Render Unto Chryxal

I found myself walking down a road. I don’t know why I am walking down it. It felt… familiar. Gravestones laid on both sides of the road. Once again, there was a voice telling me to stick to the road. My ears twitched as I finally snapped out of my daze, hearing the distant inequine scream. My heart skipped a beat. Now I know exactly why this seemed familiar.

But I continued walking. Maybe if I just ignore everything, then I can get out of here without having to encounter that being again. I had a close call with it last time and I plan on not letting that thing touch me. Applejack’s words popped into my head.

Run and don’t ever look back!

The scream was still distant thankfully. Hurrying along, I noticed something different about this place. The white dot particles from before seemed to turn into floating heads of ponies. And what made it even more eerie was that they were groaning. Countless of floating pony heads screaming and groaning as they wisped out of the graves and off into distant places. Not only that, but the sky was… snowy? Like static in a radio. I kept walking, watching as the floating heads wisped by or through my body.

My ears twitched again when I heard a small sob from somewhere to my left. As much as I was eager to continue on, I wanted to know exactly what this place was. Without a second thought, I stepped off the road and made my way around and over gravestones before reaching a cloaked pony standing in front of a grave. I peeked over the shoulder to see if I could recognize the pony. Was it Applejack again? She was standing in front of Big Mac’s grave. The more closely I got, the more I began to realize that it wasn’t Applejack.

This mare wasn’t veiled either. The lavender mare with the purple mane and magenta highlights had tears streaming down her cheek. I gave a small reassuring smile and patted her back. The mare tensed and looked at me with lavender eyes. I continued to give her the smile as she put her face into my chest and sobbed more. This is strange, even for me. I was comforting a mare that is either dead or a lost soul. I’m sure a lot of ponies were upset about Big Macintosh’s death. My history books made him out to be a hero.

“You know, maybe my history books were wrong. Big Mac isn’t just a hero.” I said suddenly. The mare looked at me and blinked. “He was everything to everypony. He gave them courage, inspiration, love and of course sacrifice. Big Mac had a lot of virtues that made him what he was before he died.” I looked at the grave and smiled. “Even two centuries later, he still has created a mark for Equestria.” I stroked the mare’s mane. “Yes, he was taken too soon from everypony, but he left them with a chance and a dream. To be better ponies. To keep trotting forward and remember what we represented.” The mare seemed stunned as I spoke to her. But I wasn’t bothered by it.

“We, as ponies, represent Equestria. We made mistakes, but we are learning from them slowly but surely. Even Princess Celestia is learning her mistakes slowly but surely.” I winked at her. “I’m sure you made mistakes as well, but those mistakes are what made you a person.” The mare sniffled and wiped her eyes before smiling at me.

“T-thanks… I-I didn’t realize how much he affected all of us.” She said. “And I know it isn’t all Celestia or Luna’s fault. We all made mistakes.” She sighed and looked at the grave. “I’ve made tons of mistakes. Some that even impacted my friendship with my friends.” She leaned against me. “I’ve tried so very hard in protecting them. But I failed. I got so many ponies killed. I’ve hurt my friends. And I left Spike all alone. What kind of pony does that?” I nickered slightly.

“One who can be a better pony. Learn from her mistakes, even in death.” I said as my ears twitched at the inequine scream. Even the mare looked slightly nervous at the sound.

“You shouldn’t be here.” She said. I rubbed my chin.

“Funny, I remember another mare named Applejack telling me the same thing.” I said. The lavender mare seemed shocked and impressed all at once. I tapped my head and grinned. “Death is becoming a habit for me.” The mare frowned.

“You shouldn’t be proud of that. Don’t you have friends to look after? Family to see?” she asked. I sighed and nodded with a small sad smile.

“I do. And right now, one of my friends is in danger of being taken away from me.” I then puffed my chest out and beat it with a hoof. “But I’ll do everything it takes to get him back. Changeling or not, he’s still a friend.” The scream was now a little closer than before. The mare gasped.

“The Changelings? They are back?” she asked. I nodded. “But… I thought my brother and Cadence defeated them for good. How are they coming back?" I sighed and looked at her.

“Equestria brought them back. The war woke them up from hibernation and they plan on feeding on everypony.” I frowned. “I have to get back and stop them. But I think Death took certain measures to make sure I don’t escape again.” I looked down the road. The mare darted her eyes in thought before looking at me with a serious face.

“I can help.” She said. I looked at her in confusion. “Me and my friends fought the Changelings before. They will do whatever it takes to make sure you will be forgotten. But you can fight them back.” I smirked.

“So, egg-head. Any suggestions?” I said. The mare smiled before nodding.

“Love.” She said. I cocked my head. “Over feed the Changelings. They will become so full again they would have to go back into hibernation. If you can find a love strong enough for two ponies, then the Changelings can be beaten.” The scream was closer now. I stood up and smiled. The mare bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could do more. But I’m dead.” I patted her shoulder.

