Over the next few days, Cora and I help Sickle, Marrow, and their village make the transition back into the Snowfall Facility. At first, it is just helping the ponies who once lived there get it habitable again. Of the fourteen original occupants, three others similar to Sickle and Marrow help out. I suppose that matches the number of prototypes they had to put their minds into. One of these three, Ether, is part of the original six, like Marrow. Generation one, I suppose you could call it. The other two include Lavender, Ether’s daughter, and Mercury, Lavender’s grandson.

        In addition of these five, three remain from the original fourteen that once occupied the facility. Echo, Sickle’s uncle on his father’s side and husband of Lavender, and Mute and Howl, Echo and Lavender’s daughters. Of course, these three are flesh and blood ponies like me. Once Marrow and Sickle informed the others of what I did for them, introductions and celebrations began.

        They also tell me more about what happened to the other occupants. Waltz, Sickle’s former royal guard grandfather, died as they escaped, along with Sickle’s parents, Lint Trap and Flora. Marrow’s husband, Hammer, died shortly after they left due to exposure to the cold. Echo’s parents, Pomegranate and Xenon died from old age in the facility before things went south. Some tales are sadder than others, but after passing the night away, the remaining eight occupants of the facility, Cora, and I set about trying to fix up the facility.

The very first thing we do, is repair the damage on the heating systems. Luckily, they have enough spare parts in storage that it isn’t too much of a chore. But then is the task of clearing the snow and ice.

We start with removing the ice and snow around the elevator so we can use it to transport the snow from the lower levels more easily. With it free, we use the few carts they have to pile snow into and then haul it outside. It is a slow process, but eventually we make progress. As the heat starts to kick in, it helps us a bit. The water distribution room and each of the bedrooms have drains, so we leave the snow in there to melt naturally as it warms up. Our main focus, is getting the snow and ice off of the terminals and sensitive equipment so they don’t receive any further damage.

Once the snow and ice removal is complete, we set about inspecting everything that might have been damaged by the snow and water. This includes everything from bedding, papers, and electrical components, to seeds used in the greenhouse. It is only slightly less arduous than removing the snow. After assessing the damage, we work to restore everything that we can. A few terminals and quite a bit of the more sensitive equipment is unsalvageable. But, the major systems of the facility remain operational. I suppose that has something to do with the original construction being meant to stand up against extreme temperatures.

Fixing up the facility takes us about four days. Once we kick on the heating and goet most of the snow removed, the remaining villages are brought in to make themselves at home. There is only six of them, but given how cramped the living quarters already are, I wasn’t sure where they were going to fit everyone. But then they start clearing out the experiment and testing labs and putting things in storage. Abominable’s room is cleared out left unoccupied so the six new residents can share his bathroom.

I also keep receiving thanks and praise for helping them. I keep telling them it isn’t a big deal. It was just something I felt I needed to do. It wasn’t to help them, specifically, but Equestria as a whole. Their praise makes me...anxious. I’ve had people thank me over the years, and they all end up worse off than when I helped them or dead.

That was how things went. The Wasteland sucks and it will take from you till you have nothing left, and then take some more. I’ve rarely seen how cruel the Wasteland can be though, I just hear about it through Cora. I’ll wake up and ask about someone or somewhere we helped, and she’ll give me the bad news. In the beginning, I didn’t believe her. I’d drag her along till we found a body, a grave, the charred or bloody ruins of a town. I always wonder, how can things go south so badly in the course of a few months or years.

But here, in this remote facility, seeing everyone’s smiling face and hearing their kind words...I have hope that maybe, just maybe, this place won’t end up the same way as the others. That Sickle, Marrow, and the others will live in peace and quiet until they die of old age or their bodies rust away. Because of this, as I’m about to leave and Sickle tells me something, I hesitate.

“You know, you could stay if you’d like,” Sickle tells me. I turn and blink at him in surprise. “I know you have your own lab, and that you freeze yourself, but I’m sure it gets lonely. You could live here with us, if you want.”

I stare at him for a moment, my jaw working but no words coming out. I bite my lip and look at the ground. “I would like that,” I tell him, with a sigh. “But...I can’t. I told you why I’m doing what I’m doing. If someone stumbled upon one of the pods and released something nasty, it would do a lot of harm.”

Sickle frowns. “Why is that your responsibility? Did you seal these things, these ponies away?” He asks. I shake my head. “So you don’t have any obligation to find these pods.”

“But it is my technology, my research that helped make them,” I reply.

Sickle shakes his head. “From what you said, it was stolen from you and used without your knowledge. You aren’t at fault, if anyone is, it is Twilight Sparkle herself for using your research without telling you,” he tells me.

“She’s gone now, though. Everyone from before the bombs is, unless they are a ghoul or a robot like you. If I don’t find the pods, no one else will look for them. Ponies will stumble across them, and may get themselves, and others killed,” I tell him, furrowing my brow.

