Home. Home is where the heart is, they say. To me right now my home is where my hooves lay. It’s also where my friends are. No matter where we go, I feel like I am at home now that I have my friends beside me. As we head into uncertain territory, I feel like I can do anything, but at the same time I’m terrified. I’m terrified of what I will become when I transform into this… thing that I am evolving into.

I wonder how Twilight felt, as she was forced to watch the atrocities that Trixie committed as the Goddess. I wonder if Twilight wept for us, her children of sin and blood. The alicorn race may have never even deserved to exist, but yet here we are… trying to eke out our survival along with every other pony.

Were we really ever meant to be? Why are we even here at all?

A war zone. We had stepped into a war zone. Gunfire rained down all around us as we ran, pushing our way over into the next alleyway. An explosion rang out through the air, indicating the use of grenades and landmines as we tried to collect ourselves before continuing onward. I looked down at Violet and sighed. Maybe this was a bad idea after all, I thought as I peeked out of the alley. The coast was clear, for the moment at least.

We had decided that our first order of business would be to find any sort of friendly settlement where we could get information about the Minotaur. However, this is the Wasteland… and it had different plans for us. That’s how we ended up here in the southeast side of Chicacolt, running for our lives. The locals here were anything but friendly. We quickly found out that this area was the center of activity for a local gang war as we stepped right into the middle of a particularly bloody conflict between two sets of gangers. Of course an alicorn, a unicorn, and two earth ponies were much juicier conquests than each other. Naturally the two gangs laid down their arms for a bit to chase after us.

“Alright, let’s go while we still can. If we can keep going north, we should be able to lose them in the city!” I shouted as we ducked out of the alleyway and made our way up the silent street.

It was too quiet for its own good. Red blips surrounded us according to my E.F.S. Shit! I thought as we came upon the next street block. We were being cornered. This wasn’t just any old street gang. These gangers were smart. Being vastly outnumbered, we had opted to run and hopefully hide until the two gang groups resumed their warfare on each other. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t seem like that’s what they wanted. They were out for our blood.

Gunfire rang out in the distance as several gangers erupted from each side of the street, guns blazing and catching us by surprise. I spun around, dropping into E.S.A.T.S. and queuing up several bursts into the two gangers immediately behind me. Time fell back into sync as Stargazer took aim and let loose its payload. Bullets flew and struck home into their intended targets, tearing through barding and bone as the ponies they hit fell to the ground. A flare of silver fire behind me indicated that Violet had unleashed the fury of Thunder Flash as two more gangers, earth ponies by the looks of them, popped up from behind a row of overturned trash dumpsters and fired what appeared to be makeshift rifles at us. I grinned and tossed up my shield, deflecting the bullets away. Steeljack leaped into action and fired his rifle with a *crack*, the round tearing across the street and into the head of one of the new arrivals.

More blips showed up on my E.F.S. as we began to move. I looked up to see several gangers coming down fire escapes to our left, each one brandishing a rifle. What was quite off about these particular gangers was their attire. They looked like raiders, but each one was dressed in what appeared to be slick leather jackets. They brandished both melee weapons and regular firearms. The *fwhip* of a bullet tore past my face, narrowly missing as I turned and fired, taking down one of the gangers from the fire escape. Patch used the confusion and opportunity presented by the gangers’ focus on us and made a beeline for one of the other fire escapes, using the cover presented by the steel bars to hide and set up on it. I guess that decides it, I thought as I took a hard stance in the street and began charging up my horn. Violet and Steeljack fanned out on each side of me and began firing as the gangers approached. I heard the sharp and distinct bellow of Patch’s sniper rifle echo through the air as the green mare launched her own brand of death from the fire escape above. Her bullets ripped across into their targets, knocking down gangers like a shooting gallery.

“Do they not get the hint?” I shouted as I came out of E.S.A.T.S., firing Stargazer into another of the group of gangers.

The gangers were whooping and yelling in a crazed fashion. I got the sense that these particular members weren’t all too bright. However, they seemed to be smart enough at least to realize when they were outmatched in firepower. Either that or we killed the lot of them. The street was covered with our dirty work, dead bodies lying next to each other. The red blips on my E.F.S. slowly filtered away as we made our way up onto the next block, coming upon another quiet street. We stopped for a brief moment to catch our breath.

“I guess the Minotaur wasn’t kidding when he said that there was a gang war,” I said, panting hard at the workout I had just received. Don’t get me wrong, we alicorns are no stranger to physical activity. But even I know when I’ve been pushed too hard and too fast. I slumped down, groaning as I yanked out the map we had received from Nurse Care in Arlington.

“Any idea at all where we are?” I asked as Violet came over to inspect it with me.

She started looking over the map as I kept a close watch on my E.F.S., hoping for at least at some brief respite from the gang war that was tearing the streets apart.

“Not sure. This map doesn’t really say a whole lot about the city itself. Best as I can tell, we should be out of the south side of the city soon. I’m going to need to look at my book though to see if we can ---“ Violet began to say before she was cut off by Steeljack.

“Star, behind you!” I heard Steeljack shout as he leveled his rifle in my direction.

I ducked out of the way, hearing the sharp *crack* erupt from his weapon as his shot hit a unicorn mare that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind me. She had been leveling a combat shotgun right at the back of my neck. The mare’s eyes widened as Steeljack’s rifle struck true, taking her right in the chest and tearing through the supple cloth barding she was wearing. She slumped over, breathing heavily as she began to bleed all over the ground. Steeljack grunted and let loose another *crack*right at her head, ending her life in a splatter of gore before I could say anything. I gave him a short glare.

“Steeljack,” I said curtly. “What was that for? She could have given us some information.”

“She was raring up to shoot you in the back of the neck. These gangers won’t think twice about doing the same to you,” he said gruffly.

I felt my spine shiver for a moment as I considered the fact that he was right. These ponies wouldn’t give me a second chance. Did that really make it right though to respond in kind? Why all of a sudden was this feeling an issue for me? I was no stranger to killing raiders or ponies that were openly hostile to me. I had pretty much done the same to the gangers that just attacked us. So why all of a sudden was I so worried about this? My mind tried to process this for a few moments before I calmly nodded and sighed.

“Sorry, I should be thanking you I suppose for saving my life,” I said after a moment’s pause. Steeljack nodded in response. “You’re right. We should be more careful though, it seems that some of these gangers have access to PipBucks.”

I pointed at the mare’s leg, which had one of the hoofmachines locked onto it. An attachment had ejected from it. I picked it up and looked it. It was a used StealthBuck attachment, a device that hooked to a PipBuck for limited invisibility charges. I deposited it into my saddlebag, hoping it might be worth something in trade and began to check the rest of the body out for anything else salvageable. There wasn’t much. A few caps here or there and some more ammunition for her shotgun. What struck me as odd was the mare’s cutie mark. Bubbles adorned the unicorn’s flank like a bubble bath. It was almost sort of… cute. I briefly wondered what the mare’s special talent was besides sneaking up on ponies and trying to blast their heads off. I offered a silent prayer to Luna that the Goddesses allow her to make use of that good talent in the afterlife.

“We need to keep moving,” Violet said, looking around us warily as she pulled out her book on old town Chicacolt again. “If I’m right, there used to be an old city district somewhere around here. Maybe there’s still something there.”

She pointed off in a direction northwest of us. We started walking along, keeping our eyes on everything around us. Gunfire sounded in the distance. Maybe we had gotten lucky and the gangers resumed killing each other instead of trying to kill us. Somehow, I doubted it. An ever-present feeling of being watched hung over us as we trudged through the city street. I took a moment to notice a few things as we walked. Chicacolt was a surprisingly clean city. There wasn’t much rubble about like there was in Manehatten and Fillydelphia. What rubble there was appeared to be results of the gang wars that were ravaging the south side of the city and thus was relatively new rubble. I kept checking my E.F.S. every few seconds as we trotted along, the red blips having moved out of our range. They were replaced with a large number of yellow blips to the north of us. It seemed that our luck had paid up after all. I indicated this to Violet, who nodded in confirmation.

A few moments later we arrived at a makeshift gate that was guarded by several unicorns that appeared to be very bored. One of them chattered excitedly when they spotted us in a language I hadn’t heard before. I cocked my head at this as we approached the guards, who in turn brandished several strange-looking firearms our way.

“Halt! State your business!” The lead guard, a deep red unicorn stallion, said with a thick accent.

We held up our hooves indicating that we were friendly.

“Hello there!” I called out. “We’re friendly! We’re seeking shelter in your settlement and trade if you can provide it.”

The unicorn nodded and lowered his weapon. “You are travelers yes? Come through the gang zone?” he said as he opened the gate for us.

We nodded in unison.

