The bright morning sun casted scattered, violet rays across a vast snowy desert.

Mountains, hills and frozen forests made up the bulk of the horizon, beautifully illuminated by the dawn.

Yet the desert wasn’t empty. Somewhere inside, a rusty brown blip broke up the greys and whites. The smoky stacks of a town now little more than thin wisps miles away. Not even enough to extend beyond one’s thumb should they take the distance test.

Within that tiny blip however, life resided and resumed. Hallways stuffed with backpacks and suitcases. Sons and daughters singing songs with their loved ones. Games and drinks shared by a pool table and conversations held by the most distant of occupations. All united by a common tragedy, a common identity, and common family.

All was not right within the mighty machine though.

Rini sat alone inside the Rustbucket’s bridge, staring mindlessly at the now empty spot still stained with dried blood, the majority of which had been cleaned.

A while night of travel and turmoil had taken its toll upon the poor girl, and such was evident with a simple look at her eyes. Darkend rings and bags burdened by stress weighed heavily upon her eyes. Still they refused to close, refused to let go, to drift into that peaceful slumber.

Too much had happened for her to simply shake it.

It had all went by so fast. The storm, the military, Gale, Brambles…

Riley

She felt a hole in her gut where something should’ve been. Where somedog should still be, sitting right beside her offering words of comfort and congratulations. Instead, only the empty void of her inner thoughts were there to pay her any mind.

How long had she been there? Time seemed meaningless for all the power it held. Rini remembered driving, and driving…and driving…then stopping at some point. Now here she was, and what did she have to gain from it?

She wasn’t sure…only the weight on her shoulders brought her any sense of familiarity.

When the door opened she didn’t pay it any mind. Her ears picked it up but…what was the point?

The heavy steps quickly led to her identifying it as Brambles, even before his scent hit. The Terrier sat down beside her and remained quiet. A minute later and the mutt placed a paw on her shoulder, which she neither protested nor acknowledged.

For a short time, the two just sat. Loose cloth seals over broken windows flapped in the wind, alongside the rumbles of Rusty’s engines. Eventually though, Brambles broke the quiet with a soft, sombre voice.

“I get it.”

“Hm?” Rini shifted her eyes but her head held in place.

“I miss her too, Rini. Even if I didn’t know her as well.”

The Greyhound’s mouth moved and twitched, but she struggled to form words. Her body still waking from the stillness. “I-It h-h-happend…s-so fast…s-still feels like…she’s here.”

“Yeah…I know. You’ll have a lot to work through.”

“W-What’s h-happend t-to them?” Rini asked, hoping for something to distract her for the moment.

“Steel coffins in storage. Ground’s too frozen to dig graves so…best we got until we find somewhere better.” Finally, Rini drew the strength to pry her head and turn to him. Brambles sat with a comforting grin and gently rubbed her back. “Unless ya don’t want her to come along?”

The ghost of a grin graced Rini’s cheeks, and she glanced back at that formally bloodied spot. “I…I-I dunno.”

Brambles nodded. “Give it some time, we’ve been through a lot.” He gave her a reassuring pat and Rini felt…better would be too generous but it helped. Despite everything she felt calmed, comforted, more collected by his kind words.

She had to remind herself it was Brambles she was speaking to, normally he was all over the place.

Here however, she was seeing a side she’d only ever caught glimpses of.

“Y-Yeah, s-still crazy to think. Half a t-town…just like that.” She replied.

“You’ll at least be happy to hear Alpine’s talkin’ to the dogs we napped, and Cole’s keeping the lights on. Some of the ponies are even helping!”

Brambles climbed to stand and offered her a paw. “Why don’t we go for a walk? Gale’s waiting outside.”

She turned to him and glanced at the offer. Slowly, shyly, she grabbed it and he hoisted her to stand.

Methodically he moved to open the door and led her through the rusted halls of the Rustbucket.

Rini still heard the low mechanical growls of the engines, the grinding of unseen gears and the bubbling within pipes. But she also heard the cries of playful children, casual conversation and the relief in voices too numerous to pick out. Like an orchestra of strings, none louder than the others.

Even if the bar was already set pretty high.

“I never told you what happened to my parents, did I?” Rini shook her head as he looked at her.

“I remember saying we’d talk about it…I think.”

He smiled and slowed down, now almost bumping shoulders with her.

“When I was fourteen, something happened to my mom’s brain that made her forget things. It started small, dates, street names, the things she bought. After a couple years though it got so bad she couldn’t speak, let alone remember my name. I can still remember our last real hug together.”

Rini grimaced and turned towards him, but Brambles carried on with only a soft smile upon his face. Likely lost to a good memory.

“Then my dad…he actually encouraged me to move to Cherrywood. That was…I think a couple weeks? Before a fire at work burned him to a crisp.” Brambles smile waned and he rubbed his neck, his breathing audible.

“Oh…Brambles…” Rini spoke softly. “I…I-I’m sorry I asked.”

“I’ve gotten over it by now!” He turned back to her, his smile wide again, “But I’ve learned something: Good things don’t happen to good people. Things just…happen. Since then I’ve spent every day like it was my last, and I haven’t looked back.”

A shockwave reverberated through Rini’s system as she saw her friend from a new light. Her own loss not overshadowed, but now mirrored by the emotions of another.

Somewhere inside, she was able to take some comfort in that. Her burden no longer solely hers to bear, and shoulders no longer so heavy. She quietly nodded in agreement and forced a smile, having little to add.

