The light of the sun battered down on me as I walked into the camp, the surviving armoured vehicles painted to match the sand being worked on, maintained by the small legion of ponies assigned to maintain the tools of war. I wasn’t there to admire the vehicles that had made our victory possible. I did however see many more eyes watching me as I walked past. They weren’t eyes cast towards me in mockery-

“How’d it go monster slayer?” I looked away from the squat cinderblock building that was my destination, and met the gaze of a now familiar figure. Talon smiled at me, but it looked like it could crack with the slightest nudge.

“Monster slayer?” I asked the mare, my mind reeling at being known for that. She paused and looked confused for a moment. Before stepping forward and putting her muzzle near my ear.

“You really don’t know? They’ve been talking about it all over, spread through the grapevine. Well, I don’t know if I believe everything that pink mare says. But I believe my drivers, and the Rangers that picked through that camp,” Talon finished whispering, all while my mind was caught between what she was saying, and how she was saying it. An attractive mare breathing over my sensitive ears, close to me.

“It was a difficult battle, but I just did what needed to be done,” I replied flatly, flushing at the praise and her proximity. “Just like everyone else.”

“Humble too, damn… she bagged a good one,” Talon replied a moment later. “Speaking of, where is Icepick?” I winced visibly at her question. Her expression changed, worry clouding over what had been exhausted pride.

“I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to her since dusk yesterday,” I said flatly, trying to betray no emotion. Talon gazed at me, wondering what had happened, but knowing that I would evade any such questions.

“I see,” she replied in a clip voice of her own. That bright yellow mane glinted in the sunlight, so reminiscent of her daughter. “So what are you doing here?”

“I wish to be commissioned by Phalanx,” I said while not meeting her gaze. Her surprise was easy to read, a step backwards and a bemused expression sweeping over her muzzle as she heard my words. “I have my reasons. Now unless you have further need of me-”

“Why?” She asked, her tone stark and serious. Talon sounded so much like Icepick the night before. This mare deserved an answer, maybe she could make her daughter understand. Their relationship was new, but maybe she could help resolve my irrational guilt. I pointed a hoof, and glanced back towards the empty piers a ways off. I wasn’t as angry now, and I didn’t want others to learn of what Icepick had done to me. That was just a courtesy, or so I told myself.

When she and I had gotten far enough away from any other ponies, I stopped, feeling battered wooden blanks holding my weight. I turned around and met her gaze.

“I don’t think I can be around her anymore, or him. I can’t trust myself, I was ready to beat that pink-coated stallion into a bloody pulp. That’s why I’m asking to join you. I can tell you why, but I guarantee you don’t want to know,” I finished with a deep exhale. The words had just slipped out of my muzzle, syllable by syllable, passion overriding tact.

“I need to know,” she managed to say after a pregnant pause. My muzzle twisted into a small, bitter smile.

“Rosetta violated me, changed me to fit their ends. He tore memories from my mind, to which only fragments and hints remain. Icepick let him, she kept the secret between them. I don’t even care about the sex they had, I had accepted that, and gotten even there. But this is so much worse. I wouldn’t do what they did to anyone-” My words had gone off the rails again, my voice wavering in volume as I felt those black feelings of betrayal sweep over me again.

“Who told you this?” She asked softly, pressing a hoof to my shoulder. I felt her touch, and it held me together for the moment. If this mare had ever sounded motherly, it was then. Another shock flowed from that moment, a memory I had repressed on my own.
The last time I had seen my own mother, her coat the same colour of the summer sky. That last brief summer before the blood. She had bid me goodbye with tears in her eyes, held by my father, his own coat a dark yellow. It was the last time I had seen them, the last time before I had to bury them.

“Permittivity!” She nearly shouted at me. I had been caught in a reverie, my eyes unfocused at the here and now.

“Sombra’s monster told me, he was a mouthpiece for him, a tool. But he showed me that I was just as much a tool,” I said breathlessly. “I didn’t want to listen to it. But his words were true, their pain igniting the suspicions and worries already in my mind.”

“Icepick told you the truth when you confronted her with it?” She had pulled herself closer to me. One foreleg became two as she held me firmly.

