I sat dumbfounded as I stared ahead. I remember struggling to fight through the darkness in my last dream, and reaching out for a small light. But I woke up as soon as I touched it. Seriously I need to talk to a smart pony about these dreams this is starting to get really weird.

In front of me was the most beautiful display of lights I had ever seen. There were more than I could ever count, all just floating in the darkness around us. Some were closer together than others, and as I watched some disappeared and other new ones appeared out of nowhere.

I felt something nudge me forward and I turned to see the two lights from the other dreams behind me. The first one sat patiently but the second nudged me again, trying to get me to walk towards the other lights. With a sigh I turned and took a step towards the closest light.

Just like before every step I took hurt more than the last, and the sight of Desert Springs grew farther and farther away. I really hoped this wouldn't become a recurring dream, it was bad enough feeling like I was becoming less and less likely to ever go home. Actually seeing it was so much worse...

"That bitch!"

Jeez did he have to yell so loudly? It's still dark outside!

"Calm down the others are still sleeping."

Yeah you tell em'!

"Calm down? She's threatening to throw you all back into the wasteland!" Oh boy... I stretched my aching legs and rolled over in my bed. It was still dark but I could see the purple filly from last night laying in the bed across from me. She was awake but I could see the glint of tears marring her brilliant eyes.

"What's wrong?" I kept my voice at a low whisper so I wouldn't wake up the other sleeping kids in the room.

"I don't like it when they fight. I just want everypony to be nice and get along." You and me both...

I crawled out of bed and got unsteadily to my hooves. I was still about as shaky as a paper bag in a sandstorm but at least I could walk on my own. Sort of...

After nearly falling twice I made the journey of a whole six feet to Geode's bed and hugged the filly close. Unlike yesterday she didn't seem scared at all, maybe she didn't like the sight of blood? "Don't worry I'm going to march right in there and make them be nice. "

She let go of the hug and looked me up and down. "You? You don't look like you could make a sprite bot be nice."

I took a step back and looked myself over. I was a total wreck, covered in bruises and scratches. (And let's not forget the recent bout of mane and tail loss...) "Okay so I may not look scary but trust me I can sound pretty scary when I want to."

She crossed her legs over her chest. "Prove it."

I smirked as I stretched my legs. "How?" It didn't matter what happened next. I already distracted her from what was making her sad so I considered this mission a success.

She smiled the biggest smile I could imagine. "I dare you to walk in there and roar like a manticore!"

Oh it's on now, I've been officially dared. That's the most sacred bond there is. No way I can back out now. "Deal. But if I do it and scare them then you have to do something for me."

"Oh yeah? What?"

I leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "You have to help me fix my mane and tail so I can look as pretty as you. Deal?"

She tapped her chin for a moment as she examined my mane. "Yeah I guess I can do that. Name's Geode." She spit on her hoof and held it out.

"Updraft." I did the same and with a hoof bump our pact was sealed for life. With a grin I crept out of the room and back into the hallway. I could still hear Quick Wick arguing with Graphite.

"... Still won't be enough."

"Then I'll just have to work harder."

"You're already working harder, and so is Pyrite."

"Then we'll work even harder if we have to. But don't go there please, no pony ever comes back."

"I don't have a choice! We can't keep doing this Graphite. Just barely scraping by, having just enough food to keep the kids going... It's no way for a kid to live you know that as much as anyone."

"Then we'll just have to think of something else. But you can't go there, we need you- AHH!"

I jumped around the corner and gave my fiercest roar, hoping to sound scarier than a kitten at least. It worked and the room was filled with two filly-like screams. I broke out laughing as I saw the older buck jump into the hooves of Graphite, only for him to dump the blue pony on the floor once he saw me.

"What's the big idea scaring me like that, I thought you were supposed to be too injured to move or something." Graphite huffed as he walked to a corner of the room and sat down on the couch he laid me on last night.

"Yeah come on after I bathed you and everything..."

Graphite's face almost turned as red as mine did. "Wait what?"

I sat down and shook my head furiously. "Nothing don't worry about it. I'm actually feeling much better now thank you very much. But what's all the fuss about? You two were making Geode cry you know..."

Graphite sighed and walked into the hall, presumably to find a cute purple filly. The other buck sat at a table and started counting a small pile of caps. "No matter how many times I count this it just doesn't seem to get any bigger."

"I know the feeling." I took a seat across from him. Maybe I could help? I didn't have too many caps but every bit helps. I turned to reach into my- "That bitch!"

He almost jumped out of his seat. "What is it?"

"She stole my bags! That unicorn from yesterday took everything I had!" Oh now I was really mad. I even had my wingblades and knives in there! At least Finder still has my books... I hope.

"Well on the bright side at least you're not the only one broke at this table. We have 129 caps all together, and Olivine wants 300 for rent this time. If I can't scrounge up the other 171 caps in two days we won't even have a place to stay..."

"She'd really just kick you out like that? Even the kids?" My own problems can wait, this is seriously messed up.

He scowled as he scooped the caps up and dropped them into a brown sack. "She's been looking for an excuse to get rid of us ever since I started this orphanage. She hates kids and everyone who likes them. Bitter old hag."

"So where's this place you want to go to get the money?"

"The old crater to the north, you guys passed it on your way here. During the war they built a whole town out there, the first stable too. Then they blew it all up with a stolen Balefire bomb to see the results. Of course the stable survived which became the biggest Equestrian 'fuck you' to the zebras since the war started. But even though the rest of the town got wiped out rumors say there's still a ton of loot if you can stand the radiation."

"Then why hasn't anyone come back?" I had a few guesses why.

"Who knows, no one's lived to talk about it. But it's a chance I'm willing to take, even if I die at least I tried to do what's right for these kids."

"Nope."

He looked confused at my reply. "What do you mean, 'nope'?"

"Exactly what I said. You're going to stay here and make sure all these kids have somepony here to take care of them." I crossed my hooves to accompany my point.

"And do what, just pretend everything will be fine? I can't afford to wait Updraft this is too important!"

