"U-uh Oh! That isn't smoke. It's steam!"

"I'd be more than happy to relinquish command of my platoon to you, ma'am."

Stupid! Stu--! Wait... what did he just say?

I couldn't help it when the Lieutenant's wing abruptly swatted the air between us. I flinched, my eyes clamping shut as I blew a silent breath of fear through clenched teeth, only for the pinions of his wing to touch the tip of his cap in a salute. "Consider myself and my ponies at your disposal." Yonder finished in his usual drawl.

I-- He-- ...my disposal? H-holy Hurricane! The realization of what I'd just accomplished came crashing down on me so hard I almost fell on my face.

Not even Thunder Bolt suddenly appearing at my side with an ear-shattering celebratory shout could have snapped my mind out of its stunned abyss, as the stallion trotted up and patted my back with a hoof. I winced, the impact barely missing my injured wing. "Hey, you hear that everypony!? We've got a new chain of command to follow! Welcome aboard, Cap." He said, giving me a curt nod before waving back at the others. "Hey, 'Sair! Com'ere and bring that cloud over for Captain Bliss."

Though I could have sworn he'd heard it at least once before, my ears picked up Yonder's voice muttering the name, barely a moment after Thunder had spoken it, sounding as if he were testing its taste over his tongue. It might all have been my imagination... but his tone suggested something was sour about it.

Okay... if he just gave me command, then why does he still seem unconvinced? Seriously, I feel like he's just seconds away from calling for my arrest! Wait... nope. He'd probably call for my execution if he knew what I was up to.

Grrr! But he doesn't know! He couldn't! How would he? Bell said they've all been here for five days with no contact! Ooooh, c'mon! I need to get a hold of myself! I'm just being paranoid.

Corsair arrived next to Thunder, holding up the cloud in her forehooves, only to tilt her head at me with a frown. "O-oh... do you have a meal-kit you can use, Captain?"

"U-uh..." I blinked, finally catching up to what was going on around me as I noticed Thunder standing at my side with one of the MRE packets in his hoof. My stomach protested the second I looked at it.

Right... The last time I ate, I'd poured the dry crusty contents down my throat without any moisture to actually make it worthy of eating. That, while being surrounded by burning wreckage, charred pegasi, and the body of an officer whose uniform I'm currently wearing.

Erk! Oh... that's... not a good feeling...

Something suddenly climbed up my throat, and I had to move my hoof to my lips to keep myself from hurling it all up in front of them. The two sergeants gave me a concerned look, before I waved them off as politely as I could. "That uh... that isn't necessary." I said, giving a weak smile. "I... I don't have a meal kit, anyway. You two go enjoy your meals."

Part of me was pretty hungry, the MRE being the only meal I've really had all day. But... even if the first experience hadn't already ruined my appetite, I was probably just a bit too overwhelmed to eat anything without choking on it.

...and I'd like to go without adding something like that on top of everything else.

"Well then, we can't allow that." Our ears perked as the two power-armored ponies stepped aside, letting Yonder to slowly make his way between them. "A spare meal-kit, complete with dishes and utensils, is kept in the sky chariot o'er yonder."

Over his wha--? Oh...

His usual crooked smirk morphed into a smile, as gracious as a salespony trying to sell me Bs. "Corsair!"

Before I could even think of a response, Yonder suddenly barked, swatting his wing against Corsair's armored leg. The mare jumped at his blunt gesture, but quickly regained composure. "Sir?" She asked, curtly.

"Once everypony has had their share, would you please bring the cloud to the sky chariot." Yonder's eyes popped wide before snapping his wing pinions together. "Oh!" He blurted as he turned to me. "I do believe you should have somepony bring your Dashite brand inside as well."

His words only seemed to bury me deeper in self-doubt.

My face must have shown my lagging brain switch to timid confusion at the mention of my Dashite brand, as an all too concerning chuckle left his throat. "The use of which, among the many things you wish to discuss, I'm sure."

Actually, that was just about the last thing I wanted to discuss now... In fact, discussing anything with him felt like the surest path to getting caught... Damnit! I thought I had the upper hoof with the Dashite brand! He could barely look at it without his wings twitching a minute ago! Now he's expecting me to... what? Have a chat with him about it over a lunch that I'm probably gonna throw up!? But... Oh, crap! What am I supposed to do!? Say 'no'!?

"You uh... read my mind, Lieutenant." I said, giving an anxious smile. I turned, quickly scanning the rest of his-- my platoon, vague purpose all but controlling every movement of my muscles, before I finally zeroed in on my intended target: The mare I'd grown most comfortable with the past couple hours. "Private Breeze!"

Miracle immediately went tense, whatever conversation she was having with Rotor Belle ending as the mare snapped to attention. "Y-yes ma'am?" She stuttered, obviously caught off guard.

I sighed, not exactly content with myself for making, arguably, my only potential friend (a word I probably shouldn't use very lightly these days) feel nervous. "Miracle..." I said, sounding softer this time as I nodded toward the object still laying in the mud. "When you're finished with your meal, would you bring the Dashite Brand to the sky chariot?"

I watched her eyes slowly crawl toward the cloud and lightning bolt, the fiery gold and orange glow from the burning vertibuck long gone, replaced by its cold natural color of dark steel. She physically gulped regardless, eying the brand as if it were glowing hotter than ever before. "U-uh... Yes ma'am!" The apprehension was plainly visible.

And how could I blame her?

Miracle's wings restlessly flittered at her sides, making one of her feathers break loose. The broken plume twirled away, carried by the gentle wind as it passed in front of a just as stressed Bell. I think it might have led Yonder's gaze to fall upon her next, as she took another bite of her MRE.

"Corporal! I say, Corporal Belle!"

The mare's eyes widened, her chewing coming to a screeching halt. "Yrrs?" She tried to say through a mouth full of recently rehydrated cloud-farmed carrots.

He sighed, his tone suddenly becoming scornful. "If you would be so kind as to hurry and finish repairing our way off this rock?"

The realization of his order dug up another memory of Captain Short Fuse. That hot-headed stallion made me do drills the whole day after I accidently tripped and spilled my breakfast all over him in the mess hall. Sure, I... probably deserved it for being a klutz... but he made sure I didn't get to eat a thing for the rest of the day, and that I, 'obviously couldn't trot straight, so I needed to learn before I could carry a tray of food'! So, when he finally dismissed me for the night, I cried myself to sleep embarrassed, starved and exhausted.

But... but this is the first meal she's had in three days!

Bell's ears folded back against her head as Yonder's words sunk in, breaking her gaze from him to look mournfully down at the half-eaten meal in her hooves. She sighed, opening her muzzle to respond... but the voice everypony heard was not hers.

"Eh... a-actually..." I found my shaky voice echoing in my ears, as every surprised eye suddenly turned to me.

Well... it's too late to back out now...

"...wouldn't it be better to have her at full strength when fixing transportation?" Forcing my head to turn towards him, I fixed Yonder with an unstable glare. "She should... I mean... I'd feel better if our engineer finished her meal first, before working on the thing that could drop us out of the sky..." The following silence nearly made me wince. "Wouldn't you agree, Lieutenant Wild?" I grinned sheepishly. It was the best I could salvage as my expression threatened to waver.

Yonder considered me for a moment, locking eyes with me as if I were still some enigma he's yet to solve, before finally, he simply shrugged. "I... do suppose that course of action is an agreeable one." He paused for a moment. "Yes... right you are, Captain." He nodded, "...right you are." Without another word, he turned and began a trot towards the sky chariot.

