Chapter Twenty Three: Absence Makes The...

“This world changes, whether you’re there to change with it or not.”

“Staying?”

Lost and I both stared at Xeno, our argument over her sex life a long lost memory. Fine Tune shared our look, his eyes wide and full of confusion, once again back at their hazy changeling-like blue. Even Rose joined in, holding the hood of her cloak up with a hoof so she could stare with one eye, with a frown on her face that rivaled the one she’d had the last time we argued.

“You’re staying here?” I asked again. “With them?”

“Theyare my family, Hiddenpony,” Xeno answered calmly. “I must stay, they need me.”

“But...” I whispered, trying to come up with an argument.

“We need you,” Lost finished for me.

She was right. Xeno was our oldest friend, even if that friendship was only a few weeks old. We’d spent our entire lives secreted away from others, and she was the only one who’d given a damn about us. She’d walked through slavers for us. And now... “You’re just going to leave us...” I muttered in disbelief.

A big part of me wanted to cry. All of me wanted to cry. The remaining little part of me that wasn’t wanting to cry was busy wondering why I hadn’t started already.

This was all too much. The chronic pain that only ever seemed to get worse. The stress of fucking everything up and almost getting a friend killed. Becoming a pariah, whatever that meant. Being told that I couldn’t be trusted and that I had to have somepony watching me at all times. My sister fucking other ponies and zebras and the fact that I was stuck in the middle between her and former lovers. I needed a break.

“Itis not what I want to do,” Xeno explained, slowly sitting and looking over our group. “Itis what I must do. My mother is weak, but stubborn. She will need help. My father cannot lead the tribe himself, heis not a leader. Heis... for comforting those in need, not keeping them strong under a struggle.”

“What struggle?” asked my sister. “The dragon... he’s taken care of. The tribe is back together, we brought everyp- everyone home. What do they need help taking care of?”

“Many things,” answered the zebra. She looked toward the doorway and sighed. “While you sought your sister, I spoke to my father... Theyhave lived the same, under fear, for many years. Shortly after I left, the thefts of zebra began, and our culture changed. Now, that fear is gone. Returning to the old ways, itwill be hard for many. He asked that I stay, to help him.”

“Zolera asked you to stay?” I asked, needing clarification. None of this made sense to me.

“I... want my family to be strong. I lost my brothers, they lost their sons. I was nearly taken from them,” she said, shrugging slightly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself from staring at the office door and turned to my sister and I. A hoof reached up and brushed along the scars across her cheek, remnants of the splinterwolf fight. “Iwill do what I can to make them flourish again, as a family and as a tribe. Thereare much... bigger things that me in this world, and I need to make this sacrifice for it.”

“How long will it take?” I asked, still surprised I hadn’t broken down already. Maybe my body just wasn’t ready to believe it. I knew my brain wasn’t.

“I donot know,” she answered. “I donot believe it will take long.” She smiled and stood up, then walked over and wrapped a forehoof around me, and the other around my sister. “They are strong, almost as strong as you two. They will... as you ponies say, bounce back, quickly. Then I will come back to you.”

Lost looked at me across Xeno’s shoulder, and I looked back, past her mohawk. If this was what she needed to do, than this was what she needed to do. Nothing we could say would stop her.

“Hmph,” snorted Rose. “Just get it over with and come back across the mountains as quick as your striped ass can.”

Always the realist, and always willing to ruin a mood.

She had a point though...

“You’ll come back once it’s over, won’t you?” Lost asked her, before I could.

“Yes, Lostpony,” Xeno answered, before squeezing us both in a tight hug. “Ihave many things to do here, but Ihave more waiting for me on your side of the mountain. I wouldnot miss it, even if they chained me to the dais for the dragon.”

A weight lifted from me, and despite all the other aches and pains I had, despite all the other worries that constantly dug into the back of my mind in the form of little unrelenting claws, I felt better. I squeezed back, pressing myself up against my sister and holding onto my best friend as tight as I could without hurting myself. To my side, I could feel Lost tensing up as well.

“Please, don’t take too long,” I begged the zebra mare. It wouldn’t be the same without her.

“Iwill do what must be done, then have Xylia bring me across,” Xeno reassued me. “She is silent, but very quick. The mountains and dead forests are known as the back of her hoof. I will return to you, donot worry.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, before finally releasing my grip on her.

With all of us letting go, she took a step back and smiled, tears starting to form in her eyes. Gulping, she added, “I donot wa-”

“Can we just get on with it?” demanded Rose as she threw the hood of her cloak back. “As much as I like this emotional shit, we really are on a time limit and we spent far too much time dicking around with that dragon nonsense.” She glared at me. “Now, I don’t care about the mares my original is holding any more than the next copy of Rose does, but Goddesses-damned, I thought you all did.”

“We do,” argued Lost.

“Well, you certainly don’t show it,” snapped the clone mare. Smiling weakly, she continued in a softer voice, “I just think we need to hurry. I know how impatient she can get, and I don’t want to deal with the fallout if she doesn’t get her way. So, c’mon. Lovey-dovey emotional issues afterward, please?”

“But it was so tasty...” muttered Fine Tune, frowning. He sulked a little, his ears drooping. Goddesses, he was a glutton. Fed off Zorana the night before, and all the positive emotions when we returned and he still wasn’t satisfied?

I smiled. At least he wouldn’t be feeding off me any time soon.

“Sheis right, sisters,” Xeno agreed. “Letus go, my mother awaits.” Waving a hoof to get us to follow, she pushed open the door to the office and disappeared inside.

The rest of us followed in silence.

The inside of the office might have looked the same, but it felt far different. Nopony closed the door after we walked through it, and no zebra mare stared us down as if trying to intimidate us. Instead, Zorana sat back in her chair, with her eyes closed, and the red designs she’d always had painted on her coat mysteriously absent. Smears of where they once were remained, washed away and left to tint her coat as if she’d been recovering from a long-battled wound.

Technically, that was true.

She breathed slowly, deeply, while Zolera watched her from the side. When we’d all paced our way in and sat across the desk from the leader of the tribe, he smiled at us.

“Welcome,” he said, laughing quietly. “You ponies...” He laughed again. “Best I met, And I travel much.”

“We only did what was right,” I said, looking away. After they’d tried to use us for their little ‘sadaka,’ we should have just run home. That would have been the easy way, but it would’ve left all those poor zebra, ponies, and buffalo stuck. I looked at my sister, wondering if she was thinking the same thing. Could we have left them?

“You’re welcome,” she said quietly.

“We came here for a reason though,” Rose interrupted. “I’m on a strict time limit and I’d really like to get these negotiations over as soon as fucking possible.” She shot me a glare. “This has been quite the excursion, and I’m ready to go back across the mountain where I don’t need to worry about being roasted alive again. As soon as possible.”

I knew for a fact there were plenty of other ways to get roasted alive, and none of them needed a dragon. Incendiary grenades, psychopaths with flamers, Steel Ranger forges... I rubbed at my face with a forehoof. It’d been far too busy the past few weeks.

“Then negotiate,” Zorana answered. She cracked her eyes open slightly, and stared past the little slits at the pink mare. “What are your terms?”

“First of all, the zebras I’ve already spoken to, before you tried to have us all given to your little star messenger?” Rose started, sounding agitated. “I want the same deals I got with them already. With the help of your daughter here translating, I made good deals that benefit them just as much as they benefit me. I want those previously agreed upon bargains kept in good faith.”

“Alright,” whispered the shaman mare.

Rose raised her hoof and pointed it at the two zebras across the desk, continuing, “And furthermore, I think you owe us af- What?” She stared dumbfounded, her eyes wide. Her hoof hung limply in the air, all the fire and passion suddenly gone. Lowering it down, she looked at us, then back at Zorana. “What?” she asked again in disbelief.

“I said alright,” Zorana answered. “You brought back...” She paused and took a deep breath. “Almost all of the zebras we’d lost, and the foals as well. I could see it in the eyes of my tribe, how happy and grateful they are.” She looked up at her husband and smiled. “What kind of a leader would I be if I spit in the face of the ponies they now admire so?”

For only a moment there was silence, before Rose squinted and asked, “You’re not going to call me ‘of the arum lily’ again, are you?”

Zorana exhaled and hooked her forehooves over her desk. Pulling herself up, she opened her eyes wide and stared at the clone mare. “I will offer you respect, for what you and your friends have done,” she answered. “That doesn’t change who and what you are. It doesn’t change what I see in your future.” Without moving her face, she looked toward my sister and I. “That goes for you two, as well. I appreciate you bringing my foals back, dead or alive, but you are still cursed. The stars, not the dragon, still watch over you, Lost Art. And you, Hidden Fortune, your fate is far, far worse.”

I gulped and took a step back. I’d already experienced her little prophecy once before, and I never wanted to go through that again. Still, a little claw in the back of my mind poked and prodded, reminding me that something worse was always around the corner. If anything, our trip so far since finding the Stables had proved that.

Why’d we take that PipBuck, anyway...

Not bearing to look at my friend’s mother, I stared down at my forehooves. My steel forehooves. A shiver ran down my spine.

“The stars don’t hold sway on my life,” answered Lost. “There’s a lot of dangerous things in the Wasteland. I need to focus on those before I worry about some superstition that’s already proven to be horseapples.”

Zolera rested a hoof across his wife’s back and whispered something to her. It seemed to do the trick, because she chuckled quietly and pushed herself back away from the desk. With his wife seemingly placated, he turned toward his daughter. “You picked good friends. Strong, they do not yield. Like the drinks I make,” he said, laughing to himself.

Ignoring the joke and the banter back and forth, Rose just stepped closer to the desk. “So, the bargains are in place already. How do you want to transport things?” she asked, sounding a lot less angry about the negotiations. Given that she’d already had everything she demanded given to her, it was nice to see her soften.

“The mountain pass is the only way between our cities,” Zorana answered. “I will send my tribe no further than that, unless they wish to go themselves.” She turned to Xeno. “I like knowing where they are in case of danger. It helps to keep from losing them if wounded.”

“The mountains are full of splinterwolves, it’s not a safe place to meet,” Rose argued.

“Then you will send your ponies here,” the shamam answered. “I’m not willing to risk their lives if you’re not willing to meet me halfway. Our scouts know the woods and mountains, they know where splinterwolf dens are and how to avoid them. Why don’t you?”

“Because, we hadn’t needed to negotiate with your kind since the War,” she answered. Sighing, she added under her breath. “Suddenly, I miss the Caeser’s zebras...”

“The splinterwolves shouldn’t be a problem,” Lost said. “Just stick to the road. You can even meet in the spot we fought them before.”

“I’m sure there’s more up there,” I reminded her. “Unless you plan to bring torches or someone who knows fire spells.”

