For the Long Haul

Jupiter sat quietly outside her mother's office, brooding over her mother's tardiness. It was extremely unusual for her mother to run this late, and the presence of the two royal guards flanking either side of the door suggested that at least one of the princesses was involved. If she had known she would be sitting here for the last forty-five minutes waiting, she would have stayed to talk with Fletcher longer.

The two had ultimately spent a couple of hours in the library discovering the many experiences they had in common. Both of them had been ostracized from their peers, between Jupiter's missing cutie mark and Fletcher's missing voice, but it was Fletcher's mention of his father that really generated a bonding experience.

It all started with Fletcher's mention of his father's constant absence. As Jupiter asked questions, she found that Fletcher's father had been constantly out hauling goods across Equestria, and would be gone for weeks at a time. Fletcher had nice memories of his father, of course, but he felt that his mom was overworked and deserved a break. He was obviously bitter about what he perceived to be his father's abandonment of their family, and Jupiter could relate to that. Her own parents were divorced when she was nine, and while that gave her plenty of opportunity to know her father, most of her memories of him involved her parents fighting. After the divorce, he had literally never attempted to contact either of them, leaving Jupiter's mother to raise her alone for years.

When that subject had ultimately become a bit depressing, Fletcher had changed the subject to books. Jupiter loved books about botany, astronomy, romance, and horror novels. Fletcher loved books about archery, arts and crafts, history, and science. Apart from a few classics, neither of them had ever read the same books. Their reading preferences ultimately had little overlap, but the shared interest in reading kept them occupied for a fair bit.

Jupiter perked up as the doors to mother's office opened and Princess Celestia stepped out. Jupiter knelt down as the princess passed by, her guards trailing behind. Celestia nodded to Jupiter, but otherwise passed by in silence.

"Jupiter," her mom called sternly. "Please come in." It wasn't a request. Jupiter stepped cautiously into the office, wondering if she had gotten herself into trouble with the Princess somehow. It wouldn't be the first time. The familiar office seemed ominous now, as if something terrible was about to happen. She sat down in front of her mother's desk, trying her best not to accidentally swallow her own tongue.

"What is it, Mom?" Jupiter asked timidly.

Her mother smiled at her strangely, setting Jupiter on edge. "We're going to play a game." She gestured to a suit of armor sitting off to the side of her desk. It was one of the armored suits worn by the Lunar Guard. Jupiter had always loved how cool the Lunar Guards looked, often daydreaming about becoming one when she grew up, even though her relatively poor flying skill would probably disqualify her.

This isn't like her. Mom doesn't play games, Jupiter thought. Why isn't she ever honest with me?

"What kind of 'game' is this?"

"I just figured it would be fun for you to play dress-up for a while. It'll make tonight's trip to Ponyville less boring, don't you think? You've always wanted to dress up as a Lunar Guard!"

Not really, Jupiter thought to herself. But Ponyville? Isn't that where Fletcher was from? It no longer mattered what her mother was up to.

"Okay!" Jupiter replied happily. Of course, there was only one train going to Ponyville tonight, so Fletcher was bound to be on it... but wasn't the train supposed to be leaving in just over an hour? They wouldn't have time to go to their usual dinner. She frowned.

"Is something wrong?" mother asked.

"I'm kinda hungry and the train leaves soon. I was looking forward to the Terrace Greenery for dinner."

"Hmm..." Scarlet hummed. "I think we can make that work."

"Yay!" Jupiter cheered.

"A nice meal would be great," came a low voice from behind her, startling her. She reflexively kicked back with her hooves, and then jumped to the side and spun around, casting about for the owner of the voice, her heart thundering in her chest. A few paces behind her was a large, rough-looking crystal pony she hadn't met before. She must have narrowly missed him with her kick, but he didn't seem to be fazed at all. "Hello there," he continued. "Pleased to meet you. You can call me Salvage." His harsh face drew into a smile that didn't quite take the edge off of his demeanor. "That's quite the quick reaction you have there. There's some nice form in that kick."

He stared her straight in the eye as he spoke. His confidence was aggravating, and Jupiter wasn't sure if she should yell at him or ignore him. At least he didn't seem to be leering at her flank like so many other males. Her heart was still pounding as she took a couple of deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" he asked. His look of concern seemed genuine.

Jupiter didn't care to explain to a stranger why she had issues with being snuck up on. Her experiences relating to her lack of cutie mark were absolutely not his business. Her mother forced an obvious cough, and Jupiter realized she was being rude to the stranger.

"Um... Okay. Hi. I'm Jupiter. You already heard that from my mom, though." He nodded and Jupiter turned away and sat on the other side of the room while her mother and Salvage spoke further.

She sighed as she waited. Her mother was clearly dragging her off on a date again. Impatient, she withdrew one of the new books she'd checked out from the library and began flipping through it. Salvage and her mother continued to talk in quiet voices, never seeming to acknowledge her again.