"I'll go to the crater with Finder and see what we can come up with. We've been through a place like that before and I think we'll have a better chance of finding something good than you would by yourself.

"Well I'm coming with you no way I'm going to let you risk your lives like that without me coming along too."

"Nope."

By now his eye was twitching. He shook his head and adopted a smirk. "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. How are you going to stop me?"

I grinned and shouted across the room. "Hey kids Mr. Quick needs a really big hug to remind him how much you love him. I wonder who can give him the biggest hug?" As soon as I said that almost a dozen colts and fillies ran out of the hallway and tackled the poor buck to the floor, smothering him with laughter and hugs.

Graphite emerged from the hallway with Geode on his back, and he motioned me to follow him through the front door. Behind us I could hear the desperate cries for help coming from Quick. He deserved it.

No sooner had we left the front door that a familiar earth pony mare greeted us. "Good morning sweetie did you have a fun time?" She hugged Geode before letting the filly climb on her back.

"Sure did momma and look I made a new friend too! She's super awesome and she roared like a manticore this morning and made Graphite and Mr. Quick scream! It was so cool!" They both laughed as she told her story.

"Oh is that so? Well what's your new friend's name?" She looked up and finally noticed me standing off to the side with a sheepish smile. It looked like her heart stopped when she saw me and her smile immediately faded.

"Umm hi, name's Updraft it's a pleasure to meet you. Geode is a sweet filly, it was fun spending time with her."

She didn't respond for several moments. And when she did it certainly surprised everypony. "My name is Sapphire, a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm sorry Graphite would you mind dropping Geode off at the Oasis on your way to the mine? I just remembered there's something I need to do."

"Oh uhh sure I guess. Come on Geode your mom's got work to do and so do we."

She smiled and hopped down next to me. "That's right! We have to work super hard so next month Updraft won't have to go to the crater again! Come on sidekick!" She galloped down the street with Graphite racing to catch up.

"Hey come on Geode slow down!"

Sapphire glanced at me one last time before running back into town. Well guess I'd better start looking for Finder so I can tell him we have another deathtrap to visit. I must have walked across the town four times before I heard him shouting my name.

"Updraft! There you are I've been looking all over for you!" He climbed down from the top of a collapsing building before stopping just short of hugging me. His relieved expression quickly turned to anger as he looked at me. "Who did this."

"Doesn't matter." I sternly said, not that he seemed to care.

He kicked an empty Sparkle Cola~ bottle laying at his hooves as he shouted. "Like hell it doesn't Updraft! You can't keep doing this, stop protecting ponies when all they do is hurt others! You felt bad about raiders and slavers getting killed, then you wouldn't even kill any of the hellhounds that were trying to kill us. And now this? Some ponies are just bad Updraft, and they don't deserve kindness from anypony. Much less from the pony they're hurting!"

"I don't care! I don't care how much they hurt me or how bad they are. Maybe they don't deserve it but that's what makes us good ponies isn't it? That no matter how much it hurts we still do the right thing, we still show them kindness and love and sometimes even completely forgive them. If all you ever do is kill ponies you think are bad then the wasteland will never get any better!"

We stood there and stared at each other for several more moments before a third voice came from behind me. "Excuse me? Not to be rude but I have something for you."

I turned to see Sapphire standing at the front of the small crowd that had gathered around us. Celestia did these ponies just not have anything better to do than eavesdrop?

She walked up to me and set a familiar brown leather bag at my hooves. "I'm sorry they already stole the caps and food you had, and they sold your knives to the general store down the street. But I managed to get them back for you."

I looked through my bag and sure enough nearly everything was still there. "What about my wingblades?" I was afraid of what her answer might be.

She frowned and pulled a broken, mangled mess out of her bag. "I'm sorry I found them like this... I-"

I cut her off with a hug as tears formed in my eyes. "Thank you. This means so much to me." Reluctantly she hugged me back.

After a moment we separated and I stuffed the broken remains of my wingblades back into my bags. Maybe I could fix them later? "Finder this is Sapphire, one of the nice ponies you were asking about earlier."

I stared at him sternly as I dared him to do anything mean to her. "Nice to meet you." He said through grit teeth.

Sapphire began rummaging through her bag again. "I had one more thing to give you... here." She held out an extra strength restoration potion. "It cost me a small fortune but I think you deserve to have it."

I stared at it with childlike wonder. "Whoa where did you find that? I mean I've heard stories about those but I've never actually seen one before." Finder snickered behind a hoof. "Oh shut up not all of us have been traveling around the wasteland since we were born."

"I bought it off of a caravan a long time ago. Can you do me one favor though? Tell me what it tastes like, I've heard that they taste like pineapples."

I took a deep breath and drank the whole potion, taking a moment to savor the taste. I immediately felt the effects, my aching joints and muscles feeling better than before I left Desert Springs. The scratches and bruises disappeared too! I flapped my wings and laughed as they felt better than they had in weeks!

I did a backflip into the air and soared over the townsponies below. Oh how I missed the feeling of the wind under my wings. After doing a few tricks I landed next to Sapphire and gave her another hug.

"I don't know what pineapples taste like but that tasted amazing. Thank you so much for this!" I turned to Finder and gave him a hug too for good measure. "I feel better than ever! Like I could take on a whole army of Raiders. A whole pack of hellhounds! Even-"

"I don't want to go in there!"

Finder pushed me off of him and held me away with a hoof. "This was your idea. Besides what happened to all that big talk earlier huh?"

We were standing on a hill overlooking The Crater and the surrounding ruins. Nearly every building had completely collapsed and there was nothing but rubble left in the crater itself. The whole place glowed a sickly green and to my dismay there were even a few places in the crater that still had the green fire burning.

"I didn't say anything about feeling like I could take on a giant burning crater! It's still glowing two hundred years later! I say we go back and find this Olivine pony, maybe we can make some kind of deal."

"Oh come on you sissy where's your sense of adventure?" He passed me a few doses of Rad-X and RadAway before taking some and trotting down the hill. To certain death I'm sure.

