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Freshman Blues | End of the Semester | At C.H.S inside the library, Spike, Twilight, and the girls were all studying at a table for final exams were under way. They were all studying hard, until Rainbow sighed before closing up her text book, "I'm done for the day."
"Yeah, we've been at this for two hours now." Applejack added as she started putting her books into her backpack.
"Let's break." Pinkie suggested.
"Girls, remember final exams are a week away." Twilight reminded them, as she held a book up.
"But Twilight, we've been at this for hours now," Spike reminded her, "It won't do us good to study so hard if we're too worn out to remember it."
"He's right, Twilight." Fluttershy agreed, while looking nervous for voicing her opinion.
"And I'm getting quite famished myself." Rarity noted.
Twilight looked seeing everyone was looking burned out from the studying, and couldn't help but agree, "Well, ok. Let's break for today."
"YA..." Pinkie was going to cheer, until Applejack clamped her mouth shut.
"We're in a library." she whispered in reminder.
Pinkie nodded, as Applejack removed her hand from her mouth, and said softly, "Yay."
So they left the school library, and headed out to Tino's Pizza where they were replenishing their energies, "Man, with finals coming down to the wire I'm getting more edgy by the day." Spike said.
"Well, it's not that different from taking finals in junior high." Rainbow stated
"Really?" Spike asked.
"Who knows." she replied, making Spike face fault.
"Don't listen to Rainbow, Spike," Twilight said, "As long as you study hard and relax you'll do fine. Same for all of us."
"Twilight's absolutely right, darling. After all, we did well on our final exams in our freshman year, we can do it again this year." Rarity said, to brighten their moods.
"Well said, Rarity." Applejack smiled, and soon the others did as well.
"Yeah, otherwise if we don't pass we'll end up in..." Rainbow began, but Pinkie cried.
"No, Rainbow, don't say it!"
"Summer school?" Fluttershy asked, and Pinkie cried in pain.
"The horror!"
"Yeah, totally not awesome." Rainbow agreed.
"That's something I don't want to even consider." Spike said.
"Who does?" Rainbow asked.
"Look, let's just all try and relax and promise that this week we'll focus only on our finals." Twilight suggested.
"I agree." Rarity nodded.
"Well then, hands in." Applejack said, as the seven put their hands in, and made their promise.
And so since then, they all were hard at work studying for their finals. Each of them had their own study methods, like Twilight using basic notes and stud sessions, just like Spike. Pinkie was using raps to study for math, Rarity was using outfits of famous people to study for history, Fluttershy was using some of the animals from the animal shelter to put on a play for her to study, and Applejack and Rainbow were quizzing each other.
And so a week had past, and on Friday morning everyone headed for school. As Twilight and Spike were about to go their separate ways for now the older sister spoke, "Nervous, Spike?"
"A little." he admitted.
"Just what remember what we've learned, stay focused, and you'll do fine." she comforted him.
"Thanks, Twi. I'll see you later." Spike said as they two went to their individual classes.
When Spike entered Mr. Discord's class, he sat with Puck and Featherweight, "Morning, guys."
"Morning, Spike." they greeted him.
"How're you guys feeling?" he asked.
"The finals are making my stomach churn." Puck adnswered.
"I feel perfectly fine," Featherweight admitted, "I made sure to put an extra bit of effort into studying."
"Well there's no turning back now." Puck noted.
"Right, so good luck to both of you." Spike told them.
"And you, my friend." Featherweight added.
Soon their teacher entered the room and went to his desk, "Good morning, class."
"Morning, Mr. Discord." they responded.
"Well my students it's been such a long week, but your final exams have finally come," the class looked at him with deadpan looks, as he continued, "Now I know you're all excited, but try to contain it. And remember this final exam will count for half your grade... But no pressure." he grinned, before handing the exam papers out to each student, "When you're finished, you may turn your papers over... Go!"
And so the students began taking the first of their final exams. As Spike looked through the questions, he cleared his head and started thinking back to his study sessions with Twilight. When he was cleared of all other thoughts, he started going through the questions as if the answers were coming to him. Once he finished the last question he turned his paper over and just sat quietly like the other finished students, until the remainder of the class was through.
Soon the last few students turned their papers over, and Discord saw they were all sitting quietly, "all right class pass your papers forward," The students did so, and when they all reached Mr. Discord's desk, he continued, "There, it wasn't so bad was it?" the students shook their heads as if slightly agreeing with him, while still feeling relieved the first half of the finals was over.
"Well this about concludes your time here. Proceed to your next classroom for the next half of the finals. Good luck to all of you." they took their leave, and headed for the next classroom.
As they walked the halls Puck spoke to Spike and Featherweight, "Whoa, man, I'm glad that parts over."
"You and me both." Spike agreed.
"How do you think you guys did?" Featherweight asked.
"I say I did well." Puck admitted.
"Same here, and you?" Spike asked their smarter friend.
"Couldn't have done better."
"Well here's hoping we can do the same for the rest of the exams." Puck said, as they headed for the next classroom.
For the rest of the day, they continued with their final exams, until the day was one. Spike met up with Twilight and the girls as they left the school building. Once outside, they all let out a sigh of relief, "Well, glad that's over with." Applejack said in relief.
"All the butterflies in my stomach are gone now." Fluttershy admitted.
"How long does it take for everyone's finals to be graded?" Spike asked.
"We should get our final results in the mail by Monday our last day." Twilight answered.
"We'll worry about our final grades till then. For now let's get out of here." Rainbow suggested, and they all headed off.
The group spent the weekend relaxing after such a long week of studying, knowing next week would be where they get their final grades and would be their last day. When Monday came, each student was being given an envelope containing their final grades. Spike, Puck, and Featherweight gathered into a classroom, before opening their envelopes.
Puck looked at his grades and saw a mix of As and Bs with one C, "I passed!" he called.
"Me too!" Featherweight cheered, as he showed him his grades which were composed of As and Bs.
"So did I!" Spike cheered, as he showed them his grades which were mostly Bs with a few As.
"We did it, guys!" Puck cheered, as the three did a high five.
While in another room, the girls had checked their final grades, and saw they all passed as well, with Twilight having all As, Rarity having mostly Bs, Pinkie and Fluttershy had both As and Bs, and finally Applejack and Rainbow Dash had Bs and two Cs, "All right!" they cheered.
After school, everyone was cleaning out their lockers for the Summer. Once all the lockers were cleaned they were all taking their leave. While Spike met up with the girls, "Hey, girls."
"Hi Spike." they greeted him.
"Ok, so how'd you do?" Twilight asked.
"See for yourself." Spike showed her his grades.
"Spike, these are wonderful. Mom and dad will be proud!" Twilight smiled.
"And I know they will for you just as they always are." Spike smiled back.
"Come on, you guys. Let's get out of here." Rainbow said, as they started heading out.
As they walked through the halls past the other students, Principal Celestia's door opened up, and their principal peeked out seeing them, "Just a moment, please. Would you seven step into my office for a bit?"
The seven looked to each other hoping nothing bad was happening. They entered the office, as Celestia sat at her desk, "Is something wrong, ma'am?" Twilight asked.
"Whatever it is, we didn't do it!" Rainbow pleaded.
Celestia chuckled, "Take it easy, no one's in trouble."
"So then why call us in here?" Applejack asked.
"First of all congratulations on passing your finals," the principal began, "Second of all I'm glad to see you all had such a wonderful school year. Especially you, Spike."
"Me?" the Freshman asked.
"Yes. Twilight did mention ahead of time you would eventually be attending C.H.S. Twilight is not only one of our school best students, but a very close one to me. And anyone close to her I consider close as well. Including you. To see how well you've enjoyed your first year makes me feel relieved, and I hope that you have an even better second year come next semester."
"Hey, with friends like Twi and them I know next year's gonna be better." Spike smiled at his sister and the girls.
"And with Spike sticking with us, we're sure as well gonna have a better year too." Applejack added, while putting an arm around Spike.
"But until then, we're gonna have ourselves an awesome Summer." Rainbow put in.
Celestia smiled, "See that you all do. And I'll see you come next semester."
"Bye." they bid the principal a farewell before leaving the office.
As they continued down the hall they saw many of the other teachers bidding them farewell. When they passed Mr. Discords room the teacher spoke up, "Have a good summer everyone. I'll see you next year."
"Thanks, Mr. Discord." they answered, and continued on.
As they passed the entrance to the gym, Coach Iron Will spoke up, "Private Spike!" Spike froze ,and the girls watched him turn to face who coach, who had a proud look on this face, "Never thought I'd say this, but I think I did the impossible I whipped you into shape. You learned well, soldier."
"Thanks, Coach Iron Will." Spike thanked him like a soldier.
"Carry on." the coach finished as he and Spike saluted each other, before the boy left with the girl.
Once they stepped outside the school, they saw Twistin', "Hey, Spike!" he called.
'Twistin'!" Spike cheered as the two fist bumped, "So I guess I'll see you and the rest of the club next year?"
"Damn right. But until then we got us summer to relax," Twistin' noted, "So expect another guys night."
"Wouldn't miss it." Spike smirked, while the girls rolled their eyes.
"Well see ya around." Twistin' headed off.
Spike walked back over to the girls, as Rainbow spoke to the younger boy, "Well Spike, Freshman year is over. You survived and now you're a step ahead of the new students next year."
"How does it feel?" Applejack asked.
"It feels amazing," Spike said, "You know I actually did think I was gonna be having a lousy first year, but you girls, Twistin', Vinyl, Puck, Featherweight, and everyone make Freshman year seem like a great time. So thanks girls."
"You're very welcome." Rarity said as she hugged Spike, and soon all the other girls joined her.
Once their hug broke, Pinkie called, "Well come on everyone! Summer's here, and we're gonna party!" she cheered, as the others joined her by throwing their backpacks up into the air with joy. They all started walking off away from the school building, as Spike voice let out a narration.
'And so that was my Freshman year. It turned out better than I could've imagined it. And with my sister and all my closest friends I know things will continue to be looking up even in the most difficult of times. And now that summer's here, I'm gonna live it up like there's no tomorrow. And you know why, because I'm Spike. A once Freshman who thought the high school world was gonna bring me down, but now a man who conquered his blues.' |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | pre | "Because I wasn't making a deal. I offered him the information I found for free. Allowing me to trade was his way of thanking me. I'm not trying to do anything to endanger anyone in the city. That would just get me killed. Now are you willing to help me out, or am I going to have to live with my injuries?" I asked.
Suture stood silently, watching me with a disapproving eye, but also sizing up my body and all my injuries. "You've really done a number on yourself. What the hell have you been doing to get so hurt since I patched you up?"
"Well, first there were those couple dozen protect-a-ponies at the Ironshod factory, not to mention that behemoth of a robot that wasn't shut down by the override. Then we got jumped earlier today by some opportunistic scoundrel and his friend, and that guy did a number on my shoulder," I explained.
"And I suppose you just killed all of them?" Suture asked, her disapproval obvious. Even so, she walked to a cabinet and started to pull out various medical implements. It looked like I'd be getting treatment no matter how much this mare may dislike me.
"Actually, no. The robots we did knock out, but they really aren't alive to begin with. I'm also pretty sure they thought I was a zebra. As for the scoundrel and his friend, the friend I did kill, but that was only after he had me pinned beneath him and was in the process of pounding the life out of me. But we let the scoundrel go," I explained.
That got Suture to stop and look at me. "You actually let somepony live?" she asked incredulously, "What possessed you to do that?"
I hesitated before answering her. I didn't know how much I wanted to admit to her about how much her influence had started making me think about my past and choice of lifestyle. Unfortunately, she noticed my hesitation.
"Typical," she grunted, "You thugs are all the same. You do one thing different and then refuse to explain why you made the choice. Suit your damn self. Now take your damn barding off so I can get at those injuries."
"No! I was just thinking about how best to explain. If I just spat out what was going on in my head, nothing would make any sense!" I protested as I shucked both my barding and utility suit. It pained me to see how many holes had been burned into the suit. It was approaching the point where it was near pointless to even hold on to.
"That so? Then have you organized your thoughts enough to talk about it, or are you still at a loss? Got hit in the head a few too many times, maybe?" Suture asked angrily. This was an entirely different side of the mare. At the camp, she had been cowardly and subservient, begging for her life with every other breath. Even after we had gotten out she had seemed fearful. I didn't know how to deal with her now that she was being assertive and demanding.
She started to treat my wounds, covering the few remaining burns with a salve that stung terribly. "Ow! Watch it! That really hurts!" I exclaimed, twisting away.
"Good. Might give you some appreciation for what it feels like to be on the other side of things," she answered with an utter lack of sympathy, "And if you're wondering how I can do this when I said before that I can't stand seeing others in pain, I meant if they were in agony. This isn't going to kill you."
This time, her words only served to piss me off. Who was she to assume that I didn't know what pain is! I twisted around to face her, our muzzles mere inched from each other. "So you seriously still think that I have never suffered?" I demanded, my anger twisting the words into a near inarticulate growl. "I know what pain is; I've felt it almost every single day of my life since my parents were cut down in front of me! If you care to know, my mother's head exploded less than a foot from mine when I was just a filly, courtesy of a raider sniper. And that was only the start!"
Suture jumped back as soon as I started yelling, a spark of fear appearing in her eyes. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't know..." she muttered, trying to placate me, but I was having none of that.
"Oh, you're sorry! Well that just makes everything fucking perfect then, doesn't it!" I yelled. At this point, a pair of guards appeared in the infirmary, both with weapons out and aimed at me, but I ignored them as well. "Let me tell you something, Suture: I have probably suffered more than most of the ponies you have ever met. I have lost everything not just once or twice, but three fucking times already in my life! That is three times I have had to start over from scratch and build a new life from nothing! So don't try to teach me what it's like to feel pain!"
I pushed my way past her, quickly pulled my barding back on (to hell with the utility suit, I didn't have anything valuable in it anyway), and walked out of the infirmary. I needed to get away from the infuriating medical pony before I did something I would regret.
"No, don't follow her. I deserved that outburst, since I was provoking her," I heard Suture saying to the guards, "She just needs some space to calm down. I misjudged her, badly it seems."
I snorted in annoyance and kept walking, my head filled with images of the things I wanted to do to herm most of which involved some form of dismemberment. I made my way away from the town and a short distance into one of the abandoned metro tunnels. The guards gave me an odd look as I trotted past them out of the gates, but didn't stop me. Why would they want to stop an angry mare leaving their town into an underground area that was filled with who-knew-how-many dangers?
I finally stopped just as I entered the shadows, where I sat in the gloom and closed my eyes, letting the muffled sounds from the town flow out of my conscious mind. It was the only way I could calm down without acting out my thoughts. The silence enveloped me, making time dilate until seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, and all of reality simply ceased to exist.
Slowly, I allowed thoughts to flow back through my mind. First came the memories from my past; the things from my life that brought me peace, and, in some senses, happiness. These memories calmed me, chasing away the rage that was always in the back of my mind, and left me feeling in control.
Next, I allowed the thoughts from my conversation with Suture to return. She had pissed me off, and she knew it, even took responsibility for it, when she could have let the guards throw me out on my ass. But, at the same time, simply assuming that because I wasn't a nice pony I didn't know pain and suffering was too far.
But again, despite her anger at me, despite her hatred of what I represented, she was willing to help me. She had been angry at me, sure, but she had still been treating my wounds, however roughly. That kind of action deserved respect. I knew I wouldn't be capable of the same kind of kindness.
All I had done to repay her kindness to me was to get angry or ask her to join us, where she would be forced to see everything I dealt with every day. Despite my caution, I was reckless, sometimes even stupid. My injuries attested to that. And now here I was, mocking her as I asked her to fix me up again.
Gradually, my emotions returned, lending more meaning to the thoughts rushing around inside my skull. Somewhat to my surprise, rage didn't immediately take control. Instead, it was shame. This was now the second time that Suture had caused me to feel that particular emotion.
Last time, it had pissed me off. This time, I didn't let it. I forced the anger aside and let the shame come to the forefront of my mind, where I allowed it to fill every aspect of my being. My eyes welled up with tears, and as I felt the first few wet trails make their way down my cheeks, I thought that I was finally on my way to mending all of the evil I had done.
Just Law had been completely correct. My parents would have been devastated to see what I had become, especially since it was exactly what they had given their lives to protect me from. Now it fell to me to redeem myself, and to become something better than the reputation that existed about me.
But first, I had to rid myself of the grief and shame that Suture had brought on me. This time, I didn't try to hold back the tears. I didn't even try to keep my sobs from being audible. For the first time since my parents had been killed, I allowed myself to let all my pent up emotions escape.
That was how Suture found me, though I couldn't say how much later it was. I wouldn't have even known she was there had she not tapped me on the shoulder first.
I was lying on the cold, hard ground, a small pool of tears beneath my chin. My eyes were squeezed shut, and were swollen and red from crying for so long. Her touch startled me back to the present and I lurched to my hooves, instinctively ripping my knife from its sheath.
"Woah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" Suture exclaimed, jumping back, "We were just getting worried. You've been gone for so long."
It took my brain a few seconds to process that I wasn't in danger. I finally slid my knife back into its sheath and sat down heavily. "How long have I been out here?" I asked, my voice rough from crying.
"Almost four hours. I was expecting you to get away for an hour or so to cool down, but when the guards said they hadn't seen you anywhere, we started to get worried," the medical pony explained.
"Oh," I muttered, lowering my head, "I didn't mean to worry anyone. I just needed to get away. I needed to think."
"I realize that," Suture answered slowly, approaching me. She sat down next to me, close enough to be comforting, but far enough away to clearly define the distance between us.
The silence lengthened as we both sat there, neither one of us wanting to be the first to speak. In a way, it was a good thing. It gave us both the space we needed to think, while at the same time reminding us what we needed to be thinking of.
Suture was finally the first to say something. "Evergreen, I'm sorry. I misjudged you, provoked you, and quite frankly deserve your anger. I made my point three days ago outside your camp after Crosswire pulled you out. What I did today was completely unnecessary and petty, especially given how much you have helped us."
I didn't answer immediately, instead letting the words hang between us so I could truly analyze what she was saying. At first thought, it sounded like an apology for her behavior, but there was more to it than that, there had to be. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like an apology for her accusation of my behavior.
"No, Suture," I finally answered, "You don't owe me an apology, not for that. If anypony owes anypony else an apology, it's me. Believe it or not, your words back in my camp got me thinking, and you were right: I am not a nice pony. I've known it for a long time; I simply decided not to act on it, and that is unforgivable. I've tried to start doing better, but it isn't easy. All I want is my own survival, and it seems like the moral cost for that is so high sometimes, as though I have to choose between my soul and my life. I need to be honest right now: it was your influence that made me realize how unhappy I was, and it was your influence that made me face emotions I had long since thought buried. Without that, I would still be looking at everypony who crosses paths with me as an enemy, or at least as a target."
As I had done, Suture remained silent. I hope she realized how much it took for me to admit something like that, and I wouldn't do this for just anypony. It took me knowing that the other really deserved my apology, and the acknowledgement of how they had influenced me, for me to truly say anything like this.
"I hadn't realized," she muttered before trailing off. I looked over and saw her with her head hung low, much like my own was. In her eyes I could see a glint of regret and sadness.
When it became obvious that she didn't have anything more to add, I spoke up again. "Why should you have? You had no reason to listen to me, and even less of a reason to help me. Hell, it took me almost getting killed to even realize that there was something wrong with my life. So, for what it's worth, thank you. For making me remember that there is more to life than simply surviving."
"Well, you're welcome, I guess," Suture answered, "Anything to help."
Once again, the silence grew to encompass us. Part of the divide that had existed between us had been repaired, letting us at least acknowledge each other as two ponies that had more to offer than we thought at first. It was then that I realized that Suture was the only pony out here with me.
"Where is Crosswire? He didn't come with you?" I asked, shifting to look back down the tunnel towards Metro.
"He's in the infirmary, resting. He was in almost as bad of shape as you are. It took a bit, but we finally convinced him that we could find you without his help," Suture answered.
"Huh, so he actually cares," I muttered, "That's surprising."
Suture snapped her head up and looked at me with a confused expression. "Really? You're surprised? He cares about you much more than he lets on. Maybe not in that way, but he definitely looks out for you. It has to take a lot to stay loyal to somepony when that loyalty is likely to get you killed, and then follow them about the wasteland walking headfirst into danger."
I shrugged in response. I didn't know how else to react. "I never thought of it like that. Just figured him to be more loyal than most other raiders."
"Well there's more to it than just that. Something about that pony is odd. He maintains this entire gruff and detached persona, but there's a lot more to him than meets the eye."
I thought back to his occasional comments and questions into how I was feeling or what I was thinking. They had been really out of place from his usual behavior, much as Suture was describing to me now. "I guess there is. I think he's been trying to come out and be himself, but he's scared of losing that hard edge."
"Or he's just scared of admitting that he's more than he appears, or that he can care, which I think is how we managed to convince him to remain behind at all."
That comment made me laugh, mostly because it made me realize one of the reasons Suture had come out here on her own, besides her desire to apologize. My laughter again put a confused expression on the maroon mare's face. "So exactly what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked when my laughing finally subsided.
"I'm sorry?" Suture asked, completely lost.
"You came out here completely alone, to talk to a mare who had been mere seconds from attacking you. You had to want to do more than simply apologize," I pointed out.
"Wha... How did you know that?" the mare sputtered, completely unsure of what to say or do.
"Well, you kept emphasizing that you got Crosswire to stay behind, and even though you said 'we', you're the only one out here. Add all that to the fact that you already apologized, but stayed out here anyway, it all points to the fact that there's something you want to say, so spit it out!"
The medical pony hesitated, then pulled out the Messaging Crystal from her medical bag. "You left this behind in your utility suit. I need to know where you got it and why you have it," she stated. Her voice was completely emotionless, a stark contrast to her mood just a few moments ago.
Inside, I was cursing myself. How could I have forgotten about the damn crystal! "Crackshot brought it back from his raid the same day you wandered into the camp. I'm guessing it came from that caravan you promised not to talk about. My Pipbuck showed me that it's much more valuable than it appears, so I held on to it. Haven't been able to figure out why it's so valuable though..." I explained, gazing into the crystal.
Suture slowly shook her head and returned the crystal to her medical bag. "I suppose I may as well tell you what I can, then, since you know half of it already. That crystal is the reason I was following the caravan. Bliss had been contracted to transport it to Mt. Hoof. This is probably one of the most valuable items in all the wasteland, for several reasons."
"And what are those, because I can't figure the damn thing out!" I asked, "I've spent hours messing with it, but nothing happens! Exactly what is it?"
Suture sighed and looked up at me, "It's a Messaging Crystal." I gave her my best 'you don't say?' look. It took the mare a few moments to figure out that, even though I knew what it was, I didn't know what it was. "As far as I know, only a few were ever made before the bombs fell. They function a lot like memory orbs, except that not just anypony can access them. Also, there aren't memories stored in the crystals, but messages and information, a lot like a holotape, except only the pony that the Crystal was meant to go to can access them. It's the most secure way to send a message, since there is no possibility of it being intercepted, other than it not reaching its destination," she said by way of explanation, "but even then the information couldn't be accessed."
"And just who exactly was this pony that it was going to? If it was made before the war, how can it even be useful now? Whoever it was meant to go to must be long dead by now," I pointed out.
"Well, yes and no," Suture answered carefully, "It was found here in Metro, when the city was first founded, except that it was empty, so it must have gotten to whomever it was supposed to. Only recently have we had a need for it. There's a community of ponies living near Mt. Hoof that we are trying to get in contact with, but they are very secretive and paranoid. Using this crystal was the only way we could get a message to them that guaranteed it came from us."
"Why do you need to get in touch with them at all?" I asked, "It's not like Metro is hurting for supplies or anything."
"Take another look on your way out. Our food supply is running out. Even our water is starting to run low. Give it another five years, and Metro will just be another failed settlement. If we can start trading with the ponies at Mt. Hoof, we'll be able to survive. That's why I followed along, to make sure the caravan would make it," Suture argued.
Her argument made sense, I suppose. But that didn't explain why she had chosen to follow, no matter what she said. It also didn't explain her promise. "Who exactly did you promise that you wouldn't talk about the caravan? Nothing you've told me strikes me as all that serious," I asked.
"Think about what I've said, Evergreen. I just told you that Metro doesn't have a lot of resources. They are running out. If a raider gang found that out, the chances of us getting attacked rise dramatically. I'm only telling you now because you had the crystal. I guess I should thank you for getting it back. We'll need to contract another caravan now." She stood up and turned to leave, and I rose with her.
"Suture, wait," I called out. The maroon pony paused mid-step. "This doesn't explain why you risked yourself simply to watch that caravan, or why you weren't traveling with them."
The medical pony sighed heavily, then sat back down. Her ears dropped down around her head and every line of her body spoke of some intense internal grief. "Bliss would never have let me join her. She told me before she left that it was too dangerous. We'd all heard the rumors of the gangs in the mountains. But I couldn't just let her take that risk. That's why I followed: to make sure she'd be all right."
I came up beside her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "You loved her, didn't you?" I asked.
Suture's nod was almost imperceptible. "She made sure to stop at Metro every chance she got. We always made sure to have time for each other when she was here. Our relationship wasn't perfect, but it was more than most ponies have nowadays."
"I'm sorry, Suture. If I could change the past, I would make sure she was still alive. I think I have a better understanding of your anger at me now, as well. In a way, I'm responsible for her death, and I would understand if you never forgave me for that," I told her, then pulled my hoof away.
"Thank you for your understanding, Evergreen, but you weren't the one who pulled the trigger. You may have ordered those other raiders to be out there, but you didn't tell them who to kill. That was their choice. I think Bliss would have been happy to meet you," Suture whispered. Anything louder and I think her voice would have completely given out.
I hung my head again. I didn't know how to react to a gesture like that one. I had offered her a focus for her anger, and she had turned it away. It was more than I deserved. There must be some way I could make it up to her.
"Tell you what," I said, waiting for the medical pony to lift her head in acknowledgment, "Give me the Crystal. I'll make sure it gets to Mt. Hoof. I promise, it will get there. Maybe that will make up for some of your loss, at least in part."
Suture looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and smiled. "Thank you, Evergreen. I'll consider it." She stood up and we both started back towards the town.
The guard let us both pass without comment and we made our way back to the infirmary. Once there, I spotted Crosswire lying on one of the beds, fast asleep, with his bags under the bed.
"I think we were in the middle of making sure your injuries were taken care of," Suture said a few minutes after we entered, "and I promise to be more careful this time."
I nodded at her and removed my barding. This time, she was much gentler in treating my various burns, wounds, and strains. By the time she was finished, I felt as good as new. She left me with some bandages covering the worst of the burns so they could heal naturally, but the simple act of having my injuries professionally seen to left me feeling rejuvenated. Even my shoulder felt much better than it had the rest of the day. It would still be a while before I would have full mobility, but it would serve for now.
"There you are. This time, try to last more than a day before you need more medical attention. Since it's so late, feel free to clean yourself up and spend the night here. Crosswire already took me up on that offer, so just take a bed and get some rest. You can figure out your next move in the morning," Suture said, gesturing to a bed.
I muttered my appreciation and wandered out of the infirmary to the baths. It felt good to clean myself, and to be able to dry off with a rag that was actually clean. I must have spent twenty minutes just letting the warm water sluice over my body, washing away all the built up grime and dirt, both real and emotional, before drying off and returning to the infirmary to sleep. I expected to be lying awake for hours as my mind raced through all of the new information I had picked up. Instead, I fell asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
When I woke, I actually felt refreshed. I hadn't slept that well in a long time, and I think it was due to the fact that I actually felt safe where I was sleeping. There was something to be said for a settlement with a devoted guard unit.
I slowly slid out of the bed and onto my hooves. I was expecting to be sore from spending so long in the tunnels yesterday, but I was feeling surprisingly spry. I quickly stretched, making sure every single muscle group was nice and limber. Given my luck over the last few days, I was expecting somepony to try to shoot me at some point.
"I see you're finally deciding to get up," Suture said, walking around a privacy curtain to face me, "Crosswire got up a while ago. He's out in the markets."
I nodded in acknowledgment and stepped out into the general room of the infirmary, where my barding sat waiting for me on a chair. It had been cleaned and it also looked like it had been reinforced. The leather was polished and there were a lot of small metal plates sewn into the chest and back. The entire thing had been painted a light forest green.
The sight of the armor left me standing dumbfounded. My jaw must have been on the floor judging by Suture's laugh. "I took the liberty of getting your barding fixed up. I also got a friend to color it for you so it would suit you better. Go ahead and try it on. We were careful to keep the leather from deforming, but there's no way to be sure without you putting it on."
I carefully slipped the barding on and marveled at the comfort of the fit. It felt almost like a second skin. I twisted around, testing the flexibility and was surprised to find that it barely hindered me at all. "How strong are the plates?" I asked, wandering over to a metal gurney to try to get a sight of my reflection.
I didn't even hear Suture's response. I was to dumbstruck by my own appearance. My mane was actually clean and swept back over my neck, with one strand hanging out, as I usually wore it. My hide was just as clean. For the first time in three years, I was completely free of any kind of grime or dirt, and it made all the difference.
My face was positively glowing, and my eyes had a shine to them that I hadn't seen there since getting kicked out of Grovedale. All of the thoughts and emotions from yesterday had really made a difference on me. I felt like I had a future to work towards. I definitely had a goal to accomplish now, if Suture would let me, that is. It seemed like I could actually see hope in my reflection.
Slowly, a smile crept over my features as I admired myself in the polished metal of the gurney. I had stepped out of the hooves of Evergreen the raider and into the role of Evergreen the traveler, maybe even the scavenger, and that was okay with me. Anything was better than having to watch every word that came out of my mouth for the chance that it would reveal too much to the ponies around me.
"Evergreen? Are you okay?" Suture asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Yeah," I answered, only dimly aware of what I was answering, "I'm better than I've been in a long time. Thank you for this Suture, you didn't have to go through the trouble."
"Actually, I did. I talked to the mayor last night. He has a job offer for you. You should go and see him now, I think you'll like to hear what he has to say," Suture answered.
I tore my gaze away from my reflection and looked at the mare. "Sure. I'll talk to him. And have you thought about my offer? About the Crystal?"
"Yeah, I've thought about it. I just don't know, Evergreen. We've made our peace, but this affects more than just me. I have to be sure that you have the best interests of my home at heart," Suture answered, though not unkindly.
I could understand her feelings. The last time she had met me, I had kept her alive merely out of curiosity, and she knew that. It would take a lot for her to trust me with something as important as this, though it did feel odd no longer having the familiar weight of the Crystal in my barding.
"That's fine," I said, allowing my grin to widen, "It's a big decision. I'm just saying, I'm offering to do it for no charge. You won't get a better deal anywhere else!"
With that, I trotted out of the room, leaving Suture with a confused look on her face, and made my way to the mayor's office. My new outlook was making me act very differently, and she was picking up on that.
The town was much busier during the day. I had thought the market had been crowded yesterday, but now there must have been twice the number of ponies forcing their way past each other to go about their day. I hadn't even known that this many ponies lived here!
Once I arrived at the office, I was ushered past all of the waiting ponies, much to their disappointment, to talk to the mayor. As he had been the day before, he was seated behind his rather small desk reading a stack of papers.
"Uh, mayor, you asked to see me?" I announced when it became apparent he wouldn't notice me.
He looked up from his stack of papers and focused his gaze on me. "Ah, Miss Evergreen, I had hoped you would come by. I have a proposition for you, given your recent offer of aid to our city."
Something about the way he was asking me struck me as odd. I had offered him information to save my hide. I had no clue what he was talking about when he said I had offered to help the whole town. "I'm sorry, mayor? I wasn't aware I had offered to help the town."
"Of course you did! Didn't you offer Suture to transport that Crystal to Mt. Hoof for us? Doing that would be a great help to the town, though I agree with her that we need to confirm your new intentions. It wouldn't do to just drop that crystal into a raider's hooves!" he explained.
I shook my head at the buck. "I didn't offer to help her for the town's sake. I offered to make up for a mistake I had made that hurt her. The favor is for her, not the town. It hasn't done anything for me except allow me to keep living."
Rather than make the mayor's grin disappear, as I had expected, my comment simply made his grin wider. "Well, of course. I didn't expect anything different. That doesn't change my offer. I've asked around and discovered what settlement was represented in that map of yours. It's a town by the name of Millberry. I would very much appreciate it if you would go there and see about possibly having them form an alliance with us. This Seahawk character is taking an interest in all the major towns, so the more of us that are allied, the better it will be for us in the long run. I am offering a sum of two hundred caps to travel there and speak with them, which I will pay up front, followed by a three thousand cap bonus should they agree. If they do not, the bonus will be three hundred caps. Is this agreeable to you?"
The mention of that number nearly shut my brain down. Three thousand caps! That was a damn fortune. I could do almost anything with that kind of money! I didn't even have to think twice. "I accept. Just tell me what I need to do."
The mayor jumped up to his hooves, a full-fledged smile on his face. "Fantastic. All you need to do is go there and extend our offer of allegiance to whoever is in charge. Be sure to be clear that we don't want to take over; we just want to offer mutual protection and aid. If they ask for anything as proof, tell them you'll speak to me and return immediately. We need this."
None of that sounded too difficult. "Done," I announced, "I'll leave immediately. Just let me find my friend and get my gear. We'll be out of here in no time!"
The mayor explained where to go to get to the town, handed over a pouch that held the two hundred cap advance, then saw me out of his office himself, and only turned back once we were basically in the market.
I paused for a moment before going in search of Crosswire. Evergreen the Mercenary. I could do that.
I finally found Crosswire an hour later haggling with a weapons merchant over a supply of 10mm ammo, the kind his SMG used. Both were going at it quite loudly, trying to both shout over the general din of the market, as well as letting their own personal frustration show.
After watching them for almost five minutes, I decided to step in. "Tell you what," I started, pushing passed a rather surprised Crosswire to stand in front of the merchant, who was a surprisingly small, blue earth pony mare, 'I can guarantee that the two of us are going to be repeat customers, so knock the price down now, and you'll be the first merchant we come to in the future, eh? Consider it a long-term investment."
"Oh, and who the fuck are you?" the mare demanded, narrowing her eyes at me, "My deal is with him! Not you."
"He's my friend and colleague, so any deal with him is a deal with me, and vice versa. So, do you accept?" I asked.
"Evergreen, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Crosswire demanded, pushing his way past me.
Before he could interrupt me and say something that was no longer true, I cut in, "Trust me here, Crosswire. I know what I'm doing."
The mare looked from me to Crosswire and back, weighing our words. "You'll come to me first, and only go to somepony else if I can't supply you?" she asked shrewdly.
It hadn't been exactly what I had said, but there was no way I could get out of it now. "If you give us a discount now and in the future, yes." I was going to make her give a little as well.
After a moment's hesitation, the mare grinned. "Done! Hundred caps for the ammo, then. That's a fair compromise. And I'll be keeping my eyes out for the two of you next time you're in town."
Crosswire sighed and counted out the money, sliding it over to the mare once he was done. He grabbed the ammo and deposited it into his saddlebags before dragging me away from the vendor. "Mind explaining what the hell that was about?" he snapped.
"Simple," I answered, grinning, "We just got a contract from the mayor to head out to that town on the map, Millberry, and talk to the ponies in charge about forming an alliance with Metro. If they agree, we walk away with three thousand caps. If they don't we get five hundred. Either way, we win, and being mercenaries is far better in my books than being a scavenger."
"So you managed to convince the mayor that we aren't bloodthirsty psychopaths? And I hope you realize that that mare has some of the highest prices down here?" Crosswire retorted.
"So what if her prices are high? The quality looked to be better than most other places around here, so we're getting our money's worth. And to answer your question: basically, yes. Metro is a good place to use as a base of operations. There's an infirmary that's led by a pony we're on good terms with as well as a market that can supply us with everything we could ever need. If we can keep taking jobs out of here, we could do well for ourselves. What do you say?"
Crosswire hesitated and looked around, taking in everything he could about the city. It was crowded, dank, and dark, but these ponies were surviving. That was more than could be said for most wasteland settlements. "Works for me. Couldn't hurt at this point. When are we leaving?"
My grin stretched out to a full smile. "Immediately. I just needed to find you first. Come on! The caps aren't waiting for us!" I started trotting away, expecting Crosswire to be following after me.
A loud clatter of hooves told me he had been too dumbstruck to function for a few moments. "You seem very... different today, Evergreen," he pointed out, catching up to me, "You feeling all right?"
"Never been better. I took some time for myself yesterday that I really needed. Figured some things out that nopony could have helped me with. Oh, and Suture and I are on friendly terms now. That was part of why she wanted you to stay behind last night when she went looking for me," I explained, "I'm going to be a much different pony from here on out, just to warn you. The way I was living before just isn't going to cut it anymore. You all right with that?"
Crosswire remained quiet for most of the rest of our walk to the entrance of the city as he thought over what I had told him. I let him have his space. He had an idea in his head of what I was like, and that had just changed on a very fundamental level. It had to be his choice on whether or not to stay with me.
"You're completely done with the raider lifestyle then, aren't you?" he asked quietly. The comment made several ponies turn and look at us with a surprised expression, as well as a few fearful ones.
"Yes. Completely. Just Law was right. My parents raised me differently, and I let the wasteland control me for far too long. Doing something like this for Metro will help others in the end, and it gives us a place to live while working for the mayor," I answered.
Crosswire fell silent once again. He was obviously having trouble with the idea. We were just approaching the stairs up to the surface when he spoke again. "I've been a raider for so long it's hard to think of myself as anything else. Maybe this life will be better. Guess I won't know unless I try. All right, Evergreen, I'm with you, come good or ill."
I stopped and impulsively wrapped my front legs around Crosswire's neck. "Thank you! It means a lot to me! I was not looking forward to facing the wasteland on my own, if that's what you decided."
The buck stiffened under my embrace. "Uh... Sure," he muttered, "Evergreen, could you get off me?"
I let him go and took a step back. "Sorry, I just... feel so much happier than I have in a long time."
"It's fine," he answered quietly, "I'm just not used to... touching."
"And you wouldn't have needed to worry about traveling alone anyway," Suture announced from ahead of us.
I turned my head in surprise to see the maroon pony standing ahead of us wearing a basic set of barding with a pair of medical boxes hanging from the sides.
"Suture! What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, stepping over to her. Despite the combat-grade barding, she was completely unarmed.
"I'm going with you. Somepony trustworthy needs to make sure you're doing what we hired you for!" she answered joyfully.
"What about your infirmary? And where's your weapon? How are you intending to protect yourself?" I asked, each question flowing out before she had a chance to answer any of them.
"To the first question: my assistant will do just fine without me. To the second: I don't carry a weapon. My mission in life is to help ponies, not hurt them. I trust you and Crosswire will see I survive as well as you can," she answered, her smile never leaving her face.
This pony was being stupid, but I couldn't turn away her skills. We needed them too much. Instead, I came up with an idea. I reached into my saddlebags and pulled out the 9mm pistol that was loaded with hollow point rounds. I tossed the weapon to her and watched in disappointment as she let it clatter to the ground in front of her.
"Pick it up. Your vision isn't realistic out there. Here, it works, but not out there. Ponies will be trying to kill you, regardless of how you feel about it. Take the weapon. You won't like it now, but you'll thank me when some crazed bandit is trying to rip your heart out through your chest," I insisted.
Suture gave me a flat, angry stare, but did as I asked. She even went so far as to slide it into the built-in holster of her barding. "I'm not happy with this, Evergreen," she ground out through clenched teeth, "but you might have a point. Just so you know, I refuse to use it unless I have absolutely no other choice."
"Fine by me," I answered as I pulled out all the extra 9mm ammo I had and handed it to her, "Take the ammo to. Keep in mind, it's loaded with hollow point rounds right now."
She gave me a completely blank look. It simply couldn't be possible that this pony knew nothing about guns! She lived in the Celestia-damned wasteland!
When her look didn't disappear, I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. "It means that the bullets will work really well on ghouls or other ponies, but will be completely worthless against anything with armor. If we're facing something that has armor, switch to normal rounds, ok?"
She continued giving me a blank look for a few moments as her brain processed the information, then her eyes finally lit up with understanding, if not enthusiasm. "Fine. Can we go now? It's a long way from here to Millberry."
I nodded and started up the staircase. "Absolutely! Let's get out there and get moving! The wasteland doesn't wait for anypony!"
We emerged into the wasteland where, to my surprise, it wasn't raining. We pushed our way through the shanty town, ignoring the vendors who were trying to get our attention, until we stood before the empty wasteland.
"This is it, isn't it?" Suture asked nervously, eyes darting about the empty and scarred landscape, searching desperately for some form of life that didn't exist.
"Eeyup," I answered, "But you should already know the feeling. This isn't the first time you've left the city, after all."
"But last time I was following after my marefriend. I wasn't thinking about the dangers of the wasteland or the complete lack of life out here. Now I am," the medical pony answered, one hoof pawing at the ground.
"Look at it this way," Crosswire spoke up, "You're not entering some great unknown. You're traveling with other ponies who have promised to protect you, and who are relying on you to keep them on their feet. This isn't some mission that will decide the life or death of a city. It's an adventure, a journey. Things become a lot easier to wrap your head around if you take away their importance."
Both Suture and I were watching the grey buck with our jaws hanging wide open. I had never pictured him to be very philosophical, though I guess it made sense when you factored in the little hints of his real personality that he had been dropping over the last few days.
"Wow... I... I've never thought of it that way before..." Suture trailed off, "That really helps. Thank you, Crosswire."
"Where'd that come from?" I asked, stumbling over my words as I tried to re-organize the thoughts that had been thrown into disarray by Crosswire's totally unexpected insight.
Crosswire simply shrugged. "Something I learned a few years back, before we met. It helped me get through a few rough spots."
"Well, I like it. But we're wasting time! I want to get moving!" I announced, running in place to show my impatience.
Suture laughed at my antics and shook her head slowly. "Come on, Crosswire. We should get moving, or we'll never hear the end of it."
Crosswire laughed as well and the three of us set off into the wasteland, heading southwest, towards Millberry.
Our journey was slow and monotonous. As ever before, the wasteland was empty. We passed burnt out shells of civilization, desiccated husks of towns that had once been beautiful and factories that had once supplied entire cities. Everywhere around us was evidence that life had once prospered here, but now nothing was left but dust and echoes.
The constant cloud cover left even the happiest days with a sense of foreboding and depression, as the constant grey sky seemed to suck all color from the land. My eyes may tell me that that billboard was painted in garishly bright colors or that that home was painted bright yellow, but my mind drained them of those colors, making every surface appear the same dull grey.
The towns and homes we passed filled my heart with sadness. They seemed to be telling me that no matter how hard I tried to preserve my life, or the lives of my friends, we were all doomed to death in the end.
The constant sameness of our surroundings led my mind to wander, and I started to think of how many ponies I had killed, or ordered killed, who had had some other special somepony out there. I couldn't help but to wonder how many lives I had ruined, how much hope I had destroyed, or how many families I had torn apart. How many ponies now lived in the wasteland who could tell a life story that was almost identical to mine? How many fillies had watched their parents die in front of them at the hooves of raiders? I knew I wasn't the first, and I wouldn't be the last. But I was probably one of the few who had embraced that violence after seeing it take everything from me.
I turned my gaze to watch Suture as we walked. She wore her grief well, but I could still see her sadness at the loss of Bliss. No matter what she said, I knew that I was responsible for her death. Suture was just willing to see things from the most literal stand point: that Crackshot had been the one to pull the trigger.
I was grateful to her for that, but it didn't change my feelings on the matter, not when all I could think of was the dozens of ponies who had died at my hooves. How many Bliss's were there in that number? Even worse, how many Sutures were there? I had seen ponies wander into the wasteland in search of a lost loved one, if only because they didn't know what else to do. Most left with little or no preparation, knowing only that they wanted to find their loved one and return home. Most never made it more than a few hours from their homes before being found by ponies like me.
I closed my eyes for a moment and chased the thoughts away. Thinking like that now wouldn't help anything. I had made my choice: I was going to redeem myself. Dwelling on my mistakes and letting guilt dominate me were not going to help me do that. I re-opened my eyes and set my mind to watching our surroundings. We were now in a part of the wasteland where there was a lot of gang activity. We would need to be watchful.
We were traveling slowly, choosing caution over speed. Even though two of us were well-versed in fighting, most gangs in the wasteland would attack with at least three or four ponies, leaving us outnumbered in even the best-case scenario. We weren't going to be caught by surprise.
But our caution was not enough to stave off all danger.
We were passing between two old office buildings when the first shot thundered through the wasteland, only barely being deflected by my upgraded barding. The impact sent me tumbling from my hooves to lie in a dazed heap, my hide throbbing where the bullet had struck.
"Bandits!" Crosswire exclaimed as he floated out his SMG and sent a quick burst in the direction that the bullet had come from. A second shot rang out, striking Crosswire in the chest. Unlike mine, his barding was not reinforced. The bullet easily tore through the simple vest and bit into his body.
I watched in shock as he collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from the wound in his chest. He struggled weakly, trying to regain his hooves. His horn sparked feebly as he reached out for his gun, reacting completely on instinct to protect himself.
"Fuck! Suture, get to him! He can still be saved if we act quickly! I'll cover you!" I shouted, waving a hoof in the injured tech's direction. I wasn't going to let him die. Not now that we were finally beginning to become true friends.
After a short hesitation to gather my nerves, I launched myself into the open, diving for Crosswire's discarded SMG. I scooped it up in my jaws and twisted around to face the direction of the sniper and pulled the trigger.
The force of the gun shook my teeth and kicked back into my mouth so hard that I started to taste blood. It only took a couple of seconds to completely empty the gun, and the aftermath of the barrage left my ears ringing and my jaw aching. Hammer hit hard, but it was always just a short, quick punch, not a prolonged barrage like that had been.
I turned to look at Crosswire and saw Suture crouched over him, holding a healing potion to his lips and trying to coax him to drink. The medical pony must have felt me looking, because she glanced up with a terrified look on her face and tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"He won't drink!" she cried out, her voice thick with tears, "I don't know why!"
I felt a prickle on the back of my neck as I was about to answer and dove to the side. A bullet slammed into the ground where I had been standing a mere moment ago. Had I not jumped, then I would have a brand new hole through my head. I dove away once again, this time jumping towards where Crosswire lay, bleeding out onto the ground.
I shoved Suture aside and took the healing potion, which I promptly emptied into Crosswire's throat. I held his head up so he would have no choice but to swallow. Slowly, his breathing strengthened and I felt the flow of blood against my legs lessen as his wound closed.
"Another potion, now!" I demanded spitting the SMG out on the ground and holding a hoof out towards Suture.
"What about the sniper?" the medical pony asked, trembling violently as she reached into one of her medical cases for another potion.
"Fucker will either kill us and be done with it, or realize that we're not worth the trouble and hold their fire. Nothing I can do about it here. It's not like I can use a rifle like that very effectively," I ground out as I repeated the same process with the second potion.
Crosswire started to sputter, choking on the potion as I forced it down his throat. The wound finally sealed, but the grey buck was unconscious, probably from blood loss. His breathing was shallow, but stronger than it had been a moment before.
"Come on, help me with him! We need to get to cover! That building should offer us some protection!" I snapped, trying to get Suture moving. I started to maneuver the heavy buck onto my back, but would have failed had Suture not finally decided to move and heave him up.
I grabbed the SMG again before we galloped away as quickly as we could, praying that the sniper didn't have a clear shot. I stuck to cover when I could, but the street we were in was quite empty, and I had no clue exactly where the sniper was. There were a few close calls as a round struck close enough to us to shower us with stinging debris, but, by some miracle, we made it safely to the doors of one of the office buildings.
Suture trotted ahead to the door, but turned to me with a fearful look a moment later. "It's locked!" She announced, voice trembling almost as violently as she was.
I growled deep in my throat and spat the SMG out on the ground. I twisted and dug into my saddlebags, pulling out a grenade. "Use this," I said, tossing her the explosive "It should get the door open. Set it on the handle, pull the stem, and take cover."
While Suture did that, I took cover behind a broken down carriage twenty feet away. Crosswire's breathing was getting worse. A couple of healing potions weren't going to be enough. He needed serious help, but he wasn't going to get it while a sniper was shooting at us.
A loud clatter of hooves told me that Suture had set the grenade and was running for her life. The lack of a scream when the explosive went off told me she had made it. I walked out from behind the carriage back to the door, where the handles were now nothing more than mangled metal. I pushed a hoof against the doors and they creaked open, much to my delight. The grenade had been an act of desperation.
I squeezed through the small opening, being careful not to damage Crosswire any further, and moved back to a table where I could lay him down. Suture came through the door a moment later and pushed it shut behind her.
"Are we safe now?" she asked, every line of her body revealing how terrified she was. If I had to guess, I would have said that she was even more scared than she had been in my camp.
"Safer than we were. See to Crosswire. His breathing is getting weaker," I ordered as I walked up to the door. I doubted that the sniper would give up that easily.
"Ok. I can do this," Suture muttered as she walked by me.
"Just stay focused on the job. Do that, and we'll be fine. Leave that sniper to me."
We sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Suture was hunched over Crosswire, working with an almost single-minded determination. I was thinking about who could be trying to shoot us. The only option that seemed to fit was Greymane. His reputation seemed to make him out to be some sort of super-mercenary, so I wouldn't doubt that he was skilled enough to use a heavy sniper rifle.
The wait was starting to get to me, and as I started to lose my focus, I considered abandoning my post when a sound carried through the door.
"This is the only place they could have gone," the voice muttered. It sounded like it was coming from a young mare, but showed no sign of fear of nerves. "Now I can finally do what's right. I've spent my life preparing for this."
I backed off slowly, pulling Hammer out of its holster and holding it up to the door. This didn't fit at all! The mayor had said that Greymane was a buck, not a mare. Why would a random mare be attacking us? I didn't have time to ponder the question as the loud sound of a heavy rifle being reloaded echoed through the office. Then, there was a long period of silence.
"Knock knock," the voice announced, then there was the sound of something massive slamming against the door.
Level up!
Perk gained - Sixth Sense - You can tell when somepony is carefully aiming at you, giving you a small chance to dodge.
Skill Note: Guns (50)
Speech (50)
{This chapter took a bit of work. Getting Evergreen's change of heart to be realistic wasn't easy, and school work kept getting in the way of writing time. As always, thanks to Kkat for creating FoE in the first place, and thanks to Cody and Green Leaf for editing. Please feel free to leave comments for anything from criticism (please keep it constructive) to ideas!} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Four: Circles within Circles | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
By: Cooperdawg
Chapter 4: Circles within Circles
"Our lives are the results of our choices."
In the fraction of a second before the door gave way underneath the massive force trying to crush its way through, time seemed to slow to a stop, giving me the chance to realize one undeniable and all-encompassing truth: this was the end. Everything I had ever fought for, everything I had ever done with my life in the name of survival, amounted to nothing. This is where I would meet the one force in this world that nopony could avoid. This is where I would meet my death.
Oddly, the thought didn't upset me. I didn't want to die, not by any means, and I would not go willingly, but the anger that would have been present in me not two days ago was gone. In its place was a sense of calm and peace. I would face this end bravely, and even though it was more powerful than anything I had encountered before, I would, at the very least, take it with me so nopony else would meet their end the same way.
Time snapped back into reality as the door imploded under the force of impact. The force of the attack struck with such terrible force that one of the doors broke entirely free of its hinges and slammed into me, sending me flying back into the room and sending Hammer flying off into the distance.
I finally came to rest ten feet away against a pile of rubble from the floor above that had collapsed down to this level. I felt as though every single bone in my body had been shattered as each breath sent spikes of pain through my chest. Using every last shred of strength that I could find I forced myself to my hooves and pulled out my knife. Reaching into my saddlebags for the .45 was simply beyond me right now, but I would be damned if I was going to face my death unarmed.
A shape slowly became visible through the mist. My first hint that anypony was even there was a light yellow glow, coming from both the top of the pony-shape as well as surrounding the long profile of what could only be a high-power sniper rifle. I crouched down, gathering myself for one last suicidal lunge, but found myself unable to act when the shape came out into the open, past the cloud of dust.
The unicorn mare couldn't have been more than a teenager. Her coat was the same dark blue as the night sky, bordering on becoming black, but her mane was a shock of fall colors: browns, reds, and oranges all twisting around one another as though in a fight for dominance. Her horn glowed bright yellow as it held the heavy rifle suspended in the air before her. Her levitation skills must have been incredible to manage a weight like that with such ease.
I held my ground, not knowing what to do. This mare had attacked us, had seriously wounded Crosswire, maybe even... no. I was not going to let myself finish that thought. Crosswire was tough, tougher than almost any other pony I had ever met. If anypony could survive a wound like that, it would be him. But all the same, given the threat she posed, I stood here, motionless, unable to attack simply because she appeared vulnerable. Even her expression, as controlled as it was, revealed some kind of deep inner pain.
The mare locked her gaze onto mine and swung the rifle around to aim directly at me. As her eyes met mine I realized that this attack wasn't some random ambush on an unlucky group of travelers. This mare recognized me. Worse, it looked like she knew me. Her gaze narrowed, and I saw all of her pent-up hate for me flow to the forefront of her stare. This mare had every intention of ending my existence right here.
"Finally, I found you," she growled, "There is no longer anything stopping me from putting a Celestia-damned bullet through your fucking skull. I have been waiting so long for this."
"Who are you?" I demanded around the hilt of my knife, "And what have I done to you to warrant this kind of attack?" I could feel my control slipping as my anger threatened to take over. If it did, I knew there was nothing holding me back from jumping at this mare, no matter how futile the attack would be.
"That's just it, isn't it?" the mare said, her tone almost laughing, but still there was a layer of anger, barely contained, under it. "You haven't got a fucking clue who I am. You didn't have a fucking clue who my parents were either, but that didn't stop you from putting a gun against their heads and blowing their brains out, did it?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, lowering myself slightly lower to the ground to get every ounce of strength that I could out of my legs, should I need to jump. Unfortunately, at this range, almost any hit from that sniper would likely be enough to kill me, so any tactic I used would be a delaying one, at best.
"I'm talking about my family, you murdering bitch! I'm talking about the ponies whose home you invaded five years ago, where you shot them dead simply because they were in your way. I'm talking about me finally getting revenge for that act. After five fucking years of living hell, I can finally face my end knowing that my parents have been avenged."
My mind was racing, backtracking through my memories of every raid I had ever been on, every raid I had ever ordered, but nothing would come forward to identify the tale that this mare was telling me.
"Evergreen, I'm losing him! I need your help here!" Suture yelled at me from across the room. Somehow, in all the chaos, she had managed to stay with Crosswire and keep him alive, if only barely.
Still, I stood my ground, staring down this strange mare. Her gaze was still boring into mine. I could see her hatred there, but there was something else as well. This mare couldn't bring herself to shoot, not if I didn't act first. I had just found my way out. All it would take was a gamble.
"Fuck this," I announced and slid my knife back into its sheath. I stood up as tall as I could, considering the considerable amount of pain I was in, and turned my back on the midnight mare, hobbling over to where Suture was crouched over Crosswire's limp form. "What do you need me to do?" I asked, coming up beside the maroon medical pony. I grabbed one of the healing potions that Suture had laid out and chugged it. Most of the pain from the attack receded enough for me to be able to walk without being in constant pain, but there was still an insistent ache throughout my entire body.
"His breathing is dangerously weak, and I'm pretty sure that there is still some internal bleeding, but a healing potion isn't going to help here. I need to make an incision so the blood can drain and so I can stitch up whatever is causing it, but the shock may be too much to his system. If he stops breathing, you need to breathe for him. Can you handle that?"
"Yeah, I can do that. You sure about this?" I asked. I wasn't going to lose him now. We had just reached the point where I knew he was someone I could rely on. I didn't want to lose that.
"No, but I don't have a choice. If I do nothing, he will die. Ready?" Suture answered, looking up at me with a worried look on her face.
I returned her gaze for a moment as I mentally prepared myself, then nodded. "Do it."
"What the hell is this?" the sniper finally demanded, probably coming out of whatever shocked stupor I had put her in. I could hear her stepping towards us. She wasn't even trying to hide her advance. "This is not how you would react! I know, I watched you that day, and I know how raiders think. When faced with a threat, you attack, every single time! So why the fuck aren't you attacking me?!"
I could hear the desperation in her voice. She wanted to shoot me. She probably wanted my death more than she wanted her own life, but she still held herself to moral values that kept her from following through with that desire, no matter how much anger and hatred she poured into herself.
"I'm not attacking because to attack you would be suicide. Also, my closest, and probably only, friend is dying. I'm not going to simply let that happen. I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm not a raider, not anymore," I answered, letting just enough of my anger creep into my voice to let the mare know that I meant every word.
"This... This is bullshit! Turn around and look at me! I need to watch you die!" she demanded. I heard her stumble as a piece of rubble shifted out from under her hooves. Two days ago, I would have jumped at the chance to disable her, and probably kill her, but now I had too many other things to worry about.
"Now, Evergreen! His breathing's stopped! I only need a few minutes, so keep at it!" Suture shouted. Her muzzle and hooves were coated in blood from working on Crosswire's insides. I didn't want to think about what the blood was coming from.
I knelt down over Crosswire's head and pressed my lips to his, forcing my breath into his lungs. When mine were completely empty, I pulled away, sucked in another breath, and repeated the process. Even while working, I could feel the midnight mare's eyes drilling into my back and could feel her hate like a fire, spreading from where her gaze was locked onto my back throughout my entire body.
When I came up for air between breaths, I turned my head just enough to fix her in one eye. "Look, if you're going to shoot me, shoot me and be done with it!" I snapped, "If not, drop that damn gun and let me save my friend!"
"I'm almost... there," Suture muttered before finally backing her head out of the cut she had made in Crosswire's chest. "Give him a couple healing potions, now. We need to seal this wound."
I nodded and swiftly followed the order, forcing two of the purple potions down the tech's throat. Slowly, too slowly to my eyes, the wound in his chest knitted together, but when the healing power of the potions was finished, there was still a small wound remaining. I reached for another potion, but Suture waved me away, instead pulling out a roll of magical bandages which she wrapped tightly around his chest, sealing the little remaining damage from the elements.
"Is he breathing?" Suture asked me, looking up from her handiwork. The blood on her face and across her chest was a surreal image. She looked like one of the psychopaths that every raider gang had to deal with: the kind that enjoyed eating their victims.
I shook my head to dispel the image and lowered an ear to his mouth, straining to hear any sound of respiration. It took a few seconds, but I did feel a slight passage of air go past my ear, and heard the faint exhalation coming from the buck. "Barely, but yeah, he's breathing. You did it, Suture." I felt a weight lift itself from my shoulders. Knowing that Crosswire was going to survive this lifted my spirits to the point where I felt like I could face anything. Right now, I had to.
Not even bothering to hide my joy and relief, I turned back around to face the sniper. Her expression was no longer one of hatred, but of division. Her eyes were still filled with the desire to kill me, but she was torn now that she had seen me work so hard to save somepony. Her weapon had also drifted down until it was no longer pointing at my head, but at my chest.
"So what's it going to be? I know where you are, whoever you are," I stated simply, "I've been there myself. You ready to take that shot? I can tell you what happens when you do, if you care to know."
"What do you mean?" she demanded, lifting the rifle slightly, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You pull that trigger, and it will change you. I have no doubts that every single pony you have killed to this point you have killed as an act of self-defense. But killing me will be different. I will not attack you, no matter what you say to me. If you kill me, it will be murder, no matter what justifications you give yourself, no matter how much you tell yourself I deserve it. And trust me, once you commit that first murder, the next is much easier. And the next, and the next, and the next, until you no longer think of killing other ponies as murder, but simply as another way to get ahead and survive. Are you ready to become that?"
The mare stared into my eyes, the hatred giving way to confusion and fear. "What the fuck do you know about it?" she snapped, trying to force her anger to remain, "You're a Celestia-damned raider! You don't know what a fucking family is!"
Under any other circumstances, I would have killed her for that statement alone. I could even almost feel Suture's wince from where I stood. But this conversation wasn't about me. If I was going to be a better pony, then this was where it would have to start. But that didn't mean that I couldn't let my anger show.
"I don't know what a family is? Are you fucking kidding me? My parents raised me until the day raiders put them down mere inches in front of me! Those instilled in me the exact same hate I see in your eyes, and I'll tell you, that hatred did nothing to help me! It consumed me, changed me, and twisted me into becoming the very thing my parents died to save me from. If you pull that trigger, you'll be just like me. That is a promise," I growled.
The sniper took a step back, shaking her head. "No, no it doesn't work like that!" she protested, "You're a raider, it's all you've ever been! Why else would you kill them?! Why would you leave me in this world with nothing?!"
I took a step towards her, keeping my held up high and making sure my steps were careful and not in any sense threatening. At any violent move, I would be dead, and I knew it. "I killed them because I was a raider, and it was what I did. They were in my way, and I was angry. I was always angry. I'm still angry. I didn't even know you were there," I explained. I took another step, then another. With every step, the mare seemed to shrink in on herself as she crouched down to the ground until she was simply lying there, helpless. Her ears folded back and her eyes welled up with tears. She didn't know how to deal with this situation I was giving her, and it hurt her, probably more than anything I had ever done.
When I was just a couple steps away from her, I stopped. Her magic grip on the sniper failed as she looked up at me and the weapon clattered to the ground. "You're going to kill me now, aren't you?" she asked, "This is how you work now, isn't it?" Her tone was almost pleading.
This mare was hurt, and that hurt was far deeper than anything I had ever had to endure. I had never been forced to face the object of my torment. The raiders that had killed my family had been killed in the same battle in which my parents died. But this mare was now faced with me, but I wasn't the pony I needed to be to let her vent her emotions and anger in the way she wanted to. But that way wasn't the right way anyway.
I knelt down until I was down on her level and could look her straight in the eye. "I'm not going to kill you," I said softly, "I'm going to apologize. I did kill your family, and the fact that I can't even summon up their image, or even a memory of that day speaks volumes to the depths I fell to. But I have realized where I went wrong. If I can help anypony avoid that same life, then by Celestia as my witness, I will do so! Now get up. I'm not killing anypony today that I don't have to, and you are not going to become a victim to the wasteland."
I rose back to my hooves and held a hoof out towards her. She watched me quietly, looking for any hint of deception or betrayal, but I was offering nothing like that. Two days ago, I would have killed her as soon as she dropped the rifle, but now I could see that killing her would accomplish nothing. She no longer had the drive to pull the trigger on me, so I wasn't in any danger from her. Crosswire wouldn't be happy with the decision, but I couldn't care less. The situation was exactly like I had told Suture yesterday: the moral cost of simple survival was too high, so I had to do what I could to save what little bit of a soul I had left.
After a full minute of tense silence, the mare reached out, hooked her own hoof around mine, and pulled herself to her feet. "Why?" she asked, her expression one of confusion, "Why are you sparing me? Why are you doing any of this?"
"Because I was wrong, and I want to make it right now. Can't really start doing that if I kill everypony I meet, can I?" I answered, "So what's your name? I'm Evergreen."
The mare stared at me, completely dumbfounded. Finally, however, her anger and hatred dominated over any other emotion and her horn started to glow again, bringing the heavy sniper back up. I backpedaled to get away, but the rifle followed me. Even after I was twenty feet away, backed up against a wall, I was staring done the carefully-engineered barrel of the sniper rifle.
"Fuck!" she yelled, "What the hell is going on here! I don't give a fuck how different you might be, or how fucking bad you feel about the shit you've done, you killed my fucking family! Because of you, I have nothing. Nopony out there gives a shit about me, and nopony has ever since my family was fucking killed! By you! Now fucking attack me so I can finish this!"
I forced my heart to slow down and took a deep breath, only exhaling once I felt my body beginning to relax. "No."
"What the fuck do you mean, no?" the sniper demanded, taking a step forward. The rifle moved forward with her, only coming to rest a couple of inches from my head. I could now easily make out the rifling of the barrel.
"Exactly what I said. I'm not attacking you. I am not suicidal, and I want to help you," I responded calmly, "What's your name?"
"Fuck you!" the mare shouted, "You don't deserve to know that! All you fucking deserve is death!"
"Then pull the fucking trigger! End it! But I will tell you now that that is the beginning of a very dark path, and you will hate yourself when you realize how far you've fallen!" I shouted back. I was finished with being nice. Either this mare would allow the wasteland to consume her, or she would be better.
"Evergreen, no!" Suture shouted. I saw her take a step towards me.
"Stay out of this, Suture," I snapped, "This doesn't concern you. It's between me and her. If she pulls the trigger, get Crosswire back to Metro and make sure he's taken care of. Promise me that, please."
"O... Okay, Evergreen," Suture answered, "I promise."
"So what's it going to be?" I asked, taking a step forward so that the barrel of the rifle was pressed against my forehead, "You have the guts to pull the fucking trigger and end this Celestia-damned charade, or are you going to drop the rifle and tell me your fucking name?"
"Fuck!" the mare shouted and I felt something shift, followed by a wall of light and noise that left my ears ringing and my head spinning.
When the world finally returned to some semblance of normality, I found myself lying on the ground, trembling, with blood flowing down the side of my head. I twisted around so I was looking up and saw the sniper floating above me, smoke curling around the barrel. The wall next to where I had been standing had a fresh bullet hole in it; one that was easily twice as large as any other bullet hole I had ever seen. Some of the shrapnel from the shot had lacerated the side of my head, not to mention the blood flowing from my ear from a busted ear drum.
A shadow passed over me and the sniper's head came into my sight. Her face was scrunched up in a grimace and her eyes were simply radiating hatred. "Fuck you, Evergreen. I'm staying with you, and the moment you do any fucking thing that is even the least but raiderish I swear to any god that may still exist that I will kill you on the spot, got it?"
I rolled back over and tried to gather my hooves under me, but the repeated trauma of getting hit with a door, then having a heavy sniper going off right next to my head left me so unsteady that my attempt left me lying on my side, gasping for breath.
Suddenly, a yellow glow surrounded me and I was being lifted into the air and lowered on to my hooves. The glow remained until I had some semblance of stability. Was this mare really that skilled with levitation that she could maneuver a sniper as well as a pony with such ease?
"My name is Autumn Mist, and from this moment forward, consider me your conscience, Evergreen. If you fuck up, you'll get to rejoin that family of yours and mine can finally rest in peace. And trust me, I am not going to let anypony else kill you. That act belongs to me alone," the mare snapped, chambering another round in her sniper to make her point.
"So long as you aren't shooting me, I could care less what you do. If you insist on coming along, I won't say no to another gun on my side," I mumbled, still trying to get my head working properly, "But one rule: never do that again. If you're going to pull the trigger that close to my head again, make sure to hit me."
"No promises," the mare answered, flipping her rifle around and sliding it into a set of leather loops on her barding so that it rested comfortably on her back.
I shook my head and hobbled over to Suture. I nearly fell over several times, since my busted ear was really throwing off my balance, not to mention everything else that had led up to this point.
The medical pony met me halfway, supporting me with her body and leading me over to where she had our medical supplies spread out. "You really can't go for more than a day without getting yourself hurt, can you, Evergreen?" she asked me. At any other time, I'm sure her tone would have been somewhat joking, but with everything we had already faced today she couldn't bring anything but weariness into her voice, and it was barely past noon.
She got me a healing potion, even going so far so to pull the cork and hold it to my lips. I took it in my mouth and tipped my head back, letting the thick purple fluid flow down my throat. The cuts on my head healed quickly, then my ear popped as my eardrum mended itself as well. Too bad the potions did nothing for headaches.
"Thanks," I muttered, shaking my head to try and clear it and to get my ears to stop ringing.
"Of course. You sure about her, though? I don't know how I feel about this. She almost killed Crosswire," Suture said, quieting her voice to little more than a whisper.
"She shot a heavy sniper less than a foot from my head. Of course I'm not sure about this. Not like she's giving us a choice, and I'm not about to murder her either, no matter how much I may want to."
"You would have last time we met," Suture pointed out, a slightly hard edge coming into her voice, which meant that this was probably a test.
"Last time, yeah, I wouldn't have hesitated. This time, she's in the right. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? She decides that I fucked up and puts a bullet in my head. At least that would be a quick end. I could think of much worse. Hell, I've done much worse."
Suture shook her head at me. "Well, at least you're doing something for the right reasons for once."
I ignored her comment and instead asked, "So how's he doing? That shot did a lot of damage."
Suture sighed and turned her head to look at the grey buck. He was lying completely motionless, his face, neck, and chest all drenched in blood. While he was breathing regularly, it wasn't nearly strong as I would have liked it to be. "I just don't know. He's stable, but he lost a lot of blood. I wouldn't trust moving him unless we could get some more into him, but we didn't bring any blood packs with us."
"There are some preserved blood packs in the clinic a short way away from here, in what's left of Hilltown," Autumn Mist announced from the door where she was standing, peering out into the wasteland. Her voice was still laced with anger, but it seemed as though she was beginning to calm down.
"Perfect. I can go get them, then we can get Crosswire back on his feet and get to Millberry by nightfall. We can rest there and give him time to recover," I announced.
"That might be a bit more difficult than you think, Evergreen," Autumn stated coldly, "Maybe even impossible."
"Then why bring it up?" I demanded, walking up to the mare, frowning. What would possess this mare to bring something up that we couldn't do?
"Because there's only a slim chance that it's doable. The town belongs to a gang; call themselves the Iron Hooves, and they don't take kindly to strangers, caravans, or any sort of pony that isn't part of their game. Not much difference between them and a bunch of fucking raiders, now that I think about it."
"Then the solution is even more simple," I pointed out, "You're going to come with me and support me. Between your skill with that rifle, and my combat ability, we should be able to get in and out of the clinic in no time. It's not like my goal is to wipe out the gang."
Autumn Mist stared at me with obvious dislike. "And why should I help you do that? I said I would follow you to make sure you follow through with this supposed new lifestyle of yours, not to be your lackey. Also, here you are, less than ten minutes after I tell you that I'll kill you if you even think about acting like a raider, suggesting that we attack a settlement of ponies."
I turned on the mare, briefly letting my anger control me. "You said yourself that they are barely better than raiders themselves. By your own definition, you should hate these ponies. Also, you are coming with me for a few reasons," I snapped, "Number one: you are the one who shot Crosswire, so you are going to do everything you can to help heal him. Number two: you said you were going to follow me and make sure I live, and I am going there regardless of your choice, so if you want to make sure I survive, you had better come along. Third: if you don't, and he dies, I would be completely in my rights to kill you for murdering him, seeing as we were simply travelers when you opened fire. Again, by your own definition, you acted the raider. That is why you are going to help me."
Autumn Mist glared at me. I could see her mind working behind her eyes, trying to come up with some excuse or reason to refuse me, but I could see that she was coming up blank. "Fine," she finally ground out, "Let's go get this suicide mission over with so I can get on with my life."
We were just starting to walk out of the building, sidling past the new boulder in the building, presumably the one Autumn had used to bash the door in and pausing only long enough for me to recover Hammer, when Suture called after us. "Wait, what the hell am I supposed to do? You two have all the fighting experience!"
"I gave you a gun," I pointed out, "And there shouldn't be anypony else coming this way, and if they were, they don't have a reason for coming in here. We shouldn't be gone long, you'll be fine."
"Evergreen, this isn't okay!" Suture yelled, "What if something happens? What if somepony shows up here, I don't have the skills to protect us!"
"Then make sure Crosswire lives. He deserves that chance," I answered, and stepped beyond the threshold of the building.
Hilltown was ugly. That was all I could think of to describe it. We were crouched down at the top of a hill overlooking the town, and all I could see were piles of rubble that had once been buildings, though I couldn't tell which had been shops or which had been homes. Occasionally, I could spot a still-intact wall, but those were few and far between. The only structure that had survived the war and intervening years was the clinic, which sat squarely in the center of the Iron Hooves' camp, which meant it was probably functioning as their headquarters.
A flimsy wall had been constructed around the building, but as I watched, it looked like the wall had been designed to be weak, because the number of ponies patrolling it provided enough intimidation that even I was thinking twice about taking the risk to get in there.
Within the wall, the ponies in the gang had constructed simple shacks and shelters with leftover rubble and metal, much as my gang had done back in the mountains. Within the settlement I could see ponies moving around, going about the business of their daily lives.
"Autumn, let me see your rifle. I need a closer look at the ponies on the wall," I said, holding out a hoof for the gun.
The dark mare hesitated, probably wary about giving the object of her hatred her most prized possession, but she finally hefted it over.
The weight of the gun surprised me. I had thought it looked heavy, but it weighed much more than I had thought. I audibly grunted when I took its weight, which elicited a chuckle from Autumn.
"Heavier than you thought?" she asked snidely.
"Something like that," I admitted. I maneuvered the weapon awkwardly to see through its scope, then adjusted myself so that I was looking down at one of the ponies on the wall. It would have been impossible for me to even try to shoot this thing, but, luckily, I wasn't trying to do that.
I wanted to see the state of the ponies tasked to guarding the settlement. Since it was just past noon, I was expecting them to be relatively alert, but they were still just gangers, so there couldn't be any real professionalism. Or so common sense told me.
Instead, the guards on patrol appeared to be alert and well-supplied. They were placed fairly regularly about the perimeter and almost none of them appeared to be the least bit distracted. There were even what appeared to be shift supervisors going around and making sure everypony was doing their jobs properly. This was going to be much more challenging than I thought.
"See anything you like?" Autumn asked me, her magic lifting the rifle away from me. Her tone was mocking and set my teeth on edge.
"No, and that's what worries me. These ponies are much more organized and professional than I was expecting," I muttered, trying to suppress my annoyance with her, "This isn't going to be easy."
"Impossible, I say," Autumn countered, "This entire venture is suicide. There's no way in hell you can get in and out of there."
"Not alone, no. Luckily for me, I'm not alone. Can you provide sniper cover while I'm down there? The longer you can keep them off of me, the better chanced I'll have."
"Are you serious? It won't matter how many of them I can pick off. They'll corner you and finish you off before you get within a hundred feet of that clinic!" Autumn protested.
"Not if they don't know where I am," I answered as a plan started to form in my head, "These ponies look professional, but I doubt they'll react that way. If you start picking them off on the far side of the base, they'll probably mass over there to repel some attack, which should make it easier for me to slip through over here."
"And if they don't?" Autumn asked condescendingly.
I shook my head at her. "Then I'll figure it out from there. Give me five minutes to get down there, then start shooting. The base isn't that big, so I should be in and out in no time."
"Your funeral," the dark mare muttered, then set herself up and starting aiming down at the base. I watched as she started to fiddle with the scope and rifle, wondering exactly what she was doing, then forced myself to turn away and started down the hill.
I crept forward quickly and carefully, making sure that I wasn't making any more noise than was absolutely necessary. It took me most of the five minutes to just get down the hill without being spotted, and that only because this wasn't the way I was used to doing things. My style was much more the 'walk up and shoot them' style.
Once at the base of the hill, I kept myself low to the ground and basically crawled up to the wall. Somehow, the guards on duty didn't see me, and I made it right up to the base of the low, flimsy wall. Here, I knelt down, silently waiting for Autumn Mist to start shooting.
Her first shot thundered through the base a minute later and was met almost instantly with shouts of alarm and surprise. The sound of pounding hooves passed near the spot where I was hiding. My plan may actually be working!
I positioned myself so that I could see through a crack in the wall and saw several ponies running away from me, towards whatever side of the base Autumn had chosen as her firing range. Another shot rang out and I began to hear cries of 'Bandit!' or 'Raider!'. I grinned and bucked at the wall as Autumn fired again, striking as soon as the thunder from her rifle passed over me, hiding the sound of my kick.
The wall gave on the first try, toppling over and giving me a clear shot to the clinic. It looked too easy. I cast about for an alternate route and spotted one of the piles of rubble that was all that was left of one of the buildings that had once stood in the town. It appeared to be insignificant enough that there wouldn't be anything of value over there. Just in case, I pulled Hammer from its holster, then dashed across the open ground for the rubble. I made it without incident and dove behind a large slab of concrete, ears poised for any sound of pursuit or detection, but heard nothing but another round from Autumn.
I crept my way up to where the rubble met open ground closest to the clinic, then knelt down and watched carefully. There were sounds of gunfire and shouting coming from the far side of the base, so the gangers must actually believe there was somepony attacking them. Fine by me. I was just surprised that they had pulled everypony from this side of the base; it would have made an actual flanking attack too easy to pull off. It made me think that their intimidating appearance was just that, an appearance.
I took a step forward, intending to start running for the clinic, but the sound of something beeping made me stop in my tracks. I knew that sound. It was a fucking landmine. I tried to jump back, but was a moment too late. The mine detonated in a rain of shrapnel and the shockwave grabbed me while I was in the air and tossed me back several feet into the rubble. This was really not my day.
I was still in enough of one piece that I was able to roll back onto my stomach and collect my hooves under me, but as soon as I tried to get up, a lance of pain through my right leg made me collapse in a heap. I turned my gaze to my leg and found a piece of metal jutting out of it, blood trickling out around the hole it made. It looked to be about as long as my hoof was wide.
I replaced Hammer in its holster, then reached down for the piece of metal and took it between my teeth. I tensed up in expectation of the pain, then wrenched the piece of shrapnel out. The only reason I didn't scream in pain was because I had a piece of metal in my mouth. My first act after spitting out the length of metal was to reach into my saddlebags for a healing potion and drink it on the spot.
The wound closed slowly, but not completely. The small hole that was left wept blood, but not nearly enough to make me worry, so I chose to ignore it. I gathered my hooves under me once again, then tried to stand. The potion had done just enough for me that my leg was able to support my weight, but not much else.
Once again, I crept forward to the open ground and looked out. It didn't appear that anypony had noticed the explosion, but this journey would be much longer than I had anticipated if I had to watch for landmines every step.
I started forward, taking each step only after I was sure that the way forward was clear. Several times a landmine almost went off in my face, but each time I managed to stomp on the disarming button before they could only because I knew exactly where they were when they started to beep. The ones I disarmed I collected as I went; it would provide me with a clear alley to hobble through on my way back.
The next thing I knew, I was standing at the back wall of the clinic. Now all I needed was a way in. I remembered seeing a back door a short distance to my right, so I crept that way, but I was beginning to worry because Autumn hadn't fired her rifle in some time. The guards here were going to be coming back any time now.
The door swung open easily when I finally happened on it and I stepped through, making sure to close it once I was inside. Now all I needed to do was to find a few blood packs and get out. I pulled Hammer out and started forward.
Both Autumn and I believed that this building also functioned as the gang's headquarters, so I was even more careful than I had been outside, ears perked for the sounds of any gangers who would be inside, but it was oddly quiet.
As I moved forward, I was shocked by just how empty the building was. Everywhere I could see evidence of ponies living here, but there was no sign of them. I got my answer why a few moments later while I was rummaging through a chest in one of the old examination rooms, searching for the blood packs I needed.
"These fucking raiders are toying with us now. I kept telling Stainless that we needed to reinforce the wall, but she kept telling me to fuck off. Now see where it got us. We are so fucked!" somepony was complaining as the sound of a door swinging open echoed through the building.
Several voices answered the first and I could hear several sets of hooves entering the building. They must have all left at the sound of the attack, which made perfect sense now that I thought about it.
That left me with the problem of being trapped in a room with nowhere to go to hide. Guess I would get a chance to use Hammer after all. I closed the chest again and marched up to the doorway, mentally preparing myself for the fight. The halls were fairly narrow, so the gang's numbers shouldn't mean much in here, so long as I could keep reloading quickly. And I still needed to find out where those blood packs were.
"So how's Alloy? That sniper sure fucked him up. Think the doc can fix him up?" somepony asked. I stopped dead in my tracks to try and get some hint at where the doctor might be. Chances were that the blood packs would be there as well.
"I don't know," the pony's companion answered, "Arcweld is good at what he does, but this might be a bit beyond even his skills. So many ponies are being brought over to that hidey-hole of his in the west wing that I doubt he'll even get to Alloy. There are a lot of others he could save first."
Good. Now I had a goal. I knew from where I had wandered after entering the clinic that I was in the northern section, so I was at least relatively close to where I needed to be. Relatively close with Celestia-knows how many ponies between me and there.
Well, there was nothing to do but go for it. If I was lucky, Autumn would notice something was up and support me, so long as she didn't decide that just letting me die was good enough. If I was unlucky... well, I didn't really want to think along those lines.
I left the examination room I was in and turned towards the west wing. I started trotting forward, Hammer held ready, and waited to meet my first adversary. The wait wasn't long.
A ragged yellow mare turned the corner in front of me and started in surprise. She obviously wasn't expecting to run into anyone here. I quickly took aim and pulled the trigger. My shot echoed loudly in the narrow hallway as the bullet slammed into the mare's jaw and exited out the back of her head, taking most of her skull along with it. She dropped limply to the ground amidst shouts of alarm from deeper in the building.
I stepped over her body and ran down the hall as fast as my leg would let me, racing for the west wing. Judging by what those ponies had been saying, I expected this part of the clinic to be sparsely populated, and was lucky enough to discover that it was so. But I could still hear the sound of several ponies coming after me.
I bucked through a door and slammed it shut behind me. The ponies behind me had been gaining much quicker than I expected, and some had even gotten close enough to take a few potshots at me. Luckily enough, the few that were on target had been deflected by my barding. This door was just the first piece of solid cover I could find.
"She ran into the infirmary!" I heard somepony yell, "Back off and let Arcweld take care of this!"
That did not bode well. Not many gangs would leave an intruder to their doctor. Unless, of course, the doctor earned that reputation. I didn't have any more time to consider the issue as somepony wrapped their hooves around my chest and tossed me away from the door as if I were a ragdoll.
"So you think you can just come into our home and start shooting ponies up?!" a voice demanded. It was loud and booming and held levels of rage I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
I was still trying to regain my hooves when the source of the voice, a massive, dark brown unicorn buck, reached me and slammed both of his forehooves into my gut, dropping me back down to the floor. The only thought that was going through my head at that point was 'So that's why they call themselves Iron Hooves.'
Before the buck could repeat the attack, I rolled to the side, groaning as my injured leg was twisted, but managed to get out of his reach, momentarily. I used the momentum of the roll to get my hooves under me and pull myself to my feet. Hammer had been lost somewhere after I had been thrown, and I didn't have time to retrieve my .45 from my saddlebags. I really needed to invest in another holster on my barding. Instead of going for a firearm, I simply pulled out my knife.
I had fought enough ponies hoof-to-hoof, including bucks like this one, that I should be able to hold my own, at least in theory. With an injured leg, my chances weren't great against a healthy opponent. And it looked like he knew that.
He was grinning broadly as he stared over at me, giving me the time I needed to steady myself. He obviously thought he could easily win this fight, regardless of how prepared I was, which meant that he was over-confident and arrogant. Maybe I could win this after all.
"All I want are a few blood packs. My friend is dying and he needs them to survive. Give me those and let me walk and we won't have an issue," I snapped around the hilt of my knife.
The buck laughed at me. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You come in here, kill nine ponies, then ask for our supplies? You're fucking insane! And soon you'll be fucking dead!"
"And would you have traded with them had I come up to the main gate?" I demanded, widening my stance for the charge I knew was coming.
"Fuck no! We don't deal with wastelanders!" Arcweld yelled. He lowered his head and charged forward, intending to knock me from my hooves with his bulk alone.
I held my ground until he was almost within reach, the jumped to the side, letting him crash into a gurney behind where I had been standing. While he was dazed, I lunged forward, striking out with my knife.
He moved quickly, faster than I had expected him to be able to, and blocked my blow with one massive hoof. Instead of plunging my knife into his neck, it glanced off his leg, leaving only a shallow cut and giving him and opening to land a kick against my side, which sent me tumbling against a wall.
Knowing he was charging me again, I rolled towards him, twisting my head so the knife's point was pointing towards him, and braced for the impact. It felt like getting hit with a train as he slammed into me with all of his considerable bulk. I lay on the ground, dazed, trying to regain my senses.
When the world finally began to snap back into focus, the first thing I realized was that I was still alive. The second was that my knife was no longer in my mouth. The last thing I noticed was that Arcweld was no longer breathing normally, but rather drawing in breaths in ragged gasps. I shook my head and slowly got to my hooves, looking around for the buck.
I found him dragging himself along the wall towards a cabinet set on the far side of the room. That must be where he kept the medical supplies. He was trailing a thick line of blood behind him, and his attempts were to move were growing weaker with every passing second.
Wary of any deception, I slowly made my way towards him. When I drew level, I saw the hilt of my knife sticking out of his chest. The buck saw me standing over him and stopped his attempts to move, deciding instead to use the last of his strength to stare up at me. "Guess you got what you wanted, murderer," he wheezed, "but good luck getting out of here alive. The second you walk out that door, the weight of the Iron Hooves will crush you underneath and leave nothing behind but a smear!"
I couldn't bring myself to feel pity for this buck. As hard as I was trying to be better, there were some things about myself that nothing would change. My drive to kill ponies who had tried to do the same to me was part of that. I glared down at him, trying to decide what to do, and he returned my glare with anger and hatred.
I wrenched my knife out of the wound and turned away, leaving him to his fate. The first thing I did was search for Hammer. It was only after I found the revolver five minutes later that I noticed the dozen beds arrayed around the perimeter of the room, every single one occupied with gravely injured and terrified ponies.
"Are we next?" a mare asked. Her hide was a dark blue in color and her mane was a lighter shade of the same color with some streaks of white going through it. I could tell by the look in her eye that she was terrified for whatever life she had left.
I quickly looked her over while I thought of my answer. She had a stark white bandage wrapped around her midsection that contrasted sharply with her hide; most likely some gunshot wound that kept her from doing anything strenuous. She was also thin and unkempt, which led me to believe that this gang didn't allocate a lot of resources to the sick or injured.
I was being careful in picking my answer, because I knew that had our situations been reversed, this mare would most likely have killed me without a second thought. Except our situations weren't reversed, and I was being faced with this problem. These ponies hadn't attacked me, and they weren't threatening me, but my brain kept making the argument that they would be attacking me if they could.
"No," I found myself answering, the word catching me by surprise as much as it was them, "I'm not going to kill you. You haven't tried to kill me, so I see no reason to." I marched past the beds to the medical cabinet and flung it open.
Inside was a treasure trove of medical supplies. My own supply of medical potions was quickly declining, between both mine and Crosswire's injuries, so I swept a few of those into my saddlebags, followed by three full blood packs. Hopefully Suture would be able to use them. I left the rest of the drugs and chems behind; they would only slow me down.
"Is there a back way out of the clinic?" I asked, turning to the mare who had spoken before. She was sitting on her bed in sullen silence, not entirely convinced that I wasn't a threat.
"Why should I tell you?" she demanded, "You killed our doctor! You're probably the reason some of us are in here!"
I sighed and hung my head. "Fair enough. But I wouldn't be here if I didn't need these blood packs. My closest friend is dying and I need to do something to save him! I'd rather die a murderer than simply allow my friends to die without at least trying to save them." I lifted my head back up and stared the dark mare down, daring her to speak against me.
She returned my gaze, and I thought I saw a glimmer of understanding appear there. "There's a door ten feet down the hall, on your right. It will take you to a maintenance entrance on the west end of the building. You're on your own from there," she grumbled.
I nodded in acknowledgment of the directions and turned to leave, but she called after me at the door. "If your friend survives, tell him he owes us, and we always collect our debts."
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at the mare. "If he survives, it won't be because you lot decided to help. It will be because I decided to do something about it. Be thankful that I left you with your life."
Turning away from her, I stepped past the threshold and out into the hallway. I shut the door behind me and crept forward, listening carefully for the sound of anypony who could be near, but heard nothing. As the mare had said, there was a door nearby, but I hesitated on entering it. What reason would she have had to help me, especially since the rest of her gang was actively trying to tear me limb from limb?
Deciding that I really didn't have any better options at my disposal, I opened the door, Hammer out and ready, and stepped through.
To my surprise, the mare hadn't been lying. I found myself in a maintenance hallway. The walls were a dull, uniform grey, rather than the peeling yellow color of the main parts of the building. I started forward, watching my steps, moving as quickly as I could for the exit. It didn't take me long to reach it.
Once at the door, I paused again and checked my E.F.S. I couldn't see any bars immediately in front of me, but that didn't mean a whole lot. I swung my head from side to side, and caught sight of a few bars just ahead of me to both sides. If I was unlucky, those ponies would be at the perimeter, where their guard stations were. They would most likely hear the opening of the door, and be on me before I had a chance to react.
On the other hoof, if I was lucky, they would be in other rooms nearby, and not even outside. Well, it wasn't like I had much of a choice.
I carefully opened the door and took a step outside. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, behind the cloud cover, casting the world in a slightly darker shade of grey that made it harder to see anything at a distance. That could play in my favor.
I crouched down low and started walking, praying that I would remain hidden, but my luck wasn't going to hold out that long.
Shouts of alarm sprang up off to my left, the direction I needed to go if I wanted to meet up with Autumn, since I had approached the base from the south. I swore to myself, and turned to face the threat.
Three ponies were bearing down on me. The mare at the front of the formation was wielding a wicked-looking machete and the buck on her left was holding a piece of wood with a nail stuck in it. The third pony, a mare, was the only one with a firearm, and that was only a small 9mm pistol, nothing to really be worried about, or at least so I thought.
It was much harder to maintain that thought when bullets started flying around me, and a few ricocheted off of my reinforced barding. Every impact felt like a hammer hitting me in my already-battered chest. I ignored the mare with the gun, instead taking aim at the one with the machete. Once she was within a dozen feet, and I was sure that I wouldn't miss, I pulled the trigger.
Her chest exploded in a fountain of gore as the revolver round slammed home. Her face barely registered her shock at being shot before she tumbled to the ground, her momentum carrying her another five feet before coming to rest, dead, in a bloody heap.
I turned my head slightly towards the buck, who was now significantly closer, and fired again. Since I didn't have as much time to line up the shot, my bullet only grazed off of his shoulder, rather than hitting him the same way it had the first mare.
The shot made the buck stumble, but he kept coming, swinging the board once he was in range.
I twisted around, taking the blow on my barding, rather than in the neck as the buck had planned. The nail punched through the metal plates, but got stuck in the leather of the barding underneath. He started the wrench the board back and forth, trying to work it free, as I turned my head and took aim.
My shot caught him square between the eyes and sent a large portion of his brains splattering out onto the dirt as his head snapped back from the impact and he fell to the ground, blood quickly pooling around the corpse.
The back of my neck prickled, and I snapped my head up in time to see the mare with the 9mm taking careful aim at me. I knew I didn't have time to dodge out of the way.
Fate hadn't quite decided that it was my time to die yet as a shot thundered through the wasteland, completely decapitating the mare and sending a geyser of her blood a foot into the air. Autumn had just saved my life.
I turned away from the three corpses and ran as fast as I was able to the perimeter of the camp. As luck would have it there were no more landmines between me and the wall, so, with a little assistance from Autumn in the form of sniper cover, I made it to the wall without incident and slipped out back into the wasteland.
Once out of the base, I stuck to the rocks and bushes, using them to hide my movements as best as possible, and hoping that the gangers would give up hunting me now that I was no longer in their home. Several sounds of gunfire followed my progress, though none of the shots came anywhere near me. Most must have been firing out of frustration, rather than having any sort of knowledge about where I was.
Even so, I moved only slowly, only leaving cover when I was sure that nopony knew where I was. It took me almost twenty minutes to make it back to Autumn in this fashion. The dark mare had long since ceased firing and was waiting for me atop the hill we had used to scope out the base earlier. She was up on her feet, seemingly ready to leave, except for the fact that her rifle was out floating next to her, aimed down at the base.
"Autumn, I got the packs. Let's get the fuck out of here!" I announced as I rejoined her.
"Took you damn long enough," the sniper answered, firing one last round that shook my teeth before lowering her rifle and turning to look at me, "You got most of that gang really riled up. Getting back isn't going to be as easy as getting here was. They want blood now, and are working hard to find us. We'll need to be careful."
"Fine by me, let's just get out of here before they catch up to us," I retorted, "I want to get these blood packs back to Suture and Crosswire before it's too late for us to do anything."
Autumn nodded gravely, then started moving, heading back the way we came. I fell into step behind her. Getting out of a situation like this without drawing attention was her specialty, not mine, so I was going to let her lead.
It felt odd, trusting so completely in a pony who had been trying to kill me not a few hours ago, but fate hadn't left me much of a choice in the matter, so I went along with it, trusting to her promise that she wouldn't kill me without good reason.
We traveled mostly in silence, Autumn focused on the job at hoof, and me simply following along and doing my best to keep up with the uninjured mare. My leg was beginning to hurt badly, but I shoved the pain to the back of my mind and kept walking. Any delay could easily result in our capture, or worse, our deaths.
Much to my surprise, Autumn didn't lead us straight back to the office building. Instead, she led us all over the wasteland, going from cover to cover, never letting us stay in one place for long. She kept saying that it was to keep the gangers from following us; that the more convoluted and confusing our trail was, the more likely they were to give up.
We also covered up our trail as much as we could, which wasn't hard to do in the light rain that had started up since our flight from their base. Judging by the utter lack of preparation that the gangers had had in fighting me off, I doubted that they had anypony with any kind of tracking skills, so we should have lost them quickly, but Autumn was having none of it.
"Look, Evergreen, if we haven't shaken them, then we'll simply be leading them straight back to Suture and Crosswire. Now, I know from experience that the sort of treatment that Crosswire needs is going to take all night, so we need to be absolutely sure that we won't be bothered while we're there, and that is factoring in that we will be keeping watch," she stated after my third time asking if we should head back.
I sighed, "That's what you said when I asked an hour ago. There is no way they could still be following us! Hell, I barely even know where we are!"
"Good, then I'm doing my job right. We'll be back within the hour, just so you know, but I'm not taking any risks. You're right, we probably have lost them, but I haven't survived this long based on what might be. I don't do anything by halves."
I grumbled a little more to myself, but fell silent. So long as she appeared to be helping us, there wasn't much I could say against her.
We slogged on through the strengthening rain, every step becoming a challenge as the rain muddied up the dirt trails and our hooves began to be sucked into the mire. We pressed on, and even I noticed as our path straightened out. It seemed that even Autumn Mist had her limits.
It was well past sundown when the ruins finally came into view. Both of us picked up our pace at the thought of shelter and warmth, however imagined that warmth might be. The rain had a way of setting a chill deep in a pony's bones that almost nothing could chase away.
We pushed our way into the office building as soon as we arrived, after loudly announcing that we were coming in, to keep Suture from mistakenly shooting at us, not that I expected her to have even touched her pistol all day.
"What took the two of you so long?" the maroon pony demanded as we entered, "I thought you were both dead!"
"Far closer than I would have liked," I admitted, "But we got the blood packs. We were simply being careful on the way back, making sure that we weren't followed. How's Crosswire?"
"Alive, but deteriorating. He lost a lot of blood. It's a good thing you went to get those packs, they could well be the difference between his survival and his death," Suture explained.
I nodded somberly, then reached into my saddlebags for the blood packs, which I handed carefully to the medical pony. "You have everything you need to make these work?" I asked.
"As well as I can in the field," Suture answered, already barely paying me any attention as she moved back to Crosswire's side. She started pulling out various lengths of tubing, which she used to rig up an IV from the blood pack to the ragged grey buck.
He didn't look good. His face was really pale, and his breathing was quick and shallow. Even worse, his chest was still swaddled in stark white bandages, several of which had obvious tints of red to them.
"He looks bad, and didn't we stop the bleeding before we left?" I asked, moving up beside her.
"He is bad. He's running a fever, and the wound was never completely closed. He made it worse while he was thrashing around earlier, crying out for somepony he called 'Morning Song'. Know anypony by that name?" Suture asked me.
I shook my head, then realized that the medical pony was focused entirely on Crosswire and hadn't seen the gesture. "No," I vocalized, "Never heard of them. Must be somepony from his past. Raiders tend to not share a whole lot about their history."
"I should have guessed," Suture muttered, then fell silent.
I remained at her side while she tended to Crosswire, neither of us saying a word. When she had finally done all that she could, she hung her head in exhaustion, sighing extravagantly.
"Please don't leave us again like that, Evergreen," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "I've never been so terrified in my entire life."
"Not even when you were in my base that day?" I asked, "Because you seemed pretty scared then."
"Well, of course I was. I was stuck in a raider base and had no clue what was going to happen to me, but at least I had your protection, no matter how long you intended to keep me alive. But today, you left me behind with nothing except a single pistol that I barely even tolerate carrying. Had somepony shown up, I wouldn't have stood a chance, and there was nopony here to help me," Suture protested.
I remained silent. There was nothing else I could do. She was right, and she knew I knew that. I felt bad about it, but it had been the right choice. I just hoped that Suture could realize that.
"I'm sorry," she said a while later, "you don't deserve this. You risked your life to save Crosswire's, and here I am telling you off for doing what you needed to do to accomplish that."
"That doesn't make you any less right," I said, "I left you behind with barely a thought to your safety because my mind was entire set on helping Crosswire. I forgot that I'm responsible for your life as well. I'll do my best to keep that in mind in the future."
Suture nodded in acknowledgement and sighed. "How are you, Evergreen? The things you've had to face today can't be easy to deal with."
"I don't know," I admitted after a long silence, "Being faced first with my first and closest friend almost dying, then finding out that the pony who shot him has been hunting me for years for an act I can't even bring myself to remember... It's a lot of shit to deal with. I guess I'm just going day by day right now, treating every situation independently how I think it's right. It isn't a perfect solution, but it's better than what I've been doing to this point."
Suture nodded understandingly. "I think I can understand that. We've all been faced with some big changes in our lives and you're never prepared for those, you know? All we can do is take things as they come. Now, is there anything you need me take a look at? You were limping pretty badly when you showed up here."
"Yeah, my leg got pretty messed up. I stepped on a landmine. Only reason I'm on my feet is because I had a healing potion with me that stitched the worst of the damage back together," I answered, lifting my injured leg up so she could get a better look at it.
The medical pony looked critically down at my leg, taking in all of the damage, then slowly shook her head. "You truly are incapable of going a single day without hurting yourself, aren't you?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. I simply shrugged in response. "No matter, there isn't a whole lot for me to fix. About all I can do is wrap it up."
She took out one of our few medical bandages that hadn't been used on Crosswire and wrapped it tightly around the small wound that remained in my leg. It hurt for a few moments, but after that, the magic in the bandages soothed away the pain. I placed my leg on the ground and tested it. It felt like it wasn't hurt at all.
"I know what it feels like," Suture said, echoing my thoughts, "So don't get any ideas in your head. These bandages don't perform miracles. You're still hurt and need time to heal. Try not to strain the leg too much."
I nodded and turned towards Crosswire, "Sure thing. I'll do my best." I started walking towards the buck, but Autumn Mist intercepted me.
"Evergreen, we need to post a watch tonight, and you and I are the only ones capable of doing it properly. I get that you want to stay by your friend's side, but you have a responsibility to all our lives, and I need some rest after that fight. I need you to take first watch."
"And you think I'm not exhausted?" I snapped back, "I had to face down a brute of a buck in hoof-to-hoof combat and then had to run my ass out of the base while you sat up on a hill holding a rifle. If anything, you should take first watch. I'm hurt, sore, and tired."
The dark mare stared me down for a few moments, as if trying to decide how to respond. "Fine, I'll take first watch. I'll wake you when I can't stay awake any longer. Just be ready," she finally growled, then wandered off towards the door.
I shook my head as I continued on my way to the buck's side. He was unconscious, but his pelt had a little more color in it and his breathing seemed to be getting slowly stronger.
I sighed and hung me head. "I'm sorry, Crosswire. I shouldn't have let it come to this. You're not going to be happy with my choice, I already know that, but I don't have a lot of options. When you're up, I hope you'll be able to see that."
I stayed awake by his side for as long as I could, but it wasn't long before the ordeals of the day caught up with me, and I passed out into a dreamless sleep.
Autumn woke me a few hours later to take over the watch. It took a lot of effort for me to get back up on my hooves, but I could see that it was all she could do to get me up, so I forced myself up and over to the doors. Thankfully, by the time I got there I was awake enough to not risk falling asleep while on watch.
All the same, I stepped outside to at least get a bit of the brisk night breeze to help me stay alert. While the days could be scorching hot, the nights often saw a drastic drop in temperature. I liked it, though. It gave me a feeling that as bad as the days may be, the nights offered a fresh outlook.
For most of the night, I sat completely silently, simply letting my gaze sweep over the wasteland before me, taking in all the sights. For all of the obvious destruction, I could pick out some well-hidden examples of life beginning to slowly creep back into the world.
At the base of some of the tumbled-down walls, I could spot some hardy grasses and weeds beginning to take hold in the blasted soil. With luck, those grasses would continue to grow unmolested, and would be the beginning of a fresh new world where grass and trees weren't rare and weren't trying to kill anypony who came to close to them.
In my travels, I had once found myself in one of the few remaining forests on this continent. At first, I had been joyful. It had been my dream to be able to walk beneath the canopy of a forest, to be able to hear the rustle of wind through the boughs of the overhanging trees, but that dream was short-lived.
I was quickly reminded how the wartime Ministries and their various research sub-companies had held nothing as sacred and had played with, tinkered with, and twisted anything they could get their hooves on to make a more effective weapon against the zebras. I had been in that forest for less than half an hour before the trees themselves had tried to kill me. I wasted no time in getting out of there.
I tore my thoughts away from those depressing memories and returned to the present. The night was clear, or at least as clear as it could be given the constant cloud cover, and I would call it a peaceful one. The only sounds came from the wind passing through the blasted-out husks of the buildings, generating a low whistling sound that made everything seem that much more empty.
The horizon was just beginning to brighten as the sun rose behind the cloud cover when I heard somepony come out of the building behind me. I ignored the sound and kept my eyes focused on the horizon. I felt an ache in my heart at the repeated disappointment of not being able to see the sun, followed by a searing anger at the Pegasi.
What right did they think they had to seal us all off from its gifts? Had the Princesses still been among the living, they would not have stood for this behavior. What fueled my anger even more was the knowledge that there were ponies up there that had never had to experience a morning without feeling the warmth of the sun or seeing its glow as it crested the horizon.
"How are you feeling this morning, Evergreen?" a soft voice asked from behind me.
I turned my head slightly to see Suture standing beside me, her gaze following mine to the lightening horizon. She still looked tired, but I wasn't surprised. It was how everypony felt on the road. You never slept well, and your waking hours were spent on the edge, listening for any possible threat.
"Angry," I answered shortly, then turned my gaze back to the clouds. I didn't feel a need to elaborate. Hopefully, Suture would understand my feelings. If I were lucky, she would agree with me. It would be the only thing we saw eye-to-eye on.
"Angry at what?" she asked a few minutes later, a confused and slightly worried tone in her voice.
I sighed, trying to decide how to respond. "At nothing, and everything," I finally said, "Nothing that I can control or change, and everything that matters." I fell silent after that, letting the maroon pony think it over for herself.
She was silent for a while as well as she considered my words. The quiet dragged on and I was content to let it do just that. "You're one of those ponies who hates the Pegasi for sealing off the sky, aren't you?" she finally asked me. I could hear the clear note of disapproval in her voice.
Again, I sighed. "Hate isn't the right word. I think disappointed covers it better. My parents raised me to believe in the Princesses, no matter the reality of their deaths. It was their belief that the spirits of Celestia and Luna live on in the sun and the moon, so even though they are no longer physically among us, they still watch over us from above. I'm disappointed because the Pegasi have essentially cut us surfacers off from them, forcing us to have to survive without their guidance. Just once in my life, I want to see both the sun and the moon with my own eyes, and not some picture in a book."
"Do you share your parents' belief?" Suture asked a few moments later.
"I don't know. In a broad respect, yeah, I think I do," I answered hesitantly, "But I see so much down here that I know the Princesses wouldn't approve of. Things that they would step in to stop with any power that they have left, regardless of the obstacles in their path."
"Thank you for sharing, Evergreen," Suture said eventually, "I didn't take you for the religious type, and it's good to know that there's at least one group of ponies out there that most hate that you don't."
"Don't get me wrong, Suture," I protested, "I'm not religious, not even close. It's just thoughts that fill the empty hours for me. And while I may not hate Pegasi in general, I would kill most Enclave soldiers that cross my path. It's their fault the sky is sealed up after all. But the Dashites, most of them have my respect. They at least understand the wrongness of what their government is doing."
"That's still a better outlook than most," the medical pony stated. I heard her stand and head towards the door to go back inside. "We should make ready to move soon. I think Crosswire will be awake before long, and we should get to Millberry as soon as we can so he can get some proper rest. He's going to be very weak for a few days."
I nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Sure thing. I'll be inside in a little bit. Get Autumn Mist up and ready. We still have a fair way to go before we reach the town."
"Of course," I heard Suture answer as she walked through the door.
I sighed heavily. What was it about that pony that got me to think about things that I had never considered before, even in passing? This one simple conversation had started me thinking on my beliefs. The belief that my parents had taught me had a wonderful draw to it. I liked to think that the Princesses were still watching over us, but I couldn't get over the fact that they wouldn't intervene if they could.
I stayed out in the open air for a while longer, letting the slowly warming air soothe me and drive away at least some of my pent-up anger at the Enclave. When I felt that I had waited long enough, I stood and headed back inside.
Autumn Mist was up and cleaning her rifle and Suture was crouched over Crosswire, who was protesting against her ministrations. I grinned broadly as I trotted over to the two of them.
"It's good to finally see you awake, Crosswire. You had us really worried for a while there," I announced jovially.
Crosswire looked up at me, his expression completely not amused. "Get her off of me, Evergreen. None of this is necessary!"
"Wrong! We had to give you a full blood transfusion because of how much you lost! I am not letting you up until I know you can handle it!" Suture argued heatedly, renewing her struggle against the unhappy buck.
"Listen to her, Crosswire. We risked a lot to get you that treatment, so we need to make sure it worked," I argued.
"Hrrmph. Fine. Just make it quick. By the way, you get the fucker that shot me?" he grumbled, shooting an angry look in my direction.
I swallowed heavily, trying to decide what to tell him. "Uh, well, I found out who it was," I started.
"It was me," Autumn announced from where she was lying. Her rifle was partially disassembled and she was cleaning out the barrel, "I was trying to kill Evergreen, and you were fighting for her, so I figured you were a fair target as well."
Crosswire looked over at her in shock, then glared up at me. "Mind explaining why she's here, and not a corpse?" he asked slowly, every word dripping with anger.
"Autumn... has put herself in an interesting position, and has a peculiar connection to me," I answered, "I killed her parents some years back, and she vowed to kill me. Only reason she hasn't is because I'm not a raider any more, and she can't bring herself to murder me."
"So I'm going to be tagging along, and the first second she lapses even so much back to those raidering ways..." Autumn added, letting her statement trail off so we could use our imaginations to fill in the blank.
Crosswire's glare didn't budge an inch. "You better know what you're doing, Evergreen. This mare could be a powder keg waiting to go off, and you're trusting her with our lives."
"Hey! I said I would keep her alive because I want to be the one to put a bullet in her head. I just need a good excuse to pull the trigger. Consider me her conscience," Autumn protested.
"And what about the rest of us?" Crosswire demanded, turning his head to glare at the dark mare, "'Cause I'll tell you right now that I was a raider in Evergreen's gang. Does that mean you'll kill me too?"
"Depends. You have a hoof in killing my family?" Autumn asked pointedly.
"Nope. That must have been before I joined up," Crosswire shot back, "But why am I any different than her?"
Autumn fell silent at the question, then looked down at her rifle. "Because all I want is to know that my parents didn't die for nothing," she whispered, a completely unexpected reaction. I had expected her to respond with anger and biting words, not something that heartfelt. I guess her attitude made it easy to forget how young she still was.
The words struck a chord deep inside me. I had been facing that same problem ever since Just Law had pointed out how disappointed my parents would have been to see me. "Sometimes it depends on what we choose to do that decides whether or not our parents died for something," I said, almost as quietly as Autumn, "I know mine died to protect me from raiders, yet that was exactly what I became. Until a few days ago, my parents did die for nothing. I'm trying to change that now."
Autumn looked up at me, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "So what does that mean for me? Did mine die for nothing since I'm with you now?" she demanded of me, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"No," I answered, "Because you are here to make sure I never do the same thing to somepony else. If anything, that is exactly what your parents would have wanted from you. They would be proud to see you now, I think."
The dark mare remained silent for a few moments. "Never thought I'd be taking emotional advice from you, Evergreen. None of this has turned out the way I thought it would," she finally said, dropping her head back down to her gun.
"Fuck! Isn't this just perfect!" Crosswire snapped, "I have to fight beside the fucking mare that put a damn bullet in my chest! Just fucking perfect! Let me up, Suture! I need to go outside."
Suture struggled to keep the buck down until I touched her shoulder and shook my head at her. "Let him up. He needs to work this off. He'll be okay."
Hesitantly, the medical pony let him stand. He was unsteady on his hooves at first, but quickly regained his balance and marched out of the building, floating his SMG into its holster on his barding as he went.
The rest of us stood in silence as he went, Autumn wincing as he slammed the door behind him.
"Is he going to be a problem?" the sniper asked.
"Well, you shot him, so he's completely justified in being angry, I think," I answered, "But no, he'll come around. He always does. His biggest issue is going to be with me."
"If you say so," Autumn muttered, sliding the barrel of her rifle back into its housing and swiftly reassembling the rifle. "Well, since he's standing, we should probably be getting a move on. Like you said, we have a lot of ground to cover. Where are we headed anyway?"
"Millberry," I answered, "We were contracted by the mayor of Metro to go out there for a job." I was hesitant about sharing everything with her just now. Maybe after we got there, and I had a bit of a better idea of who she was.
"So you're a merc?" Autumn asked.
"Basically. I'm trying to improve ties with the town, to the point where they accept me for who I'm choosing to be, instead of who I was. Metro is a good place to use as a hub. It's got everything we need to stay on our hooves," I said.
"Works for me. Let's move!" Autumn punctuated the statement by chambering a round in her rifle before sliding it onto the loops on her barding.
I nodded and gathered up the few of my belongings that weren't already stored in my saddlebags, most of which were medical supplies. Suture took the longest of all of us to pack up, as most of the supplies we had used to heal Crosswire were hers. It took us nearly ten minutes to prepare, something I was happy with, since it gave Crosswire that much time to cool off.
When we finally stepped outside, Crosswire was standing in the shadow of the building, looking out into the wasteland. "We leaving?" he asked without any emotional inflection in his voice.
"Yeah. Figured that since you got onto your hooves without a problem that you were good to travel. We didn't want to stay in one place for too long," I answered, picking his saddlebags up off my back and offering them over to the buck.
"So you're serious about having this mare tag along?" he asked me, staring daggers at Autumn Mist.
"Yeah, I am. She's more than skilled with that rifle, and her telekinetic abilities are rather impressive. Not to mention that she'll keep me honest," I said, completely seriously.
"Did she answer my question?" the buck asked, still glaring at the mare.
"About whether or not I'll kill you?" Autumn asked for confirmation. When Crosswire nodded, she sighed. "Give me a good enough reason to, then yes, I would kill you without hesitating, as I would with anypony. I don't have any particular issue with you, so I won't be watching you as closely as I'm watching her." She turned her head so she was looking at me.
"Well, now that we know what it'll take for us to kill each other, can we please move on? We have a lot of ground to cover, and I know for a fact that you won't be able to do it all in one go, Crosswire. As tough as you are, you were very close to dying yesterday," I announced.
Crosswire shrugged. "Fine by me. Let's go."
As I had predicted, the remaining portion of our journey to Millberry was long, slow, and arduous. We had to stop every hour or so for Crosswire to rest. Every single time, he insisted that he didn't need it, and every single time he was the last to struggle back to his hooves. The journey was taking a toll on him, but the tough buck pushed through it, as though he understood that he would get the chance to rest when we arrived at Millberry.
As a result, a journey that should only have taken a few hours took us the better part of the day, and the walls of Millberry didn't become visible on the horizon until the sky began to darken with the setting sun. We approached the front gates cautiously, not knowing how we would be received, especially since three of us were very visibly armed. Some of these towns took their security to incredible levels, much like Metro did.
As we neared the gates, I could easily see the outline of the town. It matched the map I had found perfectly. Whoever had drawn it had certainly been careful in making sure that they missed absolutely no details, which meant that the resources this Seahawk had were considerable.
"Stop right there!" one of the guards announced as we approached, swinging a laser rifle around to take careful aim at us, "State your business!"
"We're travelers, from Metro. The mayor there has contracted us to bring an offer to the leaders of this town. One of us was badly injured on the way here, so we could use some lodging and medical attention as well," I answered.
The guard didn't answer immediately, but I could feel him sizing us up, watching for any kind of deception. "All right, I'm going to let you in. Don't try anything stupid, you're being watched. The governor is in his office in the town hall at the center of the town. You can't miss it. For lodging, talk to Pearlescent at the Drunken Mare. She has the best rooms in town, but you'll be paying for what you get."
"We wouldn't have it any other way," I said.
The gates slowly creaked open, revealing a flattened dirt road that led directly through the center of the town. Lining the road were the facades of many different buildings, ranging from what looked to be homes and shops towards the center of town to seedier establishments, such as drug dens and brothels, along the perimeter.
We made our way down the central avenue, figuring it would be best to get the talk with the governor over with first, especially considering that it was our original purpose in coming here. There weren't many ponies in the streets, but the few that we did see gave us all odd looks, some even bordering on open hostility. This town did not give me a welcoming feeling. Then again, I rarely felt welcomed by any place that I visited.
Before long, the town hall loomed over us, its construction obviously pre-war. It was probably the largest building I had ever seen that had survived the apocalypse outside of downtown Seaddle, as it towered three stories over the surrounding landscape. The building itself was circular, with the outer edge defined by a walkway raised slightly over the ground and covered by a wooden roof that was obviously of more recent construction.
The roof of the structure came together in a large dome whose color had long since given way to the constant rain and wind of the wasteland and was now a pale wooden color. I found myself wondering what color it had been back in the old days.
We marched into the building, not quite sure what to expect. Out of the corner of my eye, I could spot Autumn glancing about nervously. Her stance showed a lot of tension and her gaze kept drifting back to her rifle, which was still nestled securely on her back. She obviously wasn't comfortable in heavily populated places.
Inside, I was surprised to see that the building was nearly completely empty. Back in Metro, the mayor's office and the waiting area outside it was always packed with various ponies waiting to do business with him. Here, there were only two official-looking ponies, and they didn't even look like they were waiting on anything. Rather, they were simply standing off to one side, conversing with each other in quiet voices.
I walked up to them and asked in as kind a voice as I could manage, "Would either of you bucks be kind enough to point me towards the governor's office? We need to speak with him on a very urgent matter."
One of the two bucks steadfastly ignored me, and the other looked imperiously down his nose at me. "Well, what do we have here," he stated, adopting a lofty expression, not to mention accent, "A wastelander, asking me for directions." Somehow, he managed to sound insulted, as though the air I was breathing was a personal offense to him.
"Yeah, I'm asking because I'm not from here and was contracted by the mayor of Metro to come here and speak with whoever is in charge. Now, if you would just point me in the right direction, I can be on my way and get out of your mane," I stated angrily. I wasn't going to be pushed around by this self-important, pompous ass.
The buck looked down on me for a few more moments, then waved his hoof dismissively towards one of the corridors. "His office is that way, last door on the left, though I will be very surprised if he agrees to see you. He only sees the most important of visitors. I don't think a mercenary from the wastes will rank very highly on his list of priorities."
"Well, then he better bump me up a few notches if he wants to stay in charge of this dump," I snapped, "Because if he doesn't listen to me, I guarantee that most everypony here will be dead before the year is out."
That comment finally succeeded in getting the buck's attention. He took a step back in surprise and even straightened his head so that he was no longer looking down his nose at me. "What?" he asked incredulously, "Is that a threat?"
"Not from me, no," I snapped, "And that is exactly why I'm here. I think you had better take us to the governor, right away."
The buck looked from me to his friend and back again, as though trying to weigh hoe serious as I was being. He was obviously not used to handling these kind of situations, no matter how important he made himself seem. "Yes, of course," he finally stammered, then started towards the corridor, "Right this way."
He led us down the corridor to the governor's office, which was denoted by a large, dark mahogany door that had a plaque hung in front of it that read 'Governor' in large block letters. The buck gestured for us to wait, then stepped inside the office.
We stood outside in silence for several minutes, waiting for the self-important buck to reappear. As the minutes dragged on, my patience steadily eroded. I was just about to kick open the door and barge in when the door finally opened and the buck reappeared.
"The governor will see you know, but please be quick. We are cutting you all ahead of several very important ponies," he said, waving us inside.
"I'll take as much time as I need. Those others can wait," I snapped as I pushed my way past the buck.
Once past the large door, we found ourselves in a foyer that held several ponies waiting around the perimeter of the room; some were sitting on benches, others were simply standing off to the side. All of them were wearing some sort of official looking attire, meaning that it provided no practical use whatsoever. They all also had very annoyed expressions.
The most annoyed of all was a mid-sized orange buck standing in an open door. He had a carefully styled red mane and was wearing a pair of wire-rim glasses. "I trust this won't take long? I have many important meetings to get to," he complained.
"Trust me, you're going to want to hear what I have to say, but I refuse to speak out in the open. Let's step into your office so we can have some privacy," I growled as I walked up to the buck.
He tried to stand his ground for a few moments, but quickly decided that simply agreeing with me would be the quickest way to get me out of his life. He turned around and stepped into the office. We followed after and Autumn telekinetically pulled the door shut behind us.
As soon as we were alone, I pulled out the letter that the mayor of Metro had given to me to hand off to this buck. "Here, this is from the mayor of Metro. He is making an offer of allegiance, and it is my recommendation that you accept."
The governor remained silent as he perused the letter. By the time he finally answered, he must have read it at least three times. "This is all very interesting, but not once does he mention why," the governor finally said, lifting his eyes from the document to fix me in a disapproving glare, "and I am not about to start sharing power with somepony whose motivations I don't know."
"He doesn't want to share power," I argued, "He wants an agreement between these two settlements, that you will come to each other's aid should the need arise. You'll still be in charge out here, and he will still be in charge of Metro. Nothing will change except that your two settlements will help each other in the instance of raider attack or supply shortages."
"Again, that is interesting. But my question is why," the buck insisted, "I see absolutely no reasons for this offer."
I sighed and reached into my saddlebags again, pulling out the map of Millberry. "I found this a few days ago, at a dead drop in an Ironshod Factory outside of Grovedale, to the east. It came with this." I played the recording next, while the governor looked over the map, a contemplative look on his face.
As the mayor of Metro had done, the governor listened to the recording carefully, going so far as to have me play the message again. As it wound down to an end, he sat back in his chair. "This is disturbing news, miss?"
"Evergreen," I finished for him, "And I thought that would get your attention. The mayor of Metro thinks that a coalition of settlements would be the best defense against this Seahawk, and frankly, I agree with him. We came here first because it was the settlement mentioned in the message. So what do you say?"
The governor fell silent and his expression became thoughtful. He took a few minutes to mull over the situation. I gave him the time he needed. This wasn't a simple situation, after all.
"I wish I could accept," he finally said, "Millberry needs this, if we want to be sure of our survival, but we don't have the resources to spare should Metro require our assistance. We have a militia, should they need martial help, but all of our food and water is being used. We don't have anything extra, excepting an emergency supply, which is for just that, emergencies."
"Understandable," I said, "What would it take for you to agree?"
"What we need, more than anything else, is a steady supply of water. If we could get a Stable-Tec quality water purifier or recycler, I would be confident enough in our future to agree to this allegiance. Anything else, and we won't be able to pull our weight," he explained, gazing out of a window to look out at the town."
"I'll bring the information back to Metro. In the meantime, can I tell the mayor yes, with conditions? It makes a large difference on what my next move is going to be," I asked.
"Getting a bonus for our agreement?" the governor asked shrewdly, turning his gaze back to me.
"A significant one. The kind that can be a difference between survival and thriving. The farther I can get ahead, the happier I will be," I responded.
"In that case, yes. Tell him we have an agreement. But also tell him that I expect his help should we require anything. This is not going to be one-sided. Now then, Evergreen, if you don't mind, I have several more important ponies to meet with. Pearlescent runs the best inn in town down at the Drunken Mare. Prices are a little steep, but you won't have to worry about getting robbed. It's near the center of town, north down the main road. Tell her I sent you," the governor offered, waving a hoof towards the door.
"Thank you," I said, backing out. We made our way straight to the inn, all of us weary after a long day of travel.
The façade was bright and gaudy, with various bits from different neon signs cannibalized together to spell out 'Drunken Mare' in various colors, styles, and sizes. Inside, the common room was dense and smoke filled, and also reeked of alcohol. There were a lot of ponies clustered around several tables, most of which didn't look like the most reputable kind of patrons.
I pushed my way past several drunken ponies until I was standing at the main counter, trying to get the attention of the white mare that was waiting on everypony. I smacked my hoof on the table several times and finally managed to get her to turn her head.
"Trying to hurry me up ain't gonna get you served any faster, got it?" she snapped at me, then returned to her conversation with the buck across the bar from her.
"I don't want a damn drink! My friends and I have been on the road since daybreak and we want a room to sleep. The governor said we should come down here," I snapped back.
That comment, at last, got her attention. "Oh, you want rooms! Why didn't you just say so!" she exclaimed, sidling over to where we were waiting, "So you said the governor sent you? You come to our town on business, honey?"
"Yeah, from Metro. We ran into some problems on the way down and need a good room. I've got the caps," I explained, pulling out the pouch I kept my money in.
"Wonderful! I've got a room for four for three hundred caps for the night! It's up on the second floor, fourth door on your right, though I can drop the price for the right incentive," she said, batting her eyes at me.
I never understood why so many mares tried to persuade me to sleep with them. I thought I made it painfully obvious where my preferences lay. "I think I'd prefer to pay normal price," I stated as emotionlessly as I could, counting out the caps and setting them on the counter.
"Ah, you're no fun, dear," the mare sighed, reaching out a hoof to sweep in the caps, then setting a worn key on the counter, "Have a good night, now. Breakfast will be served at eight!"
I nodded my head in thanks then proceeded to lead my sorry group of followers up to our room. When we finally arrived, everypony simply dropped their saddlebags on the nearest horizontal surface. Crosswire basically collapsed on the floor, and Suture was instantly at his side, making sure he was okay.
I wandered over to the bed, sat down, and fished out my bottle of Apple Whiskey. Those ponies downstairs had looked like they were having fun, and I could use a few drinks myself after the last couple days.
I had just taken a couple swigs when Autumn came up beside me. "So that's what Metro is looking for, huh? A way to reach out to the other towns around the area? Clever way to do it, make them think that somepony else is trying to take over the whole region. What's he paying you to lie for him?"
I shook my head at her. "I'm not lying. Everything I said is the complete truth. Crosswire and I found the message and the map in an Ironshod factory. We're pretty sure that Greymane is hunting for us now, since we took everything in the dead drop."
"And this Seahawk guy? Where does he fit in?" Autumn asked, "And what's your role in all this?"
"I haven't got a damn clue who Seahawk is. All I know is that the kind of change he is offering to the way things are running around here won't be good. If I'm proven wrong, and this Seahawk is some sort of savior, then I'll be more than happy to admit it, but for now, I can't see anything good coming from him coming around," I explained, "My role is that I'm helping Metro organize the region enough so that we can find out exactly what this Seahawk intends to do before just letting him steamroll over all of us. I don't know about you, but I don't find the concept of a totalitarian regime that inviting. Not to mention the fact that ponies with my reputation tend to be the first ones to die during power changes."
The sniper remained silent as she considered my words. "Fuck, this is a mess. Here I thought Metro was just doing a power grab. Something like that, I can easily understand. But this, this is something else! What are we going to do?"
"Exactly what we are doing. This is how much I've changed, Autumn. I have a cause now. I'm not just hoofing it for caps; I'm actually trying to do something worthwhile now. I don't blame you for taking that shot at me. Hell, if I were in your hooves, I would have done the same, but the world is rarely as simple as it appears."
"Yeah, sure seems that way," the dark mare muttered, then stood and started towards the corner farthest away from me, "Fuck, I hate this complicated shit. Give me black and white any day. Grey... I don't know what to do with grey."
I watched Autumn settle herself down on the far side of the room and sighed to myself. I'd like to think that we were starting to patch up some of our differences, but there was such a void between us, and she had spent so many years completely devoted to hating me and everything I stood for that it would probably take a long time before we were even close to being on friendly terms. As it was, I could tell that she barely tolerated my presence.
I turned my gaze to where Suture and Crosswire were quietly conversing, mostly about Crosswire's state, but also about more general things. His change was still one I was trying to understand. Much as he was having trouble figuring out the new me, I was struggling to figure out who he was now. So much about both of us had changed so much and we were both still trying to find our hooves in this new reality.
I rolled over onto my side and tried to make myself relax. The whiskey burning pleasantly in my stomach helped considerably, but there was so much going on in my head that I doubted I would get any sleep tonight. My mind was racing from my thoughts on trying to get this deal done for Metro, to trying to work out my problems with Autumn. I sighed heavily and resigned myself to a sleepless night. It wouldn't be the first of my life.
Level up!
Perk Gained - Intense Training: Endurance has been raised by 1 for all the hits you've been taking!
Skill Note: Melee (50)
{Woo... here we are, at the end of another chapter... Sorry for the delay everyone, but school work has been picking me up, and grades do need to be my priority. This doesn't mean at all that I'm stopping! I'm still working on the story in what free time I have; it just isn't as much as I've had in the last month and a half. Please bear with me! For anyone who cares as well, there is a link to the hub page I set up for the story here. Please feel free to enjoy the story from there (there are some extra goodies that aren't being posted to Fimfic). As always, thanks go to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria. Also, thanks to my editors, Cody and MUCKSTER (his request to change to this mode of address instead). I put both of you through hell, but you make this what it is.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Five: Tales of the Dead | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 5: Tales of the Dead
"The dead. We are surrounded by the dead."
The night passed only slowly as I lay on my bed in the Drunken Mare, listening to the regular breathing of my friends and companions as they slept. It seemed like it had been so easy for them to find the solace of sleep, but that same comfort was eluding me tonight. The last twenty-four hours had been filled with so much insanity that I could barely wrap my head around even the smallest of those events, and it was that lack of understanding that was driving me to sleeplessness.
It was moments like this one that led me to miss my journal even more. It had been such a great aid in allowing me to organize my thoughts and emotions, and its absence was making itself felt now.
I rolled over and my eyes sought out Autumn Mist, who was sleeping off in a corner, rifle laid carefully out in front of her, of their own volition. That mare had me seriously confused, and I knew as a fact that that confusion was a large part of why I couldn't find rest right now. She still hated me, that much was painfully obvious in the way she watched me and how she behaved towards me, yet I couldn't bring myself to return her anger, as I normally would have done.
When I looked on the dark mare, all I could feel was a pit of sadness and regret open up in my heart. Sadness at everything she had had to endure since I had murdered her parents, and regret at the fact that I could not remember the day I had killed them. They had been that insignificant to me at that point in my life. The worst part of the whole deal was that I felt like I deserved her hatred.
I sighed and tore my gaze away from the mare, rolling back over and looking towards the other side of the room, where Crosswire was curled up, hooked up to another blood pack that Suture had rigged up before they both drifted off, Crosswire because of how weak he was from the injury Autumn had inflicted, and Suture because of her exhaustion after treating Crosswire for the last day.
As well as the two of them were getting along now, I couldn't help but feel like I had forced Suture into this venture through something I may have said to her in Metro. As valuable as she had been to us, she was not cut out to be traveling the wasteland. Without her, Crosswire would be dead, I could not lie about that fact, but I feared that my choices out there, through some combination of recklessness and blatant ignorance, would get her killed. I had only known her for a very short time, but already I knew that I wouldn't be able to bear it. I had already come to rely on her advice and abilities, probably more than I should have been, but she had the kind of personality that made her somepony that was easy to rely on.
The fact that I could actually consider her a friend now filled me with joy. I doubted anypony could find two ponies in all of Equestria who were more diametrically opposed. Where I found it easy to hate others, or at least find a reason to fight them to protect myself, she looked for any reason she could to find the better side of everypony she met. She had done it with me, and it was that influence that led me to be where I was now.
Then there was Crosswire. He had proven to me over and over again, both in the past as well as over the last few days that I could rely on him for almost anything. That he had almost been killed was a sobering thought. You never expected the ponies closest to you capable of being beaten. It could happen to others, easily; all I had to do was think about the ponies I had killed at the Iron Hooves camp. How easy it had been to kill them, and there I was, thinking that Crosswire was special in some way, hell, that I was special in some way. Had anypony tried to attack my camp while I was still in charge, they would have been slaughtered, or so I thought, at least.
It was a helpful reminder that we were all vulnerable, and that all of us were at risk of being killed in a moment of weakness or inattention. But that thought didn't make me feel better about anything, and it certainly wasn't helping me relax enough to get some sleep.
Finally giving the prospect up for hopeless, I pushed myself to my hooves and tiptoed around my companions, sliding carefully out the door. I made my way down to the bar and was surprised to find that several ponies were still awake and drinking. Even more surprising was that Pearlescent was still awake. Since she was obviously the one that ran the place, I would have expected there to be somepony running the bar in her stead while she slept during the night. So she either had much more endurance than I had guessed, or tonight was an exception.
Either way, it wasn't stopping me from taking a seat at the bar. I sat down heavily, sighing. Unsurprisingly, Pearlescent was almost instantly in front of me.
"Decided to re-think my offer?" she asked, raising an eyebrow seductively.
"Nope," I answered, shaking my head, "Just can't sleep. No offense, but I don't look at mares that way. Stallions are more than enough for me."
The white mare nodded understandingly. "I thought you had that look about you, but a mare never knows. It's always polite to offer. What can I get ya?"
I chuckled despite everything and lifted out my bottle of Apple Whiskey. "Nothing for me, thanks. Found this little gem a couple days ago. Think I'm going to nurse it for a bit."
Pearlescent arched her head to get a look at the label, then started in surprise. "You found a bottle of Ponyville Apple Whiskey! How in the hay did you manage that?"
"Found it in the fridge of a locked-up house half a day south of Metro," I answered, shrugging. It didn't seem like that big a deal to me. The whiskey was good, sure, but it didn't seem like anything special.
The barkeep shook her head in disbelief. "I would have given both my hindlegs to get my hooves on a bottle of that whiskey," she mused, eyeing the bottle with obvious longing.
"What's on the table for a shot?" I asked, sliding the bottle over to the mare. I figured I owed her that much for setting us up for the night, even if we were paying.
Pearlescent almost jumped up into the air in surprise, her face bearing an expression of absolute joy. "I'd say free lodging for the night, and another one, should you and your friends need it," she answered, sliding a pouch full of caps over to me before taking the bottle in her hooves and taking a large gulp. She sat the bottle back down a long second later, smacking her lips in delight. "That was one of the most wonderful things I have ever had the pleasure of tasting," she muttered, her eyes half closed, "Thank you, Evergreen."
I nodded as I counted out the caps, "Anytime." There was exactly as much as I had paid her earlier that night.
"So exactly what is keeping you from sleeping, dear?" the barkeep asked a few minutes later when it was obvious that I wasn't going to be starting a conversation anytime soon.
I sighed heavily before answering. It seemed like I'd been doing that a lot lately. "Just a lot of things going on in my mind. My life got turned upside-down a few days ago, and it's been a struggle adjusting."
"That happens a lot out in the wasteland, I've seen," Pearlescent said, "What was the change in your life that pulled you all the way out here?"
The question was innocent enough, but I hesitated in answering it. I was comfortable with the idea of who and what I was now, but most ponies were not very forgiving. I was still deciding how best to answer the question when the white mare spoke again.
"So it was that kind of past, huh?" she asked with a knowing look, "Mind if I take a guess?"
"Why not," I said, shrugging and taking another pull from the whiskey. How much harm could it really be?
"Ok. Believe it or not, your name is actually familiar to me. At least, part of your name seems familiar. I used to live in Metro until a few years ago. Had to leave for some personal reasons, but I was around for long enough to hear about the raider gangs to the south. I'm guessing something happened for you to want to get out of that life?" she offered.
I nearly spat my drink out on the table in shock, but that would have been a waste of good alcohol. So instead, I choked on it. The coughing fit lasted a solid minute before I finally got myself under control and looked up at the mare with tear-filled eyes. She had a bemused expression on her face.
"Judging by your reaction, I'd say I hit the nail on the head," she said, actually grinning at me, "And don't worry. I'm not going to say a word to anypony. It's plain to see that you're not living that life anymore. Besides, I recognize that maroon pony you're traveling with. Can't remember her name, but I know she wouldn't travel with a raider unless she had no choice, but it looked like she was with you of her own free will."
I nodded emphatically, "Yeah, she actually almost forced herself on us. Not that I'm complaining. If it weren't for her, Crosswire would be dead. But at the same time, she has absolutely no survival skills or even instincts. I'm worried that I may end up doing something that will get her killed."
Pearlescent nodded slowly in agreement. "I always knew that one would be more suited to city life. But she chose to come with you, knowing the risks. To that end, her life is only your responsibility so far as all of your companions' lives are your responsibility. Don't go out of your way to keep her safe. You'll only end up getting yourself killed that way. Treat her exactly the same as anypony else."
"That's just it. I don't think I could manage that," I muttered, drawing my hoof through a small puddle of some congealing drink and drawing little shapes on the countertop, "She's vulnerable, but she also makes herself a target. Also, none of us have any sort of medical skills beyond knowing how to drink a potion or bind a simple flesh wound. Without her... I don't know..." I trailed off, staring down at the counter.
I felt a hoof on my shoulder and looked up to see Pearlescent leaning in close to me. "Then do what you think is right. Just know that trying to keep her safe is going to be an added risk to you, and you'll need to plan accordingly. "
I nodded my understanding. "Thanks, Pearlescent. It's just eating at me, knowing that I might not be able to keep her safe."
"Good. That means you care. So exactly what brought you out to Millberry?" the barkeep asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"Mercenary work, for Metro. The mayor down there is looking to build alliances with some other settlements. Frankly, I agree with him since Crosswire and I found a recording down by Grovedale talking about somepony by the name of Seahawk setting his sights on the entire Seaddle region. This was our first stop. Now, we need to go all the way back down to Metro to bring the mayor your governor's counteroffer. He told us that he needs a water purifier or recycler for the city if he's going to agree to an alliance, so we need to talk to the mayor to see if he can supply one," I answered.
"Hmmm, interesting," the barkeep mused, "I doubt he'd be willing to part with technology like that, but I also happen to know of a place where you should be able to get your hooves on one, if you're willing to take a risk."
That piqued my interest. "Depending on the risk, I'm willing. There's not a lot out there that I haven't seen, and Crosswire is right there with me. We should be able to handle it. Where is this place?"
"There's an old Stable not too far from here, Stable 60, I think. Last anypony knew, it was still sealed. The chance that anypony is still alive down there are fairly small, so you should be able to get in and out without a whole lot of danger," Pearlescent explained.
It seemed too easy to me. "And if those ponies are still alive? Then what? And what about this risk you're talking about? If everypony in there is dead, how would there be a risk?" I asked.
Pearlescent sighed. "And that's the problem. If there are ponies there still alive, you obviously can't take the purifier. And the risk comes from the fact that Stable-Tec isn't known for having made lasting societies in their Stables. As far as I know, almost none have survived until now; most are nothing more than savaged ruins. That's where the risk lies. If some Stable-Tec experiment went wrong in there, then it's been sealed inside for two hundred years. Who knows what could be behind that door."
I remained silent as I considered the information. If it did work out, and we did manage to get our hooves on a water purifier, that would really simplify my job and guarantee getting that bonus. And in the worst case, we would simply back out of the Stable and go back to my original plan. I knew we would be smart enough to not simply crash around inside. We would be careful and make sure we had a clear path back out before moving forward. "All right. I think we could handle that. Exactly where is this Stable?" I finally asked.
Pearlescent gave me some more specific directions. According to her, the Stable was a short journey to the west, maybe a few hours of walking would get us there. If Crosswire was up to it, which I knew he would be, we could leave once they all woke up. If we were lucky, the Stable would be empty and there would be a working purifier. Now I only had to pray that I would be so lucky.
We spent the next several hours making small talk, more or less just trying to pass the time. It wasn't long before I stowed the whiskey back in my saddlebags and was just drinking water. I didn't want to be drunk when we went after the purifier after all.
The bar was just beginning to lighten with the coming morning when Pearlescent excused herself to prepare breakfast. By the time she returned, back laden with several plates of cooked or raw fruits and vegetables, as well as some obviously preserved pre-war food, all three of my companions had risen and joined me at the bar. Where she got the fresh food from was a complete mystery, but I wasn't going to question good food.
Suture was fretting over me, making sure that I was okay since I hadn't slept all night. It took me almost ten minutes to convince her that I was fine and that I just needed to think some things over. In truth, I was surprised at how awake I was. Most would be exhausted after the day we'd had, and while I had been, the conversation with Pearlescent had left me feeling oddly refreshed.
I took the opportunity of everypony being distracted with breakfast to explain about the Stable, and the opportunity it presented. They all remained silent while I spoke, though it was an attentive silence, rather than one of ignorance. By the time I was finished, Suture was sitting completely dumbstruck, Crosswire was eyeing me with a confident look, and Autumn was glaring at me, as if to say 'are you fucking serious?'.
"So what do you think?" I asked as I wrapped up my plan, "If we're lucky, all of our work will already be done for us. I'd say any chance of risk is worth that, especially since it solves all of our problems out here."
Autumn was the first to respond. "You're out of your Celestia-damned mind!" she shouted, "Have you ever been in any of those old Stables? They're deathtraps, every single one! I got stuck in 45 a couple years ago, and was damn lucky that I got out with my life, much less anything else."
"But this one could be different," I argued," Pearlescent told me that this one is probably still sealed, so nothing from the wasteland has had a chance to get in. Only thing we'll have to deal with are the ponies who might still be alive on the inside, if they even survived this long. You never know given the social experiments that Stable-Tec designed."
"They didn't focus only on social differences," Autumn ground out, "but scientific ones as well. The shit I dealt with in 45 wasn't from the wasteland. It was from the remains of the experiment Stable-Tec set up in there."
"In that case, we'll deal with whatever is there when we get that far. It just seems to me like this is our best opportunity to seal the deal with the governor here. What about the rest of you?" I asked, turning to Crosswire and Suture.
"I don't know if Crosswire is up to..." Suture started, but was quickly cut off by the ragged buck.
"I'm fine. I've been on my ass for far too long, and I'm starting to feel useless. Sure, I'm still a little weak, but I can fight, if need be. I'm good to go. Evergreen and I have faced more than enough dangers together that we should be able to handle anything we run into in there," he interrupted, "I'm in."
The medical pony simply looked from Crosswire to me, then back before finally shaking her head in defeat. "Fine. If you're so intent to keep getting yourselves hurt, I guess there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm in. Somepony needs to make sure you lot stay in one piece."
"So it's settled then!" I announced happily, "Once you're all done eating, we can leave. From what Pearlescent told me, it's a few hours west of here, so it'll take us a while to get out there, and I'd rather have the chance of starting our way back while it's still light out than knowing we're going to be traveling during the night."
"I don't think anything is settled," Autumn argued adamantly, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, Evergreen! Those Stables are dangerous, more so than most everything else!"
"Nopony is making you come with us, Autumn," I pointed out, "but Crosswire and Suture are with me, so I'm going. You haven't seen and heard what we have. Metro needs this alliance if it's going to survive the coming storm, and so will Millberry. The best way to make that happen is to go to the Stable. So, are you in or not?"
The mare grumbled darkly to herself for a few moments before finally glaring at me, "Fine, but when this fucking escapade falls flat on its face, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Works for me. All I need are my saddlebags and I'll be ready to go. Like I said, I would suggest leaving as soon you're done eating," I said as I stood to head back up to our room.
Everyone nodded in agreement then turned their attention back to their food. The meal had a noticeably different atmosphere to it now as everypony considered what we were going to be facing.
Twenty minutes later we had our bags and were about to head out. As we were walking for the door of the Drunken Mare, Pearlescent called out to us. "I'll keep your room ready for you for when you get back!" she said, "Just make sure that you do come back!"
"We'll do our best," I answered, nodding my appreciation at her concern, then stepped out the door.
Millberry was a very different town during the day time, even given today's heavy rain. Ponies were everywhere, going about their daily business, and everypony seemed to have a job. Even more surprising, they seemed to actually be happy. Many of the citizens gave us cheerful smiles or waved at us as we walked by, despite our blatant display of weaponry. It was rather refreshing, to be honest. I was used to everypony glaring at me or making feel otherwise unwelcome.
It didn't take long until we were out past the walls and into the wasteland proper. Today the rain was coming down heavily, quickly soaking all of us straight through our barding and all the way down to our bones. Since we were all used to this kind of deluge, we trudged on, sticking to higher ground when we could so we wouldn't have to walk through the mud that was gathering in the lower areas.
The rain had driven most other forms of life to ground, but we could see a few dark shapes moving out on the horizon, though none of them came close enough for my E.F.S. to identify whether or not they were hostile. Honestly, if they stayed that far away, I could care less.
The one good thing about the rain is that it hid us rather well from any prying eyes. If anypony other than us was out here, they would probably be more concerned with getting in out of the weather, rather than going after us. Except for one pony, my mind insisted.
Thinking of that, my mind turned to why we were out here: to enable alliance between two towns so that the Seaddle region could maintain itself. I had been forgetting that there was somepony out there who was most likely hunting me down with the intent to make my life a living hell, and I knew next to nothing about him except for the fact that he was a ruthless and skilled mercenary.
Most ponies I had to fight either had no formal training or very little experience, but Greymane sounded different. He sounded like somepony who had actually learned how to fight before being forced to it. Somepony like that was much more dangerous than they appeared. And I had managed to cross him.
As a result of that line of thinking, I started watching our surroundings with much greater intensity, keeping on the lookout for anything that might have been out of place, but in the kind of gloom we were traveling through, nothing was apparently obvious, and I knew from experience that nothing would present itself. Besides, you couldn't build a career like Greymane's and make the kind of mistakes that would allow somepony like me to spot you in the wasteland. I would just have to wait and see what would happen, but that was not going to make me give up on being wary.
As I had expected, the journey took us several hours, and the destination was far from what any of us had expected. The cave in which the entrance to the Stable was hidden appeared to be just like any other cave: a small slit in a rock that offered just enough space for a pony to wriggle through. I knew from the looks on everypony's face that they had been expecting something much grander as well.
"So who's going through first?" Autumn asked, "Since I don't do too well at close quarters, I would much rather it not be me." She had her rifle out and was surveying the hillsides around us, obviously uncomfortable at being this close to a Stable.
I still couldn't understand her fear of them. They were simply another form of pre-war ruin. Sure, they had been designed to survive for a couple of centuries, but many of the buildings that hadn't been built for longevity had survived as well. It seemed to me that her fear was entirely unfounded.
"I'll take point," I answered, hoping that my confidence would at least inspire the dark mare to gain some herself, "Crosswire, you'll come in after me, followed by Suture, then Autumn. First thing we do once we're inside is clear the cavern. I don't want any surprises sneaking up on us while we try to unseal the door."
After everypony nodded their acknowledgement, I started forcing my way into the cave. It was a close fit, but wasn't nearly close enough for me to get stuck. Once I was a few feet in, I heard Crosswire start in after me, the sound of his breathing echoing loudly down the tunnel. I winced, knowing that if there was anything waiting for us at the other end, they would know we were coming.
Regardless, I pressed on. We were committed to this plan, and so I would see it through. The end of the tunnel opened up on a large, circular cavern. The far wall was taken up almost entirely by the door to the Stable. It was huge, easily ten feet across and made of solid metal. It was shaped like a gear and fit snugly in its frame, leaving not even enough space for a breath of air to pass through. As Pearlescent had told me, it was closed. My eyes fixed on the door, focusing on the large number 60 painted on its face, and started towards it, completely ignorant of my surroundings.
"Well, what have we here?" A voice muttered from the shadows to my right, "Somepony coming down into my home? Maybe she wants to see what's behind the door. Too bad she's never going to know..."
I snapped my head to the right, and saw a red bar on my E.F.S. It belonged to a ragged green buck with a black mane. I slowed to a stop, watching him carefully. His voice had carried obvious hints of insanity, and I wasn't going to risk doing anything stupid.
"There's another one. Her lover, maybe..." another voice, this one low and rasping, said, this time coming from my left. It held just as much crazy as the first buck.
I took a step back, swinging my head around to find the source of the second voice. It belonged to another buck, this one grey with a white mane, but, on top of that, he had wings. I swung my head back to the first buck, and noticed his wings as well. They were both Pegasi, but that made no sense. What would two Pegasi be doing all the way out here?
I took a closer look at the green buck, focusing on his flank, or, more specifically, his cutie mark. It had been branded off, leaving in its placing a bastardization of an old, pre-war symbol: the cutie mark of the war hero Rainbow Dash. The branded cloud and thunderbolt stood out starkly against the buck's hide, and the edges were swollen and red, obviously badly infected. This must have been a branding gone badly wrong. These two bucks were probably suffering from a heavy fever, which most likely was causing their behavior.
"Evergreen, what's going on here?" Crosswire muttered, coming up beside me. His SMG was out and floating next to him, pointing roughly towards the grey Pegasus.
"Two Dashites, obviously crazy," I answered, pitching my voice so that only Crosswire could hear, "best watch yourself. They could be unpredictable."
"Why are they hiding down here? Everypony knows the Enclave doesn't chase down the Dashites. If their crimes were that bad, they'd just execute 'em," he muttered, his eyes fixed on his target.
Before I could answer, the first Pegasus spoke, "Ooh, there's another one. A very pretty mare. This could be a very good day."
I turned my head just enough to see Suture coming out of the tunnel. "This isn't good. We need to act, and fast," I whispered, lifting my right foreleg leg slightly so Hammer was closer within my reach.
Crosswire nodded his head in agreement. "I'll take the fucker on the left."
I nodded curtly and turned to focus on the green buck. "We don't want any trouble," I stated, "We were just looking for a spot out of the rain." I didn't care that I was lying. At this point, I was trying to get these two bucks to lower their guard. With Autumn coming in after Suture, our way out was temporarily blocked, so going forward was our only way out of this.
To my despair, the buck shook his head at me and grinned wickedly. "No can do. You were kind enough to drop in on us. I think it's only fair that we show you some, heh, hospitality." He reached down behind a rock and pulled out a wicked-looking weapon studded with various components whose purpose I could only guess at. It was obviously an energy weapon.
As soon as the weapon shifted towards me, I was moving, ripping Hammer from its holster and diving to the side. I felt Crosswire do the same thing towards the left as two beams crossed right where we had been standing a moment before, one of which was red, the other green. One of these two fuckers had a plasma weapon.
I came to my hooves a short distance away, Hammer still in my grip. I wasted no time in settling my aim and pulling the trigger. The round slammed home in the green buck's chest with enough energy to knock him back off his feet. Somehow, my shot must have missed his heart as he struggled weakly, blood pooling around the remains of his chest.
A staccato of gunfire echoed from the other side of the cavern as Crosswire dodged another attack and opened fire. The grey Pegasus cried out in agony and fell heavily to the floor, where another burst silenced him.
I walked up to the green buck, Hammer held ready for any tricks. "You should have stood down," I said darkly, "We were both obviously better armed and prepared than either of you."
"Enclave... never backs... down," the buck wheezed in one last attempt at defiance before finally expiring.
I stood over the body for a few moments, trying to puzzle out the meaning of his last statement. What the hell did he mean, Enclave never backs down? The definition of being a Dashite was that they were disenchanted with the Enclave and wanted a different life. But that buck had sounded like he was still loyal to them, insanity notwithstanding. On top of that, he obviously knew how to handle that energy weapon, and there weren't very many ponies, Dashites or otherwise, outside of the Enclave that knew how to do that. It was just another mystery to add to my growing pile.
"You all right, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked from where he was checking the grey buck's body for valuables.
I looked over in time to see him pulling out spare energy cells to a laser pistol and pocket them, followed quickly by the pistol itself. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to figure something out. This buck sounded like he was still loyal to the Enclave, yet he's branded as a Dashite, which doesn't make sense."
"He's also insane," Crosswire pointed out, trotting over to where I was.
At this point, Autumn had joined us. "Uh, what the hell happened down here?" she asked, a hard edge in her voice that was obviously directed at me.
"Dashites," Crosswire answered, "and crazy ones. They attacked us. Just ask Suture if you don't believe me." He crouched down and started rummaging through the buck's bags, revealing a few energy cells and a couple of caps.
I turned away from the bloody sight and walked over to the two mares. Suture looked like she was going to be visibly sick, but Autumn had an angry look on her face. "I tried to talk them down, but they weren't sane. Trust me, I wish this could have turned out differently. As it is, I'm just happy nopony got hurt." With a glance over to the bodies, I amended, "Well, none of us, at least."
The dark mare held her gaze for a few moments before looking away and grumbling to herself. She stalked over to an isolated corner, where she pulled out her rifle and started to clean it, drying out the parts from the rain.
I shook my head and turned to Suture, who simply gave me a short nod that she was going to be okay, then walked to where Crosswire was examining the Stable door's opening mechanism.
"How's it look?" I asked, peering past him to try to see what he was doing. As usual, nothing I saw made any sense to me.
"I'll say this much: Stable-Tec knew what it was doing when they were building their Stables. Getting through this door isn't going to be easy. How are they?" he asked, nodding his head towards where Autumn and Suture were waiting.
"They'll be fine. Autumn is simply pissed, and Suture still isn't used to seeing dead ponies outside of an infirmary," I answered, "Can you do it?"
He remained silent for a few moments as he considered the question. "It'll be tough, but yeah, I think I can pull it off. All it comes down to is the components and electrical systems, anyway. I just need to figure out how they interact. From there, it'll be a piece of cake."
I nodded dumbly at his response. Not a word he had said made any sense to me. I knew what components and electrical systems were, but everything beyond that was pure gibberish to me.
"All right. You work on that. I'll prepare a quick meal in the meantime. We could use the extra energy before we try to tackle this thing, if it really is as dangerous as Autumn's been implying," I said, leaving the buck to his work.
At this point, he was so absorbed in the door's mechanisms that he barely even acknowledged the fact that I had spoken. All I got was a nod of his head and a murmur that might have been 'ok' before he lost himself in his work.
I stepped off to one side of the cave, far enough away from the two bodies that they weren't immediately obvious, and started to pull out some of my various provisions, most of which consisted of preserved pre-war snacks.
It took them a while, but eventually the other two mares joined me. Suture was beginning to look a much healthier shade of maroon, while Autumn appeared to be calming down fairly significantly. At least, she no longer looked like she wanted to put a bullet in my head anytime in the near future.
"So will he actually be able to get that door open?" Suture asked as she unwrapped a snack cake and nibbled at one corner.
I looked over to where the buck was hunched over the control panel, a mass of wires around him as he slowly gutted the system, looking for anything that might let him open it. "If there's anypony I've ever met who could get that door open, it would be him," I answered, "I have yet to see a door or terminal that he could not crack. Even this one won't stand against him. All he needs is a little time."
When I said that, I didn't know how true it would be. The three of us finished our meal fairly quickly, but since there wasn't a whole lot to be said out here, or, at least I didn't want to bring up any of the issues that were plaguing me while our safety wasn't assured, we simply sat in silence.
After a short while, Suture dozed off, and it seemed that even Autumn Mist was starting to struggle to keep her eyes open. I glanced down at my Pipbuck and scrolled through some of its menus, or at least the few that were available to me.
I only had limited access to the inventory management; while it would organize my bags, it didn't make getting anything out any easier. If it had been capable of that, there would have been several instances in the last few days where my .45 would have come into play. But beyond the inventory, the map was next to useless, showing nothing except a blank screen of the area, when I had heard stories that it labeled everything from major settlements to small, abandoned shacks out in the middle of nowhere.
I shook my head sadly as I scrolled past the radio section. That one had never worked, and it was one of the few functions I was fairly sure I would have used a lot. I remembered from living in Grovedale and listening to the clunky pre-war radios that some of the shops and residents that the stations often gave away information on what various settlements were doing and where the caravans were in their cycles, not to mention a lot of practical information that would help just about anypony survive out in the wasteland, or aid a raider in choosing a mark.
But the single biggest feature that my broken Pipbuck was missing, by far, was S.A.T.S., short for Stable Assisted Targeting System. It was the programmed spell that would slow time down to the point where the entire world seemed to come to a halt and give the user time to line up the perfect shot, or even simply analyze the situation without fear of being eviscerated. Or so I had heard. I had never come across anypony with a working Pipbuck, except for one buck from when I had been a young filly, but he hadn't allowed me to play with, or even see, any of its really cool features.
I sighed and looked up at the sealed door. If I was lucky, I would be able to fix that problem today. This was a Stable, so there should be several of these hardy computers stored away somewhere down there. The stories went that everypony born and raised in a Stable got one, so that meant that they had to have enough to support a growing population. The fact that I might not be able to get one never even crossed my mind as Crosswire let out an excited yell and jumped up from the controls in joy.
"Haha! I got it!" he exclaimed and slammed his hoof down on a lever on the console.
A siren started up, so loud that I clamped my hooves over my ears in an attempt to save my battered ears. Just as I thought it couldn't get any louder, a terrible grinding filled the air, setting my teeth on edge and nearly rendering me deaf as it echoed throughout the cavern. I threw myself on the ground, trying to do anything I could to put something between my ears and the incredible volume.
When the noise finally ended, I hesitantly lifted my head and looked around. The massive Stable door was now open, revealing a portal into the dark confines of the centuries-old bunker. Crosswire stood just in front of the portal, chest thrust out, with a victorious smile on his face.
I pulled myself back onto my hooves and readjusted my barding, making sure everything was still in place, then glared at Crosswire. "Thanks for the warning," I said darkly. Inwardly, I was extremely happy that he managed to pull it off, considering what those things were designed to withstand.
All he did was shrug in reply. "Sorry, we can't all be this successful," he said, his grin broadening, "We ready to move?"
I looked around the cavern, noting that Autumn and Suture were gathering themselves after the surprise and nodded, "I don't see why not. We've had enough time to regain our energy, and I want to get back to Millberry. Let's get in there and find what we need."
We took a few moments to get together the supplies we had out, then stepped into the Stable. Completely against my expectations, the walls were covered in dirt and grime, and layers of dust had built up in the corners. It seemed that any kind of maintenance had been halted decades ago. And judging from the lack of anypony appearing to greet us, I doubted that whatever society had existed down here was still surviving.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Autumn trailed off nervously as we approached the stairway leading deeper underground.
I still couldn't understand the source of her discomfort. What could there possibly be down here that would present a danger to us? It appeared that everypony down here was dead, so what threat would there be other than a few decomposed corpses and skeletons? "We'll be fine, Autumn," I stated, "Between your rifle, Crosswire's SMG, and Hammer, we'll be fine. I don't think anything Stable-Tec cooked up will be enough to overcome three hardened wastelanders."
"Don't underestimate the madness of what Stable-Tec thought up. Those fuckers destroyed almost as many lives as the apocalypse did," Autumn snapped, "I don't trust a fucking thing those sadists put together."
I shrugged and kept walking, climbing down the stairs until they deposited us into what could only be the Stable's atrium. I paused for a moment, considering what direction we would want to go in. Chances were that a water purifier would be in the lower maintenance section, but a sealed stable, or recently opened, in this case, provided a unique salvaging opportunity. A lot of the tech that Stable-Tec dumped in these things was designed to last centuries. If we could get our hooves on some of it and drag it out with us, we would be set for a lifetime. And the best place to find an accounting of that tech would be the Overmare's office...
I cast about, searching for a sign, and finally found one, pointing down a side hallway. "That way," I said, pointing a hoof towards it, "The Overmare's office will have records of where all the machinery is, not to mention any other goodies that are down here."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Autumn snapped, grabbing my tail to stop me from moving forward, "We came down here for one thing, and one thing only: the recycler. If we lose track of that, we'll be stuck down here when the shit hits the fan and whatever horrors Stable-Tec cooked up find us. We need to go straight to maintenance, that way," she waved a hoof towards a stairwell leading down, "grab the recycler, and leave. Nothing more."
"And waste this opportunity, I don't think so," Crosswire cut in, "I'm with Evergreen. Our best opportunity will be if we find out everything that's stashed down here and bring out as much as we can."
"Arrgh, you're both fucking insane!" Autumn exclaimed, "Suture, you're with me, right? We need to get what we came with and get out!"
The medical pony remained silent as she considered the situation. "I don't know..." she finally muttered, "You make a good point, Autumn, but Evergreen is right. If we can bring out more pieces of working technology with us, we'll be able to help a lot more ponies. Besides, we haven't seen anything that would constitute a threat, and this is the main room of the Stable. If anything had gone wrong, surely some of the ponies down here would have made it this far before it got them, but I don't see anything out of place. I'm with Evergreen, we should take advantage of this, and I'm not normally one to say that."
I nodded in appreciation to the maroon pony, then stepped out into the atrium. "As you keep saying, Autumn, the quicker we move the quicker we get out," I stated, grinning.
"And we're all gonna end up fucking dead..." the dark mare muttered as she followed me out.
We made our way quickly through the atrium and down the hallway to the Overmare's office. The door was locked when we arrived, but was absolutely no match for Crosswire. In less than a minute, we were inside.
Inside, the room was a scene of chaos. Papers were flung about as if by a whirlwind and various desk implements were strewn about the floor. What little furniture that wasn't bolted to the floor was also cast about, broken into pieces.
I stepped over a shattered chair arm towards the large, circular desk, fairly certain that the only reason it, and the computer resting on it, was still in one piece because it had been designed to withstand that kind of treatment. Sitting behind the console was a badly decomposed skeleton, the remains of the last Overmare.
I gently pushed the remains to the side; there was no reason to disrespect the dead, especially not when they had come to an end like this one. Surprisingly, the terminal the body had been facing was still active, and already had access granted... This pony must have died while working on the terminal.
"Find anything interesting yet, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked from one corner of the room where he was rummaging through a series of lockers.
"Yeah, the last Overmare. At least, what's left of her," I answered, "And her terminal, already with full access." I looked over to where Autumn was standing uncomfortably off to one side, watching all of us with a disapproving glare. "Autumn, can you watch the door? If you happen to be right, and there is something down here just waiting to kill us, I want you to be the first thing it meets. I'd be surprised if anything could survive a direct shot from that rifle of yours."
"Even me?" Crosswire asked from where he was, a distinct note of anger in his voice.
"Hey, we worked our asses off to save yours," I shot back at him, "and trust me, it wasn't easy. If you could back her up once you're done there, I would appreciate it."
The buck shrugged noncommittally and returned his attention to the lockers.
I sighed and lifted a hoof to the keyboard, where I selected the first bit of highlighted text. Immediately, the voice of a young mare filled the air. "This is a pre-recorded message from Stable-Tec headquarters in Canterlot. If you are hearing this, then your Stable has been activated and you have been sealed off from the surface to protect you and your control group from almost certain death. This is now the time for the selected Overmare to open her sealed orders and conduct the Stable in the guidelines set forth by Stable-Tec. This pre-recorded message is now ending."
As soon as the message ended, I could feel everypony's eyes on me. "What's the next one? Is it Stable-Tec's orders?" Suture asked, stepping up beside me and looking at the screen.
"I don't know," I answered, "but I'm going to find out." Resolutely, I reached out and selected the next line of text on the screen.
Again, a mare's voice came from the terminal, but this time a different mare. "This is the first journal entry of the Stable 60 Overmare, Clockwork. The Stable sealed itself only three hours ago, and I have just finished reading my sealed orders. Celestia above, I can't believe it's come to this. I barely made it in time ever since those bombs just started dropping... everywhere, simply everywhere. I'm amazed that we managed to keep the door open as long as we did. By Luna, there must be so many dead..." the voice trailed off and there was a sound that might have been sobbing. "Ok, it's going to be ok, Clockwork," the voice muttered as the mare tried to calm herself, "You can do this. Our orders are to live as we did before the war, except the environmental systems are rigged for there to be a higher level of background radiation than usual, meant to simulate a world that survives an apocalypse like the one we just experienced, I guess. Apparently Stable-Tec was trying to plan for the worst after all. We have been given an extremely large supply of Rad-Away, to assist with any complications that may arise as a result of the higher radiation. I still can't believe everything could have gotten do bad. Only this morning we were still living normal lives."
The recording came to an end, and I just stood there, completely speechless. It was one thing to have the apocalypse explained to you as a filly. Then, it was just boring history, something you knew was true, but had no context for. The world simply was as it was. But hearing another pony talking about watching the bombs coming down with her own eyes... that was something else. Sure, I had met pre-war ghouls that hadn't gone zombie, but they usually preferred to not talk about the apocalypse. Too many bad memories, they said. Now, I could understand that.
"Play the next one," Suture pressed me, "I want to know what happened here."
"You do realize that message means we are probably being irradiated right now, right?" Autumn called out from the door, "Anypony have a rad counter? Aren't those Pipbuck's supposed to have one?"
"Yeah, but mine's broken," I answered, "The rad counter hasn't been working since I got tossed about in the Iron Hooves camp. We shouldn't be down here too long, anyway, and besides, it was simply designed for higher background levels. They wouldn't rig it to be deadly, would they?" Before anypony could answer, I reached out and started the next record.
"This is Stable 60 Overmare, Clockwork, entry number twenty-seven. It's been almost a year since the Stable was sealed, and everything seems to be going well. We've had a few cases of minor radiation poisoning, but nothing the Rad-Away couldn't handle. Now we know what warning signs to look for. It seems like everypony is starting to get used to the daily required medical checks to watch for radiation poisoning, and we are actually beginning to form our own society down here. It isn't perfect, but then, what is anymore?" A loud alarm sounded suddenly in the recording, shocking the Overmare into an exclamation of surprise. "What?! What was that?" she spluttered.
"Warning, system breach in reactor four. Lethal levels of radiation detected. Initiating Lockdown. Sealing bulkheads," a monotone, synthetic voice announced from the recording.
"What? No! This can't be happening!" The Overmare exclaimed. Then, there was a crashing sound, followed by hooves running towards the door, and the sound of pounding, as though the Overmare was trying to force her way out. After a while, the sound of her returning to the terminal could be heard, ending with her sitting heavily down in the chair. "I'm trapped in here, with enough emergency food and water to last months. Too bad I know I'm going to go through it all, then die of thirst anyway. If the Stable sealed us off completely from the reactor, then nopony is going to be able to shut it off. I guess this is the end."
"Great, that's exactly what I wanted to hear! So now, instead low levels of radiation, we're probably being bombarded with a fuck-ton of it! We should leave, right now!" Autumn snapped from the door.
"If the radiation were that bad, we'd already be starting to feel it. Anypony feel nauseous? Any headaches?" Suture asked. After a chorus of negatives, she said, "Then there's nothing to be worried about. I have some Rad-Away if anyone starts to feel sick, but we need what's down here. Play the next one, Evergreen."
I nodded and obediently hit the next record. The first mare's voice came out of the terminal this time. "This is Scootaloo, co-founder of Stable-Tec on a pre-recorded message. By now, you'll have noticed that one of your reactors has catastrophically failed. I'm sorry, but we had to do it. Some of the scientists here at Stable-Tec have theorized that ponies could withstand a high level of radiation if they had already been exposed to low amounts for a long period of time, so we... You know what, fuck this! What did you ponies do to deserve this kind of treatment from us! Here I am, recording a fucking message that is letting you know you're most likely going to die at worst, and survive as some twisted remnant of a pony at best, while I am probably going to be dead by the time you hear this message! When did we decide that we would have this kind of power over the lives of anypony? I swear, first thing in the morning, I'm going to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and telling them that this needs to stop! Scootaloo, out."
I stood in stunned silence as the last words of the message faded into silence. Stable-Tec... had planned this whole thing, had killed the entire Stable a single year after it had been put in place... How could they have done that? Everypony knew of the trio that had been behind the Stable program, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo, but I don't think anypony truly knew what they had done with the company that they had built. To murder a few hundred ponies because a bunch of scientists thought they had discovered something... it was simply unthinkable. And yet, here we were, faced with the reality. At least it appeared as though at least one of them had discovered the same thing, but obviously not soon enough.
"I can't believe it... They murdered them all," Suture muttered from my side, "Why would they do that?"
"Because they thought it would serve the greater good. Big fucking surprise: they were wrong," Autumn snapped from the doorway, "Now I'm telling you, we need to get the fuck out of here! Nothing good is going to come of this. Besides, I don't think this Stable is entirely empty..."
As if to punctuate her words, the sound of hooves echoed down the hallway, sending shivers down my spine. The sound was faint enough that I told myself that I had imagine the sound, even tried to force myself to believe it, but the look on Autumn's and Crosswire's faces told me that I hadn't imagined anything.
"Wait, there's one last one," Suture muttered. I heard her reach out and click a button on the terminal and the last message drifted out into the silence left by the echoing hooves.
"This is going to be the last journal entry from Stable 60 Overmare, Clockwork. I finished the last of my water three days ago and am starting to feel really weak. The lining of the office has been good enough to keep the radiation out, but that is as much a curse as it is a blessing. The lockdown lifted only a few days after the reactor exploded, but I sealed the door anyway. I'd rather die in here than face whatever fate has in store for me out there." There was the sound of dry coughing, the sound of a mare obviously dying of thirst. "The Stable-Tec scientists were right, for whatever that's worth anymore. Most of the Stable's residents have survived the massive amounts of radiation, though I use the term loosely. I've seen them from the window, gathering in the atrium while they tried to figure out what was happening to themselves. None of the survivors even look like ponies anymore. Their manes have all but fallen out and their skin is starting to flake off, giving them the look of zombies from the old horror movies I watched when I was a filly, but they simply refuse to die. Some of them look like they've gone crazy, and are attacking anypony that comes within reach, though that part of the population is only small, right now, except the process looks like it happens over time. Guess everypony down here will either be crazy or dead within a few weeks. At least I know I will still be me when I pass to the Beyond."
I felt a chill travel down my spine. These ponies hadn't died. No, it was much worse than that. Before I could vocalize my fear, Crosswire shouted out, "I see something!" and let out a burst of SMG fire.
I followed his gaze, stepping into the hallway as I did, and pulled out Hammer. At the end of the hall, now lying on its side and struggling to stand after being shot with a half-dozen rounds, was an Earth Pony ghoul. Nothing remained of its mane except for a few tattered strands, and its hide had all but sloughed off, revealing the raw flesh and muscle beneath. It had the look of something dead, except for the fact that it was now climbing back to its hooves and galloping at us, eyes wide and staring, intent on nothing other than ripping us limb from limb.
"Fuck! Ghouls!" I shouted around Hammer as I brought the revolver to bear. I centered its sights on the advancing ghoul and pulled the trigger. Hammer was most likely designed to punch through moderately reinforced armor. The squishy, softened flesh of this undead beast was no match for the power of its shot as the round tore into the ghoul's chest cavity and nearly tore it in half.
The ghoul collapsed in a pool of its own gore, and still continued to struggle, jaw snapping weakly in my direction, before finally falling still.
"This is fucking insane," Autumn snapped angrily, "Now we're facing an entire Stable's worth of these undead fucks! You see what I mean about Stable-Tec consistently fucking us all over?"
"Yeah, I get it, Autumn. I got it the first dozen times," I growled, "Crosswire, get on that terminal and find out where the recycler is. I'm going to side with Autumn now. We want to get down there, grab what we came here for, and get out. If there's anything else worthwhile, then it had better be on our way."
"Done," the buck answered, and backed into the room and to the terminal. The sound of him typing on the keyboard echoed loudly through the room, as it was the only sound any of us were making. Autumn and I stood stiffly by the door, each watching the hallway with our weapons out and ready.
In the five minutes it took Crosswire to find what we wanted, nothing showed itself at the other end of the hall. "Found it. I know the way to go," he finally announced, returning to the door and floating out his SMG.
"Good. Lead the way then. Suture, you with us?" I asked, looking back to where the medical pony was standing by a wall.
"I... I don't feel too good," she muttered before vomiting on the floor. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps and the color had drained from her face.
"Fuck, she's already starting to feel the effects of radiation poisoning. We need to get her out of here," Autumn snapped.
"Not yet, we don't," I argued, dashing over to the mare, where I pulled a packet of Rad-Away out of her saddlebag. I tore it open and held it up to her mouth. The smell of oranges tickled my nostrils, a misleading hint at how terrible the damn things actually tasted. "Drink this, you'll feel better, I promise."
Hesitantly, the mare took the packet in her mouth and gulped down the contents, nearly gagging several times, though I couldn't tell if it was due to the Rad-Away itself or radiation poisoning. When she finally finished, she gasped and took a deep breath. "I hate those things..." she breathed, "but better than suffering from radiation. It's a lot stronger than we think it is, if I felt it that quickly. We need to make a side-trip to the infirmary, if we want to have enough Rad-Away to last us however long we need. The record said they had a lot."
I nodded at her and turned to Crosswire. "You heard her. We need to get to the infirmary first. Lead the way," I ordered.
The buck nodded and started out the door, Autumn a step behind him. I took up a position at the rear, keeping Suture protected between us all. Knowing what was down here, the walls didn't seem nearly as inviting as they had before, not that it had been welcoming to begin with. Occasionally, we could hear the sound of hooves scurrying as if from a far distance, but we saw nothing besides that first ghoul.
As we came back out into the atrium, I was struck by just how deteriorated everything appeared. Before, it had simply been a little creepy, but nothing really out of the ordinary from how everything was up on the surface. But now, knowing what was hiding down here, the walls seemed to close in on me. I wasn't claustrophobic, not by a long shot, but the room appeared to shrink and offered me no way of getting out. The thought crossed my mind that I might not see the sky again.
Crosswire paused for a moment once we were all out of the hallway, casting about as he searched for a sign that would point us in the right direction. "There!" he announced, pointing with a hoof. Sure enough, the infirmary was there, a floor below us and across the atrium. All we needed to do was get there.
"Good job," I said, "now get us down there."
Crosswire nodded and took off at a canter, heading for a stairway leading down. It was exactly the wrong thing to do.
The door into the stairwell opened and released a tide of ghouls, all of them wild and snapping, lunging to grab at us and tear us apart. Crosswire let out an involuntary shout of surprise as the wave crashed over him, burying him beneath a pile of bodies. A spray of bullets flew from where he fell as he instinctively fired his gun, tearing many of the ghouls on top of him apart, but their sheer numbers drove him to the ground.
Both Autumn and I wasted no time in steadying our guns and opening fire, picking off the few ghouls on top of Crosswire that we had a clear shot at, and keeping the advancing masses from crushing the two of us.
In a deafening volley of gunfire, we both emptied the clips of our guns, the force of Hammer tearing limbs and exploding heads. Autumn's sniper was even more devastating as it tore ghouls in half and left nothing but a smear of gore in its wake. Unfortunately, both of our weapons had small clips, and we were forced to reload far sooner than I would have liked. There were still at least a half dozen ghouls charging us, with three still holding Crosswire pinned, fighting viciously to get through his defenses and tear him limb from limb.
Seeing a quick opportunity, I spat Hammer into its holster and dug into my saddlebags for my .45. I pulled the weapon out, checked that the safety was off, and pulled my head up just in time to see a ghoul smash into me, driving me to the ground. I managed to keep a hold on the pistol, but was too busy fending the undead horror off to get a clear shot.
The ghoul lunged for my throat, its breath washing over me and nearly making me gag. I barely got a leg up in time to stop the attack, but the result was the ghoul locking its jaws on my leg instead of my neck. It started worrying away, blood flowing freely from its jaws as it tore through my flesh.
The pain was nearly unimaginable as I screamed in agony, kicking blindly with my rear legs and battering at the ghoul with my one free foreleg, trying to dislodge it, but it was locked on tight and wouldn't let go.
It was then that I heard a shot from behind me and felt a bullet whiz pass my ear, clipping it before smashing into the ghouls face. Its head exploded in front of me, showering me in blood and bits of bone and brain. I shoved the body off of me, trying to catch my breath.
I simply lay there, listening to the sound of my ragged breathing and feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I barely felt the pain from my ear, as it was being completely dominated by the fire in my leg that seemed to be spreading throughout my entire body.
"Evergreen! Get up! I need you here!" I heard Autumn shout, but my brain barely registered the words.
All the same, I slowly rolled over to my stomach and gingerly dragged myself onto my hooves, keeping my injured leg off the ground. I turned my head towards the place Autumn's voice had come from and saw her wrestling with a ghoul. It seemed to be the last one left alive, and the young mare was struggling with it, her physical strength not nearly up to par with her levitation skills.
Crosswire was a short distance away, reloading his SMG. He was watching the fight with interest, but it didn't appear as though he was going to intervene anytime soon. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.
I limped over to her, making sure my .45 was still usable. With a complete lack of grace, I stuck the barrel of the gun against the ghoul's head and pulled the trigger, blowing its brains clear out the other side of its head and making it collapse limply on top of the dark mare.
"Thanks," she grunted, hefting the body off of her and climbing shakily to her hooves. She checked herself quickly for injuries, then floated her rifle over and reloaded before turning angrily on Crosswire. "What the hell was that about!" she yelled, "You could easily have helped me there!"
The buck simply shrugged. "Honestly, I see no reason to help you survive, considering you've sworn to kill Evergreen and almost killed me. You're only here because I respect Evergreen's decision, and having that rifle between me and anything else improves my chances of survival."
"Crosswire, this really isn't the time," I growled, "If we want to get out of here alive with what we came here for, we need to be working together, not expecting a shot in the back. Now come one, there shouldn't be another group of the things that close to us now. We should have enough time to get into the infirmary. Celestia knows I need it."
"I'm sorry, Evergreen, but I can't make myself come to this pony's rescue. Not after the shit she's pulled. In time, maybe, if she pulls that stick out of her ass, but until then, I won't attack her, but I'm not going to help her either," he argued, walking over to me and supporting me, "but I agree with needing to get to the infirmary."
We just started walking towards the stairwell when I looked behind me and saw Suture standing in place, 9mm pistol on her mouth, completely frozen in place.
"Suture?" I asked, "You coming?" Something didn't seem right with her. This was not a good time for us to lose our medic.
"I... I killed somepony," she muttered just loud enough for us to hear, "I've never killed somepony before."
"Fuck, this is the last thing we need," Crosswire snapped.
"Suture, it wasn't a pony anymore. Anything that would have made it a pony died a long time ago. Whoever it once was has been done a favor now. You let them rest and go to the princesses," I said, hoping to break her out of whatever funk she was in.
She turned her head slightly to look at me. "You don't understand, Evergreen. I'm a doctor. My job is to help ponies. Not kill them. I'm a disgrace to my profession."
"Trust me, Suture, you aren't. You fought to protect somepony's life. I don't see how that could ever be considered a bad thing. Now come on! We need to get down there."
The maroon mare nodded dumbly and followed slowly after us, walking as if on wooden legs. When she reached us, Autumn reached out with her telekinesis and pulled the pistol out of her mouth and slid into her holster.
The four of us then proceeded down the stairs towards the infirmary, me leaning on Crosswire for support because of my savaged leg, and Autumn leading an expressionless Suture, who followed along without comment.
As soon as we stepped inside the infirmary and Autumn closed the door behind us, I collapsed on the floor near one of the medical cabinets as Crosswire began rummaging through them one at a time, building a pile of Rad-Away and a pile of other medical supplies.
The Rad-Away quickly outnumbered everything else, lending a lot of weight to the Overmare's claim that they had been overstocked. We all slurped one down, doing what we could to combat the radiation levels down here.
The taste was completely terrible, reminding me of spoiled oranges, but the cost was worth it. Better to gag at the taste than to die of radiation poisoning. After forcing the Rad-Away down, I reached for a healing potion and chugged that as well. My leg stitched itself together in front of my eyes, the savaged bite receding to a small patch of pink flesh and thin hair. I placed it on the ground experimentally, testing my weight, and was pleased to find that it could support me again. Unfortunately, it did nothing for the notch that Suture's bullet had carved in my ear.
Once my own ills were taken care of, I turned my attention to everypony else. Crosswire was still rummaging through the cabinets, tossing something valuable out every now and then. Autumn was standing off to one side of the room, nursing her Rad-Away, with a dark look on her face. Suture was still standing near the door, her face completely blank.
I walked over to her, and stood directly in front of her, my nose barely a foot from hers. She made no indication that she recognized my existence.
"Suture," I said, finally getting a reaction out of her as her eyes focused on mine, "Are you ok?"
"Evergreen," the mare breathed, "Evergreen, something terrible happened. I... I killed somepony..."
I sighed. Of all the times for this mare to have a mental breakdown, it had to be now. "No, Suture, you didn't kill anypony. By definition, feral ghouls are no longer ponies. Most sentient ghouls don't even care what happens to the ferals. Besides, you saved my life. How could that be a bad thing?"
The mare resolutely shook her head. "No, it doesn't work like that. The ends don't justify the means. I... this isn't right."
Obviously, talking to her wasn't going to solve anything here, as she was basically repeating the same things she had said before, so I did the only other thing I knew to do. I lifted a leg and smacked her hard across the face.
Her head snapped to the side, and she let out a startled yelp that drew both Autumn's and Crosswire's attention. I then reached out and grabbed her head in both my hooves and forced her to look me in the eye.
"Listen to me Suture," I snapped angrily, "You are not a disgrace, not even close. I can tell by looking in your eyes that you have never even fired a gun before, and that's okay. But you shouldn't be angry at yourself because you had to shoot something. Your life was in danger, and it would have killed you had it not been busy trying to eat me alive. I owe you my life because of that shot. So pull yourself together and get your head on straight. I need the brave medic that came down here with us. Not this shell."
Suture stared at me blankly for a few seconds, still in shock from me hitting her, then slowly nodded.
"Good," I huffed, and released her.
"You... you hit me," she muttered, but there was an undertone of anger to her words. I was happier hearing that than the emotionless monotone she had been speaking in.
"Yes I did, because you refused to listen to me. I had to get your attention somehow. That seemed like the best way to do it," I answered simply, "so go ahead and be angry. I can handle it, and you'll thank me for it before long. When you understand why, then I'll apologize."
I turned away from the mare, whom was now starting to sputter angrily at me, and focused my attention on Crosswire. I figured that since I was handling one pony's problems, I might as well handle the others as well.
"I know exactly what you're going to say," Crosswire said, not quite angry, but definitely annoyed, "and I'm warning you now: if you so much as twitch a leg in my direction, I won't hesitate to kick you square in the jaw."
"Good, that makes this quite a bit easier, since I already have your attention," I growled, "I know you're pissed, and I know why. I'm not too happy with the situation, either, but the only way to get out of it is to kill her, and I am not willing to turn back down that path. If you still want to murder somepony, who basically did save your life back there, then be my guest, but I will have nothing to do with it."
I saw Crosswire glance over in Autumn's direction, then heard the echoing sound of the dark mare chambering a round.
"Don't even think about it, Crosswire," she snapped, "You'd be dead before you got halfway here."
The tech maintained his glare for a few seconds before snorting angrily and turning his head back to me. "So what do you expect me to do, Evergreen? The way I was raised, and the rules I was taught to follow, tell me to have nothing to do with somepony like her, especially since she almost fucking killed me!"
"I don't expect anything from you," I snapped back, "but I also thought you were better than that. I have never seen you simply leave somepony to their fate before, even while we were still in the gang. You would always outright kill anypony other than us, or help anypony that was in the gang with us. You never just abandoned them. And honestly, given our reputations, her actions yesterday were justified. So why the change?"
Crosswire was now glaring at me, his green eyes a sea of anger and pain. "Believe it or not, Evergreen, there are some things about me that even you don't know." He said, every word dripping with the same anger radiating from his gaze, "so trust me when I say that I will not, cannot ever put my life on the line to save somepony like her."
"But your life wouldn't have been at risk!" I yelled, "She was pinned beneath a single ghoul! I managed to do it by simply shoving a pistol against its head and pulling the trigger, and one of my legs wasn't even working! So where's the problem?"
Now, surprisingly, the buck's glare shifted from one of anger, to one of hurt. I recognized it for what it was: a window into his past, a glimpse into a life he had left behind long before we had met. "You wouldn't understand. Please, Evergreen, just drop it. Just understand that I can't bring myself to help her and leave it. Maybe one day, you'll figure it out, but now isn't the time."
I could tell that he was trying to soothe me off of the issue, but all it did was serve to piss me off even more. "Seriously, Crosswire..." I said, "You seriously expect me to simply leave it at that? If we expect to get out of here alive, then we need to be watching each other's backs the whole way through. If any one of us can't rely on everypony else, then we aren't going to get out in one piece, and that is a promise. So fine, I get that you have some long-standing issues that are keeping you from trusting Autumn Mist, or even helping her, but for the interest of survival, can you put it aside for a few hours so we can do what we came here to do?"
Crosswire glared at me again, but then looked over to Autumn Mist. His gaze softened slightly, and he sighed. "Fine. While we're down here, she can rely on me. As soon as we step outside, that ends."
"Thank y..." I started, but was cut off by the buck.
"I'm only doing this because I respect you, Evergreen, and I know you wouldn't ask if you didn't think it entirely necessary. Don't make me regret that judgment."
It was a threat, and a thinly veiled one at that. He was telling me, in no uncertain terms, that I was taking a risk in asking this of him. My entire friendship with him was now on the line, but I would be damned before I would let that stop me.
"I won't," I answered resolutely, "but I hope that you'll trust me enough soon that you'll tell me why."
Crosswire looked past me and seemed to focus on something in the distance that I wouldn't be able to see. "Maybe at some point, but not now," was all he said to answer before turning back to the pile of medical supplies. "We should split all of this up amongst the four of us. It'll be easiest to carry, and we'll all have a supply with us to take as we need it."
I nodded in agreement. "Good idea. Suture can pick up the extra, since she's carrying the rest of our medical supplies anyway," I said, looking over to the maroon mare.
She was glaring at me, still angry at the fact that I had hit her, but I wasn't concerned about that. At least she wasn't in shock. "Fine," she ground out, stepping forward and pushing roughly past me, "but don't think I've forgotten, Evergreen. You and I are going to have a long conversation about proper treatment of others when all of this is said and done."
She quickly divided the pile into four equal sizes and deposited the extra medical supplies in her saddlebags. The rest of us stepped forward and grabbed a pile of Rad-Away each. Thankfully, it didn't add too much weight and I should still be able to move quickly if I needed to.
Once we are all settled, I peered carefully out of the window into the main square of the atrium. The window was grimy and it was difficult to see through, but I could make out enough to see that there wasn't an army of ghouls waiting for us outside, but I could see some shadows moving at the edges of the room, centered at the various doorways leading out into other parts of the Stable.
"Ok, I can see some movement, but there doesn't seem to be too many of them," I said, turning back to the others, "Crosswire, you know which way to go to get down to the Maintenance level?"
The buck nodded curtly.
"Good. You'll be leading us then. I'll follow after you, then Suture will be behind me. Autumn, take up the rear and make sure nothing follows us too closely. We all ready?"
Everypony nodded in acknowledgement. They were all angry, in their own way and for different reasons, but at least they had all agreed to put their rivalries aside for the time being. They simply didn't have a place in what we were trying to accomplish. It would have to do.
"Ok. Let's move!" I said, gesturing to the door.
Crosswire floated out his SMG and hit the control to open the door. It slid open smoothly, surprising considering how worn-down everything else was, but that fact was lost on us all as we dashed out of the infirmary.
Crosswire made a beeline for one of the shadowy doorways, moving at a quick canter, and casting his head from side to side, searching for targets. We came within ten feet of the door when the first of the ghouls showed themselves.
Four of the ferals launched themselves out of the shadows towards the grey buck, aiming at his chest and neck. Two were quickly cut down by a pair of bursts from his SMG. The third dropped bonelessly to the floor a moment later, a revolver round through its chest. The last ghoul reached its target, but instead of latching onto Crosswire's neck as it had intended to do, the buck lowered his head and charged the ghoul, impaling it on his glowing horn and driving it back into the stairway where he stopped and momentum sent the dead ghoul flying down the stairs to land in a wet crunch at the bottom.
We didn't pause in wake of the attack, instead continuing down into the depths of the Stable. I could see blood dripping down Crosswire's face and matting in his mane, all of it left over from the ghoul he had charged, but some seemed to be getting into his eyes as he tossed his head from side to side, probably trying to clear his vision.
We had just reached the first landing when I heard a pair of shots from Autumn's rifle. "They're coming up right behind us, and there are a fuck-ton of 'em!" she shouted, firing another pair of rounds.
I made a split decision and spat Hammer into its holster, then reached into my saddlebags, pulling out a pair of grenades. This would be a perfect time to use them, if I could get the timing right. "Get out of the way!" I shouted at the sniper, then pulled out both the stems from the grenades and tossed them into the air.
I waited, watching as they arced through the air, praying to any deity that would listen for this to work, then twisted around and bucked at the grenades.
My aim was true, and the two apple-shaped explosives soared through the air to the top of the stairs, where they detonated in a rain of fire and shrapnel, accompanied by pained shrieks from the ferals that had been caught in the blast.
I didn't wait to see what came out of the explosion. Instead, I turned and ran after Crosswire, who was now sitting at the bottom of the stairwell, struggling with a door.
"What the fuck's happening here?" I asked, "Get it open!" The sound of hooves pounding on a metal floor became louder, which could only mean that more ferals were coming after us.
"What the fuck do you think I'm trying to do! Whoever the fuck locked this door wanted to make sure nopony followed them! It's a lot harder than it has any right to be!" he snapped back.
I heard the sound of Autumn chambering a round, then there was a quick succession of shots from her rifle. "Evergreen, get the fuck up here! There's more than I can handle alone!"
"Luna rape me with a fucking cow-prod!" I swore, then bounded up the stairs to where the dark mare was once again reloading her rifle. Even Suture was holding her pistol gingerly in her mouth. I pulled Hammer out again and aimed up at the stairs.
The ghouls came rushing in a moment later, pouring down the stairs like some unstoppable tide. All three of us fired into the mass in desperation. Autumn's and my shots struck with careful accuracy, killing ghouls with a single chest or headshot. Suture's shots were largely flying about randomly, only striking targets because of their sheer numbers, but the hollow point rounds did an incredible amount of damage to the ghouls, tearing limbs clean off or leaving massive, bloody holes wherever they struck a torso or head.
Somehow, we fought the assault off, leaving the stairway covered in blood and torn bodies. All three of us were bleeding from injuries gained in the attack, though the worst was a deep gash in Autumn's shoulder where a ghoul had managed to tear right through her barding.
She was grimacing in pain, but shook Suture away when the medical pony tried to wrap up the injury, gesturing to the stairs. "We don't have time for that, Suture. The next wave could come at any time," she snapped, reloading her rifle. "You have any grenades left, Evergreen?"
"A few," I answered, pulling three of the apple-shaped explosives out of my saddlebags and setting them on the ground in front of me, "Don't know how useful they'll be though, given how many bodies are up there."
Autumn Mist shook her head slowly. When she spoke, I could detect a hint of desperation in her voice. "This is bad. We're cornered with nowhere to run, with who knows how many ghouls between us and the exit..."
I heard her words, but refused to listen to them. If I gave in to that kind of thinking, then we were all dead. They came here with me at my request, so it was my responsibility to keep moving forward, to keep up the belief that we would get out.
I turned my head to where Crosswire was still hunched over the locking mechanism of the door. "Crosswire, how much longer are you going to be?" I shouted, "We're running out of time up here."
"This doesn't seem right!" the buck shouted back, "Whatever happened to this door, it is refusing to budge! I don't think I can get through."
"Fuck!" I yelled, but before I could get anything more out, the sound of pounding hooves echoed through the stable, and the next attack started. I pulled the stem from one of the grenades and sent it through the air, where it detonated amidst the charging ghouls, but it barely slowed them down.
Once again, we were all fighting desperately for our lives, but this attack seemed much more relentless than the others, and the wave of ghouls just kept coming. I watched almost helplessly as a pair of ghouls got past our wall of gunfire. One of them bit Suture deeply on the shoulder and started ripping its head back and forth, tearing the flesh and sending blood spattering around the room. The second dove for me, jaws spread wide and hooves outstretched to wrap around my neck.
I lowered myself slightly as it flew at me, and twisted with it as it struck me, managing to pin it underneath me when we finally came to a rest. At this range, Hammer was completely useless so I shoved it into my barding and reached for my knife.
The ghoul was struggling violently, much stronger than it appeared to be, and I had to abandon my attempt at pulling my knife out to keep it from breaking free and tearing me apart. I shifted myself slightly so I was holding it down with all of my weight, but I wasn't in a position to actually do anything to take it out of the fight. It was taking all of my strength to simply hold it down.
It was then that I heard a loud crashing, followed by a cry of shocked surprise from Crosswire. Then, there was a gunshot, and the ghoul beneath me went completely limp as a bullet tore through its skull.
The next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by a lot of sets of hooves and dragged down the stairs and through the now open door. All around me, there were surprised shouts and the sound of gunfire.
"Get the fuck off of me, you undead fuck!" I heard Autumn shout as we were all dragged past the door to the maintenance area.
Everything went black a few moments later when the door slid shut and something heavy crashed into it, supposedly sealing us off from going back that way.
In the darkness, I was straining for any kind of information my other senses could pick up. My ears were twisting in the direction of any small scrape or sound, and I turned my body to face the direction of the slightest breath of air, but it was all for nothing. I couldn't tell anything about my surroundings.
The hooves that had grabbed me had let go as soon as the door closed, leaving me completely directionless. I fumbled with my Pipbuck, praying that the flashlight would work. Thankfully, the light came on, bathing the area around me in a pale green light.
What I saw made my breath catch in my throat. Surrounding us was a group of ghouls, just like the ones we saw outside, except these were still clad in barding and several were carrying crude weapons, mostly lead pipes and lengths of iron. Only two of the ghouls were carrying firearms, and those were both simple 9mm pistols, nothing even close to what I would call effective firepower.
"Fuck! We get away from a fuck-ton of stupid ones up there just to run into the clutches of the smart ones!" Autumn swore loudly as she swung her rifle around to face these ghouls.
"Stop it, you idiot!" Crosswire exclaimed as he smacked the rifle aside, "These ponies just saved our lives! They're not trying to kill us!"
"Who... who are you?" I asked, ignoring the commotion. Crosswire could handle it. My interest lay in these ponies that were in front of us. Now that I looked closer, I could see that they were all wearing some form of Stable barding, ranging in use from maintenance uniforms to guard outfits.
"We are what's left of the population of this Stable," one of the ghoul's rasped, "I suppose I'm what's closest to what could be considered a leader. My name is Marmelade. Who are you and where are you from? How did you get down here?" His remaining hide was a faint yellow in color, and what few strands of mane were left appeared to be a bright orange.
"My name is Evergreen. My friends are Crosswire, Suture, and Autumn Mist," I answered, gesturing to each pony in turn. Suture was grimacing, and fumbling about in her saddlebag for a healing potion, blood flowing freely from the ragged wound on her shoulder. Crosswire kept looking back and forth from Autumn to the ghouls, trying to keep in control of the dark mare, who was glaring at the ghouls with obvious hatred. In the pale light of my flashlight, he looked almost like a ghoul himself as the light reflected starkly off the blood still running down his face. "As for how we got here, Crosswire managed to hack into the main door. We came down here hoping to get our hooves on a Stable-Tec water recycler. One of the towns on the surface needs it to survive."
Marmelade shook his head slowly in disbelief. "So ponies have survived on the surface for all these years? I still remember the bombs coming down the day we were called to enter the Stable. I didn't think anypony would survive that. What is it like up there? Is there anything left of the Equestria I grew up in?"
I thought for a moment about everything I had seen and experienced, from the raider gangs to the communities like Metro and Grovedale. "It's not the same," I answered carefully. When I saw a confused come over his face, I elaborated, "There are some good things out there. Some of the communities that exist are probably a lot like what it was like before. But there is a lot of bad too... Raiders, bandits, slavers... It isn't always pretty, and surviving isn't easy."
The ghoul, Marmelade, lowered his head and I could see the grief appear. "So our homes and civilization are gone... What of the princesses? What happened to them? I know they wouldn't stand for that kind of thing."
I had no idea how to answer that. Part of me did believe as my parents had; that the princesses lived on in the sun and the moon, and that they still looked down on us. But for how much I liked that vision, I knew that it wasn't the answer this buck was looking for. Thankfully, Suture stepped forward, only gingerly using her injured shoulder, and saved me from having to answer.
"I'm so sorry that we are the ones that need to tell you this, but the princesses died in Canterlot on the day the bombs fell. They gave their lives to contain a megaspell that would have devastated most of that area of Equestria. If not for their sacrifice, there would be much less out there than there is," she explained, reaching out and placing a hoof on the ghoul's shoulder.
Marmelade looked up and stared into Suture's eyes. "Then they died as they lived: giving themselves to their subjects. We should all live by their example," he said. He cast about for a few moments, as though looking for something he couldn't find, then focused his gaze on me. "We should go a little farther inside, where there's some more light. We'll be able to talk there."
With that, the ghouls turned, flicked on their own Pipbuck lights, and led us down into the depths of the Stable. Within a few minutes, I was hopelessly lost. The twists and turns that the ghouls led us through as we descended were one of the most disorienting things that I've ever gone through.
Thankfully, the journey was not long, and soon we were sitting comfortably in one of the lower reactor chambers eating a meal provided to us by our ghoul hosts and drinking another couple of packs of Rad-Away. We took the chance to see to our injuries, using healing potions when necessary and binding the smaller scratches and bites to keep them from getting infected. Crosswire also took the time to clean off the gore from the ghoul he had impaled.
"So what did you say you came down here for, Evergreen? I can't imagine that it was to rescue us." Marmelade asked once we were done eating and had returned to some level of civilized appearance.
"As I said, we're looking for a water recycler, or a purifier. I'm a mercenary, working for one of the main settlements on the surface that calls itself Metro. My job is to secure an alliance with another town called Millberry, but they need a purifier or recycler before they will agree to anything. We heard about how this Stable hasn't been opened since the bombs fell and thought we'd try our luck," I answered.
"Millberry is still standing?" another ghoul answered. This one appeared to be a mare that had once had a cherry red hide and purple mane, "I used to live there. What is it like?"
"They're surviving, if only barely," I answered, "A lot of the town is in ruins, but they have rebuilt a lot of it, by the look of things. So do you guys have a working recycler?"
"Unfortunately, no. The damage cause by the exploding reactor destroyed our recycler. It hasn't worked in years," Marmelade answered, "Lucky for us, we can survive on irradiated water. I'm sorry you had to risk your life for nothing. For what it's worth, thank you, though. I thought we'd never be able to get back to the surface. The crazy ones attack us just as readily as they attacked you, and we don't have the weapons or supplies to make it out past them."
"Great! We come here for a water recycler, and all we get is the gratitude of a half-dead fuck!" Autumn snapped from where she was sitting, nursing her Rad-Away.
"Autumn, that was entirely unnecessary! These ponies saved our lives," I snapped, turning on the mare.
"Ok. Thanks, for saving my life. Doesn't mean I have to like them," she growled, finishing the faux orange drink in a large gulp.
I shook my head at the mare, surprised at her bigotry considering the rest of her moral stances. "I apologize for her," I said to Marmelade, "We haven't known each other for very long and are still trying to figure out where we all fit in the group."
"No, I understand. We know what we look like. It's only understandable that some ponies will think of us like that. I know most of us did for the longest time," the buck answered, waving my apology aside, "Now, I don't want your journey here to have been completely without gain," he said pointing at my left foreleg, "I see you have a Pipbuck, but it looks like yours is pretty banged up. We have several extra, since the Stable failed pretty early on. I'd be willing to give you one in exchange for you helping us get out of here."
I very nearly jumped out of my seat at the prospect of getting my hooves on a fully functional Pipbuck, "For a Pipbuck? Consider it done. All we need is a plan."
"Woah, why does just she get one of those things? If we all get one, it'll help all of us!" Autumn protested, "Especially since we're the ones with actual combat experience."
Marmelade looked over at the dark mare. "Maybe. I'll have to see exactly how many we have that are fully functional. Gearbox! What does our supply look like?" he shouted at another ghoul who was working on something on the other side of the room.
The buck spun his head around to look at us. "Uhh... I think we have three fully functional Pipbucks," he answered, digging around in a small box by his hooves.
"Perfect!" Autumn announced, "Give us those and we're in till the end!"
The yellow ghoul glared at the mare for a few moments, considering the request. "If you really think it necessary," he muttered, looking back at me.
"It couldn't hurt," I said, "And she actually has a point. If several of us had one, it would go a long way to making any attempt to get out of here successful."
Marmelade nodded, then gestured to Gearbox. "Fine. I suppose it's a small enough price to pay. Gearbox, grab those Pipbucks and get over here," he said.
The buck obediently stopped what he was doing, fished out a few intact computers from a crate, and trotted over to where we were sitting. Marmelade held out a hoof, and the buck dropped one of the Pipbucks into it.
Marmelade turned to me and gestured for me to hold my leg out. I did, and he reached down with a key he had pulled out of his barding and pulled my old and decrepit computer off. He then quickly slapped on the new one and sealed it in place.
Almost instantly, my vision filled with little icons dancing around and telling me that the system was booting up. Within a few seconds, everything returned to what I was used to, with just a small bar at the bottom of my vision that showed my E.F.S. Unlike with my old one, this one was much clearer and sharper, which would hopefully mean that it would be easier to pay attention to.
Almost instantly, a clicking sound filled my hearing. In the corner of a my vision, I could see a red bar telling me that I was soaking up a lot of rads, somewhere close to seven or eight a second. Hopefully it was that high only because of how close we were to the reactor.
I lifted the computer to my eyes and started scrolling through it. Everything was fully available and usable, from the inventory management to the radio. I could even pick up the Stable's PA system on it, not that anything would be playing on that channel.
I lowered it again and looked over at Autumn. A short moment of concentration, and I felt time dilate as my sight focused on the dark mare. Small icons popped into my vision, showing me small percentages next to various parts of her body. Everything was labeled as 0, since she was sitting a fair distance away from me and I didn't have any of my guns out, but it was a wonderful feeling to have a fully functional S.A.T.S. system. Missing any shot would be nearly impossible now!
"Thank you," I finally said a few minutes later, after I dropped back out of S.A.T.S., "I didn't think I'd ever get my hooves on one of these."
"Of course. And now for your friends," Marmelade asked, his gaze shifting to my companions.
Autumn was almost instantly standing at his side. "I'll take one," she said, holding her leg out.
The ghoul nodded and fastened a Pipbuck to her leg. As soon as he was done, she pulled away and started to play with the machine, racing through its functions and examining every small detail that she could.
Once she was gone, I looked at Crosswire, but he shook his head at me. "Give it to Suture. She'll get greater use out of it than I will," he said.
Slowly, almost meekly, the mare approached us. "I suppose I could use one. The inventory spell is supposed to be quite useful," she said as she held out her leg.
Marmelade attached the last Pipbuck to her leg, then took a step back, letting the maroon mare return to her seat to figure out how to use the computer.
"So, are you still willing to help us?" he asked me, his voice and gaze thick with hope.
"Of course," I answered, reaching out and placing a hoof on his shoulder, "We'll help you and everypony down here to get out. It's the least we can do to make up for you saving our lives."
Our planning session was short, if only because there was truthfully little to be planned. The ghouls that had survived down here had almost nothing in the way of weaponry or protective barding, so the four of us would be the spearpoint of any attempt to get out, three and a half, if you considered Suture's skill with a weapon. She was probably outclassed by the couple of guard ponies down here that still had guns.
In the end, our plan was pretty much what I had expected it would be. We were going to unseal a door in a different part of the stable, since most of the feral ghouls had been pulled over to the end we came from. We would cut through a small portion of the living area, come out on the second floor of the atrium, and make a dash for the Stable door, where Crosswire would hopefully manage to seal it again before any of the ghouls got out, simple.
We took a short amount of time to gather ourselves, prepare our weapons, and make some quick repairs to our barding before making for the living area entrance. Once again, the ghouls led us through an incredibly confusing maze of corridors and hallways, but we eventually arrived at our destination. The door stood before us, sealed off and impassive, but the buck, Gearbox, ran over and started working on its mechanics, and gradually we could hear the machinery come to life.
I steeled myself for the plunge into madness. We would have little to no time to think once that door was open. Our entire plan was completely dependent on our ability to move as quickly as possible. If we allowed ourselves to get cornered, we would all end up dead. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and fixing the picture of the open sky and skyline of the mountains in my mind, praying that I would see them again. When I let the breath out, the door was sliding open.
As soon as the door was clear, we started moving. One of the Stable guards was in front, wielding my .45. He had been the most obvious choice to lead us, since he was familiar with the layout of the stable. Crosswire was just behind him, his SMG floating next to him, ready to fire. Next was me, followed by the ghouls that had survived this long. Taking up the rear was Suture, then Autumn, who would make sure nothing attacked us from behind.
We galloped as quickly as we could while making sure nopony fell behind. Somehow, we met no resistance until we were reached a stairwell that would bring us even with the bottom floor of the atrium. It was only a small group of ghouls, only five of them, but it was enough of a shock to these ponies that several started to panic.
"Keep your heads on straight! It's my job to keep you all alive!" I shouted at them around Hammer.
The ghouls rushed us, but the front two were quickly cut down by the crossfire from both the Stable guard and Crosswire. As the last three approached, I slipped into S.A.T.S., almost giddy at the prospect of using the system.
Time dilated, leaving everything near motionless. I lined up three shots, which was unfortunately all that the program would allow me to. The first two I set to hit the closest two ghouls in the head, while the last was aimed at the final ghoul's chest. The chance to hit that one in the head was simply too low to risk anything else.
I activated the spell, and time snapped back into reality. I fired the shots, and they all flew exactly as I had planned. The front two ghouls' heads exploded in a shower of bone and brain, and the third tumbled to the ground as its chest cavity imploded. It could easily be said that I had never been that happy at shooting something in all my life.
We thundered past the dead ghouls, clambering up the stairs and into the higher-class living quarters, where the Stable management would have lived. Here, there were many more ghouls waiting for us in the abandoned rooms and hidden shadows. They came at us in twos and threes, biting at our flanks and striking out at us with decomposing hooves, but each time, ponies were in place to drive them back. Many of the ghouls in the middle of our formation were carrying some sort of melee weapon that they used to beat the ghouls back long enough for one of us to finish them off, if not kill them outright themselves.
Before long, we were approaching the door to the second floor of the atrium. Almost every one of us had some kind of minor injury, along with a few major ones, but nothing that was serious enough that it required us to stop.
"We sealed this door off back in the early days to keep the crazies from getting at us," the guard said as we neared the door, "I can unstick it, but we may need your friend here to bring the machinery back to life. We'll need to hold off whatever is coming at us from behind while he works."
I nodded in agreement and looked to Crosswire. "Can you handle it?" I asked breathlessly. Beyond the simple exhaustion of running for so long and so quickly, I was beginning to feel slightly nauseous as the effects of radiation poisoning began to set in. Hopefully I'd be able to get down a Rad-Away before the fighting began again.
"So long as it isn't as fucked up as that first door to maintenance was, yeah, I can get it," Crosswire growled, "Just keep the ferals off me."
"Done," I said as I turned and galloped down the line to the rear, where I could hear Autumn's rifle firing at regular intervals.
I skidded to a stop beside her, bringing Hammer to bear and focusing my gaze down the hall. If I strained my eyes enough, I could see something moving in the shadows, lining up with the red bars in my E.F.S., but nothing was clear enough for S.A.T.S. to give me a reliable shot, and I was not about to waste ammo.
"What's the hold-up?" Autumn asked, firing another round into the darkness and eliciting another death shriek from a ghoul.
"Stable ponies sealed the door from the living quarters to the atrium in the early days, trying to stem the tide. Guard is unsealing it, but needs Crosswire to get it running again. We're on guard duty until then," I answered curtly.
We didn't have a chance to say anything else as the ghouls charged, coming at us in a solid, screaming mass.
I slipped into S.A.T.S. as they approached, lined up three shots and let loose. All three were perfect hits, decapitating three of the charging abominations in midstride as Hammer's heavy rounds tore through their skulls. As time returned to normal, I fired the last few round that were still in the carousel, killing another two ghouls, then spat the revolver into its holster and pulled out the 9mm I had gotten from the guard in exchange for the .45. Thank Celestia for this new Pipbuck! It actually had a fully functional inventory spell!
Autumn was firing next to me, sending round after round into the approaching ghouls. Each round did a devastating amount of damage, tearing limbs from bodies, or simply tearing bodies in half. No matter what, every round she fired resulted in a ghoul's death, oftentimes also killing more than one, no doubt the influence of her now being able to use S.A.T.S. as well.
On my other side, Suture held her fire until the ghouls were almost on top of us, and even then she only fired when in direct danger herself. She had run out of hollow point rounds a while ago, but at this range, the standard 9mm rounds were more than capable of killing a ghoul. In the next instant, the ghouls were amongst us, biting and striking at anything that came within range.
I fought just as ferociously as the ghouls, kicking to keep them from getting a grip on me, and firing the 9mm at the ones that gave me a chance to do so. My only respite during the fight was whenever S.A.T.S. recharged enough for me to line up a shot and finish a ghoul off. Those moments of near timelessness did wonders to let me catch my breath.
When the 9mm finally ran out of ammo, I slid it into a pocket on my barding and pulled out my knife. With this weapon, S.A.T.S. would only get in the way, and that fact was proven as three ghouls rushed me, wrapping their legs around my neck and tried to drag me to the ground. I twisted as I fell, plunging the knife into a ghoul's neck and twisted the blade, widening the wound. That ghoul released its grip on me and gave me space to pull my knife free, kick at the second and slice its throat open. As I pushed the second body off of me, the last ghoul redirected its attack, aiming its jaws at me throat. I turned my body so it latched into the armored scales of my barding instead and brought the Pipbuck down hard on its head, caving it in.
As it fell, I lifted the computer to my eyes to inspect it for any damage. It would really be sad if I had finally gotten my hooves on a brand new Pipbuck, only to break it a few minutes later. Luckily, the only damage I could see on it was a bit of bone and blood that were sticking to it. I guess new ones were built a lot sturdier than the old hunk of junk that I had carried around.
I shook the gore off and looked around me, searching for another target, but it seemed as though the attack had been turned. I quickly wiped the gore from my knife off on my barding and slid the blade back into its sheath, then pulled out my guns and reloaded both of them. Who knew when the next attack would come?
"Shit, I really need to get my hooves on another gun," Autumn swore as Suture bandaged up a bite on her leg, "this rifle does not do well in close quarters."
"We'll make that a priority when we get out of here," I said, returning the 9mm to my saddle bag, "For now, we need to make do."
"Fair enough," the mare grunted, testing her weight on the bound leg, "How much longer is that door going to be? I don't know if we can turn another attack."
"I don't know," I answered honestly as I pulled out a pack of Rad-Away and slurped it down, nearly gagging at the taste, "but it shouldn't be too much longer. The longest I've ever seen Crosswire need for a door was the Stable door, and that was a special case."
Autumn simply grunted in response and checked her rifle, sliding the receiver back and forth as she looked for damage.
"Are you all right, Suture?" I asked, turning to look at the medical pony. She looked pale, as though she was about to faint.
She shrugged. "I'm all right. Surviving, at least. I don't like that I have to keep shooting, though. It just doesn't feel natural." She still sounded, but it appeared as though she had pushed aside her problems with me until later.
I nodded sympathetically, "I understand, but we need your help. It'll take everypony working together to get out of here in one piece."
"I know," she answered shortly, nodding, "and I'm doing my best to cope."
I smiled at her, not knowing what else to do to show my support. We were all going to have some new scars after this, emotional as well as physical. I turned my head to look towards the door, hoping that Crosswire was almost finished with the door.
As if answering my prayer, I heard him shout a moment later, "I'm through! Evergreen, get back up here!"
I pushed my way through the crowd, pulling out Hammer as I did, and met Crosswire and the Stable guard at the door. With just a quick nod of acknowledgement, we were running again, though at least this time we were on the last leg of the journey.
We charged through the atrium, watching as the ghouls milling about on the floor below us caught sight of us and charged for the stairwell to our floor. The fear of being trapped by that wave of undead simply spurred us to run faster. Crosswire and I stopped by the stairwell to hold the line against the approaching ghouls and to make sure the Stable denizens could get out. Most of the Stable ponies had passed the stairwell by the time the first of the ghouls reached the top, and they were quickly cut down by the combined fire from both Crosswire and me, as well as from Autumn as she approached from the other side.
"MOVE!" the mare shouted at us and galloped by, Suture a step ahead of her.
The second they were past, Crosswire and I stopped firing, turned, and ran for our lives. I could feel the breath of the ghouls behind us, hot and rasping on the back of my neck, threatening to overwhelm me and drag me down into darkness. I spurred myself on even harder, pushing myself past my limits, acting with only one thought in my mind: survive.
The next thing I knew, we were past the Stable door, and Crosswire jammed his hoof down on the lever that would seal the door again. Slowly, the door started to slide in place, crushing a few ghouls unlucky enough to be caught in its path, and finally blocked the door from their advance.
The few ghouls that had managed to beat the door out were quickly cut down by us. We had made it. We were out, and we were alive.
I took a deep breath, enjoying the feel of fresh air in my lungs, even if we were still in a cave. I pulled out another pack of Rad-Away, drinking it to dispel the last bit of radiation that was still in my system, and saw to it that the rest of my friends did as well. Throughout the entire process, no one said a word. We were probably all too afraid that this was just a dream, and that breaking the silence would break the illusion, and we would all realize that we were still trapped in the depths of the Stable.
All around me, everypony was sucking in great breaths of air, fighting to regain their breath after the flight, and struggling to tamp down their fear that they might not make it. Crosswire, Suture, and Autumn Mist seemed relieved that we were finally outside, and the Stable ponies looked nervous, which was understandable, considering that none of them had been outside since the bombs fell. But there was also a sense of joy. For the first time in two hundred years, these ponies would be able to live again.
Finally, after almost twenty minutes of exhausted silence, Marmelade approached me. "Evergreen, I can't thank you enough for helping us to get out of there. I'm sorry that we weren't able to help you get what you came out here for, but please know that if you ever need anything, all you need to do is ask."
I nodded at the buck. "Thank you, Marmelade. I know what it's like to be trapped in a certain way of life. Even out here, life can put you in a position where we are unable to act. I'm just happy to know that my actions may have let another group of ponies get that chance to act again. Thank you for your offer. I'll let you know if I need anything. Where do you think you're going to go from here?"
The ghoul looked around the cave, then settled his gaze on the opening to the surface. "I'm not sure. We'll probably try to set up a settlement somewhere nearby, maybe in one of the ruined towns. Hopefully we'll be able to trade with somepony else out there, maybe one of those settlements you were talking about?" he said, throwing a questioning glance in my direction.
I shrugged in response. "You can always try. I'm not sure how Millberry would respond, but I know most of the caravans wouldn't be opposed to the idea. I can talk to them the next time I see them."
"Thank you once again, Evergreen. You truly are a blessing to us," the buck said, then turned away and returned to his group.
I looked at the buck as he walked away, shocked at his words. I had been called a lot of things in my life, both good and bad, but never had anypony ever called me a blessing. Maybe I could pull off redeeming myself after all. I had definitely done a good thing here.
I tore my gaze from the ghouls and started towards the cave entrance, itching to look at the open landscape again. Along the way, all four of my companions joined me, climbing out into the wasteland.
Outside, darkness had just fallen, leaving everything with a feeling of peace. It seemed appropriate, considering the actions of the day. I sat down on a rock, looking out into the wasteland towards the south, where I could just barely make out the mountains reaching up into the sky, as though trying to touch the stars with outstretched fingers.
I turned my gaze upwards, towards the sky and was reminded of the mystery of the Dashite who had professed his loyalty to the Enclave with his dying breath. That was something I don't think I would ever understand, but for now, I was willing to push all thoughts of mysteries and plots out of my mind and simply enjoy the night with the few ponies I think I could call friends, even if one of them wanted to kill me.
One thing I knew I could say for certain: I never thought I would be this happy to see the clouds.
Level Up!
Perk Gained: Lead Belly - After long exposure to radiation, and surviving, you gain +20% to radiation resistance.
Skill Note: Guns (75)
{Well this chapter has been an adventure and a half, and not just for Evergreen. I apologize for the delay in getting this one out, but school has really picked up over the last couple of weeks and I have been struggling to find time for writing (I've spent a god-awful amount of time in the library in the last couple of weeks). But here we are nonetheless, successfully and in one piece. As always, thank you to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria, and thank you to Cody and MUCKSTER for being my editors (and another thank you to MUCKSTER for being my soundboard for silly ideas). Again, I would like to point out that I have a gDoc hub set up here. Check it out for extra goodies. In other good news, I do have someone working on a cover picture, so look for that in the coming weeks!} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Six: Measure of Strength | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Six: Measure of Strength
"Just because you have power over somepony else doesn't mean you should use it."
As idyllic as the scene seemed to be before us, and as much as I wanted this moment of relative peace to last forever, I knew it could never be, not so long as we continued to face these inescapable dangers, and especially not so long as there were still threats in the wasteland. The sweep of the blasted landscape before me spoke of total destruction; the legacy left behind by ponies that were supposed to have been so much greater than history has revealed to us. Yet, as I looked out towards the horizon, the sight of the blasted terrain retreated with it until all I could see was the sweep of the mountain sides, reaching up to pierce the clouds. At this distance, I could almost pretend that those distant grey peaks harbored something better than what the world had offered to us so far.
The shift of a body next to me brought my focus back to the here and now. I was sitting outside of a cave next to the only three ponies in the wasteland, that were still among the living, that gave two shits about whether I lived or died. I had truly reached the point where I considered each and every one of them my friends, including Autumn Mist, despite the fact that I was sure she still wanted to kill me. We had all faced so many dangers in the short time we had been together that I knew there were no others in the entirety of existence that I wanted at my side. I had come to rely on these ponies, when before I trusted nothing beyond my own knowledge and skill, and to lose any of them would be a loss so great that I doubted I would ever be the same for it. All I had to do to keep that from happening was to protect them as they had worked so hard to protect me.
"Well, I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but... I fucking told you so, Evergreen," Autumn Mist finally said, breaking the silence. Trust it to her to break the sense of peace I had finally achieved.
I turned my head to fix the dark blue mare in my gaze, giving her a withering glare that I hoped would communicate my disappointment. "Look at it this way, Autumn. We managed to give a group of ponies a chance at life again. I'd call that a victory, even if you don't."
"That bunch isn't exactly what I would call a 'group of ponies'," the dark mare sneered, her face twisting in disgust, "They're more like a mobile maggot farm."
Her bigotry towards the ghouls still surprised me. Everything I had seen about the mare gave credence to the argument that, beneath her rough exterior, was a pony that still cared deeply about the morals and values she had been taught as a filly, and yet she demonstrated such hatred towards ghouls, even going so far as to threaten them with her weapon when they had risked themselves to save us. Unsurprisingly, that hatred hadn't made it impossible to accept a Pipbuck from them. I suppose anypony could put their racism aside long enough if they stood to gain from it.
"Why do you say things like that about them?" Suture asked, her tone accusing, "Especially after everything they have suffered? They were forced to abandon their homes with the war, and even in the Stable that was supposed to keep them safe they were forced to live in a way that even we deem hard. What have they done to deserve this kind of treatment from you?"
Suture was possibly the most compassionate pony I had ever met, to a fault. If there was anypony in our group that I felt the need to protect, it would be her. She was with us only because of her medical skills, which far outshone those the rest of us possessed. She had proven in the Stable that her combat skills left a lot to be desired, and that was if she didn't allow her horror at actually handling a gun control her. I was pretty sure that the only reason she was still mentally with us was because she had finally managed to differentiate feral ghouls from sentient ponies, and that only after I had hit her to snap her out of her shock at having killed one of the things to save my life.
"What have they done?" Autumn shot back, her expression shifting to one of anger, "You mean beyond breaking the laws of all that is natural? Those ponies are more than two centuries old! They should have died decades ago! There's no place for them in this world anymore, and yet here they are, taking up resources that those of us who should still be alive need to survive."
"Autumn, do you really think that the Princesses would have cast them aside as you seem to want to do?" I asked, trying to keep my tone from becoming accusatory.
"The fuck do you know about it, Evergreen?" Autumn snapped at me, turning her glare from Suture to me and waving a hoof in the air as if to wipe away my argument. I felt like her stare was burrowing into me, searching out my soul to lay all of my sins bare to the world. "It wasn't until recently that you gave two shits about ponies like them, or even like us. So don't talk to me about what the Princesses would have done. They are dead and gone. Might as well leave them there, where they belong." She stood and spun around to stalk back down into the cave, anger radiating off of her.
"I'm telling you, Ever, that one is unstable," Crosswire stated, "We need to keep a closer eye on here. Every time she opens her mouth I'm worried that something she's going to say something or do something we will all regret."
I turned my head until I was looking at the ragged grey buck. His messy orange mane was hanging from his head like the end of a mop. Despite his best efforts down below, there were still streaks of blood left in it from when he had impaled a ghoul on his horn. He was staring off towards the horizon where the sun had set, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I know," I sighed, dropping my head to stare at the dirt and rock between my hooves, "but there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. She barely listens to a word I say, unless it concerns her chances at surviving the next five minutes. I'm trying to get her to loosen up, but I've only known her for three days. She still hates me, and she has every right to."
That comment got the grey unicorn to glare angrily at me. "Stop doing that," he snapped, frowning deeply, before turning to look back into the distance.
"Doing what?" I asked, throwing my hooves up in confusion, "She does! I murdered her family! What better reason is there to hate somepony?!"
"Ever since you've decided to chase after forgiveness, you've been doing nothing but say that you deserve the hatred and suspicion of every pony we've come across, even if you had nothing to do with their troubles!" Crosswire elaborated gruffly, "And it's starting to drive me crazy. You used to be so self-assured and confident. Now I see you second-guessing every decision and asking what everypony thinks of your actions. The reason I chose to join your gang in the first place was because of your decisiveness, Evergreen, and now that value in you is disappearing."
I was struck speechless, but even had I been able to say something, I couldn't think of a single rebuttal. Crosswire was completely right. I had been allowing other ponies to walk all over me, under the argument that it was all to make up for the evils I had done. Those were no less real, but that didn't mean I should change my whole personality simply so others would trust me more easily. If I did, I would be doing a disservice to myself and the ponies that looked to me for direction. Even worse, it would be a betrayal of who I was, and that was not something I was willing to give up.
"And one other thing, Evergreen," Crosswire continued after a short pause, making me fear his next words, especially given what he had just been saying, "Thank you."
"What?" I stammered, jaw dropping. "You just called me out on everything since... Why the hay are you thanking me?" I was struggling to organize my thoughts and follow the tech's flow of logic.
Crosswire was looking right at me, lips pursed as he gathered his thoughts to answer my question. His eyes were filled with a level of gratitude that I had never seen him before, chasing away all the shadows of anger that had darkened his face. This Crosswire I had seen over the last few days was nothing like the one I had known for the last three years in the gang.
"You've pulled my tail out of the fire more times than I care to admit, and I don't just mean from combat," he finally said, "When you picked me up three years ago... I was going through a tough time, but that's a story for another time. Just know that you saved my life that day. Beyond that, I had grown... settled... into my role in the gang. I'm not sure when it happened, but I realized in Metro that I had been losing myself to the raider lifestyle, after you told me you were done with it all. I had been committing acts that I used to believe were repulsive, yet I wasn't thinking twice about them. I don't want to think about what might have happened to me had we not left when we did. I feel like you saved me again by bringing me with you, just not my life this time, but my soul."
Listening to the buck speak of me in that way, I realized just how badly I had misjudged him, and worse than that, underestimated him. I was so used to him being around that I was simply taking his presence and skills for granted when he deserved so much more than that. But simply coming to the realization wasn't enough if I didn't act on it.
"You're welcome, I guess," I answered quietly, "To be honest, I was just acting to save my own flank, at least at first. The fact that you were still alive was nothing more than a convenience for me then, and I'm sorry for that. Now, I'm proud to say that I consider you a friend, Crosswire. I promise that I'll try to find a balance."
The buck shrugged and turned his gaze until he was looking past me towards the south. A longing look came over his face and I saw his eyes focus on something far off in the distance. "That's never really mattered to me, though I do appreciate the thought. We need friends out here if we're going to survive, and I feel more at home here than I ever did down where I was born. It was enough to know that you were watching my back with the only expectation that I would watch yours in return. I've never asked for anything more. Fuck, I don't even want anything more."
"We can all only offer what we are willing to give," Suture chimed in.
"Exactly," Crosswire agreed, bringing himself back to the present. He stood and turned to look down the cave mouth, "I should probably get down there and make sure Autumn doesn't start shooting our new allies. If I can, I'll try to get some food ready. See you both down there in a few, assuming we're not leaving until morning." He shot me a pointed look, obviously expecting some sort of confirmation.
I nodded, "Yeah. I don't like traveling at night: visibility is always shit." When he nodded and started to walk down I called after him, "And Crosswire! Thanks for talking to me about this stuff. You're not my subordinate anymore. You have something you want me to know, good or bad, speak up."
A grin split across the buck's features and his eyes lit up with a mischievous light. "No time like the present to start then," he said, chuckling, "Figure your shit out and get a plan for what we're doing. I'm fine with this mercenary work, but try to make sure it's for something, rather than just to make us money. That's barely a step above being a raider."
"I'll keep that in mind," I shot back, "And I think I'm going to focus on watching how this whole Seahawk thing plays out. Fucker like him is the kind of pony you need to keep an eye on."
"Works for me," the tech said with a quick nod and disappeared into the crack.
The silence that followed Crosswire's departure was loaded with tension. I could feel Suture's disappointment in me as the maroon mare stared at me, her gaze boring into my side. I didn't know what I was going to say to her. From my point of view, I had only done what was necessary, and I refused to apologize for that.
"Go ahead and say it, Suture," I finally said, "I know what's eating you, and I know I won't get any peace until you vent." I turned just enough so I could meet the mare's gaze.
Her eyes instantly locked onto mine, brow furrowed in anger and mouth pursed in a position that told me that she was containing a lot of brash thoughts. "You had no right to do what you did to me down there, Evergreen. I thought you were better than that," she snapped, "I considered you a friend, and all you think to do is hit me!"
"What else was I supposed to do?" I demanded, rising and walking until I was a few short steps away from her. I allowed some of my annoyance at her behavior to seep through to my face and the way I held myself, just enough so the mare could see that I wasn't accepting her anger or guilt. "I needed you down there, we all did. Fuck, you saved my life! That ghoul was going to tear me to shreds had you not acted. Hell, it already was! Then, when we needed to get our tails moving to somewhere safe, you just stood there, completely unresponsive. What the fuck else was I supposed to do?"
"Talk to me, like civilized ponies do!" Suture shot back, "Not hit me. All that accomplishes is breaking my trust."
"I tried to talk to you!" I shouted, "Several times! First time was right after you killed the ghoul, but you barely acknowledged me. Then, I tried to talk you out of it in the infirmary, but it was all I could do to get you to realize that I even existed!"
Suture glared at me in blatant disbelief. I could see the thought going across her face: 'Yeah right you tried to talk to me. I'm sure all you did was smack me.'
"Don't look at me like that! I did try! We needed you Suture, and you weren't there for us. Had we not been in the depths of a Stable populated with hundreds of creatures trying to kill us, then I wouldn't have done that, but there wasn't time for the gentle help. What I did worked, as I knew it would. Besides, I didn't hit you that hard."
Suture held her gaze on me for a while longer before looking away, thought I couldn't tell if it was in understanding or exasperation. "You really believe that, don't you?" she asked quietly, closing her eyes and lifting her face so the breeze was blowing across it, shaking loose a few strands of her blue mane to flutter in the wind. It thought I noticed a trail of moisture seep down the side of her cheek.
"I do," I said confidently, "I've seen ponies freeze up the way you did before, and giving them a good smack across the face is the most surefire way of bringing them back to reality, at least for a short while. The fact that you stayed with us is a testament to your will. You're stronger than most ponies, even if you don't admit it."
Suture let out a sigh and hung her head before turning to look at me again, "Then I suppose I should thank you," she said, "I'm still not happy with it, but I can understand why you did what you did, and it sounds like it was the right decision. Just... try to be gentler if it happens again."
"I shouldn't need to do it again. Most ponies only experience that once, unless they force themselves to do something equally traumatic, but I've never really seen that happen," I said, standing and walking until I was standing side-by-side with the mare. "So how about we go down and get something to eat, huh? We could use a good meal after all the shit that happened today?" I asked, bumping her rump with my own to urge her towards the cave.
"Why not?" she agreed, a smile slowly creeping over her features.
Our meal consisted of little more than a few preserved pre-war snacks, along with what little food the ghouls had stored in the Stable, most of which was also at least 150 years old. Autumn Mist kept herself mostly separate from the group during the entire meal, choosing her own company over the easy camaraderie the rest of us had found with the ghoul population.
Speaking with them was an enlightening experience, as almost none of them refused to speak about the years before the war, as most ghouls that old did. We stayed up early into the morning, listening to tales of pre-war Equestria, where the greatest worry the ponies had was the occasional dragon roosting in a nearby mountain or a stampede heading towards a town; all difficulties that could easily be solved, and rarely through the use of violence.
It was a stark contrast to the reality we all knew today, where a pony's survival wasn't guaranteed for a single hour, much less a single day, but, at least for a night, it allowed us to forget our worries as we lost ourselves in the stories of a brighter time.
In the morning, we gave the ghouls a few helpful hints that would allow them to survive in the wasteland before starting out on our way back to Millberry. Just as we were about to start walking, Marmelade came up to us.
"I just wanted to thank you all for your help one last time," he said, bowing deeply to each of us in turn, "You've given us back our lives, and that is something that can never be repaid. I know I already made the offer, but I feel the need to repeat it: If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask. We will help you in any way we can."
I smiled and walked up to the ghoul, where I placed a hoof on his shoulder. When he looked up, I met his gaze and answered, "Thank you, Marmelade, both for the offer and for everything else. I hope we'll never have to take you up on that offer."
"If the world is as kind of a place as it should be, then you may never need to," the ghoul answered somberly, "Now then, good luck in your travels. May the Goddesses watch over you."
"And you as well," I said, "I hope you find somewhere to make your home."
With a final nod towards each other, we turned and started on our way, headed in opposite directions. Marmelade had told us of his intent to head west, towards the coast, where the damage from the war would hopefully have been limited since it was fairly far from Seaddle itself.
The day was gloomy, but the rain was holding off, at least for now, and we made good time. We were lucky enough that we came across nothing dangerous during our journey, beyond a few mole rats that quickly fled at our approach. It seemed that the day would actually be a good one for a change.
The landscape between Stable 60 and Millberry was largely made up of rolling hills, with a few gullies and the remains of farmland scattered throughout it all. From a distance, it appeared as though some of the blasted barns and farmhouses might have been inhabited, but in the Wasteland, looks were often deceiving. We followed what little remained of the old trade route between the coast and the city, which had been little more than a maintained dirt road before the war, leaving nothing but a portion of land that was slightly flatter than the surrounding countryside.
Every so often, we would pass the remains of some poor soul that had died before the war, or somepony that had been killed by the wasteland. Unfortunately, those fresher corpses were far more common than the old ones, a testament to how far ponykind had fallen.
We were barely halfway to Millberry when we came across a sight that made us stop dead in our tracks. A wounded unicorn buck was lying in the remains of the roadway, blood trailing after him towards a shattered farmhouse a few hundred yards off the road. We slowly approached the body, only to find, through some miracle, that he was still drawing breath.
Suture was instantly at his side, positively dumping out the contents of her saddlebags, trying to try to save the broken buck's life, or at the very least postpone his death. His wounds did not look good.
One of his hindlegs was completely missing; the source of the trail of blood, and it appeared as though his other leg had been broken in several places, since it was simply dragging uselessly after him in the dirt. His hide might have been green under the obscene amount of dirt and blood that covered it, and what little that was clearly showing was crisscrossed with several angry wounds, many of which appeared to be fresh. His mane was a light orange in color, but was also streaked and matted with blood. One of his eyes was swollen shut and the top off his horn had been broken off. Both Crosswire and Autumn recoiled in horror when they saw that.
In an effort to save the buck, Suture took out two of our swiftly dwindling supply of healing potions and urged the unicorn to drink them. The potions closed many of his wounds, but I feared that all they really did was postpone the inevitable.
I slowly approached the buck, standing on his other side to give Suture the space she needed to work. "What happened to you?" I asked softly, hoping he was aware and lucid enough to answer, "Who the fuck is so sick that they would do this to a pony and simply leave him to die?"
The buck force himself to twist around Suture's ministrations until he was looking up at me, agony carved into every line of his body. He cracked his good eye open just enough to fix me in a pain-filled stare. "Raiders..." he breathed, his voice just loud enough to be heard, "Came out of nowhere. Killed my crew, did this to me. I barely managed to break free. "
I felt a terrible rage grip my chest, similar to the emotion that had ruled me for so long, but this time in response to a terrible evil done to another pony. This was not something I could let be. "Where are they?" I growled, already making up my mind to act.
The buck weakly lifted a hoof and pointed towards the farmhouse. "They set up their 'funhouse' in the house, but spend most of their time in the barn," he answered hoarsely, "Do you have any water?"
I nodded stiffly and pulled out my canteen, which I then opened and held to the buck's cracked and swollen lips, letting him drink deeply. "How many are there?"
The unicorn gasped as I took the canteen away, his tongue working wildly to catch the few drops of moisture left on his muzzle and swallow them before they could drip to the ground. He winced as Suture probed at one of his wounds before finally answering, "I don't know. A half dozen, at least. More than we could handle, at any rate, and it ain't like we weren't fucking prepared." He winced again as Suture moved to the remains of his missing leg, then screamed in pure agony as she started to tend it.
"Evergreen, hold him down! I can't work if he's thrashing about like this!" the medic ordered, her tone brooking no argument.
I instantly complied, holding the buck against the ground, both my hooves on his shoulders, leaning down on top of him with all my strength to try to stop the thrashing unicorn from tossing me and injuring himself any further. A few minutes later, Suture finally gave me the okay to let him up. She had bound up what little remained of his leg, but already, the bandages were stained red. A severed limb was not something that was easy to survive in the middle of the wasteland.
The broken stallion simply lay where he was, panting heavily as he struggled to regain his breath. Suture took my canteen from me and held it out to the buck, letting him finish off the last of my water as she cradled his head.
When his thirst had finally been slaked, he looked up at me, taking a moment to focus his gaze. "I can see what you're thinking, stranger," he said, his voice slightly stronger than it had been before, "Don't try it. It's not worth it. My crew is dead. Killing those fucks won't bring them back. Those raiders were meaner than most, I should know. I've dealt with more than enough of those fucking psychopaths."
"It's not about your crew," I snapped, struggling to keep my anger contained so I wouldn't lash out at the buck or my friends, "It's about the next group of travelers that come this way. What will happen to them if they aren't equipped to protect themselves? If I don't do something, they'll be dead, and the wasteland will claim another group of ponies."
The buck coughed, bringing up a glob of dark blood from deep in his chest which he spat into the dust by his side, then lay panting for another few moments before finally gathering the strength to speak again. "Please, stranger, listen to me. You've already done more than most by helping me. Don't throw your life away by going after a gang of raiders. Your kindness can be put to much better use elsewhere. Don't let it all go to waste here. The Wasteland needs ponies like you if things are going to get better."
I shook my head, gaze narrowing on the buck as some of my anger leaked out. "No, it doesn't," I snarled, "I saved one life, sure, but how many will die if I leave those fucking sadists alive? I know how raiders work. I've seen it first-hand, more often than I would care to admit. Somepony needs to kill those fucks, and I say, why not me? You call me kind, and I understand why, but you don't know me. All I'm good at is killing ponies."
The unicorn gave me a worried look, then spun his head around to look at Suture. The maroon mare was staring at me, an equally frightened look on her face.
"Evergreen..." she started, but I lifted a hoof to silence her.
"I wanted to make a difference, Suture. This is where it starts. We stand to gain nothing by this, but that shouldn't matter. Ponies like them need to be put down, for the safety of us all. Will you be fine here on your own for a bit?" I asked.
Suture remained silent, searching my face for answers. When she saw that I was completely determined to follow through with this course of action, she closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I... I can protect myself... if I have to," she said, glancing nervously at the pistol in her barding.
I nodded curtly then returned to Crosswire and Autumn, who were standing just close enough to have heard the exchange. I took them both in with a single, determined glance. Crosswire looked prepared to go along with whatever I said, and even Autumn looked like she was prepared to join in.
"I don't care what either of you decide," I announced, "I'm going in there to kill those fuckers. Help me or not, it's up to you."
"It's good to see some of your fire back, Ever," Crosswire said, floating out his SMG and inspecting it, "I'm in." A devilish grin spread over his features, and for a moment, he and I were back in the same position we had been in countless times before, right before we attacked a mark, except this time we were doing the fighting to protect others. It was a refreshing difference.
"I actually agree with this decision," Autumn said, her face a grim mask, "Lead the way. I've got your back. Fucks like them need to be wiped out."
I nodded to both of them, then turned to survey the lay of the land between us and the farm. There was a small rise a dozen yards ahead of us and off to our right: the perfect place for Autumn Mist to lay down some sniper support. I pointed a hoof at the rise and looked over to the sniper. "Autumn, get up there. You should have a clear line of sight to the barn, where most of them should be."
The dark mare took a few steps towards the rise, then looked towards the barn before nodding. "Eeyup, that will do," she said, pulling out her rifle and climbing the rise. Once at the top, she settled down in a half lying, half sitting position, her rifle floating before her close enough to peer through the scope.
Once she was in place, I turned my gaze to Crosswire. "We're going in, guns blazing," I said, "From what the unicorn said, there's only a half dozen of them. Should be easy pickings for us."
Crosswire nodded and racked the bolt of his SMG, chambering a round, smiling broadly. "Then let's stop wasting time and get to work."
I pulled Hammer from its holster and started running, making straight for the sun-bleached and blasted barn, Crosswire a half-step behind me. We made it more than halfway to the barn when the first sign of any sort of reaction became apparent.
An earth pony mare standing on the upper level of the barn paused in her rounds and stared out of the desiccated wall at us, almost as though she were stunned that two ponies would be crazy enough to charge the barn. "Attack!" she shouted, reaching for a pistol in her barding.
As she pulled it free, a loud crack echoed across the Wasteland and the raider's head exploded, sending a geyser of blood into the air as the body slumped lifelessly over, tumbling out of the barn to land with a wet thump just in front of us.
I leapt over the body and crashed through the barn door, rolling as I hit the ground and coming back to my hooves several feet inside amidst several surprised shouts.
Facing me was a collection of ragged ponies dressed in typical raider attire: spikes, metal, and assorted gore. Most were still turning to face me, shocked looks actually chasing away the insanity on their faces. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and lined up a pair of shots at a crazed brown buck just in front of me who had already managed to swing his weapon around to face me.
Time snapped back to reality and Hammer fired, sending both bullets flying squarely into the buck's chest, shattering his sternum and sending him tumbling to the ground where a pool of blood quickly started to form.
The four remaining raiders were just getting their weapons into a position where they would be useful when Crosswire reached them, unleashing a hail of lead from his SMG that felled another of the raiders before they had time to fire a single bullet.
One of the raiders started to turn to respond to this new threat, but the other two remained fixated on me. I brought Hammer around to aim at a unicorn mare wielding a .45 pistol and pulled the trigger, sending a round into her throat.
The bullet tore through her neck, resulting in a waterfall of blood that caused her concentration to snap, sending the pistol clattering to the ground. She fell to the ground, hooves grabbing at her throat to try to stem the tide of red.
I wasted no time to check that the raider stayed down, instead turning to face the other pony facing me: an earth pony buck with a severed head as a cutie mark. Despite the carnage Crosswire and I had unleashed, he was grinning broadly, his eyes wide, but pupils contracted to a pair of small dots. This buck was not sane, a fact that was driven home as he started to giggle, advancing towards me, lifting a rusty .32 revolver.
I heard a burst of SMG fire from Crosswire's direction, as well as the retort of a 10mm pistol as he battled the other raider. I spun Hammer around to fire at the buck facing me, but just as I was about to pull the trigger, Autumn's rifle fired again.
The sniper round tore through the buck's back and shot out of his chest to hit the dirt at my hooves, spraying me with blood and debris as the buck collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.
I turned to help Crosswire, but he had already gotten the upper hand on the last remaining raider, backing her up into a corner where a last burst from his gun silenced her.
The immediate danger taken care of, I finally had a chance to look around the barn, and the sight would have made me feel sick, had I not already been used to seeing things like it. Bodies were strewn about the barn, many of them strung up from the rafters, dripping blood and bits of rotting flesh. Two corpses were stacked up on a nearby table and appeared to be fresher than the others, probably the bodies of some of the unicorn's crew. One of them was a cream colored mare with a red mane, reminding me starkly of my mother. The other was a white buck with a dusky mane. Both looked like they had been torn to shreds as some cruel form of entertainment.
I tore my gaze from the bodies, trying not to think about what their last hours must have been like, and instead turned my attention to the boxes and containers that were strewn about the room. Most of them contained useless junk, but I was able to recover a few rounds that we could trade as well as a couple of simple frag grenades, which quickly disappeared into my saddlebags.
I could hear Crosswire rummaging about on the other side of the barn, likely doing the same thing I was. "Finding anything good?" I called over, dumping the contents of a small crate onto the ground and pawing through it with a hoof, but it was nothing but a few scrap components and a bottle of wonderglue: nothing worth picking up.
"Couple of low-caliber guns, some rounds. Nothing else worth mention," he answered, "We should clear out the house. We can't be sure that this was all there is. For all we know the house could be full up."
I nodded slowly, "Sounds like a plan. I'll lead, you cover me."
We made our way out of the house, gaze fixed firmly on the windows of the house as we approached, but I couldn't spot any movement, and judging from Crosswire's lack of reaction, he saw nothing as well. I kicked the door open as we arrived, Hammer firmly gripped in my mouth and ready to fire, but there was nothing in the foyer beyond, except for the expected raider decorations. Severed limbs and heads decorated almost every surface that could hold them, and the floor was practically covered in blood and other fluids, but there was no sign of anything living.
"Keep your eyes peeled," I ordered, slowly stepping into the building, "You go left and sweep that way. I'll go right. Circle around and clear it room by room. We'll meet up on the far side."
Crosswire nodded curtly and started moving, his SMG floating out in front of him. In seconds, he disappeared behind a wall.
I turned my attention back to the task at hoof and started moving, starting with the simple dining room to my right. As I moved, it became painfully obvious that this group of raiders had fallen to depths that I would never have allowed. Everywhere I looked were the remains of ponies of all ages. Several appeared as though they had been allowed to linger for the raider's pleasure, but judging by the way they were bound, with spikes driven through their limbs to hold them pinned against whatever surface they were lying against, I doubted many lasted long.
I kept moving, staying in each room only long enough to confirm that there were no raiders lying in wait. Each room held new nightmares, new images that would stay with me for a long time: a filly strapped down to a table, where she had presumably been repeatedly raped before finally being allowed to die; a buck, most of his limbs severed, yet the marks on his body showed that he had most likely survived most of the amputations; the corpse of a unicorn whose horn had been smashed off with a hammer and whose flanks had been branded over, destroying her cutie mark. The images made me sick and enraged me at the same time, making me hope that we would find a raider still in the building who I could make pay for these crimes.
When I finally made it to the kitchen where Crosswire was waiting for me, I was seething with rage. The kitchen itself was littered with empty liquor bottles, another example of the depravity these raiders had fallen to. Crosswire stood by a countertop, his expression mirroring mine. It was blatantly obvious that he shared my fury, and nothing but blood would satisfy it.
"I really hope one of these fuckers is still alive," the tech growled, eyes narrowing as his anger leapt to the surface, "Because if I get my hooves on them, they won't be anymore. My side of the house was clear. Let's get up there and finish this."
I nodded and made my way to the stairs, which I immediately started to climb. The footing was treacherous, as the stairs were covered in a layer of blood and grime, so I took my time, carefully watching where I placed my hooves.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard something to suggest somepony up here was still alive. I could hear a deep voice grunting, as well as what sounded like the rhythmic slapping of flanks. A white-hot rage consumed me at the thought that one of these raiders was actively raping somepony while I was here trying to save lives.
"Crosswire, cover me," I ordered as I tore Hammer from its holster and charged into the room the sound was coming from.
I crashed into the room to find a raider buck mounted on a mare who was in very bad shape, tied down on the bed. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was sobbing as the raider repeatedly thrust himself into her. I immediately slipped into S.A.T.S. and lined up a shot to the raider's side, aiming so that I would incapacitate him, but keep the fucker alive.
As the spell activated, Hammer fired and I screamed, "Get the fuck off of her you motherfucking son of a bitch!" The bullet struck exactly where I wanted it, sending the buck tumbling off the mare and to the ground. I leapt forward, spitting Hammer back into its holster and pulling out my knife. This goddess-damned, worthless piece of shit deserved a personal touch.
I placed a hoof on the buck's chest, centered on top of his ribcage, and started to press down, much in the same way I had done to Crackshot so long ago. The raider was gasping desperately for breath and struggling weakly to shake me off. "This is what you get for living this life!" I shouted into the buck's face, which was twisted in pain as his ribs started to crack, "And a simple death is far too good for a rapist like you."
"Bloodclot? You all right in there? I heard a gunshot!" I heard a voice call from the hallway. It sounded like it belonged to a mare.
"Crosswire, take care of her. If she's a raider, put her down. If she isn't, get her under control so we can figure out exactly what the fuck is happening here!" I ordered, shouting around the knife before turning my attention back to the buck below my hoof.
Before I could say anything more, I heard Crosswire speak from the door. "Bloodclot is a little busy at the moment."
"What?! Who the fuck are you?" the mare demanded, her voice rising in surprise and anger.
"Justice," was all that Crosswire said in response before firing his SMG in a quick burst. In the silence that followed the gunshots, I could hear a body fall heavily to the ground.
"Looks like it's just you and me now, Bloodclot," I said wickedly, glaring down at the buck. His green eyes were wide and staring, full of fear and pain now that he was no longer the one in control.
"You think you're so tough don't you, cunt?" he wheezed, trying to sound tough, "Well just you wait. The rest of my gang will have heard the gunshots and they'll be up here faster than you can say 'Take me'."
"You mean the gang that we've already wiped out, you sick fuck?" I demanded, increasing the pressure until I felt something significant crack beneath my hoof, eliciting a shriek of agony from the buck, followed by a flow of blood from his mouth, "Trust me, nopony is going to show up to save your life, and if they did, they would probably deserve to be killed for their efforts."
At those words, he ceased his struggling, realizing that he had no hope of surviving this encounter. "Don't kill me, please!" he protested, almost begging. Tears started to stream from his eyes and mix with the blood that was in his mouth, "I can do better, I swear!"
"I believe in second chances," I said quietly, leaning in close so my knife was just kissing the surface of his neck, "Only reason I'm here is because of them, but you are not worth one. Nopony can do something like this to others and expect forgiveness. My evils were terrible, but not once did I ever force a pony to linger, or suffer."
Before he could answer, I pushed forward, sliding my knife into his throat and ending his life. I pulled the blade out and cleaned the blood off on his barding before sliding the weapon back into its sheath.
"Is that all of 'em, then?" Crosswire asked me, coming up to my side and surveying the buck's body.
"Yeah," I answered, "Now we just need to deal with this." I turned my gaze so I was looking at the ravaged mare tied down on the bed. Her hide was light blue and she had a white mane streaked with strands of grey. Her cutie mark was a Sparkle-Cola bottle with its bottlecap still attached.
We both approached her from separate sides, and I pulled out my knife so I could cut the ropes holding her down.
She started whimpering as soon as my knife came within a foot of her. "Please... Please don't hurt me. I just want the pain to stop."
I stopped and looked over to Crosswire, who had a wounded expression. "We're not going to hurt you. We're here to help, I promise. Just relax and we'll cut you free," the tech said, then returned my gaze and nodded.
I slid my knife into her bonds and cut the ropes on her foreleg, then repeated the process with the hind one. Both legs curled up against her body as soon as they were cut free, an instinctual reaction on the mare's part to protect herself.
"How... how did you get in here?" she stammered, her voice shaking with fear and pain.
"Because we were stronger than the raiders. They won't be able to hurt anypony anymore," Crosswire answered softly while I finished cutting the mare loose.
"That's... good," the mare whispered, curling up on herself on the bed. She started to shiver, then shake violently as the shock of what she had experienced caught up with her. "Oh, Goddesses, what has happened to me!" she started to sob, burying her head in the pillow.
"Shit, Crosswire, get out and let Autumn Mist know that everything dangerous has been taken care of, then get back to Suture and that unicorn and make sure they're both all right," I ordered, looking up at the buck with an urgent look on my face.
"Don't you want some help here?" he protested, gesturing at the sobbing wreck before us.
"You're a buck, Crosswire," I pointed out, "and she was just raped. Trust me, get out." I lifted a hoof and pointed at the door, pitching my voice so that the buck would get the point.
Crosswire hesitated for a moment, gaze flitting back and forth from the mare to me, before he finally turned and walked out of the room.
Once he was out of earshot, I knelt down next to the mare and placed a hoof on her head, where I started to gently stroke her mane. I wasn't sure exactly how to deal with this situation, but I wasn't going to allow this mare to deal with it on her own.
"Ssh," I whispered, just loud enough to be heard over her sobs, "You're safe now. Nopony is going to hurt you. I'm here to help."
Slowly, the mare's sobs slowed until she was just lying on the bed, panting and gasping for breath. "Why... why did this happen to me?" she asked quietly, making me strain my ears just to pick up her words, since her head was still buried in the pillow.
"Sometimes bad things happen to good ponies," I answered, "but you were strong enough to make it through. I know it's not easy to admit it, but you are a lot stronger than you think, to have made it this far under that kind of treatment."
"Are... are my friends dead?" she asked next, lifting her head and looking me in the eye. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but I could still see her hope reflected.
"Do you know a green unicorn? We found one on the road. He was the pony who pointed us here," I answered, hoping that they knew each other so I wouldn't have to tell her all her friends were dead.
"Hat Trick is alive?" the mare asked, her voice rising slightly, "Are... are you sure?"
"He was the last time I saw him," I answered, "He was pretty banged up, but our medic was using every skill and resource at her disposal to save him. Knowing her skills, he should pull through. How about you take a little time to clean up and we'll go down and meet up with them, all right?"
The mare nodded weakly and slid off of the bed where she stood shakily on her hooves, making me worry that she might fall over. She took about ten minutes to clean off the worst of the grime using a few bottles of dirty water, then we left the farmhouse together, with me doing my best to shield her from the awful sights. Unfortunately, I couldn't block everything, and by the time we were outside, she was openly sobbing again.
"How could ponies bring themselves to do that to others?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.
I remained silent for a few moments as I thought of how best to answer that question. It wasn't long ago that I had been involved in similar practices, if not quite that gruesome. "They think it gives them power," I finally answered, choosing my words carefully, "To them, other ponies are nothing more than something to be used, then thrown away. They think, that since they are so much stronger than anypony else, that they have a right to exert that strength. Over time, it twists them into what you saw in there."
"Oh..." the mare muttered, obviously not expecting such a detailed explanation, "Well, thank you, for saving me from... that. I don't think I can ever repay you."
"You don't need to," I answered quickly, "I couldn't pass by knowing that those sick fucks were still around, destroying the lives of hard-working and good ponies. I consider it a bonus for me that there was still somepony worth saving in there that was still in one piece."
The mare nodded quietly, and we walked the rest of the way in silence. When we finally reached the road, the rest of my friends were gathered together, watching as Suture was still hard at work trying to fix up the green buck.
"Goddesses! Hat Trick, what happened to you!" the mare announced, running up to the unicorn's side and kneeling down next to him.
"What, Sparks, is that you?" Hat Trick asked, his voice still weak, but much stronger than it had been when we found him.
"Yes, it's me. These ponies came in and saved me. We're going to be ok!" Sparks answered, crying again, but this time, it appeared that they were tears of joy and relief.
"Yes, we are," Hat Trick said, a smile creeping over his face. He turned slightly so he was facing me, "Evergreen, I can't thank you enough for this. You saved my life, and the life of one of my closest friends."
I couldn't help but to laugh. It seemed as though everypony had been thanking me all day, and though I could admit that I had done some things worth being thanked for, it was just such a new experience for me, that I barely knew how to react.
"Don't mention it. I couldn't just walk by knowing that others could be in such danger," I finally responded, "Now, we should probably try to get moving. You're both in really bad shape, but between the four of us, we should be able to get both of you back to civilization, where you can get some real help."
Hat Trick groaned as he shifted position, his face screwing up in pain. Despite Suture's best efforts, it appeared as though his injuries were still very serious. Moving him would not be easy. "Are you sure about this? Millberry is a good distance away."
"Leave it to me," Autumn piped in, stepping forward. She slid her rifle into its strap on her back, then took up a broad stance and closed her eyes in concentration. After a moment of inaction, her horn started to glow, followed by a yellow glow surrounding Hat Trick. A few moments later, a second layer of overglow formed around Autumn's horn, and Hat Trick started to shift. Slowly, he was lifted into the air until he was floating about three feet off the ground.
All of us were staring at the mare, completely dumbfounded. I had seen how powerful her telekinesis was, hell, I had even experienced it, but there was a difference between lifting a heavy object and lifting a pony. That she could manage a full-grown pony, without rage driving her as it had with me, like Hat Trick was impressive.
Autumn cast about, looking at each of us in turn, a sheepish look on her face. "What? I've been handling heavy loads for years, even needed to levitate myself on occasion. I'll be able to handle his weight back to Millberry, so long as we don't take too long."
I shook my head in disbelief. "You just took me by surprise. All right, let's get moving. I'd like to get these two into the hooves of a medic that isn't in constant danger."
Everypony nodded in agreement and in the next few minutes we started down the road towards the Millberry. Sparks and Hat Trick kept expressing their gratitude to us, but between thank yous, we managed to hear their story.
Hat Trick had been in charge of a small caravan that ran supplies from Metro, through Millberry, and then to the west coast; a dangerous trail, but he had had a crew of nine ponies that made sure the caravan was well protected. Three days ago, when they had been traveling west from Millberry, they were ambushed by the raiders, who managed to cut down half the defenders in the first seconds of the attack. From there, it had only been a matter of time before the rest had been captured. After three days of torture and torment, Hat Trick finally succeeded in slipping his bonds and crawling away from the farmhouse, where we stumbled on him. Sparks, who had been hired as a guard and who had been working with Hat Trick for years, was the only other surviving member of the caravan.
We hadn't seen them on our passage to the Stable because we had taken a slightly different path there, and the weather had kept us from paying that much attention to our surroundings. Regrettable, but they weren't blaming us for not finding them yesterday.
With the two injured ponies, the remainder of our journey took longer than expected, as we had to take regular rests to give Autumn time to gather her strength. Even with her incredible telekinetic strength, lifting a pony for a long period of time was strenuous. As a result of this slower pace, the daylight was already starting to fade when we finally saw the walls of the town appear on the horizon.
Before long, we reached the town itself and were ushered inside. Our first stop was the infirmary, where both Hat Trick and Sparks were immediately admitted at no charge for the services they had done for the town over the years. The doctor and Suture spoke for some time about the treatment that she had been giving the broken buck, then she spoke with me about what had happened to Sparks. Once she had all the information, the doctor insisted that they would both be fine and told us to go report to the governor.
On leaving the infirmary, I could detect a definite change in the behavior of the citizens of the town. They had been relatively kind when we left two days ago, but that had been an ambient kindness that most likely came from the fact that we had spent a night in their town without causing any trouble. Now, it seemed as though ponies were going out of their way to help us or to show some sort of kindness. I suppose it was possible that some sort of tale of what we were trying to do to help the town was making its way about the population.
When we entered the town hall, the scene was significantly different than it had been before. This time, I took the time to take in my surroundings, and I was fairly impressed, as far as refurbished buildings could impress me, which unfortunately wasn't much. The wood that the structure was made up of was barely rotten, and the floor was covered in richly colored carpets that cushioned the hooves beautifully. The walls were decorated with old, pre-war portraits with plaques beneath them, displaying names like Fancy Pants or Blueblood, representing what must have once been members of the nobility, or other important ponies, from that time. I felt like I was walking through a museum.
Another contrast was in the ponies we met this time around. I immediately recognized the two stuck-up, self-important assholes that I had tried to talk to before, and, surprisingly, they saw, and recognized, me as well. The buck I had talked to two days ago excused himself from his colleague and approached me.
"Ah, miss, it is wonderful to see you again! How may we help you?" he asked me, his tone overly polite. He even said it all with a slight bow.
"What the hell caused the difference in behavior in all you ponies?" I asked, backing up a step, "First time I showed up here, it was all I could to get any sort of response out of anypony, now here you all are helping me with any small issue!"
The buck laughed at my words, throwing his head back in the process. I was surprised to see that he even managed to laugh pompously, despite his apparent kindness towards me. "Why, I thought you would have figured it out, my dear, considering what you're wearing on your leg there," he said, finally getting himself back under control and pointing at my Pipbuck.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, "What the hell does my Pipbuck have to do with any of this?"
