Snow. Nightfall never thought he'd be so happy to see it again, having been literally dropped into it after their talk with the mysterious figure calling himself Warden. The sound of his hooves echoing across the cobblestone floor and water dripping from his coat had been replaced with that cold familiar sound of the wind whipping through the streets and the crunch of the snow below him. Somehow, there was comfort in that familiarity.

He clambered to his hooves, looking out across the barren streets and into those ghastly eye socket windows that surrounded them once again, staring them down and letting them know that they were indeed back in the dead city. Behind him, his team found their ways to their own hooves, having landed not quite right and finding themselves stuck in the snow at awkward angles.

"So, now what?" Foxtrot was the first to ask after pulling his head out of the snow, a question that currently pressed on all their minds.

Nightfall gave a defeated sigh. Everything was so far out of control at this point. Just when they thought they had a plan, it all got turned on its head. "I guess we hold up our end of the deal."

"Now hold on a second," Foxtrot started, jumping through the snow out in front of the thestral, keeping him from going anywhere. "What makes you think we can trust this Warden guy? You're not seriously going to let us get used like pawns! Are you?"

"I don't know," Nightfall mumbled as he pushed his way past Foxtrot. "I don't..."

"Excuse me?!"

"I said I dont know, Foxtrot!" Nightfall practically shouted back. "I have no clue what to do at this point. What choice do we even have? Right now, we're still outnumbered and outgunned! It's only dumb luck that we didn't all get killed in that last firefight."

"Which is why we need to go on the attack," Foxtrot argued. "We're hurting right now, I know, but so are they. If we just let those mercs slip away, they're going to regroup and build their strength back up. We're a small group, but we're all together. They're scattered. We have an advantage. If we dont capitalize on it now, they're going to come for us and then everyone back at base is going to be put in danger."

"How many fights do you plan on getting into?" Bastion asked.

"What?"

"How many fights do you plan on getting into?" Bastion repeated. "Cause Nightfall's right about it being dumb luck. How many firefights do you think we can last before one of us catches a bullet? Hell, who's to say we wont all catch one in the next round?"

"This is war," Foxtrot replied simply. "We're just gonna have to keep taking risks."

"No. We're not soldiers," Nightfall countered. "Neither are you."

"Then what are we even doing out here?" Foxtrot asked. "Seriously. Why come out here chasing leads? Why plan on going after these mercenaries if we weren't prepared to take them head on, only to run away with our tails tucked between our legs at the first sign of trouble?"

"It's suicide!" Nightfall shouted angrily.

"So is waiting around," Foxtrot said. "The longer we wait, the stronger they get. We've got too many wounded to let them attack us again."

"I'm not putting my team in danger again, Foxtrot. Best thing we can do is get back to base, rearm, and figure out a plan, preferably one that doesn't put us in more unnecessary shootouts."

"Right, because that worked so well last time. Didn't it?" Foxtrot said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He cast a sideways glance in Meadow's direction, who had been quietly listening beside Paper as he furiously scribbled down notes and shuffled through his files. "As a matter of fact," Foxtrot continued, "it worked so well, Meadow here blew up the entire goddamned building and got a spook agent killed. Real nice work there, by the way."

"Hey, I had absolutely no control of that situation!" Meadow shot back, not liking how she was suddenly being dragged into the less than civil discourse.

"My point exactly," Foxtrot replied cockily.

"Enough," Nightfall said. "We're out in the open here. We need to get moving."

"I couldn't agree more," Foxtrot said. "But I'm not going that way," he continued, pointing a hoof down the street in the direction that Nightfall was about to go. "I'm not gonna let us waste this opportunity."

"He actually has a point," Paper spoke up. "I've been going through my notes here of everything that's happened, and I dont think it would be such a bad idea to maybe have someone here in the city to try and keep those mercenaries off balance for a little while. Striker and Grace said that they had a guy up north that they were going to try and get in contact with. If one of us can link up with Grace and this other guy, we might be able to buy some time until we get something figured out."

