I found myself having to take cover again as I noticed Remnants were patrolling a makeshift overhead. I scanned the area. Other than the ocean being on both sides of me, I saw no other way through than going in the front way. But that meant having to claw my way through the patrolling Remnant. My dad must have snuck his way through. I snorted. 'Just leave it to the daughter to pick up the mess of her father.' Spike hovered low with me.

“What’s the plan?” he asked. I bit my lip in thought. How was I going to go about this? I wanted to conserve as much ammo as I could. And I didn’t want to tire myself out with my copies. Despite the primal power and the star metal bones I have that increased my potency in magic, doesn’t mean I can’t tire out. I still had my limits. And I didn’t want to reach it by the time I confronted my dad. I sighed and looked at Spike.

“I’m really not sure. But maybe if…” I sighed in defeat again. Guess I was going to have to use a bit more magic. I imagined myself in Remnant armor. My barding was soon disguised in Roamian armor. I stood up and blinked a little. It was a bit breezy back there. I ignored myself, shivering a bit before trotting over to the makeshift overhead. I felt my heart beat rapidly as I got closer.

I stopped when I saw a Remnant shamble past me. It sniffed the air and looked at me. I saw its’ eyes darting up and down as it looked me over. I was about to grab Compassion with my magic when it grunted and walked past me. I looked to see it shamble down the road. I sighed in relief. But the way the ghoul stopped to take a moment to study me, I had also answered one of my many questions.

'So they really can still think.' That’s when I heard gunfire. I looked over to where the ghoul had walked past me and he was firing on down the road. I noticed in the distance some RCE ghouls heading our way. I groaned in frustration. Great, just what I needed. More complications. The rest of the Remnant ghouls took up arms, howling and returned fire. I quickly ducked inside a bus wagon and crouched low behind cover. Spike followed suite.

“It’s as if they are reliving their deaths.” Spike said suddenly. I nodded. It was true. If my dad had mentioned they can think and act like we do, then perhaps they are just living a nightmare. I felt bad really. I stood up and peeked over the window. I ducked back again when I heard a loud boom and a rumble. They seemed to have set off a wagon with some explosives in them. I peeked back over and gapped. The small green mushroom cloud formed over where the ghouls had been fighting. That was when I saw that the road began to quiver a bit.

The next thing I knew, the bridge seemed to collapse. I bit my lip in frustration. 'I guess I won’t be going back that way.' I heard the sprite bot popped.

“To relive a nightmare in an everlasting dream. They too have onced walked this road. However, it was not meant for them.” The raspy voice coughed. I frowned.

“Enjoying my torture?” I asked bluntly. The bastard was watching me from wherever he was hiding. The voice was quite a bit before grunting. I heard what sounded like metal clapping together.

“I’ve been busy with some other matter. But that doesn’t mean I don't know what is happening. I’m a guardian, Courier. As both you and Lyon.” I kept my blank look.

“So I take it you have a surprise birthday present waiting for me.” I said. Without as much as a missing a beat, he responded.

“More or less. Keep going, Courier. Your road is almost at an end. And my time is surely coming to a close.” The bot popped again and Spike spoke through.

“Your dad doesn’t even send a warning when he does that.” He said, hearing the frustration in his voice. I smiled and patted the bot head.

“On the bright side, we are almost there.” I said. I still knew though that I still had a ways to go. I stood up and trotted out of the wagon before moving on up the road. We must have walked a good while before we reached another tunnel. By then, my Remnant disguise had faded. Another explosion in the back of us erupted, but it was in the distance. I looked at the tunnel gate and took hold of it with my magic. Heaving open the gate, I noticed that this tunnel didn’t lead to a road. But a wagon parking garage. Rusted cargo wagons and small transportation wagons seemed to be buried underneath collapsed tunnel ceilings. Spike activated the lamp spell on the sprite bot.

I could hear something faint crawling around further in. I put my game face on and nodded to myself. Together, we descended into the tunnel.

It felt like hours! I tripped over a sheet metal from a wagon and sighed in frustration. Despite the lamp spell on Spike being helpful, it still didn’t help to see where I was going. I was now starting to dread not having my PipBuck.

“How long have we’ve been down here?” I asked as I stepped over a mound of dirt and a half buried skeletal corpse of a pony.

