Warning! Razorhail eminent in less than ten minutes! Seek Shelter immediately!

My pipbuck was all but screaming that warning today, and as we ran, seeking out shelter that warning message only bleeped more and more frequently. the nearest and only building in sight being what could only be described as a looming building decorated in the remains of gored ponies. In other words a Raider nest.

Our guns rang a mighty retort as we charged forward into the apartment complex, angered and surprised screams of blood caked cannibals and crazed gun happy colts yelling out profanities as Scrapyard leaped among their midst, bowling several of them over before going to work with his refined teeth. Cait came barreling in soon after, the steel ranger knocking several raiders aside with his own strength that had been augmented by the power armor that he wore. Grey and I slowed to a trot, Ambush and Lucky ringing off retorts as we spotted each others targets and fired, a hail of deadly metal that continued to pick them off. In the end nearly two dozen raiders were either shot, crushed, bit, shredded, or incinerated to death as we took shelter underneath the massive building.

Not a moment too soon the razor hail started to fall. Fallen raiders being turned into bloodied slabs of flesh as we trotted deeper into the confines of the nest. The fights seemed like a flash, three pool-cue raiders charging blindly at Cait, two others wielding shotguns who met the retort of Grey's favorite pistol, Lucky. There was even a rabid dog that met the impact of my own mounted shotgun. After scouring the place over twice, we threw the rest of the bodies out to join the rest after scavenging the few half decent supplies the raiders had. Now it was just to wait out the storm.

The razor hail was more audible after the adrenaline from battle wore off, a collection of tinkling like that of glass breaking on a massive scale. We were dwelling in one of the cleaner rooms that the raiders nest had left, while not untouched, it provided a view of the central courtyard of the doughnut shaped building, the center decorated with a statue of a pegasus that had been marred with the organs of other ponies. A statue of which was being rapidly cleaned as well as turned briefly dark red from the splattering gore that was driven slowly off it by the rain. I shuddered, looking away from the statue, its own faded gaze seeming to cry red tears as the rain washed them away. I set my mind to wandering as I trotted about, absently noticing that Cait and Scrapyard were messing with each other while Grey was pacing in a long circle around one of the rooms lost in thought. Giving them their downtime, I trotted for the upper floors, stairs even if they were gone providing little resistance for my ability to climb up the walls themselves, The higher the floors I went, the less evidence of raider tampering I found.

Blood and gore left way for musty old hallways and rotted furniture entirely on the highest floor, which was a large round about room filled with desks, chairs, and furniture more meant for an office than an apartment complex. That and the number of undisturbed skeletons that the raiders would of vandalized were still here, collecting dust. Behind a set of curtains I found what must of been the office of the pony in charge, because while the others lacked terminals, this one both had a terminal and a safe next to it. Curiously I rounded around the corner only to find that the terminal was off. Clicking the power button revealed that it was unpowered.

I didn't know what I expected. The terminal to be able to work? My nose scrunched at the possible bounds of information that was locked behind that dead screen. How did the other terminals even work, anyway? It had been well over a hundred years since Equestria stopped producing power thanks to the balefire bombs. Yet a good portion of terminals that hadn't had their screens bashed in still worked. Searching through the rest of the desk gave me a metric ton of paperwork that was decayed to the point of being a solid mass of smelly mold, a key that didn't fit the safe, and a pistol that had a single bullet in its clip. I moved onto the safe, attempting to fiddle with the lock and get lucky, but the lock proved far more difficult than it originally seemed. After breaking five lockpicks in rapid succession I brought out the first of my various tools from the Big Grin, the fang of the saber-tooth cat, that while reliant on energy cells for energy, had a blade that was primarily a laser. A laser that could easily cut metal and by association, the lock attached to the safe.

It was cheating, sure, but the stubborn lock was in my way of my curiosity. Not that the contents themselves provided very much. Another key, a pair of memory orbs, and more moldy paper. I frowned, my horn was still not listening to my impulses, and Roggar was still no-

Someone Call?

I jumped, startled from the sudden voice in my head, before speaking aloud, "Roggar?"

Yeah, who else would it be? don't tell me that you have another voice in your head.

"Where have you been? It's been more than a week since you last contacted me!"

The voice in my head sighed wearily, Sorry about that, the aftereffects of releasing your magic was a bit more than I expected, and Bramos wasn't helping. Had to reteach him the basic differences between ponies and gemstones before he did something reckless. How have you been, my little changeling?