Everyone went silent, looking to the unicorn who suddenly seemed to retreat into himself as he was given the attention.

Nightfall sighed. "Fine," he finally said. "If you want to try and find Grace, you have my permission, but understand that if you do this and cant find her, you'll be on your own and what you do next will be your decision to make and we wont be there to back you up if you stir up trouble."

"I'm aware of the risk," Foxtrot assured. "You dont need to tell me twice. I can handle it. Dont worry."

"Just try to work with them when you find them," Nightfall said, sounding a bit irritated. "I'm trusting you to do the right thing here. You'll end up being our connection between the Initiative and the IGS, so dont screw things up with them."

"It'll be fine," Foxtrot complained. "You're starting to nag like an overbearing parent." He adjusted his gear and checked the breach on his rifle. "I'll stir up some hell for those mercs and then see you in a few." Before he could go though, Nightfall stopped him one more time.

"Foxtrot," the thestral called after the pegasus had already begun walking. "One more thing. I have every intention on getting everyone out alive. So dont die. Or else I'm gonna be really pissed off."

Though Foxtrot tried to hide it, a faint smile found its way to his expression. With that and a simple nod, Foxtrot was off, quickly hopping through the snow and into a neighboring building where he disappeared into the dark.

"Well, there he goes," Bastion said when Foxtrot finally made it out of sight.

"You dont sound too confident," Meadow pointed out, noticing the worried look in Bastion's eyes that she could just see through his visor.

"It's not that I disagree," Bastion began. "This is definitely for the best. Somebody needs to let Grace know that we're still alive and there's no doubt in my mind that keeping the enemy off balance while we regroup is tactically advantageous."

"But?" Nightfall asked, sensing that there was something else.

"But..." Bastion continued. "I dont think I like the idea of us splitting up like this. I dont know. I cant help but feel like it's foreshadowing something. It just seems to me like that's the point when everything goes wrong."

"You say that like things havent already gone to hell in a hoofbasket," Nightfall said. "Though, I suppose our dwindling numbers does make me feel a bit uneasy now that you mention it." He entertained the thought no longer, wanting nothing more than to move on and figure out their next course of action.

"Speaking of foreshadowing," Meadow began as the group started their trek back to home base. "The mages told me some interesting things about the crystals when I spoke to them."

"You mean, you actually found them?" Paper questioned, doing his best to write this new information down in his record the best he could as he walked. "What'd they say?"

"They were afraid," Meadow explained. "Apparently, they think that whoever is in charge, wants to use the crystals as a weapon, by reassembling the fragments. According to the Archmage, they restabilize when they're put back together."

"That sounds really bad," Paper noted. "Assuming they dont blow themselves up, they could really do some damage with power like that. Remember what they said about the guy who got vaporized?"

Nightfall rolled his eyes. "Nobody got vaporized," he said as he stopped and checked around the corner when they reached an intersection. He motioned for the rest to follow and remained silent until they had managed to climb through a window. "They only told us that so we wouldn't try to mess with the crystals," he finally finished.

"Either way, I'd prefer not to take any chances," Paper countered.

"Whatever the case may be, it explains why the MSAD was taken in the first place," Bastion said. "If they're goal is to find and recreate the original focusing gem, then they'd certainly need some kind of expert help. It does beg the question though. How did they know to start in this city?"

"I imagine that would be Etcher's doing, assuming that the Warden was telling the truth about him being our traitor," Nightfall said.

"You still dont entirely trust him, do you?" Meadow asked.

"I dont know what to believe at this point," Nightfall said with a sigh. "When we get back, I'm taking a shower before I do anything else." He thought for a moment before turning back to Meadow. "Did you happen to run into Etcher while you were inside?"

