Dull thumps echoed in Sam's head. His skin crawled with itchiness, and the part of his forearm covered by his PIP-Boy ached. He was hot, and it wasn't helped by the small winds seemingly full of atomic power.

A sun baked city skyline filled his vision, the twisted and destroyed spires reaching to the sky. His mind struggled to find concentration it didn't have; He remembered this sight-

His eyes opened, and an explosion sent him flying through the air. Around him, several power-clad soldiers flew, the implosion mine magnifying the small amount explosives to staggering levels. The Patton that was five feet away was flipped onto its side, where a grey-clad soldier through a pulse grenade inside an open hatch. The electronics were fired, and the fusion powered engine made unstable. The back went up in a rad-filled explosion, taking out the man that had destroyed it.

"Reich's inbound!" Someone shouted over the ringing of Sam's ears, "Two hundred plus foot mobiles!"

"Form a line!" A rough voice replied, "The buck stops here!"

Sam groaned as he got up, grabbing the plasma rifle he dropped. He checked the cartridge to make sure it wasn't cracked, and then the holographic sights to see if they weren't damaged. Satisfied, he looked back up at the battle around him.

Vertibirds of many variants were in the air, dogfighting with others painted a bright red color. East Coast Brotherhood forces-most wearing T-45d, but a minority wore T-51b-were taking cover behind anything they could find. Already detonated cars, concrete slabs, destroyed BOS tanks, and the bodies of their fallen comrades. Beside them were their brothers from the Midwestern Brotherhood, the horned helmets reminiscent of the Enclave a stark contrast from the rounded tops of the East Coast Brotherhood. And their target...Columbus. The last bastion of the Fourth Reich.

Sam was shaken out of his trance as he heard shrill battle yells. He looked forward and, after magnifying his visor, saw a wave of grey-coated men charging them about a quarter of a mile away with bayoneted weapons. Reichmen.

He climbed onto a fire truck to project his voice. He noticed at on top was a small flag pole, one that a man would be able to carry. And on the top was a battered American flag. Sam's emotions fluctuated. Despite what those that used this flag did to him, he still had a love for the Old United States, if anything its vision. Of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Sam grabbed the pole and drove it into the rusted metal of the firetruck, going through the metal and sticking it there.

"This is it, my brothers and sisters!" He shouted. His voice, however young, still carried much power. He was the youngest Sentinel in Brotherhood history, and undoubtedly its most capable warrior on the East side of the Mississippi. "These tyrants fall today! Our children will know peace tomorrow!" He faced the men that were gathered behind him, his voice louder than the hundreds of soldiers on the other side of the freeway they were fighting on. All around them, the Fourth Reich was making its last charge. He raised his plasma rifle in one hand.

"Courage today, victory tomorrow!" Despite everyone in the crowd having seen the old Pre-War poster many times before, they still felt motivated. They roared in enthusiasm and adrenaline. They knew that this would be the end of this war, a war that the Midwest had started decades ago. Many of the Midwestern Knights and Paladins had been raised in this war. Only when the East Coast made contact and agreed to help them, right after their war with the Enclave ended, had the tide been turned.

Twenty four years of constant post-apocalyptic warfare ended this day.

The Knights and Paladins of the Brotherhood opened fire on the suicide wave of Reichmen, the mixed hail of bullets, lasers, and the occasional plasma blob cutting down the single-minded soldiers. Another Patton rolled up and fired a shell, red misty blood mixing with the concrete rubble and dirt form the explosion. As the crowd began thinning, Sam jumped down from the firetruck. He switched his plasma rifle to fully automatic and hosed the few remaining left. As the last one began molecularly breaking down into a complex radioactive goo, Sam lowered his weapon. A hushed silence fell over the battlefield, the six lane highway a tomb.

Sam walked forward, looking up to the sun. It was the middle of July, and the sun was incredibly hot. He could feel the heat on his armor's plates, through the bodysuit he was wearing that allowed him to function with the armor on. He turned back to the line of Brotherhood, arms cradling his plasma rifle.

"Nice day for a walk!" He shouted, "Who wants to join me?" The offer was met by resounding shouts. The firetruck was toppled onto its side and pushed out of the way for the Patton, though an East Coast Knight had elected to become the pseudo flag bearer. Sam put his hand on the side of his helmet, turning on his comlink.

"Command, this is Sentinel Ross. Reich forces on outskirts of Columbus are destroyed South way is clear. Army Blue is entering the Hornet's Nest." More shouts and cheers of joy followed the announcement. Sam smiled, happy that this war was almost over.

Ever since he had left Vault 101, this life had been a constant state of fighting. From raiders and Talon Company until he lost his father, then the Enclave (along with raiders and Talon Company) until they were almost completely destroyed, and finally the forces of the Fourth Reich. The East Coast had pushed the Reich from Philadelphia all the way to Columbus in the span of three months. While Sam knew what he was doing was right, and he was proud of the evil he had vanquished in this short seven months out of the Vault, he was growing tired of it. This constant killing was proving hard on his psyche. He wanted to rest for a while. He wanted to sleep until noon and not get stabbed in the shoulder.

He wanted to grieve.

The thumps of the propellers of a Vertibird snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw a blue-grayish painted Brotherhood Vertibird hovering over their position, kicking up dust and sending pebbles into the armor of the weary soldiers underneath it. Instead of cursing the aircraft, the soldiers waved at it. They recognized the craft as the Brotherhood command center.

"How's the weather down there, Sentinel?" A feminine voice asked him. Sam smirked and put a hand to his comlink.

"Hot and dusty," He answered, "How's the situation looking?"

"Red and Orange are on their way to the center, same time stamp as you," She answered, "Shock troops are in the city, we're getting first hand accounts."

"We're almost there!" He exclaimed, their target barely a minutes walk away now, "Won't you keep us company?" The voice laughed.

"Negative Samuel," She replied, "Wish us luck." The propellers of the Vertibird tilted, going from hover to cruise. It zoomed towards the city faster than an old Osprey, making it to the destroyed skyline in seconds.

Sam was about to take his eyes off of the Vertibird when a missile flew out of the streets of Columbus and slammed into one of its engines. The aircraft barrelrolled and collided headlong into one of the broken skyscrapers.

Sam stopped, and so did the army ten yards behind him.

"Sarah!"

---

"No! Get out of my head!"

"Not when I'm learning, you child!"

"...Impressive. None of these weak, mortal ponies have ever been able to kick me out of their memories like this."

"What do you want from me?"

"In a word... complete control."

"That was two-"

"SILENCE!"

"You have the potential to be powerful, more so than even Celestia herself. I could sense it through the inter-dimensional borders from yours and this. I want this power, and I will either control it or take from you."

"You brought me here..."

"Kiss my ass, you telepathic bitch!"

"I have been giving you your power, I can take it back!"

"Not while I'm still an option in whatever scheme you're planning!"

"Touché...But I will break you. Either I will break you, or you will become a willing servant. I will give you the power to do anything you desired! You can bring this...Sarah, back to life if you bow!"

"..."

"What are you doing?!"

"When I find you..."

"You're forcing me from your mind! How?!"

"I will defeat you..."

"You are nothing but a pawn!"

"I will humiliate you...

"My pawn!"

"And I will BREAK YOU."