“It’s only been 20 minutes.” Spike stated. I shook my head. Dammit. I’m starting to get annoyed with all this. My dad must really put a lot of high hopes into me to have me go all this way. I looked back into the abyss wall behind us. We entered into a wagon parking garage and now we are somehow underground? Glowing fungus lined the walls, making the pathway a little more bearable. As I was about to rant to Spike about this whole ordeal, we stepped out into a surprisingly spaced out area. I looked up to see that the sun light had shone into the cavern like area, illuminating what looked like a destroyed building that had been buried for centuries.

“It’s almost as if they wanted to live underground.” Spike stated with a hint of awe in his voice. I frowned and looked around. I spotted a small pathway that lead down toward the building. Unfortunately, I have to sidle my way over a small rock bridge poking out of the wall.

“How the hell did dad even get to where he is?” I said quietly to myself. I walked over to the ledge and reared back, planting my forehooves onto the wall and flattening myself as best as I could to the wall. I dragged my hind hooves across the ground as I sidle over the bridge. I felt my heart pounding and did my best to calm it. As much as death defying goes for me, I still had vertigo.

“Courier, are you okay?” Spike asked suddenly. I said nothing and gulped. “Courier, breath. You’re hyperventilating.” He said. Was I? No wonder it was hard to breath. “Courier, deep breaths. Nice and easy.” I took a moment to gather myself and nodded, following Spike’s instructions. Goddesses, why now? I closed my eyes, counting quietly in my head. When I hit 10, I took another deep breath and felt my heart calm. 'Okay… now to keep going.' And I did. I kept sidling over the bridge.

I yelped in surprised when my hind hoof gave way as the bridge crumbled under me. I quickly skipped over it and decided to calm myself again.

“Courier!” Spike said worriedly. I nodded to him, taking another deep breath.

“I-I’m okay. Just… surprised me is all.” I said a little raspy. I looked back to face the wall and blinked. I saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes looking right back at me. What followed next was a claw shooting out of the wall and a loud screeching sound. I lost my balance and tumbled down the rocky slope.

“Courier!!” Spike called out. I rolled a bit before planting a hoof down and sliding on the side of my body. I gapped, seeing the slope ending into a spiky grave. The jagged rocks came closer and without so much as thinking, I heaved myself forward over the spikes. I flailed my hooves and landed on the other side of the hole. I slipped a little, but managed to get my grip before I could fall. I dangled over the jagged spiked rocks.

I grunted, pulling myself up and rolling onto my back and taking a few good deep breaths. I could have died there! I then heard the screeching sound again and it snapped me back to reality. I quickly stood up and saw a creature flailing wildly where I once was. It then broke free of its’ prison and without so much as a thought, it started climbing up the wall. I gapped, seeing another. And then another. And another. I saw at least ten of them now as they broke through the wall and started climbing up onto the ceiling.

Suddenly, the ground exploded under me and I backed away, my magnums at the ready as one of the creatures decided to crawl out of the ground. It howled. I backed away more as two more fell from the ceiling, landing perfectly on their claws. Just what in the hell are these things!? One suddenly bounded towards me and I planted Sinful into its’ face and pulled the trigger. Its’ body flew away from me in a bloody heap. Well, if they can bleed, they can be killed. I ducked under as one tried to pounce me. As I ducked under, I noticed the other following it up. I pivoted myself and gave a good buck kick to the creature, sending it sailing into the spiky grave. I then immediately aimed Malice at the other creature as it landed and turned to me. I planted two good bullets into its’ face. It crumpled in a bloodied heap.

I then felt myself stumbling a bit as something heavy landed on me. I felt myself being scratched at as I tried to shake off whatever was on me. I bucked my body up and sent it flying off of me. I winced in pain. I looked down at my duster and saw it ripped at the chest. A crimson color came after. I was about to retaliate when another landed down next to me and I backed away in time, but not before getting a nasty little gash on my cheek. I pulled out Courage and fired onto the creature. It flew back onto its back but seemed to roll in a recover.

I grit my teeth as the one that had landed on me, pounced me and we went rolling down another slope. When we landed, I kicked it off of me and straight into a lamp post. I was about to turn Courage on it when it suddenly hissed and flailed wildly on the ground. I gapped seeing that it had the figure of a pony. But it also seemed to have wings. Bat like wings. And when it hissed, I could see the slit eyes. I furrowed my brows now. A bat pony. But… what happened to it? It suddenly then combusted into flames and fell to the ground. I took a moment to process this and snapped back to reality when I heard the screeching.

