Carbine burst through the door. Anarchy and Tenacity levitated at his sides, but dropped immediately once he entered the waystation. The maroon unicorn slid onto his side, and frantically kicked at the door until it closed. “Guys! Those fuckers from the church are coming after us. And they—” He immediately shut up when he looked at me. “Did something happen?”

I said nothing. Of course I said nothing, not that I would have said anything if I could talk. I simply continued to watch the door in hopes my sister would be brave enough to open it. Come on, ‘Chestra. Your baby brother awaits.

“Hey, Thirteen, where are you?” Carbine was on his hooves and pacing around. He stopped in front of the staircase leading to the basement. To Lyra’s tomb. “How did I never notice those? Hey, Symph is she down there?”

I twitched, but had no other reaction.

“O-kay. I’m just gonna go down here.” As he walked away I heard him mumbling, although it echoed in the stairwell, “I guess Symphy is an angry drunk.”

I heard his hooves echoing as well, Carbine did have a habit of stomping when he trotted. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Silence. I heard no sound at all coming from Carbine. Images flooded my mind. The fireball, the body parts, the blood. All of a sudden my hooves grew heavy. Joab’s rifle lowered until the barrel of the rifle was touching the floor. My rage towards my sister and her companions had given me strength, and had kept me from breaking down. But now all I felt was the loneliness. The silence.

Something hard hit me on the back. I swiveled the rifle and looked right into Carbine’s eye. All traces of his usual stupidity and goofiness were gone. He lifted one hoof to the side of his head in a salute. “Sir! Permission to lay waste to each and every one of the motherfuckers who killed Thirteen, sir?”

I shook my head, and tapped my chest once. Save one for me.

The maniacal grin appeared on his face. I had thought ill of his grin on numerous occasions, but rarely had I ever given it praise. It was time to rectify that. Praise be unto him and his beautiful grin. May I see in times of weakness so it can give me the strength to carry on. I turned the rifle back towards the door. And may Carbine’s grin strike fear into the hearts of anypony stupid enough to piss him off.

Knock. Knock. “Is anypony in there?”

That was the priest. It took all of my self-control to not fire the rifle right then and there. I did want to kill him; I really did. But if Carbine wanted to have some fun, then he could have it with the priest. Carbine could avenge Missile, and I could avenge Lyra.

“I’m sorry to intrude, but my companions and I heard an explosion. Is anypony still alive?”

“Yes. We would hate for there to have been any survivors. Right, Symphony?! Did you and your friends burn like you deserve?”

I flinched at my sister’s harsh tone. Orchestra could be prickly at times, especially when her indignation had gotten the best of her, but I had never heard her sound so spiteful. It stung a little. However, it would not sting as badly as the bullet I would put through her head. If only I knew where she was standing.

“Now, now, Orchestra. Don’t be so quick to condemn him. It is not our place to judge our fellow ponies. Rather, it is our duty to present them to the Holy Mother so that she may reign down divine judgment upon them.”

“Can you believe these wackos, Symph?” Carbine whispered.

I grunted in response.

“Before we come in, I would like to say a prayer.” The priest paused. I assumed he was waiting for Orchestra and Purity to close their eyes and bow their heads. “Holy Mother, I thank you for this day and for the mares at my side. They have been faithful companions to me throughout this process, as well as devoted followers in your ways. I pray that you will continue to watch over them, guide them, and bless them on their journeys.

“I also want to thank you for our late brother Joab. He was a young stallion, but he had a good-heart and a good head on his shoulders. He loved life, he loved his friends, but most of all he loved you. I thank you for the time I spent with him and for the blessing he was in my life. May he dwell in your house forever.”

“Holy Mother,” Orchestra added, “I also want to thank you for Joab. I will be the first to admit he could sometimes be a pain in the flank, but he was still a good stallion. I took him for granted more than I should have.” She paused for a long while before continuing. “I miss him, my Goddess, I really do. And I want to echo what Deacon said; that Joab may dwell in your house forever. He was a true brother to me.”