“Y-yes, and she felt guilty about it, truly guilty. That was the worst part, knowing that she was sorry, but knowing she had done it anyways,” I said in a low voice. My heart was beating furiously in my chest, and tears were so close to being shed. For a long time she just held me, saying nothing, just comforting a pony she hardly knew.

“I’m going to speak to her,” she said in a strong voice. “Do you think it was her idea?”

“I know it wasn’t, I know that the good doctor came up with that treatment plan-” I was twitching, shivering in anger as I thought about the pony I had once called a friend.

“Okay. I wish we had more time to think about this, to give you time to sort your feelings out. But I know what the plan calls for next, I know you understand. If you need a place away from them, I can help you. If Phalanx needs convincing, I can do that too,” Talon looked out towards the sea. “I will always love her, because she’s my foal. I loved her even when the smart thing to do was forget her. Feelings don’t work that way. Anyone who tried to cut my memories of her out of my mind would be a dead pony.”

“You’ve got more restraint than me,” she said a moment after the rest of her words.

“I’ve made too many mistakes to pretend to be righteous, I’ve hurt too many to want to do it on a whim. I thought that she had forgiven me, I thought that kind of pain was over,” I managed to say as the levee broke. Tears broke away from my ducts, salty and warm on my face.

“Forgiveness is the hardest thing in the world to do, and the thing the world always needs more of,” she released me, before turning around.

“I think she’s lost a good one,” I heard her say angrily, beneath her breath. Her steps pounding down the pier. I let my legs buckle, the weight overwhelming me, only the eternal sea beside me. The tears flowed into it, just another drop of water added to it. Just another broken heart in a world full of them.

---===*===---

The door to the office swung open under the grasp of my telekinesis. I stepped inside and heard the sound of a chair turning to face me. Phalanx cleared his throat before nodding at a similar chair in front of the desk. I took the chair, sitting down in it swiftly.

“You requested to speak with me personally?” Phalanx asked politely while gazing at me. There was apprehension, and curiosity warring in his visage.

“Yes, I’m here to offer you something,” I replied in a warm tone. Whatever charm I had, it needed to be used here. “What is it you lack the most?”

“There are many things I wish I had more of,” the pegasus stallion said with a slight fluttering of his wings. He hadn’t expected that. The more I could keep him off balance, the better. “Fuel, spare parts, medicine, et cetera. The list is long, and I doubt you have a few thousand liters of diesel stuffed in those saddlebags.”

“That would be some impressive magic, magic that I lack,” I replied with a smile, while rocking back in the seat a bit. I pulled my forelegs over my chest, before pushing one forward onto the desk. “You need several things that I can give you.”

“And what would those be?” He asked, trying not to show his curiosity. I could feel his heartbeat speed up though, along with his breathing.

“A capable officer, a respected stallion, and someone who has diplomatic ties to every faction in this part of Sall’han,” I finished and locked my eyes onto his. “All I ask for is a seat at any important table, and a commission in your army.”

“I thought you were content being a consort-” he started to say before I cut him off.

“If I ever was, I’m not now,” I paused to let him chew that over. “If you truly wish to come out of this on top, you’re going to need to be on good terms with all the external powers. I gave Safe Harbour electricity, I fought with the ponies of Paradise, and I’m a close friend of the only Arabian leader with us. Icepick is your counterweight, someone with little direct control over ponies, but a thorn in your side if you cross her. I know her better than anyone, I know her secrets.”

“She crossed you, didn’t she?” He finally said, a harsh bark of laughter echoing through the small room. I glared at him, my own breathing picking up, my muscles tensing as my body prepared for violence. “That answers that question, and tells me it’s a sore spot. As to your proposal, I think you’re right about her being my real enemy. She’s a dangerous mare-”

“More dangerous than you can even imagine,” I interjected. “When you play with her, you play with fire. I’m the closest thing to fire you have.”