I allowed myself a brief sigh of relief before turning back to a somewhat shocked group of pegasi, still glaring at me with their usual hints of hesitation and skepticism, only for each of them to hastily divert their eyes away from me, as if feigning ignorance.

I spun on my hooves to hide my wince. Yeah... if I saw Captain Short Fuse suddenly give our squad sympathy like that... I'd probably feel exactly the same. I glanced back at them over my rump, again seeing their nervous eyes shoot away to their meals or the ground under their hooves. Heh... cause nothing screams more riveting to a pegasus than discovering dirt! Yup... awkward. Even Miracle looked flustered, her eyes rolling up to look at our overcast sky.

Damnit! That's it! If I'm gonna keep this up, I'll have to act more... captain-y...

...ugh... and step one is to find a better word for it than that.

If I didn't know any better, I would have said our transport looked more like a sky tank than a chariot. The model was newer in the sense that it was produced to rely on cloud generators to give it lift, rather than the older wagon and chariot models relying on pre-war tech and a single pegasus to pull it like our city sky wagons. This one was near completely incased in armor plating, painted a sleek black to match Thunder and Corsair's power armor. A better choice if you ask me. It's a lot harder to notice the dark of scorch marks from whatever fire had brought them down... Though the abundance of hoof-sized dents in its hull were a little easier to spot.

What in the name of Lightning Dust could have made those!?

While the damage didn't look all that bad, I knew it was at least enough to have forced them to land. Maybe knocking something loose? Not to mention grounding the other platoon's sky chariot.

Oh gods, what kinds of weapons do these ponies have down here!? Sure, it's not real close to the firepower we have, but if they can do this to our transports... what kind of chance do we have if we-- i-if... if the Enclave ever has to engage the surface? The pegasi would have to strike first and fast before they could target us!

-sigh- ...not that it would make any difference to me.

Looking down, my forehoof nearly followed through its next step forward before I could force myself to a stop, quickly bringing it back. I was so lost in the sight of the sky chariot, it took until I was practically a leg's length away for me to notice the bloody mound of blankets, still fluttering silently against an occasional breeze hitting the mountain side, right in front of me. They were kept at bay by a few rocks the others had likely scavenged to keep the sheets in place, but every so often, they would lift enough to reveal the gray coat of the stallion's left rear hoof.

From what I could see, the poor buck had about as much armor as Miracle... which was next to none unless you consider lightly padded coveralls as barding. Was he a medic like Miracle? Maybe an assistant engineer for Bell? -sigh- All I knew was that he was a pony named Comet Chaser... and he was killed by a pegasus trying to desert their own platoon.

A Dashite...

It felt like the meaning only seemed to grow by the day... How quickly these ponies could turn against us! How long did it take infamous outlaws like... Like Radar or Deadshot Calamity! What about the... t-the mare at the HQ? How long did it take her to go Dashite? And Comet Chaser's killer... they'd been down here just five days, and they're already blood thirsty murderers, same as the other ponies who live in this... wasteland!

And yet... here I am... and the first day hasn't even ended...

I shook my head. No... no I'm not a murderer! I... I didn't want those ponies to die!

...but it was still my fault. It was still my stupid fault!

I felt my ears droop as I started to picture all the Comet Chasers who died in the Vertibuck crash. All the bloody mounds of pegasi covered in blankets, their same gray coated hooves sticking out from underneath, who died in the HQ bombing... All because I had some naive belief that a lovely mare would want to be my friend...

"Is it really that bad?"

I blinked. “W-wha-huh?”

Yonder, I realized, was looking quizzically at me from the entrance hatch of the sky chariot. Okay, so he was always looking quizzically at me in some form or another. It still didn't feel any less intimidating the second, third or... umpteenth time.

The dapper officer chuckled. "That look... I say, that look on your face, ma'am... you've been eyin' our transport here as if it were your coffin." Leaning against the hatch's frame atop the extended ramp, he reached out with a forehoof and rapped it against the side of the hull, making three loud bongs echo off the mountainside. "I know she's not the vertibuck that you're used to, of course, but I do believe she makes up for her lack'uh speed with her ability to shield us from... unwarranted projectiles." He pointed a wingtip to the dents and scorch marks across its armor. "That there is flak damage... Enough to rattle our instruments but not enough to break through our armor. As to what could have fired at us... well, I do suppose we still need to figure that out. Regardless, Sergeant Bolt was able to glide us down safe enough... better than our sister transport faired." He sighed as his gaze suddenly went cold, before casting down at my hooves.

It took me a moment to realize he was looking at the dead stallion in front of me, his expression unreadable.

"Now... if circumstances were different, perhaps the Sergeant wouldn't have had to take the stick from our driver, and we could have made it to our cloudcover..." His tongue clicked. "...but I do believe the pressure can get to a pony at times..." And then, as if it never happened, his spirit abruptly lifted, and a casual smile returned to his face as he shrugged. "Ah, but I suppose that's life... All is fair so long as the iron hoof of justice always wins the end. After all, what is it that our Council says?"

I flinched, barely registering the question as I fumbled my speech. "U-uh..."

"What is it the Enclave says?" He asked again, before smirking. "We make them pay, Captain. Each Dashite Buck must understand, his flank will burn with a brand."

Uhm... right...

I could only nod dumbly back at him as I tried to regain composure. "Well, I'm... sure the chariot's just fine to fly, Lieutenant... It's just..."

It's just... that out of the three vehicles I've learned about down here, three out of three have crashed... and two of the three had no survivors! Sure, I've been on sky wagons plenty of times, but... this was pretty far from the public transit of Stratusburg.

Oh for Pansy's sake! Get a grip, Bliss! It's not like it's going anywhere... yet.

To my surprise, Yonder gave an understanding nod. "Of course... Your last vehicular experience was not exactly as 'pleasant' as ours was, was it..." Saying this, he rubbed his forehooves together after a single clap. "Well then, allow me to reassure your faith in the technological superiority of the Pegasi, Captain... Sky Bliss."

Uh oh...

That sour tone in his voice as he said my name struck me again. I shivered.

"You know..." He spoke again, putting a hoof to his chin. "...you're a tad bit... young for an officer."

My eye twitched in panic. "D-uh-huh..." I fumbled, screaming internally as I nodded in agreement.

"I'd think one would need friends in some pretty high places to help you climb that ladder as fast as you have, ma'am..."

"W-well, uh..." Oh, c'mon Bliss! Focus! You've seen younger officers before! I smiled pathetically, trying to keep my mouth from trembling as I stared at him. "I have good standing with General Hazard of the Enclave Council..." I answered as evenly as I could before finally finding some edge in my glare, frowning and stomping my hoof for good measure. "...not that that has anything to do with my skill as an officer, Lieutenant." I silently prayed for something else to get shot out of the sky in that moment, just so it could land right between us.

"Ah! Of course not, Captain. I didn't mean it like that!" He quickly assured. "In fact... I've had the pleasure of meeting General Hazzard myself." His eyes narrowed. "But uh... I don't recall ever seein' your face around ole' Duke."

"U-uh..." I had to suppress the urge to bite my lip. Instead, I kept my glare steady and started to tap my hoof as if thoughtfully... I was doing it nervously. "W-well, you wouldn't be the first to say that Lieutenant. I actually get that all the time." I rolled my eyes, "I guess I just have one of those uh... forgetful faces!"

My heart sank when I saw an unconvinced grimace appear.

"B-but--! Uh... You better not forget me now, since I'm the new platoon leader!"

His eyes were colder as he glared down at me and shook his head. "I don't believe I ever said that I didn't recognize your face... In fact... one could say that I never forget a face, Captain. Because now that you mention it, you do seem rather familiar..."

