Okay everybrony, this is the finale! An epic 2.5k word chapter that concludes this portion of Iron Storm’s story. I’m sorry if this took too long (Damn you, writer’s block), but I hope you enjoy it.

“Here we go,” Announces Scootaloo excitedly, “Welcome to Haven, the safest place in the wastes!”

I’ve seen underground vaults before, even underground homes. This is not an underground home; this is a fucking underground city! I have absolutely no idea how they built it, but it is impressive and looked well deserving of the title ‘safest place in the wastes’. Ponies are everywhere, just walking around doing their day to day business. Hell it even looks like there are a few pegasi flying around, which makes sense considering the ceiling is roughly five stories high!

It takes me awhile for me to take in the sight and judging by the looks of Dash; she is in just as much disbelief as me. Scootaloo looks quite proud of the city, as she begins to boast about it.

“Yep, biggest outpost in these parts of the wastes, nicest ponies, and cleanest water.”

Clean water. Two words you barley ever heard together. I can’t believe that they actually have access to such a valuable resource.

“Well,” Scootaloo starts, clearly getting impatient with us, “I’ll let the mayor fill you in on whatever else you need to know. Her house is this way, follow me!”

She leads us at a lively trot through a portion of the city, which is even bigger once you get inside it. Most of the houses are one-story homes though. I’m also noticing that barley any ponies have weapons at their side, which seems odd to me. I shrug it off and turn my attention to Dash.

Dash seems to be just as amazed as I am at the sheer scale of everything. I see tears forming in her eyes, tears of joy. Her world hadn’t collapsed in her sleep, she got lucky. I feel happy for her; I am glad that she won’t have to go any longer wondering what happened to her friends. I feel a smile come across my face.

“Okay, we’re here!” Scootaloo suddenly announces. I am surprised that we reached the house so quickly. The house is your basic fare; a few windows, a door, and brick construction. There is a sign on the door that says mayor in bold lettering.

Dash quickly bolts up to the door and gives it a fierce knock. I hear a mare’s voice on the other end.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Geez, I don’t get paid enough muffins for this.”

I have no idea what to expect when the door opens, but what I see is far from what anypony would expect for the mayor. A grey pegasus pony with a pale yellow mane steps out from behind the door, taking both me and Dash aback. She tries to give us a serious glare, but her wall-eyed look prevents her from succeeding in that attempt and actually makes her look rather goofy, a term rarely used in the wastes. I give her a funny look, unintentionally.  

“Hey!” She yells at me in a threatening tone, “Don’t judge me by my looks, It’s a serious medical condition. I’m still just as capable of running a town, no, I’m more capable of running a town than anypony I know!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you” I reply in an apologetic tone, “But we have more important matters to deal with now.” I gesture to Rainbow Dash. “This mare, who you might know as Rainbow Dash, used to live here before The Strike. I escorted her here from her former home on her request, but I think that you might want to her story first.”

I see the mayor’s eyes widen as she looks at Rainbow Dash.

“Dash, is that you?” She asks in disbelief, “Come in, come in!”

I walk into the house, which seems normal enough. The mare leads us to what I believe to be a living room, as it has three chairs set up in a circular pattern with a coffee table between them. The mayor sits down on one of the chairs, and gestures for me and Dash to do the same. Once we are all seated, she begins talking.

“Dash, is that really you?” Asks the mayor, still in apparent disbelief, “We all thought that you had died when The Strike hit three years ago. Where were you?”

“Well,” Dash begins to explain, “This might sound really weird, but I went to sleep before The Strike, and then woke up and the world was like this. Yesterday, woke up to the wastes, and at first, I didn’t even think anything of it.”

I watch as the mayor listens in confusion and awe.

“After I woke up,” Dash continues, “I decided to fly around, you know, like I always do. This time, when nearing the Everfree forest, I heard a scream, so I decided to check it out. I found him”, She gestures toward me,”I found him as he was passing out from what looked like blood loss. He had a huge, gaping hole in his chest. I couldn’t just let him die there, so I took him back to my house. This is the part that I don’t understand. How did you manage to stand on clouds?”

