I rushed out of the lighthouse, Night Strike following close behind. My mind raced with ideas as to what had happened to the Valkyrie, each more ludicrous than the last - Did somepony steal it? How the hell did they move it? Why didn’t we hear anything? I panted as we rushed across the land bridge, my leg starting to ache again from the excess effort of running. I noticed flickering orange light emanating from up on the coastal cliffs as we approached, my mind becoming even more confused. As we raced to the top of the seaside cliffs and made way towards where the light was, though, we began to slow, now able to see what the light was coming from.

A small fire had been set up a short ways inland, a few ponies gathered around it, a couple others setting up tents. I stood still, very confused, Night Strike darting past me. She raced up to one of the ponies, leaping on top of him and pinning him to the ground. “Where the hell is the Valkyrie?!” She shouted angrily. The colt screeched in a very un-masculine manner, trying to push her off of him.

“Get offa me!” He shouted, shoving at her. I rushed over and pulled Night Strike off of him before she could start tearing his throat out. He sat up, a few of the other ponies stepping in between us and him as he stood back up and attempted to calm down. “What’s wrong with you?” He said, stepping back from Night Strike a little. Night Strike turned to face the ditch that the Valkyrie had been sitting in before Aerith had got it back onto its wheels.

As she walked over to it, I noticed Aerith standing in front of it, Crash Dive arguing with a familiar lanky mare. Extra Edition glanced over to see us, her slightly smug smile growing wider as she saw us. “Ah, there’s the two ponies I was looking for!” She pulled out her notebook and quill, the tip poised on the paper to begin scrawling down notes. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about a rumored crash here yesterday?”

“At four in the goddess-damned morning? Yes, I kind of do mind.” Night Strike snapped. Aerith and Crash Dive trotted back up to us, Aerith looking somewhat nervous. “Now what did your little gang do with the Valkyrie?” Night Strike asked. Extra raised an eyebrow, scribbling something down in her notebook.

“Valkyrie? Is that some sort of code name for a weapon you five found while you were rummaging around in Seahoof?” She sounded very interested, her smile growing wider. Shit, shut up, Strikey! I elbowed her in the ribs as I stepped up to Extra. Night Strike grimaced, but clearly received the intended message. She trotted back around to the ditch, Aerith trotting over to her.

“What are you doing here, Extra? Because I kind of doubt you’re just on a camping trip.” I glanced back to the other ponies, who were watching our argument intently. Extra chuckled a little, trotting back over to the group of ponies gathered around the fire.

“Please, Static, give me a little more credit than that. If I was trying to perform some sort of covert dirt-gathering, I’d hardly set up a tent in such an easily visible spot.” She sat down on a log pulled up by the fire, facing us again. “And I already said what I’m here for. Rumor has it that an aircraft that passed Hopeville undetected crashed somewhere around here, and I want to know the story.” She pulled her quill back out and licked the tip before placing it back to the paper. “This place sure does seem to get a lot of one way air traffic.” She smiled smugly.

Crash Dive stepped forward again, her visor shimmering in the light from the fire. “You’re trespassing on private property. Now get out of here.” Crash Dive threatened. Extra’s smile faltered a little as she shifted on the log. I stepped back, hoping Crash would be able to successfully intimidate them into leaving.

“Private property? You don’t have a zoning board to back that up, let alone a deed!” Extra chuckled. The rest of the camping party didn’t look so confident, a few of them stepping over to the tents to begin dismantling them. Crash Dive took another step forward, Extra’s smile dropping as she stood up. “Alright, alright, we’re leaving. You’re not doing yourselves any favors, though. Flying craft crashing and being spotted after you guys show up digging around in military bases, a large robotic wreck northeast of Seahoof, two towns now armed to the teeth, squabbling, and paranoid of air attacks any day?” Extra slipped her quill behind her ear, starting to help pack up the camp. “Let’s just say, it’s not helping your image.”

The camp of news reporters was soon trotting away down the road, leaving Night Strike, Crash Dive, Aerith, and myself left standing next to the Valkyrie’s ditch. I turned to look at the bare spot of ground, a few tufts of grass beginning to crop up near the edges of the torn up earth. “Well, I guess that’s one problem. What the heck happened to the plane, though?” A small flash of a smile came upon Aerith's lips as her horn began to glow. In the dim light, the outline of the Valkyrie began to flicker into existence where it had always been, before fizzling away into nothingness again.

