The Last of Equestria: New Beginnings

(25 Years Later…)

Knock. Knock. Knock… Knock.

I groan angrily as I roll over in my bed and cover my head with a pillow. What part of ‘leave me the fuck alone’ did these assholes just not understand? Today is the day my little flower wilted away in an instant. I just want to be left alone and wallow in my grief. A-L-O-N-E. Is that too much to ask? To be left alone for a few hours? Somepony important better be dying, dead or worse if they’re going to risk poking this angry bear. Knock. Knock. Knock. I growl in frustration as I angrily throw off the covers, toss away the pillow and practically throw myself out of bed. My hooves thump against the floor as I stomp over to the door of my apartment.

“Knock again and I’ll break your fucking knees,” I sneer loudly before yanking the door open.

Standing outside my door is a young earth pony stallion and a young male griffon. The stallion is tall and well built with a moss green coat, a short and spiky jet black mane and bright orange eyes. The griffon next to him is about a head taller with dark blue, dark iridescent green and black feathers. His eyes are a light blue with rings of medium blue around each eye. Both are wearing identical forest green and black pinstripe vests with pockets. They pass a wary look between each other before the griffon nudges the stallion forward with a wing.

“H-Heya, boss. I know you said not to disturb you for any reason today, but… well, th-there’s an emergency in the warehouse,” The stallion says as he nervously rubs his neck.

“An emergency? What, Sapphire too drunk to handle it herself?” I question.

“Well, actually, she sent us to come get you,” The stallion answers.

“Are you going to tell me what this emergency is or what? Don’t tell me I need to beat it out of you, Jacks,” I say as I narrow my eyes and glare “or tell me that I do. I’d love to do it.”

“N-no, no. I’m good,” Jacks says with a nervous chuckle “there’s a Firefly in our warehouse, but-”

“A Firefly? A Firefly?” I question, taking a step forward “Sapphire can’t handle a single Firefly fucktard on her own?”

“I-I wasn’t quite finished, boss. Sapphire needs you because it’s the Queen of the Fireflies in our warehouse,” Jacks answers, taking a step backwards.

“Sapphire sent us to fetch you ‘cause Ocean showed up asking for the two of you. We don’t know much else ‘sides that,'' Guffy- the griffon- chimes in.

Ugh. It really did just have to be the ‘worse’ option, didn’t it? I sigh as I rub the bridge of my nose. Why today of all days? Whatever. Worse things have happened. I suppose it wouldn’t kill me to go see what in the fresh hell Ocean Breeze wants from the Underground. Who am I kidding? It probably will if she’s coming begging us for help.

“Alright, fine. It’s not everyday that stuck up bitch comes groveling at our hooves,” I say with a small roll of my eyes “lead the way, gentlecolts.”

I gesture for them to get a move on as I step out of my apartment and close the door behind me with my magic. They back away as I step out and then turn their backs to me as they make their way down the hall. I follow closely behind them and ignore everypony who greets us as we pass by. They say ‘hello’ out of respect- and maybe even a little out of fear- because of my reputation. To those in the know- or have simply been on the receiving end of my wrath- know I’m not one to be trifled or toyed with. In the twenty-five years this apocalypse has raged on, I’ve turned into a completely different pony.

A piece of who I once was died the same day Larkspur did. After we buried him, the rest of us successfully managed to get to the cottage. It was hard and rough, but we made it somehow. It was there that my siblings helped me deliver my then newborn, a little pegasus filly I named Summertide Harmony. We stayed in that cottage for a little over four years. Ponies we now refer to as ‘Hunters’ came in the middle of the night and tried to kill us- and take our stuff. It was horrible and frightening. My siblings, my nephew, my daughters and I scattered to the winds and those bastards chased after us, like just stealing our shit wasn't good enough for them. They wanted us dead for reasons I still don't know. Maybe to eliminate the possibility of revenge and retaliation. Maybe it was just for fun. Either way, they set fire to the forest around the cottage and threw out explosive molotov cocktails like it was a fucking parade.

Everything happened so quickly, and somehow my children and I became separated. Through a wall of fire and with the Hunters in close pursuit, I told Ivory to take Summertide and run as far and as fast as they could, to find somewhere safe and stay there until I could find them… except, I never did. I searched and searched and searched until I could no more. I searched for years after, hoping to find them, but every single possible lead came up dry in the end. Even to this day I hope to find them, but it’s like they just vanished into thin air. Part of me still hopes that they’re alive, somewhere safe, but the bitterness in my heart tells me to give up on that. That they’re... dead.

The rest of the old me died entirely when I had to give up on finding Ivory and Summertide. I did a lot of things over the years, things they’d be horrified by, things they’d hate me for… things I did to survive. I don’t even know why I’m still here, really. Everything worth living for was taken away from me years ago… yet, I still go on. Last time I heard from them, my siblings were alive. Now, I'm not so sure. That last time, Apple told me to go to hell, I told him to take a long walk off a short pier and Star told us she hopes the two of us get eaten by a clicker. Up until that point, we had stuck together. I was so miserable and bitter from my losses. I was- and still am- an insufferable bitch, I'll admit, always blowing up on them, complaining, nagging, insulting them. Always angry, always ignoring Dipper and treating him unfairly.

It always came out before I could stop it. Only a small part of me meant the things I said, but for the most part, it was just the bitterness in my heart talking. They had enough after Apple talked about joining a chapter of the Fireflies out near Vanhoover. I thought it was stupid, I still do. Star didn't want to join, nor did I. Apple wanted us to be together, which was fair enough and understandable. With the world like it is, family is really all you've got worth living for. It turned into a big argument when I called him stupid and told him to take his 'hero complex' elsewhere. Long story short, we parted ways and I've not seen hide nor hair of either one of them since. Not even the slightest peep or indication that they're still alive. I've already forgotten how many years it's been since then. Not that it matters. It's not like I miss them…

The three of us exit through the front door of the decrepit, old apartment building and hang a left through a dirty alleyway. An assortment of fliers are posted on the walls on either side. Some are wanted posters for Fireflies in the city, some are ration reminders, work reminders and a list of laws we must follow under MEDRA tyrannical rule. A whole bunch of bullshit, in other words. Guffy pulls a small identification booklet out of his pocket and tosses it my way.

"Here, she said to give this to you too," Guffy says as he looks back at me.

"Thanks," I say as I catch it "that time of year, huh? Let's see who I am this time."