Habazawa!? He seemed so sure of it that I could have believed it. I... I didn't though. I've never met this stallion before in my life! ...Right!?

If the others had looked over, they'd no doubt think I'd just entered a staring contest with their Lieutenant. And he would without question be winning that contest.

"I understand now..." The yellow stallion pushed his lips together in annoyance, before suddenly, as if a switch were flipped somewhere behind him, they twisted back into a smirk. "We must have crossed paths once before!" Yonder said with nothing more than a shrug. "Perhaps we can figure out where... over some lunch." He then stepped aside and bowed, offering a path up the ramp toward the hatch with a point of his wings.

I took one look through the entrance, and my mane immediately caught an itch that burned the scarring welt on the back of my neck.

Okay... now this was starting to look like a bad idea!

There was an urge to roll up my sleeves before I moved. Regretting giving into it, I really hoped the impulse didn't draw any more attention to the extra length of my uniform. Averting eye contact, I obliged, quickly and wordlessly. Stepping forwards up the ramp, I instantly had to hide a wave of hesitation from Yonder as I was met by a solid dark mass of air, clogging up what was the inside of the sky chariot. Passing by the stallion, it felt as if I'd just flown through the HQ's crater in the cloud cover again, as my hooves stumbled below me in panic.

Oh gods... OH GODS! What am I doing!?

My ears flattened against my cap as I could almost hear the beam weapons charging up behind me.

The only source of light was from the outside, dimly shining through the entrance hatch, teasing me with just enough visibility, that vague silhouettes of unidentifiable shapes were all I could make out, stalking the only way forward into the transport... the way that Yonder was patiently waiting for me to follow.

Not even the sounds of the others outside could break through the uncomfortable silence the void suddenly brought, the hull deflecting their collective meal-chatter as if they were now too distant to hear. I gulped, before finally placing one hoof forward after the other, only to stop again when I could have sworn I saw a shadow, one of many now lurking ever closer in the darkness on either side of the vehicle, creep toward where I stood, the walls pushing them to close in around me. I was surrounded. My heart rattled mercilessly in my chest as the sound of hooves trotted around my paralyzed body, cold echoes clanking against the metallic floor.

I flinched, my ears twisting back in horror when the hoofsteps came to an alarming stop right before me. Then the dark was pierced feebly by a blood red light, and I had to fight my voice not to squeal at the sight of Yonder holding a spark battery, powering a lantern's red crystal in front of my muzzle.

What the--!? When did he get in front of me!?

His wing pinions held the lantern tight between us, and unsurprisingly, his lips were curled in that signature smirk of his, as he moved his wing to set the lantern on a large steel crate, placed next to an all too familiar looking radio. Its weak glow disclosed the metal deck under our hooves, the unpleasant red casting it and the rest of the walls with an unrecognizable chill that only seemed to make me feel helpless. As my eyes adjusted, I could finally begin to make out the rest of the transport's innards, all splashed with the red gloom of the lantern's crystal. Its metallic walls were lined with coils of wire and hoses, chrome tendrils weaving in and out of sight like slithering sky serpents, while a column of seats led to what I assumed were the driver and gunner positions further toward the front.

"Let's see if we can make this more appropriate..."

Yonder's voice swiftly kicked my attention back to him. The stallion was kneeling on the floor, searching under a small open compartment, his wings outstretched as they cast a large beastly shadow over the several boxes and metal crates secured around the transport. It occurred to me that we were completely surrounded by military grade cargo, all tightly boxed and welded shut. There was probably just enough room to fit the ten ponies of the platoon it carried. And yet... it still seemed roomier than any verti-buck. In fact, if I shut my eyes, I could probably picture myself standing inside a regular old sky wagon... but, you know... one without any windows or lights that weren't made from crystals we use to shoot red beams of death from.

"Aha! Here we are." Yonder's head rose with two plates in his maw, followed by a net holding an assortment of utensils used for eating. His wing brushed across the crate as if to sweep any recent dust to the floor, before setting a place for two ponies atop it. "And... voila!" He grinned, "I give you the one and only Enclave officer's table this side of our cloud cover." Gesturing with his wing, he pointed to the dish and utensils closest to me. "After you, Captain."

I looked down at the crate in question. My 'spot' was on one edge, while Yonder's was on the adjacent. The plates sat across the flat top of the crate, which stood just at the right height for us if we were to sit on our haunches. All I had to do was sit down... with him. Is it too late to buck this whole idea, and bolt for it? I glanced back at the entrance hatch where a minimal amount of light was allowed to remain in the back of the transport. Yup... still open...

I... I could still try and run! Everypony was probably too distracted by the MRE's I brought to notice... Sure, Yonder would alert them, but I would have a head start!

Maybe... maybe I should go for it! There's no way I'll be able to sit through this without blowing it! Ooooh, this might be my only shot to escape!

My legs tensed, and my hooves prepared themselves for launch against the floor. All I had to do was gallop!

...gallop. On my hooves. Down a mountain. Away from ponies who can actually use their wings. And shoot me. With beam guns. That they're all probably trained in. And...

Oh, what the hell am I doing!

My rump hit the deck faster than I thought possible as I sat in my place at the crate. Welp... I guess this is it... Yonder followed (much more professionally of course...) as my eyes watched him remove his officer's cap with a wing, setting it on the other side of his knife and fork. Whether it was instinct or if I was simply inspired by the action, I quickly did the same, shaking my mane loose from my own cap before realizing that my new mane style was far shorter than what I was used to.

Ack! I winced at a split second of pain, grasping my face with a hoof, as one of my spikey bangs pricked me in the eye!

Okay... that's another new mane style feature I'll have to get used to.

I growled silently to myself. -Sigh- Whatever. Thankfully Yonder didn't notice. ...I don't think he did anyway.

Damnit! Does this guy ever stop smirking to himself?

"I assume you've tried the MREs before you arrived."

I blinked. Er... winked. "MREs? The MREs I brought?"

Now it was Yonder's turn to blink as he nodded slowly. "...unless there's another Captain around here my platoon owes thanks to." He chuckled, "Yes."

Oh... you have no idea. ...at least, I hope you don't!

Right! He asked me a question! Okay, so... as far as answers go, mine set the bar pretty low. Don't panic, Bliss! Just... answer his questions! How hard can that be?

"Y-yes? Er-- Well... yes!" I stammered.

Ah... that hard. Oh gods! Really bad time to figure out I have no social skills!

"Last any of us had'em was three days ago..." Yonder scrunched his muzzle, thankfully, I realized, not at my pathetic response to his question. "I'd honestly hoped I wouldn't need to eat them again... but, I'd just about eat anything at this point." He clicked his tongue. "A shame we lack the weapons to hunt crows off the mountain side. I do believe there are dozens more nesting around here than we could ever find above our cloud cover." Raising his eyebrows, he showed his teeth, gleaming red as he grinned. "Unfortunately, ash doesn't make as nice a stew!"

I did the best I could to mirror his grin and the laugh that followed... though my ears were awkwardly pinned to the back of my skull, and my laugh sounded about as genuine as I was a 'genuine' Captain.

When the laughter finally faded, I found myself actually yearning for even the most painful of silences, if only to give myself a short break to think. But Yonder seemed determined not to let that happen. "Yes... Yes, I do believe we have met before."

Watching the stallion's accustomed smirk slowly erode from his muzzle, I suddenly found myself uncomfortably pinned by an officer's questioning grimace, backing me against the silence I so desperately wanted a second ago.

Oh, buck me with lightning strikes! This again!? What does he mean, 'we've met before'!? I... I don't think we have! We couldn't have met unless... unless... I... I guess he could have been stationed in Stratusburg as an officer... He would have had to have been there when I was in flight school, though!