"Why, the radio of course! You've been all over it for the last day! We've heard all about your foray into the Stable and your rescue of the ghouls that have been trapped down there. Sure, some folks aren't too happy about the fact that there are a bunch more ghouls to deal with now, but we here in Millberry are concerned with preserving our history, and those ghouls have a lot of it. Those of us who run things around here consider you lot heroes for what you did there," the buck explained, grinning broadly as he led us down the hall towards the governor's office, "Now I know the governor is going to want to speak with all of you immediately. Just walk on in!"
I nodded graciously, still struck dumb by the fact that I had been on the radio. Once we were done with this meeting, I would need to take some time to find that particular station to find out exactly what was being said about me.
The buck nodded in return and sauntered off to speak with the colleague he had left for our sakes. I watched him go, mind still reeling, before finally turning my attention to the door that led to the office.
I lifted a hoof and knocked. Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal the governor standing before us, smiling broadly.
"I heard you had returned, miss Evergreen. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! We have a lot to discuss!" he announced, ushering us inside and past the gathering of other ponies waiting on his attention. He led us into his office where he offered us all a drink of some amber liquid he had stored in a glass bottle that was somehow still intact, despite the years.
I accepted and cautiously took a sip, finding the drink pleasantly alcoholic. It wasn't my Apple Whiskey, but it was good enough, and I wasn't going to complain about free booze. "So what do we have to discuss, exactly? I was just stopping by to bring you up to speed on a few developments," I said, extremely confused at the whole situation.
"Oh I am quite aware of that," the governor announced, waving my question away, "It is quite obvious what you are going to say, since you came back from the Stable with little more than a few new Pipbucks and the gratitude of the survivors. You were looking for the water purifier I requested, weren't you?"
I nodded dumbly, unable to do anything else. How much was being said about me on this radio station that all these ponies knew exactly what I had been doing for the last day and a half, and how much of that was being picked up by my potential enemies, most notably Greymane?
"Yeah, that's right. We did tackle that Stable for you lot. Took a huge fucking risk to do it too! What's that worth to you?" Autumn demanded, stepping up to the desk and slapping her hoof down on it. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and she was glaring at the governor.
"Quite a bit, actually," the governor answered, eyeing the dark mare warily, "It proves to me that you were telling me the truth the first time we spoke, and that Metro is serious about the agreement. I don't know of any mercenaries that would go out of their way to enable an agreement before checking with their original employer, not even Greymane. As such, I am willing to accept the alliance, so long as, at some point in the future, a water recycler, or purifier, is provided to us. I know I can trust you to follow through with this agreement. I've even put my agreement into writing."
The governor reached under his desk and pulled out a large piece of paper that was covered in elaborate writing and had his signature boldly displayed at the bottom, "This is a signed declaration of allegiance from Millberry to Metro. It will be honored," the governor announced, sliding the paper over to me, "Now, then. Was there anything else you needed?"
I gingerly took the paper, giving it a brief look before rolling it up and sticking it into my saddlebags. The entire situation was simply surreal. This governor was far more trusting than anypony I had ever met, and yet, he seemed completely sure of the decision he was making. Maybe my attitude really was making a difference. "Uhh... yeah, there was one thing," I finally said, "There was a gang of raiders holed up in one of the old farmhouses along the trade route to the west coast. We ran into a caravaneer on the road by the name of Hat Trick. He managed to survived the torture the raiders subjected him to, but he's in bad shape. We got him and one of his guards, Sparks, out and into the infirmary here in town. We also took out the gang, but you may want to organize some better protection for any caravans headed out that way. I doubt we killed all the raiders out there."
"Hat Trick's caravan got hit?" the governor asked in disbelief, shaking his head slowly, "That doesn't bode well. He had one of the best organized caravans in the region. That's why he made the western run: he was the only one with the strength to make it safely. I'll do what I can to fund a replacement. You said he survived. How bad are his injuries?"
"Pretty bad," Suture answered, "One of his legs was badly amputated and the other was broken in multiple locations. Then there were several lacerations inflicted on his body, as well as many other injuries, both small and large. The worst was that he had the top portion of his horn smashed. I don't know if he will ever recover his ability to use magic, and if he does, it will be far less powerful that what he is used to."
I didn't want to know how painful and far-reaching the effects of having a horn smashed off would be if Suture was claiming that it was his worst injury. I was still firmly of the mindset that the amputation of his leg was the worst. But then, maybe a horn injury was more psychological, rather than physical. It was, after all, the defining feature of a unicorn.
The governor hung his head at the news. "I wouldn't wish that fate on anypony," he said, his voice filled with sorrow, "but at least he is still among the living. His knowledge and experience will be a great aid to the town. Thank you for saving him. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Not that I can think of. We'll be returning to Metro in the morning. If you need to get in touch with us we'll be staying at the Drunken Mare for the night," I said, turning to walk out the door."
"Very well. Good travels, Evergreen," the governor announced, bowing his head to me.
I bowed my head in return and stepped out the door. My companions followed me closely as we made our way back to the inn. Now that night had fallen, the streets were mostly empty, except for the occasional pony heading to or from a bar or brothel, and the short walk was uneventful.
The inn was full and loud when we entered, with many ponies sitting at the tables, drinking and swapping stories. I quickly spotted Pearlescent at the bar and pushed my way through the crowd towards her.
The white mare noticed me approaching and a broad smile sprang into existence on her face. She shooed four of the patrons off the bar stools and motioned for us to sit. "Evergreen, I was beginning to worry that I would never see you again!" she shouted with joy once we were seated in front of her.
"There's no need to worry!" I laughed, "Everything went exactly to plan!" None of my friends managed to hold in their laughter at that statement.
Pearlescent looked from one to the next, one eyebrow raised as all three of my friends laughed at my statement. "I'm guessing that means you were being sarcastic?" she asked once they had quieted enough for me to hear her.
"You better fucking believe it!" Autumn yelled, still chuckling, "We didn't make it five minutes inside that fucking death trap before we were fighting for our lives! Damn thing was full to the brim with feral ghouls!"
"I remember us being down there for almost fifteen before we had to start shooting!" I protested, pouting.
"Fine, I'll give you your fifteen. Either way, that thing was definitely not empty!" Autumn retorted, "I can't even get straight how many times we almost died!"
"Well, the important thing is that you didn't," Pearlescent stated steadfastly, pulling out four glasses and filling them with some kind of liquor, "And besides, I heard on the radio about the ghouls you helped get out of there. At least the trip out there wasn't completely without result. Here, these are on the house for helping ponies in need." She slid the glasses over to us.
I immediately picked mine up and drained it, letting the alcohol slide down my throat, where it started to burn comfortably in my stomach. Crosswire and Autumn repeated my action. Only Suture hesitated in picking up the drink.
"I'm all right. I don't drink," she said, lifting a hoof to push the glass away. Her gaze was still happy, so at least I didn't have to worry about any imminent mental breakdowns, which made my next decision that much easier.
"Aww, come on Suture!" I insisted, pushing the glass back towards her, "If it helps, I promise none of us are going to get shot tonight! Come on, you deserve a drink for all the shit I've dragged you through since Metro!"
Again, the maroon pony hesitated, eyeing the glass warily. "I don't even know what's in it!" she protested, "How am I supposed to know it's safe!"
"Honey, it's alcohol, of course it isn't safe," Pearlescent said, laughing, "Now do as your friend suggests. I don't give out free drinks often."
"Come on, Suture! If any of us needs to relax, it's you!" Crosswire added, nudging her with a hoof.
Suture cast about, trying to find support from somewhere, but found nothing. Even Autumn had an amused look on her face. "Oh, fine," she finally said, reaching out and picking up the glass. She put it to her lips and tilted her head back, letting the dark liquid flow into her mouth. Immediately, she started coughing, much to our delight.
"What the hell was in that!" she wheezed, still coughing, several moments later. Crosswire was laughing heartily and started to pound on her back to help her catch her breath.
"It's something I like to call 'Atomic Whiskey'," Pearlescent said with a laugh, "It has enough kick to it that I have never seen a pony drink more than five and stay on their hooves." She looked at us all with a critical eye, as though challenging us to try it.
I sighed heavily, wishing that I was able to take her up on the offer, but we simply didn't have the time to waste on recovering from the inevitable hangover in the morning. "I'm sorry, Pearlescent, but I have to decline. We've got to be moving early tomorrow morning. We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Metro in a reasonable time, and given our experience getting here, I would rather not travel hungover."
The mare nodded understandingly. "I can respect that. Want a normal drink, then? Something that you can enjoy without the downside?"
I laughed at that and reached into my saddle bag, pulling out the bottle of Apple Whiskey. "I'll stick with this, thanks," I said, and promptly opened the bottle and took a drink.
"I'll take you up on the offer," Crosswire said, placing a few caps onto the table.
"As will I!" Autumn announced, also throwing her money down.
Pearlescent nodded and got their drinks, then left us to ourselves while she tended to her other patrons.
We sat quietly for a while, enjoying our drinks in the relative safety that the town provided. I stopped drinking when my bottle approached the halfway mark, just far enough that I was feeling the buzz of the alcohol, but not quite so much that I would be hungover the next morning.
Before long, we started talking, mostly about our experiences during the last few days. Nopony was willing to offer up a whole lot of their past, except for Suture, who regaled us with tale after tale of her life in Metro, most of which was boring city drama that concerned ponies none of us had even heard about. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening, and we all retired to our room late that night, at least content with each other's company, if not outright happy with it. While everypony else settle down to sleep, I remained outside the room for a few minutes to try to find the radio station.
It took me a while, but eventually, I found it, or at least, I thought I had from the descriptions I had heard other ponies in the bar give about it. It was in the middle of a sad song about a mare that had lost her husband to a buffalo stampede while living on the old Equestrian frontier.
As the song came to its end, the broadcast shifted to a loud and boisterous DJ. "Good evening, Seaddle! This is your DJ and eye in the sky, Shooting Star! Have I got some juicy news for all my faithful listeners tonight! Of course you all remember that nice tale I got to spin for ya'll yesterday, right? The one about the mare who decided to crawl into that old Stable and dragged a bunch of ghouls trapped down there for two hundred years back to the surface? Well, I have just learned that she is still very much alive and doing what she can to make our home a better place! The report I got is that she went way out of her way on the trade route from Millberry to Seaside to save the leader of a caravan. Now why is this special, you ask? Well, this buck had a crew of nine protecting him, but still got hit by a gang of raiders that had taken up residence in the area. Now, as sad and unbelievable as that is, not only did our Heroine save the poor buck's life, but she also decided to clean up the whole gang as well, saving one of the guards that managed to survive in the process! How's that for a good deed, everypony!"
The buck's voice cut out for the sound of a raucous applause, mixed in with a bunch of cheering, all of the noise obviously recorded.
"Now, I know a bunch of you are wondering exactly who this savior of ghouls and guards is, because I'm wondering the same damn thing! Where has she been hiding all these years, and what kind of society would result in somepony capable of all this? Those are the questions I want answered! So, Heroine of Seaddle, if you're listening to this, would you mind stopping by my studio downtown sometime for a chat? I'd love to find out where you've been hiding out, and why you waited till now to act! Unfortunately, that's all I have time for tonight! Good night, Seaddle. May the sun greet you with the dawn! This is DJ Shooting Star, signing off!"
The buck's voice faded away and the music returned, leading into a song by some mare going by the name 'Sapphire Shores'. The pop sound that emerged from the small computer was far too sprightly for me, so I switched the radio off, and simply stood where I was, trying to puzzle through what I had just heard.
Barely a week had passed since I had been driven away from towns, or had to explain myself in depth to the guards to be admitted, and now I was being hailed as a hero on the radio. For some reason, that didn't sit right with me. I doubted this DJ knew anything about me, especially what I had been. No matter what he said about me, saving a few ghouls and a couple of caravaneers wasn't even close to making up for the kind of shit I had done, or the evils I had committed. Unfortunately, I had more important things to do than detour to downtown to set a DJ straight.
I sighed heavily, mostly because I was unable to do anything about the broadcast, and returned to our room where I lay down heavily on the bed. Despite my racing thoughts, I fell asleep almost instantly.
I woke early the next morning, well refreshed and ready for the long trek back to Metro. Sometimes I was surprised at how well I slept, considering everything I had seen and done, but I was not going to question things that worked in my favor. I slowly pushed myself to my hooves, stretching my back and legs, and looked around, only to see that the room was empty. My friends must have already gone downstairs.
I grabbed my knife and Hammer from the nightstand where I had dropped them the night before, replaced them in their respective places, and slipped out the door. I made my way downstairs where I found my friends sitting at the bar, all enjoying a hot plate of food and talking jovially with Pearlescent.
"Ah, there's our 'Heroine of Seaddle'!" Pearlescent announced with a laugh, waving a hoof dramatically in my direction. Her gesture drew everypony else's attention, and they all laughed loudly at the title, though none as loudly and violently as Crosswire, who nearly fell out of his seat, clutching at his gut.
"Yeah, I get it," I muttered darkly, sliding into a free seat, "I don't know why he's saying these things about me. He doesn't have a clue who I am!"
Pearlescent grabbed a plate of steaming food and slid it in front of me before answering. "That's exactly why he's reporting on you. Before the last couple of days, you were nopony. Now that you've done a few things that have had, or will have, a far-reaching impact, he's taking notice and is trying to figure out who exactly you are. I would suggest taking him up on his offer and make the trip to Seaddle. Better he hears the story of your past from you, rather than from somepony that doesn't know you for who you are now. That way, you'll have the chance to present yourself in the most favorable light possible. Shooting Star isn't known for being kind to wrong-doers, and if he gets the wrong image of you, well... it won't be good."
I nodded somberly, "Yeah, I suppose that's true. Somepony like him sounds like they would have a lot of influence. Problem is, I have more pressing matters to attend to. I took on a job, and I can't go on a random tangent just because not speaking with some DJ will be an inconvenience. I made a promise to the mayor of Metro, and if he decides to agree with me, I already have my next job lined up."
At the mention of that possibility, I noticed Suture hesitate for a brief second, her eyes revealing a spark of guilt, before reverting back to the happier expression she'd had before. I shrugged mentally at the added mystery at what that could mean. Chances were I'd find out when I got back to Metro. Whatever it was, there were probably good reasons for it.
Pearlescent grumbled in halting agreement. "That makes sense, I suppose," she said, "But still, I wouldn't make any plans after that next job other than going into Seaddle. Trust me on this."
"I'll keep that in mind," I answered, then finally started digging into my meal. As it had been two days ago, the food was delicious, a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as cooked food that had been preserved for two hundred years. In other words, it was a gourmet meal compared to what I usually ate.
While I ate, Pearlescent wandered around the bar, cleaning up the mess left over from the crowd the night before. While doing so, she wandered over to a corner and turned on the radio, tuning it to Shooting Star's station. The soft music the buck usually played drifted throughout the bar, hushing us all so we could listen.
I closed my eye and simply let the music flow through me. It was an instrumental piece that sounded like it was being played by several well-trained classical orchestra players being led by an especially talented cellist. Unfortunately, as it was with all good things, the song came to an end and Shooting Star himself came on the microphone.
"Good morning, Seaddle. I hope that the piece by Octavia's orchestra was enough to get you all perked up and ready to face the long, harsh day. I promise: I'll try to keep the sad songs out of the rotation today! Now, for the news! I've been getting reports that the town of Buckview has not been heard from in some time, leading many to believe that something bad has happened to the town. I'm working on getting some eyes out there to let me know what's going on, but that's a dangerous road to travel, since a lot of slaver activity has been seen in the area. All we can do is hope that a caravan makes the trip sometime soon and lets us all know if those ponies are still alive. Well, that's all I have for now. Good luck to you all until next time! This is DJ Shooting Star, signing off!"
The music returned, this time an upbeat song by Sweetie Belle, of all ponies. It seemed that the co-founders of Stable-Tec had managed to do quite a bit of side work while devising plans to kill the ponies that relied on their Stables to survive.
I sat silently while my friends discussed the news, thinking about what the DJ had said. The more I thought about it, the more nervous it made me, especially when I remembered the recording I had found in the Ironshod Firearms factory. It had mentioned that Seahawk would be making his move soon, and since I hadn't heard of anything especially malevolent coming from the west, especially since the entire area was well-traveled all the way to the ocean, I figured the enigmatic character had to be hiding out in the east somewhere. Now, I just needed to see if the information fit the theory.
"Hey, Pearlescent, exactly where is Buckview?" I called out, shouting so I could be heard over my friend's conversation.
"It's a few days walk to the east, near the edge of the Bucklyn Forest," the proprietor answered while she wiped off a table, "Why do you ask?"
"I don't know," I admitted, furrowing my brow in thought, "Something just doesn't seem right about this. I might need to make a detour out that way to take a look at what's going on." The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. The work I was doing with Metro was to present a strong front to Seahawk when he started his push into Seaddle, so it would make sense that I would want as much information as I could get on the enigmatic figure. If my suspicions were right, and this town's disappearance was due to him, then that would only help my cause.
"Didn't you just say you couldn't afford any detours?" Pearlescent asked, shooting a questioning look in my direction.
"Yeah, I did, but this might be related to what I'm doing," I said, "Besides, isn't it rather odd that a settlement to the east would just suddenly stop reporting in? Most of the gangs are to the south, in the mountains. It just doesn't add up."
"Do whatever you want dearie. It's not my job," the white mare said, moving to another table.
At this point, all of my friends were looking at me. "That your choice, then?" Crosswire asked pointedly.
"Yeah, we'll check out the rumors about this 'Buckview'. It should actually work out in our favor. Grovedale and the IF factory are almost directly on the way there, if we need supplies. I know I want to stop by the factory to stock up on ammo for Hammer. I'm starting to run dangerously low," I said, standing resolutely from my seat to emphasize my decision.
"Wait, what kind of supplies do you guys have stocked up in the factory? Are there any .308 rounds?" Autumn asked, a hopeful look in her eye, "I've only got a couple of clips for my rifle left, and I'd rather not have to pay for more."
"Yeah, there are .308 rounds, as well as a few small arms that you'll be able to grab for close quarters work, should we need it again," Crosswire answered.
"Sounds like a plan, then," I announced, "We'll detour to the IF factory, grab some extra supplies, then make for Buckview. If we really need to, we can try to stop at Grovedale on the way."
"Why 'try to stop'?" Autumn asked curiously, one eyebrow raised, "Couldn't we just stop there for the night since it's on the way anyway?"
"I wish. The law there recognizes me and knows my past. Last time Crosswire and I stopped there a week ago, the mayor turned us away and said he was doing us a favor by not shooting. If we're lucky, and we really need to, we should be able to convince him to let us in," I answered, seeing no reason not to tell the mare. She knew about my past, after all.
"Well, at least somepony out there remembers what you were," she said, a smile spreading over her features, "It's only right."
I sighed heavily at that. It seemed that even despite everything we had been through, Autumn was still firmly in the 'I hate Evergreen' club. "Yeah, we get it, Autumn. I've done a lot of bad things. Can we please move on from that?" I looked up and fixed the dark mare in my gaze, trying to make her see how hard I was trying to change.
"What?!" the mare asked, throwing her hooves up like she didn't have a clue what I was talking about, "I'm just saying. It's karma!"
"Whatever," I muttered, turning to walk to the stairs, "I'm going to get my bags. Let's try to get out of here in the next few minutes, all right? It's going to take a few hours to get to the factory."
Everypony followed me upstairs to our room where our saddlebags were waiting, already packed. It took almost no time for us to pull them on and head back downstairs, where Pearlescent was now cleaning up the remains of our meal.
"Thank you for everything, Pearlescent. I appreciate the work you put in for us. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back here sometime soon," I said as we walked by, pausing long enough to speak with the white mare.
"Don't mention it, dear. The Drunken Mare will always be open to you and your friends. Good luck out there. I fear you're going to need it," she answered.
I nodded my thanks and started moving again, stepping out the door, where, to nopony's surprise, it was raining. This time, it was a slow, steady drizzle that was just hard enough to make the ground soft enough to build up a layer of mud. We made our way through the side street to the broad central avenue which we followed out to the main gate, where the guards nodded their acknowledgment of us. A couple of them even muttered 'Good luck'. Maybe things were finally starting to look up for me.
Before long, the walls of the city disappeared over the horizon behind us, and we were trudging through the empty wasteland, following the remains of an old highway that connected Millberry to the larger settlements and factories to the east, like Grovedale and the IF factory. Shattered carts and desiccated corpse of skywagons littered the highway, building a natural maze that we had to pick our way through, being careful not to cut ourselves on jagged pieces of rotting wood or rusting metal. Occasionally we could see movement in the distance, like a shadow on a hillside that disappeared as soon as we noticed it. I wasn't too concerned with those. Any raiding party out here would be very hesitant to attack a group like ours. We were very obviously armed and walked with the confidence of ponies who knew how to use their weapons. It would take a lot of motivation, or insanity, on the part of a group of raiders to try to mess with us, or so I told myself.
With a good night's rest behind us, we made good time, pressing through the remains of civilization. Midday was just passing when the factory first appeared on the horizon. After another hour of walking, we were coming up on its main entrance that was still hanging open after I had kicked my way in a week before. As we approached, the words "Ironshod Firearms Factory discovered' flashed across my vision.
I slowed to a stop and lifted my leg to inspect my Pipbuck. With a couple of hooftaps I had the map pulled up and started to investigate. To my surprise, there were now several icons on the map, denoting the places I had visited over the last few days. I must have missed the notifications because of how tired I had been and since I had been focused on helping Autumn with Hat Trick and Sparks when we arrived at Millberry, but now I could see little icons denoting most of the places I had been recently: Millberry, Stable 60, the IF factory, and also something labeled Matchbox Farmhouse. That must have been where we fought the raiders.
"Hey, Evergreen, are you coming?" Crosswire called back to me once the rest of the group noticed I had fallen behind.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," I answered, trotting to catch up, "Was just playing with my Pipbuck. Didn't notice before when the location tags activated. It caught me by surprise."
"Well, pay attention. It's been a week since we were here last, and we've told several ponies since then that we've cleared this place out. I wouldn't be surprised if it has some new inhabitants," Crosswire said, walking through the open door into the lobby.
The remains of the protect-a-ponies were still lying where they had fallen a week before, their husks now covered in a thin layer of dust, but it didn't seem like there as anypony here. Just to be sure, I walked out into the factory floor and turned in a circle, a careful eye on my E.F.S., but there was nothing except for the blue bars denoting my friends.
"It seems clear," I announced, "let's get up to the fourth floor where the armory was."
Everpony else nodded their agreement and we started moving, climbing the remains of the rusted stairway to the second floor. The halls were dark and dreary, since there were almost no windows in the entire structure and the only light was coming from the small emergency lights set in the wall that were somehow still being powered. The walls were covered in ash, grime, and dust, giving the entire building the feel of a tomb. Every so often, we would stumble across the skeleton of a pony that had died here when the bombs had fallen.
As we pushed our way through the wreckage that Crosswire and I had caused the last time we were here, I thought I saw something move from the corner of my eye, and it looked like it had been heading for the infirmary. It had been no more than a shadow, a quick distortion of the light, but it was enough for my instincts to scream at me that something wasn't right.
"Hold up!" I called out, bringing everypony to a stop, "I think I saw something move. Keep your eyes open. I don't think we're alone in here."
"You sure?" Autumn Mist asked, "I'm not seeing anything on my E.F.S. except for us. These things are supposed to be foolproof."
"But they aren't always. If somepony is skilled enough at hiding themselves, they can fool the E.F.S. Come on, I want to check it out," I explained, taking the lead and making my may towards the infirmary.
We turned the corner to that section of the building and saw the remains of the massive robot that Crosswire and I had fought. Even looking at its broken remains, it was a terrifying presence, and I was reminded of the sheer amount of power that the thing had possessed.
"Fuck, did you two have to kill that thing last time you were here?" Autumn asked as we approached it, walking around it to take in all of its armaments and the damage that had been necessary to finally disable it.
"Yup. Fucking thing was one tough nut to put down. Took a plasma grenade and four clips of ammo to finally do the job," Crosswire said, grinning at the wreckage, "And now I can strip it for parts, since I forgot to do that last time."
"Plasma grenade, huh?" Autumn muttered to herself as Crosswire walked up to the destroyed machine and ripped off one of the access panels. Wires started to fly as he gutted the machine, occasionally pocketing a component or mass of wires. I couldn't distinguish how he decided one component was worth his time when others weren't.
By the time he finally finished, I was starting to get impatient. I had the distinct feeling now that somepony was watching us, and I couldn't tell if the intent was good or not. Unfortunately, knowing the wasteland as well as I did, their intent was probably not good.
"Hey, Evergreen, you find what you were looking for?" Suture asked, coming up beside me, "You were the one who wanted to check out the infirmary."
I looked around me, staring at the corners and any spots of shadow where somepony could be hiding. "No, I haven't seen anything else," I admitted, "But something doesn't feel right. It just feels like something's... out of place."
"I really don't get where you're coming from with that, Evergreen," Autumn announced loudly, walking around the perimeter of the room, delving into desks and cabinets while she looked for worthwhile things to grab, "We haven't seen anything out of the ordinary yet. I seriously doubt that anypony is here watching you, except for me."
It was as she said that that I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I spun around to face it and called out, "All right! I know I saw something there! Get out here and show yourself instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward!"
In response, a deep voice started laughing from the darkness and I saw a pony-shaped shadow detach itself from its surroundings and approach us. "My, my, my, you have much sharper eyesight than most of those self-proclaimed 'adventurers' I've come across," it said as it stepped into the light.
The buck before us appeared as nothing special, except for his weapons. He was wearing a battle saddle equipped with what looked to be a pair of powerful automatic rifles, not the kind of weapons I wanted to be downrange of. Besides that, he was just an average-sized buck with a crimson hide and a grey mane. The only thing that spoke of his potential danger was the way he held himself. He stood confidently, chest thrust out, as though he was sure there was nothing in the entirety of the wasteland that could put him down.
My mind screamed to a halt as it pieced the obvious together. This buck had a grey mane. Greymane. It had to be. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "So, how can we help you?" I asked, not wanting to tip him off to the fact that I was fairly sure I knew who he was. All the same, I saw him narrow his eyes at me as if he had recognized me.
"You can start by explaining why you're here. Time was that nopony would come within a mile of this place, yet here you are, on the second floor scavenging components from my broken sentry bot, talking like you've been here before, like you were the ones who disabled it," he said, his voice as cold as ice. His eyes were echoing his voice. This was not a buck I wanted to cross, yet I knew I already done just that.
"Yeah, we had to after it attacked us last time we were here. My friend and I needed some new weapons and ammo, since our supply was low. I figured that between both of our skills we should be able to scavenge something useful from here. Lucky for us, we managed to. The weapons we grabbed have saved our asses a half-dozen times since we were last here," I explained.
"Hmph, likely story," the buck snorted, "So why don't we put all this bullshit aside. I know who you are, Evergreen, and you know who I am. You are messing with shit that you don't want to be involved in. So here's my offer: give me the money, ammo, and messages that you stole, and I'll let you walk."
Surprisingly, I didn't become afraid when I heard him say that. I became angry, and also confused. "How the hell do you know who I am, and how the fuck do you know I took that shit, Greymane?" I demanded, taking a step towards the buck.
I could see a hint of uncertainty creep into his eye: a potential weakness. This buck wasn't used to others standing up to him. He probably hadn't been since he had built up the kind of reputation he had. Even so, he regained his composure quickly enough that I wasn't entirely sure I had caught the look in the first place. "I'm busy, not stupid, Evergreen. I know how to listen to a radio and how to eavesdrop on conversations in inns. I know you've been working with Metro and Millberry, and I know why. I'm only giving you this chance because it is painfully obvious you don't know what is going on."
"Then explain it to me, because after spending the last week with ponies from both of those settlements, I'm awfully confused! Those are good folk, and they don't need some sort of overlord coming in to fuck up the way they've been surviving for the last two hundred years!" I snapped, "From everything I have seen so far, there is no reason for anypony to come here with the intent to take charge. Sure, things aren't perfect, but they never have been! Things are starting to come together, though! I've seen it with my own eyes!"
Greymane sighed heavily, dropping his head in exasperation before lifting it again to glare at me. "You really don't see it, do you?" he asked, "Seahawk is coming to give us our future! For two hundred years, ponykind has been living broken, shattered lives. I should know; I've spent the last thirty years living one. Seahawk has found a way to fix everything, to make things back the way they were. Make our lives peaceful, without the need for ponies like you and me! Isn't that something we should all want?"
"Evergreen, if this is Greymane, I really think you should watch what you say," Suture muttered from my side, her anxiety clearly audible in her shaking voice, "Those guns look powerful. I don't think we'd come out on top if it comes to a fight."
"Listen to your friend, Evergreen. You don't have what it takes to beat me. You're better than most, I will give you that, but it is not good enough. You play at a life I have spent all of mine preparing for," Greymane said, "Give up and go back where you came from. This is no place for somepony of your stature."
I doubted that anypony could have said anything else at that moment that would have pissed me off more. Here was a buck that was known for being a merciless mercenary, who was capable of overcoming just about any sort of danger that a pony could come across in the wasteland, suggesting that somepony could just come into a region and set everything right, and yet he resorted to petty insults.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I said, "Are you even listening to yourself? I listened to that message, Greymane. You were given orders to kill the governor of Millberry if he didn't listen to you! How the fuck could that possibly mean Seahawk has peaceful intentions!"
Greymane maintained his angry glare, but shifted his body slightly so he was facing slightly off to one side of us. "I should have known you wouldn't listen to me. It is your own ignorance that stops you from seeing what is coming. When Seahawk arrives, there will be nothing standing in his way to stop him from taking over the entire region. When he has done that, then true peace will reign! I cannot believe that you are so opposed to having things return to the way they once were, before the war."
"Maybe they shouldn't go back to being like that," I snapped, "Look how it ended up!" I waved a hoof around to gesture at our surroundings, "We live in the shattered remains of a world because the one that existed before failed at preparing for its own future! They lost sight of what is important, now we are here, living in the result of their mistakes. Going back to what was isn't going to help anypony. We need to learn from our mistakes and build a new world! Sure, it will take longer, and a lot of ponies are going to die in the process, it's unavoidable, but in the end, the result will be worth it! We will have a world we can be proud of!"
Greymane sighed again and shook his head slowly. "So I suppose you will not be giving me my possessions?"
"I guess not," I answered, widening my stance and lifting my right foreleg slightly, putting Hammer within easy reach. I didn't have much ammo left, but I should only need a round or two.
"More's the pity. You had potential, Evergreen. Seahawk would have found a good place for you in the New Equestria," Greymane said sadly, sounding sincere enough that, for a moment, I believed he meant the words, then he leapt, jumping off to our right to land atop a desk where he swept the barrels of his weapons to cover us.
Everything went to shit in the next few seconds. He opened fire, raining down a hail of lead with his weapons while we scrambled for cover. I ended up behind the remains of the sentry bot, but had no clue where any of my friends were. I cast my head about, searching for their blue bars. Two were off to my left, towards the door to the infirmary. Another was to my right, probably taking cover behind a desk.
I waited for the volume of incoming fire to lessen, then rolled out of cover, bringing Hammer to bear. Once I could clearly see the mercenary, I slipped into S.A.T.S. Time slowed, and my vision zoomed in to focus on the buck, but something wasn't right. He was less than twenty yards away from me, standing motionless on a desk while he reloaded, but I had a zero percent chance to hit any part of him. It just didn't seem possible.
I tried to set one round for his torso, but the system wouldn't allow me, telling me that the chance to hit was too low. I growled in annoyance, then slid out of S.A.T.S. If I couldn't line up a shot with the system, then I'd just do it on my own. I had lasted long enough without it anyway.
As time snapped back to reality, I took careful aim, centering the sights of Hammer on Greymane's chest, then pulled the trigger. Hammer kicked in my mouth, and I saw the bullet fly true. To my horror, just as it came close enough to him that it should be burying itself in his chest, it was deflected off to one side by what appeared to be a translucent layer of magic.
The buck started laughing, throwing his head back in his mirth. "Did you really think that one shot would be enough to kill me, Evergreen! I am Greymane, the greatest mercenary to grace the wasteland! One simple revolver will not be enough to kill me!"
He swung his body in my direction, spraying the entire area with bullets. As I dove into cover, I felt a few bite into my flank and legs. It had been so long since I had been shot that the pain caught me by surprise and I landed with a thud that drove the air from my lungs.
"Evergreen!" I heard Suture shout in horror, then there was a scream of pain as the medic's shout drew Greymane's attention.
Slowly, I dragged myself back to my feet, gasping for breath. Hammer lay in front of me, almost forgotten, with blood on its handle. As I finally caught my breath, I coughed, and a small glob of blood came out with it, leaving a coppery taste in my mouth, to land with a wet slap next to the pistol.
"Evergreen, get your shit together!" I heard Autumn Mist shout. Her call was pronounced with a pair of retorts from her rifle. Judging from the laughter that followed her attempt, I could only imagine that she had had met with as little success as I had.
I swallowed, pushing the pain from my injuries to the back of my mind, and reached for Hammer. Once it was settled in my mouth, I could quickly tell where they blood in my mouth was coming from; one of my teeth had been knocked loose by the gun's recoil. I was surprised it had taken this long to happen.
I took a moment to listen for Greymane trying to determine where he was, and where he was shooting. From the sound of things, he was trying to keep Autumn Mist and Crosswire pinned. I was guessing that the tech was with her, since I had heard the mercenary shooting to my right when Suture had spoken, and he was now shooting to my left.
With Greymane now occupied with the sniper, I crept to my right, coming out of cover where I could see the mercenary focused entirely on the infirmary entrance, which he was filling with an obscene amount of lead. He must have been shooting what amounted to a small fortune in ammo alone, without even taking into account the cost of the saddle and guns.
Grinning around the grip of Hammer, I leapt out of cover and opened fire, pelting the buck with bullets. He may have been in possession of a magical barrier, but it couldn't last forever, especially after the punishment we had already inflicted to it.
Unfortunately, the five rounds I had left in Hammer's carousel were not enough to break the barrier, and my firing only drew his attention. I dashed across the room, just barely ahead of his fire, and finally came to rest behind a desk that had been split in half, though I couldn't tell if it was from the fighting that had happened here, or from the apocalypse. I reached into my saddlebags for a reload, but found to my horror that I had no ammo left. I didn't have a single round left for Hammer.
Gritting my teeth in determination, I spat the revolver into its holster and pulled out my .45. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Hammer, but it could still shoot. That would have to do.
Another pair of shots rang out from Autumn's rifle, followed by a staccato of gunfire from Crosswire's SMG. I reached into my bag for a grenade and jumped out of cover, launching the apple-shaped explosive at Greymane.
With the concentrated fire, Greymane faltered on his desk, unsure of which threat to face. As the grenade exploded, I saw the barrier shatter, rendering the mercenary vulnerable. I slipped into S.A.T.S., finally able to take advantage of the targeting software. The chance to hit his torso through the smoke of the grenade was lower than I would have liked, but you couldn't always get everything you wanted. I lined up four shots and let the spell take over.
The four shots rang out, but only two found their target, eliciting a cry of pain from Greymane's direction. I jumped up onto the desk I was behind and continued to fire, hoping I could inflict enough damage to kill the buck.
To my horror, Greymane had been expecting this and had jumped away from the desk to land by the door to the factory floor, where he turned his battle saddle on me. Several bullets hammered into my side, one of which managed to pierce through my armor and bury itself in my side, which sent me tumbling to the ground with a cry of pain.
"No you don't you over-zealous son of a cunt!" I heard Crosswire shout. There was the sound of pounding hoofsteps as the tech darted out of the infirmary and turned his SMG on the mercenary, opening up with a fully automatic spray of bullets.
As I struggled to my hooves, I heard Greymane grunt in pain, then back away into the factory floor, shooting wildly as he retreated. By the time I was finally back on my feet, the room was no longer an area of immediate danger. I saw Crosswire dash into the factory floor, Autumn Mist close behind him.
I followed after them, but slowed to a halt as I reached the door, remembering Suture. "Make sure the son of a bitch gets what he deserves!" I shouted after them, "I need to find Suture!"
Not even bothering to listen for a reply, I turned my back on the door and stepped back into the room. I listened carefully, trying to pinpoint where the maroon mare was. I centered my gaze on her bar in my E.F.S. and galloped to where she was lying. What I saw almost made my heart stop.
Suture was lying in a swiftly expanding pool of blood, gasping for breath and struggling weakly to get into her saddlebags where she kept her medical supplies. There were three holes punched through her barding, gunshots in her chest that were the source of all the blood. I ran to her side and pulled out a pair of potions, ripped them open and offered them to the mare. She drank deeply, but the potions had little to no effect on her obvious injuries. I could only hope that they were mending the internal injuries.
Suture coughed weakly as I pulled the potions away, bringing up a small tide of blood. This was not good. I dug through her bags, and mine, searching for more potions, but could only find three. I pulled all three open and made Suture drink. As before, the potions seemed to have very little effect. The smell of blood was quickly becoming overpowering, and my hooves were already covered, resulting in me smearing the maroon mare's blood over everything I touched.
"Suture, you're going to be okay, I promise!" I said, trying to wipe the blood off her muzzle, but all I did was smear it around, "I'm going to be right back! I need to go into the infirmary and look for more potions, all right! Just stay awake, promise me that!"
Suture nodded weakly, but said nothing. I could see her struggling just to stay conscious. Given the extent of her injuries, I was surprised that she still hadn't already passed out.
Leaving her where she was, I ran as fast as I could into the infirmary where I proceeded to tear it apart, searching for medical supplies. Unfortunately, Crosswire and I had completely cleared the area of medical supplies the week before. All I could find were a few pre-war packets of chems like Mint-als and Med-X, but nothing in the way of healing potions.
Giving the attempt up for lost, I ran back to the injured mare's side, where I propped her head up so I could at least try to help her. The sounds of battle were still coming from the factory floor, but they were distant, as though the fight was happening on the far side of the building.
"Okay, I couldn't find any potions, Suture, but I can still help you! Tell me what to do!" I begged.
"Stop... bleeding," Suture murmured, so quiet that I had to lean in close just to make out the words.
"Right, the bleeding," I said, pulling out a mass of white bandages. I pulled her barding off and started to wrap them around the mare, tying them as tightly as I could without strangling her, hoping it would be enough to stem the tide of blood still flowing from the gaping wounds. The bandages were quickly soaked with blood, and I had to wrap another layer on just to keep the blood from leaking out. By the time I was finished, it looked like Suture was some sort of ancient mummy.
Knowing what kind of pain Suture was probably in, I rooted around for a few shots of Med-X that I quickly administered. Suture's eyes and twisted grimace slowly relaxed as the drugs took hold, easing some of her pain.
"Listen to me, Suture, you need to stay awake. Once Crosswire and Autumn Mist get back we're going to get you somewhere where you can get help, okay. You just need to stay awake," I said, pleading with her.
It was all I could to do keep from breaking into tears. She wouldn't have been injured if I hadn't insisted we come here. We should have just gone straight to Metro and paid for new weapons and ammo there. But I just had to go with the free option, even knowing that the site had been home to something I had taken from one of the best fighters in the entire wasteland. Now, she could be paying the largest price, just for a few guns.
Suture nodded weakly at my words, but I could see that it was a losing battle for her. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, I heard her mutter, "Not your fault." Her eyes closed, and for a moment, I was terrified that the worst had happened.
I lowered my head to her chest and held my breath. Thankfully, I could still hear a heartbeat and she was still drawing breath. But more important, it was in that moment of total silence that I noticed that the sounds of battle had faded to nothing.
I lifted my head and turned my head to look back towards the door. Crosswire and Autumn were standing just inside the frame, horrified looks on their faces.
"Is she dead?" Crosswire asked, not unkindly, but entirely devoid of emotion. He wasn't being harsh, it was just his way to ask the blunt questions.
I slowly shook my head. "No, she's still alive, but only barely. Where's Greymane? Did you kill him?"
The question prompted Autumn's face to twist in anger. "No. The filly-raping asshole got away, but not before we gave him some wounds he won't soon forget. Bastard is so wrapped up in his own reputation he forgot he bleeds just like the rest of us."
It was with that comment that I noticed both of them were bleeding from multiple wounds, mostly gunshots. It was surprising that any of us were still on our hooves.
"So what's the plan now, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked, a note of worry creeping into his voice in his voice, and a knowing look in his eye, "We're in some deep shit and need a quick decision, and I haven't got a fucking clue how to handle this." He walked towards me until he was looking down at Suture's unconscious form.
"We came here to accomplish something. I don't want to leave without doing that, but nothing is worth the life of somepony else, so here's what we're gonna do. Crosswire, I want you to go up to the fourth floor and grab the weapons and ammo we came for. You know what we need," I explained, pulling off my saddle bags and handing them to the buck for extra carrying space, "In the meantime, Autumn and I are going to start carrying Autumn out of here. It's risky moving her, but she's going to die here if we don't."
Crosswire nodded smartly, "Sounds like a plan. Where are you going to head for?" It was just like him, not to question a decision that had been made.
"Grovedale. It's the only settlement close enough with the supplies we need to save her life. I'll gladly take the risk of Just Law putting a bullet in my head if it means I can save Suture's life," I answered, drawing strength from my determination to see Suture survive.
Crosswire nodded somberly, but Autumn was giving me a confused look. "Just Law? Who the fuck is that? And what did you do to piss him off?"
"Just Law is the pony in charge of Grovedale. I used to live there before I became a raider. I already told you why Grovedale is a problem for me. Just Law is just the one who'll carry out the sentence. Crosswire and I went back a week ago hoping he would have forgotten or that somepony else would be in charge, but that wasn't the case. Now, are your inane questions done yet? Can we save her now?" I demanded, glaring at the dark mare.
"Yeah, sure. I'm warning you though, I don't have near enough strength right now to carry the whole way on my own. If you haven't noticed, I'm not in the best shape myself," Autumn pointed out harshly.
"We're all shot up. Just lighten her up and I'll be able to carry her," I growled, shifting Suture until I had her resting across my shoulders. I heard Autumn summon her magic and most of Suture's weight disappeared off my back, making it relatively easy for me to lift her.
Once I was on my hooves, I shot a glance at Crosswire, who was settling the extra saddle bags across his back. "Crosswire, you don't know how much I appreciate this. I would have died long ago without you. Be careful and try to catch up quickly. We're going to get a head start; I don't know how much time she has," I said, looking up Suture with worried eyes.
He nodded tiredly, "Ok, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine, but Greymane could still be out there. Keep your eyes open."
"I'll be careful," I said, then started walking. Crosswire broke off to find the stairwell up while Autumn and I descended down to the first floor and made out way back out into the wasteland.
The rain was still coming down, but it wasn't enough to wash away Suture's blood from my hooves or the guilt in my heart. I couldn't deny that it was entirely my fault that Suture had gotten hurt, regardless of what she had said. It had been my choice to come here, and my failure for not thinking of the possibility that Greymane would be waiting for us. Now, somepony I felt responsible for was paying the price for my failure. She had even suggested that I be careful talking to Greymane. Instead, I had completely ignored her and goaded the buck into attacking us.
The pain of my injuries quickly made itself known as the rainwater sluiced over me. Every step became a struggle as my body argued loudly to stop pushing forward. We had barely covered half the distance to Grovedale when I collapsed. I had been plodding along, trying to make my mind stop beating me up over the situation I had gotten us into, then my legs had simply given out, sending me to the ground and making Suture fall into the mud.
Autumn cried out in shock as I fell, her magic failing as she tried to take all of Suture's weight. "Evergreen! What the fuck!" she exclaimed walking up to my side and nudging at me with a leg, "Get up! We're not even close yet!"
I struggled weakly, trying to catch my breath, but my body simply wasn't agreeing. "I'm trying," I muttered, finally getting my shaking legs under me, but when I tried to stand, I simply fell over again, my exhaustion getting the better of me.
"I can't carry both of you," Autumn growled, leaning down and forcing me to my feet, "So you better get up and stay there. I am not letting you off the fucking hook!"
I stood there, leaning against the dark mare for a full minute before I was finally steady enough on my feet again to try to lift Suture. Slowly, I pulled the injured medic onto my shoulders and tried to stand, but her weight, even with Autumn's help, was simply too much, and I collapsed again.
"I... I can't do it..." I panted heavily into the mud, "she's just too heavy."
Autumn growled angrily and I heard her rooting around in her saddle bag. She walked over to me and knelt down by my head, floating a small, brown container in front of me.
"Eat two of these," she ordered, pulling the cap off the small brown bottle, "Then you'll be able to carry her."
"What is it?" I asked, lifting my head slightly, but I couldn't make out the writing on the label.
"Buffout. It'll get you back on your hooves long enough for us to get to Grovedale. And if you're worried about addiction, I've got two points for you: the first is that one use isn't going to get you addicted, the second is that if you don't, Suture is going to die out here," Autumn explained, her voice harsh "Now swallow those pills and let's go."
Weakly, I stretched out my tongue and waited for Autumn to dump two of the small tablets onto it. I swallowed and simply lay in the mud, waiting for the pills to take effect. It didn't take long.
The first sensation I felt was akin to a second wind. My breathing became stronger and I was able to make it to my hooves unassisted. By the time I was lifting Suture, I felt fit enough to take on an entire gang of raiders by myself. With the help of the drugs, Autumn and I resumed our journey, pressing through the rain and mud to get to Grovedale before it was too late.
When Suture's breath became shallow and harsh, I knew we were racing against time, and that the odds were sorely stacked against us. I tried to pick up the pace, but Autumn Mist kept me in check, reminding me that the only reason I was even on my hooves was because of a bunch of drugs and that I didn't want to push myself while under their influence.
It took effort, but I managed to restrain myself to Autumn Mist's careful pace. With it, we managed a steady trot that ate up the remaining miles, until we were standing at the gate of Grovedale just as the day's light was beginning to dampen.
"Hey, I recognize you! What the fuck you think you're doing, coming back here!" the guard shouted down at us, "And what the fuck are you carrying?"
"I wouldn't have come back if I didn't have a choice," I shouted back, "but right now, I don't. My friend is barely alive right now, and she needs help, fast, if she's going to survive. This was the only settlement close enough for us to make it before she dies! Please, if you have any mercy left in your heart, let us in!"
"No can do," the guard responded, "Direct orders from Just Law. If I let you in, I'd be no better than you, and he'd throw me out on my rump, if he doesn't shoot me first. Looks like you're gonna have to try something else."
"There is nothing else!" I snapped, "If you don't open that gate, she is going to die! That is a fucking guarantee! I've already done all I can to help her, but it isn't enough! I don't have the supplies or the know-how to save her!"
"Not our problem," the guard snapped in response, floating her rifle around until it was leveled directly at me, "Now if you would kindly turn around and get the fuck out of here, that would be appreciated. Otherwise..." She chambered a round, making sure we could hear it.
"Listen up, you fucking bitch!" Autumn shouted, just as I was crumbling to the ground in utter defeat, "We just dragged our asses all the way out here to save our friend, and you're just gonna turn us away? You're no better than a bunch of fucking raiders!"
"What?! You're calling us the raiders?" the guard shouted in shock, "What the hell do you know about it! You're the one traveling with one!"
"Yeah, traveling with her to make sure she doesn't fuck up. I'll tell you right fucking now, Evergreen was an evil bitch, and I can never forgive her for what she's done, but in the few days I've been with her, she's done nothing but the right thing, so get off your fucking high horse and let us in so our friend doesn't die! You're nothing but a bunch of raiders if you don't at least try to help those in need!" Autumn retorted.
I simply stood there, shocked into inaction. Autumn Mist was actually speaking out in my defense, and it seemed to actually be having an effect. It seemed there was more to her than I had initially believed. I would need to keep a careful eye on her from here on out.
"What... I... You..." the guard stammered, "Just Law, get over here, I need you!"
"What the hay is the problem now, Lighteye," I heard Just Law say as he appeared on the wall and looked down at us. "Evergreen! Ya'll had the gall to come back 'ere?! Lighteye, shoot 'em. I warned 'em not to come back."
"Fine, shoot us and let all of Seaddle know never to trust this town again. We came here because it was the only chance for our friend to survive. If you're going to kill us for that, then I hope Shooting Star gets a good look, so the rest of the wasteland can see," Autumn shouted.
The next few seconds were filled with a tense silence as Just Law simply glared at us, his mind obviously working overtime as he tried to decide what to do with us.
"Ya'll got to be fucking kiddin' me," he finally said, "Is that why yer carrying a half-dead pony around yer shoulders, Evergreen?"
"Yes!" I shouted at him, "She took some serious fire earlier today. I did what I could, but it isn't enough! She needs real medical attention! If you think I'm trying to kill you than just take a good look at us! We're both shot up and injured. There's no way in hell we could pull anything off!"
"Humph, fine! You can enter, on one condition, Evergreen! I get your guns and you don't get them back until you leave. Is that clear?" Just Law shouted down.
I just about fainted in relief. "Yes, it's a deal! Can you have somepony help us with her to the infirmary?"
Just Law didn't respond, but simply nodded. I couldn't imagine that he was too happy with the situation.
Slowly, the gates opened, and a group of guards came out to relieve us of our weapons, which they then took away to the town armory. Two bucks took Suture off my shoulders and started carrying her through the town. I followed after them, starting to shake as the Buffout started to wear off and I came down from the high it had put me on.
Every step through the town was a memory, and very few of those were good anymore. As long as I had lived in Grovedale, it had never been a happy life. My first memory of the town was my parents getting shot and killed just outside its walls. Now, the walk through the barren streets was one of regret and accusation. Many ponies here still remembered me, and they made the fact that they recognized me painfully obvious as they shot angry glares and hostile gestures in my direction.
The streets were much as I remembered them: narrow and suffocating. Lives here seemed to be lived in eternal hardship, as every pony had a duty and an expectation that that duty would be done without prompting. Every building had been renovated in some fashion, but the renovations were mostly slats of recycled, rotting wood thrown under a load-bearing wall to keep the structure from collapsing entirely. Even though the town was surviving, and on some counts thriving, it always seemed to be on the verge of total collapse.
Luckily, we were soon away from the claustrophobic confines of the buildings and in the infirmary. The building was dark and smoky, a result of the doctor's habit of chain smoking, but he kept his work places clean, and I knew from experience his skill with medicine.
He was soon working on Suture with barely an exchange of words, doing everything in his power to preserve what little spark of life she had left. I took my place on a bed nearby, just wanting to get off of my hooves for a moment, but as soon as I lay down, my body took that as an excuse to shut down and I passed out.
By the time I woke, I found myself lying on an infirmary bed, barding missing and injuries bound. I shot up from where I was lying and cast about the room, searching desperately for Suture. Instead, my gaze found Autumn Mist and Crosswire, who were sitting quietly and talking in hushed tones on the other side of the room. They both appeared to be in one piece, and they had similar bandages wrapped around their various wounds, just as I did. However as long I had been out, it seemed that we had all been well taken care of.
Slowly, and painfully, I pushed myself to my hooves and joined them. "Where's Suture?" I asked, not quite wanting to hear the answer.
"She's alive. Doc has her in a separate room to recover. Says she needs at least twenty-four hours of total bed rest until he even thinks about letting her go. He's got her sedated right now to make sure she can heal," Autumn explained.
I nodded slowly, relieved beyond any measure to hear that she had survived. I turned to Crosswire, "Did you make it into the town all right?"
He nodded and answered quietly, "Yeah. They took my guns and all the supplies I grabbed from the armory, but they led me here once they knew I was traveling with you."
"Good. I wouldn't have put it past Just Law to have not let you in simply because you were with me," I said, "He's been known to be petty."
Crosswire simply shrugged in response.
We fell into a conversation about nothing, trying simply to pass the time until somepony showed up to decide what to do with us, but I couldn't get my mind off of Suture. Pearlescent's words about how her life was not my responsibility any more than Autumn Mists' or Crosswire's were echoing in my ears, but I couldn't bring myself to believe them. Suture wasn't a fighter, yet I kept putting her into positions where she was in danger. There was no excuse for that.
After an hour of pointless conversation, the door swung open and Just Law sauntered in, his revolver very openly displayed in a holster across his chest, just out of reach of his mouth.
"So, Evergreen, tell me exactly what Ah'm s'posed to do right now. Ah've got a lot of ponies telling me I should put a bullet in yer head because ye decided to show yer face again. I've also got a bunch of ponies insisting that yer this 'Heroine' Shooting Star's been goin' on about these last few days," he drawled, leaning against one of the beds and fixing me in a cold glare, vocalizing the quotes around the title.
"They aren't lying," I answered, deciding there was no use to try to deceive the buck, "Shooting Star has been talking about me, but I'm definitely no heroine. I'm just trying to help some ponies out, trying to make up for all the shit I've done."
"That so?" Just Law asked, raising an eyebrow, "Well, regardless, my hooves are tied right now, and Ah can't just let ye wander the streets of my town. Ah'm placing ye under house arrest here until ye leave, understood? And when you do, I expect you to not try to come back. Ye were exiled fer a reason, and Ah ain't the forgiving type."
"Then what happens if my employer gives me a job to come down here, Just Law? I'm working rather closely with the mayor of Metro right now, and there is every chance he'll send me down here for a job in the near future. I'm not going to risk my job because of something like this. I changed my ways. Maybe you need to change yours as well," I argued pointedly, letting some of my anger at the buck slip through into my voice.
"Then Ah guess that's a hurdle we'll need to cross if it comes to that. If ye're doin mercenary work, I s'pose I can't just turn ya'll away, but if we do need to do business, it'll be at the gate, deal?" he asked, spitting on one hoof and holding it out to me.
"Deal," I answered, spitting on my hoof and bumping his. I felt another weight lift off my chest. When Just Law made a deal, he held to it.
The buck nodded slowly, then made his exit without another word, leaving us to ourselves again. We turned back to our conversation, trying to pass the time once again, but my heart wasn't in it. Luckily, the next interruption was not long in coming.
The door swung open not ten minutes after Just Law had left and I was faced with one of the most bizarre sights I had ever seen in the wasteland. Standing before me, in an infirmary in the middle of a nowhere town, was a fully armored Enclave soldier, guns and all. His helmet was clipped to his side, at least letting us see his face.
The buck was a light blue in color, but his mane looked like a live fire atop his head, with swirls of reds, oranges, and yellows dancing around each other, as if in a fight for dominance. His face was set into an expression of determination, and I could see a fierce strength in his deep green eyes. The oddest thing about his appearance was that his armor was not jet black as most Enclave power armors were. He had streaks of gold painted on it, almost like war paint, but they made his armor appear much lighter and more streamlined that it really was.
The two guns hanging off his armor were a pair of 7.76 miniguns, not exactly the kind of weapons I wanted to be caught in front of. He also had a pair of knives strapped to his chest-plate, though I couldn't see what use they would be if he was fighting from behind the confines of his helmet.
"Can I help you, Enclave?" I asked, not quite sure what to make of the buck.
"Are you the Heroine of Seaddle?" he asked in a deep, rich voice. The same strength that I had seen in his eyes was apparent in his voice as well, and he spoke in a direct fashion that brooked absolutely no nonsense or deviation.
I sighed and hung my head. "The DJ on the radio has been calling me that, but I'm no hero. I'm just a pony trying to make up for my mistakes and do a job. Saving those ghouls was simply a bonus to my real business out by the Stable."
"But you are the one who performed those actions?" the buck asked, taking a step forward.
"Yeah, I am. What's it to you?" I demanded, standing up to face the buck. Even on my hooves, he towered over me, an example of strength and power that I hadn't seen before, even in most Earth Ponies. It really wasn't all the surprising, though, given the strength needed to be able to use a set of power armor.
"I'm searching for some ponies that have been cast out by the Enclave leadership. From the news I've received, they may have ended up near that Stable. Can you tell me if you've seen anything that could aid my search?" he asked.
My mind instantly went to the two Dashites we had killed in the cavern, but I wasn't sure I wanted to tell this buck about them. "What's it matter to you where they are? If they were cast out, then they're Dashites. I thought the Enclave didn't fuck with the Dashites as a rule?"
"I'm not Enclave, not anymore. They simply weren't in a position to take my armor or guns when I left. Consider me as much a Dashite as any other wasteland Pegasus. Now, have you seen them or not?" the buck demanded.
I remained silent for a moment, weighing my choices, and finally decided on the truth. "Yeah, I came across them, but they're dead now. They were camped out in the cavern that Stable 60 was stashed in. As soon as my friends and I showed up, they tried to kill us. We killed them in self-defense. They weren't sane."
The buck was completely silent at the conclusion of my explanation, and his expression was one of hard determination, leading be to be nervous of what his next action would be. "Was there anything odd about them, other than their sanity, or lack thereof?" he asked, voice held carefully emotionless.
"Yes," I answered, "One of them professed his loyalty to the Enclave with his dying breath. It struck me as odd since he was branded as a Dashite, albeit badly."
"Fuck," the buck swore, "I get so close, simply to have it torn from my hooves. Thank you for your help."
As he turned to leave, I called out after him, "Wait! What the hell was up with them? And where do you think you're going to go now that your lead is gone?"
The Pegasus paused at the door, the slowly turned around to face me. "The answer to your first question is none of your business. The question to your second is east. There are rumors of more Dashites that way."
"East? Towards Buckview?" I asked, "That's where we're headed, once our friend recovers."
The buck raised an eyebrow in interest. "Why are you going to Buckview? What's out there for you?"
"Chasing a rumor, like you. There was a report that nopony has heard from the town in a few days. I have a theory, but I need to go out there to prove it. The reason for that is my business. I'm just thinking it will be safer to travel as a group, instead of alone," I answered.
"You sure about this, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked, "I mean, he's Enclave. Sure, he may say he's a Dashite, but he's got the armor and the guns that say otherwise."
"I'm actually with Crosswire on this one. I don't know if I trust him," Autumn put in.
"Seems your friends are against me, Evergreen. Thank you for the offer, but I don't think I can accept when the tables are against me," the buck said, then turned to walk away.
"They didn't say they were against it," I called after him, "They simply said they were wary. I'm willing to trust you, because, for some reason, I believe you. I'm curious as to why those Dashites seemed to still be loyal to the Enclave, and it seems to me like it could be related to what I'm working on. To that end, I want you to travel with us, at least as far as Buckview. We're both going that way anyway. It would be better to go working together than to get in each other's way."
The buck remained silent with his back to us as he considered my words, then slowly turned to face me, face set in determination. "Fine. Agreed. We shall leave as soon as this friend of yours is recovered. If our partnership is found to be agreeable, we may be able to continue it even after Buckview."
"Sounds good to me. I'm Evergreen. These two are Crosswire and Autumn Mist. Our injured friend is Suture," I answered, gesturing to each in turn.
"My name is Sergeant Steel Curtain, er, I mean Steel Curtain. I am still adjusting to life outside the Enclave," the buck answered, blushing slightly in embarrassment at his slip, "I have lived my life so long in their service that speaking my rank, even if I no longer hold it, is simply a habit."
"Understandable. I know how easy it is to fall into a rut," I answered, "Welcome to the crew. With luck, we should be able to head out in the morning."
Steel Curtain nodded his understanding. "Good. In that case, I will go to the market to purchase some supplies. Is there anything you need?"
"As many medical supplies as you can get, mostly healing potions. We've used all of ours in the last few days," I said, reaching into my saddlebag that was lying on the ground next to me for a pouch of caps, which I tossed to the buck, "Here, to help cover the costs."
He nodded in appreciation, then stepped out the door without another word.
"So, were traveling with a Dashite wearing full power armor now, are we?" Crosswire asked, "This is going to be interesting."
I found myself nodding in agreement. "At least it's another layer of armor and bullets between us and the other guys."
Level Up!
Perk Gained! - Scrounger - You are much more likely to find ammunition when scavenging.
Skill Note: Medicine (25)
{And so another chapter is done. I hope you guys like the new description style I tried out this time around (I tried to not make it interfere too much with my writing style in general). Hopefully, it helped make everything a bit more real. I know it did for me. As always, thank you to Kkat for the creation for Fallout: Equestria, and thank you to my editors Cody and MUCKSTER. As always, here is the link to the Hub Page: Redemption.) |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Seven: Dust and Echoes | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Seven: Dust and Echoes
"What is heard and what is true are rarely the same."
The day passed only slowly, every interminable minute weighing heavily on my mind and threatening to crush me under their collective weight. I quickly became too distracted to focus on the small talk between Autumn Mist and Crosswire, who seemed to finally be getting along, even if they still didn't see eye to eye. Maybe it would help Crosswire get over his trust problems. But, as much as I would have liked to join in their conversation, the terrible guilt of what I had allowed to happen was tearing me down on the inside, and it was quickly becoming more than I could handle.
Suture had been in critical condition, and even with the doctor's aid, it would be several days before she was at full strength, even if she was able to travel before then. And it was all my fault, regardless of what her last words had been before she lost consciousness. If anything, that statement made my guilt worse, because she tried to absolve me of it before slipping to a place I couldn't follow. Now, when I should have been rejoicing that she would be all right, I was lying here in a corner of a small, musty infirmary, worrying about what I might screw up next.
It hadn't been a screw-up of the sort that Autumn would shoot me over; I was being very careful not to step over that line. But that didn't mean that my mistake was any less terrible. I had chosen the quick and easy option over being careful, deciding that a few free weapons and some ammo was worth risking our lives over. One of us was now paying that price, and I was no longer sure that it was Suture. After all, she had seemed remarkably at peace as I had fumbled over her, doing what little I could to help.
The true crime here was that I had known exactly what the risk was going in. I had even been warned to be on the lookout for it by several ponies. I had known that I had crossed Greymane, and I knew that he would most likely be looking for me around that damn factory, where I had first found the message left for him. And simply because I wanted some free ammo, I risked crossing his path. Completely unacceptable, giving how slim the gain was.
And there was the only good to come of this entire endeavor. I finally had a face to put with the name that had been hanging over my shoulder for the past week. The buck had not been at all what I expected to face. I had expected a hardened warrior, someone who wore the scars of the wasteland, and thus was hardened as well. The buck had been harsh and cold, sure, but there had also been a degree of thoughtfulness and cunning that I hadn't expected to see. I had badly underestimated him, thinking that he could be just as easily defeated as a Wasteland raider, and treating him like that as well, rather than as the extremely dangerous buck that he was.
The only reason any of us were still alive at all was because we had had the advantage of numbers and position, two things I was sure he wouldn't allow us next time we crossed paths. I knew that, because I had seen a glimmer in his eyes, even if for only a split second, that told me he had underestimated me as well. And that was my only solace. Knowing that I had instilled some degree of fear in somepony with his reputation was something I could take pride in, especially since he struck me as a pony that preyed on others, and not always because he stood to gain from it.
What bothered me most about him, though, was how devoted he seemed to Seahawk. By all accounts, he was a mercenary; ruthless and entirely devoid of any sort of compassion, but still just a mercenary. That begged the question of why he was so devoted to this enigmatic pony who was trying to gain power over the entirety of the Seaddle region, if not Equestria itself.
When I had first heard of him working for Seahawk, I had pictured a hardened mercenary doing what was necessary for his next paycheck, loyal only because Seahawk was the highest bidder. But after meeting him, it seemed that Greymane was devoted on an ideological level, rather than just a financial one, and that terrified me. If somepony with his strength and raw power decided to fight for a cause, that cause would quickly gain in strength and influence as ponies flocked to it in order to avoid the inevitable crack-down. And I had put myself firmly underneath the hammer.
But at least I wasn't alone, and I don't mean on the individual level. Crosswire would stick by me to the end, unless I did something so terrible that he would no longer want anything to do with me; it was simply the kind of pony he was. Autumn Mist had made it clear that she was going to be the one to finally put a bullet in my head, so I could count on her being around for a while, and even then, I was beginning to rely on her. Her moral compass may be a confusing maze of deathtraps and sinkholes, but she had a degree of inner strength and adherence that I hadn't ever seen in anypony else. Suture, to round off the deal, would do almost anything if it constituted helping ponies survive, no matter what their background, and since that was my overall objective as well now, I knew I'd be able to count on her support.
But even beyond my friends were the towns I had managed to ally. Metro was behind me already, they had made that clear when the mayor asked me to travel to Millberry to make the offer of allegiance. And Millberry had shown their support of my actions when their governor agreed to the allegiance, even if it was with a condition. With two towns agreeing to work together, the wasteland was already better off than it had been had I not done anything, so it was worth something. I just needed to hope that it would be enough to stand against whatever force Seahawk could gather.
And then there were the other various groups I had helped, like the ghouls from Stable 60 and Hat Trick. Even if Hat Trick would no longer be able to work the same way he had before, I could still count on the help of both groups, and that was something I hadn't had in a long time.
"Really, Crosswire, you're still bent out of shape about that?!" Autumn Mist yelled, breaking into my thoughts and drawing my attention to my two friends.
Autumn was now up on her hooves, standing over the grey buck, who was still lying on the floor, a dark look on his face. It was instantly obvious that she was angry, as she stood with her hooves spread and had her head lowered, as though preparing to charge.
"Are you telling me you wouldn't be?" the tech shot back angrily, "You shot and nearly killed me, Autumn. Of course I'm still mad about it! I have no guarantee that you're not going to do it again, especially considering your threat to Evergreen! That is still standing, right? You'll shoot her if she does the least thing raider-like?" His tone became mocking, as though he was expecting to hear a negative from the mare.
I was surprised when Autumn actually faltered in answering the question.
"Yes! I mean... No! Ugh... I don't know," she stammered, before finally lowering her head in defeat. Crosswire was dead silent, a look of surprise on his face that was probably a mirror image of the one on mine.
When no response was immediate, the dark mare lifted her head and looked from him to me and back. She sighed heavily, then began talking, "If she were to go back to being a raider, I would shoot her in a heartbeat. At that point, she would deserve it, exactly like those fuckers at the farmhouse yesterday. But knowing her for who she is now... I don't think I could do it if she did something out of necessity. The wasteland is a bad place, and very little is black and white, but it seems like she is actually trying to help other ponies now. I would be no better than a raider myself if I shot her over a small fuck-up. That being said, I still can't forgive her for what she did, and I never will, but I can respect who she is. In the end, I think that's all that's necessary."
By the time she was finished speaking, she was looking at me with a guilty expression, as though she were asking for my forgiveness.
Slowly, I pushed myself to my hooves and approached her. I lifted a hoof and placed it on her shoulder. She recoiled briefly at my touch, but managed to hold her ground and look me in the eye.
"I know I said something to this effect when we first met, Autumn, but I think it will mean a little more if I repeat it now. I know it will never bring them back, and nothing will ever fill the hole that their departure left, but I am sorry for the loss of your family. I don't expect forgiveness, and I don't expect absolution, but I want you to know that I wish things could have turned out differently," I said, putting every ounce of sincerity that I had into the words.
Autumn remained silent, simply looking into my eyes, searching for something. I could see her emotions flickering through her magenta eyes: first guilt, then anger, hatred, sadness, shame, then, finally, something I hadn't even held out hope to see: acceptance. She smiled lightly, just a slight upward curl of her lips. "I can't accept the apology, Evergreen. To do that would be forgiveness, and I can't bring myself to that. What I can do is accept your regret," she said, her eyes sad despite the smile.
I lowered my hoof and managed a slight smile in return. It wasn't exactly what I wanted, or what I had hoped for, but it was a significant step in the right direction. I would just have to give her time for the rest. "Can I consider you a friend, then? At least for now?"
The smile faded from her face, bringing with it a dark cloud over my heart, but returned a moment later, with a little more emotion behind it. "Sure, for now. You're doing good work, Evergreen. There aren't many ponies that can claim the same. And for the record: thanks for convincing me not to pull the trigger."
She turned around and faced Crosswire again, who was now staring at the two of us with his jaw hanging almost to the floor, his face a perfect study in shock. "Close your mouth, Crosswire. You'll let the bloatsprites in," Autumn stated as she sat back down.
"Please tell me that I either lost my sanity or that this is a dream, because it looks like you two just agreed to become friends," he finally stammered after a full minute of stumbling over words.
"'Fraid not. You guys wonder why I've been so quiet when we aren't fighting. This is why. I've been thinking this shit over almost every waking minute. Hell, if I'm being honest, you lot are the closest thing I've had to family since mine was killed. It's nice to feel accepted again," the dark mare answered, grabbing the remains of her snack cake and finishing it in a single bite.
Crosswire hung his head and shook it slowly. "The entire fucking wasteland has gone insane," he muttered, "Next thing you know, we'll be fighting alongside the fucking Enclave. Wait, that's happened too!"
Both Autumn and I couldn't help but to laugh at that, despite my melancholy. "So how about it, Crosswire? Can you finally get over the night we met her? We've managed to make up, at least in part. The least you could do is give her a chance as well," I suggested, sitting down next to them and grabbing a box of Sugar Bombs from my saddlebag.
The tech sighed heavily and shifted his gaze so that he was staring at me with a disapproving glare. "We've talked about this already, Evergreen," he stated flatly, "The way I was raised, forgiving her isn't even a possibility. I may not have liked what my first home was, but that doesn't mean that it didn't shape me."
"Where exactly were you raised, Crosswire?" I demanded sharply, frowning at the buck, "Because so far all I've heard from you is that it shaped you so much that you can't do a fucking thing for a mare that has repeatedly saved your life, yet you were able to join a Goddess-damned raider gang!"
His disapproving glare shifted to one of anger. "I told you I would talk about it when it became relevant," he snapped, "And right now, it isn't. I don't like thinking of that place, Evergreen, and for good reason. It's a safe settlement, good for ponies comfortable with following orders, but it smothered me. Anypony who tried to think for themselves, or act for themselves, was shunned. Why do you think I ended up out here?"
"I don't know!" I snapped back, "That's why I'm asking! How should I know how badly you were mistreated there if you never talk about it? Fuck, Crosswire, it's been years since you've lived there, and yet you still live by the morals they raised you with?"
"Not the same morals," he answered adamantly, "If I had done that, I would never have joined the gang. It's a thought process; a subconscious ordering of the world. That's why I still live by it, because I don't know how to live any other way."
"I understand exactly why you think that way," a familiar voice spoke up from behind us, "I was the same way for the longest time, until I managed to work up the guts to go out into the world. Then I learned that things are rarely as they appear."
I was instantly on my feet and running for the door the voice came from, where Suture was standing, her chest heavily wrapped under several layers of bandages, which were the only things that kept me from crushing her to the ground with my hug.
"Suture, you're awake!" I exclaimed, tears of relief and joy streaming unabashedly from my eyes.
"Yes, much to the dismay of the doctor. It took me nearly twenty minutes just to convince him to let me up," the maroon mare answered, lifting a hoof to wrap around my neck in return, "It doesn't help that he really didn't want to listen when I told him I know a thing or two about medicine."
"So how much did you hear?" Crosswire asked bluntly from his seat.
"Enough to know that you're being unnecessarily stubborn," Suture answered just as bluntly as she released me and started striding towards the tech, "If Autumn Mist could bring herself to recognize Evergreen's regret at her involvement in her family's deaths, then surely you should be able to do recognize her motivation behind her choices, and forgive her for acting out of ignorance."
Crosswire got to his feet, annoyance twisting his features. "None of you understand," he growled, "It isn't that simple!"
"And why not?" Suture pressed, walking until her nose was mere inches from his, giving him no ground to back away.
"Because it isn't!" he snapped, trying to turn away, but Suture turned with him, keeping him focused at the center of her stare.
"Look at her!" Suture demanded, lifting a hoof and pointing at the dark mare, who was still sitting across from the buck, a dazed look on her face, "She obviously regrets what happened. At the time, it was the right decision from where she stood, but she now knows differently and has tried to apologize. Why can't you lose some of that stubborn pride of yours and accept her apology?"
"Because she almost killed me!" he yelled in return, "If it weren't for you and Evergreen, I would be dead right now!"
"And she helped us save you," Suture snapped, "Did you really think that Evergreen wandered into a gang's headquarters entirely on her own? How stupid do you think she is?"
Crosswire slowly turned his gaze to look at Autumn, whose face was locked into an expression that would make a pony think she'd just been slapped. He held is gaze there for a few moments, then turned to me. I gave him the most disapproving glare I could manage.
Finally, after a minute of tense silence, he dropped his head and sighed, all signs of fight draining away from his body. "None of you are going to give up, are you?" he asked tiredly, "You're just going to keep pressing until one of us gives out?"
"Pretty much," I answered resolutely, "I'm going to be honest here, Crosswire. You were my first friend, and you are the pony I rely on the most. I know I don't show it much, but it's true. But that doesn't mean I won't speak up when you're just being plain stubborn. Autumn's a part of this group now, and we aren't helping each other if we are refusing to trust each other. When we're out there fighting, we need to know that we can rely on each other for anything if we're going to come out in once piece."
"All right, fine! You made your point, all of you," the buck finally admitted, turning to look at the sniper, "Autumn, I understand that that shot was fired with the belief that we were a group of raiders. From here on out, you can count on me during a fight. Everypony happy now?"
It wasn't entirely an apology for his treatment of her, but I felt like it was more than we were going to get out of him. All the same, Suture and I were grinning widely at the admission, but the biggest reaction was from Autumn Mist, who positively jumped on the buck in her relief. "Thank you, Crosswire!" she shouted in joy, bearing the larger buck to the ground. It was easy to forget just how young the mare still was, and it was moments like this that showed her youth.
"Why must there always be touching!" the buck exclaimed from under the dark mare, struggling to break free from her crushing hug, "And this doesn't mean that I completely approve of you joining us either!"
"Give her time, she'll grow on you," Suture answered with a grin, "Now, I'm not so dumb as to think that I'm strong enough to be walking about. Where would be the best place for me to rest?"
"Pick a bed," I answered, chuckling at Crosswire's antics while waving a hoof across the room, "We've got plenty."
Suture nodded and picked her way gingerly across the room to one of the beds, where she carefully lay down to watch as Crosswire finally managed to free himself from Autumn Mist.
"So it seems like things are finally coming together for us, aren't they?" Suture asked me, "Autumn and Crosswire are making progress, and it sounds like you and her are getting along as well."
"More or less," I admitted with a shrug, "but I'm not happy. It's my fault that we ended up here in the first place. No, don't say anything. I chose to go to the factory, despite knowing that Greymane was looking for us, and that was the first logical place he would look. Hell, it hasn't even been a week since I grabbed that damn message."
"Evergreen, we all agreed with your choice. Just because you made it doesn't mean we were forced to join you. We chose to follow you," the medic answered softly, "So stop fretting about it and simply accept that what happened, happened. We can't change it. At least everything turned out all right in the end."
"But you were almost killed, Suture! All because I was too cheap to want to pay for my own weapons or ammo!" I protested, "We could have simply traveled to Metro, paid for the guns, picked up my next job, then detoured to Buckview from there. Instead, I chose to take a risk and cut through hostile territory!"
"Yes, I was almost killed," Suture answered, her voice taking on a hard edge, though I couldn't tell if it was out of fear of what had happened to her, or out of her insistence that I stop beating myself up, "But I also happen to agree that the risk was worth it. Why would we pay for weapons or ammo we could get for free, especially since you and Crosswire had already cleared the place out? It was only logical. You couldn't have known that Greymane would be there."
"I should have been more prepared, though."
"Hindsight is twenty-twenty," she answered, "Now, you won't make that mistake again, but that doesn't mean that you should just squander what resources you have. Trust me, Evergreen, you made the right choice."
I sighed heavily and trudged over to where I had been eating and slowly lay down. "If you say so," I muttered.
"I do. Now, what was this about us fighting alongside Enclave? I heard Crosswire mention something about that earlier?" the medic asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Our glorious leader here has allied us with an Enclave soldier who claims to be a Dashite," Crosswire explained, "He's got gold-striped Enclave power armor, with the guns that go along with it, and even introduced himself as a sergeant."
"He explained that it was out of habit. He probably just came down to the surface recently," I argued.
"I agree with Evergreen," Suture put in, "From what I heard while living in Metro, the Enclave are extremely strict when it comes to their rules. Any sort of defacing of their armor would be punished severely. If he were Enclave, his armor would still be solid black. What was his name, and why did you ally with him?"
"His name's Steel Curtain," I answered, "And he was going to be headed out towards Stable 60 to look for other Dashites out there, probably the ones we ended up killing in the cavern. Once we told him they were dead, we found out his next lead was out east, towards Buckview. I figured it would be easier for us to work together than to run into each other and just get in each other's way while we were out there."
"Makes sense to me," Suture said, grinning, "We could use the extra guns, especially considering what we've been running into out here. Somepony with his experience could be a lot of help, especially if he decides to stick around."
"You think he would?" Crosswire asked, his voice pitched to communicate the most amount of sarcasm possible.
"I did," Autumn piped in, "And besides, if he's as idealistic as he sounds, he should practically be begging to join up, once he figures out exactly what we're up to."
"He didn't strike me as that idealistic," Crosswire argued, "He just seemed like a buck searching for ponies with the same experience as him."
"Are you kidding me?" Autumn snorted, laughing, "The way he was swearing about those two by the Stable ending up dead, he's hiding something that he's pissed about. Trust me, I know idealism. That buck is one of the worst of the lot. He'll want to help, especially if it means securing the future of this place."
"Well, it sounds like he will fit in perfectly with our merry little group," Suture said, chuckling, "I can't wait to meet him."
"Well, you'll get your chance tomorrow. We were planning on heading out then, if you're feeling up to it, of course," I said, turning to the maroon mare.
She sat quietly, her face expression thoughtful. "We'll see," she finally answered, "I'm not feeling very strong right now, but tomorrow, maybe."
"We'll play it by ear then. If we're lucky, we'll be able to start moving. If not, well, another day of rest really couldn't hurt, could it?" I pointed out.
"Exactly. I suggest we all get as much rest as we can, to make up for the last few days. The few nights we've had a roof over our heads have been surrounded by numerous near-death experiences. We could use a good night's rest for a change," Suture said, "So, if you all don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep." She promptly rolled over, and was soon snoring quietly to herself.
"She's got the right idea. It's been a stressful few days, and this has been one of the few days of rest we've had in the last week. I'm looking forward to what tomorrow is going to feel like," Crosswire stated as he stood and climbed up on his own bed.
The rest of us nodded our agreement and returned to our own beds. Hopefully my sleep tonight would be as peaceful as it had been last night.
oooOOOooo
"So here we are once again, Evergreen. After five long years of nothing, we finally get this chance to speak again." The dark voice belonged to a pony I had hoped never to see again. It had been a nightmare from my dreams during the days and weeks after my parents' deaths, and had returned to haunt me at various points in the years before I had been exiled from Grovedale. It seemed that returning here had brought it back to my mind as well.
Slowly, I lifted my head from my pillow and turned to face the source of the voice. As always, it came from the darkest corner, where the shadows hid it from plain sight. It was nothing more than a silhouette, a slightly darker shadow on an already black background, but that did not stop me from easily picking out the details. It was what it wanted, after all.
The pony was thin to the point of emaciation, each one of its bony ribs sticking out of its black hide that was so lackluster it seemed to be nothing more than a dark shade of grey. Its shaggy, jet-black mane hung down around its face, shielding most of it from view, but the red coals of its eyes stood out in stark contrast, burning a hole straight into my soul and dragging every single one of my secrets out into the open to be judged. On its flank, resting almost as a symbol of torment to me, was a picture of two skulls seated next to each other, as though the two ponies they belonged to were locked in some embrace. I didn't need to ask to know that the skulls belonged to my parents.
"Why have you come back?" I asked, just barely keeping my voice from shaking. Seeing this pony again made my heart quake in my chest, but there was little to nothing I could do except let this nightmare follow its own course. Trying to run had never worked in the past.
"Oh, my sweet Evergreen, I never left," the dark pony cooed, its voice sickly sweet. I could almost see the corners of its mouth turning up in that mocking smile it had. "I have been living inside your mind all these years, gently nudging you down the path I wish you to travel."
"If that is true, then why is this the first time I've seen you in five years? And why would you say there was nothing if you've been here all that time?" I demanded, re-settling myself so I could be ready to move at a moment's notice.
"Simply because I am here does not mean that I do not desire conversation, my dear, dear Evergreen," the pony chided me, shifting about in its corner, the shadows shifting about its body like water flowing over a log in a river, "Though I have been with you all this time, I did not have the power to speak with you."
"Then what's the difference now?" I snapped, "You spoke with me then because I was lost and afraid. I was a filly trapped in a world I didn't understand, having just lost my parents to a force I couldn't comprehend! That is what gave you power! Now, I am collected and confident! I know my place in the world and I have friends that will stand by my side no matter what!"
A low, menacing laugh spread through the room, chilling me to the bone and leaving me feeling weak and exposed, like the battered and broken filly I had been so long ago. "Oh, are you really so sure of that, my sweet?" the pony asked, then suddenly vanished from my sight.
I felt a terror unlike any I had ever felt before grip my heart in a vise. As it started to hammer in response, I felt like the grip tighten, making me feel as though my heart would explode. My breath caught in my throat, and I started to hyperventilate as panic gripped me. Just when I was sure I was going to black out, the pressure disappeared and I collapsed onto the sheets of my bed, panting as I fought to gather my breath.
"You forget that I see into the depths of your very soul, Evergreen," the pony said, its voice coming from just over my shoulder. Despite my desire to, I could not bring myself to turn my head to look it in the eye. "You say you are collected, and you claim to have found your confidence, but I see the truth. I see your fear, the terror that grips you when you think of what might happen to these precious friends of yours, what might happen if their lives were to be ripped from their bodies and cast into the mud, or of what could happen if they chose to leave you, forsaking you for what you are on the inside.
I also see your shame, and your guilt. It was your fault she was nearly killed, yours alone, and yet you try to take her excuses and use them for yourself, pushing the blame away and settling it on the shoulders of chance. You forget that I know you as well as you know yourself, and taking excuses has never been your way. Shoulder the blame you deserve. Your place in this life is not nearly as secure as you seem to believe. The smallest slip and your life shall be gone, snuffed out in an instant, ended by your so-called friends."
"That will only be if I truly slip back to that abyss of a life that I was leading! She made that perfectly clear!" I snapped, shutting out its arguments, refusing to believe that they could be truth.
The voice disappeared from my shoulder and the pony reformed in the shadows in the corner. "Use your mind, Evergreen. I know that is one of the few things you are still capable of. She does not forgive you, will not forgive you, and she never can forgive you. How far of a step is it from there to simply ending your existence. One life in payment for countless innocent souls lost to your all-consuming rage. It only seems fair."
"To you maybe," I growled, "but you thrive on chaos and destruction. You find your nourishment in blood and war. We are allies now... Friends even! You won't take that from me! You can't."
"Can't I?" the pony asked, taking a step forward, bringing itself into the dim ambient light that was falling through the windows. The hide on its legs seemed to change color as it stepped into the light, shifting from that pale black to a much richer color, almost brown, but tinged with something else. I tore my gaze away before its face came into view. I didn't want to see what horrors it would show me this time. "You forget what it is I am capable of. But that is no matter. You will learn again soon enough."
"You think I fear you as I did all those years ago," I growled, searching desperately for the rage within me to back up my words, "I was young and foolish then. But I've learned better. The wasteland twisted me, tore me down, but I dragged myself out of the abyss. You will not cast me back into that hell!"
"I recall those same words being spoken five years ago. They did not help you then and they will not help you now," the voice intoned as it took another step, its hooves echoing loudly on the faux-tile floor.
"I didn't know what it would take to back my words up then. I've learned better now," I responded, but my voice had begun to shake. The rage wouldn't come. Where I usually found it hiding was nothing more than a cold hollow, an empty space filled with the same terror and fear that were now coursing through my body, "You may know me better than anypony else alive, but I still know myself better! I have found what path I need to walk, and nopony will stop me from doing so. Only I have that power, and I don't intend to use it!"
"Oh, my dear, sweet Evergreen. That is where you were wrong. You forget one major detail: I am you." There was another hoofstep as the pony settled itself right by my bed.
Slowly, I turned to face it and stared squarely into the same face that I saw every time I looked into a mirror, or a still puddle. The only difference were the eyes, which, instead of echoing the dark, forest green of my eyes, glowed like a pair of hot coals in a dying fire. I could also finally make out the difference of her brown coat when compared to mine. It was coated in blood.
oooOOOooo
I burst back into wakefulness with a gasp and nearly fell out of my bed in my rush to get out. My entire body was covered in a cold sweat and my breath came in only short bursts. When I finally freed myself from my sheets, my body refused to respond to my commands, and I tumbled onto the floor with a crash that must have been loud enough to wake everypony else in the infirmary. As they started to move about in their beds, trying to see what was going on, I simply curled up on myself and closed my eyes, trying to guard myself from the terror I had just experienced.
But closing my eyes made it worse. I could still see the red glare of a pair of merciless eyes, set into my own face, staring at me and compelling me to violence, trying to force me to return to the life I had cast aside.
I curled up even tighter, trying to fight away the powerful emotions that were at war in my own body, threatening to tear me apart with the strength of their conflict. Fear and rage in equal parts were tearing at me, both vying for dominance, terrifying me into what would happen should the latter win.
I also felt grief and regret, trying to rip me in a third direction, deep into a dark pit centered where my heart should have been. If I fell in there, I doubted I would ever be able to drag myself back, no matter how hard I tried or how much support was given to me. The only thing that would be left would be an empty shell, the remains of a pony that had once been driven to finding a better solution.
As if from a distance, I could hear hooves approaching me over the tile floor of the infirmary as ponies I knew were my friends approached me. Yet my mind would not allow me to acknowledge them, assigning instead the identity of the pony that had just come to me in my dreams. In my mind's eye, I was surrounded by that being, one each for each emotion trying to tear me apart.
"Evergreen, what's happening?" I heard a soft feminine voice ask, "Are you all right?" The voice was thick with concern, the logical side of my mind told me, but somehow the terrified filly in me twisted the words to be threatening.
Even so, I slowly lifted my head and looked around, taking in what I could, praying for a way out of this nightmare. As I looked, I saw three copies of myself, but with slight differences. On one side of me was a copy of me, but with a bright orange, scraggly mane. The face was one of regret and sadness. That was not a pit that I wanted to fall into.
The second had a multicolored mane, made up of all sorts of fall colors: reds, browns, yellows, and oranges, but the face that mane belonged to was twisted into one of anger and hatred, a path that I refused to return to.
The last copy of me was the one that had spoken. This version of me had a blue mane, held in check by a simple black headband. This pony's face was one of fear and worry, but not for herself. Rather, it was worry and fear for the well-being of someone she saw as a friend.
I reached out a hoof to that version of myself, tears of pure terror now streaming down my face. "Help me, please," I begged, my voice cracking, "Make it go away."
"Evergreen, what's wrong?" the blue-maned me asked, stepping towards me, "Please, talk to me! I can help, but you have to tell me what's wrong!"
As she stepped towards me, the ambient light from the infirmary's window lit her up, chasing away the shadows that my terrified mind has crafted, leaving me looking up at the soft, worried expression on Suture's face.
"Suture," I breathed, relief flowing through me, "Thank the Princesses, it's you. I... it was terrible."
"What happened to you Evergreen?" I heard another voice ask, this one male.
I turned my voice to look, finally regaining control over my conscious mind, and saw Crosswire step towards me, a look of concern plastered on his face, the regret and sadness that had been present before gone, banished back to the dark corners of my mind.
"Seriously, I've never seen you do anything like this! You're normally the one of us that sleeps the best!" the last voice stated. This one was young and harsh.
Even though I knew who it belonged to, I still turned my head to confirm it, and was met with an Autumn Mist that was actually worried, the emotions that my mind had given her banished.
Surrounded by my friends, all of whom were bearing expressions that truly told me I could count on them, finally chased away the last of the shadows that were clouding my mind, allowing me to think freely. Shakily, I rose to my hooves and wandered over to a stool, where I promptly sat down. My friends followed me, keeping their distance to give me the privacy I needed to gather my scattered thoughts.
Slowly, I managed to relate the parts of the dream that were still clear in my mind: the image of myself, coated in blood and with a cutie mark of my parents' skulls, with eyes the color of burning coals and the fight in which I was sure I had barely kept myself from plunging back into the depths of what I had been. The telling took far longer than I had expected, as trying to relate the images often brought them back to my mind at full strength, rendering me speechless as terror gripped me.
When I finally managed to finish the tale, my friends were watching me with shocked and worried expressions. Crosswire in particular appeared to have no clue what to say or how to react. The ambient light of the infirmary was also gaining in brightness as the sun rose behind the clouds, chasing away the darkness of the night and leaving us with some semblance of safety once again.
"So you're saying that this... specter, or whatever, has been living in your head for almost eight years?" Autumn asked incredulously as my story finally drew to a close, "And to top it all off, it looks exactly like you, just with red eyes and a different cutie mark?"
"Still just sounds like a bad dream to me," Crosswire stated, albeit a bit too quickly for me to truly believe that he was speaking his mind, "It's how the mind works. It grabs random bits of memory and tosses them all together. Sometimes the result is kinda scary."
"Kinda scary?" I growled, "No, Crosswire. This wasn't a nightmare. That thing that is in my head, it knows me, better than I know myself by the look of things. I'm telling you, it was trying to drive me back to being a raider. Whatever it is, it thrives on the death and the fighting. That's why I haven't seen it in these last years, because I was doing exactly what it wanted me to."
"Are you sure it isn't just part of your mind that your subconscious has made real?" Suture asked me, her voice soft and soothing, and the only thing still keeping me together.
I was badly shaken, and I think only Suture truly knew how bad it was. Crosswire had seen me in uncomfortable situations and forced into positions where I had to make tough choices, but this was different. This was some kind of outside power, battling with me for the path of my life.
In response to Suture's question, I shook my head violently. "Not a chance," I vocalized, "Not the way it speaks with me. If it were some sort of dream with something my subconscious made up, I would have known from the beginning who it was supposed to be. When it haunted me before I left Grovedale, it was just a black pony with a disfigured face. Sometimes it would have a bullet hole in its chest, like the one my dad died from, or a bullet hole in its head, like what killed my mom, but this was the first time it showed itself as being me."
"But it's always been a pony that's related to you, or somepony that you've known all your life, right?" Crosswire asked. The way he pitched the question made it sound like he was grasping at options that would lead to a normal explanation for what I had experienced. But I knew the truth: there was no normal explanation.
"Not always," I answered, "Towards the beginning, I actually welcomed its presence. It appeared as one of my parents, whole and healthy, and it would speak to me as they did. I actually believed it was them. Now I know it was just using them to trick me, a feat that it's been mocking me over for the last eight years. The first time I followed through with one of its suggestions: just a simple theft for a bit of extra food, it started to change.
It became a monster, something I feared to see. There were weeks where I would spend days without sleep and I'd be completely useless at my work assignments, too tired to focus on the job at hand, but too terrified of sleep to actually get any rest. It started showing itself as ponies from around the town that I had seen die: some that had died in accidents, and some that had died in the occasional raider attacks. But every time, it made sure that they were gruesome."
"This doesn't make any sense!" Crosswire growled, "There has to be some sort of explanation! These kind of things just don't happen! Why were you targeted, huh? What made you more special than anypony else? I'm telling you, it's probably just a recurring nightmare!"
"It is not a nightmare! I know nightmares, and that thing never felt like a nightmare. I think it came for me because I was weak. I had nothing left in my life: my parents were dead and I lived in a town that allowed for little, if any, personal growth. Why do you think I can't clearly remember what I was like before leaving this place? Becoming a raider completely re-wrote my personality. I've spent the last week battling to find a balance between what I remember and what I became," I answered quietly, "I was the perfect target: a young mare with nopony taking any special care of me, left to grieve on my own."
"But why have we never heard of anything like this happening before? I hate to be the one trying to interrogate you or tear you down, Evergreen, but you're hardly anypony special! Hell, Autumn basically had the same childhood you did, so why doesn't she have a ghost in her head?" Crosswire snapped angrily, starting to pace around the room while he tried to piece together the sparse bits of information I had.
"Oh, I had my demons to face, Crosswire," the dark mare spoke up, "Nothing like that, but then, I had more of a childhood than she did, anyway. She didn't kill my parents till four years ago, and even then I was a few years older than she had been when hers were killed. Same situation, but the details are different."
"But what is this thing?" he growled, "Ghosts don't just appear out of nowhere! It had to come from somewhere!"
"I may have an answer for you, Crosswire," a voice called from the entrance.
Standing in the doorway was the massive form of Steel Curtain. As it had been yesterday, his helmet was clipped to his armor, leaving his head in the open, except now he was wearing a set of saddlebags that appeared to be packed to the breaking point, and that was in addition to whatever he had stored in his armor itself.
"What do you mean?" Suture asked quietly.
"You must be Suture," the massive buck intoned, stepping into the room and setting his saddlebags on the floor before joining us, "It's good to see you recovering."
"Thank you, but what do you mean when you say you might have an answer? Have you come across something like this before?" Suture asked curiously. I could understand her curiosity, since it could very much be considered a medical condition.
"I didn't hear the whole conversation, just those last few exchanges," the buck started, "and what I know isn't really the same, just similar. There was a soldier in the army I knew a few years back that came across a cave that wasn't on any of our maps. When he scouted it, he found... something... buried inside. I'm still not sure what it was, but it was powerful. It killed a whole wing of soldiers before we said 'fuck it' and just dropped a couple dozen bombs into the damn cave and sealed it up."
"And what does that have to do with this?" Crosswire demanded angrily, "That was something physical and explainable. How the hell does it relate to what we're facing here?"
"Because the maps we were using had survived since well before the war. I have it on good accounts that they came straight out of the archives in Canterlot, which means they had been drawn by the best map-makers in the damn country. We didn't make mistakes like that. The only option is that that cave had been magically sealed for at least a thousand years, if not more," Steel Curtain argued, gesturing wildly with his hooves. It seemed that, even though he picked his words carefully, he was very animated when he did speak.
"I'm still missing how this has anything to do with our problem," Crosswire maintained, finally sitting down in a huff next to me, a stormy expression on his face.
Steel Curtain let out an exasperated sigh and his mane seemed like it was almost a live fire when he slowly shook his head. "Because you aren't listening to me, Crosswire. The enchantment that dissipated off of that cave had been in place for at least a thousand years, and there are very few ponies that are, or were, capable of that kind of magic. I can only think of two."
"The Princesses," I muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
"Exactly," Steel Curtain confirmed, nodding, "Early Equestria was a very dangerous place. Before Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, both she and Princess Celestia had been the guardians of Equestria and the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, much as the Ministry Mares were when Nightmare Moon returned. It stands to reason that they placed many enchantments and spells to keep the rest of us safe from the dangers they were required to face.
It also makes sense that they would link those enchantments to their own lives. Being alicorns, they were essentially immortal. All it would require from them is an occasional renewal of the enchantment, and it could be maintained indefinitely. But with their deaths, the enchantments would begin to fade. It would take a long time, because even in death, alicorns are powerful beings, and those two held the power of gods, which is why we've heard nothing until now. It's taken over two centuries for their magic to fade this much. But now, the enchantments are beginning to break, or at least wear down enough that whatever they were containing has the strength to influence Equestria once again."
"So you think that whatever is in my head is something that was banished by the Princesses thousands of years ago?" I asked, voice shaking slightly at the concept. If I had to battle against something so powerful that it took two alicorns to vanquish, what hope did I have against it?
Steel Curtain nodded silently. "It makes the most sense, and holds to what I have seen," he said a moment later, making my heart sink, "but don't be too frightened by the thought. Don't forget that when the Elements of Harmony passed to their next bearers, they were just a group of friends living in Ponyville, the small town in the shadow of Canterlot. If they had the strength to face evils like Nightmare Moon and Discord, and emerge victorious, then you and your friends have the strength to face this evil. It will only control you so long as you allow it to. That is your advantage: it lives only in your mind and can't affect you physically."
I nodded slowly, but the words did little to reassure me. I was still terrified, especially now that the best theory to what was attacking me was some great evil that had been sealed away by a pair of beings that all of ponykind considered akin to gods. "Thanks, it helps," I lied. I had to present a bold front to my friends. It's what they expected from me.
"Good, all you need to do is trust in your friends. Now, to more immediate concerns: Suture, are you strong enough for travel? Time is limited, and I would like to begin our journey as soon as possible," the Pegasus announced, turning his green gaze on the medic.
"I... I suppose I can travel," Suture answered slowly, "We'll need to be careful, and I won't be particularly fast, but I should be able to make the journey."
"Wonderful. We have a long journey ahead of us. It will take us most of the day simply to make it to Buckview. If I were flying there on my own, I could make the trip in half the time, but as you were so kind to point out yesterday, Evergreen, I don't entirely know what I am going to be facing out there. Best to face it with a group at my back than on my own," Steel Curtain announced, "I'll go get Just Law so you can have your weapons returned. I suggest you gather the rest of your gear while I am away."
With that, the armored Pegasus rose, pulled on his saddlebags, and walked out the door into the town. The rest of us wordlessly went about our preparations, pulling on our battered barding and settling what gear we still had with us in our bags. It took us less than ten minutes to prepare, but by then, Steel Curtain had already returned.
"Well, Ah can't say that Ah'm sad to see ya leavin', Evergreen," Just Law announced as he entered the building, flanked by several town guards that were carrying our weapons.
"Yup, I'm finally getting out of your mane, Just Law," I said, wandering over to the guards, "You bucks mind dropping our guns? We've got a lot of ground to cover today."
The guards glared angrily at me, but did as I asked, dropping all of our gear in an untidy pile at my hooves. Almost the same moment as the weapons hit the ground, a yellow glow surrounded Autumn's heavy sniper and a slim, black, semi-automatic 10mm pistol; the sidearm Crosswire had grabbed to give to the dark mare if we ever had to fight in close quarters, and floated both weapons over to herself.
A green glow appeared at the same time and gripped a pair of SMGs, which soared through the air towards the tech. "Good, they gave us the extra gear I picked up yesterday as well," he mused as he loaded both guns. Thankfully, the guards had allowed us to keep our ammunition, otherwise returning our gear would have been a logistical nightmare.
Not being a unicorn, I had to bend down and grab my weapons the old-fashioned way: one-by-one. My .45 was swiftly sequestered in my saddlebag, but close enough to the top that I would be able to grab it quickly, should the need arise. Hammer I slid into its holster, making sure that it was fully loaded and within easy reach before bending down for my knife, which took its usual place on my left shoulder. There were even a couple of frag grenades in the mix that I quickly deposited in my saddlebags.
Suture was the last to fetch her weapon, but since it was just a single 9mm pistol, it didn't take her long to grab it, load it, and slide it into its holster. Part of me was sad to see just how used the innocent maroon mare was becoming to handling the weapon. I had been the one who had forced her to fire a gun for the first time, and she was already starting to behave like she knew exactly how to use it. Something about that was awfully sad.
Once we were loaded and ready to go, Just Law and his guards escorted us back to the gate, which was already standing open, ready for our departure. We walked through, out into the wasteland proper, which was under the assault of a light drizzling rain, seemingly oblivious to my troubles, just as it always was.
As Just Law was turning to leave, I stopped and called back to him. "Just Law, hold on a second! I need to tell you something!"
The grey buck stopped in his tracks and turned back to me, an unhappy frown on his face. "Make it quick then, Evergreen. Ah've got work to do!"
"Thank you for helping me. You didn't need to, but you did. You saved my friend's life, and I can't thank you enough for that," I said, getting a small amount of amusement from the shocked expression that crossed over the harsh buck's face.
"Ah didn't have much choice," he growled at me, not quite rough enough to hide his surprise at the thanks, "After all, we ain't a heartless group of raiders."
"I know," I answered, "That's why my parents chose to try to make it here. It's good to see that somepony is still making sure that those ideals hold true."
The buck remained silent for a few moments as he mulled over my words. "Good travels, Evergreen," he finally said, all hints of anger dropping away from his voice, "May ya find a better path than the one ye've been travelin'."
"And you as well, Just Law," I said, before turning around and starting down the road that would guide us east, to Buckview, and whatever new horrors it would hold.
Our pace was slower than it would normally have been, which was unsurprising, considering that Suture was still recovering from her close experience with death. Steel Curtain flew a short distance ahead of us, occasionally circling around behind us, keeping a constant watch on the wasteland, and setting my mind that much more at ease.
The path we were following was not as well-worn as I would have expected, especially after we passed the fork that led north, towards Metro and Seaddle itself. From all accounts I had ever heard Buckview had been a bustling town with a relatively large population. With a reputation like that, I would have expected the road to be better-traveled. A mere week with no contact would not lead to this much decay.
As was the usual, the road was choked with ruined vehicles, no doubt the remains of ponies trying to flee the apocalypse. Instead, their vehicles became their coffins, and the only testament left to the lives they had led. Many of the wagons we passed held skeletons, the corpses of the families that were simply trying to survive. And we were what was left.
Midday was just approaching when Steel Curtain swooped down a short distance ahead of us and waved with a wing, signaling for us to catch up as soon as possible. We sped up to a canter, rejoining the armored Pegasus quickly. He was standing atop a ruined skywagon, grim gaze set solidly on something to the northeast of us.
"What's the matter?" I asked, panting slightly at the exertion, "Did you see something?"
Steel Curtain nodded slowly, his grim expression darkening even further. "A slaver camp, just to the north of here. Not a major one, just a temporary shelter, probably some slavers escorting some of their 'stock' to the Mill." He positively spat the name out, his face set into an expression of disgust and anger.
"Is this worth out effort?" Crosswire asked, "We're already taking a detour from where we should be headed, Evergreen. Surely going out of our way to mess with these slavers isn't worth it. Plus, these slave gangs have a lot of influence in the wasteland proper, I know you know that. We fuck with them, and we will end up tier one on their shit list, which is not a good place to be."
"I know," I muttered, trying to come to a decision. On the one hoof, those slaves would probably come to our rescue, were our positions reversed. On the other, Crosswire had a very good point. If we drew the attention of the slavers, and not in a way that pissed them off, they would devote every resource at their disposal to taking us out.
"The Enclave treats its civilians enough like slaves that I cannot condone this behavior. We are allies so far as Buckview is concerned, Evergreen, but I am going to do something about those slavers, whether or not you are with me," Steel Curtain announced. There was a dull thumping sound as the buck readied the two miniguns mounted to his armor.
"You don't have to worry about it," I said, finally coming to a decision, "We're going to help."
"You sure about this?" Crosswire asked me, a worried expression on his face, "We have a job to do, Evergreen. This is just another distraction."
"Wouldn't you want somepony to come to your aid if you were being held as a slave?" I demanded, turning on the buck, "Also, you made a point of looking for decisiveness from me. Well, here it is. I want to help those ponies. That's why we're out here, doing what we're doing. Now, who's with me?"
"Just point me in the right direction," Autumn announced, pulling out her rifle and chambering a round, "Fuckers like them need to be taught a lesson. I'm more than happy to do the teaching!"
"I'll hang back. I'd just get in the way in a fight," Suture said meekly, "If you get the slaves free during the fighting, point them in my direction."
I nodded at the medic, then turned to Steel Curtain. "All right, we're behind you. Here's what I have in mind: Autumn will sit back with her rifle and pick them off at range. Steel Curtain, I want to come in from above. Do a few strafing runs, and keep them from digging in. Keeping them on their hooves, not knowing where the next attack is going to come from will work in our favor. Crosswire, make a break for the slaves and get them free. I'm going to do what I do best."
"Which is?" Steel Curtain asked, sounding a bit put off with me giving the orders.
"I'm going to walk down there before the shooting and tell them to free their slaves and walk away, with a heavy emphasis on never doing it again. I'm not expecting that they're going to listen, but it's worth the attempt. Once they start shooting, you guys are going to come in, and I'm going to do the most damage I can with Hammer."
"Any particular target for me at the start of this shit?" Autumn asked me.
"The pony in charge, if you can find them. If they have their slaves strung up as I am expecting they do, they are going to be wearing slave collars, and I mean the explosive kind. It's usually the head slaver who's holding the detonator, so I want him taken out first," I said, getting a quick nod in response.
"How well do your plans usually work?" Steel Curtain asked me, his tone apprehensive. He was standing in a way that could only be described as superior. He was obviously not comfortable with taking orders from a pony he saw as a simple wastelander.
"Well enough," I answered, "I used a similar plan on a group of raiders a couple days ago, and we took them apart rather handily. With you in the mix, this fight should be a piece of cake. Did you happen to see how many of them there were?"
"Two dozen, at most. Some of them might have been slaves," the Pegasus answered, "but their weapons appeared to be better than the usual quality, more on the level of what you're using."
"Only raiders use shitty weapons," I said, "Everypony else usually takes fairly good care of their guns. Well, if we're all set, let's move. We still have a lot of ground to cover today."
Everypony nodded their agreement, and we set off to the northwest, towards the camp. As we topped a rise that brought us into sight of the camp, Autumn and Suture broke off from the group, with the former taking up her usual half-sitting, half-lying stance that she used when sniping.
Steel Curtain took off into the air, flying straight up until he appeared to be nothing more than a small dot just under the cloud cover, his dark armor blending in perfectly with the dark clouds. Crosswire and I continued down the hill, approaching the camp confidently, making sure that we were walking with authority and confidence. We did not want to be mistaken for potential victims.
While we walked, I was careful to take in as much of the layout of the camp that I could. The slavers had pitched their tents in a rough circle around their fire, which appeared to be a sad excuse for a fire from this range. The slaves were chained up to a series of stakes driven into the ground about twenty yards away from the tents: close enough for the slavers to keep an eye on them, but far enough away that they didn't have to deal with it. The rest of the campsite was open ground, with nothing larger than a few hoof-sized rocks to break up the surface.
A pair of ponies trotted out to meet us, stopping a few dozen yards from the camp itself. "Stop there!" one of them, a red buck with a mangy green mane, announced, "Don't take another step if you know what's good for ya!"
In complete rebuttal of the buck's orders, I continued forward until I was standing a mere ten feet from the pair, wearing the angriest expression that I could manage. The buck was now glaring at me with blatant rage, furious that I had so purposely ignored him.
"I'm going to give you this one chance," I announced, putting every shred of confidence and righteous anger that I could muster into the words, "Free your slaves and walk away from this life. This is the only warning I'm going to give you. Ignore it, and I will free those slaves the hard way."
The buck's expression shifted from one of rage to one of disbelief, and his face split in a large grin. "You are going to give us a chance to walk away?" he asked mockingly, almost laughing at the thought, "Who the fuck do you think you are? You're no one! And yet, here you are, trying to give me orders! Me, Chainlink of the Mill! You haven't got a clue who you're dealing with, cunt."
"I know I'm dealing with a self-important jackass who doesn't know the first thing about watching his surroundings, or you would already know that you are sorely outmatched. If you'd been listening to the radio, you'd know exactly who I am," I growled, "And I will make sure those ponies go free."
The buck, Chainlink, started to laugh, a deep, evil sound that seemed incapable of actually communicating anything even closely resembling joy. "Oh, we've got a bad case of hero worship here, Rose Blossom!" he bellowed, laughing so hard he was actually shaking, nudging the dark red mare next to him, "This cunt thinks that just because she can go out and buy a gun that she's some sort of hot shot! She's probably never pulled the trigger a single fucking time in her pitiful life! I'll give you kudos for spirit kid, but you just walked squarely into the eye of a shit storm!"
In one smooth motion, I pulled Hammer from its holster and fired a round square into the red mare's head, not even bothering with S.A.T.S. It wasn't necessary at this range. Her skull exploded like a melon, sending blood, bone, and bits of brain in every direction, splattering Chainlink with gore. His expression was now one of horror and rage.
"Have I got your attention now, fucker?" I asked darkly, enunciating every world carefully around the revolver in my mouth, "I assure you, I am every bit as dangerous as the radio messages imply. I know I said I'd only give you one chance, but I'm feeling generous. Get the fuck out of here, swear you'll never return to slaving again, and I will let you live. Fight me, and I promise not a single one of you will survive the day."
"You... Rose... The fuck is wrong with you, cunt!" Chainlink stammered, "We are an entire slave gang here, fourteen ponies more than capable of tearing the two of you fucks brand new holes for us to have fun with! I see only two of you!"
By now, other ponies from the camp were started to wander in our direction, drawn by the sound of my gunshot. All of them wore dark expressions and were carrying, or floating, various weapons with them. They had everything from revolvers to assault rifles, an impressive armory, if I cared.
"You should have been more careful counting," I stated simply, then stepped to the side, hoping that it was enough space for Autumn to take a shot.
"Wha..." Chainlink started, but was cut short by a sniper round punching through his skull, destroying his head and leaving behind little but a bloody mess. His body fell wetly to the ground, splashing in the pool of blood that had already been formed by Rose Blossom's body.
If my shot hadn't been enough to make the slavers want to kill me, Autumn's shot sealed the deal. The slavers opened fire, filling the air with lead, sending both Crosswire and me diving to the ground in an attempt to get away.
"Crosswire, grab the detonator off Chainlink's body! He's got to have it! Then get to the slaves and get them the fuck out of here!" I shouted, waving at the buck to get moving.
Another rifle shot tore through the wasteland, except the sound was significantly different than Autumn's rifle. This one made hers sound like a BB gun. The round struck the ground in front of me, sending a spray of dirt and rock a full three feet into the air. "Fuck me with a barbed-wire baseball bat!" I swore, jumping back to my hooves and running as fast as I could to get away from the target zone of that gun. I did not want to see what would happen if it hit me.
Turning my gaze to the landscape in front of me, I noticed three ponies bearing down on me, two of them unicorns floating SMGs. The third was an Earth pony mare holding a revolver. Once I came within twenty feet of them, they opened fire, the low caliber rounds ricocheting off of my armor. When the Earth pony mare opened fire with the revolver, the bullet flew higher than the others and clipped my neck, making me stumble in shock as I felt warm blood flow out of the wound. An inch to the side, and the round would have cut clean through one of my arteries.
I held my fire until they were only a dozen feet from me, then slipped into S.A.T.S. It was time to see how well the system would hold up when I was running at a full gallop. I lined up three shots, the first two targeted at the unicorns, and the last on the Earth Pony. If I was lucky, I would kill all of them without missing a step.
Time snapped back to reality and the rounds fired. The first two were perfectly on target, felling both unicorns in midstride and sending their SMGs tumbling to the ground. By the time the last round fired, the Earth Pony was far too close for me to be able to hit her, even with S.A.T.S., and the round flew wide, cleanly missing her over the shoulder.
The mare drove herself into me, driving me to the ground with the force of her momentum. Had I been expecting her to dodge around me, it wouldn't have happened, yet it seemed that these slavers were more insane than I gave them credit for.
We rolled in the dirt, locked together in a grapple for dominance, before finally coming to rest a few feet later, the other mare on top and swinging her head around to shove the barrel of the gun against my head.
I already had one experience staring down the barrel of a gun, and I had not enjoyed it the first time. This time, I was straight-up pissed. "You fucked with the wrong bitch, asshole!" I shouted around Hammer, which I had somehow managed to hold on to, and bucked up with my hips, throwing the mare off balance and letting me get my left foreleg free, which I then used to smash my Pipbuck against her head, sending her reeling, and letting me scramble back to my hooves.
I turned, and fired a single round into the mare's head, ending her life, before turning to survey the rest of the battlefield. Four other ponies were dead, two of them obviously killed by Autumn Mist, and the other two peppered with holes that looked to fit the damage dealt by Crosswire's SMG. Which meant there were only five slavers left.
Three of them were clustered together, firing wildly in Autumn's direction, completely ignoring both me and Crosswire. I had no clue where the other two were. It was as I started running at that trio when I heard a sound unlike anything I had ever heard before.
The best description I could think of was the sound of a chain rattling against another piece of metal, but even that didn't do it justice. I arched my head up, trying to get a look at what was creating the sound, when Steel Curtain swooped down from the air, tracers flying from the spinning miniguns mounted to his armor. It was those guns that were the source of the sound, and as I watched, the tracers cut a clean path through the clustered slavers, who were shredded to ribbons by the sheer volume of fire that was spewing forth from Pegasus. It took less than three seconds for Steel Curtain to complete the flyby, and that was all it took to reduce the force facing us down to two.
"Steel Curtain, do you know where that fucking sniper is?" I shouted, hoping the Pegasus would hear me.
His dark form twisted around in the air and darted back down towards me, where he came to a hover. "I saw Autumn Mist take a few shots in his direction," he shouted back at me, "but I'm not sure if she hit him."
Before I could answer, the rifle sounded again, and I could only stand and watch in horror as the round punched clean through one of the wing sheath's of Steel Curtain's armor, sending him tumbling to the ground in an uncontrolled crash.
Immediately, three shots echoed through the wasteland in response, all with the familiar retort of Autumn's rifle. I dashed forward towards the Pegasus, unable to do anything about the situation except hope that the dark mare hit the fucker and kept him from killing me.
"Steel Curtain, you all right?" I shouted as I came up to the fallen Pegasus' still form. For a moment, I feared that he had somehow injured himself even further in the crash, but when I neared, I saw him drag himself back to his hooves, turn to face the direction the enemy sniper was shooting from, and simply unload with his twin miniguns, roaring defiance at the wasteland. He kept the fire up until both guns started rattling on empty barrels, every last round fired.
I skidded to a stop by his side, my ears ringing when his weapons finally spun down and asked again, "You all right?"
"I'll be fine. I won't be able to fly for a few days, but I will live," he answered gruffly, hitting a control on his armor that reloaded his weapons with a loud thunk, "Thank you for your concern. Come, let's check on Crosswire. There are no more slavers here."
"But we only killed twelve!" I protested, "There are still two more! If they escape, they'll get word back to the Mill about who interrupted them, then we'll all be targets!"
"Do you see a way to chase those two down without getting ourselves killed in the bargain?" the Pegasus asked darkly, turning to face me with an expression that was equal parts rage and pain.
When I didn't answer immediately, my gaze flitting to his side where blood was flowing freely from his injured wing, staining the dark armor red, he kept going, "That's what I thought. All we can do is play the hand we are dealt. This is ours. We now know that they will be looking for us, and so we will be prepared for when it happens. The advantage is ours."
He didn't give me a chance to respond, instead marching towards where Crosswire was working furiously to free the slaves of their collars. I stood in place, jaw hanging open, completely dumbstruck. How, in all that was holy, could the advantage be ours? In a few days, we would be number one on the shit list for every slaver in the entire region, and Steel Curtain claimed that the advantage was ours? He was out of his mind, like every other feather-brained idiot above the clouds.
I shook my head slowly and followed after the armored Pegasus, who was standing a short distance away from Crosswire, who had his attention completely focused on a buck's collar. Already, five of the slaves were free and galloping towards where Suture and Autumn Mist were waiting. The remaining three were lined up in front of the grey buck, anxious and hopeful expressions on their faces.
"How are things going here, Crosswire?" I asked as we approached, "We took care of the slavers, but a couple of them look like they're going to get away."
"How the fuck is that possible? We've got a damn Pegasus on our side. He should be able to outrun them," the buck answered briefly, before returning his full concentration to the captive pony he was working on.
"One of them was in possession of an anti-material rifle. The round punched through my armor and crippled one of my wings," Steel Curtain responded, his tone strained. I could tell that he was trying to keep his pain from controlling him, and banishing all emotion seemed to be his strategy for that.
"Hmmm, guess that would explain it," Crosswire mused as the collar he was working on popped free. He tossed it to the side, on top of a pile of five other collars, and beckoned for the next pony to step forward.
She did so eagerly, knocking into the buck in her haste. "Oh thank you, thank you!" she said, practically crying with joy, "We didn't think anypony was going to save us."
"We couldn't sit by and do nothing, ma'am," Steel Curtain intoned, "It is our duty to help those in need."
"What... Enclave?" the mare muttered, turning and seeing the Pegasus for the first time, "What are you doing here?"
Her distraction finally let Crosswire get to work on her collar, grumbling something about over-anxious ponies in distress as he did.
"Sadly, no," Steel Curtain answered, "I only wish the Enclave cared enough about the ponies below the clouds to lend their aid. As it is, all they care about is their own lives, as well as their politics. I left, and am now a Dashite. I wouldn't let them take my armor from me, though."
"Oh...," the mare stated, then fell silent. She turned slightly and her gaze found me. "You were the one that came up to Chainlink and told him to let us go, aren't you."
I nodded at the mare, smiling slightly, trying to show her that we were here to help. "Yeah, that was me. Steel Curtain was right when he said that we need to help those in need. It's what ponies are meant to do, after all."
"Are you really who you claimed to be?" Another slave, this one a ragged blue buck, asked, "Are you really the Heroine of Seaddle?"
"That's the title that the DJ on the radio gave me," I said, "But I don't agree with it. I'm just doing what I think needs to be done. If I can help some ponies have a chance at life in the process, then that's just a bonus. I'm planning on going up to Seaddle soon and talking to him, set this whole illusion straight."
"But you saved us! That makes you a hero!" the buck insisted, stomping a hoof stubbornly.
I took a closer look at the buck and noticed that he was much younger than he appeared to be. At best, he was a few years younger than Autumn Mist, old enough to look full-grown, but inside, he was little more than a colt. "Trust me, kid," I said, "I wish I could just accept the title. It would make everything a lot easier, but the truth is that there's a reason I haven't been around before. There's a lot of shit in my past I need to make up for. All I can do is hope that this is enough."
The buck fell silent at those words, as did every other pony around us. The two slaves, although grateful, now had thoughtful expressions on their faces, as they considered what I had said. The silence wasn't broken until the last slave was freed and we were all trotting back to where Autumn Mist and Suture were waiting, but not before I scooped up the collars and placed them in my bags. I wasn't about to let those explosives go to waste, especially when we had the detonator for them.
The slaves we had freed were all huddling together, already dividing up into the groups they had been in before getting captured. Several of them had already set off into the wasteland, trying to make their way back to whatever life they had had before being enslaved. The last ones to leave were the mare and young buck, who came up to me while I was cleaning Hammer.
"I don't care what kind of past you have, Miss," the mare said, her face firmly set in an expression of gratitude, "You saved both mine and my son's life. I owe you everything for that. In my eyes, you are the Hero of Seaddle."
I looked up at the mare, my expression completely emotionless, and nodded my acknowledgement of her words. I couldn't bring myself to respond, or to accept, or even to show any kind of emotion. My mind was a whirlpool of emotions and memories, reliving many of the evils I had committed before choosing that there was more to life than survival. Now, there were so many ponies out there who believed I was something I wasn't, and it was painful. I deserved none of their thanks, none of their gratitude, and yet they were piling on top of me. They had no clue what I had been.
When it became obvious that I wasn't going to vocalize a response, the mare nodded awkwardly at me, then turned away and started walking, her son right behind her. I simply stood where I was and watched them go, unable to admit to myself that my actions were starting to pay off for me.
"Are you all right, Evergreen?" Suture asked me once the pair were out of earshot.
I was still standing motionless, staring after them, but otherwise, I was completely unresponsive. "Yeah," I finally answered after a minute of pregnant silence, "I'm fine. Come on, let's get moving. We still have a lot of ground to cover."
"Not before I see to your injuries," Suture insisted, stepping around me so that she was standing in my way and glaring at me with a stern expression, "Now, sit. That wound in your neck needs to be cleaned.
"I'll be fine," I protested, sitting down despite my words and allowing the mare to look at the gash in my neck that was still weeping blood.
"I'm sure, but we're better safe than sorry, so sit still," the maroon mare insisted, digging through her saddle bags for some rubbing alcohol and bandages.
"You sure it was a good idea to say those things to those ponies?" Crosswire asked me a few minutes later, his tone heavy with worry.
"I was being honest. Since when is that a bad thing?" I demanded.
"Since that knowledge could be used against us," the buck snapped, "This DJ, Shooting Star, he has a good view of you right now. Saying these things to them could make it back to him, and then where will we be?"
"Right where we started," I answered adamantly, "We really can't be knocked back any farther."
"Hey, turn back around! I'm not done with you yet!" she protested, reaching out with a hoof and trying to pull my head back around so that I was facing her.
I reached up with my own hoof and pushed her aside. "Not right now, Suture. I need to deal with this. See to Steel Curtain. His wing took fire during the fighting," I said, getting to my hooves and turning to face my whole body at the tech. "And what about the population of ghouls we saved? Are they going to spurn us as well when they find out what we were?"
"What? No, probably not. But anywhere else, anywhere we haven't been, isn't going to open their gates to us," he insisted, his face twisting into a deep frown.
"Well, I guess that's just something we'll have to face if it comes to that," I stated, shrugging, "Shooting Star seems like a reasonable pony. I'm sure he'll choose to judge our current actions over our past ones."
Crosswire held me in his gaze for a few moments longer before sighing and hanging his head. "You're impossible, you know that, right?"
The way he said it didn't sound like he meant it as a joke, or even sarcastically. "What do you mean?" I asked, taking a step towards him, my glare softening to an expression of worry.
"You rush headfirst into these situations that we know nothing about, taking risks that most sane ponies would never even dream about, then twist them so that we get the worst possible result for our success. I don't get why," he stated, lifting his head up and fixing me with a stare that revealed his own anger at me.
"It's because I don't feel like I deserve their gratitude. If they knew what I was, what I've done!" I exclaimed, my voice rising with my passion of the subject. I didn't know how better to communicate it to him. How do I tell him that I don't feel right accepting their thanks, when there is every possibility that I've killed somepony they knew?
"Well, here's a news update for you, Evergreen," Crosswire snapped, "You did deserve their gratitude. You know why? You saved their fucking lives. They would be slaves if not for you. Sure, you've done some bad shit in your life. So have I, yet you don't see it getting at me, do you? Besides, you accepted that gratitude of Hat Trick and Sparks easily enough, didn't you?"
I slowly shook my head at the buck. "It's not the same," I muttered, " And I know from the way we met, and from talking to you, that I'd been a raider for far longer than you. You weren't around for the truly bad shit, the shit that happened before I became the one in charge. My raider gang was more akin to a standard gang, like the Iron Hooves, than an actual gang of raiders. Before I took charge, it was just as bad as the others you saw."
"Wait, you were a raider, Evergreen?" Steel Curtain asked, stepping between me and Crosswire and fixing me with a disapproving glare. I could hear a motor in his armor start up, and the barrels of his miniguns started to rotate, just enough for me to realize how thin of ice I was standing on.
I let out a heavy sigh and sat down, head lowered. "For five long fucking years," I answered, putting every ounce of regret that I could manage into the words, "It took Suture showing up on my doorstep a week ago to make me see that I was making the wrong choices. And if you want to shoot me for it, fine. You and Autumn can share the pleasure."
My words were met with silence, with only the motor running in the Pegasus' armor. A few moments later, the motor stopped and when I looked up, the barrels had come to a stop. "You have no more connections to any raiders?" he asked, his face a mask of determination and anger.
"Unless some of the fuckers from my gang are still among the living, no. Only reason I want to go back to that place is to get my journal back. I didn't have time to grab it before getting thrown out on my ass," I said, "And if I go back, those assholes are getting the same treatment that the slavers got. The only fuckers still alive are the ones that tried to kill me, and killed everypony that was loyal to me. They aren't worth helping."
"Humph. Fine, if that is what you claim, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you," Steel Curtain said, then spun his bulk around to face Crosswire. "And you? She said you were a raider as well. Have you separated yourself from that life as total as she has?"
"Yeah, I have. My loyalty is to Evergreen and nopony else. What she says, goes. We have our disagreements, like this one, but that doesn't change the facts. She's proven herself to me to be a mare worthy of listening to. That's what I care about."
The Pegasus nodded curtly, satisfied with the answer, then looked back to me. "I want to know why you are traveling to Buckview. I believe that it is not for ill purposes, but I want proof that you are trustworthy. Tell me what your motivation is for going this way."
I explained everything to the Pegasus that had to do with my work with Metro and the threat of Seahawk, starting with how Suture had come to my gang's hideout, and talking through everything I had done with Millberry, up to and including the reports we had of Buckview falling off the grid and my fears of what that could mean.
Through it all, Steel Curtain remained silent, his face held with only a thoughtful expression, while he considered everything I told him. When I finished, he remained quiet for several moments, processing all of the information I had given him. Occasionally, an emotion would flit across his features that led me to think he recognized something I had said, but with the wasteland as large as it was, I would expend somepony to have heard a name now and then.
Instead of answering me, he turned to Suture. "You seem to be the most trustworthy and credible one here, Suture," he said, "Is what she has said true?"
"It is," the medic answered, "Evergreen has gone out of her way since coming to Metro to see that the right thing was done. Without her, there is every chance that Millberry would already belong to Seahawk, whether he is making his move or not. Right now, she's the only one taking an active stance."
"Hmm, with an argument like that, it's impossible for me to claim you to be a liar, Evergreen, so I will thank you for your honesty. I am also rather intrigued by this mission of yours. Once we are both done with our business in Buckview, I may consider asking for employment with you."
The way he said it made me laugh, and everypony else joined in the humor as well. Steel Curtain stood between us all, immensely confused as he cast from one to the other, looking for an answer. "What is so funny about what I just said," he demanded, "I'm being honest here! I am considering asking for employment with you!"
"Steel Curtain," I answered, only getting the words out between gulps of air, "No one here is working for me! Crosswire is with me cause he was the only pony from my gang that stayed loyal. Suture joined up because she wanted to help with the job in Millberry, but also because she wanted to make sure Metro could trust me. Autumn Mist is tagging along because she wanted to kill me at first, and making sure I didn't fuck up was her number one priority. Now, we're all more or less working towards the same goal. If you want to help us, it'll be as a partner, not as an employee, you understand?"
"But aren't you the one in charge? The one giving the orders?" the Pegasus asked, still very obviously lost.
I shrugged an answered, "Only so far as they choose me to be the one to make the decisions. I'm no more special than any of them. It's just my cause that we're working towards, and I know how to lead, most of the time. But I don't see myself as more important than any of them."
"An honorable stance. I'll think about it. Now, Suture, how is my wing?" Steel Curtain asked, turning away from me and changing the subject.
"You'll need to stay off of it for a few days while it heals," the medic answered, "After that, you'll be fine to fly again. The shot fractured a couple of bones and tore through some of the ligaments, and those need some time to mend, but don't worry. It isn't a permanent injury."
"Good. A Pegasus soldier belongs in the sky, not on the ground amongst the infantry," he proclaimed proudly, "Now let's move! There is still a lot of ground to be covered, and it will take much longer now that I can't fly."
"Once I've seen to everypony else, we'll leave," Suture argued, walking up to me and checking my neck.
I sat patiently under her ministrations, waiting while she carefully cleaned and bound the injury, wrapping a stark white bandage around my neck, making me feel like a little filly under the care of her mother. Once she was done with me, she turned and started to check Crosswire for injuries, but somehow the ragged buck had managed to get through the entire fight without getting shot a single time.
Once we are all finally taken care of, we started off, making our way back to the road and continue on our way towards Buckview. Now that Steel Curtain was one the ground with us, we remained much more wary of our surroundings, watching for anypony that might have been in the area, but also looking for any of the other countless dangers that lived in the wasteland.
Honestly, it was amazing that the most dangerous non-pony creature we had run into our here had been a couple of molerats and the occasional, lone bloatsprite. Everypony had heard the tales of the mutated monsters that called the wasteland home: the Yao Guai, that were the twisted remnants of the bears that had once been as common as any other woodland creature, and the manticores that, even if they hadn't been changed by the radiation, had at least been maddened by it, and now lashed out at anypony that came within sight of them. Then there were the other, even more horrid creatures that I had heard of, but didn't know if their existence had been confirmed, that were supposed to live in the more remote reaches of the mountains, where very few ponies traveled, and even fewer survived.
There had been one time, when I had been much younger, when I had just traveled to the mountains, where I had seen something at a distance. It had been nothing more than a shadow, there and then gone so quickly that I still questioned whether or not I had actually seen it, but it had appeared at least as large as a manticore, if not larger still. I had spent the next two days, fearing that whatever it was had chosen to hunt me, but I had happened across the gang before anything had happened. My guess was that it had migrated deeper into the mountains, in order to get farther away from civilization, or at least what was left of it. But I still had occasional nightmares about the thing, where razor sharp claws would grab me while I was asleep at camp and drag me off into the night where I would be torn apart, but left alive long enough to see some grotesque mutation of something eating still quivering parts of my body. I shuddered at the thought and turned my mind resolutely from the subject, focusing back on the trail in front of my hooves, watching out for present dangers, rather than the ones lurking in my mind.
We traveled in relative silence, all focused on our own thoughts and the landscape around us. Occasionally, somepony would reach into a shattered wagon for something that had caught their eye. It was the sad truth of the wasteland that you took what you could when you could if you wanted to survive on the road. We couldn't be squeamish about where we got our supplies, or even with what those supplies were. I had done worst things than reach over the skeleton of a pony so small that I doubted they could even be considered a filly just to get at a bottle of water. If there was one universal truth of the wasteland, it was that even the good ponies would be driven to what had once been considered an atrocity if they wanted to survive. The difference was limiting what those atrocities were.
As we traveled east, the landscape slowly changed from blasted, windswept hills to richer land, where a few small, hardy shrubs had managed to hold on to life. They all appeared a sickly yellow as they reached toward the cloud-covered sky, groping at it with crooked fingers for whatever light happened to seep through the cloud cover. In the distance, I could see the line of what might have been trees, forming the border of a vast forest.
I felt a spark of hope leap to life in my chest. If there were woods, then maybe there was the small chance it was still alive, and maybe even relatively healthy. I quickened our pace slightly, wanting to get closer to be able to tell for certain, and the miles passed by quicker, only to be slowed to a near halt a short time later.
Visible against the sky was a pillar of pitch black smoke. We had missed it before because of how well it blended in to the sky and landscape. In a world where everything was dark and dreary, smoke was easily missed. But now, it coiled into the sky like some great, black snake, easily miles high, and it was thick. It was the kind of smoke that could only come from something large burning.
"Do you think that's the town?" Suture muttered quietly at my side, her voice thick with fear and worry.
"I think so," I answered, just as quietly, "Come on, we need to see if anypony survived!"
We started forward at a canter, eating up the remaining miles quickly, all of us in a hurry to see what was left of the small frontier settlement. It was far enough removed from the main circle of settlements in Seaddle that it should have been able to remain separate from the politicking and danger of the area, yet it seemed that even distance wouldn't help this place.
When we finally turned the last curve that would bring us into view of the city, we were stuck speechless by the sight. The entire town, encompassing an area of at least a half square mile, had been reduced to ash. There was not a single structure over three feet high left standing. The few structures that were left sticking out of the ground were still burning, but it appeared that they weren't the source of the smoke, which appeared to be originating from the central square of the town.
Slowly, we started forward, approaching the edge of the ravaged town, all of us unable to find any words.
"The whole town... gone..." Suture muttered to herself as we crossed the border into the town proper.
The ground was entirely covered in ash that was several inches thick and was quickly being mixed into a slurry by the drizzling rain. Every step made us sink into the ground, and our hooves squelched loudly as we walked forward. The conditions slowed Steel Curtain significantly as he struggled to drag the massive weight of his armor through the wreckage.
We picked through the ruins, looking into the destroyed homes and businesses, searching for survivors, but all we could find were the occasional skeletons and burned remains of ponies. Everything reeked of death.
"Split up. Search for survivors and help them anyway you can," I ordered, keeping my voice carefully controlled "I want to know what happened here. I want to know what sick fuck could do this."
It was all I could do to keep my rage in check. Everywhere I turned, I saw atrocity, and I don't mean just in Buckview. It seemed that the last three days had forced me against atrocity after atrocity, with ponies destroying each other's lives as though their own depended on it. At least those first two had been more or less understandable. A raider attack and a slave grab were small evils when compared to the destruction of an entire town, and the slaughter of every pony that lived here. Even if the town's morals had been skewed beyond all reason, there was no way in hell everypony in it signed on to the same ideals.
I didn't yet know what atrocity was. Walking on my own, picking my way through what had once been streets of a bustling city, I came upon the single worst thing I had ever seen in my entire life, up to and including the execution of my parents before my eyes. Sitting before me, in the center of the main town square, was a pile of burning bodies, easily fifteen feet high. Ponies of all ages had been piled atop each other, lit on fire, and left to burn. I had been wondering what the source of the pillar of smoke had been, since the town was already burned. I had my answer now.
I stood where I was, completely motionless, fighting with my own emotions for control, fighting to stop my rage from getting the better of me and force me into an action I would regret. But it wouldn't be enough. I would be able to contain my rage now, because I didn't know who was responsible for this, but once I learned that, that pony wouldn't be able to run far or fast enough to escape my justice. They would die, and I would make sure the rest of the world would know why. There was raiding, there was murder, and then there was massacre. This pony had firmly crossed that line. There could be no mercy.
After almost five minutes of inaction, I managed to tear myself away from the sight and head back to where the rest of my friends were searching, joining up with Suture in her pursuit of anypony who might have survived the evil that had happened here.
"Find anything yet?" I asked when I came up to her, my voice very obviously strained, despite my feeble attempts at control.
"No," the maroon mare answered, slowing slightly as she caught the anger in my tone, "Are you all right?"
"No," I growled, "Somepony is going to pay for what happened here. They took all the ponies in town, piled them in the square, and lit them on fire. That's where the smoke came from."
"What?!" Suture exclaimed, "They just... burned them? How could they!"
"Because they didn't get what they wanted," I answered, no longer bothering trying to keep the rage out of my voice, "Or they knew somepony would come looking and they wanted to send a message. Fuck if I know. All I want is to make the fucker responsible pay. Nothing else matters."
"I want to know why. It might make a difference," Suture said quietly, pressing on through the muck.
"Does it?" I snapped, "Did the entire town deserve to be put to the torch? What could be so bad that the entire town deserved to be wiped out? I can only think of one reason: they said no."
Suture remained silent at that, apparently unable to come up with a response, and we continued our search in stony silence, Suture letting me come to terms with my anger and me hoping she would come to understand my rage.
At this point, I wasn't expecting to find anypony still alive. How could they be? The entire town was, at its highest point, even in height with Steel Curtain's shoulders, and the entire population was piled up in the center, burnt to ash and bone. Whoever had done this had to have been thorough to get a pile that high. But, apparently in the sight of some of the greatest atrocities, even miracles could exist.
It took us almost half an hour to find the first, and only, survivor: a young filly hiding in the charred remains of a closet, her hide burnt and covered in ash, shivering in the rain from pain and loss. When Suture found her, she shouted to the rest of our group, who arrive in minutes, helping her calm the filly enough so that we could coax her out to help.
By the time we did that, and Suture had seen to the worst of her burns, the light was beginning to dim, and the rain started to pick up strength. In an attempt to protect us from the elements, Autumn Mist erected a small structure using the few large remains of walls that were still lying about, resulting in a small shelter we could all fit comfortably inside.
Once out of the wind and rain, we tried to get the tale of what had happened to the town out of the filly, who was still only slowly overcoming her fear of us. She was maybe five years old, with a light green hide and bright yellow mane. Her flank was still bare. What little we had managed to learn so far was her name and the names of her parents: Sunflower was her name, and her parents were True Sky and Dawn, respectively.
"So tell us, little one, what happened here?" Suture asked, holding the young filly in her hooves, protecting her from her perceived fears of the rest of us.
"Are you sure the angry one isn't going to hurt me?" the filly asked, looking at me with fearful eyes.
I sighed for what must have been the thirtieth time that night. My anger at the situation had terrified the filly into thinking I was mad at her, or that I was going to hurt her. Understandable, but that didn't make me feel any better about it. "No, Sunflower, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to find out what happened here. I want to know who hurt you before so I can keep them from hurting anypony else." It was the same explanation I had given the last ten times she had asked, but it didn't seem to be enough.
"Okay..." she muttered, still keeping an eye on me, "The bad ponies came to town a few weeks ago. They seemed really nice. They were friendly, and generous, and they brought food and medicine with them! Everypony was really happy they were here, and I thought we would all be friends!"
"What happened then?" Suture pressed when the filly fell silent, "Why did the bad ponies become bad?"
"They went to the big building where Mister Contract lived. He's the pony we all listen to, but the bad ponies wouldn't listen to him, I guess. That's what mommy told me. They left, all angry and mean and wouldn't even say goodbye to me! Then, they came back a few days ago, with a lot of their friends. When Mister Contract asked them to leave, they started talking in angry voices and daddy made me go back home. That's when the bangs started."
"Bangs?" Crosswire asked, "Do you mean gunshots?"
"I think so," the filly answered uncertainly, cocking her head to one side in thought, "Mommy came back home and told me everything would be okay, but then we heard somepony yell fire, and mommy told me to go hide, so I ran to the closet. There was a long time of bangs and shouting, then it got really quiet, and I got really scared when mommy and daddy didn't come back. Then you found me, Miss Suture! Do you know where my parents are?"
Suture looked up to me, a questioning look in her eye. "It looked like the whole town was in the square," I answered, careful to keep the explanation to a minimum to spare the filly, "I don't think anypony else is here, except us."
Suture nodded sadly and looked down at Sunflower. "I'm sorry, dear, but I don't think your parents are going to be coming back," she said slowly, putting as much light-heartedness as she could manage into the words, "They went somewhere warm, to be with the Princesses."
"But, they wouldn't leave without me!" the filly protested, tearing herself up and away from Suture's embrace and standing defiantly before her, frowning, "They would come back for me! Mommy always said she wouldn't go anywhere without me! I need to go find her!"
Before any of us could react, the filly turned and took off, tearing out of our rickety shelter and pushing through the mud towards the town square. All of us jumped up to go after her, but got tangled up in each other and tumbled to the ground. Before any of us could think to say anything, the filly disappeared around a corner and was gone from sight.
"Fuck! I'll go get her! Stay here, I'll be able to explain what happened better than any of you!" I ordered, pulling myself free of the pile of limbs and striding out into the rain.
I made it barely three steps when somepony was at my side. "I'm coming with you. I'm the only other one who knows what it's like to lose your parents before your eyes, as you well know, Evergreen," Autumn announced. For once, her tone wasn't accusatory, but rather sympathetic, "I want this filly to turn out better than we did."
I nodded at the mare, and picked up my pace, trusting her to keep up with me. "Then let's go. I think I know where she went." I took off down the street, making for the town square.
True to my expectation, we found Sunflower sitting before the pile of bodies, crying softly to herself, simply staring at the pile. The fire had finally gone out, and the last wisps of smoke curling from the top of the pile were immediately dampened by the rain. Autumn and I slowed to a stop at the edge of the square, watching the young filly while she loosed her heart into the biting wind.
"Let me talk to her for a few moments alone," I said softly, feeling emotions I hadn't known until recently rising in my chest, "I know you understand what she's going through, but I need this, and so does she."
"All right," the dark mare answered, nodding at me, "Just motion when you want me to come over."
I returned her nod and strode forward until I was standing at the filly's side, where I sat down and stared up at the pile of bodies. I held my silence for a long while, letting her be the first to speak. It was her responsibility to want to come out of this.
"My parents really aren't coming back, are they?" the filly finally asked, snuffling quietly as she tried to chase away her tears.
"I'm so sorry you had to learn this way, Sunflower," I answered, looking down at the ground between my hooves, watching as the rainwater coursed down my legs to mix with the mud that was already there, "I know it doesn't help, but we are here for you, and I understand what you must be feeling. We will take care of you, I promise."
"My parents were good ponies. Nopony would ever want to hurt them," Sunflower protested, "Everypony loved them."
"I'm sure they did, little one, but the sad truth is that ponies don't have to hate each other to hurt each other. My parents were killed just as senselessly when I was about your age, in a raider attack on the town we were moving to," I explained, "I can't think of a single pony that had a problem with them, but that didn't stop it from happening."
The filly started to cry again, softly this time. "Daddy warned me to not trust strangers. He told me they weren't nice ponies, but you seem nice, if a little scary, Miss Evergreen."
I chuckled lightly at the words. "Yeah, I guess I am scary," I agreed, smiling, "but you can trust me, Sun. My friends and I are here to help, I promise. We won't let anything else bad happen to you."
"Ok," the filly said, trailing off into silence. We stood quietly in the shadow of the bodies for a short while, simply keeping each other company as we shared what I could only think were the same thoughts. My mind was firmly set on the last few days I had spent with my parents, and the naïve joy I had felt as a filly. I had felt like nothing would be able to stand against my family.
A short time later, Autumn Mist came up and sat down on the other side of the young filly. "How are you doing, kid?" she asked, pitching her voice to sound like an older sibling.
"I feel so alone," Sunflower answered quietly, "Miss Evergreen is keeping me company. She told me she lost her parents, too."
"Yeah, she did. So did a lot of ponies. Mine were taken from me a long time ago. It ain't easy, but the way I see it, everything happens for a reason. The Princesses wouldn't do this to us if it didn't mean something, you know. Everything will come together in the end, I know it. I've lived it."
I looked up at those words, and caught Autumn Mist looking over at me, a knowing look in her eye. I nodded at the mare, recognizing what she was saying, and got a small nod in return, but we left it at that. This time wasn't for us.
"Really? What did the Princesses do to you?" Sunflower asked, looking up at the dark mare with a hopeful tone in her voice.
"They led me to Evergreen, who in turn showed me how a pony's life should be lived. She taught me what it means to have friends, and to have something in life to work for. As hard as I know it is to accept, I know your parents wouldn't want you to grieve too much over their passing. They would want you to find your own path in life, and then to follow that path, helping as many ponies along the way as you could," Autumn answered, reaching out with a hoof to ruffle the filly's mane, "That's what it means to be a pony after all: We look out for each other, help each other, and make sure we can live the best lives we can. What we see around us is ponies forgetting that."
"I... I think I understand, Autumn Mist," the filly announced, sitting up straighter and wiping away her tears, "I miss mommy and daddy, but they protected me. And now you're going to protect me, right?"
"Yeah, I guess we are," Autumn said, smiling down at her, "Now come on, we should get in out of this rain. We don't want you to get sick, do we?"
The filly shook her head adamantly, then lifted herself to her hooves and started back towards out shelter. Autumn Mist and I stood and followed after her.
"Thank you for that, Autumn. I didn't think I'd ever hear you say something like that," I said, pitching my voice to keep the filly from hearing us. I didn't want her to start wondering at how our parents had been killed.
"I spent enough of my life denying the truth. I figured it's about damn time I started accepting it when it stares me in the face, you know?" the dark mare said, shrugging, "You did teach me that stuff, as hard as those lessons were to learn. Now let's go. I fucking hate the rain."
I chuckled lightly as Autumn Mist picked up her pace and trotted after her, making for what little warmth and cover our shelter would provide from the elements.
Once inside the shelter, I found that Crosswire and Suture had taken the time we were outside to prepare our meal: some pre-war food that we would need to eat cold. It was getting pretty bad if I was missing the hot food that Pearlescent served us. I was starting to get used to luxury.
"Are you okay, Sunflower?" Suture asked once we were all settled and eating, "You were awfully upset."
The filly nodded and answered around a full mouth of snack cake, "Mhm! Miss Evergreen and Autumn sat with me and showed me how I wasn't alone. They told me that they lost their families, too."
"Isn't that nice of them. I hope they told you that you aren't alone now, as well," the medic said, reaching out and pulling the filly close to her.
"They did. I'm going to miss them, but like Autumn Mist said, the Princesses wouldn't have allowed it to happen if it didn't mean something."
"And she was right, now, get some rest. You must be exhausted," Suture told her, holding her in a tight embrace until she drifted off to sleep.
Once the filly was snoring, she looked to the rest of us. "I would recommend we all get some rest as well. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
We all let out a general noise of consensus, then allowed ourselves to drift off to sleep, confident in the ruin of the town to keep us protected from predators. After all, there was almost nothing left here that would be a draw to scavengers.
We woke early the next morning and packed up our gear, taking only a few minutes to eat a brief meal before stepping out into the ruins. The wind had almost entirely stopped, and the rain with it, leaving us with nothing more than a few stray drops in an otherwise cloudy day.
As we were making ready to set out for Metro, I realized there was something I had never thought to do. "Sunflower," I called out, getting the filly's attention. She still looked sad, but the lines of despair that had been etched in the lines of her body were gone. It seemed as though she was starting to recover from her loss, "I need to ask you something, and it probably isn't going to be an easy question to answer."
Suture shot me an annoyed glare, obviously disapproving of my need to talk to the little filly. "Do you really need to do this now, Evergreen? The poor filly has been traumatized! Can't it wait until we get back to Metro?"
I could understand her feeling. It had been only a very short time since this filly had everything taken away from her, but that didn't change the fact that I still hadn't learned what I had come here to learn. "I'm sorry, Suture, but we came here for a reason. I haven't fulfilled that yet. Sunflower, can you tell me everything you know about the strangers that came here?"
"You mean the ones that... did all of this?" the filly asked, looking about the wreckage with a frightened look. It looked like she was straining her eyes, searching for the ponies responsible.
"Yes. I need to know about them. It's part of my job, and I can't stop them from doing this somewhere else if I don't know about them," I answered, walking up to her and lowering myself down to her level so I could look her in the eye.
"Oh. Well, the seemed really nice at first, like I said before. They kept talking to Mister Contract every day, asking him weird questions, but I can't remember what they were, and mommy wouldn't let me get too close to them when they were talking. Then, one day, they got mad at something Mister Contract said and left. They came back a few days later, and..." the filly answered, her eyes starting to well up with tears.
I reached out and held the filly close. "Sssh, it's okay, Sunflower. You're safe now. That's all I need to know. Thank you."
"Did... Did it help?" the filly asked, snuffling slightly and looking up at me with wide eyes.
"Yes, it did. I think I have a better idea of what happened here," I said, letting the filly go and rising back up to my hooves.
"You think it was Seahawk?" Crosswire asked me, coming up on my side and gazing out over the wreckage, towards the forest a short distance past the town's edge.
"It has to be. Everything we know about him so far supports what those ponies were doing. I think he contracted Greymane to work on the settlements farther out towards Seaddle, and had a group of ponies out here, hoping to grab this first town without a fight, and without anypony else knowing. They certainly did a good job keeping anything from getting back west," I answered, thinking on everything we had learned.
"But how can we be sure it was Seahawk? It could be any gang looking to expand their territory and influence. What proof do we have it was him?" the tech insisted, starting to growl.
"We don't," I shot back, "Except for the knowledge that he looks for the peaceful option first. Like he told Greymane, find out what they want to swear allegiance. If they don't, kill them. My guess is that the ponies that came here tried to convince Contract to ally with them, but got angry when he kept refusing them. They torched the town as a result. It all fits."
"I suppose, but it just seems... excessive. From everything we've seen and heard, Seahawk is looking to take over, not destroy, Seaddle. How does killing a whole town help him?"
"It's an example, a show of force. Now, everypony will know that if they cross him, he has the strength to wipe them from existence," I said, following Crosswire's gaze out to the forest. For a moment, I thought I could make out a few shapes at the base of the trees, but when I blinked my eyes, they disappeared.
"But that doesn't make sense!" Crosswire argued, "He attacked this town in such a way that nopony would have found out, and we have no way of knowing who is responsible, not for sure!"
"That might just be the point," I explained, "When he does make his plans known to the rest of the towns, he can point to here and say he has the power to wipe out a town without anypony being the wiser. A very effective strategy, if you ask me. It lends him the strength of mystery, in addition to power."
"Humph, I suppose you have a point. I guess I just want more solid evidence," Crosswire said, shrugging. He turned away and started walking, making for the western edge of the town, where the road was that would take us to Metro.
"Yeah, I hear that," I muttered, turning and following after him.
I took one last, wistful look over my shoulder towards the forest, and stopped dead in my tracks. Once again, I could make out some dim shapes that were slowly gaining in definition. They looked vaguely pony shaped, and looked to be approaching the town.
"Hey, everyone, head's up! We've got company!" I announced, waving to everypony and getting them to join me, then pointing out towards the approaching shadows.
"If they are the one's responsible for this, they won't have long to gloat," Autumn Mist growled as she pulled out her rifle and chambered a round.
"Agreed. This atrocity is beyond forgiveness," Steel Curtain intoned, unclipping his helmet from his side and pulling it onto his head, making him appear intimidatingly impersonal.
"Let's just wait and see what they want. If they are the ones that did this, I have no objection to taking them out, but I want to know why first," I announced, turning from my friends to watch the shadows approach us.
It appeared as though they were beginning to slow as they came upon the ruins and caught sight of us watching them. Now that they were closer, it was much easier to make out details. There were six of them, and it looks as though they were very well equipped, with sturdy combat armor and well-maintained weapons. Three of them were Earth Ponies, two others were unicorns, and the last was a Pegasus, a rare enough sight in the wasteland that I did a double take to make sure that my eyes weren't fooling me.
Slowly, the group approached us, all of them obviously wary of us, the Pegasus in particular watching Steel Curtain. When they were about twenty yards away from us, they came to a stop, and a single unicorn stepped forward.
She had a golden yellow hide and pink mane and was wearing a mean expression. Attached to her armor was an assault shotgun with a drum clip, the kind of weapon that could shred just about anything at close range.
"Tell me who you are and what you are doing here," She announced angrily, looking from one of us to the next, probably trying to figure out who was in charge.
"My name is Evergreen, and my friends and I came down here to check on the town, since it hasn't been heard from in some time. You wouldn't happen to know anything about what happened here, would you?" I asked pointedly.
The mare shrugged noncommittally and fixed her glare on me. "I might, or I might not," she said simply, "And I see no reason to share that knowledge with you lot."
"I would strongly suggest that you tell us what you know, lady. You're badly outgunned, and we aren't happy with what we see here. So far, everything looks to be pointing at you," Autumn growled, swinging her rifle around so it was pointing in the mare's general direction.
"And I would just as strongly suggest that you point that gun somewhere else, bitch. You only think we're outgunned, but you don't have a single clue of what we are capable of," the mare snapped, her horn lighting up with magic and pulling out her shotgun.
"You know, I can remember every single time somepony said those exact words to me," I growled, "And they are all fucking dead. Now talk. I'm not going to ask again." Things were very quickly degenerating, but this mare was just as responsible for that as we were. She certainly wasn't denying that she was responsible for the atrocity.
"You really want to know what happened here?" the mare snapped, "Look around. You should get your answer just fine."
"Hey, Lemon Snack, be careful. That guy looks like he's Enclave," the Pegasus chimed in, stepping forward until he was standing just to the side of the yellow mare. He was watching Steel Curtain with a careful glare, several emotions flitting across his face. His hide was a minty green in color, and his mane was white with streaks of turquoise running through it.
"You think I didn't see him?" Lemon Snack snapped at the Pegasus, sparing him the briefest of glares before turning her gaze back to us, "Fucker isn't going to try anything, and we have the weapons we need to take him down if he does."
"Why have you allied yourself with these ponies?" Steel Curtain demanded, his voice muffled through the helmet, altering it enough that the only reason I knew it was his was because he was standing beside me, "They act without honor or decency. We are supposed to be better than that!"
"The fuck would you know about it, army?" the Pegasus sneered, "Enclave are a bunch of fucking hypocritical jackasses. They claim they want to help, then they sit on their damned tailfeathers waiting for something to change."
"He isn't a part of the Enclave anymore," I interjected, "he just managed to get out before they could take his armor and guns."
"Bullshit. They'd kill him before they would let him leave with their gear. Fucker is lying, he has to be," the Pegasus shot back.
"Oh they certainly tried, up until they realized they'd need to bomb all of Cirrus to get me. One thing I will hand to the politicians: they know how to cozy up to the people to stay in power. Once I got them to pull their forces far enough back that the city wasn't in danger, I broke for the surface. Command back in Stormfront is smart enough that they didn't chase after me. They aren't ready for action on the surface, after all," Steel Curtain explained.
"Likely story. I used to serve in the army, before I ditched 'em," the Pegasus announced, turning so that the lightning bolt brand on his flank was visible, "Command wouldn't let somepony like you get away without a fight."
"Unless someone stopped them before they could chase me," Steel Curtain shot back, "Trust me, I left, and they didn't follow. If they had, I probably wouldn't be here. I have no illusions of what they are capable of."
"I'm sure you two are enjoying your reunion, but some of us have real work to do!" Lemon Snack exclaimed, cutting the exchange short, "Starshine, get back to the group."
"Yes, ma'am," the Pegasus growled, glaring at Steel Curtain for another moment before turning and striding back to the other ponies.
"Tell me straight," I said, stepping forward until there was only a few feet between me and Lemon Snack, "Did you torch this town?"
The mare sneered at me, manipulating the shotgun so it was pointing at me, "I might have had a hoof in that. What's it to you?"
"The fact that none of the ponies here deserved that. You murdered a whole town of ponies simply trying to survive," I growled, widening my stance slightly and preparing myself to jump. I had already made up my mind that these ponies were responsible for the attack. All that was left was to hear one last piece of information.
"So what, you're some kind of do-gooder?" Lemon Snack demanded, "What did they mean to you?"
"Absolutely nothing, but that's not the point. The point is doing what's right. Now tell me this: did Seahawk tell you to do it?"
For a split second, the mare seemed taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure. "So somepony out there managed to figure out what's happening, eh? Well, congratu-fucking-lations. You can't stop the coming flood. By the time we're done, Seaddle will be a shining light in a world of nothing but darkness!"
"All you'll get for your trouble is the hatred of the ponies here! We have the right to choose our own path forward! Who is Seahawk to take that away from us?" I snapped angrily, lowering my body and preparing to jump.
"He is the bearer of deliverance. He is the one who will pull us from the mire of destruction and death and give us life!" Lemon Snack announced, smiling wickedly, "And he pays really well to remove self-important bitches like you who think you can stop him."
"Well, I think I've heard all I need to," I growled, "Now it's time for you to pay for your crimes here."
The mare started to laugh and was just about to answer when I jumped forward, pulling my knife from its sheath while I did. I collided with her, my greater strength driving her to the ground. Just before her magic grip on the shotgun broke, she pulled the trigger once, raking my hindquarters with lead shot.
Once on the ground, we grappled with each other, fighting for dominance. For a unicorn, she was much stronger than she appeared, and was actually able to keep me from easily gaining the advantage as we struggled against each other. In the background, I could hear the familiar retorts of Autumn's and Crosswire's weapons as they battled against the other ponies, as well as the distinctive noise that Steel Curtain's guns produced. I couldn't imagine the battle taking long with that kind of fire power on our side.
All the same, the sounds of battle seemed to continue on much longer than they should have as Lemon Snack and I rolled about on the ground. I had managed to give her several small lacerations, the kind of injuries that were painful, but were no real danger. In turn, she had managed to hit me hard in the side and head a few times, making my vision swim and forcing me to gasp for air.
In a desperate attempt at something stupid, I shifted my weight to the side, making us roll back to where the shotgun had fallen. Lemon Snack was on the bottom as we rolled over it, jarring her up and breaking her grip on me slightly, giving me a precious second to lunge forward with my knife and bury it in the nearest bit of meat available, which happened to be her shoulder. I released the blade, freeing up my mouth for other actions, and released the mare, sending me rolling another foot to the side while she writhed in agony, trying to pull the knife from her shoulder.
In the few seconds the maneuver bought me, I sprang to my hooves and lunged forward for the shotgun, shoving Lemon Snack to the side and tumbling back down to the ground, forcing my knife even farther into her as she landed on it. I scrambled with the large weapon for a few precious seconds, trying to figure out how to hold it in my mouth and aim it at the same time, before finally settling on holding the trigger in my mouth and steadying the rest of the gun on an outstretched hoof. It wasn't comfortable, but it would do the job.
By this time, Lemon Snack had given up on trying to get my knife free and stood up, her injured leg held off the ground. She turned to face me and leapt forward in an obvious attempt at the same move I had used against her, except I had an advantage she didn't: S.A.T.S.
I slipped into the timelessness of the spell, using the time it gave me to line up a single shot of the shotgun against her chest. My chance to hit was abysmally low: a clear indication of my lack of skill with this kind of weapon, but at this range, accuracy shouldn't need to matter. I activated the spell, and the shotgun kicked in my jaw, nearly sending me reeling to the ground with the power of its shot, but the spray of shot spread out where I intended it to go, practically shredding Lemon Snack with the sheer volume of lead and making her fall to the ground, too weak to even attempt anything else.
I cast the shotgun aside and pulled out Hammer before approaching the mare, preferring a weapon I actually knew how to use. She was struggling weakly on the ground, straining to get to her hooves and continue the fight. When I stepped up to her, she looked up to me, seeing her fate sealed in my glare.
"This is the price a murderer like you pays," I growled as I took aim, then pulled the trigger, ending the mare's life with a single shot.
Lemon Snack taken care of, I turned my attention to the fight around me, three of the other ponies were dead, either through headshots from Autumn, or from being blasted by a combination of fire from Steel Curtain and Crosswire. The two that were left were an Earth Pony buck wielding a Sawed-Off shotgun and the Pegasus, Starshine, who was swooping about in the sky, sending down occasional blasts of automatic fire from his SMG.
The Earth Pony had huddled behind a small slab of stone that provided just enough cover to keep Autumn from getting a clear shot at him, and both Steel Curtain and Crosswire were suppressing Starshine, keeping him from getting too close to Autumn.
I ran over to the rough triangle my friends had formed, stepping into the middle and spitting Hammer out into its holster. "Autumn, try to hit the Pegasus! Crosswire, cover her and keep him from getting to close! Steel Curtain, I want you to suppress the Earth Pony behind that wall. Buy me a few seconds to get closer."
Almost immediately, my orders were carried out as they shifted their fire. With the wall now being pockmarked with hundreds of rounds, I dashed forward a short distance, just within range of what I should be able to buck a grenade, and pulled out one of the apple-shaped explosives. I pulled the stem and tossed it into the air, bucking it up and over the wall. There was a surprised shout and the sound of somepony scrambling to get away before it detonated, eliciting a high-pitched shriek, then nothing.
A second later, as I was galloping towards the wall to make sure the buck was well and truly dead, Autumn's rifle fired and she let out an excited shout. "I hit him!" she exclaimed, "And he's coming down hard!"
"Get to him when he crashes and if he's still alive, bind him! I still have some questions that need answers!" I shouted as I rounded the wall.
Before me, the Earth Pony buck lay dead on the ground, two of his limbs severed by the blast. In just a few moments, I had stripped every worthwhile piece of gear from his body and was heading back towards my friends, who had dragged the injured and bound Pegasus over to the small bit of open land that lay outside of our shelter.
The sounds of battle now gone, Suture and Sunflower crawled out of the shelter to look around the battlefield, the former instantly running towards us to check for injuries.
While she checked the few minor injuries Crosswire and Autumn had sustained, Steel Curtain and I focused on Starshine. Autumn's bullet had hit near the joint where his wing connected to the rest of his body, destroying a lot of the structure of the wing and making the limb hang over his body, practically useless. The crash had left the Pegasus with a number of other injuries, though he had enough control to keep anything from being too badly damaged.
"It is a sad day when two Pegasi are firing at each other in anger," Steel Curtain intoned, striding up to Starshine and pulling his helmet off. His mane was streaked with sweat, causing it to cling to his head like a helmet, very different than the live fire it had seemed to be when we met.
"Fuck! Steel Curtain, what the fuck are you doing here!" Starshine exclaimed on seeing the buck's face.
"Looking for other Dashites, like you," he answered, "Now that you see who I am, do you believe me when I say I deserted?"
"Fuck, I guess I don't have a choice. Why the fuck did you desert, though? I know you were unhappy with a lot of shit, but I didn't think you were this unhappy," Starshine said, doing a good job of hiding the pain he was undoubtedly feeling.
"Because Lieutenant Sunbeam tried to make me take part in a branding, when I had made it absolutely clear I would have nothing to do with that. I have been against the practice since I was first made aware of it. Exiling soldiers because of basic violations is ridiculous and wrong. The commanders were willing to accept that much, and kept me away from it, though they never stopped," Steel Curtain explained.
I remained quiet, letting the two Pegasi speak. They obviously knew each other, and I wanted to take the opportunity to get to know a bit more about Steel Curtain. He had been quiet and withdrawn, offering nothing about himself, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn. I had already found out more that he was likely to share on his own if I were asking.
"I can't imagine she was happy with that," Starshine said, "What happened?"
"She said I would be part of the next round if I refused, so I agreed with her. I said that I was perfectly willing to exile myself to the surface, but that I would not allow the privates before me to be harmed. When she disagreed with that, I turned my guns on her and made sure she wouldn't be able to follow through with exiling those poor kids. They were barely even old enough to enlist."
"Fuck! Guess that explains why they pulled enough firepower after you to level Cirrus. They must be pissed at you!"
"Not pissed enough to risk an incident with the surface. If there's one thing Command knows, it's that any hostile contact with the surface will result in all of the towns banding together against us," Steel Curtain said, "And I am perfectly okay with that. I am making it my responsibility to find all the soldiers that were exiled this way and bring them together. It's unlikely that they will be welcomed back to the Enclave, given that they've been branded, but that doesn't mean they can't come together down here."
"Fair enough, and I would be interested in helping with that, as long as that angry friend of yours doesn't put a bullet in my head," Starshine said, looking at me with a wary glance.
Steel Curtain followed his glare and said, "I'm sure she would be willing to put your crimes here aside if you pledge yourself to helping them."
The silence that followed was tense with meaning. I knew exactly what Steel Curtain meant by the statement, even if he didn't know the entirety of my past. "I suppose I can't say no. You promise not to do anything like this again? And you promise to put aside any vow of loyalty to Seahawk?"
"Yeah, if it keeps you from shooting me, I promise," Starshine said, nodding vigorously, "Now, would you mind untying me?"
I grumbled quietly to myself while I walked back over to Lemon Snack's body, wrenched my knife out of her shoulder, then walked back to Starshine and cut the ropes holding him.
The green Pegasus gingerly got back to his feet, wincing as his wing fell open. "Thanks, I guess. So, Steel Curtain, what were you thinking of doing with the Dashites? I kinda need a plan if I'm going to be working with them."
"Survive. I don't see what else we can do. At this point, our concern should be making the ponies of the wasteland see that we are not all like the rest of the Enclave," Steel Curtain answered gruffly, "My suggestion would be to find as many as you can and start a new settlement, far enough removed that you can have your privacy, but close enough to trade."
"Yeah, sure, I can do that," Starshine said, nodding, "And I've got a few good locales in mind. If I could asked for one last thing, could you get that medic of yours to take a look at my wing?"
"Sure," I answered, turning to look for Suture. She was working on stitching up a gunshot wound on Autumn's flank, but was close to being done. "Hey, Suture, when you're done with Autumn, could you come over here and give me a hoof?"
"Of course! Just a moment!" the medic answered, finishing up with the stitching. A few moments later, she was walking over. "Oh, you let him up. I hope you know what you're doing."
"Starshine is helping Steel Curtain with the Dashites in the area. Apparently, they know each other from when they were both still a part of the Enclave. They want to gather the Dashites together and start a community, start to work to give Pegasi a better image with the wastelanders," I explained, "but he needs his wing to be looked at before he can go."
"I see. He won't cause any problems down the line?" Suture asked, looking at the mint green Pegasus with a wary eye before approaching and looking at his wing.
"I gave my word not to. I'm on the straight and narrow now. Don't want your angry friend here to find a reason to shoot me," Starshine announced, his voice strained as Suture manipulated his wing, observing the damage.
"The name is Evergreen, and I'm not going to shoot you, unless you give me a reason to later. I believe in justice, not murder. This work you are doing isn't a free pass. It's an offer at redeeming what you had a hoof in causing here. Don't forget that," I growled. The buck had to at least understand why his actions had been so terrible.
"Yeah, I won't be forgetting this place anytime soon. Seahawk is biting off more than he can chew for sure if there are ponies like you standing against him," Starshine said, lifting his hooves in a gesture of placation.
"What do you know about him?" I asked, "I've heard only rumors and the over-zealous rantings of both Lemon Snack here and Greymane."
"Fuck, you crossed Greymane?! How the hell are you still alive?" Starshine asked, a surprised look on his face.
"Because there are more of us than there are of him. And that is not to say that he didn't almost kill us all. We underestimated him, but he underestimated me as well. Now, what do you know about Seahawk?" I demanded.
Starshine sighed and lifted a hoof to run through his mane before he answered, "Geez, the fucker keeps himself distant even from those of us doing his work for him. Only ponies I can think of that have actually talked face-to-face with him are Greymane and a fucker that goes by the name Mareina. She's a real piece of work."
"Mareina? Who's that? It doesn't sound like any kind of name I've ever heard before," I said, bringing my tone back to a more even level. There was no need to be interrogating the buck anymore.
"That's cause she ain't a pony. She's a griffin, and a right mean one. She's in charge of a whole crew of mercs; call themselves the Razor Wings, or Razors, for short. Every single one of them are tough, mean bastards that'll kill you as much as look at you, and Mareina is the meanest of all. You ever cross her, you better be sure you can win."
"Just like Greymane," I muttered, nodding to Starshine in gratitude, "I'll keep that in mind. You sure there's nothing else you can tell us about Seahawk?"
"Nothing more than you already know. Like I said, bastard likes to keep to himself. Now, if we're done here, I'd kinda like to get a move on," Starshine said, furling up his wings as soon as Suture released him and pawing impatiently at the ground with a hoof.
"Fine, just remember your promises," I said, "And good travels."
"Make sure to keep off that wing for at least two weeks! It needs time to heal!" Suture put in before the buck could take off.
"Will do, and I will remember my promise. Soldier's honor, if that even means anything anymore," Starshine answered nodding his thanks at the medic, "Good travels to you as well. I'll be sure to get a message to one of the major towns once I'm established. You should hear from me then."
With that, the buck turned and started trotting away, heading towards the northwest, and quickly dwindled to little more than a dot on the horizon.
"So now you know my past," Steel Curtain announced suddenly once the other buck was gone, "Nearly as bad as your own."
"I highly doubt that," I answered with a cynical laugh, "All you did was put a town in the way of danger. I'm probably directly responsible for the dissolution of at least three, if not their complete destruction. Not quite anything on this scale, but there it is all the same."
"I suppose so. I apologize for my secrecy before. You can never know who to trust in the wasteland," he said quietly, hanging his head, "And I want to clear the air, so I'm going to explain what Starshine and I were talking about, concerning the branding."
"I hope you can talk and walk at the same time. We have quite a bit of ground to cover if we want to make it to Metro before nightfall," I said, turning and heading to where Crosswire and Autumn were sitting, cleaning and reloading their weapons.
"I saw you let that Pegasus go after my beautiful shot," Autumn complained, sliding a fresh clip into her rifle and chambering a round before sliding the whole thing into the strap on her back.
"He agreed to help Steel Curtain with something. They knew each other, so I figured it was a good idea not to put a bullet in his head. Besides, what he's doing will only help us in the long run," I answered, "Now, you guys ready to get moving, we've got quite a ways to go."
"Ready and waiting," Crosswire announced, getting up and sliding his SMG into its holster on his barding.
In the next few minutes, we were gathered together and leaving the ruins of the town of Buckview behind, making our way back to the road and Metro.
"So, basically, the leadership of the Enclave military made the decision to start branding and exiling junior soldiers for breaches in code, or any semi-serious breaking of the rules. None of us non-commissioned officers could figure out why, and if the officers knew, they weren't talking, Sunbeam especially. I made it clear I would have nothing to do with it, as becoming a Dashite is generally a personal decision, and the brand is simply meant as a deterrent, to keep ponies from making that choice. Hell, who actually wants to get their cutie mark burned off?" Steel Curtain explained once we were well on our way.
For once, it seemed as though our journey would be relatively quiet, but that didn't mean that we would be lowering our guard. The trail we were following was just as decayed as the one we had followed the day before; odd, considering that it had kept a well-maintained trade route with Metro through the caravans. At least it seemed fairly clear of raiders, which was a welcome change for once.
"All right, I can understand that, but why the sudden shift in policy? That's what doesn't make sense to me," I asked. That was the one point of the explanation that I simply could not understand, despite Steel Curtain's attempts to explain.
"Neither could any of us. I have my theories, but none of them can be confirmed until I come across some ponies exiled that way. Starshine is an average, run-of-the-mill Dashite that chose to leave the Enclave, as I have, but there are plenty of others that aren't. One of the reasons I want to gather them all together is to keep anything Command has planned to as small of an effect as I can."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, "What could the Enclave have planned?"
"Well, I think they may be using the branding and exiling as an excuse to get eyes on the ground, and as the settlements tend to be accepting of Dashites, as I've seen, it would be an easy way to get spies into places usual soldiers wouldn't be able to. I think somepony in the Enclave leadership is looking to learn more about the surface, though I can't imagine for what purpose," Steel Curtain answered.
"Fair enough," I answered, "So now I have this mystery of Seahawk on my hooves, as well as this new mystery of what the Enclave is trying to do, which is even more ill-defined than the threats we already know."
"Basically," Steel Curtain confirmed, nodding curtly.
"Well, I guess all we can really do is keep our eyes open and keep plugging along as we have been. By the way, if you want it, you're free to keep traveling with us. I could use someone with your kind of firepower," I offered, shooting a look at the buck.
"I would be honored to accept, Evergreen," he answered, bowing to me in midstride, "You have my services at your disposal."
The rest of our journey passed in relative silence, with all of us focusing our gazes on the surrounding landscape, keeping our eyes open for any danger that might show itself. Sunflower was riding on Suture's back, keeping quiet and most likely still grieving for her home. I was fairly sure that it was the first time she had ever had to leave, and I knew how terrifying that could be.
Evening was just falling when the shanty-town surrounding Metro became visible, and it was only a short journey from there until we were picking our way through the lopsided buildings to the actual gate of the town. On seeing us, the guard on duty grinned widely and stepped to the side, giving us passage through.
"Good to see you all back in one piece!" she announced jovially, "The mayor is really looking forward to talking to you all!"
"We'll be sure to make his office our first stop!" I called out in response, stepping past her and descending the stairway to the underground city.
Once we were inside the city itself, Steel Curtain became noticeably quieter and kept glancing about nervously.
"You all right?" I asked, actually concerned for the buck. Until this point, he had always seemed calm and collected, and now he was as jumpy as a young colt.
"I don't like not being able to see the sky," he answered, "It makes me uncomfortable."
"You mean you're afraid of being underground?" I asked, chuckling at his expense.
"I didn't say that!" he protested immediately, puffing his chest out, "I said it makes me uncomfortable. It's a totally differently thing!"
"Sure it is!" I exclaimed, laughing. Everypony else joined in, and for a brief moment, the horrors of our world were forgotten.
Unfortunately, we had to come back to reality once we arrived at the mayor's office, though we didn't have to wait once we got there. We were immediately ushered in to his office, where he was waiting for us behind his desk, a wide grin on his face.
"Ah, Evergreen, you're back! I'm excited to hear what Millberry has to say! The radio definitely had a lot to say about you!" he announced happily, getting up from his seat and walking around the table to shake my hoof.
"You heard that, did you?" I asked, grinning awkwardly.
"I certainly did! Every last word. You should be commended for your valorous work. Now, Millberry: what is their response?" the mayor asked, returning to his seat.
"Yes, for now," I answered, pulling out the agreement the governor had given to me and sliding it across the table, "All he wants to cement the agreement is a water purifier. We went to Stable 60 to try to find one, but theirs had been destroyed."
The mayor took a few moments to grab the paper and read it, and his grin expanded to a full smile while he did so. "Wonderful! Thank you for trying to fulfill the agreement in its entirety. It is regrettable that it wasn't possible. I'll go through my contacts and see if I can locate a spare purifier for them. Now, I believe I owe you this," the mayor exclaimed, pulling out a sizeable pouch and sliding it across the table towards me.
I tentatively reached out a hoof and grabbed the pouch. It felt heavy and clinked when I moved it. I pulled open the drawstring and peered in, and was met with a sight of hundreds of caps stacked together.
"Three thousand caps, just as we agreed!" the mayor said happily, "And I consider it money well spent. Now, I would suggest going out, getting something to eat, and getting a good night's rest. You all look like you could use it! We'll discuss our future partnership tomorrow, when you all have had time to rest. You'll want your wits about you when we discuss it."
"Sure," I answered slowly, still dumbfounded by the fortune I was holding in my hooves, "Oh, there's something you should know: Buckview is gone. The entire town has been demolished, and almost everypony there was killed. The only survivor is this little filly, Sunflower," I said, gesturing to the filly, "Seahawk's forces are responsible. He's starting to make his moves."
The mayor fell silent and adopted a thoughtful expression as he considered the new information. "This is terrible news," he finally said, "Please, tell me everything."
I related the entire story of what we had seen and done in Buckview, beginning with our arrival at the town and ending with our release of the Pegasus buck, Starshine. The tale took far longer than I would have expected as I wanted to be sure the mayor knew all the details.
When I finally finished, the mayor was sitting in shocked silence. "I had heard the rumors, of course," he finally said, his voice an echo of the sad expression on his face, "but to hear them confirmed is simply... terrible. I'll need to think on this. I'll take the evening to think on this, and we'll talk in the morning. I trust Suture will see that you are taken care of?"
The mare nodded quickly in response, and after a few quick 'Good nights' we were walking out the door. As we were about to leave office, the mayor called out to me, "Evergreen, thank you for your work. We would not be in as nearly a good position as we are without you. Metro will always be open to you."
"Thank you, mayor," I said, nodding gratefully and stepping out the door.
As a group, we made our way to Suture's infirmary, where she provided each of us with a bed before leaving for a few minutes before returning with a few plates of food and some clean drinking water, a veritable feast for the wasteland. Once we were all settled and eating, she started rooting through her cabinets and chests, pulling out her more specialized medical supplies and treating our various injuries properly, rather than the quick field dressings and healing potions that we had been using so far.
By the time she was done with her work, I felt like every injury I had received in the last few days was fully healed. It was truly incredible the effect being properly taken care of could have on a pony.
In the downtime we had, we talked about everything we had seen, most notably the ponies we had helped and how we thought they would recover. Suture was vehemently optimistic about Hat Trick, even though it was unlikely that he would ever fully recover. As for Starshine, we were split. Suture, Steel Curtain, and I all believed he would hold to his promise and contribute to the progression of the wasteland, but Crosswire and Autumn Mist were cynical and reserved, not wanting to trust him, especially after what he had helped to do to Buckview. In the end, we simply agreed to disagree, until his actions could prove either of us right.
From there, the evening took a much more pleasant spin, with all of us swapping jokes and light-hearted tales, and generally just enjoying each other's company. Even though he was a new member of our group, Steel Curtain managed to make himself a part of the interaction, even if he refused to remove his armor, saying it would be too much of a hassle to get back on in the morning. By the time we were getting ready to sleep, I had nearly forgotten about all of my troubles, and I couldn't have been happier about that. The last few days had been truly terrifying and sobering, and I needed the few moments of joy that my friends could bring.
Level up!
Perk Gained - Gunslinger: You're accuracy with pistols and similar small arms in S.A.T.S. is significantly increased.
Skill Note: Explosives (50)
{Well, I finally managed to get this chapter to the length I'm planning on having most of the rest of the story be (about 40 pages in a Word document, if anyone cares), so the rest of the chapters should be right about this length, give or take a bit. As always, thanks to Kkat for the creation of Fallout: Equestria, and thanks to Cody and MUCKSTER for editing. You guys are the best. Again, I have set up a hub page for the story here. Feel free to check it out.) |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Eight: Loose Ends | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Eight: Loose Ends
"Our Past is what defines us."
With the coming of morning came the understanding that I would be getting a new job as well. I had spent so much time in the last few days so completely focused on the job for Millberry, and the mystery surrounding Seahawk, that it seemed almost unbelievable that I could have something different to work towards, and with different ponies. I had spent so long working with the same group of ponies, like Pearlescent and the governor of Millberry, that it would be odd to be doing more work for Metro, and not have those two to deal with. At the same time, I was looking forward to having a new focus, especially if it got us out of the wastes around these few towns. A change of scenery from the unchanging wasteland would be nice.
I rolled off of the bed to my hooves, checking my Pipbuck for the time, and was surprised to find that it was already midmorning. I hadn't expected to sleep this late. Yet, as I looked around the sparse back room of the infirmary, Autumn Mist and Crosswire were still sleeping, the latter snoring loudly. Suture and Steel Curtain, however, were nowhere to be seen.
I wandered out of the room we were sleeping in and into the main part of the infirmary, where I found Suture speaking with a brown buck that looked positively miserable.
"Just make sure to drink plenty of water for the next few days, and you should be fine," she was saying, "If you get any worse, come and talk to Coral. She'll see that you're taken care of."
The other pony nodded wordlessly in thanks, then turned to walk out of the infirmary, his head held low and coughing slightly.
"He sick?" I asked, stepping into the room and approaching the maroon mare.
"Oh, Evergreen, you're awake!" Suture announced in surprise, turning to look at me, "I hadn't expected you to be up yet. And yeah, he just has a slight cold. He'll be fine."
I couldn't help but laugh at that. "If he looks that miserable with just a slight cold, I'd hate to see what would happen to him if he went out into the wasteland. And why wouldn't I be up? I was planning on getting an early start," I answered, walking over to where my barding was sitting and pulling it on, making sure everything was seated comfortably, "Hopefully today, but waiting until tomorrow wouldn't be the end of the world." I couldn't help but to laugh at my own joke.
Suture simply rolled her eyes at my comment on the buck, or the joke, I couldn't figure which one, presumably deciding to leave her response to either subject non-verbal. "Well, we were up talking awfully late last night, and I simply had to get up because I do have a responsibility here. It is my infirmary, after all."
"Fair enough," I answered, retrieving Hammer from the counter where I had left it and checking for any wear that would need my immediate attention before slipping it into its holster, "Did you happen to see Steel Curtain when he got up?"
The maroon mare remained silent for a few moments as she thought, her head tilted so she was looking up at the ceiling. "Ummm, no, I didn't see him. I believe he was already up and gone by the time I got up. I'm really not surprised, considering that he's a Pegasus. They sleep often, but not usually for long, you know."
I shrugged in response. I wasn't worried about the Dashite leaving us, especially since he had seemed particularly interested in joining up. He would show up when it was time to get moving. Changing the subject, I asked, "So, when are we meeting with the mayor today? I'd like to get a move on as soon as possible."
"We can head down as soon as everypony is awake. I'm pretty sure he'll jump us up to the top of his schedule once we show up," Suture answered after a slight hesitation, "I know there is a lot on his mind that he wants done, and you'd be the best mare to give the jobs to."
"Something wrong?" I asked, "Did I do something I wasn't supposed to?"
Suture shook her head vigorously to wipe away my fears. "No, nothing like that. I just... We weren't entirely honest with you last time we spoke here," she said slowly, watching me for my reaction. When I didn't say anything, waiting to hear what she was talking about, she continued, "The Messaging Crystal we talked about, the one you found, well, we didn't tell you the whole truth about it."
"What do you mean? You said it contains some special message for the ponies at the settlement around Mt. Hoof, right?" I asked, confused. The explanation she had given me the last time in Metro had made perfect sense, and I couldn't understand why she was telling me different now.
"Well, yes and no," she said nervously, looking around as if to see if anypony were listening in on our conversation. When nopony revealed themselves, she continued, in a hushed voice, "When I said that we had found who the message was originally intended for, I wasn't telling the truth. We do know who it was meant for, but it never got there. When we found it here in the Metro station, it was still sealed. We got lucky when we found out that the pony it was meant for is in the Mt. Hoof settlement, and is still alive. Simply discovering that was a miracle in and of itself."
"Wait, what?" I asked, now completely lost, "If the pony it was meant for is still alive, and the damn Crystal is pre-war technology, then that pony must be at least two hundred years old!" I exclaimed, finally realizing what she meant, "They're a ghoul, aren't they?"
Suture nodded slowly, "Yes. The standing arrangement we have with that settlement is that we need to get the Crystal to that pony, and they will give us the basic supplies we need."
I nodded slowly, still wrapping my head around the revelation. It made sense why she hadn't told me the truth the first time. She had barely known me, and I had still been considered a raider by most at that point. It only made sense that they would be careful with what they revealed to me. But that didn't change the fact that the lie hurt.
"So, you think the mayor is going to give me the job to bring it down there?" I finally asked, pushing the issue of them lying to me out of my mind. It wouldn't serve any purpose to dwell on it. Besides, what was done was done, and there was nothing I could do to change it, and I should be grateful to these ponies, considering how welcoming they had been to me.
"Probably. It's the most obvious next step," Suture answered, nodding in agreement, "and it's the one thing that we need here above anything else. The alliance with Millberry will help, but it was also more of a test for you than it was urgent for us."
"Well, at least I passed," I said, managing to force a grin, "Now come one, let's get the others up then get down to the mayor's office. If we need to go that far south, we're going to want to get started. That's a lot of ground to cover. It's going to take a few days just to make it that far, and that's without any distractions, and I've already got one in mind."
Suture nodded her agreement, even as she shot me a questioning look, and we both walked back to the room where we had slept. "What distraction are you thinking of? Is there somewhere south of here that will be a problem?" she asked as we shook Autumn and Crosswire awake, much to their protest.
"Yeah, there is. The camp where I made my home for the last several years is south of here. I want to stop there and find something I lost. I know there are still a few raiders alive, and they will be a problem down the line, but what I really want is to find my journal. There is a lot in there that I want to read, about my life before I was kicked out of Grovedale," I answered quietly, watching Crosswire for a reaction.
All the buck did was nod appreciatively as he pulled on his barding and settled his saddlebags across his back. Once that was done, he gave an audible answer. "There's still a couple of bastards there that should be taken care of, as well. Without you to keep 'em in line, they're probably making any trade through the area completely impossible. You at least understood that some caravans need to get though if they're going keep coming. I can't see any of the survivors of our little fight having the same idea."
"Exactly!" I announced with a grin, "So I'll be getting my journal back, and we'll be doing the caravans a favor! Now, let's move! The camp is more than a day's journey from here, so we should get started as soon as we can!"
Less than ten minutes later, we were walking through Metro proper towards the mayor's office. It looked as though our meeting would only consist of the four of us, as Steel Curtain was still nowhere in sight. You'd think a Pegasus in full power armor would stand out. When we arrived at his office, we had to wait for a few minutes, as he was already in the middle of a meeting with one of the other officials from the town.
A few short minutes later, the door to the mayor's office opened, and a very obviously annoyed unicorn mare sauntered out, an angry expression plastered on her face. "I just want to make sure that you remember my family's contributions to this city, Mallet!" she growled, "We need food and medicine, especially since my mother is sick!"
The mare was closely followed by the mayor, who seemed to be almost groveling behind her, wearing the most apologetic expression I had ever seen anypony with, which was saying something, "I'm sorry, Amethyst, we simply don't have the supplies to spare. Every bit of food we have needs to be rationed to make sure everypony in Metro gets a full meal, and our medicine needs to be stockpiled for any serious injuries or illnesses. We simply cannot spare anything for anypony, unless it is an extreme situation. I am currently in the process of fixing our shortages, but it is going to take a little while. Nothing is easy or free around here. I know you know that."
The mare snorted at his words and turned her head away from him, pointedly showing her back to him. "I will tell you again, Mallet, that most of this city is not very enthusiastic about you trusting the future of our home to the hooves of a self-admitted raider. I don't care what Shooting Star says about her; ponies don't change that quickly." As she said the words, her gaze met mine. I had never before seen so much hatred and spite in the eyes of another pony, not even Autumn Mist when we first met. Whatever raiders had done to this mare in the past, it had to have been so bad that nopony who had the reputation of a raider could ever be forgiven or trusted in her eyes. With her hateful gaze locked onto mine, she continued, "All it will be is a matter of time before she takes advantage of us all, and then where will we be? Dead, that's where."
With that, the mare marched passed me, pointedly going out of her way to not pass within two feet of me, an impressive feat, given the close quarters of the waiting area. As soon as she was out of sight, the mayor, Mallet, sighed heavily and hung his head in defeat.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Evergreen. Amethyst is a talented business mare, but her vision tends to be very short-sighted. Now, if you could step inside, we have business of our own to discuss," he said, lifting his head again to look at me. His gaze was still apologetic, and I could only imagine that he had to feel responsible for the problems of every single pony living in Metro.
I nodded wordlessly and followed him back into his office, my friends a step behind me. Once we were all inside, Suture pulled the door closed and we approached the mayor's desk. As the mayor took his seat, he reached under the desk for something and pulled out the Messaging Crystal. He gently placed the Crystal on top of the desk, and we all simply watched it for a moment in silence, as though it would magically activate and divulge all of the secrets that it held.
"I'm guessing that you're sending me to Mt. Hoof," I announced, breaking the silence, but unable to tear my gaze away from the Crystal, captivated by the little glowing light inside that flitted from place to place, giving the damn thing a shimmering effect, despite the relatively weak lights of the office.
"You would be right," Mallet answered just as simply, "They are the only ponies who can offer the supplies we need, and this Crystal is the only way we are going to get those supplies. You already know the job, Evergreen: get this crystal to those ponies, and secure their aid for Metro. If you can, bring this entire situation with Seahawk to their attention as well. From what I know about them, they are one of the best-armed groups in the wasteland, and they would be able to provide a lot of security to the rest of the wasteland if we could convince them to help us."
"They won't agree to anything like that," Crosswire chimed in, "Not if they are still the way they were the last time I was there. To them, giving up a few basic supplies is no great sacrifice, but I can't see them fighting for anypony but themselves. The ponies in charge would see it as demeaning at best, and at worst as an insult."
I found myself staring at the buck with a shocked expression. "Exactly what do you know about these ponies?" I asked, "And more importantly, how do you know?"
Crosswire sighed and turned his gaze from the mayor to the Crystal. He took a few moments of silence as he organized his thoughts, then said, "Guess I really can't avoid it any longer. I grew up at that settlement. There isn't a more introspective group of ponies in the entire fucking wasteland. Even the Enclave is more outgoing than they are. That's one of the reasons I couldn't stand it there. How the fuck can anypony spend the entirety of their lives in a single place, never going anywhere else? It's unimaginable to me."
"Exactly who are they?" Autumn asked, stepping up to the Crystal and examining it more closely, "'Cause by the sound of things, they aren't much better than the Enclave."
"Some would say they aren't," Crosswire answered, "And while I'm certainly not happy with the direction the leaders of that place took it in, I can't say I hate them. It was home, once. As for who they are, well, you'll all figure it out quickly enough when we get there. I may not be a part of them anymore, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to start giving away everything about them. I owe them that much."
Watching the ragged grey buck as he spoke about the small settlement, I could tell how painful it was for him to remember. There must have been something terrible that had happened to him for all of his memories of that place to be tainted this way. "Well, thanks for that information, Crosswire," I announced, stepping forward and sweeping the Crystal into my saddlebag, "It'll help a lot when we need to deal with them when we get there. Now, mayor, we need to talk about price. As much as I want to be doing what I'm doing, I am a mercenary. I'm thinking same price as for the job with Millberry, with the same conditions."
Mallet eyed me warily for a moment as he thought. "I suppose I really can't say no, since you aren't asking for a bonus, given the added dangers of traveling through the mountains," he finally said, "All right, Evergreen, you've got yourself a deal. There's three thousand caps in it for you to get that crystal down there and secure their agreement to help us. Here's you're two hundred cap advance." He reached under his desk and produced a pouch from which he counted out the caps.
I scooped up the money and added the caps to my growing fortune. It was odd that I no longer thought of two hundred caps as a large amount, even though it was far more than some ponies ever saw in their entire lives. "Thank you, mayor. We'll be back just as soon as we're able. In the meantime, I want you to know that I plan on making a detour up to Seaddle once I get back from Mt. Hoof."
Even as the words left my mouth, I saw the mayor's lips turn up in a grin. "Going up to talk to Shooting Star, eh?"
"Pretty much. I need to set some things straight with the buck before ponies around here start to get the wrong idea about me. So, if that's all, we better get a move on. Mt. Hoof is a long way from here and we're going to need a few days just to get that far," I said, turning and heading for the door.
"Of course. And good luck, Evergreen. I fear that you're going to need it," the mayor answered as I walked out the door.
The four of us made our way out into Metro proper before pausing to take stock of our supplies. After a quick check of everypony's saddlebags, we discovered that the only things we really needed were food and water. Since Suture ran the infirmary here, we had enough medical supplies to last us a while, all at no cost. And with our detour to the Ironshod factory, our weapons and ammo situation was far better than any of us had expected.
We took the five minutes to stop by Metro's few small snack bars (I hesitated to call them restaurants) to replenish our food supplies, then started making our way towards the staircase towards the surface, hoping that we would run into Steel Curtain somewhere along the way. Given his reaction to going underground the day before, I was expecting to find him on the surface anyway, though I didn't have a clue what he would be doing up there all day. The shanty town wasn't particularly well known for having any kind of quality food or gear.
We asked the guards at the base of the stairway if either of them had seen Steel Curtain head for the surface as we passed by. All we got in response was that they had seen a heavily armored Pegasus pass by earlier on that day, and that he hadn't come back since. Not knowing of any other armored Pegasi, we figured it had to be him, and proceeded outside.
When we finally emerged back on the surface, the rain was coming down lightly, so lightly, in fact, that I had to stop and pause for a moment to even be sure that there was rain. We began pressing our way through the shanty town, pushing past hardened and seedy wastelanders that were all armed to the teeth to protect themselves from the raiders and bandits that made the wasteland home, and ignoring the various merchants trying to hawk their wares to anypony passing by. None of them appeared to be selling anything at all interesting or useful.
Several of the ponies we passed reminded me rather sharply of the various ponies that had passed through my gang at one point or another, with the air of somepony that would not hesitate to kill anypony else simply if they happened to get in the way. It was a stark reminder that the town had absolutely no formal security, and that everypony there was expected to take care of themselves. An even more terrifying thought was that any of these ponies could be working for Seahawk, staying close to Metro to learn what they could before reporting back to their master.
Before long, we had made it to the southern edge of the town, where we found Steel Curtain sitting and gazing pensively up at the clouds. He didn't react as we approached, though I couldn't tell if it was because he didn't hear us, or if he didn't care. Either way, I could tell by looking at him something was eating at him. Even through his armor, he seemed to be slumped over, as if some great weight were resting on his shoulders. To my surprise, I found myself saddened as well, simply seeing him the way he was.
"Hey, Steel Curtain, you doing all right?" I asked softly, coming up to his side, "You look like something is really bothering you.
The buck stiffened up at my words and sat up straighter, as though he were trying to hide how he had been feeling. He coughed loudly to clear his throat, and I could see some color emerge on his cheeks as he blushed, though I couldn't imagine why. All I had done was ask if he was all right. "Yes, I'm fine, everything considered," he finally managed to say, "Just a lot on my mind. Every day that I fail to find a solution, more and more soldiers are being wrongfully branded and exiled. It has to stop." His expression and tone as he spoke was a mixture of determination and fear. It wasn't hard to tell that there was more to the problem than he was admitting.
"Anypony you know at risk of getting exiled?" I asked carefully. It would go a long way to explaining why he felt as strongly as he did about the issue.
Steel Curtain nodded silently, closing his eyes briefly as they teared up, but not before a single tear managed to escape and slide down his cheek. "My brother. He had just signed up a few days before I had to make my break for the surface. Fuck, my leaving must be causing such problems for my family, especially as I'm probably being considered a traitor up there, rather than just a simple Dashite."
"Shit. I'm sorry, Steel Curtain," I muttered, my voice dropping in sympathy. While I meant the words, it was hard for me to imagine what the buck must be feeling, as my family had always been safe, up until the day they were killed. All the same, given how much I had loved my parents, I could imagine how much it must be hurting him, knowing that they could be in danger and that he was powerless to do anything about it.
I was surprised by just how badly I felt for the exiled soldier. I had known him for barely two days, and already he was such an integral part of our group, at least to my mind. Hell, if he hadn't been with us, I doubt we would have all survived the fight with the slavers, much less the ponies that demolished Buckview.
Steel Curtain lifted his head slightly and gave me a sidelong glance, a small smile of gratitude lifting the corners of his mouth. "Thank you, Evergreen. Knowing somepony else cares means a lot. Despite what most ponies may think, most Enclave soldiers aren't mindless automatons. We all have our own hopes and dreams as well," he said quietly, but the emotion in his voice was very obvious.
I looked away quickly as I blushed, not wanting the Pegasus to see. "Well then," I announced with a cough as I rose to my hooves, "let's get a move on! We've got a lot of ground to cover. Crosswire, I want you in the back. Watch for anything that could sneak up on us from behind. Autumn Mist, take the center and keep your eyes on the hills. You've got the best chance at catching anything from a distance. Suture, you'll stay in the center as well. You're still healing from that fight against Greymane, so I want you out of harm's way. Steel Curtain, take point with me. If anypony thinks they can intimidate us, I want them to think again when they see you."
Everypony quickly answered an affirmative to their directions and we set out, taking the same road south that Crosswire and I had taken barely more than a week ago to get to Metro for the first time. Walking back now, I was struck by just how different we were. Crosswire had completely abandoned the persona of being a quiet, obedient underling, and was now the most reliable pony I knew. As for myself, I doubted anypony had ever changed as much as I had so quickly, unless they had wandered out of a Stable for the first time in their lives, only to have to fight and kill almost immediately afterwards.
I had changed from being a harsh, unfeeling gang boss, probably as arrogant and cruel as that slaver we had killed, to being somepony I was actually proud to be, for the first time in my life. There were now several ponies in the wasteland that I knew were alive only because I had decided to act. Had the old me come across them, I could guarantee that that wouldn't have been the case. I had been selfish and self-centered, caring about nothing but my own life.
Now, I was a completely different pony. I had already risked my life on multiple occasions for others, like when I had gone to the Iron Hooves camp supported only by a mare who very much wanted to kill me in order to save Crosswire's life. All I could do now was hope that it would be enough so that my parent's souls, wherever they might be, could at least begin to forgive me for all of my wrongs.
We made good time as we marched south, pressing through the unyielding wasteland on a path that would take us by Grovedale, then up into the foothills of the mountains, right where my base had been settled. Those fuckers had a lot coming to them, and not just because I wanted revenge for what had been done to me. I couldn't care less about that anymore. The problem was that I knew what they would become if I wasn't around to keep them under control. Besides all that, they still had my journal.
Unfortunately, no matter how quickly we managed to walk, we were still bound by the distance between places, and since we had been so late in starting our trek, the sky was already beginning to darken as we approached the small collection of homes where Crosswire and I had stayed while on our way to Metro.
"Hey, Evergreen, are you thinking what I am?" the buck called up to me from the back of our formation.
"I don't know. Are you thinking about how awesome it would be to hug a manticore?" I called back sarcastically even as I veered of the path towards the same building that we had used as shelter.
As I slowed my pace, Suture and Crosswire caught up to Steel Curtain and me, and the latter had a very confused expression on his face. "Why the hell would you be thinking about that?" he asked incredulously, "And why the hell would you ever want to try it? Fuckin' manticore would tear your head off before you could come within ten feet."
Sadly, the buck was probably right about that. I had seen a few of the creatures wandering around in the mountains while I had still been living there, and though they hadn't had anything close to the size of the shadows I had seen that first night in the mountains, I could tell that they were fearsome creatures. Our group would be able to easily handle one or two of the beasts, but more than that and we would have a serious problem on our hooves.
"I was being sarcastic, Crosswire," I pointed out, grinning, "Only an idiot would try to get that close to a manticore. For the record, I was planning on staying here anyway. It will put us within a day of another good place to stop."
"Grovedale?" Autumn asked as I pushed open the door and stepped inside, "Isn't it only a little bit south of here?"
As I was about to answer, I was hit with the almost overpowering stench of something dead. I cast about the room and my eyes settled on two decaying corpses, one of which was a large unicorn, and the other was a small Pegasus: the bodies of the thug that had nearly killed me and the addict that he had killed before going after me. Dried blood surrounded the bodies, staining the floor dark brown. Flies were buzzing about the bodies, disturbed from their meal when we entered the building.
"Shit, I didn't think that they would still be here," I muttered, walking towards the unicorn's body, "As for what you asked, Autumn, I know a place a bit farther south than that, up in the foothills."
"Who were they?" Steel Curtain asked as he walked up beside me, his nose scrunched up against the smell, "Did you know them?"
There was the sound of retching from behind us, and we turned to see Suture clutching the doorframe, her head around the corner to outside, vomiting, presumably, at the smell, since she had already seen plenty of dead ponies. "I'm...urk... fine," she muttered, though she definitely didn't sound that way.
Trusting that she was going to be fine, I turned to answer the Pegasus, "Not in so many words. The Pegasus was an addict who sold Crosswire and me out for a hit of Dash. When it became obvious that we were better prepared than expected, the unicorn killed him. He worked for a buck that goes by the name Tripwire. Bastard got me pinned before Crosswire shot him off of me."
Steel Curtain remained silent as he looked over the bodies, his eyes lingering on the Pegasus for much longer than the unicorn. "What happened to this Tripwire? Why is his body not here?" he finally asked, looking away from the bodies and gazing into my eyes. His gaze wasn't accusing, but I could sense his desire to understand what had caused these ponies' deaths. For as skilled as he was, he was still very new to the wasteland.
"We let him go," Crosswire answered for me, drawing Steel Curtain's gaze away, "Even being a thug, the buck wasn't stupid. He only attacked us because he was desperate. Unfortunately, the wasteland probably got him. I remember him mentioning something about running out of supplies."
"I see..." Steel Curtain muttered, turning his head to look back at the bodies, "The Pegasus looks vaguely familiar. Do you know his name?"
I reached back in my mind, trying to remember the details of that day, but all I could easily recall was the fight. I felt bad, because I could remember that his name had been said, and not knowing felt like I was betraying Steel Curtain in some way. "I'm sorry," I muttered, following Steel Curtain's gaze to the bodies, "I can't remember either of their names. Can you, Crosswire?"
The grey buck shook his head, "I was upstairs the whole time. I didn't hear a thing until you started yelling. Don't worry about his fate, Steel Curtain. The poor bastard was an addict. He would have gotten himself killed eventually, since all he cared about was where his next hit was coming from."
Steel Curtain sighed loudly and lowered his head, "I suppose you're right. I just can't understand how he would have allowed himself to fall this far. Every Pegasus I have ever met has been proud of who they were, whether they were an officer, citizen, or Dashite. I never thought I'd see one of us reduced to this."
"I hate to be the one to say it, Steel Curtain, but welcome to the wasteland. This kind of shit is as common as the rain. Everypony has their problems. Some just choose to solve them... differently," I said, with a pointed look at the body of the Pegasus, "Now help me get these bodies out of here. This building is the best shelter for miles, and I'd rather avoid sleeping outside if I can."
Within a few minutes, we had the bodies moved outside, but not without Steel Curtain saying a few words over the Pegasus' corpse, and we were all settling down inside the structure. Crosswire and I steadfastly refused to let anypony go upstairs. We wanted the ponies that had lived here to be able to rest in peace. Somehow it seemed like moving them would be a disgrace to their memories, even if their skeletons were open to the air. Yet, they had died holding each other, as a family. How could we take that away from them in death?
After we ate, and the others were drifting off to sleep, Crosswire approached me, keeping his voice low to avoid waking anypony. "Evergreen, are you sure that you want to go back to the camp? That place holds nothing but bad memories for the both of us."
I saw absolutely no reason to tell Crosswire everything. After all, he had been the one at my side every single day since this had all started, not to mention before that. "I need to get back there. I need to get my journal back. There is so much in there from my old life that I have forgotten..." I explained, trailing off, before looking back up at the tech, "Besides, I thought that you would want to delay getting to the settlement as much as possible?"
"No. I'd rather get there as soon as we could so we could leave them behind that much sooner. But why the hell is it so important that you would risking going back there?" he pressed, obviously hiding something that was bothering him about his birthplace.
Giving him a chance to organize his thoughts, I decided to answer his question. "That was one thing I had that was from before my life as a raider. When I was young, my parents gave it to me. I wrote in it every single day, including when we were living in the camp. Sometimes I would barely write more than a sentence or two, especially during our time in the camp, but there were days when I would fill entire pages with the thoughts that were filling my head," I answered, my voice taking on a distant quality as I thought back and tried to remember some of the things that I had written back when I was younger, but nothing specific would come to mind.
I could recall emotions, like times I had been happy or sad, but I could never remember the cause of those emotions. Sometimes, an image would come to mind; something I had seen that had prompted a thought that I had then rushed to write down. Most commonly, I would remember an impression, like a recollection of seeing something that had impressed me, but with no memory of what it was, or how it had affected me. But for all of those sensations I could not remember a single specific entry, except for the last one, when I had written about the constant of war, and how it changed everypony it came into contact with.
How many of the ponies that I had fought and killed would have been perfectly normal, had they not been forced to do whatever was necessary to survive? How many innocents that had turned to preying on others simply to survive would have risen to become great, if they were only given half a chance? Or even worse, how many ponies would rise to greatness if only they could get out from under the hoof of those ruling over them, like the Pegasi of the Enclave or the slaves being held captive by the Princesses-only-knew how many masters?
The implications of that train of thought left me feeling light-headed, and Crosswire was beginning to look at me oddly, so I returned my attention to our conversation, pushing the thoughts to a closet in the back of my mind, where I would be able to revisit them later, when I was on my own. "So, yeah. I need to get that journal back. Besides that, now that I'm no longer around to keep them under control, they've probably reverted to being typical, crazy raiders. We'll need to take care of them to keep anypony from wandering too close to them and getting themselves killed."
Crosswire kept his eyes fixed on me, clearly unconvinced. "You do realize that you're putting us all at risk, Evergreen? Over a book, even if it is important to you? Yes, we're much better fighters than them, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't get a lucky shot. We aren't invincible," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I realize that, but I might have written something in there about this thing in my head, since it used to visit me when I was living in Grovedale. Anything I can learn about it can only be to my advantage, right? Besides, didn't you agree with me about going after them?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I hadn't thought about the risk. But I suppose that they are raiders," Crosswire conceded, albeit reluctantly," All right, Evergreen, if you think this is the right choice, I'm behind you."
"Thanks, Crosswire. I'm going to need your help. The plan I'm putting together is ambitious, but it just might work. I'll tell you tomorrow, along with everypony else, once we get closer to the camp. Now, why are you so reluctant to go back to the Mt. Hoof settlement? It was your home once, wasn't it?" I asked, bringing the conversation back around to him.
He immediately looked away from me, staring off into a dark corner of the room. "I don't want to talk about that. My history with them is... complicated... to say the least."
"Come on, Crosswire," I argued, adding just enough of an edge to my voice to get the buck's attention, "At this point, I'm going to need every scrap of information I can get on these ponies. You're the best source of that information that I have. At least tell me this for now."
He remained silent as he mulled over my words, the finally lowered his head and sighed. "Consider my situation with them to be the same as your situation with Grovedale. They don't want me to come back, and they probably wouldn't do very nice things to me if I did show up again. Unlike Just Law, those ponies have no concept of mercy towards ponies who wronged them. I know I mentioned before that they have very strict rules, right?" he explained, looking to me for confirmation. When I nodded, he continued, "Well, I broke one of those rules. I stole something I wasn't supposed to have, and when I was caught, I was thrown out on my ass, left to fend for myself without so much as a snack cake, much less a weapon. They left me to die, Evergreen, and they knew it."
The revelation left me completely speechless. To think that this quiet buck would be thrown out of a community for simple theft was unbelievable. I could understand some sort of punishment, since he did break an established rule, but exile seemed a little extreme for his crime. "Damn... I'm sorry, Crosswire. I didn't realize," I started, then realized how little the buck would care for an apology about this, "Well, look at it this way: you're only going back because you're working with me, and I was given a job to transport something to them. Wait! I just thought of something! Would you happen to have an idea of who this damn Crystal is supposed to be going to?"
Crosswire lifted his head in thought, shifting his glance up to the ceiling as he sifted through his memory. "I might know who it's supposed to go to, but it's only a guess. I don't want to start giving out information that could be wrong," he answered, "I think I'll leave this one to them to answer, all right?"
I nodded in response. It was only fair, after all, especially given how much he had already revealed, and how painful the memories must be for him. "Yeah, we can do it that way. Now let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and it will only get us partway to the settlement. We're going to need to be in good shape for this."
Crosswire nodded his agreement, then moved off back to his own spot that he had chosen to settle down in for the night. Before long, he was snoring, and my own eyes were growing heavy with sleep.
We rose early, ate a quick breakfast, and were back on the road just as the clouds were lightening with the rising sun. If we managed to make good time from here, we should be able to make it to the camp by early afternoon, barring any distractions, and I already knew just how empty the wasteland was between here and there.
As we stepped outside, I motioned to Suture and Steel Curtain, pulling them aside before we truly got underway. "So, Suture, do you think that he'll be able to fly today?" I asked, gesturing to the Pegasus, "He'd be much more useful up in the air, rather than roughing it on the ground with us."
The maroon mare hesitated for a moment while she thought, then turned to Steel Curtain. "Let me see your wing. I need to see how well it's healed," she said, taking on the tone of an impatient doctor.
Steel Curtain obediently lifted his injured wing, wincing slightly after having kept it furled up for so long. Suture took the tip in one of her hooves and started to manipulate the wing, rotating it in every possible direction, checking it for any remaining damage. Finding nothing, she let the wing go and looked up at the buck's face. "Well, I can't find anything. You should be fine to fly. Just be careful."
She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth before Steel Curtain had launched himself into the air, spreading his wings wide and gliding, then flapping violently for altitude before diving again, rocketing downwards so fast that I half expected him to slam into the ground. Instead, he snapped his wings open at the last moment, skimming by the ground with barely five feet to spare. From there, he ran himself through several different exercises, each one more complex and demanding than the last.
I was completely enraptured by the sight, unable to tear my gaze from the Pegasus as he flitted across the sky, twisting and turning as he pushed himself to his limits. It was amazing to see how graceful he could be even while wearing a full set of heavy armor. It made me wonder what kind of acrobatics he would be capable of without the armor to hold him back.
I shook my head violently at the thought and forced myself to tear my gaze away from him, instead looking for the rest of my friends. They were all standing with their heads glued on the sky, watching the Pegasus dance around against the sky.
"Well, shit, he can really fly!" Autumn Mist exclaimed, grinning broadly, admiration very clear in her voice.
"Yeah, that he can," I answered, finding myself grinning as well, "Now come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover."
I waved up at the Pegasus, trusting the he would see us start to move and fall into place above us, ranging out to scout as he had done during our first trip together. We started out on the beaten trail, heading south towards Grovedale and the foothills where my camp was waiting, and the last ties to the life I wanted to forget were lingering, simply waiting to be cut free.
Throughout the entirety of our journey, Steel Curtain didn't come down once, and I couldn't blame him. For the last three days he had been bound to the ground, forced to fight in a way that was completely foreign to him. I really couldn't be surprised that he would choose to stay in the air while he had the chance to.
Luckily for us, this part of the wasteland was relatively safe, as there was Grovedale to our south, and Metro to the north. Occasional raider bands would travel through the area, but none would ever remain here long, as the caravans were usually well armed enough to protect themselves, and they tended to keep the roads clear. As a result, we were making great time, and the walls of Grovedale passed us off to our right as we traveled into more dangerous land, deciding that we weren't going to try to trade with the town, even if we needed to trade.
As noon was passing by, we started into the foothills of the mountains, which was when the rain started to fall for the first time that day. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't a light rain. It was coming down in sheets, quickly soaking through our barding and making our manes stick to our heads. The sheer volume of water reduced our visibility to mere feet in front of us, forcing Steel Curtain down and onto the ground with us, just so that he wouldn't lose us in the hills.
All the same, we continued marching, pushing through the weather towards our goal. In the end, all the rain would do is help me. Both Crosswire and I knew the layout of the camp by heart, so the only problem would be seeing where the other raiders would be hiding, but they would have the same problem with us. But that didn't stop it from being any more miserable.
Barely an hour and a half later, we were starting up the trail that would lead right to the gates of the camp, which is where I slowed to a stop to address my friends.
"All right, everypony, listen up! Just a short distance ahead of us is a raider camp, the same one that Crosswire and I came from barely more than a week ago, as Suture well knows," I announced, turning so that they could all see me.
"What the hell are we doing out here? I thought we were trying to get to Mt. Hoof?" Autumn asked, very obviously confused.
"We're here because these ponies are a threat to the area, and they have something of mine that I need to get back," I answered, "The survivors of our fight are tough ponies, but they are also extremely cruel. It was all I had been able to do to keep them under what little control I could manage. Without me there, I can promise that they are all going to be just as deranged as those raiders we killed while traveling back to Millberry from Stable 60."
"I assume that you have a plan for dealing with these ponies, then?" Steel Curtain asked, reaching down for his helmet and pulling it on over his matted down mane. Just like that, he went from being somepony that I knew and was comfortable around, to being an armored stranger. Even his voice seemed different, and it made me very uncomfortable.
"I do," I answered, nodding my head, "And if I'm right, they won't know what hit them. Right now, we're about a mile away from the camp, so we're close enough that it will be easy to get in close and do some damage, especially for you, Steel Curtain. Now, about half a mile ahead, the trail splits off, with a small track heading up farther into the hills while the other continues on to the camp. Almost none of the ponies there know about it, but it leads up to an overhang that provides a relatively good view of the base from above. I want Autumn Mist and Suture to go that way, since it will provide the best angle for you to attack from."
"Just how good will my view from up there be?" the dark mare asked, sliding out her rifle and checking the bolt of any wear.
"You can see a good portion of the base from up there, but not all of it. The weather is also going to play hell with the visibility," I explained, "but you'll do far better up there than you would from on the ground. Can you manage that?"
"Yeah, I can manage. Why's Suture coming with me, though? I would have thought that you would want her with you on the ground?" the sniper asked.
"Normally, yes, I would, except that some of the ponies that survived the fight the last time I was here will recognize her. If they see her, then I know that they'll see right through what I'm trying to pull here. Now then, Steel Curtain, the weather will hide you perfectly while you're flying, so I want you to circle around and watch for any sudden activity on the ground. Once you hear shots, I want you to sweep in and start shooting, all right?" I continued, looking to the Pegasus.
"What about the visibility?" he asked, his helmet distorting his voice, "Even with my helmet's visor, it's difficult to see more than a dozen feet."
"Yeah, it's going to be tricky, but if you can pull the stunts you were doing this morning, I don't think you're going to have a problem," I answered.
"Fair enough," he answered with a grunt, "I can do that."
"Now, Crosswire, you and I have the toughest job. We're going to march right up to the front gate and demand to be let in. We need to make them think that we're coming back, and that we haven't changed a bit. If we can get inside, and get to the pony that they put in charge, the entire fight will be a lot easier. Think you can manage that?" I asked, looking to the grey buck. I was asking a lot, considering how much effort it had taken for the both of us to change as much as we had.
He hesitated as he considered his answer, his face an emotionless mask, then finally nodded curtly. "I can do that, boss," he said as his mouth split in a slight grin.
"Good," I stated, smiling at the buck, "Let's move! If all goes well, this will all be over before we know it!"
We started forward, Crosswire and me in the lead. There was no need to watch our surroundings when we knew that any danger would come from in front of us. When we passed by the small side trail, Autumn Mist and Suture split off, heading up higher into the hills while the rest of us continued forward. Before long, they were out of sight, and we were approaching the final bend to the camp, where I had found the stash of gear that Crackshot had been hiding from me.
"This is your cue, Steel Curtain," I said, "Get up in the air and wait for gunshots." Immediately, there was a brief gust of wind that blew even more water into my face as the Pegasus launched himself into the air, vanishing from sight within seconds. Now I just had to hope that everything would work as I hoped it would.
Crosswire and I approached the gate, walking with a stride that I hoped would communicate our confidence. As he had before coming out of his shell, Crosswire was walking stiffly, his eyes constantly shifting around as he took in every aspect of our surroundings. I composed myself and held my expression to one of anger. It honestly wasn't that difficult, since these ponies were the only thing standing between me and peace of mind.
It didn't take them long to notice us. We were just coming within twenty paces of the gate when a voice called out, "You're really this fucking stupid to come back here, Ever?" the pony it belonged to stepped out from behind a piece of cover on top of the wall. I wasn't surprised to see that it was one of the ponies that had been fighting by Crackshot's side the day we had been forced to leave, "Though I'm surprised to see that you're still alive after the round that May Bell put in you."
"She could never kill anything with the first shot if her life depended on it." I growled, "Now open this fucking gate and tell whoever is in charge around here to come out. We have some things to discuss."
"Trying to take back control?" the buck on the wall asked, "Good luck with that. But, for old time's sake, I'll open the gate. I think Crackshot will want to take care of you himself."
Before I could answer, he disappeared from the wall, and the gate started to swing open, grinding loudly on rusted gears. I could hardly believe my ears. How the hell could Crackshot still be alive? I had seen the amount of blood on the ground after I had shot his leg. Nopony could lose that much blood and live. It simply wasn't possible.
"Keep your head on a swivel," I warned Crosswire under my breath, "I don't like the sound of this."
"You don't need to tell me twice," he answered just as quietly as he let me lead our way into the camp.
We walked through the familiar portal, making our way into the gloomy interior of the camp. I was relieved that this didn't feel like a homecoming. Instead, it felt exactly as it should: as though I was walking into an elaborate trap. If it were possible, I'm sure that Crosswire would have stiffened up even more than he already was as we walked into a rough circle made up of the rest of the gang, many of which were ponies I had never seen before. They all had the same bloodthirsty and hungry look on their faces. Many of them seemed to have only a tenuous grasp on sanity, if even that, and several seemed to be trembling slightly. Those were the ponies I kept my eyes on, as they were the kind of raiders that enjoyed eating their victims. As bad as I had been, I had never allowed one of them within a mile of the base.
My vision was positively flooded with bars denoting the raiders around us. Most of them were blue, for now, since the order to attack hadn't yet been given, but there were several in the mix that were red, most likely the craziest of the bunch that were only being held in check by the restraint of the others. I tried to do a quick count as we walked, but quickly lost track at about twenty-five, far more ponies than I had ever kept around.
Standing in the center of this rough circle was Crackshot, though he had changed a lot in the last week. The most obvious difference was that his right foreleg was missing, and the stump was swaddled in multiple dirty bandages. But there were other, subtler differences as well. He no longer held himself with the bearing of somepony that was an underling to somepony else. He stood tall, with a confident grin on his face, as if he was completely sure that nothing could knock him from his position.
"Bet you weren't expecting to see me still among the living, Ever," he sneered, "But then again, I also wasn't expecting you to be stupid enough to show your face here again. Definitely not the best decision."
My response was to shrug. "To be honest, Crackshot, I was expecting you to be dead. Probably would have worked out better for the other ponies here, since they would most likely have ended up with a smarter leader. I can't imagine that the last week has been too profitable for you."
Crackshot laughed, a low, grinding sound that communicated more contempt than it did joy. "You always were quick to start throwing insults around, Ever. Unfortunately, this time, you don't have the power or position to back it up. All you've got is that one washed-up old tech. Crosswire, wasn't it? Since you're in such a weak position, and Clipper happens to be dead, I'm willing to offer you a place at my side. All you need to do is kill him," Crackshot said, gesturing to Crosswire.
I made a show of considering the offer for a few moments, looking back and forth from Crackshot to Crosswire, letting the conceited yellow buck think he held all the right cards before grinning wickedly and locking my gaze on his. "I think I'm going to have to pass. Being your plaything doesn't have much appeal to me, and I could never be docile enough for you. Besides, you never were one to count strength that you couldn't see. Sure, I may be outnumbered, maybe even severely so, but there is no doubt in my mind that I have you all outgunned," I said snidely as I pulled Hammer from its holster, "This is your one and only chance, Crackshot. Throw down your weapons, tell everypony here to do the same, and you walk away, alive. Fight, and you die."
"Is one revolver really supposed to frighten me, Ever?" Crackshot asked, chuckling, as he pulled out his rifle and somehow balanced it on his stump, "Because I think you took a serious blow to the head in the last week if you think that puny pistol can beat my rifle."
"It doesn't need to," I ground out, "I take this to mean that you won't surrender? You're going to throw away the lives of every single pony that is supposedly loyal to you because you can't see when you're beat? Face it, Crackshot, I'm better than you at everything. Only reason you won our last fight was because I wasn't quite ready for it yet."
"Wrong. I won our last fight because I'm better and stronger than you, Ever. It's long past time you realized that," the yellow buck leered, lowering his head to aim through his rifle's sights.
"My name is Evergreen," I snapped even as I slipped into S.A.T.S. and lined up a shot to the buck's head. I was done talking to him. For good measure, I also lined up two more shots on the two ponies to his right, which would give me a clear alley to get up to my old quarters where, hopefully, my journal would still be.
Time snapped back to reality, and the rounds fired. The weather had affected my accuracy somewhat, but not nearly enough to actually worry me. As a result, every single round I fired was on target. Crackshot went down hard, his skull basically imploding as the round smashed into it, killing him before he got a chance to pull the trigger. The other two shots sent the two raiders I had aimed for to the ground as well, both incapacitated with shots to the chest, and leaving me the space I needed to run.
I launched myself forward, pushing past two bucks that had managed to either not be shocked by Crackshot's death, or not caring about it, and ran for the ramp that would bring me up into my old RV. In my wake, I heard the staccato firing of Crosswire's SMG as he opened fire, along with several shrieks of pain from various raiders.
As I rounded the corner onto the ramp, I slowed by just a step to fire a couple of rounds towards the mass of raiders, trusting their sheer numbers to allow for at least a couple of grazing hits. I wasn't disappointed as I saw a mare wielding a bat studded with nails fall to the ground, a bullet lodged in her side and one taking one of her rear legs out from under her. I continued my run, reaching the top of the ramp and slipping into S.A.T.S. once again. The spell had recharged enough for a single shot, which I lined up on a unicorn buck wielding a shotgun. The rain dropped my accuracy severely at this range, but I didn't need to hit to buy Crosswire the time and space he would need to get out of the way.
I let the spell go, and my last round fired, skimming by the buck's neck, rather than striking him in the head as I intended. All the same, he flinched from the shot, and I saw Crosswire take the opportunity to fire a short burst at a pair of ponies charging him with melee weapons and make a break for his workshop.
It was in that moment that Steel Curtain made his first pass, sweeping through the main courtyard of the camp, guns blazing. The trail of fire that preceded him cut down a half-dozen ponies in mid-stride, reducing them to little more than quivering piles of flesh and blood as the rounds tore through their bodies, shredding anything they touched. The Pegasus cleared the camp and arced back up into the dark sky, quickly disappearing from sight. With that pass, I noticed a lot of raiders break off from the general melee, scattering to whatever bits of cover they could find, surprised by the firepower they had just witnessed. Unfortunately, none of them were smart enough to try to make a break for it.
Three of the raiders were making their way towards me, so I dodged into the RV, kicking the door closed as I did, and hopefully buying me enough time to reload and prepare. Crosswire was more than capable of taking care of himself, especially since we had the element of surprise.
I had just managed to shake loose the empty shells from Hammer's cylinder and ram home a single bullet when the sound of hoof-strikes echoed through the RV, the sound of ponies trying to force their way in. Without time to do anything else, I slammed the cylinder closed and fired a round at the thin, sheet metal door.
The round easily punched through, eliciting a grunt of pain, followed by alarmed shouts as my victim presumably fell back and off the ramp. "Let's kill the fucking bitch," a voice announced, and there was another sound of hooves striking the door.
This time, it caved in under the pressure, allowing a pair of ponies inside. One was an earth pony buck wielding an axe, and the other was a unicorn mare floating a wicked looking serrated blade before her. I was already dropping Hammer into its holster and reaching for my knife when the buck reached me, swinging his axe in a broad arc that could probably have decapitated me, but I jumped to the side, and the blow missed me cleanly over my left shoulder and the buck was left reeling as he tried to recover from the attack.
I ripped my knife from its sheath and darted forward, hoping to take advantage of the buck's lack of balance, but was met by the mare, who's blade managed to slip past my defenses and slice my leg open just below where my barding covered.
I grunted in pain and backed up, lowering my head and hunching my shoulders, trying to present as small a target I could while still leaving myself space to attack. Blood was now flowing freely from the wound in my leg, tracing a line down my leg and slipping over my Pipbuck, obscuring the screen.
The mare was grinning wickedly, but paused as she allowed her companion to recover and turn on me, then continued to hold back as the buck launched himself at me again. As I had done before, I dodged to the side and tried to strike, hoping to kill, or at least wound, the buck. Once again, the unicorn was faster, and once again intercepted my blow, this time opening a wound on my neck, thankfully away from any major arteries.
I backed up even farther, panting from the exertion and pain and trying to buy myself more time. I could still hear the sounds of combat coming from outside, with the now familiar sound of Steel Curtain's minigun keeping the raiders suppressed, as well as the occasional retort of Autumn's rifle as she joined the battle.
I forced my focus back to the problem at hoof. My usual strategy wasn't working here, and this mare was perfectly willing to slowly wear me down, cut by cut, until I was unable to continue fighting. But they were also fighting in a predictable pattern. All I had to do was get lucky.
Again, the buck with the axe rushed me, and again, I dodged to the side. Except this time, I didn't try to attack him. Instead, I twisted and struck at the mare, knocking her blade to the side with my Pipbuck and lunging forward with my knife, which I lodged in her neck. Blood spurted from the wound and around the hilt of my knife, spraying me in the face.
Needing the time, I released my knife and kicked the mare out of the way, sending her limp body into the wall, and turned only for the buck's axe to crash down on my back. The attack felt like a hammer blow, and I fell to the ground gasping for air as the metal plates on the back of my barding crumpled under the strength of the blow and bit into my back. As I struggled to regain my hooves, I could feel blood flowing from the wounds in my back, and another hammer blow fell, this one thankfully a little off from the first, which meant that my barding was once again able to withstand the blow.
Unfortunately, it didn't stop the force of the attack, and I once again collapsed as even more of the small metal plates bit down into my back. Knowing I had mere seconds to get out of the way, I did the only thing I could think to do and rolled. My weight forced the plates on my barding to bite even deeper, making my shout in pain. But the move bought me the time I needed as the buck's axe slammed into the floor of the RV, instead of into me.
I tried to push myself to my hooves, but couldn't manage the strength to do so, and collapsed almost as soon as my belly cleared the ground. I could only lie there and watch in terror as the buck wrenched his axe out of the ground and started advancing towards me, a wicked look in his eye. With every step he took, my eyes took in more detail, from the ruddy brown color of his hide and the greasy black of his mane, to the spatter of blood, my blood, coursing down the blade of his axe to drip onto the floor.
Once again, I attempted to struggle to my hooves, but this attempt was just as fruitless as the last, and I was left lying there, my vision filled with the sight of the buck's hooves as he came to a stop before me. I was just about to resign myself to the inevitable when a black form shot into the room and slammed into the buck, sending him flying into the far wall to slide limply down to the ground.
From there, the black form pounced on the buck and attacked him viciously, raining down blow after hammering blow with its hooves. It didn't let up until the buck had stopped quivering and simply lay limply on the ground, obviously dead, even to my pain-filled mind.
Its target clearly taken care of, the form turned and approached my gingerly. I concentrated my vision on the form's head, and finally managed to make it out. My heart soared in my chest as Steel Curtain came up to me knelt down in front of me.
"Evergreen, are you all right?" he asked softly, his voice distorted by the helmet. Even so, I could make out the fear in his voice.
When I tried to answer, all that came out was a pained cough that led to a severe fit that left me exhausted and panting. "I'll be fine," I finally croaked, "Just get me a healing potion or three."
The buck nodded and reached into one of his armor compartments for a trio of the potions, which he opened and fed to me. I felt the wounds on my leg and neck close as I drank, as well as some of the damage that had been done to my back. By the time I was finished, I was feeling strong enough to stand.
Carefully, I started to push myself to my hooves, grimacing under the pain of my armor digging into my back. Realizing what I was attempting, Steel Curtain stepped forward and helped me up, holding me steady as my legs threatened to collapse underneath me. After a long minute, I finally managed to push the pain far enough into the back of my mind for the Pegasus to step away and let me stand on my own.
"How's the fight going out there?" I managed to say, shocked by how weak my own voice sounded. I could still hear the occasional burst from Crosswire's SMG, as well as a periodic shot from Autumn's rifle, so the fight must not have been over yet.
"Just cleaning up the straggler's now. Last I saw, there were only four left on their hooves," Steel Curtain answered.
I grunted as I shifted my weight to my recently injured leg and started to cast about the room, trying to see if it had been significantly altered since I had been forced to leave it behind. "Good, now help me look around in here. I'm looking for a leather-bound book. If we're lucky it'll still be in here," I said, walking by the Pegasus and retrieving my knife from the fallen mare.
I started rooting around in the various drawers and cabinets, dumping all of the contents on the floor in my rush to find the journal. For the first few moments, Steel Curtain simply stood by silently, watching me tear the room apart.
"This thing really means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he finally asked, stepping forward and helping me sift through the mountain of junk that I had piled in the center of the room.
"It's one of the few objects in life that I care about at all," I answered shortly, abandoning the pile of junk and moving to inspect the corners of the RV, in case it had fallen back there, "It was my journal. My parents gave it to me when I was just a filly. There are entire years of my life in those pages, and I want to remember those years."
"I suppose I can understand that," the Pegasus answered, now beginning to help me in earnest. Between the two of us, we covered every single square inch of the RV within five minutes.
Just as the sounds of battle from outside were falling silent, the Pegasus lifted something that looked oddly familiar from a dark corner underneath the pallet I used to sleep on. He flipped it open and started reading aloud.
"Well, I don't know where to start, so I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Evergreen, and this journal was a present from my mommy and daddy for my seventh birthday! Momma's real name is Rose Garden, and she is the loveliest pony I know!" he read, his voice taking on a bemused tone.
"Hey! Who said you could read it!" I snapped, trying to run over to him, but gasping in pain at the exertion and tumbling towards him instead.
He neatly sidestepped my barely controlled fall, extending a wing to keep me from actually crashing into the ground, and continued reading. "Daddy's real name is Nightingale, and even though he can be a little scary sometimes, he is always looking out for Momma and me! They are both always watching out for me, and even though they are busy a lot, I know they love me a lot, just as much as I love them! Well, that's all I can think of for now," he finished, closing the book again and looking up to me. He reached a hoof up and pulled the helmet off of his head. Underneath the sopping wet helmet of his mane, I thought I could see a tear running down his face.
"I can see why you value this book so highly," he said, his voice oddly choked up, holding it out to me, "Especially since you had parents like those, who truly cared for you, and would have done anything for you, above all else. What happened to them?"
I reached out and took the journal, cradling it close to my chest as tears started to well up in my eyes. "They were killed years ago, outside of Grovedale, in a raider attack. After they were killed, I basically grew up there, until Just Law threw me out."
"Why'd he do that?" Steel Curtain asked. His tone wasn't accusatory, or even the least bit threatening. It sounded as exactly what it was: a simple question.
"I broke one too many rules. I kept on stealing from others, since the food I was earning for my work wasn't enough to really keep me going. I was losing a lot of weight and was becoming really sickly. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at stealing and kept getting caught. Just Law had finally had enough and simply threw me out of the town, warning me not to come back. From there, things more or less just spiraled downward until I ended up here," I explained, "This journal was the only thing from that life that I held on to."
Steel Curtain nodded sympathetically, then snapped his head to the side at the sound of somepony climbing the ramp.
"Hey, Evergreen, you up here?" Crosswire asked as he walked in, then, when he saw the tears in my eyes, he asked, "You all right?"
"Yeah," I answered with a sheepish grin, "Steel Curtain just found my journal and decided to read the first entry. Brought a lot of old memories back. What's up?"
"Everypony out there is taken care of. All that's left is the medical shack. I'm pretty sure Heart Attack is sitting in there drunk off his ass," the tech explained, "Thought you would want to come along to finish cleaning up." The way he said it made it very clear as to what he expected to happen, but I wasn't sure I would be able to pull the trigger, especially if the old doctor wasn't actively trying to hurt me.
As the buck turned to walk out the door, I noticed a spot of red on the barding over his shoulder. "Wait, Crosswire, you're hurt!" I exclaimed, walking over to him and pulling out a healing potion, "Heart Attack can wait. We should see to you injuries first."
Crosswire slowly turned around, moving with obvious difficulty, and looked down at the potion I was offering. "I'll be fine," he said, his magic gripping the bottle and floating it over to himself, "but I guess it couldn't hurt." He drained the bottle with a few swallows, then tucked the empty bottle into his saddlebags. He then turned, moving much more smoothly now, and walked out of the RV, with Steel Curtain and me just a step behind.
We made our way through the carnage, stepping over the broken bodies of the dead raiders, walking through mud that was less the color of dirt and closer to the color of rust with all of the blood that had seeped into it. Just as we were approaching the medical shack, I came across Crackshot's corpse, and slowed to a stop.
"You should have just dropped your weapons, you stupid bastard," I growled, "Now look what your stubbornness caused. At least that's one less group of raiders for the wasteland to worry about."
I stepped over the buck's body, putting his fate out of my mind, and rejoined Crosswire and Steel Curtain at the door to the shack. They both stepped aside and let me be the one to open the door.
Inside the dim structure, I found the aging unicorn sitting in his usual spot, nursing a glass of some sort of clear liquid, exactly as I had expected to find him.
"So, Crackshot lost," the doctor drawled, his speech slightly slurred. He dropped his gaze from me to the glass he was clutching, then lifted it and took a drink, "Guess you're here to finish the job, eh, Ever?"
I sighed heavily and walked into the shack, shaking my head slowly, "I didn't come back for revenge, Heart Attack," I answered, "So I'm not going to hurt you unless you attack me first."
"Heh, that's not like you, Ever," the unicorn stated, chuckling lightly, then hiccupping, "Not like you at all."
"Stop calling me that," I snapped, uncomfortable with all of the reminders of my old life. This aging buck still saw me as what I had been, and his words reminded me of how much control I had had then. But, with every time I heard him speak my name as he did, I was reminded of how unhappy my life had been.
"It's your name, ain't it?" Heart Attack asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "What else am I supposed to call you."
"How about my full name?" I asked, harsher than I had intended, "Call me Evergreen. It's how everypony knows me nowadays."
"Are you really the same pony that was chased out of here a week ago?" the doctor demanded, squinting his eyes at me, then taking another drink.
"No, she isn't. She's learned a few things since then," Crosswire chimed in as he entered the shack.
Heart Attack shifted his gaze from me to Crosswire, and actually laughed. "That you, Crosswire? Damn, I'm surprised you're still alive!"
"And why wouldn't I be?" the tech demanded, "Because I ran away with my tail between my legs, wanting to live rather than go down fighting?"
"Well, that's the type I had you pegged for," Heart Attack muttered, going to take a drink, then realizing that his glass was empty. He sighed and eased himself out of his chair, hobbling over to the cabinet, with his empty glass clutched in a hoof, where he kept his supply of liquor. He reared up on his hindlegs, impressive considering how drunk he probably was, and pulled out a bottle filled with a clear liquid, nonchalantly filling his glass back up while balancing on only two legs.
"Well, I'm happy that you were wrong," Crosswire snapped back, "Otherwise things wouldn't have started looking up for me."
"Fair 'nuff," the doctor grunted as he returned to his seat. He took a long pull from his drink, then turned his gaze to me. "So, if you're not going to kill me, what are you planning to do with me, Evergreen?" he asked with a chuckle, most likely at my name, "There's too much wrong-doing connected to my name for any settlement to even consider taking me in, and I doubt my old bones will last too long out here on my own."
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Heart Attack, but I can't just shoot somepony who isn't offering any resistance. That just isn't who I am anymore," I answered quietly, "Do you not have any ideas for what you can do?"
The doctor remained silent as he swirled his drink around and peered into it, as if he were looking for answers. "I've got an idea. Don't know how much you're gonna like it though," he finally answered in a resigned tone.
"What do you mean?" I asked, fearing what the answer would be. Heart Attack had always been one for extreme solutions to problems; it was how he had ended up as the medic for a raider gang. But on the other hoof, his extreme solutions were often the only thing left that would actually get a result.
"Well, the way I see it, I've been alive for a long time, longer than most," he answered as he took another gulp from his drink, "Now, don't give me any of that shit about how I'm still young enough to make something of myself. In another time, maybe I would be, but in the wasteland, I'm old, washed-up, and I enjoy drink far too much to ever settle down in a 'civilized' settlement."
"So what are you suggesting?" Crosswire asked tentatively. I could even detect a note of fear in the ragged buck's voice. So at least I wasn't the only one who didn't like the direction this conversation was going.
"Well, ever since I was a young colt, I'd wanted to see what was on the other side of those clouds. Some of the peaks around here are tall enough to poke through. At least, it looks that way from down here. I figured I'd climb my way up one of them and see what I could see," the doctor said with a melancholic grin.
"That would be suicide," Steel Curtain announced from his place by the door, "The Enclave would shoot you down before you came even close to the top of the cloud cover."
Heart Attack looked over to the armored Pegasus and nodded slowly. "Guess you would know that best, since you look like you're one of 'em. Well, at least nopony could say that I didn't try."
"I can't let you kill yourself like that, Heart Attack. You've put me back together far too many times for me to let you just go and get yourself killed," I growled, "Look at me. I was the one in charge of this group, and I'm working with Metro now. The mayor there is one of my strongest allies now. If I could do it, then you can!"
"I'm happy to hear that you managed to find a better life, Evergreen, but this ain't your choice," the doctor replied with a sigh, draining his drink, "My entire life, I've been living to somepony else's expectations. For once, I'd like to do something because I want to do it. It might as well be the last thing I do."
"But why this?" I demanded, my voice taking on a pleading tone. I simply couldn't understand why he didn't want to try. Every pony I had ever met had wanted nothing more than to survive, yet here was a buck who was basically giving up, at least to my eyes.
"If you're thinking that I want to die, Evergreen, that isn't it," Heart Attack answered, as if reading my mind, sounding sober for the first time ever, despite the amount of alcohol we had seen him drink, "I want to live, but I don't want to do it on somepony else's terms. Besides, there's always the chance that they won't shoot, right?" He shot a questioning glance in Steel Curtain's glance as he said they words.
The armored Pegasus shrugged in response. "I suppose, if there wasn't a patrol in the area, but they keep a pretty sharp eye on anything approaching the clouds. I'd be surprised if anything made it through."
"It's settled then," Heart Attack announced resolutely, "Come morning, I'll be heading for the closest mountain that pierces the clouds."
I fell heavily backwards onto my rump, grimacing from the sudden pain it awoke in my back as it jostled the metal plates that were still very badly mauled out of place. I was completely incapable of believing that this buck wanted this for himself. Yet, I knew I couldn't take this away from him. As he had said, it was his choice to make, and it wasn't as if he was going looking for death. It was simply likely that this course would lead to it.
The doctor saw me fall back, and smiled wanly. "I know it isn't what you want, Ever," he said, "but it's what I want."
"I... understand," I finally managed to force, grinning weakly in response, again trying to push the pain of my injuries from my mind, "Just promise me something. Promise me that you'll be careful."
"I suppose I can do that," he answered, "Now you lot need somewhere to stay for the night, and I doubt you want to move all those bodies."
"Not particularly," Crosswire said, "I was thinking that we'd just stay in here. It's out of the rain, and there's more than enough space for all of us."
"Hah! You make it sound like there's going to be more of you showing up," Heart Attack exclaimed with a laugh.
"Yup. Two more," I answered, "And I should probably get outside to look for them. They won't have a clue what to look for out here."
With that, I staggered to my hooves and made my way out of the shack and back into the rain. A quick check of my E.F.S. revealed two blue bars approaching the camp from the direction of the gate. I wandered in that direction, each step causing me more pain, forcing me to limp severely. The healing potions may have healed my injuries for the most part, but my damaged armor was still biting into my back, and I could feel fresh blood flowing under my armor.
Despite the pain, I forced a grin onto my face as Autumn Mist and Suture came into sight. On seeing me, they noticeably perked up and picked up their pace, rushing over to meet me.
"I'm happy to see that you're still on your feet, Evergreen!" Suture announced happily, "I guess the battle went well? Autumn wasn't really saying a whole lot while we were up there."
"That's 'cause I could barely see. If it weren't for that Pipbuck I picked up from the ghouls, I would have been less than useless!" the sniper exclaimed, rolling her eyes as though she had already said the same thing several times.
"Yeah, we're all in one piece, for the most part. Crosswire took some fire, but we already handled that," I answered, forcing the grin to remain on my face, which seemed to be a losing battle, waiting for them to walk by so I could turn and follow. I at least wanted them to settle down before worrying Suture with my injuries.
"That's good. What about you and Steel Curtain?" Suture asked, turning to look at me with a critical eye.
"Steel Curtain made it through unscathed. No real surprise there. These ponies didn't have any weapons capable of even scratching his armor, much less pierce it. As for me, I may have gotten bludgeoned a bit, but we already took care of the worst of the damage," I admitted with a shrug, trying to play off the injury. Unfortunately, the shrug was exactly the wrong thing to do as it pulled on my barding, and dug the broken plates into my back, making me grimace and whimper in pain.
"If you're making that face simply by shrugging, then I really need to take a look at you," Suture stated adamantly, "Show us where we'll be staying, and I'll see what I can do." The medic then turned and started forward again, but stopped dead in her tracks after only two steps to stare at the carnage.
"Goddesses," she whispered under her breath, "So many dead..."
"Don't do this to me now, Suture," I begged, "They were trying to kill us, and none of them were good ponies. If we didn't do it, somepony else would have, and there would be a lot more dead innocents out there."
"You weren't a good pony either, Evergreen," the maroon mare pointed out, her voice harsh, "I understand now that they were raiders, and that they can't be reasoned with. I didn't know that when we first met. But it's still hard for me to see death on this scale."
"I understand," I said sympathetically, limping forward to take the lead, "Now follow me. I'll show you where we'll be staying for the night. As I passed them, I heard a sharp intake of breath from Suture. It could only mean that she had noticed my armor.
"I know, Suture, but like I said: we took care of the worst of the damage. When Steel Curtain got to me, I didn't even have the strength to stand. You can take a look inside," I said, trying to placate her. The mare's only response was to snort at me.
I led them both to the medical shack, and after a quick introduction to Heart Attack, Suture turned to me and pointed towards one of the cots. "Lie down, now," she ordered, not unkindly. Once I was on the bed, she pulled out a syringe of Med-X and jammed it into my leg. Very quickly, my entire body started to feel numb, and my thought's started to become fuzzy. "Even with that, I imagine this is going to hurt a lot," she announced, reaching for the bindings of my armor, which she deftly undid, "I'm sorry I can't do anything more about it."
She started to pull my barding off, and I couldn't help but to cry out in pain as the broken steel plates were slowly pulled out of my back. I had use to think that getting shot hurt, since at least that pain was quick, but this was the kind of pain that kept dragging on as the plates dragged new furrows up my back and onto my neck, the barding too damaged for Suture to do anything else with it, and the remaining armor too thick for her to cut it off. As she worked, I could audibly hear the metal plates squelching as they were pulled free, each onr sending fresh rivulets of blood dripping down my side and neck.
By the time she was finally done, I was lying on the bed panting, tears streaming down my face from the intense pain, and practically bathing in my own blood. When I tried to move, I was overcome with a wave of agony that spread from my mauled back and simply whimpered, unable to manage anything else.
My armor discarded, Suture turned her attention back to me. Her sharp intake of breath told me just how bad it looked. "Princesses above, this looks worse than a simple bludgeoning. What the hell happened?"
"The fucker that had her pinned was using an axe. By the time I got there, he'd already rendered her completely defenseless," Steel Curtain answered for me, "I'm just lucky that I managed to get there before he could swing the thing for the last time."
Suture shook her head slowly as she accessed her Pipbuck, using it to pull out another syringe of Med-X, which she immediately gave me. The powerful painkiller forced the pain back, at last allowing me to catch my breath, but it wasn't successful in blocking out even close to all of the pain that I was feeling.
"Ok, well at least now I can actually do something about the injury," Suture said quietly, laying aside several different implements and various other supplies, "This might hurt a bit."
The maroon mare started tending to the deep wounds, slowly cleaning them out and bandaging them up, refusing to use healing potions, claiming that they were too inefficient, and that natural healing would be the best course of action for this type of injury. Though she was trying to be gentle, the pain was nearly unbearable, even with the double dose of Med-X. It felt as though a red-hot spike was being driven into my back with every attempt she mad to clean out the wounds, rendering me almost incapable of thinking. The only thought I could truly manage was something along the lines of 'Princesses please stop this fucking agony!' My last thought before the pain finally rendered my unconscious was that I probably would have preferred to die over having to suffer this kind of agony.
When I finally woke, it was to the sound of a light rain coming down on the roof of the shack. I shifted experimentally, testing my movement, and was surprised when I felt almost no pain at all. All I really felt was a bit of tightness and soreness around the area where I had been injured, but nothing more than that.
Slowly, I pushed myself up so that I was propped up on my legs and was able to look around the room. The first pony I noticed was Suture, who was sleeping on the cot next to mine. Just by looking at her I could tell that she was completely passed out, which told me that she must have spent hours trying to piece me back together.
I scanned the room and noticed Heart Attack rooting through his cabinets, occasionally pulling out some container or other, which he was piling together in the center of the room, next to a set of old, chewed-up saddlebags. I felt my heart sink as I remembered that he was packing for the journey he would be taking today.
I watched him in silence for several minutes, noticing on my E.F.S. that nopony else was in the shack, simply trying to think of anything more I could say to try to dissuade him from this course of action. Ponies with his skills were rare, enough so that many towns would accept him without question, despite his checkered past. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't think of a single thing to say to him. It was as he had said the day before: It was his choice to make, and nopony else's. As much as I disliked that, I could respect it. After all, it was all I had wanted since I had left the camp and tried to forge a new life.
The old doctor turned around during his work, and finally noticed that I was up. "'Bout time you woke up, Ever. Back still hurting?" He asked, making his way over to me and taking a look at the bandages wrapped around my back. As he moved, it seemed to me that he was a bit more sluggish than usual, but his walking did seem to be straighter.
"It feels much better than I had expected," I answered, looking up at him, "Especially given how much it hurt at the time. How long was I out?"
"About ten hours, give or take," he answered, his voice sounding a bit strained, yet I couldn't detect a single slurred word, which was awfully surprising.
"Heart Attack, are you actually sober?" I asked, not even making an attempt to hide the disbelief in my voice.
"For the first time in years," he answered with a pained grin, "And let me tell you: it's fucking hell. But this trip ain't something I want to do with drink fogging up my head. If I'm going to do this, it needs to be done right."
"Shit," I said, unable to think of anything else to say. Heart Attack had been a part of the gang back when I had first joined, several years before I had risen to be the pony in charge. Not once in all of those years had I ever seen him sober, even for an hour.
"You're telling me," he scoffed with a toss of his head. He spent another few minutes checking over the bandages, reassuring me that everything was healing well, before starting to go back to his packing.
"So when did Suture finally finish working on me?" I asked, looking over at the sleeping mare, "I passed out rather quickly, and knowing her as well as I do, she wouldn't quit until there wasn't a thing left that she could do."
Heart Attack stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, a confused look on his face. "Suture? Oh, you mean your friend who knows a bunch about medicine?" When I nodded, he answered, "I think she finally fell asleep about three hours ago. Apparently, there was a chance that your injuries could have been much more severe, since there were a bunch of sharp metal disks digging into your back. She cleaned out each individual wound, and then made sure that none of them had penetrated deep enough to actually damage your spine. That process took her hours."
I shook my head slowly, simply astonished that she would use so much of her energy to make sure I was all right. "Shit, she needs to stop doing this to herself," I muttered, slowly climbing to my hooves. I was a little shaky at first, but whatever it was that Suture had done left almost no residual pain, and all I needed was a few moments to gather my strength. I wouldn't be up to full fighting condition today, but there also shouldn't be a whole lot in our way between here and Mt. Hoof.
"What, burning herself out?" Heart Attack asked as he returned to rummaging through his cabinets, "As far as I can tell, it was worth it if it got you back on your hooves. This little group of yours is one devoted set of ponies. I'm actually surprised you got them all together, especially that big, armored Pegasus. How the hell did you get the loyalty of an Enclave soldier?"
"He's not Enclave," I answered automatically, "He deserted in protest to something their military was doing. I probably shouldn't go into it, since you want to try to get above the clouds. And they aren't devoted to me. They simply share some interests with me, or about me."
"It doesn't look like that from where I stand," the doctor stated with a chuckle, "I'm telling you, Ever, those ponies would do almost anything for you, and I doubt some of them would even know why. Especially that angry young mare with the big rifle. Then again, I doubt that she knows why she does almost anything."
I couldn't accept a word of what Heart Attack was saying. Autumn Mist was along to make sure that I didn't relapse to being a raider again. She had made that fact clear on several occasions. As for Steel Curtain, he simply shared my interest in securing the wasteland's future for itself. Sure, he and I were friendly, but the others, Crosswire especially, still had their trust issues with him. Crosswire and Suture were the only two that I truly believed were entirely loyal to me, and Suture only because of how much I had helped, and was helping, her home.
"By the way, if you're looking for the others, they went outside to salvage what they could from the camp," Heart Attack continued, not reacting to my silence, "I think they'd like to see that you're up and about."
I nodded dumbly, hunting about for my barding, but couldn't find it. Somepony must have taken it with them for some reason. So, without anywhere to put my weapons, I simply walked out without them, trusting that they would all be armed, and that if something went wrong, Steel Curtain would be able to react well enough to buy me time to grab a gun.
I stepped outside, discovering that the rain had let up to the point where it was just a light misting, meaning that our visibility had improved back to the point where we could at least see more than five feet past our noses. I immediately spotted Crosswire, who was sifting through a slowly growing pile of junk, pulling out random bits and pieces which he would occasionally strip down even farther, or just stash away into one of his many pockets or into his saddlebags. Sitting next to him was my barding, which appeared to be in mint condition, armor plating included.
I wandered over to his side and lifted the barding off the ground and started to inspect it for myself. With a careful eye I could tell where the patchwork had been done, but the buck had done a terrific job in getting it back up to combat strength. The only thing he hadn't managed to repair was the red stain of my blood on the plates surrounding the patched pieces. "Wow, thanks for fixing this up for me, Crosswire," I said, pushing the sight of that out of my mind and pulling it on, settling it so that it sat comfortably, "I can barely even tell that it was damaged!"
"Well, you know me," he answered happily, "I don't leave any job half-done. And it's good to see you on your hooves again, Evergreen. I guess that injury of yours was more serious than we thought."
"Seems that way," I answered, perusing the junk pile, "So are Autumn and Steel Curtain just going around and grabbing whatever looks useful?" I asked, seeing everything in the pile from broken down weapons to scraps of torn barding.
"Pretty much, though almost all of it is total junk. Some of these guns aren't even good for salvaging parts. I'd forgotten just how bad this gang was at maintaining its gear. I'm starting to be surprised that they even had anything to shoot us with at all."
"I'd always been wondering about that, even when we were still here. You could only ever do so much, Crosswire. Even yours and my guns weren't in the best condition," I pointed out.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," the grey buck pointed out as Autumn Mist and Steel Curtain approached with more junk. Autumn Mist had deposited her rifle somewhere, making it easier for her to carry more, but her levitation skills made it very easy for her to carry several large containers of various bits of salvage. Steel Curtain had pulled the wing sheaths off of his armor, probably for the same reason, as well as the fact that it seemed unusually warm out today, even though it was still fairly early in the year. Once they had deposited their loads, they practically ran to where Crosswire and I were standing, both with large grins plastered on their faces.
"Evergreen, you're finally up! Suture was up for hours, and some of the things she was saying had us worried!" Autumn exclaimed, coming up to me and wrapping a hoof around my neck in an impulsive hug.
I was taken aback by the sudden gesture, but still managed to reach up to return it and answered, "Yeah, Heart Attack was just telling me that my injuries must have been far more severe than we thought if Suture had to work that hard on them. I'm just thankful that she managed to fix all the damage. I can't imagine what I would have done if there had been something permanent!"
"You're telling us that!" Steel Curtain exclaimed, "You're the one with the plan, Evergreen. We're just following along and helping out."
"That's not true!" I protested, "All of you have had a lot of influence in what we do. I'm just the spokespony."
"Believe what you want, Evergreen, but this is your mission. Sure, we share our opinions on things from time to time, but the jobs are being offered to you, not us," Autumn argued with a chuckle that did nothing to take away from the seriousness of the comment.
I looked from one to the other, seeing the same stubborn agreement in all of their expressions, and sighed in exasperation. "I'm not going to be able to convince any of you otherwise, am I?" I asked.
"Nope," Crosswire answered with a mischievous smile, "So you better get used to it, boss."
"Please, Crosswire, don't call me that. There are too many bad memories connected to that word for me, including the way I was treated by a lot of ponies, especially yourself," I pleaded. Luckily for me, he understood.
He nodded solemnly, the smile fading from his face as he thought about what I meant. "Sorry, Evergreen. I wasn't thinking."
"It's fine. Now, Since Suture is still sleeping, we might as well finish up this salvage job. Crosswire, you're the one in charge of this. Tell me what you need, and I'll help find it," I announced, steering the conversation away from those thoughts.
The buck immediately perked up, pushing the memories aside and answered, "Anything and everything that looks the least bit useful. I'll sift through it and pick out the bits and pieces that I can actually use. I imagine that Autumn Mist and Steel Curtain have already grabbed most of it, but there has to be a bit more out there."
I nodded resolutely and turned to the other two. "Well, you two know where you've been, so point me somewhere you haven't checked yet."
"We haven't really gotten to the southwestern quarter of the camp yet," Autumn said, "We were just about to head over there."
"Sounds good," I answered, smiling, and joined them as they made their way to that end of the camp.
We spent the next three hours going over the camp with a fine-toothed comb, pulling out any scrap of machinery, metal, or fabric that we might be able to use for any purpose, and piling them up for Crosswire to filter. In the end, we had a respectable pile of salvage that we could use to both refit and repair our own gear, as well as trade with various settlements. Carrying all of it would be difficult, but if we planned carefully, we should be able to divide it amongst ourselves fairly evenly.
As we were finishing that job, which ended up with me carrying almost a third of the salvage, since I had so little else in my saddlebags, Suture came wandering out of the shack, followed by Heart Attack. Though she still looked tired, she also appeared to be in good spirits.
"I see you lot have been busy," she announced as she joined us, eyeing our bulging saddlebags wearily, then noticing the small pile we still had left to give to her, "I'm guessing I need to carry that?"
"It's barely an eighth of the whole load," Autumn Mist explained, "Since you're carrying most of our medical supplies already."
"Well, it's nice to see that I was considered," Suture answered, smiling, "I'm also going to guess that we're leaving shortly?"
I nodded. "Yeah, we've already wasted enough time here, and there's still a good distance for us to go. If we're lucky, and don't run into any obstacles on our way, we should still be able to make it to Mt. Hoof before it gets too dark."
"Fair enough. And I'm going to assume that nothing is hurting since you're out here moving heavy loads around?" she asked, eying me carefully.
I nodded vigorously. "Yup, everything feels great. You did a terrific job, Suture. Thank you," I answered as sincerely as I could.
The mare watched me for a moment for nodding, a satisfied expression on her face. "Thanks for letting me sleep, then. I know how much you hate traveling at night," the medic said, handing me my weapons and saddlebags that I had left inside, then moving over to the pile of salvage and quickly packing that, letting her Pipbuck's inventory spell even everything out efficiently. As she did that, Autumn Mist retrieved her rifle and Steel Curtain reattached his wing sheaths, fluttering his wings a bit to settle them back into place.
Before long, we were all loaded up and ready to go. As a group, the six of us set out from the camp, heading out the trail that would take us to the main road that cut through the mountains. For me, it was the first time I had walked out of that gate with peaceful intentions, and it was also hopefully the last time I would ever need to walk out. In my mind, I put stepping out of that gate as the splitting point between the life I had used to live and the life I was now trying to live.
Heart Attack traveled with us as far as the main road, where he pointed out which mountain he was going to head towards. It was a peak that looked to be almost a full day's walk away, but it was also the closest one whose summit was hidden by the clouds.
"I'm not going to try to stop you anymore," I said to the old doctor, "I've accepted that this is your decision. But I am going to tell you to be careful. If you're still willing to do one last thing for somepony, let it be this: Make your dream a reality, for all of us down here. If a wasteland pony can fulfill their dream, it will be an example to everypony else down here. They will know that their dreams are worth following, and if enough ponies start to believe that, then maybe we'll have a shot at a good future."
Heart Attack looked at me with a determined expression, every line of his body showing his intention to make it just as far as his body would allow. "I think I can manage that, Evergreen. And thank you for giving this old pony one last chance to make something of himself."
I nodded silently, unable to find any more words. Everything worth saying had already been said, and everypony knew it.
Heart Attack briefly said his good-byes, mainly to me and Crosswire, then turned and walked off, heading west towards the distant peak and the setting sun. The five of us watched him until he disappeared behind a bend in the trail. After a few more moments of silence, we finally resumed our own journey, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
Mine were focused on Heart Attack. Throughout my years in the gang, he had never distinguished himself as anypony special in my eyes. He had simply been the drunkard that happened to know enough medicine to stitch us up after a particularly tough raid. Now, I had seen just how different he had been, and I was starting to think that maybe every single pony in the wasteland had this potential in them, if only they were willing to give it a chance. Unfortunately, there were so many ponies in the wasteland that had simply given up on their dreams that I doubted that anything could ever get most of them to believe again.
It was our dreams that gave us direction in life, that gave us a reason to get up in the morning, struggle through the day, and work to find somewhere safe to lay our heads at night. Suture had been the one to teach me that simple survival was not a dream worthy of being followed, and that how a pony follows their dream is just as important as having one. Now Heart Attack had taught me that choosing to pursue that dream, against any risk, is sometimes even more important than taking the sure path to survival. He had shown me that taking the path that guaranteed life could easily drive a pony away from what was important, and drag them into a life that left them as an empty shell, much as he had been before we had returned to the camp and given him the chance to make his choice.
