on deck when a storm rolls through," Mist said. "Wild storms are difficult to control with modern weather techniques, so much of Equestria's weather relies on machines that not many ponies know how to break up wild weather patterns. I could though."

He looked at her sternly. "You better not be gettin' any ideas girl."

"Like I said, I could, but at the way it's coming in it'll miss Florenway and the airship should be able to take it," she stopped, looking up at him. "The ship can take it, yeah?"

"We've flown through storms, blizzards, had to land due to a sandstorm once, but that was jus' because some idiot left one of the bay doors open an' got sand in the electronics," Right said with a shrug. "All the exterior repairs are done, the engine's takin' a bit longer to fix because Reg wants it reinforced. We're usin' the opportunity to renovate the floor in a few areas too."

"I saw that, having more areas of the ship match the paneling and blue carpet in the bridge," Mist mused. "It'll look nice."

Right smirked as Mist jumped out of the chair at the sound of someone entering the bridge. They turned around to see Reginald stroll up to them.

The Boss had spots of oil and grease dotting his shirt and was highly amused. Right was immediately suspicious, Reginald had a well-known mischievous streak to him and it looked like the man had finally gotten annoyed enough with the crew to take on repairing the engine himself.

Wouldn't be the first time... Right idly noted as Reginald grinned.

"I have some good news!" The Toppat Chief said, practically preening. "The engine has been repaired to the point where we can do a test flight!"

"... You went an' fixed it youself again, didn't you?" Right deadpanned.

"And I did an excellent job, if I do say so myself!"

"... You scared the crew again, didn't you?"

"Perhaps... I might've gone a bit overboard, but, we're now two weeks ahead of schedule!"

"Alright, come on Mist, back 'ere with me." Right said and took up his post further back from the pilot seat with Mist stopping beside him.

Reginald took his rightful place at the ship's controls, a confident grin on his face. "Right, let's see if the internal communications system is operational, Mist walk out of the bridge for a moment, would you?" he held down a button as a microphone extended out from his light grey hat.

Right watch the pegasus nod and exit the bridge and Reginald spoke into the microphone.

"Attention everyone, please return to your rooms for the upcoming engine test, we will be taking off in ten minutes. Mist Veil, please return the bridge."

As Reginald went through the pre-flight checklist for the ship, Right saw Mist walk back in and resume her previous position.

"That looks really complicated." she said quietly, observing their boss muttering about different settings and controls.

Right nodded and hummed in agreement.

Author's Notes:

Chapter title is a reference to The Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5. Mist Veil is very much a phantom thief in her Bluebird persona, a thief that steals blue things when taking things for herself.

Mist Veil's ability to refract light to turn invisible was inspired by the Pokémon Latias, whose feathers allow it to do the same thing. And yes, I did a quick google search to see if light could be refracted to make something invisible. Mist's outfit is enchanted to work with her natural pegasus abilities.

Fun fact: Originally, light refraction was going to be Mist's special talent, however since I couldn't really think of feasible Cutie Mark origin story, I changed it to a slightly broader special talent of Ancient Pegasi Weather Casting, think like the fairies from the Tinkerbell movies mixed with some The Last Airbender stuff.

Specifically, Mist excells at light and wind manipulation, and picked up the trick with lighting on the side.

Chapter 5: First Pony

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That's a lot of people Mist mused as the entire airship division stood in the field. Mist stood on one of ships railed walkways to Reginald's left. The Right Hand Man stood beside the chief, holding Mist's top hat.

Reginald stepped forward as a microphone extended from his hats and addressed the crowd. "I know these past few weeks have been quite an adjustment for everyone, we've lost our reputation, separated from our fellow clan members, our friends and families. However, despite this we still have our honor, our dignity, and a new opportunity!" he waited for the cheers to subside before he continued. " The ship is repaired, a world full of riches awaits us, and it's all thanks to Mist Veil's cooperation that we have recovered as quickly as we did."

Mist stepped forwadr as Reginald took the hat from Right.

"It is with honor that I, as the leader of The Toppat Clan, welcome Mist Veil to the clan with the title of First Pony!"

Mist lowered her head respectfully, felt her hat be placed on her head and she could hear the polite applause of the crew below. The ceremony quickly wrapped up after that, the crew finishing preparations for takeoff, and Reginald heading back to the bridge. Mist wandered back inside, still somewhat stunned by the ceremony.

Right ambled up to her. "How're you feelin' gitl?"

She blinked. "Uuuuh, I dunno yet..."

Right nodded. "S'bit much I know, but you did right by the clan, only fair the Boss goes all out."

She supposed that made sense. "I guess."

"Might want to keep an eye out for the next few days, hazing is a long standin' tradition in the clan," Right warned her. "You outrank everyone save me an' Reg so, most of the crew will leave you alone. Jus'... Don' take anything personally. The crew's harmless enough, a few pranks here an' there."

"Okay." she replied.

The next morning, Mist woke up with a post-it note stuck to her face. She removed it, the message on it read Welcome Aboard!

It was written in Ponish.

The only sound she could hear was the rumble of the ship's engine. Looking around, she saw nothing in her room was missing or disturbed. Her mane, long enough to reach halfway down her forelegs, draped around her face as she got out of bed and grabbed her glasses from its spot on the shelf, placing the note on the same shelf.

Fishing her mane and fur brushes out from the inside of her coat, she made herself look somewhat presentable, tied her mane back into a low ponytail, and put on her uniform. Pushing her glasses up when they slid down her nose, Mist put on her hat on her way out the door.

Right met her in the hallway, the two of them quietly greeting each other, and headed to the cafeteria. The first sign that her day would be... interesting was the fact that her breakfast was missing from the fridge.

She frowned. "I could've sworn I put my food in here last night..." she shrugged and pulled a piece of carrot cake out of the freezer.

She heard Right sigh beside her. "Jus' how much sugar is in that?"

"... Don't tell me..." Mist groaned. "Welp, someone's going to be very sick."

Later that day, word spread around the ship that Jaque LeTouche had fallen ill with a nasty stomach bug and Reginald made an announcement later that evening.

"Please refrain from eating any Equestrian dishes without Mist Veil's permission as some are not fit for human consumption. They may contain dangerous amounts of sugar and traces of plant matter we can't digest, such as hay or flowers."

The post-it notes continued for about a week, all written in Ponish with various positive and encouraging messages, and the occasional doodle. When they stopped appearing, she enacted her plan, heading to the kitchen late at night.

Most of the crew had retired for the night, the ship was on autopilot, and the only ones still up besides herself was Cuppa Joe in the surveillance room and Right Hand Man wandering about the ship. With the kitchen all to herself, Mist pulled out a cookbook from her coat pocket.

International Recipes For Your Non-Pony Friends!

Right walked into the cafeteria and heard someone moving around in the kitchen. He frowned, the ship had a strict policy against late night snacking to save resources. He walked over and stared at the assortment of cakes, pastries and baked goods sitting on cooling racks on the counter, and The First Pony in the middle of adding icing to a carrot cake.

"Mist, what are you doing?" Right drawled.

"Oh, hi," Mist chirped. "Making food for the crew, several Equestrian recipes have international variants that have less sugar, I looked up the human equivalents yesterday in the archives and they match perfectly!"

"Why?"

Mist blinked, confused for a moment. "... Ponies regularly give food as gifts. Certain foods carry certain meanings, baked goods mean friendliness and goodwill, chocolates and flowers as a romantic gesture, and a pony's favorite foods or a staple of their diet signifies trust and respect."

Right raised a brow. "Like your crackers?"

Mist explained nonchalantly. "There's so few things I can eat and turning down a gift like that is really rude, so I'm not exactly well liked in, any community I've been in over the last year or so. I wanted to feel normal for a bit, I guess," she looked around at her creations. "Hey, what do you think the boss would like?"

Right shrugged. "He'd appreciate anythin' you give him..."

"But it's important!" Mist stressed as she finished icing the cake. "He's my boss, I want to give him something to show my gratitude for letting me join the clan."

Right looked around. "... Are those scones?"

"Pumpkin scones, my Mum's recipe.... I wanted to see if I could still make them." Mist admitted, looking a little out of breath and tired.

"Girl, 'ave you been overexerting yourself again?" Right asked pointedly.

"I'll be fine, pain is temporary." the mare replied easily.

Right crossed his arms over his chest. "Mist, get some rest, I'll sort all of this out."

"I'm almost done, I can clean up." she replied.

"... Fine, but ask me or the boss before doing this next time..."

Mist looked at him seriously. "Sir, I am a grown-arse mare, I can do this myself."

Right sighed, grumbling. "Jus' don' like seeing you hurt yourself is all..."

"I've been through worse, and there are ways to, cure me, so to speak. But they're not pretty." she replied as she began moving her creations into plastic containers.

Right leaned against a counter, skeptical. "Can't hurt to look into them can it?"

"They're illegal as all hay, Lycanthropy, Vampirism, Lichdom, Glennology." Mist listed off and went into more detail when she noticed he was interested. "Wolf Ponies and Vampires have been hunted and killed by Equestrians for thousands of years. Liches are feared and hated across the globe. And, anyone who even studies the Fae Folk gets branded a dark mage... I'd also be trading one set of limitations for another, there's no guarantee it wouldn't affect my mental state either."

"I've thought about it," she continued. "and boy it it tempting, but the recovery time? The biological and dietary changes? I'd have to rely on others and I do that enough already. Who knows how long it would take for me to adjust, to get back to work? I'd be even more of an inconvenience."

Right asked a single, simple question. "Would it be worth it?"

"In the long run? Absolutely, I'd be able to work again, to live free of pain, but again, one set of limitations for another. Not something I'm keen on doing unless, I dunno, I almost die or something." Mist replied casually.

Mist stood beside her boss in the engine room. Reginald was staring intently at the engine, muttering as he did. He had expressed frustration at the ship flying at a quarter of its full speed, and given that she could outfly the airship with minimal effort, she could understand Reginald's dilemma.

"Sir, it's most likely the density of magic in the air slowing the ship down," she spoke up over the rumbling of the engine. "Purely mechanical devices like this don't have anything to filter out or use mana particles. Magic is literally in everywhere in nature."

Reginald nodded. "So we need to upgrade the engine?"

"Technically, you'd have to upgrade the engine and the propellers. Since we're already headed to Manehatten, we can find what we need when get there. A filter added onto the engine and a coat of magic resistant paint should do the trick." Mist said.

"And we should speed up once we pass this forest?" Reginald asked as he walked over to the ladder.

"The Everfree Forest has a dangerous level of mana density, it's a pegasus' worst nightmare, but we're fine due to the ship's size. You should see a noticeable difference once we leave the area." she explained.

Their conversation was halted as they heard Right bark an order down at them. "Mist, I need you to see this!"

The two of them shared a grim look and Mist flew up to the floor above. Right looked serious as he led her to a window.

A dragon, a large green dragon was flying straight for them. Mist grit her teeth as she darted to the nearest exit and flew out of the ship, activating her earpiece.

"Sir, whatever you do, keep the ship moving. I'll draw the dragon's attention."

On the other end, Reginald sounded surprised. "Excuse me? A dragon?"

She felt nauseous, every flap of her wings felt weaker than the last, being in the airspace above the Everfree felt wrong, as if she wasn't welcome.

"Mist?"

She pushed past it, focused on staying in the air. "Yes, a dragon. It-"

The dragon unleashed a fireball.

It hit the side of the ship and Mist took action, zooming towards the reptile. "It's definitely here for the ruby!"

She saw the dragon preparing a second attack, and as it fired a second blast of fire, Mist intercepted it. The flames impacted her with enough force to send her into a tailspin. Momentarily stunned by the pain, wind rushed past as she struggled to right herself. Her wings yanked up painfully as she pulled out of her tumble and flew back up. Now in the dragon's face, she shifted her magic, light reflected back in the dragon's eyes, and it roared at the unexpected assualt on it's senses.

Mist aggressively flitted around, following the creature's motions as it tried to fly around her.

Go away, go away, go away! she silently pleaded.

A clawed hand batted her away as the dragon snarled. "Cease you nag! You cannot deter me!"

Mist was already starting to flag, she grimaced as lighting danced across her left wing and a charge began to build.

I can do this!

Her fur stood on end as she called on more of magic.

I have to.

Her feathers tingled as the lighting spread to the rest of her body, sparks flying off her.She could feel it in her teeth as her magic was drawn out to dangerous levels. Her wings propelled her forwards, she could see the dragon's latest attack had left a dent in the metal plating. She slammed into the creature's back, her built up charge of lightning illuminating the sky in a bright flash of light.

And then, she was falling. Her wings wouldn't respond to her will, her magic a quiet, faint wisp of power just beyond her reach, and the airship getting further away. As she crashed through the canopy, Mist caught a glimpse of the dragon weakly flying away from the airship, its scaly form charred and trailing smoke. She collided with the forest floor with a thud, branches and leaves tumbling down around her.

Mist pulled herself into a sitting position as she pressed a hoof against her earpiece.

"Hello?" she said weakly.

Reginald sounded alarmed. "Mist! Can you make it back to the ship?"

"No Sir," she grunted. "Lost too much magic, too weak to fly without it..."

"We're on our way."

Mist dragged herself over to lean back against a nearby tree. The magic that saturated the area made the air feel thick, the unsettling nature of it all felt less like a random combination of wild magics and natural forces, but akin to being an intruder on forbidden ground. Her thoughts were fuzzy, the nausea persisted, and there was a aching, hollow sensation in her wings.

And that's my magic going kaput. She idly noted. She felt like she should be more concerned, but she expected it to happen sooner or later. The oppressive nature of the Everfree weighed down on her as she tried to listen for signs of danger.

She couldn't focus. She was too uncomfortable, too worn out, and too focused on not making her torment worse by even the smallest of movements. The airship soon came into view, A small team descended down with a stretcher and carried her to the infirmary, it was all a bit of a blur for her as she found herself sitting in a bed with Right Hand Man checking her over, and Reginald pacing back and forth by her bedside.

"Can't find anythin' wrong with her physically..." Right concluded.

Her mind was fuzzy, exhaustion clung to her but she was still alert enough to follow the conversation. "Everfree Sickness, coupled with Mana Depletion. Debilitating," she smiled wryly. "I am going to be absolutely miserable for... awhile."

Reginald stopped pacing to look at her. "Will you be alright?"

She paused, a sort of dry humor to her words. "I doubt I'll fully recover from the mana depletion, can't replenish my magic as well as I used to, or at all some days, but once we leave the forest I'll be up and about again."

Reginald breathed a sigh of relief. "A silver lining then, you are to listen to Right Hand Man, he'll be overseeing your recovery. I need to see to the ship, excuse me." he nodded and walked off.

The next several days were a quiet, miserable haze for the pegasus, confined to the infirmary, and still feeling like she wasn't sure if she was going to throw up or not. Right Hand Man was accommodating, he fetched her what she needed and was content to leave her alone, keeping an eye on her from somewhere else in the room. The peace and quiet was a blessing.

Reginald would visit in the evenings, Mist tried to hold to a conversation, despite her lack of energy, and after a while, her boss switched to recounting tales of the clan's past glories instead. From finding long lost buried treasure to stealing a museums worth of priceless art, the prior exploits of The Toppat Clan were like something out of a book.

She said as much and Reginald smirked. "Well who doesn't love a dashing gentleman thief?"

"You? Dashing? Sure Reg..." Right drawled.

Reginald waved him off lazily, seated in a chair by Mist's bedside. "Nevermind him, we should be clear of the forest soon, I do hope you start feeling better soon."

"I'll get there, eventually." Mist said.

"Have you thought about... finding a way to improve your overall condition?" Reginald asked curiously. "Dealing with all of this as well as what you've already gone through can't be easy. It would certainly put my mind at ease knowing you wouldn't be facing higher risks if we need you on a mission."

"What options I have aren't ideal," Mist explained wearily. "I'd just have a different set of limitations in exchange for being able to be somewhat normal again... I can look into one them at Manehatten if you want, see if there's been any advancements since I retired."

"Please do, if we can help you, if there is a way to heal you, then we shouldn't waste the opportunity." Reginald stated.

"Does it sound fair though, askin' her to jump though hoops like that?" Right pointed out.

The Toppat Chief pondered the question. "I suppose not..."

"Could always save it as a last resort?" Mist suggested.

Right was stoic. "Here's hopin' we don' reach that point then."

Chapter 6: Bluebird Takes Manehatten

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Reginald followed Mist Veil, no Bluebird, through the bustling streets of Manehatten. The towering skyscrapers, flashy storefronts, and generally busier air got him planning as they walked. Jewelry stores were a classic target, they were also fairly commonplace he noted. Ponies certainly loved gems.

"Where exactly is the Mercenary guild?" he asked his First Pony.

"There are entrances all over the city, we're headed to the one owned by my mentor," she replied and looked back at him. "I promised I'd pay him a visit if I was ever in town."

"I'll leave the talking to you then, shall I?"

"Nah, he's really well-connected, since we need to establish ourselves, I thought you could work something out with him. I only know enough about how things work here to get by," the thief said. "Who sells what, safe house locations, informants and so on. He's the one you see for business stuff."

Well, that was good to know, it saved them time if her mentor would be willing to help. They reached a high end bar and they stepped inside.

It was warmly lit, the polished, dark tones of the wooden floor, coupled with the well stocked bar and restaurant-style seating with red tablecloths gave the bar a quiet, sophisticated feel. Reginald waited as Mist pulled her goggles down to hang around her neck and pulled her glasses out from her coat pocket. The bar patrons paid them no mind as they walked up to the bar and the bartender, a thin, elderly dark green unicorn with a greying mane, waved them through to a V.I.P room behind the bar.

A wave of something rolled over Reginald as they walked through the doorway, sending a chill down his spine and the lights flickered.

The two of them stepped out into a massive lobby, the black-and-white tiled floor had other doorways all of manner of creatures were using. The wild variation on architecture and the different styles of attire worn by passerby made it clear they were in a completely different building.

"Sir, look up." Mist said.

He looked up, obsidian walls and a vaulted ceiling loomed overhead, and in the distance, a castle as black as night floated in the air, an ominous, otherworldly light around it. Reginald looked around the lobby, off to the side, a cobblestone path rounded a corner to who-knows-where, and in front of them, a glittering red staircase wound its way up into the air. The only way to reach the floating castle.

"Welcome to Penumbra, criminal capital of the world," Mist said. "That path leads to the one several villages built down here, Sundown."

"I thought you said we were headed to the mercenary guild?" Reginald asked her.

This wasn't a guild, it was an entire kingdom.

"The guild has their headquarters here, Penumbra is a sort of... pocket dimension tied to the rest of the world. The gateway we passed through senses your true intent," Mist said as she led him around the corner into a village with a distinctly Gothic feel to it. "If someone tries to enter with the intent of shutting the place down, the gateway just doesn't work, same with innocents that have no business being here."

The mare strolled up to a tall, gray bricked office building, with large wooden doors, and dark red curtains drawn shut over the windows. The sign was a symbol, beyong Reginald's ability to read. Mist held the door open for him. They walked into a formal, yet elegant waiting room. His shoes clacked on the stone floor.

There was a pony waiting for them. A pegasus that stood a head taller than Mist Veil, of a sleek build wearing a black bodysuit, sturdy metal boots, a utility belt, and armored plates on his shoulders. The most striking thing was the metal helmet covering his head, the right half was black, the left was orange.

The stallion's single grey eye looked at Mist as he addressed her. "Bluebird, it's been a while," his sharp gaze flickered to Reginald. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my new employer, Reginald Copperbottom of The Toppat Clan," Mist replied cordially. "The clan seek their fortune and infamy in Equestria."

"I see," the stallion mused. "Why don't we take this to my office?"

"Bluebird?" a mare's voice asked from behind them.

Standing in the doorway was a unicorn mare with yellow fur and an reddish-orange mane with streaks of yellow wearing a white bodysuit, red boots, and a wine red cape with a gold clasp in the shape of a bird that matched the orange and red phoenix shaped eye mask on her face. A tiara with a ruby on it sat atop her head.

Reginald watched the mare walk up to Mist, about to hug the pegasus, when Mist stepped back, alarmed, wings snapping open in distress.

"No, no hugs Red." Mist stressed.

The unicorn's expression soured. "Whatever," she looked between the three of them. "So, what brings you back to Manehatten?"

"Business," Mist said and turned to Reginald. "Sir? Do you need me here?"

Reginald glanced at the unicorn. Something seemed off about her. "I don't want you standing around all day, why don't you and your, friend, I presume?" he got confirmation as Mist nodded. "Wait here, I'll meet back up with you after I've concluded business with this gentleman."

"Please, call me Gabriel," the stallion said politely. He looked at the unicorn. "Red Dawn, I trust you'll behave yourself?"

Red Dawn smirked. "Of course Deathstroke, I just want to catch up with my old partner. I haven't seen her in nearly a year after all."

Mist sat in a chair across from her old co-worker. The unicorn brought out a newspaper clipping and passed it over to her.

"Canterlot Castle was broken into," Red Dawn said as Mist skimmed over the article. "Don't you see? It can be done! We could-"

"We're not stealing the Elements Sunset." Mist deadpanned returning the clipping to her friend.

The other mare slammed a hoof on the armrest. "And why not? Your skills would make it easy for us. We could finally get back at everyone! Princess Celestia, your grandmother, they'd have no way to stop us."

Mist sighed. "There are better ways Sunset. We're better than that."

"Come on Lillian, after everything I've helped you with?" Sunset looked disappointed. "It's just one last mission, like old times."

Mist could feel stress digging into her brain from the conversation. Her friend, her only friend for years, was adamant. She discreetly adjusted her hat, pressing a button in the side to activate a hidden camera. "I'm not well Sunset, I can't even fly anymore."

"What? What happened?"

"My client was in danger from a dragon attack, I expended too much magic driving the dragon off." Mist explained.

Sunset scowled. "Can't you just replenish it like everypony else?"

"Monochrome Syndrome." the pegasus flatly reminded her.

A nasty look crossed the other pony's features. "Oh I see how it is, you'll throw yourself into the sun for your new boss, but not for me?" Mist was yanked off her seat, enveloped in Sunset's magic. The unicorn stood over her, sneering. "You owe me, so unless you want to be rendered absolutely useless to your new boss, you'll accept my offer.

Mist regained her footing as Sunset dropped her. The air heated up around them, Sunset's smug expression fell as Mist pressed a red-hot, glowing primary feather to the mare's horn.

"You wouldn't dare you coward." Sunset hissed.

Mist was eerily calm. "You're right, I am a coward. but," she stood on her hind legs, moving with cat-like grace as she sliced her wing through the air, cutting off a lock of Sunset's mane. "You, Sunset Shimmer, have mistaken my empathy for weakness," her gaze softened at the very real fear in her friend's eyes. "It's been years Sunny, just cut ties with your mum and make a life for yourself, you can be better than this. I can help you-"

The raw fury was back. "After everything I've been through? You will help me or I swear-"

Well, Mist tried, Sunset had her chance. The ice in her tone returned. "Don't Shimmer, I'm warning you, don't give me a reason to stop caring," she stood tall, her wing returned to the other mare's horn "If you break the Guild Code to go after me, I will take action. You're a mercenary, not a bully. Rutting act like it."