“I know one who does,” said Zorana. Well, that was convenient. “He isn’t strong, but splinterwolves can be scared away if one knows how.” She smirked. “Here is the only deal I will give; clear out any more splinterwolves you find. Make them scared to travel the roads and force them to stick to the underbrush. Send one of your own when its safe. Then we will trade in the mountains.”

“Splinterwolf extermination? Fine. I’ll send ponies with flamers to clean up any we miss on the way back,” Rose agreed. She stuck out her hoof. “So we have a deal?”

“For now,” Zorana agreed. “We’ll work out the details later.” With a groan, the mare forced herself forward and met Rose’s hoof with her own. “Now leave.” She slumped against the desk, breathing heavily.

“Sorry...” muttered Fine Tune, finally joining the conversation.

“Itis what was needed,” Xeno answered, placing a hoof on his side reassuringly. “My mother can be forward. As long as she recovers...”

“She will,” both Fine Tune and I answered at the same time. I knew from experience that one could get better, and he knew from doing it all his life.

“Rest,” Zolera said to his wife. “Healing will be done in time.” With a hoof, he shooed us out.

Getting the hint, we all left, including Xeno. The five of us filed out of the little office, and the large stallion stepped into the doorway. He smiled, placing a hoof on the door.

“Go. Make your plan. I meet you when you leave,” he said as he closed the door.

“Well, that went easier than I expected,” Lost said.

Rose smirked, agreeing, “I’m just a good negotiator.”

* * *

Outside the office we could hear the faint sounds of the tribe enjoying themselves. While we’d been discussing things, they’d been celebrating the return of their loved ones. A part of me was a bit sick of it, because they seemed to celebrate every damned thing that happened. Zebras died in battle? Celebrate. Zebras return from the stars? Celebrate.

Maybe I was just bitter. My sister and I hadn’t had a chance to slow down and just relax since finding Stables Twelve and Twenty One, and before that... well... Before that there wasn’t really any reason to celebrate. We didn’t have a PipBuck before, so we had no idea what days were which, meaning that birthdays and anniversaries of things went by unnoticed. Looking down the hallway back toward where I knew the tribe would be gathered, I couldn’t help but sigh.

Actually, I was just jealous.

The few little ‘wins’ we’d had so far, we never had a chance to just enjoy ourselves. Finding our way home after escaping Amble? Fine Tune’s arrival cut anything pleasant short. And I couldn’t even...

I glared down at my steel hooves. Stupid... things.

“Alright, I’m going to go find the same zebras I already had to deal with any figure out how to make sure they actually work for me,” Rose announced, ripping me from my little internal gripes. Her horn lit up and lifted the grenade rifle from her back. In one smooth motion she ripped the cloak away and balled it up, then stuffed it into her saddlebags. Dropping her gun back down, she smirked. “I’ll meet you all outside when I finish. We’re on a time limit, so find a way for us to get back across the mountain.” The clone mare glared and added, with a harsh tone, “Alright?”

“As you wish,” Lost answered sarcastically.

That seemed good enough for the pink mare. She nodded, shaking her still-too-short mane, and trotted off.

The four of us that remained all stood in silence. The motorwagon was trashed in the fight with the dragon, and us leaving meant...

“My father,” Xeno said, breaking the silence. When we all looked up, she continued, “Hehas told me which of our tribe are skilled at dissembling your motorwagons.”

“We don’t need it taken apart, Xeno,” Lost informed her. “We need it fixed.”

The zebra smiled, pulling the splinterwolf scars on her cheek taunt. “Knowing how to take it apart, means they know how it stays together,” Xeno corrected. “Theywill know how to fix.”

“Ahh... Right,” Lost replied, realization dawning. She crossed her eyes over the rims of her glasses and looked up at her horn. “I understand perfectly what you mean. So, who are we looking for?”

“Iwill find them,” Xeno answered, slowly turning to look down the hallway Rose had left down. “I donot like it, but she is right. Thereis little time, and others are waiting.”

“It won’t be the same...” I muttered.

“Hiddenpony, I willnot be gone forever,” Xeno said reassuringly. She rested a hoof on my shoulder and rocked me back and forth a few times. Not that I wanted to admit it, but it helped.

“Please don’t be sad, Miss Hidden,” Fine Tune plead.

“I’m trying not to be,” I lied.

“C’mon, we’ll go get to work and meet Xeno out by the power station,” Lost said. “You can dig through the wreckage and find some replacement parts?” She forced a little smile. “I’ll let you use the PipBuck, too.” Before I could disagree, her horn lit up and she pulled the little fetlock-mounted device from her hoof. Floating it through the air with her telekinesis, she wrapped it around my foreleg above my steel hoof and snapped it shut.

The flashing of the E.F.S. starting up over my vision didn’t seem to distract me. “Alright, fine,” I muttered. “Shouldn’t we get your magic fixed first, though?”

“Yes, actually...” she said, groaning. “There’s too much to do.” She took a deep breath and pushed her forehoof against the bridge of her nose, pushing her glasses up against her horn. “We’ll get my magic fixed, then grab the repair ponies, and while we wait for them, Hidden, you and Fine Tune can dig for parts. It’ll be fun for everypony.”

“Thatis a plan, Lostpony,” Xeno agreed for the rest of us. Neither Fine Tune nor I argued. “Come, letus see if my father’s elixir can also be salvaged.”

Together the four of us walked down the hallway, Xeno and I in front, with Fine Tune and my sister bringing up the rear. Since we’d all been there before, I didn’t bother focusing on the shops we passed. The last thing I needed was to get my mind stuck on the Mane Attractions salon again. Instead, I looked toward my friend.

“How long do you think you’ll need to stay?” I asked, trying to speak above the distant roar of zebras celebrating.

“I donot know,” she answered. “My mother is...” She paused and scrunched her nose up. “There is a word in your language that I donot know. Mkaidi, in my tongue. Like the mules.”

“Stubborn?” I asked. I’d only met one mule in my life, and it was long ago. Well, not really met, but watched from a distance while mom taught us about them. She’d said they were stubborn, and he’d proved it right in front of our eyes. “Like one who refuses to leave anything behind, even though it’s obviously too heavy to carry?”

“Thatis close,” Xeno agreed. “Iam surprised to see her this bad, even after...” She glanced back at Fine Tune from the corner of her eye. “A few days, maybe?” She shrugged.

“It’ll be a lonely few days,” I whispered. “You know you’re the first friend we ever made. What if something happens to you while we’re away?”

Xeno laughed. “Usually, Iam the one watching you ponies,” she said between chuckles. “Iam not worried, Xylia will lead. Sheis good at moving through the mountains.”

I could practically feel my cheeks burning. I’d been worried about her, and true to form, all she did was worry about us. We really were a sorry group. Still, it left me a little relieved to know she’d have a scout who knew the area with her, and on top of that, I did know she knew how to take care of herself. She’d always been a lot tougher than I gave her credit for.

Before I could ask how and where we could meet up, we arrived at Zolera’s coffee shop. The image of the two mares practically fucking each other still hung on display, giving me no second guesses to where we were.

Xeno sped up and, with a running start, jumped over the counter. Skidding across the top, she dropped behind and out of sight, followed by a loud clang of metal as things fell over around her. A loud curse in her native tongue filled the air.

My sister and I shared a look for only a second, before we both ran in and scrambled to jump up onto the counter.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Xeno, everything alright?” Lost asked at the same time.

“He doesnot clean,” snapped the zebra mare. “Itis a mess!” She threw a glass into the air to punctuate her point. It crashed onto the floor and bounced, disappearing under a table in the corner. The mohawk of our friend appeared above the counter, followed shortly after by her eyes. She squinted and looked at us. “The brew wasnot cleaned, itwill take only a moment.”

Much like how her father had worked the night before, vials and bottles flew through the air from her hooves. She pressed buttons on the machine below the counter and kicked it a few times. Scrambling about, she grabbed different ingredients, both from his shelves and from her satchel. It wasn’t like watching her craft something with the setup she’d made back at our home, but still she worked like she’d spent her whole life with the machines. Little flaps opened here and there to allow her to pour in crushed something-or-other and powdered... stuff.

After several minutes of working, with Lost and I watching in awe, she finally pressed the same button Zolera had that made his concoction come out. Fine Tune tilted his head to the side, one ear pinning back as the same pipe hissed and the machine groaned.

Xeno stood, turned around, and bucked the machine with both back hooves.

That seemed enough to force the brewing contraption to work. The steam stopped and a ding sounded from somewhere under the counter, announcing it’s completion. Into the vial a milky liquid drained, filling it about halfway. It had a distinct lack of chunks in it.

“Thank the Goddesses,” Lost whispered, looking at it. It only took a moment, but realization washed over her face and she stuck her tongue out. “Will it taste terrible like last time?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Bluh, okay...” Lost relented. Her horn lit up blue and the haze of her magic wrapped around the small bottle. When it finally finished filling, she pulled it free of the machine and held it up to her snout. “Here goes nothing.” Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head back and poured the contents down her throat.

“Good luck,” I said in my most reassuring voice.

Once Lost finished drinking it, she coughed once and gently set the bottle on the counter. “How long until it takes effect?” she asked.

“Now?” Xeno answered hesitantly, shrugging.

“Only one way to find out,” Lost announced. She pulled herself over the counter and sat down in front of the brewing machine. Squinting, her horn lit up and she started pulling parts off it with her magic. Pipes, wires, gears, and little electronic pieces all flew into the air, followed by one massive cylinder. “Oh... Goddesses,” Lost whispered. “This thing has never been cleaned!”

“Well, the world did end two centuries ago, sis,” I replied, smirking.

“No, I mean...” she started. Rather than finishing her sentence, she unscrewed the top off the larger cylinder part and showed me. Inside was a horrorshow. When she said never been cleaned, she meant it. It looked like somepony had put a hoof in there and let it melt. “Celestia... I can feel how dirty it is.” Setting that piece down, she pulled a tightly coiled tube out and dropped it next to the larger part.

“Umm... What?” I asked, confused.

“Is this some sort of pony special talent thing?” Fine Tune asked, peeking over the counter next to me.

“Yes!” Lost answered, sounding quite stressed. “I can just... see how it all fits and seeing it like this is... it’s painful.” With a flurry of blue hazy magic, she sat back and started to clean. Scum flew from the opened cylinder piece, and from the insides of the tubes. She stuck her head inside the machine and did something I couldn’t see, but I could hear the sound of scraping from whatever she was doing. Behind her the parts floated in the air, slowly cleaning themselves as her magic did the work for her. One at a time, she’d pull parts in next to her head, slowly pulling back as she did. She said little as she worked, only muttering to herself from time to time before she pulled the largest piece back inside and tapped at it with her horn a few times. It shimmered once, and she smiled. “Okay... Much better.”