At least now I could say that I had a dream, and it was no longer anything as simple as securing my own survival, or even the survival of my friends, though I would certainly give my life if it would save theirs. My dream now was ensuring that every single pony in the wasteland had the chance to choose their own future, and that they would have a chance to live in a world where every single day wasn't a struggle for survival. I wanted to see a world where ponies could live for their dreams, and not just their lives. If there was anything worth fighting and dying for, it had to be that.
I was so engrossed in my own thoughts that I didn't notice the various red bars appearing in my E.F.S. Snapping myself back to reality, I motioned for us to stop, then turned myself about, keeping a careful eye on both my surroundings as well as my E.F.S. The former was a narrow trail that was winding its way between to rather tall ridges, probably three times as tall as I was, meaning that we were basically walking through a box canyon. The latter was positively riddled with red bars, in every direction.
"Shit, ready your weapons everypony," I announced, reaching for Hammer as a roar I had heard only a few times before echoed around us. It sounded as though it was coming from far away, but I knew better from listening to the stories told by the older members of the gang. Manticores were particularly good at making it hard to tell where they were coming from. "We're surrounded."
Level Up!
Quest Perk Gained - Story of a Broken Heart - The recovery of your journal grants you a greater understanding of your past, increasing your mental willpower.
Perk Gained - Quick Striker - All attacks with melee weapons are 20% faster.
Skill Note: Melee (50)
{I apologize greatly for the great delay in getting this chapter out. With the combination of finals and my computer dying the day I moved back home from college, there were a good two weeks where absolutely no progress was made. Thankfully, my computer has been repaired, and I am settling into a good routine to get writing done at home during the summer (not easy, considering how busy I've been.) Everything should be getting back to a normal now! I made this chapter a little shorter, both to end the long hiatus on updates, and because I wanted the next plot elements to be in the next chapter, rather than this one. As always, thanks to Kkat for writing the original Fallout: Equestria, and thank you to my wonderful editors, Cody and MUCKSTER, for bearing with me (and badgering me these last couple weeks). Also as always, I have the hub page for the story here.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter Nine: Old Lessons | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Nine: Old Lessons
"Sometimes you need to look back in order to move forward."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I swore loudly as I ripped Hammer from its holster and started dancing around in circles, trying to keep all of the red bars of my E.F.S. in sight at once, "We need a goddamn miracle! Steel Curtain, get in the air and keep an eye out! We've got a fuck-ton of manticores looking for an easy meal!"
The armored Pegasus nodded smartly, then shot into the air, twisting about so that he could do a wide sweep of our immediate surroundings. I kept my eye on him for just long enough to be sure that he was looking in the right direction before tearing myself away to face the rest of my friends.
"Crosswire and Autumn Mist, get your guns ready, we're going to need them. Crosswire, I want you to watch for the fuckers that are getting too close for comfort, along with me. I'm going to assume that once Steel Curtain finds a group, he'll be making sure to keep his fire a good distance from us. Autumn, I want you to pick off anything that looks like it's trying to flank us. Keep your head on a fucking swivel, all right?" I ordered quickly. Just as I finished speaking, another roar tore through the wasteland, this one much closer than the previous had been.
Both ponies nodded quickly at my orders and pulled out their weapons, making themselves ready to fight for our lives, and this was going to be a close one. "What do you want me to do?" Suture asked, nervously shifting from side to side as her eyes darted about our surroundings, her pupils fully dilated in sheer terror.
"Stay alive. That 9mm of yours isn't going to do shit against these guys," Crosswire ordered, "Their hide is far too thick. If you can, find a good nook or cranny to hide in, and try to not draw their attention. We should be making more than enough noise."
The maroon medic shot the tech a terrified glance, then looked to me. "Evergreen, are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?"
I paused for just a moment in my preparations, which at this point mostly consisted of tearing through my inventory on my Pipbuck, searching for anything that could help us in this fight. So far, the only two useful things I had managed to find were a pair of frag grenades, which wasn't much for this fight. "Well, Crosswire was right, Suture. A 9mm isn't going to do a whole lot against a manticore except piss it off. Your best bet would be to do as he suggests and try to stay out of sight. We'll take care of them."
"Evergreen, in case you forgot, I have a Pipbuck as well, and I can see how many there are! If they are as dangerous as you suggest, you aren't going to be able to fight them off!" Suture exclaimed, a panicked tone creeping into her voice.
I swore quietly to myself, mostly because I had forgotten that the medic had a Pipbuck. Since she didn't use it as Autumn Mist and I did, it was an easy detail to overlook. "Fine, you're right, Suture, we aren't going to win, not if we try to drive them off with a show of force," I answered, and then was interrupted by a howl that seemed to be right on top of us. Instead of finishing my thought, I turned towards the source of the sound and came almost face-to-snout of one of the largest manticores I had ever seen.
I pulled the trigger out of pure reflex, sending a round slamming into the Manticore, but since I hadn't aimed properly, all it did was clip the beast's side, rather than taking it out with a clean headshot. All the same, the monster reared back, roaring in pain, giving me time to turn around and start sprinting in the opposite direction.
"RUN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, leading, or so I hoped, my friends back the way we had come, looking desperately for some sort of formation we'd be able to use to take away the manticores' advantage in numbers.
We charged along the mountain path, multiple roars and howls now following after us, along with the sound of clawed paws scrabbling against the rock as the monsters chased after us. Just as the last red bar disappeared from my sight, leading me to believe that we had slipped the noose, something slammed into me from behind, sending me tumbling to the ground with a shout of surprise.
When I finally came to a stop, I was lying flat on my back, staring up into the face of the manticore I had shot. The monster showed absolutely no hint of being hurt, instead, it looked pissed. Over its shoulder I could see its tail slowly drifting back and forth, the scorpion stinger on its end always pointed right at me.
I growled from deep in the back of my throat and tried to shift my body to get my revolver up and against its head. Just as I got the barrel jammed against its throat and was about to pull the trigger, the distinctive rattle of Steel Curtain's miniguns echoed throughout the wasteland and the manticore shuddered violently as it soaked up the bullets, then collapsed to the side, dead.
I wasted no time in getting back up on my hooves and charging away from the body, especially since I got the chance to see what was coming after me. At least a dozen manticores were chasing after us, forcing themselves to fit on the narrow mountain trail where they could get the most speed. Luckily for us, it also fed them into a bottleneck.
"Evergreen, over here!" I heard Crosswire shout at me from somewhere off to my left. Without even thinking about it, I veered off in that direction, trusting the buck to be leading me somewhere safe.
Very shortly, I found him perched atop a small outcrop of rock, with Autumn half-sitting next to him, peering through the scope of her rifle. "This is your brilliant defensive position?" I called out as I struggled up to side of the rock, being dragged up the last foot by both Crosswire and Suture.
"Can you find anything better on short notice?" he shot back, releasing me as soon as I was up and floating his SMG back to a usable position.
Before I could come up with a response, I was nearly deafened when Autumn Mist fired her rifle, barely a foot away from the side of my head. I turned to yell at the mare to watch out for ponies next to her, but thought better of it when I saw the mass of manticores that were nearly on top of us.
I slipped into S.A.T.S. and took a moment to simply take a look at everything approaching us. I could see ten manticores directly in front of me, with a few others that seemed to be trying to circle around to come up at us from the sides, not an ideal situation to be in. Taking a brief moment to catch my breath, I lined up three shots to the manticore closest to me, setting two rounds to hit it in the chest, and the last in the head. Hopefully I would learn that I wouldn't need that many shots to take down just one of the creatures.
Time snapped back to reality as the rounds fired. To my horror, I discovered that the three rounds weren't even close to enough, as the round meant to strike the monster in the head flew wide and it barreled down towards us, making a line straight for me.
Before it could reach me, a staccato of gunfire from Crosswire intercepted it, sending it tumbling to the side in its haste to get away from the stream of gunfire. I could tell by watching it, however, that it was simply wounded, and was by no means out of the fight.
Autumn Mist fired her rifle again, taking down another manticore with a perfectly placed headshot. "Are you two going to help me, or what?" she growled as she took careful aim at one of the monsters trying to flank us, then fired again, sending the manticore tumbling to the ground where it skidded for at least five feet before finally coming to a stop in an expanding pool of its own blood.
"We're trying! These things can soak up a fuck-ton of damage!" Crosswire growled as he reloaded his SMG, only to empty it again into the body of a charging monster.
I fired the last three rounds of Hammer into the same manticore that Crosswire was targeting, which finally succeeded in putting the thing down, then reloaded the revolver as quickly as I could, scanning around us the entire time, which was when I noticed something that truly terrified me.
The manticores were no longer charging straight at us. Instead, they were running loops around our small outcrop of rock, moving fast enough to make Autumn Mist miss every other shot that she fired, and surrounding us so completely that I knew there was no way in hell we were going to be getting out in one piece without some sort of miracle.
They knew that we were trapped, and all it would be was a matter of time until we made a mistake. Now, it was no longer a hunt for them, but just a matter of time. They would bait us, make us think we had a clear path out, but the moment we tried to take it, the noose would tighten, and we would all be nothing more than another meal.
I cast about desperately, searching for something that would give us a clear path out. As I was searching, my eyes settled on the small box canyon that we had been walking through when the manticores had appeared, and an idea came to me. I tossed my head about, staring at the sky while searching for a familiar black form. I finally spotted the Pegasus and gestured wildly for him to come down to us.
Within moments, Steel Curtain was hovering just beside us, the barrels of his weapons spinning fast enough that it seemed like one solid piece. "Things aren't looking good, Evergreen, and there's only so much I can do!" he shouted down at me.
"I know!" I shouted back, "but here's what I need from you! I need you to clear a path back to the canyon, and keep them off of us long enough so we can get through! I have a plan to get us out of this mess!"
The Pegasus looked from the canyon and back to me. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, the look on his face telling me that he thought I was completely out of my mind.
I nodded vigorously, slamming Hammer's cylinder closed again. "It's that or we die here," I stated simply, "Now GO!"
Steel Curtain hesitated for a split second, an odd expression on his face. Then, his expression hardened, he nodded curtly, and took off into the sky, flying out beyond the ring of manticores surrounding us and towards the box canyon before arcing around to sweep the monsters between us and the trail.
"This had better work," Crosswire growled as he chambered a round into his freshly loaded SMG.
"You're telling me," I answered, just as Steel Curtain made his pass, strafing a half dozen manticores with the stream of lead from his weapons, and providing us with an opening that would hopefully be enough to get us where we needed to be.
We took off from our position, running at a dead sprint and firing at the manticores that were nipping at our hooves. Autumn Mist was even managing to fire with some degree of accuracy with her rifle, despite the speed we were running at. Steel Curtain made another pass, buying us a few feet of space from the predators as they recoiled from his weapons, and then another, which opened up almost a dozen feet between us and them.
It was then that we started through the box canyon, which was narrow enough that the manticores would have to follow one at a time, and that was hoping that they wouldn't simply go around.
As we neared the far end, I slowed my pace so that I was the last in our line, needing to be there for my plan to work. Just as Crosswire and Autumn Mist cleared the far end of the canyon, I skidded to a stop, reaching into my saddlebags.
"Evergreen, what the fuck are you doing!" Crosswire shouted, sounding almost panicked, "Get your ass out of there!"
"Saving our hides," I muttered under my breath as I pulled out the pair of grenades I had, yanked out the stems, and tossed them into the canyon, where they landed almost exactly at the feet of a charging manticore, barely five feet away from me.
Once the grenades were free, I turned and started to run, hoping my friends would have my back, but I didn't make it far before the grenades exploded, sending shrapnel pinging off of my armor and biting into my exposed rear legs. I tumbled to the ground to land at Suture's hooves, panting in pain and struggling to stand again.
I heard Autumn's rifle fire repeatedly over the deafening explosion, hopefully eliminating the few manticores that had managed to make it through the blast. "We need to get the fuck out of here! They're still coming!" Crosswire shouted, coming up to my side and dragging me back to my hooves.
"But she's injured!" Suture argued, "We need to get that shrapnel out, or it could become infected!"
"Not in the middle of a fight! Evergreen bought us the time we need to get out of here, now we need to move!" the tech shouted back, then turned so he was staring me in the face, an angry look in his eye, "Can you still run, brilliant leader?"
I nodded weakly, still panting. "If it means I get to live, then yeah, I can run."
His expression of anger didn't change at all at my answer. His only indication that he had heard me at all was a barely perceptible nod. He let me go and turned to run down the trail, pushing Autumn Mist to let the young mare know that the time for shooting was long since passed.
The four of us thundered down the trail, with Steel Curtain occasionally coming into sight ahead of us as he circled around, strafing the manticores from time to time to maintain the lead that my stupid stunt had bought us.
"I think you missed that chance for a hug!" Crosswire shouted at me as we ran, a classic example of his poor attempt at humor, which only ever seemed to surface during life-or-death situations.
"You know what, Crosswire. I think I'm okay with that! Now would you shut up and save your breath for running!" I shouted back, lowering my head in an attempt to get more speed.
We ran for what seemed like hours, charging down the sparse mountain trail, the manticores never very far behind us, occasionally gaining enough that we would need to stop and fight for a few moments, just to ensure that they weren't gaining too much ground. If it weren't for Steel Curtain, our escape would have been ended almost before it began. It was his ability to sweep through the advancing manticores and drive them to cover with the power of his miniguns that kept us ahead, but there was still only so much the one Pegasus could manage. The brief moments he took to reload his weapons were the most terrifying. It was then that we usually had to turn and fight them off. Without the support of Steel Curtain's guns, we wouldn't have stood a chance.
Our only hope was that the Mt. Hoof settlement was closer than we thought, and that the ponies there would be willing to help a group in need. At least we were running in the right direction...
Our fatigue was beginning to tell on us, as I had expected it would. I noticed it first when we started having to fight with more frequency, which told me one thing: we were starting to slow down. Every time we had to resume running, it seemed harder, and my body was beginning to protest to being driven as hard as it was, especially with the shrapnel still embedded in my hindquarters. I had pushed the pain out of my mind as best as I could, but the repeated motion of running was beginning to bring that pain back to the forefront of my mind.
I knew that there was no way that we would have been able to keep up our pace for as long as we needed to get away from these monsters, but I had hoped that we would be able to keep it up for long enough. Instead, it seemed as though our mission was doomed to die an early death, all the way out here at the claws of some manticores simply looking for a meal.
It was just as I was sure that my legs were going to give out that I heard a clap of thunder tear through the wasteland, followed by what sounded like an entire army opening fire at the same time. I couldn't help but to stop dead in my tracks and turn my head around, searching for the source of the noise, or, failing that, find whatever it was that was being shot at.
I found the latter first, which happened to be the dozen manticores that were still following us, except, instead of charging after us, they were faltering, many of them turning and breaking back down the path we had come, but not very many made it that far. Instead, they were being gunned down by weapons of almost unbelievable power, a combination of heavy weapons and beam weapons that simply shredded the monsters, leaving behind a field of total destruction.
By the time the shooting finally ceased, my ears were ringing loud enough that I couldn't even hear my own voice, and I was sitting on the cold, hard ground, too exhausted to even get up again. I turned my gaze to search out whoever it had been that had saved us, and my eyes fell on a sight I had not expected to see: a group of five ponies, all dressed in some of the most impressive armor I had ever seen. These ponies were no mere wastelanders; they had to be members of the Steel Rangers. There simply was no other way they could get their hooves on that kind of armor and firepower.
"You... you saved us. Thank you," I panted, "We would never have made it without your help."
"We didn't do it to help you," the pony in the center of the formation grunted, presumably the leader of this patrol. His armor was equipped with a pair of massive barrels, probably grenade launchers, or very high caliber weapons. "We stepped in because your idiocy lured an entire pack of manticores to our doorstep. And since secrecy is our only defense here, we can't allow you to leave." He turned to look at the four ponies beside him, "Take them back to the Outpost, separate them, and lock them up. The Elder will decide what to do with them, especially that one." He nodded his head pointedly in Crosswire's direction.
At that moment, Steel Curtain landed in front of us, facing down the full patrol of armed and armored Steel Rangers, miniguns already spun up. "I'm not going to let you simply take my companions captive," he growled, lowering himself into a fighting stance.
The leader of the patrol stared the Dashite down, or at least that's what I assumed he was doing behind his helmet, then laughed raucously. "Do you really think you can take all five of us, Enclave?"
"Yes," Steel Curtain answered bluntly.
"Huh. Feather-brained idiot," The leader stated as he kicked some control on his armor, which cause a lot of other noise from inside his armor. Then his weapons fired, engulfing Steel Curtain in bolts of streaking, blue lightning and rendering him completely immobile as it overloaded the power supply of his armor. "Spark rounds. You idiots have your heads so far in the clouds that you forget they exist. Get him back with the others, but strip his armor as well."
"Wait, you can't just..." I started, but was quickly cut off as the lead buck approached me and silenced me with a kick to the head that made my vision break out in stars.
"You are the one that led manticores to us. For all we know, you meant to do so. Even worse, you travel with an exile. You have no position to make demands of us," he growled at me, his voice filled with anger. I could easily envision his eyes boring into mine, broiling with rage, "Now I suggest that you don't resist. Accidents are known to happen to ponies that do."
He quickly and efficiently bound my hooves with a length of cord and hoisted me onto his back, then did the same to Suture. To carry both of us this easily, this buck must have been enormously strong. The other four ponies did the same thing with the others, though it took two of them to lift and carry the immobilized Steel Curtain.
I tried to keep my gaze focused on where we were headed, but the bulk of the buck's armor, as well as the sheer featurelessness of the mountains and my exhaustion, made it a near impossible task. Despite my efforts, I was soon passing out from sheer fatigue.
When I finally came to, I was alone. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and cast about, looking for anything that would identify where I was. I quickly learned that I was in a small, dark room, outfitted with only a simple bed, where I was lying, and some basic toilet facilities. The door that led out into wherever was large and made entirely of metal. I stood up from the bed to go inspect it, and found out, to no surprise, that it was completely sealed.
I sighed and returned to the bed to take stock of my situation. My barding was gone, along with my weapons and saddle-bags, which included the Messaging Crystal that I was supposed to be bringing to the Mt. Hoof settlement, which I now knew this was. I was being held prisoner by these ponies for presumably leading a pack of manticores to their home, and for traveling with Crosswire, who was an exile, and Steel Curtain, since the Enclave was one of their sworn enemies from the sound of things. On the plus side, it seemed that my injuries had been tended to.
Unfortunately, a short search of my cell turned up nothing useful that I could use, and I was left only with the hope that my friends weren't being mistreated, and that one of them had a better opportunity to act than I did. All I could do now was sit, wait, and hope that somepony would come soon to talk to me and let me explain the situation. Of course, that was assuming that they were willing to listen to anything I had to say.
With none of my possessions on me, I was left with nothing but my thoughts to occupy my time, and they quickly turned to all of the recent events I had faced alongside my friends. The most obvious thought was that Crosswire had once been a member of the Steel Rangers, which I guess explained his technical prowess with anything that happened to have moving parts.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense, even became obvious. He had always said that his home had extremely strict rules, and the Steel Raners certainly fit that description, enough so that I could believe that they would exile somepony for a simple theft.
Of course, thinking of Crosswire led my thoughts down the path that I had firmly shunted off to the side a few days ago, when I had been thinking about the potential that ponies had, and how that potential changed when they were forced into a certain life, rather than being able to choose their own. I had thought about how many ponies might have become great, or at least had a chance at being somepony better, had they either simply been allowed to live or get out from under the hoof of their masters, but now, after having fought the raiders under Crackshot, I started thinking about the other half of that train of thought. How many ponies would become much worse, especially in our world, if given half a shot at being able to do so. I had met hundreds of deranged and crazed ponies that reveled in bloodshed, and they had never struck me as the sort that would take the opportunity to become better. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Many of those ponies were the kind that I always kept a special eye on, because I knew that they would take advantage of the smallest opportunity to create as much chaos as they could, so long as they could sate their own sadistic bloodlust. To combat that, I would usually give them the worst jobs, like guarding the camp while others went out on raids, just to try to keep their violence in check.
All of this put together meant that maybe ponies wouldn't change at all if given different opportunities. All I had to do to find an example was to look at myself. Sure, I had become a raider for several years, but I had never been happy doing it. It took a pony forcing me to reassess my entire life by giving me a view of the life my parents had wanted to make me realize that that was where I belonged, and now I was finally beginning to find some happiness again.
It was a very disheartening thought, to be sure, but that didn't mean that I could simply forget about it. I had to hold on to the hope that there were other ponies out there that wanted a different life than the one they had been dealt, just like I did. Sure, there would be ponies that have given up all hope at a better tomorrow, and it would be up to me to prove to them that it could still happen.
All I had to do was overcome the countless obstacles in my path. Obstacles like Greymane and the other mercenaries working for Seahawk, like the ones we had fought outside of Buckview. Then there was that other mercenary that Starshine had mentioned: that Griffin, Mareina, and the Griffin mercenary group that she led, the Razor Wings. Then there was Seahawk himself, as well as the underlings that were leaving orders for Greymane and Mareina, like whatever pony had left the dead drop for Greymane in the Ironshod factory. I could tentatively add the ponies here at Mt. Hoof as well, considering the way we were being treated. Finally, there were the countless raiders and gangers that called the wasteland home.
It was a tall order, against enemies that were much better equipped, and prepared, than I was. The only real challenge I had needed to face so far was the fight against Greymane, and he had rather easily beaten us, mostly thanks to that technology he had that protected him from our attacks. Knowing that Mareina had a similar standing in Seahawk's hierarchy didn't do much to reassure me, especially given the warning Starshine had given us about her. What little I had heard about Griffins already led me to believe that they were ferocious fighters. That one had distinguished herself as being better than most did not bode well for me.
I was in the position of just living from day to day, tackling my problems as they came, with only a general idea of what I wanted to accomplish, but I had no real plan of how to do it. I was simply hoping that something would come along with all the answers, some sort of kill-switch that would solve all of my problems and make the wasteland into what I envisioned, but I was starting to realize that I was sorely underestimating what it would take. Problems were not fixed with the single push of a button.
I didn't have a clue what kind of resources Seahawk had at his disposal, beyond a rough estimate of what kind of forces he had at his disposal, but that said nothing about weapons, supplies, or locations. I literally knew almost nothing about what he, or she, was capable of. Hell, I didn't even know what fucking gender the bastard was.
I was going to have to start planning ahead, and make sure that I was actually working towards what I wanted to accomplish. Luckily, I had a small start with Millberry and Metro. Then, if Starshine held true to his promise, we would have the aid of him and his Dashites. Finally, there were the ghouls that were heading west from Stable 60, who, even if they couldn't provide much in the way of militant help, could at least help us with whatever machinery and technology we needed.
I was definitely off to a good start, but my only goal so far had been to finish the jobs I had been given. Now, I needed to make sure that these places were actually willing to help against Seahawk. Going and talking to Shooting Star was definitely the best way to start on that. He could easily spread the news around the wasteland about Seahawk. All I needed to do to that end was get out of here.
And that was where my problem was. I was trapped, held prisoner by a group that had attacked one of my friends, exiled another, and was blaming me for simply trying to survive. With that kind of a track record, I would need a miracle to get out of this mess alive. At least I still had my Pipbuck...
The door slid open with the sound of escaping steam and I snapped my head to the opening to see who was coming to speak to me. A pony walked into the room, and I knew from the barrels attached to the armor that it was the pony that had been in charge of the patrol that had saved our lives, except now he had his helmet off. He was a dark red in color, contrasting sharply with his stark white mane. His expression was severe, making me fear what was going to come next.
Once he was inside the room, the door slid closed again and sealed with an audible thud, letting me know in no uncertain terms that I was not leaving unless they wanted me to. The armored buck stood in stony silence for several moments, simply watching me. I could feel his gaze sizing me up, taking in every little detail he could, but I knew he was looking for threats or tells, not admiring my flank.
"So, I'm guessing you were thinking that we wouldn't know who you are, Ever? Leader of the raider gang to our north?" he stated harshly, his voice giving absolutely no quarter.
Oh, fuck, this wasn't good. Now I was well and truly buried if I had to convince them that I wasn't a raider, on top of everything else. "Well, for starters, I wasn't expecting you lot to be this close to that camp," I said, "But I'm also not connected to that place anymore. Made sure of that yesterday."
"Is that so?" the buck asked sarcastically, "Because this is what I saw: A dirty pony in scarred and bloodstained barding, charging at our bunker, leading a pack of ravenous manticores right to our doorstep. You were accompanied by none other than Crosswire, an exile tossed out for theft and assault, as well as one of the most unmanageable young mares I have ever laid eyes on. Throw in an insanely reckless, probably disgraced, Enclave soldier, and everything points to you being a raider, Ever. The only reason you're alive at all is because the Elder wants answers out of you."
"Where does Suture fit in to you neat little theory, then?" I demanded, my anger getting the better of me, "She doesn't fit the raider stereotype in any fucking way! And don't you dare say that we were forcing her to be there. Any idiot with eyes could see that she wanted to be with us."
"I'm guessing that you are referring to the maroon mare with the blue mane?" The buck asked with a raised eyebrow, "The answer is rather simple. She was cast out from whatever town she came from, and somehow found her way to you. A raider would never let a skilled medic go."
I shook my head slowly, unable to believe how dense this idiot of a buck could be. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," I growled, "I mean, seriously? Who the fuck would toss Suture out on her tail? Have you even talked to her? There is no pony more devoted to her home than she is! She's the fucking doctor from Metro! She's traveling with me because I'm working for them, as a mercenary!"
"Likely story. I bet all of your so-called 'friends' are going to tell the same one?" the buck asked, his lips curling up in a victorious smile.
"No shit they're going to say the same thing. It's the fucking truth!" I yelled, "What the fuck do I have to do to prove that? Did you even look through my bags?"
At that question, the buck's grin vanished and his severe frown returned. "We did, and everything we found points to you being a raider. An absolutely ridiculous amount of caps, obviously taken from a caravan, not to mention an incredible amount of scrap junk, electronics, and components, no doubt Crosswire's that he stripped from anything that came within reach. And finally, something that belongs to us."
"Something that I was being paid to deliver," I shot back, "If you don't believe me, send a fucking messenger to Metro to talk to Mallet. He'll confirm everything, guaranteed."
"You know as well as I do that that isn't going to happen. We survive because nopony knows where we are, and we intend for it to stay that way. Besides, that particular object was meant to be in our possession over a week ago. Why would Metro's mayor delay?"
I sighed heavily, finally managing to cool some of my anger off. "Because when the first caravan was headed this way, I was still a raider. One of my raiding parties hit that caravan and brought me the Crystal. Since then, I have left the gang behind, went to Metro, and gave them the Crystal back. After doing some work for them, Mallet decided to give me the job of bringing it down here. There is no more honest answer than that one," I said, hoping that the buck would actually listen to me.
"So you admit to attacking a caravan carrying materials meant for us?" the buck asked harshly.
"What? Yes, I ordered a raid, but how the fuck was I supposed to know where it was going? That was before I figured a bunch of shit out! I'm a completely different pony now!" I snapped, getting to my hooves and standing defiantly before the armored Pegasus. I was angry enough that I didn't care that he could easily paint the walls with me without even breaking a sweat.
"Do you want me to tell you how many times I've heard a pony say that, Ever?" he growled, lowering himself slightly, as though he expected me to charge him.
"My name is Evergreen!" I shouted, then did exactly as he expected. I didn't give a shit that it would simply make my situation worse. I was standing here arguing with a buck that refused to listen to a single word that came out of my mouth. I was just hoping that some cranial trauma would finally get my point across.
In the split second before I reached the buck, I saw a hint of surprise in the buck's eyes. He obviously hadn't expected to hear what I had just said. Unfortunately, the surprise wasn't nearly enough to buy me the advantage I needed.
The buck twisted his body, letting me slam into one of the barrels hanging off his armor, rather than hitting his head as I had intended, then spun around to fling me into the wall. I hit hard, the air being driven from my lungs as I collapsed on the ground. I struggled to my hooves and turned to face the buck, who was bearing slowly down on me, a conflicted look on his face.
As he approached, the conflicted look disappeared and was replaced by one of determination. I was finally back on my hooves and prepared to do whatever I could to defend myself, but I was sorely unprepared for the power contained in his buck as he twisted around on reaching me and kicked.
The first blow sent me back into the wall, once again driving out what little air I had managed to breathe back in. Before I could stand, he rested a hoof on my side, much as I had done to Crackshot the day everything had begun, except the strength behind his stance was many times greater than anything I could manage. "What did you say?" he growled at me, his face twisted in anger, but with hints of confusion.
"My name... is Evergreen," I panted, wincing under the pressure of his hoof, "Not Ever. I'm not... a fucking raider."
"I need to tell the Elders about this development. You had better re-think how to treat your hosts," the buck snapped, then kicked me in the head, hard enough for the dark of unconsciousness claim me.
My head was pounding terribly when I finally came to. A quick check of my Pipbuck told me that I had been unconscious for almost two hours. I slowly rose to my hooves, holding my pounding head with one, and made my way to the bed, where I lay down. It was a gross understatement to say that things were not going well for me. At least it seemed like I had managed to surprise the bastard into needing to actually speak with his superiors before killing me.
I lay down on the bed, hoping that I would get a chance to recover before having to defend myself again. Unfortunately, that chance was not going to come as the door opened once again. I rolled over onto my side so that I could get a glimpse of who was walking in, and was surprised to see an aging Earth Pony mare, rather than the armored red buck from before. She had a light orange hide with a dark green mane liberally streaked with grey. Her cutie mark was covered underneath a mass of flowing blue robes.
"I apologize for your treatment at the hooves of Star Paladin Apple Crisp. He can be rather... severe with strangers," the mare stated, walking far enough into the room so the door could close behind her, "I am Elder Bitter Orange, the leader of this Outpost."
"Do you train all of your Paladins to completely ignore anything anypony else has to say?" I growled, albeit weakly considering my headache, "And the kick seemed like overkill too..."
"As I said, I apologize for your treatment. He has many preconceived notions of others that make it very difficult to convince him of anything. On the one hoof, it makes him an excellent interrogator. On the other, well, you experienced it," the Elder explained calmly, "However, something you said threw him completely off track. Something about your name, I believe it was?"
I nodded, immediately regretting the motion as it set off a whole new level of pain in my head. "Yeah," I muttered, "He said that you all knew of that raider gang to the north of here, and that I used to be in charge of it. Well, he kept referring to me as Ever, which is how the ponies in that gang knew me. When I left, I started going by my full name again, which is Evergreen."
"I see," the Elder trailed off, pulling a clipboard out of her robes and noting something down on it. After several moments of her simply reading whatever was on the clipboard, she looked up again and fixed me in a piercing gaze, "So you are going to stick to this tale of yours that you are a mercenary in service to Metro, and that the mayor there sent you to us to deliver the Messaging Crystal?"
"Of course I'm going to stick to that story! It's the fucking truth!" I growled, "I told that Paladin that you could send a messenger to talk to Mallet. He'll confirm the whole thing."
"So you said. Unfortunately, we have no way to do that. I am sure Apple Crisp informed you that our location is kept secret because we do not range very far. Our strength in this region is not nearly enough to become involved, or known, to the masses," the Elder said, almost an exact repetition of what the damned Paladin had said.
"Then I don't know what else to say!" I snapped, "Since you refuse my one attempt at verifying that I am telling the truth. I don't have anything else except my word and the word of my friends, most of whom you lot hate!"
"If you mean Crosswire and the Enclave soldier, then I will agree that you have made a very poor choice of companions," the Elder agreed, "the others, however, are complete strangers to us, though the one mare certainly acts like she would be a raider if given half the chance."
I couldn't help but to laugh at the statement, despite the pain. That these ponies thought that Autumn Mist could ever become a raider was simply unbelievable.
"Is something funny about this? You have caused a major breach in security, not to mention a lot of uneasiness among our younger members," the Elder stated angrily.
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe that you lot think Autumn Mist could be a raider. Her biggest motivation for traveling with me is that she's promised to kill me if I ever even start to revert to that lifestyle. She despises raiders with every single bone in her body. I fully believe that she would rather put a bullet in her own head before letting herself become one."
"You claim that, and yet she has resisted every attempt to speak with her so far, even going so far as to attack the Knights and Paladins sent to speak with her," the Elder explained, "All of which are actions that point to her being a pony that is not accepted in... ahem... 'civilized' settlements. We have since had to keep her isolated simply for the safety of our personnel."
"Probably because you lot took us captive and she hasn't got a clue what's happening to anypony else in our group. We are fairly close knit, especially after all the shit we've been through in the last week and a half," I answered, "And Autumn is the kind of pony that takes the protection of her friends very seriously, especially since she's a sniper."
"I see... And what of the other mare? The maroon one. Tell me about her," the Elder asked, suddenly changing the subject.
"Did you even talk to that Paladin?" I demanded, rising to my hooves, despite the pounding it caused in my head, "Because I told him all of this!"
"I am merely seeing if your answers are changing or not, Evergreen. Now please, tell me about her."
I snorted angrily before speaking, "Suture is a medic, from Metro. She started traveling with us at first to make sure that we didn't go back on our word with the mayor and actually did complete the job he gave us. Since then, she's stayed with me because everything we are doing is to ensure the future of both Metro as well as the entire fucking wasteland. For a wasteland pony, she is innocent and naïve, but her skills are invaluable to us. Is there anything else specific you want, or should I start listing off her sexual preferences?"
"No, I think this is fine. What I really want to know is why you led a pack of manticores to our door if you were trying to make a delivery," the Elder demanded, making another note on her clipboard.
I shook my head slowly, completely baffled at this mare's ability to jump from topic to topic, as though she didn't even care about my answers. "I didn't mean to lead them straight to you. They surrounded us a few miles back on the trail, right outside a small box canyon. There were far too many for us to fight off, so we ran, hoping they would give up. It was just dumb luck that your patrol found us before the manticores caught us. They saved our lives."
"Hmmm... that fits the behavioral patterns of the manticores in this region, so I am inclined to believe you. However, this does not excuse your bringing two sworn enemies of this Outpost to us," the Elder claimed, "What do you have to say in their defense?"
"What the fuck do you want me to say? Crosswire is probably the best friend I have, and is by far the most reliable pony I know. You lot lost a real asset when you kicked him out." The Elder glared at me disbelievingly at those words, but allowed me to continue. "As for Steel Curtain, he isn't actually an Enclave soldier anymore. He deserted and became a Dashite, and simply managed to do it before they could strip him of his armor, weapons, and cutie mark."
"Is that what he told you?" the Elder asked pointedly, making another note on her clipboard.
"Yes, it's what he told me, and I believe him! Unlike some, I am willing to take ponies at their word if they haven't given me a reason to doubt them! Everything Steel Curtain has done since he joined us has been proof that he is what he claims to be! Hell, he's saved my life more times than I care to admit!" I snapped, "Why can't you lot seem to see anything more than what is simply right in front of your noses? Ponies are more than what they appear to be!"
"We are being cautious, Evergreen. As I already told you, secrecy is our best defense. As much as I wish I could believe you about this Enclave soldier, your word is simply not good enough to prove that he is not everything he appears to be. He even speaks like an officer, though I imagine you didn't notice that," the Elder claimed, "He is an enemy and a threat that cannot be underestimated. To that end, we will need to act accordingly. Thank you for speaking with me, I will be sure to take this all into account before judging you and your companions."
With that, the mare turned and started to walk towards the door which slid open smoothly at her approach. She was halfway through the door when the implications of her words struck me.
"Wait! What are you going to do to him!" I shouted, lunging for the door to try to keep her from leaving. Much to my surprise, I barely made it six feet before two armored ponies appeared in the portal and shot me with some sort of stun weapon that tore my body from my control and left me to fall helplessly to the ground, where I lay, muscles quivering.
All the same, my words had the desired effect and the mare stopped and turned to stare at me haughtily. "Why, he will be executed, of course. An enemy of his stature is simply too great a threat."
I struggled weakly to get myself into a more comfortable lying position and tried to speak, but all I could force out was a pained groan. I redoubled my efforts, throwing every ounce of will I had into my effort to speak. "You. Can't. Kill him," I forced out, every word sending lances of fire through my chest as I fought through the effects of the stun guns.
"And why not? The Enclave and Steel Rangers are our sworn enemies. They have control of the entire sky, while we are down here, fighting for the very survival of our order. Our existence is a personal insult to them. Even if he is not highly ranked, his speech and accent denote him as someone born to one of their upper class. His loss will cause many repercussions that will only aid us," the Elder explained.
"He isn't... one of... them," I panted, "I need him. He's... my friend." I fought against the pain in my limbs as the stun rounds started to wear off and finally managed to make it to a sitting position where I stayed, sweat dripping down my face and forcing my mane flat against my head.
"A friend? Enclave operative don't have friends. They use ponies for their own means. He is trying to use you, Evergreen. Even if everything else you told me is the truth, I can guarantee you that everything you told me about him is a lie," the Elder stated, taking a step back into the room.
"I don't believe that. I can't. You haven't seen him, listened to him," I persisted, strength finally beginning to flow back into my limbs, "He is not your enemy."
The Elder shook her head slowly, her expression shifting to one of pity. "I am sorry that he managed to fool you this completely, Evergreen, but the proof is staring you in the face: the Enclave would never allow one of their soldiers to leave with full possession of their armor and weapons. They know that we exist, and the risk of one of their sets of powered armor falling into our hooves is too great. They would only trust one of their best operatives to come down here with those things."
"YOU DON'T KNOW HIM!" I shouted with all my strength, loud enough to shock the mare into taking a step back and for the two armored ponies to step into the room, weapons carefully trained on me. "He fears for his family, worried sick at how they are probably being treated since he is labeled as a traitor and deserter. He doesn't know if his younger brother is going to be exiled as a result of his actions, and the worry is tearing him apart! And all you fucking assholes can do is pretend that it's all a ruse, or a ploy for ponies like me to lower their guard!"
The Elder struggled to regain her composure, resettling her robes about her before fixing me in an angry glare, "I knew that he had you in his pocket, though I guess I didn't realize just how well. Let me get one thing straight, Evergreen. He is not what you think he is. Ponies like him excel at manipulating others to their own ends. You are just another victim."
"'Enclave soldiers aren't mindless automatons. They have hopes and dreams, just like everypony else'," I quoted, staring the mare down, "That's what Steel Curtain told me, not three days ago, outside of Metro. Would somepony who said something like that really be as ruthless as you claim? Would somepony like who you claim he is wander around the wasteland with me, going out of his way to save a bunch of slaves, whether or not I agreed to help him? Tell me what you have seen that proves he is some sort of super-secret agent?"
"His armor. His weapons. His behavior. All of these are evidence of what he his. You are putting too much stock in his words and actions, all of which are more than likely carefully engineered to make you believe everything he wants you to believe," the Elder explained, as though it was all the most obvious thing in the world.
"Are you listening to yourself?" I snapped, rising up to my hooves and forcing the guard to take another step forward. I was fully expecting to get shot again, but I was also past the point of caring. "'I'm putting too much stock in his actions and words'? What the fuck else am I supposed to use to judge him? I can't read fucking minds, so actions and words are all I have! Isn't it what we choose to do that defines who we are? You're the ones that don't believe enough in words and actions. Instead, you listen only to what you already think is true, rather than opening yourselves up to different possibilities."
The Elder once again shook her head at me and when she looked at me, it was with an expression of sadness. "I am truly sorry that he has confused you so completely. The simple fact that you believe so strongly in his lies has convinced me that all of your other claims are indeed the truth. To that end, this is my offer: tell me everything you know about this Steel Curtain, including everything you have seen him do or heard him say since you met. In return, you and the rest of your friends go free and I allow you to complete your mission. I'll even pardon Crosswire. This information could make a great difference."
"Let me get this straight. You expect me to sell out one of my closest, hell, one of my only friends, simply to let myself and my other friends to go free, even though we are being wrongly held in the first place? Why the fuck would I do that?" I growled angrily, beginning to pace in an attempt to keep my rage in check, "We shouldn't even be prisoners! You said yourself that you believe me!"
"True, but Apple Crisp also told you that we cannot let you go free. I take this to mean that you will not accept the offer?" the Elder asked pointedly.
I stopped my pacing and sat silently for a moment, trying to calm myself enough to relax my expression, though I was still seething on the inside. "No, I won't accept your offer. But I do have one of my own to make," I said before the Elder could get a word in, "Give me any task that you need, or want, done that I can accomplish, and all of us go free. Steel Curtain included."
Bitter Orange stared at me in blatant disbelief, her jaw hanging slightly open. I found a certain sick satisfaction in the fact that I had thrown her so completely off guard. "You're willing to risk your life for this buck? Even after everything I've told you?"
"I would die if I knew it would guarantee the lives of my friends," I responded bluntly, "Besides, all you've told me is what you're assuming about him. I have no reason to believe any of it. So tell me what you want done, and I'll get it done."
"I... I need to think about this," the Elder stammered, obviously completely at a loss for what to say, "If you are telling the truth about everything, this Pegasus included, well, I don't know what to think. I still believe that there is more to him than meets the eye, but you don't strike me as somepony that would allow themselves to be easily led astray, yet you are defending him with your very life."
"Because that is what friends do," I stated adamantly, "So either give me an answer now, or go take your good old time to think about it. But either way, make up your fucking mind."
"I... I don't know. I'll be back soon," the Elder stated haltingly as she made her way out of the room, "I promise that I will withhold any action until I come to a decision. I can't do anything more than that."
Just before the door closed behind her, I managed to get one last shot in. "At least it's a fucking start."
With the Elder gone, my anger quickly deflated, since it no longer had a target. All the same, I started breathing deeply, trying to exercise my mind to allow me greater control over my rage. Even though my anger had been completely justified, losing my shit like that to a pony of her stature would not always turn out this well. I had gotten lucky.
Once I had finally calmed myself, I returned to the bed and started to fiddle with my Pipbuck, trying to see if I could access the radio from my prison. To my surprise, the radio was still functioning, and I was able to get a clear signal.
The song that had been playing, some pseudo-rock ballad whose lyrics I couldn't understand, came to an end, and there was a pregnant silence before the voice of the DJ, Shooting Star, rang out into the cell. "HELLO, SEADDLE! Guess what time it is? That's right, it's time for the news! I've got a few good tidbits for all of you, as well as a few things that may be hard to hear. As I always do, I'll start with the good news.
A group of slaves being led to the Mill by none other than Chainlink himself were set free when none other than your Heroine of Seaddle stepped in and cleaned up shop, and rather efficiently from the reports I've received. The survivors, however, did report saying that the Heroine seemed very reluctant to accept their thanks, claiming that she didn't deserve it. I can't decide if I should applaud her modesty or start digging to find out why.
In other good news, the cities of Metro and Millberry have officially signed a treaty of alliance, and have begun to share supplies, as well as provide limited protection to the roadway between the two towns. It still isn't entirely safe, but they are making a difference.
Now, the bad news. The town of Buckview is, indeed, gone. The entire town has been burned to the ground, with only one survivor: a lone filly by the name of Sunflower who was saved by none other than the Heroine of Seaddle. Unfortunately, the Heroine had already departed before I could get word of who was responsible for the attack. So my warning to all of you is to steer clear of Buckview until we know for sure what's out there.
Well, that's all I have for you all tonight. This is DJ Shooting Star, signing off."
I sat in dumbfounded silence for quite a while after that sign-off, simply trying to comprehend everything that had been said. It seemed that this DJ never had anything to say that wasn't about me or something that I had gotten involved in, and that simply seemed unbelievable to me. There was so much in this region that there had to be something else he could report on, or somepony else trying to make a difference.
Another part of me was surprised at how quickly news of my reluctance to accept praise for my actions had reached him. Even more surprising was his reaction. That he took my reluctance to mean that I was modest was insane, though at least he was open to the idea that there was more to the story. The wasteland being what it is, almost nothing was ever as it seemed.
I put the reports out of my mind, since mulling over them would do absolutely nothing to get me out of this situation, but it also seemed like nopony would be coming back to my cell any time soon. That being the case, I might as well try to relax, maybe sleep a bit if I could, since good rest was so hard to come by in the wasteland, and the last good night's sleep we'd had had been in Metro three days ago.
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to force myself to relax enough to drift off, but sleep wasn't coming easy. Part of my mind was lingering on the theory the Elder had put forth about Steel Curtain, trying to make me recognize the potential that it was true. I didn't want to accept it, especially since he had been such an integral part of our group for the last several days, and we would most certainly have been killed on several occasions had it not been for his influence.
I sighed heavily and rolled over, my body restless and itching for action. Steel Curtain was nothing if not earnest and determined. He had gone out of his way to help us, and offered up a lot about his past when it was brought up, almost as though he was trying to prove himself to us. In the fucked up world we all lived in, that meant a lot. It was a willingness to trust that most ponies didn't have. I know I sure as hell didn't.
But that niggling doubt remained in the back of my mind, insisting that the Elder could have been right, even if the possibility was extremely low. I felt guilty simply thinking about it, but I couldn't deny the potential. Unfortunately, the only thing I could do about it now was promise myself to speak to the Pegasus later.
Finally, those thoughts dealt with, I started to doze off, my mind going blank and giving me over to the depths of sleep.
oooOOOooo
"So, isn't it nice knowing that you can't even trust the word of your 'friends' anymore, my dear Evergreen?" a voice, the voice asked, silky smooth and holding the promise of the greatest pleasure I could ever ask for.
I lifted my head from the pillow and looked for the source of the voice, steeling myself for what I might see, already aware that this room held no shadows to hide it. To my surprise, it was wearing the guise of a pony I had never seen before, though that didn't make it any less grotesque than some of its chosen forms from the past.
It was taller than most ponies, just enough to be noticeable, but was also thin to the point of emaciation. Its coat was as black as a moonless midnight, almost seeming to absorb the light around it. Its mane bore the same color, flowing down its neck like liquid darkness, shimmering in the bright white light of the cell. Steeling myself even further, I shot a glance at its cutie mark. Even thinking I was prepared to see it I flinched at the sight of the embracing skulls, seeing once again the deaths of my parents in my mind's eye. One of them even had a bullet hole in it, like the one that had killed my mother.
"If there is anything I can trust in this world, it's their word," I shot back, "Steel Curtain has been nothing but honest with us, offering up anything about his past that we asked. If that isn't a sign of trust and friendship, I don't know what is."
"Trust, yes, but is it really a sign of friendship? All he wants is to be sure that you won't shoot him in the back. You were the same, once. Making up stories so that the raiders wouldn't shoot you on sight, claiming to have taken the lives of dozens of ponies that never even existed, all to make yourself seem a desirable asset," the voice replied, undaunted by my opposition. It acted exactly the way it always did: unhurried and excessively patient, almost like it believed it had all the time in the world to twist me to its designs.
"Would a pony like the one Bitter Orange described throw himself, alone, at a gang of slavers for a bunch of ponies he had never even met, much less should care about if he were a secret operative?" I growled.
"If the trust he had to gain was important enough, yes. But he is ultimately of no concern, as you well know," the pony stated, stepping across the room so smoothly it seemed like it was gliding to stand by my bed, "The only pony of any concern is you."
I slid off the bed so that it stood between me and the pony, not wanting it any closer to me than necessary. "I no longer believe that. What could be more important than working to help better the lives of others? It took me a long time to come to that conclusion, but it was obvious enough when it came. Working only for myself, I was never happy. Sure, I had a comfortable position with a lot of power, but I couldn't trust anypony around me. They were all too busy scheming to get rid of me. Once I started trying to help others, the real value of life became obvious. They started coming to me for help, offering me thanks when I did, and actually treating me with a degree of respect."
The pony shook its head slowly, a toothy grin spreading over its grim features. I was taken aback when I noticed its teeth were filed to sharp points. "Oh how little you know. You think you have respect and hold the gratitude of others, but as soon as the chance at something better comes along, you will be tossed to the wayside, forgotten. And when that happens, who will be by your side, ready to pick you up? The pretty medic? She is loyal to her home first and foremost. It will always come first in her mind. The angry young sniper would still rather kill you and put her family to rest than live the rest of her life knowing she could have had vengeance. The Pegasus is a self-admitted traitor and deserter. How long will it be before he turns on you? And the tech, so loyal and endearing, straining always for the simple attention of a mare who never looks at him twice. When will he simply give it up for lost and go his own way, seeking his own fortune?"
With every word spoken, my rage grew. This time, it was easy to find. Whatever had stolen it away the last time me and this... thing... had spoken wasn't affecting me anymore. By the time it was speaking about Crosswire, I was practically shaking.
"All you have ever been able to show me is the bad in others! You overlook their good sides, and everything that makes them a good pony. Would you say the same about Just Law? Would you say that he will shoot me on sight the next time I show my face, even though he and I have come to an agreement?" I snapped, glaring into the deep red eyes of the pony.
"Of course not, my dear Evergreen. Just Law means nothing to you, so speaking of him accomplishes nothing. It is your so called friends you need to watch out for. They have always been what you needed to watch out for," It answered silkily, unfazed by my anger.
"Never," I growled deeply, watching in satisfaction as the pony's expression shifted from one of patience to one of annoyance, "I trust them with every fiber of my being. You say that Steel Curtain is a liar and a traitor, well he deserted because he could not stand to be a part of what the Enclave was doing any longer. You claim that Suture will abandon me should her home ever become in danger? She has already left that town behind to join me of her own accord, after she no longer needed to. She understands what the real threat is, and knows that I'm the only fucking pony in the entire wasteland trying to do something about it! Autumn Mist is my real conscience, the pony I look to when I need to make a difficult decision. All you want is for me to give in to those dark emotions, the ones I have made sure to bury as deep as I can! Autumn can't forgive me, and I don't blame her, but she has accepted the fact that I regret my past. And nopony is as reliable or loyal as Crosswire."
"You are so naïve, despite your years in the wastes," the pony growled as it changed before my eyes, legs lengthening and body growing until it towered over me, its eyes coming to life so that they glimmered like a pair of red-hot coals, "Nopony cares about you, Evergreen, and nopony ever will. The only solace you will ever find in this life is with me. I am the only one who knows anything about how to find satisfaction! It is with me that you will find the happiness you so desperately seek."
Despite my anger, I found myself backing away in fear until I was up against the wall, with nowhere else to go. "I tried that once, and it got me into this mess!" I yelled, using volume to hide my fear, "I was lost, unhappy, and didn't even realize it! How could that possibly be better than this? At least I know there are ponies that I can trust."
"But you were safe!" it thundered, "You had power and influence! Ponies feared you!"
"I don't want that anymore!" I shouted right back, "I want peace. I want to be able to wake up in the morning and not hate myself. I want to be able to walk into a town and not be immediately under suspicion, simply for being who I am. If I have to give up some power to achieve that, then I'm fine with it."
"But I am not!" the pony screamed and lunged at me, forehooves reaching for me.
I tried to dodge to the side to escape its reaching grasp, but wasn't fast enough. It slammed into me, knocking me into the wall and sending me crashing into the ground. It held me there, pinned and helpless and glared into my eyes. My flesh crawled where it was touching me, making me want to recoil in disgust, but it held me too tightly so all I could do was squirm.
"I am all you will ever need," it growled as it lowered its face to mine. I tried to scream as its lips touched mine, but all that came out was a muffled groan.
oooOOOooo
I woke with a start, panting heavily, still feeling the rough texture of that thing's lips against mine, and shuddered at the memory. To my surprise, I was still lying in the bed, though it was completely soaked with my sweat. I slowly got to my hooves, shaking my head to try to chase away my memories of the nightmare, but they lingered, like a bad taste in the back of my throat.
I glanced at my Pipbuck, surprised to see that almost the entire night had passed. The nightmare had seemed so short. I shook my head violently, chasing the cobwebs out of my mind, and turned my thoughts to what I would soon need to be facing.
With luck, the Elder would be coming back soon, and with some sort of task for me. If everything went well, my friends and I would be free, and we could clear the air. They all had a lot of explaining to do, and I was eager to hear what they had to say for themselves, especially the traitor, Steel Curtain. I would do everything the Elder asked of me, just to make sure that I was the only one that had anything to do with them. I didn't want any other interruptions.
Before long, true to my predictions, the door slid open with that now-familiar pneumatic hiss, and the Elder entered, flanked by the self-righteous Paladin, Apple Crisp, as well as two other fully armed and armored Steel Ranger ponies.
"I'm guessing you finally came to a fucking decision?" I asked, my voice harsh and angry. I was sick of waiting on other ponies to make decisions that affected my life so intrinsically.
"I have," the Elder answered, somewhat taken aback, "Star Paladin Apple Crisp has brought a particular difficulty to my attention that we could use some aid in. If you manage to resolve the issue in a way that we deem satisfactory, you and your friends will be free to complete your business here, and go on your way."
"Good," I snapped, "What's the job?"
"Follow me, and we'll show you," Apple Crisp ground out between clenched teeth. He was very obviously holding himself back from doing something about my behavior.
"Lead the way then. Am I getting my gear back for this job?" I demanded, falling into step behind the large, armored pony, "And am I going to be on my own? I could use the help of a couple of my friends."
"That wasn't the agreement," the Elder interjected, "The agreement was that you would solve a problem for us, so your companions will stay right where they are. As for your gear, you will be given your weapons, ammo, and a small supply of healing chems. We will hold on to everything else."
"What about my barding?" I demanded.
"You will be given that back as well," Apple Crisp snapped, "Now shut your mouth and show some respect to the Elder."
I did as the Paladin asked, simply because I didn't want to get kicked again. That powered armor really packed a punch.
They led me through the bunker, which seemed like it was constructed to be a labyrinth, until we finally emerged on the surface after climbing several different sets of stairs. Somehow, we didn't pass a single pony during the entire march. It seemed like the entire place was deserted, except for the itch on the back of my neck, making me realize that every single step I took was being watched.
Outside, the mountains rose up to almost touch the very bottom of the clouds. The rain was coming down gently, just enough to be noticed, but not bad enough to affect my accuracy. We continued walking for several minutes, making our way down a narrow defile that opened into a small hollow that was maybe a dozen feet on a side. The most distinguishing feature was a massive gear-shaped door set into the mountainside that had the number 76 painted on it in bold yellow block print.
"A fucking Stable. You've got to be kidding me," I growled, turning to shoot the Elder a poisonous glare, "The last of these fucking things I was in, we almost ended up dead ten times over. It was full to the fucking brim with feral ghouls."
"You said any task we wanted. This is it," The Elder responded calmly, an aloof expression on her face.
I snorted at the comment. "I was expecting something possible. These things are fucking deathtraps."
"If you don't want to do it, then we shall simply proceed with what our plans were before, Evergreen. It is your decision," the Elder stated, "I leave you in the capable hooves of Star Paladin Apple Crisp." With that, the Elder turned and started back towards the bunker under the escort of the other two armored ponies.
Which left me alone with the Star Paladin, who was glaring at me rather angrily. "So, exactly what is it you lot want me to kill myself for?" I asked with a sidelong glance at the Paladin while I approached the massive door.
"We have it on good authority that there is an experimental power source buried in this Stable. We want it so we can convert it for use on the Outpost. We managed to unseal the Stable some years ago, but never made it farther inside than the main atrium. Everything else was sealed off," the large red pony answered curtly, depositing a set of saddlebags on the ground, "Here's your gear."
I turned away from the Stable door and approached the saddlebags, finding my barding and weapons stored within. I started to pull the armor on, watching the Paladin for any sort of hint at what I might find down there. "You expect me to be able to get through those areas?"
"We don't expect anything from you. You made an offer, and this is the task Elder Bitter Orange decided to give you. I honestly expect that you'll be crawling out of their with your tail between your legs before the day is out, and then we can finally forget about this farce and deal with that Enclave soldier and our own exile accordingly," the Paladin shot back, "So, I'm going to open this door, you're going to walk in, then I'm going to close it again, so I can actually get some real work done."
"You're not sealing me in there!" I protested, turning on the buck, my armor finally settled across my back, "The last one I got stuck in I only survived because the door was open! You are not closing it with me in there!"
"I honestly don't care what you think, Evergreen. You can play this by our rules, or you can scurry back to your cell to rot. No hair out of my mane for what you decide," Apple Crisp stated, unfazed.
I watched the buck angrily for several moments, but he stared straight back, obviously not about to back down. "Fine," I finally spat, "We'll do it your way. How am I going to let you know to let me the fuck out of there?"
"I'll come back and open the door at sundown. If you aren't there within ten minutes of that, I'm sealing it back up and will come back in the morning. If you aren't back by then, well, we'll just figure you for dead at that point," he answered as calmly as though discussing the rain.
"Just make sure you hold to that," I snapped, sliding Hammer into its holster and sliding my knife into its sheath, "Now get that fucking door open."
While the Paladin activated the controls, I slid the saddlebags onto my back and checked my Pipbuck for what was actually in them. The Steel Rangers had been rather more generous than I had expected them to be when it came to my healing supplies. I had a full five healing potions to work with. I snorted in disgust and turned my gaze to the Stable door, which was now grinding loudly against its frame as it was dragged back into the depths of the ancient bunker. It was amazing what difference a Stable door being in the open could have on the volume of its opening. The last one had nearly deafened me, yet this one was no more grating than somepony's hoof being dragged across a chalkboard.
"There. It's open. Now get the fuck in there so I can get back to doing my job," Apple Crisp snorted, tossing his head in the direction of the open door.
"Thanks," I snapped sarcastically as I stepped through the door and into the dim interior of the entrance way. As soon as I was clear of the door, I heard the warning claxon start to sound as the door slid closed behind me, making me wince at the echoes it sent around the small metal box that was the main entrance.
Within moments, I was locked into the Stable, completely alone, and not knowing what to expect. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my jangled nerves, and started forward. The only way I was going to get out of this mess was by going forward, so that was exactly what I was going to do, no matter what dangers this place held.
I followed the only available path through the decaying metal hallways, pressing deeper into the mountainside, and whatever horrors this tomb of the old Equestria held. Before long, I had made it as far as the Steel Rangers had, and stood in the center of the vast, two-story atrium. I quickly realized why they had made it no farther, as every single door leading out of the atrium was sealed tight, far too secure for me to get through. Had Crosswire been here, then it might have been possible to get inside some of them, but I also didn't know what to expect from the buck anymore. With our freedom restored, he could easily choose to remain, back with the ponies that had raised him. Why wouldn't he, since they were all just as two-faced as he had managed to be, hiding his real personality from me for all those years.
I pushed all thoughts of my companions out of my mind, focusing on the here and now. As in Stable 60, the Overmare's office must contain something about what had been going on in here. The Stable had obviously failed as well, since the interior was very visibly decaying, and there was no sign of anypony having lived here in a very long time.
I trudged around the atrium slowly, taking advantage of the calm to examine each sealed door carefully, trying to spot a potential weakness. It took a long while, but finally, I found something. It was a wall panel that wasn't quite placed correctly on the wall. At first glance, it had simply seemed to be a result of the overall state of decay of the Stable, but as my gaze passed over it a second time, something simply seemed... off.
I approached it cautiously, not knowing what to expect. When I finally reached it, I reached out a hoof and slid the wall panel to the side, surprised at how easily it gave. The panel finally out of the way, I lit up the flashlight in my Pipbuck and shone it into the exposed hollow, shocked at what was inside. A skeleton sat huddled against the far wall of the empty space behind the wall, the bones still wrapped in the remains of a Stable jumpsuit.
I reached in and pulled the remains out, checking through the pockets of the jumpsuit with minute detail, searching for anything of value. All I managed to turn up was a small plastic card that my Pipbuck identified as a Stable 76 ID card. I examined it a little closer, learning that it had once belonged to a cream earth pony buck by the name of Stargazer. He was smiling in the picture, almost handsome if not for the intense anger that hid in his eyes. Unfortunately, the card revealed little more than his name, as every other symbol printed on it was simply some form of number or another, with abbreviated letters denoting what they meant, but without any inkling at what the abbreviations stood for, the numbers were useless to me.
I pocketed the card, hoping it might come in handy later, then turned back to face the main floor of the atrium, wondering what my next step should be. I was already one step farther than the Steel Rangers had ever achieved, I just needed to figure out what came next. Too bad that small space hadn't been anything more than that.
I started pacing across the floor, scouring my brain for any ideas. It was just at a time like this that Autumn Mist would declare some fool notion that would invariably turn out to be the right idea, but I didn't have the foggiest idea what that suggestion might have been. For all I know, it would be 'Let's shoot my rifle right next to Evergreen's head again!' That would be just like the spiteful bitch, always a single hair away from turning those weapons of hers against me. How the fuck was it my fault that she couldn't understand my regret, and accept my apology! Didn't she realize that how much it had cost me to make that admission?
In my anger, I nearly missed a soft female voice announce from somewhere to my left, "Classroom access granted," and the harsh pneumatic hiss of a door long sealed grinding open.
I turned at the sudden intrusion of my thoughts and was shocked to see a door standing wide open, inviting me inside. I made my way to the threshold, but hesitated before entering. What the fuck had I done for it to slide open like that? I hadn't done anything that I hadn't tried on my first pass... but I was carrying something new.
The identification card must have acted as some sort of key, allowing me entry into an area this buck had had access to. For it to unseal the lockdown, at least of this area, must have meant that he was relatively important, maybe even the Overstallion himself. Confident that my theory was correct, I stepped across the threshold and into the classroom.
"Please state your name," the soft female voice announced as I entered, then fell silent, with a near-silent, rhythmic clicking sound in the background, as if something was counting out time.
"Uh, Evergreen," I announced into the empty room, unsure what the voice was looking for.
"Identification incorrect. Security breach detected. Countermeasures deploying. Lockdown initiated," the voice announced calmly, and two panels on the ceiling slid to allow a pair of turrets to drop into the room, which instantly fixated on me. The door also slammed loudly shut behind me, sealing me inside with no solid cover to speak of.
As soon as I saw the barrels turn to face me, I was moving, jumping to the side and ripping Hammer from its sheath and dropping into S.A.T.S. to line up a pair of shots at the machines. I lined up two shots to the turret furthest from me, and a single shot to the closer one.
Time snapped back into normality and the rounds fired. The first turret exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel that bounced harmlessly off of my armor, but the second survived my shot with little more than scratched plating and opened fire at me, scoring my hindquarters with a red-hot lance of laser fire as I tried to leap behind a desk for cover.
"Fucking bastard son of a three-legged raider!" I swore, popping out from behind the desk to fire another pair of rounds at the offending turret, reducing it to nothing more than scrap.
"Countermeasures disabled. Lockdown lifting," the voice announced, and the door slid open once again.
"Yeah, fuck you too," I snapped at the room, twisting around to inspect my newest injury. The laser turrets had carved a nice line across my hindquarters that hurt fiercely. The flesh around the wound was already red and swollen, making any extra movement hurt just that much more. I pulled out a healing potion and drank it to calm the blazing pain, and thankfully lower the swelling as well. The potion gone, and the pain reduced to bearable levels, I started investigating the room, searching for anything of value.
All of the desks were completely empty, as though the students had cleared them out, so there were no leads there. I made my way to the front of the room, and the teacher's desk, where a computer sat, humming to itself, almost as if it were waiting for me. Sitting on the desk were a few odd papers, some looking like nothing more than a colt or filly's assignments waiting to be graded, but one or two appearing rather formal or official.
One of them bore the Stable-Tec logo, except with the number 76 inscribed in the central circle. I reloaded Hammer and slid the revolver into its holster before picking up the piece of heavy paper and lifting it closer to the light. On close examination, it appeared to be some sort of contract, with the undersigned, as the Head of Education for the Stable, agreeing to have sole private access to the classroom, and that any violation of that agreement, including lending their identification card to somepony else to simply fetch something, would result in 'severe repercussions', whatever that meant. Probably the turrets. Signed at the bottom of the page, in very controlled mouthwriting, was the name Stargazer.
So the poor bastard hadn't been the Overstallion. He was simply the bastard put in charge of the classroom, which explained why it had opened for me when I had gotten close. The door had been looking or some sort of signal coming from the card, which was probably acting as a key. Which probably also meant that the computer, or security system, or whatever the fuck it was had probably been looking for his name. At least now I knew what to say the next time this happened, if there was a next time.
I placed the form back on the desk and turned my attention to the computer. To my surprise, all I had to do was step up to the monitor, and the screen shifted from the log-in screen to a welcoming message to Stargazer. It must also have recognized the identification card.
The first highlighted option looked to be nothing more than a list of lesson plans, so I backed out of that and selected the second option, which appeared to be a private log, that only had two entries. I hit the first entry, and was disappointed when it was a simple text entry, rather than the voice entry that we had found in the Stable 60 Overmare's office.
I sat down in front of the screen, settling myself into a comfortable position to read the entry.
'It's been fifty long fucking years since that damn door locked my parents and all those others down here, and it seems that's all it's taken for the entire fucking Stable to lose its Princesses-damned mind. Midnight Blaze is going to run the fucking thing into the ground with all these new fucking regulations she's trying to push through. But hooray for good planning, Stable-Tec: there's not a fucking thing any of us can do to stop her. So now I have to make sure to carry this fucking 'Identification Card' everywhere I go. Fucking nuts if you ask me."
I shook my head in exasperation. This buck thought that he had things bad. He should have considered himself lucky that he didn't need to compete with whatever the fuck was on the surface at that point. He probably wouldn't have lasted a day. I scrolled down and hit the second, and last, entry.
'This is the last fucking straw. First Midnight Blaze makes the goddamn executive decision to make sure nopony can get anywhere without the ponies in charge of those places already being present, but then Arclight has the fucking gall to seal the entire engineering area off from the rest of the damn Stable, claiming that nopony has any reason to go down there. I swear to Celestia, those two are conspiring to tear the whole Stable apart from the inside. First chance I get, I'm making a break for it. Surface can't be worse than what we're suffering down here.'
It seemed that there had been more going in in this Stable than I had thought, which really wasn't a surprising revelation. Judging by the tone of the logs, whoever this Midnight Blaze was had probably been the Overmare, or Overstallion for all I knew, and they were making some fairly unpopular decisions, at least to this buck.
I backed out of his logs and perused what else was available on the main menu. The third option appeared to be a general announcement from the 'Stable 76 Executive Offices', whatever that was supposed to mean. Curious, I hit the option, and the screen shifted to show a fairly large amount of text, all of which was dense political language. I muddled my way through the announcement, discovering that it was the regulation that Stargazer had mentioned in his second log. Apparently, the Stable 76 Executive was worried about security, and had made it mandatory for everypony in charge of some function to remain in, or at least near, their offices as much as possible, so that it was guaranteed that somepony who was supposed to be in those areas would be at all times.
I couldn't for the life of me figure out what would have freaked these ponies out so much, especially since they were living inside one of the best-built bunkers known to ponykind. There shouldn't have been a reason for their fear, and yet even the tone of the announcement was very obviously one of anxiety. The Executive, who I could only assume was their equivalent of an Overmare, sounded absolutely terrified of something.
I backed away from the computer, knowing I wasn't going to find anything else useful on it, and started to look around the room again. I had a single pony's identification card, which meant that I only had access to this room and maybe the dormitories, but that wasn't a bet I was going to go for yet.
Instead, I began going over the classroom with a fine-toothed comb, searching for anything that might be of value. It took me almost no time to find something. It started as a flash of color from the corner of my eye while I was looking at the corner behind Stargazer's desk, but manifested to be another corpse when I turned to look.
As with Stargazer, the corpse was little more than old bones draped in a Stable jumpsuit. I approached the body and searched it, expecting to find another identification card. I wasn't disappointed as the small plastic rectangle slid out of a pocket to land at my hooves. Laying the body to the side, I lifted the small card to my eyes, wondering who this particular pony was.
The card showed a rather young Earth Pony mare, probably about the same age as Autumn Mist, with a bright yellow mane and a light blue hide. The name on the card was Holly Berry, so unfortunately not one of the ponies that appeared to be in charge from Stargazer's logs.
I placed the card in my saddlebags and stepped out of the classroom, trusting that I wasn't going to find anything else of interest in there, and back out into the atrium. I paused once I reached the center of the large room, wondering which door Holly Berry's card was going to open for me. Without any better idea, I simply started walking from door to door, pausing at each one, hoping that one of them would slide open at my approach.
It took me almost fifteen minutes, and I was walking by the last few doors on the second floor, when one of them finally opened. As with the classroom, the eerie female voice called out "Refectory access granted," and the door slid open with a hiss, giving me access to the room, which appeared to be almost twice the size as the classroom, with most of the floor space being taken up by booths and tables, unsurprising, given what the room was.
Gathering myself together, confident that I knew what I needed to say when the computer would undoubtedly challenge me, I stepped across the threshold. "Please state your name," the voice announced almost immediately.
"Holly Berry," I answered, quickly and confidently. I was smiling at my own cleverness, thinking that the entire system was so easy to beat.
To my horror, the voice announced, "Name confirmed. Please provide passcode."
I didn't have a fucking clue what it was looking for. I stood in shocked silence for several moments as the quiet ticking in the otherwise silent background wound down. In the same moment that it stopped completely, the voice made another announcement, "Time expired. Security breach detected. Deploying countermeasures. Lockdown initiated."
In an almost exact imitation of what had happened in the classroom, the door slammed shut behind me and four turrets dropped from the ceiling, all of them turning to track me. Unlike in the classroom, I was already moving, with Hammer in my mouth, as soon as the voice had announced 'Security breach'. Thanks to my quick reaction, the first two turrets were reduced to scrap before they could even begin firing, but that luck didn't hold for the other two.
They opened fire, peppering my armor with low-caliber rounds, most of which bounced off harmlessly. A few bit into the armor, lodging into it, but not quite making it through to me, a fact for which I was grateful. Unfortunately, my armor only covered so much of my body, and several bullets bit into my legs, most of them simply getting grazing hits, but one bullet bit deeply into the meat of my left hindleg, sending me toppling to the ground.
I managed to get myself behind a booth and out of the direct line of fire, except I was stuck unless I could take out those last two turrets. I pulled another healing potion out of my saddlebags and chugged it, groaning in relief as the wounds in my legs and hindquarters sealed up and the pain faded to nothing more than a distant memory. I took the few moments of quiet to replace the rounds I had fired out of Hammer, then steeled myself for the next few seconds of insanity.
I rolled out from behind the booth, rising to my hooves in the same motion, and slipped into S.A.T.S., lining up a pair of shots at the closest turret. The rounds fired and the turret exploded in a shower of sparking metal. That one taken care of, I dashed to the side, trying to stay just ahead of the last turret's targeting matrix, wanting to buy some time to get closer.
I zigzagged across the room, going from cover to cover and finally getting close enough to the turret that a quick pair of shots were all that were needed to reduce it to sparking scrap. As soon as the last turret was destroyed, the female voice came back. "Countermeasures disabled. Lockdown lifting."
I snorted angrily, reloading Hammer while the door slid open again. It would be just my damn luck to think I figured something out, just to have it blow up in my face, almost literally. At least now with the turrets in this room taken care of, I would have all the time I could use to look through around. Hell, if I was lucky, I would find something to eat as well.
Following that train of thought, I started my search in the back area of the cafeteria, where the food was stored. Not only did I find some old, preserved food, but I also stumbled on a computer that had most likely belonged to Holly Berry.
I popped an old, musty snack into my mouth and started to chew, my mind automatically blocking out the aftertaste that was the result of sitting around in a musty Stable for two-hundred years, while I approached the computer. Just as it had in the classroom, this one lit up at my approach, recognizing the young mare's ID card on me, and gave me full access to her files. I ignored all of the random announcements and inter-Stable correspondence that had also been on Stargazer's computer, and started with her personal entries. There were only three of them, with the first being separated from the other two by almost a full year. I accessed the first and sat back to read, interested to see what shadows the Earth Pony's thoughts would cast light on.
'Wow! I can't believe that Midnight Blaze gave me, of all ponies, the position as Head of the cooking staff! Mom would be so proud of me, if she were still here. At least I know that I can honor her memory doing what we both loved to do. I'm just so happy that Midnight Blaze recognized it! I swear I will not let her, or anypony in the Stable, down!'
I re-read the entry several times, trying to figure out what about it was relevant to my current conundrum, but couldn't think of anything. It struck me then that all these were simply the young mare's private thoughts, and that this one had taken place almost a year before the other two, and the same year in which Stargazer had been complaining about whatever new regulations were being enforced. With that in mind, I accessed the second entry, expecting something just as gushy as the first.
'Well, I really don't know what to say, but I feel like I should write something down. Our esteemed Executive Officer is saying that something is threatening the security of the Stable, but... it doesn't seem like anything is any different than it was last month, or the month before that. All the same, she's starting to make some new changes to our security. Most of them aren't too bad, just some extra hardware being installed in all of the private and limited access areas, as well as an upgrade to the Stable's security software. But some ponies aren't too happy with the changes, especially Stargazer and his friends. Blueberry has been telling me that he has gotten a lot stricter and much harsher in his punishments these last few weeks. If that buck does something to hurt my little sister, I'm going to have to go to the Executive Officer about this. We simply cannot risk hurting the children. As Midnight Blaze always tells us: 'The children are the future.' I just hope that it doesn't come to that.'
I was shocked at the change in tone of the mare's writing. Even without being able to hear her voice, I could tell that she was under a lot more stress, and that the Executive Officer, who I was beginning to suspect was Midnight Blaze, was no longer held in as high of regard as she had been before. In fact, Holly Berry sounded actually afraid of the pony.
Almost afraid of what I was going to read next, I opened the accessed the next entry. I had no idea what to expect, but if the scene of the abandoned Stable around me was anything to go by, it wasn't going to be good.
'Oh, this is terrible! Stargazer has really fucked up this time. Why couldn't he have just waited, or tried to talk to the Executive Officer, or even the Head of Security? Why did he think that anypony would think that his taking action was okay? I was in the atrium, chatting with Silver Bow, and Stargazer marched right by us, heading for the Executive Officer's office. He disappeared inside, then came back a few minutes later with the angriest expression on his face that I have ever seen! The Executive appeared immediately after, just as angry, shouting that he had destroyed us all. I rushed straight here. I'm just so... so scared. I simply don't know what's going to happen. I think... I think I'm going to try to talk him down. Somepony needs to, and I don't think Midnight Blaze is going to do it.'
I stepped back, thinking I knew what had happened to the poor mare. She must have gone to the classroom to confront to the buck, only to somehow end up dead. I didn't know exactly how she had been killed, but it fit.
Since she had been speaking to another pony right before that last entry, I decided to check the cafeteria itself more closely. It was possible that Silver Bow had followed her in after the argument between Stargazer and Midnight Blaze.
True to my belief, I found a corpse lodged in a booth, in a clear line of sight to where one of the turrets had popped down. Its jumpsuit was also riddled with holes, leading me to believe that whoever it was had been targeted by the security system.
I searched the pony's corpse, finally finding another ID card. As I had expected, this one was of an off-white unicorn mare named Silver Bow. As her name suggested, she had a silver bow tied into her bright red mane and was smiling broadly. It was the kind of smile that managed to light up her eyes, even if it was only a picture.
This time, instead of immediately pocketing the card, I examined it a bit closer, trying to see if there was anything on it that could possibly give me a hint at what information the security system wanted from me when I walked into a room. The only bit of information that seemed to be at all promising was the number that followed the abbreviation 'P.C.'. My hope was that those letters stood for 'Pass Code'. I committed the number to memory, then stuck the card into my saddlebags and went off in search of whatever door this one would open.
I had already found the Head of Education and Head of the cooking staff, so this unicorn, Silver Bow, must have been the Head of something as well. That seemed to be the way this Stable had been designed: extremely structured, with everypony having a specific job. I didn't have a clue what I would do, however, if I came across a corpse that didn't belong to somepony in charge of something, since they seemed to be the only ones with access to anything.
Once back in the atrium, took a moment to sit down and gather my thoughts. My current strategy wasn't working too well, especially since I had already used two of the five potions Apple Crisp had given me, and had only managed to clear two rooms. At that rate, I would be full of holes before I managed to get into the engineering areas. I was going to need a new approach, yet it seemed like this place was designed for ponies to always be where they were supposed to be, which was bad news for me.
My biggest chance at survival at this point was to figure out what pass code the security system was looking for when I entered a room. If I had that, getting through this Stable was going to be easy. Unfortunately for me, that was one hell of a hurdle.
Well, I had my next attempt already planned out, and sitting around wasn't going to get me anywhere. I rose back up to my hooves and started marching around the atrium again, searching for whatever door was going to open up this time. Unlike the last one, I found this door quickly. In its usual fashion, the door announced that I had gained access to the Laboratories, a fact that made me more nervous than I cared to admit. I had already learned that the Stables were experiments in and of themselves, so getting into an area that was meant for experiments inside one of these damn things just didn't seem to bode well.
As I stepped into the room, my fears were entirely confirmed as a grisly scene met my eyes. Almost every single horizontal surface was covered in thick layers of rust and grime and the floor was absolutely littered with bodies, many of which were easily small enough to be the corpses of children. Luckily, my years of dealing out death had hardened my stomach, so the only feeling I felt was a skipped heartbeat as my mind registered the massacre I had stumbled upon.
I was so shocked that I almost missed the security system's challenge. "Silver Bow," I announced distantly, waiting for the inevitable counter-challenge.
"Name confirmed. Please state passcode," the system predictably announced.
"Seven-Five-Two-Nine-Nine-Six-Four," I announced, trying to force a bit of confidence into my voice. In the silence that followed, I found myself holding my breath, poised to spring into action the second it should become required.
"Passcode confirmed. Welcome, Silver Bow," the system announced before falling silent and leaving me alone with only a few dozen corpses as company.
I let my breath out in a loud gasp, relief flowing through my body as I let my head hang down. "Thank the Princesses for that," I muttered as I stepped farther into the room, doing my best to step around the bodies in my way.
It didn't take me long to find Silver Bow's small side office, and the computer that sat there, humming to itself, simply waiting for my approach. It would have been a lie to say that I wasn't curious about what had happened in this Stable, and I stepped eagerly up to the computer, almost excited to learn more about what had killed everypony in here.
Silver Bow only had a single log entry on her computer that was dated for the same day that Holly Berry had announced she was going to talk to Stargazer. After reading the first few lines of the other half-dozen logs and realizing that they had nothing to do with anything that appeared to have happened down here, I was starting to think that that was the day everything had gone to shit. Almost apprehensive about what I was going to learn, I accessed the one file that seemed to be relevant.
'I need to write this quickly, since I'm supposed to be meeting Holly Berry in the atrium today, for our usual weekly chat, but I simply must keep this record. It is a scientist's duty to make sure no facts are lost, though I can't guarantee that I will be writing without any bias. Holly is my friend, after all. The simple facts are the Midnight Blaze, our ever so esteemed Executive Officer, has been making many poor decisions recently, believing herself to be warding off some sort of danger to us. If she sincerely believed that something could possibly happen to us after fifty years of nothing, then I must believe that she is no longer fit to lead this Stable. Unfortunately, all possibility for a reasonable presentation of this thought is completely gone, since that idiot Stargazer decided to start shouting her down with that same demand on an almost daily basis for the last week. It doesn't help matters much that she's been working so closely with Arclight these last weeks on the new hardware installations. Those two bucks have never gotten along. I just hope that Security Chief Hot Lead manages to keep the peace. Thank the Princesses I managed to schedule a meeting with him today for just after my chat with Holly. Hopefully, between the two of us we'll be able to figure out a solution.'
Despite the fact that I knew that Silver Bow had never made it to her meeting with the Security Chief, the log lifted my spirits significantly, since it implied that the Chief had come to the laboratory at some point that day, maybe shortly before Silver Bow had been killed. It made sense, because I couldn't imagine that the mare had planned on going into the cafeteria with Holly Berry that day.
Feeling confident that this trail of bodies was finally coming close to a conclusion, I wandered back out into the main area of the lab. I was somewhat put off when I realized I would have to search each and every body to find one that belonged to the Security Chief. Doubtlessly several other ponies in this mess had to be Heads of their own departments, and would have information shedding light on why they had all gathered in here, but my only concern was why it had all happened in the first place. Leave it to the Steel Rangers to discover that answer, if they wanted. My concern was still, first and foremost, getting into the Engineering section and finding this Stable's power source.
I reluctantly began the grisly work of searching the bodies. At least knowing that I was searching for a grown pony let me disregard the smaller bodies of the colts and fillies, but that didn't make the job any easier. It took me almost a full hour of shifting bones and jumpsuits around to finally find the one I was searching for.
The Chief's ID card identified him to be a severe-looking Earth Pony with a dark blue hide and white mane. Where every other picture had been of a smiling pony, Hot Lead showed no such inclination. As I had done with Silver Bow's card, I memorized the Pass Code on it, and set out to track down the Security office. If the structure of Stable 60 was anything to go off of, I was expecting to find it somewhere down the same hallway as the one that the Overmare's office would be in, or the Executive Officer's, in this case.
As I expected, the door leading towards the Executive Office slid open at my approach, and there was what appeared to be a lengthy hallway behind it. What I wasn't expecting was the challenge as soon as I stepped into the hallway.
"This is a restricted area. Please state your name," the voice announced, making me stop dead in my tracks.
"Hot Lead," I immediately answered. I couldn't figure out why the system was already challenging me. Technically, I was still in a public area, so I shouldn't need any sort of clearance to walk back here.
"Voice recognition failed. Security breach detected. Deploying countermeasures. Lockdown initiated," the voice answered, shocking me so much I didn't even think to grab Hammer before turrets were dropping out of the ceiling, with one every dozen feet or so, leaving me with four of the damned things to contend with.
The hallway was too narrow for me to do anything but run and shoot, so that was exactly what I did. I ripped Hammer from its holster and slid into S.A.T.S., lining two shots up against the first turret, and utterly destroying it when they fired a heartbeat later. Even as the sparks from that turret were hitting the ground, I was charging under it, firing at the second and third turrets, trying to knock them out of commission before they could do any real damage.
As luck would have it, I managed to reduce the next two to scrap before they managed to do any more than scratch my armor with the low-caliber rounds they were firing, but the last turret had more time to get shots on target. As I ran down the hall towards it, rounds started sparking off my chest, deflected by the steel plates of my armor, but just as I was taking aim, the turret shifted its aim, and sent a round straight through my right foreleg, making me tumble to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
I came to rest almost directly underneath the turret, thankfully out of its arc of fire, groaning in pain. Taking care of the immediate problem, I painfully twisted about so I could bring Hammer to bear and fired a pair of rounds into the turret, reducing it to scrap and showering myself in fragments of hot metal.
In the oppressive silence that followed, I took several moments just trying to push back the waves of fire coming from my leg, but I knew I would have to endure much worse if I wanted to get back to my hooves. Steeling myself for what I knew was coming, I contorted my body so I could get the wounded foreleg out in front of me, finally bringing the damage into sight as well as enabling myself to reach my saddlebags.
The intensity of the pain caused by the movement almost made me black out, but I managed to stay just this side of consciousness. Panting at the effort it took, I started to examine the wound, finding a neat hole punched straight through my right foreleg, just below the joint of my knee. I dug through my saddlebags and pulled out the third of my precious healing potions. I knew that this one wasn't going to be enough to completely heal the wound, but it should at least enable me to move without blacking out, and would hopefully let me leg support my weight.
I quickly drained the potion and gasped in relief as the waves of pain from my leg abated, letting me finally breathe normally. As I had suspected, the potion didn't fully heal the wound, and a small-ish hole was left that was still weeping blood. Luckily, I had learned enough to know how to tie a simple bandage, and Apple Crisp had been kind enough to give me some. Within minutes, my right foreleg was swaddled in a bandage, ranging from just under my armor until a few inches above my hoof.
That done, I shakily rose to my hooves, being careful to keep my injured leg off the ground. I wanted to make sure I was stable before trusting my weight to that leg. When I was absolutely sure that I was steady, I gingerly set my hoof down, slowly testing my weight. To my surprise, it managed to hold my weight rather well, thought it did hurt a bit. I would be able to manage a bit of pain if it meant I could at least walk normally.
The injury taken care of, at least to the best extent of my abilities, I continued forward, looking for the Security Office. Chances were that it would require the passcode again, and also the voice recognition, and since I wasn't male, and had no clue what Hot Lead had once sounded like, there was no way in hell I was going to succeed at that. My one hope was to be faster than whatever turrets popped out of the ceiling when I inevitably failed.
Before long, I found the office, and watched with trepidation as the door slid open, giving me the illusion of easy access. I knew that I would be shooting something once I walked in, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Unfortunately, simply standing here wasn't going to accomplish anything, and I still had a lot to do if I wanted to get out of here and finally learn the truth behind my so-called 'friends' motivations.
I snorted briefly in anger and annoyance, then stepped through the door, Hammer already out and ready. I was not going to be caught unprepared again.
'Please state your name," the security system predictably demanded.
"Hot Lead," I snapped around Hammer's grip, fully expecting the attempt to be ignored.
"Voice recognition failed. Security breach detected. Deploying countermeasures. Lockdown initiated," the computer intoned, just as I had expected it would, but I was already moving, taking cover behind a large metal cabinet and keeping my ears angled towards the center of the room, listening for where the turrets might drop down.
My eyes were glued to my E.F.S., watching for any bars to appear. Only one did. I remained where I was, body primed and ready to spring, not sure what to make of that. So far every room I had been in, except the laboratory, had been protected by at least two turrets, so it made no sense that this room, the center of security, would be protected by only one, unless of course, it was extremely powerful, like the two laser turrets that had been in the classroom.
I swallowed loudly, preparing myself for the fight, and leaned around the corner of the cabinet, looking towards the ceiling for a target. As a result, I was caught completely by surprise when a plasma burst struck me in the chest, fusing the front plates together and burning my chest, but otherwise I was luckily unscathed.
"Celestia fucking a one-legged mule!" I swore, snapping my head down and bringing Hammer to bear on whatever it was that had shot me. I was shocked when I came practically nose-to-visor with a robo-brain. Something about seeing somepony's brain suspended in the clear glass dome that made up this thing's head just seemed plain wrong, and I had to fight the automatic gag reflex that threatened to make me lose my weapon.
I recoiled in shock and disgust, firing Hammer instinctively. Three rounds smashed into the glass dome, cracking it, but the thing was made of sterner shit that most glass in the wasteland, and it didn't break. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to correct the mistake as the robot opened fire with its plasma caster, forcing me to bound away from the cabinet. I managed to stay just ahead of the robot's aim, buying myself time to try to line up a shot.
In my haste to get away from the robot's stream of fire, however, I forgot to look at where I was placing my hooves and went tumbling head over hooves as I tripped over something on the ground. Thankfully, the fall took me behind the Security Chief's desk, which absorbed a plasma round that would otherwise have burned through my head.
I sprang back up to my hooves, wincing slightly as I landed heavily on my injured leg and slid into S.A.T.S., lining up two shots on the robo-brain's dome. An instant later and the dome shattered, flinging preservative liquid and bits of liquefied brain all over the room, splattering me with some.
In the sudden silence of the aftermath, I simply stood in place, panting heavily and eyes locked on my E.F.S., watching for any other targets. It was only after a full two minutes of silence that I finally reloaded Hammer and spat it back into its holster. My next action was to pull out my canteen and wash out the taste of preserved brain from my mouth. After two mouthfuls of water thoroughly swished around every corner of my mouth, I doubted I would ever get the terrible, bitter taste out of my mouth.
It was only when I gave up on the water that I looked down to see what had tripped me. I was shocked when I realized that it was the body of a pony. Almost fearfully, I knelt down over the body and went through its pockets, searching for its ID card. It didn't take me long to find.
Holding it up to the light, I was surprised to see the face of a rather young mare with a bright orange hide and dark, almost scarlet, red mane. If it weren't for the dark circles under her eyes, I would have thought that she was actually happy living in this fucked up community. What really got me, however, was the name: Midnight Blaze. Somehow, the Executive Officer had gotten killed inside of Hot Lead's office. Even more disturbing was the fact that her jumpsuit had a burn in it about the same size as the area of fused plates on my chest, meaning that she had probably been shot by the robo-brain.
I shook my head slowly, unable to comprehend how the most powerful figure in the Stable, meaning that she had to have had full access to every single area of the Stable, could have been killed by one of the security measures she had installed. I tore my gaze from her body and looked to the desk, where Hot Lead's computer sat, silently awaiting my attention.
I wandered over to it and accessed his logs, where I found two waiting, both dated for the day of Stargazer's confrontation with the Executive Officer, and the day everything had fallen apart. With a lump in my throat, I accessed the first log.
'Head researcher Silver Bow has taken an important step in coming to me with her concerns. So many ponies down here are content to simply sit back and complain, or protest, or do whatever it is they think they can do to enforce their individuality that none of them think that I can be talked to. All of these problems could be avoided if they were simply smart enough to do so. Thankfully, Silver Bow is intelligent, as well as well-respected by the general populace. If I can convince her of what the Executive Officer is doing with Arclight, then maybe we can head off the inevitable. If only Stargazer wasn't so damned aggressive, then none of this would have happened. I just have to hope that this meeting will solve all of these problems before something happens that even I won't be able to fix, especially given the new upgrades that Arclight installed to the security system.'
Without even pausing, I accessed the next log. Doubtless it would put all of the pieces together for me, and hopefully give an explanation why all of the ponies had been gathered in the laboratory.
'Damn Stargazer! I was just about to leave for my meeting with Silver Bow when he marched down here, proud as can be, and demanded to see the Executive Officer, claiming that she was no longer fit for duty, due to her showing too much favoritism to Arclight. Doesn't the fucking idiot realize that she needs to be working with Engineering to finish these upgrades? If only the bastard could realize why we're doing what we're doing. Midnight Blaze managed to get him to leave, but not before things got really heated. I'm afraid of what might happen if we let this go for too long. So, just in case, I'm ordering everypony to gather in the laboratory, so that my meeting with Silver Bow will be public, and everypony will know that she requested it. Hopefully that way I can give them some answers before they lose their minds. I just need to hope that Stargazer doesn't do something stupid. Until we get the next install completed, the security system is unstable, and the smallest hiccup in normal operation will cause a total lockdown, and with all the department Heads gathered in one place, the rest of the Stable will become a deathtrap. Fuck, if Silver Bow isn't in the laboratory and something goes wrong, we'll all be dead. Well, here goes nothing. Let's just hope I'm not too late.'
I sat back on my haunches, shocked speechless at what I had read. Stargazer must have done something insane only minutes after Hot Lead had left his office, just long enough for him to get to the labs, and just long enough for Holly Berry to have made it to the classroom to confront him. Princesses above, that single pony's actions had caused the deaths of hundreds of defenseless, innocent ponies, all because he couldn't get what he wanted and didn't want to listen to the explanations.
I shakily got to my hooves, still trying to put everything together in my mind. I now knew what had happened down here, and the revelation was terrifying. These ponies had put so much stake in a simple security system, and as a result, the system meant to protect them had been what killed them. It was simply mind-boggling.
Well, now I knew what had happened, but what I truly wanted to learn was why. It was obvious enough from Hot Lead's log that Stargazer's issues with Midnight Blaze and Arclight stemmed from some sort of twisted jealousy of the engineer, despite the tone of his own logs. But none of that explained why he would react as violently as he did. There must have been some sort of reason, something to spark the risks he took. It simply didn't make sense.
Luckily for me, I had exactly what I needed to get where the answers were most likely being held. In Stable 60, the Overmare had had access to everything. Every single file in that Stable had been routed through her computer. Here, it seemed that Midnight Blaze held even more power, so I fully expected the same to be true. If anywhere in this fucked up place would have the answers I wanted, it would be her office. That also meant that it would probably be the best defended as well.
I wasted no time in heading out of the Security Office and down the hallway towards the Executive Office. As I expected it would be, it was at the very end of the hallway, yet to my surprise, it was already standing wide open. Wary of any sudden movement, I stepped across the threshold and into the circular office.
Nothing challenged me. The room was silent, as was the entire Stable. It seemed odd, creepy even, that everything had been defended by some sort of security system up to this point, yet the office of the most powerful pony in the entire Stable was completely unprotected.
I stepped around the desk so I could approach Midnight Blaze's computer, and found a corpse lying at the floor on the floor in front of the screen. I approached the body, fairly sure that I already knew whose body it was. All the card would be was confirmation. It only took me a few seconds to find, and then my prediction was confirmed. Looking up at me from the surface of the card was a handsome, brown unicorn buck with the name Arclight. No wonder Stargazer had lost his shit when he came here to yell at the Executive Officer.
Moving the body aside so I could get at the computer, I was shocked to see what was already there. The screen had a translucent black stain across it, bad enough that I could tell it was the remnant stain of a splatter of blood, but the words on the screen were still legible. I could also see what appeared to be streak stains through the blood, so whoever's blood it had been must have tried to wipe it away so they could continue working.
The text behind the blood was even more telling. The top line read 'Executive Office Security disabled.' The bottom, however, was what caught my attention. It read 'Disable Stable Security? Y/N'.
I reached out a shaking hoof and tapped the 'Y' button. Almost immediately, the computer came to life, with lines of text scrolling by on the display faster than I could read them. Everything then came to a sudden stop and a small box appeared, asking for a confirmation code. Hoping for a miracle, I pulled out Midnight Blaze's ID card and typed in her Passcode. The computer started working as soon as I hit enter, and for a minute I thought that nothing was going to happen. Then, against all prediction, another box popped up proclaiming that the code was accepted and the security system had been shut down!
It seemed unbelievable that I had managed to completely nullify the defenses of this Stable. And yet, if what was on the computer was true, that was exactly what I had just done. What disturbed me was that it seemed far too simple. Just enter a single passcode, and everything is fixed? That didn't seem like the way these Stables were supposed to work.
Putting my concerns aside for the moment, I accessed the logs, looking for whatever records Midnight Blaze had kept. She had three separate logs on her computer, with the first being dated almost twelve years before the other two, which were both dated for the day everything had gone bad. Wanting to keep everything in order, I accessed the first log, and was shocked when it was a voice recording.
"Well, today is the day I get to take over as the Executive Officer of Stable 76. Now that mom is dead, the mantle passes to me. She taught me everything she could to make sure I was ready, but I don't think anything is ever enough. Besides, I wasn't supposed to take over for at least another five years. That damn freak illness that took her away from us caught us all off guard. Well, I suppose there is no sense in wasting time. I need to read the orders that were left for us from Stable-Tec. Ahem, 'Congratulations, Executive Officer of Stable 76. You have been chosen to lead one of the most ambitious programs in the history of ponykind. You Stable has been selected to test the new EQ-WIN Personnel Security System. Unfortunately, we at Stable-Tec did not have time to fully install the system before we needed to move you all in, so it falls to you to have the system installed. You can find the process later in these orders. Good luck!' Wow, they really didn't give us much to work with... Well, no time like the present to get back to work. I'll need to speak to Arclight down in Engineering about seeing how far we've gotten with the testing. With how smoothly everything has been running so far, I've no doubt everything is running perfectly."
The mare's voice had been light and kind, the kind of voice that belonged to a pony I knew was a good pony. What could have happened to make everything go so wrong so quickly? The only place I was going to get those answers was the logs, so I accessed the next one.
"Fuck, I'm such a fool," the voice started. It was still the same voice as the first log had had, but I could tell that it was under much more strain, and there was also a much harsher undertone to it that hadn't existed before. "Twelve fucking years and it took me this long to check that one Goddesses-damned folder. Had I done that when I first started then everything would have been avoided. I should have realized it that first day when I went to talk to Arclight. I should have realized it when he told me that he knew nothing about any sort of security system installation. My mom had seen through Stable-Tec, the bastards. She understood that following their orders was a fucking death sentence, so she ignored them. For thirty fucking years, she ignored them. If only I had thought about that, then we wouldn't be here! If Hot Lead can't stop this, then I will be responsible for all of our deaths."
I was shocked into near inaction at that revelation. I had been sure that every single pony in the Stables had thought that Stable-Tec had built them to protect them, and that the betrayals hadn't been until much later. But apparently, this mare, Midnight Blaze's mother, was smarter than most and had figured it out. Too bad Midnight Blaze hadn't been just as intuitive. I reached out and accessed the last log. For better or for worse, this was the last I was going to learn. Once I was in the Engineering section, I didn't really care about finding Arclight's office. All I cared about was finding that fucking power generator and getting out of here.
"Dammit, everything is going to hell. I just found out from a private message from Arclight that Stargazer is on the warpath, and is on his way up here to confront me. If only we had more time! Hot Lead said he had a meeting with Silver Bow, the Head researcher, today, and that he should be able to calm almost everypony's fears with that meeting. I've told him to tell her everything, my mistakes included. If I'm lucky, they will unders..."
"Midnight, thank the Princesses I made it up here before Stargazer did," a voice cut in. It had a clear note of worry in it and was undoubtedly masculine.
"Arclight, what the fuck are you doing here? If Stargazer sees you, we'll have no hope of talking him down! You know he already suspects us of being less than professional!" Midnight Blaze protested.
"Let the idiot believe what he wants. That message you sent to Hot Lead made it to me as well. If both of us give him the same explanation that Hot Lead is going to give Silver Bow, then he might listen to us. Coming from just one of us it will sound like a poor excuse. But if he hears it from us and Silver Bow, he'll have no choice but to accept it," Arclight answered.
"Ugh, fine. I guess it's too late to do any..." Midnight Blaze started, but was cut off again as a third voice entered the fray.
"I finally found you, you sneaky bitch! And with him here no less!" the third voice snapped, sounding almost hysterical. The pitch and tone reminded me pointedly of a raider in a blood frenzy.
"Stargazer, please calm down and listen to us. We're going to explain everything," Midnight Blaze tried to protest, but the buck quickly interrupted again before she could continue.
"Oh, sure. Now you want to explain. Five fucking years after you start making our lives hell you want to explain. Too little, too late, Midnight. I'm here to make sure that you step down!" the teacher shouted, any semblance of sanity gone from his voice.
"Stargazer, we're going to shut the whole system down! That's why Arclight is here!" Midnight Blaze shouted back, just as angry as the buck, if not quite as crazy.
"Oh, sure it is! That's why you're the one at the computer and he's standing over you, right? Come clean with me, Midnight. Tell me that it's him over me!" Stargazer snapped.
"Wha... You've got to be kidding me!" Midnight Blaze shouted, "All of this because you think I'm in love with Arclight and not you! I don't love anypony! I've been too busy trying to keep this Stable running to look for a fucking coltfriend! This has to be the most immature, childish, and idiotic complaint I have ever been faced with!" There was the sound of the mare getting to her hooves, still shouting at the other buck, calling him all sorts of names and calling his birth into question, before she finally shouted, "Arclight, start shutting the system down, I'll be back in a minute. This fucker needs to understand something about professional respect! And shut off the log!"
I sat stunned, scarcely able to believe my ears. My suspicions had been true then. The entire Stable had been killed because one buck wasn't able to take no as an answer. If that wasn't sad, I didn't know what was. Well, at least I knew the truth now. What had seemed to be such an intense mystery had turned out to be nothing more than romantic drama, if this could even be called that.
I slowly shook my head, climbing woodenly to my hooves and making my way to the door. I wandered down the hallway, picking my way around the scrap of the turrets I had destroyed and emerging back out in the atrium. Every single door was now standing open, a silent testament to my efforts, including the one to the Engineering area.
Not quite knowing what to expect, I stepped through the door and started down the stairs that would bring me to the lower levels of the Stable, where all of the machinery that kept it running was held. As I descended, the rumble of machinery came into hearing, somehow still running after a century and a half of being forgotten. Lucky for me, the main power plant was easy to find, though it didn't look like anything special to me.
It was simply a large, black machine that took up most of a single room and had tubes running the full length of its height, disappearing into the floor and ceiling. It was humming loudly, and enough heat was radiating off of it to make the air surrounding it shimmer. I wasn't able to get closer than two feet without becoming distinctly uncomfortable in the heat.
My job done, I simply turned around and started to make my way back out, but paused at the bottom of the stairs. This was a Stable that still had functioning machinery, which meant that it might still have a working water purifier, and I still needed one to complete my deal with Millberry.
I turned around on the spot and headed back into the Engineering area, investigating every single room for what I wanted. I finally found it on the deepest level of the bunker, sitting quietly in a back corner room, seemingly far away from the main thoroughfare of the area, but all of the signs and labels around it pointed at the fact that it had to be a purifier. I remained just long enough to ensure that it was still in working condition before turning and walking out of the room. It was far too large for me to disconnect and carry with me. Besides, there was no way in hell the Steel Rangers would just let me walk out of the Stable with it. I would need to strike a deal with them to get my hooves on it. Hmmm, maybe I could give them Steel Curtain, if he didn't give me a good enough reason not to expect him to betray me, just as he had his home.
I made my way straight up to the entrance, pausing only once to check the bandage around my wounded leg, since the pain was starting to flare up again. I found that the bandage was starting to stain red as the wound continued to bleed, but as long as it held my weight, I would be able to manage. Before long, I was sitting and waiting at the door, with only a half hour left until Apple Crisp was supposed to open it for the evening.
The half hour passed quickly, partially thanks to the light doze I had managed to fall into. The emergency claxon of the door opening, coupled with the deafening grinding of the door on its frame, however, was more than enough to fully wake me and give me time to make myself appear somewhat presentable.
I sat directly across from the open door, chest thrust out in victory, waiting to see the look of shock that would inevitably be on the Star Paladin's face. When the door finally rolled to the side and out of the way, I was not disappointed.
The red buck's jaw dropped open, and his eyes were full to the brim with confusion. Every line of his body shouted his shock at seeing me, alive and victorious. It took him several moments to collect himself, and when he did, his usual stoic expression took over, hiding any semblance of emotion he might have had.
"Evergreen. This is a surprise," he intoned, stepping forward until he was just on the other side of the door, "I'm guessing you managed to accomplish the task that Elder Bitter Orange gave you?"
"The generator is about a hundred feet beneath your hooves, Apple Crisp," I answered smugly, "And the path there is entirely open. Your welcome." I stood and sidled past him, stepping back out into the clear mountain evening, where the light rain washed over me. Once past the buck, I sat down and tipped my head towards the sky, letting the water run over my face and wash away the grime of the Stable.
"Hmph. Impressive. If you would give me your weapons, then, we can return to the bunker. You will be held until a team is sent down to ensure that you are telling the truth, and not taking advantage of our trust. You can keep your armor and ammunition," the buck stated without any sort of inflection.
"That wasn't the deal," I snapped, turning my head to fix the armored stallion in a piercing glare, "I upheld my part of the bargain, now I want to see my friends. I need to make sure they aren't being mistreated."
"We aren't going back on anything. We simply don't trust you and want to make sure that you're telling the truth. As soon as it is confirmed, you'll get your weapons back, and will be brought to your friends," Apple Crisp growled, letting some of his annoyance at me show.
We stood facing each other, staring each other down and both trying to intimidate the other into backing down. Unfortunately for me, the Paladin must have been made of the same steel that was used to build his armor, and I had better things to be doing than get into a staring match with a stubborn buck.
"Fine, we'll do things your way," I said, shrugging. I pulled Hammer and my knife out of their respective places and tossed them on the ground at the Paladin's feet, then started walking towards the bunker.
From behind me I heard the sounds of the Paladin rushing to pocket my weapons and catch up to me, where he took the lead and slowed our pace to a stately march. I obediently fell into step behind him, grinning to myself. He would feel like such an idiot when they discovered that I had been telling the truth.
He left me in my cell and turned to leave, letting the door close shut behind him and leaving me alone. The pneumatic hiss of the door closing made me jump nervously, half expecting some turrets to drop from the ceiling and open fire. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that this was the Steel Ranger Outpost, and not the Stable. Besides, I had shut down the security.
I finally calmed myself down and wandered over to the bed, where I dropped my saddlebags to the ground, and lay down. Fatigue was quickly overtaking me, and knowing the Steel Rangers, and how they had been operating so far, it would be several hours before they sent a team down to see that I had kept my word. I might as well get some sleep while I could.
I woke up on my own, in the morning as I determined when I checked my Pipbuck. Growling in annoyance to myself I crawled off of the bed and started pacing the room. I wouldn't be able to get anything done until somepony came down to let me go, and I was definitely annoyed that it had been this long and nopony had come and talked to me yet.
Thankfully, I didn't need to wait long before the door slid open, leading me to believe that they had some way of monitoring me. Bitter Orange stepped through the open door, flanked by Apple Crisp and another armored pony.
"So, Evergreen, it seems that you managed to complete the task I gave you. That was unexpected," the Elder announced, her voice very controlled. It was easy to tell that she was trying to keep herself from showing any emotion, but she wasn't as good as she thought. She was shocked, enough so that she didn't know what to do.
"I did, as I said I would. So me and my friends are free to go about our business then, as per our agreement?" I asked pointedly, glaring at the older mare.
"Evergreen, you must understand that situation we are in. You and your friends are a risk that I don't think we can take," the Elder started, but I didn't let her continue.
"So you're going to break your word, and become nothing more than a more advanced gang?" I snapped angrily, "I should have guessed. I'm surprised you haven't exiled yourself, for being just as duplicitous and deceptive as Crosswire."
The Elder and Apple Crisp both shot me a surprised look, as though they hadn't expected me to say something like that. "I... I'm sorry," the Elder stated, starting to turn to walk away, but I leapt forward and almost made it to her, would have had Apple Crisp not gotten in my way.
"You lying cunt!" I shouted, "It would be just like you lot to break a promise! There isn't an ounce of honor among you, despite your claims! I did what you wanted, was almost killed doing it, and this is my reward? A fucking cell?"
Apple Crisp pushed me roughly away, making me stumble and limp over my wounded leg, but I managed to stay on my hooves and recovered to shoot a poisonous glare at the Elder, who was now watching my with unbridled rage.
"What did you just say about us?" she demanded, no longer even attempting to hide her emotions.
"The truth," I growled in return, "That none of you have any honor. You made a promise, Elder Bitter Orange. Honor it, and I will take back everything I said. You are the pony in charge here. Your decisions and your actions reflect on everypony here, reflect on the entire Steel Ranger order. If you carry this choice out, how long will it be before every single one of you isn't trusted with anything, simply because you couldn't keep a single fucking promise. How long before none of the ponies that are supposedly loyal to you begin to question the honesty of your orders?"
The Elder faltered in her anger, trying to find a response, but she started to crumble under the withering glares of both me as well as Apple Crisp and the other armored pony.
"While I hate to agree with somepony that isn't one of us, I must say that Evergreen is right," Apple Crisp stated, "And while I think that she needs to watch how she reacts to news she doesn't like, I can understand her reaction in this case. She did precisely what you asked her to do. I saw the inside of the Stable with my own eyes. We couldn't have asked for anything better."
I was shocked nearly speechless at the buck's admission. I had expected him to be firmly against me in everything, this included. I couldn't even imagine what it must have taken for him to speak out against his own Elder.
"Star Paladin Apple Crisp, how could you claim these things? You should understand the dangers they pose to our safety more than anypony!" the Elder sputtered.
"I do. I also understand the meaning behind a promise held and the consequences of a promise broken. If you break this one, Elder, we will never be able to expect any aid or cooperation from anypony. If you let her go, then news of our honesty will spread. We may be able to gain some influence again at long last," Apple Crisp answered severely, his voice carefully controlled. He was obviously treading on very thin ice, siding with me.
"I... Hmmm. If you are disagreeing with my decision, then I suppose I must try to see it from your perspective. I understand her anger as well, but..." the Elder muttered, visible shifting from side to side with her thoughts, "No, you're right, Apple Crisp. We must uphold our promises. Return her weapons. I will lead her to her friends myself."
"Alone, Elder? With the outsider?" the other pony, a mare by the sound of her voice, asked, a worried not creeping into her voice.
"Yes, alone," Bitter Orange confirmed, "It's the least I can do to make up for my insult." She looked at me, her gaze actually apologetic. I had severely underestimated the influence that Apple Crisp had on this mare. I had thought him the thoughtless follower, instead it seemed that he filled the role of advisor instead. I wouldn't make that mistake again.
Within moments, I had my weapons back, as well as the rest of my possessions, including the Messaging Crystal. "Why are you giving this back to me as well?" I asked cautiously.
"You were given the job to deliver it, Evergreen, so we shall allow you to complete that delivery, once you've met with your friends. Now, shall we get moving?" the Elder asked, nodding her head towards the door.
I watched the old mare for a few moments, then shifted my gaze down to the Crystal in my one hoof. The light, that damned mysterious light, was still flitting around inside. I let out a large sigh, pocketing the Crystal, and lifted my gaze back to Bitter Orange. "Lead the way." It was finally time to get this confrontation out of the way.
The Elder led me through the bunker, but instead of heading up and out as we had before, she led me deeper inside, towards a different holding area, I guessed. Many ponies stopped to watch us as we walked, some armored, and some not. The ones whose faces were in the open had expressions ranging from surprise to outright hostility. It seemed that solving a problem they hadn't been able to didn't do much for my reputation here. I doubted that even Apple Crisp would speak for me on anything more than the deal I had agreed to.
While we walked, I could tell that something was weighing heavily on the Elder's mind. She finally stopped midstride and turned to face me. "Evergreen, I find myself needing to apologize for my behavior. Apple Crisp, and you, were right. I was willing to throw away our honor for a little additional safety, and I would have been wrong. Your behavior has done nothing but confirm everything that you have claimed, and if the radio is to be believed, the wasteland has actually improved with you around. While this is not a confession of support for what you are doing, I can understand that you are doing what you, as well as many others, believe to be good work."
I watched the mare carefully, looking for any hint of deception from her, but she seemed to be sincere. "I accept your apology, Elder, on one condition. Promise me that you will uphold your word with every pony you come across from here on out."
"I... I promise," the Elder stated with a curt nod, then she lowered her head, her ears dropping as what appeared to be sadness overcame here. "It's odd. I've spent so much of my life leading these ponies, and this is the first time in all of those years that I have found myself regretting any decision I have ever made. I don't know whether to thank you or to hate you for it."
"Thank me," I growled, "Every leader has to learn regret. How else are they supposed to know what to avoid?"
"Hmmm, I suppose there's some truth there," the Elder said, nodding, "Then thank you, Evergreen. Now, let's continue. No doubt there is much you wish to do today."
"Don't mention it," I muttered, falling into step behind the Elder.
Within minutes, we were in the other holding area, which was little more than another hallway with closed doors on both sides. Bitter Orange made her way to a console and typed in a few commands. Immediately, the doors slid open and the sound of hooves could be heard approaching the hallway.
The first pony out was Crosswire, wearing an expression of surprise, and, on seeing me, a mixture of shock and joy. The two-faced bastard would be split on what to think. The next pony to walk out was Autumn, who was angry, as I fully expected. What other emotion did the bitch possess? It irked me even more when her angry glare deepened on looking in my direction. Did she have no clue that I had risked my life to save hers? Next, Suture crept into the open, her mane a tangled mess and deep, dark circles under her eyes. Doubtless she was crying over the fact the she doubted she would ever make it home again.
The last pony to come into the open again was Steel Curtain. Without his armor on, he was no more impressive than Crosswire. In fact, he appeared to be even slimmer than the unicorn. Surprising, given the amount of condition it reportedly took to operate power armor. I couldn't deny that he was in perfect shape however, as my eyes were drawn to the curve of his chest and the strength in his legs, as well as the gloss of the feathers in his wings. Despite my will, my eyes were drawn to his flank, where I laid eyes on his cutie mark for the first time. As his name suggested, his cutie mark depicted a large bullet, both intricately stylized and bluntly simple at the same time.
I lifted my gaze back to his face, which bore an expression of surprise, but also of fear. Why would he be afraid if he was a Dashite? The Steel Rangers would have no interest in somepony that knew nothing about the current state of affairs of the Enclave, and he had been a Dashite long enough that any intelligence he had would be long obsolete. Unless, of course, he was receiving information in some way from them...
"So," I stated bluntly, facing my 'friends', "I finally get the chance at some honest answers. Elder, I think we need to have our little reunion in private, if you don't mind."
"Of course, Evergreen," the Elder answered, bowing slightly to me and backing away, leaving me alone with the four ponies.
"Evergreen, are you all right?" Suture asked, her eyes darting from the bloody bandage around my leg to the furious expression on my face.
"Never been better," I ground out, "Not that you really care, Suture. I just bet you can't wait for us to finally be done with this damned mission so you can return to your comfortable life in Metro, huh?"
"Evergreen, what the hell has gotten into you?" Crosswire growled, stepping forward and drawing my glare towards himself, "Suture didn't deserve that! She's probably been sitting in there, crying for worry over you, not to mention the rest of us!"
"What the fuck would you know about it, Crosswire?" I demanded, rounding on the buck, "I barely know who you are! The buck I thought I had known for five years has completely changed in the last week and a half, and now I'm learning that there's even more than you told us! Exactly when is the whole truth about who Crosswire is really going to come out?"
The unicorn stood stock still, glaring at me, not even making an attempt to hide his rage. "What the fuck happened to you, Evergreen?" he snapped, "The mare I know would never say things like this, especially not after the ordeal we've all been through!"
"I opened my eyes, Crosswire! That's what happened. I realized that none of you have any reason to really be traveling with me, unless it's for your own, selfish purposes! I figure all you want is to get inside me, like any other two-faced raider bastard, and the rest of you are just as transparent. Autumn Mist wants nothing more than to put a bullet in my head and end my life, as repayment for the family I killed. Suture cares only about Metro, her home, so as long as we are working to protect that, she'll claim to be on our side. As for Steel Curtain, there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. Of that, I am absolutely certain!"
Deep inside, I felt that what I was saying was wrong. I felt an intense regret at the pain I must be causing my friends, but a powerful force quickly stamped out those thoughts and feelings, leaving me with nothing but my feelings of rage and betrayal. Within seconds, even the memory of that regret was gone.
"Evergreen, what did those ponies tell you about me?" Steel Curtain asked, his tone almost pleading, "I swear to you, on my honor as a Pegasus, that anything they told you was a lie!"
"Oh, is that what you expect me to believe. Your 'honor as a Pegasus'?" I said, vocalizing the apostrophes, "I bet it's just as true as every other lie you've told me so far, isn't it, Steel Curtain?"
"Evergreen, I haven't lied to you, about anything!" the supposed Dashite claimed, sadness making his eyes glisten.
"Oh sure. Tell me, then, who were your parents?" I demanded, taking a step towards the Pegasus.
"My... parents?" Steel Curtain asked nervously, taking a step back. I nodded at him, a grim expression on my face. "My... my father is, well probably was, now, a councilor in the government of Stormfront. My mother was an official from Cirrus. Small time, compared to dad, but important enough in her own right, I guess. Why does any of this matter?"
"Your parents are high-ranking officials from their respective homes, and their son is a soldier in the Grand Pegasus Enclave. That doesn't sound odd to you? Doesn't seem like a prime background for a pony who could do, oh, I don't know, special jobs?" I said, stepping closer to the Pegasus until he was backed up against a wall.
"Evergreen, it isn't his fault that he came from the high and mighty!" Autumn protested, grabbing me by the shoulder and swinging me around to face her, "I heard him as clearly as you did when he explained it! He's a Dashite. What the hell has made you think otherwise!"
"Gah, you wouldn't understand, Autumn!" I snapped, turning away from the young mare, but she stopped me, grabbing onto my mane with her magic and tearing me back around.
"Why wouldn't I, Evergreen? Because I haven't seen the things you've seen? Because these Steel Ranger fucks haven't filled my head with their propaganda bullshit?" she spat, losing control over her temper.
"It wasn't propaganda. It was well thought out arguments. Our winged friend is hiding something, and I intend to find out," I growled, tearing myself away from her magical grip, losing a few strands of my mane with the effort.
As I turned back to face the Pegasus, I saw Suture from the corner of my eye, tears streaming down her face as she cried, with Crosswire at her side, trying to comfort her. When I stepped towards the Pegasus, his head lifted, and he stepped towards me. On my E.F.S., his bar shifted from blue to red.
"I'm sorry about this, Evergreen," he said sadly, then jumped.
My injured leg got in the way of being able to effectively block the ragged unicorn's attack, and he managed to knock me onto me side and land atop me, keeping me pinned to the ground.
I bucked wildly, trying to throw him off balance, but he held himself steady, grappling with my flailing hooves until he had all but one pinned. I was just about to knock him hard in the head when I noticed his horn glowing. I had forgotten completely about his magic. In the next instant, something hard smashed against me head and everything went dark.
Level Up!
Perk gained: Concentrated Fire - Repeated shots at a previously hit target are much more likely to hit.
{Another chapter done, and let me tell you all that this one was probably the most fun I have written in a while! I'm really excited to see what you all think about it. As always, thanks to Kkat for the original Fallout: Equestria, and thanks to my editors, Cody and MUCKSTER. If you so wish, you can check out the story from the hub page here. Also, my apologies for the large delay! Cody recently got a new job, and hasn't had much time for editing these last couple weeks. As always, the hub page can be found here.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 10: Broken Spirit | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 10: Broken Spirit
"A what point is even friendship not enough?"
I slowly started to come to, my head pounding as though a stampede were running through it. Keeping my eyes screwed up against the light, I shifted my body, testing my movement, and found myself tightly bound. I racked my brain, trying to remember what would have led to this, and the memories of my confrontation with my friends rushed back to the forefront of my mind. Crosswire had managed to knock me unconscious, the fucking traitor, and now they had probably left me here for the Steel Rangers to deal with.
"Why... why would she say things like that?" a soft voice asked, sounding somewhat choked up. It had to be Suture. No other pony would break down like that when we weren't anywhere close to somewhere safe.
"I don't know..." another voice answered, this one gruff and annoyed. Crosswire was the only one that would have this sort of reaction. "I'm hoping we're going to get some answers, especially since how out of character it is for her. She never even turned on anypony like this back in the camp, and some of them seriously deserved it. Something isn't right."
"Well, she better have a fucking good answer," Autumn Mist snapped, "A lot of what she said is just plain fucking wrong, especially considering what we've all been through these last few days."
"That's what I'm hoping as well," Crosswire answered simply. I heard the sound of several sets of hooves stepping towards me and finally forced my eyes open, wincing at the renewed pain the light caused.
"At least she's finally awake. Took her fucking long enough," Autumn Mist growled. I shifted my gaze to her face and saw an expression of almost pure anger there, exactly as I had expected. The mare really was nothing if not predictable.
"The fuck you got me tied up for, Crosswire? I'm pissed, not violent!" I snapped angrily, straining against the ropes holding me in place.
"Just a precaution, Evergreen. Something is different about you, and we don't know what else might have changed," Crosswire explained, "And I want to know exactly why you started yelling at us like you did. Nothing you said made any sort of sense! It just isn't like you!"
"I think I already gave you that answer, Crosswire: I opened my eyes. You lot are nothing but a bunch of selfish bottom feeders. You're using me to get what you want, then the moment you don't need me anymore, you're going to throw me to the roadside and continue on your own!" I answered, making sure the ragged buck heard every note of anger and betrayal in my voice.
To my surprise, all he did was slowly shake his head and lower it to the ground, as though in pity. "You're not going to goad me back to anger, Evergreen. I've already gotten over that. Now, I just want to get my friend back. What could possibly make you think that any of us are here for selfish reasons? If that were the case, Suture would have stayed behind in Metro when we came out here, Steel Curtain would never have asked to join us, I would have walked away the minute we were clear of that damned camp, and Autumn Mist would have shot you dead that night I almost died. None of that has happened."
Some of what the tech was saying made sense, but I couldn't seem to make myself react to his arguments. Anytime I tried to form words that would answer him rationally, or consider the truth behind his views, my thoughts were utterly crushed and the flame of my anger fanned to new heights. I found myself incapable of reasoning out any other beliefs other than the ones that I had walked into this room with.
"You say that, but what's to stop Autumn from putting a bullet through my head this very second?" I snapped angrily, unable, and somehow even unwilling, to stop the words.
"You want me to?" the mare snapped, grabbing Hammer out of my holster with her magic and aiming the sleek black revolver at my head.
"Autumn, control yourself. We already agreed that Evergreen can't be at fault for this. I know her too well. Nopony can change her opinion on something unless she lets them, and I can't see her letting the Steel Rangers twist her views about us all like this," Crosswire snapped, grabbing the weapon with his own magic and tearing it away.
"So you say, Crosswire. I think you're putting too much faith in her willingness to trust us," the dark mare snapped as she turned and trudged away, "Do what you want. I'm fucking done with this. If she figures her shit out, she better have a fucking apology ready."
I watched the mare walk away, and some deep, primal part of myself was torn at the sight of her turning her back on me. Inside, I could feel whatever force was guiding my thoughts struggle to stamp out the feeling of hurt and turn it into more rage, but I refused to allow it that victory. I protected that feeling of grief and sadness, holding it safe like a flame from the wind as though it were the one small part of me that I now knew for sure was the only part that was entirely what I wanted it to be.
"Nothing to say for yourself, then?" Crosswire asked, looking down at me with grief-filled eyes, "Or is this what you really think now?"
"What do you want me to say, Crosswire?" I snapped, still not strong enough to fight the pressure in my mind that I knew was controlling me, "I can't apologize, 'cause I'm right! Nothing any of you have claimed holds any strength. Nothing proves that you are right!"
"Then look past our words!" the buck snapped, letting some of his frustration show, "Look at our actions! All of us are still here, at least trying to help you! We came here because we want to help you, Evergreen. We came here because we believe in what you're trying to do."
"Autumn obviously doesn't!" I snapped, nodding my head in the direction the young mare had walked.
"Can you blame her? You drove her away, Evergreen, with the way you're acting and the things you've said. And I'll tell you what, the rest of us are getting awfully close to being done as well. If we have to worry about you turning on us every time you get left on your own for more than a few hours, well, I don't know how long we'll be able to put up with that," the buck stated sadly, lowering his head and looking away from me.
Those words hurt me more than anything else so far had. The threat of once again being left alone in the wasteland was far too much to bear. I fought against the force in my mind, trying to drive it aside, trying only to get out a few simple words to let Crosswire know that I didn't want this.
"I should have expected you'd have nothing to say to that," the tech stated morosely as he started to turn around, "I guess Autumn Mist had the right idea after all..."
I struggled even harder against the shackles in my mind, throwing myself mentally against them, fighting with every ounce of strength and will I had to just call my friend back. "Crosswire, wait," I finally managed to gasp, the first words in hours I'd spoken to him that were not laced with anger or hate.
The buck stopped mid-stride and turned to look at me. "What, Evergreen? I'm getting tired of listening to your insults. If you're just going to yell at me again, save your breath. We've decided to go back to Metro if you weren't going to listen to reason and at least try to do something about all of this, and we don't intend for you to come with us, if that's the case."
I started to sweat with the effort of getting my own words out. Every single one felt like a battle won, but even then I feared it wouldn't be enough. "I need you," was all I managed to force out before the force in my mind overpowered me and drove me into silence.
Something in the tech's eyes told me that he saw the struggle I was in, and knew how much more was being implied by the words than the obvious. A thin smile appeared on his lips. "I knew we couldn't give up hope yet," he stated, with just enough joy in his tone for me to know that he had been the one fighting hardest to keep my friends together, striding back over to me, "I need you to think, Evergreen. What happened to change your mind about us like this? It had to have been a single event, since I can't see anything else doing this to you."
I fought through the haze in my mind, battling against the force trying to keep me from analyzing my own memories, trying to think back and remember why everything had changed. I could remember the fight that brought us to the gates of the Rangers's Outpost, and could remember the interrogations that followed. But in the space between the Elder leaving that first night and my new way of thinking, there was nothing but darkness. Whatever had happened to me, it had to have happened then.
"First night," I forced out, finding it almost impossible to speak, making the words come out as little more than whispers, "Something... happened."
"You mean that whatever happened to you happened during the first night we were here?" Crosswire asked, trying to puzzle out my meaning.
I nodded weakly. Even that simply action had been difficult, like fighting an uphill battle against an enemy that had had months to dig in.
"I think I have an idea," Steel Curtain announced, finally showing himself and walking into my sight. I could see that the Steel Rangers had not yet returned his armor, making the Pegasus appear much smaller.
"What is it?" Crosswire asked after several moments of silence. Steel Curtain had fallen silent as he watched me, his gaze also obviously taking in the severity of my struggle. I could even see the pain in his eyes at the realization that there was nothing he could physically do to help me.
"Do you remember the day we all left Grovedale, and the nightmare that Evergreen had that night?" he asked, never taking his eyes from me.
"Yeah. You mentioned something about how she might have some sort of ancient evil living in her mind, something that the Princesses had sealed away thousands of years ago," the tech answered.
"Exactly. I think it finally managed to gather enough strength to force a change in Evergreen in an attempt to make her return to the way of life she had been living. With all of us gone, it would only be a matter of time until she turned back to a raider's lifestyle. It seems that whatever kind of creature this thing is, it feeds on misery and death. A raider is the easiest path to those things, and a powerful mare like Evergreen offers a better chance at a long life," Steel Curtain explained.
"So you think that it was that thing that is twisting her thoughts like this?" Crosswire finished, tearing his gaze from the Pegasus and looking down at me, "It makes sense, and certainly follows with what we've learned about her life in Grovedale."
Steel Curtain nodded solemnly and stepped up to me and looked down on me with a sad gaze. "Evergreen, listen to me. I know a part of you is fighting against whatever it is that is making you angry at us, and I can see that that fight is not easy. Just know that the rest of us are here for you, even Autumn Mist."
I forced a nod, wanting to at least confirm to the Pegasus that I had heard him. "How... do I win?" I ground out between clenched teeth, the combination of my trauma-induced migraine and the sheer strength I needed to force the words out draining my strength at an alarming rate.
"Answer's simple," Autumn announced from her corner, "Tell the fucking thing no. Lucky you, you're going to get your chance far sooner than you thought. Crosswire hit you hard enough that we spent most of the day just waiting for you to wake the fuck up. All we needed to know was that you wanted it."
I turned my gaze to Crosswire, looking for confirmation from the buck and receiving a sad nod in response. "Go to sleep, Evergreen, and think about fighting that thing. It's only come to you in dreams so far, so you're going to need to fight it on its own turf. Seems like it has more power over you when you're awake anyway."
I nodded weakly and allowed my body to relax, hoping that will would be enough to win this fight. Thanks to the immense effort to maintain the small amount of control I had managed to gain over myself, not to mention the headache, I was soon struggling to keep my eyes open. It was with a heavy heart that I finally let sleep take me.
oooOOOooo
This time, things were different. This time, my mind was clear, and I knew what I was about to face. In the world of my dreams, the creature had very little control over me, and I knew, without any doubt, that my thoughts were my own.
I opened my eyes and looked about the room, the same that I had been lying in when I fell asleep, searching for it and steeling myself for the confrontation that was about to come. Not immediately noticing anything, I climbed to my hooves and started walking around the room. After making a full circuit, nothing had revealed itself, and I was beginning to doubt that this would work.
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind passed through the sealed underground chamber, making me shiver. I turned to face the direction the wind came from and saw it standing, already fully revealed, and with a shocked expression on its face.
"Evergreen, you surprise me," it stated, a detectable note of pleasure and wariness in its voice, "I didn't think you had the strength to come here on your own."
"You'd be surprised what ponies can accomplish when everything they care about is on the line," I spat, turning my body to face the creature.
A thin smile split the creature's lips and it started walking towards me. Deep inside my chest I could feel my terror rising, making me want to back away, but I held my ground, unwilling to give this thing the satisfaction of still having control over me. This fight was my choice, and I would maintain that control.
"I think you overestimate yourself, Evergreen. But most of all, you overestimate them. It isn't like you to see the best in others. I would know. I've been with you all these years. If there is anypony in this entire world that know you best, it is me," it said, but its intent was easy to see. I had thrown it off guard with my appearance, and it was trying to salvage the situation.
"No," I argued adamantly, stomping a hoof, "You only know what you want me to be like, but that isn't what I was taught. You should know that, considering what you choose to wear as a cutie mark."
The creature shifted its head to look at the mark on its flank, the two embracing skulls that I knew represented my parents. The smile disappeared from its face to be replaced by an unsure expression. I could tell that it was trying to puzzle out what I meant, which gave me a very clear advantage.
"It strikes me as odd that you use them to try to gain influence over me, but you don't know the first damn thing about what they taught me," I pressed, smiling mirthlessly now, "I find it hard to believe that you would try to use something that you know so little about, especially since you've been so careful with everything else."
It lifted its gaze to stare me down, its red eyes blazing with anger, like two smoldering coals within the blackened logs of a dead fire. It opened its mouth as though it were about to speak, but I continued before it could get a word out. "Which makes me think that you can't know anything about them, since they died well before you started showing up in my head. All you could get from me was my memory of their deaths, as well as my feelings for them. But you don't know the first thing about them!"
"I know enough! I know that they influenced you greatly, and that is all I need!" it shouted, giving me my first real victory over the thing that I had ever had.
"And so the real purpose comes out," I stated angrily, "You don't want me to be happy. All you want is control over my life so you can take whatever you want from it. Well, let me tell you something. That isn't going to happen. My life is mine, and nothing is going to take that from me."
"You need me, Evergreen! The proof is all around you! How many times in all of those years in the gang were you seriously injured? Ever since you left, you've spent more time recovering from injuries than you have pursuing this 'mission' of yours! I can keep you alive!" it argued, taking another few steps towards me.
My smile broadened, knowing that I was going to win this altercation. "I would rather die happy and doing something I believe in than live a full life as something I despise," I said, stepping towards the creature until our muzzles were only inches apart, "Now get out of my head."
"I will not give in this easily!" it shouted and leapt at me, trying to bear me to the ground, except this time, I was ready for it.
I side-stepped as soon as I saw it start to move, letting it fly past me to land with a loud thump somewhere behind me. I turned and leapt at it myself, confident enough in my abilities that I believed I'd be able to win.
I collided with its side and drove it to the ground. It started to struggle underneath me, fighting to get the upper hand, by I had the better position, and held it pinned just long enough to shift my body about to free up my left foreleg and bring my Pipbuck down hard on its head.
It ceased its struggling, dazed by the blow, and I struck again. This time, its head smacked down hard against the ground, dazing it even farther. I climbed to my hooves and stepped around to its head, watching it intently for any movement. Slowly, it started to lift its head and looked at me with a hateful expression.
Grimacing at the creature, I turned and bucked as hard as I could, feeling something give underneath my hooves. By the time I faced the creature again, it was lying motionless on the ground, unconscious. A grin crept over my features as I couldn't help but feel victorious, even if it was only temporary.
Thinking I had the opportunity to end this threat once and for all, I took a step closer to its head and raised a hoof, intending to cave in its skull. Just as I was about to finish it, I got light-headed and toppled over, striking my head hard enough on the ground to black out.
oooOOOooo
When I woke, it was thankfully without a headache, though I was bleeding slightly from my nose and ears, a fact that worried me until I realized that the flow had just about stopped. No permanent damage, then. I lay silently, motionless, for several minutes, simply collecting myself. Nothing seemed off or abnormal, and thoughts of my friends weren't causing me any pain or anger. It seemed as though I had actually managed to fight that thing off, at least for now. There was no doubt in my mind that this solution was only temporary, especially considering it had managed to eject me from the dream while unconscious, or at least what I perceived as unconscious.
I listened, straining my ears to learn whatever I could of my surroundings. All I could make out was somepony's muffled breathing. It was soft and measured, the breath of somepony that was fast asleep. Stretching my limbs slightly, I learned that I was still bound. Unsurprising, given the chance that I would be unsuccessful at regaining control over my own mind.
Once I opened my eyes, I was met with a surprising sight. The breath I had heard belonged to Steel Curtain, who lay asleep not five feet away from me, lying on the cold metal floor of the empty room Crosswire had tied me up in. I shifted a little more, hoping to wake the Pegasus.
Somehow sensing my movements, Steel Curtain started to move, his eyes fluttering as he emerged from sleep. Finally, one of his bright green eyes opened and fixed me in its gaze. The other eye snapped open and he raised his head up to stare at me with a hopeful expression. "Evergreen! You're awake! How are you feeling?" he asked, his tone much more concerned than I was used to hearing from him. The emotion in his voice was almost painful to hear.
I grinned slightly before answering, trying to show the buck that I was me again. "Better now that I don't have to fight for my own thoughts anymore. I'm sorry about the things I said, Steel Curtain. I didn't mean any of it."
"It's already forgotten," he assured me as he rose to his hooves and moved to untie me.
Within moments, I was free. My first action was to rise to my hooves and stretch. Spending a whole day tied up was the one sure way to have every single muscle group cramp up, and I needed to get rid of those knots.
"Thanks," I said, stretching out my hind legs and watching with a bemused grin as the bucks eyes wandered over my body. It seemed like I wasn't the only one that was having trouble controlling where their eyes went. "I have to say, Steel Curtain, you're a lot smaller than I expected outside of that armor. I expected you to have a bit more bulk."
The Pegasus chuckled and tore his eyes away from me, turning to pull a set of saddlebags from a chair and toss them towards me. Inside were all of my belongings. "Physical size actually works against us. The Steel Rangers are trained to be as strong as they can possibly be, which means they put on a lot of size, but it actually isn't necessary to be all that strong to operate our armor. Sure, some strength and fitness is necessary, and we are trained to be functional soldiers, but we just turn out smaller in the end than most ponies expect us to be," he said, tossing me my barding.
"That doesn't make any sense," I stated as I pulled the armor on, "That armor looks heavy as hell. Wouldn't you need to be that strong to use it?"
"Not at all. It's powered armor, which means it does most of the work for us. Wearing it takes no more strength than it would take you to wear armor about twenty pounds heavier than what you've already got. It's a workout, to be sure, but it's a hell of a lot easier than it looks. But that's the reason why stun rounds are so effective against us. If the power system gets knocked out, even if it's only temporary, we can't move a muscle. Same goes for the Steel Rangers. I would be surprised if any of them were strong enough to move without their armor being powered," Steel Curtain explained.
I shrugged, unable to do anything but take the buck at his word. "So where's everypony else?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Probably still sleeping. It's pretty early still, and I know Crosswire didn't fall asleep until late. He's been worried sick about you ever since you asked for his help," the Pegasus answered carefully. I could detect an odd note in his voice, as if he was concerned about something.
"What's wrong, Steel Curtain?" I asked, "I can tell something is bothering you, so just spit it out."
The Pegasus remained silent for several moments as he thought, then finally sighed in defeat. "It's Crosswire. He's a good pony, to be sure, and it isn't that I have any problems with him, but... Shit, I don't know..." he trailed off, looking everywhere except at me.
"You can talk to me, Steel Curtain," I said quietly, "After all the shit I went through to get here, I promise, you can trust me. You guys are the only real friends I have, and I would never willingly betray any of you."
"I know... it's just, awkward," Steel Curtain said, finally lifting his gaze and meeting mine. I held my tongue, letting the Pegasus get control over his own thoughts. After several moments of silence, he sighed in exasperation, "All right, here it is. I can see the way he looks at you when you don't see. He's been with you longer than anypony else alive, and he would do anything for you, Evergreen. And I mean anything. I'm pretty sure he's in love with you."
I was shocked into near speechlessness. I had thought that those thoughts were a result of that thing in my head's manipulation, not actual truth. Fuck, I owed Crosswire one hell of an apology. "I... I didn't realize," I stammered, "Shit, I really messed up, didn't I?"
"Well, I think he realizes you didn't mean any of what you said but... yeah, you did," the Pegasus answered with a sad grimace.
"Fuck... I am not looking forward to that conversation," I said, "But why is that a problem with you? His feelings for me really don't affect you, do they?" I was afraid of what the buck's answer might be. Another part, one I almost didn't want to acknowledge, was yearning for his answer.
As if confirming my fears, the Pegasus went quiet and tore his gaze away from me. "I really shouldn't say. It's nothing," he said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself.
"Steel Curtain, if it's this much on an issue, it isn't nothing. We need to have each other's backs, and if his feelings for me are an issue for me, well, I need to know," I said, reaching out a hoof to make him look at me, "Even if I can't answer them."
At that, the Pegasus's head snapped up and he fixed me in a painfully hopeful gaze. "Wait, you mean... you don't feel for him that way?" he asked, then his expression turned to one off horror. "Sorry, I shouldn't have pried like that."
"Steel Curtain, it's fine. No, I don't love him. He is my closest friend, and I value his loyalty more than anypony knows. I'm going to hate to have to let him down... but I can't force something that isn't there. But why does any of this matter?" I asked as his expression lightened and his ears perked up. I didn't want to hear his answer, because I didn't want to have to face what it could possibly be, but I couldn't bear not knowing.
Unfortunately, the Pegasus was saved from needing to answer when Autumn Mist walked into the room, oblivious to our conversation.
"Evergreen, you're finally up. I'm going to guess that everything is back to normal since Steel Curtain untied you?" the mare asked with a watchful tone. Her expression was carefully composed. It wasn't hard to tell that she still wasn't happy. When I nodded, she continued, "Good. As for anything you said, I can see that you're about to start ranting an apology, so forget about it. Everything is forgiven. I remember the night in Grovedale, when we all found out about this thing. I don't envy you, and I get it. Honestly, I'm surprised you managed as well as you did to fight through that fucking thing's control. Let's just hope this was the end of it."
"I wish I could say it was, Autumn, but I don't think that's the case," I said sadly, "But you guys know me well enough now to know when I'm being me, I hope. This thing isn't gone yet, and I'm going to need all of your help for when it decides to show its face again. I managed to piss it off, and it isn't going to be subtle anymore. Things aren't going to be easy, but I need to know I have you guys at my back."
"Say no more. I'm there. Need to keep an eye on you after all," the dark mare said with a mischievous grin, "So, when are we going to get a move on? We've already spent far longer here than we should have."
"We're just waiting for Crosswire and Suture to wake up and join us. Then we need to get our gear from the Steel Rangers and get this Crystal where it was meant to go. From there, back to Metro," I said, "I can ask who to deliver it to once we get our gear back."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I vote we give the sleepers ten more minutes, then get a move on. I hate being underground," Steel Curtain announced with a nervous expression cast up to the ceiling.
I nodded in agreement and emptied my saddlebags, wanting to reorganize them while we waited.
Those ten minutes passed quickly, and before long, all five of us were gathered together for a quick breakfast before moving on. As with Steel Curtain and Autumn Mist, Crosswire and Suture assured me that there was nothing to forgive. All through the meal, I watched Crosswire carefully, but couldn't pick up any hint of the feelings that Steel Curtain alluded to.
It wasn't surprising. Crosswire had always been skilled at hiding his emotions, especially considering what we had been for all those years. That particular conversation was going to wait until we had some privacy, though. I wasn't going to humiliate him in front of everypony else.
Once we finished eating and had all of our gear stowed away, I made my way back to the main hallway and waved down one of the passing Steel Rangers, asking the armored pony to fetch the Elder. The young stallion gave me a questioning look, but nodded curtly when it became apparent that I wasn't joking and disappeared around a corner, reappearing a short time later with both Bitter Orange and Apple Crisp in tow.
"I see that you are in much better spirits today, Evergreen," the Elder announced jovially, "That's good to hear. Your friends mentioned how you weren't feeling well yesterday."
"That's one way of putting it," I answered vaguely, "And I was hoping we could get our weapons back. We were wanting to move on today and get on with our jobs. There is still a lot to be done."
"Of course," the Elder said with a nod, looking over to Apple Crisp. The Star Paladin gave the Elder a look of disapproval, but stepped forward and deposited a bag that, when opened, contained all of our weapons. Steel Curtain's gear, however, was conspicuously absent.
"Where's Steel Curtain's armor and weapons?" I demanded, "We're going to need those as well. As you well know, the wasteland is a dangerous place, and he is our one pony capable of taking a hit."
Before the Elder could answer, Apple Crisp spoke, "Elder, I must once again protest this. The Pegasus is going free because this mare managed to accomplish an impossible task, but that does not mean we should trust him! If we return all of his gear, it could well mean our destruction."
"Star Paladin, we have spoken about this, and I have already made my decision. The Dashite's armor is being stored in our research labs. It was simply too heavy for us to easily transport down here. We can stop there on your way out for him to recover," Bitter Orange said with a sharp glance at the red buck, "Now was there anything else you needed?"
"Only to know who exactly we're supposed to be delivering this Crystal to," I said, pulling the enigmatic thing out of my barding.
"Ah, of course. Once the Pegasus has his armor, I will show you all to her. No doubt she will be surprised to see it," the Elder said with a sad grin, "Now, if you would all follow me, I will show you to the research labs. Star Paladin, you are dismissed to see to your duties."
"Yes, Elder," the massive red buck intoned, obviously unhappy with the situation, then turned and disappeared around a corner.
"Sorry about him," the Elder said, "He means well, but it is nearly impossible to change his opinions on anything. Please follow me."
The Elder led us deep into the base, passing dozens of armored and non-armored ponies. I had had no idea that there were so many ponies here. It made their claims that they didn't have the strength to defend themselves seem almost ludicrous, until I realized that the vast majority of the ponies around us seemed to be young, very young. The average age seemed to be a couple of years younger than even Autumn Mist was.
"I can see you looking around, and I know you can see the obvious. Everypony here is so young, in many cases too young to be fully active members of the Steel Rangers," the Elder said, looking over to me, "I was hoping you wouldn't. We are the very definition of the fact that numbers are not everything. For every combat-able pony we have, there must be three of us that aren't fully trained. We're doing our best, but it will be many years before we can hope to rival the strength we once had here."
"What happened to the older ponies?" Suture asked, stepping forward until she was just a step behind me.
The Elder sighed heavily as she organized her thoughts. "A tragedy from long before any of you were born. I was still just a filly, and Elder Flash Powder was our leader. He ordered the Knights and Paladins to take control over a nearby power station that he wanted to restore to working condition to provide some extra power to the Outpost. Unfortunately, the station was already inhabited by a band of ruthless mercenaries. Even given our technological superiority, they were experienced and dug in. We won, in the end, but lost eighty percent of the ponies sent to take it. We've been struggling to recover ever since."
"Whoever was in charge was an idiot not to retreat and reassess the situation. They got everypony killed," Steel Curtain said, "We were trained to know better. If we encounter a force we can't beat, we fall back, reassess, and re-engage, if we deem ourselves to have a chance at victory. If not, we'll regroup, call for reinforcements, and then strike."
"We learned that lesson the hard way, from that fight. Flash Powder relied too heavily on our technology. He thought our armor made us invincible. Now we know better," the Elder answered, her voice choking up slightly. There was something more to her story, but to ask would be too much like prying into her private business. She was already letting us go, I didn't want to push our luck.
We finished the journey in silence, though luckily it wasn't long enough for the silence to become awkward. Inside the research lab, Steel Curtain's armor sat on a pedestal, obviously recently disconnected from the lab equipment. The Pegasus immediately darted forward and started to pull on his armor, a process that absolutely fascinated me.
For a system that appeared so solid, it came apart into a surprising number of pieces. It didn't take long before I had completely lost track of what was supposed to go where, but Steel Curtain obviously knew exactly what he was doing as he quickly donned the armor with the air of a well-trained soldier. Within minutes, he was fully armored. I was actually a little sad to see his well-toned body disappear underneath the black plates.
"Ah, much better," he sighed with an ear-to-ear grin, "I can't even tell you how much safer I feel now."
"You'll see that we returned everything that was attached to it when you were taken in," the Elder said, "you're ammunition included."
"I see that," Steel Curtain answered, hitting a control and reloading his weapons with a series of loud clunks, "Good to see that everything is still working."
"Of course. Now, I believe you all have one last task to see to?" Bitter Orange asked, turning to me.
"Yes. Could you please lead us there?" I asked, nodding at the older mare.
The Elder nodded simply and led us out of the room. To my surprise she led us up towards the surface. The room she stopped in front of was on the first level underground, surprising, given the possible importance of the pony we were finally meeting.
"Right in here. Now be careful, she is quite old. When you're finished, simply send for someone to take you to the surface, and you can be on your way. Thank you, Evergreen, for all of your help," the Elder said with a slight bow, then turned and walked away.
I watched the old mare disappear, then turned to face the closed door in front of me. I was finally going to get rid of the damn crystal that had heralded the biggest change in my life. I swallowed and opened the door, stepping inside to face whatever would come.
The chamber was sparsely furnished, with only a simple bed and desk inside. Seated at the desk, hunched over some paper or other, was the shape of an Earth Pony ghoul. Some pieces of hide were still intact, revealing that the pony had once been a deep purple in color, and the few wisps of mane that were left were a light pink in color, mixed in with some darker shades of the same color.
"Miss, I have a delivery for you, from Metro," I announced as I stepped into the room, reaching into my barding to pull out the Crystal.
The ghoul turned to face me, fixing me in a piercing stare that I swore cut right through to my very soul. Those light green eyes held so much pain in them that I was surprised this pony was still sane. She had lived through hell and was now forced to survive in an underground bunker in one of the most hostile environments known to ponykind. But despite her pain, her stare was not unkind. If anything, I would call it curious.
"Come closer, dear. My eyes aren't what they used to be," the pony said, her voice rasping as every ghoul's did, but the tone was lighthearted, and held a sense of humor I hadn't heard in anypony for many years.
I complied, stepping up next to the ancient mare and offering the Crystal up to her. She looked down at it then carefully, almost gingerly, lifted it from my hooves.
"I was told that one of these was on its way to me the day before the bombs fell," she mused, looking into the depths of the Crystal, her eyes following the flitting light inside, "I've spent the last two hundred years hoping it would find its way to me, if only to find out why I was important enough that the newest technology should be wasted on a mare such as myself."
"Well, it's finally here," I answered, grinning slightly, "I hope it contains some good news."
The mare smiled sadly and looked up at me. "Anything it contains is from the closing days of the war. No news was good then, but maybe it will bring me some closure. I can see that you've spent a lot of time with it. I think it's only fair that you hear what is inside."
"Are... are you sure?" I asked, even though part of me was jumping at the chance to find out what secrets the damned enigmatic thing held, "I don't want to pry into your private life."
"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure," she said with a knowing grin, "Now come, sit. We'll see what was so important that it had to reach somepony like me, who had no real bearing on the war. Besides, I don't think that this is any news that anypony should have to hear on their own."
Quietly, I did as the old ghoul asked, seating myself at the table directly across from her. She carefully placed the Messaging Crystal between us, then placed both her hooves on the table so that the Crystal was contained between them.
"Wait, what about my friends?" I asked, looking over to where everypony else sat by the door, anxious looks on their faces, "Are you sure you want them to be a part of this as well?"
"If you trust them, then that is enough for me," the elderly mare responded, giving them little more than a cursory glance before turning her attention back to the Crystal in front of us.
Ever so slowly, she brought one of her hooves into contact with the rough, yet polished, surface of the Crystal, her eyes screwed up tight in concentration. Suddenly, the Crystal began to glow from the inside, the small flitting light coming to a halt in the exact center of the thing and shining to fill the inside with a harsh bright light that almost hurt to look at.
After a few moments a voice resonated from the Crystal. "Miss Cheerilee, this is Apple Bloom," a light voice with a slight southern accent said from the depths of the Crystal. The voice was filled with such sadness that my heart was almost breaking simply listening to the two-century old message, despite my anger at the duplicitousness the mare had been a part of with Stable-Tec, "I hope that this message reaches you before it's too late. I... we, that is, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I... decided to send this message to you as a sort of apology. With the direction this war has taken, we realize the terrible things we've done just to make sure that ponykind survives. We tried to figure out where we went wrong, but... it just seems like so many of our ideas will lead to nothing more than more heartache, and you were the only pony we could think of to send this apology to. Especially since Applejack and Rarity are so caught up in their own ministries and have no time for the work we've been doin'."
The voice of Apple Bloom fell silent for several moments as the mare apparently tried to catch her breath. I looked across the table, tearing my gaze from the Crystal to look at the aging ghoul before me. Tears were filling her eyes, and several wet trails could be seen coursing down the remains of her cheeks. In all the years this mare had survived, I could imagine that it would take a lot for her to have this sort of emotional reaction.
"Well... I suppose that that is really everything there is to say... We realized the hurt we're going to cause, and we're sorry. I should have listened to Scootaloo months ago when she started saying how much this business was bothering her. Now it's too late... I... I guess I just wanted you to know that we set up a place for you, in Stable 113, outside of Seaddle. We just want you, our old teacher, to be safe. I promise, it's one of the control Stables. You'll be able to survive there, if anything goes wrong."
The Crystal dimmed as the voice dissipated, becoming a completely dull shape, with even the light that had been on the inside no longer to be seen. Cheerilee, the ghoul I was sitting with, was crying openly. "I got the passes to the Stable the same day I was told about the pending arrival of the Crystal. Fearing the worst, I booked my journey out here for that same day. I never made it in time... the bombs fell during the crossing. Those of us that survived the radiation from the drops became like me. By the time I made it to Seaddle, the Stable was long since closed. I should consider myself lucky that I survived this long... At least I learned that they felt some remorse for their work. They were such innocent fillies so long ago, wanting nothing more than to find out what their Cutie Marks were... I guess that same curiosity followed them even into adulthood. They did always need to know everything about everything," Cheerilee said sadly.
"There are far worse ponies than them, even in those times," I said, surprisingly moved by the sincerity in the message, "If you like, I could stop by that Stable, see if there's anything left for you there. We'll be able to get in."
The old ghoul looked up at me, a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Please. It would mean the world to me."
I nodded solemnly in response. "They aren't the only ones that were looking for a reason to live again," I said, "Some of us today are still looking for the reason to deserve life anymore."
"You are?" the old mare asked, a knowing look in her eye. It was the look of a mare who knew all too well the tricks younger ponies used to hide their emotions.
All I could do was nod confirmation. "I've made my share of mistakes. It's long past time I fought to make them right."
"Good. Then do this for me, and I will forgive you for your past," she said, a hard look coming into her eyes, promising both forgiveness and damnation. I now had two ponies holding me to my pledge to live a better life. It would have to be enough.
"I'm guessing that I'm going to find you here, then?" I asked, getting back onto my hooves.
"No, I've been locked up in this bunker for far too long. It's time I faced the world again. I'm going to head for Metro, since it seems that they have become a respectable city, though I will need some time to prepare for the journey."
"We can speak to Mallet on your behalf then, when we get back," Suture spoke up from the door, "He'll see that you're properly welcomed."
Cheerilee nodded her appreciation at the maroon medic. "Thank you. Now, if that is all, I have a lot of preparations to make."
"Of course," I said with a curt nod as I turned and made my back to the door. My friends were already filing out, leaving the old ghoul to her memories and preparations.
In the hallway, Crosswire was standing with a bemused look. "It's been a long time since I'd spoken with her. Bitter Orange discouraged any of us younger ponies talking to her. She said that it generated too many of the wrong ideas in us, would make us think too much about the whole world, rather than just the Rangers. I'd forgotten that she had once been connected to those three."
"It is incredible," I agreed, "I just like the thought that I'm not the only one that realized my mistakes. Those three had at least as much to make up for as I do. At least I never knowingly mislead ponies to their deaths."
"What do you think we're going to find in Stable 113?" Suture asked, "Do you really think the Stable-Tec heads left anything behind for her?"
"Well, it was a control Stable, so for all we know it could still be sealed," Crosswire answered, "but yes, I think we will find something. From the sound of that message, Apple Bloom really wanted her to get to that Stable. My guess is the other two left something behind for her as well."
"Hmm... I hope you're right. She's had so much pain in her life, she deserves a little closure. She obviously loved those three a great deal when they were still fillies," Suture said, looking over to me with a hopeful look on her face.
"You don't need to ask me to go. It's the only right thing to do," I said quickly, holding a hoof up to keep the medic from getting to emotional with me, "I'd already thought we would stop there on our way out from Seaddle. Besides, I haven't got a clue where it is. Shooting Star probably does, though."
"That makes sense. We still have a lot of other work that needs to be done as well. It's smarter to make our way there when it's actually on our way, rather than having to detour to get there. Message said it was outside Seaddle, so I can't see it being too far anyway," Steel Curtain added.
"Well, you all know my vote," Autumn Mist said, her voice distant and aloof, "I hate Stables, and I'd rather have nothing at all to do with this one as well."
"Honestly, Autumn, I agree with you," I said, turning to look at the dark mare, "But this could be important. Don't you want to know what led to all of this?" I waved a hoof around, taking in the entirety of the world we lived in.
"I know what caused it. The war with the fucking zebras. Nopony could take the high road and find a peaceful solution. Instead, they had to go and fuck life up for the rest of us," Autumn spat angrily, "And the apologies of three mares that have been dead for two hundred years don't mean a whole lot to me. But hey, if you think it's important, Evergreen, then I'm there. I trust you enough for that."
I nodded my acknowledgment of the compliment and turned to face down the hall. "Thanks, Autumn. I appreciate it. Now that we have that decided, let's get a move on."
We made our way out of the bunker, emerging to find that the rain had actually stopped for a short time, and it felt as though it had been that way for a while, as the air was heavy and humid, and we were all soon sweating profusely as we made our way out of the small canyon that housed the Outpost. I could only imagine how hot Steel Curtain's armor was getting.
"Keep your heads up and your eyes peeled," I warned as we turned the last corner to reveal the trail leading out of the mountains, "There could still be a pack of manticores out here."
Heads perked up at the order and everypony looked a little more alert. Despite our care, the way seemed clear, and not so much as a radroach crossed our path. Within a couple of hours, we were coming up on the trail that would lead towards my old camp. I found my gaze being drawn to the peak in the distance that Heart Attack had been making for. I hoped that he made it to the peak and got to see the sky. Ponies deserved to realize their dreams, especially if they were something as simple as that, something that would have been a given to anypony from before the war.
My mind began to wander, wondering what it would be like to be able to lift my head and see the sun whenever I wanted. A fierce anger gripped me at the injustice of the Pegasi, stealing away the sun from the rest of us. They were punishing us for the simple fact that we didn't have wings, and I could easily believe that even if a Pegasus was born on the ground that they wouldn't be welcome up there.
"Hey, Evergreen, what's the plan? It's starting to get dark out here, and the camp is pretty close," Crosswire's voice said, breaking my reverie.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts then looked at the ragged unicorn. "Honestly, I would rather not go back to that place. We shouldn't be too far from some simple shelter. There's ruins all over this part of the mountains: Lean-tos and pre-war structures the caravans use as shelter. We can use one of those."
"Sounds like a good plan. I think I know where the closest is. Let me lead," Crosswire said, pushing his way to the forefront of our formation.
I let the buck take the lead, falling back into his position on our flank. My eyes automatically started scanning the horizon, searching for movement, but it seemed like all life had left the region. My E.F.S. was completely blank, excepting the blue bars that were my friends.
We pushed on through the gloom that was quickly growing darker, casting long shadows over the ground to our side. By the time the shape of the old ruined structure presented itself before us, it was completely dark, and we only managed to find our way forward by the grace of our Pipbucks' lights and the lights coming from Steel Curtain's helmet after he pulled it on and hit a few controls.
We came within thirty yards of the structure when Crosswire brought us all to a halt, his ears swiveled forward towards the structure. His horn was glowing and his SMG was floating beside him, pointing in the direction of the ruin.
"What's the problem?" I asked, coming up next to the tense buck.
"Somepony is already here," he said, "And I don't think they're caravaneers; I don't see any Brahmin. Anything on the E.F.S.?"
"No, nothing," I answered after a cursory check, "You sure somepony is here?"
"Shut up a moment and listen," he said, though not harshly. It was the tone he reserved for when we could potentially be in danger.
I did as he asked, straining my ears and taking a few tentative steps towards the structure. Sure enough, I could make out the faint rustle of barding and the clopping of hooves on concrete. I couldn't imagine why nothing was appearing on my E.F.S. though. At this range, something should show up.
"Any ideas?" Autumn Mist asked, her rifle already out and primed. I could see the tension in her limbs as she mentally prepared herself for combat.
"This doesn't have to end in blood," Suture said quietly, "We don't know who these ponies are. That doesn't mean they're bad."
"No, it doesn't," I agreed, "but it doesn't make sense not to be careful. We might have created a power vacuum in the area when we took out Crackshot. These ponies could be trying to move in to replace him. On the other hoof, they could simply be travelers, like us. I don't like this." I looked over to Steel Curtain. "How good is your visibility with that helmet?" I asked.
"Pretty good. With it being dark, I can make out a pony at fifty yards," the Pegasus answered. Damn, it must have night-vision for that kind of range.
"Good enough. Do a quick flyover and see if you can make out if these ponies are raiders, wastelanders, or something completely different," I ordered.
Steel Curtain nodded quickly, then launched himself into the air. The color of his armor made him disappear almost instantly, so all we could do was wait for him to reappear.
It took almost ten hoof-biting minutes, but the Pegasus did finally land amongst us again. "I trust when you and Crosswire say there's somepony here, but I can't see anything. Wherever they are, they know how to hide from somepony in the air. I don't think raiders are smart enough to do that effectively."
"I agree. So these aren't raiders. That leaves one option, since it's too dark to make for another shelter. Suture, you're with me. Autumn, watch us. First hostile movement on their part, I want you to start shooting. Crosswire, keep to the shadows if you can, but I don't want to intimidate these ponies. Steel Curtain, it goes without saying for you to stay out of sight," I ordered, "Suture and I will approach and make it known that we're here. If we're lucky, they will be as hesitant to start a fight as we are."
Nods greeted my orders all around, and within moments we were ready to go. Slowly and confidently, the medic and I approached the structure, making no effort to hide our approach. When the main entrance came into view, I stopped. "Hey, anypony in there? We're looking for shelter for the night!" I shouted, "We aren't looking for a fight, either! We're just travelers!"
All those small tell-tale sounds disappeared instantly. I began feeling distinctly ill at ease. I couldn't say why, but I knew we were being watched and carefully judged. These ponies were careful, and if they didn't like what they saw, I had a distinct feeling that we wouldn't be walking away, despite our skill.
"We aren't here to fight," I shouted, "We're tired and need to rest. If you need to know, I'm just a pony working for Mallet, of Metro. I promise, we have no ill intent."
"Why should we believe this pony?" a heavily accented voice asked. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I spun around in place, trying to place the origin of the sound, but I could see nothing. It had sounded like it was close, but there was nothing on my E.F.S. A quick glance at Suture told me that the medic couldn't see anything either.
"We cannot," an equally accented voice, this one much deeper, answered, "They are a risk."
"Hey, we don't want to fight!" I repeated again, "We're peaceful, I swear, by the Princesses above, we don't want to fight!"
"She swears by false gods and the agents of evil. Was it their power that let her find us?" the first voice asked.
False gods? Agents of evil? Never had I heard those words being said in response to the Princesses. "Please, I don't want a fight," I said, my voice almost begging. I was still spinning around, wanting to face the pony I was begging to, but nothing was revealing itself.
"No. She has not been touched by their evil," the second voice answered, almost conversationally.
"But there is much blood on her. I can see it," the first voice insisted.
I looked down at myself, but the only blood I could see was a little bit of my own dried blood on my barding and some that had stained through the bandages that were still wrapped around the wounds in my legs. The voice made it sound like I was bathing in blood, so I didn't have a clue what it meant. The entire conversation was beginning to freak me out. It reminded me far too much of the creature in my head.
"What pony is not covered in blood," the second voice said, "The blood is this world, not the pony. There is truth in her words. She did not approach for a fight. I will speak with her."
All of a sudden, a blue bar appeared in front of me, and a pony-shape emerged from the shadows and stepped into the light cast by both Suture and my Pipbucks. The maroon mare let out a shocked breath as the pony stepped into the light, revealing that the figure wasn't a pony at all.
Black and white stripes covered the buck's hide, and on its flank, in place of a cutie mark, was a highly stylized glyph. The best way I could think of to describe it was as a Semi-circle that had multiple lines running across and along the arc, with a few small circles in the area enclosed by the arc itself. His eyes shone green in the light, and his stare, though not harsh, was heavy, and I found myself wanting to get out from under it. He was weighing us carefully, and it didn't take a genius to see that he was on edge. Every line of his body was poised to spring. I did not want to give this pony a reason to.
"We're just looking for a place to rest," I repeated, drawing myself up to my full height and stating the zebra in the eyes, trying to show him that I wouldn't be intimidated. I knew many ponies in the world still despised the zebras, even now, two hundred years after species should no longer matter. To me, they were just survivors of a life none us had asked for, the same as I was.
"All five of you?" he asked pointedly, his gaze leaving mine for the barest instant as he looked over my shoulder to where Autumn Mist was undoubtedly sitting.
I was briefly shocked into speechlessness, but thankfully, Suture was well enough in control to answer. "Yes, all five of us. We just faced a lot of danger up in the mountains, and we were making our way back to Metro. This was the closest shelter to our path."
"If you are mere travelers, why did the armored Pegasus fly over us? And why is the young one aiming at my head with a rifle? Do you truly mean no harm with this evidence of aggression?" he asked, looking at me. His stare was not accusing, it merely presented the facts. If anything, that unnerved me even more. Had our positions been reversed, I would have probably already started shooting.
"We're being careful," I answered slowly, "This area is not safe. Until a few days ago, a large raider gang lived a short way away. I couldn't know if you were friendly or hostile. I sent Steel Curtain to see if he could figure it out. Autumn is preparing, just in case you decide to attack. We don't want to fight, but we can if we have to."
"Can you win?" the zebra asked suddenly, the question catching me off guard.
"I... I would like to think so, especially after the dangers we have faced," I said, "We have faced many enemies that most would run from, rather than face down, and we're all still alive. That has to count for something."
"Surviving against brutes and barbarians is no special feat," the zebra intoned, "They are not real enemies, merely obstacles in the path of the determined."
"Then what does count as a real fight?" I demanded, my annoyance at the zebra's superiority overcoming my unease at his obvious confidence. "We've fought organized forces out here, most notably a small force out near Buckview. They weren't raiders, or barbarians." Our altercation with Greymane also sprang to my mind, but I didn't mention that.
"I hear the truth in your words. You have convinced me that to fight you would be difficult, and invite more troubles than I am equipped for," the zebra stated. I noticed immediately that he hadn't said anything about losing.
"So what does that mean? Can we stay? It's too dark for us to go anywhere else," I asked hopefully, "And where is your friend?"
"You may stay, for the night. In the morning, I imagine we will take our separate paths. Our goals do not coincide," the buck answered simply, turning and walking towards the structure.
"I must protest this decision," the first voice rang out, but once again, I could not make out the source, "There is evil in this mare. I can see it."
"The truth in her words outweighs that. Evil has touched all in this blighted land. Not even we have avoided its touch," the buck answered conversationally.
"There is more in her than in most! We are in great danger!" the first voice insisted, and its owner materialized from the shadows to block the buck's entry into the ruin. The zebra it belonged to was small, enough so that I thought that Autumn might be larger than she was. She was covered by a dark cloak that hid most of her body, and when she turned to look at me, I took a step back in shock. Where her eyes should have been were two milky white orbs. The zebra mare was blind.
Despite the buck's words before, the zebra mare's words made him pause and turn to look at me, and I could see the doubt in his eyes, as well as in his stance. He had positioned his rear legs so he could quickly push himself to the side, should fighting become necessary.
"What pony hasn't made mistakes in their past?" I asked, "I know I have. You have to believe me, I'm only trying to help ponies now. I left that life behind."
"You were a raider, the one in charge in these parts," the large buck stated. It wasn't a question.
"Yes, I was, but I left that all behind. I'm working with Metro now. You have to believe me," I pressed. My tone was no longer fearful. I was becoming convinced that there was no longer going to be a peaceful solution. Already, I was mentally preparing myself for the coming struggle. Something told me it was going to be at least as difficult as the fight with Greymane had been.
"I am required to do nothing. The protection of my charge is my only obligation," the buck stated harshly, "And she views you as a threat."
"Then what makes you better than us?" Suture spat angrily, stepping forward so she was between me and the large zebra, "You call us evil, and now you're going to attack us simply because that blind mare says so? We have done nothing but ask for peace and a place to rest. If you attack, you will be as bad as raiders. I have grown beyond the pointless bigotry of other ponies, but your actions here only serve to support their hatred of your species!"
"She dares to insult us so? These ponies have allowed themselves to be greatly corrupted by the evil of this land, if they resort to these methods," the small mare said angrily, her speech becoming faster and more excited, and the accent making it almost impossible to understand her.
"They insult us because they speak the truth," the buck stated, his stance relaxing. I could see a grin forming on his lips, thought I couldn't say what he thought was funny, "And they are right. Regardless of what you see that is hidden to me, they are not enemies. Not on this night. I will not fight."
"You will do as I say! I am your charge, and I cannot sleep with this evil near me!" the small mare insisted. I had to strain my ears to make out her words, her accent was distorting them so much.
The larger zebra turned to the small and said something in their own chattering language. While I couldn't understand a word of what he said, I could deduce it easily enough. His tone was the same of every guard I had ever heard when facing overwhelming odds or a situation where they didn't believe violence was necessary: letting her know in no uncertain terms that he was not going to fight, no matter what was said. I didn't need to know the language to know that.
By the time he finished speaking, the small mare had a chagrined look on her face, though her ears were still laid back against her head in anger. He turned back to where Suture and I stood: me poised and ready to spring, and her standing as though ready to bolt for her life. "I apologize for her behavior. We have spent so much time needing to fight every pony that crossed our paths, we have forgotten the company of civilized ponies. It is as you said, everypony, and everyzebra, makes mistakes. This has been ours. Please, join us and be welcome." With that, he turned and disappeared inside the structure. The smaller zebra looked at me darkly for a moment, the blank white orbs of her eyes boring into my chest, before she disappeared into the ruin as well.
After a few moments, Crosswire appeared from the shadows. His SMG was once again stowed safely away in his barding. "Well, I can safely say that I wasn't expecting that," he stated dryly, "Good job in keeping him from turning us into paste, Suture."
"Oh, I imagine that small one was more than capable of fighting as well," Autumn Mist said as she trotted into our circle, her rifle still floating beside her. Once she was settled down with us she put the weapon away, sliding it into the loop on her back.
"You think? She was blind," I asked, "How much good would she be in a fight?"
"Well, she was awfully perceptive for being blind. And the way she was moving her head definitely didn't look like she couldn't see. Trust me, I knew a pony once that was. Bastard barely moved his head at all," Autumn insisted, "Besides, she's a zebra. They're all supposed to have some kind of kooky power.
"Seriously, Autumn? You're bigoted against zebras as well?" Crosswire asked as Steel Curtain landed amongst us.
"No, but I'm just saying, the legends and stories my parents told me said that almost every zebra has some sort of special power, kinda like ponies with our cutie marks. I mean, they do all have a unique glyph on their flanks, also like our cutie marks. Stands to reason that they all have some sort of unique ability or talent as well," the young mare insisted.
"It would make sense," the Pegasus said, "And it explains why she has a protector. She definitely can't see the same way we do, but she doesn't seem as... dependent... on him as a blind pony would be. So either her other senses are much sharper than they would be, or she does have some sort of sixth sense to make up for the absence of her eyesight."
"Does any of this really matter?" I asked, "In the end, we'll be parting ways in the morning, and it won't matter anymore. Let's get in there and get some rest. I'm too hyped up from that exchange right now for sleep, so I'll take first watch. Steel Curtain, I'll wake you when I can't keep my eyes open anymore."
The Pegasus nodded his acknowledgment and we made our way into the ruin. The two zebras didn't even seem to notice our entry, but I was under no illusions that they knew we were there, and that at least one of them was watching us very closely. My friends settled down in the corner opposite of our two hosts, and I positioned myself by the door so I could see out. I wasn't really expecting any trouble tonight, considering how quiet our journey this far had been, but there was no sense in lowering our guard. The wasteland was still the wasteland, and that was not going to change anytime soon.
It took a few moments for me to finally settle down, and by that time, I could hear the change in breathing from my friends that meant they had drifted off to sleep. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
My eyes were beginning to grow heavy when I felt movement at my side. I turned sharply and came nose-to-nose with the large zebra stallion. I couldn't help but to let out a short shout of surprise as my heart leapt into my throat. I shifted over to give the zebra some space, as well as to gather my shattered nerves. A small grin was on the zebra's face.
"Let a mare know when you're sneaking up on her," I complained, trying to keep my voice low so as to not wake up any of the other sleeping ponies.
"Why would I tell a pony I was sneaking up on them? Seems to cause the opposite of what I wish," the zebra answered ponderously, his grin widening.
"Very funny," I said with a grimace, "So you're protector and a comic. Great."
"A zebra has to find something to laugh about in this bleak world that we must live in," he answered solemnly, the grin fading from his face as he looked out into the gloom beyond the doorway, "Otherwise the madness overcomes you, and life becomes unbearable. Do you not agree?"
My mind turned to the few moments with my friends where we had all laughed as a group at some joke, or to the feeling of victory after we beat the fighters outside of Buckview, the first time all five of us has fought together. "I guess you're right. It's easy to forget about those moments. They tend to get buried under the daily atrocities we're faced with."
"You see many of those?" the zebra asked me. His tone wasn't accusing or prying, but sympathetic.
"More than I would care to admit. Have you ever been to Buckview, the small town that was far to the east of here, almost to the forest?" I asked. When the zebra shook his head, I continued, "Well, it was leveled, completely burnt to the ground. My friends and I were the ones that confirmed it. Only survivor was a small filly. The ponies that destroyed the town had piled up all the bodies in the main square and burned them. The fire was still going when we got there. Fuckers came back the next morning, so we did the only thing we could and avenged them. Nopony deserves a fate like that, not if they are trying to build a town and keep it afloat. All they wanted was to survive."
"That is terrible indeed. With all the struggles of this life, it is not easy to face death on that scale. I saw something similar once, many years ago, before being given my current charge. I was still living in the zebra lands, and the home of my ancestors. A tribe that had chosen to worship the harshness of this world, the equal of your raiders, attacked a village. They didn't have the grace to burn the bodies, but left them where they fell. Blood still stains the ground of that land," my companion offered. I got the feeling that he was much older than he appeared to be, but I could see in his eyes that the sight still haunted him.
The silence grew between us, as there was very little that could be said on top of what had already been shared, so I decided to take a risk. "Your charge, she seems very... severe," I said carefully, not wanting to upset the large zebra. He seemed like he was usually light-hearted, but being with strangers always made everypony guarded. Zebras were no different..
He sighed heavily and dropped his gaze down to the ground. "She can be very difficult. She has grown much and changed more in the years I have been with her. Life on the road is not easy, and if a zebra is not careful, it can harden you to the value of life. Were it not for the words of your red friend, I fear I would have done as she wished and attacked you, and I would have been wrong to do so. But we came from far away, from a land that has been damaged much more than this one. Next to my home, this city would be considered a haven of peace."
"Where was that?" I asked, curious. Seaddle was bad, even I knew that. There were the countless gangs and raider bands that moved about the wasteland itself, not to mention the never-ending turf war that was constantly being waged in downtown itself. "I was born up to the northwest a ways, a few days travel outside of the city. My parents moved us inland, trying to find an easier life than one with all the dangers that the coast offers."
A gloomy look came over the zebra's features as thoughts of his home came forward. "It pains me still to think of home, and the reasons I had to leave, even given the harshness and the dangers. I hail from our ancient capital, Roam, but had to leave when Yaari was given to me as my charge. The circumstances of her birth demanded that we leave, and it was my duty to see her safe to our destination."
"Why is that?" I asked, "She doesn't seem especially different from anypony else I've met."
"Then you must keep very odd company indeed," the zebra said, shooting me a look that told me he knew I was just trying to be polite, "Yaari was touched at birth, but none could tell if it was by the stars or by more benevolent spirits. Either way, it has shaped both our lives ever since that fateful day. I am sure you noticed that she does not see the same way we do, by the light of day or our artificial forms of illumination, but rather she simply knows what is in the world around us. She is not blind in the usual sense of the word. Her words from our meeting should have proven that. She saw something in you, some great evil. Even without her Sight, I can feel it as well."
"It's... a complicated issue," I offered meekly, "I don't have any plans for the wasteland beyond trying to help it, but... we all have obstacles we need to face. This one is mine." Even I had heard enough about zebra superstition to know that simply offering up the fact that some creature was living in my head and twisting my thoughts would be a death sentence.
"Your words carry much truth. I have spent most of our journey trying to determine what my obstacle will be. As the months have passed, more and more I am beginning to think that it is Yaari herself. The harshness of the road has not been kind to her, and I have not always been fast enough to spare her from harm. Her experiences have hardened her from the easy-going young zebra she once was. You've seen what she is, and I fear what she might become."
"Why is she your responsibility?" I asked, shifting myself to face the zebra head-on. As soon as the words left my mouth I saw him stiffen. This had to be extremely personal, but it was too late for me to back down, but at least I could try to temper it. "What I mean is, why you? What made you so special that somepony... er... somezebra else couldn't watch her? Where were her parents?"
"Her parents... Her father had died some months before, fighting to protect the small village where we lived. Her mother died of grief only days after her birth. She held on long enough to see Yaari into this world, then departed. It is my belief that it was the grief of her mother that gave her the gift, or curse, that she now lives with," the zebra answered slowly, as though weighing his words carefully before speaking them. "She was given to me because I was all that was left for her to go to. Everyzebra knew from the moment she opened her eyes that she could not remain in the village, and as the only Outsider that had been brought in, the duty fell to me to see her taken care of."
"But why did you have to leave? Just because she was born blind? That doesn't make any sense!" I protested, "That village threw her to the horrors of the wastes simply because she was born different?"
"You don't understand, and I cannot blame you for this. You were not raised as we were. Had she simply been blind it would have been different, but when she opened her eyes that first time, she could stare straight into the soul of anyzebra around her. Even now, she sees straight to the core of anyone that crosses our path. It is how she saw the evil in you. It is why we had to leave. It is simply our way."
I snorted, completely unconvinced. "We can hardly be blamed for something that isn't our fault," I snapped angrily, "I didn't choose to bear my burden."
"We never do," the zebra answered me sadly.
"Eresti, why are you speaking with this foreigner?" a sharp voice, one that I easily identified as coming from Yaari, suddenly cut in.
"Because, despite what you may see, young one, she has a good heart. Even one as limited as myself can see that. The evil you can see is not her choice," Eresti answered, his tone just as sharp as the young zebra mare's was.
"But she is still a stranger and cannot be trusted! Do I need to remind you of your charge again? Or the mercenaries on the steppes?" Yaari snapped, advancing until she stood only a few feet away from the massive zebra. I could see her glaring at him, the colorless white orbs that were her eyes boring into Eresti's.
Once again, the massive zebra stiffened and pulled himself to his full height, where his head, even while sitting, towered a full foot over me. "You do not," he ground out, "but nor will I allow such rudeness to one that has not earned it. Strangers only remain that way if no attempt is made to learn of each other. We all face the same dangers, it is only right that there are some who choose to fight against the madness as we must. Your safety is my life, as it always is, but your life is in no danger with these ponies."
"But that is the problem! They are ponies, not zebras! Their motives are always unknown. All we can know is that they care only for themselves!" the young mare spat.
"Now wait just a minute," I protested, rising to my hooves and facing the mare, "What the fuck did I do to deserve that! All I've done these last two weeks is help others! Fuck, half the time it ended up with me coming a lot closer to death than I would like!"
Yaari snapped her head around so that her eyes were gazing straight at me. It felt like my entire soul was being laid bare to the small zebra. "I can see what you are, Evergreen. I see every secret, and every life that you have taken. So many innocents that needn't have died, yet they met their ends at your hooves. Even now, all your actions serve only to achieve what you want. You simply delude yourself into thinking you are helping others, but in the end, it is all about you and your precious redemption. Nothing can remove the stain of innocent blood from your soul," she snapped, stepping towards me until our noses were almost touching.
"At least I'm trying to be better," I answered quietly. Her words had struck me far deeper than I wanted to admit, casting a shadow over my soul that I doubted I would be able to shake easily. A part of me knew that she was right, that everything I was doing was wasted effort in the end. I had lived too long doing the wrong thing, taken far too many lives to be forgiven. Even though there were ponies that welcomed me, towns that were happy to see me, there were always going to be ponies that would never forgive me, that would always know me as the one that had destroyed them. There would always be ponies like Autumn Mist.
"And failing badly in the attempt," Yaari sneered, "You claim to be better, but how many dozens have you killed since your supposed change of heart?"
"They were all raiders or gangers!" I protested angrily, "The only fight that wasn't against somepony like that was the one outside of Buckview, and they were responsible for the destruction of that entire town! I've been fighting to save lives, to try to help others. Where is the wrong in that?!"
"Ponies are still dying. You haven't changed a bit, Evergreen. The evil in your heart will never be wiped away, and you know that. You are nothing more than a cold-hearted killer, and you shall never be more," the small zebra stated, then turned to return to the corner where she had been sleeping. "Esteri, come away from there. I don't want her polluting your thoughts."
With an apologetic glance in my direction, the massive zebra rose to his hooves and followed Yaari to the corner, where he settled down to get a bit of rest.
I sighed heavily and turned to the corner where my friends were sleeping. I needed some time to sort all of this shit out, and I couldn't do that if I had to be on watch. Within moments, I had Steel Curtain roused and was lying in the spot he had just vacated. I figured that with a night's rest, everything would be clearer, but trying as hard as I could, sleep would simply not come. My mind was too full of visions of torn bodies and dead ponies, the result of my life. My entire history was littered with blood and corpses, and it seemed that they would be everything that I would ever leave behind.
As the sky lightened with the dawn, I was still lying awake, and my thoughts had dragged me down into a spiral of self-loathing. I could find no reason to disagree with Yaari. Every time I thought I had found a reason for my fighting that didn't benefit myself, I could easily think of half a dozen reasons why it did. As my friends began to wake, I resigned myself to the fact I was not going to find a reason and that the small zebra was right. I would never be anything more than a killer focused only on my own gain. Hell, I'd said more than once: I wanted redemption, and I was now resigned to the fact that I was never going to get it.
We ate a quick meal before setting out, bidding the zebra pair a good journey on our way out, and set ourselves on the road towards Metro. We were still a long way away and I was already exhausted. There wasn't much conversation during our journey, which was something I was not going to complain about. I didn't think I was capable of conversing normally with my friends anyway. What did I have to say to them? I had made myself out to be some sort of Paragon of good, or to put it in Shooting Star's words: a hero, when the truth was that I was just as fucked up as any other pony out here. Every choice I made resulted in somepony dying, and they all expecting me to be capable of making those kinds of decisions again.
"So are we making for that house again?" Crosswire asked as we paused for a midday meal, "Even if we want to push ourselves unnecessarily, we aren't going to make Metro by nightfall, so we need to think about where we're staying for the night."
"I don't see why not," Autumn Mist mumbled around a mouthful of a snack cake, "It's a good spot. What do you think, Evergreen?"
At her question, everypony turned their gazes to me. For the first time, I felt uncomfortable under their stares. I didn't know what to say, and I didn't want to make the choice. Somehow, I knew that even a choice as simple as this would only lead to more bloodshed. But at the same time, I needed to maintain the façade that I knew what I was doing. A strong leader never shows that they aren't fit for the position. "Yeah, sure," I finally managed to force out, "It's as good a place as any."
Autumn Mist nodded resolutely at my announcement, and the others seemed content with the answer as well, all except for Crosswire, who kept his steady gaze on me for several moments more.
"You all right, Evergreen? You haven't seemed quite yourself today," he asked, a concerned note in his voice. I looked at him and saw the worry clearly reflected in his gaze.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... didn't sleep well, that's all," I said with a weak grin in a bad attempt to deflect his worry. Unfortunately, that was exactly the wrong thing to say, especially given my particular situation.
"Dreams again? Anything you think we should know about, or can't you remember?" Suture asked, moving herself over next to me in an obvious attempt to help me should it become necessary.
I quickly shook my head. "No, nothing like that. I just didn't sleep well, that's all. Had a hard time falling asleep, and it wasn't very restful. I'm just tired, I promise. I swear to you guys, if something had happened that concerned that... thing, I would let you know."
"All right, if you're sure. Just remember, we're here to help," Steel Curtain said, his voice betraying just as much concern as both Crosswire and Suture were showing. Even Autumn Mist seemed abnormally concerned.
"Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, can we get moving again? We've already been stuck in the open for longer than I'm comfortable with," I asked, getting to my hooves in an attempt to get away from all the attention. All their concern with my... condition... was making me feel like I was some sort of invalid, and I hated it.
Nopony argued with me, and in just moments, we were on the move again, any last bites of food being swallowed while we walked. As before, we made good time, pressing on through the light rain that we easily put out of mind. The assurance that my friends were there for me did nothing to dispel the fears and doubts that had taken root in my mind, and with every step I became a little less sure of what I was trying to do. Why was I really trying to organize the wasteland against Seahawk? For all I knew, just letting him move in and control the different towns would bring stability to the region. Nopony ever accepted change easily, so a show of force would be necessary, and though Buckview might have been a little too far, I couldn't deny that it definitely gave me a healthy respect for strength of his forces. I was starting to believe that the only reason I was following this path was because it would keep the status quo, at least well enough that the various leaders of the various towns would still be in charge of their small spheres of influence and could tell themselves that very little had changed. In the short term, it would save lives. But in the long run, when all the dust settled, would it really make a difference? How many would die in the fighting before it was all said and done?
Before I knew it, the sky began to dim as evening approached. The house we were going to use as shelter had just appeared on the horizon, but as it grew larger, I noticed that something seemed off.
"Hey, everyone, hold up. Something doesn't seem right," I ordered instinctively. I had made the choice to come here. Now, I had to deal with the consequences. At least I knew what I was capable of. "Steel Curtain, can you fly in there and see if anything is out of place. I don't think we're alone."
"More unexpected visitors to our shelter?" Crosswire asked with a sardonic grin.
"Maybe. Would it really be that surprising? We've been cleaning up the trade routes pretty well. Who's to say that others aren't traveling as well?" I shot back as Steel Curtain nodded his acknowledgment and shot into the sky.
We waited in silence as the buck gained altitude and arced towards the small house. He made a couple of passes, both high enough that nopony on the ground should be able to see him unless they knew what to look for, then winged his way back towards us where he landed gracefully a couple of feet away.
"I've got bad news," he said almost before his hooves touched the ground, "There are ponies there, and they are definitely not friendly."
"Raiders?" Autumn asked, already floating out her rifle.
"Worse. Slavers," the armored Pegasus answered icily.
I felt my stomach drop at the words. Once again, my decision had led to bloodshed. No matter what I did, I couldn't escape it. "How many?" I asked distantly, the words only coming because my body and mind were reverting to the formula of fighting. They knew what was needed here. I would deal with the emotional fallout later.
"A decent sized party. From the air, it looked like there were at least a half dozen of 'em outside. Who knows how many are inside," Steel Curtain answered.
"So a small enough group that we should be able to take them pretty easily," Autumn Mist announced, chambering a round in her rifle, "Good. So what's the plan, Evergreen?"
I looked from pony to pony, taking in all of their determination to save whatever slaves were being held inside that house. Even Suture had that look on her face. She was beginning to understand a fact that I now wished I had never learned: If you wanted to save some ponies in the wasteland, others had to die. Inwardly, I sighed. What was the world coming to when I could convince a mare that despised fighting that killing was necessary? I didn't want this anymore. All I wanted was for the blood to end.
But that wasn't what was expected of me.
"Autumn, you'll take up a position on that small outcrop over there," I said, pointing to a small hill a short distance away that would give the sniper a relatively clear view of the house that was topped with several large boulders that should give her some cover, "Steel Curtain, I want you in the air keeping those bastards from moving around. If any of them come into the open, they're yours. Crosswire and I will split up and hit the house from opposite directions, so that they have nowhere to run. Suture, I want you with Autumn Mist. If a stray shot happens to find her, we'll be too far away to help."
Everypony nodded their understanding as I laid out the plan. Overtop their determination, I could see another emotion on their faces: trust. My other plans had mostly worked well, with only minor flesh wounds being the worst injuries, and they trusted my decisions, almost without question. Normally, I would have been honored. But now, I just didn't want that kind of responsibility. The day would come when I badly misjudged something, and then somepony would die. I just had to hope that that day wasn't today.
"All right," I said with a sigh after a few moments, "Let's do this. Keep the slaves alive. They are why we're doing this."
Now there was no more time for second-guessing. Our course was set and, my decision or not, I had to play the hand I'd been dealt. I knew how to kill, and that was exactly what was required here.
I made my way in a broad arc to come at the building from the side so that I would be out of Autumn Mist's line of fire. A glance at the sky while I moved revealed that Steel Curtain was already winging his way up, becoming smaller and smaller until he was just a small dark spot against the vast grey cover of the clouds. For better or for worse, once I got a bit closer, we would all be in position.
It only took me a matter of minutes to get into position, at which point I saw no reason to drag the waiting out any longer. I strode out of cover openly, Hammer already in my mouth, and marched up to the closest pony I could find.
"Hey, everpony, look at this stupid motherfucker," the dirty yellow earth pony stallion announced as I approached, "Bitch is just asking for a little, heh, hospitality. How much you think we could get for a looker like her?"
"Jack shit, asshole," I snapped, shoving any doubts to a far corner of my mind. They would eat me up later, but for now, I needed to be mean. "Free your slaves, and I'll let you lot live. That is my only offer. Refuse, and you die."
"What? You gotta be fucking kidding me!" the buck laughed heartily, throwing his head back and clutching at his belly in his mirth, revealing an incomplete set of dirty yellow teeth in his mouth, "You really think that a single pony could take out all of us? You're out of your fucking mind!"
By this time, several other ponies had wandered over to watch the scene that was unfolding. All in all, there were six slavers that I could see, not to mention the ten or so slaves that were staked to the ground with explosive collars that were barely a dozen feet away from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see hopeful looks on many of their faces, and even a hint of what might have been recognition.
"Why does nopony ever think to count?" I muttered before looking the dirty earth pony. "I take it you don't accept my offer then?"
"Fuck no, but I got one of my own. Fuck me, and I'll forget the bullshit that came out of your mouth there," he answered with another laugh even as he lifted a well-polished shotgun and aimed it at my chest, "Otherwise I got a different kind of load to give you."
"Yeah, I don't think so," I stated icily, then pulled the trigger. The shot flew exactly where I intended and slammed into the stallion's face, just under the center of his nose, before exploding out the back of his head. The shotgun fired as the buck's tongue hit the trigger reflexively, but the force of Hammer's shot sent the barrel wide, and only a few pellets of shot sparked off of my barding, with a couple biting painfully into my already wounded leg.
I managed to keep my footing and slipped into S.A.T.S., where I set up three shots on three separate slavers, hoping to kill all three, thought the chances of that were pretty slim. Time snapped back to reality and the bullets fired. Two of the slavers fell to the shots, one's head disintegrating under the force of the shot, and the second almost getting decapitated as the round tore through his neck. The third shot flew wide to bury itself in the wall of the house.
In the next instant, I was diving to the side and trying to get into whatever cover I could find, gritting my teeth against the pain in my leg, even as the world erupted with the sounds of battle as my friends joined the fighting. The sudden movement re-opened the wound I already had, and the bandage around it was quickly stained red with blood, not to mention sent a spike of pain straight up the limb, forcing a cry of pain from my throat.
I forced myself around the corner of the building where I could catch my breath and gingerly put my weight on the leg. If it wouldn't hold, I would not be in good shape for this fight. Luckily for me, it held, although it was painful. But pain was something I knew how to deal with.
I gripped Hammer tighter in my mouth and turned the corner again. Four more slavers were on the ground, three of them felled by shots that could only have come from Crosswire's SMG, and the third completely decapitated by a perfect headshot from Autumn Mist. The front door of the house opened violently enough to swing 180 degrees on its hinges to slam against the wall before the strained metal of the hinges gave and the door fell to the ground.
"What the fuck is going on out here!" a voice shouted as a large unicorn mare stepped out of the door, floating an obviously well-maintained assault rifle beside her. Her bright blue coat was streaked with sweat and grime, and her unkempt yellow mane was falling around her face as though it had a mind of its own. A sniper round shot past her head to cut down a pony following her out, and the mare glared out in the direction of the shot, straight at the hill where Autumn Mist was shooting from. "Stupid cunt," she muttered, then raised her rifle and fired three precise shots.
An intense rage gripped me, narrowing my visions until all I saw was the unicorn, and I charged straight forward. I only had two shots left, but I didn't give a fuck. A pony was shooting at one of my friends that should have been well out of the line of fire, and that was not okay. I barely made it halfway before the mare turned her head in my direction, a somewhat startled look on her face, and tried to lever her assault rifle at me.
Too slow. I fired both rounds that I had left, not even caring about trying to use S.A.T.S. The first struck the unicorn in the side, opening a neat hole that immediately started to gush blood and elicit a shriek of surprised pain. The second slammed into the rifle, knocking it off center so that the shots that bellowed out of it flew high and wide, cleanly missing me. The two shots bought me enough time to drop Hammer into its holster in midstride, then lower my head and slam into the mare's side myself, driving her to the ground with a grunt.
We landed heavily, and I wasted no time in lashing out to gain the advantage, landing a sharp blow on her head that broke her concentration and sent the rifle clattering to the ground. A staccato of gunfire rang out behind me, but I pushed the rest of the fight out of my mind, trusting that Crosswire and Steel Curtain would keep any other slavers off of me.
The mare was a surprisingly strong for a unicorn and managed to land several solid blows that made my ears ring and dislodge me somewhat from my position on top of her. I kicked a leg against the flowing gunshot wound, forcing a cry of pain from the mare, then pressed, using the agony of the wound to make the mare fall back and give me an opening. I lashed out with my other leg, but the unicorn warded the blow off with her own, then heaved against me, knocking me off balance and buying herself enough space to kick me viciously in the gut.
I lost my grip on her and fell back, wincing as my full weight came down on my wounded leg, but immediately pushed myself back to my hooves and renewed my attack. I didn't have the advantage of momentum anymore, but her injury was far worse than my own. The unicorn and I battled back and forth, with her matching me blow for blow. Our movements were too tangled and close for anypony with a weapon to interfere, and we both knew it.
But the advantage was with me. The gunshot wound was making the unicorn tire faster, and I fought to back her up against the wall of the house, then sprang to the side, feinting at her throat, then landing the blow against her wounded side instead. The mare staggered into the wall, coughing up a dark glob of blood as she did, so I pressed the attack, landing blow after blow on the mare. I finally managed to maneuver my way to the mare's rear, where I jumped on her and wrapped my front hooves around her neck in a stranglehold, then used my weight to drag her to the ground to land heavily on her wounded side.
"I suggest you don't kill me yet," the mare coughed out, fighting for breath with every word. Blood was now flowing from her mouth and nose, staining the ground around her head a dark crimson.
"And why would I do that," I panted in return, not letting up the pressure of my grip at all. I was bleeding from several small cuts as well, most irritably from a cut above my right eye that was leaking blood into my eye, making it difficult to see from that side.
"Because they all die if you do," the unicorn snapped, her stare looking straight at the bound slaves.
A quick look confirmed that she wasn't bluffing. Floating in the air before me, surrounded by the same deep blue aura that surrounded the mare's horn, was a detonator, with the button depressed.
"If I die, my magic fades, the button rises, and the bombs go off. You'll have failed, cunt," the unicorn spat weakly, a line of red streaming from her mouth as she did, "And the best part is I don't know how much longer I can hold on. That shot of yours did an awful lot of damage."
It didn't take a genius to see that the mare was telling the truth. Already, blood was seeping out from under her body, and I could feel the strength draining out of her. Her breathing was growing weaker, not to mention the fact that it sounded wet. She had a minute, at best, to live. The detonator was floating too far away from me to reach in time, which left only one option.
"Crosswire, start getting those collars off, now!" I shouted, loosening my grip slightly so the unicorn could get more air, "And you had better stay alive for as long as fucking possible."
"Heh, you really think I'm just going to let you free them? Cocky bitch," the unicorn muttered as Crosswire galloped past me towards the slaves, "Don't forget, all I need to do is let go." Already, her voice was beginning to grow quiet, and I could feel her beginning to grow limp in my grasp. She wasn't trying to hold on to life. If anything, she was trying to speed her own death.
"Don't even think about it, bitch," I snapped, praying to any deity that would listen to make the mare hold on for long enough so Crosswire could do his work. "You let that thing go, and I promise you I will make sure you die slowly."
"Far too late for that, cunt. At least I'll die knowing you failed, and all those fucking slaves will have died for nothing! They could have lived long lives, maybe even earned their freedom somewhere down the line. Instead, you've doomed them to death," the unicorn laughed, blood now spurting from her mouth with every other word.
She was in her last moments, and she was using them to taunt me. I doubt she knew exactly how much her words were adding to the grief and self-loathing I was already suffering. I knew exactly what situation I was in, and if any of those slaves died, their blood would be on my hooves.
The slavers breath began to become shallow, and her eyes began to close. I didn't have much time. I saw only one solution, and there was every possibility that I wouldn't be fast enough. All the same, I shifted my weight, bringing my rear legs up underneath me and bracing them against the ground on either side of the slaver. Even as she exhaled for the last time, I sprang forward, lunging for the detonator with my open mouth.
As the magic holding it evaporated with the slaver's death, my mouth closed around the detonator. I clamped down hard, praying that I had managed to keep the button depressed, and landed on my stomach, driving the wind from my lungs, as well as another white-hot streak of pain through my injured leg. In the moments after, I guessed that I had to have been successful, because there was no explosion. Either that, or I had been killed in it as well, but I didn't feel dead.
I gingerly rose to my hooves, keeping my injured leg off the ground and turned to look at Crosswire, who was standing with a dumbfounded look on his face, a collar floating next to him and the freed slave staring at me in near adoration.
Something landed heavily and I turned to see Steel Curtain watching me, his eyes wide. "Did you just do what I think you did?!" he exclaimed, his voice excited, "Holy shit, that was amazing! You just saved all their lives! Crosswire's too! He had that collar right next to his head when you jumped!"
I turned back around to look at Crosswire, who seemed to finally be coming back to his senses. "Holy shit, Evergreen. I was not expecting that to work. Guess you really didn't have much of a choice though, right? Bitch was bleeding out anyway. Thanks for the save. I'm sure this lot appreciate it too."
I couldn't speak around the detonator in my mouth, and I didn't want to risk it, but then something popped into my head. I whirled back around to face Steel Curtain and waved wildly towards the hill that Autumn Mist had been on.
"What? Oh, Autumn? She'll be all right," the armored Pegasus said with a relieved grin, "That slaver had one hell of a good shot to hit her from all the way out here with that rifle, but Suture got working on her almost immediately. That's why I wasn't in the fighting. I flew back there to make sure Suture didn't need any help. You and Crosswire seemed to have everything more or less under control over her anyway."
Relief flooded through my body and I fell heavily onto my rump. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. My leg was killing me, and after that hoof-to-hoof fight, I felt like my entire body was one large bruise.
"Yeah, I don't blame you," Steel Curtain said, walking up to my side and reaching into his saddlebag for a healing potion and offering it to me. I glared at him, but only got a puzzled look in return. Finally, the Pegasus' face lit up with understanding and he put the potion back with a bemused grin. "Right, you've got a detonator in your mouth. Can't really drink a potion with that there. I'll go see how far Crosswire is with those collars, and I'll put them somewhere where the explosion won't kill us."
I nodded at the buck and forced myself back to my hooves so I could join him. Crosswire already had five of the ponies freed, all of whom were clustered together and watching me. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, but it was obvious that they thought they knew who I was. Doubtless they'd call me the Heroine of Seaddle the first chance they got. I really needed to talk to that fucking DJ. I really didn't deserve the title. My fucking 'heroic' act had almost gotten all ten of these ponies killed.
Before long, Crosswire had the last pony free and Steel Curtain was arcing away into the evening sky, loaded down with ten explosive collars that were set to explode. It was a good thing to; my jaw was really beginning to hurt.
He was still just coming back from over a nearby hilltop, winging his way towards us when Suture and Autumn Mist joined us, the latter leaning heavily on the former with a stark white bandage wrapped around her chest. "Don't worry," Suture announced as she approached, "It isn't as bad as it looks. That was just the easiest way to bind it. Torso wounds are the hardest to clean out."
"Yeah, yeah. It doesn't even hurt," Autumn insisted, yet made no attempt to stand on her own.
"That's the Med-X, Autumn," Suture stated candidly as she helped the mare lie down against the wall of the house, then made her way over to me. "I see you managed to hurt your leg again, and - what the hell is in your mouth?"
At that moment Steel Curtain landed and nodded at me, and I spat the detonator onto the ground. In the distance was a muffled explosion. "Detonator," I said, working my jaw to try to get rid of the ache, "The leader managed to get it out and prime it before I could finish her. Grabbing it like that was the only way to keep them alive." I nodded in the direction of the clustered ponies we had managed to save.
"Well, at least you managed to do it," Suture said with an approving nod, "They certainly didn't deserve to die. Now, let me look at that leg of yours. Lie down, it will be a lot easier to examine that way."
I did as the medic bid and watched as she unwrapped the bandage around my leg. As it came free, I couldn't help but wince at the sight. The wound I had suffered in the Stable had fully re-opened, and I was pretty sure I could see bone.
"You were walking on it, weren't you?" Suture demanded with a sharp look at me.
"More like fighting," I stated lamely, "Didn't really have a choice. They would have ended up dead had I not, not to mention myself."
"I see. Well, you really need to be more careful," Suture lectured me as she cleaned out the wound and re-bound it, "Otherwise, it will never heal properly. You really shouldn't be walking on it at all, but I know that isn't an option, so we'll just have to make do."
I grunted in response. The fatigue was starting to catch up with me, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, there was still work to be done, namely dealing with all the freed ponies.
Already they were slowly approaching me, as if they were worried what my response would be. The pony in front was a brown earth pony buck with a jet-black mane. He looked young, but held himself as a pony that had seen a lot of the wasteland. Something about that struck me as incredibly sad.
"You're really her, aren't you?" he asked, a note of awe in his voice, "I knew you would come! I just knew it!"
"I'm nopony special, kid," I muttered, shifting uncomfortably, but was unable to go far as Suture was still finishing up on my leg, "Just a pony trying to help where I can, for whatever good it does." My melancholy was starting to come back with a vengeance, but I had to keep it under control. These ponies didn't deserve that. Crosswire had been right the last time we freed a bunch of slaves: I had to be more diplomatic with the other ponies that crossed out path.
"Which is far more than most are willing to do," the buck insisted, "We would have most likely ended up dead by the end of the month without you! These slavers don't give two shits about any of us. Treat us barely better than a bunch of fucking raiders."
That comment drew my attention, and I fixed the buck in a harsh glare. "Careful what you say. Raiders are an entire world apart from slavers, trust me. We cleared out a raider den a week or so ago. Slavers actually treat their slaves like ponies. No, they don't treat them well, but they do recognize that they have to live. Raiders only see others as something to play with. There is not an ounce of concern for the well-being of their victims in their heads."
The buck took a startled step back, a look of shock plastered on his face. "I... uh... ok," he stammered, "If you say so. They didn't seem to treat us like ponies."
"Tell me something, kid. What can a slaver do with a slave that they've disfigured or maimed? I'll tell you: kill them. Which means they lose profit. In the end, all slavers care about are caps, but they can't make caps with damaged goods," I stated, "If you get in this situation again, remember that. Anypony can survive if they know how to behave around slavers. You listen to every word that comes out of their mouths until you find that chance to get the hell out."
"Oh... I see," the buck muttered, his ears dropping in defeat, "I'm sorry." He turned around and started to walk away, his head held low, every line of his body showing how dejected he felt.
Something about his obvious sadness resonated with me, reminding me of how shitty I was feeling as well. At least his feelings were something I could fix. "Kid, I didn't mean to be so harsh," I said, feeling a small amount of happiness when the buck's ears perked up at my voice, "I just want to make sure that you lot know what to do if this ever happens again. Being enslaved is no small problem, but being caught by raiders is much, much worse. At least getting caught by slavers is survivable."
"Yeah, I guess you have a point," the buck admitted, "We just didn't think anypony would show up to save us. We thought it was all over."
"You were closer than you think. Slavers are good fighters. We were just better," I answered, looking over to my friends. Suture had already finished with me and was helping Autumn Mist get comfortable, where it looked like she was giving the injured mare another shot of Med-X. Steel Curtain was with Crosswire, who were both talking to the other ponies about the Princesses-knew-what.
"They must be lucky, getting to travel with you. I mean seriously, how many ponies get to travel with the Heroine of Seaddle!" the buck exclaimed, becoming very animated as he did.
"I'm the lucky one," I stated quietly, keeping my eyes locked on them, particularly Steel Curtain, "I've put them through so much, and they still stick by me. I couldn't ask for more. I'm still afraid that this is all a dream, and I'll wake up and be alone. They are all that are really keeping me going anymore. I would have died long ago without their help."
"Well, every hero needs help right? Shooting Star was right, you are a driving force for change. I'm just happy to see that you're still here. The last few days have been scary hearing nothing about you," the buck said, a genuine note of worry in his voice.
I let out a sigh, trying to decide what to say. I finally settled on holding back any comments until I was actually speaking to the DJ himself. "He needn't have worried. I just had some other work to see to with a group that doesn't like to advertise themselves," I said vaguely, letting the buck use his imagination.
"That's good to know. Well, we'd better get out of here! Don't want to attract too much attention to you. Thank you again for the help! You saved our lives!" the buck shouted, trotting back to the other freed ponies.
I followed him over, not intending to simply let those ponies wander out into the wasteland by themselves. They would be preyed on before they got half a mile away. When I approached, I didn't get a chance to get a single word in before every single pony was practically swarming me, thanking me for my help. I suffered through their gratitude, every single word just digging a deeper hole in my soul, making me feel all the more guilty for how close I had taken them to dying.
When they were finally wrapping up and about to leave, I shouted out for them to wait. "I am not letting any of you leave tonight! The wasteland is far too dangerous at night. The only reason we ended up here was because of nightfall, and this house is a good shelter. I suggest you lot stay here with us for the night. We're headed to Metro in the morning, and you are all more than welcome to tag along that far."
The look they gave me was far too close to worship for my liking. I was really going to have to talk to Shooting Star about this reputation he was giving me. This shit was just getting too ridiculous. Pretty soon, ponies were going to be risking themselves in my name, thinking that the shit I did was as easy as wanting to. Sure, I wanted the wasteland to change, but not by letting other ponies be reckless.
As a group, we made our way into the house, with the former slaves settling down in their small groups of previous acquaintances at random on the ground floor. Unfortunately, there was not a whole lot of extra space, so we were going to have to go upstairs.
I gingerly led the way up, remembering the scene Crosswire and I had found there the first time we had stayed here. I would do everything I could to avoid disturbing that resting family.
We started to settle in, with Autumn Mist and Suture taking the first room we found that was open, where the medic helped Autumn settle down on the bed. While she kept insisting that the dark mare was going to be fine, Autumn Mist was still moving stiffly, and grimacing every so often when she twisted a certain way. I hoped it was simply because the young mare wasn't used to getting shot.
Steel Curtain opted to settle down in the hallway, claiming that his armor made every sleeping spot about the same anyway, and he'd be able to react to danger much quicker from there. All that left was the last bedroom, the one I didn't want to step in.
Crosswire had no such issues, and marched right in, but paused at the doorway. I slowly followed him, but stopped at the next to him, feeling my heart drop down to my stomach and tears beginning to form in my eyes. The slavers had made it up here. Two things made that perfectly clear.
The first made me realize why the buck had claimed that the slavers were no better than raiders. The corpse of a young mare, easily about the age of Autumn Mist, lay on the bed. She had been a unicorn with a light blue hide and pink mane, though both were ragged and streaked with blood. Open sores covered her body, all of them now black with congealed blood. It was obvious that she had been repeatedly raped and beaten, and had finally succumbed to the injuries, probably a few hours before we had arrived. As gruesome as the sight was, it was not what brought the tears to my eyes.
At the foot of the bed was a pile of bones: the skeletons of the family that had died here when the bombs fell. Sitting almost perfectly on top was the tiny skull of the child that had lain between its parents. Its eyes were staring straight at the door, seemingly boring right into me, fixing me in their cold, empty stare. It felt like the world had lost even more of its innocence.
Level Up!
Perk gained! - Sniper - Your chance to hit a target in the head while in S.A.T.S. has been significantly increased.
{Again I find myself apologizing for a long delay. Believe me, it is not intentional, my life is just busy between work, working on several other projects, and generally enjoying my summer. Also had the problem of my hard drive crashing halfway through July (thankfully lost none of my writing). I realize that some decisions I made in this chapter might annoy some people, and step on some toes (which is something I usually try to avoid) but to my mind there was no other way I could have done things, considering the directions I want this story to go. As always, thanks to Kkat for the original FoE, and thank you to MUCKSTER and Cody for your invaluable help with editing. Feel free to check out the story at the hub page right HERE.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 11: Shattered Illusions | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter Eleven: Shattered Illusions
"We all start with innocence, but the world leads us to guilt."
I don't know how long I stood there, staring down at that small, dusty pile of old bones, just trying to hold myself together. Something was breaking inside me, and had been for a long time. It wasn't the world we lived in. I had grown used to the wasteland shortly after getting kicked out of Grovedale, and had seen more than enough horrors to become hardened to it. It wasn't even the severity of life or the cost of survival. It came down to ponies' blatant disregard for death. They no longer cared if anypony lived or died, and treated the dead as just another inanimate object. I was no different.
And here, a family that had managed to stay together right up until the very end, and had remained together for two hundred years past that, had been brutally cast aside, as if their lives or love didn't matter. How had we allowed ourselves to reach this point? Life should matter, and we simply no longer acted like it did. Suture had been the first pony I had met in years that had cared if others lived or died, was actually willing to fight me to keep others alive, and the first thing I had done was yell at her that they deserved to die. And now... now I was twisting her to that way of thinking. Already, she was beginning to value some lives less than others. How long would it be until she cared as little about killing raiders and slavers as the rest of us did?
"Evergreen? Are you all right?" Crosswire asked me, a very clear note of concern in his voice, "You've been standing there silently for five minutes."
"No... I'm not all right, Crosswire. Something is seriously fucked up with this world. How could they just toss them aside like that?" I answered, almost choking up when I tried to talk.
"Because they were the type of ponies that simply didn't give a fuck about others. Just look at her. Normal ponies don't do that kind of shit," the ragged grey buck answered, gesturing at the corpse of the mare on the bed. "But seriously, Evergreen, is there anything I can help with?"
"No, I don't think anyone can help me, honestly," I answered quietly, thinking back on Yaari's words. The young zebra mare had been right about me, almost. At least I still gave a shit whether or not some ponies lived or died. I may be a pony that was good at nothing other than wanton slaughter, and whose actions were only thought out to benefit me, but at least I still cared about the lives of others. "I need to talk to Suture about something. Just... try to get some rest, I guess. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
With that, I turned and left the bedroom, leaving the grey buck baffled, his mouth hanging open with a comment that I didn't give him the time to voice. I made my way down the hall and into the room that the medic was sharing with Autumn Mist. They were both still awake, since it seemed that Autumn was having a hard time getting comfortable on the bed because of her injury.
I stood quietly in the doorway for several minutes, letting the medic do her work before intruding on her concentration. It took a while, but they finally managed to get the dark mare settle down, and I wandered in. "So, how's she doing, Suture? Honestly now," I asked, stepping up to the bed and looking down at the young sniper with my best attempt at a concerned expression.
"Honestly, she will recover, but the shot did some serious internal damage. At least I managed to fix the worst of it. She'll be fine in a day or two. That slaver was one hell of a good shot. Good thing you took her down when you did," Suture answered with barely a sideways glance at me. She was still entirely focused on Autumn, carefully probing the bandaging around her wound to make sure it was holding.
The comment made me wince. A few short weeks ago, and the maroon pony would have been at my throat simply at the idea that I was going to kill someone else.
"I'm still not sure how I missed the bitch," the sniper muttered darkly, "It wasn't even that hard of a shot."
"It happens. At least it turned out the best for us," I answered. It probably wasn't the right thing to say, but it was all that my pre-occupied mind could come up with.
"Yeah, I guess. Well, as Suture keeps insisting, I should get some sleep," Autumn Mist said with a pained yawn, wincing as the movement pulled at the bandages, "So if you got something to say to her, please step outside. I'm a light sleeper, and these holes in my side aren't helping matters."
I nodded my acknowledgement at her and turned to look at Suture. "Do you have a moment?" I asked, trying my best to keep a begging tone from keeping into the words.
"Yeah, I guess. It can't wait until morning?" she asked, looking away from the sniper lying prone on the bed for the first time since they had joined us outside.
"I would rather it didn't," I answered, stepping towards the door and holding it open for the medic. She hesitated for a moment before following me, stepping out into the hallway.
Steel Curtain was lying down by the stairs to the main floor, far enough away that he shouldn't hear us if we spoke quietly. I still wasn't sure how much I wanted the others to know, or how much I thought they could now without undermining their belief in me, but Suture was the only one I could think of who could possible help me with the problem I was facing right now.
"So, what's so urgent that you needed to talk to me now, Evergreen? We're all tired after that fight, and we could all use some rest, you especially," the medic asked, cocking her head at me quizzically.
"Tell me that I'm doing the right thing, Suture. Tell me that all of this is worth it," I blurted out, sitting down heavily on my rump as my rear legs gave out, "Tell me that there's a reason for the lives lost."
"Evergreen? Where is this coming from?" Suture asked, sitting down next to me, her expression a study in concern, "As far as ethics and moral are concerned, you've been one of the most stable of all of us."
"How can you say that? You are the only pony I know that gives two shits about who lives or dies out here! Sure, I want to help where I can, but... if I'm too late to help somepony, I don't feel especially bad about it, at least so long as I know there was nothing I could do. To me, they're just dead, another victim of the wasteland. How the fuck is that ethical? Shouldn't I care more about them?" I demanded, struggling to keep the volume of my voice under control.
The maroon mare remained silent, her head hung low so she was looking at her forehooves, with a conflicted expression. "I don't know what you want to hear, Evergreen. You're the one that taught me that the wasteland is a harsh place, and that some ponies have to die if we want to save those that are worth saving. I still want everypony to have a chance to live, but I'm not as stupid as I once was. Lives are important, but living even more so."
"But that's the problem," I muttered as a tear fell from my eye to trace a path down my cheek, "I don't want to live, not like everypony else does. All I want anymore is to know that my life is still worth something to somepony. I don't want to be hated or feared, but I can't settle down in some town and just live out my days without doing anything, but any other course will just end up with me dead in a ditch somewhere."
"What's really the issue here, Evergreen? You've never had this kind of problem before. If anything, I think you've been too callous about other's lives. And now you're asking me where everything went wrong? What's going on?" the medic asked, fixing me in a worried stare.
"I... I just don't know what I'm doing anymore..." I said, not finding the strength to lift my head to return her stare, "I feel like I'm corrupting you from the pony you once were. I just... I don't know if I can do it anymore... all the death."
"Evergreen, I've adjusted because I've had to. As you all have shown me, the wasteland is not a nice place, and I need to learn how to defend myself if I want to survive out here. Thankfully, I haven't had to kill anything more intelligent than a feral ghoul yet, but that isn't corruption. And death: Evergreen, the wasteland is full of nothing but death. No matter where we go we are going to be faced with it. Hell, we're fighting against a pony that thinks it's okay to burn an entire town to the ground. I have no problems with letting a pony die that willingly slaughters so many. After all, I was quite willing to attack you that day your gang rebelled against you, wasn't I?"
"So you agree with what we're doing?" I asked hopefully, lifting my chin by a few degrees so I could at least look at her face.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't, Evergreen. This needs to be done, and so far, you've been the only pony willing to stand up and do it," she answered with a smile, "So stop worrying. We'll win, we have to. Already, towns are flourishing because of our influence. For the first time ever, Metro has a trade agreement with another town, and you've managed to solve a problem that has been plaguing Millberry for a long time, even if that solution hasn't been implemented yet."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm still not happy, but at least I can rest knowing that I'm not making the wrong decision about Seahawk. It's just so hard to see what the right choice is sometimes," I muttered, forcing myself to my hooves, "Thanks, Suture. I feel better. See you in the morning."
"Make sure you actually sleep, Evergreen. You've looked exhausted all day. And remember, we're here for you. A lot of what we've faced would make anypony feel unsure. Good night."
Despite what I had said, sleep wasn't going to come easy. Crosswire was already snoring by the time I wandered into the room. My eyes were automatically drawn to the pile of bones, and my hooves brought me to them. I sat down, sadness gripping my heart and soul, and gazed into the empty voids that were the eye sockets of the child's skull.
"I'm sorry," I muttered after a few moments of silence, my head dropping to stare at the ground between my hooves and a few tears sliding down my cheeks to drip onto the stained carpet of the room, "I'm sorry we couldn't be here to stop this." I shifted my head to look over at the corpse of the mare that was still lying on the bed. Rather than move it out, Crosswire had simply lain down against the wall on the floor. He was probably expecting that we wouldn't be coming back here in a while, and after all, to him, as with so many others in the wasteland, it was just another dead pony.
"I'm sorry we couldn't save you," I said to the body, "Maybe in the end, we can stop this happening to others... somehow..."
I forced myself back to my hooves and made my way over to Crosswire, where I lay down beside him and tried to get some rest, but as I had predicted, sleep wasn't going to come easy.
Every time I closed my eyes, visions of ponies I had failed flitted before me. I saw my parents, bleeding out onto the ground in front of Grovedale; then Heart Attack came forward, walking to his death which I had done nothing to stop; Hat Trick, lying broken and bleeding on the roadside, and the bodies of his entire caravan lying in the farmhouse, carved up by a raider's knife. I saw the pile of bodies at Buckview, sending a column of smoke into the sky as they burned, and also the bodies of every single innocent pony that had been killed as a result of my choices while with the raider gang. Everywhere I went there was death and misery, and I had done little, if anything, to stop any of it. All I did was react to the situations, fighting to save a life or two, but nothing I had done was going to be a permanent solution. Not yet.
I was going to stop Seahawk, and give the towns a reason to fight together, and to start striking back against the wasteland. I would do that, or I would die trying. It was all that was worth it anymore. And then, maybe, I could forgive myself.
The gradual lightening of the room woke me some hours later. My sleep had been restless and full of nightmares, but at least I had managed to get some. The way the night had begun, I thought it was going to be another sleepless night.
I rose to my hooves and made my way out into the hallway. The first thing I noticed was that Steel Curtain was nowhere to be seen. A little worried, I walked down the stairs and picked my way between the ponies we had managed to save. Some of them were starting to stir, and the ones that were already awake quickly moved out of my way, giving me a clear path to the door. A few of them might have muttered something about me saving their lives, but I wasn't listening. All I cared about was finding Steel Curtain.
Outside, the rain was coming down in a steady downpour, quickly soaking me through my barding and forcing my mane flat against my head as I stepped outside in search of the armored Pegasus. I finally found him sitting out on the road, staring up into the sky with a depressed expression.
"Missing home?" I asked, coming up beside him and sitting down, far enough away from his side that I hoped he wouldn't think it meant anything.
"No. I don't miss Stormfront. Don't think I ever could. It's my family, not knowing if they're all right or are being held because I'm a traitor. Dad would be able to cope, he's strong like that, but Mom... she isn't as strong as he is. She was born and raised in a small town, far enough removed from the big-city politics that she's never had to worry about it. And my brother... fuck, he's probably been kicked out of the military and made an outcast," he answered glumly, then, his face hardened and an angry frown overtook his glum expression, "And there isn't a fucking thing I can DO about it!" He finished with a shout, getting to his hooves and starting to pace.
"We're working on it, Steel Curtain. Once we get this shit with Seahawk taken care of, the Enclave is next on the list. Your family will be fine, I promise," I said, trying to calm the agitated Pegasus.
He rounded on me, his anger etched into every line of his expression, and his body almost shaking with all his pent-up emotion. "Can you guarantee that, Evergreen?" he demanded, "Can you tell me right now that my family is ok?"
I was taken aback by his anger. I had never before seen him this wound up. "No, I can't. But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they will be, one way or another. I can't promise that they are fine now, but I can promise that I will do everything in my power to help."
Steel Curtain simply stood stock-still, watching me, then snorted and turned to face back up to the sky. "I guess that has to be enough. But what are you going to do, Evergreen? You barely know what to do about Seahawk. What's the next step with him, huh? Or are we just going to be doing Mallet's bidding for the next few months, rather than going for the source of the problem?"
His question caught me flat-footed, and I didn't know what to say. "Well, I haven't heard anything beyond what you know. He simply has done too well keeping his plan quiet. The only lead I can even think of right now is that Pegasus friend of yours. What was his name again?" I asked, trying to defend myself.
"Starshine. And if that's what you think, then we should find him," Steel Curtain said, looking at me with a determined glare.
"I'd love to, but we haven't got a clue where he is! I remember him telling us that he would get in touch with us once he has that town set up," I retorted, "So until we know where to find him, we should keep getting the towns in the area prepared for war, because that is what this is going to become before it all ends." I didn't want to tell the Pegasus that I didn't know if I could keep fighting like I had been. Not with all the death it was causing.
"I suppose you have a point. Is this side trip into Seaddle really necessary then?" Steel Curtain asked, looking at me critically.
"It could be. Sure, I want to get that bastard Shooting Star to stop calling me something I don't deserve, but look at it this way. In order to tell everypony the news as well as he does, he has to have a pretty reliable source of information, which means there could be things he's holding back because it will make him a target. If we can meet with him face-to-face, we might be able to learn something about Seahawk or the Enclave, or just the wasteland in general that will help us," I explained.
"Makes sense," Steel Curtain muttered, "At least you sound like you know what you're doing."
"I have an idea, Steel Curtain, I can't do anything more than that. Not until I have more information," I said, rising to my hooves, "Now come on, let's go inside and get something to eat. We have a long day ahead of us."
"Isn't every day a long day?" he asked morosely as he too got up.
"Yeah, what's your point?" I asked with a smirk and a flip of my mane as I turned towards the house.
"Nothing, I guess," he answered. His tone had lightened up a bit, a fact of which I was very grateful. I needed him to be focused.
By the time we were back inside, almost every pony was up. Crosswire already had most of the remainder of our food spread out, and was sharing it with the ponies we had managed to save.
"Hey, Evergreen. I figured we could share since we should be back in Metro this afternoon anyway, and we'll be able to re-stock," he explained once he saw me enter.
"Good idea. How is everypony? Is Autumn up and moving?" I asked, walking up to him and picking a couple of packages of pre-war food out of the pile which I promptly opened and started eating.
"Yeah, she's stiff, but she's up. Suture can really work wonders," the grey buck answered with a grin, "I would know."
"Yeah, I suppose you would," I answered between mouthfuls, "Think we'll be able to get on the road soon? Weather is shit, and I'd rather not spend more time than we have to out there."
"Yeah, it shouldn't be too long before we get moving. We just getting to Metro today, or did you want to start towards the city as well?" the tech asked.
"If we get to Metro early enough, I would like to try to get a move on towards Seaddle, but if it looks like we'll be caught in the open by the time night rolls around, we'll probably just stay in Metro. I'd rather not risk doing something stupid."
"Sounds like a plan," Crosswire said as he started packing up the last remains of our food, which was a much smaller pile than what we had started with.
We set out not much later, all fifteen of us. Most of the ponies we had rescued weren't from Metro, but they agreed that it would be much better to at least get back to civilization before trying to make their way back to their respective homes, if those homes were even still standing.
The rain was oppressive, soaking all of us completely through and making the journey miserable, but that meant it was making everypony else in the wastes miserable as well, so we were hopeful that we wouldn't run into trouble. Unfortunately, the weather intensified as we traveled, soon evolving into a full thunderstorm, lightning and thunder included. With every flash of lightning, we were flinching, thinking that it was the start of an attack on us, but the wasteland remained empty.
The weather also slowed us somewhat, as the downpour turned the beaten up road into a stream of mud, with only occasional solid patches where the old asphalt roadway was still intact. Goddesses, it sucked that Equestria's industrialization came so close to the end of the war. Had it been sooner, most of these paths would probably have been built to last, and we wouldn't be having a problem with mud.
All the same, we trudged onwards, lowering our heads into the biting wind, and just setting one hoof down in front of the other. Complaining would get us nowhere, and everypony knew it. All we had was the next step, and eventually we would make our destination.
We arrived much later than I had hoped, the shanty town appearing before us like some large beast, materializing through the rain as we stumbled within its bounds. I was surprised at how many ponies were still going from stall to stall, buying and selling.
Even more surprising was the quality of the clientele. The last time we had left, I had noticed that they all seemed to be just this side of being raiders, all of them hardened wastelanders with unkind eyes, never more than a twitch from drawing a weapon. Now, there was a decent smattering of normal ponies in the mix. Most were still just this side of raiding, but there was a difference. Maybe helping to secure the roads between Millberry and Metro was making it possible for those ponies living on the frontier to come in and trade for things they needed.
I could only hope.
We left our following at the gates to Metro, as most of them weren't known by the guards, and so would not be risked until they could be checked out, but my group was let through on sight. It was bliss to finally get out of the rain, though I felt like I wouldn't be dry for the rest of eternity.
Our first stop was Suture's infirmary, where she checked both mine and Autumn's wounds. It was the first time I saw exactly what kind of damage the young sniper had taken. Two small puncture wounds were placed almost exactly at her center of mass, and one of them was still sluggishly leaking blood. It had probably reopened during our walk. It was a bad injury, and would probably have killed her had Suture not been right there.
My own injury was much easier to heal. Now that we had full access to an infirmary, it took the skilled Earth Pony medic only a few minutes to clean out my wound, apply a salve and bind it up tightly with bandaged soaked in healing potion before I felt worlds better.
"So what's the plan, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked once Suture was done with our injuries. He was seated against one wall, stripping and cleaning his SMG, but with both eyes fixed carefully on me.
I hesitated for a moment, convincing myself that I already had a plan, and that it was something that I needed to do. Even so, I still felt a whisper of the words the young zebra mare had told me, that everything I ever did was only to benefit myself. I didn't want to use my friends like that.
"The weather is total shit, and I really don't want to spend more time out there than I have to. On that note, Autumn Mist and I could both really benefit from a good night's rest here, where we don't have to worry about getting attacked in the middle of the night," I answered, somewhat shakily, returning the tech's gaze.
"Makes sense to me. We should probably go out into the market and restock our supplies then. We've been using a lot of ammunition, and most of our food is spent. Is there anything else we need?" he asked, swiftly reassembling his weapon and sliding a fresh clip into it.
"Maybe some parts to repair our barding?" Autumn Mist suggested from the bed where she was lying. She still looked pale, but her voice was regaining at lot of its strength, "Especially considering the amount of fire we've been taking. I don't think basic leather barding is really going to cut it anymore. If we can, we should all invest in some armor like Evergreen's."
"That makes a lot of sense, though it is going to be expensive," Suture said while she cleaned her hooves and mouth in the sink, washing away the bit of blood that had accumulated while she was treating us, "Do we have enough to take care of that?"
"Well, after the last payment we got for helping Millberry, not to mention the payment we'll get for delivering that Crystal, we're sitting on a pretty good fortune of caps. Might as well put it into circulation here. Besides, we only need reinforced barding for you, Crosswire, and Autumn. Shouldn't be too expensive," I answered. This was a subject I had no problems with. Nothing could be a better investment than improving our armor.
"That's agreed then. Want to go take care of that now, Evergreen?" Crosswire asked, giving me a penetrating glare. I could see what was on his mind, and it was making me distinctly uncomfortable. I could tell he had finally worked himself up to talking about his feelings, and that was not something I was looking forward to discussing. But I also couldn't put it off any longer.
"Yeah, sure. We should probably stop by Mallet's office first, though," I answered, pulling out a pouch full of caps, which I tossed at Steel Curtain, "Steel Curtain, would you mind taking care of food and ammo while Crosswire and I get the caps for the barding?"
The armored Pegasus caught the pouch in his mouth and placed them into a compartment on his armor before nodding curtly. "Yeah, no problem. Didn't you promise that one weapon dealer you'd go there first?"
"Yeah, so make that appearance and let her know what we need. We should get a good price," I said while I made sure my saddlebags were settled comfortably over my barding.
"Will do. I'll meet up with you guys once I'm done with those supplies," Steel Curtain said, then disappeared out the door.
Crosswire and I took another few seconds to make sure we had everything we needed, which mainly meant that we took Autumn's and Suture's barding, then made our own way out into the market.
We barely made it three steps out of the infirmary before Crosswire brought that subject up. "Evergreen, we need to talk," he said. His tone was strained, but determined. It wasn't hard to tell that he had taken a long time to work himself up to this.
"I know, Crosswire, and I think I know what you're going to say," I muttered. With everything else going on in my head, this wasn't really something I wanted to worry about. My personal life shouldn't be what I was worried about, yet it seemed like fate wasn't going to allow anything else.
"You do?" he answered, genuinely shocked. He was now staring at me intently, and I could see his feelings for me plastered on his face. He wasn't even attempting to hide them, and it made me feel very uncomfortable. "You mean to tell me that you know exactly how I feel about you? That I'm in love you?"
There it was, laid out in the open for all to see. I sighed heavily, dropping my head in defeat. "Yeah. I wouldn't have if Steel Curtain hadn't said anything. He told me that he noticed you looking at me and stuff like that. End result is pretty logical from there."
"Steel Curtain told you?" he asked, his voice wavering somewhat, and his expression confused, "Why would he... I mean, how did he know? Wait, you answered that. Why?"
"Ugh... Crosswire, this entire situation is something I'm really not comfortable with. I haven't thought about stallions in... well, ever, honestly. I've always been more concerned with surviving. Steel Curtain told me because he thought I should know, and I've been oblivious to that sort of thing for as long as I can remember." That statement wasn't entirely true anymore, as I had noticed Steel Curtain looking at me quite a bit himself recently, but that wouldn't have been a good thing to tell the grey unicorn.
"Then... then you feel the same way?" he asked me, the clopping of his hooves on the concrete floor coming to a stop as he turned to look at me, forcing me to a stop as well. The hopeful look on his face was painful to see, especially knowing what I had to tell him.
This was it, the moment I had been dreading, and there was no way I was getting out of answering. "Crosswire, I..." I choked up, my throat closing on me and not letting me speak. Crosswire was looking at me with such hope, and such feeling, that saying no was proving to be a lot harder than I had anticipated, but it was still something I had to do. "I'm sorry. You're my closest friend, my first friend. It isn't what you want to hear, but... I just don't see you that way. I would give my life for you in an instant, but, I just don't think I can see you as a coltfriend."
My words crushed him, as I knew they would, but I wasn't going to torture the buck by making him think I shared a feeling that wasn't there. His head dropped down, his ears flat against his head, and I saw the light of feeling disappear from his eyes as he locked his emotions back up inside himself again. "Oh... I see," I trailed off, starting to walk again, although his steps were much more deliberate now.
"Crosswire, I know it hurts," I called after him, trotting to catch up, "but you know me. I wouldn't try to foster something that I didn't feel. If I tried to pretend, it would just be worse. You know that. You'd know I was lying the second the words come out of my mouth."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he muttered, his voice low and depressed, "Was it something I did or said? Maybe pushing you too hard when I thought you were being indecisive?"
I quickly shook my head. "No. Nothing like that. I just don't have any romantic feelings towards you. Everything you've told me, you've been right. I did need to start trusting my instincts, and I was making stupid decisions when I pushed those ponies we saved aside. I've been listening to you, Crosswire," I said, trying to keep my tone sympathetic.
"It's Steel Curtain, isn't it?" the grey unicorn asked suddenly, his head coming up and fixing me in an accusing glare, "You love him, don't you?"
"What! I... what?" I sputtered, caught completely off guard by the question, "Where the hell is that coming from? Crosswire, I'm trying to be honest here. I don't want there to be any bad feelings between us! Like I said, you are my closest friend, and I couldn't imagine going back out there without you!"
"You say you didn't notice me looking at you, or the way I feel, but I've seen you sneaking glances at him," the tech pressed, his tone becoming sharper. He was being irrational, and I knew it, but that didn't make the words hurt any less.
"I don't know!" I exclaimed, bringing us to a stop so I could properly face him, "Yeah, I've been looking, but I just don't know how I feel yet. I haven't known him long enough!"
"And yet you find a chance to be alone with him all the time. Like this morning, in that storm. I noticed when you woke up and went outside, then the both of you came back together. Do you two feel so ashamed about it that you have to do things in secret, and make the rest of us suffer?" he snapped, his eyes now filled with anger.
There were very few things that Crosswire could have done to piss me off, but that was one of them. I reached out and smacked him across the face, hard. While he stood there, holding a hoof to his face, a shocked expression plastered on his features, I started shouting, not caring about the audience that was quickly forming around us, eager for a change in the monotony of their small city. "How fucking dare you! I went out looking for him because he wasn't inside when I woke up and I was worried! He's as much a part of our group as you are, as much a friend to me as any of you! He's been worried sick about how his family is probably being treated up there, and all you can think about is if we are fucking?! Fuck, you don't even know how awkward the conversation was when he told me about your feelings!"
I had to stop to catch my breath, and in that instant, I could see that my words were finally having an effect on the grey buck. The anger was disappearing from his expression to be replaced with shame. He had backed up, trying to get away from me, but ended up trapped by the circle of ponies that had formed around us. So instead, he sat down, his eyes looking down at the ground between his hooves, and his ears were laid flat against his head.
"I don't want this kind of shit to come between us, Crosswire," I said, softer now. Seeing him respond to my anger had dissipated most of it. I was still angry, and expected an apology, but I had made my point, and he had gotten it. "You're my friend and you always will be. I'm willing to forgive that comment because you weren't thinking when you said it, but seriously. I don't make others suffer if I can avoid it."
"I know that, Evergreen," Crosswire finally answered after several moments of silence when the group around us started to dissipate, once it became clear that there wasn't actually going to be a fight, "and I'm sorry. It just... hurts."
I sighed and took a step towards him. "I know. I'm sorry there isn't anything I can do to fix that. Maybe someday you'll find a mare who will appreciate you far more than I apparently can," I said, leaning in and giving him a small peck on the cheek. I could do that little bit for him, at least. "For what it's worth, you'll probably end up far happier than I could ever be."
The grey buck was now blushing, his cheeks bright red as he tried to regain his composure. "Well, thanks for being honest, I guess. I'm sorry I made an ass of myself."
"I already forgave you," I answered with a smile, hoping this would be the end of the problem, "Are we all right, then?"
"Yeah, we're good," he answered, returning my smile weakly and getting back up to his hooves and starting to walk again.
He still hurt, that much was obvious, but at least we had made sure that he would heal. There wasn't anything else I could do for him.
We were admitted into Mallet's office almost immediately after arriving. It seemed that the blue Earth Pony had been on a break, but his secretary had assured as that he would see us. True to her statement, he jumped up excitedly from his seat as soon as we entered, and even poured us a drink for when we sat down.
"Evergreen, it is good to see you! I was starting to worry!" he exclaimed happily while he set the full glasses on the table. Crosswire's was immediately surrounded by a yellow aura as he lifted it with his telekinesis and drained it. It didn't take a genius to know why.
"We did run into a few troubles, but nothing we couldn't handle," I explained with a grin, gripping my own glass with a hoof and taking a sip. The alcohol had a good oaky flavor and burned a bit as it went down, warming me from the inside and doing some good to dispelling the chill from my bones that the rain had put there.
"I see. Well, I assume you delivered the Crystal?" Mallet asked, seating himself at his desk again.
"Yes, we did, though it turns out the mare it was meant to go to lives with the Steel Brotherhood in a bunker in the mountains," I explained with a sardonic grin, "They weren't too keen on letting us go, but I managed to convince them."
"Well, I am certainly glad of that fact. Here is the price we agreed on then," Mallet said, pulling out a bulging pouch, "I counted out the money a few days ago, though feel free to count it yourself."
I grabbed the pouch and opened it. It was stuffed with nothing but caps, easily the three thousand we had agreed on. "Thank you Mallet. I think you would also like to know that we managed to wipe out the remnants of my old gang. The entire region is free of any organized groups now, except for the Brotherhood, but they've been keeping to themselves."
"Really? Well, thank you for that. It will certainly make some trade in that area much safer. Now, I do have another job for you," Mallet said, watching me with a joyful, yet at the same time business-like expression.
"I'm afraid I can't really accept anything right now," I answered, lifting a hoof to stop the mayor, "I've got a trip planned to go up to Seaddle and talk to Shooting Star. From there, I'm making a stop for the mare I delivered the Crystal to. Considering her age, we both deemed it safer for me and my friends to take care of. From there, we'll see, but I don't want to start accepting jobs when I can't guarantee their timely completion."
The buck's expression changed to one of disappointment, but only briefly. He recovered quickly, smiling agreeably. "Of course. I understand completely that you need to do what you think is right. Keep in mind that if you ever need work, our doors are open to you. I've come to rely on your talents."
"Thank you Mallet, I appreciate that," I said, finishing my drink and getting to my hooves and heading towards the door. Right before I left, I thought of something I needed to mention. "Oh, if you have a caravan heading to Millberry, let their governor know that I secured his water purifier. The Steel Brotherhood agreed to part with one that I found in a Stable out that way. All they need to do is send the ponies to retrieve it."
"Really?" the buck asked, genuinely surprised, "That is rather incredible. I imagine they will be quite pleased to hear that. I'll make sure the next caravan has the message. Thank you once again for your help, Evergreen."
I nodded my acknowledgment, then stepped out the door, making my way out into the market, Crosswire beside me. "Well, that went well," I mused, rather pleased with the result of the meeting. I was three thousand caps richer, regardless of the fact that we were about to spend most of that money, and I had a plan for what we were going to do next that would, hopefully, avoid any needless death.
I couldn't say what it was, but something about being in Metro made me simply feel better. Yaari's words were still with me, and definitely still haunting me, but being in this town made all of that seem irrelevant. We had a plan to go out and save the wasteland, and I was confident we could pull it off with very little meaningless killing.
"Yeah, it did," Crosswire answered, his speech slightly slurred.
I looked at him sharply. The drink had been strong, sure, but Crosswire hadn't had that much of it. Then I noticed the empty bottle floating next to him, shaking violently in a very tenuous magical grip. He must have had a bottle of something in his saddlebags, and I hadn't even noticed him grab it.
"Crosswire, why are you drinking? We still have work to do," I asked, coming to a stop and reaching out a hoof to steady the buck, who I noticed was already becoming unsteady on his hooves. He must have pulled out the bottle while I was talking to Mallet.
"'Cause I needed a drink," he growled, walking by me, a stormy expression on his face. I followed after him, since he seemed to be going in a completely different direction than the infirmary. Along the way, he stopped at a bar and bought another bottle of alcohol, which he promptly started drinking, despite my attempts to stop him. He was actually going out of his way to ignore me, and was using the crowd to keep me from getting to him to physically stop him. Before long, he was stumbling around, knocking into ponies who proceeded to shout at him.
I finally managed to catch up to him and lean him against me. He protested, but the drinks had done far too much for him to have any real control over himself anymore.
"Dammit, Crosswire, you really have some shitty timing. Couldn't have waited until we had the barding getting upgraded, could you?" I growled, shifting the tech so he was leaning against me and making my way, slowly, to the infirmary. Suture would have to watch him while I got the barding taken care of.
It was slow going, and he fought me most of the way, claiming he wanted to go to the bar for more drinks, but I had the stability he was lacking and managed to keep him on track towards the infirmary. When we finally walked in, Steel Curtain was already back, and Suture was going about the room, checking her various cupboards and drawers, probably making sure all her supplies were where she expected them to be.
"Hey, Steel Curtain, help me with him," I said as I entered, now struggling as the tech tried to get free and leave.
The Pegasus was immediately at my side, wrapping a wing around Crosswire's body to keep him from wandering and steering him over to a bed, where the tech collapsed. "What the hell happened to him?" he asked with a confused glance in my direction. Already, Suture was at the tech's side, looking him over.
"We talked, and I tried to let him down easily. He didn't take it too well, and we shouted at each other for a minute or two, both saying some things we probably shouldn't have, then apologized and went and met with Mallet. I thought he was all right, but then he pulled a bottle of something out of nowhere and drained it when I wasn't looking," I explained.
"Let him down easily? What does that mean?" Suture asked me, breaking her concentration over the buck for a brief moment to look at me.
I flushed, looking away awkwardly while I tried to decide how to answer. Thankfully, Steel Curtain covered for me. "Crosswire had his eye on Evergreen, but she doesn't feel the same way. So she was letting him know that she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship."
"Yeah, that," I stated lamely, walking over to the grey buck's side. He was basically passed out at this point, partially because he was lying down, and partially because it looked like Suture had given him something. "You probably don't need to worry too much. He was just really drunk. Really fast."
"That's what I'm concerned about. Most alcohol shouldn't affect him like this. If he drank something especially concentrated that quickly, well, he could be in danger. I'm going to have to have him monitored tonight. At least you didn't leave him wondering. Better he does this now than when we're in the wasteland," the medic said, pulling out a piece of equipment and taking some readings of his vitals.
"That's what I thought. Wasn't fair to him to let him think there could be something. I feel terrible about it but it just isn't in me to make him think otherwise," I said, looking down at Crosswire's now still form.
"Sounds like the right choice to me. Let's just hope he feels the same way when he finally comes 'round," Autumn said from where she was lying, a comic book in her hooves. It was easy to forget just how young the mare was.
"Yeah, I hope," I agreed with a nod, then turned to Steel Curtain, "So, since these three are all otherwise occupied, can you help me get this barding situation organized? Crosswire didn't bother waiting until we were done to get drunk." I was already reaching into the tech's saddlebags and pulling out Autumn's and Suture's barding. While I was doing that, Suture was undressing Crosswire and handed me his barding, which was intercepted by Steel Curtain.
"Of course," he said with a quick nod, stowing the clothing in his armor.
It didn't take us long to make our way down to the markets and find a pony willing to do the upgrades for us. The only point of contention was price. After a full ten minutes of haggling, we finally got the merchant to agree to upgrade all three sets of barding for only two thousand caps. It was still a lot more than I wanted to pay, but it was easily the best price we were going to get. Lucky for us, it guaranteed a night here, as the armorer would need at least that long to do the work.
Steel Curtain waited until our walk back to the infirmary to say anything to me about my conversation with Crosswire. The fact that he waited that long at all was a surprise to me. "So, I'm sorry you had to do that earlier," he said awkwardly as we passed by a small kiosk selling what looked to be barbecued mole rat. Even after a life spent in the wasteland, I couldn't understand why some ponies ate meat. It just didn't look appetizing.
"It had to be done," I answered simply. The memory of the conversation was still very fresh in my mind, and it wasn't something I was really ready to talk about yet, "I'm not happy about the outcome, but at least it happened now."
"I suppose you're right," the Pegasus answered, then looked at me with a concerned expression, "You think he's going to be all right?"
I sighed heavily, since that was the question I had been trying to answer myself all day. I finally settled for what I felt at the moment. "Crosswire is stronger than he looks. He's had tougher let-downs than this. He'll be upset for a few days, but he'll get over it. He always has."
"That's good to hear," Steel Curtain said. His statement was met by a pregnant silence, then he asked something I wasn't expecting at all from him. "Evergreen, are you all right?"
The question caught me completely off guard, and I needed several moments of spluttering to finally gather my thoughts. "What... yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine," I said quickly, hoping it would be enough for the Dashite.
"Please don't try that with me, Evergreen. Believe it or not, my hearing is pretty good, and I heard you talking to Suture last night. You can't have a conversation like that one night, then be totally fine the next day. She might buy it, and Crosswire might buy it, but I don't. I was in the military, and everypony there tries to hide things. I picked up how to tell when others are doing it," he stated with an annoyed tone, "I'm asking because I care. If there's a problem, you need to let us help you."
I mulled over his words for a few moments, walking in silence and trying to decide what I thought about it. He had a fair point, but there was no way any of them, with the possible exception of Crosswire, could know what I was thinking. Even then, he was never the one that had to make the decisions. He didn't know what it took to have the fact thrown in your face that every choice he ever made had never done anything but result in the deaths of innocent ponies.
Even worse, I knew now that I wouldn't be able to hide from Steel Curtain. He'd seen through me once already. Trying to avoid it would only make matters worse. Which left one option: honesty.
"Steel Curtain, the problems I'm facing aren't anything anypony else can help me with. If you want the truth, here it is. Those zebras we met said some things to me that bit deep. Not because they were insulting, or harsh, or anything like that, but because it was the truth. That mare, Yaari, does have a weird ability, like Autumn Mist suggested. She was able to tell exactly what I was with just a look, and pointed some things out I haven't thought about before," I said, slowing to a stop and looking sadly at the Pegasus.
"Let me get this straight. A zebra we'd just met said something to you that has since gotten into your head and made you doubt pretty much every decision you're making?" he asked me, one eyebrow raised and his head cocked to the side.
"It isn't just that!" I exclaimed, wanting to do nothing more than throw my hooves into the air in exasperation, "She knew me, Steel Curtain. She saw all the blood on my hooves, every bad decision I have ever made. She saw right through me, right to the fact that all I really want is for nopony to look at me as a reformed raider, but as just another pony, and I can't do that, no matter what I try!" The more I spoke, the more desperate and upset my voice became. I had managed to repress my feelings on the matter, but that simple question from Steel Curtain had brought it all rushing back to the surface.
He was now looking at me in complete surprise, as though he hadn't expected me to be this on edge. "Do you really think that's how the rest of us see you?" he asked me, taking a step towards me and reaching out a hoof to place on my shoulder. When I didn't shy away, he moved the hoof to my face and lifted my head so I was looking him in the eye. "Trust me, Evergreen, to us, you are far more than just a reformed raider. You've done amazing things these last few weeks. Saving that filly from Buckview and avenging all of those ponies, giving hope to an old mare that has lost everything, saving a whole bunch of slaves, not only once, but twice! And that is only what I've been around for. I've heard about your other work, like helping Millberry and saving an entire Stable's worth of intelligent ghouls. Ponies don't do that kind of thing anymore. They only care about themselves. Except for you."
"But you guys are around me all the time. You see what I want. But everypony else, they still see me as what I was," I trailed off, looking around at the dull grey walls of the Metro station, noticing for the first time the piles of rubble and garbage that were collected at the base of those same walls. It made me realize that, as much as it tried to be civilized, Metro was still just another wasteland refuge, filled with ponies that had nowhere else to go, or didn't have the strength to venture out for something better, "Or as something I will never be."
Finally, I had found an argument that one of my friends didn't have an immediate argument for. Steel Curtain could do nothing but look at me sadly, his mind working madly behind those beautiful green eyes. "If you start thinking like that, then nothing we do will be worth it," he finally said, "And that isn't something I'm going to allow to happen. We're here for you, and we are not going to abandon you." Then he did something I was totally unprepared for. He darted in and planted a kiss square on my lips, holding it long enough that I started to respond to it despite my shock, then broke away. "Don't forget that."
Just as suddenly, he removed his hoof and started walking away, making for the infirmary. "Come on, we still have a lot of work to do if we want to get out of here early tomorrow. I hate being underground."
The shock from his kiss held me firmly rooted to the spot as he walked away. I could still taste his lips on mine and, even worse, I longed for more. That singular action had awoken feelings in me that I didn't think I had, and now that my eyes had been opened to them, I didn't want to be left without.
But, the magic of that kiss considered, I didn't know how I felt about it. My body was aching for more, but my mind was screaming at me to first figure my own shit out before I went screaming into a relationship I probably wasn't prepared for. Hell, I was having problems that even Steel Curtain couldn't give me an answer for, and he had an answer for everything! What did it say about me if I just forgot about those problems, and then tried to admit someone else's feelings for me when I couldn't even bring myself to like me?
I shook my head violently, breaking free of the spell the kiss had put me under and rose shakily to my hooves. I still wanted more, but at least I had the willpower to say no. Steel Curtain would hopefully understand.
In the infirmary, I stumbled onto a scene that held me rooted awkwardly to the spot, trying to reason out what I was seeing. Two older ponies, a male unicorn with a dark blue hide and cream colored mane and a pink Earth Pony mare with a greying red mane, were shouting at Suture. The medic was almost cowering against the wall, looking everywhere except at the two angry ponies. Steel Curtain was sitting on the opposite side of the room, going through all our new supplies and looking like he was trying his hardest not to watch the fight. Autumn Mist was lying flat on her bed, trying to make herself as small as possible, since its location placed her almost exactly in the middle of the fight. Her comic book lay forgotten on the ground in front of her, and she didn't look like she was going to try to grab it anytime soon.
"What the hell do you mean, 'You knew you were going to be fine'!" the buck was shouting, "You've been missing on a regular basis for the last two weeks! I don't call that fine!"
"But... but just look at who I've been with! I've been fine! They are looking out for me and need me!" Suture protested, her voice on the verge of tears.
"I'm looking, and all I see are a bunch of wasteland barbarians, one of which is already passed out drunk!" the mare snorted condescendingly with a glare at Crosswire's unconscious form.
"Not to mention that the others seem to be a mare that is far too young to be doing anything this dangerous, and now apparently also a Pegasus that probably thinks himself strong enough to do whatever he pleases with whomever he pleases!" the buck added harshly.
Now that comment got to me. "Hey, just who do you think you are, coming down here and yelling at her and throwing insults at a bunch of ponies you don't even know? You're judging us before you've even met us!" I snarled as I walked into the infirmary proper, watching in perverse amusement as the older ponies' eyes practically popped out of their eyes in their shock that I had spoken to them like that. Suture was staring at me in horror, like she couldn't believe I had done it either.
"I beg your pardon?" the buck sputtered angrily, "We are the only ponies with any right to speak with her! She is our daughter!"
Oh shit, was the only thought that strolled through my head at that.
"And as for you, Miss," the mare said as her eyes roamed over my body, taking in every single flaw in a single glance, with a noted pause at the bandage around my leg and the blood stains on my armor, "I believe our assessment is perfectly valid, considering your appearance."
"And that fact that I spent the last four fucking days on the road has nothing to do with the fact that I'm dirty?" I growled, my anger at these two ponies bias overriding any doubt that had come forward at their revelation that they were Suture's parents.
"Only wastelanders see the need to travel, and our daughter is a doctor. She does not need to be out there, not when she has the security of our home," the buck sneered at me, turning away to face Suture again, "Now, we were having a discussion with our daughter, not with you."
"A discussion with Suture is a discussion with me!" I exclaimed, walking through the pair so that I was standing next to the terrorized medic, "She's saved my ass far too many times for me to just abandon her."
"Evergreen, you don't need to do this," Suture muttered quietly, stealing a scared glance at me before her parents interrupted.
"We will not tolerate any interruptions!" the mare announced, "Now leave us alone with our daughter!"
"I do need to, because you're parents are just the sort of ignorant idiots that I can't stand," I told the medic before I locked my eyes on the older mare's, putting every ounce of anger I could into the stare. "Now listen here. Your daughter is the only reason all of us are still on our hooves at all. Without her, we would have all died a long time ago. She is, quite literally, invaluable to us."
"I don't care..." the buck started, but I silenced him with a glare.
"Also, she is helping me fix a problem that is threatening the security of the entire wasteland, not just Metro. I need her, and so long as she is willing to help me, she is welcome," I continued, making sure that my anger was making it into my words as well.
"I don't care who you are," the mare stated icily, walking up to me until her muzzle was mere inches from mine, "but I am not going to let you put my daughter's life at risk. I can already see that she has come far closer to death than I would like. It's in the way she holds herself, and the way she moves. And I can see the scars on her hide, scars she didn't have the last time I saw her!"
"Mom, that isn't fair!" Suture protested, pushing the older mare back and stepping between us, "I chose to go! My getting injured isn't anypony's fault! It's just a risk of traveling."
"A risk you don't need to take, Suture! You have security here. You have a life, and a job. Why are you throwing that away to go into the wasteland?" her father asked, some of the anger fading from his voice as a note of desperation crept in. He was stepping forward until he was standing close to Suture.
"You're right, I don't need to take the risk, but I've chosen to," Suture answered, looking her father in the eye, "Working here has never given me much satisfaction. Out there, I'm actually doing some good. I want to be there. Everypony here does their best to keep me out of harm's way, but sometime that just isn't possible."
It seemed like traveling with us, and having me standing beside her, was giving the maroon mare some courage. Sure, my showing up had helped her, but I was fairly sure that she would have worked up the courage to speak up for herself eventually.
"But they don't seem like the kind of ponies you should be consorting with, Suture," the mare stated, looking from me, then to each one of my other friends, her gaze condescending the entire way, "I mean, look at them. All of them dirty and streaked with mud."
"Sure, they're rough around the edges, but I am convinced that there are no better ponies out there," Suture stated, walking over to where Autumn Mist was lying, "Take Autumn Mist here. She's young, but I've never met a pony as determined as she is to see right done in the wasteland. And since she's the one I'm around the most, considering she's our sniper, and I stay as far away from the fighting as possible, I know I'm right about that."
The dark mare looked up at the medic and smile weakly. "I'm going to get you for this later, Suture," she said darkly, but with undercurrents of humor in her voice.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Suture answered with a smile as she turned back to her parents, "Steel Curtain is fighting with us because he believes in helping the wasteland. Our travels have brought us into contact with slavers and raiders, the worst that the wasteland has to offer, and he is dedicated to wiping them out and helping as many as he can."
From his corner, the Pegasus looked up, the expression on his face showing that he hadn't expected to be drawn into the discussion as well. "Ponies don't deserve to be enslaved," he added, "Enclave is too fucking close to that, and I couldn't stand it up there either."
"Fine, but what about them?" the buck asked, turning to look at me and Crosswire, "They look like a pair of raiders themselves, especially the unicorn."
"I can speak for myself," I announced, stepping forward. I didn't want to face the thought that he had struck far closer to the truth than I was comfortable with. "I'm Evergreen, and somehow everypony here has more or less decided to do what I say. Our mission is my choice, through a combination of fate and wanting to make a difference. Without Suture, though, I can guarantee that I wouldn't be here, or doing what I'm doing. I am only alive because she is still with me."
The mare shot me a dirty look. She obviously hated me, and nothing I could say was going to change that. "So you claim. But what about him? He appears to be exactly like what he is: a drunkard."
I narrowed my eyes at the mare, stepping between her and Crosswire. "He just so happens to be my closest and most loyal friend," I snapped, "but he got some bad news today and decided to drink it off. Not exactly a choice I approve of. He's our tech and repairpony. Can hack any door or open any lock in the wasteland. At least, I've yet to find one he couldn't bust."
"So he's a criminal and a thief?" the mare pressed, somehow managing to put an even snootier look on her face.
"Have you ever been in the fucking wasteland?" I growled, "Do you know how many locked doors there are between us and a stash of supplies that could be the difference between life and death? Do you know the value of being able to hack into a turret control panel and turn off the defenses of a building, rather than have to worry about being shot in the back every time you turn down a hallway? Didn't fucking think so."
The venom in my voice must have struck a nerve because the mare backed off, a shocked look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize," she muttered as she backpedaled, trying to gather herself.
"No, because you didn't think. All you did was think about what our skills would get for us here in this town, rather than out there where the only form of civilization is survival of the fittest," I snapped, "And I will not tolerate any more insults to my friends!"
"You see. I'm traveling with good ponies," Suture said, stepping forward again and placing a hoof on her mom's shoulder, "This is something I have to do. And I couldn't abandon them after everything we've already been through. Besides, they'd fall apart without someone there to put them back together."
"I suppose," her father said hesitantly, stepping forward to embrace Suture, then he looked at me. "Can you guarantee that she'll come home?" he asked, the intensity of his gaze pinning me in place.
I wanted nothing more than to say yes, but that would have been a lie. "No, I can't," I said, shaking my head slowly, "but I can guarantee that every single one of us will be doing everything in our power to keep her alive. The wasteland is a nasty place, but if you're smart, you can survive. We've managed pretty well so far."
The buck held me in his gaze for a few moments longer before he looked away, as though he was measuring the strength of my words. "I suppose that will have to do," he muttered as he turned back to his family. "Promise me something, Suture. Promise me that you'll be careful."
"Of course, dad," the medic answered with a sad grin, "I'm always careful." She embraced her father closely, then turned to her mother.
"It's obvious that I won't be able to dissuade you, as much as I would like to," she said, moving her gaze to me, "but I will say that if she dies, and I discover that you could have stopped it, I will kill you myself."
"If I let something like that happen, you won't need to," I answered, my stare just as intense as hers.
The mare snorted at me, then looked back to Suture. "Be careful, my dear. I love you," she said as she pulled the medic into an embrace.
"I love you too," Suture answered as the two ponies stepped away, then disappeared out of the door. "Thank you for standing up for me," she said a few moments later, once they were out of earshot.
"I couldn't just stand there and let them insult me," I answered simply, then looked at each of my friends in turn, "or any of them."
"True, but still. I appreciate it," the mare said with a sad grin as she walked over to the counter where she had been working and re-organized the supplies that had been sitting there.
"Anytime," I answered, and made my way over to where Steel Curtain was sitting so I could help him with the supplies.
From there, we all worked in silence, doing what we could to prepare for our journey. Suture spent the time doing what she could to return Autumn Mist back to full strength, or as close as she could get, by morning while Steel Curtain and I divided up the supplies as evenly as we could. Before long, the day had made the transition to night, and we all retired to our own beds to rest.
I almost wished that Steel Curtain would have said something about the kiss, nearly as much as I dreaded it. I wished even more that he would give me another one.
For the first time in days, I slept well. I woke in the morning feeling remarkably refreshed, and ready for the journey north. I couldn't say if it was the security of being in a guarded town, or just the atmosphere or Metro itself, and I certainly wasn't going to complain, either.
I rolled off my bed to my hooves, shaking my head to chase away the last cobwebs of sleep, and looked around. Suture was already up and about, moving from place to place as she tidied up as she prepared to leave. Steel Curtain was also missing, no surprise there, and Autumn Mist was gone as well. Only Crosswire was still in bed, and I was fairly certain he was not going to be happy when he finally woke.
