Fallout Equestria: Homelands
By Somber
Chapter 27: Southern Cross

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Auntie,” Majina gushed as she sat next to the Whiskey Express, sharing tea brought by the golden striped mare. “I just never expected to see you here of all places!”

“Indeed! After the debacle at Rice River, I was certain that you five had been lost forever! I decided to take a page from your book, Miss Tape, and just go wandering and assess just what ails our land and our people. I’ve been hearing stories of a green pony doing good work in the fallen city of Roam and just had to come see for myself,” Errukine said with a placid smile. The sunstripe mare seemed like a literal ray of sunshine in the garage. They’d spent the better part of an hour just telling her the basics of their journey south.

“Yeah, the wandering was less wandering and more getting lost for a time. If I’d listened to Vicious, we probably would have gotten here a whole lot faster,” Scotch admitted. The fact Vicious was just outside across the flame trench made Scotch feel apprehensive. The two of them had parted on weird terms and Scotch honestly hadn’t thought she’d see her so soon. Or ever again.

“Well, it likely threw anyone pursuing you for a loop. Who would have anticipated you going through the Empty, dealing with not one but three different Legions, and building a little pearl of civilization in the heart of a fallen city beset with fiery horrors?” Errukine said as she took a sip, peering at Scotch over the rim. “I'm overflowing with questions.”

“You know what? She’s right. We are pretty awesome! Why isn’t anyone paying us for any of this?” Precious demanded with a grin.

“Because we are the noble heroes not demanding anything for making the world a better place,” Majina replied with a little nod of her head.

“Heroes need to form a union. No saving the world without due compensation,” Precious retorted, then looked around and groaned. “This is why we need Charity back. It’s just not the same without her exploding at the word ‘union’.”

“As I recall,” Pythia said, not partaking in the tea as she watched calmly from next to Scotch, “You weren’t all that impressed when we parted in Rice River. You thought the whole town deserved judgment when the festival was disrupted.”

Errukine considered Pythia silently for a moment before giving a tiny shrug and warm smile. “And I still do.” The golden striped zebra declared serenely. “The quibbling between powers is a testament to their greed and failure to reach a compromise or understanding,” Errukine said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I expect the Blood Legion will rue their action when the razorgrass spreads all the way to Slaughterhouse’s fields, and the Iron Legion when their guns fall silent. But that’s far from us now.” She sighed, “I suppose I ought to pity the people caught between them, but they made their choice to yield to the Legions. Now they must deal with the consequences.”

“It’ll take a lot more than the loss of Rice River to silence our cannons,” Skylord growled back. “So long as there’s nitre, sulfur, and charcoal, we’ll make something go boom.”

“Of course,” Errukine said with a dismissive little sigh, glancing again at Pythia, before returning her gaze to Scotch. “Still, quite generous for you to take their censure as you have. Why, it doesn’t seem to have slowed you down at all!”

“Well,” Scotch rubbed her chest. “The Stone King helped a lot. I think without all that junk cleaned out, I’d have choked to death in the ash out here. I still get winded though.”

“Indeed,” the golden striped mare. “And your quest for the Eye continues! I must say that alone is noteworthy! I think it’s still a foolish endeavor, but it’s a better goal than most have.”

“You still think it’s just a metaphor?” Pythia asked with an arched brow. “Logos aren’t big on metaphors.”

“Of course, but data can be misinterpreted. I think Starkatteri are prone to see signs and omens where they may not necessarily exist,” she replied with a wave of her hoof. “That said, if the Logos say a place was dedicated to the Eye of Equus...why I see no reason to doubt them. Merely that I am skeptical that its destruction would have any serious repercussions. After all, it’s been more than two centuries. At what point is this blinding supposed to matter?”

“I don’t know,” Pythia said as she stared hard at Errukine. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.” The golden striped mare just gazed back for a moment, then gave an odd smile and sipped her tea. Some amusement was dancing in the goldenstripe’s eyes that annoyed Scotch.

Scotch had no good answer to that, furrowing her brow thoughtfully. “Well what brings you to Roam, Errukine? Assuming it’s not just to catch up with us,” she added.

“Oh, this and that. Most pressing is I have a patient with a profoundly aggressive spiritual affliction whom I am assisting,” Errukine replied. “It’s a difficult case. I’m hoping to get to the Imperial Hospital in the hopes that there’s some cure or palliative available.”

“What’s he have?” Skylord asked. “Terminal spiritus?”

“A comprehensive and progressing contamination of body and spirit. Not contagious, fortunately, but severely impacting his quality of life. Similar to your case, actually,” she said as she eyed his chains. “Though yours would be far easier to ameliorate.”

“You can fix this?” he asked immediately, pulling on his bindings.

“Certainly. As I understood, you need to fall in love to shed them, yes?” Errukine said with a placid smile. “Simply drink a tonic to induce extreme attraction, given to you and a partner rented for the treatment. You both fall in ‘love’. The terms of the censure are met and your bonds fall off. Rather simple, really,” she said with a shrug.

“Auntie. I think it probably has to be ‘true love’, don’t you?” Majina said with a touch of reproach.

Her eyes slid to Pythia a moment, that smile lingering on her lips before answering. “Love is an emotion. Spirits can’t say if it’s true or induced, only that it is felt.” She gave another dismissive hoof wave. “Granted, there may be other side effects of the treatment itself, but it should obtain its goal.” She then gave Majina a smile, “I know it likely offends your narrative sense, dear, but not everything is a romance novel.” From Majina’s expression, the offense ran deep.

Pythia pulled out the atlas and opened it to Roam. “The Imperial Hospital of Medicine?” she asked as her hoof roamed over the page.

“No, I’m pretty sure she wants the Imperial Hospital of Sickness and Death,” Precious scoffed.

“That would be the Imperial Hospital of Pathological and Posthumous Research. It’s next door,” Errukine corrected. “No, I need the Imperial Hospital of Spiritual Research.”

“Found it,” Pythia said as she pointed to a huge block of buildings on the atlas. “The Imperial Hospital Campus is located in Harborside. The IHSR is right here... next to the IHPPR.,” Pythia said. “Been to Roam much?”

And far deeper than they’d ever gotten, so Scotch watched the golden stripe intently as the mare took her time sipping her tea. She gave Pythia another of those annoyingly warm smiles. “The Legate knew a number of routes into the city’s center I had opportunity to use,” she said smugly.

Pythia glanced at Scotch. “It’s a block away from the temple of the Twelve and One Tribes.”

“Is that where you’re going?” Errukine asked, as if they were tourists seeing sights. “A magnificent structure. Constructed in the first Empire, of course. A show of unity for the Caesar.” She set her cup down, reaching out to Pythia and clapping her hooves together. “We should travel together, I think! Two shamans and a seer? Why, we should make an afternoon of it!”

“I’m not a...” Pythia started to say, before glancing in alarm to Majina and Scotch, and then she blinked. “Oh. I’m the seer. Gotcha.”

Scotch was about to correct her about being a shaman too when Skylord busted out laughing, “Lady, you must have gone to a different Roam. We’ve been here six months and haven’t gotten within five klicks of the place. Roam’s a nightmare.”

Errukine simply made a tiny shrug as she pulled her hooves away from Pythia’s. “I’ve had the opportunity to come to Roam before. It may be I know a route that isn’t on your atlas.”

“Really?” Pythia asked with a frown. She suddenly looked towards the door in concern, furrowing her brows.

“I do travel quite a bit. There are many lands in need of healing and an end to their suffering,” she said primly. Scotch couldn’t really put an age on her, but guessed she was under Rivet’s age, but older than her own mother had been when she’d died. “A decade ago I was tasked with finding a cure for a plague afflicting the Remnant and located one here in Roam. The route I took might still be accessible.”

“I remember mom telling me about that. The twisty guts. Mom said it nearly killed me,” Majina said, with a slow nod. That leant a little credibility, Scotch supposed. Pythia started backing away from the door.

There was a rapid approach of hooves before the door burst open. Scotch was out of her chair, ready to take cover, when she saw another golden striped zony stood in the doorway. Her chest heaved as she stared at Errukine. “Mother?” Epona gasped. “They said a sun stripe was here...”

“Ah,” Errukine sighed, regarding her cup. “My tea’s cold,” she murmured before she set the teacup aside before giving Epona a flat smile. “Epona. It’s been a bit.”

“Mother?” Majina asked, looking at Errukine and starting to grin widely like she was about to burst all over Epona. “Hey, Cous–”

“A bit? A bit! It’s been two years! Two years is not a bit!” the mare snapped back. Majina froze, unburst and sank back down into her seat as Epona went on, “And before that? Five! I thought you were dead. All your sister-wives were murdered! Hoofington blew up and I didn’t even know if you were caught in it or not!” the distraught mare blurted.

The plastic smile withered away as Errukine rolled her eyes. “Oh please drop these hysterics, Epona. If you had the least bit of resourcefulness, you could have ascertained my survival. And if you couldn’t, Osmen could. I left you here to study and improve yourself,” she said coolly as she rose to her hooves. “Clearly over optimism on my part.”

“You left me in a diner basement! You left me with the Flame Legion! You said you’d be right back! If it hadn’t been for Osmen and Elphabia I would have died or been branded or worse! Did you think of that? Did you care?”

“Of course,” Errukine said casually. “I also think that I overestimated your capabilities.” She gestured to Scotch. “This young mare crossed all of Zebrinica in a quarter of the time you sat here on your ample rump. You’ve been taking it easy, Epona.. Clearly, I’m going to need to wait for a little more maturity on your part before I start expecting you to reach your potential,” Errukine said as she rose. “You should try to be more like Scotch, Epona. She’s twice the zebra you will ever be.” Scotch’s brain reeled as Errukine gave her a pleasant smile. “Let me know when you’d like to go. Should be a quick nip in and out. Back by dinner.” And with that she trotted out.