“Yes you are, you’re dangerous. But everything with power is dangerous, and power itself is very dangerous,” an insincere smile crossed his face. “Let me ask you one more question: would you kill her if it was necessary?” My face became stony as the thought sunk into my mind. Imagining that, imagining hurting Icepick-

“Yes,” I said cooly. I hadn’t lied, if it was necessary, I could do it. I had been prepared to light her up when she was standing before the launch terminal in that submarine. She was the destroyer, that fact needed no more proof. I loved her though. Someone had bound our souls and she had won my heart. If he had asked ‘would you kill her if I asked you to’, that would have been a different answer.

He wasn’t qualified for his position if he couldn’t ask the right questions...

“I know that Talon respects you, and so do my subordinates. Welcome aboard outsider,” Phalanx replied before sticking a foreleg out towards me. As I reached out and grasped his hoof with mine my mind was filled with a single question.

Does a devil ever consider the possibility that they’ve made a deal with something worse?

---===*===---

“I’d like to speak to them,” I said to the guards standing before one of the warehouses at the edge of the city. They looked at me closely for a moment, before the light of recognition shone through their eyes. A fair number of the captured Imperials were being kept in the warehouses that remained. Disarmed and dispirited or so I had heard. This warehouse in particular held the surviving officers and higher enlisted.

“Sure, Slayer,” the younger stallion to the right said. His older companion, a mare with a steely gaze, rolled her eyes at him.

“What business do you have with them?” She asked me a moment later, that gaze turning on me. My own face was curled into a confident smile, like it was my turn in the sunlight. It was a sham, it was just another weapon in my arsenal. But if it needed to be used, then it would be.

“I wish to speak with them, interrogate them, and see what their general disposition is. I know that they’ve been unharmed, and treated well. I have a great respect for the laws of war, and anyone who upholds them,” I replied swiftly, that smile unwavering until I mentioned the laws of war. It shifted to something more solemn, more honest. I did mean what was said.
“There isn’t a set of procedures for this, we didn’t expect anyone would want to see them, other than as an interrogator. We’ll watch you closely, but I don’t see any reason to deny you,” She finished with a huff. There was a hint of disquiet in her words, even if her younger subordinate had a glint of worship in his eyes.

“I’ll be on my best behaviour, corporal,” I replied as my magic grasped the door, opening it swiftly. The two ponies couldn’t help but stare at my horn, and the outline of sparking blue fire around it. It reminded me of my past, of being the only unicorn in kilometers. I flashed that same smile towards them, as I walked between them. “Thank you for doing your duty once more. Guard duty is dull, and sometimes dangerous, but as necessary as any other duty.”

The stallion smiled back, his rifle swinging about his chest. I could tell he had been a conscript just days ago. But I could see the action behind his eyes. The mare was the same with a guarded, haunted look in hers. The door shut softly, and I was left in a corridor, nearly bereft of ponies. I greeted the guard mare carrying her rifle in a pink haze of magic.

“I would like to speak to them,” I said as her eyes traced up and down me.

“Sure, but I better not hear any screams, or I’ll put a bullet in you,” she said simply. It was a threat, but it was the kind of threat I could understand. The kind of threat that was necessary sometimes.

“I’m not the type to harm prisoners of war,” I said flatly, emphasizing my accent a bit more.

“Good. They’re all locked in the upper floors, with the exception of the attempted escapees. I have those down here, where I can watch them closely,” she replied in a curious tone. I nodded at her, before asking for directions. I learned about the procedures, and who held the sentry point up the stairs. Before I left, I thanked her for her thankless duty.

---===*===---

The door slid open, and I was surrounded by ponies wearing dirty uniforms, all of their tired eyes falling upon me. I met each of their gazes in turn, my eyes steady, expression stolid. The nearest ponies to me, with rank insignia still sewn onto their uniforms gave me a critical look.

“I wish that the battle we fought hadn’t happened,” I said loudly enough to be heard through the room. “But the past is unchanging, and nothing we can do will ever bring back those that were lost.”

“Why are you here, Traitor?” A non-commissioned officer lashed out at me. I kept my hooves spread apart, my stance neutral, as I glanced at her.