The stallion grinned. “You lucky to be alive then. Gang wars have gotten much worse lately.”

We followed the stallion inside the small settlement, stepping completely into another world. The street was filled with paper lanterns that provided a soft and inviting light as we gazed in awe. I looked up at one and realized they were lit using magical fire. Numerous shops lined the street ranging from food vendors to more exotic items. Fillies and colts ran from sidewalk to sidewalk, playing silly games. The street itself was even clean! I turned to the stallion.

“What is this place?” I asked quietly.

The stallion laughed for a moment and then answered. “You are new to city. Welcome to Chi-Town. Please, make yourselves at home. The Falling Lotus is our inn. You will be able to make accommodations there,” he said pleasantly before disappearing back towards the gate.

We shrugged and began walking down the tiny street, taking in the atmosphere of the place. A tattered sign that read The Falling Lotus graced our eyes as we arrived on the corner of the next street block. As we entered into the inn, a familiar voice came to our attention on the radio playing at the front desk.

“Yeeeeeeeeeeehaawwww! That’s right folks, it’s that time again! It’s time for the Morning Moo Madhouse, here on K-COLT 101! And I am your host with the most… The ONE. The ONLY! The MINOTAUR!

That’s right. It is I, your eye in the sky and your word on the streets… the Minotaur. Mmooowheee do we have news for you fine folk out there in the Chicacolt area. Gang wars my filthy friends. They are heating up out there. News on the street is that the MMMM are getting ready to move some big merchandise out of the city, and the Cowpones and Hellraisers are right there to vie for control of it! It just keeps getting better and better out there doesn’t it folks?

We’re also getting reports in of some newcomers to the Chicacolt area, a big purple winged pony and some friends of hers. I don’t know anything about em, so best to just shoot them onsite. Kidding! I wouldn’t shoot em. Hanging em is okay though! Really… just kidding! You can’t take me seriously!

Alright, now we’ve got a new piece of entertainment for you fine Chicacoltans out there. It’s the Morning Moo Radio Tap! Are ya ready?!”

The broadcast continued on as the DJ proceeded to radio call Star Paladin Cotton Candy, asking the unicorn buck if he knew if his refrigerator was running or not. The Steel Ranger coldly responded without missing a beat “It’s been two hundred years since refrigerators ran… you fucking moron.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. If the Minotaur was too busy antagonizing Cotton Candy, it meant we had enough time to save Arlington from the Steel Rangers. We approached the front desk. A lovely pink earth pony mare was sitting there. She smiled as she stood, turned the radio down and bowed.

“Welcome to the Falling Lotus. My name is Lotus Petal, how may I help you?” she said.

“We’re looking for a room and were told this was the inn?” I asked.

The mare nodded. “The Falling Lotus provides many services to weary travelers,” she replied.

“Oh? What kind of services?” Patch asked, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

The other mare grinned softly. ”Many kinds of services… some spiritual, some physical, and some a little more… intimate,” she said, smiling wider.

I stared flatly at the mare, catching her implication.

“We’ll just take the room,” Steeljack interjected.

Good call my friend! I thought as I glanced his way, catching a grin from him. The mare nodded and waved for us to follow her. She led us up to a small room containing two beds.

“This is your room; payment is thirty caps a night. Do you know how long you shall be staying with us?” the mare asked.

“We’re not sure. We’re looking for some information on somepony. You know about the Minotaur on the radio?” I asked. The mare nodded in response. “We’re looking to meet him.”

“You are seeking the Minotaur? The Minotaur broadcasts from Filly’s Tower, but it’s no place anypony goes. Some say that he is the only living soul there because he is allowed to be there,” the pink mare said.

“Why’s that?” Violet asked.

“It is said that the building is haunted,” Lotus replied. I heard a distinct *gulp* noise come from Patch as she swallowed hard.

“You mean like…. G-g-g-ghosts?” she asked.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts Patch,” I said, rolling my eyes and chuckling.

The green mare looked up at Steeljack, who promptly nodded. She looked back at the pink mare, who grinned widely.

“No such thing, but yet there is something distinctly wrong with that building. Nopony has ever been there and returned. If you go seeking the Minotaur, you may never come back,” she said as she trotted down the hallway and out of our sight.

We entered the tiny room and began unpacking our things. Violet put together a package of items for trade.

“Star… I’m going to take these things down to that marketplace and see what we can get for them, alright?” she said as she began to trot to the door. I held up a hoof to stop her for a moment.

“Wait. Take Patch with you, would you? Show her how to trade, Violet style,” I said, grinning.

Patch nodded her head excitedly and bounded over to Steeljack, giving him a peck on the cheek before the two mares left the room. I had ulterior motives of course. This course of action left me alone with Steeljack, so that I could talk to him about earlier. I turned to the grey buck and stared at him coldly. What is going on with me? I thought. This attitude had started ever since the invisible unicorn mare had been killed. I couldn’t shake the memory of watching Steeljack kill that mare.

“I know what you’re going to say,” he said quietly. “I still stand by my decision though.”

My eyes softened a bit. “I… I just am having a hard time with it is all, and I don’t know why. When you shot that mare, something inside me just… jumped,” I said, slumping down next to him on the floor. He grunted in acknowledgement.

“I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in my time,” he said finally after a moment of pause. “I did a lot of bad stuff too. Sometimes I forget how hard it is to shed those bad things away. I’m sorry I upset you, but I am your friend. I will do what I have to in order to protect you, Violet, and Patch.”

We sat there for a few moments in silence.

“Thanks…” I said finally. “I really gotta get a grip on myself. I feel like I can’t even trust my own feelings lately. The more I find out about Twilight’s life… the more I don’t like what I’m seeing. I’m scared Steeljack. I haven’t said anything about it, but I’m frightened of what I’m becoming.”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t either,” Steeljack replied, drawing a confused gaze from myself. “We all are. It’s like Discord said. Another Goddess roaming the Wasteland? It’s scary as hell if you ask me. But that’s not the point. The point is you’ve got me, Violet, and Patch. We’ll always be there for you as long as need us.”

I smiled and reached out, hugging the stallion like a sister to a brother. I laughed as I realized how silly I was being.

“Thanks you,” I said as I released him from my grasp. He smiled. “So tell me… have you told Patch about… you know?”

He nodded lightly as he caught my reference. I knew from personal experience that the subject of Steeljack’s wife was hard on the poor buck.

“Told her the night we uh… first…” he said, trailing off. “She was… surprised, but sympathetic. She’s… she’s pretty amazing that one.”

“Listen to you, Romeo,” I said, sniggering. He chuckled alongside me.

We sat there for what felt like hours, talking about everything from guns to relationships (and also the role that guns play in a relationship!). In retrospect, it was kind of nice really. Time passed however, and we began to wonder where Violet and Patch were. They hadn’t returned yet from their trip to the marketplace. Steeljack assured me they were most likely just sharing a bit of ‘filly time’ as he liked to call it. Another hour passed however, and he was just as worried as I was. I left the room and went downstairs, hoping to find Lotus Petal. She was at her desk, playing some sort of card game as she occasionally peeked out her front window. Unfortunately, she hadn’t seen Patch or Violet either. I peeked outside of the inn’s front window as well. It was dark outside and a majority of the street vendors were now packing up. There was no sight of the two green mares anywhere. I headed back upstairs and walked into our room.

“Lotus hasn’t seen them either,” I said nervously. “And the street vendors are closing up shop. I’m worried.” By now it had been a full three hours since we saw our friends. It wasn’t like them to not come back after trading. Something had happened to them.

“I’ve tried to catch Violet’s PipBuck tag, but nothing is coming up,” Steeljack replied.

That’s not good, I thought. Typically, you can track a pony using their PipBuck tag, but if it wasn’t responding that either meant Violet’s PipBuck had been removed/destroyed (which would take either an act of Celestia or a PipBuck Technician) or she was… dead. No, she can’t be. There’s something not right here! I thought as I tried to figure out what to do next.

A *crash* from the window caught my attention as something sharp whizzed by my face, embedding itself in the wall to my right. I stared immediately at a knife stuck into the wall. A roll of parchment was attached to it. I levitated the scroll away from the knife and dropped it as soon as I read it, a soft gasp erupting from my mouth.

“What is it?” Steeljack asked as he rushed forward and picked up the scroll, setting it on the bed.

I pointed at the note.

If you want to see your friends alive again, come to 141 N Hoofamak Avenue tonight.

“You sure this is a good idea?”

“No… I’m sure this is a terrible idea,” I said as we made our way through the clean streets of Chi-Town and stepped out onto North Hoofamak Avenue.