“Well,” I show the bottoms of my hooves to reveal a disc-looking thing implanted in my hooves, “This device, allows me to stand on clouds, never came in handy until now.”

“Okay, well anyways” Dash continues her story, “I patched him up. Then when he woke up, he seemed annoyed by my ignorance of everything, because I had no idea about any of this Strike stuff. After he told me the story of how the world ended up this way, I felt like I was lost. I didn’t know if anyone I knew was alive. So I asked him if I could tag along, and he said yes. He helped me through this world and he didn’t ask for anything in return. I don’t think I would’ve made it very far without him.”

“Long story short” Dash says, apparently at her conclusion, “He saved my life.”

I tried to absorb what Dash had just said. Saved her life? I guess I did, wow. I thought that I was just keeping her spirits high.

“Well Stranger,” Starts the mayor, “I guess we have you to thank for Dash being alive, is there any way that we can repay you?”

“Actually,” I begin, “Just her being alive is enough of a reward for me. And call me Iron Storm.”

“Okay then, Iron Storm,” Says the mayor,” You can call me Derpy Hooves.”

“Okay then, Derpy” I say, “I don’t mean to pry, but could you tell me how the FUCK you managed to make an entire underground city!?!?!”

“We couldn’t have done it without Twilight’s magical abilities” Admits Derpy, “She exerted so much into clearing this area, we are forever grateful to her.”

“Wait, Twilight!” Dash perks up immediately, “Is she still here? Can I talk to her?”

“Sorry Dash” Derpy said sadly, “Twilight and the other elements of harmony left Haven some time ago to fix the world.”

“Oh” I watch Dash deflate.

Goddammit! I thought, this shit isn’t fair, why does she have to be in pain constantly! She didn’t do shit!

“Well we’ve gotta go, right Storm?” Asks Dash sadly.

“Where are you going?” Derpy asks Dash, “We have plenty of houses that are unused, and we always have room for an old friend.”

At this Dash smiles at Derpy and gives her a hug.

“Thanks.” Dash says.

“Do you want to stay,” Asks Derpy in a grateful tone, “After hearing about what you did for Dash, I think that you deserve a house.”

“I dunno,” I contemplate the idea, “I don’t know if I can slow down that much. I don’t know. I need to think about this.”

Both mares stare at me as I exit the room, trying to collect my thoughts. I exit the house and sit on the porch and think about the pros and cons of living here.

Well one good thing is that there won’t be any more fighting to survive, no more daily worries. On the down side, what am I good at but fighting? Nothing, plain and simple. I get a rush every time I swing my sword. I continue to think, But there is one thing that there is no downside to; Rainbow Dash. I’ll be able to see her every day. That would be awesome, but would she even still hang out with me? Dammit! So much shit!

I sit there, just trying to collect my thoughts when I hear the door open. I look over to see Dash walk out and stare at me with her rose eyes. She walks over to me and lies down next to me. She puts her muzzle close to my ear.

“Storm, don’t go” She whispers in a pleading voice, “Please, you saved me; I don’t want you to go. Please, don’t leave.”

I see tears building up in her eyes now. There is no way that I could say ‘no’ now, I would a heartless monster. Even I have morals.

“Okay, Dash” I whisper back, “I’ll stay, I’ll stay. Don’t cry anymore. Please”

As I sit with her, every con on my mental list becomes insignificant compared to the prospect of having to live without her. I don’t think that I could do it.

“Storm, could you, um stay with me tonight?” I hear Dash faintly say in my ear, “I mean, I feel safer when you’re around.”

My heart skips a beat as I respond to her offer.

“Yeah, sure Dash. I’ll stay with you.”

I hold her close, never wanting to lose her. I see her face, full of dried tears and shattered dreams. Dreams that she will never be able to accomplish. But I see something else other than those two things; I see hope.

I never want her to lose hope. Never want her to give up. I never want to give up on her. When I’m with her, nothing else matters.

After about ten minutes of sitting there with Dash, I decide to get up.

“Come on, I’ll show you where my new house is!” Says Dash in an exited voice, tugging at my legs.

“Okay, let’s go then.” I reply, “Chuckling at the cyan mare’s sudden upbeat tempo.”