"Morning," I grunted, stretching out my legs, almost moaning in pleasure as the stiffness simply melted away, "I'm guessing Steel Curtain went outside?"
"Oh, good morning, Evergreen. He did say he was going out there. Something about not liking being underground, I think," Suture answered, turning to face me just long enough to answer before going back to her work.
"Figured as much. What about Autumn Mist? I didn't expect her to be gone," I asked, walking over to the medic to see what she was working on.
"She offered to go pick up our barding. Said she needed to stretch her legs after being cooped up for so long," Suture answered absently, "Can you go after her, make sure she doesn't get lost down here? I don't think she's ever been in Metro proper on her own."
"Yeah, sure thing. Try to get Crosswire on his feet soon. I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible," I answered, even as I walked out the door into the city, not even waiting for the medic's response.
This early in the morning, Metro was still rather quiet. A few ponies were up and about, going from place to place as they attended to their business, but there were definitely far less than there had been during the day rush yesterday. I snaked my way through the various booths, stalls, and homes, making my way to the merchant that had promised to upgrade our barding.
Once I arrived, I found Autumn Mist already there, chatting with the merchant. The three sets of barding were sitting on the counter between them, and it looked like the sniper was talking about something to do with her barding, since she was holding a piece of it in a hoof in front of the merchant.
"Good to see you up and about, Autumn," I announced as I approached, "Is there a problem with the upgrades?"
"Huh? Oh, hey Evergreen," Autumn Mist answered, turning to look at me, "No, nothing wrong. Just asking about mobility. The heavier this stuff gets, the harder it is for me to move around, and I hate that."
"Fair enough," I said, turning my attention to the merchant, a green unicorn buck with a mane the color of rust. His cutie mark was a trio of Sparkle-Cola caps. "So, how does it look? Everything come together well?" I asked as I took one of the sets of barding and examined it. The plates were almost identical to my armor, so I knew how effective they were going to be in a fight. They also seemed to move easily, so Autumn's questions about mobility were probably completely moot. Weight would be the only issue, since it was significantly heavier than standard barding.
"No problems. I do this kind of work quite a bit," the merchant answered, watching me with a careful, calculating eye, "All I need is my payment, and they're yours."
"Autumn didn't bring it?" I asked, surprised, looking at the dark mare.
"Nope. You're the one with all the caps, Evergreen. Rest of us have our personal spending money, but you're the one with the fortune. Didn't think about that before I left," Autumn Mist answered.
"Oh, sorry about that. Here you are, as agreed," I said, reaching into my saddlebag and pulling out a pouch of caps that I had counted out the night before to pay for the armor. I tossed it at the merchant, who caught it deftly with his magic and stowed it away under the counter.
"Thank you for your business," he said quickly, then turned away. No matter how civilized Metro was compared to the rest of the wasteland, the merchants were still only concerned about their money.
I shook my head at the merchant, stowed two of the sets of barding in my bags while Autumn Mist pulled hers on, then started on my way back to the infirmary. Autumn was just a step behind me.
"So you're feeling better, I take it?" I asked as we walked, glancing at the dark mare's side as we walked. It was still bandaged, but I wouldn't have been able to tell that she was injured judged on the way she was moving.
"Much. I still don't know how Suture does it, but I feel like I didn't even get shot. I'm sure my side is still a mess, but hell, I feel great," Autumn Mist confirmed, "And I have to say, it barely feels like I'm wearing this armor! That guy really knew what he was doing!"
"Yeah, it certainly is comfortable, as long as nopony is smashing it with an axe while you're still wearing it," I answered, looking back to the spot on my armor that was still clearly patched where just that had happened only a few days ago. It was odd to think had much had changed since then. The plates were still stained with blood, despite all the rain.
"Yeah, I can't imagine that was much fun," the sniper said with an evil grin and a sidelong glance at me.
"About as much fun as having a sniper rifle go off right next to my head," I answered, returning her grin. To her credit, Autumn winced at that.
"At least it was better than the alternative. I was really strung out that day," she said, lifting a hoof to smooth out her short mane.
"I think we all were," I answered solemnly, "At least it turned out for the best."
"Yeah, no shit," Autumn said with a small laugh, "I can't imagine what I'd be doing now if I had shot you. Would have probably wound up bound and rutted like that mare we saved. What was her name again? Sparkle or something?"
"Sparks," I answered, the smile fading from my face. She was the mare we had rescued from raiders, the same ones that had maimed almost every single limb and smashed the horn of the caravan leader, Hat Trick. We had brought them back here, which made me think about trying to find them before we left. Unfortunately, we didn't really have time. We simply had so far to go.
"That was it!" Autumn exclaimed happily, "I'm so bad with names. But yeah, I probably would have ended up like her, though nopony would have shown up to save me, I bet."
"Then you're welcome for not shooting me," I said, forcing a smile back to my face and trying to put a bit of humor into my voice.
The dark mare laughed at that, but didn't actually say anything. We finished our walk in silence, arriving at the infirmary to find that Crosswire was finally awake, and that he looked like hell.
He had dark circles under his eyes, and from his expression I could tell that he had one hell of a headache. Served him right for being that stupid yesterday. Now he got to live with it.
"Finally up I see, Crosswire," I said jovially, walking up to him and reaching into my barding for his newly upgraded barding, "Here you go."
"Fuggoff," he muttered darkly, his magic gripping the armor all the same and pulling it towards himself, "Feel like my head got closed in a door... repeatedly."
"Well, that's what you get for drinking like that the day before we need to travel," Suture admonished him, her voice holding not a single shred of sympathy.
"Fuck... Stop me if I ever try that again," he muttered darkly, barely managing to pull the armor on before he rushed to the sink and vomited.
"As fast as you drank that shit, I didn't have a chance to stop you," I told him, laughing at his expense, "Otherwise I would have!"
All I got in response was an undignified snort, followed by another bout of vomiting.
"At least he's getting it out of his system," Suture commented, watching him with an amused expression, "He'll feel better once he's done."
True to the medic's prediction, Crosswire seemed much more himself when he finally pushed himself away from the sink ten minutes later, even though he still looked like shit. Suture gave him a minute to clean himself up, then we were out the door, making our way out of the infirmary and back up to the surface. Our journey to downtown was finally beginning.
It was a good day for travel. For once, it wasn't raining, although the clouds were threatening, as they always did. For the first time in days, I felt confident about the day, like it was going to end well.
We found Steel Curtain on the outskirts of the shantytown in the middle of a hoof-wrestle with a burly-looking Earth Pony buck. As we approached, I saw the Pegasus's eyes dart over to us, lock onto my face, then dart back to his opponent. His body tensed up more, and I saw him strain even harder against the dirty brown Earth Pony. With a triumphant shout, the Dashite threw the last of his strength into the competition and slammed his opponents hoof down against the table they were wrestling on.
"Yeah! That's a hundred caps!" Steel Curtain exclaimed, launching himself in the air where he did a victory lap around the small area where we were standing. It was an impressive display of emotion from the usually stoic Pegasus.
"You wrestled him with the power armor on?" I asked the Earth Pony incredulously, "What convinced you to do that?"
"He didn't look so tough. I should've been able to take him," the buck brooded, nursing his hoof. He was watching Steel Curtain with a sullen look, but it wasn't the kind that made the back of my neck itch.
"A lot of ponies underestimate me. It's how I'm still alive," Steel Curtain stated as he landed at the table again, "Good fight, though. You had me worried for a moment." He reached out a hoof towards the other buck.
"Yeah, I guess it was a good competition," the buck answered with a grin, reaching out and giving the Dashite a hoof bump, "And I guess a bet is a bet." He reached into his saddlebags, drew out a pouch and counted out a pile of caps, which he then tossed at the Pegasus.
"Thank you," Steel Curtain said with an elaborate bow as he pocketed the caps, then turned to us. "Good timing, everypony. When we started that wrestle, I thought there was a chance you guys wouldn't believe me."
"You're in powered armor. I can't believe it was even a competition," Crosswire stated dryly with a sidelong glance at me. That one look told me everything. He was convinced that the Pegasus had merely been waiting for me to show up, as a way to show off.
"Was the bet really worth it, Steel Curtain?" I admonished him, "After paying for those upgrades, we're awfully low on caps, and without a sure means of income for the next little bit, we need to save what we can. Seems like an awful risk just to prove your strength in a hoof-wrestle." Damn, it sucked having to keep the peace. For better or worse, I was impressed. That Earth Pony had been big and could have easily flattened me in a one-on-one.
Steel Curtain shrugged, as if trying to dismiss the lecture, but his ears did droop a little. "I guess not. Seemed like easy caps, though. His strength caught me by surprise."
"Fair enough, but come on, we've got a long way to go. Seaddle isn't exactly close to here," I answered with a shrug.
Steel Curtain nodded, still grinning widely and fell into place as we made our way out of the shanty town and started heading north. We moved quickly, wanting to get as much distance behind us as possible, especially considering the weather. It was going to take at least a full day of walking to get within sight of the city, not to mention making it inside the city limits, which was not something I wanted to do after nightfall.
It struck me after a while that this was the farthest north I had been in a long time, since my parents moved us here from the coast. With that thought came a distant memory of a dream I remembered having the night Crosswire and I had been thrown from the gang. There was a structure somewhere up here that my family had used as shelter for a few days during our journey south. With luck, I would be able to find it again.
I altered our path to be slightly towards the northwest, since that was where my family had come from, so many years ago. I was working on the assumption that my parents had traveled in much the same way as I did: go in as straight a line as possible to my destination.
A few times during the mostly uneventful journey, I thought I saw something streak by overhead, something that was far too large and too fast to be a bloatsprite. Every time it passed, it also seemed to be going in the opposite direction as the time before, leading me to believe that it was following us, or at least keeping tabs on our position. When it passed us for the third time in the afternoon, I called a halt and motioned for Steel Curtain to join us from his usual position in the air.
"Hey, have you seen those things flying by overhead?" I asked the Dashite as he landed in front of us. His mane, normally styled like a Mohawk, was clinging to his head from all his sweat, a result of the heavy humidity.
"Yeah, but it's been too far away for me to get a good look. Didn't look like anything I'm familiar with," he answered, his voice concerned.
"Could it have been a Pegasus?" Crosswire asked, coming up beside me.
The question made Steel Curtain hesitate, and he got a distant look in his eyes as he thought. "No, I don't think so. The Enclave discourages any movement below the clouds that isn't some sort of show of force. They wouldn't send a single soldier down here. Not like that at least. Besides, the shape didn't quite strike me as being like a pony."
"What do you think it could be? You're a lot closer to it than we are down here," I pressed. I was starting to get an uneasy feeling in my gut, "What else is there that can fly that fast that's that small? It didn't look like it was big enough to be a dragon..."
"A dragon?!" came a startled cry from Suture, "Where?"
"It wasn't a dragon. Far too small. Besides, they were almost completely wiped out in the war. There might have been a few survivors up in mainland Equestria, as well as a couple in other places, far from here, but not enough that we're likely to run into one in Seaddle. Might have been a griffin, though. I know there are a few mercenary companies near this area that they might have been called in to fight for one of the various gangs downtown," Steel Curtain swiftly reassured the maroon medic.
But that didn't reassure me. My thoughts immediately went to the warning Starshine had given us. One of Seahawk's lieutenants was a griffin mercenary captain named Mareina. If Greymane had gotten word back to the bastard about us, which he most surely must have done, then she would know to be on the lookout for us. So her entire mercenary company would know about us as well. If Steel Curtain was right, there was every chance that we were walking into a trap.
Deciding that that was most likely, I relayed my thoughts to the others, telling them everything I was worried about. They listened carefully, and were silent when I finally finished.
"This could be bad," Autumn Mist stated, the first one to break the silence, "We're going to need to be really careful. That thing looked like it was flying fast enough to try to get a message out, or something. For all we know, they could have been flying messages back and forth all day, and we've only seen a couple of them.
"That's possible, but unlikely," Steel Curtain answered her, "With the reputation she has, at least as far as the Enclave knew before I left, I would be surprised if they didn't have some sort of radio contact between each other. We might have seen some of her forces re-deploying or something. She might be stacking her forces against us. Surely she knows what we're capable of."
"That seems much more likely," Crosswire agreed with a nod, "We'll keep moving, but we'll have a good advantage now that we know something is up. What do you think, Evergreen?"
I remained silent, thinking over all the possibilities in my head. Steel Curtain and Crosswire had a point: It was entirely likely that Mareina was preparing an ambush for us. Hell, I'd be surprised if one of them wasn't trying to do something against us, especially considering how our last fight against Greymane had turned out. But something was nagging at me, something I couldn't put a hoof on.
"How many different mercenary groups with griffins in them are there?" I asked, hoping somepony would have the answer. My question was met with silence. "All right, then we'll have to assume the worst. We'll keep moving, but we need to be extra careful. Chances are that Mareina knows who we are, and where we are. I want everypony's head on a swivel."
Everypony quickly agreed, and we started moving once again, although quite a bit more carefully than before. Steel Curtain was circling over us much more than usual, watching for anything approaching from behind us, as well as from every other direction.
As the day progressed, my worry began to grow that we wouldn't find any good shelter for the evening, but my worry was very quickly rendered unneeded. As we approached the outer limits of Seaddle's suburbs, old ruins and shattered complexes dotted the countryside, and our surroundings gradually changed to one of empty wasteland to a ruined urban area. We weren't in Seaddle itself, not yet, but we were close. It would make our traveling more dangerous, as anything could be living in the desiccated remains of those buildings, but it also meant that, with a little care, we could have a good place to spend the night.
We were just passing by a ruined restaurant when Steel Curtain dipped out of the sky and hovered before us. "Hey, I saw some smoke rising up from a building about three blocks away. It's situated in a small courtyard with maybe a dozen feet of clear space on every side," he announced.
The buildings we were traveling through must have blocked my sight. "What kind of structure did it look like?" I asked. What I wanted to know was why a building would be so isolated from everything else. Pre-war Equestria valued efficiency, especially in the design of its big cities. No open space would go to waste, especially not for something like this.
"No clue," the Pegasus answered with a shrug, "The front was far too faded for me to make anything out. If I had to guess, it looks like some sort of recruitment center. The grounds around it weren't paved, so they could have been some sort of testing grounds for recruits."
It made sense, sort of. The war had lasted years, so it would follow that the cities would continue to grow, and the recruitment centers would still need their space. Now the question became what was causing the smoke. It was only late afternoon, so there was still more than enough light to see by, so simply sending in Steel Curtain to look around wouldn't work. He would be spotted in an instant, unless he had already happened to see something.
"Were you able to tell what was causing the smoke, or if there are any ponies around there?" I asked urgently. I was starting to get nervous. It was entirely possible that we were close enough to the city that some of the gangs from the inner city could be claiming territory out here, and if that was the case, we were in a lot of trouble.
"No, the smoke was distorting my vision too much," Steel Curtain answered, "You want me to go check it out?"
Fuck, this was not a good situation to be in. "No," I vocalized, "There's too much light. You'll be spotted. Autumn, you're good at staying hidden, right?" I asked, turning to the dark mare.
She shrugged noncommittally. "I'm all right. You want me to get up there and see if I can find anything?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't our usual method, but we also didn't have much choice.
"Yeah. I'll come along with you, just in case things go to shit. The rest of you, be ready to come in guns blazing, just in case the shit hits the fan," I answered. Here was to hoping that we would be far enough away that my absolute crap talent at remaining unseen wouldn't be an issue.
With everypony ready to jump at a moment's notice, Autumn Mist and I started weaving our way through the rubble littering the streets until the acrid smell of the smoke hit our nostrils. It smelled like somepony was burning circuitry, or some other sort of technology, making me want to sneeze, or gag. Judging by Steel Curtain's directions, the building was half a block away, on the other side of the apartment complex we were passing.
"Let's go in here, take a look from the cover of the building," Autumn Mist suggested, pointing a hoof at a door leading into the apartment.
"Good thinking, "I agreed, turning and approaching the door. I tried the handle, but it was locked. "Shit, the door is locked. Can you see another way inside?" I asked, turning back to the sniper.
"Gimme a sec," she answered, her head looking form place to place as she searched for another option. Her eyes settled on something, and she trotted over to a pile of rubble that had accumulated under a window. "Over here. Boost me up, I think I can fit through this window."
I trotted over to the rubble and climbed up as far as I could and still have sure footing, then braced myself against a jutting beam. "All right, go for it," I said, nodding at her.
She stepped forward, climbing up onto my back. Without the weight of her armor, she would have been light. As it was, my back still hadn't fully healed from our fight against Crackshot, and the weight of her hooves against the stitches was painful.
"Shit, this is locked too. Give me a sec, I can get it without too much sound," she said from on top of me, her weight shifting as she moved around. A moment later, there was the sound of shattering glass, and I was pelted by falling shards.
"Hey, careful!" I growled, then grunting as the mare tried to hoist herself into the opening she had made.
"Shit, no good. The armor is just too much," she muttered, dropping down off of me, where she started to pull her barding off. A few moment later, she was standing in nothing but her hide and Pipbuck, her armor and weapons arranged in a neat pile at the base of the rubble pile. "All right, let me try now."
She stepped forward again, using me as a step ladder to lift herself into the window. This time, she made it through. There was a clattering of hooves on ceramic as she landed on the other side, in what must have been a bathroom, as well as a string of violent curses.
"Fuck, does nopony know how to clean up after themselves!" I heard her exclaim from the other side, a clear note of disgust in her voice. Then, she called out to me, "Okay, Evergreen, toss me my barding and weapons. Judging by what's in here, it might be inhabited. Once you do that, I'll make my way to the door and unlock it from this side."
I did as she asked, sliding her rifle through the window first, followed by her barding, then finally her saddlebags. Once the last item was through, I made my way to the door, where I sat waiting for her to open it. Looking in the direction of the recruitment center, I couldn't spot anything on my E.F.S. It was simply too far away for me to pick anything up. That, or they had stealth gear, like the zebras we had met. That was not a comforting thought.
After two minutes of waiting, I heard a quiet click from the door as the deadbolt was removed, then it slid open to reveal an Autumn Mist that was completely covered in grime. The smell hit me a moment later. She reeked of a badly maintained bathroom. "Don't say a fucking word," she snapped, "Whatever fuckers trashed this place liked throwing their shit everywhere, literally."
I held my tongue, but couldn't stop the grin that was rewarded with an absolutely murderous glare from the mare. "So where to now?" I asked, "You're better at this shit than I am."
"This way. We need to get to the top floor, then find a window facing the courtyard. If there is something up here, I would recommend using your .45, rather than that revolver. Everypony for three blocks will hear it if you shoot that thing in here," She answered, her horn glowing as she drew her own pistol.
I nodded and grabbed the smaller pistol from my saddlebags. It didn't have even close to the same weight as Hammer did, making me feel much more vulnerable, but I couldn't argue with the logic.
We made our way as quietly as we could through the building, literally slogging through the crap that Autumn had described, avoiding windows whenever we could. It was amazing to see just how dirty this place was, and it was more than just the passage of centuries. Autumn Mist led the way, stepping carefully around anything that looked unstable, or that might cause a lot of noise. I couldn't see anything on the E.F.S., but as we had learned, that didn't mean that nothing was there. After a few minutes, we had made it to the top, running into nothing more dangerous than a small colony of radroaches that had studiously ignored us.
Autumn Mist pushed open a door into an apartment and crept along the wall until she was next to the one dirty window that looked out on the courtyard. I followed her in, being just as careful, picking my way around the abused desk and walking on the tips of my hooves around the three bottles' worth of shattered glass on the floor. Autumn was leaning on a dresser that was next to the window, leaning over it so she could try to peer out the window. Unfortunately, there was far too much grime on it at the moment for us to see through.
"Shit, I was worried about that. Evergreen, see if you can find a rag or something to wipe a small hole in this shit. If you can make it wet, it will work better," she said, sliding her rifle out of its loop and carefully unscrewing the scope from it.
The only thing I could find that might work was a piece of the filthy shredded sheet that was somehow still clinging to the wire bedframe. I ducked down low to avoid passing in front of the mirror and crept over there, depositing my pistol on the ground and pulling out my knife. I cut a small square off of the sheet, then crept back to Autumn, where I pulled out a bottle of dirty water and soaked the rag.
My Pipbuck now clicking slowly at me, I handed it to the sniper, who grabbed it in her mouth and carefully wiped away some of the grime from the side of the mirror. She then grabbed her scope with her magic and held it up to the small hole and peered through.
"See anything?" I asked after a few moments.
"There isn't much, but I did see a few shadows. Here, take a look," the sniper said, moving to the side so I could look.
I grabbed the scope in a hoof and held it up to the hole in the grime. The recruitment center was built like a cube, seated perfectly in the middle of the courtyard, with one of its corners facing us. The top floor had been blown apart, and the smoke was curling up from the corner to the left of the one facing us. As Autumn Mist had said, I could make out the shadows of movement on the top floor, but they seemed to be concentrated around something. The building was simply too far away for me to make out what it could be.
"Hey, Autumn, is there any way to zoom in closer on these guys?" I asked, looking away just long enough to see the mare's horn glow, grabbing a dial on the scope, and twist it.
"Try it now," she said, her voice tense. I could tell that she knew I had seen something.
I peered back through the scope and centered the sights on what the shadows were moving around. Strapped down on a table near the large fire was the shape of a creature that could only be a griffin. I could make out the stain of what might have been blood around the areas where the ropes were binding it. There were several ponies circling around him, many of them carrying or floating weapons. On the far wall of the room I could make out a symbol on the wall. It looked like a pony's skull with a dagger stuck in one eye socket.
I pulled back from the window and handed the scope to Autumn Mist. "Take a look. There's a griffin being held captive, and I'm pretty sure these fuckers are a gang. Look at the symbol on the wall."
The sniper peered through the scope for a few moments, then backed up, nodding. "Looks like it. One of Mareina's, you think?" she asked me, floating up her rifle and reattaching the scope.
"Might be, but I don't think so. It wasn't wearing any armor, and what little clothing it did have was in tatters. Besides, I can't see a mercenary group as powerful as that simply letting one of their members get caught and not immediately start a war to bust them out," I answered.
Autumn Mist nodded in agreement. "We're saving him, then?" The tone of her voice told me immediately that she wanted to, if only to get rid of a gang that tied someone up like that.
"Yeah. Stay up here, but if you can find a better vantage point in one of the other rooms, go for it. I'll make my way back to the others and we'll start the attack. Once you see us going in, support us," I answered, already heading back for the door.
"Sounds good. I'll meet you up there once everything is clear," the sniper answered, following me out as she went on the hunt for a better perch.
I picked my way back the way we came, and before long I was rejoining the rest of my friends. Crosswire was pacing, tracking back and forth across the small yard where they were waiting. Steel Curtain was simply sitting and cleaning out the barrels from one of his miniguns, and Suture was taking the chance to eat a quick meal. As soon as I was in sight, Crosswire rounded on me.
"So what's going on? Where's Autumn Mist?" he demanded, trotting up to me.
I quickly laid out the situation, up to and including Autumn's and my thoughts on the captured griffin. When I was finished, I was met with three thoughtful, not to mention nervous, expressions.
"It could be one of hers," Steel Curtain said, "Even with the appearance or behavior not matching professional mercs, it could be."
"I know, but if it isn't... I just can't leave them to die," I answered, "Fuck, no one deserves to be tortured, not even raiders."
"I agree. We should try to help," Suture added, "I'm not saying we should trust them, but Evergreen is right. They don't deserve that."
"Whatever you decide, I'm with you," Crosswire said, "If you think the griffin deserves our help, then let's help it."
"Well, Steel Curtain?" I asked, turning to the armored Dashite.
"My point is only that we can't know for sure. But if you think it's the right call, I'm in," he answered simply, "So where do you want me?"
I smiled broadly at the Dashite. "In the air. You'll come in at them from the sky and keep them suppressed, at least long enough for the rest of us to get inside the building so we can fight our way up. I'll take point, and Crosswire will bring up the rear. Suture, I want you between us, watching for anything coming at us from the side. I have a feeling that they're going to want to kill the griffin as soon as they know they're under attack. Autumn Mist will do what she can to support us, but I want that griffin kept alive," I ordered, looking from pony to pony as I gave my instructions.
"Sounds like a plan. How many do you think are inside?" Crosswire asked, floating out his SMG.
"There could be a few dozen in there, for all we know. I saw several up on the top floor, but the smoke was obscuring any good chance at counting. Building looks to be an outpost for one of the inner city gangs, though. I'm hoping it's only a minor one," I answered.
"Fair enough. At least in the halls of a building numbers won't count for much," the unicorn tech stated, racking the bolt of the SMG.
"All right, everypony ready?" I asked, looking each one of them in the eye. Steel curtain finished reassembling his gun, then nodded at me. The other two followed suit. "Then let's move."
We set out in a loose formation, Steel Curtain hovering slightly above us until we got close enough for him to begin his attack. We managed to get to the corner of one of the intersecting streets without incident, and I nodded up to the Dashite. He nodded back, slipped on his helmet, and took off into the sky. A second later, the distinctive sound of his miniguns split the near-silence of the ruins, followed by panicked shouts and the retort of Autumn's rifle.
As soon as the chaos started, I ran, making straight for the closest door, Hammer in my mouth. Not wanting to take a chance that it was locked, I aimed and fired mid-stride, the bullet impacting the door at the handle and blasting the locking mechanism to pieces amongst a shower of splinters and bits of metal. I shouldered my way through the door and cleared off to the side of the lobby to give Suture and Crosswire space to get in.
The room was nearly empty, except for two very startled ponies that were still in the process of trying to figure out what all the noise was. One was a red unicorn stallion with an orange mane that had a riot shotgun leaning against the wall next to him. The other was a white earth pony mare with a scraggly blue mane. A small black SMG was attached to her barding. Both of them looked at us, expressions of shock plastered on their faces. Then, the unicorn's horn started glowing orange, and the shotgun floated from the wall.
I immediately slipped into S.A.T.S., lining up a pair of shots to the unicorn's head, trusting Crosswire to take care of the mare. I activated the spell, and the first round flew true, slamming into the unicorn's head at the base of his horn. He head snapped back, blood, bone, and bits of brain painting the wall behind him. The second round slammed into his now exposed throat, resulting in a minor explosion of blood, splattering the mare who was shocked into dropping her weapon.
A staccato of gunfire followed from Crosswire's SMG, and a half-dozen holes opened up in the mare's body and she collapsed into a swiftly growing pool of blood. "Let's move! We still have the advantage of surprise!" Crosswire exclaimed, advancing on the bodies and efficiently stripping them of their weapons, ammo, and caps.
I nodded and took off down the nearest hallway, looking for a staircase. A quick glance at my E.F.S. revealed about a dozen red bars, far less than I had been expecting for the size of the building. We met no more resistance on the ground floor, but as we pushed up the first stairway we found, I could hear chatter coming from upstairs.
"Who the fuck is attacking us?" A harsh, deep voice was demanding, "And don't tell me it's the fucking Enclave again! Those fucks don't give two shits about the wasteland!"
"Who the fuck else can it be? There's a fucking armored Pegasus with a pair of miniguns raining down hell on us!" a voice absolutely quaking with terror answered. Judging by the volume, they must have been awfully close to the stairwell.
I slowed my pace, motioning to Suture and Crosswire to do the same. If they weren't saying anything about an attack from downstairs, they must have not heard our gunfire over the din coming from outside. Taking the opportunity to replace the three rounds I had fired, I crept slowly up the stairs. At the top, I stuck my head around the corner and spotted three ponies standing in a room less than twenty feet from me.
I checked my saddlebags and pulled out a frag grenade. Steel Curtain had found a couple of the small explosives in Metro, and I was more than happy to have that option available again. I motioned for Crosswire and Suture to step back, then pulled the stem and rolled the grenade into the room.
"I'm telling you, it can't be the fucking Enclave! Somepony get the fuck out there and tell me who is atta-" the buck's rant was cut off as the grenade exploded. In its place were agonized screams and a few panicked shouts. In my E.F.S., several bars started to move erratically. There must have been several ponies nearby that had been outside the blast radius.
"Move!" I shouted at my two friends, even as I drew Hammer again, then vaulted around the corner, head turning in search for my first target.
Unfortunately, he found me first. A barrage of bullets impacted my side, though my armor easily deflected the low caliber rounds. I swung my head around to the source of the gunfire to spot a young unicorn mare wielding a small submachine gun. A split-second of aiming, and I sent a round ramming into her chest, sending her to the ground where she proceeded to cough up dark globs of blood.
I switched direction and ran into the room towards the dying mare, vaulting over her body and coming out through a different door into an almost identical hallway. Here, three ponies were taking cover, two Earth Ponies and one unicorn, all of them wearing shocked expressions as I emerged.
Only one of them was even close to facing the right direction to direct their fire at me, and the blue bar in my E.F.S. told me that either Crosswire or Suture would be emerging around the corner on the other side of the hallway. I slipped into S.A.T.S. and line up a shot for the Earth Pony that was facing me. My best shot was an eighty percent chance to hit his head. Perfect. He was wielding a heavy revolver that he was trying to center on my chest, but he was far too slow.
The spell activated, sending a round straight into his head, turning his skull unto a mess of blood and bone. I launched myself forward, pushing off of the still-collapsing body to collide with the pink unicorn mare behind him. She was still turning in my direction, bringing a relatively well-maintained assault rifle to bear. I hit with my shoulder, driving her head into the wall and bringing her down to the ground.
By this time, Crosswire was turning the corner, and he unleashed a volley of gunfire on the last Earth Pony mare, eviscerating her and splattering both me and the unicorn with gore.
She fought viciously, her magic still gripping the assault rifle as she tried to bring it to bear against me. I smacked the weapon with a hoof, deflecting it away and sending the burst into the dead Earth Pony behind me, then brought my hoof down on her horn, eliciting a shriek of pain. She kicked viciously, catching me in my relatively lightly armored stomach and driving the breath from my lungs.
The maneuver bought her a little space, and her horn glowed again as she tried to bring the rifle to bear. Unluckily for her, I felt the barrel brush the back of my mane. I dodged my head to the side just as the weapon fired. One round skimmed painfully off my neck, but every single bullet from the burst shot past to bury themselves in the mare's head, killing her instantly and spraying the side of my face with blood. The rifle bounced painfully off the back of my head to come to a rest next to the mare's corpse.
I pushed myself away from the corpse, using her barding to clear the blood from my eyes, then ran off in search of Suture. I found her cornered in a room a dozen feet away, facing a pair of Earth Pony brutes, one wielding a machete, and the other a shotgun. She was holding her pistol in her mouth, and Machete was bleeding from a bullet wound in his leg. Crosswire was nowhere to be seen.
"You're going to die now, cunt!" Machete screamed just as I rounded the corner, and leapt at Suture.
I ran into the room, aiming at Machete, but Suture fired, and a 9mm round buried itself perfectly in the brute's head, going in through his right eye and sending his body careening into the ground. I shifted my aim at Shotgun and pulled the trigger, sending a pair of bullets into his chest, sending him to the ground, then finished him off with a third shot to the head. I didn't want to have to kill him, but there was simply too much going on for me to risk it.
"You all right?" I asked the medic, panting as I caught my breath. Suture's face was drained of all color as she stared at the fallen buck in front of her. I swung the cylinder out of Hammer, emptying the spent shells and reloading.
"Yeah... I... I just killed somepony," she muttered under her breath, her voice shaking. She was on the verge of tears, and I did not have time to deal with this, but she was going into shock. I was reminded rather sharply of the first time she had killed the ghoul back in the Stable.
"Come on, Suture, snap out of it!" I shouted, trying to get through to her, "He was going to kill you! Was mid-swing with a blow that would have decapitated you if you didn't shoot!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she muttered, tearing her eyes away from the corpse and looking at me. Her stare was completely blank, and tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"It's going to be all right, now let's go! Crosswire still needs help!" I exclaimed, putting a hoof on her shoulder to show my support. I then turned and ran back out the door, running after the blue bar on my E.F.S. that could only be Crosswire. It was currently tangled with at least four red bars.
The sound of hooves behind me told me that Suture was right behind me. At least she was still well enough in control to follow. We made our way through the building and to the nearest stairwell. It seemed that the only remaining sounds of battle were coming from upstairs.
At the top of the staircase, Crosswire was hunkered down behind a bullet-ridden desk, four ragged ponies lined up on the far side of the room. The rain that was slowly starting to drizzle down immediately let me know that we were on the top floor. Several bodies were cast about, some of them eviscerated from Steel Curtain's support, and more nearly decapitated from Autumn Mist's rifle. The survivors were all huddled together under the small piece of roof that was still standing, at just the right angle from the building Autumn was in so she couldn't see them. The smoke from the fire was off to our right, thankfully downwind.
"How's the situation?" I asked, ducking down next to the tech.
'Bad. They're threatening to kill the griffin if we don't back down. He's over there," Crosswire answered, tossing his head somewhere off to our left, towards a wall I couldn't see around.
"Have they made any other demands?" I asked, fairly sure they were going to follow through with that threat if we weren't careful.
"No, just that. What are you thinking?" he asked me, looking up at me with a determined glare. I knew exactly what he expected me to say.
"I'll try to talk them down. If not, I've got this," I answered, reaching into my saddlebags for another grenade. They were more than close enough that I knew I'd be able to reach them with a well-aimed buck.
The tech nodded somberly, then loaded his SMG with a fresh clip. "Well, if you're going to try diplomacy, you better start now."
"Hey, all your friends downstairs are dead! Drop your weapons and come out slowly, and we'll let you leave! All we want is the griffin!" I shouted, hopefully loud and clear enough to be heard.
"Fuck you, cunt! If you don't back off right fucking now, you can kiss the featherbrain good-bye!" a harsh female voice answered, though there was a note of desperation in the voice. They knew they were fucked, they were simply trying to save face.
"No deal. We have the better position, and the better guns. This is your last warning!" I shouted. I really wanted them to take the deal. Far too many ponies had already died today.
"Fuck you and your deal!" was the only answer I got.
Crosswire shot me a knowing glance, and I sighed. A quick look at Suture showed me that the mare was still in shock, but I could see a hardening look come into her eyes. "Save him," she muttered, just barely loud enough to be heard, "It's why we came here, why I... killed somepony."
I nodded at her, then took a step back from the desk. "I fucking warned them," I swore, then pulled the stem from the grenade, tossed it into the air, and bucked it towards them.
My aim was perfect, and I heard the sound of scrambling hooves, immediately followed by an explosion and agonized screams.
"Kill the gri-" the mare started to shout, but was cut off by the loud retort of Autumn Mist's rifle.
I leapt out of cover, only to see a pony lying in the open, a pool of blood forming around the now headless body. Another pony-shape was draped over the cabinet they had been using as cover, the barding riddles with blood and shrapnel. The last two ponies were lying in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. One of the two was dead, and the other was rapidly bleeding out from a severed artery in her throat. I pulled out Hammer and ended her misery with a single bullet.
"Crosswire, Suture, see to the griffin. Make sure he's all right!" I shouted over my shoulder as I searched the sky for Steel Curtain. I finally spotted him making a pass from the west, and waved him down. "Go get Autumn Mist and tell her it's safe to join us!" I shouted at him. He nodded smartly and took off towards the apartment building.
I then turned and joined my friends at the griffin's side. They already had him untied, and Suture was woodenly treating the chafe wounds on his wrists and ankles. She was probably finding solace in doing something she was familiar with. No doubt she'd have an emotional breakdown when we finally settled down for the night.
The griffin was panting heavily, a transparent lid in his eyes blinking rapidly as Suture treated him. He was wearing a tattered duster overtop of what could only be a basic combat harness. I could see several pockets for ammo, as well as a couple of holsters strung underneath his shoulders. Effective gear, but hardly exceptional. As impressive a creature as the griffin was, he simply didn't strike me as a hardened mercenary. My gut told me that we would have nothing to fear from him, but I wasn't going to let my guard down.
"So how did a flier like you get captured by a bunch of fucks like them?" I asked, walking up to his side.
He turned his head and fixed me in his sharp yellow gaze. "Fucked up and landed somewhere that looked safe without clearing the surrounding area," he answered, "You can see how that worked out. What are you going to do with me?"
"I already did it. You're free, aren't you?" I asked, gesturing to the cut ropes on the ground.
"Seriously, no debt?" he asked, raising an eye ridge in disbelief, "I don't believe it."
I shrugged and turned around, looking at my E.F.S. for a sign from Autumn Mist or Steel Curtain. I spotted both of them, coming at us from the direction of the apartment building Autumn had used as cover. They were probably moving together, just in case we had missed something. "You don't have to believe it. Doesn't make it any less true," I answered, "I saw someone in need, so I lent a helping hoof. It's what I hope others would do for me."
"Fuck, you don't see much of that out here," the griffin answered, rolling off the table and standing on his own as Suture wrapped the last bandage around one of his limbs, "Thanks, I guess."
"Don't mention it. What brought you to Seaddle anyway?" I asked, turning and fixing the griffin in a questioning glare, "I haven't seen a lot of griffin's out here. Any, actually."
Now it was the griffin's turn to shrug. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Home got a bit too restrictive, so I figured I'd try my luck out here. I've only been in the city a couple of days. It didn't turn out quite as I'd hoped. I've been on that table for almost twenty-four hours."
I could understand the feeling all too well. It's how I almost ended up dead in the mountains before I stumbled on the raider gang. From there, it had only been stupid luck that hadn't seen me become one of their victims. "Well, at least you're still in one piece. That's more than most get."
"Don't I know it," the griffin answered with a hollow laugh, his gaze roaming about the room and settling on the disfigured corpses littering it. "So, who exactly do I owe my rescue to?" he asked nervously after a few moments of silence.
"Name's Evergreen. The grey unicorn is Crosswire, and the medic is Suture. Autumn Mist and Steel Curtain are on their way up as we speak," I answered, letting a thin smile creep onto my face, "What about you? What's your name?"
"Marcus," he answered quickly, "So what brings you to Seaddle? You don't look like you belong to one of the gangs."
"I'm trying to get to Shooting Star's radio station. I need to talk to him about some stuff," I answered vaguely just as Autumn Mist and Steel Curtain came up the staircase.
"Evergreen, you would not believe what we found!" the dark mare exclaimed as she emerged, the smell from the building she had spent so long holed up in immediately spreading to me and making me want to gag. Thankfully, I held the reaction back. "These fuckers must have been heavily involved with some drug trade out here to get a fortune like this!" She floated out a rather large bag the clinked metallically as she set it down.
I walked over and opened it up. Inside, the bag was absolutely filled with caps. A fortune like this would take care of any of our financial needs for the next couple of months, if not more. "Holy shit," I exclaimed, not finding any other words to properly sum up how I felt, "Nice find. Grab anything else of interest?"
"Just some weapons and ammo that we can trade when we get back to civilization," the mare answered, nodding her head at both her and Steel Curtain's bulging saddlebags. Several weapons were hanging off of the sniper's sides, and Steel Curtain had a couple of shotguns hanging off his armor.
"Good work. Oh, this is Marcus, by the way. The griffin we saved," I answered, nodding at him.
He inclined his head awkwardly, as if suddenly nervous about being around so many of us. "Fuck, wasn't expecting to see an Enclave soldier out here," he said nervously, his eyes fixed on Steel Curtain, who was still wearing his helmet.
As if on cue, the Dashite pulled his helmet off and ran a hoof through his mane, trying to restore it to some sense of order. "I'm a Dashite. Just managed to get away with my armor," he answered stiffly.
Marcus visibly relaxed. "Oh, good. Haven't met an Enclave soldier yet that likes us griffins. They don't seem to trust us much."
"They don't like anything that could potentially threaten them, and the griffins are one of the few species that managed to survive the war mostly intact," Steel Curtain answered gruffly.
"I guess that makes sense," Marcus said, scratching his head with a taloned hand, "Never really thought about that."
"Nopony ever does," the Dashite muttered sadly, walking past him to where Crosswire and Suture were sitting, the former quietly speaking to the latter.
The silence lengthened as Autumn and I talked about the various bits of salvage she had picked up in the building and Steel Curtain and Crosswire tried to console Suture. We would be moving on soon to find somewhere safe, but I also wanted to see what the griffin would do.
He seemed to be standing awkwardly, his eyes darting from me to Steel Curtain, almost unsure of what to do. After several minutes of simply standing there, he approached me. "So, Evergreen, I feel like I owe you something for saving my life. Even though I've only spent a couple of days in Seaddle, I do know where that DJ's station is. What do you say to me leading you there, to repay you?" he asked.
I wasn't expecting the offer, and I'm pretty sure my look of surprise told the buck just that. "Uh, yeah sure. We were going to make our last push there in the morning, since it's getting late, and we're still just on the outskirts of the city," I managed to get out.
"That's settled then! Tomorrow, I'll lead you all to the radio station! Did you have a plan for where you were going to sleep tonight?" he asked with a grin, or at least as much of one as he could manage with a beak, "Also, did any of you happen to find a pair of pistols that don't have mouthgrips?"
"Yeah, I found a couple downstairs," Autumn Mist answered, her horn glowing brightly as she floated a pair of wicked-looking pistols, and a few magazines of ammo to go with them, out of her bags and over to the griffin. He smiled broadly and grabbed them, checking to make sure they were loaded, then slipped them into the holsters under his shoulders.
"I'm not sure exactly where we were going to stay. Probably somewhere small and out of the way," I answered to his other question, "Why, you know a place with all your experience?" A chagrined look came over his face at that.
"Well, no. It was just a question," he muttered quietly.
"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out," I said, walking past him to where my three other friends were still sitting.
Suture seemed to be sitting straighter, but her ears were still drooped on her head. I walked up behind her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Suture? I know that wasn't easy, but I hope you know it had to be done."
The words tasted like ash in my mouth. I had literally told her not two days ago that I didn't want this to happen to her, and now here we were. I felt like I had failed her somehow.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she muttered, her eyes still downcast, "Was it like this for you, the first time. Did you regret it?"
A memory of a lost and frightened Stable Dweller came to mind. I had been young, starving, and wounded, and that pony had had everything I would need to survive. In desperation, I had pulled out my knife and jumped her from behind and knifed her down, ending her life bloodily. It hadn't been a quick or clean kill. "Yeah, I regret it," I answered, "And I spent the next three days crying my heart out in the wasteland."
In many ways, that kill had been the beginning of my path down the dark road that had ended with me in charge of that raider gang. I still remembered the look of fear and pain I had seen in that poor mare's eyes while I stabbed her, over and over again.
The maroon mare lifted her head and fixed me in a gaze so sad I felt my own heart sink into my stomach and tears start to form in my eyes. "Why is it so easy for you now?" she asked, a note of desperation creeping into her voice.
I had to remind myself that, compared to almost every other pony in the wasteland, Suture had led a privileged life. Her parents were still alive, and she still had a home. "Because my life became one of kill or be killed. Almost every single day from the day I killed that first pony, I was forced to kill in order to save my own hide. After a while... I guess I just got used to it. I'm not proud of it, by any means, but there isn't much I can do about it now," I said with a shrug. This wasn't a topic I particularly wanted to linger on, especially as Yaari's words were starting to come back to me.
Here was another perfect example of how everything I did simply led to more death. In an attempt to save a griffin I didn't even know, I now had the blood of a dozen more ponies on my hooves. The cycle was never-ending.
"Please don't let that happen to me," Suture muttered, her head going back to staring at the ground again."
I stared at the mare, hoping with all my heart that I would be able to hold to the next words I was about to speak. "I promise."
Level Up!
Perk Gained: Intense Training: Perception +1
Skill notes: Explosives (75)
{Well, writing this chapter certainly took far less time than I had hoped, which is something that makes me happy! Also, this chapter was brilliant for me in terms of brainstorming some of the next events (clarification: I have an ending in mind, but everything between there and here is more or less determined by how my characters deal with what's going on), so a lot of fun things are going to be happening in the next few chapters. Thanks (and credit) as always go to KKat for the original Fallout: Equestria. Thanks, also as always, to me editors, MUCKSTER and Cody. As always, the Hub page is available on Google Docs here.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 12: A Voice in the Darkness | Fallout Equestria: Redemption:
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 12: A Voice in the Darkness
"Truth can open one's eyes to the harshness that is our reality."
The aftermath of the battle passed in almost utter silence. Marcus had been observant enough to keep his questions to the bare minimum so the rest of us could deal with our own problems, namely helping Suture get over the fact that she had killed a pony for the first time. I still didn't trust the griffin, but circumstances had taken the issue mostly out of my hooves. I'd saved his life, so in a way, I was responsible for him.
We managed to find a building to settle down in for the night not long after leaving the ruined recruitment center. While we were organizing the watches for the evening, I made sure that Marcus, who was very insistent about helping, would never be left on his own. As sincere as he sounded about wanting to help us, I was not about to put our lives solely in his talons, not so soon after meeting him. As trusting as I was, everyone still had to earn that trust.
With the arrival of morning, I felt better, but not by much. The deaths of those gang ponies were still weighing heavily on my mind, and the looming meeting with Shooting Star was making me feel even more morose. He was the one that had dreamt up the title "Heroine of Seaddle', and probably expected me to live up to that reputation. He was going to be sadly disappointed.
Our breakfast was held in almost complete silence. Suture was still looking depressed, and nopony knew what to do about it. As a result, the entire affair was short, with everypony wanting to finish up as soon as possible, so at least we would have the routine and familiarity of travel to fall back on.
Within twenty minutes of waking up, we were out on the streets. Our shelter had been a small grocery store nestled between what seemed to be an unfinished, or ruined, housing project and a blown-out husk that had once been a public office. The streets were littered with trash and rubble, some of which appeared to be fresh. No surprise, given the reputation the city had with gang wars, and the fact that a small gang, or an outpost of a larger one, had a base all the way out here.
"Steel Curtain, I want you in the air. Keep an eye out for anything else like you saw yesterday. If we can, I'd like to avoid any more clashes with the local gangs. Marcus, you'll be with him, but also guiding us towards Shooting Star's station. Crosswire and I will take point on the ground, Suture will be in the middle, and Autumn Mist will be in the rear. Let's get going. Hopefully we can make it with as little trouble as possible," I ordered, then beckoned the griffin over before he could take off.
"What do you need, Evergreen?" he asked, somewhat nervously, as he approached.
"I need to know what route you plan to take. It's true I've never been downtown, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to let some griffin I just met lead me around blindly. Where are we headed?" I asked sharply. My intention wasn't to intimidate him, but I needed to make sure that he knew where he stood.
"Oh, right. Well, for now we just need to get into downtown proper. Once we get there, there's a Metro line on 18th Street that we can get into that leads all the way to the Hayridge Park, only a couple of blocks from the station itself. At least, I think the line is open. I spotted Metro stations at both places, so trains must have run there at some point," he answered, shakily at first, his voice becoming more sure as he laid our route out.
While he was speaking, I was bringing up a map of the city on my Pipbuck. While I didn't have any locations for the Metro stations, or for anything downtown, on that note, marked, I could see where the streets were. The route seemed solid. "Ok, we'll do that. Get up there and keep an eye out."
The griffin nodded smartly and launched himself into the air, where he started circling over us with Steel Curtain. A quick glance at the rest of my friends on the ground, all of whom nodded their readiness, although Suture's was a little delayed, and we were ready to set off.
The first part of our journey was met with almost no sign of any other living being, and the reason quickly became clear. On almost every street corner we passed there was at least one wall painted with familiar artwork: a pony's skull, with a dagger stuck through one empty and starting eye socket. With every step, it became more apparent that the ponies we had killed had belonged to their own gang, and we had effectively wiped them out. Any survivors that hadn't been at the center the day before must know now that there was nothing left. I would give them a few days before another gang moved in and took the region over.
The only signs of life I noticed was a few shadows moving about at the edge of my vision. Occasionally a red bar would appear in my E.F.S., but if they were survivors of the gang, they knew better than to try to attack us, at least so I hoped. I wasn't the only one that noticed, either.
Crosswire came up to my side, only an hour or so after we set out. "Evergreen, we're being followed," he told me quietly, his eyes darting to a window caked in grime behind which a shadow darted out of sight, "And they're doing a damn good job of it. I'm beginning to think our fight only went so well yesterday because we caught them by surprise. If they are setting an ambush for us..." He left the rest unsaid.
"Yeah, I noticed the same thing," I answered, "I'm hoping that they'll drop off once we get out of their territory. They'd have to be stupid to think attacking us would be a good idea."
"Depends on their weapons. I remember hearing that a few of the Inner City gangs managed to get their hooves on energy weapons, and some of them managed to ransack some of the old military bases. If they pulled anything of real value out of those places, we'll be in trouble," the tech responded.
"We'll keep an eye out. Hopefully a power-armored Pegasus with a pair of miniguns will be enough to scare them off," I stated, "Besides, that gang seemed smaller than most. We should be getting out of their territory soon."
"That's been worrying me as well. Sure, we'll leave them behind, but then we'll simply be stepping into some other gang's turf. Chances are they heard about our attack. I'm telling you, Evergreen, we're walking into a trap!" Crosswire snapped.
I sighed, and turned my head to look at the buck. "Do we have any other choice?" I demanded of him, "We have no other leads if we want to start striking against Seahawk. Shooting Star's information network is all we have. We already exhausted the supply of what that dead drop told us, and we aren't going to hear anything from Starshine until he manages to gather the other Dashites. So if you have a better suggestion to give us a direction, then please share."
Crosswire glared at me, but didn't say anything. I could see his mind working to come up with an answer in the set of his ears and the clenching of his jaw. "I guess you have a point," he finally ground out, "but I'm not happy. This is probably the most dangerous thing we've done. We can't let our confidence get to our heads! Remember the Ironshod Factory, and what happened to Suture?"
The memory came rushing back: the maroon mare lying on the stained floor, slowly bleeding out from multiple rifle wounds, all because I didn't stop to think that Greymane would be looking for the dead drop. We had barely managed to save her in time. "I haven't forgotten, Crosswire," I insisted, "but things have changed. We're much more of a team now than we were then. Don't underestimate that."
"Hmph, as long as you're sure," he grunted, then backed off to return to his position on our flank.
As we progressed, the artwork on the walls slowly changed, until the skull became a rare sight that was often lost under the graffiti of a half-dozen other gangs. By the look of things, we were entering into a highly-contested area of the city, which meant that we were undoubtedly downtown. The most prevalent symbol I could see looked like a hoofprint made in the color of freshly-spilled blood, with what looked to be a broken horn contained within it. I did not like that implication.
"Marcus, how far to the Metro station?" I called up into the sky when the griffin passed by, one of his pistols held in a taloned hand. His head snapped towards my voice, and he arced his way down to me so he could answer.
"Not far now. A few blocks, maybe. Distances are harder to judge in the city, given all the rubble. We should reach it in the next ten minutes though. I definitely recognize this neighborhood," the griffin answered, scratching his head with his free hand while he perused the ruined building around us.
I followed his gaze, looking for any defining landmarks, but there wasn't much to see. Most of the major intersections were filled with rubble, making most near-impassable. The ubiquitous gang graffiti made most of the slate-grey walls almost invisible under the layers of paint, but here and there a wall remained unblemished, except for the two centuries of grime that had accumulated. The paved roads were also starting to make my hooves ache. What I wouldn't give for the dirt paths of the wasteland. They may be harder to navigate, but at least a pony could walk for days without their hooves feeling like they would fall off.
We walked by a manhole cover that had been fused to the passage beneath it, and my Pipbuck began to click warningly at me as I walked through the greenish steam that was rising through the two small holes that were bored into its surface, but I still remained silent. Something felt wrong, like we were being watched.
A few moments later, the back of my neck started to itch, and I threw myself to the side, just as a high-velocity bullet passed through the air where my head had been a moment before to slam into the asphalt at my hooves, pelting me with sharp chips. One of the damn things bounced off my cheek, and blood started to seep sluggishly from the small cut it left there. "Sniper!" I shouted, even as I drew Hammer and twisted to fire a few rounds in retort. Unfortunately, I didn't have a clue what I was shooting at, so I simply fired the rounds blindly, hoping at least to scare the marksony into cover to buy us a few precious seconds.
My friends took the opportunity to dive for cover, dodging behind a few of the more significantly sized pieces of rubble or hunkering down behind the burnt our remnants of an old bus. Marcus had launched himself into the air and was flying in a complicated pattern, as if he was daring the sniper to try to attack him. Steel Curtain had flown around the corner of a nearby building and stayed there, hovering and watching me, looking for direction.
I held my ground, trusting in my friends' ability if something went wrong, and kept my eyes glued on the direction I thought the sniper round had come from. All the fucker had to do was show himself, and I would be able to act. My revolver wasn't accurate at that kind of range, but these streets were littered with rubble I could use as cover. I'd find a way there.
Another round fired, and I leapt back. The shot hit the asphalt in front of me, showering me with more of the pavement, but I noticed that the round would have missed had I not moved. The sniper wasn't shooting to kill. "What's going on here?! Show yourself!" I demanded, my words slightly muffled behind Hammer's grip, as I spun in place, looking for a bar on my E.F.S. I spotted it a moment later.
A trio of blue bars, much to my surprise, were approaching from the west. When their owners emerged from that street, I held myself carefully still. By now, all of my friends had shots lined up. If shit hit the fan, we'd be able to win, I was sure of it.
The leader of the group was an Earth Pony mare with a cream hide and dark red mane. Her cutie mark, what little of it wasn't ravaged by a jagged red scar, looked like an ammo box. Her two companions, both Earth Ponies, walked on either side of her, like a pair of bodyguards. One was a badly scarred blue stallion with a white mane. It was hard to find any part of his body that didn't have at least one scar on it. The other was a white mare with a brown and green mane, not unlike my own. Half of her face was deformed by a massive scar left behind by what must have been a terrible burn, not to mention a knot of scar tissue on her forehead that I could only imagine the cause of.
All three were heavily armed. The stallion was equipped with a battle saddle that, while not as well-maintained as Gerymane's had been, was still equipped with a pair of assault rifles. The other mare, the one with the burned face, was carrying a riot shotgun strapped on her back, and it looked like she could very easily swing it into a useable position. The leader was carrying a revolver that looked to be every bit the equal of Hammer. All in all, a bad standoff to be in.
"You're on the turf of the Earth Marchers," the leader practically snarled as they approached, "So give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't have my sniper finish you right this second."
"If it's that much of a problem, why haven't you already?" I shot back, altering my stance just enough so I could bring Hammer to bear on these ponies.
"Because you aren't one of those motherfucking unicorns," the leader answered, "But I see that two of your companions are. Don't you know they're the ones that caused all this shit?"
"The city was razed by zebra balefire bombs, not unicorns," I retorted, "And I would be dead a hundred times over if it wasn't for my friends! All we're doing is passing through. We aren't a part of any of the gangs here." This was just what I needed, a fucking supremacist group wanting to shake us down.
"So why are you coming from the Skulls' part of town, then? You the ones that vanished them?" the mare with the burns asked. Her voice was quiet compared to the leader, and I thought I detected a hint of anxiety in her voice, the kind that comes from a pony that has been hurt over and over again.
"Wasn't the intent, but yeah, we got into a fight. They were torturing someone, so I went in and freed them. Only raiders do that kind of shit," I growled, "Now listen, all I want is to get to Shooting Star's station. I've got business with him."
"Ha! So you're just another fucking wasteland pony that thinks you can just waltz into Downtown to speak with the oh-so exalted DJ, huh? Well, newsflash for you, bitch: this is our turf. And you went and brought those two horned fucks with you," the stallion snarled, taking a step towards me.
The leader immediately stuck out a hoof to stop him, and that was when I noticed it. Her right foreleg, the one now extended in front of the stallion, was nothing but metal and machinery from the knee down. I had seen a lot of injuries in my time in the wasteland, but this trio was by far the most scarred group I had ever come across.
"Back off, Shatter. We cannot hold them responsible for their ignorance. It is our duty as Marchers to educate them," the leader stated imperiously, stepping forward and turning her gaze to me. It wasn't one of malice, but of pity. This mare actually pitied me because she thought she was so much wiser than me.
"What are you talking about?" I snapped, "I don't care about your supremacist bullshit. Crosswire and Autumn Mist haven't done anything to this city! You all might think Earth Ponies are so much better than anypony else, but that isn't the way the world works!"
"Oh how wrong you are," the leader purred as she approached, only stopping when she was ten feet from me. I could easily make out the grinding gears of her leg. To think that she had managed to find a pony here in the city to replace her limb. "Unicorns are the cause for all of our troubles. Who was it that ignored the rising tensions of the war while those that lived on the outskirts of Equestria were forced to suffer the atrocities committed by the zebras? It was the fucking unicorns of the Canterlot elite. All of those snobbish unicorn nobles who believed themselves so far above the petty squabbles of the country that they let war become first a possibility, then a reality!"
"And what about the unicorns that lived on the frontier? What about the unicorns that lived in this city, practically on the border with the zebra lands?" I shot back, "There was one group that screwed up, so you're using that as an excuse to wantonly slaughter unicorns?"
"Of course not! We are better than that!" the leader laughed, "Raiders kill those that cross their path. Wasteland ponies kill those that offend them. We rehabilitate them. Tell them your story, Tinder."
The white mare with the burned face stepped forward, Shatter following her step for step. "I was born on the outskirts of the city, in one of the Stables," she muttered quietly, her hard eyes losing some of their light as she turned her head to the ground, "Our resources were running short, and we were forced to open the Stable door if we wanted a chance to survive. We had no clue about the gang wars in the city when our first survey groups went there. I was a part of that first mission. We made it all the way into downtown before Surplus found us."
The leader nodded knowingly at the name, leading me to believe it was hers. "And tell them what I did. Tell them about my mercy."
Tinder nodded slowly, then lifted her head so she was looking me in the eye. "She told us our lives would be spared if we joined her ranks, but also that no unicorns could be allowed to ever use their magic. We agreed, because we had no other choice. We thought that the agreement would be the end of it, but Surplus does not do anything by halves. When she told us how we were going to make sure we held to our promise, and when we could not agree, we fought. My face was burned in that fight and we lost. Surplus made sure those of us who were unicorns could not use our magic, and shattered our horns."
I heard a sharp intake of breath from behind me. I didn't need to look to know that it had come from Crosswire and Autumn Mist. I looked at the knot of scar tissue on the mare's forehead, and finally realized that it was the stubbed remains of a horn. This mare was no more an Earth Pony than Marcus was.
"You... mutilated them?" I asked slowly, turning my gaze to Surplus. A familiar rage was growing in my chest, and all I wanted was to lash out to kill this bitch that thought she had this kind of power over other's lives. "You're no better than a fucking raider!"
"The typical wastelander reaction. You see something you do not understand, so you become angry and offended. Tell me how you would be better than me if you struck me down, if you even could?" Surplus sneered.
"I'm better than you because I'd be shooting you to save the Princesses-know how many unicorns from having their horns smashed!" I shouted, "You're deluded, thinking that you're better than anypony else! As far as I'm concerned, you're just another thug! That Stable needed help, and you used their desperation for you own selfish gain! That is not being a better pony!"
Part of my mind started reminding me that I wanted to avoid needless death, but my anger at what this pony was doing stamped the doubts out. Even worse, she thought she was right, and felt nothing but righteousness in her acts. That was simply unacceptable. There was survival, and then there was what this bitch wanted.
And yet, for all my directed rage, all she did was laugh. The sound was raucous and painful in my ears, as if the mare had never actually learned how to laugh. Between gasps for breath, she managed to say, "You... you actually believe that! You're one of us, and you believe they are actually worth something! Only when I take their horns away are the uptight bastards worth anything, because they have to finally learn how to be a real pony!"
That was enough. I couldn't in good conscience let this pony continue. Sure, some of her lieutenants probably shared her ideals, but she was obviously the driving force. Killing her would give the other gangs a chance at making sure her ideals died with her. To that end, I strode forward, shortening that gap between me and her. Her sniper could hang for all I cared; mine was better.
"That's where you're wrong. Simply by existing, every unicorn I have ever met and talked to is worth far more than you ever will be," I growled, a dark, evil sound that sprang from deep in my chest. With that one statement, I saw Surplus's eyes twitch as the first glimmer of doubt crept into them. The stallion, Shatter, took a cautious step back as well. Somewhere, out of my sight, I could feel the crosshairs of a scope settle on my head. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was this bitch in front of me.
"You can't be serious. I have a sniper ready to blow your brains all over the pavement! I own this part of town!" Surplus shrieked at me, as if her power over a small group of ponies meant anything to me.
"Just like I once owned the mountains to the south," I snarled in return, "And I can guarantee that my sniper is far better than yours."
I lifted my chin, bringing Hammer to bear, and watched as Surplus attempted to turn to dodge out of the way, but she had let me get far too close, thinking that her power would somehow protect her. It was the same mistake every gang leader I had ever known made. I flexed my tongue, and the heavy .45-70 round leapt from Hammer's barrel, striking Surplus in the throat and sending her to the ground amidst a growing pool of crimson.
In the next instant, all chaos broke loose. I jumped forward, using the still-falling body of Surplus as springboard, and felt an impact on my armor, most likely from the sniper. Luckily, the plating held, doing nothing more than bruising my hide.
All around me, the sounds of battle were breaking out. The familiar whine of Steel Curtain's weapons in the distance, coupled with the retort of Autumn's rifle, told me that they were suppressing the sniper. The chatter of Crosswire's submachine gun and the distinctive reports of Marcus's pistols were directed somewhere towards my left, where the stallion had been standing. Already, I could hear his assault rifles firing blindly up and to the left. He was already going down from the amount of fire directed at him. That left only one target.
Still mid-air, I turned my head to the left and slipped into S.A.T.S. My chance to hit Tinder in the head was almost perfect, but something held me back from pulling the trigger. Her eyes, and shotgun, were directed towards me, but her gaze was not resting on me. It was resting at my feet.
I canceled the spell and landed, twisting to cover the mare with Hammer. A quick check of the data that was always just on the edges of my vision told me that there were only two rounds left in Hammer's carousel.
True to what I had seen, Tinder wasn't looking at me. It seemed that she had locked the entire fight out of her mind. Her eyes were focused solely at Surplus who was bleeding out over the pavement, trying to bring her revolver to bear against me.
The scarred mare took a tentative step forward, the shotgun wavering somewhat in her grip, until she was standing over Surplus. "Six long fucking years of hell. Finally, I have this chance to repay you for what you did to my home!" she snarled, her grip on the shotgun becoming much surer.
"Tinder... I own you," the dying mare spat even as blood poured from her ruined throat.
"Not anymore, bitch," Tinder spat, then fired three rounds from the 12 gauge straight into Surplus's head, completely destroying it and splattering herself with gore.
"Evergreen, we got the sniper!" I heard Autumn shout from behind me, as well as the sound of clattering hooves against pavement as my friends joined us. There was the unmistakable sound of Crosswire sliding a fresh magazine home into his submachine gun and the weapon levitated into my sight as the tech came to stand beside me, his weapon trained on Tinder.
"Hold you fire, Crosswire. I think there's more to this mare than meets the eye," I ordered, dropping Hammer into its holster and lifting a leg to block the tech's shot.
All the while, I didn't shift my gaze from the scarred mare. She was now looking at us, blood coating her face and chest, slowly dripping down her face as her sweat mingled with the light rain that was just starting. The look in her eyes was unsure. I couldn't blame her. If she made one wrong move, I would not hesitate to kill her.
"Drop the shotgun," I ordered, gesturing with a hoof and pitching my voice so she would know that there was no choice.
The look in her eyes became even more unsure, but she did as I commanded, dropping the weapon on the ground and kicking it towards me.
"Autumn, grab it," I said, taking a step towards the mare, who shied away from my approach. The look in her eye was distinctly nervous now. Despite her tough ganger act, she knew that she was dead if she so much as sneezed right now.
The shotgun lifted away from my feet, surrounded by a yellow glow. Tinder watched the weapon fly away, and almost longing look in her eye. It didn't take a genius to know that she longed after the magic, not the weapon. Slowly, her gaze returned to mine, and her doubts were practically plastered on her face. She was terrified. "Are you going to kill me?" she asked. Despite her appearance, the words still had determination behind them. This mare was a survivor; that much was instantly clear.
"If I was going to kill you, you'd already be dead," I stated simply, shrugging, "You're still alive because you didn't attack us, and you didn't make any sort of aggressive moves towards us. As long as that remains the case, you'll continue to live."
"And what if I agree with Surplus?" she asked me with a look at the now headless corpse.
"It's already obvious that you don't. Something about repaying her for what she did to your home? I can only imagine you meant her de-horning all of them?" I asked, just as knowingly. I had a potential resource in this mare, and I was not going to let that go to waste.
My comment cracked a grin on the mare's face. On the side that was not scarred, it brought life to her features, but on the other, it was little more than a tweak of the deadened flesh. It reminded sharply of a ghoul. "You've got that right. I spent six fucking years waiting for my moment to kill her. You finally gave me that chance."
"You're welcome. I'd like you to return the favor, though. What Stable are you from?" I asked. Around me, my friends lowered their weapons. This mare wasn't a threat to us anymore, and they knew that. We'd be careful around her until we were sure, but she would have to be stupid to try anything against us now.
She looked at me sharply, her expression going instantly from one of gratitude to one of wariness. "Why do you want to know?" she demanded.
"Because a friend of mine wants me to look into a Stable on the outskirts of the city: Stable 113. We have reason to believe that something was left for her down there," I answered simply. I didn't want to clue this mare too much into what we wanted, but her reaction told me that she was from the Stable we wanted.
Unfortunately, being vague was not the way to win this mare's trust. "So you expect me to simply believe you because of that? Who the fuck is this friend, and what was left there? How the fuck would they know?" she growled, "I'm grateful you gave me this chance, but I am not going to throw my home to more bullshit just on your say-so!"
I sighed heavily, looking at my friends. Crosswire was shaking his head. "Evergreen, no. We don't know her enough. Who knows what could happen if we just start telling random strangers our plans!"
"I agree. We can't trust her. I get not wanting to kill her, but let's be real here! She was still in that fucked up gang!" Autumn echoed, striding forward.
"Trust has to start somewhere," Suture said quietly, coming up on my other side, "Like trusting a pony from a dark background after she caused the death of a loved one."
I had almost forgotten about that, and it was the memory of what I had done to Suture that made me believe her. "Trust has to start somewhere," I echoed, smiling to myself, "I couldn't agree more. Tinder, my friend is a ghoul from Ponyville that survived the war in its entirety. She taught the heads of Stable-Tec when they were still just fillies. They tried to contact her at the end of the war, but their message was sent too late. By the time she left to go to Stable 113, where they tried to give her a place, the bombs were already dropping. We think they may have left something behind for her in the Stable before the end."
Tinder had a shocked look on her face, as if she hadn't expected my honesty. "You aren't kidding?" she asked, her voice unsure, "Even after trying to hide the truth a minute ago?"
"I'm not like Surplus. I'm not some wasteland ganger, looking for more influence. I'm just a pony trying to make life better for everypony else," I answered, "And you aren't my enemy. And hell, it's your home. Who else would know if what we're looking for is there?"
"I haven't been back in six years," she muttered, lowering her head in defeat. Then, I saw her limbs stiffen and her head rise again, "But you have a point. You gave me another chance at a better life. I am not going to waste it. I can take you there and get you inside, if you promise not to hurt anypony there."
"Not unless they attack me first," I said, nodding, a smile tugging at my lips.
"Then we have an agreement. Didn't you say something about wanting to talk to Shooting Star first? 'Cause if you are, this is the wrong way to go. He's on the other end of the city," Tinder said, nodding as well.
"Marcus here was leading us to a Metro tunnel he saw from the air that should lead to the park where his station is," I explained, nodding at the griffin who had landed a little ways away from us and was adjusting his holsters.
"Hmmm... I guess that would work. Certainly faster than going back around. You're going to want a supply of radiation chems, though. Some of those tunnels are still really heavily irradiated. Lucky for you, our base has quite a supply. Parts of the city are still pretty bad, but that is where all the best salvage is," Tinder said with a curt nod.
"Can you lead us there?" Crosswire asked, stepping forward.
The scarred mare nodded, "Yes, I can. But... we might have to fight when we get there. With Surplus and Shatter dead, the entire gang is going to lose it while they try to replace them. You created one hell of a power vacuum."
"We'll handle that when it comes up. I'm just hoping we'll be able to intimidate them to leave us alone and give us the chems," I said, looking around at my group. Most were my closest friends, and I knew full well what they were capable of. Marcus was certainly skilled with his weapons, but he was too naïve. All in all, we made for a terrifying sight. Hopefully this gang would agree with me.
"We'll see, but they don't frighten easily," Tinder said, "By the way, my full name is Tinder Box."
"And mine is Evergreen. My friends are Crosswire, Suture, Autumn Mist, and Steel Curtain. The griffin is Marcus," I said, gesturing to each in turn, "Now lead on. I want to reach Shooting Star's station before nightfall."
Tinder Box nodded and gestured in the direction we would have to go: directly back the way she had approached with Surplus and Shatter. She strode past me, retrieving her shotgun from Autumn Mist as she did, and started walking, expecting us to follow.
As she passed, I finally got a good look at her Cutie Mark. It was a flame, burning bright against the white of her flank. It fit her, in every sense.
Tinder Box lead us through the rubble-filled streets of the city. With every step, I felt like we were traveling deeper into a maze, yet she never wavered from her path. Before long, I was completely lost amongst the ancient, ruined structures.
Steel Curtain flew down beside me and slowed me down so that we were lagging behind the rest of the group. Tinder gave us a concerned look as we dropped back, but kept her pace.
"I'm not so sure about this anymore, Evergreen," he told me in hushed tones, "For all we know we could be walking into a trap. Hell, I barely know where we are anymore, and I'm in the air!"
"I know, and I'm getting nervous as well," I admitted, shooting a look up at the white mare, "But she told us she would be leading us there, and I decided to give her my trust. If we start questioning her, and it turns out we're wrong, well... Let's just say I don't want to end up in that situation. It almost happened with you."
"Yeah, I suppose. I just don't like these walls, and these streets are a natural maze," the Pegasus complained, "but if you think this is the right choice, I'm behind you."
"I'm not sure of anything, Steel Curtain. I'm just doing what seems right to me," I protested as he lifted back into the air.
He glanced down at me, his eyes lit up with what I could only call trust. "That's the difference between how we feel." With that, he lofted back up to where he had been circling, watching for the other ponies of the gang to attack us.
His words left me feeling uneasy. I knew he had a point, and that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was the only one willing to say something about it. I already knew that Crosswire and Autumn Mist didn't entirely agree with my choice, but they weren't saying anything, and that was the source of my uneasiness.
I picked up my pace a bit so I was walking alongside the rugged tech. "What do you think about this," I asked him simply, knowing he would appreciate me honesty.
"Doesn't really matter what I think anymore," he answered, a hard edge to his voice, "We're doing what you want regardless."
"Dammit, Crosswire. Now is not the time for this shit. Do you think this is a trap?" I demanded angrily, loud enough for Tinder Box to turn her head and look at us. We held our silence long enough for her to return her attention to the path ahead.
"It damn well could be," he answered harshly, "But either way, they can't have expected us to have been able to kill that mare that was in charge. Our advantage, if this is a trap, will lie there. But Evergreen, you need to think more. You're taking one hell of a risk trusting this mare."
That accusation rendered me silent while I thought about what he meant. There was no question that he was right. It was a risk, and a big one at that. But so was walking into this city in the first place. "When do we start giving our fellow ponies the benefit of the doubt again, Crosswire? For two hundred years, we've been living in fear of one another, needing to find a reason not to draw weapons on a stranger, rather than trusting that they don't mean us any harm. Equestria was a peaceful place once, where a filly could travel on her own all the way from Ponyville to Manehattan and back. It never will be that way again until we start trusting each other. That has to start somewhere," I said quietly, lowering my head.
"I agree, but this isn't the time or place. We are in unfamiliar territory, and now there are two people in our group that we barely know at all. We got lucky once with Steel Curtain, but Marcus is a complete unknown. Tinder Box is unstable, at best, and she's a ganger," the tech shot back.
"And we weren't?" I responded sharply, "If anything, we were worse than her, and don't tell me I'm wrong. I saw the worst our gang had to offer."
Crosswire shrugged at that. "That reason is exactly why I'm going along with you. You've managed to get us out of the worst shit so far. Who knows, maybe this will work out for the best in the end as well. Now you better get back up there; keep an eye on her."
I sighed, but did as he asked. That was the problem with Crosswire. He was so stubborn that there was little chance of ever getting to fully commit to an idea until it had completely played out. He had no problems about admitting he had been wrong, but he would never entertain the idea that he could be wrong.
"How close are we?" I asked Tinder Box as I strode up to her side. A glance at her and I realized I had unconsciously approached on the side where her face was scarred, her right side. Her eyes darted towards me for just a moment before returning to the road ahead.
"We're getting close. There's a hole in the wall of the old office building ahead. The bombs from the war left the entire building as little more than a shell, and we use it regularly as a path into the city. Our base is situated in a small neighborhood on the other side of the building," she answered simply.
"Is there any other way in?" I asked, "I don't really like the idea of marching through the front door."
"None. We blocked everything else off," Tinder answered, shaking her head, "To prevent exactly the sort of attack you're thinking of. If it comes to that, our only chance will be in the overwhelming force we have. That Enclave soldier and griffin will be the real advantage."
"He's a Dashite," I answered automatically, "Not Enclave. Got away with the armor, and they haven't worked up to courage to come after him down here yet."
"Either way, his weapons are going to be a big help. Now, we're here. Let me do the talking. If we're lucky, we should be able to get into the base before anypony realizes something is wrong."
I nodded and took a few steps back, letting Tinder Box take the lead. She led us around a corner, and there ahead of us was a small hole blasted through the solid concrete walls of a ruined office building. Standing guard were two heavily scarred ponies. One of them was an Earth Pony stallion wielding a 10mm SMG, and the other was a former unicorn mare with a sawed-off shotgun. Nothing we couldn't handle.
"Tinder, you've been gone long enough! Where the fuck are Surplus and Shatter?" the mare asked, stepping forward and swinging the shotgun around so it hung in easy reach of her mouth.
"They're still heading towards the market to see if they can salvage anything from the Skulls old HQ. Told me to bring this bunch back so we could question 'em," the scarred mare answered, jerking her head back at the rest of us.
"Why the fuck are they still carrying their guns, then?" the buck demanded in a superior voice. He strode forward, using his larger bulk to tower over the smaller white mare. "I know how Surplus works, and she would not let them keep their guns."
"Well Surplus ain't here, Ratchet, so back the fuck off. I let them keep their guns in case somepony from one of those gangs uptown decided to try something. They willingly surrendered and agreed to come back, and they haven't tried shit the whole way back. Now are you going to get out of my way, or do I need to explain to Surplus why you stopped me from following her orders?" Tinder growled, shoving the buck back with a leg.
The invocation of her name did the trick. "Hmph, fine. But she ain't gonna be happy when she finds out, Tinder," he growled, stepping to the side so we could enter.
"Well that's my problem, isn't it? Come on, you lot. Let's go," Tinder snapped, looking over her shoulder at the rest of us, then proceeded to walk through the wall.
We followed behind, and I was surprised to see how empty the building was. Within moments, we were alone again. "Your gang is certainly trying to hold on to a lot of space," I whispered, looking around at the abandoned buildings around us.
"We use most of these buildings, but we just don't live there. Storage and shit. Unfortunately, we keep the chems and medical supplies back at the old pharmacy near the apartments where we sleep, and that's where most of the gang spends their time. At least Ratchet is dumb enough to believe me, and Razor Wire, the mare, is too scared of her own shadow to argue with him," Tinder answered in a hushed tone of her own.
"Will we be able to bluff our way past the ponies by the pharmacy?" Crosswire asked.
"No likely. Enough of the ponies around here are so strung out on one drug or another that we've needed to keep careful watch over our stores. We might be able to take the guards out quietly, though," Tinder answered.
"Yeah? How's that?" Autumn asked, walking up to join us at the front.
Tinder shot the dark unicorn a pointed glare, then answered, "You have a knife there, Evergreen. Knives are quiet. I've got one as well. Between the two of us, we should be able to startle the guards and put 'em down quick."
"You sure you want to just kill them?" I asked warily. I was all for fighting when my life was at stake, or when somepony was doing something I really thought was wrong, but jumping a guard or two just because they were in my way didn't sit right.
"Pretty much every single pony here buys into what Surplus believed. Fuckers deserve it, if you ask me. So, yeah, I just want to kill them. That a problem?" Tinder demanded, arching an eye at me.
I shrugged noncommittally. "I suppose not. How long will we have before somepony realizes something is wrong?"
Tinder looked around her, as if looking for somepony listening in on our conversation, then said, "If we're lucky, they won't figure it out for a few hours. If we're unlucky, we won't kill those guards quietly. Most likely, we'll have at most ten minutes before somepony wanders by the pharmacy and notices the guards missing."
I nodded. "Ok. How far to the pharmacy?"
"It's just up ahead," the scarred mare said as we turned a corner the opened on a small square. The pharmacy was immediately apparent by the two ponies standing guard, both wielding shotguns. A few other ponies were milling about the square, walking to and from other various buildings, some labelled as barracks, others as dining areas or something ubiquitously labelled as the "Lounge". I did not like what that implied.
"Ok, follow my lead up here. I have an idea to get us inside. Evergreen, if this works, you and I will get in there quietly, but everypony else will have to wait outside. It's our best chance for getting in their quietly. Joyride owes me a favor, which is why this might work," Tinder explained quietly as we approached.
Several ponies turned to watch us with curious expressions, but they usually turned their attention back to whatever they had been doing once they saw Tinder Box in the lead. The one trait I noticed that every single pony here shared was that they were all heavily scarred to some degree, even more so than raider bands usually were.
We approached the guards at the pharmacy, who were by now watching us with wary expressions, and Tinder strode up to them, holding herself as tall as she could manage. "Joyride, I need to get in there for some medical supplies. This sack of shit that surrendered to Surplus needs a few healing potions to take care of some internal injuries before the boss gets back. Your partner can watch the others while you watch us, deal?"
I obligingly tried to put on as much of a pained expression as I could. It wasn't too hard, considering the bruise that was forming underneath my barding from where that sniper shot had hit.
The light green stallion she was addressing rolled his one remaining eye, as if a half-dozen ponies tried to do this every day and drawled, "You know the rules, Tinder. Nopony gets to go in without Surplus's say-so. Not even you. Go beg for a fix somewhere else."
"Fine, let her die before Surplus gets to question her. It'll be on your head. And need I remind you that you owe me for that shit against the Rawhides?" Tinder growled in return, "I'm calling that favor in, now."
The stallion froze, eyeing first her, then me, with his single red eye. "Seriously, for this? Fuck, fine. Strike, watch them for a minute. We'll be right back," he growled, then nodded at the door, "Let's go, and make it quick."
He turned and unlocked the door and walked inside, clearly expecting us to follow. Tinder caught my eye as we started for the door and gave a near-imperceptible nod of her head. I returned the gesture and reached for my knife as we stepped through the door.
Inside, the pharmacy was far more organized than I had expected for a street gang. They actually had their various supplies and drugs separated by use in the various aisles. And they had managed to get enough power to the building so that half of the lights were on, bathing the store in a soft white light. Joyride was walking towards an aisle that looked to be stocked with various bandages, syringes, and other medical supplies.
"Once he turns down the aisle, I'll go for his head, keep him quiet. You support me," Tinder whispered, pitching her voice so I would be the only one to hear her.
I nodded and pulled my knife out of its sheath, readying myself. Joyride turned down the aisle, starting to speak. "Here we are. Grab what you need and let's get the fuck out of here."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tinder Box leapt, launching herself into the air at the stallion's head. I ran after her, intending and striking at his back or chest, whichever target presented itself first.
Tinder landed on his back, plunging her dagger into the back of his neck as her hooves wrapped around his throat, cutting of his breath and not letting more than a squeak escape his lips. I stood behind her, body poised to attack should it become necessary, but she bore the stallion to the ground, holding him as his struggles grew weaker and weaker until he finally lay still.
The entire process fascinated me, because the mare showed absolutely no hesitation, and her face was set into a grim mask of determination throughout the entire attack. I was used to being around ponies that would usually shy away at attacking a pony from behind, yet she didn't care at all. Even as a raider boss, I always looked every pony I killed in the eye.
"Come on, we don't have much time," the white mare growled as she wrenched the knife free and cleaned it on the dead stallion's barding, "If you need medical supplies, grab them. I'll go check for the radiation supplies."
I nodded and started sweeping items into my bags. Healing potions, bandages, a few syringes of Med-X, all of it was stuff that we had, but never in bulk. Once that was done, I wandered down the aisles looking for Tinder. I finally found her at the end of an aisle containing nothing but inhalers of Dash and injectors of another half-dozen different sorts of drugs.
"Fuck, I hate it when they move shit around in here," the scarred mare grumbled as she turned into the next aisle, "Finally! Fuckers never put the useful shit near each other."
I followed her into the aisle and was met with the sight of dozens of bottles of Rad-X and just as many pouches of Rad-Away. Tinder was wandering down the aisle, slipping supplies into her saddlebags as she walked. I followed after her, doing the same. "You really think we're going to need this much?"
"You haven't been in those tunnels. I have. Surplus always gave those of us who weren't born as Earth Ponies the worst jobs. Trust me, we're going to need it," she answered.
We had only been in the pharmacy for five minutes when our bags were almost bulging with supplies. We took another minute to drag Joyride's corpse back to a corner of the store, but there wasn't anything we could do about the blood except hope that the next pony that walked in would walk the other direction.
We were just starting to leave when I stopped the mare. "Joyride said something about looking for a fix. You strung out on anything like the other ponies here?" I asked, putting a hoof on her shoulder to stop her.
"What? Of course not. I've been straight ever since I was forced to join. It was my point of pride that I never got addicted to anything," Tinder protested, twisting out from under my hoof and continuing on.
I wasn't given a chance to answer, but Suture's words were still ringing in my ears. Trust had to start somewhere. If this mare had a drug problem, she would either tell us before it became a problem, or she would leave before it mattered.
When we finally emerged back into the square, my friends were sitting in a standoff against a half-dozen ponies, a few of which were heavily armed and looked to have recently exerted themselves. On seeing those ponies, Tinder Box stiffened.
"Oh, shit," she muttered under her breath as we walked out.
"Tinder, there you are, you lying cunt!" one of the armed ponies said. It was a brown stallion that looked to be a former unicorn, judging by the scar on his forehead, "Ratchet told me that Surplus ordered you to come back here with these fucks, yet I found her corpse out in the streets, her brains plastered all over the pavement with Shatter's corpse next to her practically torn to ribbons from gunfire. I suggest you tell your new-found friends here to drop their weapons, or I'll kill the whole lot of you!"
Tinder took a few careful steps forward, her eyes watching the stallion. She came to a stop a moment later, amidst a small pile of rubble. "Are you telling me you wouldn't have offed her if given the chance, Magnum? She did to you exactly what she did to me, and I know you hated her just as much for it. You're just pissed I got to her first." The mare's shotgun slipped from her back and swung around so it was hanging in front of her. The movement seemed to be an accident, but the weapon now hung in easy reach of her mouth, a fact that seemed to be lost on the buck facing her.
He laughed, his entire body shaking with the action, making the barrels of the shotguns hanging from his battle saddle vibrate, telling me they weren't in very good condition. The ponies around him laughed as well, all brandishing their own weapons. Most looked to be in rough shape, though a few seemed to be well taken care of. Those were the ponies I would have to target first, if this went south.
"Oh, Tinder, you ignorant bitch, do you really think we didn't know how much you hated her? Did it ever cross that twisted mind of yours that we wanted her to do this to us? She set us free! And now you had to go and fuck it all up!" Magnum laughed, "And here you are, thinking I agree with you! Even worse, you're helping the ones that killed her, including two dirty unicorns, a fucking Pegasus, and a Goddesses-damned griffin! You don't give two shits about this gang, do you?"
"Never have," the mare growled, lowering herself and bringing her shotgun within reach. I lifted my leg, bringing Hammer closer to my mouth as well, knowing that a fight was about to break out.
A flash of inspiration hit me. "So, now that Surplus is dead, who's the pony in charge around here? I'm sure we'd be able to strike a deal," I asked, putting a bit of fake fear into my voice, looking from face to face," The odds are against us, and all I want is to get out in one piece."
Several eyes lit up as they realized nopony was technically in charge. The top lieutenants were either dead or traitors, so the floor was open. Magnum was one of the ponies to get a sudden look of ambition on his face. Perfect.
"Me, of course. I'm the only other pony she sends off to be in charge of other scouting parties," he answered imperiously, thrusting out his chest as every single self-important buck did.
Immediately, an off-white mare standing to his right spoke up. "Fuck you talking about, Magnum? Surplus would never put you in charge of the gang! You weren't even born an Earth Pony like me! If anypony would take over, it's me!" she snapped, turning to face the brown buck. She was holding a dirty revolver in her mouth. It wasn't in good condition, so its accuracy was probably shit, but she was so close to him that it shouldn't matter.
"You?!" another pony asked incredulously. The voice belonged to a pink mare wielding a submachine gun, "You don't even know how to organize your own saddlebags!"
Several other ponies started speaking up, either declaring their own suitability to lead or backing the ones they supported. Within minutes, the entire camp was divided into a half dozen different factions, facing each other down, weapons out and ready.
I strode forward until I was standing in front of my friends, staring Magnum in the eye. He was the only pony that was still facing us, though the ponies around him were barely paying attention to us anymore. They were all too busy trying to keep their weapons pointed at their new enemies. "You might want to try to get some control if you want to be in charge, Magnum," I stated, putting as much charm as I could into my voice, which admittedly wasn't much, but it was probably the most interest a mare had ever shown the scarred buck, "After all, I'd prefer to deal with you."
Predictably, the buck took the bluff and ran, rising up on his hind legs and shouting, "I am the one in charge here! Now shut up, the lot of you! This is what we're going to-"
He was interrupted as a half-dozen ponies opened fire. Most of the shots directed at him flew wide to either hit ponies around him or fly off to impact the buildings around us, but a few key shots struck him in the chest, back and head, and he dropped, dead before he hit the ground.
Those first shots lit the powder keg around us as the half-dozen factions started shooting at one another, with a few potshots being taken in our direction. Ponies scattered in all directions, running for cover or to make it to the sides of the ponies they supported. Within minutes, the camp was a warzone, complete with angry curses and agonized screams.
My group made to run for the hole back out to the streets, but the sheer mass of fire around us made almost any movement impossible. As it was, we were pinned against the pharmacy. As I watched, a small group of ponies turned and started for us, almost all of them wielding crude melee weapons.
"Steel Curtain, Marcus, get in the air and find us a way out of here!" I shouted over the din, waving a hoof at the two before turning and dodging out of the way of a crazed buck running at me with a lead pipe. I swung my Pipbuck at him and struck him on the back of the head, sending him to the ground, dazed, where Tinder finished him off with a shotgun blast.
Behind me, I heard the two flyers launch themselves into the air, followed by several surprised shouts and gunfire that sounded like it was directed into the air. The iconic whine of Steel Curtain's miniguns answered the gunfire, eliciting several shouts of agony and death. The amount of incoming fire lessened significantly, maybe enough for us to get out.
"This way!" I shouted over my shoulder at the rest of my friends, then turned and started to run through the gap Steel Curtain had opened. From behind me I could hear the retort of Autumn's and Suture's pistols as they fought off the gangers now trying to stop us, as well as the blasts of Tinder's shotgun. I doubted we'd still be alive if they weren't all too busy fighting each other.
Once out in the open, we became more of a target, though Marcus and Steel Curtain did a terrific job keeping anypony from being able to get close. A small group of gangers wielding old pistols turned their attention to us and managed to break through the defensive wall formed by the Dashite and the griffin, but were quickly cut down by a combination of mine, Crosswire's and Tinder's fire, Autumn being busy trying to keep Suture out of the line of fire.
We managed to break out of the thick of the fighting mostly thanks to Steel Curtain's weapons, as very few ponies had the firepower to withstand him, but the off-white mare was blocking our route into the building, flanked by three of her supporters.
"You started this fight, and I am going to claim victory with your head!" she shouted as she brought the revolver to bear against me and fired. True to my prediction earlier, the weapon was inaccurate, and instead of hitting me in the head as the mare no doubt intended, the round slammed into my chest, but was deflected by my barding. Almost simultaneously, I brought Hammer up and slid into S.A.T.S., lining up a pair of shots to the mare's head, since the chance to hit really wasn't ideal, no doubt a result of the pain now throbbing in my chest in time to my heartbeat.
The spell triggered, and the mare's head imploded as the shots flew home. The buck to her right flinched away from the carnage, only to have a pair of holes open up in his chest from Marcus's pistols. I adjusted my aim and fired again, felling another mare with a shot to the throat. The last pony fell as the buckshot from Tinder's riot shotgun tore half his face off and knocked him into the wall, leaving a smear of red behind.
We charged past the corpses, breaking out into the relative safety of the streets. "Marcus, take point! Get us to those tunnels!" I shouted up at the griffin, looking over my shoulder for any pursuit. Thankfully, the fight I had started was consuming all of their attention, and nopony was coming after us.
It wasn't until the Metro sign loomed in front of us that we slowed our pace. If nopony had followed us here, they weren't going to. We came to a complete stop at the top of the staircase leading down, and Steel Curtain and Marcus alighted next to us, both of them taking the moment of calm to reload their weapons.
"Well, that was fun," the griffin muttered as he pulled out a bandage and wrapped it around a bullet wound in his arm, "Didn't think those fuckers' aim was that good."
"No shit," Tinder answered with a chuckle as she chugged down a healing potion, making a pair of bullet holes in one of her shoulders close up, "Though I have to say that was great thinking, Evergreen. Getting them to turn on each other was genius!"
"Wasn't hard to figure out," I answered, shrugging, "In a gang, if the leader is taken out without anypony having a chance to plan for it, that kind of shit is always going to happen. I just sped it up. Seemed like the best way to get out. Thinking of, is everypony all right?"
Everyone quickly answered me positively. The worst injuries were the bullet wounds taken by Tinder Box and Marcus, and those were already well taken care of. While they answered, I started dumping my radiation supplies onto the ground. Simply standing this close to the Metro was making my Pipbuck click slowly.
"Good. Everypony grab some supplies and take some Rad-X now. For those of you with Pipbucks, take some RadAway when your rads hit 600, so we can make them last. We'll take care of completely cleansing our systems when we get out of there. Hopefully Shooting Star will have some supplies that will help us with that. Everypony without Pipbucks: pick a partner. You drink when they do. Steel Curtain, does that armor of yours have a rad-meter?"
"Yeah, it does. I'll be good," the Pegasus answered swiftly, stepping forward and grabbing some supplies and dumping them into his saddlebags.
"Good. Crosswire, you're with me. Marcus, it's you and Steel Curtain. Tinder Box, I'll put you with Suture. Keep close and keep an eye on those rad-meters. Let's move," I ordered as I popped a pair of pills of Rad-X, then started down the broken steps into the Metro.
Very quickly, the radiation jumped up to about ten rads per second, an amount that would kill us in very short order if we weren't prepared. It also meant there was a very good chance of running into ghouls down here. They thrived on radiation.
The main ticketing square was littered with various kinds of trash, ranging from empty Sparkle-Cola bottles to old newspapers to abandoned suitcases overflowing with rotting clothing. All of it was testament to the destruction witnessed by the city. Here and there, ancient skeleton lay on the ground, the positions implying they had been tossed about, as if they were toys carelessly tossed aside by a giant.
"A bomb must have come down close to here for it to look like this," I muttered as we strode through the waste. My rads were already approaching four hundred, and I was beginning to feel nauseous. We had barely been down here for five minutes...
"Yeah, it hit two blocks down, one of only two to hit the city itself," Tinder answered, her voice strained, "We think the bomb broke something important in the maintenance tunnels down here, which is why they are still flooded with radiation.
"That would make sense. If the bomb struck by one of the utility access points, I could see the balefire getting in there and wrecking the spark generators. It wouldn't take much to disrupt that kind of equipment and make them start to leak radiation, not to mention the radiation from the bomb itself," Crosswire agreed.
I nodded tiredly, fighting back the urge to vomit as I slurped down a Rad-Away that tasted like spoiled oranges. Why did they all have to taste like spoiled oranges? "Let's just keep moving. This place is flooded with radiation, and we've got a pretty good distance we need to go."
Everypony nodded in agreement, and we picked up our pace, descending a set of broken down escalators to the actual train platforms. "Which way to the park?" I asked Marcus, turning to face the griffin. He looked even worse than I felt. The feathers on his head and neck were dull, and he looked like he was struggling to keep his stomach under control.
"North," he answered weakly, pointing down one of the tunnels before reaching into one of the pockets of his duster and pulling out a pack of Rad-Away, which he promptly drank.
"Good. Tinder, you know these tunnels better than we do. Take point with me. Steel Curtain and Marcus, I want you two on the flanks. Suture and Autumn will be in the center, and Crosswire will be in the rear. Let's go," I ordered, jumping down onto the rotten ties of the tracks and starting to walk.
Everyone else quickly fell into position and we pressed on into the dark tunnel where the only source of illumination was a string of weak red emergency lights along one wall and the lights from our Pipbucks. About three hundred yards, and another pack of Rad-Away, in, we were met with a wall of rubble and destroyed railcar.
"We need a path around this. Anypony see anything?" I asked, turning to face the rest of my friends. Tinder was still examining the rail car wedged into the rubble behind me.
"There looked to be a maintenance entrance about twenty yards back," Crosswire reported, coming up from the back of the formation.
"Either that or we can break out the window of this rail car. It gets pretty narrow in there, but we should be able to make it if we go one by one. Even the Dashite should be able to make it through with his armor," Tinder said from behind me.
"That'll be our back up. Going through something that small will slow us down. The maintenance access should make us move quicker," I said, stepping past my friends and heading for the door Crosswire mentioned.
The tech fell into step beside me and approached the door as we approached. Beyond it, I thought I could hear movement, but nothing was showing up on my E.F.S., a fact that made me very unhappy. He fiddled with the locking mechanism for a few moments, then the entire metal entrance folded on itself and slid into the walls.
All of a sudden, a dozen red bars appeared on my E.F.S. as a few dozen small lights appeared in the dark room beyond, reflecting the light being cast by my Pipbuck. Something growled, and I saw Crosswire's horn glow and his SMG float out to face the light.
"Ghouls," he muttered darkly, backing up a step. The tone in his voice was all I needed to hear to know that a fight wasn't going to be avoidable.
I nodded in response, lifting my leg and drawing Hammer. In that moment, the ghouls screamed and leapt forward, coming at us in a tide of undead flesh. I slipped into S.A.T.S., lining up shots at the first ghouls that gave me a half-decent chance to hit and triggered the spell.
Three ghouls fell immediately as the heavy revolver rounds tore into their bodies, and another two fell as Crosswire's SMG tore into them. But no matter how fast we were, there were simply too many. Three bodies collided with me simultaneously, driving me to the ground and forcing the breath from my lungs and sending Hammer spiraling off into the dark. I lashed out with my Pipbuck, striking a ghoul in the chest with it and managing to force it off of me where a shotgun blast took its head off. The other two lunged at me, but I twisted, making one's teeth close on my armored shoulder and the other miss completely.
The ghoul on my shoulder started to worry at it, trying to break through the armor plating, and as a result made it near impossible to use that leg. The other backed its head up and attacked again. I brought my free leg up, the one with my Pipbuck, and wedged it into the ghoul's mouth. It clamped down, but since it wasn't actually grabbing me, I had a moment to reach for my other shoulder where my knife was sheathed and pull the weapon free.
I jammed the knife up to the hilt into the throat of the ghoul grabbing my Pipbuck, then twisted and pulled it free. Dark ichor flowed from the wound to flow down my leg and slip under the hem of my barding, soaking my hide. The ghoul fell limply to the side, dying, and I turned to deal with the ghoul on my shoulder.
At just that moment, somepony shouted, "Glowing One!" and a bright flash of green light enveloped me, spiking the amount of rads I was soaking up to almost twenty a second. I finished my attack, stabbing the ghoul on my shoulder through the temple, but the ghoul I had stabbed through the throat rose up from where it was lying beside me, the fatal wound completely healed, and lunged at me.
This time, I wasn't fast enough to get my Pipbuck in my way, and it clamped down on the already injured part of my leg, sending a wave of agony through the limb. I screamed in pain and tried to stab at it, but it reared back, taking a large chunk of flesh with it, nearly making me black out from the agony.
It lunged again, but right before it connected, a shotgun blast caught it in the side, picking it up and tossing it away from me like dust caught in the wind. I pushed myself away from the dark room where ghouls were still pouring out of, holding back cries of pain as I held my injured leg against my chest, bright red blood pouring out of the ghastly wound to soak my barding.
A glowing pony shape appeared in my vision, slowly approaching me. It looked like a ghoul, except that the exposed muscles under its tattered hide were glowing bright green, and the amount of rads I was soaking up was spiking as it neared. Around me, I could still here the sounds of battle. My friends were too busy fighting the rest of them off to help me.
Already, I could see the amount of rads I was absorbing creep past seven hundred. Another few minutes, and I would be rendered unconscious. From there, it was only a matter of time until it killed me. Suddenly, the Glowing One leapt, its jaws opened wide as it lunged for my throat. I did the only thing I could think to do and lifted my injured leg to stop it.
I screamed as it bit down on my leg, widening the wound left by the other ghoul, and tore at my flesh, tearing another section of meat away. I could now very easily make out the exposed bone of my leg. It lunged again, and I brought my hind legs up, kicking. I caught it in the chest and knocked it away, but couldn't get enough strength behind the kick to knock it over.
It recovered quickly, running at me as I pushed myself another few inches away, my leg now feeling completely numb. That wasn't good. I came up against something small and metal that clattered when I reached it. Praying that it was what I thought it was, I twisted, keeping my shredded limb clear of the ground, and grabbed for it with my mouth.
Luck was with me as my teeth closed around Hammer's grip, and I brought the heavy revolver to bear, aiming at the Glowing One. I fired, sending a round straight through the ghoul's chest. It staggered back, but it looked like the round had passed clear through its chest, leaving a gaping wound, but it was still on its feet running for me.
I fired two more times until the hammer clicked on an empty chamber. The first round struck it in the leg, making it falter. The second struck it square between the eyes, sending a mass of glowing grey matter out the back of its head and making it collapse in a heap on top of me, leaking radioactive fluids all over me.
From some combination of the smell of the thing and the amount of radiation in my body, I retched, spilling what little I had managed to eat for lunch over the body, then fell back, gasping for breath. I needed a Rad-Away, and a healing potion, but I didn't have the strength to reach for either. The inside of my mouth tasted like tin, even after I dropped Hammer, and I could feel my strength ebbing away. Blood was flowing freely from my mangled leg, covering my armor and seeping into the fur on my belly.
Around me, the sounds of battle faded and the sound of a maintenance door being closed and sealed echoed through the dark confines of the tunnel. "Shit, you think they can get through there?" somepony asked, panting heavily. The voice sounded feminine, but it didn't have the gentleness of Suture's voice or the harsh slang I usually equated with Autumn Mist, so it had to be Tinder Box.
"If that doesn't hold, the ponies that built this place didn't do their fucking jobs," Crosswire swore, then there was the sound of slurping as he drank a package of Rad-Away.
My vision started to swim, the edges going black as I drifted towards unconsciousness. "Fuck, where the hell is Evergreen? I swear I heard her scream during the fighting," Steel Curtain asked with a worried tone, and there was the sound of something heavy moving as the armored Pegasus marched around the tunnel.
He found me a few seconds later and dragged me back to consciousness when he accidentally stepped on one of my rear legs that was jutting out from under the dead Glowing One, making my cry out with the sudden pain.
"Shit, Evergreen! Suture, get over here, now!" the Pegasus ordered, pulling the corpse off of me before settling down next to me and lifting me into an awkward sitting position.
The maroon mare appeared next to me, holding two packages of Rad-Away to my lips. "Drink these first. You're going to die if you don't!" she insisted, pressing the loose plastic into my mouth, then squeezing the vile shit into my mouth.
I wanted to vomit, but she ordered Steel Curtain to tilt my head back and forced me to swallow. When he released me, I started to cough weakly, and felt my stomach about to rebel, but then the Rad-Away hit my system, carrying away the feelings of nausea, at least for now.
Then the pain from my leg hit me, and I tried to move it, only to find that it wasn't responding to me. "Suture... my leg," I groaned, "I can't move it."
"Shit, that ghoul did a lot of damage to the muscle tissue," the medic muttered to herself, one of the few times I had heard her swear, and ignored my comment. Her muzzle disappeared into her saddlebags and re-emerged a few moments later with a pair of healing potions. She quickly un-stoppered them and held them out to me, one-by-one.
I drank them both, and the pain faded somewhat, but I could still feel blood flowing freely from the wounds. "Suture, it hurts," I complained, "Why can't I move it?"
The lucid part of my mind realized I was in shock, but I couldn't seem to make the rest of my thoughts, or my mouth, reflect that knowledge. A small corner of my mind told me I was dying.
"Suture, she's getting weaker," Steel Curtain said from beside me.
"You think I don't see that!" the medic growled angrily, her head disappearing back into her saddlebags, then coming out with two syringes of what appeared to be Med-X, as well as another injector I had only seen a few times before.
First, she injected the Med-X. The first syringe made the fire in my leg dim somewhat, though it still hurt. The second completely numbed it, and made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. My mind became fuzzy, and that small, lucid corner of my mind told me that it wasn't like Suture to dose a pony like this. She was always far too worried about addiction.
"Fuck, I hate using this stuff, but we don't have a choice. Evergreen, if you can understand me, bite down on this. What I am about to do is going to hurt," the medic said, putting a thick piece of fabric into my mouth.
Not knowing why, I did as she asked, biting down on the cloth. A moment later, she used the other injector on my injured leg. I tried to scream through the cloth as fire raced through my leg, making me contort my body as I tried to break out from under Steel Curtain's restraining hooves.
The fire spread from my leg out into the rest of my body, and I could feel my heart start to hammer against my ribcage, feeling like it was about to burst out. A wave of cold followed the fire, and my leg started to throb in time to my heart. I shifted my gaze to my leg and saw the flesh flowing around the grievous wound, obscuring the bone. Before my eyes, blood vessels grew and connected with each other; muscle tissue and tendons grew along the bone to give it back its mobility. Finally, my familiar brown hide grew along the exposed muscle, resulting in a flawless leg. It looked like it had never even been scratched.
The cold sensation finally faded, leaving me lying on the cold, hard ground, panting in exhaustion. My strength was completely gone, drained out of me by a combination of pain and the drug Suture had just used to heal me. Steel Curtain was no longer restraining me, but merely holding me as I panted, my eyes only half open.
"What the hell was that? Did it work?" he asked hurriedly, looking at Suture who was sitting with a regretful expression.
"Hydra. It's a concoction that regenerates limbs, but it also floods the system with Taint. That's why I hate using it. If she's lucky, the Taint won't affect her badly, maybe a benign tumor here or there that we can safely cut away. If she's unlucky... well, Taint is known for causing severe cancer. I just hope that since I injected into her leg, and not some other part of her body that she's going to be lucky. And yes, it worked," she muttered sadly, reaching into her bags for another healing potion, which she held up to me.
I drank it down, feeling my strength start to flow back into my limbs, then reached for my canteen and emptied it into my mouth, relishing the cool taste of the water. "I'm all right," I finally breathed when I finished, "Help me up. We can't stay here long."
I wanted nothing more than to sit and gather my strength, but my rad-meter was already pushing six hundred again. We had to get out of this deathtrap. I struggled to my hooves, Steel Curtain helping me first roll over, then get my legs under me. My regenerated left leg felt odd under me, but it held my weight.
"Tinder, we're using your route. The maintenance tunnels are a no-go," I muttered with a weak grin at the mare, who gave me a dark look that spoke volumes.
"No shit," was all she said as she turned and approached the front of the crashed train and readied her shotgun.
The retort of the gun echoed loudly in the tunnel, but the glass in the front of the train shattered, blasting inwards with the buckshot. The scarred white mare used the barrel of the weapon to clear the glass away from the edge of the window, then clambered in, squeezing her way past the rubble and back into the passenger section of the train. The rest of us followed after her, one-by-one, until we were all gathered together on the far side of the blockage.
We drank another package of Rad-Away each, then set off down the tunnel. We were getting close to our goal, but our supply of radiation chems was dwindling quickly. Thankfully, my E.F.S. wasn't picking up anything ahead of us, though I wasn't trusting the device at the moment, as it hadn't managed to detect those ghouls.
"How close are we?" I demanded of Tinder as we trotted down the tunnel, hugging the wall to the side of the train, since its hulk took up almost the entire tunnel. Walking through the train had proven to be impossible, as there was almost no space for any of us to maneuver. If something appeared to attack us, we would be so many sitting corpses.
"The station ahead will take us out where we want to be," the mare answered tiredly. Her eyes were drooping and I could see the stagger in her step that told me she was suffering from radiation poisoning.
"Good. We need to get the fuck out of here," I growled, putting a little more life into my step and accelerating to a canter. Everypony else followed suit, and we were soon pounding through the tunnel, finally emerging onto the platform of the station, which was thankfully empty. We charged up the broken down escalator and when we reached the top, the rads we were taking in finally dropped down to almost nothing.
We promptly collapsed, reaching into our bags for the last of our radiation meds and finished them off, lowering the amount of radiation in our systems to low, if not negligible levels. Suture wasn't happy, saying that we were all still at risk, me especially after her use of Hydra, but there wasn't much we could do about it.
After almost twenty minutes of simply gathering our strength again, we rose to our hooves, or talons, and pressed on, making our way out of the Metro station and emerging out into an open square. The center looked like it would have once been covered in soft, green grass, but all that was left was bare dirt with a few stalks of dead, brown grass lying limp against the dirt.
The buildings around the square were dilapidated, sorry excuses for structures. Many of them were either collapsed or on the verge of collapse. The only structure that appeared to be even close to intact was what could only be Shooting Star's station. It was a solid brick building whose walls were scorched black, but several antenna and dishes hung off the roof, held together with a complicated network of wiring.
It was almost directly across the square from us. After everything we had been through, and considering what I was going to have to say to the buck, the distance seemed like a few miles.
We started walking, fanning out into our usual formation, with me and Tinder leading the way. As we neared the radio station, the door opened and a pair of ponies emerged. One was a white unicorn stallion wearing combat armor and wielding a combat shotgun. The other was a sand-colored Earth Pony holding a submachine gun in his mouth. They glared at us, pointing their weapons in our direction, despite our obvious advantage in numbers.
"That's close enough, Wastelander," the unicorn shouted from the door when we were about thirty yards away, "What do you want?"
I came to a stop, and the rest of my friends gathered around me, most of them reaching for their weapons as well. "I just want to talk to Shooting Star," I answered, "It's important."
"We'll be the ones to decide that. Now talk, or get the fuck out of here," the unicorn growled, brandishing the shotgun.
"Look, he's been going on and on about me these last couple of weeks. I think at the very least I should be able to talk to him," I answered impatiently, stomping a hoof.
Unfortunately, they both laughed. "Oh, isn't this rich. Another fucking mare claiming to be the Heroine. Look, I respect that you managed to get out here, and you even managed to get an impressive group together to look the part, but she's been spending all her time down in the wasteland around Metro. She doesn't have a reason to come all the way up here!" the unicorn exclaimed between breaths, still laughing.
"And how do you know I don't have a reason to come up here?" I snapped, striding forward. The movement made them immediately stop laughing and level their weapons at me again. "If he knows that much about what's going on around Metro, and has ponies in place to talk to some of the ponies I've managed to save, then he has a good information network. I need that network. There is shit going on in this wasteland that everypony is ignoring, and I intend to fucking do something about it!"
The two stallions exchanged a glance, then looked back at me. "All right. I'm going to give you one chance to prove that you're the Heroine of Seaddle. What was the first thing you were on the radio for? If you're some random pony that started listening after she become known, you won't know that."
I sighed, thinking back to the first time I had listened to the radio back in the Pearlescent's inn in Millberry. "He was talking about me going into Stable 60 and saving the ghoul population that had managed to survive down there," I said, picturing Marmelade's face, and the look of gratitude that had come across his features when he saw the sky again for the first time in two hundred years.
The two stallions paused, then holstered their weapons. "It really is you..." the Earth Pony mused, stepping forward until he was standing just across from me, "Luna be damned, the DJ is going to blow a gasket when he finally meets you. Shit, I can't actually believe you're here!"
"Only because I need to be. Can we go in? They're all with me, and if need be, you can consider me responsible for them," I asked, taking in my friends with a gesture.
"Of course you're all welcome! Fuck, I know he wanted you to come out here, he even thought about getting a few of his contacts to approach you, but decided against it, as he thought it would simply interrupt you!" the unicorn exclaimed, "This way. Your friends can rest in our mess while you talk to the DJ."
I nodded my acknowledgment, and the two stallions led us into the station. The main entrance was organized like as a barricade, with a row of sandbags erected facing the door. A heavy machine gun was set up just across from the door, and a hardened red mare with a yellow mane was sitting at its controls, sighting at the door. She visibly relaxed and sat back to light a cigarette when the two stallions entered. Apparently everypony here was willing to trust us since we had been let in.
Honestly, the level of security surprised me. This DJ must have a lot of influence if he had this many guards protecting him. My guess was that they were probably part of some organization in the city, maybe one of the more powerful gangs that happened to own this part of the city.
The stallions led us to the mess hall and provided us all with another few packages of Rad-Away each once they found out how we had gotten here, then told us to help ourselves to their food.
Then they looked to me. "Well, you ready to meet him, Heroine? You've come a long way, and can rest first if you want. We have free beds."
"Don't call me that. My name is Evergreen," I growled. I hated the title, and everything it implied. How could I be anypony's hero when the only guarantee when I showed up anywhere was more death? "And I'd rather just talk to him now. I can rest when we're done."
"Oh, of course... Evergreen," the unicorn said, stumbling over the name. It was immediately obvious that he had expected me to embrace the title, and he was thrown off by the fact that I didn't want to be called that.
He led me in silence through the cramped hallways of the structure towards a stairwell that led up to the second floor, where the DJ presumably kept his equipment. Every scrap of floor space was in use for something in the building, with only the bare minimum being left open for us to walk through. Everywhere else was being used as storage for weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, maintenance supplies for both the structure itself and the ponies' weapons, and a half dozen other essential things these ponies needed to survive out here. If nothing else, they were extremely well supplied.
"Who are you ponies?" I finally asked as we approached the stairs, my eyes being drawn to a crate that was labelled '.50 API'. I did not want to face the weapons they belonged to. A fifty caliber weapon was one thing, but one loaded with armor piercing and incendiary rounds was simply terrifying.
The unicorn laughed, and it was a real laugh, unlike the ugly sounds I was used to hearing from raiders and slavers. "I can imagine your confusion. I bet the only ponies you've run into in the city have been your standard ganger stock, like that white mare traveling with you. Looks like she's from the Earth Marchers a few blocks to the south. We heard a lot of noise from there earlier. Your doing?"
I nodded, "Yeah, we came up against them as we got into the city proper. Tinder Box was from Stable 113, outside the city, and was pressed into the gang when they found their expedition a few years back. She helped us get into their camp and take the radiation chems we needed to get through that Metro tunnel."
"Hmm, nice work. That gang was starting to make a nuisance of themselves, challenging our scavenging patrols. To answer your question, I suppose most ponies would only consider us a gang like any other now, since we hold this part of the city, but we're more than that. Most of us are descended from the remnants of the old Equestrian military that survived the bombs. They held on to the military lifestyle, since it seemed like it would be needed in the world that resulted. Good foresight on their part. In the end, we still consider ourselves the Equestrian military, though we know we don't have the authority to back it up."
"Why are you protecting Shooting Star?" I asked, curious. I was surprised that any fragment of the old military had survived, but I could also see why it would happen. I remember my parents telling me that a lot of ponies had joined up out of the belief in what they were fighting for. It stood to reason that some of them would hang on to that even after Equestria fell apart.
"Because he's the only one up here that gives a damn about anypony else. Take any group you can think of: the gangs, the Steel Rangers, the Enclave, even Metro. They all are out to help themselves. Sure, some of them are more willing to help outsiders than others, but in the end all they want is to ensure their own survival. We protect Shooting Star because he cares more about broadcasting that signal than he does protecting his own hide," the unicorn stated, "As far as I know, you're the only pony in the entire damn region that feels the same way. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here, and he wouldn't have bothered talking about you."
His words left me silent as I thought about what he meant. It was true that I had almost thrown my life away in my attempts to help others, and it was definitely a better line of thought than the one that Yaari had left me with. Maybe that was the balance I needed to find. Maybe it was about doing what I could to help others, despite the risk to myself, even if I had to kill in order to do it.
"Well, we're here. Go ahead on in. He'll know who you are the moment he sets eyes on you, I'm sure of it," the unicorn said with a smile, gesturing to the door in front of me before turning and heading back down the staircase.
Now that I was here, I was hesitant to open the door. For weeks I had heard this stallion talking about me as if I was the greatest thing to happen since the spark battery, and I finally had a chance to do something about it. To my shame, a small part of my mind wanted to make sure that didn't stop. I resolutely put that part of my mind down and opened the door.
Beyond the door I was met with a scene straight out of the old technology magazines I would find from time to time in ruins: Tables and benches absolutely littered with wires, switchboards, computers, and recording instruments of all kinds. An entire wall was taken up by a vast collection of holotapes, most of which looked to be records of Shooting Star's shows, along with a few ancient music tapes, probably what he used to fill the void between shows.
There was only one pony in the room, and there was no doubt that it was Shooting Star. He was a fit Pegasus stallion with a bright blue hide and even brighter yellow mane that was kept back from his face by a bright red headband, but was allowed to flow freely down the back of his neck to cascade around his shoulders. On his flank was a brand of Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, which told me immediately that he had been born above the clouds, making me instantly jealous of him. He had actually seen the stars, the moon, and, most importantly, the sun.
He was standing at a microphone facing a window that looked to be heavily reinforced that gazed out onto the landscape of the city. It was also facing south, towards the wasteland I knew.
"Hellllooooooo Seaddle!" the stallion announced in his usual joyful tone after taking a deep breath, "You are listening to Shooting Star, you ever so reliable, and might I add handsome, DJ. But you didn't tune in to hear me talk about myself, you want to hear the news! Here are the juiciest details that have crossed my path:
Another group of slavers have been vanquished, thanks to the attentions of your Heroine of Seaddle! A few days ago, a rather large shipment of slaves was seen traveling the region between Grovedale and Metro, but our Heroine stepped in and set those ponies free, and even guided them safely all the way back to Metro! How is that for a good influence!
In other, more somber, news, the Heroine has not been seen since she departed from Metro shortly afterwards. If anypony knows, I would be more than grateful to learn where that Paragon of Ponykind has hidden herself this time!"
I felt myself becoming more and more uncomfortable with every word he spoke. It had been bad before, when he was still learning about me. Now, he made it sound like I was some sort of superpony that would always sweep in to save the day. The image of a dead mare lying forgotten on a bed was all the reminder that I needed that that wasn't the case.
The DJ took a breath from his oratory and shot a glance over his shoulder towards me, and I saw his eyes go wide and his jaw go slack. There was no doubting the look of recognition in his eyes. Fuck, now I would have to put up with him shouting my praises to the entire wasteland.
"Hold on now, Seaddle, I have the biggest update of the week for you!" he shouted ecstatically into the microphone, "I have just received the answer to my very last question, and you will not beeelieeeve it! Take one guess who is standing here in the studio of yours truly? If you guessed the one and only Heroine of Seaddle, you are exactly right! Who would have thought she would show up here, just in time for my show!" He turned so that he was facing me, and so that there was space at the microphone beside him.
"Come on up here, Heroine! I have waited a looooong time to finally be able to do this!" he announced with a vigorous gesture of 'come here' with his hoof.
I hesitated, then slowly did as he bid, making my way up to the microphone. I was very conscious of the fact that I was still coated in blood, most of it my own.
"So, Heroine, what brought you all the way up here to my little corner of Seaddle, hmmm? Isn't there someplace else you're needed more?" he asked me, his tone questioning, but not accusatory. It was surprising just how much life and emotion the buck could put into his words.
In a small corner of my mind, I could hear Crosswire urging me not to publicly destroy the image that the stallion had made of me. Part of me wanted to announce that I hated the title anyway, but the wiser part of me knew that would be damning. So, as much as I hated it, I had to play along.
"Honestly? I need your help, Shooting Star. There's only so much a single pony can do in the wasteland, and I need to know where I can do the most good. I've spent the last weeks in and around Metro, but that is only one small part of the wasteland. I need to look farther out, if I'm actually going to make a difference," I answered, trying to put a little life into my words, but my exhaustion at the events of the day, from the battle with the Earth Marchers to the fight with the ghouls, not to mention the excessive radiation of the Metro tunnels themselves, left me feeling drained, and I could feel my voice reflecting that.
"I don't think there is anything you could have said that would make me more proud," the Pegasus buck said with a lively smile that lit his entire face, "You see, most ponies would be mad at you for coming all the way out here when you could be helping others, but you and I see the world differently. You know that the wasteland had been this way for a long time, and that putting out a few fires here or there really isn't going to change anything. We know that we need to fix things at the most basic level, to improve the lives of eeeeveryyyypony, if we are going to ever accomplish anything. I can respect that."
Just like that, the stallion had taken my poorly worded statement, and put it into a format that I'm pretty sure anypony could understand. "Yeah, pretty much," I answered simply with a shrug, not sure what else to say.
"Well, I love to hear it. But let me ask you something, first. How do you feel about what you've been doing, about the difference you've been making in so many ponies' lives?" he asked. I could practically hear him hold his breath as he finished the question, he eyes glued on me.
I hesitated, thinking back on everything that everypony had ever told me ever since I had left that camp such a short time ago. There was Yaari's approach, that no matter how much good I tried to do, I would never be anything more than a killer, and that my hooves would always be stained with the blood of the innocent. There was Shooting Star's view: that I was some sort of hero, destined to save the wasteland from itself. And then there was the view I had just heard: that I was a pony that actually cared about what happened in the wasteland, and that I was willing to put my life on the line to see some good happen.
"How do I feel about my choices?" I mused out loud, asking the question to myself, "They aren't easy. I know from my interactions with slavers, gangers, and your own guards up here, that ponies are trying to emulate me, thinking that all they need to do is pick up a gun and go out there to put things right, but it isn't that easy. Every choice I make carries consequences, and I haven't always been equipped to deal with those," I answered as honestly as I could, "Some days are harder than most, like when my friends get hurt, and I don't know how serious the injuries are, or when I have to choose between letting somepony decide to follow their own dreams, even if it could mean their death, or stopping them to ensure that they live, even if it shackles them to a life they don't want. But most of all, it's hard knowing that every time I try to help somepony in need, I know that I will most likely have to kill again. The responsibility of that many lives, even if most of them deserve their fate, isn't something I can just write off. As terrible as those ponies are, they are still living, breathing ponies, and their deaths are just as real as anyone else's."
A heavy silence followed my speech, and Shooting Star let it deepen, probably giving the audience the chance to take it all in, then he spoke, but his words were soft and light, unlike the energy he had put into them before. "That was very well said, and there are many lessons we can all take to heart from it. Thank you, Heroine, for joining me. I know a lot of ponies out there must feel so much safer now, simply knowing what your voice sounds like, and knowing that you take every decision you make seriously. I know I, for one, feel better.
Well, Seaddle. That is all I have for you tonight. Thank you for joining me for this very special broadcast. Now, here is some Sweetie Belle to soothe you this hopefully peaceful night. This is Shooting Star, signing off."
He reached out with a wing and hit a switch on a console, and a small light lit up, letting a soft, sweet melody drift out from the speakers. He hit another switch, and the microphone and speakers went dead, limiting the music to the radio, so he and I could speak without the distraction of the music.
"Ah, Heroine, you do not know how long I have wanted to meet you!" he exclaimed suddenly, all of his previous energy returning in a rush as he smothered me in a crushing hug, his wings flaring out and wrapping about me as well.
I let him embrace me, tapping him awkwardly on the shoulder with my one free hoof, my left one. I was still getting used to the idea that a large part of the limb had been regenerated from almost nothing but bone. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally let me go, sitting back on a stool and fixing me in a lively gaze. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Well... for starters, please call me Evergreen. I get why you came up with that title," I said, not quite succeeding at suppressing a shudder as I thought about it, "but I hate it. I don't feel like I fit it at all, and I don't feel like I will ever deserve it."
Shooting Star nodded in understanding, and odd look on his face. He had a sort of half-grin on his face that lit his eyes up with some sort of humor, but it wasn't quite a full smile. "Good. You wouldn't be the pony I know you are if you thought you deserved it," he stated, getting up from his seat and wandering over to one of the consoles. He flicked a few switches and a holotape popped out. My guess was that it was the recording of this most recent broadcast. He held it in his hooves, almost cradling it, then picked up a roll of adhesive tape and applied a small strip to the tape before pulling out a pen and scrawling something on it.
"I don't think you understand," I said when it became obvious he wasn't going to say anything else until he was finished with whatever ritual it was he was going through. "I don't deserve the title. You may know something about what I've been doing these last couple weeks, but you don't know anything about me, Shooting Star. Part of the reason for me coming up here was to tell you everything, so at least you heard it from me rather than somepony else."
"And you're also here because you need my information network," the Pegasus said with a jolly tone, "So you can imagine that I probably already have a good idea of what you want to tell me so urgently about why you aren't a hero." He shot a look at me over his shoulder and winked. This was a very odd stallion.
He walked over to the shelf with all the other holotapes and cleared out a small section. "I think this is a good place for this one," he mused to himself, his wings fluttering against his sides, "It is special, so it deserves a special place."
"Look, Shooting Star, I'm trying to be serious here!" I complained, walking up behind him. I arrived just in time to see him step back from the shelf, where the holotape now sat, the words 'Meeting a Heroine' looking out into the small, chaotic room.
"And I am as well. Special moments are not to be rushed," he admonished me, hopping into the air to turn around to face me, "So, since this matter of yours is so serious, let's sit down, shall we?"
He pushed his way passed me and sat at one of his consoles, then swiveled the chair around to face me, propping his forehooves up on his rear legs and resting his chin on them. It looked like a very unnatural position for a pony to sit in.
I sighed and sat down where I was, looking down at the ground. "Well, I guess I should start at the beginning. I am here because I wanted you to hear this from me, and not from some pony that happened to know who I am, who I really am," I started, then looked up at the Pegasus, "So here goes."
I told him everything, starting with my exile from Grovedale, telling him about my years in the raider gang, not leaving out any of the details, and finishing with my most recent escapade against the Earth Marchers and the ghouls in the Metro system. The only facts I left out were the ones concerning the monster living in my mind. That wasn't something he would ever be able to help me with. All told, it took me almost two hours to relate the entire story. Parts of it seemed ridiculous, even to me. I was exhausted, but this wasn't something I could let wait. One of my main reasons for coming up here was to talk to this buck, so waiting was not going to do me any favors.
Throughout it all, he sat silently, only nodding occasionally at some moments, but otherwise sitting stock still. When I finally finished my tale, he sat back, a smile spreading over his features. "Here we have proof that even the best information network will let things slip through the cracks. I do appreciate you coming to me. My sources told me that your past was shadowy, but they didn't know just how much in the dark it was. Had anypony else told me the tale you just did, I would not have hesitated to go up to that radio and lay you bare to the entire wasteland. Most ponies like you would deserve it."
My expression dropped as a feeling of despair opened up in my chest. I deserved treatment like that, and he knew it as well. At least he had received the truth from me, and not somepony that had told him simply out of spite.
"I can see from the look on your face that you think I should, right?" he asked, a note of humor creeping into his voice.
I looked up in surprise, and nodded.
"Well, here's the thing: it takes guts to come to somepony like me that has influence, and lay your entire life bare to him. It takes the sort of decency that ponies just don't have anymore. So I can safely say that you are not going to willingly start slaughtering random ponies out there, am I right?"
"Right now, I'm finding it hard to cope with having to kill anypony, including the gangs and slavers," I admitted, "It seems like everywhere I go, death follows, and there is nothing I can do to stop it."
"And that is exactly why I find myself trusting you. So, in other business, let me guess at the other reason why you came out here: You need information about this Seahawk, or at least about Mareina or Greymane?" he asked, as if that small interaction was enough to put my spirit to rest about who I was.
"I... well... yeah," I finally managed to get out, "You don't care at all about what I was, what I still am, in a way. I'm nothing but a killer..."
"You're a killer that is selective about who you're going to kill. That's the difference between you and a thug. And don't think I haven't noticed your friends. I've heard all about them as well. The maroon mare, the medic, is from Metro, and ponies from there would have nothing to do with a raider. The other mare, the dark one, I don't know as much about, but from what I hear, she is almost religious in her pursuit of justice against raiders and slavers. As for the other two, well, I can understand the plight of your Dashite friend, and if one of your old followers is loyal enough to you to tag along despite everything, I can't help but think that he agrees with you," Shooting Star said with a grin, "But, as I was saying, you want information?"
I sighed heavily, getting to my hooves and walking over to the window that looked out into the wasteland. Physically, I could see the broken shells of the towers and buildings that had been the Seaddle skyline. Only on the horizon, as a dim, hazy line, could I make out the wasteland I had grown up in.
In my mind, however, I saw those familiar hills and wreckage-choked roads, as well as the abandoned structures, hasty fortifications of small bands or caravans, and the mud-streaked hides of the caravaneers themselves. There was a lot worth fighting for out there, and I had made it my job to see it done. The words 'Meeting a Heroine' crossed my mind, and I thought I finally had a glimmer of understanding of why the DJ had chosen the title.
"Yes. I've exhausted my other options, and I know Greymane is on my tail. I've spent too long already fucking around with Metro. It is long past time I started actually doing something, but I haven't got a clue where to start. All I knew was that the bastard would be targeting Millberry, but I took care of that a while ago. Then there's the fact that I know almost nothing about Greymane, despite the fact that we've crossed paths. Then there's Mareina and her mercenaries, not to mention Seahawk himself," I growled, tearing my gaze away from the window to look at the DJ.
There was a glint of excitement in his eye as well as that constant smile on his face. He was odd, but he knew what he was doing, and he knew what he wanted, I could give him that. "Evergreen, my Heroine, I think I can help you," he said as he rose, "As far as any of them go, individually, I can only tell you as much as anyone else. Greymane is a vicious killer, and will take any job, so long as the pay is right. The fact that he's signed on with Seahawk is surprising, since he never seemed the sort for causes. Same goes for Mareina, and she's as vicious, if not more so, than Greymane is. As for Seahawk, well... I'd only ever heard the name in passing before all of this, which tells me that whoever it is, is a lot smarter than we give them credit for. My guess would be that it is a codename, or some other nickname for somepony that doesn't want to reveal themselves."
"So what can you help me with?" I growled, "They are the ones chasing me down, and Greymane has already come close enough to killing one of my friends. I'm pretty sure it's only luck I haven't crossed paths with him again!"
"A combination of luck and him needing to re-think his approach, I think. Judging from your story, you came awfully close to beating him, and the point would not be lost on him. He's probably stepped back, letting Mareina have her shot before having another go himself," Shooting Star amended me, "But what I can help you with is something that might give you an idea of where to go. I could be wrong, but I have a few hunches about what it is that Seahawk wants, but he doesn't know where to get it. What I can give you, Evergreen, is a name: Whinny Island. It's an old naval base off the coast of the mainland. I think you'll find something there that could be of use, and not only because it's the only military base around these parts that hasn't been ransacked."
"Whinny Island? Seems like an odd name for a military base," I said, pulling up the map on my Pipbuck. Sure enough, now that the DJ had pointed it out, there was a marker on the map for the island, though I had no clue how I was going to get there. It was way too far out to sea for any of us to be able to swim.
Shooting Star shrugged. "Who knows why they named it that way back when. Doesn't matter anymore. What you need is a way to get there, and I can give you that as well."
"For free?" I asked sarcastically. If he said yes, I was going to call bullshit. Nothing was ever free in the wasteland.
"Of course. You're already doing far more for me than anypony else. It would be petty for me to ask you to do anything else. I already have a recorded show with you in it, not to mention the fact that you're out there cleaning the wasteland up and convincing the towns to work together. I couldn't think of anything else," the buck laughed. I snorted, which only made him laugh louder.
"Fine! Don't believe me!" he practically cackled, "Doesn't make it any less true! Either way, you're going to want to find a pony by the name of High Seas. He's an old pony that runs a small fishing boat a few hours walk to the east of the city. For a fee he'll take you anywhere you want to go. If you tell him I sent you, he'll probably give you a discount, though I won't promise you that's true."
"You think it's still running? When's the last time you got in touch with him?" I asked with a disbelieving tone. It simply seemed too good to be true.
"Yeah, I know, what with all the dangers out there, but he's a tough nut. If anypony is still alive, he is," Shooting Star insisted, rising to his hooves and making his way to the door, "Now, we've been talking for quite a while, and I imagine your friends are starting to wonder where you are. The beds are open to you all, as are our cleaning facilities. They aren't anything fancy, just some tubs and dirty water, but it's better than nothing. Why don't you go down, get some rest, and we'll talk again in the morning before you head out, eh?" He opened the door and held it that way for me to step through.
"Are you sure? Thank you. After today, we need the security of a place like this. Thank you again for your help, and understanding," I muttered, nodding my head in appreciation.
"I'm sure, and I wouldn't imagine doing otherwise. We both seek to better the wasteland in our own ways. I'm no good with a gun, so I use my voice. But you can take the more direct route. Together, we can change this city for the better. Now go, get some rest. We'll speak in the morning."
With that, he ushered me out of the room and closed it behind him. With nothing else to do, I wandered down the stairs and made my way back to the mess hall where my friends had been gathered earlier.
They were all still sitting around, talking, laughing, and generally enjoying themselves. A few of the ponies that belonged to the group protecting the building had joined them, and were animatedly trading stories, mostly just with Crosswire and Tinder Box, as the others didn't have much to tell of their own wasteland experiences.
When they saw my arrival, the attention immediately fixated on me, and it was really unexpected. "So, Heroine, I guess the meeting went well, huh?" Tinder laughed raucously, nearly falling off of her chair in her mirth.
I looked from pony to pony, my confusion probably very evident on my face. Steel Curtain, after five minutes of laughter on everypony's part, finally took mercy on me. "We turned on the radio down here just in time for that broadcast," he said, grinning broadly, "You did well, but seemed as emotional as a plank of wood compared to Shooting Star."
"Well, you try getting forced into a radio broadcast when you're exhausted after a long day of travel and fighting," I growled, but there was no real anger in the words. If anything, I was happy to see my friends laughing with each other.
"We're just fucking with you, Evergreen," Autumn Mist laughed, walking up to me and draping a leg around my shoulders. Her breath smelled markedly of alcohol. Great, my friends has been drinking. "How'd the meeting afterwards go? You were up there for quite a while. Have some fun while you had the chance?" she asked as she smacked my rump with her tail, then started laughing uncontrollably, grabbing her side with her free hoof and nearly falling over.
I recoiled in horror, my gaze automatically being drawn to Crosswire, then Steel Curtain. The former had a look of anger that was quickly stamped out, but not before I noticed. The latter had a worried expression.
"What! No! We talked, or... I talked. I told him everything about me, like I said I was going to do. It took a long time to tell that story..." I trailed off, my gaze dropping down to the floor.
"How'd he take it?" Suture asked softly, getting up to guide the dark mare back to her seat and giving her a bottle of water to drink.
"A lot better than I expected. He basically said it was a non-issue since I was the one that made the attempt to come out and tell him. From there, we talked about what we've been working on for so long," I answered, being intentionally vague, considering the two members of our group I knew almost nothing about.
"Well, that's good," Steel Curtain said from his corner. An open bottle of Sparkle-Cola was sitting open on the table in front of him. One of the local ponies was standing by his side; the earth pony that had met us at the door, "What kind of advice did he have?"
"He gave me a name, something to look into once we're done with Stable 113," I said, looking over at the Dashite. I hoped that my expression was enough to tell him to drop it. I still wasn't completely willing to trust our newest traveling companions. I was more willing to trust Tinder Box, considering her background, but Marcus's past was still almost entirely unknown to me. He had helped us out of enough sticky situations that I trusted him in a fight, but the sensitive information concerning Seahawk and his allies was something I wanted to keep purely amongst those of us I really knew. It was simply too dangerous otherwise, especially considering the fact that I expected the griffin to be leaving us now that he had guided us here.
Unfortunately, it was Tinder that asked the question, rather than the armored Pegasus. "You mean the Stable isn't the only reason you're up here?" she asked, cocking her head to one side in confusion, "Exactly what is it you're doing here then? The entire city has been ransacked and belongs to the gangs. Not even your influence can change that. And what do you mean about telling the DJ about who you are?"
I sighed heavily. I was backed into a corner, and there was very little I could do about it. "Yeah, I'm up here for more than just the Stable. We accepted that job on behalf of our friend because it was on the way here. And my past is far more checkered than you think, Tinder. I'm not a hero. I'm just a pony that realized I was doing the wrong thing, and decided to try to do better."
"Fair enough, we've all got our skeletons, but exactly what are you up here for? Like I said, no one pony will ever be able to influence all the gangs," the white mare insisted, reaching out for a bottle of vodka that was sitting next to her and taking a generous swallow.
"I have to admit, I'm intrigued as well," Marcus added, "After seeing you in action yesterday and today, you are definitely a pony to be reckoned with, and I am really interested to find out what cause would grab your attention."
"This isn't something I like talking openly about," I said bluntly. Hiding the truth wasn't going to gain me anything, and I didn't want to start sharing everything I knew, but I felt I could trust them enough to tell them where I was going to be going. "Suffice to say I've found a threat to the wasteland that I don't intend to simply let happen. Shooting Star told me of a place I can go to find something that might help. He called it Whinny Island."
"The old naval base? No shit," Marcus mused, scratching his chin with a taloned hand, "Isn't that interesting. I've heard a lot of bad stories about that place. They say it's haunted, and that no one who has ventured there has ever returned since the bombs fell."
"Ghost stories don't frighten me! I say what are we waiting for!" Autumn exclaimed, rising to her hooves and thrusting a hoof victoriously into the air.
"We're waiting until after we've dealt with the Stable. From what I can make out, the Stable is between here and where we need to go to get there anyway," I answered, "Not to mention the fact that I am still exhausted and covered in blood after today."
"Oh... right," the dark mare muttered, her head falling back to the surface of the table in despair, "I hate those fucking holes in the ground."
"Interesting job. Traveling with you is definitely an interesting experience," Tinder said, taking another swig of her drink, "It'll be interesting to see what happens. Am I taking you to the Stable tomorrow then?"
"That's the plan," I confirmed with a nod, then turned to Marcus, "As for you, you fulfilled your end of the bargain. You're free to leave anytime you like. Thanks for your help in getting us here. The Goddesses know your help was invaluable."
The griffin shrugged, then said, "Honestly, I've got nowhere to go. All I was doing before those fuckers nabbed me was fly aimlessly about. With you, there's actually something happening. If you don't mind, I think I'll stick around a bit until something comes up that grabs my interest."
I couldn't find a reason to say no, so I nodded. Besides, he might come to be as important to this group as Steel Curtain had. "I guess I could use another set of eyes in the air. Thanks, Marcus. As for the rest of you, get some rest, especially you, Autumn," I said pointedly, glaring at the dark mare, "As always, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
I turned away from them and made my way out into the hallway, stopping the first pony I saw to ask where the cleaning area was. Once given directions, I made my way there, relishing the thought of finally being able to clean myself up.
I had just managed to pull my blood-soaked barding off when Crosswire appeared in the door. "I have to say, I'm impressed you managed to not blow the whole 'Heroine' thing on the radio," he stated, leaning against the door frame.
"You were right, Crosswire. I don't gain anything by turning the wasteland against me. At least Shooting Star heard me out and knows the truth. We'll see how he handles it on his next show," I answered, grabbing a bottle of water and emptying it over my head tow wash out the worst of the blood from my mane and face. From there, I started scrubbing at the blood that had caked onto my chest, not to mention the mud, dust, and dirt that had gathered over the rest of me from the city and Metro tunnels.
"Well, at least you know how to learn from your mistakes then," he said, then fell silent.
After a few moments, I looked over at him. He was standing stock still, staring at me. His expression was contemplative, as if he was trying to ask me something, but didn't know how. "Was there something else, Crosswire?" I finally asked, pointedly staring back at him.
"Something happened, didn't it?" he finally asked, "Between you and Steel Curtain? I can tell. Both of you are acting very different, and you can barely keep your eyes off him. It was bad before, but I'm sure everypony is noticing it now. Autumn's comment, drunk though she was, made me really notice it."
"Really, Crosswire? You need to do this now?" I growled, turning on him, "My personal life is just that, personal. We're both still fighting just fine, so what business is it of anypony's?"
"It's our business because it might affect us in the future. If the shit hits the fan, and you need to decide between me and him, who are you going to choose?" the ragged tech demanded, stepping away from the doorframe and towards me.
I didn't answer immediately. The question that I would ever have to make that kind of choice had never crossed my mind, and I did not like the issues that it brought up. "I... I don't know," I stuttered, "I've never thought about it."
"Then at least be honest with me! Did something happen!" Crosswire demanded angrily, taking another step towards me.
"We kissed, all right! It caught me completely by surprise when it happened, and I still don't know how I feel, but it happened, ok! Fuck, Crosswire, this isn't like you!" I snapped, turning away for him to grab another bottle to rinse myself off with.
The unicorn seemed to deflate, as if that one comment killed the last of his hopes. "All right. It is him then. Sorry, Evergreen, I just... nevermind." He turned and strode out the door, his head hung low.
"Crosswire! What's wrong! Talk to me!" I shouted after him, but he ignored me, disappearing around the corner. I watched on my E.F.S. as he made his way back towards the mess, and then to somewhere else, probably the sleeping area.
If his feelings for me were still such a problem, we were going to have to talk about it. All I could hope for was that he would listen when the time came. First, I would have to talk to Steel Curtain, and figure out where we stood. None of that was going to be easy, since I still didn't know what I thought about it all.
I took my time to finish cleaning up, doing my best to clean off my armor as well, before pulling it back on and heading towards the barracks. When I finally arrived, almost everypony else was already asleep, so I simply crawled into a bunk and lay down, hoping that sleep would come easily.
Level Up!
Perk gained: Fast Hooves - Your reload speed with all weapons has been increased by 25%
Skill Note: Guns (100)
{Another finished chapter, and another step towards some moments that I have been looking forward to for a long time. Thank you, as always, to Kkat for the original FoE, as well as to Cody and MUCKSTER for their editing and tearing this story to shreds to make sure the characters remain themselves. As always, the hub page on Google Docs can be found here. Also, an extra note here: Cody is pretty much unable to edit anymore, as he is simply too busy, so if anyone is either willing to pre-read and edit, please message me!} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 13: Turning Point | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 13: Turning Point
"And who are you, that I must bow so low?"
Another day, and another unfamiliar bed. Sometimes I missed the familiarity of a regular lifestyle. Not that I didn't think what I was doing was necessary. In a way, I even enjoyed our work, knowing that I was making progress, despite appearances to the contrary. Now, saving ponies was the only thing that drove me forward. It was a large change in such a short time, but all that told me was that this was what I was supposed to be doing.
At the end of the day, I could say I was actually happy, far happier than I had been in years. I had a group of friends that were willing to do just about anything for me, and, shoot me for thinking it, but also a potential relationship that could offer me stability and security in this fucked-up world that we called home. Every day I saw evidence that ponykind had allowed this to happen to us. It was in the haze on the horizon, and the blasted lifelessness of the wasteland.
I could still see the pictures in my mind's eye, from the small book I had treasured so long ago, before my life had gone so completely wrong. They were pictures of rolling green hills, and orchards that went on as far as the eye could see, every single tree laden down with fruit. And our leaders, the ones meant to deliver us to safety and ensure our protection, had wasted it all. Now all that was left was a broken shell, sometimes not even that. Civilization as we knew it had ceased to be, but from the fires of hell, something else had emerged, something that gave us an opportunity to build something better.
In a way, the apocalypse could be said to have saved us all. I knew that I valued the friendships I had more than anything else I had ever owned. Part of me, the cynical part that I tried to keep buried, told me that ponies had once considered friendship a given, and that they had forgotten the value of what a friend was.
And sometimes, taking away the safety and security of those preconceptions was the only way to teach us that everything good in life was to be valued, that even the smallest of kindnesses should not be overlooked. The bombs had ended a world in which ponies were expected to help their neighbors, then ushered in a world where the simple act of cutting a rope led to the belief that there was a debt to be paid. The words "It's simply what a friend does," had probably not been uttered in a very long time.
And that was why what I had was so special. In this world of greed, death, and misery, I had found a group of ponies, as different from each other as anyone possibly could be, that were willing to save lives because that was simply what decent ponies did. I couldn't be prouder to know that they were my friends.
And to add something even better to all of this, I finally had my journal again. It had taken me a while to find a usable pencil, but ever since I had picked one up while wandering in Metro I had renewed my tradition of writing in it every time I got a chance. I had also started a new tradition of reading some of my earliest entries, and they all brought back images I had long since forgotten, like the morning so long ago my parents had woken me with a fresh meal, with real food. It had been the first time I had ever eaten real food, and now the memory of all of those tastes were coming back. It brought a smile to my face.
I pushed myself to my hooves and pulled on my saddlebags. Shooting Star had promised to speak with me before we left, and I intended to do just that. I had a few questions I still needed to ask, and I was willing to do whatever the DJ wanted to have them answered. At the end of the day, the wasteland ran on a barter economy, and information was one of the most valuable commodities in existence.
The mess hall was nearly empty, populated only by a few of the soldiers protecting the base, as well as Crosswire and Tinder Box. It seemed that the tech had found a kindred spirit in the scarred white mare as they had their weapons laid out on the table between them, discussing something about how to best clean and maintain the precise machinery that allowed the firearms to function.
They spared only the barest nods in my direction when I arrived before returning their focus to the discussion. I didn't mind. All I wanted was a bite to eat.
A burly green Earth pony was standing behind a set of table that had been moved to form a sort of buffet. Laid out on them was a vast variety of food, from seemingly fresh sandwiches to the ubiquitous pre-war packaged food. There were even a few options for the carnivorously inclined. The buck was wearing a chef's apron and had a ridiculous poofy white hat on top of his head.
"Ah, our Heroine of Seaddle!" the Earth pony boomed as I approached, "Tell me what I can treat you to? We have everything! Fresh produce imported all the way from the remote settlements of Baytown and Fresh Springs; Fresh meat from the hunters beyond Buckview; or, of course, the ever-so-popular pre-packaged food? You're wish is my desire!"
I was taken aback by the enthusiasm in the buck's voice. "I've never heard of Baytown or Fresh Springs," I muttered as I perused the available food, "Where are they? And how the hell did you get their food all the way here?" Any town that was capable of producing its own food must be powerful indeed. They would need a way to protect their interests, since they would always be the target of raiders looking for a quick and easy meal. Even slavers would find the draw irresistible.
"To answer the second question, our main base has an arrangement with the two towns, and gets regular shipments. Any time soldiers are moving from here to our base, the replacements bring a few crates of fresh food with them. As for the first question, they are not well known, but we still have connections with some of the ponies that live there, thanks mostly to Shooting Star's radio equipment. They are remote ponies and don't really like the company of others, though they are willing to trade their surplus goods with us in exchange for weapons and ammunition," the buck explained with a slow nod of his head, "They live beyond the mountains to the south, on the other side of the peninsula that we call home. If you look at the map on your Pipbuck there, I am sure you will see what I mean."
I pulled up the map and zoomed out as far as it would allow me. Sure enough, I could make out the shape of the landmass on which Seaddle sat. It was a relatively thin strip of land, jutting out into the ocean from the main body of the continent. The mountain range I knew so well extended almost to the coast, with only a small strip of arable land available for any sort of farming, though I imagine they did a good job of protecting the land from the torrential downpours that were so common here.
"Huh, I didn't know anypony lived that far south," I mused, lowering my leg and looking at the buck, "Is the food they make any good?"
The buck laughed, a hearty sound that originated deep in his chest and practically shook the walls. "Good? It's the best meal anywhere this side of Equestria. What few reports we can get from the homeland tell us that there is a group of ponies near the old city of Hoofington that might be able to produce fresh fruit and vegetables as well, but everything we hear from that region tells us that the land is sick, poisoned even. Seaddle was not targeted by nearly as many bombs on the Last Day. I will guarantee that our food is better!" He announced, pounding his chest in pride.
"Your food? Did you grow up there?" I asked pointedly, my gaze now wandering to the apples and carrots lying on the table. They looked healthy and juicy, and my mouth was watering just looking at them.
"Hah! You're sharper than most!" the buck exclaimed, a wide smile splitting his face, "Indeed, I was born in Fresh Springs, and there was no better place to live. But, as with all safe and secure homes, life was dull. Mine was a spirit born to wander, and I did so from the day I earned my cutie mark! Didn't stop until I fell in with the Captain. Decided that fighting to help the ponies of the Wasteland was better than wandering aimlessly."
"Captain? Is he the one in charge of all of you?" I asked, reaching out and grabbing one of the ripe, green apples to inspect it more closely.
"Aye. Captain Rolling Thunder. Those of us here are only a small group, tasked to protect Shooting Star. The rest of us are safe and sound at the old military base to the west. There are enough of us there to protect ourselves, but not quite so many that we can really help the wasteland, at least not in the way the Captain wants to," the buck said sadly, "That's why we volunteered to come here. At least we can make a difference protecting the only sane voice to be heard by all ponies in this part of the world."
"I might have to talk to this Captain at some point. He sounds like a useful pony to know, especially to someone in my profession," I said, smiling as I took a bite of the apple. It was by far the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. Sweet, and at the same time tart, juice flowed into my mouth and down my chin. I was so used to food being bland, so old that it had lost all flavor, that I had almost forgotten food could have a taste.
My face must have shown my thoughts because the buck started to laugh again. "Ah, I love to see ponies eat real food for the first time, and discovering that food can be enjoyed, rather than just eaten for survival. And the Captain would love to meet you, Heroine."
"Please, just call me Evergreen," I finally managed to say, finding my voice again as I took another, much larger, bite.
"And I am Spring Bounty. If you do travel to Camp Resolve, tell the Captain I sent you. He will make you welcome! And please, take these for your travels. They'll remind you of better things in the lifeless wastes we call home," the massive buck said, giving me a bag full of fresh fruits and vegetables.
I immediately stashed the treasure in my saddlebags. My friends would be amazed at the taste of the fresh food. I'd share them for our meal when we got to Stable 113. I was already looking forward to it. "Thank you, Spring Bounty. Now, I need to go see Shooting Star. We've got a few things to discuss before we can leave."
The buck nodded his acceptance as I turned and trotted out of the room, my spirits lifted to levels I hadn't felt in a long time. It was amazing what effect a little bit of good food could have on the mind.
Within minutes, I was standing at the door of the DJ's studio, and knocked.
"Come in," his iconic voice answered immediately, still joyful and upbeat.
I pushed the door open and found the DJ standing at one of the many consoles in the room, typing something. "Give me just a moment. I won't be long," the Pegasus said, sparing me the briefest of looks over his shoulder.
He finished his work, typing a few last, seemingly decisive commands before shutting the console down and turning to face me. His face instantly lit up with joy when he recognized my face. "Ah, my Heroine, I was looking forward to seeing you this morning. I've been receiving reports from the Wasteland about last night's show. Hearing your voice has given many ponies hope again. And I also learned something you might wish to know: Millberry has sent a caravan south, with the intention of traveling past Metro, and even past Grovedale. Would you happen to know why?"
I nodded, a smile spreading across my features at the knowledge that my work was coming to something. "I would. Part of the deal with Millberry was securing a water purifier or recycler for them. I found one in a Stable outside the Steel Ranger Outpost, and they agreed to give it to Millberry, since their bunker already has a purifier."
"Ah, I see. Well, that is something worthy of telling as well. I'll be sure to tell the city on the next show. I must say though, it is rare for me to get news like this right from the mouth of the mare responsible. It's refreshing," Shooting Star with a smile, "But I doubt you came up here to listen to me blather. What questions are still on your mind, my Heroine?"
"I thought I asked you to call me Evergreen, Shooting Star. I hate that title. I'm nopony's hero. I'm just a mare trying to give them all a chance to live," I complained, stepping past the DJ, a stormy look replacing my smile.
"I know, Heroine, but in my mind, you are one of the few with the strength to save us. If anything, your past makes you all the better for it," the DJ answered, his hooves clopping on the ground as he turned with me.
"What!" I shouted, turning on him, my anger briefly getting the best of me before I tamped it down and locked it away in a corner of my mind. This buck did not deserve my anger, not after everything he had done. "How could you possibly think that?" I asked incredulously, once I was under better control of myself, "I made a living out of murdering other ponies. My followers routinely mutilated the corpses of our victims, and I did nothing to stop them! How the fuck does that make me better suited to save this fucking wasteland! I know of at least a half dozen ponies that want to put a bullet in my skull out of principle!"
Despite my tirade, the DJ still had that damned smile on his face, like he was in on some joke that the wasteland was still waiting to see. It was infuriating. All I wanted was to see this damn buck crack, to get angry, or sad, or disappointed, or something. He was too fucking happy.
"And that is why you are better suited. You know the price of failure, or the cost we will all pay if you give up. You understand what evils lie out there, and because of that, you know what you are fighting against," he answered calmly, he façade completely unbroken.
"But I don't!" I exclaimed, "Seahawk isn't like the raiders or the slavers. They are unorganized, brutish, and largely stupid. The ponies loyal to him are anything but! He has the loyalty of killers like Greymane and Mareina, and the other mercenaries he commands are well-equipped and smart. Did you hear anything about my fight with them outside of Buckview?"
"No, I can't say I have. You were the only one's present in that fight that have had anything to say about it. I know of one other survivor, but he is well out of my reach right now," Shooting Star answered, slowly shaking his head, "So tell me about the fight."
I sighed, thinking back to the ruins of that town. Immediately the image of smoke rising into the chill air, fueled by the fire set into the corpses of the ponies that had called the town home came to mind. "The entire town was a wreck. Nothing taller than a single story was still standing. We were just making ready to head back towards Metro when they approached from the east. For all I know they were taking cover in the forest. Their leader was smart enough to know how to manipulate the leaders of the town, at least for a while. When they stopped cooperating, she knew enough to be able to overcome their defenses and burn everything to the ground. As far as I know, she only made one mistake."
"And what mistake was that?" Shooting Star asked thoughtfully.
"Not listening to me when I said we were more than capable of killing her and avenging the innocent lives that she had taken," I growled, "But the fight wasn't easy. They had good combat armor, which meant that only headshots were a guaranteed kill, and their weapons were well maintained, not to mention military-grade. They knew what they were doing and how to do it. We were simply better."
"But one of them survived," Shooting Star pointed out, an amused tone in his voice.
"Yeah. Starshine, a Dashite from Stormfront. Steel Curtain knew him when they were both still in the Enclave. How'd you know?" I asked, turning to look out the window.
"Because you gave him a job to gather all the Dashites in the region, and I didn't get this brand out of love for the legends of Rainbow Dash," Shooting Star answered gravely. It was the first time I had heard him speak in anything but a joyful tone.
I turned to look at him, but he was facing away from me, looking at a small picture. In it was a young blue Pegasus with a striking resemblance to the DJ himself standing between another two Pegasi. One was a sand-colored stallion with a bold expression and a crew-cut brown mane, and the other was a dark blue mare with a flowing green mane. It didn't take a genius to see that it was his family.
"Starshine came here?" I asked, stepping towards the DJ.
He replaced the picture and turned to face me, the smile returning. "He did, though I had to turn his offer down. I'm needed here. I'm afraid he's received the same answer from most of the ponies he's spoken with. Some have agreed to go with him, but many are not. I don't think anyone really understands what the Enclave was hoping to accomplish with this little project of theirs, especially not anypony down here."
"What do you mean? Steel Curtain told me about what they were doing. He said they were branding and exiling soldiers for small infringements," I argued, "Why wouldn't they want to band together and fight back?"
"Because Steel Curtain does not have all the information. He forgot to think about the possibility that some of those ponies volunteered," Shooting Star explained, a severe expression on his face. He strode past me and stood by the window, looking out on the skyline. "I've fought the hard fight for this city for so long... And now the Enclave has found the one way to trip me up."
The change in the Pegasus was surprising, and it made me uncomfortable. I had thought that I wanted to see him crack. But as much as his constant joy had annoyed me, it was truly unnerving to see him as anything but. Even worse, he seemed angry. "The biggest drawback of my work is that even the Enclave can pick up my broadcasts. In the beginning I wanted them to, until I realized that I was giving them information about everything that was down here, including the locations and strengths of all of the towns and settlements. To a military like theirs, every scrap of information is valuable.
When I realized that, I changed my approach, hiding specifics. Now, I never mention locations, or mention the strength of towns, except if they may need immediate help. I hide everything I can from them in an unceasing war of information. And now all that effort is for nothing!"
"What are you talking about? Why would ponies volunteer to be branded and exiled?" I asked, "It doesn't make any sense. They'll never be able to go back!"
"They don't care. Their loyalty to their leaders is unwavering. The Enclave has finally found a way to get past my strategy. Mark my words, Evergreen, those 'Dashites' are just as loyal to the Enclave as any other soldier. They were sent for one purpose: spying on the towns and the ponies in them. Stormfront is preparing for something. I would bet every single holotape I own on that," Shooting Star growled, turning back to face me, an ugly grimace twisting his features, "They took a truly personal choice and made it into something we must now all be suspicious of."
"What do you suggest I do, then? I can't just start killing Dashites on the chance that they might be allied with the Enclave," I asked, my voice wavering a bit. I didn't like this side of the DJ.
"No, you can't. It would destroy your image. Chances are that whoever is in command ordered them to look and act like the other Dashites, so they will be nearly invisible, standing out only because they are Pegasi. Doubtless some of the soldiers were victims like your friend claims, exiled to hide the operatives. But that makes it worse. We can't even use the time of their arrival as a way to judge. I'm still trying to decide how to report this to the Wasteland," Shooting Star said, the grimace disappearing to be replaced with a sad expression as he turned his gaze to the microphone.
"Then don't. It will only cause mass panic and more hatred towards Pegasi than what already exists. Let us handle it. If what you say is true, then Starshine will be close to finished with what I asked him to do. I'll talk to him once he contacts me, and we'll figure out what to do. I'll think on the problem until then," I answered, reaching out to put a supporting hoof on the DJs shoulder.
That simple gesture brought his sunny disposition back, and he jumped up, his smile returning, and wrapped me in a tight embrace. "This is why you are my Heroine! Even in the face of despair and adversity you have a plan! I'll will watch and listen, and if I hear anything, you will learn of it. You know when my shows are. Every time you tune in, I'll be sure to include something that may help you in some way. I need to be a bit careful how I give you the information, but it will be there. Now, I don't think there is anything we can get from each other now, my Heroine, and the wasteland awaits your aid. Thank you for your presence and your kind words," he exclaimed, finally releasing me from the crushing embrace and charging off to one of his consoles, probably to prepare for his next show.
"Of course, Shooting Star. Glad I could help," I said awkwardly, making my way towards the door, "And good luck."
"You will need it more than I, my Heroine. The wasteland is a better place now I have finally met you, and it will continue to be better as long as you live. Now go! Your journeys await!" The DJ announced, shooting me one last, beaming smile.
I smiled in return and retreated out the door, heading back downstairs to meet with my friends. This felt like it was going to be a good day, one of the few we had ever had.
We didn't waste any time in gathering our things and leaving the radio station. Tinder Box was in the lead now, since she knew best where we needed to go. A small detachment of the ponies based at the station guided us as far as a few blocks out, to the limits of what they considered their territory.
From there, it was a simple, straightforward route through the city to the outskirts. Tinder told us that the Stable was housed in the basement of an old workshop, close enough to the city that it shouldn't take us more than an hour or two hours to make it out there.
While we traveled, I considered how I would explain the problems that Shooting Star had presented. The scattered loyalties of the Dashites was a truly worrying problem, since a plan had been forming in my mind about how to possibly use them. Now, all of that was worthless. There were easily a few of those operatives that would join Starshine's efforts, if only to get themselves closer to another source of information.
The more I learned about the problems plaguing this city, the more I realized how out of my depth I was. I was a single pony facing mercenaries willing to slaughter entire towns, killers capable of taking on four other, better equipped ponies, and winning, and governments that were throwing their own soldiers into the flame just to gain a minute edge. All I had on my side was my determination to do right and the support of my friends. I might as well have been a hare trying to fight back against an eagle.
The density of buildings was just starting to thin out when I decided that the rest of my friends needed to be aware of what was going on. Steel Curtain, in particular, since he was connected to what was happening. "Hey, everypony, hold up a second," I announced, bringing us to a halt, "Let's take a quick break. I need to explain some things that Shooting Star told me, but I'm not willing to let down our guard while traveling in the city. It concerns what our next moves are going to be in the next few days."
"Oh? What did he tell you?" Steel Curtain asked, alighting next to me and taking a generous gulp from his canteen.
"It's about Starshine, and the Dashites he's been gathering," I started, then proceeded with the rest of what the DJ had told me. I left nothing out, including telling them about the DJs own troubles with trying to keep information from the Enclave. I finally finished by telling them about my promise to do something about the problem once Starshine got into touch with us.
"Fuck, I should have realized the Enclave was smarter than we were giving them credit for," Steel Curtain swore, stomping a hoof in anger and sending up a small cloud of dust.
"I can't say I'm too surprised. An organized military like they have would not have a hard time coming up with a plan like this. All they would need is the permission to do it," Crosswire said, "The question is what are we going to do about it?"
"I don't know yet," I admitted, "But for now, we can't trust any Dashite we meet unless they prove, beyond any doubt, that they are not still loyal to the Enclave."
"Isn't this going to cause problems with him?" Tinder Box asked, pointing a hoof at Steel Curtain, "Because you said he is a Dashite, but he still has the armor of an Enclave soldier."
"It might," I agreed with a contemplative nod, "but thankfully, most of the towns we deal with on a regular basis know him. The only problem we might have is with Millberry, and that is only if those Dashite's that are loyal to the Enclave make their loyalties known. Hopefully, the fact that he's traveling with me will set aside any doubts as well. Despite my hatred of the title, Shooting Star's efforts are making me a known entity."
"But how are we going to tell the Enclave ponies apart from the true Dashites?" Suture asked quietly, "I can't imagine they'll be going around simply announcing their true loyalty."
"I agree. We need to think of some way to determine the real deal from the imposters," Marcus put in thoughtfully, "Maybe a question about why they were exiled?"
"That wouldn't work," Steel Curtain snapped, "Evergreen already explained that a lot of the ponies that were exiled were young soldiers fully exiled on the grounds that they would screen the deployment of the undercover troops, many of whom are probably young enough to blend in. No matter which way we cut it, we're caught in a fucking trap!"
"Not necessarily," Autumn said, the first time she had spoken throughout the entire discussion, "The wasteland is full of Pegasi that have left the Enclave behind. We already know you, Starshine, and now Shooting Star as well. If we can find other experienced Dashites, like the ones that Starshine is gathering, then they should have some idea about how to differentiate between the two. I can't imagine that the operatives will willingly slander their own leadership, regardless of how well they're prepared. My guess is that they will hold to a few suitably hateful lines, but hold back from the truly harsh shit, like what we've heard from Steel Curtain."
"That might work," I stated with a nod in the young mare's direction, "It's definitely something to think about. But that's all I wanted. Thought you all should know the situation. When Starshine finally contacts us, we need to have an idea of how to move forward. I hate walking into shit blind."
"Thanks for sharing, Evergreen. It's interesting, knowing a bit more about what's going on," Tinder said, nodding appreciatively at me, an odd half-smile on her face, "Now, shall we continue? We're getting close."
True to the scarred mare's words, we were approaching the old, dilapidated workshop that supposedly housed Stable 113 after a rather short journey. It stood off to one side of a power distribution facility, most likely meant to house the machinery and tools needed to run and maintain the fragile, and now destroyed, components that once allowed the electricity be routed to the city and surrounding areas.
"You sure this is it?" Autumn grumbled as we pushed our way through a hole in the chain-link fence around the perimeter, "This place looks like a graveyard."
"It's supposed to. We didn't want a giant sign over our home announcing to the wasteland 'Look here! There's a Stable!'" Tinder Box retorted.
She led us to the building and pushed the door open. Her shotgun slid down into a reachable position as she stepped through the door. I unconsciously readied myself for combat as well.
"Hey, Evergreen, do you really think you're going to need everyone down there?" Marcus asked as we followed the white mare inside. His eyes were darting from the door to the sky, and his expression revealed how nervous he was. He was almost more jittery than Steel Curtain had been in Metro.
"Probably not. Why? You afraid of being underground?" I asked, turning to look at the griffin with a questioning look.
"Yeah. I can't bear not being able to see the sky," the griffin answered, his voice shaking, "I'll keep watch out here, wait for you all to get back."
"All right," I answered, shrugging, "Steel Curtain, you want to stay topside as well? I know how much you hate going underground."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that," the armored Pegasus said, the note of relief clear in his voice, "See you all when you get back."
I nodded at the Pegasus and continued inside. The workshop was in tatters. What few horizontal surfaces were left were littered with debris and litter, ranging from empty bottles of Sparkle-Cola to various electronic scraps and scrap metal. In one corner, and ancient vending machine sat, its lights still flickering anemically. It didn't look like anything could have been hidden here.
Nevertheless, Tinder Box made her way around the main counter and hit something underneath the register. From the far corner of the room came the sound of gears grinding loudly together, and an entire section of the floor rose up, split in half, then slid into slots in the floor specifically designed to hold them. What was left was a metal staircase leading underground.
Autumn Mist let out a low whistle as she approached the stairs. "Impressive. You lot keep it running?" she asked, looking back at Tinder Box.
"As well as they can. If that door were to ever seize up, either open or closed, the Stable would probably fall apart within the month. Despite their forced contact with the surface, those ponies aren't ready to be a part of the Wasteland. It almost destroyed them the first time," the scarred mare answered pensively as she walked up to the staircase and started on her way down, "But on the other hoof, they can't survive without periodic scavenging parties to dig up some old tech or food. They simply can't sustain themselves alone."
I followed after her as she led us down a short maintenance corridor that opened on a large room. One wall was dominated by the massive gear-shaped door of the Stable. The number 113 was pained in bold yellow letters on the front.
Next to the access panel was a small intercom unit. Tinder Box marched up to the device and activate it, then sat down to wait for a response. It took almost two minutes, but a frightened voice finally answered from the other side. "Who is this? What do you want with us?"
"It's Tinder Box. I came back with a pony that the Overmare needs to meet. And don't worry, I'm not with that damned gang anymore. These ponies are here to help us," Tinder Box answered quickly and succinctly.
"Tinder Box? I thought you weren't ever coming back?" the voice asked, finding a bit of strength in the familiarity.
"Didn't think I'd have a chance. Now are you going to open the door?" the white mare asked shortly.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. Step back, and give me a moment," the voice said. A few moments later, and a siren started up, followed by the now-familiar grinding of the Stable door being pulled open. On the far side, an emaciated yellow Earth pony buck stood waiting expectantly.
"So... who are your friends, Tinder?" he asked nervously. He was practically shaking in fear. I found it hard to believe that he would be the pony sent to watch the door.
"This is Evergreen," Tinder Box answered, gesturing to me, then to each of my other friends in turn, "Her friends are Suture, Autumn Mist, and Crosswire. Another two are waiting topside. Now, care to bring us to the Overmare? We have a lot to talk about."
"Uh... I need to clear you all with security first. We don't allow weapons past the door," the buck answered shakily, his eyes darting to each of us in turn, fixating on our weapons.
"Uh... I don't think so," Autumn growled, taking a step forward, "It's my policy to hang on to my weapons at all times while inside a Stable. Things are way too fucking dangerous for my liking."
"Dangerous? Our home is what has kept us safe for all these years!" the buck exclaimed, his tone hurt.
"And every one I've stepped in in the last three weeks has nearly killed me. I agree with Autumn Mist. We're keeping our weapons. You have my word we won't draw them unless we're attacked first," I argued, "Tinder Box was kind enough to guide me here because I helped her. I've come on behalf of a friend that was meant to take shelter in this Stable before the bombs fell."
"Friend from before..." the buck trailed off, his expression confused, "How is that possible?"
"I'm guessing you've never been outside?" Crosswire asked nonchalantly, "Well, here's the quick version: The bombs did not kill everypony. A lot of ponies survived, but some of them were mutated by the radiation. Now, they are extremely long-lived, some of them having survived since the end of the war."
"Exactly," I agreed, nodding at the tech, "My friend is one of those ponies. She is the reason I'm here."
"But... your weapons," the buck protested.
"Are staying where they are. I already gave you my word that we wouldn't use them. Now, can we please see your Overmare?" I asked, walking pointedly forward.
As I expected, the buck didn't have the backbone to resist. He deflated, his head dropping to stare at the floor, then nodded weakly. "Ok. Follow me." He turned around and led us out of the entrance and deeper in the Stable.
It was odd, seeing one of the things still in operational condition. The walls were clean and the lights shone brightly, casting a bright white glow over everything. Even with my suspicion of the place, it felt much more comfortable than I expected. But that didn't stop the feeling that something was going to go seriously wrong every time I stepped around a corner.
During our walk we crossed the paths of several other ponies. All of them immediately shied away at the sight of us, running back to wherever they thought they would be safe. I couldn't imagine why. We were following one of their own quietly, there shouldn't have been a reason for their fear.
When we entered the atrium, it was full of ponies sitting together, laughing, talking, and simply enjoying themselves. As soon as we appeared, however, all sound ceased and every pair of eyes locked on to us. The atmosphere of comfort and happiness evaporated, leaving behind a bitter air of almost palpable fear and nervousness.
"Outsiders... What do they want with us?" somepony asked, the voice practically quaking with fear.
"Is that... Tinder Box with them? Why did she come back? I thought she was staying with that group topside?" another asked.
The fear and unease in the room was almost unbearable, and I couldn't help but feel the need to say something. "I'm not your enemy," I announced, looking from face to frightened face, "My name is Evergreen, and I am here keeping a promise to a friend of mine, a friend that knew the ponies that created Stable-Tec. In the Wasteland, I've made it my job to help ponies wherever I find them. You have nothing to fear from me."
"Why would this friend of yours want you to come all the way here?" somepony asked, pushing their way forward. It was a burly charcoal Earth pony buck with an auburn mane, "What does our Stable have that they could possibly want?"
"A message I found that was meant for her explained that she was meant to take cover in this Stable before the bombs fell. When I finally got the message to her a few days ago, she asked me to come here on her behalf, to see if anything had been left behind for her from the founders of the company," I answered honestly, "I figured it was the least I could do for a pony that has seen so much heartbreak."
"Hmph, sounds like a wild story if you ask me," the buck snorted, "I may not know much about outside, but even I know the war ended two hundred years ago. Nopony could have lived that long. It's impossible."
"That's 'cause you've never met a ghoul," Crosswire drawled. I could swear he was taking some perverse pleasure in throwing these ponies off guard with knowledge about the Wasteland.
"A what?" the buck asked, his gaze snapping to the grey unicorn.
"A ghoul. Picture a zombiepony, then imagine that it isn't completely batshit insane and still knows who it is. That's a ghoul. They survived the bombs, but the radiation made them into what they now are. Somehow, all that radiation made it possible for them to live for a hell of a long time," Crosswire explained.
During the exchange, my eyes wandered, and eventually landed on the large circular window that overlooked the atrium. Standing in it, facing us, was a stern-looking mare. Her hide looked to be the color of rust, and her mane was bubble-gum pink. On her flank was a symbol of a gear. Her gaze was fixed on me, her eyes boring into my own. There was no doubt in my mind that she was the Overmare.
"Crosswire, drop it. The Overmare knows we're here. Let's get this over with and get back outside. We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I don't like the idea of Steel Curtain and Marcus just sitting out there in the open any longer than they have to," I ordered, walking past the tech and urging our guide to continue.
He did as I asked, leading us through the maze of passages, but not without a lot of confused and fearful gaze following us. After a short walk, we finally stood in front of the door to the Overmare's office.
"Ummm... I'll just leave you here then. Tinder knows the way out once you're finished," our guide murmured nervously, shifting from hoof to hoof, then disappeared back the way we had come.
Not wanting to drag things out any longer, I stepped up to the door and knocked. An imperious voice answered almost immediately. "Enter."
I hit the mechanism to open the door, and it slid back into the ceiling. The room beyond looked exactly like every other Overmare's office that I had stood in: Large, round, and with a massive wooden desk placed exactly in the center. The back wall was taken up by the mainframe that governed all the automatic functions of the Stable.
Seated at the desk was the stern mare I had seen from the atrium. Up close, I could see that her cutie mark was actually a Stable door, rather than a gear. "You've caused quite a stir," she intoned from her desk, "And I do not like things upsetting the careful balance we have. Despite our forced contact with the surface, many of us are not prepared for the full immersion that it most likely required for our long-term survival. Your presence catalyzes changes I don't think we are ready for."
"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have come if it weren't important," I answered, stepping inside and coming to a stop across the desk from the mare, "But let me introduce myself. I'm-"
"I know who you are," she interrupted me, "Shooting Star's broadcasts do make it this far, and it doesn't take a genius to know you'd be coming here on your way to wherever it is you go. So tell me: what do you want? Technology, supplies? I'll tell you now, our supplies are already far more limited than I wish them to be. That gang she is with already took most of it." The Overmare's stare was now centered very precisely on Tinder Box.
An image of numerous shelves lined with medical supplies crossed my mind. Doubtless most of those supplies had come from this Stable. "I don't want supplies. I want information," I answered, setting a hoof on the desk and drawing the mare's attention to myself. "A few days ago, I was in a bunker to the south of the city, up in the mountains. I met a pony there that survived the war. She was supposed to take shelter in the Stable, but never made it in time. We think the founders of Stable-Tec might have left something behind for her."
"Survived? Who is this pony you're talking about?" the Overmare asked, her grim façade giving way to confusion.
"Her name is Cheerilee. She was their teacher when they were still only fillies," I said, watching the Overmare for any signs of recognition. To my surprise, she did perk up at the mention of the name.
"So she did survive..." she muttered under her breath, then she re-focused her gaze on me. It was much softer now. "She sent you here in the hopes that something was left for her?"
I nodded. "Yes. She no longer wants to go traipsing across the Wasteland, chasing rumors of what could be, but it's what I've been doing for weeks."
"I see. I do have something for you then. When I opened my sealed orders, handed down from the very first Overmare of this Stable, there was a message contained within, with orders that it was only to be opened by a mare named Cheerilee. That must be what they left behind," the Overmare said thoughtfully, turning and walking towards the computer, "Come over here. I'll download it onto your Pipbuck so you can bring it to her."
I did as she asked, walking around the desk until I was standing beside her at the terminal, my left foreleg held up so she could interface it with the computer. "You're trusting me at my word, just like that?" I asked, not sure that the mare was being straight with me.
"I am, for two reasons. The first is that the chances that you know that name are so small, you have to be telling the truth. The second is that I could honestly care less. The message has been a mystery to us, and one I am more than willing to part with," the Over mare answered, grabbing my leg and hooking my Pipbuck up to the computer. Within moments she had accessed the files and downloaded the message. "I want a promise," she said once she was finished, "You don't listen to that message until you are with her. It was meant for her, and it will be opened only when she is there. Am I understood?"
"I promise," I answered, nodding, "I know a thing or two about how meaningful messages like this can be, especially after hearing what was in the last one."
"Good. Is there anything else you need from us?" the Overmare asked, returning to her seat.
"No. I came only for the message, though if you had any supplies for trade, I wouldn't mind making a deal. We have extra weapons and ammunition we can give you in exchange," I answered hopefully. In truth, the weapons we had salvaged from the gangers, both Skulls and Earth Marchers, were weighing us down. I wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible, but they were too valuable to simply dump by the roadside.
"I suppose we could spare some food and medicine. Tinder Box knows where you can make the trades. Now, if that is all, I have a lot of work to do," the Overmare stated as a way of dismissal.
We left the office, letting Tinder Box lead us through the passages to the small general shop. A few minutes of haggling later, and we left with a healthy supply of fresher food and medicine. From there, we started on our way outside. Again, ponies were watching us while we left, but they didn't stop us. Many of them seemed happy to see us go.
Part of me wanted to stay and try to convince them that they wouldn't be able to hide from the wasteland forever, but I knew that it wasn't my place to interfere with their lives. Their Overmare was obviously capable and had a plan. Any interference from me would simply make things worse.
I sighed as the heavy steel door slid shut behind me. It felt like another opportunity lost, despite the fact that I knew there was nothing I could do to change it. We made our way up the stairs and into the workshop where Tinder Box took a moment to close the hatch again and kick some garbage over it to hide it somewhat.
"Fuck, I didn't think I'd feel that out of place when I finally went back," Tinder swore, her voice wavering slightly while she worked, "It's hard to believe I was born down there."
"Sometimes all a home can be is the place we're from," Autumn muttered, "I know that's my case. My family just drifted from place to place until they were ultimately killed."
"I suppose you're right. So, Evergreen, what now? I did what you asked and brought you here. Now where do I stand?" Tinder Box asked, looking at me with a questioning gaze.
"You've been really helpful, Tinder, and I know you saved my life a couple of times in that fight down in the Metro tunnels. I don't think anypony would complain if you were to join us, if you wanted. I know I could always use another ally on my side," I answered hopefully.
A smile split the mare's features as she looked at me. "Heh, you mean travel the wasteland, righting wrongs and killing any fuckers that get in our way? Yeah, I think I can do that. Thanks, Evergreen. Let's hope I fit in better here than I did with Surplus."
"I can't imagine we'd have too much trouble. Now, come on. We've got a long way to go today still," I answered with a smile as I opened the door and stepped out into the open.
The first thing that struck me was the sheer number of contacts on my E.F.S. They were everywhere, and most were red. Whatever had happened up here, it was bad. The entire workshop was completely surrounded! My thoughts immediately turned to Steel Curtain and Marcus, and what had become of them.
I received my answer moments later when I spotted Marcus pinning a de-armored Steel Curtain against the ground. His armor lay in a disassembled heap a short distance away. The light blue Pegasus jerked against the griffin as soon as he saw me exit, managing to free enough space to get his head free.
"Evergreen, RUN!" he shouted before the griffin wrestled him back to the ground and put him in a sleeper hold. The Pegasus was strong, but without the added power from his armor, the griffin was stronger.
I immediately drew Hammer and fired a round at the griffin, catching him in the shoulder and opening a flood of bright red blood from the wound. It knocked him back off of Steel Curtain, letting the Dashite get to his hooves and charge towards us.
"Evergreen, get the fuck out of here! It's Mareina's gang! Marcus has been with them this whole fucking time!" he shouted, running to me and shoving me to the side. His voice was hoarse and strained, unsurprising if he had been fighting against Marcus the entire time we were underground.
I moved with his push, starting to gallop as the bars on my E.F.S. started to move. There were so many of them...
"Stop them! Seahawk wants that bitch taken care of!" a shrill voice ordered.
I turned my head to see who was speaking, but that was exactly the wrong thing to do. The movement slowed me just enough for a pair of griffins in the air to line up their weapons. The bullets reached me just before the sound of the rifles did.
The first sliced into my right hind leg, piercing cleanly through the limb and cutting it out from under me, sending me tumbling to the ground, but not before the second impacted against my shoulder, tearing through the armor and imbedding itself in my flesh.
The pain was almost unbearable, feeling like white-hot pokers were being driven into my body. I screamed in agony, already feeling warm blood flowing from the wounds. When I finally came to a rest, I lifted my head as high as I could, looking ahead towards my friends. Part of me was praying that they were coming back for me, but I knew that it would be impossible. This was the end of the line for me. The future rested in their hooves now. Mareina had me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
"GO! RUN!" I screamed through the red haze of pain, struggling weakly to get my legs under me, but my wounds put any option of supporting myself out of the question, "Get to Metro! Tell Mallet to prepare! Seahawk is making his move!"
Tinder Box, Autumn Mist, and Crosswire nodded and took off, but Suture and Steel Curtain hesitated, pausing as they considered going back for me. By then, it was too late. The two mercenaries that had shot me were already landing beside me, taking aim at my friends.
I may have been hurt, but I wasn't helpless, I pulled my knife from its sheath and threw it at one of the mercenaries with a snap of my head. It imbedded itself in the griffin's throat, bright red blood gushing out and staining the white feathers. The griffin collapsed, choking on its own blood and drawing the attention of his fellow to me.
Ahead, Steel Curtain and Suture were still watching me, conflicting emotions on their faces. The Pegasus, in particular, looked like he was about to break down. "Fucking go!" I screamed, putting every ounce of rage and pain into the words as I could. In the next instant, something hard cracked against my head and everything went black.
oooOOOooo
So this was death. Odd, since it felt exactly like every other shitty day with a hangover. Which made me think: I really did not want my afterlife to be with this kind of a headache. It was probably my price for killing so many ponies.
I sighed, hanging my head. I had tried my best, and it hadn't been enough. In the end, I had trusted too freely, and it bit me in the ass. At least I had taken one of the bastards with me in the end. Maybe Marcus as well, the traitorous fuck, if I was lucky.
I lifted my head again, trying to get my bearings. If this was what my afterlife was, I might as well start figuring out where it was. Hopefully I wouldn't be completely alone. It looked like I was right where I had been when I was killed, sitting outside the small workshop, blood staining the ground around me. Looking up, I gasped in shock.
The clouds were missing. Above them, something was very wrong. The sky was solid black, not even the soft blue-black that I had seen in pictures, but a deep, midnight black of the sort that no light would ever pierce. Unbidden, tears came to my eyes. I had spent so much of my life yearning to see the stars with my own eyes, and now, in death, they were mocking me. It just seemed so unfair.
I collapsed, crying softly to myself at the unfairness of it all. Not even the knowledge that my life had bought the lives of my friends was enough to soothe the feeling of betrayal. I stayed like that for what felt like hours, but what did time matter to me anymore? I had an endless amount of it.
"So now you see where this policy of trust got you, dearest Evergreen," a familiar voice proclaimed, interrupting my thoughts, "You're cut off, injured, and much closer to death than you have ever been, and what do you have to show for it? A hoofful of grateful, cowardly ponies and a small collection of so-called friends that will fall apart now that you're no longer around to hold them together?"
I lifted my head, looking for the source of the voice. I already knew what it belonged to, but I couldn't believe it. I was dead, I had to be. "Where are you?" I growled, forcing myself back to my hooves and wiping my eyes, "Can't you just leave me alone!"
"Now why would I ever do that? You are far too much fun," the voice laughed. It obviously thought that it was back in control again, "No, Evergreen. Now, there is nopony left to protect you. You're mine, and you will stay that way."
It materialized from the shadows, its emaciated form fitting in all too well with our dark surroundings. Its eyes glowed red in the dim light, lending it an otherworldly appearance. I turned my body to face it, lowering myself. I knew it was strong and fast, but I didn't have anything left to lose, and I was not going to simply let it beat me.
"No, I'm not. I've never been yours, and I won't let you twist me like you did before. I hurt them far more than they ever deserved, and they still forgave me!" I yelled in defiance.
"Because they are fools, just like you!" it exclaimed, stepping forward. I could see the hunger in its eyes. It wanted me, badly, and would stop at nothing to get what it wanted. Despite all of its strength and power, it was awfully single-minded and could think of nothing else other than its goal. There, at least, was my advantage.
"Fools that are willing to trust a pony as fucked up as I am! They deserve my loyalty, if only for that reason! It's more than I deserve, but they don't care!" I growled.
"And it will be the end of them," the creature hissed, grinning widely as it approached me. The expression didn't fit on its face. It made the thing appear crazed.
"No, it won't. Unlike most, I know they also believe in what we are fighting for. Even if they don't stay together, they'll continue the fight. They might even try to come back for me."
"Do you really think that's going to happen? What's in it for them? They just saw you, their driving force, fall, like any other failure in the wasteland!" the creature shrieked.
"They'll come back for me, because they know I'm still alive, and more than that, Steel Curtain loves me. He won't just give up, no matter how many times I yell at him to," I answered, finally admitting to myself the truth of what I had seen in him for the last days. The harder part would be admitting to myself what I felt.
The creature laughed, a harsh, raucous sound that hurt my ears. "Love! You think love means anything in this world? Look around you, Evergreen, and tell me what love has done for this place!"
"I have looked," I snapped, "And I have seen the beauty in the Wasteland, that is all the more precious for how rare it is. I've seen ponies on the edge of death ask first about their friends and colleagues before asking for help. I've seen parents willing to start a fight simply to protect their child. I've seen a Pegasus risk his very life, simply because of his love for the Wasteland. And above all of that, I've met five ponies kind enough to trust a pony that is good at nothing more than taking the lives of others."
I paused, gathering my thoughts. Already, I could see the look of doubt on the creature's face. For the second time, I had put it off guard. It was used to me floundering about with weak answers, or with no answers at all. It had no clue how to deal with me when I knew exactly what I wanted. "And I have found something more worth fighting for, beyond just the future of the wasteland. I'd die for them, for all of them, because they'd do the same for me. In the world we live in, nothing else could possible mean more. Even more, I love him too."
There, I had said it. Call me crazy for admitting something like that when I still couldn't decide if I was capable of taking so many lives, but I couldn't just sit here and pretend my feelings didn't exist. It wouldn't be easy, but hopefully it would work.
The creature laughed again, but now its laugh was hollow. "You've got to be kidding. Do you really think that will help you here? He has no power over me. Nopony does!"
"I do," I growled, and leapt.
It shrieked in rage and side-stepped. I landed next to it, but couldn't turn in time before it tackled me, bearing me to the ground and pinning me beneath its bulk. It lashed out with its hooves, battering my body until I was curled up, simply trying to protect my head.
After what seemed like forever, the barrage ended and the creature backed off, letting me move out from underneath it. I crawled away and turned my head to face it.
On its face was an odd grin, like it knew a joke I could only guess at. "Oh, this is too rich. You know, my Evergreen, I'm going to let you go, this one time. The next time we speak, you will be begging me to take you back." Its grin widened into a smile and it faded away into the shadows, leaving me confused.
The next moment, the darkness from the sky descended, wrapping me in its embrace and carrying my consciousness away, like some great tide sweeping me away.
oooOOOooo
As I slowly came to, I realized that my wounds had already been cleaned and treated. For whatever the reason, it didn't seem like these mercenaries wanted me dead. Next, I became aware of the fact that my armor, saddlebags, and weapons were gone. My Pipbuck was still on my leg, probably because it was almost impossible to remove the things without the right tools.
Finally, I became aware of the shackles around my hooves, binding them together with chains that were just slack enough to allow me to walk. I shifted my legs, testing my mobility. The chains rattled loudly against each other, drawing the attention of someone nearby.
"Hey, boss, she's waking up!" they shouted, the voice harsh and raucous. Then, there was the sound of movement as someone settled down next to me.
"You have me to thank for being alive, Evergreen. Consider it my thanks for making my job so easy," a familiar voice sneered in my ear, "Oh, and for the fresh food as well. It may not be meat, but it's a welcome change from the same old shit we get every day."
I twisted my head, trying to see the source of the voice and was met with Marcus's face. It was drawn and pale, probably due to the amount of blood he had lost from my shot, but it looked like his injury had already been well taken care of. His expression was conceited, and he had a grin that made me want to smash his beak into the rest of his face. "Fucking traitor," I growled, twisting my entire body in an attempt to get my hooves underneath me, "I'll kill you for this!"
"Good luck with that. You're finished, Evergreen. Done. Your little movement dies here. Without you to push them forward, that merry little band of yours will collapse under its own weight within days," the griffin laughed.
The furthest thing from my mind now was morality, and I wanted to kill this feather-brained fucker. The bastard had betrayed us. I saved his life, and he had betrayed us. I could forgive a lot of shit, but this was too far. I strained against my bonds, finally managing to prop myself up. "They're stronger than they look," I snarled, "And they believe in what we were doing at least as much as I did. But the one question I have is why? You saw what we're fighting against, and you still betrayed us! You helped us, even! I saved you!"
That last comment elicited another round of raucous laughter, which was echoed by a number of griffins now watching the exchange. "You really think you saved me?" Marcus laughed, "You truly believed I was some naïve idiot that got caught by some good-for-nothing gangers? Here's a newsflash for you: We paid them to hold me until you got there. We knew they were all going to end up dead, 'cause that's the way you work. When that idiotic sniper of your found the caps we used to pay them, I thought you'd see right through the scheme. Lucky for me you're just another stupid wastelander that thinks trust can save the day."
I forced myself to stand, my rage burning deep in my chest, and lunged at the griffin. Something stopped me in mid-air, swiping me away from my target and throwing me to the ground. The air was forced from my lungs and a spike of pain drove into my wounded shoulder as I landed on it.
"That's enough of that," an imperious voice proclaimed. The owner of the voice landed beside me, standing over me in a stance that communicated absolute victory, "If you can't play nice, Evergreen, you're going to get yourself hurt."
She was a large griffin. The feathers on her head and neck were a tawny brown, blending perfectly into the golden yellow of the fur that covered the rest of her body. She wore an ancient duster, not unlike the one Marcus had been wearing, except hers was worn overtop a set of olive green, military grade combat armor. I doubted I'd ever discover where she had managed to find a set in the Wasteland that was fitted for a griffin. Perched atop her head were a pair of goggles, the straps so covered in dust and grime I couldn't even begin to imagine what color they had originally been.
Her yellow eyes, with their vertically slit feline pupils, were lit up with humor, and the skin around her beak was crinkled with what I could only imagine was meant to be a smile. All it appeared as to me, however, was a slight parting of that raptorial beak which was easily capable of shredding flesh.
That was the main difference between griffins and ponies. In the harshness of the Wasteland, some ponies chose to start eating meat, if only because it was easily available, but we weren't carnivorous by nature. Griffins were, and they reveled in the hunt and the kill. It was probably one of the many reasons they made such skilled mercenaries and assassins.
A jagged scar ran across one side of her face and down her neck to end on her shoulder, appearing as if some giant creature had dragged a claw down her face, and the feathers had grown back only patchily to cover it up.
Strapped across her back was a military assault rifle, not unlike the ones I had seen being used by the ponies at Shooting Star's radio station. In a holster under her duster, I could also make out the sleek body of a plasma pistol. Energy weapons were rare in this city. The fact that she had one was a testament to her resourcefulness.
"Mareina," I growled at the griffin, "I've heard a lot about you."
"Obviously not enough, Evergreen, otherwise this would have been avoided, and your life wouldn't be over. You had your chance to back off, but you just had to keep going, didn't you? Never stopped to think about how it could end?" she asked gleefully, a sadistic grin splitting that beak even farther, giving me a clear view her long, thin pink tongue and the dark chasm of her throat. I could easily picture her capturing and killing a pony to eat.
"You're a mercenary. Why the hell are you fighting for Seahawk? What do you possibly hope to gain by helping him enslave the entire fucking Wasteland?" I growled, forcing myself back to my hooves and doing my best to ignore her jibes.
"Two reasons. The first is that Seahawk has the deepest pockets, and I only work for the best. Second: I'm getting sick of this life, always worrying about my next meal, or if our water will last for the next week. What Seahawk plans to do is bring the entire Wasteland together, under a single banner. Then, all of our needs will be taken care of, and we will be able to live in harmony once again," Mareina explained casually, examining the talons on one of her hands.
"Really? That's your reason?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at her, "Forcing these towns to cooperate won't solve anything, and even if they start working together, that doesn't carry a guarantee of solving the resource shortages. Metro has been rationing their supplies carefully, and Millberry has been in desperate need of a water purifier for a long time. Do you really think the fact that they would all be listening to the same egotistical tyrant will solve anything?"
"It has to be better than what we already have," Mareina answered, shrugging, "But all the same, there's nothing more you can do about it. You're mine, to do with as I please, and I think I know of a few offers that will set me up nicely."
I didn't want to know what she was talking about, but I was getting the feeling that she didn't mean to kill me, and that was a terrifying thought. There were two constants in the wasteland for when a pony was captured after a fight. The first was that they ended up dead. The second was getting sold to slavers.
"Why? Why not just kill me?" I asked, striding forward, but I was stopped short by Marcus who stepped in front of me to halt my progress with a stance that clearly indicated his willingness to hurt me if I did anything stupid.
"Because I don't profit from your death," Mareina answered, that grin returning to her face, "Killing is Greymane's style. The over-zealous bastard hates the idea of leaving an enemy alive, and I can't blame him. But the Mill is impossible to escape. That is a fact that has been proven a hundred times over."
Now her intent was clear. She was going to sell me to the Mill, and there was no doubt in my mind that they knew exactly who I was. I had already interrupted several of their caravans and killed a lot of their muscle and suppliers. Going there might as well have been a death sentence for me, except for one problem. The words I had spoken to that terrified buck we had freed rang in my ears again. Slavers wouldn't kill a pony if they stood to profit from that pony's life in some way.
The slavers would keep me alive, but they were going to give me the worst jobs, either the most dangerous, the most humiliating, or both. If I couldn't get free soon, there was no way I was going to be able to prevent that.
Mareina was watching me, probably trying to gauge my reaction, and judging from that damn grin on her face, she was getting exactly what she wanted. I couldn't deny that I was terrified, but fear had never managed to paralyze me. If anything, it made me unpredictable.
With a shout, I leapt forward, intending to strangle the bitch with my chains, or, failing that, inflict as much damage as I could before one of them killed me. I had already resigned myself to death, and anything would be better than becoming a slave.
I had badly underestimated her strength and speed, and being shackled wasn't helping me at all. She neatly sidestepped my attack, the grin never fading from her face, and lashed out with a taloned hand. The claws slashed across my side, drawing deep furrows in the flesh. Slick, warm blood immediately started to flow, but I managed to stay on me hooves.
I turned to face her, panting heavily, and leapt again. This time, she stood her ground, rearing up on her hind legs and taking my charge in her chest. My injured shoulder impacted against the solid ceramic of her armor. It felt like I had run face first into a wall as I stopped short, the griffin not even budging an inch.
She laughed, an almost maniacal sound as she grappled with me, using the chains around my legs to pin them against my sides as she slammed me against the ground, driving the breath from my lungs, then pulled back with a fist. "And this is why you don't fight me," she said, grinning, and brought the fist down.
My vision exploded in stars as I blacked out for a second time.
When I finally regained consciousness, night had fallen. My hooves were bound even tighter now, making it almost impossible to move, much less stand. When I opened my eyes, the only thing I could see was a firepit about ten feet away. The glare from the flames drowned out anything else I might have possibly been able to see.
I was lying uncomfortably on my side, with a rock digging painfully into me. I shifted, trying to move off of it, but all I succeeded in doing was moving it to press against a bandage covering one of the claw wounds left behind by my fight with Mareina. I couldn't help but to cry out in pain, which drew the attention of everyone around me.
"Hey, the bitch is waking up again. Good thing the boss ain't around. I still need to pay her back for killing Kierst," a harsh voice said, the voice holding a promise of sadistic things to follow.
"Stand down, mercenary. Mareina left orders that she was to be unharmed unless she tried attacking somepony, and you are going to follow those orders," an eerily familiar voice responded. The voice was cold, so much so that I felt shivers run down my spine.
The sound of hooves clopping against stone echoed around me as the owner of the voice walked around so I could see him. The stallion that came into view had a red hide and a grey mane. For the second time in my life, I was facing down Greymane, and he hadn't changed at all since the last time we had met.
"I have to admit, Evergreen, you surprise me. I told Mareina that her little trick wouldn't get you, that you were far too perceptive a pony to fall for it. It isn't often I'm proven wrong," he mused, his cold voice at odds with the amused grin on his face.
"I had my reservations about Marcus, but he seemed to be playing me straight," I growled, "I'm not the kind of pony to simply question someone else on sight. I learned the hard way that sometimes you have to take somepony else at their word."
"Exactly the wrong lesson to learn, in my experience. The only pony I've ever been able to trust explicitly was Seahawk. Now you see how your chosen path was never fated to succeed. Trusting in others always leads here," Greymane stated nonchalantly.
"Leads where, Greymane? To me lying on the ground, shackled and about to be shipped off to the Mill, or to you, standing there surrounded by allies, but with not a single pony you can rely on in your entire life?" I asked pointedly, getting a small amount of satisfaction from the buck's doubtful expression.
He recovered quickly, his stoic expression returning, and grinned. "I'd rather be the hated mercenary that is free and alive than the beloved Heroine chained and shackled, whose fate only holds death in store," he answered.
"But when you die, Greymane, will you be able to say that your life was worth something? If you were lying on the ground, bleeding out, would somepony risk themselves to try to save you?" I pressed, putting as much conviction into the words as I could.
The red buck hesitated, his gaze briefly dropping to his hooves before he raised his head and looked me straight in the eye. "The life of the mercenary is a lonely one by definition. When I die, it will be because somepony was stronger than me, or faster than me. When we met in the Ironshod Firearms factory, I thought for a moment it might have been you. Now, I see differently. You are just another wastelander that failed where so many others have as well."
"I haven't failed yet. And you didn't answer my question," I stated, "Is there somepony out there that would risk their life to save you?"
"Of course not. Ponies like that don't exist anymore. They all died with the end of the Old Equestria," Greymane said with a toss of his head.
"That's where you're wrong. I had to convince my friends to leave me behind, and even then, they hesitated. Steel Curtain would have killed himself if it meant saving me," I said, glaring into the mercenary's eyes, "They were all willing to throw themselves into danger for me, and that isn't something you can command through fear, Greymane."
He snorted, sneering at me. "Pretend that your life is worth something all you like, Evergreen. At the end of the day, you are the slave and I am free." With that, he turned and trotted off, leaving me to my thoughts.
I didn't like my prospects. I had tried to make them kill me, and all it had accomplished was some fresh wounds and a bruised ego, but at least I had seen for myself just how vicious and strong Mareina was. Now, I had tried to reason with the pony that was possibly my greatest enemy, but his head was so far in the clouds that he simply dismissed everything I had to say.
Being a slave was bad, but it wasn't the end of the world. I would survive, because I knew how to. I had the knowledge that my friends were out there, trying to help me, and that they cared for me. I knew that out there was the stallion that loved me, and that I loved in return. Nopony, not even Greymane, could take that away from me.
The night grew chill, and not even the warmth from the nearby fire was enough to drive the cold from my bones. I couldn't remember the last time I had been forced to sleep outside. It was easily long before I had ever become a raider. My only solace was that the pair of griffins tasked with watching me were forced to suffer with me.
At one point in the night, they were replaced, and one of the replacements was no other than Marcus. He was looking a lot healthier, but the easy-going and friendly expression I was used to seeing from him was gone, replaced with the same mean glint in his eye and the superior set of his ears that I had seen in every other griffin in the camp. When it came down to it, he was no different than any of them, except for the fact that I knew him.
"Come to gloat some more, Marcus?" I asked angrily, not expecting an answer, "Leading my around by the mane wasn't enough for you? Need to rub my face in the mud a bit more?"
"Actually no, Evergreen," the griffin responded haughtily, "It's just my turn to guard the merchandise. Slavers from the Mill will be here tomorrow morning to pick you up, and it's my job to make sure you're still here for them by then. Not that I expect you to be able to get away."
The silence grew between us after that last. There wasn't really anything else to say on the subject. "Why didn't you just let them kill me?" I finally asked, "It would have made everything easier."
Marcus shrugged, a gesture that was almost invisible through his duster. "Because I remember my mother teaching me that being alive in any fashion is better than being dead, and I felt like owed you," He stated, though the cruel tone was gone from his voice.
"Owed me for what? 'Making your job easy'?" I sneered, "Wasn't exactly the fucking intention."
To my surprise, the griffin sighed, "That, and because you actually thought I was on your side and treated me the same as everyone else in that little group of yours. You gave your all to everyone, and only expected the same in return. It was... different than what I'm used to here, and it was a refreshing experience. That's why I owe you. I don't expect you to understand. In the end, I thought you deserved to survive for a bit longer. Who knows, maybe by the time Seahawk has everything under control, the Mill included, you'll still be alive. Then, I'm sure he'll have a place for you. Can't really say for sure, though. Only Mareina and Greymane have ever met him in person."
"Great, my one hope at life is that the bastard I am actively trying to stop will pardon me when he's finally won. You do realize I'm about the only pony out here with the influence to get anything done, right?" I demanded. I no longer cared about who I was speaking to, or that my words would undoubtedly reach the fucker. I just needed to vent.
"And that's why you're here. Mareina said the order to take you in came straight from Seahawk. Seams you pissed him off somehow. Not the brightest thing to do," Marcus answered, grinning.
"At least I was trying to do something good," I answered sullenly, "How many ponies are there that can claim the same?"
"Not many, true. But then, most ponies know better than to throw their lives away on a worthless cause," Marcus answered with another shrug, then fell silent.
I let the silence grow, wondering to myself if what I had been doing was truly worthless. No matter which way I looked at it, however, could I find a reason that fighting for pony's freedom wasn't a good thing. What Seahawk wanted just seemed far too similar to slavery.
Before long, dawn was breaking, and the sky began to lighten somewhat as the sun rose beyond the unyielding ceiling of clouds. My future as a slave was only hours away, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. To make matters worse, it began to rain, and it wasn't a light drizzle, either. It was a total downpour of the sort that soaked me completely to the bone.
It was probably around six in the morning when the slavers appeared, escorted by Mareina. The slavers were a pair of unicorns. The first was a light green stallion wearing dirty red barding. His matching red mane was scraggly and unkempt, and his teeth were yellowed. His partner, a purple unicorn with a two-tone blue mane, was much better put together, but she had the sort of expression that told me immediately that she was vicious and cruel. What really caught my eye, however, was the Pipbuck on the mare's leg.
"Here she is, Shackle. Her name's Evergreen. I imagine Eulogy really wants to get his hooves on her, considering what she's been doing to his business," Mareina announced, gesturing to me as they approached.
"He did say something about a special bounty to go to the pony that grabbed her for us," the stallion confirmed, "I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of four thousand caps, opposed to the usual five hundred for a good slave. Though I have to say, she doesn't look like much."
"That would be agreeable," Mareina answered with a nod, her beak splitting in a grin, "And she may not look like much, but she's smarter than she looks."
"You're going to want to watch her carefully, as well," Greymane announced, appearing from somewhere out of my line of sight, "She's got a resourceful streak a mile long, and can be vicious as hell if she gets in a fight."
"As we expected, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to kill our forces," the mare answered. Her voice was soft and delicate, but there were undertones to it that I had only ever heard coming from the truly fucked-up raiders, the ones that found joy in making their victims suffer. It was the kind of voice that terrified me.
"And we're always prepared for the trouble makers. Volt, fit her with one of the special collars, and make sure it's on a different frequency from the rest. We wouldn't want any accidents," Shackle ordered.
"Of course," the mare, Volt, answered with a short nod as she strode forward, her horn illuminated with magic as it drew a collar out from her saddlebags. Unlike every other slave collar I had ever seen, this one did not have a smooth inside. Instead, the inside curve was covered in small spikes.
"Now try not to struggle too much," Volt proclaimed as she approached me, her magic unclasping the collar and swinging it open, "You don't want this collar to be put on wrong. You'll find that your life will be cut quite short."
I recoiled instinctively from the mare, but my bound hooves only let me move so far. Volt had no trouble in grabbing my head with a hoof and holding me in place as she wrapped the collar around me and slammed it shut. The ends met with a resounding click, signaling the end of my life as a free pony, at least for the time being.
The spikes immediately dug into my flesh, making me want to choke. Within seconds, I could feel my throat become slick as my blood welled out from the dozens of puncture wounds, though none of them were actually serious enough to threaten my life. This collar was designed to be as uncomfortable as possible, and any wrong move would cause pain.
"I see you've already noticed what this collar does, slave," Volt mused, her curled gaze following my every move, "I'll tell you that it was designed to never become comfortable, so you will never forget what you are. Now, which one of you can unshackle her for me? We need to give her a demonstration of what happens if she misbehaves."
A griffin dutifully stepped forward and undid the chains around my hooves. I instinctively shifted to get my hooves under me, wincing as the blood rushed back into the limbs, but finally managed to make it up. Hopefully, being as compliant as possible would avoid any needless pain and make them think I was perfectly willing to do whatever they wanted. It was my only ticket to get out.
"I don't recall telling you to stand, slave," Volt growled, her voice pitched to sound commanding. She lifted her Pipbuck so she could access it and tapped a few buttons.
Electricity shot from the collar, making me cry out in pain as my muscles seized up. I toppled over, no longer in control of my own limbs and screamed again as the spikes against my neck bit into my flesh again.
The flow of electricity finally stopped, but my muscles were still trembling with the after-effects of the collar. I simply lay where I had fallen, panting and trying to catch my breath. Somewhere deep inside me, a tiny part of my spirit broke. A shock collar made escaping impossible. They had at their disposal a way to stop me in their tracks whenever they wanted.
"Stand," Volt ordered.
I barely heard her. My injured side and neck were still throbbing, and tremors were still going through my muscles as they continued to react to the powerful current that had just flown through them.
"I said stand, slave," the mare repeated, a tone of warning.
Another wave of electricity hit me, making me arch my back and moan as my body instinctively tried to get away from the source of pain. When the wave finally ended, I was gasping for breath, trying to force my limbs to obey me and lift me to my hooves.
"Too slow," the mare growled as I finally made it to a sitting position, "Your response needs to be fast. Wasting time is wasted caps."
Again, my muscles were turned to so much useless meat as she triggered the shock collar for a third time, making me flop to the ground, sending another spike of pain into my neck. When the pain finally ceased, I lay where I was, whimpering in pain. My body wasn't capable of taking this kind of punishment, and standing was going to be impossible if she kept shocking me.
"Now, stand, slave. That is an order," Volt ordered again.
I struggled to comply, managing to get my forelegs under me and force myself to a sitting position, but there my strength cut out and I collapsed, gasping for breath. It felt like there wasn't an ounce of strength left in my entire body, and all I wanted to do was pass out.
Instead another jolt of electricity passed through my body, making me cry out in pain and writhe on the ground. Somehow, through that haze of pain, I managed to make it to my hooves, finding some source of strength from the fear of being shocked again. I stood there, trembling, and watching the purple unicorn as she looked at me almost disinterestedly over the screen of her Pipbuck. Sweat was beading on my forehead to drip down my face, mixing with the rain.
"I'm impressed. Most pass out before they make it to their hooves," she mused, lowering the Pipbuck and turning to face Shackle.
"I hope you've had your fill of fun, Volt. We still have to get back to the Mill," the stallion complained.
"Before you go, I will stress again my point of watching her carefully," Greymane insisted, striding forward, "She, and her group of friends, almost managed to best me in combat. She is not to be underestimated."
"Yeah, yeah. We've met plenty of her type before. Wouldn't be the first time we enslaved one of those ponies that managed to get featured on that fucking DJs show," Shackle answered with a dismissive wave of his hoof.
He pulled a pouch of caps from his saddlebag which he then tossed at Mareina. "Four thousand caps, as agreed. Thank you for your business."
He turned and started to walk away. Volt followed him, sparing only a brief glance in my direction, obviously expecting me to follow.
I did as she expected. What other choice did I have? My legs were still shaking with the aftereffects of the shock collar, but falling would mean another bout of electricity, and I wanted to stay under my own control for as long as I possibly could.
As I walked past Greymane, the buck watched me with a penetrating glare. "We will meet again, Evergreen. That much I am sure of," he intoned as I passed, "But you will determine what the circumstances of that next meeting. For your sake, I hope you will have learned your place by then."
I held my tongue, biting back my stinging reply. There was no doubt in my mind that if I did anything else that these two slavers did not specifically give me permission to do, I would be shocked again. Blood was already leaking out from under the collar fastened around my neck, the result of falling several times and having those dozens of tiny spikes dig into my skin.
As we walked out of the camp, I could feel every set of eyes on me, especially that pair of green eyes that belonged to Greymane. I could feel the sense of victory in the air. These mercenaries knew they had just removed one of the greatest threats to their work, and now they would be almost unimpeded in everything they did, barring the local resistance. But nopony was left to fight against them on the large scale. Not even Metro would go out to fight for another town. Mallet would only fight to defend his town, and I couldn't blame him for that.
After a short time, we were well away from the camp and out in the middle of the wasteland. Ahead, I could make out another encampment that was already being cleaned up as its owner prepared to move. It immediately became apparent that the camp belonged to the slavers. Chained to the ground on the outskirts of the camp were a dozen ponies, all of them dirty and with broken and defeated expressions. They were going to be my new companions.
The first thing Shackle did when we arrived was to chain me up with the others, tacking me on to the back of the train of slaves. Every single pony there was watching me, and I could see the same hopeful look in all of their eyes. They knew exactly who I was, and they believed this was all just some ruse, that I would do something heroic and save us all. By the Princesses Above, how I wished I could.
I didn't know how they recognized me. My leg, side, and shoulder were wrapped in bandages that had been stained a color somewhere between red and brown, and my hide was coated with a mixture of mud and blood. Even though Mareina had had my injuries treated, she hadn't bothered to clean me up.
Once Volt and Shackle had moved on to help with breaking the camp, the slave next to me in the chain finally broke the silence, risking punishment just to speak with me. "Heroine?" he asked quietly, as if he barely dared himself to speak.
"No. Just Evergreen. I'm nopony's hero anymore," I muttered in return, "Seems I finally met my match."
"You mean... you didn't plan this?" the buck asked after a moment's silence.
I lifted my head to look at him, wincing as the spike cut off my supply of air for a brief moment. He was a dirty grey unicorn with a ragged blue mane. He was wearing a tattered vest that was doing almost nothing to protect against the wind and rain. He might as well have been wearing nothing at all.
"If I had planned this, I wouldn't be wearing the collar," I answered sadly, "and I would have some sort of weapon beyond my hooves. I'm sorry, I'm not what's going to save us."
"But... you're the Heroine of Seaddle! You've saved so many already!" the buck protested, "I've heard about your traveling companions. Won't they help us?"
"They're probably trying to put something together, but I'd be surprised if they even know where I am right now," I answered, "Last time I saw them, I was shouting at them to get to Metro, to warn Mallet. For all I know, we're on the opposite side of the wasteland from them. Fuck, I can't believe it's come to this,"
"So, what are we supposed to do?" somepony else asked, their voice still holding a note of hope.
I turned my head to find the source of the voice. It belonged to a young purple Earth pony mare, probably about the same age as Autumn Mist. Her mane was still more or less styled, with a long pony tail hanging over one shoulder.
"We survive," I answered bluntly, "We do what they say, when they say. It won't be easy, and it won't be pretty, but we can only hope to be free by doing everything they tell us to. Right now, they have all the power, and we cannot try to act until we even the balance somewhat. Believe me, I have no intention of giving up, but right now there isn't anything any of us can do. When we get to the Mill, then we might have a chance."
"But nopony has ever escaped from the Mill," the first buck protested, "Haven't you heard the stories?"
"No, I haven't," I admitted, "But I remember hearing that nopony could ever spit in the face of the Wasteland and make anything of themselves, and I think I've pulled that off. At the end of the day, those are only stories. What matters is what we do and how we do it. Just because nopony has ever escaped doesn't mean we can't."
They watched me, their expressions hopeful despite the situation we found ourselves in, and I could feel their determination to survive, if only because of my presence. Part of me hated the thought that I held such influence over these ponies, but another part of me realized that it meant that the collar around my neck didn't stop me from being who I was. It was just another obstacle to overcome.
I could still fight, even if I no longer had a weapon. The battlefield wasn't filled with bullets and explosives anymore, but rather the idea that I would be shackled for the rest of my life. The battle was no longer for my life, but for my freedom, and I would be damned before I gave up fighting for that. Besides, I still had a few choice words to say to Steel Curtain before I could let myself give in.
Level up!
Perk Gained: Black Widow: You deal +10% damage to male opponents and have unique dialogue options when speaking with members of the opposite sex.
Skill Note: Melee (75)
{I have been waiting to write the chapter for SO long, and I truly hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did planning for it and writing it. What has happened in this chapter has been the plan for a very long time, and I have a lot of plans ahead for what is going to be happening. As always, thank you to Kkat for creating Fallout Equestria, and thank you to for his editing. This would not be in nearly as good as shape as it is without him. As always, the hub page to the story on Google docs can be found here.}
{Some may have noticed that Cody was not thanked as is usual this chapter. Unfortunately, he has had to back out of editing due to work, school, and life in general. If anyone reading this is willing to help out, or knows someone who would be, *please* point them in my direction or let me know. I really want more than just our two sets of eyes on this.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 14: The Mill | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 14: The Mill
"The mind is as much a shackle as any chain."
I'd heard a thousand theories about being a slave in my lifetime. I'd heard that the slavers take pride in beating us down, making us think we're worthless, and that they can take our lives at a moment's notice. That was proven false the moment I was bought for four thousand caps. It gave me value, far over that of normal slaves, and my supposed masters would not let me go to waste if they spent that fortune in finding me.
I'd heard that they make a point to prove that slaves have no power, that every action we take will accomplish nothing for ourselves. The fact that one slave getting hurt in a forced march and bringing the entire entourage to a halt shows that even our simplest actions are enough to force a group of more than ten slavers to a halt, even if their solution is as simple as a bullet to the head. They still had to stop to respond to a slave's action.
I'd heard that a slave's life is worth only what our masters decide it's worth, and that our only purpose is to do exactly what they wished, without even considering the possibility of doing anything else. Their means of controlling me was clear evidence that they feared what I was capable of.
I had said that the secret of survival as a slave was being compliant, listening to every word that came out of the masters' mouths and doing exactly as they wished as soon as they said it, even if it meant endangering our lives. Now I was learning that the truth went beyond that. The secret to survival as a slave was to make them believe you were doing exactly what they wanted, when the truth is the exact opposite. I had learned what the limits were within seconds of having the collar placed around my neck, and I would have the scars to remind me of those limits for the rest of my life, both on my neck and on my soul. But they had also taught me where my power lay.
My advantage was my value. The pony all these slavers looked up to, this Eulogy, had spent a fortune to find me, and take me, and that made me more than a simple slave. It made me a prize, and ponies always took special care of their prizes.
There was no doubt that I was going to be humiliated and forced to do things I would never otherwise choose to do, and doubtless many of these things would threaten my life, but my first rule was there for a reason. At first, I had thought that anything would be better than slavery, including death. Now, I thought differently.
I was going to survive, even if it ended in me hating myself. At the end of the day, all that mattered was finishing what I set out to do, and I was not going to disappoint Shooting Star, Cheerilee, and every other soul in the Wasteland that was counting on me simply because I couldn't do something that would keep me alive.
Ponies had told me that the one simple rule of the wasteland was that survival had to come at any cost, and it was a sentiment I agreed with, to a point. At this point in my life, I would not turn my back on the things that made me who I was: my desire to see the wasteland become something better and my drive to protect every innocent life that I could. As long as I held to those two simple facts, I would do anything, even if it meant murdering a pony in order to protect others.
Shooting Star had a point when he said that most could not do what I did, and I hadn't been lying when I said that it took more than simply picking up a gun and walking out the door to make something of our world. What I hadn't said was what it required, and that was a willingness to take as many lives as necessary to make a dream into a reality.
Since the first few questions, my fellow slaves had mostly remained quiet, focusing their energy in staying on their hooves and not lagging, especially after one of our number was put down for spraining an ankle on a rock he hadn't noticed in time. I couldn't help but think that the slavers were using that buck as an example to the rest of us. For most of them, it worked, but all it did was make me angrier.
Despite my anger, I held my tongue. Drawing attention to myself would do me no good. Staying in one piece was more important than anything else, as any untreated injury could easily become infected and lead to sickness and ultimately, death. The injuries I already had were making me tire quickly, not to mention the torture that Volt, that damned bitch with the Pipbuck that controlled my shock collar, had put me through that morning they had bought me, but my injuries had at least had been cleaned and bound, so my risk of getting sick was fairly low.
It had been almost two full days since then, and we had spent the entire time marching. With every step, I felt our fate draw nearer, and it terrified me. Once I stepped a hoof inside the confines of the Mill, my chances of getting free would drop dramatically, and there was nothing I could do to slow our approach to that place.
I could tell by the cockiness in the slavers' strides that we were drawing close. For most of the journey, they had been wary, carefully watching our surroundings and always having their weapons at the ready. I felt a small amount of pride at the fact that it was probably my repeated attacks on their caravans that made them wary of the wasteland, not to mention the fact that I was one of their slaves. It was just another example of the way that I held power over these ponies.
But now they were confident. Their weapons hung at their sides, almost forgotten, and they were talking and laughing amongst themselves .The few snippets I managed to hear of their jokes didn't do much to improve my opinion of them. How anypony could find a punchline about crippling a pony by severing a leg funny, I would never understand.
Their lightheartedness made me more uncomfortable, because it meant our destination was close. Doubtless we would arrive by nightfall, and then the real hell would begin.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. The sky was just beginning to darken with the setting sun, out of my view as always, but the slavers continued forward with sure steps, rather than stopping us to set up camp.
The smell reminded me of my old camp. It was reminiscent of ponies that had forgotten what hygiene was, or that there was another option to living in your own filth. There was also the smell of burnt flesh, a sickly-sweet stench that made me want to gag. Several of the other slaves did.
"Hah! Sounds like they like the aroma!" One of the slavers laughed. He was a thin, dark-blue Earth pony buck with a puke-green mane styled into a Mohawk. His name was Whip Lash. Fitting, considering his cutie mark of a whip made out of razor wire, and the matching weapon that hung from his barding. Thankfully, I hadn't seen it put into use yet.
"The fuck you talking about, Lash?" Volt answered, her disgust twisting her features into a cruel mask, "Even I can't stand the stench of this shit hole. Still can't believe Eulogy isn't pushing for some better real estate."
"Can it, Volt. Gripe all you want, but not in front of the merchandise," Shackle, the apparent leader of the group, snapped, "Now get back there and make sure they're all following along nice and quiet. Especially that special purchase from Mareina. Eulogy ain't gonna be happy if he doesn't get his hooves on her."
"I guess somepony in this group has to do the real work," Volt sighed, slowing her pace until she was walking alongside us slaves.
Her horn began to glow with a strong lavender aura, and a simple .22 pistol levitated out of from her barding. She sidled along the chain of slaves, finally matching our pace when she drew beside me.
"So how does it feel just being another one of them, slave?" she sneered, using the barrel of the weapon to push a stray strand of my mane away from my face, "Nothing special, nopony worth mentioning. Just another empty face and worthless life."
"She's the Herione of Seaddle! She isn't worthless!" the dirty grey unicorn buck that had first risked himself to speak to me answered passionately, "She'll save us all, just wait and see!"
"She's going to save all you gutless pukes? Is that what you think?" Volt sneered, lifting a leg and accessing her Pipbuck, "We'll see just how well she manages that when, with a simple press of a button, I can do... this."
I knew what was coming, and no amount of bracing was going to let me withstand it. The surge of electricity coursed through my body, locking up my limbs mid-stride and sending me tumbling to the ground. My collar bit painfully into my neck when I landed, making me gasp for breath as the spikes dug into my windpipe. The chain around my left leg that connected me to the rest of the slaves continued forward, wrenching that leg out in front of me and making me cry out in pain as it strained my already-vulnerable muscles.
"Tell me, slave: how is she going to possibly save you when I can put her on the ground with a flick of my hoof?" Volt sneered, walking past me and standing alongside the buck.
The line of slaves had now come to a halt, unable to drag my weight through the mud. Compared to them, I was in shape and well-fed, and it showed. "Just because you can use a button to stop her doesn't mean she can't save us! She's smart and resourceful! How many different groups of slavers has she taken out, huh? How many ponies like us has she managed to save so far?"
That was exactly the wrong thing to say. Volt frowned, a positively gruesome expression on her thin face. "Too many," she growled, bringing her pistol to bear, "and it is exactly this kind of resistance we need to put a stop to. Tell me, slave: Do you think she can save you this very second?"
The buck's gaze darted over to me, then back to Volt. In that split second, I saw the fear in his eyes, as well as the desperation. That glance was a cry for help, and for a miracle I couldn't deliver.
During the exchange I focused on regaining control over my limbs, struggling, and finally succeeding in dragging myself back to my hooves.
"She can't do shit. Not as long as I control her," Volt sneered, watching me with one eye. The second I was up again, she hit the button, sending another stream of electricity through my body.
I collapsed again, and in that moment, I saw the hope and belief drain out of these ponies. I was helpless, and they all saw it. They finally understood that I couldn't save them.
The expression on the buck's face was the one that tore my heart the most. He had believed so strongly in me, had stood up to his slaver with the belief that I could protect him, and now he was realizing that I had no such ability.
"I'll tell you what," Volt mused, floating her .22 closer to her face so she could inspect it, "I'll make you a deal. If you can get her to even try to stop me, you'll get to keep your life. And as for you," she stated, turning to face me, "If you even think about helping him, I will make your life a living hell, and I will make sure Eulogy finds out about your disobedience. Just because we have orders to keep you alive don't mean that he will be as charitable."
She held my gaze for several moments, her piercing glare making sure that I knew, in no uncertain terms, that I didn't have a choice in what to do.
"So what's it gonna be, slave?" she continued, turning her head back to the buck.
She cautiously shifted his gaze from Volt to me, and held me pinned with a gaze so desperate that I felt myself torn. "Please, Heroine. Help me. It's what you do. You save ponies!" he pleaded, his voice the sort of pleading whine I had used to hate. Now, all it did was make me feel pity.
I was faced with a choice, and it was a simple one. I could screw my own chances for survival and step forward to help this buck, and maybe save one life. Or I could hold my tongue and do nothing, and make my chances for survival that much better. My rule was compliancy, and there was a reason for that rule. Helping this buck would not improve my chances of getting out. It would do exactly the opposite.
I had to make the choice that would let me continue my fight, even if I would regret it for the rest of my life. I remained where I had fallen, turning my head away from the buck and staring at the dirt beneath my hooves. I focused my gaze on a small rock that happened to catch my attention. It was small, barely larger than a pebble, but it had smooth edges, like it had been worn down over the years, unlike all the jagged stones and pieces of rubble that littered the wasteland.
"Heroine, please! I need you!" the buck pleaded, "I have a family! They need me. I... I can't die here. Please... help me."
I shut his voice out of my mind, reducing his words to unintelligible sounds. The rock became the focus of all of my attention. Underneath the grime of the wasteland I could make out the marbling of the stone, with streaks of white, red, and black criss-crossing its sleek grey surface. As I focused, I could make out a tiny hairline crack spread across one of its faces, forming a small black chasm and breaking a few of the marbled streaks apart.
"It don't look like she's listening, scum," Volt sneered, chambering a round in her pistol. The sound was loud and jarring, and startled me out of my reverie for a moment.
"Evergreen, please! Help me!" the buck begged, crying now. His sobs were heavy, and I could see him shaking in my mind's eye.
I stared at the rock at my hooves, at the way the dirt and mud of the wasteland clung to its surface holding it trapped against the ground where even a solid kick would have trouble dislodging it. I felt like I was that rock, and that I was so stuck in my own thoughts that I couldn't stand up and defend a pony that needed it. I hated myself for it.
I closed my eyes, shutting the world out and focused instead on the feel of the dirt beneath my body, the bite of the spikes of my collar against my neck, and the cold steel of the chain around my leg that bound me directly to that buck.
A gunshot tore through the wasteland, making me flinch. A moment later, I heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. I fought back against the emotions welling up inside me, against the injustice of what had just happened, my anger at the mare that had taken a life, and the hatred of myself for doing nothing to stop it when I had been the only one with the ability to.
Throughout the sounds of rattling chains, I held my eyes shut. I knew what was happening, and I couldn't face it. Not yet. That buck was being removed from the chain and I was being rebound to the next slave in line. His corpse was going to be left at the roadside for scavengers. A corpse that could still be alive, if only I had chosen to act.
"All right scum, we've got a schedule to keep! Move!" Volt shouted, an undercurrent of sadistic pride in her voice.
I lurched to my hooves, head still hung low, and limped along behind the line of slaves. I tried to keep my eyes firmly focused on the ground in front of me, but out of the corner of my eyes I spotted a dirty grey lump on the ground, and a lolling head whose glassy, staring eyes were fixed on me. I felt fixed in that gaze until we turned around the side of a hill in front of us.
The Mill sat before us on the other side of that hill, sprawling across the landscape like some twisted nightmare. It got its name from the massive structure of the grain mill that the complex had originally been intended for, but now, that mill had been stripped for parts, leaving behind a rusted metal shell.
The main tower was now being used as an exhaust tower, and thick, oily black smoke was pouring out of an opening at the top. In the dim light of the wasteland, it looked like the tower was covered in blood.
A tall wall that was several feet thick circled the entire perimeter and was topped with rolls of razor wire. Nopony was ever going to escape by climbing over those walls. Even if they did, the guard towers erected at regular intervals gave anypony on watch the perfect vantage point to spot any potential escapees, and then shoot them. Part of me doubted that the threat stopped some ponies from trying.
Nestled between two massive stone columns and reinforced by several barricades of razor wire and firing lines was the steel gateway into that hell. Looking at it made the entire complex look more like a fortress than a slave camp.
As we neared, I could hear sounds coming from within the complex. The loudest was the whining and grinding of ancient industrial machinery. Whatever was going on beyond that steel gate, it was big, and I was on my way to meeting the pony in charge of it all.
We were marched right up to the gate, weaving our way through the maze of razor wire that guarded it. A half-dozen heavily armed ponies were sitting around an improvised table playing cards as we approached.
One of the ponies, a green Earth Pony mare with a dark blue mane that was cut into something that might have resembled a crew cut rose from the table and turned to face us. "Took you fucking long enough, Shackle. We've been expecting you for two days. Where the fuck have you been?" she asked angrily, her gaze shifting from the slaver to us. "Is this all you have to show for your efforts? A dozen starved and broken ponies? I expected better."
"This is better. That bitch in the back is the one responsible for all our losses these past couple of weeks. Had to go a little out of the way to pick her up, but the boss is going to be happy once he knows we've got her," Shackle retorted, lifting his head and puffing out his chest.
"You don't say?" the mare drawled, striding past the convoy and coming to a stop next to me, "So you're the cunt that offed Chainlink, eh? Call me impressed. Fucker was one of the best fighters I knew. How'd you do it?"
"In my experience, a bullet to the head kills most ponies pretty easily," I answered simply, shrugging, "He was no different."
The guard laughed, throwing back her head and revealing a row of yellowed teeth and the stench of half-rotted meat. "Oh, you I like! You're gonna want to watch that attitude though, slave. Answers like that amuse ponies like me, but fuckers like them don't take too kindly to it," she chuckled, nodding her head in the direction of Shackle and Volt.
"Stop fucking around, Shrapnel. Some of us actually have work to do. Now open the damn gate," Shackle growled.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got it," Shrapnel answered, rolling her eyes as she chuckled at their expense. She made her way to a small gatehouse set into one of the columns and briefly disappeared in the gloom. A moment later, there was an anemic grind and the gate began to swing open. Shrapnel reappeared, leaning against the column. "You know the drill. Drop this stinking lot off at the pens, but bring her straight to Eulogy," she said, gesturing to me with a jerk of her head, "He's going to want to welcome her personally."
"She's just a slave, Shrapnel. None of 'em get special treatment," Shackle retorted as he started to lead us through the gate.
"Your funeral. I'm just telling you what'll make the old buck happy," Shrapnel answered with a shrug as she waited for us to pass.
I couldn't hear Shackle's response, as the gate began to grind against its hinges again, slamming shut with a metallic clang behind us. We were now sealed within the walls of the complex. Most of us would probably never walk out as free ponies again, but I was determined not to be one of that number.
We were led along a rough dirt track that traced a path between mounds of wreckage before passing into an area that could only be the main courtyard of the complex. Here, a vision of hell met us.
Most of the area was taken up by the slave pens. They looked to have once been stables for livestock before the war, and it didn't look like much had changed. They had been reinforced so the slaves within couldn't simply break their way out, but otherwise, the original steel cages in the outdoor areas did a perfect job of keeping the slaves contained, while still giving them the option of taking shelter indoors.
Another part of the courtyard, bordering the slave pens, was the industrial complex that had been built up around the base of the old grain tower. The heat and stench of industrial toxins coming from there was overwhelming, making us gag and sputter for breath. The sounds of work came from within the structures there, and now I could also make out the sounds of shouts and the crack of whips.
The last part of the courtyard, built up as far from the slave pens as was possible, was the slaver's area. A corrugated steel fence surrounded it, separating them even further from the pens and work areas, and the single gate was guarded by a pair of armed guards. Through the gate, I could make out their mess and rec areas which were populated with mean-looking slavers, as well as a few ponies I was fairly certain I had seen in the shanty town outside of Metro.
The rec area was also populated with several slaves, all of them mares. Some were serving the slavers, while others were being forced to provide whatever entertainment they could. The entire display disgusted me, and I could feel a familiar rage building within my chest. I wanted to charge in there and kill every single slaving bastard for what they were doing. Nothing less would suffice.
"Get in there, scum! Somepony will be along shortly to give you your instructions. I suggest you don't get too comfortable. You won't be sitting useless for long," Shackle ordered, holding open a reinforced door to one of the pens. The chains were removed from our legs as we filed into the dark confines of the pen. The only light came from the open door to the outside cage.
As soon as I stepped through the door, it slammed shut behind me. In a moment of crushing defeat, I realized that I was trapped, and had no idea of what I was going to do to get out of here. I had no allies, no weapons, and no information. It was easily the worst situation I had ever found myself in.
I stumbled through the pen, trying to find an open spot to lie down, but it was crowded, with bodies piled against each other for every scrap of open space. The smell of unwashed bodies was thick and cloying, actually managing to overpower the toxic fumes from the industrial site.
Not finding anything inside, beyond a few annoyed grunts and curses, I stumbled into the outdoor cage and collapsed on the first open patch of ground. No matter how hard I tried, I could not stop the tears from welling up or coursing down my cheeks. I had managed to keep it together this long because of our march and my focus at trying to find every possible weakness in this place that I could, but now that I was locked up and had nowhere to go or nothing to do, I had nothing to stop my emotions from rushing back in a crushing tide.
I had chosen not to act, and a life had been lost as a consequence. No matter what any pony said, that blood was on my hooves. I may not have pulled the trigger, but I had done nothing to stop it. And all because I couldn't risk threatening my own safety. It was a curse to know I was one of the only ponies capable of fighting back, or to have a reason to fight back, and something inside me was breaking at the thought that I had simply sat by and let the buck be murdered.
In the silence of my mind, I vowed that I would avenge that nameless buck, and that Volt's death would be neither quick nor painless. She would suffer, and she would understand exactly why I was not a pony to be fucked with.
I couldn't say how long I lay there, feeling sorry for myself and wishing for things to be different, but it couldn't have been long. The sky was still bright enough for it to be late afternoon, at worst, when somepony approached me. They came from within the slave pen, so I immediately knew that they were a slave as well, but that didn't mean much. A simple rule of society was that even a slave force would construct a hierarchy among itself, with some slaves becoming more powerful than others. And it was always the newcomers that inhabited the lowest rung of that ladder.
"What are you doing out here? Only the veterans get to sleep outside," the voice growled angrily.
I lifted my head, doing what I could to wipe the tears away, and looked up into the gruff face of an elderly Earth Pony buck. He had a red hide and ratty white mane that hung in wisps from his head. He stood over me in a stance that communicated a physical strength that most ponies his age usually no longer possessed, especially given what he was.
"There wasn't any space in there," I answered, needing to put all of my focus into my speech just to keep my voice from breaking, "And I... I just needed to lie down."
I lowered my head again, resting it on my forelegs. My thoughts were drifting back into the abyss of self-hate when the buck kicked me, making me stagger up into a sitting position in shock.
"I don't think you get it, new blood," he growled, "You don't get to be out here. I've seen hundreds of ponies like you come through here. You'll be dead in a few days, and I don't want you stinking up our space."
"I'm not going to die," I retorted icily, the comment jarring me out of my slump. It made me realize how much I had let that buck's death affect me. It was terrible, to be sure, and it was going to take a lot before I forgave myself, but that didn't mean I couldn't be on my guard. "These bastards will try, but they will not succeed," I continued, staring into the buck's eyes.
He seemed surprised now, something that gave me a small amount of satisfaction, but a hard and angry gleam was still present in his gaze. "Being angry isn't going to help you either."
I laughed. I couldn't help it. Here this buck was, trying to lecture me, when I knew exactly what was needed to survive. I had survived far worse things than this buck could even imagine. "Oh I know exactly what it takes to survive," I said with a grin as I rose to my hooves, "But having to worry about bucks like you trying to call me out really isn't part of the plan. You see, from my perspective, we're all exactly the same. They certainly see it that way, and I don't see a reason to disagree with them. And that means that you have no power over me beyond what I choose to give you."
The look on the old buck's face was priceless. The anger was completely gone, replaced by shock. "I have been here for almost five years!" he sputtered, "I have survived longer than most ever do, and you think you can lecture me! You don't know what it's like to be a slave!"
"If you mean that I don't know what it means to have a collar slapped around my neck and not have the freedom to choose what I'm going to do, then I agree with you. I haven't got a clue what I'm in for," I growled, "But that doesn't mean I haven't experience slavery. My chains were a different kind, and they held me tethered to a life I hated because I didn't know any better. And honestly, I don't care about the fact that you've been here for five years. At the end of the day, none of that matters. All that matters is what we do with what we have left."
"But we don't have anything!" the buck protested, bringing another twisted grin to my face.
"Exactly my point," I said with a smile, "We have nothing. So what do you have that makes you better than me? A few years more spent in hell? I promise you, I've seen more death and destruction in these last few weeks than you've seen in your entire life. I'm no rookie to hell."
The buck looked like he was about to say something more when the loud ringing sound of the door to our pen being opened echoed through the cramped confines of the building, and a harsh, familiar voice shouted, "Where's the stupid bitch that killed half our caravans at?"
My smile disappeared from my face and I sighed. "Would it kill them to use a name? How the fuck do they tell us apart if they don't use a fucking name?" I muttered as I pushed myself through the crowd until I stood in front of Volt, getting a little bit of satisfaction out of the old buck's expression when he realized I was the one Volt was looking for.
"Right here, Volt. Your boss want to see me?" I asked, trying to sound submissive. It didn't help that I hadn't been this low on the social ladder in years.
"Watch your tone, slave. Do I need to remind you what you are?" She sneered, lifting her Pipbuck in warning.
"No ma'am," I immediately answered, bowing my head and lowering myself slightly in front of her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a hint of a grin creep onto her face. She thought she had me completely under her control.
"Good. Follow me, and keep your eyes down. Not many slaves get the pleasure of Eulogy's presence," Volt ordered, then turned and stepped out of the building.
I followed her out of the pen and across the courtyard towards the fence that separated the slaves from the slaver's area. As we passed through the gate, I realized that the slaver's buildings weren't fenced off from the slaves, but the other way around. The steel fence hid the large open areas beyond from the gaze of the slaves, and it wasn't hard to see why.
The space the slavers had to themselves was massive, easily twice the size of the courtyard surrounding the slave pens, and it contained everything they could ever need to live comfortably, up to and including a clinic and fully-stocked armory. The building we were currently approaching was larger than most and was a sturdy brick structure that had a massive neon sign hung over the door that read 'Eulogy's Pad'. I barely managed to withhold a grimace at the showiness of it all. This Eulogy's ego must be triple the size of anypony I had ever met, except maybe Seahawk, though I hadn't actually met him yet.
Once we reached the door, Volt pulled it open with her magic and gestured for me to walk in. I stepped past her, feeling her gaze drilling me in the back every step of the way. When I was finally through the door, I heard it slam behind me and the slaver strode past me, a cruel grin on her face.
"Eulogy, I got that cunt that killed Chainlink and Ingot down here. You said you wanted to see her?" Volt announced loudly, making her way over to a wet bar that was set up on one wall and picking up a bottle of whiskey. She took a moment to examine the label, then opened it and took a large gulp.
"Thank you, Volt," a deep voice answered that was coming from somewhere above me, "You can take that bottle of whiskey as a mark of my gratitude. I want to speak with her privately."
"You sure about that boss? Want the frequency for her collar, in case she decides to do something stupid?" Volt asked, a note of surprise in her voice.
"If it makes you feel better. I don't think she'll be trying anything here. She has nowhere to run and nothing that gives her an advantage. Acting now would gain her nothing, and I know she understands that. Leave us," the pony answered. The voice was still coming from above me, but was moving to my right. I was twisting my head, trying to see where its owner was.
He finally came into sight a few moments later as he descended the large staircase whose base was facing the wall ahead of me, putting the actual staircase out of sight. At first glance, Eulogy looked just like every other pony I had ever met. He was a nondescript brown Earth Pony with a black mane and was wearing a rather simple bright red vest. His cutie mark appeared to be a gravestone, which I hoped had something to do with his name, rather than the business of death that he was a part of.
As I watched him, however, I noticed something that set him apart from everypony else I had met that was a part of his slave operation. He was actually clean, his hide free of the dust, grime, and sweat that every other pony in the wasteland simply got used to. That doesn't mean that the rest of the wasteland doesn't believe in hygiene, but wasting good, clean water on washing one's body is something that simply isn't done, and dirty water never quite gets that last layer of grime off. The fact that this buck was clean, really clean, meant that he had to have a very steady supply of clean water, a feat almost unheard of in the wasteland.
"If you say so, boss," Volt finally muttered, stashing the bottle of whiskey in her barding and making for the door. She paused for a moment to give something to Eulogy, then continued on towards me. As she passed me, she kicked me in the gut, making me retch and fall to my knees, "Don't forget your place, scum. The likes of you shouldn't even look at him."
I heard the door open and close again while I struggled to regain my breath and drag myself back to my hooves. When I finally succeeded and looked up, Eulogy was standing only a few feet away from me, an almost amiable grin on his face.
"I apologize for her," he said, turning towards the wet bar once he saw that I was all right, "She's a little severe, but she keeps the caravans in line, so I keep her around. I prefer my employees here to be a little more even-tempered. Would you like a drink?"
"A... drink?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around what was going on. This buck was supposed be the slaver in charge of all the slaving operations in the Seaddle wasteland? And he was offering me, his slave, his property, a drink? It didn't make sense.
"Yes. I have whiskey, rum, beer, wine, maybe even a bottle of good North-Equestrian vodka around here somewhere. What would you like?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of some amber liquid that looked like a bourbon.
In my mind's eye a saw a half-empty bottle of Apple Whiskey. I had never had a chance to finish that bottle; I had wanted to save it for an occasion really worthy of it. Now, it had probably disappeared down the gullet of one of those damned mercenaries working for Mareina. "I'll take a bottle of beer, but not that cheap shit," I answered. It was an old joke we'd thrown around in the old gang, and one of the few things from that life that I had held one to. To my amusement, Eulogy actually laughed.
He pulled a brown bottle out of a fridge and made his way over to me. I grabbed the beer from his hoof and took a drink, relishing the barely-cooled taste of ancient hops sliding down my throat. It tasted like shit, but anything was better than the tiny amount of dirty water that the slavers had been giving us on the road.
"You don't seem that different from one of us, Evergreen, or should I say Heroine of Seaddle? Shooting Star seems to be really enamored of you recently, but you really aren't that different from us," Eulogy mused as he took a sip from his whiskey.
"I'm no Heroine. Just a pony trying to make things better," I answered automatically, "And I don't think any pony is really that different from anyone else. The only differences are the things we believe in."
"So you think those cowards in Metro aren't too different from raiders?" Eulogy pressed, an eyebrow raised in surprise at my answer.
"Hah! Raiders are an entirely different thing altogether. Crazed bastards can barely remember what they are, much less keep track of a set of morals and ethics. But everything else: gangers, merchants, ponies like me, and even slavers like you, we're all more or less the same: all just trying to survive in a world that keeps trying to kill us. The differences come from how far we're willing to go to do that," I answered with a grin, taking another swig from my beer.
"No, there's more to it than that. You're hiding something. What are you, Evergreen?" Eulogy asked pointedly, "And don't lie to me. I'd hate for this conversation to become uncivil."
I hesitated. My past had become a very personal thing, and it wasn't something I shared easily. My friends knew only because that life had affected almost all of them, but Tinder still didn't have a clue. But on the other hoof, lying to Eulogy could be a very poor decision. "I was a raider not too long ago," I admitted, lowering my head to look at the faded label on my beer. It was too worn to make anything out except for the light blue shade that used to be the background, "It took one of my friends showing up out of nowhere one day and saying a few key things to me that made me realize how much I hated that life."
"So you just changed gears and started helping others? Just like that?" Eulogy asked, "I don't believe it."
"Life is never that simple. At first, it was just about survival. You know, finding the right supplies to keep myself going, and helping Metro seemed to be the best way of giving myself somewhere I could go back to, to trade for supplies and food. My intention was to become a mercenary. Life had other plans in mind," I explained.
"So now you travel the wasteland, righting wrongs and getting involved in things that are much larger than you are," Eulogy said with a lopsided grin, "Not exactly the healthiest choice, though I'm sure Volt taught you that."
"I stopped caring the day I walked into Buckview and saw the entire town burned to the ground and the ponies that used to live there thrown into a single pile and lit on fire. Somepony has to keep shit like that from happening. If not me, then who? We don't live in a world where we can wait for somepony else to come along and put things right. We can only rely on ourselves," I stated simply, draining the last of my beer and dropping the bottle on a table.
"And that's when things started becoming more difficult for you, didn't they?" Eulogy asked, "Because you had to keep digging. And that led you to me."
"What led me to you was the fact that I chose to trust someone, and they betrayed that trust. I'm here because we were outgunned and surrounded, not because I chose to do something to try to make the wasteland a better place," I growled.
"I suppose the heart of the matter is that you took out two of my caravans, and killed a lot of my best slavers," Eulogy stated, finishing his drink as well, "If you haven't noticed, I appreciate the finer touches of life. If there's anything the ponies of old understood, it was luxury, and that is something I attempt to live by. But that sort of life requires resources, the kind of resources that are only available to those that are involved in the trade of something plentiful, yet is always in high demand. There are not many markets like that in today's world, and your actions have dented my production and made my lifestyle more difficult to maintain."
"It doesn't matter how gilded the life is. Your business is the destruction of the lives of others. That isn't something I can stand for. Not anymore," I retorted, "Every single one of those ponies out there has a life, and family, and friends. You have stolen all of that away from them. Think for half of a second: If you offered them food and shelter, I could almost guarantee that most would stay and work for you, because they would be safe. Instead, you choose to enslave them and drive them to the brink. How many slaves die in a month, or a week, or even a day?"
"You are making the same assumption as every other slave that has stood before me has made. You saw the industrial site and assumed that I keep all of you here to work. You couldn't be more wrong. Your particular slave pen is my workforce. The ones who work the mill and keep this place running, but the other pens are only temporary. I am not in the business of forming a workforce; there is no way I could keep it all under control with our limited size. No, I am in the business of trading slaves. Fully ninety percent of the slaves that come through here are sold elsewhere, most to mainland Equestria. Somepony in Fillydelphia has a huge operation in the working and is begging for slaves from anywhere he can get them. I am more than happy to oblige, especially given the offering price. That one pony has made me quite rich," Eulogy said with a smirk.
"And what is that wealth worth?" I pressed, "What good do all of those caps do you if you don't use them? Every cap I have ever made I have spent on ways to help either myself or my friends, because out there, on the road, I can't shoot a cap at somepony, and I can't use one to save a friend's life."
"The typical viewpoint of a wastelander," Eulogy mused, "I am not a wastelander. I am a businesspony. My slavers are the ones that need to go out there, not me. Which brings me to my last point, and the one that is most important to you. You have killed a lot of my employees, which puts me in a bit of a bind. When I put out the order to find you, I was expecting some higher-than-thou pony that cried themselves to sleep every time they were forced to kill. Instead, I am now discovering that you know the darker sides of ponykind, and you have no hesitations about taking a life, which gives me some options. I am not stupid enough to trust you with a full position as one of my slavers, but you would go to waste as a slave. My offer is this: I take that collar off of you, and you work in the slave pens, keeping the population under control and keeping them efficient. What do you say?"
The offer took me completely by surprise. I opened my mouth, intending to announce my acceptance, then stopped myself to think. If I said yes, then I would have a huge advantage, namely, my collar would be gone. But there were a lot of problems. I would be watched, probably constantly and closer than if I was a slave. The slave pens were the most heavily guarded area of the entire complex, which meant that if I ever tried anything, I would be found out almost immediately. And then the last problem: controlling a population of slaves meant hurting them, maybe even killing them. I had vowed to save those ponies, to make their suffering end. If I accepted, I would be doing the exact opposite.
I steeled myself for the inevitable response and set my jaw in a determined expression, or at least I hoped it was determined. "I would rather die," I growled.
The smirking grin disappeared from Eulogy's face to be replaced by a look of disappointment. "I see. I can't say that I am surprised, though I wish you would see reason."
"Being made to hurt those ponies would go against everything I believe in today, Eulogy. 'Seeing reason', as you put it, would mean betraying everything I have spent these last weeks fighting for. That is not going to happen. And before you ask, I'm not afraid of what's to come. I can guarantee that I've survived worse," I said, taking a few steps towards the buck.
"I believe you. The wasteland is a harsh place. Ah well, I had to meet the mare that was able to impress the good DJ. I imagine he would be interested to know the things I learned this afternoon," Eulogy mused, his grin returning. He obviously thought that the threat of destroying my reputation would make me agree with him.
"Go ahead and tell him. I'd rather that than to accept your offer," I said with a shrug. This was where my fight back started. He believed he had such an advantage over me, that knowing my past would make Shooting Star despise me. He was going to be in for a rude surprise when he learned the truth, and that would make him angry, and angry ponies made mistakes. Mistakes in a world like ours ended in death.
"You truly aren't very smart, are you, Evergreen?" Eulogy asked with a cock of his head, "I will destroy your image. If you ever manage to get out of here, a feat that has never been accomplished since I have been in charge, you will not be able to go anywhere without being spurned. You will be finished!"
"I was finished the day this collar was locked around my neck," I shot back, "And as you said, nopony has escaped ever since you took over here. So your threat, very simply, isn't one."
Eulogy shook his head slowly, that grin of his spreading into a full-blown smile. He looked me in the eye and reached into his vest for something that looked like a detonator, with the only exception that it had two buttons. "It can't be said that I did not give you the choice to have a better life. You could have become something here, Evergreen. No matter, you have made your choice, and I will support it."
Before I could say anything, he pressed one of the buttons. Instantly, my body was wracked with pain stemming from the shock collar, robbing my limbs from my control and eliciting a shriek of agony from me. Unlike with Volt, Eulogy didn't let up on the charge, and kept me lying in agony, electricity coursing through my body, until the blissful nothingness of unconsciousness claimed me.
When I finally came to, it was to the familiar revolting smell of unwashed bodies. I cracked my eyes open to discover that I was lying in a corner of the slave pen, surrounded on all sides by other slaves, all of them quiet and curled up around themselves. There wasn't a whole lot of trust between ponies in here.
I shifted slightly, wanting to get out from the press of bodies, but groaned in pain the second I moved. Every single muscle protested against any sort of movement, and it felt like they were on fire. Eulogy must have continued shocking me even after I had already passed out. I did my best to shut the pain out of my mind and forced myself to my hooves, gritting my teeth against my body's protests.
My legs were shaking badly when I finally made it up, and my heart was racing, but I couldn't prevent the slight grin from spreading across my face at my success. After a moment or two of steadying myself, I tiptoed around the sleeping ponies as I made my way outside.
It was odd, that I considered the stench of the industrial site preferable over the smell of other ponies, but then, I had never really been forced to live in such close quarters before, but had spent a lot of time scavenging from old pre-war sites. Either way, I breathed a large sigh of relief when I finally made it out of the pen.
Outside, it was dark, and a quick check of my Pipbuck revealed that it was very early in the morning. I switched it over to the radio function and dialed in Shooting Star's station while I found an open patch of ground and lay down. The soft music that poured forth from the small computer did a lot to sooth my jangled nerves, and I found myself actually smiling at the sound. In the hell that my life was quickly becoming, there were still things that were unchanging, and as long as those things remained, I would know there was still hope.
A few songs later, and after I had turned the volume down to keep it from disturbing others, or from getting myself in trouble, the recording of Shooting Star's most recent show came on.
"Hellooooo Seaddle! I hope you are all sitting down, because it is time for the news! Unfortunately, today is not a day for good tidings. It has come to my attention that only hours after having left my station, our Heroine was attacked by mercenary forces, and she was captured. I'm afraid I cannot say what has happened to her since then, as her companions have not been heard from since, either. My question to all of you is to keep your eyes out for them. If you find them, please, speak to them and discover what has happened if you can. A mare that has taught us so much about what it means to be a better pony should not be so easily forgotten. That is all I have for you tonight. And Heroine, if you are listening, we are looking for you, and we will help you."
The voice faded into the night, and the soft, slow chords of one of Sweetie Belle's ballads rolled out into the cool night air. I was shaking my head slowly, tears coming unbidden to my eyes.
"Please tell me you lot aren't trying to find me," I whispered, "I told you to go to Metro. Mallet needs to know about what's happening."
"I wouldn't bother with that show, if I were you," a voice intruded on my thoughts, "It's just going to make surviving here that much harder."
I turned my head to fix its owner in a hard glare. In the darkness, all I could make out was the long, ragged condition of what appeared to be a dark mane and the dull amount of light reflecting off the pony's eyes. The voice sounded female, but that was all I could determine. "What the hell would you know about it?" I asked icily, "What if this is what keeps me sane?"
"I'm not arguing that," the pony answered, the shape shifting slightly as she shrugged, "I'm arguing for your survival. There was another pony in here not too long ago that had one of those computers. She'd listen to the show religiously every night. Eventually decided that death would be preferable. She didn't come back to the pens after the work day was over."
"Good thing for me that I have every intention to survive," I snapped, "And nothing is going to stop me."
"Funny. That's exactly what she said when I warned her of the same thing," the mare muttered, "I'm not telling you how to live your life. I'm warning you against doing something that's already killed several ponies."
"I'm sure they didn't have the same reason to listen to the show as I do," I said, shifting myself somewhat so I was facing the pony.
"And what reason is that? You know him or something?" the mare asked, her tone chiding.
I took a few moments to decide what to tell her, and finally decided that honesty was the best course to convince this mare that I knew what I was doing. "Yeah. I was grabbed on my out of the city after meeting him, but that's not what I mean. That Heroine he's talking about, she's me. I hate the title, but after speaking with him, I've come to understand his reasoning for giving it to me."
It wasn't an idle statement. Talking to the buck had given me a lot of insight into the way he did things, and the way he saw the world. I still felt like I didn't deserve the title, but I knew why I didn't. The rest of the wasteland didn't. To them, I was everything the name signified.
The mare remained silent for several minutes as she thought about what I had said. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that. Of course, you could be lying to me. I have no way of knowing. What'd you do to screw up this badly?" she finally asked.
"Trusted someone I shouldn't have. Ponies like me find a lot of enemies. One of mine outsmarted me, so I ended up here. My friends are still out there though, and they're still alive. Hope isn't lost yet," I said grimly, lifting my gaze to look out over the walls and towards the horizon. The darkness was still too thick to make anything out, but I could make out the line of the clouds over the black edge of the walls.
"If you're sitting in here with one of those collars on, hope has been gone for a long time," the mare grumbled and lowered her head, making her just another dark lump against the ground.
"I disagree," I shot back, finding a small measure of satisfaction when her head came back up. I could imagine the questioning look on her face, "It's just a different kind of shackle. At least now I don't have to worry about getting shot at every day."
I fell silent after that and looked back out to the horizon. I must have been lying there much longer than I had thought, since the sky was beginning to lighten with the coming dawn. It was going to be the first full day of my new life as a slave.
"Some chains are worse than others," the mare retorted one last time before she also fell silent.
I couldn't find a reason to disagree with her. In my current situation, it did definitely feel like my collar was a much worse shackle than I was used to, but part of that could be the reasoning that it was locked around my neck, and I knew exactly how much damage it could do to me. I sighed and lowered my heads to my forehooves. Hopefully I'd be able to get some sleep before the hell of tomorrow started.
The sound of the door to the pen being slammed open roused me from the uneasy sleep I had managed to find, leaving me feeling groggy. For a few moments I couldn't remember exactly where I was, but the harsh shouts of whoever had opened the door, not to mention the slow shuffle of the ponies around me, served as a very quick reminder.
I rose to my hooves along with everypony around me, casting about as I did for the mare I had spoken with the night before. The only pony that looked like it could have been her was a deep brown Earth Pony mare with a blonde mane that shot me a quick glance as we filed out of the pen to stand in a line outside. Her gaze was neither angry nor supportive, but more of a look to see me in the light of day. I could feel her judging me and weighing me against whatever she thought I should be.
Once we were all lined up, one of the guards, a ragged blue unicorn buck I hadn't seen before, announced where we would all be working. I was assigned to scrap recovery, whatever that meant.
The announcements finished, each group of slaves was led to their respective work areas. By watching, I could tell that most slaves had a usual job; not surprising, given the specialized equipment that an industrial site like this would use.
My particular group was made up of only a half-dozen ponies, including myself. Three of these slaves struck me as abnormal, in the sense that their expressions and the way they held themselves did not look like they were from some town or caravan. It almost felt like they had been raiders or bandits, judging purely on the way they held themselves.
While in the presence of the guards, they were quiet, even submissive, but that didn't stop me from seeing a few angry glares pass between them, making me feel distinctly uncomfortable. They would be a danger if the guards ever lost control of them, and my only saving grace was that I knew how to deal with their kind, but other slaves wouldn't have that kind of experience, especially the other two in our group.
One was a small Earth Pony stallion who looked to be a few years younger than Autumn. His grey hide was covered in dirt and grime, and his black mane hung in knotted tangled over his neck. His cutie mark was a trio of bottle caps, making me think that he must have traveled with a caravan. The last member of our group was an older unicorn mare who had a lifeless gaze in her eyes that I had come to equate with those ponies that had been stuck in this place for a long time. She had a dusky orange hide that was covered in sores and what little was left of her bright red mane hung in thin clumps from the top of her head. She looked like a mare on the verge of death.
We were led out of the Mill and a short walk away to the ruins of an office complex that was situated on the edge of a crater. Part of an office building had tumbled down off of its foundation into the crater, leaving the innards of the structure exposed to the elements. What few glances I got into the crater itself revealed a mess of rubble and scrap, as well as a collection of greenish rain water. This must be the remains of a balefire bomb impact site.
"All right, maggots, listen up 'cause I'm only saying this once, and that only because one of you is new. Your job is to get down there and pull out as much scrap as you can carry that we can recycle for the Mill. If I don't think you brought out enough, you're going back in. You each get one dose of Rad-Away, and I'll give it to you whenever I damn well please! Now, get to it!" the guard in charge of out small group ordered once we reached a small structure set up on the edge of the crater.
At first glance, the small shack looked like any other random structure, but I quickly realized that it was the guard's outpost for this particular job and had been built next to the easiest path down into the crater.
As soon as the orders were given, the other slaves in my group started down the trail into the crater. I stayed a few steps behind the ponies that looked like raiders and kept a careful eye on them. They wouldn't be supervised down here, and that was when they would take advantage of whatever small amount of freedom they could find. Being a mare, I would have to watch my back.
"This is the last trip for me, I think," the elderly mare murmured as we descended the trail. My Pipbuck was starting to click slowly at me, warning me of a higher level of radiation here. It explained why we were going to receive a dose of Rad-Away.
"What do you mean? If you're quick and careful, this job shouldn't be that hard," I answered, reaching down into the rubble and pulling out a solid length of scrap metal that I deposited into the saddle-bag that I had been provided for that very purpose. I was hoping that my demonstration would convince the mare that it wasn't as difficult as she thought, but all she did was shake her head at me.
"I've been here for a long time, dear, and I have never been given that dose of Rad-Away. The radiation takes a long time to build up, but we are never given a chance to get rid of it. I think this will be the last day I crawl into this crater," she answered with a sad smile.
"Why would they lie to us like that?" I demanded, a bit more angrily than I intended. The outburst drew a surprised look from the mare, but she quickly reasserted her sad expression.
"Because they enjoy seeing us suffer. Mark my words, dear: Not even raiders can match these guards in sheer savagery. But don't weep for me. I will finally be able to join my beloved family," the mare said as she drifted away, down a thin trail I hadn't even noticed until then.
I watched her go, wondering at how bad things had to be for that mare to not even care about her imminent death. In just a few short moments, she had disappeared around a piece of rubble, and my chance to say anything else to her was gone.
The raiders were already out of sight on the main trail ahead of me, and I wanted to keep an eye on them for any potential trouble, not to mention the fact that they couldn't get the jump on me if I knew where they were at all times. I hurried to keep up with them, spending a bit of my precious energy to trot down the trail. I rounded the curve ahead of me just in time to see one of the raiders disappear inside the crumbled remains of a collapsed office building.
As I neared it, a voice from off to my side stopped me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," it said. The voice was high-pitched, but undoubtedly male, and had the dismissive tone I was used to hearing from old bucks that didn't care whether or not I listened to them.
I turned my head in the direction of the sound and spotted the young buck that had come down with or group. He was standing in the midst of a tangled wreck of metal and pulverized concrete and was watching me with an uncaring gaze.