A glowing field surrounded a teacup and flung it at the door as it closed behind her. Epona sobbed as she buried her face in her forelegs. Skylord and Precious shot each other a look and blurted in unison, “Hey, wanna go do that thing? Yeah, that thing sounds great!” and then immediately bolted for the back door.

“Damnit... Damnit!” Epona sobbed, hanging her head. “I thought, maybe, if it was her, she’d be different...”

Scotch glanced at Pythia. Pythia nodded at Majina. Scotch frowned. Pythia nodded her head once at Majina, then at Epona. Scotch glanced at Majina. Majina met her gaze, her eyes widening with shock and she shook her head in alarm. Scotch cocked her head. Majina then proceeded to launch into some kind of elaborate interpretive dance, silently, balancing and pirouetting on a hoof as the pair stared at her silently. Together, Scotch and Pythia gestured in unison at the weeping mare and Majina grit her teeth, then slumped in defeat.

Sighing, Majina walked over and sat beside Epona. “Hey, Cousin-in-law,” Majina said, getting a snotty sniff and a glance up at Majina. “I’m Sekashi’s kid. Did you know my mom?”

“Sekashi?” Epona’s eyes went wide. “One of the Legate’s other wives? The Zencori?” Majina gave a nod. “I thought Lancer killed you all.”

“Close.” Majina replied with a small smile. Epona immediately lunged and embraced her tight. Majina patted her back. “I had no idea. Mother never told me aunt Errukine had a filly.”

“She wouldn’t. I was born here. I... never got a clear answer on my... conception. She said it was rape by some pony raider she’d been trying to help, but before that she said she’d been drugged, and when I was really little she told me stories about a nice unicorn stallion she met. I’ve given up thinking I’ll ever get a straight answer out of her.”

“Why?” Scotch asked. When you came from a place where family was ‘mother-daughter’ and nothing else, the idea of sisters and cousins was somewhat alien. At least she knew what it was like to have a father though.

“I’m guessing because she’s a cunt,” Pythia replied as she moved to sit closer to Epona. She glanced at Scotch and muttered, “What? She is.”

“I’m not sure that makes her evil, Pythia. She’s hardly Riptide,” Scotch said.

Pythia huffed a moment, glowering. “She touched my hooves! Who does that?” she said with a flush before glancing at Scotch and giving a small smile. “Besides you.” Epona didn’t immediately respond to Pythia, which worried Scotch all the more. Epona was... quirky. Not bad by any measure, but full of oddities and speculations that were often surprising.

Majina nodded. “I’m sure she has a reason. Mother told us good stories about Errukine. She was all about fixing sick people and making them better. That doesn’t excuse how she treated you just now, of course!” Majina said in the haste of someone trodding upon an emotional landmine.

“I had no idea you’d met,” Epona asked with a small frown at Scotch.

“Sorry. It was months ago. Almost a year, come to think of it! I’d honestly forgotten all about her by the time we got here.” She admitted as she sat down with her. “Honestly, her popping up here after all this time is... strange.”

“Mom said that Auntie Errukine went to Zebrinica all the time. Who better to be a spokeszebra for the Remnant than a sunstripe?” Majina said, clearly torn by the memory of her aunt and what we’d all seen. “She was here when Lancer... well, you know.”

“She’s not wrong,” Epona muttered. “I’m a joke of a daughter. The spirits barely acknowledge me. When they do, it’s more out of annoyance than anything else. If I were her, I doubt I’d be any different.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Scotch said as she put a foreleg around her from the other side. “You put up with Pomphrey! That’s heroic. Anyone that can do that without strangling him is special.”

“I just...” Epona gestured towards the door. “I just imagined when I saw her she’d be a smiling, approving spirit. And then I find out she’s here talking to you and...” she sighed and shook her head. “She didn’t even tell me why...”

“She has a patient,” Scotch explained.

“Of course she does. She’d never come to Roam for me,” Epona said with a sniff as she wiped away her tears. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. She’s always been this way.”

“Sorry,” Scotch said with a half smile. “I know how bad it hurts when your mom’s not there for you.”

Epona finally seemed composed enough to rise. “Maybe I should come with you. Show her everything I’ve learned. It never hurts to have more shamans.”

“That’s a super ide-” Majina started to say as Scotch shook her head. “Er... bad... super bad...” But at that moment, Scotch saw Pythia with a far away gaze. Majina slurred, “baaaad ass... idea...?” She glared at them and blurted “Will you two make up your mind?”

“Let’s do that! One sec!” Scotch said as she stepped away with Pythia. When she was pretty sure they were out of hearing range, she said, “We’ve seen Roam. It’s the last place for a person like Epona!”

“Except if we don’t take her, we all die,” Pythia said evenly.

“Like Black Book fuckery making you see us all die?” Scotch asked, not able to hide all her scorn.

“No,” Pythia said, looking at Scotch’s saddlebags. “As in the book isn’t fucking with my sight at all. Not since Errukine got here. If we don’t take Epona, none of us have a future in Roam.”

Scotch felt a tightness in her chest. Risking her friends was bad enough, but she didn’t want to put someone like her at risk. “You mean the Black Book... is helping all of a sudden?”

“As much as an evil soul jar artifact can,” she said coolly. “There’s still problems, but I don’t see a future without her.”

“Why?” Scotch asked, the skin on her sides crawling at the sudden change. Pythia simply shrugged. “Do you see anything else?”

Pythia frowned, looking at the door. “The future’s.... Strange. Like parts of it are edited. It’s not a shadow or smoke. It’s... really weird.” Then she glanced back at Scotch. “I can’t see past my own death... but I’m seeing blank patches.”

“Blank?” Scotch asked, furrowing her brows. “Like the future’s... gone?”

“I don’t know... and don’t give me that look! It’s not any easier for me. Shadows are easy. Something I don’t know about is going to affect things. It casts a shadow on the future. Smoke is just my own anxiety and fears obscuring the future. But these blanks are bizarre... I see futures after them, but I can’t see anything inside the blank spots. And Scotch, in some of the futures past the blank spots... some of us are gone. Just... gone. But we don’t even notice it. Like before the patch, all of us are doing our thing, but afterwards Precious is gone and we don’t even notice her missing. We don’t even care.”

Scotch’s head reeled at that thought. “When did you start seeing... missing futures?”

“Just now, when the book stopped mucking with my vision,” she said, glaring at Scotch’s saddlebag. “Did you do something to it to make it stop?”

Scotch balked. “It... showed me something. The past, I think.” She’d elaborate later. “Do you know who Amadi or Morningstar or Ophidius or Unukal... something? Unukalhai!” she blurted. “Do you know any of those names?”

“Amadi was the Legate back in Hoofington. Morningstar isn’t a name. It’s a title. Basically means ‘first and wisest of the Starkatteri Elders’. Most old Starkatteri use it to brag. I don’t think there is one officially anymore.” She paused, closing her eyes a second before opening them again, “The other two sound like old names, but I don’t know who they are.”

None of that was terribly useful to her. “Why would it show me that?”

“I don’t know. All I can say is if we don’t take her with us, some of us won’t be in the future. We won’t even notice,” Pythia said evenly.

“What if we don’t go?” Scotch asked.

Pythia’s gaze turned distant. “That way, the future looks normal. No missing parts. But also I don’t see any future we get into Roam any time soon. Years, maybe”

Scotch swallowed. It wasn’t fair putting Epona’s life at risk. But Errukine seemed confident in reaching Roam’s heart. “What do you think?”

“I’m biased. I want to find out about the Eye. You care about both of us. Your call, Scotch. I’ll handle it either way,” she said with a small smile.

They’d already taken months. More than a year, actually? Would it take another year? Two? Ten? The rest of their lives till... Scotch wasn’t exactly unbiased either, she realized, but what would happen after they learned the truth? Go back home, wherever that was? Deal with the Shadow Legion? Try to make a life here? What was she supposed to do? How long would the others stick along with her, especially if they found out there was a chance to find out years earlier?

She looked at Epona. Soft, academic, and lucky to have lasted as long as she had. Maybe that was why they’d make it through? She trotted back where Majina was telling a story about her mother and Blackjack. Both fell silent as they looked on at Scotch.

“It’ll be dangerous,” Scotch warned her. “Are you sure?” Epona swallowed and nodded. Scotch gave Pythia a long, nervous look, and then told her. “We leave in the morning.”

* * *

The atlas showed many things, but one thing it didn’t show was the river water blasting through an open valve and into a subterranean channel. The team consisted of her friends with Rocky on her back, Eurrkine and Epona, Torch and two dozen flame legionnaires, and a very uncomfortable Xena in the rear. Multiple pumps still whirred along the sides, while the majority was sucked relentlessly down a dark tunnel. She recognized the pump design; they were almost identical to the ones in Stable 99. Sturdy, they likely supplied water to secondary cisterns that the city used to draw their money from. Wan yellow lamps overhead gave everything a sickly jaundiced glow.

“I’m not seeing it!” Skylord shouted over the roar of the water jet below the catwalk they stood upon. “Are we supposed to swim in that?”

“Not unless you like getting sucked through a pump,” Scotch yelled back. She was amazed so many of them were still whirring. Some where in Roam, something was still providing power to them. She wanted to take one apart for study. Were they using magically treated bearings or some kind of zebrish alchemical lubrication? Any motor that could turn for two hundred years was worthy of respect!

Errukine walked over to a huge metal lever, her shouts somehow smooth and graceful. “This is a maintenance shut off. It’ll close the jet for an hour. Plenty of time to walk down to the pumping station under the Imperial Hospital!” Somehow the sunstripe gave the impression of not shouting even when yelling.

Filling up the landing was Torch, a very unenthusiastic Xema, and a dozen more fire legions. Upon hearing there that Errukine knew a way in, Pyre had immediately insisted on sending a team with her. On Scotch’s back was Rocky and Whiskey Express’s steering wheel. Errukine had been utterly indifferent to their accompaniment, with a sniff of ‘if they must’ with news of the extra hooves.

“Walk? She said walk, right? Not ‘drown horribly’?” Precious yelled.