"Probably back in Desert Springs with my common sense!" I yelled before taking one of the nasty Rad-X pills. Still tastes like chalk...

"Well why not." I flew after Finder and together we made our way into the ruined town. The outermost buildings were in much better shape than I thought they would have been. I mean don't get me wrong they were still totally destroyed, just a little less... destroyed. Don't judge me for my lack of vocabulary...

Since Finder was the one who actually had any experience with this sort of work I mostly just took him things and he told me to keep it or not. There were a lot of "not's". After searching through a couple of the houses Finder decided we weren't going to find much more than scrap electronics unless we went further into the city to the bigger houses.

"Why do I have to carry everything anyways?" Seriously I had two full bags of scrap electronics, a bag of scrap metal, and three more that were yet to be filled.

"Well since you have no idea what anything is worth out here, all you can do to help is carry stuff so I won't get slowed down. Or do you just want to spend more time here?" He asked as he sipped down a second RadAway.

I shook my head as I drank another one as well. "No I'd rather we get out of here as soon as we can."

He smirked before swatting me with a stick. "Good. Now onward mule!" I think I liked it more when he was too nervous around me to even say hi in the mornings without blushing…

As we continued our search I decided to ask my friend about something that was starting to bother me. “Hey Finder I’ve been wondering, what are you doing with my books? Griff said you were working on something for me.”

He looked up from under a thoroughly destroyed bookcase, a copy of Equestrian Army today “The battle saddles of the past, present, and future!” in his mouth before he dropped it into a leather bag at his hooves. “Well I figured since you’re out here helping me, I might as well try and help you too. So I’ve been doing a bunch of reading trying to figure out how your magic works.”

Oh. Well I don’t have a clue what he could find that I hadn’t already since my books barely cover the subject. “So did you figure anything out? Because I’m pretty much stuck where I am.”

I watched in fascination as he tore apart an old broken terminal, relieving it of any parts that may still be functional. “I think so. In the training book it talks about the three kinds of magic right? Arcana for unicorns, Endura for earth ponies, and Empatha for pegasi.”

I nodded and followed him into the next room. He flipped the light switch and surprisingly the single bulb in the ceiling flickered to life. I flew up to retrieve it as he continued.

“Okay so it doesn’t really say this exactly, but I think magic works in two ways. Actively, and passively. My dad sorta talked to me about this with unicorn magic too. He said a unicorn can focus and work really hard to learn how to do all kinds of magic, but some magic just comes kinda naturally to them. Easy stuff like levitation and their special talent comes naturally he said, and as they get older they don’t even have to think about it to do it.”

“It’s the same for a pegasus too right? I mean you use magic to help you fly. That’s why they had flight schools in old Equestria, was to help pegasi learn to fly. But you figured it out on your own eventually, without anyone to teach you how.”

I wanted to argue his definition of flying since I’ve only been able to really fly once, and that was because of the adrenaline rush you get when you’re being chased by a pack of hellhounds… “I still don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“I was just making sure you knew about the magic that’s inside everypony, not just unicorns like most think. Okay so in the soldier's training manual you have, it lists three kinds of magic?”

“I know about that already. Arcana for unicorns, Endura for earth ponies. and Empatha for pegasi.” I hopped through a broken window into the front room of what once had been a hardware store. technically we were on the inside of the building, though it no longer had a roof or a front wall.

After searching the rubble Finder shook his head and we moved on. “Guess they didn’t bother to stock the stores before they blew them up. Anyways I looked through your translator and couldn’t come up with anything that matched Empatha.”

“Well yeah I know. Hence why I’m stuck.” I pouted as we walked across the ‘street’ and into another building. This one was in much better condition, though it was still missing most of one wall.

“Jackpot!” Finder shouted as he disappeared behind a large wooden counter. Moments later he came back up hauling a mostly intact terminal, setting it on the desk. He started tapping away at it as he continued his lecture. “So I didn’t find anything that matched Empatha, but I found something that’s pretty close. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with how your magic works too.”

That was a surprise. I’ve been trying to figure this out for years and barely figured anything out. Guess that’s why he’s named Finder. “So turns out they don’t have any words that translate to our word, emotion. But Empatha comes the closest so I think it may have something to do with it.”

I walked over to watch him more closely as he tore the terminal apart piece by piece.“Emotions? But that doesn’t make any sense. All the unicorns I’ve talked to say you have to keep your mind calm and focused to do magic.”

He smirked and smacked me on the forehead. “Not all magic works the same remember? There’s three types. Why can’t they all work differently?” After a moment of silence from me he went back to taking apart the terminal and putting the valuable pieces into one of our bags. “Have you ever thought about your emotions when you do your magic stuff? I don’t know, try getting angry or something next time. See what happens.”
We exited the remains of the old grocery store and walked across the street to an open lot across the street. I barely made it halfway across the lot before I started feeling lightheaded. "Hey Finder does radiation normally make your vision start fading?"

He seemed to have trouble focusing like I did. "No this isn't from the radiation..." He looked at a nearby sign and his eyes went wide. "Gas! Updraft we need to-"

I had already collapsed under the weight of what we looted. I looked over at Finder with hazy eyes as he collapsed a few pony-lengths from me. Silly pony if you leave your tongue hanging out like that you'll wake up with a mouth full of dirt...

My head throbbed as my eyes were met with bright lights all around me. "Ow... Where are we?" I blinked several times to clear my vision. When the room came into focus this definitely wasn't the same place where I fell asleep.

I was laying in a pristinely clean medical bed, the surrounding room indicating some kind of hospital. This whole place was clean and white! Like never even seen dirt before super white! "Okay this is weird..."

I looked down to make sure I was still intact... Legs and hooves? Check. Wings... check. Head? I giggled at my own antics. Check, obviously. "Okay so I'm unharmed and all alone in some kind of creepy hospital room. My stuff is all gone and I have no idea where Finder is. Now what?"

The door slid into the ceiling (okay now that was pretty cool.) and in walked a green unicorn buck wearing a white jacket. I don't know what exactly but something about his appearance just seemed off...