Pressure started to sprout over my soul, as Lieutenant Wild's glare piled on its radiating insistence, his red eyes made only more oppressive by the glow of the lantern between us.

I mentally dug around in my head for some memory of this stallion, before realizing that even if it were true... then there's no way he would buy me becoming an officer after merely just attending Enclave training! Let alone outranking him as a Captain, no matter who I had 'good standing' with on the council!

“I...” Dammit, what do I tell him!? Why else would he think he knows me!? Ooooh! I can't keep lying my tail off to these ponies! But... but I've got to get him off this topic quick or else I--!

My eyes were locked with Yonder's for what felt like an eternity. I had nothing to offer in response, and I couldn't help but feel that he knew. Like he somehow always knew... All I could think to do was prepare for the worst. I took a breath as if I were about to speak again, hoping the stallion couldn't see my wing tip slowly dip into my holster, or hear my feathers skid along the plasma pistol within, when like a knife, another silhouette curtly slit our sources of light in half.

I blinked, and for a moment, I could have sworn the world of red around me turned to an eerie shade of white.

Oh no, no, no-no-no!

My whole mind started to scream at me, making my wing pinions twitch and curl around the trigger. All that was left was to charge up the plasma cells, and... THEN WHAT!? I can't just start blasting like they're DJ Pon-- er... the radio... They're Pegasi!!!

Do it! Don't do it! Run for it! Beg for mercy! Do something, Bliss!

As the silhouette approached, I made some kind of movement akin to nervously grabbing and petting my tail with my hooves.

No! Damnit, not that something you feather brain! Captain-y! Do something Captain-y!

But a sweet and carroty smell reached my senses long before I got the command to unfreeze my joints from fright, finding Corsair giving me a look as she prepped Yonder's MRE with her cloud.

I blinked again, and quickly threw my tail aside and ripped my wing from my holster. Leaning my foreleg against the table, I flashed my best 'I promise I really am a Captain' grin.

She just flushed and looked away.

Yeah, that just about sums up what I felt like doing too.

The lantern once more casting the room in red allowed me to see Yonder holding a fork in his pinions, bringing the freshly moisturized bits of oats, apples and carrots to his lips. Corsair guided the cloud over to my plate next. I studied her another moment, and suddenly had to fight the urge to cry after realizing what I'd been debating a minute ago.

I didn't even know it was her until she'd trotted passed me. Would I have been able to pull the trigger on her? On Miracle, if she'd trotted in instead? Gods, even Yonder... I've only known these ponies for an hour or so, but... Damnit, I'm not a killer! I'm... I'm NOT! Please, don't make me a killer! My chest was starting to get really tight to the point I was close to breaking down right here in front of her. Every sane part of my mind was still screaming for me to run... The hatch was free again! Open! Maybe I could excuse myself and sneak away before they notice! I've already almost blown it! How could I possibly keep this up!?

I snapped out of it as I felt a little Sky Vapor pony slap me across the face.

Whoa, whoa! Okay... you're right, sis. I need to relax for Council's sake, or else I'm gonna end up choking on my tongue... and then probably my brain if I keep thinking like that. Besides, it's just a little lunch. This'll be over before I know it! Then, all that's left is to wait for Bell to fix this thing and find mom and dad! Just take deep breaths, and-- wait, deep breaths are probably too deep. Yeah, scratch that... just breathe normally, moron!

Returning my 'Yup, I'm definitely still a Captain' grin, I at least got Corsair to smile back at me as she gave her cloud a couple of taps with her hoof, hitting all the right spots on it, before it finally released a good portion of moisture. Not too much. Not too little. Huh... she sure knows her way around a cloud. Some might wonder if it were physically possible for a soldierly mare like her to share a similar cutiemark with me. Heh... yeah... that would be the day. Still, my eyes instinctively glanced to her flank, before remembering I'd have no way to see it while her back side was completely encased in her power armor.

Still... I'd be lying if I said her lithe, well-fitted armor didn't hug the curvy outline of her flanks and shapely legs rather nicely... But that didn't get me any closer to seeing her cutiemark.

...and then I noticed Yonder glancing at me with a raised eyebrow.

W-wait! I was just--! I wasn't looking to--! Ooooh, that's not fair! My cheeks burned as I retracted my gaze. I tried to think of some creative excuse that he'd buy, like 'just inspecting the troops!' or 'just admiring the technological superiority of the pegasi!' Eh... no that's something he would use to convince me he wasn't really trying to lure me into some kind of self-incriminating death trap...

I winced as I heard him chuckle softly to himself. Oh great... now I was Captain Fillyfooler! Corsair gave me a concerned look when I face-hoofed. All I could do was give her a sheepish smile as my once bone-dry meal became a quick plate of oatmeal, diced apples and carrots.

"Hmmm..." Yonder shrugged as he hummed to himself. "'Bout what I figured... Not bad, but a bit more of a soggy experience than what I was hopin' for."

"Well, what were you expecting, biscuits and gravy?" Corsair snorted, "After three days, it was pretty delicious if you ask me."

It... definitely smelled like food I enjoyed. Actually, if I didn't know any better, I'd think Mom had just made me a home cooked meal! I still felt a little queasy, but tried to ignore it as I picked my fork up with my right, still mobile, wing.

"I'll go check on Bell. See if she's made any progress with the repairs." Corsair said, placing the small cloud in one of the crates among the rest of the transport's cargo. Her gaze swiftly turned to my own. "Oh, and Private Breeze should be done soon. She'll be here with your... uh... -cough- ...your Dashite brand in just a bit, Captain." With a clank of her rear hooves, the power-armored mare gave a salute with her wing, before trotting back out.

I watched her armored scorpion tail vanish through the hatch, before quickly twisting my head back around, not wanting to give Yonder any more ideas. Once again, I was alone with the dapper lieutenant. If there was any hesitation left, I forced it aside as I scooped up the cloud-grown produce and took a bite. It... Okay, it did taste pretty good when actually prepared properly, at least compared to how I'd eaten it this morning. The carrots were... more or less, carroty... though a bit soft and mushy. And the apples, while still somewhat juicy, somehow seemed even more bland than normal, barely enough to sweeten up the small cup of oatmeal we got on the side. All things considered... no, it wasn't what I was used to back home, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready to say I can get used to it. But... at least it was something.

While my wing dipped down to poke my fork into my next bite, Yonder had already defeated half his plate. He suddenly chuckled in-between his chews, before looking back to me. "Well... I am of the opinion that today is not exceptionally a good one for rememberin' past times."

I swallowed before I could finish chewing my second bite, nearly making me choke for real this time. "...you mean... about where we've met before?"

He nodded, eying me more curiously now. "Yes... I do believe you were about to explain before our meals arrived..?"

I felt myself get pale at that, my eyes slowly widening as I stared at him from across the 'officer's table'. My ear twitched nervously as I blindly grasped for a memory, and realized I was scraping the bottom of my thought barrel... that was until a tiny Sky Vapor pony saved me again, this time by shoving a single word to the front of my mind.

H-huh?

My head slowly tilted to the side, examining the word behind my panicking eyes, thinking of a way to make it all significant. "Maybe... I mean, uh..." I couldn't help my forehooves from shyly tapping together as I spoke. "...you'd have seen me if you were part of the surface operations with the..." I gulped, then finally uttered the word out loud. "...Hellhounds?" I prayed to the guardians that it was an actual thing and not part of some kind of nursery rhyme I heard as a foal.