Meadow nodded. "I did," she said, before going silent as the reached the other end of the building they were in. One by one, they hopped down from the window to the snow covered streets below, quickly crossing and getting into the next building across the street before carrying on with their conversation. Meadow took a second to catch her breath from the short run before continuing. "Nothing really seemed strange about him though," she noted. "He told me everything I wanted to know. He did say that the mercenaries had somehow gotten their hooves on the crystals directly from the Initiative labs in Canterlot."

"That's not alarming at all," Paper muttered, his eyes wide as he wrote down the new piece of information.

"Based on what you saw, would you say it's still possible that he's innocent?" Nightfall asked.

"I'm not sure," Meadow answered, still thinking over what she wanted to say. They reached the far end of another building and crossed yet another street before she continued, breaking the silence once again. "He looked about as tired as the Archmage did when I talked to them. It is possible that the Warden is just wrong, I suppose."

"According to the MSAD, Luna was the one who told Celestia not to trust Warden," Paper pointed out. "Dream-walking and all that. Does that prove that the Warden is lying?"

"Not necessarily," Bastion answered. "I doubt they got the information directly from the Celestia herself. It would have had to have gone down a chain of command before reaching their ears. It's possible that they're being deceived just as much as we are, especially if our mole is within their ranks."

"I can say for certain that the mole is," Meadow suddenly said, sounding rather confident with her statement.

"What makes you say that?" Paper asked. They all stopped to listen, the group now being hunkered down near a darkened stairwell.

"It was right after I talked to the mages," Meadow began to explain, finding herself a spot on a step as she told her tale. She told them everything, from the moment they had entered to the very moment that she found herself being pulled from the rubble and into the firefight. She told them about their interactions at the bar and the close call she had had with the one particular mercenary. She went over her entire conversation with the mages and how she had been caught immediately afterwards. Striker had gone missing and the mercenaries seemed rather hopeful while listening to the speech.

"What do you mean by "hard to look at?"", Nightfall asked, not entirely understanding the way Meadow had chosen to describe the cloaked figure.

"I'm not really sure," Meadow answered, instantly wishing she had a better way of putting it. "Uh, I mean, he was like, fluid... or something. It was like looking at something from several different angles, but then mashed together into one point of view. He wore a cloak. That much I could tell."

"Sounds a bit like a masking spell of some sort," Paper pointed out. "Whoever it is, they probably dont want anyone to know their identity, which would make sense if they were in the MSAD."

"So our traitor is adept at magic, has access to high level Initiative materials, and didn't know they had been infiltrated until Meadow made contact with the mages," Nightfall said. "On top of that, Etcher and the Archmage were the only ones you talked to. That's some pretty damning evidence if you ask me."

"We'll have to report this to the project leads when we get back," Bastion said.

Nightfall sighed, standing up and making his way to the far end of the room where the window just gave him a slight view of the outpost off in the distance. "Agreed," he said. "I'll talk to the other team leaders as well. We need to find a way to get back to Canterlot, but if those mercenaries get their hooves on the crystal fragments, that might not be an option."

"You really think they'll come after us again?" Paper asked.

"I guarantee it," Nightfall stated firmly. "We're all loose ends. The second they have the power to sweep us up, they will and that focusing gem, I'm betting, is the perfect weapon for the job. At this point, I really dont think they have any other options."

"Then there's no time to lose!" Meadow cried, jumping to her hooves. "Striker blew up that stockpile so that I could get away, I know that now. We cant let his sacrifice be in vain."

There was no argument from the ponies around her, only confident and determined looks.

"Let's get it done," Bastion acknowledged with a nod.

The city had grown quiet ever since the resounding gunshots and explosions of the previous engagements had died down, to the point that it almost seemed as if it were unnaturally so. The wind still blew and the snow still crunched below their hooves, but the wales of the windigos and howls of the ice wolves had vanished from the city entirely, and the rangers were left with nothing but the stillness of the dead city.