Jupiter glanced at the armor again. Letting her dress up as a Lunar Guard was obviously just her mom's way of apologizing for it. Still, dressing as a Lunar Guard and riding on a train with Fletcher? That was pretty much the perfect opportunity to mess with him! She could put up with one of her mom's dates for that.

Aside from the thunderstorm, the only sounds Moonshine could hear were the sloshing of hooves through mud and the occasional barked command from various ponies. As the team worked their way to the crest of Shadefall Hill, Moonshine evaluated the condition of the ill-maintained path below. What was normally a dirt road had become a slurry of mud that didn't look like it would provide much traction, and the relentless rain wasn't going to help any time soon. "Careful now," she called forward. "In these conditions, the far side of the slope is going to be extremely slick."

Hammerhoof, her fiance, halted the wagon at the crest of the hill and looked down. Tea Garden, the other Earth Pony, stepped gingerly onto the slope. The mud caused her hoof to slide slightly before finding any purchase. "I don't like this," she called back to the Pegasus ponies above. "We’re gonna need you to lighten that load as much as you can."

"Yeah, we're trying," called Forager, a dark green pegasus that was one of Moonshine’s best friends and lovers. The sound of pegasus wings flapping violently briefly cut through the white noise that was the rain.

"We're ready", the other Pegasus, Cloudfall, called down in a strained voice. Moonshine knew this was risky. The Pegasi wouldn't be able to lift as easily with so much rain wetting their wings, and Shadefall Hill was troublesome even in good conditions. As soon as the wagon crested, the Pegasi needed to lift the cargo, pulling up and away from the front of the wagon to fight the wagon's gravitational desire to speed down the hill as fast as it could go.

Hammerhoof took a gentle step forward, testing the surface for himself. "I'm not gonna call this 'good', but it's the best we've got." He glanced at his partner. "You ready, Tea?"

Tea Garden gingerly took another step. "It'll have to do."

As another lightning bolt tore apart the sky, both Earth Ponies stepped down once again onto the muddy slope. So far, so good. One more step. And then another. Moonshine inhaled sharply, prepared to give her usual signal.

The moment came.

"Wagon is cresting," Moonshine called out in warning. There was an explosion of wings flapping as the Pegasi strained against the harnesses. Moonshine's horn lit up as she telekinetically handled the mechanical device that operated the wagon's right side brakes. Braking properly for hills was nearly an art form, and the job of the Unicorns on a wagon team to ensure it was done properly - apply as much force as you can, but don’t lock the wheels.

Moonshine kept her eyes forward from her seat at the front of the wagon. She didn't want the weight of the wagon to push the entire group to unsafe speeds, but she couldn't let the wheels lock either, or the wagon could swing to the side and they would lose control entirely.

But the wagon was already listing anyway. Tea Garden stumbled to the side, losing her footing as one of her front legs flailed out wildly. The wagon lurched sharply away from her, threatening to swing around in front and start dragging the whole team down with it.

"Losing traction!" Hammerhoof hollered.

Moonshine quietly adjusted the braking, watching with concern as Tea Garden continued to scramble to get her footing. Hammerhoof forced himself to match Tea Garden's pace, but the wagon began to shift more and more to the side. Above, Cloudfall and Forager redoubled efforts to lift and pull as much as possible.

Something wasn't right. Flywheel didn't seem to be handling his brake properly. It didn’t matter what Moonshine did if her partner didn’t do their job. She hazarded a brief glance over at the older stallion, only to find he was in some sort of stupor, gazing toward her with glassy eyes - likely the drugs, again.

"Flywheel!" Moonshine yelled. "We need help here!"

"What?" he slurred.

"SLOW THE WAGON DOWN!"

Tea Garden, still struggling to find purchase, suddenly cried out in pain, "Ow, ow, ow, something's wrong with my leg! I'm losing it! Can't control it!"

"Shit, we're losing it!" Hammerhoof yelled.

"Flywheel!" Moonshine screeched, seeing that he hadn't even touched his brake. "I need your help!"

Flywheel didn't respond.

I have to do something, she thought.

Moonshine refocused her magic as she grasped both braking mechanisms and tried to get the wagon back under control. It was dangerous; magic wasn’t nearly as precise when focused on multiple tasks. She wanted to glare at Flywheel; to scream and yell and curse, but there was no time right now, and she couldn't spare to split her focus any more than she already had.

Without any warning, Flywheel suddenly sprung into action, grabbing his lever with his magic and slamming it all the way down. The wagon, already largely out of control, spun hard to the side as the wheel locked.

Completely taken aback by the stupidity of his actions, Moonshine tried to look where the cart was going, though it was no longer moving straight. Instead, it was sliding into a sharp corner with absolutely nothing stopping it from going straight into the trees! They needed to get things back under control or things were going to get ugly, fast.