"Not much." I informed him, "We're almost to the ranger outpost that guards between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and I've been getting frustrated at my horn not working."

Oh it works, just not in the way you're used to.

I deadpanned at the ceiling, trying futilely to mentally transmit my look at him. My mental silence provoked his next response.

Alright, fair enough, since I'm late, and from the sound of it, that you're not going anywhere, let us have a magic lesson. Brace yourself.

"Brace myself for wha-" I started before an immense pain sent me to the floor in the fetal position, my head feeling like it was going to split open before it slowly vanished into a dull throb in the back of my head and in my horn. I groaned and I heard the grumbling response.

I said to brace, I had to readjust your link to your inner energies a small bit, it seems your hive was trying to reassert itself on your head, but I revoked its tendrils again, though if you practice your magic daily, your own energies will form new bonds that will prevent the hives interference entirely. Now reach into yourself as if you were to call upon the magic needed for a spell.

I did as he asked, similar to a unicorn, a changelings primary form of active magic was with their horn, but the sources could be described as a circuit between it and two other organs. I reviewed my early magic lessons in my head as I concentrated on breathing. Step one... I could feel the route down from the front of my brain, towards my heart, a race of electricity as I pulled from the magic supplies that my body kept stored there, as mixture of natural energy and energy that I would of drained from the ambience of ponies had my mental tendrils siphoned off of those nearby.

Reach deeper, you will find your new source.

I frowned, but reached deeper, bypassing the danger of the natural energies of a changelings own body, which utilized fat and excess vital energies that kept my body, well, alive. Below that was a void, which I grasped at mentally, trying to find what Roggar meant by a new source.

Deeper.

Deeper I sought, moving past the heart, and through to my gut.

Deeper, not downward.

I frowned in concentration, I moved back up to the space of void, feeling around again, trying to feel what he meant by 'deeper'. Then I found it. I got the mental image of a disembodied smile from Roggar as I felt it. A changelings magic felt like a fire, depending on how much energy they gathered that fire would grow, and expand. It could be used to fuel a changelings magical spells or help fuel their natural energies. The later of which would be comparable to a rock, that while it could be siphoned off in chunks for use in an emergency, it would harm the changelings body, because it was part of their life force. This however, was something else.

It was more of a feeling than a shape or form. A slight chill that idicated its presence among the void of magic, that slowly suctioned from the magic ambient around me itself. Similarly to that of a unicorns method of regenerating their magic. It would be barely noticable to one who wasn't trained, like myself. But it was rumored that one well trained could see the slight gap of magic that made contact with the skin of every living being, as they moved. A slight vacuum would appear, not much different than air moving into place behind them and vanishing. This was rumored more visible to those who participated in 'active' magic, like after a unicorn used a complex spell or when an pegasus manipulated the weather. However it went by a more common name.

You have found your Spirit. Roggar said calmly, From this source, you can cast your spells and sustain your magic normally. From this source you can add in your changeling collective of magic and grow into what fate had intended for you to have.

Mentally I cradeled this source, growing used to it and memorizing where it was into my body, I stood stock still, and silent as I mentally carressed the source, feeling its borders and continuing the circuit, hooking back up into my head.

Let us start with something easy. When you connect the magic to your horn, let it wash over it, and collect there. Do not attempt to let it go, or separate it from yourself like you would with a normal spell.

I did as he said while he spoke, connecting my magic from my brain to the base of my uneven horn, slowly it lit up in a pale blend between purple and red, instead of my usual green. as magic collected there, the uneven color continued to deepen to a transparent shade rather than matching my eyes. Another difference I noted, from the unicorn species.

Now, while maintaining your concentration, stretch out this shadow that has collected onto your horn, make it take the shape of a vine, still attached but steadily growing until you can touch the floor with it. Roggar coached on, a slight tingling of excitement spreading across our mental bond.

With effort, I turned the collecting shade outward, bits and fragments of it initially splitting off and vanishing into nothingness but as I grew more and more understanding of it, slowly a single pencil thin line appeared before my eyes, stretching and slowly growing into a vine of transparent shadow before me. In my surprise my concentration broke, and the magic faded, like a ghost out of existence.