"And why not?" I retorted, "There's got to be some good scrap in there."
He shook his head slowly and turned to look down at the rubble at his hooves, as if trying to determine the best way to drag it all back up to the edge of the crater. "Did you even look at those three? They'd chew you up in seconds. Everything in that building belongs to them. The last pony to follow them in didn't come back out."
"They're slaves. By definition, nothing belongs to them," I snapped, "Besides, I'd rather know where they are and avoid getting jumped then to let them do whatever the hell they want."
The buck shrugged his shoulders and pawed at the ground. "Suit yourself. I ain't gonna stop you. It's your funeral, not like anypony is going to notice."
I snorted and approached the door. I paused for a split second to listen for any noise coming from the other side before I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The hallway I walked into was dark, with no windows, and no working lights, to break up the shadows. Once the door closed behind me, I was left in utter darkness, with only the dim light from my Pipbuck making it possible to see at all. How the raiders could find their way around in here was beyond me.
Using my Pipbuck as a flashlight, I made my through the halls, sticking as close to the wall as I could and only using the computer to light the ground immediately in front of me. At the same time, I was keeping a close eye on my E.F.S., watching for any movement from the raiders I knew were in here.
After a few minutes of blindly walking through the dark, I stumbled, literally, into a small foyer that was criss-crossed with hoofprints in the dust. A pillar of light streaked into the center of the room through a large hole in the wall opposite me, and almost twenty feet up. Whatever this room was now, it appeared to have once been a massive lounge or meeting room.
My complete lack of stealth ability notwithstanding, I was grateful for the light. It made me feel like I was actually a part of the world again, rather than some shadow trespassing somewhere I shouldn't be. I made a full circuit of the room, examining the motes of dust that were flitting about in the pillar of light. I was also looking out for any signs of these ponies visiting this place regularly, which seemed to be the case, given the volume of hoofprints on the ground.
What struck me as interesting about this room was that my Pipbuck had stopped clicking at me. Somehow, this part of the building was free of a dangerous level of background radiation. Even given the danger of my situation, I let out a sigh of relief. It was one last thing to worry about, at least for the moment.
As I passed on of the hallways extending back into the depths of the building, I noticed a trail of hoofprints breaking off from the mass and following the hallway. I struck out after them, slowing my pace to watch my step a little more carefully. I didn't want to stumble into another room to find it occupied.
The trail led me through the building and down a set of stairs into what appeared to be a sub-basement. Down here, I had to be extra careful about watching where I stepped. Conduits snaked along the walls and ceiling, and they had broken in several places to litter the ground with tangled cables, not to mention the disgusting mass of broken glass and stains. It looked like the raiders had no difficulty in finding alcohol, and then leaving the glass from the broken bottles everywhere they could.
I was so focused on trying to not make a sound that I completely missed the appearance of the blue bars on my E.F.S. It wasn't until one of the ponies said something that I stopped, holding my breath out of fear that I had betrayed myself, and switching my Pipbuck's light off as well.
"Fuck, what the hell happened to her? I thought we left enough water for her to live off of yesterday," one of them announced angrily. His outburst was quickly followed by the sound of something colliding hard against a wall.
"Apparently not. The other bitch probably took it from her. She don't look like she's suffering much," another answered with a tone of contempt.
I finally looked at my E.F.S., and was surprised to see four bars on it, rather than the three I was expecting. There was another live pony in there with them, as well as at least one corpse.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, cunt? Want to beg our forgiveness for taking away our other plaything?" the third raider sneered. I could easily picture him leaning in close to whoever their victim was to make himself more intimidating.
To my surprise, an angry burst of unintelligible chatter answered the raider, but it wasn't unfamiliar to me. I'd heard it once before, spoken in almost the exact same way, but directed at a buck I had come to respect that night. The speech was zebra.
There was the sound of someone hitting what sounded like a body. "Shut up with that outlandish noise," the first raider growled angrily, "You're in pony lands now, bitch, so you better talk like the rest of us, or you know what happens."
Another burst of zebra answered him, which was met with what sounded like another blow. "He told you to shut up! Can you not understand us now, either?" the third raider shouted, "Fuck, this cunt is dumber than a pile of radioactive rubble."
"Probably still smarter than you, Dart," the second raider said, chuckling at his own joke.
"Fuck you, Gorge," Dart shot back angrily, then, in a more submissive tone, "So how about it, boss? Can I take her first, teach her a little lesson in manners?"
"Fuck no! You know the way things work, Dart. I get first rights, and you two can have whatever is left over. That shouldn't be a damn surprise," the first raider snapped.
Dart grumbled something unintelligible in response, but it didn't sound like he was going to argue. It was the classic response I was used to seeing from raiders.
Their conversation had pissed me off, not only because they were casually discussing raping somepony, but because I was fairly certain that I knew who they were going to rape. Of course, the question of what the hell she was doing here was crossing my mind, but that was largely secondary to my need to act.
I strode out from around the corner to find myself facing a room that was lit from a few flashlights the raiders must have been keeping near the entrance where I had first come in. The lighting wasn't great, but it was enough to make out a few details. The three raiders were gathered together, circling the huddled from of a small zebra mare.
The harsh white light was casting stark shadows against the wall, but also kept my approach in the shadows, not that I was trying to be stealthy anymore. I marched along the hall, surprised at the fact that the raiders seemed to be completely ignoring my approach. It wasn't until I was about to step into the cone of light that one of them finally noticed me.
"Woah, what the fuck? The fuck are you doing here?" Dart exclaimed, stepping back in surprise.
Gorge immediately stepped forward, pushing the other raider back with a hoof. "Now, now, Dart. Don't be rude to our new guest," he said with a twisted smile, "She must be really desperate for some company if she followed us down here."
"You're going to let her go," I ordered, pointing at the zebra with a hoof, completely ignoring the two raiders. My eyes were focused on their leader, since it was his decision that they were going to follow.
"Why should I? Dart and Gorge have a point, you know. We could offer some nice company. In return, you get to keep your life," he answered with a toothy grin, revealing an incomplete set of rotted yellow teeth.
"You're going to let her go because I am a whole lot meaner than I look, and I am more than capable of killing you if you don't listen to me," I growled, lowering my body slightly, "You ever hear of the raider gang south of Grovedale, up in the mountains? They belonged to me, and when they kicked me out, I went back and killed everypony that was left."
My announcement had conjured a momentary look of fear in the raider, but it was quickly swept aside by an expression of confidence, and one that wasn't entirely sane. He started laughing, a low, ugly sound, and his grin widened. "But you ain't in charge of anything here. I am. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm going to ride you, and you're going to convince me that you like it. If you do that, I'll forget your little threat there, and you get to live. If not, well, our other friend down here just died, so we have a vacancy."
"This is your last warning," I growled, preparing myself to attack, "Let her go, and we all walk away. If not, you're all dead, and that is a promise."
All three raiders started laughing, and one of them, Dart, by the looks of it, actually felt to the ground clutching his sides. "Oh, you're something else, cunt. I'm going to enjoy breaking you," the boss sneered, "Dart, Gorge, hold her down."
The two raiders circled around until they were behind me, and I forced myself to wait and let them do the hard work for me. When they moved forward to hold me, I finally moved, bucking back with my hind legs. My right leg caught Dart in the chest, forcing him back with a sharp release of breath. Gorge, on the other hoof, had taken a much lower angle of attack, and my hoof caught him square in the nose. I felt something give, and a shout of pain followed my kick.
An expression of surprise slowly wiped the smug grin from the raider leader's face, and I saw him take a tentative step back as his two underlings collapsed, Gorge clutching at his shattered face, and Dart trying to regain his breath.
I leapt the second my rear hooves were on the ground again, barreling into the leader's chest and forcing him to the ground. I wrapped my hooves around his neck and started to squeeze, cutting off his breath. He started to beat against my sides, making me wince in pain, but I held on. Letting go would mean my death.
The leader's attacks grew steadily weaker, but I could see his two lackeys recovering. They would be on me in a few seconds, which gave me little choice on what to do. I readjusted my grip on the leader's neck, giving him the briefest gasp of air, then wrenched my hooves to the side. His neck snapped with an audible crack and his body went limp, leaving me free to deal with the other two raiders.
Dart moved first, charging me with his head lowered. I sidestepped, letting his momentum carry him past me, and extended a leg, tripping him as he went by to land in a tangle of limbs atop the corpse of his leader.
Leaving Dart to disentangle himself, I turned my attention to Gorge, who was still lying on the ground, blood-soaked hooves clutching his face. I strode up to him and paused when I reached him. He hadn't even noticed my approach and lay in a heap, his pain blinding him to everything else going on.
I was about to act when a shout of rage reached me from behind. Dart charged me from behind, holding a shard of metal in his mouth like a knife. I twisted and brought my Pipbuck to bear, blocking his awkward thrust with the hardy computer. A splash of blood on the screen revealed that there was nothing guarding the piece of metal where the raider was gripping it. It was the typical action of a raider so obsessed with the kill that they hurt themselves in an attempt to draw blood.
Dart attacked again, and again I blocked his attack with my Pipbuck, but this time I struck back. I pivoted on my other leg, swinging my hind leg around to kick Dart in the chest, making him stumble back and gasp for breath. Before he could recover, I attacked again, using my Pipbuck as a bludgeon to strike him in the head and daze him. He dropped the shard of metal as he coughed for breath, and I shoved him aside to stumble into a wall.
In the brief second I had before he regained his balance, I swept up the shard and turned to face him, and not a moment too soon. He was already charging me again. This time, I let him, but moved with him when he reached me. His momentum swept me up and against a table, sending the flashlights tumbling away and drowning us in darkness. I felt him shift on top of me, and chose that moment to strike, darting forward with the shard of metal and burying it in his chest.
Dart grunted, and the weight on top of me disappeared as he backed off. I rolled off of the table and grabbed for one of the flashlights, turning it to point at Dart. He was stumbling against a wall, one hoof clutching the piece of metal embedded in his chest, coughing up thick wads of blood. I must have pierced one of his lungs with that piece of metal.
I made my way over to the buck, keeping the beam of the flashlight focused on him and poised for any tricks he might be trying to pull, but he slid down to the ground as I approached, coughing wetly. There was no question that he was dying.
My face set in a mask of determination, I placed the flashlight on the ground, facing him, and stepped forward, pinning one of his forelegs to the ground with a hoof, and forcing the other away from the shard of metal in his chest, which I then wrenched free. A stream of blood followed it out, and Dart let out a shuddering breath and swiped at me, but the attack was weak and clumsy and hit nothing but open air.
"This is all that rapists and raiders deserve," I growled as I knelt forward, setting the edge of the piece of metal against his throat. The look in his eye was terrified, but there was nothing in his gaze that would stop me from doing what had to be done.
I drew the shard across his throat, opening up the major veins and left him to bleed out. My attention was now solely on Gorge, the only raider left alive. He was still on the ground, but was now watching me with a terrified expression.
"Awe, come on. You don't have to kill me! I'll work for you, yeah! You... you're obviously stronger than they were! I won't give you any trouble, I swear! Now, come on, put the knife down," he begged, the words coming out oddly through his broken nose.
"Did you rape the dead mare?" I demanded as I approached, still holding the bloody shard of metal.
"What does it matter anymore? She's dead, and it's a damn sight better than being a slave! Come on, we can be friends!" Gorge sniveled, holding up a hoof as if to stop my progress out of sheer force of will.
"It matters. Did you rape her?" I repeated. I was now only a few steps away from him, and could practically smell the fear coming off of him.
"Look, they made me do it, all right! It was a matter of survival! If I didn't do what they told me, they would have killed me. You know how it works, right?" he asked, his tone becoming even more pleading.
I shook my head slowly. "It doesn't matter. A better pony would have stood up for what is right. You're no different than any other raider I've ever known, and the wasteland will be a better place without you."
As Dart had done, Gorge attempted to stop me with a healf-hearted swing at my head with a hoof, but I had the upper hand. I blocked his clumsy attack easily with my leg, swept the leg he'd used to attack me to the ground, and broke it with a sharp twist.
Gorge let out a shriek of agony, which I ignored as I stepped forward, knocking him onto his side with a swipe of my Pipbuck. As he lay in a dazed heap, I struck with the piece of metal, burying it in his throat.
I stepped back, watching him for a moment as he clutched at the shard of metal with his good leg, trying to stem the flow of blood even as he started to cough and sputter. I turned away, focusing now on the zebra mare that was tied down, leaving the raider to drown in his own gore.
The knots holding her down weren't complicated, and it took only a few seconds to undo them and help her to her hooves. I supported her until we were standing in the light of one of the flashlights, then let her go to collect the other one. When I returned, she was sitting on the ground, eyes fixed on me, but the gaze wasn't a normal one. Two very familiar, milky white orbs held me pinned beneath their gaze.
"I thought it was you, Yaari," I said, sitting down across from her, "How the hell did you end up here? Where's Esteri?"
"Missing. I've been trapped here long enough that I must believe he is dead. It's been days since I've felt the breath of wind," the mare answered harshly. Even now, after I had saved her, she still hated me. "And you have not changed one bit."
"Maybe not," I answered with a shrug, my tone a bit more biting than I had intended, "but my skill at killing is the only reason the two of us are alive and able to walk out of this building on our own. But you didn't tell me how you ended up here. I didn't think Esteri would let you get captured without getting killed first."
"He certainly tried," Yaari practically growled at me, "We were travelling northeast when a group of slavers attacked us. Normally it would be no problem, as Esteri and I are more than capable of fighting a group like that, but something was different this time. There were far more of them than there should have been. We were separated during the fighting, and I'm not the fighter Esteri is. I was pinned and rendered unconscious. When I came to, I had this thing around my neck." She gestured to the slave collar around her throat.
"Shit, could they have known about you and him? If they brought a force that large together, I can only imagine that they knew how dangerous you two are," I asked as I retrieved one of the flashlights. We'd need the light to find our way out of here.
"It's a possibility I cannot ignore," the zebra answered, her voice becoming a bit more neutral.
"Well, we'll figure something out. The two of us should be able to come up with some plan to get out of here," I said, if not happily, then with at least a little more joy to my voice than I had been feeling for the last several days.
To my dismay, Yaari laughed. "Do you really think that we'll be able to escape from this place? I may be blind, Evergreen, but even I am well aware of the walls and guns that stand between us and freedom. Escape is something that cannot be done."
"Perfect. It should be easy then," I answered as I started forward, following the trail of prints that had led me down here.
"What are you talking about? It's impossible!" Yaari snapped, her hoof-steps echoing loudly on the floor as she hurried to catch up with me.
"And I've made a life based around doing the impossible. Also, if the guards believe it's impossible to escape, they will be much more lax in their duties. When guards become complacent, the miss things, and those oversights are what I'm going to take advantage of to get out of here," I answered stiffly.
"Do you really think you can do it?" Yaari asked, her voice evening out even further. If I didn't know better, I would think she was beginning to agree with me.
"I have to. If I give up, then I've lost, and I refuse to do that. Seahawk will have to kill me before I stop fighting," I growled angrily, "He's won this fight, and it's certainly set me back, but no more than I've put him back by interrupting his plans. His only advantage over me is that every plan I interrupt doesn't personally hurt him, only his lackeys. Since the only support I have is from my friends, every single time I lose I am set back drastically, my current situation being a prime example.
We were now entering the foyer that had shown me the trail the raiders had taken. As we walked through the light streaming through the broken wall, Yaari stopped and turned her head towards the hole. Her eyes closed and I could only imagine her relishing the feel of the slight breeze against her face.
"It seems I've misjudged you, Evergreen. I still see a great evil, but every time you open your mouth, the complete opposite comes out. I can't understand it," she sighed, turning her head to face me, "And I would very much like to. It's not normal for me to read another so wrongly."
Now it was my turn to sigh. I had precious few allies already, and it would do no good to alienate the one possible friends I had in here. "That's because there is a lot of evil within me. It simply isn't something I can do anything about right now. It takes all of my strength to simply keep it at bay."
"I don't understand," Yaari stated, taking a step towards me and pinning me beneath that piercing stare of hers, "How can you be aware that you are full of evil, yet still be so capable of fighting against it?"
I sat down, hanging my head to stare at the ground beneath my hooves. "Believe me, it's not easy. Suffice to say, the evil isn't me. It was, once, but not anymore. I simply haven't been able to shake it. It takes all of my willpower to keep it from taking over again. I almost failed just a day or two before we met."
"That's not enough. What you speak of sounds like the work of the stars, and the malicious spirits that serve them. Explain, now!" Yaari growled. Every pretense of neutrality was gone from her voice. She sounded angry, and I had no illusions to the fact that she would attack me if my answer wasn't satisfactory.
I let out a heavy sigh. I didn't want to tell her the truth, but I also didn't have much of a choice, at least not anymore. "All right. You sure you want the truth? It's going to be hard to believe."
"Tell me, Evergreen, and know that your answer will decide whether or not you survive this day. Do not mistake my lack of conventional sight to mean that I cannot defend myself," Yaari snapped.
"You asked for it," I answered quietly. I then proceeded to explain everything that I knew about the think living in my mind. I told the zebra how it had first infested my mind, appearing as my parents, and offering me encouragement and support. I continued with how it slowly became darker, changing from dreams I could not wait to return to, to nightmares that almost destroyed my life, leading to my banishment from Grovedale. I told her of how it had taken control over me, leading to my life with the raiders, and the dark years of murder and torture that had become my life as a result. I finished with an explanation of what we believed it was, a spirit released with the waning power of the Princesses, and how it was still fighting to turn me back to a life of death and destruction.
Throughout it all, Yaari remained deathly silent, her milky white eyes following my every motion, never leaving me for even a second. I could feel her judging me, weighing every word against what she saw in me. I could only hope that I could show her the good within me as well.
When I finally finished my tale, the zebra mare remained silent for a long time, her expression one of pensiveness. When she finally spoke, it was in very controlled tones, her accent more noticeable than usual. "You believe yourself to be fully in control over you own thoughts?" she asked. She was tense, that much was painfully obvious, and it wasn't the sort of tension that I usually saw in frightened or confused ponies. It was the kind of tension I saw in ponies that were backed against a wall, with no other option than to fight for their survival.
"I think I am. It's tried to twist me back to its way of thinking several times in the last several weeks, and only succeeded once because of how weak I was at the time. If it wasn't for my friends, it would have completely regained control over me. But they were there for me, and I took control back. The last time it spoke to me was shortly before I was officially enslaved, and it backed off. I think it wants me to suffer. It thinks I'm going to come crawling back to it in desperation or something, I don't know. What I do know is that I'm not going to let that happen. I'm either going to escape in full control over myself, or I'm going to die in here, with this collar around my neck," I answered confidently, looking the mare directly in the eye.
"But so long as it lives inside you, you can never be in full control. Creatures of the mind excel at acting unseen and unheard. Even now, it may be driving you towards these acts, letting you think you are in control of yourself, until it has pushed you into a position where it can take advantage of you again," Yaari argued. Her stance had relaxed somewhat, but she was still very much on edge.
"I refuse to believe that," I retorted, "If you're right, then nothing I do will have any impact, and I know from experience that that isn't true. I beat it back before, and it will not regain control over me without a fight. Every time we've spoken, it has made it very clear what it wants me to do, so I make sure to do the exact opposite. I don't enjoy killing, but I know it's unavoidable. The difference is that that thing wants me to enjoy taking lives. I'll admit, Yaari, after we spoke in that caravan shelter, I was pretty broken up for a few days. I saw myself as nothing more than a killer, good for nothing better than taking lives."
"Aren't you? The first thing I saw you do when you appeared was kill those three ponies that held me captive. For all their strength as raiders, you made it appear easy. They didn't even land a single blow," Yaari challenged me.
"I'm good at killing. I've spent five years perfecting the skill, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it, or that I don't realize the effect it has on me or those around me. One of Shooting Star's guards put it in terms that I've taken to heart. I kill because it's necessary. I take the lives I need to take in order to protect the lives of ponies that are otherwise defenseless. I don't have a problem killing raiders, slavers, or any other pony that thinks it's all right to take advantage of others. Killing them makes life safer for the rest of us," I answered, "So condemn me if you have a problem with that. At least I know I'm fighting for something better. I'm killing so that others don't have to, and if my soul has to spend an eternity in hell for that, then so be it. At least I'll die knowing that I've changed the lives of others for the better."
"You really believe that, don't you?" Yaari demanded, "You think you're actually doing some good in this world, despite the blood and death that follow you?"
"Are the ponies I'm killing now the sort of ponies we want rebuilding the new world? They are trying to control others through force, enslaving or killing as it suits them. My parents taught me about a world in which ponies were happy for a very long time, and I've met a pony that has survived since those days. Even with all the regret she has towards those times, I could tell that she missed those golden years greatly. That sort of freedom is what I want for this city. I want ponies to be able to travel from town to town without fearing for their lives. If I have to kill a few dozen ponies for that, then so be it. But if you're going to insist that I'm a bad pony simply for killing, then I'll make sure not to kill the ponies that are about to rape you next time," I said with a snort, then rose back to my hooves and started walking again, leaving the zebra behind.
I could understand her reasoning. Hell, I agreed with part of it, to an extent, but there had to be limits. Everything I had learned about the mare was that she saw the world purely in black and white. We could spend a lifetime debating the subject, but the harsh truth was that nothing in the world was that clear cut. There were extremes, to be sure, but every pony has some sort of redeeming quality. The deciding factor was what they chose to do with their lives.
The sound of hooves echoing off the walls made me tense up for a moment, but they weren't hurried, so I was confident that she didn't mean to attack me, but I made sure to keep myself ready to move should she try to surprise me. Instead, she drew up beside me and matched my pace. Together, we made our way slowly out of the structure, stopping occasionally to collect a few hunks of scrap metal and other salvage to bring out with us. When we finally emerged out into the overcast day, we had a very healthy, not to mention heavy, supply of junk stuffed into my saddlebags, and the makeshift bag we had hastily strung together for Yaari.
We started the climb out of the crater, struggling on the uncertain footing to keep from falling and injuring ourselves. The weight of the salvage made the climb difficult, and any misstep could result in a very bad injury. We were roughly halfway back to the top when we stopped for a break.
"I need to apologize for my words," Yaari announced suddenly between panting breaths, breaking the long silence between the two of us, "I spoke unfairly and allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment. The idea of this evil you are grappling with made me think of nothing but that evil, when your actions are proof of good intent. You saved my life, and I am grateful for that. Esteri often chastised me on my habit of being more severe than necessary with strangers, and it is very easy to forget those lessons when he isn't there. If you think you can find a way out of this place, I will help you."
I stared at the mare in shock, since I hadn't been expecting her to say anything like that. The last time we had met, she had wanted Esteri to murder us, simply because they knew what I had been, and it had taken the buck shouting her down to get her to reconsider. She must have gone through a lot for her to have this change of heart now. "I... Thank you, Yaari. That means a lot to me. I promise, I'll find a way out of here, and we'll find Esteri and set things right."
The zebra nodded curtly. "Good. There is still much to be done. Now, we have taken enough time. We should not be late."
With a short nod of agreement, I rose back to my hooves and slung my saddlebags over my back. It weighed a lot, and I would probably curse myself later for trying to carry so much, but I did not want to be sent back down for another load.
"Well, what have we here?" the slaver drawled as Yaari and I dragged ourselves up the last few feet of the trail to finally stand on level ground before the small shack, "I was wondering where she got off to. Thought the crater killed her. Where's you come from?"
"She was trapped beneath a section of wall that had collapsed," I announced before Yaari could speak, shooting the mare a look that I hoped would convince her to remain quiet, if she could even see it, "I helped her get free."
"I see. How charitable of you. Now, where's that group of three and the old mare? I'm on a schedule here," the slaver demanded, striding up to me, "Since you went so far out of your way to help this helpless excuse for a maggot, I'd imagine you know where the other are as well."
I stood my ground, glaring into the slaver's eyes, daring him to challenge me. "I don't know where they are. Helping her took a long time, so I haven't got a clue where the others are."
"You sure about that, scum?" the slaver growled dangerously, leaning closer to me until the cloying smell of his breath made me start to feel nauseous, "Lying to me would be a very poor decision."
"I'm positive," I answered stiffly, not breaking eye contact.
The slaver snorted, the burst of air hot against my face, and so vile that I had to fight back the urge to gag, and turned around. "Fine. We'll wait a little longer, then you maggots have to take whatever it is you've found back to the industrial site. They'll decide whether or not you lot have to come back here."
We were given a generous half hour to rest before the slaver lost his patience and gave us the order to move, using the thin whip attached to his barding as an incentive for us to drag ourselves back to our aching hooves and to pull the heavy packs back on. He then led us on a forced march back across the blasted terrain separating us from the Mill, where he left us at the gate to talk to the other guards.
The short walk felt like it had taken hours, every single step harder than the last as the weight on my back fought to drive me into the ground. Yaari was struggling to keep up with me as well, practically dragging herself along. Her head was hung low and her ears were hanging loosely about her head, but she managed to keep up with us, hard as it must have been.
At the gate, I fell into step behind the only other surviving member of our group, the young stallion who had urged me not to follow the raiders into the office building. He was the only one that seemed to know where we were going, so I gladly let him lead. Our long trek was finally nearing its end. Hopefully, we'd have a chance to rest once we arrived.
The Industrial sector was even worse than I had feared. The foul-smelling fumes assaulted us from the moment we stepped past the gates, several orders of magnitude more powerful than they were at the pen. The entire area was built like a maze, with walls and fences rising seemingly at random, making our path a twisting, difficult trek that quickly left me disoriented, despite the compass in my vision.
Everywhere, ponies were at work, either slaving away at what looked to be impossible tasks, like cutting down rusting hulks of broken-down vehicles into usable chunks of scrap or working massive pieces of what was probably extremely dangerous industrial machinery with little or no safety equipment or training, or overseeing the work of the slaves, usually through the liberal use of whips.
Our path brought us to an office overseeing the main production floor where all the scrap metal was being melted down and shaped into various pieces of more useful materials, like fenceposts, hinges, and even bullets. Standing outside of the door was a mean-looking Earth Pony stallion with a mane the color of blood and a cream-colored hide covered in splotches of naked skin, mostly scar tissue.
"Took you lazy slaves long enough. Let me see what you've brought," he growled once we arrived, striding forward to meet us, only to come to a stop a few steps short. "Where the fuck are the rest of you? I was told six slaves would be bringing me salvage, not two ponies and a fucking zebra! I swear, everyone in this place is fucking useless. Regardless of what you've got, it isn't going to be enough. Get back out there and bring me more!" He ordered, pulling out a police baton and striking the young stallion viciously in the head, sending him reeling.
"Drop what you've got in the collection area and get back out there. Move, now!" the overseer snarled, moving to swing his baton again, but we were already moving, hurrying to get out of his way and away from the arc of his weapon.
Part of my spirit was completely crushed. I had expected to get a chance to breathe. Instead, we were being sent straight back to work. My entire body was aching, from the tip of my nose to the end of my tail, and it was all I could do to even remain on my feet, yet I had to keep going. To stop would mean more injury and pain, something that would keep me from working on a way to get out of this nightmare. My entire plan hinged on not drawing attention to myself, yet I was already failing miserably in that regard. If I were to collapse, it would only mean more attention drawn towards me.
We forced ourselves onwards, dropping what we had collected in a massive pile of scrap metal and other junk. The sheer size of the pile made my contribution seem like an ant, of the non-mutated variety, offering tribute to a dragon. It was yet another blow to my spirit after how heavy my load had been on my back.
Now that the load was gone, walking was easier, and we had a chance to catch our breath was we made our way back to the gate where the slaver that was in charge of our group sat waiting, a smug look on his face. It dawned on me that he had known exactly what was going to happen, and was now taking a great deal of pleasure from the defeated looks we must have been wearing.
He led us back out into the wasteland, right back to that crater. I already hated it.
"All right, maggots, get back in there and fill up those bags! We ain't got all day!" he shouted, cracking his whip over our heads again, hurrying us back down the trail and into the irradiated depths of the giant hole.
By the end of the day, we had made the trip between the crater and the Industrial area a half-dozen times, and every single part of my body was in a state of pain I didn't think was actually possible. I had thought that I'd pushed myself to my limits before in the past. Now I knew that I had never come even close. Unfortunately, I was far too exhausted to take any sort of pride from that fact.
When we were finally led back to our pen and locked inside, I found the first scrap of open space and promptly collapsed, my legs no longer capable of supporting my weight. The dirt of the floor stung fiercely as it got into the weals left behind by the slavers' whips, but the pain was secondary compared to the soreness of my muscles.
Yaari collapsed beside me, panting heavily, her limbs shaking. She didn't have the advantage of the endurance that I had spent a lifetime building, not to mention the fact that she had spent who-knew how many days locked up in that collapsed structure. I was amazed that she had managed to remain on her feet at all.
A short time later, we were given a meager meal of pre-war food and a small cup of what I could only assume was water taken out of the dirtiest hole the slavers could find. It wasn't much, and I finished it quickly, my stomach still growling for more.
"You shouldn't have done that, though I suppose we can't blame you, being new and all," a pony near me mused as he slowly ate his meal, taking the time to savor each bite, "If you take your time, it seems more filling. You'll be thankful for it later."
"I'm just so hungry," I answered tiredly, too tired to even look over and see who was speaking, "and I feel like I couldn't stand again, no matter how hard I'm pushed."
"Well, you'd better get used to that feeling. It's not going to get any better," the pony stated with a knowing smirk as he swallowed the last of his meal. It didn't sound like he was trying to be supportive, but rather was taking pride in the fact that he knew something that I didn't. Even in a place like this, ponies tried to find a way to get power over others.
His words sounded too much like the truth for my comfort. I was being forced to face the reality of what slavery was, and it was nothing like what I had believed. I had thought that life would be bearable if all I did was listen to everything I was ordered to do. Instead, I was being forced to the very limits of my ability. I had no clue how long I was going to be able to keep up without becoming completely burnt out.
Regardless of my limits, I was going to have to start working towards finding a way out of here, and that would require finding allies. Yaari and I would not be able to accomplish an escape alone. I would need help from a few carefully places ponies within the entire infrastructure of the Mill if I was going to get out. I could only hope that I would last that long.
Level up!
Perk Gained: Iron Hooves - Unarmed attacks now deal 20% more damage.
Skill Note: Unarmed (40)
{And here we reach the end of another chapter. This one proved much more difficult to write than I was expecting, since I am used to writing characters whose actions are not limited and are free to act as they see fit. Writing a slave is definitely something I am not used to, and I hope I'm doing an acceptable job of it. Thanks, as always, go to Kkat for the original FoE. Also, thanks to MUCKSTER for his tireless efforts at editing for me (even if he does require the occasional prod). I would also like to thank AdobE for helping me with proofreading and editing. It's nice having another pair of eyes to look at this. Also, the hub page for the story's GDocs can be found here.} |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 15: The Abyss | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 15: The Abyss
"Given enough time, even the strongest of ponies will break."
I stood on the edge of a cliff, looking down on the wastes I knew so well. The ground stretched out to the horizon, beyond which I could see a glimmer of light reflecting off the vast expanse of the ocean separating us from the Equestrian mainland. Above me, the clouds roiled, as they had every single day of my dreary life, hiding behind them the one thing I had been yearning to see every day since I was old enough to know what I was missing.
Silhouetted in the distance was the Seaddle skyline, its broken spires reaching hungrily for the sky, like so many broken fingers trying to claw their way back into the sunshine. If I strained my eyes, I thought I could make out a small brick structure wreathed in cables and relay dishes. In my mind's eye, I could picture a bright blue Pegasus strutting about a small radio studio, smiling to himself as he prepared for another show.
As I watched, a darkness started to grow out from the core of the city, growing and growing until everything had been swallowed by its writhing, seething mass. The darkness spread towards me, enveloping everything it touched. In just a few moments I saw the familiar shapes of Millberry, Grovedale, and even Metro get consumed by the shadows.
And yet even those places could not sate its boundless appetite.
It rushed towards me, faster and faster, until it crashed against the base of the cliff I was standing on. The impact shook the rock beneath my hooves, threatening to send me toppling into the dark mass below me. It was all I could do to keep my footing.
The darkness retreated a bit, only to come crashing back with even more force. Below my hooves, the once-solid rock started to crack and splinter. Large pieces of rock started to break off from the cliff to be consumed by the darkness, but still I stood my ground. Part of me realized that to fall would mean that everything I cared for would be lost.
A third time, the darkness retreated, then paused, gathering itself before it surged forward once again. When it struck the rock below me, I felt the blow resonate in my chest as the entire cliff face shuddered. Even more rock shattered and fell into the dark as a massive crack appeared immediately underneath me.
In desperation, I jumped back away from the ledge, praying for solid ground to land on. The instant my hooves touched the ground, the rock simply crumbled away, sliding down towards the seething darkness, and carrying me along with it. As the darkness reached out for me, I tried to scream, but no sound would come. It was in utter silence that the darkness took me, taking away everything I had ever known.
oooOOOooo
I woke with a start, my heart hammering in my chest and the muscles in my back and neck screaming in agony at the sudden movement. For a few moments I was unable to breathe as the collar around my neck bit into my flesh, sending fresh rivulets of blood coursing down my legs and chest. I lay in the silence, panting and trying to reassure myself that it had simply been another dream, another nightmare to torment me even in sleep.
Ever so slowly, my heart rate returned to normal and I was able to take normal breaths instead of gasping pants. Beside me, Yaari grumbled something in zebra and shifted her body in an attempt to get more comfortable, but soon settled back down into an uneasy sleep. For the last week, she had been the only pony, or zebra, that I had been able to speak openly with. Nobody else was the least bit interested in entertaining any of the ideas I had, and I had to be careful about who I spoke with anyway. One word in the wrong place, and I would be stuck in an even deeper hole than I was already in.
Even so, Yaari was an odd companion. Having grown up in the ancestral zebra lands, she had an entirely different outlook on life than I was familiar, and comfortable, with. What struck me as the most different between us was our beliefs. I had been raised to revere the Princesses, and while I might not be devout in expressing my belief, I certainly respected what they had represented. But Yaari saw Celestia as nothing more than a foreign monarch that chose to defer rule to her sister when the times became too difficult for her to handle, and Luna as evil incarnate.
That particular gem of knowledge had touched off a series of arguments that resulted in neither of us speaking to the other for an entire day, practically an eternity in the Mill. I simply couldn't understand how she could believe that Princess Luna was evil. Sure, she had attempted to usurp Celestia's rule over a thousand years ago, and had been imprisoned in the moon for a millennium, but on her return to Equestria she had become a beacon of wisdom and guidance to the common pony. Her return had been the example that anypony, no matter how bad their crimes, could be redeemed.
Yet Yaari insisted that at her core, Luna had been evil. Being locked in the moon had opened her up to the stars' influence. She said that Luna always had the potential to become Nightmare Moon again, and that in order to free herself at all, she must have made some deal with the stars; something that in zebra legend never ended well.
In the end, we had simply agreed that neither of us was going to be swayed to the other's point of view and had dropped the matter, but that didn't mean that we agreed on everything else. Her past had left her with many different ideas about what a pony's, or zebra's life should amount to, and the ways in which those lives should be lead. Many times, those philosophies clashed directly with my own, or otherwise confused me so completely that I gave up completely on trying to understand. Why would anypony honestly want to look down on another simply because of what their eye color was? It simply didn't make any sense.
We had found an uneasy peace in the last week, more out of necessity than out of any love for the other. I don't know if I would call her a 'friend', but she was certainly someone I was glad to have around while we struggled to survive in this hellish place. It would have to do.
I was unable to find any more rest for the rest of that night, something that would haunt me over the entire work day. Rest was already so hard to come by that I dreaded the next endless hours of back-breaking labor. As the sky lightened with the dawn and the Mill slowly started to rise, I steeled myself, mentally and physically, for the coming day.
With a familiar ring, the door to the pens opened and we were ordered to fall out and line up for inspection. It was a regular routine that was deceiving in its simplicity. Sometimes ponies would be pulled out of the lineup for some reason or another and when they showed up again, if they showed up, it was with fresh cuts and bruises. To me it was simply another reason to not draw attention to myself.
I stood in my usual place in line, with Yaari on my left, the top of her mane barely reaching my shoulder, and the brown Earth Pony mare that had spoken to me before on my right. I stood silently, my head bowed and eyes fixed on the ground in front of me, waiting for the order to get to work, but it was much longer in coming than I was used to.
Raising my head in curiosity, I almost jumped back in surprise when I was met with Volt's face mere inches from my own, a sadistic grin plastered across her face. "Morning, slave," she stated, the grin never for a moment fading, "The Boss wants to speak with you, though I can't possibly imagine why he wants to exchange words with such a pathetic excuse for life again."
"Of course, Volt," I answered with a submissive nod, bowing low enough that a few strands of my mane brushed against the ground, not that it could get much dirtier.
The purple mare snorted at me, apparently not believing my submission, but turned away all the same, starting to walk towards the gate that separated the slave pens from the slavers. I was obviously expected to follow.
As we passed into the slaver's area, I swept my gaze across it, taking in everything and anything I could, searching for anything that might give me some sort of advantage. All I could see were the doors leading to the various buildings and outhouses, as well as the bar that was already serving a surprising number of patrons. Everything was dilapidated and rundown, but none of these ponies seemed to care. All of them were simply lounging around, drinking or tormenting the mares that were tasked with their entertainment. Even as I watched, one of the slavers approached one of the mares, a perverted grin twisting his features, and led her into one of the buildings, all to the cheers of the others around him.
The entire scene made me sick.
It wasn't until we were approaching the doors to Eulogy's Pad that I noticed something that might end up being useful. The large neon sign had several thick cables snaking down the wall from behind it. As Volt opened the door and waited impatiently for me to walk through, I craned my head to try and see where they led, but they twisted into an alley on the side of the building and out of my sight. The beginnings of a plan were starting to form in my mind, but I would need help.
"Look all you like, slave. This is the only glimpse of freedom you're ever going to get," Volt sneered as I stepped past her. She gave me a kick in the rump to hurry me through the doors as she closed them behind me, then shoved me aside and walked into the room towards the massive blue couch that dominated the main floor. A pool table stood nearby, carefully set up for a game that I doubted anypony remembered the rules for.
Eulogy was lounging on the couch, dressed in the same (or possibly different) red vest that he had worn the last time we had met. His front legs were propped up on a luxurious red cushion and a tall, slender glass filled with some clear liquid was perched on the table next to him.
"You wanted to speak to her again, Boss?" Volt asked as she approached the buck, tossing her head in my direction.
"I did. Thank you, Volt. You may return to your duties. She won't cause any problems here," Eulogy answered with a dismissive gesture, not even turning his gaze towards the purple unicorn.
"Suit yourself," she snorted as she turned and strode away, shoving me roughly to the side as she did so. "Mind your manners, slave."
"Please, Evergreen, come closer. I do so hate to yell," Eulogy called from his couch, now turning his gaze in my direction. He looked pleased with himself, but there was a questioning look in his dark green eyes as well.
I obediently strode forward, lowering my head to the ground in the way I had learned kept ponies from being noticed by the guards, and hoped that this meeting wouldn't end the same way the last had. As I marched forward, a glimmer of light caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I stopped mid-stride, lifting my head in confusion and fixing my glance on the source of the glimmer.
Facing me was a large mirror that had somehow survived the war and the following centuries. Its perfect silver surface hung on the wall framed in a beautiful golden molding. My breath caught in my chest at the sight, but my heart plummeted at what it contained.
My mane had lost any semblance of shape or form and hung listlessly from the top of my head, framing my face in a dirty, tangled heap. A week of accumulated dust, grime, and grit made it near impossible for me to make out any of the green streaks that I knew were there, somewhere. My hide matched my mane, the usual rich brown faded into a dull beige. Several open sores wept some foul, clear liquid; the result of not receiving any radiation medication and working in areas that were heavily irradiated.
Color aside, my hide hung on me like the flesh on a ghoul. It looked like it had simply been tacked onto me as an afterthought, as something meant to hide the bones and muscle beneath, not that there was much of the latter left. I could count every single one of my ribs sticking out from under my hide, and my legs had lost a lot of meat. The skin around my eyes and nose was drawn and pale, giving me the look of somepony that hadn't slept in years.
My eyes were the only thing that still held any color, the fierce green looking back at me from sunken eye sockets. The whites of my eyes were stained with yellow and marked with criss-crossing red veins, giving me a sickly, weak appearance.
The collar around my neck stood out starkly, the smooth metal surface contrasting sharply with the brown of my hide. Its edges were crusted with blood, and the flesh around it was red and swollen, locking it even more in place. I couldn't help but wince at the sight.
I looked like a slave.
"It is a beautiful relic isn't it? One of my most prized possessions," Eulogy intoned from his seat, his voice distant, as though he was remembering some far off time.
"Am I included in that list?" I muttered from where I stood, tearing my eyes from my reflection and fixing my gaze on the Earth Pony that was holding me captive.
"Even now you have such a high regard for your worth, dear Evergreen. You must remember that, for the moment, you are still but a slave. The price I paid for you was mostly a bounty to stop the raids against my caravans. In here, you are worth no more than any of the others you share your quarters with," Eulogy chuckled. He was speaking haughtily, in a fashion that I imagined was an attempt to copy the old nobility. It didn't fit our surroundings.
"Can't blame me for thinking I'm still worth something to somepony," I answered with a shrug, picturing a strong, blue body crowned with a brilliant orange and yellow mane in my head.
"I suppose not. After all, there are many out there that still idolize you. Despite my attempts, simply enslaving you has not diminished the tales of your successes," Eulogy sighed, shifting from his seat and rising to his hooves. He reached out for his glass and took a sip before setting it back down.
"If I'm the same as all of them, then why am I meeting with you again? It isn't like any of them get private meetings with you," I asked as he approached me.
The question made the buck smile, but it held little mirth. Instead, it seemed to have amused him in the way a mole rat's struggles amused the predator trying to eat it.
"Because you are unique, where they are not. Even after a week of living amongst them, being one of them, I can see your insistence that you are still somepony worth mentioning. No other slave has ever held on to a sense of worth that way before," Eulogy explained, "Which in fact brings me to the reason you are here. I have given you a taste of what it is to be a slave, and you have suffered as one. The offer I made the last time we spoke still stands. Agree to it, and the pain ends. Work for me, and the collar will be removed. You will still be watched, of course, but you will be free, more or less."
I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. The life of a slave was far more difficult than I had expected, and the possibility of not having to worry about the constant pain and fear anymore was something I very much wanted. But my self-chosen curse was that I could not think only of myself. Yaari depended on me; alone, this place would chew her up. Together, we had a chance at survival.
"Sorry, Eulogy, but a little pain isn't going to change my mind. I've seen too much and suffered far more than you can possibly imagine. A few whiplashes and a couple more scars aren't going to make me betray who I am. So go ahead and zap me into unconsciousness again. The threat of pain doesn't scare me," I growled.
"So you would rather remain a pony that is worth nothing, and has no freedom, than to be able to call yourself a free pony?" he asked incredulously, his calm façade breaking a bit.
"You aren't offering me freedom, Eulogy. You're offering me a different kind of shackle.
If you were really going to set me free, you would take this collar off and open the front gates for me," I retorted, "So I'd rather be a slave on my own terms than on yours."
Eulogy's expression shifted from a disinterested mask to one of incredulous surprise. He wasn't used to being told no, and I found a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing him break down. "A slave on your own terms? Such a thing doesn't exist! I own you! I decide what happens with your life. With a flick of my hoof I could end your very existence! And you still think you have power over your own life?"
"In a word: yes. Now are we done here? I have some work to get done. That scrap doesn't collect itself," I stated, putting as much condescension into my voice as I possibly could. I was well on my way to getting this pony angry, and I didn't care. Eulogy was the pony that valued me. He wasn't the sort of pony to kill me because I got under his skin.
Even as I watched, Eulogy's face twisted to a study in surprise, then shock, and finally anger. "If that's the way you see it, then I'll make sure you get back to work," he sneered, any pretense at being a high-class pony disappearing. For a few moments, at least, he was just another wasteland thug. "Report to Scythe in the Factory. He'll give you your job. Now get out."
With that, Eulogy turned away from me and strode back to his couch, where he grabbed his drink and finished it in a single gulp. I bowed submissively to him, trying to keep from grinning, and would have failed, had I not already turned and started for the door.
The slavers directed a few curious looks in my direction as I walked past them, but none moved to stop me. I was happy for that fact, since I didn't have a clue what I would have done had one of them done something. I made it through the gate without incident and made my way towards the factory. Scythe was the cream-colored overseer that had directed my scrap-collecting group back to the crater my first day here. I had yet to hear him speak in anything but a yell.
"Why the fuck are you in my office, maggot?" Scythe screamed as I pushed why through the swinging door. The office was bare, with only a desk, a small table covered with old liquor bottles, and a weapons rack loaded down with all sorts of inventive melee weapons, one of which was his namesake.
"Eulogy's orders, sir," I answered, bowing my head to the slaver, "All he told me was to report to you. I wasn't told what my duties would be."
Scythe snorted, rising to his hooves and reaching for a whip that had small length of barbed wire attached to it. "So you think you can just walk into my office like you own the fucking place? You've got a thing coming, you ignorant piece of shit!" He shouted around the whip.
I instinctively stepped back, but Scythe was a master when it came to tormenting slaves. The whip cracked and I couldn't help but cry out in pain as it bit against my left side. Warm blood flowed from the furrows dug out by the barbed wire and I stumbled back against the door.
"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean any offense! I was just following orders!" I whimpered, curling up on myself.
"You're sorry? How the fuck is that supposed to make me feel better, maggot?!" Scythe shrieked as he cracked the whip again, opening up another wound on my other side, an almost exact mirror of the first.
"I was just told to report to you! I didn't want to get caught for being lazy!" I cried, any attempt at showing any sort of mind of my own gone. The pain of the two whiplashes was all-consuming.
"Hmph, I highly doubt that," Scythe grunted, but he did lower the whip, "If Eulogy wants you working for me, I think I know exactly what task he wants done. Get on your hooves and follow me. Don't fall behind."
He strode past me, coiling the whip up and hanging it from his barding. I remained completely motionless until he was past me and through the door, then quickly pulled myself to my hooves and followed after him. He led me through the maze of fences and workers to a massive machine.
"This is one of our two working smelters. Your job is going to be making sure that the molds on the conveyor are in usable condition. Hemlock will be overseeing your work. If I hear anything about you slacking off, you'll wish you'd never been born. Am I clear?"
"Absolutely, sir," I answered, nodding vigorously.
Scythe snorted disbelievingly, but turned and walked away, leaving me standing on my own. Unsure of what to do with myself (there was no sign of any other pony nearby, and I was completely turned around) I simply walked a little closer to the machine, trying to get an idea of how it worked. It was roughly cubical in shape, with a massive opening at the top where the scrap would be dumped in. Next to me, at about chest height, was another opening that fed out into a conveyor belt that doubled as a mold, shaping the melted metal into ingots that could later be worked into other things.
I was so engrossed in my study of the machine that I didn't notice the approach of another pony. "So Scythe is finally giving me someone else to help out over here, huh?" a strong, and attractive, voice asked.
He caught me completely off guard, and I almost pulled a muscle in my neck when I turned to face him. I did, however, open up a few more cuts from the damned collar. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not working! I wasn't told where anything was and Scythe just left me here! I'm looking for Hemlock," I stammered out. Part of my mind realized that I was acting much more skittish and frightened than normally, but the wounds I had just received from Scythe were still bleeding, and the memory of what had caused the injury had me feeling a little defensive. Sucking up to these ponies for a time, at least until I figured out the rules that they lived by, wouldn't be a terrible idea.
"Calm down, new blood. He treats every new slave like this. I'm Hemlock, by the way. I'm guessing you're supposed to be helping me run this thing?"
I nodded dumbly, finally getting a good look at the pony. He was a light blue unicorn, but had the build of an Earth Pony used to hard labor. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was at least as strong as Steel Curtain was. A pale yellow mane, kept cut close to his head, was the perfect accent to his blue eyes. He was wearing a simple black vest, whose only purpose I imagined was to keep the straps of his saddlebags from chafing against his hide. What surprised me the most was the slave collar around his neck.
"You're a slave as well?" I asked, unable to keep a note of surprise out of my voice.
"That's right. Been doing this job long enough that Scythe more or less leaves me alone. I don't usually get much help, which unfortunately means I know exactly what job he wants you to do," Hemlock answered with a nicker and an uneasy smile.
"What do you mean? It looks simple enough: Just collect scrap and drop it down that chute up there, right?" I asked, waving a hoof at the scaffolding that would let a pony climb up to the chute at the top of the smelter.
"Yup, but that's my job. Your job is to make sure the molds are all in good condition and to keep any of the metal from being wasted, and we aren't given any sort of protective gear," Hemlock explained, "The last pony they sent to help me ended up being carted off after only a few hours. The burns to her legs were too much for her to keep going."
My jaw dropped in shock. This was basically a death sentence. "How the hell do your job alone then?"
Hemlock shrugged. "My job isn't to keep the molds in order. They usually send a pony over once a week or so, just often enough to keep up with the rate the molds deteriorate in, but they never last long. Sorry, new blood, but that's just the way things work down here. Now, once I drop this heap of scrap in up there and start the machine up again, it will start running automatically. You'll only have a few seconds to inspect the molds before the metal flows, and replace it with one from that pile there. Put any cracked or warped molds into another pile so we can melt it down as scrap. If you're too slow, the metal will just flow onto the belt itself. Trust me, you don't want that to happen."
I looked at the side of the machine where the pile of molds were. I made my way next to them and looked into the belly of the smelter. The very next mold to be used had a fairly large crack running through it, and would need to be replaced. If I was quick, this job shouldn't be too hard or taxing. It would be hot, sure, but if I didn't make any mistakes, I should be all right.
Before Hemlock had a chance to start up the machine, I grabbed a mold from the top of the pile and swapped it out for the broken one. It fit perfectly, and the process took me no more than a second, more than enough time for me to grab another and get it ready to put in place as soon as the first had moved, should it be necessary. No, this shouldn't be too difficult at all.
With a loud grinding and belching noise, the smelter came to life, releasing a cloud of oily black smoke out of the opening right next to me, making me cough and my eyes water from the toxic fumes. A wave of heat followed that sucked the air out of my lungs. It took me a few seconds to force a full breath of air, and by then, the conveyor was already moving.
I barely managed to replace the next broken mold before the red-hot metal filled it. A hiss of pain escaped my lips as the intense heat from the metal washed over my legs. I thought I could already feel blisters starting to form.
Mechanically, I continued working, again barely in time for the next expulsion of red-hot metal. The temperature never let up. If anything, the constant disgorging of metal was making it hotter, and what sweat I did manage to work up instantly evaporated from my hide. Every breath felt like I was swallowing sandpaper, and my mouth quickly became dry, my tongue feeling like a lump of wood in my mouth.
It didn't take long for the repetition of my work to become automatic. Reach for mold, wait for a deformed one and replace, reach for another mold, repeat. Anything that had a crack or other deformity, I would simply toss aside to be gathered later. The only thing that made it hard was the unceasing heat. The pain from my legs had long since been reduced to a dull throbbing that I had pushed to the back of my mind. Thinking about my pain would only make things worse.
I had become so engrossed in the timing of my work that I was shocked when the smelter shut down with a sudden grinding, accompanied by the sound of something popping and the smell of burnt circuitry.
"Damn it all! Now what the fuck am I going to do?!" Hemlock shouted from somewhere above me. His voice sounded tired, but his frustration made any hint of exhaustion seem meaningless.
I turned to ask him what was wrong, but was caught by surprise when my legs refused to respond and I went sprawling, sending molds sliding all over the place with a loud clatter. I looked down at my forelegs in surprise and was shocked to find myself looking down at the dried leather of bare, and dehydrated, skin, pockmarked with blisters. They looked to be only a short time away from gaining a truly bad burn. The constant heat had singed away the fur of my legs and basically cooked the skin. It was no surprise that walking was difficult.
I shifted them, and nearly cried out at the sharp pain that resulted. Instead of a shout, it was a more of a moan, but was still loud enough to draw Hemlock's attention.
"Shit, new blood! Are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern, rushing down the scaffolding to stand near me. His hide had been blackened by the constant smoke hanging about the top of the smelter, but seemed otherwise the worse for wear.
"Argh, the pain," I groaned, "I can barely move my legs."
Looks exactly like what happened to the other mare," he commented sympathetically, "Lucky for you, I managed to get my hooves on a couple of healing potions for just this problem. Slavers know that ponies are going to get hurt doing this job, so they give me just enough medicine to keep you working for the day." He trotted over to a table nearby and retrieved a vial of that beautiful red liquid.
He unstoppered it for me and held it up to my lips. I drank greedily, relishing the taste of it and the feeling returning to my legs. The fur didn't grow back, but at least the inflammation disappeared and the blisters healed, giving me the ability to at least walk again.
"Well, now that you're taken care of, we have a bigger problem. Some of the circuitry in this damn thing fried, which means it's just a pile of so much junk. If we can't get it fixed, we're both fucked, my friend," Hemlock explained, waving his hoof at the smelter, "Scythe will kill me if I don't meet the day's quota, and if I die, you can sure as hell be sure that you'll be following me."
"Isn't there somepony we can talk to that knows how to fix it?" I asked, rising to my hooves and facing the unicorn.
"There might be somepony down in maintenance, but they have so much else to get done that they won't have time to get down here to work on it," Hemlock explained.
"What if we offer them that?" I asked, nodding my head to the other healing potion that Hemlock had pulled out of the table drawer.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?! You need that if you want to walk once we're done here!" Hemlock protested.
"And we both need it if we're going to survive the day. Will offering them that give them the incentive to come down here and fix the damn thing?" I demanded, "Because I would rather suffer from some Princesses-damned burns than to get myself killed!"
Hemlock hesitated for a moment, fixing me in a confused stare. "You are not like most," he finally muttered, "Yeah, it should convince one of them to come down here, but I have some other work to get done. You'll need to bring it down. Take that passage to wherever it lets you out, then turn left. The maintenance wing is at the end of that passage," Hemlock explained, pointing the way out to me.
"I'll be back soon," I said, stepping over to the table and grabbing the healing potion. I didn't have any saddle bags, so I had to carry it in my mouth.
Now it was simply a matter of making it look like I had every right to be doing what I was doing. There were a hundred different ways this could backfire, but as Hemlock had said, we were dead if we didn't get that smelter up and running again. The slavers here weren't the sort to be understanding about a mechanical failure.
To my amazement, I managed to make my way all the way to the maintenance area without anypony stopping me. I was given quite a few angry stares, but I was careful to maintain the posture that I had been given orders and was hurrying to see them carried out. Even the slavers were smart enough not to interfere with a slave on a job. Getting into the maintenance area, however, was going to be particularly more difficult.
Two slavers were sitting outside the passage to the small area, playing cards. When I approached, they immediately stopped their game and faced me.
"Well what do we have here?" one of them, a dirty red unicorn mare, sneered, "What are you doing here, slave? I don't recall asking for a healing potion."
"I was sent to speak to the ponies in maintenance," I answered swiftly, depositing the potion on the ground. I had learned on my second day that speaking to a slaver while something was in my mouth was a sure way to get myself beat.
"On whose orders?" the other, a grey Earth Pony buck demanded, taking a step towards me and reaching for a baton with a foreleg.
"Scythe's. The smelter where I'm working broke down, and we need somepony from maintenance to come fix it," I answered quickly.
Dropping the massive slaver's name did the trick. The two guards here shared a worried look even as they stepped back from me. "Ah, I see," the mare muttered, "Well, I ain't going to get in the way of Scythe's business. Head on in and then get out. We don't want you here any longer than necessary."
I nodded my acknowledgement and retrieved the healing potion before trotting past them. The workshop they had been guarding was populated with only three ponies. Two of them were Earth Pony bucks laden down with a variety of normal tools that were hunched over a bench working on some piece of machinery. The last was a unicorn mare with a pink hide that was working on what looked like a collar. Instinct drove me towards her, and I wasn't going to deny the luck of finding somepony that seemed to know how the collars worked.
"Hey, I need your help with something," I announced as I approached, setting the healing potion down on the bench next to her.
"Bother one of them. I'm busy," she snorted at me, not even lifting her head from her work, nodding quickly in the general direction of the two bucks.
"Considering that fact that you look like you actually know what you're doing, I'd rather talk to you," I answered, "Unless you want to get in the way of Scythe's operations."
As it had before, the overseer's name got results. The mare sighed and looked up at me. A vicious scar cut across her face, the knotted flesh scrunching up part of her muzzle, giving her a permanent lopsided grin. "I'd be careful dropping his name like that. The fact that you have a healing potion with you makes me think he didn't order you to come down here at all."
"Strictly speaking, he didn't. But I'm working for him, and the machine we need to get our work done has broken down. I need your help to get it running again or both my partner and I are fucked," I answered, "Take the potion as payment to get it done now."
"Time-sensitive job?" She asked, reaching out for the potion. I put a hoof out to stop her.
"We have a quota to meet by the end of the day. It's yours if you'll help," I answered.
She stared me down for a few seconds, measuring me with her stony grey gaze, then nodded. "Done. Lucky for you I'm one of the ponies around here that actually knows how to work on this kind of shit. Now let me guess what the problem is: One of the smelters blew a conductor to one of the heating elements?" She reached for the potion again. This time I let her.
"I smelled burnt circuitry. Couldn't even begin to tell you where it was coming from. That's never been my job," I answered, thinking of Crosswire.
"Still better than most would have been able to tell me," the mare grumbled as she collected a few materials, "Now let's go. I have to make sure to have that done before the end of the day."
"Why are -," I started, before being cut off by the mare.
"Not in front of the guards," she snapped, clouting me around the ears as she walked past me, saddlebags loaded down with all sorts of implements and materials.
I followed after her, rubbing my head with a hoof, waiting until we were away from the guards and seemingly alone in the passages. "Why were you working on a collar?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.
"Because somepony around here needs to build the new ones. Now don't go and get any ideas," she snapped, "Talk like that is what gets ponies in trouble around here."
It was already too late to stop me from getting ideas. "You know how to get one off, don't you?"
She stopped midstride and rounded on me, putting a hoof to my chest to stop me dead in my tracks. "Do you even know what the fuck you're asking?" she hissed, keeping her voice hushed, "If any of them even get a hint that you even said that, you'll be dead! First you drop Scythe's name as a way to bully your way past some guards, and now you're asking me this shit! How stupid can a pony get?"
"Stupid enough to know that I can find a way out of this place, but I can't do it alone. This collar I'm wearing is a shock collar. I won't be able to escape if they can stop me in my tracks with the press of a button. At the very least, I need somepony to disable the shocker and the explosives. I'm not asking you to remove it, just to tinker with it," I argued.
The mare gave me a shocked look. "You haven't got a fucking clue who I am! I could turn you in right now and live the high life for a few days for calling you out," she growled.
"But you aren't going to," I retorted, holding her gaze, "I'm not some frightened Stable-pony that's scared of getting hurt. I was born out there, and I've survived far more shit than most ever have to witness. I have a reason for wanting to get out beyond wanting my freedom back. I don't expect you to understand."
"I think I understand better than you expect," the mare stated in return, her voice evening out somewhat, "But give me one good reason I shouldn't turn you in."
"You hate them all as much as I do. Any chance to show Eulogy that he's fallible is something you want. I've heard it said that ponies can't escape from this place. Help me do just that, and you'll know that he can be beaten," I answered, putting just a bit of pride into my voice.
"I'm not going to do it for nothing," she growled at me, though she did lower her hoof.
"I don't expect you to. Here's the deal: You get one of my healing potions every day for the next week. Once that's done, you'll pop this thing off, do whatever you need to do with the wiring to make sure they can't kill or incapacitate me with it, then put it back on. That's when I'll make my move."
She shook her head slowly. "You're only going to give yourself a week to come up with a plan to get out of here? It's never going to work. Here's my offer: You give me ten healing potions, and I'll fuck with your collar whenever the hell you're ready to try to get out of here. If you think you can do it, you'll need more than a damn week to put a plan together, not that you'll succeed. And when you get caught, your better not fucking rat me out."
"I don't even know your name," I agreed with a smile, stepping past her, "Now come on. All of this is moot if we don't get that smelter working again."
The mare muttered something unintelligible under her breath, but followed after me. From the look on her face, the words hadn't been particularly polite.
Together we made it back to the smelter where Hemlock was just returning with a fresh load of scrap. He deposited his bags at the base of the scaffolding and watched us approach.
"I've got to admit, new blood, I didn't think you'd actually pull it off," he drawled, and odd smirk on his face.
"When I say I'm going to do something, I do it," I retorted, "You know where this thing blew out?"
"Fuck if I know. All they have me do is run the damn thing. Haven't got a clue how all the pieces fit together," the buck answered.
"Just get out of my way and let me see. I know these things better than either of you," the maintenance mare growled, shoving her way past me and approaching the machine.
Hemlock eyed her, his gaze traveling all along her body, and a wicked grin spread over his features. "Don't mind if I do," he said with a smile, taking a step back to let her pass. He sidled past her, approaching me, and I could see his eyes roaming across her flanks, stopping for several seconds as he peered between her legs. I really wanted to kick the bastard square in the jaw, or perhaps somewhere a bit more precious.
"Lay off the mare and let her save our asses, Hemlock," I snapped, "It was enough of a rip-off for her to take my potion."
"Just enjoying the view, new blood. Buck like me doesn't get to spend much time with mares."
"Here's the problem," the maintenance mare announced, "Thing's temperature is set way too high. It melted the casing of the conductor. I can fix it, and will need to turn the temperature down a couple hundred degrees if we don't want it happening again. I suggest you let Scythe know as soon as possible. He won't be happy, but he's smart enough to realize that we can't push the machines so hard and keep them running reliably."
"Will we meet our quota for the day? I'd rather not die 'cause we had to turn the heat down," Hemlock demanded.
"Depends on what your quota is. Honestly, for the kind of metal you're melting, this thing was way overheated anyway. Chances are your production won't be slowed down at all. Few seconds per load, at most."
"Hmph, fair enough," Hemlock muttered, "How long is it going to take you?"
"Ten minutes, at most. Hard part is where the damn thing is placed. Just need to... hrg... get my hooves in there," she grunted as she twisted her body to reach the piece, "You two might want to take a short break. I won't be long."
True to her word, the mare finished fixing the machine within a few minutes. While Hemlock dragged his bags of scrap up to the top of the machine, she pulled me aside.
"We're all in the same pen at the end of the work day. Find yourself a vest and use it to smuggle your potions out to me. I'll find you there," she told me, then walked away before I could get another word in.
"All right, new blood, we're ready to get rolling again! You ready down there!" Hemlock called out to me.
I watched the maintenance mare for a few more seconds, the turned and trotted over to my place at the base of the machine. "Yeah, I'm ready," I called back. By sheer luck, I had found a solution to what I thought was the biggest problem facing me. Now all that was left was to work on the beginnings of the idea that I had started to form this morning.
With the adjustments the maintenance mare had made, my work was much more bearable. It was still hot, but I no longer felt like I was being cooked alive simply by standing so close to the smelter. Since I was no longer in near as much pain, the worked progressed a lot quicker, and I was actually surprised for a moment when Hemlock had to break to retrieve more scrap.
During that short "break" I had to collect all of the busted molds and march them down to one of the production sites to be repaired. It was a long walk, and Hemlock was waiting impatiently on me when I finally returned. No words were exchanged, but we simply got back to work.
This process repeated itself several times throughout the day, with the breaks coming at the perfect times for me to get away from the smelter to cool down. My legs were still burnt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the first time, and I was actually capable of walking on them.
As the light began to dim with the coming night, Hemlock finally announced that we were done for the day, and that we had met our quota. I was exhausted, but knowing that things were starting to come together for me was a definite boost to my morale that gave me just enough energy to keep going.
"All right, new blood, before you get excited, you need to get down to Scythe's office and let him now about the machine. Since it was your brilliant plan to get it fixed, it's your responsibility to tell him," Hemlock ordered me, putting a hoof in front of me to keep me from walking away.
"It's your machine. Why don't you tell him?" I argued, "I don't see why it should be my job."
"It's your job because I told you so," Hemlock growled, moving around in front of me, an ugly sneer marring his handsome face, "and I've got an... appointment... to keep in the pens."
"I'm not going to be your scapegoat so you can go rape some unlucky mare," I snapped, pushing my way past him.
Hemlock let me past, and I thought that would be the end of it, but he caught me by surprise when he jumped me from behind, wrapping his hooves around my neck and forcing me to the ground. My cry of shock died in my throat.
I fought viciously, throwing my head back in an attempt to stun him and hitting him in the side with my forelegs, hoping to force him to let up the pressure a bit. He had me in a perfect headlock, and it seemed like my struggles were in vain.
But Hemlock didn't have a clue of how to truly render a pony defenseless, and in true stupid fashion decided to lean in close to my ear to whisper something. Before he even got the first word out, I turned my head and bit down, catching his ear between my teeth, then twisted.
His shriek of pain was deafening, but it did cause his grip to loosen up. I let his ear go and twisted my entire body, breaking free of his weakened hold, and rolled to the side, coming to my hooves in a single smooth motion. Even with my exhaustion, fighting was simply second nature to me, and I simply reacted.
Hemlock didn't move a muscle, but simply lay where he was, clutching his head with a hoof. I could see a small trickle of blood coming from under where he was holding. I knew I hadn't torn it off, but a small part of me was happy to see the bastard hurting.
"Don't ever fucking touch me again," I growled.
"I'll tell him you used a potion to get the smelter fixed," was the panted reply.
"And why should I care?"
"Because then he'll only give me one a day for you, instead of two. Then where will you be?" Hemlock asked, getting shakily to his hooves. His ear was definitely still attached, but I had caused a small tear near its base that would make it hang a little lower than the other all the time. It gave him a somewhat lopsided appearance.
I kept the buck pinned beneath my stare, trying to come up with something to argue with, but he had a point. I was going to need at least one of those potions every day to keep myself in working condition, and the other was my payment to the maintenance mare. If I lost one of them, I would be in serious trouble. "Fuck you, Hemlock," I snapped, "Only because I need those potions."
With that, I stalked off, leaving the buck behind me. I could feel his stare boring me in the back with every step until I turned a corner. I had just made myself an enemy. Only time would tell what kind.
As I came up to Scythe's office, I couldn't deny that I was nervous. The last time I had spoken to him, he had beat me for a reason so minor that I believed he would make up a reason to hurt me again. If he had heard about me using his name to get things done, it would probably turn out much worse for me than a few lash marks, no matter how painful those were.
By the time I was in front of his door, I was visibly shaking. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, raised a hoof, and knocked on the door.
"Come in," his deep voice intoned, holding the promise of pain in its deep rumble.
I pulled the door open and stepped inside, keeping my eyes glued on the floor. Immediately, I could feel the buck's displeasure. It felt like a palpable thing, hitting me in the chest in time to my racing heart.
"What the fuck do you want? The work day is over," he growled. I heard the creaking of wood as he rose from his chair. His hoofsteps sounded like war drums pounding in my ears.
"I... I needed to report on the smelter," I stammered out, my mouth suddenly very dry. I licked my lips in an attempt to calm myself. It wasn't like me to lose it like this. Something about this buck simply made me fear him on an instinctual level. "It broke down earlier: the conductor to the heating elements blew out. A pony from maintenance came down to fix it, but had to dial back the temperature a bit, otherwise it would have just broken again. We still met our quota, but it is a little slower than before."
"So you came into my office to tell me that something broke, and is now slower than before? Is there at least any good news?"
"Um... unless we try to push the smelter past where it is now, it shouldn't break down again for a while?" I offered, lifting my head slightly to look at Scythe. He was standing closer to me than I had fought, with barely two feet separating the two of us. There was a frown on his face, and a malicious shine in his eyes. What scared me more was the hunger I saw in his gaze. It was unwavering, pinning me in place as his eyes explored my body. I wanted nothing more than to turn on the spot and run.
"No. I'll tell you the good news, slave. You're here, which saves me the trouble of having to find you. Do you want to know something absolutely fascinating that I learned today? A buck guarding the maintenance area came up to me and asked me if I had sent a pony down there. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise since I ordered no such thing."
My stomach felt like it flipped over itself, making me feel nauseous. I took a step backwards, wanting to throw up, but afraid of what would happen if I did.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Scythe shouted.
I froze.
"You dropped my name as a way to fix that machine. You used me as a way to protect yourself. I DO NOT appreciate that kind of dishonesty in my slaves. Do you know what this means, slave?"
I shook my head, instantly regretting it as my stomach started to rebel. I fought it back down, managing not to throw up, but couldn't bring myself to speak.
"ANSWER ME!" he screamed, small flecks of spittle landing on my face and making me wince back.
"N....n-no sir," I finally managed to force out. I had never been this terrified before. My limbs had completely locked up and it was all I could do to keep the massive buck in my gaze. This was beyond the flight-or-fight response. I would be surprised if my body would let me do anything beyond cower.
"It means you need to be punished," he growled, a deep, rumbling sound that reminded me of the thunder preceding a heavy lightning storm.
The first blow caught me completely by surprise. It landed on the side of my head and snapped my head painfully to the side, so suddenly that the collar didn't immediately turn with it and cut painful wounds into my neck. I fell to the side, coughing and retching in equal measure, and finally lost the battle with my stomach, vomiting all over the floor.
A grunt of disgust came from behind me, and I heard the sound of something being lifted from the wall. The whip lash bit deeply into my side, and I screamed in pain. It became all too clear in that instant the Scythe had barely nicked me with the whip earlier that day. Now he was really laying into me, determined to cause as much pain as possible. I screamed again as the whip struck me on the other side.
I quickly lost count of how many times he hit me, but every time hurt more than the last. I was lying limp on the ground, sobbing openly and completely covered in blood when I heard him put the whip down.
"What would you say, slave? Have you been punished?" he growled at me. If anything, he sounded more worked up than before.
"Yes, sir. It won't happen again," I forced out, the words broken up by my sobs.
"I don't agree. You think you can use me as a way to do what you want. I need to show you who's truly in charge out here," he snapped. I heard him take a few steps forward until he was perched over me. "This will teach you who truly holds the power over your life."
I had made it so far in life without anypony ever successfully taking advantage over me. In that moment, all of those years amounted to nothing as Scythe pinned me to the ground. The first unintelligible grunt was the prelude to my worst nightmare as he thrust into me. Thankfully, the pain of my injuries coupled with his complete lack of concern for my wounds caused me to quickly black out.
My world was pain. Consciousness returned only slowly, and the only thought I could form in my mind was that I wanted the bliss of unconsciousness to claim me again. Every twitch of my muscles sent another lance of fire screaming across my body. But fate was not kind, and I remained awake.
I tried to force the pain from the front of my mind and bring myself back under control. I wasn't certain that I'd be able to do it, but slowly, the pain faded and I was able to breathe. I realized I was lying on a bed, rather than the cold, hard ground, but that fact didn't strike me as odd.
When I was finally able to form a complete, coherent thought that wasn't focused on my pain, the full realization of what had happened to me struck home. Memories of the experience came rushing back, flooding my mind with the sensations and emotions that had been writhing inside of me during the entire ordeal before unconsciousness had claimed me.
Most of the pain I was feeling came from between my legs, and I could only imagine how long Scythe had continued after I had passed out. I shuddered violently, the movement sparking another wave of pain from my physical injuries. I had failed in a way I'd never failed before. Years of living in danger, one of the few mares in a Raider gang, and I had managed to keep them at a distance that whole time. And now, from a single stupid slip, I had let that slaver rape me. I had let a fucking slaver get into my head and make me think I couldn't fight back, and I had paid the price.
Tears sprung to my eyes, hot and stinging as they poured down my cheeks. I was completely worthless. What kind of goddamn savior was I if I couldn't even protect myself from a fucking brute? I deserved what he had done to me, because I was too stupid to put myself in a position to prevent it. I had killed dozens of ponies like him, and what had I done when he threatened me? I cowered in the corner and let him have his way with me. It was fucking pitiful.
I was asking to ponies to trust me, to believe in me, and for what? To believe that I was capable of defeating an enemy a thousand times more powerful and dangerous than a simple thug working for some slaver? And I wasn't even capable of fighting one of them off. Maybe getting captured was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. It put me in my place, made me realize that my life truly was worth nothing. Greymane was right when he told me that I was just another pony overreaching myself. What hope did I have of winning against a force like the one Seahawk commanded? I might as well have been trying to fly above the clouds. No matter how hard I tried, or struggled, I would always fall short. It was simply the way of things.
"She's finally waking up. Scythe really messed her up badly, boss. I don't know how well she's going to recover," a rough, though not unkind, voice intoned.
"You're going to make sure she recovers, Bone Saw. Use our medical supplies if you have to. That mare is too valuable to me to simply let die. Save her life, or it's yours on the line," a familiar voice snapped back.
The sound of hoofsteps approached my bed, and I cracked an eye open to see who was coming towards me. I was surprised to see Eulogy, in his classic red vest, standing beside me.
"You made a big mistake, Evergreen, though I'm sure you realize that. Scythe is a mean bastard, but his talents at keeping a workforce motivated are almost unrivaled. I hope you learned that you shouldn't antagonize him," he said softly. If I wasn't so certain of his contempt for me, I would have thought that he actually cared about me.
"Of course, sir. I was completely out of line. I deserved my punishment. I promise, it won't happen again."
"I don't believe you," he answered with a snort, "You aren't the sort of pony to think that disobeying your captors is wrong. I don't think you ever have been, so don't lie there and lie to me."
"I swear, sir, I won't disappoint him again!" I pleaded, tears coming to my eyes again.
"Now that, I know, is the truth," Eulogy said with a satisfied smirk, "I'm going to come clean with you: I lied before. You are valuable to me. I spent a lot of caps to get you here, and I consider it an investment. I can't let you die until I get a return on that investment, and the only way to do that is to make sure that the entire Wasteland knows what's become of you. If you die before then, it won't matter. My power will come from the knowledge that I can contain you and control you. If all you do is die within a week of coming here, then that means nothing. So listen to me, and listen to me carefully, Evergreen. You are going to survive. I command it, and as my property, you are going to listen."
The last words were spoken in a whisper, no more than a few inches from my ear. They sent a shiver through my spine, and I felt the cold grip of fear around my heart. I peered up at the slaver, seeing the grim mask that was his expression. This pony was powerful, and there was no doubt in my mind that he would fulfill every promise he had made. If I screwed up, he could do far worse things to me than merely kill me.
He snorted again before he turned and walked away, quickly disappearing from the room to return to whatever work he had interrupted to see me. He was quickly replaced by Bone Saw, the thin, sickly Earth Pony medic that tended to the slavers, and the few slaves they deemed valuable enough to receive medical treatment.
"I'd make a serious effort to listen to him, slave," he mused as he worked on me, cleaning out the wounds on my back and wrapping them in actual, clean bandages, "If Eulogy wants something, he usually gets it. He maintains this illusion of being a gentlepony, but I've seen him get mad. Even Scythe knows better than to get the boss mad."
I said nothing, reflecting instead on what had been said. Eulogy had just proven to me that nothing I did was ever going to make much of a difference. I had resisted him, pushed his offers aside in some mule-headed attempt to prove that I could maintain my individuality.
I had thought that surviving as a slave would be easy. All a pony needed to do was listen to the slavers and they'd be fine. But I hadn't predicted the everyday troubles of needing to get something repaired, or needing to get access to resources that a slave simply couldn't reach. What I had truly miscalculated on was the cruelty and malice of the guards and slavers themselves. I had thought that they'd be just like most other ponies in the wasteland; mean, but at least reasonable. But they viewed slaves as just so much chattel, to do with as they pleased. It was truly eye opening, and in that revelation I found a fear that I didn't know I could feel. With every passing minute, the prospect that I had believed escape was even close to possible became more and more ridiculous.
Before long, Bone Saw had finished with his work and left me alone. The wounds on my sides and back were healed, but there was still a stain on my soul, a stain that I doubted I would ever be able to remove, no matter how much time I was given.
The medical advances caused by the Great War between Equestria and the Zebra nation were truly miraculous. I had ended up in the infirmary with many deep lacerations and a lot of serious bruising, and within thirty hours, Bone Saw had me recovered to the point where he deemed me ready to return to work.
As soon as the declaration was made, I was forced to my hooves and pushed out the door. I had really lost track of time. Night was already falling, and I could see a line of ponies making their way back to the slave pens. I hung my head and started towards them. It was time to focus on survival. If I couldn't get out, at the very least I could ensure that I didn't hurt myself any more than I already had. Fighting back would only get me hurt more.
The slavers allowed me to pass without comment, then slammed the iron door closed behind me. Amongst the slaves, I heard a few mutterings that sounded vaguely like they believed I was dead. Who could blame them? I had been missing for a long time.
I stood silently where I was, looking over the room with tired eyes. I don't know what I was looking for, but I didn't find it, and I sighed heavily, pushing my way past the ponies lying by the door until I was outside. Even then, I couldn't find any peace. The dark night sky seemed to be mocking me, the weight of all those clouds settling on my shoulders, whispering in my ear that none of my struggles had ever cause any difference, that in a few years, everything I had ever done would be forgotten, and any small change I might have caused would be undone.
I started to cry again, an empty, meaningless reaction to a life that had come to nothing in return. I simply felt empty inside, like something had come by and drained me of everything good that I believed in. Looking at the sky, I couldn't help but wonder why I had thought that our lives held any value at all.
For all my life, I had believed that the Princesses were still looking down on us, still influencing out lives, and I wanted to believe that they still cared about us. But now, looking up at the dark expanse of clouds above me, I realized just how little any of that meant. The Princesses were dead and gone, killed in their castle over two hundred years ago. What was a pair of corpses going to do for a pony like me? Even if their souls had somehow lived on, why would they possibly want to help ponykind after we had fallen so far? The Equestria I had learned about had been a land of trust and friendship for a far longer period of time than anypony had any right to think was possible, and now look at us. Ponies would rape and kill another if they stood to gain the least amount of power or profit from it.
"Evergreen, are you all right?" a soft, concerned voice asked from beside me.
I turned my head to face Yaari, the milky white orbs that stood in for her eyes glowing with reflected light. The zebra mare was actually concerned about me, though I couldn't possibly imagine why. She had never liked me, and our conversations had proved beyond a doubt that we shared more differences than similarities.
"You were right, Yaari," I muttered, "about everything. We're never going to escape this place. It's over. They won." I lowered my head again, closing my eyes in an attempt to get some sleep. It would give me a brief respite from this hell.
"You were injured, Evergreen. I know from speaking with you and knowing you that you have suffered pain before. I do not remember thinking that it had ever stopped you before," she stated, her tone questioning.
"You just don't get it, Yaari. What point is there in struggling anymore? I'm completely worthless. I can't even protect myself from a Celestia-damned thug."
"It was a fight you would have lost either way, Evergreen. In here, yes, we are weak. But that does not mean that we cannot find strength. I know from your tales that you have always been skilled in picking your battles. Even against Esteri and myself, you exercised caution and restraint, when any other pony would have simply attacked."
"You don't fucking understand, Yaari!" I snapped, lifting my head and glaring at the small mare, "It wasn't a fucking choice! I froze! I couldn't even imagine that fighting was a Luna-damned decision! I was a fucking slave!"
Yaari stared at me for a few moment, her large, white eyes unblinking. "I remember a pony that swore she would die before she stopped fighting," she stated evenly, taking a step towards me, "I remember a pony that believed anything was possible, as long as they fought hard enough for it. I remember a pony that would follow a damned Princess, only because she believed that Princess wanted peace for her followers. What would that Princess think now?"
"What does it matter? They're both dead. Have been for centuries," I growled, lowering my head again.
"What happened to the pony I remember?" Yaari snapped suddenly, stepping forward again until she was nearly on top of me. The sudden anger in her voice made me jump in shock and I shied away from her, instinctively curling up to protect myself, my tail swinging between my legs.
I couldn't answer. My shock at the zebra mare's outburst held me pinned in place beneath her angry glare. For several long seconds, silence hung between us like a physical wall. Ever so slowly, Yaari's posture relaxed.
"You were stronger than this, Evergreen. I saw that evil in you, but you made me see past it, and there I found a strength I have not seen in any other, even Esteri. I saw it that day you saved my life from those raiders, risking your own life to save one that hated you. What happened?" There was genuine concern in her voice, the type of concern I had only ever heard coming from the mouths of my friends, wherever they were. She reached out with a hoof, and any thought of comfort ran from my mind as I pulled back again.
"Don't touch me!" I exclaimed, trying to put as much distance as I could between us without disturbing the ponies around us.
Yaari froze a look of confusion creeping over her features. As I watched, the confusion changed into understanding. "They did to you what you saved me from..." she muttered, loud enough for me to hear her. "Evergreen, I am sorry, but you must be stronger than this! There are ponies out there that are relying on you, that need you! You promised me freedom, and I did not think you were the sort of pony to break their promises."
Before I had opened my eyes, those words might have meant something to me, but now, they were only so much noise. "How can another pony rely on me if I can't even protect myself? I survived a raider gang without them once laying a hoof on me. Now look at me. A simple thug was able to best me, and I let him. Face the truth. It's over."
"I don't believe you," the zebra announced, "The Evergreen I know wouldn't give up like this. I saw you kill three raiders without receiving so much as a scratch, and you're going to let one defeat destroy you? How many times have you lost before, Evergreen?"
"Enough times to know that you can't recover from some defeats. I'm finished, Yaari, that's all there is to it. I'm a worthless excuse for a pony, who thought they were clever enough to get away with spiting slavers while under their power. Just leave me alone and get used to living here. Eulogy was right. Escaping is impossible."
There was another extended silence, then Yaari finally took a step back from me. "Fine. Believe what you want. But I shall not give up fighting. You made me believe we could return to our free lives, and that is what I intend to do. Wallow here in your misery if you think it right, but I will not."
With that, the zebra turned and left me, disappearing inside. I watched her go, thinking that she would learn. She had the same delusions I did, that our lives mattered for anything in here. One way or another, she would learn.
{This chapter was difficult for me to write, for some obvious reasons. I knew, objectively, that living as a female slave in a post-apocalyptic setting has some unspoken expectations, but it wasn't something I didn't necessarily want to write. In the end, the story followed the path of realism rather than my personal desires, and it is what it is. Thank you, as always, to Kkat for the original Fallout: Equestria, and to my editors, MUCKSTER (who helps me a lot even during the writing process), and AdobE. The Gdoc for the story can be found here.) |
Fallout Equestria: Redemption | Chapter 16: Unfamiliar Battlegrounds | Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 16 - Unfamiliar Battlegrounds
"When you get knocked down, the hardest thing to do is to stand back up."
Regret. That was the one thing that stuck in my mind when I woke the next morning. Regret at how I had misled so many ponies into thinking I was something I wasn't. Regret at fooling myself into believing that fighting back was something that we were capable of doing. And mostly, regret at making so many believe that we could make a difference in the world.
I had been shown, beyond any doubt, that I was weak. Maybe not in body, otherwise I would have been killed long ago, and maybe not in mind, since I had fought off that creature in my mind for so long without letting it get the best of me. No, where I was truly weak was in spirit. One setback, one loss, and I became a broken shell of who I thought I was. I tried to believe that I was somepony tough, someone others had to be careful with. Now, I was learning how wrong I was.
Power was a relative thing. Out there, in the wasteland, I had held power because of my skill with a gun and the loyalty of my friends. But in here, I was nothing. I had no weapons, and the only ally I had was a blind zebra that still didn't understand her place in the world. The ones with power were the ones that could easily kill us without any sort of repercussion. After all, slaves died all the time. What was one more?
"All right, maggots, on your hooves!" A slaver ordered from the door, unlocking it and swinging it open.
For a brief moment, I thought about staying where I was, and letting the slavers finally bring the farce that was my life to an end. As the other slaves shuffled out around me, I very nearly followed through with that plan, but something stopped me.
I forced myself to my hooves with a sigh. As bad as things were for me, my one motivation for everything I had done in life was to survive. It wasn't in me to just give up like that.
I filed outside, slipping into line with the rest of the slaves. Yaari took her usual place beside me, and I could tell by her stance and the set of her jaw that she was angry. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.
The slavers took stock of us, as they always did, making sure we were all there. It didn't take long. It never did. As soon as they were finished, I slid into the file of ponies heading for the factory. Nopony had told me that I was doing a different job, so it was my assumption that I was working the smelter again. The lack of slavers yelling at me to go somewhere else only confirmed my belief.
Hemlock was already there by the time I arrived, pulling on his saddle bags in preparation to go collect the first load of scrap to be melted down. He shot me a hate-filled glare, but said nothing as he finished settling the bags on his back, then made his way down the passageway where the scrap pile was.
While he was gone, it was my job to go and collect the extra molds I would need to replace any broken ones. I needed to be quick, because there wasn't a doubt in my mind that he would start without me, then blame anything that went wrong on me. And anything that went wrong here would draw Scythe's attention.
The day passed quickly with the repetition of the work. It was hard, but it wasn't dangerous, not like a lot of the other jobs around here. The heat was harsh and uncomfortable, but the adjustments the maintenance mare had made lowered the rate at which the molds broke down, so I only had to replace about one in ten now, as opposed to the one in five I was doing the last time I'd been here. That small difference made it possible for me to avoid the heat for a longer period of time, enough so that by the time Hemlock needed to go collect more scrap, I didn't even need one of the two healing potions I had.
My forelegs hurt from the heat, and I could feel blisters starting to form, but the pain was nothing compared to some of the injuries I had suffered. I shuddered slightly at the memory of a blunt axe crushing the barding on my back and making the armored scales bite into my flesh.
I shook my head to clear the memory out of my mind. I needed to be focused on the here and now. I had made the choice to survive, and that was exactly what I was going to do. I may be weak, and I may be worthless, but I was still a pony in my own right. That was reason enough to want to survive.
While I had the short break, I collected the broken molds and brought them to where they would be repaired for the next day. When I returned, I was surprised to see a pony wedged inside a panel on the side of the machine.
"What are you doing?" I demanded, galloping over and yanking the pony out. I couldn't suppress a cry of surprise when the pony turned out to be the maintenance mare that had repaired the machine.
"Hey! A little warning would be nice!" she snapped, glaring at me while she lifted herself from the dirt and brushed herself off, "And to answer your question, I'm here making sure everything is working properly. That, and I needed to give you something, since you obviously haven't followed my advice and found yourself a vest." She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out something that looked vaguely like a heavily used pile of rags, then held it out to me.
It turned out to be a threadbare vest with a few outside pockets and one hidden on the inside. The dust and grime of the wasteland had turned it into a dirty brown color, leaving me no way of figuring out what color it had been originally.
I studied it critically for a few moments before shrugging and pulling it on. It wasn't a perfect fit and hung loosely from my shoulders, but it would serve its purpose.
"Thanks," I muttered, making my way to the conveyor and setting down the few new molds that I had picked up.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it so you'd have something to use to carry those potions."
Her comment made me stop short. She was still willing to help me, even if it was for her own selfish purpose. Even if she didn't believe I would succeed, she was willing to risk herself in order to help me.
"Tell me honestly: do you think I can succeed?" I asked, looking back at the mare who was watching me with a questioning expression. It was the first time since Sythe had raped me that I had any thought towards still trying to get free.
"It doesn't really matter what I think, does it? You're still going to try regardless. If you want my personal opinion, I think you're going to get yourself killed. Nopony stands up to Eulogy and gets away with it."
"You're probably right," I muttered, falling silent for a few moments. Why had I thought I could succeed? In a place this large and this established, so many ponies had probably attempted to escape in the past, and I fully believed Eulogy when he told me that nopony had succeeded.
"Gah, why the hell did I think I could do this!" I exclaimed, kicking the molds and sending them scattering across the floor. The sudden movement awoke a multitude of aches and pains in my already sore body, but the outburst of emotion felt like it opened a dam somewhere inside me. Rage filled me, and I had the urge to run down the passages of this place until I stood before Scythe again. Except this time, I wouldn't be the one being beaten down.
But none of that rage could change the truth. Any fight I put up would be hopeless. A pony like Scythe, I could probably beat. At the end of the day, he was just a brute, an enforcer. The real evil was Eulogy himself. So long as he was in charge, every possible attempt I would make at escaping would be met with defeat.
"What are you talking about?" the mare demanded, "You're the one that insisted you could win. You're the one that insisted Eulogy could be beaten. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Because he's stronger than any of us think! Look at me! Out there, in the wasteland, I was somepony. In here, I'm just another damn slave. I can't fight, because if I try, a dozen different enforcers will just beat me to within an inch of my life. It's dangerous to even think for myself."
"Then you need to find a way to become stronger. Look, I'm not blind, and I've seen you with that zebra. It's obvious the two of you know each other. Whatever it is that's gotten into you hasn't affected her, but she doesn't have half the attitude or ability you do. If you abandon her, she's going to get herself in trouble. And I'm going to be honest as well: before you walked into my shop asking for help, I thought that my life was over. But you saying that you could best Eulogy made me think that it just might be possible. That's something no slave inside these walls has truly believed in a long time."
I snorted in disbelief. "I've seen too much cruelty out there to put any stakes into hopes or beliefs. You think the slaves here have it bad? At least you get a meal and something to drink every day. I've seen first-hoof what the raiders out there are willing to do to others, and it isn't something I would wish on my worst enemy."
"It can't be much worse than what Scythe did to you," the mare snapped, "And I don't care about how sorry you feel for yourself. You're just another slave that he abused. In that regard, you're nopony special. But suit yourself. My offer still stands. And Evergreen, keep this in mind: will you be able to live with yourself if something bad happens to that zebra because you felt too sorry for yourself to fight back?"
I watched in shocked silence as the mare turned her back on me and marched down the passageway and out of sight. I wanted to say something in return, something about how I at least survived what Scythe did to me, but I couldn't make the words come. By the time I had finally worked up the nerve to speak, she was already gone.
I spent the rest of the work day lost in my own thoughts. A lot of what I had come to believe still had a lot of weight, but the maintenance mare's words were sticking with me. How different was my experience than any other pony I had ever come across? How different was my experience from Sparks, the mare I had saved from some raiders not too long after getting kicked out of my own gang? No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I had to admit that the mare had a point.
But that didn't mean I could just shake the thought that I had been deluding myself. I had thought that I was invincible, that since I was fighting for something greater that I was somehow immune to the horrors that the wasteland was simply waiting to visit on us. It was now painfully obvious to me that I had been wrong, and truthfully, the fact had been staring me in the face for so long. After all, wasn't my capture of Suture so long ago just about the same thing that was happening to me now?
The bell signifying the end of the workday rang suddenly, jarring me out of my reverie and back to the present. Somehow, I had managed to make it through the entire day without incurring any sort of serious injury or the attention of the taskmasters. Maybe my new approach to this was actually working.
Maybe I can use this to free myself. The thought was sudden, yet quiet. Just a few hours ago, it wouldn't have occurred to me at all. I shook my head, driving it from my thoughts, still convinced that fighting wouldn't accomplish anything. Survival was the only thing I could care about. All the same, I slid the two healing potions off the table and tucked them into the hidden pockets of my vest when Hemlock's back was turned. It was surprising how snugly they fit, and as I moved around to test my movement with them on me, I found, to my amazement, that unless I really started jumping around, they wouldn't move much. Whoever had put this vest together really knew what they were doing.
I felt no hesitation at hiding away both potions. I still had a few blisters on my forelegs, but nothing I needed a healing potion for. Tomorrow would be a different story, but then I would most likely only need one.
I couldn't explain why I was stowing them away, but I knew it was with the intent to give to the maintenance mare. The only explanation I could give myself was that it was in the interest of protecting myself from the shock collar.
I trotted after Hemlock back to the slave pens, where we were swiftly shepherded back into our cage. The slavers here were nothing if not efficient. As I made my way into the pen, I noticed a new train of slaves being led into the camp. Like every other train of slaves, they appeared downtrodden and defeated. Most were bleeding from several wounds and were already emaciated from the lack of food.
Watching them, I felt a pang of guilt deep in my chest, a reminder of all the slave groups I had stopped before I wound up here myself. Even now, knowing that I was nopony special, I felt like I needed to try to help them somehow, but the thick metal bars and the slavers between me and them told me how hopeless that attempt would be. All I would accomplish would be getting myself killed.
The maintenance mare found me while I was lying in a corner of the pen, nursing my meager meal of centuries-old snack food and the irradiated muck the slavers considered water.
"You look different, like something finally breathed a little more life back into you," she mused as she pushed her way past some of the other slaves to reach me.
"I've been thinking a lot," I answered, taking a small bite of a snack cake. Eating it slower seemed to make it more filling, "And you had a point. I'm not different from anypony else. Doesn't change the fact that it's probably impossible to actually get out of here, though."
"So you're going to steal back that hope you gave some of us, then?" she asked me, taking a seat next to me and dropping her own meal in the dust before her.
"What do you mean, some of us?" I demanded, turning my head to glare at her, "Did you tell others what I wanted to do?"
"Of course," she answered with a shrug, "There are a few ponies here that I'm willing to trust. If you're smart, you'll do the same. They made the same arguments I did, but stopped when I told them how serious you seemed. Are you telling me now that you're taking all of that back?"
"Answer me this: How am I supposed to accomplish anything if every single one of my movements is watched so closely that I don't have a single moment to myself? They have control over every small part of our lives in here, and I need time and space if I'm ever going to do something!"
"But you do want to?"
"Of course I fucking want to! Do you think I want to be a slave?" I snapped, "But these fuckers have shown me that I am nothing special. One fucking mistake, made in order to save my life, and I was reduced to nothing more than a sniveling coward."
"Then it seems to me you've already made a step in the right direction," the mare added with a smirk, "This morning, it seemed like you didn't want to do anything if it put your survival at risk."
"I still won't," I growled, "My life is all I have left. That bastard Eulogy took everything else from me."
"But you're willing to say you want more. Seems to me like all you need is to realize that some things are worth dying for."
"Oh yeah? What's so worthwhile for you?" I snapped. At this point, I just wanted the mare to go away and leave me alone. This conversation wasn't accomplishing anything except pissing me off.
"Seeing Eulogy lose. I'd die if some of the other slaves here got to see him taken down a peg. Hell, I'd worship the pony that got the news of his failure out to the rest of the wasteland. When ponies realize someone can be beaten, that's when they rally to you. If you get out of here, you'll have that proof."
She took the last bite of her meal, then stood up and started to walk away, not even looking back at me.
"Wait!" I called after her, standing and reaching out a hoof.
She paused and looked over her shoulder at me. "What? I don't have a lot of time to spare for ponies that are willing to just lie here and wait for death."
I quickly looked around, but our little corner of the pen seemed to be more or less ignored. All the same, I shifted my stance somewhat to guard what I was doing from any prying eyes. "Take these," I whispered, reaching into my vest and pulling out the two potions, "I'll have another one for you tomorrow."
She stared at me for a few moments, as if debating whether or not to accept the potions. Her hard glare didn't let up for a second, peeling away the façade I was so desperately trying to keep up. In the end, practicality won, as nopony would ever be insane enough to turn down a freely offered healing potion, slave or not.
"Don't let me down," she snapped, sliding the potions into her own vest before marching away.
Left alone for the night, there was little more I could do except think. About what the maintenance mare had told me, about what I thought of myself, and, most importantly, what I was going to do. The mare had made me realize that being raped was nothing special out here, and while I knew that fact from a logical point of view, I had made the mistake of thinking that I was somepony special, that terrible things would always happen to others, and never to myself.
Unfortunately, all the soul searching in Equestria wasn't enough to make me feel like I could still win. But on the other hoof, I would never win if I didn't start to fight. It was certainly a problem unlike any other I had ever faced. For now, at least, my only course was to wait and prepare. I needed eight more healing potions. That was when I have to truly decide what I wanted.
_________________________________ ______________________________
It took me only two weeks to collect the potions I had promised the maintenance mare. As soon as I handed her the last, she told me to let her know when I wanted her to disable my collar entirely. It had been two days since then, and I was no closer to deciding what I wanted.
Some days, I just wanted to break into one of the slaver areas and kill as many as possible before they finally overpowered me, but I knew that was going to be a total waste of energy. Other days, that depression that had settled over me after Scythe had raped me returned in full force, and it was all I could do to drag myself to my hooves in the morning.
I knew what choice I had to make; the struggle was in finally committing myself. I needed to get out of here, but I didn't have a clue how I was going to do it. I'd spend a few sleepless nights wondering at everything I'd seen. During the days, I paid careful attention to my surroundings: where security was tightest, and where the slavers seemed to relax a bit more. Most of all, I looked for places that would give me an advantage against the slavers. I needed things that would distract them, scare them off, or at the very least confuse them. Without some sort of advantage, I was never going to get out, and worst of all, I was never going to be able to do it alone.
Unfortunately, Yaari was refusing to speak to me. For whatever reason, she was still holding a grudge from when I had told her off shortly after returning from the infirmary so long ago. It frightened me. The maintenance mare's warning that she would get herself into trouble still echoed in my ears, and I was scared she was going to get herself hurt.
The day started like any other, with me being roused by the loud bells that rang every morning, like clockwork, forcing us to our hooves for another brush with death. The nearly three weeks I had spent within these walls had transformed me. Where I had once been well-built, I was now wiry and emaciated. I found myself becoming short of breath very easily, and I always seemed to have something in the back of my throat that no amount of coughing would dislodge.
As with every other day, we filed out of the pen to be counted before being sent off to our work places. Since my arrival, I had seen a dozen ponies arrive to join us, all to replace others that had died. The newest of these was a young Earth pony buck who hadn't quite been broken by the journey to the Mill. I gave him a week to survive if he kept his attitude up.
Hemlock and I barely spoke any more. Our communication was usually limited to the occasional grunt in response to a barked order from the other. We spent the day focused on our work, maintaining civility towards each other only because a fight would draw the attention of the slavers; something we both wanted to avoid.
But that was where the day ceased being like any other. As the sky was dimming with the coming night, we heard several loud noises, like the collapse of a wooden frame and the sound of metal clanging against metal, coming from the slavers' recreational area. These sounds were followed by the quick staccato of gunfire, and then a silence so profound I thought for a moment that all noise had been drained from the world.
"What the hell was that?" Hemlock demanded, turning to glare at me.
"Don't ask me! I had nothing to do with it!" I snapped back.
"Don't give me that shit. I've seen you and that maintenance mare talking. I'd be willing to bet that you caused that!"
"I've been here the whole day! How could I have possibly caused that! Besides, they were shooting at something. It could hardly be me!"
Hemlock fell silent for a few moments before replying. "Either way, something isn't right here."
Only a few minutes later, a slaver armed with an assault rifle appeared by our smelter. "To the courtyard, slaves. Eulogy's orders," he growled, motioning with the rifle barrel for us to start moving.
We did as ordered, as much as out of our own desire to see what was happening as the order to do so. When we finally reached the courtyard, I felt my heart leap into my throat. Lying in the center of the courtyard, beyond a loose ring of slaves, was the shape of a zebra. It could only be Yaari. Standing beside her was Eulogy, in his usual spotless clothing, this time in the form of a neatly pressed, black pre-war business suit. The tie he was wearing with it was blood-red, something I don't think was done unconsciously. The only difference in his dress from the last time I had seen him was in the pistol holstered at his side.
As we came closer, I could see that the stones under Yaari were stained red, the result of multiple gunshot wounds to her legs and flanks. Thankfully, none of the injuries appeared to be too serious, and she should recover fully with medical attention.
I forced my way to the front of the circle, only ten feet way from where Yaari was lying. Her chest was still rising and falling as she breathed, which gave me a little comfort in the fact that she was still alive.
Eulogy had a cruel grimace on his face, the kind that made me believe that he wanted somepony to try something, simply so that he'd have the excuse to kill them. It was not the kind of expression that belonged to a sane pony.
Beyond the circle, smoke was still rising from the slaver's rec area. The bar, and the wooden awning over it, had collapsed. I found myself hoping that a few slavers had been crushed underneath it.
"Now that you all are here, I can finally begin!" Eulogy announced, surveying all of us. "The only reason I called you all here from your tasks is to remind you of a simple fact: you exist at my mercy, and any action taken against me will be met with severe consequences.
This sad excuse of a zebra decided it would be wise to fight me, and she chose to do so by destroying something of mine. It seems that you all have forgotten that disobeying me is an unforgivable crime. I will remind you all of the consequences for defying me.
Faster than I could shout in protest, faster than I could act, faster even than I could think, Eulogy pulled his pistol and leveled it at Yaari's head.
"This is the price of disobedience." The echo of the pistol shot ingrained itself into my memory, burying itself so deep into my mind that I knew I would hear it every time I closed my eyes.
There was a lesson I learned many years ago, way back when I first joined the raider gang in the mountains south of Metro. The lesson was simple: Shock is often all you need to force a pony into action. The shock of something hitting a pony in the face is often enough to snap them back to reality, and was something I had used against Suture in Stable 60, when we had been under attack by feral ghouls.
That gunshot felt like a hard slap to my face. Watching Yaari's body jerk as the bullet passed through her skull, spraying blood, bone, and bits of brain across the stones of the courtyard felt like a kick to the stomach.
This was the exact definition of shock, and by all the deeds ever done by the Princesses above, did it make me want to act. I had felt anger before, and rage was an emotion I was all too familiar with, but never before had I felt the need to physically tear a pony apart with my bare hooves.
Yaari and I had had our differences, but she had supported me and helped me where no other would, and that was a mark of a far greater personality than most ponies these days possessed. To see it snuffed out so casually, as a lesson to others, awakened a rage in me that I never thought I possessed.
But even more importantly, that gunshot changed something. With that one simple act, Eulogy had forced me into the position where fighting for my freedom was no longer a choice. It was now a demand.
Blood slowly flowed over the rough stone of the courtyard towards the circle of slaves. For me, it carried an accusation. It told me that this was the result of my inaction, but it also spurred me into realizing that I needed to snap myself back to the reality of the world. There were still ponies out there that were depending on me. Even if I didn't want to, I owed it to them, if only to avenge Yaari's death.
We were all led back to our pen and locked up for the night. I tracked down the maintenance mare, finding her in a corner with a few other ponies that I didn't know.
"We need to talk. Now," I demanded.
She looked up at me, shocked. After a few moments, she gave the slightest nod and followed me outside.
"I'm sorry, Evergreen. If I had known-," she started, but I cut her off.
"I don't want to hear it. Yaari got herself killed by being stupid. While that doesn't mean I don't care, it does mean that I can't just sit on my ass any more. I need you to disable my collar. I'm leaving, tomorrow."
"I can't do it here! All the tools are in my workstation. You'll have to find a reason to visit me there. But... you have a plan?"
"Not yet," I admitted, "But I'll think of something. I always have. Be ready for me tomorrow. I'll be there as soon as I can find an excuse."
I left her before she had a chance to respond. As I had said, I had to think of something.
The next morning found me still awake, lying in my small corner of the pen. Surprisingly, I wasn't tired. My rage was keeping me fueled with energy, and my desire to kill was an incredible source of motivation to stay up, planning.
I had the skeleton of an idea for how to get out. All I needed now was a little bit of help, and I knew just who to ask.
Throughout the morning ritual, I behaved like nothing was out of the ordinary. Even after I reached the smelter with Hemlock, I did nothing to make him think anything had changed.
All the other slaves were noticeably more skittish today, though. Unsurprising, giving what had happened yesterday. As hardened as these slaves were to death, it still had to be a shock to see one of their own gunned down in cold blood before them.
But there was another advantage for me. With all the other slaves being so much more careful, the slavers wouldn't be expecting any of us to try anything. In a way, Yaari's death gave me the perfect opportunity to escape.
I waited until midday before I acted. When a damaged mold came through the smelter, I replaced it as I normally would, but instead of placing the damaged one off to the side as I normally would, I wedged it into the tracks of the conveyor belt, throwing it off course and bringing the entire things to a grinding halt.
"The fuck was that!" Hemlock shouted from his vantage point above me.
"No clue, but it looks like the belt was damaged," I shouted back, "Shut the machine down! I'll go down to maintenance and get somepony there to come up here to take a look."
Before he could answer, I pocketed one of my healing potions and started trotting down the pathway towards the maintenance areas.
As I approached, the two guards that were stationed there stepped forward to stop me.
"What the hell are you doing here, slave?" one of them, a buff Earth pony buck armed with a sleek black pistil growled at me.
"Our machinery was damaged. I came down here to find somepony to fix it for us," I answered quickly.
"Oh? And why should we care if a couple of you get punished for letting the machinery break?" the other asked. She was a unicorn, with a filthy peach hide. Strapped to her simple leather barding was a hunting rifle.
"Well, I was going to use this to pay one of them to fix it, but I suppose I could give it to you to let me in," I offered, pulling out the healing potion from my vest.
I was gambling on the fact that I knew they had to pay for their potions. Hopefully, they wouldn't be above taking from me. If they were, I was done for.
"Hmph. Fine, just make it quick," the Earth pony grunted, swiping the potion from my hooves and returning to his table. The mare glared at me for a few more seconds, but retreated as well.
I hurried past them into the small office the maintenance ponies used. The mare was at her bench, working on some set of electronics whose purpose I couldn't identify.
She turned her head as I got closer, but showed no sort of reaction on seeing me. "Problem with the smelter again?" she asked me. She glanced over at one of the other ponies in the office: a pale blue unicorn buck who I recognized as being a new slave.
"Yeah. The belt was thrown out of whack," I answered, picking up on her hint, "We need it up and running as soon as possible."
Come with me to the stock room then. I'll need your help to carry the tools I need," she said, picking up the electronics she was working on and walking past me and down a short hallway to a small storeroom. It was filled with crates and boxes. The few I could see that were open were filled with electrical components, scrap metal, and various kinds of tools and technology. Everything a skilled pony would need to fix anything.
"We only have a couple minutes to do this," she said quickly once we were alone, "so hold still and try not to take deep breaths."
I heard the sound of something being attached to my collar, just under my right ear, then a brief electric shock coursed through my body, making me gasp in pain.
"Fuck! What the hell was that?" I snapped, turning my head to glare at the mare.
"Side effect of the device. I need it to mask the signal from your collar if I don't want it to blow up in my face while I do this. Now turn your damn head and let me work."
A few moments later, I could feel the collar shifting against my neck, the spikes on its inside scraping painfully against my throat as it moved. After almost a minute of this, I heard a click, and I was free.
The maintenance mare let out a gasp of shock. "By the Princesses," she breathed.
"What is it?" I demanded, the burst of joy at no longer having that damn thing around my neck stifled.
"Your throat... I've never seen anything that bad."
"It's just a few cuts. They'll heal in time. Do what you need to do."
"Right, give me a minute," she answered quietly. Two minutes of tense silence followed, with only the occasional sound of metal scraping on metal or a small spark. Finally, she spoke again.
"Okay, it's all done. It's nothing more than a piece of metal now." There was a pregnant pause. "If your deception is going to work, I'm going to need to put it back on."
For a few moments, I considered telling her to leave it off. After all, if everything went as I hoped it would, I would be free. If I failed, it wouldn't matter if I had it on or not. I'd be dead either way.
Unfortunately for me, my idea required fooling the slavers into thinking I was still under their control.
"Do it," I growled, gritting my teeth against the pain I knew was about to come. As ready as I thought I was, the pain of those spikes digging back into my throat was much more intense than I had been prepared for. My vision very nearly blacked out for a few moments, and I found myself gasping for breath.
"You all right?" she asked me, a note of genuine concern in her voice.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I gasped, forcing myself to bring my breathing back under control, "Listen, I need your help with one other thing."
"What's that?" The concern had now been replaced with wariness.
"You know that big neon sign over Eulogy's place?" I asked. When she nodded, I continued, "If you could get to the control center for that stuff and overload it once you're finished with the smelter, it will give me the distraction I need."
"You have a plan then?"
"I wouldn't call it a plan," I mused with a grin, "but it's certainly something."
"You don't have a plan, and you want to rope me into this?" she accused with a harsh glare.
"I figured that coming up with a plan would simply give them the opportunity to figure out that I was planning something. This way, it's entirely unexpected. I just need the distraction to keep them from looking to closely," I answered. I moved my head around a bit, trying to settle the collar back into place, but those brief minutes it had been off had made my entire body adjust to thinking it wasn't coming back. Now it felt like the first time I had worn it again, except with the added pain of open wounds.
The mare shook her head at me. "You're insane."
"So you're not going to help me?" I asked, a hard edge creeping into my voice.
"I didn't say that. I said you were insane. In that case, you might just be crazy enough for this to work. But we've wasted enough time as it is. If I'm going to fix whatever you did to that smelter, we need to leave now."
When we stepped out of the maintenance area, my spirits were significantly lifted. My rage was still there, simmering just beneath the surface, but now I was acting. The simple truth that I was doing something made the whole world seem clearer. All those questions that had been swirling around in my head had disappeared, and while I expected some of them to return in time, for now, I could focus, and that meant I could win my freedom.
When we reached the smelter, Hemlock was leaning against it, his eyes closed. Without it running, it wasn't surprising that he didn't have anything else to do.
"Wake up!" I snapped, shoving him aside to make space for the maintenance mare.
"What the fuck was that for?!" He was glaring at me from where he had stumbled, his eyes almost glowing with hatred.
"You were in the way, and she needs to get in there to fix this thing," I retorted, "So just stay over there, out of the way."
"You could have been a little more gentle," he grumbled, "It's hard enough to get decent sleep around here."
I didn't bother responding, but turned my attention to the mare, who was already checking the conveyor. "Well? How quickly can you get it running?"
She didn't answer for a few moments as she inspected the damage. "Well, nothing seems too badly out of place. It shouldn't take me too long to get it working again. Just give me a few minutes."
While she worked, the tension in our small work area grew steadily thicker. I simply couldn't shake the feeling that Hemlock knew something was up. The seconds dragged on into minutes, and with each passing moment, I became more sure of the fact that I would have to make sure that Hemlock wouldn't tell anypony what I was up to once I was out of his sight.
I tried to occupy myself by pacing around the area, but all that did was draw the perverted male's attention.
"Nervous about something, Evergreen?" he sneered, his voice taking on the tone he usually reserved for the more timid slave mares.
"I just want this thing to get fixed as quickly as possible. I don't really relish the thought of us drawing Scythe's attention," I lied quickly. In all honesty, it was only a half-lie. I was terrified that our delay would make the slaver notice something.
"Relax. So long as we hit the quota, he won't have anything to say to any of us."
"There, all done!" the maintenance mare announced, breaking into our conversation, "So long as you don't push this thing too hard, it should hold up for quite a while." She started back for the passage towards the service areas, but not before pausing to give me a knowing look. I was going to have to move quickly.
Once she disappeared, I climbed up the scaffolding after Hemlock. "I'm going to run down to the salvage drop-off for a fresh batch of scrap. It looks like we're running low."
"That's my job, Evergreen. If we're running low, I'll take care of it," he answered shortly.
"You already do so much, Hemlock. I'm offering to help you out here," I insisted. Both of us were now standing at the top of the scaffold, with the red maw of the smelter just past Hemlock.
"Why the hell would you want to help me?" he demanded, rounding on me, a suspicious glare twisting his features into an ugly caricature of what they should have been, "What the hell are you up to?"
I realized in that moment that nothing I could say was going to convince this buck to let me go. Silence reigned between us for several moments as I weighed my choices, but every trail of thought led to the same place: it was too much of a risk to let him live.
With a sigh, I decided to tell him the truth. "I'm getting out of here, Hemlock. You're only chance at living right now is to just let me go and hold your tongue. If you try to stop me, I will kill you. I've done it before, and I am more than capable of doing it again."
He stared at me in shocked silence, his jaw silently opening and closing as he struggled to find something to say. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!" he finally shouted, "You're going to get us both killed! No! I'm not going to let you fucking do this! I'm not going to let you risk my life just cause you're little friend got herself killed!"
"I already told you, Hemlock. If you try to stop me, you're dead! So either you let me do what I want, or I kill you right here and now. It's that fucking simple!" I shouted back, finally letting some small portion of the rage churning inside of me out.
A faintly familiar icy feeling was building in my chest. It had been so long that I had nearly forgotten it, but now that it had returned, I remembered exactly where I knew it from. It reminded me of long, wet days in a small camp to the south of Grovedale, nestled in the mountains, well out of the way of any common trails. It conjured images of cruelty, both needless and justified, as well as acts of pure sadism. It was the exact same thing I had felt every single day for more years than I cared to remember, while ponies died at my command, and cruelties committed by my wish.
So this is what it's going to take, I thought to myself, with only a small amount of resignation. I need to revert back to what I despised about myself if I want to stand a chance of getting out of here.
I was strangely accepting of the realization. After so long trying to make up for my choices, after these last weeks of trying to make up for all the evils I had committed, I was surprised at how easily I was willing to turn back to those thoughts. I still didn't want to kill him, not if he gave me a choice otherwise, but in that moment, I knew I wouldn't shy away from it.
"You really think you can kill me, Evergreen? After how easily Scythe took you apart?" His mouth split in a crooked grin, "You really have a problem with delusions, don't you?"
He was choosing death.
So be it.
I didn't say anything in return. Any more words would be a waste. We were both set in our paths. All that was left was to decide which one of us would be able to continue. I launched myself forward, tackling him and crossing my forelegs over his neck in a headlock above the slave collar. I squeezed as hard as I could, managing to cut off his breath before he could let out a scream.
He fought me viciously, kicking at my head and sides, but his advantage of strength was countered by my leverage, skill, and position, and all of his efforts were ultimately futile. Ever so gradually, his protests slowed, and then finally stopped. I held on for another minute, making sure he wasn't simply faking it.
When I finally let him go, his body slid limply from my grasp. His chest was no longer moving, and his eyes had taken on a glassy, distant stare. I took all of this in with a sense of detachment. His death was simply a necessity, and I would probably do worse before I was finally free.
I pushed his body to the edge of the scaffold until his legs were dangling over the smelter. "You got exactly what you asked for, you fucking asshole," I growled before shoving him over. The smelter accepted his body with a loud hiss. To my ears, it sounded like it approved of the offer.
Now there was no turning back. Hemlock was dead, my collar was disabled, and in a few minutes, there was going to be a massive electrical overload that was going to draw the attention of most of the Mill. No matter what happened, I was set on this course.
I wasted no time in galloping down the passage I saw him take every time he went to collect fresh scrap. If I was lucky, the salvage team would be on its way to drop off a fresh load of scrap shortly. My plan was to use the distraction of the electrical overload to slip into their ranks and get outside the walls that way. One slaver was no threat to me. Not anymore.
The pathways steadily became more familiar the closer I got to the drop-off. Before I realized it, I was running down a hall that I clearly remembered from my brief work as a salvage collector.
My mind was so set on my course that I didn't notice the shape of a large, fit pony come into view.
"What the hell are you doing out here, maggot!" The voice hit me like a hammer, making me scramble to a halt mid-stride. An icy dagger of fear threatened to make all of my rage drain away, but the memory of what had happened to Yaari, not to mention myself, kept that flame burning.
Ever so slowly, I turned to face him, the slaver I had feared to face for the last weeks, the one whose presence dominated my nightmares. Scythe.
"We need more scrap for the smelter. Hemlock sent me to collect it," I answered swiftly adopting the stance and look I knew he expected to see from his slaves.
"Did he? Now why would he do that, when I very clearly assigned him to that job, and not you?" he asked me, taking a few steps towards me.
I instinctively backed away, keeping the moderate distance between us. "Sounds like something you should ask him. I'm just doing as I'm told."
"No, you aren't. Hemlock wouldn't dare cross me. But you... you would, I think. That striped bitch was close to you, I think. You want revenge, don't you?"
I took another few steps back. Maybe I had underestimated this massive slaver. If he knew that I had been friends with Yaari, he was much more observant than I thought, and that did not bode well. I already knew exactly how strong he was, and while I believed it was possible for me to beat him, it wasn't something I wanted to put to the test.
Something in the way I moved, or the way I looked, must have tipped him off, because his expression changed from one of concern to one of surprise and anger. "No. You don't want revenge. You're trying to escape!"
"This doesn't fucking concern you, Scythe. Just turn around and go back the way you came," I growled, instantly doing away with the frightened slave farce, lowering my stance and glaring at him with as much hatred as I could muster.
"You are! Nopony escapes from the Mill! Didn't you see that! That idiot stripe tried, and all it did was get her killed. Now it looks like I need to do the same to you," he sneered, his voice taking on a threatening tone while his features stretched into a sadistic smile. He reached down and pulled his whip from his barding, "I think we need to have another lesson in discipline."
"Just fucking try it. You don't stand a chance against me, Scythe. Not anymore."
He laughed. It was a sound completely devoid of any sort of humor or joy. It was the kind of sound that came from a psychopath after he cornered his most recent victim. "You haven't got a clue what I'm capable of, maggot. You didn't even see half of what I can do the last time we had this discussion."
"That goes for both of us," I growled, then darted forward.
He lashed out with the whip, I jumped to the side at the last second, letting it snap against the ground. Still, it had come far too close than I would have liked. The long weeks of malnourishment were really taking their roll on my body, making it more difficult to do something as simple as dodging. Instead of charging straight at him, which he obviously expected, I started circling around him. We would last out with the whip every few seconds, and every time I barely managed to get out of the way.
Fatigue quickly started to set in and I could feel my legs getting tired. In a fight of endurance, I didn't stand a chance. He was healthy, while I hadn't eaten a full meal in weeks. I continued to dart around him, staying just a few inches ahead of the whip. That's when I saw it. On the other side of his barding, nestled against a foreleg, was a knife. If I could get close enough, and could get my mouth around its hilt, I would have a weapon.
His advantage was his strength. Mine was my speed, but the combination of fatigue and his whip were enough to almost take away whatever slim advantage that speed had. But I still had my rage. All it would take was a risk.
Scythe was becoming increasingly frustrated, the whip lashes coming at faster and faster intervals. His anger was making him predictable, and I was able to read his movements and avoid the attacks before he had even swung. I waited a few more seconds, taking a few steps towards him before jumping back again, trying to make him angrier, trying to make him slip up.
And then he did. In a fit of rage, he over-reached, sending the whip wide off to my left. I took the opportunity and charged, lowering my head and ramming into him with my shoulder before he could recover. He stumbled back, not losing his footing, but at this range, the whip was useless.
I struck again, hitting him in the head with a forehoof. His head snapped to the side with the blow, moving the whip away from me, and briefly exposing his left side, where the knife was. I stepped to the side and attacked again, rearing up and driving both hooves into where his shoulder connected to his neck, but he was ready for this one. He moved with the attack, giving himself just enough space to bring the whip back into play.
With a swing of his head, the whip lashed towards me. I twisted, shouting in pain as the barbs ripped through the back of my vest as if it wasn't even there and cut into the flesh on my back. It was painful, but it didn't take me out of the fight.
Before he could pull the whip back, I turned towards him, wrenching the whip to the side and forcing his head to twist. He tried to pull back, but I lashed out with a hoof, not at him, but at the whip still trailing over me. I quickly wrapped it once around my hoof and pulled. As I had hoped, he wasn't able to keep his grip on it and the whip was torn from his mouth,
I took a step forward and hit him with my whip-wrapped hoof, drawing blood along his face and neck where I hit. His cry of pain made the agony in my back and on my hoof worth it.
My only hope was to keep attacking, not giving the bastard a chance to recover and strike back. I had a weapon now. Despite the pain, it would have to be enough.
I landed blow after blow on Scythe's head and neck, drawing fresh blood with every single attack, but somehow, he remained standing. When I swung again, one of his hooves came up, stopping me short, and he turned his head to look at me. The sadistic smile had returned.
"My turn." His head came down, slamming against mine, sending me stumbling back as stars exploded in my vision.
I tried to ready myself for another blow to the head, but instead, I felt my legs get swept out from under me. I landed hard enough to knock the wind from my lungs, and before I could recover, a kick struck me in the gut, making me retch. Another kick landed, but I wrapped myself around this one, holding on to Scythe's leg so he couldn't pull back again, and rolled into him.
At first, his leg resisted the movement, but then something gave, and with a pained scream Scythe collapsed on top of me. I released his leg and pushed myself up, forcing him up and off of me.
He stayed down behind me as I scrambled to my hooves, wheezing as I tried to recover my breath. When I turned to face him, he was struggling to stand, but I had dislocated his left shoulder. Not a crippling injury, but severe enough that it gave me a distinct advantage.
Before he had a chance to recover, I charged him again, landing a kick to his injured leg that sent him reeling, then another to his head. Finally finding my chance, I darted in for the knife, using my body to keep him from grabbing me. Scythe made a half-hearted attempt to stop me, but I had managed to position myself so he couldn't get a solid blow.
The knife slid easily from its sheath, and I backed away, holding it in front of me. Scythe was glaring at me, murder in his eyes. I stood my ground, waiting. He finally managed to drag himself to his hooves, his broken leg held up off the ground.
"I'm going to gut you, maggot," he spat at me, spraying spittle mixed with blood from a broken tooth everywhere.
"Not this time Scythe. This time, I win." I strode forward, not in a charge, but in a casual approach. I had beaten him, and I knew it. There was no way he'd be able to beat me now, not with a broken leg.
"Do you really think you're going to get away with this? You're not the first one to try and escape! Eulogy has stopped them all, and he will stop you!"
"Too bad he doesn't know what I'm trying," I answered as I circled around to his injured side. My opening was right... there!
I darted in, striking Scythe in the side with the knife, ripping open a large cut in his side. He howled in pain and fell, blood flowing freely from the wound.
"And this... this is revenge," I growled. I kicked him in the head, enough to daze him and let me attack without threat of him fighting back. Then I buried the knife up to the hilt in his throat and twisted. Blood started gushing from the terrible wound, and his protests were cut off as he started to drown in his own gore. For the first time, I saw his eyes fill with something other than rage. For the first time, I saw one of these damned slavers show fear.
I turned around and left him. Bastards like him didn't deserve mercy, and I would certainly not be the one to show it, not anymore. The knife I left wedged in his throat would preserve his suffering for as long as possible, a thought I drew no small amount of pleasure from. I had learned something in these last few days. I learned that being cruel and malicious was no way to live, but neither was trying to live every day without hurting somepony. The only real way to survive was to be hard, but forgiving. I would still sacrifice myself for my friends, but anypony that got in my way would soon learn that I was not about to show mercy, simply because I didn't want to hurt them. Death was a simple fact, and everypony had the opportunity to avoid it in a fight. If they chose to attack me, then I would be more than happy to fight back.
I had to move quickly. With all the noise our fight had caused, somepony had surely heard. If I could make it to the scrap area quickly, and the maintenance mare came through with the distraction, I might still be able to get away before somepony came looking.
To my good fortune, there were a lot of ponies milling around the scrap heap when I arrived. It looked like a group of slaves had just returned from the crater and were depositing their loads into the pile.
As I approached them, a sound unlike any other I had ever heard tore through the Mill. It started off like a low whine, just at the edge of hearing, but became steadily louder until something popped loudly, followed by the sound of glass shattering. The sound could only mean one thing: maintenance mare had come through for me and overloaded the electrical system to Eulogy's sign.
The slaves dropping off their scrap were looking around in surprise, trying to find the source of the noise, but soon turned their attention back to the job at hand. Delaying too long was an excuse to get whipped, but they had delayed long enough to allow me to slip into their ranks unnoticed.
I followed them through the corridors and out into the main courtyard. Slavers were gathering by the gate into the slaver's area, watching Eulogy's building with expressions of shock. The bright neon sign had practically exploded and was now burning multicolored flames. In the confusion, nopony noticed that the slaves filing through the gates had an extra member.
We arrived at the shack at the edge of the crater, where the same dirty slaver that had been in charge of the group on my first day as a slave was waiting.
"Took you maggots long enough! Get in there and get back to work!" he shouted.
I started by walking along with the other slaves, but stepped out of line as we passed the slaver.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing slave? Wait a minute... You're not supposed to be here!"
"Nope," I agreed with a smile, then lunged at him. He tried to pull a pistol from his barding, but he was too slow. I collided with him and wrapped my hooves around his neck, twisting to get his mouth away from the weapon, then swept his legs out from under him.
We landed heavily on the ground, with me on top. I used my Pipbuck as a weapon, bringing it down on his head, again and again, until I felt something give. When I finally stopped, he lay motionless, his skull smashed in, and his features almost unrecognizable.
I pushed myself to my hooves before I started going through his barding. The pistol was a simple 9mm, a weak weapon against any serious enemy, but good enough for my purposes. It felt good to have a weapon again.
When I finally turned my attention back to the others, they were all staring at me in shock, jaws open wide.
"What did you just do?" one of them, a young unicorn mare, asked, "We're going to get in so much trouble."
"I just secured my freedom," I answered. The rest of you need to lie low and out of sight. Help is coming, I promise."
With that, I turned and ran, out into the Wasteland. It was the first time in months I was able to truly stretch myself out, and while my legs hurt from the exertion, I was very nearly smiling. My plan had worked. I was free.
A gunshot rang throughout the wasteland, but there was nothing to show where it had come from, or where it was aimed. There was no doubt in my mind that I was the target. My escape been too easy, and I knew it. Now the pursuit was on. It was me against Celestia knew how many slavers. They had every advantage, but I had my determination to survive.
By now, they had probably figured out that my collar was disabled, but I had enough of a head start that they shouldn't be able to easily catch me. They were simply taking potshots, hoping to get lucky. I just needed a little more time, and I could lose myself in the hills outside of the mill. If I was lucky, I'd be able to make my way into the mountains, and from there, I could make my way back to Grovedale, and then Metro.
I put on another burst of speed. Every atom of my body was screaming at me to stop, and my lungs were burning as I wheezed for breath, but I did not let my pace slow. I needed every small advantage I could get, and that meant maintaining as much of my lead as possible.
Every so often, I'd see a red bar appear in my E.F.S., but it would just as soon disappear. Whether or not they were ponies, mole rats, or something else entirely never crossed my mind. I simply kept running.
A fresh flurry of gunshots peppered the ground around me as I finally rounded the turn in the trail that took me behind a hillside, and so broke the slavers line of sight. I finally allowed my pace to slow, but only enough for me to be able to see where I was placing my hooves. A misstep here could easily result in a twisted ankle, and then I could kiss my hopes for escape goodbye.
A few minutes later, I was finally in the hill country itself, where the rolling plain gave way to rocky crags and desolate hillsides. I left the trail at the first opportunity, trusting in the map on my Pipbuck to get me where I wanted to go, and set off deeper into the hills. After a time, I started to hear shouts, but they were faint and indistinct. In all truth, they were probably echoes from the slavers that had finally entered the hills after me.
With each passing minute, I felt more secure. I was still in grave danger, but I had put some distance between myself and them, and none of them had a Pipbuck they could use to track me. All the same, I started taking extra careful steps. Instead of taking what looked like the easiest path, I chose the hardest. It was easily one of the most difficult days of travel I'd ever suffered, but it was unlikely that the slavers had any clue which direction I had taken.
Somehow, I kept myself moving for the entire day. I had managed to make it through the hill country and up into the lower peaks of the mountain range. It was probably the farthest any escaping slave had ever made it.
It wasn't until the sky was beginning to darken with the setting sun that I started looking for somewhere to rest. I finally settled on a small crevice in a mountainside that would shield me from sight from almost any direction, while also providing a little protection from the weather.
Thankfully, the rain had picked up from a steady drizzle to a deluge, dampening any sounds and making it difficult to see any distance, not to mention the fact that it would erase any trace of my passing. With luck, the slavers wouldn't be able to find me.
I made myself as comfortable as possible as I settled down to wait out the night. My expectation was to remain alert all night, listening for any sound, but the run had taken more out of me than I thought, and I was soon drifting off to sleep.
The sound of shifting rock woke me some time later. I was instantly awake, ears perked for any other sound. What I heard might have been hoofsteps just outside my crevice, but I couldn't be sure. It wasn't until I heard a familiar voice that I realized how much danger I was in.
"Where the fuck could she have gone? Eulogy is going to throw a fit if we don't find her," the pony was muttering. I hadn't heard Volt's voice in a while, but it wasn't a voice I forgot easily, especially after what she had forced me to do. I still remembered that buck she had murdered on the day I had first arrived at the Mill, after offering him a chance at salvation if I tried to save his life.
Ever so carefully, I shifted myself around and crawled as silently as possible out of the crevice. I followed the sound of the voice and finally caught sight of the still-green bar on my E.F.S.
"She can't have gone too far. For fuck's sake, she's a Princesses-damned slave! How the hell did she even manage to kill Scythe?"
I approached carefully, keeping an eye on my E.F.S., but it looked like Volt was the only pony out here. As I neared the ridge that separated us, I pulled out my pistol. It was old, rusty, and in terrible condition, but it would do the job I needed.
"Pipbuck broken?" I called out, stepping over the ridge and trotting towards her, pistol held ready, "Any idiot with one would have been able to find me with their E.F.S."
She turned on the spot to face me, her expression shifting to one of shock. "Big mistake, bitch. You're dead now." She lifted her Pipbuck and hit a button on it.
Her expression slowly changed to one of confusion when I didn't react. "That's not going to work this time, Volt. This time, I'm the one in control. You don't have any fancy remotes or electronics to knock me out anymore. And for the record, I do not intend to get captured again."
"Good, because our orders are to kill!" the slaver snapped as she levitated out her weapon, a wicked looking black pistol.
I slipped into S.A.T.S., relishing the chance to finally use the system again, and took my time analyzing the situation. My Pipbuck was telling me that her weapon was an upgraded .45 repeating pistol, a nasty enough weapon on its own. It was certainly not something I wanted to get hit by, but it would also serve as a valuable replacement to the shitty 9mm I had.
More importantly, the system confirmed that Volt was alone, which meant that killing her would gain me an even more significant lead, not to mention my own revenge. I lined up my first shot to hit her in her left foreleg, the one with the holster for her pistol. The second shot I aimed at her other leg. After another few moments of double-checking my accuracy, I activated the systems.
The 9mm fired, and I very nearly got a high from the familiar feeling of recoil against my jaw. Both shots flew true, knocking the slaver down with a cry of pain. Her pistol went flying to clatter a few dozen yards down the mountainside. I'd collect it once I was done with Volt.
"All of you slavers are weak," I growled, advancing on the bleeding mare. As with Scythe, her face was completely devoid of any sign of anger or superiority. All that was left was fear. "You think you have power over us, but the second one of us stands up, you go running in terror. Scythe thought he held me under his control, but look how far that got him. Do you want to know the best part though? He was easy to kill."
Volt was now trying to back away from me, scrabbling against the ground with her hindlegs, dragging the useless forelimbs after her. I fired another round, hitting her in her left hindleg, eliciting another shriek of pain.
"You're fucking insane! I thought you were supposed to be some sort of Heroine out here! Since when do heroes fucking torture ponies!" she screamed, but it was a scream of pain.
"I never gave myself that title. That was Shooting Star. Truth is: I'm just a pony willing to do whatever's necessary to get the life I want. Unfortunately for ponies like you, that includes getting rid of all the self-important fucks that think it's okay to go around destroying the lives of others. As for me torturing you, I'm only doing it to give you a taste of what you've been doing to others for so many years."
"Look, Evergreen, I can be reasonable! I'll go back to Eulogy and tell him we lost the trail! He won't be happy, but you'll be able to get away!"
Just like every other useless sack of shit: she turned to begging when she knew I intended to kill her.
"No, Volt, you aren't reasonable. You're a sick, twisted mare that enjoys watching other ponies writhe in pain. Besides, killing you gives me a greater lead on your friends anyway."
"Come on, you don't mean that! How does killing me possibly help you!"
"It helps me by letting me possibly forgive myself for letting you kill that buck. If I kill you, how many ponies' lives will be avenged? It's the least I can do for them!"
Her eyes widened in sheer terror and she redoubled her efforts to try to get away from me. I strode forward again and stepped down hard on her one uninjured leg.
She tried to pull out from under me, but the bullet wounds had sapped her of her strength. Throughout the entire struggle, she didn't once turn her head from me, a fact for which I was happy. I wanted her to see a slave kill her. I lifted the pistol and settled the barrel against her forehead, right at the base of her horn.
"This is for all of them," I whispered, then pulled the trigger.
Blood sprayed my face as Volt went limp beneath me. I spat the 9mm out and started stripping her body.
Her saddlebags were filled with various junk that I dumped beside her body. Most of it was food and water, with a few random pieces of less useful scrap. Her ammunition I found stored in a series of straps in her vest along her right foreleg. In the end, I filled the saddlebags with all of her ammunition, food, water, and the few medical supplies she had, except for a single dose of Med-X that I injected to ease my sore muscles.
With the drug coursing through my veins granting me a second wind, I descended the mountainside in search of Volt's weapon, which I finally found nestled amongst a pile of rocks. It had survived the fall with only a few scratches marring the finish. I took a few minutes to check the slide and ammo feed, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, it was an impressive weapon. It would serve until I got back to civilization where I could restock my personal armory.
I slid the weapon into the holster I had lifted off Volt, then set off into the mountains. A quick study of my map revealed that I was only a couple of days travel outside of Grovedale. Sure, Just Law had banned me from the town, but I hoped that even he would make an exception for a pony escaping from slavery. If nothing else, at least I would be familiar with the land.
The going was rough, especially since I still hadn't fully recovered from my flight just a few hours before. My one advantage was that it seemed like the slavers had spread themselves out thinly, which meant they had no clue where I was, or in what direction I was going. Throughout the entire day, I didn't spot a single shred of evidence that I was still being followed, but I was not going to believe I was safe until I was reunited with my friends.
The only close call came when I was finally nearing a familiar part of the mountains, near where my old raider camp had been. A red bar appeared on my E.F.S., so I hid myself in a small cluster of boulders, keeping the rock between me and the bar. There was nothing to tell me if it belonged to a pony, manticore, or something even angrier, but the simple fact that it was hostile was enough of a reason for me to stay as far from it as possible.
After twenty minutes of tense silence, the bar disappeared. I spent the next hour keeping as low a profile as possible while I traveled. The E.F.S. was an impressive and useful piece of technology, but a pony's ears could reach farther than it could. If that bar had belonged to something else with even better hearing, I most definitely did not want to draw its attention.
I had vowed never to return to that raider camp. It held so many terrible memories of times when I had despised everything about life, memories that were ingrained in the very bedrock of the mountains, but I had never considered at the time that I would be escaping slavery along this route. The sad truth was that it was the best shelter for miles in any direction.
The outer gate was still stuck open when I arrived a few hours later. That meant one of two things. Either the place had remained abandoned for the last weeks, or whoever was living here now hadn't been able to get the motor working again. My E.F.S. was blank, but I never relied exclusively on technology.
It took me nearly an hour to explore the camp in its entirety, and the only evidence I found that anypony had been here were a few empty Dash canisters scattered on the floor in Heart Attack's old shack. At least a small group of junkies was better than an entire band of raiders.
Finally convinced that the camp was empty, I settled down in my old RV. Even after all this time, I was surprised at how comfortable I felt lying down on those old, familiar pallets. After the last two days of running, sleep claimed me within minutes of lying down.
I woke early the next morning. A survey of the camp revealed nothing threatening. It was starting to look like I had actually slipped the net and was going to make it out, but that didn't mean I was going to let down my guard. Grovedale was only a few hours away from the camp, but the last stretch was through completely open territory.
The day started out easily, without anything in sight that was even the slightest bit threatening. By the time I was in the lower foothills, I was traveling in the open, not even trying to hide myself. And that was where I made my mistake.
A gunshot tore through the wasteland. I jumped in surprise, twisting around, searching for the source of the noise. I spotted it in the distance behind me. Standing atop a hill was a shape that looked vaguely pony-like. While I watched, I saw a flash from the silhouette, followed by another gunshot. The bullet hit the ground thirty yards short of me, but that left no doubt in my mind that I was the target.
I turned on the spot and started sprinting. I was such a fucking idiot! Grovedale was still a good distance away, and now the slavers were on my trail again. I needed a fucking miracle if I was going to get out of this mess alive.
Fear is a hell of a motivator. I don't think there has ever been a time in my life when I have run faster. All I could consciously think was that to slow down would mean to die, and that was not something I was going to let happen. Every so often, I would throw a glance over my shoulder, and every time I did, the number of slavers seemed to increase, and the distance between us shrunk a little.
Time telescoped, and as the minutes passes by in seconds, I finally spied the walls of Grovedale emerge ahead of me.
"Help me! They're trying to kill me!" I shouted, as loud as I possibly could.
I could see movement on top of the walls as somepony responded to my shouts. As I drew closer, I recognized the guard-mare that had nearly shot me when I dragged Suture here to save her life.
The mare lifted her rifle. All I could to was to continue running, and pray to anything that would listen that she chose to shoot the slavers.
There was a flash from the wall, and the sound of the rifleshot echoed loudly in my ears. Only the fact that I heard the sound at all told me that I wasn't the target. As I neared the gate, I slowed my pace and turned to face the slavers, drawing my pistol as I did.
Multiple ponies on the wall had now opened fire, and slavers were falling quickly as they scrambled to a halt. A few of them to potshots at me, but the bullets flew wide. After a few seconds, they had given up on any attempt to chase me down and were fleeing in the other direction, back towards the mountains.
The silence that fell over the wasteland was deafening. I didn't know what to do, or where to look. Finally, after so long, I was free, and I was safe. I sat down heavily, simply staring out after the fleeing slavers. The bodies of their fellows lay where they had fallen, their blood mixing with the mud churned up in the rain. The sight seemed surreal and left me speechless.
"What the fuck was all o' that! And who the hell led 'em here!" Just Law's voice shouted from the wall above me.
"Slavers," I answered after several moments, finally finding my breath again, "And they were after me."
"Stay right there! Ah'm coming down," he announced. From his tone, I could tell he didn't recognize. In all honesty, I probably wouldn't recognize my own reflection either.
The gate opened and Just Law sauntered out, flanked by a pair of guards. "Who in the hell are you? Ah don't appreciate ponies leading armed slavers to mah gates!" he demanded, coming to a stop only a few steps away from me.
I forced myself to my hooves and turned to face him. "I know I've been through hell, Just Law, but I didn't think I looked that bad," I said with a tired grin.
He glared at me for a few seconds, then his angry expression slowly changed into one of shock. "By Luna's shining ass, is that you, Evergreen? What the fuck happened to you? How'd you end up here? Ah thought you were staying around Metro?"
"To answer the first two questions: yes, it's me. And they happened to me," I tossed my head in the direction of the dead slavers. "I fucked up a few weeks ago up in Seaddle and trusted someone I shouldn't have. Bastard betrayed me to slavers, and I've spent the last month biding my time to escape. Finally got my chance a couple days ago. I've been on the run ever since."
"Ah think ah need a little more detail than that, Evergreen. If you remember, ah told you ah don't really want you back here."
I sighed heavily and lowered my gaze to the ground. As I did, I was reminded of the collar around my neck. I looked up again, and fixed my gaze on Just Law. "Would I be wearing one of these if I was lying to you, Just Law?" I lifted my head slightly to give him a look at the blood I knew was flowing from the collar. "Look, you can put me under house arrest again for all I care. All I want right now is to be able to lie down somewhere that I know is safe and to be able to eat a meal and actually feel satiated again. It feels like it's been years since I last ate. In return, I'll tell you everything. I just need to rest, then I'll be on my way up to Metro. If my friends listened to me, they'll be there."
Just Law watched me for a few seconds, and I could tell from his expression that he was horrified by the state of my neck. After several minutes of silence, his expression finally softened. "Ah'll not let it be said that Grovedale don't look out for ponies in need. You're a pony that managed to escape from the Mill, a feat that has never been achieved before. The least ah can do is patch you up. Come inside, I'll get a tech to get that collar off you, and our doctor will patch you up. I'll hold on to your weapon, but you're welcome to stay at the infirmary until you're well enough to move on."
I smiled at the grizzled buck, the first genuine smile I had given in weeks. It felt good to feel safe again. I followed him inside the town, all the way to the infirmary. He left me there while he went in search of one of the town's technically savvy ponies. The doctor patched up most of my other wounds while he was gone, though there was still a lot of work to be done by the time he returned.
The tech cautiously approached me, eyeing the collar nervously. "Are you sure this thing is disabled?" he asked me.
"Absolutely. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have a head," I answered dryly, "The locking mechanism should be fairly easy to undo as well. A friend in the Mill opened it up for me so she could disable everything. Now if you don't mind, I would really like to be rid of this thing."
The tech glared at me briefly, but proceeded to work on the collar. Only a few seconds later, it popped off, and I took a full breath of free air. Everypony else in the room took in a gasping breath.
"How the hell are you even conscious?" the doctor demanded, instantly stepping forward and starting to treat the wounds on my neck, "This is far more than simple puncture wounds! Are these electrical burns?"
"Yes, they are. That collar had a shocking mechanism in it for the slavers to control me. Thing fucking hurt."
Just Law shook his head. "Ah can't believe they did this to ya, Evergreen. Look, just get better, all right. We'll talk once you recover. I insist that you take a couple days here to rest. Doc, make sure she gets everything she needs, food and clean water included."
"Will do, Law," the doctor answered with a curt nod, "Now you just settle down and let me work. This is going to take a while.
True to the doctor's claims, it took nearly an hour and a half for every one of my injuries to be properly bound and treated, but by the end of it, I actually felt like a real pony again. Once she was finished, the doctor left without a word, but returned a few minutes later with a plate of real food and a bottle of clear water.
"Eat up, but take it slow. Don't want to shock your system. I'll check in on you when you're finished." She disappeared outside again after setting the tray down in front of me.
It was, without a doubt, the greatest meal I had ever eaten. I had to exercise a lot of restraint to keep myself from eating it all in a few bites, but the simple meal made me feel better than all of the medical treatment combined.
While I ate, I decided that it was finally a good time to tune into Shooting Star's radio station again. It took me only a few seconds to dial in the radio station, and the music was a soothing supplement to my meal.
The show came on a short time later, and I couldn't have been happier with what I heard.
"Helloooo, Seaddle! This is your resident, and might I add, one-and-only, star DJ, Shooting Star! For once in these last harrowing weeks, I finally have good news. I got good word that the Mill, that miserable center for slavery nestled near the western coast, has been buzzing like a radroach hive all day. Word is, somepony has made an escape. I am already doing everything I can to figure out who managed to finally slip through that net of villainy, and when I find them, I promise you all, everything will be done to protect them so they can spread word of what happens in that wretched place! That's all I have for you tonight, so stay safe out there!"
That damned blue Pegasus would be beside himself when he figured out it was me that managed to get out.
Level Up!
Perk Gained - Survival Instincts - Your survival of a terrible ordeal has left you with better instincts of avoiding danger, as well as a permanent increase to pain tolerance.
Skill Note - Unarmed: 50
{Here it is, after a six month hiatus. I apologize deeply for the massive delay, but life had other things in mind for me for the early part of this year. The good news is I finally found the spark and motivation for writing again, and am finally working consistently again! Thanks go to MUCKSTER for sticking with me through my delays and understanding that I had more important shit going on in my life for a while! Hopefully, you can all forgive me for the delay and rejoin Evergreen and her adventures (or attempts to survive). Cheers!} |
On the Era of Harmony | pre | Said war would have emerged because the true identity of the Lich was that of one of the heirs to the throne of ancient Equestria, who would have become King had the Everfree Peasant Revolt not occurred, which saw the Princesses Celestia and Luna be given the crown by the peasantry as thanks for liberating them from the ancient and oppressive bloodline.
Due to learning everything about the organization from Trixie, and having discovered the Cult a mere year before they had planned to launch a massive Equestria-wide assault upon the Crown thanks to Scootaloo and Doctor Lily, the Cult of Ashes was destroyed completely as Princess Celestia and Luna annihilated their hidden city within the Everfree, and most surprisingly the Cult's Second in Command, Sacred Shadow, surrendered to Princess Twilight after losing a duel to her, ordering the entire clone army to surrender as well.
Sacred surrendered due to personal feelings. Those being that since Twilight defeated him, the Equestrian ideas were superior to the Ashes own, and as such, he should not oppose them. Due to their conditioning, the soldiers under his command simply obeyed their commander and surrendered as well.
In the aftermath of this skirmish, the clone soldiers couldn't adapt to a civilian life. They had been designed, born, and raised to be soldiers and nothing else. Several of the TRs committed suicide after going a few weeks without being ordered to do something, making it clear that their psychological state is nowhere near that of a normal pony.
Sacred Shadow likewise didn't wish to be a civilian, though possessed a more neurotypical mindset and could have adapted if he desired. However, due to having decided that Equestria's philosophies and ideals were the best ones, he offered his services to Princess Twilight as a guard.
Twilight accepted, and put him in command of the Eventide Guard, which she formed by taking all of the clone soldiers and admitting them into the Equestrian Guard as Ponyville's first Guard regiment, as well as her own personal security force (Much like Princess Celestia's Solar Guard, Princess Luna's Lunar Guard, and Princess Cadence and Prince Shining's Harem Guard.). |
On the Era of Harmony | 4 - The Final Years | Sherbert - 10th of Plantation, 25 The Arcane Era
Lifegiver's Clinic, Ponyville - Equestria
A year after the Battle of the Badlands, a minor international incident occurred which rapidly spiraled out of control and brought Equestria deep into its web. The Empire of Prance has always been known for their casual use of the undead as laborers as well as Necromancy, and in general it works fine for them.
However, in this case, a necromancer in the state's employ who happened to be a Lich defected and fled the country. This Lich, a surprisingly sane and kind-minded person, went by the name Gentle Repose and was offered sanctuary by Equestria due to the Prench Emperor begging for it, and offering an extremely favorable trade deal.
Many ponies wondered why, if the Emperor wanted the litch to be spared, there was any legal problems for him at all. As it turns out, the Prench Emperor had been in a coma and preserved via necromancy for millennia in order to act as a figurehead and diplomat while a line of stewards had been doing the actual ruling. Or so ponies thought!
The stewards were in actuality a single changeling Queen who was getting revenge for her mother having been killed by the Empire in ages long past. Gentle Repose had been working on a means of restoring the Emperor to life, which he completed and used on the Emperor with help from Twilight Sparkle, restoring him to the Prench Throne.
While that is a significant change to the global status quo alone, as Emperor Prance is the stallion who singlehoofidly conquered the lands which would become Prench Empire in days long past, and achieved immortality through his knowledge of alchemy. Since Equestria helped such a stallion return to power, the situation was and is far more complex.
Despite restoring the Emperor's life, Gentle Repose was not given a pardon for several crimes committed while escaping from the Steward's Prance. The Emperor wanted to show the nation that no one was above the law, nor would he go over the law despite technically having the authority to do so. As such, Gentle Repose's sentence of exile had to stand.
However, the exile was not a permanent one, and Repose would be allowed to return home after many years. Since he was an undead creature who had long since out unlived his family, the delay did not bother Gentle Repose, who took an offered position as Princess Twilight's Court Enchanter to pass the time. Surprisingly, Princess Twilight's enchanted equipment has substantially improved since Gentle Repose's hiring.
Gentle Repose did not travel alone, he came to Equestria with two friends. One of whom, a Felin (pegasi-griffon hybrid) mare by the name of Light Step fell for Princess Luna, who returned the mare's affections. The two had been dating for long enough to decide to go steady and see if they could make a marriage work, when Emperor Prance attended a diplomatic dinner in Canterlot which Luna had brought Light Step to.
The resemblance shared between Emperor Prance and Lightstep was uncanny, especially since both ponies share a rare genetic allergy to enlargement potions, and had developed a case of arcane gigantism. At the Emperor's insistence, several mages performed a Bloodline Trace on the two, determining that Light Step was a direct descendant of the Emperor's first son.
This was a small miracle as the Emperor's family line had been purged by the Steward. It also greatly shook the entire world as the mare Princess Luna was intended to one day marry was now the Crown Princess of Prance.
Unfortunately for Princess Luna and Princess Light Step, the politics involved in their marriage will result in the unification of two of the world's biggest Empires. They can not marry until the political groundwork for such a merger has been laid, which may very well be a hundred years from now. However as the Emperor and the entire Equestria Crown are on board with the unification, since Prance is already a permanent ally, the unification is most likely a certainty that just needs enough time to pass before it happens.
I sighed and turned to look out my bedroom window at Ponyville's skyline. I could see the roof of Sugarcube corner from here, peeking out from behind the three story brick and mortar high school I attended.
Ponyville High. Great school. Ten outta Ten.
Not.
I wish I was at Sugarcube Corner right now... Pinkie was selling her new Diabeetus Delight cupcakes. So sugary one bite will kill any non-pony within five minutes!
Poor griffons. Unable to properly digest sucrose. Those cupcakes were AMAZING! I got to try one while she and Chip were inventing them.
I kicked against my desk to make my chain spin in circles, enjoying the spins to distract myself. I really could use one right now. I didn't want to write about the Tartarian Conflict yet.
Yeah, sure, my grandmother had killed the evil god controlling all of the demons in Tartarus, but no one had, you know, killed all of the demons and sealed that realm away forever. At literally any moment, any random powerful demon could theoretically open up a portal into our plane of existence and lead a warband on a mindless butchering rampage.
And there wasn't exactly anything stopping that from happening save for a tiny company of mercenaries who sealed known portals. Yeah, that's a huge deal, and everyone should be writing monthly thank you cards to the Slayers for (Especially Genesis, cuz nopony else can actually CLOSE those portals.), but well... If you don't cut off the head, the body can survive a surprising amount of pain.
The only thing stopping the world from disappearing under constant random teleport murder sprees was some form of super classified technoarcane ward spell and shield generator maintained by every major nation in the world. But no spell or machine is ever perfect. There were cracks in the defences. Rare and random times and places where a portal could be opened through the barrier.
You read about the aftermath of those moments in the papers or online sometimes...
I'd rather not think about that. Quick, brain, distraction!
I lay between the twins I'd met in the park this afternoon, in a rather steamy good old fashioned daisy chain position. The stallion was adorably submissive, letting me take control of his hindquarters completely, making no move whatsoever to pleasure himself, his hind legs separated by a spreader bar. Just like my own were, I'd given my own rump to his sister. Domming while subbing, yay!
But it was better than that. Technically, this was a fourway. The three of us were curled around a rather sexy, light sand fured, burnt-straw maned sphinx girl, who was giving our little group a loving wing-hug. While also taking care of her own needs in such a way as to give my back a nice coating of-
TRAITOR!
Not THAT much distraction, brain. I didn't have an hour to waste right now, I had to write about the war. But... Was there anything I could write about first?
Though um, kudos for remembering I fucking love Sphinxes and tossing one in, Brain. Good work! Just really bad timing. How about we pick this up after the 'rents are asleep? Also, remind me to find a way to become a hero in Zebrica if we fail to get to Neighpone. I remember hearing that the Sun Cat sphinx tribe recently settled in one of their cities...
Gotta love the perma-teats! So cute!
Now where was I? Right! Not wanting to write about the war yet.
I smiled in sudden realization, or possibly dizziness, and stopped my chair by extending my left hoof. "I could talk about Seven!" I exclaimed happily, but then frowned.
No. I couldn't. Not really.
That was not Equestrian history. That was City-State of Pheonix history.
Although... There was one thing I could mention in terms of Lyra's sister's journey which was of importance here.
Between the beginnings of Prance and Equestria's pending unification, and the last major event of the Era of Harmony, is a minor event which resulted in a piece of legislation most likely going to be one of the most important laws in Equestrian history.
A prototype teleportation device went missing from SkyTech during an emergency use of the device. The device broke when used, opening a portal across different universes. This event not only confirmed the existence of a multiverse, but led to the discovery of a small group of loosely connected individuals known as 'Travelers', who can be best described as tourists of the multiverse.
The fact that certain powerful, lucky, or dedicated individuals can travel between universes at their leisure did not sit well with the Crown. As such the Interdimensional Travel Office was established to handle visas and screen Travelers who arrived in our universe within Equestria.
Naturally it's impossible to truly screen everyone to locate their origin universe, but the ITO serves one rather interesting purpose. It provides a legal point of entry and immigration for people not from this reality. Amusingly enough, the ITO has had a hooffull of immigrants pass through it, particularly during the aftermath of the Tartarian Conflict.
The Tartarian Conflict was a very short lived but exceptionally devastating invasion of Equestria by the denizens of Tartarus itself. Led by an evil god known as Dawn. The demonic creatures of that living realm of torment constructed a portal into the heart of Old Ponyville, seeking to kill every thing thing in the world. Including plants. And microbes.
Despite having a goal which sounds cartoonishly evil, Dawn's goal was quite serious and his plan stood a good chance of success. At least within his own head.
The Evil God's first move was to capture one of the Elements, possess their body to prevent the Elements of Harmony from being used, and then to break the elements themselves. He was successful in capturing Applejack and breaking the Elements, disabling their active properties.
However, Dawn's success and cunning seemed to diminish greatly over time. While his initial move was well planned, his second move was to usurp control of the Everfree Forest from the magical entity which serves as the forest's brain, and use the forest to cover the destruction of Old Ponyville.
According to Applejack herself, Dawn was terrified about even higher beings discovering what he was doing, due to not having enough power to win if they came after him. Why he chose to strike before he had enough power seems to be little more than the perception that with Emperor Prance up and moving once again, he would soon be defeated, as the Emperor had once fought him to a standstill.
There is a history between the two, but sadly all information about it save for its existence is classified.
Princess Celestia sensed the Elements breaking, and sent the Bearers on individual quests to retrieve the rare items which were used by the Elements creator to make them all those thousands of years ago. Princess Twilight, being the Element of Magic, had to retrieve an arcanite Crystal from the mountains beneath Canterlot. Since this item was in easy grasp, she was instead sent to a pocket universe created long ago by Starswirl the Bearded as an art project, in order to find the Element's creator and get her to help repair the superweapon.
As one can imagine, sending a team of minimally trained civilians on a mission is not a good idea. So having them separate, they lose the advantage of being a part of a well working team, making it a terrible idea.
While the Elements were all successful, Lady Pinkie Pie, Lady Fluttershy, and Lady Pinkie's husband Doctor Sky Trigger teamed up to ensure everypony returned safely. However were nearly killed when an ancient Kaiju interrupted retrieving Lady Fluttershy's item. Not all of the Element's questes went that smoothly.
Lady Rarity Belle's airship was struck by an object reentering the atmosphere and went down over the ocean. She was labeled KIA when Lady Pinkie Pie, Lady Fluttershy, and Doctor Mister the Trigger discovered the remains of her airship floating in the ocean along with a few sizable chunks of Lady Rarity's body which had been chewed on by sharks.
As fate would have it, Lady Rarity survived the impact, crash, dismemberment, and open ocean. But only just barely. In an ironic twist, she was found by the occupant of the spacecraft which had struck her airship, a synthetic intelligence named Righteous Indignation. Indy, as he prefers to be called, was able to heal her wounds and even construct rather sophisticated cybernetic replacements for her lost limbs, brainstem, miscellaneous organs, and temporal lobe.
Hearing of Equestria's distress, Indy put his full power at Lady Rarity's disposal, eventually making her his Captain due to their rapidly budding friendship and Indy's strong sense of chivalry, as the code is presented in fantasy novels. Cheesy, silly, but completely true.
The technological prowess Indy possessed were due to him having been built by the same ancient species which created the ship the Emerald Hive is built within. Indy had been created to operate a similar ship as a substitute and supplement to a normal crew. And had spent the time since his people's extinction orbiting a distant planet, only able to leave that post thanks to a distress signal he received from the Emeralds.
Equestria was not the only location Dawn's forces attacked. His cultists had spent decades slowly infiltrating the Emerald hive to take it out from within once the invasion began. The moment they heard the attack was on they struck, throwing the Hive into disarray via acts of terror and occasionally open warfare. Those attacks are what resulted in the distress call which summoned Righteous Indignation from his post and allowed Lady Rarity to finish her mission, ultimately leading to Dawn's downfall.
It's worth mentioning that the Emerald Hive was assisted in ending the cultists due to the efforts of a Twilight Sparkle. Not our Princess, but a version of her from an alternate timeline who had escaped her own universe's destruction along with her immediate family via breaking into our universe as hers disintegrated in a False Vacuum Collapse.
It is theorized that the special anomaly that Twilight caused is what allowed Dawn to break the Elements of Harmony in the first place, but this has never been conclusively proven.
Due to her identical appearance to Princess Twilight, the other Twilight and her family were processed by the ITO. They were given new names, slightly changed appearances to make them obviously different people to our universe's version of themselves, and given government housing in Manehattan after the war.
Regardless of that dimensional rift's effect on the Elements, it certainly allowed many extra-universal people to enter Equestria during the Tartarian Conflict. All of these individuals helped in some way or another, and all were processed by the ITO afterwards. Naturally the ITO provides confidentiality for those who immigrate through it, but it is known that the individuals who came from the 'Mirror World' relocated to Trottingham, save for that pocket universe's version of Queen Chrysalis.
That Chrysalis is an inverse of our universe's version. Sane, kind, loving, and apparently too honest to change her identity to hide her origins. Indeed, she made quite a political stir by announcing her intentions to court Princess Celestia several years after the Conflict as a way to 'Return the love my monstrous clone stole from this wonderful nation.' and is at present living as a changeling stallion to suite the Princess's sexual preferences.
Many ponies find it unbelievable that Princess Celestia has begun to accept Chrys's offers of dates. Apparently they forget that Celestia is thousands of years old, straight, and every other immortal she knows is a female, and are not willing to change sex simply to be with a person they like.
The fragmented way the Tartarian Conflict is presented here is due to the nature of the Conflict itself. Fragmented and odd. The notable events of the war itself include Princess Luna's transporting the entirety of Ponyville into the Dream Realm to protect it from demons, where the town was set upon by Dream creatures, creating a major mess of dreams and nightmares coming true. It also includes the destruction of Canterlot by Dawn's forces before he was ultimately slain by Applejack, who had been freed from Dawn's posession by her wife Rainbow Dash just before the final battle.
Dawn's planning an intellect diminished as a function of time. To the point where by the end of the conflict, the person who had engineered a means to disable Equestria's greatest defense within the span of six minutes, forgot that he was trying to hide his presence and activities from those yet more higher beings. During the final battle against the Princesses Twilight, Celestia, and Cadence as well as many of the Elements, and the creator of those elements (a human woman named Megan)-
"Heh. Megan," I giggled, blushing lightly.
What? She was nice. She made me awesome hash browns any time I went to my grandparents house.
Megan was sort of my third grandma, but only by marriage, not by blood. Another hero added to the pile...
Megan hadn't been a human since before I was born. She and her grandfather had been brought here by Princess Twilight. And Megan, well... She had a unique talent allowing her to use Dream Magic like a dream creature does. Including the downsides.
Applejack felt she owed Megan everything for saving her life during the final battle and enabling her to take her revenge upon Dawn for the indignities forces upon her at his hooves. After the war was over, she begged Dash to allow her to form a herd so she could care for Megan for the rest of her days.
Dash was totally down for that. Obviously. I mean, her ego required at least two ponies to hold it up. One under each foreleg.
If any mare's ego wrote checks her body couldn't cash, it was Dash.
Grandma Dash is my rolemodel. I love her!
Megan had been delighted by AJ's proposal and as a wedding present, turned herself into AJ's literal fantasy of the most perfectly hot mare. In terms of AJ's preferences. Romanticly enough, the form Megan assumed was an earth pony version of Rainbow Dash who was pretty buff but still feminine looking. So cute!
The fact that AJ loved Dash that much, I mean. Not Megan herself. I personally thought Megan looked just okay, but hey, that's personal preferences in build and color for you.
She was super nice though. It sucked that using her powers literally killed her a little bit each time. She probably didn't have many years left by now, despite only being eighty five. Not even middle aged and already reaching the end of her life. That bucking sucked.
But hey, where's it written that life is fair? Nowhere. Because it isn't.
Durring the battle, Dawn used more power than a mortal is able to have at once and called the wrath of Faust down on himself. Literally.
Naturally, the Goddess of Creation herself showing up and stripping the divinity from someone is irrefutable proof of her existence, it's little surprise that the older pony religions have experienced a rebirth in the modern era.
With Dawn's immortality stripped from him, he attempted to make one last stab at Equestrias heart and succeeded by tricking Princess Twilight into touching a cursed book which transported her into another universe. Applejack immediately killed Dawn after Twilight vanished in a fit of rage and grief, assuming Princess Twilight had been disintegrated.
Thankfully this was untrue, as she had in truth been banished. A rescue mission was launched to retrieve her and was successful, however that mission's details are classified. We do know what came of that mission, which is officially seen as the last operation of the Tartarian Conflict.
Dawn had previously banished the legendary Archmages Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever via the same book he'd used to banish Princess Twilight. Naturally Twilight retrieved them from whatever prison realm she ended up in. The Archmages immediately returned to working for the Equestrian Crown, repairing Starswirl's laboratory beneath Canterlot, and reopening Clover's Graduate Mage's school in Fillydelphia.
Twilight also brought several other individuals with her. This includes a synthetic intelligence by the name of Austin who immigrated into the Emerald hive, even constructing a changeling android body for himself. Austin teamed up with SkyTech and Princess Twilight to convert a large section of Whitetail Wood into a contained wildlife preserve, wherein two of the others Twilight rescued live, helping tend to extinct creatures Austin recreates for scientific study. His park has become something of an Equestrian national park, especially after Discord gave it his 'Chaos Theory: Seal of Approval', an ironic way of calling the park safe but fun.
The other notable individual to return with Princess Twilight is her wife Princess Nyota. The public's reaction to the most beloved Princess genuinely being in love with another mare was the final nail in the coffin for homophobic behavior in Equestrians. Not even the most stuffy of nobility dared invoke the Princess's wrath by allowing any anti-gay policies to continue, or by expressing such views in public.
As a result, over the last three decades, a cultural shift occurred which ended the need for the discussion of 'gay rights' of any kind. There are no longer rights which are based on one's sexual preferences, there are just equine rights. The struggle is simply over, with nothing less than total victory for equality. At least in terms of sexual orientation.
Older ponies will still sometimes react in shock at just how quickly same sex couples become so normal as to not be a thing to really talk about, due to them simply being 'a couple' just like any other couple. Younger ponies have a difficult time believing that around the time they were born, there was anything special, political, or 'disliked' about same sex couples at all.
The social change will doubtlessly continue as younger ponies are insisting that transgender and nonbinary individuals be treated with the same level of normality. Many youth political movements predict true full equality for all within the next fifty years.
There are of course further changes which came from the End of the Era of Harmony. The greatest of which being the reason the Era had to end at all.
Princess Celestia had intended for Megan to repair the Elements as soon as she was able to do so. However, while Megan recovered from the last battle of the Tartarian Conflict, Celestia was informed by Applejack and Megan's grandfather that every time Megan used her unique magics, it not only caused her immediate physical harm, but drained years away from her lifespan. In order to fix the Elements, Megan would need to give up more years than she had left.
Naturally, even if Megan had the time to give, she could not ask that of anyone due to her ideals and moral stances. As such, the Elements of Harmony were retired. The passive magical effects they emit still empower their Bearers with powers beyond the grasp of most ponies, and grant them eternal life, but the Elements themselves will never again be used to save Equestria.
The Era of Harmony had ended. With two of Equestria's legends come back from the dead and technoarcana rapidly changing the face of Equestria, promising to make up for what had been lost, The Arcane Era had begun.
Naturally, the Era of Harmony continues to influence life today. A notable example is Lady Rarity. Nearly a year and a half after being healed completely of the damage inflicted upon her during her ill fated mission, Lady Rarity found she genuinely missed her cybernetic implants and voluntarily had several limbs amputated so she could once again be partially mechanical.
Rather than allow herself to have a crude or gruesome appearance, Lady Rarity spent some time helping to design the aesthetics of her new implants and bionic limbs, using them as a sort of body jewelry, creating a genuinely beautiful look she called 'Transcendent Harmony'. Being a national hero, a legend in the fashion industry, and also having taken something nopony had ever thought could be beautiful and made herself into the defining example of this new form of art, Lady Rarity greatly accelerated the Equestrian adoption of modern designs and non-arcane technology.
More interestingly, while not common, most equestrian towns now have at least one individual using a Rarity Belle brand bionic limb or two, and no crippled pony or amputee has gone without full mobility for the last ten years, as cybernetics have gotten to be fairly inexpensive, and thus covered by Eqestria's Public Healthcare.
Another major change is the dramatic increase to the training, number, and equipment of the Equestrian Guard. Without the Elements, Princess Luna finally was able to implement some changes to the Guard she had wanted to make for millennia. Most of them have yet to be fully accepted, but Equestria now stands ready for the future, shielded behind a mighty bulwark of knights, guards, and government sanctioned 'Adventurers' who have pledged to protect Equestria from any threats which come to her shores.
The influences of the Era of Harmony are too many to count. The last thirty years seem to have been largely uneventful, leading many to think the troubles of the past are over for the moment. But if one looks at history, they will see just how hard the people of the age of harmony fought to give us the time of peace we now enjoy. It is our honor bound duty to follow in their example and ensure the next generation also experiences true long lasting peace. Fortunately, we have countless heroes of the prior age to inspire the heros of today. |
On the Era of Harmony | 5 - The Future | Sherbert - 11th of Plantation, 25 The Arcane Era
Ponyville Highschool, Ponyville - Equestria
I squirmed in my seat, nervously fidgeting with the pen in my telekinetic grip. I was super lucky that Miss Cheerilee agreed to grade my paper after school today so I'd be able to go to Principal Ember and show her that my GPA was fine now, and that she could sign the papers to get me into the exchange program before it was too late. Because summer started three days from now. And bureaucracy moves at the speed of cold molasses.
But Principal Ember had promised to sign and submit the papers the moment I showed her I got my grades up. I just needed to show her this report with at least an A minus on it in red ink...
Unfortunately, Miss Cheerilee was taking forever!
She was being SUPER critical! SO many notes, corrections, and 'mmmhms'. She was taking so long to read it. It had been half an hour! I know that I'd made a bit of a long report but it had been under the maximum page count and-
"Miss Sherbert?" Cheerilee suddenly called still looking at the last page of my paper.
"Y-yes?" I asked with a nervous gulp.
"It's not very bad. You made a few grammatical errors here and there, there are some misspellings, and you formatted it in EMA instead of MEL format," Cheerilee summarized, sending icepicks into my heart with every word. "But, despite your... Poor grasp of and dislike of history in general, you showed a lot of knowledge of the Era of Harmony, even if it's scattered and tangential. What I'm saying is that you know this particular period well."
"How well?" I asked, my ears drooping as I saw the apologetic look on Cheerilee's face.
I had failed. I'd tried my hardest and I'd failed...
"B minus well," she answered with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm being generous with your grade because you do clearly know what happened and how it impacted the modern age. But I can't overlook the formatting error, your technical mistakes, as well as the loose presentation of the facts, and your use of yourself as a scholarly source. Then there's the way your report flows like one long ramble rather than an organized well-researched paper. Also, you used the slang term for Cadence's guards. It's the Crystal Guard, only people who live in the palace use the other name."
I bit my lip hard as I tried not to cry or scream in despair. I stopped when I tasted blood, the pain managing to keep my outburst to a sob as I collapsed onto the desktop.
"Miss Sherbert," Cheerilee said sympathetically. "I understand that going to Neighpone was important to you, but sometimes we don't get what-"
I snapped upright, glaring at her through tear stained eyes. "IT WAS EVERYTHING TO ME!" I scream-sobbed. "I'm a nobody! There's NOTHING special about me. I'm still a bucking blank flank! In any country but Equestria, I'd be a full adult, and I'm a blank flank!
"I suck so much that I can't even do what I need to do even when I try my hardest!"
I knew from Cheerilee's wincing cringe that I'd exploded too hard... I'd shown her just how raw a nerve my failure had touched... Now she would be walking on eggshells around be for the next five years I was doomed to stay in Ponyville. That would get me bullied even more for being so sensitive, the teachers had to take special care to not hurt my feelings...
BUCK!
Cheerilee paused, her tail swishing back and forth for a long moment before she looked me in the eye. "Sherbert, please take off your jumpsuit for me," she ordered.
I blinked, tears still rolling down my face. "W-why?"
"I want to see your flank. You only need to show me for a second," she said as calmly as she could.
I nodded and unzipped the zipper on my blue coveralls back with my magic, letting the fabric slid down over my bare flanks just long enough to show her before pulling my clothes back on.
"See?" I mumbled, kicking at the floor with one hoof bitterly.
"I do... I understand more than you might think, Sherbert. My sister never got a cutiemark either," Cheerilee said with an understanding but sad smile. "I... I know how hard it can be to feel like you are worth something when everypony else has a special talent that simply makes them great at something...
"Here's what I'll do. I won't change our grade just because I sympathize with you. That's unfair to the other students. But I will offer you a ten point piece of extra credit-"
"I MISSED BY TEN MOTHERBUCKING POINTS!?" I snapped angrily.
ARRRGH! That was like, just a few typos and maybe a run on sentence that completely bucked me in the ass with an unlubed cactus! I can't be-
My ears perked eagerly. "Did you say extra credit?"
"I did," Miss Cheerilee confirmed with a professional nod. "Answer the following question: What fundamental property of magic did the Elements of Harmony use to power themselves?"
I blinked. Every foal knew that.
"T-the magic amplifying effects strong bonds of friendship created between true friends," I answered.
Cheerilee nodded. "That's right," she said with a sad sigh. "Now, this is probably a bit beyond my purview as a teacher... At least in terms of providing a basic education. But you need to learn a different kind of lesson. Thing one, you clearly have a problem with the Elements because they used an artifact to solve their problems. You actually wrote this feels like cheating.
"That's your aunt and grandmothers you are badmouthing. As far as I have ever seen, you have a great relationship with them. What's the problem?"
I froze. I hadn't really considered actually being asked anything...
"Um, well... It's just-"
Cheerilee cut me off with a raised hoof. "It's because you don't understand what the Elements do. Not the Bearers, the actual items. You're a poor student, you have problems paying attention to things you find boring. That's understandable, I was a poor student when I was a young mare too. I can excuse your youth and your ignorance. But I can't go on allowing you to continue holding this opinion based on your false assumptions. You need to understand at least this one thing.
"The Elements of Harmony draw upon the bonds of friendship for power. That much you know. What you don't know is that not just anypony could wield them. They are not a 'robot' as you put it. Could others have picked them up and used them besides the six ponies who did? Yes. But not just anypony.
"In order to be a Bearer, an individual had to be a living embodiment of the virtues their element or elements were named for. Kindness could only ever have been wielded by someone who was truly kind. Honesty could only ever have been wielded by someone who was an honest soul.
"This isn't just some sort of 'spirit key', as another student of mine once called it. No. The Elements drew upon those virtues within the hearts of their wielders. That's what did the work. The Elements of Harmony are tools that allow a number of truly virtuous individuals to take their inner virtues and transform them into a powerful spell."
I frowned. I'd never heard that before... But she was right. I didn't like school. Like, at all. I did have problems paying attention... And I even acknowledged that I had to change that about myself.
"So, then, you're saying that the Elements of Harmony were more of a sword than a robot?" I asked, just for clarification.
"They were exactly like a sword," Cheerilee said with a proud smile. "You understand what they were really doing now. Correct?"
"Um, sort of?" I said with an embarrassed frown. "They provided the energy for the elements to work, as well as their ammunition. But didn't the Elements just sort of make the problem go away? That would make the Bearers a power outlet and an ammo can."
Cheerilee sighed, facehooved, and shook her head.
"That's not... No," she said with an exasperated groan. "I don't understand how you never asked any of your family about this. Please, tell me. And be honest. I won't' judge."
I bit my lip nervously. Would she judge?
No... Not any more than she already had.
"I... They... They intimidate me," I said tapping my forehooves together. "They didn't use too. Not when I was little. But then I started learning about everything they did and um... All I've ever done is save some colt's pet cat from a hot roof.
"Do you have any idea what that's like with my family? Literally, everypony I'm related to by blood or by law has or is actively doing things to improve the world on a daily basis! How do I live up to that? I can't! I'm normal.
"I'm not a hero, I don't have any of the skills needed to be one. All I have going for me is I'm a bit athletic. I... I'm not worthy to be a part of this family, you know?
"And as for my grandmothers and aunt... I'm jealous! Okay? They were just normal ponies like me and stumbled onto a super powerful magical artifact that let them be heroes! I'm not that lucky."
Miss Cheerilee nodded sagely. "I thought that was the case. That's why you praised Luna's Knights so much. You see them as having done what you believe you will have to do. Put in a lot of hard work to become somepony great."
"Exactly!" I said with a shaky but grateful smile.
"You know, and I mean no offense by this, but Sherbert, you're not remotely the sort of pony who would become a mage," Cheerilee said, seemingly going way off topic.
I blinked. "Uh, well, no. Not really. What's that have to do with anything?" I asked with a frown.
"Well, those more aligned with magic would realize just how difficult it is to use the Elements. What kind of skill would be required," Cheerilee explained, taking a seat on a chair next to me. "The Elements of Harmony are actively controlled by the Bearers as a collective group.
"Everything they ever did was partially consciously and partially unconsciously dictated by all six of them. Their teamwork and ability to coordinate with one another is what restored Princess Luna, sealed Discord, and defeated Lord Tirek.
"Yes, they got lucky with Nightmare Moon. But that's nothing to think less of them for. They successfully managed to use an exceptionally difficult form of magical attack requiring extreme focus, coordination, and effort on the part of each caster within the ritual spell." Oh. Oh!
Oh bucking-
They had put in the effort, time, and skill. Like, a LOT of effort, time, and skill. I'm a bucking dumbass! But... I already knew that.
"I'm dumb..." I mumbled, looking at the floor in shame.
"You're not dumb," Cheerilee disagreed immediately, giving me a stern look. "If you were dumb, I couldn't have just shown you why you were wrong, because you wouldn't have understood. You can absorb new information. Quickly too. Your problem is that you think you're worthless. You don't think you can change, so you don't pay attention in school as self-improvement seems like a futile effort. You think it's a waste of your time because you can't improve.
"And as a result of your feelings about yourself, you allowed your jealousy to blind you to the true heroic nature of your own family. But I trust I've sorted that out for you, right?"
I nodded firmly. "Yes! Absolutely! I... I need to go apologize to them... I'll start with Pinkie, she can get everypony else."
I winced. This was going to be very humiliating... But I deserved that.
"Good. I'll ask them tomorrow to see if you really did apologize," Miss Cheerilee said proudly. "If you did, then I won't have to change your grade back to a B minus."
Miss Cheerilee grabbed her quill, crossed out the B- on the first page of my report, and scribbled a quick note, signed it, and then regarded it an A-.
"I can tell you don't want to go to Neighpone for your education," she said as she wrote. "You've got some other reason for wanting to go, and I'm pretty sure it's to try and improve yourself in some way you think will let you be a hero. You've got some psychological issues you need to work through, and I believe that you need to find some sense of self worth before you can begin to do that.
"I hope you find some friends while you are there. Friendship really is magic, and not just literally, Sherbert. Remember, you're not worthless. Not even as you are right now. Enjoy Neighpone, Sherbert," she said handing me the report.
I took the report in my magic's grasp like it was an extra fragile glass sculpture, and threw my forelegs around Miss Cheerilee's barrel in a tight but brief hug.
"Thank you so much! I will never forget this! I need to go to the office now, bye!" I shouted eagerly, face still tear stained as I sprinted out of the classroom to give the paper to Principal Ember.
I had my chance! I hadn't earned it through merit, I'd been given it out of pity, but I had my chance!
I also had to apologize. Not just so I could go and not have my grade changed back, but because I'd been a total ass for years. Even if they didn't know it...
I got a bit lucky.
I'd turned in my report, actually saw the papers get turned in, saw the principal write a note to herself about filing it, and had gone to apologize to everypony.
I called Aunt Pinkie via my mage gem so she could get all of her friends together, and fortunately for me, they already were. They were having a late lunch at Sweet Apple Acres. That was an easy enough place to get too.
I'd made the run over from the school in just a few minutes. I wanted to take longer, figure out what would be best to say. But I didn't want to make everyone wait for me and I had no idea how long they'd planned on being there.
So I'd run up to the old barn with no real plan. The sound of laughter coming from the open door as the six heroes reminisced.
"I still say it was dumb to just rush on in there," Rainbow snickered as I trotted through the door.
"Um... Hey," I said, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof.
"Hey, Squirt!" Dash replied without pause. "Just a sec, we were talking about-"
"Dash, look at her face. This is important," AJ prompted, nodding towards me. "What's wrong?"
The others frowned in concern, turning towards me and making me wince.
"I um..." I gulped.
"You broke into the bakery and ate everything I made for tomorrow?" Pinkie asked with a silly grin.
I blinked. "Um, no... I sort of... I need to apologize. For being a dick," I admitted, my tail flicking worriedly behind me.
"What, for not asking anypony here for help with your paper?" Dash smirked. "It's just school. Don't sweat it. We're all aware you like to do things on your own."
"Yeah," Pinkie agreed with a nod. "You've been like that since you were ten. It's okay... We could have easily made sure you got an A though."
Twilight blinked. "Oh! Did you do poorly on the paper? I told Spike to give you those books. He or I could have forgotten one you could have used to-"
I shook my head rapidly. "No! I- I've thought of you as cheaters for years because I didn't know how the Elements worked, because I didn't pay attention in school," I blurted out.
Applejack gave me a rather hurt looking glare. It stood out among all the hurt and disapproving looks. Mostly because it had the added hint of betrayal.
"Ya'll best explain that..." Applejack ordered, her ears laying flat.
"W-well," I began nervously. "As far as I knew you just sort of pushed a button and the Elements did everything automatically... And um, I thought that was something literally anypony could do..."
"Ohhh!" Rarity exclaimed, shaking her head slowly before offering me a forgiving smile. "Yes, fair enough. I can see your point of view, given that impression. That's not how it worked at all."
"It's actually a very complex ritual casting requiring everypony to mutually come to a decision on what to do, and then have the willpower to make those changes. It actually took a lot of work to use those," Twilight summarized for me.
I nodded. "Y-yeah... Miss Cheerilee explained it after I turned in my report and um... I'm not good at writing reports, you know? It was more of a stream of consciousness thing. Soooo a lot of my opinions got put in there."
Twilight nodded. "Cheerilee would definitely have confronted anypony who had that detail wrong. She's a good friend of mine," Twilight said, explaining their odd connection.
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "She is? Then why don't you ever invite her to these?"
"These aren't just for the six of us?" Everypony else asked in unison.
Applejack shrugged. "I reckon it would be fun to bring the occasional friend to one of these... But let's stay on topic here," she said, redirecting the conversation back to me. "Sherbert, I get that you don't like ponies who take the easy route. I admire that. I can see how you might think we were doing that. It hurts deep that you did, real deep, but I can see how you'd think that. Heck, I can even forgive that.
"But I want an explanation for why you never told me this before now. Before it became a problem."
I shrank back from them, looking at the ground. "Y-you're intimidating..." I mumbled.
"Darn straight I'm intimidating you!" Applejack exclaimed, ears twitching. "Ya'll accused me of-"
"Uh, AJ? I think she means like, in general," Dash corrected.
I nodded. "Yeah. I, um... You're you. Multiple time savior of the world. It's true of all of you. I um... W-well, I'm not that. Like, not even close. I haven't done anything heroic so s-sometimes I feel like I just shouldn't, well, do..."
Buck this was a nightmare! I couldn't even actually say what I wanted to. Too much Luna damned intimidation.
Applejack blinked. "Ya'll think you can't talk to us about heroic things because you haven't done any yerself yet?"
Rarity frowned and shook her head. "Darling, you're not even thirty yet. Even if we expected you to turn out like your parents, it would be entirely unreasonable to expect you to have become some kind of world-shaking hero so soon!"
"Right!" Twilight agreed, giving me an apologetic look. "What did we do to give you the impression that you had to be anything other than yourself for us to like you?"
"I um... I don't know?" I admitted, ears laying down, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
If I could figure out how to drop dead right now, that would be nice...
"You're not my family, but you're still important to me as my best friends' grandfilly slash niece," Fluttershy said softly. "Yes, we've done a lot of important things, but um... We're still just a bunch of mares. You shouldn't be afraid to talk to us about anything."
Applejack nodded twice. "That's why this hurts me, Sherb," she grunted. "I don't care that you had something wrong about what we did back in the day. Heck, you're here apologizing. Anypony could see you feel like horse apples about this. You know you did bad, and you're apologizing. That ain't why I'm upset.
"I'm your grandmare, filly! You should be able to talk to me about anything. Anything at all! Especially if you have a problem with me. We're family. We work through our problems. I want you to promise me that you'll tell me everything from now on. Do that and I'll forgive you, understand?"
I nodded, eagerly. "I promise! I really am sorry I just... Well, like you said. I don't like it when people get to win just because. I- I have to work hard if I want to be like you one day. I don't have any natural talent, I'm not even good at magic and I'm a unicorn. I- I was jealous. Because I thought you just lucked into superpowers."
Twilight banged a hoof on the picnic table, jumping up, a look of realization stamped on her face. "That's why you want to go to Neighpone so badly!"
I eeped. "Uhhhhh, w-well-"
"You've got a big reserve, but you can't really control your magic, so you want to try and get picked up by recruiters for the A.L.I.C.O.R.N. program to get training as a mecha pilot so Sky will make you one you can use here in Equestria!" Twilight said, proud of herself for having figured it all out.
Even though she didn't. Whew!
Oh, wait. I had to actually tell them... CRAP!
"Um, well, right idea, wrong method," I said with a feeble grin.
"Well, why do you want to go then?" Applejack asked me, her eyes looking at me with the detailed focus which meant she was inspecting me for even a gram of dishonesty.
Crap...
"Aunt Trixie told me where a dojo in Trotkyo is that can train me in various martial arts, including ninjitsu," I answered honestly. "Not the modern recreation that's like, sports stuff, the real actual combat and stealth art. I want to go so that I can learn physical skills I could use if I ever have the chance to do something heroic with my life."
Applejack and Dash facehooved in unison.
"That's the whole reason?" Dash demanded, giving me the same look she gave my dad when he did something dumb. "For buck's sake, squirt! I'd have paid for an airship ticket for you if you just told me you wanted to learn martial arts. But noooo! You keep quiet and beat yourself up for months, maybe longer, trying to do super well in school because-"
Dash trailed off, blinking several times as something clicked for her. "Oh... You feel like you can't talk to us about heroic stuff," she sighed, giving me an apologetic look. "Well, ponyfeathers, Squirt. You need some help straightening yourself out, and you haven't been getting it."
I nodded. "Y-yeah," I sighed.
Dash nodded and looked around the table at everypony else. "We're all going to get her on the path she want's to be on, right?" Dash asked seriously.
"Eeyup," AJ agreed with a nod.
"We have to, she needs help," Twilight agreed simply, giving me a smile.
"Goodness knows most young mares need a helping hoof around her age," Rarity agreed before holding up her forehooves for me to look at the embedded LEDs in her mechanical left leg lighting up a pale blue as she nodded to it. "Would you prefer help from a keratin or titanium hoof, Sherbert?"
I snickered at her joke. It was good she broke the ice like that.
"I'll probably need both..." I admitted with a sad smile.
Fluttershy frowned. "It occurs to me that Scootaloo hasn't mentioned you having any friends... Do you have friends?" She asked seriously, giving me a look which I was half convinced was a mild version of The Stare.
Because I couldn't imagine not answering her honestly. So I had to.
I shook my head slowly. "Not really? I kinda had a bully problem," I explained with a sigh. "Mom got really mad, made Ash's dad do something that stopped her directly bullying me. So she decided to make sure that everypony in our class avoided me by making them think my parents were psychos or something... Nopony will tell me exactly why they avoid me. But they do.
"The closest thing I have to a friend is Lemongrass. She's a changeling who works for Princess Cadence as her Butler, part of her duties include escorting staff members to and from dad's clinic. So I see her a lot. She's nice, but well, she's not around too much and never for long so... You know."
"Then, you've never really gotten to interact much with ponies your own age?" Twilight asked raising an eyebrow.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, that explains everything," Twilight sighed, giving me a sympathetic frown. "That's exactly why I was such a messed up young mare... Fundamentally speaking. The lack of close relationships outside of your family and possibly teachers has you feeling like you only matter to your family and your teachers. The only difference is that unlike me, you don't care much for scholarly pursuits, so you don't care about how your teachers see you aside from in the pragmatic 'I don't want to flunk a class' way. Right?"
I nodded yet again, then sighed and looked at the floor. "Yeah... If you just want to bluntly state it like that... I don't like ponies knowing I'm a mess," I grumbled.
I looked up at the loud clunk of a hoof smacking into a forehead to see Dash had facehooved rather hard.
"Look, Sherbert. That's stupid. You're not stupid. Stop being stupid. Okay?" She demanded, sounding just a little angry with me. "You need to let people help you. I got over my ego enough to accept help, so anypony can!"
"No one can help you if you won't tell them something's wrong, and you just seem like an introvert who likes being left alone," Rarity said with a sad sigh. "Promise us you'll open up more. If you'd said something about this years ago, none of this would be happening right now. We could have avoided this whole... Inferiority Complex you have going on."
I kicked the ground lightly with a hoof. "I can try..."
"I'm guessing you feel you can't do more than just trying, eh?" Applejack said with a sympathetic sigh. "You definitely inherited some of my stubbornness along with your pa's derps."
I snorted in amusement. "Guess I did."
"Whelp, at least we know you're family!" Applejack joked. "Well, yer looking to improve yourself. That's the first step out of the way. We just need to get you into that class you want so you can actually do it."
Rarity suddenly cleared her throat. "Are we not concerned that she wants to learn how to fight?" Rarity asked.
"I am, slightly," Twilight informed, giving me a frown. "But... Well, look at her Rarity. This is a problem for her. No offense, Sherbert, but I don't think I could teach you magic to help your self esteem. It was hard enough teaching you to cloudwalk, and your magic just sort of likes to do things relating to enhancing our physical attributes."
I nodded twice. "Yeah. It's cool. That one spell took us like, actual months. I'm not cut out for magic," I agreed.
Fluttershy looked over to Rarity. "She's got her heart in the right place. She wants to help ponies. Yes, she's young, and our culture does frown on young ponies learning to fight. But she does have some problems, and working on self improvement would be a good place to start. Martial arts is more than combat,it's also learning discipline, and with Neighponese arts, also meditation and other self-examination skills.
"Yes, she could get that from the sports versions of various styles you can learn here, but she wants to be an actual hero, not a sports star. She mentioned Ninjutsu is what she wants to learn, that's more than combat training.
"It's also stealth, infiltration, disguise, avoidance, and survival training. Think of modern special forces training if you removed the standard military training. It's more focused on not having to fight than fighting, but also ensuring that if you do have to fight you win.
"Honestly, Sherbert has the right idea for a foundation to build herself into a hero with. And if she doesn't have problems with violence when she gets back, a good next step could be to enlist with the Equestrian Guard. I think she should go."
I nodded eagerly. When did Fluttershy learn that much about Neighponese martial art-
Oh! Right. She loved Neighponese stories. Derp.
"Exactly!" I agreed. "That's the reason I want to do this so bad. I don't like feeling worthless and... Well, you know. I'm good at athletic stuff. I think I'd enjoy martial arts, but I don't want to learn a sports version because that would just get me killed if say, I ever stepped in to protect a mare from a gang. Going to this one place I know of in Neighpone is my only shot.
"I mean, well, sure, there's got to be a place here too... But I want time away from my family to well, find me. I get- I get nervous. You're all really important ponies and- Even now that you know you intimidate me I um... It's still really hard to talk about stuff..."
"She's got a good point there," Applejack said, backing me up completely. "Remember when you tried to use your kickboxing to get out of that griffon trap, Rarity? Didn't exactly work, now did it?"
"Well, no. It certainly did put me in more danger," Rarity admitted with a sigh. "But correct me if I'm wrong, but well, every play, book, and film portrays ninjas as hired goons or assassins. Do you really want her falling in with those kinds of people?"
I tilted my head to one side, baffled beyond reason. THAT'S what her hangup was? Really?
"You're all government sanctioned killers. You're soldiers. Special operatives. Knights," I objected, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you don't go in guns blazing, but you're ALLOWED to kill someone if you have to. I don't know if all of you have killed anyone, but Twilight has, and Grandma AJ has. They're not monsters.
"There's nothing wrong with killing for your country if there's no other way to resolve a conflict. I mean come on! That's literally what a soldier's job is, to kill people for the sake of other people's safety. You'd probably all be proud of me if I wanted to just start in ROTC or whatever."
"She's got you there Rarity," Dash laughed. "I mean, we do focus on non-lethal tactics but we sort of are hired goons. Kinda. The difference mostly being who we work for. Besides, if Sherbert found out about this place while literally being two nations and an ocean away it can't be an underground assassins guild or anything like that.
"Honestly, it's probably just some group of ponies who like keeping past traditions alive. Heck, remember when we went to Neighpone like, eight years ago? They still teach traditional swordplay and stuff, despite using guns and spell rods now. Neighpone is big on traditions."
Rarity paused, sighed, and then nodded. "Alright. You've changed my mind. We'll go talk her parents into letting her go."
"Um... But, I already got into the exchange program," I pointed out.
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Does Scootaloo know you're going so you can learn martial arts?"
I shook my head. "Well, no."
"Same reason you have problems talking to us?" Dash prompted.
I nodded.
"Then we'll go talk her into it so everypony's on the same page," Twilight announced to everypone as she stood up to go. "Come on, lunch was done with anyways. Let's get the kid on track to not having a massive inferiority complex."
"Yep!" Dash agreed the very second Twilight stopped speaking. "Definitely something to take care of sooner rather than later."
"Ya'll just don't want your grandfilly to be less awesome than you are," Applejack joked with a smirk.
"If you're related to me you gotta be awesome. It's a law of physics," Dash replied playfully a she trotted out the door. "Come on! We're doing this NOW Sherbert. I'm not going to let you have those loose screws any longer than necessary."
"Since when are all of you my grandmares? I thought it was just Dash and AJ." I asked nervously blushing slightly from embarrassment.
Rarity snickered. "Darling, the six of us might as well be married with how close we are after forty two years of being the Elements of Harmony. ALL of us have been your grandparents since you were born. This is one big family," she said as she stood up as well. "Now come along, let's get you sorted out."
I had my chance to become somebody. My family gave it to me. And that's okay. It was probably better to have help.
No, definitely better to have help.
After all, what I needed to do was make something of myself. Miss Cheerilee was right. I should go make some friends.
After all, friendship is magic. Or so I've been told.
It will be nice to find out first hoof!
To be Continued |
Twilights Mane Passion | pre | "What were the jeers? Were they something like... Fluttershy, Fluttershy, Fluttershy can hardly fly?" Fluttershy immediately broke down into tears causing both Twilight and Tress to gather her into a quick warm embrace until she was capable of handling her emotions. Twilight did send a small glare at Tress who looked rather apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."
"No, don't worry about it on my account. Though yes, that's exactly what they sung and no one would ever come to my aid. Well that is until a friend of mine decided to stop the bullies from picking on me. Up to that point every day of my life had been kind of... not nice, except for my little filly days' where not being a good flyer wasn't a big problem. It wasn't the only thing they made fun of me for. For example they made fun of my legs when I hit an early growth spurt and well I was quite awkward to watch walking around everywhere." Looking at herself now, Fluttershy felt like she was slowly growing into her legs and her slightly larger wings.
Twilight saw a mare that could have a future as a supermodel because she was pretty beautiful already, even now as the half starved teenaged mess that she was. Give Fluttershy a few years and she'd be beating stallions off of her with an exceptionally ugly stick... maybe also quite a few mares due in part to jealousy or because they swung that way. Twilight would make a mental note here to herself to do a study on her own preferences later on in her life, when she was ready to face something more then friendship.
"It was on that day my friend, Rainbow Dash, came to my aid. My heart filled with hope and happiness that a pony was actually willing to protect me. It was also the day I discovered my special talent because she kind of sort of accidentally knocked me off the clouds and as I said I'm not exactly the best at flying. I eventually landed on a swarm of migrating butterflies after a long fall. I was lucky they were all so clustered together as they were, they were able to temporarily support my weight and slow my fall." From the looks of it, Fluttershy didn't look like she weighed a lot to begin with. So Twilight let it slide as the younger Fluttershy being light enough to be lifted by butterflies, strange things like that happened in Equestria all the time. "It was that day that my friend performed the legendary Sonic Rainboom! It was one of the most wondrous sights I've ever seen. It scared all the animals near where I landed on the ground and I found my special talent because of that. I had little trouble calming down all those animals she had frightened and my mark appeared. The next two years were the happiest in my life while she was around."
"Say, did this happen six or so years ago?" Twilight saw a surprised look in Fluttershy's eyes.
"Yes it did, so you saw it then? Did you get your cutie mark at the time too? My friend earned hers doing it." Fluttershy's wings fluttered outward slightly from the excitement of the memory.
"Well it's when I was hatching Barb here; I did see it or at least part of it. I was kind of in a magically induced haze at the time and my magic was surging out of control. That explosion helped me unlock whatever had been blocking up my magic and here she is today." Barb snuggled into Twilights side and she threw a hoof around her daughter. Twilight moved her head down to nuzzle her daughters' hair and then she poked the back of her daughters' right ear with a light kiss causing her to giggle.
"Mom, stop that, it tickles." Barb said as she happily accepted the nuzzling with a flutter of her wings.
"I'm taking it that the last four years of your life haven't been as good either? And by what you say, did something happen to your friend, Rainbow was it? It sounds like she was a colorful pony." Twilight was worried that her friend might have died from the somber way Fluttershy was acting.
"Well she still is, colorful that is, she's a big fan of the wonderbolts and really wants to join them one day. I think I may have been standing in the way of her dreams, she quickly forgot about me when Gilda showed up." After a moment's pause and no questions came, Fluttershy realized they were waiting for her to continue. "Gilda is an exchange student griffon that showed up in our lives at the age of ten, Rainbow slowly started hanging out with Gilda more because she could be competitive and can actually fly really well. I spent a year trying to spend some time with her and well... I found out Gilda was very territorial."
"You mean to say she fell in love with Rainbow and they both got together?" Twilight was just asking for clarification since Griffons and Ponies rarely mixed together.
"It's actually mostly one sided and still was the last time I saw her. Gilda is completely smitten with her and Rainbow is kind of... well she's not the smartest mare in the world, but I don't think she really stopped being my friend even when she drifted away from what we had. Cloudsdale's educational system isn't the greatest it could be and it's one of the reasons why I'm here in Canterlot. I know I'm never getting a job that involves flying, so I wondered why I should bother with continuing through all the remedial programs they keep putting me through." Fluttershy looked at the nearby grass with a very vaguely frustrated look on her face.
"You ran away from home!" Her shout having caused the poor shy mare to cringe, Twilight suddenly felt horrible for shouting out her sudden revelation. "Sorry, it's just; you've been on your own for the past three years?"
"Well it hasn't been all that bad as you're making it out to be; I've made a lot of animal friends and the Canterlot library is really helping me with the stuff I actually want to learn. So I might have had to sleep in a tree or two in the park and I don't have any pony friends here, but I get by well enough. I've also been making sure to keep up with my education while I studied medicine, knowledge of animals and plenty of other things." After a moment Fluttershy frowned and looked away from everyone. "I've been kind of homeless recently and I mostly survive on the kindness of other ponies and my pet sitting earnings. When I take bathes in other ponies' houses I always feel bad about it afterwards, I never eat a clients food without permission as that would be stealing and I tend to spend a lot of my earnings on my animal friends since they might need it more."
"Those earnings recently ran out I'm guessing?" Insert the adorability of Fluttershy fumbling with her front hooves at Twilights question, Twilight really liked Fluttershy because who could hate a pony so cute like this one was? The shy mare looked up at them and nodded slightly. "Well you can stay with us, we've got plenty of room at my house since my brother moved out, Tress has already moved into the guest room and she's practically made it her own and is a part of the family. Now come on, let's pack up all these empty containers and see if my parents will let you stay with us."
Fluttershy looked positively shocked that these ponies were already willing to help her without wanting anything in return. She started tearing up in happiness and then she set about helping them clean up. Previously she was just going to ask Tress if she knew some pony that had a pet they needed help with. This was much better then she was expecting, hopefully she was about to be thrust into a warm comfy atmosphere.
Walking into the house Twilight led her strange menagerie inside and then her father walked out of the kitchen and suddenly had a large frown across his face.
"How could you do this to me my little sparkle? Why would my own daughter do something like this to me? Me of all ponies, just how could you!" Twilight's father said angrily at the sight of Fluttershy in the room and he threw his hooves up in the air as he said this. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 11 | Both Twilight and Tress flicked their ears backwards in fright and confusion. Fluttershy had decidedly ducked behind them in fear at the sudden raised voice in their general direction by Twilights father Night.
Smart saw something that made her smile, while Barb sniffed at the air and joined Smarts expression with her own; they both knew something was missing at the picnic.
Twilight opened her mouth to say something in the defense of her new friend only to be cut off by Night.
"Now I have to go set up another spot at the table, woe is me. You are going to help eat all those cookies I just made young lady and you are going to like them!" The stallions voice had quickly gotten more sarcastic than angry, Night winked at Fluttershy and trotted out of the room. "You can also enjoy the milk at your leisure."
Fluttershy looked so confused for a moment at being addressed in an angry tone by the stallion, then the sudden unexpected one eighty into a sing song voice about the milk to go with the cookies. She blinked once or twice and it still looked like her mind would take a while to come to grips with what just happened. Barb rushed by her with Smart flying above her and Fluttershy hardly reacted to them or anything around her.
"What." Was all Twilight could say about her father's flighty personality, her mind just took a sudden turn into a brick wall and crashed. All the little mental ponies were lying around the wreckage in agonizing pain; this was represented on Twilights face as a slight twitch in one of her eyes.
"Just happened here?" Tress continued following Twilights completely derailed train of thought, before she realized she should be angry. A slight flair of a green ring appears in both her eyes for only a split second as she calmed down quickly.
"You're back from your picnic already? Looks like you made another friend; it makes me so happy to see you're finally making some..." Velvet was about to finish her sentence when Twilight Sparkle cut her off.
"Don't mom, Smart might hear you and I might never hear the end of it. I think she wants me to make more enchanted toys like her." Twilight could see the pale look cross her mother's face, she nodded at Twilights reasoning. They certainly didn't need more Smart's running around. "Anyway this is Fluttershy, she followed me home. So can we keep her?"
"Oh she's so adorable, look at her hiding behind her mane; I think I might have a heart attack if I keep looking at the poor dear. I see your father is already playing under his bridge again, she looks like she was just spooked by him." Velvet chortled at Fluttershy being so shy. "You can keep her, but no forming a herd with your friends until you're eighteen."
"Mom, we're just friends and we only just met Fluttershy today!" Twilight blushed at the implications of forming a herd, with her friends even! Her mother was obviously over thinking things; well at least she now knew her mother wouldn't be upset that she might have a thing for mares.
"Oh you protest to much my little sparkle." Velvet studied the pony Twilight called Fluttershy whose face had gone a bright shade of cherry red; Tress didn't seem to get the implication of what a herd was. Velvet mentally sighed that Tress really came from a sheltered world in that comic book. "Anyway, I heard my husband mention cookies not just a few seconds ago? Why, they must be fresh out of the oven."
Twilights eyes widened as she finally took in the fact that the word 'cookies' was immediately followed by 'fresh out of the oven', as it finally started filtering into her mind. It was a good thing they did register as she didn't want to miss out on delicious fresh warm baked goods. She immediately charged off for the kitchen.
Tress followed at a more sedate graceful pace behind her friend. Fluttershy was levitated into the kitchen by Velvet, she even squeaked as soon as her hooves left the floor causing Velvet to smile.
As Velvet set Fluttershy down in the kitchen, Night was pulling some cookies from the oven. Velvet took notice of the cutie mark on Fluttershy's flank and became wide eyed, she immediately ran off to get something.
"Sapphire sandies, you are the best grandpa ever!" Barb's happy expression lit up the room at seeing the bejeweled cookies meant for her. Night wasn't mad at the fact that she had just called him grandpa; he was even smiling about it. His smile widened even more at hearing the happy humming and crunching noises coming from his granddaughter.
"Come on in and take a seat, we've got plenty of room for our daughters' new friend." Night ever the gentle stallion even pulled out a chair for Fluttershy.
Sitting down Fluttershy was surprised at such a welcoming atmosphere. Looking to the platter of cookies before her, she saw a peanut butter cookie and she slowly grabbed it. It felt warm in her hoof as she saw a glass of milk being set down in front of her. Biting into the cookie she felt like there was a rush of love going into her, like she could taste the effort that went into making the cookie and that she couldn't stop the smile that came onto her face as she started to chew it. They didn't have desserts at the picnic and she was still quite hungry even after consuming almost half of all the food herself, she really totaled the potato salad.
"It appears my little princess has a knack for finding other little princesses." Night said amusedly. "Don't be so modest, enjoy as many as you want. Just pile the ones you want onto your plate quickly, this is a first come first serve platter of delights. If it isn't on your plate it's free game."
"You know this reminds me of a time our family spent an entire year avoiding cookies altogether." Twilight chipped in idly as she thought back to when she was five years old with a smile on her face. Her family was nice that is to be sure, but they were also certifiably nuts like the white chocolate macadamia cookies she was rendering into a delicious paste in her mouth.
"Why would your family avoid cookies for a whole year?" Fluttershy's question was met with a bit of laughter from Twilight and Night.
"Well it happened when Twilight was five and before her older brother left to join Celestia's guard, it starts with Twilight here wanting a snack. So her older brother, Shining Armor, did what any loving and protective goofball of a brother would. He decided to try and bake some cookies on his own." Night shivered at the thought of what happened that day, but it did cause him to look back on it and laugh at the hilarity of the situation.
"What exactly happened? This sounds like another one of your house of weirdness tales and I've even lived through one or two of them since I arrived." Tress wanted to know, since she was learning more about Radiance then she ever thought possible. The entire Sparkle family probably had a patent on the words 'noodle incident' by now, since they had so many problems that have happened in this household.
"Oh my brother made the cookies alright; it just went badly considering they kind of rebelled against my family. They tied up mom and put her into a closet and gained a lot of intelligence in such a short amount of time. They were even already plotting to kill Celestia by overstuffing her with cake by the time we started fighting back." Twilight after pausing for a moment started to look back on it just like Night and started laughing uproariously. "Oh gosh, even saying it out loud makes it seem like it didn't even happen. They still tasted good even if they were bad cookies."
"You actually ate them?" Fluttershy didn't know what to think as she bit into the gooey warmth of a chocolate chip cookie and then took a sip of some milk. She didn't think too hard about the cookies she had on her plate or that she was still eating them.
"They were still cookies, just really highly aggressive cookies." Twilight bit into a banana nut cookie and hummed in appreciation, she swallowed and gave her father a bright smile. At least he made good cookies.
Velvet rushed into the dining room area to see everyone was sitting at the table; well Smart was standing on it and listening in on the conversation. She looked at Fluttershy, she then looked down at one of the newspapers she was holding with her magic.
"Oh my goodness it is you, we have a legend in the house!" Everyone looked to Velvet in a confused manner as she came up to Fluttershy and gave her a big hug. "I thought you looked familiar."
"Um... I look familiar?" This was Fluttershy's innocent response before she thought the worst of the situation. "Oh please don't send me back to Cloudsdale."
"What about Cloudsdale? You're the famous Vagrant Veterinarian!" The ponies looked at Velvet in a confused manner. Barb didn't care and continued to eat her sapphire loaded cookies and Smart really had nothing better to do since she didn't need to eat. "You've never heard the legend of the mare that goes around helping the sick and injured animals of Canterlot? If a bird breaks a wing it's quickly splinted, if a cat is having a bad day the pony knew how to cheer it up and if someone is missing a pet there's no doubt she'd get it back to their owners, provided they are good ponies of course. She's really popular with the little colts and fillies as well as the lower and middle class unicorns if we're going by noble pony standards. That has got to be you, look at this!"
Sliding the newspaper across the table for Twilight to read, Tress leaned over to look at it herself. Fluttershy on the other side of Twilight also looked at the picture. It was only a corner of her flank, as only of one of the butterflies marking her butt was visible. The story was about a little colt missing his pet and how the mysterious figure had returned it home, bandaged and cared for.
"Huh, so your world does have super heroes." It wasn't that she didn't think super heroes were possible in this world, but Tress knew this world worked on different principles from the one she came from. Ponies didn't just put on costumes and run around saving other ponies from danger here.
"Super hero... oh no, I'm nothing like a super hero!" The poor nervous mare noted that this was dated a year ago; Fluttershy was immediately denying what was written in the paper as she raised her hooves shaking them in denial. "There's nothing really all too special about me."
"No pony that ever comes to live under the roof of this house is normal, though you wouldn't know it from Tress's griping." Velvet put down several more newspaper articles featuring Fluttershy or the Vagrant Veterinarian as the ponies of Canterlot knew her. "You've been in the news several times for the past year. It's really interesting that you don't have a home here and you've been seen sleeping in several trees throughout Canterlot."
"You sure you don't have super powers or something like one?" Fluttershy looked away shyly at Tress's question and ran a hoof through her mane. "Talking to animals sounds like one to me already and you're completely sure you don't have any more?"
"Well I do have a strange ability; I call it 'The Stare'." The mere mention of that ability causes Fluttershy to shudder. She didn't know how it worked, it just did. Whenever she needed to calm down a panicked animal all she had to do is look it in the eyes and it'd almost immediately trust her. "I really don't like using it, but it happens when animals try to fight me when they really truly need help."
"Well what does this stare exactly do?" Not being the only one interested in the answer, Twilight noticed everyone at the table was paying attention to the squirming Fluttershy as she quietly ate a snickerdoodle.
Even Barb started paying attention given they had another super hero in the house. At least a super hero that wasn't her own mother, given her mom had powerful magical abilities and stopped a gang of thugs with a single spell. Mane-iac wasn't a super hero, but at least she was no longer a super villain and Barb honestly liked her opinions on some things. Being a hero isn't all fun and games, but the super powers sure were neat to hear about.
"Um... well it causes animals or animalistic creatures to listen to what I have to say; whether or not they do what I say is up to them as far as I know. It really scares me that I can do something like that, that I can force an animal to stop acting entirely on instinct." Fluttershy shivered until she felt, four ponies and a baby dragon pull her into a group hug.
"Well you're going to fit in just fine around here, though you may want to change your name to the Valiant Veterinarian. You're not much of a vagrant if you have a home to return to at the end of the day are you?" Smart said floating in front of Fluttershy's face.
"Yeah, but she has to get a license to actually become a vet first and I'm sure Smart will help you with that. She helped my daughter get a doctorate in enchanting. Aw, you're just so cute; it's so hard to stop hugging you." The shy mare found herself being snuggled by Velvet alone now.
Fluttershy wondered what she had just gotten herself into and if she could even get away from it if she wanted to. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 12 | It has been another strange year; Twilight thought things were going well in her life and she needed to finish her plan to move out of the crazy house that her parents lived in. There were always a few snags here and there, but she always found a way to untangle them. She had even managed to ask Tress if she could work on her mane today and here they were with Tress calmly sitting in front of Twilight.
Twilight felt strange as Tress silently sat there with her eyes closed while she worked on her. Twilight really liked running a comb and brush through her mane, that she even trusted Twilight enough to trim her mane meant a lot. The friendship they forged continued to thrive, even though it was a bit of an oddity.
After a few minutes of working the scissors with her magic, Twilight finally stopped and smiled. Tress's mane was reshaped to how it normally was if a bit longer than usual. A long one length beautiful light blue mass hanging down halfway the length of her front legs. At least it wouldn't drag on the ground after the light trimming Twilight just did.
"Well Twilight, how are things going for your plans for the future?" Tress said as she stood up and stretched out, she presented her tail to Twilight so she could work on that now.
Still though, Tress had little to no idea what to do with her life outside the comic world, the one thing she did want to do was support her friend in her endeavors. Tress still hadn't told Twilight what it was she did while her unicorn friend was still busy going to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. If only Twilight knew Tress was working with Fleur De Lis, she'd probably freak out and ask if she could work with Fleur's mane at least once or just talk to her about advanced magical theories.
"I'm already considering some real estate in Ponyville; I found a place that would be perfect for Fluttershy to set up for what she does best. It's at the edge of the town away from other ponies, it's near a forest and it's a relatively cheap plot of land, it sounds like a good bargain. I'm personally going for a building near the library, from what I hear no pony really uses Ponyville's library for much anymore. If I'm lucky I can find a way to have Smart running it as a job and get free access to all the books I want." Twilight had a dreamy look on her face, even as she carefully measured a length of Tress's tail using the comb to hold the tail hair in place for the scissors. Twilight deftly trimmed her tail and she followed this up by slowly shaping the tail to fit how Tress liked it to look.
"Why not live in the library yourself and be paid by the government to run it? Wouldn't that make studying stuff all that much easier for you?" One of the things Tress certainly knew about Twilight, she certainly liked to read and study. Usually she was either studying some form of magic or she was picking through one of her previous issues of Mane Fancy magazine or a relatively new one.
"Because why work at the library myself when I can send someone who wouldn't really have need of the salary considering she doesn't need to eat, drink or stop working as long as she gets enough sunlight in a week?" Twilight knew Tress had an idea of what she was getting at. "That means I'd be getting paid to do nothing at all. Smart can operate a library pretty well even with her limited spell casting capability and I've been working on her energy capacity for how much energy she can store and use in her body. I'm sure I can get her to be efficient enough to work a bunch of relatively low grade defensive enchantments on her own. Just the kind of defenses you'd expect a library to have."
"Yeah, if that library were in Celestia's castle." Tress had a reason to be snarky about this, Twilight was good at enchantments and what she considered low grade was nothing short of impressive. "Twilight you're a wonderful pony, but I don't think even you would want to subject robbers to that level of torment. The only thing that goes on there is wild parties being thrown by a pink pony."
"You better believe I'm going to put a stop to that, it's a library not a pony's personal party playhouse!" Twilight was every bit angry to hear how the library was currently being used, that it wasn't operating like it should be. "Tress you know that still doesn't answer my question. What do you want out of life? I've been done with your tail for a while now so you can lower it, do you want me to brush your coat too?"
"I didn't know I had a life until you pulled me from my world. Oh and yes I would like that, if you would please." Tress blushed at Twilights comment about her tail still being raised and she quickly lowered it. She remembered Fleur asking about her personal stylist and how good a job she did with Tress's look, Tress honestly answered that it was her best friends work. She didn't tell Fleur that her friend was a fan of Fleur's beauty and intelligence. "I really have no idea Twilight, what would you expect me to want to do? I have a special talent for making shampoo and body oil; you do know I've been working on that formula you've been having problems with. Aside from that I'm also good at running business's and finance but I don't want to go through all that stress of running all of that on my own again. Now if I can just get that formula that you made to work correctly."
Sitting down Tress felt her mane lift above her head, held aloft by Twilights magic as she started brushing the coat on her neck. Tress really liked how gently Twilight treated her when they got together like this and she would soon close her eyes so that Twilight could get her face too.
"Tress, I've been having problems with that formula since forever. You really need to stop worrying about Fluttershy or me and you need to start caring about what you want out of life. I feel like you're too good a friend for us sometimes and that we're not giving you enough back. You should really take some personal time for yourself." Twilight knew that it had taken Fluttershy half a year to automatically come out of her shell when she was around them, Tress really helped with that even if she caused a lot of problems doing so. It really had been an interesting year since Tress and Fluttershy moved in. Twilight just finished brushing Tress's face and then would start on her back and sides, before she moved on to finish with her legs. Tress could take care of the other parts of her body herself.
Tress wasn't about to tell Twilight that being styled by her was what she considered to be personal time. She still thought Fluttershy was a pony to worry about because she hardly took her own health into consideration when someone else, animal or pony, was injured. Fluttershy has been studying first aid for the last few months and her kindness apparently had no limit cap on it, which was a bit worrying as some pony might take advantage of her. That would not happen while Tress was watchful, she didn't have many friends and this was one friend she took to proactively protecting as Twilight and Fleur didn't need someone to watch out for them.
Other than that Tress still thought it was funny that Fluttershy was terribly afraid of scissors, as she only came to Twilight for a trim when her hair started to really get in the way of her legs. Fluttershy really enjoyed being brushed and combed by Twilight like Tress did. Tress had even confided in her that Twilight really knew how to make them enjoy being pampered. Fluttershy had agreed that Twilight was good at making them feel nice, but she still didn't like it when Twilight brought the scissors out and that it made her terribly skittish. Fluttershy's mane was like her security blanket when she wasn't among ponies she trusted, at least she trusted Twilight enough to trim her mane when she needed it.
"I'm fine Twilight, it's just I never thought I'd be in another world or even separated from my dark reality. My reality that would have me constantly losing to a bunch of ponies in tights, no chance of winning even once and I would have liked it, enjoyed it even. There would have been ponies unlike you who would happily beat me up without a second thought to get out of the comic book. But now, I can't even dream of even going back to that. If I somehow do end up going back to it, I'd be going back a more heroic version of Mane-iac." Tress had a lot of time to think it over, if she ever did end up back in the comic world she was going to try to live up to her friendships. She shivered at the pleasant feeling of the brush sliding along her back. "So how many bits do you have and do you have enough for your ideal home? Just so you know, the only thing keeping me here in Canterlot is you, your parents, Fluttershy and your family's cooking... when they get it right that is."
"With the extra money I'd be making from Smart working at the library, I'll have enough to help a lot of ponies and start my own business. I'm thinking of working mostly as a freelance stylist, I really think I have a knack for this. I also want ponies to know they can come to me with their problems so I can help them out, so I'm thinking more of a problem solving agency." Twilight was a dreamer and a big one at that, but even she knew the problems with what she was suggesting. They'd get a lot of business to be sure, but how would they know that whatever cause they were aiding was exactly a worthwhile one?
"So what, it would be like a troubleshooting talent agency?" Tress liked the sound of that, Twilight did have a passion for helping others and it was an endearing quality. "I agree that you do have a talent for styling, but it's not your special talent. Just being around you is like magic, now that's your real special talent."
"Hmm... speaking of talent, I haven't seen Trixie in the last five months." Twilight finished off brushing down one of Tress's legs as she said this. She had spent a lot of time at the gifted unicorn school trying to befriend that one stubborn acquaintance of hers, one that she would actively get into discussions with. "To think I was really so close to her admitting that we could be friends and she just disappears."
"Try not to think about it too hard." Tress offered as she thought Trixie was a bit weird when they met that one time. From what Twilight has said of her, she used to be a very prideful braggart and was always referring to herself by her own name. "I really have to ask something now as you've garnered my curiosity about it. Why are you saving my mane and tail clippings and why did you fuse all the trimmed hairs together like that?"
Twilight was afraid Tress would eventually ask about that, all the mane clippings were magically fused into a long lock of hair and set aside. The tail hair was done the same way, but separate from the combined mane clippings. She was afraid that Tress would hate her and stop being her friend when she found out about this.
"Okay, please don't freak out with what I'm about to tell you. I'm going to look at your hair under a microscope to see if you might still yet retain your Mane-iac powers, at the least in an inactive form." It was the truth or at least half of it, Twilight hoped Tress didn't press her about it.
"Oh, so it's not just because you have a hair fetish, well okay then." After she shrugged, Tress stretched out one of her back legs and Twilight looked at her with a boggled expression. "Tell me the results when you get done studying my trimmings."
"You don't care that I'm strangely attracted to hair?" Even as she said this, Twilight started brushing the leg, making sure to stay away from doing anything inappropriate. She really did not feel like getting kicked in the face today.
"I'd be more worried if Fluttershy had a strange attraction to the animals she cares for and I'm glad she doesn't. You're not hurting any pony or yourself. As long as you don't, I have no reason to bother you about your fixations." Tress stretched out her other leg for Twilight to finish brushing her coat.
"I'm glad I don't have that kind of problem too and I don't mind your fixation either. Please excuse me for using your bathroom." As she said this, Fluttershy giggled at the way Twilight jumped as she made her way past them sitting at the mirror. She really needed to use the little pony's room, the toilet in what was once Shining's room currently had a poor monster stuck in it and she would take care of it after she was done using Twilight's.
"So neither of you cares, but I'm still worried what my parents will think of me!" Twilight said out loud.
"Its okay honey, we've known for years!" Night was heard shouting through the floor.
"Not like all the Mane Fancy magazine's wasn't a big tip off to begin with!" Velvet followed afterwards with her own yell.
"Could you guys keep it down; there's a dragon that needs her beauty sleep here. So stop yelling about mom's fascination with hair already!" Even barb was getting in on the act as her nap was disturbed leaving her a tad disgruntled.
Twilight stood there completely red in the face; even then she still managed to finish brushing Tress. Then she quietly went to look for a secluded space to throw a hoof into her own face or silently smack her head against a wall. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 13 | There was only half a year left for toying with her precious daughter left, half a year and her daughter would leave her parents protective hooves to set out into the world. Personally, Velvet thought she'd be safer anywhere other than here, not that she had anything against the friendly earth pony poltergeist that moved in a few days ago. Velvet just had to face facts that her daughter was growing up, so were the other two daughters she had gained over the last one and almost a half years.
Trotting down the stairs to the living room Velvet stopped and stared at the cute scene before her.
Tress, her quiet if sometimes temperamental daughter, was reading a book while she lay there on her side; her little sparkle got her hooked on the Daring Do series. It was cute to see what was once a super villain reading a story about a hero and other villains doing things, she herself would have been.
Velvet knew her daughters' first real friend would be a real interesting one and Ms. Ravel didn't disappoint. She wondered if she should probably tell Twilight that Tress is working with Fleur to help her earn enough money for the inevitable moving out process. Nah, Twilight would find out eventually in some other manner anyway and Velvet wondered how Tress would deal with the fallout of never telling Twilight about it.
Fluttershy, the adorable and sweet daughter, was reading a book on creatures mythological and known. She was currently snuggled into a chair with a blanket wrapping around her. She was really the cutest pony in the house with her squeaks and constant need to know if things were alright and was always apologizing for the slightest thing. Velvet didn't care if she ran away from her previous home, she was happy to house the dear thing who tried to do housework even when she tried to tell her not to.
Velvet really liked hugging that pegasus, there were no words to describe how cuddly she was without taking her into your hooves and giving her a personal squeeze yourself. She really wished the sweet winged pony the best in life whether she wanted to continue following her daughter around or not.
Twilight, her beloved little sparkle, she was studying hard on the couch so she could graduate. Velvet couldn't be more proud of her daughter for being who she was; she didn't have a superiority complex though she was powerful, she tried to be friends with ponies who would be her enemies and found some true friends that would be by her side. Most of all, Twilight Sparkle was her baby so she'd be proud even if she wasn't successful in life.
Velvet doubted that her daughter would have problems finding success, considering it seemed to be coming at her like a magic missile while dragging trouble in its magical wake. As long as her daughter was happy she would be happy too, even if her daughter was truly into mares and or starting herds with them. Just because she might not be, didn't mean Velvet couldn't get in a lot of teasing. All she had to do now as a parent was start forwarding Twilight's Mane Fancy magazines to her new home.
Next to her daughter was Barb, Velvets granddaughter, reading a book on magic. Barb was an odd case as Twilight didn't want to send her to Magic Kindergarten to gather the same scars that she did and instead homeschooled Barb through the use of Smart. Considering Barb was a magic dragon, Twilight has recently been teaching Barb on how to use her magic.
Velvet shook her head; her granddaughter still had a ways to go when it came to using magic. She could breathe fire like a dragon, had the tough fire and lava immune body like one, but at heart she was just as much a pony as any other in their family. Barb's mane was a pretty funny sticking point for Twilight since the little dragons' hair was just as tough her scales were and as such it was always hard to trim the bipedal dragon's mane without magic or scissors made from sterner materials then metal.
The quiet scene was interrupted when Barb looked to Twilight.
"Mom, why would I need to learn a light spell when I can breathe fire?" It was an innocent question of a seven year old magical dragon pony hybrid. She may one day earn a cutie mark even.
"That's a really good question. Now may if I may ask you a few in return, how long can you continuously exhale for? And what would happen if you had nothing around to light with your fire?" Twilight had a twinkle of amusement about her as she answered the question with more questions. She thought her daughter should learn to ask more questions.
"Well not for very long and I guess that I wouldn't be able to keep a light going like that forever." Barb turned her eyes to her mother and saw her smile, soon she was being rubbed on the head by a gentle hoof and her little wings fluttered in joy.
"Now practice the light spell and get a feel for your internal magic, ask any more questions if you have them. If I don't know the answer then I might help you figure it out at a later time. We'll work on levitation later in a much safer environment, since I'm not sure what would happen should you try levitating objects with magic flames." Twilight was uneasy about flammable material around her daughter, not to mention explosive chemicals and alchemic ingredients. Sure it wouldn't harm Barb because she was well armored against most forms of injury, but everyone else around her was a different story.
Barb concentrated and slowly exhaled a ball of fire that floated into the air, it lit up the shadows in the room as it floated in random quick circles in the air above her. After a moment Barb mentally snuffed the flame and it went out.
"Mom, can you tell me why my spell is different from your light spell?" Barb remembered the nights her mother had cast that spell for her as a nightlight. Even Smart could cast it with the same efficiency if a bit smaller and she usually cuddled her toy mom comfortably in bed when the creepy shadows were scared away.
"Well that's an easy one; each unicorn or magic user has their own idea as to how a spell is supposed to work. If two unicorns used a levitation spell, you wouldn't know it by the results, but their methods of how they make the spell work could be entirely different. It's based in intent, my intent is usually to create a twinkling star or have my horn glow brightly. As for you, you are probably imagining a bit of your fire as a close companion. " With a tilt of her horn, Twilight shot a light spell into the air and the twinkling white star brightened up the room considerably before its dissipation.
"Actually I was imagining how Smart would react to being lit on fire." That brought a smile to everyone's faces, even Smarts.
"What and you couldn't be bothered to get up and go get me some water to put me out? And here I thought you loved me." Smart said in good natured tune as she held out her tiny hooves, she was soon being dragged into a crushing hug by Barb. "There we go, that's our sharp little dragoness."
"You know that's the very reason why I designed to you to be highly fire resistant Smart." It was common sense on Twilight's part, if you were going to have a dragon for a daughter that is. It was best to make sure your daughter didn't have too many objects that could catch fire easily in her vicinity, especially when she had the ability to breathe flames.
They all continued reading their books in relative silence when the poltergeist floated into the room; he shrugged and floated out seeing as nothing interesting was happening. It was a quiet day in the Sparkle home for once; Velvet just sat down and started knitting a sweater.
"You know I've been meaning to ask Fluttershy, what did you eventually end up doing with the monster you found stuck in the toilet a while ago?" Idle conversation was certainly flying around this room; Tress thought things were way too quiet today so odd conversation topics were a must to liven things up.
"Oh... I identified what it was and found a nice place to release it back into the wild, safely far enough away from Canterlot to not be a bother. Though I'm still unsure how a cockatrice even ended up stuck in the toilet." Admittedly Fluttershy did wonder about the things that went on in this house, much less why all the ponies that lived here weren't worried about some kind of strange curse. Even she was hard pressed to find any problems with living in a place where weirdness was more of an aesthetic thing to make the whole place cozy; she was going to miss it when she moved out with Twilight.
"Don't cockatrices cause ponies to turn to stone by sight?" Queried a wondering Twilight, why Fluttershy was okay if she's met the gaze of one is a question to postulate on.
"What part of the cockatrice do you think was the part it got stuck in the toilet?" The shy pony really didn't have to elaborate further as everyone in the room just went about ignoring the obvious questions. How did a cockatrice get in the house and why was it found with its head stuck in a toilet? "He was so happy that I freed him that he didn't turn me to stone, he was very grateful about it and made a comment about being stoned not being a problem for those who are my friends and family."
"Not going to ask any further and we don't need any more details Fluttershy." The less they knew about it now the better; Tress believed the other ponies in the room could agree with that.
"So how do you think you'll do on your tests Twilight?" Even Fluttershy felt the need to change the subject.
"You're kidding right? I've past almost every test I've ever taken with high scores. I'm not really worried about the tests; I just like keeping the subjects I'm learning about on my mind so I'm completely prepared for them. So how many books of the series have you been through Tress?" This felt like a really slow day to Twilight as nothing of great interest was happening today, but at least she was getting plenty of studying in.
"I'm already up to the thirteenth book." It was all Tress would say as her tired eyes continued reading.
"But you only just started reading the series six days ago and you're that... have you gotten any sleep?" Worriedly Velvet checked Tress's eyes and her general state of health, she smelled like she was still bathing and her mane was still brushed and combed.
"Yes, I'm fine and I did get my sleep in." After letting Velvet fret over her for another minute, Tress gave an indignant huff when she was finally left alone.
"I'm just making sure you're taking care of yourself. I know what it's like to go on a Daring Do reading binge." After that things settled down again, Velvet started to notice the silence of the room was becoming very loud in its own way. Something felt so very wrong all of the sudden, this home was usually rife with troubles and was usually filled with activity. Was this how it was going to feel with all of them gone?
"Hey who wants to go out for dinner tonight? I'm buying." As soon as Night said this, everyone in the room stood up and started exclaiming places they'd like to go eat.
Velvet smiled; maybe things without the kids around wouldn't be so bad after all. After all, she'd have Night all to herself again when things got really quiet around here.
One eventful dinner and a few hours later, inside a restaurant were several ponies in rather bizarre states. This was all due to the circumstances of what happened between the moment Night suggested this, to the point they were at now were everything had gone wrong.
Fluttershy was wearing a maid outfit and blushing profusely, even then it made her feel pretty though incredibly embarrassed. She looked up towards the ceiling wondering how it had all come to this so fast.
Tress was stuck, glued to the ceiling of the restaurant with melted cheese; there was a horrified expression on her face. She was looking towards Twilight silently asking for help.
Twilight was covered in soot from an explosion of some kind and had a completely blank expression permeating her face. She slowly turned to where Barb was hiding behind one of the overturned tables.
Barb was keeping low with Smart in case anything else happened. She peaked out from her hiding spot at her grandpa.
A roughed up Night was smiling as he watched a pegasus that was resisting arrest be led away by some irate food covered celestial guards. He turned to his wife and gave her a cheesy grin.
"We just can't let an entire day go by, can we?" Velvet sighed out at the shenanigans that had happened, but she still had a smile on her face. She was glad she brought the camera to capture all the events. She silently understood why the Sparkle family had that patent on the words 'noodle incidents' now, she should have just ordered a salad. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 14 | Twilight Sparkle was her name and she could do this, she could get off a train and start a new life. Her friends were with her and they were watching the mountains and countryside go by as the train trundled on to her new home.
Twilight's parents had given her a tearful farewell, now it was up to them what would happen with their lives. The graduation was celebrated well enough without incident; she was a well rounded powerful unicorn and could handle almost any challenge that came her way. Provided her friends were with her as she wouldn't be able to survive being away from her parents, without having her friends around to lean on when she needed it.
As for jobs, Smart could work at the library as there were no laws against her doing so even if she was a bit small for a librarian. Twilight was guaranteed back up funds for any emergency. Fluttershy, Twilight and Tress would have to talk with the mayor and then things could get set up.
"So do you think I'm ready for this?" It has been a constant worry of hers; Twilight didn't think she was ready to be on her own. "That I'm ready to go out into the world and be my own mare."
"Shouldn't we be worried that the world isn't ready for you?" Surprisingly it wasn't Tress who said this, it was a giggling Fluttershy.
Tress stayed oddly silent as she stared into the distance out the train car window at the place called Ponyville. It was a place where she could possibly be spending the rest of her life alongside her best friend.
"What's wrong Tress, you're oddly silent." A frown marred Twilight's face as Tress stared at the fast lands before her as the train rolled on. "I got the results from testing those hairs from your mane."
"Huh? What's the verdict doc, is it... is it hair?" A small smile came across Tress's face and Twilight certainly became amused by the change in mood. "You've been studying it off and on for a whole year you know."
"Well yes, its hair alright, almost entirely normal... except for the one odd detail about it, otherwise it seems like normal entirely inert pony hair." It was a surprise to Twilight that Tress might actually be able to become Mane-iac again, though it was incredibly unlikely. The power she would need to even jumpstart the transformation process would have to be astronomical in levels.
"And that would be?" Asked Tress waiting for the intrinsic details of what Twilight had found out.
"There is a chance that you would be able to become Mane-iac again. It would require a force powerful enough to kill a regular pony, at least three times over. Your hair somehow absorbs static energy; as such your hair is impossible to get frizzy from static shocks because of this." Well that was one less thing Tress had to worry about when it came to her hair in the future. "I'm kind of jealous of you really. It may not be a super power, but hair that is immune to being messed with by having a balloon rubbed up against it is unique to say the least. It's possibly a side of effect of having had those super powers, so it's nothing to worry about."
"Well that's one load off my mind." It would take enough force to kill her before she could even feasibly be Mane-iac again? Tress didn't let it bother her, so she couldn't become super powered unless she returned to the comic book world or she somehow miraculously survived dying to even go through transforming into her alter ego again.
Now all Tress had to do was think of how to proceed on from here, which she had been doing previously before Twilight interrupted her deep rooted thinking. The modeling business with Fleur was fun, but she had to quit and told Fleur that she was moving with her friend to Ponyville. Maybe she could model for some of Twilight's ventures. She could probably even make a business of selling hygiene related stuff on the side. Making special homemade shampoo and body wash would never be a problem unless the ingredients became scarce; her friends appreciated that talent as Fluttershy really had a thing for smelling like a bed of flowers.
"Um, how much did the plot of land you got for me cost?" Fluttershy really didn't like the idea that Twilight was so selfless as to spend so much money on her, especially for a place that was stated as being perfect for her.
"Don't worry about it Fluttershy, there's a reason why we're meeting with the mayor and it involves your workplace and what kind of jobs you'll have around Ponyville." It was fun for Twilight to keep this a secret from Fluttershy. She was going to be so happy when she saw her little grove next to the forest.
Fluttershy would soon have more things to do with animals then she could have ever dreamed of. She'd be running an animal sanctuary, finding pets for ponies, being the lead animal specialist during the Winter Wrap Up whatever that was and peacefully solving problems that animals and pests could cause. She could even work at the local veterinary clinic whenever she felt like it; all she had to do is talk with the mayor and get it finalized.
The gentle thrum of the train slowed down as the ponies waited for it to pull into the station, collecting their things they all got off the train and stopped to stare at the peaceful surroundings. Barb was looking around with Smart sitting on top of her head and the wide open spaces were definitely different from the streets of a rather claustrophobic Canterlot.
Now all Twilight had to do was figure out where the mayor is so they could finish the documentation and finally they had to have time to get settled in. Walking out of the train station Twilight decided to ask directions of the first pony she came across. The pony in question was humming happily to herself as she skipped along.
"Excuse me, but..." The pink pony sounded like the one that held the wild parties, but Twilight wasn't about to berate her if she wasn't sure about it. The pony stopped stared at the strange group including Barb for a moment and she gave off a loud long drawn out gasp, this was followed by her jumping into the air and shooting off at ridiculous speeds without touching the ground.
"What the hay! Was that Filli-second's cousin? I thought you said normal ponies in your world didn't have super powers like that." It was the first time Tress had seen a pony perform feats that would only be expected in a comic book. It was done by an earth pony no less and in a manner resembling the super speed hero from her world.
"I know. I'm just as surprised as you are." Twilight had hoped to get away from all the zaniness that was the life of a Sparkle. Only now did Twilight truly contemplate that it may have been impossible to separate her from the stark raving insanity. "Come on; let's find a pony who can give us directions."
Meanwhile entirely on the other side of Ponyville, a manticore and a timber wolf were going at each other while a bunch of fillies and colts watched in awe. When the pink pony ran up and hugged the nearby unicorn, it caused the timber wolf and the manticore to disappear upsetting the little ponies somewhat until they all saw the pink pony.
"Oh Trixie, please tell me you'll come! There are some new ponies in Ponyville and I want you to come to the party and be the entertainment and everything! So please, can you, can you, can you?" The poor unicorn was getting dizzy from being spun around by the hyper pink pony.
"Please cease these motions or Trixie will lose the lunch Trixie had all over you Pinkie!" The unicorn known as Trixie was suddenly released. After a moment to get her bearings she looked to Pinkie with an accusing stare. "Well Trixie didn't say you had to stop hugging Trixie entirely."
Pinkie's hooves wrapped around Trixie in a gentler manner causing the unicorn blush at the tenderness of the hug, especially from the pony with no sense of personal space that she happened to spend a lot of time around. She was Pinkie's go to for help with a party. Aside from what Pinkie usually asked her to do, Trixie also got to use her magic as part of the entertainment because the happy weirdo wouldn't stop hiring her for jobs.
"Please, tell me you'll attend my party and do your thing." The pink pony was looking at Trixie with puppy dog eyes; Pinkie knew they were lethal and probably illegal in several countries. It's why she couldn't go back to some places, especially after the cherry changa incident.
"Please, stop looking at Trixie like that. You know Trixie wouldn't miss it." Though Trixie knew Pinkie was unaware of it, the magician in question had a large crush on the perky party pony. Trixie covered her ears knowing Pinkie would give a loud squeal of joy.
Even if she was unaware of Trixie's attraction, Pinkie was rather affectionate with every pony who became a close friend of hers. Pinkie was the reason why Trixie had a steady job and they were both happy to be friends. Thinking back on it, Trixie now felt bad that she ran from Twilight's friendship.
Twilight approached the mayor in her office; it had taken them thirty minutes to find out where the mayor was. In that time they had saw many interesting sights including Sugar Cube Corner, where they all had stopped for a quick snack.
"Excuse me, are you the mayor and... sorry for me asking this, but why does it smell like you dyed your mane?" Twilight could smell temporary dye at a few clicks. It wasn't harmful for the mane, but it seemed kind of unnecessary with her being here. Twilight had a mastery of her third spell and managed to get the hair color change permanency dropped to just twelve hours after the spell was used then you could change the color again.
"Yes I'm the mayor and that's not any of your business." The mayor with the grey dyed mane and the beige coat answered as she was finished doing some paperwork and she had plenty of time on hoof.
"Actually... it is kind of my business, you see I'm Twilight Sparkle and I happen to have a spell that could just outright change your hair color permanently without having to use all those dyes. Well that is unless you like dying your hair multiple different colors, then I have nothing against that and I can't help you with rapid hair color changes." It was agreed that Twilight would do all the talking once they finally found the mayor's office and she thought things were going particularly well. Fluttershy, Tress and Barb sat back eating their quickly bought snacks while Twilight dealt with the red tape. "Other than that I'm here about some residency forms and to ask about acquiring jobs and opening a business here."
"How permanent a color change are we talking here?" The mayor was now interested and less offended about how Twilight asked about her mane. That was once she heard the magic words that she wouldn't require the use of temporary dyes anymore. "Aside from that, what kind of business's, jobs and residency papers do you need help with signing off on?"
"Well the color change is permanent for the first twelve hours for every change, but afterwards I can return your mane to normal or change the color again. Otherwise your hair will just grow in that color from that point on. I can't do it while you have dye in your hair whether or not said dye is even magical in nature." Well Twilight didn't want the mayor's mane to react poorly to the problematic mixture of hair dye and a magical hair color changing spell going wrong, plus she didn't want to make a bad first impression. "For starters on the jobs, business and residencies, my friend Fluttershy here would like to apply for position of Ponyville's animal caretaker and she's really good with wild animals. She also has some papers to sign for this place outside of the Ever Free Forest as it will soon belong to her."
"My word, a pony is willing to be that close to... well if she is as good as you say she is with wild animals, I guess this shouldn't be to big an issue. Come up dear, I'll get your papers out and then we can see about your qualifications for the job." The mayor noted the mare was quiet and shy, she had no idea why any pony would want to live next to the Ever Free Forest much less one that looks like a bear would rip her to shreds.
After getting the papers out and hearing the qualifications that this Fluttershy had earned, the mayor would be dumb not to give her the job position outright. They always had some trouble waking up the animals during the wrapping up of winter and having an animal expert that could stop all the rabbits from ruining the crops grown in Ponyville was a much needed boon. In fact, that was the first thing the mayor was going to have Fluttershy look into. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 15 | "Well it seems your qualifications are in order and everything checks out, though I'm not happy about it." After a moment the mayor had to smirk. "Now if you can stop Pinkie Pie from holding anymore parties in the library, because goodness knows she's planning one for all of you later this evening, I'll let you stay as the librarian. Here's a picture of your target. If you can get a picture and in writing from her that you successfully convinced her to hold that party elsewhere or even especially at a later date, I'll even give you a bonus."
"Challenge accepted!" The pixie pony yelled out loud as she levitated the picture to herself. She then zipped towards a suitcase to levitate a camera out and then slowly flew out of the room as the camera was a lot heavier then the picture.
"Oh you've done it now; she's getting quite good at lateral thinking you know." Twilight didn't think Smart E. Pants understood the words failure. Smart eventually got around to succeeding depending on whether or not success was still a viable solution. She almost had Twilights intellect in there after all and she had to think laterally, she didn't exactly have Twilight's body or magical prowess.
"Now on to other matters if you will? Do you have the capabilities of filling any other public service related jobs and what kind of business are you planning on starting? Any other residency papers you need to sign?" The mayor had thus far sent off Fluttershy to check her space and to get settled in. Otherwise she'd be back tomorrow for the mayor to give her an idea of where to start her new job.
"I've taken a place near the library; I believe it's on the corner. My friend Tress Ravel here is going to be living with me and so will my daughter Barb A. Sparkle of course, they will be there until further notice or if they buy their own places." The right papers were found, brought out, verified and signed. It was a big house with three bedrooms and a guest room, two bathrooms and a kitchen. It had taken a lot of time for Twilight to save up enough money for that much space. They also had the use of the bedroom, bathroom, guest room, laboratory and kitchen at the library. If they had any friends that needed a place to stay and they ran out of room at the house, it would be thanks to Smart that they'd have somewhere else to go. "Sorry to disappoint you, but no more public service positions to fill from us. I do plan to start working as a freelance stylist and I'm planning on taking any odd jobs sent my way. Is there any problem with that?"
"Would you mind if I produce and sell hygiene related products? Like shampoo, body wash and other products relative to that." Tress wanted to be involved in the discussion, now that they were talking about what they'd be doing here in Ponyville.
"I don't have any trouble with most of that. Pencil me in so you can change my hair color when my dye completely wears off. The products you sell will depend on whether or not the ponies are willing to buy them and if they are deemed safe for commercial use. You can find a spot in the marketplace if you have a stall or you can run the shop from your home. Just make sure you read the list of illegal items that aren't allowed in Ponyville and follow the local safety regulations." After a moment to think it over, the mayor finally decided to address the thing she had an issue with. "The thing I want to know is what kind of odd jobs were you talking about?"
"Well, it'll mostly be fixing problems that happen around Ponyville. If there is a pony with a problem and they think me or any of my close friends might be able to solve it, then they can post requests for help from us. The fee will be dependent on how big the problem is." Sure Twilight might have only had two friends so far, but her friends were amazing ponies. She'd eventually find more friends to lend their aid and she felt like the mayor was already warming up to her.
"Say I give you the okay for this, what would you like to call this business of yours?" They had already solved some of the mayors' problems. If Fluttershy was good at her job, no more animals causing havoc on Ponyville. If Smart was good at hers, the mayor would have some pony who could curve some of Pinkie's constant partying and maybe slow that mare down a bit.
"Trims, Tresses and Trouble Takers, I hope that's not too much." Twilight knew they were going to cause accidents or scenes. She's dealt with enough Sparkle family 'noodle incidents' to figure out how to solve all kinds of strange problems, so why not continue dealing with them as they came. "So what do you think?"
Twilight wouldn't ignore any problem she caused trying to solve another one. If Twilight were in Sunset Shimmers place, she'd possibly be getting away with everything short of murder as long as she said she was sorry sincerely enough.
The mayor turned the idea over in her head. Plus the young mare didn't seem like a bad pony and was going to help her change her hair color, so why not? She wouldn't mind sending a few jobs her way to see what she could do.
"I'll set up the paperwork for your business then. I already have a job for you myself and require need of your services if you want. Think of it a test of how well you can handle a problem and I'll even put a free advertisement of your design in the newspaper for you if you can handle it." The mayor has been wondering about this small problem for a while now. She needed someone to meet with the stranger that kept spooking the ponies of her fair town, she was pretty sure it was just ponies being superstitious.
"I'm ready for whatever task you can give me. What about you Tress?" The eagerness in Twilight's voice to get started was palpable.
"Depends, what are we doing exactly? If it's dangerous, then I think we should drop Barb off at the house. We still have to unpack our stuff too you know." Tress wondered what kind of task the mayor could have been stewing over for a long while before they arrived.
"It's not dangerous per se, but have you noticed the lack of ponies around today? Well I guess not since you just arrived and wouldn't know, but the streets are usually much busier then this. Today is the usual day that the stranger visits and I need you to go talk to him or her. The ponies here are way too easily spooked by the strangers' general appearance because of the cloak that they wear. Many ponies are spreading some pretty nasty rumors about this figure, but I think it's just a traveler who has very good survival skills and doesn't mean any harm to any pony." You'd have to be good at surviving if you live in the middle of the Ever Free Forest after all, that's where this stranger kept coming from. The mayor always thought of how sad the stranger looked when they left staring at the ground; she wanted to set things right and stop the way the ponies were treating this visitor. "If you go right now, the stranger should be coming into town soon. I want you to talk with this pony and find out what they need if anything. It might be another job for you if they need any help. So how much will this cost me? I'm paying for this commission personally straight out of my pockets."
"Well this job doesn't sound too difficult, it's just starting a conversation... maybe five bits." It didn't seem like much of a hassle really, to start a conversation with a complete stranger.
"I'll give you thirty five, treat the stranger to some food and apologize for how they are being treated by the ponies that live here. Keep whatever's left if anything for yourselves after you're done." Now was the moment the mayor hoped she could trust these three, plus she wanted to know about the stranger that keeps visiting. She hoofed over the money to Twilight. "Oh and come back to me to report your findings."
"Don't worry we'll see to it." Before Twilight could begin to even think of leaving, Smart flew in holding a picture with writing on it and an envelope.
"Well does this satisfy the bonus I deserve?" Smart said smugly hovering an inch from the mayors face with her hooves crossed.
The mayor looked at the picture, what was written on it and in the envelope was a party invitation to welcome the new Ponyville residents later that week. Pinkie was actually giving them time to settle in before springing a surprise party on them? Will wonders never cease?
"Fine, you get your bonus." For the life of her, the mayor could not figure out how Smart convinced Pinkie to not party for an entire week. Much less manage to get Pinkie to change the location of said party. The mayor sighed; her new librarian had to be the shrewdest of negotiators. "Now go on, you need to finish my time sensitive job."
"Okay mayor um... what exactly is your name again?" Not once had Twilight bothered to ask.
"Just call me mayor. I don't use my real name much since I got this position anyway."
"Well alright then mayor, let's go girls!" Twilight led all of those who were with her from the room.
It wasn't less than ten minutes later that they saw the stranger looking around the empty streets, the stranger looked lonely out here.
"So how do you think we should approach this?" Twilight couldn't say much else as she saw her daughter already talking to the stranger, apparently the stranger was female. "Never mind, let's go over and find out what's going on and the mayor did say we are to treat her to some food."
"Ah, well met young dragoness named Barb of magical strength, with hair of an immaculate length. Why young child Zecora is my name; you have just set my sad heart to a flame." This Zecora introduced herself with a hint of appreciation to finally hear someone speak to her. "No pony here would even speak to me or even consider talking; I had wondered why I even come here anymore and admit I liked the exercise from all the walking."
"Wow, you're a zebra aren't you? Sorry, I've never met another one like you before Zecora. Hello I'm Twilight Sparkle." From what Twilight knew, there was no other creature that rhymed nearly as much as a zebra would, there were a few exceptions though. The zebra turned in surprise and lowered her hood revealing a Mohawk and a less scary face then what the hood presented when it was up, she had really nice eyes.
"Do my ears deceive, or do I hear more voices for my reprieve?" The zebra honestly seemed confused that a pony actually took initiative to approach her for once.
"Nope, we just came to the town ourselves. We're too dumb to know to stay away from you like the rest of them. Personally I don't see what they are so scared of, you seem friendly." Shrugging Tress wondered if the ponies of this town were all a bunch of wimps, even Fluttershy can show some backbone when she wanted to. Never has such an innocent looking pegasus sounded more dangerous when in the context of chiropractic wrestling.
"To me none of you seem at all too dim, but did you seek me out on a whim?" Tilting her head, Zecora looked towards Twilight who seemed eager to make her acquaintance.
"We were sent to apologize for the behavior of the town ponies by the mayor as she wanted us to meet, she even told us to treat you to something nice to eat. Me and my friends just started a business of solving problems big and small, you're our first case but I hope we can be friends most of all." The smile Twilight got from the zebra was genuine; Twilight knew she had just made a new friend. "So if you're ever in need of something don't be afraid to ask, because as I said my name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm up for the task."
"Please tell me you aren't going to keep that up while she's here, if you do I think I just might have found a new thing to fear." Despite the sarcastic way she stated it, Tress couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that she couldn't help it. Her eyes narrowed a bit at a thought about this conversation. "Oh great I think it's getting rather infectious and quite fast, please tell me there's a cure for this and that it will not last." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 16 | As they sat down for a late lunch at the cafe, Tress felt oddly detached watching as Twilight, Zecora and Barb interact with each other. They were so busy with their conversation that they didn't know that Tress currently felt uneasy. She did agree to help Twilight solve problems; Tress thought it would be mostly doing chores if they were lucky to not have Sparkle family level problems pop up constantly. At least she knew their hair care related ventures would go well, as with animal related problems with Fluttershy's help. That was not the main thing on her mind.
Tress was actually staring at the thing she hadn't bother to really inquire about for nearly two whole years, in those years she had learned a lot about Twilight. Her friends favorite colors were green and blue, she had a an attraction to hair that was innocent in nature so far, grapes were her favorite fruit and Tress heard the story of Barbs hatching because Fluttershy had once inquired about it. Of the things Twilight couldn't do, she can't safely make any food other then pudding when it came to cooking and had trouble controlling her magic in some instances. Twilight once caused an explosion trying to make a daisy sandwich.
"Smart?" Tress said watching as the little pixie pony was watching Barb like a hawk. Said pixie suddenly jerked and turned around to look up at Tress with her two mismatched colored eyes.
Before Smart could ask what it was Tress needed, a waiter came up to take their orders. Tress ordered a large salad and some tasty vinaigrette she liked to go with it, with a side of tomato soup and bread sticks. Twilight being a bit of a plain pony ordered a deluxe daisy sandwich and hay fries. Barb went with lasagna with sliced zucchini and carrots. Zecora took a while to order as it was the first time she ever got to sit down in a restaurant in Ponyville. Once they ordered their drinks the three continued their conversation leaving Tress and Smart to converse.
"Well now that that is over with, what did you need Tress? You know we'll always be here to hear what's on your mind." This was the thing that was supposed to run Ponyville's library, Smart the pixie pony thing that had problems dissociating herself from Twilight Sparkle.
"I..." Trailing off, Tress tried to think of a good question to ask Smart. The other three at the table were too busy enjoying themselves and she didn't want to interrupt them. Twilight looked happy. "Why has Twilight never created a pony sized version of you?"
"Oh, that. Well you see it's actually impossible to create a bigger version of me, even with the enchantments we used to make this work. Our enchantment is only viable on a smaller scale where we can easily contain everything. Not only would it be a waste of energy, but a waste of our time trying for something bigger. Something like that would barely last ten minutes, use up tons of energy and then the enchantments would burn out." Smart flittered her way to Tress taking on the average Twilight lecture mode tone. It happened when Twilight was going into specifics about whatever magical field she dabbled in over the last two years. "Enchantments are a tricky subject; they can only be placed on objects and surfaces. They can't be placed directly on things that are alive or, much to our disgust that someone actually tried it, a dead body. For example the enchanted comic book that ended up with you here is what an enchantment can be placed upon. Blank books are usually used for written enchantments that do various things and some can take years to design alone. We still can't explain how you came here with us or why it left us horribly tired and drained coming out, that was definitely not a design of the enchantments emplaced on it. We're so glad that you're still our friend after we dragged you from your world because we were too selfish to let go."
Tress felt a flush of warmth run through her chest at the sentiment that a part of Twilight worried about her feelings. She sometimes had nightmares of being trapped in Mane-iac's body with someone else in control yet she was the one who felt all the pain for whatever injuries happened to her. She sometimes wondered if Twilight took over Radiance's body by entering the comic, the idea sounded like a horror story waiting to happen.
"Tell me, did you always look like this little pixie thing?" Well Tress really did want to know how she was pulled out of a comic book, but she thought better about asking too many questions about it and they still had time until the food came. She took a sip of her lemonade. "How did you eventually get to be what you are now?"
"Not really, it took us an entire year of study to have us gain some operational ability. We still looked like the Smarty Pants doll we started enchanting back then. This body was very simple back then, just animated and given memories." So basically Smart was saying she could only move around and react based on memories that Twilight fed her at that time. "We spent a lot of time cuddling up to Barb and she was so little back then. Now she's half our age, at least mentally and she's going to actually start aging physically at a normal rate soon. We didn't have to worry about giving me fire protection enchantments early on, but we eventually added them while figuring out how to apply the solar energy absorbing enchantment that has since kept this body powered. Before we were being powered by sunlight we used more than half our magic daily just to make us run for eight hours alone. It was around a year before we met you that we added the ability to talk and we have been somewhat regretting that decision ever since. Well it's more to the point of the other me that might actually have regrets."
Tress wondered when their food would get here, she heard her name said and she suddenly turned to Twilight.
"Huh? Did you say something?" She was hoping Twilight wasn't upset with her for not paying attention to them.
"I just wanted to know if you wouldn't mind letting Zecora stay with us for a few days. You own part of the house too, so you should have a say in it. Barb and I already agreed that she could stay. I really want to have a sleepover with our new friend here." There was a hopeful look on Twilights face; she wanted Tress to say yes.
"I don't mind at all." There was a hint of glee in Tress's voice; Twilight had just made her happy by including her in the decision instead of assuming she'd be okay with it. Turning back to Smart, Tress decided to continue the discussion. "So what about you're appearance, you didn't mention how that came about. Also could you try to distinguish yourself from Twilight a bit more? It's a bit confusing."
"I'll try, but I am essentially Twilight Sparkle even though I know this body or form is not her. My appearance had to be created through a magical compression of my physical core, which being the Smarty Pants doll that already had several enchantments on it. It was that enchantment that altered me to appear as if I were a tiny pony instead of a plush toy. It's like how I move my mouth, but that's not where my voice is actually coming from, I work a sound enchantment to generate sound waves that gives me the ability to speak. It was a real work in progress for Twilight to alter the shape of this body. I at one point actually looked exactly like a five inch high Twilight and we decided that it would get confusing so we tried for an earth pony form. Eventually we decided that I needed to be able to fly since I couldn't keep up with a fast moving Barb once she started learning to walk, thus I was given a wing spell modified into an enchantment based form. The wing spell gives the target it's used on wings, usually the easily shredded made from morning dew and gossamer butterfly shaped kind. Turning it into an enchantment had different results and thus here I am with dragonfly wings and happen to be the five inch tall talking pixie pony you see before you. Despite all this, I'm still not really a living being." With a flourish Smart bowed to Tress.
"Okay why couldn't she just make another energy holding enchantment?" It seemed easy enough to Tress.
"You can't put two nearly identical enchantments on a single object or let them even stay near each other for too long, it could cause the enchantments to destabilize or explode violently. There's a reason enchantments are the most dangerous to the pony creating them and patience really is a virtue when it comes to mastering this magical art. I wasn't made a pixie pony in a day, because that would just be plain silly." Smart saw the food coming and turned to Tress. "Looks like your meal is coming now, I'll be quiet so you can eat."
"So you can only take in sunlight to power yourself? What about changing your intake to food? This is actually getting pretty interesting; don't stop now on my account." As she said this, Tress smiled at the salad, soup and a basket of bread sticks that was placed before her by the waiter. "Thank you."
"For every four steps taken, I'd have to consume three times the amount food a normal pony would eat for breakfast, I'd be eating like a parasprite and I'm already close enough to one in resemblance as it is. Exceptionally powerful enchantments require a lot of energy and are usually one shot performances, like the ones on the enchanted comic book since it actually makes a really good reference point. It is probably fed enough energy over the course of a week to a month until it becomes functional." Pausing, Smart tried to recollect anything else that Tress might have wanted to hear on the subject, the pretty light blue haired mare just started eating while patiently waiting for her to continue. "Just because I can't have two of the same enchantments on me, it does not mean I can't have a refined version of them or even upgrade the enchantment that's already there. Though making an upgrade and or better enchantments happens to be a long arduous process, not to mention the added time for the installation process of a better one if an enchantment has to be removed. We were surprised we even got so far with this enchanted toy, but a lot of love and time was put into me. It was hard enough figuring out how to get me to cast spells."
"I was wondering about that since you don't need a horn. How does it work exactly?" Tress had politely swallowed the food in her mouth before asking this, next time she'd remember to ask them to leave off the croutons. She had seen the little pixie performing some minor magic spells that Twilight was capable of. It was to be noted by Tress that Smart's spells were all scaled down though still effective to a degree. "Also why did you have to fly around heavier objects several times to levitate them?"
"My entire body is a magical focal point so no need for a horn. How it works exactly is a trade secret and I don't actually want to share that one, it's one of the most unique enchantments Twilight invented and we'll leave it at that. As for the levitation thing, bigger objects require me grab them from all around so I do it to expand the surface area that my levitation field affects. Imagine me wrapping a magical lasso around it manually since I can't just throw it at the object and immediately snare it." It was a rather strange sight to Smart when saw a deep blush suddenly permeating Tress's face. "Why are you blushing like that, was it something I said?"
