No matter how I tried, no matter how badly I wanted to rest, sleep simply would not come to me. While I had no problem with Cloud Chaser using me as a pillow at first, (her light snoring even gave me a smile,) but once she had fallen into a deeper sleep, the weight of her body hung on me, and her snoring got louder. After carrying Rosemary for the better part of two days, the soreness in my muscles had turned into a low, throbbing pain. Needless to say, Cloud Chaser’s heavy sleep was getting on my nerves, and I seriously considered shoving her off of me. Instead of being so rude, I gently tried to move her head onto the back of the seat. The entirety of her weight was on me, though, and her head slid into my lap. At that point, I gave up. Sleep would just have to come later.
I saw Rosemary awake through half-closed lids. She blinked sleepily at me, and I gave a smile. At least she looked better than I felt.

“Morning,” I greeted her. She groaned. “How are you feeling?”

She gave me a withering look. “Like I was almost eaten.”

I offered a smile. “You look great for somepony who was almost eaten.” I don’t think she took it as a compliment. “Do you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured me. I think she was just weary, and maybe a little sore, but I knew firsthand how miraculous healing potions were. “But I don’t really remember the past couple of days. Just bits and pieces.”

What would I say to her? I didn’t want to bring up that I had to carry her, or that I may have healed her. So I simply said, “You didn’t miss much.”

“Really?” she said. “I remember that you and Cloud Chaser were really worried.”

We turned to the pegasus. She let out a loud snore and rolled over. I steadied her to keep her from falling out of her seat. And I thought pegasi were supposed to be graceful. “We’re obviously not now.”

“How far did you carry me?” Rosemary asked.

I turned away. I didn’t want her to start saying that she owed me her life or anything. “It wasn’t too far.”

“The trip must have taken days. You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” I replied automatically. Lies. Without sleep, I felt like I would collapse soon.

She looked away too. “Thank you,” she said to me.

“You don’t have to thank me. You would have done the same thing in my position.”

“You still deserve thanks. You carried my weight for two days. I think most ponies would have collapsed.”

“I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t, you probably would have died,” I explained.

“I heard stuff about you healing me, too,” she mentioned. I think she remembered a lot more than she let on.

“We don’t know what happened, alright? Just don’t worry about it.”

“Ebonmane.” She fixed me firm in her glowing green eyes. I couldn’t turn away from the challenge. “Look… I’m sorry. For everything. You’re a good pony, and I’ve been treating you like you weren’t.”

I didn’t expect an apology, but I didn’t want to accept it. “I haven’t been the greatest to you, either,” I reminded her. “I’m sorry, too.”

She looked frustrated with me, but she didn’t say anything else except for “Thanks.”

I nodded my thanks, just as the doctor came in to check on Rosemary. After a quick examination, he declared her well and removed the needles so that she could leave. Rosemary looked relieved.

Cloud Chaser didn’t awake through any of this until I shook her halfway through the examination. After her eyes opened, there was a lot of sluggish movement and yawning before she was fully awake. While the doctor was unplugging Rosemary, Cloud Chaser offered sleepy-voiced conversation to her. “It’s good that you’re awake. There are a lot of hot stallions here that you have to see.”

I resisted the urge to blush. “Really?” Rosemary asked. “We’ll see. I have very specific tastes.”

“We can check them out while he talks to the Elder. It’s not like he needs us there.”

“Deal.” Rosemary smiled. I knew they were mostly joking, but at least my ego wouldn’t have to deal with them admiring stallions within my earshot.

My hooves quavered underneath me as I struggled to rise, but eventually I got my balance as we left the clinic. The nurse offered to lead us to the Elder’s office. I was surprised that we weren’t be redirected to a lower-ranking officer first, but something about us must have said that we had come for an important reason. Or we were just lucky.

I finally got a good look at the stable that was once Littlepip’s home now that I had left the clinic. Part of me understood what she meant when she described the walls as drab and grey, but recently they had been painted red with apples and other symbols of encouragement that brought swaths of color to the dull shelter. Aside from that, I was amazed at the density and efficiency of the technology within the stable. Stable-Tec didn’t mess around. Everything from the locks on the doors to the equipment within each ward was more advanced than anything I had encountered so far, and each piece was rust-free and Stable-Tec durable. Just one terminal or maintenance device could sell for a sizeable amount of caps.

What amazed me even more, though, were the ponies who lived here. Only about one in ten of the Applejack’s Rangers were walking around in their red armor, but every stallion and mare looked tough and valiant, even the scribes. These were fighting ponies, through and through. These were the fabled knights that I had only dreamed of seeing this close, of meeting and talking to.

So of course my awe would be undercut by my companions.

“He’s a cutie,” Cloud Chaser would say quietly to Rosemary as a tall stallion in armor, minus his helmet, walked past.

“He’s pretty good,” Rosemary agreed. Then she would see another tall dark and handsome walking down the hall toward her. “Oh, hello there.” I saw him wink as he walked past. “The things I would do to that stallion,” Rosemary whispered. I mentioned my ego earlier, but it was nonexistent at this point. No mare would ever love me. Not while these gods of battle and sex walked the torn earth.

I think Rosemary and Cloud Chaser followed me to torment me, because they only left when we were right in front of the Elder’s door. Once I was alone, I took a breath and knocked. The door was opened by a middle-aged mare with a coat and mane that were vibrant shades of something between pink and red. Her cutie mark looked to be a porcelain cup with a saucer, of all things.

“You must be from that new group,” she concluded instantly. She scanned the halls. “I thought you had friends.”

“They’re… sightseeing,” I chose my word carefully.

“Ah. Come in,” she offered. I followed. She seemed very relaxed for a leader of a military division. “Elder Hibiscus Tea,” she offered her hoof. I wondered how the Ranger Elders got such strange names.

“Ebonmane.” I took it. She sat down at her desk, which was completely clean except for a terminal. In fact, the office was rather bare except for a squat metal bookshelf with a few thick volumes and a few boxes filled with memory storage cards for PipBucks and terminals. I sat down in a chair across from her.

“What can I do for you?” she asked. Again, I was surprised at how willing she was to listen. I had expected a lot more begging.

I remembered my manners. “Thank you for seeing me.”

“No trouble,” she returned the formality. She waited patiently.

“Well,” I began awkwardly. “I’m here because my friends and I have uncovered a bit of an operation going on in Manehattan that’s supporting the raiders everywhere else.”

“Oh?” she said as if I had informed her that the weather would be poor today.

“Yes,” I continued anyways. “There’s a… well, a pimp, really, named Thunderfall. He buys mares that raiders capture and forces them into prostitution. He’s giving the raiders caps and a goal to pursue.” The Elder said nothing. “If we could go to Manehattan and eliminate him, the raiders would be losing a lot of what’s feeding them, and it would be easier to clean them up from there. Plus, we’d be freeing a lot of mares from a terrible life,” I concluded for her.