With the vast majority cleaned and put back together, she turned her attention to the electronic parts she’d pulled out. Under her careful gaze, wires unfrayed themselves back to looking like they were brand new. Screws that had begun to wear and rust became clean and perfectly threaded again. The spring that held it all together reformed, unbending from where the wires had pushed against it too hard and popped the middle outward. She sighed happily, floated the repaired piece up to it’s slot, and slowly pushed it in. With everything back in place, she returned the broken pipe where it belonged and sealed it up, her magic repairing the seam completely.

“So, magic all better?” I asked.

“Eeyup, all better,” she answered happily, her coat covered in the grim and mess she’d pulled from the machine. The bandana around her mane was soaked, and her mane hung twisted and kinked from having her face stuffed inside the machine. But she was happy, and that mattered more than how she looked.

“Happy Queen is best Queen,” Fine Tune said with a chirp.

* * *

Fine Tune and I stared at the wreckage, Xeno and my sister having left us to our devices to find the repair zebras. I was under strict orders to do whatever Fine Tune said, which stung quite a bit that Lost trusted him more than me. Hadn’t I... Just. It wasn’t worth the stress.

The Solaris Energy power station was a complete wreck. In the light it looked far worse than it had the night before. The building itself was completely trashed, with the roof having caved in and thrown chunks of all everywhere. The only spot that wasn’t covered in rubble and broken materials from the ceiling and walls was the same spot we’d rested in to get healed after climbing out. The far wall still stood, which was good? Maybe. It didn’t matter. The front and sides were gone, and more bricks and mortar lay strewn about the road we’d come in on.

The motorwagons weren’t much better. A few on the far side of the lot managed to survive mostly intact, not that it was a guarantee they actually worked... Several closer to us were either still on fire, or were left burnt out husks. The engine parts were... Goddesses, everywhere. How we were supposed to find the proper bits and pieces to get our motorwagon up and running again, I had no idea.

I sighed. “So... now or never?” I asked the changeling.

“Yes, Miss Hidden,” he answered. A flash of fire erupted around him, turning the sky green for a moment. When it faded, the green pegasus mare that I’d grown used to remained. She took to the sky and flew toward the wreckage. Once there, she floated back and forth, using her flight to keep a good vantage while she looked around. Even as a pony she seemed to fly like a changeling, buzzing around in little bobs to and fro, looping around in curls and circles without ever seeming to go in a straight line as she searched around.

Slowly, I walked toward the junked pile of motorwagons. My legs weren’t hurting too bad, so while Fine Tune covered the top section, I decided to get right into the thick of it and start digging through the remains on the ground. For the most part, I let instinct and habit take over as I worked. None of what I found was anything I wanted to keep and while all of it might be useful, the joy I normally got from doing such a mundane thing was... gone.

Stupid fucking dragon, ruining everything.

It was best to just turn my brain off.

Rather than collect things I knew we needed, since I had no idea what to look for, instead I sectioned things off into useful piles. Pipes went in one spot, gears in another, crystally parts for the power supply in yet another. Broken pieces that I couldn’t identify made a bigger pile, while the stuff that actually looked repairable or, at least, useful, I put near the front.

Still, there was one issue that I wasn’t sure how we could handle...

I’d found our motorwagon. It was easy, since it was the only one with armored panelling on the sides of the main engine. The problem I found though... It was upside down. In the fray, the dragon had smashed it onto its side and it’d rolled almost completely over. The engine was pressed against the ground and one of the wheels was spinning in the air, pushed by a light breeze overhead that I couldn’t feel from within the pile of trashed vehicles.

“Goddesses... Just what we needed,” I muttered to myself. After a moment of staring at it, I figured I’d try to flip the damn thing over. First I tried jumping onto it and pulling down, but when I finally managed to get ahold of the highest part of the deck, I found I wasn’t heavy enough to right the engine. And I lost my grip because I couldn’t feel anything with my steel hooves.

Pissed off, I ran around the other side and tried pushing. I lifted up the engine block and managed to get ahold of it, but there was no way I could lift with my forelegs. They simply didn’t bend the right way. We needed, something with claws, like a friendly hellhound or manticore. Stupid hooves.

As I struggled with trying to push the deck back upright, Lost and Xeno showed up. With them, they had two other zebras, one stallion and one mare. Both were grey with darker grey stripes that looked more like Xeno and her father than the rest of the Imani. The stallion’s stripes went up onto his forehead and made a little ring right above his eyes. Wrapped around his left foreleg were several golden rings, with little hooks dangling off each. The mare looked much like him, but without the circle on her forehead or the rings. Instead she carried a set of large saddlebags, their flaps open and overfilled with tools.

They stopped and stared at my struggling, each with different expressions. Xeno seemed confused, and the other two zebras seemed pleased, shaking a snicker between them. Lost just facehoofed.

“Hidden, what are you doing?” she asked impatiently.

“It’s stuck on its side. I was trying to push it over!” I explained, defending myself. Sheepishly, I pulled my hooves away from the deck of the motorwagon and sat down. “I was trying to get it done before you got here so we could finish sooner.”

“Hidden, there’s...” she started, stopping only to raise her hoof and point it at the several other motorwagons that weren’t upside down. “Almost a dozen other motorwagons we could use and fix without having to do that.”

Blinking several times, I leaned over so I could see past the engine block and stared at the others down the line. She was right, but none of those were our motorwagon. I frowned, puffing out my cheeks. “We don’t even know if those still work! They’ve been sitting here for who knows how long!” I argued, justifying it to myself while knowing full well I should have checked them first.

“Did you check them?” she asked.

Before I could answer, the zebra stallion with the rings said something too fast for me to catch. The mare nodded in agreement.

“He says none work. Theyhave tried many times, but never with luck,” Xeno translated. As the stallion and mare continued to talk in their language, Xeno continued to translate, “The parts arenot all destroyed, but each has problems.” She paused to let them talk more. “Yours works, itis best to repair it for...” She looked back at him, and said, “Sijui neno.”

“Okay...” Lost said, her voice calm and even. “We’ve brought help, so rather than doing it alone, let’s all work together.” She turned to Xeno. “So, how do we flip it rightside up?”

“Iwill ask,” Xeno answered. She turned to the two she’d brought with her. As she asked, Fine Tune flew back into sight and landed, then transformed back into his normal stallion form. The conversation between the zebras stopped, as the two stared at him in shock and fear. Xeno had to calm them down and steer the conversation back to normal. It didn’t look easy, but there was no way of knowing what they were saying. They spoke too fast for me to pick up on individual words.

“So...” I muttered, hoping to move things on.

Xeno held up a hoof, said one last things to the zebra, then turned toward my sister and me. “Zero said wewill use rope. Pull it onto wheels, then work to repair parts,” she explained.

“His name is Zero?” my sister asked, looking over the rims of her glasses. She didn’t seem to believe it.

“Itis a nickname. See his forehead?” Xeno asked, pointing toward it. “The large O there? He doesnot like being called O, so heis called Zero.”

“Right, that makes sense...” I said, mildly confused and looking at my sister. The response was a shrug. “So, shall we get started?”

I didn’t really want to leave, not yet, because it meant leaving Xeno and I just... I wasn’t ready to deal with that yet. But I knew the minute Rose showed up, she’d be impatiently demanding to know why we weren’t ready because dammit, we were on a time limit. Of course, she’d be right. We had other ponies waiting for us, and if we didn’t show back up there was no telling what that mare would do. Why couldn’t the original have the same view on kindness as our Rose? I looked at the others, and found that while I’d been lost in thought, they’d started pulling out ropes.

Fine Tune transformed back into a pegasus, again to the shock of the two new zebras. The ropes were given to her and she flew up and tied them onto the axles just under the wheels, then tied one around the base of the engine block itself. Tossing them over the edge of the motorwagon’s deck, we each grabbed ahold of them. My sister and I took one rope, Zero and the mare took another, and once Fine Tune landed, she and Xeno grabbed the third one.

We started pulling.

Nothing happened.

I dug my steel hooves into the ground and pulled back as hard as I could. Lost used both her magic and her teeth to wrench the ropes back, while the others used whatever they could. Surprisingly, the motorwagon didn’t want to budge. We just needed better leverage, or... something.

“Want me to go push?” I asked, releasing the rope to be able to talk.

Lost jerked forward, caught off balance by my sudden letting go. Falling down, she rolled and glared up at me. With pursed lips, she nodded. “Yeah, go do that,” she agreed.

Running around to the other side, I grabbed onto the top of the engine block just as I had before and lifted as best I could. “Ready!” I yelled across the wagon. After only a second, everything seemed to get lighter. I worked my hooves under the metal and pushed as hard as I could, struggling because pony legs weren’t meant to be bent that way. “Hold on!” I yelled...

This wasn’t working. I needed... There was a gap between the bottom of the engine block and the ground... If I could get under there I could lift with my back and then move further away to get better leverage as it got higher and higher.

“Idea!” I yelled again, ducking down onto my belly and sliding underneath the engine block. Planting all four hooves on the ground, I pushed upward with everything I could. “Okay, go! Pull!”

They pulled, and everything to lighter. It wasn’t enough though, so I kept pushing. The longer I struggled, the harder it got. My legs began to scream at me, as if begging me to give up and just stop. I ignored it, thinking back to all the other times I’d hurt myself. I could get through this easily. I just... I raised one hoof and looked at the PipBuck screen. Jabbing it with my nose, I used the little device’s built in magic to put my Buck at the top of my saddlebags. I’d never know how it did that, but it did it.

Reaching around with my steel hoof, I fished into the saddlebag and found what I was looking for. Awkwardly grabbing with my fetlock, I pulled out the little bottle of Buck. The entire time I kept pushing, balanced on three legs. We needed the damn motorwagon or we weren’t getting home any time soon. Smashing the bottle with my forehoof a few times, I finally worked the cap off. It took some doing, but I managed to grab the rim with my teeth and tipped the bottle to pour one of the beautiful strengthening pills into my mouth.

I swallowed the chalky thing and dropped the bottle. Closing my eyes, I grit my teeth and put all four hooves and my entire back into it. Everything burned. Even with the help of the Buck, I wasn’t sure I could do it. It made everything ache, but as I pushed, I felt myself slowly gaining ground. Even though every part of me screamed in protest, I kept trying.

Slowly, the engine block lifted. I clenched my eyes shut and slid along the metal of the engine housing. It hurt, but it would be worth it. Every inch I gained meant we were closer to getting the damn wagon over. I could hear my friends and the helpers struggling, and I knew it wasn’t in vain.

Then the engine block disappeared.

I shot up to full height, no longer burdened by the extra weight. Something inside me snapped, as if each of my legs were giving out all at once. Either I’d just pulled every muscle in my legs by standing too fast after struggling, or... I didn’t know. So I just fell onto my side.

The motorwagon finally tipped and fell, crashing onto all four wheels and bouncing once to my side. It rocked once before settling with a loud groan.