"You know you really shouldn't talk to yourself so much, I have not even begun your mental evaluation and I am already worried." He set a clipboard down on a table before stepping next to the bed. "Alright you can sit up slowly but don't push yourself. After the surgery I am not sure how well your body can support itself yet."

Wait...surgery? I jumped from the bed and immediately grabbed a scalpel from a tray nearby. "What do you mean surgery? Who are you? What did you do to me!?" I screamed as I stared at him.

He barely even reacted, all he did was write something on the clipboard. "Alright so your body can handle itself, good to know. Now calm down and take a seat so we can talk in a civilized manner."

He stared at me expectantly until I relented and sat back down on the bed. I kept the scalpel though just in case. "Now as for your first question, I am going to blame that on anxiety and hope you are educated enough to know what a surgery is. My name is Doctor Green Hoof, and yes I am a ghoul. I have been practicing medicine for two-hundred and thirty-five years, so yes I have a bit of practice."

"You don't look like a ghoul." I'd never seen one myself but I knew they didn't look like normal ponies.

"I will take that as a compliment and credit science for its results. As for your third question I gave you another chance at life. When I found you and your friend outside you were both unconscious, the work of the natural gas leaks in the area I presume?" He waited for me to nod before continuing.

"Typical. You were suffering from extreme radiation poisoning and by the time I got you back here to the medical bay you were basically dead already. So I did for you what I have done for so many others who tried to wander outside without the proper equipment."

I was that bad? But how could he have saved me... "You see during the war I was one of the few doctors specialized in radiation poisoning and how to cure it. However my research was held back because the ministry mare did not approve of my methods. Since the bombs fell I have had no one to tell me how to conduct my experiments, but progress has been slow due to a lack of willing subjects."

He put this cold thing against my back and told me to take deep breaths as he continued. "Finally about a year ago I made a breakthrough with a patient, I was finally able to save a pony from the final stages of radiation sickness. However the surgery left him too weak to fight off a mild cold so he died shortly after. And now here you are, the first patient to not only be cured from such a high level of radiation without suffering permanent harm, but also strong enough to hold your own. I say the surgery was a success."

He put the weird tool back around his neck and marked a few more things on his clipboard. "However there are a few things you will need to know about the new you."

Oh no... "And what exactly does that mean?" I asked as I grit my teeth.

"Nothing too serious, but if you categorize yourself as a ghoul now you will not be entirely incorrect."

What.

"Do not worry your body is not going to start falling apart or anything like that, but in order to cure the radiation sickness I had to... alter the way it affects your body."

He picked the clipboard up and flipped a couple of pages. "Let's see... It says radiation is likely to regenerate injuries in the patient unless it is encountered in overwhelming quantities such as a direct blast from a radiation emitting explosive. Other side effects include nausea for several hours after surgery, mild headache for several hours after surgery, an extreme allergic reaction to strawberries..."

He stopped and scratched his chin. "Strange. Anyways, a negative reaction to RadAway and Rad-X is anticipated and it is recommended that the patient avoid taking them at any time, a sterile reproductive system, an extreme dislike for pop music, a-"

"Whoa whoa whoa! What was that about being sterile?" Nonono please don't mean what I think you mean...

"Yes one of the effects I am afraid is completely unavoidable with this kind of operation is the complete sterility of the patient. Meaning the patients will never be able to have offspring. If that's a problem I am sorry but there is no taking it back."

"You- you mean I..." My eyes filled up with tears as it sank in. I never thought too much about having kids really, but the fact that no matter what I can never have them now... "Fix it."

"Pardon?" He looked up from his clipboard with almost no interest.

"I said fix it. Do whatever you have to do to fix it I don't care."

"As I said before there are no take backs. What is done is-"

I jumped at him and held the scalpel to his neck. "Fix it! Find a way to reverse the effects or something I don't care!"

With a strong telekinetic shove he pushed me back onto the bed and took the scalpel away. "And I said it is impossible! Even if you were to somehow have kids after you took in that much radiation they would not turn out right anyways! Get over yourself, you are alive and that is all I can do for you."

He stormed through the door and it closed behind him with a quiet hiss. I wanted to be angry at him for taking something like that from me without my permission. I wanted to storm out of here and cause as much trouble on the way that I could. In the end all I could do is curl up in a ball and cry. Cry until my eyes ran out of tears and all I could do was stare at a wall. It just wasn't fair, why me? What did I do to have that taken away from me?

The door opened and the doctor walked in, a small pink robot hovering next to him. It was round with multiple arms coming out from the bottom. To my surprise it actually spoke with a tinny female voice. "Now tell her you're sorry for being so insensitive."

He snorted and again set a clipboard down on the table. "I will do no such thing. Maybe if she would stop being so emotional this would not. bother her so much. Now sit up I need to do one more checkup before you can leave."

I groaned and curled up even tighter. I didn't want to sit up, or to leave, or... anything really. All I wanted to do was wake up from this horrible dream.

He sighed and forced me to sit up with his magic. "Stop being so difficult. If you will cooperate then you and your friend can leave sooner and get out of my mane." He put that weird tool in his ears again and pressed the other part against my back.

He may be able to force me to sit up but he can't make me take deep breaths! He put the tool back around his neck and took a small stick out of his coat pocket. "Now open wide and say ahh."

"Nuh-uh." I shook my head and crossed my hooves. If he wanted me to cooperate he was going to have to say sorry first.

"Just do it I have better things to do than sit here and argue with you. I don't have time for this!"

"Not until you say sorry."

He broke the stick with his magic and threw it on the ground. "Fuck it! Eve3 finish the rest of the check up I don't have the patience to deal with these children. Tie her down or use anesthetic if you have to I don't care anymore." He stormed out of the room with a scowl. It probably didn't have the effect he wanted it to since he couldn't slam the door behind him and instead it closed with a quiet hiss.

I waited a few seconds before I started laughing. Oddly enough even the weird floating robot laughed with me, in it's own creepy way. "Don't mind him he's always had quite the temper."