Sunset glared at her and stalked off. Once she was gone, Mist collapsed into her seat, emotionally exhausted.

Her earpiece crackled to life, it was The Right Hand Man. "Need assistance?"

"No, no, I'm fine," she hastily replied. "It was a precaution."

"Keep the camera on," Right ordered. "Jus' in case."

"Understood."

Reginald sat across from Gabriel, a desk between them, as the stallion read the document the Toppat Chief had given.

"Materials, warehouses, factories... My aren't we ambitious?" Gabriel drawled. "I'd be happy to point you in the right direction Mister Copperbottom, assuming this is worth my time."

The stallion continued. "This guild, this kingdom, and the people who have found their way here all have rules. If your people are to survive, you will abide by the rules," Gabriel leaned back in his chair, amused. "I don't know how you came across my former pupil, but I'd advise following her course of action. Bluebird may be working for you, but to the rest of the world you are the ones working for her. If I am to assist you, I want proof you can keep your word."

"A test?" Reginald smirked. "The Toppats have rules our of own Gabriel, this deal had better be something we can both agree on."

"You have my former pupil working with you, I highly doubt you'll turn down my generosity," Gabriel stated, putting down the list and retrieving a folder from a desk drawer. The document within, a profile on a mare. "A fashion designer has been stirring up trouble in Manehatten, passing off the work of others as her own. The law can't touch her due to lack of proof and the victims won't testify against her."

"You want us to deal with her?" Reginald assumed.

"I want Bluebird to deal with her, with your assistance," Gabriel clarified. "She may work for you, but no matter her role in your clan, she has a reputation to uphold, and as her mentor, I want assurance she's better off with you," the stallion's presence seemed to chill the air, a cold gaze directed at the leader of the Toppats. "You've seen the state she's in, it won't be long until she loses her magic entirely, a death sentence in her line of work."

"That is also why we've come to Manehatten, Bluebird informed me there was a potential cure for her condition somewhere in the city." Reginald stated calmly.

"Vampirism," Gabriel supplied cooly. "Penumbra is the Kingdom of Vampires, ruled by Vampire Lord Sombra, if anyone can heal her, it's the ruler of Penumbra himself."

Reginald nodded. "I'll be sure to seek an audience with him," he grabbed his list and the folder, standing up to leave. "This test of yours is feasible, I'll get back to you once we've completed it."

"I eagerly await the results," Gabriel replied with a nod. "Oh, and Mister Copperbottom? Be wary of Red Dawn, the mare has come close to breaking the Guild Code in the past, I'd hate for Bluebird to be pulled into one of her schemes."

Right met with Reginald and Mist in the conference room, sitting next to the First Pony as the three of them shared information.

"That Sunset girl is a threat," he stated and Mist protested.

"I wouldn't say a threat, she's had it rough," the mare explained. "She was always headstrong, but she can be a good person, she just has to see her quest for revenge isn't worth it."

Reginald hummed in thought before Right could retort. "You have history with her, yes? Care to fill us in?"

Mist was blank-faced as she clinically explained. "Met her after I went to live with my grandparents up in Canterlot, I was forced to attend Celestia's School for Gifted Ponies as part of the school's Pegasus Division. Sunset was Princess Celestia's personal student, I was the school charity case, we were pretty much forced together from day one," Mist looked bitter. "We met outside school as my grandmother cozied up to the Princess and just started talking, I guess, I don't remember since those years were a paranoid, stressful haze."

"Eventually, we both got sick of how we were being treated, Sunset wanted to be taken seriously as a mage and I wanted to embrace my special talent to help people," Mist explained. "I developed my skills as thief sneaking out of the mansion for a bit of peace and quiet flying around the city. Grandparents are unicorns and I was forced to walk everywhere, and my talent relegated to making me look pretty to bolster my grandmother's social standing. Once we were of legal age, I took what I could and we ran off to fight the injustices of the world, been a team ever since."

"An' then you got crook." Right stated.

"And then I got crook..." Mist sighed. "I was too weak to go missions, Sunset was getting upset by it, so I figured it was best to haul arse somewhere else and retire."

Right felt sorry for the pony, she looked tired. "...I don' think that girl was ever your friend Mist."

She gave him a rueful smile. "I suppose that's what I get for being a rutting doormat. Hopefully my threat was enough to scare her off, if not, well..." she looked down at the table, resigned. "I'm a coward, I have a moral code not even my mentor could break, but I have my limits. The Guild Code prohibits mercenaries from stealing jobs, money or items from other members, and is against acts of physical violence towards fellow mercs. If she breaks the code, I'll throw her to the wolves."

Right was impressed, Mist was passive by nature. "Is that so?"

"Well, I'm not one to hate or spite, I just walk away," Mist shrugged. "If I have to dump her at the doors of the MPD to do so, then so be it."

He could respect that, as did the Chief if his grin was any indication. "A noble stance to have," Reginald plopped a folder onto the table. "So, how do we go about this?"

"The job's simple enough, get in, grab the target, get out an' drop her off at the designated location." Right commented.

Mist was looking at one of the pages of the profile. "But what about her apprentice. Our target's holding a mare prisoner, a mare that no one will miss if she goes missing," Mist pointed out. "Suri takes talented ponies from troubled backgrounds and runs them into the ground for her benefit. This is exactly the sort of person I usually target with a full performance."

"Performance?" Reginald asked.

A bit of life, a bit of colour returned to the mare as she spoke. "Bluebird is more like a mask I wear, a role I play. Missions like this would mean bringing the target to justice, rescuing victims, and robbing the place blind. I'd look for evidence to pass on to my informants, get the victims to a safe house, and keep the target at another location for pickup once the police have been tipped off," she grinned. "For the finale, I'd air the targets dirty laundry to businesses and locations they associate with so everyone knows who brought them down."

"Well, can' hurt to try it your way, would get the Toppat name out there," Right mused. "Still think we should jus' grab an' bag her though."

"This is also a test, our success depends on Mist completing the objective, not the clan as a whole," Reginald added. "I do like the idea though, very dashing. We'll consider this Mist's first official mission as a fully-fledged member of the clan."

Right nodded, made sense. "Fair enough," he turned to Mist. "Alright girl, how're we goin' to go 'bout this?"

Finding the target was easy. Mist tailed her to her penthouse. As the pink furred, purple maned earth pony walked out onto the street. Mist, in typical tourist attire, approached her.

"Oh my stars, you're Suri Polomare!" she gushed, purposely exaggerating her accent as she invaded the mare's personal space. "I think your work is amazing."

Suri smiled. "It's always nice to meet a fan," she turned to the lighter coated earth pony meekly following her. "isn't that right Coco?"

"Yes..." Coco replied timidity.

Mist looped a foreleg around Suri's shoulders, gesturing to the Polaroid camera hanging around her own neck. "Could I trouble you for a photo? My mates back in Sydniegh will be so jealous when I tell them I got to meet you!"

"Oh of course, anything for a fan." Suri cooed.

As Mist took the photo, she swiftly stole Suri's penthouse key from where the mare had it stashed in her mane. Hiding the key under her wing, and photo acquired, Mist separated from the fashion designer. "Thank you so much."

Suri looked smug as Mist, acting as the enthusiastic fan, shook hooves with her. "It's no problem at all."

The pegasus darted over to shake hooves with Coco, slipping a note into her hoof. Gushing, Mist swiftly left, dropping the act as she rounded the corner, and ducked into an alley. Right was leaning up against the wall, her regular clothes draped over an arm and her hat in hand.

"Ugh, I feel gross..." Mist grumbled as she reflected light off a wing to burn the photo. With it reduced to a pile of ashes, she passed the penthouse key over to Right and changed into her Bluebird attire. Slipping her goggles on, she stuffed her disguise down her coat pocket.

Right handed her her hat. "We goin' in?"

Mist nodded. "According to the file, the target has a photo shoot today on the other side of town. Plenty of time for us to grab evidence and find a place to ambush her when she gets back. Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Mist grinned. "Showtime."

The penthouse was lavish, the interior design screamed rich and influential, but they ignored it, the flashy living room and kitchen a facade for guests and an indulgence for the owner. No, they separated, Right combing the office for information, and Mist looking around the immaculate bedroom. The walk-in wadrobe had nothing, but the room had a second door. A plain door that most would assume led to a bathroom. Mist tried the door handle.

Locked.

Reaching into her coat pocket, Mist pulled out a a rolled up piece of cloth, she unfurled it on the floor and began assessing which of various lockpicking tools would be best for the job.

The door was open in under a minute. Mist put her tools away and walked down the short corridor that lay beyond.

The next room was a workshop or studio of some kind. Designs and patterns pinned to a cork board, material and sewing equipment scattered about, dresses in various stages of assembly, and tucked away in a corner was a bed, shoved up against the wall and a rubbish bin filled with empty packets of cheap instant meals and take-out boxes. Mist checked under the bed and found a suitcase that contained a few clothes, an old fashion magazine, and little else in the way of personal belongings.

Mist stepped away from the bed and examined the dress patterns pinned to the board. She couldn't make heads or tails of the designs themselves, but she noticed a lot of alterations had been made by someone other than the original designer. Little notes scrawled onto the paper in different writing that demanded one change or another, scathing remarks about a certain choice the original designer went with, and threats if something wasn't completed on time.

On a nearby desk, Mist saw small hints towards the original designer's situation. Fashion magazines praising Suri's latest line, newspaper clippings, flyers to competitions. And, hidden under a magazine, an old newspaper clipping from six months ago, detailing the tragic loss of Suri's previous apprentice.

Mist felt as if a lead weight was in her stomach as she skimmed it, the article going on to applaud Suri for making a difference despite the tragedy by taking part in a mentorship program to help the less fortunate. The corresponding photo showing the mare standing beside a bright-eyed, hopeful Coco. She faced the door as she heard the Right Hand Man approach. He slowly circled the room.

"Bloody 'ell..." he said as Mist showed him the article.

"You find anything?" Mist asked.

He nodded. "She's got the police in her back pocket, found where she keeps track of her finances an' there's some dodgy stuff. Got a list of names too," he looked around the room again. "I wondered why there was no sign of her apprentice livin' here, both of 'em have this place listed as their address."

Mist put the article back where she found it. "Looks like we're exposing more than just slavery today..."

"An' the captive? What're we doin' with her?"

"If she has nowhere else to go, I can take her to a safe house and give her enough money to get her back on her hooves." Mist explained. "As long we get her to safety."

Hours later, Suri returned home. Mist watched through a gap in the ajar bedroom door as the earth pony shoved Coco towards the bedroom.

"Now get those dresses finished! I need them ready for next week's spring spotlight." Suri barked and Coco cowed in submission.

"O-of course Suri..."

Mist retreated to hide in the wardrobe as Coco walked towards the bedroom. As the light coated earth pony shambled past, Mist pulled her into the wardrobe.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she said soothingly to the startled mare. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Coco whipped around to stare at her. "That note was from you?"

"Yeah, I was hired to put an end to Suri's mistreatment and bring her to justice." Mist explained quietly.

Coco perked up, hope shining in her eyes. "I can testify against her, I'll do anything!"

"Grab anything you need and get ready to leave," Mist instructed. "Wait for me here when you're done."

Coco nodded. "Alright."

Mist exited the wardrobe, watching as Coco went to get here things. Listening for signs of Suri moving around the apartment, Mist pressed a wing to her earpiece. "Victim is cooperating, status?"

Right Hand Man answered. "The airship is in position."

"Good, engaging the target now," Mist replied and stood on her back legs, confidently walking out into the lounge room. Suri was seated on the minimalist couch, her back to the pegasus. Mist smirked at the perfect opportunity for a grand entrance. "Greetings, Miss Polomare."

Suri jumped, turning in panic. Mist silenced her protests by stalking towards her and dropping copies of the photographs she'd taken into the fashion designer's lap. Photographs off incriminating evidence, proof.

"How did you get in here?" Suri demanded. "Who are you?"

Mist smirked. "Does the name Bluebird ring any bells?" Mist took satisfaction in the dawning horror on Suri's face. "To think the rumours about you were true, I should have looked into before I left... But I'm here now, and you've oh so graciously provided me with everything I need to do some actual good around here."

Suri looked down at the photos, then up at Mist. "If it's money you want, I-I'll pay you double the price of whoever hired you! Dispose of these photos and leave me alone!"

"Money?, Miss Polomare this isn't about money, it's about justice," Mist stated cooly. "You're practically enslaving that poor mare working for you, do you even pay her?"

"Pay her? She works for me and I don't throw her back out into the street, I don't waste my money on street scum like her." Suri scoffed.

"I see," Mist said and moved to stand in front of a large floor to ceiling window that overlooked the city. "Then watch, as your empire of lies and abuse crumbles before you." she spread her wings wide, light reflected off her in a dazzling display.

The Toppat airship flew in the distance, small boxes with parachutes slowing their descent were being dropped from the ship to land in the streets below. Suri sprung up off the couch and hurried to the window.

"Each of those boxes contains a copy of everything the government needs to convict you and weed out the corruption running rampant in the Manehatten Police Department," Mist explained calmly. "Of course, the authorities were notified hours ago, this is to prevent them from sweeping it under the rug. With the public aware of your misdeeds, the outcry will force their hoof."

Suri sunk to the floor, at a loss for words. Mist stared down at her passively. "I'd advise against running by the way. I have people keeping an eye out, on the off chance you decide to bolt."

There was a knock on the front door.

"And that will be the police," Mist stated. "You're finished."

Mist returned to the bedroom to retrieve Coco. The earth pony was waiting with a suitcase at her hooves. Mist offered her a friendly smile. "Hey, cops are here."

"Thank you," Coco said, hesitant. "I'll um... go speak to them?"

Mist pulled a business card out of her coat pocket and gave it to her. It was the card for a small hotel that doubled as a safe house. "If you feel unsafe, head to this address, tell the receptionist Bluebird sent you."

"You're not staying?" Coco asked.

"I can't, I'm still a wanted criminal... I think," Mist replied. "See ya."

With a tip of her hat, Mist went invisible and slipped past the police officers entering the apartment. She watched from the stairwell as Suri was taken into custody and Coco was tended to by emergency services. Once Mist was satisfied Coco was in good hooves, she made her way to the rendezvous point.

In the darkness of an alley, Gabriel stepped out of the shadows to meet her.

"Well done," he said politely. "You can tell your little friends they have my support. I'll send word to my contacts to acquire what the Toppat Clan needs."

"Thank you for giving us a chance," Mist replied. "I... know full well I've been a bit of a disappointment ever since I got sick."

The stallion tilted his head. "A disappointment? Lillian, I am far from disappointed. You had no control over what happened. You and I have our differences, but I respect your work, as you respect mine." he walked forward to place a wing on her shoulder. "It is good to see you recovering, my only request is that you use caution. Without turning to darker forces, you will be hindered in your ability to work."

"I know," Mist whined. "I'm not stupid..."

"And yet you push yourself beyond your limits," Gabriel scolded. "Your reliance on this Toppat Clan is worrying."

Mist rolled her eyes, not that he could see it through the tinted lenses of her goggles. "It's not that different from relying on you for the last decade, just less violence, and assassinations."

"Just don't let your pacifism get the better of you," he warned her, stepping back. "You've already made an enemy of Red Dawn."

"Don't remind me..." Mist grumbled. "She was my friend, I trusted her with stuff."

"She's your problem now." Gabriel said cooly.

Mist waved him off as the airship flew overhead, a rope dropping for her to grab onto. "I'll handle it, thanks again."

Gabriel nodded. "Until next time."

Chapter 7: Curb Stomped

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Mist walked the streets of Manehatten, mentally going over the list of stores she had left to check. It had only been a few days since Suri had been brought to justice, but the clan had been busy. Mist had been tasked with scoping out any valuables worth stealing from the plethora of jewelry stores across the city, the legwork was taking a toll on her, and she felt exposed, paranoid in her typical civilian disguise. She knew both heroes and villains lived in the city, Sunset lived in the city.

Mist knew she wouldn't win in a straight fight. So, upon her request, Right was tailing her, out of sight, and she was grateful for the backup.

She reached her destination, a popular jewelry store in the heart of the city and walked inside. She told the cashier she was looking for an expensive gift for her grandmother, who was notoriously difficult to shop for and the shop worker was more than happy to assist. It was funny really, the lie was that these pieces would ever find their way to her grandmother. Mist glanced around the store, took note of the alarm wards discretely placed around the store, and wrote down the names and prices of the more notable necklaces. As much as she gravitated towards sapphires, the clan needed variety if they were going to make any money selling these pieces in Penumbra's auction house.

Mist thanked the store clerk, promising she'd return tomorrow with her family to coordinate gifts and left the store. Standing off to the side by the front window, Mist took a moment to catch her breath.

The world was tinted teal, she was telekinetically dragged into the nearby alley and around the back of another building. When the world stopped flying past her against her will, Mist was face-to-face with the last person she wanted to see.

"Hello Lillian," Sunset said, looking smug. "We're going to have a little chat..."

"Or you'll what, torture me? Sell me out? You do anything and the guild will have your head." the pegasus stated and her sass had Sunset slam her against the wall.

"I don't care about the guild," the unicorn snapped. "What I care about is getting those elements and you're going to help me."

"No." Mist said as she saw Right creep up behind Sunset, readying a swing of his metal baseball bat.

Sunset whipped around, Mist was yanked in front of the unicorn like a shield, her chest sharply protesting the sudden movement.

The mage sneered at the Toppat. "One wrong move and I burn her to a crisp!"

"You need me alive and you know it," Mist drawled, unimpressed. She smirked as she saw Sunset's eye twitch. "I'm not helping you."

Right was quick, far faster than what either of the ponies expected from him, he rushed at Sunset, aiming his bat at the mare's horn. Mist was lurched uncomfortably and momentarily blinded by her captor's sudden teleport. Blinking, she found herself still suspended in Sunset's magic.

And on top of the roof of a skyscraper.

Sunset walked into her line of sight. "Now then, we're going to talk and come up with a plan to steal the Elements, if you keep being difficult, I'll make your life a living nightmare," Sunset stated as her magic tightened around Mist's chest. "You don't want to be in more pain, do you?"

Mist looked sharply at her. "That's not funny Sunset, you have no idea how bad my condition is." She grimaced as the pressure increased, her mood and opinion of the mare in front of her quickly souring. This was bad, she needed a way out, but her hat was in the ship and her earpiece had been dislodged when she'd been slammed against the wall. Talking Sunset down was impossible.

"Well Lils? What do you say?" Sunset asked with a knowing smirk.

Mist braced herself. "No."

She expected the blast of magic to the chest, she snarled as she was dropped onto the roof. Her chest burned, the foreign magic wreaking havoc on her weakened state. Another blast sent her clean off her hooves and knocked the wind out of her as her back impacted a ventilation shaft with a dull bang.

Sunset loomed over her, disgusted. "Look at you, so frail you can't even put up a fight. You're nothing without me, so how about you use your brain and accept my offer."

Was she serious? Mist was flabbergasted. After all this time, Sunset's opinion of her was that low? Mist smiled ruefully as the wind picked up, growing in strength by the second.

"What's so-"

Mist snapped her wing out towards Sunset, a blast of wind barreled into the unicorn, knocking her off balance. With a flick off her wings, Mist was airborne, gliding on thermals off her own creation she got as far away from the madmare as possible, riding the wind as she weaved around buildings. She was very much in pain, but the wind in her feathers, heeding to every minor adjustment of her wing, filled her with a sense of freedom and power.

She landed out in the open on a busy street, a sharp stab of burning pain coursing up her chest. Mist looked around, her memory of this section of the city hazy at best and she was in so much pain that she debated giving up and going to the hospital. She knew there was a safe house nearby though, she would just have to reach it. With her movements sluggish, her mind feeling like it was covered in cobwebs, and every little thing accentuating the agony she was in, Mist dragged her hooves as she walked down the street.

No one batted an eye at her as she forced herself to keep moving. That was the thing about combat magic, only curses and elemental spells left any signs of damage. Raw blasts of condensed magic, like the kind Sunset hit her with, left no physical signs of the attack, it was all internal as it invaded her body, flooded the area like a poison, and in her compromised state she couldn't fight it off herself.

Mist was pulled from her thoughts by a shadow flying overhead and landing in front of her. Seeing Gabriel in civilian attire would always be strange for her. The older pegasus peered down at her.

"You were attacked." he noted.

"Yup." she groaned.

"Hold still." he commanded and hefted Mist onto his back. Gabriel took to the air, carrying her with ease.

"Sorry." Mist said weakly.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Gabriel replied evenly. "You were ambushed."

"I'm better than this though," Mist weakly complained.

"That may have been the case a year ago, but not anymore," Gabriel stated. "and what do you plan to do about it?"

"Lord Sombra holds an open court every new moon, I was going to go see him then, weigh my options." she admitted.

"Are you certain?" Gabriel looked back at her as they landed outside the bar. "I can grant you an audience with him sooner."

"You don't need to, I can wait." Mist said as Gabriel carried her to the back of the building to an employees only area. She slid off his back and sat on the nearby couch, her mentor walking over to a cabinet in the small kitchen to pull out a first-aid kit.

He dropped the kit on the seat beside her. He watched her with a critical gaze as she opened up the first-aid kit to treat her injury. "Lillian, this is no game, she could have done far worse. I am concerned for your safety."

Mist removed her shirt and applied some gel to her chest, the substance already starting to break down the unfamiliar magic in her system and soothing the pain. "I don't need to be told I'm weak thanks, Sunset did a good enough job informing me..."

Gabriel sighed, sounding weary. "I only want to help. I take no satisfaction seeing you like this."

"I know, me either, " Mist replied as she put the tub of gel back where she found it, pausing as she picked up a roll of bandages. "... I might need some help."

Gabriel nodded and grabbed the roll with a wing, sitting down as Mist moved her forelegs and wings out of the way. Her mentor bandaged her chest clinically as he spoke. "You're considering vampirism?"

"It's the one option I'm most familiar with," she replied. "... I know your circumstances weren't normal but, what was it like for you, when you- you know?"

Gabriel glanced up at her, the eye patch over his right eye and the steely gaze of his left an intimidating visage. "Painful," he said briskly. "I didn't have the luxury of a proper Rite of Transformation, the strain I was given was experimental, however I made the most of my situation, became something greater, and even compared to other vampires I am unique. You have the benefit of living in an age where potential vampires are given the strain of vampirism that suits them best."

"I just want to make sure I'm... well, not doing the right thing, but the best thing," Mist admitted. "I miss being able to pull my own weight."

Gabriel stepped back as he finished securing the bandage around her chest. "Any difficulty moving or breathing?"

Mist stood up, carefully walked around in a circle, and sat back on the couch. "Bit uncomfortable, but otherwise fine."

Her mentor nodded curtly. "I'll inform your friends of your whereabouts," he looked at her seriously. "I'd suggest you think about my offer to introduce you to Lord Sombra sooner."

"Don't suppose you could drag Sunset to Canterlot for me? Have Princess Celestia deal with her?" Mist asked.

Gabriel smirked. "Now why would I do that? She's your problem, not mine."

"I'll pay you?"

"To deal with Celestia's brat? No amount of money in the world could convince me to take that job." Gabriel said. "If you wanted her dead, I'd be happy to offer my skills."