“I see.” She said. She stood and began to pace. I was starting to sweat with nervousness. I was too tired to handle rejection right now. “You want me to send the troops, storm the streets, and wipe this Thunderfall off the face of Equestria in one massive display of firepower?”

Why were ponies always putting words in my mouth? I was too irritable to be treated like this at the moment. “No. It doesn’t have to be some massive operation. Just a unit or two would probably be enough. You don’t have to make a big deal about it, but don’t you think something should be done?” I realized that I was close to shouting at her.

She turned to me, and fixed me in the most intense and intimidating stare I had ever seen. “Of course I think something should be done. We’re Applejack’s Rangers for Luna’s sake. What would our founder think if we ignored this?”

I calmed some. “Then what are you going to do?”

She sighed. This seemed like bad news. “Try to understand. My Rangers are stretched thin as it is. Right now, we’re the only thing keeping the roads safe. And if the roads fall to the raiders, the towns won’t be far behind. We have a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of ponies to cover it.” My ears flattened and I hung my head. “Hey,” she said firmly. “I’m going to help. I just can’t spare any units.”

I looked up. “Then what can you give me?”

She thought for a moment. “I can give you one soldier.”

My mouth fell open. Was she crazy? “One soldier? Thunderfall has a small army! One knight and three other ponies won’t be nearly enough.”

“You haven’t fought with one of our knights before then,” she smiled. “Come on. Let me take you to meet Paladin Ironbright.” She walked past me. Her confidence should have been reassuring, but no matter how much of a professional baddass this Ironbright guy was, there was no way he would be enough.

We wound through the halls again, and I saw Cloud Chaser and Rosemary sitting in the large atrium, still pony-watching. They didn’t see us walk on the level above them. Hibiscus Tea did seem right, though. The atrium was pretty sparsely populated, and we hadn’t passed many ponies in the halls. The ones we did were mostly scribes, not fighting knights. It seemed that the Rangers reported back here once they were off duty guarding the roads, but even with the ones that must have been out fighting, their combat forces must have been no more than a hundred. Across all the rangers, maybe five hundred.

Five hundred ponies stood between the raiders and the peace that made my relatively safe life possible. Safe until now, that is.

I heard running water, and I realized we were heading toward the showers. “Ironbright just got back from a week’s patrol about an hour ago,” the Elder explained. Well, I was sure this would be uncomfortable.

We rounded a corner, steam beginning to cloud the halls. I was surprised that the steel walls and floor weren’t rusting. Elder Hibiscus Tea stopped in front of the showers. “Ironbright,” she called. “I have somepony that I’d like you to talk to.”

Through the steam I could see him. He was a metal gray stallion about as tall as me, maybe a few inches shorter, but he made up for it in sheer muscle. His white mane was long and flowing, and when wet I’m sure it could have even made mares jealous. I made a note not to mess with this Ironbright. I was definitely intimated.

And as if to add insult to injury, she turned around.

Ironbright was definitely a mare. Her face might have been somewhat masculine, especially with the scar on her cheek, but she wasn’t bad looking. Now that I could see her, I would say that she was almost old enough to be Cloud Chaser’s mother if she gave birth at a young age. But time had obviously been good to her, because as she approached I could see with no doubt that she was much, much stronger than I could ever hope to be. And I noticed her cutie mark. It was a battle standard, with Celestia’s sun on the flag. She was a born knight of Equestria.

“This is Ebonmane. He’s from that group of wastelanders, and he’s here about a prostitution racket.”

Ironbright eyed me up, flashing silver. I could feel myself being measured. “And he wants our help?”

“Yes. Make sure he gets the run down,” Elder Hibiscus Tea said. Then added, “He’s had a hard travel, so I figured you could talk in the showers.” Before she left, she said to me in a low voice, “Besides, no offense dear, but you could use it.” Thanks.

And then I was alone with this beast of a mare. With a sigh, I stepped under the faucet next to her. The instant I did, any uncomfortable feelings I had about showering with a mare disappeared. The hot water reminded me how sore my muscles were, but then relieved me. I could have cried.

Ironbright let her mane fall over her face then tossed it back before speaking. “So what’s this about a prostitution racket?”

I didn’t even turn to her. I was dead and in heaven. “There’s a pimp named Thunderfall who’s buying mares captured by raiders. He’s in Manehattan, and the Elder said you would help us.”

She let out a breath, and I looked at her. Despite the large age difference and her bulk, I decided that she could be attractive in the right conditions. “I’m afraid it won’t be that simple,” she said. “Even though we are Applejack’s Rangers, we still follow many of the laws that bound the Steel Rangers. Those laws come with tape.”

“Are you serious?” It looked like Hibiscus Tea had just gotten my hopes up.

“Calm down. We are Applejack’s Rangers, and we have ways of getting around that tape. All we ask is that you help us before we can help you.”

I wasn’t going to like this. “What do you need us to do?”

“We found some information about a pre-war weapon made by Shining Armor.”

My ears picked up. “You know about Shining Armor?”

“I’m surprised you do,” she said. “All we have are some coded notes about something called Operation Blackheart. It seems that the operation was successful; they finished the weapon. But they never used it. Any guesses why?”

“It was too powerful. Do you think it was the first megaspell?” I asked.

“We think it might have been more powerful than any of the megaspells that were dropped. That’s the only reason they would have hidden it. At any rate, it’s been buried in the caves underneath Canterlot. Nopony has been able to reach it because of the taint, but ever since the Gardens of Equestria, now the caves should be open to us.”

There was still a question I had to ask. “What do you intend to do with it once you find it?”

“Not use it, if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied. “Applejack would never approve. We’re either going to study it or destroy it. Whatever’s necessary.”

I smiled. Ironbright, despite her fearsome appearance, was obviously a good pony.

“What about ghouls?” I asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle. And if I have three others with me we could have the weapon back here in less than three days. And then it would be off to Manehattan to deal with this Thunderfall.”

That was it? Just a trek to Canterlot? I knew enough about the wasteland to know that the Canterlot caverns were likely to be more dangerous than she let on, but Ironbright didn’t seem like the reckless type. If her timeline was correct, Thunderfall could be dead in a week. Then who knows how much longer it would be before the raiders died out. A year? Six months? Then ponies like Silver Bell and me or even Rosemary and Cloud Chaser could travel the roads safely.

“One more thing, though,” she turned to me. Of course. “It is forbidden for me to take you on this mission to Canterlot because you are a civilian. Applejack would never endanger the lives of her fellow Equestrians like that. This means that before any of this can happen, one of you must join Applejack’s Rangers, and it sounds like you’re the most likely candidate.”

I was stunned. “Me? A Ranger?”

“You’ve seen battle before. That much is obvious. And I’ve already heard about how you carried that mare here. My comrades all believe that you’ve come here to join in the first place. You’ve shown enough bravery and fortitude to impress the other knights. You could do well.”