A cold wind pierced the air, sending a shiver up my spine. Were Violet and Patch okay? I was so worried I almost became sick, but I couldn’t let myself stop for one second, not while my friends were in danger. It turned out that 141 North Hoofamak Avenue was an old warehouse sitting on the corner of an industrial district street. The ages of time had not been kind to the place. A large amount of the building’s windows had been smashed in and part of its foundation was crumbling into the ground. The front doors of the place were smashed in and the lighting was dark. I looked at my E.F.S. as we approached, seeing nothing in our immediate range. I nodded at Steeljack and we entered cautiously, staying close to each other and scanning the area for any threats.

The inside of the warehouse was bare for the most part. Rows of shelves lined the walls, having been rearranged so that the main floor was completely devoid of any obstructions. The inside of the building was dark and cold. I clicked my PipBuck light on for some light, still seeing nothing on my E.F.S. I looked at Steeljack, who gave me a confused expression back.

“We sure this is the right place?” he said quietly.

I shrugged. What if this was some sort of trap? Pride was here in the city. What if she knew we were here and kidnapped Patch and Violet to get to us? What if…? The sound of hoofsteps all around us indicated we were surrounded as several red blips appeared on my E.F.S. Several black forms had appeared immediately around us as the shapes resolved into four unicorn mares, each carrying a pistol that was pointed in our direction. Beyond the group, I could see two other unicorn mares and an earth pony mare that looked like… Lotus Petal! The pink mare gave a chuckle as she stepped between the two other mares towards us.

“Hello again, Miss Radiant Star,” she said as she stepped up to us. She nodded at the four other mares surrounding us. They stepped back, giving us some room.

“Who do you think you are? Where are our friends?!” I shouted at her angrily.

The mare clicked her tongue at me in response. “Tsk. In due time. First, proper introductions are in order. You are Radiant Star, and her companion Steeljack. Your other two friends are Violet Iris and Patch.”

“So you know our names. Who are you then?” Steeljack grunted.

“My name stands. I am Lotus Petal. I represent the combined interests of the Lotus Triad,” she said coldly.

“The Lotus Triad?” I asked curiously, drawing a smile from the pink mare.

“The Lotus Triad controls everything that goes in and out of Chi-Town. We keep the peace and civility that we have all grown accustomed to,” the mare replied.

“So you’re another gang,” I said shortly. I could feel my anger rising at the earth pony.

“Please. Let us not mince words here Miss Star. We are not so petty as the street rabble that you ran into during your trip through the gang zone,” she said. “On the contrary we wish to be allies with you.”

“Funny way of showing it by taking my friends,” I snorted.

“Call it incentive, call it blackmail if you so desire. We call it good business,” the pink mare said.

“Fine. What do you want from us?” I asked with an annoyed tone. This game was beginning to get on my nerves.

“Right to the point, I see. Fine. For some time now, we have been trying to get a lock on a large piece of merchandise that the MMMM are trying to smuggle out of the city. We don’t know what it is, but our intelligence tells us they are trying to take it to the Steel Rangers,” Lotus Petal said. “As you can imagine, whatever it is cannot be good if the Steel Rangers want it.”

“Who is this MMMM?” I said with mild confusion.

“They are otherwise known as the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Mafia. A business rival of ours. While we control Chi-Town, the MMMM control a large majority of the settlements deeper into the city. They run protection rackets and sell drugs and weaponry around the settlements. Many of these illicit items find their way into Chi-Town, where we do not wish them to be,” Lotus said.

“Sounds like you’re just trying to get a leg up on your competition to me. How do I know you aren’t telling the truth?” I asked curtly.

“You don’t,” the mare replied. “But seeing as we have your friends, you’re not in much of a position to not trust us.”

“Speaking of our friends, how did you stop us from tracking their PipBucks?” Steeljack asked coldly.

Lotus chuckled. ”Such devices aren’t uncommon in the city. There are several Stables that opened up over time. Many ponies living in Chi-Town today are either descended from Stable ponies or were ones themselves,” she said. “PipBucks are quite simple to remove really once you have the proper tools.”

Realization dawned on me that the mare who had tried to attack us from behind in the streets must have belonged to this Lotus Triad. She had been wearing a PipBuck after all. I wondered if it was some sort of test to see what we were capable of. I suddenly felt very bad at the fact that we had killed her then. Her death had resulted in our selection for this job.

“So you’re smarter than us. We get it. How do we know then our friends are still alive? No sense in making a deal if you’ve killed them already,” I stated.

Lotus nodded to the two mares behind her at this. They moved out of our vision through a hidden door, returning with two green mares. They were bound and gagged but otherwise looked unharmed. Fear shaded their eyes as they stared at us.

“Patch!” Steeljack shouted as he almost rushed forward to his marefriend.

I put a hoof up and stopped him. Even across the room I could hear her whimper in fear.

Rage was building in Steeljack’s eyes as he turned to the pink mare and snarled. “If you hurt her…”

Lotus blinked, clearly unshaken by my friend’s anger. “Please. Your friends will be well taken care of while they remain our guests. That is the least we can do for you,” she said.

“What do you want us to do then? Stop beating around the bush and spill it already. You’re starting to test my patience,” I growled.

Whoah… where did that come from? I thought as I finished speaking. It was like every part of my body was angry at Lotus Petal, wishing to tear her limb from limb. What was going on with me lately? First I was upset over the killing of that mare and now I angrily wanted to do the same thing to this one. Talk about your mood swings! The mare nodded, and motioned again at the two unicorns holding our friends. They nodded in return and left the room with Violet and Patch in tow. I looked at Violet as she left and silently promised I would save her.

“I will provide the locations of two settlements that are firmly under MMMM control. You will journey to these settlements and provide your services to them. Your task is to gather information on the whereabouts of this package they are planning to move,” she said.

“Won’t they be a little suspicious of newcomers?” I asked curiously.

“While the MMMM are very resourceful when it comes to their business skills, they lack common sense,” Lotus replied. “They won’t question you too much.”

“If we do this, you’ll release Patch and Violet?” Steeljack asked.

The mare nodded in return. “Your friends will be released to you upon completion of your mission. One other thing, you mentioned before that you are seeking the Minotaur. I was not lying when I said the region he broadcasts from is highly dangerous. However… if you help us, I will provide you with some information on a way to speak with him,” she said.

My eyes widened at this. They could provide us with a way to talk to the Minotaur?

“We have no choice really. We’ll do it,” I said succinctly, staring hard at the pink earth pony, who only smiled.

“Excellent.”

A few hours later, Steeljack and I were on our way north of Chi-Town and headed deeper into the city. Lotus had provided us with the location of two settlements that were firmly entrenched in the MMMM protection racket, the closest of which was located inside the old Chicacolt Theatre. I had managed to snag Violet’s old book on Chicacolt history before we left. According to the book the old Theatre was once a thriving center of the arts during the war. Many of the world’s best plays and musicals were shown there. In fact, there was even a show listed about the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon as written by a playwright named Ink Well. It sounded rather interesting actually, especially the bit of history that the playwright himself went missing during his opening night and was never heard from again.

As amusing as the history was, it was the map in the book we were really interested in, as it was fairly accurate to showing where the theatre was. We didn’t really have any sort of good plan for this. I was still unsure if what Lotus said was true about the MMMM and whether they would just take us in. At the moment, the going plan was to arrive at the settlement and go from there. As we walked, Steeljack was strangely quiet. I felt for the poor buck, knowing what he had gone through when his wife died and now having to deal with Patch being out of his reach. I had tried to talk to him several times about it while we walked, but he just shrugged me off. I thought about Violet and sighed internally.

Within the hour we arrived outside the street block the old Chicacolt Theatre rested on. The old theatre’s sign was partially lit, sparking occasionally with the crackle of electricity in the cold evening air. Several guard ponies were standing outside of the theatre, watching us as we approached. One of them stepped forward.

“Halt. State your name and business please,” he said with a calm but firm tone.

“Ah, my name is Radiant Star, and this is my associate Steeljack. We heard there was work up here for enterprising ponies such as ourselves,” I said as straight as I could manage.

The guard, a white earth pony, raised his eyebrows at me.

“Don’t get too many of you alicorns up here in Chicacolt. Surprised to see two in one night. You’re looking for work?” he said. I nodded. “Well, go on in then. See the pony at the bar.”

He waved us past as we entered the old theatre. Another alicorn? That was interesting. I thought briefly about Pride being in a place like this and thought better of it. It didn’t exactly fit the dream-walking alicorn’s M.O. The lobby of the place was absolutely massive. Despite the ravages of time, many of the posters hanging along the large lobby walls were still intact, proudly displaying the show that had been playing at the theatre on the day the megaspells dropped. The vast portion of the lobby had been segmented out into alleys surrounding open top makeshift homes, as the place was large enough to comfortably suit several hundred ponies. Vendors of every kind lined the center of the large room. At the far end of the lobby was a makeshift saloon, taking up a large corner of the place. We made our way through the crowd, drawing stares from ponies as we passed. A few stallions dressed in trench coats and bowler hats patrolled up and down each alleyway.