Paper Cut felt even more uneasy than he had upon first arriving in the city and couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed or watched. Bastion's eyes diligently surveyed surrounding windows and squinted periodically as they attempted to pierce the shadows within. Meadow's own eyes were practically glued to Nightfall as he led the way, several paces out in front of the rest of the team, completely silent as he walked.

They had been walking for some time now and were nearly to the river where they would once again cross over the icy plain. Still though, their progress was slow as recent events weighed on all their minds and seemingly made their hoof steps heavier than they already had been.

"We're almost there," Paper muttered, the comment being directed at no one in particular and aiming more to simply calm his own nerves.

Regardless of the unicorn's intent, Bastion nodded. "This should be good," he replied, knowing that there was much to tell those who awaited their return.

Meadow did not add her own thoughts on the matter, but felt a small warmth of relief flow through her as they reached the edge of the city, where the weathered down buildings gave way to smooth and impenetrable ice. She sighed, before looking up to see Nightfall, who carried on as usual.

Even with his helmet on, Meadow could tell he was a mess. The way he walked no longer portrayed the confidence that he always had. He seemed stiff and slow, with his shoulders lowered and his head further to the ground than she had ever seen it before.

One by one, they stepped onto the ice, leaving the abandoned city once again as the end of the day slowly began. One hell of a day it had been too. Nightfall was right to want a shower. It would certainly do each of them some good, though there were a few responsibilities that they undoubtedly needed to wrap up before they were allowed that luxury.

Meadow was so deep in her thoughts that she didnt even notice that the group had stopped until she bumped straight into Nightfall, who starred longingly at the sky, his weapon raised. Her gaze shifted upwards and shock ran through her body at the sight she saw. Three windigos, their blue spectral eyes fixed on the ponies before them, hovered just over the ice, calmly watching from just out of hoof reach. They made no aggressive moves, the cold that radiated from them not even daring to crawl its way to the ponies as it always usually did. Instead, they simply watched curiously, moving around them in a circle as they silently glided through the air, before finally deciding that this was no place for them and hastily retreating back into the city.

Nightfall let go of the breath he had been holding and lowered his weapon. Before he could say anything though, Paper expressed his own disbelief.

"Holy hell," Paper said, looking at his own hooves and then back to where the windigos had gone away to. "Warden wasnt kidding when he said he gave us his mark." He raised his hooves in the air and prepared to yell out in excitement, but suddenly thought better of it. Instead, he lowered his hooves and settled for a simple "This is so awesome."

Paper let out a long sigh of relief as the group stumbled through the blasted open gates of the outpost where several guards stood, each welcoming them back with an acknowledging nod. The unicorn collapsed to the ground, rolling to his back and taking in the sweet feeling of relaxation. "I need a nap," he said as he laid in a blast shadow, freshly covered with a dusting of snow.

Bastion couldn't help but laugh a little as he pulled Paper back to his hooves. "You might want to hold off a bit, just until we can find a cot," he said, pointing to the dark ash that now clung to Paper's uniform.

As the two carried on, a pony in the same TRST uniform made his way past them until he had come to a stop before Nightfall.

"Stalwart," Nightfall began, giving the stallion a proper hoof shake. "How is it?"

Stalwart shook his head. "Not so great," he said as the two began to walk and talk business. "We got all the wounded properly set up and the medical staff you managed to save during the attack are doing what they can, but... well, all the medical supplies we had, or at least most of it, was in that hospital. We can last a few days, but without things like morphine, bandages, and tools a lot of these poor bastards aren't going to make it."

"What about our efforts to contact Canterlot?" Nightfall inquired, knowing he was probably not going to like the answer he was going to get.

"We sent Team 4 up the tracks to see if they could make contact with the next outpost down the line, but comms are still shot to hell and the long-range was melted with thermite in the attack, so right now, they're all we got."

"What are the odds there's a cut-off force waiting for them?"