They passed through the breakroom and found it full of life. Ponies of all kinds shared drinks (mostly water) and played with the few amenities on offer. Board games from home, darts upon a crude drawing, and the pool table was full of spectators. It was some confetti and balloons short of a real party.

At least by pony standards anyway.

It still warmed her heart to walk through such a place. A rising tide of butterflies gathered in her stomach and her forced smile quickly became genuine as she watched them all gather.

She’d done this, Rini Burrows had enabled this.

It was a team effort of course but she'd played her part and played it well. That in itself was reward enough and she knew were Riley still around, she’d be singing her praises.

Something had come and filled the hole in her being. An inextinguishable warmth that burned brightly, and one she clinged to.

Peering through the window onto the garage bay, even more were out and about. All enjoying breakfast by the food truck Brambles had wrangled with them-

Rini had to rub her eyes to make sure she was seeing things correctly. “How did he manage THAT?” She turned to meet Brambles half confused and glanced at the truck again.

“What? Think I was gonna leave without something for our bellies? I think they’re mostly serving soup right now. But hey! Plenty of spices!”

She shut her eyes and bowed her head in a half-decent attempt to conceal her laughter, but knew all too well how that worked. “Damn it Brambles.” She sqeaked.

“I’ll get you a hot-dog afterwards and we can play something. Come on!” He patted her back and headed through a door, the hot air briefly vented from the room as Rini followed suit.

After a quick ladder descent they navigated the packed garage bay, now littered with makeshift tables and a rainbow of colours. Rini could make out a small crowd gathered in the corner praying with Radiant Path, Pencil Sketch was helping a few fillies and colts draw, and Two Bits was shifting through all kinds of lists taking stock of the Rustbucket’s inventory.

A hundred other things went on likewise, too many for her to pick out. Each their own little world bumping into another’s, and she stayed close to Brambles who at some point picked up a large trunk he began to carry with him as they reached the ramp.

Once more she reminded herself that she had enabled this, along with all the others that worked with her.

It was a warm feeling, and she loved it.

Outside, she quickly descended the ramp behind Brambles and glanced towards a herd of kids playing in the snow. It was enough to make her cringe with glee but in a good way, it was so pony it hurt.

Wrapping around the tread she caught sight of Gale taking to an earth pony who worked on a large, boxy camera. All kinds of wires, glass vials and copper casing lined the device, with a small tray of gunpowder and a pull fuze nestled on the side.

Gale saw them coming and excused himself. As the two walked towards each other Rini could sense the stallion’s discomfort from looks alone.

He approached and rubbed his shoulder with a hoof, his voice subdued to that above a whisper. “Hey Rini…I uh…” Then subtly shook his head from side to side, unable to meet her eyes. “Ah know things got a lil’ hectic last night, and I wanna apologise for my behaviour. Ah just…too much was on the line, an I was angry.”

Rini was about to speak but thought back to the moment Riley had been shot. She remembered her own rage, her own anger, and the knowledge of what she’d done on impulse stole the air from her lungs.

There was a rise in her core that wanted to be angry and to condemn him but…she’d arguably killed more from that one act alone.

If there was something she never wanted to be, at least knowingly, it was a hypocrite.

Her unspoken words gave way to a deep, knowing sigh as she rewrote her script.

“As much as I don’t wanna admit it, I understand. I’m not innocent anymore either, but it doesn’t make things right. Now Riley’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry for yer loss Rini, she was a fine woman. Helped me out on more than a few occasions.” He forced a faint smile that quickly vanished. “Is there anything ah can do ta help?”

“Weeeeeeell, you didn’t lose everything. Mom’s left a little gift for you.”

Rini nodded to Brambles, who stepped forward and planted the trunk in front of the pegasus. His eyes went wide as he leaned forward, poking the handle.

“No way, she didn’t.”

Both dogs smiled as he pushed it open and like a colt on Hearth’s Warming, watched his face light up with delight. “Ma costumes!? How in the buck did she save em?!” He laughed, holding up the one of the pirate captain.

“One of the mutts that looted your place came to her to sell them. Same couldn’t be said for your books.”

“Ah that’s fine! There’s copies, ya only get one Captain Lake Legend!” Exclaimed Gale, his voice more grandiose as he spoke the name.

Rini smiled as he closed the trunk, his good wing fluttered with joy as he turned up to her.

“So…what now?” Asked Brambles. “Where do we go? Can’t stay out here forever.”

“I think…we should take a moment, settle and relax. We can make a plan tonight but for now, I think we’ve all earned some rest.” Rini smiled as her friends nodded in agreement.

All three suddenly heard a whistle from the camera pony, who pointed towards a spot beside the Rustbucket.

With a shrug they ventured over and took positions. They each forced smiles as Rini’s mind raced with thoughts.
“Rover, I don’t know if you're still out there, but I’ll come find you…no matter what.”

“I promise.”

“Say cheese!”

FLASH!

Author's Note

This was a ride. I'd like to say thanks for reading this far and going all the way through. I'll admit I originally planned a lot more for this story but time, budget and motivational constraints held me back. I'm unsure if I'll make a sequel so I wanted to end on an open, but nice note.

It's a crazy world out there and I have to pick and choose what I give my time. So thank you for deciding to spend yours reading my story. I hope to get back to this eventually, but it might be a while.

Happy remembrance day.