I open the booklet and take a look at its contents. The forgery craftsmanship is impeccable and easily passes for the real deal. It has my photo and plausible but false information about myself. We have four fake identification booklets that we remake and rotate every six months. You would think these MEDRA bastards in the Canterlot Quarantine Zone would catch on by now, but let's just say they weren't exactly enlisted for their 'intelligence'. This time around, my name is 'Whimsy Hearts' and I'm a widow who lost her husband to some infected during a job outside the Wall. Interesting. Funny, even. I hope that asshole really has been ripped apart by a pack of clickers.

"Who are you this time?" I ask Guffy.

I tuck the booklet inside the breast pocket of the cream, red and gray plaid flannel that I'm wearing before looking over at him.

"Woodrow Ravenstone," Guffy replies with a showy wave of his claw "a young griffon who's a naturally talented angler."

"You're looking at Maverick Moss, a wanna be novelist with three cats," Jacks says as he looks back at me "did you know my previous ID said I had five cats?? The one before that said I had four! I'm pretty sure the other ones says I have, like, seven!"

"How many cats do you really have?" Guffy asks, raising a brow.

"Do we care?" I chime in, giving them both an annoyed look.

"One!" Jacks exclaims, throwing a hoof up in the air "I tell Callus one time that I have one cat and now I'm a crazy cat owner!"

“Well, that’s why you don’t go around telling everypony your life story, you idiot. Lesson learned,” I say before rolling my eyes.

We make it to the end of the alley and step out onto the sidewalk that runs along one side of the QZ Main Street. The entire Zone is filthy and rundown- and Main Street is no exception. Ration stalls covered in clear plastic sheeting and various service and exchange stalls- like haircuts and trades- dot the entirety of both sides of the sidewalk. Soldiers patrol the street and some even keep a ‘watchful’ eye from up above on the various rooftops. Not many ponies are out today and not a single soul is at any of the ration stalls. They must be running low again.

“Does it really matter how many cats you do or do not ‘for realsies' own?” Guffy asks Jacks.

“No, but c’mon! Seven is a bit excessive, don’t you think?” Jacks replies with a pleading look.

“Only if you hate cats. Personally, I like dogs a little more,” Guffy says with a shrug.

“Can it, both of you,” I bark through gritted teeth “you’re just begging for a soldier to sniff us out at this point.”

“Yes ma’am!” They exclaim quietly in unison.

I lightly shake my head and let out an annoyed sigh. A stray soccer ball comes suddenly rolling towards me and nearly smacks me in the ankle. I stop it with my hooves just before it does and scowl. A group of children cautiously approach and look at one another with nervous, scared looks on their faces. The tallest- and presumably eldest- child of the bunch steps forward and comes a little close. She’s no older than maybe ten and trembling nervously. Tears already prick the corner of her eyes and a word has yet to be said between us.

“S-s-sorry,” She stutters meekly “i-it was an a-accident. C-Can we have it back, p-please?”

“No,” I say angrily.

“B-But-” The filly starts to stammer out an object, but is interrupted by a sudden, loud ‘pop’.

She lets out a frightened 'eep' as I pop the ball with a tremendous amount of force and throw its remains in a nearby pile of trash. The filly’s ears flatten against her mane as stares at me momentarily in a mixture of fear and disbelief, then promptly bursts into tears. The other children burst into tears as well and gallop a good distance away. The filly turns and follows after them. I let out a ‘tch’ and trot past Jacks and Guffy, who stand their gawking at one another. What a brat. I continue down Main Street, leaving my underlings behind as they go over to the children and apologize to them on my behalf. Yet another irrational decision made by my broken, bitter heart.

I've come to hate children these days. Maybe I don't truly hate them, deep down and all that, but every time I see a child, it's like a big, annoyingly flashy neon sign saying 'Hey, this could be Larkspur if you didn't get him killed!'. Reminding me that he's dead, that he'll never get to grow up like them. That I'll never get to see him grow up. Teenagers are the worst out of them all. They only serve to remind me that I failed Ivory and Summertide, that I'll never get to see them grow up into adults, assuming they're even alive at this point. These children are visual reminders of how much of a horrible, piece of shit mother I am... or was, I suppose.

Guffy and Jacks eventually catch up to me as I near one of several checkpoints set up in the Canterlot Quarantine Zone. Two concrete walls about a story tall lined with barbed wire at the top are set up between two tall buildings. In the very middle where both walls meet is a booth with turnstiles attached on either side. Several soldiers congregate around the checkpoint, every single one looking bored and miserable and armed with military-style carbine rifles. My underlings file in line close behind me as we approach the booth. The soldiers standing on either side near the turnstiles look at us and merely nod their heads as a greeting. I give them a half-assed smile before knocking on the booth’s window. The soldier inside the booth groans and shuffles to her hooves before yanking the window open. She has an annoyed look on her face like we had just interrupted her in the middle of something ‘important’. She holds out a hoof expectantly and glares.

“IDs, please,” She says in a monotone voice.

“Sure thing,” I say, matching her tone.

The mare subtly rolls her eyes and sighs impatiently as the three of us produce our fake ID booklets. I gather them with my magic and thrust them into her grasp. She takes them and disappears momentarily. When she returns, the mare hands us back our booklets and produces a pen and a clipboard with a list of questions.

“Have you been in contact with anypony who claims to have been outside the Wall?” She asks.

“Nope,” We answer in unison.

She marks off a box on her checklist. She glances up at us before looking back down at it.

“Have you been in contact with anypony who is sick or appears sick in the last forty-eight hours?” The mare asks.

“Nada,” I say for the three of us.

“Are you sick or feeling any on-set symptoms of illness?” She questions.

“Does sick of your shit count?” I question with a petty smirk.

“Absolutely hilarious,” The mare answers in her usual monotone “but no, no it does not.”

“Then there’s your answer,” I say, widening my smirk.

“Right, right. Moving on, have you or anypony you know had any recent interactions with any Fireflies?” The mare questions as she ticks off another box.

“Uh, yeah, that’s a hard fucking no,” I answer harshly as I lose my smirk “does anypony ever answer that question honestly?”

“You’d be surprised, but no, not all that often,” The mare says with a shrug “look, we’re almost done here. Next question; What is the reason you’re passing through today?”

“Our friends staying in the Swan Street Apartments invited us over for a game of poker. We all have the day off, so we figured we’d go,” I say with a small shrug.

“Do you plan on staying with the ponies you are visiting or will you be coming back through?” The mare questions as she ticks off another box “and If you do decide to come back through, do you have a rough estimate of what time you will return?”