"Has he always acted like someone shoved a pinecone under his tail?" Yes! I've been wanting to use that line ever since I found a book about trees.

Again the robot laughed before floating across the room and opening a cabinet. "I'm afraid so, he's always cared more about the science than the patients. That's the reason why ministry mare Fluttershy intervened and stopped quite a few of his projects before anypony got hurt."

She (it would be rude to call her an 'it' right?) hovered back to my bed holding another stick in a mechanical arm. "Now let's try this again shall we? Please open wide for the train and say ahh."

I still wasn't thrilled about having a robot shove a stick in my mouth but at least she asked nicely. I almost choked on it twice before she gave up and decided nothing was wrong. What was she even trying to see in there, my lungs?

"Okay this might hurt a little so I'm going to count to three. One, two!" I yelped as she plucked a feather out of my wing.

"Ow! I thought you said three? And what's the big idea pulling a pony's feathers out like that huh?" I pulled my wing close and rubbed the area that she plucked the feather from. At least it wasn't one of my primaries...

"I needed to test your nervous system and your reaction to pain. My data indicates the best way to do this to a pegasus is to pluck a feather from their wing. However a footnote indicated that most pegasi have very negative reactions to this so I didn't inform you of my actions, nor did I count to three so you would have time to anticipate the pain."

Well I guess that all makes sense, but I still feel like I was wronged somehow... "Alright now for this one I just need you to sit still, even though this might tickle a little." Wait what is she doing with that feather-

I giggled as she rubbed my feather over my sides. "Hey cut it out! Come on that tickles!" She seemed to enjoy making me suffer until I was finally able to rip the feather from her grasp. Tickling a pony with her own feather, that's just messed up.

"Your nervous system seems to be in good health and completely unaffected by the surgery. Congratulations you are in good and stable health. Now I must recommend that you take it easy for a day at least and as always be sure to eat healthy and get proper exercise."

"Wait so I can go now?" Well that was easy.

"Not exactly. But you do get a prize for being such a good filly so far!"

"Hey I'm not a- lollipop!" Don't judge me, she can call me a filly all day as long as she keeps giving me sugary deliciousness. "What else do I have to do?"

I followed the pink robot to the door and she opened it with a touch of a button, leading me out into a large circular room that was just as clean as my hospital room. In all directions other rooms similar to mine branched out from the 'rest atrium'. I followed her through another door and into a huge hallway.

In the hallway I saw several open doors that led to other circular rooms. This place is huge! "Excuse me Eve3?"

The pink robot spun around in the air. "Yes dear?"

Okay that was really creepy with that synthetic voice... "What is this place? I don't remember seeing a building this big when we were walking around outside."

"That's because this isn't a building. This is a Stable! The first built actually, it was designed to test out varying features and how well they would work full-scale. There are many features within this stable that won't be found in the others, and visa-versa."

"One such feature is the extensive medical and science bay. All Stables built after this one with two exceptions were built much smaller and therefore didn't need such a large medical center. Another feature of this Stable is the A.I. that helps runs the systems. This A.I. runs diagnostics on all Stable systems and helps the staff to troubleshoot problems. However the A.I. isn't nearly capable of running the Stable himself, that would require an enormous computer such as a Crusader Maneframe which my database says only Stable 32 was given."

We continued walking as I pretended to understand half of what she was talking about. "The most important role that Arty, that's just what we call him, has done in these past years is keep the intruders outside."

"Intruders? You mean there are ponies outside who know about what's in here?"

"Oh yes, anyone with access to a Stable-Tec database could find out what all is in here. Unfortunately that includes a group calling themselves the Steel Rangers. According to my database they are a religious group seeking to preserve as much wartime technology as they can."

Religious group? I don't think I'd call them that but some of them are definitely fanatical if what Finder told me was true. "How has Arty been keeping them out?" We finally reached the end of the hallway and turned left... Into another massive hallway. Great.

"Well first they tried to cut their way through the door. But after they remembered that this was the door that withstood a Balefire blast literally feet away they gave up on that stupid plan. Since then they've been trying to hack their way into the system to open the door remotely. Arty's been working non-stop to constantly change all of the sixty five digit access codes every .246 seconds."

I stopped to think about that. "That's fast isn't it?"

Eve3 laughed with that tinny voice and sent another shiver down my spine. "Honey Ministry Mare Twilight Sparkle and her top scientists could even think of that many numbers that fast, much less guess the correct ones in the proper order to gain access to the Stable systems."

Wow okay then smart A.I. is smart. "But isn't that just overkill then?"

"It has actually just barely kept us out of harm's way. The Rangers are very tenacious. They designed an automated program that runs algorithms to guess the number sequences with a 67.7723% accuracy rate. Meaning out of the sixty five digits they on average can get forty six of the correct numbers every time, and that number has only gone up in the last months. If I had to guess the hacking machine is fitted with a similar A.I. capable of learning Arty's patterns, and very quickly at that."

We continued through the maze of huge hallways and I decided they had to have had pegasi in mind when they made this place. Why else would they have made the hallways so tall? I started flying to keep my mind off of the boredom setting in. All the walls and rooms looked the same! They really could use some color besides grey in here...

"Fortunately the Rangers can't stay outside long enough to try and brute force hack the door open. They can't stay in that high concentration of radiation long enough."

"Just how bad is the radiation out there anyways? The doctor said I almost died from it."

"Stable sensors indicate radiation levels exceeding lethal amounts by 372% outside the door. And yes you and your friend were both very lucky to have survived. For some reason he seemed to be far less affected by the radiation than you did, the doctor is doing tests on his blood at the moment to see if there are any abnormalities."

"He's doing what to Finder? Where is he!?" Oh no you're not going to make my friend sterile too you creep.

"Well your friend is currently sitting in detention with Ad4m for trying to sneak around the Stable unsupervised. The doctor is currently in the science lab which we passed on our way here." By here she meant a massive room full of toys that would make Finder feint.

The sign over the door read Pipbuck Technician's Workshop and sweet Celestia was that an understatement. There were shelves loaded with Pipbucks and cabinets full of tools that do who knows what. The entire place was like a scavenger's wet dream. And here I was having no clue what any of this was actually worth.