“No worries. I’m good with improvising. I’ll think of something.” The scream was closer now. “I think it’s high time for me to go.” The mare nodded.

“Courier?” she asked. I looked at her and she smiled. “Thank you. You are a good pony. Please… don’t make the same mistakes I did. You all have chances. So make the best of them.” She looked past me and her eyes widened. “Now go and don’t look back! I’m counting on you!” I nodded before galloping as fast as I could down to the road and gaining as much distance as I could from Death. Once again, I felt new found energy and determination as I hopped and avoided skeletal limbs that shot out of the ground.

I grit my teeth in frustration when I saw a wall made of flesh blocking my way. Death certainly wanted me to stay here. Morphed disembodied heads and hooves groaned and screamed as I reached the wall. The scream was now behind me. Without a second thought, I jumped and planted my hooves into the fleshy wall. The smell was rancid and vile. I held my breath as I made my way up the wall. A couple of times I nearly slipped, but I quickly dug my hooves in, ignoring the sickening noise the flesh was making. The scream was louder now. I had to drop my ears to my head to drown out as much of it as I could.

I lost my grip again. I would have fallen if I didn’t quickly bite down on the fleshy wall. My gag reflexes where sky rocketing. My mouth tasted like death as I fumbled to maintain my grip again. Once I did, I continued on. It felt like hours as I climbed the wall and the scream was still loud. Death was behind me. It was just waiting for me to turn around. No, I refuse to see death. I had important things to handle. I have to save my friends. I could feel Death’s cold breath going down my neck. I ignored it with the help of two little ponies and my own determination. I beamed when I finally reached the top of the wall.

Looking down the other end, it was a long ways away. Death was still breathing down my neck. I gulped and took a deep breath. I stood up on my hind legs and fell forward. Death screamed. I smirked as it sounded like the scream was in frustration. Death was desperate to have me and I guess it didn’t like having a pony escape it twice from its cold grasp. I spread my legs out as I felt the wind rush past me. Bringing my hooves in and tipping forward, I felt my speed increase and hovered slightly forward.

I was laughing. I felt… unstoppable. I spread my legs out again to slow my descent and tip forward to gain a bit of distance. The scream was a little farther away. I smirked, seeing a familiar door as I fell toward it. It opened automatically and I brought my legs in again, dive bombing towards it.

“Not yet.” I said to myself. “Sometime, Death. But not now.” With that, I closed my eyes as I entered the opened door, hearing it close shut behind me.

I jolted awake and took in a deep breath. The smell was rancid still. Crap, was I still in Death’s domain? I looked around in panic, seeing a lot of dead ponies on top of me. I grit my teeth.

“Fuck no!” I shouted as I twisted and turned to free myself. Finally freeing my forelegs, I pushed aside two corpses, heaving with all my strength I could manage and crawled little by little. The sickening sound of decomposed flesh and the smell was too unbearable. I saw light at the end and reached with my hoof. I was almost there. But I was still trapped. I won’t let it end here. Not here! I suddenly felt something grab my hoof and I was pulled forward.

I gasped for breath as I crawled out of the bodies of dead ponies. Coughing and gagging, I looked around and noticed another pony hunched over on the wall. He looked battered and beaten. And when he turned, I recognized the face of Bucky. The gang head was a mess.

I coughed again before speaking.

“Bucky?” I rasped. Bucky was breathing heavily too before nodding.

“The real deal, ya’ dig?” he rasped in reply. Taking a moment to calm ourselves, I stood up, still feeling the gooey flesh of dead ponies. I looked and saw that it was a pile of them in a corner. Some looked recent too. I grit my teeth.

“Dammit, for three weeks they have been doing this.” I hissed. I looked at Bucky and gave a smug smirk. “So, wanna explain what happened?” Bucky slumped against the wall before sliding down it and rubbing his messy mane.

“Shit, I don’t know. Those damn ponies came out of nowhere.” He said. “We’ve been hearing odd reports about no good ponies that were terrorizing ponies on the streets. So The Family tasked us to find them and get rid of them for good.” He snorted. “Took us by surprise. We tried to fight back, but they had us surrounded.” He looked sourly as he spoke. “Chryxal, the leader, took my form because he noticed the potential I had with Al.” He sighed and bowed his head, his expression darkening. “I had no idea what he meant, but before I could do anything, he shot me and killed me.” I arched a brow and he chuckled.

He reached into his suite pocket and pulled out a small lighter with a black hole in it. The bullet was still encased in it.

“A gift from Kingpin when I first joined the Omaretas.” He nodded his head slightly. “Glad I take this thing everywhere I go, ya’ dig?” He looked at me now and furrowed his brow. “And by the looks of you, I am amazed that you are still alive, kid.” I blinked and put a hoof to my chest. I remember the Changeling shooting me there. But when I pulled out a bent tin of Mint-als, I chuckled.