“It’s just…” I started. “I’ve thought about it before I even came here. But I don’t want to be a soldier. I want to have a life, a family someday. I don’t want to die out there. I don’t want to fight until I’m an old stallion.”

“You won’t,” Ironbright said. “There are plenty of Rangers my age who have families and still serve. And most retire from combat once they’re a little older than me.”

“That won’t matter if I die,” I reminded her.

“Stick with me then. I promise I won’t let that happen.” She smiled. “I can already see the wheels turning in the Elder’s head. She wants me to take you under my wing. I know we’ve just met, but the Elder seems to think that you’re a good pony and that we would work well together. I trust her. I just need you to trust me.”

This was the first time any pony had given me their trust and confidence straight away. For some reason, the Elder believed in me, and because of that, Ironbright believed in me. I wanted to trust Ironbright.

“But what about you?” I asked. “You’re so willing to help me. I don’t understand.”

She swung her mane around to rinse it. “In all honesty, if you help me retrieve this weapon, I don’t think this Manehattan trip will cover what I owe you.” She looked straight ahead now, speaking from her heart. “This weapon means a lot to the Rangers. I’m lucky the Elder entrusted me with the Project Blackheart notes alone, let alone the retrieval mission. I believe she’s testing me.” Then she turned to me again. “Ebonmane, I think that if we succeed, she’ll promote me to Star Paladin.” Then she looked down and closed her eyes, her wet mane obscuring her face. “It’s more than I ever dreamed I would be when I joined the Rangers, but I’ve been working for years for this. Maybe I could even be Elder someday… and it all starts with this.”

I was taken aback by her honesty and humility. It was certainly more character than I possessed, and I don’t say that to degrade myself, but in recognition of her greatness. I believed in her, and it was plain that she believed in me.

“Then I would be happy to help.”

With a smile and a breath, she turned off the faucet. “Come find me once you’re done. We have to fit you for armor, Initiate.”

Her hooves faded against the steel floor and I was alone. My aching body may have been soothed by the steamy water, but my weary mind could find no solace. The decision I had just made would likely alter the course of my entire life, and I knew it wouldn’t be making it easier. But if this is what it took to protect my home, to protect the ones I cared about, I stood by my decision.

I stayed under the stream for a while longer, still desperate for rest, but I knew it wouldn’t come. With a heavy sigh, I turned the water off. I left to receive my armor and begin my new life as a Ranger of Applejack. As a soldier.

I headed back through the atrium to catch up with Ironbright, still wet and still sulky. I passed through the lower level to pick up Cloud Chaser and Rosemary. It looked like they had remained pony watchers, as they looked alone and rather unhappy about it.

“What’s going on? What did the Elder say?” Rosemary asked.

“Why are you wet?” Cloud Chaser followed up.

“I was in the shower. Follow me. You’re going to meet our new friend.” I continued walking.

“What’s going on?” Cloud Chaser sidled up to me.

A stallion called from behind us. “Hey. You’re those wastelanders, aren’t you?”

Why were they calling us that? I turned to look at him. He was tall, fiery colored and out of his armor, but definitely built like a soldier. Rosemary answered. “Yeah. Why?”

“Just thought I’d say hello,” he said, drawing closer to her, as Cloud Chaser was closer to me and therefore Rosemary was isolated and easy to pick off. “Maybe invite you and your friends back to my room for a drink.”

There was no way Rosemary was going to actually flirt with this guy, right? She basically hated stallions. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her smile.

“You know, you’re cute,” she looked up at him with half-open eyes. No. Way. “But overconfidence like that, you seem like one of those ‘compensating’ types. I mean, really, how many inches are we talking?”

“No way,” Cloud Chaser whispered to me.

“No need to be a bitch,” the stallion spat and walked away. Rosemary seemed unfazed.

Cloud Chaser, duly impressed, went to her. “Wow, Rosemary. Cold.”

“Please. He didn’t even introduce himself or ask what my name was. He wasn’t worth the time of day,” Rosemary replied.

It still seemed a little excessive to me. I almost felt bad for the guy, but I guess she had a point.

Regardless, they followed me as I navigated the halls. I realized I had no idea where I was going and Ironbright hadn’t mentioned where to find her, so I just followed some of the other soldiers to where I thought were the living quarters, hoping to find her room.

“So, new friend?” Cloud Chaser asked.

“Her name is Ironbright,” I informed them.

“Her?” Rosemary commented. “We’re getting a female ranger?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Cloud Chaser asked innocently.

“She’s not really masculine is she?” Rosemary asked hopefully.

“She’s fine,” I answered. I don’t see why Rosemary cared.

“Is she hot?” Cloud Chaser asked. I just rolled my eyes to dodge that one.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Rosemary asked.

“She’s gotta be somewhere around here,” I replied.

“Nope,” Cloud Chaser responded. Before I could even reassure them that I knew what I was doing, Rosemary was asking another pony for directions. Sure enough, Ironbright was seen heading towards the armory, and yes, he would be happy to show us.

“All of the rangers are so nice,” Cloud Chaser commented. I fully expected them to rub in my mistake, but they didn’t. They just liked to let it simmer so I would feel like an idiot on my own. And it worked.

We walked into a small room lit by a single bulb with a lot of bare metal shelves. Maybe a box or two. Honestly, when it came to the armory, I expected a little… more.

“This is it?” Cloud Chaser voiced our thoughts.

“Steel Ranger armor isn’t exactly easy to make. Or come by,” she replied. She stepped forward. “I’m Ironbright” she introduced herself. Rosemary and Cloud Chaser did likewise.

“I think we’ll just have to fit you in some temporary armor,” she said, walking in a circle around me. “Do you know your measurements?”

“No,” I answered. I had never needed them. Any clothing I wore never fit me anyway. Too skinny and too tall.

“I think you and I are the same size. Here,” she said. She grabbed the handle of a metal box off the shelves and dragged it to the floor where it fell with a heavy thud. She opened the lid to reveal a mess of slightly rusty plates and straps.

“Could you give me a hoof, Rosemary?” she asked. Rosemary levitated the plates out, suspending them. At least they looked light enough. I moved to take one from her, but Ironbright stopped me. “Just stand still. Getting a pony in this old armor requires a team.”

And it did. Rosemary held the plates around me as Cloud Chaser and Ironbright set and strapped them to my body. Honestly, the whole process involved a little more touching than I would have liked, but soon it became evident that there was no way a single pony could suit themselves up in this. It was especially frustrating for Cloud Chaser to shift the plates to allow my wings freedom.

It also became evident just how heavy this was. I must have been wearing seventy, maybe eighty pounds of armor. And then she put the helm on. Another twenty, as my neck strained under the weight.

“Is this necessary?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “This is the best we have. It might not move as intuitively, but be thankful that it’s a lot lighter. You’re lucky your horn even pokes through.”

I was sweating already. Cloud Chaser spoke up, annoyed. “Well, now we have to get this all off of him.”