Well done. Roggar stated, from the tone of his voice he was proud, Better than what I expected. Once you mastered that ability to the point of being able to casually use it without accidentally letting go of it, I will then teach you how to access your innate changeling abilities once more. Now I believe with this knowledge in your head, you can finally access those memory orbs as well. The concept is the same, just insert a bit of magic into the orb and off you'll go.

"Thanks Roggar." I said aloud, massaging around the base of my horn, it was a bit sore but it was a good kind of sore. He didn't give a response, and I took it as his leave to re-emerge myself into my concentration and press my horn against the first of the memory orbs, feeling as the flow of magic surrounded it and my consciousness flying away as I was drawn into its shining depths.

I was standing behind a crowd of ponies, or more correctly I was standing above a crowd of ponies who were looking away from me at somepony else. I was aware of a heavy item on my head, and that the pony who they were looking at was... Roseluck. Her mane was ragged, Ambush strapped to her back, as she stood in front of the same statue that was crying blood back in my time. It was more intact, I realized, a broken mane that the statue had instead a golden poofy mess of sunlight color, and a pedestal infront of it for Roseluck to stand on and address the crowd. From my host I could see that among the crowd, roughly a third of them were soldiers from the war, and the rest civilians of all ages. All of the civilians, however, were dressed in black.

"If I could have you're attention please..." Roseluck started, her eyes downtrodden, and the quiet murmur died down as she began, "We are gathered here today to mourn the losses of our kin, and the brave sacrifices they have made in the battle of Vanhoover commons against the saboteurs and terrorists of the Zebra Empire. The five brave souls who gave their lives to prevent a megaspell from going off and prematurely ending all those who lived in this city. "

She was in uniform, a number of medals adorning one side of her chest, though I had no clue to their meanings. "Those who have died are... Sergeant River Sun, of Phillydeplhia, who charged the enemy when we were in full retreat, and crippled them by pulling the pins out of every grenade within twenty feet of him at once with his magic. Captain Lint Conner of Manehatten, who was shot down by in an ambush as we neared those horrible chambers of war and hate. Private Green Chew, who died alongside Lieutenant Dark hoof, underneath the rubble of an explosion when a cave collapsed from the shockwaves."

She slowly turned her gaze up from the floor, and to the crowd, "Last but certainly not the least, is Commander Surprise, who sacrificed herself to fly the portable megaspell out of vanhoover at unprecedented speed before it blew when it turned out that it couldn't be deactivated. May their sacrifices never be forgotten." She tipped her hat off as I felt my host crying, and my vision blurring.

To my left, I heard a voice, one of a brasher more robust mare, "See Fluttershy? This is what happened because of the convenient 'information leak' of the megaspells Zebras don't care for healing 'Shy. Only destruction."

My host turned a timid head towards the source of the voice, pink strands of hair falling into my vision, as I spotted a blue pony with graying rainbow colored hair glaring at my host in a fancier uniform than Roseluck. Beside her a white mare with a purple mane and in a dress gasped, "Rainbow!"

My host shied away as Rainbows glare turned from her to the white unicorn, "It's true Rarity. That information leak has already costed us hundreds of lives, and now its nearly costed us this entire city. I have to go out there every day already to help fight these wars with my ministry's team of elite fliers, and now we have the constant threat of continual bombs on our heads because a certain mare felt that she had to even the odds.

The tears were more than blurring now as Rarity argued back, "I'm perfectly sure Fluttershy already knows the error of her mistake without you rubbing salt in the wound Rainbow Dash. Just let it be, mistakes have been made and nothing we can do can change that. Don't tell me that god awful looking thing on her head is there for you to continue rubbing salt on it."

"I want her to remember this, Rarity." Rainbow Dash told her, "And it's to remind her in the future if her ministry comes up with something even worse than the megaspell threat or a counter to it that sharing such things with the enemy costs lives. Equestrian. Lives."

My host broke down, speaking out, in the most heart breaking voice I had ever heard, "Don't you think I know that?! I've done something completely and absolutely horrible Dashie. Every day I read the reports on those who are unable to do anything thanks to my mistake. I only meant to heal the injured!"

"The point of a war is not to heal the enemy Fluttershy!"

The argument broke out between Rarity and Rainbow Dash, and my host noticed that some of the rear most ponies had turned their heads to stare at them, my host, shrank back and left the stage, jostling the device of which she wore, and all to suddenly, the scene vanished.