"No, I don't want her dead, just want her to rut off." Mist grumbled.

"My offer still stands." her mentor replied casually.

Despite the recent scare with the attack on Mist, things were going smoothly for the Toppat Clan. Several teams had already reported success at stealing from jewelry stores across the city, the upgrades to the airship's engine and propeller were proving to be worth the investment, and what made Reginald proud to be Clan Chief, was the fact they were making headlines. Reginald smirked as sat in the pilot seat, a newspaper in his lap.Toppat Clan Capers! Mysterious New Organisation Leaves Police Baffled.

The article went on to explain the clan's sudden wave of thefts across the city, leaving behind calling cards within display cases that clearly stated the clan's motive. It had the ponies running around like headless chickens and Reginald loved it. He checked the controls before putting the airship on autopilot, they have started on the path to success but work never ceased. The Toppat Chief stood up, leaving the newspaper behind as he walked out of the bridge and headed to the infirmary.

Sunset's ambush had a lingering affect not just Mist Veil, but on his Right Hand Man. His second-in-command prided himself on his ability to carry out a mission, and while he could handle the taste of defeat better than anyone, Right wasn't the one suffering the consequences.

In the years they'd worked together, the times Reginald had been badly hurt while on a mission was few and far between, but every time it had happened, his friend took it personally. Reginald hardly saw him outside of the infirmary, the crew thought Right had been ordered to oversee Mist's recovery, but no such order had been given. And Reginald, up to his eyeballs in plans, meetings with the crew, and paperwork had let Right do as he pleased.

It certainly seemed to help his First Pony, the two got along well, and it meant Reginald could work without Right needlessly hounding him about whether he ate, or slept. Which he did, thank-you-very-much... He just didn't have time for three meals a day or eight hours of sleep.

He entered the infirmary, his second and third-in-command looked up mid-discussion. He smiled politely. "Just checking up on you two, everything alright in here?"

Mist, confined to her bed for the time being, nodded. "Yeah."

From his seat, Right casually raised a brow at him. "You look like shit Reg."

"I most certainly do not!" Reginald scoffed. "I've been busy, we're making headway with the store robberies."

"That's good." Mist said as Reginald pulled up a chair.

"So, what have you two been up to?" he asked.

"Been goin' over what to do 'bout her role in the clan," Right explained and gestured at Mist. "Can't exactly 'ave her out in the field in this state, an' with that Sunset girl runnin' around it's too dangerous."

"I'm not having her killed, but we can't leave her to her own devices," Mist added."Granted, I could stay on the ship, but what would I even do?"

Reginald had already thought of the possibility. "While it is true you already have an advisory position within the clan, your work on the Suri case was excellent. I believe it would best to have you as our trump card for any large-scale operations that rely on stealth and keep you away from the action."

He took a moment to observe her, she had regained more of her colour, her fur closer to white than gray, and her mane looked more vibrant. He could see both her frustration and tiredness in her face, the dark bags she had under her eyes doing little to hide that fact.

"Still, that's a bit of a ways off," Reginald added. "We've only just started after all."

"What's next?" Mist asked.

Reginald and Right Hand Man shared a look, the Toppat Chief grinned as he looked back at Mist. "Once we have sufficient funds tucked away, the clan's main priority will be establishing a secret base!" Reginald's grin turned sly. "Your priority, once you've recoverd, is to decide whether you want to continue seeking out a way to return to your former glory."

Mist sighed. "I guess I can't exactly keep going on like this..." she ran a hoof through her mane. "I'll talk to Gabriel, he's offered to help."

"We're not forcing you girl," Right spoke up. "Jus' worried 'bout you."

Mist looked at the two of them flatly. "I get it, because I'm an important assest for the clan's success."

Reginald... Didn't know how to respond to that, she wasn't wrong but it was more complicated than that.

"No, 'cause we're mates," Right drawled. "Isn't that right Reg?"

Thank goodness for Right's straightforwardness, Reginald thought as he nodded, sitting back in his seat comfortably. "Indeed, finding trustworthy individuals when you reach our level of power in the clan is a fruitless endeavor ninety percent of the time. And any friend of my Right Hand Man is a friend of mine."

"See? You're stuck with us." Right said with a small smirk. "You're a Toppat, you're our mate, an' we don' turn our back on our mates."

"I can't remember the last time I had a friend besides Sunset," Mist mused. "...Cool, I guess?"

"Again, we're not forcing you to go through with anythin', Jus' sick of life shittin' on you is all." Right reiterated.

Reginald watched as Mist slowly nodded, he knew whatever cure she sought was drastic, but surely it was better than living like this. "Why are you so hesitant?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"It's still trading one set of limitations for another. This," she said, motioning to her chest. "I know how to manage, to live with. It sucks arse, but I'm used to it at this point."

"You've got the clan, we'll help you out." Right stated.

"True, but the clan is still getting back on it's feet, I'd prefer to wait until we have a larger presence in Equestria before going through with anything if a last resort scenario is no longer feasible." Mist argued.

She had a point but unlike the rest of clan, Mist had other avenues available to her. "What about your mentor? You said he'd be willing to help you?" Reginald asked.

"Yeah, guess I'll see what strings he's willing to pull for me, my hooves are tied either way." Mist agreed.

Reginald stood up, stretching. "I'd best get back to work."

To his surprise, Right stood as well. "Mind if I join you? Need to stretch my legs for a bit."

"Not at all."

"Talk to you later." Mist said as they left.

Right walked beside Reginald, his boss smirking at him.

"You know I really am glad you two get along," Reginald idly commented. "You've certainly been a good influence on her."

"So?" Right said flatly. "Cut to the chase Reg, what is it?"

His boss was grinning like the Cheshire Cat and Right wasn't surprised at what came next. "Oh, I've heard a few rumors about you two stargazing on the bridge, chatting in the cafeteria. The crew are gossips after all."

"You better not be buyin' into that nonsense..."

Reginald rolled his eyes. "Hardly, can't I just appreciate thay my best friend has a social life?" He grinned at Right. "Honestly, the rumors are rather humorous really, at least these are preferable over the ones about you and I."

"I suppose," Right conceded. "Listen, there's somethin' I've been meaning to tell you, 'bout the bloke in the brig..."

As Right explained, he watched Reginald grow steadily more furious by the minute, until the man had to stop and stare at the floor, gaze hard.

"Bastards," he muttered. "No point in making a big deal about it now."

"What do we do with the prisoner?" Right asked.

Reginald looked thoughtful, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "... Have Mist be responsible for him, it will keep her busy until things settle down enough for her to leave the ship. Supervise her when you have time."

"Will do," Right nodded and steered Reginald towards the cafeteria. "Reg, you still look like shit, you're goin' to get some actual food in you, an' take a nap."

"I still have-"

Right cut off his protest. "Leave the work to me, I know I've been stuck in my head a bit since the ambush. The girl doesn' need me hoverin' around her, an' you look worse than she does."

"...Very well, I suppose we've both been out of sorts." Reginald reluctantly agreed.

"We're both idiots Reg, jus' have different ways of goin' about it."

Chapter 8: Airship Life

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Mist sat next to Right in the boardroom, a world map spread out on the table, and several other Toppats already seated.

"Is there anything we need to address before we start?" Mist asked, looking around at the clan members gathered at the table.

A clan member with a blue top hat with an upside-down security badge on it spoke up. "Uh, well, we got a problem with ammunition..."

Mist struggled to recall his name. "Winston right? Assigned to inventory management?"

"Yes ma'am," he nodded. "We haven't found a way to resupply and, to be honest, I don't think our guns are any good against ponies..."

"Yeah," another Toppat, Slice, added. "I've gone through the mission reports and our guns aren't as effective as they should be."

Mist frowned. "The Boss has already had a look at a few weapons manufacturers in Penumbra, unfortunately our weapons can't be replicated and Taurusian firearms are inferior to crossbows or bows," she glanced over at Right. "Do we have anyone skilled in archery that could train the crew?"

"Don' think so." Right replied.

"Enchanted bolts and arrows are mass produced, with enough money we could build a stockpile from multiple suppliers, and either hire someone to train the crew or recruit someone," Mist said, an old friend came to mind, he might be willing to help, and she could pull rank on him if she had to. "I have a contact up in Griffonstone who can help."

Everyone was staring at her. She blinked. "What?"

Winston looked sheepish. "Nothing ma'am, we just weren't expecting you to be so willing to solve this little problem we're having with the guns."

Oh, oh by the stars, did they really think-? Mist laughed. "What? You think just because I'm pacifist pansy I'll beat you over the head with my ideals? Ha! Nah, you're welcome to agree with how I do things, but I don't have a say in how you do your job. So long as it gets done and the clan rules aren't broken."

"We'll be stickin' to low risk stealth operations until we have a ground base up." Right stated.

The rest of the crew voiced their acceptance on the matter. Mist directed their attention to the map. "Since setting up a base on land is the clan's main focus, we have a few options for a location depending on what we need the base for."

Slice pulled out a sketch detailing a floor plan and handed it to her. "The Chief wants to start with a basic housing facility, a place for clan members to go when off duty and somewhere safe for new members to get their bearings."

Mist looked at the plans. "A single building isn't going to cut it unless it's an unground bunker," she explained and grabbing the piece of paper, flipping it over and pulling out a pencil to draw on the back. "Big complexes, buildings and forts are far too noticeable. Factories are fairly rare in Equestria outside of Manehatten. If an intrepid explorer, or random weather pony finds it, we're toast, especially since we'll need to regulate the weather in the area for everyone's safety. No matter what we do, it will be noticed."

A crude, rough map of a village was slowly taking shape as she drew. "However, unregistered settlements are fairly common in Equestria, small towns that function like micro-nations with little input from the government, and are self-sufficient are considered the Equestrian Dream by many. A place where a pony can find their place to belong," she showed the finished sketch to the group. "What better way to avoid detection than to present the idea that The Toppats are a minority group from a relatively peaceful village out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Any idea where to set up shop?" Right asked.

Mist looked at the map. "Depends, do we want complete isolation from wider society or be on the fringe? There's plenty of space up north if we want to ditch any notion of having weather management and most people don't travel that far north. If we bargain with the Guardian Creatures in the Forbidden Jungle we'd have somewhere out of the way, as long as we avoid the temples, those places are cursed to Tartarus and back."

"What about outside of Equestria?" Winston asked.

Mist pointed a hoof at the mountains past Griffonstone. "Pony made maps don't go this far out but there's stretches of forests and Griffon Aeries beyond Griffonstone, as long as we avoid griffon hunting grounds and don't pick a fight we could find an area to settle," she drew their attention to Kludgetown. "This town is full of thieves, cutthroats, and con artists, we have enough firepower to take it over, but it'd take a lot of time and effort to get the area and community stable enough to be of any use. We'd have an easier time taking over an Equestrian village."

"The Boss has already decided against takin' over a settlement, too risky." Right said and Mist nodded.

"Ideally we'd want to start in Equestria and branch out, I'll run these ideas by the boss and see what he thinks." Mist stated.

The meeting progressed to other topics that were more focused on the well-being of the crew and any problems on the ship. Mist let Right take the lead and gave her opinion when asked, all in all the meeting lasted for an hour, and Mist felt relieved when it was finally over. When it was just her and Right left in the room, the two cleaned up the various papers and documents that had been used during the meeting.

"Not bad for your first meetin'." Right commented.

Mist groaned. "I was so worried I'd make a mistake. I don't get how you can sit there and force crewmates to just accept your decision."

Right shrugged. "Been here long enough to earn the crew's respect, or scare the pants off 'em," he straightened out a stack of papers. "You got your own approach."

"Eh, you got a point there," Mist agreed as she rolled up the map. "Want to see if the boss has fallen asleep at his desk again after this?"

"Sure, wouldn't be the first time I've walked in on Reg nappin' on top of a classified piece of intel."

Mist approached the only occupied cell in the brig, unlocking the door and slipping the key into her coat pocket. The somewhat timid prisoner in a battered black security uniform and matching hat with security in plain white font on it, looked up in surprise as she entered his cell. A spare bed from the living quarters had been shoved into a corner, and a few harmless pieces of reading material at the foot of the bed were signs that whoever was originally responsible for him had been trying to make him comfortable. She let her wings hang limp and made her movements obvious as she walked towards the prisoner.

She did her best to muster up a smile. "Hi," she watched as the man had no idea what to make of her. "I'm here to make sure you'll be treated properly from now on."

"What do you mean?" he asked, Mist noted he was more wary, nervous than scared. That was heartbreaking to see but understandable, given the circumstances.

"First, you'll get a room all to yourself in the living quarters, three meals a day and access to the public areas of the ship with myself as a chaperone of sorts," Mist replied matter-of-factly. Her tone became more sympathetic. "I'm afraid any life you had before is impossible to return to and the people that brought you here went against the core values of the clan. Since we can't return you home, we're giving you a place in the clan as my assistant, far away from the people that hurt you."

He blinked, disbelief plain as day on his face. "R-really?"

Mist found it a bit easier to smile this time. "Yeah, you won't be doing much, just helping me transctibe stuff in my written language to English for the new sections we're adding to the archives, some data entry in surveillance, stuff like that."

"And that's it?"

"Officially, you'll be taking orders directly from myself, The Right Hand Man, or The Clan Leader as part of a new Civilian Division separate from the airship crew. No one else has the clearance to give you orders or tell you what to do." Mist explained.

"That's... Really considerate, thanks," the prisoner said and held out his hand. "I'm Dave."

Mist shook his hand with a wing. "I'm Mist Veil, First Pony of the Toppat Clan."

Mist found working with Dave was a fairly easy thing to do, he followed instructions once he knew what they were, had far neater penmanship than her, and was friendly.

He was also quite chatty during lunch breaks. "Yeah, so apparently, there was something in that cake, and he used it to escape, and then I got fired. Pretty lame huh?"

Mist blinked at Dave, having difficulty dividing her attention between him, and the egg on rye sandwich she held in her wings. She put the sandwich down on her plate and pointed a feather at him. "So, you didn't check to see if anything was in a package meant for a criminal? Did anyone tell you beforehand that was what you were supposed to do?"

"No...? It was my first day. Rupert was assigned to show me the ropes." Dave replied.

Mist, for life of her, couldn't make sense of the logic behind the situation. She held up a wing in a stop gesture. "They let a rookie, without proper instructions, do a really important job? Even if it was assumed to be common sense to check packages, there are people out there that need clear instructions when doing something- hay, I'm one of them!"

"Yeah, I know right?"

"Hey Dave."

Mist looked over to see Winston walking over to her table carrying his own plate of food.

"O-oh, hi Winston," Dave replied. "So... This where you ended up after getting fired from your job?"

The ex truck driver nodded as he sat across from them. "Yup, glad to see you finally out of that cell."

Dave rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, it's been... Nice. Not as bad as I thought it would be."

"Well you got the First Pony looking out for ya, if she doesn't keep the rougher clanmates off yer back, the Right Hand Man will," Winston said, tipping his hat at Mist. "Dave and I worked together and I can't thank you enough for helping him."

"Not a problem..." Mist said. "Why didn't you say something to the boss if you know him?"

Winston shrugged. "I was still new, still am in some regards. Didn't want to stir up trouble."

Mist nodded. "I get it, I'm still adjusting to people actually listening to what I have to say. Being this up in the clan hierarchy is weird."

"Well for what it's worth, I think you're doing a good enough job," Winston said casually. "You need help with anything, just ask."

Well that was good to know. Mist smiled gratefully. "Thanks, you wanna be the one showing Dave around the ship?"

"Huh? I thought you were going to do that?" Dave asked, looking up from his plate of food.

"Are you kidding? I only know how to get to here, the bridge, my room, and the archives, and I've been a Toppat for a little over a month and a half." Mist replied.

"It's true," Winston agreed sagely. "The boss had a tracker installed in her hat incase she gets lost somewhere on the ship."

"Woah..."

Mist rolled her eyes. "Not like I'm gonna go wandering off..."

"Can't be too careful though." Winston advised.

Reginald was practically herded to the bridge by his Right Hand Man, walking in, the clear spring night showed a tapestry of stars above them as the ocean beyond Manehatten stretched out below. Two chairs had been set up on either side of the pilots seat, an icebox on the wooden floor next to the seat on his right, and Mist occupying the left seat. He was silently steered towards the pilot seat and sat down, watching as Right pulled out a can of beer and pressed it into his hands.

"...Thank you?" Reginald said, confused as his friend pulled out a packet of some sort of snack, tossed it in Mist's direction and grabbed a second packet and a small, dark coloured bottle of some kind for himself before sitting in the only other available seat.

"What'd you get for yourself?" Mist asked as she tore open her packet. It took a moment for Reginald to read the Ponish label, Beast Jerky.

"Ginger beer an' jerky." Right drawled.

"I'm so jealous, can't have soft drink anymore," Mist stated, then shrugged. "At least I get jerky, thanks for getting some for me."

"So... Ponies can eat meat?" Reginald asked as he set his beer down to remove his gloves, he didn't want to deal with the condensation on his very expensive leather gloves. He was grateful for the respite from his work, if a bit miffed he was forced into it.

"Pegasi can, the other tribes can't digest meat, something about pegasi needing more protein and iron," Mist tried to explain. "I dunno, I know I have an iron deficiency, and this is about the only meat I can eat without setting off my reflux."

She offered him a piece of the blackish red, dried meat, and he took it, chewing thoughtfully.

"S'not beef, tastes close enough though," Right commented. "Hydra meat or something..."

Reginald finished eating and cracked open his beer, taking a swig. "Well it's... certainly different," he glanced over at Mist happily munching on a piece of jerky. "You've been looking better these last few days."

The two humans waited for her to finish eating. "I started removing wheat from my diet not long before we met, it just took a while for the change to have a noticeable affect," Mist looked far more alive and alert than when Reginald first talked to her all those weeks ago. Had it only been one and a half months since they crashed? It felt longer than that somehow. "Having a reason to give a shit, about anything, helped too."

"Well, I'm glad we have you onboard," Reginald replied and looked around. "... What else are we doing tonight?"

"Stargazin', relaxin'," Right supplied bluntly. "Talk, if we feel like it."

"Oh." Reginald supposed it couldn't hurt to see what all the fuss was about, they did this every night after all. He took another sip of his beer and looked out at the night sky. It really was beautiful and alien with its purple hues and sparkling white dots of light, like something from a fairy-tale.

Minutes went by at a snails pace for the Toppat Chief, the silence broken periodically by the rustling of the jerky packaging as his friends ate. He thought back, trying to recall when he first counted Mist among the very small number of people he dared to consider a friend. It was probably when she damn near killed herself driving off the dragon, seeing her so weak and dependent on him and Right as a distraction from her suffering didn't sit well with him. The sheer dread in her voice as she told him to keep the ship moving when the dragon attacked, it stayed with him, made him acutely aware of the fact that she might not have made it out alive.

The same was true with her confrontation with Red Dawn, that mare was a threat, the clan noticed her stalking them whenever they descended to Manehatten, looking for any sign of Mist. Reginald had kept her on the ship for that reason, to keep his First Pony out of that madmare's clutches.

"Mist?" he said and she looked over at him. "Do you, have a plan for dealing with your former friend?"

"Hm? Sunset?" she said through a mouthful of food. Reginald waited patiently for her to continue. "I've tried reaching out to her mum in the past but all I get in response is Sunset should come see me herself. I kept Sunset on a tight leash- morally speaking- to keep the guard off our backs but now? I'm going to have to step in and do something about her, and soon."

That was not the answer he was expecting, he even saw Right lean forward in his seat to look at her in mild surprise. Reginald was stunned. "You intend to fight her?"

Mist's expression was a mix between torn and resigned. "I already warned her and she didn't listen. I'm going to track her down and cut off her horn, removing her as a threat... I can't talk her out it, everyone else is either to intimated by her or her ties to royalty to take her out, and there isn't a safe way to contain her with how powerful her magic is."

"An' I'm guessing you don' want her dead?" Right drawled.

"No, I'd give anything for there to be another way of dealing with her." Mist admitted.

Reginald thought for a moment, a runaway royal whose mother put in the bare minimum of effort to retrieve her? "Could we trick her into encountering her mother? Or make her out to be a large enough threat that the government would have to act?"

"I'd be in very real danger, she's predictable to degree but I have no idea what she's gotten up to since I left, she's not above hurting me either," Mist mused. "If I give her the impression I've been worn down to the point of working with her, I could split off and tip off her mum, and hopefully slip out when everything goes south."

They spent next few hours discussing plans and every angle things could go wrong. Eventually, with all possible ideas exhausted, the discussion shifted to other topics.

"Do you think you're up to making an inquiry about becoming a vampire?" Reginald asked Mist and drained the last dregs of beer from the bottom of his can in one gulp, his two hats falling off from how far back he tilted his head.

Mist giggled as Right leaned over to pick up the fallen hats, tossing them onto Reginald's lap. Mist hummed thoughtfully. "All I can do is ask, not just anyone is accepted as a subject of Penumbra, you have to pass a test of some kind," she moved her wings in a shrug as Reginald turned his attention fully on her. "It's different for everyone, apparently, and all vampires are under an oath to keep the process as secretive as possible. All I know is that there's a test and a Rite of Transformation if I pass."

"Alright you two, it's midnight. Bed, both of you." Right spoke up and Reginald allowed his friend to nudge both himself and Mist to their rooms, the mare finding the situation highly amusing if her grin and occasional giggle were any indication.

Author's Notes:

My interpretation of Dave Panpa is a guy who needs a bit more clarification when given instructions, and he was screwed over by his supervisor.

Fun Fact: Mist's overall improvement from a change in diet mirrors my own, it's not a drastic physical change- I'm less prone to aches and pains, I feel awake and alert when waking up in the morning, my sleep schedule is much more reasonable, and I have the motivation to write. Wheat intolerance is more than just getting a sore gut from eating wheat, it affects your mood, your energy levels, your appetite, it royally screws you over.

Edit: Character AMA submissions are closed, I'll keep the blog up for anyone curious enough to read the comments. https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/928163/ask-the-toppat-trio-misty-morals-special

Chapter 9: A Line in the Sand

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A headache pounded away above her eyes as the rattling of the train car roused her.

Wait, train?

Mist looked around the dimly lit car, crates and luggage piled high around her as she sat on the floor, her wings and forelegs bound by rope, and her hat completely absent.

"Reginald?" she called out worriedly. Her last memory was of the two of them in Penumbra, heading to meet up with Gabriel for the long awaited meeting with Lord Sombra. Someone had attacked them, the sleep spell they'd been hit with left them both too sluggish to react in time, and Mist caught only a glimpse of their assailant before a second spell put her under.

Reginald's gold chain necklace was tossed at her as Sunset Shimmer walked into view. The unicorn smirked. "If you want to see your friend alive, you'll do as I say. Won't you, Lillian?"

No, nononono... Mist could only stare, grasping at straws as she tried to fathom the sight before her. Her mind raced, was he hurt? Did the clan know? How could Sunset do this?

Why?

Mist couldn't comprehend it. "Why do this?"

"Don't be a fool Lillian, we're villains. You can pretend to be a better pony all you want, but you're still a coward and a thief," Sunset said. "I'm just doing what needs to be done to achieve my goal. Now," the unicorn loomed over her with a sneer. "You're going to sneak into Canterlot Castle and bring me the Elements of Harmony, or you'll never see your friend again."