“Maybe I got addicted for a reason then.” I said before opening it and seeing that there were still tablets in it. I popped one in and swallowed before stuffing it back into my vest pocket. But Bucky was still giving me that look.

“Well, call it luck I guess. You have one in your head too.” He said as he tapped his forehead. I arched a brow and rubbed my forehead. I winced when my hoof brushed past the wound. I took a deep breath and looked around. We were in a dank and dimly lit room. It looked like a chamber in a sewer. I looked at Bucky and bit my lip.

“Do you… think you can help me get it out?” I asked. Bucky arched a brow.

“You must be crazy. I don’t have the brain of a medic, ya’ dig?” he said. I shook my head slightly, feeling a tad woozy.

“Just… help me get it out.” I said. Bucky was hesitant. He sighed and with his magic, pulled out a switchblade.

“I hope you know what you are doing.” He said. I leaned against the wall and braced myself.

“I don’t.” I said before nodding. “Okay, do it.” Bucky stuck his tongue out in concentration as he slowly dug the blade into my wound. I winced, screaming a little as I felt the blade jerk and twist. Oh Goddesses, this is like torture! The pain was excruciating. Bucky then popped the bullet out and it clattered to the floor. I could feel my blood trailing down my face and around my left eye. I put a hoof to my wound, putting pressure on it. “Find something to wrap it in.” I said quickly. Bucky looked around, sighing when he found nothing. My vision was beginning to blur. “Just tear off a piece of clothing. I don’t care.” I said. “Just something to keep me from bleeding out!” Bucky grit his teeth before lifting his sleeved leg and ripping it off with his teeth. His fancy suite was now an awkward form of sleeveless and sleeved. He quickly wrapped it around my head before backing away. I breathed heavily in pain. Shit, this was just too much. But at least we stopped the bleeding. I stumbled and Bucky caught me, supporting me as I stood up. “Thanks.” Bucky snickered.

“Damn, you are one tough mare, you know that?” he said. I snorted before smirking.

“Perks of being a courier.” I replied weakly. I looked at the bullet and noticed that it was bent to a dot. “Also, having star metal bones too.” Bucky smirked.

“Really? I just thought you were thick headed.” He said. I laughed slightly before regaining my balance and walking over to the piles of bodies. This was like a horror house. So many bodies piled into corners. From the amount of bodies here, I could say that there were a lot more Changelings than I thought. I looked at Bucky.

“So, for three weeks you’ve been down here?” I asked. Bucky looked grim as he spoke.

“Really? It’s been three weeks?” he snorted. “Felt like months.” He looked at me. “But for you, it’s been a day.” I arched a brow. “I saw them drag you in here. When I saw that it was you, I thought the worse was going to happen. And lo and behold, here you are alive and kicking.” He smirked slightly. “At least I know now that I am not the only one who survived. I tried finding my way out of this damned place. Living off of Radroach meat and Ratmeat.” I gave a disgusted look and he nodded. “At least it kept me alive.” I smiled.

“Must be those tribal instincts.” I said. Bucky chuckled.

“You think so? Can’t remember when was the last time I ate pony.” He looked at the dead bodies and looked disgusted. “To be honest, kid. I thought about it too. Being stuck down here for… Goddess knows how long. I was getting sick of eating Radroach and rat.” He rasped a chuckle. “But hey, when you are bent on not going back to the old times, you do crazy shit that you aren’t proud of.” I nodded in reply.

So, Bucky almost had thought of going back to being a small time raider cannibal. Thank Goddesses the stallion had such a strong will not too. But… I wouldn’t be completely upset if he did had to resort to cannibalism. Being stuck down here for so long, it’s enough to even think about it, let alone try it. I checked my PipBuck and noticed the cartoon pegasus with a small bag of letters. I scrolled through my messages.

Message 1: Hello, dear sister. Me and Bell are here with Five and Post Box. But… I do have one thing to mention. I hope you won’t be upset about it. We will talk when we get settled in. – Heart

Message 2: Hi, bestest best friend in the whole wide world~! I am truly shocked to hear that I could attend a wedding. Oh, I have so many great ideas to wow the audience. Maybe perhaps we can put on a best friend magic show? Cheers~! – Chester

Message 3: Hey, sis. Sorry I won’t be able to make it to the wedding. I hope you will save me some cake though. – Stall

Message 4: Sixteen, I hope you don’t mind, but we brought someone who has been dying to meet you. You should free up your time and come see her. She misses you dearly. – Post Box

So, my family was here now. I grit my teeth. Dammit, the Changelings are still around. If Chryxal realizes that they are my family, I only pray that nothing bad happens to them. Oh, who am I kidding? There is a Changeling looking like me and I just know that it will ruin my relationship with everyone. I honestly hope that my friends and family won’t be fooled so easily. I looked up at Bucky who was looking distressed.

