I raise my hoof to shield my eyes from the bright light as to stop in the doorway. It takes a few moments, but my eyes finally adjust to the light and I slowly lower my hoof and look over it. When I do so, my eyes grow wide and my hoof slowly falls back to the ground. My mouth is agape and I can feel my eyes beginning to tear up.

The green, grassy fields, the lush foliage and plant life, the tall, proud buildings, the beautiful blue sky…it’s all gone. I fall to my haunches as my legs begin to tremble and my jaw quivers. What should have been fertile farmland dotted by houses and trees is nothing but a dismal plain of dirt and burnt trees spotted occasionally by piles of rubble and the rare skeleton of a farmhouse. I can feel tears starting to fall down my cheeks as I stare at the scene before me.

“H-hey CORA. This is a dream right? I’m still in the pod, frozen, right? My mind is just running wild, RIGHT?” I beg, plead to CORA to reaffirm my hope. There was a small part of me that was hoping that this was all some sort of dream, maybe even a prank my associates were trying to pull on me. That once I stepped outside everything would be fine. But now, now that I see the outside world again reality is catching up to me.

“No ma’am,” CORA puts on a sad face and shakes her head, “This is very much reality. This is what remains of Equestria. I’m sorry.” As I stare at her face I see a single tear fall from her head.

“So…that’s it then? My crew, they’re all dead? My family, my friends, everypony that I ever loved or hated? They’re just…No, this isn’t right. It wasn’t supposed to be this way! It’s…it’s my fault CORA. If only I had worked harder, if only I had…” CORA cuts me off abruptly, almost shouting.

“It wasn’t your fault ma’am!” She shakes her head. “There wasn’t anything you could do. You didn’t create the Mega Spells, you didn’t order their launch. It wasn’t your fault. I know, because I am you after all!” CORA yells, attempting to comfort me.

I raise my hoof up to my eyes and attempt to wipe away the tears as I sniffle. “You’re right, CORA. I just…I feel like I should have been able to do something to stop this. Just…give me a moment. I can’t seem to stop crying,” I choke out as I cry into my forehoof.

The whole time I’m crying CORA keeps trying to cheer me up. “You did your best!” she declares, “You tried to create something to help ponykind! How many others can say that?” she does her best to keep up a smile while I whimper into my hoof and accept this new reality.

After a few minutes, I’m able to contain myself and I wipe away the remainders of my tears. “Thank you CORA, I appreciate your help,” I thank her, a smile returning to my face. I made her with my personality after all, she knows me better than anypony else, myself excluded. “Ok CORA, let’s keep moving forward. We have to see this new world for ourselves and see if there is anything we can do to help it,” I announce as I take a step out of the doorway.

“Project Icicle might be useless now, but as long as I’m alive and can help what’s left of Equestria, it wasn’t a failure. Its purpose was to save pony to help fix the future, and I’ll do just that. With your help, of course,” I smile while looking at her.
“Of course ma’am! I’m with you 100%!” CORA declares and gives me a wide grin. It seems odd, but seeing her smile fills me with hope. It is with this new sense of hope that I take a look at my surroundings in finer detail.

The narrow road that once ran between the farmhouses is still visible, though broken and cracked all over. Most of the farmhouses were reduced to piles of rubble and only two that I can see appear to be even remotely standing. Some fencing from the fields is still visible, however much of it seems to have been blown away when the Mega Spells impacted. I am surprised, however, by the lack of apparent radiation and craters around. I had expected the world to look a bit like Swiss cheese if it ever came to this.

“Ma’am?” CORA chimes in while I survey the area. “Might I suggest that you start looking for food and other supplies?” I shake my head to clear my thoughts and give her a nod. She was right, after all. The facility had no food and I wouldn’t make it far without any. With any luck, the two houses still standing might have something inside them.

“Alright, let’s get going,” I declare as I’m about to leave the shed, but stop when I remember the shovel I dropped in my crying fit. I picked it back up and put it inside the shed for now, closing the door as I turn and leave. Upon doing so I begin walking towards the first house, the one that looks less haphazard.