“There’s a concrete ledge above the main channel,” Errukine assured her.

“And how do we get back?” Torch asked.

“There’s a shut down at the pumping house we’ll be running to. It’s a simple matter to pull the lever and come back. Easy.” Errukine assured them.

“That is not a word I associate with Roam,” Majina said as she looked at where the water was slurping into that dark tunnel. “How far is it?”

“Ten kilometers,” Scotch replied. If a pony could run at twelve or thirteen kilometers an hour... “The math works. But if something goes wrong...”

“What about cremorites, killer robots, or something else?” Skylord asked.

“Anything in that flow has either gone through a pump, or goes through a pump. I know those pumps.” Scotch said as she pointed at one. “They can circulate a hundred thousand liters an hour. Anything short of a cannon ball isn’t going to slow them. I once saw a radroach sucked through. It was basically dissolved when it came out the other side.”

“So we pull the lever, we run for our lives, get out, do our thing, go back, pull a lever down there, run for our lives again?” Precious said as she eyed the water being sucked into the hole.

“That’s a succinct summary,” Errukine stated with a nod.

“I don’t like it. I want to try Diga Street,” the dragofilly stated flatly.

“I’ll authorize a discount on rad-away to support that idea,” Xema interjected. Precious gestured to the sallow business mare with a defiant ‘see?’ expression.

“She can’t swim,” Scotch explained to Errukine.

“I can’t float!” Precious countered. “You try swimming in chains!”

“Pass,” Skylord added, tugging on the chains on his body.

“You’ve tried the surface and failed multiple times. This is a passage I’ve used multiple times. It’s a straight walk. No defenses. No monsters. There will be challenges on the far side, I assure you, but this part is as simple as can be,” Errukine said as she walked over to the heavy lever. “Regardless, I am going. You may accompany me, or not,” she said, not looking at Epona as she hooked her forehooves, practically hanging off the lever to get it to move. Epona rushed up and added her weight with a hopeful smile. The lever dropped and something in the wall went ‘thunk’. A moment later a large concrete slab lowered down over the immense water jet. Massive chains clinked as they spooled out. Scotch assumed there was some counterbalance mechanism on the far side.

When the slab lowered completely, the flow was reduced to a weak trickle pouring into the basin. The water level in the pool lowered immediately, slurping into the dark intake tunnel. When it dropped down five meters, she saw the concrete ledge that Errukine spoke of. Another two meters and it emerged, black and slippery looking. Once the water reached that point the pumps whirring softened, still pulling water but at a slower rate. Good for longevity, Scotch approved. Stopping a pump was when most of the wear and tear took place.

Precious stared at her. “What?” Scotch asked in alarm.

“If only you looked as longingly at me as you do at those pumps,” The dragonpony sighed.

“What? It’s good engineering! Leave me alone,” Scotch huffed as they trotted past.

“Wait? You and Scotch?” Majina asked in bafflement. “I was totally shipping you with Skylord!”

“What?” Skylord deadpanned.

“Maj, Sky and I have been together for a year and we haven’t tried to do anything,” Precious pointed out. “Think that might mean something?”

“Well... it’s a slow burn. Besides, everyone knows that Scotchthia is the OTP.”

“What the heck does that mean?” Scotch asked in bafflement.

“That you go to Lamia after runs rather than Precious,” Pythia replied as she trotted along at the front next to Errukine. Scotch nearly tripped over her hooves and Precious blushed furiously. “I told you you don’t have to wait for me. Lamia. Precious. Be with whoever makes you happy.” Precious was trying hard not to explode in embarrassment next to Scotch.

“You know, I think I may have a theory on why you’ve had such difficulty penetrating the city’s secrets,” Errukine mused aloud.

“With all due respect, ma’am, Scotch and her team are some of the most dedicated salvagers we’ve ever worked with. I’d be proud to have em as legion,” Torch said as he followed along the back.

That immediately raised Scotch’s battered ego a bit. “I just want to find what we need and get out of this stupid city.” she said as they trotted along briskly, the tunnel silent save for the echo of hooves and the occasional pump.

“We need to run,” Pythia abruptly said, picking up her pace to the front of the herd.

“There’s nothing here,” Errukine said with a serene smile. “No danger save romantic speculation.”

“Maybe a harem ending?” Majina mused aloud.. “Or is there going to be a tragic sacrifice to murder the hypotenuse...”

Scotch whirled to dispute that when Rocky muttered atop her back, “It knows.” Errukine froze as well. Epona blinked a moment in bafflement, and then looked upwards too as the concrete made a popping noise. “It comes.”

“What is it? The Beast?” Scotch asked in alarm.

“Worse,” the rock replied.

The concrete under her hooves started to tremble as well. “Earthquake?” Xema asked in alarm.

“We’ve never had them in Roam before,” Torch replied.

She watched as the tunnel vault overhead spiderwebbed. A network of cracks that ran back the way they came like lightning carved in rock. “Oh, that’s not good,” Scotch moaned.

Behind them came a resounding crash and Scotch imagined the giant slab tearing free, followed by the roar that filled the tunnel. The water in the channel rippled and started to rise, sloshing over around their hooves. They stared as Precious gasped, “We have to go back!” She pivoted to turn back.

“That’s upstream! We’ll never make it!” Scotch yelled. “How close are we to the other station?” Everyone started running, water sloshing and splashing underhoof as the tunnel refilled.

“Not nearly close enough!” Errukine shouted back. She sounded more annoyed than the panic and guilt crushing Scotch’s own brain. “We’ll have to swim!”

“I can’t swim! I can’t even float!” Precious screamed as she ran faster down the tunnel.

“I’m not a fan either!” Skylord growled back. “I should have tried the love potion!”

“That’s not how these things work!” Majina yelled back as the water rose to their knees. As the pressure rose, the pumps began to activate, and the roar of their motors made further yelling impossible. Scotch was nearly yanked off her hooves as one roared to life as they passed, the water in the channel indenting and a sudden surge threatened to sweep her off her hooves. Pythia grabbed her and helped anchor her for the few seconds it took before the flow resumed down the pipe. One of the legionnaires was nearly slurped down as well, but the legionnaires gripped each other tightly, preventing them from being pulled off the ledge.

The rising water, however, was causing another problem as it lifted towards her barrel, pressing up under her stomach. “Grab Precious and Sky!” she yelled. The latter was easier, as she hooked his chains, but the former had almost nothing to hold on too... and she was heavy. It wasn’t until now that she appreciated just how heavy Precious was. A year ago she’d been dense but now it was as bad as carrying Rocky. Speaking of which she herself was finding her own buoyancy challenged.

Her hooves scraped against the concrete... and then they weren’t. The speed at which they were moving down the tunnel accelerated rapidly. She felt Epona on one side of her, holding her tight, with Pythia on the other. Errukine floated alone, seemingly put out by this arrangement, like an unanticipated rain on a picnic. As the water rose, the lights from her pipbuck and other sources became more diffuse and difficult to see.

Suddenly they passed through a chamber, a concrete shaft and stairs going up, but the flow was so fast that no one was able to grab it before they were swept into the next inlet. “Is Precious okay? Sky!?” Scotch shouted in alarm.

“Ducky! What do you think!?” Skylord yelled back.

“We got her, Scotch,” Torch said in a reassuringly deep voice. “Keep her head up, Tallow!”

“Where does this pipe empty out?” Epona called out.

“Assuming there’s not a really big pump at the bottom, somewhere out at sea.”

“Oh, wonderful!” she gushed.

“At the bottom of the sea,” Scotch amended. How far out that was she had no idea but the outlet wouldn’t be some nice, convenient pipe at sea level discharging on to a beach.

“That would not be new,” Rocky opined. “I have been seafloor. It was boring.”

“Not now, Rocky!” Scotch shouted as she struggled to stay aloft. “Try being pumice! That’d help!”

“Our plan hasn’t changed! Just remain calm and grab the next landing. Our seer should be able to see it coming,” Errukine called out.

The ceiling was getting closer and closer as the water filled in above them. “Here it comes!” Pythia shouted. “Shoot!!”

Suddenly they were in open air, but the only illumination was from per pipbuck and a few wan emergency lights. With a yell they were pulled past, further down the tunnel.And the reason was apparent as they rocketed past, hooves scrambling to grab the stairs that lead up out of the flow. The water kept piling up. Soon, the roof was close enough that Scotch felt her hooves bumping up against it. She couldn’t even see Majina and sky, but moreover couldn’t hear Precious either. The light of her pipbuck lamp and light from Epona’s horn was their only illumination.

“We got two more coming up!” Pythia shouted, but even next to her it was almost impossible to hear over the roaring of the water and the yelling of almost two dozen voices. Scotch could see the concrete inches away from the glow, her face twisted in panic.

They popped into a second opening. The concrete shaft rose up with a single ladder dangling down into the flow. Multiple outlets cascaded down upon them. Scotch stretched towards the ladder with a hoof. “I almost got it!” she yelled as she hooked it. “I got it!”

Another rumble and shake and the ladder popped free, splashing down amidst them. “You’re kidding me!” Skylord screamed.

“Get me out! Get me out!” Precious screamed as her claws scratched grooves in the concrete overhead.

“We’ve got one more,” Pythia called out.

“No no no no! I can’t do anymore tunnels. No more!” Precious screamed.

Scotch nearly sank as she pulled herself through the raft of companions to the dragonfilly. “Precious! I will get us out! Just hold on!”

The roar increased as the outlets overhead started to pour even more water down atop them. “Promise?” Precious asked in a desperate voice.

“I promise!”

Precious clenched her eyes shut and then let go from the wall, Majina and Pythia grabbing her and preventing her from sinking. The floating mat was pulled into the next tunnel, which was fortunately a little larger, giving her a foot of air to breathe in.

She pulled off her saddlebag and extracted the stone block. No time for masks. “Rocky, I need to do a thing!” she called out over the flow.

“I concur,” the rock replied stoically. “What?”

“I need to collapse the aqueduct behind us!” Scotch called out. “While we still have an outlet! I need to do it for us!”