The bar was lively for the evening. Ponies of every species and color flittered to and fro, waving mugs of dark brown liquid as we entered. We casually made our way to the bar, flagging down the bartender. A rusty colored earth pony stallion stepped up from behind the bar and sauntered his way down to us. A smile cracked on his old wizened face as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Hello there,” he said. “What can I do you for?”

“Um… we were told to come here to look for some work?” I asked, catching the old stallion’s eye.

“Came to the right place then,” he replied, grinning. “What kind of work you looking for?”

“Well...” I said quietly. “We heard that the MMMM is looking for a few good ponies.”

“Oh. You’re looking for that kind of work,” he said quietly as well.

I nodded in return. He winked back at me and slipped me a piece of paper. It had a place and a time written on it, the time being tomorrow afternoon and the place being the back office of the theatre. It seemed that even the MMMM were smart enough to not publicly announce where their business took place. I thanked the bartender and he brought us two drinks. I sat there next to Steeljack and eyed the poor buck.

“You alright?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry I’ve been so… quiet,” he said, nodding grimly.

I smiled and kicked back a swig of the burning liquid. I grimaced as it trickled down my throat. I wouldn’t normally do this, but in order to get Violet and Patch back… I would do anything. I had to appear as if I was one of these thugs, kind of like that green alicorn sitting across the room… wait… green alicorn? I perked up immediately as I noticed her. She was sitting by herself and minding her own business with her muzzle in a tall drink. I looked at Steeljack and grinned.

“Well. We’ve got some time to kill then. It’s alright, no worries. We’ll get them back. Take it easy for a bit. I’m gonna need your head in the game when we get there,” I said, indicating the piece of paper.

He nodded and took a long drink out of his own glass. I began to sip on my drink some more. The burning sensation slowly faded away the more I drank it, and once I had finished it I called the bartender back over for another. See, here’s the thing. Usually, I avoid bars like the plague. I have an extremely low tolerance to alcohol, and it doesn’t take long for me to be reduced to a blubbering slob of a drunk. I sat there, downing drink after drink, casually eyeing the green mare and wondering what she was like. After about an hour of drinking, and me on my eighth glass of the night I decided I would go and talk to her.

“I’m going to go mingle a bit, try to act casual you know,” I said.

He nodded and turned back to the bartender, flagging him down for another glass as he drained his fifth. I stood up and casually strode across the floor, dodging the occasional rowdy customer as I made my way over to the green alicorn. I noticed immediately that there was something quite different about her. Instead of the normal dark green hair that most other greens had, hers was a dark purple color. A cutie mark of a four leaf clover rested upon her rump. Cute, I thought as I stepped up behind her quietly. Why are all the cute mares always green? I could feel the alcohol pumping through my system already based on what I had already drunk as I downed another glass of dark brown liquid. I swooned a bit and tapped her on her shoulder, grinning widely.

“Hail fair sister! What brings you to this establishment? Come here often?” I said, rather sloppily I might add.

The other alicorn looked up at me widely and nearly leaped out of her seat at the bar. “Don’t hurt me!” she shouted as she cowered beneath my drunken gaze.

“Huh?” I asked the mare. “Are you alright?”

“You mean… you’re not going to hurt me?” she asked weakly as I shook my head.

“No… why would I hurt one of my own flesh and blood?” I asked, pushing Pride out of my for the moment I said the words. She didn’t count as an alicorn anymore. She had even said so herself. For a brief moment I considered again what both she and Sloth had said about themselves before the drunken stupor took back over.

“Maybe because I’m not one of you?” she offered, her voice still weak from fear.

I stared at her, feeling very confused. “Huh…?” I said flatly.

The mare blinked for a moment and somehow must have realized that I was hammered and not understanding what she meant.

“Oh, it’s just that… I’m not an alicorn. I’m… well I’m just me I guess. I just tell everypony else I am one on occasion. Kind of gets you in places you shouldn’t be,” she said, chuckling nervously.

I blinked, looking down at the mare. I realized that she was actually a little smaller than me and that her wings weren’t as developed. She definitely didn’t have the lithe figure of a normal alicorn.

“Oh,” I said. “Well umm… what are you then?”

“I’m not really sure. I’m a little bit of both a pegasus and a unicorn I guess you could say. My name’s Lucky,” she said, offering a hoof, which I sloppily took and shook fiercely.

“Radiant Star,” I said. “What brings you to the fair city of Chicacolt?”

She smiled, still weakly but a little stronger this time. “Oh you know… I’ve been around, here and there. Not too many places to go really. I’m just a traveler,” she said. I nodded. “What about you?”

“Ah… I’m here with my friends. We’re looking for some work here and there,” I replied, indicating Steeljack at the bar. He was still drinking from his fifth or sixth glass of I don’t know what. Lucky giggled.

“He’s cute,” she said.

I glared daggers at her. ”He’s taken,” I said angrily, still quite drunk. I could feel the cursed liquid coursing through my body rapidly as I tried to calm myself down. I shouldn’t be angry at this mare. Why all of a sudden was I this angry? I sighed internally as I tried to figure it out. Her eyes widened at my response.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean anything by it. Is he with you?” she asked quickly.

“No, one of my other friends… they’re sort of in trouble. We’re trying to help them,” I said, resting my head on the bar next to her.

Lucky looked down at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said.

I smiled wryly at the poor unicorn/pegasus/thingy.

“You know… you’re kind of cute,” I blurted out, prompting a blush from the mare. “You’re the same color as my marefriend, except she has green hair not purple and oh hey why am I on the floor?” Somehow in the midst of my flirting I had moved out of my seat and landed face down on the floor below Lucky. I groaned as I went to push myself up.

“I think you’ve had a little bit too much to drink,” she said, giggling a bit. “Besides… I don’t think your marefriend would appreciate you hitting on other mares too much.”

I sighed as I sat up and stared at her, the haze of alcohol clearing a brief moment.

“Look, I’m sorry. You’re right… It was just nice to see another of my own kind… even if you ended up not actually being an alicorn,” I said, stumbling over my words. “I should get going. We have someplace we need to be.” I stood up, shakily as I began to stumble back to Steeljack. The other mare chuckled for a moment and stopped me.

“Here, let me help you,” she said. “Least I can do.”

I chuckled at myself as she helped me get over to my friend. I introduced the mare to Steeljack, who merely nodded and thanked her for helping me over. Turns out the bartender had a room set aside for us already. Steeljack had managed to make the arrangement shortly after I left him at the other end of the bar. He casually helped me along on his shoulder as we made our way to our room. Once inside, I stepped forward a few steps and plopped right into bed, my head already pounding from the alcohol induced coma I was about to partake in. As glorious sleep took me, I thought about Violet and Patch, hoping and praying to Luna that they would be alright.

This was either new, or the drunkenness had really gotten to me this time. The comfortable and familiarity of Twilight’s body greeted my consciousness as I began to focus on the scene unfolding before me. It was like a memory orb, sort of how my vision of Twilight and Rarity at the hotel had come about. A flash of light brought me to my senses as I realized I was in the middle of a crowd. The flashes of light were coming from cameras, pointed at me and the mares beside me. The brilliant blazing lights of the Chicacolt Theatre sign greeted my eyes and I smiled, feeling the warm glow of the light as I trotted along towards it. My host stopped and looked back for a moment, taking in the beautiful and pristine midnight blue dress that she was wearing. The white mare next to her, Rarity, really had put all her effort into it along with all of her friends’ dresses. Still, something felt off about the whole thing. A twinge of sadness echoed in the back of my mind. Twilight felt like she didn’t even want to be here, despite the smile that graced her lovely face. I didn’t have much of a moment to ponder the feelings before the questions began from the reporters to my sides.

“Miss Sparkle! Miss Sparkle! What do you say to the rumors that Discord has escaped?”

“Miss Sparkle! When do you expect the war will end?”

“Miss Sparkle! Is there any truth to the rumor that you and Big Macintosh were an item?”

Question after question assaulted my senses. Inside Twilight’s mind, I wanted to shout and rage at the voices and tell them to go away and leave me alone. Twilight merely smiled and ignored them however, continuing on with the other Ministry Mares into the theatre. Seeing the lobby in the condition it was in during its heyday was even more impressive than it had been seeing it two hundred years later. The whole room was brightly lit and clean. A different array of magically hung posters lined the massive walls and ponies of every color and creed were milling about, waiting for the show to start. My host was ushered along by our guide, a kindly blue stallion, up the side stairs towards the private boxes. What are you trying to show me Twilight? I thought as she trotted along behind the rest of the Ministry Mares, who were chatting animatedly with each other. Twilight stayed back, aloof from the others and not really speaking that much at all.