“Is ‘unsure’ an acceptable answer for both questions? We were just going to play it by ear. Depends on how drunk we are,” I answer with a slight tilt of my head.

“Wish I was drunk,” The mare mumbles quietly “drink responsibly and all that.”

“Anymore questions?” I ask.

“Just two, so bare with me now,” She answers with a roll of her eyes “are you aware that curfew is 7PM per usual and are you aware that aiding or harboring criminals is an act punishable by hanging or firing squad-style execution under section 5a of the MEDRA Quarantine Law?”

“Yes and yes,” I say with an annoyed sigh.

“Congratulations, you made it through the questionnaire without dying,” The mare says with faux enthusiasm “you can pass through. I’ll unlock the turnstiles for you.”

“Have a good day, stay safe, report any suspicious activity to the nearest MEDRA guard in your area, blah, blah, blah. You know the drill,” The mare adds before closing her window.

What a peach. A brief but loud buzz sounds from the speakers attached to the corners of the booth as both turnstiles emit an audible click, indicating their change of status. The guard on the left gestures for us to use the left turnstile. We push our way through the metallic turnstile and then weave through the short winding path made by chest-high walls of sandbags. Hmm, how weird. Going through the checkpoint went a lot smoother than it usually does. There’s usually some stupid reason why we can’t get through or our passage is delayed. Last time, those idiotic bug bitches blew up the nearby guard shack.

We cross the soldier-infested street and pass through another alleyway. We come out to a street with significantly less soldiers, cross it and hang a right on the sidewalk. We keep going until we reach the steps of the Swan Street Apartment building. The three of us enter the lobby of the rundown, trashy apartments and make our way to room A-19. The halls are mostly empty except for the occasional drunk or high resident locked out of their own apartments. When we reach the door of our destination, Guffy tells us to stay put while he scopes things out. He’s gone for a minute or two, but then swiftly returns and ushers us inside.

Inside the nearly empty apartment, a lone unicorn mare sits on the couch wearing a pink and purple pinstripe vest. The mare has a soft violet coat, a long and wild dark green mane and bright yellow eyes. Her back legs are crossed as she sits back and uses her hoof to prop up her head. She greets Jacks and I as we enter the room. The mare- Vice Versa- is one of several members of the Underground, a secret smuggling business run right under the noses of the MEDRA. Guffy, Jacks and I are also members of the Underground… if it wasn’t already obvious.

The whole Underground is run by one mare in particular; a feisty earth pony mare named Sapphire Sparkles. Per her request and insistence, I’m her right-hoof mare and second in command of the whole shebang. The color of the vests that Vice Versa, Guffy and Jacks wear are less of a uniform and more a code to let others ‘in the know’ to know what role in the Underground they play. Jacks and Guffy? Green vests make them messengers. Vice Versa’s pink vest tells us she’s a lookout and a pony who shouldn’t be moved from their post under any circumstances. Excluding valid emergencies, of course, and when they rotate locations or relieve other lookouts of their duties for the day.

The ponies we use for guards wear red and gold pinstripe vests. Those of us who do the smuggling- excluding Sapphire and myself- wear black and gold pinstripe vests. The coded outfits we give them change every four to six months. The colors generally stay the same, but what they wear depends on what our manufacturer creates. This time around, it’s pinstripe vests. Rotating what they wear and our ID booklets helps keep us off MEDRA's radar. You’d be amazed by how a simple change of clothes fools them. They really are a ‘basket of fried eggs’. Stupid, in other words. It’s an idiom I ‘borrowed’ from that good-for-nothing brother of mine.

“Howdy-ho, bosserooni. A birdie chirps that there’s trouble on the homefront. A pesky little bug’s come askin’ the spider for help,” Vice Versa says with a chuckle “tunnel’s all clear. Just came through myself. It’s my turn to watch the wallpaper peel off in here.”

“Don’t have too much fun,” I joke sarcastically.

“Mm, I’ll try not to. Boredom really gets the ol’ imagination going, y’know,” Vice Versa jokes as she pantomimes the motions of jerking off.

“Try not to drench the couch. Summer will be here soon and we don’t need this tunnel reeking of your fucking cum dungeon,” I say matter-of-factly.

Vice Versa bursts into a fit of howling laughter as she holds her stomach. She wipes a figurative tear from her eye as she contains her outburst.

“Ha! ‘Cum dungeon’! Oh, bosserooni, you kill me!” Vice Versa exclaims with another burst of laughter “oooo~ That’s a good one. I’ll have to use that myself.”

“You’re welcome. I’ve had about forty years to come up with some good names,” I say with a shrug.

“Mm, well, you’ll have to come by my place sometime and tell me all about the names you’ve come up with,” Vice Versa says suggestively.

“You could bring me a million unused STD tests, take them in front of me and test negative in every single one and I still wouldn’t fuck you in your dreams,” I say.

“Awe, c’mon, Honey. There aren’t any other MILFs in the underground,” Vice Versa says with a fake pout “ah, well. It was worth a shot. You better get going before that bug turns into a real infestation- if you know what I mean.”

“I think that might be the first logical thing you’ve said since I walked in,” I say as I trot away.

Vice Versa laughs at my comment as I cross the room and head for the wooden door a small ways from the dirty kitchen in the corner. I open the door and enter a tiny bathroom consisting of a dirty, broken toilet, a chipped sink and a disgustingly mildewed bathtub. A stained plastic shower curtain hangs from a rod screwed into the walls. I look behind me and gesture for Guffy and Jacks to follow me. Looking forward again, I yank back the curtain to reveal a hole in the wall just big enough for an adult pony to squeeze through without getting stuck. I climb into the tub, turn around and climb through the hole ass first.

With a grunt, I drop down about four feet and land squarely on my hooves. I use my magic to illuminate the nearly pitch black tunnel and crouch down in order to get through the rest of it. I don’t wait for my companions as I crawl forward about five yards until I reach a right-hoof turn and continue crawling for another seven or eight yards before reaching the end. To exit the tunnel, I look up for my target and then jump upwards to grab the ledge of the hole about four feet above me. I grunt and groan as I pull myself upwards. Free of the hole, I land on a mattress left lying on the floor of a dirty, dingy office.

