*** *** ***

Up above, it was as if the old war had never ended. It was pony against pony against nightmare, and there were no signs of stopping. The night was too young to die, and that blood moon smiled happily as it peaked through the sundered cloud layer. Warriors from all over had come to fight, and it was a battle royale. Bullets ripped through the air and ponies died, turning into whatever those freakish things were. It was a place of certain death, but the rising dead was just the sort of thing to cure that stand-off in front of the MAS building. Down in the tunnels however, it was fairly peaceful. There was no point in any pony trying to kill each other in a rotting hole that smelled like piss. Nopony wanted to fight in a sewer. They were impractical. Bullets were great for long hall ways, but that was a game that was played both ways that nopony liked.

In the faint light emanating from the small talisman I had borrowed, I gripped my head in throbbing pain as I walked down the dark, malodorous corridor. “Funny seeing you here.” I said with sugar in my voice.

Killjoy’s eyes tightened into humorless scowl. “Shut up.” Every chortle that slipped out of me dug Killjoy a little bit deeper into his frustration. “Shut up, shut up, shut up! I’ll kill you!”

Another voice came down the hallway. “Mr.Tumbleweed. Don’t go running off ahead!”

Killjoy’s ears perked up at the noise as a nauseated cringe coiled across his face. .

“By the way, we have a tag-a-long.” I whispered.

“The town wanted somepony to keep tabs?”

“Probably.”

“How do we get rid of him?”

“How? I just figured we would walk fast, and either he will get tired, lost, or dead.”

“Sound’s like a plan.”

The white eyed tag-a-long pattered down the tunnel toward us. “Don’t run off like that!”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” I looked back at Killjoy with vile glee. “I was just catching up with my son. He hates being alone. Isn’t that right, son?” I said, wrapping a hoof snug around Killjoy’s neck. Killjoy stared back through a gritted smile.

“Yes… dad.”

We all laughed, though an icy glare reflected off Killjoy’s eyes. “I’ll kill you.” He muttered in the confusion.

“Later.” I replied, disguising my words around a cough.

We stumbled down the dark passageways for quite some time, listening for sounds above. If I was going to survive this, I would need to be able to get out of the sewers safely. Unfortunately, many exits were going to be dangerous positions. All of them were bottlenecks, and… well, death was a matter of wrong place and the wrong time. In a time like this, it was always the wrong time, but if I could help it, I could be there in the right place.

We stumbled and wandered with an ear to the earth until we stopped at a maintenance hatch to the surface. “We shouldn’t be too far from the MAS lab here.” The guide said as I gauged the size of the opening above.

“Good. This place makes me claustrophobic.” Killjoy spat.

“These sewers are dangerous business, but it looks like I might be able to fit my fridge through there, so I’ll take it.” I said as I wrapped a hoof around the rungs of the old ladder. I gave the ladder a tug. I felt through it that it was solid. “I’m going to scout it out.” I climbed upward until I reached the service tunnel cover.

“How’s the view?” Killjoy called up.

“Hush! I’m getting to it!”

Daring to peek above ground, I creaked the sewer cover open. A fresh gust of air carried a scent of blood and burnt flesh to my sweaty hide. It smelled like wasteland. I scanned the surroundings, which were lit by a will’ o the wisp of a lantern talisman that had survived the war. It illuminated a lonely corner in an otherwise moon-lit town. One of those twisted wockenfuss looking aberrations was crawling in the umbra of its glow, hoping for the light to bring something for it to kill.

“Anything up there?” Killjoy yelled from the dark below.

I hung back on the time-worn rungs of the ladder, lowering the sewer cover. “Shut up, you’ll give us--”

Before I could finish the thought, I felt the circular lid open with the crook of my hoof still locked into it. Suddenly, an assault rifle was forced into the opening. To be honest, I didn’t really know if it was an ‘assault rifle’ per se, but it was rifle shaped, and as far as I was concerned any rifle that was shooting at me was qualified to be an ‘assault rifle’. It didn’t really matter, I was going to die!

The ear shattering cacophony of bullets echoed down the tunnels. Even as I managed to parry the gun clear of me, my ears were bleeding from the ringing in the tunnel. Bullets pinged, knocking dirt free of the walls as they richocheted in the vertical corridor.

Wrapping my hooves around the gun, I could tell that it was connected to the pony. I pulled it, trying to drag them down into the tunnel.

The raider braced himself against the iron cover, and with the flick of his tail, there was a plinking sound and a foreign sphere found itself in the folds of my jacket.

Damn it. The bastard forced me to let go of my death grip on his stupid gun, shutting the sewer cover like it was polite to do or something. As I flailed, I managed to loose the grenade into freefall.

A flash in the dark brought about a lot of screaming. Judging from that, I assumed it wasn’t Killjoy.

“Son of a- Fuck! My ears!” That was Killjoy. “Good job, hero. You pretty much killed this guy.”

“I didn’t see you jumping on any grenades.” I spoke back into the dark.

“One second, I’m going to put this loser out of his misery.”

With a heavy thud, the screaming stopped. That was one issue out of the way. I didn’t have time to shed tears for ponies I wasn’t invested in. Treating death every time like it was something new in the wasteland would only give you whiplash.

I took my chances topside. Pushing the refrigerator out first, I climbed through the portal quickly to face the raider, but instead I found myself looking at a ghost. For a moment we stood petrified in the middle of the burning streets, not sure if this could be real. Coincidence was a bitch, especially in this town.

“Well, look who it is...” Red eyes glared at me. A familiar voice sent a faint chill down my spine. He was pale green in coat, his mane held back by a dark bandanna. His voice was fast but calm. Even as he spoke, he pointed a hoof at a nightmare in the distance, then drew a hoof across his throat. Not more than a few seconds later, the disfigured apparition had burst into flames. His eyes continued to scan as began to speak again, as if he was never taking his focus off of the battle. “So, the legend lives? I almost didn’t recognize you, what with you growing out your hair. But even if you hide the brand, I could never forget you.” Unlike every other raider, his armor seemed tuned and trimmed. It was solid combat armor and I had no doubt that he killed and schemed to get it. Knowing him… knowing us… that was how we did things. Just on the side of his neck there was a fire-seared brand in the form of barcode and number, sitting on a barren island of pale, hairless skin.

Something old and rotten had found it’s way back to me, and I grit my teeth in disgust. A smirk cut across the cynical prowess in his eyes as he glanced momentarily towards me.

“Tumbleweed.”

“Crossfire…” I muttered in response.

He smiled. “It’s all like what you dreamed about, isn’t it? These Equestrian games, all the screams? These crazy monsters pushing up daisies? The oppressed rising above even nightmares to fight for a new revolution?” Crossfire exhaled with invigoration. “Its magnificent. Even the moon wanted to poke it’s head out just to watch. That hasn’t happened in a very long time, hasn’t it? I feel honored.” He said as he plucked the pin from the grenade, taking the grenade in tail-bound sling, and launching it toward the window of a nearby building. His grenades had an intricate pattern of designs on them, forged into frame. The bomb ricocheted off the corner of the window sill, disappearing beyond the walls, but faint sounds of struggle before the inevitable ‘bang’ told a story. Probably some poor unicorn thinking they could simply toss away one of those cleverly rune-engraved bombs. No such luxury. Even as Crossfire did all this, his eyes never stopped scanning around.