But there was no time. A jumble of voices cried out as the wagon careened into the corner, completely beyond any hope of control.

"This is gonna get us killed. I'm out of here!"

"Wagon's coming around!"

"Come back here, ya coward!"

"Where are you going?"

"Curve, bank, turn, do something!"

"TREE!"

A massive flare of magic burst forth from Flywheel's horn as he grabbed the entire wagon telekinetically. Moonshine watched the wagon begin to roll, toppling straight toward Hammerhoof.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Moonshine panicked. Without even thinking, she released the brakes and grabbed Hammerhoof with her magic, throwing him out of the path of the wagon with all the force she could muster.

The horrible sound of splintering wood shattered her concentration as she found herself suddenly airborne. Her vision spun as the blackened, stormy sky replaced the muddy ground, only to be replaced by the ground again... sky, ground, a strangely white sky, and then nothing but agony. She shrieked in pain as she slammed into something and fell face down into the mud. It hurt like Tartarus, but she didn't feel anything break, and she had more pressing concerns.

Using her magic to clear the muck from her eyes, she listened intently for Hammerhoof's voice. Several groans were audible, but Hammerhoof's baritone sounds were distressingly absent. She forced herself to stand, wincing in pain and very nearly falling over again as her hooves struggled to find traction in the sludge. Carefully, she half-walked, half-slid toward the wreckage, wincing in pain the whole way. She would tend to her own injuries later; for now, Hammerhoof was her priority.

"Is everypony alright?" she called, listening for Hammerhoof's response and surveying the damage, hoping she wouldn't find his mangled body among the wreckage.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The landscape looked nearly alien. All around the site of the accident, the trees were covered in a white, gloopy sludge and a dense, white fog hung in the air ominously. The thick, white, paste-like substance -- a mixture of the cargo, whatever it was, and the rain -- was spread across the road and far off into the forest beyond the road's edge in all directions.

The cargo wagon itself was wrapped halfway around the tree, broken wood jutting out in all directions from the point of impact. On top of the wreckage, the harnesses designed for pegasus lifting were wrapped around the tree; one torn in half and hanging from a tree branch, the other connected to a dazed Forager, who laid on top of the remains of the wagon's bonnet, one of his wings bloodied and possibly broken. His eyes lacked focus, but he was conscious, moaning something incoherent.

At the front of the wagon, still in the broken forward harness, Tea Garden struggled to stay standing on a leg she apparently didn't want to put weight on, though Moonshine couldn't readily identify an injury. Next to the wagon, Hammerhoof lay in the muck, unmoving, his harness torn off completely. Moonshine worked her way over to him, calling out his name. He didn't respond, but as she approached she could see that he was - at the very least - still breathing.

Flywheel was nowhere to be seen, but somewhere nearby she heard him call out "I did it!" triumphantly, followed by a whoop. Moonshine ground her teeth, swallowing the urge to lash out at him. Flywheel was usually blown out of his mind, and reacted most inappropriately to the strangest of things. Hammerhoof was still her priority right now. She would rake Flywheel over the coals later.

The offending Unicorn stumbled onto the scene of the crash next to her. It was no wonder she hadn't seen him, as she realized his off-white coat blended in almost perfectly with the surroundings. Flywheel immediately kneeled down next to Hammerhoof, prodding at him. but then he stood up and heaved a sigh.

Rubbing his horn with a hoof, gazing around at the wreckage, his previously energy drained. "Shit, I burned out my horn," he complained, tapping it with a hoof and glancing down at Hammerhoof. "And accomplished fuck-all from the looks of it."

Moonshine snorted derisively, unable to control her tongue. She turned to him. "Maybe if you'd used your magic in the first place, we wouldn't have lost control, we wouldn't have just destroyed an entire load of cargo, we'd still have a wagon, and Hammerhoof wouldn't be hurt!"

The Unicorn's eyes went wide. "Shit, the cargo!" He stumbled off unsteadily toward the wagon bed, and Moonshine had to stifle a burning desire to set him ablaze with her magic. Instead, her horn began to glow with an intense golden fire as she concentrated on one of the few healing spells she knew, redirecting all of her rage into something constructive.

Tea Garden spoke up softly. "Look, Flywheel may've been out of it, but that last attempt to grab the entire wagon and stop it might have just kept us alive. Try to cut him at least some slack?"

Moonshine continued her spell in silence. Tea Garden was right, but that still didn't change the issue that Flywheel had endangered them all with his inattentiveness in the first place.

Forager, who had finally regained his senses, was trying to disentangle himself from the harness. "How's it look, Moon? How bad is he?" the pegasus called out. "Uh, Tea, a little help?"

Moonshine couldn't be sure of the true extent of Hammerhoof’s injuries, but it didn't look all that bad, all things considered. "He's out cold," she replied. "Looks like a head injury, maybe? He's breathing, in any case. I'm not sure I will be able to rouse him with my magic, though."