I fired my one shot. It tore a hole through the door, but fell short of my mark. Instead of hitting Orchestra between the eyes, it sailed harmlessly to her left. Through the hole in the wall I saw a smile form on my sister’s lips. A smile far more sinister and bone-chilling than one of Carbine’s grins could ever be.

“And I pray that you will give us the strength to do what is necessary. That we may be able to push aside any personal feelings that would prevent us from performing your holy work. We thank you for all you have done for us, and for the love you show us each and every day. In your holy name we pray. Amen.”

“Amen.”

I threw down the rifle and began to search for a weapon. The battle saddle would take too long to put on. I had not seen my knife since Tombstone Radio, so I likely left it there. I still had grenades…-that would be poetic justice. Lyra was killed by an explosion, and so would ‘Chestra. I bit down on the pin of a grenade with a green band. As soon as the door opened I would kick the grenade, and kill my sister.

Wow. I was actually about to do this. The mare who had raised me, and loved me all throughout my life. I had just tried to kill her, and was going to try again. I did not regret my decision to avenge Lyra, but I did feel a growing sadness in my heart. If I had my way, I would lose the two ponies I loved most in the world on the same day. Welcome to the Crystal Wasteland, Symphony.

I continued to watch my sister through the hole in the wall. She opened her eyes, and was gazing into the waystation. But she was not moving. I had expected her to come in with her kirpan and try to kill me. Was she waiting for us to come out, or for Deacon or Purity to come in first?

“I’ve got a shot on her, should I take it?” Carbine was holding Anarchy so that the gun’s barrel lined up with the hole in the wall. “Normally I wouldn’t ask, but she is your sister. Do you want to be the one to take her out?”

I hesitantly shook my head. It would be poetic, yes, for me to avenge Lyra. It would also be symbolic. If I were going to sever my ties with my old life and live in the old Equestria, what better way to commit than to kill my dear sister? But if Carbine could do it now, then that was for the best. Besides, there was still the possibility I would be unable to do it myself.

Anarchy roared. She breathed an unrelenting stream of lead into the wooden door. There were more holes in the door than in the Demon Queen of legend. But not a single one of those bullets reached my sister. A blue light enveloped the bullets, and held them in the air before they could reach Orchestra. I recognized that hue from the church. This was Purity’s magic. Slowly the bullets turned around until they were facing the opposite direction. Our direction.

“Father?” Orchestra asked. “Do I have your permission to recite the verse?”

“Yes, my child. Do you need to take a look at the holy book?”

She shook her head. “No. I know it by heart.

“The path of the righteous is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish, and the tyranny of evil ponies. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the finder of lost children.”

Orchestra walked forward. The levitating bullets moved forward as well. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. I quickly began to gather my possessions. My saddlebag, Joab’s rifle, the battle saddle…-actually that was going to be a pain to carry and I doubted I had time to put it on. I pointed to it and then pointed to Carbine’s horn. He nodded and levitated it along with his guns.

“So what’s the plan, boss?”

“And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.”

I could hear her voice beginning to strain. I felt the hate in her tone as she said the word “brothers.” But I also noticed her hesitating. Instead of finishing the verse Deacon had recited in the church, Orchestra had stopped. I did not bother to contemplate the reasons for her stopping. Instead, I used the time to formulate a plan.

I did not like our position. They had clearly been in here before us, and there was the possibility of another booby-trap. Possibly one they could activate from the outside. The box of matches was with Lyra…-was in the basement, but they could have another on hoof. If so, they could always set fire to the waystation and smoke us out. Personally, I would rather escape now rather than while they were waiting for us.

I faced Carbine and mimed opening the door.

“Outside? Yeah, there’s a backdoor in the bathroom.” I raised an eyebrow, and he responded with a shrug. “So, outside. Then I get to shoot anypony I want? Even your sister?”

I nodded.

“And you will know my aim is holy when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

That was our cue to hoof it. The bullets tore through the walls of the waystation. It was lucky for us we had a head start, or else we would have been torn to shreds. Although a few bullets did manage to bite through my barding. One in the shoulder, and two in my rump. I gritted my teeth to avoid screaming, or whatever sound I actually made.