The town itself looked dead in the immediate area. The buildings even seemed to recede back in a feeble attempt to escape from this earth pony. I walked to the side, circling around Crossfire. “I see you're sense for heat is as keen as ever. I take it you're using that to hit ponies beyond walls. Ever think about giving them a chance?” I sneered.

“Survival of the fittest.” Crossfire shrugged. “It’s more than you would have given. I'm just excited to have the chance.”

“It’s a bloody war, what’s there to get excited about?” I said keeping a straight face despite a gripping fear beneath my mask.

He tilted his head as he sensed my doubts. Bloodlust seemed to emanate from the corners of his grin. “War? ... This is way more than war. This isn’t one side fighting the other, it is conflict upon conflict upon conflict!” He paused his speech only for a moment as he pulled his rifle forward, planting a number of robust, armor piercing bullets straight through a wall. He gave a cold grin in accomplishment. Somepony had died, possibly several… “I don’t even know if there is a word to describe the level of violence going on here.”

“So what? Just another day in wasteland, right?” I said back. “Ponies kill ponies all the time. No sides, just violence. I think it's a bit pedestrian.”

“That’s exactly what it is though... The wasteland! Pure and carnal. The natural world in its true, untarnished form...” The calmness in his words betrayed his underlying passion. “So many just clamoring in blindly, just for a little bit of power.” Crossfire began to walk around to my side. “They think they have suffered so much... that they want to change the world a little.” He said looking over his shoulder.

I shrugged as I lowered onto my hind legs. “This is anyones game. Bullets kill, and anyone can get to the end if they’re lucky. To them, this is a chance at power. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bloody lottery.”

“Is that what they think?” The earth pony grimaced as he spat to the side. “ Weak!” His eyes cut across the fire torn town with a sick reverie.

That nostalgia crept up inside of me, and it made me want to puke.

Crossfire leapt up onto a set of crates that formed a pyramid along the side of a building. From there he could see it all. He pulled forward the assault rifle in the battle harness and swiveled the gun as he aimed. He flicked a switch, and the casing of the gun began to glow blue. When he fired, magic light cut through the walls of buildings like they weren’t even there.

“What they don’t know about this wasteland is that it wants to kill you, and you have to want to kill it. From every corner of this broken little world, the wasteland’s desperate are coming for a chance at glory...” Crossfire patted his chest, then spun a hoof in the air before pointing to a building downtown. They were commands. “... but Lady Luck is Skill’s bitch. They have one thing right, and that is that if you suffer, it makes you stronger. That’s what makes this brilliant.” He fired out into a far edge of the town with controlled shots. Releasing his hoof from the lever on the gun, the rifle snapped back into place on the battle saddle.

“Lady Luck is skills bitch… huh. You really hung onto everything I said back then.” I looked back at him with a dour face. “This place is a storm for disaster. No one in getting out of here in one piece.”

“Only the strong are getting out alive.” The earth pony turned to me with a grin. “This town is going to be the beacon forge that leads all the way to the future. They come bringing death, bringing blood, bringing everything that broke them and made them stronger, risking it all in the name of power. It’s the perfect fuel for this furnace, raising the heat as they suffer, so we can temper the strong! Those who are best suited to the wasteland will be lifted, and they will be ruler. There isn’t a thing about all’ this that is chance.” Crossfire jumped from his perch back to the ground. “It’s all skills and tactics.” He said as he walked back towards me. Then, he looked me in the eyes. “And in these Equestrian wasteland games, those who were born out of the worst struggles, like you and I, are champions!”

“I’d rather not be that kind of champion.” I said back to him, trying to find my reason. This brought too many memories that I’d rather run away from. I spotted Killjoy poking his head up from the sewer hole, but I gave him a dirty look. “There is more to this wasteland than cold hearted killing. We’re too smart. We learned how to take the advantage, break up the peace. We do nothing but make trouble.” In the distance, I saw some lone statue. Some large pony celebrated in the pre-war. Some kind of hero of battle… What a joke. “I want no part of these games except for stopping them.”

Crossfire paced around, his eyes rapidly scanning over the landscape. It was a practiced art. Not panicked, but rather it was as if he was devouring every bit of data carried by the light. Another expertly tossed grenade killed somepony in the distance, but apparently it wasn’t enough as he opened fire with his rifle again. There were no survivors, it was reflected in his eyes. Eyes that once were frightened and gentle, but that was so damn long ago. “Of every pony in this wasteland, you could be the top. What happened to you? What happened to that fire of yours?” Something in Crossfire’s eyes surged. It was only a glance, but he turned away quickly, stomping as he grit his teeth.

I took a deep breath. I really wanted to run away. Emotions boiled up inside of me, of the most irrational kinds. Fear, anger, things I couldn’t control… I looked up, hoping to take myself away from them. “I saw something new. I opened my eyes back then, and suddenly nothing made any sense anymore. I have a new life, and I kinda like it.”

Crossfire growled at me. He shot me a glance, more furious than the last. I saw him pop a pill from behind his back… a mint-al. “I had heard rumors, but I didn't imagine they could be true. To think… you, becoming a dog for those stupid caravans… Did you forget everything that we went through? Did you forget being a slave?”

“I remember when you were afraid to kill. When you were a timid, kind, and creative kid.” I replied.

“Those in the cities think they are better than everypony else... Just because they don’t have to scrape the bottom just to survive.” The earth pony stomped his hoof to the ground. He tilted his head to the side in dry anger. “They never have to pull a trigger, never have to get dirty… But they hog everything to themselves.” He turned away and looked towards the ground. His hoof lashed out to point towards me, then all around. “They don’t care about you… they don’t care about anypony. They let the slavers do what they want. I’ve seen it. Stable State 8, those Vestige bastards… it’s all the same. The caravans will betray you. They’ll send you into the grinder for caps, and if you step out of line with them, they’ll lock you up and pretend it never happened. Just like it was back then…”

Making a point that sharp made me want to kill him, but the notion pinned me down in my mind. Some old part of me resurfaced, and for a moment I agreed with him. They had a different kind of greed, and the nobility was a shallow veil to spin notions of good and evil based on semantics. I had seen them as bad as he had said, and they made me angry. But the anger was a sobering strike and I caught myself. “I don’t know where it will take me, but I think there is a better way. There is more to this wasteland, and I want to explore it.”

“Don’t tell me you are getting soft. Not now of all times.” He turned back to me, staring with disdain. “Back then, you did the impossible, took back the reins, fought for our freedom. You let nopony get in your way, and your enemies didn’t have time to regret underestimating you.” Cross said, his eyes singularly focusing on me, and nothing else. “You were my hero.”

It caught myself from tripping over my own words. I didn’t know what to say, and that was a rarity in itself. “I…”

‘Use him.’ That ancient part of me whispered. This arrogant kid wanted to be king, but he still had the heart of a pawn. His obsession could be a tool. It would be fitting retribution for wolf-headed dog like him. At the last moment, I could double-cross them, and destroy whatever was down there. Yes, it would be that easy.

“There it is.” Crossfire said as his face brightened. “Those are the eyes of my hero.”

In a blinding wave of ego, I had blasted a hoof across Crossfire’s face.