I looked up to see more of them crawling on the ceiling over me.

“Courier! Are you alright?” I saw Spike float down towards me. I looked back up and grit my teeth.

“I’ll be fine, we have to get out of here!” I said as I bolted under the lamp post as a bat pony landed right where I was. Now that I got a better look, these things were horrifying to look at! Whatever mutated them into these things must have not held back. It crouched low, hissing at me as it stayed at the edge of the light. I saw more glowing eyes in the darkness appear behind it. Spike and I backed into the center of the light as we were suddenly surrounded by them.

“It must have been an entire colony of them!” Spike said. I darted my eyes, trying to find us a way out. I felt something clatter underneath me and blinked. I saw a skeletal corpse laying under the lamp post. I then noticed a strange looking gun next to it. It was red and had the symbol of fire on the barrel. I then noticed the note next to it. I took it in my magic and quickly read it.

>To the unlucky soul that had wondered in here, you should turn back! These… things… I saw them as they ripped apart Cherry Pie and Glover. I’m the only one left! I made my way to the building but couldn’t get far when they suddenly trapped me under this lamp post. At least I still have a couple of flares on me… but what’s the point? They have me surrounded. So… I’ll just lay here and sleep. I no longer have the will to carry on. My only regret is that I never got to say good-bye to my two sons and my wife… I wish them the best of health.

- Constance

I blinked and looked down at the gun before picking it up. The hissings were getting louder. I then picked up three little barrels and stuffed them in my bag. I opened the flare gun and saw that it was still loaded. I bit my lip and looked over to the building. I saw the entrance and what looked like light coming from it. I then turned to Spike.

“Spike, I need you to stick close to me! Keep the light on them!” I said as I took aim into the crowd. I then pulled the trigger and the gun hissed as it shot out a blinding red ball of light. The bat creatures screeched in surprise as I saw a majority of them retreat back into the darkness while some decided to flee. I took that as my moment and sprang through them and galloped to the building. I didn’t get away unscathed however. As I bolted between them, one of them managed to scratch my side. I quickly loaded another flare and fired off behind me, causing them to retreat back. Picking up my speed, I jumped at the building window and covered my face with my forelegs as I crashed through the window and rolled into cover.

I quickly loaded another flare and readied myself. When nothing seemed to happen, I decided to peek out a little from my cover. I noticed the creatures suddenly retreating back into the darkness. And I now know why. I blinked when I noticed something stir not far from the building. It then stood up, a tall giant silhouette of what looked like a dog. It growled and opened its’ slant eyes. It seemed to stretch before realizing one of the bat ponies hadn’t escaped in time. The bat creature hissed and swiped at the hellhound as it picked up the creature.

As quickly as it happened, the creature screamed and then went limp as the hellhound took a big bite out of it. The creature’s body spurted blood and the hellhound seemed to chew away happily. I grit my teeth and motioned to Spike to stay quiet. As if I didn’t have enough problems!

First, mutated bat ponies and now a hellhound. And this one seemed bigger than most. I peeked out quietly as the hulking forward yawned and stomped over to the building I was in. I quickly ducked behind cover and waited. I listened as I heard the sound of claws scrapping the sides and a loud grunt as it seemed to have started to climb the building. I furrowed my brow at Spike and nodded, staying low and quiet. It was hard to maneuver through the wreckage of the building.

It was so lopsided that I had to readjust myself a couple of times as to not suddenly slip and fall. But as I moved through the building more, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of old world relics. An Enclave poster… an M.o.S and an M.o.A poster next to each other. I then spotted a terminal quietly humming to itself on a desk with a skeletal figure of a pony with wings. I examined it closely and saw fangs along the teeth. I then looked to the monitor and pressed a key. I frowned, noticing that it had timed out to a lock. But as I read the date of the lock out, I couldn’t help but arch a brow.

It was the date of two days before the bombs fell. Curiosity had stricken me and I worked away at the terminal.

Scrolling through the symbols and getting rid of any duds, I came to a thought as I was left with five choices. I had to back out when I couldn’t’ decide which one was right. I then went back in and retried it. I finally got the right one.

>WARHEAD

When the screen changed, I only noticed some research logs and a memo note-to-self. I read the name of the terminal and saw that it belonged to someone by the name of Dawn Glow. I brought up the memo and read it.