“To talk about the future. I haven’t forgotten my home, and I’ve regretted every action I’ve taken against you all. But you know that your mission was wrong, you either know, or heard rumours about who was really in charge,” I paused to let them recall the monster in question. “I fought that avatar of Sombra. I came out on top.”

“It’s true then! It was him in the tower!” A male voice shouted.

“That presence you felt, the cold mind that seemed to peer into your soul, it was the remains of Sombra. He doesn’t dwell within a body, he doesn’t have a beating heart, but he does hold power over many. That’s why I fought my comrades. That’s why I’m speaking to you all,” I spoke in fearful tones, regret tinging every syllable.

“Why should we trust you?” that same scarred mare asked me.

“Is there anyone else left to trust?” I asked softly. “I’m just a stallion who has seen too much pointless bloodshed. I’ve committed too much of it, and received it in turn. In that, I’m just like you all.” There was a pause, followed by quiet murmuring. “I fought the Celestians, I lost family and friends to them. A pointless war of Imperial ambition. That war’s bloodshed allowed Sombra to awaken. Whatever you think about the leaders who got us into that war, their ambition pales in comparison to Sombra’s. He has no qualms about burning our world just like this one. He thinks of nothing but ruling, even if his domain is nothing but ashes and bones. Your bones, my bones, and every single creature that dares to stand against him.”

“Why are you telling us this?” a middle-aged stallion who still bore the marks of a major asked me. “We lost. These ponies fought us like animals for days, fighting us for every inch of this blasted city. But that was just a trap, they wanted us to overextend, to throw everything against an enemy that looked beaten. Was that your plan? To grind us into dust, before driving over us with that shining armour, and those tracked monstrosities?”

“I aided in the plan, I agreed to it because any other plan would have failed. You all know how dearly victories are bought. This one was no exception. I made damn sure you would be treated well, in accordance with the laws of war. I can make no promises at this moment, but I wanted to reassure you about that,” I said before casting a glance at many of their faces in turn. “That’s why I’m telling you this. That’s one of the reasons. The other reason is simple, I want you all to rise to the occasion, and to fight one last battle. When that will happen, and what happens after is unknown to me. Some of that is up to you.”

“This world is going to be your home, it’s already become mine. What you choose to do with your lives will be up to you. I wish that you make the right decisions, I hope that we’ll all get to set down our arms. That moment has yet to arrive, but I dream of it. I know you do too,” I finished with a deep draw of breath.

“What is this final battle you speak of? It can’t be against Sombra, they won’t allow us to be alongside them, they definitely won’t arm us for that,” that same tired major asked me. I locked my eyes onto his.

“It will be the battle for Sall’han, to decide what kind of peace reigns over this land. I hope that you’ll fight alongside me when the moment comes. But perhaps the Imperial army will defeat us, and rescue you from internment. I don’t think so, and I hope for victory, but if it is to be my fate, I hope you remember my words,” I let my eyes drift away from them. Towards the west, towards my destiny.

“Thank you,” the same young stallion who had spoken about Sombra said to me. There were many thankless tasks, many things that needed to be done.

Sometimes one thank you means the world.

---===*===---

The door to the conference room swung shut, with quite a few sentries standing outside. I was seated already, across the table from Icepick, and between Phalanx and Talon to my right and left, respectively. The other ponies in the room had met with us before, Brass Belle, the commander of Paradise Defense Force, and the commander of their nascent navy. Icepick sat beside Ironsight, and Crescent Moon.

In the room, there was a tension that could be cut with a knife, exhaustion weighed upon every face in the room, along with a giddiness at the unexpected victory. It was unexpected to everyone but Icepick, she accepted it as a matter of course, a victory bought at great cost-

“We won here, but our victory, and our sacrifices mean nothing if another army marches down in a month. Sombra already knows we won, and he’s already building defences and assembling forces. He also knows that the same issues that plagued his assault on Paradise will affect us just as badly, if not more so. Supply lines are an issue at the best of times. These are not the best of times,” Icepick opened with force and foresight as she tended to. It was a sentiment I agreed with, something I would have to fight to make happen. Her eyes briefly met mine, before turning away like she had been burned. I felt an ache after the moment passed.