No… damn it, no. I couldn’t do it! Anything but that. It made so much sense, but I couldn’t go back. Sweat simply gushed from my pores. I couldn’t take this. “Hell no…” I was going to stop it all.

I followed in with my strikes, holding him close. I came in like a crashing wave, flowing furiously to strike in at the neck and other vulnerable spots, but Crossfire was awake and vigilant. With circling hooves, he redirected my attacks. As one of my hooves was parried across my body, his elbow swung in with a disorienting strike to my temple.

Lost to instincts, I struck the throat for control. Pressing him back, I moved to sweep, hooking my other hoof around his foreleg joint to keep him close, but he slammed down to crease my hoof at the elbow, preventing me from driving deeper into his neck. Hopping his legs back, he arched his torso forward, and with a grit of his teeth, the rifle on his back erupted in gunfire.

In a desperate dodge, I flung my body around to barely swing out of the stream of bullets, but it compromised everything I had in the way of balance. I could feel the weight of my body ripping up from the comfort of the ground as he threw me to the air.

The assault rifle thrust forward as I rolled across the earth. I tucked my abdominals for my life, spinning my entire body to throw my fridge in the way.

Crossfire’s eyes hovered on me with an icy killing intent. The love for a hero had faded away. No... this was in honor of a hero. I needed to kill him now and seize control. I readied my fridge as I rose to my hooves, expecting gunfire. As I charged, however, the gunfire never came. He pulled a lever linked into a cylindrical device harnessed across his back, and a Frisbee-esque disk dispensed to his hooves. He tossed it to the ground, backing up as I charged in.

My hooves scraped long marks across the ground as I braked out of primal fear. There were some lines that should never be crossed. Then, there were mines. Crossfire stared at me from across the disk. I couldn’t reach him…

“On Mark!” Crossfire yelled as he raised a hoof.

Did he have a crew? Of course Crossfire had a crew! Damn it, I was gonna die at this rate. I glanced around for them, but there were so many buildings and not enough light to spot them.

“Fire!”

Bullets cascaded across the ground. I felt one, then two nick me, before a third hit my right in my side. I managed to dodge a cluster of bullets and block the oncoming deluge with my shield. The mintals really helped improve my reaction time, and the stampede made me faster than I was on my own. I managed to adapt, pulling my fridge to guard me in the shadow of the bullets.

I needed to get away. I would die here. Crossfire would be able to pick me off easily, so I ducked back, shuffling into an alleyway behind me to maximize my angle of defense. Shade would make it harder for them to hit me as well.

“You’re not getting away.” One raider of Crossfire's crew leaped free from the building they were taking cover in and began galloping to flank me as the rest kept laying down fire. Damn it, why did they have to work as a team?

In his wound up tail, Crossfire slung a grenade down the corridor. The explosive landed directly in my path.

Too many angles, I couldn’t defend against this. I had no choice but to turn the fridge toward the grenade. As I looked back at Crossfire, I saw him take aim with his rifle.

It was aimed directly through my eye. I could see down the barrel of the gun. No sight of any side of the gun, it was perfectly aligned on the three points of the barrel, the end of the muzzle, and my eye. I could feel Crossfire’s ambient aura of death zero in, focused to a solitary point.

In trying to get control, I failed in seeing it. I didn’t see the strings. He had been manipulating me. I was going to die, as I saw that he pulled the chains to break me. A surge of pain ran through my head.

That was it. My headache reminded me. In that moment before he fired, I screamed the word, despite how inappropriate it would seem.

“PARTY TIME!”

With the word, a vibrant surge of pink arcane energy burst from that lucky horseshoe, launching me several meters into the air.

Earth ponies were not meant to fly, we didn’t have wings or fins or anything. Unequipped for any kind of maneuvering, I tried anyway! Leaning, flailing, clawing at the air, I snagged a hoof on the low roof on the alleyway.

Even as I had almost escaped, I was victim to my fatigue. It wasn’t a matter of whether I could pull myself up, I could manage that, but to do it quickly would require energy I just didn’t have.

“Pathetic. You’ve fallen so far. You’re worth more as memory.” Crossfire said as he trained his gun over me.

The explosive hum of ballistics rang, but somehow I didn’t die.

Contrary to any expectations, a certain scarred raider, grabbing Crossfire by the tail, had thrown him off of his aim. Snapping out of a daze, Crossfire adapted quickly. He flipped out the folding blade that was fastened along the side of his hoof, locking it into place as he drew a swift, meandering cut across Killjoy’s torso before being flung to the ground.

“Hmph, you should be dead…” Crossfire said while picking his chin out of the dirt. “ are you a friend of his?” He asked as he collected himself to stand tall. Crossfire’s eyes darted around, absorbing everything around him.

The festering scowl on Killjoy’s face morphed into a poisonous smile. “Friend? Ha! Don’t get me wrong, I want him dead, too, but I want to do it myself!”

Killjoy’s eyes reflected some kind of diabolical glee as he glared back at me. “I’m doing this, because I don’t like the kind of wasteland this guy seems to be talking about.” Killjoy stroked back the hair of his mane before crashing a hoof through the wall of the opposite building. “If he wants to be king of the wasteland, then I’ve gotta kill’em!” Ripping his hoof from the crumbling wall, he pointed to Crossfire. “I don’t like you. Ya piss me off.” Killjoy glanced back at me.“I’ve got things to do, so this is where we part ways. I’ll kill you later. Got it?”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“Get the hell out of my sight…”

A grenade exploded at Killjoy’s hooves while he was speaking. Killjoy’s head seemed to sputter as repeated head shots brought him to the ground.

Crossfire spat at the ground in disappointment.

“That is really annoying…” Killjoy said as he wrenched himself up from the dirt. As he rubbed his head with his hoof, several defiantly misshapen bullets fell from the wound as a faint trickle of blood ran down his face.

A cloud of dust and debris kicked into the air as Killjoy burst towards Crossfire. The green earth pony invited his charge before juking to side, sliding a blade across Killjoy as they passed, only making a shallow scratch.

The soldier that jumped from the building flung a grenade over Killjoy as he laid down laser fire.

“Shit!” Killjoy growled as he noticed the shape of the grenade. He dove away as it exploded in a surge of glowing necromantic energy. The incoming beams of laser fire seared across Killjoy's flesh, causing him to reel and scream.

“Don't like tha-- FUCK!” The soldier fell back on his hinds as Killjoy rushed up faster than his adversary could imagine possible. The berserker slammed a hoof down through the pony's rifle, then through his armor. It was like he was squishing the toothpaste out of a tube. The raider folded into visceral pieces in a matter of seconds. One of allies jumped to help him, but Killjoy splattered him into gore.

“Ceasefire!” Crossfire shouted.

The purple earthpony laughed and grinned as the other ponies' blood dripped over him. “How’s that? Mad because I killed some of your friends?”

Crossfire smiled as if nothing had even happened. “They made a valiant effort, but they got what they deserved.”

Killjoy's eyes twitched in disgust. “What the hell do you mean?!”

Crossfire shrugged as he waved his hoof-blade whimsically. “They stepped out of position, they were at fault.” He said in a smug calm tone.