"So why are we here exactly? What does this place have to do with my surgery?"

She floated to one of the cabinets and grabbed several tools with her mechanical arms before moving to one of the worktables. "The doctor needs to monitor your health over a much longer span of time than just a night to see the lasting effects of the surgery. It is also a well known fact that Pipbucks come with a very intricate and accurate health monitoring system."

"They do? Uhh I mean yeah everypony knows that..." Smooth.

"So in order to monitor your health for at least two months the doctor decided to give you a Pipbuck since we have so many extras laying around."

How generous of him. "And what if I don't want it?" I really didn't care for the looks, and wasn't looking forward to carrying around more dead weight.

Eve3 turned around and I could have sworn she canted in the air. "But these things are incredible! They have an Eyes Forward Sparkle, inventory sorter, Sparkle Automated Targeting System, health monitoring, radio and time options, auto mapping, and a whole bunch of customization options! This is like the greatest piece of technology ever made. Well except for me of course but that's besides the point." And there goes that creepy laugh again.

"Okay I don't know what any of that means so you might as well start from the top if you want me to wear that thing." I just don't see how a fancy clothing accessory can make that much of a difference.

"Oh you have no idea, let's start with the E.F.S."

So after she finished attaching the Pipbuck to my leg, a dozen lights flashed across my vision. I swatted at them for a moment until Eve3 told me to stop.This was going to take some getting used to... "Do you think you can give one to Finder too? It would make me feel a lot better about this whole trip if I wasn't the only pony getting cool stuff."

"I'm afraid not, Arty will already be upset that the doctor is giving you one. Sometimes he seems to forget who is in charge here."

"But if he's not in charge then who is?" I thought he was the only pony here. Maybe there are more crazy scientist doctors around here?

"Well actually Arty is since he's the only one with Stable-Tec clearance. But we like to let the doctor pretend he's in charge to make him feel more at home."

"So wait an A.I. is the one in charge around here? Is there any way I can talk to him then? I'd like to ask him a few questions." Starting with the medical staff and their lack of medical waivers before surgeries...

"I'm afraid not. Arty is very limited in what he can do for the Stable unlike a Crusader Maneframe or even most other A.I. He can only operate one system at a time and it requires his full attention. If he were to stop to talk with anyone right now the Rangers would get full access to the security systems in seconds."

We left the workroom and continued down the hall. My Pipbuck beeped and alerted me that we had entered the Vault 00 maintenance wing.
At my questioning look Eve3 explained, " Apparently when Stable Tec was getting their start they weren't sure what to call the stables. They decided against using the name 'Vaults' because it sounded too much like pony storage rather than a place for them to live out their lives happily." Well that wasn't what I was going to ask but that did answer a different question.

As we flew for a few more minutes I noticed a pair of green bars appear on the E.F.S. "Hey Eve3 green bars are friendly, red bars are bad right?"

"Not exactly, red bars are bad, green bars are non-hostile. This does not mean that they might not become hostile in the near future. Simply that it is unlikely that they will be hostile towards you. The Eyes Forward Sparkle has been known to discern hostile from non-hostile with a 99.83% accuracy, which surpassed all expectations prior to testing."

"You're just full of facts aren't you?"

"Well that's my job here in the Stable. I log and categorize as much data as possible for future review in order to help Stable Personnel make more informed decisions. Think of me as a portable library."

Oh think you’re smart stuff huh? "Alright then what were the names of Commander Hurricane's two children?"

"My data shows contradicting information but I can give you the answer, Typhoon and Cyclone, with 88.2% accuracy."

Curses! Alright you win this time... We flew in silence until we reached the Security Wing of the stable. Oh I just have to ask... "Hey Eve3 is there any chance I can look around in the armory?" The massive armored door had two turrets hanging from the ceiling to guard the entrance.

"I'm afraid I don't have access to the armory. Arty probably wouldn't you looking around but he's too busy at the moment." My Pipbuck beeped and the screen flashed a new entry. 'Sidequest added, Help Arty With the Steel Ranger Hackers'. Oh I like my new toy.

"Eve3! You gotta help me he won't listen to reason!" Yeah that sounds like something Finder does.

A blue robot similar to Eve3 hovered around a corner and grabbed her with it's (his!) arms. This one was much bigger than Eve3 and it's deep voice sounded much more natural.

"Ad4m what's the problem now? Why can't you keep a single pony locked up in detention?"

"It's impossible he keeps escaping! The first time he took the bed apart and used parts of it to take the door completely off it's hinges! I took the bed away and left him with just the sheets, but he managed to make a rope, pull himself up to the air vent, do who knows what to get that open, and I spent hours trying to find him and get him back here. It's only a matter of time before he does something else crazy you have to help me!"

"Come along miss it appears your friend is causing quite a ruckus without you." I laughed as I imagined Finder climbing a rope made from bedsheets to get to an air vent.

We rounded the corner into a small hallway and I had to duck to avoid a small laminate floor tile soaring through the air. It crashed into the wall behind me and hit a small button labeled 'door release' before falling to a pile of similar tiles.

Finder jumped through one of the now open cell doors with a cheer. "Aha! I told you I'd get out again! Don't worry Updraft I'm coming to resc- Oh hey Updraft what's up?"

Oh don't even try to play it cool now. "Rescue me? And who says I can't rescue myself huh?"

"I knew you'd get out on your own, but you probably did it by talking and a bunch of other boring stuff." Well I can't argue against that point. "So what's the deal we getting out of here or what? My mane's really starting to itch from all this radiation."

"I thought the Stables were built to keep that kind of stuff on the outside?" Again Eve3 had the answer.

"As I said this was the first Stable actually built, a prototype of sorts. The structure of the Stable was fully able of withstanding the blast of the Balefire Bomb but they weren't sure of the capabilities of the magical radiation. My data shows that after detonation radiation levels within the Stable exceeded lethal limits by 110%, and on the day of the sealing it was at 62% in the lower levels."