Compared to the other house that was a bit further away, this house has most of its walls intact, but the roof is caved in. Much of the porch on the front of the house is ripped up and many of the remaining planks are broken in jagged points. I can’t see a single window that isn’t blown out either as I walk up.

Once I get closer to the house, I can see that it is listing slightly to one side and the walls on that side have cracked under the pressure, but appear to be still holding strong. The closer I get the more damage I see to the house. As I get a few feet from the front door, CORA speaks up, “Ma’am, be careful. I’m still not sure what the range on your Compass is. Something could be inside, not to mention it doesn’t look very safe.”

I nod in agreement, “My thoughts exactly. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, as they say.” I give a wry smile as I continue to the front of the house. I’m about to open the front door when I have a second thought and decide to look in through a window first. I don’t see anything special, but the inside of the house seems to have fared worse than the outside.

Much of the furniture inside has been strewn about and dust is covering everything. I hope that means that nothing has been here in a while, I find myself thinking. Ensuring myself that the house should be empty, I return to the door and enter the house.

It wasn’t anything fancy, not even in its prime, just a simple two story farmhouse. However, as I look immediately in front of me at the staircase to the second floor after entering, it becomes apparent I won’t be going to the second floor. The collapsed roof blocks the stairway as light shines through a hole that shows the bleak clouds above. I think most of the time bedrooms are the only things on the second floor anyway, so I turn my focus to the only floor of the home I can access.

Immediately in front of me, next to the staircase appears to be a storage closet, but the collapsed roofing has blocked it shut. The room to my left looks like living room and to my right is a sturdy looking door. I turn my attention to the door and push it open. The room I find beyond looks to be an office with another door on the left. It has a desk in the middle with a bookshelf behind it. The bookshelf and desk are covered with various papers and books, but what catches my eye is the small safe resting on the bookshelf.

I enter the room and, while making my way over to the safe, scan the various papers and books laying around. I notice a book on the desk with various figures written down that appear to be prices for crops. It must have been their business ledger. Turning my attention away from the desk, I look at the safe on the bookshelf and upon closer inspection I see that it is already open. Curious, I open it further and take a look inside.

I find a box of .32 caliber rounds inside. I pull it out and open it, finding six bullets missing. I close the box again and put it in my bags. Taking a look back inside the safe, I only find a few pieces of paper, including the deed to this farm. I raise an eyebrow in thought, if they have .32 caliber ammo, they must have a pistol, right? I shake my head and continue to search around the office, looking through a few drawers and on the remaining bookshelves.

The only other things of interest I manage to find are a two bobby pins, a pen, and an unopened bottle of whiskey. Even though whiskey really isn’t my thing, I decide to take it anyway. If I run out of water, I could at least drink it as a last resort. I put it, the pins, and the pen in my bags and walk over to the other door in the room.

I open the door and step into the home’s kitchen. I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that it was actually on the first floor. Like the rest of the house, the kitchen has seen better days. It is caked with dust and utensils are strewn about the room. The room itself looks to be in the shape of an L, bending to my left and ending at a doorway. This doorway appears to be to the dining room, but the doorway is blocked by the dining room table so I can’t see very much of the room.

Beginning my search of the kitchen, I start by opening the fridge. In hindsight, this was a mistake as the worst smell of my entire life emanated from inside once I open the door. Bile rises in my mouth as I slam the door closed and attempt to stop from retching, covering my nose with a leg. I thankfully manage to keep from throwing up, but the thought of the smell keeps making me gag slightly. I compose myself enough to continue my search.

I look through a few of the cupboards, but most of the food is moldy and inedible. I sigh as I continue to look through the cupboards and drawers and continue to find nothing of use. Right as I’m about to give up, one of the last cupboards I open has a few boxes of Fancy Buck Snack Cakes. I look at the boxes disappointedly before I open them to inspect their contents, expecting to find them covered in mold. But to my disbelief they appear to be almost like new.

“Ok, I know ponies used to joke about snack cakes and what not being able to survive a Megaspell but…really? How is this even possible?” I say as I look at the snack cakes dumbfounded. Just how many preservatives did they put in these anyway?

“Well, joking or not ma’am, at least it is something you can eat, right?” CORA chimes in while sticking her tongue out at me playfully. I roll my eyes at her as I put the cakes back into their boxes and put those boxes into my bags. I then look in the last few drawers.

