The light of the sun at midday assaulted my eyes as the three of us walked out of the building we had been disarmed and debriefed in. It had been something I was used to. Rangers rarely walked around our bases fully armed, and keeping guns around in private? Well, that increased the odds of suicide by a lot. But walking down the streets of Paradise with Permittivity and Rosetta, I was kind of wishing for at least a service pistol. These weren’t Rangers, as much as they looked like us. Not that I had any reason to distrust them, I had been staying within a small town of them for a few days. It’s just, all these ponies walking around with loose order, all on their own business, not ordered from above…

It reminded me of the Arabs of Ramsgard. The look of the city itself didn’t help that impression. Adobe, and businesses going about without any queues or requisitions. Granted, I hated queues and paperwork, and adobe was honestly the best thing the Arabs ever invented…

Then again, I was bigger than most of these ponies, and other than the odd Ranger of theirs, I was definitely more trained, and without a doubt more experienced than them. And it didn’t hurt that the second most dangerous pony in the city was currently walking with me. Well, more like leaning against me for support. Still, I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that he would fry any fucker that tried to hurt me. I tried not to acknowledge the butterflies in my stomach that thought created. Maybe we were what these ponies called a ‘Power Couple’?

All I knew is that we drew some eyes to us, the filthy unicorn stallions and the large earth pony mare who was wearing strange barding. But, not too many. The wave of refugees and the news of the attack had many ponies preoccupied, so really, we were just a threesome of unfortunate ponies, in a city now filled with them.

“We’re almost there Perm,” Rosetta said from ahead of us. He had mostly walked off being drunk. Now he had a determination to him, each step was just as powerful as the last. Maybe he had just needed a drink and a good nap. Maybe.
“Good.” It was about the extent of his energy. The poor stallion had stayed up for half the trip back, before finally passing out against me. I stayed awake though. I didn’t want to lose him again. About a block later we came to a large plate glass storefront. Behind the mostly clean glass was shelf after shelf of books. There was a closed sign in Equestrian lying loosely on the door.
“This is where your mother lives?” Permittivity asked Rosetta.
“Yep, I’m the son of a Mercenary-Librarian.” Rosetta knocked on the door repeatedly, knocking on the aged wooden door again and again. Maybe a minute passed before it swung outward and slammed into the wall behind it. In the doorway stood a pissed off looking mare, who had the look of someone who had been crying moments before. “Sorry to bother you.” For a moment she eyed the group of us critically, before focusing on the exhausted, whiskey perfumed stallion who had been knocking on the door.
“Rose! I was so worried about you!” She paused and looked back at Perm and me. “Do you know those ponies?”
“Yes mom, they’re friends. And one of them really needs to rest and eat,” Rosetta told her quickly. “Now, I’m asking a lot of you, but treat them like you would me. I have to report to the health office asap.” And without another word, and nothing but a parting wave of his hoof he had left the three of us alone.

“He could never just meet ponies the normal way,” the mare muttered under her breath before forcing a half-smile while looking towards us. “This way, and uh, I apologize in advance for the stairs.”

“Don’t apologize, you weren’t the pony that did this to me,” Permittivity said weakly. As the mare held the door opened, she pursed her lips and asked cleared her throat-

“Who did that to you? I don’t even know your names,” the mare asked as I passed by her. Her eyes crawled over me in an appraising way, a way of looking that I was very familiar with. This mare had more than a little attraction to other mares. Oh shit. Was Rosetta’s mom checking me out? As I met her gaze as it came close to my barding covered ass, I realized that this older mare… had game.

“An Arabian stallion with a high-powered rifle.” Permittivity stopped walking for a moment, before flashing his horn and beginning to lift his duster before deciding better.

“You were there at the attack? They were really Arabs?”

“Yes, and yes. I’m Permittivity by the way, and the mare currently helping me stay upright is Icepick.”

“We’re not from around here,” I added.

“I gathered that,” She laughed nervously before looking at him again. “So what happened to the stallion that shot you?”

“He was either liquified by the warhead on the end of my missile, or he was crushed by the building falling on top of him,” I answered on his behalf, to which he gave me a withering look. What!? I was just being honest.

“Sure. Where did my son get a habit of bringing stray soldiers home?” She asked herself while shaking her head. “I’m Page Turner, by the way. Owner of this fire hazard of a shop.”

“Is the flat upstairs?” Permittivity said with a new spell of exhaustion racking his voice. I could feel his legs beginning to shake.