The stallion froze mid-bite at the word, only moving to slowly drop his fork, before raising his eyes to squint back at me. "Ah... you mean you took part in General Harbinger's scouting party project." Yonder drawled, another smirk slowly forming. "I'd gamble those mind control experiments could have been one of the better projects... it really could have been..." He shook his head. "But no... no we didn't meet there... uh..." He put his hoof to his chin in thought. "Eh... you were at Griffinstone, right?"

I blinked as my mind began to merge anything I could remember, from Pegasus history lessons as a filly to the war stories my sister used to tell us about. "Y-yeah..." I nodded thoughtfully, "Uhm... a couple of years back... during the third invasion of the Griffins."

"Eck..." Yonder winced, and I could almost see a replay of the battle behind his eyes. "That there was one stroke short of a modern art masterpiece. Brutal, those bunch." Taking a bite of his leftover oatmeal, he gestured to me again with his forehoof. "So, was that where you were promoted?"

“Yeah. I-I uh...” I rolled my eyes as I brainstormed. But with time short, and Vape's inspiration running dry, I found myself glancing away for any kind of mental boost. But aside from more cargo, the only other thing littered around the crates and boxes were several clipboards holding assortments of paper documents together. The closest one on the crate behind Yonder, read: "Shipping Manifest. Origin- Neighvarro. Destination- Stratusburg. Ship Number- 17. Shipment Description- Steel, Concrete, Mountain Resources, Old World Tech, Misc. Stable-Tec Debris". My eyes snapped back towards Yonder before he could give me another quizzical glare. "...cornered a Griffin mercenary unit. After interrogating the survivors, I led my squad to their camp... they had a mining operation... uh... some kind of scheme to trade resources with the surface... I uh... I think." I suddenly felt myself smirk at the thought. "...figured Neighvarro would find a better use for it than they would."

The lieutenant chuckled at that as he finished another bite. "Yeah... yeah I do believe I heard about a victory there... so, that was you, huh?"

I opened and closed my mouth in surprise, before biting my tongue and nodding.

His forehoof abruptly reached across the crate, and lightly, playfully, swatted my shoulder. "That... if I may say, of course... is a well-deserved promotion, ma'am. I'm sure General Hazard was proud. You oughta be proud."

Oh, I was proud alright... proud I was able to pull that out of my tail!

Yet still, for some reason, his compliment forced me to grin, and I had to make sure to hide a spreading blush with my good wing, using it to scoop a good amount of oats and apple slices into my mouth. I couldn't help but push my chest out another inch as his appreciation spread a pleasant feeling of warmth inside me. More silence fell on us as we chewed on our meals... but... instead of the dread it brought through the transport's darkness, or by the lantern's unsettling crystal light, or with Yonder simply regarding me with that deep suspicion of his... it felt as if now, I was just enjoying a meal with a colleague... a friendly one at that.

After about a minute, I swallowed another bite (is it just me, or is this suddenly starting to taste better?) I gestured with my hoof across our crate, much like he had. "And you?" I asked, raising my brow.

"During the invasion?" He shook his head. "Not there for long, I'm afraid. I was reassigned to lead a squad in our southern jurisdiction, where a Pegasus colony was needin' Enclave protection. Settled around a Sky Port... uh..." He squinted, snapping his wing pinons as he tried to remember. "Midnight Blossom!" He blurted, "I say, it was the Midnight Blossom Sky Port."

My ears perked at the mention of that. I'd heard about that Sky Port when I was in school! Genuinely curious, I leaned forward, my attention thoroughly caught by the stallion. "Yeah... I remember that. So, you fought in the Thestral Conflict?"

"Heh..." He chuckled, "If you call holdin' position for three days until we realized they were gone, 'fighting'... never did see a single damn bat the whole time there... yet picked a few of us off durin' the night. The fourth kind is a tricky sort, I'll give'em that... if it really was them, of course. I have doubts, but that's just myself."

A reasonable opinion... though his grin made it seem like I should believe the exact opposite. I awkwardly shrugged and changed the subject before I accidently involved myself in... something I probably don't want to be involved in. "Uhm... so, how long have you been an officer?"

"Oh... been about five years now." He said, "Cut my teeth dustin' a bunch of abominations off Mount Aris." As he spoke, I could have thought his cap was back on, as a cloud seemed to pass over his face. "Gods, Mount Aris..." His eyes narrowed as he shook his head, a low pitch creeping into every tired word.

I was about to nod solemnly in the heavy quiet that followed...

Until he laughed. "I loved it!"

Okay... maybe I read the room wrong? I had to keep myself from gawking in astonishment.

"Some uh the best days I've had in the Enclave..." He sighed, giving another smirk. A smirk that my past self would probably want to run far away from. In fact, everything about the way he said that should have screamed, 'Run for your goddamn life, little pony!'

And yet... I found myself fighting to hold back a giggle.

What can I say? His delivery was pretty funny...

I quickly tried to morph it into a raspier laugh as Yonder extended his wing in front of him. He reached into the breast-pocket of his uniform and removed a small grey pack, which featured a faded picture of a smirking pegasus mare in sunglasses on the front, smoking, her forelegs crossed over her chest, while saying: "You too can be Twenty Percent Cooler!" Yonder put it to his muzzle in a routinely manner. Then, when his wing lowered it, a cigarette was tightly held between his lips. His gaze quickly shifted back to mine, before swinging the pack towards me with his wing. "Cigarette?"

I blinked in surprise, the offer going over my head at first. I must have impulsively nodded in approval, because the next thing I knew, I had replaced the fork between my wing pinions with one of the lieutenant's cigarettes, while his own wing had swapped the pack for a fancy Enclave engraved flip-lighter, plated in gold and platinum. One spark later, and both were lit by its tiny flame.

So, you've probably guessed that I've... eh... never smoked before in my life. I didn't exactly plan on starting any time soon, but... well... I guess I've always wondered what it would be like to be Twenty Percent Cooler...

Putting it between my lips, trying my best to mirror Yonder, I sucked a breath of air through the stick... and tears immediately welled in my eyes. I felt as if I might as well have swallowed a chunk of ash, as my throat started to burn like crazy! And that warmth inside me was no longer pleasant... in fact I was pretty sure the inside of my chest had just burst into flames.

"...t-thanks." I managed to wheeze, suppressing a cough. Not wanting to make a scene, I swallowed whatever tantrum my lungs were ready to throw, as if I were swallowing vomit... actually, I'm pretty sure I did that too... And I was almost certain that if I had a mirror in front of me, I'd be able to see my ears bellowing black clouds of smoke.

Yonder, meanwhile, looked as if he were in a moment of heaven, breathing a sigh of relief as he blew the tobacco smoke across our crate. Yet, his ecstasy didn't seem to last as long as he'd hoped. Pinching the cigarette between his pinions again, he grimaced as he took it away from his lips in near disgust. "Goddamn cloud-grown tobacco..." The stallion groaned, "...'bout as soggy as a Hoofington stratus inspection." His eyes abruptly widened as they again locked onto mine, and for the first time since I'd shown him the Dashite brand, there was a hint of worry before he tried to cover it up with a laugh. "...er-- uh, if I may say off the record, Captain."

I had to check my surroundings, before realizing Yonder had just asked for my permission to continue, shrouded somewhere in that last sentence. I nodded, spending a bit more of my growing confidence to flash him a smile. "Go on..." I instantly winced at the sound of my strained voice, suddenly raspier without me even needing to try.

Heh... I uh... guess I still need to recover from being twenty percent cooler...

Yonder nodded back, and despite his complaint, took another drag of his death stick. "I do believe..." He sighed as if hesitant to say it, "...that pegasus cigarettes are a sin... I say, a SIN against nicotine." He paused to blow more tobacco through his nostrils, the smoggy air barely bristling his pencil-stache. "I tell ya, once you've had a pack uh smokes from the surface... it's just cruel to go back to these."