I gave sigh of relief, quite thankful that it hadn’t been stolen. Forgot she could do that. “That’s good to see, at least... Are you sure you can’t cast that spell on me next time we have to break in somewhere?” Aerith let out a small silent chuckle, and we turned to head back into the lighthouse. Scouring Charge stood at the doorway, rubbing his eyes and looking confused.

“Wha jus’ happened?” he asked, yawning. Crash Dive simply moved him away from the door, walking upstairs, Aerith following her. I stepped into the lower room as Night Strike gave a quick explanation to Scouring, who promptly nodded and headed back upstairs. I rolled over on my bed, Night Strike shutting the door behind her before she flopped down onto her own. I closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep, though Extra’s words were stuck in my head. I sighed to myself, adjusting my posture to be a bit more comfortable. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try and tell some more people about us… just, not via Extra’s news reports.

---

I twisted the handle of the small tank, its engine beginning to rev and trundle along the ground as the others sat on the back. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” Crash Dive asked as we rolled up the hill to the mainland. I gave the ditch a wide berth, not entirely remembering where the Valkyrie was when it was visiblle and not wanting to crash into it by accident.

“No, but as much as I’d rather not admit it, Extra did have a point,” I said, turning and starting to head up towards Maple Creek. "If things start to get out of control, we’re probably pretty high on the list for who to blame.” I reached down and rubbed my hind leg a little, the bullet hole now just a slightly reddened patch. Ooh, it felt good to not have to wear those bandages anymore. Night Strike gave an unsure ‘eh’. I shrugged. “Well, it still wouldn’t hurt to dispel any suspicions we can.”

I drove alongside the river flowing from Maple Creek, searching for a shallow place to cross. “You aren’t really planning on giving Extra an interview though, are you? She’ll just make things worse! She’ll probably say we were the ones who launched those Harrier things, or something!” I revved the engine, forcing the small tank forward and into the flowing water, Night Strike having to catch herself. Scouring Charge grabbed onto the sides of the trailer to steady himself as the water pushed at us. The engine whined, but we made it across with little trouble. Probably good we unloaded the bombs back in the Lighthouse earlier...

“Oh, no, no, c'mon Night Strike, that’d be horribly stupid!” Night Strike raised an eyebrow. “The KAOS guy keeps begging us for an interview on his show, but it's not exactly groveling. He’s probably at least a little less desperate than Extra... not to mention the radio show will reach a lot more ponies than Extra’s newsletter.” The edge of town began to appear over the horizon, a few ponies tending to the farms and wooded areas on the outskirts already. “And Ripple did say he’d give us a ride on Trout whenever we’d like.”

I turned to drive around the edge of town, pulling up to the docks where Trout was bobbing in the river. The engine died down as we all hopped out of the tank and trailer, myself looking down at my hoof - well, mud on a former bullet wound, that's one of the weirder things I've felt in my lifetime. Night Strike knocked gently on the small shack where Ripple’s touring office was, glancing towards myself as I caught up. There was a small scuffle before the door creaked open, revealing the aging stallion. “Ah, ahoy, what can I do fer you guys today?” He asked, smiling.

“We were wondering if you’re still offering that trip on Trout.” Ripple smiled and nodded, stepping back to let us into the office. He opened the drawer of his desk, pulling out a large map along with a compass and a small pencil. I looked around the office, noticing it was slightly cleaner than the last time we’d been in.

“Oh, aye, absolutely, I’ve been dying to have another reason to take her out again.” Ripple laughed. He slipped a captain’s hat off of a coat rack, stashing the compass and pencil in it before placing it on his head, holding the rolled up map under one leg. We trotted back out to the boat, Ripple reaching over to pull the small boarding plank out from between the dock and Trout. He paused upon seeing Aerith’s magical aura surround the mini tank and its trailer, beginning to slowly lift it into the air. “Er… you planning on bringing that, too?”