“Yes, Permit-”

“Perm is fine, everyone else calls me that,” he said as he began to walk up the stairs. “I apologize if that was short of me. I’m in a great deal of discomfort, even if your son did an excellent job of patching me up.”

“He was the one that operated on you?”

“And many others. He did the best he could and saved so many ponies. Your son is a brave stallion, Page Turner. He stared death in the face many times in the last day. Both the death of others en mass, and his own.” She followed us as we rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Perm and I’s body scraping against the old paint covering the walls.

“Did he smell like a bar because he used alcohol to sterilize things?” she asked as she followed us up and around the corner to the actual flat.

“I wish it were so,” Perm began before I cut him off.

“He dealt with combat badly, and uh, he drank half a bottle of whiskey.” I told her straight up. No use beating around the bush. “I mean, it could’ve been worse. He didn’t, like, jam a syringe of Med-X into his leg…”

“That was not the height of tact Icepick,” Perm angrily whispered to me as we stopped in the middle of her living room. There was a kitchen and a small dining room to the right, and a set of doors down the hall.

“I’m still proud of him,” she said moments later as she passed by the two of us, before starting down the hallway. “So, the elephant in the room. How did you meet him? He’s never mentioned you before?”
“About a week ago, the two of us came out of the desert after following the radio signals that Copper Springs emitted,” Permittivity said before coughing loudly. I hoped he wasn’t getting an infection in his lungs. Or maybe all the smoke he inhaled was doing it to him. I was lucky that my helmet had a respirator.
“And then what happened?” Page Turned asked us, with an edge of irritation directed at Perm.
“He examined the both of us, to make sure we weren’t going to die, and that neither of us were obviously crazy,” I finished for him. “He started talking to us and got to know us pretty quickly. Rosetta made me realize that this windbag of a pony is actually a pretty good stallion.” Perm began to blush as I complimented him. Which led to another coughing fit.
“The spare bedroom is on the right, feel free to lay him down,” Page said to me with a slight smile on her face. Where did that come from? Up until now she had only looked annoyed.
“Thank you again for letting us stay on your son’s behalf,” Perm told her as we made our way down the hall, his magic managing to pull open the door.
“I mean, you’re obviously ponies from a different land, I have to give you a good impression, right?” she responded, but in a tone that told me she was telling herself that too.
The room had a made up double mattress, not too big, not too small, and perfect for holding a healing Permittivity. I helped him over to it and watched him as his blue magic pulled the sheets up. With a gentle push, I laid him down and watched his face lose some of the pain it had been showing.
“Thank you, Icepick. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“Pssh, I know you would do the same for me. Besides, the moment you kissed me you became mine.” I paused and bit my lips as he looked at me with a new nervousness in his eyes. “That wasn’t weird, right? I’m still getting used to the whole idea of-” I had been standing with my head close to his, kind of leaning over him, but the feeling of magic over my body caught me off guard until I felt his muzzle press against mine. At that moment the magical push stopped, and I felt my entire body relax as he kissed me. Before I knew what I was doing, I lifted my legs and pulled myself up onto the bed, laying atop him as his tongue pushed against my lips. This time I decided to let him in. The feeling of his tongue pushing into my warm muzzle had me gently moan, especially as I felt his fore hooves drift up my body and onto my flanks…

I practically tiptoed into the kitchen, hoping to find an empty room, where I could get a few glasses of water for a sleeping Perm… And a partially dehydrated me. As I rounded the corner, I found my hopes to be in vain.
“How long have you known him?” Page Turner asked me as soon as I stepped into the kitchen.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but that’s a complicated question…” I trailed off and looked her in the eyes, with as much sincerity I could muster.

“Try me.”

“I first met him about a week and a half ago,” I paused and rubbed the back of my neck with a forehoof. “But I’ve had dreams as him for about a year, maybe a bit longer.”

“Yeah, that does sound kinda crazy, but-” she paused and sighed. “-I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. And you didn’t say it, but I saw you cringe like a filly before the belt when he mentioned his injury. You thought he wasn’t gonna make it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I thought he was dead,” I told her simply. Reliving that moment in my head made my voice lose all emotion. It was just flat.

“And you love him right?” she asked me quietly, a tenderness in her voice that I hadn’t heard from her yet.

“Yes,” I answered quietly. It wasn’t quite news to me but telling someone other than him felt weird. Especially a stranger.