“No,” Ironbright stopped her. “He needs to get used to wearing it. Put some muscle on.”

“I’m not that weak,” I protested, embarrassed and now defensive.

“Want to hoof wrestle?” she asked. I looked at her arms, her corded muscles. I knew I didn’t stand a chance. “Didn’t think so,” she finished. “Consider this a part of your training, Initiate. If you are to be a ranger, your body must be in top shape. I’ll get you there. Just do as I say, and you’ll make a great ranger someday.”

“Wait, wait,” Rosemary said. “Ebonmane? You’re becoming a ranger?” She didn’t seem pleased with this idea.

“I had to, or else they wouldn’t help us,” I told her.

“Then we don’t need their help. You should have said no. Chasing Thunderfall is one thing, but even if you survive that, you’re going to get yourself killed eventually if you keep fighting.”

“I can take care of myself,” I told her. I actually felt a little hurt. It was bad enough that she was probably right, but I expected at least a little more support.

“Let me talk to them, Ebonmane. You start heading out,” Ironbright told me. I just nodded, and they left.

I followed them. What would Ironbright say to them? Even if she was my new commander, Rosemary and Cloud Chaser were my friends, and I wasn’t going to let her yell at them.

I heard Ironbright’s voice from around the corner. “How much experience does Ebonmane have in the wasteland?”

“Not enough,” Rosemary answered. “I mean, neither do I, but that’s why I’m not signing up.”

“He’s not the soldier type,” Cloud Chaser explained. “He wants to protect everypony, yeah, but he’s lucky he’s survived this much. This kind of thing isn’t, like, his thing, you know?” she fumbled.

“You don’t think this is his destiny?” Ironbright asked.

“No,” Rosemary asked. “He’s got a good heart, but he’s got a family, and I think he wants to have a family, too. He’s the settling down type.”

Ironbright seemed to think on this for a moment. “Would you describe him as reckless?”

“Kind of,” Cloud Chaser answered.

“A little,” Rosemary said. “But I think he thinks this stuff through, too. He likes to have a plan.”

“So he’s not looking for glory or blood? That sounds like a good soldier to me,” Ironbright said. “Listen. Ebonmane made this decision on his own. He’s taken a big step forward in his life, for himself. You said it yourself, he wants to protect ponies. Let him. How is that a bad thing?”

“He could die, for starters,” Cloud Chaser said.

“There are worse fates than dying to protect the things you love,” Ironbright said solemnly. “Even if he does die young, in the wasteland, sometimes that’s a good thing. If he wants this, if he thinks this is a part of his destiny, you shouldn’t hold him back.” Ironbright sighed. “You two are coming with us to Canterlot, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Rosemary answered. “Canterlot?”

“We’re going after a pre-war artifact buried in the caves. And I suggest you worry about yourselves along the way,” she said, “after all, you’re just as inexperienced as he is. And at least now he has armor.”

“We’re careful,” Cloud Chaser reassured her.

“I have to ask you, though, why are you even out here?” Ironbright said convictingly.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” Cloud Chaser said simply, betraying the vast loneliness it implied.

“We’re here because it’s the right thing to do,” Rosemary answered.

“You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that,” Ironbright said. “Just stay behind me. I’ve taken plenty of bullets before, and if we’re careful, we can do this without any casualties.” She began to walk away.

Towards me.

Ironbright saw me and stopped. Caught. She gave me a look, but didn’t say anything. She just kept walking. Rosemary and Cloud Chaser, on the other hand, were contemplating on what they had said, now that they knew I had been eavesdropping.

“How you feeling?” Cloud Chaser asked.

“I’m fine,” I said. “What do you guys think about Ironbright?”

“She’s…” Rosemary started. “Alright I guess. Kind of stallion-ish, but I guess that’s to be expected.”

“Not all mares have to be ladylike, Rosemary,” Cloud Chaser admonished.

“You would know,” Rosemary answered, walking ahead.

“Hey, I have perfect manners!” Rosemary just laughed at that.

Once again, leaving me with my thoughts for a moment. Rosemary and Cloud Chaser clearly weren’t completely confident in me, even after Ironbright’s little talk. I don’t even think Ironbright was behind me all the way. But Ironbright had stood up for me, which wasn’t nothing.

But I realized now that my friends didn’t doubt me. They were just uncertain. I had been telling them that I could take care of myself, and that I did know what I was doing. They wanted to believe me. But they just needed some kind of evidence that I was stronger than I looked.

I would give them my best. Ultimately, they were following me, and they deserved to have a leader they could trust completely. But every step in the steel shell I wore thudded heavily, and my muscles were already tired again from lack of sleep. My armor weighed on me, and every drop of sweat my body produced sapped my confidence a little more.

The armor then proceeded to sap my body of all the water it contained. I don’t mean to be gross, but in the five hour walk outside the stable towards Canterlot we took before stopping for the evening, I must have generated at least the average bucket’s worth of sweat, not to mention we stopped four times so I could pee. When I checked the color, it warned me of a case of dehydration that was growing ever more serious.

Ironbright had filled us canteens full of purified water, but I had downed mine within the space of an hour. I drank like a camel when dressed normally, but the summer heat was killing me.

I was panting after twenty minutes, and Ironbright called back to me. “Keep up the pace, Initiate. We aren’t going to slow down for you.”

I didn’t even bother to reply. I was shocked at how much of a taskmaster she was being. I was also shocked at how easy she made it look. Ironbright was dressed in her full crimson armor. When she looked back, the green lenses in her helm flickered like an insect’s at me. She was leading, and setting a pace that was even tiring Rosemary out, but the armor gave her an aura that no one wanted to challenge.

Even if she was being hard on me, I understood why. This was my training. I was going to be an Applejack’s Ranger, and if I couldn’t keep up, I couldn’t contribute. When the wasteland was teeming with evil that spread and festered like a virus, only the strongest could stand against it. I knew better than to object.

Cloud Chaser didn’t.

After an hour, I began to lag, and Ironbright called after me. “Come on, what kind of stallion are you? You’re letting a bunch of mares beat you! You got balls between your legs or what?”

Rosemary was either too offended or too intimidated to say anything, but the young pegasus immediately rushed to my defense, hovering over the ranger. “Hey, what’s the big idea? He’s wearing, like, a hundred pounds of armor and you’re in a metal skinsuit. Give him a break. Can’t you see he’s tired?”

Big mistake. “Tired?” Ironbright stopped to turn to the young pegasus. Even with the elevation difference and the helm, Ironbright still managed to stare Cloud Chaser down. “Tired?” she repeated. “Well, let me tell you something, and I hope he’s listening, because he better get used to tired. He’s not going to feel rested for at least a month, maybe even the rest of his life. And maybe that seems hard, but when things get rough, I don’t think raiders are going to give him a potty break. You all could do with some toughening up, but if he’s going to be a ranger, then he really needs to put on some muscle, and this is the fastest way. The only credit I’ll give him at this point is that he didn’t complain, at least before you did. And now look. You’ve made me go and waste my speech.”