Well that explains why they never used this Stable, with that much radiation the only way anypony could live in here is if they wore a radsuit all day every day. "What about now?"

"In the upper levels the radiation has dropped to 5%, well within the bounds of safety provided you don't mind a drastically shortened lifespan. We are currently in the security wing which is on the second level and is at 15%. The maintenance level has stayed at 34% due to the reactor malfunctioning in recent years."

Fifteen percent? I think that's more than what we dealt with in Las Pegasus, why don't I even feel it?

"Oh yeah Updraft that's right the creepy doctor guy said you were like immune to radiation or something now! That's so cool!" Oh right that's why I don't feel it. And now I want to crawl up into a ball and cry again... "Hey are you alright? He didn't do anything else to you right?"

I can't tell him everything else, he did to me.. If he finds out about what all that surgery did to me he'll tear this place apart looking for doctor Green Hoof. "Well he also gave me this pretty sweet Pipbuck."

"No way let me see!" I almost fell on my face as he yanked my leg away. "Lucky, I've always wanted one of these but my dad wouldn't let me keep any of the ones we found. Said they're too valuable so we had to sell them."

"Sorry I asked but they won't give another one away. The only reason I got one is so the doctor can 'monitor my health', whatever that means."

Now that Finder and I were back together, we decided it was time to blow this popsicle stand. Ad4m and Eve3 led the way until we reached a massive door far bigger than the vault door in The Black 9.

Eve3 floated to a control panel and typed away at a terminal for nearly a minute. Finally a bunch of loud sirens started going off as Finder and I covered our ears. I could barely hear Ad4m talking right behind us.

"Now when the door is open you're going to have to move fast if you want to get out of here alive. There will be a staircase to your left, don't take that it's a deathtrap. Keep running down the tunnel until you see an old skywagon. Right after you pass that there will be a hole you can run through to get to the surface."

Eve3 flew next to me as Finder began taking Rad-X and RadAway. "Remember to wash behind your ears and always drink lots of water while you're out in the sun. Oh and don't talk to strangers."

A massive arm swung down from the ceiling and the noise drowned out whatever else she was trying to say. It screwed into the door and with a groan the door pulled inwards before rolling to the side.. Huh, what a strange way to open a door.

We sprinted into the dark tunnel while Eve3 shouted something behind us about writing letters. I barely even noticed the radiation but Finder already looked like he was about to collapse. I threw him over my back and took to the air, soaring past the staircase while looking for a skywagon.

Why did ponies have to build such big tunnels! I could hear Finder's choked coughs behind me. I panicked and almost missed the wagon, but pulling off a hairpin turn I managed to make it through the hole.

As soon as we were outside We were thrown to the ground by the extreme winds. The sandstorm was right on top of us and I had to shield my eyes from the dirt. Sliding Finder over my back I did my best to navigate away from the center of town. We made it to the smaller houses on the outskirts of town and I decided that was far enough.

There was still some radiation this far out but Finder was just going to have to deal with it. No way we would make it much farther out there in that storm. I forced the door open to one of the houses and closed it behind me. "Hey... Updraft?"

Goddesses he sounded miserable. "Yeah?" I gently set him down on an old sofa. He immediately leaned over the back and vomited. Oh he's really not in good shape. I passed him half of my radiation supplies and he quickly downed another RadAway.

"Howcome you're glowing?" I was wondering why I could see in here so clearly... Wait a minute he didn't say anything about me lighting up like a glowstick!

I sighed and walked to the door. "I'm sure it's just the radiation. I probably shouldn't be in the same room as you right now... or building for that matter.”

"Oh okay..." He sounded terrible, I can't help but feel like it's partially my fault. If I had been a little faster, or smarter, or... something then maybe he wouldn't be this bad. "Where are you going then?"

"I'll be just outside if you need me." With a smile I fought the wind to open and close the door again. I wish Sandy were here, she always remembered to pack an extra pair of goggles in case a sandstorm hit. I reached into my saddlebags and pulled out an old leather coat that I bought a while back.

Pulling it around me tightly I sat by the door for nearly an hour before I decided to check up on Finder. Looking through one of the dirty windows I could barely make out his sleeping form on the sofa. Good sleep is probably just what he needs.

I flicked my ears as I heard something on the wind. Gunshots, and a lot of them. At least the storm is starting to die down, I could already see for several blocks. I wandered about a hundred feet north of town before I heard shouting. I couldn't make out what they were saying but they definitely sounded like they were in trouble. I waited until they got close enough to hear me.

"Don't shoot I'm friendly! Follow me!" I slowly made my way back to town and led them to the first intact house I saw hoping it wasn't the same one Finder was in. I looked behind me to see if they were following me, and to my surprise they were Steel Rangers! One of them was in the same fancy armor I'd seen before with a minigun perched on each shoulder, but the other one was wearing some kind of robe.

I pushed the door open and motioned for them to go in first. The robed pony obliged but the other one stayed behind to see if we were followed. The orange unicorn collapsed in a puddle of blood and I rushed to her side.

She dug through her bag and levitated out a healing potion, downing it in one go. I dug through my bag and gave her another. "One won't be enough, drink this one too. Come on let's get you off the floor, no sense lying here in your own blood." After she finished the second potion I helped her walk to an old chair in the corner. One nice thing about the desert, the dry climate keeps old furniture from getting too gross.

"Get away from her you freak!" I laid the mare down and turned to face the steel ranger approaching from the doorway. He threw me aside like unwanted litter and stood between me and the injured pony. "I don't know what the fuck you are but you better leave now before I change my mind and decide to turn you into paste all over that wall!" I heard his two miniguns click and reload.

Wow protective much? "And stay out there until the ponies chasing you find me? I won't give you any trouble, just put those guns away and I'll stay all the way over here. By the way you two might want to take some RadAway soon this place has some pretty bad radiation. I should still have some if you need it."

"I don't give a fuck about radiation. Look you can either take your chances out there, or you can stay in here and die for sure. Make the smarter choice so I won't have to waste any more bullets."