“Good, that explains the moans and the bed squeaking,” Page Turner said without breaking her vocal stride. “You’re gonna change the sheets later, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I laughed nervously. I wasn’t sure how prudish these ponies were compared to Rangers. “Honestly, I was gonna ask if the both of us could use your shower later…”

“You have dried cum between your legs right now, don’t you?” Now Page was smiling viciously. My laugh changed to something approaching a hysteria as she asked me about the stickiness between my legs barely covered up by my tail. “Ehh, I won’t give you any more shit, but I have to ask: was it good?”

“It was our first time, he couldn’t really do much more than lay there and use his magic and hooves. We both smelled like cordite and fire, and I had to be careful not to fuck up his bandages…” She looked at me funny for a second before I finished. “And I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

“By Celestia you’re adorable, even if you sound like a love-struck filly. I can see why my son would like you. You’re just dripping with genuine emotion and spunk.” Page Turner lost her composure as she realized her entendre.

“That and my dynamite ass,” I looked at her critically for a second. “And yes, I saw you staring.”

“Hey, I wanted to see your cutie mark is all!”

“Sure.” I leveled at her.

“So, what the tartarus is your cutie mark?” she asked with exasperation. “Nice subject change,” I told her before snorting. “It’s uh, an expanding shrapnel cloud.”

“I take it your special talent is baking?”

“No, more like barbecuing,” I licked my lips and smiled at her. “Seriously, how is Rosetta your kid? He’s so sweet and becomes as red as a tomato every three seconds.”

“What is it surprising that his mom can quip with a mare half her age?”

“I’m more surprised she hits on mares my age,” I shot back.

“I would never hit on you! For three reasons: first, I know you’re with that stallion sleeping off a bullet and an orgasm; second, you seem straight; third, I’ve seen the way my son looks at you.”

“What?”

“You don’t see it? He has a crush on you, at least.” I nearly slapped myself.

“Fucking hell!” I stomped my hoof and snorted angrily. “I offered to fuck him, and he turned me down, but he has feelings for me?”

“Calm down!” Page Turned said to me, laying a hoof on my shoulder at the same time as she hissed her words. “He probably knew that you and Permittivity were already into each other. Besides, he’s not one for casual stuff.”

“He told me that second thing, and I didn’t even think about the first, I mean, he basically got us together.” I looked down at me hooves and thought about the first conversations I had had with that stallion. The stallion who had slept beside me, who knew the most about Perm besides me. The one who’s town was now gone. I mean, if he… Perm would… Fuck!

“I don’t know you that well. But my mother once told me something, and it’s stuck with me. It will always work out in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end."

“I wish I believed that. The world ended once. If that doesn’t prove something, I don’t know what else could.”

“The old world was unhealthy in many ways. Its sickness manifested itself in its end. But here, we’ve used our second chance pretty well. We’re not perfect, but everyone has a say in how things are ran. And we’re peaceful, just like Equestria before the war.”

“Peace is all well and good, until war comes to you,” I told her before stepping around to look at the array of cabinets. “Which one has cups?”

“The one closest to the refrigerator.” I ambled over to it, making sure to keep my tail pressed tightly against my rump. “Being quick to jump into a fight isn’t a virtue. War is the great destroyer, every pony in Paradise knows that.”

I took two glasses down and pursed my lips as I began to fill them from the sink. Before long I had them both filled with lukewarm water. I took a sip and thought about what she was saying. “Maybe it is, but so is sitting idly by while barbarians nip at the edges of your territory. [RM1] That’s an even more sure way towards destruction.”

“You are such a soldier,” she told me as I carefully walked out of the kitchen with both glasses held against my chest with my foreleg.

“How would you even know?” I asked with a burst of anger and a flick of my tail. I’m sure she caught a glimpse of my cunt, but I didn’t care. At that moment, I was more annoyed at her naivete than her fillyfooler tendencies.

“Icepick, Rosetta’s father was a Ranger,” Page said sadly as I opened the door with my mouth. I felt a chill run down my spine. That made a lot of sense. Of course she didn’t like soldiers…

Several days went by with a welcome stillness to them. Rosetta had come back the next night exhausted but relieved that his friends and his mother had gotten along well together, and to a long conversation about dropping them off like he had. The person I had really started to like was Dalliance, Page’s… marefriend[RM2] ? Her and I got along. For one thing, when she checked me out, she was a lot subtler about it. Secondly, she knew how to cook. Something, I had never really gotten any practice with.