I open the office door and step out into an empty, long abandoned convenience store. I trot around the counter and wait on the other side for Jacks and Guffy. It takes them a minute or two to catch up, but once we’re together again we continue on our way to the warehouse. A few alleyways, hiding from soldiers and some brief spelunking through abandoned buildings later, we finally arrive at our destination. The warehouse we use for our shady dealings- formerly owned by a prominent construction company- is located at the northeastern perimeter of the QZ. We have a nice view of the Princesses castle from here. This area of the QZ is off limits to anypony who isn’t a part of MEDRA, but that doesn’t exactly stop us from running our business. The only good thing about MEDRA are the select few soldiers who consistently buy illegal contraband- like pills and dope- from us who keep the uptight ones from sniffing around our turf.

We enter the warehouse and all seems to be perfectly normal. Various members of the Underground are scattered and clustered throughout the ground floor of the building. A pegasus stallion in a red and gold pinstripe vest comes trotting up and kindly informs me that Sapphire needs me in the office upstairs. I thank him and depart from Jacks and Guffy as I make my way upstairs. The rusty, metallic grated stairs creak and groan occasionally as I climb up them and onto the matching landing outside the office. I stop just short of the door and mentally prepare myself for the interaction to come. Don’t immediately kill Ocean Breeze, Honey. Just hear her out. Then you can kill her. Maybe.

I sigh, push open the door and enter the office. Leaned back in a dusty office chair is an earth pony mare just a few years younger than me. She has a livid colored coat, a royal blue short and choppy mane with a single, jagged stripe of magenta going through the middle and emerald green eyes. She wears a stained white dress shirt with a red tie and has a cutie mark depicting a pile of green gems. The mare has a nice shiner around her right eye, a bloody nose and a busted mouth. All recent by the looks of things. Probably happened before she sent Jacks and Guffy to fetch me.

Across from her and leaning against a desk is a somewhat younger pegasus mare who looks a little worse for wear than the mare in the chair. Her chest is covered in bruises, there's a still-bleeding cut on her cheek and a new and shiny black eye to match the other mare's. This mare has a soft purple coat, a long, curly turquoise mane and olive green eyes. From where she stands, I can’t see her cutiemark, however, but I know from past experiences that hers depicts a pink heart with a fancy red and gold ribbon tied to it.

“So kind of you to finally join us, Honey Cake,” The mare in the chair- Sapphire- says to me with a grin “I was starting to believe you weren’t coming.”

“And miss getting to see… ah, how did Vice put it… ‘a pesky little bug’ come asking ‘for the spider’s help’ I believe it was,” I say with a smirk.

"Truly a once in a lifetime occurrence, my dear. Oh, so sorry for the little, uh, 'misunderstanding' there, Ocean Breeze," Sapphire says as she gestures in Ocean's direction.

"Water under the bridge and all that, right?" Ocean asks with a pained sigh.

"For sure, for sure," Sapphire agrees insincerely before looking over at me "Honey, close the door would you? Keeps ‘little’ ears from listening."

I merely nod my head as I step further into the office and close the door behind me with my magic. Sapphire grunts softly as she sits up correctly in the chair and wipes the blood from her lips. She gestures for me to come closer, then instructs me to sit down next to her, which I happily comply with. Sapphire clears her throat and straightens her shirt and tie before speaking.

“Thanks for your patience as we waited for my dear Honey to arrive, but now that she’s here, let’s just get right to it,” Sapphire says with a grin.

“I’m running out of time and bodies, so I’ll cut right to the chase. I need you to smuggle something out of the city for me,” Ocean Breeze says firmly “it’s very important cargo. I know you don’t believe in our ideologies, but it’s absolutely vital to our cause and I need it out of the city ASAP.”

“Let’s pretend like we’ve agreed for a moment, shall we? Where exactly does this ‘cargo’ of yours need to be delivered to?” Sapphire questions.

“Vanhoover, but-” Ocean begins to answer but is quickly interrupted by me.

“Vanhoover?! You do realize how far that is, don’t you?!” I exclaim with a stomp of a hoof.

“Yes, I do realize how far that is. If you had let me finish, I was going to say that I only need you to take it to the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville,” Ocean says with an annoyed sigh.

“That’s still pretty far from the QZ,” I sneer.

“But it’s manageable and we’ve gone farther than that before,” Sapphire says as she taps her front hooves together “and what exactly do we get out of this?”

“Guns, ammo, ration cards. Enough supplies to keep you going for months… if you make it back to the Zone,” Ocean says “but there’s just one little issue.”

“An issue, eh? Go on,” Sapphire says as she leans back in her chair again.

“I’m sure you’re very familiar with Cobalt Blue. Well, he owes me a very large shipment of guns and ammunition, but won’t give them to me. Claims the shipment never came, but I paid him a little visit,” Ocean explains with a scowl “I know he has them. I did a bit of reconnaissance and saw them sitting in the back of that fabric store next door to that office building he uses.”

“And the ration cards?” I question.

“Easy. I swiped the code to his safe while he wasn’t looking,” Ocean answers “my group and I are leaving the city soon, so you can have our ration cards as well. We won’t starve without them.”

“Well, if you’re leaving the city, why not just take that cargo with you then?” Sapphire questions “sounds like you don’t need us after all… and you got your ass beat for no reason.”

“Both of those things aren’t true. I know we’ve had our grievances and such in the past, but I do respect you and your abilities,” Ocean answers as she takes a step forward “you two are more than qualified to do this. Hell, you’re probably overqualified, but that just means there’s nopony better to do this than you.”

“Oh, you want ‘us’ as in us to do this,” Sapphire says as she gestures to herself and I “well, I think I’m starting to see the whole picture now.”

“As ironic as it sounds, there’s nopony else I trust with this task other than you. That’s including those of my own here in the QZ. Just you and you,” Ocean says as she points to both of us.

"Hold the fuck up for a sec. You didn't answer Sapphire's question. Why can't you take this cargo with you and your little army of fuckups when you leave the city?" I question with a harsh, skeptical look.

"Because we're going in the complete opposite direction. Our journey to our destination is a dangerous one and we're already risking a lot by going there," Ocean answers in a snappy tone "I cannot waste time and resources going to Ponyville then up north."

“Alright, I get it, but what of your Firefly buddies meeting us at the castle?” Sapphire questions.

“Those transporting the cargo are better equipped and capable than those here in the Zone. My guys here in the city are… a bit softer, shall we say,” Ocean answers earnestly "which is what makes doing this delivery ourselves so risky, but it's also imperative we go to where we're going... and no, I will not tell you our destination."

“Fair enough, but if we’re going to be personally risking our asses to transport this cargo of yours to Ponyville, I think we deserve a little bit more of an incentive,” I say in an irritated tone.