I just laid there, panting.

“Finally!” Lost said, exasperated. “Good job, Hidden!” She trotted around and found me lying there, legs splayed out in front of me.

“Team effort, right?” I asked, forcing a smile. “I think I pulled something...”

“What did...” she started, before noticing the bottle of Buck lying tipped over in front of me. Her eyes shot open wide and she bared her teeth, grinding them. “Hidden! I told you... I.” Her glare softened. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. I just need to sit down for a bit. You can work on the motorwagon without me...” I mumbled. “I’m no good with that sorta thing anyway.” Lifting a hoof, I nodded towards it for emphasis. “Can’t really hold tools anymore...”

Lost helped me up and I limped my way over to sit out of the way of the work. She propped me up against one of the toppled motorwagons and hugged me. “Just be okay,” she whispered.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I answered. “I just feel numb. Like I pulled a muscle and it just gave up. I’m sure in a few minutes I’ll be okay.” I wrapped my forehooves around her weakly and nuzzled against her neck. “I’ll be right here while you work.”

“Alright... I’m going to have Rose look you over when she gets out here though. Just call me if you need anything,” she said before walking off to join Xeno and the others.

* * *

It felt good to relax for what time I could. Lost and Fine Tune had magic to work their tools, and the zebras were able to do... weird zebra things like Xeno could do with hers. On the other hoof, I was pretty much useless. Fetlocks weren’t good for delicate work, and the steel hooves kept me from feeling what I was doing anyway. I could help with my teeth, but when it came to fiddling with mechanical bits, I preferred to keep my face away. Too many moving parts and all that.

Instead, I sat and watched. They had everything under control. While the stallion worked, the mare passed tools to him and took the ones he didn’t need. They rarely spoke, and when they did it was heated. At some points I wanted to laugh, while watching, because when they were in sync with one another, everything went perfect. The second one slipped and missed a tool or dropped something, the powder keg went off and they’d start yelling at one another. Were they brother and sister, lovers?... It didn’t matter, it made for good entertainment.

While the two zebras fixed the engine and all the actual moving bits, Lost and Fine Tune focused on the steering and wheels. Luckily, Lost’s special talent and her magic made fixing everything go fast. By the time Fine Tune had adjusted one of the axles, with close supervision, she’d completely disassembled the entirety of the steering column. It felt good, seeing her with her magic back at its peak. A cloud of miniature metal bits floated in a haze above her head, swirling about as she worked.

Xeno stood by the side, watching the others work. Much like me, she wasn’t quite able to help. Her skills fell elsewhere, and sadly repairing machines just wasn’t a part of that set of abilities. She offered to help several times, both to Lost in our language, and to the zebras in theirs. Each time they turned her down.

“Xeno!” I yelled, weakly waving a hoof in her general direction.

The striped mare looked my way, then back toward the others. When none needed her help, she trotted over and sat next to me. “Yes, Hiddenpony?” she asked. “What isit you want?”

“Just to talk,” I answered, forcing a smile.

“Thereis work to be done, we donot have time to talk,” she replied sternly. Still she gave me a smile, then rolled back up onto her hooves.

I reached out and hooked my steel hoof around her foreleg. “Please?” I practically begged. “They’re all doing just fine without you. I want to make sure things will be okay and... I want to talk before we leave.”

“A smoke would be nice,” she muttered before flopping down next to me. Reaching over, she grabbed a cigarette from her satchel and stuffed it into her mouth. She twisted it to the side and looked at me for a moment.

Rolling my eyes, I looked back at the wagon. She still wanted to keep that little cigarette lighting trick of hers a secret. Oh well. When I looked back, the tip of the cigarette was lit and burning dimly. “Are you sure you want to stay?” I asked.

“Itis not something I wish to do, itis something I must,” she answered, not meeting my gaze. “I... have been away for long, and much has changed.”

“Is this because of that stallion you’re supposed to be hitched to?” I asked her.

“Whatis ‘hitched?’” she asked, looking at me blankly.

“Oh, umm. Married to?” I answered weakly. “Your mother-”

She laughed. “No,” she said between giggles. “No, Hiddenpony, itis not because of Ziven. Heis the least of my worries.” Fighting back against the laughter, she took a long drag of her cigarette, then puffed the smoke from her nose. Leaning in close, she whispered to me, “I donot think he will want to, not with these.” She waved a hoof across the scars left by the splinterwolf.

“Not the type who can handle a warrior mare?” I asked, smiling wide. Seeing her laugh helped, even if the happiness was hollow. Would this be the last time we laughed together?

“Thatis a way of saying things,” she answered before taking another drag of the cigarette. The ash from the tip flaked off and slowly fell onto the broken road beneath us.

“You’ll come back across the mountain to meet us again, right?”

“Yes, Hiddenpony,” she answered. “I like you sisters, I donot wish to be away.” Pulling the cigarette away with her fetlock, she turned and stared at me, her blue eyes sparkling slightly. “You make the Wasteland interesting. I like interesting.”

I couldn’t help but snort. “If you call living like we do ‘interesting,’ sure,” I answered half-heartedly. “Our life before we met you was a lot different.” I tapped at the PipBuck on my fetlock a few times. Tapping the metal casing against my leg hurt, a lot. “Ow... Anyway. Finding this changed a lot of things, because, well... I got my head wrapped around an idea and wouldn’t let it go.”

“So?”

“Well, let’s just say I’ve gotten shot a lot more in the past few weeks than I had before that,” I admitted. “And hurt a lot more ponies, and...” Pulling my gaze away from my zebra friend’s eyes, I looked at the motorwagon, with my sister, Fine Tune, and the others slaving away to make it work again. “And we’ve made a lot of friends...”

“See? Itis not all bad,” said the zebra. She patted me on the shoulder a few times, then leaned back against the wreckage I’d been propped up against. “Iwill have Xylia lead me back. She knows the mountains as she does her hooves. It willnot take long.”

“Where can we meet?” I asked. The thought of being away from her still nagged at the back of my mind, and the sooner we could get back together as a group, the better. “We don’t really have any way to contact one another once we split up.”

“Once before, you found me,” she said, poking me in the nose with her forehoof. “You will again.”

Closing my eyes at the poke on my nose, I scrunched up my muzzle and mulled the possibilities over in my head. “Or we-”

The sky flashed brightly, lighting up the wreckage as if the clouds had cleared to let the sun in as a horrifyingly loud crack cut me off. “Eep!” I yelped, suddenly half-deaf, everything muffled by a high pitched ringing. Shuddering, I looked back and forth to figure out what in the Goddesses’ names just happened.

“It’s okay!” yelled Lost, her voice distant and hoarse. She waved a hoof in our direction. “Everything’s okay!”

Beside her, the engine of the motorwagon was on fire.

“That doesn’t look okay!” I yelled back.

“Nopony’s hurt!” she yelled to me, shaking her head. “All’s fine! Don’t get up.” Forcing a smile, she dove down behind the engine block and started banging on something.

“Goddesses,” I muttered. “I thought Praline-” Perking up, I looked at Xeno. “Ow! I mean- Praline!” Moving too fast hurt.

“Hiddenpony, youare hurt,” she said, almost disbelieving. “Isit because of my father?” She squinted, staring at me the same way my sister did when she caught me doing something stupid. Why’d they both have to have blue eyes?

“No, I... It’s not that,” I lied. I weakly lifted a hoof and waved it back and forth. “I’m fine? See. Just tired from a long night. Anyway. It- It’s not important.” Groaning, I leaned my head back against the wreckage and stared up at the clouds. Stupid fake-out thunder... It’d still probably rain later. “I just mean that you can go to the Stables where the Steel Rangers are. Praline has a broadcaster thingy in her armor and can contact our PipBuck with it. I’ve talked to her before through it.”

To illustrate, I lifted my foreleg and tapped on the PipBuck a few times. Pulling up the radio function, I leaned over and showed her the screen. “See?” I asked, poking at it with my forehoof. Goddesses it still hurt, not that I didn’t deserve it. It was stupid of me to try and pull the stunt with the buck and lifting the motorwagon. Not that I would ever admit it... “There’s an earbloom in the casing that I can pull out, and when you get back across the mountains, if you go to the Stable, they can call me up on this thing, and we can find a place to meet up.”

“I see,” she whispered, grabbing the PipBuck in both her forehooves. Twisting it painfully around, she looked at the screen upside down.

“Xeno, it’s upside down,” I corrected her. “And let go... That hurts.”

Blushing, she let go. “Sorry, Hiddenpony,” she said sheepishly. “Iwill do that. The steelponies will be my destination, I will find them and then find you.”

“Please don’t take forever...”

The zebra smiled, reached over and hugged me tight. When I weakly wrapped a foreleg around her and squeezed back, she leaned in close and whispered into my ear, “Youare not good at hiding things, for one called Hidden.” Her grip tightened. “What did my father give you?”

I gulped.

“The same thing he gave my sister,” I answered, looking away.

“What did he say would happen if you drank it?” she demanded.

“Death?” I answered. “Or... less death?”

She practically growled at me, but finally released me. Closing her eyes, she pulled the last bit of her cigarette back to her mouth, where she’d gotten it from I didn’t know. She bit the end and sucked the last of the fire away, until nothing but ash was left. Spitting it to the side, she stomped it out and stared at me. For only a moment she looked as if she were about to yell, but instead she just sat back, and rolled herself up onto her hooves. “Iwill speak to your sister now,” she said.

Without another word, she walked off.

“Fuck.”

* * *

All things considered, the motorwagon looked great. The combination of work my sister, Fine Tune, and the zebras had done on it made everything look almost as good as new. Well, as ‘new’ as a two century old piece of junk could. They’d cannibalized a ton of parts from the other motorwagons in the process though. Since they were just lying around, it’s not like anypony was going to care. The seats were now mismatched in design, but much comfier than the originals. The entirety of steering controls were different, messily merged from three other control sets. The best thing they did though, was fix the armoring around the outer edge of the deck and the engine itself. Instead of having rusted shards of metal covering the whole thing, they’d found a way to replace the housing with a solid piece that brought the whole thing together.

It felt a lot safer, too.

While the others talked, I rested on the rearmost seat, head nestled in the corner against the quietly humming engine block. It felt nice, like a little massage over my sore body. Eyes closed, it was almost enough to send me off into a nice, well-deserved sleep.

Unfortunately, a perfectly placed shadow blocked out whatever light managed to find its way through the cloud cover. I cracked open an eye and stared up, only to find the aquamarine glare of a pink pony staring back at me.

“Sit up,” she ordered.

“But I just got comfy,” I whined. The last thing I needed was to deal with Rose.

“Yeah, well, while they get all happy-go-lucky making friends with each other, I have work to do. So sit up,” she snapped, prodding my side with a forehoof.