We were waiting for something to happen in the government of Paradise, for them to actually get a ship over to Ramsgard or something to really confirm our stories. And so, things fell into a kind of rhythm, Rosetta was busy during the days, and nights working at one of the larger hospitals on the other side of the city, Dalliance was gone during the day to work at her job, leaving Perm and I to explore the nearby city. Permittivity and I sleeping in Rosetta’s old bed. Him sleeping on the couch, and Dally and Page passing out together in their bed. I swear they were intentionally loud when they fucked. Probably Page trying to get back at me or something. It didn’t help that the beds had exactly a wall between them…

The sound of knocking on a door assaulted my sleeping ears. I looked over my withers at the door. Behind me was a just as annoyed looking Permittivity, who just happened to have his crotch pressed up against my butt. We liked sleeping like that, and it never ever lead to any fun morning accidents. Nope. I sighed and shared a look with him.

“You’re closer to the door, and you aren’t recovering from any grievous wounds.”

I just groaned loudly and cleared my throat as I dropped onto the floor.

“Coming,” I said to the pony on the other side of the door.

“Yo,” was all Axis said as the door opened.

“What? I was wondering where the fuck you were!” I practically yelled as my discount shield sister tried to dodge my embrace but wasn’t fast enough.

“Icepick, I’m uh, glad to see you too, that’s why I came.” My hug was eventually accepted and reciprocated, the smaller unicorn not quite able to squeeze back like I did. Hey us, Rangers might be an odd bunch, but a tight hug was something we did too. “Hey Perm, how’s the mortal wound doing?”

“Well, according to the resident doctor, I have another five or six decades to live.” I let her go and backed up a little to let her inside, before I walked over to the bed. Letting myself lay on top of the blankets and rest my head on his hips was nice.

“Damn, I should get shot too, sounds like it improves your bill of health.” Axis looked around the room before locating the lonely chair in the room. With a push of magic, she drew the chair to herself and closed the door.

“I actually wouldn’t recommend it, it hurts a lot.” Was all Permittivity said before pulling himself up to a sitting position and wrapping a foreleg around my withers. I was basically sitting in his lap anyway, so I decided to just go the whole distance. That foreleg over came down to rest on my stomach, gently holding me.

“I mean, you didn’t even scream when the bullet hit you?”

“Suffice it to say that the wind in my lungs was knocked out of me.”

“Dammit Perm, I want to like you, but you’re so much less fun than your marefriend,” she paused and cocked her head, appraising the scene before her. “I’m pretty sure you’re together now?”

“Correct, he’s been my patient for the last week,” I looked at her and then shifted my vision to the cubby underneath the desk. “Rosetta even got me a real nurses hat.” I licked my lips as my brain recalled all the fun we’d had with that.

“I take it he brought his own thermometer?” She asked with a completely straight face. Damn she’d be a beast at poker. That gave me another idea…

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Permittivity said in a completely non-convincing voice. He was doing a pretty good Rosetta impression as he denied what he had very much enjoyed. I elbowed him gently.

“Yeah, he’s a lot less straight laced when you get to know him,” I replied gently diplomatically.

“Anyway, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to go the market with me.” She shrugged and nodded at Perm as well. “You can come too, it’s basically right around the corner.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that, I’m supposed to get some exercise in.”

“I really should go out and see one of these markets, I’ve heard good things about them. Are they like, open air with tents and stuff like in Ramsgard?”

“No, it’s air conditioned, and actually it’s a pre-war shopping pavillion that got put back together,” Axis told us with a smile on her muzzle.

“Does it have ample fans? Effective ventilation?” Permittivity asked with a start, and genuine curiosity. This flat didn’t have more than a window air conditioner because of its construction. But if this prewar building was anything like the way most things were made in Equestria, it would certainly need something more powerful than that.

“You don’t actually know what air conditioning is, do you?” I asked Perm with a smile on my face. He squeezed my stomach gently, pressing against the little bit of belly plush.

“Beg your pardon?”

“He’s from a place that required a lot more heating than cooling, right? Up to the north?” I nudged him with a hoof as he pursed his lips.

“Yes. That avenue of technology is less than necessary where I come from.”

“So, you must be burning up down here, and when you wandered through the desert?”