Surprisingly, I find a few things that haven’t spoiled. A half empty box of Sugar Apple Bombs, two bottles of Sparkle Cola and a can of beans. I put each of the items into my bag before I realize I don’t have a way to open the beans. I quickly glance around the room and through a few drawers looking for a can opener.

While looking, I see forks, spoons, knives, pots and pans littering the counters, the occasional bottle cap and a…”Wait, is that?” I say in confusing as I walk closer to the object that caught my eye. “Is this a coffee cup? But it’s still white and pristine looking?” I pick it up in my magic and inspect it closer. To my amazement, it doesn’t appear to be dirty at all.

“It is probably enchanted to stay clean ma’am,” CORA reasons. “They were doing that, right?” She asks as she tilts her head in thought.

“Well, yes CORA. But I didn’t think the enchantments on them would hold up this long…or survive a mass Megaspell detonation. But then again,” I think back to the snack cakes, “it probably makes more sense.” Broken from my amazement I put the coffee cup in my bags and return to looking for a can opener.

It isn’t long before I find one at the back of a drawer and add it to my bags. “Ok,” I proclaim, “we have food now, and the doorway to the dining room is blocked. Let’s head back to the living room, I suppose?” I suggest to no one in particular. I exit the kitchen and go through the office and finally cross through the doorway to the living room.

As I look around I realize it is bigger than I thought, and probably connects to the dining room to my right. The living room itself doesn’t have much of interest in it, just strewn about books, furniture, and games. Along the far wall there is a fireplace that has long burned out. It is as though a tornado came through the room and stirred it up. I walk through it, keeping an eye out for anything that might be useful to me. But as I near the doorway to the dining room it comes up empty.

I begin to walk into the dining room when I stop dead at the sight in front of me. The table is indeed slammed against the kitchen doorway, but what’s lying against it causes my eyes to go wide as my hoof rises to my mouth. Three skeletons are pressed up against it, one large one and two smaller ones. A single bullet hole can be found in the middle of their skulls. Across the room from them, another skeleton sits in a chair, a bullet hole in its skull as well. Next to the chair sits a .32 caliber pistol and a piece of paper.

I swallow, looking at the scene in front of me as the pieces slowly connect themselves in my mind. I’m about to speak, but CORA takes the words right out of my muzzle, “This is horrible. Ma’am, why did he kill them all?” I shake my head, not knowing the answer. “Maybe the note says something, ma’am?” CORA offers. I turn my focus to the paper by the chair and levitate it over to me. Upon doing so, a notification flashing in the upper left of my vision “Note Added”.

I am writing this now, not so that the future might know of my deeds, but so that they might know of my cowardice and hopefully find it in themselves to forgive me. Just minutes ago, a Megaspell went off. My family wasn’t lucky enough to have a place in a Stable, and I knew that our time would be coming to an end here. I hold no ill will towards Stable-Tec, I just wish I could have been better, so that my family would not have had to die like this.

We were in the middle of a meal when the first Megaspell hit. The looks on their faces as they looked at me, waiting for me to lead them to survival, I’ll never forget them. I told them to turn the table over and use it like a shield against the blast that would inevitably be coming. I knew as well as my wife that if the walls of our home couldn’t save us, the table wouldn’t.

After telling them to get behind the table, I said that I needed to grab something from my office, and that I would be right back. I went and grabbed my revolver from my safe then returned to the dining room. The fear that was on my foals’ faces when I came back in the room, I think they will haunt me even in the afterlife. But they weren’t afraid of me, they were afraid of the Mega Spells, and that’s what hurt the most.

I sat down in this chair across the room from them and smiled as tears began to roll down my cheeks and I raised the gun level with their heads. My final words to them were, “I love you, I’m so sorry.” Before I pulled the trigger three times. I shot my two foals first, and then my wife. And what really struck me was the look on my wife’s face before I shot her. It wasn’t a look of hatred, not one of fear, or one of confusion. She looked at me with a smile slowly spreading across her face with a look that said, “thank you.”