Mist fell silent, she stared down at her boss' necklace, her friends necklace. She was angry, confused but it all melted away into cold, hard logic as Sunset Shimmer effectively killed the last shred of compassion and mercy Mist had for the mare, now a target.

The target.

Mist nodded mutely and her quarry backed off, untying the ropes with a bit of magic. Freed from her bindings, Mist picked up the necklace and slipped it around her neck, its weight settling on her chest was a grim reminder of her situation.

A villain? Mist pondered as she slipped off the train and out into the elegance of Canterlot, pushing her glasses back up her muzzle. Something dark, petty swirled in her thoughts as she mulled over every true villain she had faced in her time as Bluebird, every half-remembered interaction with Sunset Shimmer, every small slight or jab at her for being the weakest of the two of them. She knew what she was, a coward, a thief.

A good mare. Or at least she tried to be, part of her wanted to give in, to take all of her frustration, disappointment, and righteous fury and use it to show that whinning foal what a villain really was. She could do it too, she could tear down everything Sunset had worked toward before the day was over and not even the princesses would be able to stop her. The entire city would be at her mercy.

Reginald's necklace lightly thunked against her chest as she stopped by the curb. A thought bubbled to the surface.

No one aside from Sunset had figured out she was working with the Toppats. The Suri case? Considered the Toppat Clan's debut. The robberies? She never took part in them. The rumours floating around Penumbra about her had more to do with whether she back in business or not, and any mention of her with the clan was brushed off as simply business as usual for the former mercenary. Without her hat she had no way to contact the clan and with Reginald held hostage...

Mist sighed, she didn't want to hurt anyone, but she knew this couldn't escalate any further. She was a good mare, a good granddaughter, a good friend, and look where that got her.

Mist took to the air, refracting light to hide as she did. Sunset wanted the elements? Fine, but Mist was going to make sure Sunset Shimmer would regret ever returning to Canterlot. Descending into a glide as she neared the castle, Mist went unseen by the guards at the front entrance as she landed and walked the familiar path through the halls to the Throne Room.

There upon her throne, sat Princess Celestia. Mist walked into the room undetected, stood on her hind legs and dispelled her invisibility with a flourish of her coattails. The Princess was surprised, the guards present in the room alert for any sign of danger as they pointed their spears at her.

Mist bowed with all the air of a noble as the princess regained her composure. "Princess Celestia, I bring vital information about her highness, Princess Sunset Shimmer."

A wing gesture from the alicorn had the guards returning to their posts. Celestia was hopeful as she addressed the thief. "You know where Sunset is?"

"Here, in Canterlot, after blackmailing me to steal the Elements of Harmony for her," Mist drawled. "Maybe you should, oh I dunno, do something about that? Before I do."

The Princess' gaze hardened. "If you hurt her-"

"She is holding my friend hostage, has kidnapped, and assaulted me! Either you get off your arse and set your daughter straight, or Sunset loses her horn," Mist growled. "I am done trying to appease a selfish brat that would endanger others for her own benefit."

Celestia recoiled at the harshness of her tone. "She did what?" the princess was stone-faced. "Are you certain? I could hold you accountable for your own crimes, Bluebird."

"Last I checked, I never threatened to kill someone," Mist shot back. "We had a deal, I'm your bloody informant Princess, I'm trying to help! I don't want to be in this situation any more than you do."

"...You're right, I should be thankful you chose to come to me rather than take action yourself," Celestia stated and rose from her seat. "Follow me, we can discussed this as we walk."

Mist dropped back down on all fours and followed the princess out the room and around a corner.

"Look, I'm sorry for getting snippy but I've been telling you for years to sort her out." Mist said as she trotted up to walk beside the alicorn.

"I know," Celestia replied. "I had hoped you would help her improve."

"I hoped so as well, ignored a few warning signs I probably shouldn't have," Mist commented. "Then I got sick and had to retire for my own safety."

After several minutes, they reached a large vault door, the lock shaped like Celestia's cutie mark, and the golden doorframe decorated with several large gems. Mist stood to the side as Celestia slid her horn into the lock, her horn glowed, and Mist had to shield her eyes from blindingly bright light as the door opened. When her vision cleared, she found an ornate box floating in Celestia's golden magic hovering before her.

"I have teleported the elements to a safe location and replaced them with fakes, we can use these to lure Sunset out of hiding and confront her," Princess Celestia explained. "Perhaps some time in the castle dungeons will convince to rethink her goals in life."

"Doubt it," Mist said plainly. "You'd have to talk to her, repeatedly, get through to her yourself. Sunset told me the rendezvous point was in the statue garden."

"I'll meet you there," Celestia said as Mist stowed the case away in her pocket. "I will have guards at the ready."

The statue garden was one of the quieter places on the castle grounds, tours were done early in the morning, and barring the occasional groundskeeper or guard, the place saw very little foot traffic throughout the day. It was the perfect place to meet up. Mist sat on a bench waiting, watching leaves be blown about in the spring breeze. Sunset teleported into view, cape fluttering in the wind.

"Well? Do you have them?" she asked and Mist pulled out the case and tossed it at her hooves.

"You are going to let my friend go, right?" Mist asked.

Sunset grinned sharply as she levitated the box up to her face. Mist cleared her throat to get her attention and the unicorn rolled her eyes with a scoff. "He's fine, I couldn't levitate him so I took his necklace and left him for his friends to find. Oh, here."

Mist's hat was teleported into her lap, she put it on, and retrieved a spare earpiece from it.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Mist asked flatly as she put the earpiece in her left ear and turned it on.

"I didn't kidnap your friend, jerk was magic resistant and nothing I did worked on him," Sunset clarified as she turned her focus back towards the case, opening it. "Finally! After all this time I will-"

Mist was very satisfied as she watched Sunset's face fall, dropping the case onto the ground, and staring in disbelief as the fake elements tumbled out onto the grass. In a flash of light, Celestia appeared with several armed guards in tow. The princess gazed down at the stunned unicorn. "Sunset Shimmer, it pains me to see you like this, please My Little Sun, come with me and we'll sort this out together."

Mist's world went teal as Sunset snarled in fury.

Ponyfeathers Mist thought as the unicorn's horn glowed an ominous greenish-black and Sunset held Mist in front of her as a hostage.

"Call off the guards! or Bluebird gets her wings clipped," Sunset demanded fiercely. "You wouldn't want anypony to get hurt, right Mom?"

Mist felt dread settle in her stomach as the princess stepped forward. "Please Sunset, rethink your decision, we can help you." the alicorn pleaded.

Mist was jostled in warning, Sunset's telekinetic grip kept her from moving, and watched in silent horror as Celestia tried to reach out to the runaway royal once more. Mist's vision was obscured by sickly green light, her wings felt heavy, the individual feathers felt uncomfortable and out of place as she was unceremoniously dropped to the ground, and she heard the guards rush past her.

When her vision cleared, she extended her wings out to her face. Mist was speechless, her wings were black, moth-eaten, emaciated things that could be barely called wings. She moved the joints experimentally, flapping, and flexing her feathered "fingers". It took far more effort than it should have.

She looked up at the sound of hoofsteps, Princess Celestia bowed her head in regret. "Lillian, I am so sorry."

Mist pulled herself to her hooves. "Can you reverse this?"

The Princess closely inspected a wing, her horn glowed and the limb returned to normal for a brief moment before the curse angrily warped the wing once more. Mist awkwardly folded her wings closed, straightened her hat, and turned on her heel and left despite the alicorn's protests.

Outwardly she was as blank-faced as ever but internally, Mist was seething. She needed to find Sunset immediately.

Fortunately Mist found her hiding in an alleyway behind an inn, the unicorn glared at her as she approached. "You traitor! You were supposed to do your job."

Mist sidestepped the blast of magic Sunset fired at her. Stepping into a beam of sunlight, the pegasus curled her hoof, disguising the motion as a gesture to her ruined wings. The light responded to her touch and solidified, taking shape as a physical object. "..."

Sunset was oblivious. "What, that?" she smirked deviously. "If you promise to cooperate this time, I'll remove the curse-"

In one swift motion, the polearm of pure sunlight was pressed against Sunset's throat, the unicorn staring at it wide-eyed. The blade glowed white-hot and the air around them was already becoming uncomfortably hot as solar magic rolled off the weapon. Sunset's horn sparked, sputtered and died as the excess magic in the air stiffled her ability to cast.

"There are three ways to dispell a curse," Mist recited matter-of-factly. "One, the caster dispells it. Two, Liquid Moonlight is applied to the affected area. Or Three, the link between curse and caster is broken by either the caster's death or destruction of the Foci," she pointed the polearm at Sunset's horn, her voice dripping with venom. "Break the curse or lose your horn. Pick one."

"You wouldn't." Sunset spat.

"Don't be an idiot Sunset, we're villains. I'm just doing what needs to be done." Mist said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Sunset, fearful, dispelled the curse with a flash of magic.

With her wings restored, Mist stunned the unicorn with a blast of lighting from her left wing. She spun the polearm around idly as she debated on what to do with the now neutralized target, cutting off Sunset's horn would remove the threat but, despite her everything with Sunset Shimmer, Mist couldn't find it in herself to be so cruel as to cripple her former friend. Instead, she dragged the dazed mare out into the street and went invisible as guards swooped down to surround the unicorn and haul her off to the castle. As Sunset disappeared from sight, Mist activated her earpiece.

"Right? Have you found the boss yet?"

"Yeah, we're heading to your location. Signal's only now jus' comin' through." Right replied.

"I'll fly out as far as I can and meet you halfway."

"Don' strain yourself." Right ordered.

By the time Mist made to the ship, she felt out of sorts, a strange mix of tiredness, regret, and guilt had consumed her thoughts. She walked into the bridge, removing Reginald's necklace to return it to him wordlessly.

Right walked up to her, observing her passively. "You alright?"

"I'll be fine." spilled from her lips before she could think about it, sitting on the soft blu carpet, next to Reginald in the pilot seat.

She wasn't fine, she despised the performance she had to put on to resolve the situation, stooping to Sunset's level. She couldn't tell if she was disgusted with the fact that she did it, or that it worked. She'd threatened Sunset before, when they reunited at the guild but even them, she hated having to be so, so ruthless. Bluebird was a modern day Gentlemare Thief, whose actions were highlighted with speeches and wit whether she was denouncing injustice, or stealing priceless treasures, and a stylish flair that captivated her audience. Her actions today, as desperate as they were, went against what she strived to be, who she was.

With all of this clouding her thoughts and souring her mood, Mist tentatively spoke up.

"Am I a good mare?"

Right was quiet as Reginald blinked at her from his seat.

"I'd say so," Reginald replied easily. "Why?"

Mist was at a loss, she couldn't put her thoughts into words, well she could but somehow she lacked the will to tell him. She grappled with the sensation, struggled with it internally, until after a quiet moment, she stared at the floor and spoke.

"I try to stick to my morals, my rules, and it helps that I genuinely prefer not to fight, I hate it. But... I was no better than Sunset herself, she said we're villains, like it was why she decided to do all of this in the first place, and I... contemplated trapping all of Canterlot in a storm only I could break, capture Princess Celestia, and make her watch as I deprived Sunset Shimmer of her magic and made both of them see the folly of their actions that led to that point," Mist explained calmly. "Instead, I bully Celestia into working with me, put the fear of the heavens into Sunset, and leave her for the legal system to deal with afterwards... What kind of person does that?"

It was Right who answered. "You wouldn' have done what you did if you 'ad a choice."

"You did what was necessary, and you stuck to your morals in the end. I'd say a little intimidation never hurt," Reginald added. "We've seen the real you, a valued, kind individual we're happy to have in the clan. Plus a group such as ours has always been a bit iffy with morality, but you more than meet our standards."

"Okay... Thanks," Mist said meekly. "Um, are we headed back to Manehatten?"

"Yes, we'll meet up with Gabriel tomorrow, after what happened today I'm sure you'll want to relax." Reginald said.

"Yeah."

Right gestured for her to follow him. "Come on, you got friends waitin' for you, best go tell 'em you're safe."

Sometime later, Mist had to gently explain to Dave that she didn't do hugs, for health reasons, and was roped into recounting what happened to the crew in a ship-wide meeting with everyone crammed into the cafeteria.

Chapter 10: Turmoil

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Mist walked into the cafeteria with Right the following morning, grabbed her food from the kitchen and took their usual seats at one of the tables near the exit. She ate her slice of carrot cake in silence, thoughts muddled. Yesterday was difficult for her to come to terms with, she wondered if she could have done things differently, could have resolved the situation peacefully. Bitterly, she realized she could have if she was even half the mare she was a year ago, if she was a bit faster, a bit more confident instead this frail shadow of her former glory. Mist thought that, if she hadn't left, maybe she could have gotten through to Sunset, or ended up enslaved, either one was a possibility.

Pegasi didn't use magic like hers anymore, they didn't hold sunlight, create winds, and bend the weather to their will. No, pegasi made the weather in the factory in Cloudsdale and shipped it across Equestria, pegasi learnt how to move clouds, break up unwanted weather patterns and stamp their own in it's place wasting the natural elemental magics already present in favor of heavily modified factory-made patterns that left no room for deviation, for variation. And yet, Mist used her magic for thievery...

Mist was still unsettled by her own actions against Sunset, she knew she wasn't good in the idealistic sense, the kind Equestrian society expected of her. She came to terms with that a long time ago, but it wasn't like she was using her special talent for weather management. Under the current laws, her talent was classed as unlawful weather manipulation, and the Equestrian Weather Board wouldn't give her the qualifications to make it legal, because her talent broke the law by definition. All she could do was bend light off her own body in a kaleidoscope of colours for a party trick to impress ponies.

That was why she used it for stealing, that was why she was doubting herself now, an endless spiral of what if's and stress on the verge of tears.

Mist put all her attention on her food. Focused on eating, she tuned out her surroundings, and while her dour mood persisted, she calmed down just enough to ignore her inner turmoil for the time being. Some deep-seated instinct compelled her to keep her composure, that getting emotional was the wrong thing to do.

She'd get in trouble, get told off, everyone else didn't need to hear about her problems-

"Oi, you alright?"

Mist was snapped out of her daze by Right's voice, the man looking at her from his seat next to her. Her reply was automatic, habitual. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Right raised a brow at her. She knew he wasn't fooled, but her own calm exterior was not one she was willing to break. He sighed and didn't press the issue the further, the brief flicker of concern on his face was a sign they'd talk about it later. Much later, if Mist had anything to say about it. The two of them finished eating in silence, left their plates in the kitchen for whoever had dishwashing duty that day, and left the cafeteria.

"... If you need a day or two to recoup, jus' say so." Right said gruffly.

Her argument was halfhearted. "I have the meeting to go to."

"You got kidnapped girl, it can wait."

Mist was tired of being, she wasn't sure what. A liability? A burden? Sitting on her arse and twiddling her wings never sat well with her, and though her condition had forced that life style upon her, Mist Veil was all the more eager to break free from it. Her best chance at doing so was just on the horizon.

It was so close she could feel it.

"The sooner I do this, the sooner I'll know what my options are," she reasoned. "What happened yesterday proves something needs to be done."

Right looked at her and shrugged lazily. "Tell that to Reg then."

"You still want to go through with the meeting?" Reginald asked Mist, observing her as he sat at the ship's controls. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." the pegasus replied and Reginald could see the determination in her eyes despite her subdued demeanor.

He looked over at his Right Hand Man, standing by the exit to the bridge. Right was subtle, silently voicing his opinion behind Mist's back with a bit of sign language.

'Stressed about yesterday. On the verge of a breakdown.'

Well, that wouldn't do. Reginald hummed thoughtfully, on one hand he could relate to her drive to get things done, to push past mental or physical blockades for the sake of finishing a task. On the other, it was worrying seeing how rattled she was, she was good at hiding it but the weariness it evoked in her her gave him pause. He looked over at Right questionably.

Right shrugged and Reginald turned his attention to Mist, she was waiting patiently but he could see how her mood was wearing her down. He'd have to monitor her, he had yet to properly assess the extent of her sensitivity and behavior due to her passive personality. And secretly, Reginald was concerned about her after the fight with Sunset, he wanted to pull her aside, to talk to her. But there was the matter of her almost blind obedience towards him, he knew any conversation he had with her would seen by her as one between The Clan Chief and The First Pony.

Not between Reginald and Mist. It was something he'd have to work on, an idea he dreaded out of habit from years of carefully maintaining his status as the leader, but an idea he wanted to pursue. He'd be lying if he said otherwise.

"My Right Hand Man and I will accompany you then, for security of course," Reginald stated. "I won't take any chances after yesterday."

Mist nodded. "Yes Sir."

As the three of them left the bridge to make preparations to leave, Reginald caught Right's eye and the two nodded. Both men certain today would not be a walk in the park. Reginald silently hoped luck was on their side. They sorely needed it.

The castle of Lord Sombra was as intimidating as it was enchanting. The throne room, with dark red carpet, portraits decorating the obsidian walls and the ornate, cushioned wooden throne gave the room a dignified air that differed from the splendor and magnitude of Canterlot. The Lord himself, a dark gray stallion with red eyes, a curved horn that faded from gray to red near the tip, and his black, smoke-like mane tied back, reclined on his throne every bit the picture of nobility dressed in a blood red suit.

Mist stood before Lord Sombra and bowed in respect as she spoke. "Your Lordship, for this past year I have been struck down with an ailment that has left me a shadow of my former self. No matter the progress I make towards recovery, I will never be the mare I once was, and my only hope lies in practices long since demonized and outlawed by society."

She stood up to see the vampire lord looking down at her impassively, and when he spoke, his voice held steel and authority that she felt in her bones.

"The Kingdoms of Darkness do not permit just anyone to join their ranks. Vampirism is not a miracle cure, or a disease. My people are not monsters no matter what your pony princess says. Gabriel's ward or not, I will not help you merely because you asked."

"Then, may I ask what I must do?" Mist asked respectively. "All I seek is freedom from the weakness and pain I am plagued with almost daily."

Sombra leaned forward, curious. "Tell me girl, what is your Talent?"

A spike of terror shot through Mist and she squashed down old fears, old expectations that no longer applied, and answered cordially, reminding herself that there was nothing wrong. "I am one of one the last known Sky Casters, a practitioner of long lost pegasi wind and light manipulation that is, by the very nature of the Equestrian legal system, classed as forbidden magic."

"A Sky Caster?" Sombra raised a brow at that, peering at her. "And what, pray tell, would you do with your newfound freedom if I granted it?"

"Live my life, resume my work as Bluebird and as a member of the Toppat Clan," Mist replied honestly. "No more than what I was doing over a year ago."

"As honorable as you have been in the past when answering pleas for help from my subjects, I cannot in good conscience test your compatibility with vampirism without first ensuring the safety of my kingdom," Sombra explained. "Therefore, a series of trials are in order, proof that you and this Toppat Clan you serve are trustworthy."

"Understandable, what are your orders?" Mist asked.

Sombra was evidently pleased by her cooperation, smirking. "Once a month, The Moon Witch sheds her peaceful guise to host a ball to mingle with the hidden folk, travel to the Sapphire City at the edge of my kingdom and attend the ball, not as Bluebird, nor as Mist Veil... But as Lillian Meadows," Sombra saw the surprise and confusion that was without a doubt written on her face and grinned deviously, showing the prominent fangs his kind was known for. "I have eyes and ears across the globe, I know exactly who you are. No matter what name you answer to, I will not accept an Equestrian noble as my subject until they proven they aren't as foolish or selfish as their former peers. The Blue Moon Ball will play host to not only myself, but the other rulers of the other realms hidden from the public eye."

"If you can make it through the night without making a fool of yourself, there may be hope for you yet," Sombra stated and waved a hoof in dismissal. "Go and make your preparations, I will see you again on the night of the ball one week from today."

"Yes, your Lordship." Mist said, bowed once more, and turned around to leave with Reginald, Right, and Gabriel walking out with her.

"I'd like a word with you Bluebird," Gabriel stated, the older pegasus in full assassin's gear looking at her stoically. "After all, we haven't had a chance to, talk."

Mist sat across from her mentor in his office at the Mercenary Guild. The office was mostly for show, for the rare instances the guild needed Gabriel to see clients or perform other duties. The place was finely decorated, but lacking the personal touches she knew he kept solely for his private residence. She felt less like catching up with an old friend and more like a young mare being called into the principal's office.

Or her father's study she mused dryly as a newspaper was wordlessly dumped onto the desk. The Canterlot Times front headline stared her dead in the face.

Gentlemare Thief Bluebird Apprehends Former Partner In Crime. Lost Princess Returned to Canterlot!

"Lillian, how are you holding up?" Gabriel asked, resting his hooves on the desk, and his lone visible eye cutting into her as she started her automatic response. "Be honest."

She closed her mouth, readjusting her glasses as she stared down at the paper. It was never easy for her, talking about her feelings directly. Years of having her opinions ignored, her feelings invalidated, and doing whatever was asked of her to receive any scrap of positive attention had both molded her into a quiet mare, and quelled any attempts to be outwardly expressive. It was hard, dredging her emotions to the surface and putting them into words, it was like a tidal wave of stress and doubt threatening to break the dams of her composure and flood out in a bawling, ugly emotional mess.

"I almost... Became a bigger threat, I wanted to cut off Sunset's horn, I wanted to prove to her she knows rut all about what it means to be a villain," she explained bitterly. Her throat felt tight as she fought back tears, her voice sounding higher in her distress. "I don't wanna hurt anyone, I don't wanna have to go that far! But she threatened to kill Reginald if I didn't do what she said an' if weren't for Celestia agreeing to help I would have done it an' I hate myself for that. I shouldn't be thinking like that."

"Lillian, look at me," Gabriel instructed and she looked up at him. "You did what you thought was best, and even if you had taken Sunset's horn, that mare deserved it. In your current condition she could kill you if too much magic floods your system at once." He was serious. "You were too lenient on her, but you and I differ in our approach to this line of work..."

Mist fell silent, Gabriel content to let her quietly wrestle with her emotions, and after a few moments she found the energy to speak. "And if I'm pushed that far again?"

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. "You have rules as Bluebird, should you ever be forced to break them, pushed to far, embrace it. You are not a villain Lillian, show them why. Turn their preconceived notions of good and evil on their heads and give your audience the performance of a lifetime." Mist could here the amusement in his voice. "You always did love a good show."

A new performance, new mask for her to wear? She could understand the logic behind it, she latched onto the idea, and it eased her turmoil. It was proof she still had options, still had a choice to be the person she wanted to be. She'd seen Bluebird as her only option, a simple persona brimming with confidence she never had, able to do what she pleased because she was justified.

Because for years, it was all she had left.

Mist set the idea aside for the time being, giving Gabriel a small smile. "Thanks... for hearing me out."

He nodded. "You should tell your new friends, if you plan on working with them indefinitely, it will do you some good to see if they can be trusted with your sensitivities."

"I'm not gonna emotionally manipulate them Gabe, you know I don't do feelings..." Mist said flatly.

Gabriel rolled his eye. "Spare me your tough mare act."

"Yeah, yeah... Anything new going on since I left?" she asked.