"Leave her alone Leek. She saved us once already and now she's offering to share valuable supplies. If you do anything to hurt her then I'll never forgive you." She was having no trouble bandaging the bullet wound in her leg. I had a feeling it was something she's done many times before.

"Honey you can't be serious! Look at that thing it's glowing green!" Oh great, another bickering married couple...

"Hey I am not a thing! I'm a pony just like you." I stopped and thought about that for a second. "Okay maybe not just like you, but just because I'm a glowing radioactive pegasus doesn't mean I'm any less pony than you."

"Shut up this is a private conversation, it's none of your business." He turned his back on me to face his wife. That was just dismissive.

"Of course it's my business you're discussing whether or not to turn me into pony paint! Don't I at least get an opinion?"

"Not one that matters now shut up!"

"I like her, can we keep her?" The mare giggled while he pressed a hoof to the visor in his helmet.

The buck groaned and trotted to the door. "I can't deal with this right now. Stay and rest until this storm blows over. And you!” He pointed a hoof at me accusingly, causing me to take a step back. “You stay right where you are. If I come back in here and see you any closer to my wife you'll find out what it feel like to have your head filled with more holes than a vegetable strainer." His miniguns retracted into his armor as he stepped outside into the howling wind and closed the door behind him.

I sat still and turned to the mare laying on the chair. "What's a vegetable strainer?"

She broke out laughing and nearly fell on the floor. "I was about to ask the same thing. Name's Sunrise, like the sarsaparilla."

I walked over and shook her hoof. What? We've already established I'm terrible at following directions... "Updraft, nice to meet you."

"So... glowing radioactive pegasus?"

I laughed and stuffed my leather coat back in my bag. "The glowing radioactive part is a new development. Long story short Some crazy ghoul doctor did some kind of weird surgery to save my life, and now I'm basically a ghoul too."

"That's pretty awesome. That reminds me of the time I went to Hoofington to deliver a package to the Steel Rangers there, that place is full of augmented ponies and stuff. You should go sometime, it's not so bad if you don't mind the rain."

"Really? I heard that place is a deathtrap, that once you go it's super hard to leave again." I walked back across the room and sat on the floor in case grumpy-hooves came back.

"Yeah I guess, but what place isn't a deathtrap in the wasteland?" We both shared laughs as I pulled out my broken wingblades. Several of the scales were missing, and I only had about half of the pins left. At least the leather bindings were still in good shape... "What are those for?"

"They're wingblades. Well they used to be before somepony stole them and broke them to bits. I'm gonna try to put them back together but I'll need some good quality scrap metal and a lot of time."

"Will this do?" She levitated a small pile of metal over to me. It all looked in pretty good condition, some of it was even still shiny!

"Yeah that's perfect! How much?"

"One RadAway please." I pulled one of my three RadAways out and she levitated it to herself and started sipping on the orange grossness. Well at least I'll never have to drink that stuff or take Rad-X ever again...

"So what do you use those for?" She asked as she flicked some strands of her red mane out of her eyes. I envied her for having such an inconvenience.

I started sorting the scrap into piles based on what I could use it for. Digging through my bags I pulled out a small wooden box full of metal files and other tools.

"When I have to, I use them to fight with. But usually I just use my knives." I started filing down some of the smaller pieces of metal to use them for the new pins.

"Wait you use nothing but blades to fight with? Why not use guns they're way easier and safer. Plus you don't have to get right next to a pony to kill them. Knives and melee weapons are like what you use when you can't use a gun, not just because you don't want to..."

I shrugged and kept working. "I've just always liked a good knife more than any guns. Plus I've never shot one before so I doubt I'd be more safe with one." She looked at me like I was a ghost or something.

"You mean you've never used a gun before? How have you survived this long!?"

I thought about the raiders and slavers I fought and The Black 9... Las Pegasus and the fight with the hellhounds... "I ask myself that same question every day, but here I am." I shrugged and went back to my work.

She rolled over in the chair to face the wall. "Well you do that, I'm going to get some much needed sleep. Do keep it down will you?"

I finished making the pins, thirteen in total. After some work I also managed to salvage three of the damaged scales, meaning I only needed three more. Luckily the two featherknives at the end of each wingblade were untouched so I didn't have to replace those.

After about an hour the Steel Ranger buck came back inside. He didn't say anything as he walked across the room and sat next to his wife. I pretended to not notice him occasionally watching me as I shaped and sharpened the new scales from the scrap.

After about another hour I stood up to examine my work. It was always a pain to reattach all the scales since they all overlapped, but I've had plenty of practice taking these things apart and putting them back together.

After oiling the entire assembly I put all my tools away and strapped the blades on my wings. They fit as snug as a hug in winter and I couldn't help but smile as I looked at my reflection in a dusty old mirror.

"So you really use those pieces of crap?" I heard the buck snickering behind me.

"I'm just going to pretend you meant to say scrap and say yes. Not all of us have the privilege of wearing invincible armor with ridiculous firepower." I walked back to my corner and slung my bag over my back and securing it tightly. About time for me to go check up on Finder again.

"This armor isn't invincible, sometimes I think it's more trouble than it's worth out here. Do you have any idea how much sand get's in all these joints? This suit is even made to protect the wearer from minor radiation how the hell does sand even get in here?!"

"First world problems, go complain about it to all your rich friends." I pushed the door open and took a step outside. The wind was barely a breeze by now as I looked around to get my bearings. Let's see, according to my Pipbuck Finder should be in a house two hundred meters in front of me behind that mob of armed, angry looking ponies....

What.

I rushed back inside and slammed the door behind me for what little protection it could give. I tried to steady my breathing as I pressed my back against the door. Meanwhile the Ranger was sitting near his wife snickering.

"What happened, you see a Radroach and get scared?"

"You didn't happen to have a whole bunch of really nice ponies following you with guns that only want to give out free hugs did you?" A bullet blew threw the door a foot away from my head as I yelped and laid on the floor with my hooves on my head. My ears! That was just mean why would you do that to a pony?

"Alright we know you're in there, come on out!"

No Level Up.