The pain slowed me down. I cast a glance behind me hoping that seeing a swarm of bullets would cause me to speed up again. Instead I had the opposite reaction. I saw something which made me run backwards.

“Symph, what are you doing?!”

I ignored him and kept running. The stream of bullets had stopped, although a few more had found a home in my body. I stopped just in front of the object I had seen. I reached down to pick it up, but hesitated. No, I needed to do something first. I pulled the pin from a grenade; I did not notice a colored band on this one, and kicked it towards the hole in the wall. Then I quickly picked up the object and ran towards Carbine.

“Grenade! Get down!” I heard Deacon yell.

I felt my lips curl into a smile. Goodbye, Orchestra and friends. I turned my head back to watch the explosion. Only it did not happen. I did not see the grenade inside the waystation so it must have landed outside. Even if it had been captured in telekinesis, it still would have gone off. Could there have been a shield spell around the grenade? It was a possibility, though I doubted the shield would have muted the explosion. The most likely outcome was that the grenade had been a dud.

“It seems your brother insists on fighting fire with fire, Orchestra. In that case I think we should oblige him.”

I did not like the sound of that. Nor was I a fan of the flaming matches randomly flying through the holes in the wall. Actually, that observation was incorrect. The matches were not randomly placed. Half went to my left and the other to my right. In short, their plan was to set fire everywhere but in front of me.

“Symph! Symph! Fuck damnit, Symph!”

I slammed my hoof on the ground twice to let him know I was okay.

“Thank the Hot Pink Goddess for that. Okay, so now what the fuck do we do?”

I only had three options. I could run through the flames and hope to not be burned. Two, I could sit here and eventually die from smoke inhalation. Or take the third option. The one they planned for me to take.

A beam of magic energy blasted through the door. I hopped aside, and galloped at full force. I weaved between a torrent of magic beams as best as I could. I was hit a few times in my side, but I refused to stop running. This was the same type of spell which had burned through Missile’s wings, and severed Lyra’s horn. My body was burning, but it would be worth the pain when I reached the unicorn on the other side.

I rammed the door open with my shoulder. I locked eyes with Deacon. His were wide with shock; mine were narrow with determination. The object I had seen on the ground was Lyra’s severed horn. I wanted to take it with me, so I could always have a piece of her with me. It turned out to have a practical use as well.

I plunged Lyra’s severed horn into Deacon’s neck. He whinnied in pain, and I heard ‘Chestra and Purity scream his name. Using my weight and momentum, I pinned him onto his back. I then ripped Lyra’s horn out of his neck and rammed it in again. And again. And again. I could feel his blood splashing across my face.

He tried to use his hooves to kick me off, but he was not strong enough. He had ceased casting his beam spell. I assumed his horn was burnt out. Good. I continued to stab him. This was for Lyra. This was for Missile. For anypony unlucky enough to meet this son of a bitch. I jammed the horn into his right eye for good measure.

I ripped the horn out and prepared to stab him with it again when a great force barreled into me. I fell onto my side, rolled onto my hooves, and stared into my sister’s hate-filled silver eyes. The kirpan in her mouth glinted in the light.

“Purity, take care of Deacon. Use as many healing potions as you need to. Don’t leave a single one for me. I won’t need one.”

I watched Purity run towards the priest. She rested her head against his chest, and nodded. She then gently levitated his head against her chest, and poured a healing potion down his throat. The wounds in his neck were gradually closing. No. I refused to let him live. I had to quickly get past my sister and finish the job.

It was then I noticed the dud grenade sitting on a pile of loose dirt. I also noticed my sister rushing towards me brandishing a knife. Déjà vu. I kicked the grenade and the dirt at her. The grenade flew past her head without exploding. While that was unfortunate, it was not unexpected. The reason I had kicked the grenade was to distract her from the dirt about to get in her eye.