>Note to self. Kill Sun Fang for being a disobedient shit head. That fucker deserves what is coming to him! To authorize such a thing is ridiculous!! I’ll guess I’ll put in my two weeks notice and get the fuck out of here. No way am I going inside that damn Stable. Those things are fucking deathtraps! We are the hope of Equestria my ass.

I backed out of it and decided to pull up some of the research logs. There were four of them. They were dating a year apart from each other. I went to research log one.

>Research Log 1:

We are well underway of finally utilizing balefire energy. I never thought it would be possible, but when Sun Fang explained the process, I couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought! “We are the hope of Equestria!” he stated. Not only was he smart, but he was so cool! Anyway, getting off topic. I have to write a report to Lilly Wing about the properties of balefire magic. Would help if we had a unicorn thestral with us.

I read the next one.

>Research Log 2:

I couldn’t believe it! The ministry mare of Arcane Science is visiting the silo! With her input on the matter, we would definitely have a big advantage in our research. However, it was a bit strange. One of Stable-Tec’s Representatives is also visiting. I guess the M.o.S and Stable-Tec are on high business priority. Sun Fang has led us this far into the research and I don’t see us stopping anytime soon. Also, aside from getting side tracked, I think I’ve finally figured out what we need in order to begin the process. We just need a test subject. And I think I know the lucky son of a mule to volunteer.

I glanced quietly at the skeletal bat pony corpse before reading through the next one.

>Research Log 3:

I was baffled. When the ministry mare showed us what power the balefire magic could unleash suddenly had me thinking. What if we can use it to better set the standards of today’s living? I mean, bat ponies and non-thestrals could finally co-exist on both sides! Just the thought of it made me feel as giddy as the day I had graduated at the top of my class with a 4.0 grade average! Getting off topic again, I had discussed the test subject with Sun Fang and he seemed more than willing to allow me to do so! He left me in charge of the project!! I can’t wait to get started!

I scrolled through on the last one.

>Research Log 4:

I just don’t know what went wrong. Everything was looking up for me! We had made sure that everything was secure and safe to test. So what in the hell happened!? The subject just… blew up into a fiery green cloud!! And not only that, I noticed Sun Fang acting a little funny. I decided to ask him what had happened and why it happened. All he told me was to try again. After that, I found myself suddenly taking on more and more test subjects. I’m starting to have second thoughts about this. I mean, we have figured out some kinks, but I then began to notice that the subjects have been acting a little funny.

I then spotted a little edit underneath it.

I couldn’t believe that bastard!! He sabotaged me! Sun Fang fucking ruined me!! Now I can’t even walk to work without having to be given the death stare from everyone I know! I managed to sneak into his office and scan his terminal. Fucker planned it from the very moment the ministry mare showed us what balefire energy could do. He decided to turn his previous agenda into one playing god! And now he has the decency to tell us that we are to be transported along with our research into a Stable?! I fucking quit!

I backed out of it and furrowed my brows at the bat pony skeleton next to me. Now that I noticed it, it seemed to be hunched over. But as I examined more, I saw that it had seemed to plant itself inside its forelegs. Almost as if it was crying. Spike hovered over to me and sighed.

“Courier… we should keep moving.” Spike said. I sighed in defeat and nodded. I put a reassuring hoof on the skeleton.

“It’s not your fault… just naivety and poor judgement.” I said to the corpse. It said nothing in return as I adjusted myself and began to quietly creep through the building. I wasn’t’ out of the clear. I still had a feeling that hellhound was still roaming about and I wanted to get out of this cave for good. I crept up a flight of steps, passing half buried walls and doorways. Now it had got me thinking. Dawn Glow had mentioned a Stable. A representative of Stable-Tec had visited along with the M.o.S mare. If a Stable really was constructed here… I wondered if there was still anypony in it? I shook away the thought. While in some cases, Stables can still be habitable. But only through constant maintenance and the willingness of the residents.

And Dawn Glow wasn’t too far off about Stable’s being death traps. I’ve heard some cases where some Stables had malfunctioned and whatever resident was in there was no longer around. Along with whatever project or society was going on down there. I had finally reached the top of the building and reached for the doorknob with my magic. It clicked, signaling that it was locked.

Without missing a beat, I pulled out a bobby pin and my screwdriver before picking at the lock. I heard it click and smiled as I opened it, only to have to close it again slightly as I noticed the hellhound’s hulking figure happily snacking on the last part of the bat creature on the other side. I bit my lip and swore silently before looking at Spike. I motioned him to be quiet again. I then quietly moved the door fully open so as to Spike can fit through. After that, I had made sure to stay low and crept around a partially rusted and destroyed vent.