“Until you’ve nearly frozen to death, you’ll never understand how much easier it is to survive heat.” he squeezed me softly as he mentioned the heat. “Even if some of us would love to share body heat.” I leaned back against his chest and felt his heart speed up.
“Guilty as charged.” It was all I said. It was all I needed to say.
Axis stared intently. The two of us looked back at her gawking.
“What, this porno was just about to get good.” Both of us looked confused, we weren’t being porny, were we? Permittivity coughed softly and before nuzzling my neck. “Okay, this romance paperback was about to get good,” she said loudly.
“Who’s insulting paperbacks in my house?” Page Turner yelled through the walls.
“Certainly not me, ma’am,” Permittivity yelled back.
“I didn’t think it was you, Perm,” Page Turner yelled simply. “You’re a nice- how old are you exactly?”
“I’ll be twenty-four in a few months,” he replied, just as simply.
“I thought you’d be older than Icepick and my son, you always seemed more mature.” At this point Axis and I were exchanging smiles and trying not to laugh.
“I know, ma’am.” Perm yelled back, and at that point I thought it would be the end. I couldn’t let that stand.
“You know, you could come into the room, Page,” I yelled out for the first time.
“I wouldn’t want to intrude Icepick,” was all she scream-replied back before we heard another door shut.
“So, do you wanna get some air?” Axis said after we both took in that revelation.
“I would race you to the street, but I have to help this lug.” I told her as she got up out of the seat, the moment she turned her head though, Permittivity nipped me hard on the back of the neck. I guess I deserved it. Even if I hadn’t been the one insulting paperbacks.

Yeah. I needed some air. This house was making me go mental in new and interesting ways.

“See you at the street then, love birds,” was all that Axis said before leaving the room.
“You know I have a stronger mouth, and yet you started it something you can’t win-” Before I could say anything more he pressed his muzzle against mine. Maybe we were love birds, maybe we belonged in a trashy pre-war romance, but he certainly knew how to turn my brain to mush with just his mouth… After we parted lips I glared at him. If he didn’t also know how to turn me to jelly with his other parts…
“Are you going to let me get dressed?” he said with a smirk as I sat in his lap trying to think about him rationally.

“Fuck you Perm!” I told him as I climbed off him, even as my mouth curled into a smile just as wide as his.

“We don’t have time Icepick, your friend is waiting.” I just sighed and started getting on my saddlebags.

“Honestly, she doesn’t seem like she’d mind watching,” I replied with the most normal tone of voice I could muster. His face lost its composure before mine did, and a few seconds later I laughed. I had won this round of tweaking the other, and with a shake of my ass as a consolation prize to him, I knew I was on the top of the world.

Only later would I realize, I was only halfway to high tide…

Permittivity was walking on his own again pretty well, without you know, drugs. So, when the three of us finally made it to the rebuilt shopping center I was surprised by the size of it. Apparently, ‘Malls’ like this were built all over equestria before the bombs dropped. Glass sides and steel intermixed in a way that was different than anything in Ramsgard. Rangers built in concrete and rebar, Arabians built in Adobe and brick but these ponies built the way that ponies did before the war. They restored the shops and the neon signs, stripped the reactors and desalinators out of their warships…

The moment we stepped inside the restored air-conditioning made me gasp. How much power would that How many bars of steel, or tons of fertilizer could be made with that much electricity? Inside was an array of things that I would never have seen the rangers making. To the right of us was an electronics store, not selling parts to old world radios and terminals, but selling new radios with phonographs attached.

“Don’t bother, Zephyr is a garbage brand,” Axis said as Perm and I gawked at the electronics store. That was just the main item featured through the windows[3] .`

“Axis, why is the radio that large when you have radios this small?” Permittivity asked her before waving his pipbuck [RM4] covered hoof in the air.

“Well, that Zephyr was manufactured a month or two ago, and your Pipbuck was made like, a hundred years ago at a facility employing magical gemstone etching and enchanting machines.”

“I see, your indigenous manufacturing isn’t as advanced as your pre-apocalyptic antecedents. It’s still impressive that you’ve built yourselves back up to this level.”

“Y-yeah,” Axis paused and shrugged. “I’m not really an expert, but we had examples and us dockside ponies are pretty handy at studying the old tech that was left behind.”

“You use vacuum tubes and earth pony tech don’t you?” I asked her, remembering the tour I had taken of the lorry factory in southern Ramsgard. Simple acidic batteries powered by induction. That and the internal combustion engines of the lorries themselves.

“Obviously. Okay, that was harsh, but, we don’t have an entire trained corps of skilled unicorns and gemstones to burn. And I take it you don’t either.”

“That old world tech is just as far off as it was a century ago,” I said to her.

“Is the main issue the juncture between regular magic and electrical engineering?” Permittivity asked with an expression of extreme curiosity.

“Maybe? I know the raw output of the generator on a set of power armor is electrical current, even if the generator uses an enchantment to operate,” I told him as we all stepped into the electronics store. No one gave us a second glance at this point.

“Customers!” We all heard a stallion say excitedly. “Are you here to buy, or browse? Maybe you’re all more on the fence?”