"Yes, you just made me realize that there are some things about Miss Mare-velous from my world that I wished I didn't just think of right then." Tress decided to quickly change the subject, especially before Smart could ask what she was talking about. The idea that came to her mind at the mention of a magical lasso and knowing a mare that mentally controlled one personally, it wasn't exactly something Tress wished she had thought of as being a possibility. "How's the sandwich Twilight?"
"What? Sorry something was on my mind." Something was off about the way Twilight was sending Tress nervous glances and her voice was oddly sad. Tress pointed a hoof at her sandwich while she sipped some soup, when Twilight was finished swallowing a bite she decided to respond. "Oh, you want to know about my sandwich? It's good, but the hay fries here are the best I've ever had."
"Care to share some please?" Giving her friend a cheerful smile, Tress titled her head causing her hair to flow from the right side of her face. She made her ears lay back, bit her lower lip and went into big eyes mode.
"Of course, just please stop looking at me like that. It's making me feel funny." Shyly Twilight pushed the basket of hay fries in Tress's direction with a hoof. After tasting them Tress agreed that they were really good.
All too soon, they all finished their meals.
"I find this meal to have been quite delicious; I hope the food was at least somewhat nutritious." Zecora enjoyed her order of a fresh roasted vegetable variety platter and she shared some hay fries with Barb. "Now I hope you aren't offended, but I would like to share a dessert here that is recommended."
"Please mom, can we get something with ice cream?" Barb asked looking to Twilight pleadingly.
"I'm with them; I've still got a bit of room in my hollow leg." Added Tress who then turned to hail their waiter, he immediately pulled out the dessert menu and hoofed it to Twilight.
"May I suggest the baked sweet apple dumpling? We use Sweet Apple Acres brand of apples baked in a resplendent pecan streusel; it is then topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup." The stallion waiter received a nod from Twilight. "I'll bring your check as well." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 17 | "So you know a bit about me, what about you Zecora?" Twilight decided they should go into the nearby cafe; they had taken a second to drop off their bags at the house while Zecora waited outside for them. Tress was acting rather withdrawn; it was probably nothing to worry about.
"A shaman I am from a far away land that I call my home, I have wandered from far away as I like to roam." Today felt like a good day for Zecora. She was finally being slowly accepted by the ponies as they came out to go about their business.
"A shaman, what's that?" Barb was looking to her mother, but it was the zebra who answered as they took a seat.
"I'm a mixer of magical potions and poultices both strange and grand; I am a zebra that can survive in almost any type of land." It felt good for Zecora to be able to open up to such a nice family, though one in particular seemed to be provoked by her thoughts. "I've since stopped my wanderlust and I feel it less, is there something wrong with Miss Tress?"
"Nah, she always gets a bit moody at times, she hasn't had the best life. She really needs more friends like my mom and Fluttershy do." Barb always considered Tress like a sometimes grumpy aunt; otherwise she was a wonderful friend to her mother. She was an aunt that knew how to find really tasty gems and jewels for Barb to snack on when she got hungry.
"Hardships are a thing of life that is to be known, I assure you that their number of friends have recently grown." Though she didn't know who Fluttershy was, Zecora thought she'd be just as nice as these three... maybe four. She suspiciously eyed the enchanted toy known as Smart, the magical construct was interesting in the way it was watching the dragon in a protective manner as they sat down at a table.
Zecora was willing to be their friend regardless of the magical field of weirdness she felt surrounding them. This was her first time being in a restaurant in Ponyville and it would take her a moment to look through the menu.
"So what are you getting Zecora? I'm paying for this meal so get whatever you want. I'm thinking a daisy sandwich, maybe a daisy deluxe with hay fries." Twilight thought she enjoyed the simple things in life way too much, so she decided that something a bit more enthralling then an average daisy sandwich. She was going for the deluxe size then.
"Mom what is it with you and daisies? I think you would eat nothing but dollops of daisy paste between two slices of bread if my grandparents didn't feed you so many 'exotic' meals. I bet you'd live off that one thing for the rest of your life if you could." The little dragons query and stern stare were met with one in return.
"What is it with you and ice cream? At least daisies aren't an unhealthy eating habit, besides I'd miss the taste of grapes too much." Twilight had at least some high ground on this one. They glared at each other for a few seconds before they started laughing.
"My you two are certainly strange, my day is certainly brighter for a change." Zecora smiled at the relationship these two shared.
"So where have you been living all this time if not in Ponyville? The nearest town to here is not exactly that close you know." There was so much Twilight could learn from her new friend from beyond the Equestrian lands.
The waiter, a gentle looking stallion, came up to the table and cleared his throat.
"Sorry, I'll have a deluxe daisy sandwich and a side of hay fries, with grape juice." Twilight looked to Zecora who was looking over the menu in interest. She leaned over and started to help Zecora make a choice from the menu as it took a minute or so after Barb and Tress's orders.
"Hmm... the roasted variety of plant, my what a taste to me that will grant. It says it will come with fries, I hope the menu has no lies." The stallion politely looked at Zecora's choice and noted it down, he then asked what kind of drink she wanted. "A drink made of lemon and lime, with a bit of seltzer and some syrup will taste fine."
They were finished ordering now and Twilight stared pointedly at Zecora, as did Barb behind her out of curiosity about where she was living.
"I've traveled many lands far and wide, for a place to live and not to hide. The Ever Free Forest is almost like a place for me to settle down, though I wouldn't mind a place to go for rest while I'm in town. I've carved out a place in a tree in that forest that many ponies here find wild; to me all the monsters in there seem quite mild." It was true, as long as you didn't bother the monsters or garner their attention they would mostly leave you be. That and provided you stay out of their territories.
"Can you tell me some of the things you've seen in this forest?" Twilight was happy to learn about the creatures she has likely only ever read about, but to actually meet them was another thing. Twilight's ear twitched as she heard Smart going into a lecture and she heard the word 'comic' be mentioned. Taking a glance at Tress, she looked to be okay and was listening to whatever Smart was saying. She turned back to Zecora who politely awaited her to come back from her slight distraction.
"Yes, though many a pony fears the forest I have seen creatures big or small, while the place called Froggy Bottom Bog have monsters quite tall. Cragadiles are tough skinned and can be quite scary, when stepping on stones in patterns is when you should be wary. Timber wolves are simple wooden beast, light a fire and they won't have you for a feast. A cockatrice is a creature that can turn you to stone right in your place, it is a good idea to not to stare at one in the face." The zebra stopped when Twilight held up a hoof.
"My friend Fluttershy looked one in the face, but it didn't turn her to stone. She rescued it from a toilet and she said something about it not turning her friends to stone. She's really good with animals and can even communicate with them since it's her special talent. I'll introduce you to her later; she's really easy to get along with. She even lives right outside the Ever Free Forest now." Twilight got a nod from Zecora in acceptance at the idea of meeting the friend that wasn't here at the moment.
"Quite a talent that truly sounds to be, it would have been especially useful for the likes of Ever Free. I have been out there in the forest alone by myself for quite a few weeks filling with sadness; I think in my loneliness I would have been led temporarily to madness." Zecora perked up slightly as she addressed Twilight personally after taking a sip of her rather refreshing drink. Fluttershy was a pony she had to meet eventually if she survived looking a cockatrice in the eyes. "If it were not for you, I would still be feeling rather blue. Do you think you can assist me in finding a place to stay? There are times in the forest I'd rather be quite out of the way. During the mating seasons some creatures are quite dangerous in there, for my life is something of which I have no spare."
"You know we have the room mom and I wouldn't mind learning more about the places she's been to. I really haven't been outside of Canterlot before and well this is all so new to me." The air was a lot friendlier then it was up in the mountain city, Barb thought the ponies in general looked friendly and accepted her presence without a second thought. Then why did they not like Zecora until she started hanging out with them?
"Don't worry about it; she can stay with us a few days at our new home. Isn't that right Tress?" Twilight could have sworn she heard the word 'regrets' used and took a glance to see that things looked okay with Tress, but her mind wanted to play a different story. "Excuse me Tress, hello? I have a question to ask you."
"Huh? Did you say something?" Obviously Tress had not been following their conversation. Twilight didn't blame her, whatever conversation she had going with Smart had to have been interesting.
"I just wanted to know if you wouldn't mind letting Zecora stay with us for a few days. You own part of the house too, so you should have a say in it. Barb and I already agreed that she could stay. I really want to have a sleepover with our new friend here." Barb wasn't the only one wanting to learn more about Zecora's travels and she too had to admit an interest in the zebra. Twilight always wanted to try her hoof at camping at least once, now that they had the opportunity they would eventually do that with a few friends. Zecora would have made the experience much better as she knew how to live off the land, but she wasn't so far removed from society that she didn't know what a restaurant was.
"I don't mind at all." Then Tress turned back to converse with Smart after the gleeful response. This made Twilight wonder what they were talking about, but she didn't want to be so rude by barging into whatever Tress was learning from Smart. It wasn't long after that the food was brought out.
"Where were we again, aside from the fact that you'll stay with us for a few days. Hmm... how about the strange and wondrous plants you can find in this Ever Free Forest place?" Idly Twilights ears twitched as she heard Smart say the word 'fly' as she focused on Zecora's response.
"Ah, yes there are things like the blue flower called poison joke, it is not very nice to pony or any other folk. To touch its pollen leads to trouble, if you get any on you try and find me on the double. There are also roots that fizzle for some of the potions I make; it can be used to make a rhubarb cake. Don't eat the leaves of the rhubarb plant under any measure; they are poisonous and are most certainly not a pleasure." Enjoying having such a captive audience, Zecora was happy to share her knowledge with folks as thirsty as she was.
"So why did you leave home?" The reason Barb asked this was because she knew why they left their home, because Twilight needed to be her own pony and wondered why Zecora has traveled so far as to be here in the Equestrian realm.
Twilight heard Smart saying some words from the other conversation, she heard the words 'enchanted comic'. She was starting to wonder whether or not Tress had second thoughts of staying in this world and might have been asking for a way back, Twilight really did not want that to be true. There was also the thought that Smart could be telling her some of Twilight's embarrassing secrets. She quickly turned back to Zecora to hear her tale; once again the zebra patiently awaited her attention.
"My mother is a smart and intelligent mare; she raised me well on how to survive then sent me away so I could live someplace that would be fair. Males of our species can be quite aggressive in a manner, I'm glad to be untaken because my mother was such a good planner. Males are responsible for taking on more than one date, to put it quite frankly it leads to them have an unlikeable trait." Zecora tilted her head at Barb while looking into Twilights eyes, she could see that Twilight understood and that was good to know. She wouldn't want to go into great detail about what she just said.
Twilight's thoughts slowly went to embarrassing places. She had heard zebra culture was a bit complicated, what with everyone saying everything in rhyme and the strange social structures that went with it. Her mind started to wander a bit.
"How's the sandwich Twilight?" Tress's voice cut through the air and into Twilights head.
"What? Sorry something was on my mind." Yes, like all the dirty thoughts of beautiful long black and white manes belonging to zebras covered in mud, Twilight's thoughts went to how they might need a good shampoo and rinse. After a moment she returned to the thought of her first and best friend leaving to return to from whence she came, it overrode her slightly odd fantasy of emergency hair care in a different region of the world. It took Twilight a moment to notice Tress pointing at her sandwich and she swallowed what was already in her mouth. "Oh, you want to know about my sandwich? It's good, but the hay fries here are the best I've ever had."
"Care to share some please?" Tress started giving Twilight a look that made her stomach feel like it was filled with butterflies.
The smile, bit lip and big eyes were some things Twilight would definitely expect of Fluttershy. Maybe the shy pony gave lessons on how to be adorable?
"Of course, just please stop looking at me like that. It's making me feel funny." Yeah it certainly was, mostly because Twilight liked the way Tress's mane flowed. Twilight slowly pushed the basket of hay fries towards her friend, maybe her best friend possibly wanting to leave wasn't something to worry about.
Soon they had all finished their meals, then dessert was suggested and they all agreed on it. They each dove into it with their own spoons attacking it with gumption upon its arrival.
Wherever the apples in the dessert came from, they were the best Twilight had ever tasted and she has had quite a number of delicious apples before this. She wondered if this Sweet Apple Acres place sold honeyed cider. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 18 | There she stood staring at the somewhat dilapidated, grown over and in need of some reconstruction home with a lot of wild animals running around outside of it. She had a slight frown on her face and she had tears in her eyes at the sight, her friends were just so wonderful to her and this place was beautiful. She didn't know how to pay them back for such a wonderful place they kindly acquired for her. Sure it would take some work to make it that much better, but Fluttershy was a pegasus that could put in the hours to make this place look like a beautiful sanctuary and it's only currently rough around the edges. It would become a place for all her friends', animal or pony.
Fluttershy was almost ready to burst into song, but first she had to make some assessments of the grounds. The soil certainly looks fertile enough, so she would need to get some seeds for a garden to help save on costs of feeding some animals by producing some food herself. The cottage would take some time to clean up, maybe build a second floor and she could even ask Twilight and Tress assist her with that.
Fluttershy's tail slowly swayed at the thought of her two most wonderful friends, it made her really miss Rainbow a lot though. Two years with Rainbow Dash who protected her from the worst of the bullying and didn't care that she couldn't fly well. Then came the griffon she spent the one year trying to befriend like Rainbow had only to be pushed away and then the next three years after were completely lonely in terms of pony companionship. The most of the last two years were with a friendly loving family and the two most wonderful friends a mare could ask for in the rather bizarre home they had lived at.
Thinking of family made Fluttershy realize she still hadn't sent a message to her own parents; would they be happy that she was out of their lives or were they worried about her? She sometimes thought it was better off not knowing some things. She wouldn't even know if they moved or not unless she went back to Cloudsdale and she really didn't want to.
Fluttershy had found it somewhat hard to leave Canterlot, mostly because Velvet wouldn't let go of her and kept hugging her.
Thinking of friends, Fluttershy's thoughts turned to Tress as she was always making sure no pony ever bothered her and was always so protective. Sure Tress was a bit crass and looked to be lazy at times, but once you got to know her she really was sweet and her heart couldn't be any more in the right place when it needed to be. Tress really made a lot of money doing modeling work, mostly in magazines Twilight didn't read though Fluttershy certainly did. Tress put her heart into helping Twilight and her get their lives started; it was kind of hard to see what Tress herself desired when she was mostly busy with her friends' happiness. Tress's origins were quite strange and had to be explained to Fluttershy and despite the weirdness of it she accepted her fully.
Tress was a pony that just needed some attention and kindness.
Now Fluttershy's thoughts were on Twilight, she was always so willing to help her learn things. At times Fluttershy wished Twilight didn't have to trim her mane or tail even if it did get a bit long and in the way. Even then at some point Fluttershy had to admit that Twilight really did a good job with mane care, even if it wasn't her special talent and just something she did that she loved. It was something for her to look up to. Twilight's special talent was magic in general and she cut Fluttershy's mane only when Fluttershy herself asked her to. Twilight would never force Fluttershy to do stuff she was uncomfortable with, which was her problem with the pegasus school systems as she was a weak flyer and still is even to this day. That didn't mean Fluttershy didn't go flying at her own pace or kept her wings well exercised, she just wasn't meant for high altitudes or extreme speeds and was perfectly fine with that.
There was just something special about Twilight, Fluttershy just knew it and one day the world would probably know it too.
Thinking back to when Fluttershy asked Twilight to test her flight speed, she had barely registered even a one on an anemometer. Fluttershy found herself hard pressed to have a reason to fly faster which was already hard for her to do to begin with. She was sure if push came to shove she'd do her best to perform three times better then she already does in the air and only if she truly needed to do so to help her friends.
After staring at the random animals standing scattered about the area minding their own business, Fluttershy decided to approach the chickens to start getting to know the animals around here.
"Um, excuse me..." Fluttershy's soft voice suddenly alerted the chicken she called out to, it tilted its head and clucked questionably at the Fluttershy. "I'm new here and I was wondering, how long has it been since a pony has live here?"
The chicken ambled over to Fluttershy and started clucking while flapping her wings in a somewhat agitated manner. It wasn't an angry manner, it just somewhat sad since they hadn't been tended to for a long time. They were surviving well enough on their own, though the winter months were a lot harsher for them.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that Miss Elizabeak. I'm going to try my best to help all of you and all of the other animals here." Fluttershy gently nuzzled the chicken and it quickly crawled onto her head and sat down. She giggled at the chicken taking an instant liking to her. It even clucked that it wanted to know what she was going to be doing. "I just need to introduce myself to all the animals around here. Once they get to know me I'm sure we'll all be the best of friends."
Fluttershy walked around back after setting her luggage down by the door; she really didn't think any pony would bother to steal it as it looked like none really even come out this way. Hearing a loud groan of pain, Fluttershy turned and looked at a large brown boulder. After a second of staring she realized it was a bear and one that was complaining about its back by all the angry groaning it was doing.
"Miss Elizabeak, could you please get off for a second?" The chicken fluttered to the ground and watched as Fluttershy marched straight up to the bear, she started to approach cautiously it as she got closer. "Okay, tell me where it hurts."
The groan of pain was soon followed by a roar of anger in Fluttershy's face and she stood her ground resolutely. The poor bear was hurting so much that Fluttershy didn't care that it was slightly angry at her; she just wanted to help him. The bear had at least given her an idea of where all the pain was centered around though.
"Please forgive me for what I'm about to do to you, this may sting a bit so bear with me." A lot of curious animals in the area knew better then to go near Harry the bear; he had recently become real angry all the time. He was strong and big and in comparison to the smaller friendly Fluttershy, the animals thought the bear was going to rip her to shreds.
Imagine the surprised look on all the animals when Fluttershy flipped the bear despite him being heavier and much larger then she was. After getting onto his back Fluttershy gave him a sharp tug of his neck to cause a large cracking noise. None of the animals had any idea of what Fluttershy was truly capable of, but after a moment they notice Fluttershy moved onto putting pressure down on his shoulders and a few pops could be heard. What was that crazy pony doing to that bear?
"You're really so tense, do you stretch in the morning? You really need to take care of yourself better Mr. Bear." It was one of the things Fluttershy liked doing when she was learning multiple medical practices. It took Twilight some time and convincing to come around to letting Fluttershy do something for her for a change, but Tress was all for the massages she gave. It was one of the ways she thought she could pay her friends back for their kindness. Fluttershy just didn't feel it was enough, even if she can get Tress to exclaim that she felt like melted butter under her gentle caressing.
The bear in questioned didn't know what happened after he roared at the pony. One minute Harry was standing tall while in pain and the next some really sharp pain that bled into the blissful feeling of two hooves kneading his back. At this point he didn't care the pony was standing on him, she made him feel better and as such he would protect her as long as she continued to help him like she was doing right now. He groaned out his name to Fluttershy and an apology.
"Harry, that's a nice name for a bear and no need to apologize. My name is Fluttershy and I need you to help me help you get better. So how long have you been like this? I'm finding a lot of problems throughout your back muscles." Fluttershy pushed and shoved her front hooves over the muscles getting a feel of what would cause him pain or bliss. So far she had only hurt him a little and eased his pain by a lot.
Groaning Harry started to direct Fluttershy. The more he told her, the better he felt after a few pinches of pain here and there. They were nothing compared to the sudden comforting feeling of not being in so much pain.
"There there, a full season of this is a long time to be having these kinds of problems. Just relax. How have you been sleeping lately? That might be the cause." Fluttershy continued to work Harry over making sure he would be smiling sooner rather than later. In the background a bunch of little animals that live around the general area came out and looked up to Fluttershy in awe.
It took a few minutes, but Harry was soon completely fine and sweeping Fluttershy up into gentle bear hug. Fluttershy accepted it gracefully.
"Now are there any other problems I should take care of or know about? If you know any other animal that's sick and injured please bring them to me." That Fluttershy addressed all the animals from the bear's arms made them look to each other. After chattering for a bit the animals all spread out. A minute later two animals carefully carried back a confused cardinal with a broken wing, the poor guy was chirping erratically at suddenly being accosted and from the pain of its wing.
"Harry, set me down and go to the front of the house and bring me my bags around back please. I have a medical kit in there and I need it for this poor bird." Fluttershy even illustrated what they looked like using the dirt and soon the bear was back setting the bags down near the pony. Fluttershy turned to her chicken friend. "Elizabeak can you go get me some twigs, I need something sturdy to hold his wing in place after I set it if the poor dear is going to get any better. I'll go inside and quickly get some water, make sure he doesn't go anywhere."
The animals watched as Fluttershy cleaned, set and wrapped the birds' wing. Then she worked on tying the twigs the chicken brought back to its wing to make sure he couldn't move it very well.
"There now, all you have to do is not move it too much and don't remove those bandages. You'll be staying with me for a while and I'll make sure you get to fly again." The bird chirped happily and rubbed himself up against Fluttershy's right hoof as he felt better already. "Thank you so much for bringing him to my attention and to me. That was really nice of you and that you took the time to be gentle with him really helped out."
The two animals that brought the injured bird to her looked rather bashful at the praise. It made Fluttershy sad to see others injured or in pain, but she was happy to have a home and patients to take care of already. She needed to go over some things with Harry and she would need to make sure the birds' wing recovered correctly.
As long as Fluttershy had friends like Tress and Twilight around and she was at a place where she already felt like she belonged, she would be happy. She even felt like she was finally at home in her heart. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 19 | Twilight slowly yawned and stretched out, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes for the early morning. She had just spent the first night in Ponyville with a small slumber party, with Zecora as a guest. Zecora had quite a few stories to tell and was entertaining to listen to, the rhyming anecdotes she had about things like a hydra or chimera would never be forgotten. Twilight's stories were as entertaining, such as the fudge brownie beasts that bled cherry syrup she had to fight when she was younger. Twilight had to stab quite a few of those to death with a fork and she wasn't very remorseful about eating them either.
She rolled out of bed and flopped to the floor on her face, the slight pain was worth the fact that she was now definitely more awake then she previously had been seconds ago.
Today Twilight was going to send Smart and Barb to the library, Barb still needed schooling. Twilight would make the defensive enchantments for the library at a later date. Smart may be able use enchantments and she may even be made of them, but she couldn't make, upgrade, alter or refine enchantments herself. She was going to leave some money with them so Barb could have something to eat for lunch.
Zecora and Tress would be going through Ponyville to explore and do some window shopping, Twilight thought they really needed furniture for their home. It was sparse with the kitchen stuff, the few beds and little else; it explains why it was cheaper than normal. They also needed various other supplies for their home as well, such as food, though Twilight actually cooking anything was completely right out. They'd later head on over to Fluttershy's, mostly so Zecora could be introduced to their somewhat chronically shy friend, if she wasn't there they'd find her somewhere nearby at least. Zecora was glad to finally be enjoying a bit more acknowledgement then she had been receiving as something to be afraid of, with Tress leading her around ponies would be less likely inclined to be afraid of her.
Twilight would personally be reporting to the mayor since she had asked that Twilight come back after she was done with her commission to take on this problem. It wasn't anything big, well at least not something her family back in Canterlot was used to seeing anyway. Her family didn't just have a problems food and there were things that happened back when Shining lived with them that were quite pear shaped in nature.
As Twilight slowly dragged her body to the bathtub to clean off and prepare for the day, she got into the tub and noted the water was relatively cold.
"Barb, did you use up all the hot water!" Twilight must have woken up after everyone else or else the water wouldn't have been like this. Tress was a good early riser, Twilight figured that earth ponies tended to do that anyway and Barb had been learning that she got more hot water the earlier she got out of bed.
"Sorry mom! Though you can't entirely blame me, Zecora needed a bath too." It was Barbs response from downstairs and she really did sound apologetic.
"That's okay; she's a guest after all." Twilight answered back in a defeated tone, she at least heard a little cold water wasn't bad for you as long as it didn't give you a cold or got you sick. "Smart, please remember to get at least ten or so bits for Barb's lunch on your way out if I don't see you two before I leave."
"You got it boss lady." Smart shouted gleefully, probably from a windowsill downstairs absorbing some early morning sun.
Why oh why did Twilight think up that kind of annoying personality for Smarty Pants? Especially when she was little and then applied it to a really complicated string of enchantments to make that personality she created to become slightly more real. Oh right, she was friendless up until she turned fourteen. She should probably be more cynical about life.
After getting out the bathroom, she found Zecora and Tress had already vacated the premises. Barb refused to leave without a hug and it really warmed Twilight's heart that her daughter wanted to stick around for her. After a quick heartfelt hug and then handing the bits to her daughter while explicitly telling her to not use it on ice cream, Twilight finally left the house into the bright morning in Ponyville.
It was a bright and sunny town, once Celestia's sun rose over the horizon. Ponies were going to and fro, male and female, young and old. The town was much busier then she had seen yesterday and to think that Zecora had that kind of presence to scare so many ponies, it was a bit mind boggling that ponies here didn't believe in safety in numbers.
She passed by the cafe they ate at yesterday and greeted the waiter pleasantly and he nodded to her and gave her a slight wave before he continued to set up the outdoor portion of the cafe. Morning in Ponyville shimmered spectacularly as shops were being set up and she could see the shining community working together to get started up in the morning. They weren't very particularly organized, but they were doing pretty good working things out on their own.
The largest population here was mostly earth ponies, but it was a mixture of pegasus and unicorn in almost equal parts as well. The only place you could probably see more earth ponies then this was the bustling streets of Manehatten.
Twilight took her time traveling through town to take in the sights as she made her way to the city hall, where the mayor's office was. Entering the office, Twilight was witness to mayor finishing up a talk with a familiar if older grey and blonde pegasus who was leaning back in a chair and eating a muffin with what possibly appeared to be a smug expression. Soon the mare got up and walked to the door.
"Thank you for your time Miss Hooves and the strawberry muffin." The mayor was exasperated at how smart the mare was despite appearances, it was so hard sometimes to remember that she was one of the smartest ponies in Ponyville. At least Ditzy Do was at least more like she appeared to be and was a completely weird possibly addled pegasus at that.
"Don't mention it mayor. Hey Twilight, I'm going to introduce myself to you at the surprise party this week. Don't miss meeting me for the first time there or would it be for the third time, but first time I actually introduce myself. Since it's a younger me it would technically be my first time meeting you, hmm..." With that the confusing pegasus left the room with a thought provoking look on her face. She left behind an equally confused Twilight behind with the mayor.
Twilight wondered who that pegasus was. She knew she's seen her at her fourteenth birthday when she delivered Shining Armor's notes and that book of barrier magic, but they've barely even said anything to each other.
"I see you've met her before. She's a bit of a quirky one but she's this town's favorite mail delivery mare, I think it's all the free muffins really. Don't worry about her too much." The mayor really didn't find it odd that the pegasus just said proclaimed something as happening in the future. It wasn't like she wasn't used to the weird stuff that sometimes happened around Ponyville including the time traveling muffin loving mare. It certainly added character to the mayor's town to have a mare that can deliver a muffin to anywhere at any time, even the cake flavored muffin to Celestia's breakfast table without being caught by her guard. "Other than that your pegasus friend came by earlier, it looks like she's already taken with her job and I just gave her a small task to deal with the problem of animals ruining Ponyville's crops. She really made an impression on me when she came in with a cardinal with a bandaged wing. So what do you have to report on our stranger?"
Twilight went into explanation of Zecora and into how a lot of the towns' ponies being afraid of a single zebra sounded quite silly. They had a nice lunch and left a five bit tip, using up thirty three bits of what the mayor gave her. She even explained they had a really nice sleep over because Zecora wanted a place to stay in Ponyville for a while and she offered to let the zebra be a guest in her new home.
"My you certainly went above the call of duty on this and did everything I requested." The mayor placed ten bits on her desk and pushed them to Twilight. "I believe you deserve payment."
"What, but I thought..." Twilight slowly stopped at seeing a smile on the mayors' face.
"That was so you could take this Zecora out to lunch. The money I gave you was for that meal and I even said you could keep the change. I think you deserve payment for a job well done and I just decided to add five more bits to the payment as a bonus." The mayor thought Twilight was being too modest, she's immediately noticed a change about Ponyville the next day after Twilight met the zebra known as Zecora. The ponies of the town were less wary and scared as they moved about the streets now, despite Zecora still being in town. "Besides that cafe is a really good restaurant, especially their hay fries."
"I... thank you mayor." Twilight was a little surprised at how nice the mayor of the town was.
"Oh don't thank me yet, I still have to know what you can't do before I think of sending any more things your way. Oh and don't forget my mane coloring appointment is in a few days." The mayor knew she had an amused smile on her face, but she couldn't help it. Twilight was young and endearing.
"I'm not going to forget the appointment mayor, but what do you need to exactly know that we can't do? Even if we can't do something, we're still going to try and find some pony that can to help us do it. I don't even mind if a job is exceedingly dangerous." Because frankly, fighting food monsters at her parents or getting sucked into a comic book where Twilight faced down what became her best friend without having to resort to fighting were just the tips of the iceberg. If they had to deal with that cockatrice without Fluttershy, they would have found a way somehow. Likely by blocking the creatures petrifying gaze with a piece of cloth and then they would have released it safely away from Canterlot.
"Just tell me some of the things you aren't good at. I understand that you'll still try for a solution to any problem even if you yourself or your close friends can't solve it." The mayor was intrigued to hear what Twilight didn't have going for her.
"Well, I'm not good at dancing or so I've been told, I really think it's more of an opinion anyway. I'm not good at cooking and even my parents wouldn't let me near the kitchen and sometimes they've had the same kind of results I've had." Twilight seeing the mayor raised a hoof at her, she stopped.
"Let me guess, do you create food monsters? It seems a bit of a rare thing among unicorns to be sure, but we have a little unicorn in town that's so horrible at cooking she created an entire race of spaghetti monsters. That they were capable of reproduction is no less a scary thought, none of the ponies in this town know where the rest went after we took down quite a number of them. They were not really all too threatening, just highly annoying." The mayor remembered a little pony named Sweetie Belle's attempts at making spaghetti and hay balls; it was a horrifically messy affair even if no pony was truly hurt. "Now continue on with a few more things you aren't good at."
"And here I thought that kind of thing only happened to my family. I'm not good at handling surprises or threats very well unless I'm expecting them somewhat. I also have a slight aversion to violence and prefer to solve all my problems if not diplomatically then as peacefully as possible without hurting any pony." Twilight's life might not have been entirely quiet, but she made sure she stayed out of the way of ponies that truly disliked her.
"Okay that's about all I needed to hear. Now what kind of ad were you thinking of putting into the newspaper?" The mayor wondered if Twilight forgot about that.
"Huh? Oh right, you said you'd get us a slot in the newspaper for completing your request... I really don't want to impose that stipulation upon you mayor. You really don't have to worry about it." The look Twilight saw on her face meant otherwise.
"I'm a mare of my word I'll have you know, now tell me what kind of things you want other ponies to know about your business? How else will you pick up customers? It needs to be something with a bit of oomph to it. Maybe I can even set up a bulletin board that you or any pony can take requests here at city hall, you can do that instead of having them just come to you personally. Would it help?" The mayor really was trying to help Twilight out and she hoped the purple pony could see that. She was a good judge of character and Twilight was a good pony. Having the Ponyville community take or place jobs on a bulletin board sounds like a good idea, it was a wonder the mayor or any before her didn't think of this earlier.
"Well..." Twilight trailed off looking out a nearby window at the sky and the streets of Ponyville. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 20 | A day later...
"Twilight, how exactly did you get us into this mess?" Asking this a slightly tired and disheveled Tress slowly inhaled and then let out a long drawn out sigh. "I mean, the job was simple enough from the outset and I even thought it was cute. Now it's just gotten ridiculous."
"I know and I am really sorry about all this Tress. Still though, we haven't failed the job. It just got a little out of hoof. Are you telling me you want to disappoint that little filly that gave us this job?" Twilight sighed at the thought of whether or not they should have taken the job, that cat probably would have returned home on its own.
"You call that a little out of hoof!?" Tress yelled pointing a hoof at the problem and why they were currently stuck in a bad situation.
They were both sitting on a high up ledge on a mountainside with a white cat; below the ledge was a large five headed hydra whose heads that could almost reach them. It sat there with every one of its heads staring at them and their predicament. The left most head roared then resumed staring at the two ponies and cat just out of reach.
"How did we even climb up here so fast?" Tress ran a hoof through her mane, while looking worriedly at the hydra with her ears back and a shiver going down her spine. "Can't you do something about that thing?"
"When a pony is scared enough and or adrenaline is running through their bodies they can even outrun a full grown dragon. Whether they can even lose said dragon is the important question and a matter of stamina. In our situation..." Twilight should mention that they'd need something to distract the dragon once or twice to even fully lose one with good senses. If there was one thing every single pony in existence was good at, it was running from danger. Getting cornered like this was not as easy a situation to handle. "Yeah that's a no. I can't use magic to deter a hydra directly as they are immune to magic. Indirectly and I might just cause us to fall into its mouths with a rock slide, much less get crushed by boulders if we don't immediately get crushed in its jaws."
"So, we can do nothing at all?" Tress queried as the hydra continued to claw its legs at the wall below them trying to get high enough to get a head at them.
"From what I've read, a hydra will get bored of a prey it can't capture in approximately three hours or a prey that can get far enough away that it couldn't feasibly bother with. All we need to do is to wait until it leaves." The entire ledge shuddered; looking over the side Twilight watched the creature slam its tail into the side of the rock wall below them.
"Yeah well, hopefully it doesn't knock us and the cat down in the next two hours." Despite the calm way she stated it, Tress was not okay with the situation they were in. She was a little irate that one of the first jobs they receive that had nothing to do with the mayor went this horribly south.
"I could always teleport behind it and lead it away from you while you go to Ponyville for help." Well it was a suggestion that could work, if Twilight could get the hang of teleporting specific distances beyond twenty feet in the next few seconds.
"There is no way you are leaving me alone with this grouchy thing. All we needed to do was find the cat. After that we'd possibly take it back to the owner; I didn't even think we'd need Fluttershy for a domesticated pet issue either." Yesterday had been much nicer in Tress's opinion; she wasn't dirty, tired and or very close to death by way of giant jaw cracking her entire skeletal structure like a peanut. "We chase this cat a small distance outside of Ponyville and then wham, giant hydra out of nowhere. At least we led the thing away from Ponyville."
"Meow..." The persnickety cat added its two cents before licking the back of its paw in a dainty manner.
"You said it sister." Tress answered back amiably that this situation was quite stressful or at least she thought she was agreeing to that. She wasn't Fluttershy, she didn't speak gerbil.
"So, we have about two hours and something or so minutes before it will finally gets bored with us. Got any ideas on how to pass the time?" The way she was being glared at by both the pony and the cat, Twilight would have sworn that Tress was the owner of Opalescence. That is if Twilight didn't already know that she wasn't.
Yesterday had been interesting; Tress had learned that Zecora had knowledge of ideal ingredients for her shampoo's, body washes and other products she could make and Zecora had offered her aid freely. It was brought to her attention because Fluttershy mentioned needing Tress to mix up another batch of her 'bed of flowers' shampoo when Zecora was being introduced to the shy mare. The following discussions had led to the possibility of completing Twilight's long unsolved special formula.
Twilight had gotten an ad in the paper today and it did bring in a few interested ponies that they said they'd get back to later after taking care of the first pony who requested their help. That ponies name was Sweetie Belle; she was an adorable little unicorn with a nice voice. Apparently she may or may not have been directly responsible for her older sisters' cat running away at the mention of cooking food. Opalescence ran away because Sweetie left the door open as she was getting her cooking ingredients together or that was her story at least.
Tress and Twilight both decided to take the job since it sounded simple and they weren't willing to do anything too big or outrageous yet.
From the perspective of both ponies, they probably figured the filly unicorn that created the spaghetti monsters and Sweetie Belle were one in the same. The older sister had one very intelligent cat that knew better than to stick around when that filly cooked anything. Twilight wondered how the little filly could even horribly burn orange juice beyond recognition by just pouring it. Even Twilight wasn't so bad that pouring a drink caused it to spontaneously combustion into a glass full of fried ash.
"We'll wait it out." Twilight said meekly after a moment.
Approximately some time three hours later and finally back in Ponyville.
Tress and Twilight stumbled into town looking a little worse for wear but still pleasantly alive with the cat in tow. They were surprised to receive a crowd of ponies as a warm welcome that were thanking them for luring the hydra away from Ponyville. When they had brought up the fact that they hadn't exactly been tasked with doing what they did, the stallion from the quills and sofa decided to speak up.
"Hello I'm Mr. Davenport the owner of Quills and Sofas. Aren't you the Trouble Takers from the ad? Then what were you doing if not leading the hydra away as a job?" Well the answer the stallion received wasn't quite what any pony was expecting.
"We were tasked with finding Opal here for a filly named Sweetie Belle. We kind of ran into the hydra and we led it away from Ponyville while trying to make sure this fur ball here stayed safe." Right now Tress felt rather irritable, Twilight better treat her to some personal time after this. She had herded the cat towards Twilight; it was slippery speedy little devil even if Twilight could have feasibly incapacitated it with magic. Opal was sitting on Tress's back and moved forward to lick her cheek before sitting down again. "I wish I could throttle this cat right now."
"We managed to do the job Tress, let's just leave it at that." It wasn't easy, but Sweetie Belle had better pay them for the trouble. Twilight didn't think the filly would have the bits to pay extra for what they just went through.
"Actually we're all willing to chip in to pay you fifty bits for luring the hydra away; it was heading straight for Ponyville and it has been a while since we've had a nasty five headed one like that come anywhere near here looking for a free meal. We know there are a few three headed ones near Froggy Bottom Bog." Davenport was just glad the town wasn't assaulted. Monster attacks didn't happen often, but they did happen. Sometimes the timber wolves would attack Sweet Apple Acres and the occasional dragon lights their homes on fire, probably for some sick sense of amusement.
"After what we've been through, I'd welcome that. But all of you would have to vouch that we actually did that and you would have to pay us by acknowledging we did a job. You don't actually have to pay us at all if you don't want to." The looks on all the ponies' faces said this was not negotiable; Tress sighed in relief as at least they were getting paid for the hydra and she didn't just spend the last three hours sitting on hot stones being stared at by a big nasty five headed monstrosity with sharp teeth for ten bits. "Other than that, where can we find Sweetie Belle so we can give her older sister her cat back?"
"Oh that's easy; her older sister lives and works over at the Carousel Boutique. Now how about we hire these two girls to accept fifty bits for saving a lot of lives eh?" A lot of the ponies agreed to it. They may not have been the bravest or brightest ponies, but they sure were friendly once they stopped being wary of strangers. Twenty five ponies who ran marketplace shops gave them two bits each and the transaction was finalized, then Davenport led them towards the boutique while telling them he had some good deals on sofas and love seats if they needed them.
The idea of a love seat caused Twilights cheeks to burn; she didn't have any special pony in her life. At least they had a good furniture store to think of now. They were quickly dropped off at the dress shop and it looked to be a bit, resplendent. Yeah, that was the word for it.
Twilight looked to Tress who still had the cat resting comfortably on her back and purring.
"You know we can just walk away and keep her if you want." Twilight said in an amused tone.
"Not on your life! Or even mine for that matter!" Glaring harshly, an angry Tress was in Twilight's face with a slight green glow in her blue eyes.
"Okay, calm down Tress. I'll comb and brush your mane and tail later. Would that cheer you up?" Those were the magic words as Twilight saw the magical effect of Tress suddenly brightening up.
"I'd need to take a bath first though, being covered in several types of mud and getting all scraped up by the rapid rock climbing really does not do well for my appearance. My mane is a bit tangled, you'll take care of that anyway I'm sure, but yes I would like that very much." Tress didn't know why she was suddenly so eager now; she was just grouchy about the horrible turnout of the last commission. Then Twilight had to flip a switch in her that made it all worthwhile. She was feeling quite thirsty thinking about it now, maybe she could get some tea or maybe find some fruit juice as her throat was a parched.
Twilight noticed the sign on the door that says it was open. Well she was going to knock, but if it was business hours she may as well walk in. She walked in on a strange sight; the currently busy mare didn't turn around at the sound of a bell jingling from the door opening.
"Be with you in a minute, welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is chic, unique and magnifique. My name is Rarity and I'll assist you in a moment." The white coated mare with the royal purple mane and tail looked nice, her tail was a single loose curl and her mane was softly curled and coiffed uniquely. Her cutie mark was three beautiful gems; she probably had something to do with finding or using gems and jewels in some manner.
"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Twilight said aside to Tress, from what she saw so far Rarity was trying too hard on her beauty. Fake eyelashes, at least the application of makeup was correct but didn't look like she really needed it in the first place, her mane was unique that was to be sure but Twilight wasn't all too attracted to it strangely enough. She liked the color, but it seemed to be too meticulously styled.
"Only if I'm seeing it too, let's get paid and drop off the cat so we can just go home. I really don't want to know." Really, Tress did not want to know why Rarity was doing something so strange to her little sister who happened to be their client. Sweetie Bell had proved she could compensate for their business earlier and it was time to get paid and just leave.
"Now what can I help... you...?" Rarity stood there staring blankly at the two dirt riddled, scraped up, sweaty mares and her still rather clean cat.
Twilight simply levitated the cat from Tress's back and gently let her to the floor. Opalescence ran off to go find her food dish. Twilight seriously didn't want to ask the question that was percolating in her mind, it was better to stick to business and leave without thinking about it too hard. "That'll be ten bits." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 21 | "What?" Rarity of sound mind, well it technically wasn't sound at all at the moment. It was screaming at her to ask what happened to these two mares and to clean them up. It was also asking why the purple pony asked for ten bits.
"Sweetie Belle hired us to find your cat and to bring her back here. We just finished doing that and let me tell you, running into a five headed hydra was not something I expected to happen. Overall it still went well, it is pretty much on par with what I normally expect from my life." Well that was an easy explanation and Twilight hoped she could get her money and leave; she didn't like the strange look in Rarity's eyes.
"Yeah and the ponies at the market place agreed we did them a favor by making sure their business's didn't get closed down for a day due in part to a monster attack. Not to mention probably saved their families and friends from being eaten." Tress also got an odd look from Rarity and she was scrutinized more than Twilight was.
"You look familiar. Oh my, I'm sorry I got so distracted, come over here and let me get you two cleaned up and I can do your hair for you, now have you ever tried cutting it short like..." Rarity was cut off from her plans to style the two ponies, possibly against their will, more specifically in the middle of an idea for the dirtied blue haired mare.
"Just give us the ten bits so we can leave, we'll clean up when we get home. Maybe we can talk some other time, Rarity was it?" Seeing that the mare wasn't going to let them go without an issue judging by the determine look on her face, Twilight decided to step up her voice and deflate the other unicorn. She wasn't going to have some pony mess with their manes if they were going to be this pushy about it. "So please excuse me for saying no to your generosity, so please take it from us that we don't need your help with this issue."
"Oh and I suppose you can do a good job of it? I certainly fancy myself a good..." Rarity started only to be cut off by Tress.
"Of course she can, she's my personal stylist and she's really good at it." Tress pointed out Twilight with her hoof, she really didn't like where Rarity was trying to take this. She liked her hair the length it was and she was pretty sure Fluttershy would immediately vacate the premises at a fast pace hearing the words 'cut' and 'short' in the same sentence. If this Rarity pushed the issue then she was going down on the list of ponies Twilight didn't like and Sunset Shimmer was the only pony on said list, she was most likely trying to make a suggestion and as such Tress didn't react to what she said too badly. The purple pony in question just blushed and rubbed the back of her head causing a bit of grime to drop to the floor with a solid plop noise. "Besides she's already promised to take care of this when we get home and I really don't want her to go back on that."
"Thank you for bringing back Opal safe and sound, I'm sorry about all the trouble she caused you. I'm also sorry about my sister, she kind of gets this way upon seeing ponies being all messy. She's kind of a clean freak." Sweetie Belle came up to them after shrugging off whatever Rarity was doing with her. She had a purple and pink mane and tail that was a bit curly at the tips and no cutie mark to speak of. She deposited the ten bits before Twilight who took them. "I hope you'll help me again sometime Miss Sparkle."
"Thank you very much Sweetie Belle. Don't worry about it; we're always happy to help you if you need us. Just make sure you have enough to pay for our services if the problem is really big." Twilight turned tail to quickly exit before Rarity could try to impose on them anymore. "Come on Tress, let's go clean ourselves off."
"But..." She tried before drooping as the two exited her dress store; Rarity started to get really sad. "How could they not want my help? I'm the best fashion designer in Ponyville and I'm relatively good at hairdressing. I just wanted to lend my assistance, is that so wrong?"
"I talked with them, they recently came from Canterlot and moved into Ponyville a day or so ago, so of course they don't know who you are. I saw their ad in the newspaper and we both know Opal has been missing for a while, so I thought they could help find her and they did." Sweetie Belle thought she was the more sensible of the two sisters; well at least she wasn't a drama queen like her big sister. She pulled out that section of the newspaper she had saved from earlier that morning. "It's wrong only if you force them to do what you want and you do tend to do that to ponies you know."
"When did you get so smart Sweetie Belle?" Rarity nuzzled her little sister, addressing her before she would start reading the article over. "Canterlot you say, I really don't know much of what it's like living there and it must be so glamorous, now I have the perfect... oh right... I scared them off."
"I'm the top of my class Rarity, of course I'm smart. We're not very good at making very many friends though are we? You didn't exactly scare them; you just unsettled them by trying to order them around." Sweetie noticed Rarity wince at the thing she said about friends, she sighed. "I'm sure they'll talk to you about what it's like in Canterlot if you asked them. Twilight did offer to talk later. You haven't even read their newspaper article either and you know nothing about them or what they are like. You even started talking about cutting their manes before they even answered you about whether or not they wanted you to help them clean up."
Rarity herself only currently had the acquaintances of Applejack and Pinkie. She knew of Trixie, but she really hasn't bothered to actually mingle with her as she was more Pinkies' friend who had strange fashion sense that rubbed at Rarity the wrong way.
At least Ponyville had a suitable educational system and one that didn't focus entirely in subjects' only earth ponies would be good at either. The teacher really knew how to handle a class of pegasus, unicorn and earth ponies equally and Sweetie Belle was an excellent student even if she didn't have access to her magic yet.
Rarity finally decided to see what Sweetie Belle was talking about, as she perused the small article her eyes bugged out and she made sure to finish reading the article first before she did anything else. Rarity quickly picked up a magazine from a nearby shelf and opened to a section where Fleur De Lis is, there she was Tress Ravel and she was so unclean when she saw her. How could a mare so beautiful be okay with appearing that gruesome?
"My goodness, I had Tress Ravel in my shop and with her personal stylist no less? I think I may have just made a huge faux pas. That she would even consider being in the same room with me ever again is just..." Rarity quickly levitated her couch in and faked passing out on it; Sweetie Belle just stood by and rolled her eyes at the sight.
"You do realize their location is posted in the article and the thing says they'll welcome just about anyone right?" Watching her sister fling away the couch and dive for the article, leaving Sweetie wondering what she had just done.
"I swear that mare is weird." Tress said on the road back to the house, she continued to knock some flakes of dirt out of her mane. "Please never leave me alone with her; I don't want her to working on my mane if her first thoughts were to cut it short."
"She was probably just trying to be helpful, though she could show a little more control about suggesting things and assuming we'd actually want to go along with her. She makes dresses and it appears she likes working with her own mane a bit too much. Frankly I'm not really attracted to it and it really weird's me out." Even Tress paused at Twilight's confession that Rarity's mane wasn't attractive to her. Twilight had been attracted to all kinds of manes she even made mention to the pink pony named Pinkie's mane as being really healthy looking despite its messy appearance.
"Well I didn't see much wrong with her mane. Sure she may seem a few cats shy of being crazy, but it did look like she was good at making dresses and clothing at least. Though she seems too entirely set in her ways of just making dresses." After a pause, Tress decided to breach why Twilight didn't feel an attraction for Rarity's mane. "Still this is the first time you've shown a lack of interest in any mares' mane."
"I know, I think maybe it's too perfect a look on her or maybe it's just she styled it so meticulously that it seems like it's a wig. She has roots so that is actually her hair. Her tail on the other hoof I find rather fascinating." At least Twilight didn't seem to be missing her attraction to the tail hair or Rarity's nice clean coat, but her mane just didn't attract her.
"Oh that's a load off my mind, for a second there I thought you may have lost your sanity. So you sure it's just her mane then?" There had to be something about that mare's mane if Tress's hair loving friend saw it as uninteresting despite its unique appearance. "Maybe it's only the hairstyle you don't like?"
"Eh, could be. I'm not about to ask her to change to fit my needs though. Every pony has their own style and I know mine is the same one I've had all my life." Twilight shrugged as they came to the front door of the house.
"It's always you and your cute fringe, isn't it Radiance?" As Tress entered she noticed Twilight blush, she smiled demurely at that. Her friend was almost as adorable as Fluttershy at times, she wondered if the pegasus gave lessons.
"You're still calling me that?" As she said this, Twilight closed the door to the house. Why wouldn't Tress 'The Mane-iac' Ravel ever drop that nickname fully, she hasn't been that super hero since they exited the comic together. Was it because of her sparkled butt? Did it have to do with her name and the word radiant meaning the same thing?
Thirty minutes and a quick bath later, Tress was having her mane combed out by her best friend and she was content with the world by being fully clean once again. She'd never get over the feeling of having her mane tenderly cared for like this, especially if it was Twilight doing it. That comb could really glide through her mane and if there were any tangles Twilight would take care of it without a problem. It was almost enough to sooth her to sleep. Some of the best things in life were the simplest to Tress.
After Tress was finished she sat down in the middle of an empty room, they were really going to need to go over to Quills and Sofas to buy a couch or two sooner or later. She heard a knocking on the door, going over to it Tress opened it to see Rarity and she immediately glared.
Rarity however was staring at a clean and refreshed Tress Ravel in total awe; she gulped at the glare she was receiving. She had come over rather fast and maybe she should have come back later, but she did have a problem and she would be willing to pay for a pony to handle it for her.
"Yes, did you want something?" Tress asked after a moment of silence, her tone stayed flat and even.
"I'm here to apologize for my hasty treatment of you and your friend." She started out with a hint of fear. Rarity really felt small right now.
"If you can answer this question honestly I might accept that, why the sudden apology. I'm no pony important and neither is my friend." The sudden shocked look across her face was priceless to Tress; it only came when she claimed she wasn't important. Twilight wasn't the only one who could play detective. Obviously Rarity has read a magazine she was in and had probably thought she insulted a celebrity.
"But you're Tress Ravel, your work alongside Fleur was incredible as it was said that she would hardly work with any pony!" Even Rarity knew Fleur was the top supermodel in Canterlot and here was a pony that was praised as being just as beautiful as the famous pony she worked alongside for the most of two years. No pony knew why she quit though. Tress actually proved Fleur was possible to work with and that she had to be special if she was some pony that such a popular model would work with.
"Tress... you were working with Fleur De Lis..." The sound of Twilight's voice halted both Tress and Rarity's budding conversation. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 22 | Tress felt like a deer being shined on by flashlights, she knew she forgot something in bringing up her importance and Twilight not knowing she once worked with Fleur was one of them. It was her secret to keep so she was sure Twilight wouldn't be too harsh with her.
"Tress I'm... well actually that explains a lot. I did kind of calculate your earnings and savings to be in the range of several types of jobs that could earn you money like that. I forgive you Tress." After saying this Twilight gave Tress a great a big hug, though the other pony looked confused. "I take it that by the fact that Rarity said 'were' means you quit that to come live here with me. You had a well paying exclusive job and you just gave it up. You also didn't tell me about it because I might have asked to meet Fleur or something like that and then things might have spiraled out of control. With me being her fan and all. Still though, how did you meet Fleur and get a job with her? You must really value our friendship and that job must have meant very little to you."
"Forgive me for... you... I... wow when you put it all like that, it seems I truly don't care what kind of job I have as long as I'm at my best friends' side. I was even willing to sit on a hot stone ledge getting stared down by five dangerous maws full of teeth for minimal pay no less. It's good honest hard work though and you wouldn't choose a morally bad job for us to do." She still felt pretty bad about it, but Tress was glad that at least Twilight understood immediately and had already somewhat guessed what kind of job she had when they were in Canterlot. "It would have been boring if you weren't around and I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't have disowned me for staying with them. We really should write them and describe that hydra in great detail. I'm sure they're just happy that I'm making sure their daughter eats something once in a while that didn't come to life."
"Still though, how did you land a job with Fleur? She'd probably only work with a pony that... you befriended her didn't you?" Well that was the easiest explanation to Twilight, Fleur is a pony who didn't like others trying to change who she was and Tress wouldn't have tried that at all. In fact Fleur would have welcomed a pony who treated her like she wanted to be treated, even if she was a pony with a gloriously nice mane. "Better questions, when and where did you meet?"
"What is all this I hear in chatter, is there something the matter? The end result of the potion formula I have almost managed to make, though some testing it still may take." Zecora walked in and stopped to stare at Rarity who was looking perplexed by the zebra that walked into the room. "Is that a new guest in your house I see? For I have done you a favor after the rough times and have made some tea. It looks like the need to make extra is in store, for I see another pony coming through the door."
"I would like that very much." A battered and bruised Fluttershy closed the door behind her after entering with a slow limp.
"Fluttershy are you okay? Who did this to you?!" It wasn't only Tress that asked something like this, but she was the loudest to vocalize her distress. Fluttershy smiled sweetly at Tress.
Fluttershy's answer was to simply unfold her right wing and hold out what looked like a mummified white rabbit in it. Her wing stayed lightly wrapped around its body.
"It's okay Tress; it doesn't really hurt... ow... that much. I just had some problems with stopping the animals from ruining Ponyville's crops. This little angel had a tree fall on him and I might have gotten a little roughed up trying to help him and while stopping the other animals from causing any more problems." The shy mare noticed her purple pony friend immediately slap a hat on her head that had a red cross on it and Fluttershy sighed. Twilight wasn't going to let this go until she got a look for herself.
"Come on Fluttershy let's get you cleaned up. How's the rabbit holding up and why did you come here?" Fluttershy was led out of the room by Twilight, who had quickly forgotten about Fleur in lieu of a more pressing concern.
"My word, that poor dear looks to be having a much worse day then you were." Rarity saw the protective look on Tress's face and decided to stay quiet about any suggestions that came to mind, they were either just dress ideas or possibly a trip to the spa. She was still apparently in hot water with Tress.
"That's a friend of ours who came to Ponyville with us; we knew her dream job was rather dangerous. At least we didn't call her in for finding your cat. She may have gotten it worse than us today, but she certainly wasn't in nearly as much danger as we were." She knew she couldn't protect Fluttershy from everything, even then Tress still felt bad that her friend was injured like that. No pony could be everywhere at once.
Sitting down to tea was a nice calming affair; Zecora went and brewed extra for everyone while Twilight was busy looking over Fluttershy. Fluttershy only had a sprained hoof, a few light cuts and plenty of swollen bruises across her entire body. The rabbit was doing much worse than Fluttershy was, it was a surprise that it was still alive and that Fluttershy managed to save it.
"Is there another reason other than apologizing to someone you think is a celebrity that you're even still here? Because I'm not a famous celebrity Rarity, I just worked with the nicest one I've ever met. She's just a pony like the rest of us, so drop the pedestal bit already." Taking a sip of tea, Tress gave Rarity a sharp look. "Because I truly doubt you're still here for business and even need the help of the Trouble Takers."
"I just wanted to come ask you a few things about Canterlot. What the city is like and how glamorous it is. Maybe also learn something about the ponies I insulted with my poor tact along the way." Well Rarity hoped she could learn something from this. She may have caused even more trouble by coming to the Trouble Takers home. How could a pony as glamorous as Tress currently appeared to be just walk away from all that and such a city as Canterlot? That wasn't the only thing, how could she be okay with getting covered in dirt and grime for less money then she made while in Canterlot?
What Rarity failed to understand was that Tress cared about having friends more than having a job or a well paying business. If she had just taken a step back and saw what Tress had left behind, then she would probably make the same decisions.
"Well... Canterlot is not as glamorous as it appears to be. Not saying the city isn't beautiful. It's just that some of the ponies that live there and the situations I got into growing up can really create a colorful opinion of it all. I didn't have the best childhood." One of those situations led to her having a best friend, so Twilight wasn't that put off by growing up in a mostly friendless place.
"Yeah, if you can get over the noble unicorns thinking less of others they think beneath them, when food comes to life and starts attacking you, every pony trying to change who you are to fit their world views, weird magical problems happening around every corner, having cockatrices randomly appear in your toilets and your house suddenly becoming haunted by ghosts. Well then Canterlot certainly is a shining example of a life that every single pony in the world can lead." Tress's view on things was definitely colored, she had seen some weird things there and she was one of the weirdest things to happen to Twilight. "I still think the demonic fruitcake last Hearths Warming was something I'd rather not relive."
Rarity looked aghast at both of them; she thought Canterlot would have more stories of wonder, not what sounded like a three ring circus. Also ghosts existed, she'd find it hard to believe if Twilight and Fluttershy weren't vouching for Tress's story. They even had a group picture with a smiling benign poltergeist no less.
"I grew up in a really weird neighborhood. I think there was even an alicorn as a babysitter in the area, but yes Canterlot is just like any other place. It all really depends on where and how you look at things. You wouldn't believe it, but Fluttershy lived there and was homeless for three years before my parents took her in during the most of the last two years. She's seen more things on the streets then even I possibly have. Speaking of, how are you feeling Fluttershy?" The ponies turned to the shy mare fussing over the injured rabbit, Twilight felt sad about the injuries her and the rabbit incurred.
Rarity thought Fluttershy could become a supermodel as well, she looked better when she hasn't been roughed up by a lot of apparently small animals. She however was doing what she loved and Rarity could start understanding why these ponies and zebra were happy. Fluttershy looked so caring, it kind of melted Rarity's heart how adorable the darling pegasus was.
"I'm okay I think, something a nice little nap would help. I just hope I can nurse him back to health." Every pony and the one zebra blushed as Fluttershy's adorability shot through the roof as she nuzzled the rabbit causing its nose to wiggle as it stirred in its slumber.
"Our friend Fluttershy is quite the sweet sight; it feels like my heart will explode or that it very well might." The shy mare had quite the charm about her and Zecora wasn't the only one that had that thought.
"Well I guess not everything that shines is beautiful and can even be gaudy. I do someday dream of being the best fashion designer in the world. If not that, then I just want to be a really good one." After a moment of silence, Rarity blushed at the stares she was receiving. She had just told them her dreams without a second thought.
"I've somewhat been in your place before, all business and with no social life or fun makes for a dull and lonely pony Rarity. It seems you have a problem earning friends Rarity and if you don't mind Twilight, I'll take on this trouble for free." Tress nodded to Twilight, Twilight nodded back with a smile in understanding. "Hello my name is Tress Ravel and I would like to get to know you. Is making clothing your special talent? I'm really good at making body wash, shampoo and some other beauty products. Personally I'm not really interested in dresses, but I might be willing to give at least one dress a try."
"Well no, my special talent came about in a weird way. My horn kind of went crazy and dragged me across hills, grassy plains and over plenty of places until I stopped at a big... ugly... rock..." Rarity looked down at her tea, thinking on how Tress finally introduced herself formally. Why did her tone change so suddenly? Why was Tress not being as hostile to her anymore?
The rock her horn had dragged her to had looked ugly on the outside, but on the inside however... it was filled with beauty. A slight spark happened inside Rarity's mind. Maybe, maybe coming here to apologize was just the first step to something better.
"That rock wasn't truly ugly now that I think of it; it was just sitting there on a cliffs edge. It was actually quite beautiful on the inside when exploding rainbow wave caused it to crack open; it had so many gems and jewels. My special talent is finding the beauty in things, that and I have a powerful gem finding spell that helps me locate gems in the ground. It's what dragged me all the way out there to that rock in the first place." Slowly a look of understanding passed Rarity's face. "Hello my name is Rarity, I'm glad to make your acquaintance. I happen to like dresses and while I'm sad that you don't have as much an interest in them, I do have an interest in what kind of shampoo's you make. Your mane is quite beautiful if I must say so."
"Good, now try not to get too ahead of yourself and you'll find yourself being drawn into our growing group of friends." Tress plastered a mirth filled smile on her face. "Maybe we can even get you dirty once in a while."
"Yes, we'll certainly have to see about that." Rarity agreed immediately, looking to all the ponies and zebra at the table. A smile spread onto her face; however a frown came to her face when she noticed Fluttershy and Twilight looking at her strangely.
"Did you earn your cutie mark because of the exploding rainbow wave?" Fluttershy felt a bit mystified at the revelation, Twilight was thinking the same thing she probably was. Rainbow Dash's name was brought up again and a conversation started, Rarity soon found a best friend in Fluttershy. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 23 | The next day...
Tress looked up to the sky from the window; it was almost way too early in the morning to be awake at this hour. A job was a job though, no matter the time you needed to wake up for it. Twilight has yet to be hired out to deal with mane care. She was already talking deals with shampoo and some of her products with Rarity and things were looking up. Zecora was even close to finishing Twilight's pet project, a project that even she had a hoof in and couldn't finish. What Tress did was tighten up the formulas composition and potency if it did indeed work as intended.
"Twilight rise and shine, it's time to go and assist in the request we got from the Apple family." Looking at the zonked out unicorn, Tress decided a bit of strategy would wake her friend up. She closed her eyes and said her next statement in a sing song voice. "They might give us honeyed cider at half price if we make a good effort in helping them."
Grapes may be Twilight's favorite fruit, but it wasn't her favorite drink. Her favorite drink was another thing entirely. Which is why Smart, Zecora, Barb and even Tress suddenly found themselves in the living room dazed and confused with a peppy looking Twilight bouncing from hoof to hoof.
"Well come on then Tress what are you waiting around for slowpoke, we can take baths in the evening we're going to be doing dirty work all day anyway. Here Barb you can use this to get yourself something nice for lunch today. Zecora sorry for pulling you out of bed but we're going to the Sweet Apple Acres farm if you need us for anything. Smart make sure Barb doesn't use any destructive spells and try to teach her to send me letters with her magic. Good? Okay let's go!" A giddy Twilight was out the door levitating a confused Tress along with her.
"Say Twilight, can I make some quick requests before we get there?" The purple unicorn paused and they were already three fourths of the way there, Tress slowly rolled her eyes. "My first one is that you please put me down and second that you help me tie my mane into a ponytail so that I can keep my hair out my face while I work."
After a moment Twilight blinked and then her face took on a sheepish grin, she placed her friend down. Tress had a slightly bored look on her face as she was set down standing on her four hooves. Twilight magically lifted Tress's mane gave it a small tug to pull it taut and wrapped a band around it so that it was held in place and out of her face.
"Thank you." Tress continued on towards Sweet Apple Acres with Twilight in tow. "So who was it that approached you about needing help this time?"
"A stallion named Big Mac, apparently they are getting something called a zap apple harvest in and they needed some extra help. Our job is just simply to do a hard day's work, nothing bad could possibly happen to either of us." After a moment Twilight thought she should let the other horseshoe drop. "I also can't use my magic to pick these apples so we're going to need to do it the earth pony way, which isn't a problem for you since you're already physically fit. Just don't say anything about rabbits; you know the tree that fell on that rabbit that Fluttershy had yesterday might have been from this farm."
"So are you completely sure that nothing can go horribly wrong today." It wasn't like Tress was trying to call her friend into question, but she was a walking magical incident waiting to happen.
"Well nothing is ever truly set in stone Tress, so when and where did you meet Fleur again?" Noticing her friends' wince, Twilight had a devious smirk. Had Tress truly thought she had forgotten that? She doesn't forget things easily, even when they were worried about Fluttershy and the rabbit that had gotten into an accident.
"You're just going to keep coming back to that all day aren't you? We've even barely gotten started and already my dear sweet friend is asking me to meet with my other dear friend because she has a crush on their mane." Tress raised the back of her right hoof to her head and leaned her neck back slightly.
"Is it really so hard for you to give me an answer without all the dramatics Tress?" Twilight said flatly as she tapped a hoof in the dirt when they stopped at a gate.
On the other side of the gate a big red stallion with an orange mane and tail named Big Mac moseyed up to them and gave a soft smile. Well the Trouble Takers were here and they were quite early, earlier then he would have expected of city ponies anyway. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to hire them after all.
"Depends, is this the guy that needed the extra hooves?" Tress pointed a hoof at Big Mac.
"Yep that's him. Hello again sir, you said you needed us to help you with something?" This seemed like an easy if long and arduous job with little danger to their very lives and Twilight didn't mind that one bit. Now it was just the idea of working themselves to exhaustion that was a little hard to swallow. Twilight wouldn't bother worrying about it, so she couldn't magic the apples; no pony said she couldn't magic the things around the apples.
"Yup, we just needed a few extra hooves." He wasn't particularly talkative, he thought the purple mare was cute and the pink one with the blue mane was quite beautiful. He was a gentle stallion and would never do anything untoward, even then he was pretty smart for a farm worker despite his general appearance and personality would belie.
"Right we're ready to help in any way we can. This looks like a really good plantation; I'm guessing your biggest production here is apples?" For her trouble Twilight only received a nod from the stallion, she looked around the orchard and couldn't believe how vast it was.
Tress trotted alongside Twilight looking at the odd rainbow colored apples in the trees that looked like they were teeming with energy, she had never seen apples like those before. She has heard of zap apple jam, but never really a zap apple harvest until Twilight told her. Seeing the size of the fields and the endless amount of trees the task before them was appearing quite daunting. Well nothing in life was ever said to be easy.
"Land sakes Big Mac, who are these two?" A blonde mare with her mane and tail tied back wearing a rather fetching Stetson came up to them right quick, her coat was orange and she had three apples for a cutie mark.
"We're here about helping you with the zap apple harvest, we're some extra hooves and I'd like to believe we work well with others. I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is my best friend Tress Ravel." Twilight introduced herself and then her slightly taller friend while shaking hooves with the mare. Her mane smelled of cinnamon and Twilight really liked that.
"Well I'm Applejack. You're them Trouble Takers fellers from the newspaper huh? Well if you can put in a good days hard work around here without complaint, I might actually have reason to hire you again. From what I'm seeing, it looks like you're just like Rarity when it comes to being prissy Tress, no offense meant as I don't rightly know you too well. As for you Twilight, you do know that I'll ask you to not use magic on our apples and that it isn't a good idea to do so especially on zap apples right?" Applejack saw determination in both their eyes within moments.
"Oh no, I'll like, get covered in mud and junk, then chip a hoof. Oh why am I even here in the first place working for a brutal stallion of a mare." The surprisingly sarcastic reprisal finally ended with a smile, Tress was ready to finish her statement off. "Do your worst, I can handle a hard day of work. Pain and suffering is nothing new to me. Especially after that incident I had with a fruitcake."
"You're never going to let that demonic fruitcake thing go are you Tress? Anyway I assure you I've read up on zap apples and I know better than to use magic directly on them; however this does not mean I can't indirectly affect things around them. If you need me to move heavy basket loads or just doing simple chores I can live with that. I'm not just going to stand around and watch my friend toil away all day when we both came here to do work." Apparently what Twilight said seemed to earn some respect from this Applejack character. Her blonde mane was still quite nice despite being a bit rustic in style and slightly dusty.
"Now that's what I like to hear! Come on; let me tell you what you'll be doing here." Leading the two ponies over to a wagon and some baskets, Applejack started talking about how they needed to move the zap apples back to the house and quickly.
The process with which the zap apples form is a bit of a magical mystery, but the zap apples last only for a short while and needed to be picked quickly. Tress and Twilight had to help set up baskets below as many of the zap apple trees as they could. A part of their job would require Tress to get a crash course in bucking, which is if she could even buck hard enough to get the apples to fall correctly. There was a snag when it came to Applejack mentioning Twilight and cooking though.
"Twilight can you assist Granny Smith in making the jam?" Noticing the unicorn giving her a fearful look, Applejack was rightfully confused by her apprehension.
"That's not a good idea Applejack, Twilight is so horrible at cooking she could destroy Sweet Apple Acres even being near someone who is a good cook by trying to assist them. So that's probably not a good idea, we'll have her move the wagon and the baskets around. She'd be able to do that for long periods of time using magic. With her constantly going back and forth we can focus more on getting the apples." Tress's mind started clicking several ideas into place. "We'll start with the zap apple trees furthest from the home and work our way towards it. That way our return trips get shorter as we go along, we won't have to go as far out to get the closer zap apples. When we're tired that will help a lot for finishing things up."
"Sounds like a right good simple plan there sugar cube, never would of thought of that myself. I guess Apple Bloom can help Granny Smith here after she's done with her chores. Come on every pony let's get to bucking them tree's." Applejack reared up and let out a yell as she went to the wagon to load it up with baskets.
Twilight quickly aided in loading up the wagon while Applejack gave them directions about moving around the farm as they prepped for the long day ahead. Applejack even showed Tress how to buck a regular apple tree and then asked Tress to try it herself. The result matched Applejacks causing her to be a bit flabbergasted by the sight.
"A pegasus would supposedly be a master of intent, a unicorn supposedly a master of focus, but if there is one thing we earth ponies have in our magical abilities, its raw natural pony power." That and Tress worked her internal magic every once in a while to control her mane or tail. It really helped her balance her kick and the force she could put into it. She could easily match Applejacks impressive feat only because she was paying attention to how much force the farm pony was putting out. She guessed she would have to adjust for every tree she came across, but it couldn't have been that hard right?
"I think I may have spoken too soon Tress. That was pretty impressive for a first timer prissy city girl, but can you do that again and many more times in a row? You both have to go the entire day you know and honestly, I don't really think you two will be as much help as you think you can be." Applejack knew she just sounded so smug, it seemed like Tress had a competitive edge to her and she liked that in a mare. "We'll see how proud you are after you have bucked at least fifteen trees with as much force."
"Oh this is going to be fun." Sardonically it may be said, but Tress thought it no less true.
"Yup." Big Mac said as he walked by.
"Come on Tress, these are good friendly ponies. Besides, I still need to ask Applejack if they sell that kind of cider." Her tongue slid its way out of her mouth with a bit of drool, it was as if Twilight couldn't help but imagine that tasty cider.
"It's good to see you have your priorities straight Radiance." Sighing the soft pink coated mare started out towards the field of apple trees. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 24 | Tress wiped her brow with a hoof, it was nearly lunchtime and she was already downright exhausted. She still kept up with Applejack and Big Mac, it was clearly obvious they had more stamina then even she did as they weren't tiring nearly as badly. She might not have been out of shape, but she wasn't nearly as fit as those two were.
Speaking of tired, Twilight's horn was glowing red hot as she magically pushed the wagon back towards the homestead. Twilight had a lot of magic, but her body and horn could only take so much channeling before giving out. She was moving a lot of baskets filled to the brim and beyond with zap apples, getting as many of the apples back to the home as quickly as she possibly could.
"Okay Tress, you can stop. It's about time for us to be getting to lunch. You're looking mighty tired their partner. I'm actually surprised you've lasted this long." Applejack sauntered on past Tress following in Twilight's wake; she turned to her older brother and took notice of what part of Apple Acres they were in. "Big Mac, you might want to get the next load of zap apples, we're stopping for lunch. Poor Twilight doesn't look like she can take much more of this! Heavens to Betsy, we're way ahead of schedule if we're at this point in the orchard. We might not miss any zap apples at all this time."
Upon reaching the home and offloading the apples, Twilight stopped using her magic as her head was aching fiercely. Her horn was sizzling; it felt like it was almost catching on fire. She had never worked her magic like this before. A few seconds of resting on the ground a green spark of magic zipped up to her and exploded into a roll of parchment. Twilight smiled, that was her daughter that just performed a magic messaging spell. She stayed lying on the ground where she was and read it by hoof.
Tress was dripping with sweat as she walked over to a place near the house and planted her plot on a nearby bench. She looked to the well, the nearby corn crop, a tired Twilight reading something and Applejack also meandering in looking only slightly tired. How did that mare do this every day?
"I may have been a bit wrong about you two, you've helped us a ton. Though I see that you're both wearing out mighty quick like and it's just about time to get started on the vittles anyway. You two rest a spell, you really deserve it." Applejack was about to walk off only to be stopped when Tress poked her. "Yes, do you need something sugar cube?"
"Can I try one of these zap apples?" If Tress was going to be getting them out of the trees for the rest of the day, she would at least want to try one. She heard Twilight making some sound from her position on the ground as Big Mac went out to pick up one last haul before lunch. Tress saw the hangdog expression on a tired Twilight's face. "Oh and do you make cider?"
"Well sure as an apple farm we do, we make some of the greatest cider using the oldest of methods. Though are you sure you can handle a zap apple? Those things really pack quite a kick to the jaw and I know because I've tried one myself out of curiosity." Applejack had been jolted so hard by the fantastic taste of an unrefined zap apple before, she wasn't sure if Tress could handle it but she held one out to her all the same.
"Do you make specialty cider, such as honeyed cider?" Tress was worried when Applejack gave her an odd look as she took the rainbow colored apple in hoof.
"How would even you know about cider like that?" It wasn't a big secret, it was just a really unique specialty item that was hard to make perfectly.
"A honey festival if you would believe it and my friend is a bit addicted to the stuff." It wasn't a joke either, one could easily see that the purple pony loved the stuff and Tress liked it well enough too. Tress preferred the taste of cranberries and pomegranate juice mixed together for a drink, she liked something more tart personally.
"Well something like that festival of yours would serve that stuff, its specialty cider though. I wouldn't have problems making some of that for y'all." Applejack was witness to a hoof being thrown in the air from the ground with a small gasp of victory; she snickered at Twilight's joyous reaction despite how tired she looked.
"Speaking of doing something for someone else, I think Twilight needs to dunk her horn in a bucket of water." Something was slowly etched into the dirt by the mare on the ground, Tress blinked. "Make that ice water, she'd know better than I would about what she needs for her horn at the moment. Anyway time to try one of these things out."
Applejack stuck around to see the look on Tress's face when she took her first bite out of the zap apple; they say the first bite of any apple was the best. It was kind of the opposite with a zap apple, the first bite was the most awkward and the taste only got better the more you eat it.
Eyeing the apple with some suspicion, Tress decided to just bite down on it. It tasted pretty darn good and she couldn't understand why Applejack said it had a kick to it, sure it was tangy but it wasn't anywhere near overboard on her taste buds.
"Um Tress, are you feeling okay there girl?" Applejack didn't understand, the apple should have really given her quite a shock. Not that the farmer hadn't gotten used to the taste of zap apples, it's just the first bite was always a bit of a thing to handle and quite a rush for first timers.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Tress just took another bite of the apple, its taste only got better after the first bite. She silently considered how awesome the magical rainbow apples tasted. "Hey Twilight you got to try one these, they taste pretty good. You wouldn't mind if I had a few more of these things right?"
"Not at all, we never get all the zap apples harvested on time and this might be the first time it happens. Go on and have a few more Tress. I'm going to get that ice water for Twilight now." It was strange to the farmer that Tress didn't get the shock of her life eating that apple. Applejack knew that they were called zap apples for a reason. The reason was you get zapped for eating one without it being processed or having gotten used to the jolt from eating them. It usually tended to cause a pony to jump and their hair to stand on end. Tress had to be some kind of mare to handle a zap apple without reacting to its special properties.
Within a minute Applejack had placed a bucket of ice water next to Twilight and the unicorn immediately drove her face into it. Steam immediately started to rise from the bucket. Walking over to the zap apples Applejack picked one out and bit into it. She liked the jolt and was used to it, it was as strong a rush of energy as ever. She quickly finished off her zap apple and then left to go help make lunch. The zap apples certainly weren't weakening in their strength at all and were just the same as they always were.
Twilight finally pulled her head from the bucket of cold water, half of which evaporated, some of which she drunk and the last bit of it sat at the bottom. She upended the bucket into her mouth and drank the last of the water not caring at all what it might taste like.
"Better?" Tress asked after a moment and Twilight nodded to her while grimacing.
"Much, thank you." Twilight stretched out her spine with an audible pop and made her way over to Tress. She levitated one of the apples they've been harvesting to her and looked it over. Her head had a slight migraine from doing even that much. "Hmm... how do they taste?"
"Well they're not spicy if that's what you're asking, it's nothing like the liquid rainbow topping your father uses for some of his cooking. It's got a really nice tang to it though." Innocently enough Tress bit into a second zap apple, she really liked this fruit. Too bad it was a rare seasonal randomly occurring phenomenon of deliciousness.
Twilight bit into her apple and felt a huge jolt go through her body; it was like she had been hit by a bolt of lightning or had consumed a lot of coffee too fast. Eating more of it, the second bite tasted a lot better than the first and she continued on to finish the apple. It was strange that an apple could get better while you're eating it, but that's probably the effect of it being a magical fruit. That first bite nearly knocked out her ability to stay standing and her hair was slightly frazzled. How had Tress handled eating a second one if it had that much of a first kick to it?
"You could have warned me that these things had quite a kick to them on the first bite Tress." Now Twilight had to wonder why her friend look confused. The zap of the apple was something you couldn't have ignored, unless you were completely used to it and even enjoyed it. This was Tress's first time eating zap apples, something was odd about this but Twilight didn't think too much of it.
"They really don't have that much of a kick to them, the first bite is a bit strong but otherwise it's really good." Tress even bit into a third one and didn't look like she even got jolted by the apple. "I know where we're buying all our apples from now on."
"Eeyup." Big Mac just sauntered on by leaving behind the wagon that needed to be unloaded.
Lunch was a nice thing for them or at least Twilight thought it was. The food didn't rise up and try to kill everyone, which was Twilight's definition of nice. That and the food tasted great, the Apples certainly knew how to cook and with more ingredients then their namesakes would imply. The peach cobbler was fulfilling in many ways, the carrot soup also wasn't anything to sneeze at. They weren't allowed to leave the table until they tasted the apple pie; it was a matter of pride for the Apple family.
They were introduced to a little red haired filly with a similar coat color to Fluttershy; her defining feature was a pink bow in her mane. She was an active and happy little filly with no cutie mark, kind of reminded them of Sweetie Belle somewhat. She was scampering around and even asking Twilight about random things, the filly had spent most of her life around other earth ponies and has hardly ever interacted with a unicorn or pegasus before. Her name was Apple Bloom, a name the two helpers had heard earlier but really hadn't asked about.
Twilight just knew she and Tress would be back to work real soon, they were enjoying the time to relax from all the back breaking work. It might just be horn breaking as well in her case, she had a slight headache. At least the distance she would have to travel through the orchard was a lot smaller now.
It was a long day already; it was only going to keep getting longer as the small break wasn't enough for either Tress or Twilight to return to full strength. The Apple's were a hardy family that worked hard and ran an entire orchard of this incredible size on their own and that wasn't the only thing they ran. They had fields to plow, other crops to grow, chickens for eggs, fertilizer from the pigs they had, milk from the cows. Anything other than apples was a small side thing as this family was thoroughly in the business of growing apples.
They really hadn't bothered to ask about it at lunch because it was readily apparent to them as the extra hooves. Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom didn't have their parents and Granny Smith was the closest thing to one for all of them. That old mare had to have seen many things and knows many a wondrous tale to share. Applejack and Big Mac were in the prime of their youths, strong and healthy. Apple Bloom likely didn't have her parents growing up and mostly looked to her older siblings and grandmother as surrogates.
"Ready to get going again ladies, we still got work to do so get those hooves a moving." Applejack looked like she did that morning, perfectly fine and ready to go another round with the special apple harvest.
"By all that is good with the world, we're working with a pair of tireless maniacs!" This caused a fit of laughter from every pony within hearing range. Tress was receiving a particularly unusual look from a giggling Twilight as she set out on her own through the trees. Twilight obviously found it humorous for a different reason and Tress knew it had to do with her calling other ponies' maniacs, especially when given the context of their lives thus far.
As she walked along through the orchard, Tress felt a strange sensation going through her body. She shrugged off the strange feelings, her stomach was probably just digesting those zap apples and all the other stuff she ate. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 25 | The work was finished and they got a nice bonus since the Apple family was making a lot more money on getting a full zap apple harvest in. A basket full of zap apples to eat, a jar of zap apple jam, a hundred bits and being called an honorary family member was not a bad thing for a hard day's work. Applejack liked them and because of that they made friends with the entire family.
In all it had been a rather tiring day for Tress and Twilight, who were making their way home. It was no surprise that Applejack and Big Mac were starting in on harvesting a few regular apples as they left; they were like well oiled machines.
"Well that wasn't too bad for a day of hard work." Despite this Twilight let out of a tired huff, she was tired beyond all reason and looking behind her she could see Tress munching on another zap apple from the basket they were bringing with them. They promised they'd return the basket and jar when they were finished with them.
"Yeah and these apples are really good too." Tress walked along smiling, the apples were rather strangely delectable to her. She still couldn't understand what Twilight or Applejack meant about them being shocking on their first bite.
"Tress, don't overdo it on eating those." Seeing that she got through to her friend, Twilight continued onward to the house.
"Fine, but still one a day of those things may even keep two doctors away." This only got Tress a worried look from Twilight.
"Or you might need a hospital visit with how many of those things you've had before we left." How could the mare eat ten of them in total thus far without a single flinch? Twilight was pretty sure something was up with Tress and her sudden taste for zap apples, but so far nothing bad had come of it.
Tress walked up to the front door of the house and knocked on it; Zecora opened it up and let them in. The zebra took a keen interest in the zap apples.
"Are those what I think they are before my eyes, those zap apples have my interest on the rise. If it is not too much to ask, can I try one and maybe distill some in a flask?" This was a first for Zecora, since she had never had the chance to study zap apples before.
"Yes, but watch that first bite, it's quite shocking. We got a basket full of them and some jam for doing a good job." Twilight wondered how well they'd do on their next job. She quickly realized that she and Tress both needed baths badly, especially from the way Zecora reacted when she sniffed the air around them.
"Among you two I smell sweat and toil; you both need a hot bath possibly with the water close to boil." The zebra was enjoying her time here in her friend's house; she'd only be staying a few more days at the most before heading back to her home in the forest. Taking a zap apple from the basket Zecora sniffed it a bit. With a bite that caused her Mohawk to spread out slightly, she smiled at the taste. "That is quite an interesting kick, it certainly does a neat trick."
"I'm hitting the bath first Twilight, you go have a talk with Barb. you really haven't spent too much time with her in the last two days. I'll make sure to save some warm water for you." Tress was immediately off and ready to wash off the smell of a hard day of work. She made sure to first store away the zap apples and the jar of jam.
Taking the band out of her hair, her mane swiftly fell back into place as Tress flicked her head back and forth to make sure it settled just right while looking at herself in the mirror. After that she started running some bath water while pulling out her own personal shampoo and body wash. She made this stuff with her own hooves and it was her own particular brand that smelled faintly of blueberries, she didn't stick to one particular smell all the time and she liked to mix it up once in a while. Twilight tended to notice whenever she did and would usually ask about it.
Stepping out of the bath feeling quite refreshed, Tress quickly brushed out her mane while calling for Twilight to take to the tub next. After Twilight finished her bath, getting rid of the soreness she felt throughout her body, it was soon time for a simple late dinner.
Dinner had been made by a combination of Tress and Zecora working together and it was simply a lot of tossed salad with an alchemically made dressing that tasted rather good, along with this was lots of bread slathered with melted cheese. Everything after that turned into a quiet affair for the four of beings living in the house as they were all off doing their own personal things before heading to bed.
Zecora was playing some with chemicals, some bubbled and others fizzed but they were mostly non volatile stuff. Tress personally sat in a corner reading a Daring Do book; it was an epic story with plenty of adventure and not to mention a good look into some of what went on in griffon culture. Barb was looking to be halfway into a comic book with Smart sitting on her left shoulder reading along emphasizing the action dramatically going on in the pages out loud. Twilight herself was reading another Mane Fancy magazine with a slight blush adorning her cheeks.
Before long they were brushing their teeth together and then they all slowly started heading their separate ways for their own bedrooms.
"What a day, right Tress?" Twilight was ready to fall into a nice peaceful sleep after all the grueling work.
"You said it, makes me wonder what we'll get up to tomorrow." Tress yawned and made for her own room.
Twilight shrugged as she marched straight towards the bed, she physically pulled the purple blanket with her cutie mark on it aside with a hoof instead of using her currently abused horn. Twilight slid calmly into bed and quickly fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day...
Twilight woke up and yawned; she stretched out and felt great getting out of bed. She felt like today was going to be a great day. The sun was shining and things outside looked more vibrant than usual. Tress was even greeting her as she walked into the living room from a bath she didn't remember taking.
"Hey Twilight, isn't everything so great today? Look at all the happy birds, oh and maybe I'll get a cat like Opal, Fluttershy is finding ponies to take some of the animals off her hooves as pets." Okay now Twilight knew something was wrong, there was no way Tress could be this perky especially after yesterday. Twilight walked around the couch and wondered if it was because of the zap apples she ate.
"Are you feeling alright Tress, you're a lot perkier than normal." Her friend just continued to stare at her with a beaming smile that Twilight felt was entirely off. There wasn't something right here, everything felt a bit... strange.
"Of course I'm fine. I'm feeling just quite dandy today. Besides we've got a few ponies who'd like you to do their manes waiting in the kitchen. I'm working on some new shampoo at the moment, I'm sure you can take care of things yourself." Tress then trotted off with a skip in her step.
Walking into the kitchen Twilight couldn't help but feel very weird about how Tress was acting, in the kitchen she saw Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack sitting at the table chatting merrily and they all stopped once Twilight walked in.
"Hello there Twilight darling, it's so good of you to finally join us on this rather sunny morning." Rarity smiled at her and then touched the curled part of her mane causing it to bounce. "We all just came over to have you work with our manes. You know, help out with your business and stuff."
"Well thank you, but are you sure all of you want me to do this?" They all nodded to Twilight who still felt something was badly off about this situation. Everything looked perfectly fine though, well as far as she could tell and that's why the situation seemed so upsetting to her sensibilities. "How early did you exactly wake up to get here Fluttershy? Also when did you meet Applejack?"
"Oh... um... I've met Applejack as she's kind of my next door neighbor. We introduced ourselves to each other recently and Rarity came here with us when she found out we were coming to see you. It isn't that early Twilight; it's about nine now so you must have slept in from all the work you did yesterday. You must have been so tired. I've already taken care of all my animals today if you were wondering." Fluttershy looked normal; Applejack looked normal and even Rarity looked perfectly fine. Something was most definitely not fine with what Fluttershy just said, though Twilight wasn't about to call her out on it just yet though.
"So where do you plan to do all your work dear? Certainly not here in the kitchen I hope." Well Rarity did have a point; Twilight would have to look into it later once she could figure out what she felt was wrong with everything and why Fluttershy would be lying to her.
"No I'll take each of you one at a time in the bathroom, so who goes first." Fluttershy immediately raised her hoof in an excited manner; Twilight's suspicions only grew from there. There was no way Fluttershy was this forward or neglectful if she was right about something being horribly wrong here.
"Okay if you will follow me Fluttershy." Twilight led Fluttershy up to the bathroom. "What exactly did you want me to do with your mane since you're paying me for a job I haven't been getting much acknowledgment in doing?"
"Well... I thought you could comb and brush my mane like you always do, maybe you could also wash it?" Fluttershy looked so innocent it was almost hard for Twilight to be suspicious of her nature.
"Well alright then. Let's just wet your mane with the overhead shower, I really should see some contractors about getting a small salon area added on to the house." Twilight made a mental note to actually do this when she figured out what was up with everything going on around her. She carefully leaned Fluttershy back so that half her body was hanging over the tub and her beautiful long flowing straight silken pink mane was pooling slightly in the big basin. "Now close your eyes."
Turning on the shower head, Twilight got Fluttershy's mane slightly damp with a light spray of water before she shut it off and the shy mare cooed slightly at the feeling. Twilight actually felt the water, but still wasn't sure about things.
"What kind of smell would you like for your mane and tail Fluttershy?" Well this was a good way to test the waters of what was wrong, that is if Twilight wasn't just being ridiculously paranoid.
"I like my mane to smell of flowers please, any kind will do. Maybe you have the bed of flowers special?" Well that is something That Fluttershy would be expected to say, if this was in fact Fluttershy.
Twilight continued to run her hooves through Fluttershy's mane before levitating a shampoo bottle to her. She didn't bother to read the label and just started to lather what looked like her friends mane, everything that was going on around her was highly suspect since she woke up. She liked the feel and weight of Fluttershy's beautiful mane and if she weren't so wary of her surroundings she might have even bothered to enjoy this.
After she finished lathering up Fluttershy, she levitated her so the shower head would rinse the full length of her wondrous mane. After that she set Fluttershy down so that her rear end was sitting over the tub and her tail was now the thing pooling in it.
After performing the same actions for her tail, Twilight went to grab a comb and brush. She got some scissors as well, but she laid the shears aside nearby for a moment and made a good mental note of where they were. Walking up to Fluttershy she noted that her mane covered her right eye and that she was now looking at her with a faint seductive smile, it was a bit creepy to Twilight that she found this attractive.
"So do you want me to just comb and brush you Fluttershy or did you want me to do something else for you." Twilight felt very weird, as if the look of wanting in Fluttershy's eyes was abnormal beyond all recognition.
"Oh my yes, I want you to not struggle when our mistress starts to take over. If you don't mind us taking over that is." Fluttershy's mane stretched out and wrapped around Twilight's front left hoof before she could react to it.
Twilight quickly levitated the scissors, swung them around and cut off a massive amount of hair from Fluttershy's mane with a single quick swipe. The mass of beautiful hair fell to the floor limply freeing up her hoof and now Twilight could see her friends other eye; Fluttershy's right eye was green with a red pupil.
"Oh my, mistress Mane-iac isn't going to be pleased that you found out so soon. Don't worry though, once she gets her mind control serum into you as well, we'll all have you to help look after our manes." Now Fluttershy's other eye turned green and red and she chuckled darkly as her mane grew back to its original length almost immediately, she started to slowly approach. "You know I don't like scissors Twilight, you made me very sad when you just cut my mane short like that. Now please put those away and join our mistress, she would like having you at her side. So don't resist and maybe I'll even give you a kiss." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 26 | Twilight should have leapt forward and into immediate action, well that's what she would have done if she were a complete idiot. Obviously the thing that tried to take control had made plenty of mistakes in trying to do what it did; it didn't know Twilight very well at all and it made a huge mistake in trying to attack her like this.
"Really that's the best that it could do?" Twilight muttered to herself as she placed the scissors aside on the counter. She boldly walked up to Fluttershy and hugged her with compassion to whisper in her ear. "Don't you have a rabbit and an injured bird at home to take care of?"
"Oh my goodness, thanks for reminding me Twilight!" Fluttershy's eye turned back to their normal adorable color and she faded from existence. This proved to Twilight what she had just figured out, with but a thought the hair on the floor turned into a pink cape. The cape levitated into the air to curl around her and she once again transformed into the hero known as Radiance from the Power Pony comic. It seemed like a fitting thing to do given the situation Twilight was now in.
"Oh this thing has no idea that it's messed with the wrong pony." Twilight huffed angrily, she made her way down the stairs into the living room where she saw that Mane-iac had Barb pinned to the wall. Next to her were the two other ponies Twilight had recently met. Rarity and Applejack had their manes taking on an offensive posture towards her as she walked confidently into the room. "You are without a doubt the biggest idiot to try and do this to me!"
"Oh?" Mane-iac said with a hint of an amused smile on her face, before she let out a cackle.
"Yes, because Barb is in a safely lit room, she's afraid to sleep without light and rarely would anything like you be able to get to her if she is surrounded by light when she sleeps. She also has a little guardian to make sure nothing happens to her, but I'm sure you couldn't see or even knows she exists could you?" Slowly Barb faded out of existence from the tentacle pinning her to the wall and the Mane-iac looked positively shocked.
"How did you?" As Mane-iac turned back to Twilight, she yelped and jumped away from the unicorn as she was right in her face. She backed away slowly as the two wild haired ponies went and stood at Twilight's side with matching glares at her.
"Do you really think I'm that stupid? Do I look like I have stupid written across my forehead like you do right now?" Twilight immediately made a mirror construct with Radiances powers and held it up to Mane-iac who did indeed have the word stupid written across her forehead. With a flick of her hoof the mirror disappeared. "Now let's get down to business and why I'm not scared that my two newest friends are going to suddenly turn on me."
Pacing around them Twilight looked over Applejack and Rarity closely, she smiled as looked at Applejack's hair bands and the fact that they were blue. This thing was seriously shoddy in its work, especially if it thought it could muddle her mind long enough to do what it pleased with her.
"Okay to start off, Applejack you don't know Fluttershy at all and haven't even met her yet." Twilight watched as Applejack nodded and shrugged before disappearing as her hair bands turned red.
"You can't know that!" The thing posing as Mane-iac said decisively. "You even told me not to ask about the tree that fell on the rabbit."
"Oh, but I do. If you had bothered with looking in on my less important memories that I think inconsequential, you'd be horribly surprised by what you missed. You see, while Tress didn't ask Applejack about that yesterday... I did that myself entirely out of curiosity after lunch while she was heading out to the orchard. I know Fluttershy hasn't been around long enough to make the acquaintance of Applejack as when I asked her, she had no clue about what happened with the so called 'varmints' that attacked the carrot plantation next door. Besides that Fluttershy is too busy tending to the injuries of a rabbit and bird to have ever had the time to meet Applejack. She only came over the day before we worked at the farm to blow off some stress with her best friends, before swiftly leaving for home to check on the cardinal who broke a wing." Twilight smiled as her opponent reeled back as if they had been physically slapped and hard. "Even then, that wasn't the first thing I've noticed that was wrong."
Twilight turned to look at the couch in the living room, yeah like that wouldn't really be noticeable. She moved over to sit down on it getting a feel for the texture of which her mind made up from how the couch at her parents' house felt. Yeah, she'd want a couch like this eventually, but first she had to deal with the uninvited fly in her parlor.
"I first noticed something was off when I looked out the window this morning, I didn't see the library. Haven't really been in there yet, but I know it's there. Mistake number one." The purple pony had to smile as her opponent flinched in pain. Twilight didn't like fighting, but nothing was said about waging mental trauma war on a being that invaded her personal sanctity. "The second mistake you made was Tress; I think she secretly likes Opal despite how she acts about the cat. She actually despises Opal, but she does like cats in general. She's my best friend and I think I'd know her better than anyone. Even someone like you, since I already know you're an imposter and not even really Mane-iac."
The fake Mane-iac finding herself in pain once again, she tried to lash out with her hair only for most of it to turn into a pile of daisy sandwiches before it could even get close to hitting a smirking Twilight. Twilight simply picked up a sandwich and bit into it slowly savoring the taste as she chewed it.
"You really chose the wrong pony to attack you know. Especially when Fluttershy can't tell what time it is by the position of the sun, considering she's lived outdoors for the most of three years and has some pretty good survival skills. Then there's you skipping me ahead to a time after I've seemed to have taken a shower to disorient me, not to mention we currently don't own a couch that feels like the one at my parents' house. Though I think it's a nice afterthought that you somehow managed to get my butt groove down." The now smug Twilight continued to eat the sandwich as the now bobbed Mane-iac slammed into the wall of the house of her own volition.
Twilight didn't do a single thing to cause that but logic bomb the ever loving tar out of her even slightly wily opponent. She still had plenty more to go as she almost now knew what her opponent exactly was by how it was reacting to her fighting back.
"As for my other newest friend Rarity, you may as well have almost gotten away with that one." Twilight turned to the resemblance of another friend she had recently earned sitting next to her daintily eating a sandwich. "If I didn't know she likes to do her own mane and is quite meticulous about it. If there was ever a mare that would want to do something even related to the words 'quality time', she would have been the first to volunteer not Fluttershy. Rarity hardly had any friends she can relate stuff to, she had two ponies she was acquainted with but she doesn't know them that well. In the end she would have suggested we all do something together as a group, this probably would have us all at the Ponyville Spa at her expense no less. It's a place she's talked about a lot that I've never been to in Ponyville yet and you can't very well recreate what I haven't seen from the inside. The fact that Fluttershy was even excited about going first in anything was too much a tip off to ignore and by that point I had to learn what I was dealing with."
Rarity smiled and hugged Twilight before fading away as well; Twilight thought she needed more ponies to spend time with her for who she was and not what she could do for them. The fake Mane-iac's mane and tail just started falling out and she started looking pale. A second Mane-iac walked into the room, sat down on the couch and simple lay on her back with her head in Twilight's lap. As Twilight started to lean back and began to pet the super villain, she pointedly stared at the pale balding imitation.
"You have the ability to look at my memories but are incapable of altering them. You're currently in my dreams trying to usurp control of my sleep from me and give me nightmares. The reason why you haven't left or escaped yet is very clear to me. You can't get out now that I'm aware enough to keep you here indefinitely." Twilight continued to pet the Mane-iac in her lap and she listened to the sweet purring noise from the wondrous mare that slowly morphed into Tress Ravel who nuzzled her softly. "There were some telling things about this being a dream. One was the fact that I couldn't read the labeled shampoo bottle, so I didn't bother too hard trying to do so. There were other small things like all the books being missing to the fact that I just acted like I was using my horn. I haven't actually lit my horn once since this all started either."
"So what, unless you can claim to know what I am, you still have no true hold over me. I will just escape when you eventually wake up." The smirk slowly edged off the hairless Mane-iac as she saw a wide smile on Twilight's highly amused face.
"I wouldn't count on that... tapir. First time I've ever been attacked by a dream eater really, I'm almost impressed." Twilight indulged in the look of absolute horror that crossed the now hairless Mane-iac's face.
The false Mane-iac slowly warped and crumbled into a different form entirely. The end result looked vaguely like a pig, with a slight elephant like nose, black and white fur, splayed four toed hooves and a short tail end.
"How... how did you know I was a..." The tapir said slowly in complete and utter shock at having been found out and discovered, not to mention captured. Tapir's weren't known for being good at confrontations unless they were the ones creating them. When they lost the fear factor of their dream eater abilities, they became downright harmless.
"There are two questions that you really should answer. First, did you know about the existence of Smart?" Seeing the dumb look on the pigs face Twilight decided to elaborate. "I've once read about how tapir's are thought to be nearly extinct because they weren't very bright when choosing targets. In particular, you looked at my memories and since Smart is created from my own memories, you probably wouldn't be able to recognize her as separate from me. You might have even considered me mentally weak in some way, thus it made me seem like an easier target for you to snack on. Another thing about this is, I just got off a very tiring day of work and you like to eat dreams with a side of magic. You must have thought I looked particularly appetizing considering I sleep in the dark and was quite weakened by my long day."
The tapir glared indignantly at being called stupid, but it didn't voice its concern that such things like Smart actually existed. Twilight was right though, he had chosen her because she looked like a most appetizing easy target. Something really bugged him about this line of questioning though.
"Which brings me to my second question, do you know zebra's exist and can you actually see them? If what I know about you is true then the only zebra around here really made sure this dream eating went poorly." Twilight knew the look on the tapir's face wasn't very hard to confuse with anything else, it was abject terror of hearing the word zebra.
"One of them is here! No... You mustn't tell that zebra I'm here!" A tapir was a dream eating creature. They tended to avoid things they couldn't safely eat the dreams of, and or something that would confound them endlessly. Only because Twilight told this particular tapir of a zebra did it actually know one was around. Accidentally dream eating a zebra was a big fear of a tapir; they usually didn't survive doing it and the ones that did were never the same afterwards. They usually lost their ability to dream eat and slowly starved to death.
A long time ago a tapir went and began to dream eat a zebra foal, then as a result of what happened the zebra's immediately became invisible and hostile to them. They were even invisible even in other beings memories and dreams, thus a tapir had little warning as to when they'd run into one and tended to stay very far from places another tapir has never returned from.
The zebra foal involved was perfectly fine from the event if highly traumatized by what that particular Tapir did to it, but continued on to live a long fulfilling life. Equally on the other side of things, the tapir that did it was traumatized by the sudden loss of its ability to engorge itself on dreams and didn't go on to lead a long fulfilling life. Though it could have survived by eating normal plants and food, it had been too stubborn to change its ways. It went out with a whimper and a warning to the rest of its species.
You just don't mess with zebras. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 27 | The real next day, a few hours after the tapir's attack the night previous.
Tress slowly walked into the kitchen yawning up a storm, she really needed some food now.
"You wouldn't believe the nightmare I had last night." As she said this, Tress twitched her neck with a satisfying pop and then blinked in confusion at the sight before her.
On the table was a strange glass jar with a tiny elephant like creature in it. Tress looked at it for a moment then turned to Twilight who looked bedraggled with a worried Barb hugging her leg.
"I literally caught the cause of mine Tress." Twilight really didn't like the tapir that Zecora got out of her this morning. The thing in question has been cowering in fear ever since it had been put into a jar with an air hole or two. This was the first time she almost felt like resorting to a violent solution.
"A tapir is not a nice creature that is to be said; this one crawled right into poor Twilight's head." The tapir in question cowered at Zecora's voice. "She'll be fine with some hours to rest; giving her that time is a course that is best. I will deal with punishing this one; at its expense I'll make sure to have some fun."
"And here I was going to ask her if she had the sheep dream again, maybe the super models hair salon one or the one where she's the only mare in all of Canterlot that could take care of Celestia's mane for the day." Ticking off each of Twilight's usual culprits for the stuff she dreamed of, Tress watched her friends face get redder with each thing mentioned. "So what kind of nightmare did that thing give you?"
"I ended up cutting off most of Fluttershy's mane at one point and had to watch all of Mane-iac's hair fall out, ate some of it in the form of a sandwich no less. That's plenty traumatizing enough without knowing I was under attack." The fact that her friend hissed in sympathy made Twilight feel a bit better about how things went, it could have gone worse all things considered. She even felt a bit remorseful for her strong retaliation and then originally stuffing the tapir in a jar without air holes as soon as Zecora got him out of her ear. She added the air holes after the fact. "The tapir did try a plot where you had mind control serum and made all other ponies around you like the Mane-iac with the manes and everything."
Twilight went on to explain the nightmare in detail and how she stopped it before it got off the ground. Smart and Zecora were smiling at the part where neither of them seemed to have been on the tapir's radar.
"Okay, why didn't you think this was a normal dream that turned into a nightmare naturally?" Tress was only vaguely interested in hearing what Twilight had to say about this. "Actually it sounds like something you'd be interested in. It is a dream where you're taming the unruly manes of other mares in a heroic fashion."
"I might have actually accepted that if the tapir didn't make it too highly obvious that someone was manipulating my dreams. I noticed so many discrepancies from a normal nightmare I'd possibly have and what I was going through with him giving me the nightmares." The unicorn sighed as she patted her daughter on the head and shoved her towards her own seat. Barb getting the message went with only a mild fuss. "Besides that, you'd never do something like a mind control serum. You may be crazy tress, but you wouldn't go that far unless you were really too far gone. You probably would have made a body controlling body wash if you were to stick to the adorable hair themed villainy. It wouldn't cause other ponies to have powers like yours and it would have been ridiculously easy to cure, maybe by something like just washing it out. "
"Fair point, water was the cure to most of the things I came up with in my small amount of time as a villain. So what's for breakfast?" Tress smiled cheerily if a bit forced, she wasn't going to tell Twilight what she thought about her hair themed villainy being adorable. She was glad she couldn't feel her cheeks burning.
Barb started getting some stuff out, the dragon actually had some cooking skills and at least when she failed to make something it didn't immediately become a huge problem for anyone nearby.
After breakfast Tress had the whole day to herself to do whatever she wanted, Twilight just went back to bed to catch up on her lost sleep thanks to the now contained troublemaker. She wasn't about to ask what Zecora was going to do with the tapir, she trusted the zebra to handle the tapir carefully and as in a pony manner as possible.
"Hey Barb, want to spend the day with me?" Tress suddenly had the dragon at her side as she made her way for the front door.
"Is mom going to be okay? She seemed rather upset." Barb received a contemplative look from Tress as she slung on some saddle bags.
"Radiance will be fine munchkin, she's just angry that she was mistaken as an idiot and that she reacted a bit violently to the mental intrusion. You're mother really doesn't like fighting, though she seems more okay with waging a mental war because she wouldn't physically harm her opponent. I think she's taking the realization of the psychological scarring she left on the tapir a bit hard though." Tress felt like it was a good day to hang out with the eight year old dragon, since Twilight wasn't going to be up and around for quite a while.
"Hey, I'm not short! I just haven't had my growth spurt yet." Barb walked along on two legs at Tress's side. "So where are we going?"
"I thought I'd pop on over to introduce you to Rarity, I owe her some measurements at least." Though Tress wondered what kind of colors would go with a pink coat and blue mane. "Maybe stop by Apple Acres and say hello to the family, scope out some couches at Quills and Sofas and then we'll go see what Fluttershy has been getting up to lately."
"I miss it you know, auntie Shy living with us and everything." The dragon looked at the ground sadly until Tress leaned in and whispered the magic words that would cheer Barb up while nuzzling her cheek.
"Look I know you're manipulating me into saying this, but maybe we can go get some ice cream later? Do want to ride on my back as well?" The dragon quickly scrambled up Tress's back and she smiled at the dragon nodding.
"So I can talk you into getting me a rocky road, rubies and strawberry syrup banana split?" The big soulful look Barb was giving Tress was something she knew would ensure victory.
"Only if you're a good dragon and don't act out or cause problems Barb." Wondering how she was once again roped into taking care of the dragon Tress made her way towards the Carousel Boutique. "Say, where's Smart? She's usually watching over you like a mother bear watches her cubs."
"I think she's trying to help mom to get some rest, though I think giving it a rest is a problem with my mother. She knows I'm with you, I don't think she's going to worry too much about my safety." There were times when even Barb had to state it outright that her mother acting a bit overzealous.
"I truly doubt your safety is compromised when there is barely anything around here that can truly scratch your tough scales. Remember, best behavior or no ice cream." Sometimes Tress felt like she had a daughter by taking Twilight's out for a spin. She opened the door to the boutique and walked in. "It's just me Rarity, no need for your spiel."
"Welcome back, I'll be right with you in a minute darling." Rarity walked into Barb's view as she got off of Tress's back, the dragon froze and stared at Rarity's mane.
"I think I know why mom has those mane magazines now, she's beautiful." If one were to look at Barb one would have sworn there was little hearts floating off of her alongside the look of adoration in her eyes. "Well her coat and tail are average, but I really like her mane. Her eyes are like sapphires and her cutie mark looks tasty."
Tress slowly raised her left hoof towards her face and was about to plant it there, but she resisted the urge. She was not Twilight Sparkle, Tress 'The Mane-iac' Ravel does not face hoof! Instead she rolled her eyes, so Twilight's little sparkle had an eye for the fashion designer in exactly the opposite manner of her mother. It looked like Barb was immediately forming a cute puppy like crush on Rarity; Tress wondered how Twilight would take the news if she ever found out. Speaking of news, Tress was glad that Twilight didn't press her too hard about Fleur. Well Twilight hasn't yet but her curiosity doesn't seem easily satiable or would be distracted forever.
"My word what's this? Who is this with you Ms. Ravel? She's quite the cutie." Rarity rubbed Barbs chin and she leaned into it with her wings flapping lightly.
"That's Twilight's little cutie Rarity, hatched her a little over eight years ago, it was before I met her. She's still a baby dragon though, her name is Barb Sparkle. Also please just call me Tress." It was cute that Barb was acting kind of shy around Rarity; usually it was hard to get her to stop talking like this. "Barb say hello to Rarity."
"Uh, hello there Miss Rarity." Barb was blushing and remembered to be on her best behavior by being polite. She rubbed her face against the velvety feeling curl of the mane in front of her, now she knew why her mother had the thing about hair. She just thought her mother was a bit weird, now she understood the attraction herself. Then Rarity turned her attention away from Barb causing her to whimper slightly.
"Can you please come over here darling? I'll take your measurements. So how has Twilight managed with being a single mother for so long? How did she come across having such a charming little lady like Barb and at such a young age no less? Well that is unless she's much older then she looks, I have got to know her secrets to how she looks so young then." For once, Rarity didn't seem all too grating to Tress.
After talking about Twilight's early motherhood and getting her measurements taken Tress started talking to Rarity about colors for the one dress she was commissioning. Rarity immediately suggested something purple and black with some gold highlights, Tress blinked at that because it reminded her of the suit she wore as Mane-iac. Sweetie Belle and Barb met each other while they were busy and after a few minutes Barb finally had made a friend that was about her age. Barb only did what her mother always did, being sincerely nice unto others at least until they proved to be not so nice.
After they were done, they were heading towards Quills and Sofas next as it was the closest location. They were about to get there when a rainbow streak shot through the sky bucking clouds and then dived through one a little too fast and then came flying at Tress and Barb.
"Watch out!" Tress saw the streak that yelled coming for her and reacted before she knew what happened. She felt herself get pulled backwards seven feet out of the way of a huge blast of mud flying everywhere.
"Whoa that was a close one, since when were you capable of using you're Mane-iac powers again Tress?" She may have heard Barb, but Tress was now focused on the green streak in her tail. It unwrapped from the tree and then returned to being her normal shade of blue.
"I..." Tress started to say, she didn't know what had happened and how she managed to use her powers after so long without being able to use them. Well at least a small bit of them and not nearly as strong as it was supposed to be, but it was still there and a small bit of her tail hair had turned temporarily green. It felt like a strange tingle up her spine starting from her tail.
"Heh, sorry about that, it's my first day on the job and I just moved into Ponyville and today is my birthday. I'm the awesome, super cool and totally radical Rainbow Dash!" After a moment Rainbow wondered why she was receiving a double glare from both the young thing that slightly resembled a pony and the prissy looking earth pony. Well maybe she understood the prissy ponies motives, since she almost got her covered in mud with another one of her crashes. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 28 | If there was one thing Tress could understand about the situation she now found herself in, it's that things had become more complicated since coming to Ponyville. Meeting Fluttershy's only childhood friend for about three years at most, on her birthday and the first day she's in Ponyville no less, was not one of the things Tress thought would happen.
Only being in Ponyville a little more than four days could this happen, how many more absurd situations could Tress handle before she snapped and blew up at her friends about it all. Well Tress sort of did it with the hydra, she didn't think that really counted or at least she didn't want it to. She would never hate Twilight for something like that.
Tress could feel herself seething with some loathing for Rainbow Dash at the moment, how could she have left Fluttershy in the lurch to be bullied like she was? Did Rainbow have no idea what Fluttershy has been through? Here she has the gall to act like she was a great pony? Tress wasn't about to cause a scene and not during the mares birthday, but at a later day she very well might.
On a similar mindset Barb was also angry at Rainbow. She knows Fluttershy would always talk about Rainbow in a nicer light and didn't say anything bad about her. Even then Barb saw that Rainbow had abandoned her friend at some point to hang out with someone more exclusively, Rainbow didn't bother to make any time for her aunt. Auntie Shy was a really nice and wonderful pony that could really sing a sweet lullaby that could lull even a big mean cantankerous creature right to sleep with her angelic voice. How could Rainbow not want to hang out with her and why would she stop spending time with a pony that no one could possibly hate. Well unless you were one of those ponies who picked on her auntie growing up.
"I accept you're apology, now we must be going about our way." Snubbing the colorful mare was probably the best thing Tress thought she could do at the moment without causing a scene or some huge mess. Making sure Barb was secure on her back, Tress walked on by the mud covered Rainbow paying her no attention whatsoever. They were going to get back on track to what they were originally doing and hopefully things would stay quiet.
After a moment the pegasus fluttered up and started to slowly follow Tress out of curiosity. The creature that was with the earth pony had already garnered Dash's curiosity enough, but Tress had managed to earn it just as much from how she dodged out of the way of her crash landing. Rainbow hadn't seen how the mare had done it, she was sure the mare would have at least gotten covered in some mud from the impact. There was also the fact that she had just gotten snubbed and glared at for no good reason. It was her first day in Ponyville and she found something that intrigued her and caught her attention, so spy mode time it was!
Tress's mind was somewhere else or she would have noticed the winged pony tailing them; she wouldn't bother the flying rainbow as long as she didn't annoy her too much. She was worried about the implication of even a little bit of her powers returning to her, she had only made a single lock of tail hair turn green and pulled herself out of the way of getting an unwanted mud bath.
Walking up to Quills and Sofas, Tress was going to scope out the wares while she thought of whether or not she'd be happy to even have a little of her Mane-iac powers back. Davenport met her at the entrance and greeted her warmly.
"Uh Tress, the big blue dodo with colorful hair is following us." Barb wasn't worried; if Tress had her powers back and could control them then she was plenty safe. If not, Barb knew Tress was a tough mare that could take care of herself.
"She's more like a peacock Barb; just don't pay any attention to her. As long as she doesn't bother us we won't have the need to have an altercation. Let's just look at sofas and... novelty quills I guess. Why do you even sell quills Mr. Davenport?" It was a good question, from a standpoint this store was really odd to Tress and odd was something she has to deal with on a daily basis living with Twilight. The tiny ear infesting tapir was just one in a long string of ridiculous things that have crossed their paths, she thought tapirs could dream eat at a distance. It was probably stronger up close and more comfortable swimming in ear wax or at least that's how Tress tried to rationalize it.
The stories the stallion could tell made looking at sofas fun and Barb wasn't bored at all, in fact it brought on more questions than it answered. Even Tress was impressed at some of the strangest things she's ever heard of, and that is even considering what happens in Night and Velvets kitchen back at the Sparkle home.
"It all just fell into place like the Paints and Bathtubs down the street. Ponyville has lots of strange specialty stores like that." It wasn't like Mr. Davenport would question it too much when he owned one of those odd stores himself.
"Actually, that one vaguely makes some sort of sense." Tress thought it did at least, ponies get covered in paint and they'd need a bathtub to go along with it to clean up.
"Well it makes more sense than Whips and Weights store." This only got Mr. Davenport an odd look. "Look it just works okay? I know someone whose nickname is Snowflake that frequents that store just for workout weights. He tends to wear them out frequently, he's a heavily muscled pegasus and you can't even miss him if you ever saw him. He's broken quite a few couches just because he's so large, it's kind of what keeps me in business and I'm still trying to design a couch with him in mind."
"Still doesn't explain the oatmeal thing though, it sounds rather crazy." Barb took a glance at Rainbow who it seemed was taking a keen interest in the conversation while lying on her belly. Rainbow was idly flicking an ear in interest in their general direction while kicking out her hind legs once in a while, her chin resting in her hooves.
"It is. Pinkie could tell that part better than I can, I hear tell she's even getting started on sending invitations out to celebrate all the new ponies that have come to Ponyville at the end of this week for a meet and greet party. Apparently some fairy thing told her it was easier to hold one big party for multiple new ponies once a week; she was probably sold at bigger parties. You can get the rest of the story from her when you go." Mr. Davenport knew Pinkie was planning something big because she was currently hardly throwing parties faster than most ponies could keep up with. "I'm sure she can't wait to invite you or send you an invitation on its time and location."
"I bet it'll be the best disaster to ever happen to me and my friends." Because goodness knows if they could go a few days without something seriously weird happening, Tress didn't doubt it'd be a blast though. It would probably be a good opportunity to ruin the dress Rarity was making for her, like it'd survive an event where things were bound to go horribly wrong. Tress wasn't about to ruin the dress on purpose though, Rarity was really excited about making one for her and she wouldn't do something needlessly mean like that. "I think I'm done looking around, got a catalogue? I really can't spend all day here."
"Sure thing Ms. Ravel. Say, where's your friend and associate Ms. Sparkle?" After telling Davenport about the tapir attack and that Twilight was getting caught up on her stolen sleep. She left with a catalogue full of sofas and quills he could have crafted for her, even then Tress still had no clue what she'd do with quills as she was more of a pencil pony. Maybe she should get one for Twilight's next birthday? Twilight goes through a lot of quills with her ideas for advancements in enchantments; Tress had no idea what she was currently working on anymore as it slowly started turning into a bunch of jargon.
Leaving the store Tress detoured towards the marketplace a little more aware that the not so sneaky pegasus was still following them. Barb was being a pretty good dragon so far and it looked like she was going to earn that expensive ice cream this evening.
"Hey there Tress, come over here for a spell!" Both dragon and pony perked their ears up at hearing Applejacks voice. She was sitting at an apple stand; she even had a zap apple sitting on the counter with Tress's name on it. "There's a free zap apple in it for you."
"Looks like you'll be meeting Applejack sooner than I thought Barb. It's okay to act disgusting around her; she's used to it unlike Rarity." Barb nodded and hopped off Tress's back to run up to Applejack smiling.
"Hey there I'm Barb, did you see the message I sent to my mom yesterday?" Barb was eagerly looking up to Applejack.
"I sure did, but you're not quite what I was expecting when Twilight said her daughter sent her a message. Who am I to judge, family is family. I don't care what you look like; since you're a right cute little thing." Applejack immediately hoofed the zap apple to Tress who quickly took a bit out of it and savored the tangy goodness. "Now who is that there following you from a distance? She's acting mighty shady and a bit silly and I know silly, being around Pinkie Pie long enough tends to lead a pony to doing strange things like dancing and singing perfectly in sync without any kind of practice."
"Oh that? It's a tailgater and I wish she would get out of my mane. I'm getting a bit more annoyed to the point I could just... hm." A sharp determinately evil grin crossed Tress's face. Sure she can't recreate evil sprays of doom in Equestria, but she could still certainly commit to an evil plot. "Well today is that mare's birthday, how about you call her over after I leave and tell her happy birthday from me. Also I want to purchase the zap apple she's going to personally bite into."
"Why, that's rather downright devious of you Tress. Sounds like a perfectly good prank to me. If you're paying, then it's no bits out of my profits." Applejack then nodded to herself and placed another zap apple on the counter just as Tress finished her own, Barb wanted an apple too and Tress bought her one to snack on to tide her over until her just desserts that evening. Applejack was willing to oblige and even gave a discount; they were making quite a haul on all those zap apples. "Did anyone ever tell you you're an evil mastermind?"
"You don't even know the half of it Applejack." Tress rolled her eyes before smiling sweetly; there were just some parts of being a villain that she missed. "Wait for her to come close and then call out for her. If you can actually spook her I'll the pay the rest of the price for the apples later. Hey don't give me that look; I know you just gave me a discount so think of this as challenge. By the way, I'm off to say hello to your older brother and little sister."
"Well how in the hay can I say no to that challenge? Oh and tell Apple Bloom she better be done with her chores by the time I mosey on in." Applejack said pleasantly as Tress walked off in a way that Rainbow would pass close to the stand. Rainbow did come close to the stand and as she passed, Applejack smiled and snuck up behind her. "Hey there, are you feeling hungry!"
Rainbow jumped at the sudden voice from behind and flew straight into an overhanging roof and fell back to the ground dazed. Applejack chuckled at her misfortune.
"Huh? Well yeah I guess, what do you got?"Rainbow was suddenly proffered a zap apple and in her eyes it was a really cool looking rainbow colored apple. If only she knew the truth of the matter.
"That mare that just came by here thought you might be in need of a snack. What with all the creepy stalking you're doing there. So she paid for this apple and left it for you to have, she also says happy birthday." Applejack was going to enjoy the look on this ponies face and commit it to memory when she bit into it.
Rainbow opened her mouth to take a bite out of the apple in her hoof.
Tress's ears flicked at the loud yelp she heard and she smiled, she wasn't about to let that pegasus follow her to Fluttershy. She thought it was nice that she was getting some revenge in the shy mares place, Fluttershy probably wouldn't approve of her methods though. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 29 | Tress had managed to lose Rainbow Dash, which wasn't an easy task as the mare could fly really fast. She was pretty sure Rainbow didn't appreciate the first bite of that apple, but she hoped the mare bothered to finish it. Now she was on the road towards Sweet Apple Acres and was watching a rainbow zip across the sky of Ponyville.
"You know, I don't think she appreciated that Tress. So, how did you get your powers back and why isn't your mane all green and stuff?" What Barb was asking about was her full blown Mane-iac transformation.
"I don't know; just don't tell Twilight until I figure this out for myself!" Tress focused on her mane and she managed to turn a single lock of it green. She could not do anymore then that lock of hair; she could barely even stretch it out, though her control was still really good. She was almost at the farm and she decided to pull back on the green portion of her mane and it slowly returned to its light blue color.
"Well did you do anything recently to gain that much of your powers back?" Barb was a little hurt that Tress panicked a little and shouted at her. Didn't Tress know her mom liked her a lot and wouldn't care if she changed back into Mane-iac and might have even liked it if she could do that at will?
"Well I did eat a lot of zap apples. They gave me some pretty weird nightmares." Tress shuddered at the dream. She was running, always running, never safe and always hunted. The moon is shining and mad eyes in the darkness that weren't her own never ceased to follow her. They weren't even green and red like her transformed state.
"It's okay Tress, calm down. I'm here for you; you have friends who will never give up on you." Barb rubbed her claws up and down Tress's back and neck, she started to calm down just as they approached the homestead. "Besides I think having super powers is cool!"
It was a rather quick set of greetings and Barb got to meet Apple Bloom, it seemed she was getting along with other fillies her age easily enough on her own. They weren't really going to stay long; they were only there long enough for Tress to pick up a freshly baked apple pie that she was going to take over to Fluttershy. Tress really needed a good gentle hug about now.
"Barb, it's time to go see Fluttershy. Apple Bloom, Applejack said to finish your chores before she gets back." Tress was quickly saddled with Barb again and off on her way, leaving a slightly saddened Apple Bloom behind. "So did you have some fun?"
"Yeah, this place is really cool I guess. Wouldn't want to live here though, I'd never really get the smell of pigs and chickens out of my nose. Now come on Tress, to Auntie Shy's new home!" The mare must have been as enthusiastic as Barb, because she picked up the pace. Barb was making sure nothing happened to the apple pie they were carrying.
Tress walked up to Fluttershy's house with some trepidation. She saw Fluttershy calmly sitting on the front steps of her home and was talking tenderly to a cardinal, it leapt up and flapped its wings several times only to fall back into Fluttershy's hooves. Even Barb couldn't say anything as she watched the innocent scene.
"It's okay, we all fall sometimes. Now try again." Fluttershy calmly prodded the bird with her nose and then threw it up in the air, it chirped happily as it started flying again only to come back down at Fluttershy's whistling. "Good, now you're still not one hundred percent Mr. Cardinal but you'll get there soon."
"Maybe, I'm not so sure. Look, do you seriously want to interrupt that?" As Tress pointed a hoof at the new scene playing out, Fluttershy was now feeding a bunch of baby rabbit's mulched carrots with a spoon. The sight was too adorable and too perfect to interfere with.
"No you're right, we'll sit here until she notices us." Barb wouldn't interrupt something that looked so adorable, even if it might be news she needed to hear immediately. "It might take her some time, what with her massaging that bear."
Tress Looking back at Fluttershy again, she was giving a large bear a massage. That shy mare certainly did quick work to be doing so many things that fast. She was like the ultimate kindness machine and her heart matched what she looked like on the outside. Tress felt like she could use some of that tender love and care, but what kind of monster would interrupt her when she was doing what she loved so much? That happy smile on the peaceful mares face was just so hard to approach; she could almost swear that Velvet was right about her being an adorable heart attack waiting to happen.
After hopping off her friend Harry, Fluttershy finally noticed she had visitors and she immediately fluttered up to Tress and threw her hooves around her neck. She soon turned her attention to the little dragon next and gave her a kiss on the forehead causing the dragon to giggle while blushing.
"It's so nice to see you two! Tress you seemed a little tense when I hugged you, do you need some help relaxing your muscles?" Fluttershy and her horrendous adorability turned up a notch at this point. "You can come inside if you want. Also can you tell me what's bothering you, if you don't mind me asking?"
Walking into the home, Tress and Barb noted it was like an animal wonderland. There was even a flamingo in the living room alongside all the mice, raccoons, a jackalope, a seal, several differing species of birds and a slightly less bandaged grumpy looking white rabbit on the couch.
"We brought you an apple pie from the nearby apple farm, I hope you like it Fluttershy. We'll be going now as we wouldn't want to impose." With that Tress set the covered pie on the kitchen counter and immediately tried to push Barb towards the front door only to have Fluttershy jump on top of her and straddle her. Tress felt her face heat up at the position Fluttershy put them in, what had gotten into the innocent mare? Usually Fluttershy wasn't this forward unless she felt there was something wrong with her friends and that she could somehow help them. In this situation Fluttershy was right, but Tress didn't want her to know that.
"Can you please tell me what's wrong with you Tress? If that's okay with you, I really don't want to burden you or pressure you about something if it's too much a bother." Fluttershy immediately started putting pressure on Tress's back and with a pop Tress's legs finally gave out and she gave off a pitiful squeak in contentment as her chest hit the floor. "It's just really unhealthy to be this tense and I want to help you if you're feeling bad."
"Flutters you can pressure me all you want." Tress said dazedly, Fluttershy and her darned soft yet strong supple hooves. Fluttershy wouldn't do this to just any stranger; she'd only do it for her friends. That mare was too shy to be forward with any pony other than those close to her heart. After a moment she shook her head and came to her senses, but she wasn't about to buck Fluttershy off her back as she was being rubbed in all the right ways. "I really don't want to talk about it Fluttershy, but I can talk about the horrible nightmare I had last night. Oh and I can talk about how Twilight was attacked by a tapir, she's okay and is sleeping in today. Don't know what will happen to the tapir, Zecora said she'd take care of it."
"But you don't want to tell me about what's really troubling you? I think there's more to your discomfort then just those two things." Fluttershy asked politely, apparently Twilight not being around is making Tress feel all blue. She didn't think that was the main reason for Tress's current distress, she always thought something was going on between her and Twilight. In fact she herself might have had a daydream or two about something going on between her and Tress, Tress was a really beautiful mare and such a good friend.
Tress only nodded while sighing blissfully as Fluttershy kneaded her neck muscles. She smiled at the fact that Shy can make anything feel good, pony, animal or whatever. Massaging a pony was a lot different from massaging a wild animal, but Fluttershy did such a good job of it. It was almost enough to lead Tress into a false sense of security. Fluttershy was pretty darn smart and could wheedle just about anything out of her by just being herself. All Fluttershy had to do was... oh there she goes.
Tress was now a limp noodle and at Fluttershy's mercy and the shy mare had plenty of it when it was needed, this was not one of those times though. Fluttershy hugged Tress to herself and nuzzled her softly while cooing that everything would be alright in Tress's ears and she knew Tress believed her. She had a way with more than just animals; she had a way with her close friends too.
"Um... Auntie Shy, I think now is a good time to tell you since you have Tress so woefully distracted that your friend Rainbow just moved into town today." Barb witnessed an odd indescribable look on Fluttershy's face as she continued to work Tress over.
"Oh my, if I remember what today is... it's also her birthday as well right?" Seeing Barbs answer was a nod, Fluttershy smiled before she frowned at the frown on the dragons face. "Did Rainbow do something mean to either of you?"
"Well she almost got us splashed with mud, but she did apologize for that. She's also rather full of herself and she was tailing us until Tress bought her a zap apple to help us lose her." Even as she spoke Barb noticed Tress was in no state whatsoever to speak up at the moment. There was a happy little lackadaisical smile on Tress's face that Barb found disturbing despite what she was currently telling Fluttershy.
"Well that was nice of her..." Fluttershy noticed Barb wince and look away which is why she asked her question in a stern manner. "Okay, what do these zap apples do?"
"The first bite shocks the pony eating it, but afterwards it gets really tasty. Cutting one up weakens the shock quite a bit; mom helped prepare one for me last night after dinner. She was so tired from all that work on the apple farm she was even barely on her hooves at all by that point. Tress just loves them and they don't shock her at all, mom was kind of confused as to why. I think it has to do with her powers coming back." Barb was intrigued about why the zap apples would be giving Tress her abilities back; she's been reading a lot of comic books lately as they were intriguing ever since she gave mom one for her birthday. The Power Ponies have regular not so enchanted comic books, not once has the Mane-iac ever returned in any other issue though. Barb knew where the Mane-iac was and she would like it if said super villain never had to leave, she liked having a big sister after all.
"Tress the next time you see Rainbow Dash you are going to apologize to her for not warning her about the apple and she is going to apologize for stalking you!" Fluttershy didn't receive a response from Tress, because at some point she had fallen asleep underneath her hooves. The butter coated mare sighed wistfully, so her old friend was back in her life or at least would be soon enough anyway. Ponyville was a small town and she was bound to run into her somewhere. "Barb, was there a griffon with Rainbow?"
"Nope, it was just Rainbow. I don't think she was being a very good friend when she couldn't make time for you Auntie Shy. I don't see why Tress has to apologize to her; she was kind of full of herself when introducing herself to us!" Barb flared her wings and let off a slight blast of flame in a huff scaring the nearby animals slightly. After calming down the animals, Fluttershy finished up with Tress and fluttered over to Barb and picked her up.
"Oh sure she can be crude, rude and is very much a tomcolt of the highest order, but I know she means well... I think. Still that's no reason to be mean to her unless she was trying to be mean to you, she still tried to be a good friend and I doubt she's truly forgotten about me even though we've been apart for a long time." After a moment and a sad smile Fluttershy cuddled Barb, before looking her in the eyes. "I'm glad that she was even willing to be my friend in the first place and she probably still is even though we each wandered away from one another. Sometimes you just have to let things go Barb; you can't force your friends to stay by your side forever if they don't want to be there. Gilda hurt me a bit because she thought I was trying to get in her way, I'm sure she's truly a nice griffon otherwise. I forgave her for that because she just wanted her affection to be returned by a pony that she really likes. In all likelihood Rainbow probably frustrated her to no end."
"So did Rainbow let that griffon hurt you?" Barb asked in a grumpy tone as Fluttershy sat down on the couch still holding onto her.
"No, Rainbow probably has no idea why I haven't been around or left. I wonder where Gilda is now if Rainbow is here. Look, please just give Rainbow a chance. She's not really a bad pony. I'm sure we could all be the best of friends if you tried." Fluttershy gave a bright smile to the dragon and she lightly rubbed her back causing the dragon to cuddle into her. After a moment Barb was getting a massage of her own.
"I'll think about it, just don't leave Tress and Rainbow in a room alone together. Tress really didn't like hearing that Rainbow abandoned you and she certainly doesn't like her now after meeting her once." After a moment Barb was content as she a felt a pop. Fluttershy's hooves gently worked her over. Her wings even flapped once or twice and she purred slightly, she was relaxed beyond all compare as her ears went limp.
"Well consider it this way... I might have been the one that abandoned Rainbow." Fluttershy saw the look on Tress's face as she sat up hearing this statement; it was frown with a pair of sad passionate eyes directed at her. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 30 | "I think I understand Fluttershy, but I'm still not ready to forgive Rainbow yet for leaving you without some pony to turn to." Tress wanted a nice hug from her other friend and now it seems that friend needed the hug more than her. "Sure you ran away from your problems, but what other choice could you have made?"
"Well one that couldn't have had a better outcome then where I am now that's for sure. It would have ended all my troubles certainly. I just didn't consider it because I know some pony out there would miss me." Fluttershy looked at the floor as her wings hung limply at her side. "Rainbow was not the cause of my problems, she alleviated them by a lot when she was around to actually care that I existed. So please consider being at least genial with her."
"Until Rainbow can prove herself to me, I won't call her my friend. You better believe me when I say any true friend of yours would miss you if you were gone Fluttershy, we're all glad to even know you." Tress got Fluttershy to look up at her with this statement. "Speaking of the other option,you know that's kind of my origin story in a nutshell."
"How did you live with almost doing that to yourself? Didn't you think any pony would miss you?" Fluttershy was already hugging Tress and Barb to herself. She was sure they enjoyed the feeling of her warm wings protectively wrapping around them.
"Fluttershy, I had absolutely no pony. I hardly know anything about your parents to even comment on it and from the way you talk about it, school was especially hard on you with all the bullying. Speaking of, you don't seem too worried about my powers possibly coming back or haven't even asked about it yet." With a look of concentration in her eyes Tress managed to generate a green highlight in her mane and then wiggled it about in Fluttershy's face.
"Well it's who you are Tress; I know you would never truly hurt a friend of yours unless you had too. Just because you're outward appearance might change and your cutie mark becomes a little different, it doesn't mean you'll be a different pony at heart." Fluttershy put a hoof to Tress's chest and smiled, she moved the hoof to Barbs chest. "It must be so hard for you to Barb. I mean to live with being the only magic dragon around and having to be kind of homeschooled."
"Eh, it's a living. I wouldn't want to change my scales for anything normal at this point, normal is overrated anyway." Barb shrugged; she liked the attention and was nonchalant about her own personal differences to everyone around her. She managed to break up the somber mood readily. "So, are you ever going to get to that pie we brought?"
"Oh my yes, a snack sounds like a wonderful idea." Fluttershy wondered if she should let her parents know that the life she said she would make for herself has come to fruition. She had friends, family and loved ones who all made her content with her newfound place in the world.
It was a nice day to have friends over and the pie smelled really good.
Twilight woke up calmly; she had finally caught up on her sleep. It was hard to say whether or not she'd be able to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow. She'd have to get herself back on track with coffee then.
"Feeling better doctor Light?" Smart said calmly with the ever present smile on her face as she sat upon the tip of the Twilight's horn.
"Yes Smart, I'm feeling fine though I'm still pretty fatigued. What's going on right now?" Now focused on her childhood plaything, which made her cross eyed in the process, Twilight watched as she inhaled in a ridiculously exaggerated manner. Smart didn't really need to breathe and was as usual goofing around, just like she was supposed to do.
"Well, Barb and Tress are out exploring Ponyville. Zecora said she made some potion you should probably drink and given the ingredients I know it's relatively safe to ingest. There's some kind of wonky rainbow zigzagging across the sky and has been for the last twenty or so minutes. That's about it... so do you want or need to work on me?" Smart flew to the nearby desk and landed on it waiting for Twilight to answer.
"Go and ask Zecora if I have to come get the potion first, then we'll see to working on you a bit Smart. I think the new modifications might boost your efficiency by eighteen percent." It may not seem like much, but it was a lot to Twilight to even get an enchantment to such a refined level.
"Aye aye, oh captain my captain!" Smart threw a silly salute to Twilight and flew off through the open crack in the door.
Smart came back zipping around with the zebra in tow, Zecora was chuckling at something Smart had said.
"It was my notion, that I should mix you a potion. To fix your fatigue problems so you're right as rain, do not worry as I don't intend any pain." Zecora held up a vial in her hoof and Twilight quickly levitated to herself and tasted it. "A spoonful of sugar can really help the taste; it took a while to make that so drink it all but not in haste."
"I appreciate it Zecora thank you very much, when it comes to potion making I think you have a very special touch." Twilight upended the vial and she immediately swallowed the contents. After a few moments she felt a vigorous boost in her drained magic and her body filled to the brim with vim.
"You would not need to have pleaded; I am your friend just as needed." Zecore turned to exit the room, looking over her shoulder at the rejuvenated mare. "I go now back to the formula on which I do work, I feel assisting you to be quite an intriguing perk."
Twilight turned to Smart and lit her horn, soon Smart's eyes went lifeless and her pixie body morphed into that of Twilight's stuffed childhood toy. She placed it back on the desk from whence it fell and sat there studying the enchantments and how well they were working. She had to make sure if anything needed fixing before she started upgrading Smart.
Thus far the only thing Smart seemed to be straining was the enchantment that let her use spells, using levitation too much and or lighting herself up to brightly might cause her to completely lose the ability to use magic. It wouldn't bother Smart's ability to fly or any of the other enchantments though so that was a lucky break. Twilight really didn't want to replace the spell enchantment and would work on that a bit.
All the enchantments were back in line and Twilight tweaked them a bit before she decided to enhance Smarts systems. The first thing Twilight had to tweak was Smart's ability to store energy; she would increase the capacity by energy compression. It would give Smart more time to be active for longer periods of time and at night without running dry.
Twilight also decided to tighten the magical flow of the enchantments trying to make sure Smart didn't lose or waste as much energy. Once she was finished with that she decided to start Smart back up. It was a small tweaking session that took an hour of intense focus.
"Special Magical Artificially Rogue Toy, Entertain, Play, Achieve, Note, Teach, Study. Now active Smart E. Pants!" After a moment the body of the Smarty Pants plush toy shrunk down back into its pixie form. Slowly Smart's eyes fluttered open and she sat up. "Are all your enchantments running nominally Smart?"
"We're okay to go Neighpoleon! Well unless it's that one battle, then we're doomed." Smart grinned as Twilight rolled her eyes. "It seems the enchantments are working correctly. If there is anything wrong with them I'll get back to you or explode violently. I really don't like that second one."
"Yes, but I've managed to bring you back again and again, even when I make mistakes I'm glad that your still around after I've made them and have learned much from them." Twilght watched as the pixie shrugged, she wouldn't blame her for not liking the possibility to spontaneously blow up. Twilight doubted a pony would survive exploding twice much less eighteen times to date.
"I know how that feels because I'm running on our memories you know. I'm just glad that I as the toy in this situation can't possibly feel any pain." Smart rubbed the back of her head; the sensation of exploding was not something she liked living more than three times. The first time it happened, it was actually kind of funny. "Ponies do say, ancient cities aren't built in a day. I'm surprised we've even got this far with all the enchantments."
"Well you're done for a month or two unless any pressing matters come up, do I have any pressing agendas today that I need to worry about Smart?" Twilight really had to make the pixie look really darn cute. Smart tilted her head while crossing her front legs in thought while looking up to Twilight.
"Nothing to report Hoofdini, we're clear for the rest of the day. So you get a little you time and I'm going to go sun a bit. I think we're still good enough for handling small requests though." Smart flew towards the window which Twilight opened for her and out the pixie pony went.
Twilight smiled as she shut window knowing Smart would be back in a while, unless she explodes setting off the failsafe enchantment Twilight designed with such a thing in mind.
Twilight made her way downstairs and decided to make a very simple nice ordinary sandwich. As she was close to finishing it by carefully placing the last slice of bread slowly, a knock at the door was heard and she dropped the bread slice into place and turned to look away from it. As soon as Twilight turned her attention away from the sandwich, it pulled a butter knife on her and leapt at her to start attempting to stab her. Luckily the sandwich was wasn't physically strong enough to actually harm her, even armed with a weapon.
Twilight levitated the butter knife away from the now floating flailing limbed sandwich and bit off a part of the sandwich that had one of its arms and made her way for the front door. Never did Twilight's cooking ever cease to surprise her; at least it wasn't as dangerous as the fruitcake. While Tress couldn't let go of the demonic fruitcake thing, Twilight had to admit that she probably should be more worried about it like her friend was. It was actually still around since it survived being bit by Barb's tiny diamond eating teeth. She shuddered at the fact that it was still out there possibly terrorizing ponies somewhere.
Opening the door, Twilight came face to face with a mare that could stand to grow her mane out a bit. Unless she was a tom colt, then that style fit perfectly on her and should probably just brush her hair more often. She had a blue coat with a mane and tail that filled out all colors of the rainbow pretty well.
"Hey are you... is that sandwich alive and trying to scream for help in semaphore with its... are those legs? Aw yeah, that is so awesome!" The colorful pegasus watched as Twilight lazily bit off the other arm of the upside down floating sandwich.
The daisy sandwich looked like it was trying to screech in anguish as Twilight ate another part of it, good thing it didn't have vocal chords like the macaroni bat. That thing had taken them hours to get out of the attic when she still lived at her parents' house; she wasn't even actually trying to cook that time either. She just wanted to make some macaroni art, why did life have to be so unfair to her at odd intervals?
"Did you need something or do you want to go on about how my snack just tried to ineffectually kill me with a butter knife?" Continuing to eat the living sandwich without thinking twice about it, Twilight waited for a response. She quickly decided introductions were in order as the pegasus was staring at the still flailing legs of the sandwich. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Trims, Tresses and Trouble Takers and you are?"
"Oh yeah I'm Rainbow Dash, but what I'm here for is not nearly as interesting as that is! So it came at you with a butter knife? Did it have cookie ninja's with it too? Did the cake lie to you as well?" Rainbow Dash seemed more interested in the volatile things Twilight had to do battle with and consume. Especially more so than what she actually originally came here for.
Twilight face hoofed, she should just start a food circus and have carrot dogs jumping through hoops for the masses at this point. Helping ponies who were going to be insane or crazy was going to drive her nuts, but she felt like doing good deeds was where her heart belonged. Even if it hurts her mentally to do so, she would push forward.
"I see the shining example of the educational standards of Cloudsdale is still going strong as ever, If I am to judge by your apparent lack of holding a train of thought. Yes, let's do go on about the sandwich that just inexplicably came to life and tried to kill me and failed horribly at that." It took a moment for Twilight to realize that this was Rainbow Dash. This was the mare that was Fluttershy's old friend who had drifted away from her a few years ago.
"That's it; you're now my friend no matter what. I'm almost even willing to say you're officially as awesome as I am!" Apparently Rainbow didn't catch on to sarcasm quite so well. "How do you even go about making samurai sandwiches anyway? Did you use some special magic trick or have a card that brings it to life to fight other food monsters?"
Twilight double face hoofed. Why, just why? She just took another bite out of her sandwich and silently considered how lucky Fluttershy was to have escaped Cloudsdale. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 31 | Rainbow just watched as Twilight popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth and chewed it thoroughly and slowly. After the unicorn swallowed it, Rainbow suddenly found herself being very bored as soon as the sandwich was gone.
"Now that I'm done entertaining you apparently, what was it that you wanted?" Twilight didn't know if this was a friend she wanted, she seemed flighty and easily distracted. Well Fluttershy made that last point somewhat clear if Rainbow ignored her for the most of a year.
"Huh? Oh yeah what I came here for in the first place!" Rainbow watched as Twilight threw a hoof in her face and wondered if that hurt. It looks like she does that a lot. "I'm looking for a pony."
"Can you be more specific? We're in a town full of ponies." Twilight couldn't help but feel this was a opening to some horrible joke on her.
"Well... she looks like a mare." Rainbow answered simply.
"Can you tell me about this mare you're looking for?" Twilight wondered if it was Fluttershy.
"Well she's feminine. Like a mare kind of feminine, she could just be a very pretty stallion with a falsetto voice though." Rainbow was quite certain that it had been a mare and not a stallion wearing a wig, it happened in Cloudsdale often enough.
"Could you please be more descriptive, like say what does her cutie mark look like?" Okay Twilight felt like this was going somewhere and she felt a migraine coming on. Maybe that was just her brain cells committing suicide in protest of having to deal with Rainbow Dash.
"Well it was a feminine cutie mark and it looked like something that a mare would have. Thus she definitely looked like a mare." Rainbow honestly didn't know why Twilight's face was turning into a frown.
"Okay let's try a different line of questioning before my brain implodes." Twilight really didn't want to continue the direction this conversation was starting to take.
"That would actually be kind of cool to see, though you dying won't help me find the pony I'm looking for. Okay then, shoot the next one at me." Rainbow smiled cheerfully.
"Oh I'd like to shoot something alright... what were her coat or mane and tail colors?" Twilight continuing to her attempts to be amiable in the face of adversity.
"Well they were like my colors; they were pretty bright and cheerful. You know, like a mare." Rainbow looked to the ceiling wondering if she could eat off of it if she suddenly gained spider powers, it was really clean up there.
"Well is she tall or short?" Twilight was beginning to really lose her cool.
"Well she wasn't shorter then a bread box and I doubt there's a mare taller than Celestia. So yeah, somewhere between there and mare shaped." Okay why was the unicorn looking angry and lighting her horn?
"Please answer this one correctly or I may do something I'll regret later. Did she have a long or short mane?" Twilight was getting to a point that she was expecting Rainbow to aggravate her further and was having none of it.
"It was pretty long and looked pretty classy." The unicorn calmed down, Rainbow seriously didn't know what her problem was. "Yeah like a mares, she was quite a looker too."
"It's okay Twilight... you wouldn't know how to hide the body anyway, so it's better that you don't assault the customer..." Twilight mumbled to herself very quietly so Rainbow couldn't hear her. "Okay is there anything that you can tell me that would help me help you find this mare you're looking for?"
"Uh... other than that fact that she looks like a mare and had a strange creature with her that could talk, not really." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.
Twilight wondered if Rainbow was really so dense that she couldn't have mentioned that earlier, she went to face hoof but her hoof was already in her face by the time she came back out of her thoughts.
"Okay can you describe the creature that was with her and can you give me any details?" If it was who Twilight thought it was, then this was going to be a simple ten bits at least.
"Well it was small, female, had bat or dragon wings, was purple with green hair, with dark blue eyes and kind of resembled a small dragon. How would that work though? I mean dragons are really large, breathe fire and would sooner eat a pony then fall in love with one." Rainbow paused when she saw the strained twitchy eye on Twilight's face.
How did Rainbow, who was having problems with giving descriptions of a pony, just give a perfectly good description of Barb? How come she couldn't just give a defined description of Tress? Twilight's mind was so boggled she could just...
Meanwhile at the apple stand with Applejack.
"That'll be two bits please; my today sure is going pretty swell." Applejack then heard the sound of a blood curdling scream in the distance. "Whoa Nelly, sounds like Twilight is having a really bad day and that sounds like it came from clear across town. I sure hope she's alright. Ah well, I have to keep selling my apples."
Meanwhile at the Carousel Boutique with Rarity
"My word, what was that?" Rarity looked entirely confused, she just shrugged and went back to work on the dress, she had to get the trim just right. Oh Tress was going to look so fabulous in it.
At that moment where Fluttershy currently resided in her cozy little hovel she called a home.
"Was that mom just now?" Barb asked as she petted a rabbit, she carefully placed it aside and stood up on the couch. "I've never heard her scream quite like that before... well ever since the fudge brownie incident that is."
"Something tells me she has recently met Rainbow Dash. Let's go Barb." Tress immediately set out the door to go rescue her best friend, with Barb riding on her back.
"Excuse me my little angel, but I have to go help my friends with something. I'll be back in an hour or so." Fluttershy flew off after Tress hoping of all hopes that she didn't outright hurt Rainbow.
Back with Twilight, Rainbow Dash and a particularly mirth filled Zecora who had been watching the events from off to the side. Rainbow was covering her ears and cowering away from Twilight, wondering what she did to get that kind of reaction. Was this unicorn bipolar or just really high strung?
"I know how to find the pony you're looking for." Twilight sighed lowering her head in defeat; she had gotten all that anger out of her system in one furious scream. "Ten bits and I'll tell you how to find her."
Rainbow smiled, she was getting somewhere at least. She pulled out the required bits from somewhere and Twilight simply took them.
"Wait here for five minutes, that's all you need to do." That was all Twilight needed to say as she was going to go to the fridge and pull out some ice cream. She really needed the comfort food right about now her throat was raw after that scream.
In all likelihood Tress probably heard the scream that Twilight just let out and was running in the general direction of the house. It would take a few minute getting back if anything. Of course, Twilight could be underestimating Tress and she could be back within the next forty seconds if she was really pushing it. So she guessed a nice safe five minute time limit.
"What? That's it? Is that all I have to do to meet that mare again?" Rainbow didn't know how to feel at the moment. On the one hoof she just paid ten bits to a mare for doing nothing. On the other hoof the mare in question was awesome enough to get those bits from her without a fuss.
"If it is the mare I think it is that you do seek, then maybe it's a good idea to wait unless in patience you are weak." Zecora could see Rainbow ready to go off at her and in a cantankerous manner that a pegasus would be known for. She simply stopped Rainbow before she could get started. "For if you have no patience then the mare you will not find, I hope at least a lesson you can learn and maybe you will teach one in kind."
"Wha... who are you? Also what's up with all the rhyming?" Rainbow had stumbled when she heard Zecora speak and was about get angry with her until she spoke again cutting her off from saying anything.
"I am a zebra and Zecora is my name, rhyming is a common trait as among any other zebra you'll hear the same." Zecora thought the mare was a bit dense, but just regularly friendly.
"Hey Zecora have you ever had to come up with a rhyme with orange in it before?" Rainbow smiled at the zebra wondering if she would take the bait.
"Ah, if it's oranges of which you need to hear, an orange is easy to rhyme with just to be clear." Zecora smiled back at Rainbow.
"Well, I guess that counts as a rhyme with orange in it." What could Rainbow say to that really? She did use the word and she did rhyme. She just didn't use the word as the rhyme; she must have been pretty smart. "So do you live here or something? Also what's up with the unicorn, Malachite was it?"
"Twilight Sparkle is just feeling a might bit tense. Maybe something you said to her didn't make much sense." Nobody was ever stumping this zebra. "I'm only living here for a short time; I'm lending my aid as well as my rhyme."
"I don't know about that, I was pretty clear that I was looking for a mare and what she looked like." Rainbow tilted her head in confusion. "So... do you know anything about The Wonderbolts?"
"A wonderful sky fairing lot they are, they go everywhere near and far." Zecora remember seeing one of their shows when she went through Saddle Arabia. "They travel the world far and wide, to show off their strange form of pride. They usually stick to the lands of Equestria with their apparent fame, a bunch of flying show offs that are mostly tame."
"Yeah and I'm going to fly with those brave ponies some day." Rainbow flew up throwing her hoof into the air.
"Not if I beat the tar out of you first you won't." Tress said walking through the front door.
"Huh? Oh hey there, I'm so glad I found you. I didn't get your name earlier and..." Rainbow landed on the floor and held out a hoof to Tress. Tress passed Rainbow to trot into the kitchen at a brisk pace and Rainbows wings wilted, why was she being ignored? She thought the mare was a pretty good prankster and wanted to congratulate her on getting one over on The Dash.
Tress found Twilight eating ice cream, apparently something Rainbow did really got to her if she was eating frozen cow juice mixtures. Well that's what Twilight called them anyway.
"Are you okay Twilight?" Looking out the window it was getting pretty late into the evening, Tress sighed as she hugged the poor unicorn. Then grabbed a bowl and started spooning out some ice cream for Barb, she didn't forget she was just going to do it homemade, they had strawberry syrup, bananas and the ruby she could stomp on.
"Yeah, I'm fine Tress. It's just Rainbow is so dense. It's like she's never cracked a book in her life!" Twilight wouldn't believe it could possible that a pony has never read a book before.
"Huh, but books are for eggheads and squares." Rainbow watched as Twilight flinched at her sitting right there at the table. "So what are we talking about? Oh and what's her name, she won't tell me. Can I have some of that ice cream?"
Twilight didn't know what to say about Rainbows disrespect of books in general, because she personally loved to read. Rainbow was also a tad hyper and it was a distinctly annoying kind too.
"Tress, I hope I'm not asking too much of you, but could you please try to at least be nice to her?" The soft exceedingly familiar voice caused Rainbow to freeze up and he wings went stiff but didn't unfold.
Rainbow slowly turned her head and stared wide eyed at her old friend Fluttershy with that strange creature on her back.
"It's been a long time Rainbow, I hope we're still friends. Well that is if you want us to still be friends, we don't have to be if you don't want to." Fluttershy squirmed under all the attention she was receiving from every pony; she rubbed her legs with her right wing shyly. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 32 | "Fluttershy, is that really you? Where in the world have you been? I haven't seen you in a while." Rainbow flew up to the shy mare and gave her a short affectionate cuddle; she didn't want to be lame by prolonging the good feelings of hugging her.
"You haven't seen me in more than five years Rainbow, by the way happy birthday today. I'm sorry I didn't get you anything." Fluttershy knew she couldn't stay long to make sure her other friends wouldn't do anything to Rainbow. She did promise she'd be back in an hour to her little angel bunny... maybe she should just name him Angel.
"Oh that's no problem, has it really been five years though? I thought you've only been gone for one." Rainbow didn't notice Tress leaping for her in an attempt to throttle her for just being so oblivious.
Twilight tackled Tress to the floor and Barb watched on, lazily eating ice cream as her mom wrestled with her best friend. This was pretty entertaining to the young dragon and she has seen plenty of strange things in her life at her grandparents' house.
"Rainbow, I left after Gilda had been around for a year. What happened to her anyway, if you don't mind me asking?" Fluttershy was curious as to how well the griffon did at winning the Rainbow's heart.
"She left around two years ago... I think. She seemed pretty upset about having to go home though." Rainbow liked Gilda as she liked doing awesome and cool things too, they were pretty good friends. "So what's been up with you?"
"Tress, please don't do this. I know she's annoying and I certainly feel your pain in that area, don't think I don't. We should just let them talk and today is her birthday, I'm not about to let you hospitalize a pony on their birthday in this house." Twilight was having quite the time pinning down Tress, as Tress was physically more capable and larger then she is.
"Twilight I respectfully ask you to let me go, so I can trample and or maul her." Tress continued to put up a very good struggle. One of which Fluttershy was witness to, but Rainbow had her back to them.
Fluttershy had a large bead of sweat trail down the side of her head at the scene that was going on beyond Rainbow's view. She knew Rainbow was aggravating them in some way, maybe the likeliest reason is because she was so ignorant of what Fluttershy herself went through. They were good friends, but they didn't need to do things like fret over stuff like this for her sake. This was just how Rainbow was.
"Oh, um... I've been well... I ran away from home, lived on the streets of Canterlot's for three years and slept in a lot of trees. I really discovered all the finer points of my cutie mark and that I'm also good at medicine during all it. I even spent some time living with Twilight's family. It was very nice except when the food came to life, which can actually be very scary even if it still tastes good." Fluttershy watched as Tress pinned Twilight and Barb started counting up to ten. Apparently they turned whatever they were doing into a competition instead of a possible assault on Rainbow. "I moved to Ponyville a few days ago with my good friends and now have the most wonderful job in the world!"
"And Tress takes the Trouble Takers Takedown wrestling championship belt." Barb announced gleefully off to the side.
"Huh?" Tress said simply as she turned her head to look in Barb's direction while making sure Twilight couldn't get any magic off. It was around this moment that Tress started to calm down. It was better if Tress just left the room and stopped thinking about hurting Rainbow at all, she'd be more upset at making Fluttershy upset. Well at least now that she had come to her senses. "Twilight I'm going to let you go now, we are going to stand and walk into the next room and we are going to sit down on the floor and discuss couches. We will ignore Rainbow until she finds an actual reason to bother us."
"That actually sounds pretty good to me." Twilight blushed at the position Tress had currently put her in, the way her mane tickled and slid along her face was really nice.
"You got into the Wonderbolts? Because that's the coolest job there is! I'm going to be the best one someday." This was Rainbow's translation as to the best job in the world and not what Fluttershy thought was her perfect job. "You must have had it so easy Fluttershy, I bet running away was a cakewalk for you and you never had any hardships."
"Excuse me Twilight, but you make have to restrain me again and drag me from the room before I do something every pony in this room will soon regret." Tress said threateningly as her eyes turn green and red while glowing slightly as she helped Twilight to her hooves. Running away from home was never an easy thing, Fluttershy was lucky to be a very bright and intelligent mare to barely survive her own at the age of eleven. Without the animals she befriended aiding her she could have been long dead by this point. "The only reason why I'm not leaping at the chance to hurt her right now is simple. She just doesn't know what Fluttershy has gone through yet and more importantly she doesn't know any better."
"I think I need to leave too before I start thinking of letting you carry out whatever it is you're currently thinking." Twilight quickly levitated Tress against her will and quickly ran out of the room before the situation got worse. There was another reason why she needed to get Tress out of the room and she addressed it. "Tress, I don't mean to panic you but you're eyes are green and red."
"What! Get me to a mirror Twilight." Tress felt herself be dragged along through the air towards the closest to bathroom.
"Oh no, I'm not a Wonderbolt silly. That's your dream job. Also it wasn't very easy for me at all, if you consider being homeless and almost having no bits for food easy. My dream job is running an animal sanctuary and working with other ponies that are good with animals." Fluttershy really hoped her friends were alright. They disliked Rainbow a lot, but she was sure with a little time Rainbow would grow on them.
"Is every pony staying for an evening meal? To not make enough for all a bad friend I will feel." Zecora just shook her head at the way Twilight and Tress left the room. She thought there was something off about Tress's eyes; it looked like she was possessed though Zecora didn't know for sure if that was the case. She knew that those two would at least be around.
"I'm sorry Zecora, I can't stay. I promised a rabbit I'd be back within an hour and the one that's still recovering." Fluttershy didn't really want to leave Rainbow Dash alone with her two other good friends. As she made her way for the living room she turned to ask her old friend a question. "Don't you need to go home too Rainbow?"
"Nah, I'm sticking around for dinner. Free food sounds good right about now. I'll have whatever you guys are having tonight." Rainbow couldn't understand why Fluttershy was sending her worried looks, there was nothing to be worried about and she had made a bunch of new friends today. "So where is your home Fluttershy? I didn't see any other pegasus houses in the area where I've got mine."
"That's because my home is on the ground Rainbow, I'll show you later." Fluttershy wondered if leaving was such a good idea, but she would do so anyway. She just hoped they didn't rough up each other too much. "I really must be going now, I'm sorry if things go wrong at dinner Zecora."
"There is no need to worry, go on back to your charge which is cute and furry. I'll see to it they do each other no pain, for they have more as friends to gain." Zecora thought they had a certain quality of craziness working between them as friends that certainly had a unique charm to it.
"Well if you're sure everything will be okay Zecora." Fluttershy didn't say much further as she went for the front door and turned back to say something loud, well loud for her anyway. "I'll catch up with your later Rainbow."
"Sure thing Fluttershy, we'll make a day of it!" Rainbow called back still sitting at the table bored with the world as nothing interesting was happening. What were the other two mares doing? She watched as the zebra started working on dinner as the dragon thing finished off her ice cream.
"Tress... have you're powers recently come back and how strong are they at the moment if they have?" Twilight saw a look of apprehension in Tress's eyes.
"Well... I've been able to control a lock of my mane; it turns the general Mane-iac style of green when I'm controlling it. I really didn't want to tell you until I figured out how I managed to get that much of my powers back." Tress tried to focus on her mane and get it to change; only it wouldn't. Tress was wondering what was wrong with her. She had the eyes, but the rest of her body and hair was still the same.
"Well can you show me?" Twilight asked as she was witnessing Tress stare into the mirror a little harder than normal.
"I'm trying, but it's not working for some reason. Hold on a second, I think I've got an idea." She was so focused on her eyes; she needed to move her focus away from her eyes. She really needed to redirect it somehow. Slowly she saw the green with red inner circle fade from her eyes and a length of her mane slowly started turning green.
"Can you do your eyes and hair at the same time?" Twilight queried her as she noticed that Tress's eyes returned to their usual vibrant blue. Her mane basically highlighted itself green on its own and she moved it to lift a hairbrush.
"Not really, it's sort of strange. My eyes are taking up some of my powers for some reason. Also I can only create this one small tentacle and stretch it to ten feet at maximum. I had Fluttershy measure it when I was at her house. So far I can only do either my mane or my tail like this and it's either one or the other." Tress couldn't honestly understand why her eyes would be taking up the energy that made her super powers work.
"Have you ever considered the fact that your super powers might have been more than just the things you can do with your beautiful mane? Did you even test everything you could do when you had your powers at full strength?" Seeing her friend shrug, Twilight knew that they had to test Tress's powers as there was more to them then apparently her hair. She made note that more highly resilient body was a common super power for heroes and villains, so that was also something Tress was currently lacking without her powers.
"Well no, but thanks for the compliment even if I've already heard it many times, I do try to keep it nice and clean as you very well know. What in the world could my eyes possibly be doing or what makes them so special that they'd draw from my Mane-iac powers?" Tress really never had power problems before, she was always full on powerful when she was Mane-iac. Right now she doubted she could even take a full on hit from Saddle Rager. She's done it once or twice, but as she is now Tress would probably die the instant that his hoof made contact with her and provided he was in full rage mode at the time.
"Well it's no less true; I really do like working with your mane. Look, we're going to look into this Tress so don't worry about it too much right now. I do have one question though, when did you gain the ability to change your mane like that?" Twilight was curious as to when Tress had exactly discovered this sudden return of her abilities if even slightly. How long had she kept this a secret?
"It first happened when Rainbow almost slammed into me earlier today and almost got me and Barb covered with a wave of mud. I think the zap apples might have restored some of my power and I reacted to the sudden possible threat at incredible speed." Tress moved the brush back to where she got it from. She had taken a moment to draw all of the power back inside of herself returning her completely back to normal, well as normal as a super powered mare could be.
"Tress, your powers should be inert. The magical energy from those apples shouldn't be capable of doing this, though I must admit there might be something to it. Again we'll look into this later; it smells like Zecora is almost finished working on dinner." Twilight started to walk away followed by her best friend. Just before they reached the kitchen she heard a whimper behind her. Twilight stopped, turned back around and hugged Tress. "I'm not going to stop being your friend because of something like this Tress; you should really know this by now."
"Well that's comforting at least, but I'm whimpering about the fact that Rainbow is apparently staying for dinner. I can already imagine the disappointed look on Fluttershy's face when I give her a black eye." Looking at the table Rainbow was talking with Zecora while Barb was making some vegetable stir fry and working a frying pan with her bare claws. Apparently Zecora was finished with most of what she had to cook.
"Come on Tress. Let's go get this over with." Twilight dragged Tress to the table holding her hoof as she walked. "We'll get through this somehow." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 33 | The next day...
Well dinner last night had gone well or at least Tress would attest to it despite the black eye, she wasn't the only one but with Zecora it was hard to tell if she was bruising or not. Surprisingly the injuries she acquired were not because of Rainbow Dash, whom she begrudgingly respected somewhat now. She was never safe around any Sparkle, but she didn't care as they were her friends.
Twilight thought things could have gone worse at least Rainbow was entertained by what happened last night. She was going over the agenda's they could do today while sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of steaming hot tea under her nose.
They had several jobs they could feasibly take this day, one from a pony named Bonbon who was actually asking Twilight for a service she was actually good at. There was also a call for assistance into helping teach some unicorns at the local school by the earth pony Cheerilee. A unicorn named Lyra needed advice and a little outside help with something. There was some call for assistance in setting up musical stuff from someone named Vinyl Scratch. Another request from Vinyl to talk to a pony named Octavia about something. Finally an earth pony stallion named Time Turner needed them to throw garbage into a magical garbage can at a specific time and place, this would only take about ten seconds out of their day or so the request stated. Mr. Turner was offering up a lot of bits for them to do this.
They had plenty of jobs and plenty of things they could be getting paid for.
"Mom, I am so sorry about last night. I still don't know what went wrong." Barb walked into the room looking remorseful, only to receive a gentle hug from Twilight.
"It's alright; things just got a little out of hoof Barb." The dragon snuggled into Twilight's chest and she smiled at her daughter. She was certainly a chip off the old block; she was certainly proven to be a part of the Sparkle family after last night. "Smart! What is Barb learning today?"
"Levitation and yes we're doing it outside and we're not nearly that stupid we know!" Smart fluttered into the room and landed on top of Tress's head. "In any case we need something that doesn't catch on fire to practice with. Unless you want stuff to be teleported to you constantly, Barb is kind of keyed in to your energy signature with her messaging spell and it seems it is a bit automatic if she doesn't want something to catch on fire. We're still working out the kinks on it."
"So what are we going to do today Tress?" Twilight was eager to get out there and earn some bits so they could continue their livelihoods. They were doing pretty well already.
"I'll take care of this Time Turner's request, though I don't know why he's paying us a hundred bits to do something so simple sounding. It seems a little odd that he'd want to pay us so much, but who am I to complain as long as we get paid to do it?" Still though, Tress was kind of hoping it'd be as simple as it sounded. The description of the garbage can was simple enough; it'd have a plunger shaped object sticking out of it and that they were to ignore whatever it said and just toss some garbage into it, then forget about it entirely. "Other than that, I want to take up Lyra's request and talk to Octavia for this Vinyl character. I'll do the Time Turner one when I can. It's set for around lunchtime anyway so we should probably meet at the cafe as its close enough to the target location. I'll see what this Vinyl will exactly want me to say to Octavia before I meet up with Lyra."
Tress hadn't met any of these ponies yet, but these were their clients and they were taking their requests. Twilight handled the requests and meetings with the ponies when she got some free time that is. They have been meeting a lot of new ponies to befriend lately and Tress thought Twilight looked so happy to be spreading herself out into the world.
"I'll come with you to meet up with Vinyl and we'll work on that angle together and split up to go do the other things. I'll talk Cheerilee about when I can start teaching and how long she expects me to work with the unicorns about how to do magic; she'll likely want me doing afternoon classes." After a moment at which Twilight noticed she was being stared at by Tress, she rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm going to take Bonbon's request; her mane really needs a trim and some styling. I still need to talk to her about what she exactly wants me to do with her hair."
"Don't forget to visit the mayor today! Are you done with breakfast Barb?" Seeing the dragon nod, Smart fluttered into the air off of snuggling into Tress's mane and immediately started for the door. "Well come on then, it's time to open the public library or as I like to call it the kung fu dragon warrior training grounds!"
"Oh, before I forget, Pinkie finally sent us an invite to her 'welcome to Ponyville' party! I hope we can all go to it." Barb pointed to where the invitation lay and then was out the door, she already got her hug from mom today. She could already tell Smart was going to make today fun and unique for her and looked forward to what the crazy toy mom was going to have her do.
"Huh, you have been invited to the best super de duper ultimate welcoming party ever. We'll have snacks, games and I even got DJ-Pon3 to agree in making an appearance so it'll be a blast. I hope we can all be the best of friends, love to every pony from the Ponyville Premiere Party Pony Pinkie Pie. It sounds fun Tress, we'll go and we can earn some business from the sounds of it. Maybe meet a few more acquaintances and friends." Twilight knew it was the pink pony that held the parties in the library recently, but she couldn't be mad with her as she agreed to stop doing so. They were going to enjoy it just fine as long as Pinkie wasn't too annoying.
"DJ-Pon3 is going to be there? Well this is sure to be a blast, especially if she's doing the music for it. I've been to one of her shows before." Tress wasn't about to say that was with Fleur, but they did have a lot of fun. "Now let's go see this Vinyl Scratch about this equipment set up and talking to Ms. Octavia."
"Excuse me for asking Tress, but can I borrow some of your shampoo. You know, the no particular smell one, I need it for when I meet Bonbon later on." They were soon setting about the room to pick up their saddle bags and Twilight was given the shampoo, she made sure to pick up the stuff she'd need for taking care of a mares mane later on today.
They were off once again into the wild blue yonder while Zecora cleaned up their home, she too was going to the party and she didn't say much else except that she'd be leaving for the Ever Free Forest soon after. She'd come visit them once in a while and make sure they actually got a well cooked meal, she felt sorry for Twilight being incapable of making anything other than some of the best pudding she's ever tasted.
They came up to Vinyl Scratch's location or at least the one that was given to Twilight. Tress was idly moving along behind her, Looking at the splendor that was the nice town they moved into. Walking up to the door, Twilight knocked on it and it opened to reveal a unicorn mare with a wild looking electric blue mane, white coat and wearing tinted glasses.
"Oh, hey miss Rave Lady! How's it hanging mare, it's been a while hasn't it? Say, where's the hot stuff Flower Power?" There was a look of confusion on the purple mares face and the other pony the DJ recognized immediately.
"DJ-Pon3, what are you doing here? We're here to meet a Miss Vinyl Scratch about two jobs, one to talk to Octavia and the other to help move and possibly assist with equipment?" Tress saw a smile cross DJ-Pon3's face.
"Oh good you're here! Well you're looking at her, as my name is Vinyl Scratch and that's when I'm not up on the stage. So who's helping me with Octavia, she's a tad stuffy and is finding it hard to break into Canterlot high society. She really needs to learn how to live a little and let loose once in a while. I needed some pony to show her that not all high society types are all into the pompous blowhard act or at least show her she's a tad too uptight. I needed a mare that could do the job and you're perfect for what I need Rave Lady if you will do it; Octavia is a fan of yours and was sad that you mysteriously quit. I can kind of see Ponyville as being more your speed and I can agree that Canterlot can be quite the drag sometimes." Well it was apparent Vinyl Scratch was quite the chatterbox and was upbeat and friendly.
"Well at least I didn't have to explain why I quit the super model scene to you at least; you're quite fast when it counts Vinyl. Though you could stand to bathe more, you have a body odor that's kind of rank." Watching as the pony sniffed herself, Tress gagged and so did Vinyl. "Yes well, where is this Octavia? I'll see what I can do."
"Well first I want to how much is this going to cost me? I know you aren't doing this all for free. So when can you two help me move and set up my equipment, because it needs to be done tonight unless you have other pressing matters?" Vinyl waited as the two other ponies deliberated, Tress addressed her first.
"It's interesting knowing the real name of the DJ that knows how to mix good music. How much a job from us costs is based on how difficult the job is, for Octavia it won't cost more than ten bits. We can even all join together for lunch and split the check between all of us. We got several other ponies we're going to be working with today as well." Tress wouldn't mind having lunch with Vinyl and whoever this Octavia is. "So we'll do lunch at the cafe, what do you say Vinyl?"
"Okay that seems fair; I wouldn't mind sharing a table with random strangers today." Vinyl stretched out, she was going to have some fun today."Sounds like a good plan to me."
"I can certainly help you move you're equipment later in the evening Miss Scratch. It really wouldn't be that big a trouble so it'll be cheap as well." Twilight said politely only to get a frown from Vinyl.
"You need to remember that I don't like being called a miss anything Sparky. Call me Vinnie or Vinyl, maybe eventually at least think of giving me a fun nickname."After a moment Vinyl smiled seeing that Twilight gets it. "Yeah, I can work with your help though. Just follow my directions when we start setting up and we'll do just fine Sparky."
"Sorry about that Sniff, is Sniff okay for you Scratch? We can work out moving and setting up stuff over lunch. I've got a lot of other ponies to meet with today. So see you then I guess?" Twilight answered back, she stared at Vinyl's mane. It was wild, unkempt and in need of a good cleaning but she sounded like the decent sort of pony that liked informalities. Twilight wasn't going to ask if she could work with Vinyl's mane as she knew what kind of pony Vinyl was and that she'd refuse immediately. "We'll all meet at the Cafe with the good hay fries, say around noon to one."
"Yeah, I can dig that. As for you Rave Lady, Octavia can be found down the street take a left and she's in the third house on the left. Just don't be surprised if she treats you like royalty though, she thought it was previously impossible for an earth pony mare to make it in the high society of Canterlot's unicorn population. She's been proven otherwise and is trying to make a splash with her classy music stuff, not exactly my scene but I want her to achieve her dreams she's working hard for. She's been my best friend since forever and we grew up here together so treat her with respect." With that Vinyl turned around wiggled her rear end at them before she closed the door and snickered a bit. They saw her bridged eighth note cutie mark quite clearly and heard some words from her before she got too far from the door. "I'm so going to drop that bass tomorrow."
"Well that was a strange pony, how do you know her and who's Flower Power? Is it Fluttershy?" Twilight saw a cringe cross Tress's face. She was glad to have set a time for them to meet up at the cafe or else things would have been a little awkward if they didn't know when to meet up.
"No, actually it's some of the things I did with Fleur. It's kind of hard to make friends in Canterlot and not only did I work with her, I also partied with her too once or twice." One would think Tress was in trouble because she still hasn't told Twilight about how she met Fleur; they would be wrong as their friendship was as great as ever.
"Well okay then. I guess this is where we split up Tress. Today is going to be crazy I just know it." Twilight and Tress walked away from each other. Only within seconds did they run back and swapped hugs and wishes of good luck on their jobs today, they'd need it if Twilight was right about it being crazy. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 34 | Tress counted off the houses and stopped at the third one on the left, trotting up to the door of the small house she could only imagine the way things could go wrong. She seriously wondered why she was so popular. Fleur was supposed to be the one every pony looked up to, not her!
Sighing and deciding to bite the bridle, Tress marched up to the door and gave it several smacks with her left hoof. She could hear a voice on the other side grumbling about something. The door slowly opened up to reveal a somewhat tired looking earth pony.
"Why Vinyl I have half a mind to... to..." Octavia was grey coated mare with a black mane and tail set in a refined well brushed style. Her fringe was especially cute as it swept across her forehead and she wore a small white collared pink bowtie around her neck. Marking her flank was a purple treble clef cutie mark. She stood in the doorway staring at Tress with a rising amount of awe and then her purple eyes rolled upwards. She had flopped into Tress's hooves passed out.
"Is there a doctor nearby?" Tress suddenly called out. She was completely aware that Twilight was right, today was going to be crazy and this was only the beginning.
A brown stallion with an hourglass cutie mark stopped nearby and gave a mischievous smirk while waggling his eyebrows at Tress and then continued on his way. Tress was thoroughly confused by the stallions' actions and then she saw Fluttershy leading a pack of ducks while walking backwards.
"Hey Fluttershy, can I get a little help here! How do I resuscitate a pony that's just passed out in shock?" Tress was asking the pony who knew first aid better than she did.
"Oh my, is she okay? Hold on a second Mrs. Quackers, this'll only take a moment. Well first you need to lay her down gently; you caught her fainting which is a good thing. Now let me check her pulse... well unless you know she's perfectly fine and still breathing." Seeing that the pony was still breathing meant it wasn't a serious issue, but Fluttershy checked her pulse anyway and it was still strong which was good. "Please remember these things when a pony passes out Tress, you could save a life. First we try to shake her shoulder gently and if she's unresponsive we move on to the next action to take."
Tress shook Octavia's shoulder and she was slightly responsive as one of her ears flicked, but didn't do much else.
"If that doesn't work, do you know her name? If she doesn't respond to your voice we'll move on to the next step." Fluttershy waited once again for Tress to complete her action.
"Octavia, wake up!" Yelled Tress into her ear and now both her ears wiggled slightly.
"No Vinyl, I don't want you to lick marmalade off my belly. That's really disgusting of you Vinyl... keep going." Octavia's words caused Fluttershy and Tress to blush.
"Let us never speak of this moment or even bring it up ever again Fluttershy." As if it wasn't awkward enough for them already that she fainted right into Tress's hooves.
"Um... that would be for the best. Okay if this doesn't work, you should introduce pain and or splash her with water, but make sure she doesn't choke on the water and might want to splash her chest or belly as it's more sensitive. If she's still unresponsive and doesn't immediately wake up, get her to a hospital as fast as you can. She doesn't seem so bad off so get some water; I don't like causing other's pain needlessly." That wasn't to say Fluttershy wouldn't cause pain if it could help someone, she just hoped to minimize said pain when the situation it was needed occurred.
They both walked into the currently open home and quickly found out where the mare kept her drinking glasses, after a moment Tress filled one with water and splashed Octavia carelessly. The mare immediately sat up sputtering water and looked completely confused.
"Vinyl, what in the world are...?" Octavia stared at the two ponies one in particular was Tress Ravel, the other was just some random pegasus who she felt radiated pure kindness with her soulful eyes. "Uh... this is awkward."
"Yes, very much so... you can get back to what you were doing Fluttershy and thank you for all the help. I'll try to keep your knowledge in mind when another pony passes out on me." Tress watched the shy mare exit the domicile and then started coaxing the ducks back onto their migratory waddling path along the ground. Apparently Mrs. Quackers little ducklings couldn't fly, Fluttershy was leading them safely through town to a nice pond.
"Excuse me for my episode if you will, but what is The Tress Ravel doing in my home?" Octavia was kind of star struck and her voice was quite soft sounding in nature with a classy lilt to it reminiscent of an upper class pony. "Oh where are my manners, I am Octavia Apple Melody Pie Philharmonica, you can just call me Octavia or Ms. Philharmonica if you will."
"What is it with ponies thinking I'm so famous? I only worked with Fleur for about two years. It was nothing that big really." Considering the positively aghast look on Octavia's face, Tress felt she was about to get an interesting response from her.
"Why, whatever are you talking about? You're an inspiration to ponies everywhere and not just because you worked with Fleur De Lis. I'm having troubles even getting my hoof in the door to Canterlot, though I have gotten some acknowledgement for my work. You see my special talent is playing all kinds of stringed instruments, I'm best with a cello or a bass. I'm also really good at violins, but that was mostly because of cousin Fiddlesticks helped me learn. Though I still don't fully understand her insistence that I learn to play the more country stuff, it's not my thing really and she thinks I'm just being silly about it." Octavia paused realizing that she wasn't talking to Vinyl and was going off on into her own little world. Usually Vinyl let her ramble on but this was a guest in her home and a famous one from Canterlot no less. "I'm terribly sorry about my rambling Ms. Ravel, is there any particular reason you sought me out?"
"I heard I had a fan in the area and I decided to introduce myself. I just moved into Ponyville recently with my friends and so far this town seems peaceful. Well if you can discount the giant monsters and the forest of imminent death next door." Well that was mostly true, Tress knew Octavia was a fan of hers. Almost like Rarity was and just as classy, she should probably introduce the two to each other as they'd get along greatly.
"Still though, why did you quit? You were doing so well and I must admit you're as elegant and beautiful as your pictures. Even then I don't think they do you even a smidge of justice." Octavia was starry eyed as she said this.
It kind of freaked out Tress on some small level, but Octavia's compliments were nice all the same.
"I'm Tress Ravel as you know, what you don't seem to know about me is that I'm not into fame or fortune thing. I'm just trying to live a nice life that was given to me, though I thank you for thinking so highly of me. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind following me around for a bit and then we'll do lunch with my associate I'm currently working with." Almost immediately Tress received a nod, Octavia looked eager to impress her and wanted to be friends. "First we have to go meet another pony, since she has a job for me and needs my help."
"Okay lead on Ms. Ravel, though would you mind if I ask you a question?" Seeing that the taller pony nodded as Octavia locked up her home, she decided to ask the question on her mind. "What is your special talent and how did you get your cutie mark?"
"How I got my cutie mark isn't that important, I just loved smelling things when I was younger and wondered what it would be like if I could smell like them." Because it would require Tress to explain she's a comic book character from another universe and that she was a whiz at alchemy at a young age and had to run a corporation left behind by her deceased parents. All the riches and fame in the world still couldn't compare to a friend once you've lost it all and hit rock bottom. Still though, it wouldn't hurt to tell Octavia what she was good at. "My special talent is making beauty products, more specifically shampoo and body wash are the particular things I'm really good at mixing up. I have a side business selling some of this homemade stuff and I wouldn't sell it if I didn't perfect it and use it on myself first. My main job is working with the Trouble Takers with my best friend and we'll take commissions for just about anything as long as it isn't violent in nature. Doesn't mean the situation we get called in for can't be volatile, a few days ago we ran afoul of a five headed hydra while chasing a cat."
"I heard about the hydra thing in the marketplace. That was you and your friends doing? Well that's an interesting talent, so how did you get along with Fleur so well if I may be so bold to ask? I would also like a few tips on how I can get my start in Canterlot." Octavia wanted some pointers if she was going to try and become a pony others could look up to as well. She really didn't want to know how Tress ran into a five headed hydra; it was probably something Vinyl might eventually drag her into meeting because it sounded fun.
"Well for one you got the accent down, honestly don't know why ponies bother with the holier than thou attitude though. Let me tell you a secret about how things work in life, be yourself and don't try to change who you are to fit someone else's design. That's what Fleur taught my best friend and she's one of the nicest ponies you could ever meet." Tress thought Twilight was something special and so did any other pony that inadvertently get's affected by her endearing personality. "It's best to find the ponies that you can work with, ponies that will be your close friends no matter what happens. I wouldn't try to force anything if you're really dead set on dealing with the nobles though, you should really cater to those who would truly appreciate you."
"I can agree with that, though I can think of a friend I'd rather not have causing trouble around me." Octavia was referring to Vinyl Scratch. That pony was such a nuisance and yet Octavia felt a pang of guilt if she were to try and run off Vinyl despite how infuriatingly annoying she was. Vinyl was always messy, uncouth, smelly and was never really too serious about anything and yet Octavia liked having her around for some odd reason. "Then again I feel like I'd miss her too much if I were to push her away."
"Trust me on this one Octavia; a best friend is something every pony needs. Just to have a pony that can understand you even if they don't see eye to eye with you. In the high society scene you want to break into, you're going to need to find friends like that to stay in business and do what you love." Tress felt a tingly sensation in her heart, now if only she could tell if it was growing three sizes or not. "I think we're almost there. Let's see, yes this should be it."
Octavia took notice of where they were and wondered why of all places did they have to come to her house? She really didn't like the pony that lived here, but she wasn't about to voice her displeasure as this was a job for Tress and this had nothing to do with her personal displeasure of the pony.
Walking up to this particular house and knocking on the door, Tress waited for the pony inside to open it. Inside was a mint green pony with a lyre for a cutie mark, she had a cyan colored hair with white streaks in it. As soon as she saw Octavia she glared.
"You, what are you doing here!" The pony in particular had a rivalry with Octavia.
"She's here with me. I'm Tress Ravel and I'm here about the help you wanted." Tress saw a bad situation coming a mile away from the clients' reaction to Octavia who shied away slightly not wanting to cause her any trouble. It was a good sentiment, though Octavia didn't really need to worry about her livelihood even as she shook hooves with Lyra.
"I'm Lyra Heartstrings. Does she have to be here for this?" Lyra wasn't particularly pleased with Octavia's presence; they were rivals in music after all.
"Considering your reaction to her, she has to be here now more than ever!" Both of the ponies looked at the evil smile on Tress's face with confusion and trepidation. Tress had a plan; she did say a friend was a pony Octavia needed even if she couldn't see eye to eye with that pony. What better way to show her that then to spread a little friendship between two enemies. "Now what was it you needed of the Trouble Takers Ms. Heartstrings?" |
Twilights Mane Passion | 35 | "I'm not sure I can trust her with what I need your help with." Lyra didn't know who Tress was and in comparison she was pretty sure Octavia didn't either. She didn't know why her opponent in music looking at this mare so fondly.
"Eh, I don't know her that well either, but I'm willing to give her a shot at being my friend at the very least. So what's the deal with you two, do you have a bad history with each other?" Tress was glad that Octavia had only fainted upon the sight of her and then didn't do much more as a fan of hers. Current slightly dysfunctional super powers aside, Tress thought she was just an average mare trying to get by and help her friends with their dreams. Twilight was right she needed to find some dreams of her own.
"We don't like to talk about it much, but we just keep running into each other a lot and we always end up taking music related jobs out of each other's hooves. It happens fairly often, enough so that we have a grudge going between us." Octavia understood that and wasn't insulted by Tress, it was the truth she had only just met her and the first thing she does is faint? Then again she really could stand to be a little less star struck; Tress was definitely not the high societal type she expected her to be.
"Is that really a good reason to be hostile towards each other?" Tress thought Octavia could be much worse about the way she held her in high esteem; even if Rarity wasn't this bad about it. Speaking of which, Rarity mellowed out pretty quickly once she found out that not everything was all sunny as it seemed up there in Canterlot, though she still had her dreams of finding a nice stallion and running a dress making business with a lot of renown.
"Oh we can make plenty of reasons to be hostile towards each other." Lyra said plainly with a flat look on her face in Octavia's direction, Octavia returned the look if slightly unbalanced in comparison to the intensity being much less then Lyra's.
"We're really getting off topic here, can we get to what is it that you needed my help with?" Tress got between them and separated them somewhat; she had to get her plan in action and fast.
"Can we do this somewhere more relaxing before I tell you what I need help with?" This got Lyra some odd questioning stares.
"How can your house not be relaxing?" It wasn't like Octavia was the only pony who thought this as Tress was sharing a similar sentiment in her own head.
"Look I just need some fresh air okay! I also really want to sit on my favorite bench at the park. Maybe then I might feel better about telling my request, especially with octopus here flailing her tentacles at me." Lyra sniffed with her nose upraised at Octavia who glared at her.
Tress thought there was a bit of irony here. At least so far nothing too horrible has happened to her and it seemed things would be normal for once. Octavia was probably the worst of the trouble she would be getting into today, she could only hope.
Lyra led the way to a grassy place with a few trees; it was a park where ponies tended to play with their pets. Eventually she came up to a particular bench. Planting herself in a weird sitting position that was a tad unnatural for a pony, Lyra turned her eyes to Tress as she got comfortable.
"I swear you're about as bad as Vinyl is." Octavia muttered in reference to how the unicorn was sitting.
"Okay I know this is going to sound like an odd request, but I really need help confessing my feelings to a special pony close to my heart." Lyra looked a bit pensive about the help she needed and was ignoring Octavia's jab at her, she thought Vinyl was okay for a pony that was noted for being a bit wild. "Maybe you could give me some advice about how to do it or the setting I could do it in?"
"I would need some more information about this pony you've got your eyes set on, I promise I'm not about to judge you based on your choices." Tress had no problems with Lyra, even if she were attracted to mares.
"Well it's not you I'm worried about, it's her." As Lyra pointed out Octavia, the evil smile once again came across Tress's face.
"Don't mind her being here; she'd be a terrible pony if she said anything negative about your personal life choices which have nothing to do with her. I'm here to help you out with your problems and if I can't help you, you won't have to pay me." Tress still had that creepy smile plastered on her face.
"But aren't you kind of making my personal life choices known to her?" Lyra thought Tress was being rather creepy by the fact that she only widened her smile a bit.
Octavia didn't know why Tress was allowing her to take part in this, but she was pretty sure it was going to get her involved soon.
"Well fine, the pony I really like is a mare and she was kind enough to take me in when I was down on my luck. She likes me even despite all my issues and I wanted her to know how she makes me feel to just be around her." Lyra had her eyes set sternly on Octavia who had no business actually being in on this. She noticed Octavia really didn't say much; in fact she looked a bit sad.
"So Octavia, how does it make you feel to know one of your friends is in love and has less time for you?" Yes, Tress really needed to exacerbate the issue.
"I don't know Ms. Ravel considering we aren't exactly friends; it's kind of hard for me to even consider I might have caused another pony to become destitute. When did you have money issues Lyra?" Octavia asked a bit wary now of how this conversation was tangling up her own feelings about a pony she thought she knew.
"Wait... you didn't know?" A look of confusion crossed Lyra's face before she became angry. "How could you not know? It was about a year and a half ago!"
"Wasn't that during... oh, I see." Octavia thought they were still doing particularly well off even if they were rivals. Lyra was an excellent harp and lyre player.
"Well you might want look on the bright side of things." Tress said cheerily and only slightly out of character for her.
Octavia just never thought of the possibility of actually causing other ponies she knew personally to have monetary issues, not while she pursued of a good well paying job for her own music. She wondered why Tress was trying to make things worse; didn't she care about getting paid herself? Didn't she need the bits as well? She was now working random jobs instead of with a popular supermodel, is this a point she was trying to make about having friends?
"Well you did meet a mare you care so much about that you could profess your love of her to a total stranger and a pony you don't like and didn't care what they would actually think of you. If you can do that then you can certainly tell her how you feel to her face!" The two mares reeled back at her words; Tress just started laughing at them. "Let's talk a little about this mare, what's she like? Also do you want to join me for lunch? I'm supposed to meet up with my best friend after I finish up another job on the way to the cafe. If you want to talk completely homeless try doing it for three years, a friend of mine certainly knows what it's like."
"You have a friend that was homeless for longer then I was? How is she nowadays, I'd have gone insane if I was stuck that way for much longer with barely any bits to my name." Lyra's tone changed immediately, having live through it personally and Tress knowing a pony that had been there as well helped her a bit.
"Oh she's certainly around and she is much better off now that she has a good job here in Ponyville and she got it with the help of her friends. Octavia has already met her." The musical mare looked at Tress questioningly before she realized who she was talking about.
"You mean that pegasus that helped you revive me when I fainted?" Octavia asked uncertainly, Lyra chuckled at her despite not knowing the context of why she fainted. Didn't she know who Tress was? "Who in their right mind wouldn't take in a pony that nice? She even took time out of her day to help me get back on my hooves."
"That's Fluttershy for you, she's the kindest pony I know and she likes to help others feel better. Her special talent is communicating with and understanding animals. She was barely living on the streets of Canterlot and if she didn't have the animals as friends there she wouldn't have been as well off when I and my best friend found her." The conversation turned a bit lighter tone as Tress thought of that mare being out in the cold without being covered in very friendly squirrels. "So, how bad was it for you in comparison to my friend who had to sleep in tree's and rely on the kindness of animals to keep her alive? Not to mention she spent most of the money she earned on helping said animals that helped her."
"Not nearly as bad as my situation was or sounds. I was still able to at least make some money street performing and I was very frugal with it, it sounds like your friend wasn't even thinking of herself." It seemed a little sobering that all her problems might not have been as bad, as somewhere at some time there is pony that possibly has it worse.
"She wasn't, trust me on that. Let's get back to giving me a better description about this mare that you really like." Tress was intrigued to hear more about how Lyra felt about this mare.
"Well she has a beige coat, a pink and blue mane. She has three sweets marking her flank and she earned her cutie mark in making candy. Also there's this one unique thing about her that I really like, her voice randomly changes all the time. It is so weird and enchanting." Lyra sighed while staring off into space. "Though she's rather sweet and like an angel, just don't get her angry."
Tress knew that sounded an awful like one of Twilight's other clients; well lunch was going to be an interesting affair when she and Twilight came back together.
"Was this pony named Bonbon by any chance?" Tress suddenly found herself being shaken out of control by a suddenly excited lyrist.
"You two have met, did she say anything about me or does she think my fascination with humans is too weird? Oh goodness I don't think I can share how I feel with her if she doesn't like me too much because of that or maybe she does like me back and she's too afraid to tell me." Lyra was up and out of the bench, a little worried about what Bonbon would think of having a relationship with her. She was taking a bit of these worries out on Tress. "What do I do?"
Lyra felt herself be slapped by a hoof and she quickly released Tress to have her shoulders held down by two grey hooves. She was being stared down by Octavia and her body froze.
"Well first you can calm down this instant and come to your senses! No rival of my mine is going to cower or go insane when she so bravely faces against me in melodic combat with such beautiful tones." In reality, Octavia did that to help Tress out of her predicament as she looked to be a bit dizzy from being shaken up so hard.
"Thanks I needed that... wait, neither of you don't think it's odd that I love a mare?" Lyra had always worried that her status would make her unlikable in Canterlot, the upper class unicorns were all into the status quo and disliked same gendered couples. Not to mention the issue of whether or not Bonbon would return her feelings to begin with.
"Eh, it doesn't bother me one bit, though I have no idea what you're going through." Tress shrugged, this was a little beyond her but she would still help Lyra confess her feelings.
"I think I personally focus too hard on my career as it is. I don't care whether any friend of mine likes mares or stallions. It doesn't have any bearing on how I live my life so it really doesn't bother me all too much." Octavia finally admitted that she might have been a little harsh with Lyra in the past and decided to start calling her a friend. Tress was right, when things came right down to it you needed friends who may not like you but will be there when you need them.
"Good to know. Now if we can please stop getting sidetracked, will you join us out for lunch Lyra?" If Tress was right, Lyra will be seeing Bonbon very soon. Twilight was inviting the ponies she was meeting to lunch as well; this job was just as good as done. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 36 | "Equine based life forms detected, strange excessive mutations in one of the three subjects. Threat level extreme, course of action is immediate deletion. Ex..." The garbage could barely get out its next word when one of the three equines that had been approaching the bridge walked up it.
"Yeah yeah, existential crisis I get it. Kind of what my friends' toy goes through once in a while just being a pile of memories animated and being too near another enchantment using the same magical signature would cause problems in the long run thus you have issues with being so alone being what you are at times." Tress stated as she walked up to the strange trash can with the blue light on top of it that stared at her. She pushed the plunger shaped extrusion downwards and the top of the magical garbage can popped open.
"Incon..." The garbage can started to say as it should have been impossible for its lid to open the way it had been.
"Yeah, inconvenient I know but that's life for you. Now shut up and let me throw my garbage into you." Tress popped off some bits of trash into the garbage can while the two other ponies stared at the strange magical garbage can thing. After she was done dumping off some random trash she had found lying around, Tress lifted her left hoof off the garbage cans plunger and the lid dropped back into place. "Come on you two stop staring at the strange magic garbage can, we need to reserve a table with a possible party of eight or more. I swear you're both easily distracted by even the least of the weirdest things I've seen."
Lyra and Octavia carefully trudged around the trash can which didn't move or say anything, it had been attempting to talk before and now it was just completely silent.
"That thing looks like it was made by humans... and their hands!" Lyra said slightly wary of the so called trash can.
"Must you prattle on about these strange creatures of yours? How do you even know they exist if you don't have photographic evidence?" Octavia said right back, keeping the trash can in peripheral vision as she slowly passed by it.
"Do you seriously live in an area where there is a forest that is known for its unknown wild creatures next door? It's not that big a stretch to believe in strange and unheard of creatures that resembles a minotaur that is only less bulky and hairy." In fact Tress was pretty sure if a world like hers existed, then so did one with Lyra's thin tall lanky creatures. From what Lyra told them, humans were technologically advanced and had minimal magical powers to see into other worlds and express these realities in magical technological viewing devices, works of art and books.
The trash can twitched slightly once the three equine creatures were far enough away. The garbage can started screaming and moving around small tight circles until it hit the edge of the bridge and flipped over it. It fell towards the small stream upside down and it went up in a spectacularly huge explosion as soon as it hit the water.
Both Octavia and Lyra jumped and turned around to look at the explosion while Tress just flipped her mane and continued walking on to smile at the sight of Twilight. The explosion was framing Tress in some rather epic backdrop lighting as she gave a simple coy smile to her best friend, yeah she didn't know what was going on behind her and she obviously didn't care. She simply did what Time Turner wanted her to, to just forget about it after the job was done.
"How are things going with you so far?" Tress said in an amused tone to Twilight and the other two mares, all with boggled expressions on their faces.
Up above Tress and Twilight at the moment was an annoying pegasus who blinked at what she just saw.
"That has got to be the most awesome thing I've seen today, she didn't even look at the explosion!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in the air spreading her wings wide, she was right in thinking Truss was an interesting pony. No wait, her name wasn't Truss, what was it again?
On a hillside far away looking through a pair of binoculars at the bridge, a brown stallion smiled to his companion who was slowly munching her way through another muffin. He looked to his left at the chalkboard bisected into two different sections with a chalk line. The left side of the chalk line had the word ponies underlined and beneath it the brown stallion lifted a piece of chalk to the board and put a slash through some markings, at the current count it was up to forty five. The other side of the board had another underlined thing but it didn't even have a single mark.
"Well they certainly aren't very good at invading Equestria are they Doctor?" The blond mare said cheerily as she nibbled at her blueberry muffin. The brown stallion smiled and nodded. "I better go deliver the bits as promised; you fish whatever is left of it out of the stream."
The stallion just smirked victoriously as his rather affectionate friend nuzzled him and took to the air with a bag of bits. Once again Equestria proves that alien invaders are really poor at handling friendly, adorable and cuddly little magical equine creatures.
A while ago with Twilight Sparkle, before meeting Tress with an explosion going off behind her while she did a rather impressive pose to go along with it.
Twilight wondered about this Cheerilee mare a bit as she made her way to the school. This was a town which easily supports all types of ponies. A teacher was a pony Twilight could respect as teachers usually had hard jobs in making sure other ponies had futures to look forward to.
She approached the school, today wasn't a school day and Cheerilee was here just cleaning up the school. Upon trotting inside she could see why Cheerilee needed to clean up. Whatever they were paying her for this job, it wasn't anywhere nearly enough.
"Excuse me, Ms. Lee. I'm here to talk about assisting you with teaching the unicorns how to use their magic." The earth pony mare that was poking as some odd sludge like substance on the floor with a broom suddenly perked up her ears and turned around to look at Twilight.
"Oh thank you for coming, maybe you could assist me with the cleanup of a tiny science experiment gone wrong first?" Cheerilee's green eyes were pleading for some support with her current endeavors. Her mane and tail were two shades of pink, regular and lighter. Her mane was kind of reminiscent of Apple Blooms hair style, just without the bow. Her coat was a dark purplish pink and her cutie mark was three pink and yellow flowers with smiling faces on them.
"Sure thing Ms. Lee. What was the experiment and how did it come to this?" Twilight noticed Cheerilee wasn't entirely forthcoming with how the room ended up in the state it did as she mumbled something. "What was that? I can't hear you. You sound like a shy friend of mine."
"I said we were making volt conducting potatoes or experimenting with how to grow potatoes in water." Cheerilee honestly didn't know how one of her students could mess up putting a potato in some water to test the charge it gave off. Much less that they managed to ruin the science behind just growing a potato in something other than soil.
"How could something like that go wrong and end up like this?" Twilight was a bit stumped to explain all the green sludge lying about on the floor. She just started collecting it with her magic and saw the relieved look on the teachers face as she would have it all off the floor, walls and ceiling quickly enough.
"I ask myself that sometimes, hold onto all of it for a second while I go get a garbage bag open." After managing to stow away the mess into a bag Cheerilee sighed with relief. Things were much easier with a pony like Twilight around to help. "Thank you so much for coming and helping me with this mess."
"No problem at all. So what did you expect me to do, am I actually getting paid for this and what days do need me to come in on? Other than that am I even capable of teaching without a license in Ponyville?" Twilight needed to be reassured she could even do this job and without any issue, homeschooling Barb was fine. Teaching anyone that was not her own child might not be as fine.
"You do pose some good questions Ms. Sparkle. I expect you to help me as a volunteer assistant and yes I'm willing to pay you depending on how good a job you do with the unicorn children. These sessions will take place on Friday in the evening for at least an hour after school; I'll let you know when I need you. Also yes you can teach, but only as long as I'm present." Cheerilee really needed a unicorn to help her teach the unicorns in class how to use their magic; she also needed to find a pegasus to teach those with wings how to fly.
"Are there any ponies against homeschooling here in Ponyville?" Twilight had to ask because of Barb who was currently working on her education with Smart. Twilight taught Barb at times and enjoyed every moment of it. It was a little weird for Twilight to find herself suddenly under some strange looking scrutiny from the earth pony.
"Why would you ask something like that? It's perfectly fine, just not a good idea when we have some of the best unbiased teaching facilities around. I try to teach all my students subjects that are equally useful for any race of pony as much as I possibly can, considering how diverse the population is here." Earth ponies may have settled here, but they shared the land with pegasi and unicorns in complete harmony. Cheerilee as a teacher would never put one race above another.
"Well you see, I have a daughter and..." Apparently that was the magic word for some kind of trigger in the teacher as Twilight saw her suddenly get a look of sad concern across her face. "What is it?"
"You're not one of those little fillies who grew up to fast because of a magical surge that aged them to adulthood for a time are you?" Cheerilee didn't like it, but it could happen and only too little unicorn fillies. They wanted to grow up so fast around the age of five to seven, they had a magic surge and usually temporarily became anywhere between eighteen to thirty years of age. If this happened the pony in question was not mentally ready for the world and bad things tended to happen.
"Oh no... no... that's... that's horrible. Has that... has it actually happened?" Twilight had never considered something like that as being possible. Once the idea of how bad something like that could go and what kind of damage it could do to a little fillies mind popped up, Twilight was suddenly having trouble banishing the horrors that her mind came up with. This was what Cheerilee thought of in reference to her having a daughter? Twilight felt a little sick inside when she noticed the teacher wouldn't meet her gaze.
"It's sad, but it doesn't happen too often thankfully. So how old are you exactly if it wasn't that? You don't look a day over thirteen." Cheerilee was now curious. If Twilight wasn't one of those sad broken little fillies, then how could she have possibly had a daughter as young looking as she is?
"I'm sixteen actually, I hatched my daughter when I was eight and it was something I'll never forget. She's quite a lot of responsibility and I'm so lucky to have the great parents that I do as they helped me raise her. My daughter is a magic dragon you see and it was when I was doing the entrance exam to 'Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns'. They have attempting to hatch a dragon egg as a test and it's been a lot of years since any unicorn has actually managed to hatch one, they put spells on the eggs to make sure they're normally too hard to hatch." Twilight sighed as she hadn't had the best childhood, but Barb was always something she cherished to watch growing alongside her.
"Isn't that a bit barbaric? I mean what happens if the eggs goes bad? Wouldn't that make dragons want to attack ponies or something?" Cheerilee had always thought unicorns were a bit odd and abusing magic tended to have horrible consequences at times. The teacher shuddered at some of the horror stories she's heard from Nurse Redheart.
"Dragon eggs don't go bad and they even have preservation spells on them to make sure they don't, though I think they might have swapped to using chicken eggs since I took my test. I'm not sure how they get them, but Celestia must know since it's her school and I don't think she'd do something bad enough to upset a swarm of dragons." Twilight was really an eye opener for those examiners, able to control a magical surge to such a fine degree to crack several magical protections and hatch the egg despite what was in her way of actually doing it. "Just so you know, I love my daughter and she means the world to me. Though she'll continue to be a baby dragon for only so long now, I might have caused her aging process to be a bit slow when I hatched her using my magic."
"So you slowed down the aging process of a creature that already ages slowly?" This was something important for Cheerilee to point out, not that she was saying Twilight was a bad mother. There were just some minor implications about what she might have done.
"Can we do lunch together today and would you mind following me around for a bit to talk about some things? I have a lot on my mind to get off to some pony." Twilight was going to consider the implications of what Cheerilee had just pointed out for a while. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 37 | "So there's a chance Barb might mentally outpace her body?" Twilight asked still wondering if she might have done something irreversibly harmful to her daughter. She and Cheerilee were currently on their way to Bonbon's house. "I thought most dragons weren't very well developed mentally if at all, I guess raising her as a pony might have some other consequences like her not getting along with other dragons. Then again dragons don't normally get along with each other anyway unless it involves mating season and magic dragons are completely different from normal dragons to begin with."
"Well it is possible. I can tell you're a good pony and a great mother to worry this much about it." Cheerilee had never met a pony so young that sounded so devoted to their child; they had been discussing the psychological as well as physical issues Barb may face in the future. "I believe we're at Bonbon's house Twilight."
"What already? My how time flies when you're discussing the future of your child with a new friend, I hope that you'll help me out if I have any problems with her?" Twilight was happy to talk about all kinds of subjects that Cheerilee could readily understand. As a teacher she was well educated in all things dealing with foals, fillies and colts. "I also want to thank you for listening to all my worries so far Cheery."
"No problem at all Twilight, it is kind of my business to help parents while helping their children grow." Cheerilee wanted to learn more about Twilight Sparkle, she had learned a lot about Barb the daughter of Twilight Sparkle so far.
Twilight walked up to the door and hit it several times with her right hoof. She turned to Cheerilee as she heard a vocal response from Bonbon that she would be a minute before she could open the door. It sounded like Bonbon was busy with something.
"So you've lived in Ponyville for most of your life. Do you know Bonbon and is there a reason why Bonbon's voice sounds so odd? It's rather strange how it fluctuates at times when I met her." Twilight kind of thought it odd that Bonbon could have a normal sounding voice one second and the next it was different entirely. She and Bonbon had talked about when her trim and styling would take place. Twilight was happy to come over to her house and exclaimed a day she'd have time for it and Bonbon agreed to that day.
"Yes I know her. It's not Dysphonia if that's what you're thinking, though it is a bit of an odd quirk that makes her incapable of singing normally. Dancing on the other hoof is not a problem for her and she's really good at that. Never forget that every pony has their strengths and weaknesses Twilight." Cheerilee decided to broach the subject of Twilight herself. "Speaking of which Ms. Sparkle, I've learned a lot about your daughter but what of you and you're home life? How was it for you going to a premier school of Celestia's? I want to know how well your parents took to suddenly having granddaughter little earlier than normal."
"It was interesting growing up Cheery. My parents are the friendliest and most open ponies I know. Then again they'd have to be with all the weird stuff that goes on around us Sparkles', having a dragon for a granddaughter didn't bother them at all. I thought it would have and that they'd disown me for having a child out of wedlock. Looking back on it I was being a silly filly by trying to pretend Barb was my little sister." Twilight smiled a little and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in a silly smile. "Celestia's school was good for teaching unicorns all kinds of magic and I'm generally good in all of them and that's what my special talent is, just being good at magic. I might be powerful but I will hardly ever master a field unless I put enough focus into it, though I've pretty much mastered enchanting since I got a doctorate in it. Her school might be good at teaching gifted unicorns, but it's not a good place to make friends and that's why I moved here."
"The art of emplacing magical effects onto objects, it sounds useful." Cheerilee didn't know many enchanted objects as that was more of a thing to appear in Canterlot than in Ponyville.
"Not as much as you would think, it's really a hassle to even enchant one object to do more than one thing at a time. Enchantments require a lot of energy to function even if on a small scale." Twilight knew Smart was the epitome of her enchanting skills and her toy barely absorbed enough energy to use all of her functions at once or even constantly. If Smart didn't have the capacity to hold onto excess amounts of energy she wouldn't even be able to levitate small objects or even use the most basic of light spells.
After a moment the door swung open and Cheerilee saw a blush appear on Twilight's face as she took in Bonbon's appearance. She wondered why Twilight was blushing like that and why were her eyes trailing across Bonbon like that? Looking to Bonbon herself she could see she hasn't had her mane cut in a while.
"Hello again Twilight, I guess it's about time for you to give me that trim I asked for huh?" Bonbon shifted a length of her mane out of her face and noticed the local teacher and old friend standing with her hair styling appointment. Bonbon's voice seemed to change every once in a while mid speech. "Oh hey there Cheer, are you here with Twilight? Come on in and make yourselves at home."
Twilight watched as a few inches of Bonbon's mane and tail dragged along the floor, she was almost like Fluttershy in the way her mane was kept so long. The rose pink that faded into somewhat dark blue portion of her mane that was in front of eyes was a rather nice and evenly colored as it trailed its way to the floor. It seemed like the rose pink was just a highlighted the middle portion in her tail whereas it was half the color that hung in front of her face.
"So what did you need me to do with your mane and tail aside from trimming them?" Twilight was ready to get started with her job; she should have probably brought a bucket. "I want to wash, brush and comb you're hair out too, but how I style it is up to you really."
"I want two curled separate bangs resting on my forehead, two large curls lying at both sides of my withers that can uncoil to a bit past my knees and three different small curls in my tail. I'll try to define it better after we get to that part. So how are we washing my mane and tail?" Bonbon liked how inexpensive Twilight made her services out to be. She really hoped this unicorn was good at what she does and can give her the style that she wanted.
"We can use your bathroom if you don't mind, hold on a second. Do you want to watch me work with Bonbon or are you going to sit down and read a book or do something to busy yourself while you wait Cheery?" Twilight really needed to work out how these house calls were going to work from now on. So far she was excited as this was her first one and she couldn't wait to get started on Bonbon's mane and tail. "I would like you to stick around and tell me how I did with Bonbon's hair when I'm done and your opinion would really go a long way to helping me earn more business."
"Bonbon, would you mind if I made some tea for myself and used your stuff?" Cheerilee had to ask as this was her home and the teacher wouldn't want to impose on an old friend. "I'll stick around Twilight and I'll be glad to judge how well you did with Bonbon."
"Of course I don't mind Cheer, just don't eat any of the candy in this house and don't abuse my stuff and we'll be fine. Now come on Twilight, you certainly look ready to help me with my mane." In fact if Bonbon wasn't sure about it, she thought Twilight might have seemed a bit too eager. It was probably her imagination as she entered the bathroom with the large wide mirror.
"I hope you don't mind but first we'll do your tail and I'll get a feel for what you want me to do from styling it. Now sit here please, so how short do you want your tail." Twilight had her sit at the edge of the bath tub and got a bucket to fill with lukewarm water, once she started filling it up Twilight got Tress's special shampoo out from her saddle bags.
"What kind of smell is that shampoo?" Bonbon asked as she was curious what was going to be used on her mane and tail.
"No smell in particular. Here take a whiff of it." Twilight levitated the open bottles cap underneath Bonbon's nose and she inhaled and smelled exactly nothing which confused her. "My friend made this shampoo to have no smell at all and it'll strengthen the smell of the shampoo that was previously used by you. This shampoo is something she can produce cheaply and in vast quantities to help prolong the effects of your favorite shampoo's smell. She wouldn't let me even use it unless she's thoroughly tested this stuff on herself. I tested this a lot for a few months to make sure it was safe as my friend has some rather unique attributes for an earth pony."
"That actually sounds pretty ingenious and since it's cheaper to make she wouldn't have to worry about having to buy much more expensive shampoos." Bonbon admitted that it sounded like good prospect and she was a mare who knew business running her own candy shop. One that is usually frequented by Pinkie Pie for party snacks sometimes, her chocolate covered pretzels were still selling very well.
"My friend could probably make those more expensive shampoos from scratch; she usually likes to make what works for her. Not to say she doesn't spend a lot of time innovating some pretty weird stuff. For instance I never knew you could make a pony smell like a chocolate ice cream cone with the waffle cones smell included." As she said this, Twilight levitated the water out of the bucket she filled and magically ran the liquid through Bonbon's tail dampening it. She saw Bonbon shudder slightly at the feeling and she even smiled a little.
"That felt kind of funny and the ice cream thing sounds weird." A blush ran through Bonbon's cheeks at the feeling of the warm water after it had passed over her tail. "Not a bad kind of funny either."
"I'm trying a method as to not make this messy, now if you don't mind I need to apply the shampoo if that's okay with you." After Twilight got Bonbon to assent, she floated the shampoo bottle and squeezed a bit out of it into her magical field. She started to work it into Bonbon's tail starting from the base and working outward. A smell of sugar and strawberries started becoming pronounced on Bonbon's tail. "Strawberries and cream shampoo? That's an interesting choice."
"I just really like sugary smells. That's the closest I can get to smelling like taffy without getting my mane all sticky." Bonbon actually liked the rapport she was building with Twilight and the feeling of the goop she was working through her tail hair.
"I'm sure my friend can mix you up whatever smell you like best and she has been pretty good about making just about any kind of smell you could imagine into shampoo. She once even smelled like grapes; I don't even know how she did that without even staining her mane slightly and it smelled so great." Twilight once again swept a globe of water through Bonbon's tail cleaning it of the substance that had no smell. "Now how much do you want me to trim off after I'm done combing and brushing it? I really need to know where to start."
"I would like that. If you could introduce your friend to me sometime I'd appreciate it and would like the challenge of stumping her. Trim my tail where it meets the floor and trim the blue sections a bit shorter than the pink one." After a few minutes of watching Twilight brushing and combing her tail and feeling a particularly red in the face, Bonbon watched the unicorn calmly levitate the scissors to deftly trim her tail. Bonbon nodded at how much Twilight had cut off. "Good, stop there. Maybe trim a little more of the blue, no trim a little less than that... yes that much. Now curl my blue lengths equally and curl my pink section but it still has to be slightly longer than the rest."
Twilight focused her magic towards the fourth spell she had ever learned and focused it into curling the tips of the Bonbon's tail. Bonbon worked her through the effort of how she wanted it curled and seemed very particular about it.
"You know, you're really good at this are you sure this isn't your special talent?" Bonbon swished her tail and was pleased to how it felt as it swayed through the air. "Now let's do my mane."
Well so far things didn't seem to be going as badly as Twilight thought they would be, she was actually expecting to be attacked at any moment by some kind of force that just wanted to ruin her day. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 38 | "So what do you think Cheery?" Into the room walked the purple pony followed by a completely refreshed Bonbon, her mane was styled to how she wanted it to look and she was happy with Twilight's work.
Cheerillee looked up from her cup of tea and blushed slightly at the happiness Bonbon was giving off, if she wasn't already interested in Big Mac and didn't know she was straight she would probably give Bonbon a wolf whistle. Moving of their own accord, Cheerilee pursed her lips and she gave exactly the whistle she didn't think she wanted to do.
"Wow, she's that good Cheer? You'd only do that kind of whistle for a certain stallion." Chuckling Bonbon ran a hoof through her mane as she laughed at her friends blushing face. She really wished the single teacher would stop tap dancing around the issue and ask the gentle stallion out already.
"Looks like she got you your old mane style perfectly, then she went and made your mane shine beautifully. I think you did really well with her Twilight." The teacher noted how Twilight looked embarrassed and slightly flustered.
"I try, so how much tea did you make?" All too soon, Twilight found herself sitting down and having a nice cup of tea with two new friends. Today was really beginning to get Twilight paranoid, what was the big disaster that would befall her today? This tea was so relaxing she'd swear it'd lead her into a false sense of security; as such she tried to stay completely tense. She failed at that and started relaxing as they started discussing random topics about what goes on around Ponyville.
"What time is it?" Looking around for a clock Twilight sat up twitch her ears about for a ticking sound and listening for turning gears. Bonbon got out of her seat and made her way into the other room.
"It's about twelve, why?" Her voice oscillated slightly and it was a little awkward. Bonbon had gotten over her vocal issues a long time ago and many other ponies were used to her having a different voice every other day.
"It's about time for us to get going to lunch then, my best friend is going to bring the other ponies she's befriending on the job with her and we're going to make a big thing of it." Their circle of friends was expanding exponentially since they came to Ponyville and Twilight now had so many ponies to talk to on a daily basis. She'd never be bored and she'd always have ponies to converse and do things with.
"Give me a moment to get some stuff in order and I'll join you. It sounds like a nice outing." Bonbon went about picking up empty cups and the teapot Cheerilee used, she started humming to herself and even that sounded odd to listen to.
Once they got going, they were off towards the cafe to meet up for a big friendly lunch. Twilight still felt like things had time to go wrong but she wasn't as worried about it.
"So what's your friend like, I haven't exactly met her yet." Now that she thought of it, Cheerilee knew Bonbon probably hadn't either.
"Well, she's beautiful and could make a living as a supermodel. Otherwise she's just like any other pony and a really good friend to have, though sometimes she has her quirks. I sometimes think her personality is on some indefinable hair trigger at which point she just explodes with charisma." Twilight smirked at that, yeah her friend had a really nice mane. Speaking of charisma she thought it was time to broach an odd topic. "So, do either of you think Celestia is perfect?"
"Not really." Both ponies froze as they looked to each other then back to Twilight. They had responded at the same time and Bonbon had made it sound like an echo when her voice matched Cheerilee's exactly for the seconds it took to speak those words.
"Well it's a proven fact that no pony is perfect, not even the two princesses we currently have in Equestria. Not to say that they can't be wise or knowledgeable and something to look to for direction. However looking up to some pony as young as Princess Cadence is kind of foolhardy and until she grows up more and gains some wisdom I don't see the appeal in why ponies prostrate themselves to her as well as they do to Celestia. Celestia has actually earned her respect for sitting a throne for hundreds of years alone and without any strong lasting companionship. Those two can't share every pony's ideals and they have to at least have their own in the grand scheme of things." As a teacher Cheerilee had to remain unbiased even in mention of Celestia, she may have been a powerful being but she was not perfect. She respected knowledge and those who use it correctly.
After hearing Cheery explain her point, Twilight turned to Bonbon as they continued their slow gaits. Cheery was a logical pony and a good teacher, she wasn't even wary of speaking ill of the large pony if it was the truth.
"She may be doing her best and she may be a nice pony, but she's still a politician. Despite the fact that she may have always done right by every pony in the world for years upon years, she still may at one time or another have her own selfish desires in mind when she does stuff." She really never had given it to much hard thinking as Bonbon didn't like nobles and their political games, she decided to elaborate a little deeper into what she was thinking. "At some point in her thousand years of existence she has had to kill something at least once in cold blood, she's fought in wars and despite how she is nowadays she can immediately media blackout anything she doesn't like. She's not the end all of power in Equestria, but she's politically powerful enough to hide so many skeletons in her closet that they will never see the light of day. Celestia could even actively outlive them to the point that the skeletons no longer mattered. If she's to have her way, she could kill us all if she wanted to considering she controls the sun. Is it any wonder so many ponies walk on eggshells when she comes to Ponyville every once in a while? She frequents every pony town, city, village and settlement at least once to try and stay connected, but ponies are always making sure she's disconnected because they are always bowing to her whims either on the fear of death or because she comes off as motherly. Is she beautiful? The answer is yes unless she's magically making herself appear like that. Is she perfect? Not even close to it and she has flaws that she tries to hide behind that sad veneer of a simple cheerful smile on her face."
"Yeah, I guess those are both good explanations along with the reasoning behind them." Twilight was mortified by the idea, but now that she thought of it Celestia had to have a reason to open just a school for gifted powerful unicorns. She didn't open a school for gifted pegasi or earth ponies to help them with their natural skills, it was only unicorns. For a being that was supposedly impartial this was rather suspect and the only reason why she'd consider any of this is because Cheerilee brought up the use of dragon eggs in tests and examinations as barbaric. There's life in the eggs and to possibly end them by accident or on purpose for some sort of test was a horrible thought. Fillies and colts might have accidentally killed some dragons' babies all just to find out if they were especially talented at magic. She was giving Barb a big hug the next time she saw her.
They really gave Twilight fuel for some thought provoking stuff as they approached the restaurant. To think that it was a candy maker and a teacher of all ponies that thought of most of this stuff. Twilight saw Tress approaching and smiled at seeing her.
Twilight blinked as she was witness to Tress flipping her mane as an explosion went off behind her and she smiled at Twilight. Twilight could feel her pupils expanding at the beauty of the pose that Tress just took on with the explosion lighting her form so well. Twilight could feel her heart rate speed up at the entrancing scene before her, looking behind her she could see both Cheery and Bonbon were also awed into submission as Tress trotted up to her.
Slowly the two other ponies behind Tress that had turned to look at the explosion quickly caught up with her once they noticed she had kept moving. They came to a stop at her side as she spoke.
"How are things going with you so far?" An amused Tress thought it was funny to see those looks on their faces.
"Oh, uh... fine... just fine Tress. Cheery, Bonbon, this is my best friend Tress Ravel." Twilight held out a hoof for them to introduce themselves.
"Twilight wasn't kidding; you do explode with charisma as if on a hair trigger." Bonbon stepped up and shook hooves with Tress as she let out a bark of laughter.
"That's a good one Twilight." Shaking her head, Tress walked for the restaurant while all the ponies grouped together to get to know one another. She looked back to see Lyra was positively red in the face and Bonbon apparently recognized her. She really needed to help the lyre player out as she was having problems speaking to her supposed love. Twilight did good work with Bonbon's mane, it positively shined and Tress was almost jealous if she didn't know it was her shampoo that helped it look that way.
"Yes, how can I help you?" The ever familiar stallion waiter of the cafe saw a large party of six ponies before him, some of which he recognized from before. He was happy to serve the nice mares again and they apparently brought a lot of friends too.
"I'd like a table for eight as we might be getting two more to our party, if you could please get a table set up for us. You know, I never did get your name the last time we were here." The stallion smiled at Twilight and nodded as he wrote something down on a piece of paper and set about getting the mares their table.
"I'm Savoir Fare, it's my pleasure to meet you and serve your party madam." While Savoir was busy talking to Twilight about a table, a pegasus flew up behind Tress and tapped her with a hoof getting her attention.
"Huh, oh it's you. I'm guessing we're still not getting your name until the party huh." The blonde pegasus shrugged at Tress and held out a bag filled with bits and a note from Time Turner that said she did a good job. The grey coated pegasus with the seven bubbles for a cutie mark saluted to Tress and immediately flew off.
After getting Twilight's attention as they were led inside, Tress hoofed her all the bits. She exclaimed that they came from Time Turner. Twilight accepted them with a disbelieving look that they were actually paid one hundred bits for the exploding trash can thing so soon.
The six of them sat down and they all perused the menu, while they did this an earth pony that looked like the unicorn Savoir came up to them.
"Would you like to order your drinks now or do you want to wait for seven more minutes? Also I'm Savoir Fare's brother Savor Faire. We tend to confuse ponies often so if he introduces himself then I'm going to introduce myself as well." He quickly took down their drink orders and he went off to go get them.
"Hey Octaves, I see you've met Rave Lady and Sparky!" Vinyl chuckled as Octavia almost jumped out of her seat to turn an angry glare on her. She quickly sat down and got her own drink order in as Savoir brought their drinks.
No other pony came and they ordered their food. Twilight was at least expecting one of their other friends to want in on this, but apparently none of them was at or passing by the Cafe. Eventually they were nearly finished eating and chatting about various topics such as music, books and food when things finally decided to go horribly wrong. Twilight and Tress were soon proven that they had a right to be paranoid.
Outside the cafe two ponies seated at the outdoor tables were calmly eating. Well at least Trixie was trying to eat calmly; Pinkie was like a black hole where food ceased to exist. Pinkie stopped eating and she started shuddering garnering Trixie's immediate notice.
"Trixie has to know, did your Pinkie Sense just go off Pinkie?" Trixie asked getting a bit worried. She had learned the lesson rather fast that if Pinkie says something is going to happen, then it inevitably will.
"Yeah, my knee just went all pinchy. I also felt chills travel down my back and my tail is twitching. It's such a bright and wonderful day, why would a giant monster want to suddenly attack from out of nowhere?" Pinkie got a contemplative look on her face; do monsters actually want to start attacking in broad daylight? Well it was probably a nice day for a monster attack and the monster must have been pretty bored of attacking things at night. So was a monster attacking in broad daylight more scary then one at night?
Trixie noticed a shadow forming on the ground nearby and looked up; she quickly dove for Pinkie Pie in the hopes to get her out of the way of the monster coming down on top of them and the cafe. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 39 | The cafe had been totally decimated in seconds, Savor and Savoir were glad their insurance covered ever single bit of damage that their destroyed restaurant had just taken. The last remnant of the insanely quick attack was the disturbing screech of the creature as it flew off into the distance carrying the vague shape of a pony.
Octavia held onto Vinyl cuddling her to her chest. The DJ slowly came too and blinked at the destruction that surrounded her before looking up at Octavia.
"You saved me?" Vinyl felt a flutter in her heart. Octaves really did care about her.
"Vinyl you may be annoying, crazy and downright crude, but there is no way I'm letting a monster smash the ever loving life out of you. Since that's my job!" Even as she angrily yelled this into her face, Octavia couldn't get the smile to leave the unicorns face. Octavia even smacked Vinyl in the back of the head and the smile still ceased to vanish from her horrible friends face. "By the way it seems your glasses were destroyed in this mess, you have really pretty eyes by the way."
"Why thank you, wait... what!? MY EYES, THEY ARE UNCOVERED!" Vinyl cried over the loss of her DJ glasses, even as ponies were running around and panicking out of control everywhere. She wasn't smiling anymore but at least she was being comforted by the uptight pony.
In the corner of one of the restaurants still standing walls hugging Bonbon to her chest as she cried, Lyra was wondering how they ended up like this and didn't care as she needed comforting.
"What's wrong? Are you okay Lyra? Did you get hurt? Why are you crying like this?" Bonbon felt very odd to be cuddled in Lyra's hooves even if she was horribly upset about something. Well a huge monster attacking during the daytime was an oddity to be upset about, but she didn't think that was why Lyra was crying.
"No, I'm not fine Bonnie. That monster destroyed my pie!" Lyra was blubbering too hard to see the flat look that crossed Bonbon's face. Sighing Bonbon decided to cuddle and comfort the distraught unicorn about the pie she didn't get to eat, even if it was just plain weird that that was what she was so distraught about. To think this was the unicorn that saved her seconds ago.
Bonbon had always liked those weird quirks about Lyra as she was funny like that; she thought Lyra might have been worried about her safety or something considering she was the first thing Lyra grabbed. She knew Lyra would be even more distraught once she realizes the restaurant that serves her favorite kind of pie just got demolished. Bonbon figured it was better to not mention the restaurant's destruction at this time as she was having enough of a hard time calming down the easily excitable unicorn.
It took a few minutes, but the surrounding ponies finally stopped panicking. They even started helping assess the damage and the injuries of other nearby ponies; they quickly came together as a community to help out those who were injured by the sudden mayhem.
Nearby Pinkie was lying on top of Trixie and the illusionary magician couldn't be any more confused.
"Pinkie, how did you end up on top of Trixie? Especially when Trixie is the one that shoved you to the ground?" Trixie was pretty sure she pushed Pinkie to the ground while throwing her body on top of Pinkie's.
"Are you kidding? I'm always the one that's on top of things!" Pinkie honestly didn't know why Trixie gave her such an incredulous look. Then she felt a sharp pain in her head which caused her to reflexively grab it with both hooves, it felt like a pony that wanted to go to one of her parties was being prevented from doing so. That just couldn't stand as Pinkie has never not knowingly let a pony go if they wanted to party, this would bug her until she could figure out why the pony was indisposed. "Trixie we need to find a pony that can't attend my party tomorrow and we need to make sure they can come! We also need to find out why they can't come. Not coming might just be indicative of blueberries and no stallion likes getting blueberries for some reason! Mr. Cake is always going on about them when he's spending happy time with Mrs. Cake and she doesn't want to finish whatever it is they are doing since they know I'm listening in."
"What?" Trixie was having some trouble following Pinkie's logic, but she couldn't be any happier to be so distracted from all the groaning injured ponies around her. At least no pony she knew looked to be dying, though there was blood splattering the ground in a few places. The ponies she didn't know were still breathing or getting back to their hooves slowly if still slightly in shock, the ones that weren't getting up looked liked really needed help and soon.
"I need a little help over here!" In the midst of this, Cheerilee slowly pulled Twilight out from under a flipped table. She started to look around for some pony that can help the unconscious unicorn she had by the armpits with her front hooves.
"Oh dear, I hope she's okay. I came over here as quick as possible with my medical kit, excuse me miss but please keep her head elevated." Fluttershy was quickly on the scene as soon as she heard of panicked ponies and injuries. She may have been afraid of being stared at and or being in large crowds, but she would have been angry at herself for not appearing and helping out those who needed her aid.
Looking up from the unicorn in her hooves the teacher saw the pegasus unfold her wing holding a medical kit and promptly set it down next to her. Doing as Fluttershy asked, Cheerilee kept Twilight's head elevated. The soft looking winged pony was soon holding Twilight's hoof and giving it a squeeze or two and then she checked her head.
"It's another light concussion, poor Twilight. Why do these things always happen to you?" Fluttershy always felt bad that Twilight didn't have anything close to resembling a normal life. It took a moment for her to realize the other pony holding Twilight's head in her lap was looking at her. "Oh... um... I'm Fluttershy, nice to meet you miss?"
"I'm Cheerilee, a local schoolteacher here in Ponyville. You can call me Cheery or Cheer. I take it you're a friend of Twilight's. Has this kind of thing happened a lot to her before?" Cheerilee wondered what was wrong with the pegasus as she had a distant look on her face.
Fluttershy was just reliving all the moments Twilight has face hoofed at something frustrating at one point or another, then all the other blows she's taken to the face and or body. The shy mare actually thought Twilight had never looked like she has been injured, thinking it over she has noticed that her friend get's a lot of blunt trauma on a regular basis and would heal from it in a relatively quick manner.
"Yes, but I'm sure she'll be fine but she may need something to make the swelling go down. She's kind of accident prone and is used to these kind of injuries." Fluttershy shook her head at the thought of the times Twilight tripped or stumbled in life; she always got back up perfectly fine and kept moving forward. "What happened here?"
"A giant monster smashed the surrounding area really fast or at least that's what I think happened in general. I didn't even see what it was, I like every other pony here were either sent flying or knocked to the floor by the initial impact it made. That is what destroyed most of the cafe." The surrounding area of was pretty bad off; Cheerilee was mostly okay with minor cuts and bruises she had acquired. She really hadn't noticed when Fluttershy had tended to her; the mare was so gentle she didn't even feel herself being patched up. "I think our friend here will be okay, go help the ponies that need it more than she does."
Fluttershy immediately nodded and surveyed the area and despite her quiet nature she managed to announce that those with bad looking injuries need to be brought to her attention immediately. Every pony near the scene of the attack needed to be examined and taken care of. She was trained in first aid and knew how to stabilize ponies with serious injuries.
The towns' ponies started to help Fluttershy with taking care of those that were more heavily injured from the attack. A lot of other ponies were busy trying to describe the creature to other important ponies while waiting for the mayor to address the issue. The disaster zone was quickly cleared of debris and Fluttershy had her work cut out for her. At least that was the case until the local quick response medic Nurse Redheart appeared to assist with the injured.
Twilight slowly moved her head and it lolled about a bit as she blinked her eyes, her vision was blurry and her head hurt. Well this was another concussion she could have lived without, she was glad her skull was so strong to withstand so many impacts without cracking.
"Mane where are you?" Twilight was so out of it, she was looking around for a green mane and purplish colored fur. She may have had a dream or two about being cocooned in Tress's hair at some point or another.
"Twilight it would be a good idea to stay calm, you have a slight concussion." Cheerilee slowly came to Twilight's attention and she tried to sit up. "Not too fast Twilight, you've been injured. Please take it slowly."
Twilight heeded the teachers' words and slowly sat up, her head ached and she was looking around as ponies gathered shattered bits of wood, stone and anything else into a pile. She could even make out Fluttershy working with an earth pony to help wrap bandages around several bleeding ponies. The one thing she couldn't see in all this mess was her friend Tress. She could even see Trixie with a pink pony that had two blue balloons and a yellow one on her flank. Wait, Trixie was here? So that's where she went.
Trixie was currently unimportant to Twilight's mind; all her friends were accounted for except for one. Where was Tress, she mentally worked up a memory spell and took in the scene seconds before the attack.
The soonest the monster had hit the ground Twilight had her usual reflex to sudden shocks and was immediately covered in a barrier before she was slapped into the wall by a large monstrous claw. Her barrier faltered when she came to a rest on the floor, a table was sent flying at her and the last thing she saw was an unconscious Tress gripped in the creatures' claw. That's when the table finally collided with her head.
Sitting up faster, Twilight staggered to her hooves. There were now two beings on the list of things she didn't like, Sunset Shimmer and that monster that just took her best friend. She started towards the library and home, she had to prepare for a small journey and she didn't know whether or not she'd be back. She couldn't hear Cheerilee calling out for her as she stumbled away.
As she reached the library and went around back, Twilight proudly witnessed her daughter levitating a wooden block with a ring of flames. Barb lost her concentration when she saw Twilight approaching; the wooden block was engulfed in flames and shot towards Twilight as a beam of green fire. It reformed back into a wooden block before slamming into her forehead causing her to grunt in pain.
"Oh no, mom I'm so sorry!" Barb had barely got those words out given she was now being gripped in a strong tight hug by her mother.
"It's okay, mommies here and slightly even more concussed then she was before. Smart I'm leaving a list with you of ponies I want to look after Barb if I don't return, Tress was carried off by a monster and I'm going to give chase." Twilight was already halfway through the list of ponies she'd want Barb to be aided by in the event she didn't come back anytime soon or at all. She finished and levitated it to Smart who took it into her tiny hooves.
"Have you used the locator spell yet professor Sparkle? How do we know that hot flank hasn't been...?" Smart really didn't want to finish that train of thought. She didn't have to as Twilight's horn lit up and a three dimensional arrow pointed off into the distance, the arrow wouldn't even appear if the pony in question had been killed. Locator spells were quite useful for finding a friend in an emergency. "Right then, please live long and prosperous. Also try not to die too horribly as I'd really miss myself."
Somewhere in the Ever Free Forest, currently glued to a ceiling by her hooves was a pony that started coming to.
"Huh, what, where, oh no, NO, not again... anything but this... please tell me I'm not..." Tress was horrified to be glued to the ceiling of wherever she was so high off the floor. She had recurring nightmares like this of being glued to ceilings with different substances. It's one of the reasons why the ceiling in their home was always clean and spotless. She had to think of better things before this drove her crazy. Fluttershy in a maid uniform... yes, she had to think of pleasant stuff like that adorable image.
Tress thought of Twilight reading a book peacefully on a moonlit night. Barb trying and failing horribly to break a pinata open with a stick. Velvet and Night's antics when they were in a silly mood and decided the family needed to do something fun together like playing a game of advanced twister. There was even Fluttershy being squeamish and toying with her mane while looking at the floor and blushing. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 40 | Twilight had gathered the necessary supplies she thought she would need. She didn't know how far the creature flew or where it went but she wasn't going to stop for anything until she got her best friend back. She would do the same for any friend who she knew was in danger and needed help.
Going over her inventory Twilight checked her food first. She had several apples, quite a few carrots and four zap apples. Two fully filled canteens of fresh water, one as backup in case she lost the other one. Aside from that she only had two basic tools with her, a collapsible ten foot pole that was made of a good sturdy material and forty feet of coiled rope.
She made sure Barb stayed at home where it was safe before she left and she followed the arrow to the edge of the Ever Free Forest. Well no time like the present, she already wasted fifteen minutes gathering her supplies together.
Summoning the arrow of the locater spell she took in the distance the arrow indicated to target, it had stopped moving somewhere and it was at least still within a few miles of Ponyville. Triangulation really helped her mark the general area Tress was in on a map. It just happened to be through miles of dangerous swamps and monster filled forests.
"Well par for the course Twilight. Your life was already ridiculous to begin with and you are not letting it take a single friend from you without a fight." She said to herself as she started at a run into the dark forest following the arrow.
Not too far into the forest did she find her first obstacle, a pack of manticore that all immediately surrounded her. Twilight started to back away slightly when one got in her face roared blowing her mane back. They hadn't surprised her and as such she hadn't reflexively defended herself.
Twilight could have probably used Fluttershy's help at this moment, but she wasn't about to give up. She inhaled and screamed back in the manticore's face till her throat was raw. All the manticores immediately backed out of her way cowering and covering their ears.
"That's what I thought." Twilight muttered in a gravelly tone. Her voice was quite hoarse and it hurt to talk now, but that scream had been her frustration at life messing with her in general. She continued on her way down the path ahead of her. She could either go up on the ledge to survey the area and get an idea of where she was going or she could just follow her arrow. She just followed the arrow; it was not likely that she was coming back to this part of the forest anyway if she were to be honest.
Twilight thought the trees of the Ever Free Forest looked somewhat creepy, here she was laughing in the face of danger for a friend when she was most likely to be ambushed at any moment by something dangerous like lions, tigers and bears. Well technically not bears as one was a friend of Fluttershy's.
Looking up to the sky Twilight wondered if she'd save Tress before it gets too dark. Considering how far in she was traveling by herself, it wasn't likely and she'd need her energy to fight the monster when she finally gets to wherever it stopped.
Continuing to follow the magical arrow pointing towards her friend, Twilight came to a roiling river that looked to be too hard to cross on her own. She really didn't think falling in the water was conducive to living a productive life at all and it'd probably tear her apart. She wasn't about to attempt teleporting as it was beyond her current natural range.
"Excuse me for inquiring, but who are you?" A river serpent popped up out of the water. He had a flamboyant orange hair and a magnificent mustache and he sounded rather effeminate, he even looked it too.
"I'd ask the same of you, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I need to cross this river." Within a minute of introducing herself she noticed the river serpent looked at her sadly.
"My dear pony what happened to your voice? No matter, hold on a second and I'll help you get you across. I'm Steven Magnet by the way; it was a pleasure to meet you. No, there's no need to talk as we're not likely to see each other again anyway and the river is only like this when I'm around. I hardly get any visitors as it is and you're probably busy with whatever it is that arrow is pointing towards." The river serpent lifted Twilight into the air and turned a bit and set her down on the opposite bank. Twilight smiled at him and waved before trotting off. "Such a nice young thing, I hope she gets better soon."
Twilight thought Steven was an oddly generous thing to meet in a forest full of monsters; she liked his mustache. She has thus far spotted a few of the denizens while probably missing many of the others at the same time. The cockatrices she saw didn't bother her. There were Timber Wolves which she scared off by making loud noises and lighting the air on fire near her head using magic reminiscent of Barbs light spell. She steered clear of any bogs with patterned rocks in them, she has read enough about how easy it was to accidentally step on a cragadile and they were as resilient to magic as a dragon normally was. This seemed to be a common recurring trait among large lizard and reptile type creatures.
Now that it occurred to her, Twilight didn't know what she was going to be facing. She couldn't really recall to much of the claw that slammed her into the wall or the one that grabbed Tress. In fact why had the monster specifically gone after Tress? It didn't seem like a coincidence at all. It smashed the cafe and the first thing it does is grab a specific pony and then fly off? It didn't bother to eat any of the surrounding ponies it injured or go wild. It had to be something that had some form of intelligence and had to have specifically foal nabbed her friend for a reason.
She had to know what she was dealing with here; a unicorn attempting to fight a dragon was considered suicidal at best and that was what the creature most looked like to her. If it was any kind of draconic being they'd also be relatively magic resistant. Just because it was resistant didn't mean it was immune and Twilight would have to plan for the inevitability of having to poach Tress from a dragons hoard. The prospect of success was laughable if that were the case, but Twilight would still try it.
If the creature wasn't a dragon at all, but mimicked its appearance it was a much more plausible situation. Even then it was still not a very good prospect if a creature could be as powerful as a dragon, but if it wasn't magic resistant Twilight had more of a chance even if it was large.
Twilight stopped when she came up to what looked like a ravine and a broken rope bridge. There were signs of a pony civilization having been previously here, she wondered how long has it been since anyone has been through here. She saw a need to research this later, the ropes looked really old but still surprisingly serviceable. Twilight knew packing forty feet of rope would come in handy eventually. Now how would she go about getting across as it was incredibly foggy here, she couldn't see the other side. Teleporting blindly was a bad thing to do. Twilight couldn't even teleport a massive distance and didn't want to do so blind on top of that first restriction around a chasm.
Dropping her locator spell for a minute, she started levitate the parts of the rope bridge up and tugged it as hard as she could away from herself. The ropes pulled taught but didn't snap or fray. Looking to the nearby post Twilight tied one end of her forty foot rope to it and wrapped the coils around her left hoof and once around her barrel.
Twilight started levitating the bridge again, she stepped out on to it and levitated the next portion and slowly moved forwards while giving the rope around her slack as she went. Once she reached the fog she carefully brightened the glow of the bridge beneath her hooves and continued to carefully move hoof over hoof.
After she exited out of the fog safely, she saw that the other side wasn't too far away, she continued to levitate the bridge in sections and at the same time she levitated the remaining forty feet of rope to the posts she was nearing and tied it off with plenty of rope to spare.
Twilight sighed with relief as she finished tying the bridge back into place and tested each plank to see if any of them were rotting, the wood like the ropes for the bridge was in strangely good condition. After taking the time to retrieve her forty feet of rope Twilight recast her locator spell, only to find out that the spell wasn't needed as much when she noticed the large shape before her in the evening hours.
Before her sat an ancient if very dilapidated and partially falling apart castle, Twilight wasn't sure why there was a castle here in the middle of nowhere and danger town. All Twilight knew was that Tress was nearby once she did another triangulation from two different points at a distance from the castle. It was too bad her locator spell didn't work on a vertical plane or else she'd know exactly where Tress was.
The arrow was definitively pointing Twilight to the dark spooky looking castle; she cancelled the locator spell after moving to a third spot. If Tress was here then the monster that had attacked Ponyville had to be here as well, so caution and staying quiet was how she should proceed.
Two steps toward the castle and Twilight's stomach grumbled. She needed to eat something before she went inside. She ate all of her apples and two carrots; she was saving some food for Tress when she found her and that was mainly the reason she brought the zap apples along with her for this journey.
Well maybe just one, zap apples were full of energy after all. Twilight enjoyed the apple after the initial jolt and thought she could get used to this if Tress was going after another harvest the next time they came around. After she finished it off she set out for the nearby tower of the castle, if you were a pony trapped by a large dragon like monster you'd probably be in the area of highest still standing tower.
Twilight did search around the tower for fifty minutes and the only thing she had to show for it was five soft glowing stone orbs that had attracted her attention. She took the orbs and stashed them away to study later. Deciding that Tress wasn't in the tower like the usual story book fashion, Twilight decided to try the main part of the quiet castle.
She trotted down the hallway on the second floor wary of anything that so much as moved, so far things were too quiet for her liking. Seeing an opening to her left she stepped out onto a second floor balcony area. Down below were two thrones and quite a large chunk of the room had a hole ripped into it, none of it was recent damage though.
Turning tail and about to leave something caused her ears to flick, Twilight turned back around. She thought she had heard something.
"Twilight, I'm up here. Please don't leave me here." That was Tress's voice pleading for her and she was whispering, but why would it be coming from the ceiling?
Lighting up her horn and carefully not to make it shine around the entire room she pointed the directional light at the ceiling. Tress was standing upside down on the ceiling and her hooves were stuck inside some strange brown substance.
"Tre..." Twilight started to shout before she was shushed by her friend shaking her head causing her light blue hair to flail back and forth at her movements.
"Don't talk so loudly, it's still here and I know what it is." Tress's eyes were hurting a bit from the light that Twilight was shining up to her. She had been up on the ceiling for quite a while and she was quite tired, hungry and afraid of how dark it was getting outside from what little she could see.
"What is it?" Twilight whispered looking around and wondering where the creature was. "And where is it exactly?"
"Where do you think? It's below me and if I can get out of here I'll explain to you what I know about it, I don't want to do that here. No, don't shine you're light down there!" Tress stressed this with the horrified tone in her voice that was barely a whisper. "Did you bring any food and what's with your voice?"
"I screamed down a pack of manticores, what have you done today? You seem to be taking being on the ceiling rather well." Twilight stated conversationally after her sarcastic remark. The monster didn't seem to have hurt her friend in any given form except emotionally by having stuck her to the ceiling. "And yes I got some food; can you even eat it like that?"
"I cried and freaked out so hard I came full circle, I'm still very much freaked out it's just so hard for me to express it at the moment. Please get me down from here and give me whatever you got once we're far enough away from it." Tress wasn't crying, but she was very much distressed and if she cried right now her tears would hit the creature and wake it up. She just knew Twilight would figure out a way to get her down from here safely, she could already see her pulling out a ten foot pole.
"Hello is there any pony here?" A familiar scratchy voice said, on the floor of the throne room Rainbow Dash walked in holding a torch made from a tree branch in her right hoof and she revealed the face of the monster. Said monster now had its large red eyes open and they were staring down the pegasus.
Twilight face hoofed, but moved the pole up to Tress without looking at the now screaming pegasus and the roaring monster below. She now had to save both Tress and Rainbow. Will the joys of life never cease? |
Twilights Mane Passion | 41 | Rainbow Dash was always interested in action and adventure. Twilight and Tress were the most interesting adventurers in the town of Ponyville. Ipso facto, she started following them around like a lost puppy when she wasn't training for the Wonderbolts or was at work with the weather. Those two things were all she knew how to do and she did them so often she got bored easily. However going off with a unicorn to rescue her friend from a monster sounded like something Rainbow wanted a part of.
Only now that she was staring down the red eyes and what looked like a bloody maw did the thought that she might have been in over her head cross her mind. It was a good thing she got through the Ever Free Forest well enough as a lot of the more dangerous creatures were ground bound, she still had a lot of energy and was about to burn it off. After she finished screaming and the monster got finished roaring in her face.
Off like a streak of lightning, Rainbow shot away in the hopes to get away from the monster that suddenly leapt at her barely missing with its large four fingered claws.
As Rainbow was busy distracting the beast Twilight levitated the ten foot pole and poked at a spot next to Tress's front right hoof and started jabbing the area hard. Cracks start to form in the general area and Tress started pulling on her hoof. One hard smash with the pole a moment later and the brown stuff holding her hoof shattered as she pulled it free. Tress immediately grasped onto the hovering pole.
"Thanks I can get myself free now. Though I loathe saying this, go rescue Rainbow. I can get down on my own." Tress was a good fifty feet or so off the floor, but she knew how to get down. Twilight released her hold on the ten foot pole and Tress started smacking the brown stuff around her left hoof. While she was doing this a green stripe started forming along her tail.
Twilight nodded in understanding as to how Tress was getting down, she ran off to see how Rainbow was doing. She still didn't know what that thing was, but she could see it in the light outside once she exited the castles main gateway.
It was large and dark brown with a few colorful spots along its body; it had a maw that looked to be covered in blood. Its wings were large and the membrane was as red as the stuff on its maw, its wing joints and spine looked to be a bony white color.
To Twilight it looked like Rainbow was able to avoid getting hit by it thus far. It was quite fast for its size but it had poor maneuverability which was a rather instinctive and important part of their annoying friend. Like Tress she was reluctant to save Rainbow, but they would have to face this dragon like being anyway eventually. It might have kept kidnapping ponies and Twilight would have quickly tired of having to rescue ponies from this thing.
Now how to help Rainbow? Twilight needed something heavy to chuck at the creature to temporarily get its attention off of Rainbow. That nearby piece of rubble looked big enough to catch its attention, lighting her horn up she struggled to lift it. After she got it in the air it was much easier to move about, she took aim as the creature followed Rainbow around the tower snapping its jaw sending droplets of red flying off of its mouth.
Twilight suddenly had a better idea and waited for it to open its mouth again.
Tress had managed to get her left hoof free and now she had to free her hind hooves, she was glad that Twilight brought a ten foot pole. Being completely upside down was making the blood rush to her head so she had to do this quickly. She pulled back the pole and swung it tip first to a spot between her hind hooves, being able to move her hooves again felt good. The substance attaching her to the ceiling cracked slightly, two more strikes should do it.
As Tress was about strike again, a pained muffled roar caused her to fumble with the pole and it started to fall. She caught it with her single tentacle and sighed with relief. She twirled her tail around and used the momentum to swing and stab the pole between her legs again with great force and the cracks spread to her rear legs. She could probably just pull herself free now; she pulled the pole out of the ceiling with her hooves. Before she could strike the substance again her hind legs came free and she felt herself falling.
"Ah come on!" Tress screamed as she fell and quickly focused on a nearby pillar and arrested her downward momentum by pulling herself towards it with her tail. Swinging around the pillar once, she planted three hooves on the pillar and started to slowly walk down the side. One hoof was still holding the ten foot pole. "Well that was easier than I thought."
Only it wasn't easy when the monster heard had her scream and immediately returned to look at the ceiling. Not seeing Tress there, it shifted its view to look to her as she reached the floor. The portion of her tail turned back to normal and she was in the middle of collapsing the pole when she noticed the monster staring at her.
"Uh, whoops. Spoke to soon." Turning around Tress made a break for it with the collapsed pole in her mouth as it reached out a claw to grab her and she managed to duck under it. It lunged forward as she was heading towards the entrance to the throne room. A large piece of stone debris slammed into its face and staggered it.
"Come on Tress! It can't fly in the hallways, we need to lose it." Motioning with her hoof to hurry up, Twilight put a barrier on the doorway to prevent the creature from putting a claw through it to grab Tress. It could barely even squeeze into the hallway either given it was so large.
Twilight dropped the barrier once Tress was clear and they quickly got lost in the hallways, turning a corner they slammed into Rainbow and tumbled into pile of limbs. Using her magic to separate all of them and set them on their hooves, Twilight huffed tiredly as she was a bit drained.
"I don't care why you're here Rainbow. Just help us find a place to hide!" Dislike her though she may, Tress was willing to accept that she was actually trying to help. Despite the fact that she woke up the monster and caused a huge mess in following Twilight here.
"Well don't places like these have secret passages or something? What is that thing anyway, it looks kind of like a dragon." Rainbow looked at the walls in the hallway for something to touch.
"Rainbow, if there were secret passages in this castle, I doubt they'd still be working as old as this place is. I mean I can't just reach up and pull something hanging on the wall and expect it to..." Doing just what she said, Twilight pulled on a lighting fixture for torches and the wall spun taking all three ponies into a small cube like space.
"You were saying?" Quirking an eye in victory, Rainbow was about to boast about how she was right until Tress slapped a hoof over her big mouth.
Tress had noticed the peep hole rather quickly and saw the creature pass by, most likely searching for her. After a moment she removed her hoof from Rainbow's mouth and had a look of relief on her face as the thundering steps of the monster faded away. She gave Twilight her collapsible ten foot pole back; she had managed to hold onto it while running from the monster.
"Okay Tress while we have the time to figure out a way to escape, what is that thing and what does it want with you exactly?" If Twilight didn't get to the bottom of why it kept trying to get Tress, she was going to go nuts.
"Would you even believe me? If I spelled out for you exactly what it was and how it might have come to be like it is?" It was a little unbelievable to Tress and she had a working theory of how it came to be what it was. What she didn't understand is why it was so dead set on gluing her to the ceiling and why it was so interested in her.
"You know what that thing is? Did you even see the blood on its face, that thing is really scary." If Rainbow weren't as swift and such a good flyer as she was already, she would have been monster chow.
"Oh that was not blood, it was marinara sauce." If that wasn't an eye opener, Tress now had of both their attentions. "It ate a spaghetti monster in front of me because it wiggled its tentacles at me in a threatening manner. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was after that. I still don't understand its motives in bringing me here though."
"Huh and here I always thought spaghetti monsters were only imaginary creatures my mom used as a way to feed me." Sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth, Rainbow tried to imagine what a spaghetti monster looked like. She imagined it flying around and forming its own religion by magically converting ponies into noodle worshippers and then getting into a fight with Celestia. She had a dreamy look crossing her face as she imagined the epic battle. "Awesome."
"Charming... Tress I will believe whatever you'll tell me without a thought even if it's completely absurd sounding." Even putting on her serious face here, Twilight was going to listen to whatever it was that Tress said it was.
Inhaling Tress knew what she was about to say was going to sound completely absurd, but it needed to be said and brought up again. She had known that thing was out to get her from the start.
"You know that demonic fruitcake you told me to stop mentioning?" If Tress had to say anything more than that she was going to get angry with Twilight. "Yeah, I would like to bring it up again."
The unicorn sat there wide eyed with shrinking pupils. The implications were just as staggering as the many things she thought of today.
Rainbow just looked confused and was now thinking of a regular fruitcake leading cookies on a rebellion against the cake menace to blow up the cupcake star. She could even imagine a living sandwich wielding a purple unicorn horn and creating searing beam of light from it like a sword beam thing.
"But... but it was the size of a fruit bat the last time we saw it and that wasn't too long ago!" Twilight just couldn't immediately accept what Tress was hinting at. "How can it still be surviving, it would have eroded away eventually and it just can't be possible."
"If it's been surviving on a steady diet of rather reproductive spaghetti monsters it can, it's even integrated parts of them into itself or did you not see that its spine was made of compacted dried noodles. They probably have the tensile strength of the bones you'd see in something like a large hydra by this point." Tress said with a bored tone. "I've certainly had plenty of time to study it from the ceiling!"
"Are you always going to be on about the ceilings you've been stuck to from now on?" Twilight thought it was kind of sad that Tress was still coming back to her now rather realistic fear of messy ceilings.
"You try being stuck to one Twilight and see how you feel afterwards!" Tress shot back angrily. She was finally getting some emotion back into her voice, just the wrong kind. She was happy that her friend came to rescue her and was a bit sad to hear her voice sound like it did, that gravelly tone did not befit her Radiance.
"Girls chill, what we need to focus on is how we are going to take down this thing or deal with it so it can never bother any pony again." It was a sad day in history when Rainbow Dash was the voice of reason between two smart mares.
"Okay its official, this is the weirdest things have ever gotten. When did Rainbow start being the one that made sense?" If Tress had insulted Rainbow, she didn't seem to notice or react to it as she was off in her own little world again.
"Yeah I know. I'm horrified at the prospect too." Twilight shivered, the world just couldn't be regular around her. "How are we going to take this out of control fruitcake dragon down? Even Barb couldn't bite through its hide and that's when it was small!"
"Hey, wait a minute..." Rainbow said as she finally realized she had been insulted. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 42 | Tress was quietly finishing off the food Twilight brought for her, the zap apples really did fill her up along with the few carrots Twilight split between her and Rainbow. She spent a lot of her time glaring at Rainbow.
"You know, I'm getting the feeling that you two don't like me very much." Rainbow's questioning tone was met with two flat stares.
"Tress, if you will do the honors." Twilight motioned to her friend to go ahead and let her rip while she searched the walls. She was looking for a switch that didn't lead them back into the hallway where the monster was patrolling. She was still trying to come up with a viable strategy, her last ditch effort would be getting swallowed alive and perform an expanding barrier spell from inside the monster without suffocating first.
"Gladly, Rainbow I'm going to be brutally honest with you. Get upset as much as you want because you know I'm telling the truth. Okay where to start with you? You probably got only straight C's in school and the schools where you come from are already bad to begin with for a pony that doesn't specialize in flying, weather or acrobatics." Tress saw that Rainbow was about to ask what pegasus didn't specialize in flying.
Rainbow immediately shut her mouth when she thought of one pony in particular; she just looked at the stony floor. She specialized in all of those areas equally, but still did poorly in school.
"They weren't all C's." Rainbow muttered, she had at least some B's and those were in athletics when she wasn't goofing off.
"Which brings me to my next fact, what makes you so special? What exactly separates you from the average pegasus? Not very much at all, except for that one Sonic Rainboom you did and it's not even an original trick as it is an old legend that has been done by another pony already. Fluttershy told me you wanted to join the Wonderbolts, have you thought of anything innovative or have done something completely original at least once?" Tress waited for Rainbow to say something, seeing nothing forthcoming she decided to continue ripping into Rainbow Dash. "Furthermore why do you want the fame and fortune so much? Ponies won't truly like you for who you are, they'll like you for the things you can do. Fan aren't true friends Rainbow, they'll turn on you the second you do something they don't like. Who will you turn to then? I doubt ponies will show up to shows where you're a one trick pony doing stuff other ponies have already done. The likeliest thing you'll do is a variation on aerial tricks that already exist, which is in and of itself not very special either but at least it would be something."
"Well I'm... I'm pretty good at..." Rainbow really had to think about this for a minute, she felt a pang of hurt go through her as she realized she had nothing truly special. Doing a Rainboom was the one unique thing she has done and a pony of the distant past had already done it. This means if she could do it, then so could any pony if they tried hard enough. What was the reason she originally did it previously?