She turned to continue the march, but Rosemary spoke up. “Cloud Chaser does have a point, though,” she said plainly. “It’s just four of us, and if one of our tougher fighters is exhausted, won’t that just make him easier to pick off once we get to Canterlot? Not to mention raiders.”

Ironbright seemed to consider this. “It’s a point, but trust me, adrenaline will make up for any fatigue if it comes to that. He’s fine. Don’t let him fool you.”

They all looked back at me. I had no idea what expression I was wearing at the time, but it must not have been too impressive. “He’ll be fine, at least. Just let me know if he collapses.”

Such faith she had in me. But I didn’t say that. I was too tired.

As I mentioned, we only marched for five hours before it was time to unpack and set up camp. We must have left sometime in the afternoon, but with our exhausted sleep in the stable, I was never quite sure what time it was. It was nice to have the sun. I can’t imagine what the wasteland must have looked like in Littlepip’s day.

I flopped on the ground, using whatever energy I had left to lift the helm from my head. Sweet Celestia, my neck was sore.

“Ah ah ah!” Ironbright said. “If you’re going to get used to that armor, you’re sleeping in it.”

“Are you serious?” I asked.

She removed her own helm and glared at me. “Do I look like I’m joking, Initiate?” She did not.

I released the helm from my magical grip and let my head thud into the dirt. I wished my heart would stop beating, because with every pulse my muscles throbbed painfully. Ironbright was right. Even after today, I would be lucky if the pain subsided in a month’s time.

Rosemary faithfully produced a dinner that she deemed edible out of the bland but nutritious rations that Ironbright had provided from the stable. This made me think that when we left New Appleloosa, it was possible that Rosemary had simply filled her bags with spices and some ammo and nothing more. I accepted the plate she placed before me without comment.

While Rosemary cooked, Ironbright shed her armor while I looked on jealously. Despite the descriptions of my party I’ve given, I rarely find myself ogling a mare, but I could be back in that strip club and I would feel the same. My eyes looked hungrily at Ironbright’s body, but all I saw was the kiss of air against her skin that I was denied.

I hoped that my sweat-drenched body would cool with the night breeze, but no such luck. While it wasn’t humid, it wasn’t dry either, so I continued to sweat throughout the night. Rosemary and Cloud Chaser didn’t say much. The march had been tough for them, too, and I guess Ironbright had intimidated them from even the smallest quips or friendly conversation.

Sleep finally came as I looked toward at the mountain that used to support Canterlot. We would reach it by tomorrow, and then maybe I could get this nightmare over with. Except it would never end. This was my life now.

I felt like crying, but I was too tired, so I fell asleep.

I was shoved awake, but my first thought wasn’t about who was waking me. My throat may as well have been made of glass for how dry and cracked it felt. The heat was definitely getting to me. I wondered if I would start hallucinating.

My eyes opened to see Ironbright standing above me, dressed in full armor once more, helm off. Her silver eyes flashed in the dim light of the sunrise.

“Rise and shine, Initiate,” she said in a hushed tone. “While they sleep, you and I have training to do.”

I couldn’t speak. My throat would shatter with the slightest vibration. Instead, I answered her with a heavy breath as my lips moved, pathetically trying to answer.

“Here,” she said. She retrieved her canteen from her saddlebags. “It’s about half-full. It’ll have to do you for today.”

I drank my first sip greedily, but only one sip. “This won’t last me for today,” I finally told her.

“I know you’re dehydrated, but pure water is hard to come by in the wasteland, and we can’t have radiation in you while you’re still weak. You’d collapse.”

Again, I was touched by her faith in me. I suppose I couldn’t blame her, though. I was ready to collapse then. “Training?” I asked.

She walked out of earshot of the slumbering Cloud Chaser and Rosemary. I followed her, hoping that my friends might awaken so that we could begin marching and I wouldn’t have to do this. Neither of them did.

I managed to get to my hooves, but it nearly killed me to do so. The throbbing returned with a vengeance, but I managed to put one hoof in front of the other.

She stopped about two hundred feet from camp. “I’ll take it easy on you this morning, Initiate. We’re going to use some muscles that aren’t killing you yet. Start flying.”

Thank heavens. I opened my wings and took a few power flaps to get me off the ground. The air stirred around my body, but there wasn’t even an upward tug. I had no lift in this steel trap.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she asked me.

“Ironbright-”

“That’s Paladin to you, Initiate,” she interrupted me. As I opened my mouth, she cut me off again. “Don’t you dare give me an excuse. Now fly.”

I tried. I flapped as hard as I could but it was no use.

“This armor’s too heavy,” I said. “No pegasus, no matter how strong, could fly in this. That’s why the Enclave had their special armor. This was made for earth ponies,” I reasoned.

“Do I look stupid?” she asked. I was caught off guard. “I know how much it weighs! Mine weighs at least fifty pounds more, and I can run a marathon in this. And you can’t even get an inch off the ground? Don’t give me that, Initiate. Fly!”

I tried one more time, but I knew it was in vain. “It’s impossible!” I told her.

She got right in my face, the steam from her nostrils heating my neck. “How dare you! Do you think I’m doing this to be a jerk? I’m doing you a favor. The only reason you even made it to that stable is because you got lucky, and we both know that. But Elder Hibiscus Tea thinks you’ve got what it takes to be a ranger, and you say it’s impossible? She believed in you and all you’ve got to show for it is failure after failure. You’re slow. You’re hilariously weak by a stallion’s standards. And the worst part is that you might be able to make something out of this heap of whatever your fancy Junction Town life made you, but you’ll never make it because you lose the battle in your mind before you even begin to try. Impossible? Did Applejack say making the best soldiers in Equestria was impossible? Did Xenith say that survival in Fillydelphia was impossible? Did Littlepip say getting into the SPP was impossible? Did Ditzy Doo, a shopkeeper for Luna’s sake, even think for a moment that a sonic rainboom was impossible? No! And I know what goes on in your head. I know why you’re out here. You want to be like them. You’re just like those foals, those Crusaders, who go out and get themselves killed, leaving good rangers to find the corpses. But this is a stallion’s fight, and you’ve got a colt’s mind. You want to make your heroes proud? Start by making something of yourself that you can live with, because right now, we both know that all you’ve been so far is a disappointment.”

She walked back towards camp. I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even think. I simply stood, my eyes following her. Once her form no longer dominated my vision, I could see the camp past her. Rosemary and Cloud Chaser were looking directly at me with concerned faces.

I tried not to hang my head as I followed her, but my helmet was too heavy, and it was all but impossible once we began to march.

Ironbright’s words burned in my mind, but instead of feeling broken and weak, as she had accused me, or motivated and impassioned, as I’m sure was her intention, I simply felt numb. I turned her rant over and over again in my mind but felt nothing. In some ways she was right. My biggest enemy had always been myself, and I knew I didn’t live up to the ideals I had set for myself, but I knew I wasn’t a disappointment either. I had saved lives. I’m sure if Ironbright were to ask Rosemary whether or not I was a failure, she would have a few choice words for the Paladin.