As I sat back up from my session in the memory orb, I was shocked. The Ministry Mares, fighting? That combined with the reappearance of Roseluck and the death of Surprise, who previously seemed so lively in the last orb. I shook my head, clearing my apprehensive thoughts, perhaps the second memory orb would be able to clarify some of that story. Outside, the razor hail still went on. Pressing my horn to the next orb, I activated it and slipped away from my current reality once again.

I was sitting in the corner of an office, watching through a window the construction of a statue below. My host, as I grew used to the sensations once more, was a unicorn this time. One with something extremely fuzzy on his upper lip and chin,that made me have the urge scratch at it. One that wasn't satisfied as my host ignored the itch and continually made me want to squirm as he waited. Suddenly, though, there was a knock on the door to his office. "Mr.Breeze?" A country twang rang out behind the door.

"Come on in." My hosts voice was authoritative, weary, and drawn out.

There was a click as the door opened, as a blue and green unicorn mare in a military uniform trotted in, on her nose a set of spherical glasses sat, cut to appear continually angry while the mares eyes behind them was a stoic neutral. I barely had time to notice her small armory of pistols she had coated herself with, before my host disinterestedly turned his gaze back towards the window, "Thought that was you, Meadow Lark, or is it Commander Meadow Lark now?"

Meadow Larks voice was calm, despite Mr.Breeze's lack of eye contact, "I came here to thank you for allowing the statue to be built on your grounds."

"You're welcome." My host replied, and resumed his silence.

This went on for a minute, with neither pony presumably moving as he kept watching the stone-masons who were working on the statue, eventually he broke the silence, "I take it that you aren't just here to say your thanks."

"Correct, I also wanted to tell you goodbye. I, as well of Rose are being transferred to another team, a stealth ops team located inside the Zebra Empire. I probably won't be discharged until the war ends."

"Never did approve of you joining the military. Less so this entire war." My host grumbled, still not meeting her eyes.

"It wasn't your choice to make." Meadow sounded tired, as if they had this argument before, "I don't regret that decision, but after Surprise..." she paused, and my Host finally tilted his head to look at her, as if seeing the facade of indifference slowly cracking from her face, "She made me reconsider some importance... So in case everything goes to Tartarus and fire, I wanted you to have this."

Slowly my host turned, looking as his visitor as she levitated through the doorway a box marked with the emblem of Stable-Tec. Opening it up, she presented him with a pipbuck, far different from my own, and with the words 'Pipbuck 3000' written on the front underneath its blank screen. With it was a collection of papers and trinkets, as well as a bobblehead displaying the classic pipbuck mascot of a blue suited blond pony with tan fur. My host paused, looking between the mare and the merchandise, "No." He said, wrapping his own magic around hers, and pushing it back to the mare, "Keep 'em or give them to a friend of yours who needs it worse."

"Father..." Meadow protested, "Please, I want to make sure you have some degree of safety in case-"

"In case you fail?" Breeze retorted, "You're a member of the Crinkle family line. Through and through. Or have you forgotten?"

Deadpanning with displeasure she responded, in a monotone parody of a singsong voice, "The Crinkle line will never fail, to leave no one behind that they ever hailed."

"Check my file Cabinet, bottom row, middle." Mr.Breeze responded, "I was planning on giving that to you if you ever got over throwing your life away for this war."

Magic reignited as Meadow did as she was told, levitating out an identical package, labeled with a large piece of masking tape that had the words, "To Meadow Lark" Written across it in a flourish. Along with it a second box emerged as well, with my host's own full name written on the front.

Meadow Lark was silent, "Dad..."

Mr. Breeze approached, "It's still not to late my daughter. Please, I urge you to get discharged and return to home. Where you belong."

The daughter looked away from the father, before sighing, and hugging the father, "I'm sorry father, but I think I can make a difference to help end this war. Before these would ever be needed to be used, hopefully."

The fathers gaze softened, softer he said, "You'll succeed. A Crinkle never fails."

The daughter looked back to the father, just in time as he hugged her, and the memory ended, soon after, feeling myself return to my body once again.