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean... you've actually... had cigarettes from the surface?"

"I would hope you not to think to court martial me for that." He joked, "Earth Ponies have always been the better farmin' tribe, that includes tobacco farmin'. I like to think the Pegasi at least outdid the Unicorns, but..."

Wait... what exactly is he suggesting here?

I gave him a look and he awkwardly coughed up smoke before continuing, "...well, anyway, I'm not sayin' they're better now... given the circumstances, Pegasus cloud farmin' is the superior technique. What with all the taint and radiation and... 'dirt' that they've got to work with down here? If any dirt pony offers me an apple, it oughta be fresh, red, crunchy and one hell of an apple before it so much as grazes my teeth." Leaning forward, he shook a raised wing pinion above the crate. "That bein' said... there's no questionin' the time when Equestria was a livable place. Somethin' that appears to be loomin' on the horizon again." He scoffed, "...that is, if the winds of the council remain on course."

I blinked and looked up and down at the yellow stallion.

Equestria... a livable place? Like... livable livable? I mean... yeah, sure, stabilizing the surface from its dangers has been a potential policy floating around the Enclave ever since the decline in mountaintops to excavate. And less mountain peaks above the clouds means less resources for us to use. I never really found an interest in politics (not that I'd have the prestige for it anyways) but I always figured most pegasi, like Mom and Dad, were on the traditional side of the debate. You know... like staying away from the deadly wasteland. -sigh- That was our stance in Stratusburg at least. Of course, there were always some loud pegasus politicians out there urging for us to make a triumphant return to Equestria, help the surface dwellers, restore order to pony kind, and probably a variety of other reasons that I... never really understood. Regardless, exactly how to advance that policy... Well... I guess we're about to be the next addition to that debate.

"Oh, I'm sure you've heard..." Yonder shrugged, sitting back on his haunches. "Why, one of my first surface engagement assignments was to... well, you know how it goes Captain, to more or less NOT engage with the surface." He rolled his eyes and chuckled, enthusiasm for the subject decreasing with every word. "We were to 'assess the situation' in Whinnyapolis. Followed protocol. Found a former pegasus holdin'. Set up an outpost uh sorts. And... observe. Heh. Of course, we got a little involved with havin' to clear out some baduns that just happened to be around and were sent back with a report detailin' their attitudes and firepower and such and what it would take to deal with'em."

I nodded, briefly smirking as a picture slowly formed in my head. "...all just a coincidence that they sent you there, then?"

"Oh, of course! Just a routine dive below our protective cloud layer to capture the importance of how a pack uh backward yokels rut in the dirt." He snarked, both of us sharing a moment to laugh. "Yes, well... I do suppose officers close to the council like yourself are at least given an ounce of light on what some uh those bureaucrat projects are for."

I flushed, scratching the back of my mane with a hoof. "Heh... Y-you think I had any idea about what they wanted the Hellhounds for?" Seriously, what the heck would they be used for?! "It's not like they'd be real useful falling through our cloudcover." I gave a shrug. "I mean, we flew down to wire a bunch of electrified domes on their heads and made them march to 'Flight of the Shadowbolts'!" I said, spinning one of my sister's tales into my own. Putting a hoof to my chin, I rolled my eyes as I tried to think. "If uh... if I were to guess..."

Okay, what am I guessing? What am I guessing? If I were a High General on the Council, what would I--? Wait... if I were planning to engage the surface, I would want every option on the table. Maybe the Enclave really is considering an attack...

I cleared my throat. "...the only use for them would be to support an assault on the surface. But public support for another war, especially one with the surface, isn't quite where it needs to be yet. So... we're left with coincidences and experiments until morale is up."

"Morale..." He suddenly raised his eyebrows. "Yeah... speakin' uh morale, that reminds me of somethin' else I've been meanin' to ask you... the Pegasi of Stratusburg ought'a be mighty crossed for what those murderin' surface sympathizers did to their governin' buildin'..." My calm suddenly dropped at the mention of my home as I sat up much straighter. "...yourself included."

His eyes once again regarded me curiously.

My own could only return an instinctive glare that even I found inscrutable. "...c-crossed." I murmured back, and I could have sworn I started to hear the explosions and desperate cries for help. See the shocked and frightened pegasi scrambling away from the HQ. Feel the slow fading of heat as it fell away with the Vertibuck. Smell the blast charred clouds around me... The scar on the back of my neck began to burn more intensely, before having to hide my hooves under the table as they started to shake.

I... NO! Sweet Council, please don't make me fall apart in front of him now!

"Well, I... it was a... I mean, what happened was a tragedy, and--"

"Anypony close?" He interrupted, "In your Headquarters, that is. When it blew?"

"I..." My voice got caught in my breath as the thought locked away all my words. All I could do was keep a stiff lip, fight my eyes from turning glossy and nod.

Yonder sighed. "Listen, Captain... I've handed the leadership of my platoon over to you. As the higher rank, your authority is beyond question, of course..." As he spoke, his forehoof began lightly clip-clopping against the crate-top as if suddenly anxious. "...but, I do hope you understand when I say that your judgment is... a mystery to me."

Yeah... that makes two of us. I mentally winced but compelled myself to laugh. "A mystery? What uh... what do you mean, Lieutenant?"

"Well I... I'd gamble that after what happened to poor Comet Chaser out there, that our platoon is rightfully itchin' for some justice..." He paused for another smoke, fogging up the cargo hold with more tobacco. "...now, what I can't imagine is what you're itchin' to do after that terrorist not only destroyed your governin' building..." A terrorist who I helped. "...but also killed your entire Verti-buck squadron..." Who wouldn't have burned alive if I'd just done my job! "...and then of course there's your wing injury..." He shrugged and I felt my fake smile begin to strain. "I guess I'm tryin' to ask if you're holdin' up okay after all that..." He said, an unnatural but genuine concern in his eyes.

"I-itching? But I'm not-- I mean, I'm just..." I shook my head, quickly searching for something to change the subject. Damnit! Why did we have to talk about this!? I... I REALLY don't want to think about it! I... I just can't right now! "I'm... -sigh-" For the love of the Council, please change the subject before--! It was too late... "I can assure you that I'm fine, Lieutenant." I lied. "I-I just... We..." My words began stumbling from my mouth as the wall around my concious began to crumble again at Yonder's question.

If I'd just done my job, none of that would have happened!

It... it was my fault for letting the Dashite through the checkpoint. I'd failed to ask for her credentials... and I... I failed Stratusburg and everypony on board the Verti-buck! I... I failed the Enclave. I failed my parents! I... I... I JUST FAILED EVERYPONY! I searched around, hoping Yonder couldn't see my reddening eyes through the already red light. I wanted to sob right there. And I came real close... But instead, I desperately zeroed in on the first thing my eyes fell on, finally distracting myself before I completely lost it.

"Y-your radio!" I blurted, pointing a hoof. The surprised stallion's eyes snapped towards the object still sitting across from us on the crate. I cleared my throat as I struggled to recompose myself. "I heard you listening to it earlier. On Enclave Radio even!"

For some reason, the change in subject seemed to disappoint him. "U-uh... Yes, I was... We do get the frequency down here. Unfortunately, it was damaged in the crash. Not even Corsair or Thunder Bolt's power armor mics can input properly."

“Aha! I knew it!” I felt as if I should be happy for guessing right from earlier... but, for some reason my happiness wasn't working on its own, so I had to force it with a smile.

"Um... Captain..."