Speaking of my friends, they were remarkably quiet. Ever since Ironbright had taken over, they had been too intimidated to keep up their usual banter, but they had at least spoken enough to break uncomfortable silences. Now, the only sounds were the wind and the clanking of my armor.

It was still hot. I was still sweating to death, but I forced myself to drink only at scheduled intervals. After all, it would have to last me. At least it was enough to stave off dehydration. While drinking it, I wondered where Ironbright would get her water. I kept an eye on her throughout the day. She never took a drink.

I got used to the aggressive ache in my muscles. At least, as used to pain as a pony can get. As usual, I maintained my silence. Ironbright lightened up, but only a little.

“Come on, Initiate. If we don’t pick up the pace, we won’t reach Canterlot by nightfall. Are you a stallion or are you a mare?” I didn’t know how she wanted me to answer after the tirade.

Rosemary knew how, though. “You know, you’re a mare, Ironbright. Isn’t it a little stupid to insult yourself and the rest of us by teasing him like that?”

“If it works, it works,” she answered. “No skin off my muzzle. I’m at the front of the pack. He’s at the back.”

There wasn’t a whole lot of pride left in me for her to wound, so I said nothing. I think my silence was concerning my friends. Cloud Chaser and Rosemary came up to me during a break.

“You okay there, big guy?” Cloud Chaser asked.

“I’m fine,” I replied. “I’m just thirsty.”

“You need to say something,” Rosemary told me. “You can’t let her push you around like that. She thinks you’re weak. You have to prove her wrong.”

“Talking back isn’t going to help. That would mean that she’s getting to me. I’m fine.”

“Ebonmane, if you don’t say anything, I will,” Cloud Chaser said. “And if I don’t, I know Rosemary will. And we all know that would be ugly.”

For the first time all day, I felt a stirring inside. I replied, “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”

“But she’s so wrong about you,” Rosemary said. “You’re more of a hero than she is.”

“She is wrong,” I told them. “But not entirely. Some of that stuff was right on the head. But I’m not hurt. Just don’t worry about me, alright? Worry about yourselves.”

I don’t think that was the answer they wanted to hear, but Ironbright, intentionally or otherwise, was testing me. I was determined to pass. Not to show her that she was wrong, but because I had a mission. For the first time in my life, I was wearing this armor and going through hell and back to protect others. I had read the Book of Littlepip enough times to know that what heroes went through wasn’t easy, but at least now I knew how hard it was. And I hadn’t quit yet. Maybe I would down the road. Part of me wanted to right now, but I refused. After Thunderfall, I would see where my path took me, but for now, I was on the hero’s errand. Maybe it was foalish, but the knowledge that I could be as great as they were as long as I didn’t give up yet kept me going.

It was foalish. Ironbright had said that I had a colt’s mind. I knew she was right, but I didn’t care. If it weren’t for my foalish dreams of heroism, I wouldn’t have even gotten this far.

Although, I suppose that wasn’t entirely accurate, either. I would have died a long time ago if it weren’t for Rosemary and Cloud Chaser. I was happy to know that we were close enough that they would stick up for me like this, but the criticisms Ironbright had raised had been in my head longer than possibly any of them realized. I knew my weaknesses, but I had to overcome them; Cloud Chaser and Rosemary couldn’t do it by yelling at Ironbright, and not even Ironbright could do it by yelling at me, or pushing me, or whatever she thought she was doing.

But I would get better, somehow. If I wore this armor long enough, my muscles would get stronger. With experience, I would make less mistakes. And with time, I just might reach a point where I would stop having to prove myself all the time. I think that’s what I really wanted.

The remains of Canterlot lay before us, even the mountain missing a large crescent near the top. In the distance, the crumbled ruins of Zebratown were crushed beneath the bits of white stone and finery that the pristine city had brought when it fell. Ironic, if you ask me.

The entrance to the caves were on the south side, though, and Canterlot had perched on the eastern face of the mountain, so we wouldn’t be trudging through the city to reach our goal.

I expected some sort of briefing about our plan to find this weapon, but the silence we had established was unbreakable. Ironbright simply donned her helm and led us into the caves.

The entrance was blue and crystalline, light reflecting off all surfaces, illuminating the maze. After only a few minutes I felt the air grow cooler and cooler, until even I felt comfortable. This meant that Cloud Chaser and Rosemary were shivering.

The mares nervously drew their weapons, and with the tight corridors we were navigating, I decided to draw my sword.

“How do you know where you’re going?” I asked her.

“PipBuck auto-map,” Ironbright said. “You should have one, too.” Oh. I did. It didn’t give me an exact layout of the entire cave system, but I could see where we had been, and some dead ends that we hadn’t walked down. That was useful.

The floor began to slope downward, and the light began to get dimmer and dimmer. Once my friends were a blurry smudge in front of me, Ironbright suggested that Rosemary and I light our horns. With better vision, I could see that the crystal walls were less worn here, and our reflections walked with us across every facet. I simply looked ahead, keeping an eye on my friends’ backs to avoid confusion.

Ironbright had said that ghouls inhabited these caves, but we hadn’t seen hide nor tail of them. I remembered how dangerous Canterlot ghouls were. They were far stronger than the average pony and felt almost no pain. At least there wasn’t a taint cloud within these tunnels to fuel them. Or maybe none of them had turned zombie, and the survivors of the city’s collapse had fled down here, continuing what society they could craft.

I could only hope to be so lucky.

Ironbright stopped and raised a hoof for us to do likewise. I looked at my own PipBuck but saw nothing, but sure enough, I saw red dots on her foreleg. She was most definitely a professional.

“Stay here,” she ordered. “I’ve got this.”

“Wait,” Cloud Chaser whispered. “Don’t you think we should be quiet about this?”

“If you think your knife is going to take out a Canterlot Ghoul before it rips your throat out, you’ve got another thing coming. This is going to take some firepower. Just get ready to move.”

She walked around the corner, and I positioned myself in front of Rosemary and Cloud Chaser, sword drawn. They let me. After all, I had the armor.

There was a lot of growling. Some hoofbeats. Then the caves exploded in a barrage of bullets. Ironbright must have some heavy firepower. I could hear the thunder echoing deeper down the corridors.

She rounded the corner back to us. “Hurry up. We have to move.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. Not with those chain guns at her sides, extended and still smoking.

We passed the body of the Canterlot ghouls, and I couldn’t help but look. Their bodies were desiccated and rotting, their coats and manes fallen out long ago. Their flesh was patchy and worn, but there wasn’t much else to notice; Ironbright had blown their heads off, the remains of which lay splattered against the walls and floor.

We had all read the Book of Littlepip. Canterlot ghouls could only die by decapitation or vaporization. I hope my tired body could still swing my blade through a ghoul’s neck. My pistols weren’t strong enough to blow a head up.