“Yes,” Rocky replied. “What price?”

“You want to haggle?!” Scotch shouted, getting a mouthful of water and nearly choking. “There’s no time, Rocky! Can’t you do it like last time?”

“You haven’t fulfilled the terms of our pact. I can’t give another,” the stone informed her with a slight note of resentment.

A sacrifice. The spirits demanded them. Something to pay. Anything kept cropping to the front of her mind, but she knew the spirits took that word a lot further than she’d like. “We need a sacrifice for the spirits!”

“I am prepared to offer recompense to any volunteers!” Xema shrieked. “Generously!”

“There’s got to be another way!” Majina yelled out.

“We’re coming up on the last outlet,” Pythia called out. There was a distant light in the direction they were flowing.

“I would suggest one of you noble legionnaires volunteer to save the rest of your fellows!” Errukine said, the mare’s voice even and calm even when elevated.

“Fine!” Torch yelled out.

“No, me!” Another one called out.

“Use me!”

“I’ll do it!”

“No!” Scotch screamed as images of metal rods impaling flesh flashed through her mind like a bullet. A red and white mare stranded on a field of silent silver.. She twisted in her friend’s grip. Planted her hindlegs against the ceiling of the tunnel, and powered herself down into the dark, swirling water with Rocky pressed to her chest. If someone was going to die to save the others, it would be her. She sank, appropriately, like a stone. She could hear the endless inhalation of pumps below her. Would they get her first, or would she drown? She hit the concrete landing, rolling along in the current in a summersault. Distant words she didn’t want to remember.

...if she doesn’t make it, can I take her place?

As you wish.

No one else would die next. If they wanted a sacrifice, they would get her. And with that she thrust Rocky against the floor of the channel. She couldn’t beg the spirits with her mouth full of water, but if they couldn’t figure it out... well... she could only hope that Majina survived and could come up with a more fitting ending for her.

She knew the others would get Pythia there. They’d find their way. They didn’t need her. Her breath let out in a bubble as the world shook.

And then the current abruptly ebbed. The water sloshed down the tunnel, the flow receding. Her ears broke the surface and she jerked her head up with a gasp. “What? How?” she asked as she stared around at where the others were rising, dripping, to their hooves.

Everyone was looking behind her. Then Scotch stared upstream. A glittering wall of crystal formed a wall across the space, rising from the bottom of the channel all the way up to the top. Tiny motes of light gleamed in the light of her pipbuck and Epona’s light spell.

Rapid splashing of hooves as she was tackled by Majina. “What were you thinking?!” she demanded as Scotch blinked at all the waterlogged zebras. “Don’t ever do that again!” she said as she hugged her fiercely.

“Clearly,” Errukine said calmly as she approached from the rear, “Scotch had prepared an offering in advance, storing it within that stone. A requiary of power. But naturally she’d need to touch firmly to the surface for that power to discharge. Not easily done while being swept along in an opposing element.” She gave Scotch a beaming smile of approval. “Brilliant, I must say.”

Majina frowned at her aunt, then at Scotch. “Seriously? Is that what you did?”

Scotch looked at the others, at Rocky, then coughed and wiped the water out of her eyes. “Something like that?” she replied, not entirely sure what she had actually done. She looked down the passage at where the last outlet lay. A single metal stair curled up the shaft, pipes running up to whatever buildings lay above. Aside from a few distant emergency lights, the shaft was as dark as a tomb. “Where are we? How many didn’t make it?”

“Everyzebra’s accounted for. Somehow,” Torch reported, looking at the waterlogged soldiers. “We dropped a lot of equipment in the flow, though. Would love to hit an armory.”

“As for where we are, we have no idea,” Errukine said with a small shrug. “Three landings from our destination. I suggest we make our way to the surface and navigate from there.”

The ground trembled under her hooves again. “What is causing these tremors? I’ve never felt them in Roam before,” Epona asked as her horn glowed, levitating a ball of light above them all.

“If only you were a shaman who could ask the spirits,” Errukine sniped. Epona flushed as she levitated a round mask with white and pastel rainbow sun motif out of her saddlebags. “Ugh, not now, Epona! If that barrier gives way I doubt Scotch will have the opportunity to raise another!” Errukine started up the winding metal stairs.

Majina put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, cousin. You’ll get your chance.”

“I just wish I knew why she hated me so,” Epona muttered as the legionnaires followed her up.

“Epona! Light!” Errukine called down.

“Sorry! Coming, Mother!” Epona called out, running for the stairs, sending her ball of light up the shaft. Scotch picked up Rocky, settling him in her saddlebags, bringing up the rear of the troop. Ugh, why couldn’t he have been pumice? She loaded him on her back, bringing up the rear.

“So... what did you really do?” Pythia asked as they started up the metal staircase. “I saw you kick down. I saw the water stop. I saw you were fine. But was all that your plan?”

Scotch felt the lie rise up in her throat. It would be so easy. Errukine had given her the perfect pretext. “I just... I didn’t want anyone else to die. They started saying they wanted to be the sacrifice. I couldn’t. Not even if it meant we’d all die.”

Pythia looked ahead as she climbed. “It’s easy for someone like Errukine to suggest something like that. It’s a lot harder to be the one to make that deal. Believe me, I know.” Scotch started to smile before Pythia glanced back at her. “That said, if you try and use yourself as a sacrifice again, I will be a shaman.” She looked up the shaft. “Not that I am one, but I’ll be one. Alright?”

Scotch had no idea what that meant or even if she was talking entirely to Scotch. “I don’t think that Errukine knows I’m spirit touched.”

“Good. I wouldn’t tell her. I know she’s Majina’s aunt, but I don’t trust her,” Pythia said with a frown. “Every future I see is of her smiling and nice.” She flushed and rubbed a forehoof. “She’s too... familiar.”

“You think she’s connected to those blank futures?” Scotch asked.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she shows up, the black book goes silent, and the future goes weird, no,” she said as she stared up where Epona’s magical ball lit the way. “What I don’t get is why every future we do get out with has Epona in it. She’s a horrible shaman.”

“That’s a little harsh,” Scotch said with a frown.

“It’s honest.” Pythia countered. “She’s got no confidence. A shaman has to be confident in their actions, even if they’re wrong. It’s probably why Errukine assumed you did that wall thing deliberately. But Epona’s desperate for her mother’s approval. I don’t blame her for that. Her mother’s a horrible, neglectful hag. I know the type well. But why do we live with a horrible shaman accompanying us? I don’t understand the role she plays and its casting shadows on an already weird future.”

Suddenly the Legionaires above her stopped moving. She frowned and started to squeeze past. The stairs had come to an end at a landing. Far below they could hear water rushing again. Another tremor made the metal stairs shake. Were they near the Beast? Under it? Were they going to find a blazing hind leg down here? Maybe confirm Pomfrey’s theories and finally spare Cato from those magazines?

The door ahead was marked with four stars. Scotch felt a strange sensation, like she’d been standing on this landing for years staring at those four cardinal points. From the scorchmarks, someone had tried to breach these doors before. Before Scotch could speculate how they were going to get past, Pythia stepped up to sealed door. “Aldebaran,” Pythia said softly. “Regulus. Antares. Fomalhaut.” There was a beep and the door slid open, exposing a tiled hallway with smooth walls. The lights over head flickered as they came on, then steadied.

“How’d you know that?” Errukine murmured. “Did you just see a future where you did?”

“No,” Pythia said in a soft, haunted voice. “The past.”

“Interesting,” Errukine purred.

“This must be Four Star’s headquarters,” Torch said as they trotted past. Everything was tidy and clean. The trash cans had been emptied. A cart was neatly put aside against the wall. They passed a kitchen and dining area, everything neatly put away. “It’s all so... tidy. Where are we going?” he asked as they passed by a row of vending machines. The Flame Legionaires wasted no time breaking in and getting snacks. The broken glass made Scotch jump though with all the stillness. No alarms sounded though.

“The lobby is this way,” Pythia said as she walked down the hall, her voice soft.

“Are you okay?” Scotch asked

“I keep waiting to find bodies or turrets or something,” Precious complained. “When things are this neat, something kept them neat.”

“Nothing’s reacting to us being here,” Skylord pointed out. He jabbed a claw at a round indent set in the ceiling. “There’s security turrets. They’re just... off.”

Scotch looked around. “Wonder what turns them on,” she murmured as they stepped out into a two story lobby with a reception desk. The windows were all blackened by soot, but were intact. Here there was as least a mess: some paper tossed about. The terminals flickered to life after some taps and Scotch got to work as the Flame Legionaires fanned out, drinking out of the water feature and keeping watch on the stairs and elevator.

“These are just files. Paperwork,” Majina said as she flipped through them. “Nothing special.”

“There is tape on the doors. ‘Crime scene, no entry.’ What crime?” Torch asked and he touched the metal with a hoof. “It’s warm out there.”

“Don’t open that door,” Scotch warned as she worked the glyphs to try for the password. Then Pythia reached past her and made the glyph. The screen flashed green. “Coral?” Scotch asked with a baffled scowl. But Pythia turned away with a sigh. “Pythia!” Her friend stopped. “Are you... okay?”

“He was always sentimental,” she murmured.

“Coral? Tanit’s mother?” Errukine asked with a frown. “Of the tremendous twelve?”

“It’s complicated,” Scotch said, giving the understatement of... ever. “Pythia’s got an old soul.”

The sunstripe gazed at Pythia. “I know.” She reached out and held her face between her hooves, staring into her eyes in a soft way that Scotch didn’t like at all. “I wonder how much she remembers that life.” She asked as she stared close at Pythia’s face.

Pythia jerked her face away. “What? No!” She rubbed her cheeks. “Not much, anyway.” Errukine’s gaze was cool as Pythia went on. “My past lives are like... like I read a book. Or I read a book about reading a book about reading a book. I wasn’t one of the twelve, but another me was two hundred years ago.” She moved aside for Scotch.