Fluttershy... Rainbow did that for her chronically shy friend who was being bullied and then she left her to be bullied when she spent all that time with Gilda. Every single day she flew with Gilda, her friend sat and watched her play in the sky. Slowly she faded from existence and suddenly wasn't there anymore. She hadn't even noticed when Fluttershy stopped showing up at all.
"What makes you think you're all that really? Do ponies truly think you're awesome or do you see yourself being as such in a blind manner trying to convince yourself of it being reality? How many friends did you have when you came to Ponyville? How many do you really think you have now? You should be glad Fluttershy still considers you one of her friends. That that kind mare would even speak so highly of a moronic airhead like you, it says a lot about the impression you left on her when she was in her darkest hour. Have you recently asked Fluttershy about Gilda? What do you really know about the friends you've made if anything? What are you really doing here? Who are you trying to impress? There are no other ponies here besides us. If you really want to know what I think of you, I don't like you at all and the only reason I tolerate you is because Fluttershy likes you and is my friend. She even had to ask me to play nice with you. Can you seriously tell me you're going to go through life and get into the Wonderbolts by being as ignorant as you are?" Stopping herself from continuing Tress could see Rainbow cowering in the corner almost coming to tears. Maybe she had gone a tad too far. She could still think like an evil villain apparently, that would always be a small part of her and she would always be slightly tangled up in her past. At least Rainbow had a dream; Tress didn't have anything to pursue herself and wasn't all that high and mighty either.
"Tress that was kind of harsh, even for you. I found another switch, but I don't know where it'll take us. We still don't even have a plan for taking on that thing." Being really worried about her friend, Twilight hoped that she didn't backslide into being an evil pony even with the minimal powers that she still has. She didn't think it was even probable that Tress would backslide.
"Oh I know, let's do what Rainbow would do. Press it anyway and hope for the best and that nothing bad happens to us, like falling into a pit of spikes!" Tress watched as Rainbow cringed at that.
"You're taking this a bit too far now Tress, but I agree about the button. No time like the present as I have no idea how we're going to take that thing down. Even if it was affected greatly by magic, I don't exactly have any magic spells that can do lots of damage. We can't stay in this small space forever and we can't return to Ponyville where it will follow us to get at Tress or some other pony." What Twilight did have was all kinds of spells and only one of them was the only true offensive spell she knew. It was the ever classic unicorn spell the magic missile.
Twilight had already fired a magic missile at the demonic fruitcake dragon. It was after she stuffed its mouth with debris while it was chasing Rainbow, that didn't do much but push it back some. She would need to use a lot of magic missiles to damage the monster; it had to have a weakness of some kind. What would the food the monster was comprised of be weak to?
Twilight shook her head and finally decided to press the button. Immediately the floor opened beneath them sending them sliding downwards, screaming into the darkness.
The three ponies tumbled into a catacomb like area. The only noise Rainbow made were the few yelps as she slammed into the walls only to roll the opposite way on the way down. Twilight screamed the whole way down. Tress just sighed as she came to a rest on her side at the end of the line.
Tress quickly got to her hooves and looked around, where was the light for this underground area coming from? It should be pitch black down here as it was in the chute they fell out of.
Rainbow sat up and didn't say anything; she just continued to look thoughtful. She didn't cry but she looked disheartened.
Twilight just stood up and looked at the walls with some amount of awe; they were lined with enchanted lighting implements and were still operational.
They didn't get much time to rest as the monsters head came around the nearby corner roaring immediately causing Tress to start running in the opposite direction. Twilight quickly levitated the depressed looking Rainbow and followed taking up the rear as best she could. The monster tried to squeeze around the corner and once it finally did the chase was on again.
Turning into a side passage way Tress stopped looking back and found herself in a dead end room with a pipe organ. Twilight followed her and realized the same thing she had, they had just cornered themselves.
Twilight immediately turned around and conjured a barrier over the entrance to the pipe organ room, why was there even a pipe organ down here? As old as this place seemed, a pipe organ seemed relatively odd as she knew when pipe organs were invented. Musical magic spell book, she was decent with a trumpet and it was a rather simple instrument, she may have gotten her head stuck in one growing up.
"Well, now what?"Tress asked as Twilight held the doorway; the creature started ramming into it several times. She walked up the steps to the pipe organ and started to search the wall. "Twilight unless you want to be an organ donor I think we have to stand our ground."
"Tress, really? You're making jokes at a time like this!" Twilight cringed as the thing struck her barrier again and then it just stopped to look at her barrier. What was it doing?
The demonic fruitcake dragon looked at the walls around the barrier and a slow grim smirk crosses its face as it raised its claws and started damaging the walls leading into the room. Twilight couldn't brace the walls directly for fear of weakening them with her magic.
"Huh, that thing is pretty smart." Rainbow was still lost in her own thoughts and was slowly coming to grips with herself and the kind of pony she was.
"Tress, you better find a way out quickly." Through her gritted teeth Twilight expanded her barrier slightly around the walls on their side of the doorway. The creature brought back both its claws proceeded to thrust them forward through the wall and Twilight's barrier exploded sending her flying to land in a heap at the base of the stairs leading up to the organ. She laid there on her side groaning in pain.
"Twilight, oh you did not just do that!" Tress immediately ran towards Rainbow Dash, as the creature brought its left palm down on top of her. Tress's eyes blazed into a green ring wrapped in a glowing red corona of power.
Rainbow closed her eyes shrinking down into herself only to feel the ground buckle slightly. She opened them to see Tress holding back its palm and was standing on her hind legs pushing against it. Tress was protecting her? How was she even holding that things palm back? It must weigh like a ton or something.
"Stop hurting my friends!" Tress grunted and with a shove its claw flew up into ceiling sending it stumbling backwards in shock. The angry pony immediately charged it and looked to be acting downright insane doing so.
Rainbow looked on in shock, her eyes flashed with a sudden understanding. Tress may not like her, but she still thought of Rainbow as a... as a friend?
Twilight sat up and watched Tress charge the monster, was she insane? Didn't she know how strong that thing was or the amount of force it would take to even injure it?
The creature went to grab Tress with its right claw, Tress leapt on top of its enclosed fist with a ridiculous leap and then charged up its arm. It slammed its left claw down on its elbow joint and Tress just leapt onto the back of its hand and jumped straight up to its left shoulder.
Upon reaching its shoulder Tress kicked off of it with such a tremendous force the creature shifted right into her flying shoulder charge. The impact sent a large crack through the creatures' cheek, in return it looked like Tress's right shoulder caved into her body slightly. Tress started falling and she brought back her left hoof and threw an uppercut blowing back the creatures head causing cracks to form along its chin along with a faint burn mark.
Tress spun into her uppercut as she fell. Her hoof started crackling with energy as she spun around twice and then threw her hoof straight at its chest with as much force as she could muster while screaming in rage. Her hoof caught fire from the friction the moment it connected with the beast. The monster slid back three feet and massive crater appeared in its chest and it roared out in pain as it fell onto its back.
Tress's eyes reverted to their normal blue and her right eye twitched as she fell towards the floor. She was screaming in agony before she even hit the ground and it looked like she was having a seizure before she passed out.
Twilight unsteadily got to her hooves and quickly prepared a diagnostics spell and screamed Tress's name as she galloped towards her. The beast shifted a bit, but it wasn't getting up at the moment. Rainbow quickly followed Twilight with tears in her eyes. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 43 | Twilight was at Tress's side and casting her diagnostics spell on the limp mare. One of the most useful medical spells out there that can tell you what is wrong with a pony and where the wrong was. Twilight grimaced at what she was seeing.
"Is she?" Not that Rainbow would ever want that to be true. She kept a wary eye on the demonic fruitcake dragon.
"She's alive if that is what you're asking me. She's not doing too well though." Twilight was busy trying to understand how Tress did what she had, also why it left her in such a horrible state. Twilight bit her bottom lip while her ears flopped back, Tress really needed help and soon or else she was going to die.
"How bad we talking here? Because I think we need to get going and soon, the monster is kind of blocking our way out of here. It's also still moving." It was something important to look into considering Rainbow didn't think she could hit it as hard as Tress could.
"How does having a large amount of the muscles below you're neck shredded sound? At least the musculature around her heart only seemed heavily strained. She needs immediate medical attention to even survive or she won't even last an hour like this." Twilight sometimes wished her specialty was medical magic instead of general magic.
"Can't you like blast that creature with an exploding fireball or something?" Rainbow in particular didn't like thinking that Tress was dying after what she did for them.
"I can't really do something like that Rainbow; I can only create an illusionary flame or spark enough energy from my horn to light something on fire. I can't just manifest fire into a large ball then make it explode! Besides what if I accidentally hit you or Tress? It's not like I want her or you to die sooner rather than much later." A shifting movement occurred from the downed monster; Twilight levitated Tress carefully and started moving towards the pipe organ and away from monster. Twilight never liked violence and she really didn't like being violent.
Rainbow fluttered over to Twilight and was starting to panic slightly. Tress was slowly dying. They were trapped in a room with a monster that would soon get up. They had no known escape route here and if there was one they certainly had to find it soon or else.
"Isn't there anything we can do for Tress? Maybe this thing has a key we can press to get out of here?" Rainbow struck a key on the pipe organ and it caused a loud single note to play. A floor panel on a high tension spring sprung up nearby for a few seconds before sinking back into the floor.
"Keep pressing keys Rainbow, I'm going to make sure Tress is secure and I'll think of something we can do to save her." Twilight looked at the limp form held tenderly in her magic. There had to be something she could do that could help Tress, but what? She quickly conjured a proximity barrier spell to hold her friends body still, Twilight made absolutely sure only air was passing through and that she made it correctly. It wasn't exactly the best form of stasis but it would keep her from getting injured any further if she woke up. As long as Twilight was nearby to keep the barrier running, it would stay up.
While the pipe organ was making a single note at a time the monster started to slowly moving more and more. Rainbow warily kept pressing keys and heard odd noises coming from the surrounding areas of the castle.
It was about time Twilight resorted to using the memory spell. She needed to remember everything as Smart wasn't here to remind her personally of any pertinent information she'd need about Tress. She lit her horn and cast the spell while keeping Tress in mind.
Tress had her eyes activated when she did feats that even normal earth ponies would be hard pressed to copy. Tress's hoof glowed with energy as she punched out the fruitcake currently blocking the only known exit from the room. The energy surged up her hoof and her coat was standing on end all the way down her left leg before she thrust it forward.
Twilight stopped on that thought, since when has Tress ever had that kind of ability? Then again Tress never fully explored her powers and only focused on the hair related abilities she gained. Tress never actually fought using just her body as the Mane-iac. This was entering a completely untapped potential area.
Wait, untapped potential? Of course! There was still a piece of the puzzle that Twilight didn't have yet. Tress's coat hair standing on end, zap apples being ineffective in shocking her, Zapp's lightning attacks not working... wait what did she just think? Twilight looked all the way back into the first fight the Power Ponies held with Mane-iac, one that she didn't participate in but was near. FIlli-second avoids the cart thrown at her and they start attacking Mane-iac one at a time.
Zapp aimed his lightning at Mane-iac and yet it never seems to hit. It looked like Mane-iac was dodging it or was she? A second look the lightning was actually going through Mane-iac and she sped up slightly. Twilight's eyes took in the sudden realization. It all went back to the lightning cable and the first few pages of Mane-iac's introduction in the comic.
"I know how we can save Tress!" Twilight had a moment of victorious prancing before a loud roar hit her from behind. Turning slowly around she saw the monster was almost on its feet and growling angrily at them.
"Yeah, I would love to hear that but I still have a few rows of keys to press and I don't think he'll let us do that!" She continued hitting keys but at a wild and frantic pace.
"How did you even know about the secret passages in the first place?" It was really strange to Twilight that Rainbow would know something like that when she was so... yeah. Rainbow was always just another face hoof waiting to happen.
"My mom read a lot of adventure stories to me when I was little before... I don't want to talk about this right now we're about to be eaten by a fruitcake!" In her frustration Rainbow started hitting all the keys randomly. Somehow she ended up performing a disjointed more horrifying version of 'Night on Bald Mountain', it suited the situation they were in at least. "How are we going to save Tress?"
"We need to get her outside for one! If we can't do that she's not going to make it." Twilight turned to the monster as it started a charge, she closed her eyes. This was it.
Rainbow looked at the last key on the far bottom right side of the pipe organ and shrugged; she lifted a hoof and dropped it lightly on to the key. The space around the organ lit up for the barest of seconds and Rainbow smiled once she saw where they ended up.
The fruitcake monster slammed into the wall having lost track of its quarry and it shook its head. It roared to the ceiling in and waited for its voice to reverberate through the halls before its eyes narrowed and it immediately set off out of the room.
Twilight opened her eyes to find herself in the foyer to the castle, she looked to Rainbow is shock.
"It's always the last one isn't it?" Rainbow said smiling.
"You skipped hitting fourteen different keys and any one of those could have been the one to get us out of there." Twilight wondered if brains were optional in Cloudsdale, but Rainbow did just save all of them so she should just give her that one.
"Details, details, at least we're not down there with big and fruity anymore. Also we're right next to the door leading outside. So come on, we need to save Tress and you said you can do that once we got outside!" A huge roar was heard going throughout the castle and it sounded like crashing sounds were heard going through the floor, Rainbow cringed slightly. "Yeah, we still need to deal with that thing huh?"
"Well it's not like Celestia is going to suddenly get up off her throne to aid her citizens in mortal danger and there are no other ponies around here to help us!" Even as she said this Twilight was already in the process of levitating Tress and opening the door and charging outside. "Speaking of help I need yours right now. Get me a cloud with as much lightning as you can possibly stuff into it, we need it like yesterday!"
"I'm on it!" Rainbow zipped off for the sky. Twilight needed a cloud filled to the brim with lightning? She was getting that cloud filled to the brim with lighting. She was not going to let her friends down.
Upon getting a good distance into the sky Rainbow noticed there weren't very many clouds around, of all nights for the sky to be clear. She'd get what she could gather and then bring it back to Twilight. With speed she had a good small black cloud crackling with lightning, but it was all she could find. She hoped it was enough and quickly winged it back to Twilight.
"Rainbow how did you; you've only been gone for ten seconds." Twilight was impressed with how fast Rainbow managed to get the cloud she needed.
"Yeah, so how should I position it for the monster?" It seemed like the more important thing to deal with at the moment to Rainbow.
"It's not for the monster, it's for Tress!" Twilight quickly pulled out her ten foot collapsible pole and levitated Tress. She started running for the river as Rainbow had just given her an idea of how to deal with the monster. "Come on Rainbow, follow me!"
"What." It was a little known fact that lightning could kill a pony, this led Rainbow to wondering if Twilight was really about to kill Tress? Weren't they best friends?
"Just trust me, I have a plan!" Twilight's mind was racing with an idea, but she need to get the lightning off to Tress to help her survive a bit longer.
Crossing the bridge and coming back to the river to find it was still roiling; Twilight smiled and skidded to a stop ten feet away. She carefully sat Tress down and opened a hole in her barrier and carefully stuffed her ten foot pole into Tress's left armpit. She even prepped a diagnostics spell, if she were wrong she'd be killing Tress and if she were right this would strengthen her enough to survive the self inflicted injuries she caused to herself.
"First thing, Rainbow hit the pole with as much lightning as you can. You have to trust me that this won't hurt her." Twilight now understood how Tress's super powers worked in full. In her saddle bags one of the stone orbs gave off a soft orange glow.
"I... I believe you. Here goes nothing." Rainbow didn't like what she was about to do, but she did it anyway. She aimed and she bucked out at the cloud and it expended all its energy in one go. The bolt lasted for a good five seconds.
Tress's body was thankfully held in place by the barrier as it jumped slightly at the energy forcing its way into her.
Twilight immediately had her diagnostics spell on Tress and was watching something miraculous. The torn ligaments, the shredded muscles, the shattered bones in her shoulder and left hoof were slowly fixing themselves. The bone pieces were sliding back into place and even fusing back into one completely unbroken bone. However her torn muscles didn't completely regenerate but they were in much better condition than they had previously been, her body had prioritized the bones and the area around her heart first.
"Rainbow, Tress is doing much better now. Thank you..." Her voice was weak and there were tears in her eyes. Twilight's first, best and most important friend she has ever had was going to live. A roar sounded out behind her, next part of the plan then. "Steven, can you lend me a little help please!"
The river serpent popped up out of the water spooking Rainbow for a moment before she realized he wasn't very scary or evil looking at all. Kind of odd after seeing all the weird things the Ever Free Forest had.
"Hello again my little friend, what's the matter?" The river serpent noticed that Twilight had a friend in a barrier and a look of concern crossed his face.
"I need help crossing the river again, Rainbow I need you fly up and find a way to knock the monster into the river when it flies over it to get at us. Steven, can you please roil the river up even worse than this?" Twilight smiled happily when Steven nodded. He liked ponies and didn't mind helping them.
Rainbow shot off into the sky and saw the monster winging its way towards the river, that thing was relentless. How was she going to...? A sparkle appeared in her eyes. She needed to do a Sonic Rainboom and right now, her friends were depending on her! She flew high up while keeping an eye on that monstrous visage sharing her sky.
"This one is for you guys!" Rainbow dove straight for the demonic fruitcake dragon with both hooves pushing to go as fast as she could, slowly a pressure cone built up in front of her and then she pushed her hardest as the monster was almost over the river.
The monsters eyes went wide at the sudden streak of rainbow colors that shot past its head and then promptly exploded right between its wings destroying them. The monster fell into the roiling river and the water quickly battered it and started to seep into the crack on its body, it started screeching as it begun dissolving into the water.
Tress opened her eyes slightly to see a huge rainbow explosion and watched the monster fall into the water. It was roaring in pain and something else.
"Beautiful." Tress immediately got the unicorns attention. "Twilight...closer..."
"Don't try to talk Tress you're going to be okay, save your strength." Twilight moved Tress closer to herself all the same.
"Something... tell... pain..." Tress felt herself moved closer to Twilight and she spoke into Twilight's ear. "Twilight I..."
The whisper caused Twilight to look on in shock just as Tress blacked out again. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 44 | "The fact that it was doing semaphore with its legs was probably just a huge coincidence Rainbow."
"What about the butter knife? It attacked you with that, which proves it was intelligent right?"
"Actually there was a sharp knife on the counter and a block full of knives right next to where the butter knife was. If it was truly intelligent it would have gone for those."
Tress stirred at the voices.
"I guess your right then. Still though, why did Tress ask you to do that? Don't you know much trouble that thing caused us!"
"I'm a believer of seconds chances Rainbow and Tress was willing to give you more than several. With the spells I've recently learned from our trip back to the castle of the two sisters, things will turn out for the best. Look at it this way; it was an adventure we'll never forget and you got to play a heroic role."
"Still doesn't feel right Twilight, we didn't necessarily finish the story in an epic way."
"I went back and checked the keys on the pipe organ. One of the fourteen you missed on the 'Organ to the Outside' would have actually warped us ten feet outside of the castles front door."
Tress twitched some more and her eyes opened.
"Twilight, Rainbow, where am I?" Tress was nearly blinded by the light in the room, after a moment her eyesight adjusted to the two ponies sitting at her bedside. She could see a dozen flowers, one from each one of the friends her and Twilight recently became acquainted with. "Also how long have I been out?"
"You've been out for the last seventeen hours and we're in Ponyville's hospital. I've had time to get some sleep and go exploring the castle; I even found Celestia's old diary there. I think Celestia was very irresponsible with what she left behind." Twilight was glad to see Tress wake up; she was cleared for leaving as soon as she awoke. The doctors were trying to find a way to hold her for more testing and without consent from Tress's closest guardian or friends they couldn't hold her here. They were trying to figure out how Tress was miraculously recovering from having so much muscle and nervous tissue related trauma and damage done to her body.
"I made sure nothing attacked Twilight when she went back there; I have to watch out for my buddies backs after all. Glad to see you're doing alright. I still don't entirely understand why Twilight had me hit you with a lightning bolt, but I guess everything is cool." Walking a nearby window Rainbow thrust it open and looked back to them. "I got to jet; see you at the party in two hours!"
"Okay, I take it that after last night Rainbow still won't leave us alone? Also why do you think the solar princess is irresponsible?" Tress came from a world without a sun controlling princess, she really didn't think either way about the current monarch and ignored her existence as she had no importance to Tress's everyday life.
"To answer the first question, probably not but at least Rainbow helped us out of a dire situation and she saved your life. The castle of the two sisters is where we were last night and I've learned a lot of disturbing things about it." Turning it over in her head Twilight decided to answer the last question. Celestia was a pony to look up to as long as you take in all her flaws alongside her good points, at this point she didn't think she would have done too well under her tutelage. Lighting her horn she levitated out a pet carrier and set it on the bed next to Tress and opened the door. "This is why I think Celestia is irresponsible. She left behind spells that if they were to come into the wrong hooves, they could cause devastating problems."
Out of the pet carrier crawled a cat with light brown fur with yellow, red and green spots. Tress just stared at it in awe and looked to Twilight with a small frown.
"How many ponies exactly know that this was the thing that attacked yesterday?" The cat rubbed up against Tress's chest and she shakily lifted a hoof to pet him, the cat purred at her gentle touch. "He kind of looks cute now, but I really should hate his guts knowing what he was. After all that trouble, misery and pain he put us through."
"Not many. He actually passed as sentient enough for the spell to work, he literally is a cat right now and he is still getting used to the idea of it. I left him with Fluttershy for a few hours to teach him a lesson and he should know better than to hurt any pony anymore unless it's warranted." Twilight actually wondered if Tress had ever wanted a pet. "He's ours now, unless you want him to stay with Fluttershy that is."
"What did that spell that turned him into a cat exactly do and how does it work?" The cat purred and crawled around in Tress's lap before curling up there. "Hard to imagine this thing was so ferocious barely a day ago."
"The spell is a metamorphic spell. The important part is that you require a template to be present and then you can use anything else as a target to change into a version of that template. The spell doesn't work on morphing small things into larger things unless it was their normal form or animals that are magic immune. Basically I can morph into anything smaller than your general everyday pony, but if I wanted to morph into something large like say an Ursa Minor or Major. That is thankfully impossible." She thought that she lost her friend at some point, Twilight just decided to continue anyway. "I can also carry only one metamorphic template of said smaller animal at a time to use later. Our fruitcake monster here was still bigger then a cat after I fished him out of the river because you asked me to. He was a perfectly contained test subject for the spell. I used Opal as a template and here is your new pet cat."
"Do we seriously have to keep him? Why did I even ask you to rescue him, why do I even bother having a conscience if I'm going to get saddled with more weird stuff like this? It must have been the pain talking that I asked you to save him! I'm beginning understand why exactly your parents act so normal compared to all the crazy stuff that goes on around them." Tress was acting rather melodramatic even as she hugged the cat to her body and gave him a painful smack to the head causing the cat to meow pitifully. "Quick question why aren't I seriously in pain right now? I still doubt even seventeen hours could help me recover from feeling like my body was on fire, stabbed with a hundred knives and then promptly covered in acid, after the jagged knives are all ripped out at the same time of course.
"It's because I figured out how your super powers work and you're on a lot of pain medication right now. You're healing just fine; I'm surprised you're not acting really loopy at the moment. Other than that can you truly tell me that you don't enjoy all the weird and wonderful things life can throw at us?" Twilight even knew what life was going to throw at them in two years. It's been nine hundred and ninety eight years since that day she read about.
"Yeah, the joys of pain and suffering are never ending with you. Any idea what's coming at us next? As I'd like an advanced warning if I'm going to be abducted by aliens, mole cats or slave traders." Tress wouldn't put it past Twilight to somehow arrange for something like one of those things to happen by complete accident. "On the subjects of my powers what do you know?"
"Well, we might or might not be dealing with a powerful and insane super villain alicorn who's the sister of Celestia in two years. Her name is apparently Luna and she turned into Nightmare Moon because ponies started ignoring her nights in comparison to her sisters' days. She's currently the image on the moon as that is where she's sealed away by the elements of harmony, which were last used by Celestia on the day of the summer sun celebration hundreds of years ago." Noticing her friends grimace at having to fight a pony with all three races combined into one powerful package, Twilight decided to move on to Tress's powers. "As for your powers, I think your hair was the mane attraction. It was not all that you could do and you certainly had a few more abilities then you realized."
"Okay, do you want me to ask what I missed when I was still Mane-iac? Also remember to mark down on the calendar the day we have to face down Nightmare Moon as a busy day for us. I thought my world was weird being a comic book and everything, but you're world takes the cake in the week we've been having in a place that looked so quiet from the outset." Around this time Tress actually tried sitting up and she felt slightly woozy, the cat scampered off to her side staring at her with its red eyes.
"I just wanted to know if you were curious or not about it." Twilight inhaled and then started to regale Tress with the knowledge she had learned about Mane-iac's physiology based on what she knew.
Apparently Tress's eyes do have an incredible function, one that's highly dangerous to her body. A normal pony can only use only so much of their brain and muscles at once, what her eyes do is take in information at double or even triple the rate they'd normally do. This did not make her more intelligent; it just heightened her reaction speed and reflexes.
Tress's brain was also boosted to a degree and always at the same time her eyes activate. The unfortunate drawback is if she is injured while she's like this it really comes back on her in a largely inescapably painful way. This boosting broke the restrictions a normal pony's body would have and it allowed her to use her muscles to their full capacity, which is a really bad thing to do and why they previously tore themselves apart. The pain was likely more indescribable then Tress made it out to be without the particular buffer her Mane-iac form provided.
Tress's Mane-iac form had the general super powered comic character traditions. The form had a resilience to pain, heightened damage tolerance and was capable of handling heavier amounts of stress to her muscles. It did not increase her strength by too much, it just allowed her to use more of her muscles with far less strain. Her body basically had an exponential increase in efficiency.
What Tress didn't lose being as she was now was some minimal regenerative properties and the ability to absorb lightning or any energy relatively close to it. As long as her body had at least some form of electrical energy in it, she could regenerate from any injury short of an immediate killing blow provided she had enough energy to deal with the damage.
When Tress first became the Mane-iac she was at full capacity and her mane was constantly writhing about and had arcs of energy coursing through it. The reason for this is because every hair on her body can constantly recharge her body with static electricity, it wasn't much but it added up over time.
Mane-iac's mane didn't use up her electrical energy. Neither did her eyes or more efficient full body transformation. They only needed a certain amount of energy to stay activated and that energy can be fully pulled back into her. The only energy loss Mane-iac would have ever suffered in her conservative fighting style against the Power Ponies is a direct blow to her body or overexerting her muscles to the point where her regenerative properties would kick in. She could stay as the Mane-iac indefinitely once she got her full form going.
"Wow... if you put all of that together I actually make for a good villain and much more powerful than I initially came off as when we met." Tress really hadn't been using her abilities to the fullest had she?
"It's not that surprising as all of your abilities are that of an earth pony's pushed to extreme levels, even your hair control is an earth pony related ability. What is not related is that you have the ability to channel and possibly fire lightning bolts from anywhere out of your body. Maybe you could even create a biological electro orb bomb." Twilight knew that electrical powers weren't Tress's strongest abilities; they'd be more of a last resort kind of thing. "I'd assume abilities like that would put a massive drain on your Mane-iac powers. You'd quickly lose your full body transformation first as it requires a huge build up for you to even fully transform and hold that appearance."
"So... we still have time to get me into the dress Rarity is likely finished making and get to the party while picking up your daughter and Zecora on the way?" As Tress asked this she wondered about the strange things that went on with her body and how long Twilight fretted over every single aspect of it.
"Yeah we do, I'll help you stand and walk a bit." Twilight shouldered Tress and helped her walk. She noticed her friend was limping and looking drained. "You're truly amazing Tress and not because of your super powers either. I wonder if you're muscles are constantly locked up from the electrical energy and that's why Fluttershy's massages make you feel so good."
Tress blushed vibrantly. She hoped not as Fluttershy would be constantly on top of her if that were the case, then again it wouldn't be so bad a prospect. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 45 | "So, now that I'm back to empty on my powers how am I ever going to get a big enough charge to become Mane-iac again?" Tress was sitting in front of Twilight again; having her mane brushed always made her smile. She was already in her dress and they had to get to the party within the next twenty minutes to be considered early. The medication had worn off thirty minutes ago and she felt horribly sore. "I do want to eventually want to be able to transform again."
"If only lightning clouds weren't restricted to pegasus use only. They have tight restrictions on them and I'm not sure if you want Rainbow to know you have super powers. That is if she hasn't guessed already. Maybe I can rig up a lightning rod to the roof and have it run into a battery you can pull the energy from. Even then one lightning bolt wasn't enough to help you fully recover. We'd need several lightning storms to come through the area to even make some kind of headway into this." Though Twilight was sure Rainbow could easily figure out that Tress had super powers, it was unlikely. Twilight pulled Tress's entire mane back and got out a dark purple hair band to hold it altogether after she finished braiding it, that is if Tress would let her. "We'll figure out something Tress. Would you mind if I braided you're mane?"
"Go ahead; you know I trust you with my mane Twilight." Tress looked at herself in the mirror as Twilight started to braid her mane; her dress turned out quite nice though she didn't like it covering her tail and the straps were causing her sore shoulders some mild discomfort. A light bit of eye shadow and a very light dusting of powder on her cheeks was all the makeup she needed.
"It's still polite to ask." Twilight sighed as she braided Tress's mane by hoof, she would always love the feel of her friends' manes and enjoyed every moment they allowed her to touch them. She wasn't getting dressed up like Tress was but she was going to enjoy the party all the same. Tress was really beautiful and looking in the mirror, she looked plain and average in comparison. Twilight was a mare that didn't use makeup and Tress didn't even need the stuff, though the eye shadow did add a bit to her friends' features.
"All that I have left to get on is my choker; you can help me with that after you're done braiding my mane." Soon Tress stood up and did a twirl for Twilight and smiled impishly, then winced.
"The doctors said you were okay to leave, they didn't say you were okay to do anything strenuous." Twilight hugged her friend softly while nuzzling her neck; she was going to treat her like glass until her muscles were fully healed. "Please Tress, take it easy. You really hurt yourself."
"Sorry Twilight, I promise when we get to the party I'll only do one dance and then take a seat off to the side for the rest of the night. I can keep Fluttershy busy; she's definitely going to wallflower all night long and I'll be right there with her." Of that Tress had no doubt. Tress noticed Twilight was getting rather affectionate with her in the last hour or so. It was a little odd if welcome that Twilight worried so much at every little grunt and groan she has made.
"I'm so glad that Vinyl still paid me for helping her move the sound system in a bit later than usual. She still got her practice session in and even understood that we were otherwise indisposed." The last nine hours were quite interesting for Twilight.
Twilight said goodbye to Mr. Magnet while containing what was left of the monster in a magical barrier. She eventually stuffed it in a pet carrier she got on the way to the hospital at a nocturnal pet store and used saran wrap on the carrier to make sure it stayed inside. She got her friend to the hospital and went to sleep in the bed next to hers after getting her bruises, internal injuries and minor cuts treated. She later woke up to the knowledge that Rainbow stuck around to watch them sleep in a creepy manner. This was followed by the trip back to the castle and she explored it for approximately three hours, found a lot of ancient books one of which she learned a spell from. Said spell was use to turn the monster into a cat. This led to her giving the cat to Fluttershy who was worried about Tress being in the hospital; she had Fluttershy put the cat through obedience and discipline training. It was going to be a get well present for Tress or at least that's what Twilight had implied. She went around and told the rest of their friends that Tress was sleeping off the injuries from the monster after her rescue. In the end she finished helping Vinyl move her stuff for the party and came back to the hospital all the while discussing whether or not it was wrong to eat barely sentient food with Rainbow.
"You sound like you've been incredibly busy and you still had time to move Vinyl's gear?" She had heard what kind of a late start Twilight got on this day and she did so much in so little time.
"A good eight hours of sleep and I'm good to go. You on the other hoof need more time to recover." Twilight was still worried about her friend and her current state of health. They were ready to go as soon as she placed the purple silk choker around Tress's neck. They would soon set out for the party with Zecora and Barb.
"My you certainly do look nice, that dress certainly looks to be worth its price." Zecora mentioned on the way to the party held at the town hall. "Who you are is where your true beauty does lay; our friendship is one that I hope will forever stay."
"The maker of this dress didn't even let me pay for it." Grumbled Tress, sometimes Rarity was too nice for her own good.
"Just take it easy and enjoy the evening Tress, only everything can go wrong tonight and we might as well make the best of it." Hoping that reverse Murphy's Law took effect tonight was one of the things Twilight was banking on. She didn't think Tress could survive another exciting adventure so soon and if anything did bother her friend tonight other then the cat that was still following them around, she was going to magic everyone around her and hard.
Opening the door to the party Pinkie shouted a hearty 'surprise' to them while popping up in front of them. She readily introduced them to the party that just started five minutes ago. Behind Pinkie was a tired looking Trixie.
"And this would be my personal party prestidigitation pony Trixie the incredible illusion master!" Pinkie threw a hoof around Trixie; giving her a hug and a cheerful smile. "She can take anything you think of and make it look like reality; she's also paid by Rarity to help her flesh out her ideas."
"Hello Twilight, Trixie can see that you're doing well. Trixie's friend Pinkie kept Trixie up all night until sometime around midnight when she finally gave up looking for the pony that couldn't make it to this party. She said the situation resolved itself and the sky got rather colorful at that time." Trixie was slightly and rightfully angry with Pinkie Pie at the moment.
"Huh that's the estimated time we finished fighting the monster last night and when Rainbow did her Sonic Rainboom." Having said her name, Twilight immediately found Rainbow flying right up to them.
"Did somebody dial awesome? Because I know she's right here!" Apparently Rainbow's bravado was back in full force.
"Wait that rainbow explosion was you rescuing Tress? Trixie believes that Tress was the pony you were looking for Pinkie. She was the one foal nabbed by the monster and would have had trouble coming to the party." Trixie and Tress had been acquainted a long time ago and she had seen Tress get carried off by the monster. Now that Trixie looked back on it she should have put two and two together.
"But then you'd have four. Four and two shouldn't go together or else you will end up with wood in the morning!" The mind of Pinkie can really boggle many ponies. It certainly boggled Trixie, but she relished in the challenge in trying to understand the bubbly party pony and win her heart.
"We've talked about this before. Trixie would like to remind you that you can't read minds Pinkie." Trixie even knocked on Pinkie's skull causing her to giggle.
"Of course I know that I can't silly. I'm just reading the story along with everyone else! It does get a bit bland at parts though." Pinkie was getting even more confused looks at this proclamation. Proclamation was a strange word to Pinkie but it didn't sound like a bad word to think of.
"Tress, there's Fluttershy. Go get your dance in and then sit down to rest." Twilight saw Fluttershy staying well out of the way of every single pony in the room, Tress immediately moved over to Fluttershy to widen her comfort zone a bit. Now Twilight turned to Trixie with a question on the tip of her tongue.
"Trixie knows what you are going to ask and yes Trixie will finally admit to being your friend. Are you happy now?" Trixie felt herself get drawn into a short cuddle that made her blush.
"That's not what I was going to ask, but thank you. You were one of the few ponies I could actually talk to back in school." There was no void in Twilight's heart, it was filled with friendship and could stand to be filled even further. "Speaking of, why did you move here?"
"Long story short, Trixie knows Twilight was going to eventually move here. So Trixie came here to see why you would do so. You could have had a great future in any magical field, you could have been incredibly rich, famous and even successful in life. Yet you plan to come here to operate a business of helping ponies with their problems, Trixie wanted to see the appeal." Trixie shot a glance to Pinkie before returning her sight to Twilight. Pinkie was currently running around introducing herself to every new pony in Ponyville, while pointing out her party magician to every pony. "Trixie saw the appeal."
"What are you doing talking to her of all ponies?" Rarity came over to see why Twilight was conversing with the annoying magician. Trixie did do a good job making visual representations of finished dress ideas Rarity had and as such she paid her well, but that didn't mean they liked each other. Though the hat and cape Trixie wore weren't too horrible on the eyes, it just rubbed at Rarity's fashion sense that Trixie hardly ever took those two articles of clothing off. It was the same problem she had with Applejack never taking off her hat.
"Trixie was just catching up with an old acquaintance and a newly minted friend. We both went to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns." Trixie promised Pinkie a show and that she'd be friendly with her two interesting if polar opposite friends. Meaning she had to play nice with Rarity and Applejack.
"Is this true?" Rarity had never thought that Trixie could get into such a prestigious school, but her powerful use of illusion magic begged to differ.
"Yeah, I tried befriending Trixie a lot and she was the only unicorn my age that I could get along with in Canterlot. We weren't always the best of pals, but at least Trixie wasn't Sunset Shimmer." Twilight noticed that Trixie shivered at hearing that name.
"Trixie agrees that Trixie was never that bad. Trixie learned to stay away from that mare and acting anything like her." It was one thing for Trixie to be a bit boastful; it was another to be anything like Sunset Shimmer. Even Trixie could feel the darkness rolling off of that unicorn and wanted no part in it.
"You are going to one the best friends I've ever made Twilight; I just know it because I'm Pinkie Pie! I know every pony in Ponyville and I hope you can get to know me to." Pinkie smiled as she hugged all three unicorns that started struggling.
"Need... air..." Twilight felt like Pinkie had super powers from the hug alone; it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
"Hey there, who are you? Do you want a cupcake?" Releasing the unicorns, Pinkie crouched down to eye level with Barb who shyly hugged one of her mother's back legs.
"That's my daughter Barb. I'm Twilight Sparkle and you already saw my friend Tress Ravel, please don't bother her too much if she stops enjoying the party as she just got out of the hospital. This is Rainbow Dash and Zecora, some other friends I've made recently too." Introductions all around and things were looking okay, the free cupcakes Pinkie was dishing out tasted wonderful. Butter cream frosting was a bit weighty on the waist, but it was delicious.
"No problem, I'll make sure your friend talking to the pretty pegasus stays happy. I love to see ponies smiling and getting smiles is what I'm good at. So have you heard about the oatmeal thing already? Mr. Davenport said a few ponies would ask about it and I haven't found them yet." Pinkie had her party going perfectly without a hitch, hmm... getting hitched? Tricky proposition for one as wild as her, she'd never find a stallion crazy enough to try and date her. Tricky, Tricia, Traps, Tankards, Tops, Tubers, there was just so many T words out there, maybe she should ask Trixie on a date after she talks to the Rainbow as she looked really fun to be around. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 46 | The party was in full swing and Twilight was enjoying the party games, the music and food.
Pinkie was being a good host to every single pony that has recently moved to Ponyville or even just visiting for a short time. Nothing was going wrong and it was too good to be true, even Rarity had to comment on it. Tress sat off to the side with Fluttershy talking calmly, they looked to be enjoying themselves and Pinkie made her rounds to them once or twice asking them if they needed anything.
"She really does look good in that dress, but I can't help but feel something is missing from her ensemble. Her hair is quite gorgeous; you do good work Twilight. There's nothing wrong with her makeup, it just feels like something was missing from her appearance." Rarity had an eye for detail and the dress she made was getting put to use and so far hadn't been ruined. It seemed like there was something off about Tress wearing the dress, but she really couldn't think of what it could be as she currently looked fabulous. "The eye shadow really does add to her appearance a bit and she's lightly dusted her cheeks, you two don't really use too much makeup do you? Then again you don't really need it."
"What can I say? My best friend is looking a lot better since we rescued her. I even believe all my friends are naturally beautiful, including Rainbow Dash. Tress is still not a hundred percent though and she'll eventually want to get back to two hundred." Twilight had her mind working on the problem, Tress needed a large amount of energy and it didn't necessarily have to all be in one go.
"Trixie still think it's surprising that Pinkie earned her cutie mark from the same event that four other ponies did. Not all necessarily at the same time mind you, but Rainbow Dash does make for a colorful display and Trixie is considering making an illusionary copy of the explosion, do you think she has a patent on it?" Trixie was thinking of making an illusionary Sonic Rainboom a part of her act she was about to put on, it would be a good finisher.
"Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie and Fluttershy all have a connection to that event. Even Barb here has a connection to it." Twilight had her daughter at her side all night and was happy to spend more time with her.
"Really, I saw the rainbow explosion last night. What does something like that have to do with me?" It was an explosion of rainbow light at night that had enchanted Barb's vision, she stayed up late with worry about her mom and older sister figure.
"You were born during one, I hatched you when a Sonic Rainboom went off and was still going. I guess I share some connection to the event as well. How many ponies do you suppose Rainbow affected when she did that years ago?" There were so many variables to think of, Twilight wasn't sure she'd even think of them all. That rainbow explosion had gotten as far as Manehatten if one were to listen to Applejack's telling of it and how she got her cutie mark.
"Wow, I guess that does make me pretty special." Barb smiled and snuggled into her mother's chest. "Mom, do you think I'll get a cutie mark someday, I mean I'm a magic dragon with magically mixed in pony so maybe I could have one."
"I don't honestly know, maybe one day we'll find out when you find you're special talent. Maybe you take after me and are good at magic." Twilight giggled as Barb was now hugging one of Rarity's legs.
"Yeah, that'll be the day. I'm not you mom, I don't think anybody is quite as power with magic as you are. Except maybe Rarity here, she's a magic all her own." Barb liked Rarity and wanted to be her close friend.
"Oh, she's such a darling little sweetheart! If I didn't know you'd come after me for stealing her away from you, I would do it in a heartbeat." Rarity just started petting Barb affectionately causing her wings to flutter.
"You use a lot of gems and jewels in your dresses sometimes right? Well you'd probably give her back once you notice how much of your merchandise she'll end up eating. Barb has a particular taste for ruby, sapphire, topaz and of course she likes diamonds as well." The reaction was immediate and Twilight found Barb placed on her back by a sheepish looking Rarity.
"Then again, I wouldn't dream of separating a child from her mother. To think she has such expensive eating habits like that, at least I know what to get her for her birthdays from now on. She will be around for more birthdays' right?" Rarity would just give the dragon a bag of gems and jewels for Barb to snack on or use as barter for something she really wanted.
"Hey, I'm not nearly that bad mom! I eat regular food just like any pony. I also like a little bit of garnet as a finisher or as a bit of garnish. Tastes like pepper or cinnamon really, depends on how it's prepared and what I'm eating it with." Barb didn't know why Rarity was looking at her in fear. It wasn't like she was going to eat any gems at her boutique or go on a crazy jewel jacking spree.
"I know dear. It's just that you eat them like candy when I do give you some." Twilight looked back at Barb who didn't meet her gaze.
"They practically are candy to me, candy that grows in the ground and tastes great." Barb was looking anywhere but at her mother at this moment. "I really like jawbreakers at least and those are pretty cheap and inexpensive mom."
"Alright Trixie you're on to take requests!" Pinkie shouted out into a microphone, soon the magician was walking onto a small area of the floor. "Listen up every pony for the illusion master is on the floor and she's taking request."
Twilight smiled eagerly, she wondered if Trixie could do it. Walking up to Trixie, Twilight whispered a few things to her.
"Oh, is this a challenge I hear to the incredible illusion master Trixie? Very well, let's see if I can conjure it up. Now stand back every pony while I work my magic." Trixie lit up her horn and then took a step back and disappeared from sight, surprising many ponies.
"My word, I didn't know Trixie could do something like that." If Rarity had known Trixie could disappear, she would have asked her a long time ago to do so. Now Trixie was inexpensive help during one of her dress making idea sessions and she couldn't get rid of her if she tried.
Slowly a spotlight formed in the middle of the room creating a circle on the floor. If one were to look up to the ceiling there were no spot lights and this was part of the illusion. Slowly a mass of colors started to form in the spotlight and rose up into the air before exploding into a swarm of tiny little fairy ponies.
"She's good; I hope Fluttershy is enjoying this because I know I am." Twilight had requested Trixie create a nature scene and she did just that. Soon the floor looked to have been covered in flowers and rabbits frolicking around, birds chirping and flying through the air. Not once were any of the animals conjured exactly like another in appearance. From a technical standpoint Twilight was awed, it was visually stunning including the deer drinking some water from a river that was just added to the serene picture.
The ponies watched in awe. When the illusion finished Trixie stepped back into view and in the middle of the flower field while sweeping off her hat in a bow and then the illusion fell away to a thunderous stomping applause.
"Are there any more takers for Trixie?" Trixie asked politely, she suddenly found herself swarmed by ponies with requests. She was thankful when Pinkie arrived to make them all back up so she could choose ponies to take illusion idea's from.
"Excuse me, but I said I was supposed to meet you here?" The grey coated blonde haired mare walked up to Twilight.
"Oh hey there, we're still wondering what you're name is. We know you're a mail delivery pony already." Twilight was meeting new ponies all the time and she's already met this one at three different ages, time travel was quite possible if heavily restricted. One can only wonder where Derpy gets her time jumping abilities.
"My names Derpy Hooves, it's nice to meet you again for the first time Twilight. I'll be your local mail carrier and if you ever need a muffin, you can always come to me." Derpy had a bubbly personality and was quite friendly; she liked the nice version of Twilight no matter how weird the timeline was around her. "Now if you will let me go, I need to get my idea of Muffintopia out there to the illusion maker!"
Twilight was quite amused by some of what ponies could come up with; Trixie had dancing bananas with maracas before the night was out and there was a utopia made with muffins in the form of a tiny theme park.
Every single pony had had a good time.
Leaving the party late in the evening Twilight walked along the dark road on a starry night with her friends still chatting away in amazement at Trixie's skills with illusions or about how Vinyl's music felt like it was still thumping in their ears. Twilight's thoughts went back to her parents, she really missed them and her thoughts went back to Derpy declaring herself their mail carrier. At least her mail would always be on time.
"What's wrong Twilight, if you don't mind me asking that is... you look a bit... sad." Fluttershy walked up and nuzzled Twilight gently before bringing her into a nice quiet comforting hug.
"I think I'm feeling a bit homesick..." Twilight looked at Canterlot in the distance and Tress came up to stand beside her.
"Well why don't we all compose a letter together and send it to them?" Tress hoped her suggestion would help Twilight feel better. It was only then an odd thought occurred to her. "Why don't unicorns use the messaging spell more often?"
"Well a messaging spell will only work on small scrolls of a limited size and not many unicorns actually understand the workings of the spell. Even if you were to explain it to them, a unicorn understanding how the spell works is the only reason it does. If they can't understand it then they can't use it." Twilight didn't have any problems with it working for her and Barb even managed to get it to work. "So what should we write to my parents? About how Pinkie is an insane sugar high mare, meeting our last Hearths Warming fruitcake again recently or the five headed hydra that kept us sitting up on that ledge for a few hours.
"Why not tell them everything; I'm sure Velvet would want to hear about the bear I made friends with and how I met my pet Angel bunny!" Fluttershy smiled sweetly, she was going to end up giving her friends cavities at this rate. Goodness knows Pinkie tried to do just that with all the sugary baked goods at the party.
A day later in the Sparkle home, all the way up in the mountain city.
"Bill, bill, newspaper and what's this. Hmm... a letter from Twilight, better get Velvet." Night suddenly had an excited look on his face; he just had to tell his wife that their daughter finally wrote back after getting settled in. "Velvet, honey! Twilight wrote us a letter, stop fighting those pirates and the ninja's."
"Aw, but I'm winning." Velvet had a gaggle of still conscious pirate ponies and ninja ponies to take down. She was currently wielding a three sectioned staff and a cutlass with her magic.
Floating nearby was the resident poltergeist slowly dissolving popcorn into its ectoplasm one kernel at a time; he was enjoying the action packed battle that had taken place in the living room. Hearing that Twilight sent a letter, he immediately floated for the couch and waited patiently.
"Now Velvet, I'm sure the pirates and ninja's are problematic, but this is our daughter we're talking about. She's probably enjoying a more normal life then we are and she took the time to write us." Night saw that he got through to his wife and she sighed.
"You're right, our sweet baby girl sent us a letter so I should drop what I'm doing or else I'm a horrible mother." Velvet let off on the magic holding her cutlass, she kept hold of the three sectioned staff though as she made way for the couch and sat down next to her husband. "Open it up dear."
Opening it and pulling out fourteen folded sheets of paper Night sighed, apparently their daughter was having as much a blast as they were. He looked up at all the still conscious ninja's and pirates gathering around the couch.
"Do you guys mind? We're trying to read a letter our daughter sent us, so could you please kindly carry off your wounded and go somewhere else? If you keep bothering us, my wife might actually want to continue fighting all of you and I'll join her. Now will all of you please leave?" Night saw the looks of horror on their faces. The ninja threw down smoke balls and in seconds all the ninja ponies disappeared from the room. The pirates had a unicorn that sent up a magic flare and a rope ladder dropped through a hole in the ceiling and they started ferrying their wounded out one at a time. The poltergeist started to leave with a sad look on its face. "Not you, you know we like you."
The poltergeist floated back happily, he liked living here and didn't want to be sent away.
"Dear mom and dad." Velvet read out loud. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 47 | A few weeks later...
Twilight was sitting at the table waiting for breakfast being cooked by Barb. Of the three beings that needed food in the house only Barb could cook breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tress could make breakfast and dinner easily and at least she didn't have a problem with the food spontaneously rising up against her. They could actually eat normal meals, none of which would ever be made by Twilight. She couldn't even make a sandwich without it's olive eyes following them around the room.
Zecora had left a while ago and back for her home, she had made it there in a safely. Anyone that knew the name Sparkle was never truly safe to be near one. As such Twilight thought it was safer that the zebra walked home alone.
"Mail call everyone, Twilight your Mane Fancy magazine is in and your parents finally fixed the address issue." Tress immediately let off of her grip from the magazine in question as it zipped over to Twilight to hover in front of her face so she could read the cover. "Barb you're hot scoop magazine is in, I didn't even know there was a magazine dedicated to ice cream advancements out there and last but not least, a letter for me?"
"Who's it from Tress?" Twilight perked up curiously as she knew not many ponies would be writing to Tress, their friends in Ponyville knew where she lived and could visit anytime. There were very few ponies from Canterlot that even knew who she was. Her parents would have just sent them all a letter, which would require them to call in Fluttershy.
"It's from Fleur." Tress wouldn't look her friend in the eyes; she knew there would be a searching look there.
"Well aren't you going to read it? It might be important." Twilight's life certainly hadn't gotten any more boring. The jobs she had taken on with Tress at her side were ridiculously normal with strange outcomes or completely absurd as all get out with normal outcomes, nothing was ever quite average with her.
Tress popped open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside, she quickly perused the message from Fleur. A slight blush crossed her face and she smiled, after a moment she gave of slight squeal in delight.
"Fleur is getting married!" Tress had an invite and to bring a few friends with her, she hoped Twilight would go with her. "I'm supposed to bring a few friends with me, so do you want to come?"
"That's great Tress of course I would love to, but only if we can bring Barb along. Who is Fleur getting married to?" There was a noticeable silence as Twilight looked on at a concerned Tress.
"That's just it, the letter doesn't say. It just says that she needs me to show up in Canterlot. She wants me to be her brides' mare." Tress would gladly do that, now if only she had a clue as to whom her rather popular friend was marrying.
"You still haven't told me how you two met you know, but it's nice that she thinks of you as a very good friend for that position." Twilight had an eye raised in an inquisitive manner, the purple unicorn turned to the food her daughter just placed before her.
"I know, she'll probably tell you herself when we meet. Might as well get it all out into the open right now I guess. Once I learned that you were saving up some money for this house I decided to find a job, you wanted a nice place to call all your own and I wasn't really doing much sitting around in the crazy house all day." Tress thought back to that very day, her job search wasn't going too well and she was wanting to aid Twilight to get the very house they were currently in. "I met Fleur when I stopped at a fast food restaurant, it was an odd place to see your role model and I decided to chat with her. She was wearing a rather paper thin disguise at the time and things kind of went from there. I introduced myself, she tried to write herself off as no pony important and slowly she eased up once I got her talking about random things."
"Really, a fast food restaurant? I guess every pony has their tastes and if that's what Fleur likes then good on her, I don't think she really needs to hide it. Even I enjoy the occasional hay burger stuffers every now and then with an extra amount of grilled bean curd and ketchup. Unless there's a problem with being seen eating food, I can't see the reason why she would disguise herself unless she was avoiding photographers." Twilight stuffed some fried eggs into her mouth; Barb was definitely getting better at cooking. She was probably the only Sparkle in existence that didn't cook specialty foods and or monsters in a horrific manner. "Better send my parents a letter that we'll be coming back to Canterlot sooner than I thought we would be. When's the date she expects us to come?"
"Don't tell her I told you anything about her eating habits when I introduce you to her. She wants us to come to her home in Canterlot within a month from now. Can you mark it on the calendar? Speaking of which how are we going to deal with Nightmare Moon? Don't think I haven't noticed the issue with getting me energy to fully transform." If there was one thing Tress disliked about her powers, it was that they required large amounts of energy and she felt empty when they stopped working entirely.
"I'm working on it Tress, I could learn a lightning spell and just power you up myself." It was a suggestion that Twilight thought over as she ate some buttered toast, quick toasted courtesy of the resident dragon. Magical lightning or shock spell weren't hard to acquire, what was the problem was figuring out how to overpower them to feed Tress enough power to fuel hers.
"Twilight, you cast a random spell every single time you get spooked and just last week you forced Pinkie's mane straight for four hours just because she wanted to surprise you with a prank. Are you sure you could learn that spell and not endanger lives by accident? I wouldn't want that on our consciences." Speaking of things on the conscience, Tress pet the fruitcake colored cat that hopped onto her lap and he purred happily. She had gotten used to the idea of owning an intelligent monster as a magically altered pet.
Tress named the cat Palatable as a tasteless joke and the little monster actually responded to that as its name, he responded to Pal just as well. Just because he was transformed into a cat didn't make him any less dangerous, his hide was still as tough as it was when he was first made which was saying something. Apparently some properties from your original form carried over to the new one. At least the cat wasn't growing to ridiculously large sizes and the only annoying thing it did nowadays was bring dead spaghetti monsters to their doorstep. It was strange to see a little cat bringing in edible food monsters twice its size, at least they always knew what to the feed the cat as its appetite certainly hadn't changed.
"Maybe it's a risk I can take... look at it this way Tress; it's going to be really hard to get your powers back to full otherwise." Twilight looked to the side to see Barb still reading her magazine on the advances in ice cream flavors, stopping once in a while to eat the grilled cheese sandwich she made for herself. Smart was reading her Mane Fancy magazine and Tress was still looking at the letter in her hoof as she forked up her apple syrup covered pancakes.
"Twilight, you are not learning a spell like that. I can't risk you becoming a sad sack because of some horrific accident and knowing our luck, something like that will inevitably happen if you do decide to learn it anyway." There was no other way Tress was going to change her stance on this one, Twilight didn't like violence and here she was asking if she should learn a spell for Tress's sake. Her friend was selfless a lot of the time and it was a bit annoying, but she wouldn't be Twilight if she wasn't always trying to aid some pony. It was her main passion in life after all, that and friendship.
"Well think of the medical applications, what if some ponies heart stopped and they needed a good jolt? What if you get horribly injured and I have to heal you? This spell could really accelerate the process and you could have the power to become Mane-iac whenever you wished!" Twilight knew there was risk, but there were also great things she could do with a spell like that.
If Twilight could just keep it within a safe tolerance range, she could stun and or paralyze ponies looking for a fight without hurting them too much. On the other hoof Twilight knew she was magically inclined and could just as well fry a friend by accident as much as just giving them a light static jolt. Tress mattered to her a lot and their friendship was one of the things on the top of the list of things she cherished more than anything else. Barb was the absolute top of the list and Twilight had yet to bring up the possible issues the little dragon may be facing later on in her life.
"Twilight, maybe we can discuss this another time? What do we got going on today?" Surprisingly business was booming for them, Tress didn't think that so many ponies had that many problems. Ponyville was surprisingly a hotspot for crazy things to happen and it wasn't all just Twilight being in town either.
Being paid five bits to listen to a pony with issues helped the pony get a lot off their chest and a pegasus pony named Bulk Biceps was one such weird pony that needed to get a lot off of his chest. Tress would have sworn the guy was Saddle Rager when she first saw him and he had confidence issues due to having been born with really tiny wings. He liked cheering excitedly and working out to make up for lacking in certain areas, his nickname was snowflake and it suited his personality. Maybe Tress could eventually help find him a nice stallion.
"You're right Tress; we got some stuff to do today. Rarity wants us to model dresses for her, she'll pay us handsomely and in the over the top generous way she usually does. So how do you feel about standing around all day?" Twilight wasn't doing all these jobs or taking them without talking to Tress about them first. Her friends' opinion mattered when it came to work.
"I'm going to pass on that today, got anything more sporty? I need some exercise; I swear Pinkie Pie is trying to put more weight on me." The mentioned pink pony fell onto of Tress knocking her out of her chair and to the floor. "Darn it all Pinkie, I didn't mean that you were literally falling on me!"
"I know, but it's still funny that I did and have I got a job for you two!" Pinkie popped up and waited for Tress to get seated again as they apparently hadn't finished breakfast yet.
"Can we immediately deny her on the principle that she just came into our house unannounced?" Tress asked immediately with a sharp tone.
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie announced loudly for every pony in the room while throwing out a blast of confetti flinging her hooves into the air. "There I'm announced now, so I can tell you my job request right?"
"She needs to tell us what she wants us to do first before I can deny her Tress. I make it a point to hear out every job offer we get; as long as Pinkie can compensate us I'm willing to hear her out. We just might end up doing it." Even if it made her face hoof, Twilight would hear out the party pony. Rainbow Dash was annoying on the principle of ignorance, though she has been getting better lately. Pinkie was annoying on the principle of her hyperactive nature. It wasn't just during parties; she was like this all the time.
"That's what she said, oh yeah! I think that would actually be sweet of you two." Pinkie exclaimed in a cheery over the top manner, both Tress and Twilight looked at her oddly. After a moment Twilight face hoofed again when she realized how suggestive her last comment sounded.
"Before Twilight get's a migraine, can you tell us what you want Pinkie?" Tress will never face hoof and Pinkie was the only pony that could get her close to doing that. Rainbow was being much easier to handle as they were getting too used to her being around.
"Right, I want you two to help me build a super duper amazing do it yourself modifiable welcome wagon! The instructions are all confusing and in a funny written language I don't quite understand and I know two of the smarty smartest smart ponies I've ever met that could help me." Pinkie only knew that if she was to make this unaided, she might build it wrong or not how she wanted it to work. She did do a lot of silly things at times and she wanted this wagon to be just right.
"Sounds simple enough to me, I'm okay with this." Tress silently wondered if it was a bad idea to help Pinkie with anything.
"Yeah, we can help you do that Pinkie." It sounded as equally simple to Twilight and thus far they were pretty well off in bits. They could do Rarity's request at any given time when they were doing poorly in funds. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 48 | "Now stick it in there." Twilight had managed to decipher the odd text and they were nearly done here with Pinkie's request. Now if only she would stop saying that darn phrase.
"That's what she said!" Pinkie said once again proving to be silly. She was running a constant gambit of either getting her two new friends to laugh or despise her.
"Well, from here on out it's yours to modify Pinkie. Twilight has thankfully copied the instruction into something even you could follow Pinkie." Tress was just happy they were done with Pinkie's request. "Now will you pay us?"
"Of course I will. Thanks for giving me all the instructions and building most of it while you were making it easier for me to modify later!" Pinkie chirped happily back at them as she pushed her welcome wagon away, leaving them with a bag of bits for their troubles and having to deal with her random blathering.
Even if she was annoyingly perky, Pinkie did get a good laugh out of Twilight and Tress every now and then.
"I think it's time for a snack in the marketplace, either that or Sugar Cube Corner with Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Maybe visit Fluttershy to see what she's getting into." Twilight knew their friend was happy spending so much time with so many cute small animals.
"I would love to see shy today. Back to the earlier discussion of spells, what else have you learned from all those books you've been bringing in from the castle recently? I hope you're keeping them well protected." Tress really didn't want to run into Pinkie again so soon, she was a good friend if you wanted a party and she was always the life of it. "I want to go to the marketplace, we might actually run into some pony not crazy or doing weird things today. I can only hope."
"We really need to stop doing that Tress, hoping things won't happen seems like a catalyst for things to go horribly wrong around us. Things haven't been as bad as the incident with Pal destroying the cafe." Twilight's ears perked up as she heard the cat in question meowing and they saw him running up to them wagging his tail.
"Speak of the little demon and he shall appear. Here Palatable, come here boy." Despite him being a cat, Tress thought it was odd that her cat acted like a dog at times. The cat purred and rolled onto his back to get his belly rubbed. Tress sighed and then continued on her way with a happy cat following in her wake. "I think I'm actually beginning to get used to the weirdness of my pet now. Let's swing by a pet store while we're out and about."
"We can do that, we don't really have much to do today. As for spells, I've been learning a gravity spell. The spell is not really easy to get down, but it allows me to flip my personal gravitational field in any direction I want to." It was a very intriguing find and Twilight wanted to explore all the options that such a spell could provide. Thus far she learned that the spell would only affect the unicorn using it, easily altering their own gravitational field relative to everything else around them. It couldn't be used on other ponies.
"So you basically discovered a method for flying without wings? I swear you're becoming more like a real super hero Radiance. You're already scheduling fights with villains, crashing a wedding that an almost entirely reformed villain is going to just to make sure she doesn't do anything wrong and then there's you gaining of super abilities beyond the average unicorn pony. Oh I do declare is that a flying purple unicorn I do see in the air? My heart is aching to touch the sky the way she does." Despite her dramatics and the way she held the back of her left hoof to her forehead while clutching her other hoof to her chest momentarily, no pony in the marketplace was paying her any attention. The ponies of the surrounding populace had gotten used to their antics and seeing them doing odd things at times.
"Tress, that's not the spell's intended use! That would be an interesting use for it, but to try it immediately without testing it in a safe environment first would make me as reckless as Rainbow Dash is." Leaping into the air to control the gravitational forces around her body to fling herself around using magic sounded fun to Twilight, but it also sounded exceedingly dangerous. Flying with the gravity spell would require her to not run out of magic at any given time while using it or else she could go splat. It was a relatively complex spell and to control it to such a fine detail would require hours of practice, instead she should just address a spell she already knew about. "Besides I wouldn't need the gravity spell to fly. I can create temporary wings with a very low maximum flying height as if you fly to high with them they freeze or melt off your back. The reason why Smart can even fly is because of the wing spell that I modified into an enchantment in the first place. Other than that I've recently learned to cast a cloud walking spell that allows a unicorn or earth pony to manipulate clouds and stand on them."
"Gravitational flying would still be faster right?" Tress could imagine the many silly super hero names she could come up with if Twilight were to fly around like that. "Think of all the heroic names I could call you! There's Shooting Star, Meteor Mare, Twinkling Titan, Galaxy Galloper, Altitude Arbiter, Iridescent Impulse and Radical Radiance. We could even have Rarity make the costumes!"
"Tress, I'm going to put my hoof down on this. I am not becoming a super hero!" Turning to the ice cream vendor next to her Twilight calmed down slightly. "I'll have strawberry flavor two scoops please."
As the stallion got to work preparing her cone, Twilight was thinking up a lot of arguments to not become a super hero.
"And for you miss?" The stallion addressed Tress as he started scooping up the strawberry ice cream.
"I'll have the peach cobbler flavor one scoop." Ice cream soon in hoof, Tress continued the topic of discussion. "Why not become a hero Twilight, you did a pretty good job of it when you talked me down without a fight."
"Hmm... you just gave me an idea for later. You know I don't like fighting Tress. The reason you objected to me learning a lightning based spell was because I could eventually end up potentially hurting some pony. In the same vein of thought I could end up potentially saving them just as well." Twilight really didn't want to go looking for trouble, which is technically something they were already doing as jobs. In this case the troubles came to them in an orderly manner and they had a choice of whether or not to take on said trouble. Heroes were expected to do everything for free. "Do you realize how often the super hero life cuts into normal living? Keeping up with secret identities would be just plain ridiculous, given our lives as they are. You're the one that could actually hold a secret identity because you have a transformative state you can enter. Do you really want to run around doing everything for free? The both of us are not going to survive on Smart being a librarian. Furthermore you'd need to increase your product sells and increase production. I personally would have to run a constant mane care practices. While it is something I really do like doing, I don't want it to be the only thing I can do for the rest of my life. "
"You do make a lot of good points. It really wouldn't change what we're doing now with the exception that we'd be missing out on being paid. What about just making Nightmare Night costumes? You know, I wonder who even came up with that holiday in the first place." It wasn't like Tress wanted to stop being hired to do things. She just thought Twilight would look really cute in a hero costume flying around aimlessly. "It certainly wasn't Celestia unless she really secretly hated her sister and was being unnecessarily cruel to her after she went evil. I mean a thousand year trip to the moon is bad enough, couldn't she have gotten her sister counseling or something?"
"What's worse is that she caused the elements of harmony to go inert when she did that. Apparently they need at least two ponies to function." Twilight sat down on a bench and dragged her tongue slowly along her ice cream.
"Elements of Harmony, okay what are those?" This was the first Tress was hearing of them, if they were important you'd think they'd be mentioned before now. All Tress got was an abridge version of Nightmare Moon is Luna, Celestia's sister and was sealed approximately nine hundred and ninety eight years ago.
"Apparently they are powerful resonance artifacts that boost certain personality based perimeters in ponies. They also boost magical performance and are really unsafe to be around all things considered. I picked them up at the castle of the two sisters while I was looking for you. I can't believe Celestia would leave powerful artifacts like them just lying around." The one vexing thing was that there were only five elements and one was missing. Twilight had gotten information from Smart that once bearers of the five elements were found they'd spark the sixth one to come out of hiding from whatever dimension it was being held in.
"Can you please state that in a way that I or any other pony would understand?" Tress felt a bit lethargic at Twilight's explanation or maybe it was the peach ice cream she was lapping up.
"Basically they amplify a ponies natural magic and they require ponies that they resonate with to do obscenely powerful magic. Take for example the magic that stuffed Luna on the moon and turned Discord the chaotic into stone." Twilight scrunched up her eyes from the slight brain freeze from eating her ice cream a little too fast. "I really don't think there's an upper limit to what the elements can actually do or if limits are even there at all, misusing their power likely has dire consequences such as the entire planet exploding."
"Well, that doesn't sound the slightest bit bad at all." Crunching the last bit of her cone after her sarcastic statement, Tress smiled at the idea of something harmonious ending it all. Well at least there would be nothing left to be discordant if the planet exploded. "So why are they called the elements of harmony?"
"Because the elements each represent a piece of a total sum of some pony's idea of what harmony is. I've discovered that I already represent some of the elements personally. The elements are honesty, kindness, loyalty, laughter, generosity and magic." After thinking it over, Twilight realized that magic could be translated as something differently and she looked to Tress with a tiny bit of worry. "I think I might be able to become a bearer to the element of magic Tress, possibly loyalty or honesty too. Fluttershy has a boatload of kindness so she's just as eligible for one of them. Anyone who resonates with these elements could probably use them if Luna and Celestia could by themselves. There are no permanent wielders of the elements; each element could work for more than one pony and each pony has the potential to wield more than one element."
"Isn't Kindness and Generosity kind of the same though? I can understand loyalty well enough that I may as well represent that personally." Not that Tress would ever leave Twilight's side for anything short of saving someone just as important such as Barb. "How does laughter fit into harmony? Laughter can be pretty cruel at times."
"Well they are somewhat similar. Generosity is giving without expecting anything in return. Kindness is helping those who truly need it. Loyalty is sticking by those who you trust to do the same for you. Honesty is telling things as you see them as truthfully as you can. Laughter can be cruel it's true, but it can also be the best medicine for a sad heart. Then there's what magic is...." Twilight thought about it and wondered if she should say, she bit her bottom lip and then just stood up and started looking around for a pet shop. Tress followed her sedately with Pal riding on her back. She stopped in the middle of the road and looked at the ground sadly. "Do you remember saying that meeting me is like magic?"
"Of course I do, I still believe that being with you is like magic. What about it?" There was something wrong with Twilight, Tress could just tell as she was acting oddly.
"Do you ever get the feeling that our friendship might be built on a lie because my magic is forcing you to like me?" Twilight kept her back to Tress and slowly started to sniffle. "That all the friendships I've earned aren't real."
"Twilight you're asking what is supposed to be a fictional comic book character about what real is and we've both seen a poltergeist. You might be the element of laughter too if you can think of a good enough punch line for that." Tress quickly pulled Twilight into a comforting hug and draped her light blue mane over Twilights head as she snuggled her. The pony in her hooves relaxed, inhaling the scent of her mane. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 49 | "Come on Twilight stop acting so down, let's go find Fluttershy and we'll talk to her about how you're feeling. You'll see then that you're not forcing any pony to be friends with you." Tress released her grip on Twilight and moved on to ask a familiar face if they've seen her. "Hey Lyra, have you seen Fluttershy recently?"
"Of course, she's been walking around with Rainbow. I swear I almost never see that pony on the ground in comparison to Flutters. She's always flying all the time; it's like her wings are never restless." Lyra was street performing and hadn't ceased playing her lyre just because some pony was talking to her. She continued to make beautiful music even while she was distracted, she was good at multitasking. "Try down that road I think they were going to share some nachos over a discussion."
"Thank you, you wouldn't happen to know a good pet store anywhere around here would you?" There was a grimace crossing the mint colored ponies face, Tress wondered why she reacted like that.
"Yes, but please don't bring up goldfish around Bonbon. Don't say I didn't warn you if you do. You'll find a nice store for all your pet care needs that way and on the right, nice cat by the way." Lyra waved at them off as they left, Tress just dropped some bits for her performance and information.
"Twilight, you're being awfully quiet." It was almost breaking Tress's heart to see Twilight looking so moody. At least Twilight wasn't sniffling and crying; she was still following her but looked subdued doing so.
"I'm wondering why Celestia didn't just use the elements to calm her sister down. If they were that powerful why would she have to seal her own sister away for a thousand years? Did she even intend it to be a thousand years or was that just what happened? I'm still a bit iffy on the reality that I could be the physical representation of the sixth element, that being magic. It could alternatively be known friendship, the basic spark that ties all the elements together and is the basis of social interactions in life." It wasn't like Twilight didn't remember she had problems with garnering friends growing up, it was just strange to her that she could make so many good friends as she had in one week.
Ponies didn't instantly become friends with another pony upon meeting them for the first time, it seemed like it did happen in Ponyville though. Now Twilight was unsure about things given her research into the elements and what they could do, she almost felt like she was mind controlling ponies to be her friends. If it weren't for Tress keeping her calm, she'd be a lot more panicky and worried.
"There they are, Rainbow actually looks pretty down about something." Tress calmly trotted up to the outdoors table to see a depressed Rainbow sitting with a sad Fluttershy. "Okay what's got the Chromatic Crasher down Shy? Hey that's another good one Twilight."
"Tress, I'm not wearing spandex in seven colors nor do I want to." Twilight growled out angrily, if not really feeling the anger. It seems like today was a Monday that was just getting several ponies down. At least the Radiance costume she wore in the Power Ponies comic wasn't made with spandex, she was pretty sure Rarity would immediately stuff her into a hero costume if she brought up wanting one.
"I told her about Gilda, she's not taking it very well." Fluttershy leaned in close to Tress. "I still haven't told her why Gilda acts so nice to her though, please let her figure out that Gilda likes her in that way on her own."
"No promises Fluttershy, but I'll try. It may take twenty years for her brain to figure out, if it isn't spelled out in every way imaginable on a wall." The flat sulking colorful forms ears perked up at Tress's words.
"Figure out what? That my so called friend was picking on Fluttershy behind my back!" Rainbow was only slightly angry at Tress, she was angrier at herself. Especially for missing the fact that Gilda had been picking on Fluttershy while right under her nose. She was definitely going to confront Gilda the next time she saw her about it.
"Oh it's not that. I'm talking about the reason why Gilda was picking on Fluttershy in the first place." Tress laughed at the comical distressed look on Rainbow's face. Oh if only she had a camera right now. Speaking of camera's they should get one to take some pictures of their new friends, they could send them Velvet and Nightlight.
"Fluttershy, what is she talking about?" The shy mare looked away from her, causing Rainbow to feel as there was something she had been missing entirely from the way Fluttershy was acting.
"It's not my place to say Rainbow, I'm sorry." Fluttershy covered her face with her mane at the attention she was garnering from her friend. She uncovered her face for a moment to quickly grab a cheese covered nacho and daintily tossed it in her mouth with a flick of her hoof. She bit down and hummed in a satisfied tone as she chewed the chip.
"So there's more to what Gilda did than just picking on you?" Rainbow was positively livid, especially if Gilda had done more things behind her back.
"You could say that, but I'd rather not talk about it if it's okay with you." Shy really wanted to tell Rainbow, she wasn't about to ruin Gilda's opportunity to tell her herself. She was going to continue being Gilda's friend because she didn't seem like a griffon that made friends easily. Sure Gilda may have bullied her a bit, but the griffon had never struck out at her or even harmed her.
"Was what she told you really that bad?" Now Rainbow's attention turned towards Tress and Twilight, they had to know what Fluttershy was talking about.
"It's not a bad thing really, it's just better if you hear it from Gilda herself." There was no way Tress was going to say anything if Fluttershy wasn't.
"How's your day been going Tress? Do I need to teach the lake krakens more synchronized swimming lessons?" Fluttershy wondered why she was getting an odd stare from so many ponies.
"So that's why they've been acting up lately." A pony from off to the side commented. "I had wondered why they started swimming weirdly."
"No, I just brought Twilight over here so you can reassure her that she isn't forcing you to be her friend." Rolling her eyes Tress wondered if she could make this quick, she actually wanted to get a toy for her crazy little fur ball sometime today.
"Oh my, why would she think something like that? Twilight you've been more quiet then I usually am, come here. You're a good friend to worry about things like this, even if it seems a little silly." Fluttershy was having none of Twilight's attempts to step away and she pulled her into a tight comforting hug. "You'd never hurt any pony or their feelings on purpose, I doubt you would even need to force me or any pony to like you."
"Thank you Fluttershy, I really needed this." Twilight gave Fluttershy a hearty squeeze herself before she backed off of her shy friend. Getting hugs from Fluttershy was like getting a hug from the cuddliest thing in the universe.
"No problem Twilight, I'm always willing to help my friends feel better." Smiling Fluttershy cheered up Twilight and Rainbow was looking better already just from having these two around.
"See, aren't you feeling better now?" Tress sometimes felt that her best friend could be such a silly pony. Even more so then Applejack could be at times, especially after she found out ghosts were real. Applejack had several odd reactions to hearing that Twilight's parents had living proof of one just idling around in their house minding his own business most of the time.
"Who couldn't feel better after a getting a hug from her?" It was absurd to Twilight if a pony managed to resist liking Fluttershy's hugs. What wasn't absurd to Twilight was just about anything life would possibly throw at her, after the fruitcake dragon she didn't really think anything could surprise her anymore. On some level she knew it was wrong to think like that, because something eventually was going to surprise her and it wasn't going to be Pinkie Pie. "Thanks again Fluttershy, hope the rest of your day goes well."
The two left to continue their day, Rainbow and Fluttershy waved to them as they left.
"You know it's so cool that they have a lot of weird things that happen to them. Life around here would have been too boring otherwise." Rainbow smiled as she thought of the dancing krakens, which was something you'd never see in Cloudsdale. They usually managed to drag one of their friends into the weirdness occasionally and if it was Pinkie Pie she eventually ended up as the one doing the dragging.
"I admit that they are really good friends Rainbow, but sometimes I worry about them. Twilight easily gets worked up at times and Tress doesn't really have a goal in life to pursue and she's mostly going through the motions." After a moment Fluttershy decided to simplify it for Rainbow's convenience. "Twilight get's sad easily and Tress doesn't have her own dreams."
"Oh." It was all Rainbow said as she continued to eat from the pile of shared nachos.
"Yeah, but they are too strong to ever let life get them down for long." Vinyl sat down at the table and just started stuffing her face with nachos. "Don't mind if I do."
"Please don't talk with your mouth full Vinyl and no we don't we mind." It was kind of odd to Fluttershy how well Vinyl could get through her shyness so easily without doing so much, she was also quite sneaky to have just appeared like that at the table and without spooking her no less.
"You see Fluttershy, this is the very reason I ordered the extra large nacho platter." While Rainbow might not be the brightest pony around, she certainly understood the likelihood of friends passing by and wanting to share in the bounty that was cheesy goodness. Applejack, Vinyl and Pinkie were some of the best friends she's ever had.
"Don't be so stuffy." Even as Vinyl said this her mouth was stuffed full of corn chips, cheese and jalapenos.
"Just make sure to chew you're food, I'm not exactly certified to help you if you start choking." Not that that would stop Fluttershy from trying to save her friend. It only mattered if she performed anti choking maneuvers and some pony called her out on not being medically inclined to perform it.
"I'm good with knowing how to eat Squeakers." Vinyl was already chuckling at Shy's squeak of protest at the nickname. "I'm not like Prism here you know."
"Hey, you know Pinkie shoved that cupcake down my throat!" It was one of the times Rainbow thought Pinkie was being too forceful about eating her cupcakes.
"And I apologized for it already too!" Pinkie said as she passed by still pushing her party wagon. "It's not like I was shoving churros or anything else long like that down your windpipe."
"Is it just me or is that the fourth time I've seen Pinkie pushing that thing around today?" It did have Rainbow curious, but she just shrugged off the curiosity and continued to eat.
"I really think that mare is the world's greatest party animal." Vinyl sighed wistfully, she'd never hold onto that title if she ever got it. No pony would likely out party Pinkie Pie."She should be easy for you to control Squeakers."
Fluttershy blushed at the thought of controlling Pinkie and didn't like where her head went with it. She ducked down slightly even as she took another nacho chip from the platter.
"So what have you been up to lately?" Well Rainbow had to ask the best DJ in town as she knew where stuff was at.
"I just recently got a gig with some ornate slacks stallion coming up in Canterlot. He's paying me a good deal to make it a nice reception for this lady he's going to be marrying, he doesn't care what music I use either. I even think he hired Octaves to do the march down the aisle song thing." If there was one thing Vinyl disliked it was rich, upper class and snooty as all get out ponies. The fancy pony that hired her was alright for a pony that was rich. "I'm hoping to have a blast there, but I'm not so sure all the snoots will appreciate what I got for them. At least I know some ponies will appreciate my work; apparently the bride to be likes my music. She doesn't sound snooty at all and neither did the stallion that hired me."
"That sounds quite lovely Vinyl; I hope you have a great time there." Fluttershy was truly happy for Vinyl finding some good work..
"Well now that it's been brought up, would you two like to come? I'm allowed to invite some guests and until it gets to the reception it's going to be quite the snore fest for me." Not that Vinyl minded weddings it's just that they were really boring to work at as a DJ.
"Do you even have a dress for the wedding?" When Fluttershy asked this she heard a gasp and she watched as Rarity came running up to them with a bright smile of glee on her face. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 50 | The next day around noon, two ponies found themselves in small bit of trouble.
Fluttershy couldn't believe Rarity was willing to make so many dresses for free. If it weren't for friends that were forcefully paying her, Rarity wouldn't be making any bits from all of her generosity.
It was kind of any odd thing to think of as you were scampering up a tree out of the path of some jaws that are currently snapping at your heels. Fluttershy sighed in relief as she looked behind her; the Timber Wolf looked up at her and it growled menacingly.
"Fluttershy, remind me how we both ended up like this again sugar cube?" Applejack the squirrel asked imploringly wearing a resized hat on her head. The orange squirrel rubbed its head in exasperation.
"We might have accidentally spooked Twilight earlier today. She's got a slight issue with ponies surprising her." Fluttershy the flying squirrel just wanted to help Applejack with her slight squirrel problem. They ended up tumbling into Twilight in a wheelbarrow at some point that morning and it was enough to set her off, thus causing this magical incident. Then a Timber Wolf found and chased them here when they woke up. The butter yellow flying squirrel with the long pink hair just sighed at the fact that they were now stuck in a tree, while being watched by what appears to be a problematic and incredibly patient Timber Wolf.
"She can fix this right; I'll have you know I don't like the idea of being the little sister of the family. I also don't like being a squirrel and it just feels so weird to be the varmint for once!" Applejack had to run all kinds of apple tree damaging critters out of Sweet Apple Acres, now she had Ponyville's local animal expert to do that for her. Said expert was a really good friend of the two most chaotic ponies in town not counting Pinkie Pie, one of which led to this situation at paw. "Ugh, these buck teeth sure aren't easy to talk with."
"I'm pretty sure we're both learning a valuable lesson here." Though Fluttershy was pretty sure she didn't know what it was that she was learning from all of this. How to be a squirrel was probably one, they already learned how to climb a tree relatively fast thanks to the proper motivation. Now if she could only figure out how to use her flaps to glide around. If there was one thing any pony knew how to do as long as they had four legs, it was running.
"I'm guessing it's never get Twilight mad at you. Do you mind if I ask a personal question? It looks like we're going to be stuck like this for a while." Applejack readjusted her hat and looked down at the dangerous creature taking a rest beneath the tree. To think they'd get stuck in Bloomberg of all trees.
"Um... what is it Applejack?" Fluttershy wondered how they were going to get out of this one. Twilight had to be far away now and she most likely didn't know she caused them to become squirrels.
"I've been wondering. Do you fancy mares? I'm a might bit curious here." It seemed odd to Applejack that Fluttershy seemed afraid of stallions. Even her brother caused Fluttershy to be skittish and not in the bashful secret crush way either. It was more like in an absolutely terrified kind of way.
"Yes, it's not really a big secret or one I try to keep. I'm not quite sure Rainbow knows I'm happy in that way, but she's always been my friend even if she doesn't understand or notice things too well." It wasn't something Fluttershy brought up much, but Vinyl certainly knew about it given her predilection for pointing it out vaguely.
"So you're saying every other pony you know knows about you being like this except her?" Applejack had looked at a stallion once or twice in her life, but she wasn't interested. Hard work was what she considered her one true love in life.
"I don't think Big Mac knows, I think he's being a bit sweet on me. I don't know how to let him down about it and I'm sorry, but I don't like him very much." Fluttershy covered her face with her fluffy tail while looking away from Applejack shyly. "I'd understand if you want to quite being friends because of this."
"My brother always did know how to find the barn doors that never swung his way. Why would I want to stop being your friend over that? So you're gay, I don't rightly care and would like to continue our friendship. I'm being honest here. I may not understand why two mares get together but it helps the mares who like stallions find Mr. Right I suppose. Less competition for them and every pony is happy in the end." Applejack had no problem whatsoever; she figured she was bisexual anyway. She did like some pegasus stallions she's seen around town and she fancied a certain unicorn mare. "So who have you been eyeballing girl? It's not like we have anywhere else to be, so we may as well talk about it."
"Just about every single mare I have ever met in my life." Fluttershy felt rather bad about that and she blushed at all the pretty ponies she knew that were still friends with her. Especially Rainbow, it was how she knew she was across the borders so to speak. She thought Rainbow was a colt and felt an attraction for her when they first met, she quickly found out that she had never previously been attracted to stallions for a good reason.
"Well shoot; there is nothing wrong with looking. I've looked once or twice at Rarity's flank and thought nothing of it other than how round and cushiony it looked." Applejack wondered if Fluttershy was going to turn entirely red at this rate. "Can you name a few ponies you really like in particular?"
"All my friends, I just really haven't found a pony that is extra special to me." Fluttershy really liked Vinyl's laid back nature, Tress's protectiveness, Rainbow's general ignorance of anything in her path and plenty of other things that had attracted her to all of her friends. As long as she had the close friends that she did, she'd be perfectly happy in life without forming a romantic relationship with any pony. "I hope to one day find a special mare that will be my special some pony."
"Aw shucks, you're almost sweeter than the family apple pies." Applejack crawled along the tree until she was right next to Fluttershy and she brought her into a deep hug. She didn't nuzzle Fluttershy as she didn't want the other squirrel to get the wrong idea. "Just don't lead Mac on and we'll be good as a rodeo clown in a specially built protective barrel that can survive neighagara falls."
"I'll try not to, how are we going to get the Timber Wolf to leave? I don't think my stare works on something that doesn't have eyes." Timber Wolves as far as Fluttershy remembered had glowing energy eyes instead of physical eyes; they were magically animated wooden wolves. The signs of one being near were easy to see, especially after witnessing one too many food monsters at Velvet and Nightlight's home. "I'm surprised we're still speaking our language and not squirrel right now."
"Heck, I'm even surprised you can speak squirrel. It sure is a good thing Timber Wolves can't climb. That feller is really blending in down there." One of the things Timber Wolves are known for was blending in with the trunk of a tree and then attacking a passing victim from behind. Applejack knew it was still there, as it twitched once in a while and looked up at them with its glowing green eyes. Timber Wolves were relatively smart and hard to kill without fire; lighting one of fire near anything flammable was a really bad idea. Applejack could imagine her entire orchard going up in flames and couldn't help but give off a little whine at the thought.
"What's wrong Applejack? I'm sure we'll be rescued eventually or one of your family members will chase it off." Fluttershy continued thinking of the things she knew about Timber Wolves, they had a peculiar reaction to tinny clanging noises. She did a short study on the fact that it may be disrupting the magical cohesion of the wolf through a specific frequency caused by the clanging metal vibrating.
"It's not that, I was imagining everything I love going up in flames." If there was one thing Applejack truly cared about it was her family, her farm was family and she had named at least a quarter of the trees in the orchard.
"It's okay, nothing bad can happen to us as long as we stay up here." Fluttershy probably should have said something different, as she didn't say something couldn't happen to another pony.
"Applejack, are you up here?" Apple Bloom wandered towards Bloomberg, the tree that Applejack tended to a lot more than the other tree's. "Hey big sis where are you!"
"Oh, no..." Applejack really didn't like where this was going, the Timber Wolf would attack her sister and there was not much damage she could do with her tiny claws. She couldn't even go for its eyes and could only hope Apple Bloom wasn't alone.
Apple Bloom thankfully wasn't alone; she had Winona with her and one other pony. The dog's ears perked up and she growled at something, while standing in front of Apple Bloom and the pony with them suddenly lazily perked up an eye looking around for danger.
Applejack wondered what in the world was Berry Punch doing here at Sweet Apple Acres. She didn't care as long as there was a responsible... right Berry Punch was never very sober, but at least she was a fighter.
Berry Punch stumbled forward and Apple Bloom stayed behind Winona looking for what was upsetting her. The wolf lunged for Winona attempting to take down at least the easiest looking target that would put up some fight. It was halted when it felt itself held up by its scruff in rather shaky hoof.
"Just what are you looking at?" Berry Punch was never fully of sound mind, but her body reacted faster than the Timber Wolf could predict. It was launched around a hundred feet away with one solid hard hoof. It quickly got up with its tail between its legs and scampered off for the Ever Free Forest.
"That was a Timber Wolf! Thank you so much for protecting Mrs. Punch." Apple Bloom moved over to pet Winona."You're a good girl Winona, you knew that mean monster was there and were going to protect me weren't you."
"No problem kid, now what did I do again?" Berry Punch stumbled and fell onto her side and looked up into the tree, while dizzily trying to get back to her hooves. "I'm not a Mrs. Anything anymore. Just call me Punchy little Doomed Apple, now take me to your reader!"
"I'm trying to do that, Applejack came out here with Fluttershy earlier. Where could they be?" The little filly was soon answered by a squirrel gliding down from the tree and another that crawled down wearing a familiar if smaller hat. "Applejack, is that you?"
"Apple Bloom, please have Big Mac find Twilight..." Within the next thirty minutes Applejack hoped to be herself again.
"Whoa, are you like... a frog or something?" Berry Punch was completely on her back and her tongue lolled out the side of her mouth.
While Apple Bloom was getting Twilight a few squirrels came up to them and Fluttershy started a conversation with them about moving elsewhere or not messing with the apples on the trees. Soon they came to an agreement; Fluttershy had solved the problem by being an intermediary for Applejack and the squirrels. Twilight eventually arrived with Apple Bloom looking completely distressed.
"Fluttershy I am so sorry that this happened to you. I didn't see any sign of any pony after that wheelbarrow clipped me; I thought my magic didn't do anything but get a template of a squirrel." Twilight really could have lost a friend, much less could have gotten a little filly killed even if the Timber Wolf was not something she could control.
"Don't worry about it any Twilight, it's rather rare to even see Timber Wolves around here in the daylight. I'm sure Shy here forgives you, I know already do." Applejack made sure to look Twilight in the eyes and was sure to be as sincere as possible while place a hoof on one of her shoulders. Turning to Berry, Applejack wanted to thank her too. "I thank you for protecting my sister Berry, now what was it you needed?"
"I heard you were making honeyed apple cider again and I came to ask if it was alcoholic." Berry Punch sounded a bit more sober, then again she always sounded sober when it came to talking about intoxicating herself again.
"It can be, it just needs some extra stuff in it. Are you looking to buy some?" Business mode Applejack turned on immediately. The two mares wandered off to discuss business about alcoholic beverages.
Twilight turned to Fluttershy with a sad look on her face; she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Fluttershy.
"You want a massage, okay then!" Fluttershy immediately pounced on Twilight before she knew what was happening. Fluttershy didn't like Twilight dwelling on the possibility of putting her friends in danger, she didn't mind being a squirrel as it was fun while it lasted. What was truly dangerous was the Timber Wolf and Berry Punch wandering around the area.
Twilight tried to protest until Fluttershy loosened her muscles.
The cunning plan Fluttershy came up with was to make sure Twilight couldn't focus at all for the next few minutes until she forgot all about her troubles. Tress brought to her attention yesterday that Twilight was getting moody lately; she was not going to let her friend slide any further into depression over this accident. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 51 | Three days after Fluttershy temporarily became a flying squirrel and after returning to normal quickly made Twilight feel really good to get her out of a depressive mood.
Twilight opened the book to start reading, it was an unusual subject choice to read up on as she lay on her fresh knew couch. They now had two couches and a chair in the living room, Mr. Davenport was having a sell yesterday.
"Hey Twilight I'm about to set... what are you reading? Is that... is that a Power Ponies comic? Are you actually reading something that's not entirely educational?" Receiving a blank look as a response, Tress tilted her head in an innocent manner.
"I read your comic didn't I?" Her friend looked away at that retort while toying with her mane, Twilight turned back to continue reading the comic book with mild interest.
"Well I knew your daughter still reads them, I just didn't know you did too." Tress didn't dwell on where she came from and didn't think too hard about it. She was a bit sad that the world continued on without her as normal, at least her minions were still around if the regular comics were to be believed. Her character was completely missing in action after becoming friends with Radiance. She didn't doubt that she was still friends with a radiant pony.
"I prefer to think of this as research Tress; besides that I want to know what has my daughter so fascinated with these stories aside from one of the characters popping out of one. The elements of harmony are going to be the absolute last resort when it comes to Nightmare Moon and since she sounds like a super villain, I decided why not think of her as such. Celestia could only temporarily use them by herself and if she had enough power to seal her sister away for up to a thousand years, she had to have enough power to save her sister as well. Even with the tenuous connection they still had, Celestia still cast her away anyway and most likely for some greater good nonsense." What Twilight hadn't stated that compounding the issue is that Celestia made her sister a fading myth. The ponies of the past had horribly failed Luna and so had Celestia. When Luna returned after a thousand years, no pony would have any reason to remember she even existed except from fairy tales. Fairy tales that were very much real and Twilight had the proof of Luna's existence and that she had fun by building some of the mechanisms in that ancient castle. "I'm working on a plan and I'm already predicting how things will go at the summer sun celebration which is being held here suspiciously enough during that year. Especially suspicious given it's next to the Ever Free Forest where Celestia's ancient castle used to be and where Luna will return to on that exact day. In fact, I'm sure Celestia already has a plan for Luna's return. I hope to implement mine before hers can get off the ground."
"Well good luck with that and whatever it has to do with reading comic books. I was just coming in here to tell you I'm off to take some hoof to anything else fighting lessons with Rainbow Dash." Tress had an evil smirk plastered on her face ever since she learned Ponyville had a self defense training dojo. "She only just started taking lessons after watching my impressive display of muscle tearing agony."
"Don't hurt Rainbow Dash to much Tress and don't push yourself too hard, but make sure to get in at least one cheap shot without any pony noticing. Some pony has to keep her ego in check." Twilight had noticed Tress's evil grin when she looked up from her comic book, she thought Tress was really good at smiling like that. "Good luck to you too."
"You're the one that needs it to have a few quiet days Twilight. I wouldn't worry about it as I got Applejack in on this as a backup plan." Tress pranced towards the door while continuing to smile creepily as she exited the house.
"Note to self, Tress is an evil genius with an emphasis on evil." Twilight looked to the ceiling pondering just how exactly Tress managed to talk Applejack into joining in on the lessons. Then again the farmer did do quite a few dangerous things in life that weren't all related to apple farming.
Shaking her head Twilight went back to reading her comic book. Twilight was still trying to grasp the exact reason Celestia sealed her sister away instead of saving her. Maybe some ancient prophecy or something was involved or maybe Celestia had a long term plan involving sending her sister away for a while. Or maybe Luna threatening all life on the planet was bad enough for Celestia to seal her away instead of saving her, thus it ended up breaking the harmony between the two and caused the elements to go inert. Maybe it was that last thing, but Celestia thought sealing her own sister away was the only option and then she took on Luna's job of ferrying the moon around their world.
Either way the elements of harmony were still inert, but Twilight found the stones reacted to her somewhat and was a little pensive to try using them for anything. She did prefer the last idea as it lent to the credence of Celestia secretly being a dejected pony with hidden depths, Twilight always thought she looked a little sad while raising the sun during the summer sun celebrations held in Canterlot. As to her recollection the next one was in Manehatten. Celestia wasn't a bad pony, but she was one Twilight wouldn't trust with everything as she can make bad decisions. Celestia made decisions that affected a lot of ponies and she was good at making them in general, but to Twilight she seemed a bit emotionally distant to any pony around her. Celestia was even like this to her own student Sunset; said student really needed some closeness and emotional connections.
Thinking of every pony around Luna back then, Twilight wondered how Luna felt to have no friends or subjects that looked up to her. If there were ponies that did look up to her they certainly weren't very vocal about how Celestia sealed Luna away or weren't able to garner enough of Luna's notice to stop her from going off the deep end. Luna really had to have been lonely, not to mention incredibly jealous of Celestia despite having an equally important job that was a lot of responsibility.
The reason Twilight was reading this comic book was to get into the mindset of the villains, why they became what they are and whether they were being petty or not in their reasoning. She was also taking note of the general things super villains did, like the monologue thing for instance.
Twilight could just imagine Luna coming back from a thousand year trip to the moon. The first thing Luna would want to do is talk to ponies about her sister and go on a long rant about being sealed away. Celestia really didn't help her sister when it came to finding ponies that enjoyed her nights and Luna was either unable or incapable of reaching out to ponies in general other than her sister whom of which she was coming to despise. So of course Luna went insane, as it was bound to happen from the way things were being played out.
Getting away from thinking of things that were in the past, Twilight continued to read the comic with more interest than she was previously giving it. The Power Ponies were of course still three males and three female team members, with their one slightly more than capable sidekick. The villain wasn't as interesting as Tress is, this one didn't have a cryptic hidden back story to them.
"Hey mom, lunch is coming up soon so do you want me to... are you reading the latest issue of Power Ponies?" Barb had little sparkles in her eyes when Twilight nodded to her. "Can we read it together from the beginning?"
"Of course we can." Twilight lifted up her hoof and patted the spot next to her on the couch and Barb crawled up and snuggled under her leg and looked at the cover of the comic. It was things like this that made Twilight feel like a good mother. Smart flew in and saw the scene and immediately flew off with a smile, she was leaving them to have their time together and they looked too cute together for the enchanted toy to disturb.
Barb snuggled into the warmth of her mother's coat and tried to remember the smell and the feel, her mother wouldn't be young forever and neither would she. She was old enough to learn to enjoy the simple things in life, like reading a comic book with her mom.
Twilight would only turn the page when Barb was ready for her to turn it and she stayed completely attentive of her charge. Barb ate up the attention like a little sponge, as she was safely lying underneath her mother.
When Barb asked a question, her mom would go into great detail about why every character acted like they did. Their discussions went on for minutes before they could continue, they even went into a discussion about the art style of the comic book once or twice. It was so interesting to her to hear that each character had their motives and the things they did were what they thought was the best thing to do. The Power Ponies weren't exactly the greatest battle strategists and they always rushed headlong into the fight except for Humdrum who had been shaping up to be a good hero despite his lack of powers.
Barb thought Humdrums common sense more than made up for his lacking in confrontations with super powered villains and he was her favorite character since he was different like her. Her other favorite had to be Radiance who actively tried to reign in the other Power Ponies when they rushed into things, apparently her mother's influence had yet to cease changing the comics. Radiance wasn't the leader of the Power Ponies, but she tried to be the voice of reason in the group with Humdrum's help.
"The end... well wasn't that a good one?" Twilight nuzzled her daughters head before planting a kiss on it. Barb yawned and curled into her mother's nuzzling kiss.
"I love you mom." Barb snuggles further into her mother and started to slowly nod off.
"I know you do my little sparkle." Twilight had tears in her eyes as she held Barb close to her, being a mother and being responsible were some of the hardest things in life to do. The rewards however were worth every minute of watching her child grow. Hopefully Barb would grow into something more beautiful and that her magic didn't do any permanent damage to her daughter.
"Well that's a nice sight to come home to after watching one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. You and Barb are one of the most heartwarming things I've ever seen." Tress stayed quiet as she watched Twilight cuddle her daughter that was curled up in her hooves fast asleep. She gave a cheeky grin at the thought of what had happened during her martial arts class.
"How did things go Tress, did you get any bruises and are you okay?" Twilight stayed quiet not wanting to wake Barb up after she started her nap in Twilight's hooves.
"Not many, you should have been there. Fluttershy showed up everyone at the training dojo and what she did to poor Rainbow was hilarious." Tress couldn't help the dark chuckle that came to her lips. "I may have a few bruises here and there but Rainbow will never be able to live down the teasing, much less anyone who's ever faced Fluttershy in a match. I and Applejack got Rainbow good, but Fluttershy was the one that really finished her off."
"Well Fluttershy can throw around bears above two hundred pounds without hurting them." It wasn't that odd to Twilight, Fluttershy had an interesting mastery of floating like a butterfly and stinging worse than bee's. Fluttershy was more butterfly than bee and it would make sense that her fighting style was most likely a soft one and didn't hurt any pony. "So how bad was the blush this time?"
"Fluttershy was so embarrassed that half her body turned red at the attention she garnered for her skills, she's definitely the same walking cuddle factory we know and love. Now if only she was willing to go to competitions, we both know she's not that kind of mare though." Even Tress knew that Fluttershy would never do something she didn't like unless she was coerced into it. Fluttershy giving Rainbow a friendly helpful rub down while beating her up was still funny to Tress even now. She went to go fix an early dinner for Twilight and herself, dragons were heavy sleepers and Barb probably wouldn't wake up until tomorrow. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 52 | It was just another day and Twilight was soon going back to Canterlot next week on a trip with her best friend and Barb to help with wedding preparations. They still didn't know who Fleur was getting married to, but they'd find out when they get there.
Twilight's parents would be glad to house them while they were in the city, they would be stopping off there for a brief visit before they set out for Fleur's home. Right now they had their bags packed ahead of schedule with everything they needed when they leave next week and they had a bright day ahead of them in Ponyville. Well at least Tress had a bright day ahead of her.
"I really dislike dresses. A pony might think I would like them given my special talent is based in bathing and beauty products but I don't." Tress sipped a mug of hot cider and looked at a sheet of paper with the jobs they could do today.
"I don't understand dresses either Tress, at least a well made one can feel nice on my coat. So anything that catches your eye today?" Twilight still eventually wanted Tress to have a dream to chase. At least they weren't bad in bits with the odd jobs they've been having. "You might as well make yourself busy since I'm going to be creating one big defensive enchantment around the library and our house. It's going to take me the most of the day to even set up a working solution for it and it'll be incredibly boring for you to just sit around me all day. Go and live a little Tress, while you're out doing jobs you could maybe even visit the park with Palatable?"
"Fine, Pal come on out we're heading to the park after I do a job or two. I got you're rope toy, so some tugging and fetching may be in today's agenda." The cat immediately ran up to Tress and began rubbing up against her while meowing in a pleasant manner. "Why I even value the notion of you as a pet I'll never understand."
"Oh come on Tress, I know you like the little monster that nearly tore us to shreds." If it were any other pony then Twilight, the cheery tone of her voice would have been seen as sarcastic instead of how she really felt.
"I think the only reason we keep him around is because his droppings are actually chocolate chip cookie dough. Also that we're both too highly amused by the phenomenon of how weird my new pet is to actually finally be rid of him." Another oddity that Tress did not need to know about the cat, but found out anyway. Apparently fruitcakes did go to the bathroom and when they did a number two, cookie dough came out instead of animal waste. Tress chalked it up to the enigma that was the power of magic.
Shape of a cat, half the mind of a dog, properties of a magically altered living fruitcake that liked Tress a bit too much and its fecal matter that was nothing but raw cookie dough and chocolate. Twilight even checked and studied it to make sure. Never will there ever be another pet quite like Pal in existence. Tress shook her head and trotted out the door with her saddle bags, the cat happily padding after her.
As Tress walked down the road and passed by an alleyway minding her own business, something shifted in the alleyway she just passed. A pair of bug like eyes followed Tress down the street and as the creature poked its head out and followed the target with it moving down the road, it didn't see too many ponies around. It was about to follow when it heard a growling sound. Turning to the angry looking red eyed cat, the bug eyed creature's ears wilted when the cat leapt at its face and started mauling it.
"Pal, come on! I'm not going to play with you if you get lost today, so stop mauling whatever poor sap that earned your ire." Tress nodded to herself that she had the cats' attention as he came out the alleyway looking rather victorious. She just shook her head at his antics and continued onwards, she had a visit with Carrot Topper of the Golden Harvest clan as a first stop. She had a taste for carrots lately and a job with a carrot farmer might be good for some quick cash and a minor discount on a snack.
The changeling didn't know what had hit it, but it was definitely hurting now. As a rule of their species, changelings invaded weddings and or parties as often as they possibly could. The reason for this was because changelings ate emotional energy and the emotional energy of choice was love. The quickest source of love involved sneaking into a wedding and not doing anything other than feed off the ambient atmosphere.
This particular changeling was following Tress as she was a bride's mare, kidnapping Tress and taking her place was the quickest way to find out if the bride and groom truly loved each other. If a changeling was found infiltrating your wedding, then you were likely guaranteed the feelings of love there were completely genuine between the two being married if it had stuck around that long. Not to mention love was tasty to a changeling like the cake usually served after the marriage ceremony that takes place.
The changeling had not been counting on Tress having a pet; one of the few things a changeling couldn't sneak by was an actively intelligent pet. Said pet had just mauled him quite vigorously before running off at Tress's voice. There was no information from the others that Tress even had a pet, this changeling had tracked the brides letter to Ponyville and had hit a small complication already. The cat would likely be left behind with a pet sitter or something while they went to the wedding, so the plan was still viable and there was always more than one way to skin a cat.
A changeling was a creature usually with a black exoskeleton, had a carapace that came in various colors, bug like wings, a horn that channeled magic, two fangs alongside teeth that weren't used very often, bug like eyes and patchy holes in their legs and wings. The defining trait of changelings is that they could take on the appearance of any creature that is close to their size, height and weight. Ponies were the most likely candidates for changeling infiltrations, they sometimes went after buffalo's and there was one changeling that managed to disguise itself as a cow. They generally didn't have a true gender as they were hermaphroditic in nature and weren't too great at direct physical confrontations. Unless they were outnumbering the thing that dragged them into said confrontation, they would avoid fighting as much as possible and killing was something a changeling would not do as they did not need ponies discovering their temporary intrusions.
This changeling was nearly not big enough to transform into Tress and would have had some issues with trying to impersonate her if that cat was always going to be around, it was the only changeling around that was capable of mimicking Tress feasibly. The changeling wasn't a quitter and would continue to pursue the best course of action, which to it was trying to infiltrate the wedding as some pony close to the bride. This meant continuing to stalk Tress to find out more things about her; just enough to fool the bride at the wedding to eat some high grade love and quickly escape. To say it wasn't a very bright changeling was not the problem as changelings could be quite intelligent. They were just incredibly accident prone and were notably very unlucky creatures as karma liked to kick them around for stealing.
Staggering to its hooves the changeling transformed to look like an earth pony and quickly tried to pick up Tress's trail again, it needed to know how Tress acted around other ponies. The trail started leading out of town and the changeling smiled. This was a perfect opportunity to catch the mare and take out the annoying cat; the changeling could always say the cat got lost as Tress had hinted that it had wanderlust about it.
Tress was currently struggling to pull a carrot out of the ground and Pal was digging up some of the dirt around the carrot to help her. After two more pulls the carrot popped free of the ground and flew out of Tress's hooves causing her to fall onto her back.
"Your right Carrot Topper you're job isn't as easy as you make it look." Tress's ears perked up at the shriek sound from the direction the large carrot flew, didn't sound like a noise a pony would make.
The changeling had a carrot impaled through one of its legs and was screeching its head off at the unfortunate circumstance. Then the red eyed colorful cat came and the changelings ears wilted and its frill at the back of its head went completely limp against its neck. It watched as the cats eyes narrowed on the carrot and then on it, it hastily started trying to pull the carrot out of its current position of being stuck in its leg.
A minute later Pal had successfully fetched the carrot from the other monster he thought was trying to steal his owners' affection. The bush he just left had a small puddle of blood flow from it and a groaning pained moan of unbridled agony surfaced for a few seconds.
"Good cat, I might actually enjoy playing with you later if you keep this up." Tress took back the carrot and showed it to Carrot after looking it over carefully.
"It didn't even use its teeth and this carrot is perfectly fine, needs to be washed off first to be safe though. That cat is indeed good; he's your little helper I take it?" The earth pony mare had a thickly curled orange mane, three bundled carrots as a cutie mark that went well with her slightly pale yellow fur. She established that Tress was to help her harvest and replant a small field of carrots.
A few hours later and after some successfully harvested carrots, Tress packed a bundle of five carrots into her saddle bags. Carrot was a generally friendly mare and was easy to get along with; the job was short and easy with Applejack's next door neighbor. She did have to admit that Pal helped dig up the carrots without damaging them, Tress still didn't entirely forgive the cat for gluing her to that ceiling but she was getting close to doing it.
"Next thing... aid Applejack with pie making? Eh, can't be too hard. It's a good thing I'm thankfully not a unicorn or else this wouldn't be a feasible task." It was becoming an alarming trend for Tress that unicorns weren't very good cooks, they could usually cook only one thing well and that was about it. Some unicorns could cook really well but those were the minority and Rarity was one of those few unicorns that had no cooking problems.
The changeling followed after Tress with its wounds wrapped in vines that held medicinal leaves to its multiple mauling injuries as makeshift bandages. It hadn't been able to see Tress interact with that earth pony nor what she had done with her, but apparently it involved farming. Hopefully wherever Tress was going now would be less painful.
"So my cat and your dog have free reign to clean up whatever we accidentally drop in the process of making a variety of different types of apple pie?" Tress received confirmation as long as Winona didn't get into any chocolate they were good to go ahead with making apple pies with all kinds of different ingredients in them. Honorary family members could help out and Tress would be making a few bits from this adventure.
"Yep and this is the final result!" Applejack turned and put a hoof forward while holding onto an extremely fresh and hot pie lightly dusted with cinnamon. Her hoof landed on a rolling pin that was sitting the floor having fallen there when Applejack had her back turned. Her hoof hit the rolling pin and she slipped slightly, reflexively throwing the pie at Tress by accident. "Whoa Nelly, are you alright there sugar cube?"
"Yeah I'm fine, but I think that pie is a lost cause." Tress had ducked out of the way of the pie and looked out the open window before turning back to Applejack with a shrug. The cat and dog immediately ran out the pet door to go lick up the pie.
The changeling thought it was a safe distance away from the house and was able to watch the interactions with a pair of binoculars until something came zooming out the window at an upward arc. The changeling lowered its binoculars and looked up straight into the pie that slammed into its face.
The changeling sat there for a moment contemplating the amount of pain it must be in for all its nerve endings to have just suddenly shut down like they did. The pie filling was in its wounds, the pie chunks were in its unblinking eyes and it felt a slow burning sensation that its body was vaguely reading as painfully hot at the moment. There was nothing that could possibly make this more agonizing like another immediately predicted red eyed demonic cat mauling to go on top of all the pain it was most likely currently in.
Hearing a growl both familiar and unfamiliar, the changeling looked down and immediately regretted its previous thought as it saw both the cat and a dog. They turned to each other and were seemingly communicating which part of its body to go for first for its next mauling by meowing and barking respectively towards each other.
Later that afternoon and after the changeling had given up for the day to recuperate from multiple injuries, Tress was playing with Palatable and Winona in the park. She was being paid a few bits to pet sit Winona for a while and Tress might have even enjoyed spending time with Pal. Pal wanted to be in her good graces and was doing a good job of it getting along with Winona despite his catlike appearance. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 53 | A day or so later, the changeling had thought following Twilight was a bust as well. There were always witnesses wherever she went and odd things happened to the changeling so it couldn't figure out how Twilight interacted with ponies as painful things kept happening. Never had it imagined it would ever know what it would feel like to be run over by a donkey cart, it couldn't even get the number of the thing because it had been hit by it so fast. That wasn't the worst thing, but it was the most memorable.
The only thing the changeling could say that was going its way is that so far its cover hadn't been blown and that it found out that Twilight and Tress were well known around Ponyville as being trouble magnets. The changeling itself was trouble and it was magnetized to them for the rewards of love eating at that wedding. It was almost getting to the point the changeling would give up on the principle that it was almost wasting energy just by going for them; instead it decided going after other targets was prudent.
After it tried Vinyl and her ear destroying noise, the changeling knew that it would never be able to stand being a DJ, no changeling could handle that much noise for such prolonged periods. It tried for Rainbow Dash directly afterwards and it found it wasn't going to be able to copy the flying speed of the mare as she was ridiculously fast and gave off a rainbow vapor trail. That wasn't the only reason; the changeling was blown out of the sky by the mare and had slammed into a garbage cart on its way to the reconstitution dump. Rainbow Dash was almost always flying and changelings couldn't fly forever or at such extremes.
The changeling had to admit ponies knew how to deal with their garbage in a very green way at least, even as it almost went through the process itself of being reconstituted in a painful manner. It didn't like the fact that it almost became fertilizer.
The changeling decided to try its next target with a force of backers. Fluttershy sounded sweet, innocent and rather easy to take down. The changeling wasn't going leave anything to chance this time as it gathered its forces on the edge of the forest looking at the quiet cottage from the front. This was a bit disturbing as all the changelings gathered knew that there were supposed to be a ton of animals around here. Something was not quite right here.
"Charge!" The changeling didn't care that something was off; Fluttershy was home as the lights were on and it'd get into that wedding one way or another.
All the changelings halted their forward movement when a large blue furry head lifted above the house sniffling a bit and then it sneezed. They found themselves glued to the ground and some were in green cocoons made out of snot. It was a rather ironic moment for them as this is the kind of thing they did when they replaced ponies for a while, except they didn't use snot for their cocoons. After a moment all the changelings looked at what had caused them to be trapped in a gooey mess with fear.
"I would call retreat, but I think we're all stuck." The raspy voiced changeling said after a moment, it couldn't get its legs out of the sticky goo pinning it to the ground. Fluttershy having an Ursa Minor around was not something they could have planned for. Apparently he had cold and they could even see Fluttershy hovering in front of the giant bear's face which had a frown on it.
"There there, it's okay. You didn't hurt me." Fluttershy cooed to the Ursa Minor, she had to talk to the Ursa Major about how to take care of its ailing child. Plenty of fluids and rest and this giant bear cub would be feeling better in no time. "Your mother will be back for you soon and she'll take care of you, until then I want you to take your medicine please. It'll help you feel better."
Fluttershy got the giant bear to give a happy grunt and she smiled, she turned around to look at the mess she'd have to clean up and saw pony like beings trapped in all the snot. She'd better tell her helping friends about this, she quickly flew down to Tress and Twilight.
Twilight was wearing a nurse's uniform with her mane in a nifty bun that Tress had called cute. Tress herself was wearing a nurse's uniform with her hair in a high ponytail. They were currently discussing their current business of aiding Fluttershy with the bear.
"You know, this still isn't the most disgusting thing we've ever had to do Tress." Twilight sighed and lifted a huge filled up silo up to the bear's mouth and started to pour the medicine gently into its throat. A few gallons of honey were going to help this medicine go down and it was a good thing they met a stallion that was a bee keeper who had a surprisingly steady surplus.
"I still say that was really sickening to see." Tress murmured as her face turned as green as the globs of sneezed snot that fell everywhere.
"Um, I don't want to alarm you and everything, but I may need you out front. A lot of pony like creatures were caught in its snot and they all look to be going into shock. If you could please finish giving little Barley his medicine and help me around front, which is if you don't mind." Fluttershy covered her face with her thick pink mane and shyly looked at the ground. "I don't want to talk to them alone."
"Fluttershy you're definition of little needs to be reexamined." Tress pointed out the likely fifty foot bear cub. "But sure, I'm not really helping out much here anyway. Also I don't see why I'm even wearing this outfit; I'm not exactly tested for first aid like you two or happen to be good with animals. Wait, did you just say they were trapped in the bears... oh that is so nasty."
Tress's face turned straight green and her cheeks swelled up, she quickly ran to a nearby bush. Seeing what she saw trapped in the giant snot globs really caused her to vomit and she had been already sick to her stomach at the thought just seconds ago. A minute later she walked back and around to the front to see all the creatures stuck in the blobs of snot with looks of unmoving horror plastered on their faces.
"So what are we going to do first Fluttershy? They seem inattentive at the moment and I would be too if a giant bear sneezed all over me. Oh and they aren't ponies Fluttershy, they're changelings. My cat mauled one three times the other day and I think it might have been the same one that was run over by that runaway donkey cart." Yes, Tress knew what the changelings were and had noted her cat mauling the ever loving tar out of the same one three times in one day. She just didn't rightly care at the time and found out from Twilight what the thing was after she described it; apparently it was still following her around for whatever reason.
It was hard to tell any of these changelings apart, they all looked similar to each other, but if you looked at them long enough you could see their variances easily enough. Different solid eye colors, different carapace colors, different placement of holes in the legs and wings and their horns were also unique to each of them. It required a closer look though to notice any of this as at a distance they all looked the same.
"What are changelings?" Fluttershy had never met one, but they certainly looked strange with their big goofy fangs, they weren't very scary to her as they looked to be sad and some of them were even whimpering.
"Apparently they are considered parasitical creatures that are a cross between a mammal and an insect; they are all hermaphrodites and can change their appearance to match any species close to them. They only use their teeth in self defense when they are low on energy and are otherwise like a succubus in eating emotions. They tend to always be searching for love more than anything else and are considered dangerous if they are not discovered quickly as they have a tendency to stuff ponies into emotionally draining cocoons. Twilight thought it was kind of sad to see so many of them looking downtrodden like they were. She walked up to the one with its feet trapped to the ground and it flinched at her approach making her stop. "No book has actually heard of a pony actually being killed by them though, they usually set the drained pony free without memory of what happened and are said to be the cause of a lot of false amnesia cases."
The changeling just started crying, why didn't anything go right for it over the past few days? All it wanted to do was eat some love and get away with it, but apparently that was too much to ask by this point as the ponies were now aware that they were here. They even knew what they were!
"It's okay, everything will be alright. Now tell me where it hurts." Fluttershy coaxed the changeling to look at her and she could even feel it feeding on her sympathy. So she let it do so as she knew her kindness was boundless and her heart could spread love, even to creatures that needed to eat it to live. "Come now; let me help you get out of there."
The changeling was more confused than anything to find itself quickly free of its predicament and being gently bathed in a wash tub. Not to mention Fluttershy was actively feeding it and making it feel better while taking care of its injuries. Horrible confusion was now going on amongst the gathered changelings as Tress and Twilight helped pulled them out of the snot and started cleaning them off too.
Soon the changelings were standing around with no idea what to do with themselves. They could attack the ponies that were nice enough to be sympathetic towards them, not to mention clean them up and tend to their wounds. They all conferred amongst themselves that it would have been a bad idea and they would have been jerks to pursue this point of action. They were glad they came to that conclusion when the Ursa Major arrived to take its child home, Fluttershy even waved goodbye to the monstrosity thus clinching it for them. They would not attack and suddenly earn the ire of a humongous mother bear that could just roar them to death.
"Remember to make him drink a lot of clean water!" Fluttershy yelled out after the mother bear that turned back and let out a really loud appreciative groan.
"Well now what?" One of the changelings asked.
"I have no idea what to do now, my original plans are all busted." The changeling didn't want to feel like a complete jerk by kidnapping one of the ponies now, after they aided them and then fed them. Even if it was pity and sympathy they were eating, it still tasted pretty darn good to not steal for once.
"What were your original plans? You know, aside from getting mauled, beaten to a pulp, smashed by a donkey cart and just in general having a lot of bad stuff happen to you while you were stalking me and Twilight around." Tress raised a brow in the one particular changeling's direction.
"Wait... you knew all along!" The changeling was now in the throes of being utterly depressed that it wasn't being as stealthy as it thought it was.
"Well yeah, you weren't exactly subtle after my cat mauled you the first time, the second time where you gave out a shriek that sounded nothing like a pony after getting a carrot lodged in your leg and then there was the pie I saw that slammed home into your face because it missed mine." Tress thought the third one was rather funny and chuckled about it. If she had been hit with the pie, Winona and Pal would have just been friendly in their attempts to lick it off of her. "I swear you guys are almost a conga line of traumatizing moments waiting to happen especially given what happened when you were following Twilight around."
"Even I'm feeling kind of bad for not helping you after all the trauma you've been through. Do you need my help with something now? You've probably heard of the Trouble Takers right? Well we'll do something for you for free as long as it is within reason for us to do so." Twilight smiled, she didn't want to think she didn't apply her help to all sentient races equally. Changelings couldn't be perfectly evil if they were willing to talk about their problems, those hangdog expressions they currently had were making it really easy to be sympathetic with them.
"Oh can I help you too, if that's alright with you that I help that is?" Fluttershy asked quietly as she sponged a changeling clean of the gross stuff it was covered in and massaged it's back earning a cute purring noise from it.
"Well..." The changeling looked away and at the small group of changelings it had gathered for a raid. "You could actually help us with something. Got any better ideas on how to earn love other then temporary kidnapping and replacement schemes? To answer your question I planned to infiltrate the wedding you were going to go to and eat enough of the free floating ambient love that could be found there to share with my friends here." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 54 | The mess with the changelings had been resolved rather fast and they promised that they personally wouldn't get involved with this wedding. Twilight and Tress would get back to the changelings later with more ideas how to maximize their love intake and or how to receive it without doing the general changeling thing.
Twilight already thought up a good list of at least fifty or so things they could be doing aside from the general kidnapping victim scheme they usually did to live. The changelings looked the list over and agreed to try some of the stuff on it, they'd get back to her later about the results. She thought things would turn out for the better for the changelings if they stayed the course.
As Twilight thought this she was staring at Ponyville in the distance and was happy about seeing her parents again after barely spending even a few weeks away from their care. With her were some of her new friends, Octavia, Vinyl and of course Rainbow Dash. They were all going to be camping out at her parents' house, apparently her parents wouldn't take no for an answer and would provide for every pony.
Twilight knew this would be an attempt to show off her baby picture and for at least one of her parents to go through a mid life crisis on purpose while her friends were around just to embarrass her. She really wouldn't put it past her parents to act up in a superiorly silly manner or be in the process of doing so by the time they got there.
At least none of them would have to pay for hotel rooms and Twilight's mother would be able to optimize her Fluttershy cuddle time. Who knew what her father would do, aside from have cookies prepared ahead of time. Not once would any pony, much less Twilight herself, question how her father could make so many different kinds of cookies from just regular vanilla cookie dough.
Yawning Twilight decided to get in a nap and Barb snuggled into her side getting the same idea her mother did, they were soon out like a light. This left Tress to deal with their friends including a bored Rainbow. They were currently on a train for Canterlot.
"I can understand Vinyl and Octavia going since they need the work, I also know Fluttershy would never get in anyone's way and could possibly even enjoy the wedding, but why in the world are you coming too Rainbow?" Tress looked off to the side to see Twilight yawning and Barb resting her head in a cute position on her mother. Turning back to Rainbow she saw a somewhat eager look on her face.
"You're kidding right? The Wonder Bolts are in Canterlot and I might be able to see Spitfire!" Ah yes, Rainbow still had her dream to join the premiere flying team and it seemed it hadn't been entirely crushed by Tress in her tirade a while ago. She still wanted to prove she had what it takes to be on the high flying paramilitary team and she was going to be awesome at it!
"Of course it's the Wonder Bolts and not the fact that it's a friend of mine that's getting married here. I'm surprised you'd even agree to wear a dress just to come along." To Tress, the both of them did have some things in common. While Tress leaned more towards being feminine then Rainbow did, they both loved to roughhouse and Applejack knew how to get that competitive spirit flowing between the three of them.
"Hey, if I have to wear girly stuff and junk to meet the Wonder Bolts then I don't care if I'm stuffed into the most ridiculously frilly dress ever!" Rainbow declared proudly putting a hoof to her puffed out chest.
"Better not let Rarity ever hear you say that then Dashie, too bad she had so much to do at home and couldn't come." Fluttershy mostly liked Rarity, except she tends to forcefully try to guilt ponies into wearing her fashion or even model for it. Otherwise Rarity was incredibly generous, the spa visits were heavenly and Octavia happily joined in when she had the free time. Fluttershy wasn't sure if Rarity noticed that she like mares and would usually try to drag her uncomfortably into the topic of possibly dating Big Mac. She really didn't have the heart to tell Rarity that she was gay and disappoint her obvious horrible romance novel based fantasies. She really thought Rainbow was the only pony in Ponyville that didn't seem to know or catch on to that fact, even with Vinyl hinting at it several times in front of many other ponies.
"Yikes... thanks for putting that mental image in my head Fluttershy. Rarity is a crazy mare and doesn't care at all for awesome stuff like I do!" Rainbow shuddered and her wings got her flying in the middle of the train car, she did not want to be trapped in the boutique alone with Rarity at all.
"Look if it actually comes to that Prism, I'll bail you out of her prison of horrors and doilies!" Vinyl also wouldn't want to be trapped with Rarity either. Apparently her spiked electric blue mane was an affront to the many things fabulous that Rarity stood for, she also disliked Vinyl's trademark glasses. Even then Vinyl didn't think Rarity was too horrible, just forceful like Octavia was and not in that really hot kind of way.
"Well you could stand to be at least cleaned up once in a while Vinyl; goodness knows you might even look nice afterwards. Rarity could probably do wonders with you." Octavia said as she worked her bow over her instrument creating a melody throughout the train car to ease tension and set a calm mood. Fluttershy and Rarity were nice close friends for Octavia to have and she really enjoyed being a part of Twilight's rather large circle of friends. She didn't mind getting down and dirty when things came to blows, but she preferred to do things prim and proper first before resulting to such boorish tactics. Boorish was the very definition of Rainbow and Vinyl's half a brain working between them.
"She is not messing with my coolness Octaves or Rainbows awesomeness for that matter. Hey, we'll even form an alliance dedicated to doing radical crazy things!" Vinyl got a hoof bump and smile from Rainbow.
"Now I'm beginning to think that following Twilight's example is the best idea here." Tress rolled her eyes and then leaned up against her sleeping friend and started to nod off. "Wake me up when we get there Fluttershy, also keep those two from destroying the train."
Fluttershy sighed, she just nodded to herself. Keeping the reins on the two mares of hazard didn't sound too hard, especially with Octavia's assistance. It wasn't like they could destroy the train as Tress suggested they could, but she wouldn't put it past the two to at least try it. Looking out the window they were a good distance away from Ponyville already and all of her animal friends should be fine with her little assistant Angel Bunny being in charge. That little rabbit took no guff from anyone but Fluttershy; she thought it was cute that he cared so much about her health and safety.
An hour later the train came to a screeching halt and looking out the window from the sudden jolt out of her practicing, Octavia could see they were nowhere near Canterlot. She frowned in thought and immediately turned to the suddenly awake Rainbow.
"Rainbow, can you fly out to see what's going on and why we've stopped?" Octavia received a ridiculously looking salute and then Rainbow flew out the window. Octavia figured she was looking for a reason to stretch her wings and now was a good time as any. Octavia quickly shook Vinyl who was sleeping against her and drooling slightly.
"Huh, what, where, are we there yet Octaves?" Vinyl had nodded off because of Octavia's enchanting if drowsy sounding music. She'd still preferred the beat and tones of her speakers any day, even if some classical cello was food for the soul at times.
"No and call it my intuition acting up, but I think we might be in danger soon. I want you to wake up Twilight carefully; we all know how badly she reacts to sudden shocks. I'll wake Fluttershy." Octavia ran a hoof through the shy mares' mane, it felt like silk and she was adorable as she curled up into her touch. She felt really bad about waking her up. Octavia started gently tapping Fluttershy on the nose and the shy mare slowly blinked awake at the taps and was soon stretching out while spreading her gloriously cared for feathered wings.
"Are we there?" Fluttershy asked innocently before looking out the window and realizing that the train had stopped and not in a station. She sighed at what she already knew the answer to. "Is something bad happening?"
"We don't know that for sure, it could be a huge boulder on the train tracks or that the bridge is out or something Squeakers." Vinyl stood as far away from Twilight as she could and was wielding a small stick to lightly poke Twilight who continued to snooze. She poked Barb a few times, but she refused to wake up and snuggled deeper into her mother's side.
"That doesn't sound too good, but at least no pony is hurt at the moment." Fluttershy smiled at being informed, but it seemed to be like an unimportant reason to wake her up.
"There's something to poke holes in your theory Vinyl and I would like to bring it to your attention. Rainbow would have come back or be zipping around the sky right now if it was unimportant and that we were just delayed." Octavia was looking out the open window for a rainbow colored streak against the sky. Rainbow wasn't flying around or even present in the air, but within a minute the mare flew into the train car in a clear panic.
"Guys we've got a seriously bad problem, we need to wake up Twilight like yesterday! She'd know what to do!" Rainbow realized what she just said and remembered that spooking Twilight awake would not be a bright idea, any pony that became friends with Twilight quickly learned not to set her off. She was on a list of ponies Rainbow Dash would never prank again. "Forget what I just said, wake her up carefully."
"Why, what's wrong?" Fluttershy was busy waking up Tress with a light massage. After a moment Tress shot up completely awake and alert, she was immediately looking at Fluttershy with a blush. Fluttershy felt her cheeks heat up, nothing would wake Tress up faster than a few light touches in the right spots.
"Would any of you classify a bunch of minotaur's preparing to attack the train with another rockslide really bad? Because the first one has blocked the tracks and they're preparing more rocks as we speak!" Rainbow could stall them, though she clearly doubted she could take them alone given how many there are and how physically powerful they looked. For once, Rainbow was actually using her brain and she could already see the surprised look on Tress's face because of such fact.
"Why would a bunch of minotaur's be attacking a passenger train?" Octavia mused out loud even as Fluttershy tried to gently ease Twilight into a conscious state like she did with Tress.
"They could be after hostages to feed to their alien overlords." Vinyl exclaimed excitedly waving her hooves wildly into the air before getting slapped across the face by Octavia. She rubbed her cheek with a hoof.
"I swear Vinyl, you and your tabloid trash nonsense. This situation is serious, some pony has to do something and we have two trouble solving experts here. One of which would be very useful if she were awake." She didn't like getting angry with her friend, Octavia actually liked Vinyl a lot and now wasn't the time to be joking around.
"Huh... is that you Fluttershy? That feels nice, are we finally in Canterlot?" Twilight had been having such a nice dream too; she was happily in the land of beautiful manes only seconds ago. She woke up quickly when Fluttershy carefully whispered the problem into her ears and she sat up with wide eyes. "WHAT!"
All the ponies cringed at the loudness of her voice, Tress hadn't because she wasn't currently there. Tress was standing on top of their train car looking at the cliff as some barely organized minotaur's were rolling rocks into position. She looked down when she heard Twilight yell and was glad that nothing bad had magically happened as a result.
"Twilight, it would be a good idea for you to get up here and figure something out." Tress pulled her head away from the window and helped pull Twilight onto the top of the train to see what the problem was.
"This has to happen when I was having a really good dream doesn't it?" Twilight muttered in a slightly annoyed tone, she couldn't take a simple nap on a passenger train. Looking up at the minotaur's she could already see they were about finished with their set up and they were about to set the boulders moving. "Get Vinyl up here Tress, I'm going to need her help with this. I don't know what this is all about or why they are attacking us, but we're inevitably going to find out."
"You called for help Sparky?" Vinyl was helped up by Tress and looked up at all the huge rocks on the edge of the cliffs above. Her happy go lucky tone took a serious turn to it. "What exactly do you need me to do?" |
Twilights Mane Passion | 55 | "Vinyl do you know how to resonate your magic with another unicorn? I also need to know if you can create a wavelength undulation beam." Twilight looked at the length of the train exposed to the boulders; she had a lot of area to cover with a barrier spell.
"Say what?" Vinyl said flatly as she didn't know what Twilight was asking of her.
"Can you create a high frequency magical pulse that can explode rocks?" Twilight thought that was hopefully a bit blunter for Vinyl.
"Oh, you want me to create WUBs! Why didn't you just say so Sparky? I can certainly do that. You're currently looking at the inventor of the dub trot blaster spell. Octaves always said my music was offensive, I guess she was right after all!" Smiling to herself, Vinyl watched as Twilight face hoofed.
"Can you do it without affecting the barrier spell I'm going to be using, I need you to hit as many of the biggest rocks as you can. I'm going to be diverting whatever you miss and everything else away from the train." Twilight grit her teeth and started to focus her magic.
"Yeah, just let me get warmed up first." Vinyl started trotting in place and made a beat with her hooves as her horn lit up. She just started revving up her dub trot blaster spell and prepared it to be let loose.
"I don't think we exactly have that much time." Twilight cast her spell and created a sloping barrier above the train in the hope of diverting the boulders with it.
Within a few minutes the minotaur's started ramming into the boulders to shove them into falling off the cliff and towards the train far below.
"Don't worry about it, I got this!" Bobbing her head left and right Vinyl suddenly created three tiny beams the arced outwards from her horn and came together to create an orb that exploded into a beam and pulsed straight at one of the falling boulders. Her horn was creating music as it sent fraying pulses of energy along the beam, when it connected with the boulders they shattered into little pieces of shrapnel.
Twilight kept her concentration as a large amount of stones pelted her sloped barrier and slid off to the side of the train. One of the boulders got through Vinyl's blasting and slammed home into her barrier, causing her to gasp out slightly as it bounced off to the side.
"Vinyl, that one seriously stung and I don't know how many of those I can actually take." Twilight held the barrier in place, but magical feedback from the weight of the blows was still very much felt. It was one massive blow to her barrier among the raining stones pelting it and sliding off to the side.
"Well you try hitting a bunch of things coming at you all at once and see how you do! Nice barrier you got there by the way." Vinyl was shouting over the awesome musical blasts she was generating from her horn that turned into powerful rock exploding beats while Twilight made sure none of the smaller pieces hit them.
Rocks were falling and every pony was going to live, even if one or two got past Twilight's barrier and Vinyl's musical blasting magic. The caboose was damaged worse than the rest of the still mostly intact train. After a minute of constantly blazing noisy beats from her horn, Vinyl cut the magic flowing to it and started to rub it before quickly flinching and pulling her hoof away.
"My horn is a tad beat here, did we win this thing?" Vinyl said trying to blow on her hot horn, causing a bit of smoke to float off of it.
"No, they are still up there and they are obviously angry that we stopped them. I don't think that was the end of it." Twilight figured things were currently easier said than actually done, looking towards the front of the train the path was blocked by some huge boulders that would take some time to move off the tracks. "Tress, I need you to go talk to the conductors about how long it will take them to move the rocks if they can at all and help them if they need anything. It's either we move forward or we go back to Ponyville. Fluttershy stay with Barb and Octavia. Rainbow I need you follow me, we're going to figure out why they are attacking ponies. Vinyl you stay here and watch out for anymore trouble, they might try to attack the train from the rear."
All the ponies confirmed Twilight's demands and set out in three directions. Vinyl towards the back of the train, Tress towards the front and Twilight herself climbed down the side of the train and started focusing on casting the gravity spell.
"Do you need me to carry... never mind then." Rainbow watched as Twilight galloped up the side of the mountain to the cliffs above. She followed after her making sure to stay near her friend instead of going ahead on her own.
Twilight slowed down near the top and crawled forward, to look over the edge to see the minotaur's of all sizes and shapes bellowing at each other. Twilight turned to Rainbow as she hovered nearby before landing on a ledge, she went back to watching as they snorted and growled at one another.
"They've already spotted us. There was a pegasus on the train and they have two powerful unicorns." The large yellow male cow of a minotaur bellowed. "The pegasus could already be going for help!"
Minotaur's in general had two large horns coming from their heads, two arms ending in five fingered hands and two hooves that they walked upright on. They were a race that was always physically endowed with muscles, only few were ever truly bright and they all hated mazes with a passion. This might explain why they hated red tape and all forms of politics. As such, talking them out of their current course of action wasn't a good solution. It was just faster than politics to the minotaur nation to listen to the strongest and the smartest of them all, they were practical experts at shotgun diplomacy.
"Fool, we just have to get down there and make sure the train can't escape or receive aid in time, by the time any help gets here it'll already be too late for them to do anything." The large purple minotaur looked to be the leader of the group. He was exceptionally bulky twelve to fourteen feet tall beast and as such his might makes him right. This particular minotaur screamed raider and was dead set on continuing to press the attack, but his motives as to why he was attacking a passenger train were still a mystery.
"Iron Will still thinks this is a very bad idea. If things are going to go down, I don't want to be around." Well at least the blue one seemed to be a reluctant part of this assault; he was less bulkier then the rest of them and was a bit smaller compared to the giants around him.
Twilight backed away from looking over the edge as they all started to set off, she turned tail and started back down the wall while thinking. She really didn't want this to devolve into a hopelessly one sided fight. This reminded her that her parents were always fighting to protect her and her brother, well at least until they moved out that is. Now her parents were probably just fighting to protect each other from the inane weird things that happen around them.
"We still don't know why they're doing this, isn't this breaking a treaty or something?" Asked a gliding Rainbow to Twilight as she walked down the wall with a concerned look on her face. "You look really awesome doing that wall walking thing by the way. A pegasus can do the same thing by back flapping their wings you know."
"I know, this is a bit frustrating to me too. Go ask Tress about getting the train moving then get back to me." Twilight had to think of something. She wasn't about to fight them, doubly so if there were more than just that one who was reluctantly pushed into this situation. All she wanted to do was spend time with her friends and meet Fleur to go to her wedding. Did she seriously have to have all of life's little problems dropping down on her skull?
Twilight stopped her magic from altering her gravity as she set a hoof on the ground and walked up to the train, she wasn't about to abandon all the other passengers. There were probably little foals onboard too and possibly just as many mothers and fathers as well. She really didn't like the way this situation was going towards, some pony was going to inevitably get hurt.
"Well Radiance we got horrible news, bad news and some good news." Tress had acquired Twilight's attention immediately as she came up with two stallions that were obviously the train operator and engineer. Rainbow flew down and landed with them. "Well to give it to you straight going backwards is a no go, forward is going to take some time to get the rocks out of the way and the minotaur's are going to take a good forty minutes to get down here so we've got some time. Apparently this engineer here mountain climbs on the weekend and knows the area pretty well."
"What's the good news in all that again?" Twilight sardonically asked in the face of all this awful news.
"If we can get the blockage out of the way of the tracks we can get out of here without having to put up a fight. There are not many ponies onboard that look like fighters and I'm willing for a scrap, but against raw muscle like that we're not exactly in a winning situation here." Well if Tress had her full Mane-iac powers she could just treat any minotaur like she did the Saddle Rager, keep them at a distance where their muscles would prove ineffective in a fight. "The blockage apparently can't be safely blasted out of the way or else some of the mountain side might collapse on us, so Vinyl is out on performing another musical number."
"Well we can protect the rear of the train, every able bodied pony would need to pitch in and fend them off. That course of action will result in casualties or injuries. We could focus on the debris in the way and again get every pony to assist, but then when the minotaur's arrive we won't be prepared for them." Twilight continued to muse over this, things were somewhat dire if they had to face those massive muscles and if said muscles were armed. They had no weapons except unicorn magic. "We could always send Rainbow for help, but she might not be back in time. The one option that we could all do is run away, but then they might give chase to us and could catch up with us. There are ponies that wouldn't be able to run as fast as others and we'd be leaving them behind to be picked off and I don't like that idea."
"We'll stand our ground and fight, if there are bully bulls attacking innocent ponies then we got to take them by the horns." The engineer sounded particularly brave for a stallion that was just well toned in general. "In the meantime we have to start clearing the tracks as much as we can. You're Twilight from the Trouble Takers right? We saw you put up a barrier field and had that unicorn blasting the rocks before they hit the train, can't you think of something to give us more time?"
"I'll see what I can do. Come on guys we're going to tell Fluttershy and Octavia what's going on." Twilight wanted to let her friends know about the situation first. She and her friends spent the next thirty two minutes informing all the other ponies onboard of the things going on so far. It was decided that Rainbow would be sent out for help, even if she was incredibly reluctant to leave them behind.
They were gathering ponies for holding the back end of the train which Vinyl was still watching. They had managed to gain some support among the other ponies on the train that were willing to help move the debris out of the way and a few earth pony stallions were more than willing to fight to protect others.
"Sparky, we got trouble and they look like they are preparing to charge us horn first." Vinyl pointed off at the minotaur's taking up axes, maces, swords, spears and shields. "I can rev myself up again, just give me the word and I'll start firing all my WUBs in their direction."
"Not yet, wait until my barrier goes down before you even start up." Twilight noted the Minotaur's were quickly starting to march towards them and looked to be preparing to charge upon the small patch of hapless defenders. Twilight set up a barrier wall between them and the intelligent train raiders with unknown motives. "I don't want anyone to die here, even those who are attacking us."
"How long do you think you'll be able to hold them off on your own?" None of the ponies here were particularly armed for combat or even combatants, not that it would stop Tress from putting up a huge fight personally.
"As long as it takes, I'll keep it up until my horn goes out. We're just lucky they didn't have any projectile weapons when they were up on the cliffs." Twilight watched as each minotaur lowered their heads and then charged forward to ram into her barrier. It held but Twilight felt a little shaky as they started to lash out with their weapons, she was going to make it hard for them to get to the train. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 56 | Fifteen minutes of constant horn impacts and weapons clattering against her barrier spell that bottlenecked every minotaur a distance behind the train. Twilight was beginning to suffer under the strain of holding up her magical barrier.
"Okay let me through your barrier Twilight; I can't watch you suffer like this." It was upsetting Tress to watch her friend struggle to hold the barrier all on her own. "I want to take the fight to them."
"Let me WUB a few out there as well." It was also building up guilt for Vinyl to watch a friend put up so much effort at protecting every pony and one dragon.
"No Vinyl, I can keep going. Besides you need to watch out for any of them who might try to climb around. I don't think they're that smart though, especially if they are dead set on taking the direct approach to this situation." Twilight was positively sweating, each horn ram, weapon clash or even just one punching the barrier was putting a strain on her. "Don't force me to use up more energy to prevent you from being gored by a minotaur Tress."
"Fine, but I don't like it." Tress huffed and stayed right by Twilight's side, sitting down next to her. Vinyl and the volunteer militia stallions who gathered around the unicorn keeping them safe, followed Tress in sticking together and sitting down.
"Look at it this way, I have to be earning their respect for my strength, integrity and most importantly that I haven't yet fallen to their constant attacks." Twilight grunted as she took another ramming impact. Ponies tended to herd together in times of danger to protect the weak and those who couldn't or wouldn't defend themselves. Minotaurs on the other hoof sent their weakest into battle first so they could grow strong, the strong would join the battle if the enemy were equally strong and the purple minotaur leader was hitting Twilight's barrier the hardest.
"That and you're tiring them out, I guess I can see a good reason to stay patient." Tress was willing to wait as long as it meant they would have it a little easier when it came time to finally fight. Looking behind her, she could see ponies working tirelessly to clear the train tracks. "The tracks are three fifths clear Twilight, I don't think your barrier is going to hold long enough for them to finish."
"I know that Tress, but I have to keep trying." If she had to keep this barrier up any longer Twilight felt her horn would explode violently. Good thing there was never any documented evidence of something like that ever happening to a unicorn, another axe strike caused her barrier to buckle slightly and she felt the pressure was on.
"Guys I found help!" Rainbow yelled as she flew in and landed on the ground.
"Is it the Celestial Guards? That would be rather fast for them considering they are flying while wearing armor." Twilight felt the barrier crack slightly and forced the crack to close.
"No it was a pony I know that was definitely a mare. She was on this big bird thing, I thought she was in trouble at first but then it just seems she was enjoying herself riding it around." Rainbow looked excited to have done something helpful. "She said she'd be here in a minute once I told her minotaurs were attacking a train and ponies needed help."
"A pony riding a large bird, that's the help you got for us? How is that going to help us?" Tress was a bit angry that Rainbow only brought one pony and a large bird. If only Tress had more zap apples or a pony that would hit her with lightning without asking questions. She only had enough Mane-iac juice to power up her eyes halfway; she had emptied out their stock of zap apples back in Ponyville getting that much back. Currently Tress was thinking of strangling Rainbow. She wouldn't kill her, but strangling her definitely sounded nice right now.
"Actually it might be just what we needed, can you describe the pony that was riding this large bird to me?" Twilight would have normally wanted her head examined for asking Rainbow to describe a pony, but in this situation it was important to know who was coming to help. If she was right then they were definitely saved.
"Well she looked like and most definitely was a...." Rainbow started off and was quickly cut off by Twilight yelling.
"Tell me what the bird she was riding looked like!" Twilight wasn't about to go down that road and cut off the problem early this time, she knew how Rainbow worked now. Even then she could feel that her righteous fury was now powering the barrier that had just about shattered until her angry outburst reinforced it.
"Well the pony with the three purple stars on her flank, light grey coat with the purple and white hair that looked kind of like you except with a Rarity curl thrown in was riding on this big red and sand colored bird." Rainbow tapped her chin with a hoof looking thoughtful. "Big is not a word to describe it really, awesomely large, super sized? Humongous, that's it! It had this beak that looked like it could split Celestia in half!"
"Twilight did Rainbow Dash just describe...." Tress knew it was too soon to say, but if Rainbow was right then they might be soon rescued by the least likely pony she could think of. She didn't know of the bird from vague description Rainbow gave, but apparently Twilight knew what it was. Tress never finished her sentence because Twilight's barrier finally broke and Twilight crumpled to the ground.
The minotaurs were immediately charging them and they were twenty feet and closing when a shadow covered all of the ponies ready to defend the train. A huge screech was heard and suddenly the charging minotaurs all found themselves harshly slammed into the wall of the mountain by an incredible force.
"Okay which one of you decided to mess up my Fluttershy cuddle time charts, I had it all planned out to the second that she arrived at the station! Not only that, I arrive to find you launching an all out assault on my daughter!" Velvet was certainly beyond angry as she stood on top of the birds head as it flapped its massive wings. "Twilight, are you alright my little sparkle? Did any of them hurt you? Because they are so dead if they hurt my baby in any way."
"I'm okay mommy, just tired of holding back a horde of dangerous minotaurs for that last hour or so!" The large bird hovered above the train and it lowered itself down slightly to extend its neck over the train tracks. Twilight watched as her mother slid down its beak to hop off and run up to her.
"Oh my poor baby, your horn is burning up." Velvet was hugging her daughter with tender love and care. "Harrier, please be a dear and blast them again if they keep trying to move one hoof towards us or any pony would you?"
The large bird nodded as it slowly flapped its massive wings to stay hovering where it was.
"So were you taking your pet Roc out for a joyride because we were late mom? She's gotten a lot bigger then I remember." Twilight smiled at the ridiculously large bird that cooed at her and her mother, it quickly returned its attention to the minotaurs that were slowly standing up.
"My yes, it's been a while since I took my pet out for a nice flight and the sky was clear for it." Velvet was now completely ignoring the minotaurs as the situation was completely handled. "She does tend to get lonely just sitting on the mountainside by herself at times. She's been eating a few Ever Free Forest tree's lately, I'm surprised you haven't seen her around Ponyville."
"Twilight, have I ever told you that your parent are really nuts?" Said Tress blandly while looking off to the side, Vinyl was still gawking at the giant bird and the stallions were frozen by the very sight of it.
"Multiple times Tress. I don't think I would change that about them for anything though." Twilight idly noted Fluttershy immediately flying out of the train and towards the Roc, of course the shy pony would want to spend time with a new animal. Rocs weren't exactly native to this part of their world.
"Wait, if it's a rock how is it able to fly?" Rainbow was even more curious about the large bird. "It has to be really heavy and junk."
"It's not like the ones in your head Rainbow." Twilight had always been fascinated with her mother's pet, they just couldn't keep her near their house because it was so big and was usually on loan to a nearby zoo. "An R O C is a large bird native to Saddle Arabian territories and are creatures known for controlling winds and creating huge tornadoes, they are the leading cause of all sandstorms in deserts. They tend to eat entire date trees and one is enough to last them for a whole day, they need a lot of fiber in their diet."
A powerful focused blast of wind punctuated the end of Twilight's sentence that pinned the minotaurs back to the wall they were trying to stagger away from; they didn't look like they would be getting up after that one for a few minutes.
"Good girl!" Velvet yelled proudly and the giant bird trilled, she also noticed Fluttershy was happily sitting on its head looking content with the world. She was going to get her cuddles soon. "Now do you need any more help daughter of mine?"
"Yes mom, I would like it very much if you assisted us in reaching Canterlot." Snuggled against her mother Twilight was happy to have been rescued in a ridiculously over the top fashion like this.
"Quick question, how did you end up with a Roc for a pet?" Tress was willing to suspend her disbelief for a moment to hear the explanation for this one patch of weirdness.
"Well I did spend quite a few Arabian Nights in Saddle Arabia; I think I was pregnant with Shiny back then. I and Night had quite the interesting honeymoon." Velvet drifted off staring into space with a look of wistfulness and whimsy on her face.
"Right then, let's get every pony to Canterlot. Move it along ponies, nothing to see here!" Twilight was immediately set off and flustered at the look that crossed her mother's face. It could only end in traumatizing embarrassment for her if her mother was allowed to continue.
Less than an hour or so later after Velvet finished talking to the Celestial Guards; she was walking up to Twilight and her friends with a bright smile on her face at the train station in Canterlot. Her daughter made her so proud sometimes, especially for holding back an entire horde of minotaurs by herself like she had. It had taken Velvet a while to get her pet back where she belonged and it was feeding time for the Roc anyway.
"You know what Sparky? I still can't believe how crazy awesome your mother is." Vinyl stated bluntly as Velvet reached them.
"So these are some of my daughters new friends, they must really like you to give you nicknames. I of course am well acquainted with Fluttershy here." Velvet was immediately cuddling an uncomfortable Fluttershy, she was behind on her cuddling charts and she was going to make up for lost time. She believed Fluttershy needed the affection and love, she also thought Fluttershy needed a strong mare to take charge of her but Velvet wasn't about to tell her that out loud.
"Mom, this Rainbow Dash she's the head weather mare in Ponyville, though I honestly don't know how she managed to get that position. Vinyl Scratch here is apparently a popular DJ and this is Octavia Philharmonica who's specializes in playing quite a few stringed instruments." Having to cover her ears Twilight couldn't believe the squeal of joy her mother just gave off.
"Oh, my you've meeting such adorable friends, look at Octavia's cute bowtie." Immediately Velvet started invading Octavia's personal space snuggling her, then she was giving Rainbow a hug. "I've always wanted to meet an adorable tom colt like you."
"Twilight can't you control your mom? And I'm not adorable!" Rainbow had a few personal space issues to work out and was soon released.
"Now let's see what you're hiding under your glasses." Velvet quickly flicked Vinyl's glasses off her face and was hugging the poor unicorn to her. Vinyl struggled not to get out of the strong grip, but to get her glasses back and Velvet soon relented placing them where they rightfully belonged. "Oh my goodness Twilight, I'm so happy for you! How have you gained so many wonderful friends?"
"I'm just lucky I guess." It was like Twilight couldn't avoid her mother embarrassing her. Then again it was nice that her mom liked her new friends and all, but this was a bit much.
"Only your mom can impress every pony around her and just as equally embarrass you within the same hour Twilight." Tress had a small impish smile on her face.
"Look at it this way mom. She's too busy with your friends that she hasn't thought of breaking out your baby pictures yet." Giggling about it, Barb couldn't believe she had slept through all of that. At least she got to see her grandma's pet Roc.
"Do all of you want to see my daughters foal pictures when we get home?" The really ecstatic Velvet was so happy at meeting so many young mares that would be friends with her poor daughter. At least knowing that Twilight had friends that would stay by her side through tough times in general was something to celebrate with the age old parental tradition.
"Do we still have time to set the minotaurs free as a distraction?" Twilight lamented quietly while slowly raising a hoof to her face. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 57 | The next morning saw Twilight and her friend sitting at the breakfast table in her parents' home. Barb and Tress worked on making breakfast to order for everyone this day.
"Despite the odd poltergeist haunting it, I must admit that this is a nice house though it's a little bit of a tight fit with so many ponies. Also what was it that was causing all those scratching sounds last night?" Octavia calmly ate a grilled cheese sandwich. She was just starting on her first one.
"That was probably just Leggy; I moved her back into the house when Twilight moved out. Twilight was always so terrified of her, can't understand why as Leggy isn't venomous. She's just making herself at home in our basement and she wouldn't harm any pony." Now Night wasn't a bad father, but he should have probably warned Twilight about it as it looked like she was panicking at the news.
"Dad you know I really don't like Leggy, please tell me she'll stay in the basement while I'm here." Twilight looked particularly ready to leave already and she hadn't even finished her waffles. On top of her horn was a bag of ice, she had become wary of straining herself after yesterday.
"What's a Leggy, she sounds neat." Speaking through a mouthful of cereal Vinyl's interest was perked.
"Please swallow before talking Vinyl, table manners were invented for a reason I'll have you know." While taking a dainty bite of her grilled cheese sandwich Octavia glared at Vinyl.
"Oh it's just a giant spider I'm friends with; she's not exactly a pet. She used to live in the house and ate the more problematic outbreaks of our food going crazy and made for a nice garbage disposal option. Shining loved her growing up, however Twilight cried whenever she was around and always got so upset. So I peaceably removed her from the domicile without causing a ruckus." It was so nice for Night to have his old friend around. "I found a nice corner of the crystal mines for her to stay inside Canterlot Mountain."
"If you call nearly completely totaling three blocks not causing a ruckus, then you were very successful in the endeavor dear." Velvet didn't mind the giant spider, it was just sad that their daughter did. The spider might have looked scary, but it was actually very friendly and enjoyed drinking tea which was a little on the odd side even for her.
"Well I know what Vinyl and Octavia are going to be up to, as they need to prepare for the wedding day. Fluttershy is going to be visiting some of her old friends in the park and all the pets she's taken care of around Canterlot to see how they are doing. So what are you going to be doing with your time Rainbow?" A change of subject was something Twilight thought they needed at the moment; she didn't want her parents to break out the projector going down memory lane again.
"I was thinking of finding the Wonder Bolts, but I don't exactly have any idea where'd they be around here." It wasn't like Rainbow had a one track mind; she just wanted to meet her idols as much as Twilight wanted to meet one of hers this day. "So does any pony want to show me around?"
"There is only one way to solve this issue quickly like adults, one two three not it!" As soon as Night had called out that he wasn't it, every pony except Vinyl and Rainbow had said they weren't it immediately. Even Fluttershy said she wasn't it in a timely manner before Twilight could.
"Okay, what exactly was that all about?" Rainbow asked wondering what was up with every pony at the table.
"I think they were deciding who would escort you around the city Prism." After musing on this a bit Vinyl smiled. She was okay with escorting Rainbow around as she knew Canterlot quite well even if she did prefer to live in Ponyville. "I guess I'll do it, I don't do much practicing with my stuff until the evening anyway."
"Why didn't any of you want to take me?" It actually kind of hurt Rainbow's feelings that they didn't want to pal around for a while. Well Twilight and Tress she could understand as she kind of stalked them a bit too much because they ended up doing a ton of awesome things. "I can give a pass to Barb, Tress and Twilight, but what of the rest of you?"
"Oh it is nothing against you, but we all have things to do today. I personally have a few appointments to keep with fabric producers and some other investments of mine. I think all the business talk would be particularly boring to some pony with your energy." Velvet could see that Rainbow accepted her explanation. Now if only Night, Octavia and Fluttershy had explanations that were just as good.
"I've been working too many all nighters and I think most of my blood has turned into coffee at this point. I needed to visit the hospital for a checkup anyway." Night actually had a plausible excuse and Rainbow disliked hospitals.
"I hope you know and trust that I like you Dashie. That said, you tend to be loud a lot of the time and I'm going to be doing quiet things with squirrels and you really don't want to frighten them." Squirming under the rainbow colored pony's gaze Fluttershy bravely continued. "They may take any of your actions against my shyness as a clear sign of aggression against me and all of the animals in Canterlot will have you blacklisted before the day is out. I would prefer to avoid that if that's alright with you. It is better that I tell them about you first and then introduce you later if you really want me too."
Fluttershy had a bizarre explanation, but it actually made a lot of sense to Rainbow. Rainbow took Fluttershy at her word that it was better that she didn't follow her around, Fluttershy would know animals better than any pony. They all turned to Octavia who was just tuning her cello and giving Rainbow a sly smile.
"My explanation is this." Octavia played a tune for twenty seconds and Rainbow fell asleep at the table with her face slamming into the strawberry and honey flavored oatmeal.
"Tress, it looks like you finally have some competition for best evil genius pony to ever visit this house." Night stated in a highly amused lighthearted tone.
They were all laughing at Rainbow who was startled awake by Tress nudging her wing. There were two strawberries in her eyes and two honey clusters in her nostrils.
"Okay, I can clearly see your point Octavia." Using her tongue to wipe at the oatmeal on her face Rainbow was doing a rather good impression of a certain hyperactive pink pony. "Just so every pony knows I'm not angry with any of you over this. Besides having a really cool friend giving an awesome one a tour sounds great to me!"
Every pony went their separate way after breakfast and Twilight was excited to be meeting and introducing herself Fleur. She couldn't understand why Barb kept looking at her flatly and Tress was acting a bit jittery.
Twilight followed Tress up to an average looking home; Fleur was definitely a pony she looked forward to meeting and talking about magical theorems and other related subjects with. Maybe she might even get a chance to play with her mane a bit, but first and foremost she was going to be trying to focus on the wedding. Maybe they could even find out who Fleur was marrying.
Tress lifted a curled hoof and knocked on the door twice, she could only hope Fleur would keep her reaction to a minimum instead of going all out. The door opened revealing a white coated unicorn as tall as Tress was. Said mare yawned tiredly and then she saw who was at her front door, her enthusiasm for her friend showed with a spike of activity in the mare who wasn't good at mornings. Tress was immediately pulled into a hug and was receiving a kiss on the cheek by the suddenly excited mare.
"You actually came, I am so happy to see you! Who's this now?" Fleur took in with her purple eyes the unicorn staring at her slightly messy two tone pink mane that hung around her shoulders and then she noticed her wandering eyes trail to her cutie mark. Fleur had a cutie mark that was an oddity, three strange symbols that were about nurturing beauty, blooming passion and seeing how things can flower into something wonderful. Fleur only knew that one day her beauty would fail her and on that day it would be nice to have some friends to tell her she was still capable of being appreciated.
"Fleur this is my best friend Twilight Sparkle and her daughter Barb, circumstances have conspired to have me introduce you two to each other." Tress stood out of Twilight's way and hoped for the best.
"Pleased to meet you Fleur, you're thesis about the nature of some forms of magic was incredible." Twilight was internally squealing as she shook Fleur's hoof. Her mane and tail were so bedraggled looking at the moment, Twilight decided to offer up some help. "Have you had a chance to freshen up this morning? If you haven't I would like to help you with your hair if you don't mind me asking, it looks like it needs a good brushing. Otherwise the magazines you appear in don't do you enough justice."
"Your friend seems nice Tress, if a little strange. This is the first time I've had a fan that likes both my looks and my brains. Your little girl looks to be such a sweetheart as well." Fleur was pleasantly delighted to meet Twilight; however a niggling at the back of her mind forced her to ask something after she was done shaking a hoof with Barb. "You wouldn't happen to be Velvet Quality's daughter would you?"
"Wait, is your mother's maiden name Quality?" Tress asked at hearing this and a slow smile starting creeping up onto her face.
"Mom, please don't tell her." Barb looked particularly aggravated as she crossed her arms and her wings reared up in an aggressive manner at what was about to come up. She wanted to go with Fluttershy today and mom shot her down after she asked.
"Sorry Barb, but yes that's my mother's maiden name. Her full name is Twilight Velvet Quality Sparkle; she prefers Velvet as a first name though and named me Twilight while striking her first name from the record." Twilight didn't know why Barb looked so upset at her telling Tress about all this. It wasn't until Tress burst out with a bark of laughter and pointed out something that the implications of the general pony naming conventions came to light.
"So your daughter's full name is Barb 'Air Quality' Sparkle? Her name is Barb A. Q. Sparkle, really? Barbecue, oh gosh that's just really, whew." Tress fell to the ground laughing with tears in her eyes as she pounded away at it with her hooves. Even Fleur was trying not to giggle into her hooves, at an adorable little magic dragon named Barbecue.
"Mom how could you!" Barb shouted indignantly throwing her claws up in the air from her position on Twilight's back. She had known about it after her grandma pointed it out and said to never to bring it up or she might incur all forms of teasing.
"I'm your mother, parents are supposed to embarrass their children even if it's by accident. Mine have just started with me and you laughed quite a bit about it missy." It wasn't malicious revenge, but it was revenge nonetheless and Twilight would later win her daughter over with ice cream as an apology. She really didn't want to spoil her daughter too much though. It was just a good thing her daughter didn't get rapid growth syndrome when she got a little greedy with the ice cream.
"Your right mom, if I can't take the heat then I probably shouldn't be thinking of making fried ice cream when we get back to grandpa and grandma's house." There was a story there; it wasn't likely that Barb would elaborate on it. Barb was a magic dragon that liked cooking in general, fried ice cream was an interesting treat she was trying to figure out how to make and she has had some at a restaurant before.
"I like your friends already Tress, come on in and make yourselves at home. I'm going to take a shower and then let your friend work with my mane. I have a feeling she'll do a really good job, especially if I'm right in the fact that she's your personal stylist." Fleur enjoyed the closeness these three had with each other and was happy to let them have full run of her home. "While my mane is being taken care of I would like to discuss a bachelorette party with you and how you can help me as a bride's mare. I'll even introduce you to my fiance monsieur Fancy Pants if we can find the time."
Twilight pranced into the house squealing happily, at least she didn't need her magic to brush and comb Fleur's mane. Her horn was still sore after yesterday and it would actually be pleasant to lay a physical hoof on that mane to make it shine.
Fleur just smiled and shook her head as she followed them inside closing the door with a flick of her horn. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 58 | Twilight and Tress wondered if Fancy Pants was truly a Canterlot noble, one would think he was like a majority of the nobles in Canterlot. Fleur was going to be marrying this stallion they were soon going to meet and they wondered how the two came to the conclusion of getting married.
Thus far they had the bachelorette party for Fleur planned out a few days before her wedding, it was going to be a very simple affair and at a fast food restaurant with very few ponies knowing about it. They had quite a good lunch while discussing it at a fancy venue that was a bit rich for them.
"Fleur I have to know, will there be any complications or ponies that wouldn't want you to marry Fancy Pants?" Twilight was not going into this situation as blindly as she would any previous situation with the thought that nothing could go wrong. She was actively expecting things to go wrong now.
"Now that you bring it up, well there is my ex who was only interested in my body and cared nothing else about me who I only dated for three days and he never let me live it down." Fleur paused and sighed at what she was about to say. "I swear that he's somehow using magic to try and get me to like him. Every time we have an argument I feel a spell trying to take me over to make me love him, I only get as far as hugging before I leave as fast as I can."
"Haven't you tried to go to some pony about this unicorn trying to force themselves on you with magic?" Tress was now instantly angry with the stallion even if she has never met him. There were certain abuses of magic she just couldn't abide by and she knew that they existed because of Twilight.
"I didn't say it was a unicorn that this happens around. It happens around this pegasus and I'm trying to avoid him at all costs. I just know he'll try to ruin my wedding if he finds out about it. I haven't seen him around lately though and I was thinking of being optimistic that I won't see him any time before or after the wedding day ever again." Fleur wouldn't put it past the pony to somehow show up at an inopportune moment to try and entice her from the most incredible gentle stallion she has ever met. They were almost at Fancy Pants house and she was feeling alright since she hasn't seen him in a week or two.
"With me around and knowing my luck, I expect we'll be seeing him in the next few minutes. Tress you have permission to slug him if some magical compulsive force is causing Fleur to like him." Twilight didn't like violent impulses, but she didn't mind her friend being violently protective.
"That works for me." There was no getting around the fact that Tress disliked any pony taking advantage of some other pony since meeting Fluttershy. She'd even punch a mare if they were taking advantage of a stallion. This meant she'd even hit Fleur if she was leading some poor stallion on.
They didn't see any signs of a pegasus on approach to Fancy's mansion. They all trotted up to the door and it was Fleur who took the initiative to knock on it with a eager look on her face.
"Huh, guess you were wrong mom." Barb just yawned and crawled into one of her mother's saddle bags and curled up in there.
"Hello how can I... well, this is awkward." The changeling gave a sheepish grin to the flat looks it was receiving from Twilight and Tress.
"Okay, just what are you doing here of all places? I thought you weren't going to try and sneak into the wedding or interfere with it." Twilight's flat tone caused the changeling to wilt slightly.
"I'm here for a completely different reason then that I swear." The changeling wasn't receiving very believing looks and there was a slight rise in hostile emotions. "I'm here to help sort out emotions between two ponies at the behest of the pony that hired me."
"What exactly are you?" One quick explanation of what changelings were to Fleur later. "So Fancy hired you to help with making sure our relationship was strong?"
"Yep that's about the size of it, I think." The changeling smiled, it didn't have to use a disguise or anything to get some food and it liked the idea of how much easier it sounded to be a symbiotic parasite. "You're feelings are a reading a little wary of my presence, but that's to be expected and I'm not going to change what I am to meet your needs. Huh, now you're radiating acceptance? Ponies are just plain weird sometimes."
"Remember that he likes that particular brand better and try to take him out for walks at least twice a week. He needs some playtime once in a while as well." Fluttershy came up to them talking to a stallion and between them was a happy looking schnauzer. She seemed to be doing what she did best, talk about animals and giving advice to others about what they needed to do to have a healthy relationship with their pets.
Twilight was looking at who she suspected to be Fancy Pants. He had a debonair quality about him with his fancily styled blue mane, a mustache on his face and white coat. In fact, if Twilight didn't know any better having a white coat was a common unicorn thing. He was wearing a blue vest underneath a tuxedo jacket, underneath that was a white collar shirt with a purple bowtie. The last thing of notice is that he had a monocle and he looked incredibly fancy wearing it. His cutie mark was three crowns.
"I'll try to remember that Ms. Shy. Fleur it is simply smashing to see you here my dear and it looks like you have brought some friends as well?" Fancy was immediately upon Fleur within seconds of seeing her, he tenderly lifted one of her hooves and kissed it. Fleur blushed immediately at his sudden smile and the immediate treatment.
"Whoa... heady... there's so much love flowing between them I'm getting pretty high off of this." The changeling started to sway slightly before falling onto its side. It slowly rolled onto its back and its tongue hung out of its mouth as its legs waved lazily at air. "Dude, this feels awesome, why did we ever start stealing love previously again?"
"No wonder changelings like love so much if that's their reaction to a huge mass of it. I should ask it when it's in the right state of mind later if they've ever fed off of nomadic hippie ponies before. Free love and all that you know." Twilight commented, clearly fascinated by the reaction to Fleur nuzzling Fancy Pants neck and him doing the same for her.
"I'm more shocked to see him not treating Fluttershy like a one hundredth class citizen. Just to remind every pony here, such a class doesn't exist. It might as well with the way I've seen nobles treating other ponies here in Canterlot." It was something that earned points in Tress's book, being nice to Fluttershy went a long way to earning a high opinion from her. Especially the fact that he didn't even sneer or scoff in her direction added to the positive outlook Tress was having about this stallion.
"Oh, Mr. Pants wouldn't treat me like that at all; he took me in for a whole winter when I was still living in Canterlot as a vagrant. He said it was payment for helping his schnauzer get all better, it was a little much given all the food and the room he gave me for something that was a small issue. He also doesn't mind that I'm gay and he's really been quite nice about it." Fluttershy was a good seal of approval to have when it came to judging the character of other ponies. "He's nothing like Blueblood at all Tress."
"Madam Ravel, I believe I've seen you working with the ever lovely Fleur here once upon a time. You are quite the beautiful young mare and if I didn't have Fleur to dote on I would be trying to court you immediately." Fancy was respectful of Tress's personal space and even bowed to her. "Besides, I rather lead by a better example than what that the boorish brute Blueblood sets. I will play nice with him, but any stallion that would dare demolish a playground for foals just to put a statue of himself in its place will barely get the barest of my best verbiage. He's not someone I recommend spending especially too much time around."
"Well you're certainly charming on a number of levels, but you're barking up the wrong tree pal if you think I'd go for you." Even as Tress said this she had to watch as Fleur draped herself over Fancy in a loving manner while smiling a tiny smile in her direction. Tress looked around vaguely wondering if her cat would show up and just shrugged when it didn't. She glared Fancy in his blue eyes. "If you ever hurt Fleur I doubt an army of bodyguards or even the celestial guard would be able to stop me from reaching you."
"My you've got quite the fire in you! It's why I love Fleur so dearly and makes me see why she's always talking about you. You're one of the few friends she has you know and I'm glad to see that you genuinely care about her even if it's not in the same manner I would myself. It's that fire for life that draws me to her, not her looks and I find things are never boring when she's around." Fancy Pants looked like a joyful friendly stallion and appeared to be a great conversationalist. He was laughing off Tress's threat as if it were nothing, which would have been his reaction even if he wasn't taking it seriously.
"Oh trust me, I would like to know the feeling of boring. Being around Twilight is like standing at the epicenter of magical mishap just waiting to happen. I get enough excitement every week doing seemingly boring tasks for other ponies without her weirdness magnet going off all the time." Tress knew Twilight wouldn't say anything about it even if it hurt her feelings, it was no less the truth of the matter.
"Of course, I say to each their own as life is too short to spend all your time hating others for who they are or the situations they'll get you into." Fancy Pants was enjoying this conversation, Fleur had some good friends. Speaking of which, he decided to bring up something about Fleur as a compliment. "My dear did you recently have someone do your mane and tail, they look marvelous."
"Thank you for noticing; Twilight Sparkle there is a mane care enthusiast and she does good work. She's Tress's best friend and I feel a bit jealous of that, but not too jealous as I have my best friend right here." Fleur wrapped her hooves around Fancy and he blushed heavily and coughed into one of his hooves.
"Fleur please, there's a proper time and place for things like that." Fancy was feeling pretty hot under the collar now and shifting under the beautiful mare who was slightly goosing him, but he did love the feeling of her hooves ever so much as they trail down his back legs. "It wouldn't be proper, not in front of these nice ponies and especially not before we are wed."
"Now there's a stallion with a good sense of honor, your definitely a friend of ours now and with all the chaos that that will entail. I'm just going to apologize in advance for what's going to happen at the wedding since we're going to be there and all." Tress started snickering about whatever weird thing she could come up with that was going to crash the wedding. In fact she was beginning to think of apocalyptic scenarios that were downright hilarious, several fifty foot tall mares chasing after a tiny bouquet thrown by Fleur just to name one.
"Like Tress said we apologize for any inconvenience that may happen while we're around, trust me it's not something you should take too lightly." Twilight agreed that something was going to happen to cause a mess, it wasn't just a feeling either.
"Poppycock, I'd enjoy and even welcome the coming excitement and surprises that could spring up. Now what's that in your saddlebag miss Sparkle?" Fancy noticed Barb in Twilight's bag as the dragon squirmed around a bit; they were all enjoying each other's company quite fine thus far.
Off to the side Fluttershy sighed wistfully and smiled at friends meeting new friends and forming bonds. Fleur and Fancy were warming her heart up to excessive levels, causing it to beat excitedly as it was so nice to see other ponies being happy together. After a moment she noticed the schnauzer chewing on the changeling.
"Now stop that, it didn't do anything to you so leave it alone please." The schnauzer listened to Fluttershy and wagged its tail as it went to her for some attention; the black bug creature wasn't hurting anything so the dog didn't really need to rough it up anyway. "Now if you behave I'll see about finding you a nice dog bone to gnaw on instead. Wouldn't you like that much better?"
Fluttershy walked off with the dog who was barking happily at her. They left the dazed looking changeling lying on the floor. After a moment the changeling let out a long excessively loud belching noise, causing all the conversing ponies to turn to it for a moment before they went back to their conversation. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 59 | The bachelorette party was going pretty well. Most likely because Rainbow and Vinyl hadn't been seen for two days and were probably lost or something. Twilight knew they could take care of themselves and would turn up eventually. A fast food restaurant that Fleur frequented was being used for the party and it was a very low key affair that might have Pinkie Pie calling it anything but a party. The pink pony would have made a highly explosive affair of it that would have been visible to all ponies without a thought about what Fleur would have wanted.
Twilight just bit into and savored the hay stuffer sandwich leaving some ketchup covering her lips slightly. She just scraped the globs of tasty condiment off her face with her magic and shoved it back into the sandwich. Her preferred method for eating a hay fries stuffed sandwich was to never waste a single part of the sandwich.
"Why am I here for this again?" The changeling thought it odd that it was taking part in a female only party, when it wasn't entirely female. It had tried and failed to get away from the euphoric feeling of being around the two love birds when they were near each other.
"Well you're at least half female right? Just live with it." The blunt way Tress said it made it nonnegotiable. It was that way since the changeling was already here and it would have been rude for it to leave.
"I'm also half male; doesn't that mean I should be joining Fancy in his bachelor party as well?" The changeling had to wonder if it was being held at the same time as this one was.
"We obviously don't care... do you even have a name? I just realized you've been around for the last three days and not once has any pony ever called you anything other than the changeling, hey you, 'it' and the incredible living maul me sign." Octavia quirked a brow at Tress at that last one, said pony just shrugged at the musicians' scrutiny.
"Yes well, that last one is something that I wish would stop happening to me." The changeling had been mauled on the way to the fast food restaurant; at least Fluttershy was willing to aid it in a time of distress while the others just stood by gawking at its predicament. One could only wonder how a panther ended up in the streets of Canterlot; the changeling thought it saw a purple and blue ahuizotl for a few seconds after it's uncalled for out of nowhere mauling. The changeling was lucky Fluttershy always carried a medical kit on hoof for such emergencies.
Twilight was thoroughly amused by the banter, she was a bit freaked out that she saw the familiar creature from the Daring Do books. Other than one of its many cats mauling the poor changeling, the ahuizotl didn't seem to even attempt or want to involve itself in her life as another obstacle in the road despite the very opportunity to do so. This was something Twilight was rather thankful for.
On a sheet of paper Twilight had several ideas of how the wedding could go wrong and was writing them down and putting details to them about problems she was trying to divine by just thinking backwards.
First up was the evil ex colt friend scenario, this was something she was going to be looking out for the most as the stallion was definitely of the unscrupulous sort.
Twilight had discerned from Fleur that the pegasus only came and got into an argument at odd times with her, sometimes with no other unicorn around and the interesting thing about it all is that Fleur remembered princess Cadence being around for every incident. The princess of love was a pony that Twilight remembered and noted as the alicorn foal sitter that lived down the street from her parents when she was younger. The stallion was definitely bad news if he was trying to manipulate the princess of love into forcing Fleur to love him by starting up arguments with Fleur when the princess was around. The love princess had been known to have the habit of using impulsion spells on two ponies she might view vaguely as couples without a second thought; it was just surprising she hadn't forced a brother and sister to commit forced incest yet with all the horror stories and rumors surrounding her.
Twilight thought Princess Cadence really should think before she just casts her impulsion spells without thinking about it first, if that is indeed what was happening every single time Fleur met her ex colt friend. Fleur is truly lucky she's really good at shrugging off impulsion spells, there's a reason those spells aren't shared with just any pony but the most trustworthy of those who wouldn't abuse them. Cadence's special talent might be related to such spells, but it sounded like she didn't use them in a completely chaste manner or understood the complete ethical and moral issues of doing so.
Second, on some off chance that her hunch is right the minotaurs are going to stage a jailbreak on the day of the wedding as their injuries have most likely healed by this point. To compound the issue, her mom wouldn't be able to fly her pet Roc in the city without having to pay for all the collateral damage that it might cause, not to mention incidental deaths. It wasn't as much of a problem or issue in the open space of the mountain range the train tracks went over.
Minotaurs were tough creatures to keep down; chances are the celestial guards thought they'd be safe to be put in normal cells in a labyrinth style dungeon for holding and questioning purposes. That said they'd probably punch their way out through the walls or at least some of the stronger ones would.
It would be just her luck for something like this to occur, not only that but they'd actively seek her out for revenge and they'd somehow arrive at the wedding at a really inopportune moment. It wasn't as likely to happen, it's not like the celestial guard were so incompetent as to stick a minotaur behind something easily breakable as a wooden door or bendable like cheap metal bars.
Third, even only seeing an ahuizotl for a second had her wary. If it were anything like the ahuizotl from the Daring Do novel, it would probably be going after one of the wedding presents for Fleur and Fancy. Said present would turn out to be some kind of ancient magical Saddle Arabian staff that summons a oracle that answers only one question the holder has with perfect clarity or something, because why not complicate things in her life further?
Fourth, there were unknown complications that a pony just couldn't account for. Who knows what could happen? Twilight Sparkle's life was never simple, easy or normal. Chances are something she couldn't account for would happen. She put down, fifty foot giant banana monster being the least likely thing to appear from what she could think of off the top of her head.
Fifth and lastly, some sort of minor apocalypse setting off for only one part of the city that would require Cerberus to leave the gates of Tartarus to retrieve some minor demons. Twilight seriously hoped something like that couldn't be blamed on her or even become a problem.
"Hey Twilight what's that your writing there?" Tress finally took an interest in the small list Twilight was making.
"It's just a list of things that aren't very likely to happen if at all, but are bound to around me anyway. What if all of them were to happen at the same time? It's so infinitesimal a chance that that's the likeliest thing to occur." Twilight passed the list to Tress and she read it over.
"Yeah, I seriously don't want fight some minor demons and a giant banana. That would be a little too weird, even for us Twilight and we're sitting at a table having lunch with a recently mauled by a panther changeling at a bachelorette party." It was not impossible to Tress though, she didn't say it was impossible and as long as she didn't say it out loud it should never come to pass.
"Can you two not discuss Trouble Takers business at the table and think of something a little more pleasant please? Life is not always out to get you two. Fleur is the one that has to be worrying about her ex boyfriend out to get her." Octavia figured they were focusing too much on the trouble centering on them when it was not always the case. "You're kind of being self centered, just so you know the world does not revolve around whatever you two end up doing."
"You're right Octavia, but I'm still wary after the attack on the cafe and then the train thing. Some pony could have been permanently injured or worse." Twilight really felt guilty as she had a part in the creation of said thing that had attacked the cafe.
"It's not like the cafe was your fault, who knows where that thing actually came from! Also it's not like you could have predicted an army of minotaurs attacking a passenger train all of the sudden." It took a moment but Octavia noticed Fluttershy, Tress and Twilight were all looking away from her at the mention of the cafe. They obviously knew where it came from, possibly what it was and why it had assaulted the cafe in the first place. Octavia believed they were good ponies though, Twilight did say she took care of it after rescuing Tress. "Okay, I'm not going to ask then. You're my friends and if you want me to drop the thing about the cafe attack, I will."
"Please do." Twilight murmured sadly while Fluttershy wrapped a hoof around her and gave her a hug. "I feel guilty enough just knowing how that creature came to be in the first place. In fact I'll change the subject, so are you truly okay with eating here? I know you have rather specific aspirations and a taste for upper class mannerisms."
"Some of them have no sense of taste at all. The first noble to tell me onion rings are a lower class food are wrong and will feel my wrath verbally. If they continue to persist that it's commoner food, they won't be persisting much longer without any teeth." Even Octavia got a run in with a bad noble or two and figured that she didn't care for some of the things they touted on her own.
"I too have a passion for some of the simpler things Octavia, like fried carrot dogs and mustard. The crunch of the carrot and tang from the mustard on my tongue is ever so pleasant. You know, I truly hope we can enjoy moments like this again after I'm married." Fleur wasn't afraid of getting married to Fancy and she was pretty sure he was ready for this too. They'd discuss having foals at a later date after they were wed.
"You're kidding right? Any of us will want to do this again. Daisy hay fry stuffers with lots of ketchup or just a plain fried daisy sandwich if we're talking about fun unhealthy fried obsessions." Twilight might have been slightly messy eater, but she knew what she loved.
"Hay fries in general for me." Tress just liked good hay fries in the fried foods department.
"I like fried pickles." Fluttershy shared hesitantly and smiled shyly while keeping more than half her face behind her pink mane.
"I tend to favor the crisp taste of confidence in the morning personally." All the ponies stared at the changeling. "Hey, you are the ones that dragged me here! So I may as well offer some input too once in a while."
"So does everyone know what they are going to be doing at the wedding except for the changeling who's apparently not going?" Fleur was only asking now as she was pretty sure they had gone over everything her friends would be doing.
"Yes." All the ponies answered back.
"Splendid, I hope to have a long engaging happy life. For better or worse I hope I can do right by Fancy as much as he does so by me." Fleur smiled brightly and toasted to her future with a wonderful charming stallion she'd spend eternity with if she could.
"Fleur, I'm honored to even be a part of your wedding and your friend. I'm also exceedingly happy to be your hairdresser for it too." If Twilight got to play with her mane some more then things couldn't be all that bad. She giggled to herself merrily at the thought.
"It all sounds so romantic Fleur, I wish I can find a mare that will sweep my off my hooves like Fancy does for you. How did he propose to you?" Fluttershy noticed her question caused quite a stir at the table; they were all now staring at Fleur as no pony had bothered to even ask that before.
"Well..." Fleur smirked and her eyes trailed to each pony leaning in closely and even the token changeling at the table was intrigued to hear this news. "I'm the one that asked him to marry me; we were at an art gallery at the time and I popped the question to him eloquently enough with a specially made painting. He said yes and I'm the happiest mare in the world for it, he was surprised that I would be so bold. It was our fifty seventh date too, he's just that intoxicating to me."
"How did you two end up meeting in the first place?" Twilight was interested in how Fleur came to the marriage conclusion first. After fifty or more dates of dancing around each other emotionally, it must have been comedic to watch the two interacting and not scream about why they weren't married already.
"Here in this very fast food restaurant ironically enough, I'm not the only famous pony in Canterlot that doesn't stick to the status quo. I don't care about saving face if I'm caught, but until then I'm going to keep enjoying the mystery about me when I go off the celebrity grid for a few hours. Anymore questions?" Fleur was soon being pressed for all sorts of memorable moments from her dates; she was happy to share them with all of her friends and might even lend some advice from experience to them if they asked for it. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 60 | It was the day of the wedding and everything seemed to be going well. Barb and several other fillies were in flower girl dresses. Twilight was sitting the crowd taking notice of the clear weather, she made absolutely sure no changelings were involved and that meant checking every pony here. There were no changelings, so at least the changeling held up its end of the deal. As for Tress she was currently with Fleur. Vinyl and Rainbow were sitting with Twilight in the crowd. Rainbow was wearing a dress and Vinyl was wearing a suit.
"Hey, how come I had to get stuffed into a dress and she didn't?" Rainbow was whinnying about Vinyl wearing a tux. She also wished she could muss up her mane after Twilight made it all girly looking, though she didn't mind when Twilight was brushing her mane previously.
"Because she actually looks handsome in it and she can actually pull off a stallion's voice so ponies wouldn't question her on it." Twilight commented to her while pondering how Vinyl got so good at sounding like a stallion. "Besides getting the dress off should be easier for you, we're going to need you to help us catch Fleur's ex if he causes any trouble or makes an appearance to interrupt the wedding."
"Yeah and I really do make this tux look good." Comically enough Vinyl pulled off the perfect voice to make her sound like a stallion and despite her rather slim appearance; she thought she pulled it off perfectly. Her mane was in its same spiked style it usually was and it stood out amongst the ponies who had had there's styled eloquently for this day. Twilight hadn't managed to talk her into getting her mane styled like Fleur had with Rainbow.
"I think you look really pretty in dress anyway Dashie." Fluttershy came walking up to them to take her own seat; her mane was braided and slightly curled. Rainbow calmed down knowing that Fluttershy could smell when a pony was upset and she would have gone rabid on her with a massage if she kept acting up.
Octavia was with a small band holding up her instrument waiting for the signal to start playing her cello, two stallions and another mare made up an elegant string instrument quartet. She really thought Vinyl had to be the odd one at the wedding given it was very easy to spot her in the crowd, things were about to get started so she had to focus on her music.
"Are you sure you're ready for this Fleur, it's a pretty big commitment." Tress was getting the final touches underway with Fleur before she led her down the aisle to matrimony.
"Ah yes, I feel so alive today and quite giddy. I can't wait to say yes and then kiss my stallion at the altar. Are you sure you're ready for this Tress, is being a bride's mare troubling you that much?" Fleur just shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry, just don't say anything and we'll be at the altar before you know it. I'm so glad you're here for me today and that you're willing to do this for me."
"Yeah, I'd do just about anything for my friends. We'll see whether or not things are going to go correctly... " Tress narrowed her eyes at the sky and the dark cloud that wasn't there a minute ago.
Fancy's family wasn't entirely full of nobles and quite a surprising number of them were completely fine with this wedding. Fleur had a family full of average ponies that were happy that their cousin found a keeper. Every pony here was just here for these two, they were all talking to each other in excitement for how this would all go down.
Soon the ceremony was started, Octavia started to play the wedding march with the rest of her quartet. The bride marched down the aisle with a veil covering her face and it appeared that Tress was keeping her face hidden; Fancy was waiting at the end of the isle at the altar with his best stallion. This outdoor wedding was looking good so far.
"Rainbow, be ready. I see him." Twilight knew that a dark cloud was not something you'd see in a clear sky.
"Huh where is he? Yeah I think I see it, give me a signal and I'll circle around to take him down." Rainbow noticed Twilight discreetly pointing above them to the dark cloud.
The priest started his spiel about why they all had gathered there today, the usual things one would expect at a slightly fancy wedding where there was a reception waiting for the two special ponies of the day to enjoy.
"Can any pony think of a reason these two ponies should not be wed? If not, then hold your voices and let these two ponies speak their vows." This is when the villain always made an entrance or some pony that was more truly in love or some such shtick like that. The priest was told ahead of time about the problems that may occur during the wedding and he was bravely waiting for it to happen and it did in a spectacular manner.
"Yeah, I got something to say. If I can't have her no one can!" A blonde haired pegasus stallion with a dark teal coat immediately kicked the dark cloud and bright bolt of lightning struck the pony in the brides dress with perfect accuracy.
There was a dark spot marring the wedding dress and the pony was lying on her side.
"No, Fleur my love! Shock Hazard you cad! How dare you interrupt our wedding?" Fancy was angry however the bride slowly stood up and stumbled towards Fancy Pants.
"I dare because... how is she still capable of standing? No matter I still have enough for one more bolt." The now named Shock Hazard bucked a second lightning bolt and it struck the pony again in the heart, this time the bride didn't fall over. "What in the world is going on? You should be dead!"
After a moment a dark chuckle erupted from the bride, it turned into a dark demented laugh.
"Hey Rainbow, send him here!" Tress reached up and pulled away the veil of the brides' dress she was wearing and ripped off the fake metal unicorn horn she had on her head. The lightning had felt really good and only the force of it hitting her had knocked her down and she was prepared for the second one. That really charged her up to halfway and she was feeling positively alive, they had this all planned out.
The stallion looked confused and turned around to get blown off the cloud by a solid blue hoof ramming straight into his face sending him toppling off what was left of the cloud and rolling along the floor. He came to a stop in front of Tress who marched down the stairs from the altar and reared back and stomped down on Shock Hazards head knocking him clean out.
"Okay, that takes care of that..." Tress turned around then thought better of it and turned around to punch him one extra time to bloody his nose. "Everything clear Rainbow?"
"Yeah, no sign of demons, giant banana's or even a single minotaur in sight. You're good to go Fleur!" Rainbow flew down to go struggle back into her dress, who said weddings had to be boring as that was awesome.
"Okay, let's continue this thing then! You were at your vows I believe?" Tress walked back into position and took the ring bearing pillow from the fake Tress.
"Oh thank goodness!" The fake Tress reached up and wiped off the pink makeup dust covering her white coat and removed her hood to reveal a fancily styled two tone pink colored braid and bun combo. It was Fleur, who walked up to stand next to Fancy. After a moment Twilight quickly trotted up and cast a bit of magic and Fleur's horn appeared on her forehead where it rightfully belonged. "Sorry for scaring you like that my love, Tress was just being a good friend by taking my place temporarily and Twilight told me she has been trying to get into illusion magic recently. I vow to try and be by this stallion's side in sickness or health for the rest of my life. Until we meet again in death, because screw loving any pony else if I die. I'm not letting any other pony have me in the afterlife."
"Fleur my dear, I fear that you might soon have a penchant for giving me heart attacks. I too vow to try and be by her side to share my life with this wonderful mare in sickness or health for the rest of my life. I agree to the same thing if I die, you're the only spirit I'm going to look at in that way and I bet you'll always be as beautiful as you are now." One could almost feel the hearts flowing off of Fancy and Fleur, as the stallion waggled his brow at his beloved.
"Do you take this stallion and do you take this mare in holy matrimony?" The priest continued without pause.
"You better believe I will after that." Fleur stated clearly and concisely.
"I'm not here for any pony else but this really beautiful enchanting lady." Fancy said smarmily.
"By the powers invested in me, you may now ring your mate and kiss each other as husband and wife." The priest chuckled despite himself; the stallion trying to ruin a perfectly happy couple certainly deserved that bloody nose.
Fleur levitated a ring onto Fancy's horn and he did the same for her, taking each other's hooves they closed the gap and kissed. The crowd of ponies cheered throwing confetti into the air, within a few seconds Fleur deepened the kiss and had Fancy on his back in seconds.
"Hey, you two get a room! Or else you're going to scar us young ones for life!" Barb got a good chuckle from the audience as the pair stood up blushing vibrantly.
"She's right my dear, it's time we all adjourned to the reception hall for food and drink!" Fancy smiled and started trotting back down the aisle with Fleur holding his hoof.
Eventually some Celestial guards arrived and took Shock Hazard into custody. The reception went quite well with Vinyl keeping the musical beats pretty loud. Twilight might have been a little high strung the entire time waiting for something worse to happen, but nothing ever came and she eventually relaxed once Fluttershy got a hold of her.
"There there, nothing bad is going to happen to us Twilight. How about some punch? You haven't even had a slice of cake yet either." Fluttershy noticed a lot of mares gathering around Fleur and she was holding a bouquet, maybe someday she'd be able to throw one of her own at a bunch of crazy single mares or stallions.
"Yeah, stop being uptight Radiance. Only one of the things on your list truly happened and you should be glad that's all that did." Tress and Fluttershy started dragging Twilight off for some refreshments. Tress stopped a moment to look back while giggling at the mares fighting over the bouquet Fleur just threw over her shoulder idly without a single care in the world. Fleur was last seen leading Fancy away from the reception hall.
In all things had gone pretty well, Twilight didn't know where her calculations could have went wrong until she and all her friends were making their way home. Twilight turned a corner on the way to her parents' house and just froze at what she was seeing, her ears dropped.
"Sparky why'd you...whoa." At this moment Vinyl couldn't do anything to stop her jaw from dropping.
"Okay what's going... on? Wow." Octavia just stood there with them staring and then Fluttershy and Tress turn the corner to see what was so incredible.
"You have got to be bucking kidding me." Even Tress tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"Tress I would kindly ask you to watch your language please as there is a minor around, even if it is a bit strange." Fluttershy knew saying this was strange was an understatement of the century.
"Mom, am I seeing things or..." Barb started off.
The Cerberus quickly caught the last minor demon in its mouth and charged out of the city and leapt off the side of Canterlot. There was a giant fifty foot empty banana peel covering the streets with the words 'Celestia was here' written on it. There was a bunch of battered and bloodied minotaurs littering the streets around the banana peel and a gaggle of celestial guards were currently detaining some badly injured large cats and the ahuizotl from earlier. One pony in particular was covered in blood and looked horribly battered, bruised and wounded on the ground breathing heavily.
"We need a medic over here! With all that you have done today Shining Armor Sparkle, I'll make sure you get a promotion even if I have to yell Celestia into the ground!" One of the guards proudly said to a pony very familiar to Twilight.
Fluttershy immediately went over to the guards trying to detain the cats to assist them; Tress sighed and followed to make sure none of them hurt her shy friend. Vinyl, Rainbow, Barb and Octavia just stood by Twilight.
"Sparky, let me be clear with you on this. Why in the hay didn't you write down that all of your friends suddenly receive a thousand bits? Without anything bad happening to us when did get said bits." Throwing her hooves up in the air Vinyl thought she could abuse her friends on paper prophetic powers.
"Well obviously Twilight's a pessimist Vinyl, she doesn't think of all the good things that can happen in life considering all the random stuff she has to deal with on a daily basis." Octavia's comment got to Twilight's brain.
"Oh darn, of course I forgot something in my calculations! Only my family, ugh and all that worrying over nothing! Come on; let's go check on my big brother and see how he's doing." Twilight face hoofed for forgetting to account for her family. At least her worries were completely put to rest, even if all the things she wrote on the list actually happened to her brother Shiny. They most likely hadn't heard the ruckus because of Vinyl's relatively loud music. Even now she still had to have a good long chat with Princess Cadence before she left Canterlot and she didn't know how to contact her.
Shining Armor Sparkle has just had a really, REALLY, really bad day. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 61 | "Quick question, did anyone ask you about why I survived the lightning strikes?" It was something that Tress thought would be mentioned or at least brought up by the other ponies at the wedding. They were currently on their way to the hospital; Canterlot had some of the best medical care in the world minus Fluttershy of course.
"A few did, I told them the dress you were wearing had some enchantments on it that wore out on the second bolt and then I was asked what would have happened if it was hit a third time. I told them you might have gotten hurt slightly, but the pegasus expended almost all the energy on the first two shots so the next one would have done any permanent damage." Twilight hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Shining before he got carted off by the other guards for the hospital. Apparently the medic wasn't enough to fix all of her brother's wounds, but he didn't look too bad off, then again Twilight has seen him in worse states so she wasn't a good judge of injury for him specifically. She'd be able to diagnose the injuries of any other pony except her brother perfectly fine.
"I would like to say thank you for the plausible deniability." Tress said as her mane became fully green and waved around a bit before returning to its light blue color. "My powers are a little more than halfway back thanks to the easily taken down guy."
"So Fluttershy said she'd catch up with us?" Twilight took note that it was getting pretty late in the evening and the sun had yet to set. The rest of their friends had just gone home to sleep off all the food they had at the wedding and most likely to avoid any more randomness from following Twilight around. After Fluttershy was done with the animals she'd come to the hospital to see how Shining was doing.
"Yep, she'll be escorted to the hospital by a bunch of... yeah I should have probably stayed with her. That is unless she was chatting up the female guards, then she'll be perfectly fine." Shrugging Tress just continued onward and opened the door to the hospital. Shining probably got here thirty or so minutes ago that it took them to walk all the way here, while he got the flying chariot express.
"Can I help you?" The receptionist said, looking up from the papers she was shuffling through.
"Yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle; can you tell me what room Shining Armor Sparkle is in? He's my brother." Patiently waiting for the receptionist to finish with her stuff, Twilight turned to Tress. "This might take a while."
"Funny I thought you would be here to visit your father Nightlight Sparkle, a little bit of his blood was somehow converting itself into coffee which is a strange phenomenon. At least we took care of the problem and he's only here to make sure his blood isn't still doing that." The receptionist flipped through several papers. "Ah here we go, fifty three minutes ago. Multiple injuries, only one appears to be serious. He apparently has a minotaur's horn stuck in his rear end and needs to have it surgically removed. Otherwise he'll make a full recovery within a week. He should be in room thirty seven B second floor."
Tress was already snickering about it as they set off towards the room Shining was in, they hadn't been able to see too much of Shining other than all the blood he was soaked in. Those minotaurs sure could certainly bleed everywhere without dying from claw wounds, it was more impressive when the changeling survived being mauled by a panther since it didn't have anywhere near as much bulk.
"I swear my brother is going to be the butt of every joke about being horny for quite a while." It needed to be said and Twilight had to say it to get the puns out of her system. She also didn't need Tress to break down laughing in front of her brother like she currently was after all the heroic things he did.
Apparently Shining managed to evacuate the area, while using barrier spells to contain the threat to the given area. The minotaurs and the big cats with the ahuizotl were mostly taking each other out and the minor demons came in later, said demons were the cause of the giant banana monster. Eventually Cerberus arrived to put the demons back where they belonged and helped fight the other two problems at the same time. Celestia dealt with the banana monster personally, but no pony around really saw what she exactly did to it and the banana peel was the only clue.
Opening the door to the room Twilight walked in and looked for the bed Shining would be in, she found him laying on his belly with almost fully broken off minotaur's horn coming out of his butt and it was only about a few inches in. The doctor was writing something down on a clipboard and turned to the two mares that just entered.
"Yes, can I help you?" The doctor continued to check Shining over despite their presence, he was a pretty good doctor to not get distracted so easily.
"I just came to see what kind of state my brother was in. He looks to be doing better than the flying disc incident or that time with the boomerang." Chuckling about those two incidents, Twilight always thought Shining got injured worse in accidents then actually fighting anything. Her big brother was a bit of a klutz at times.
"He's surprisingly well off, all the large felines seem to have gotten the worst of it and the minotaurs didn't fare that much better. I heard a specialist was taking care of the large cats and the minotaurs that broke out of prison are still alive if only in bad conditions." The doctor finished scribbling stuff down and then looked at Shining. "Do you want me to wake him up? He's not in a critical condition and just needs some stitches after we get that horn pulled out of his rear, otherwise we have as many bandages on him as we're going to get."
"Yes, please." Twilight watched as the doctor just lightly shook Shining awake and she face hoofed, even she could have done that.
"Wake up, you have some visitors. Now don't touch the horn in his rear end, we'll take care of that soon enough and then he'll need a weeks' worth of rest." The doctor exited the room leaving the two mares with Twilight's older brother.
"Hey, how are you feeling best big brother friend forever?" Twilight started off cheerfully enough.
"Like a truck ran me over and there's this itching feeling in my flank." Shining sounded woozy; he was probably on a lot of medication to ignore the slight painful pinch of having a horn in his butt. "Is that you mommy?"
"No Shiny it's not mom." Rolling her eye Twilight waited for Shining to come to his senses.
"Are you that pretty alicorn girl that foal sits from down the street?" Shining guessed still muddled in the head.
"If even half the rumors about her are true I should hope not. Would you put me down if I start abusing my magic like that Tress?" If anything Twilight hoped Tress would stop her from becoming her own worst enemy.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't have the heart to kill you. Holding you down and smacking some sense back into you is about the best I can do." Tress just shook her head; she didn't believe Twilight had the stomach or the heart to go evil. She herself however did have the heart for it and it didn't bother her if she was using her evil ideas for good purposes. She could become a byronic hero if she tried hard enough.
"Leggy, did you come to cocoon me and gently rock me to sleep like you used to do? I miss the good old days when you foal sat for my parents." Shining said while smiling goofily.
"Okay, you're not even really trying anymore are you Shiny? Also I did not need to know that the spider that dad keeps in the basement was once your foal sitter." Now Twilight was disturbed on a number of levels by the huge spider.
"How bad do I look Twily, Is it the javelin incident all over again?" Shining didn't look to poor off as his heart rate was good and strong and most of his wounds were patched except the one in his flank.
"Not even close to that one, though you do have minotaur's horn sticking out of your butt." It was hard not to stare at. "The guards I asked said your barrier spell took the brunt of the impact and it broke off while getting stuck in you."
"So my injuries are closer to the soccer ball incident then, well that's a relief. I thought it might have been as bad as the baseball incident, specifically the third one." Shining smiled, he was enjoying every minute of the medication he was on while he can as he lazily looked back at the horn sticking out of his butt. "I doubt I'm ever going to hear the END of the jokes for this one from my friends in the guard."
"I swear it's like you two are speaking in code, your family and their noodle incidents. Well if you want to go on about how horny you..." Before Tress could get started Shining glared hard at her.
"Please don't Tress, it's bad enough I have to go into surgery soon to have it removed. Every pony is going to make cracks at me about getting rear ended." Shining thought it was no less than true that they would think of many ways to reference it or the scar it would leave mentally and physically.
"Well I'm going to go visit dad while I'm here as well, he's apparently having coffee blood problems. I'll be back soon." Twilight didn't even know how that one was feasibly possible with any other pony but the ones in her family.
"Thanks for stopping by to see me little sis, tell dad I said hello and that I'm doing much worse than he is at the moment so therefore I'm winning." Shining just knew most ponies wouldn't understand why being in a worse condition would be winning, he saw her nod before she started for the door.
Twilight was about to exit the room when she came face to face with the very alicorn she wanted to have a chat with. She and Tress immediately halted in front of Cadence who also stopped to look at the two ponies before her.
"Um, is this the room Shining Armor is in? Also is he awake, I have news of the promotion this brave guard here is supposed to receive." Cadence didn't like the looks she was receiving from the two mares; one even looked like she could be related to the guard in question judging by her cutie mark. The other pony looked like she could have been Shining Armor's girlfriend. She thought Celestia told her he was single, oh well. Why was it always the cute ones that were taken?
Twilight thought Cadence had a nice pink coat and the ponytail she had her rose, violet and gold colored mane in was downright cute. Despite how beautiful Cadences hair might have looked and how much she wanted to play with it, Twilight was going to have her talk and she was going to have it now. If it turns out Cadence is flagrant with the use of her compulsion spells, then Twilight might have to do or say something to teach her not to use them so often.
"Excuse me, but can we talk in the hallway princess. Tress, please wait here with my brother." Soon Twilight led the curious Cadence out into the hallway.
Tress shrugged, if Twilight wanted to face this issue alone it was up to her. She returned to Shining Armor.
"So, are you keeping that horn after they pull it out? I know you could always use a spare with all the accidents you keep getting into. I'm surprised you're not worse off then you look." Chuckling, Tress got a slightly disapproving grunt from Shining.
"I don't know, but the horns aplenty to think about. Maybe I can play a few notes on it before deciding whether or not to keep it." Shining decided to be in good humor and get some of it out before Tress did. He didn't exactly hate his sisters' best friend, but it was still weird she came from a comic book of all places.
"Well at least you can always tell some mare you've got three horns, that'll be an interesting conversation starter I bet." That got Tress a chuckle from Shining.
"Please don't make me laugh, it kind of hurts." Whined Shining from his position on the bed.
"Aw, but I had a good one about a horn job." Now Tress really got Shining laughing and crying in a pained manner.
"Oh please stop, I can't take much more without some more pain medication." Shining the stallion with a sparkle covered shield as a cutie mark, white coat and electric blue mane was slowly beginning to realize the pain he was in. The dose they had previously given him was probably way to light.
"So what, I can't 'poke' more fun at you about it?" Giggling Tress got another burst of laughter from him. "Haven't you ever heard that the best medicine is to laugh it off Shining? Well that's at least what Pinkie says."
"Come on Tress, this is seriously making me self conscious now even if it is funny." Even with tears in his eyes that he calls liquid pride, Shining knew he was going to be hearing a lot of these later.
"Suck it up hero boy, some pony has to desensitize you to it now before it gets worse." It was all in good harmless fun to Tress, she idly wondered how sharply Twilight was going to dig into Cadence. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 62 | Inhaling, Twilight knew she was going into this for the long haul with every ounce of ranting she could force out of her mind for just the cold hard facts before she started. Cadence wasn't a very old princess and didn't run her own kingdom, but she was to take charge in case something happened to Celestia. As such Twilight very much doubted Cadence was a take charge kind of pony or even understood that there were consequences to her own actions.
"Look I don't like you very much. I'm going to ask you a few questions so you'll know why I don't like you by the end of what I have to show you." Twilight immediately had the alicorn perplexed and there was a slight hurt look on her face. "Okay, quick question do you bother to get involved in a situation or do you just cast a compulsion spell and leave it up to the magic to deal with the problem?"
"The second one, the compulsion spells are pretty safe to use and shouldn't cause to many troubles. It's just a quick fix to friends and lovers if they get into a quarrel." Cadence had no idea what she just walked into, but she was receiving one of the harshest glares she could ever remember getting in all of her life.
"And that is exactly why I don't like you, do you even think before you cast magic that is restricted for a reason? Do you even know what happens if you use even one of those compulsion spells on a single pony multiple times? Do you realize the problems you could cause just by interfering in the lives of other ponies without getting to know the situation first? I understand you're the princess of love, but you're doing the exact opposite of causing love to blossom with the lives you've possibly ruined!" One would ask why an alicorn princess would be shrinking back from a unicorn half her size, to be fair Twilight was about to deliver a powerful you suck speech. She was going to be very direct to this princess whether or not she cares to hear it personally.
"What do you mean exactly?" Cadence had this feeling creeping up on her that she felt would lead to a horrible revelation.
"I only know one of the lives you possibly ruined, can you teleport us to the Canterlot dungeons real quick?" Twilight had had a huge hunch about something, she wanted to Cadence to see what she had done.
"Yes, but... okay." Cadence saw the look of angry determination in Twilight's eyes and she didn't even know the purple unicorns' name. Closing her eyes Cadence's horn lit up and they appeared at the entrance of the Canterlot dungeon, there was a large hole in a nearby wall caused by the minotaurs breaking out. A guard was immediately at attention and was saluting to Cadence.
"You brought a stallion pegasus in here earlier named Shock Hazard, princess Cadence needs to check him for magical mental interference." Twilight knew what she was doing, as far as things went Fleurs true love was probably what beat out the compulsion spell. It was either that or pure mental disgust for this stallion they were visiting. There was a possibility that another pony didn't beat the compulsion spell and she was going to force Cadence to see what she has wrought personally.
"Is this true princess?" The guard waited for an answer.
"I... Yes. I do need to do that." Cadence had foreboding feelings in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know who Shock Hazard was but she would soon find out. As they were led along to see this Shock Hazard, Cadence had to ask the guard about it. "What are Shock Hazards crimes as they are known now?"
"He's on the charges of attempted murder of a mare and at her wedding no less. Fired two high powered lightning bolts that would have been enough to kill his target; at least a hundred witnesses saw it. The Trouble Takers took care of the problem and are vouched to have been prepared for every occasion, they saved that poor mares wedding. They are a legit organization with no history of wrong doing and were thanked personally by the bride for making sure the wedding stayed on schedule." The guard didn't see the look on Cadence's face as it sunk a bit further and the princess was biting her bottom lip. They came up to a cell and inside was the sleeping pegasus chained to a wall, the guard unlocked the door for them.
"Do it Cadence." Twilight ordered immediately. The alicorn princess lit up her horn and used some magic to scan the pony. The princess gave off a gasp and backed away shaking her head at what Twilight was already aware of. Shock Hazard might have been trying to use Cadence to get Fleur to love him, but he never accounted for the fact that the compulsion spells would have an adverse affect on him at all.
"No... I... I couldn't have, I didn't mean... how could I have? I have to fix this!" Cadence lit her horn only to find it dragged around to face an angry Twilight who lit her own horn.
"Cadence, do you see yourself above the law?" Twilight asked in a very flat icy tone.
"N-no, I don't see myself higher than any other pony." Cadence was living a nightmare she has caused and could only hope she was sleeping.
"Then why were you about to remove evidence from a crime scene, given it has your magical signature." Twilight stated calmly and Cadence reacted like she had been punched in the gut. "The mare at the wedding was a friend of mine and she's quite popular around Canterlot as she's a super model. Her name is Fleur De Lis; she shrugged off your compulsion charms because there was no love for the stallion that kept forcing her into arguments when you were around. Sure he brought this on himself by getting you to use your compulsion charms on him, but because of this you are an accessory to his attempted murder."
"I..." Cadence's mind broke, but the unicorn looked ready to continue going on and she was going to hear every word of it.
"You disgust me you know, I know you're young and everything but that's no excuse considering you had the right stuff to even become an alicorn in the first place. At what point do mind altering spells help ponies? You could have been forcing brothers and sisters to sleep together, mothers and their sons, fathers and their daughters! Sure you may have caused some good things to happen, but you wouldn't know if they did considering you walk away before finding out the results of your actions." Twilight paced around the alicorn, thinking of all things she could bring up. "Have you ever thought once that maybe letting ponies work out their issues might have been healthier for them? This Pegasus is trapped in your compulsion spell due to his unceasing lust. What you do isn't helping ponies; it's forcing them to get together instead of working out their issues and that's only if the spell doesn't wear off and make the situation even worse. Now I have to ask, do you know a mare named Luna?"
"No, who is that?" Cadence feared hearing what Twilight had to say about that mare, she was already crying because she had to turn herself in. She had become a bad pony and hadn't even noticed when she slipped into the bad habits that led to her being guilty of almost getting a pony killed. What if this wasn't the first time though? Did that mean she had gotten a pony killed by association as causing what might be irreparable mental damage to a pony?
"It's a pony who if Celestia had used a compulsion spell on a long time ago, she would have gravely regretted it and she would have lost a pony most dear to her forever for even attempting it. Don't ever ask Celestia about that name, it brings her nothing but heartache." Twilight turned sharply to Cadence ears forward and a glare that caused the alicorn to take a few steps back. "If you have to ask her, then don't tell her where you got your information from. Just state that it was from a very reliable source that knows of Lulu."
"... I have to try something... I'm not taking the evidence away, but this may incriminate me even further." Cadence just had to know how many ponies were here because of her. Her magic went outward in a pulse and the final straw broke inside of her. There were five ponies other then Shock Hazard four of which were stallions and one was a mare, Cadence broke down completely. "Five... four stallions and a mare... what... what have I done? What have I been doing?"
"Now you know why I don't like you. All I want to do now is go back to the hospital; as I have to visit my father and talk to my brother some more. Cadence... you have a few choices and I know one is where you could just have Celestia sweep this under the rug oh so easily. Can you truly live with the guilt of not knowing everything you've done in happy blissful ignorance or will you be a princess that you're supposed to be and face up to it?" Twilight turned and exited the cell followed by a broken princess.
Cadence could only stare at the floor and asked the guard to lock up the door as they left, they returned to the hospital in the flash of a teleport in silence.
They appeared back in the hospital in front of Fluttershy and several female guards heading towards Shining Sparkle's room. Fluttershy got incredibly spooked and cowered behind the two guards who took immediate notice of Cadence's state of mood. They also noticed Twilight walking up to Fluttershy who immediately stood up and hugged her for a few seconds once she realized who was there and not looking happy.
"You will remember that your actions no matter how seemingly inconsequential can have dire effects, magic alone can't fix what's wrong with the heart and it might even end up destroying it in the end. I hope you've learned something from all this. You might want to even look into the reason why the other unicorns who checked them didn't question why your magic was affecting those ponies." Twilight turned to Fluttershy and gave a slight jerk of her head in a come on gesture, her voice was laced with venom that Cadence knew she deserved. "Come on Fluttershy, I'm going to visit my father. We'll see Shining after we're done there. I'm through sticking around this disgusting thing that calls itself a pony. Maybe one day I can actually see the beautiful creature that once was there."
"Princess Cadence, are you going to let her talk to you like..." The female celestial guard was cut off by a pink hoof solemnly lifted into the air.
"I would like to report a grievous crime." Cadence stated with a bit of finality in her voice as tears slid down her face. "And I need to see Celestia about it personally right now."
"Twilight, are you feeling okay?" Fluttershy looked back at the princess as she teleported away with the two guards before she turned back to her friend. "Do you want to talk about it, if that's okay with you?"
"No Fluttershy, I'm not feeling fine at all." Twilight has just confirmed that the alicorn of love really hasn't been spreading her namesake and has just called her out on it in such a horrible manner. She had been so horrible to Cadence, but it was something she needed to hear as otherwise Twilight thought they could have been friends in another time. "I don't want to talk about it, but goodness knows I will anyway just to relieve the heavy feelings in my chest."
The shy mare exuded caring and understanding as they slowly made their way towards Nightlight Sparkle's room in the hospital, he was staying overnight to be sure his affliction was completely gone. She listened to every single detail that flopped out of Twilight's mouth clearly; she didn't judge Twilight as she hadn't done anything bad and she didn't want to judge Cadence as she didn't know her personally. Even then Fluttershy was horrified to find out that Shock Hazard wasn't the first pony that Cadence had driven mad with compulsion spells.
Fluttershy had thought that when Fleur talked about it, it sounded like a temporary spell at first. The fact that the magic could actively force ponies to act against their will was not something she wanted to know that unicorn ponies could do. She also didn't need to know that Twilight had found a spell called the 'want it, need it' spell that Celestia left lying around in the castle of the two sisters. Fluttershy had always known that the world was not a perfect place, even then she still trusted in Celestia and even Cadence to try and do the right thing.
"Hey there girls, what's with the long faces?" Nightlight greeted the two ponies pleasantly; they both gave him a big hug while sniffling. "Awe, come on now. What's got my little sparkle and her cuddly friend so upset? Cheer up; as long as you're alive and you can keep looking forward to the future the past will never stop you. Tomorrow is another day after all and it seems to me that it would be a good day for cookies."
Nightlight even went as far as to tickle the two ponies, one that was his daughter and another that was like a daughter to him. He got them to start giggling and they started to cheer up immediately at the feeling of his comforting warm hooves wrapped around them. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 63 | Cadence walked up to Celestia, the solar monarch was in the middle of drinking some tea.
"Before I get to the true reason I come before you Celestia, do you perchance know the name... Luna?" Cadence ducked as a solid blob of tea shot out of Celestia's mouth and took out one of the guards from more than fifty feet away. Cadence just stared at Celestia in shock, to be able to spit something as hard as to knock out a guard like that was a reaction worthy of something huge.
"Why, where did you ever hear that name from?" Celestia seemed to be trying to compose herself. The alabaster alicorn was failing horribly at it; even her smile was a little hard to take in as it seemed to be filled with a deep unfathomable pain. Celestia started to drink some tea to calm her nerves, while wondering how it was possible that Cadence knew Luna's name. She could only hope Cadence didn't connect it to the mare on the moon, her plan to save her sister would be ruined and she was angling her bets on Sunset Shimmer to succeed where she failed. Celestia hoped Sunset would eventually become a better pony as there was much darkness in her heart and her student was power hungry, she was trying to mother the poor pony and she might have gotten through to her once or twice.
"I got some information from a reliable source that knows about Lulu." Again tea shot out and another guard went down with a grunt, Cadence really had to watch out when Celestia drank tea from now on. "That's about all the information I actually know, judging by your reaction something bad happened to that pony didn't it? Now as to the true reason I'm here..."
The next day...
Twilight and all her friends were on the train home waving off her parents.
Twilight was still being rather morose about how she dealt with Cadence and stared out the window at the passing landscape. Octavia was relaxing after a job well played, though she did ask if Twilight was okay and received a noncommittal answer for her troubles. Vinyl was passed out in her seat with Rainbow lying on top of her in a cute position snoring away. Fluttershy and Tress were watching Twilight with a slight bit of worry that she might have been sinking into a depressive state.
"Why do you think it really bothers her so much?" Fluttershy was trying to understand why Twilight was acting this way and who better to ask then her best friend.
"She said some pretty bad things the other night. Though I think she's right that magic can't solve all the world's problems as trying to do so would end badly. Now just put that into perspective with her special talent being magic." Tress's ears fell flat as she looked at Twilights back. "I also think that a part of her wanted to be friends with Cadence despite the hurtful stuff she told us she said. She's probably one of the bravest ponies in the history of this world for doing what she did, which is probably why Cadence will call her a friend the next time they meet."
"What is it that she did that was so brave exactly?" Fluttershy just wanted to hug all her friends' pain away. She knew time would heal those wounds easily enough but some of the mental scarring and memories would never leave.
"She basically stood up to a princess and said that what they were doing was wrong, think about how every other pony in this world worships them to the point of absurdity. I know I'd go crazy if all I ever got every day was praise for doing something as simple as just sneezing, Rainbow would probably enjoy all that attention though." Looking at her hoof Tress tried to will it to transform and the color of her coat shimmered slightly, still not enough for a body transformation or at least she was just short of it. She could feel that her powers were stronger than ever.
"Yes, I can imagine how horrible it would be to always have ponies looking at you and judging every single action you ever did as a good thing while some of things are actually quite questionable." Squeaked out a slightly freaked out shivering Fluttershy, she quickly curled up into a fluffy ball of adorable. "None of them will give you any privacy at all, even when you're trying to go to the bathroom. I think celebrities like Fleur have really hard lives."
"Yeah, bet that can be a real bummer. Calm down Fluttershy, you're safe here with your friends and I promise no one will ever force you into something like that if I'm around to hear about it." Tress patted Fluttershy softly on the back until she uncurled from her fetal position as the patting turned into a light petting.
"Thank you, for always trying to protect me and for everything else." Fluttershy sat up and stretched out a bit into the slow rubbing hoof of comfort.
"Don't bother with the thanks, what else are friends for if not to help each other in times of need?" Tress thought she had a pretty good handle on the friendship thing after being around Twilight long enough.
"I'm so glad to be going home with you guys, Canterlot is nuts." The changeling entered their part of the train with Barb riding on its back snacking on an emerald.
Barb hopped off the changeling and went to sit next to her rather quiet mother; she snuggled into the hoof that quietly wrapped around her in a tender manner.
"Speaking of which, where do you even actually live and... is that hair growing out of your head and tail? Okay what is going on with you? Have you come down with something living maul me sign? You also look slightly bigger then I remember you being." Tress narrowed her eyes at the changeling.
"Oh that... well apparently my hive had a vote, I've been voted to be the next leader for my capabilities in surviving ridiculous hardships. Also because I met you guys and you were friendly to me, alas I've become more female then male now as I slowly shed my old appearance to become a hive princess or queen. Depends on how the changeling at the time wants to roll with it should they get the chance to be in the position." The changeling blushed and rubbed the back of her head ruffling the new short mane. "You could say I'm slowly morphing into a form suited for the job. I'm in the first stage my metamorphosis."
"So does this leadership position come with a name or do we keep calling you by the title of your daily routine around us. You know, the routine where you usually get mauled horribly by something and end up with Fluttershy having to take care of you." It was still a wonder to Tress that the changeling was willing to continue being their friend, despite all the pain and suffering she gets from just being around them. "Also, changelings vote?"
"You may call me her ever glorious royal highness, Queen Chrysalis!" She stood with her head proudly raised in a sophisticated poise, she didn't really come off as regal because she was still only as big as Twilight was. "And of course we vote, it's not like we would do something stupid as let bloodlines get in way of actual good leadership quality. In a time when we previously had bloodline leaders, they all kind of died out by constantly backstabbing each other. They weren't very good leaders at all to begin with and we've had much better luck with voting changelings into power."
"Eh, I'll continue to call you living maul me sign. It just works better for me." Tress smiled cheekily at Chrysalis. "If you're the quality of leadership the changelings now have and it was much worse previously, then you guys don't really set very high standards at all."
"You should be so glad that I know you enjoy my company as much as I do yours or else I might have to take offense to that." Chrysalis just flipped her short blue mane and her faintly green carapace twitched in a slightly agitated manner as she turned to Twilight. "What's up with her?"
"I'm now thinking she's upset that she got angry with a princess and that she might have gone too far in dealing with her. That and on top of the earlier stuff I was telling Fluttershy here." Tress thought Twilight was oddly complicated in oh so many ways despite her love of the simpler things in life.
"Yes, I'm feeling a sense of general confusion from her about life and it's slowly ebbing away, must be working through it on her own. I swear you ponies are always so overly dramatic. Still though, it's nice to have friends especially one as love filled as Fluttershy is here." Chrysalis cuddled up against Fluttershy causing her face to go red. "I like you too."
"But I didn't say anything." Fluttershy wondered if the changeling empathy abilities were capable of being turned off.
"You didn't have to; it's kind of adorable how your feelings work around every living thing." Chrysalis was all smiles in Fluttershy's presence. "It's almost like you love everything... except stallions."
"I once sung about loving everything when I was a filly, but even I know it's impossible to love every single thing in existence." Though it was hard to imagine, there were things that Fluttershy didn't like. Full grown adult dragons for one as they were destructive and cranky as all get out. She's had a bad run in with one or two in her life. She was never going to elaborate to any pony why she was so afraid of them and would never mention it in front of Barb. Barb was the only dragon she could actually get along with and like as a friend.
"So what are you going to be doing now that you're the leader of your people?" Octavia had been sitting there quietly listening in to the conversation up until this point.
"Actually, I'm just going to be doing pretty much what I always have been doing. The only thing a leader really does that's new is get involved when the hive needs an ambassador or to do things that involve diplomacy with other races. There are also raid plans I can enact when we get low on food, but that's not going to be much of a problem thanks to you guys helping us out." Chrysalis didn't think she would need to raid any city, town or village considering she was getting pretty high like a kite off of the friendship she had with these ponies. Fleur and Fancy were especially filling when they finally consummated their marriage; Chrysalis got more love from that alone then she ever would have stealing it. Even cocoons couldn't get that much love out of ponies with happy dreams. She made a note to have changelings just stick around areas where strong couples do things like that all the time, it's much easier then infiltration and replacement of multiple targets with very little information to go on. All the hoopla and wasted energy of all those stupid kidnapping schemes, to think they've been overcomplicating things all these years. It was so simple that there was a much more efficient solution that didn't require a lot of higher brain functions, said functions which a lot of changelings seemed to lack anyway, so it all worked out for the better.
"Well at least that's a load off my mind, I would have to beat up your entire hive if it invaded Ponyville and I'd feel pretty bad for mauling you personally. Not to mention the conga line mauling from my cat, all of Fluttershy's animals, every pet owner in Ponyville and just any pony in general that would be able to see through a changeling disguises easily enough. Oh and Fluttershy is friends with all kinds of large creatures, including several species of bears and not just the teddy kind she sleeps with." Tress could see the shiver pass through Chrysalis as she most likely imagined all of her changeling friends getting the tar beaten out of them by all the animals that live in Ponyville because they messed with Fluttershy. If that wasn't bad enough she could even see Chrysalis imagining Mrs. Ursa Major sniffing out then destroying their entire hive without a problem.
"Yes, that is very much noted. Invading Canterlot would be more feasible then invading Ponyville at this rate and that's only because the celestial guards aren't allowed to have pets on duty and the animal population is much smaller there, but none the less formidable for it." Chrysalis decided to make a silent promise here and now to never try to invade either place. She just had a feeling it wouldn't end well for her or the other changelings, they'd just go on vacation to Manehatten if they were running low on food. No large scale invasion required. "Excuse me, Twilight. Can I ask you something?"
Twilight perked up her left ear; she was still staring at the landscape as the train chugged along.
"I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me live with you guys for a while, I'm going to eventually enter a cocooned state for an entire year and I was wondering if I could use your basement during that time." Chrysalis looked really hopeful; she wouldn't be getting in the way of anything and would be in a half meditative sleeping state the entire time. She still had some duties to her hive to report in throughout the year even if she's going through a long sleep phase. "I promise you won't even notice I'm there when I need to do it."
"Sure thing Chrysalis, just warn us before you start setting up. I want to be able to see you off before you go into your deep sleep cycle." Twilight warmed up slightly even as she stared at Canterlot, she wasn't tuning her friends out and had listened to everything. Every pony was giving her the distance she needed and she'll probably feel better tomorrow when she gets back to work with helping ponies. "I truly hope Cadence will be okay after it all comes out." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 64 | A week later...
A slightly moping Twilight sat at the table eating her breakfast pudding; it was a creative workaround for her inability to cook normally. She was good at making pudding, so she was going to make pudding for breakfast and eat it. Eggs, potatoes and ketchup mashed into the form of some well cooked pudding. The end results didn't taste bad at all; it might have been an acquired taste though. She was considering the options for lunch and dinner type puddings as well. The oddest thing she could make was bread pudding and she always made it perfectly.
"Hey mom, have you seen Tress this morning?" Barb wanted to spend some time with her big sister figure.
"Try the basement." Twilight wasn't trying to be inattentive of Barb; it's just that the newspaper had some slightly depressing news. Cadence wasn't given too heavy a sentence and she certainly didn't get off easily either, the princess certainly made sure she wasn't living in luxury when she basically incarcerated herself. Twilight was surprised Cadence even forced a kangaroo court based trial against herself or that such a thing was even possible, the newspaper even tried and failed to explain the logic behind how it even worked.
"Ah, she's working on something interesting then?" Barb left the kitchen for the living room and into the basement where her mom and Tress tended to play around with chemicals in a well ventilated room. Tress owned the left half of the basement for her business ventures and Twilight owned the right for her random experiments.
Barb came upon the sight of Tress pouring a beaker full of orange fluids into a container, followed by a flask full of blue fluids and after a second the mare added some green leaves into the container which slowly dissolved into the resulting mishmash. Tress grabbed a spoon with a green tentacle from her tail and used it to stir around the green viscous material that formed in the glass cylinder, pulling the spoon out she looked it over and then sniffed it. After a moment Tress smiled lifting her goggles up and clapped her hooves together to rub them in a victorious manner.
"Hey Tress, what are you working on?" Barb could only begin to guess what kind of thing Tress had up her mad scientist sleeves, sure she couldn't replicate things from her world but she was good at making some pretty weird stuff in this one. The white lab coat she was wearing really added to the ambiance of the basement laboratories.
"Something rather boring I assure you. Otherwise I believe I have an idea that might help Twilight out of her funk by the shock value alone, she's been moping when we're not working and I'm annoyed enough to do what I'm planning. Go get breakfast ready for me while I go take a short bath." Tress stood up and shucked her lab coat onto a rack before trotting up the stairs for the bathroom. She had a particularly small lazy smile playing across her face as she took the container with the strange substance with her.
"So was she working on anything interesting?" It was a loaded question and Twilight knew it, Tress always had done some rather inventive stuff with the spare time she had. Tress certainly had her Tresses business working pretty well and she mainly sold products to Bonbon, Rarity and Octavia plus quite a few other ponies that really liked what she was producing.
"I have no idea what it was mom; she said it was boring. I think she really doesn't like that you're moping so much." Barb set about cooking breakfast for Tress; even she had to admit that her mom was thinking about this one subject too hard. "I have to admit that even I'm beginning to get annoyed."
"I'm sorry Barb, but I think I'm almost over it... I think." Twilight knew she shouldn't have held onto these emotions for so long and had to just let things go.
Eventually Tress finished her bath and ate breakfast. Afterwards while Twilight was going over the list of possible jobs they could do today Tress took out a pack of gum. She started pulling out sticks of gum and began tossing them into her mouth. After a moment of chewing she laid her mane on the table before her and pulled the large wad of gum, then stretched it out between her hooves while looking at Twilight waiting for her to take notice of what she was about to do.
"Tress why did you just chew all that gum and... uh Twilight, I think Tress might have just gone crazy. Like Mane-iac crazy." Barb saw an evil smile and a determined look in the crystal blue eyes of the pink coated mare. Even Barb could see what Tress intended to do with the wad of stretched bubblegum held above a pile of her own light blue hair sitting on the table.
"What are you talking about Barb? Tress... what are you doing with that gum?" Twilight noticed her friends hooves ever so slightly started to lower the gum to her mane. "Tress please don't do what I think you're about to do, you'll never get it out if you do. You're mane is so beautiful Tress please don't. Tress, why are you doing this? Stop, no don't!"
"Well you said stop and then not to stop, so I'll listen to you." There was a squelch sound as Tress slapped the gum soundly down on top of her mane with a bright vibrant smile, as if she were proud of the act. Twilight was sure to forget about Cadence for a while especially with what she had just done. Tress knew Twilight loved hair and playing with it, well why not draw attention away from her worries with something that would be more horrific to her then getting a princess to put herself in jail? Twilight had odd priorities when things were quieter around them.
"Tress, why did you do that? Do you even realize how much of your mane I'd have to cut off to even get it all out? I loved working with your mane Tress, how could you do that to yourself and me!" Twilight started crying, so much beautiful mane ruined by a pile of gum her friend chewed and then crazily slapped down onto it on purpose. Of the things she knew, Tress's powers didn't make her mane impervious to gum even if it made her impervious to ever having a frizzy mane. Unicorns have long had problems with getting gum out of manes and tails, even with magic it was next to impossible without shaving off some hair, hopefully she could figure out a way to save most of her friends' mane.
"Well I had to do something shocking to snap you out of all that moping; you can't go on for the rest of your life constantly going over what ifs." Tress had a good reason for not being particularly worried that there was now gum in her mane, it was the reason her mane was sitting on the table and not hanging freely. She had managed to get Twilight's attention in a very profound way, Twilight didn't mind hair being covered in mud or anything else as long as the damage wasn't permanent and could be washed off or fixed easily. Gum was a little bit much, but it would definitely make Twilight take immediate notice.
"That seems kind of a rather extreme thing to do Tress, how are you going to get the gum out?" Barb received Tress's answer as just a continued smile and light shrug.
"She can't possibly get it out. Tress I know I've been moping too much lately, but did you seriously have to go and destroy your mane like that to get my attention!" Twilight was getting hysterical and all Tress did was lean back, crossed her hooves over her chest and quirked an eyebrow. Tress oddly made sure a portion of her mane stayed lying on the table, but Twilight was in too much shock to really pay attention to how Tress was acting about all of this. "You're hair would only be four inches long by the time I'm done with it from the mass of gum you just dropped down into it! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"That is a rather unfair assumption that my mane actually needs cutting Twilight, I think it's perfectly fine the way it is. I'd like to keep my mane long thank you." Tress wondered if this was torturous enough for her friend to get her mind out of the gutter she placed it in. Nothing was as shocking as doing something like this in front of Twilight. Tress loved her own mane too and like having it brushed and combed, as such this was the perfect situation to snap Twilight out of her funk. She kept her tone calm and even. "Besides even if you did need to cut it I could just grow it back with my powers, but I will refuse to do that on the principle that you don't need to do a single thing to my mane as it is now."
"Tress there is gum in your hair, even the top stylists' ponies in the world would have problem getting all of that stuff out and that's even with the aid of unicorn magic. How can you sit there and imply that it doesn't need cutting?" Twilight was staring at her friend as if she had gone completely mad, then again she most likely had.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Tress stood up and as soon as her hair left the table the gum just slid out of her hair not leaving a single tendril of sticky pink chewed goo in her mane. She watched as Twilight's mane frazzled and her right eye started twitching in disbelief.
"H-how did you..." Twilight was struck speechless; the gum just slid right out of her mane without a fuss and none of it was stuck in there.
Even Barb was just staring blankly at what she had just seen, the fact that the gum just flopped of her mane and onto the table without any resistance at all.
"Tell me, does my mane still need cutting?" Tress asked sweetly, knowing she just pulled a jerk move on Twilight to get her mind completely off of Cadence. She still had her evil genius side after all and the emphasis was more to the genius part.
"No, it looks completely fine." All Twilight could really do was try to force her mind to reboot. "How come it didn't get stuck in your mane, is it a new power of yours that you just discovered?"
"Nope, just a product I've finished testing extensively and I made a recent batch just to get your attention." Lazily a portion of Tress's mane turned green, it grabbed the gum and tossed it into the nearby trash can before returning to normal. "I call it The Ever Clean Cleanser. Like I would truly ruin my mane on purpose, it's one of my better features and I love how you take care of it."
Twilight blushed slightly at the praise and somewhat in indignant anger; Tress had really scared her as she did not relish the idea of having to fix a gum damaged mane. Tress did have a point about being able to grow it back, but it would have still upset Twilight greatly if she had to trash her friend's mane first. Still though, Tress had made one miraculous product and Twilight didn't even know exactly what it did.
"Wow, what does it do exactly?" Barb had always thought gum was impossible to get out hair unless you removed it.
"It gives six total hours of protection from sticky substances; it can only come in the smell of mint which is not negotiable. Recently Zecora approved for sales and Tress tested. Six hours is the maximum and any change in the consistency to the formula's main ingredient will cause strange side effects. A stronger consistency tends to make things more slippery as if you were on ice without the skates for it, that will leave you stuck slip sliding around for hours. Less consistency leaves you feeling like you're covered in oil even after you wipe it off and isn't as effective and doesn't last nearly as long either, at least that was just five minutes of feeling uncomfortable." It was a creation Tress was certainly proud of having invented, her skills in alchemic mixtures was as strong as ever or it wouldn't have been her special talent at all. "Accidentally swallowing some of it will not even hurt you and it'll help get rid of the substances already stuck to your coat, mane or tail as well."
"That's amazing Tress! How did you even come up with something like this? Well aside from it being your special talent and all." This was a miracle cure for ponies who worked with sticky or staining substances all day long. "This will definitely help us out with Bonbon's request for one of us to aid her in the candy shop and I bet she'd appreciate having some of it for herself."
"See I'm already cheering her up already Barb, even if it means I have to be a complete jerk to get her to be happy and upbeat!" One wonders if Tress should actually be so proud of being a jerk. "Yeah I'm certainly taking Bonbon's request today and I actually came up with this from spending so much time around you and all the messy situations you keep getting me into."
"Tress I may not like how you presented this to me and you are very much a jerk, but you wouldn't be my friend if you weren't a little Mane-iacal every now and then." Twilight had to give Tress credit where it was due, as that had been a scary thing to watch her do. Tress had certainly earned her entire attention span with that stunt that caused her heart to jump up her throat. She wished Tress hadn't even threatened and then carried out what was seemingly leading to the massive destruction of her lovely locks in that demonstration.
"Hey, didn't you say what you were doing was unimportant?" Barb asked clearly confused about why Tress said that earlier if that was what the stuff she made does, it sounded plenty interesting.
"I didn't say it was unimportant, I just said it was boring. After you've mixed up the same general formula so many times it gets dull and way too easy to go through the motions." Tress felt something wrapping around her mane and she saw Twilight snuggling her hair. She sighed contently and then just rolled her eyes while snorting derisively. At least Twilight was feeling better now and was even smiling. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 65 | It was just another completely average day in Ponyville.
Tress galloped forward and then dove sliding under the garbage cart, her slide managed to get her far enough so she could crawl out from under it on the other side immediately. The manticore that was chasing her slammed into the back end of the cart getting itself stuck while splattering garbage everywhere. Tress stood up and looked at the hind end of the large bat winged, scorpion tailed lion hybrid sticking out of the mound of garbage.
"Tress we found the cub!" Twilight yelled as she and Fluttershy came running up to her, the shy mare had a tiny female manticore on her back that growled cutely. "What happened to the father?"
"I got him stuck in the garbage cart. He chased me all over town and what a nice little jaunt that was." Tress pointed to the back end sticking out of the cart with her hoof. "Where did you find the cub anyway?"
"We found it mauling Chrysalis in the park." Fluttershy motioned to a bandaged blue haired changeling with a hoof before glaring at the cub that mewled pitiably at her very mild anger and scolding tone. "It's been a very naughty cub and it needs to go back to its family. Will you help me by washing off the manticore and taking it back to the forest Twilight?"
"Of course you did." The bland statement showed how surprised Tress actually was to know it was found mauling Chrysalis. "Well Fluttershy, you and Twilight can take it from here. I'm calling it a day to go soak in a hot tub at the spa."
"Ugh, I'll join you after I'm done helping Fluttershy." Twilight levitated the male and grimaced at the smell. She soon just splashed the large cat creature with water and telekinetically wiped off most the grime until it was sufficient enough for Fluttershy. She too decided to call it a day as soon as they released it back into the Ever Free Forest along with the cute, if dangerous, little cub.
After Fluttershy had helped her friends deal with the slight manticore incursion, she tried to think of something to do. She didn't want to bother Tress after a harrowing experience of keeping the big creatures attention. She also didn't want to trouble Twilight after having dealt with all they had gone through this morning. She also finished all her chores with all of her other animals and none of them were currently infirmed.
"Hey Fluttershy, I have a question." Chrysalis watched as the shy mare squeaked and fell over onto her back flailing her legs in the air. "Huh... looks like one of our mating dances."
"Oh ... it's you Chrysalis. Um, what did you want to ask?" Fluttershy was curious to know what Chrysalis wanted of her. The changeling usually didn't seem too particularly interested in actually asking ponies for things.
"One of the things on Twilight's list for us changeling's has keeping a pet as a method for getting love. As you very well know that wouldn't go over well for us." Chrysalis thought it was obvious even to Fluttershy why that was a problem for changelings. "Do you know why animals hate my kind so much? Is it even feasible for a changeling to have a pet?"
"Why I'm sure there's a cute critter out there that would be the perfect pet for you. Just nothing that has already hurt you or doesn't like you at all." Fluttershy was rather pensive to invite Chrysalis over to her house. She would probably need another pony around to keep an eye on her animals if she leaves Chrysalis in a room alone for too long by herself. "I don't know why animals hate you so much, but there is something to their instincts that must make them really dislike you."
"Gee you think? I certainly haven't noticed with all the claw wounds; bite marks and bruises I've accrued." Chrysalis had a right to be sarcastic, even rabbits attacked her violently and they were otherwise incredibly docile creatures normally.
"Sorry... " Fluttershy cringed under Chrysalis's not very threatening stare. "Anyway, Applejack was coming over to my house in a short while. If it's alright with you... maybe we could stop by there instead so I can save her the trip."
"That's fine; just make sure to keep her dog, the sheep and the pigs away from me. The chickens haven't done anything to me yet, but it's only a matter of time." Chrysalis thought sheep were friendly and would usually cower against things as scary looking as a wolf, changelings were plenty scary or at least they sometimes tried to be. Even then she was still perplexed by the bravery of the sheep that had trampled her.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry that animals don't like you and are always out to get you Chrysalis. I promise to do the best that I can to find you a pet that will not be capable of harming you violently." Fluttershy pulled Chrysalis into a hug and the changeling blushed, she knew it was most likely the feelings of acceptance and friendship that caused the blush. She even knew Chrysalis was eating her passionate feelings; it wasn't like many other ponies were willing to feed an emotion eating creature.
"I would like to thank you very much for that if you can actually achieve such a lofty goal. I would also like to not to be constantly mauled or in traction." Chrysalis liked ponies now, they proved that they weren't racist bigots... not counting the nobles in Canterlot most of which were in fact bigoted. She's spent way too much time around nobles, constantly sneaking into their weddings which were basically farces. There was no love in half of them and they were always arranged marriages no less, usually for political power or large amounts of currency which a changeling would have no interest in. She quickly learned to stay away from the words 'arranged' back then and nowadays she'd almost fully trust anyone Fluttershy and her friends did. Even now friendship was an odd concept to Chrysalis, any changeling was family even if they weren't related by blood and though it being a similar concept to friendship it wasn't exactly the same. If a changeling had a broken leg or had some kind of defect, no changeling would turn them away or put them down for being weak.
"Come on then Chrysalis, I want to catch Applejack before she leaves. Also stay in sight and near me, that way no animals will hurt you." Fluttershy really felt bad about how animals treated Chrysalis and her kind in general, even the female manticore cub that left the Ever Free Forest to explore Ponyville attacked her without provocation. She would know as she was there at the start of a mauling she quickly put a stop to; Chrysalis hadn't done anything wrong at the time and certainly had a right to be upset with her situation. Fluttershy thought that if they hadn't become friends Chryaslis would be a much angrier changeling and would actively seek to make others as miserable as she is a lot of the time.
The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was uneventful for them and once they reached the farm something was going on with the farmer and a little pegasus she had hogtied with a rope. The pegasus was an orange coated filly with a lightly shaded purple almost pink mane and tail. The filly was struggling to free herself while Applejack tried to talk to her and she wasn't yelling, but there was the displeased look on her face.
"Let me go, I didn't do anything." The filly tried to argue as Fluttershy and Chrysalis approached the scene and stopped just shy of being close enough to draw attention.
"That's because I caught you red hoof in the attempt, now where are your parents? Why I have half a mind to spank you myself for trying to steal my family's apples." The little filly froze up at the mention of parents from Applejack.
"I really don't like the feelings of despair and sorrow that the filly is giving off." Chrysalis really disliked negative emotions and if anyone were to ask she'd deny them as ever having any sort of negative effects on a changeling. A changeling could personally use negative emotions without ill effect and they couldn't use their own emotions against each other. However negative energy from another being would always make a changeling ill or sick if they tried to eat it. In some rare cases there were beings who could even force feed them those emotions specifically which will end in an inevitable manner.
"What exactly caused the despair and sorrow?" Fluttershy was already sending her heart out to the little pegasus and noted Chrysalis smiling at her feelings of compassion. Well at least her friend wouldn't be going hungry today and she was okay with being fed off of if it was for a good cause.
"I think it was the word 'parents' that did it. I wonder why that is when she has so many ponies around to help her out."Chryaslis of course thought ponies had a similar system of caring for the young no matter the blood relation, ponies had long since stopped herding together unless it was in times of need and that was usually by instinct. No changeling was ever an orphan and as such the concept of the filly being one did not generally exist to her. Chrysalis knew what orphanages were, but thought it was like what changelings did where it involves a massive form of daycare where every older changeling helped the younger generation. Even changelings with disabilities always had open jobs as caretakers or nurses.
"I might have an idea as to why that is." Fluttershy felt a bit of sorrow run through her and Chrysalis flinched a bit at the sudden change in emotions. "Did Twilight happen to put adoptions on that list she gave you?"
"Yeah, but I have no idea what that exactly entails... why do you ask?" Chrysalis wondered why she was getting an odd look from Fluttershy. Adoption was a strange word to Chrysalis, despite knowing the definition she didn't understand the complete scope of the word. All changelings could choose to help raise other changelings, should there be a shortage of caretakers they'd start searching for willing volunteers that aren't too busy. Adoption to her meant showing favoritism and some changelings did favor some of the young more than others at times.
"No reason in particular." Fluttershy thought ponies being raised by changelings would have been slightly creepy. Considering they'd be breeding their own food source or breeding with the food source and that last thought came off as much weirder to Fluttershy.
"Now stop you're fussing already Scootaloo!" Applejack had drawn their attention back to the scene. Apparently she had learned the name of the filly while they were busy discussing things and Fluttershy decided to make her presence known.
"Is everything okay here Applejack?" Fluttershy offered up while moving forward to calm down the filly.
Chrysalis followed silently behind her while going up in a burst of green flames that turned her into a slightly different copy of Fluttershy with her friends hairstyle mixed with her own natural colors and a cutie mark of a chrysalis on her flanks. Not one of her better disguises, but it was the best she could come up with as she didn't want to cause even more of a scene and this was mostly to the benefit of the filly. Applejack would see through the disguise easily enough and already knew of Chrysalis. Fluttershy looked back at her and she nodded while motioning with a hoof for the shy mare to go on. Applejack and Scootaloo had their attentions squarely on the both of them now.
"It sure is. I just caught this here varmint trying to steal some of my apples. The only thing she managed was getting caught in the tree sap; she scared the life out of me when I bucked her out of the tree. The tree didn't like her trying to steal none too much either." Applejack didn't like ponies trying to pick her produce without prior notice of intent to do so, especially without paying for it first. "Now I'm trying to figure out where Scootaloo lives so I can talk to her parents."
Chrysalis leaned away from Scootaloo slightly and her left eye twitched, there was that deep rooted pain and sorrow again.
"Like I'm going to tell you where I live, if you don't know where I live then you won't be able to rat me out to my parents." Scootaloo certainly had some spunk in her despite looking dirty and hungry.
"Applejack, is the apple pie I ordered ready?" Fluttershy had gained a small bit of determination in her and she was willing to pay for some food to feed the filly. Scootaloo looked to be to prideful a pony, like Applejack was and it seemed that Fluttershy had a new job for Tress and Twilight. Fluttershy was going to ask them to look into Scootaloo's life to see if she was living in an abusive home or if things were much worse than that. Pulling out a few bits from the saddle bag she was wearing, Fluttershy held them out to Applejack. "Also I would like pay for five apples please. I want you to give them to this nice young filly."
"Sure is and sure thing sugar cube." Applejack wondered why Scootaloo had an astonished look on her face as Fluttershy hoofed over some money. She knew Fluttershy was on to something judging by her body language and decided to abide by the shy mares ideas of how to handle the little sap covered apple thief.
"Now before we send the filly on her way with HER apples, how about we have some nice warm pie? Doesn't that sound good to you, Scootaloo was it?" Fluttershy gave the filly a happy little smile and met her at eye level; she just knew Scootaloo needed some kindness in her life if the filly's reactions were anything to go by. She was like a little Rainbow Dash, a veritable cute little tom colt.
"I seriously think you're weird and I don't need you to buy apples for me." Scootaloo's stomach grumbled loudly. "Then again I was stuck to that tree for quite a while and I haven't really eaten anything since breakfast." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 66 | Tress sat a table with three other earth ponies simply having an enjoyable day, taking the day off from doing anything wild or frantic felt nice. She hoped nothing happened to Twilight or Barb at the library. Smart was already on the case for Fluttershy in finding out more about the flightless little pegasus.
"So then you two aren't doing anything exciting for a while?" Bonbon was a bit curious as she's always seen Twilight and Tress together and like them she was always hanging out with Lyra. She was spending time with Cheerilee, Tress and a surprisingly sober Berry Punch.
"The two of us needed a break from all the shenanigans life throws our way, as such today Twilight is just spending some quality time with her daughter. So Berry Punch what brings you to Sugar Cube Corner? It's incredible enough that you seem particularly sober today." Tress and her friends were snacking as they sat there socializing and Pinkie kept the friendly non alcoholic drinks coming.
"The Hoof Boxing competitions are coming up, I have to be sober or they won't let me compete this year. Can you believe that?" Berry Punch loved to fight and every pony in Ponyville knew you never pick a fight with Berry Punch, especially since she can down even a minotaur in one round of boxing. She loved fighting almost as much as she loved getting drunk, much to her daughters' chagrin that her mother was a lush and a very friendly one at that. Friendly until you upset her in any given way that is, never has a single pony taken advantage of Berry Punch and no one dared to flirt with or even touch her wife Colgate Aquafresh Romana inappropriately.
Tress wasn't very surprised to hear this news from a pony that could take her on and win. This was even if Tress were at her full power and using her super powers to their fullest; Berry Punch could still win by the virtue of being an unpredictable mare while intoxicated off her flank.
Berry Punch was stated as being completely immune to almost all of the negative side effects of alcohol except for the getting drunk part; her special talents were wine making, fighting and almost constantly being drunk. She was one of the top tier trainers at the Ponyville dojo when she wasn't selling wine. She was always pleased to show the advanced students just why exactly she was happily married to a dentist of all ponies. Her wife was a little less pleased about the destruction of teeth.
"If you're competing I better not join in then." Whimpered a big white muscle bound pegasus stallion that heard Berry's exclamation. Bulk Biceps liked boxing too and despite being bigger and seemingly more physically capable looking, he wasn't nearly suicidal enough to get into the ring with Berry.
"Hey Snowflake, how are the muscles doing you lately?" Tress commented dryly. The big guy was willing to drop out just because of a mare that was a lot smaller than him and not anywhere near his weight class? Berry must have had a bigger legend behind her then Tress thought she did.
"They are doing awesomely Ms. Ravel, YEAH! Do you mind if I join you?" All the mares made a space for the big bulky pegasus with tiny wings to sit down. It was hard to believe the guy wasn't on steroids and has been drug tested relentlessly because of his muscle mass when it came to sports.
"Where were we again? Ah yes, Berry Punch is going on a Hoof Boxing tour and at a guess she's always going to have her wife worrying about her teeth the entire time. Tress is taking a break from the troubles she keeps taking on with being Twilight's best friend. Bonbon has been making some new super sour candies. So what are we to talk about next?" Every pony was looking to the school teacher for the next topic, Cheerilee rubber the back of her head feeling self conscious. "What is it? Why are all of you staring at me?"
"Come on Cheers, we all know you should ask out Big Mac. He has even been fancying Fluttershy lately, the only reason why you don't have to worry is because she's into mares. Quite frankly Rarity's attempts to set her up with him are getting more laughable by the day. Big Mac knows she's not interested, but Rarity is pretty insistent they'd be a cute couple. I think Ms. Fashion has had one too many romance novels and the only reason why I haven't stopped her yet is because she's not forcing any pony to do anything. That and it's sort of funny to watch Fluttershy waffling about telling Rarity that she's gay." It wasn't hard to see the writing on the wall, as Tress just watched Pinkie finished scribbling Mac and Cheers inside of a big heart in crayon. Shrugging she just bit down on her mango flavored cupcake, while every pony else was staring at the smiling Pinkie who ran off to get them some refills on their drinks.
"Hey Bulk, do you want anything?" Pinkie was an employee as much as she was a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Cake of the sugary snack factory and was always found here unless there was a party going on. She was the hostess that ponies came to just for her to brighten their day with even the simplest of smiles.
"YEAH, I'd like some apple juice and a raspberry muffin." Bulk knew he should cut back on his excitability a bit when he got a glare from the mares at the table for his yelling. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it Snowflake." Tress just closed her eyes and could imagine ripping out his vocal chords in a violent manner; she wouldn't because he was a good friend. "So if the teacher here doesn't want to talk about dating who she's completely in love with. How about we talk about Bulk's love life? So, have you found a lucky stallion big buddy?"
"No." Bulk immediately looked depressed; he was having a hard time finding a stallion that could fit to his generally gentle nature. Even if he did have huge musculature, he was a really nice guy in general who liked pressing flowers and macrame.
"You'll find some pony special to you some day, you'll see. I'll even club them over the head for you because you certainly won't. I'll do enough brain damage to make sure they'll never hurt or do wrong by a large softie like you." Tress was serious in wanting to help Bulk. She patted him on the shoulder and even made note that he and Fluttershy were really good friends because they both had similar hobbies. He truly reminded her of her minions back in the comic oddly enough.
"The best solution to your problem is to go out drinking with a bunch of other stallions. Who knows, you might even get lucky that one of them won't try to question their nature too heavily or run off screaming if they wake up in your bed." Berry met her wife through drinking; she really didn't see why it couldn't work for the big lug too.
"I wouldn't follow that advice Bulk; maybe a newspaper article of a big bulky pegasus wanting to meet a kind hearted male being to share a life with. You don't necessarily need to date a pony, there's a whole world full of fish that breathe the same air you do, you just need to get out there and swim around a bit." Bonbon would know as she's found love in Lyra, she always thought it was cute how awkward or weird Lyra got around her. She thought the unicorn was cute in her attempts to hide her love whenever she was around and has yet to do anything because of that factor.
"I vote for Bonbon's approach, date around a bit if you can find some willing stallions." Tress was not an expert on love; she was a supportive friend nonetheless.
"I second that notion." Cheerilee wanted to toss her lot in with Bonbon's idea. She thought Bulk looked cute by the way he was blushing at their conversation. He was practically one of the mares and fit in with their group well enough.
"Oh easy for you guys to say, Tress is practically glued to Twilight to the point of being one of those odd Siamese pony things and Cheerilee is just constantly dancing around her attraction to Big Mac. Don't even get me started on how Bonbon should just tell Lyra that she should stop acting so darn shy and kiss her already!" Berry Punch didn't like being sober because common sense really hurt her brain.
"Uh... say what now?" Tress didn't even understand what Berry Punch was trying to say. Though she was pretty aware of her nature, Twilight wasn't aware of hers yet and still had to figure that out. "I think you're reading too far into my relationship Mrs. I married the first pony to bed me after a night of intense drinking. I figure if love happens, it'll happen and there will be no stopping it when it does. Otherwise I'm not in love with my best friend and happen to be bisexual as best I can tell."
"You just mean you aren't in love with her 'yet'. Also that was the best night I've ever had in all my life too! Even if I can't repeat it, Colgate will never let me forget it. I got her pregnant due to what we did that night." Berry stated jovially, she was the oldest mare here and darn proud of it and her family.
"I swear I'm still not even sure if it was scientifically possible for you two to even have little Ruby Pinch Punch, considering you said no spells were used in the conception of your daughter and you're both mares. There was no stallion in the equation at all and the medical tests confirmed that." Quite frankly Cheerilee didn't know how it could have possibly worked. She figured it would be only Berry that could find a way, especially while she was drunk.
"Hey, what can I say? It certainly surprised my wife too and we're both happier for it anyway." Berry's ears twitched and she turned to the door at the specific sound of two sets of clopping hooves. Her daughter and the love of her life were here. She gave a bright smile; at least something was keeping her calm while she was sober. She soon stood up and made for her family. "I'm out, peace ya'll."
"I think I like her better when she's blind stinking drunk." It was an odd thing for Tress to admit to the group as Berry left.
"I agree that she'll be better after all the Hoof Boxing is over with." Not that Bonbon would ever say that Berry was a little cranky without her spirits.
Pinkie popped up with Bulk Biceps' order, today had been a really busy day in the snacking bakery and it was positively crowded. That was just how the hyperactive peppy super duper curly haired mare liked it.
"When I'm old enough, I hope I can be as happy as she is." Pinkie wondered if she would end up being happy like that with Trixie. She shrugged and continued to work the tables, while continuing to eavesdrop on them like the story is currently saying she will.
"I should really spend more time with my cousin to figure out how she even managed to conceive Ruby." Cheerilee knew she was never going to understand the mystery that was Berry Punch, but she'd at least try to figure out how her foal came into existence.
"Eh, don't think about it too hard. Considering how weird Equestria is, anything is possible as far as I can tell. Its how I deal with everything I've ever come across from living with Twilight." This was Tress knowing things could only get weirder if you tried to make sense of it. "So Twilight's seventeenth Birthday is coming up and I have absolutely no clue what to get her. She's got more books then she knows what to do with, she's got a subscription to her favorite magazine for life or until they stop making them. If I truly wanted her to hate me I'd get her a cookbook. I can't think of a good gift to give her because there isn't anything she wants as she has just about everything she'll ever need. Also don't suggest jewelry."
"Well why not give her that special stuff you made from her completed formula that you said you were testing?" Bonbon had heard about some of the things Tress was testing, including the new completed products when she had her assistance at the candy shop. Bonbon already had an order of The Ever Clean Cleanser on the way already; it was an amazingly useful product that made taffy easier to work with.
"You know, that just gives me an idea. I should be finished testing it after a few more visits to Zecora and it should be completely ready in time for her birthday." It sounded like a great idea for Tress to show Twilight the fruits of that cracked formula.
"Can I help with the party? I really love birthdays, especially when they're my friends." Pinkie really wanted to help Tress throw a good party for Twilight.
"Sure, as long as it is not a surprise party. We don't need Twilight destroying half the town because she got spooked." Tress was still rolling around the idea in her head about the present she would give to Twilight. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 67 | It was just a few days before her friend's birthday. Fluttershy was spending the day by the lake playing with the cute little ducks waiting for Smarty Pants to make an appearance. The pixie has been on the case of finding out everything she could about the filly known as Scootaloo. Twilight's birthday was coming up and Fluttershy was busy with trying to think of a good gift to get. As she thought of a myriad of things that her friend would appreciate, she was busy tossing the last bits of bread she had to the ducks.
The waiting was probably the worst part of all this, the best part was that the ducks were exceedingly fun and being a perfectly entertaining distraction for Fluttershy. As she just finished throwing the last piece of bread and watched the ducklings fight over it in an adorable manner, a huge explosion went off in the sky. Instead of flying away or running for cover, every duck in the area immediately went for the confused Fluttershy who suddenly found herself under a pile of feathers.
Fluttershy was soon looking up at the sky as the explosion quickly dissipated; it left her wondering what could have possibly caused it. It took her a moment to calm down all the ducks piled on top of her, she eventually managed to stop them from quacking in fear and get them all off of her in a gentle manner. Afterwards they started to wander around calmly once more if slightly ruffled by the sudden sound and were a bit more wary of their surroundings.
Watching the sky for any sign for what could have caused such a massive explosion, Fluttershy saw a small speck slowly veering for the lake and was falling at a rather quick pace. After a minute of keeping an eye on it she could make out that the speck was somewhat green and it suddenly started falling much slower as if it just went into a glide. While her attention was on that flying object of an unidentified nature, Smarty Pants flew up to her also looking at the sky.
"Fluttershy did you see that huge explosion in the sky? I'm curious to know..." Smart was suddenly shushed by Fluttershy and the tiny pixie stopped and tried to see what Fluttershy was looking at.
A pegasus by nature had good eyesight, if they didn't have good eyesight they would usually wear specialized goggles. Glasses weren't very good things to be wearing at high altitudes when you fly around, especially considering the cost of replacement when goggles were cheaper in the long run.
