Copper Warhawk

-The Outskirts of Ponyville-

Abacus Oak adjusted the stone that sat on top of the rock pile, a frown touching the corners of his lips as Wolf Heart hung back in Jackpot Ace's arms, sobbing. Jackpot, in an attempt to comfort the winged unicorn, gently rubbed her shoulder, watching sorrowfully as Abacus placed the last stone onto the grave. His hooves were gritty and face smeared with dirt as a result of digging the hole and covering it back up once his friend had been laid to rest.

Following this, the earth stallion forced a wooden cross into the ground in front of the grave that read;

~Dapper Alan Jolt~
~Those That Keep the Peace, Forever Shall They be Blessed~

Wolf Heart gently pulled away from Jackpot, slowly approaching the pile of various rocks before she knelt down, lifting one with her hoof as her vision blurred. The mare looked down, seeing Dapper Jolt's former, prosthetic wing positioned before her, fully unfurled to show the detail in the imitation feathers and each individual line of engraving clad upon the copper frame, including the R.A.B carved into the padded plate that would have typically held it to his shoulder. Slowly, she shifted her gaze away, the clawed limb a heavy reminder of who the stallion had become. Leaning back on her haunches, the mare dropped the stone she held and cried, burying her head in her arms and wrapping her tail around herself. Her prosthetic, crystal and metal wings seemed lifeless in how they laid on the ground in a show of sadness.

"Dapper may not have been my best friend," Jackpot started as he sat beside Wolf Heart. "But he certainly cared. Falcon Wing chased him down because Dapper represented everything that he feared most in the world."

Abacus dipped his head, his ears falling flat as his eyes misted over. The stallion sighed deeply, removing his hoof from the wooden cross and moving to where he could see the wording upon it. His expression of despair transitioned into a slightly sad smile as he recalled the time before Dapper Jolt had become Steam Shock, a time when they were still in high school even. "He was so... upbeat. It was almost hard to get angry with him," Abacus chuckled weakly.

Wolf Heart slowly lifted her head from her arms and looked up at Oak, tears slithering down her cheeks. She looked back on the referred time... and it only worsened how she was currently feeling. Back then, Dapper had been the type of stallion who liked to make ponies smile, always boasting about his sexy mane. Back then, Dapper could give Wolf Heart a hug, tell her everything was alright, and she'd believe it. He never stopped caring for her, even when she didn't want to be cared for and even when those he spoke to her of chastised him for it. He was one of the few who had been a shoulder to lean on, an emotional support in Wolf Heart's life.

The mare lowered her head and wept, pushing herself to her hooves and walking away, not wanting to see the pile of stones and 't' shaped planks of wood that comprised the grave of her best friend any longer.

As Wolf Heart moved away, carrying her sorrows and despair with her, Abacus and Jackpot looked to each other with mutually saddened expressions before Jackpot rose to his hooves. "C'mon," the unicorn stallion muttered solemnly, nodding towards Abacus.

The earth pony shook his head with a sigh. "She... she needs some time to herself, Jack. She cared about him more than anypony else did, give Wolf some time to recover," Abacus Oak retorted, closing his eyes. "I'd like to stay here anyway, never got to... to say my goodbyes." With that, he turned away from Jackpot, squeezing his eyes shut with clenched teeth and forcing back tears.

Jackpot sighed before he turned, slowly following Wolf Heart back to Ponyville with the tavern in mind.

-Ponyville-

Rivet Blitz wiped down his hooves with a dirty washcloth, scratching his brown and grey beard with a wince at the pain in his back. Sliding out from under the carriage, the strong earth stallion rose to his hooves, tossing aside a size twelve wrench and leaning against the frame of the door that opened up to his shop. Lifting a large mug, the stallion took a swallow of coffee and adjusted his Harley Neighvison Motor-Carriages hat, looking on as ponies ambled down the street on their daily commute. With that, he lit himself a cigarette, taking a long drag off of it and allowing the smoke to emerge from his nostrils.

It was then that Rivet noticed a mare with a horn and mechanical wings walking by, her head low and tears staining her cheeks. Cocking a brow, the earth stallion looked back and forth down the road before trotting up to meet her with a slightly concerned expression.

"Hey," he said in a gruff voice, drawing her attention up to him. "You alright?" he asked the mare as she slowed to a stop.

"I-I'm fine, Sir," she muttered, shaking her head and turning her face away from him.

Rivet Blitz deadpanned. "Lemme get you something to eat, ya look hungry," he smiled kindly, his azure blue eyes twinkling.

Looking up at his bearded face and seeing the lack of ill intent in his eyes, the mare acknowledged. "Okay," she said hesitantly, following him back to the garage. As they entered the building, the stallion rummaged through a small red and white cooler that acted as his lunch box, pulling a hay sandwich out and handing it over to her.

As the mare unwrapped the food and took a bite, Rivet studied her wings with fascination. "Crystal Empire?" he queried, noticing the small, jeweled details lining the frames of them.

The winged unicorn looked up and simply nodded.