Healing magic was a difficult practice even for the most talented of Unicorns, and even the best of spells were only capable of accelerating natural healing. Despite an amazing variety of spells that had been developed by Unicorns over the millenia, it just didn't seem possible to magically fix an injury in the blink of an eye.

As she concentrated on Hammerhoof, the others continued to talk amongst themselves. Moonshine was content to just listen.

"The hay happened up there, anyway? Cloudfall really just abandoned us?" Tea Garden asked.

"Dunno what the hell got into him," Forager replied, clear agitation in his voice. "Wagon started to slip, he unbelted and took off like a bullet toward Canterlot. Probably lucky to be far from here at the moment, considering what he deserves.

Tea Garden gingerly put her hoof down again. "This wagon isn't going anywhere," she said. "The whole load is a bust. I don't know about all of you, but I think we should just pitch camp, rest up for the evening, and walk the rest of the way to Ponyville. We'll get a salvage team out to try and rescue what cargo we can tomorrow."

Forager nodded in agreement, still perched on top of the wagon. "Don't have much choice, now, do we?"

A stirring from Hammerhoof interrupted their conversation. "Hammerhoof!" Moonshine exclaimed, pulling him into an embrace.

"Hammer, you okay?" Forager asked.

The large Earth Pony shook his head, but otherwise paid no attention to the Pegasus' inquiry. His eyes seemed focused on the glowing horn in front of him for several seconds, before recognition passed over his face. Without saying anything, he tried to stand, but almost immediately laid back down. "Thanks, Shine. I feel... a bit unstable. I'm just gonna lay here for a moment."

Forager fluttered down from the wagon, wincing as his injured wing burned. "Cloud ditched us, dropped that side of the wagon. Not that we had any control at that point anyway, but you went right off the road and hit the ground pretty hard." After a moment, he added, "You sure you're alright?"

Hammerhoof groaned slightly as he slowly stood up. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll be fine. Shine has it handled."

Moonshine breathed out a sigh of relief. With Hammerhoof able to stand already, he should be okay. She hoped.

"Where the hell is it?" The sound of hooves slamming into wood erupted from the cargo bed. After a few moments, Flywheel emerged from the wagon. "We have a problem. The hidden compartment split open; the other cargo is gone. Celestia knows where it ended up in this mess."

Moonshine felt a chill down her spine. Their client would not be happy with a lost shipment, but their employer would be even more furious. The cargo hauling business was just a front - their real employer was the Canterlot Syndicate - and each wagon was used in a Equestria-wide network of illicit drug trade. But that could wait - the receiver of the normal cargo load was just a couple hours walk down the road and would be getting reports of the destroyed load shortly.

"Speaking of cargo," Moonshine said, walking over to the wagon. "What do we tell the Cakes? This load is supposed to be delivered to them, isn't it? Isn't Mrs. Cake going to be a bit ticked off, what with the shipment being both late and mostly destroyed? I mean, what is this stuff, anyway?" She poked her head into the wagon, taking in the cargo contents. "Flour? I mean, I get it, she's running a bakery, but what is she doing that needs an entire wagon-load of flour? Ugh, I'd just like to get this done and over with so I actually get home. More to the point, with this crap all over me, I really just want a proper bath."

"I think we all'd like that," Forager pointed his leg at Flywheel, who was absolutely covered in the water-flour sludge, as if to emphasize his point.

"I know, I know." Moonshine replied. "And you should let me take a look at that wing." She took a few steps toward Forager, but a sudden realization struck her and she stopped herself in the middle of her stride, turning on Flywheel. "Your inattentiveness just caused a wreck that lost a seventy-five-thousand bit drop?!"

Flywheel stepped back defensively, holding up a hoof. "Hold on now, nothing like this is ever one pony's fault. Yeah, I fucked up - more than you ever could know and more than I care to admit. But it wasn't because you guys were perfect. You just want a scapegoat so you can ignore your own part in this damned mess. Besides, I didn't see you burn out YOUR horn trying to stop everything." As if to emphasize his point, he tried to cast a spell, but his horn only sparked.

"You could have gotten someone hurt, or even killed!"

"Yeah, I might have," he continued. The sarcasm was so thick it could be cut with a knife, infuriating Moonshine even more. "And believe me, no one is as disappointed in me as I am. So you can keep going on about it, but I already know!" He turned and stomped away.

Moonshine glared at his back side as he stormed off into the trees. Nothing she could do now would fix the past, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Flywheel hadn't been giving it his best. Had he caused the accident on purpose? He tried to stop the wagon, didn't he? It bothered her.

"Look, I’m a bit hurt. Tea Garden too," Forager interrupted her thoughts. "And I’d like to be working on the ‘not dying' bit." He looked up at the darkened sky. "And not to disrupt your little argument, but I suspect we got maybe three hours before all the night critters come out. We can sit here all night blaming each other while we get eaten by wild animals, or we can set up a camp and get a perimeter secured."