“Fine,” I grumbled, pulling myself up to a sitting position and letting my hind hooves hang off the edge of the seat. Leaning back, I pressed against the vibrating engine block and closed my eyes again. “What’s this all about?”

“Between your sister and the zebra, I’ve been hearing a lot about how you’re acting up,” Rose answered. She squinted and leaned in close. “Hiding something,” she whispered.

“I am not. I just pulled something while flipping this heavy motorwagon back over,” I snapped. “This isn’t anything out of the ordinary, just over-exerted myself. I’ve been doing that a lot lately.” I’d been in plenty of pain over the past few weeks, this was just another part of the process. Once we got a day or two to rest, I’d heal right up and everything would be perfectly fine.

“Uh, huh,” Rose muttered skeptically. “Regardless, I’m giving you a look over. Despite the fact that you’re a fucking idiot...” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “You’re a friend. That means I’m going to do the kind thing and make sure you’re healthy.” Sitting down and lowering her horn to my hind legs, she added, “It’s what Fluttershy would have done.”

“Alright,” I said. There wasn’t really anything else I could say. She was a friend, even if begrudgingly, and if she was going through all the mental anguish to help somepony like me, who’d nearly gotten her killed... Then I’d just have to accept it. “Do I have to do anything?”

“No, just sit still and take deep breaths,” she answered. Her horn glowing, she started to pass it over my leg and to the side of my haunch, right above by cutie mark. “Before you ask, I’m just doing a diagnostic. It’s a basic spell that just checks to make sure everything is the same as a ‘control pony.’”

There went that question. It did bring up another one though... “What’s a control pony?” I asked.

Rose looked up at me, then switched to the other leg. “Training in the Ministry started with base level stuff for all testing unicorns. Before we could heal on a large scale, we had to know how to heal on a small scale, and before we could do that, we had to learn how to heal each different thing,” she explained as she moved her horn back and forth, switching to my foreleg. “So the first spell they taught was to compare a wounded pony to a healthy pony. The healthy one is the control pony.” Running her horn close enough that I could feel the strange knitting and oddly warm haze of her magic, she stopped at my shoulder. “It’s useful, because you can’t always see a wound. Internal bleeding, torn tendons, that sort of thing? Either we cut the pony open to find out, or we do it through magic.”

“I prefer you do it with magic...”

“Most do.”

Looking at my other leg, she finally finished. “I’d check your head, but I’m already sure something’s wrong in there,” she said with a stern look. “And just like I expected, there’s nothing visibly wrong, but there’s something going on under the skin. I can’t tell what it is without the proper tools right now, but the best case scenario is that you’re just extremely tense. All over.”

Biting my bottom lip, I tilted my head. “So, I just need to... relax?” I asked, confused. It couldn’t just be that...

“Either that or something solidified all your muscles,” she answered with a shrug. “Right now, I think the best thing you can do is take it easy for the trip back and let your body get some rest. I’d say that’s doctor’s orders, but I doubt you’ll listen. For the sake of your sister’s sanity, and your friend’s patience... Just sit there and enjoy the view until we get finish dealing with my progenitor, then-”

“Your what?” I asked.

“The original Rose. The fat blob of a pony,” Rose answered, deadpan.

“Oh!” I gasped. Taking a deep breath, I sat back and slumped down. “Does this mean I got the ‘less death’ option after taking that concoction Zolera made up?”

“Seems like it,” she answered, shrugging again. “When we finish, maybe we can see if the Ministry building over in The Cinch is still running. If it is still in working order, I’ll do a more detailed check up to make sure you haven’t hurt yourself too badly. Plus, while we’re there, I can get some armor for myself.” A good point, since she was the only one of us so far that didn’t have any, yet she had the most to lose.

“You’re not going to rip my skin off, are you?” I asked. Instinctively, I pulled my steel hooves close. After the last few times I’d had a doctor do anything to me, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to have a check up. Time would fix it and that would just... have to be the better option. No more cybernetics. No more compression garments. No more spikes. I was not going to turn out like Zorana ‘prophesized.’

Not if I had any say in the matter.

“I’m not even going to ask where you got an idea like that,” Rose answered, furrowing her brows and staring me down. “That’s the last resort, if it even is a medical emergency. So no, not unless I absolutely have to.”

“Whew...” I sighed. Thank the Goddesses.

“What’s the verdict?” Lost asked. She trotted up to the side of the motorwagon and reared up, dropping back down to rest her forehooves on the deck.

Smiling, I answered, “She said I’m f-

A hoof in my mouth silenced me. Rose glared at me, then closed her eyes and shook her head. Turning to Lost, she forced a smile. “Nothing definitive. She’s probably just... I don’t know, pulled every muscle she has,” the clone pony answered. “I’ve ordered her to not get up from that seat until we’re back across the mountains.”

I pushed Rose’s hoof away. “What if I have to go to the bathroom!” I demanded.

“We’ll get a Sparkle~Cola bottle,” the pink mare snapped.

“Alright, that’s... Thanks Rose,” Lost said as she pulled herself up onto the deck of the motorwagon. Walking over, she sat next to me and looked over at the mare. “A few minutes alone, please?”

“Whatever,” she said, before hopping off and walking back over to where Xeno and Fine Tune were talking with the two mechanic zebras.

“She said its nothing major,” I said to Lost. Leaning over, I pressed my face against her side. “Just tension or something. I’m fine, I promise.”

“Good,” she answered. “I hope she’s right. And, umm, you’re allowed to get up if you need to.” She smiled and hugged me. “We’ll stop by the Stables on our way back, before we head to Idle. I’d like to bring some extra firepower to deal with the original. Just in case.”

“You don’t think she’ll give us the mares back?”

“Well, they killed the slaver who was selling them for sex, and she was a major purchaser of their drugs” she said, her voice low. “She might have been doing something horrible, but she didn’t deserve to get a grenade to the face. Not when she’d already given up. All that says to me is that she doesn’t care about loyalty. If she’ll kill a pony who was giving her regular caps on a whim, then I’m fairly certain she’ll double cross our deal, too.” Shaking her head, she looked at the mountains in the distance. “So no, I don’t trust that we’ll get them free without a fight.”

“Bringing a few Steel Rangers can’t hurt,” I agreed. We’d also be able to get some of Marshmallow Sundae’s cooking. That alone was worth a quick stop. “But don’t you think we should ask Rose what she thinks first? She knows that fat blob better than anypony.”

Lost tilted her head side to side, as if weighing the options out. After a moment, she took a deep breath and nodded. “That’s actually a good idea,” she answered. “The more we know, the better.”

Smiling, I sat back and relaxed. Casually, I looked over at the mall and felt a little pang in my chest. “What do you think’ll happen here once we leave?” I asked.

“Well, from what Fine Tune and Xeno have translated for me, they’re going to set up some sister-tribe-thing with the zebras and buffalo that didn’t want to leave Starswirl Caverns,” she answered. “They had a few questions about what we found on the way there, so I’ve been answering things about our run last night for the past...” She groaned. “Goddesses, since before we finished working on the motorwagon.”

“You did a really good job on it,” I complimented.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “Hopefully, it’ll run as good as it did before.”

“If it doesn’t, Praline can fix it while we recruit some Steel Rangers,” I said, nodding. “She fixed it up last time, and I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to stuff her head into a new engine to do some upgrades.”

Lost chuckled, but trailed off and went silent. “I think I need to break things off with Crème Brûlée,” she said quietly. Before I could snap at her, she added, “I’m not looking forward to it, at all. I just...”

“Fucked other ponies, and zebras, behind her back?”

“Nearly lost everything,” she answered solemnly. “I keep thinking it could end at any time, and I need to get everything out of life I can before its gone.”

As much as I wanted to give her as stern a talking to as she usually gave me, I sort of understood. After everything that happened, with the shot to her throat, the loss of my hoof, everything in U Cig, and nearly losing Xeno... I- I did understand. If we were going to live this life, in this world, there wasn’t any guarantee we’d survive until the next day.

If only we lived in the old Equestria, before the world ended. Then we wouldn’t have to worry about dying in some gunfight with raiders or being eaten by a dragon. Or fighting a horrible monster that wanted to eat us. A shiver ran down my spine, and I pulled my steel hoof close.

“I’ll back you up, if you need it,” I said, wrapping my sore forelegs around my sister and holding onto her as tight as I could.

“Thanks, Hidden,” she whispered, returning the hug.

For a short while we sat there, just holding onto one another, before Lost finally let go. When I looked up to protest, she pointed a hoof.

Standing next to the motorwagon was Rose, feverishly tapping at her fetlock, as if to indicate the clock on her PipBuck. Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull from how intently she was staring. “Do I need to remind you,” she snapped. “That we’re on a time limit!”

“She’s right,” I admitted. “We don’t really have time for relaxing.”

“We’re ready,” Lost added. “Let me run inside and grab a few potions for the road, and we can go.”

“Can you send Xeno over?” I requested. “Since I’m not allowed to get up.”

Lost smirked, but nodded. She hopped down and disappeared behind the motorwagon.

“You do care about them, right?” Rose asked. “This isn’t some big ‘I want to be the hero’ moment and it’s all talk, right?...” She frowned and swallowed, furrowing her brows anxiously.

“No, I’m not trying to be a hero. I just... feel responsible,” I answered. “There’s just been a lot on my mind and...” I took a deep breath. “I keep forgetting whats important. I’m sorry.”

“You’re not a Goddess, nopony’s perfect,” Rose said reassuringly. “Once we get back, I’ll talk to the fat blob and see about getting those mares for you.”

“Then we can go to The Cinch?”

“Right, to get you looked at,” she answered as she climbed up onto the motorwagon’s deck. We really needed a staircase or something. I’d need to mention that to Lost later. “Then I’ll need to figure out what I’m going to do with myself.”

Before I could say anything, Xeno arrived at the motorwagon. “Hiddenpony, you wished to see me?” she asked before hopping herself up onto the deck right next to Rose.

“I just wanted to say bye,” I answered. Reaching out, I wiggled my steel hooves to get her to walk over. When she did, I leaned forward and gave her a tight hug. It hurt a little, and I knew it was against ‘doctor’s orders,’ but I was going to do it no matter what. “Just be safe, I want to see you in a few days when you’re back. Please don’t take too long.”

Xeno hugged me back. When I released, she pulled back and smiled. “Iwill be fast, I promise,” she said. “Goodbye, Hiddenpony. Donot die while I am away. Lostpony will have many potions and brews, gifts from the tribe. Use them.”

“We’ll survive,” I promised. “See you soon.”

“See you, Hiddenpony.”

* * *

Awkwardly, I plucked a twig from my mane. Staring at the little piece of wood held in the hinge of my steel hoof, I couldn’t help but scowl. Of course it would be me who ruined an easy and otherwise care free trip through the mountains. With Lost driving, we’d made good time. With no splinterwolves to watch out for, I’d had time to finally relax. It wasn’t until I ended up actually needing a Sparkle~Cola bottle that things went wrong.