“I’m looking at phonographs. I’d like to be able to experience your culture’s music at my leisure,” Permittivity spoke up and met his eyes. He was a little taller than the other stallion, a short earth pony wearing a shirt and tie.

“Of course- your culture?” he looked bemusedly back towards Perm before smiling that plaster smile all sales ponies had.

“Yes, the culture of Paradise is indeed foreign to me,” Perm beamed at the other stallion. “But the basics are the same, the language, the phonograph, the telephone.”

“You’re quite funny, even putting on that accent, sir. But I can tell you want a phonograph with a high fidelity,” the sales stallion belted out. I wondered how much this stallion was paid. This wasn’t hard work. I rolled my eyes and threw a leg over Perm’s shoulder.

“He’s with me, we’re the ponies that arrived in Copper Springs, ya know? Wandered out of the desert. Then a few days later the whole place kinda caught on fire…”

“R-really?”

“No, my friends here are practicing for their roles in the community theatre.” Axis played off as the both of us stared at her with wide jaws. “They take their method acting way too seriously.”

“Oh, alright, well I can still get you that record player…”

After we had given Axis’s mail address to the pony and given him a fair few bits we were walking through the rest of the shopping pavilion. There were fountains, restaurants, and-
“A spa is a place where ponies go to relax and get a nice massage.” Axis told me with a smile on her face. “And usually you get an attractive pony to give it to you. There’s a ‘spa’ down by the docks where I usually go when I get home.”
“Oh you didn’t mention that part.” My voice might have taken on a purr as I replied.
“Maybe we can all go there later,” Axis said with a flick of her tail and a shit eating grin. She picked up the pace and locked her head on something across the central square we were walking through. Perm totally had his eyes locked on her ass when she flicked her tail. That didn’t bother me, I knew I had a better butt than her…
Then I saw the thing that Axis was trotting towards. It was a larger than life poster advertising a radio show, the same one we had listened to on the ride here. A silver-coated earth pony, with a wheat-colored mane stood beside a microphone with the number for the frequency.

“He could pass for your father,” Permittivity said after a moment. A smile across his muzzle.
“Nah, he doesn’t swear enough,” I told him instantly.
“I bet his bedroom barely even reeks of sex,” Axis said with another grin, just as she rammed her shoulder into mine softly.
“Hey, that’s mostly his fault,” I shot back, while pointing a hoof at Permittivity.
“I’m not the one that wakes the other up with oral sex,” he said while looking around to make sure no-one could hear him.
“Well, I don’t exactly hear you complaining,” I said simply, smiling at my victory.
“Touché.”
“So, is it normal for ponies who just talk or act funny to be important?”
“I mean, it’s a viable path to fame,” Permittivity said with a strange look on his face.
“It just seems odd to me. We award medals and heap praise on ponies that embody our virtues: being a runner or a physical champion, being brave on the battlefield, even pushing forwards the bounds of what’s possible in technology and industry. But, to be rewarded just for being a witty pony, or just because you’re pretty…” I trailed off and stared at the stallion who embodied the spirit of these ponies.
“Maybe it’s just rewarding different virtues. Wit, beauty, even avarice. Those are things that before the war we celebrated as well.”
“So you’re saying it’s the needs of the society are the main factor in what that society asks of its ponies?”
“I mean yes, but to some societies, the overarching needs of that society is a strange question-”
“Yeah, we don’t really have a ‘master plan’ for our collective efforts. Like, from what I can tell, y’all have a kind of internal prophecy about yourselves. We… Don’t,” Axis said with a hint of judgement in her voice.
“That’s so strange. What do you work for then? What gets you out of bed?” I asked her. The lack of compulsion, the lack of vision. The abandonment of their homeland. It seemed so anemic. Then again, they had families, they lived happily, on balance. They had no serfs, no slaves among them…
“Icepick, that’s a question that everypony has to answer for themselves, that’s the beauty of a place devoted to the individual,” Axis responded, a smile affixed on her muzzle. We both just thought the other was naive.

“I guess,” was all I said as I mulled over her words. An idea occurred to me. These ponies had a lot to learn, but those oil ponies could fight with as much valor as rangers. I also knew that we had as much wit and poetry in our souls as they did. Reflex didn’t inspire ponies just because he was an exceedingly good marksmare. He could joke and speak just as well as the radio stallion…
He wasn’t here though. Only I was. But at least I was getting an idea about how they ticked. They were so similar to us, and so fucking strange at the same time.

Minutes passed, and we set ourselves towards a new destination. Our chatting had died down for the moment, leaving me with my thoughts.