After she was gone, I succumb to my emotions and let my tears flow freely. Now, I’m writing this in the hopes that the world did not end here. I wanted to ensure that my family died as painlessly as possible. No father should ever have to see his foals die before he does, let alone be the one to kill them. I cannot be sure if what I did was right or wrong, and as I sit here about to do the same to myself, I can’t help but think if I will be able to meet my family again in the afterlife.

Would someone such as myself be welcome in the afterlife they went to? I can only hope, but a part of me hopes that I don’t have to face them again. But, the end is rapidly approaching. More Mega Spells have gone off. There is one thing that I must ask of anyone who reads this note, one thing that might help me to see my family again. Though I committed a horrible sin here today, can you see it in your heart to forgive me? If you, a complete stranger can forgive my actions, then maybe, just maybe, my family will forgive me as well.

Whatever your answer may be, I wish you more luck than I had.

I set the note back down as my eyes begin to tear up again. I look at the skeletons next to the overturned table and then at the one sitting on the chair and I shake my head. “You weren’t a coward,” I say to it. “You were brave. You decided to give your family a quick death, rather than one filled with agony. That’s why your wife smiled. I don’t know if your spirit can hear me now, but I forgive you, and I understand. I hope that you find your family again,” I say with a sniff.

Wiping the tears from my eyes I turn my attention to the revolver on the ground. Picking it up, I open the cylinder and see that four bullets are missing, leaving two. The gun itself appears to be in fairly good condition. I close the cylinder before adding it to my bags. As I’m about to leave the dining room I look back at the skeletons again.

“Ma’am, I fear that we will see far worse things ahead of us,” CORA says to me. Even though I hope that isn’t the case, the Mega Spells could have caused much worse. She is right, there is no telling exactly what we’ll see in this new world. I can’t afford to let every little thing get to me, but at the same time I won’t forget about them. I nod to myself, reaffirming my decision.

“I’ll bury them CORA. Before we leave this area. Them, and my crew, the ones I can reach anyway. I know I might not be able to take the time to bury all the dead we encounter, but just this once at least, I’ll do what I can for them,” I tell her. CORA smiles a nods her head approvingly.

“Well then ma’am, we should finishing searching the other house before it gets too late,” she announces. I nod in agreement as I leave the dining room and pass through the living room and finally exit the house. Upon doing so I let out a sigh as I step off the porch. That wasn’t so bad. On to the next house, I suppose.

I start at a brisk trot with my hooves sending up puffs of dirt in my wake. While going to the next house I try to keep my eyes open looking for anything that could either pose a threat to me or be useful to me. But all I see is more of the same dirt, rubble, and dead trees.

It isn’t long before I arrive at my destination. I thought that it looked haphazard before but now, I’m not sure I even want to enter it. Walls are missing, the roof has collapsed, and some support beams look slightly cracked. I nervously approach the house and poke at a wall before jumping backwards quickly, expecting it to fall over. When it doesn’t, I go up and look through a window.

Like the previous house, the interior is caked with dust and furniture is thrown about the room. However the ceiling on the first floor appears to be buckling in various places. I return to the front door and give it a tug, but the door doesn’t open. “Huh?” I say confused. “Is it locked?” I turn the knob a few more times and realize that it is just stuck.

I envelop the door in my magic and try to tug it open, but it still doesn’t move. I cut off my magic and grab the knob in the hooves, tugging once more. When it refuses to budge again I put my hind legs against the wall and give the door one last try. After some straining and creaking of wood the door finally flies open, sending me sailing off the pouch to land heavily at the dirt.

“Ah ha!” I exclaim as I pick myself up and start dusting myself off. I start to walk back towards the house, but stop when I hear loud creaking sounds. As though on cue the building suddenly starts to collapse in on itself and plumes of dust billow out as the house is reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds. “T-that was a close one,” I mutter as my pupils become pins.

I blink a few times as I come to terms with what a close call that was. “Ma’am,” CORA chimes in, “I don’t think we’ll find anything useful here. We should move on.” I shake my head to regain my senses before nodding in confirmation and turning to walk back to the shed.

While walking away from the rubble and back towards the shed, I look back multiple times. I am still in disbelief at my luck. That could have easily been my end, or at least severely injured me. To survive Mega Spells and be done in by a collapsing house, it would have been almost funny if it hadn’t just happened to me.