“I met your brother shortly after he joined the Fireflies. He saved my ass more than once and I owe him a great deal,” Ocean explains, locking eyes with me “Apple Cake is a good stallion. I don’t know the exact details, but I know your last words and moments with him weren’t good ones.”

“He misses you. He regrets what happened. I promised him if I ever met you, I’d tell you where he was so you can reunite,” Ocean quickly adds.

“Our extra incentive is just where I can find my deadbeat brother? What if I don’t want to ‘reunite’ with his sorry ass?” I question harshly.

“No, it's not, but I figured it was worth mentioning, at least. I can offer more goods and the like that I can spare to give,” Ocean answers with a shrug “and what if I promised I’ll have every chapter of the Fireflies look for your kids?”

“What?!” I exclaim furiously as I jump to my hooves “they’re dead! Don’t you dare mention them EVER again if you want to keep drawing breath!!”

“Do you really believe that? That they’re dead, I mean,” Ocean asks calmly.

I glare daggers at Ocean for a moment before looking at the ground in front of me. If they were alive, wouldn’t I have found them by now? They would come looking for me, too, if they were alive... right? We’d be together by now, surely, if that were the case. Unless… they think I’m dead? Unless th-they gave up on finding me just as I’ve given up on finding them? Or… Or maybe they believe I abandoned them and hate me so much now that they’d rather live without me in their lives? No… No, my babies love me too much for that to be the case… Right?

Ugh. Hope is such a dangerous thing. I had hope for so long before it was crushed along with my spirit. Would I really want to risk being crushed and beat down a second time? No, I wouldn’t, but… sigh.

“How do you intend on keeping this promise? What if they find nothing?” I question in a much calmer tone.

“I’ll send out a mandatory order- enforced with strict punishments if disobeyed- with an accurate description of your kids. Daughters, wasn’t it? Two young fillies? Well, they're probably grown by now,” Ocean answers “but I will not let them stop until they find them, whether that be dead or alive.”

“And if they’re alive, we’ll bring them to the closest Firefly safe house and notify you. If they’re dead, we’ll recover their remains if we’re able to or find evidence of their demise,” She adds with an earnest, hopeful look.

“If you give me any sort of false hope… I’ll kill you,” I say sternly yet calmly.

“That’s more than fair. I will not stop you,” Ocean says with a solemn nod.

“So, just to make everything all nice and crystal clear, in exchange for the ‘expedited’ delivery of Firefly cargo to Ponyville, the Fireflies will give us all of their ration cards, all of Cobalt Blue’s ration cards and whatever weapons and ammunition we can recover from his 'hidden' caches?” Sapphire questions as she rubs her chin thoughtfully.

“In addition to whatever goodies I can spare, the last known location of Honey’s brother, Apple Cake, and a strictly enforced order to search for her daughters, but yes, that’s correct,” Ocean answers with another nod.

“But we have to recover the goods from Cobalt ourselves, no?” Sapphire asks, raising an eyebrow at Ocean.

“Yes and no. You’ll have to do most of the heavy lifting, but I will assist you the best I can, of course,” Ocean replies “you know, I was thinking it was time a larger business ‘bought out’ the ‘rights’ to Cobalt’s little sham of a shady business… if you catch my drift.”

“You’re suggesting we kill Cobalt and take all of his shit?” I question.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were against killing others all of a sudden,” Ocean replies sarcastically.

“Well, hold on just a moment, Honey. That’s not an entirely bad idea,” Sapphire says with a sly smirk “it does offer a solution to past, current and future problems. So, Ocean, where’s your piece at in this puzzle exactly?”

“If it means getting this cargo out of Canterlot ASAP, I’m ready to risk some of my little militia getting caught by MEDRA. I’ll have a small team put together,” Ocean explains “we’ll meet you there, distract his second in command and take out who we can.”

“And the rest is left up to us?” Sapphire asks.

“And the rest is left up to you,” Ocean replies with a nod “and once we get rid of Cobalt and his goons, my team and I will bring every bit of what we recover to your warehouse.”

“I did always wonder what his brains would look like on the floor,” Sapphire says with a chuckle “alright, if Honey has no objections… we’re in.”

“I don’t think anypony would have trouble sleeping at night if he suddenly stopped existing,” I say with a shrug “I’ve no objections, but I will just lightly emphasize that if you double cross us in any way, I will cut off your limbs and wings and throw you to the clickers.”

“I’ve got too much at stake here to even consider doing anything of the sorts. Hope you didn’t have plans for the day, because we need to do this now,” Ocean says, gesticulating the importance of ‘now’.

“Have you and your guys wait in that music store near Cobalt’s office. We’ll go get properly supplied and whatnot, but we’ll be waiting in the diner across the street,” Sapphire instructs.

“Why not wait in the same place?” Ocean asks.

“If this is so urgent, then I don’t think we have the time to listen to me explain my reasons,” Sapphire replies coolly.

“Alright, I get it. See you again soon, then,” Ocean says with a sigh “do I need to be escorted out or can I walk out of here without being shot?”

“You can walk out of here without being shot. Don’t worry, I’ll muzzle my dogs for you,” Sapphire says as she slides out of the chair and onto her hooves.

Ocean Breeze mumbles out a ‘thank you’ as Sapphire opens the office door and trots out onto the landing. Ocean and I follow her closely and stand off to either side of her. Sapphire props herself up against the railing and peers down at our lackeys milling about down below. A sharp, ear piercing whistle cuts through the air and quickly ushers in an immediate silence. Everypony stops in their tracks and directs their attention towards us. They gather together and stare up at us expectantly. Sapphire takes a brief moment to revel in the power she holds over every single member down below- as well as myself, to a certain extent.

“Oi, listen up good now, ‘cause I’m only saying this once! Ocean Breeze and her Firefly underlings are officially temporary allies,” Sapphire bellows, emphasizing the 'temporary' “shocking, I know, but this means keep your guns holstered and your dicks out of a twist! No exceptions, unless I or Honey say otherwise!”

“Until our business with them is concluded, if a single one of you steps out of line and picks a fight with them, we will not save you from being beaten or worse,” I add loudly as I peer down below.

We get a mixed reaction from the crowd down. Several of our lackeys appear confused, others genuinely surprised and a few appear angry that we would stoop so low. A few towards the back hurl insults in Ocean's direction, who only rolls her eyes and ignores them. Given our history and the bad blood between us and the Canterlot chapter of the Fireflies, these reactions are expected. A small group of angry looking individuals breaks off from the crowd and slinks off towards the outside loading area of the warehouse.