They’d stopped to let me off, I’d quickly staggered behind a tree, and managed to find a little slope just out of sight to do what I needed to. Of course, with steel hooves and incredibly sore legs, I didn’t stand much of a chance of not falling. Stupid me. It seemed like every time I had to hurry off to relieve myself, something bad happened. First feral ghoul ponies, and then slipping down a hillside in the middle of the mountains.

I threw the twig away.

By the time I made my way back to the motorwagon, I must have looked like I lost a fight with a tree. Leaves in my tail, twigs in my mane... I’d even found a small branch pinned between my barding and my jacket. Even after a nap, and waking up to find Lost cuddled around me, they were still everywhere. It was enough to drive a pony insane!

Snapping my tail back and forth to shake free more of the stuck leaves, I curled tighter against Lost. Somewhere along the trip I’d fallen asleep and managed to, for once, rest without horrible nightmares or dreams about our mom. It was... nice. I felt like I deserved it. Of course, I woke up more sore than before the nap. I buried my face against her and smiled.

Beside me, I watched trees practically fly past. We were going a lot faster on the trip back, even with only Rose powering the engine. Whatever the zebras, Lost, and Fine Tune had done to it, they’d made it work a lot better than even Praline could. We’d already made it back through the mountains, and if I recognized the trees like I thought I did, we’d be back at the Stables soon.

“How much longer?” I asked, leaning away from Lost and whispering so I wouldn’t wake her.

“I don’t know? We’re through the mountain pass and I turned the right direction so...” Rose answered, shrugging. “I’ve only been here once... I have no idea.”

“Okay, let me check the PipBuck,” I said. Wriggling to get both my forelegs free, I earned a groan from Lost. “Sorry, sis, just stay asleep.” Leaving my leg trapped under her, I looked at the screen and tapped at the buttons with my nose. Why couldn’t I have cheater magic like my sister? It would have made the whole process easier. Several nose bumps later and I’d found the map screen. “Okay, umm...” I squinted, shifting my leg to block the light from my eyes. “We’re almost there. I think. I can’t zoom the map in or anything, but it looks like we’re close.”

“Alright, I’ll keep a better eye out. Anything I should be looking for?” the clone mare asked, not looking back at me. Instead she scanned the rocky wall in the distance where the forest turned to mountain.

“They should still have a pony guarding the entrance. So, look for a Steel Ranger?” I suggested. Twisting an ear, I looked around. Another stray twig jabbed gently, but obnoxiously, into the side of my head. “Where’d Fine Tune go?” I asked, reaching around and trying to knock it loose with my free hoof.

“He’s around back, keeping watch for anypony that might try to sneak up on us,” she answered. “We’re kind of a big target right now. Big motorwagon making a ton of noise?” She laughed. “I have no idea how you managed to sleep next to that thing.”

“Easily, I’ve been exhausted,” I answered. “And honestly, I’ve slept near weirder, louder...” I looked at my sister and decided it was best to not finish that thought.

“Well... good? You needed it. I’ll keep an eye out for a Steel Ranger,” she reassured me.

“Alright,” I muttered, shifting again and plucking another twig from my mane. Tossing it away, I closed my eyes.

It only took long enough for me to nearly fall asleep for another short nap before the ring of Rose’s voice cut through the air.

“We’re here!” she announced. The motorwagon slowed to a gentle stop right after she said so. Past her, another pony’s voice faintly past her. It sounded like the Steel Ranger guard greeting us.

Grimacing and gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes. “Yay?” I asked nopony in particular. With our arrival, I needed to get up. I shoved at Lost with my steel hooves. “Wake up, Lost. We’re here.”

Nothing. She just snored once, lifted her head up, then let it fall back over me with a thump. Now with her nose buried between me and the engine housing, she squeezed me tight. The hug was nice, but we needed to get up.

I bit the tip of her ear to get her attention.

She moaned.

My heart stopped. That was not the kind of attention I wanted from her. “Lost!” I yelled. “Wake up!” I pushed her away as hard as I could and held her limp body in the air above me.

She jerked once, snorted, and snapped her eyes open. “What? Where...” she muttered, legs suddenly flailing. “Ahh! Ground!” Bleary eyed and glasses on crooked, she stared down at me. “Hidden, put me down!”

“Sorry...” I whispered. Gently, I lowered her down, shifting to my side and letting her get her hooves onto the wooden deck of the motorwagon. When she was finally on her own four hooves, I pulled mine back and wriggled my way into a sitting position. “You weren’t waking up.”

“I guess I needed some sleep...” she said softly. The little bags under her eyes were still there, just like always. It’d been a while since I’d seen them so prominent, but after the past few days, I could understand. It was really a good thing she got a nap, too, even if it was a short one. The ear I’d bitten flicked. She reached up and touched it with her hoof, then tilted her head to the side and stared at me. “Why is my ear we-”

“Anyway! I had to wake you up, because we’re here,” I said, interrupting her and pointing toward the front of the motorwagon. The lone Steel Ranger who’d been on guard, stood next to the front wheel talking to Rose.

He caught me pointing, and waved a hoof. I recognized the dark orange stallion from when I visited with Elder Drop Scone before leaving, but I couldn’t place his name. They’d apparently made the outside into a nice guard... station... thing. A little table and a few chairs sat near the entrance to the cave. Atop the table sat pair of binoculars, wedged between the pages of a book to hold it open.

I waved back.

Rose turned and looked at me, following the gaze of the stallion. After seeing me, she turned back around. “Anyway, we’re just here for a follow up. We have to go fast,” she told him.

“We’ve got ponies waiting for us. Can you go tell Elder Drop Scone that we’re back?” I requested.

“No problem. Please pull the motorwagon in front of the entrance though. It’ll buy us an extra minute or two if anypony comes knocking,” he said, before saluting. Collecting his binoculars and book from table near the cave, he quickly looked at the page before closing it, then disappeared inside.

Rose pulled the motorwagon around while we stretched and worked the sleep out. Fine Tune appeared from the back a moment later and sat beside Lost. He’d stayed in his unicorn form, and held the silenced pistol in his magic, letting it float lazily in the air next to him. Every so often, even while he watched us with a silly smile on his face, he’d look over the side of the motorwagon, staying true to his guard duty.

“Anypony around?” Lost asked.

“Nope,” he answered. “Just lots of trees and stuff to see. Everything out here is so nice. Even the ponies who would buy us just threw us into the same chores we’d always done. I like this place.” He smiled and slid the pistol into a holster for it in his barding. “This is the best mission the old queen ever gave me.”

“Did she normally use changelings for tracking down escapees?” Lost asked him, tilting her head to the side.

“No,” he answered, still smiling wide. “I just came home at the right time. Lucky m-ahh!”

The motorwagon lurched, throwing all of us off balance. The brake squealed and the motorwagon jerked backward. Ending back in the same position we’d all started, the three of us looked back and forth from one another and laughed. Fine Tune mock shook, as if he were being thrown back and forth over and over again. With a flash of green flame, he transformed into the pegasus mare and took to the air. She stuffed the pistol away and hovered, floating back and forth, waiting for us to head inside.

Lost and I shared a shrug, then hopped down off the deck. Rose followed us a second later. We left the majority of our things set between the seats, hidden from view. There was no reason to bring every weapon we had with us.

Inside the cave, they’d set up a few lights and moved every rock and bit of rubble out of the way to make a clean path. It never ceased to amaze me how fast they worked. First the caverns where their own Stable was, now this? They’d made a hole in the wall hospitable, somehow. Inside the cavern at the end of the tunnel, lights hung from the walls, draped over the door frames for both Stables. The access console Lost had rigged to get in long ago was now nicely cleaned and with a tiny screen that glowed for anypony who wanted to access it.

“Think they changed the codes?” I asked idly.

“If they’re smart, they have,” Rose answered. “The best place in the Wasteland to hole up when bad ponies come knocking is a Stable. The only way to get in is to know the code or be really damn good at breaking their locks open.”

I looked over at Lost. “How... did you get into the Stables when we found them?” I asked.

“Well, I used two methods,” she answered, looking over at the console. Walking over, she rested a hoof on it. “I still remember the code mom said was used for opening the Stable we were born in.”

Rose laughed. “You two are Stable ponies, huh?” she said. “That explains a lot.”

“We’ve been out of the Stable a long time,” I explained. “Since before I can even remember.”

“Anyway, without mom’s PipBuck, I didn’t actually have the recording. So, I just had to fiddle around with the controls until I found the same access settings and forced it to accept the code I knew.” She smirked. “It helped that I’m good with that sort of thing.” She tapped her horn with a hoof.

“Why not just pick the lock? It’s still a door right?” Fine Tune asked, tilting his head and looking back and forth between the two Stable doors.

“The little carapace pick you have wouldn’t fit in a door like this, and they aren’t designed to have outside locks, anyway.” Lost answered. “They wouldn’t protect very well, if anypony could break into them. Plus, neither Hidden nor I are as good at lockpicking as you are.”

Remembering some of the terrible experiences I’d had with it, I nodded silently in agreement.

Walking away from it, she led the three of us past the open door of Stable Twenty One, and through the echoing metal hallways. “I’d have done the same thing for Stable Sixty, but there wasn’t any outside access at all,” she added as we walked down the well lit hallways.

“So, what’s the plan while we’re here?” I asked, hoping for a little refresher on everything we needed to do. I didn’t want to forget anything before we jumped back into dealing with things in Idle.

Lost sighed. “I’m heading straight to talk to Crème Brûlée,” she answered. “While I do that, you and Rose should go talk to the Elder and find out how many ponies we can borrow.”

Rose pursed her lips and stopped following us. “I won’t let you kill her,” she said flatly. “I mean, I’m the first to admit she’s a fat sack of shit who abuses us copies for her own gain, often...” She glared at me. “To the point of getting us killed, but... You can’t just kill her.”

We all stopped and looked at her. Lost took a deep breath and stomped a hoof on the steel floor. “We’re taking her down, no matter what,” she said. “She’s been holding those ponies hostages, and she’s been keeping the town in a drugged out stupor. Those ponies deserve to live their own lives.”

“Most of them chose that life!” Rose argued. “It’s not our fault this world is a shithole, in fact, I did my fair share trying to keep this shitty world from ever existing! Not everypony is strong enough to survive out there, and they’d rather live in a haze than deal with it” She took a step back.

“That’s not the issue though, is it?” I asked. I knew I wasn’t a thinky pony like Lost, but I’d had more time to talk to Rose and got to know her a lot better than my sister did. If she really wanted to save that mare then... “What happens to you if she dies?”

“I don’t know,” she answered solemnly.