Moonshine nodded morosely as she came over to look at Forager's wing. "You're right. The Shadefall has a nasty reputation at night," she agreed. "We don't have time to lose."

Moonshine examined Forager‘s wing, continuing to sound off about her frustrations with Flywheel. Forager had definitely sprained something, and it was badly scraped up - he wouldn't be flying for a day or two, but Moonshine was satisfied that it wasn't broken. Content with Forager's condition, she walked carefully toward the shattered remains of the wagon where Hammerhoof was fetlock-deep in a spread of broken supplies. Tea Garden followed with a limp and started working with Forager to secure a tarp over the wrecked wagon, attempting to shelter the remains of the cargo from the rain.

"It's not good," Hammerhoof said as Moonshine walked up next to him. "Most of our emergency supplies are missing or destroyed. I don’t think we’ll be able to safely camp here tonight. We’re gonna be walking the cargo into Ponyville."

"Well, we don't even have a third of the damn shipment intact," Tea Garden mumbled, fastening another line. "We can probably carry most of what’s left."

"I'm sick of this job," Moonshine groused quietly to Hammerhoof. "I can't keeping working with Flywheel. He's creepy and I don't trust him. I'm going to try and find another gig as soon as we get to Ponyville."

Hammerhoof nodded. "I don't trust him, either. This is the third accident we've been in since we’ve started working with him. I love you, darling, and if the bosses are amenable, I'll go wherever you go. Besides, I can't keep my parents worried with accidents like this." He smiled grimly as he gathered up what few supplies could be found and tucked them under the wagon, providing them some protection from the torrential downpour.

Moonshine sighed.

"Let's go, everypony," Forager called out. "You can sit here all night if you want, but we need to make it to Ponyville and secure lodging before the inns fill up. Stormy night like this is gonna leave them a bit crowded."

"Here you go, darlin'!" Sugarbeet said sweetly, setting two keys on the counter in front of her. "The room is up the stairs, second door on the left."

Scarlet lofted the keys with her telekinesis. "Thank you." She turned away and headed toward the stairs, with Salvage and Jupiter - who was still clad in Lunar Guard armor - following right behind her.

The appearance of a Lunar Guard in the little town was having the exact effect Scarlet had hoped: the din of the bar had dulled immediately upon her arrival, and several patrons had quickly excused themselves. According to what little information Justice Key was able (or perhaps, willing) to give her, there was a small safehouse here in Ponyville that many of the local smugglers would be drawn to for safety.

Short Circuit, one of the local syndicate leaders, while not exactly a good pony, was supposedly somewhat complicit with the Equestrian government in exchange for a blind eye to some minor criminal activities in Ponyville, and had agreed to help arrange a meeting. All Scarlet was supposed to do was meet him at his office, and then he would give her information on which ponies might be interested in the job. There was a small amount of risk involved, but as long as she left her 'Night Guard' at the tavern, she and Salvage alone would hopefully not seem like a threat.

As soon as they reached their room, Scarlet went straight to the desk at the back and began unpacking her things.

"Um... I'm not getting a separate room?" Jupiter wondered aloud as she slung her own pack on the bed and began digging through it.

"No," Scarlet replied. "That would be wasteful."

Jupiter's head perked up, seemingly confused and glancing between Scarlet and Salvage. "Uh..."

"There's no need for two rooms," Scarlet repeated.

"Okay. So... there's only two beds," Jupiter observed. "Who are you sharing with?"

Scarlet paused. "Who am I—?"

"I'll sleep on the floor," Salvage interjected.

Jupiter raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, returning to her bag.

"It's alright, Salvage," Scarlet replied. "Jupi and I will share."

Jupiter whirled around. "But-"

"No buts!" Scarlet barked, cutting her off. "Salvage will not be sleeping on the floor."

Jupiter looked between Salvage and Scarlet repeatedly with a look of utter bewilderment.

"Really, Scarlet, I'll be fine," Salvage insisted.

Scarlet's brow furrowed as she continued to pull things out of her bag. "We'll talk about it later, then." Why was Salvage being so obstinate about sleeping on the floor? It really wasn't a big deal for her to share a bed with her own daughter.

After a few minutes, they had all unpacked their things; there wasn't much, as it was only expected to be a one-night trip.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"You know the colt I told you about? Can I try and find him?" Jupiter pleaded. "I really want to surprise him."

Scarlet recalled the way Jupiter had droned on about the colt she had met on the sky chariot from Canterlot. Her little girl had a crush! She was finally growing up!

"He said he lives here in Ponyville..." Jupiter mumbled.

Scarlet looked up at the clock on the wall, which showed that it was currently just before 8 PM. Jupiter couldn't be allowed to run around so late, but...