Her mentor sounded pleased. "A new group of heroes have taken up watching over Manehatten, a group of teenagers, children really..."

Right stood just behind his boss as Reginald scribbled away at a document at his desk, papers strewn across its surface. He read over Reginald's shoulder, plans for a village, a small self-contained base of operations with housing, farms and a few warehouses for storage. It would be a good starting point, somewhere potential recruits could go.

"Any idea where we're puttin' down roots?" Right asked.

"The jungle looks promising, with the airship as our primary mode of transportation it would be too risky to explore beyond Equestria's borders. At least, not until we have a steady source of materials, parts, and supplies to maintain the ship. Any word on the shipment of new weapons?"

"I'll send a team out to pick 'em up tomorrow, most of the crew aren't happy 'bout swappin' the guns out for crossbows but if it'll get they job done, the men will get used to 'em," Right replied. "Already put an ad up in the Mercenary Guild askin' for a professional, thought it might be good if a few men got lessons an' taught everyone else."

Reginald smirked. "A good idea, I presume you're going with them."

"Reckon it might be good to learn for when I run out of bullets," Right drawled. "A shame I wasn' there to deal with that Sunset girl, woulda been satisfying to shoot her horn off..."

"At best you'd damage it, ponies appear to be naturally resistant to our munitions," Reginald said. "On the flip side, we appear to be naturally resistant to magic."

"That so?"

"Yes, when she knocked out Mist, she tried to do the same to me, however I could fight it off rather quickly, she tried a few things before our little scuffle ended with her taking my necklace and teleporting away with Mist." Reginald sighed. "Still, that's over now and we can focus on getting the clan a stable foothold in Equestria."

Right voiced what his boss left unsaid. "An' get Mist treated."

"Right, that depends on her, all we can do is remind her the clan has her back," Reginald remarked and stretched. "I do hope we can pull this off."

Right could tell Reginald was exhausted, even though the man put on a brave face, or was outright oblivious to how hard he was working, it still left a coil of worry to tighten in his gut whenever he found the Chief passed out at his desk, or shambling into the cafeteria at four in the morning for food. It must be bad if Reginald was just casually dropping a bombshell like that on him.

"You've got 'elp Reg, it's not like the days before you became Chief." Right reminded, as he always did.

Reginald set his pen down and papers aside, sighing. "You remember how rough it was, how fragile the clan was. Splintered groups held together through their fear and hatred of one man, all it takes is one person, just one and everything changes for better and for worse. I don't want anyone thinking I'm not doing whatever I can to keep us afloat."

Right rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. He wasn't surprised, Reginald would worry about anything and everything if the man didn't have something to do. "No one's sayin' anything like that, we're doin' fine, an' we got you to thank for that," he cracked a smile. "Terrence wasn' half the Chief you are. Clan would've died if you hadn't stepped in."

They'd both witnessed the previous Clan Chief run reckless, dangerous heists where half the teams returned injured or worse, and the crew lived in fear of their leader, keeping quiet lest Terrence Suave catch wind of their dissent and threaten to throw them overboard. It was why Reginald prided himself on earning the clan's respect as leader, why he'd put his best foot forward with Mist.

A man like Terrence didn't need to cause pain to inspire fear in others.

Right saw Reginald sag, partly from exhaustion, partly from relief. "I know Right, I know..."

"You need a break from work, a proper one," Right stated. "Take a few days off, ponysit Mist for a bit."

His friend chuckled. "Is that what you call it?"

"No, but I don' see you gettin' off your arse to talk to her," Right deadpanned. "Not outside of work anyway."

AMA Special: You Have Mail

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Mist found herself in the airship's archive room, seated at one of the tables alongside Reginald and the Right Hand Man... and a member of the clan she didn't recognize.

This fourth Toppat was a young woman in a black T-shirt, gray plaid shorts, and her long orange hair tied back. Her hat was a simple black top hat decorated with blue flowers that resembled lillies.

"Hi, I'm the god of this world, call me Demi," the woman shrugged and with a wave of her hand, a small pile of letters appeared. "You guys have a wonderful handful of people that are invested in your adventures, and I thought it'd be fun to allow them to ask you stuff, within reason of course."

"That was scheduled for today?" Reginald asked. "I thought you were putting that on hold?"

Demi looked unconcerned. "I managed to get enough people interested to move it forward, not like I have anything else to do."

Right glanced over at his boss. "You know her?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. Demi here is an unofficial member of sorts, just showed up with the paperwork one day, said she was a fan of mine and promised to drop in with requests of some kind."

"An' you agreed." Right said, mildly unimpressed.

"I didn't see the harm in it, she even filled out the forms correctly." Reginald replied.

"So, we're in a unspecified point in time, and we'll be returned to where we were last after we answer questions?" Mist asked, for clarification.

Demi nodded. "Yup. Any personal information shared will be retained as your memories will just be altered to remove anything about me or being here to answer questions," she pointed at the letters and they rearranged themselves into neat piles in front of each of them. "Shall we get started? Camera's rolling."

Reginald nodded and opened his first letter. "To Reggie-"

Mist and Right shared a smirk at the nickname.

Reginald rolled his eyes and continued reading. "-Who is the Toppat Clan's Milliner? The Airship Division relies on Slice to make and repair our hats, he enjoys the work."

"Every division has a milliner, keeps things organized," Right added. "We sometimes order hats in bulk if we get an influx of new recruits, an' have the milliners modify 'em."

"Well, it's just the airship division now, I believe Slice was working on Dave's hat last I checked..." Reginald mused.

Demi read the next question. "This is for all three of you, Any regrets from the past?"

Right pulled his hat down to hide his face, quiet.

It was Reginald who spoke for him. "My Right Hand Man and I only have one regret, that it took us as long as it did to seize control of the clan from the previous leader," a shadow passed over him. "We lost far too many good people before Terrence was overthrown."

The group was silent for several minutes. It was Mist who broke that silence. "... I'm not sure if this counts but, I wish I hadn't let my family walk all over me and treat me the way they did, I wish I was strong enough to leave them earlier in life instead of waiting until I was of age. Anyway, who's next?"

Right picked up a letter. "Looks this one's for both of us Reg, wantin' to know how we stole the ruby, an' whether we 'ad plans to steal the Tunisian Diamond an' Norwegian Emerald."

"The Ruby? Well, the Romanian Ruby is a trophy from the very first heist I spearheaded after becoming the leader of the clan several years ago!" Reginald proudly explained. "We had no casualties and the various other museum pieces we stole that night got us enough money to get the clan where we are today! I did make plans for one our members to steal the diamond, but someone else beat us to it!"

"We were still tracking down the emerald's location before we got sent 'ere." Right added.

"That's where the ruby came from? That's impressive," Mist commented as she opened a letter from her pile. As she read it, her face fell. "What."

"Read it out please." Demi instructed.

Mist sighed as the other two Toppat's looked over at her quizzically. "Would you ever consider dating Reginald or Right Hand Man?"

Reginald spluttered, embarrassed. "That is highly inappropriate!"

Right just remained as calm as ever.

Mist was conflicted. "How do I word this... Okay, okay. The norm is you find someone attractive right? So, you date to get to know them and test compatibility. I don't work like that, the mere thought dating them just because is so unappealing and unfathomable to me I'd rather avoid that topic entirely," she ranted calmly. "I don't know either of them well enough to be comfortable with the idea of pursuing a romantic relationship. And besides, I'm demisexual, I doubt what I want out of a relationship matches up with modern Equestrian dating practices anyway, let alone human ones."

"Would you though, if you got to know one of us?" Right asked.

Reginald was too embarrassed to intervene, blushing as Mist actually appeared to be thinking it over.

"I mean, I literally do not feel sexual attraction, but I can appreciate aesthetics and I find you two objectively handsome," Mist replied. "Honestly? If you or Reginald were interested in me after getting to know me, and we sat down and talked things out like adults... I wouldn't be opposed to the idea... As long as our friendship and stuff comes first, you know?"

Right nodded in understanding. "Fair 'nough."

"Moving on, another one for Right and Reginald," Demi said as Right leaned over to pat Reginald on the shoulder to calm him down. "What are your thoughts on how Mist dealt with Sunset Shimmer? Do you think she should have cut off her horn and be done with her?"

"Would've shot her myself if I 'ad the chance," Right stated gruffly, arms crossed. "Wasn' my call though, it was Mist's."

Reginald cleared his throat. "Y-yes, Mist performed admirably in my opinion. I wouldn't have been as merciful were I in Mist's position at the time."

Right glanced down at two letters, chuckling. "Reg, got a couple 'ere askin' when you made the Toppat Clan."

Reginald chuckled good-naturedly. "I didn't make or even found the clan. I was born into it. My parents were Toppats, as were my grandparents. The Toppat Clan has been around for centuries, it may have had it's ups and downs but it has been in operation well before my time."

Right hummed in agreement as checked one of the letters. "...Blimey 'ow old do some of these people think the clan is?" he shook his head. "Look, I joined the clan when Reg's folks scouted me when I was sixteen, got caught hunting rabbits on their property, a vacation home in Queensland. Saw I was good with a gun an' offered me a job."

"You hunt?" Mist asked.

Right nodded. "For food mostly, do a bit of fishing too."

"Neat," Mist commented and opened a letter. "Mist, what exactly can you do with pegasus magic? I presume they mean sky casting? I can control wind currents, air temperature, air moisture, cloud formation and with enough magic create and control weather phenomena. I can also change how my body interacts with light to reflect, refract, and solidify magic present in sunlight. Oh, and I can make rainbows."

Mist sighed, resigned. "The physical limitations from my wheat intolerance means I can only use the less strenuous techniques, like bending light or controlling wind currents. Anything larger or more complex is no longer feasible."

"Watching you turn invisible for the first time was quite a surprise," Reginald said as he opened a letter. "Do you have people do research? If so, on what?" the Toppat Chief looked troubled. "We used to, unfortunately our Research and Development Division were one of the branches of clan we left behind when the airship crashed. The Airship Division is the clan's assualt force, the one's out performing heists and general missions in the field."

Reginald composed himself. "Apologies, next is What is the Toppat Moral Code?"

Right smirked as Reginald practically beamed after reading the question.

The Chief sat up a little straighter in his seat. "The Toppat Clan does not harm innocents, endanger the lives of themselves or their fellow clanmates. Never steals from the less fortunate, from religious sites, indigenous populations, other Toppats, or children. We as an organisation pilfer from government institutions, private collections, and public spaces." Reginald paused as he saw Right smirking at him. "Yes well, that's just a rough overview of what the clan stands for...The letter also asked if humans are in danger? I'm not sure what they mean, but, medically speaking no. Thomas has certification as a general practioner, studying medicine is one of his hobbies and what he can't fix, The Witch usually can with her skills in herbalism."

Reginald looked over at Mist. "Did you translate that Equestrian Herbology encyclopedia yet?"

"Almost done, it's a pretty big book." Mist replied. The letter she opened was thicker than the others, containing several pieces of paper. "Wow that's a lot of questions...Hey Demi, What's the Henry Stickmin Collection and why do we have to play it?"

"A video game," Demi replied as a laptop materialized into existence on the table. "Why don't we get that out of the way first? I'll only include the highlights in the final edit."

"This is really fun," Mist said as the credits for the Intruder on a Scooter ending played on screen. "That's Stealing the Diamond complete, I wonder what-"

Mist's voice died in her throat as she selected the next game in the series and was greeted with the sight of the Toppat airship.

"What? Nooooo..." she said. "Seriously?"

"Hey it's you guys!" Mist said as Reginald and Right appeared on screen.

Said Toppat's watched the gameplay as Mist progressed.

"Welp, R.I.P Right, you got shredded by a chainsaw," Mist commented, her snout wrinkling in disgust moments later. "Eugh that'd be horrible."

"That is so cool!" Mist said excitedly. "Game Right is a cyborg! That. Is. Awesome!"

Reginald and Right were passing the time with a card game, the novelty of the video game having worn off some time ago. The two of them were smiling at Mist's enthusiasm though.

"That music is pretty," Mist stated. "I mean the ending is sad with Henry dead and all, but it's interesting."

"What-no, no. Charles, what are you doing? No, no-"

Mist stared in quiet disbelief at the screen.

Right glanced over at her. "You alright?"

"That's not fair." she replied.

"So, you have no trouble seeing us die..." Reginald pointed out dryly.

"You're both here and perfectly fine," Mist countered. "Charles was my third favorite character."

"Who's your favorite?" Right asked.

"You," Mist answered easily. "Reginald is second."

Reginald smirked. "Well I'll graciously accept second best when compared to my Right Hand Man."

"Shut it, Reg." Right grumbled.

With the game finished, Demi removed the laptop, and grabbed the questions from earlier. "To save some time, I'll paraphrase. Mist, if your life functioned like the choices in the Henry Stickmin Collection, what would you do?"

"Whatever the rut I did to get here," Mist said honestly. "Joining the clan was the best thing to happen to me since Gabriel took me in."

"Dunno what else I was expecting but, To Right Hand Man and Reginald: What is your opinion of the fact that by definition, Mist's special talent is illegal?"

"Why is it illegal?" Reginald asked Mist curiously.

"Because laws surrounding weather management are built around modern teachings and associated talents. Sky Casters are like pegasi mages, but the practice was... forgotten, newer methods became popular once Equestria was founded, and as society progressed it faded from memory and was deemed unnatural and therefore, forbidden magic. Since it's forbidden magic, I don't have the legal right to use it." Mist explained.

Reginald looked confused. "But... You're living proof it isn't unnatural!"

Mist scoffed. "Officially, my special talent is light manipulation, but that's just what was put on paper when I first got my cutie mark because I made a rainbow out of a patch of sunlight and a water sprinkler as a kid. I figured out more as I got older."

"Your talent bein' illegal is a load of bullshit." Right said.

"I agree, utterly barbaric." Reginald added.

Mist shrugged. "That's Equestria for you, conform or be ignored by society."

"Oh, a question for me," Demi said. "Does the EQG mirror portal exist in this world?, I don't know, haven't decided yet to be honest-" Demi grinned. "Mist as an EQG human eh? Hey Mist, wanna be a human for a bit?"

"Uh, sure?" the mare replied.

With a snap of her fingers, Demi had turned Mist Veil into a human woman whose skin colour matched her fur and retained the mare's mane, eyes and of course, het Bluebird outfit and top hat. The now human Mist flexed a gloved hand and adjusted her glasses. "...This is fascinating, neat," she looked over at the god. "You'll turn me back to normal soon, yeah?"

"At the end of our little Q&A," Demi replied."Now, another one for me, Why are guns ineffective against ponies? Non enchanted weaponry must get through a pony's innate magical field, which is what protects them and allows for cartoon logic levels of slapstick comedy and injury. Of course even without magic the logic still applies to a degree, you won't see any blood or gore in this world, but magical beings can only be harmed by magical weapons. This puts non magical races at a disadvantage in a straight fight, but to counter this, non magical races are resistant to magic, even kinds dangerous to ponies."

"That was quite interesting," Reginald said as he opened a letter. "Where did you get the Biggol Sword? Oh, that old thing? It was a commissioned piece by a world renowned blacksmith. Used to be Slice's go-to weapon before he quit fieldwork and took a desk job."

There was only one letter left, Right read it out. "For all of us, Why would you shoot a man before throwin' him out of the airship? So he'll be dead either way, won't he?"

"Absolutely, you can't be too careful with that." Reginald agreed.

"I wouldn't even throw anyone off, or shoot them." Mist added.

Demi stretched "Well, that's it," with a wave of her hand, the letters were gone, and Mist was a pony once more. "Might do this again in the future, depends if people liked it. Got any closing remarks before I send you back?"

Right shrugged. "Stay in school, don' do drugs."

Reginald chuckled at Right's antics. "I'd like to say that as strange as this was, I sincerely hope that you all liked our responses," his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "If we do this again, can you all please stick to more appropriate lines of questions?"

"Sir, if anything, I should be the one embarrassed about that," Mist spoke up, looking nervous. "...Demisexuality and dating aren't things I've been able to talk about openly before..."

"Regardless, that line of questioning is unprofessional," Reginald replied and sighed. "However, I suppose I can allow similar questions in the future as long as they remain civil and tame."

"I do read these beforehand you know," Demi stated casually. "Mist, any final words?"

"... I had fun, and I'm honestly surprised people are interested in us, I'm just a rundown doormat of a mare just trying to keep going despite everything thrown at me. So, thank you to everyone that sent us questions." Mist said.

With a lazy flick of her wrist, Demi returned The Toppat Trio to the proper point in the story. The deity smiled, looking beyond the room towards somewhere else. "That was great, I'm glad I got this to work. If you all like it I'll do another one of these ask style chapters in the future."

Chapter 11: Reginald's Day Off

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Mist found a post-it note on her hat when she woke up that morning, the message written in the sharp letters of Right's penmanship.

Reg's taking a day off, he's your responsibility.
-RHM

Mist pulled the note off her hat and placed it on the shelf on top of the pile of post-it notes from her hazing and began her morning routine. With her fur brushed, mane tied up, and glasses perched on her muzzle, the mare gave her wings a quick look. Seeing, and feeling a few feathers out of place, Mist sat down on her bed, looking over her glasses to better see the telltale signs of loose and crooked plumage. What she couldn't see, she felt with the tip of her nose, the sensitive cartilage able to detect the differences between each individual feather. She pried loose ones out, and corrected others with the feathered fingers of her other wing.

It was a slow, yet calming task, and the mare didn't notice Right entering her room until she heard footsteps approach the bed. She looked up, trailing behind the second-in-command was Reginald, but the Toppat Chief was without his necklace or signature hats and looking like he didn't quite know what to do with himself.

"You're in charge of 'im for the day. Do what you like, jus' keep 'im out of trouble." Right instructed and left the room.

Mist looked at her temporarily dethroned boss and scooted over to one side of the bed. "Take a seat, I'll be done in a bit."

She resumed preening and felt the matress dip as Reginald sat down.

"I apologize if I'm interrupting something," Reginald said. "I can wait out in the hall if you like."

"I'm just preening, no different than brushing my mane or tail," she replied absentmindedly as she switched wings. "I'm nearly done."

"What's on the agenda for today?" Reginald asked.

Mist nosed over her wing, pulling out a loose feather and letting it fall to the floor as she answered. "Was gonna do a bit of flying, stop by the ice skating rink in Manehatten, hobbies where I could use my talent discretely."

"Ice skating?"

Mist paused and nodded, fond memories rising to the forefront. "I used to train by subtly sensing wind, and carefully nudging it to act as an invisible stabilizer while I skate. Helped me overcome my terrible balance too," she resumed preening. "It was fun, freeing like flying was, and I didn't get in trouble for it."

She glanced over at Reginald to see his brow furrow in confusion. "You weren't allowed to fly?"

"Nope, grandparents were unicorns and made me walk everywhere," she replied casually. "So skating was the next best thing."

A lull in the conversation allowed the pegasus to focus entirely on preening, in a few minutes she folded her wings closed, got off her bed, and walked around to rumage through the drawers at the foot of the bed. She retrieved an old, yet well cared for faux leather jacket and put it on, slipping her wings through almost invisible gaps in the back.

"Now, I know I've got it here somewhere..." she thought aloud, digging through the contents of the jacket's pockets and dumping a plethora of items onto the end of the bed.

She didn't pay it any mind until Reginald spoke up.

"Is that a solid gold screwdriver?" he asked, grabbing the item in question.

"Gold is a magic conductor," she explained, walking over, grabbing the screwdriver in a wing and channeling her magic through it. It hummed and gave off a gray, mist-like magical aura that faded as she handed it back to him to inspect. "Never know when you need to put up a cabinet, or resonate concrete."

She grinned as she found what she was looking for, a small gold badge with a strange rune on it. She tossed it to Reginald. "Here, that's a Change Form Badge, wear it, want it to work, and poof, you're a whole nother species. That one's keyed to turn the wearer into a Grimalkin, a cat person from the kingdom of Ding Dong Dell," she explained. "I use it whenever I need to do business in areas that aren't welcoming to ponies."

"I see, can you get more of these?" Reginald asked.

"They're illegal goods since they're made by faeries, but yeah. I can get more," Mist said casually. "Put it on when we leave the ship, you'll be able to walk around without issue once you activate it."

Her temporarily-not-her-boss pinned the badge to his vest, awed by the trinket. "Fascinating..."

Mist rolled her wings, various aches and pains making themselves known in her neck, shoulder, and wings as she moved about. "I'm gonna go have breakfast." she announced and Reginald followed her to the ship cafeteria.

As she got her medication out from a cabinet in the kitchen, she heard Reginald walk up beside her.

"What is all this exactly?" he asked and she looked over him. He appeared to be genuinely curious.

As she explained, she pointeted to each box. "Painkillers, something to lower stomach acid, something to help with bowel movement, and a couple of things to manage sinus headaches," she set the boxes on a counter, walked over to the fridge and pulled out a water bottle with her name on it. "Headaches aren't much of a problem, it's mostly the wing and back pain I have to deal with, and the reflux medication is mostly precautionary at this point but minor bouts do happen."

"Has your chest pain improved?" Reginald asked. "I've noticed you have more energy these days."

"Yeah, turns out my old painkillers had a side effect of chest pain, these ones are better for me." Mist said.

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as Mist took her morning medication and wrote down the time in a small notebook she kept in her jacket pocket. With a plate of carrot cake held in her wings, she joined Reginald at a table.

"Anything you wanna do today?" she asked as they ate.

Her fellow Toppat hummed in thought, putting down a piece of toast. "...I don't know, I haven't had a day off in quite some time..."

"You got any hobbies?" she asked, her fork sticking out of her slice of cake.

"A few, nothing out of the ordinary," Reginald admitted. "I'd draw, play piano or violin, do a bit of tinkering..."

"That's impressive!" Mist replied earnestly.

He looked surprised. "You really think so?"

"Are you kidding? That's really neat, I can't do any of that, so it's amazing seeing what other people can do," she said. "If I'm not flying or skating, I'm usually listening to the radio, or doing little tricks and stuff with my magic. Used to sneak into places for fun too."

"Well there's an idea, why don't we go on a heist? Just the two of us?" Reginald suggested. "I haven't done anything out in the field in months."

"...Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked after a moment.

"It won't be anything major, we pick a target somewhere in the city, scope it out and take whatever we want from it back to the ship, should be a fine way to pass the time." Reginald reasoned.

Mist took a second to think about it.

"No."

"But-"

"No, I wanna spend the next seven days trying to relax, I've got the ball coming up and I'm trying not to worry about it." she stated and Reginald looked at her sympathetically.

"High society events are certainly stressful, I remember the dinners my parents forced me to attend as a child, the empty platitudes and brownnosing can get to you after a while," Reginald said. "It's why I don't host such functions myself, a room of rich, lying narcissists are not people I like to associate with."

Mist mad a noise in agreement. "I'd be dragged to parties and dinners all the time by my grandmother, the mare was a social butterfly, and I'd be bored out of my mind if there wasn't an orchestra I could listen to," she smirked. "Course, Lord Sombra seems to be under the impression that there's a difference between Mist Veil and Lillian Meadows, there's not. I plan on rocking up in a set of gold horseshoes, wing bracelets and this jacket, Lillian doesn't do dresses."