Fine Tune and I both looked at my sister. Her expression softened and she licked her lips. After only a moment she groaned and rubbed a hoof over her face. “This is too much to stress about,” she muttered. “We’ll stop her without putting a bullet in her head,” she said. “After all, when we tried to blow her up last time, that didn’t work...”

“She’s fairly resilient,” Rose agreed. “Being able to heal herself like she can...”

Waving a hoof to urge everypony to continue down the hallway, I asked, “How can she do that anyway?”

Everypony else followed me as we winded down another hallway. “Well, megaspells require a large group of unicorns all casting spells in tandem, to create a spell matrix,” Rose answered as we walked. “She has several copies who are under explicit instructions to stay attuned to her casting that spell, so when she starts it, they all join in to make it a megaspell.”

“Can any of you do it?” Lost asked.

“No, she’s the only one who can initiate,” the clone mare answered. “And no, I don’t know why that is.

“Do you think it’s because she’s the one who has a soul?” I asked. Instantly a forehoof shot to cover my mouth. That was a stupid thing to say out loud and I knew it. It just... It just sort of blurted out on its own. I shrunk back and looked at her.

My sister stared, wide-eyed at me. “Hidden...”

“Probably,” answered the pink mare.

Before we could go any further on the topic, another set of hooffalls echoed down the hallway we were walking down. From an intersection not too far ahead of us burst the steel-clad form of a pony. Scrambling hooves not catching purchase on the steel floor, whoever it was skidded clear past us, down another hallway in the opposite direction. A loud clang echoed back, followed by a cute sounding voice groaning.

“Goddesses,” I muttered. “It’s Praline...”

Lost chuckled and patted me on the side. “Tell her what’s going on, and get her to look at your legs,” she ordered. “I’m going to talk to Crème Brûlée.” Before Praline could climb her way back through the hallways to us, Lost bolted and disappeared in the direction the crazy mare had come from.

“What about me?” Fine Tune asked, her voice sounding stressed. When Lost disappeared, she slumped down and quickly transformed back into a changeling with a flash of green fire. The poor changeling chirped once, then looked at me as if heartbroken.

I gave him a hug. “You can come with us,” I said, smiling. Leaning in, I whispered, “Once you get a taste of Praline, you’ll be glad you stayed.” Knowing just how perky she could be, he’d probably be full for weeks after an hour with her.

“Hey!” yelled the armored mare. She bounced back into view, making the hallways shake and rattle around us. When she reached us, she pulled off her helmet and smiled so wide I feared her head might pop clean off.

“Hello,” Rose said calmly.

“Hi Praline!” I said through gritted teeth, trying to seem as happy as possible. If she didn’t catch on that I wasn’t feeling well, then there’d be no reason for her to examine me. Any way to get out of that after the last two times...

“Hiya!” said the mare, still bouncing in place. “You’re back so soon! How’d the motorwagon work? Did it make it across and back? What’s it like on the other side of the mountains? Where’s your baby dragon?” She looked back and forth, dashing in and peeking around Rose and I. She stopped when she saw the changeling standing next to me. Her eyes went wide. “Fine Tune!” She latched onto him and squeezed so tight I swore his eyes were going to pop out.

“Umm, Praline...” I started, tapping a steel hoof against her. “You’re going to break him...”

The poor changeling chirped and flailed his hind legs, the bright spots in his eyes rolling back. “Kri... Kriee!” he squeaked out.

“Aww, okay,” Praline said, finally releasing him from her hug. Without moving her armored hooves off him, she sat down and lifted him into the air. “I’ve just never gotten to see him as a changeling.” She smiled. “Always hiding as that cute stallion, aren’t you?” She poked his nose and hugged him again.

He just looked over at me, a mix of confusion and fear. The tiniest hint of a smile was forming in the corners of his mouth, as it must have dawned on him just how much happy Praline had, and how much he could eat.

“He was wounded in battle the other night,” Rose interjected. “You should be a little more gentle.”

“Wounded!” she practically shrieked. “Hmm, I wonder...” Setting him down, she started to examine his legs. “I could graft a...” Trailing off into thought, she began to mutter under her breath, still roughly going over the poor changeling.

To his credit, he let her. Once he was released, the smile that’d been forming showed itself in full force, and his eyes began to brighten. A faint glow appeared over his horn, similar to the one he’d had when feeding off me so long ago.

“I think he’ll be fine,” I whispered to Rose. Turning back to Praline, I cleared my throat, “We need to talk to the Elder, can you... umm... Not put metal bits in my friend?”

She waved a hoof dismissively at me, while practically crawling across the Stable floor to get a good look at his hind legs. “I don’t think...” she muttered. Popping up into the air, she landed on her hooves with a clang and grabbed onto one of Fine Tune’s wings. “I don’t think my parts would work on him...” Dropping his wing from her grasp, she grabbed her helmet. “Let’s go see my mom!” Once again bouncing, she led us down the hallways and around the same corner Lost had disappeared behind.

A flash of green erupted from behind us, as Fine Tune transformed again. When they faded, the blue-coated stallion remained. With a dopey smile across his face, he followed us. “Delicious,” he whispered.

“So, how’s-” Praline asked between clanging bounces. “-your hooves?”

“They’re fine,” I answered. “Haven’t damaged the right one. The left is the same as it was, y’know, yesterday.” I frowned and looked down at the damn thing. “We had a rough night though...”

“Do you,” Clang. “Need me to,” Clang. “Look it over?” she asked. It was almost impossible to follow what she said through her jumping.

“Praline, stop jumping. I can’t understand you,” I complained. Luckily, it worked and she stopped, allowing me to continue. “Thank you. I don’t think I need a tune up. I’m in a bad spot after said roughness, but nothing’s broken.” To prove my point, I bucked at the air behind me. It hurt, but I bit back against the grunt of pain. Maybe I’d kicked a little too high...

“We’ll be going to The Cinch after we make it back to Idle,” Rose added. “There’s a Ministry of Peace building there that I plan to force Hidden into, so we can check on everything.”

“Ohhh? The Ministry building?” Praline asked, turning around and smiling at Rose. Her eyes seemed to light up from her excitement. “Can I come? They might have more cybernetics books! I’ve read the ones I have a million times already and while they’re really good for the basic stuff I’m sure I could do better if I just had more time to research and experiment. Maybe they’ll have a book for programming the internals. I could make them so much better!” She bounced a few more times. “Mom’s office is close. You know the layout! I’m going to go get my things!”

The moment her sentence was finished, the loud clanging of hooves filled the air, but Praline was still right in front of us. Only a half second later, the armored mare collapsed in a puff of smoke, as if she wasn’t there in the first place.

“How’d she do that?” Rose asked, looking back and forth between Fine Tune and me.

All I could do was shrug. “Praline is... weird,” I explained.

* * *

I plucked another twig from my mane and threw the thing away. After this was said and done, if we had time, I would head straight down to the showers and wash every last piece of nature off me. I sniffed. I could really use a shower anyway...

Shooting a glare at the twig that lay on the floor, I turned to the Overmare’s office door. With a pause for a breath, I rapped my hoof against the intricately designed door.

“Come in,” said the kindly voice of Elder Drop Scone.

I pushed open the door and took a step back to let Fine Tune and Rose walk in first. Once they’d both stepped through, I followed them in.

Across the room sat the Elder behind the Overmare’s desk. She looked up from her paperwork at us and waved a hoof. “Come in, come in,” she said. “Close the door behind you.” Stacking her papers neatly, she pushed them to the side of the desk. What paperwork was she doing, anyway? “You’re back much sooner than I expected. I take it everything went well?” She frowned. “Where is your sister and your zebra friend?”

“Lost is talking to Crème Brûlée, and Xeno is staying with her family for now,” I answered. “We had a rough night, but everything’s okay.”

“As long as everyone is alright,” the older mare said. “So, since you didn’t go running for my son as soon as you returned, there’s something you wished to talk to me about?” She smiled and laughed quietly, a hearty chuckle that bore no ill will. It didn’t stop me from blushing.

“Well, I... Umm,” I stammered. Stupid not thinky pony coming in without a plan... Wait, did that mean he... My cheeks burned.

“We got what we needed, so we’ll be heading back to Idle,” Rose answered for me.

“My Queen said she wanted to bring some of your Steel Rangers with us!” Fine Tune added, still sounding quite chipper after his run in with Praline. “She’s planning ahead.”

Scrunching my muzzle up, I nodded in agreement. “Lost is worried that we’ll run into some trouble when we get back,” I explained. “And as much as Rose here knows the mare we dealt with, she thinks having a little extra firepower would help us. Just to be safe.”

“I understand completely,” agreed Drop Scone. “I won’t have family running off into danger without offering any help. You know if you’d asked before, I’d have sent a few of my children to help you. You are okay, aren’t you? You look so thin, so tired.” Turning around, she tapped a button on the massive block of terminals behind the Overmare’s desk. “Marshmallow Sundae? Could you bring a meal for four to the Overmare’s office?” she asked.

“That’s okay,” I tried to argue. “We’re fi-”

The terminal crackled with static, and Marshmallow Sundae’s voice blared through the speaker. “Of course mother,” she said. “I’ll bring something up as soon as I can.”

Drop Scone turned back and looked at Fine Tune. “Actually,” she muttered. “Would you like anything from our kitchen? Do changelings eat like we do?” She laughed a little, a slight blush forming. “You’ll have to forgive me, I don’t know much about your kind.”

“No,” he answered. “I don’t need anything, I just ate.”

“As long as you’re eating,” she said to the changeling. “Anything you don’t finish, you’ll just have to take with you. I can’t have you starving out in the middle of nowhere.” Looking back at the terminal, she added, “Thank you Scribe, I’ll see you shortly.” Releasing the button, she twisted the chair back to us. “Now that that’s taken care of, how long will you be staying? I can have food packed and beds ready within...” She looked at the terminal again. “Within a few minutes, actually. You’re here right at shift change. Oh my... Is that the time?”

I looked at Rose and she looked at me. This was getting us nowhere. Lost was the thinky pony who was good at talking to others. Why’d she think leaving this to me was a good idea? “Elder, we really don’t have time,” I said. “There are mares waiting for us, and we don’t know what’ll happen if we’re late. Lunch can wait.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll talk while we eat,” she answered. “What do you expect to be up against?”

Rose took a step forward and cleared her throat. “The mare we’ll be talking to has a small army at her disposal, and she’s very stubborn in her ways,” the clone mare said. “We have what she asked for when she sent me with your... daughters?” Raising an eyebrow, she looked at me, then at Drop Scone.

“Not blood related,” I explained.

“Ah,” she said, realization dawning. “We probably only need one or two ponies to come with us. Just enough that if things do go south, which I don’t expect to happen, we’ll have somepony to watch our backs.”