Stalwart sighed. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's a one hundred percent chance. They're under strict orders to come back if they run into anything. If they only want to contain us, I'm sure they wont pursue. Either way, they'll recon what they can and then we'll have some idea of what's going on."

"You know we're not going to be able to get anyone out of here without help from Canterlot, right?" Nightfall said.

Stalwart didnt say anything, instead remaining silent as he simply looked thoughtful. "There is some good news," he began, seeming eager to change the subject to something not so grim. "We've got most of the storm spires back up and running. I'm sure you saw the maintenance crews on your way in. When the next storm hits we wont have to worry about anyone freezing to death, so... I guess that's a small victory."

"I'll take as many of those as we can get," Nightfall agreed.

"So, how did things go on your end?" Stalwart suddenly asked. "We heard an explosion. Didnt think you were going to hit that place as soon as you did. We would have helped."

"It wasnt really the intention," Nightfall admitted, knowing full and well that their mission had been a total, if not somewhat convenient, blunder. "Things went south, but we improvised. We got the intel we needed and the mercenaries are scattered for the moment. Foxtrot is with the IGS, keeping the enemy off balance for the time being."

"Good," Stalwart said, feeling much more at ease than he previously had. "Sounds like we've got some breathing room."

"There is one loose end we need to tie up, actually," Nightfall said. "We might as well get everyone together. There's... a lot to go over."

Stalwart nodded. "Ops center is set up in the courtyard on the west side. I'll meet you there in a few."

"Yeah," Nightfall said, looking back to where the rest of his team was innocently goofing off by what remained of a burned down cabin. Paper was currently drawing a mustache and monocle on his helmet, much to Bastion and Meadow's amusement. It was good to see that despite their situation, their spirits were still positive.

"Alright, hop to it," Stalwart called out, after giving Nightfall a pat on the shoulder as he departed. "Briefing at the ops tent in fifteen. Get your shit and get situated," he ordered as a few rangers who had been lazing around scrambled to their hooves.

Rejoining his own team, Nightfall gave Paper a questioning look. "Having fun?" he asked.

"Just trying to keep morale high," Paper replied, before throwing his helmet back on. "We ready to go?"

"Yeah," Nightfall answered. It's time we told everyone what's really going on here."

Nightfall let out an annoyed groan as the back of his helmet lightly pressed against the tiled wall of the shower, the sound of water droplets splashing against the hard armored sections of his snowsuit as he sat with his back against the wall, allowing the water to rain down and wash away whatever soot may have still clung to him. The water darkened as it ran off and into the drain below, a little black-brown river that carried away the evidence of the previous firefights.

He sighed, before finally standing and turning off the water. He smelled like shit, the scent of gun powder and sweat still stinging his nostrils. Sitting here and showering in a water proof suit wasnt going to do him any good. Beside him, Paper and Bastion both scrubbed away at the dark residue that had finagled its way in between the plating on their own suits.

Dripping water all the way, Nightfall stepped out of the shower room and into the changing area where Meadow currently sat, spraying out the inside of her old Initiative uniform, which she had traded out in favor of a mercenary set for their previous mission. "I dont smell this bad, do I?" she asked as Nightfall began to undo the straps of his chest rig.

Nightfall raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to answer that truthfully... or..."

Meadow sighed, before letting out a small smile. Her expression suddenly soured as she caught another whiff of the inside of her helmet, promptly responding by spraying the inside again. "Don't bother," she said in deflated tone. "Of all the things I dont miss about the Initiative," she continued, "this... this right here is easily in the top five."

"The smell?" Nightfall asked as he finished hanging up his suit by the rest of Meadows, already knowing the answer. When Meadow only nodded, he took a seat next to her on the bench. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," Meadow answered, trying to sound cheerful. She did a decent job, but her visage faltered only a second later. "I'm just nervous is all. We're really going back out, aren't we? We're not even close to being done."