“Thinking about Al?” I asked. Bucky nodded.

“All the time, ya’ dig? She’s the first mare I can’t get out of my head. And I swear I’m going to kill that fucker if he tries anything on her.” He said. We remained silent for a bit. I broke the silence.

“So, how did your relationship started?” I asked. Bucky smiled.

“Well, when I first joined the Omaretas, I heard from others that boss had this gorgeous looking daughter.” He chuckled. “They weren’t kidding too. But… we didn’t hit it off right away. In fact, she detested me. Thought I was just a rookie that would get killed on the first day.” He said.

“But then she noticed how cool you were, right?” I asked with a smirk. Bucky laughed.

“She still thinks I’m a no good rookie.” He said. “But yeah, as the years went on, she eventually took notice of me. But, you know me being a stallion and in my prime, I fooled around with a lot of mares. Slept with some too.” I said nothing as I listened to the gang head talk. “I even fooled around with some of the mares in front of her. I guess I was oblivious to the fact too, and when I tried being cool and making a move on her, she just threatened me.” He smiled.

“But one day, she ended up being kidnapped by the Viper Slinger gang. They hated The Family because they were big before us. And when we came along, we sorta chased them out of the spotlight. And so they thought it was a good idea to marenap Al.” He looked grimly. “I still remember the look Kingpin gave to everypony those harrowing days. The Vipers wanted their rightful place back and if we refused, they would kill her on the spot.”

“So, Kingpin had you go out and find her?” I asked. Bucky shook his head.

“The old buck was about to forfeit The Family to them. I went out on my own with my boys. A certain courier I remember told us where to find them and once we did, we showed the Vipers who they were dealing with.” He nodded. “Of course, with the help of the courier too. Once we took out the Vipers, I found Al Capony locked up in a cage. When she saw me, I swear I had never seen such a beautiful look in my life.” He smiled. “Once we got back to Kingpin with Al Capony, she was the one that made me Kingpin’s right hand stallion.” I smiled now.

“I guess she wanted to see you more and the only way to do that was to have you ranked next to her with Kingpin.” I said. Bucky nodded.

“Yup. Eventually, we began going more deeper into our relationship and ring-a-ding-ding, I finally got the blessing to marry her.” He nodded to me. “In fact, you were there when he did.” Oh yeah, I was. But I didn’t notice it right away as I recall. But what had me question this was the courier. I remember when Kingpin gave me Compassion, he said he owed his life to someone. A courier that he never knew in his life. I looked at Bucky.

“Hey… err… did you manage to catch the courier’s name? Or maybe the rank?” I asked. Bucky rubbed his chin and shrugged.

“It’s been a long time since I saw the buck, kid. I only remember what he looked like. Wore a brown duster and a straw hat that covered his face.” He said. “He even had one of those fancy PipBucks you couriers have.” I darted my eyes in thought. Was it Lyon?

No, it couldn’t be. Bucky said this happened years ago. But the straw hat… there was no mistaking it.

“Dad actually helped you?” I said. Bucky smiled.

“Hell, if you are the child of that courier, then it’s no wonder you are still kicking after being shot in the head.” He said. “Bastard is too much of a survivalist if I ever saw one. Used a 12.7MM sub-machine gun during the fight. He took down almost every single Viper in that fight.” Bucky laughed. “But even the courier didn’t come out unscathed. Had bullet holes all over him. But he acted like nothing had happened before continuing on his delivery.” I said nothing.

Dad was on a delivery and he went out of his way to help Bucky and his boys to save Al. Dad… are you still around? What would you do in a situation like this? I sighed. And why are you going around and leaving reports about us? Did we do something? Or are you trying to tell us something else?

“Hey kid, don’t worry about your old man.” He said. I looked at him with an arched brow. “Even though I only knew the buck for ten minutes, I could tell you there was nothing that could stop him. And I bet all my caps on the roulette table that he passed that survivor instincts onto you.” Huh… out of all the ponies to comfort me about my dad, it was a surprise to hear it from Bucky. I said nothing but smiled in return. “Now, how about we try finding a way out of here.”

I hate to admit it, but this place was like a maze. And we were completely and utterly lost. My PipBuck was having trouble trying to map out the area and it just seemed like it was going in circles. Let alone, it was dark and smelled horrible. We turned a corner and found a door. I beamed, hoping that it at least led to something other than a dead end. When I opened it with my makeshift screw driver and bobby pins (a small piece of metal and discarded bobby pins I had found) I frowned. Another dead end. But fortunately, this dead end had some supplies. We entered and looked through the junk, grabbing what we can of any value for our survival.

I smiled when I saw a buried yellow med-kit with pink butterflies buried in rubble. I pulled it out and opened it. Two health potions, Rad-Away and bandages. Perfect. I took off the sleeve and wrapped the bandage around my head. I felt the bandages work a bit of their magic before turning to Bucky and tossing him a health potion. He smiled.