Lost in my thoughts of my survival and luck it isn’t long before I reach the shed and drop my bags inside while standing in the doorway. I turn and look back outside, checking the lighting outside before I remember the clock on the PipBuck. I turn my attention to it and see that it reads 2:00 pm.

I decide that it might be a good time for a late lunch and reach into my bags to grab out some of the food I had found. I pick out one of the snack cakes from one of the open boxes of Fancy Buck Snack Cakes and also take out the bottle of water I have.

I sit down in the shed, open the snack cake, and hesitantly take a bite from it. Surprisingly, it actually tastes how it usually does, a little stale, but all things considered, it isn’t bad for its age. I open the water bottle and take a small sip from it, deciding that I should probably try to make it last. As I finish the snack cake and wash it down with a few more sips of water, I reseal the water bottle and return it to my bags.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this for a while now, ma’am, but how does food taste?” CORA asks from out of nowhere. I think about it for a few moments as I stare at her face. However, I just end up shaking my head.

“I don’t think there is any way that I can explain what food tastes like. Similarly to how I wouldn’t be able to explain how things smell to you. If you haven’t experienced them before there isn’t really any way I can think of explaining it. You can see and hear though, so I can explain what something looks like by saying it is round or a certain color. But when it comes to taste and smell…” I break off in thought for a moment.

“I suppose I can just tell you that taste is just some sort of brain function and sends specific sensations through our bodies, but I’m not sure I answered your question,” I look at CORA with an apologetic expression. She just nods her head with a smile.

“Of course ma’am, I understand. It would be like me trying to explain to you how we programs and computers talk to each other. And it isn’t with ones and zeros like you all think! Though some of the simpler ones do, I suppose…” CORA says with small smile.

“Wait, you mean you don’t? Then how do you…” I quickly ask CORA, but she cuts me off before I can finish my question.

“Like I said ma’am, it is like your tastes and smells,” she says playfully before sticking her tongue out. I let out a slight laugh before I roll my eyes at her.

“Yea yea. Well, I suppose for now I should get to work, don’t you think?” I announce as I stand up. “I want to get my crew’s grave dug before it gets dark outside. I also want to bury the family from that first house as well.” After saying that, I pick up the shovel in my magic and exit the shed.

I pick out a relatively flat spot near the shed and start shoveling up the dirt. Shovel full after shovel full of dirt gets scooped out of the hole I’m digging and deposited off to the side.

After digging for a few hours I drive the shovel into the dirt one last time before sitting down for a moment to take a break. Before me are five holes next to one another and each is about the same size. While I was digging, I took a moment to find some fence posts to use as grave markers. I drive these into the dirt above the holes.

Satisfied with my work, I got to my hooves and went back to the shed. I then open the hatch to the ladder and make my way down it and into the hallway once again. I notice that the lights have since shut off and pitch black darkness lies in front of me. I switch on my PipBuck’s light which bathes the hallway in ice blue light.

Despite having my light on and having just come from this hallway, I am somewhat unnerved about walking down it. I swallow and take a breath as I begin walking down the hallway and past the damaged bulkhead. I continue down till I see the next bulkhead and the five bodies next to it along the wall.

In the slight light from my PipBuck the sight makes me even more unnerved. I sit down next to the bones and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I look over the bones for a few moments before deciding on my next course of action.

I begin by removing the helmets from the Steel Rangers and setting them aside. Then I began to take off the rest of the armor till I could easily take the bones from the inside of it. I turn my attention from the Steel Rangers to my other two crew members, the piles of clothing and bones. Looking them over, I notice that a few of the scraps of cloth should be big enough to help me carry the skeletons.

Taking those scraps, I take them out from the bone piles and carefully tie them into five makeshift bags, using some of the cloth lining in the power armor as well. I then carefully take the skeletons of my crew and put them in the bags. After taking one last look around to make sure I didn’t miss anything, I put two of the bags on my back and envelop the other three in my magic.

I then begin to make my way out of the facility again and soon make my way back to the graves. Setting all the bags down, I begin to carefully take the skeletons out one by one and lay them into the graves, trying to arrange the bones as they should be.