“Of course,” said the Elder. She sat back in the chair and tented her hooves in front of her face. “The twins are too young to go on their own. Marshmallow Sundae isn’t in any condition to fight, and getting Crème Brûlée to come out of the security room is a chore.”

She didn’t mention Lamington, which meant he could come with us. A little smile crept across my lips. We could spend some time on the motorwagon together and- No. That was stupid. He thought Praline and I were a thing, so... Actually, that would be the perfect chance for me to talk to him and clear everything up.

“We could bring Lamington?” I offered. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind coming to help us, and with the weapons he has, nopony would be able to hurt any of us.”

“That isn’t a bad idea at all,” Drop Scone agreed. Reaching back, she held her hoof over the terminal button for the intercom. “I think he’d do well to see more of this Wasteland. He’s been so busy with heavy lifting.” She pressed a few keys on the terminal’s input, then hit the intercom the button. “Star Paladin Lamington, please report to the Overmare’s office.”

“Can Praline come too?” Fine Tune practically shouted. “She’d be great to have with us. Everypony would be happy all the time.”

“While my daughter is a good fighter, we need her here right now,” Drop Scone answered, shaking her head. “We’ve only just finished reinstalling everything to make both Stables functional. I need her to make sure they all work now that they’re hooked up.”

“Aww...” Praline whimpered.

“Gah!” Rose, Fine Tune, and I all yelped. The others took a step back in surprise, while I practically jumped into the air. Landing hurt all four hooves, jarred up by the steel floor. Only Drop Scone showed no reaction, sitting happily as if it were the most normal thing in the world for her daughter to randomly appear in a room.

“Where’d you come from?” I asked, wide-eyed.

No longer encased by her armor, the chocolate-colored mare looked at me. “Somepony said my name, so in I came!” she announced.

I looked over at the door. It was still closed. How in the- But that didn’t- I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Praline was weird and could just... do that sort of thing. Trying to think about it would only make it worse. Exhaling slowly, I opened my eyes.

“But, I really want to go,” Praline said. She dropped to her belly on the floor and grabbed onto my legs with her forehooves. With tears welling in the corners of her eyes, she sniffled. “Please?”

“We really don’t have time for this,” I complained, trying in vain to shake her free. Why’d she even latch onto me? I wasn’t the one who said she couldn’t come with us. “There’s ponies waiting for us whose lives are at stake!”

“Praline,” said Drop Scone. “You’re not a filly anymore. We need you here and you know it.”

The mare groaned and pushed herself back up. Standing, she hung her head and started toward the door. Just before she reached it, she asked, “If I finish reprogramming the Stable, can I go?”

“Once everything here is operational, we’ll contact the sisters and you can meet them somewhere,” the mare’s mother answered.

Praline’s lower lip quivered, and she looked almost about to burst into tears.“Y-you promise?”

“I do,” the Elder answered.

“Xeno’s going to return here when she finishes with her family, too,” I added. “Maybe you could be the one to bring her to meet up with us afterward?”

“Yes! Perfect!” the chocolate-colored mare yelled, jumping triumphantly into the air. “In that case, I’ll go finish right now!” Spinning around, she pulled the office door open and jumped through...

Only to slam right into Marshmallow Sundae.

The clatter of ponies and dishes echoed through the room, followed by eeps and groans of surprise and pain. A weak voice said, “We’re okay... You’re okay, right Marshmallow?”

“You spilled my food...” muttered the mare.

“I’m sorry Marshy, I’ll help fix it!”

The Elder placed her head in her hooves and sighed. “Are you two alright?” she asked, sounding more annoyed than worried about her foals.

“We’re okay mom,” answered Marshmallow Sundae. “The same can not be said for my sandwiches.”

Elder Drop Scone took a deep breath and lowered her hooves. “Sorry,” she said to the three of us. Looking out the door, she cleared her throat. “Praline, help your sister clean up and then go get to work.”

“Okay, mom,” said the mare, sounding dejected. Past the door, she and Marshmallow Sundae were already up and cleaning. The quiet echo of their hooves against the steel floor clanged back and forth, as they picked the mess up.

It felt wrong to not be out there helping them, but I got the feeling from how Drop Scone reacted, that this wasn’t the first time Praline had gotten excited and nearly run somepony over. I looked at Rose, hoping for a bit of advice on how to react, but she just shook her head.

Family matters, of course. They knew what to do and it was best I not get involved. We didn’t have time, after all. We were on the clock, mares were waiting on us.

“Praline. Next time, please, watch where you’re going,” Drop Scone said to her daughter.

“Yes ma’am,” Praline said, sounding much more professional than she had when she answered before. “You sure you’re okay, Marshy?” she asked again, hesitantly. The only answer was a grunt, followed by a curt nod from the white-coated mare. “Okay, I’ll go get programming and testing now....” Then, she disappeared down the hallway, her hooffalls swiftly fading as she ran off.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” the older mare said to us. “Marshmallow, don’t worry about lunch. Just go get cleaned up, okay?”

Her daughter closed her eyes and nodded at her, now holding a tray covered in the scraps of what were once several sandwiches. She too turned down the hallway and disappeared, her quiet, hollow hooffalls falling much slower than her more energetic sister. The echoes came in an odd pattern. She still had the limp from when we dragged the family up from Stable Sixty and into our fight...

They stopped suddenly, only to be replaced by the much much heavier metal-on-metal thuds of a massive power armor wearing stallion. Coming down the hall, toward the doorway, could only be Lamington. The hooffalls stopped short, before he could come into sight, and a static-laced voice asked, “Do you need assistance, Scribe?”

His only answer was a quiet, muffled ‘nu-uh’ from the mare.

“So,” the elder said, pulling the conversation back on topic. “Lamington will accompany you.”

“Thank you, Elder,” I said.

“Thanks,” Rose added.

Fine Tune just smiled, bouncing in place on his hooves.

“Whom will I be accompanying where?” Lamington asked, his static-filled voice carrying loudly as he finally walked through the door behind us. Slowly the visor of his helmet passed across the room, pausing only briefly at each of us. “It’s good to see you’ve returned,” he said, his voice only breaking once into static. “Was your mission across the mountains successful?”

“Eh, mostly?” I said, holding a steel hoof and wiggling it back and forth. I wasn’t really sure myself how to think of what happened. We were only there for a day, but it felt like we’d made a trip to Tartarus and back, and that nightmare... I couldn’t call what we went through a success until the mares were safe and we were through with the entire fiasco.

“You sound displeased with your results,” he answered.

“I am,” I muttered. “I think. We did what we needed to, but... It was a mess.”

“So long as nopony died, a messy mission which succeeds is still successful. Always try to keep that in mind,” he said reassuringly, though the static dampened the effect. His steel-clad hooves clanging loudly against the floor as he walked forward, only stopping to salute his mother once he’d reached the desk. “Elder, you wished to see me?”

“I did,” she answered. “Hidden Fortune and her friends here need an escort. I’d like you to go with them.”

“Ma’am?” he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“They’re requesting extra firepower in case of emergencies while dealing with a...” Drop Scone explained, trailing off. She looked to the three of us. “What exactly did you say they were again?”

“An army of Roses,” Rose answered, rolling her eyes. “The mare has hundreds more of me, with a large stock of weapons collected from various parts of the city over the past few decades.”

Drop Scone closed her eyes and nodded slowly. “Yes, that sounds sufficient to send one of my best soldiers to deal with,” she said, smiling. “Star Paladin, I’d like you to make sure they’re safe.”

He cleared his throat and sat down. Reaching up, he worked his power-armor encased hooves around the clasps that held his helmet in place. With dexterity I’d only expected from a unicorn, he undid each piece and lifted the helmet away. A quiet hiss escaped as the seal broke, and he stiffly pulled it away, twisting to keep the metal pieces from catching against his coat. Once it was free, he swept a hoof over his mane to push it back and, and looked over at me. As gorgeous as always, the only thing that marred his face was the painted cybernetic eye that didn’t seem to fit.

A shiver ran down my spine. If we hadn’t opened that Stable, he’d still have both...

“Do you feel I’ll be enough for a few hundred enemies?” he asked, his pure, static-less voice nearly enough to make me melt. “Will the family be prepared for a potential ambush by the slavers we were warned about in my absence?” He looked down at me and smiled.

“We’re born of steel, son,” the Elder answered. “With or without you here, we’ll survive. Our family cannot all hide behind walls underground and tucked into mountains forever. If ponies come to find and hurt us, they’ll leave with their tails between their legs with or without you.”

“Of course, Elder,” the Star Paladin answered. “My job is to protect my family, and I agree. I should be there for the most vulnerable of us before those who you’ve trained all their lives to fight and survive.”

“We’re not vulnerable,” I muttered under my breath.

“I meant no implication,” Lamington answered, one of his ears flicking a few times. “Merely, the difference between being in a fortified Stable with our power armor, versus traveling the Wastes? We supplied you with the best our resources would allow, but that still leaves you in a tenuous state compared to my siblings.”

“You’ve got a way with words,” Rose muttered. “Anypony ever tell you that?”

“A soldier’s duty is not only to be adept at fighting, but must be skilled with words as well,” the stallion answered, looking quite proud of himself. “Bullets won’t win every fight, negotiation is important too. I pride myself on being proficient at both forms of conflict... resolution.”

Goddesses...

“Their father always hoped we’d leave the Stable to find the world as we they wrote about it in the books we were left with,” Drop Scone explained. “With the War over, and with things like Kindness, Loyalty, and Honesty once again the most important things. He made sure our foals were well educated before he passed.”

“He was a good stallion, Elder,” Lamington said, sitting straight and once again saluting.

“Yes, he was...”

“I would like to request additional support,” Lamington added. “My missile launcher must be reloaded often, and I would prefer my...” He trailed off, looking over the three of us again. The steel of his cybernetic eye reflected the dim light of the room slightly, making me squint. “Friends... not be left unprotected for any small amount of time.”

“Understood,” Drop Scone agreed with him. “Gather your things and prepare to leave. They’ve little time to lolligag. I’ll have a Knight ready to accompany you shortly.”

“Yes, Elder,” Lamington said. He lifted his helmet and awkwardly slid it over his head, once again hiding his gorgeous face and wonderful voice behind steel and static. Sliding his hooves down along the steel power armor, he worked the clasps shut. Once it was locked into place, he rolled his neck around once, as the visor lit up and the suit seemed to come alive on its own. He stood and turned for the door, accompanied by a light buzzing from everything around him powering back up. “I shall make haste and meet with you at the entrance to the Stable.”

“Alright, we’ll meet you there.”

One job done, now we just had to wait for Lost to finish with Crème Brûlée and find out who Lamington would be bringing with us. Praline now knew that we needed her to bring Xeno to us, and I’d managed to avoid being up on the doctor’s examining table by pushing through that we were on a limited time frame. Plus, I got through all that without Rose te