“I wish Reflex was here.” I told my friends as we walked towards the canteen–I mean, food court.

“Are you homesick?” Permittivity asked immediately.

“Not really,” I said earnestly. “I like this place a lot. Ponies living happily, I almost wish I had been born here instead. But Reflex could win you over. He’s everything a ranger should be. Intelligent, brave and he could even make our elders smile when he cracked a joke…”

“Shit Icepick, everypony that you talk to likes you. And honestly the rest of these Rangers don’t sound like could do that,” Axis said with an odd look on her face. “Is it because he’s a higher rank than you or something?”

“Yes, he’s a better ranger than me. He follows orders to the letter, and he’ll be in charge someday.”

“You really don’t understand us, do you? If anypony can win us over, it would be you Icepick.” Permittivity nodded at her statement. Even if his look was more conflicted than hers.

"You fought to save some of us, you're charismatic and well, I know you're fighting for more than just some abstract ideals." Axis shifted her eyes to the stallion beside me.

“Maybe,” I said before shaking my head. “I’m fucking hungry, I’m ready to enjoy the heraldry of a food court.”

“Be prepared for disappointment,” Axis said with a chuckle.

“I always am.”

“Okay folks, I’m here with a very special guest today. Say hello to Knight Second Class Icepick. Or as you may know her, the Steel Ranger.”
“Hey, Frequency, and I guess all the ponies of Paradise.” I said with a hint of nervousness.
“That’s flattering Icepick, but my audience isn’t that big.” He laughed and stared into my eyes. “Alright, first question, why are you wearing normal clothes and not that big suit of steel?”

“There are quite a few reasons for that. First of all, your floor isn’t exactly sturdy enough to hold up the weight of an armored suit. And let me tell you, falling through a story or three of floor isn’t fun. Secondly, I had it taken from me by your customs agency. Not that I mind too much, I can still beat up anypony without my armor.”

“Okay, I can see why they took the metal doom suit from you.” He paused to take a breath, a moment in which I took a sip of water. “So, I know why you came on my show, but tell me in your own words why you came to this musty recording studio?”

“Basically, I’m the only Ranger here right now, and I want you all to know a little about us. I want to make a good first impression.”

“I think you’ve already done that. From the reports, you came up with the plan to lead the Arabians into the oil fields. Which you did by going out alone and having them chase you…”

“Isn’t that what anypony in a set of mostly-bullet-proof armor should do?” I replied in a neutral voice.

“I would be too busy voiding my bowels if I was anywhere near there.” He paused for the audience to laugh before continuing. “So, about those oil fields. Do you feel any remorse for torching eight-hundred thousand bits worth of crude?”

“Honestly, I haven’t been paid in a month and a half, and I have no idea what the conversion rate would be. But uh, I’ll start paying up right after those Arabs pay- in blood preferably.”

“That went rather dark, Icepick. But I’ve heard you’re a lover as well as a fighter?” he asked with a lot of energy, really wanting to change the subject.

“Yeah, I was kinda pissed at the time because, I thought that the stallion of my dreams had just been killed by them. Not to make light of the suffering of the ponies or Copper Springs-”

“No, no, if someone hurt my family, well, that’s a different kind of motivation,” he said with a far-off tone. “But the important thing is that he lived, right?”

“Yes, he did,” I laughed softly and felt the beginning of tears well up in my eyes. “He took a bullet to the chest calling down a lightning bolt down on an Arab position. It was only because of him, that I was able to destroy the bank they were using as a bunker.”

“Do you get a thrill from destroying expensive things?” he asked with a laugh.

“Not any more than anypony else.”

“So, if you could tell anypony listening something, what would it be?”

“I’m not really an ambassador, or a politician. Frankly, before I was separated from the Rangers, I mostly just followed orders and tried to have some fun along the way. But I’ve done some hard thinking in the meantime. To the ponies of Paradise, I want to share with you all a vision of the future. From the moment of birth to our deaths, Rangers and inculcated with a purpose. Our mission is to return to Equestria, and to rebuild her. We’ve had stumbling blocks, we’ve fought wars with the warlords south of us, and we’ve been fighting the Arabians since before the sky was filled with ash. But we’ve always thrown ourselves into the task. Always advancing towards that goal. Five year plan after five year plan. I don’t want to think that you’ve forgotten our shared homeland. In a lot of ways, you’re truer to the spirit of what once was than we are.”

“So, you’re saying we can learn from one another?” he asked me when I paused to take a breath.