"You can ask around downstairs," Scarlet agreed. "But you have to stay inside. If you learn anything about him and we have time in the morning, we'll go ahead and give him a visit." If everything went according to plan, they wouldn't have any time to spare in the morning at all. The smile on Jupiter's face was so warm and cute that Scarlet felt bad about lying to her daughter so brazenly. "Alright," Scarlet continued, trying not to let on that she was bluffing. "Salvage and I have some things here in town we have to do. Remember to stay inside."

"Yes, mom!" Jupiter seemed honest enough in her response. Hopefully she would listen this time.

Scarlet and Salvage headed back out of the tavern, stepping outside into the torrential downpour. She had forgotten to pack an umbrella, and all of the ordinary shops were closed at this hour, making the walk rather miserable, though Salvage didn't seem to mind it at all as he trotted beside her. According to the information she'd been given, Short Circuit's office was on the western edge of town, so it was a fair distance away still.

"Jupiter seemed legitimately confused about the room situation," Salvage observed as the walked. "Is something wrong?"

"That's my fault," Scarlet sighed. "I've always gotten separate rooms for trips like this."

"Like this? You do things like this often?"

Scarlet laughed and shook her head. "No, I mean trips with a stallion. I..." Scarlet searched for ways to sugarcoat what she was about to say, but couldn't come up with anything. "I'm a single mother, Salvage. I often arrange my dates to be longer trips so I can justify taking her with me. It helps serve as a reminder to stallions that they aren't just courting a mate, they're also courting a potential daughter."

"So... she thinks this is a date?"

"Oh, probably," Scarlet said, turning down another rain-soaked street. "I didn't tell her it was, but I can't exactly tell her what's really going on."

"Why not?" he asked. "When we leave town for a month, don't you think she's going to have a lot of questions?" Unspoken was the knowledge that it could be a dangerous mission that they might not return from.

Scarlet trotted along in silence, her soaked mane and tail sticking to her body. The chilly evening air was soaking her to the bone and she began to shiver.

"Hold on," Salvage said, stopping in his tracks. Scarlet turned around and raised an eyebrow, questioningly. Taking a small crystal from his bag, Salvage struck it with his hoof and held it out to her.

"An elemental crystal?" Scarlet asked, recognizing it immediately. "Why?"

"Just take it," he said, holding it out to her.

Scarlet grasped the crystal in her magic, and soon found it emanating a powerful warmth that slowly dried her out in spite of the downpour. It was actually too warm, and she had to levitate it a short distance away from herself to be comfortable with it. It wasn't an umbrella, but it was probably the next best thing. Salvage paced right next to her, also keeping a fair distance from the crystal on the other side.

"And what if we encourage her to believe we're dating?" Salvage wondered as they continued down the street.

Her eyes went wide and she slowed her trot ever so slightly. Her gaze travelled up and down his backside as they continued, briefly pausing on the prosthetic leg that she still really wanted to get a better look at.

Scarlet pondered the stallion's figure as his muscular body continued marching forward at a normal pace. He seemed nice enough and he certainly wasn't bad looking, but crystal ponies weren't really her type. She loved to snuggle with her lovers and had never found the crystal ponies' rock hard bodies to have much snuggle appeal. "I've already lied to her enough," Scarlet replied, dismissing those thoughts. "What good would it do to pretend we're a couple?"

"Well, for starters, you can explain our upcoming journey as a longer trip that we want to take alone."

"Mmm." Scarlet continued wordlessly, pondering the implications. It made sense, in a way. And they didn't actually have to date, only pretend to.

Soon they arrived at an old building made of stone and clay. The sign out front said "Short Circuit's Gadget Repair", with two magical circuits on the sign. One of circuits was broken.

"We'll have to put a pin in that discussion," Scarlet replied, looking up at the door that stood ajar - an odd choice, given the weather. "Business before pleasure."

Jupiter posed several different ways in front of the mirror, trying to find the most threatening look she could muster in her Lunar Guard outfit. It wasn't working very well; no matter what she tried, she was just too small to be imposing. She looked like the real deal - likely because it was a real Lunar Guard-enchanted armor, with the full transformation effect - but her small frame and teenage proportions were not giving the 'gruff military persona' she was hoping for.

She turned away from the mirror with a sigh. Fletcher would probably see right through her rather quickly. Then again, when she'd entered the bar earlier, no one questioned her status or authority, so maybe he wouldn't?

The bar.

Jupiter smiled to herself. She couldn't go outside, but her mom did say she could ask around downstairs, and the bar would have a lot of ponies in it, right? Maybe someone there knew where she could find Fletcher.