"It's been agreed upon that all remaining ranger teams should go back into the city and try and find the crystals," Nightfall said, recapping everything that had been decided at the meeting that concluded only minutes ago. "If we cut them off from the crystals, they wont be able to make any magic super weapons to attack us with. Hopefully, then they'll be forced to give up the MSAD and let us get out of here."

"They're not just going to surrender though," Meadow pointed out. "Do you really think they're just going to back off?"

"I don't know," Nightfall answered. "You and Striker destroyed their stockpile along with their entire base of operations. As far was we know, they really dont have any means of launching more assaults on us. We might currently be cut off from the outside world, but so are they and if Team 4 is able to make it up the tracks and to the next outpost, the whole Equestrian Guard is going to come running from Canterlot. Without those crystals, they wont have any choice but to give up whatever it is that they're trying to accomplish."

Meadow didn't reply, instead remaining silent as she simply thought. Everything had gotten so complicated seemingly out of nowhere. Alicorns, crystals, mercenaries, shadowy figures, and treason somewhere within the Initiative hierarchy. It all felt like it was spiraling out of control.

"Are you scared?" Nightfall suddenly asked when he noticed the face she was making, prompting her to look back up.

She leaned over, resting her head on his chest. "Yeah," she answered as she closed her eyes and pressed into him, feeling the warmth of his fur. "I'm terrified."

"Me too," Nightfall said, not hesitating as he lifted his hoof and brought Meadow into a long hug.

"No, you aren't," Meadow replied simply, knowing him far better than to believe that. "You're not afraid of anything. You're you. I've seen you stare down a horde of windigos without even flinching." She sighed before a weak chuckle escaped her, her voice coming out shaky and uneven. "Lend me some of that courage, will you?"

Meadow suddenly felt Nightfall's grasp on her grow just a little bit tighter. "I am though, y'know? Not of the windigos, but of losing you. I dont know.... You..." The words suddenly stopped in his throat, but he pushed on, not allowing the emotion to stop him from saying what he needed to say. "You almost died back there!" He vomited the sentence like it would otherwise burn his tongue.

"Nightfall..." Meadow muttered, pulling away for a moment and looking up into his eyes. They were as stoic as ever, no tears present, just as always, but she could see the pain. She could see the doubt and conflict in them. Through his visor, it had been unnoticeable, but now that it was gone, those portals into his soul were open, and with them she could truly see his fear.

"If you didn't make it... If you don't make it," Nightfall continued. "I dont know what I'll do." He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, but he failed as his shoulders sagged.

Meadow was quick to put a hoof on his chest, slowly running it downward through his fur, feeling the small scars that adorned his body. "I'm going to be okay," she assured him, bringing her hooves up to the back of his neck and reconnecting their hug. "I've got you, Paper, and Bastion. We're going to be okay."

Nightfall returned the hug, but didnt say anything.

The two of them remained that way, in total silence with the exception the showers in the next room over. They were only interrupted when Meadow finally spoke. "My god, we smell horrible," she said. Despite this observation, she kept herself firmly attached to Nightfall, not wanting to move on from the moment.

Nightfall couldn't help but crack a smile and let a small laugh escape. Despite the current situation, he could take comfort in just being present in this one moment, even if only for a little while.

"Alright," Meadow said confidently, feeling that she had remained stagnant for too long. "That's it. We got soap and we got water. Time for a shower."

"Mhm," Nightfall agreed as he continued to stroke the back of Meadow's neck, his hoof running through her mane, which hung loosely down to her shoulders, the three strand braid he had tied earlier now undone.

Still the two of them remained seated, not moving an inch as they continued to enjoy the warmth that they shared with each other. "Okay. Okay," Meadow finally said, sitting up and putting her hooves against Nightfall's chest. She allowed herself to laugh a little bit at how childish they were being, like little fillies who didnt want to get out of bed in the morning for school.