“What the hell is wrong with you, You heartless son of bitch?!” Killjoy shouted as his eye’s widened. “I can't understand you. You don't even give a damn about your own friends...” He charged in toward Crossfire. Swinging in, his hooves pierced the ground as crossfire sidestepped the attack. As Killjoy arched his hooves in a reaping circle as Crossfire backed off. Killjoy dove in charging and Crossfire couldn’t get away as he backed up. A sobering nausea wiped away the adrenaline fueled bloodlust in Killjoy. Crossfire grinned as he drew blood soaked blade from Killjoy’s torso.

“I’ve figured you out.” He said, slipping out beyond the range of Killjoy’s attack.

Killjoy braced the wound with a hoof, trying to hold his blood. “How did you…”

“You’re an earth pony with strong magic. I was scared at first… you seemed like some kind of invulnerable juggernaut, and to most attacks, you would be.” Crossfire said wiping the blood from his blade. “Earth ponies take after the earth, though in your case you take after sand.” He raised the blade in the moonlight. “You’re not brittle like rock, because you don’t shatter, but you still can survive explosions and bullets, no… you are like sand. When faced with an intense force, you’ll deflect anything.” Turning towards Killjoy, he began to walk.

Killjoy’s footing wavered. As the pony approached he edged away, his blood dripping.

“But if I gently push a knife into your gut, it will cut just as easy as it would a newborn foal.”

A single cackle burst from Killjoy, as he stomped his hind hoof into the ground. From there on, Killjoy didn’t falter back. A strange look reflected in his eyes. Fear was gone from his eyes, dead to every emotion, but with a will to resist. He was ready to die. “Y’know, when you put it that way, I guess I really have to kill ya.”

Crossfire’s march took pause as the demon pony bolted forward furiously, despite his injuries. Crossfire rose to his hind hooves as Killjoy made his assault. Crossfire held the blade to meet the charging berserker, but Killjoy batted it away with his hooves. As Killjoy swiped and kicked relentlessly, Crossfire tried to dodge, but a powerful kick dented his armor as it sent him skidding back a few meters.

Refusing to let the enemy escape, Killjoy closed the space between them again. He came in like a stampede, but Crossfire evaded the rush. Crossfire moved to the outside of Killjoy’s hooves. Even as he swung in, Killjoy realized he had let himself open.

“KILLJOYYYYYYY!!” A voice screamed followed by the gyrating sounds of cylinders.

Crossfire caught sight of the mare across the street in the reflection from the mirrors he had on the top side of his hooves.

The thunderous resounding hum of bullets echoed from Marina’s battle saddle mounted miniguns as she fired indiscriminately at the pair.

Crossfire cursed under his breath. There wasn’t time. He dove behind Killjoy, guiding him to dance into the line of fire at the point of a blade.

“Gotcha now!” Killjoy grinned as he struggled with the bastard.

Crossfire’s brow furrowed. The raider fiend grabbed hold of my old protege, and by pure strength alone, threw him to the side.

Only moments before being flung, Crossfire popped the pin on a grenade, and with his tail, he hurled the explosive in front of Marina.

Marina turned towards the vulnerable earth pony, but as she saw the grenade, she cursed,“Fuck!”- and ducked for cover.

The weakness of the battle saddle was that you had to point the gun with your entire body. You could not run away and fire at the same target. In the moment of confusion, Crossfire escaped into one of the buildings.

As Crossfire left, it seemed like life began to return to the area.

Killjoy gasped as he grabbed his gut in pain, rolling to the ground.

“Killjoy! Where did they touch you? Are you okay?” Marina came hobbling from a light injury.

“I’m fine… sorta…”

“Don’t die, fathers aren’t allowed to die.”

“I lost Midnyte… we have to get her back.”

“You should tend to your injuries first. I know you don’t feel like you get them, but when you get’em, you really get’em.”

“That’s fine. I have a few things I’d like to pick up anyway.”
*** *** ***

When tackling the impossible, it helps to ride the wave of movement. Starting a revolution requires a lot of allies, but in the wasteland, those can be hard to come by, especially on such short notice.

In a pinch, most ponies substituted that with guns. The way they punch holes through ponies worked wonders in convincing ponies to move. As one of the ballistically impaired, I couldn't stick to that wasteland favorite. Besides, when so many ponies are using guns, and well... in this death trap everypony was using guns, they have a way of losing their influence.

Fortunately, I had one trick that never failed to convince valuable allies to my side.

*** *** ***

A raider mare screamed as a macabre blood golem leapt through the air on long, gangling legs and impaled her into the ground.

“Good, joooin.” The creature said as it brought its wing webbed arms to trace along the side of the raider's vertically gashed face.

The mare grit her teeth into a nauseated grin. She reached out and bit into the ghast's neck and shook with all her might. The creature wriggled as the raider latched onto it.

The creature patted the raider's head as it shook. “Soon, you will understand...” It said almost as a mother would to a scared child.

The raider ripped her head free from the embrace, taking a short trail of viscera with her. She spit the blood from her mouth as she sneered with dying eyes. “Understand this.” She said as she pulled the pin from a grenade and slammed down the hole in the creature's throat. The raider wrapped her hooves around the monster as it stood up, severing the spine and letting her lower half fall limp on the ground.

A magic glint of light flashed before the grenade engulfed both of them in a magical flame. The thick curtain of smoke billowed out.

A group of undead descended from the wall. Bullets ripped through the streets, diving into their flesh, but it didn't do anything to stagger their waltz. They were aimlessly strolling, with a deadly whimsy. Curiosity peaked among some of the demons as they eyed the rolling cloud. As they approached the curtain of ash, a flash of iron bolted out from abyss.

A metal pickax, lined with glowing grooves cleaved through the neck flesh of revenant. The unicorn burst from the cloud as she pulled the bloody monstrosity close in. “Fucking... bitch, come on!” The raider cursed as she wrestled with undead creature. The neck punctured creature swiped at the amber unicorn. Duck! Weave! The unicorn raider gal dove her head around, switching her grip, but never letting go as she fiddled with the straps on the monster's armor.

Another nightmare rose up, spreading its neck open like the hood of a cobra. Curving talons lined the edges of the hood, and a pair of spiked tentacles whipped out from the gullet at the center of the of the neck. The tentacles curled in the air before slashing in, but the raider jumped back from the first blood golem as the tentacles cut down between them. Not a moment of hesitation followed before she reached in, biting the end of the pickax-like device, still hooked into the monster, and swung the creature in a giant arch, throwing the creature to the ground. As she spun, the moment the pick ax aligned with the festering tentacle creature, the end of the device spat out a gunpowder propelled stake into the chest of the beast.

The monster didn't seem to mind, stumbling about as the organs shifted about below the surface of its skin. “Joi-” It didn't even finish the sentence before the spike inverted itself into a ball of thorns. A foggy gemstone on the inside of the round began to glow, and the ball of needles wrenched about in the flesh of the creature. A jet of arcane energy sent the thorny ball bouncing and spinning through a crowd.

“Ha!” The raider cheered as she ripped the bags off of the corpse monster that she pinned to the ground. She pulled the armor and gear off of the body as she kicked it away. She twirled the line of packs in her telekinesis as it disappeared into a gemstone on her back. She spit to the side. “Robbing the dead shouldn't be this hard.”

A stallion kicked through the smoke. Most raiders had makeshift armor made of junk and littered with spikes, but somehow this raider figured on a way to make the makeshift sleek and the spikes almost classy. “This job is a bust.”