“Well shoot, you are too kind, kid.” He said. I took a swig of mine and felt my head ease a little. It wouldn’t close my wound right away, but I’m pretty sure with the aid of the bandage it would help. Exiting the supply closet, we went over what we had salvaged. Scrap metal, a poorly conditioned knife, Rad-Away and some Fancy Bucky Cakes ( which we happily chowed down on). I took the poorly conditioned knife and taking Bucky’s sleeve, made a makeshift holster and slid the knife in.

“Better than nothing, I suppose.” I said. Bucky nodded. We continued our search for a way out. It felt like hours and we haven’t gotten anywhere close to something that could show us a way out. Bucky just slumped against the wall and slid down it, burying his head into his hooves. He looked exhausted. “Okay, let’s take a break.” I said. Bucky said nothing but nodded. While Bucky regained his strength, I took the time to scroll through my PipBuck. If only I had my actual gear with me, but they were at Sunny Springs'. I tuned in to the radio and only received static. Sometimes, I wish this PipBuck had some decent signal strength. I turned to the map and moved it around. I furrowed my brows when I noticed that there was another part of this area that my PipBuck had managed to map out. But there was a big black gap in between us and that area. I turned to Bucky, about to tell him what I saw and noticed him snoozing.

Checking the time, I noticed that it was late into the night. I decided to let the gang head rest and scouted ahead a little, following to see if I can get it to map out a certain point that could at least lead to a new area. I stopped and noticed my EFS suddenly pick up a hostile. The red dot could probably be a giant rat or Radroach. But the way it moved looked nothing like any of those. That’s when I heard the faint sound of a hiss. And not a hiss of a Radroach either. I crouched low and crept along the concrete floor of the sewer.

The hiss became louder. Was it a ghoul? No, feral ghouls don’t hiss. They growl. So, what exactly was I hearing? I peeked around the corner and looking ahead, I saw a dark figure flittering it’s wings and messing with some sort of green cocoon. The more I looked, the more familiar it was.

A changeling. But, what was a changeling doing down in the sewers? No, wait. This is good. I have the drop on it. Maybe I can get it to lead us out. I quickly crept towards the changeling, smirking when I got behind it. I unsheathed my knife and throwing my legs around the neck, I pointed the knife with my magic at the hollowed white eye of the changeling. It looked shocked.

“Alright, talk.” I said. The changeling said nothing but growled. I put pressure around its’ neck and tapped the knife above its’ jagged horn. “I know you fuckers talk. So talk.” I said. “What are you doing down here?” The changeling gave a raspy laugh and made clicking noises with its’ mouth. I arched a brow. “Wanna run that by me again?” The changeling growled.

“Hungry.” It said. I put more pressure around the neck and the changeling struggled for breath.

“Well, dinner can wait. I want answers. Now, what are you doing down here?” I asked. The changeling growled more.

“Prince promises food. Promises freedom. Revenge.” It said. Prince? Was it talking about Chryxal? I tapped the knife at its’ jagged horn again.

“Alright, so how did you get down here in the first place?” I asked. The changeling looked up and I followed its’ gaze. Vents. And what’s more, I noticed a pack of green eyes looking down at us. In an instant, I was surrounded by changelings. I remained stoic as I glanced between them. They were unarmed. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t know how to use something as a weapon. In fact, I noticed one ripping a pipe off of the wall with its’ magic and the others seemed to pick up either rocks or jagged metal pieces.

“Well that answers one question.” I said. The changeling I had captive rasped a laugh. “Care to tell me more?” I felt a presence move behind me and I quickly reacted by spinning around and kicked the changeling at one of its own that had made a move. I deflected one with a pipe with my knife and retaliated by planting two good hoof punches into its’ face. It stumbled back and two more jumped towards me. I smirked, quickly ducking, spun and gave a good apple buck at the two jumping at me. They flew back into the green cocoons and a few others appeared to take their place.

This isn’t good. This is too much of a cramped place to fight. And if I conjured copies, I would be exhausted by the end and it would be even more cramped in here. Two more jumped towards me and I dodged their swings and stabs of their sharp pieces of metal. I felt one jump onto my back, but I grabbed his leg with mine and heaved him over straight into the two that were swinging at me. I bobbed in place as another one rushed forward. I blocked the swing of the rock with a hoof and brought the knife around, jabbing it into its’ neck. It hissed in pain as it stumbled back, green blood dripping in the process.

I continued to bob and weave, countering each swing they threw at me. A few times they got through and I moved away with a cut or a bruise, but continued to counter each one. This fight would be even better if I had some Ranger Whisky in my system. Perhaps even that Bellator drink. I thought myself a better fighter when I’m drunk. But this was starting to get overwhelming. I was completely outnumbered and I didn’t want to exhaust my magic when I might need it.