“But hey! A little bit of good news for all of ya! Our little operation is about to grow a considerable amount!” Sapphire proudly announces “yours truly- as well as Honey- are going to do the world a favor and take out the Cobalt Blue-sized trash stinking up part of the QZ!”

“Best behaviors and all that or we’ll bring back karaoke night,” I warn loudly.

“Huh? What… What happened at karaoke night?” Ocean questions with a look of concerned bewilderment.

“Mm. Was one of those things where you just had to be there,” I answer as I shake my head.

“Besides wonderfully terrible singing from a very drunk yours truly and a few others, let’s just make a long story as vague and short as we can and just say that karaoke night is a fate worse than death around here now,” Sapphire explains as she looks over at Ocean.

“I thought I wanted to know, but… now I’m not so sure that I do,” Ocean says as she shakes her head “I… will be leaving now. Thanks…?”

“You’re quite welcome. Now, toodaloo, cheerio, adios, see ya!” Sapphire says as she shoos off Ocean Breeze.

Ocean unfolds her wings and quickly takes off into the air. She flies upwards towards the ceiling, then dives down towards the wide open doors of the warehouse. We all watch as she flies out of the building and out of sight in a matter of seconds. I’ve never quite liked Ocean Breeze and the fact that she not only used my daughters against me to try to get me to do the job but actually succeeding in getting me to agree just makes my blood boil. Whatever. I guess I’m helping her now whether I like it or not. I’d rather begrudgingly do so than listen to Sapphire bitch me out for changing my mind.

I sigh softly as I look over at my ‘boss’. Sapphire flashes a toothy grin and shoots a wink my way. I gesture for her to lead the way to The Cove, a little arms and ammunition shop owned by our friend Dove and her siblings. Her shop and everything she sells is technically our property- the Underground’s, that is- and she herself is a member of our little business, but we graciously allow her to operate mostly independent from the rest of our Underground operations. Her shop is always a first stop for anypony heading out on a job, especially if that job requires us to go outside the Wall. Better safe than sorry and all that.

I grit my teeth together and hold back an angry growl. It’s a phrase that shoots my blood pressure up to dangerously high levels as soon as I hear it more often than not. You know, I think Larkspur would still be alive were it not for that stupid saying. ‘Things could be worse’, Apple used to say. Everything has been worse for me since that day and I’m fairly certain that’s just how it’s going to be until the day I die. I won’t complain if that’s any time soon. Sapphire might, though. It would be like a reverse-haunting. Instead of my ghost haunting her, her living self would terrorize and haunt my grave. Either that, or she would perform some kind of ritual to bring me back from the dead.

“Don’t tell me your old age is already catching up to ya, slowpoke,” Sapphire playfully jeers.

“I’m only four years older than you, dumbass. If I’m old, your insufferable ass is old,” I say snidely.

“Which is why we should get married before we spontaneously combust into ash and dust because our fragile, mortal bodies can't keep up with the flow of time,” Sapphire says rather matter-of-factly.

“Hell no. I’m not marrying you. If I did, you’d quickly be divorced a second time,” I say with a bit of disgust, mostly fake “I’d rather go swimming in a lake of acid.”

“Awe, I love you too, wifey-poo,” Sapphire jokes as she playfully punches my shoulder.

“Shut up,” I huff before quickly trotting past her.

Sapphire cackles as she swiftly catches up to me and bumps her hips against my own. She fills my ears with a bunch of her usual weird nonsense as we exit the warehouse and go back the way that I had come with Jacks and Guffy. I always wonder how or why I’m even still alive, but the truth of the matter is that, for the time being, Sapphire is the ‘why’ and ‘how’. Were it not for her, I would’ve never made it into the Canterlot Quarantine Zone. I would’ve been forced to continue living life always looking over my shoulders, always hungry, always exhausted from lack of sleep. Miserable, terrified, always wondering if the next corner I turn will be the end of me.

I’m still miserable, sometimes hungry and exhausted, but at least now I’m looking over my shoulders for different, more preferable reasons. Sapphire was already living in Canterlot when they set up the Zone and she was a part of the lucky few who originally made it inside. After losing Larkspur and being separated from my daughters, I had forgotten all about Sapphire. Maybe it was before then, actually, I don’t really remember to be honest. Her now ex-husband, who I had been dating not knowing he was married, was how she and I met. He left us both and that was that. We had coffee a couple of times, but afterwards we only talked on the phone and not often at that. Around that time was when she had moved to Canterlot, I believe.

The day I had made my way to the Canterlot Quarantine Zone, Sapphire had been amongst the small group selected that day for work duties outside of the Wall. MEDRA soldiers had spotted me before I had even realized I was anywhere near a Quarantine Zone. They hounded me and questioned me like I had committed some kind of terroristic act. I didn’t even get the chance to explain myself, much less tell them who I was, before they tackled me to the ground, shoved a scanner to my neck and a gun to my head. Sapphire recognized me during the process of being hounded and scanned and then vouched for my ‘good character’ once they declared me free from infection.

She more or less demanded they let me in and assured them that she would personally look after me. The fact that I’m here and on this job with her proves her efforts to get me in were successful… obviously. I owe Sapphire a great deal and although she drives me crazy more often than not, I love her dearly as a friend and I’m thankful for every day- and moment- we spend together. I’ve never really had a proper best friend, but I suppose Sapphire’s the closest thing I’ve got to one. We take care of one another and keep each other company, even when she’s on my last nerve. I suppose that does make us best friends in a technical aspect. Ugh. She would never let me hear the end of it if I decided to verbally declare us to be ‘best friends’.

***

Down beneath the Canterlot QZ, amongst the Undergrounds’ many tunnels and hidden passageways, Sapphire and I find ourselves in part of the sewers. It’s dark, musty and damp. Generally disgusting, really, but necessary to reach The Cove. We slosh through the cold, questionable water until we reach a nook with a maintenance door smack dab in the middle. Outside the door in the corner is an old metal barrel with a fire lit inside it, which tells us that Dove and her siblings are presently in the shop. Sapphire approaches the door and knocks in a specific pattern to alert our underlings of our presence.

It’s quiet for a moment, then we hear somepony approach the door. It opens just a crack as an eye peers out to assess who’s come knocking. The eye disappears as the door is swung wide open. A short pegasus mare with a dull grayish-blue coat, a short, wavy chestnut mane and dark gray eyes greets us with a wide, cheerful grin.

“Well, well, well! If it ain’t Boss One and Boss Two! Heading out on a lil’ adventure, eh?” The mare says with a hearty laugh.