It was her fault. She had dug this hole, and any forgiveness from me would have to be earned.

“I don’t want to shoot the messenger, but my ponies are tired. Our supplies are running thin, and we-we’ve lost so much,” Belle said.

“So be it,” I said flatly. Eyes turned towards me, someone who had spoken rarely in these meetings. “I will march towards that citadel myself if needed. I don’t think I’ll be alone though. I suggest we ask for volunteers from the ponies of Paradise, but not too many. If we intend to make this plan of attack succeed we need to move swiftly. We have enough surviving Ursas and APCs to transport a fairly large assault force. Especially if we have ponies riding atop the vehicles themselves.”

“Do you think that will be enough?” Belle asked me, her face a mask of indefinite worry, and a wriggling tendril of hope.

“The population of the research station and its bunkers is mostly civilian, and largely the descendents of the Arabians that came across it. I’m the exception among them, as was Tegarni. I have no clue about the Imperials that are surely ready there. But it’s not really meant to withstand an aggressive and coordinated attack,” Crescent Moon replied, her own voice steady.

“It’s a mess of interlinking tunnels, bunkers, storage areas, and scientific instrumentation. I believe the intention for it was to test Megaspells and other dangerous experiments in the truly desolate wilderness to the west. But that hardly matters, I know where the gateway is, and we know how to break it. And it isn’t even in one of the more inaccessible areas,” I said to the assembled ponies.

“So we should expect close quarters combat, and a large number of non-combatants?” Icepick asked, her eyes widening.

“Yes,” Crescent said. Her voice was resigned, the same way that most of us were. For a moment her eyes met mine, the meaning clear.

“A bloodbath in the making,” I said what most had been thinking.

“If it could be done some other way…” Crescent said, leaving the question hanging unanswered.

“We’ll do our best, and I’ll keep thinking of other ways-” Icepick said to her, before glancing at me. Our eyes met once more, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly. I knew she would try to spare them. I also knew how much intentions mattered in times of war. “-to get the job done.”

“So what do you require then?” Brass Belle asked, she seemed happier now that we weren’t going to ask for the whole battered army she wanted to keep close.

“Fuel, ammunition, food, and spare parts if you have them,” I answered the question before Phalanx even opened his mouth. “I believe that all of our weaponry uses the same pre-war specifications?”

“He’s right,” Icepick said with a plaintive sigh. “We blew through most of our stockpiles, and I know how thirsty those Ursas are. I don’t know how much you can spare but any would be helpful.” By this point, Belle was shooting a look at her staff.

“We’ll have to figure out how much was expended, and how much we deem a safe margin. But I can make my ponies work day and night until it's done. My bean counters didn’t have to fight, so they can afford to lose some sleep. As to the fuel, our refineries to the north have stayed in operation, and are unmolested. I guarantee we can top you off in that regard. If you need spare parts, you’re going to have to talk to my logisticians, and make very clear what could be used in place of a specific part,” Brass Belle trailed off, looking away for a moment, before composing herself and meeting each of our eyes in turn. With a deep intake of breath she began again.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for saving my city. I didn’t believe the threat was real until it was here, and when it arrived I thought all hope was lost. I’m happy to be proven wrong. I have no idea how your battle with Sombra will end. I worry that he’ll send another army here in a month- But I hope to be proven wrong again, please prove me wrong.”

“We will,” Icepick and I said the same thing, at the same time. I scowled inwardly at that. I didn’t like the idea that she and I were linked that strongly. In the corner of my eye, I could see a twisting of her brave face. It could have just been a momentary twitch, a coincidence to anyone else.

I knew better.

---===*===---

Before I could leave, Talon eyed me and gestured at herself. I gave her a bemused look, but I hung back as the other ponies left. The other ponies except for Icepick. The door shut, leaving the three of us alone in the now deathly quiet room.

“Alright kids, we have business to discuss,” Talon said with a dark peel of laughter. I glanced from her, to her daughter. Icepick held herself in a defensive posture, tense and unnerved.