Reginald snickered. "I'm not sure that's a wise idea."

"Well if I can't be myself, then what's the point of it all? I told him all I wanted to do was live my life free of my condition!" she argued.

"You know..." Reginald began with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "If you really want to make a statement, why don't we surpass their expectations?"

She blinked, metaphorical gears turning. "...I know proper etiquette for the various royals and nobles that will be there, the issue would be attire and presentation as both take after international customs, ugh, I'd need a "date" for the damn thing too..." she sighed. "Breakfast first, noblemare nonsense after."

Sometime later they finished eating, Mist downing a glass of apple juice and chewing on a tablet after demolishing her cake. Their plates were pushed off to the side as Reginald withdrew a notebook and pen from the inside of his vest.

"You mentioned needing a date?" he asked and Mist nodded.

"Bit of a global custom, public or highly anticipated gatherings are often used by guests to scope out potential partners or flings, a female attending alone is fair game," she explained. "I can't really recognize flirting and that sort of interest for what it is, it goes over my head. So, I'd prefer to avoid those sorts of situations and have someone be there to act as a deterrent."

"Is it really that much of an issue?" Reginald asked curiously.

She shrugged. "For all I know, I could just be paranoid, I really don't want to screw this up."

"A fair point," he conceded. "What about attire?"

"I don't feel comfortable with more feminine clothing, it's basically an admission of weakness from a certain standpoint..." Mist admitted and gestured to her jacket. "Wearing this is the only time I feel confident in my appearance, the only time I can rightfully say I feel pretty."

She could practically see the gears turning in his head after the revelation. "Not to worry, we can work with that..." Reginald paused. "What about your intolerance? Will you be alright?"

"Ponyfeathers, I completely forgot about that..." Mist groaned. "Bringing my own food would be a social death sentence..."

The duo were kicked out of the airship by am exasperated Right Hand Man not half an hour later, with strict orders to avoid work for the rest of the day.

Thus, Reginald was wandering around the streets of Manehatten as a cat person, following Mist as she walked with a level of self-assurance he'd never seen from her before. The heightened senses and differences in body language, as natural as breathing, was a novel experience. Though it paled in comparison to his ever fascinating observations about the pegasus before him. Reginald was a people person, he knew every member of the Toppat Clan by name, knew where they worked best, who they got along with, and it was that careful balance of authority and approachability that he took pride in as leader.

With said balance thrown out the window, he was just another clan member, and Mist, technically, was his superior. There was a calm air about her as she walked, mindful of his own longer stride. He realized bitterly that this would only last until tomorrow. He wondered if she was like this around Right or the crew? So full of quiet appreciation for something as simple as a day out that it was as if the rundown, doll-like mare he'd first seen her as was another person entirely.

Mist had apparently decided against her plans for the day and instead was content simply showing him around the city. It was at a slow, meandering pace as one thing or another caught their attention, or they had to find a bench because both of them really were out of shape and definitely not used to this level of physical activity. It was during one of their breaks that the conversation turned to the differences between ponies and humans.

It devolved into Mist ranting and Reginald was highly amused by it. Mist was adorable when fired up.

"All I'm saying is, I suck arse at being a normal pony," Mist said animatedly, gesturing at passersby. "You grow up having it beaten into your head that you should be expressive, emotive! My normal tone of voice has been called rude!"

She sighed, leaning against the back of the bench. "All because most of the time, I don't put much emotion into my words, and I'm worried that is what's going to screw me over at the ball, that people will take offense and then I'll be up shit creek without a paddle."

Reginald made a noise in sympathy, he could see the way talking both caused her stressed and lifted a weight off her shoulders. It was insightful for him, he could extrapolate how pony society worked based off of how Mist didn't fit into it. Even if the information was heavily biased, it was... Nice, touching even, to know she trusted him enough to share even these grievances with him.

"It's why I like being in the clan," Mist said, looking over at him. "Aside from the obvious stuff like don't treat me like an animal or pet, I can get away with not expressing myself the way pony society demands me to, I can have my bad days in peace and quiet, everyone knows I'd never be intentionally rude. I can swear and the crew pick up on why I do and how I go about it. No one expects me to be social... It's nice that I can live on my own terms."

"Humans are social creatures," Reginald commented. "Not quite to the extent ponies are, but everyone in the clan has at least one person they get along with... I'm grateful you've been able to form such a strong friendship with my Right Hand Man, it's just been the two of us for as long as I can remember..."

Mist shrugged. "We talk if we feel like it, stay quiet if we don't. There's no need to fill the silence when hanging out and we have a few things in common that talking is just easy. Doesn't matter if I'm a complete dumbarse making mountains out of molehills or if he's worried you'll work yourself to death, we support each other."

Reginald blinked in surprise, sitting a bit straighter. "He's that concerned about me?"

Mist looked sheepish. "...You kinda scared both of us a few days ago, constantly nodding off in the middle of doing paperwork..."

Goodness, they were that concerned? Reginald thought. It wasn't the first time he'd worked throughout the night. "A lack of sleep is something I'm more than used to."

Mist appeared to be frustrated, and more than a fair bit worried as she sighed. "I'm worried you'll fall over or something one day and hurt yourself... I can't help but worry when you get that tired!"

Well, at least he knew why Right had put Mist in charge of him for the day, she wouldn't have voiced her opinion otherwise. He briefly wondered if his second-in-command had coaxed her to be this open with him. Given how Right could get when it came to Reginald's well-being, he wouldn't put it past Right to have this whole day set up to get him to actually look after himself.

It pained him to learm he was making his best friend and his newest friend worry about him so much. "I had no idea! Why didn't either of you tell me?"

Mist looked at him like the answer was obvious. "Right's been telling you. You just brush him off! And I'm a rutting coward with a less than healthy fear of disappointing authority figures! Of course I'd keep my mouth shut."

Reginald was stunned. "You're afraid of disappointing me?" he asked incredulously. "After everything you've done for the clan?"

"It's just how I am, I can't help it," Mist tried to explain. "I just... don't want to be a bother, don't want to get in trouble," she ran a wing through her mane, irritated with herself. "I'm a grown arse mare and I sound like a filly, Stars I suck..."

He was at a loss for what to say, she sounded so absolutely done, her explanation more a tired reminder as opposed to an attempt to communicate. And yet, he was restless, the need to say something was driving him mad. He fidgeted with his gloves, already missing the weight of his necklace, the feel of the gold chain in his hands. Instead, he picked at and adjusted his gloves. "I-It's alright, I don't mind at all. Everyone is different."

"I know..." she grumbled. "Still don't like it..."

"Anything I can do to help?" Reginald asked. "I thought you wanted to relax?"

Mist huffed. "I'm no better at this than you Sir, I can't stop worrying without something else to focus on, something to do."

Reginald thought for a moment, an idea popped into his head, and he sprung up from his seat. "Well, if you want something to do, I have an idea!"

Right had been informed that Reginald was up to something in the cargo bay, and the man had dragged a few of the clan into his scheme. He walked into the bay, intent on scolding his friend. He paused as he took in the sight before him.

From his elevated position by the door, Right could see over two dozen Toppats had formed a ring around Reginald and Mist Veil. The mare sported a leather jacket and both of them wielded weapons. Reginald used his sword with the elegance of a king as Mist stepped around his swing as light as feather, parrying the blow with the polearm held in her wings.

Right watched the sparring match with a critical eye, it had a long time since he'd seen Reginald use a weapon other than a firearm, the two of were a bit rusty, their movements a bit stilted, but their skill was on full display as they grew more confident, more at ease with the low stakes match. The gathered crowd was watching silently, just as captivated by it as he was as the awkward exchange of blows evolved into a dance of precision strikes, blocks, and near misses.

The duel ended suddenly, weapons clashing a final time as both participants stepped back, breathing heavily from exertion. They handed their weapons off to the crew and lazily strolled off.

Right followed them. "You two done messin' 'bout?" he drawled as he met them in a hallway.

Reginald rolled his eyes. "Yes, we're going to have lunch and spend the afternoon in the archives."

"No workin', either of you." Right stressed.

"It's not work if we enjoy it, right Mist?" Reginald replied and the mare nodded.

Right sighed.

Chapter 12: The Blue Moon Ball Part 1

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Today was one of Mist's Bad Days. A headache pounded away in her skull, her chest was sore, and her intestines ached on-and-off from a tortuous amount of gas she'd suffered through the night before. With none of the chairs on the ship able to give her the support she needed, Mist was forced to lay on her back in bed, wings open limply, and with only the music from her radio to keep her company.

She heard her bedroom door mechanically hiss open and she sat up, her mane draping itself around her face, and watched as Right lugged an armchair into her room.

"Don' mind me, a few well meaning idiots nabbed this for you on the last mission," he said, moving the pony sized chair next to the bookshelf. He glanced back at her. "So, 'ow many pillows do you need?"

It took her a moment to answer. "A pillow for back support, one for my bony as hay butt, and a triangle pillow to keep me from hunching over..." she wracked her brain, trying to remember the details for the most recent mission. "Didn't Dave volunteer as lookout for last night's robbery?"

"Yeah, did a decent 'nough job. Better off with a desk job though," Right commented. "Can't fault 'im for wantin' to give fieldwork a go, most of the crew 'ave a crack at it sooner or later."

Mist moved her long mane to splay out above her on the pillow as she flopped back onto the bed. "Tell the group I said Thanks, I'll worry about pillows later..."

"You doin' alright?" Right asked as he crossed the small room to look down at her.

"My intestines are pitching a fit, I have a headache, and it sucks." she deadpanned. "It'll take me another couple of days to recover, so I won't be moving around much."

"Want some company?" Right asked.

"Anything is preferable to this right now." Mist replied and scooted over as Right kicked off his boots and sat cross-legged on the bed, his back against the wall.

"Reginald still running around like a headless chicken?" she asked.

"Still tearin' through my wardrobe," Right said with a nod. "Best to jus' leave 'im to it and check up on 'im later."

Mist hummed in agreement. "So, what have you been up to?"

Right sighed, removing his hat, and looking fed up. "... Been tryin' to stop the crew from gossipin', it's interfering with work..."

Mist was sympathetic, as much as she ignored them, things still reached her thanks to a few Toppats that were just as sick of the rumours as she was. She could tell from the slight frown and furrow of his brow that Right was uncomfortable.

"Hey, it's okay," she reassured him, ignoring her body's protests as she sat up, and flicked her mane out of her face. "I know it's weird but I'm sure they don't mean anything by it."

"Reg's like a brother to me. An' hearin' that sorta bullshit from the younger Toppats doesn't sit well with me," Right stated, staring down at the blanket they sat on. "I dunno 'ow Reg can jus' laugh it off like it's nothin'."

"I know, you heard the stuff going around about me?" Mist asked and Right nodded.

"S'not fair to you, or Reg. I dunno what's up with them but, it's like they're ignoring who you are an' how you think... You're not interested an' they don't get it," Right stated. "An' now the Chief is bein' a bloody idiot takin' the ball seriously..."

"Don't remind me..." Mist groaned with an eye roll. "I literally just need him to hang around me and look imposing, I lost count how many times I've told him he doesn't need to go through all this trouble! And the crew are no help whatsoever!"

Mist sighed. "...Do you think we could get away with an announcement?"

Right blinked, smirked and handed her his hat. "Knock yourself out."

The two of them smirked as Mist put on Right's hat, a little bit big for her, and held the attached microphone in a wing.

"Attention all crew members! There have been rumours floating around about myself, Right Hand Man, and The Chief. Stop. If you don't know what demisexual means, look it up!" Mist stated.

She continued. "Please just stop assuming I'm romantically involved with either of my superiors, failure to comply will be met with an overnight stay in the brig. This is your only warning."

She ended the announcement and gave Right his hat back just as Reginald walked into her room.

"What was that all about?" the Toppat Leader asked and both Right and Mist looked at him expectantly. "...What? What's wrong?"

"The crew're bein' morons." Right huffed.

"We got sick of it." Mist added.

"I... I didn't think it was that bad..." Reginald said, taking a seat in the armchair.

"It's embarrassing is what it is!" Mist said. "For goodness sake, the crew has a betting pool about who I'm dating! And that's putting it mildly!"

Reginald looked over at Right. "You've never worried about this sort of thing before..."

"Bit of a different story when it's rumours about your best mate sleepin' with your brother." Right deadpanned. "The rumours 'bout me an' her are bad 'nough..."

Reginald looked uncomfortable, face red as he cleared his throat. "W-well, hopefully that sets everyone straight. I apologize, I wasn't aware you two were so bothered by it. You have my permission to uphold the punishment if anyone tries to get away with it in the future."

"So... You gonna chill with going with me to the ball?" Mist asked flatly and her boss flinched.

"I only want to help..."

"I don't need a date Sir, I need a guy who will follow me around and keep any suitors off my tail," Mist explained. "I could always have Right go with me if it makes things easier for you."

Reginald waved her off. "No, I should go with you, someone needs to represent the clan and I'm more than used to navigating these sorts of events. Right will be with us as our bodyguard for the evening."

Right nodded. "I'll keep an eye out for trouble, that'll leave you two free to make a good impression."

"Cool," Mist agreed. "At least now I can focus on resting up for the ball."

Right sat next to Reginald as the pony-drawn carriage took the trio to their destination. The Chief was dressed in a pair of jeans, a white shirt, his signature necklace, and one of Right's old leather jackets. With his brown hair slicked back with gel, Reginald matched Mist's own bold appearance perfectly, the mare sitting in the seat across from them in her own jacket with gold bands around her ankles and clasped around the base of her wings.

"Everyone know what their doing?" Mist asked and Right nodded as Reginald replied.

"Our goal is to impress Lord Sombra and this Moon Witch. Who exactly is she?"

Mist was pensive, about to lean forward when she caught herself, forcefully correcting her posture. "The Moon Witch is old, older than recorded history. It's said that while the Sun Queen became the guiding mother of mortals, The Moon Witch turned her gaze to the eternal races. She created Penumbra, taught the descendants of Lycaon to embrace their cursed bloodline, and advocated safe useage of necromancy... She's the goddess of the Hidden Kingdoms," Mist said. "She's the one who has the final say in whether I'm accepted or not."

"So, you gotta impress her?" Right asked.

"I still need to not make a foo of myself in front of Lord Sombra, if I fail, he has every right to deny me access to the institutions he's set up to help vampires. Too many use vampirism as an excuse to be the monsters they've been portrayed as, so I understand why Sombra is so strict," the mare stated. "I need to prove I'm not going to abuse what I'll be given."

"And I presume I simply... Follow you around?" Reginald asked and Right smirked as the pegasus sighed.

"If you wanna drum up business for the clan, go for it, I just need you to be there you know?" she said. "I'm the one who has to pull this off..."

"Nervous?" Reginald asked.

"I've never met The Moon Witch, she's only recently returned to her duties after a thousand year absence," she said. "I'm more worried her Enforcer will be there..."

"I've met him, The Dark Djinn, The Enforcer. He's the one that The Moon Witch sends to handle more destructive magics, keeps things in balance." Mist said and Right could feel the weight of her words, how the mare both feared and respected this Enforcer.

The atmosphere felt heavy as Mist recounted a childhood memory.

Ponies aren't built to handle stress, we lose control of our magic... That's the sort of a big deal when you're essentially a hornless unicorn with a talent in weather magic, that's what a Sky Caster is when you get down to it.

I was a young teen, halfway through my first year living with my grandparents, going to a new school... Six months after losing my Mum. I wasn't raised as a noblemare, but I was expected to fall into line like a good pony. Add the bullying from other students at school, the emotionally manipulative pony I called my best friend and I...I broke. I hated myself, a seemingly never-ending spiral of hopelessness and self loathing that led to me crying into my pillow late at night where I wouldn't be scolded for it.

To lose control of my magic in that moment felt like my power, my talent, had gained a life of it's own. I created the worst storm in Canterlot's history and I couldn't understand why. I was upset, terrified, and when I got out of bed to go get help, there he was.

An alicorn as tall as Princess Celestia in a black robe with teal markings and hooded black cape, his face shrouded in darkness with only the tip of his horn and long orange-red mane visible under the hood. You could feel how powerful he was, his presence demanded attention like a force of nature as he stood silently.

I don't remember what was said, I was terrified I'd be taken away, but he cast some sort of spell, drew a rune in the air with his horn. Something flew out of his robes and when it hit me, it felt like something clicked into place.

I still hated myself, I was still upset, but I had hope that the next day would be better, that I'd be better.

And when I had calmed down, he left me with a warning that my heart was tied to my magic... And it that was fragile.

"After that I dug through old tomes and pieced together what I was capable of from fairy-tales, myths, and legends about pegasus that could do what I did with that storm. I didn't want to risk hurting anyone accidentally," Mist concluded. "I met The Dark Djinn again around this time last year, when I first got sick..."

Mist was mentally kicking herself. "He offered to help me with his magic... I declined because I didn't know what the problem was at the time, I thought there might be a cure or something..." she looked at her friends, her tone serious. "The Dark Djinn isn't someone you should mess with, I've done my damndest to keep myself out of the public eye as a Sky Caster because of the way modern society treats my talent, but I'd be stupid not to realize the damage I could do. Unintentionally or not, I've caught the attention of one of the most powerful mages to walk the world, The Enforcer has destroyed kingdoms, corrupted countless hearts and has irreversibly impacted how magic has been taught and used long before the kingdoms that founded Equestria even existed."

"I have no doubt he'll be a part of my trials somehow, we just need to make sure The Moon Witch sees reason tonight, and hopefully The Dark Djinn won't be involved just yet." Mist said.

Sapphire City was built on a lake of glittering stardust, tall white buildings, towers, and spires with dark blue roofs cut through the darkness of the perpetual night sky. Dream catchers hung above the entryways of buildings and shades of blue in everything from curtains to shop signs added to the dream-like atmosphere. The citizens, bat ponies of various dark colours, gave the trio a wide berth as they walked towards an awe-inspiring silver palace adorned with sapphires.

"The City of Dreams," Mist explained as the palace guards, ponies in shiny steel armor, led them through the doors and into the halls of the palace. The blue carpet and moonlight streaming in through large windows settled her nerves. A small rush of glee putting a spring in her step as she saw Reginald looking around in wonder and Right calmly observing, already on guard. "The vampires here practice dream walking and astral projection, the city itself has a reputation as one of the most relaxing places in all of the hidden realms."

Mist led the way into the lavish ballroom, tables laden with plates of food were up near the edges of the room. Ponies in extravagant suits and gowns danced in pairs near the middle of the room while a small orchestra played a classical waltz. Several different races stood in groups at the buffet tables or sat at tables set up outside in the open balcony at the back.

Mist discretly pointed out several horned and antlered canine-like creatures in fancy suits and flowing robes. "Don't give your real names to them, they're Woodsmane Fairies from the southern forests. It's more respectful to use aliases when talking with them as names have power in their culture," As the two men nodded, she brought their attention to the finely dressed changelings and the Changeling Queen in the green gown that towered over them. "That's Queen Chrysalis, ruler of the Equestrian Changelings, they eat love and lust so stay with me. She won't want to be anywhere near me because to her, I'm practically useless."

Lord Sombra spotted them, the stallion broke away from the group of wolf-like bat ponies he was conversing with, and walked over to them.

He inspected Mist's outfit with a critical eye. "So, the tales of your rebellious nature have some truth to them after all..."

"Your Lordship, I was not born into nobility, I was dragged into it against my will," Mist respectfully stated. "I doubt the petty lies spun by heartless fools are a reflection of my character."

Sombra nodded, amused. "Indeed, I have preferred to have a person's actions speak for them and your reputation as Bluebird is impressive. However, we shall see what Her Radiance makes of you."

"Of course Lord Sombra, I hope you pleasant evening." Mist said with a bow.

"It will be an interesting evening at any rate." Sombra said as he left.

The trio kept to the edges of the room, people watching. Guests were more interested in striking up conversations with Reginald, and Mist smiled as her boss spun daring tales of the clan's success, listened to the latest gossip, and endeared himself to his audience.

"Bluebird, a pleasure to see you again." Mist looked over at the brown furred wolf with deer antlers, gold eyes and in a simple yet tasteful black suit.

Mist accepted the offered handshake with a hoof. "Sir Wolfe, how's the Family?"

Wolfe chuckled. "Busy, Her Radiance is working hard to bring the different Fae Families out of disarray, The Velvet Court in Neighpon is still in quite the pickle," he smiled ruefully. "My kin can only do so much, but that is a matter for another day. I've heard rumours of your plight, such a shame you are yet again let down by your kingdom."

"Equestria is no more my kingdom than it is yours," Mist said plainly. "I'm a Terralian first and foremost."

The fae barked out a laugh. "Good, good! We see too many newcomers from Equestria at these functions, their blind faith in The Solar Queen has soured many a otherwise perfect ball..."

Mist looked around and could see several mortal ponies mingling with othe guests. She looked at Wolfe, very much confused. "Are they potential citizens?"

"Nothing of the sort, Representatives for The Solar Queen, apparently she wishes to foster relations with the hidden realms..." he explained, expression shifting into a look of disappointment. "As well-meaning as her intentions are, she is a fool if she thinks this will work... There will always be darkness, be it in nature or in the hearts of the living."

"To smother it is to empower it, to ignore it is to invite disaster, to incite it is to court chaos, and to quell the light that stands against it is to bring despair," Mist quoted. "If Celestia thinks she can undo thousands of years of history, she's delusional."

"Well said, but let us talk business, would you and your friends there require any of my Family's services?" the wolf fairy asked kindly.

Mist welcomed the opportunity, nodding. "I have a large order for you, we need two hundred of each type of change form badge you produce."

"T-Two hundred? Of each?" it took a second for Wolfe to compose himself. He cleared his throat. "Goodness... That will cost small fortune, if you have the coin I can put the order through..."

Mist signalled Reginald, who excused himself and joined her.

"Sir Wolfe, this is the Leader of the Toppat Clan, he'll be more than happy to discuss payment for the badges."

Reginald looked intriguinged. "Those nifty little things?" at Mist's nod he beamed. "Perfect! John Smith of the Toppat Clan, a pleasure to meet you Sir..."

Mist tuned out the following business talk and scanned the room. She spotted a familiar Saddle-Arabian pegasus as part of the wait staff and signalled Right to keep an eye out as she wandered over.

"Guard duty?" she asked as Gabriel politely dipped his head in greeting.

"Naturally," her mentor replied, straightenning and handed her a glass of water, talking discretely. "Stay vigilant, Tempest is here."

"Any idea who her target is?"

"It could be anyone," Gabriel mused. "Do be careful."

Mist walked back to Reginald, passing Queen Chrysalis on the way. The changeling queen scoffed. "I have no idea why Sombra's interested in a mare like you."

"Her skills speak for themselves Chrysalis, a Sky Caster is a valuable ally," Sombra spoke up, having heard the changeling. "Unlike you, I do not accept citizens based purely on their use as broodmares."

"Spare me your preaching..." Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

Sombra ignored her, the Vampire Lord turning to Mist. "Her Radiance wishes to talk to you privately in the throne room."

Mist thanked him, left her drink at a table, and was escorted by one of the guards. Uncertainty coiled in her gut, senses on high alert at this unexpected change. She firmly focused on the here and now, a mask of neutrality slipping into place.