“Hello, Turtle Dove. Yeah, you could say that,” Sapphire says with a sly grin.

"Because we are," I say in a mixture of minor confusion and annoyance.

Turtle Dove chuckles as she steps aside and gestures for us to come inside. As we enter a somewhat large room, Sapphire fills Dove in on our situation and the deal we’ve made with the Fireflies. This part of the room is shaped like an ‘L’ with a smaller room behind a metal door located in the back right corner. The entire room is lit by a large, old looking marquee arrow. A portion of the back left corner is sectioned off by counters made from scratch using metal barrels as well as various other scraps and pieces of usable junk. There’s a gate near the wall to allow access behind it.

Scraps of chainlink fencing are welded to the ceiling and the counter as a deterrent against thievery. There are small rectangular windows evenly spaced out in the fencing to allow transactions to be made and a section cut out to allow Dove and her siblings to get behind the counter without hitting their heads. The walls behind the counter are covered in weapon racks and filled with neatly assorted weapons ranging from small pistols to shotguns to rifles to crossbows as well as melee weapons like bats and various blades like hatchets, fire axes and machetes. Footlockers line the walls along the floor below the weapon racks in a neat and orderly fashion.

At the front of the room in the right most corner closest to the entrance is a billiards table, a rack holding four pool cues and a tall wooden table where three ponies sit playing a round of hold ‘em poker. The ponies sitting at the table look over and greet us. The tallest of the bunch is an earth pony stallion with a chocolate brown coat and a curly pastel green mane that nearly covers his pear colored eyes. Despite being the tallest, the stallion- named Pear Tree- is actually the youngest of the bunch. To his right is a unicorn mare with a dark charcoal coat and a soft pink, fluffy mane tied into a long ponytail with bangs that covers her right eye entirely, leaving only her left, golden eye exposed.

Her name is Blackbird Pirouette and she falls into the slot of ‘second youngest’ in the line of siblings. Despite being named after a songbird, Blackbird- or ‘BB’ as her siblings call her- was born deaf and- as a result- is entirely mute. A little ironic, if I’m honest. To the left of Pear Tree is another pegasus mare just barely taller than Dove with a dull brown coat, dull red eyes and a straight, chin-length cloudy blue mane with black jagged stripes and slicked back bangs. The mare- named Winter Partridge- is missing part of the left side of her nose and cheek. I don’t know much about how Partridge acquired such a gnarly scar other than that it was from some incident where a ‘disagreement led to an attempt on her life’.

Her own words, divulged willfully on her own accord. Out of respect, I’ve never pried deeper for more details about it, nor do I stare or mention it like it’s some crazy spectacle. In the years I spent roaming Equestria on my own and doing hell-worthy things to survive, I’ve had several of my own close calls with batshit crazy ponies trying to take my life. It’s a bit traumatizing, so I get her ‘lack of eagerness’ to share the ‘juicy’ details about how she got her scar. I know for some, talking about the horrible things they’ve endured makes things better and they’re able to move on and heal and all that other bullshit, but that's not the case for others who've dealt with the same shit. Talking doesn’t change the past nor does it fix anything and the saying ‘time heals all wounds’ is a load of bullshit.

Some things might heal, but some wounds will never close and the scars of things that have healed will always hurt or leave you numb. In a world full of death, decay and chaos, there’s no such thing as ‘peace’. Not true peace, at least. Until every last one of us dies, succumbs to this damn fungal infection or we find a way to ‘cure’ it, that’s just how it’s going to be. It doesn’t matter if we like it or not. This infection and the things it creates don’t care about our feelings or our well beings. Sometimes you can’t help but think ‘why me’ or ‘why them’ when you lose ponies to hoards of infected. In reality, they didn’t target you specifically. You were at the wrong place, at the wrong time and Lady Luck had long abandoned you.

“So, tell me how you were thinking of approaching things,” Dove says “are we thinking of going in guns-a-blazing, nice and stealthy… a healthy mix of both?”

“I was hoping we could do things a little bit quietly. We don't want to be attracting the attention of MEDRA while we savor every last bit of killing Cobalt,” Sapphire says as she strokes her chin thoughtfully.

“We also don’t want to destroy any of the goods he keeps stashed away in that damn office of his,” I add, focusing my attention on Dove.

“So, would you like the usual then?” Dove asks.

“Don’t fix what ain’t broke,” Sapphire replies with a shrug “they haven’t failed us yet.”

“Alrighty, then. Uno momento, my good mares,” Dove says with a nod of her head.

Dove goes behind the counter and opens up the footlocker closest to the gate. She pulls out two saddlebags and tosses them onto the counter. She pulls a new-looking revolver and 9mm pistol from the racks, holds them with her wings and gathers their holsters. Dove finds their respective types of ammunition from other footlockers on the floor and brings three boxes of each kind over to the counter. She lays them down and then fetches two different knives and their respective sheaths before setting them down on the counter next to the guns. For Sapphire, she brings a trailing point knife. For myself, she brings a kukri knife; a long standing favorite of mine.

Sapphire looks over at Blackbird, Pear and Partridge and leaves from her place beside me to join them in their game of poker.

“Mind if I take Dove’s place for a moment or two?” Sapphire questions.

“Sure, Boss One. Maybe you’ll improve her luck,” Partridge answers in a scratchy, gruff voice.

“Well, it hasn’t failed me yet, has it? Lady Luck has blessed me well,” Sapphire says with a smirk.

I lightly shake my head and let out a short snort at her comment. I lean against the counter and watch Dove load the clip of the 9mm and the cylinder of the revolver. She holsters each gun and attaches the 9mm to Sapphire’s saddlebag and the revolver to mine. She does the same with our knives and securely fastens them. Dove places two boxes of respective ammo into our bags, then pulls out two small first aid kits from underneath the counter and places them inside as well. Lastly, but certainly not least, Dove takes out a pair of military grade gas masks that we use in case we encounter fungus spores on missions that take us outside of the Zone.

"I got a few new goodies in that last shipment, Boss Two. Want a binocular or two thrown in today?" Dove says as she gestures to the goods behind her.

"Sure. Maybe I can shove them up Sapphire's ass if she gets on my nerves," I say with a shrug.

"Huh? What are we putting up my ass?" Sapphire questions from across the room, her ears perked in curiosity.

Dove, Pear Tree and Partridge laugh and chuckle at Sapphire. Blackbird simply stares with a small smile on her face, however, I know from experience that she's very aware of what's going on. She's very good at reading lips and even better at mouthing words. I'm not very good at lip reading, unfortunately, so sometimes I have to rely on her siblings to translate.