She nearly galloped her way out of the room and down the flight of stairs to the bar below. A dull murmur of voices came from a dozen or so ponies in small groups sitting at the tables, while several stools at the bar itself were vacant. She looked over at the stallion wiping down the counter with a bored expression. Jupiter was too young to drink, but you couldn't be in the Lunar Guard if you were still a minor, so, hedging her bets on her appearance, Jupiter approached the bar as confidently as she could and took a seat on one of the barstools.

Almost immediately, the bartender slid over to her. "Howdy, miss," he said in a deep voice. "Welcome to Sugarbeet's Tavern. Can I get you a drink? Or perhaps you're looking for a nice meal?"

"Actually," Jupiter said, lowering her voice to try and make herself sound a bit more mature. "I'm looking for some information."

"Information, huh? Sorry, we're fresh out." The stallion laughed loudly as Jupiter frowned. "Look here, Lunatic-" Jupiter frowned at the derogatory name for Lunar Guards - ironically, one usually heard from Solar Guards. "Nopony around here is just gonna give information to your kind without some sort of... incentive." His eyes roamed up and down her figure. Jupiter knew that look all too well, and had to bite back an angry retort.

She pressed on with her questions anyway. "All I need is to know where I can find a kid named Fletcher. He's a colt living here in Ponyville."

"Sorry, can't help ya," he said with a shrug. "I serve adults here. Don't know anything about any colts." He frowned. "Now, you gonna order anything or not?"

Jupiter hesitated. The bartender was proving far less useful than she'd hoped.

Suddenly another stallion hopped over the stool next to her and slammed some bits on the table. "She'll have an Autumn Lily. And one for me, too, if you will."

"Um, thank you. I guess," Jupiter said, turning to the stranger and forgetting to mask her voice. "But I wasn't looking for a drink."

The stallion smiled. "Don't worry about it. I can tell this isn't your strong suit, and you're clearly new at this."

Jupiter's mouth hung open in mild shock. Was she really so transparent?

After a moment, the bartender placed two drinks in front of the newcomer, and he immediately passed one to Jupiter. Not wanting to be rude, Jupiter cautiously sipped at the drink. It had a nice, flowery flavor, but left a bit of a burn as she swallowed it down. Her expression must have tipped off the stallion, because he immediately placed a hoof on the back of her neck and gently rubbed. Jupiter recoiled at his touch, glaring harshly at the stallion, who withdrew his hoof.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, raising his hooves defensively. "Just thought you might need a bit of help getting that down." His eyes darted to her drink, and then back to her.

"I'm fine, thanks," Jupiter said defiantly. She immediately grabbed the mug and took a much larger drink before slamming it back down on the bar. She tried to put on a stern face and ignore the burning sensation as it went down, but she could tell her eyes were watering a little bit. Hopefully he didn't notice.

The stallion simply nodded. "Good. Good." He turned for a moment, and raised a hoof, waving at another pony elsewhere in the bar before turning back to Jupiter. "So, I heard you were looking for uh... information. And since you're new here, let me tell you, information isn't free. I might know about this 'Fletcher' guy you're asking about."

The wagon crew stood in front of the large glass panes of Shipping Label's Shipping Services. Shipping Label himself had been fixing up a wagon just outside the shop, but now he was waving his screwdriver about, justifiably irate about the loss of the goods he'd been expecting.

"Not only have you lost an entire shipment of flour, you destroyed my wagon!" Shipping Label yelled at Hammerhoof.

Moonshine paid them no mind, instead glaring at Flywheel with seething anger. Flywheel seemed to be looking in her general direction, but his glassy-eyed stare seemed to pierce straight through her - as if his focus was on something completely beyond her.

Hammerhoof stepped toward Shipping Label. "At least we tried!" he shouted angrily. "We lugged as much here on foot as we could."

Flywheel began giggling, seemingly at nothing.

"What’s so damn funny?" Tea Garden hissed. "You need some sense knocked into you, old stallion?"

That snapped Flywheel back to attention. "Old stallion? I’m only forty." He frowned, then pulled out his ID and stared at it. "Forty-ish."

Forager shook his head. "Can’t even figure out your own age? Is math really so hard?"

"It’s not even a real ID," Tea Garden pointed out.

"So where's that leave me?" Shipping Label demanded. "I owe Mrs. Cake a lot of flour, and I have..." He stopped and counted the bags. "8 bags. Out of 72."

"That's 1 in 9," Flywheel called over. "Could have been more if Moonie here did her job."

"Oh, I'm done," spat Moonshine. "DONE! You nearly got us all killed, and now you have the gall to blame me?"

"Go ahead and leave. See if I care," Flywheel responded venomously. "I don't want a filly in the same crew with me if she can't keep her hind legs shut anyway. You and Forager? All those times you thought no one was paying attention? That no one was awake? I've seen what the two of you do. Real sexy, you know? Even with Hammerhoof right there! You are such a filthy whor--"

Moonshine rising anger was interrupted as Hammerhoof's hind leg crashed into Flywheel's muzzle right in front of her. Blood began gushing out from his lower lip as Moonshine stumbled backwards to get out of the way. She fell, planting her tail into a shallow puddle and soaking her nethers. She grimaced at the cold water. Shipping Label, startled at the sudden violence, jumped backwards, slipping in the muddy street and falling to the ground and knocking over a bucket of screws and nails he'd been using on the wagon. The screwdriver skittered away as he lost his magical focus on it.