The hellhound grumbled slightly as it stretched again and tossed the bones of the bat creature. It shattered against the metal roof. The hellhound then began to scratch itself. 'What in the hell was this thing doing?' I found myself getting impatient as it just sat there lazily picking away at its’ teeth. I then blinked in realization. 'Perhaps I could use a decoy.' I darted my eyes around and noticed the pathway leading out of the cave past the hellhound. I frowned, realizing I had to go through its’ line of sight.

I had thought about conjuring a clone and having her catch its’ attention, but then I realized it would be pointless, considering we were goddesses know how high. I then noticed a metal pipe on the ground. I grabbed it with my magic and smirked a little. What if I could make as much noise as possible? I looked up and squinted my eyes. I could barely see them, but they were there. The bat creatures were shifting slightly on the ceiling. I then took quiet aim.

I heaved the pipe high into the air. Thankfully, I managed to throw it high enough that it stirred the creatures awake. And when the pipe fell down, my smirk slowly faltered when it landed right onto the hellhounds head. The pipe bounced off it and clanged against the roof. The hellhound growled and scratched its’ head before looking around. I shrunk back a bit behind the vent. That’s when I heard the screeching. I looked up to see the bat creatures moving. I bit my lip. 'Dammit, they weren’t taking the bait.' The hellhound sniffed the air and then growled. I peeked out to see it looking at me.

'Well fuck me.'

The hellhound stood up and roared. The cave shook a little. I quickly got up from my cover and looked around to see my way out. Other than a twenty foot drop, it seems my only other ways are back down the building or somehow getting past the hulking figure of the hellhound. I backed away more as it swiped away the vent with ease. It towered over me and was about to reach down when it suddenly stopped and looked up.

I saw a silhouette swoop down and it screeched as it sunk its fangs into the hellhound. The hellhound roared in pain, thrashing wildly. I ducked just in time to avoid being hit and quickly galloped around the hellhound. As I did, I noticed that it had already tossed off the bat creature, only to have three more take its’ place. The creatures hissed and screeched as they began descending. The hellhound was surprisingly durable. It tossed the creatures aside and took one of them as a club and swung it around. I found it amusedly ironic before realizing the danger I was slowly getting into. One of the bat creatures had lunged at me when Spike zapped it.

“Let’s go!” he said as he hovered around the swarmed hellhound. I followed suite. I galloped onto the cliff edge and found myself having to round a cargo wagon before seeing the light at the end. But I also heard the sound of skittering and wings. They were gaining on me. I picked up my speed, pulling out the flare gun and firing back at me. That seemed to have bought me enough time to grab hold of the gate without my magic and I heaved it open. I dove out into the sunlight just in time as a creature was about to decapitate me. I smirked and decided to rub salt on the wound. I loaded the last flare, took aim and fired in. The ball pelted the creature and it seemed to combust a little before the others retreated back into the abyss. I waited. I heard the hissing sound grow quieter and faint. The hellhounds howl being the last of the sound before all was quiet.

I suddenly fell onto my rump and sighed in relief.

“That… was a close one.” I said, catching my breath. Spike bobbed a little.

“You’re lucky you only got away with a torn duster and a few gashes.” He said. I blinked and looked down at me. I was torn up pretty good. My chest was bleeding slightly along with a few other places on my body. My side hurt and my legs were bruised. And not only that, I noticed my duster was shredded up a bit. I pulled out three health potions and chugged away at them, feeling my wounds heal. I sighed in relief again as I felt their magic work.

I then stood back up and turned to face the road again. I looked to see a tall building with a flag pole next to it. It seemed the pole peeked over the cliffs. And from my guess, you could see it from Tenpony tower. I looked at Spike and smiled.

“Hey Spike?” I asked.

“Yes?” he asked.

“T-thanks.” I said. “I… I know I made some mistakes back there, but I’m glad you were able to correct me.” I heard Spike chuckle.

“What are friends for? And besides, I was one-hundred percent sure we were going to get out of there no sweat.” He said. I arched an amused brow at him. Was that boasting? I giggled quietly to myself before trotting down the road.