We arrived shortly at our own private box, overseeing the vast theatre hall before us. The sights and sounds of it were overwhelming. The plush red velvet curtains adorning the stage and the sound of the orchestra tuning up their instruments were simply too much to contain my own excitement. Still, Twilight felt melancholy and disconnected from the energy of it all. I felt very confused, trying to find the source of the mare’s discontent. It seemed I wasn’t the only one however, as I felt a hoof brush my shoulder. My host looked up and saw Rarity, smiling at her. She nodded softly and motioned for Twilight to follow her.

“If you darlings will excuse me and Twilight, we are going to use the little filly’s room,” she announced.

My host smiled as the other mares acknowledged our exit. The bathroom was right around the corner, but Rarity simply stepped past it and kept walking as my host followed her. Where was she taking us? I thought as the two mares rounded another hallway, trotting along silently. Finally they arrived at an office near the back of the theatre. A window on the right of the room opened up into a spectacular view of the theatre hall. Two large speakers adorned the corners next to the window. Rarity entered, motioning for me to sit on the beautiful crushed purple velvet chaise lounge in the middle of the room. A full bar sat off to the side. Rarity grinned as she engaged her magic, levitating out two glasses of wine from behind the bar. She sat down next to my host and smiled.

“I could tell you needed to get away from the crowd,” she said, smiling widely.

My host chuckled nervously. ”I guess you’re right about that,” she said, looking away at the window for a moment.

“Twilight?” Rarity asked, drawing my stare back at the white mare. “Are you alright? You… you’ve been sort of out of it all night dear.”

“I’m fine… I’m just stressed. Ministry business, you know how it goes,” my host replied, rolling my eyes.

Rarity’s gaze turned deathly serious. “No. I’m perfectly aware of how it goes. You however, do not. You have been shutting yourself away for several months now, and then out of the blue you show up like nothing ever happened?” she said, anger and sadness filling her voice.

“What did you expect me to do Rarity? Just go on like everything was hunky dory?” my host spat back. Wow, Twilight. I had no idea you could be so venomous, I thought as I watched the scene unfold.

“I expected you to come to your friends for help. We’re all worried about you Twilight,” the white mare said softly.

“Right… just like you were so worried about me when you confessed your undying love for me?” Twilight responded viciously, prompting a gasp from her friend. “I can see what you’re doing Rarity, and it won’t work. I’m not weak and I won’t be taken advantage of.”

“I never said that you were darling. I know you’re not weak. I… I was only trying to be honest, you know that. We even agreed that it was for the best that we never spoke about it after you… you know,” Rarity said, letting her gaze hit the floor. “Regardless, we are worried about you. All of us are. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

Twilight looked away angrily. The show had already begun outside, the faint music of the orchestra filtering in through the speakers in the room.

“Please Twilight, let us help you,” Rarity offered. “I know it hurts and you’re still upset over Shining –“ Rarity was cut off as my host’s horn glowed, forcing her mouth closed with a quick flick of the magical appendage.

“Don’t. You. Say. His. Name,” Twilight said, anger filling my voice. “Don’t tell me that you know it hurts. You don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it’s like going on every day… every day… wishing… wishing it was you instead of him.” Twilight began to break down and cry as hermagic released Rarity, who promptly put her leg around my neck.

“You’re right. We don’t know what it’s like. We can’t know unless you let us in,” she said softly as I cried harder. Perhaps this explains what’s been going on with me lately… I thought as my crying continued. A soft voice in the back of my head spoke up.

“Twilight’s Emotions are getting restless. Anger is fighting with Jubilation, while the others are struggling to break free all at once,” the familiar voice of Spark echoed.

So that’s why I’ve been having these crazy mood swings? I asked the Element. If she could nod, I could swear that she just did.

“Yes… their influence is beginning to affect your own emotional state,” Spark replied casually.

Well tell them to stop! It’s starting to really get on my nerves! I said. By now Rarity had managed to calm my host’s crying enough to where I could speak. Spark went silent once again. I cursed the spirit for a moment and returned my focus to Twilight’s body.

“Sorry… I… I’ve been a bad friend lately haven’t I?” Twilight asked, looking up at the white mare.

“It’s quite alright darling. I’m sorry that I haven’t been more of an attentive friend myself. I should have been there for you immediately,” Rarity said before turning serious again. “Twilight, you know you can come to us with anything. Anything at all. We’re your friends darling. We’ll always be there for you.”

“I… I know,” my host said finally, feeling defeated and broken down. “Rarity?”

The white mare looked down at my host and smiled.

“Can we stay here for a little while and watch the rest of the show? I don’t feel like going back just yet.”

“Of course we can darling. Of course we can.”

My eyes fluttered open to blinding pain as my head began to pound immediately as I awoke. The headache that I had was legendary! It echoed across my head like a stampeding flock of buffalo, pounding harder and harder as it neared its climax of pain. To be perfectly blunt about the whole thing: hangovers suck.

My headache however, cleared right up the moment I felt the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed against my neck. Shit, I thought. Not again. I looked up through the haze to see two earth pony stallions standing over me. The one nearest me had a rifle mounted battle saddle, the business end of which was pressed right up against my neck. The two stallions were wearing what appeared to be fine clothing. Their manes were slicked back and they were grinning widely.

“Morning, sunshine,” Rifle Pony said. Grinning Pony chuckled a bit at his friend’s joke. I scowled.

“Can I help you?” I asked nonchalantly. My headache returned as the adrenaline rush of being woken up by a gun flittered away. I glowered at the buck.

Rifle Pony chuckled to himself. “Get up and get your stuff. You’re late,” he replied, pulling the rifle barrel away from my neck. A third voice, this one a familiar tone, echoed across the room.

“Star, it’s alright. They’re our escorts,” Steeljack said.

I looked over at the buck. He had already gotten our stuff ready. I sat up and groaned as Rifle Pony and Grinning Pony chuckled to each other.

“Could have been a little nicer,” I muttered under my breath as I pushed myself out of bed, feeling a little woozy as I grabbed my saddlebags from my friend.

The grey buck casually tossed me some sort of bottle out of his pack with instructions to drink up. I tipped the entire thing and let the cool liquid trickle down my throat. I began to feel a little better as my headache began to clear, but my stomach still felt like it might turn over at any moment. Stargazer floated up and attached to its harness, drawing an “Ooooh” from Rifle Pony.

“Nice piece you got there darling. Interested in trading it?” he asked.

“Sure. I’ll trade its bullets for your brains splattered all over if you call me any nicknames like that again,” I said, continuing my wide grin. I felt like shit as I spoke, but the stallion’s reaction was worth it.

Rifle Pony’s eyes widened as his buddy howled with laughter. The stallion merely grumbled and stormed out of the room, leaving his buddy with us. He merely continued his maniacal grin.

“Alright, well we should get going. Our pickup arrives in ten minutes. Get your asses in gear and let’s go,” he said, motioning for us to follow him.

The buck led us through the back of the theatre hall and out into the alley. I stumbled a bit, forcing Steeljack to have to help me along. I figured this was some sort of penance for having drunk so much the night before. Rifle Pony waited there for us with two blindfolds on his hoof. A rickety cart sat behind him.

“Get in and put these on. You want to work for the MMMM, then you follow our rules,” he said.

I grimaced and sat down inside the cart, sliding the blindfold over my eyes. The cart began to move as we sat there and waited. Several moments later the cart stopped and a voice rang out. I spent the majority of the time trying to keep my lunch intact, groaning each time we went over a bump in the road.

“Get out, keep the blind folds on and we’ll take you the rest of the way,” the voice said.

We stepped out of the cart onto the hard ground and followed the voice, led along from behind by another pony. A door opened up and we were inside a building.

“Alright, take ‘em off,” the voice said.

The blindfolds were removed and we looked up in awe. It was a bakery. Scratch that, it was a baker’s wet dream. A massive factory sprawled out as far as we could see, pounding out numerous treats and pastries from the gigantic presses. Ponies milled about on the factory floor, working the various machines as dough became shaped into reality. The voice, which I now recognized as Rifle Pony, motioned for us to follow him. We made our way through the maze of machines, stopping at a door to the back room. He rapped on the door several times in a sequence of knocks. The door opened and he waved us in. The room was dark and a table with two chairs sat in the middle of it.

“So… you want to work for the MMMM?” a voice from the shadows said. A cream colored unicorn stallion stepped out and stood in front of us.

I suddenly had a bad feeling about this whole thing. It all seemed to go a little too easy. I nodded as the stallion chuckled, before turning and pointing a pistol right at my head. Of course, I thought. His blip on my E.F.S. instantly went red.