And just when I thought I was tiring out, thanks to the bullet wound on my head, I was not expecting to be saved by a pony I wished that wasn’t around. There was the sound of a loud bang and the changelings hissed. A few more bangs made the changelings scatter and I was left dumbfounded as to what happened. I heard hoof steps behind me and I looked to see Bucky come galloping up to me.

“What was that?” he asked. He didn’t need to say more. We looked ahead and at once, we glared when a grey burnt stallion trot out of the darkness. He returned our glare.

“Bucky.” He said.

“Bud.” Bucky replied. Bud looked at me.

“Sixteen.” I said nothing. Bud holstered a plastic looking gun before looking around. Spotting the green cocoon, he went over to it, planted something in it before turning back to us. “I assume that the changelings have replaced you.” Bucky was the one to speak for us.

“Ya’ think? How the hell are you even alive? I thought the kid here put an end to you.” He said. Bud chuckled.

“You forget who you are talking too.” Bud said. “Now, I do hope we can skip the formalities. We have things to do and if you ever want to see that mare of yours, you will do as you are told.” Bucky snorted.

“Bullshit. You’ve been going behind The Family’s back for years. Why would I want to side with a traitor?” he said. Bud smirked.

“Because I have the best means of escape.” He turned and motioned for us to follow. Bucky looked like he wanted to lay him out flat. But I put a hoof on his shoulder and shook my head.

“He’s right. Whether we want to or not, Bud is our only chance of escape.” I said. Bucky gave me a skeptical look.

“What makes you think he won’t just shoot us in the back?” he asked. I looked ahead as Bud continued to trot ahead.

“He’s rebuilt Alicron. And he also saved my ass from a horde of changelings.” I looked around and noticed the green eyes looking at us. “And I also don’t want to get surrounded again.” And with that, I followed after Bud with a sour Bucky behind me. Catching up to Bud, we turned the corner and he pressed a panel on the wall. A hidden door slid open and we entered into what looked like a hangar of some sort.

“I welcome you to my humble abode.” Bud said with mock joy. “Now, don’t touch anything or I will let those simpletons outside feed on you till you are soulless.” Looking around, the first thing I noticed was Alicron. It laid in the middle of the hangar, looking rusted and battered. The next thing I noticed were a few other ponies working on it. One pony looked up from her duties and beamed.

“Savior!” she said as she hugged me. I blinked and hesitantly patted her back. When she pulled away, I saw how pretty she was. But she also looked familiar. Pink mane, navy blue eyes.

“Nurse Valentine?” I balked and the mare smiled in a star struck manor.

“Y-you… remember me!?” she squeed. I couldn’t help but smile at my fan. The nerdy but flirtatious nurse did look different. Her mane wasn’t in a bun and she looked pretty than nerdy. She was even wearing a red vest with a medic insignia on the back of it. Bud cleared his throat and Nurse Valentine flushed. “O-oh, right. Sorry.” She said. I looked at Bud.

“So.. we aren’t the only ones who lived?” I asked. Bud nodded and looked at the other ponies, who were now taking notice. There were four in total, including Nurse Valentine which makes five. Now there are eight of us.

“Like you two, I found them wandering the sewers.” Bud said. Bucky snorted and gave a smug grin.

“Gee, why the change of heart?” he said. Bud glared at him.

“Oh, it was not out of the goodness of my heart, but more for my own agenda.” His look darkened. “Those changelings are trying to take over my city and I won’t stand it.” I arched a brow.

“Then I’m glad I took down Alicron.” I said. Bud sighed.

“Unfortunately, yes. But now that the changelings are here and ruining everything, I’ve spent weeks trying to rebuild Alicron.” He looked at the mechanical corpse. “I won’t lie, Sixteen. You damaged all the important parts. It was mere luck that I happened to find some ponies who knew what they were doing.” He turned to motion at the other ponies. I didn’t recognize any of them. But Bucky seemed too.

“So, Pride, Whitehoof and Omaretas here?” he asked. Bud smirked.

“Ironic, isn’t it? Three societies, vying to rule the city, now replaced by creatures and are forced to work together.” Bud said.

“More like slave labor.” One pony grumbled a little too loudly. He instantly quieted when Bud glared at him. Nurse Valentine spoke up, a little too cheerful at the situation.

“In all honesty, we owe our lives to Bud. He saved us from those… things. And we are returning the favor by helping him rebuild this… thing.” She motioned at Alicron. It was my turn.

“Alright, I know we hate each other and trust me, we would rather see you dead as much as you want us dead. But I can see that in this situation, differences must be put aside if we are to survive.” I said. Bud nodded.

“At least somepony has the brains to understand.” He said as he glared at the working ponies. I sighed. I know I am going to regret this.

“So… what do you want us to do?” I asked. Bud smirked.