Once all five skeletons are in the graves I take a step back and look over them, a morbid expression on my face. I close my eyes for a few moments before taking up the shovel once more and begin to bury their bones. While doing so, my eyes begin to tear up slightly. I don’t end up completely crying, but my tears are a constant reminder of my sorrow.

After a while, their bones are no longer visible and the graves are filled with dirt. I set the shovel off to the side and sit in front of their graves with my head bowed. I mutter a prayer for them in addition to a promise. “I’ll make sure our efforts weren’t in vain. I have become the embodiment of our project and I’ll work to rebuild Equestria, no matter how long it takes.”

I wipe the remaining tears from my eyes and stand back up. Checking my PipBuck for the time, I see that it is 5:00pm. I don’t have much time left, so I grab the shovel and four of my makeshift bags and head to the house. Before I reach the front porch, however, I turn and go to the left side of the house and find a place to start digging the graves at.

Like I had previously, I dig four graves and get four fence posts to use as markers. After getting the graves to the proper depth and size I set down the shovel and head into the house. I go through the living room and enter the dining room to gaze upon the skeletons there. I breathe out a sigh before setting my bags down.

I take care to move their bones into the bags as gently as I can and make sure I don’t mix them up. When all their bones have been collected, I head back outside once again. Once there, I repeat the process again and soon bury the family and sit to pray for them as well. “Even though I never learned your names, I hope that you have all found happiness in the afterlife.”

I get to my hooves and look at the graves one last time before heading back to the shed with the shovel and bags. As I walk CORA pipes up, “You’re really kind Ratchet.” She smiles, causing me to as well, but I shake my head.

“I don’t think just burying them makes me all that kind. I think anypony else would have done the same,” I tell her. At least I hope that anypony else would. It has been thirty-five years, who knows how much ponies have changed in that time.

“Even so, you seem to genuinely care about them and helping Equestria too! You might not embody the element of Kindness like Fluttershy, but you are still very kind, Ratchet,” CORA says with confidence in her voice. Her head nods up and down numerous times reaffirming this.

“I suppose…Wait, you’re just calling me Ratchet now? Not ‘ma’am’ or ‘Miss Ratchet’?” I ask her, somewhat surprised by the sudden change. Her smile fades and turns into a frown and she makes a sorry looking face.

“Sorry, do you now want me to? I thought since we aren’t exactly in a formal setting anymore, it might help you relax a bit,” CORA says dejectedly. I shake my head to her before giving her a smile.

“Not at all! I’m actually kind of glad you did CORA. Please, go ahead and just call me Ratchet from now on, ok?” I nod approvingly with a smile, getting a smile back from her before she stifles a laugh.

“I’m glad Ratchet. Ever since you woke up, you’ve been kind of miserable looking. It’s understandable, but I want you to be happy like you used to be, you know?” CORA says with her voice filled with hope.

I give her an apologetic look while I say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you CORA. But, for now, let’s rest in the shed until morning, ok? It’s getting late and I don’t want to be wandering around at night.” As I say this, we reach the shed.

Opening the door and stepping through, I set the shovel against the wall and put the bags in a corner. I then take off my saddlebags and set them down on the floor as well, stretching out my back and limbs. After some contemplation, I decide to remove the radiation suit. Outside, I didn’t get any hint of radiation. Since it doesn’t have much protection against the elements or sharp objects, I decide to wear the armored barding I have until I need the radiation suit again.

After changing clothes, I settle myself into a comfortable position on the floor and prepare myself to sleep. Laying my head down I’m suddenly aware of how tired I am. I think over the day’s events, the chaos the world has become, and what I plan to do next. Engrossed in these thoughts I slowly slip into darkness.

Author's Notes:

That concludes Chapter 2 everyone! I took some comments I got on Chapter 1 and applied them when writing this one, so hopefully it is better.

Incidentally, I added her stats/skills/traits to the end of Chapter 1. Check those out if you haven't already. And, since she has only really walked around so far and hasn't gained any exp, she of course hasn't leveled up yet.

I finished this one last weekend, but I was attending a wedding so I haven't had much time to start on Chapter 3 yet. I'll begin working on it as soon as possible!