The sun had fallen below the horizon. Its bright, white light is replaced by dim, yellow streetlights buzzing above the streets. If all were quiet and one would listen, they could hear it in Rusty's workshop.

The noises outside weren't what the lone occupant of the building focused on, however. Instead, he had his focus on the little bucket in front of him. A pleasant ringing sound emanated from the container as a few metal pieces were dropped into it. It was a comforting sound for Rusty. He always saved this bucket for last, so when his work day was done he could drop the metal pieces in and stow them away.

Today, he was especially relieved to finish his work. The mysterious mechanical mare still lay lifelessly on a table. Rusty was going to try to fix that.

Dinner comes first, however. The lone stallion trotted downstairs to his kitchen. He grabbed a ration pack from his fridge and opened it up. It was his favorite kind. Most of the contents were plain. Oatmeal, dry bread, a sheet of dehydrated seaweed, and the thing that makes the meal, 10 little cubes of dry pineapple.

Rusty always loved, "fruit snacks," as the package called them. They always made him wonder where such wonderful flavors come from. Nothing else seems to be as tasty or colorful as fruit snacks. He feels this is a question he will take to his grave.

Regardless, he ate the bland parts of his meal and took the little paper sack of fruit with him. Rusty went up the stairs and got ready for his mission. The broken power core was placed in his saddlebag, as well as a coin purse full of colorful discs and his ID. He closed up the bag and set it on his back, ready to go.

The door to his home made a quiet squeak as it swung open, something Rusty noted to fix later. Stepping out onto the street, he looked skyward to see a pleasant sight. The New Moon sat almost directly overhead with the ring of the shattered moon behind it. Countless small, shiny dots could be seen flowing to and from the massive metal moon.

The shattered moon, however, was far more amazing to Rusty. The ring of debris was a testament to the cataclysm that the world had survived. The stories said... Honestly, he doesn't remember the history behind it. He only remembers that it was destroyed in the Great War that ravaged the land so long ago.

Looking back down to the world, Rusty told himself that his focus would be entirely on the task at hand until it was complete. The door to his home was shut and locked and the unicorn began on his path. His plan was to visit an old friend of his. They don't hang out much, due to living in different sectors, but Rusty remembers that his friend, Iron Heart, often sold rare objects. Hopefully, his friend would be at least able to give him some information on the device.

As he walked, the stallion saw many of the usual sights along this route. A small gambling club occupied an alleyway. It was always astonishing to him that ponies would actually risk swindling away what little they get to begin with. Nonetheless, the little club stayed as busy and rowdy as always.

Further along, the way was the government operated building that handed out rations. A cargo shuttle sat atop the building, indicating that tomorrow was ration day. The shuttles always looked out of place. Their hulls were smooth and pristine, well maintained. The city surrounding it was worn down, dull and rusty.

A city block past the ration building was a dangerous but impressive monument to the past. A large, four gunned anti-aircraft turret perched atop a heavily reinforced tower. The turret had been disabled during the Great War by a large bomb snugly entrenched in the operator's seat.

This was only known because a family of ponies lived in a house at the base of the tower. They passed down their knowledge of it through the generations.

Rusty hurried past this, however. The ponies beneath it say that the bomb is still active and would vaporize everything within three blocks if it went off. He felt it was exaggerated, thinking that the government wouldn't put the ration building within its blast range, but he took caution either way.

Turning a corner, the checkpoint finally came into view. The city was segmented into seven sectors, and each sector had a wall between it. They were creatively named Sector 1 through Sector 7, and each one had its function. Rusty's sector, Sector 5, was used mostly for housing, but also with tasks that overflow from the other sectors.

Taking a place in line, Rusty let his mind fade back to reality. Many Overseer guards patrolled the area, keeping everypony and everything in line. The glorious defenders stood tall on their two legs, much taller than ponies. They were giants by comparison, holding large guns that would easily tear through anything an offending pony could dish out. The emblem on their chests sparkled proudly in the artificial lighting, a red circle with a curved line struck through it horizontally.

The New Moon's mark was flawlessly painted onto every piece of equipment that was used by the government. Their shuttles, their armor, their guns, their land vehicles, and even the little door that now sat in front of the unicorn. It separated him from the guard that would examine and process his ID before allowing him to pass.

The door slid open with a scraping noise and the guard called him in. He stepped in and the door slid shut behind him. The guard followed routine and asked for Rusty's ID, to which the pony complied. He placed the faux-leather card holder onto the counter and the guard took it. A series of beeps and green lights told both the guard and the owner of the cards that they were authentic, up to date, and sufficient for passage.