“Who the fuck do you think we are?” he snarled. “Did you really think it would be that easy to just waltz in here? Who sent you?” Shit. Shit shit shit! Headache cleared up, stomach totally okay now! Adrenaline taking over! We needed a way out of this and fast.

“Nopony sent us. We heard there was work with the MMMM, doing protection rackets,” I said nervously.

“Bullshit. You were set up. We don’t advertise to anypony. Now who sent you, and why?” the stallion said. “You’ve got til I count to three before I splatter your brains all over.”

“Okay okay!” I shouted at the buck. “We were sent by the Lotus Triad. They have two of our friends and forced us into it. Believe me, we wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

The stallion grinned and retracted the gun. His blip went back to yellow.

“I thought so. Stupid mares. Think they can nose in on our business. Name’s Apple Danish. Just Danish is fine to call me,” the stallion responded. “I’m sorry about your friends, but they’re goners. The Lotus Triad doesn’t take prisoners, they take executions.”

“We were promised we’d get our friends back if we did what they asked,” Steeljack interjected, prompting a chuckle from the stallion.

“And what pray tell did they ask you to do?” he replied.

“We were asked to find out what you were planning on giving the Steel Rangers,” I said.

“Of course you were. The Lotus Triad has been trying to figure that one out for some time now. Truth is, we actually don’t have it yet, but we will soon,” The cream colored stallion said, grinning.

“Why are you being so forward with this information?” I asked. “We could always escape.”

“And go where? Back to the Triad? Think you can go against the whole of the Chi-Town gangs by yourself?” Danish asked. We stayed silent. “Didn’t think so. Luckily for you, I can offer you some work after all.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We ain’t nothin if not reasonable fellows. So here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll give you something to take back to the Triad. Appease them and whatnot, but in return… you’ll have to acquire for us something we’ve been trying to get to for some time now,” the stallion said. “You see, there’s some pretty choice prewar tech in the old Ministry of Technology hub that’s close by here. We can’t get into the place without a PipBuck however since it’s locked down tighter than Celestia’s plot, and as you can see…” He lifted his PipBuck-less hoof. “No PipBuck.”

“So why us? How can it be that you don’t have any access to ponies with PipBucks?” I asked.

Danish chuckled. “Yeah. Most of them boyos they go in and get their asses fried if you know what I mean. Nah, I gotta good feeling about youse two. So, you in or are you out?” he replied.

“We’re in,” Steeljack said before I could say anything. I nodded as well. “Just what are we looking for anyways?”

“There’s supposedly a vault inside that holds some tech that was important to Applejack, the Ministry Mare of Technology. Gain access to that vault for us, and we’ll give you the stuff to get your friends back… provided the Triad ain’t dusted em already,” Danish said.

“I’m assuming it’s just going to be us going in for you?” I said.

Danish shook his head. “Nah. Got one more to join you in addition to yours truly. Didn’t think we were going to let you run around without our consent now did you? We picked the other up last night too,” he replied as he trotted up to the door and rapped on it. “Bring her on in boys.”

The door opened and a familiar face stepped through. It was the unicorn/pegasus Lucky from the bar. She had a sheepish grin on her face as she waved at us. I turned to Danish.

“Really?” I said flatly, as I moved in closer to whisper to the buck. “You do know she’s not an alicorn right? She might not even be combat trained.”

“Ah that’s okay, I’m actually a medical trainee,” a chipper voice jumped in. Lucky was standing there right next to us. Gah! I thought as I nearly leapt out of my coat. How did she do that? I didn’t even hear her!

“So you’re a doctor?” Steeljack asked.

Lucky nodded excitedly. ”Well… more like a medical trainee. I’m still learning some things,” she said animatedly.

I sighed for a moment. Once again, for the love of freaking Celestia why were all the cute ones GREEN?! I turned to Danish once more.

“Are you really sure about this?” I asked.

He nodded and grinned. I continued to have a really bad feeling about all of this. I looked over at Steeljack, who just shrugged. I groaned. This really was going to be the worst possible thing ever!

Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate robots? They’re up there on that list still, right below those stairs that I hate so much. A blast of laser fire seared past my head as I pondered the hateful existence of these fucking things. I turned in a split second, unleashing destruction upon the Ponitron security robot that was the source of the laser fire. Steeljack, Danish, Lucky, and I had arrived in the courtyard of the Ministry of Wartime Technology and opened the gate using my PipBuck to hack into the gate terminal, only to be immediately set upon by the security robots that were still active. I supposed after all that this was the Ministry of Wartime Technology. Still, I wish it had more technology and a little less war. The *crack* of Steeljack’s rifle echoed across the hall as he fired round after round, pounding into the robot security drones. Meanwhile Danish had released several rounds of his own from his semi-automatic rifle he was carrying along in his magic. I had managed to glean a little information from the stallion about the MMMM. Apparently, while the Lotus Triad was right about the protection rackets, they were dead wrong about the drug rings. The MMMM was apparently made up of a lot of ex-bakers and pastry chefs. The protection rackets were just to keep the various settlements safe while funding the MMMM’s various businesses and when they talked about ‘sugar’ they didn’t mean drugs, they meant the real thing. In fact, one of their primary exports was cupcakes of all things. No Dash or Party Time Mintals in them, just regular cupcakes. I was sort of surprised at the hilarity of it all. And here I am rambling again when I should be paying attention to the fact that I was just shot.

“OWWWWWW” I shouted as I rubbed my flank where a stray bolt of laser fire had struck me. I groaned as I turned and let loose a burst round in the direction it came from, turning the Ponitron into a bucket of parts.

All the while, I kept looking for Lucky. The green mare had seemed positively excited to be coming along with us, but ever since the fighting started she completely disappeared. I had expected it however, seeing as how she was just a medical pony. More laser fire flew by, nearly hitting me in the chest before I deflected it to the side with my telekinesis.

“You alright over there?” Steeljack shouted as he let loose another *crack* of his rifle, destroying another one of the hated machines. The hall beyond us was large and untouched it seemed by the ages of time. The floors and walls were just as pristine as the day the megaspells dropped. It felt weird to be in a place that was as intact as this place was. Was it abandoned before the megaspells? Why were these drones still active? I let my wondering get the better of me as I angrily blasted away at several more of the robots.

“I’m alright!” I yelled back. “How many more of these things do you think there are?!”

“I don’t know, just keep shooting them!” my friend replied, grinning.

I nodded, and entered E.S.A.T.S, queuing up several shots and letting the spell drop. Stargazer turned and aimed, spewing forth round after round into a crowd of Ponitrons that were rushing in at me. Bullets tore into metal, ripping apart the machines at their core. Slowly but surely, the red blips on my E.F.S. began to disappear. All around us hunks of broken metal and sparking electronic components lay in piles. No more of the robots seemed to be coming to stop us. I checked my E.F.S. again, and found the single yellow blip I had been looking for underneath the main desk in the hub’s lobby. I stepped up and rapped sharply on the desk with my hoof, hearing a *thunk* from underneath as the cowering mare tried to extricate herself from beneath.

“Oh!! Umm… did we win?” She asked sheepishly.

I facehooved and groaned. “Lucky… are you actually going to help us during fights, or are you going to run and hide?” I asked. This mare was beginning to get less cute and more on my nerves by the minute.

She grinned and nodded her head. I didn’t have the heart to ask which question she said yes to. She slid herself out from the lobby desk and stood. I groaned and motioned for her to follow us. As we walked on through the lobby and deeper into the hall, I wondered what was here that warranted so much security. Was the Lotus Triad right? Were the MMMM really seeking some sort of prewar weapon here to give to the Steel Rangers? It occurred to me that I didn’t really have a choice in all of this, if I ever wanted to see Violet and Patch again.

The massive hall ended unceremoniously in a series of elevators that led to the other levels of the Ministry hub. According to my PipBuck and its interface with the elevator terminal, the elevators went down as well as up, meaning that the vault we were looking for could be at the lower levels just as much as it would be up top. Deciding that we would check out the lower levels first, we stepped into the elevator and pressed the button. Surprisingly it still worked. The elevator began to hum as it zoomed downward, stopping at the lowest floor. As soon as the door opened, the stench hit us. The smell of rotted flesh assaulted my nostrils and the sound of gurgling echoed through the dark hallway. Pipes lined the hallway, revealing that this was a maintenance level that branched off into several corridors that intersected each other. The main corridor extended into the darkness before us.

“Shit,” I said.

“What’s that stench?” Lucky said. This mare was clearly clueless and had never met a ghoul before. I wondered how she had even survived in the Wasteland to begin with.

“Ghouls,” Danish said flatly. “Feral ones. Lots of them from the sound of it.”