I ignored his wary tone, having since grabbed the radio, pretending to know what I was doing adjusting the device's dials to keep myself from shaking. "Hey, did you catch a second frequency when tuning in? Because there's this dirt pony called DJPon3 down here who plays this music and tells the news. He even mentioned the HQ. Which is an obvious breach of security. The Enclave will probably need to deal with him in the future. I'll be sure to put it in my report."

I let a Dashite ruin my life... destroy my home... kill my fellow pegasi... maybe even my friends and neighbors... and I was talking about filing a report?

"I say, Captain!" Yonder snapped, swiftly shutting me up before awkardly clearing his throat at his outburst, calmly reaching out to lower the radio down from my grasp. "You said our mission will be to engage with the settlement down the mountain to rescue survivors... what if we find the ones responsible for the mess they caused you, hidin' out in that very location?"

The ones... responsible?

The question cut me deep. Is... is he saying we could bring the ponies who destroyed my home to justice? And... what if we found them? What would I say to them? What would I do with them? I hadn't really thought of it, because... well, what right did I have for justice if it was my fault for it happening in the first place?!

Weakness landed on me like an anvil. I could hear a tiny Sky Vapor pony trying to cheer me up, but I just wouldn't have it. I felt bile rising in my throat. But... If... If I let this affect me... No! I couldn't let it! Captains don't let it! I... I have to fake it!

Thankfully, there was still one resolve I had left to clamp down on. "I-If we find them..." I sighed, hardening my eyes as I glared straight into Yonder. "...then we deal with them however we deal with them. But the ponies who matter there are not the traitors... The survivors come first." The stallion stayed oddly silent, so I cocked an eyebrow. "Understood?"

"Hmm... yes, Ma'am." He said, a bit stiffly, before tilting his gaze back to me, his lips smirking again. "It's reassurin'. Your word, that is. I do believe me, and my ponies, are in safe hooves with your judgement." I couldn't tell if he really 'did believe' a single word he just said... I know I wouldn't have. Looking down at his forehooves, he shook his head with a shrug. "However, as I said before, these ponies will want justice for what happened. It's a matter I've been turnin' over in my head for the last pack'uh days, and how we should be respondin' to those deserters of ours..."

"W-well, uh... you can stop turning it over." I said and his smirk vanished in an instant.

"Now, just wait a cloud pickin' minute... Just because you don't find yourself angry at those murderin' bastards for killin' your friends--"

“Enough!” I screamed. He flinched back, leaning away from me as I glared. Fuck! Why did he have to say it like that?! I am angry! I just... Ugh! “Don't say anything about friends... or... or whoever else could have been in there! I was there, Leutenant... I don’t… need to hear about it. About them. Or any of it. Just... please...” I begged, desperately trying to control my breath from showing cracks. “I'll... I'll be sure to give Seargent Corsair and Seargent Bolt and Corporal Belle and Private Breeze what's deserved for what they've been through..." I forced a sigh. It was all I had to calm myself down. "...and I promise that Private Chaser will get his justice.” Taking a mental breath, I knitted my brow and finally stood back up on my hooves. "It's a matter I will deal with." I said as evenly as I could, before continuing more firmly, "...and is no longer your concern."

I just hope it was enough for him not to ask how I'd deal with it.

His ears pinned back as I loomed over him, standing on rear legs with my forehooves hoisting me over the edge of the crate. His wide eyes seemed to study me, and strangely, they were surprised instead of suspicious. He opened his mouth to speak. I gulped, my hooves starting to quake under my weight, knowing that he was about to ask the question before I had time to think of the right answer... but he never finished, as a roll of thunder surged through the transport with a loud bang, and the ceiling lights abruptly flickered on above us, vaporizing the lone red light from the lantern.

The darkness was gone... for the moment.

There was a low winding sound of a generator below us, sounding as if it were on the verge of turning over, before everything collapsed back at once. The winding depressed back to nothing as the lights flickered back out, and the red returned.

A fit of harsh hacking and rasping coughs erupted from beneath our hooves, followed by a long list of obscenities I could hardly begin to explain. Now all I could think of was a small, gorgeous mare such as Rotor Belle going against Captain Short Fuse in a contest to see who has the worst temper.

"That blasted, stupid, cloud generator! Fuck you, you cheap clanking heap uh junk! Aw, goddamnit! For council's sake, Thunder, open up that moisture vent, will ya!? Who in the hell turned it closed, AGAIN!? Oh Magnus, fuck me with your--!"

I cleared my throat, Yonder and I still staring at each other in silence as Bell waged a war with her tools, slamming them against the evil compartment below us.

"Gyaah! Tute-blurtle-rattle-crap-camel-klirk! You mother fuckin' piece uh jerk off cunt crap! Drop dead you dumb fratterhaustikkelfieffe!!!"

The fur on my coat stood on end, making my ears twist around in disgust. Yeesh! Those words could make a dirt pony want a bath if she heard them...

"O-oh guardians, Bell..." A familiar soft voice sighed. I turned and spotted Miracle standing in front of the hatch, staring at the deck beneath her hooves. Shaking her mane, she stood back up straight and saluted with her wing, revealing the cloud and lightning bolt brand tucked behind it. "Miracle Breeze, reporting as ordered, ma'am."

I would be lying if I said she didn't immediately make my heart flutter. Just hearing her voice had practically washed all the sin I swore Bell's profanity had just doused me in. I blinked, realizing I'd been standing there, staring at her while she waited for me to respond. I blushed, quickly saluting her back with my own wing as she relaxed. Hoping the simple mental demand was enough, I tried to shake away the burn in my cheeks, before turning back to Yonder. "U-uh... what were we talking about?"

His expression unreadable, he took another drag of his cigarette before his lungs relieved a breath. "...justice." He stated, flatly.

"-Ahem!- Right!" I... still had nothing. I looked around like a bird struggling to fly with broken wings. And once again, my eyes fell on Miracle. "Well, uh... Like I said before... the solution is right here." I gestured my hoof towards the adorable mare.

"W-wha-huh?" She stammered as both Yonder and I turned to stare at her. "But... but I'm not a--" Stumbling back on her hooves, she frantically traded looks between us.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and giggle at her flustered expression. Raising my brow, I nodded to her wing.

It finally seemed to click when she blushed with embarrassment. "O-oh! Uh... right!" She chuckled, flashing a nervous grin. Her wing unfolded and set the Dashite brand down in front of us. As she did so, she glanced at me, then at Yonder in confusion. "Justice? What do you mean?"

Alright, Captain Sky Bliss, time for a... -sigh- ...a captain-y plan.

Yonder opened his mouth to answer, but I beat him to the punch. "Well, those Dashites who attacked your friend couldn’t have gone far. And the closest place to fly to is that surface settlement down the mountain. Since that's where we're headed, we might as well brand any we find as traitors and make sure they don’t hurt any more Pegasi while we rescue the HQ survivors." I said with a reassuring grin.

Ha! Nailed it! At least that's what I thought for a whole two and half seconds...

Clearly, Miracle wasn't quite on the same page as Yonder and I on the matter. "You... you want us to brand the ponies who deserted... for revenge?"

Revenge? Who said anything about revenge? This was justice... right?

"It's very clear on the matter, Private Breeze... the law, that is." Yonder said, his tone patronizing.

"But--! But they're our platoon, Lieutenant!" Her ears flattened against her wavy mane in shock. "I... I'd just helped Private Cloud Wisp with her leg injury! A-and Private Wind Stomper and I are friends from flight school! And Corporal Rain Fly, he--!"

"Murdered Private Comet Chaser!" Yonder interjected, making the pale grey mare gasp. "I do believe he was your friend as well, was he not?"