The guard shut the card holder and began sliding it out of the little cage between the two. He stopped short, however, and examined the card holder closely. "Where did you see the symbol you've got on this?" The guard asked suspiciously before turning the case towards Rusty. There was an imprint on the card holder, and the pony recognized it almost immediately. It was the symbol that appeared on his computer screen when he plugged in the android. How did it get on his card holder?

The stallion immediately felt nervous but tried his best to hide it as he made up a lie. "I uh... Saw it somewhere and thought it looked cool, sir. I wasn't aware something was wrong with it." Rusty lowered his gaze as he spoke, not wanting to intimidate the guard by seeming nervous.

The giant let out and grunt and slid the card holder back to its owner. "I suggest you get rid of it. If you're caught carrying that emblem again within three days, you'll likely get a citation. Understood?" The guard's gruff voice echoed menacingly through the small room. Rusty nodded his head, to which the guard responded by opening the door to let him pass.

He walked calmly until he was out of sight of the guards. When he was, he let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. He practically tore open his saddlebag and dug out the broken power core. His eyes widened as he looked upon the emblem, raised out of the metal. If he could get a citation for having that on his card holder, he can't imagine what would happen if they found this.

The illegal device was buried in his bag and he made sure his coin purse was between it and his card holder. He hurried along to his destination with little of note occurring along the way.

His friend's shop was nothing special. A sign sat in the window, advertising the goods the store sold. The door swung open with a metal screech that almost hurt Rusty's ears. Oddly enough, it was accompanied by the pleasant ring of a little bell. It seemed a bit redundant to the stallion entering the store.

A yellow stallion stood behind the counter, polishing an old glass orb with a cozy looking scene trapped inside it. He looked up and smiled at the pony before him. "Hey hey! Long time no see, Rusty. What brings you?" The yellow stallion's voice was deep and jovial as he greeted his old friend.

"And a hello to you, too, Iron. I found something and I was uh... I was hoping I could get another. The problem is, though, I think that might not happen, now." As Rusty explained his presence, he pulled the device from his bag. The storekeeper set his glass orb down and started examining the broken device.

"What's wrong with it? Why do you think you won't you find another, I mean?" The earth pony stallion retrieved a kit of tools and began inspecting the broken core even closer.

Rusty rubbed his fetlock nervously. "The uh... Manufacturers mark, or whatever it is, is uh... Apparently illegal." He admitted nervously. This only made the shopkeeper smile broadly.

"So then it truly is a rarity, huh? Anything the New Moon has banned is very hard to get a hold of, and very expensive." Iron Heart set the device down and went to the front of his shop. He turned the sign to, "Closed," and shut the blinds. "If it wasn't broken, I'd take it off your hooves in a jiffy. What is it, anyway?"

Rusty watches his friend, slightly confused. "It's some kind of power core. Wait a sec, though. You deal in the black market? Since when?"

Iron chuckled at his friend's question. "Since it was good money, my friend. Don't worry, though. I only deal in goods I'm sure won't harm anypony." He resumed his place behind his counter and began poking at the power core with his tools. "So, a power core you say? I don't think I've ever seen something like this. Where'd you get it?"

The unicorn shifted on his hooves. "Well, you know. I'm a Grinder. I was just breaking stuff down and found some... thing unusual." Rusty shook his head slightly, not sure why his thoughts keep making the android feel more like a pony than a machine. "I uh... It would be much more useful to me if I had a working one, though."

Rusty's friend simply shook his head. "Well, I can't help you there. I can tell you one thing, though. This has fusion residue on it. 'Dates almost six hundred years old." He stopped to rub his chin. "Try the library, they know old stuff, right?"

Rusty nodded. "I hope I can work something out soon. I have a promise to keep." He took the power core off the counter and set it in his bag. Pushing open the door, Rusty said farewell to his friend.

A light rain fell from an invisible storm above. Unfortunately for Rusty, he rarely carried an umbrella, as it rarely rained. Rather than worrying about the rain, he continued on. As he began his route towards the library, the unicorn felt that tonight was going to be a long night. He had much to do and only so much time to do it.

Author's Note

Thank you to all who made it this far. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.

Fortunately, nothing (except for my lazy rump) should be getting in the way of me writing for a while to come. I still hold to my assertion that constructive criticism is welcome. If you see anything wrong or feel like something could be better, please tell me.

Thanks for reading!