“The weapon is nearly ready, I just got a report on that from Zenji. It’s not much larger than the megaspell amplifier itself. It’s also supposed to work, though we don’t have another weapon to test. The other important thing is that it shouldn’t be dangerous to living things. It will spark anything using magical circuitry though, at least, that’s what our resident megaspell expert says,” Icepick finished speaking, her eyes had been on Talon, instead of me. I couldn’t help but watch her. I wasn’t at fault- this time.

“It’ll fry all of the magical circuitry near it-” Talon began to ask before Icepick interjected.

“No, not fry, spark. If the intensity of the megaspell was set to the original specifications of the spark grenade, it would burn them out to the point that only scrap remained. But the charge has been modified to emit a pulse of magic that should tear certain kinds of enchantments apart. No-one I talked to about it has ever come across a soul jar enchantment before, but according to the Thaumic Theory, it should be an almost elemental enchantment,” Icepick said before taking a breath.

“Magic is a flowing force, and so is electricity, the patterns that matter in the universe can be manipulated and set to a purpose that we desire, but you’re saying Sombra changes matter at an atomic level? He intertwined his soul with the matter of the Mirror?” I asked her, my breath hitching in my throat.

“That’s what I was told, if you have questions like that, you’re better off talking to someone who knows the details. Apparently it’s a magical technique that existed in ancient Zebrica. A way to keep a soul in this plane that protects it and the object that the soul is bound to. I did ask if the Balefire bomb could break it,” Icepick said, waiting a moment, and flicking her eyes towards mine. “He wasn’t sure if it could break the magical bonds. So, even if we had the parts for that suicide mission, it might not do the job in any case.”

“Well, if he’s mostly sure about it’s efficacy, then that’s good enough for me. How close do we need to get the weapon to Sombra?” I asked, trying my hardest to stay composed.

“The closer the better, it might not work through a ton of shielding. Rock, and concrete are good shielding against a brute force magical pulse. So that means we’re going to have to get into those tunnels,” she said with a sour expression on her muzzle.

“What is he like?” Talon asked me in a soft voice. It was a genuine question, from a pony who had made many mistakes in her life, many bad choices. Like mother, like daughter. I still felt a shiver down my spine as I recalled our short meeting.

“I had just tried to kill myself with carbon monoxide, so my mind wasn’t muddled when I arrived at the top of the crystal spire. Even then, I could feel a vast poisonous presence as I got closer. He spoke to me from inside my skull, and gave me one of his Talismans. When he gave me it, it seemed to rejuvenate me, and give me more power than I could have imagined before,” I looked away from Talon. I took another deep breath and looked at Icepick.

“I didn’t know what I was sensing at the time. I think I do now. The gateway he’s inhabiting is a tear in the fabric of the universe, it has to be, so it can join itself to another tear. But that barrier between worlds is the same barrier that magic has to pierce. When I light my horn and create an electrical charge, I’m channeling magic across that barrier, through my horn. I have limits, but with a ready made tear, there is no barrier-” I was cut off by Icepick.

“He has limitless power then?” She asked, her muzzle twisted in vexation.

“He may have access to it, whether he can directly cast spells is another matter. I have a hunch that he can only corrupt crystal, and the minds of those that can’t resist him. He can warp those who wish to serve him. That I’ve seen. It isn’t pretty,” I finished having left my eyes on hers. “I don’t know how many ponies he can convert, or how many talismans he has at his disposal. If there are more than a few, and if they’re stronger when near him…”

“That just gives everyone else a chance to kill a monster,” Talon said jovially. “I want to bag one myself.”

“They’re like nothing you’ve ever imagined, and fight like the demons they are. The one I fought must have been a powerful wizard even before his transformation. I couldn’t fight him on his own terms-”

“That’s why we fight them our way, if they can survive being blown to bloody chunks, I’ll be more scared of them,” Icepick interjected, anger covering her own trepidation.

“If brute force isn’t working, you need to use more brute force,” I said before shaking my head. “The stallion I fought was able to absorb shot after shot, bullet, or magical bolt. The only hit I managed to get off on him was lucky. I cooked his flank, but that didn’t slow the creature down.” I took a deep breath before continuing. “I thought I was going to die. I nearly did. I only managed to slay the creature with a dirty trick that would only work in that situation.”