"What?" Nightfall asked, his mouth spreading into a playful smile. "Are you not enjoying this as much as I am?" Meadow began to reply with the first witty thing she could come up with, but he quickly stole a kiss before she could get it out, a look of pure mirth displayed over his visage when they're lips parted.

Meadow flushed, but her wide smile remained as her eyes narrowed and she gave the thestral a knowing look. Before he could do anything, she threw her hooves over his shoulders and brought herself in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer and being much deeper than the short peck she had received seconds earlier.

Nightfall received her fully, the world melting away as she became the only thing that existed. He pulled her in closer, his hooves snaking their way across her back and bringing her further and further into the kiss. They spoke not a word, the warmth that they shared being all they needed in the moment. And yet, Meadow Spring found that she could not get enough. She wanted more of him. She wanted to take everything that could be given and give everything that could be taken. They became further entwined with each other as they continued, Meadow on top as Nightfall fell back, bringing her down with him.

"Psst, Bastion," Paper suddenly whispered. "Should we say something?" he asked after he noticed the display of affection currently unfolding before him.

Bastion thought about thumping the unicorn upside the head, but realized that he had a point. Despite this, he desperately didnt want to interrupt and quickly hung his still dripping suit up on the closest hook, being as quiet as possible and pretending to not notice the lovely couple currently melting all over the bench.

"Oh my god!" Meadow suddenly exclaimed as she noticed the two rangers trying to sneak by. Her hooves shot up over her face as she turned several shades redder. The embarrassment only grew when she looked down and noticed that she was currently straddling Nightfall, who laid on his back.

"Uh... having fun, you two?" Paper asked as he stared at them.

This time, Bastion really did thump Paper upside the head, causing him to stumble forward.

Nightfall sighed. "Well so much for that," he muttered as he sat up.

Meadow now sat a foot away from him, her face currently in her hooves as her body continued to heat up with embarrassment. She had never been shy about how she felt about Nightfall. She loved him. She loved him more than anything in the world and she had no problem expressing that affection openly. But what if they had done more than just expressed affection just then? What if they had gotten carried away and actually gone for it right there and then? What if the guys had seen them having-

Meadow shook the thought out of her head, but her heart still raced and her hooves shook. She calmed only when Nightfall leaned across the short gap between them and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which caused her body to relax and nerves to calm.

"Come on," he said softly. "Let's go take that shower."

Foxtrot took a deep breath as he lowered his rifle and slowly allowed himself to fall back against the wall. With a final pull of the bolt, the last brass casing flew out, rolling across the floor and into the darkened room as the breach and muzzle continued to smoke. One by one, he reloaded the magazine, pushing each round down as they clicked into place. Beside him, Grace slowly lifted her head up above the edge of their current cover to get a view of the bodies that laid in the quickly reddening snow.

"Nice shooting," she said as she stared down at the corpses several floors below them.

"Thanks," Foxtrot replied before pushing the bolt back into place and slinging the rifle around his shoulder, "but that was only a small scouting party. We'll want to keep moving if we're going to stay ahead of these guys. I imagine we wont see too many more of them on the surface and if we're not careful they'll use those tunnels to get right up on us."

"I know," Grace said half-heartedly, not sounding like she really cared about anything. She went quiet for a moment as she thought, before deciding to speak again. "So, where does this leave you on your mission?" she asked.

Foxtrot shrugged. "Beats me," he replied. "I never really cared about the mission. I'm just here because the pay's good. So whatever you want to do is fine with me as long as it involves going after these mercenaries."

Grace went quiet again as she continued to think. In a way, she was on her own again. Sure, Foxtrot was here, but she didn't know this pegasus, not really. Of course, she had no doubt that she could trust him. They had a common enemy after all and they fought for the same side, but Foxtrot wasnt Striker. No one would ever be able to replace Striker. And so she felt as if she was alone yet again. "What about your team?" she asked. "Didnt they give you any orders?"