When I came to, my pipbuck was beeping the final few minutes of the Razor Hail at me, spraying its noise until I hit the mute button. Checking around, I found no evidence of the Stable-Tec boxes, which lead me to believe that some scavenger either took the pipbucks before I got here, or that they had been taken elsewhere before the bombs dropped. Judging from the skeleton at the desk, however, it seemed that Mr. Breeze hadn't survived. A mildly disturbing prospect indeed that I decided to ignore. Quietly I put the memory orbs back in the cracked safe, and shut it. Perhaps one day someone else would see them and put some additional value into their lore, but right now I honestly had no real reason to take them, as breathe taking as it was to see Equestria before its devastation was, the implications and knowledge stored in them was a bit too bleak for my tastes. A funeral and a memento between two ponies I never knew, these deserved to stay where they belonged in the safe. Where they would be safe from harm.

I made my way back downstairs, Cait was still messing with Scrapyard but Grey was curious, "Where have you been?"

"Searching around upstairs, got a surprise magic lesson from Roggar, and viewed some memory orbs I found up there." I elaborated in response.

"A magic lesson eh? About time."

"Yeah, was wondering when he would come back as well." I nodded, the sensations from the lesson still felt in my horn and forehead, I was going to certainly practice as much as I could in the coming weeks to refamiliarize myself with my own magic.

After a moment of silence, Grey asked, "How'd it go?"

"Alright, have to relearn everything from the ground up... still. Glad we have a stock of healing supplies." I said, nodding to the few kits of potions and bandages we had in our kits.

One of our bags were filled with rad-away, it turned out. In preparations for any heavily irradiated areas we would find. My wings seemed to slowly shed the radiation as mild light. They would glow brighter the worse, and more irradiated I got. It would probably slow if not halt radiation I got from the rumored irradiated snowfall. Cait's own armor would also mitigate the effects of the liquid, having been inbuilt with a number of magical reinforcements, which included protecting the wearer from outside substances. So Grey took it upon himself to carry the dozens of baggies in one of his own bags, whose inner walls were lined with harder materials in case of gun fire and other events.

The four of us, waited until the razor hail halted and prepared to leave. already packed up and carrying my bags, I took the time instead to carefully to fly the previously desecrated memorial to Surprise, the razor hail having done its job of ripping the blood and mangled remain of corpses off the statue and spreading them upon the ground. Blanching slightly, I looked to the faded inscriptions, a few words written upon the plaque, whose faded lines were temporarily made visible once again by the run off of blood from the dripping statue.

Curiously, between fractures of broken stone around the phrase was segments of rock that had fallen away, revealing a bit of metal beneath. Gingerly I lifted the plaque off, and set it to the side, and wiped away the broken stones, revealing a metal case with two keyholes, spots of rust covering it where water had slipped in between broken cracks of the rocks that held the statue.

Recalling the keys from earlier, I took them out and clicked them into place, reaching for the magic of my horn to turn one with a tendril of shadow, and the other with my mouth. The small action taking a mild amount of effort on my part. Pressing force against a surface took effort, far more than merely physically grasping an object with my mouth, but it still manageable. The lid came sliding off with a pop and crash as it hit the ground, but within, the contents did not disappoint.

Inside, there was another Memory Orb, a few preserved pictures of Surprise and her friends, and a Statuette of Surprise as well. Quietly, I collected the first and last one. Placing the orb in my bag, and reading the small words written upon its base, 'Sneak and SURPRISE!' The mini statue itself had a wide smile, standing on her forelegs, and with outstretched front hooves raised to the sky. As if it were to be surrounded with confetti as almost life like eyes beamed with joy. Slowly I placed it with my statuette of Rose Luck, feeling a bit downcast as well as delighted from the mixed feeling of knowing how another ponies life had ended, and delighted that the small statue of Rose Luck was no longer alone.

Slowly we trotted on to the distant Steel Ranger outpost, Cait leading the way, ever the beacon of cheerfulness in the wide weary wasteland. Scrapyard having already bounded far ahead of us to the future. Bringing up the rear, was Grey and myself, our watchful eyes scanning for the ever present dangers the irradiated world provided.

Xp Footnote: 70% left until level up.

Vanhoover Collection 2/?: Sneak and Surprise!: A statuette of a very sneaky Pegasus pony, who was the best friend to Rose Luck. This statuette seems to contain the nature of the pegasus, as it adds a ten point boost to sneak while in your inventory. Just what happened to this group of friends?

Next Chapter: Chapter 36: Cold Shoulders Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 11 Minutes