The gurgling sound got louder and the stench intensified. Wherever they were, they were getting closer. I lifted Stargazer and looked out into the hallway, checking my E.F.S. for any signs of hostility. Several red blips appeared in front of us and the gurgling became overpowering as the first feral rounded the corner. It snarled with inequine glee as it rushed down the hallway at us. It charged onwards until its head exploded in a splatter of gore as a *crack* erupted from my right side. Steeljack grinned as ghoul-flesh flew from the dead beast. Lucky shrieked as some of the splatter landed on her coat. Some mares, I thought. Why are the cute ones also the incapable ones?!

“Fan out, boyos. Let’s go to work,” Danish said with a grin.

I chuckled a bit. Despite the fact that he had threatened us, I was beginning to like the buck. At least he had a sense of humor. Danish turned down the next corridor to the right as I stared hard at Lucky, who had managed to wipe off some of the gory bits.

“Stay close to me. If you run off, they will find you and you will die. Do you understand me?” I said as clearly as I could.

The other mare nodded, her eyes wide with fear. I sighed. It was just my luck, having to take care of ghouls and babysit this stupid (but still cute, dammit!) green mare. I motioned to Steeljack who only nodded. He moved down the corridor to the left of us, disappearing out of sight. The ghoulish gurgling got louder as two more of the beasts rounded the next corner in front of us. I dropped into E.S.A.T.S., taking no chances here as I lined up burst shots right into their heads. Time fell back into place and Stargazer unleashed its own version of hell onto the creatures, obliterating their heads in showers of sticky flesh and blood.

“Haha! The fun has been doubled!” I shouted, taking surprising glee in punching hole after hole into these monsters. Part of me felt bad for these ponies, having had their entire lives taken away from them as they slowly became the feral creatures we now fought. My emotions over of the subject fought with each other as I fired on the next set of ghouls. Was I really supposed to be happy about the slaughter I was partaking in? I mean, come on… they were feral ghouls for Celestia’s sake! I groaned as I cursed the war going on within my mind.

A shriek from behind me brought my thoughts back to the task at hand. Lucky was huddled closely next to my rump when one of the beasts lunged at my right side, grabbing me by the back legs. I snarled and gave a quick snort, pinning my ears back as I put all my effort into a little trick the country ponies call ‘the applebuck.’ The ghoul went flying past the mare behind me as I wheeled about and brought Stargazer up, posting a double burst of hot lead right at the feral. The thing burst apart into pieces as the rounds struck it. I stared hard at Lucky. The poor mare didn’t even have a weapon. I growled and ripped out one of the spare pistols I had in my saddlebag, floating it into the air before her.

“Take it, and learn how to use it really quick. I can’t keep babysitting you like this!” I shouted.

The other mare timidly took the weapon in her magic, holding it shakily in the air. A snarl from behind me indicated the presence of another ghoul. A sharp *crack* echoed across the hall to our left and I felt ghoul blood splatter across my rump as the gurgling noises stopped. I silently thanked Luna for Steeljack’s aim. I turned and saw the buck, a grin creeping along his face as another group of ghouls came down the main corridor. I could hear the faint rattling of Danish’s semi-automatic one corridor over, indicating that he was still alive and kicking even though I couldn’t see him. I motioned for Lucky to follow me as we forced our way further into the maintenance level. A funny feeling crossed my head as I felt something tugging on me, pulling me closer and further into the level. I began to trot along, indicating to the mare behind me to keep up.

The blips on E.F.S. began to fan out more and more as we descended deeper into the maintenance level. The place was like a maze, with corridors branching off everywhere in a giant grid-like pattern. Many of the corridors ran into each other, and plenty of times we ran around in circles before we realized we were going the wrong way. If there was something down here, these ghouls were protecting it as part of their final acts of life. I continued to slay without mercy, letting out all of my anger and hatred onto the ghouls. As we progressed further into the level, we found a large corridor that led directly towards the center. It was then that I saw it. In the very center of the section at the end of the corridor was a clearing in which sat a large cylindrical room, locked with a massive door. A large group of ghouls surrounded the area. Danish and Steeljack had made their way back into our little group by now as we had a moment of respite from the attacking creatures.

“Do you think that’s the vault?” Danish asked, indicating the circular room just ahead of us. I nodded.

“I don’t know why… but there’s something in there… it’s calling to me,” I said, feeling the tug on my soul once more.

“Is she for real?” Danish asked, his head cocked as he looked at Steeljack.

Steeljack nodded calmly. I looked over at Lucky, who was trembling still.

“Hey. I’m sorry about before. But you need to get your head in the game here,” I said to her sternly, repeating the advice I had given Steeljack the night before. “I don’t know what your reason for being here in the first place is, but my friends are on the line. And I will do whatever it takes to save them.”

The mare nodded and cocked a small grin.

“Alright. Let’s get moving,” I said, standing up and taking up Stargazer in my magic.

I fired a burst of rounds into the cluster of ghouls in the open space, hopefully getting their attention. It worked like a charm as the first set shuffled into view. A sharp *crack* echoed in the hallway as Steeljack worked earth pony magic with his rifle, blowing holes in the feral beast’s legs and forcing them to the ground. Danish moved to the side, bringing up his semi-auto and letting loose a few burst rounds himself, grinning as he dodged a ghoul that got a little too close. The rifle came up and point-blank liquefied the thing’s head. We began to push inwards, closer and closer to the door. I stepped forward and brought up Stargazer again to fire upon another group of ghouls when suddenly a gunshot and a scream rang out behind me. Pain suddenly shot up my entire back when I realized… I had been shot. I groaned through the pain as I turned to see Lucky, forced onto her back by one of the ferals. The barrel of her gun was smoking in the air. In hindsight, this was mostly my fault for putting a loaded weapon in the hooves of an inexperienced shooter. At that moment though, I hardly cared as the ghoul bit into her side and she screamed in pain. It was the most blood curdling thing I had ever heard.

“Lucky!” I shouted, beginning to stumble towards her as the ghoul latched onto her neck and clamped down, spraying blood everywhere its teeth gnashed through bone. Lucky began to scream harder as she tried to push the ghoul off. It was a futile effort however, as the beast had the mare pinned to the ground and she was unable to move. I snarled, bringing up Stargazer and pausing. Firing with such a weapon at the range I was at, I was certain to hit her too. I stumbled over myself in pain, hitting the ground before I could get there. I could only watch through the haze of the pain as the ghoul bit down again, bringing Lucky’s screaming to a bloody end. A sharp *crack* filled the air as the ghoul’s head exploded. I panted hard as I watched the mare laying there, her eyes lifeless as her blood spilled out onto the floor of the hallway. The last thing I saw before my eyes dropped to blackness was Steeljack’s form hovering over me.

Of course. It had to be the same corridor. The doors and the torches and the endless hallway. I sat there, unable to move because my brain wouldn’t let me. I was too busy watching Lucky die over and over and over in my mind, entire body shaking from the pain. I didn’t want to move. I only wanted to go back, to try and save her again. I felt horrible inside. I had given her a gun and told her to fend for herself when she didn’t know how. I shook in fear of what I had done to her. I did it. Not anypony else but me. Why did I do it? Why did I get so irritated with her that in the end… I got her killed. Not just killed… but eaten… savaged by a monstrous beast. The familiar *fwoosh* and *creak* greeted my ears as I looked up. I tried to move. Tried to go through the door. I couldn’t, and yet something pushed me toward it. I slinked into the door and through it, landing in a familiar tree house. I stepped in, waiting for her to appear. From the stairs she came, the same purple unicorn I had been seeing for all this time. She looked… happy? Why would she be happy? What good did a happy emotion do for me right now? I wanted to be miserable! She smiled as she looked at me, motioning towards a couch next to her seat. She was wearing a pair of reading glasses and had a clipboard and pen floating in the air next to her.

“Hello Star. Take a seat. We need to have a talk,” she said, smiling.

“I don’t want to,” I said flatly. “I want to go back.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re here now, and we need to have a talk,” the mare replied.

“I don’t care,” I said, anger rising in my voice. “I have to go back. Find a way to make it better. Find a way to save her.”

“You can’t do that. It’s too late. Just… take a seat okay? Listen to me, and if you don’t like what I have to say… well then you can go,” the other mare said with a shake of her head.

I sighed, and plopped myself down onto the couch.

“So which one are you? The Element of Psychiatry?” I asked.

The mare laughed a bit. “No. Actually, I’m Hope,” she replied.

“Since when does Hope act like a psychiatrist?” I said, snorting.

“Since some silly little filly named Radiant Star started being a sourpuss,” she said. I stared back at her. “Yeah, that’s right. You’re out of your head there missy.”

“Well I wouldn’t be if you damn emotions would just buck off!” I shouted at her.