‘Chestra screamed. She closed her eyes and furiously rubbed them with her hooves. There would be no better time to strike than right now. My grip around the horn tightened. This is for you, Lyra. I galloped towards Deacon ready to finish off his life.

That was when the grenade exploded.

The force of the explosion knocked me onto my back. Shrapnel lodged itself into my leg. The same leg which had been struck by an arrow a few days earlier. It seemed this leg was cursed with bad luck. I was able to stand up, but with more difficulty than I wanted. Thankfully I could put weight on my leg, but I doubted I would be as mobile as my sister. Not without a shot of Med-X.

“Ka-fucking-boom! I’ve always wanted to do that.”

I turned my head and saw Carbine standing in the doorway with Tenacity levitating beside him.

I turned my head and saw Carbine standing in the doorway with Tenacity levitating beside him.

His red pelt glowed like fire in the ligh—no, strike the simile. He actually was on fire. The flames were small, and would likely die out on their own. But despite the pain they likely caused him, Carbine grinned. Actually, given his personality, he was likely grinning because he was on fire. “Did you see that shit, Symphy? I shot your grenade, and killed that son of a bitch.” He kicked Tenacity with his hoof, and the shotgun spun three hundred sixty degrees and cocked. “I’ve seen you fucks kill too many of my friends, and that shit ends right fucking now. I won’t let you kill, Symph. And I sure as fuck won’t let you kill me.”

A large dart immediately lodged itself in Carbine’s neck. I flicked my gaze at Purity, who had a blow gun hovering beside her. Shrapnel had ripped into her beautiful face, which had also suffered burn marks. Her blow gun pivoted towards me, and a large dart was loaded into it. Given the immense pain in my leg, I doubted my ability to avoid her attack. I tightened my grip on Lyra’s horn. It seemed my only hope would be to deflect the dart.

“Stand down, Purity.”

I turned my head, and locked eyes with my sister. Her eyes were bloodshot from the dirt, and there was a sneer etched onto her face. ‘Chestra slowly circled me, in a manner reminiscent of the rabid dog I had fought outside Camp Terminus. Similar to the dog, ‘Chestra’s circle gradually grew smaller as she moved closer. I moved in a circle as well to make sure I never had my back to her.

I tried to recollect the lessons Sombra taught me. One, to always be on my guard. Two, to keep control over my enemy. It was not much, but it would have to do. Instead of continuing the circle, I slowly backpedaled away from my sister. To keep me under his control, Sombra had aimed his knife at me. I aimed the horn for Orchestra’s heart. My plan was to keep her continuously moving and hopefully psyche her out.

It did not work. My sister’s plan had her galloping towards me and swinging her kirpan. So much for Sombra’s lessons.

I blocked a swing with Lyra’s horn. Then a second. A third. Then I aimed a thrust of my own. ‘Chestra swatted the horn out of the way with one of her front hooves, and lunged. Her knife pierced my flesh. The wound was not all that deep, but it hurt a lot. She quickly shoved me with her front hooves. The good news was that removed the blade from my body. The bad news was I was off balance, and bleeding.

She rammed into me with her shoulder, and managed to stab me a second time. I was blinded by pain. My response was to open my mouth to scream. Not only was the noise I made thoroughly lacking in catharsis, but I also dropped the horn. Orchestra’s tail lashed out, and swept my legs. I fell onto my back, and only just managed to roll away before she dropped her hooves down. She seemed to have been aiming for the kirpan. If she had pushed it any further it could have hurt something vital. She almost killed me….

Her disdainful expression intensified when she cast her eyes towards Lyra’s horn. “I don’t know what disgusts me more, Symphony. The fact that you’re using her horn as a weapon, or that a part of her survived.” She flicked her eyes towards me, and her face contorted into the most malevolent smirk I had ever seen. She stomped on Lyra’s horn repeatedly until it was an unrecognizable heap of dust. “That’s much better.”