Right watched Mist leave the ballroom. He glanced over a Reginald, standing not too far away and engrossed in what was quickly turning into a long-term business deal between the Toppat Clan and the fairy Mist had spoken with prior.

The Right Hand Man remained vigilant, on the lookout for potential threats, and shared respectful looks with the myriad of bodyguards, hidden or otherwise, he noticed around the room. Something flashed in the corner of his eye, he turned around and immediately took note of the mare in the black bodysuit with a broken horn. She was looking around the room for someone, her broken horn sparking dangerously. She caught sight of him looking at her and the cold glare he received was met with a blank stare of his own.

Right casually moved to stand a bit closer to Reginald and supressed a smirk as he noticed the other bodyguards in the room saw his actions and subtly shifted their stances. He kept a close eye on the mare with the broken horn as she made another pass around the room.

She was waiting.

Moonlight streamed into the white throne room through floor to ceiling windows. Torches lit with blue fire hung on the white walls, their flickering light reflected on the polished black marble floor. Ahead of Mist, seated on a silver throne, was The Moon Witch.

An alicorn mare garbed in an airy white dress, with fur as black as coal, an ever moving mane and tail of shimmering starlight, and green eyes that peered into the pegasus' very soul. The Witch lacked the elegant regalia of royalty, and instead wore a set of silver slippers and a simple circlet with a circular diamond in the center.

Mist bowed.

The Witch's voice rang clear and sharp. "Rise Lillian Meadows, I wish to speak with you."

Mist stood up as the alicorn conjured a chair for the pegasus and motioned with a wing for her to use it.

"Your reputation precedes you Lady Meadows, theft, blackmail, breaking and entering. You wear your crimes as a badge of honor and yet you seek the help of my subjects," The Witch said. "Furthermore, your allegiance to the Toppat Clan has many of my subjects worried, I may turn a blind eye to your acts in my sister's domain, but the hidden realms and their inhabitants are more than just a hideaway for criminals and thieves..."

"The Toppat Clan is interested in forming positive relations with the hidden realms and nothing more, if you wish to negotiate, talk to the Clan Chief, not me," Mist countered. "Your Radiance, I am here for my own reasons, to prove I am worthy of vampirism to cure me of a food intolerance and other conditions that has ruined my career, sent my physical and mental health into a nosedive, and ruins my quality of life despite my attempts to manage it."

"I am aware, yet I seem to recall my Enforcer offered you his aid a year ago," The Witch mused. "You would reject his assistance yet now seek aid?"

"I thought this could be fixed without his help, I know I would have to pay a price regardless, and it is only after exhausting all other options that I stand here before you. It's either this, or living with it and being a burden on others."

The Moon Witch was silent as she gazed down at Mist, her eyes cold and calculating. Seconds seemed to drag and a glimmer of compassion and understanding appeared on the alicorns face.

"... You have the potential, indeed you would do well as any race of my domain, but," The Witch raised a hoof. "A mare of your talents must not be taken lightly, further trials await you after this night, so I shall withhold judgement until they are completed."

"I understand, Your Radiance." Mist replied respectfully.

The Moon Witch rose from her throne and gestured for Mist to follow her. "I have heard you are a Sky Caster yes? Come, I would like to see a demonstration of your craft."

The comment caught Mist off guard and she blurted out a bewildered "Uh, okay sure" as she followed the intimating mare back to the ballroom.

Author's Notes:

I wrote this much, realized there was still stuff I wanted to showcase, and decided to make this a two-parter. The first person segment was a bit on the experimental side, so I hope it wasn't too janky or jarring.

Clarifications & Trivia

Yes that is Princess Luna as The Moon Witch, inspired by The White Witch from the video game Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.
The Dark Djinn is a character from the same game that I've ponified and put my own spin on. Shadar is my favorite character from that game.
Celestia is known as The Solar Queen or Sun Queen by the denizens of the Hidden Realms.
Chrysalis was going to have a bigger role in the chapter, ignoring Mist and Right in order to flirt with Reginald. I however, had no idea how to go about writing that so it was scrapped.
Mist is Terralian? Terralia is this AU's version of Australia, yes Mist is an Aussie. I don't write her accent because then her dialogue would too similar to Right's (Mist's isn't as strong as Right's) and I wanted to make it clear who's talking based on how they talk.

Chapter 13: The Blue Moon Ball Part 2

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Mist surveyed the room as she walked in beside The Moon Witch. Several guests watched her like a hawk and, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Tempest lurking in the shadows. The way the unicorn watched her, studied her, it set her on edge, and Mist ignored her growing stress, hiding it behind a blank stare.

Mist knew she couldn't count on the guards or hired muscle if Tempest attacked, their priority was escorting guests to safety. She found Right in the crowd, standing next to Reginald as The Toppat Chief spoke with a young changeling in a cyan dress.

The Moon Witch addressed her. "I will give you a few minutes to prepare, I want to see what you're capable of. Do not hold back."

Mist took a second to process the command. She nodded. "Of course Your Radiance."

The alicorn departed with a nod and Mist walked over to Right.

"Looks like we got trouble." he mused and the two of them caught sight of Tempest watching them from the corner of the room.

"Might be able to deter her," Mist commented. "Tempest Shadow relies on intimidation, the arcane energy from her broken horn is far more dangerous and potent because it's in an unfocused, unrefined state. I just have to make myself out as a bigger threat."

Concern flickered over her friend's face. "You sure you can pull that off? Don' want you hurtin' yourself..."

"The gold I'm wearing will lessen the strain of casting, I'm just more worried about the reception," she admitted. "... I'm not a fan of having to show the more dangerous aspects of my talent. Still, I was ordered to not hold back so..."

"Show 'em you mean business." Right said.

"Yeah..." she sighed and Right followed her out onto the balcony. It overlooked the lake, the dazzling, glittering surface adding to the breathtaking view. The cool night breeze lazily drifted over them. As Right turned around to keep an eye on Reginald, Mist took the time to let her mind wander, to let the breeze dance over her closed wings.

All too soon, The Moon Witch made the announcement, the guests gathered curiously around the balcony entrance, and Mist spotted Reginald striding over to stand near his Right Hand Man, a mischievous glint in his eyes as Right faced the crowd, ever vigilant.

Mist took to the air, flying over the lake, the wind heeding her call. It was child's play for her, the calm night offered no resistance as she circled around to hover above the balcony, the wind whipped into a blustery frenzy, black storm clouds swirling into existence around the palace, and the magical static of the storm rolling across her fur. The crowd were confused and quickly became alarmed as the rapidly rising levels of weather magic in the air caused interference. Plates and drinks were dropped as their owners magic fizzled out, and a tense silence fell over the room.

Mist landed on the balcony, her wings snapping out in all their glory as a single bolt of lighting split the sky behind her, several guests taking a step back in shock. The pegasus stood quietly, gauging reactions as the storm rumbled ominously overhead, the wind died, the air warm and dry from the sheer density of magic her creation was generating. Her audience was awed and afraid, with a few exceptions. Sombra looked intrigued, impressed even, and Mist looked over at her boss to see he was looking at the storm in wonder.

Flying into the air once more, Mist dispelled the storm gradually, eyes skyward she let the clouds scatter slowly, shafts of moonlight pouring through the gaps as the night became calm once more. It wasn't the full extent of her abilities, she could conjure something far more unsettling, but Mist highly doubted The Moon Witch expected that level of power from her to begin with. The echoes of terror and hopelessness from all those years ago acted as a reminder to why she would never call upon her full power without a just cause.

She glided over to her fellow Toppats and landed in front of them. Weariness began to set in as her power receded.

She exhaled, adjusting her wings to rest more comfortably at her sides. "I need to sit down."

Reginald led her to an empty table on the balcony, taking the seat across from her as she sat down. As the other guests regained their wits, quiet murmuring and gossip spread like wildfire behind them. Mist was content to sit and quietly recover, nary a sign of the mild fatigue clinging to her present in her body language or expression. To the crowd, it was as if she was admiring the view.

Minutes ticked by, then an hour, a few had tried to approach but faltered at the calm, watchful gazes the Toppat Trio sent their way. Mist slowly felt rejuvenated, confident as she and Reginald people watched while Right stood guard.

Then, there was someone brave enough to approach. A pegasus stallion with a lean build, a messy orange mane and tail and fur as white as snow. Dressed head to toe in a brown military uniform he walked over to them with a friendly smile and eyes that gave the impression he was far more experienced than his youth led her to believe.

She knew him.

The cool night breeze carried with it a touch of foreign, yet familiar, magic as the stallion dipped his head in greeting.

"Greetings, Miss Meadows," he said. "Your performance out there was quite the show, I had expected something more...intense from one as skilled as yourself."

"Lucien," she greeted respectfully. "I didn't want to cause too much of a panic."

Lucien nodded in sympathy. "Power such as ours isn't one to be wielded without reason."

Reginald appeared to catch on. "You're a Sky Caster?"

"One of the last, alongside Lillian here," Lucien replied and sighed as he looked out at the lake. "Truth be told, I feel as if I should apologize... I am here to inform you of your next trial..."

"I figured as much, you don't usually go about official business in this form, Your Darkness." Mist said.

Lucien chuckled. "You are correct, I have not truly been Lucien in quite some time... I am playing a part, much the same as you, Fair Bluebird."

"Forgive my ignorance, but who are you exactly?" Reginald asked.

Lucien blinked. "My apologies, I presumed Miss Meadows warned you already, but I am in a different guise after all... I am Her Radiance's Enforcer, The Dark Djinn."

Lucien made a sweeping gesture with a wing. "I had no desire to unintentionally hinder your chances of success, so I took a far more unassuming form in order to observe tonight's festivities," he explained. "You certainly did not disappoint... As to your next trial, you and yours will face me and my domain. I trust you know what that means?"

The information was already at the forefront of her mind, resignation pooled in her gut, and her wings tightened at her sides. "The Forest of Hopelessness."

"Indeed, on the eve of The Summer Sun Celebration, I will summon you to the edge of my domain," Lucien stated. "Reach my citadel and prove your strength of heart to me before the sun sets the following day, and you will be one step closer to your desired freedom."

Right Hand Man watched the crowd warily, gaze darting over to Tempest as the mare spoke with a pink furred unicorn with a purple mane that had a teal stripe running through it.

They appeared to be arguing.

Good he thought, it looked like Mist's light show had them on edge, had them doubting if the job was worth it. He watched the unicorn walk away in a huff and Tempest roll her eyes.

He swept his gaze over the crowd as Lucien bid the trio farewell and slipped away into the sea of bodies. From the way Mist slightly sagged in her seat he could tell the worst was over.

There were more ponies heading their way, elegantly dressed mares and stallions that moved with purpose, studying them with calculating looks, and Right could practically feel the silent, vehement disgust rolling off Reginald in waves despite the pleasant facade the man had up. A blank stare rested on Mist's face and Right paid close attention to the exchange.

Or rather, he watched his friends reactions.

Introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, Reginald as polite as ever, Mist courteous at best. The ponies, Canterlot representatives, were nosy, pushy things. From asking why Mist was even present, to feigning sympathy for her condition. Reginald, a world-class actor in his own right, steered the conversation towards why Princess Celestia sent representatives in the first place.

To learn about the other races. Right saw Mist grin, emotion shining through as she offered to share what she knew.

From vampires being blood drinkers to eating certain colours, the history of a long-standing comradery between Lycans and Griffins, to how the Fae Court was further divided into different Families and their usage of word-based spells. It was both interesting and amusing, for as Mist explained, went on tangents, and was further encouraged by Reginald, the representatives slowly grew more disturbed. It was clear these representatives had no clue what they had signed up for as Mist cheerfully shared a story of her experience taking part in a joint hunt with a Lycan pack and a Griffin aerie.

"Hydras are nasty buggers, they eat anything that moves and their regenerative properties are insane, the only way to kill one is to cut off the heads and impale the skulls afterwards or else they'll just grow a new body," Mist said. "They can create new hydras whenever they want and are basically giant pests, their meat is really tasty though, good for omnivorous and carnivorous people too."

One mare looked a bit green as the group of ponies tactfully left.

"This is a ball with vampires in attendance, what on earth did they expect?" Reginald asked with an eye roll.

"Bragging rights or something? I dunno, I checked out of all that high society bullshit years ago," Mist said casually. "... I'm hungry..."

"Ah yes, that reminds me," Reginald reached into his jacket and tossed a packet of beast jerky onto the table. "I'm not risking you getting sick because you want something from the buffet."

"Sir! It's an offence to the host to bring your own food!" Mist exclaimed.

Right snorted as he kept watch. "You think we care 'bout that? Yer 'ealth's more important."

"Indeed, we don't want another sunflower oil incident," Reginald added. "A dietary condition is a perfectly valid reason. Especially tonight with this little test."

Right heard the pegasus sigh and grab the offered packet.

"Thanks..."

Reginald was thoroughly enjoying himself, he had people eating out of his hand, Mist's display was spectacular, and the his foresight was paying off. Here at his seat on the balcony, he could observe the gestures of heated business deals, the giggling of flustered females and the way males strut around like peacocks. Lingering gazes and quiet conversations were just as keenly spotted by The Chief, and the looks of curiosity sent his way was satisfying in its own right. He was in his element.

A glance over at his "date" saw Mist completely ignoring her environment to focus on her food, at first. The mare's ears were facing Right, and there was again that doll-like stillness in her body language. Reginald saw yet more looks sent their way and he exchanged respectful nods with the more agreeable people he'd met, gave a pleasant smile to those who turned their noses up at him, and cheekily saluted the still spiteful Queen Chrysalis.

His rather brief interaction with the changeling had happened after Mist had been summoned by The Moon Witch. The Queen had taken a good long look at him and appeared to instantly take a disliking to him. The young changeling girl was the complete opposite of the Queen, a curious girl and Reginald had admired her intelligence. A pity the changeling's mother was such a sourpuss, Chrysalis treated the poor thing like a servant as opposed to her own daughter.

"Mist, have you met Queen Chrysalis' daughter?" Reginald asked.

Mist pulled herself out of whatever state she was in to focus her full attention on him. "Ocellus? Yeah, a nice girl, bit of a fan of mine."

Mist was thoughtful as she explained. "She was pretty young, out on her first "hunt", my goggles picked up her magic, I intimated her enough to show her true form, and I taught her a more harmless way of getting love. Never caught on with her kind, Chrysalis doesn't see the value in less potent, but more stable forms of love, and I wasn't in a position at the time to do more to help, wish I could though, they're not getting enough food, you can tell by the holes in their legs."

"Well, what about now?" Reginald asked.

Mist scoffed, voice oozing dry amusement. "Ocellus is a Changeling Princess, Chrysalis keeps her daughters on a tight leash to stay in power, Ocellus won't leave unless we kidnap her."

"Have you asked her if she wants to leave?" Reginald smirked at the confusion on the pegasus' face.

"No..." Mist stared at him, then sighed in resignation as she set her packet of jerky down. "...Fine...But I'm blaming you if Chrysalis tries to kick my arse..."

Reginald saw Mist approach and begrudgingly strike up a conversation with the small changeling, the excitement that lit the girl's face was quickly squashed as Queen Chrysalis swiftly put herself between Mist and Ocellus.

"I'm just offering, all the unconditional familial love she could eat, a place to start a hive of her own once she's older, figured you'd want what was best for your youngest daughter." Mist drawled as Chrysalis loomed over her.

Mist met the Queen's sneer with a blank stare.

Chrysalis scoffed. "This again?" she looked at her daughter. "Ocellus, do you want to leave the hive?"

The younger 'ling shrunk back at the piercing gaze of her mother. "U-um... maybe? I-it would be nice to not be hungry all the time..." Ocellus glanced at Mist. "And Miss Bluebird is really nice. I... I think she's really cool!"

"You what?" The Queen whipped around to glare daggers at Mist. "What did you say to her?"

Mist was beyond caring at this point. "I said Hi, remember me? I'm Bluebird, wanna join the Toppat Clan?"

"And why did you even care to make the offer in the first place?" Chrysalis asked. "The last time we had this discussion, you turned her down when Ocellus asked to stay with you..."

"... Because my roommate was a volatile, emotionally unstable person that would make even you physically ill," Mist deadpanned. "I may not have realized it at the time, but I knew it wasn't a safe environment for a child regardless of species."

"And you want to take her in now."

"Yeah, I got approval from my boss."

Chrysalis was quiet for a moment, the rage melting away to a look of contemplation before stiffly asking. "You will, look after her? Provide food?"

"Yes, I know Equestrian Changelings can eat all forms of love, and there's no shortage of friendship and familial love within the clan." Mist explained.

The Queen cast her gaze over the two Toppats out on the balcony, searching for something. "I see... Very well, Ocellus is exiled, and I name you as her legal guardian," Chrysalis said bluntly. "I'll have the papers sent to the Mercenary Guild along with her belongings."

With the deal made, Chrysalis turned her attention back to the ball and left Mist with the excited Ocellus.

"I can't believe that worked!" Ocellus said, eyes bright as her small wings buzzed happily. "You're awesome Miss Bluebird!"

"You can drop the "Miss", I'm not a teacher." the pegasus said as the two of them headed back to the balcony. Reginald was smirking, pleased as punch, and Mist couldn't help but smile back as she neared the table.

Then, she was shoved aside as a deafening crack split the air and lit up the room behind her. The shock set her on edge as she looked back to see Right disappear over the balcony ledge, sparks dancing across his body.

She moved.

She grabbed him midair, the magic skirting across him jumped to her own far more conductive body. Her wings seized up as pain blossomed in her chest. The glittering lake drew closer, her wings wouldn't cooperate, and the wind rushed by her.

And oh by the stars, they were falling. She felt arms wrap around her, Right held her to his chest as he maneuvered her above him, and she could see from the grim determination on his face that he knew what was happening-

They hit the lake with a loud splash, it wasn't water Right felt soaking his clothes, clinging to his skin, and threatening to drag to the unseen depths. It was smoother, like liquid satin, cloying and making his stomach turn and mind buzz with the horrid combination of feeling horribly unwell and feeling far too alert all at once.

He still had a firm grip on Mist as he broke the surface, hoisting the mare's head above the lake.

A sharp bolt of panic stabbed through him at her unfocused stare.

He found his hat and frantically used his free hand to activate an inflatable dingy. He wasted no time hauling himself and Mist into it, he ignored the distant sounds from above and checked for a pulse.

Thank God.

She was alive, still breathing, but her glassy eyed stare still unnerved him. It was as if the lights were on but there was nobody home. And Right himself was feeling worse by the minute as he resisted the urge to vomit.

He barely noticed the armored guards flying down with stretchers until they tried to move Mist, and Right had to reel in the white-hot surge of aggression, that instinct to protect that had served him well as Reginald's Enforcer, just so Mist could get to safety.

He was coaxed onto a second stretcher and he fought whatever the hell the dunk in the lake was doing to him. He had to keep it together.

The slight jostling of the ponies flying him to safety churned his already upset stomach, he rolled to the side in time to expel his most recent meal over the side and into the lake, and afterwards he still felt as crook as a dog. He held his hat by the brim, letting it sit on his chest as he rolled onto his back and forced himself to lie down. Fury quietly simmered in his veins, directed at whoever dared to attack, and at himself.

He looked over at the ballroom as it came into view, heart skipping at the sight.

Reginald had Tempest pinned to the floor, face twisted into an utterly furious visage as guests fled the scene. Right could only muster a surprised blink, he hadn't seen The Chief fly into such a rage since the man had overthrown Terrence Suave in a fit of righteous fury. As he was carried past, more guards entered the room, and Reginald caught sight of the state Right and Mist were in. The Chief's anger melted away to be replaced with heartbreaking concern as he scrambled to follow the two.

Reginald was worryingly quiet as he walked beside Right's stretcher.

"Not dead yet..." Right said.

"No but-" Reginald gestured at the still unconscious Mist.

One of the guards spoke. "She has arcane oversaturation, exposure to such a large amount of magic all at once knocked her unconscious, and this is easily treated by the medical team. People fall in every year, so we're well equipped to treat any injures or ailments."

"And Right?"

"Magic Resistance Sickness, his body is rejecting the magic in his system, a common issue non-magical races face when exposed to more magic than their bodies' natural resistance can keep up with," the guard replied. "Again, something staff know how to treat."

"See?" Right added, slowly sitting up to properly look at Reginald. "Jus' feel a bit sick, an' Mist'll be fine soon enough, nothin' to worry 'bout."

"I'll stop worrying when we're all back home, hale and hearty." Reginald said firmly.

Chapter 14: From Out of the Depths

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Mist was acutely aware she was dreaming, despite the bleak, empty landscape before her, and the burning acidic agony eating away at the inside of her chest. There was no dreamy haze, no out of body experience, just her and the gray barren wasteland before her. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe and every step was a monumental effort.

Still, the mare forced herself to move, her movements sluggish, her breath soft in a futile attempt to ease her suffering. Storm clouds rumbled ominously overhead and creatures skittered just out of sight. Doggedly, she pressed onwards, the coarse gravel beneath her hooves adding to her discomfort.

"This is a load of horseapples," she rasped. "Absolute, utter bullshit, I'm stuck who-knows-where and Right could be hurt or worse."

Her fury, directed at the pain she was in, her weakness, gave her motivation. She clung to that self loathing drive, voice dripping with spite as she allowed herself to release the pent up emotions and stress from her year of isolation. "I am better than this, I hate this! Stars knows how long it'll take me to claw my way back to wherever my body is."

A spike of pain forced her to stop, a snarl ripped it's way out of her throat in protest.

"No, rut you," She growled as something seemed to dig its hooks into her chest. Something grabbed at her legs, curled around her wings and encircled her throat. Purple mist filled her vision and the pegasus roared, shambling out of the things grasp. She looked around, she was alone. A scowl set into place as she addressed whatever monster was out to get her. "I don't care if you're some entity from the lake, I don't care if you're from the Dream Realm, I don't care if you're me! I am getting out of here, you hear me! No matter you say or do, no matter how much pain I'm in, I am waking up and going home!"

Mocking laughter filled her ears as a wave of hopeless rose unbidden, threatening to drown her in despair, in hatred. Hatred towards herself. She was overwhelmed, battling herself as she was, she took a shaky breath, and winced in pain. Her body screamed at her stop, her instincts were to remain still, to wait out the pain, and Mist plodded along defiantly as the laughter ceased.

And the silence became deafening.

"I'm not going down that easily," she said quietly. "I'm used to this..."

The distant hope of her place among the clan, her friendship with Right, the duties Reginald had given her. These simple things were her driving force, the things her addled mind latched onto despite the storm of unchecked emotions rolling inside her head, and the tricks of her unseen foe.

She was better than this, and with grim determination chasing away the unwanted reminders of her fragility, Mist Veil pushed through the pain in search of a way out.

Reginald sat in a chair beside Right's beside in the opulent medical wing of the palace, the white walls and marble floor gave a clean, sterilized atmosphere that was heightened by the uniformed nurses and doctors rushing about. It was a constant flow of ponies coming and going, several hovered around Mist, the unconscious mare on a bed on the other side of the room. Reginald held her jacket tightly as tests were run, medical professionals spoke in hushed tones, and the machinery Mist was hooked up to beeped steadily.