“Exactly. I cherish the freedom and happiness that you all have created through great sacrifices of your own. But we all have to remember what state the motherland is in. Even the Rangers of Equestria have forgotten what it means to serve Equestria. We’ve picked up chatter from the few remaining satellites in orbit. Those Rangers aren’t our friends. They’ve grown fat and decadent off of the technology of the old world. They could’ve rebuilt Equestria with the help of the Stable Dwellers, and if they had, then we could be having an entirely different conversation.”

“I’m not saying that I have this point of view, but, why should we spare blood and treasure to rebuild a society an ocean away?”

“Because we’re all Equestrians.”

“Alright, I can dig that. But in the short term, you think we should join you in the war against the Arab tribes?”

“Yes, they attacked you without even a second thought. Because their leader, a bastard named Tegarni, thinks of all Equestrians as monsters to be pushed into the sea.”

“That’s terrifying,” was all that he could say, so I continued.

“We’re already de facto allies. What I’m talking about is a combining of our strengths. You have the numbers and the beating heart of a restored Equestria. We have the lances and the will to make it happen.”

“Are you talking about some kind of political unification now?” There was skepticism in his voice as he questioned my vision.

“Not in our lifetimes, I think. But trade and an effective alliance would make the both of us stronger. We can build all the guns and equipment that you would need to build the army that could beat the Arabs once and for all. And your experienced engineers and industrial strength could improve the lives of every Ranger and Arab living with the floodplains of the Senegral[RM5] .”

“I see. That’s a rather compelling vision. But do you think that your higher-ups ascribe to the same vision?” His words caught me off guard. What would Churned Waters want with these ponies. They had everything we desired, a population that would make selective breeding unnecessary, factories and the beginnings of a railroad network that could span the distance… And in the far future, they had the hulks that could make a new navy.

“Yes. Right now, your council is sending boats down the coast, and they should hit Ramsgard in a few weeks. So, I don’t think the same pressures for unification are there, but I think it would be the height of idiocy for either of us to reject the other’s overtures.”

“I think I agree. Like you said, we’re all Equestrians, and there aren’t many of us left on this continent.”

“Maybe after this war is over, I might just make a few more of us,” I said with a laugh.

“Well, we better get that war wrapped up soon, wouldn’t want to keep you and that lucky stallion waiting.”

“Exactly.”

I exited the studio and took in the salty night air. It had been a week and a half since Perm and I had gotten a phonograph. But I knew he hadn’t been listening to records during the last hour. The studio was only a short walk from the dockyards. It wasn’t cold, per se – the nearby oceans and desert moderated the temperatures a lot, after all – but it did have my coat standing at attention. Minutes later and I was standing at the end of a mostly empty pier. Mooring ropes and crates lay around it. The smell of overripe fish filled the air just as much as the brine did.

A gravid moon cast a glow on the harbor as I fished out a lighter and a smooshed pack of cigarettes. With a flick the lighter came to life, and a second later the tip of my cigarette was the brightest thing before my eyes. I was focused on the horizon. Battered and half sunken vessels sat in the water, rusting guns that could lob a suit of power armor twenty miles perched atop their hulls. Would we ever be able to achieve that again? If you added up every equestrian on the continent, we numbered maybe two-hundred thousand. That was a rounding error compared to the past. I took a deep pull and held it in my lungs, before letting it out. Then again, we could avoid making the mistakes of the past.

The ponies of the past were titans, but also children. They were able to build fleet after fleet of mighty vessels and equip whole armies with magical armor. But in the end, they lost. They weren’t willing or perhaps able to attack when they had the power to wipe their enemies from the field. And we were still paying the price. My cigarette was nearly burned out by now. I took the last pull and dropped it onto the aged pier. I smashed it beneath my hooves and growled. We were going to pull ourselves out of this slump. We would be better than those that came before.
The Equestrians of Sall’han may have regressed, but we hadn’t entered a dark age. I wouldn’t let the last embers of Equestria die. Me, the fuck up, shrapnel flanks, would save Equestria.

[RM1]R O M E
[RM2]On a more serious note, who the fuck is Dalliance? Has she been introduced already?
You're gonna mention the differences between post war and pre-war electronics, vacuum tubes versus arcanotech transistors
[RM4]Wait, Perm has a PipBuck? Does Perm know?
[RM5]?

Author's Notes:

I hope you liked it!

If you really liked it, feel free to pm me here or on discord.
Sunnydontlook#1132

If you wanna buy me a Kofi, the link is right: https://ko-fi.com/sunnydontlook