I no longer felt any pain. Now it was just fury. I pressed my hooves against the kirpan, and ripped it out of my chest. I clenched my teeth around the handle, and galloped towards her. The malevolence faded out of her face until it was nothing more than a slight frown. I aimed a thrust at her temple, which she avoided by moving her head out of the way. I continued to thrust at her, but she dodged me each time.

I changed strategies and aimed a thrust at her heart instead. Orchestra jumped into the air to avoid my attack. Before I could attempt to follow up, she kicked out with one of her back legs and hit me in the face. Her attack knocked the kirpan out of my mouth and into the air. No matter. Even without the knife, I still had my hooves. I kicked out with one of my front legs, the one without shrapnel, but she dodged me again without a problem. This time she ducked her head; then she jumped. She extended one of her front hooves, which punched me in the jaw as she ascended. Whilst in the air, she caught the kirpan in her jaws. And she kicked out at me with both of her back legs.

Both of us fell onto our backs. The difference was that Orchestra was able to roll onto her hooves in a seamless motion. I, on the other hoof, felt a resurgence of pain in my body. There was the shrapnel in my leg, the knife wounds in my chest, and the pain in my face from her hoof attacks. Before I knew it, Orchestra was on top of me and trying to stab me. I thrust my hooves at her face in an attempt to get her off of me.

I pushed with all my strength, but I was at a disadvantage. In addition to having gravity on her side, one of my legs was too pained to put up much of a fight. I tried rolling over, but to no avail. Her back legs had me completely pinned. Perhaps if I pulled out one of the grenade pins, Orchestra would retreat. It was risky, but I could hope she gave me enough time to flee the blast zone. But, alas, the only grenades left were out of reach. The only way I could reach them would be to move them with my hooves, which would give up my only resistance against Orchestra.

I recollected the dog I had fought shortly after leaving Camp Terminus. He had realized he was fighting a losing battle and had given up. This was a losing battle. I could not overpower my sister, nor could I out maneuver her. I had no more plays left. There was nothing left for me but to accept I was going to die.

I was going to be reunited with Lyra.

Yes, this was not such a horrible outcome after all. I was unsure now if there was any hope of an afterlife. But it was worth the risk if there was any hope of seeing Lyra again. Not that I had anything to lose at this point anyway. I felt my body go limp. My hooves dropped to my sides, and I raised my eyes to the sun above. I could feel my lips forming a smile. Goodbye, Crystal Wasteland.

‘Chestra plunged the knife deep into my….-hold on. Where was the pain? I focused my eyes on my sister. Her kirpan hovered just above my heart. Her whole body shook, but she did not waver from her position. She stood over me, shaking, for nearly a minute. I did not know what to feel. My sister had almost killed me, and could finish the job at any moment. I was afraid, but I was equally angry at her for leaving me in suspense. I briefly considered raising my chest into her knife and finishing the job myself. The key word being briefly. I wanted to be reunited with Lyra, but the circumstances had to be right. She would never forgive me if I killed myself.

“I won’t do it.” Orchestra sat up straight. Her eyes gazed down at me with intense frustration. “You want me to reunite you with your harlot, don’t you? That’s why you stopped struggling?”

I nodded, matching her stare with one of my own.

She snorted, and the left half of her face scrunched up. “How pathetic.” She raised one of her hooves and hit me in the face. “You stupid, pathetic, sniveling, ungrateful, little shit! Each of her words was accentuated with another hit to my face. “You really think I’d do that for you? After everything you’ve done to me?”

She slipped the kirpan back into its sheath. She then used her mouth to rip off her boot and continued punching me with her bare hoof. “First you brought that heathen into our home. Then you let her take you away. Then you made me travel the Crystal Wasteland looking for you. With Joab of all ponies.” I received an especially hard punch for that one. “Then I found you. I finally found my brother alive and well. Something I didn’t think was even possible. And what do you do?

“YOU ABANDONED ME!” She hit me so hard I felt my nose crack. She then slammed her hoof onto my neck, and used her weight to start choking me. “You killed my friend, and you abandoned me, Symphony. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? You were the only family I had left, and you left just like Mom and Dad did.”