An indicator she was alive, that everything was being done to help her. The Toppat Chief ran through the confrontation in his mind, he pondered over every scenario, every option they had at their disposal, and sighed. No matter which way he looked at it, without knowing beforehand that Mist was going to be targeted, there was no other way things could have gone differently. He heard Right shift and looked over at his enforcer.

Right was watching Mist like a hawk, his expression schooled into an impassive look, but Reginald noted how his Right Hand Man sat up straight, shoulders tense, idly fiddling with his hat, and ready to spring into action despite still recovering from the affect the lake had on him. Wordlessly, Reginald rested his hand on Right's shoulder.

A look in Right's direction, an understanding expression, and Right grunted. The wait, the uncertainty despite the reassurances from the guards and medics on scene, was nerve-wracking. They both hated hospitals and anything associated with them, it brought to mind the many times throughout their youth one of them (usually Right, time had tempered, not dulled the man's fierce temper and overprotectiveness), that one or the other had been injured badly enough to warrant hospitalization, and neither of them would be relieved until Mist was awake and the three of three were back on the airship.

Reginald couldn't afford to show the depth of his concern as Right leaned back into the pillows of the bed, he was the chief, he was a pillar of strength for the clan, he couldn't afford to show weakness. Even if Right was the only one of his subordinates present, even though Right was in his mind, his equal, his brother.

So, Reginald waited quietly, watching the hustle and bustle as ponies worked ceaselessly to treat the unconscious pegasus. He ignored the worry gnawing at his mind, and waited.

The sound of hoof steps heading closer to him made him look over to the entrance to see Ocellus nervously walking over to him. The young nymph was levitating the forgotten bag of jerky that had been left behind in all the chaos.

"Ah, are you alright?" he asked, a nugget of guilt worming his way into his voice. He'd been focused on dealing with the threat and ensuring his clanmates were safe than keeping tabs on the girl.

Ocellus quietly passed him the packet as she nodded shakily, he nudged Right and gave him the food, despite the look his enforcer gave him.

"I bought extras with me, and you haven't eaten since we left the ship." Reginald reminded him quietly.

"Is Miss Bluebird going to be okay?" Ocellus spoke up meekly.

Reginald gave her his best reassuring smile as Right begrudgingly scarfed down the leftover jerky. Both the chief and the changeling looked over at the small crowd around Mist.

"...According to the doctors, she's taken quite the hit, they won't know the extent of her injuries until she wakes up. She has a lot of foreign magic in her system. a dangerous thing for a pony." Reginald explained.

"Yeah, that's really bad," Ocellus commented. "We're taught if we use too much magic on a pony, the pony could develop dulled emotions, or lose their magic. Changelings need to feed without getting caught... well that's what I was taught.."

"You'll have plenty of food once you get to know the crew, and any friend of Mist is a friend of ours." Reginald said.

"Y-Yeah, I hope so."

Mist found herself wading through her own memories. The familiar sight of Canterlot Castle's ballroom greeted her, an orchestra played clear as day despite the overly murky appearance of the ponies gracefully dancing around her.

She was wearing a dress. The way the material hugged her chest, had her trying to remove in instinctual alarm. Constrictive clothing meant pain, instincts borne from her year of dealing with acid reflux and chest pain screamed at her to remove the offending piece of clothing.

She couldn't.

She sighed and looked around the room. She had an inkling of when in her past she was as a stallion approached her.

"And nope, I'm out." she deadpanned and looked for the nearest exit.

She remembered this night, it was one of the first high society parties she'd been forced to attend a couple of years after moving to Canterlot. All dolled up in a fancy dress that drew the eye to her wings and tail, the assets stallions often paid the most attention to, and with no way out Mist was forced to mingle.

The looks she'd been given had gone over her head, but the way many of the stallions and mares spoke, the alien ideal that she should flaunt herself for the opposite sex, that she would be expected to lay with a pony before getting to know them, and that the best thing she could contribute to society was her bloodline.

One of her ears flicked in irritation and revulsion coiled in her gut. She swiftly strode over to the edge of the room and scanned the room.

The stallion, faceless, nameless, was relentless as he weaved his way through the crowd towards her. Mist scowled and kept moving. She ducked into the sea of bodies, stress gnawing at the corners of her mind as discomfort crawled up her chest. The entryway was in sight, and with all the grace of cat, Mist darted around dancers and partygoers to reach it.

She slipped out of the room before this insanity could continue. She let out a relieved sigh, sagging slightly. That experience was one of many were she spent an entire night existing in a state of constant discomfort that she only really understood later in life, after discovering how she much she differed from "normal" ponies.

The world around her warped as if in response to her line of thought. From the interior of Canterlot Castle to... the school dorm she shared with Sunset Shimmer in the last few years of their education. The details were fuzzy, blurred around the edges but what stood out was Sunset sitting at a desk, while the memory version of herself excitedly tried to explain something to the unicorn with a bright, beaming smile on her face.

"It makes so much sense! I didn't even know that's what attraction was, I don't feel it," Memory Mist said. "But I still get hyper fixated to fictional characters, and all the courting stuff Nana's been pushing me to do has made me really uncomfortable and now I understand why! I'm demi!"

Meanwhile, the real Mist felt her heart sink at the unimpressed look Sunset gave the overjoyed pegasus in the memory.

"Why are you telling me for?"

"Because it's important, it's a big deal-"

"What's important is our grades, showing that we're the best students in the entire school, getting ready to leave and make a name for ourselves, not this label stuff," Sunset scoffed. "So having feelings is your kink, whatever."

"It's not a kink..." The Mist in the memory protested.

"I don't care."

"Bitch..." The real Mist muttered as she saw the look of devastation on her younger self. The topic of her orientation had been something that even now, she kept to herself.

It was with a sense of resignation that she realized she was lonely. Her instinct was to share what she knew, to express her joy about her self-discovery by hoping to connect with others over it, and Sunset, Mist's first attempt at trying to explain, to share, was quashed unceremoniously. Since then, she had kept her thoughts to herself.

She had no outlet for this facet of herself. And in response, she mirrored her former friends sentiment of it not being important, something that didn't impact her life or the lives of others, and thus she kept to herself. And it was further compounded by her unwillingness to be a bother or burden to others.

Mist shook her head, she had a real world with far more important things to get back to. She left the memory behind her and steeled herself for what the dream would throw at her next.

When Mist stepped through the doorway, she found herself in a beautiful blue void filled with shining white orbs. the winding road beneath her hooves glittered and sparkled, and on each side of the starry path were a row of doors in all manner of colours and designs. Mist scrambled out the dress she was still wearing and found herself able to remove it with ease. The gown vanished in a wispy puff of dark purple smoke as soon as it was off.

A sense of peace and calm permeated the area, and the mare, still cautious walked down the only road at her own sedate pace.

"Progress... I think," Mist said quietly as she walked. "Now how the rut do I get out of here..."

"That is indeed quite the conundrum." a deep voice rumbled from behind her.

Mist turned around and looked up at the robed alicorn that towered over her.

Shadar

The dark mage's face was obscured by darkness, only his pale white horn and long reddish orange mane that hung down to frame the ever-present darkness were the only things that could be seen by Mist. The djinn's black robes almost brushed the floor, and the power that the wizened stallion radiated warped the peaceful void around him into a dark, foreboding storm of darkness.

"Hello." Mist said politely.

"Greetings," the mage replied, amused. "You have done well, to overcome the magic borne from The Lake of Dreams. To face the blackest depths of your soul is no small feat."

"It's something I've had to face before... though in a more straightforward manner..." Mist replied and softly added. "Less weird dreams and more... downward spirals of hopelessness and self-loathing..."

Shadar nodded sagely and walked past her, moving with a prominent limp. "I will lead you back to the waking world."

"Thanks..."

They walked in companionable silence. Something ate away at Mist as she slowed her pace to walk beside the alicorn. Here was one of the most feared magic users in history, while Equestria scared their foals with tales of Nightmare Moon, the rest of the world told tales and legends of The Dark Djinn. A master of long forgotten magics and Lord of The Forest of Hopelessness had taken one look at her all those years ago, a terrified filly out of her depths...

And saved her.

"Your Lordship," Mist began and the djinn turned his attention to her as they walked. "Why take such an interest in me? Aside from my talent, I'm nothing special."

"Indeed, you are not one that has a great destiny predetermined, as the chosen champions of Celestia have..." Shadar replied. "It is through your actions and choices that you have earned your destiny, carved your fate with your own hooves. And such a feat is worthy of my attention."

"You remind me of what I once strived to be," he added solemnly. "And though I cannot be saved, I will not have history repeat itself."

Mist hummed in agreement, struggling to find the words. "I worry about that sometimes, that I could... cross a line."

"The fact you worry about such a thing is but one measure of ensuring it will not come to pass." Shadar stated.

"I know..."

"I will remove the worst of the injuries you have suffered this night. If only so you may face me with the full breadth of your abilities in the trial to come."

Mist was unsure how to take that statement, it took her off guard. "Thanks... I'm not as strong as I used to be though."

"Strength is more than just raw physical and magical power. You know that better than most, Fair Bluebird." Shadar commented.

The path ended at a large, glowing staircase, and at the top of the stairs was a massive set of ornate double doors. Shadar stretched out a wing and drew a rune that resembled a resembled a horseshoe with a vertical line through the middle. The rune and doors glowed with power and Mist watch in awe as the doors slowly opened.

"This door will lead you to the waking world," Shadar explained. "Know that you will not have my aid until after your trails have been completed."

"Of course, Your Lordship," Mist replied. "Thank you for your help."

"Until we meet again, Lillian Meadows."

Author's Notes:

Edit: I actually missed a few words and a portion of a sentence while typing. I am really rusty with using a keyboard. All fixed now.

This is the first chapter written on my brand new laptop, please let me know if it's as good or better than the ones I've written previously.

This chapter was a bitch to write, it needed to be done though, but I had a lot of writers block working on it. Since I wanted to sort of showcase the inner demons Mist has pushed to the side since joining the Toppats (her frustration of not being able to do much, the depression she's very much trying to push past, and isolation and loneliness she still has due to being unable to fully express herself), and allow her a moment to go ham and rage in that first scene.

Mist is a sensitive, emotional character that keeps all of it to herself because of how she's been raised, and taught in her teenage years that being emotional is the wrong thing to do. Couple that with Sunset emotionally abusing Mist (and Mist not recognizing the toxic friendship for what it was at the time), and we get a pony that is still struggling to deal with things even in her adult years.

Chapter 15 will be back to slice of life shenanigans on the airship as Mist recovers.

I have a tumblr, think of it like my fimfic blog but with more random posts, ideas and generally whatever pops into my head. You can even ask questions!

And speaking of tumblr, read this and leave your opinion in the comments if you haven't already.

Chapter 15: Throw Away Your Mask

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Mist stared blankly at the Dream Weaver the doctors had called in to assess her once she woke up. She had been moved to a small office for the conversation and she adjusted to sit more comfortably in her chair.

"...You want me to talk to someone about the dream?" she asked, skeptical as the unicorn mare garbed in blue and silver robes nodded.

"The damage to both your leylines and mana wellspring are minimal, but dream magic can often have lingering effects on one's mental state," the mare replied. "The doctors also picked up traces of despairium in your system, and truth be told, you are baffling."

"The despairium is perfectly stable." Mist said curtly.

"And therein lies the confusion, despairium is normally toxic to ponies, yet your body seemed to have adapted to it," the dream magic specialist said. "Which is why I want you to find someone to confide in, even experienced dream walkers need a way to process what they see while under the waters of the lake. Be it by telling a trusted confidant, writing it down in a journal, some even take up painting. Ignoring it will only come back to bite you."

She was irritated, Mist felt like scoffing and proclaiming that she wasn't an idiot, she knew that. But her instinct was to ignore, to run and never look back. Always looking for a distraction, the next thing to focus on. She ran a hoof through her mane and sighed.

"I'll see what I can do."

"And that is all I ask," the dream weaver replied with a smile. "If anything else comes up, please don't hesitate to seek assistance."

"Yeah..." Mist said and left the office.

She walked out to find Right waiting for her in the hallway, her jacket draped over his arm. She fell in step beside him.

"Reg went ahead with the changeling girl, asked me to make sure you got back to airship in one piece," he clarified. She grunted and he looked at her, concerned. "What's the verdict?"

"Physically I'm fine, I just need to ease up on magic use for the next week or so to give my leylines and wellspring time to fully recover," She explained, launching into a longer explanation once Right motioned to continue. "Leylines, simply put are like the circulatory system, but with magic. They carry magic to key areas of the body, which varies based on species. A wellspring is a magical race's natural source of magic that is connected to the leylines. In pegasi, leylines are in the chest, back and wings and the wellspring is near the esophagus in the middle of the chest above the stomach."

"I also need to process the dream, apparently," Mist added with an eyeroll. "Dunno what to do about that really, It's not like anyone is interested in my bullshit."

Right was quiet, thoughtful as they walked. The silence was a blessing, it allowed Mist to think, to let her mind wander. Irritation still itched away at her and the longer she ruminated on it, the more stressed she became. She didn't do feelings and the fact she had adapted to magic born from suffering, from hopelessness, went to show just much she was used to running from her problems. A small part of her, one that she thought had all but died while she was in the all-consuming grip of monochrome syndrome, wanted to. She wanted to share her thoughts, her feelings, with someone.

She wanted to find someone she could she trust without a doubt, someone that she knew it was okay to be vulnerable and emotional around. But there was still that instinct, that innate reaction to the thought that made her want to shove the idea back into the depths and never address it again.

She didn't notice Right watching her, too lost in her own thoughts as they exited the palace and headed to where their carriage waited for them. He brushed up against her and she looked over to her left to look at him, pulled out of her thoughts.

"What's up?" she asked.

"What happened in the dream?" he asked. "Seems like it's a big deal to you."

"It's nothing-"

"That's a load of bull an' you know it."

The conversation halted as they clambered into the same carriage that bought them to city. Right taking a seat next to her on her left, knowing she was more used to looking over in that direction to compensate for her blind eye. He raised a brow at her.

Her words were caught in her throat. She frowned, struggling to find a way to voice her thoughts as her best friend waited patiently. She'd never had this problem with him before as they would talk about everything and anything when the mood struck them. They could spend hours swapping stories, talking about the goings-on around the ship, about how worried both of them were about Reginald's tendency to overwork himself. They could just as easily spend hours in companionable silence as they did their own thing and pursued their own interests.

It was why she valued her friendship with him so much.

She was getting frustrated with herself. It lit a spiteful flame within her as she stared the interior of the carriage, not really seeing it and rather just using the opportunity as something to look at as her attention was focused inward.

She began to explain as she tried to keep a lid on her emotions. "The little things are easy to talk about. The big things? I don't want to... get in trouble..." she said reluctantly said. "I know, I'm a grown arse mare and I'm worried I'm going to get told off or yelled at or something if I so much as get too angry or excited or upset. Especially if I get upset."

It was like a damn had broken. Right listened as patient as ever as the stream of words continued. "I'm a merc, I don't- I can't be weak like that! No one wants to hear it so I should keep to myself because everyone has enough on their plate and doesn't want to hear about my problems."

"You should jus' sit down, shut up, an' do your job yeah?" Right spoke up softly.

Mist blinked at him. "Yeah..." she wilted, her ears dropped and it was harder and harder to push aside the stress and the pounding headache that was quickly taking shape. Her eyes stung, her throat constricted, and she stiffened as Right carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay," he said reassuringly. "Everything's goin' to be alright."

He spoke as if it were fact, his gesture of affection a unspoken invitation and Mist wrestled with the alien concept of being the one to receive comfort as opposed to giving it. A second of apprehension melted into acceptance as for the first time in a very long time....

Lillian Meadows was a mare that had been through far too much for one so young, and finally let it show as she became an ugly, sobbing mess. Her wings clenched at her sides as tears ran down her cheeks and she leaned into her friend's side, his presence the only grounding force amidst the sorrow.

Once she had calmed down they sat silently for a time, Mist too drained to do much else but lean into Right's side and Right content to let her do so. As the silence stretched on Right looked at her.

"I told you how I joined the clan yeah?" he asked and she nodded, blinking up at him. He hummed. "...After Reg's parents passed away, Reg an' I were shuffled around different divisions of the clan. He went to the airship division an' I was put to work in security."

"The only reason I got as high a rank there as I was so I could get back to Reg, an' Terrence, the piece of shit he was, 'ad a very different idea of what a Toppat Enforcer should be," He continued. "We were all jus' dumb muscle to 'im, expendable bullet sponges. Half the clan followed his example in the hopes of stayin' on his good side... the rest were too scared to do anything."

"So...you're not the only one that has trouble with... feelings," Right finished, looking away in embarrassment. "I'm not approachable like Reg is, an' bein' a people person isn't my nature but... I'm here if you ever want to talk 'bout anythin'."

Mist's voice was quiet and filled with gratitude when she spoke. "Thanks..." uncertainty flickered across her features. "...I'm not sure where to start."

She exhaled through her nose, sagging slightly before she composed herself. "A little over a year ago, I had just got done retrieving a relic that had been stolen from the pony tribe native to the Tenochtitlan Basin in the Forbidden Jungle. The Guardian Creature, the I guess you could say the lord of the area, offered me a reward for my years of service to the people..."

She smiled ruefully. "He was going to give me one of their Sacred Treasures, me... It all went to shit later that night. I had a really painful bout of acid reflux on the way back from claiming the treasure, it got so bad I couldn't move, and that's when an intrepid explorer found me." Mist's face twisted into a frown, her voice harsh. "We'd crossed paths before, she'd seen the big ceremony Ahuizotl put on earlier that day and that, that insensitive prick stole my treasure from me, and left me there!"

"And the kicker is she thinks she's in the right! She doesn't care that she's disturbing millennia of history, never mind the fact that there are people who still live there! She waltzes in, robs a temple or tomb, usually wrecks the places in the process and wanders off like it's a good thing!" Mist ranted. "If we run into her, I'm kicking her arse!"

"Will you now?" Right drawled. He was admittedly impressed by the way she got progressively more animated and lively the more she expressed her disdain towards this explorer. He would, under no circumstances, ever admit that he found it cute.

His comment seemed to ground her. She deflated, her anger leaving her. "Okay, well no... but I'd yell at her an' call her dumb an' stuff..." Mist fiddled with a loose strand of her mane that fell in front of her face. "I couldn't work after that, lost a scary amount of weight, moved out to Florenway to have easier access to the meds I needed, and that was it... I was rutting useless, and sometimes I still feel like that, that I'm nothing but a burden on you, on Reg an' the rest of the clan."

Right raised a brow at her. "We wouldn't be where we are now without you."

"I know, I just can't help it, ya know?" she asked and he nodded. "There's stuff I wanna talk about but I never do 'cause I feel like I'm just being a bother, or no one wants to hear it..."

Right gestured for her to continue and watched as she faltered.

"I'm not sure how to word it..." she admitted. "But, I wanna get the word out there, about being demi. I want to share what that means to me, educate others on the topic, and maybe find others who can relate."

"Could probably teach the crew a thing or two." Right suggested with a smirk.

"Maybe... I'm not an expert though, the most I could do is parrot what I learned, and try to explain the little things I've realized since then. It's not much but it's all can do. It's not like I have any experience with relationships and whatnot," Mist said and shrugged. "Something to worry about later, I guess."

Their conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride back.

Reginald observed Right and Mist as they trudged into the bridge. The Toppat Chief stood by the pilots seat and noted that though they looked exhausted, there was a sense of calm around the two of them. Of course, he knew Right hadn't taken a proper break in years, always ready to spring into action, and Mist would run herself into the ground if he let her. And now Reginald had the perfect opportunity to get his two most stubborn clanmates to get some much needed rest.

"You two have the next three days off," he stated and smirked at the identical looks his Right Hand and First Pony gave him. He was rather pleased with himself. "You two are still recovering, and given that it will take a week to reach out next target, I want to ensure the two of you are well rested and back in shape for the next mission."

"But Sir? What about Ocellus?" Mist asked. "I should be helping her settle, introduce her to the crew-"

"Already taken care of, Ocellus is now a Junior Toppat under Slice's supervision. I do expect you to brief the crew on what you know about changelings once you have fully recovered, and not a moment sooner." Reginald said with a knowing look at the pegasus.

"We headed to the jungle then?" Right asked and The Chief nodded.

"You two will take a small entourage with you to negotiate with the locals, we need a ground base if we're to truly make any headway beyond jewelry store robberies."

"An' who's going to make sure you don' overwork yourself while we're off work?" Right drawled, raising a brow at him. "Three days is a long time for me to be sittin' around doin' fuck all Reg..."

Reginald sighed. "I'm not going anywhere Right, I'm not the one who was injured... Surely you can handle three days of free time?"

He saw Mist nudge Right. "Hey, we could work on the thing I told you about, that's not work."

Right considered it and nodded. "Suppose so."

"A pet project?" Reginald asked, intrigued.

"Kinda?" Mist replied, uncertain. "Just a thing I feel is important..."

Reginald dismissed them not long after, wishing them luck, and reminding them to actually focus on rest and recovery during their time off. He moved over to his chair and sunk into with a relieved sigh. He'd been worried sick about them. He was aware he had no room to talk when it came to his own work ethic, but he worked as hard as he did to ensure the clan ran smoothly, that his clanmates, his family, would want for nothing and would never have to live in fear again.

It was what he'd sworn to do the moment he became Chief, bring the clan back from the dark age Terrence had thrown it into, and reinstate the ideals from the clan's glory days. And Right had been by his side through it all, he couldn't ask for a better friend.

He adjusted his hats as he deactivated the airship's autopilot with the press of a button. He had a long flight ahead of him.

Author's Notes:

Another shorter than usual chapter, but one that needed to be written. I've been feeling a bit unwell, just a bit tired and that has impacted my ability to write. However writing this was cathartic, I'm just a bit frustrated at my lack of energy lately.

Mist wanting to talk about being demisexual stems from my own desire to do so, since ya know I am demisexual and Mist reflects that. Unlike me, Mist doesn't have access to the internet and the amount of freedom (and ridicule) that it offers, so she feels like she doesn't fit in with other ponies on multiple different fronts, from her upbringing, to her vision impairment, to being demi.

So, I'm going to do something different for next chapter, if you have any questions about demisexuality, ask them in this blog and I will work them into the next chapter to be answered by Mist herself. Please be respectful when considering what to ask.

My goal is to educate and help inform others.

Misty Morals

by Dragonfire2lm

Prologue: Life is Turned Upside-down

Chapter 1: Las Pegasus Part One

Chapter 2: Las Pegasus Part Two

Chapter 3: To Walk Among the Common Folk

Chapter 4: Bluebird, Phantom Thief of Hats

Chapter 5: First Pony

Chapter 6: Bluebird Takes Manehatten

Chapter 7: Curb Stomped

Chapter 8: Airship Life

Chapter 9: A Line in the Sand

Chapter 10: Turmoil

AMA Special: You Have Mail

Chapter 11: Reginald's Day Off

Chapter 12: The Blue Moon Ball Part 1

Chapter 13: The Blue Moon Ball Part 2

Chapter 14: From Out of the Depths

Chapter 15: Throw Away Your Mask