“Tell us the weakness?” Talon asked me, while giving her haughty daughter a side eye.

“I created ozone by running current through the air around him. Then I forced the deadly gas down his throat with a tightening magnetic field. Whatever else they are, they can still be killed, even if a non-lethal blow seems to do little to them,” I finished speaking before leaning back in my chair.

“Could we just flood the whole complex with that gas?” Icepick asked, her eyes gleaming in the flickering light. Talon looked like she was about to speak, but she saw me straighten and glare at Icepick.

“First off, I can’t make that much ozone. It took a lot out of me, I’m still recovering from the strain. Second, all the Imperial troops are issued gas masks that can defeat most poison gases. Third, it would be a heinous act,” I had leaned over the table, eyes boring into hers. She met the gaze, before a smile that held no warmth surfaced on her muzzle.

“I was just playing Discord’s advocate. You’re right, even if we could do it, it would only harm the ponies without protection. I need to know one more thing. Permittivity, are you still with us?” Icepick asked.

“If it’s us, as in, the coalition to destroy Sombra then yes. If you’re asking me if I’m still in your thrall, then no,” I said simply. There was malice in my words, but she deserved it. She took it like a kick to the stomach.

“I never wanted you to be my thrall, I just wanted to help you-”

“I’m sure you thought that way. I’m sure Sombra started out that way too. Changing ponies into tools is something you have in common,” I said my piece without fire, but my eyes were burning holes into her. I stood up and started walking out of the room.

“I deserved that. I was terrified by what you were a harbinger of. I wanted to solve a potential problem, and I was blind to how you had changed. I was told that you would be better, that you wouldn’t miss what you had lost. I’m sorry Perm, I hurt the person I care for the most-” She hadn’t turned around, her voice spilled out of her, cracking with sorrow. It was in her voice. It was in my heart. I felt her emotions, or at least, a shadow of them inside myself. I stopped in my tracks.

“I believe you. I love you too. The difference between us is that you hurt me in spite of my actions. I hurt you before I knew you, by carrying on a lie. Those aren’t the same,” I went over to Icepick. She hadn’t turned yet, her face hidden by her position, and the loose locks of her golden mane. “But you know that, don’t you? Guilt is more painful than a thousand lashes. That guilt is the difference between Sombra, and yourself.”

Talon had stood up, moving towards the door. She wanted to give us space. When the door shut, Icepick spun the chair around to face me.

“If it was anyone else, I would spit in your face. But I know you Perm. You know guilt, you’ve had it poison your soul before-” her tears had slowed, but her eyes were red and puffy. I stood just before her, muzzle to muzzle. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my face again.

“I don’t know if it got down into my soul, but it led to me gassing myself. It led me here, and it’s led me down the right path, in the end,” I said darkly.

“In the end…” Icepick asked, before leaving me to answer. I lit my horn, and pulled out my handkerchief from a pocket on my chest. She didn’t balk as I dabbed up the tears on her cheeks.

“If it’s the end, I can die for a cause I believe in. I can die redeeming myself. Compared to all the other ends a pony can have, it’s better than most. If it isn’t my end, then I hope I’ll stay on the right path. If we succeed, this place is going to need leaders-”

“I don’t want you to die,” she said simply, and sincerely. I finished my dabbing and returned the cloth to its pocket. “But neither do you. That’s why you buddied up to Phalanx, isn’t it. It wasn’t just to spite me. You want to be in a position of power when we beat Sombra.”

My eyes must have given away the answer, as her face cracked into a wry smile. I matched it with one of my own.

“He’s weak, power hungry, and worse, he’s vain. When the right moment comes, I don’t think anyone will stop me from doing what needs to be done. Talon is a much better leader, and ponies are actually loyal to her,” my words were quiet, conspiratorial, but I wasn’t pleased with myself at the subterfuge.

“The right path, eh?” She actually laughed at that. “I agree though. He’s as much a threat to Sall’han as the Rangers back in Ramsgard. Are you going to try and assume control of the army he commands?”