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and they widened at what the falling object was and why it is currently gliding a large circle to try and stay above the lake. She watched as Tress had suddenly angled herself downward and slammed home into the lake sending a huge blast of water flying upwards. Immediately Fluttershy flew out over the lake and soon hovered above the super powered pony that bobbed up to the surface hacking and spluttering water.
Quickly Fluttershy grabbed Tress's hoof and started to slowly drag her back towards the shore of the lake, she felt Tress relax at her touch while the mare's hair slowly turned from green to blue. After taking a moment to wipe her mane out of her face with her free hoof, Tress smiled brightly up at the sight of Fluttershy bravely helping her out of the lake. As soon as Fluttershy had Tress pulled onto the shore, they were surrounded by rather curious ducks that had to be shooed away by the reluctant shy mare.
"Are you okay Tress? What happened, what was that explosion and how were you gliding like that?" Fluttershy soon found that there wasn't exactly a problem to worry about as Tress soon started laughing.
"After falling presumably from the starting point of where that explosion was, I'd assume she's lost it because of some extenuating circumstance that she probably finds highly humorous." Smart only got a raised hoof that shook in her direction while Tress was trying to find her voice in her laughter. It took a moment for the mare to collect herself.
"Yeah, you could say something like that. I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking. You really don't want to know, you might not even believe me even if I told you and I used my powers to shape then stiffen my hair to allow me to control my fall well enough to hit the nearest body of water. Remind me to go hair gliding on purpose later on will you Smart? I don't know when I might need to do that again and it could be a useful skill to have, WHOO what an adrenaline rush!" Tress rolled onto her back throwing two hooves into the air while laughing heartily once more, all the while lying on top of her soggy wet mane. "Don't you worry about me, go on with what you two were doing before I got here."
"Well if you're sure you're okay, let me check your muscles first." Fluttershy took a moment to diagnose Tress as just slightly tense and gave her a light muscle relaxing massage for whatever it was she just went through. She found herself looking to Smart as a large satisfying pop went off and Tress let out a moan of pleasure causing Fluttershy to blush. "Smart, what did you find out about Scootaloo? If it's okay for you to tell me that is. I'm curious to know what you found out about that poor little filly."
"A lot of surprising things really, Scootaloo has this entire conspiracy going on around her. One that involves trombones, chickens, tree sap, Doughnut Joe's, the third Daring Do novel specifically and the ambiguous fact that I don't know whether or not Scootaloo's parents are actually alive." The little pixie pony paused while tapping a hoof to her tiny chin as she hovered in front of the two ponies. "To be quite frank it's all very weird, every last bit of it."
"Sounds interesting, tell us more about it." Around this time Tress had calm down thanks to Fluttershy's rather soft touch and had caught her breath, she was going to be drip drying for the next thirty minutes or so.
"Just the thing you found out about her parents please. If you don't mind me saying so, we really don't need to know all that unimportant stuff." It was the most important thing to Fluttershy, all that other stuff sounded weird and rather like a chain of rather incongruent irrelevant details. The shy mare just wanted to know of Scootaloo's parents.
"It feels kind of weird that I've been following her for the most of an entire week now, it feels like it's been a month. Oh, just a reminder it's almost our birthday by the way, I can give you some good ideas of what to get Twilight. I've been giving all our friends some really good ideas in my spare time, just as long as it's not cookbooks." Smart got an angry glare from both Tress and even Fluttershy, getting an angry glare from the shy mare was hard to do and a first for the toy. "Hold your, yeah... I'm getting to it. I have found out that if she does have parents they are likely in a completely different country entirely and are never going to be around to take care of Scootaloo. If she doesn't have them then she's by far the most resourceful filly I've ever heard of. As we all know I'm Ponyville's librarian, as such there are some perks to the job and one such perk is the ability to get into some documents. Basically the house that Scootaloo lives in is in her name and completely paid for, then that's when things start to go Twilight Zone."
"Okay Smart, now you've got my attention." Rolling onto her belly Tress looked at Smart with a serious expression. The words 'Twilight Zone' was code for something that has become extremely convoluted like her or any pony's life from being around Twilight Sparkle.
"I know you said you only wanted to hear the important stuff. The conspiracy around Scootaloo is the important stuff. Let me start, try to follow and keep up with me now. The house in Scootaloo's name is being paid for by a griffon trombone making company. Said company has done a lot of business with the chicken feed corporation in Manehatten which may not seem like much at first glance. That chicken feed corporation in turn has ties with a maple syrup company which is owned primarily by the Average Joes clan of ponies who all specialize in diners with an all day breakfast theme. Daring Do is a real pony apparently and frequents one particular clan member's doughnut shop in Canterlot; this is mentioned in passing in the third Daring Do book under an assumed identity." Smart stopped when she noticed by Fluttershy and Tress were staring at her oddly. "Lost yet?"
"Daring Do is a real pony, seriously? What next, the author of her books being the mare herself under the assumed name of AK Yearling?" Despite her scoffing, Tress saw that Smart went deathly quiet. "You're not kidding are you? Okay that is weird, but what does all this have to do with Scootaloo? It seems like nothing much so far, but a bunch of stuff that seems like normal business."
"AK Yearling is in fact Daring Do, who knows Twilight Velvet Quality Sparkle who is the editor for the more fictional parts of the story that in fact happen. They meet at that doughnut shop to discuss details of the books and I think Donut Joe is a celestial agent that meets frequently with Daring." The little pixie cross her hooves and tilted her head at the sudden increase in interest. "Continuing on from there, I've found the books from the popular Daring Do series somehow ends up paying for some of Scootaloo's stuff as well as the home in question. While the filly is out, random groceries are delivered to the house by some of the sneakiest celestial guards I've ever seen. This makes things even stranger as Celestia has a hoof in it as well. She's the one that's allocating the money from the popular book series towards this through all these places of business and has a large share in every single one of them under the name Tia Celes. No adult ponies are ever around Scootaloo in her day to day life and I'm not even sure that her mother and father are alive with the exception that there is plenty of room for doubt considering this conspiracy. In all Scootaloo appeared and has been living in Ponyville for the last three years without the presence of a guardian being seen at all accompanying her at any given time, her birth records are blacked out and there's even deeper and weirder conspiratorial stuff floating around about her that I couldn't get into. I know it's there at least."
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around Daring Do as being real, so that means the ahuizotl we saw in Canterlot was in fact that specific ahuizotl from the book. So the things that happen in the books do happen for real, only not entirely in the way they are written as Velvet alters them to be more kid friendly." Any pony would have a problem following all this and Tress was certainly among them. Adding the princess into the mix just pushed it into further complexities.
"Oh my goodness, tell me that there is a pony is capable of adopting the poor thing?" Fluttershy really hoped that some pony could at least move in with Scootaloo. She wasn't homeless or hungry, but she was a lonely little pegasus that needed love more than she needed the comfort of a stable place to live.
"Sorry, but she's apparently a homeowner, as such she can't be taken away by an orphanage. So that's a no on the adoption. Cheerilee does need to be notified of the truancy issue however, so that's one thing we can do." Even Smart thought this was a bit ridiculous especially considering the fact that Scootaloo is a minor and is living on her own. In the last few days she's been following the exploits of the ever disastrous Rainbow Dash, apparently Scootaloo looked up to her as some form of role model. "She's a quiet little filly and only becomes exuberant because of only one mare, Rainbow Dash. Whenever Rainbow starts streaking her colors across the sky that little filly's day brightens up considerably. The three most important things to that filly are her scooter, a wagon and her helmet. Her medical records are protected a lot harder than anything else about her and as such it is completely ambiguous whether or not she has living parents. I've noticed that she doesn't like staying at her house. Usually most of her day is riding the scooter all around Ponyville and she makes constant attempts at flying."
"It's kind of concerning that Celestia knows that all of this is going on." It was another thing for Tress to put down on Twilight's list of suspicious things surrounding Princess Celestia. Sunset Shimmer was still the only pony on the list of ponies Twilight disliked. "Maybe Twilight can send a letter to her mom to ask if she knows anything about this and I'll talk to Cheers. Until then our hooves are tied on this situation. Now if you will excuse me I have to go see a zebra about something."
Tress started to slowly walk off with a contemplative look, she was perturbed by all the stuff she has just heard. Here she was thinking that Fluttershy and Smart wouldn't believe her when they were into something much weirder then what she had just gotten into and finished in less than twelve hours.
"Okay, just be careful in the forest Tress." Fluttershy waved off Tress and turned back to Smart with a slightly broken hearted expression on her face. "Are you sure there's nothing else any pony can do?"
"Aside from just trying to get close to Scootaloo so that you become something like a big sister or a mother to her on an emotional level. Not really much, just try to befriend her on a day to day basis." It was the best advice Smart could give, Scootaloo wasn't all too bad off even if she was a loner and afraid of her home. "Just remember and keep in mind that she doesn't like to be around her home."
"Thank you very much for looking into this for me." Fluttershy sighed; Celestia was involved and wasn't trying to help the filly further than this? Why didn't Scootaloo have an active family member around her? What was going on with this little filly? |
Twilights Mane Passion | 68 | The morning sun rose over the home of Twilight Sparkle and the light of the sun slammed into her eyelids stirring her from her sleep. Twilight wondered what kind of crazy shenanigans she and her friends would get into today. Stretching out her hooves she sat up rubbing her back as a sleepy yawn escaped her mouth.
Wiping the sleep from her eyes Twilight set off for the bathroom and saw a small note posted on the mirror. Slowly Twilight roused herself well enough to read it out by shaking her head sending her bangs flopping through the air.
"Dear Radiance, use the shampoo provided. After you're done taking a bath this morning, please dry off and call for me. You probably will anyway once you find out what the shampoo does, your friend Tress Ravel. P.S. I hope you enjoy receiving as much as giving?" Twilight tilted her head in confusion and looked at the shampoo bottle; she popped the cap and sniffed it. It smelled of grapes, appreciating the simple gesture the purple pony started to run some water for her bath. She wondered what Tress's note meant.
Hearing the water run from the kitchen, Tress had the hint of a smile on her face as she looked up to the ceiling as she ate her eggs. She turned to Barb, the dragon nodded and started about preparing a perfect breakfast for her mom. Today was a good day to be Twilight Sparkle, especially considering it was her birthday. They had all kinds of contingencies to stop anything from ruining Twilight's day and Pinkie assured them with a Pinkie Pie Promise that she wasn't doing the surprise party thing for Twilight today.
Every pony was gathering everything together for the special pony's day and hoped to everything that was good in the world that everything went well. They were especially hopeful that Pinkie would make every effort to not surprise Twilight into having a volatile magical reaction. A lot of ponies were making the effort to make Twilight happy because she worked so hard to keep helping the citizens of Ponyville, despite the absurd situations that resulted from throwing herself into the thick of things. Many other ponies would have just given up by now after some of the things they've seen Twilight handle.
Twilight scrubbed the body wash along her coat and made sure to get every inch of herself, she washed her face carefully as well. After sitting back to enjoy the warm water, she levitated the bottle of shampoo in front of her face. She still wondered what Tress's special shampoo did other then the obvious things shampoo was supposed to do. She shrugged, squirted out a bit and then started to rub it into her mane and tail.
After she was done washing Twilight hopped out of the tub and grabbed a towel with her levitation magic. Drying off she sighed in contentment, the shampoo had felt nice and she didn't feel anything was off or different. Her hair must have been really damp because it certainly felt heavier than normal. Wiping down the mirror using her magic, Twilight just stared at her reflection and reached up with a hoof.
"Tress, you were right!" Twilight's voice rang throughout the house in an excited tone.
"That would be my cue, can you keep the food warm Barb. We might be a while." Tress stood up with her green mane and tail already formed, she grabbed a few things on her way to the bathroom with her hair tendrils. It was time for the birthday girl to be pampered for once, instead of being the one that pampered others. Pampering in a manner that Fluttershy seems to chronically do to her closer friends nowadays, it was truly appreciated as it always helped them feel better after a particularly tough day.
Walking into the bathroom slowly, Tress saw Twilight was just standing there staring in the mirror at her floor length mane and her elongated tail. Tress didn't disturb Twilight's staring and sat down a stool, before whistling sharply to Twilight breaking her out of her stupor. Tress patted the stool while waiting for Twilight to get the idea.
Twilight had some trepidation about the stool, but she still sat in it and felt every movement of the shifting mass of hair falling down her back. She didn't have her bangs anymore as they had grown to the same length as the rest of her mane. It was still unbelievable that a foot of her mane was dragging on the floor when she moved over to take her seat. It all felt so weird and looking in the mirror she could see Tress holding a comb and brush in her mane.
"So Radiance, now that I have your mane in my clutches... what do you want me to do with it?" Tress smiled as she wrapped her hoof entirely around Twilight's mane and gave it a tug causing the mare to squeak while looking to the floor. It made Tress happy to see Twilight trying to dig her chin into her chest as she squirmed slightly. "You're hair growth formula has been finished by the way, I thought it would be a nice birthday gift if I styled your mane for once. Anything you want, even your original style. You could have a slightly trimmed, one length mane like mine or you could go even shorter then you previously had your mane. The sky is the limit birthday girl, just tell me what you want and I'll do it. Well after I'm done brushing and combing you that is!"
Twilight couldn't figure out if she was dreaming or if this was actually happening to her right at this moment. Her hair was so long, but she wouldn't want to keep it this length as walking around with this much mane was not something she could do. She didn't want to drag such beauty through the mud. Feeling something entering her hair, Twilight's attention went to the comb held in Tress's mane as it slowly swept her bangs away from her right eye. Her cheeks lit up as she realized this was all real and that Tress was combing her mane.
Tress calmly ran the comb from the base of what was once Twilight's bangs dragging her hair back and over her shoulders and slid the comb all the way down to the tips. She was straightening out Twilight's hair in preparation for the brushing and then would come the styling. Twilight was so silent and her face was almost redder then Fluttershy could even manage, Tress could only hope she was enjoying her early morning surprise. They still had a full day ahead of them.
The brush soon finished running through the mass and Tress gave a tiny tug of the mane she held causing Twilight to squeal slightly. Who knew Twilight was so embarrassed to be treated to a hair care session, Tress certainly didn't think she could be so shy about it.
"Come on Radiance. If you don't tell me what to do now, I'll just do whatever I like and you know I can get pretty darn evil. I'm already thinking that you'd like a pixie." Tress whispered into Twilight's ears and the mare shivered under her caressing brush strokes, causing Tress to enjoy this even more and to chuckle darkly.
"Tress... I kind liked my bangs the way they were, but can you leave my mane a few inches longer then I previously had it." Twilight was having a hard time talking; just looking at herself in the mirror made her feel embarrassed to be pinned down by her best friends iron grip on her mane.
"This is the reason I also have a brush as a part of my cutie mark you know. So you want to keep it simple if a bit longer, sure you don't want anything different then your usual style Radiance?" Tress leaned in close to Twilight and the purple pony again squirmed at the feeling of Tress tugging on her dark blue locks with the two naturally occurring highlights. "I find it kind of strange that ponies around here never change their hairstyles very much, except Rarity as she's fickle like that."
"Maybe... um... no, I'm absolutely sure that's what I want... thank you." Twilight said after a moment with a small smile as she managed to still her nerves as some of her hair was quickly brushed in front of her eyes. She could barely make out the shears Tress was wielding with a hair tentacle through her hair.
"Okay then, last chance to change your mind, going, going..." Tress slid the open blades into Twilight's hair and slowly closed the shears. She had her chest pressed against Twilight's back and could feel her friends' heart rate spike. A mass of hair fell to the floor and Twilight just stared at herself in the mirror as her left eye was uncovered and the scissors slid over to the right side of her mane. As they slowly closed once more, Tress made a humorous comment punctuated by the sound of the shears fully closing. "Now it's gone."
Minutes later Twilight came down the stairs with her slightly longer than normal mane and found Barb placing the last of her breakfast on the table. Her daughter had a talent in cooking and it was something a normal Sparkle wouldn't be capable of, even then Barb was still a true Sparkle through and through. She sat down to hearty meal and recalled how tenderly Tress treated her back in the bathroom, her face had yet ceased to stop being a bright cherry red.
"You're early morning surprise is not all we have Radiance. We've still got a birthday party to attend, it's no work and all play today. Nothing bad is going to happen or I'll deal with it personally." Tress's mane had returned to its normal light blue color and she was waiting for Twilight to finish breakfast. She thought Twilight had been acting cute all morning; making her wonder if she could do something similar to Fluttershy because it was funny.
The day was going by rather fast as Twilight ended up playing a few board games, spent an hour or two quietly reading books and then was dragged into shopping around Ponyville. Before long she had all the things she got in their shopping excursion squared away and they were now standing outside of Sugar Cube Corner.
Twilight opened the door and just saw a lot of ponies quietly waiting for her to enter and she saw the banner that wished her a happy seventeenth birthday. She smiled and stepped inside; Pinkie quickly hopped up to her and then stopped. All her friends were here, even Fluttershy with who she assumed was the enigmatic Scootaloo that was currently rubbing up against Rainbow Dash.
"Welcome to your own special birthday party Twilight, okay every pony it's time to sing along!" Pinkie was now acting excited, she stood up on her hind legs and swirled her hooves as she got some music started up and all the ponies gathered together. "~Happy happy seventeenth birthday to Twilight our lovely friend, we hope that your stay in Ponyville will never come to an end! We're all your friends and enjoy you being around, so we're certainly ecstatic to know that you're enjoying our little town! Excitement and adventure is something you bring to all of us so of you we'll never ever bore, so a very happy birthday to the girl we all happen to adore~!"
A huge cake was brought out, every pony sang in key and a huge pony pile started up around Twilight after they finished. It made her heart swell at all the hooves trying to wrap around her. Then they all broke apart and the party started in earnest after Twilight cut the first slice of cake.
"So is that Scootaloo?" This was the first time Twilight has ever seen her, she looked happy and any pony would be after being introduced to Pinkie Pie. The filly was particularly enamored with Rainbow Dash's presence even as she was stuffing her face with some cake.
"Yes, she seems to be enjoying the party well enough and you shouldn't be worrying about it. I'm worrying about her enough for the both of us." Eventually Fluttershy hoped to figure out where the filly came from and would help her whenever she needed it.
"My word darling, did you do something with your mane? You look marvelous today, positively shining like a diamond." It looked like Rarity was in great form today with her compliments.
"Thank you very much Rarity, Tress got a hold of it this morning." What Twilight wasn't saying was that she enjoyed every moment of it too. Tress was so evil in the nicest way possible.
"Trixie has finally decided to return that long overdue compliment that your mane also looks nice." There was no point in Trixie being jealous of Twilight Sparkle and she liked that they were now generally good friends. Not once did Twilight show a very strong ability in the art of illusion magic which Trixie has mastered.
"Say Twilight, is there any chance we can figure out a way to get Big Mac and Fluttershy together?" Rarity was watching Fluttershy shyly interacting with the few stallions that were here at the party. Twilight had a lot of mares for friends; Rarity thought it was nice that she also knew a few stallions as well.
"As Big Mac would say, nope, Fluttershy is into mares. You know, as in she's gay." There was an odd reaction to that, one of which Twilight wasn't expecting.
Rarity just had a thoughtful look on her face as she put a hoof to her chin instead of immediately freaking out.
"Well no wonder I had a problem setting her up with a nice stallion." Rarity thought a mare as sweet and adorable as Fluttershy deserved some companionship, so she had been barking up the wrong tree this whole time?
"Darn it all Radiance, now I can't enjoy her failures at matchmaking! My day is now and forever completely ruined!" Every pony near Tress let out a burst of laughter at the overly dramatic pout Tress had on her face.
Rarity ears went limp and her mouth scrunched up, she tittered into her hoof trying to keep her ladylike composure in the face of the hilarious look on Tress's face.
"Well I hope you're happy now... that it's time to hoof out the presents to you!" Tress's continuation into a faux angry tone caused more giggling about the room as ponies gathered to watch Twilight open her presents. The first one was a cookbook from Fluttershy; it was about making all kinds of pudding.
Every pony in the room just gave Fluttershy a flat look as she smiled brightly, a lot of ponies would come close to dying of laughter this day. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 69 | Twilight finished cataloguing all the stuff she got on her birthday the next morning. She had so many friends now it was unbelievable. There was about a little less than a year or so to prepare for the coming of Nightmare Moon, it was something Twilight always kept it in mind and was counting the days away.
"So I guess its back to work for us then. I still can't believe Fluttershy would get you a cookbook. At least she knew about your talent in cooking and that's pudding it lightly." Tress received a light poke to the nose from Twilight
"That was a bad pun Tress, bad best friend." Twilight lightly bopped her friend on the nose for that.
"Since when did I become a dog?" It was silly but it made Tress smile. "Anyway, I thought it was about time I went over some of the things about the hair growth formula since you didn't catalogue that one or even ask about it too deeply. In fact it's kind of confusing to see you not questioning something. You didn't seem overly excited about it."
"Ah yes, that. I really did like it Tress." Even now Twilight could feel her face heat up at the thought of Tress holding her mane. Even if her mane was back in its almost normal shape, the extra length really did make her feel different. She'd eventually get use to it until she needed a trim. "Can you just write it down for me? I've got important things to discuss with the mayor. You can take care of Pinkie Pie's request, I'd do it but my head still feels like it still has a hoof mark from the last time I had to deal with her."
"That was only yesterday during the party though, but yeah she did cause you to face hoof a lot." It was still funny to Tress that Pinkie can get a lot of hoof to face action from Twilight. "Fine, what is it I'm doing with that sugar high mare today?"
"Well it was quite the party and all our friends were there; I need a quiet day to relax after all that excitement. Every pony really wore me out last night. So please, for the sake of my sanity keep Pinkie away from me Tress." It wasn't that Twilight hated Pinkie Pie, it was just she couldn't handle her happy hyper routine for an extended amount of time. Pinkie was focused so intently on making sure she was having a good time that it was almost annoying she wouldn't bother some other pony at the party to see if they were doing well. "I don't know what you're going to be doing honestly, take it up with Pinkie."
"Sure thing Twilight, I can keep her entertained after I help her with whatever inane request she's got in her top hat this time. Ugh, with so many friends it's going to be hard to keep all their birthday's straight, though I'm sure Pinkie could do that easily and remind us to come to them. See you later." Tress wondered if she could avoid receiving a birthday party personally as she set off for Sugar Cube Corner.
"Hey mom, I'm setting out for the library now." Barb was scooped into a cuddle and she hugged back before squirming out of the grasp of the comforting hooves. Smart shot by them and out the door for the library, the toy was soon to be followed by a happy dragon waving back to her mother.
"Now all I have to do is go to the mayor's office... a little fun about how I get there couldn't hurt." Lighting her horn Twilight prepared to use the spell she's been practicing in her free time and while she was teaching Barb when Smart was investigating Scootaloo. Teleporting was a useful ability to have and she only had twenty five foot range thus far, the mechanics to teleporting were complex and could get you anywhere in the blink of an eye with some minor issues. What she was about to do was something that could just as easily get a unicorn anywhere if they could work the spell to a finer degree.
Just as she was about to kick off the ground Twilight heard a shout that caused her to stop channeling magic to her horn.
"Oh I'm so glad I caught you today before you left darling, I wanted to invite you over for tea and biscuits with me today around eleven or so. Bonbon and Octavia are coming as well and I wanted to do some bonding with all of you. How does that sound Twilight?" Rarity couldn't say she had close friends until Twilight entered her life. Fluttershy was just a delight and so were Octavia and Bonbon. Rarity couldn't think of a mare to pair Fluttershy with, she had never thought of playing matchmaker for some pony like Fluttershy before. It would be an excellent challenge, even if Rarity had no idea how to start looking for a partner for Fluttershy as she couldn't think like a gay mare.
"Sure thing Rarity, if you have some sweet tea or chamomile I'd very much like that when I come over. Now if you will excuse me I was about to do this!" Twilight kicked off the ground her horn lit up and she shot off in a low flying arc over all the building in Ponyville with a single leap and continued flying forward with her hoof stretched out before her.
Rarity just stood there for a moment starring in awe at the flying unicorn, a minute later her jaw finally dropped. A few minutes after that Applejack trotted up to her and slapped her jaw back into place before trotting off.
It took only twenty seconds for Twilight to fall with style on her way to city hall, now the only thing she had problems with had come up. Not once had Twilight ever figured out how to land coming out of the gravity spell quite right and only recently did she get the hang of it. Even if velocity was a cruel mistress, she was a tough little unicorn and had practiced for this. Even now falling sideways at thirty six miles per hour was a little disorienting, if she wanted to Twilight could feasibly double that. Seventy two miles per hour was her maximum limit as she didn't want to go above double the normal gravitational pull of the planet.
Twilight reoriented the gravity in reverse until she came to stop near the town hall and before she could start falling in the opposite direction she shifted her gravitational pull to the planet. The gravity setting for her fall was at a quarter of the planets gravity and she floated down softly. As she came to a rest on all four hooves dropping the gravity spell, a bunch of ponies applauded her by stomping the ground in amazement and gathered around her saying how cool it was to see her flying.
The unicorn quickly ran indoors suddenly embarrassed by all the attention she had garnered. It looks like all that time practicing indoors for the fear of launching herself out of the atmosphere of the planet to a quick death had actually paid off. She was a mare that was no longer personally bound by the laws of gravity, but she still had to account for all the other stuff involved in the tricky spell manipulation and had to make sure not to try doing something like that while completely tired.
Walking into the office Twilight had the mayors' immediately attention and she looked particularly amused about something.
"So are you trying out for Ponyville's weather team soon? Amazing what unicorn magic can do besides making you capable of standing on clouds." The mayor was of course referencing Twilight's flying entrance, not something a normal everyday unicorn was capable of. Mayor knew Twilight wasn't your average unicorn once you got to know her, but even flight was a new one for the magical mare.
"No, you'd have to pay me much more to take a job like that especially if you want me to work with Rainbow Dash. The time and energy would be more costly to employ me than a natural pegasus to do anything with the weather." Who knew repurposing a gravity flipping spell originally meant for cleaning ceilings could get a pony so much attention? Twilight certainly didn't when she took a short straightforward flight to meet the mayor. It was going to be much harder to do once she started learning to change directions mid-flight later on.
"I'm surprised you took my query seriously." The mayor chuckled happily; it was always nice to see that Twilight was as silly as ever. "So what can I do for you or is it what can you do for me?"
"It's about time I came to talk about an important issue with you; it could even be a matter of dire importance. It's about how Ponyville is going to be chosen by Celestia to hold the Summer Sun Celebration in about a year." The mayor sat up at her words and took what Twilight was saying with every bit of seriousness.
"How did you find out about this? Celestia usually picks places at random and it's never the same place within three picks of each other. Answering that, why is it so important this time around and what happens to be the problem? Celestia choosing Ponyville for the celebration sounds like a joyous occasion." The Mayor knew Twilight wouldn't be here if this wasn't important and it had to do with foreknowledge that the mayor wasn't aware of. It was a good thing Twilight was giving her this information a year ahead of time to prepare for whatever this coming news was.
"Okay it's like this; you know the legends of Nightmare Moon and Nightmare Night?" If the mayor didn't Twilight would need to give the mayor the long version of what she wanted to get around to saying.
"Of course I do, now if you could tell me why this is important?" This was a curiosity that the mayor wasn't about to let slide by her.
"It all has to do with what's going to happen at the Summer Sun Celebration that day. It marks the return of Celestia's sister Luna as Nightmare Moon. Do you want me to tell you what I suspect is going to happen that night?" The nod Twilight received was enough for her to go into a hypothetical situation. "Okay the facts are that the mare in the moon will disappear and Luna the lunar princess will be set free from being sealed away by Celestia and will once again take charge of her celestial object. She will make an appearance and threaten to make the night last forever as she did a thousand years ago before she was sealed. Do you understand this and do you want me to explain what I think is going to exactly happen leading up to her appearance?"
"You might as well, I'm very much interested in hearing what you think will happen, especially how we are supposed to deal with an all powerful alicorn that controls the moon." The mayor planted her chin in her hooves as she leaned forward on her desk completely.
"You're not going to question this at all?" Twilight was a little surprised at the willingness of the mayor to hear her out.
"Why of course I am, but I'd like to know everything before making a judgment call. Besides, it is becoming a notable occurrence that weird things happen around you. Just about anything is possible, especially when you're involved with it." It was true, especially the fudge brownie incident last week. The mayor actually enjoyed that one personally and it was a favorite of hers in the story that was Twilight Sparkle's life of constant misadventures.
"Okay I'm just guessing here, but what I think will happen is this. First Celestia will send an important pony to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration; it'll most likely be a pony named Sunset Shimmer. Celestia won't actually appear at the celebration and will go into hiding without telling her guards where she is going. As such Nightmare Moon AKA Luna, her sister, makes an appearance in some flashy manner and she'll monologue before starting her destructive plans to make the night last forever. Which if it does last for too long, well all life as we know it generally ends except for those of us who are lucky enough to be like the princesses. Celestia will be banking on her personal student freeing her sister from her madness, but I'm doubtful that will happen since I know Sunset Shimmer is more likely to get on every ponies nerve instead of doing something constructive." If Twilight wanted to sell her idea, she figured now would be a good time to do so. "What I want to do is to try and have all of Ponyville acknowledge Luna the second she appears, then we'll confuse her to the point where we slowly talk her down from her plans. We'll need a lot of ponies that truly appreciate the night though, as Luna went mad because every pony slept through her beautiful nights leading to her feeling underappreciated. So I want to welcome her with a warm heart after a millennium has passed her by in the blink of an eye, she's already done her time and we don't need to make it worse for her. So we'll alter the decorations to reflect a lunar theme and prepare for her arrival that day."
"Well... how do we go about raising awareness of this forgotten princess? Do you have evidence of her existence other then foal hood tales? It would go a long way to setting up for her arrival if what you say is true. We'll be the first place to welcome a princess back after being gone a thousand years, but if that plan of yours falls through I hope you will have a few backup plans in place. Goodness knows I don't want any pony to get dragged into a fight with a legend like Nightmare Moon." The mayor truly believed Twilight and was willing to aid her, which is if she could convince many other ponies who lived here to go along with it. The threat sounded like it encompassed the entire planet of Equus and not just her small town.
"We'll start with changing a few things about Nightmare Night. Nightmare Moon hasn't been off the moon in the last nine hundred years so I doubt she has truly been gobbling up ponies." Twilight couldn't wait for the candy gathering holiday in a few months as she already had her costume planned out, now if only she could talk Rarity into making it. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 70 | Twilight came down in front of the Carousel Boutique, she did so on her face. She really had to work out balancing issues with her gravity spell or else that would keep happening. After rubbing her slightly sore nose with a hoof, Twilight knocked on the door. Rarity opened it welcoming Twilight inside.
"Sorry I'm a bit late. I was having an important discussion with the mayor." Twilight was actually understating how important it was to change some things about the Summer Sun Celebration being held in Ponyville. It was going to be a celebration of the night as well as the rising sun.
"I just got finished putting the tea on darling, why it's not even a problem at all. Come on in, I was about to bring out the biscuits." Rarity bustled back into the kitchen to both Bonbon and Octavia who were sitting at the table already discussing something.
"Oh hey there Twilight, will you please thank Tress for me the next time you see her. That Ever Clean Cleanser stuff is amazing; it makes my job so much easier. Now if only Tress could figure out how to make it in a different smell. Don't get me wrong as I like the smell of mint, it's just kind of overpowering." Bonbon smiled cheerily as Twilight took a seat across from her and Rarity sat down with them while levitating over a plate of biscuits to go with their tea when it was finished. "How did you like my present? The candy tin is reusable after you are finished with the candy inside of it."
"I'll keep that in mind when I see her and the candy is really good, I'm finding it hard not to eat all of it in one go." Twilight liked the gummy candy. It had a nice balance of sweet and sour that was tantalizing instead of overboard.
"I was hoping you could tell me what Canterlot is like Octavia, I've never been there myself. Twilight apparently thinks it's a constant horror story if one decides to look past all the glamour." It was about time Rarity asked for a second opinion.
"It is kind of like that actually; we saw Cerberus when we went there for the wedding a while ago. Even I would find it hard to get a hoof into high society if it weren't for a fact that there were nice ponies there as well. Fancy Pants is quite the gentle stallion and Fleur is a lot more promiscuous then I'd thought she'd be." Octavia gained a little heat in her cheeks remembering how Fleur acted with Fancy; those two were definitely a pair. "It's not so bad what with the Celestial Guard being competent or at least Twilight's brother is apparently highly competent."
"Shiny has a special talent for protecting others and barrier spells. I used to get bullied all the time when I was little and he was always there for me, that is until he left to join the guard. At least I know he's doing well, he said so himself in a letter he wrote after that horn removal surgery." Twilight wondered why Rarity and Bonbon was looking at her in a horrified manner.
"Good heavens, what did he do that warrant the removal of his horn and why would a unicorn be okay with that?" Rarity clutched at her horn with her hooves rubbing it softly, the horn of a unicorn was made of stern stuff and to have it removed against your will was like losing your best friend or a limb.
"It wasn't that horn that got removed." Now Octavia wondered why Rarity was looking a little sick, Bonbon just looked intrigued.
"You mean he was gelded? I wonder how a stallion can still be happy after that." Bonbon thought Rarity really needed that tea and soon. She would need it personally to calm her slightly upset stomach.
"Okay, before you two take this out of context any further he got a horn from a minotaur stuck in him and needed to get it removed." Twilight wondered if they could just stop this conversation now. It was just getting plain silly how much of Shining Armor's situation could be taken out of context when mentioning it.
"I don't know whether to feel sorry for your brother or the minotaur now. How did it happen and was it consensual at least?" Rarity did not understand why her question just caused Twilight to face hoof, it was a perfectly legitimate question. She often wondered if there was such a thing as a female minotaur, you never really hear of them and only the males of their species are truly prominent.
"You two really aren't getting the context here, what happened is that her brother got rear ended by a minotaur and he left his horn in him." Octavia understood and knew what happened to Twilight's brother, her phrasing could have used a little work however.
"We know that, what's wrong with Rarity asking if it was consensual or not?" Now it was Bonbon wondering why Twilight was double face hoofing.
"It was one of the horns from the top of the minotaur's head that broke off in his flank in pitched battle; does any of that sound like he had given his consent to you?" Both mares, much to Twilight's delight, had a look of comprehension and understanding on their faces. This was around the time the tea pot started whistling, it made Twilight happy that there was something to distract the two mares from their one track minds.
"Well how deep did the minotaur penetrate...?" Rarity started only to stop and take in Twilight's flat stare. Being the generous host she was and also for the better part of her own safety, it was time for something else to talk about. "Right, I guess it's time for a change of subject then."
"I'll start, I have an idea for a Nightmare Night costume and I would like you to make it, it'll require quite a selection of gems. while I'm at it I'll commission a costume for Tress. Her costume is far less elaborate then mine will be." Twilight pulled out a folder with her magic and slid it over to Rarity. The fashion master opened the folder and looked it over. "So how much will these two suits cost me?"
"Yes, I believe can do this easily enough. Though tarry the thought of actually... yes it'll be something like eighty bits given it's a special job." The icy stare Rarity received when she was about to do it for free made her shiver.
"Rarity you can't keep giving stuff to me for free like this. While you never come off as selfish except for your slight gold digging tendencies, you should seriously stop being so lenient to all of your friends. We're not freeloaders and we all have decent paying jobs. You should also be glad I'm not waiting until the last minute to ask for the costumes as a rush job." This was a time Twilight was going to be stern with the overly generous mare as she deserved recompense for her hard work. "I'll be paying those eighty bits even though I know it's probably discounted given your fine work."
"It's Rarity, of course it's a discount. Speaking of costumes... I was wondering if I could commission a candy corn costume." Bonbon would be the candy corn to Lyra's nuts. Those two together tended to make for a good candy bar, one that tasted like a Neigh Day.
"I would give my friends the world if I could Twilight, never doubt that for a moment. Of course you can Bonnie. Octavia do you have a costume in mind as well?" If Rarity was taking Twilight and Bonbon's requests, then she may as well get Octavia's in while she was at it. This sudden change in topic was some nice business for Rarity as she's been a bit light as of late, she could probably advertise her costume making prowess aside from her dressmaking ways.
"Can you make a werewolf pony costume that breathes well? Also I need a cape or mantle for a vampire pony costume if you can do that. I've always kind of assumed that you only made dresses." Octavia took a sip of her tea while leaning back and enjoying good company. Her thoughts turned to the ever infuriating Vinyl and her annoyingly charming habits.
"Just because dresses are my favorite thing to make doesn't mean it's the only thing my shop produces." Looking into her shop from the kitchen Rarity saw nothing but dresses, she just shook her head. "Though I guess I can understand where you'd get an idea like that from. I'll make sure to write down your order as well Octavia."
"If you broadened your inventory even a little bit you'd get more customers. You could still be known for dresses too if that is your main focus, I'm not here to tell you how to run your business." It was a bit obvious sounding to Twilight.
"I know, I just really like designing dresses and I have a terrible time getting away from doing so. I'm just doing what I love even if it may drive me a bit crazy at times. Maybe on a slower week I might fancy that option to expand into making other things a bit more, I'm pretty good for winter clothing. Anything else we need to discuss?" Things weren't going too badly for Rarity today, she was commissioned to make some costumes for some of her friends and she was having a generally quiet day. One would suspect something to go horribly wrong in the presence of Twilight, but nothing so far.
A few minutes after Rarity thought that there was a huge commotion outside. The four ponies went to the window and looked outside to see an army of what looked like killer cupcakes being fought off by Tress and Pinkie.
"How did this even happen, Twilight was nowhere near the bakery!" Tress bit down on a cupcake before tossing her head back sending it into the air. She swallowed the entire cupcake in one go, it was hard to do and Pinkie made it look so easy too.
Speaking of Pinkie, she was taking care of most of the attacking cupcake forces that were growling and biting at their ankles. Pinkie kept snapping them up as fast she feasibly could, there would never be a day where a cupcake would ever get the best of her.
"Tress, why haven't you called for Palatable yet?" The dumb look that crossed her friends face at the realization of something that would make things easier just made Twilight face hoof harder than usual.
"Pal, get your sweet smelling butt over here and pronto!" The reaction was immediate as Tress witnessed the cupcake army being torn in half by the blind fury of her pet. Only then did the cupcakes start trying to make a run for it, but it was too late to do so. "Thank you for reminding me of him Twilight. Those cupcakes were pure evil I tell you, didn't taste bad though."
"No, it wasn't the cupcakes that were evil. They just wanted to be sugary baked goodness in a world that didn't understand them and thus they rebelled against us." Pinkie was holding a candy skull and looking saddened, before she brightened up and bit the candy skull in half.
"Understand what, they had sharpened peppermint sticks for teeth!" In the face of that pronouncement Tress saw Pinkie cringe. This led her to calming down and giving the pink pony a smile. "It's okay Pinks, I still wonder what caused this if it wasn't Twilight."
"I think I know and if I'm right I have a little sister to punish. Now if you will all excuse me, SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity was quite livid that her sister created food monsters again. Whether it was burning juice by just pouring it or bringing more food monsters into the world, Rarity always has to remind Sweetie that her special talent would not be related to anything having to do with food. Her little sister was supposed to be smart, yet she kept trying the same things and expected the end results to change. Their mother trying to help Sweetie learn how to cook was just a small part of the insanity in Rarity's life.
"I didn't create any cupcake monsters or was anywhere near Sugar Cube Corner today Rarity, I honestly wouldn't know about it!" The fact that Sweetie Belle even knew what the monsters were kind of ruined her entire alibi, especially if she had never been out of her room.
Elsewhere in Ponyville Fluttershy was currently spending time with Scootaloo. The filly was enjoying the presence of a pony cool enough to be good friends with Rainbow Dash. In the distance a unicorn watching the two sent off a message using a spell and the light traveled to Canterlot and it would coalesce in front of Celestia. The guard hadn't been as secretive as he could of been and had been caught spying on Fluttershy and Scootaloo by a Fluttershy lookalike who was now smelling a conspiracy in the works. Thus the guard had earned an unwanted tail.
"Hmm... what's this? The most likely candidate for the element of kindness has been spotted and she's been seen around Scootaloo a lot lately. I hope this Fluttershy doesn't pry too deeply into where Scootaloo comes from, it's nice to see that filly is at least making some friends." Even with this good news, Celestia was still reeling from the fact that Cadence jailed herself and refused to leave for quite some time. Where had she gone so wrong with Cadence? She was going to start treading much more lightly from now on.
At least the elements of harmony were gathering on their own, Celestia at least knew the ponies that represented laughter, generosity and honesty. She could only hope that Sunset Shimmer would find the magic in her to complete the set and hopefully she would save herself at the same time by befriending these ponies. Her hidden guards only had to find one more pony and then they could all come back, except for the ones watching out for Scootaloo's safety of course. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 71 | It was simply just another day and today Fluttershy and Trixie were spending time watching Rainbow Dash fly around. Scootaloo was also there enjoying the impromptu show going on in the sky.
"Trixie does not know why she likes Rainbow so much. She's got an ego as big as Trixie does and Trixie has been working on that." It seemed like Trixie completely lacked the ability to not say her own name every sentence.
"Well you're doing a wonderful job Trixie; it's just that I think Scootaloo really likes Rainbow because she flies so fast and free. I think it's also because she leaves a trail of colors wherever she goes." Fluttershy watched as Rainbow zipped across the sky with an excited Scootaloo frolicking around on the ground below, the filly was probably dreaming of being able to fly like that. Sighing she turned to Trixie; Fluttershy didn't mind Trixie's odd habits and even enjoyed the fact that she was always wearing her hat and cape everywhere in a cute manner. "I've noticed that she has seems to have problems with flying. She might be a flightless pegasus."
"Trixie can see why that would make Rainbow more important. Having wings and being incapable of flight is like Trixie being incapable of being good with magic though she has a horn." Trixie wilted a bit and also watched as Rainbow performed several loops through the air at an incredible speed. "Having a special talent for telling tales and illusions really is not what Trixie thought Trixie would be good at."
"Well I never thought I'd be good at anything, I was always picked on for being a weak flyer and the education systems in Cloudsdale are really poorly suited for ponies that can't fly very well or at all. Do you even know what happens to a pegasus that can't fly and lives in Cloudsdale?" Fluttershy knew the answer and Trixie didn't look like she was about to ask for it.
"It's a tough world at times; Trixie once thought you had to step on ponies to make any headway in it." After Trixie Lulamoon met Pinkie Pie and became her personal party magician, she couldn't even think of being self centered anymore. "Pinkie has a way of changing that kind of world view."
"How does it feel to be in love?" It was nice to ask some pony who knew what it was like as Fluttershy was still sadly single. She wouldn't poach Twilight or Tress from each other; they were in a strong platonic relationship and Fluttershy didn't want to mess up that synergy.
"Very weird, Pinkie does so many odd things and Trixie enjoys being hugged by her a lot." Trixie had only just started dating Pinkie and it was a mutual attraction or at least it appeared to be. They shared a lot of time at parties and worked well together to make each one special.
"There is never a reason to frown, as long as Pinkie lives in this town." Zecora chuckled as Trixie and Fluttershy both jumped. One bleated like a goat and the other had immediately become invisible except for the disruption of four circles in the grass. "Oh you ponies are the ones I love to tease, now what are you talking about if you please?"
"Hey what's with the weird pony... she doesn't look like she has a cutie mark. Does this mean there's a chance I'll never get one?" Scootaloo had finally taking her attention off of the most amazing pony she had ever seen and saw a grey, black and white pony.
"Aw such a cute young filly, you are quite silly. I'm not a phony, but I'm definitely not quite a pony." Zecora had always liked the young fillies and colts as they were usually so sweet and innocent. "The symbol of a cutie mark is not meant for my race, when you will achieve yours I can't tell as it's not my place."
"Do you always talk like that?" Scootaloo tilted her head intrigued by the not a pony.
"Like Trixie, she has a preferred method of speech. Haven't you ever heard of a zebra before in school? Trixie has learned many things of the other races out there and knowing something like that will help Trixie in understanding their customs if Trixie is ever to travel away from Ponyville." Trixie had never met a wiser zebra that was a good conversationalist and managed to keep it going in rhyme no less.
"Um, Trixie... I don't think Scootaloo has ever been in a school before." At least that's the impression Fluttershy was getting from Scootaloo. Aside from Smart's investigation, she personally asked around Ponyville and found out that the little filly was taught on the streets by the townsfolk in general everyday life. At least Ponyville watched out for any pony that lived there even if a pony could overcharge you for a cherry if they felt like being cruel.
"School is so boring, why would any pony want to sit in one place all day when you could be outside having fun and eating the fresh grass? There's also taking naps out on the sunny hills'." Scootaloo liked grazing and grass was always a free meal; however it did kind of get boring to eat grass all the time.
"Learning in its own unique way can be quite fun, it's about as useful as always going for a run. You need to exercise both body and mind, as doing so will help you grow stronger in kind." Zecora wondered why this adorable filly wasn't going to school, there was so much that the filly would miss in life if she didn't learn things.
"What?" Scootaloo really didn't understand what Zecora meant.
"She means that while you're a very healthy little filly, you still need to learn how to do math, science and even write. It'll help you much later when you grow up and you won't be so alone." If Fluttershy was going to get to the root of the problem, she was going to start by being there for Scootaloo. The filly in question looked hurt by the insinuation that she was lonely, even if it was very much true. "School is not just a place about sitting around. It's a place where you can make friends and learn how some things work in the world. You might even be able to learn how to fly like Rainbow does."
"You should really listen to Fluttershy about this stuff as she's smart like that. I might not have been too great at regular school, but even I went and learned how to do things." Rainbow came in for a landing and was suddenly attracting Scootaloo's attention like a high powered magnet. "I wouldn't even be able to live in Ponyville if I didn't know how to hold the weather manager position I have. I'm glad I have enough smarts to even have the job that I do; still it's not a bad thing to enjoy the world while you're still young. No point in being a big egghead and wasting all your time with worries when you could be doing things, but that's just me. Even I need to learn stuff to become a Wonder Bolt, just think about it kid. I've got to get back to work guys, see ya."
Scootaloo mulled over what Rainbow Dash said as the quick flying mare shot for the skies once more. The filly was seen wandering off towards Ponyville on her scooter looking thoughtful. As soon as Scootaloo was gone Fluttershy turned to Zecora and Trixie.
"Um... did you need something Zecora or were you just stopping to say hello?" It was so nice to see the zebra as it has been a while.
"Of things with any pony I can talk, do you two want to go for a walk?" Zecora motioned to the bright happy day going on around them. It was sunny, the lake was shining, the birds were singing and Twilight was once again in pitched battle for survival against what looked like a fierce dragon like creature. Zecora brought a hoof to her chin to rub it with an intrigued look on her face. "Well now that is an interesting sight, what is a jabberwock doing out of the forest and it being nowhere near night?"
Fluttershy was behind Zecora and curled up cowering at the sight of the relatively large dragon like monster. Trixie moved over to the shy mare and started trying to sooth her by holding her. Zecora just shook her head sadly as she watched the unicorn get chased by the monster on the far side of the lake, eventually the two disappeared into the woods. Even if they did go to help, they probably wouldn't be able to do much to assist her or even know where to go as they were too far away to see which way Twilight was now running.
A jabberwock was a dangerous chimera creature to be sure. They had a body like dragons, but thankfully not the size or actual toughness to match a real one. They had powerful fanged jaws in a fish shaped head with whiskers on a long neck; on its head was some small insect styled antenna. Their wing tips and legs ended in painful looking grasping talons like a birds.
"Do you think we should help or get some pony who can? Trixie doesn't think she can keep running forever." It wasn't like Trixie was incredibly worried for Twilight's safety, that unicorn has likely survived worse. Right now she was more focused on calming down Fluttershy by snuggling the cute mare. "It'll be okay Fluttershy; no big bad monster is going to hurt you while Trixie is here."
"I really don't like dragons. Just don't tell Barb I said that as I actually like her." Fluttershy whimpered and snuggled into Trixie and her enwrapping comforting hooves. The very sight of a dragon like beast scared her.
"It's a matter based in fact, I have no idea how we're to act. Our friend Twilight is magically strong; to think that creature has any resilience to magic is wrong." Zecora knew a thing or two about animals far and wide in the world. Even if this was the first time she has actually seen one, she has heard more than enough to know a unicorn can use magic against it easily enough.
"Do you think Twilight knows that?" Trixie continued to pet Fluttershy gently, the shy mare looked particularly distraught about this.
"We've studied all kinds of creatures together Trixie, I'm sure she'll be okay. She's always getting into dangerous situations all the time. Can you two walk me home so I can get my medical kit though? I have a feeling she might need it soon." Fluttershy felt bad about not confronting the creature immediately, but they didn't have any idea which direction Twilight would be running when she entered the forest on the far side of the lake.
"It is a good course of action to which I can agree. Maybe it is best we should get Twilight when she lands and flee." The two mares were about to ask Zecora what she meant, only for Twilight fall out of the sky covered in scrapes, a few shallow cuts and breathing like she has just ran a marathon. The mare had tumbled along the ground until she came to a stop near them staring up at them pleadingly. "Now that you see what I mean, it's about time we became the shoulder on which she can lean."
Trixie quickly released Fluttershy from the cuddle and focused her horn on Twilight to lift the mare into the air. They all set off in the opposite direction from where they last saw the jabberwock. A little while after this incident Fluttershy was patching up Twilight from her minor injuries and small flesh wounds.
"Are you okay Twilight?" Fluttershy continued to gently patch up the purple unicorn with Trixie's help.
"I'm okay; I just accidentally woke up that jabberwock. They are really sensitive about their whiskers apparently." Twilight really wondered how she and Tress keep getting into these messes during very seemingly simple jobs. All she had to do was pick a few specific flowers for Roseluck and then leave. It seemed that sometimes even the simplest jobs she receives get very dangerous in a variety of random ways.
"So you were flying with the gravity spell again I see, Trixie still thinks you need to work on the landings as you've only done it once." It wasn't that Trixie was jealous Twilight could fall sideways in a unique fashion to appear as if she was flying. She was only slightly envious and figured the poor purple pony needed some cool abilities to make up for all the insanity.
"There is something of the Trouble Takers I must ask; the mayor of Ponyville has given me a task." Zecora was going to eventually see Twilight about this and now seemed like a good time. Twilight just nodded. "Can you assist me with aid on telling a story of the night, one that brings to many foals, fillies and colts a fright? The special illusionary powder for the performance I won't have time to mix, do you have the ability to create illusions as a fix?"
Twilight turned to Trixie with a bright cheery toothily wide smile, job finished in half a second. That was a new record.
Trixie wilted as this meant trouble in the foreseeable future if Twilight had a penchant for evil tendencies like Tress did. She'd still do it as it was her special talent and she wasn't going let some half baked illusionist perform in her town while she was still fit to put on a show. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 72 | Lyra plucked away at the strings of her lyre as she sat on the street corner with her coin box, living on the kindness of strangers was always something that made her feel that her music was appreciated. She was playing a small tune that she truly liked and hoped that others liked it as well. Tress came up to Lyra and sat down and listened to the tune, this was soon followed by Bonbon. The music playing mare only played the song once more and then upon finishing she opened her eyes to the sound of two ponies applauding, seeing as one of them was Bonbon her cheeks went hot.
Bonbon smiled at Lyra before placing a few bits in her box and then she went about her way, while Tress stayed behind with lyrist.
"So what's that little bit of music called?" Tress had nothing to do; she already spent some time with Rainbow at the dojo. The fantastic flyer was getting better at taking a hit and would soon lose the glass to her cannon.
"A griffon named Medley taught me that one; she said it was about awakening winds." Lyra sighed and played it again, it was calm tune that felt like a soft breeze blowing through the air with a fluttering leaf. After she finished she turned to Tress with a question on the tip of her tongue.
"Did you need something Heartstrings?" Tress tilted her head and flicked her ears in an attentive manner. Tress pulled out a coin and tossed it into Lyra's coin box. "One bit for your thoughts? I'm listening."
"Actually yes, I've been meaning to ask you something. It's just kind of hard to ask, but how do you live with Twilight Sparkle? I mean how do you get along with her and stay her friend while living in the same house as she does? Doesn't anything that happens between the two of you ever get awkward? Doesn't all the stuff she drags you into ever make you think of striking it out on your own." In truth Lyra was asking because she wanted to move in with Bonbon and she wanted to learn from a mare that's got some experience sharing a space with another pony. "It's just been bugging me that you two can share a space so easily. Also how did you end up living with her and why do you even still do?"
"Well what can I tell you? Twilight's family took me and gave me a home and I don't exactly have any other family to go to. I really don't like to talk about it." Tress watched as Lyra cringed at bringing up her lack of a family. "Why I still continue to live with Twilight is because she's my best friend and I like being around her to see what happens next. Maybe I also have a protective streak with my closer friends who all now reside in Ponyville. It's not always perfect and things can get awkward, it just doesn't happen often enough. In fact it was her friendship that kind of helped me out of a bad place. Would you believe I used to be a somewhat chronically depressed super villain with very little in life that could truly ever make me happy except getting the stuffing beat out of me?"
"I can tell you now that your special talent is not acting, though being a super villain in a play sounds like something you could pull off. You got the evil cackle down extremely well that it'd send shivers down the spine of a pony that didn't know the real you." Lyra didn't know why Tress looked at her with a bit of a sad smile. "Though having a nice mane does go a long way to having a good stage presence I must admit."
"Yeah plays... the real me." Tress rubbed the back of her head with a hoof slightly ruffling her shimmering light blue hair.
"I guess it was easy for you to get a job doing something like that, so were you adopted by Twilight's family?" Lyra noticed Tress's body language got even more uncomfortable.
"I was never in an orphanage to be adopted. Where I come from the laws are slightly different, also I had to run a hair styling empire after my families untimely demise. It put a lot of stress on me and it wasn't until later that I met Twilight and truly started to feel alive again instead of going through the motions." In oh so many words that she was a comic book character that was destined to be beaten into submission for the rest of her life by costumed weirdoes, ones with no real social lives due in part to all the crime fighting. All the while her sanity would have continued to slip further into the depths, then some purple hooves wrapped around her in comfort and it all changed. "I left everything I've ever had behind after meeting her. The Sparkle family took me in with open hooves and almost shoved delicious cookies down my throat. To say Twilight's parents liked anyone who legitimately becomes their daughter's friend is putting it lightly. Fluttershy is always getting hugs from Twilight's mother Velvet and they've even referenced me as the daughter they've always had that sadly went missing for ten or so years."
"Have you ever thought of going back? Sounds like you were wealthy and I know you're doing well enough now, but don't you ever miss being in charge or all that money you left behind as well?" Lyra never thought Tress seemed all too wealthy. She's only heard from Octavia and Rarity that Tress had worked with Fleur De Lis who was that supermodel that had recently married the philanthropist Fancy Pants.
"I had no money when I started living with the Sparkle family, as I said I left it all behind and I mean absolutely everything. I don't really have anything that I would want to go back for; I'm truly wealthier for just having good friends and family. Money can get you a lot of stuff, but it can't buy true happiness. Besides that form of currency is not viable here anyway." Equestrian currency and Maretropolis currency were two entirely different things. Even if Tress had brought some of that currency over into this world, it would have been pretty useless. "I don't want to live through having to run a company again after all the stress it put on me, I kind of hurt myself pretty badly because of it. Good thing it wasn't a permanent injury."
"You must be from Prance or something given your looks. Are you sure you're right about currency not buying happiness? I wouldn't want to pay Bonbon to like me or just buy her love outright. Ponies try it all the time with chocolates or roses, it's become a truly common way to show affection by buying those two items. One of which Bonbon already produces and the other her friend grows. Basically ponies spend money on the other ponies they like and it almost seems like they're trying to buy love with those tokens of affection which requires aforementioned money." It was the beginning of an argument of whether true love was dead or not, Lyra really wondered if these thoughts occurred because of Cadence imprisoning herself. "If it makes a pony happy that you bought flowers that won't last very long or chocolates that will get them fat if they are liked for their looks... doesn't it seem kind of counterproductive to actual true love? Especially if said love is based on what your partner can get or do for you? Sure there must be some effort involved in the relationship, but it seems like there's always requirements and conditions. Can't a pony just unconditionally love another without pointless trinkets? Can you imagine if I trotted up to Rarity and told her point blank that her idea of love was asinine? Especially if she's basing them on some poorly written romance novels about vampire ponies called Dawn."
"So this is a philosophical question about how you should approach Bonbon with the fact that you like her more than a friend, despite the fact that she already knows? This aside from the debate of whether or not love has truly become a commodity that can be bought with money by association of trying to win over a pony's heart with a mass of gifts. I'm pretty sure Chrysalis would love to hear that gilded lilies will get her love. Now that I think about, it already has... sort of." A changeling would jump at the chance to buy love in bulk, so would a succubus for that matter. Their methods of feeding may seem similar but were actually quite different. Tress would find it humorous to see who would be the higher bidder in an auction war between those two races. She may even see something like that happening from just being around Twilight long enough. "Just please don't get Rarity started. She's already bad at matchmaking as it is, we don't need to point out her failures of getting a date with her absurdly high standards in place."
"I can even play music while we're discussing it too. I want the love I feel for Bonbon to be pure, even using my talent in music would be buying her love in a different way. It would be because of something I can do and not for who I am even if it is technically a part of me." Lyra knew Bonbon liked her and wanted the relationship, she didn't want to court Bonbon in a way that other ponies would and she wasn't sure if Bonbon would go for it. She knew Bonbon was already okay with a mare liking her and didn't mind a lyrist that had some eccentricities. Still if she didn't want to eat grass and wanted some fine tasting produce she better start producing herself, she started playing another tune on her lyre. "Do you actually see a pony marrying one who lives off the land and doesn't have a single bit to their name? It seems to me that a pretty pony could have anyone they want and treat them like dirt just because they are rich, they'll even get away with treating others like dirt too."
"Is this coming from seeing it happen to some pony else or is it the personal experience where a pony stole a previous fancy of yours?" Now things were on the other hoof as Tress saw Lyra wince and hugged her lyre tightly. "Ouch, I guess that answers my question. Kind of says a lot about Princess Cadence. How can she truly be the princess of love? She has to know what love is like considering she had at least been given some unconditional love at least one point in her life right? At least she's seen her own mistakes and is willing to take responsibility for her actions."
"Speaking of unconditional love, isn't romance about physical attraction? Wouldn't that mean my love for Bonbon is all based in her form instead of just for who she is? She has cute ears and her body is quite nice to look at. If that was all I cared about then I'd be hurting her and I would never want to do that." Lyra could somehow match her lyre playing to her mood; it was a somber tone.
"Well you can't perfectly love everything about her, that's why you need to start dating her to figure out what it is that you like and dislike about her. Just because you don't like something about her doesn't mean you can't tolerate it and still love her." Tress was pretty sure she wasn't the pony to go to about this kind of thing. "I'm beginning to think Heartstrings is a prophetic family name considering you're plucking at the strings in your own heart."
"Tress has a point Lyra; you can't possibly love every single little thing about me. Blind love would be equally false if you don't test the waters even a little, though it's kind of sweet that you think you're unworthy of a rather ordinary normal pony like me." Bonbon leaned in and kissed Lyra's cheek. It caused the lyrist to play a few weird notes and faint, Bonbon giggled into her hooves at the sight. She had been standing behind the lyre player after doing some light shopping while listening in to their conversation.
"Laying it on a bit thick there eh Bonnie?" Tress received a completely unapologetic smile for her query. "Well now you'll have to deal with her, I wash my hooves of this situation."
"Can't you at least help me wake her up first? I'm willing to tolerate all of her eccentricities if she's willing to tolerate mine." Bonbon's voice was one of those weird things about her and it was a thing ponies in Ponyville got used to, no pony other than Lyra would actually say it was an attractive feature.
"Tolerating each other isn't the problem here; it's being able to do it in an enclosed environment for long periods of time." Tress started poking Lyra with a stick she found nearby. Derpy eventually appeared carrying a small box and opened it to reveal a small amount of smelling salts and she held it under Lyra's nose causing the mare to immediately jerk awake.
"Thanks Derpy, do you always carry a small box of smelling salts on you?" Bonbon received a cheerful walled eyed smile as the mare snapped the box close and flew off without a word. "I'll take that as a yes. It must be useful to have that stuff on hoof at all times if your prospective life partner keeps fainting on you. So Lyra, do you want to go on a date with me?"
Lyra fainted again while murmuring an answer while throwing her hooves up in the air before losing consciousness once more.
"Just be aware that unicorns can be a lot trouble. I live with one so I would know, I guess it's probably no worse than the crazy ponies living here anyway." Tress motioned to all of Ponyville with a single wide sweep of her hoof. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 73 | It was a cloudy day and Tress watched as the world passed below her as she carefully glided through the air on the power of her mane alone. Flying right next to her was Smart who was instructing her on hang glider dynamics that the pixie had memorized for these hair gliding lessons. Jumping off a cliff before would not have been as exhilarating as it felt now.
"We've been doing this for about an hour now. You still have to show up for the running of the leaves you know!" Smart yelled to make sure Tress heard her.
"Thanks for reminding me. I guess my fun had to end sometime." Tress didn't turn her head and tilted it to the right slightly, her body slowly turned to float towards the lake. She was not ready to land on hard ground yet; it was even a bit problematic trying to find thermal updrafts to gain some height.
"Welcome to our final descent of T. Ravel Airlines this is you're captain Smart speaking, after an hour of getting plenty of lift with your mane you are now coming in for landing. Please remember to pull up into a stall to slowly float toward the ground or water at your discretion and thank you for flying air hair!" Smart thought she was being so cutesy with her commentary.
Tress alighted and flailed her four hooves slightly at the air as she splashed down into some shallow water safely. She slowly paddled to the shore sighing at the wistful memories of swinging across the cityscape with her mane and tail. Even when she was insane she had had a lot of fun being the Mane-iac and would one day soon recover that side of herself. It was the side of her with an entirely different cutie mark; it meant that special talents or destinies weren't exactly set in stone if your mark could change like hers had. She wondered if she even still had that other cutie mark hidden away in her powers.
"Come on slowpoke, you can dry off while you're running or you can have Twilight wring you out." Smart flew off leaving a trail of energy heading towards where the race was being held.
Winning was not the true goal of the race; it was knocking the leaves out of the trees with the thunderous pounding of many hooves against the road.
Tress slowly started off after Smart, idly thinking of how it felt to glide through the air with the greatest of ease. She wondered if she could flap her mane to fly. Well stability was a big issue if she was going to be flapping her mane awkwardly, there was her body mass and weight to think of and it wasn't feasible or even worthwhile to try it when gliding was faster and easier to learn. She should also consider using her hair as a parachute when she needed to fall straight down.
"Can we talk for a moment Tress?" The voice of Chrysalis drew Tress out of her reverie. The changeling was sitting on a tree branch with an unusually large monarch butterfly on her shoulder. The bug pony fluttered her way to the ground, her blue mane was now longer and she looked particularly healthy today with no visible mauling wounds.
"Hey Maul Me Sign, where've you been lately?" It had been a while since Chrysalis had somehow got mangled on her way back into their lives. "Is that the pet Fluttershy found for you? Looks docile enough and here I thought everything mauled you."
"Where I've been is why I wanted to talk with you and possibly a few other ponies. Other than that Fluttershy found out what would make ideal pets for a changeling and I'm still trying to get over what happened with the Platypus before she did. That will always be the most traumatizing moment in my life bar none." Chrysalis smiled when the butterfly on her back gave off a tiny almost indecipherable chirp in sympathy. "Apparently arthropods, arachnids and etcetera based creatures don't hate changelings. My very friendly little pet here isn't what I was expecting but I'm happy about it."
"You do realize monarch butterflies only live for a short time right?" Tress knew once the changeling started following you around she wouldn't leave until she's at least said her piece or became bored.
"Not if they happen to be a familiar like your cat is, it'll live about as long as I can and is not a regular monarch butterfly. It's a giant monarch butterfly, they live much longer." Funny, Chrysalis could almost taste shock coming off of Tress at that declaration. Maybe she didn't know Pal was her familiar? Ah well, at least she does now.
"So what did you want to tell me or any pony for that matter specifically?" Tress was already on the path through the woods for today's event, it wasn't a big holiday but it was still pretty important. "You may want to hurry with that because I've got a race to get to."
"I'll give you the quick version then, celestial guards have been living in Ponyville scouting out for the elements of harmony. So far they've identified three and only need two more and one of those two being scouted out right now is Fluttershy as the element of kindness. They are having problems with finding the element of loyalty as Rainbow, Vinyl, Twilight and you are the current suspected elements of loyalty." Chrysalis thought it was weird that this was of no surprise to Tress; she didn't think she'd ever understand ponies completely.
"So Twilight was right, Celestia has already started in on her plan. I'm surprised the quasi immortal sun controller doesn't have a backup plan in case things go horribly wrong, then again she's a notable chess master and life is her favorite chess board." Taking in the odd look from the changeling Tress decided to elaborate. "It's what Twilight said and that's taking into consideration the last nine hundred plus years of pony history where no pony or being otherwise has managed to depose her."
"Sure she may be good at handling known blatantly loud threats, but I doubt she'd see a changeling attack coming before it's too late." It didn't seem like it, but changelings were major information brokers and could find out anything even given their sometimes clumsy methods of infiltration.
"Thank you for sharing this with me, we'll discuss it later." Tress trotted up to the ponies who signed up for the race with Chrysalis following after a burst of green flames.
"Well, there is one other thing though. I have a few changelings looking into the Scootaloo case you started and never finished. We found out lots of interesting tidbits about her that the enchanted toy didn't and it was hard even getting what little we know." Receiving an intrigued look in her direction, Chrysalis smiled faintly with her dark Fluttershy doppelganger face. "Fluttershy didn't want to give up on finding out stuff about Scootaloo and asked us to help her with it. She ironically didn't want the Trouble Takers to get into trouble which is basically your modus operandi."
"Can you tell us after the race? It'll be starting soon." Turning back to the other ponies Tress saw Twilight waiting with a group of other ponies.
"Sure thing, I'm racing as well. I think I've been gaining a little too much weight from all the good feelings around here recently and could stand to lose a few pounds of emotionally heavy fat." Chrysalis slapped a number on her flank and followed Tress.
"Hey Tress how was your hang gliding session with Smart? Did everything go alright? You look slightly damp. Here I'll take care of it." With a flick of her horn Twilight separated a mass of water from Tress's body and tossed it aside.
"Thanks Radiance, it was really fun. So how many of our friends are going to be doing the run?" The answer to Tress's question was made clear by the numbers other ponies had on their flanks.
Every earth pony in Ponyville was going to do some running. A few unicorns and a pegasus or two wanted to join in as well. Even Lyra ran up to them on her hind legs bouncing on them with giddy excitement as a grumpy Bonbon followed her in the natural pony form of locomotion.
"Do you think Roseluck and Noteworthy are together? That's almost like say Daisy and Lily have a thing because they are easily panicked. Well more so Lily anyway, though I think her and Daisy would fit together if they were like that. I swear Daisy, Rose and Lily are all instigators of their own panic attacks." It appeared Rarity was having a nice conversation with Octavia.
"So you'll let me rent out your balloon so that I can follow the race with a microphone. Wahoo, the mayor will be happy that I can do my job of helping with the event. Now all I need is a partner to help me commentate. Hmm, hey Fluttershy do you want to ride shotgun, okay great!" Pinkie was renting Cherry Berry's balloon. The hyperactive mare grabbed Fluttershy and leapt into the balloon without pause or even waiting for an answer. "Okay ponies time to round up and spread the leaves today! My guest speaker with me here is Fluttershy. Say hi to every pony that is watching us with all of their attention Fluttershy."
"H-hi every pony, have fun and please don't get hurt." Fluttershy squeaked and ducked down in the balloon shivering. Pinkie gently patted Fluttershy on the head and got the balloon started; at least Fluttershy would have a good view of the race and had a medical kit on hoof if things went wrong.
"Fluttershy really could stand to be a little less shy." Rainbow shook her head in exasperation as she made her way to the starting line.
"What can you do Rainbow, she wouldn't be the mare we all liked if she ever stopped being so adorable." Twilight knew she wasn't going to be doing so well in the pack as she wasn't the most athletic of mares, in comparison to some pony like Applejack who had both the endurance and stamina for this.
"I hear that sister." Chrysalis liked how Fluttershy acted; it made it really fun to feed off of her overly friendly emotions.
"Come on guys, quiet down. I need to get into the zone." Tress was trotting in place and started stretching out her legs.
"Easy for you to say, you've got longer legs than most ponies here. At least I know you don't have the stamina to keep running full tilt for too long sugar cube." Applejack was also stretching out; she along with every pony else turned to the mayor who walked up with her assistants. "I'm guessing it's time to line up."
"Hello every pony and welcome to Ponyville's annual running of the leaves. If any pony gets hurt we'll have medics on the scene to immediately deal with any injuries, Pinkie Pie will be making sure things are safe on the trail. Now get ready to start, three, two, one... GO!" At the sound of the mayor's voice telling them to start, the racing ponies were all off into a slow gallop causing a thunderous noise that shook the ground.
The end result of the race was that Tress made second, Twilight got seventh, Rainbow was third as running wasn't her thing, Applejack was first place due in part to her massive stamina. Octavia was surprisingly fourth place, Lyra came in twentieth which was impressive for a mare that was running on two legs, Bonbon was fifth just ahead of Lily who was freaked out into sixth by a spider holding a flower up to her.
Chrysalis took her dear sweet time with finishing as she was enjoying nature with her pet giant butterfly; she wasn't in last place. That belonged to Time Turner who was chased off the path by what he called an evil statue that he had to take care of before he could finish.
"So you had something to tell us Chrysalis?" Twilight dragged Chrysalis, Fluttershy and Tress off to the side away from the celebrating ponies. The ground all around Ponyville was now covered in leaves.
Chrysalis unloaded the information of the search of element of harmony bearers to the ponies and then she got to what she learned of Scootaloo. The ponies wanted her to tell them something they didn't already know so she went ahead with it.
"I don't know if this means much to you but we've noticed following around her protectors that she has incredible agility and balance for a little filly. It led to us learning that her inability to fly isn't due to a wing deficiency." Chrysalis really didn't like what was being done to the filly, but she didn't know the entire story behind it to make a full judgment of the situation. "She may as well be from another world entirely given the level of information blackout protection going on around her. The most disturbing fact we found is that her wings are being clipped to make sure she doesn't fly; we still don't know why Celestia is ordering her guards to do that. I can report that no permanent damage has been done to the filly, except possibly emotional damage. We don't have much more to go on other then the fact that AK Yearling personally leaves her a birthday present every year and reportedly cares deeply about her. We'll keep you posted if we find out anything else."
"Well there's some disturbing news that just ruined my good mood." Tress along with any pony that heard Chrysalis's information was not a happy camper with Celestia at the moment.
There had to be a very good reason behind it or even Fluttershy might actually start taking drastic action to protect Scootaloo from whatever was going on around her. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 74 | It was a new day and still quite a few days before Nightmare Night, the mystery of Scootaloo was still running fresh in Twilight's mind as she sat down to breakfast. Why would Celestia want to prevent the filly from flying, it was hardly noticeable that they were in fact clipped and quite expertly at that. She didn't want her friends to draw any attention to the fact that they knew why she couldn't fly.
They didn't want to draw attention to the clipped wings quite yet or at all. One reason would be because Scootaloo would get mad when she learned of the reason why she couldn't fly and might do something drastic. The filly could end up hurting herself or spiral into a depressed state. Who knew what the celestial guards, much less Celestia herself, would do if it brought too much attention to itself publically. Then there were possibly unknown parties that would probably take advantage of the information.
"Huh, if the parties are unknown how am I supposed to throw them then?" Pinkie said wonderingly as she stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth, she giggled when Twilight face hoofed.
"Pinkie how many times do we have to tell you? You can't read minds!" Though Twilight acknowledged that Pinkie was good at guessing what one was thinking in an eerie fashion. Twilight saw her Pinkie Sense as a viable super power aside from her odd physiology that runs on ninety percent unleaded raw sugar.
"But I can read stories, a lot of them end up with me doing a lot of strange things with Dashie though. Still don't understand what they mean by the horizontal monster mash when it comes to being stuffed into a sandwich between Rainbow and Applejack while smothered in melted cheese. Some writers are just weird like that." Pinkie wondered why it seemed like Twilight was ignoring her. Maybe it was because she got past all those really tough defensive enchantments on the house? The unicorn might also be upset that she can circumnavigate the universe by dividing by herself. Shrugging Pinkie started eating the meal that was supposed to be for Tress, it was yummy and her Pinkie Sense said it was okay to eat it.
"Barb, where's Tress?" Twilight took notice of the absence of one of her favorite manes and in its place was one that was almost impossible to fix without magic, which was the cotton candy styled mop on Pinkie's head.
"She went to the library to read up on something, I think it had to do with being familiar or something. Anyway what are you doing today mom? I was going to go over to Sweet Apple Acres to play with Apple Bloom, maybe swing by Rarity's boutique and play with Sweetie Belle some too." Barb finished her sapphire encrusted pancakes before she continued. "At least you'll know where I am in case of an emergency and those happen to you more often than it does to me."
"Reminds me of the time you got a bucket stuck on your head, in true Sparkle fashion no less. You do your family proud Barb." Twilight ruffled her daughter's mane innocently while trying to think of what she was going to do today. "I guess I'm going to take a walk around Ponyville, maybe see if Lyra is causing an incident by helping Bonbon make candy. Did you need anything Pinkie?"
"Well, I did want to have you taste test some of my new products I'm going to try and sell at Sugar Cube Corner." Pinkie looked up at the ceiling with a smile.
"Sounds good to me, but no hot sauce related cupcakes as I already know what liquid rainbow tastes like after an incident with a cherry filled burrito. So don't put any stuff like that on something or I'm not eating it, I swear your sense of taste is weird." Twilight didn't have a taste for the spicier south of the border fare; she heard that ponies have just started building Appleloosa from Applejack and it sounded like they were further southwest then Dodge Junction was.
"That's why I need your help Twilight. I also don't know what liquid rainbow tastes like, but you do certainly make it sound super spicy! Gee, I guess this means a no on the volcano mouth cupcakes though." Smiling brightly Pinkie bounced around in a little circle before hopping for the front door, all the while humming a merry tune.
"So do you have any costume ideas for Nightmare Night Barb? I just want to know what my little girl is going as, it was hard enough to convince Fluttershy to chaperone all those fillies and colts given she doesn't like the holiday." Twilight knew Fluttershy tended to stay indoors on Nightmare Night, at least her dad kept her friend company on those nights the shy pony lived with her family.
"You used Scootaloo going around town alone as an excuse to get her to chaperone didn't you? Anyway I'm going as a shield maiden and was wondering if you could braid my hair for it, Rarity already promised she'd make my costume." Receiving an interesting smile from her mother, Barb wondered why it made her so happy. Oh right... she forgot her mother would immediately jump on the chance to play with her hair and she just offered. She was swept into a hug and cuddled for a few moments by her squealing mother.
"So I may have used Scootaloo to get Fluttershy out and about on Nightmare Night. Just be mindful of her and make sure she doesn't have a breakdown as you'll be going along with her group." Twilight soon set out with Pinkie Pie to do some taste testing.
It wasn't hard for ponies of Ponyville to find Twilight nowadays, especially in the case of an emergency. It wasn't unusual for the townsfolk to try and keep track of her because she was always getting into more trouble than even Ponyville could stir up on its own.
Sugar Cube Corner was a nice pastry shop and a very social snack factory. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were busy with many other ponies when they walked in. Twilight had always thought Mrs. Cake's hair looked like a dollop of frosting and these two ponies were master bakers to be able to keep up with so many orders.
"Wouldn't it be weird if the Cakes were masters at fishing because then they'd be..." Pinkie immediately received a hoof in her mouth before she could get the punch line off. Being glared at by Twilight was no fun, after a moment she released Pinkie's mouth. "At least I'll know whether or not if Berry getting off occurs because Colgate will have a big belly after a few months."
"Pinkie Pie, I have no idea what you're talking about and I really don't want to know. Can we just get this over with?" Watching the pink pony zip off Twilight wondered what was going on. Soon Pinkie came back with a large sign with the words 'The End of Twilight's Mane Passion' written on it and held it up. It was not held at her, but the ceiling. "Pinkie the sign isn't even grammatically correct. It's supposed to be M A I N, not M A N E and why would my passion for helping others end?"
"Well you wanted to get this over with didn't you?" Pinkie just didn't understand Twilight, did she want the story to end before any of the other future stuff happened in it or not?
"I wanted us to get started with the taste testing." Twilight spoke blandly in a flat and even tone. Pinkie smiled sheepishly at the air, this confused Twilight as the pink pony quickly threw the sign into the abyss that was known as off the side of the screen.
"Wow, you're being so flip floppy today. Fine, I'll get to shaking and baking. Please wait here, I'll be right back with the snacks, I hope you're still somewhat hungry." Pinkie just shook her head and went to go make the new sellable snacks she wanted Twilight to test.
"I'll never understand that hyperactive mare completely." Twilight mumbled as she watched other ponies gather into groups at tables and talked about how things were going and their plans for the day. Even Derpy was here talking with Carrot top about a refrigerator while eating a muffin.
"Okay first taste test, can you tell me what this tastes like?" Pinkie plopped down what looked like a blob of caramel.
Twilight inspected the blob from all sides by levitating it in front of her and then she bit into it and hummed quietly.
"Taste like a Neigh Day, except much chewier and a bit nuttier. It's a bit too chewy and tough." Twilight continued to chew the chunk still in her mouth; it took her a minute to even swallow it.
"Its candy corn clusters, caramel melted around peanuts and candy corn. No pony in Ponyville is allergic to nuts so I'll think it'll be a hit on Nightmare Night, that is if I can get it to be a softer and with less nuts. Reminds me of how Mr. Cake keeps asking Mrs. Cake to play with his nuts, they're assorted by the way with plenty of filberts, pistachio and cashews. They really must like making art with nuts as a hobby. Now try this." Once again Pinkie tended to ignore the things she was saying as having any other meaning then what it sounded like.
Twilight took up the provided spoon and scooped up what looked to be cheese cake and popped it into her mouth, it most certainly wasn't cheesecake at all. It had a lemony zest to it and was savory while being quite soft like a pudding and a bit creamy.
"It tastes good, not to sweet and I have no idea what I'm eating here." Twilight continued to eat it regardless as it was tasty.
"It's a lemon flan. It's a soft cake that has the slight resemblance of cheesecake; its filling is what really makes it special. It's always something I wanted to try making. Just one last thing I wanted you to try then you can go do whatever." Pinkie Pie was happy that two out of three so far were generally well received, now for the third one. She'd work on her homemade candy recipe for Nightmare Night. She would figure it out by then or else she was going to disappoint so many little colts and fillies. She went off once again to get the last item, when she brought it back she knew Twilight would like this one.
"Pinkie it's a cupcake. You always make cupcakes; in fact you make hundreds in a given day. I already know what they taste like." Twilight was skeptical of the cupcake sitting before her.
"Well that's what it may seem like to you, but it's no ordinary cupcake!" Declaring it with enthusiasm Pinkie crouched down next to her good friend and watched as Twilight just stared at it. After a moment the unicorn finally shrugged lifted it up and bit it in half, chewing slightly and having some of her face covered in a small amount of grape and blueberry filling.
"Wow, Pinkie what do you call this? It's delicious." Twilight immediately took to the other half with fervor. "What's in it?"
"It's my fruit blaster cupcake, the party that's in your mouth. The butter cream frosting on top has some pureed raspberry and strawberry in the mix. The cupcake itself has some blueberry and grape jam inside of it and the cupcake dough was mixed with pure apple juice." Pinkie was happy that this new cupcake was such a hit with Twilight as she pulled out her own and bit into it; it had blackberry and date jam instead. "They're very modifiable too; you just have to ask for what you want on it and in it as long as supplies last. Thanks for helping me taste test stuff Twilight, I'm sure to make some extra money for the Cakes. They are planning on having foals and I want them to have plenty of money to take care of the bundles of joy the stork will bring."
"No problem Pinkie and that's really sweet of you, pun somewhat intended. Now I've got to go see if Lyra is as bad a cook as me and Sweetie Belle." Twilight hastily left Sugar Cube Corner; she did not want to be the one to have 'the talk' with Pinkie... ever. She trotted down the street and into Bonbon's candy shop. Bonbon had to have been busy as Nightmare Night was a large increase in sales for candy shop owners.
"Oh hey it's Twilight, maybe she can clear this up. Tell me, does this gingerbread human really look so odd to you?" Lyra magically lifted a gingerbread cookie for her friend to take a look at it.
"A little, but I'm not the expert on humans here. So have you had any huge problems cooking anything?" Twilight just might start a support group for unicorns that had problems with cooking.
"Nope, though we did have a small problem with making some chocolate. I'm a pretty decent cook otherwise except for that small problem." Lyra looked thoughtful for a moment and Bonbon nudged her roughly. "Okay I'll ask since she's here, How do you go about getting rid of an animated blob of living liquid chocolate that keeps calling itself The Foodge? It was getting chocolate everywhere until we stuffed it into a pot."
"Ask Pinkie to deal with it when she gets off work. Bonbon don't ever let Lyra help you with making chocolate anymore. Unicorns have a problem where they can't cook a lot of things or can only cook certain things, it doesn't seem to be too prevalent in Lyra but I think we've just found out that she can't work with chocolate. It's a thing that's been going on with unicorns long since even before the Hearths Warming Eve tale of how the three tribes came together." Twilight decided to order some candy for Smart to hoof out while she was here. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 75 | It was early morning of the day of Nightmare Night, Fluttershy got out bed with trepidation. She could already tell today was going to be just one of those days. She immediately started off by feeding and caring for her animals and then she'd bathe. Breakfast was a simple affair and she had her Nightmare Night costume already, all she needed to do was put it on later.
Now it was just waiting for the preparations to be complete in town for the evening festivities and then Fluttershy would have to chaperone a group of little ponies including her friend's sisters, daughter and Scootaloo. It was just on a night where horrific memories of dragons still haunted her, nothing to truly worry about. She knew Twilight forced her hoof and that she was too shy to say she really didn't want to leave her comfortable safe home this night, she wasn't about to disappoint all the children she said she would chaperone.
Why oh why did Fluttershy ever let herself get talked into this? She wanted Scootaloo to enjoy the holiday even if it was at the cost of her own personal happiness. It was worth the price of facing some mental scarring from that night long ago, what were the chances it would happen again anyway? The fire, ponies running and screaming alongside all the horrors of that frightful night still burned into her memory.
Fluttershy would soon take Scootaloo over to Twilight's home because she promised the filly could have a costume that would let her look like Rainbow Dash. Twilight would make her look like Rainbow's little sister, a plan involving this suddenly popped up in Fluttershy's head. It might not be a completely nice idea and would probably upset the celestial guards watching Scootaloo, but Fluttershy could hide a disguised filly in plain sight until she was capable of flying again. Fluttershy would have her move into the cottage for an extensively long sleepover. The more Fluttershy thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea.
In town Tress was having a rather slow morning. Twilight was going to unveil their costumes and she wondered what Radiance had in store for her. Knowing Twilight it was going to be something of interest. Twilight had asked for her to wait in the living room and she already saw Barb with her costume.
Barb was there wearing a flowing white dress with a blue headband that had decorative white feathered wings sticking up out of it and her hair was hanging down her back in a large single braid. She was wielding a fire resistant wood shield that could double as a discus, it was fire resistant as Twilight didn't want any accidents to occur tonight and if her daughter needed to sneeze she'd do it into the shield.
"So what do you think is taking mom so long?" Barb was curious as to what kind of costume her mother had planned and asked Rarity about it. The fashion master told Barb that she had sworn to keep it a secret.
"Don't know, but she has a lot of business today with several ponies before we can leave. We need to help poor Rarity out with the rest of her costumes. She's not missing this Nightmare Night due to fatigue because of last minute orders now that we're here to help her, Fluttershy is good at sewing and it kind of helps that she's stitched up Chrysalis a few times. At least we know who's going to be the best zombie pony in the costume contest." A knock at the door and Tress sent her tail hair to open it and quickly pulled it back after she had accomplished the task with relative ease. "Hey Zecora, come on in! We're waiting on Twilight to finish putting on her costume; she says she's going to be wearing it all day and she's yet to show me the one she got for me. So why are you here, enjoying the festivities as well?"
"I'm here on an appointment for my hair, for tonight Twilight will have it looking quite good with flair. Though I will miss the Mohawk that is my style, I'm sure Twilight can return it back to being itself after a while." Zecora reach up and ran a hoof through her mane. She preferred her short hair standing straight up, she'd miss it somewhat this night getting into the spirit of things with the costumes all the other ponies would be wearing. "If she has a problem with making hair short, then a problem this may court."
"She doesn't have a problem with giving ponies what they ask... wow." Tress's pupils grew wide. Her mouth opened slightly, followed by her ears going straight up in attention, a tail lifted a few centimeters, a heart that started beating a little bit faster and a slightly darker hue that dusted the pink fur along the mare's cheeks. The thing that caused this reaction was Twilight suddenly making a descent down the stairs; she was wearing a Power Ponies costume for Nightmare Night and it was an almost exact replica of Radiance's from the comic. It really flattered Twilight's form and Rarity did good work with a few minor adjustments to make the costume almost shine.
Barb for her part was also happily soaked in her mom's appearance, she had always liked Radiance as a character and it wasn't just because Radiance's costume was covered in tasty looking crystals.
Twilight floated a costume in front of Tress earning her attention; the costume that Tress was to wear was also familiar very looking. Twilight noted that Tress had tears in her eyes as she reverently took the costume made for her in a hoof and made her way up the stairs to go put it on.
"That costume seemed to be of basic attire, why did it create that reaction in Tress if I am to inquire?" Zecora took in the whimsical look upon Twilight's face as she motioned for the zebra to follow her.
"Let's just say it's nostalgia at work Zecora, now come on. I think it's time a zebra got a taste of the hair growth formula she helped make. You've got such a lovely feeling mane, I guess I can understand that having it long might distract you from you're work or it could mess up your potion making." Twilight led Zecora into the bathroom, she was always happy to play with a willing friend's mane or tail. "You wouldn't have the time to take care of it living in the Ever Free Forest as you do, so you're mane style is quite sensible in that regard aside from cultural reasons."
"Only on special nights can a bit of vanity be good, otherwise I like my short hair and hood." Zecora emphasized this by taking off her cloak and stepping into the bathtub, a lot of ponies knew how Twilight operates when it comes to her Trims business. Zecora was no different when she was tired of smelling like the Ever Free Forest, she would come to her friend's house just to bathe instead of just going to a river as talking to Twilight always made it feel like a worthwhile trip.
Already the zebra could feel the unicorn lathering her mane up. Her tail was long enough already, so Twilight would only give it some style and would wash it with a shampoo that didn't have the growth formula in it.
Zecora closed her eyes and dreamed of days past where her mother took great care of her, she was just happy to be where she was now and with a pet tapir no less. Seeing the world was something that she enjoyed vastly and she had found her place in it, especially when she has found friends that treated her well like this. The sensation of her hair growing out was hard to recognize, but it was somewhat euphoric when she did feel it. Interesting side effect, but it wasn't a bad one.
"Um, do you mind if I keep some of the hair I'm about to trim off? I know it may seem weird Zecora, but I like to ask my friends this question and surprisingly no pony has been put off by it yet." Twilight only asked because she didn't want to ever upset any of her friends that she had a thing for saving the cut hair. It was one of the small things about Twilight that none of her friends thought of as a big problem. She wasn't doing anything wrong with the hair she cut and it made a good reminder of the friends that trusted her with their manes.
"Are you a collector of manes and tails as a fetish? That explains so much about your talent with hairstyling that seems a bit... coquettish." Zecora smiled at the big blush that came across Twilight's face, she chuckled dryly to herself as her friend was so easy to embarrass.
"Oh it's nothing like that. It's just I have a mild attraction to anything between short and wiry manes and tails to beautiful thick luscious long ones; it kind of varies from pony to pony though. For instance I'm not really attracted to Rarity's mane." Twilight saw the look on the zebra's face in the mirror that was disbelieving as she combed out her floor length mane with an incredible tenderness. "Well at least I know I don't feel anything too deeply about it, I just really like doing this kind of thing. You're mane is really quite silky when you let it grow out."
"Our friendship I will certainly not batter, my trimmed hair you can keep as to me it's of no matter." Zecora didn't even mind the scissors going to work after her mane was styled into a center parting. After it was quickly trimmed; she had to admit long hair on her looked rather fetching. "Every pony you meet might have at least one vice; I would be willing to do this again since as a friend you are always so nice."
Twilight tilted her head downwards blushing again, was she really that good with styling and making ponies feel good? She made sure she was finished with Zecora who was smiling in the mirror at her own appearance; the zebra certainly looked good with a long mane even if it wasn't to her preference.
"Well we're done for now, later on I can cut it back into your original style. Sleepover for the night and I'll do it almost first thing in the morning." Twilight received a nod from her friend. They set out into the living room to find Barb opening the door to introduce Fluttershy and Scootaloo into their humble abode. "Hello you two, what can I do for you today?"
"Fluttershy said you can give me a Rainbow Dash costume!" Scootaloo yelled enthusiastically fluttering her buzzing wings rapidly in excitement.
"Can you make it so even her own celestial guards won't even recognize her please? I managed to evade them with Chrysalis's help and I really want to see Scootaloo fly, so maybe if we can keep her away from them and scrutiny long enough..." Fluttershy thought Chrysalis was becoming oddly receptive to requests, at least from those who were honestly her close friends at least. She whispered this into Twilight's ears in the hopes to have her plan carry out.
"Yeah, I can do that Fluttershy. Come on Scootaloo, I'll see to you immediately. So have you given any thought's to how you want the colors to flow? I'm not about to make you an exactly a copy of Rainbow, we wouldn't be able to tell you two apart then." After her slightly sarcastic comment on Rainbow's intelligence matching that of a little filly's, Twilight stopped on the way to the bathroom to witness Tress coming out wearing her costume. "What do you think of Rarity's work Tress?"
Upon walking into the living room Tress saw Zecora and her new crowning glory. She gave a small whistle that caused the zebra to blush at the attention. She turned to Fluttershy who was acting rather skittish at the moment; then again it was understandable as she really didn't like Nightmare Night for some reason.
"So what's your costume Fluttershy?" Tress already knew what Zecora was going to be wearing and wondered what the shy mare would be dressed as, just in case there is any trouble this night and she needed to protect the poor mare. Things were never quiet for long in Ponyville, especially not if Twilight could help it and while currently dressed as a hero.
"Um... I'm going as a-a..." Fluttershy's voice hit an all time low; she really didn't like Nightmare Night, but she put on a brave face and answered clearly if in a whisper. "I'm going as a turtle."
"I bet you'll be the most adorable turtle ever, I feel kind of sorry that we'll never get you out of your shell though." Tress would admit that she missed some things from her world, every mare and stallion with super powers always got nice looking costumes. Twilight was no different as she really sold the jewels in her mane and tail, not to mention across the entire Radiance costume.
Fluttershy giggled lightly at the jab at her shyness, Ponyville was a place where ponies always cheered her up faster then she could get frightened or depressed. Maybe tonight wouldn't go so horribly for her after all! |
Twilights Mane Passion | 76 | It was midday; things were going quite well with the setup for Nightmare Night. Fluttershy was wearing her turtle costume now and it was about as fully functional as a real turtle shell was as she spent her time with Scootaloo who was excited about all the free candy she was getting tonight looking like a variation of Rainbow Dash wearing a small Wonder Bolts outfit. Things were going perfectly well for these ponies.
Inversely Twilight and Tress had just been seen by Rainbow helping set up the decorations.
"Hey guys, nice Radiance costume Twilight. Who are you supposed to be Tress?" Rainbow was receiving a flat look from Tress who had transformed her mane and eyes for the costume and Twilight helped her with her coat coloring.
"I'm supposed to be The Mane-iac. You know that villain from the same comic series?" There was a slight tic in Tress's eyes as she said this.
"Funny, you don't look a thing like her, except you're a mare." Rainbow was oblivious to the sudden scene of Twilight moving closer to the real Mane-iac as she flew off to continue setting up decorations.
"Don't Tress, just don't. It's not worth the mental agony." Twilight ran a hoof up and down Tress's back in an attempt to calm her down, it actually worked pretty well.
"But I am Mane-iac." Tress said solemnly in a quiet voice as her mane wilted. All the while Fluttershy and Scootaloo waited patiently for them to be finish their private conversation; the little filly was more interested in watching Rainbow help with the decorations.
"My family knows, Fluttershy knows and we know, but does Rainbow Dash really need to know? We have no idea how every pony would even react to you being a comic book character, do you truly want the entire town to bother you about it?" Twilight just watched as Tress brightened up at the fact that she was being silly.
"Yeah I guess it would be kind of silly to get depressed because my costume isn't exactly a costume." Why should Tress Ravel get all bent out of shape because of Rainbow Dash anyway? Well aside from the fact that she was something of an attention seeker until she met Twilight and was in fact the real Mane-iac using the appearance of herself as a costume for Nightmare Night.
"Tonight is the night of pretend Tress, just be you and not in a literal sense of the costume you're supposedly wearing. Fluttershy let's go, we still need to help Rarity out if she's to enjoy the holiday with the rest of us." Twilight quickly got Fluttershy's attention and the shy pony scooped up Scootaloo and followed them towards the Carousel Boutique. They could tell it was crowded even at a distance.
"Wow, Rarity's business looks really busy maybe we should come back..." Fluttershy couldn't retreat too far and stuffed her entire body into the shell when she felt a head impact with her butt. She immediately took notice that it was Tress that started to shove her towards the boutique from inside the shell.
"She's really not into crowds is she?" Scootaloo asked of Twilight, she thought the older unicorn mare was cool for making her look like Rainbow Dash and the Wonder Bolts costume was a nice touch.
"You don't know the half of it; she really doesn't like Nightmare Night either and she's only willing to chaperone because she doesn't want to upset all the other children she'll be taking around tonight. Move over Tress, I got her." Twilight levitated the shell costume into the air and a pair of eyes looked pleadingly at her from within the shell where Fluttershy's head was supposed to poke out of.
"Guess I wasn't kidding about the shell thing. It looks like Rarity really needs our help and we're not going to let her tire herself out are we? Think about all the fun she'll miss and how she needs to get out more as those romance novels are wrecking her brain, forcing her to pine away for the life she wishes she could be leading. Can you imagine the devastated look on her face if she misses spending time with others like you Fluttershy? She needs us to stay sane Fluttershy; do you want her insanity on your conscience?" Tress thought being dramatic would get Fluttershy out of her shell, with a pop Fluttershy did in fact return to walking status immediately under the weight of a guilt trip.
"O-okay... let's go." Fluttershy moved as quickly as she could in the turtle costume while trying not to think about the crowd as they came closer.
"So what's Zecora doing? I already understand that you three are going to be helping Rarity, while me and Scootaloo play with Sweetie." It was just a curiosity to Barb as to why Zecora had wandered off.
"She's going to be learning her lines for the story of Nightmare Night; she has to talk it over with the mayor for a bit. Of course we all know she's going to find some way to tell the story in rhyme. When we're done here you are going to stay here with Fluttershy. I and Tress have some business with Trixie for the story Zecora has to tell. We know where a statue that looks like Nightmare Moon is and we need to fill in the colors for the imagery so the performance can be the best that it can be." Twilight took in the line of ponies waiting at the door as they walked towards the boutique; they met with Octavia and Vinyl exiting the store in their costumes. Octavia looked cute as a vampire; here Twilight thought Vinyl would be the vampire pony and realized that it made more sense for her to be the wolf pony. They acknowledged each other as they passed going in opposite directions.
"Why hello there darlings, do please come in. Sorry about the crowd, why I'm positively swamped today finishing off all these wonderful costumes. Sweetie Belle some of your friends are here for you to play with! I swear I'm the one raising my sister at times with how often my parents keep running off all over the place." It was apparent that Rarity needed help and she wasn't about to ask for it or deny it if she were asked if she needed any.
"We'll make sure you you're not overloaded Rarity, come on girls let's lend a helping hoof. What do you need us to do Rarity?" Watching the fashion pony sigh in contentment at not needing to ask for help, Twilight waited patiently for her to start giving orders and she wasn't disappointed.
Rarity soon started barking orders to each of them. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that Fluttershy had made her own turtle costume. It was a perfectly tough and lightweight costume, despite looking heavier than it actually is and the wing holes were the only thing that made it looked different from a normal turtle shell. She had Fluttershy work on some sewing she needed done, Tress was given the job of hoofing out finished costumes and giving them to ponies from a list and Twilight was soon assisting Rarity by levitating materials to her as she rapidly worked to give every single pony the costumes they wanted.
It had taken a few hours and they were finished, it was still daylight out and the night had yet begun to fall. It was about time Twilight and Tress set out to assist Trixie in getting Nightmare Moon's appearance down. They found Trixie assisting Pinkie Pie into a frog costume and Trixie was actually wearing something other than her purple hat and cape for once.
"Why a frog costume?" Tress earned both the mares attention at the question.
"I've always liked amphibious and reptilian things you know; besides it'll help me get through world three much easier. Trixie is going as a witch and I wanted to be her faithful frog companion, maybe I should have been a toady. Other than that why not? My parents would never get me a pet cragadile though I said I could handle one." After saying this and seeing that the costume wouldn't be put on any other way, Pinkie got her two legs out of the thing and simply slapped the costume into her face. In a cloud of blinding smoke she was wearing the costume perfectly and bouncing around happily and jumping much higher then she should be capable of normally.
"Trixie does not know how she did that when we were having so much trouble getting it on her in the first place. Trixie assumes you're finally here to help Trixie with the imagery of the illusions for the telling of that tale?" Not waiting for an answer the witch dressed Trixie just turned her nose into the air in a proud manner. "Then let us depart with my faithful frog suited pink one to see this statue."
A little later in the woods they found a statue of Nightmare Moon, no pony knew who had put it there or why it was even there in the first place. It was just sitting around Whitetail Woods and it was a perfectly apt appearance of Luna as Nightmare Moon. One would even question that if Luna was only Nightmare Moon for about thirty to forty minutes then how did someone get enough time to sculpt a perfect likeness of her? Especially if not many ponies were around for her fight with Celestia.
"Trixie wonders who made such fine statue, it looks much like the face in the moon and yes you two have warned Trixie that Nightmare Moon is coming in the next or so Summer Sun Celebration. Trixie will be ready to assist you in battle and is training for it. Trixie will defend Trixie's home and all of Trixie's friends, but that is only should your plans fall through Twilight." Trixie believed in Twilight's capabilities well enough as a jack of all kinds of weird and wonderful magic spells. It was to be noted by her that Twilight was hard pressed to master any spell unless she worked at it as hard as she could, otherwise Twilight's talent would be quite powerful if it were focused to just one school of magic as shown with her prowess in the complex field of enchantments. As an example Trixie imagined she could master thirteen different illusions and have them all going at once doing completely different things, whereas in the same time it would take Twilight to even do one with equal levels of complexity.
"That's rather brave of you Trixie. If Twilight's first three plans don't work we'll count on your aid to help bring her down without killing her." Because Tress knew it was much safer to create a battle herd against an all powerful goddess like being than it was to face her alone. A pony that could keep Nightmare Moon distracted enough that she couldn't use her more devastating spells would help a lot, especially if she's misaiming them at illusions as strong as the ones this show off of a mare could make.
"Thank you, Trixie will try Trixie's best to help when the time comes. Now will you help Trixie, making a grey illusionary image is boring and it needs some color." Trixie's horn sprang to life and in front of them was an illusion made from the appearance of the statue, but it was standing up and looking at them in a creepy manner.
"Wow, look at black snooty! You're making her look really nice and stoned Trixie." Pinkie hopped up to the illusion and made silly faces at it only for it to snort angrily at her spooking her away from it. She heard Trixie giggling a bit into a hoof at her actions.
"Well let's see..." Twilight started rattling off descriptions and color about Nightmare Moon's appearance. She had a black coat, flowing blue white speckled starry mane reminiscent of the night sky, dark purple and blue cutie mark, slightly draconic wings, blue green draconic eyes with slits and finally the regalia colors. After looking up from her notes Twilight blinked in awe at a perfect representation of what looked like a real pony standing before her.
"One last thing Trixie needs... how is Trixie to give voice to this apparition?" Now that was a good question as Trixie didn't know how to do an evil voice or laugh, she noticed that both Pinkie and Twilight were staring at Tress.
"What?" Asked Tress innocently as she noticed three ponies were now staring at her, a moment later she realized why they were staring. "Let me guess, the use of my evil cackling and the voice I sometimes use in the laboratory me and Twilight share?"
"Trixie didn't want to say anything, but..." The party magician known as Trixie was looking anywhere but at Tress at this moment.
"Well if you didn't want to say something, then why did you say that?" Now Pinkie was confused, this would lead to some trouble if it wasn't put a stop to and soon. "I mean if we all go around saying things we didn't want to then we would..."
"Fine, I assume you need some examples of my evil voice to get it just right?" The pink pony was cut off from continuing by Tress who cleared her throat and then burst out with her evil cackle. Twilight, Pinkie and Trixie shivered at the remarkably eerie deranged laughter. "Fools, I hope you know who you are dealing with! I will make the night last forever for I am Nightmare Moon!"
"G-great d-d-delivery, Trixie thinks that w-will be enough of a sample for the illusion." Trixie was shivering and now fearing for her life should Tress ever become Nightmare Moon. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 77 | Nightmare Night has just begun and every little filly and colt were out hunting for sweet tasty treats. The only pony who was upset by Nightmare Night was Colgate, being the town's personal dentist it was understandable.
Tress watched as ponies ran around having fun, the holiday's spooky theme was a friendly atmosphere for her. It was nice to look like her alter ego for one night and a few ponies even recognized her costume as much they did Twilight's Radiance costume.
At least Tress wasn't a forgotten character in the annals of time. She split away from Twilight to just enjoy the festivities in the surrounding area.
Tress started bobbing for apples for starters; she did want to get to some of the other games of skill that were taking place in the square. She eventually saw Rainbow spooking a few ponies with a cloud causing a booming thunder noise when she snuck up behind them.
Shaking her head, Tress moved over behind Rainbow in a loud and completely unconcealed manner and wondered what the mare was wearing as a costume. It looked like Rainbow was wearing one of those little red devil costumes. It was humorous looking with Rainbow's feathered wings; though the two horns of the costumes head were pretty fitting given what the mare was currently doing.
"Rainbow what do you...?" Somehow Tress spooked Rainbow and got a face full of lightning; she blinked a bit and then continued on with her body feeling slightly tingly. "Think you are doing? Thanks for that by the way."
"What, oh sorry about that Tress, you kind of startled me there. Huh, at least you look okay from the near miss." Once she turned around Rainbow revealed that she even had a fake goatee as part of her costume. She was looking down at a perfectly fine Tress and could have sworn a lightning bolt struck her; at least she could continue to say that no pony got physically hurt during her pranks. "I'm scaring ponies of course; it's all in good fun for this night right?"
"Right... well I'll leave you to scaring that giant monster that just landed on your cloud, one that you apparently don't need any help with." Tress walked on lazily, she felt a shift in her body and didn't want to look panicked. She needed a secluded place to see if what she was feeling was true.
Rainbow turned around to see what Tress was talking about and yelped. She fell off of her cloud and flummoxed around on the ground until the horrifying visage suddenly disappeared much to her confusion.
"Trixie thinks it's worth forty points for scaring Rainbow Dash." Trixie smiled to the Pinkie who was already erasing something on a chalkboard to put down the new scare score.
"Nice one Trixie, you're really good at this. Come on Dash, you'll have to try harder than that. Tress didn't look scared at all and she's the one that scared you and she's not even playing the game." Pinkie was running a small scare off competition. She had to be present and noted of the ponies that are to be scared for their reactions to judge how many points are deserved for the scare. The prize was a free large fruit blaster cupcake made to order.
Tress quickly left the festival and found a secluded spot in the Whitetail Woods at the edge of town; she felt really strange and decided to force a pulse of her energy through her entire body. She let off a yelp and curled up into a ball feeling very weird; soon she was in a full blown panic from what was happening.
Thirty minutes later with Twilight Sparkle, things were in full swing. She saw Fluttershy pass by with a large group of fillies and colts along with her daughter. At least Fluttershy looked to be doing slightly better. She could already see Rainbow, Pinkie, Trixie and a few others were out scaring other ponies as a game. There was Rarity sporting a nice if simple angel costume and looked to be enjoying the night instead of missing out on it.
Stopping at a refreshments stand, Twilight bought two bottles of honeyed cider from Applejack and decided to look around for Tress. She was oddly absent from the area amongst her other meandering friends. Maybe she could ask Bonbon, if Twilight remembered right she was the pony in the candy corn costume. She easily saw Bonbon and Lyra in the crowd. Lyra looked pretty interesting with the monocle, top hat and cane. Those were some strange things to add to a peanut costume.
"Hey Bonbon have you seen Tress? She's wearing a Power Ponies costume, specifically the villain Mane-iac from one of the earlier issues." Twilight received a puzzled look from Bonbon and it looks like she was trying to think of when she last saw Tress.
"Green hair, livid colored coat and that purple suit? Yeah, I think Derpy said something about her not looking to well and heading for Whitetail Woods and told me to tell you about it. You might want to try there." Stepping out of the way Lyra watched as Twilight set off to see what was wrong with Tress.
As long as Twilight has known Tress she has never gotten sick, her immune system was too tough and her regenerative properties also bolstered her immunity to all kinds of sicknesses. That Tress wasn't looking good set off alarms in Twilight's head.
Coming to the edge of Whitetail Woods and the town Twilight stopped and saw a few trees lying around that looked to have been ripped from the ground. There was quite a bit of destruction to the general area, decimated trees, destroyed bushes and divots ripped from the ground everywhere. What had happened here? She slowly started to follow the damage as it led away from Ponyville.
While Twilight didn't know what was happening to Tress, it was apparent she avoided going back to town for a good reason. She stowed away her two bottles of cider and followed the trail of destruction.
After a few minutes she came upon the sight of Mane-iac going nuts and destroying the surrounding trees and scaring off the woodland critters in the area. So far it seemed like she avoided killing anything or even injuring any animals, however her thrashing hair was still a hazard to go near.
"Tress, what's going on with you?" Calling out to her was the first thing Twilight thought to do. She watched as Tress turned to her with a pained look in her eyes. She was much larger then she previously was and it appears that she had hit full Mane-iac transformation as her suit was stretched out almost to its limits.
"Twilight, please stay back. I can't exactly control myself at the moment, Rainbow was flying around with a cloud scaring ponies and she shot me with some lightning." Tress's voice was rather quiet despite the thrashing her mane and tail was doing to the clearing she was standing in the middle of. "It was apparently enough for me to fully transform."
"Are you in any pain?" Twilight stayed right where she is watching as her friend struggle to get her wild hair under control. "What are you feeling right now?"
"No, but my entire body feels really itchy and it has been a few years since I've been this big." Mane-iac was trying to pin her own mane to the ground to stop it from lashing out at things around her, she was quickly tangling herself into large green bush made entirely out of hair. "Not that you haven't noticed that my hair is also refusing to cooperate with me. I'm feeling everything and pretty bad about all this destruction that I'm causing if that's what you're asking about. Can you find a way to help me get all of this under control?"
Twilight frowned when a bit of Mane-iac's hair shot up slapping herself in the face. Tress whimpered slightly even as she continued to try and keep her mane under control. Twilight stood there and watched as her friend twisted and rolled trying to tangle her mane on purpose. One decidedly painful moment was when Tress's hair whipped across her own flank viciously and tore through a portion of her costume; it revealed a cutie mark that wasn't Tress's normal one at all. Twilight didn't know what that particular cutie mark represented, but it was certainly interesting. She'd look into it later, Tress was in trouble!
"Hold on Tress, I think I might have an idea of how to help you!" Twilight just standing there watching her friend struggle like this was making her feel horrible.
"While I like the feel of my own mane and tail, I wouldn't mind if you went ahead with it instead of just talking about it!" Tress tried to get to her hooves and only managed to push herself away from Twilight when her hair struck out at the purple mare.
"Right, I'm sorry Tress." Twilight lit her horn and blasted Tress with a spell; soon all of the wildly shifting hair slowly calmed down and went slightly limp if still actively shifting on its own. "The hair type alteration spell, I'm so glad it worked."
"I'm glad too even though it really didn't do all too much to stop my mane entirely, I feel much better. This may take a while to untangle." Tress lifted some of her currently less than unruly locks above her head showing that her tail and mane were tangled together and she looked to be quite the mess covered in dirt and mud. Her legs were mostly tangled up in the hair as well making her unable to move.
"Can you wait here while I go get a few brushes and combs for all of this?" Receiving an angry glare from her best friend, Twilight gave her a small sympathetic smile. "I guess I'll carry you home then Tress. Do have any idea why your hair went so crazy?"
"I have no clue except it has something to do with my full transformation. Also could you avoid any other ponies? It's going to be hard enough explaining how I grew to my current size if I can't change back." Sighing as she floated into the air, Tress relaxed at the feel of Twilight's magic encompassing her. After a moment she recognized that her body still itched like crazy. "Darn it why am I feeling so itchy?"
Turning back to Tress, Twilight cast a diagnostics spell on her and got a good look at what was going on with her friend. After a moment Twilight blinked in confusion, Tress's body was now fully transformed into her Mane-iac form. She couldn't figure out why Tress's mane might have been thrashing about, her entire body was perfectly fine if she wasn't currently feeling any pain.
"Well you did have a huge growth spurt. You're skin stretched out grew more coating that wasn't previously there; your mane has doubled in thickness. Everything inside you, bones, muscles and the like have all increased in size as well and you're low on energy. I assume all of it is going into your current full bodied transformation." Twilight reached up with her hooves and wrapped them around a crying Tress's neck. "It'll be alright Tress at least no pony was hurt except for you; I'll help you keep your mane under control and then we'll see if you can transform back to your smaller self."
"Thank you Radiance." Mane-iac looked weary from fighting with her own mane, her hair felt awful now... wait... she could actually feel her mane again? She had forgotten what this had felt like and it feels so strange to feel her mane again, in fact she could even feel her coat as well. "You have no idea how much that understates my gratitude. I think I might have an idea as to why my mane went crazy, but I'll tell you when we get home."
With all the ponies out enjoying Nightmare Night, it didn't look so odd for Tress to appear as she did. They made it back to the house without a second glance and they met Smart at the door and Palatable was immediately there whining and meowing while looking up at his master.
"Hello and... whoa what happened to Tress?" Smart frowned at the sight of Mane-iac so horribly tangled up in her own mane.
"I'll give you the memories later." Twilight quickly levitated Tress up towards the bathroom ahead of her. "You keep hoofing out candy Smart, this really isn't something to worry about too much, I hope."
"Well now that we're here, will you help me untangle this mess that my hair raising experience caused?" Feeling herself get being sat down gently, Tress looked at Twilight who got out a bunch of combs and brushes. Twilight started to magically work her out of the tangled heap she was in. "The problem here is I have forgotten how it felt to feel my hair. You have no idea how weird it is to feel all of this, I guess I can handle it due in part to how my brain and eyes work."
"So you're mane went crazy because you could suddenly feel all of it when you're body transformed? So you started panicking and then you're hair did the same thing reacting to how you felt, is that what happened?" Not hearing a response Twilight continued to work out the tangles of her friends mane, she was going to need a good washing after this. "You wouldn't happen to have some untangling shampoo by any chance?"
"Actually I do, but I'll wait until you're finished untangling my limbs first. It's not just my mane and tail either; I can feel every inch of my coat as well. It feels both comforting and creepy to have this sensation back again. To think I once missed this so much." Tress would spend the rest of the evening with Twilight getting untangled, then she would transform back to being Tress Ravel to prove that she still could. The Nightmare Night festival was already winding down by the time Tress finished bathing.
Zecora arrived at the Sparkle residence to find her friends drinking bottles of cider in the moonlight while staring up at the visage on the moon. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 78 | "How are you feeling Tress?" Twilight was immediately interested in her friend's state of mind as she walked into the kitchen.
"Morose, ugh last night was hard on me. Thanks for helping me calm down Twilight." Tress rolled her head and a few cricks could be heard snapping as she stretched out her hooves.
"Yeah, about that... my spell only had about a fourth the normal effect on you. It was actually like my spell was mostly just a placebo." The super powered mare just stared at her and Twilight didn't have the heart to finish saying what was on her mind, but she would anyway. Friends don't keep friends in the dark when they truly needed to know something. "My spell was supposed to loosen the tension of your hair, what actually happened was that I loosened up your emotions. The only reason why the spell had any effect at all is that you believed it would and therefore it did."
"Loosened my emotions how exactly?" Tress seemed to take the news very well; even Barb and Zecora were taking an interest in this conversation. Looking at Zecora her hair was restyled to how it was before.
"Well you're hair has a mental connection to you that seems to be the cause of your psychosomatic problem last night." Twilight knew she would always be drawn back to mentally recounting these things, because she'd likely never forget how she got her first friend. "Frankly you were panicking badly last night and you're hair was reacting to the panic in quite an equally spectacular manner."
"So of this fact we should always be wary, our friend in full Mane-iac form has a partially mood controlled mane that makes things hairy." Zecora was kind of amused by this; she could only begin to guess the problems Tress had surrounding her abilities. Twilight would know more about it then she would. "Twilight was targeting your hair to loosen your tension, instead it hit your emotions as she did just mention."
"Well that's nothing new to you Tress; it's just going to take you a while to get used to fully being Mane-iac again. Am I right?" Barb could be pretty insightful when she wanted to be.
"Have you ever tried riding a bicycle, after having broken all your legs on it before? Even if I can transform I might be currently averse to doing so." Tress looked to Barb, Twilight and Zecora with a stern gaze. "Especially in a small room like this, with three friends I wouldn't be able to handle the guilt of hurting."
"It's okay Tress; you're doing pretty well in the control department so far. At least I hope you're as equally forgiving of me for manipulating your emotions by accident." Twilight really didn't like the sound of anything that could be closely related to mind control. If you controlled another pony's emotions it didn't necessarily control that pony entirely. Forcing a pony to feel angry? They could have that tranquil fury directed at you unknowingly. Forcing them to feel calm would end in the same way; it depends on how the pony determines the use of said forced emotion. "That's the very reason I went off on Cadence for and here I am doing the same thing."
"No you're not, that magic lasted all of a split second. It had no real staying power and it did what it set out to do. I completely forgive you for stopping me from killing anything and just in general getting horribly violent with everything around me." After a moment of Tress mentioning that, the two ponies, zebra and dragon sitting at the table just started laughing a bit. After hearing a grumbling sound, Tress acquired a sheepish blush on her face. "So... I guess it's my turn to make breakfast then? I'm thinking egg drop soup today or as it should be known egg flower soup."
Ten minutes later, a vegetable broth was made with whisked eggs and some rice for extra texture. Tress had made some really good soup that they all enjoyed equally, even if it required a bit of watering down for her friends because the flavor was a bit strong. Tress liked the heavy flavor personally, it had quite a zing to it with a little soy sauce mixed in.
"This is another reason I want you to forgive me Tress, without you around I'd only have Barb to rely on to cook everything." It wasn't that Twilight hated her daughters cooking; it's just that she doesn't innovate half as well as Tress does. Not to mention Tress adds a definite bit of variety to the mix with some foreign cooking every now and then.
"Ah, this recipe on my own I may have to try, maybe some eggs from Fluttershy I could buy?" It was definitely a thought; Zecora never tried making her own foreign delights for her friends and this soup recipe looked pretty easy to make.
"You know that sounds like a great idea Zecora, we should have a foreign food festival where we can all try new things!" Everyone slowly turned towards Pinkie and glared at her suddenly appearing amongst them still wearing her frog costume. To be honest Pinkie still didn't know how to remove it. "What? Is now not a good time? Hold on, let me check the script, I'll be back in a minute to see what I missed."
"How does she keep getting into the house when every available entrance is blocked off? I even made sure she couldn't even get in through the toilets. I swear she's an earth pony with unicorn abilities aside from her Pinkie Sense super power, she has got to be teleporting when we're not looking." This just rankled Twilight, even if she was the one sitting here assuming there was at least one abnormal pony in all of Ponyville that would ever bother with the front door. Zecora didn't count as she didn't technically have a true residence in Ponyville.
"Getting into your home should be especially hard without permission; it is clearly improbable with the enchantments you put on as an addition." Zecora knew a thing or two about enchantments and that there were more ways to perform magic then with just a horn on your noggin. "Pinkie Pie is a companion of yours, causing you headaches is something of which she obviously never bores."
"Pinkie, that's right!" Pinkie hopped in while striking a silly pose in her frog suit. Tress lifted a hoof and slugged Pinkie across the head and in a puff of smoke her Nightmare Night costume disappeared. "Wahoo freedom from the frog oppression suit! Thank you Tress and the word thingy that told me exactly what to say to annoy you hard enough to get hoofed so hard to the point that I..."
Pinkie fell to the floor out cold after her eyes rolled up into her head and Tress had a somewhat sickening satisfied smile on her face. They may have been friends, but Pinkie was getting so annoying that even Zecora was asking Tress to cold cock Pinkie with her eyes. The zebra nodded solemnly at the out cold crazy pony on the floor.
"Is it always the violent option with you Tress?" Deadpanned Twilight, she looked down at the knocked out Pinkie and wondered what they should do with her. Eh, they'd take her back to Sugar Cube Corner later, the Cakes could actually use some private time without a Pinkie Pie interruption.
"Well duh, I'm not exactly the brains behind the Trouble Takers even if I can match you in intellect at times." Thinking about it Tress figured she was pretty much even with Twilight mentally in most scenarios. "In any case, are you saying you wanted her to continue for another minute? You hate raising your voice and Pinkie wasn't obviously going to stop until you got to that really shrill pitched yell. It's usually the third one you do when you get really mad in the most adorable manner. All of that may or may not involve a face hoof in the interim and I was saving you the pain of having to slap yourself."
"Okay, so you have a good point there Tress. Pinkie is annoying and I was in fact on the way to another face hoof. I will not deny that the method used to quiet her was effective and at least it didn't seem to leave a bruise." Twilight decided to compromise so they could move on with their lives. Pinkie was an earth pony, so Twilight thought she should be able to take a punch just like any earth pony would.
"Can we go for a walk this day; I wish to celebrate the time before winter comes this way." It made Zecora happy that they could go for a walk to see the leaves after they've finished eating the rather delectable soup.
Walking through the woods, things were peaceful as they passed by the spot Tress had trashed. The mare in question looked away from the damage feeling exceptionally shy about the minor devastation she caused. They just took to walking the trail around Ponyville; they breathed the fresh air and felt the grass beneath their hooves as they wandered.
"Those Cakes certainly know how to make a food buffet and it tasted great. Funnily enough I thought Pinkie would ruin them getting together again like she always does." Chrysalis looked to have a distended belly which was a first for her and she was idly talking to her giant monarch butterfly. The butterfly stopped for a moment to flutter a small circle around Twilight's head before continuing after her owner. "Yeah, I don't have any business with them today my pet. It's always fun to see friends enjoying nature as well, when said nature is not mauling me that is."
"Well that never bodes well, you do know what they say about a butterfly that flaps its wings right?" Now that Twilight thought of it, things always happened around Fluttershy to conspire against her every time she tries to fly. The butterflies for a cutie mark were not very subtle in the slightest, especially for a pony that attracted chaos and was a friend like Twilight.
"So, countdown from ten and something weird happens because the butterfly took great interest in you on a moment's notice?" Tress wouldn't be surprised if something did happen.
"Trouble is not always so spry, not that you two don't seek it like it constantly falls from the sky." There wasn't always going to be trouble around just because those two thought there would be and Zecora knew that they weren't that unlucky.
"I guess, I'm going to need some training to get my Mane-iac form back under control." Tress turned to Twilight with an interesting sparkle appearing in her eyes. "How do you suggest we do that?"
"Well we'd have to test the limits of your abilities as they are, then we continue to test them away from every pony in different environments and levels of danger." In fact, now that it was brought up, Twilight could feel her head filling with idea's to help Tress out with training and where this training would take place. She was going to be using a lot of barrier spells for it. "I know you can glide and manipulate your hair to grasp, harden and soften. You could even grow out your fur from your hooves and not just you're mane and tail. You said you could feel all the hair on your body so it makes sense that you're fur can also grow and retract like the rest of your hair does."
"If you two need some assistance in that, I would be willing to assist both of you at the drop of a hat." Even if she didn't do much at all, Zecora could still be a very good advisor to help train Tress in her rather unique abilities.
Palatable ran up to Tress and hopped onto her back mewling sweetly. He wanted to aid Tress as well, he had felt horrible that his owner had got into some trouble last night and that he wasn't there to protect her from it.
"So aside from preparing for the return of Nightmare Moon, we've got to train your powers even if they are just at minimal capacity for a full transformation." Twilight did a few mental calculations by waving her hoof in the air. "Also we'd have to keep doing jobs that pay well or else Barb will have to cut back on her snacks and that will undoubtedly make her cranky. If we cut back on her gem snacks we'd have to cut back on things we like too."
"I can live with that, I can train on the job easily enough." There was a slight ear flick that meant Tress was less then alright if it cut into her personal exquisite shampoo that she stocks up on. If Nightmare Moon so much as upsets Twilight, dark, moody and mooned was going down and hard. All they had to do was survive until Nightmare Moon actually appeared and that was going to be hard enough as it was.
"So why do ponies think the Ever Free Forest is unnatural Zecora?" Barb was curious as a lot of Ponyville's ponies seemed to say that forest was unnatural in the occurrences that went on there and she had finally decided to ask.
"The Ever Free is not as unnatural as you modern ponies would think; the fact that ponies are the ones doing unnatural things to their surroundings is what may cause you to blink." When it came to the Ever Free Forest, Zecora knew better about it. Ponies were always manipulating nature when in the past they never did so as much. It only seemed so unnatural now since they've been altering nature to their whims for so long. Wild magic was the only reason why it stayed the way it does free of forced conformation. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 79 | Standing on the edge of a cliff three figures looked on silently at the vast gorge before them. These three silent figures were wearing cloaks and just staring at the vast gaping maw before them that was on the edge of a vast desert. One was wearing a beige cloak, another a brown cloak and the last one in a royal red cloak.
They just stood there for a few moments and turned around to leave until a sound caused all three of them to pause and turned around, a hoof was seen holding onto the edge of the cliff and a fourth cloaked figure pulled it up to the surprise of the other three. This figure in the dark green cloak was suddenly surrounded by the other three and pulled into a hug.
"How did you survive? We heard you were thrown from the cliff." Figure two said in complete surprise, she was the one wearing the beige cloak.
"Oh, I was. It's just too bad the grand vizier who think himself almightier then every other pony really didn't think to outright kill me himself when he had me cornered at its edge." The dark green cloaked figure was positively brimming with anger at this vizier. "So what is that despot in his oh so grand wisdom doing now with all of his power?"
"Uh, we'd still like to know how you survive the fall. Other than that it is quite horrible, he is taking any mare that he fancies for himself as personal slaves and is bullying the people into poverty. Eventually he plans to turn one into his personal concubine if he can't find my charge soon enough." The first cloaked figure said wearing the brown one. "There have been quite a few injuries and the vizier is just throwing ponies in jail without even the slightest provocation. We are only glad he is unwilling to spread his influence for fear of earning the ire of the sun and love goddesses whom protect their lands with fervor."
"I hit a ledge ten feet down, it still hurt a lot though and I could use a healers touch. I barely climbed back up on my own." The dark green cloaked figure was suddenly slammed into by the red cloaked figure and crying could be heard as the red cloak pulled the green cloak closer. "It's okay my love, we'll find a way to free your father from that dastardly villain's clutches. We just need to find some way around his guards and destroy his source of power."
"Yeah, about that... sneaking in is going to be hard. We need to deal with those guards eventually and they won't stop searching for your royal lady here. I'd rather solve this problem by working alone, but apparently I can't do that now and keep you three out of trouble." The beige robed figure was shorter than the other three present that were all taller by comparison. "We need to lay low, we'll only last a week out here at best if we stretch what supplies we still have. We could feasibly make it to one of the surrounding oasis outposts and wait there for help."
"I will not put my charge in danger by taking her near the city again or those who will tell the vizier of her location for a price." The brown cloaked being was pretty firm on that note if his voice was anything to go by. "Defending my true liege's daughter is my honor and I will not rest in keeping her safe from harm."
"Even I in all my cunning am weary and need to recover from my fall." The dark green cloak spoke slightly grunting in pain putting weight down on one of his hooves.
"Well your royal highness?" The beige cloaked one said to the red cloak that seemed to be staring at the ground with tears slowly dropping from the shadowed hood.
"We need to find help, of that I will not deny. We will go to the nearest place where the vizier has no influence. We need to hire more adventurers like you, our friend, to aid us." The red cloaked figure pulled out a map and pointed to a spot on it, it was a relatively new little town in the territory of the sun goddess. "We are but a few against a mighty force, these badlands aren't too far away. We could still make it to this place. Even the loosest lips from the merchants of the sands will not cross the grounds where a buffalo treads."
"Works for me, I'm not about to fight an entire war even if I'm as cunning as this guy here." As soon as the beige cloaked figure finished speaking while motioning to the green cloaked one, they all nodded to themselves and set off. Three of them were already missing their home among the dunes, whereas the beige cloaked one knew the situation was far beyond the normal kind of trouble she usually handled.
Tress Ravel and Twilight Sparkle hopped off the train in Appleoosa, they were currently doing a job for Applejack in transporting some seedlings to the distant town in the badlands. They weren't alone in their travels, Chrysalis needed to check in with the hive to see if everything was going alright with her people. The still growing changeling left her giant monarch butterfly in the care of Fluttershy promising to return to Ponyville as soon as she was done, she was currently between Twilight and Tress in size. Soon she would enter her cocooned state and would be gone for a year, she'd truly miss being able to help out during the Nightmare Moon event.
"Ciao guys, see you tomorrow. I've got some friends of mine to discuss how the changes in our policies are doing." Chrysalis, in the form of the black furred Fluttershy, immediately ran off the minute the train stopped. In her haste she bypassed the earth pony stallion that was waiting to greet the newcomers.
The stallion had heard his cousin Applejack said she hired some respectable mercenaries to bring over some saplings for the little budding town; they hadn't exactly gotten their apple groves going full tilt yet but they soon would be bringing in good harvests.
"I wonder where that mare was going... well howdy and welcome to APPLEOOSA! The names Braeburn Apple and welcome to our humble little town, I take it you two young things are the ones cousin Applejack sent over?" Brae was shaking hooves with the two before they knew what had happened and found themselves being dragged about the boring little town. He was already in the midst of showing them the most unimportant of events going on.
"That's nice and all Brae, but we need to get your saplings off the train... you know the one we were just dragged away from." At least Tress was glad the excited stallion had the decency to blush, she turned around and started walking away. "Come on Twilight. Let's go get those saplings off before the train decides to depart with them still on it, especially while we're receiving this rather fascinating two bit tour for free."
"Sorry about that Brae, but my partner and best friend has a point. If you will excuse us we have a job to do, once we get the trees off we need you to show us where the orchard will be." Earth pony magic was rather fascinating to Twilight, none of it was harmful to nature and they could accelerate the growth of plants without shortening their lifespan. It wasn't anywhere near related to Tress's special talent; if it was then Twilight would be eating daisies for the rest of her life from a large field of flowers. The unfortunate downside would be not having a mane growth formula or the friend that she knew and loved from a different plane of existence, one that lets her dote on such a beautiful lengthy mane.
Tress had already managed to get half the tree's off by herself, her physical strength definitely wasn't getting any worse. She slept in her Mane-iac form now; since it slowly generated its own energy build up until it hit the full maximum capacity of which her body could carry. She had about twenty five percent more power in her full Mane-iac form by this point in time. Staying in control of her form really wasn't that much trouble, though shifting between them took about five seconds. Her body still itched quite a bit to shift, but she was getting over that faster every single time.
Twilight levitated the rest of the somewhat heavy half sized saplings from the train and then turned to Brae with a questioning gaze.
Taking that as an example to show them where they needed these trees, Brae immediately led them to where the apple trees were to be placed. He had a roguish charm to his excitability at seeing the new trees arrive; he even called all of his kin to get started on making their grounds a fruit bearing paradise in the middle of this somewhat arid place. Braeburn had Dark blonde and orange hair with a yellow coat that made him kind of cute looking to Twilight, but Tress wasn't amused by his painfully giddy demeanor. His single apple cutie mark was kind of boring to look at for the taller mare as well.
Idly Twilight realized that changelings hardly needed water and the best place to put a hive would be a place no pony would normally wish to go. This was probably why Chrysalis didn't invite them to see her hive, even though she knew she could trust the two of them not to give its location away. It was probably in a place with minimal water as changelings didn't need as much water as an actual pony to live. In all the time that she knew her, Twilight had never seen Chrysalis so much as drink something from since she was still an average looking changeling to the ambassador of her people she was currently slowly turning into now.
"Well that was nice, how about we hit the saloon and see what they've got going on. I've heard of western towns in my world having card games and awesome bar brawls." The soonest they arrived at the bar after a job well done of delivering a bunch of plants, Tress was sadly disappointed at how boring the place was. "Well this is boring."
"You're world was built out of nothing but interesting concepts Tress. Not everything in this world has to be as exciting as my family or Ponyville." Twilight took a seat at the bar and was soon joined by a lazy looking Tress, the bartender quickly popped up with a smile.
"Howdy there, what can I do for ye' pretty ladies? I'm willing to give ye' two free ones on the house for the tree delivery, us apples know an honorary family member when we be seeing them." He was about as accented as every other pony here.
"Actually we'd rather pay for it. We kind of have this friend who is so chronically generous that she'd give you her home if you were homeless and then would proceed to live on the streets happily knowing she did a good deed." At the thoughts of the fashion pony, Tress chuckled at how much Rarity gave to others at times. She'd almost swear the Rarity was trying to buy off her friends if she didn't know her so well. "It's just unfortunate we can barely curb that little problem of hers by forcefully paying her the bits she needs to stay in business. In any case two cold ciders please."
"Whoa there, no looking a gift from our family in the mouth now! You're friend sounds like a real nice sort that every pony should know; it's still on the house though." The owner of the bar thought these two were too nice for their own good to not accept things given to them freely. Even then both mares placed a bit on the counter, he chuckled dryly at them as he took them.
"It's a tip for the good service here. Also this town seems to have its fair share of apple related kin around here, willing to talk us into buying another round?" Twilight stated sweetly even if the first one was on the house she still felt bad about not paying it fully. It reminded her way too much of Rarity since Tress bothered to mention her.
"Thank ye' kindly. Why we apples are a large and loving clan, honest good hard working members each and every last one o' us. With the few occasions of bad apples every now and then, but even then they are just really grumpy folk. There is nary an apple that will fall that far from the tree without a good reason to do so." The bartender could really jabber on about the extended family, he only stopped to think about what to say next. "Anything in particular you need to know about the clan, like any o' the juicy stuff you might have heard in passing? I don't just provide drinks, I tell stories too! Any good bartender worth their saltlicks knows a good yarn."
"Could you tell us what happened to Applejack's parents? She really didn't like to talk about it much." The minute she asked that, Tress received the deepest frown she would likely ever see cross the bartenders face.
"Now there's a story I wish that had never happened. They were good folks; the entire family came together in Smith's aid when they went." The bartender swept his hat from his head and a few tears appeared in his eyes. "It's not a pretty tale to tell two wonderful young gals like yourselves, are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Even if it's sad, we still want to know about how our friend became like a mother to her own little sister. To truly be an honorary part of the family, we have to take all the good with the bad don't we?" Even Twilight was curious about this as well and since Tress placed it out there, why not? "You can trust us to handle a sad story."
"Well now, I guess I better get started. It all started on a warm and sunny day. A bit too warm if you are to be asking me and that was exactly the problem..." The bartender went into his woeful tale of as he dished out two more filled mugs after the mares finished their first and paid for the second round. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 80 | As soon as Twilight and Tress hopped off the train the next day, they were greeted by the constant hat wearing farmer that was their apple focused sadistic work horse of a friend. Chrysalis was looking as chipper ever since she got back from her hive and even followed them in what they did next.
"Hey there you three, how did things go in Appleoosa? I hope good old Brae didn't annoy Tress too much." Applejack quickly found herself drawn into a warm hug. Twilight, Tress and even the changeling were hugging her with a strong if gently applied grip. "Whoa, what's this all about?"
"Just shut up and let us hug you." Tress said with a tremble in her voice as she continued to cuddle the farm pony.
Applejack was feeling pretty uncomfortable about being snuggled like this. After a moment they released her and swiftly left the train station, leaving behind a confused farm pony that wanted to ask what that was all about.
"Okay, now I need something to get my mind off of that story..." Twilight stood around for a minute in the lazy streets of Ponyville, nothing happened. "You'd think there'd be a problem we could solve almost immediately given we've been away for a day."
"Well I would like to know what the hay all that hugging was about." Watching them turn around to face her, Applejack idly noticed that Chrysalis had simply wandered off to do who knows what again.
They all figured Chrysalis probably went to pick up her pet with the slightly hypnotic wings from Fluttershy. Said wings were only effective against other animals and had saved Chrysalis from being mauled quite a few times. In fact she hadn't been mauled in so long Tress has lost the ability to call her 'maul me sign' and now resorts to affectionately calling her 'cheese legs'.
"Well..." Tress started off only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Trixie needs your help, please come with Trixie!" The magician looked harried as she dragged the both of them away from Applejack.
Applejack sighed and turned back towards the road to the farm, she'd ask about it later as she currently had a business to run and had taken some time off to greet them at the station. They were doing quite fine apparently if they were being dragged into something else like that.
Trixie stopped dragging her friends along when she came to a stop near the marketplace. She looked around for something and sighed in relief at not seeing it.
"Trixie wants to get a present for Pinkie, but Trixie doesn't know what to get! It is of the upmost importance to Trixie, so will you take on my trouble? It is an urgent and important thing to Trixie!" It was mostly because Trixie wanted to do something special for Pinkie Pie, she would not be denied actually being humble by asking for professional helpers who could think beyond any box.
"This important thing would be what now?" Tress kept her voice even and steady in the face of Trixie's blind panic. "We're not having another Winter Wrap Up incident here are we?"
"Trixie apologized for that already! Anyway, Pinkie's birthday is coming up and Trixie wants to get her the best gift ever." After a moment Trixie looked at the street they were standing on, what she said next shocked the two ponies she dragged to the marketplace area. "I-I want to put a smile on her face. Please, help me find something."
"Trixie did you just... wow. You must really be invested in this if you're using pronouns in reference to yourself." It was a bit surprising for Twilight to see Trixie break her long standing tradition of always saying her name even if for a moment. "Pinkie is a hard one to plan for; she'd just as much like a gift that is hoof made as she would one that is bought as long as it's from the heart."
"Actually, I have the perfect idea of what you should get her. You're not going to find it in a marketplace and you may actually need Fluttershy's help with this one." Tress had an idea cooking in her brain, it percolated a bit and then it finally popped into a resoundingly odd idea. One that was entirely worthy of the thought processes required to get an excellent present for Pinkie instead of an average or mediocre one that the pony would get bored with after a while.
"Trixie would like to know why the wallflower would be important in this endeavor." Trixie wasn't exactly the best pony around animals, at least she wasn't Chrysalis. Changelings were supposed to be scary bedtime stories. Instead she's met a changeling queen who was currently a bit underwhelming, outward appearance and possible voyeuristic streak due to her eating habits notwithstanding.
"Fluttershy will be the perfect pony to help you find a present for Pinkie." Just to make sure they were on the same page Tress spoke slowly. "Just think of something Pinkie doesn't have yet and remember that she mentioned it during the Nightmare Night. You know, while you were trying to help her with that strange frog suit."
"Oh right, she doesn't have a pet. Trixie can certainly see what Tress is getting at now. Trixie will seek help from the shy one, thank you for assisting Trixie in Trixie's time of need." Trixie immediately set off for the cabin where Fluttershy was seen most often. "Trixie has it from here and will pay you later for your timely assistance!"
"So what do you think Trixie will end up getting for Pinkie?" Twilight was curious, now that Trixie no longer needed their assistance they were left standing outside the marketplace.
"Hopefully not a cragadile, that's all I can say." Tress could only imagine the trouble a pet cragadile would bring to this town.
"Yeah, that's something I'd actually fear having around. Besides it would be dangerous and irresponsible to even bring one into Ponyville, even a baby cragadile is a pretty big thing to take care of." It was around this time that something else occurred to Twilight. "How would Pinkie even feed it? Carnivores don't usually make for good pets for any pony. At least Winona, Palatable and Opal are good pets that aren't too hard to feed."
"Pal especially, considering his diet is almost entirely noodles and pasta sauce." Tress thought it was sort of adorable that he kept trying to cheer her up, even if it involved bringing dead spaghetti monsters to their doorstep. "So, training? I don't feel like helping out much more today and it was a boring train ride, I crave something to get the blood flowing."
"Yeah, I'll get whatever we need for it. Just be waiting in the fields, I'll meet you there." Twilight was only just starting to push the Mane-iac to her limits.
"Can't wait, this'll be fun." Tress was far more powerful then she had previously been. This was only because she had a clear thinking mind to work with and Twilight's constant insistence of testing her boundaries.
Forty seven minutes later, Twilight sat in grassy hills and fields outside of town with Tress. They were sitting across from each other in the relatively empty fields as no other pony was around. Twilight on her side of the field had a ton of skeet shooting ceramic plates meant for archery practice. Tress slowly stood up spreading her hooves slightly apart from each other taking a stiff stance while staring Twilight down.
"Tress, transform and please try to do it slowly." It always mystified Twilight every time she watched Tress transform into the Mane-iac, especially the change in her cutie mark which was still a complete mystery as to why it does that. The cutie mark itself wasn't hard to understand why it looked like it did, it was a representation of Mane-iac's special talent after all. A cutie mark was not entirely indicative of one's destiny and Twilight knew that for a fact, because she knew her best friend wasn't truly evil. A cutie mark was only there to remind you of what you're best talented at and not what else you could do if you put enough hard work into it.
"Okay, bringing out the psycho in me, better be prepared for it Twilight." Tress closed her eyes and she crouched down and brought her front two hooves to her head and let out what sounded like a pained gasp.
The change starts from the tip of her nose as her fur changed from pink to grayish blue color and it rippled as her face started to expand and grow as soon as that area of her body was covered in livid fur. Tress's crystal blues eyes shifted, starting with half her pupils turning red and the rest of her eye color turning green. Her mane started to slowly fade from light blue into a solid green starting from the roots going outward. The end of the transformation centered with all the changes coming together at her cutie mark which slowly warped into its new shape. A dark grin now crossed Tress's face as she proudly stood there facing down Twilight.
"Ready?" Twilight needn't have asked that, Mane-iac's mane lazily waved a single tentacle at her while the rest of it stayed unmoving. Twilight levitated twelve of the skeet plates into the air, spread them out and then launched them all at Mane-iac randomly one or two at a time at a rapid pace.
Tress crouched down and waited until the plates neared, then she spiked out her coat and had caught each plate without damaging it. All twelve plates spun on five inch spiked out points of fur. She manipulated her coat to gather all twelve plates into her hooves and then looked at Twilight with a decidedly evil grin.
"Think fast!" Mane-iac flicked eleven plates back at Twilight on differing trajectories and speeds. A spark of surprised went off in her friends eyes before they started glowing slightly along with her horn.
Twilight narrowed her sight on each plate coming at her. They all started moving at a slower pace as she expanded a field of magic outward that stayed connected to her horn so she didn't lose the magic. She was concentrating her mind to everything coming at her to a fine point, the first plate entered the magic field and Twilight did nothing. The plate zipped past her at dangerous speeds, given Tress threw each one with incredible strength. An impact from one of them could really injure her.
The second disc entered the field and with the barest of flickers it deflected away from Twilight when she created a pinpoint barrier for the barest of seconds only using a minimal amount of magical power. The next five were deflected or alternatively let by; by the time Twilight was done she had used very little magic in protecting herself.
Mane-iac was swinging her hair around to launch the last plate at Twilight, she let it loose and it blurred towards Twilight. Barest of a centimeter from her forehead the plate simple bounced off Twilight looking like it had hit her, she hadn't even flinched.
"So I should ramp up the difficulty of your training then?" Twilight asked lazily as if that last plate hadn't completely freaked her out. She didn't even think she could deflect something moving that fast and she had with minimal effort on her part. She was quite surprised by her own abilities at time to create a pinpoint barrier an inch in diameter and barely a centimeter thick in a milliseconds notice.
"Please do speed the warm up a bit. If you don't ramp it up, defending yourself will become the mane event here." Mane-iac chuckled darkly before she smiled at Twilight with her ridiculously white teeth. One would have to thank most super powers for including good teeth, looks and health as a side benefit. "You need to learn how to protect yourself from dangers using what you have and could use the training as well you know, so it should be our training that you need to step up. Let your hair down and start pushing me harder already!"
Twilight floated into the air using her gravity spell and levitated at least ten or so plates up. She spread the plates out in all directions while keeping a magical field expanded from her body. Tress grinned maniacally and waited for Twilight to get started.
"Bring it." The plates all shot for Mane-iac at incredible speeds and she reacted, it was the beginning of a very interesting training session. Mane-iac soon had a swirling swarm of plates shooting at her from all angles and she was throwing the plates back at Twilight while the unicorn floated around multitasking three different spells at once. She could tell Twilight was having some trouble doing three things at once and went easy on her friend.
A few hours later, it was getting into the evening and Fluttershy came upon the scene of Tress and Twilight's battle. She could see they were almost huddled together taking a nap. She was smiling at how adorable the two look napping in a pile of shattered ceramic plates and they did look comfortable.
Hearing their stomach's grumbling, Fluttershy knew bringing a loaded picnic basket all the way out here was a good idea. She simply plucked the basket off her back with her left wing and also pulled out her medical kit with her right. The medical kit was a foregone conclusion as she knew they'd need some attention after apparently having quite a fun time out here.
"Hey Fluttershy, are you having a picnic with Tress and Twilight?" The shy mare squeaked and turned to Cheerilee and nodded slightly. The teacher idly wondered what happened here to see so many wrecked skeet plates and no archery equipment anywhere nearby. "May I join you then?"
"Of course, I made enough for five ponies. If you don't mind me asking, can you please help me move them onto the blanket; those plates can't be very comfortable to sleep on." Fluttershy with a little help from Cheerilee managed to move both Tress and Twilight over to the blanket she had laid out. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 81 | "And that concludes today's lesson class." It was another day and the end of the weekend with Twilight, who has just finished teaching a bunch of fillies and colts about magic. The magic she taught was used by the three pony races; she was exceptionally knowledgeable in the subject.
"Now what do we say to Ms. Sparkle for joining us today class?" Cheerilee enjoyed having attentive students and Twilight was a good helper for teaching her entire class about the magic that is innate in all ponies.
"Thank you Miss Sparkle!" An entire chorus of young voices sang out as the colts and fillies started gathering their things to leave.
"It's so nice to help out with teaching young minds Cheerilee, though I'm pretty sure they're not always the little angels they act like in front of you." Twilight received a warm chuckle from the schoolmarm.
"Oh I know that, even if my name isn't Cheery Leeway. They're children and it's a time of exploring their boundaries." Cheerilee sighed thoughtfully looking out the window. "They have all the time in the world to make mistakes, just so long as it's not really bad ones that could get some pony hurt permanently."
Twilight beamed along with Cheery as they watched the foals and colts set off to play and have fun as it was the start of their weekend. Twilight felt a pony bump into her and a she heard the ever familiar squeak of a cuddly pony, along with the growl of Tress's cat.
"Sorry for bumping into you Twilight." Even as she said this in an absentminded tone, Fluttershy twisted and twirled as her eyes followed movements going on in the sky and she slowly continued on her way. Out of idle curiosity Twilight and Cheerilee followed her turning their gazes towards the sky to see what she was keeping track of.
"It's okay Fluttershy, but what are you... oh. Yeah, that would be kind of noticeable." Looking to the sky Twilight couldn't help but shake her head at Tress's antics, it looked like the problem of the day was what was known as a dragon's mortal nemesis. "Seriously, a wyvern, that's what we were supposed to be dealing with today?"
"Well you two certainly do get into all kinds of shenanigans." Now Cheery was doing what Fluttershy was doing in tracking the goings on up high in the air. "So what was it that was special about wyverns again? It's kind of slipped my mind; Tress really seems intent on keeping its mouth closed."
"Well they are said to share a lot of similarities with basilisks, only they're less dangerous and not nearly as poisonous. Some wyverns are even said to spit their venom while igniting it and a wyverns cry tends to attract and anger dragons." Twilight went through the motions with Fluttershy and Cheerilee in watching the speck in the sky. Tress was holding onto the relatively small wyvern's neck with her hind legs, she was also holding its mouth shut with one hoof and punching it in the head with the other one.
Despite their training for when and if things got violent with Nightmare Moon, Twilight knew she and Tress were nowhere near as invincible as they appeared at times. Twilight didn't have a body that could handle too much punishment and her barriers spells were the only thing preventing her from getting heavily injured at times by Tress, especially when they played rough when it came to exercising their natural abilities. She at times compared herself to Tress, who even outside her Mane-iac form could still take a lot of punishment.
Tress was currently trying to avoid the wyvern's spines as it lashed out its tail at its own neck and struggled to hold its mouth shut to prevent its teeth from biting at her. It was also to prevent any dragons that might have lived near Ponyville from attacking if they so much as heard a wyvern in the area. She shifted her weight when it clumsily swung its talons from its two legs at her that narrowly missed gouging a chunk out of her back.
"Funny, I didn't think wyverns were native to anywhere within Equestrian territories." The teacher mused as they slowly followed the pitched fight between a mare and a two winged, long necked serpentine creature with poisonous spines, fangs and talons.
"They aren't. Especially given there is a d-d-d-dragon migration path that goes through Ponyville." Fluttershy would know all about it, wyverns weren't native within the borders of Equestria especially given the small population of dragons that lived in the surrounding mountains and caves. She hoped that Tress didn't lose her grip on the wyverns mouth, the disaster of a dragon attack would be imminent if one were to here it cry out for a prolonged period of time. "Some pony had to of have released it here on purpose or it just recently escaped captivity for there to even be one."
"First we need to deal with the dangerous creature. After that we can actually find out where it actually came from. Just so long as nothing exacerbates this situation to make it worse, it looks pretty well handled so far." Twilight saw a streak of colors shoot for Tress and the wyvern. Lifting a hoof to her face was the only thing she could do now. "Oh for the love of... please don't tell me Rainbow is about to make things worse."
"Okay, we won't. I still can't believe I'm giving the top weather manager in Ponyville remedial courses." After a moment Cheery slapped a hoof to her mouth before looking at her two friends. "Forget I ever said that."
"Don't worry; we're all well aware of Cloudsdale's ever exemplary educational system. Not that it is a system that doesn't focus every pony that has ever lived there down narrow pathways in the ways of prospective jobs." Twilight always took the opportunity to snipe at the pegasus educational systems. Doing so in front of Cheery should have gotten the teacher angry and started an argument. Instead Cheery just nodded at her words. "So how did Tress end up grappling the wyvern? Wasn't she helping you with all those kittens today Fluttershy?"
"Um... well, the wyvern tried to grab me with its talons while we were playing with the kittens." Fluttershy didn't need to say more, Tress immediately bucked the wyvern in the chin and the wrapped herself around its neck to try and force it to pass out. Fluttershy had quickly told her a few things to do before it took her out of earshot when it ascended. Pal growled something at Fluttershy bringing her back to the present situation. "Yes, you were a good kitty getting the other cats to shelter and no she hasn't gotten hurt yet."
Meanwhile at the Ponyville Train Station and a distance away from the midair fight.
"So my Pinkie Sense says I have to be right here Trixie, the pony I haven't been able to throw a party for is coming in on the next train!" Pinkie's back left hoof flopped lazy at the air three times. "Oh and the pony is bringing three new friends who have never been to Ponyville before."
"Trixie does not know why you're so excited; the pony might not have time for a party. How is little Gummy by the way, is he alright?" Trixie had hatched an alligator a day before Pinkie's birthday. Against her better judgment, she gave the now named Gummy to Pinkie and the pony had never been happier to have a pygmy alligator as a pet. The alligator was adorable in his own unique way and he didn't have any teeth, it made Trixie wonder what they would do when he did get them.
"Oh, he's perfectly fine. I think he likes gummy worms and is really energetic for a little guy." Pinkie would take care of her pet and prove once and for all that she could be Pinkie 'Responsibility' Pie. "I hope that Mr. and Mrs. Cake don't mind that I left him in the bathtub when I left."
There was a scream in the distance and Pinkie shrugged. It was probably nothing even if it did sound like Mrs. Cake and that it came from the direction of her home and or workplace. Pinkie trusted in the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Cake wouldn't hurt Gummy even if her new little friend did freak them out once or twice.
The train in the distance started rolling into the station; it eventually came slowly to a halt in front of them. Pinkie was waiting eagerly. She would not miss a chance to throw a party for this pony and they would have no choice but to attend along with the three new ponies that came to Ponyville. The magician sitting right next to her sighed as she could already tell Pinkie was in one of her moods, considering there was that lovable goofy smile that crossed the pink pony's face.
Of the four cloaked figures that stepped off the train, one of them was antsy and it was the smaller one in the beige cloak. She really didn't want to come back to this town right now, but circumstances saw fit to draw her here. Ponyville was a safe haven for something important to her and she could only hope the town was quiet and out of the way enough. Of course it begged the question why this town needed mercenaries; it was a quiet town where not much happened or at least that was what she thought.
"Oh my goodness there you are! I think you really need my party now, because you look really grumpy." Pinkie spooked the beige cloak wearing pony by appearing in front of her from out of nowhere.
"Look kid, I don't need a... what the!?" The beige cloaked figure pushed away Pinkie Pie and leapt backwards avoided the wyvern head that just rammed its way into the station with Tress still holding onto it. It boggled her mind to see something so dangerous especially when it wasn't native to any place near here.
"Well of course you don't need a 'what the!?', however you really need that party and so do your friends! They could stand to be a little less grim looking." Even as Pinkie said this Trixie was dragging her away from the thrashing head of the wyvern.
The brown and green cloaked figures spoke some funny gibberish and stood protectively in front of the pony in the red cloak. They watched as Tress continued to fight the head of the wyvern whose body was currently wedged into the train station platform and appeared to be completely stuck.
"Come on, just go down already!" Punching the wyvern with one hard blow after a flash in her eyes, Tress caused it to slow its wild movements. After a moment it was finally too tired to fight her anymore and laid down to accept it wasn't getting her off of itself and fell asleep were it lay stuck in the train station. "Finally, that took forever. Is Rainbow okay?"
"Rainbow should be fine and I should be asking you the same thing Tress." Twilight walked up to her with a worried look in her eyes.
"I'm just hungry and a bit thirsty; this wyvern really didn't want to give up the fight." Tress after a moment finally released her hind legs from gripping its neck, she stretched them out given they were a bit stiff. "I heard the cafe is open again, maybe we could stop by there for dinner?"
"We still have to deal with the wyvern first Tress. I'd really like to know where it came from and I personally think we should at least secure it first, do you want to deal with it again?" Twilight saw that her friend understood the need to stick around when she winced at having to do all that again. They were waiting for Fluttershy and Cheerilee to go get some ponies to help contain the wyvern. Nurse Redheart hopefully had some wyvern antivenin for Rainbow; if not then they could synthesize some from the wyvern itself.
"So it was a Wyvern today? Trixie thinks this is rather tame for you and that said, Pinkie now owes Trixie fifty bits." Holding out her hoof, Trixie waited for Pinkie to plant a bag of bits there. She swiftly made them disappeared into her purple starry hat before placing it back on her head.
"Wow, now ponies are betting on what we'll do next. The Trouble Takers are now officially a tourist attraction Twilight!" Turning to the four cloaked figures and recognizing one, she sighed and turned back to her friend. "And I think we already have our next job lined up for us by Daring Do herself."
"What?" Was all Daring could say, as she pulled her beige cloak tighter around herself. "I have no idea... fine I need help if you are in fact those mercenary mares I heard about in Appleoosa. Just stop looking at me like that with those flat stares!"
"Don't worry about going to the cafe Tress. I'm throwing this pony a party immediately and she's not avoiding this one!" Pinkie bounced in front of Daring and wrapped a hoof around her. "I've already set everything up for it lady, there's no avoiding a Pinkie Pie party when it's meant for you!"
"What in the world did I just walk into?" Daring idly asked as if the world had gone completely crazy, the wyvern was still quite a shocking thing to see around here. Did Celestia even have this town properly protected? She turned to her three cloaked friends. "*Comforting words in Saddle Arabian and a quick explanation of the situation as far as she could decipher it.*"
"Just our lives apparently Miss Do." Twilight spoke with a sing song voice as she trotted on by the cloaked explorer who was being dragged away towards Sugar Cube Corner by Pinkie and Trixie. Fluttershy was already arriving with a group of ponies to help with the wyvern. "Just our lives..." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 82 | Sitting down at the table Daring Do massaged her head with her hooves; she was being stared at by an expectant unicorn while their friends were currently being entertained by the magician. Taking a glance off to the side Daring watched as the magician picked up and hugged a small alligator before returning back to her show. It kind of caused Daring to remember all the close calls in all the swamps, lagoons, jungles and forests she kept ending up in over the last few years. At least her three friends were being entertained while she talked business with the so called mercenaries.
"Okay, how did you know I exist? My identity is actually kept under wraps pretty well." Daring Do's first question was one that most intrigued her. "Also I'm rather curious as to how your friend immediately identified the fact that I was looking help."
"To answer your first question, the town librarian is privy to a lot of information and records that led to such a discovery. I'm just surprised that this town didn't really have one until I came to Ponyville." Twilight closed her eyes and remembered the surprised look on her face given she heard that Daring Do was a real pony and that she knew her mother. "As for the second you're Daring Do; when are you not dealing with awful artifacts, ancient articles and aggressive associates. My friend and I really like you're books Miss Yearling. Aside from that you're pretty recognizable from the book's cover and my brother caught Ahuizotl himself while in a pitched battle that involved a giant banana monster and a gaggle of minotaurs. You're well acquainted with my mother and even I recognized you from that right off the bat as I've seen you once or twice before today."
"Really, who's your mother?" Daring was very wary of ponies knowing her on sight. Her beige coat and her black and grey mane was not as colorful as most ponies so she stood out slightly. Usually she'd wear a boring looking hat and nerdy glasses to hide who she really was. It only took her seconds after stepping off the train to be recognized. Not that the party that was thrown for her and her friends was all bad, it was a simple one and she liked the free cupcakes the pink pony was peddling.
"Twilight Velvet Quality Sparkle, I believe she does some editing for you. I once thought that was the most normal thing my mother does, but now I can see even that was secretly weird." Not a single thing about her parents was ever normal, not that Twilight disliked that fact. She loved her affectionate parents; it's just that they couldn't go to the store without wrestling a bear, getting launched over a tank full of sharks and end up getting into a vicious fight while on a runaway carriage all within the span of ten minutes. "Mom always had an eye for detail and I guess that was useful to your partial autobiography played off as fantasy books for young ponies like this one rambunctious filly I know named Scootaloo."
"Yes, I know your mother then at least. Can we get to a different topic?" Daring was rather uncomfortable at the mention of Scootaloo and really hoped that Twilight couldn't read her currently worried mind. She really wanted to steer the conversation entirely away from Scootaloo. If the unicorn started prying too far into it she didn't know what she'd do about it. "You both don't exactly look like mercenaries and especially not the kind of cutthroat ones I'd expect to handle the situation I'm in. Though the way your friend handled that wyvern was pretty impressive."
"What can I say, we may not look it but we're good at solving problems of all kinds. Trust me when I say we can take on just about anything you can throw at us." Twilight was proud of being able to help ponies successfully and she wasn't going to stop now. "So what's the problem, what artifact does it involve and how can we help you solve it? I like working as a hairstylist and Tress is a beauty products maker. Aside from that we've been involved in several volatile situations or else we wouldn't be Trims, Tresses and Trouble Takers."
"Before I tell you that, what have you and your friend exactly done besides taking down a wyvern?" Again Daring looked off to the side to see the pink pony serve free refreshments out to the Saddle Arabians, it was nice to see them not looking as glum or grim now. That pony could cheer up any pony.
"You're really worried about them; it must have been hard for them to leave their country. I'm guessing something bad is going down in Saddle Arabia given their looks." After making her observation Twilight decided to answer Daring's question. "Well thus far we've dealt with a jabberwock, a bandersnatch, that wyvern you saw today, a five headed hydra, stalled a pack of armed minotaurs raiding a passenger train for whatever reason, had a problem with some creepy exploding frogs a few days ago, battled a dragon that was made entirely out of fruitcake and quite a lot of other stuff like that to name a few things. Would getting a princess to imprison herself count as something successful? I'm not exactly sure."
"Wait, you're the reason why Princess Cadence jailed herself on purpose? Well at least she knows she did wrong by some ponies and admitted to her faults." Daring had always thought Cadence was a bit flighty with her spell usage, then again it was said she was a pegasus before she turned into an alicorn. Throw in a bit of idle conversation and maybe she might actually hire these two hair care focused ponies to help her out of a jam, since apparently they were really adventurous hair care ponies. "Speaking of knowing things, what's your level of schooling? I was personally born and raised in Manehatten where I got my passion for archaeology and exploration from a field trip to a museum. I started writing once I found out my job really didn't pay as much as I thought it would, but I still do what I love."
"I'm a graduate of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns and as for Tress she is as knowledgeable as I am in many subjects. I have a doctorate in enchantments and I'm good in all forms of magic and can even see traps if they are enchantment based. For an example as to how strong my magic is, my levitation spell is powerful enough to lift an Ursa Minor and I have done so in aiding a friend while she was taking care of a sick one." At some point Twilight figured she was understating how useful her skill at all forms of magic was. "My friend Tress is hoof to hoof combat expert and she's much more dangerous then she initially appears."
"You better believe I'm dangerous knowing me as you do, no other pony would be crazy enough to take a wyvern head on aside from Rainbow." It was a fleeting thought, but Tress actually realized she was worried about the colorful nuisance that aided her without question. She had to admit Rainbow did get some credit for helping bring down the wyvern and was a good friend when she wasn't ignoring your existence. Twilight had already paid for Rainbow's short stay in the hospital. "I hope she's okay."
"She is Tress; our favorite knucklehead isn't that easy to take out for long." Chuckling at the sentiment, Twilight knew Rainbow would be too rowdy a patient to keep down. She gave Rainbow two days before she made a full recovery and was once again zipping across the skies. Turning to Daring, she took on a serious look. "Can you give us more information about what is going on now?"
"The city of Neighgraba in Saddle Arabia has been overthrown by the power mad grand vizier Jabber Fartulong. Apparently he got a hold of an artifact I was after and it had a genie in it, which is why I'm currently here looking for help." Daring hadn't seen the genie personally but she saw the effects of what happened after the vizier got a hold of it well enough. "As far as I know he's captured the princess's father the sultan of Neighgraba, has somehow gained complete control over the guards and is forcing mares that he likes into being slaves for him. That genie is way too powerful to take on in a straightforward confrontation and it almost got the guy in the green cloak over there killed."
"Are you sure it's a genie he has helping him though? As far as I know of genies they can't directly kill, force love of any kind, bring any being back to life or change a powerful nature of the world. An example of a powerful nature would be an alicorn like Celestia." Twilight didn't like the sound of going near a genie, but she needed to know for sure it was a genie as that would have been a simpler thing to deal with. "Then there's the alternative and I really don't like the idea of dealing with one of those creatures as it's far worse than a genie and knowing my luck it probably is one of those."
"What alternative could there be other than it being a genie and why would it be worse than one?" Daring was curious and it caused her to immediately have a bad feeling about what was going on back in Neighgraba.
"A genie has a limit of three wishes and can do things for their masters of their own free will up and to the point the third wish is made. On the other hoof, there is a nastier version of a genie that is called a jinn." Twilight shivered at just saying the name of the dark version of a genie. "Jinns aren't exactly bound to the three wishes thing like genies are and are said to be bringers of great evil. As long as the item binding them to this world is kept safe they can't be stopped easily. If this grand vizier was the owner to a lamp holding one, then things are slowly getting far worse in Neighgraba then what you've already heard or saw. A jinn will always be pleased with an evil master that spreads misery, destruction and greed. Unlike genies, a jinn can directly kill you."
"Yikes, hope it's not a jinn he's got then..." Daring didn't know all this stuff about genies and jinn, if it was a jinn then finding help was a good idea. "You're hired, how exactly do we go about dealing with this situation? Other than finding that lamp and smashing it to pieces that is."
"Well first I need to send a letter to my parents. If we are dealing with a jinn we're going to need all the help we can muster. My parents have been to Saddle Arabian territories before and I'm not afraid of asking for their help on this one." Twilight was going to need the help of quite a few of her friends; she had to make sure they were available for this trip though. "I'm also going to get together a few of my friends to help out with this adventure. Do you think we can all get a small part in your next book?"
"I don't see why not, but there won't be a next book if Jabber continues to hold sway over Neighgraba. I'd be too depressed about my failure to prevent this mess in the first place to write anything new." Daring sat back and picked up a cupcake to bite into it. After swallowing and looking Twilight in the eyes, she just had to ask as it had been on her mind since the start of this conversation. "How much is this going to cost me?"
"I'd say your friendship for one and that would mostly be about it. Even I'm not about to let a ruthless pony get away with harming mostly innocent people." Tress was already aware that Twilight wouldn't turn down this trouble even if it sounded difficult. Camels, griffons and plenty of other merchants of all species passed through Neighgraba so saying 'ponies' wasn't the right word for it when a good portion of the population was in fact not.
"I can live with that cost, friendship and a part in my book huh. You guys certainly work for cheap don't you?" Daring wondered if she should have just gone back and taken care of this trouble personally, she worked alone for a very good reason. She could only hope things didn't blow up in her face, because now she had to watch out for these ponies as well and couldn't be everywhere at once.
"Our business does give some of the biggest first time discounts you'll ever see, you're a friend of my family and you're going to become my friend personally. It's almost paid in full except for one tiny question I have to ask after we're done helping you with your trouble. Tress could you please go find Rarity, Fluttershy and Chrysalis." As she said this, Twilight had a twinkle in her eye while she levitated out some paper and ink. "I can already tell this is going to be an interesting experience." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 83 | Twilight thought over the general things Saddle Arabia provided to Equestria through trading, the vizier was in a good spot to start devastating commodities ponies took for granted. She watched as Tress danced on the deck below her as she leaned against the railing and was slightly mesmerized by her friend's mane as it shifted about to her movements. She was dancing to some sitar music being played by the Princess Jasmine's bodyguard, Twilight thought his name sounded like Rough Heed.
Saddle Arabian ponies were very much different from regular ponies, for one they were tall and had longer legs. They were taller than most normal ponies and only ponies bigger then Mane-iac would outsize them in general. Despite their size they weren't any more physically fit than a regular earth pony and they never got cutie marks. Their bodies were built to survive a hot arid realm and the harsh conditions there.
They were already en route to Neighgraba and were riding an airship there, courtesy of Twilight's parents having recently come by a used airship that once belonged to a band of marauding pirates a few hours before they set out. It was certain that the air pirates were not happy that their airship was stolen out from under their noses.
Rarity was currently working on some outfits in the hold as they needed something to beat the heat; it was made sure that she was focusing on function as much as the form. She was making some loose clothing to protect them from the baking heat of the desert sun and a costume or two for later infiltration plans.
Daring was having a rather intriguing chat with Chrysalis about how bad her translation of Saddle Arabian names was. Jazz Bane was not the name of the princess, though Ballad Din was close enough to being right for the stallion in the green cloak. Daring seemed edgy around Chrysalis because she was a changeling and didn't trust her very much even if she could speak fluent Saddle Arabian.
Piloting the airship was Nightlight; he looked to be rather bored with being the stallion at the helm and being one of the only three stallions on this ship. Ballad Din was checking the rigging and Rough Heed would every once in a while make sure to survey the skies around the ship. The princess herself was to keep watch of the balloon to make sure it wasn't leaking air.
Every pony onboard the airship could already smell Pinkie's baking and were getting hungry, Trixie was likely assisting her with the food. They certainly weren't going to go hungry with those two around manning the galley.
"Twilight, can I talk to you if it's alright to?" Fluttershy was always worried about her friends getting hurt, especially Twilight as Tress healed fast enough to hardly ever need medical aid.
"Why of course you can Fluttershy. You know I'm willing to listen to you about anything." Twilight had flinched slightly as she hadn't noticed Fluttershy come up to her. Her friend was as silent as a mouse and could go unnoticed just about anywhere when she wanted to.
"Why did you bring me along?" It took Fluttershy a moment to realize she was being cuddled by Velvet again; her friend snickered at her plight. "Also will your mother ever stop hugging me?"
"Not likely, as you're apparently very cuddly." Now even Twilight was cuddling Fluttershy along with her mother. She felt bad about doing it just so she could fondle Fluttershy's mane, it was just so silky and she couldn't help but rub her face against it. "Your talent with animals and medical training are two very good things to have out in the desert. Just think of all the exotic animals you'll get to meet."
Fluttershy enjoyed the attention a bit, but this was probably the only time she was annoyed instead of scared of receiving too much attention. Twilight wouldn't stop petting her and Velvet's comforting hooves were nice, but this was getting a bit ridiculous. She didn't raise her voice to them, she was still the quietest mare you would ever meet and they weren't exactly making Fluttershy feel too uncomfortable about her personal space.
Velvet and Twilight finally let go of Fluttershy. They both giggled at Fluttershy and she relented giggling a bit with them as well, she couldn't stay mad at what were a second mother and a very nice friend to her. A friend that she thought had a cute mane style and was attractive.
Fluttershy walked to the railing followed by Twilight and looked over it. The ground slowly crawled by beneath them as the airship chugged along leading Fluttershy to think of Velvet's eye for detail as an amazing special talent. There were so many uses for it, especially when Velvet was currently acting as the ships mechanic.
"So what's wrong Fluttershy?" Twilight was going to call a meeting soon. It would involve a plan for what to do when they came within three or more miles of Neighgraba.
The plan for saving Neighgraba needed the subjects of infiltration, information and instigation. They'd infiltrate the city under the guise of a troupe that travelled the world randomly performing wherever they stopped, it shouldn't be too hard to fool anyone given their lives were already a three ring circus. They needed information of where the vizier was keeping his magical artifact to protect the genie or jinn. They also needed the layout of the palace, city and generally any other information that is pertinent as to what was currently going on in Neighgraba. They already had a head start with Ballad Din and Jasmine, but the jinn or genie could have magically rearranged things or warped the general surroundings to something else.
"I'm just wondering about Angel and the all the animals back at home." Sure Fluttershy had nothing pressing going on as nature was taking care of itself well enough. After her instigation of the fair chance law around her home that is. Any animal that was injured and on her property was not to be harmed by any other animal, else she would not care for the breaker of that law should they in turn be grievously injured and in dire need of her help later on. Her home was not a place were aggressive behavior lived or very well tolerated, except for Angel who was only angry at Fluttershy for being too much of a doormat at times.
"I'm sure he'll do fine, he did really well when we went to Canterlot for the wedding didn't he?" Taking on a thoughtful look, Twilight could see Fluttershy looking at her out of the corner of her left eye. Fluttershy soon spread her wings and flapped them twice before closing them and tilting her head to the right. Twilight looked to Daring Do who was still heatedly discussing something with Chrysalis in Saddle Arabian; Daring did not like the presence of changelings in Ponyville even if they were benign voyeurs. Feeding off married or loving couples was proven to be safe for both changelings and their main source of food. "You left her with Applejack didn't you? She should be fine and capable of flying within a month's time, Applejack is a dependable pony."
"It's not just that, I want to know if you know what the connection is between Daring and the 'filly' yet." Fluttershy was still thinking of Scootaloo, the guards were trying hard to find her and she was in plain sight and making friends with Apple Bloom. She mentally made a side note that Rarity left Sweetie Belle with their parents and then absconded onto the airship. It was a form of sweet revenge to Rarity for all the times her parents kept sending Sweetie her way while gallivanting off somewhere for the umpteenth time.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a hunch that involves why 'the filly' is always so excited to see Rainbow Dash." Twilight made the comparison that Daring and Rainbow looked exactly alike, except for the glaring differences in personality, intelligence and colors. Daring was far smarter than Rainbow and was just a bit more cunning in pinch. "If my hunch is right then Daring must be constantly heartbroken considering the kind of life she has to lead. Aside from that, remind me to introduce Rainbow to Daring's books later."
Fluttershy looked over to Velvet dancing with Tress to the music being played, sometimes she wished she could just let go of her stress like that. She couldn't imagine what Twilight would find out; she just hoped it wasn't something that would make her cry. Fluttershy's stomach grumbled and she gave off a frightened goat squeak, before she realized in embarrassment that the noise came from her.
"Stop worrying about every little thing, go to galley and get something to eat Fluttershy." Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy and rubbed it gently up and down the mares back. "Maybe Pinkie Pie even has a cupcake with your name on it."
"Okay, Twilight... do you think that I'll ever... or that you could ever help me with um... never mind." Fluttershy's voice dropped down to a pitch that only dogs could probably hear, she walked away mumbling an apology. Entering the airship she carefully made her way down the steps into the kitchen, a smell wafted up into her nose causing her to hum gently and trot on into the galley following the lifting aroma.
Fluttershy could tell something smelled really good and sweet; Pinkie bounced up to her and sat her down at the table before hoofing to her what looked to be a menu with a smile. The pegasus was curious as to why she was receiving a menu of all things, this was a stolen pirate airship and she didn't think they would actually run a restaurant out of it. On the menu was the name of the airship, 'The Indistinguishable Plot', followed by the name of the restaurant being a welcome to the 'Goofy Good Grub Galley'.
Rolling her eyes at the menu, Fluttershy just laughed at the resourcefulness that Pinkie had. Deciding to play along she opened the menu and inside she saw that all crew members received food for free. Since there were no passengers on the ship and every pony chipped in to keep it flying, they were all crew members. There was a large upturn in the shy pony's mood and she started truly smiling as she read what was the first thing on the menu, it was 'smiles' and the price was 'always'.
"So have you figured out what you wanted yet Fluttershy?" Pinkie was wearing a cheesy fake mustache along with a waiter's uniform. She was already placing a napkin before Fluttershy to use to wipe her mouth when she started eating her food.
"Whatever that is that smells so good, some apple juice and the 'Plank Pasta Pasty'? It sounds good." Fluttershy received a wide smile as Pinkie wrote something down. After a moment she showed Fluttershy a perfect sketch of Angel Bunny much to the shy mares amusement and then left it on the table as she bounced off for the kitchen.
"Fluttershy wants whatever that smell is, some juicy fruit and the 'Plank Pasta Pasty' special!" Pinkie disappeared into the kitchen. Trixie could be heard grumbling about wanting to be the waiter and be the one wearing the goofy mustache.
Fluttershy wondered how close Trixe and Pinkie were now; they seemed to work well together. If only she were as brave as Trixie was to just walk up to a mare she liked and ask if they could go on a date. Maybe Zecora wouldn't mind a date or even Chrysalis as the bug like hermaphrodite was pretty in her own unique way.
After twenty minutes of waiting Fluttershy had a warm raspberry swirl cupcake placed before her. It had yellow icing on top of it and on top of the yellow icing was bright pink icing spelling out her name. A mug of apple juice was sat down further from the cupcake and a strange brown plank shaped lump was placed before her with a butter knife and fork.
"Sorry it took so long Fluttershy, it requires to be baked to perfection so that it tasted just right." Pinkie gave Fluttershy a big hug before bouncing off for the kitchen. "Don't forget, that no matter where you go there are friends that know and love you for who you are!"
For baked vegetable lasagna wrapped in a thin crust of pizza dough, it was quite tasty. Pinkie was exceptionally talented at baking things; the spinach really brought the taste together for the pasta stuffed pizza dough.
Yawning after having finished her meal, Fluttershy went to find a bed. As she lay down to sleep, she wondered how things would go once they reached Neighgraba. She prayed for the safety of all her friends, family and those who truly needed it in the days to come. She silently in her sleep pulled a plushy version of Tress to her chest and snuggled down under the blanket. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 84 | With a loud thud of the airship settling on the ground causing, Fluttershy fell out of bed with a yelp. This also sent her plush toy flying into the air; it came back down straddling her face.
"You okay there Fluttershy? Twilight sent me to get you up, we're there... well technically we're parked outside of Neighgraba a good distance away." Stopping to look at the plush toy, Chrysalis chuckled as she levitated the miniature version of Tress to herself. "This is adorable, who made it?"
"I got it from Rarity... I sometimes have problems sleeping alone." It was something Fluttershy has been trying to stamp out of herself. Fluttershy reached up and took the plush toy out of the levitation field. "It's not the only one I have, I also have one of Octavia, You, Carrot Topper, Zecora, Twilight and one of Rarity herself."
"Is mine anatomically correct at least?" Chrysalis was more than a little curious as to know what her plush toy was like.
"Well... if you don't mind the answer... yes." Fluttershy barely squeaked that out as her entire face turned bright red as she looked at the floor in embarrassed. Her mane covered her face as she thought back to when she asked Rarity to make them for her. She really had a thing for her friends and Rarity really helped her out by making these plush toys for her to snuggle.
"Huh, okay then. Come on, we have a meeting to get to. I'm excited to hear what I'm going to be doing, as infiltration is my specialty!" As a changeling Chrysalis had pride in her species ability to infiltrate any place even if they may not be very quiet about doing so. She waited for Fluttershy to put up her plush toy and then they set out for the galley.
All the ponies were waiting for the meeting to get started; Twilight had to call up Chrysalis to translate what she was saying for the benefit of the Saddle Arabian's present. There was one particular part of the presentation that Twilight set up that Princess Jasmine had a question for.
"I know its importance is of no matter, but why are ponies always getting the grand vizier's name wrong?" Jasmine had a darker blue mane and lighter shade of pink, otherwise she could have just been a Saddle Arabian version of Tress.
"What? I thought 'Fat Barring Flatulence' was a pretty good insult." Chrysalis replied back in fluent Saddle Arabian.
"So even if they are getting his name wrong by accident, they still insult it so grandly as Daring does. Please tell her to excuse my interruption." The princess had been spending a lot of time around her companion with the dark mane and the green cloak.
Jasmine had learned that sometimes there were things you couldn't see or experience from being cooped up in a palace. One of the things she recently learned to love was having friends, even if Daring was a bit of a cranky pony at times and a loner. Velvet was one of the few ponies that the adventurer would talk with.
The plan was set and they all would enter the city in groups at different times set more than an hour apart from one another.
The plan was set and they all would enter the city in groups at different times set more than an hour apart from one another. No group would be without a translator, Nightlight and Velvet weren't too rusty with the language.
Fluttershy looked at the grand city with its majestic round towers leading into pointed spires and the sandstone buildings that held their weight. She nervously approached the front gates being guarded by rough looking stallions. She pulled her shawl tighter around her head and once again made sure there was nothing on her worth stealing.
"Halt!" The guard on the left yelled as Fluttershy approached, he recognized Fluttershy as being Equestrian and thus spoke in that language. "State your business with the city of Neighgraba."
"I'm a wary traveler... one that got separated from my merchant convoy. I have been wandering the desert for hours and my throat is parched. If you would be so kind, I come seeking refuge within the city." Fluttershy shivered at the hungry stares she was receiving, she had gotten all sweaty and tired before coming up to the gates just so that her story would be believable.
"Kind she says, hah!" The guard on the right chuckled darkly causing a shiver to run down the shy mares back.
"I'm sure I'll be able to catch up with my convoy if I can get a drink of water and a nights rest. I won't be in the city for that long and I promise to not cause too much trouble." Fluttershy really didn't have to act fearful, she was fearful. She was the first pony to enter the city and she needed to gain access to the palace. Chrysalis was shadowing her and hopefully would help her if things went bad.
"Fine, we'll let you through. Be aware though, the grand vizier's word is law and if he deems you worthy for slavery, then you will become his slave. You are entering at your own risk." The guard on the left actually showed some hint of kindness in his warning despite his lust filled stare. "A pretty thing like you would best stay away from going too far into the city. Maybe there is nearby a guard or two who you could pay for certain services to keep you out of his sight hmmm? We could use some... entertainment... if you will."
"N-N-No thank you, I can take care of myself." Fluttershy waited for the large doors to be opened as the guard called for it. She hastily entered with the stares of the two stallions following her robed form.
The guards certainly didn't like to be ignored. They already were sending out word that a new mare has just walked into the city and that her soft voice could possibly sound like that of a nightingale singing.
Fluttershy was to get into the palace and find the mares that were enslaved, it was her main goal. They weren't being kept in the dungeon. This was all they knew of from when Daring helped Jasmine escape from the city while the vizier was dealing with Ballad Din. Walking through the marketplace she noticed how dire things seemed. The smell here was rather sickening, the air tasted a tad metallic. There were thieves rampant on every street and she was lucky that her clothing wasn't interesting enough for them to steal.
Even Fluttershy could tell the thieves were practically running the city; the merchants still did good business though and were the only ones untouched by the thieves. The people that lived in the city were not as lucky, they were downtrodden and the mood was grim.
The female populace that Fluttershy did see was staying well out of sight, they feared to tread where Fluttershy had in her false bravado. In fact, after five minutes of walking towards the palace there was a distinct lack of any mares entirely. This may have explained all those females of several different species that she spotted on the way to Neighgraba sitting in camps more than a mile away from the city. They were probably related to the merchants that had entered the city to do business and had set up camp as they weren't willing to risk being enslaved.
After looking around to make sure no one saw her, Fluttershy went to the nearby fountain of water outside the palace took a large drink from it. She took note at all the guards patrolling around the place; it would be hard getting anyone out of there. The water was refreshing and cool as it slid down her throat; she wasn't lying about being parched and the water was the one comforting thing in this dreary place.
Fluttershy wondered why Twilight gave her such a scary mission. The only females around the palace were those too young even for the vizier's tastes, they were also considered street vermin and or orphans. At least the guards weren't assaulting them or actively hunting them outright. Instead they went entirely ignored as they played around the only good thing left in the city, the fresh water fountains.
Sighing, Fluttershy felt bad about the state of the city. Now that she has had her fill of water, she had to find out where the enslaved mares were being kept and what condition they were in. She truly hoped that Chrysalis hadn't lost her thus far; her feminine robe and shawl combination was highly noticeable to make sure that the changeling didn't lose her in the crowds.
Being highly noticeable, but lacking money was probably the one reason why thieves weren't trying to touch her at all. For this reason alone Fluttershy was glad to be easily seen for once. She had already seen at least twenty seven different acts of theft in the span of a minute just sitting quietly at the fountain.
"She looks to be a foreigner; do you think Maul will want her?" The sound of a camel could be heard asking in Saddle Arabian.
"No, she has already been marked for slavery by the guards. It is the only reason we dare not touch her. She is the vizier's merchandise. If she doesn't heed the unturned guard's warnings soon, she will not be leaving." The stallion in the alleyway with the camel looked at the innocent face of the mare as she sat at the fountain. Fluttershy played with some of the kids around the fountain and he kept his watch of her, he could already guess she was sleek of form by her movements. "The vizier doesn't like his merchandise to be broken in ahead of time. If she were smart, she would have escaped the city while she still has a chance."
"Such a waste of a perfectly good flesh, but the vizier gets what he wants as his word is law." The camel went back to watching the streets with the stallion.
"You there, foreigner! You are to come with us by order of the grand vizier." The guard that spoke in a particularly monotone voice looked incredibly different from the ones at the gate. In fact all the guards near the palace had eyes that were solid grey, even the non pony members of the guard. Behind the guard that had called out to Fluttershy, there was a regal if nasty looking stallion with a sneer upon his face. He turned away and made his way for the palace. The guards forced Fluttershy to follow him as they held her at sword point.
Fluttershy knew what she was doing was dangerous, but she had to do this. Her friends were relying on her getting some of the information they needed, she dearly hoped she wasn't alone and that Chrysalis was still with her. To think she was so comfy in bed earlier, now she was being accosted by the evil vizier. There was no turning back now as she was in the thick of it.
Upon being forced into the throne room, the vizier turned to his less than seemingly aware guards and simply pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. The guards roughly took away her shawl and robe taking away a part of her comfort zone in the completely stale air of the palace. The vizier was saying something she couldn't entirely understand as he walked up to her and looked her over.
Like any Saddle Arabian he was tall and certainly imposing to the shy mare. He had a dark brown coat and short trimmed black hair except for the pointy beard. He said something that sounded sickeningly sweet as he gathered a mass of her pink mane that was covering her face in his hoof and gave it a jerk forcing Fluttershy to the ground onto her side. Fluttershy didn't fight him and just whimpered a little, she could only hope he wouldn't try anything to her right now.
Taking a slight interest in her hindquarters the vizier said something that he thought could be decidedly humorous and laughed at his own joke. The guard stood around blankly still holding their swords towards the shy mare, after a moment vizier scowled at them and was barking at them while pointing towards Fluttershy. She was pushed onto her hooves and slowly forced from the room leaving behind a smiling vizier. That smile didn't bode well for her future.
Thankfully Trixie's magic had thus far held up to scrutiny and Fluttershy had gotten into the palace without anyone knowing she had wings. If the vizier had known she was able to fly, he probably would have ordered her wings be chopped off as part of the processing all his slaves went through. Her wings were kept hidden under the illusion magic safe and sound if a bit bruised.
Fluttershy had no idea what was going to happen to her now, but she trusted Chrysalis would pull her to safety if she were about to be killed. Even if she couldn't see any sign of the changeling she still trusted her friend to be there for her as she was led to a room and was stopped at its entrance.
Three other guards were leading a Saddle Arabian mare that was shorn of all her hair, mane, tail and body. She also had her hooves in chains and there were horrible scars running along her back from being whipped harshly, possibly for struggling against what her detainers were doing to her. The look in her eyes was the look of one who has lost all hope in the world, she limped away forced to walk with the injuries dealt to her.
Gulping Fluttershy moved as they roughly pushed her along and corralled her into the room's only entrance. The guards spoke to the griffon in the room with the same grey eyes as the others. A quickly muzzled Fluttershy was forcefully tied down to table on her belly with the ropes holding her legs immobile. The griffon brought out some shears snapping them at her with a sadistic smile on his beak. She knew she was being processed like the mare before her and could only hope that by not struggling she wouldn't be hurt as badly. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 85 | The griffon approached the tied down cowering Fluttershy with the scissors. A shadow flitted in through the higher portion of doorway and narrowed its glowing eyes at him as he grabbed a mass of the shy mare's mane.
A chained and barren of hair Fluttershy was pushed out of the room, led by the guards towards her next destination. As she kept her head down, she smiled slightly revealing fanged teeth.
Back in the room, the griffon stood there blankly for a moment before falling over revealing the real Fluttershy who was hiding behind him struggling to lift some heavily overloaded saddlebags. She quietly poked her head out of the entrance to the room and watched as the guards turned the corner with Chrysalis. The changeling winked back in her direction before disappearing entirely.
Fluttershy started following them cautiously, she thought Chrysalis's intervention was amazingly well timed. Having her hide behind the unconscious griffon was a stroke of genius. The changeling had transformed to appear as if she were a fully processed Fluttershy after dealing with the griffon and followed that up by calling the guards into the room using his voice while holding him up with her magic. Chrysalis had even injured herself slightly to make it believable, much to Fluttershy's consternation. Whatever magic that was affecting the guards had to be messing with their sight, as such they failed to spot the changeling that snuck into the room.
Now that they had traded places, Fluttershy had her medical kit among the other supplies in the saddlebags. She had to be careful as getting in was the easy part, getting to the slaves without getting caught was going to be difficult as she was slowed down by the weight placed on her back. She would have to give Chrysalis a thank you hug with lots of love later for making sure she didn't have to go through something that would have been somewhat traumatizing. She was pretty sure Twilight's hair growth formula would have fixed the problem, if she had bothered to bring some along.
While the thieves, brigands and the like were too busy watching Fluttershy, they didn't notice Chrysalis tailing her with the medical supplies, water and food. The two hoped they could get some useful information from the slaves and said slaves wouldn't be stuck for much longer under the vizier's cruel hooves.
Chrysalis was going to be sneaking in as much stuff as she could for the slaves after she was done leading Fluttershy right to them. The shy mare would proceed to patch up the sick, wounded and otherwise mares that were hurt by the grand vizier while avoiding the guards.
Elsewhere meeting with a camel and a stallion, Ballad Din was talking to the stallion and camel in a hushed tone as Tress and Daring Do stood by watching their surroundings.
Tress, given her general height, could have anyone mistaking her for a Saddle Arabian native that didn't talk much and was wearing masculine clothing. She hoped Fluttershy and Chrysalis were doing well with their part of the infiltration scheme; thus far she had yet to see any sign of the genie or jinn. She was with the team that were all going after the lamp specifically. Finding out what, if anything, the Vizier had to control all those guards that just forced Fluttershy into the palace was a small side objective for every team.
"Just tell Abyss Maul, that Ballad Din will come seeking the information and he will get it one way or another." Ballad turned away and led his companions towards his home in Neighgraba. On the way he explained that Abyss Maul was a thief who was stupid enough to try and steal anything, even the lamp that the vizier had under his hoof. Ballad only stole what he needed to live and was an honorable quick witted stallion, but now he was going to put his thieving ways to use in saving the city he loved.
They were basically the group focused on the less friendly aspects of Neighgraba. If Abyss Maul was as stupid as many thought he was, he would be planning to steal the vizier's power for himself. If anybody knew where it was, then it would be Abyss who would have a half decent idea of where to look. It would be a while before they set out for his hideout to steal his plans, but for now they would just eat some dates.
"So when Twilight said you were dangerous. Did she mean you can walk into a room full of armed thieves and walk out without injury?" Daring was skeptical of Tress's combat prowess, she wasn't skeptical of Tress's hair products as that stuff felt good to bathe with. Daring personally could do it, only she'd get a few bruises here and there as she'd mostly be looking out for knife wounds. Ballad Din could just dance circles around them to the point that they were beating themselves up. Tress was the one Daring was unsure of as she hadn't seen her fight yet.
"I'm ready when Ballad is. Besides I'm itching for a brawl and I can't wait until Twilight and the troupe make their grand entrance, because that's when we move out right?" Popping another date in her mouth and chewing it thoroughly, she knew that didn't really answer Daring's question. She instead swallowed and decided to ask. "So who's going to be left behind to watch the ship again?"
"Rough Heed, Jasmine and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie looks to be kind of attached to the idea of having her own little restaurant and it scares me as to how clingy to it she is." Even Daring was wary of leaving Pinkie Pie alone to her own devices, who knew what the wild card would do.
An hour and thirteen minutes later the three of them were in the seediest part of town; all three of them were good in a fight. They stood outside the hideout which was located in a bar, Tress smiled and haughtily trotted in not waiting for the other two to scout it out. There was no better time to start a bar brawl then right now, she missed doing this in Appleoosa because the ponies there were boring.
Boldly walking in caused every thief in the hideout to turn towards Tress. She simply moved to a corner lifted a table above her head and then threw it into the den of thieves as hard as she could into the largest mass of bodies she could see.
"What is she doing, we have to... what?" Ballad was pulled back by Daring as an unconscious body flew from the hideout passing through the space he was just standing.
"I don't think she needs our help, let's sneak around and steal from Abyss's personal stash while she keeps them busy." Daring approached the doorway only to stop as a pair of hooves appeared scrabbling hopelessly for the exit. The poor Saddle Arabian camel was dragged back inside screaming incomprehensible expletives. "Then again maybe we can wait while she deals with this; it looks like she has a lot of aggression to get out of her system and this certainly answers my earlier question."
"If that were me in there, I would have beaten them all without attacking them once." Ballad grumbled as a griffon flew out with two black eyes and bounced twice before coming to a rest.
"Yes, but her solution makes sure no pony will ever talk about this, can you imagine an entire guild full of thieves getting their butts kicked by one mare? This is priceless." Chuckling Daring looked in to see more than twenty bodies strewn around the room, with parts on them bent at varying painful angles. Tress was just dusting off her hooves as she stood in the middle of the room. "Are you quite finished yet?"
Tress bucked out her left hind leg breaking a thief's jaw like it was made of glass, just as he was about to stab her in the back too.
"Yeah, we're done here. Abyss really didn't fortify his hideout very well." Tress preened at the attention she was getting from the thief and the treasure hunter looking on in awe. She might have caused a bit of a mess, shattered some ancient urns, ripped up expensive looking art and a smashed a few ugly looking sculptures. That wasn't even the half of the damage done to the entire room.
"Actually this was fortifying it to the highest level he was capable of." Ballad's words were relayed by a laughing Daring Do as the two set out to search Abyss Maul's stashes. They were looking for his plans to steal from the vizier and anything else that could have been usefully specifically. Abyss always had a plan; they were never any good though and were just good for informational purposes.
Anyone that tried to follow an Abyss Maul plan usually ended up worse off than when they started. Only Abyss can follow his usually insanely suicidal plans and come out even, never ahead and never behind. Anyone else got the short end of the stick, though it wasn't rare that Abyss got his comeuppance. Sure he may not have been the best thief in the world, but he wasn't the worst and he has yet to be permanently caught by anyone. That shows that Abyss, despite his seemingly bumbling nature at times, usually knew how to survive whatever horrible thing ends up aimed at him.
While the Treasure Hunter and Thief cased the hideout room by room, Tress leaned back against the bar and relaxed a bit. She had never had so much fun beating the tar out of lowlifes. Not that she had previously gone around beating up lowlifes before this.
"So, any of you want to go for another round?" A chorus of groans sounded out in defeat at Tress's question and she cackled insanely. "No then? Okay, I'll just wait for my friends to be done stealing your stuff; ah it feels good to let the inner evil out once in a while. Now all I have to do is just sit here and look pretty."
"You know you could be helping us look for the plans this guy has!" Daring shouted down at Tress from an upstairs room.
"No can do. You're the minions, you do the work. I just beat up a room full of thieves, what have you done that was important lately?" Tress knew she was being slightly lazy, but she deserved to kick back for a minute or two. "I swear you would get too lazy if I did all the work for you."
"I think I've found it, let's get out of here." Ballad Din and Daring were heard rummaging and stuffing something away upstairs and they quickly came down. As the two exited the den of the thieves they witnessed an explosion of fireworks in the distance. "Our friends seem to be keeping the general public very busy, let us make haste back to my hideout to look over what we've found. We'll join them again later tonight with our discoveries."
"Come on Tress, let's go." Daring watched as the mare lazily stood up stretched out and slowly before she sauntered out the front door without a single injury. Never had the explorer ever seen a mare that could fight so well while wearing a robe and shawl, there were only three small tears in the robe from near misses.
Thirty or so minutes later Abyss Maul, a slightly tubby and short Saddle Arabian stallion, arrived at his hideout. He walked into the room and blinked owlishly at all the throwing knives impaling the walls, the destroyed stolen merchandise and the mangled thieves still lying around.
"What do I pay you guys for; Ballad Din couldn't have been that tough. He was just one guy!" Abyss Maul was positively angry at having his hideout destroyed. Sighing he made his way to his stash of plans and information, he quickly found that a lot of it was stolen. "Ah great, there goes all that time sending in perfectly good patsy's to get that information on where the Vizier was getting his power from. I swear I don't know why I tolerate you guys."
"Sure it was just one guy, that's who took us all out." The stallion that spoke would never admit that he brought low by what was probably the most vicious mare he has ever seen. When he was approached by Ballad Din earlier today after that weirdly colorfully dressed mare was taken by the vizier, he didn't think the thief could be very threatening. Oh how wrong he was, they didn't even make that mare bleed and she wiped the floor with their entire den of thieves in less than ten minutes.
"I swear you just can't good help these days." Abyss Maul just shook his head at his minions scattered about and bloodied.
This was going to be one of the more horrific memories of the thieves who were beaten to a bloody pulp today by one crazy mare. Not like Abyss Maul hasn't already caused them problems with his horrible leadership. The reprehensible thieves would forever remember the red and green eyes of that mare in their nightmares
Back at Ballad Din's hideout, the three ponies poured over the stolen information until they found the answer to their lamp problem.
It was unfortunate that the lamp was currently placed in the catacombs beneath Neighgraba and protected by a variety of traps both magical and sadistic in nature. It was apparent that several hapless thieves sent to gather this much barely survived to escape with even as much information as they were seeing here.
Animated skeletons, a monster called a Slumbergath and plenty of references to bladed traps, poison darts and the other usual stuff that Daring and Ballad were used to dealing with. This was nothing new to the adventurous mare; only it was going to be really dangerous.
None of them had any idea as to what a Slumbergath was. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 86 | Late in the evening back at The Indistinguishable Plot, AKA the stolen pirate airship repurposed by the Sparkle family for fun and travel purposes.
"Okay something's up, that went too well for us. What did you say the projected reactions were my little sparkle butt? I know we got the Grand Vizier Giraffe Fellatio's attention and distracted him and a lot of other prying eyes away from the actions of our friends in the city, but I didn't see the lamp with him." Nightlight enjoyed being the barker for their little all unicorn circus act. He thought Rarity made a particular good showing with her flamboyantly dressed appearance and elegant dancing with feathered fans. His daughter had some weird friends, but he always liked the strange personalities they had.
"Dad, please don't call me that. Not while I'm planning to overthrow Daft Lard's current reign and rescue Jasmine's father from wherever he's been put." Twilight faced hoof at what she had just said. She was trying to ignore her father's name for the vizier and had just blushed at it. "Oh great, now even you got me pronouncing his name wrong and turning it into a joke."
"Just don't follow you're fathers example of dirty humor dear. It's not like our family doesn't have enough bad habits as it is at times." Velvet sighed at her husband's rather cheery smile at the mention of bad habits. "Anyway, we were talking about Gyp Bard's reaction to us? I'm sorry for that, but it's kind of hard not to try and find a way to mess his name up."
"Don't worry, she won't. Not that we don't get enough of Pinkie doing it by complete accident. If she was doing it on purpose it wouldn't be funny anymore." Tress took stock of the ponies and changeling sitting around the table. She narrowed her eyes at the changeling who didn't come back with Fluttershy. "Okay I just noticed Fluttershy isn't here, where is she Chrysalis and what is she doing?"
The mood turned serious as Chrysalis clenched her mouth and her eyes shifted about at all the attention she was receiving.
"Well it's like this..." Chrysalis started off into a flashback while looking to everyone knowing this was going to be a hard bit of news to swallow.
Fluttershy had finished following the disguised Chrysalis and the scary zombie guards to where the enslaved mares were being kept. The area leading to this place was heavily patrolled and she was currently standing at the top of steps, it had been hard to keep up with the guards forcing Chrysalis along without being discovered.
It was at the back of the palace across a bridge that reached out halfway to a small butte, the halfway point had an outpost building that had more of those grey eyed guards inside. The guards inside raised a bridge the rest of the way to the butte where the enslaved were being kept. It was a small area with a smattering of dry brittle ugly brown grass; there were seven mounds of turned dirt on the uncomfortable looking butte.
From the window Fluttershy was looking through, she could already guess what the seven mounds meant and tears dropped from her eyes as she brought her hooves to her mouth. She steeled her resolve to reach out and help those who were still being enslaved by the tyrant. She could tell that she didn't have nearly enough supplies considering the numbers, but she would make use of what she currently had to the best of her ability.
Fluttershy watched as the guards shoved Chrysalis to the ground and quickly made their way back to the outpost where the bridge was lowered. From what she could see of the state of the poor slaves, they've been beaten up, whipped, left out in the hot sun without a coating to protect their skin, they looked to be showing signs of malnourishment and she didn't even need a pair of binoculars to even diagnose that a few of them might be currently slowly dying from heatstroke. If it wasn't heat stroke then it was hypothermia from going through the freezing cold nights unprotected. She didn't even want to consider what the Vizier was doing to them when they weren't out there.
The strongest looking slaves on the butte were the Saddle Arabian camels; they could hold their water and could take the oppressive temperatures changes easily. The Saddle Arabian mares were not quite as lucky in that regard. Fluttershy even spotted a single griffon that was plucked of all her feathers, with blunted talons and lots of scarring.
The griffon was notably staring off the side of the butte at the ground with a contemplative look on her face; it truly looked as if she would jump at a moment's notice. She looked to have put up more of a struggle than any other slave there.
"Needless to say, you should have seen the looks of depression on their faces when they saw that I could fly away. However that quickly turned around when I came back helping Fluttershy fly the supplies to the butte and translated for her what we were doing. We made sure to fly well clear of that outpost though, we don't entirely know what kind of visual range those guards have aside from very little peripheral vision." Chrysalis turned to Tress with a frown. "As you can imagine Fluttershy refused to leave as some of the slaves were in critical condition and we all know she wouldn't stand by while other beings were hurting like that. Heck, even I had trouble coming here and leaving them all behind. Fluttershy even told me to tell you specifically to get to work on some pain relieving temperature sustaining gel and to find some medicine specifically made for heatstroke cases. She needs that stuff like yesterday."
Tress was immediately out of her seat rushing from the room, Fluttershy needed help and that was all she needed to know to get onto her hooves.
Twilight was oddly silent, but her mane and tail seemed to be igniting and her jaw was set firmly in a grim frown.
Nightlight held Velvet's hoof, this was some disturbing information to take in.
Rarity was silently passed a bucket by a straight haired Pinkie Pie for her to throw up in. There wasn't even a silly deflation sound from the pink pony.
Rough Heed stayed stoic though there was a shine of water in his eyes, the people were hurting and as such he was hurting.
Jasmine was already breaking down into Ballad Din's chest at the treatment of the people, the stallion simply held the mare in silence.
"If Trixie had a genie right now, the first two wishes would be to make sure the vizier got a fate worse than death. The last wish would be to set the genie free and maybe if it was feeling nice then it will continue helping with the first two wishes of its own volition." If Trixie remembered her history, she'd even wish for whatever cruel twisted thing Discord could think of to do to him.
"Oh trust me; I would love to arrange something like that personally. We may not have seen it or drawn it out with our performance, but the jinn's presence is very clear considering all the corruption." Twilight's mane and tail were practically made of magical fire at this point, but her voice stayed calm despite the state of her appearance. "It at least stands to reason that's why its lamp has been reportedly placed so deeply in the catacombs by the vizier. A genie changes their master depending on who holds their lamp; it's not the same thing with jinn."
"I've already got a good plan already if all of you are willing to hear it." Daring noted the mood was quite down and she wasn't a pony to be a down for long. Time to kick the charisma she had up a notch. "If it helps, I've seen a lot of stuff like this and it never gets any easier. The best thing we can do is to keep pushing forward and try to save who we can. We'll be sad later; at least we know the merchants are trying to help the people of the city even if they fear doing too much visibly."
"Well that's nice darling, but we still don't know what tricks that vicious stallion has up his sleeves. We still need the location of Jasmine's father, unless you saw something Chrysalis." Even Rarity couldn't be proud of her cloth work for the show she helped put on earlier. "I also think it pertinent that we find out what exactly that jinn is doing. The air in Neighgraba smells horrid and it could only be the work of that monster."
"He's not in the dungeon because I ran a quick check by there before I came here, it's completely empty. I didn't do too thorough a search though. I think it was much more prudent that I got this information to all of you then stick around creepy grey eyed central. If I hadn't kept a close eye on Fluttershy going in she'd be forced into sporting a new daring do. It seems to be the popular style amongst the vizier's slaves; at least the one thing he hasn't done thus far is rape them and Fluttershy thankfully confirmed it." Chrysalis really wanted to lighten the mood; the negative emotions were almost overwhelming just about everywhere she went now. The vizier still did horrible things, but at least that was one piece of good news. "I do have one other interesting bit of information, the scepter the vizier has is magical in nature. Don't know what it exactly does, but it's a very good idea to be wary of it."
"Daring, this is your show. What do we do?" Twilight was deferring to the well traveled mare as she said she had a plan. Daring's plans were always quite brilliant in her books and this was the real Daring Do, she was a mare that could walk into dangerous places as if she were shopping for groceries.
"We have enough information to bring the vizier down. The only thing we really lack is enough skilled fighters." Daring suddenly jolted upright when a three-sectioned staff twirled into the air and then slammed down next to Velvet.
"As your friend I will respectfully ask you to acknowledge that what we have right now is actually overkill." Velvet received a bunch of stares. "It's not like we need to kill the guards, we only need incapacitate them. Nighty and I aren't exactly spring chickens when it comes to a fight. Also do you even know what I went through raising my son and little sparkle here to where they are now? That seems much harder then what I think we're about to do."
"I believe she's right, then again I always do. We're all certainly more than capable enough. We just need to divide our talents to where they're needed most." Nightlight leaned over and kissed Velvet on the cheek. "A good plan would be really useful though."
"Right, we'll use The Indistinguishable Plot to rescue the slaves, I'll personally enter the catacombs and caves beneath Neighgraba in an effort to destroy the lamp and we need ponies to attack the vizier head on and keep his attention until we can deal with his jinn and rescue the slaves. Maybe we can even get some assistance from the nearby friendly merchants." As Daring set about making the plan this time, they would quickly set it off as fast as they feasibly could. The most worrying thing about all this was the Jinn, as they've yet to encounter it.
"Rarity can you get some blankets? We'll have Chrysalis levitate them up to the butte. Those mares must be nearly freezing to death every night and I don't know if you've noticed, but an airship is not exactly discreet. We don't want to give away the fact that we can rescue them right now. We don't need the vizier preparing for us by doing anything too hastily." After watching the fashion pony go to carry out her request, Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie. "There's going to be a lot of hungry mouths to feed Pinkie so you might want to get some sleep and be ready for it tomorrow when the ship picks them up."
Pinkie slowly gritted her teeth and her hair immediately puffed up when she started smiling again. She would not stay a grumpy sad pony forever, not if she was to continue being in this story. If there were bellies that needed to be filled, then she would get started with shaking and baking after a nice nap. She hopped off humming an old upbeat pegasus war tune to herself, one popularized by a pony named Pit who crawled out of the depths of Tartarus to save Cloudsdale.
At the butte, Fluttershy had managed to organize every female there through the use of body language. The very first thing she did was help the sick and the injured based on who was worse off. She had thus far stabilized the worst cases, but without medication what she did already wouldn't last very long. As it was getting dark she started to organize them all into a group at the center of the butte hoping that they could survive through shared body heat.
Sighing, Fluttershy knew she had some troubling work ahead of her and would only rest when she was assured that all of them were safe. She looked to the only one she hadn't touched the entire time she's been here. She trotted up to the griffon in a meek and not very threatening manner. She carefully wrapped a hoof around the griffons arm and gave her a gentle tug; she wanted her to join the group.
The griffon turned to look at Fluttershy fiercely. For a moment both the griffon and the pony stared at each other, they each became wide eyed in recognition.
"Gilda is that you!?" |
Twilights Mane Passion | 87 | It was nighttime when the vizier Jabber stood at the highest balcony overlooking the city from the palace, the mare in the moon shined brightly this night. Next to him a ghostly cloud of dark yellow billowed into existence with bright grey eyes.
"I sense a coming trouble. It appears a mimic has managed to sneak into your well guarded palace. Remember master, if you don't protect what is mine you will lose my aid. Now we wouldn't want that would we?" The gas cloud chuckled darkly. "There was a powerful gathering of magic that can rival even my phenomenal cosmic powers today, it gathered to put on a show that you were witness too. Be wary, for the forces of good seek to bring you and me down. If you do not heed my warnings you will pay dearly."
"What power could take us on? The power we wield shall bring them to their knees." The vizier turned and walked back into the palace throwing his thoughts back at the jinn. "Something that can rival our powers combined is nonsense!"
"You fool, should even one being reach that which binds me to this realm your fall will be as swift as my own." Slowly the cloud of dark yellow fog dissipated and waited for the enemies next movements, it would do it's best to aid the twisted mind as it was a kindred spirit of causing pain and misery. Too bad stupidity was always in great supply, but never in demand. Their enemies were small in numbers compared to all the enthralled guards under their command, but no less a threat that could end their reign of terror swiftly before its power could grow any further.
Behind the palace on the Butte, Fluttershy stood there staring at the griffon who just stared back in surprise. After a moment the griffon was the first to come to her senses.
"Dweeb, what in the buck are you doing here of all places!" The only reason Gilda hadn't bothered to turn around when the others were excited about something is because she was used to them getting their hopes up. Also that she couldn't understand any of what they were saying, she was the odd one out as the first foreigner to be forced into this situation. She had been stuck here for three weeks and surviving off what food she could steal in the palace when those messed up guards weren't looking. She'd never berate those dumb sun dried grapes with her wrath ever again.
The griffon looked like she was still relatively strong and somewhat healthy; this made her of lower importance to Fluttershy since her injuries weren't immediately life threatening. Only now did Fluttershy bother her since it was important as things were growing a lot colder, the night was as lethal as the day was in the desert and Gilda thus far apparently survived by pure determination and grit.
Gilda was beginning to think that the best way out was to slide down the side of the butte while accepting any injury that came to her. The problem with that is if she even survived to reach the bottom there were humongous scorpions, gigantic poisonous snakes, giant flesh eating worms and monstrously oversized fire breathing scarabs. The very reason why this butte was used as a place to put captives was that the sands behind the palace were teeming with death incarnate. She didn't believe those were the only threats to anyone willing to pull a runner, just the ones she had seen so far every time she was stuck out here.
"You poor thing, that monster of a stallion ruined you're wings, talons and had you hurt a lot didn't he." Fluttershy touched the bare skin of Gilda's left wing with a comforting hoof. Gilda flinched and suddenly spun around to slam the pony to the ground for invading the lion bird's personal space. She could feel the anger from the griffon's right talon strangling her slightly as it gripped her neck. Even with this kind of reaction Fluttershy had already forgiven Gilda for acting like this. The griffon was after all stripped completely of her pride and shaved of her dignity; as such the shy pony had expected this reaction.
"I don't need your pity or sympathy spineless!" Gilda immediately flared her featherless wings in a manner that could be seen as threatening, if her appearance hadn't been missing a lot of the key features for the intimidation factor. "Now why in Tartarus are you here!"
"I was just trying to help every pony, camel and griffon here." Fluttershy gasped out through the grip on her neck, Gilda was still doing pretty well despite being forced into slavery. She glanced at the ponies and camels watching her with worry at being assaulted like this, she just gave them a sad little smile and shook her head telling them not to help her.
The female Saddle Arabian natives hunched together and stayed where they were praying for their soft spoken angel's safety. They felt like she was a figure of purity and that her friend of shifting shapes was her bodyguard with a fake fierce appearance. They thought Chrysalis might have even been a freed genie that was friends with the angel that came to them in their time of need. They only hoped the angry one didn't do her any permanent harm.
"Did I ask for your help?" Gilda grunted while squeezing Fluttershy's neck causing the pony to wheeze in pain. She had never liked the shy mare very much and was just as aggressive as ever to her.
"It doesn't matter whether you asked or not, I would try to anyway." Fluttershy's comment was met with pain as she was lifted up slightly and slammed back down. Pain erupted from the back of her head from the rough treatment she was receiving. Gilda causing her pain was also something Fluttershy expected and forgave, after a year of following the griffon around she understood how Gilda worked well enough. She knew Gilda loves that pony that Tress had termed as the world's densest living object, alongside also having the world's densest material where said objects skull was concerned. "Take it out on me as much as you want Gilda. I'm actually glad to see you're relatively healthy, but I am sad that you ended up like this. You didn't deserve this."
"If really you insist I'll happily oblige." Gilda tightened her grip on Fluttershy's neck making it very hard for her to breathe. "I even bet after I left Rainbow was all over you as her best friend once again wasn't she?"
"To be fair... I always knew you... were like me." Gasping in some air, Fluttershy suddenly felt the grip relaxed a little when Gilda had a confused expression on her beak. After she almost blacked out, she was slapped across the face by the griffon bringing her back from the brink.
"I'm nothing like the loser you are!" The moment Gilda screeched this she received the fiercest glare she had ever seen before on the ridiculously soft dweebs face. Gilda felt her heart almost stop and a large amount of primal fear swept through her body from the piercing glare.
"I know I'm a loser, but that wasn't what I was talking about. Although there is one thing I'm not a loser in and that is actually having friends who don't care about that." The real Fluttershy had mentally left the building for the moment, Gilda had taken notice and completely let go of her and backed away. It was a quiet and gentle if very pronounced dark rebuke and Gilda couldn't find her voice because of the stare Fluttershy had planted on her. The shy butter coated mare kept her voice low and didn't raise it an octave as she stayed completely focused on those two amber colored eyes. "You know at one time I actually wanted to talk to you personally and help you with Rainbow Dash, if only you had bothered to ask without pushing me away. I wasn't going to stand in your way Gilda; in fact I liked your spirit, determination and bravery. I can see those qualities in you still, but you're a sad bitter griffon that keeps pushing away every single good thing that comes your way and for what? You call me a coward, but then you turn and run away from one good thing after another because of fear of what anybody would think if they knew about you? Does your pride in how others perceive you matter that much? To think you're the griffon who fell in love with my friend. I looked up to you because you were brave enough to approach Rainbow Dash with your feelings laid bare to her. You shared the sky with her in simple joy of just being in her presence, but you never told her how you felt did you?"
Gilda tried to say something, but she didn't want to give away something that Fluttershy couldn't have possibly...
"You're gay like I am. I understand why you act like you do and I'm willing to continue excusing your actions unless you can prove to me that you aren't running from your emotions like scared cub with your tail between your legs. You also likely recognized that I was gay too the instant you started becoming friends with Rainbow Dash. I tried to be friends with you for an entire year Gilda. You belittled me, you hurt me and you were overly territorial of my friend's time. Did you know that when I left, she hadn't noticed that I stopped coming around?" Moving closer so that she was face to face with the griffon, Fluttershy stopped short of their noses touching. "Rainbow Dash is quite oblivious, she was your first real friend and I know the feeling. You must have fell in love with her so fast, it frightened you how deep into your heart she wiggled without effort. It must have annoyed you so much that she didn't notice your feelings given you never talk about them because you thought it wasn't cool to do so. You were scared of what she would think, what others would think and it leads me to believe you are secretly just as shy as I am. The only difference between us is that you've got a tougher exterior to hide all your insecurities in. Tell me why you came to Saddle Arabia and then go over there with the rest of them and lend your strength to others for once, they need all the warmth they can get or one of them might not even survive another night. Maybe it will help you be less selfish instead of hiding who you really are behind all that anger and violence. If you are going to hurt anyone, then let loose all your anger onto me. Show me how much you truly hate yourself for who you are and that you aren't the friend Rainbow thought you were. Show me that Rainbow was wrong to put even an ounce of trust in you."
"I'm not..." Gilda tried to be defensive; she tried to deny it after Fluttershy seemed to be finished with her tirade. She couldn't back away without falling off the cliff as Fluttershy moved forward and placed her mouth over Gilda's beak and shoved her tongue down the griffon's throat. It took Fluttershy only a split second to dominate Gilda's anger with a simple deep kiss. After Fluttershy pulled away Gilda was silent for a moment before she opened her beak. "I don't really understand the Saddle Arabian language at all. My reason for even being here in the first place abandoned me as soon as we got here, especially when that crazy Saddle Arabian head honcho jerk started doing that weird grey eye thing to those guards. Excuse me."
Fluttershy silently watched with that same hard stare as Gilda, with her tail between her legs, moved over to the frightened slaves. After a moment their fears were eased as the griffon took roost next to a shivering mare that looked to be very cold and she threw a featherless wing over her and pulled her in tightly to share her body heat with the mare. Fluttershy continued tending to those who needed a kind or soft word while Gilda watched.
Chrysalis eventually arrived with blankets and they all started snuggling together under them for warmth, the changeling was even witness to the griffon with Fluttershy and another mare snuggled together. Like a newborn Gilda cried clutching to Fluttershy who held her gently comforting her until she fell into a peaceful sleep. The changeling came up to them and draped a blanket over them while smiling as Fluttershy looked up at her with a smile of her own.
One day Rainbow would have that cantankerous brave griffon that could coach her to being the best Wonder Bolt that she could be, all it would take was a little patience and some kindness to bring Gilda back to who she could be. Maybe Fluttershy would even be both Gilda's and Rainbow's best mare.
"What's up with her? Her emotions are all over the place." Chrysalis thought the positive emotions were nice; Fluttershy especially bled a lot of her heart warming passion in the changeling's direction filling her up after her flight through the cold air of the night. She lit her horn and cast a warming spell over all that were sleeping on the butte.
"It's nothing to worry about; she just has some things she needs to sleep on. She's actually an old friend of mine that hasn't had a bit of kindness thrown her way in quite a while. So have our friends figured out a plan yet to help all of them?" Getting a nod at her query, Fluttershy gave her wings two happy little flaps and she settled down to rest. She was incredibly tired from her long day. "Yay..." |
Twilights Mane Passion | 88 | Daring flew out of Neighgraba with a few angry words on her tongue as she headed for the airship with a quirky name. Coming in for a landing she could see that changeling again talking with Twilight. She was still wary of the love eater and has faced too many strange, odd or fantastic creatures to really trust it entirely and thus far its presence was entirely seemingly benign.
"That news is a bit relieving Chrysalis even if I'm still furious with that thing that calls itself a pony currently holding the throne. Get back to Fluttershy and make sure they can't use them as hostages and get them ready for pickup, we're moving against him today with or without any extra help." Watching as her friend took off; Twilight sighed and turned to Daring. "What did the merchants have to say?"
"That's a no on having any extra help. I'm ready to enter the catacombs that lead underneath the palace when you launch your attack, please try to keep them exceedingly busy. Did you know your hair hasn't stopped flaming since yesterday?" Daring couldn't help but stare at the magical conflagration that was Twilight's billowing mane and tail. She could also swear Twilight's coat was turning white.
"Arcane Keeper Yearling, may I have a word with you?" The sternness of Velvet's words brought both Twilight and Daring's attention to her as she came forward with Tress and Ballad.
"Can you not use my full pinion name?" Daring was physically dragged a short distance away from the others by Velvet before she was let go. "Okay, what is it Velvet?"
"You're taking Tress and Ballad into the catacombs with you." Velvet stared into Daring's eyes daring her to try and go it alone.
"I work better alone Velvet, you know that." It was not hard to tell where this was going and Daring would rather do this solo. She figured it was much safer that way.
"Even you need help at times. I'm not a medic Daring and you've come into our home bloodied or worse when running from your enemies once or twice. I'm tired of having to patch you up, you're taking help this time and you're going to accept it." Velvet knew Daring didn't trust too many after what has happened to her quite a few times, the adventurer even avoided hospitals after that assassination attempt. Velvet tends to only hear the lighter version of Daring's more dangerous exploits. "I know you can trust Tress at least, she is basically my second daughter and quite capable. Ballad aside from being a thief is kind of like you in some ways and he even survived going after the lamp the first time on a different route of traps no less."
"Yes, but he is also the screw up that caused the vizier to gain power. He grabbed the lamp while we were both fighting over it. In fact the vizier was the reason Ballad even knew it existed and I was just trying to prevent it from falling into the wrong hooves." After a moment Daring realized she just basically agreed to take Tress along as she had no reason not to. The mare was a fighter if you could overlook her seemingly frail appearance and beauty; she was fast and viciously strong if the crying thieves were to be believed.
"You're still taking Ballad along, he wants to make amends for what he caused and he's willing to put things right. Give him the chance, that's all I'm asking and you know I'm a good judge of character Daring. The princess wouldn't love him if his heart wasn't in the right place." Turning her backside to her old friend, Velvet walked off to converse with her husband. If her Nightlight fell for any of the dessert beauties he was saving even for a moment he was getting the couched for a week.
An hour later of convincing arguments saw Daring flying off with Tress and Ballad Din in tow, but not without Twilight giving Tress a hug. Even Ballad got some snuggling in with the princess despite Rough Heeds glare directed at him before he galloped off. They were headed to the catacombs, while Twilight led her group to march on the entrance to the city of Neighgraba. Behind Twilight's group the airship lifted off, Nightlight would be waiting for the signal to begin loading passengers as that was when the vizier's forces would be too distracted to notice the airship.
Twilight had her mother, Trixie and Rarity with her. She knew her mom was generally good at fighting; she had little to no idea how good Rarity would be and had at least some idea as to what Trixie could do. She stopped outside the gates to Neighgraba. She didn't care that her hair was constantly lit aflame; her seething anger at what the vizier had done to those mares was fresh in her mind. She was not going to let that go without justice and retribution, there were fates worse than death and Twilight knew how to inflict a few of them on a pony.
"Are you sure about coming along for this Rarity?" Four unicorns of varying magical strengths attacking a power mad vizier, he had an entire army of guards at his command and Twilight knew Rarity was the least powerful of the four of them.
"Why of course darling, he is an abomination and an affront to all that is fabulous. Besides once we've dealt with the brute, I can finally get some shopping in and get some authentic Saddle Arabian fashion." Rarity wasn't going to back down from this fight, what that stallion was doing was abhorrent and she was as angry as Twilight only she hid it better than the one with the magically flaming mane. "Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself even though I'm nowhere near as powerful as you are."
"Trixie has no complaints either; Trixie will show you all just how powerful she is." Flaring her cape and taking a magnificent stance Trixie knew she was ready to put on the performance of a lifetime.
"Are you okay with this mom? You're the only one here that can speak Saddle Arabian at the moment." Twilight's query received a response of a twirling three sectioned staff and the hum of an expert baton twirler who was once part of a marching band when she was younger.
"Just remember my little Sparkle Butt; we need to stop the vizier from using the guards as hostages as well while we take them down." Velvet was the current voice of the group. She wasn't as fluent in Saddle Arabian, but she knew how to get her point across. She kissed her daughter on the cheek and hugged her while giving her a longing nuzzle. "Just try not to get too hurt, because if you do I'm not sure I will be able to stop myself from breaking out the permanent injuries on every pony between me and you. You'll always be my little pony. It's sad that you're almost all grown up, soon you won't even need me to fight off mind controlled armies or ancient destructive cosmically powered beings anymore."
The happy go lucky way that Velvet Sparkle put it caused the three mares to shiver at the promise of bodily harm. Nobody would ever hurt her foal on purpose without expecting to lose a limb or get horribly maimed like that poor Chrysalis girl.
"Please remind Trixie to never ask you for a duel with anything tougher then pillows as a weapon." Trixie ears fell back as she addressed Twilight while Velvet led them to the gates. "You're mother is scary and I'm now worried her spine breaking hugs might be more literal then Fluttershy gives them credit for."
"She's always been like that Trixie and I doubt she would permanently harm any of my friends." Twilight only cooled down a little, her magic was ready to be unleashed on the nearest source of evil in righteous fury.
"Please do open the gates will you." Soft spoken, yet with a hint of danger the two guards immediately pushed the doors opened and stepped clear of Velvet. She simple trotted through with three trailing mares, she only stopped for a moment to say something in Saddle Arabian. "Thank you."
"Rarity don't get distracted, you need to be vigilant and even more so as we approach the palace if the thieves don't get in our way thanks to what Tress did to a good number of them yesterday then it'll be a clear shot to the palace." Twilight noticed Rarity almost getting sidetracked by the marketplace and immediately veered back into following them.
"Sorry, it's just I want to at least explore the city." Rarity's eyes wandered a bit at all the wares as they passed, she was a bit nervous about this and even then she wasn't about to allow something like this to continue. "I know we can do that afterwards, but you can't blame me for wanting to look as I have hardly had a chance to. Besides I know it's dangerous to walk around alone, but what are the chances that the controlled guards would even bother with us right now?"
As soon as it was mentioned, two grey eyed guards approached them with lethal intent only to have two heavy pots smash into their heads before they could even get close. Looking up at the nearby windows the four mares saw a male camel wink at them, he had heard of an attack on the vizier from a mare asking the merchants for help dealing with the controlled guards. He had a bone to pick with the vizier so he figured he'd lend the mares some aid. While he wouldn't attack the empowered vizier or his forces directly, he wouldn't mind helping the guards after they've had an accident that was in no way his fault whatsoever.
The camel had given the surrounding populace that was friendly to the cause a heads up. This is why the unconscious guards were soon dragged away by two Saddle Arabian stallions; a small quiet rebellion against the vizier was started.
Twilight's group had a clear shot to the palace and half the controlled guards that were put in their path were mysteriously missing in action by the time they reached the steps to the palace. There was a lot of broken pottery that some Saddle Arabian mares were sweeping off the streets; it was somewhat inconsequential that there seemed to be a lot of citizens with butter hooves today.
"Grand Vizier *incomprehensible gibberish name*, come out and face us yourself you coward!" One of these days Velvet figured she was going to look through some of her old notes on the translation spell she was using.
They had garnered Jabber's attention alright, he had used half the guards under his command and he saw clear road all the way up to the steps the four mares were standing at the bottom of.
"It seems my... friend, shall we say...was right, you are more of a nuisance then I originally gave credit for. To have passed all my guards looking fresh and unhindered as you do." He held a scepter in his left hoof he thrust it forward. "But I'm no fool off my guard, kill them!"
A large surge of guards passed the vizier and charged down the stairs. The vizier stood there waiting to see what he was up against, the purple mare sent a bolt of energy into the sky that glowed brightly and did little else.
"Oh, oh, there's the signal Mr. Twilight's Dad Sir Captain!" Pinkie hopped up and down next to Nightlight, the stallion smiled and spun the wheel and hit a lever with his magic. The Indistinguishable Plot started to move for the back of the palace.
The four mares stood their ground as the guards charged down the center of the steps.
Velvet standing in the lead as she brought down the first three guards as she met them with her three sectioned staff she stole from a ninja pony with relative ease. Soon she received a blade through the neck as they swarmed her. Despite looking to have the situation well handled before; she fell to the ground where the blood began to pool and twitched slightly before she ceased moving.
Twilight cried out for her mom and rush forwards only to be stabbed in the side and have the sword ripped out of her spilling her guts to the sandy ground, she cried and tried hold her innards in before a sword came down upon her ending her tears. There was just too many of them.
Rarity was back into a corner and defending herself quite well with a wooden stool and some cloth she was using to trip and befuddle the guards, she was swiftly stabbed in the chest where her heart was and the life slowly left her eyes.
Trixie was firing magic blasts and putting up a lot of a fight and avoided getting stabbed or sliced as horribly until a spear hurtled into her butt and right hind leg. This took out one of her legs from beneath her. After a few seconds the controlled guards backed off.
Trixie stood there curiously looking on wondering why they retreated a bit. With a grimace on her face, she looked up as at the palace to see archers releasing arrows at her, they rained down upon her body piercing it in multiple places. The blue mare stumbled a few feet forward and let out a gasp throwing a hoof into the air dramatically before falling to the ground defeated.
"Hah and the jinn said this would be hard, they were nothing against my might." The vizier chuckled darkly before he turned around to walk away. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 89 | A loud smashing sound was heard, a crooked circular portion of the roof caved in and a cloud of dust shot up. Once the dust cleared it revealed a very surprised looking Tress who looked back up at the shaft of light coming from the hole she just created.
"Well I didn't find an entrance, but I certainly made one!" Tress spotted Daring and Ballad looking down on her and she waved up at them. "This is exactly how you step into it, isn't that right Daring?"
Seconds later Daring with her green shirt, a brown satchel and a pith helmet was in tunnel leading down into the catacombs holding a lit torch. Ballad Din was wearing puffy white pants held up by a red sash and a small purple vest; he also had a fez on top of his dark mane. The entrance was the first obstacle, which they circumvented entirely because Tress had to stomp in just the right place in frustration.
"So what did you have against Ballad coming with us? You didn't have a problem with me." It wasn't that Tress didn't know Daring tended to prefer doing things solo; this newly shown resentment was a bit off. "You didn't have a problem when he was with us for finding the information to where the vizier stashed the lamp."
"Yes, because we needed that information and it was necessary that I tolerated his presence." Daring didn't want to tip off Ballad that she was a still angry with him and kept her tone even. "I do not like the idea of him being anywhere near the lamp after the scuffle he dragged me into and what that led too. I was the one getting the princess and her bodyguard to safety while he was being hunted down by the vizier; he started this whole mess you know."
"I can clearly see the resentment then. Do you have anything to help us communicate? I don't want to do the whole back and forth thing with you as the translator, especially if you're going to continue being angry about that." Having read the mares books, Tress remembered some of the less dangerous artifacts that Daring tends the carry around that could be of use. Daring never knew what could be useful in different ways. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have Lady Llama's Linguistic Lace Leggings on you by chance?"
"If you read my books, you likely already know why they don't come up very much as they're situational at best. They need someone willing to wear one and be given the knowledge of what they do for it to work." Daring had only mentioned them once or twice in passing in her books. The one who speaks the language or languages needed to be wearing one of the two leggings, they'd magically fit any hoof which was a useful side feature. "Quick question Ballad, would you wear a legging that would let Tress understand what you're saying?"
The leggings weren't anywhere as nearly as apocalyptic as some of the other things Daring has seen or touched in the name of saving the world, they were boring if impractical in function. The irony of the fact that you'd need a translator for the leggings to explain how they work in the first place was not lost on Daring, the leggings were only useful to a third party who couldn't speak the language and required someone that did to explain the function of the leggings. She didn't think Ballad would wear one on the principle of the matter that they were lady stockings.
Several minutes and a few circumnavigated deadly traps later, Tress and Ballad were having an interesting conversation about how the thief grew up on the streets and they were speaking fluently in Saddle Arabian. Daring had silently seethed for a while; she stopped and held up her hooves stopping the two ponies from moving any further. She narrowed her eyes at the warning marks in the corridor and the empty stone coffins in the room ahead of them. Sniffing the air Daring narrowed her eyes.
"I smell animated skeletons, I can hear them too." The creaking sounds of bones grinding against bones without sinew or muscle between them, Daring passed her torch to Ballad and carefully uncoiled her whip. They couldn't slow their progress for too long or else things above ground could go bad for their allies on the surface. "Keep me at the edge of the light at all times, depending on what type of skeletons they are we might have some trouble."
Creeping forward she kept her eyes on the shadows as they entered the tomb of empty coffins, looking at the ground Daring picked up a dagger. It looked to be left behind by one of the thieves that came through here previously, she silently stowed it away in her satchel. Her eyes darted about at movements in the shadows as she kept moving forward. Within the span of a second she leapt back as the skeleton of a large camel slammed a broadsword down with an overhead swing. Daring retaliated by ripping out a vertebrae from the skeleton with her whip causing it to fall into a pile of bones.
The creaking sounds started getting louder and Daring backed up towards Ballad whose eyes were warily taking in the surrounding glints of metal in the shadows; metallic scraping sounds were heard amongst the sound of clacking hooves. The downed skeleton started shaking a bit and its bones started to pull together.
"Well darn, it's that type of skeleton. Stay near me and knock them down, the only thing that will stop them is explosives." Daring reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a small blue bomb, which she held out to Ballad who paused for a second before lighting it. She tossed it into the pile of bones as it was reforming itself. Flapping her wings she took to the air staying within range of the light. "Now move!"
Daring hovered above them readying her whip as, Tress and Ballad started to swiftly move through the room look for an exit. The skeleton behind them exploded and a blast of vile purple smoke was released into the air.
"Well at least that's one down right?" Tress said uneasily and stopped just short of having a mace take her head off. She spun around and bucked out shredding a Saddle Arabian Skeleton's ribcage with her hooves. A lit bomb was chucked at that one as well as Daring flicked her whip at the shadows with several sharp cracks.
"Moving faster seems like a good idea." Ballad sped up heeding his own words as the noises started to get closer. The room seemed to darken unnaturally to the point that the light of the torch was barely filling the room at all. He quickly leapt forward dodging the battleaxe that was aimed at the back of his neck; he kept a strong grip on the torch as he swung it around and knocked the head off a skeleton and looked around for more attacks as Daring dealt with that one.
"Come on, this way!" Daring led them towards a wall that slowly became visible and pulled out the thieves' map quickly looking it over before stowing it away. The explorer started frantically checking the wall with her hooves as several glowing red eyes were coming out of the darkness wielding more large weapons.
"You might want to hurry up with whatever it is your doing." Tress was ready for a fight until a click sound was heard. She turned to see a smile on Daring's face as the entire wall spun around before the skeletons could get to them.
"That is one of the reasons why I like doing things like this alone. A room designed to weaken light and with reanimating skeletons that don't stay down for long unless you destroy their bones." Turning away from her two companions, Daring looked down the hallway they were in.
It was pretty well lit already which was an oddity for the corridor, the musty smell was quite bad and they all took a moment to peruse what the thieves had managed to put down on the map. They made sure of their location while getting their bearings; they went down the lit hallway after putting out their torch.
The winding narrow passageways were leading them closer to their goal or so they hoped. They bypassed a rolling boulder trap, avoided a ceiling smasher room and a hallway of spring loaded spears. Daring and Ballad were proving themselves to be equally good at avoiding death at every new obstacle. Daring had more experience having dealt with these kinds of traps before whereas Ballad had a preternatural ability for seeing things coming before they actually happened and was very agile. The thieves that had come through here before obviously hadn't figured out how to deactivate the traps, but Daring did so as they passed each one.
"So what else do you think we'll run into? The thieves really didn't get too far beyond that Slumbergath thing and they really didn't have too much beyond the animated skeletons as dangerous." Tress felt like she was actually in one of the books Daring wrote, things were dangerous considering their general haste to reach the lamp. The walls slowly started getting further apart as they entered a well lit room where the floor was made entirely of sand.
"At a guess, I'd say whatever happens to be in the sand here." Daring flew above the sand and looked down, it was obviously a trap, but it wasn't quicksand at least. "The thieves must have had dessert boots or camel hooves; otherwise whatever is in the sand would have attacked them."
"Look we don't have time for this, my friends could be in real trouble!" Tress darted out and two explosions of sand shot into the air once she got halfway across. A few seconds after the sand had settled Tress could be seen with her eyes closed, straining all four of her hooves against the two large red pincers that had burst out of the sand where a pit was slowly forming. "Okay Ballad, go while I've got it distracted. I feel I now understand Fluttershy and her fear of scissors better."
"What about you? The fact that you even survived the initial attack of an ant-lion of such a size is miraculous!" Ballad galloped around the edge of the sand pit, he looked worried about his new friend. To watch her struggle to keep the pincers from snapping closed was tearing at his heart. He could imagine Jasmine in a similar state.
"Don't worry I've got her! Get ready to relax you're grip when I yell." With a flick of her hoof, Daring had her whip wrapped around Tress's mid-section. She yelled out and pulled with all her might using both hooves.
Pushing out of the pincers, Tress flew forward unharmed and Daring swung her towards the open pathway on the other side of the wide open sand trap, she let go of her whip so that Tress fell to safety and continued into the hallway. The ant-lion wasn't too happy and reared up to snap at Daring who swiftly flew out of the way of its snapping pincers and down the hallway around the corner where Ballad and Tress had stopped. The ant-lion was too big to follow them and slowly sunk back into the sand growling angrily like a real lion would.
What had stopped them was another room that was larger than the last and on the other side there was a short corridor to a smaller room where they could see a black lamp that gave off a sick looking yellow glow. The large room was apparently directly under the palace, there were twelve pillars to the ceiling around this large circular two hundred yards in diameter room with a high ceiling. There didn't seem to be anything between them and the lamp. It looked to be so easy, except they hadn't seen what was called the Slumbergath yet.
They entered the room and they heard a strange noise the three of them looked up as what appear to be a large dark green slimy monster with glowing green eyes slammed to the floor in front of them and narrowed its eyes on them. Behind it a gate slammed shut preventing them from just going around the creature to get at the lamp while one of them distracted it.
"I take it that's the Slumbergath? Doesn't look like much." Daring approached it with her whip only for its eyes to glow and it transformed to look like Ahuizotl holding a little filly that was very familiar to her and then he did something to the filly while smiling. Daring dropped the whip and backed away quickly as fear rose up in her body at the image, she had her back to the wall near the entryway shivering in horror and reduced to tears. "No, NO... PLEASE NO!"
"Well that was an interesting reaction. Okay blob bring it on!" Moving forward preparing her transformation, Tress watched as the blobs eyes glowed and then it shot towards the ceiling. It quickly became murky sticky looking mess. Tress backed away with her tail between her legs and reverted much to the same state that Daring was on the other side of the entryway to the corridor. "So... so sticky... so unclean... it's coming closer... impossible to escape... Twilight... I never meant to stay a little while... you brought me here... what is even real anymore!"
From Ballad's position he had only saw the Slumbergath's eyes flash once for each mare when approached and then they became quivering emotional wrecks. They were suddenly very afraid of the creature and it seemed to be feeding off their fear given its unnatural increase in size. He looked at the nearby skeletons that lined the walls including ones that looked to be the remains of brave warriors.
Ballad Din turned back to the blob and narrowed his eyes at the creature. He stepped forward; it was doing to them what it had done to all others before them. He stared into the eyes of fear itself. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 90 | The vizier turned around to walk off only to get bashed across the face harshly with the end of a three sectioned staff courtesy of Velvet Q. Sparkle. Trixie and Rarity also appeared out of nowhere and Twilight was seen floating in mid-air above the palace with her horn glowing vibrantly.
"You imbecile, I told you they were more powerful then they appeared!" This was only heard in the vizier's mind as he created a barrier with his scepter to prevent a second blow from landing on him. It didn't take him long to see what was going on; all the archers had been taken out with one strafing run from the flying purple unicorn. The elite guards that were still in the palace main entrance grounds were being wrapped up in tapestries by Rarity and an exhausted looking Trixie.
Looking back down the steps the vizier was witness to the four forms fading from existence and the arrows and spear were being held in a field of purple magic that disappeared dropping the items harmlessly on the ground. The guards down there were being pelted with pots from the rooftops.
"See the power of the great illusion mistress Trixie!" Trixie shouted as she aided Rarity in tying up loose ends by capturing the guards in some fabric. "It was not easy to fire magic missiles while keeping them and us invisible at the same time, not to mention redirecting them mid flight. Though I will admit without Twilight's help the entire thing would have fallen apart."
"I swear you're sense of theatrics could have made it fall apart alone! You just had to upstage us in your illusion didn't you?" Rarity shook her head knowing that Trixie would always put herself in a better light when it came to performing, with the exception of Pinkie Pie.
"It worked didn't it? Trixie doesn't see the issue as we managed to launch our surprise attack effectively." Trixie tied the tapestries together with all the struggling guards and Rarity sent them rolling down the staircase leading up to the palace. Trixie gripped her head with her hooves and her ears fell flat as she swept her hat from her head and wiped away some sweat. "Trixie's horn aches like you wouldn't believe!"
"I must admit that you did put a lot of effort into all of it. Here drink some water dear, you look like you could use it." Rarity floated a canteen to Trixie who took a few huge gulps and then poured some water over her horn causing it to release steam. "Twilight certainly has a higher tolerance for casting if her horn isn't overheating nearly as bad as yours is. Her ability to create magic fields really is interesting; it really helped sell the illusions."
Speaking of Twilight she swept across the wall picking up the downed archers in her magic and she plopped all of them on ground at the base of the steps well out of the way of the action. As she flew back up to the palace the vizier came to his senses and flared his cape while raising his scepter, he teleported into the throne room and was now standing in front of his opulent looking throne.
Rarity and Trixie followed behind as Velvet and Twilight went to deal with the Vizier personally, they were to make sure none of the controlled guards could interfere in the fight or become willing hostages. It currently didn't seem like much of a problem. When they arrived the vizier raised his scepter and showed an image that made them pause, he was showing the butte behind the palace.
"Come no further or they shall all perish!" Other than his assumption that all his adversaries spoke his language, he made a second mistake in thinking he still had hostages there. Looking at his own projection he would have seen that what he was threatening was an empty butte with a smiling Fluttershy prancing up the gangplank to an airship. The airship pulled away into the sky with Pinkie waving at them with a cheery smile through the visual screen projected by the vizier, she even hoofing off a cupcake to a nearby recently relieved captive.
Velvet lunged forward with her three sectioned staff, which he deflected with another barrier and then with a magical flash of his staff the entire butte crumbled only upsetting a bunch of large dessert dwelling predators.
Looking at his handiwork the vizier was surprised that the there were no dead mares or camels being consumed by the beasts that were found out behind the palace. He turned the two angry mares who stepped forward.
"Jinn, aid me!" The vizier called out and the jinn coalesced into existence. It started with a yellow cloud with silver eyes that started forming a humanoid upper torso with a lion like head, its lower half stayed gaseous in appearance. Its eyes narrowed on the four unicorns and with a snap of its clawed fingers two giant fire breathing scarabs were summoned; it took immediate control over them and moved them to vent blasts of fire from their mandibles.
Twilight moved forward and created a funnel shaped barrier that forced the fire to split into two different directions around her and her mother. Before she clenched her teeth and sent the scarabs through the back walls with her magic much to the jinn's surprise that she was strong enough to do so.
"So she is the one who is quite powerful. Well how about this?" The jinn pulled back its arms and sent them forward blasting out arcs of volatile energy, Velvet and Twilight came together formed a barrier together and took on the onslaught. After a moment the jinn snapped its fingers again. A large scorpion appeared behind the two mares in the midst of already attacking with its tail. It separated the two from one another. "I can't have you helping each other, it would be too annoying."
The jinn continued to fire blasts of energy at Twilight who fought by firing her own blasts with less lethal intent. Velvet busied herself with deflecting the scorpion's tail and brought her staff down on its head harshly a few times before leaping back to dodge its equally deadly claws that snapped around while retreating.
The vizier even got into the mix after a minute or two of watching boredom, raising his scepter to shoot a fireball at blazing speeds towards Velvet, where Twilight formed a barrier to protect her mother's back. The jinn quickly teleported behind Twilight and launched concussive blast of wind, it sent her tumbling along the floor until she slammed into the wall with a grunt of pain
"My word, they are positively outmatched in there. Is your horn feeling any better Trixie?" Rarity watched as Trixie's horn sparked a bit.
"Trixie is still tired." That was all Trixie had to say about her lack of magic right now. "What about you, what's your excuse?"
"I'm afraid I'd just get in the way if I went in there." Rarity admitted to herself long ago as not being anywhere near as magically gifted as her friends, even Trixie. Twilight and Velvet seemed to be holding their three opponents off well enough.
"Well think of something to be helpful, like magic some sharp jewels or something." Trixie actually cared that she had friends and that they were still alive. They watched as Velvet was sent flying by some exploding flames. "That one look like it stung quite a bit."
"When I see an opportunity to help I'll at least try to step in. Ugh those fire breathing scarabs are back." Rarity backed away from the flare of fire that was aimed at the main entrance she and Trixie were standing at. Looking to Trixie, Rarity noticed the magician had a marshmallow on a stick and was roasting it in the temporary flames. "Where ever in the world did you get that stick and marshmallow on such short notice?"
"No clue, Trixie thinks Pinkie might be rubbing off on Trixie. Also Trixie needed a snack to build up some energy if Trixie is going to continue helping them." Trixie even pulled out two sugar crackers and some chocolate without Rarity figuring out where she had even pulled them from.
Twilight knew getting the guards out of the way was the easy part; dealing with the jinn was definitely the hard part as it was just currently toying with them. It took its attempts at killing them seriously enough, even if it wasn't overly active in pursuing their deaths. She could only hope the others got to the lamp soon.
The powerful purple pony continued to draw the oversized fire breathing scarabs to herself and she stood still between them, they charged her opening their mandibles ready to release more fire. She kicked off the floor and shot straight up leaving the two beetles to slam into each other. She changed her gravity to arc herself straight into the scorpion while powering the toughest barrier she could manage to ram it from above.
Velvet leapt back and batted away two fireballs and magically twirled her staff above her head before catching the tail as the scorpion launched its stinger for her. She was always decent with magic and was having fun helping her daughter in one of her little quests. Who knew it would take them to Neighgraba of all places, fighting exotic monsters was always a blast and she should have brought her pet roc along. A few seconds later her daughter came slamming down on top of the scorpion and it stopped moving entirely having been put out of commission from the force of the impact knocking it to the floor.
"Hmm..." The jinn with a snap of its claws the three beasts disappeared and it lit its own four fingered hands aflame. He raised his hands to start launching a torrent of fireballs only to get a blast of green energy to the face. The jinn grunted and otherwise remained uninjured.
"Did somebody call for backup?" Chrysalis flittered into the room from a window.
Seeing what it termed as 'the mimic' and getting hit by it seemed to really set off the jinn as it growled slightly. It was just toying with them before, now it grew to twice its size and grew two extra arms which sent two streams of energy at Chrysalis who deftly flitted out of the way as they tried to corral her into corner.
Twilight sent a magic missile at the jinn to aid Chrysalis, only for it to audibly impact with the jinn's chest doing nothing to it. She gulped when it grew two more arms holding swords one of which swung at her with a flash, she blinked and found herself on the floor with her mother on top of her.
"Can you not lose your head here sweetie? I like it attached where it is at the moment and having a daughter that's alive." Velvet deflected the second sword and her staff cracked where it was struck. What soon followed her deflection was a concussive blast of wind from one of the jinn's six arms that sent the two of them flying. All while the three other arms fired constant streams of energy at Chrysalis.
"Just how powerful is that thing?" Twilight was speaking more to herself then her mother as Trixie and Rarity came to their side. Looking as the vizier sat at his throne he looked bored with the situation; he was all but assured victory if this kept up.
"Trixie would help, but Trixie is a little low on energy." Two streams of energy raked across the barrier Twilight hastily threw up. The jinn wasn't going to leave them alone to just pursue Chrysalis all the time and it wasn't stupid enough to let them plan unhindered.
"Well if you have any suggestions for what we should be doing right now, I would love to hear them Twilight." Rarity scrambled out of the way of chunks of ceiling as the jinn fire a blast to drop chunks of it on them to stop them from coming up with a plan of action. They all went behind some of the pillars in the throne room to avoid any more attacks directed at them.
"Other than hold the jinn off and hope for the best?" Twilight was not about to ask what was taking them so long; they had to go a long way around to reach the room with the Slumbergath directly beneath the palace. If the catacombs were the usual stuff Daring faced, then it was a safe bet that they'd still be a while yet. "We need to give Tress, Daring and Ballad time to destroy the lamp."
"How much time we talking here? I think I might not survive being mauled this time." Chrysalis flittered backwards barely avoiding getting cut apart by a scimitar as the jinn's arm elongated and swung the blade at her. The second blade flashed forward only to stop an inch from taking a chunk out of Chrysalis's side and the jinn sat there for a moment. It disappeared with an intensely angry look on its face. "That was too close for comfort, what happened to it?"
"Well speak of the devils; they must have reached it for the jinn to suddenly disappear like that. Unfortunately it's now their problem and that's far worse for them given they can't receive help." Velvet leaned out from behind the pillar and looked towards the vizier who stood up and he flared out his cape he sneered at them.
"Do not think me any easier just because the jinn left." He flicked his scepter forward sweeping a beam of energy across everything in his vision. He watched as all his adversaries duck behind the pillars, which were now starting to take damage as he began attacking them with as much power as he could bring forth. The jinn had avoided damaging the surrounding walls thus far; as it would not do to have the entire palace come down on their heads, it would have been counterproductive to aiding Jabber in his goals after all. He personally had no such compunctions to avoid destroying everything between him and his enemies.
"I sure hope we're not the ones left paying for all this once this is over!" Twilight yelled over the cacophony of fireballs, blasts of wind, lightning bolts and beams of imminent death that started slowly whittling the pillars down. Idly Twilight noticed that these were of the same abilities that the jinn had, it certainly explained where the scepter came from. |
Twilights Mane Passion | 91 | A Slumbergath is a blob like monster made entirely of nightmares that have conjoined together to create a semi corporeal form. A monster like this does not automatically form because of a thousand nightmares; it takes a dark being of great magic to even will one into existence. The true specifications and nature of this monster has it coming from the currently missing crystal empire, it was one of Sombra's defenses against ponies trying to steal the crystal heart a little over nine hundred ninety nine years ago. Princess Luna was the one that had tossed the dark creature away from the Crystal Empire where it would starve and die in the sunlight; she hadn't done so without taking some mental scars from fighting the beast which later led to her becoming Nightmare Moon as her nightmares started becoming reality.
The beast had somehow ended up in the catacombs beneath Neighgraba long ago after it's altercation with the princess of the night. Its main power was to cause fear and nightmares, which was all it had as a weapon. It forced its opponents into submission then slowly devours them alive in its mass; it would feel like acid if you were the one to be engulfed. Its power of causing fear is at its greatest when it is in the process of consuming its victims; the victims usually died purely out of fear alone which was supernaturally powerful in this creature.
Of the three who had ventured into the catacombs, Ballad Din would have been the most likely to survive the beast. While he did fear the beast, he didn't fear it itself he feared what it could do if left unchecked. He didn't believe it to be real whatever it was he was forced to be witness to, he start chanting a mantra to keep himself focused on the creature itself.
Tress is the second likely to survive the beast, given she would have figured out what it was doing once it started consuming her. This was only true if she had bothered to enter the catacombs alone, she had not so it wasn't an issue.
Daring Do wouldn't have been able to shrug it off as easily even after all the things she had seen, she more than the other two had witnessed and survived too many nightmares to shrug them all off as easily. She however did have an uncommon ability in being unnaturally lucky at times and she was the one who was the arbiter to defeating the Slumbergath in a roundabout manner.
Do was a tough pony that had took on many challenges alone. This was one that she had been talked into taking on with friends and had she come alone, she would have been killed by it. Had she not given her two leggings to the others and told them both what the objects did, things might have been left up to a pony she didn't like to save them. She didn't like thieves even if she herself counted as one and only because she was stuck stopping apocalyptic nightmares from overtaking the world. Those were the nightmares currently being forced down her throat leaving her paralyzed; not that she had experienced too many horrors already in being strapped into numerous death traps that would kill a lesser pony.
Tress was stuck in her nightmares until she heard a voice that was saying that it wasn't real, what she was hearing was Ballad's mind focusing on the fact that whatever he was seeing was not real. The leggings Daring had given them did far more then expedite the ability to communicate outside your own language, they also allowed you to communicate telepathically and Daring did not know of this feature at all. Tress certainly found this out quickly enough when the Slumbergath's hold on her had faltered harshly upon hearing Ballad's voice, it gave her enough focus to shrug off its nightmare stare.
Not being able to get a grip on one victim and then losing its grip on another, the Slumbergath started shrinking and was growing weaker as it tried to feed off their fears. It soon could no longer hold Daring who broke the grip on herself without the aid of Tress and Ballad, she was furious and now directing her anger at the Slumbergath. There was nothing for it to feed off after that even as it kept trying to force nightmares onto them, all of which they were now blocking effortlessly.
The Slumbergath continued to shrink down until it was the size of an average slug and then with a pop it went out with a whimper. Even the greatest of warriors couldn't have faced it alone, it took more than one to take down a Slumbergath and Daring Do regaining her mental fortitude was the killing blow.
"That thing... it was horrific. I saw things that I should have known that were impossible to come to pass." Daring shivered the memories of all those apocalyptic visions dancing around in her head, she had put a stop to many a plot to destroy the world or just see it burn and she would continue to do so to her dying days.
"Good riddance." Ballad had saved their lives and was being humble about helping take down a monster that literally scares you to death.
"Yeah, all we need to do is open that gate and get at the lamp." Tress trotted up to the iron bars separating them from the lamp. "Did you know these leggings mentally connected the users?"
"Not a clue, I guess I should research everything magical that I have at my disposal a bit more to see if there are any more interesting things I've missed. So it really made you able to hear what Ballad was thinking?" It was just a bit of curiosity on Daring's part, she thought they just allowed you to understand another's language. Apparently the language of the mind and heart were also included as languages.
"He's currently thinking of a way to get through those iron bars, he actually wants to destroy that thing and regrets ever having gone after it in the first place." Tress noted Daring's face lighten up on her glare at the natives back. "I can actually see his heart is set on making it up to the princess for causing all this, kind of has a golden feel to it."
"The vizier has hurt too many to be allowed to get away with it." Ballad was pretty set on his course of action, that thing was getting destroyed as soon as any one of them reach it and by hoof if necessary, even if it meant injuring themselves on the shards of metal crushing the lamp to pieces.
"I've got three bombs left, two should be enough for the lamp given I use this cork and some sports tape." The pith helmet wearing pony moved towards the gate while reaching into her satchel, one never knew what might be useful and her hat has saved her life more than once alone. Her whip was the least important thing she carried on her unless one of her wings were broken again, that fact that she can still use them after thirty or so times of being broken is miraculous.
Taking out a bomb Daring wedged it into two of the bars in the gate that was the only thing stopping them from getting to the lamp. She lit her torch aflame and then put it the fuse and quickly flew back to the others. It exploded as powerfully as the rest of her skeleton destroying explosives and the gate was wrenched apart leaving a gaping hole.
"Those things are pretty powerful, where in the world do you get them from?" Because Tress wanted some and she happened to like explosions, probably a nuance of the small evil side of her that still existed.
"From the airship shops of the Beetle's clan, I swear all those ponies are changelings since they look so much alike. I usually get them through special delivery mail order. It's a bit costly but I have plenty of bits, saving the world really doesn't pay nearly as much as my books do." Daring slowly walked towards the hole followed by Ballad and Tress. "Every bomb guaranteed to blow up when lit or your money back! I still don't know how they guarantee it, but so far they haven't killed me or made me lose a hoof yet."
An explosion of yellow smoke threw Tress, Daring and Ballad back forty feet, a pair of silver eyes on a large body with six arms appeared floating before them. Its eyes narrowed on them, aside from the six arms and the lion like head it have no lower body as it hovered there in front of them. It lifted one of its six arms and sent a powerful blast of energy past all of them missing them completely; the sound of something collapsing could be heard.
"This must be the jinn... it has sealed us in with it!" Watching the creature from the lamp Ballad watched as with a wave of its hand fire covered the entrance to the room with the lamp.
"Apparently it doesn't like us threatening its lamp, come on we can take it." Daring stood up and brandished her whip snapping it at the floor while staring down the solid silver eyes in the floating goliaths head.
The jinn just looked at the three that got by all those traps and so swiftly as well; it wasn't going to toy with them he would have to take them out immediately. It immediately raised its four upper arms and they cracked with electrical energy, it still had a penchant for causing a lot of pain and the only one that may withstand a prolonged blast from a room filled with electrical energy would be the winged one. Teleporting to the middle of the room and raised all four of its arms together unleash a furious amount of electrical energy started surging outward throughout the room.
Both Daring and Ballad had closed their eyes at the blinding light, Tress however just leapt in front of them. Upon the two opening their eyes all they were watching all of the energy converge on Tress and the form inside of the electrical energy was slowly growing. The jinn immediately stopped filling the room with his power feeling something draining it and looked to where all that energy filling the room went to, one of its most devastating attacks was blocked by a single mare without magic.
The energy build up dissipated and then the mare that was standing where Tress used to be started cackling. In fact the laughter became a bit wild and the mares mane was positively alive with arcs of energy bouncing around in it.
"Well that was euphoric, I'll just brush up on my laugh some more." Cackling like a mad mare the Mane-iac stared straight into the surprised eyes of the jinn. "Time for me to let my hair down I guess, Tress has left the building! Excuse me, but can you hold on to this? Thank you."
The mare stripped the legging from her hoof and tossed it to Daring, flipped her vibrant green hair and gave a devilish smile before her hair slammed the jinn against the wall in the time it took for it to blink. It reacted by swinging the two swords held by its lower arms at her at insane speeds only for them to be stopped by the mares mane.
"I really don't need help with my split ends, but thank you for trying!" With a tug Mane-iac had both the larger than life swords impaled to the hilt into two differing nearby pillars, much to the shock of the jinn that it had been physically overpowered. She followed it up by whipping around the full mass of her mane and it went through the jinn's body as it phased out of the way of the attack. "Aw come now, don't avoid my mane. It is to die for after all!"
The Mane-iac shot to a nearby pillar before the stream of fireballs sent at her in retaliation could even come close to hitting her and she stood on the side of the pillar with her hair wrapping around it. Daring flew up to Mane-iac and asked the obvious.
"What the buck just happened to you! What are you even?" Daring was now wearing the legging for Ballads benefit; he was worried about his new friend having changed so drastically.
"I'm not Lady Lovely Locks if that's what you're asking!" Even as she said this, Mane-iac rolled her eyes leaning backwards off the pillar in an odd manner. She quickly leapt off the pillar to another one as a powerful blast of wind gouged out large sections of stone from the pillar. "Maybe you should be paying more attention to the real threat here Do-gooder!"
"How did you know...? Never mind that, you're right! We need that lamp gone like yesterday!" Daring flew around a fireball and looked for Ballad who was taking cover behind the pillar. They still had to get to the lamp which was now protected by a skin melting wall of fire that had rose up around the hole where the gate used to be.
"Are you a Kirin?" It was the only words the jinn would say now and it was thoroughly displeased with the power that was absorbed from it. There were legends of Kirin, otherwise noted as a two horned mystical horse. This being didn't have two horns, but it was already proven quite powerful if seemingly insane. The things flowing mane was kind of like the fires in the legends that was said to be flowing on the body of one.
"Nope, but I'll certainly try Kirin you now!" Penchant for bad puns aside, the Mane-iac was going to take this fight to the jinn and rummy to anyone who could stop her from doing so. |
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