Aerith nodded, and Ripple looked back up to the boat, biting at his lip for a moment. “Alright, but keep it to the center as best as you can, and don’t congregate around it. Don’t want to end up running into the ground.” He hopped over the side and onto the deck, myself following as Night Strike helped to guide the tank into place before fluttering down onto the boat. Trout rocked in the water as the small tank was placed near the rear of the main area. Scouring Charge pulled the boarding plank back across after climbing on deck.

I followed Ripple to the back of the boat as Crash Dive leaned onto the railing, looking forward into town. Ripple turned his head, yelling over to Scouring Charge. “Aye, could you untie us from the dock?” Scouring nodded and his horn lit up as the ropes secured to the dock undid themselves. Ripple stepped up to a large winch, a thick, heavy chain dangling from it to the water. Anchor, right? “Mind helping me out?” I nodded and we both took a side of the crank, which squeaked as it turned, the chains rattling as a large anchor was slowly drawn up out of the river below.

Ripple rushed up to the bridge, taking a hold of the wheel and spinning it as the boat began to drift downstream away from the shore. “Casting off!” He cried before taking hold of a lever and pushing it forward, cranking a small valve at the same time. I could hear the engine below us sputter before roaring to life, the boat’s progress downstream slowing before it began to chug forward, heading up the river. Ripple relaxed for a moment, unfurling the map laid out on the table of dials and lights in front of him. “Now, anywhere in particular you guys wanted to go? The waterfall past the lake is a pretty sight, and we could always try fishing in some of the calmer spots, if I didn’t forget to toss my poles back below deck last time.” He called down to us from a window.

“Think you could take us out to the Island Radio KAOS is on?” I called back up to him. Night Strike leaned against the side of the boat as well, looking down at the water flowing past us as Scouring Charge watched Maple Creek slowly fall away as we headed upriver. “And shouldn’t we be going the other way for that?” Ripple shook his head.

“Nah, the river gets too shallow downstream. We’ll have to go up to take a deeper one down to the coast. It shouldn’t take more than a couple hours, though.” I nodded and Ripple slid his head back through the window, taking a hold of the large wheel again. I walked up to the front of the boat, watching as the countryside slid past us. The sun shone down on us as we travelled along the river, the water flowing a little slower further up, allowing Trout to push ahead faster.

Night Strike idly swung her legs over the side of the boat, dropping off and spreading her wings. She flapped them, flying alongside Trout as Crash Dive watched her. Night Strike dipped and weaved, a look of relaxation crossing her face as she glided through the air. I scooted over to Crash Dive, noticing her head drooping a little. “You miss flying?” I asked, trying to comfort her. She stood silently before pulling the mask of her helmet off - not enough to be easily noticed, but just open enough to stop her voice from coming through the modulator.

“Yeah. It’s… hard. To put it lightly.” She muttered, her head still tilted down towards the water below. “The drill sergeant always had us up in the air by sunrise every morning. A lot of the other trainees didn’t like getting up so early, but… well, I suppose I didn’t like the lack of sleep either, but…” She paused, taking a deep breath, trying to keep her voice stable. “The cool air, the sun just coming up as we flew around the compound…” Her voice trailed off as she let her head fall onto the edge of the boat, one hoof coming up around over her head. She sniffled, my ears falling back as she began to sob. “Celestia, why? I… I just…” She tried to speak, but was soon crying, her tears falling down off her muzzle and into the river.

I lifted my hoof up, placing it around Crash Dive. She sniffed again, not moving as I gave her a soft squeeze. “I’m sorry.” I said softly. Crash Dive leaned into me a little, as Ripple spun the wheel and turned into a larger branch of the river heading back towards the coast. As the boat straightened out, she drew in a ragged breath before standing up straight and fixing her mask back on.

“Thanks, Static. I… thanks.” I gave her a small smile, both of us leaning back onto the front of the boat, watching for the cliffs of the coast to come into view in the distance.

---

“Alright, hold on!” Ripple called out. Trout banged against some large rocks in the river, Scouring Charge stumbling a little on the pitching deck. The cliffs towered above us as Ripple attempted to keep a hold of the wheel. The normally calm river had turned into a short series of rapids as we’d approached the coastline, several chunks of the cliffs having fallen down into the water below.