Tears splashed against my cheeks. Rage had contorted my sister’s face, but that was not what I saw in her eyes. I saw deep pain in the eyes of my dear sister. Pain that I had caused and would never be able to make up for. The same pain she had caused me.

“And now, you think I’m going to reunite you with the harlot who caused this? Well guess what, Symphony? I’m not going to do it.” She removed her leg from my throat. She stepped off of my body, and put her boot back on. “If you want to die so badly, then go do it somewhere else. Piss off some monster. Starve to death. Eat one of your grenades, I don’t care how it happens. Just go and never come back!”

One of her legs crumpled beneath her. She was still standing on three legs, but she panted heavily. This was my chance. I could roll one of my grenades towards her, and escape before the explosion could reach me. My body hurt, especially my bruised and bloodied face, but I knew I had enough energy to kill Orchestra. I pushed one of the grenades towards my mouth, and reached towards it.

“Please…-just don’t come back, Symphony.”

I immediately stopped. In that moment, my perspective changed. She was no longer a threat, or my opponent. She had still killed Lyra and had tried to kill me, but in that moment I could not see her at that. All I could see was my sister. My dear, broken, sister. Throwing a grenade at her would just feel…-wrong. Killing ‘Chestra after she decided to spare me would not be self-defense anymore. It hardly seemed like revenge either. It just…-I just…-I couldn’t do it, could I? No. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t do it after she let me go.

I slowly stood onto my hooves, and trotted towards Carbine and our saddlebags. I fished a healing potion from our dwindling stash. I gulped it down, and found my eyes were fixed on Purity. She stared back at me while drinking a potion of her own. I watched as the magic mended the tears in her face. Even the burns on her cheek were gradually fading with every gulp.

I also noticed the body of Deacon beside her. He lay unmoving at Purity’s side in a pool of blood. I could still see the wounds in his body. I assumed Purity had stopped feeding him healing potions. If so, that meant he was likely dead. Good.

“You know it’s rude to stare, Symphony.”

That was a fair point. I retrieved another potion, and force fed it to the sleeping Carbine. The flames on his body died out before they grew too large, but they still left a few burn marks. If they could heal Purity’s, then they could heal his.

Then I spied Joab’s rifle beside Carbine. I was thankful he had retrieved it for me. I sat down and began to fiddle with the battle saddle. I wanted to replace the current rifle with Joab’s. I only had this weapon because its owner had died; he had only died because I killed him. I vowed that I could kill others for Lyra’s sake. If she were here, she would tell me that I needed to carry on for the both of us. So if killing ponies for the sake of survival would benefit Lyra, then that was something I could do. This rifle would forever be a memento of that choice.

Memento. I liked that word. This gun needed a name, and Memento had more of a ring than Joab’s rifle or Foal-killer. I removed the other rifle, and attached Memento in its stead. I put the other rifle in my saddlebag. There was always the possibility I could use it later for parts.

When I put away the other rifle, I noticed something hiding in my bag. It was the greeting card I took from the convenience store. The one with Shining Armor and the Fallen Angel—or whatever they were actually called. “To the Best Sister in the World” it read.

I looked back at my sister. She was standing up straighter, but she had not moved from her spot. I wondered what was going through her mind. Was she fighting the urge to kill me right here and now? Was she just waiting for me to leave first? I started to tear up. This was it; the final time I would see Orchestra. She had no business across the border, and I no reason to return to the Crystal Wasteland.

I wanted to say goodbye. It was hard to justify her deserving a goodbye, but I supposed she felt the same way about me. Perhaps that was what was going through her head. She was contemplating how to say her final farewell to me. I could have sworn I heard her tapping her hooves against the ground. I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

I wrote my message inside the card, and presented it to Purity to read for me.

“’Chestra, I’m scared. Would you play for me?”

My sister stiffened. At first she made no physical or verbal reply. She simply sat facing away from me. I took that as a refusal of my request. I could accept that. I walked back to Carbine, and gathered our effects. I slipped on my saddlebags and battle saddle, and managed to put Carbine’s bags on him. I had to remove some of his mug and burned book collection, why did he collect books if he could not read?, to make room for Anarchy and Tenacity.