“Straight to the point, eh? Very good. The sooner we have Alicron up and running, the quicker we can react. Unfortunately, I don’t trust Bucky to get the things I want done. But you, Sixteen. I want you to go back out there.” He took my leg with my PipBuck and tapped a few buttons on it before letting me go. I looked at the local map and saw markers. “There are a few supply rooms down here. I want you to go to them and find parts for Alicron.” I looked at him.

“What do they look like?” I asked. Bud shrugged.

“You’re a smart mare. You figure it out. I have other things to do. Now, hurry along. The sooner the better.” He said before looking to Bucky. “As for you, you can clean out the grease and engine fluid.” Bucky frowned. Bud grinned. “Nothing wrong with getting a bit of dirt on your hooves.” Bucky snorted.

“Yeah, then you turn around and set me on fire.” Bucky said sourly before walking past him. Bud turned to me.

“Are you still here? Go.” I just furrowed my brows before turning and heading out of the hangar. Bud seemed to be in a hurry. Why? I have no idea. But I don’t trust him one bit. The moment he tries something, I’ll make sure to be one step ahead of him.

It wasn’t easy finding the supply rooms. The whole sewers were crawling with changelings! I found myself having to fend some of them off while making a break for it. I hadn’t even reached the first supply closet when I cornered myself and three changelings advanced on me. I quickly brought out my poorly conditioned knife and hit the pipe on the wall with the butt of the knife. The loud clang made the changelings hiss and back away. I blinked, looking at the knife, then to the pipes on the wall.

Maybe Ms. Cheerilee forgot to mention that they hate loud sounds. Either way, I had an advantage. I rhythmically beat on the pipes now and the changelings retreated into the vents. I smiled in triumph, despite them hissing still. I opened the first supply room and closed it, looking around the dimly lit room. Turning on my PipBuck’s lamp spell, I waved it left and right, taking in the area. Other than two generators and shelves stocked with junk, I found one odd piece looking… out of place. Funny, I didn’t expect to find it right of the bat.

I walked over to it and examined the odd piece. It looked like a battery of some kind. Yet, it wasn’t a battery. It was… how shall I put it… alien like? The prism with the neon blue hue lines trailing it from top to bottom glowed ominously as I picked it up with my magic. I looked around again, wondering if I could spot anything else out of the ordinary. My gaze fell onto a faded and scratched out insignia on the wall. No, it wasn’t an insignia.

The mark showed two alicorn ponies, one of pure ivory and one of pure midnight circling around a sun and a moon. I squinted at the mural ponies. I recognized the ivory alicorn. And the other one must be her sister.

“An old world flag?” I asked myself. What was it doing down here? I looked down at the odd piece I held in my magic. The hissing snapped me out of my thought process. I’ll have to worry about it later. I have a city to save. Pocketing the strange piece in the other pocket of my vest, I trotted out the room, glancing at my map to head to the next area and with the rhythmic beat of the knife against the pipes, I continued on to find the remaining pieces.

Surprisingly enough, the sound kept the changelings at bay and I was able to retrieve a tangled mess of wires, scrap metal, a strange looking battery and a heavy engine. Each piece except for the battery was levitating in my magic as I made my way back to the hangar. What I couldn’t help was think about the old world flag that was in all those supply rooms.

Was there something about the underground of Las Pegasus that went on two centuries ago? I won’t lie, seeing the flag made me feel… giddy. Like I was walking in some part of ancient history that wasn’t in any of my text books. I happily hummed a tune of one of Velvet Remedy’s songs as I trotted down the dimly lit corridors of the sewers. Arriving at the hangar, I stopped humming when one of the worker ponies looked at me from the doorway.

“Wow, color me impressed.” She said before rubbing her chin. “Ya’ know, if they failed to kill you by shooting you in the head, then the changelings are fucked.” I arched a brow. The pony then removed the welding mask and the familiar face of Sunny Springs smiled at me. I balked a bit in surprise.

“Sunny?” I asked. The mare nodded.

“In the flesh.” She said. I darted my eyes in thought before looking at her with a serious expression.

“So, the changelings tried to get rid of you, huh?” I said. To my surprise, Sunny shook her head.

“Quite the opposite actually. I noticed a strange group of ponies hanging around my shop and decided to do a little investigation.” She nickered. “Saw a group of changelings dumping a body down the sewers about a day before you arrived. Didn’t think much of it at first, but then I heard strange reports about some weird looking ponies that have been spotted. That’s when I ended up down here and saw Bud again.” She snorted. “I thought you killed the old buck?” I sighed.

“I thought so too.” I said. Sunny chuckled.

“Well, at least I’m helping for the greater cause then. Hell, seeing you here and alive after being shot in the head, I say we will have no trouble kicking those changeling flanks.” She said. I smiled and looked to the pieces floating around me.