I grabbed onto the mini tank as the boat tilted again to keep myself from falling over. “I thought you said this way was the safer route!” I shouted back up to Ripple. Trout hit another rock, this time a little harder, and I was knocked onto my side, Aerith flapping her wings to stay above the deck. Jeez, this thing is going to sink before we even make it into open water! I grabbed onto the small tank for balance as I pulled myself back onto my hooves, Ripple managing to maneuver around some more rocks. The river began to slow, opening up into the ocean as Ripple steered us away from the rapids and out into the open waters.

He trotted down from the bridge, Trout slowly heading along the coast, Crash’s lighthouse standing tall in the distance. “Aye, sorry about that, I suppose my map’s a bit outdated. Hopefully somepony at KAOS knows a safer way back.” I looked up at the lighthouse as we passed by it, trying to see if Extra had come back for another try for an interview. Nothing appeared to be moving in the area, though, save for a large mutated scorpion flailing its pincers around up by the minefield - we really need to lay down more of those things before we get some kind of infestation.

As we rounded the peninsula Crash Dive’s lighthouse sat on, the large island Radio KAOS was stationed on came into view. Several large buildings and some trees dotted the island mainly, though the true marvel was the enormous battleship docked on the island. Its deck was littered with large turreted guns, making Trout and the guns we'd put on her look like toys in comparison. As we drew closer, the large form of the ship dwarfed Trout, but also allowed us to see just how empty it was - nothing seemed to be moving aboard the deck. Ripple stepped back up to the controls, slowly turning Trout in towards the harbor. A pony waved to us from the pier, Ripple slowing the boat down before docking us. Night Strike and myself both tossed a few ropes overboard, the pony on the dock quickly going to work securing us in.

The pony that had waved greeted us as we lowered the ladder and began to climb off of the boat. “Hey, White Noise of Radio KAOS at your service!” He said cheerfully. “We don’t get many visitors here. You here for a tour of the ship, the island, or to stop by to see the studio?” Ripple remained on the boat, climbing back down into the lower deck to retrieve some fishing gear.

“Uh, can we get a tour of the studio?” I asked, Night Strike passing along a look of slight disappointment. I rolled my eyes - Oh, hush, we can look at all the fancy guns after we get the interview. White Noise nodded and began to lead us down the pier, Ripple sitting atop the mini tank and casting out into the sea. We all trotted over towards the imposing battleship, White Noise trotting up some stairs leading to a plank connected to the lower deck. Night Strike giggled excitedly as we followed, her eyes darting about between the large gun turrets.

“Uh, ok, studio is…” White Noise paused, his hoof drifting between three hallways. “This way.” He said, heading down it towards another set of stairs. “Sorry, I’ve only been here a few days, I’m still memorizing the lay-out.” We began to climb a long set of steep stairs, looping back and forth and back and forth. Night Strike began to pant a little as we climbed, trotted down another corridor, climbed a few more steps, doubled back, and found another set of stairs to climb. To my relief, we were soon climbing up into a cramped room, a small sign next to the door revealing we were now in the communications tower. A large red light beside the door was slowly flashing, the words ‘on air’ glowing on a terminal below it. White Noise peeked in through the door, scratching at his mane. “It says we’re on but, I don’t think the DJ’s talking right now. He’s usually pretty open to visitors.” He slowly opened the door and stepped through.

We all piled into the room lined with large windows revealing the ship below us. A stallion was laying back on his chair in front of a repurposed array, several lights cracked and damaged, several sliders installed on the face of the desk. Music played softly in the background, a mic hanging beside the snoozing pony. White Noise coughed awkwardly, the stallion opening one eye blearily. It looked over to White Noise before shifting to the rest of us, only for him to pause, his eyes shooting open as he stared at us. He glanced back to White Noise. “Mmmnhuh? What th- ow...” He stuttered before sitting up, banging his head on the mic above him. He rubbed his head, still looking dumbfounded.

“The Vanhoover Five, Mr DJ.” I said, sticking out a hoof and attempting to look professional. “We heard you wanted an interview.”

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