"Is binoculars all you got?" I ask Dove, completely ignoring Sapphire.

"I got a few new, different guns, including a rocket launcher I’ve got to assemble, but not anything you could use today,” Dove says thoughtfully “mostly heavy guns and the like… oh! Actually, that reminds me of something!”

“What’s that?” I question.

“We were going through the usual routine after they delivered our shipment when I came across a crate full of stolen MEDRA-made weapons. I think I found something you might really enjoy,” Dove answers with an excited grin.

“You gonna show it to me or just talk about it?” I ask, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Follow me. We decided we’d wait on putting these out for sale until we got approval from you and Boss One,” Dove replies as she gestures for me to follow her.

I merely nod as Dove trots out from behind the counter and leads me to the small room in the corner. She opens the door and we both step inside. There are four twin-sized beds in the back of this room. Two are neatly made while the other two are messy. Each bed has a different bed set on it in order to distinguish whose bed is whose. The bed in the leftmost corner is plain and simple with a color scheme that reminds me of a sunset. The bed next to it is entirely cactus and tumbleweed themed and looks like a tornado ran over it. The next bed is entirely unkempt and black with one singular red pillow and the bed in the rightmost corner is vintage-y with its old-fashioned, colorful quilted patchy style. It seriously reminds me of my grandma’s old bedroom.

Against the wall, tables fill the small gaps between each of the beds. Each table has a lamp switched off on top of it. On the side of the room Dove and I currently stand, metal shelves with various boxes and objects line the shelves. To my left are two crates lying on the floor in the corner, one closed and the other with its lid removed and placed behind it. Both crates have ‘MEDRA’ stamped all over along with warnings not to open unless ‘authorized’ to do so. Dove walks over to the boxes and peers into the one currently open.

I watch her as she sifts through the open crate to find this mystery item she claims that I’ll enjoy. After a minute or two, she finally finds the object in question and pulls it out. It looks like a pistol of some kind, but completely different from any gun I’ve ever seen. It’s mostly dark blue with black, gray and yellow accents. The back half of it has a typical looking grip, but I see no place for a magazine at the bottom and it has no hammer or slide. There’s a little switch for the safety just below the oddly placed trigger.

Instead of the trigger and trigger shield being in its typical place below the slide and at the front of the grip, it’s in the center of the gun near the top just behind the barrel. The word ‘PUSH’ is printed onto the side of the trigger. The barrel is taller and wider than the average pistol barrel. What makes it much different from a normal handgun- aside from the previously stated- is the fact that the tip end of the barrel appears to have a taser attachment at the front, prongs and all. It’s shaped like one of those arch blocks the come in the wooden block sets for children. You know, the ones with an arch at the top and a flat bottom for easy stacking just… in taser form, I guess. There's also a small, square protrusion on the top and bottom of this odd barrel top, both of which have two very tiny, circular light bulbs at the end.

The overall design is sleek, seamless and- honestly- even a bit futuristic looking. MEDRA is printed on the barrel just before this taser-y tip. Dove turns it over in her hoof and shows me the bottom of the barrel. There is a horizontal opening that cuts somewhat deep into the barrel, which I assume is where the magazine goes. Dove holds the gun out to me and I take it from her with my magic.

“I was looking at the shipping manifest that came with these crates and apparently these are all brand new weapons that MEDRA HQ is shipping out to all Quarantine Zones. What's left of 'em, anyways. High tech stuff. Powerful, even,” Dove explains as she sifts through the box once more “according to said manifest, this puppy is officially called the ‘Savage-X Taser Pistol Version 1’. Fancy, huh?”

“How exactly does it work?” I question as I look it over.

“It appears that it fires like a typical gun, except for the fact that the bullets it fires unfolds once it leaves the barrel and reveals a set of prongs that will sink into your target’s flesh,” Dove answers “and apparently it packs quite the punch for its size. Three-thousand-five-hundred volts to be exact.”

“If it doesn’t outright kill the target, it at least leaves them very incapacitated, then. I can only imagine the things MEDRA would use these for,” I say in genuine awe “fascist bastards.”

“There was only one in the crates that were stolen from them. One gun and one box of ammunition,” Dove says as she pulls a box of ammo from the crate "I know you don't need me of all ponies to tell you this, but I would save it for emergencies. There are only twenty bullets in the box."

The box of ammunition she pulls from the crate is vertically thin but big horizontally. It’s pale blue with lightning bolt designs and the name of the gun printed on it in black ink. Dove lays the box on its side before opening it up and pulling out a magazine clip with five bullets preloaded into it. The clip appears to be designed to be loaded horizontally into the gun. She turns the clip so that it’s showing the very last bullet. It’s bright yellow and silver in the middle. I can see just how sharp the barbs on the prongs are. I’ve been tased once before and just looking at these nasty looking barbs makes my skin hurt.

I take the clip and load it into the gun. Instantly, the lights on the protrusions on the barrel begin to glow blue very softly. Dove closes the box of ammunition and gives it to me. She returns to the crate once more and finds the holster that goes along with the Savage-X Taser Pistol. I take that from her as well using my magical telekinesis and holster my shiny new gun. Dove was right. I’m smitten with it. I know I will very, very much enjoy using it on some poor, unlucky bastard at some point or another.

“I haven’t tested it, so I’m not sure how well it actually performs. I figured you could get the chance to test it in my stead while out on your adventure,” Dove says as she gestures towards the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have a thorough report by the time we come back,” I say with a smirk as I turn and exit the room.

“Oi, you ready to go yet? We need to get a move on,” Sapphire says as I trot back over to the counter.

“You should take some lessons from Sapphire, shortstack,” Pear Tree says to Dove.

“Oh, shut up, would you? I don’t even like hold ‘em poker no how,” Dove snaps.

Partridge and Pear Tree snicker at Dove’s response while Blackbird just ignores them as she gathers all the cards on the table and neatly stacks them in the center. Sapphire rises up from the table and walks over to me as I take the saddlebag meant for myself and attach the new gun’s holster next to my revolver. I securely fasten it around my waist before grabbing Sapphire’s and tossing it to her. She gives me a thankful nod before securing her own bags around her waist. Dove goes back behind the counter and quickly fetches two black-colored binoculars. I take them from her and put one in my bag and the other in Sapphire's.

“Ready to go kick some ass and take out the trash?” Sapphire questions with a big grin.

“You know it."