While not galloping, we were going at a good run through the halls, navigating the corners as quickly as we could. My body reminded me that it was in pain rather rudely, my legs buckling when made a hard turn.

Around the bend, I came face to face with three more ghouls. They shrieked at me, their eyes glowing a sickly pink, the inside of their mouths a charred black, save for their broken, rotten teeth.

Ironbright’s double barrels started spinning, but their brief warm-up period would cost me. In that split second, I saw the ghoul closest to me take the plunge for my throat.

Its head exploded in a burst of guts that thudded against my armor. Rosemary snaked alongside me, using her small size to get around and fire off her second round. At this range, it was point and shoot. Ironbright vaporized the last head in a hail of bullets. My ears were ringing, but I was alive and unharmed.

“We can’t be too far away,” Ironbright called. “There’s a big chamber up ahead. Stick together.”

The dome we ran into was nothing like the cramped halls we had just came through. The crystals had turned a vibrant shade of pink mixed with the blue floors, and I could see bits of metal and wood that must have been ancient mine carts, rusted and broken on the floor around us.

Unfortunately, we had also found ourselves face to face with at least thirty ghouls.

Their unanimous shriek, like hell calling us to our graves, was only drowned out by the cracking of Ironbright’s dual miniguns. I knew her ammo was finite, but she unloaded like she sweat bullets. She aimed high, but the scattered fire was only successful in eliminating a few ghouls. Mostly, her burst just provided stopping power, which was enough to hold them back. The bullets tore at their sagging flesh as they fought towards us, struggling desperately as if swimming against rapids. Their jaws snapped hungrily, and their voices never ceased.

Cloud Chaser took wing, and my heart skipped a beat as she flew right at the group. Was she insane? Drawing her pistol, she fired downwards, putting bullets into rotting brains. While not fatal to the feral ghouls, the loss of nervous function caused them to drop for a few moments, but they didn’t appear to regenerate with Ironbright’s onslaught giving their tainted bodies other wounds to patch up.

Sure that she would be dead in a few moments, my voice caught as I tried to call to her. But the ghouls could only look up and snap at her, a few attempting to jump. There were no pegasi amongst them. The Enclave’s early departure had seen to that.

Following up Cloud Chaser’s plan, I drew my own pistol and aimed for heads. SATS helped immensely, but I wasn’t nearly as close as Cloud Chaser was. However, it was Rosemary who dealt the most finishing blows. The tide of ghouls slowly drew closer, but with Rosemary’s ridiculously powerful gun, she didn’t even have to hit the head, as a blow to the neck was usually enough to decapitate. Ironbright’s fire occasionally blew a rotten head to bloody chunks as well. The ghouls drew closer, dropping when the damage they had suffered was too much for their legs to function, but with Rosemary’s reload speed, we could only kill them so fast.

One of Ironbright’s guns was glowing, and she was forced to stop firing, lest it overheated. The tide rushed at us, our hooves backpedaling as quickly as possible, pulling them into the corridor we had come from. Cloud Chaser flew above, braining as many as she could with her disabling shots.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Now that they could move, they were galloping. All it took was a small running start for one of the front runners to leap up, catching Cloud Chaser’s ankle. They hovered for a moment, her losing altitude as my legs began to move. The weight was too much as I reached her, and with a bloodcurdling scream, she crashed to the ground. The last thing I saw was the look of terror in her eyes as she disappeared under the horde of undead.

I found myself in the thick of them before I even realized how I had gotten there. My sword was out, my horn straining to hack off as many heads as I could. Beneath the pile of limbs and heads beneath me, I saw Cloud Chaser screaming as she was eaten alive. The ghouls ignored me, drawn by her blood.

With a roar, I shoved them off of her, standing directly over her.

My sword never stopped. I could hear bullets behind me, tearing our attackers to shreds. But even between these things, we could not kill the ghouls fast enough.

Countless jaws clamped down on my armor, slowly bending and crushing the steel plates. I could feel the pressure threatening to break my bones, but I hacked the attackers away as fast as I could. My unarmored spots didn’t fare as well. I could feel the bones in my wings snapping like twigs as I cried out in pain. Teeth sank into spots on my flanks and neck, but I knew that if I moved, it would be Cloud Chaser’s life. The plates on my legs were bending, my legs breaking, but I would stand as long as I possibly could. Cloud Chaser would live if it killed me.

Heads rolled and exploded like fireworks around me. I was roaring in pain and fury, my voice being the only thing I could hear, the only thing keeping my legs locked.

When my breath ran out, I let out a gasping sob and collapsed. I fell to the side, so as not to crush Cloud Chaser.

The last ghoul’s head exploded with the crack of Rosemary’s rifle as I did.

I didn’t pass out this time. I had to see if Cloud Chaser was okay. I looked over at her. She was a bloody mess. Countless holes had been torn in her zebra armor, and I saw an exposed rib on her left side. Bu the armor had been enough, as she was blinking through tears, still breathing.

Rosemary ran between us, and we both looked at her. I was certain I wouldn’t die, and I did my best to give her a reassuring look. Rosemary held Cloud Chaser, and the two of them cried in fear and relief.

Ironbright, ever vigilant, stood above me, her guns rotating occasionally, prepped for any surprises. “Can you stand, Initiate?” she said.

My legs weren’t broken, but my front ones were definitely cracked. I shook my head.

“We need to get you moving,” she said. She laid down in front of me. “Put your forelegs over my back.” If it got me out of this hole, I would have danced if she told me to. “Now, stand up with me.” I did.

“Oh, sweet Celestia, Ebonmane,” I heard Cloud Chaser’s voice as I got my hindlegs under me. I turned my head to see her smiling, almost laughing at me.

Then I realized why. In this position, I could walk with my backlegs while Ironbright’s hindquarters carried the brunt of my weight. However…

“You are not seriously mounting your commander right now.”

But, as Cloud Chaser so eloquently put it, I was.

Ironbright began to walk forward as Rosemary helped Cloud Chaser to stand. Cloud Chaser’s legs were functional, so she didn’t need any form of embarrassing assistance, just a health potion. Ironbright silenced them by saying, “Regardless of what it looks like, it’ll get him out of here. Unless either of you would prefer to carry him.” I could have sworn I saw them blush. They didn’t comment after that.

“What about the weapon?” I asked.

“It’s here,” Ironbright said.

“How do you know?” Rosemary asked. “Because if it’s not, we need to leave. Maybe we can come back when we’re healed.”

“It is,” Ironbright said assuredly. “Those ghouls didn’t come up on either of our radars. That means that something must have been blocking it, and only taint or heavy radiation could do that. Plus, a heavy source of taint would draw those ghouls in the first place.”

We cast our eyes around. “There,” Cloud Chaser motioned with her muzzle. There was a gap in one of the crystal walls, but with the reflections of our bodies, it was difficult to tell where the walls were unless you were close enough to touch them. Now that I looked, though, there was a space beyond.