We walked side by side through the streets of Haven, enjoying each other’s company. I was amazed at the prospect of a town that was, well, safe. Safety, as you could guess, was not very common in the wastes. In fact, this was the first time that I ever felt safe.

I don’t care that I’m safe, however. I only want what’s best for Dash. I could care less about my own well-being. I have never known peace and do not want to. If I become accustomed to peace, then I will be shocked when it is taken away. Like I said before, noting is consistent in my life except war and hate.

Eventually, Dash came to a halt in front of a house. There was nothing particularly special about this house; I noticed a dusty, old sign near the door: Rainbow Dash. Apparently, they were expecting Dash back a long time ago, then gave up hope and forgot about her.

“Well, here we are.” Dash announces, barely able to contain her excitement, “Ready?”

“Yeah Dash, I’m ready.”

I look into her eyes and then back at the door. She takes out the key and puts it into the lock. I hear a click.

Dash looks at me happily, and then walks through the door; I follow closely behind, ready to pour my heart out for Dash.

Once we’re inside, I notice that the house is fully furnished, which is odd, but nice. I close the door behind me. Dash leads me to what I assume to be the living room, where she takes a seat on the couch. I take a seat next to her. I figure that this is the best time to let her know how I really feel about her.

“Dash, I need to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“Remember when I told you that you were my favorite part of the wastes?”

“Uh huh.”

“I wasn’t kidding. You make my life worth living, before you came along, I lived simply to live. Now I live for you. Hate and anger used to be all that I knew; now I know happiness. I never knew who I was or where I was from, but when I’m with you, I could care less. I only know killing, but when I’m with you, I only wish for peace. I only wish for what is best for you.”

Dash sat there shaking, trying to absorb what he had just said. It was like their first talk all over again, except this time, he cared about the outcome. The time of reckoning was now, as a shaken Dash opened her mouth to speak.

“Storm, I never knew you cared like that. I just assumed you were taking care of me. I didn’t know that you actually had feelings for me. I knew that you killed to live, but I had no idea that hate was all you knew.”

Her cheeks start to glow a soft red color as she continues.

“If pain was all that I knew, then I don’t think that I could go on. You not only continued to live, you saved my life multiple times. You showed me honest compassion in a world like this, you helped me keep hope. I like you a lot, that’s why I invited you to stay with me. I didn’t want to tell you, though, because I thought that you might not feel the same about me.”

By the time she finishes, she is blushing furiously, her cheeks a bright red. She begins to stare at the ground nervously. I take my hoof and place it under her chin, lifting her face up to eye level. I begin to talk

“Dash, I don’t think that you understand what I’m getting at. When I’m with you, I feel like I could crush mountains and raise valleys. You fill me with a power greater than any that I had ever known. That power is the power of love.”

Dash looks like she just saw a ghost. For a few seconds, I think that I just blew everything. Fucking shit! Why did I have to be so blunt? Goddammit that sounded corny.

“I love you too, Storm.” Said Dash happily as she wrapped her hooves around me and buried her head in my chest.

I feel as if I had just died and gone to heaven. I was beyond happy. The one thing that I loved in the entire world actually loved me back.

I wrap my hooves around her tightly, never wanting to let her go. She lifts her head up from the embrace and looks me in the eyes.

“Did I ever tell you that you have amazing eyes?” I say softly

The next thing I knew, Dash was kissing me, on the lips. My mind is reeling with ecstasy and I swore that every second I spent with her was better than the last. It tastes like the sweetest piece of candy that I’ve ever tasted. I can’t even describe my feelings at this point, as both I and Rainbow were reveling in the embrace.

I was laying there with Dash for hours before I started to hear her snore. She had fallen asleep in my hooves again. This was like that night in the cave, but about twenty percent better. All in all, this is a great conclusion to a perfect day, and hopefully a final conclusion to all of my sadness and rage.

I’m really sorry if this felt rushed, again. Anyways, I just want all you bronies out there to tell me what you think of this story, and keep in mind that this is my first fanfic, so I'm always looking for constructive criticism, NOT GRAMMER NAZIS. I have an idea for a TF2/MLP crossover where Scout get trapped in Equestria, tell me what you think of the idea in the comments.