“Shut up, I want their shit.” The unicorn raider spat back.

More raiders passed through the cloud to join them. “We can't get through, boss.”

The raider mare grabbed the spinning spike ball of death in her telekinetic grip. “There is treasure in there, bucko, and it’s gonna be mine.”

Gunfire erupted from the streets. A pair of raiders from the crowd were sniped through shoulder. “Fuck, who the hell is still using guns?” The stallion asked as he dove for the cover of the wall.

“They keep things interesting.” The mare said as she climbed up along a stack of debris to get a look out on the town. She had a pair of binoculars she pulled out just to survey. She glanced over the town for a brief moment before training the binoculars on the two writhing raiders. Bullet fire splintered at the side of the building she was taking cover at, causing her to recoil back behind the corner. She pulled the binoculars away as shot a dirty look at her two comrades bleeding out on the dirt. “Hey, Struggle Bunny, Twinkle Toes, quit bumblefuckin' around. You die like an amateur.”

“I don't know, death sounds pretty good, right about now.” One of the writhing ponies wailed.

The mare glanced from side to side. “You’re makin' us look bad. Plug yourself up and get in cover, you snivelling bitches.” The mare looked to the rest of the group. “And will somebody shoot that sniping fuck? Come on guys, take some initiative.

“Okay, Blind Rodeo.” Came from somewhere inside on of the buildings.

The mare pointed a hoof out to the sleek armored raider hiding below and behind her. “Look at Ziggy.” She said to the dying ponies. “Ziggy knows how to take cover like he has half a fuckin' brain. Be like Ziggy.”

“Blind, this is stupid.” Ziggy said from the corner. “Somehow I think you actually want to compete in this stupid competition.”

The mare looked out with her binoculars again. “I want it all.” She grinned as she saw the sniper burst out from cover as undead mutants pushed it onto the roof. “Its an investment. Besides, there is treasure in there, I can feel it, and it’s gonna be mine.”

Ziggy turned to the side as he fired off a battle saddle, sending bullets into a far off corner of the town. “I always hated how you always had a way of being committed to raiding places you have no idea how to get into.” Ziggy scrunched his muzzle as he glared. “The fucking place smells like death...”

The mare jumped down from the tower of debris as she pulled a bound parcel of explosives out from her storage talisman. “I have half a ton of 'bullshit' grade fireworks to open a highway to wherever the hell I want...and--” Rodeo stopped mid-sentence as her nostrils opened up to the surrounding. Her pupils dilated as she trailed off. “wow... death smells absolutely fucking delicious. The hell is that...”

Ziggy was looking around. “Did everypony run off?”

The mare didn't see a thing coming as I sprinted through the streets. In a full body tackle I grabbed the bouquet of explosives and kept running. “Yoink!”

“The fuckin-, shit! That ugly son of a bitch.” Rodeo twitched.

“He kinda looks like a male you.”

“Shut up. Nopony takes my shit. I'm gonna kill that fucker more than I usually would.” Rodeo blurted out as she pulled out from her storage talisman an array of guns that seemed to be bolted together into some horrible monstrosity. She didn't hesitate to start shooting.

“...except he has better hair than you.” Ziggy added as he looked back on him.

“Holy shit...” Rodeo said as she pulled back from the scope of the rifle. “I really like his mane.” She said with raised eyebrows. “I kinda want scalp hi—FUCK I should not be talking right now!” Rodeo spat out as she looked behind her.

There had to be over one hundred of them. Some on two legs. Some on four. All of them with thick, ridged scales all over their body. They had smiles with a million teeth. One hundred hungry radigators followed after me in a grand parade following the amazing aroma of fresh cooked food. Pied pipers worked with music, but there was so much more power in a spell cast into a cooking pot.

I cackled as the raiders scrambled out and around the area as I cut through the center of town. As I ran, it inspired others to run. The clanging sounds of the pots dangling from a stick on my back became a warning sound to everyone around. First came the clang of the pots, then came the mystical scent of food. In the wasteland, food had power. Ponies would kill each other over food. To control food is to control life. With an army of radigators at my back, everything in the wastes started going my way, in a very literal sense.

I gasped and clenched my teeth as I ran. I couldn't keep this up forever, but I needed this to pave the path to the MAS building. The wasteland would be at my back. Still, the radigators were catching up.

As I rounded a corner a tall and thick hooved raider in a metal carapace stood against the moving packs. He had shields braced against his shoulders and heavy axes on his hooves. He stood against the running masses.

The bulky raider laughed as I approached, raising his hoofaxes. “I will crush you like the weakling you are.”

“Sure, yeah, whatever, gotta go, thanks a bunch.” I muttered as I slipped just under the raiders strike. Just as I leapt away, I tossed the pan of food onto the head of the helmeted juggernaut. “Remember, running is good for the soul. Work those glutes.”

The raider looked at the oncoming wave of 'not-quite' dragons and scuffled back. “Fuck! You cowardly shit.” He shouted as he kept running.

I clambered up a tree as the goliath led the radigators around below. “I hear zig zagging helps.” I shouted out with cupped hooves. I had also heard something about that being an urban legend. I laughed from up in the tree, until an intense crunching sound from higher in the tree caught my attention.

“This day just gets better and better... fuck.” I said as my eyes trailed up to the massive dark green entity gazing down on me with tiny, beady little eyes that reflected a bright red in the light of the moon. Little chunks of scrap metal as well as screws and bolts trickled down from above as the giant mass of hate masticated. It was munching on a solid steel gun. The creature had a pair of wild and twisting horns that popped out of either side of its head. Its horns were big, and the creature just looked mad. It was that weird goat like behemoth from earlier in the day. This creature had absolutely zero business being in a tree. I didn't know how it got there, or even how the tree could support its massive girth. Oh mysterious goat monster, what the hell was your deal?

“WHAT SMELLS?” The big horner screamed.

“Ponies!” I yelled back.

“THEIR HORNS ARE TOO SMALL!”

A thought came to me and I smirked. I spun my tail in excitement.

“Do you hate ponies?!” I mimicked.

“YEAH!” The creature screamed. “THE ONLY THING THEY ARE GOOD FOR IS DYING!”

“I hate ponies too!” I yelled back at it with a beast. “Hey, do you want to kill some ponies?!” I screamed in inquiry.

“I GREATLY ENJOY KILLING INSIGNIFICANT PONIES!”

“Let me show you where the ponies are!” I yelled at the ponies.

“TAKE ME TO THE PONIES!”

*** **** ***

“I think I'm in.”

I brushed the dust from my jacket as I rose from the rubble. The fragments of the ruptured wall scattered the hallway, radiating out from the now soundly napping body of the big horned creature. I had been wracking my brain on how to get in here, but it came to him so easily. Way to use your head, buddy.

The ministry of arcane sciences, here I was. My eyes glanced back at the oversized goat creature as it lay. Despite concussion induced unconsciousness, its face had molded into an angry scowl. I guess that its muscles forced it to stay that way… wonder how that changed one's outlook on life?

There was no time to lose. The memory of that white mare with the Ouroboros mark from my dream was bothering me. What was she looking for?

“I’m gonna blow you up.” I laughed as I looked around the dark halls. “I don’t know how, but I have faith in creativity.” I couldn’t kill a million raiders, but this was the point where they all converged. No facility, no raiders. Then I could bury this farce.