Then we began to walk. Actually, it was not exactly we who were walking. I had one of Carbine’s legs draped around my shoulders, and used my other shoulder to support him. I was walking while he was simply being dragged. Soon we would be at the border, and start the rest of our lives.

That was when I heard the music. The notes of The Starlight Sonata filled my ears. I turned back to look at ‘Chestra. She wat sitting beside Purity with her back turned to me. Purity continued to watch me; I assumed she was making sure I did not suddenly lob a grenade in their direction. Part of me wanted to, but I refused to do so. I would never forgive my sister for what she did. I doubted I could even say I liked her any more either. But I would always love my sister, and I knew she would always love me. No matter what pain we caused each other.

It was night by the time we reached the border. If I were being honest, I had to say I was unimpressed. I had expected there to be a guard station, or at least an inn of some sort. All I found were the just twin signs. One of which read “Welcome to the Crystal Empire Wasteland,” while the other said “Welcome to Equestria the Wasteland.” I found it unnecessary to bother reading the various graffiti scrawled on the signs.

I cast my eyes downward. There was no gate or anything to pass through either. Not even a line to show where one territory ended and the other began. There was just a small, dead, patch of earth. No. I did not travel all the way here for this. If I were going to do this, I was going to do it right. I dropped Carbine, who had been sleeping tight for a few hours, and got to work.

I pulled the rifle out of my saddlebag, and drove the barrel into the earth. I walked sideways between the signs, and etched a horizontal line in the dirt. Perfect. Now I had an actual border I could cross. So, I did. I dropped the rifle beside Carbine and took my first steps into the old Equestria.

I felt no difference. The earth was as dead and dry as it was past Camp Terminus. Actually, no, there was a difference. It was subtle, but I felt stronger here. It was as if there were something in the air slowly giving me power. The most likely example was the ground had more radiation than back home, but why was I only starting to feel it now? My best guess was there had been shields set up here during the war that protected the Empire, which was why the radiation was stronger over here. Either that or I was only noticing because I was bothering to look for a difference. Hmm. That seemed like the more likely option.

I opened my mouth and exhaled. It could hardly be called a sigh anymore, but it had a similar effect. This was going to be home now. The border was right behind me, and I needed to cross it to gather Carbine and our effects, but it all felt so far away. I supposed this is how it felt to sever my ties with my home. It was what I wanted, what Lyra and I had planned. But I did not expect it to ache so much.

I took another step forward.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I backpedaled immediately. I had no idea what the beeping was, but I doubted it was anything pleasant. Before I was even halfway back to the border there was an explosion. The explosion sent dirt scattering around the area, including on me. It was better than being covered in blood, or having been caught in the explosion myself. And I learned something for future reference. Beeping meant an explosion was soon to follow. Also, I likely triggered the explosion so I needed to make sure I looked before I stepped. Lesson learned.

I walked back across the border, being careful not to step on anything, and began to conduct inventory. I had three grenades left, and all three were around my neck. I had one with a blue band, one with a green, and one without any band at all. There was the battle saddle on my back, along with the extra rifle. I had my radio, a few sheets of paper left, and the quill I found in Uziel’s tent.

There was also the vial of the Goddess. It was a last resort, and I pra—hoped I would never have to use it. I saw it as more than a drug. Goddess was the last relic I had of Doctor Zimri. Joab’s rifle was not the only memento I would carry with me. While Memento was a reminder of my decision to kill for the sake of survival, Goddess served as a reminder of the friends I had lost. And my desire to never lose another.

I wiped tears away from my eyes, and finished inventory. The only other possessions I had were the manuscript and night vision goggles we had looted earlier that day.

Wow. What a day it had been. This was it. My final night in the Crystal Wasteland, and my first in the old Equestria. Hmm. I had an ominous feeling about this, so I made sure to put the goggles on.