“You don’t remember anything about the Twelve?” Errukine asked. “The Emperor? Those final days? None of it?” Pythia turned away, pulling up her cloth hood. “Interesting,” she muttered, and this time without the smile.

“Ugh, why do you care, Mother?” Epona asked.

Errukine didn’t answer for a moment before she gave a smile and shrugged. “It would be an interesting soul to study. Is it layered like a pearl? Pages in a book? Could you simply turn to a new page and be a different you?”

Pythia blinked as she looked at the sunstripe. “I never thought about that.” She closed her eyes. “It’s like a story of a story in a story,” she said after a moment.

Majina lunged and slid across the floor, laying on her belly and propping her chin under her hooves. “Tell me more!” she asked as her eyes shone, to the consternation of her friend. Skylord drug her away by her tail. “Nooo! Backstory!” she whined, stretching a hoof towards Pythia.

“Quiet, you narrative junkie,” he muttered back.

Pythia sighed and relaxed a little. “I mean I know things about myself but they’re not immediate. Like when I met Xiggy. It brought a lot of Tanit back. But before then, I hadn’t even thought of her. Time spent with him brought Tanit closer. It wasn’t like I got all those memories back at once. I... I don’t think I’d be me if that happened.”

“But you could be her again, if you wished?” Errukine asked.

Epona stepped towards Pythia. “Mother, it’s probably a defense mechanism. A body... a mind... can only hold so much soul.”

Scotch frowned, not liking the idea of a different Pythia. It reminded her too much of Rampage. She didn’t want Pythia to go down that path. She focused on the terminal, but quickly realized something after some basic searches. “It’s empty.”

“You mean damaged?” Torch asked.

“I mean empty. There’s almost no entries at all. The operating system is up. There’s one document in the mail.” Scotch said as she opened it. “To all employees. Thank you for your service. Your final day of work is today. If you have not picked up your severance check, please do so by the end of the work day. If you are questioned by imperial personnel for any reason, please provide whatever answers to any questions they request. We are giving complimentary vacation packages to Isla del Sol effective immediately and advise you to go before the end of the week to avoid the rush. Thank you for all your work with Four Stars Import and Exports. With fondest regards, Crux, CEO.” She checked the date. “It’s exactly a week before the Day of Doom.”

“Hope they used those tickets quick. Where’s Isla del Sol?” Skylord asked.

“It’s a resort island far away from Equestria and Zebrinica in the south seas,” Epona said.

Precious chuckled. “Fires all his workers the same day and pays for a trip out of the country a week before everyone dies? Going for the best boss ever?”

“You forget. He had one of the most gifted and skilled seers in history for a wife and daughter,” Errukine said matter of factly. “One who could have seen it coming.”

“But... why wouldn’t she tell the Emperor and prevent everything from blowing up?” Majina said, trying and failing not to look at Pythia’s back.

“He was a traitor if he knew and told nobody,” Skylord growled as Torch nodded in agreement.

“He could have, but perhaps he wasn’t listened to. Bureaucratic inertia can be hard to overcome,” Xena stated as she adjusted her glasses.

Scotch just put a hoof on Pythia’s shoulder. “I didn’t see it,” Pythia replied softly, a faint lilting accent to her words. It made Scotch’s hide prickle.

A silence filled the lobby. “What?” Errukine asked with incredulity. “You... How?!”

“I don’t know how!” Pythia snapped, her pupils constricted as she stared at the wall. For a moment she was silent and then said softly with that strange cant to her voice, “I saw shadows. Smoke. I knew something was going to happen but...” she started to pace. “You don’t understand what it was like in the final days. We were losing. Every day losing more and more! Equestria was going to get bypass talismans working, field an army of alicorns, and the Caeser... my Caesar... there was nothing we could do. I thought... I thought we’d lose the war. I kept looking, desperate to see through the fog. We were supposed to win! I saw that! I... said that.” her voice grew faint. “Why did I say that?” She whispered in a stricken voice. “And then the city blew up and everyone thought that was it. If Equestria could megaspell Roam, they could hit everywhere. And everywhere... exploded. We couldn’t stop it. Not the Twelve. Not the Caesar. Not anyone.”

Scotch put a hoof around her. “Let’s go see if we can learn more.” She jerked away from Scotch, for a moment giving her a glare, which was washed away by a confused, then almost an ashamed look.

“We are here for a purpose,” Xena pointed out. “Getting back to the Firebase is not going to be easy.

“This isn’t the worst place to make camp. No bodies means no cremorites. I’m wondering where the murderballs are,” Torch said as he surveyed the lobby.

“I’m wondering why everything is cleaned out,” Scotch said as she looked around and glanced at Pythia. “Do you know?”

She shook her head with that strange lilt to her voice. “Father and I... weren’t on good terms... at the end. I wasn’t well. I was trying so hard to find a way to the future the Caesar wanted. I... I failed him.” Errukine just gave Pythia a sympathetic gaze in response, but said nothing.

“Hey, Xiggfried is alive. Maybe some of the other twelve are too?” Majina offered.

“Yeah, but did you see the state he was in?” Skylord said with a shake of his head. “Not what I’d call life.”

“Yes, yes. Well there’s ways to deal with trouble like that,” Errukine said brightly. “What’s important is that you can call upon those... past selves... even if you don’t recall them well. By all means, let’s explore! Perhaps we’ll find something to eat on the way that’s far more nourishing than vending machines.” She gave Epona a smile, “Be a good daughter and watch over these poor souls till we get back.”

Epona faltered and her eyes met Scotch who tried to give her a supportive smile. The Rivets vibe was strong off Errukine and she knew it wasn’t easy to stand up to that attitude. Epona inhaled and the zony said, “I think I should go with them. I am half unicorn, mother.”

Errukine stared at her flatly and then just shrugged. “I guess I should have expected as much. Go. I’ll amuse myself till your return,” she said as that benign smile set in. “Find myself something to eat.”

Scotch and her friends, along with Epona found the stairs going up. She kept glancing at Pythia, but she seemed lost in thought. Scotch hoped they were all hers. Epona muttered constantly under her breath as she trotted a few steps behind them, adjusting her glasses. The offices were like downstairs. Neat and tidy. The drawers were all empty, chairs pushed in, terminals scrubbed. Occasionally there were stray papers here and there. ‘Planned expansion: Bucklyn.’ Sales projection in the Crystal Empire. One folded up piece of paper sticking out between two desks read ‘We’ve got to find a way around these sanctions, Crux. Stars above, they’re killing us.’ Scribbled below. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got an in with the new government. We’ll still have some gems. Just have to raise prices accordingly.”

“Four Stars was an importer?” Scotch asked as she furrowed her brows.

“Import and export. Basically a trader,” Epona explained. “Equestria was their biggest trading partner.”

“But they were at war. How do you trade with someone you’re at war with?” Majina asked in bafflement.

“Very carefully,” Pythia said errantly. “Father knows someone in the Equestrian government. Someone he can pump for information.”

Scotch shot her a worried look. “Are you okay... Pythia?”

Pythia blinked and looked at her a moment with a haunted stare. “No... I don’t think I am...” She rubbed her temples. Tanit... she’s rattling inside me really hard all of a sudden. I’ve never had a past me intrude on present me...” She went silent, and then said quietly, “It’s all a lot to come back to.”

“I’m glad my only problem are these stupid chains,” Skylord muttered as he looked around. “What I want to know is why isn’t this place scorched? The Beast should have lit this building up like a bonfire.”

They found the answer to that on another floor. The terminal was particularly interesting because it had a traditional zebra terminal next to one right out of Stabletec! She popped open the side to examine the parts, amazed to see them identical to ones she’d used in 99. Once open, the room took up most of the floor. Three large arcane devices sat in a row, two partially disassembled while the third continued to operate. The MWT was clearly emblazoned on its size, and some of the boxes had MAS logos on them as well. The machinery hummed and Scotch’s teeth vibrated when she got too close’. “That’s a magical force field generator,” Scotch said as she jabbed a hoof at it. “I saw one like it in Tenpony Tower.”

“What’s this even doing here?!” Skylord blurted as he jabbed a claw at it. “Just... how?”

“There was some speculation that Crux was a traitor,” Epona said as she considered the device.

Everyone glanced over at Pythia. Her voice was distant. “He probably acquired it from his equestrian contacts. I heard the government was trying to find out how to reverse engineer it when the first Megaspell went off,” Pythia said as she walked around the device. “Towards the end of the war, something happened in Equestria. The pony he was dealing with in the government was arrested and his replacement was... well... he opened up a lot of opportunities for corruption.” She sighed, “Small wonder. Father was corrupt too.”

“Corrupt?” Majina said asked with a frown.

“Towards the end of the war, father and I... well... we were pretty estranged. I took the proditor red just to distance myself from him. From my tribe. Solidarity with the Emperor. I know his intelligence contacts were useful to the Emperor, but he was probably on Equestria’s payroll too.” She jabbed a hoof at the machine. “How could he get these out of Equestria?”

Scotch felt her stomach twist. “Did he ever mention someone named Goldenblood?” Pythia stared and gave a nod. Scotch groaned and pressed her face to the ground. “If we find out that he was manipulating the Emperor too, I am packing up my bits and going home.” Everyone was staring at her, and she rose, explaining the little she knew about him, the O.I.A. and his secret projects. “I bumped into him at the party right before... well... right before the end. Creepy. Like, nothing against ghouls, but you just looked at him and knew there was something off about him.”

“What do you mean?” Skylord asked.

“I asked him why he did all the things he did. He smiled and said he did everything wrong for all the wrong reasons. I never got a chance to ask Blackjack what he meant by that,” she shook her head. “Anyway, he was responsible for a lot of bad stuff going on during the war. He might not have done it all himself, but he made a lot of it possible.”