Miracle stayed silent, casting her gaze to the space between her hooves at a loss.

"U-uh... I'm starting to get the impression that justice isn't as high a priority for the platoon as you thought it was, Lieutenant Wild." I said calmly, trying not to look smug as I arched a brow.

The smile that came across Yonder's muzzle as he looked at me put that concern to rest as it sent a chill down my spine instead. "Perhaps it's not..." His eyes squinted, but his smile never stopped. His cigarette had gotten noticeably shorter, as he'd apparently inhaled a significant drag off it at my quip. "...have your orders changed then, Captain?" He asked politely, sighing an incredibly long breath of smoke.

I felt a timid spike in my heart as the tobacco clouded around my head. Captain-y, Bliss... think of the Captain-y thing to do. I had to remind myself, suppressing a cough and trying to relax. You can't just neglect Enclave law! Besides... killing their own... that's not right! I let out a long sigh, the smoke finally clearing. "No... I'm sorry Miracle, but ponies who desert the Enclave and side with murderers and rapists need to be condemned."

"B-but--!" She stammered pleadingly, before her ears drooped, her protest dying faster than the speed of a Wonderbolt. "Y... y-yes, Ma'am. I... I understand." She whimpered... and my heart shattered into pieces.

Damnit! Was that too captain-y? I... I didn't mean to sound heartless, but... Ooooh! I can't just leave her looking like that!

"But-- ...I uh..." I winced, desperately searching for a way to reverse what I'd just said... Somehow without actually reversing it. But I panicked and blurted before thinking. "But... but I wanna hear them out, first!"

Both Yonder and Miracle perked up and blinked.

Securing my nerve, I shook my head and gave them a gritty stare. "Look, I'm not gonna promise anything. But I want to know why they did what they did. And that's IF we find them while we're helping the survivors, understood?"

Miracle's wings sprang up in excitement. "M-ma'am, I... Er... I-I mean--!" She flushed, "...u-understood, Captain." She said, visually relieved, at least to a degree. The mare still looked shaken by both Yonder's revelation, and the plan to condemn her former squad mates.

The Lieutenant himself had since stiffened. His silence was starting to worry me. Yet, when I turned to him, he still smiled a little, and nodded. "Understood." He said, calmly.

I paused for a moment, casting my gaze to the floor in thought. "...there's... something else..." I muttered, tilting my eyes back up to meet his own. "Whatever shot your transports down... if that settlement is the only one of its kind for miles, then it could be the source." I'd apparently caught his attention, his ears perking as he regarded me curiously. His uh... his wings didn't spring out like Miracle's, though I couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "The platoon wants its justice? Fine. They'll get it when we find who's responsible for bringing you all in this mess in the first place."

Yonder seemed to consider that. "And?" He asked, "What then?"

Trading looks between them, I flashed a smile and chuckled. "What is it our Council says?"

He blinked, staring flatly at me for a moment before his lips slowly curled into a grin. "We brand'em then..."

Miracle Breeze flinched at that, her eyes falling back to her hooves, but gave an affirmative nod after noticing my gaze. "U-understood, ma'am."

Yonder snickered and shook his head. "I do believe that if I had a glass, I would toast to that." His wing finally discarded his cigarette, plunging the smoldering butt into the scraps of his meal with a twist, putting it out with a tiny hiss. "Well... I suppose I ought to see what those three are muckin' up out there." Placing his officer's cap back on his head, he stood and touched his wingtip to the visor in a salute. "Pleasure discussin' with you, Captain Sky Bliss." He turned to leave, trotting passed Miracle Breeze and toward the hatch.

...but there was one more thing I had to do before he left.

"Lieutenant Wild?" Looking over my shoulder, I saw him freeze completely. "Have you figured it out yet?"

His head slowly turned to look at me, then raised his eyebrows and blinked. "Figured what out?"

"Where we've met before." I said, curiously fluttering my lashes at him as I felt a flash of thrill strike at the numbness within my core. "I'd... really like to know."

The shadow from his cap once again blanketed his face before he chuckled. "Oh... yes, of course!" His eyes narrowed, looking me up and down, and I couldn't help but feel pride as his smirk disappeared from his muzzle. "You're--" He grimaced then shook his head with a grunt. "No... no it couldn't be..."

I arched a brow. "Couldn't be?"

He gave me another look. "It's nothing... it's just... well, I do say, you are an awful lot similar to a mare I knew in my squad. Durin' the surface scoutin' party I went on about... very similar, in fact. In almost every way..." He took a step closer, his blood red eyes looking straight into my pink ones. "Hmm... But no... no you're not her. I'm... afraid I was mistaken." He shrugged with a small chuckle, though his face showed a bit of disappointment.

I watched as he turned back around toward the hatch. "It can happen sometimes, right?" I said after him, making the stallion stop again. "Actually, I thought I recognized you too. You talk just like that senator on the radio from Cumulusville. Beauregard Foghorn." I laughed.

In fact, I could have fell to the floor in laughter at the unexpected effect I'd apparently struck into him.

Without turning around, his wings twitched as his orange tail flicked behind him. "Yeah..." He nodded, then trotted down the steps out the hatch. There wasn't another word he had to say... but the fun quickly ended. And I couldn't have been more relieved for it.

My lungs were just about ready to burst before they finally let out my held breath. Thank the skies, that's over... I turned, only to see Miracle Breeze trotting up to me. "Oh... -ahem- was there... something else, Miracle?"

She stopped and her eyes went round for a moment. Ah... or she was just trotting passed me and wasn't expecting me to say anything. Her lips parted as if about to blurt an answer, but then her eyes caught something at my side. Finally, she straightened herself with a nod. "Yes, actually... I wanted to ask about your wing, ma'am. Y-you... said it still hurt when we first arrived. Do you want me to check on it, just in case? I..." She looked at me and flushed, "I still don't have any painkillers, but might be able to adjust the sling if it's uncomfortable for--." She suddenly stopped talking with a wary look. "Ma'am? Are you feeling alright?"

"H-huh?" I blinked and became swiftly aware of the burning in my cheeks again... though this time, it wasn't because of the lovely mare in front of me. No, seriously! I swear it wasn't! I tried to clear my head of its daze by giving it a shake. "Uh... Sorry, it's nothing." I had to clear my throat when it started to burn. Eventually, my eyes fell on the Dashite brand still on the floor. "But... yes... I-if you could... with uh... with my wing... that would be... g-great, like a m-miracle! ...er...I mean!" I said, slowly scooping the brand up in my hooves.

"Ma'am!" She winced, "You're... ah... oh my..."

My legs began to quiver as they trotted me forward. I urgently nudged one of the loose crates open with my muzzle and carefully placed the brand inside. Giving a nod, I made my way to the nearest open crate beside it... and voided my stomach of the meal I'd eaten with Yonder. Violently.

Aha... for my first act as this Platoon's commanding officer, I, Captain Sky Bliss, designate this the puke crate!

I staggered and fell to my side, Miracle crying out as she galloped up to me.

See? Told you it wasn't because of her...

Author's Note

Whew! Finally finished this one! Deeply apologize for not getting this out sooner. I still don't feel completely satisfied with it, but I figured I had to squash that feeling to finally get this out. That on top of finding less and less time and inspiration to write, it was about time. But enough excuses. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and really hope it wasn't too slow for you since it was a very dialogue heavy chapter, plus I noticed that it's almost as long as the last three chapters put together, so if you're reading this, I'm glad you made it all the way!

As always, I hope you leave some feedback if you have any so I can improve my writing or fix any mistakes. And stay tuned for more of Sky Bliss in the future!