Finally, there was the figure of Cadance I had purchased at Hospitality. I took the figure out of the case, and held it in my hoof. I could still admire it for its beauty, but that was it. This figurine had no personal value for me anymore. Have Faith. No, faith would only weigh me down from here on out. I needed to have strength, courage, and bullets. Faith would lead me nowhere but to the grave.

“Loving other ponies. Doing good works. Not killing. That all sounds like a fine life to live.”

Lyra had said those words to me during our stay at Tombstone Radio. The night before she died. A death caused by devotion to a false goddess. Lyra had a point about killing. I could make it a point to not kill unless it was to save my life, or the life of another. But even if I continued to support Cadance’s ideals, I could never support her as a goddess ever again.

I set the figure on the ground, and started digging. Well, “digging” was hardly the right word. It was closer to moving clumps of dirt out of the way until there was a large enough crease in the ground. It certainly did not seem large enough to be called a hole. However, it more than enough for my purposes. I placed the figurine into the ground, and gradually covered it with dirt.

Have Faith.

No. Not in you.

I sat down on the ground, and stared up at the clouds. It had been getting gradually cloudier the further Carbine and I walked. Now the sky was fully covered in clouds. I hoped it would clear up soon. I hated not being able to see the stars.

I cast a glance at Carbine. He was still sleeping, and now he was drooling. Thank goodness he had not done that while I was dragging him. Carbine. The only friend I had left. I hoped he was resting well. He would need it for tomorrow.

I peered through Savage’s scope, and gazed into the Wasteland. I needed to keep watch while he slept, but I was beginning to tire. I fished into my bag, and retrieved my radio. I wondered what kinds of signals I would find out here. It took a bit of fiddling, but I finally found something that was not static.

“Howdy, all. It’s your favorite DJ, Honest Jack, here to give you some news, tunes, and good vibes. And trust me when I say, have I got a story to share with you….”

Footnote:
Level Up!
New Perk: Family Ties. You managed to incur the wrath of you beloved family and get somehow convince them not to kill you. Guess blood really is thicker than water. Speech increased to 75.
Quest Perk: Wasteland Wanderer (Part One). You survived the first part of your journey! That's worth a S.P.E.C.I.A.L reward, if ya know what I mean? All S.P.E.C.I.A.L is increased by one point.

Author's Notes:

BOOM! FINISHED…-well, sort of. But more on that in a second. First, thank yous. As always, thank you to Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria. That story is a major inspiration to me. Besides the obvious, it also helped me work out the kinks of another project I really wanted to work on and I am extremely grateful for that. But not only that, FO:E is one of my favorite works of fiction and is one of the reasons I got back into reading after neglecting it for a few years. So, once again, thank you very much, Kkat.

I also want to thank other writers. While I will maintain my stance of avoiding using side stories in Crystal Hearts, I still enjoy seeing what others have come up with. I never would have decided to work on Crystal Hearts if it hadn’t been for other side stories, so thank you.

I also want to thank my contributors. My friends who listen to me rattle on about my ideas, and give me honest feedback. My professor who edits every chapter, as well as my pre-reader, Raryn. And to Sw1tchbl4de for creating that awesome cover art.

And, of course, I want to thank my readers. Knowing that I have people who read my work motivates me to continue writing. It’s been almost a year since I started posting chapters of Crystal Hearts, and I’m so glad I’ve had people to share this time with. Your support is greatly appreciated, and I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story in the future.

Now, time for some announcements. As I said at the beginning of the notes, the story is finished. At least, this part of it is. Like how a symphony is broken up into multiple movements, so too is Crystal Hearts. These first eleven chapters make up the first movement, Severance. One way to view this chapter is that it’s a season finale. But like all season finales, it’s going to be followed by a hiatus.

Work on the next movement, Coalescence, will begin soon. But I also need time to focus on law school, as well as my other writing projects that aren’t Crystal Hearts. I’m hoping to start posting chapters around July, but that’s just an estimation. However, I can say for sure that when chapters do start updating they will be updated regularly.

So, that’s it from me. Hope to see you all again soon.