The mare sighed and shook her head again. “You’re too busy fighting us that you’re not seeing the big picture. You have to hope for the best. You have to stay positive,” she said.

“How… how can I do that when… when I feel like all I’m doing is fucking everything up?” I said softly. I began to shake once more from the pain. Visions of Lucky being eaten danced in my head.

“Start by sucking it up already!” Hope replied, groaning. “Geez. You act like it’s your fucking fault and it’s not! You have to have some hope for Luna’s sake.”

“What hope?!” I shouted at her. “Where is it? Because I can’t see it! It is my fault alright! I got Lucky killed. It’s my fault we’re here in this damn city to begin with! I don’t even know if Patch and Violet are alive, and with Lucky dead, I can only hope that Steeljack survived too! So what hope is there?!”

I hopped off the couch and moved to leave, stopped by the mare’s hoof. She shook her head silently. I moved to pull myself away when I felt her forelegs wrap around me. I looked back once more to see that she had pulled me into her embrace, tears in her eyes. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I slumped down to my haunches, letting the tears begin to flow. The lavender unicorn cooed softly as she hugged me.

“It’s not your fault. Let it out. There’s hope. You just have to look for it. You know in your heart that Violet and Patch are still okay. As for Lucky… there was nothing you could have done for her,” Hope said through her own tears as I bawled my eyes out all over her shoulder. “It’s going to be alright. Just focus on what needs to be done. Let us in, and we’ll help you. Things won’t be as crazy. You’ll see.”

“Why…?” I asked, choking through the tears. “Why is this happening to me? Why me? Why…?”

Hope sighed. “The power growing deep within you is getting stronger by the day. If you don’t learn to accept certain aspects, they will fight you. The Emotions are all fighting because you can’t make up your mind about what you want,” she replied.

I pulled back from her, trying to dry my tears. “You mean if I just… let you do what you want you’ll stop all of these crazy mood swings?” I said, sniffling.

“All I can say is: make up your mind silly filly! Hope is just around the corner. You’ll find it, I know you will. You’re smart, you’ll figure it all out,” she said, smiling.

“What now? I just go back… and try to hope?” I asked.

Hope nodded. She wrote a few things down on her clipboard and grinned widely.

“Just hope. That’s all I’m asking you to do,” she said as the world around me faded entirely to black.

Pain shot through my flank, jolting me instantly awake. I looked around my immediate surroundings and sighed. The familiar rotted stench of dead ghoul filled my nostrils and the dark bleak steam associated with the maintenance level greeted my eyes. I groaned as I felt a bandage being slapped onto my rump and then the familiar taste of healing potion as the bottle was forced into my mouth. I looked up seeing Steeljack standing above me.

“Lucky…?” The first words rolled off my tongue as I winced in pain.

Steeljack shook his head, solemnly. I sighed and pushed myself up from the ground. I looked to my friend. “Are you okay?” He nodded. I could see Danish past him, staring off at the vault we had spent all of this painful suffering for. I looked around, not seeing Lucky’s body anywhere.

“Where…?” I started to ask before Steeljack put a hoof up to silence me.

“She’s over there. We covered her up,” he said, pointing down the hall that brought us to the clearing.

I trotted past him and moved down to where a mish-mash of coverings was pulled over the mare’s body. I levitated the cover away briefly and stared down. I felt tears drip from my eyes. I closed them for a moment and shook them away, replacing the covering. I thought long and hard about what Hope had said, and still considered what happened to the mare my fault. I still messed up. But there was no going back now, and I would have to live with it. I would have to press on, for my friends and for everypony else who needed me.

“Star?” the voice of my friend echoed down the hallway.

I nodded and turned back towards him.

“So what now?” I asked softly as I trotted up to the buck. He pointed over at the vault door, where Danish was trying to figure out how to gain access. I walked over and looked at him.

“Damn thing is locked up tighter than a schoolfilly’s…. I mean… umm.. it’s locked!” the cream colored unicorn exclaimed.

I pointed at the terminal hanging off the side of the wall next to the door.

“Just an observation, but I think our method of access lies here,” I said, smiling and holding up my PipBuck.

The stallion grinned and stepped aside, letting me to the terminal with a grandiose wave. I stepped forward and connected my PipBuck to the terminal and began to attempt hacking at it. No matter what phrase I tried however, nothing seemed to work. After several attempts, the terminal began to blink red at me and screamed ACCESS DENIED over and over.

“Shit!” I shouted at the thing, pounding on it with my hoof. “Why. Won’t. This. Thing. Work?!” I fumed at the terminal and reached out with my magic to try and force the door open. The moment I touched the terminal and door with my magic, something… changed. The door began to glow and the terminal flashed ACCESS GRANTED at me. A stylized etching of three apples appeared on the face of the door. A light from above the door flashed downwards at the ground, coalescing into an image of an aging orange mare. Her hair was mixed blonde and grey and she wore a smile on her face. She opened her mouth and began to speak. Her voice was calm and tender as I listened.

“Hey Twi’,” the mare began. “I figure if you’re here accessin’ this, then it means that ah’m gone now. I don’t know why you were so durn stubborn about keepin’ this thing. It’s dangerous. Ah told you so when you first stuck it here, and ah’ll tell you so again now. But still… be careful okay? Ah don’t wanna see nothin’ bad happen to you. Ah know what happened to your brother hurt, but you gotta start livin’ for the future. If ah ain’t around, ah’m sorry I didn’t try harder. This war… it’s been hard on all of us. Ah just hope we all make it through it and you never have to hear this. Ah love you Sugarcube. You were the best friend a pony could ever have.”

The image of the old mare flittered away. I smiled as I realized that in some strange way, fate had brought me here. Despite what had happened up until now… at some point I was going to be here one way or another. The door began to shift open, steam expelling from it until it was completely open. I stepped into the vault, Danish and Steeljack bringing up the rear. The inside of the room was filled with a techno-geek’s wet dream. Every piece of popular pre-war tech was here, from PipBucks to Steel Ranger armor. However, none of these things caught my eye like the item in the very center of the room. It was a large metal casing, shaped almost like a giant acorn. The glass in the center of it displayed the most disturbing thing I had ever seen in my entire life. I let out a soft gasp as I approached the center of the room. I realized now what Applejack had thought was so dangerous in her message. My PipBuck began to click wildly indicating high levels of radiation. Already I saw Danish pulling out his packages of RadAway and downing them. He must have either heard the clicking or felt the radiation in the air.

“Ohh…. Oh Luna…” I said, my speech trailing off as I stared at the device. I heard hooves beside me as Steeljack stepped up next to me. He showed visible signs of discomfort as he yanked out a pack of RadAway and downed it.

“Is… is that what I think it is?” he said quietly.

I could only nod. Behind the glass was a swirling cloud of pink substance, somehow held in place inside the device. I couldn’t begin to fathom how they had done it, but here it was.

There was an undetonated megaspell in the middle of this room, and it was the worst one of them all.

“Pink Cloud.”

Author's Notes:

Hey, it’s me again. Bringing you all the best author notes this side of the FOE-verse! Just kidding. This was a difficult chapter for me; mostly because I had to give you guys a fair idea of some of the things going on in this city. I spent a lot of time world-building before starting on this, so I hope it has paid off! Once it got rolling, things got a little better.

Alas, another stumble in the road for Star’s mental state. Poor girl doesn’t get much of a break does she?

Poor poor Lucky…

Anyways, onto the shamelessness. Star still has that tumblr after all! http://askradiantstar.tumblr.com is the address. Send her some questions! She loves answering them!

My story plug of the week goes out to KendallKun for his story “Fallout Equestria: Our Finest Hour”. It’s pretty interesting, and has to do with a pre-war character, which you don’t see too often.

And… the big thanks of the week go out to Mirandasaurus-Rex (http://mirandasaurus-rex.deviantart.com/) who is creating the new cover image for Starlight. I am thoroughly excited for this, and truly blessed to have someone so talented do something for this. Thank you so much!

As always, I thank my pre-reader Cadmium, and brushies Wirepony. You guys make this thing go round now, and I’m truly happy to have you on board helping out. More thanks go out to the Gdocs and the IRC channel for providing encouragement. I want to really thank Mimezinga for providing some much needed feedback on some of my earlier chapters and helping me to go back, take a hard look, and fix some necessary issues there. Major thanks go out to Arcane_Scroll for the FO:E Resource site (http://fallout-equestria.com) once more for providing us with a home to collect our stories and visions onto.

And last but not least, let’s not forget Kkat, who created this crazy world to begin with. Much love and hugs to you Kkat, for this sandbox we now play in.

Author's Author's Notes

There were some changes made in this chapter, notably to one of the gang names to put this in line with how they will appear later on in the story. Much love and thanks to Grudir on Reddit for pointing this out, and helping us get it fixed.