“Err… where should I put these?” I asked. Sunny nodded over to the table with a pile of other stuff. She then narrowed her eyes, seeing the faint glow of the battery I had found.

“What’s that?” she asked. I shrugged as I set the pieces on the table before pulling out the battery looking piece.

“Dunno. I figured its’ a piece we need for Alicron.” I said. But Sunny shook her head.

“I’ve been in and out of Alicron and let me tell ya’, that isn’t a piece. Alicron doesn’t run on anything other than normal energy like every other robot. Fusion Cells.” She tapped her hoof at the piece. “This isn’t even Microcells.” I blinked and looked at the piece again.

“So… do you have a slight idea of what it is?” I asked. Sunny rubbed her chin before taking it in her magic.

“I think so… but I need time to figure it out.” She suddenly smiled and winked at me. “Speaking of, I finally fixed up your gear. I think you will be happy with the results. A lot of material I went through, so I expect double the pay.” I gave a mix of a smile and a worried look.

“You are going to leave me broke. And I’m broke already.” I said. Sunny grinned.

“Well, there is still a deadline I gave you.” She rubbed her chin. “Actually, the deadline has passed. So for each time you don’t pay up, I’ll add triple the amount.” My jaw hung open.

“You can’t be serious.” I protested. Sunny’s went from smiling to serious.

“Dead serious.” She motioned over to a door that was across from Alicron’s broken left wing. “I was going to deliver your gear to you, but I err… did my investigation while still holding it. So, it’s in there.” She winked before pocketing the strange looking piece and trotting back over to work. I trotted over to the door and opened it, beaming when I saw Courage and Compassion on top of folded barding that was right next to Sinful and Malice. Taking the barding, I expected to find my bland and boring stable barding.

And when I did, I was immediately surprised. In fact, my duster almost looked like my stable barding. Yet, it was still a duster. The color of my stable barding was darkened a little, the sleeves were rolled up into cuffs at the ends and a light but metal chest piece acted like the clipping, great for ditch or equip now situations with two straps beneath it and the other. On the back was the magnetized plate. Or, it was. The magnet was now a painted circle with S.O.R. circling around two white die resembling my cutie-mark. I squeed once more, seeing the hood of my duster still a familiar part of my barding.

I stripped off my vest and hoodie before throwing my duster on around me and clipping in the metal chest piece and straps, I found that my barding was light as ever. The sleeves of my duster fit snuggly around my forelegs and the flaps at the bottom of the duster hung over my flank half way down my hind legs, but fitting comfortably around my fire streaked tail. I noticed the holsters were also small bits of the same magnet that was on my back. I slung Compassion and Courage over my back, hearing the magnet quietly lock them in place and the same thing happened when I placed Sinful and Malice on my barding sleeves.

I threw my hood over me, smiling even more. I felt like me again. Like I did when I first became a courier and was given my first duster. Sunny Springs sure knows what she was doing. Using the light material to give me mobility and the chest piece as a form of minor defense. I was okay with having a little bit of defense. I’m more of the nimble and silent pony. And, it felt so comfy too. Trotting out of the room, I was faced with Bud once again. He looked me over before sighing.

“I thought Sunny hid something from me. Oh well, at least you are now prepared for some real tasks.” He said. I arched a brow as he levitated over five plastic C-4s. “You noticed those cocoons those changelings care for dearly?” I nodded. “Well, they are used to spawn more of them. Which is why the underground is swarming with them. We shall remedy this by blowing them up. I’ve counted five total in the sewers.” I took the C-4s in my magic.

“So, you want me to go into changeling nests, plant the C-4 and blow them up?” I smirked. “No problem.” Bud snorted a chuckle.

“We’ll see. Without those cocoons, it would take them weeks to make more. And with the wedding just around the corner, they won’t have time and we will be able to handle a lot less of them than more of them.” I frowned.

“But… wouldn’t the explosions rupture the gas pipes? We are pretty much making it to where we can blow ourselves up in the process.” I said. Bud smirked.

“Ever gambled your life? Oh what am I saying, couriers always gamble their lives. Yours is a… special case. Which is why you are perfect for this suicide task.” I sighed.

“Not much of a choice.” I said.

“Bingo.” Bud said before turning back to Alicron. “I expect results, Savior.” I frowned more. What a demanding son of a mule.

Footnote: Max Level!

Author's Notes:

And this is the chapter where I spent three years away from it. At this point, I wasn't sure where I was going with it. In fact, I was pretty sure I was just going to scrap it entirely and think of something else.

And as much as it made me struggle with the story, I began to feel a little empty. I wanted this story to see the light of day. I thought it would be pretty cool to have one of my favorite video game and enjoyable fandom combined. And reading more of PH and the original struck that feeling home. To break away from the writer's block, I started gaining a bit more... inspiration. More particularly, a certain content added to Fallout. And thus I continued three years later.