“Hehehehe…” A familiar voice said to me. It made my fur rise on end as I tensed up.

Down a dark hall, an arc of magic lightning traced along the walls. I charged after it. Damn it, I didn’t want to believe it. I trembled with a bit of madness.

The spark faded into the dark aether as I came by a lone flickering light, guiding me towards a window. There was nothing there. Was it my imagination? I’d prefer if I was out of my damn mind. That wasn’t him, because he doesn’t exist. They were just posers.

Walking to the window, I could see a hall of macabre devices and equipment, illuminated by the sickly green glow of the computer screen... A sheen of light carved a shape of one of two glass chambers out of the shadows, but I couldn't see inside. I could only barely make out an equine form within them, faint and rabid. The image on the screens flashed over strange shapes. A butterfly, a star, a diamond, they were strange. The screen flickered over and over, shifting then to graphs of data. Wave graphs compared against each other, followed by cross-sections of ponies' heads.

Then it flashed red. Splatters of blood came on screen. Four grey specters in coats appeared around the table. The air got cold in a flash and they turned to me. The moment their eyes looked into mine, I could feel the sensation of teeth on my neck behind me.

I span around leading with my elbow to strike, but there was nothing there. I stared off, gasping at the air.

That stampede mintal combo was kicking my ass.

The lights flickered as I collapsed against the wall. I took a moment to catch breath. If today was a good day, I might not see my head explode. Fuck, if I am gonna die, I wanted it to be entertaining.

“Have you heard the tale of the king of raiders?” A voice chattered in my head.

Shut up...

The lights flickered out. In the dark I saw the ambient sparks of electricity spiral down the metal walls. There was a face looking back at me.

It was a ghoul with a gold headdress adorned in fine white wraps of cloth. “He… that can’t be real.” My eyes widened. “I can’t kill what’s not real...”

Pharoah. It was the only thing rushing through my head as I stared down at the apparition. I struggled to catch my breath as my heart thrashed about. Rage boiled up through me as I slammed a hoof against the mirror. “Doesn’t mean I can’t try...” I growled as I burst into a full gallop through halls laced with black vines.

Skidding to an intersection, I saw two bands of raiders wrapped in battle. One was a skull clad tribe of zebra, the others were a mix of ghouls wielding terrifyingly unstable casterguns. Just beyond was the ghoul decked in gold, bathing in his aura of electricity.

I didn't care. Nothing mattered but this. The hell is he doing here? As I began to run, I heard the sounds of that ghoul's voice spill into mind.

“Does it escape your memory, or do you choose to escape from it? Let me share you a tale of an iconoclast.” It said.

Shut up...

As I ran through, a zebra's shadow grew fangs and lifted off the ground. It struck towards me as the zebra kicked in with his hooves. I only barely dodged, throwing myself to the side as one ghoul fired a thick bolt of lightning from the strange gun it had that looked like an open mouthed dragon. The zebra fried in an instant, exploding into smoke and blood.

“Some say that he was a ghost made of burning vengeance... Others say he was the nightmare born again... Some say, some say.”

A ghoul bearing a sapphire talisman around his neck ran out and clotheslined me with a hoof. He dragged me along as he ran up high onto the wall. The bladed spurs on his hooves didn't dig through my armor, but he dragged me up to one of the magic power lines. He grabbed my head by the hair with his teeth, but I kicked a hoof against the wall to prevent him from bashing my head onto the metal tiles. With a solid hit, I struck at the talisman on his neck. I didn't break it, but I cracked it, and arcane sparks forced the crack deeper into the gemstone. The ghoul reeled back and shrieked. The flaring talisman began to pull the ghoul, towards every wall. His old skin ripped and his bones fractured as the unwieldy magic tore him into pieces. I fell to the ground gasping.

“Some say, when he walks, the earth shakes with the drums of war. His touch alone corrupts and destroys the light and good. He is the wasteland, some say, some say.”

Shut up.

My head was pounding. Gunfire, explosions, and the concussions didn't help. I shambled up to my hooves, walking unsteadily. Damn everything. I was struggling to breathe. Fatigue was catching up to me. “Get out... of my way... Get out of my damn way...” I muttered as I stumbled onward. I had to keep moving, I tried to move past, but a zebra with a spear crosschecked me with the length of his weapon, knocking me back to the ground.

Gunfire erupted between the groups. The ghoul with the lightning caster took a golden bullet to shoulder. The wound erupted into a glowing head of a wolf which snapped at the gun's talismans. With a pull of the trigger, the lightning burst in every direction, becoming a mass of electric death.

“In his world, the seas are red. When he is on the horizon, mountains crack and fall.” The voice continued.

None of these bastards knew a damn thing about what they were getting involved in. I wanted to believe this was a bad dream. I had grown to hate big time operations, but I couldn't ignore this. Every last one needed to get out of my way. I’ll kill all of you. Every, last, one.

The zebra with the spear moved in with a raider's glee to finish me off. I pulled myself to my hooves as he lunged in. I didn't have much stamina at the moment, but I threw my weight and belayed the point on the plates of my armor as the spear passed by me, shredding bits of my coat. I almost fell as I put my hind leg up against him.

“Party time...” I muttered as the talisman studded horseshoe erupted in an explosion of magenta energy. The zebra flew back against a wall as the spear sprung through the air. The recoil on the hoof was way more than I could take, so it launched me rolling deeper into the tunnel.

I stood up looking forward, but I could hear the sounds of several zebra coming up from behind. It didn't matter. I just had to keep going. I had to kill that bastard. As they closed the distance, a claw tore through the floors beneath me. Riding the rising debris, I jumped past the group. A raider was riding atop a hellhound that lost much of its fur in place of tattoos. It tore into the ghouls and zebras as they united together against a common enemy.

“Some say, some say, he wields the armies of evil and unifies them. At his guard, he commands even the dogs of hell to wreak his vengeance. Be afraid, they all say.”

I hobbled forward as the screaming in my head became more severe. It became difficult to even think, I could only hold onto one thing. Vengeance. It was the only thing keeping me from falling into a sea of mental static.

The hellhound looked over to me, gauging how delicious I might be, but it took only a few steps before stopping. It ran off with its tail between its legs.

I caught the phantom of the ghoul down through another intersection. As I stumbled through, there were many raiders, curled up, howling on the floors. They couldn't even look at me. No pony fought. Some were from different gangs, holding onto each other to keep their sanity. Others had blade and bullet wounds as they laid out on the ground. Some hoping to bleed out faster were fumbling to try to keep their jaws tight enough on a knife to gut themselves. Alas, their efforts were to no avail.

Looking around, I looked to find the electric ghost of Pharoah gazing at a book on a shelf along the hall. “You... won't... get away.”

Just seeing him was enough to clear the haze in my mind to bolt into action. I chased. Down every hall, I chased as he dove into an arc of lightning. It didn't matter how far, I'd chase him to the end.

The claxons sounding were obnoxious, but the spinning lights lit the path.

As I turned the corner, the magi-mechanical body of a turret turned to me. Instinctively I raised my fridge, but as weird as it was, there was no recoil of fire. The turret fired off at an angle, a targeting talisman aimed directly at me, as the body of the turret hung limply by the side. A hallway full of strange corpses led up to the metal partition that bore a red glowing sign. They had white coats with star-shaped badges. What was strange, however, was the deformed shapes of their skulls and hooves. They had spikes and sharp teeth.