Pythia scoffed scornfully, “That pony was neck deep in the Eater’s shit. You don’t play with star metal. At best, it makes a really neat sword. At worst, it turns you into star metal stuff. Or the world. Same diff. Stars are some of the most fundamental and primordial spirits in the universe. A person sees an arrangement of stars, or galaxies of stars, and think ‘that looks interesting’ and before you know it they’re making up myths and using the stars to explore or as omens or who knows what. And most of those stars don’t even know mortals are a thing. When a star does know you, it can get so much worse. I’m not surprised he did as much harm as he did.” She said and walked on, her eyes twitching around as she muttered under her breath, “Not a shaman...”

...can I take her place?

...as you wish...

“He sounds like a bad villain. Like, no one could do all that, right?” Majina commented critically. “You want to spread that out across multiple antagonists.” Majina then glanced at Scotch. “Something wrong? You look as spooked as Pythia.”

Scotch took a deep breath. It didn’t matter. It was past, almost a quarter million miles away. “Blackjack said he had a way of getting people to do things for him. It wouldn’t surprise me if your father was involved with him somehow. Seemed like everyone else was,” Scotch said as she walked around the machine. “Do you think they succeeded in copying it?” she asked, ignoring Majina’s concerned look.

“Maybe. It’s one of three,” Skylord said as he pointed at the other two empty housings. “With three of these things, this place would be impregnable. I wonder if there’s any way we can get it out of here intact?” he mused.

“I suspect the instant you deactivated it, this building would rapidly meet a fiery demise,” Epona observed.

“Hope we don’t have to turn it off to leave,” Skylord said and then winced. “We probably do, don’t we?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we have to,” Scotch said. “I hope not.”

“Where’s Crux’s office?” she asked Pythia.

Wordlessly, the young mare turned and stepped out.

“She’s acting a lot stranger than normal,” Precious said quietly. “Is she... okay? I mean, I get she’s weird but I dunno...”

“She’s an old soul,” Epona said as they followed her into the hallway. “Life upon life. I can only imagine how far back they go. Centuries? Millennia?” She looked nervously at Pythia’s cloaked back. “We’ve only speculated on old souls. They’re theoretical... until now.”

“So why’s she acting so strange now?” Skylord asked. “Theoretically?”

“Because this place was so core to one of her old lives. Tanit probably walked this place all the time growing up. Pythia hasn’t,” Epona said softly. “In a very real way, she’s more Tanit right now than Pythia.”

Scotch ran to catch up and walk next to Pythia. “Hey, we can go back. It’s fine.”

Pythia stopped and stared at her a moment from out of her hood. “Who are you again?” she asked in that soft, lilting voice. Then she resumed walking.

Scotch watched her go, her heart tight in her chest. “No no no no no... there’s got to be some way to bring her back!” she said as she looked to Epona.

“I’m sorry, Scotch. I... we just have to hope that she snaps out of it. What’s her spirit look like?” Epona asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t use my spirit sight here. Roam is horrible!” Scotch retorted. The entire building shivered as a rumble rolled through it, the lights flickering a moment. The hallway was plunged into darkness, lit only by Epona’s horn... then the lights came back on.

Pythia was gone.

“No no no no!” Scotch muttered in a panic as she charged down the hallway to an intersection, but there was no sign of her. “Where did she go?”

Skylord scowled at Majina, “Who was Tanit again?”

“She was the Tremendous Twelve’s seer. She was spooky but shy. The show always played her as a double agent. Proditor loyal to the Emperor, but also... well... Starkatteri! There was a rumor she was with Eskarne. I mean, there was porn of them as a couple, but I dunno if she was canon. Personally, I totally ship them. Eskarne was so sweet and Tanit was so quiet and strange. Really it was so obvious they should be the OTP that I thought it might...be... canon?” Her mirth attenuated as she saw them all staring. “Sorry. Not the time.”

“Where would she go?” Precious asked.

“This was her father’s office building,” Majina said as she looked up. “Where does the CEO usually have their office?”

Up, she guessed. “Let’s hurry,” Scotch said as they ran to the stairs. She called out Pythia’s name, but no response. “Damn it. I hate Roam,” she yelled as she ran up, poking her head out and looking around. There was another tremor as she looked left and right. Nothing but empty cubicles. “This place has been nothing but trouble since we got here!” she called out as they went up another flight. The stairs trembled underhoof, hairline cracks appearing in the walls. “And these quakes are getting annoying!”

They emerged in some sort of large atrium. A stately secretarial desk sat in front of the elevators. She stepped out, a little more slowly. “Pythia!” she called out. “Where is she?” Her pipbuck was almost all yellow bars, but which was her friend? “This looks like someone important is supposed to be here.”

“Scotch. Try your sight,” Epona suggested.

“No! I’ve seen the Spirit of Roam! It’s horrific! Grotesque! Obscene!” she shouted, and the floor trembled under her foot again.

“Another quake?” Skylord asked. “It’s got to be the Beast or something, right?”

Scotch sighed. For Pythia, she’d risk it. She pulled out her mask and slipped it over her face, closed her eyes... exhaled... and fighting the pit of dread in her stomach... opened them.

It’s full of stars.

They twinkled all around her. Bright and small and set in some obsidian like solid. It was like a sky... of a place she tried so very hard not to think about. She tapped it with her hoof, and it sounded like delicate chimes being struck.

“I was here,” Rocky murmured, “Long long ago.”

If something happens to her...

“What do you see?” Epona asked as Scotch stared at the walls and ceiling overhead. A step, and a soft chime played. A different note with a different step.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Scotch murmured as she stared around. “I’ve never seen the spirits like this before.” Then she concentrated. Somewhere to her left, she heard soft, ghostly chimes playing in the distance. “That way!” she shouted as she ran down a side hall.

The offices were empty cubicles decorated with glowing motes in the walls. Had this place been created like this, or had it formed around its occupants? She knew the gold glow and the black sludge, but what did blue stars mean? Scotch looked into one and slid to a stop so quickly that Precious slammed into her from behind. “Pythia?” she gasped as she looked at the cloaked mare. But the cloak was of starlight and the darkness between, and the zebra wearing it appeared smokey, pale glowing eyes looking back at Scotch. Her mane was tied in braids as she turned to face her, her face non-comprehensive.

“No. Not Pythia,” she said as she looked at the zebra mare that seemed to share her stripes. Do you know where Pythia is?” Scotch asked.

The starlight zebra looked further down the hall and pointed with a silent hoof. There! Another cloaked figure. And another. Two. Three. Some were young, some old. Some wore fancy, elaborate cloaks, while others were draped in rags. All had eerily familiar features.

“Pythia! Pythia!” Scotch shouted as she raced down the halls. Where the hay was she? Silent star copies just watched her with sad, distant eyes.

Then she burst into a large office and saw a mare draped in moon light and stars. She gazed at a statue of a zebra stallion sitting behind a desk. The spirit of the statue beamed an aura of confidence and determination that reminded her of her father at his best. The blue white ghostly mare regarded her with sad eyes. “Hello, maiden. You’ve come a long way.”

“You can talk! Thank Celestia!” Scotch gasped. “Where’s Pythia? I need to find her.”

“I know not of whom you speak, young maiden. Is she another facet of our whole?” the strange zebra said in ghostly words.

“I feel... funny. Like mom’s here,” Epona said with a shiver. “Only, not.”

“Thanks, that clarifies nothing,” the dracofilly snorted “What do you see, Scotch?” Precious asked as she let out a little flame into the empty air. “Did I get it?”

“What? No! It’s a spirit...person... thing.” Scotch said. “Stop trying to burn it.”

“Harumph. Sounds more like a shaman thing to me,” Skylord muttered, glancing at Epona. “Do shamans usually stare off into space, talking to things that aren’t there?”

“No!” Epona snorted with a little stomp of her hoof. Then she glanced aside, “Well, yes. Frequently, actually.”

“It’s talking to me,” Scotch said as she kept her sight on the spirit. “Can you be quiet? I need to... figure stuff out.”

“Yeah. Shhhh! You’re ruining the exposition!” Majina said, giving an encouraging wave to Scotch.

She refocused on the starry zebra. “What do you mean facet? She’s Pythia. She’s spooky and serious and knows stuff and... I need to find her. She’s important to me.”

“Imagine a gem. Each face is unique, strange, beautiful, yet part of a greater whole. So too are we. With every life, a new facet is added, our spirit honed brighter and sharper than before. Though some facets are cracked, some flaws, and others pristine, they are all part of a whole,” the mare said.

“Do you mean souls?” Scotch fumbled for some common understanding.

“That which is more than the summation of a lifetime,” the glowing mare said with a nod. “When we pass, some souls ascend to the heavens, and others return to the earth. When each is reborn, a new life, a new chance is given to refine and hone the true self further.”

You do not know yourself...

“And are you the gem?” Scotch asked. “Or a facet? You’re different from the others.”

“I am Coral, a memory of many lives,” the white star light mare said.

“A memory?”

“Think of me as hoofprints in concrete. Though the walker has long departed, you can still retrace their steps and walk as they walk. This is like that.”

Like an interactive memory orb for shamans. “And you... I mean Coral... saw this? Now?”

“I saw this meeting two centuries in the past, though then I thought it was a small future, not worth consideration. On a whim, I put my memory here... for my husband. My daughter. Myself.” A familiar small smile formed on her lips. “How strange the smallest thread of fate binds the past with the future.”

“Coral? The seer?” Scotch asked.

“Yes. And a powerful one, more the pity. Had I been more humble, more cautious, I would not have dared to meddle in fate. I became Skakalagados to demonstrate my loyalty and try to lead my tribe to a better future. I met Crux, and against all my determination, I fell in love.”

“And gave birth to Tanit,” Scotch said, getting a surprised look from the glowing mare.

A flicker of pain crossed her face. “Yes, though I was not there to raise her. With each new life, the old one is shed. I could not give her guidance. Could not prevent her from falling under the sway of another.” She shook her head. “If I could have had but a few words of kindness with her, so much pain could have been spared.”

“Why...” Scotch swallowed. “Why have children at all if you die when you have them?” It felt personal and stupid to ask. “It’s just... I lost my mother... and my father...”