"What happened?" the stallion asked, furrowing a curious brow. "Ya musta seen some action in your time to need both wings replaced," he exclaimed, flicking his cigarette before grinding the stub into an ashtray so that the cherry died. "Those kinda look like th' kind of wings I used to make, actually," he continued.

The mare looked up and furrowed a brow, lowering the hay sandwich from her mouth.

"What's yer name?" Rivet asked.

"Wolf Heart," she replied, eliciting a look of curiosity on his face. "You... used to make wings?" the mare repeated.

The earth stallion shrugged. "Not for five, six, maybe seven years now, but sure," he acknowledged before he spoke again. "Say, I feel like I've heard your name somewhere before," Rivet said with a thoughtful expression. "Did you go to Canterlot High School by any chance?"

Wolf Heart nodded.

"Then y'knew my son, Dapper Jolt. Good kid. Wouldn't stop talkin' about ya when he was in school, though." Rivet's expression grew sullen. "Haven't seen him since a short while before I gave up the wing-crafting business," he sighed, slight guilt visible upon his face.

"Are... you Rivet Blitz?" Wolf finally asked, beginning to grow ever-fearful that the news of Dapper's death would reach his father.

Seeing her worried expression, Rivet nodded slowly. "Yyyes? Why? Where's my son?" he demanded.

Wolf Heart dipped her head, tears running down her cheeks and off of her chin.

Rivet Blitz furrowed his brows, a frown touching his lips as disbelief spread across his face. "Where's my son?" he repeated firmly, though his voice shook with a building fear.

"He and I fought together in the Crystal War. You gave him a prosthetic after he disappeared, presumed dead." Wolf Heart's voice wavered as she struggled to keep her composure. "Somepony wanted him dead, and when he didn't die in the war... h-he tracked Dapper down." At this point, the mare was audibly crying, her breath heavy as she lifted a hoof to her snout, pointing with the other towards the Everfree. "The grave... the grave..." She cut herself off and broke down, collapsing with a sob.

Rivet Blitz moved by her, turning and staring towards the forest and refusing to acknowledge what the mare said to him. "No... You're lying," he accused, shaking his head in disbelief.

Wolf Heart was unable to respond, her cries coming muffled.

Moving out into the street, Rivet shook his head again. Not another minute passed before the stallion was gone, galloping towards the Everfree whilst becoming oblivious to all else around him.

-Moments Later-

Rivet Blitz could see the cross with a pony beside it, his heart pounding in his ears. The pain shooting through his body told him to relent and pause, but he refused, unwilling to admit defeat. Bolting ahead, Rivet was soon forced to skid to a halt, startling the only other equine who was still within the radius of the gravesite. He didn't need to see the name carved into the cross to know whose grave he was looking at, for a prosthetic wing with blue feathers was laid across a pile of stones.

The earth stallion beside him rose to his hooves with a wide-eyed stare as Rivet heaved for breath, staring down at the wing with growing sorrow. "My boy," he muttered, falling to his knees as his eyes became shadowed by his short bangs. "My boy," the mechanic repeated, looking up at the wording of the cross and seeing the name of his only son etched upon its surface.

Rivet Blitz shook his head, his eyes beginning to water as he looked up to the sky.

Abacus Oak looked down at the stallion. "Sir?" he queried before Rivet looked up at him.

"Get out of here," he ordered firmly. "And don't look back."

Without argument, the earth stallion walked away. As he moved through the stagnant air, shoulders tense, he heard a loud bang ring out. Abacus didn't look back, as he had been told, an anxious grimace crossing his muzzle as he flinched to the sound. Before long though, curiosity got the better of him. Slowly swiveling his head, Abacus could see the stallion slumped over, the silhouette of a magic blunderbuss visible limp in his hoof.

Horror crossed his face at the realization before Oak's pace moved to a trot and he moved swiftly to try and find Wolf Heart. Eventually, he did indeed find her purchasing a train ticket from the Ponyville station. "Wolf Heart? Where are you going?" he chided, trotting up to her side.

"Away from here," she explained solemnly, not looking away from the ticket salespony.

"You can't," Abacus Oak said, placing a hoof on her shoulder and turning her away from the ticket booth to face him. "Dapper Jolt wouldn't want you to leave," he sighed. "He wouldn't want you to run away from your problems. He would look you in the eye and tell you that you were going to be okay, that everything was going to be okay. I heard what he said, Wolf... Dapper asked you not to shed tears for his sake," Abacus scolded, a firm expression spreading across his muzzle.

Wolf Heart furrowed her brows with visible sadness. "But he's not here to say that everything is going to be okay," she retorted softly.

Abacus let his ears fall flat, a sigh slithering from his nose. "Then I will be. Okay?"

With the words, Wolf Heart slowly moved into the earth stallion's arms with a soft sob. "I miss him," she cried quietly. At this point, her tears had been spent, and now she was unable to shed any as Abacus wrapped her arms around her, his vision blurring.

"Everything will be alright," Abacus whispered, a tear slithering down his cheek and rolling off his chin.

"If we have to fight, we fight. If we have to run, we run. If we must die, we'll die... But we will stay free."