As I approached, the wailing in my brain subsided and I found that I could think again. I'd kill him. I had to find him first though.

The door was beaten and bent, and a strange symbol was drawn upon it. A black circle with arching gold rays drawn out from it. I looked again and I realized it wasn't a circle. It was a snake eating it's tail. Damn it.

There was something alluring about a place ponies died trying to get into. Like a bad wish, the red light behind the door flashed green, and the servos pulled the partitions aside.

At the threshold of the ornate office, tongues of lightning danced from surface to surface. A sinister, raspy laugh slithered through the air and I froze. The blue light from a light talisman reflected off of the metallic trim of the figure that was lurched over in front of a large, floor to ceiling screen display. The spectre lifted his posture and an electric glint of light gleamed from his eyes.

I furrowed my brow and swallowed my rising anxiety and disgust. “Pharoah...”

“Well, if it isn't my old friend.” The ghoul smiled.

“We're not friends, you son of bitch.” My eyes trembled as I tried to calm myself. Calm my frantic breath, my screaming head, and my roiling blood. “I’ve heard you’ve been telling a lot of tales for a dead-man.”

“The games are the beginning of a new age. I take no part, but I am merely a spectator.” said the flickering electric projection of a ghoul. The way he smiled bristled the ends of my hair. Most ghouls were freshly rotten, but this ghoul had already lost much of his skin. The skin around his cheeks had gaping holes rotted through them, allowing anypony to see the gem encrusted golden teeth of his in the illusion of a perpetual grin. His pus ridden face flexed as his eyebrow raised. He was wrapped in layers of embroidered silk, with a purple mantle around his body. “Have you come to do the same? ”

“I don't want any part of this sick joke.” I said stepping back as disgust poured through me.

“You say that, yet you can't ignore these games. You can't run away from it.” He smiled as my eyes dilated at the word 'run'. “It calls to you, and that frightens you, doesn't it? You look as though you've seen a ghost.”

“I remember back then…” I said as I stared him down. Spitting to the side, I walked in towards the flickering electro-static image. “I thought you were part of my imagination.” Just looking at the bastard made me angry, I could barely hold myself from trying to attack him, but I knew it wouldn’t work out. “But when I heard the voice on the radio, it sounded way too damn familiar… I almost lost my cool, but I wouldn’t live the life I have now if I couldn’t tell a lie without obsessing over it.”

“It humbles me that I am not forgotten…” he said. His spoiled flesh was covered in strips of fine silks. From his neck hung an assortment of gold necklaces, but what stood out the most prominently was an amulet in the shape of an ankh. A gem lined headdress cropped back his silver mane. The gold structure seemed to hold up an obsidian sun.

“Y’know, I think I like rotting corpses a whole lot better when they don’t talk.” I growled.

The ghoul smiled. “I've watched you as you've wandered over the years. I had doubts that you would visit this grand moment for the wasteland. I had believed that you had regrets, yet it seems you have returned to seek a former glory.”

“I've got nothing but balefire for your twisted competition. Ha, Don't think I'm your ally. I'm here to shut you down.” I stepped into the room, pacing the the right of the desk in the center of the room. My eyes turned away from Pharoah. There were bookshelves in two sets of two on the right wall with a strange glass tube that rose up from a silver infused machine between them. There was a weird two pronged staff made of twisting wood mounted on the wall. I gave a cynical laugh. “You are still playing the same games.”

“And as such, it is like you have never changed.” Pharoah walked along the edges of the room, static leaping across to the nearest metals. “The names have changed, but the spirit remains the same, Tumbleweed.”

“Shut up, I'm nothing like I used to be. You say a lot of things that piss me off, y'know that?”

“You have always been violently passionate. It is why I am so fond of you.”

“Murderous son of bitch.”

“I do not remember the last time I killed another with my own hooves. It was such a long time ago, and there are none alive who remember it. My blade has grown lonely in its neglect, and yet its blade has never dulled. It waits for the opportunity for it to serve me well, on a day I believe will never come.” Pharoah's horn glowed as he raised a thin, sheathed blade. A haunting aura seemed to emanate from it, and it was stinging to the eye. Pharoah smiled as he wrapped his hooves around the scabbard. “I still keep it in selfish pride.”

“I wouldn't call yourself clean if you convince others to kill for you.” I scoffed. I kicked a hoof against the ground.

Pharoah turned to me and walked forward. I could feel the static in the air lift my hair on end. “The noble leads by virtue of his voice.”

I hated the sound of his voice. The more he talked, the more you fell into his rhythm. There wasn't much that I would want more than to be able to shut him up permanently, but it was out of my power. Breaking his jaw not being an option, I might as well get him to say something useful. “Of all the bastards I've met in the wasteland, none of them are as manipulative as you are...” I said as I crossed the room. I freed the latch on my fridge and braced my forehooves against it. “What exactly you are trying to pull here...” I glared and grit my teeth. “...and I'd appreciate it if you cut out all the bullshit.”

“I suppose I owe you some favor.” With a flash of arcane sparks, Pharoah phased out. Then came his voice. I could hear it like it was coming from everywhere, like it was in my mind. “What I am trying to do is quite simple.” His face appeared on the tall, magical screen, casting a blue light against the room. Each of the adjacent screens in the alcove of the computer display also showed his face. Distortions rolled down the screen as he spoke.“I am rebuilding Equestria.”

I stepped away from my fridge and walked behind the desk, into the full view of the array of screens. “I don't believe you. You don't give a damn about rebuilding anything. You are going to burn everything to the ground.”

“You’re a fool if you believe I am the same as that doom-seeking witch.” Pharoah said.

I threw a hoof to the side. “I never said you intend to destroy it…” I pointed a hoof with a vehement quake. “But it’s gonna happen.”

The ghoul on screen smiled. A surge of voltage burst from the screen of the computer and Pharoah disappeared from the main display. What replaced it was the video of a pair of scavengers ripping off the door of a cabinet. Lifting out tin after tin of food in an arcane grip, the old unicorn stallion and the younger mare began to cheer. The mare was only a teenager, probably was the stallion's daughter. Their faces lit up and they jumped into each others embrace. “At heart, revolution can not be found in prosperity.” From the side of the frame, a trembling, emaciated pony crawled to the corner of a pillar. The pony had ragged hair and was covered in wounds. They were dressed in tatters. The depraved pony grit his teeth as he stared at the smiling pair that was loading cans into a bag. Suddenly I felt electric static behind my ear. “The contented lack the proper hunger...” Pharoah said, standing eerily close. I turned back to him before I heard the sounds on the screen.

“Let’s open one.”

The urchin sprung out from hiding. With nothing but a large piece of glass, the pony stabbed the mare. Again, and again, and again. It happened so fast that the father could barely react. The mare could only scream as the pony wrapped his hooves around her torso, holding her in place as his head slammed against her repeatedly until the father tackled the barbarian.

The glass shard shattered into fragments as the father stomped through it. The stallion pinned the pony to the ground with his hooves. Sheathing his horn in an ambient glow, the father lifted out a knife as he trembled with anger.