“Ponies die all the time in the Wasteland, Ratchet. And I’m certain there are worse things out there than whatever is in your pods. Take Abominable as an example, he wasn’t even in a pod,” Sickle says. “During the war, dangerous and deadly weaponry was the norm, and not all of it is sealed away in a pod.”

“You’re right,” I mutter. “But why shouldn’t I try to remove as many dangerous things as possible from the Wasteland?” I ask. “And there aren’t just things that are dangerous sealed away in these pods. There are good ponies who deserve to be free again. Ponies who can help the Wasteland,” I tell him. This seems to quiet him, at least for a moment.

“You shouldn’t have to do this,” He tells me.

“I have to,” I tell him. “I survived the end of Equestria, I was lucky enough to be allowed to live just a little bit longer. By all accounts, I should be dead right now. I’m roughly a hundred and thirty years old. I had my time and everything that I once knew is destroyed. Someone like me is exactly who needs to do this.”

Sickle stares at me for a minute, before turning to Cora. “Cora, can I speak to Ratchet alone for a moment,” He asks.

Cora nods. “Of course. I’ll be outside waiting, Ratchet. It was nice to meet you, Sickle. Take care!” She says and starts towards the exit.

“You as well, Cora. And if you are ever up in these parts, feel free to stop in and say hello!” Sickle calls after her. Once the door outside closes, Sickle and I are the only ones left in the storage room entrance. “I am concerned about you, Ratchet,” Sickle tells me.

I’m taken aback for an instant, but compose myself. “Why? I’m fine, Cora is here for me, and her friends too. It isn’t like I am running myself ragged or anything either,” I tell him.

“Listen to me for a moment, Ratchet,” Sickle says, his face serious. “You make yourself sound good and kind, and you are, without a doubt. I’m sure you believe you are as well. But...you’re not...normal.”

I chuckle at that. “Of course I’m not. I’m a scientist from before the war who keeps freezing herself,” I tell him.

Sickle shakes his head. “That isn’t what I mean. The way you handled Abominable, without hesitation and the mindset to kill him...Not to mention, when I finished him off, you didn’t even try to stop me. I know he was bad, so killing him doesn’t bother me. But you are a stranger here,” He tells me.

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

“You believed us right away that Abominable was bad, when we could have just as easily been the bad guys. Did you think for one moment that maybe Abominable didn’t try to kill us, but drive us out for his own safety? You didn’t try to talk to him, get his side of the story,” Sickle says, letting out an odd sigh. “I think that a normal, good pony, would have asked him. Would have stopped me.”

“Are you saying I should have doubted you?” I ask.

“Yes,” Sickle says. “I’ve taken a few trips to the south. I know how bad things are down there. If you don’t doubt, you don’t live long. But...I’m not sure lack of doubt is your issue. I think you don’t care.”

I flinch. “Why do you think that?” I ask.

“Let me ask you something,” Sickle says. “It has been around seventy-five years, give or take, since you first woke up in the Wasteland, right?” I nod. “In those seventy-five years, how long do you think you’ve been awake?” He asks.

The question catches me off guard. “Uh...I think…” I trail off. How long...had it been? When I look in a mirror, I’ve not noticed any aging. So, less than a few years. Wait, now that I think of it, I started keeping a memo in my PipBuck. “Uh, let me see here…” I mutter as I fumble with it. I find the memo, a list of the total time I’ve spent in the Wasteland. At the bottom is a total that I read aloud, “One year, three months, one week, and six days. Well, I think we can add an extra week for how long I’ve been here.”

“That isn’t a long time,” Sickle says darkly. “In that short time, how many ponies have you seen die?”

I move my mouth, but I can’t find any words. “That many?” Sickle says. “You remember them, don’t you? All of them. Maybe not individuals, but towns, families, locations? Celestia...I  don’t know how you are still sane. Ponies have broken for less. I think...I think you’ve become desensitized to death and killing. You still know it is sad and wrong, but when it happens it doesn’t bother you anymore. Am I wrong?” He asks.

I think back to the last few times I was in the Wasteland. The way I killed raiders, the muted reactions I had when innocents died...One thought hits me: Sickle is right. He’s right, and I have nothing to say in return. At my silence, Sickle frowns. “Despite this,” He says, “You go out of your way to help others. You’ve not been broken yet, but you’ve seen so much.”

Sickle sighs. “I can’t do much, Ratchet, but, I’ll be here if you ever need me. If you can’t take the weight of the world anymore. We’re comrades, after all,” He tells me.

“I...Sickle, you could always come with me,” I offer.

He shakes his head. “Snowfall needs me. I’m our best hunter, the metal body does help though. Besides, once you get back to your home, you’re just going to freeze again, aren’t you? I’ll just be left there, waiting,” He says.

“Actually, I have a second unoccupied pod in my lab. You could always use it. Then you wouldn’t have to wait,” I tell him.

He chuckles slightly. “I appreciate the offer, I really do. But, I want to say here, for now. We just got the facility working again, after all,” Sickle tells me with a sad smile. “I’ll be here for a while, and if you ever need me, I’ll be here. Be it a day, a month, a year, even a hundred years from now. You helped us and I’ll return the favor.”