"Mind your manners in public, geezer!" Hammerhoof snorted, closing inches from Flywheel's face. "What the three of us do in private isn’t your concern. And some things just aren't polite conversation."

Flywheel's horn flashed. In an instant, Hammerhoof was stumbling backwards, blinded temporarily by the sudden light, followed by Flywheel's own hoof smashing into Hammerhoof's jaw. The unicorn's jab was nothing compared to the massive earth pony's kick, but before Hammerhoof could recover, Flywheel snatched up the screwdriver and flung it at Hammerhoof's head as hard as his magic would allow. The tool sailed straight and true, lodging itself firmly into Hammerhoof's neck.

Moonshine stared, stunned, as her fiance began grabbing at the makeshift blade, but in his panic, his hooves repeatedly struck the handle, driving the tool deeper into the wound. After a brief moment, he staggered and dropped to the ground. She stared in horror as crimson life seeped around the wound and began to mix with the shallow puddles in the road. And the reality of what had just happened began to sink in.

Flywheel walked around to Hammerhoof's head, bringing his face down to the ground, staring into Hammerhoof's glazed eyes. He whispered something inaudible. Even though Moonshine couldn't hear what was said, Hammerhoof began thrashing about again, and seemed to be trying to gurgle out a response. The alien sound sent shivers down Moonshine's spine.

Then, Flywheel stood up and yanked the handle violently away from Hammerhoof’s neck. As soon as the tip was clear, Hammerhoof coughed a few times, blood spraying from his punctured throat and coating the wet pavement.

He is struggling to breathe.

Moonshine immediately jumped to his side, calling out to him. "Don't move. Don't move! You're going to make it worse." He closed his eyes. "No, no, Hammer, don't close your eyes, don't do that to me." Moonshine put all of her effort into casting another healing spell, but she was sure this one wouldn't be enough.

Around them, Forager stood stiffly, staring slack-jawed at the spectacle unfolding in front of his eyes. Tea Garden had already bolted from the scene, not wanting to get mixed up with the authorities again. Every other pony was slowly backing away from the scene.

"See? You are no Goddess!" Flywheel taunted.

Moonshine closed her eyes. Come on, Hammer, I can't lose you again. Don't let that asshole win. She began willing her very soul into her magic, but her worry overwhelmed her. Her horn sparked as she lost her focus. The spell failed.

Flywheel cackled maniacally. "See? Your magic is too weak. You cannot save him!" he announced. The glee in his voice was thick with derisiveness.

Hammerhoof is lost. Moonshine resigned herself to the truth. Flywheel killed him.

Moonshine's horn glowed as she grasped the screwdriver with her magic.

Flywheel killed him.

Now in her control, the screwdriver took a life of its own. Moonshine waved the screwdriver around in Flywheel's face as the elder stallion stood, laughing senselessly.

Flywheel killed him.

She pointed it menacingly at him as she laid her churning emotions out. "You killed him!" she screamed.

The crazed laughter stopped and Flywheel levelled a steely glare at Moonshine. "And I care, why? He was ruining my life."

"Ruined your life?" Moonshine screamed. "You've ruined everything with your incompetence!" She thrust the screwdriver forward in a feint, forcing him to fall backwards in a desperate bid to dodge. "And you nearly killed ALL of us."

Flywheel sat there, eyes crossed, staring at the screwdriver in front of his snout. "Learn your place," he growled. "No false goddess shall stand before me. You are nothing but a temptress."

Moonshine stopped and took a deep breath. Her anger was causing her control over the screwdriver to destabilize, and the tool was beginning to visibly shake. She held it there for a few seconds, staring at the sharp tip, trying to steady it as she took several steps back.

"And if I am a goddess, then you are nothing but a devil," she hissed. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Tartarus!"

With one final blast of magical energy, Moonshine hurled the screwdriver with all of her power at Flywheel, who didn't even flinch as it passed right by his ear. Instead, the window of the building behind him shattered. His face twisted into a wide grin as he stood back up, lifting a myriad of scattered pieces of glass, screws, and nails from the ground with his magic.

The airborne shards floating in a whirlwind, spinning around Moonshine at his direction. Her horn was burnt out from the sheer power she'd put into that throw, and she had nothing to protect herself with. She crouched down and put her hooves over her head, bracing for a hail of sharp, stabbing pains.

Flywheel erupted into uproarious laughter, bringing the storm of shrapnel to a halt. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear.

"I wonder what happens when a goddess dies."