“Many weep for those whose lives end, but few grieve harder for those that are never born. I knew the price was high, and my death assured, but I believed in my hubris that better times were to be had for all our people. Foolish. Foolish. Who else could have foreseen the next imperial election being a four way tie, but I? I could choose an Emperor! I gave advice to my husband, my love made a choice, and that choice doomed the world. I did not elevate the Starkatteri. I tore down the twelve tribes to lay broken next to ours.” She hung her head and moaned, “Foolish. Foolish...”

Scotch wracked her brain, recalling the election that had elevated the Last Caesar. The enormity of it washed over her and she felt... nothing. Was she supposed to hate this person? Pity her? Forgive her? Punish her. How do you just... do that?

Blackjack had. She’d forgiven the unforgivable. Made her father and friends promise to do nothing in retaliation.

“It wasn’t your fault...” The glowing mare raised her head a little. “What about Celestia? Luna? Goldenblood? The Eater? What about the Ministry Mares and the Legion generals? There’s more than enough people to blame. Did your ancestor see some future and set you on your path? If Pythia’s shown me anything, she’s demonstrated that there’s always shadows and the unknown in the future. That just because you read the end of the story doesn’t mean you know why or how it happens.”

“You, are kind, dear maiden,” the starry zebra said quietly. “But what brings you here before me? It has been still and silent for far too long in this memory of soul.”

Scotch swallowed hard at Coral’s choice of words. “Before Pythia disappeared, I think she was Tanit. I think she might be in trouble too.”

Coral’s face twisted into a mask of anguish. “My poor girl. Yes. She was in so much danger. I tried to leave instructions and warnings, but for naught, for I did not see that others would exploit my visions and usurp my warnings. I saw what I wanted to see. I was arrogant, Maiden. A fool.”

“W...why do you keep calling me that? I’m not a maiden,” Scotch asked as she took a step back.

“Are you not the Maiden of the Stars?” she cocked her head at Scotch.

Scotch felt her mane practically stand on end. “N...no! That was Blackjack’s thing! Or Princess Luna! I’m not sure.” She swallowed hard.

If she dies...

“I’m just Scotch Tape. A spirit touched pony. That’s all I am,” she insisted. “I don’t even understand anything that’s going on,” she said as she gave a faltering smile

...can I take her place?

“I’m not the Maiden or anything like that,” Scotch said, the mare’s look of disappointment eating at her. But she wasn’t! Wasn’t that what she’d told the Dealer? She was her own mare. No fate. No destiny.

But what had lain behind that third card? Was she hearing shuffling right now, or just imagining it?

The mare starred as she felt sweat roll down her temples, forcing a smile. Trying to force her heart to steady. If she didn’t say... it wasn’t so. She’d been stupid. A child. An idiot. She hadn’t known better. She’d learned quickly.

“As you say,” Coral replied in a note of resignation. She turned towards the statue. “I loved my husband. I knew our whole life when we met, and anticipated every second with him. And I knew when it would end. I left so many predictions and prophecies for him to follow. To guide my tribe... my daughter... to a future where we could be respected. Even, some day, Caesar. Some day. But I did not believe the horrors would come to pass. That Tanit would believe Caesar over her own mother. That she would stop listening to her father. I had faith in more kindly futures and dismissed others as smoke and shadows. And now it is too late. I can never speak with her.” Scotch’s confusion must have shown. “Just as two facets can not share the same face, so too I can not see my other incarnations,” Coral explained.

Scotch regarded all the solemn star spirits around her. “You mean you’re alone?” she asked.

“Separated by naught but a lifetime,” she said as she walked towards Scotch. “When you see my daughter, remind her of her mother’s love. I would have stayed with her if I could, and pages and prophesy are poor compensation for a mother’s embrace, but fate did not allow, and I so wanted to give my husband a child. I did not tell him the price till the very end out of kindness. Would that I could have been there with them both... but now I can do naught but regret.”

“I... I’ll try,” Scotch said faintly. “I’m looking for the Eye of the World,” she said. “We need to see if it’s been blinded or not. Pythia’s looking for it.” Scotch couldn’t help but grumble a little, “Brought us clear around the world to find out.”

“That sounds like something my soul would do. I was always audacious, even when it gained me little,” Coral said with the ghost of a smile before it faded. “I know not if the Eye was closed. Even now, it is all but inconceivable. But if the facet that is your friend is subsumed, you must seek her and draw her forth. In my time, I too would occasionally succumb to past lives. They rouse like ghosts disturbed. I know not how mine were put to rest. You would have to ask my husband. He was always skilled at drawing me from the maze of my selves.”

“Where would Tanit go? Why would she take over here?” Scotch asked.

“I know not. This was my husband’s place of power. I linger only because he loved me so. If she is here, it is likely connected to him, not me. I, she never knew,” she said quietly. She then looked upwards. “There is a hidden place. A refuge for when his times of business grew burdensome. Perhaps seek her there,” Coral said solemnly. “Seek out a statue of Four Stars’s Morningstar. In respect is the key.” She turned back to the obsidian statue behind the desk. “My husband deserved better. My daughter deserved a mother.”

And with that she faded away, becoming as incorporeal and misty as all the other facets Scotch had seen.

“Are you done?” Epona asked. “The room feels emptier now.”

“Yeah,” she said as she blinked. “She told me... stuff. Pythia might be in a secret office upstairs,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. “Where are we?” she asked as she looked at the marble statue of a zebra stallion sitting on an ornate chair decorated with moons and stars. The glyph at the base read, ‘The Fulcrum.’ There were empty shelves all around it, the drawers removed and empty. It had been looted like all the others. The floor was covered by hundreds of tiny tiles cut in what looked like constellations of black and white. The stallion wore a somewhat annoying smirk. Along the walls were live sized reliefs of other zebra profiles. One read ‘Coral’, underneath a carving of a gently smiling zebra mare with a snake curled up peacefully on her lap.

“The name on the door was ‘Crux, CEO of Four Stars Import and Exports.’ Ring a bell?” Precious asked as she pointed at the statue. “Also, is it just me or is his face extremely kickable?”

“He does exude an annoying degree of overconfidence,” Majina agreed.

“There were Four Stars on those barges in the swamp, remember?” Scotch said, and got several blank stares. “When we first arrived! In the Orah swamps?”

“Oh. OH! Right. Weird place to keep stuff like that,” Precious said as Scotch searched the room.

She looked around. “The Lightbringer mentioned them too. In her book.” She said as she examined each of the wall carvings. “Damnit, this is the exact time I wish we had Pythia with us. Or Charity.” Which was the Morningstar?

“I know about Four Stars,” Epona said, and everyone turned to stare at her. “I mean, there’s a lot of books and magazines and articles about them here and there at the library. A lot of pornography, shockingly enough. I’m not Starkatteri. I’m Mendi. Well, half Mendi so it seemed like if I did study the stars it would only be half a curse and maybe only one third of a curse and so I don’t know if it was bad but you know I think Osmen knew I was reading it and it’s just historyitsnotlikeitsbadwhyareallofyoustaringatmelikethat?!”

Scotch took a deep breath to avoid throttling her. “Epona. Do you know which of these is the ‘Morningstar?’ There should be a secret door or something.” Scotch said as she kept her voice calm and level.

Epona stared, “Why are you talking like you’re about to kill me?”

“Epona!” Scotch snapped, grabbing her shoulders in her hooves and giving her a shake..

“Okay! Okay!” She yelped and adjusted her glasses as Scotch released her. “Four Stars is based on the four stars of the Southern Cross constellation. The Morningstar would be the western most star as it rises in the constellation. That is... either Irai or Mimosa...” She said as she examined the carvings. “So... if it’s Mimosa... it’s an actor. A starkatteri actor. Actress! Medusa!” she suddenly stomped her hooves and ran down the line. “This one! She was said to be so alluring that she could turn the audience to stone while she performed!” She said as she pointing to a carving of a mare with snakes atop her head. “Of course snakes are an extremely common motif in Starkatteri lore as well, being seen as symbols of wisdom, subterfuge and deadliness–”

Scotch raced down to stand before it. “In respect is the key. In respect is the key... ugh, why can’t spirits just give normal instructions? Touch the button under the right hoof. Pull the third snake from the left!” She huffed as she stared up at it. “I respect you!” she shouted in desperation. Nothing.

“Seriously, that’s how you show respect? By shouting it at people?” Majina said, shaking her head in clear disappointment.

“No,” Scotch said as she stood before the statue. You didn’t show respect by shouting. She looked down at the floor. So many tiles. She bowed before it, and felt two tiles depress ever so slightly under her hooves. She looked at the carving. Nothing. She then stared a moment longer, then pressed her brow to the floor as well.

Nothing. She felt profoundly stupid.

Then a click as Skylord pushed a tile just ahead of her head with a claw. There was a click, and the stone section retracted into the wall exposing stairs going up behind them. “No offense, but you’re just a little smaller than your average zebra stallion. Scotch.”

Scotch gave him a smile as she rose and quickly ascended the stairs. Inside was a far more humble and normal space. A worn stuffed loveseat. A desk piled high with papers and scrolls. Book cases with print outs and dirty mugs left abandoned atop them. Empty soda cans in the trash. Newspapers on the coffee table. A gramophone in the corner.

And Pythia digging through piles of papers, her cloak lying in a heap. “What did you do? What were you planning? Where is he?” she hissed with a desperate whine in the back of her throat as the others filled in behind her. “I knew you knew, Mother!”

“Tanit?” she called out.

She whirled, yellow eyes narrowed as she glared at Scotch. “Pony.”

“Zebra,” Majina corrected.

“Um, Half and half, actually,” Epona corrected with a cough.

“Ditto,” Precious said with a wave of her claws.

“Griffon,” Skylord finished. “In case you missed it.”

“I knew a mare like you. Lot of souls in one body. So I get if you’re confused and upset,” Scotch said before her brows furrowed. Goddesses, was this how Blackjack felt at the end? She shook her head hard. “We can’t fix you with a bullet to the brain like we could her, so let’s just talk.” She realized everyone was staring at her now.