“Thanks,” I tell him. “I’ll be sure to stop by if I am ever up with way again or if there is something I need your help with.” I hesitate for a moment before going on. “One last thing,” I  say, pulling my PipBuck’s interface cable out. “I’m assuming you have some sort of mapping system build into your body?” I ask.

“Sort of. It isn’t like a PipBuck, but it serves its purpose,” Sickle replies.

“So, if I were to give you the map data to my lab, you could use it to find your way there?” I confirm.

“Yes, in theory. I’ve not really used the function all that much,” He tells me.

“Well, here. Hook this in,” I say, giving him the interface cable. He lifts a hoof, moves aside a flap of fake skin, and plugs the cable in. “Ok, here you go…” I say as I send him the location.

“Got it,” He says, and unplugs the cable. It retracts back into my PipBuck.

“Good. If you ever need anything, I should be there. If not, I’ll return shortly. Oh, and the entrance is a little odd. It is inside a shed, you go underground and through a few bulkheads. Oh, and the password for the doors!” I say, with sudden recollection. I look around us cautiously before I lean next to him and whisper the password into his ear. Leaning back, I put on a serious expression. “Listen, Sickle. Don’t tell anyone else this information. There is no telling what would happen if my lab fell into the wrong hooves.”

Sickle nods. “Of course not. We’re comrades. And comrades don’t sell out other comrades. Your information is safe with me. Oh yea, and before I forget, Marrow asked me to give you something before you go,” He says, and digs around in his bags for a moment. He pulls out two long objects wrapped in cloth. “Here you are,” He says, holding them out to me.

I take them in my magic, raising an eyebrow at them. “What are they?” I ask, as I unwrap one of them. After a moment, the cloth falls away revealing a glowing red crystal underneath. “Wait, these are…”

“Wyrm fire crystals,” Sickle says. “The ones from the Wyrm we took down when you arrived. They haven’t been used yet since we removed them. Since we got Snowfall back, we don’t really have much use for the fire as badly as we once did, and we still have a few crystals left anyway. I’m sure you can find a good use for them eventually,” He tells me.

“I...I don’t know what to say,” I tell him. “Thank you,” I say with a smile.

“I should be the one thanking you,” Sickle chuckles. “The crystals will last quite a while, even a hundred years if you don’t use them much. So, unless you’re melting through steel with them on a daily basis, I suspect they will last you quite a while. Also, when holding them in your magic, after striking them together, you can focus the flames with your magic,” he says.

“You mentioned that before, how do I do that exactly?” I ask. He then launches into a five minute explanation about how to focus the flames. It is strangely detailed for someone lacking a horn and the ability to use magic themselves. Sickle seemed to pick up on my shock.

“Before I got this body, I used to be a unicorn,” He chuckles. “I still remember what it feels like, controlling magic. But, I this body is more useful in the long run,” He says.

“I see,” I mutter. “Well, Sickle, I guess this is farewell, for now,” I say as we walk towards the entrance.

“For now,” He repeats. “We’ll meet again, I’m sure of it,” He says as I open the door.

“You two took forever!” Cora says as soon as she sees us.

Sickle just laughs. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Cora. Well you two, it has been grand. I will see you later, comrades,” He says. After returning his farewell, he closes the door behind him, leaving Cora and I alone in the snow.

“What did you two talk about?” Cora asks.

“Oh, a variety of things,” I mutter. “Oh yea, he gave me a pair of those wyrm crystals,” I tell her with a smile.

“What! No way, show me!” She says giddily. I fish one out of my bags and float it in front of her. “Awesome! That was so nice of him,” She says.

“Yea, it was,” I agree. “We’ll meet him again, Cora. After all, I think I just made my first friend that isn’t going to die of old age while I am frozen,” I tell her.

Cora jerks her head back. “Really!” She asks happily. When I nod, she begins telling me how happy she is I finally made a friend.

“Cora, Cora!” I say, trying to call her down. “I know you can’t feel it, but it is really cold out here. Let’s leave the celebration for another time and start heading south?” I tell her.

“Hehe, oh yea. Let’s,” She says, and we begin our slow trek south through the Frozen North once again. Only this time, it is a little more bearable, without a blizzard going on around us.

===~+~===

        When Cora and I are about a mile out from home, she suddenly stops and lifts her head up, seeming to be staring at nothing. “Uh, Cora?” I ask, waving a hoof in front of her face.

        She turns to look at me. “Sorry, Ratchet. We just got in range of Macro’s radio signal. He’s been auto broadcasting for when we return. Seems they are back at the lab,” She says, seeming to still be listening. “No, wait, only Macro and Hal are back. Soar is still in the Badlands, keeping watch over the facility,” She pauses again. “They’ve found a pod there, but...something went wrong. He says he’ll fill us in once we get back to the lab,” Cora tells me. She sounds worried.

        “Well then, let’s get going. We don’t have any time to lose,” I tell her as we set off again, on the last stretch of our journey home.