The knife reached back, but before it could plunge down, the wretch spat in the father's eyes. His hoof struck the unicorn in the groin, causing him to drop the knife as he buckled forward. The monster took no time to snake his hooves around the pony's head. He pulled him close and bit down on the unicorn's ear. The father screamed as the destitute pony thrashed his head, violently ripping his ear off. Next, he bit down on the father's neck, shaking his teeth aggressively as he chomped down. The unicorn lost control as the bastard threw him to the ground. The psychopath struck his hooves down without rest. I could hear the familiar sound of cracking bones. As he was beaten, the father reached vainly with his hooves to get to the knife that was in front of him. Soon, the maniac's hooves were bloody and the pony stopped moving. He crawled past the two corpses to the pile of tins scattered across rubble.

Pharoah's voice came again. “ In life there is but one guiding law...”

With blood still dripping from his muzzle, the savage slammed a can against the edge of the cabinet and rent it open. As the contents spilled out onto the ground, he licked it up off of the dirt.

“...and that is to fulfill one's needs.” Pharoah said as his face reclaimed the screen.

I grimaced in disgust. I was already hesitant to call prewar canned goods 'food', but the hunger of the wastes and the violence that came from it made me sick.

Pharoah leaned in on the screen. “Those towns that have become self sufficient stand in the path of evolution.” The columns of other screens flashed with images of Ponyville. Ponies ripping off the heads of the flesh golems, others rising up and shouting to the sky. I saw Killjoy on screen tearing a pony into two pieces as the blood washed over him. I saw a mare in a silver coat running through the interior of the facility, tackling into a zebra with golden gauntlets. Her horn glowed as her ripper splattered blood along the wall, causing it to form ornate designs. I saw a bat pony stab his bladed wings into a unicorn, and lifting them into the air, burning the unicorn to a crisp. On a screen in the corner, my eye caught a certain gaudy looking bastard, limping as he fired his heavy revolver. “The raiders, the wretches, and the pariahs are the foundation of a new empire. All of the pieces of a kingdom are here, and I will gather them together.”

“I've heard of a lot of idiots trying to save the wasteland, but I've never heard anypony trying to save the wasteland from peace and order.” I laughed.

“You of all ponies should know how little peace and order relies on moral character. They will be as wretched within society as they were without. All that matters is the will of a sovereign.”

“I don't believe in something as bullshit as morality, but I know a train wreck when I see one. That kingdom would fall apart and kill each other, but they'll never even get that far.” I grit my teeth. “There won’t be any raiders left by morning.”

“Of all the natural emotions, Fear is the greatest motivator.” He said as he appeared before the bookcase in flash of electricity. “The essence of life is war, and yet the living fear it.” He said as his image brushed a hoof along the spines of the line of books. He seem to grumble knowing he could not touch or hold them, but he seemed to hover, taking in each title. “From the slave to the lone survivor, all move in name of fear, and so the wheels of the world turn.” Pharoah flickered in his light blue glow as he put a hoof to the side of my face. My hair raised on end as it charged me with static.

I turned away as I scoffed. I walked along the wall of the room . “Do you expect raiders to listen to reason?”

“That I do.”

I looked up on the wall to find a mutilated dart board, with the image of a purple unicorn stacked atop it. “You’re insane.” I turned around to look at the ghoul. “What’s the trick?”

Suddenly, he was right beside me. Pharoah curled a bandaged hoof in the air. “By my magic’s grace, I bestowed to them the vivid memories of tonight’s bloodshed. The magnate shall exalt themselves from the banal.”

“So they are supposed to bow down when you show them what to think?” I said as I backed up. I swung to hit the ghoul, but I simply passed through him as his illusion filled me with voltage. “Ahghgh!” I fell to the ground as I convulsed violently. I rested there on the floor as I steamed.

Pharoah walked around my body and leaned his neck down towards me, perching himself over my shoulder. “Every empire, from my own to that of Celestia, has been built on fear and power. These horrifying games have granted me the true visions of war. I have shared these visions directly into the minds of the masses--”

“And they will learn their place, huh? You're a real fucked up bastard.” I spat back from the ground.

Pharoah raised himself up. He was up to something, but I didn’t really have much evidence. Even if I had a correct guess he would be able to point me astray and play me for even more of a fool. He walked over my back, shocking me with his steps as he spoke “In fear of the leviathan, all of ponykind will bind together in unity far beyond the pale excuses of that self-proclaimed Goddess.”

I sputtered and coughed as I picked myself off of the ground. Gasping for air, I glared at the ghoul. “Don't cross me. I don't sit well in shackles. You can bet that I'll rise up and give you the overdue death you've been asking for.”

Pharoah turned his head as he walked away from me. “ You seem to think that this revolution can be stopped? The die has been cast. Neither you nor I can stop it.” Pharaoh turned to the screen as his electric aura coursed up the sides of the wall. The display screen lit up with images of elaborate graphs and charts. Images of strange artifacts kept appearing. They had golden necklaces and were shaped a lot like the amulet that Calico was wearing. One word kept popping up again and again. Gardens.

“Watch me, damn it!” I said as I stomped against the ground coughing. If there was anything in this wasteland that gave it virtue, it would be freedom. Wasteland killed and maimed, but there wasn't any damn ruler, not good, not evil, that could tell you how to live if you could fight them down. We lived brighter and bolder than ponies in any other time, and the wasteland didn’t know any bounds. In the wasteland, impossible was just a word.

“Freedom is a lie held by myopic fools. It is a delusion that never existed.”

I clenched my teeth. “Get the hell out of my head...”

Pharoah grinned. “You humble me. I just know how you think. I have a great deal of experience, and you are like a dear friend.”

“I just keep hearing that today.” I said as I brushed the dust off of my coat. “The crazy way tonight has been going, between the bloody golem freaks, the hole in the sky, and the wasteland coming together, I've had this feeling that you've been coordinating things. When dealing with you, I don't believe in coincidence...”

“Alas, you are correct. For more than the last thousand years things scarcely have been left up to coincidence… and in the last century and a half, there is no such thing.”

I braced myself against the desk, taking note of the corpse that lay atop it. “I had a dream where I met this white unicorn mare with the ouroboros cutiemark. This all has something to do with her doesn't it?”

“You have a nice collection of imaginary friends.” Pharoah said.

“I'm glad you realize our friendship is nothing more than imaginary.” I looked to the files on the desk. There was a map on the table. I wanted to be able to find Calypto.

Pharoah laughed. “That miserable bitch could be called a common enemy. You would be wise to be wary of her. Her name is Hexerai.”

“Hexerai, huh?” I said as I looked out the doorway. “You better not be messing with me.”

“One last thing...” In a vertical bolt of lightning, Pharoah's specter manifested in front of me. “What ever fortune she tells you... defy it.” Pharoah smirked as he shattered apart into stray sparks.

“Hey! Don’t you--” I blurted as his image phased away. “Damn it.” I growled. I braced myself against the desk. “This was why the old and the dead should be put underground, otherwise they keep running around…”

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Author's Notes:

I think this is the first time I've published since coming to Hong Kong. I am really excited because I've been sitting on some of these sections for months, and we really get to see some different sides of Tumbleweed. We also get Pharoah in this chapter. He is very much a hobbesian bastard and a bit confucian. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Progress is slow, but it is still happening. Only 2 sections left in the chapter.