“You fixed her how?” Epona asked in a horrified voice.

“We shot her. In the head,” Scotch said, and then rolled her eyes. “She got better!” She turned back towards Tanit. “Point is that I understand you’re confused about what’s going on.”

“This is my descendant’s body. Her will is weak here, and I have overcome it,” Tanit said in that quiet, lilting voice.

“Doesn’t sound all that confused to me,” Precious commented to Skylord.

“Positively lucid,” Skylord nodded thoughtfully.

“You know this would be way easier if I’d come up alone!” Scotch snapped.

“No no no!” Majina said as she laid on her belly, watching the pair. “Three mares, two bodies, and the struggle for the soul of Scotch’s love! Annnnnddd... go!” she said as she pursed her lips, eyes wide. When Scotch stared at her incredulously, she just gave a prompting little wave of her hoof.

“Zencori. And a traitor too at that. Traitor and a half,” Tanit said with a soft tch. “No wonder we lost the war, fighting our own as much as the enemy.”

“That was two hundred years ago!” Scotch countered.

“And changes nothing! What became of the Caesar? What happened to him?” she demanded. “Roam burned. The Empire collapsed! Everything I had sworn, lost! All because of my failure!”

“Tanit,” Scotch repeated softer, “It was two hundred years ago. I don’t know. Nobody does! We’ve spent years finding out if the Eye of the World was blinded or not. Did he give the order? Was it carried out?” she asked, her voice soft and steady. Who knew what she was capable of? She remembered being warned never to cry around Rampage, because one of her souls was a murderer.

“I... don’t... know...” Tanit said, her face twisting in anguish, as if the admission itself was torture. “I was supposed to. I was her daughter! The Emperor trusted me! Trusted me to be loyal. I took the red for him! I...” she grit her teeth, choking back a sob before she glared at Scotch. “This is all your fault! If Ponykind would have just yielded! If you had not embraced the Nightmare then none of this would have happened!”

“Yeah, that’s enough of that,” Scotch retorted with a firm glare. “If. If. If. I don’t care about two hundred year old ifs. I don’t have a time machine to zip back and change things. What happened, happened. Blame them, not me. If your Caesar hadn’t stopped the coal. If Celestia hadn’t sent soldiers to take it. Who cares! None of us can do anything about it!”

“Would it be right for ponies to blame me for what the zebras did during the war?” Majina asked in a small voice as she stood next to Scotch. “Some did. Momma and me. Were they right? It’s the same logic as yours.”

Tanit recoiled as if struck. “That’s different. All Equestria had to do was surrender. That’s all! Why did you keep fighting us?”

“Duh? Why’d we keep attacking?” Skylord said as he stepped up besides Scotch’s other side. “We were ordered to. And we were told to follow orders. And we did. Blaming is pointless. Now is all that matters.”

“Why’d you even come in here?” Precious asked as she looked around at the papers. “And how come this room isn’t looted?”

Tanit’s eyes darted around before she took a deep look and gave a resigned glare. “Before the day of doom, father closed Four Stars. He laid everyone off. Emptied his accounts. Paid everyone well. The same day, the Caesar confronted him for his lack of loyalty. A pony assassin had been captured. A mad pegasus named Jetstream claiming she was trying to save Big Macintosh had traveled all the way from Equestria. Father surrendered without a fight. Two days later, a megaspell ripped Roam apart. The ponies claimed they hadn’t done it. Even that they knew nothing about it! And hours later, the world burned.”

“What does this have to do with that?” Scotch asked as she gestured to the papers.

“Father had all of mother’s prophesies. I’m certain he retained some of them for himself!” she gave a glare. “He’d sent out strange correspondences. Even to the Pink Mare herself in Manehattan! He knew the Day of Doom was coming! I’m sure of it. He laid plans. Somewhere in here are those plans. Those plots. I will know them!”

Scotch felt tired. “What for? Tanit... it doesn’t matter! It was two centuries ago. The Caeser is gone!”

“Or he’s transformed into a thousand foot high burning abomination in the harbor,” Epona chimed in. “That’s a popular theory too!”

“Either way, he’s good as dead. The Empire’s dead! Roam is dead!” She stomped her hoof. “And good riddance!” The floor rumbled and several papers slid off the desk. Everyone glanced at Scotch. “What... that wasn’t me!”

“Is that what you think?” Tanit sneered. “Delude yourself if you wish. The Empire shall never die! Not until the Maiden of the stars destroys it, and that I will never allow! The Nightmare is dust, and Blackjack is gone. There is none left to carry that mantle.”

Scotch’s mane crawled as she grit her teeth. It didn’t matter. It didn’t count. It was a foal’s stupidity. “Well it looks pretty dead to me! Now why don’t you let Pythia back at the controls? Then we’ll see...” She paused as she glanced down at the heap at her feet.

Written on an envelope amid the pile: ‘To the Green Menace.’

Tanit glanced down at it, and her lip curled in a triumphant sneer, “Still think the past has nothing to do with the present?”

Scotch stared for a moment. She imagined she could hear cards shuffling. She’d refused to look once. Could she dare refuse again? Tanit grinned, eyes narrowing. “I won’t let you read it. You are unworthy.”

Okay. That was enough. They couldn’t shoot her in the head, but they could tie her up and get her out of here till Pythia was back in control. “Grab her. Let’s get back to the others.”

But as Skylord and Precious moved in, Tanit sprang out of their grasp, moving with a fluidity and ease Scotch remembered from their first meeting. She was fighting while seeing the future. “Majina, Epona, try and help,” she said as she knelt for the envelope.

But four weren’t much better than two when you could see exactly how to move to avoid being grabbed. And as Scotch knelt, Tanit slid underneath one of Skylord’s attempts to tackle and got a hoof to the face. It wasn’t that hard, Tanit or Pythia she was still not a fighter, but it did allow her to snatch the letter up and spring away.

“You don’t know that there’s anything in there! Coral might have seen you fighting me and put in a paper on how disappointed she is in you for kicking your friend!” Scotch snapped.

Tanit grimaced, “That would be just like her.” She tried to bound past Scotch, but Scotch was ready and she aborted before committing to the leap. That was promising at least. There wasn’t a future where she just sprang past... yet. “Give it up, Tanit. Let Pythia back in control. It’s her body.”

“If my great great great granddaughter is too weak to assert herself, it is mine by default,” Tanit declared as she shoved the letter into her cloak.

“Majina, was Tanit a fighter?” Scotch asked in annoyance.

Majina blinked, looking at Tanit standing on a table. “Unless you mean in bed, no.”

Tanit’s eyes bulged. “That... that is none of your business!” she blurted.

“Right. So just give up. We don’t want to hurt our friend’s body. You don’t want to get hurt.” Scotch guessed.

“Actually... if the Carnillia show was anything to go by...” Majina muttered, flushing in turn. “Just saying there was a whole lot of kink between Tanit and Eskarne.”

“That was pornography!” Tanit snapped, but it was enough distraction for Skylord to snag her rear hoof in his claws. That slowed her down enough for Precious’s claws to snatch her cloak. “Let me go! Release me!” she shouted as she kicked out with her hooves.

“Give it up, Tanit,” Scotch said wearily. “There’s nothing you can do.”

“Oh, no?” the mare suddenly grinned and reached up, pulling her star map from out of the hood of her cloak. There were two holes ripped in it for her eyes, which peered at Scotch with malice. “Oh First City! I call out to you! The enemy is here! Strike her down with all your might!”

Scotch grit her teeth. “Oh! You want to play Shaman? Well fuck Roam! Fuck this dead metropolis! They should have used a better megaspell on it! Turned it into a giant outhouse for all of zebrakind to shit on! Everything about this city is shit and blowing it up was the best thing that ever happened to it! It should be turned into a giant parking lot! Happy?!” Scotch shouted at her. “Now stop pretending because Pythia isn’t a shaman!”

Everyone had frozen, staring at her in shock. Everyone except Tanit who grinned from ear to ear. Pythia wasn’t a shaman.

Tanit was.

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Rocky murmured on her back.

The ground started to tremble. And this time it wasn’t stopping. The shaking ratted her friends off of Tanit and soon they were all just struggling to keep on their hooves. The book cases fell over, letters and scrolls rolling every which way. Scotch snatched at her cloak as Tanit leapt away to the other side of the room as the shaking stopped.

“Pythia!” Scotch called to the masked mare. “I love you!”

For a moment she was still, eyes closed. Then she glared at Scotch. “Ever more the fool,” she replied.

And then with a giant crunch the floor, ceilings, and walls split in two. The split ran through all the walls, ceiling, and floor as the Four Stars building was pulled in two. Pieces tumbled down into the burning, smoking depths of the city around them. The whole floor leaned in, sending countless papers fluttering into the furious winds that cut through the city.

Below, she watched as the huge hulk of the arcane shield devices peeled off their foundations and crashed into the city below. The half that Tanit occupied started to disintegrate, and the mare began to nimbly hop and leap until she disappeared into the smokey depths below.

“Pythia!” Scotch cried out into the burning city.

The city cried back. Below she saw dozens, hundreds, thousands of flaming corpses wailing as they raced for the teetering remains of the Four Stars building. And through the smoke and haze the gargantuan form of the Beast turned its baleful, blazing eye upon them. Closer than she’d ever seen before. The magmic monstrosity narrowed its gaze in malice.

“And now we have to run,” Skylord muttered.

Author's Note

Been a long, long while. Sadly, two years ago I got Covid and I lost a lot of my stories and ability to write. I've been rebuilding a lot of it since then. I'd like to thank everyone that's stuck with me up to this point. If you'd like more, you can throw rocks at me in my patreon, or just rocks in person at Everfree Northwest this month. Either way, the more encouragement to write the better.

Also, thanks to Kkat for writing FoE in the first place. If this seems a little rough, it's just me trying to edit, so corrections are appreciated. Take care and hopefully the next chapter won't be in two years.