"Not really," Foxtrot answered. "Nightfall was actually against the idea of me staying out here originally until the others pointed out that it was a good idea. Not saying he's not a good leader or anything, but I question whether he's really the best pony for the job in this scenario."

"You think you'd be better suited for the task?" It was a question aimed at him, but was not asked unkindly.

"Nah," Foxtrot replied. "I'm a simple guy. I kick whatever ass needs kicking and shoot the shit that needs shooting. I'm sure Nightfall will do fine, but he hasn't really accepted the fact that we're at war here. I know he has what it takes, but he always seems to be holding back."

"So you think you need a more aggressive approach," Grace stated, beginning to understand Foxtrot just a bit more.

"That's why I stayed out here, isnt it?" Foxtrot replied. He finished packing his gear and headed for the nearest set of stairs. "Anyways, you said you had a guy up north, right? You wanna go try and find him?"

Grace looked to the window where the fading light was still seeping in. The day would be over soon and they needed to get as far away from this place as possible before the sun disappeared. She nodded. "Yeah. He should have some intel for us. Then we can see about hunting down more scouts. The more we kill, the less of a threat they are to the Initiative."

"Sounds like a plan," Foxtrot said happily, glad to finally get to put more of his bullets where they belonged. "Let's go."

"Remind me again why we're coming out here right as the sun is going down?" Paper grumbled as him and his companions marched on through the snow and into the heart of the dead city. They had long since finished resupplying and after receiving their new orders headed straight out.

"We cant afford to wait until morning," Bastion answered simply. "The quicker we get this done, the quicker we're all out of danger."

"Yeah, but still," Paper complained as he adjusted his harness, the extra weight of the scanning device that he now had to carry not quite sitting as right as he'd liked it to. "It would be nice if we could have at least gotten a proper night's sleep before coming back out here. Back and forth. Back and forth. All of this is starting to get a little monotonous."

"We can stop to rest when we get to the northern sectors," Nightfall said suddenly. "Until then, let's try to keep quiet. We've gotten this far. I'd prefer it if we could go the rest of the way without stirring up any trouble."

He was right. They had made it about half way through the city in a matter of only a few hours. Their progress had been slow and they had watched every window that a shot could ring out from, but they had gone unnoticed. Either their enemy had withdrawn completely or they were gathering somewhere else.

They continued on in relative silence for what felt like an eternity. The sound of the snow crunching beneath their hooves counted the seconds as they slowly slid past them and the howling wind that resisted them brought the fresh flakes down at an angle as the beginning of yet another storm slowly began to roll in from the ice covered sea. A strange feeling of emptiness festered within each of them as they slowly began to notice the total absence of the windigos and ice wolves usually roamed the streets.

"What do you think happened to these guys?" Bastion asked as he kneeled down and began to examine the scene that they had stumbled upon. Four corpses. All half buried in snow that had become more red than white, but was quickly returning to its natural state as the weather continued to pick up.

"Either there was a freak accident or Foxtrot has been putting in work," Nightfall guessed, not really caring too much what the answer was. He looked over to where Paper had hunkered down and taken a defensive position, carefully scanning the surrounding windows as he kept his weapon ready. Meadow had followed his lead, taking her own position on the opposite side of the street.

"Let's move on," Nightfall said, patting Bastion on the back and standing from his own position over one of the corpses.

As everyone stood up to go, Bastion remained crouched down, eyeing the corpse carefully. A single bullet wound through the neck. The round had entered through the front and exploded out the back, severing the spinal cord and killing the pony before he had any time to suffer. A layer of frost had quickly accumulated right after, freezing the evidence and forever cementing the body in its icy grave. Was this really the only way? Would they reach their goal at the top of a mountain of corpses?

Bastion pushed the thought to the back of his mind and followed the rest of his team. He was just tired, that was it. When night finally came, he'd get some rest and feel more focused in the morning. And then it was going to be another very busy day.

Author's Note

Chapter done. The next few should come relatively quickly if things work out how I think they should.