“I’m not stupid Icepick, even if they respect me. Even if they trust in my abilities, I’m not one of them. You’d have a better chance at leading them than I would. I just want to be close to him. I want him to think I’m a competent subordinate, someone to trust with the petty little details,” my words slipped out like a sled down a steep hill. It wasn’t pretty, but we don’t live in a pretty world. If anyone could understand me, it was her. The Destroyer.

Before I could think my next thought, she kissed me. I felt her lips against me own, and a foreleg of hers wrap around my shoulder. I melted at that. I could feel her heartbeat, and my own thumping in our chests. That shadow of her feelings had blossomed into a photo negative of my own swirling thoughts. I wanted her, and she wanted me. I had made so many mistakes, but so had she.

“Goddesses, why are you sexy when you’re morally ambiguous?” She asked me, her face flushing at her words. Her eyes opened wider and she looked distracted for a moment. A moment later, she focused again on me. “What the fuck is that?”

“I could ask you the same question. My guess is the same one that Rosetta told us when we met him. We’re two sides of the same coin Icepick, a battered, blackened coin. We’re bad people trying to do the right thing. But we both understand that the right thing, and the moral thing are often at odds with each other,” she pressed a hoof to my muzzle at that.

“I have a bad feeling you’re right, maybe that’s why we need each other,” her eyes widened once again. A light of recognition shining through those sea blue orbs. “You-”

“Yes, I think that the bond has gotten stronger. I sense bits and pieces of your feelings. Especially if they’re strong,” I said softly. Her ear twitched as my breath lapped against it.

“Fuck, it’s like every time we get used to something weird, it just gets weirder. How long have you been feeling it?” Her tone was bouncing between novelty and aggravation.

“I felt it during the final assault. I drew strength from it. I could tell your heart was still beating, it’s stronger when we’re nearby,” I admitted. “I think I have it in my heart to forgive you. It’s going to take time.”

“What about-” she started to ask about him. My eyes narrowed, before I took one of her hooves in mine.

“That’s up to him, I won’t hurt him though. Even if I want to,” I replied my words shaded with delight in the last sentence. “Icepick, I just want rest. I want the killing to end.”

“So do I,” she said softly. Her gaze had moved past me, her eyes were focused on something far away. “Even if we beat Sombra. I don’t think we can stop the killing. We’re just ponies, Perm.”

“Sombra was just a pony once. He slayed our old gods. He may not feel guilt, he may not have a beating heart. But I’m sure he can still fear death,” I smiled wryly.

“Because of who I am?” she asked, a shiver passing through her body as she asked.

“Because of who we are,” I said before waving a hoof in an all encompassing gesture.

---===*===---

A week after the battle for Paradise had been decided, we set off into the sea of sand. We left behind a city in ruins, a people battered yet victorious. The flotilla arrived back in Paradise two days before we set off. Residents of the city, volunteers from Safe Harbour, and a significant stock of supplies to help the refugees in their own city.

When we bid farewell to the city, it seemed the whole living population of Paradise waved us goodbye. Brass Belle made a speech, thanking us for defending their city. It was left unsaid that the victory was pyrrhic for the city itself. It was left unsaid that they would be nearly defenseless against a Ranger attack if one was sent at them.

It was said that the sacrifices made there would be remembered. It was said that the city would rebuild. And she said that she believed in our victory against Sombra.

I wasn’t sure if she believed that last part herself, but she had given us as much ammunition, fuel, water and rations as we could manage. That was in addition to the small number of working trucks and volunteers from Paradise itself.

In the light of the setting sun we set out, several thousand ponies united in purpose. It would’ve been beautiful if not for the purpose itself. We were the hammer of Sall’han: we were going to smash Sombra, or die trying.

Author's Note

Just over a month between the last chapter and this one, it feels good. I must confess that the fumes of being close to the end have pushed me further and faster than before. The next chapter is already being worked on, and I hope you're excited to read the end of their journey. Don't worry, there will be an epilogue.

A decent length one, because writing a massive story and giving your characters a five second post ending moment is pretty shitty to me.