Ironbright entered the space, carrying me with her. It was a small, rounded room covered in the reflective crystals. My PipBuck wasn’t registering any radiation, but the built in radio was starting to give feedback, even though it wasn’t on.

Then I spotted it. Towards the far edge was a black crystal about the size of a pony’s head. I knew this must have been it, because it was carved. In the shape of a heart.

“Didn’t you say the project name was Operation Blackheart?” I asked Ironbright as I directed my light towards it.

“Then this must be it,” she concluded. “If you would be so kind, Initiate.”

I picked up the object in my telekinesis. As I went to place it in my saddlebags, my radio began to whine a high-pitched, eerie sound. While our brains remained intact, I recognized it as a corrupted Canterlot signal. Just weaker.

If mere proximity to this thing corrupted its surroundings with a weak taint… who knows what its intended purpose was.

“Come on, gang. Let’s scram. I’ve been eaten enough for one day,” Cloud Chaser said. We hurried to leave, Cloud Chaser and I limping and waddling as fast as we could. Ironbright must have been right about the ghouls being drawn to it, because we found no more on our way out. A bit of mercy, it would seem.

With our survival tentatively guaranteed, the mood lightened some. “Rosemary, take my knife and pry off some crystals,” Cloud Chaser whined.

“No. We’re leaving. That’s final,” Rosemary responded before even Ironbright could.

“But the ghouls are all dead and we can sell them.”

“No.”

“C’mon,” her voice took an even more obnoxious tone. “I’m hurt and I can’t do it. And look at how shiny they are.”

Rosemary looked. They were beautiful. “Fine.”

Once Cloud Chaser was satisfied with her plunder, we wound our way back, following our PipBuck maps until we were out into the cool night air.

Immediately, Ironbright was speaking into her radio. “This is Paladin Ironbright of the Stable Two division of Applejack's Rangers requesting the aid of all nearby units. I have an injured civilian and Initiate with me who are in need of medical supplies if we are to make it back to base. Over.”

A stallion’s voice crackled through on the other end. “This is Paladin Truffle. Your PipBuck tag says you’re south of Canterlot. Not much we can do from that range, but if you head west, we just saved a merchant from some raiders who was mighty thankful. He’ll be low on healing supplies, but that’s better than nothing.”

Ironbright thanked him and signed off. We waddled a little distance away until we found a spot to make camp. The bulky mare set me down, then promised to return before morning with potions. “If anything comes up, Initiate, you can use the radio through my PipBuck tag.” We exchanged tags, and she was off.

Despite the furious pain in my crushed body, I slept like the dead.

When I awoke, it was still the middle of the night. Once again, Ironbright was shaking me, albeit much more gently than last time. Her helm was off, and I could see bags under her eyes.

“Drink up, Ebonmane,” she said, tipping a bottle into my mouth. I drank. It was the first liquid I had received since this afternoon, and I would have been happy even if it was just water. Once I had downed the potion I immediately felt my bones setting in the most releasing way, like cracking your neck. Some of my flesh wounds were still sore, but I knew that one healing potion wouldn’t be enough to heal me of the damage I had taken.

“What about Cloud Chaser?” I asked.

Ironbright motioned behind her. “She already got hers. Don’t tell her, but I took one of her crystals to pay for them.” She was snoring, exactly as Ironbright had left her. The pegasus’s head must have returned the dirt as soon as she finished the bottle. We couldn’t help but smile.

“She probably has them counted. You’re caught.” I almost laughed at my own joke. “You look tired,” I remarked.

“I’ll be alright,” she said.

“Thirsty?” I asked. She had given me her only water yesterday. She nodded. “But even as bad as that seems, I’ve been through worse.”

“I seriously doubt that,” I said. “That was pretty bad.”

“I’ll tell you about it later,” she said wearily. “Just rest. We’ll be up early so we can be at the stable as soon as possible, where there are real beds and more potions for you two.”

“Why didn’t we take any with us?” I asked.

“We shouldn’t have needed them, and they don’t like it when we squander supplies like that. I was predicting maybe twenty ghouls at most. But definitely not all at once. Ugh. The mission report for this is going to be a chore.”

“Report?” I asked.

“Yes. We have to fill out forms every time we return from duty, and the more combat, the more paperwork. Plus, I have to fill out an evaluation for you.”

“Really?” I asked. Seeing as how I had nearly gotten myself killed, I wasn’t looking forward to that.

“Yes. You won’t be able to join until you’ve been evaluated. And then the Elder, a couple Star Paladins, and I will go into a hearing about you. It’s a lengthy process. Especially considering that some would think your actions reckless.”

“I’m still alive,” I told her. “So is Cloud Chaser.”

Ironbright shook her head in disbelief. “That was a stupid move you made. You should both be dead.”

“But we’re not,” I reminded her hopefully.

“No, you’re not.” She sighed. “When I saw her get grabbed, I thought the only way she would survive was if you flew and got the ghoul off of her. It was up to you, and that was the only way.”

“I told you. I can’t fly in this armor. It’s impossible.”

She looked at me. “Even if you did take the hard way, I suppose you still came through for her.”

Ironbright didn’t sound impressed. But she did seem to be pondering my actions. This was the second time I had made the impossible happen. After healing Rosemary, I thought I was just lucky. I still felt lucky, but Ironbright was looking at me like I was hiding some kind of secret. What she was thinking, I didn’t know.

“Just go to sleep,” she told me. “We’ve got a long walk ahead of us and not a lot of water to do it on.”

I nodded and lay my head. I was still tired. I was still sweating to death. I was still in a dull, throbbing pain, and this armor was still too heavy. But it had saved my life, and Cloud Chaser’s life, even I told myself that I wouldn’t complain about the weight anymore, not even in my head. After all, I may not have been able to fly in it, but I had borne the weight and suffered the pain it caused me, and I knew I could do it again if I had to.

And I also knew that I would have to in the future. Manehattan was a few days away from stable two, and Thunderfall wouldn’t have survived this long if he couldn’t put up a strong fight. But just as with Cloud Chaser, if it all became too much, I knew what I would do.

Rosemary had her inn, her art, and probably a stallion and foals somewhere in her future. Cloud Chaser, too, but she had youth on her side as well. She especially had so much to live for, with her vivacity and wit. And Ironbright had her career that promised prestige, honor, and the chance to be at the helm of the only group of ponies that was making a difference in the wasteland.

But me? I had a family, yes, but I wasn’t an only child. I had been luckless in love so far, and lately very determined to get myself killed before I could even dream of a wife or family. My career prospects, save this one, were dim, and while I was young, I was old enough to know where I stood in this group.

If one of us had to die in Manehattan, I knew it would be me. And I was okay with that. That was the burden of the armor I wore, and I chose to wear it, no matter how much it interfered with my sleep, no matter how heavily it wore on me.