“Let’s keep going. I have a feeling dad is starting to lose patience with my delay.” I said. Spike floated next to me as I happily trotted down the road. I knew I made the right call to have Spike come along. I probably would have died a few times back there if it wasn’t for him. I mean, at least I humored him and me. I did most of the leg work, but Spike was limited to what he could do behind that metal ball. But I was still glad to have someone to talk too. Someone to support me through this.

As I reached the caged off gate of the silo, I couldn’t help but notice a tall cog like door on the side of it. It read Stable 16. My gaze fell onto that number and I narrowed my eyes.

'Couldn’t be more ominous, could you dad?' I then looked over to the silo. I frowned and trotted over to the Stable door. That was when Spike popped and the raspy voice spoke.

“What was once blind to Equestria, now lays buried underneath its remains.” I narrowed my eyes.

“I take it you’re in the Stable then?” I asked.

“I am indeed. However, it will not open for any of us. In my recklessness, I had activated the override protocol and now lie dormant in this sleeping solitude. Fortunately, this is the end of the road. You just need to reach me and all will be explained.” He rasped. I sighed.

“Dad… did you know that mom despised you?” I said. There was silence. Then, the voice spoke.

“I do. She has always despised my very being. Ever since I freed her form her shackles to the slavers and bore her children. She grudgingly made it a point that my influence on her would not pass onto the others.” I arched a brow. “Your mother… struggled desperately in her time as a filly. Taken by raiders at a tender age of 3, raised by them to kill, steal and deal chems. She was the fearsome of the Cacophony.” I balked.

“Cacophony? You mean… the raiders that attacked Pleasant Town?” I asked. His silence answered my question.

“Indeed. She has heard that Lily was residing in Pleasant Town. She then found out about her settling down and having a family.” I growled spitefully at the bot.

“You do realize I had to butcher the fucker that had raped her?” I stated. My dad was quiet again. Then, he spoke.

“I understand the pain of it. I do regret not being there for her in that time of need. However, I had other matters to attend too.” I suddenly batted the bot in frustration, making it bob away from me. It twirled a bit before stopping and facing me.

“Don’t give me that crap!!” I barked. “My mom was raped!! She was lucky enough I was there in time before he did any more damage to her!! And where were you!? Off telling Lyon about finding the damn Maidens!!” I grit my teeth and aimed at the bot with Courage. “What kind of father leaves his family behind just to finish a damn project our 200 year old ancestor was working on!? Lyon went to look for you!! He was worried!! And what did you do? Made him into a walking emotionless pony who has been telling me to find the rest! And what about Heart!? What about Bell!? What about Stall!? Do they not matter as much as me and mom!?”

I felt tears leave me. I shook my head.

“I was hurt, Dad! I was in pain!! I was traumatized!! And I had to deal with it for my entire fucking life because you wanted to set a fucking 200 year old project in motion!! You used me!! You used mom! You used my siblings!! You used us to the point that we don’t matter to you anymore?!” I grit my teeth again. “What kind of bullshit dead beat father thinks it’s okay to use his traumatized 6 year old daughter to eliminate any fucking threats to our lineage!?” the sprite bot was quiet. The static it was emitting was pissing me off. “Answer me!!!” The sprite bot was quiet still. It was like that for a brief moment before the voice spoke.

“It has made us strong.” He said. I fired off a shot and it nicked the sprite bot.

“What a fucking lame ass excuse!!” I said venomously.

“But it has. Look where you are now.” The sprite bot looked over to the silo and looked up. I followed his gaze and looked to see the metal silo peeking over the hill. Draped over the front of the silo was a flag. And not just any flag. An old world flag that I had seen in Las Pegasus. Two regal sisters circling an orb. The flag representing Equestria. “Your road has lead you to this very moment.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Our family lineage lies buried here. The trials and errors you have faced along your road to redemption. It has made you strong. Strong enough to protect our lineage. To prevent ponies, like your mother from harm. To prevent your siblings from falling to the poisoned land. You aren’t the only child I have taught this too.” I blinked and looked horrified at the sprite bot.

'No… he can’t be…' but his silence said it all. I fell back on my rump. By the stars… he really did, didn’t he? He set us all up. He set me up to get the brunt end of it. But he had also set up Lyon. Set him up to wander the Wastelands and act as the new guardian for the Maidens. He set Heart up. Set her up so she would be the assassin that would dissuade anypony coming close. He set Stall up. Allowing him to travel with Little Pip as to keep an eye on the Light Bringer.

As for Bell… As if on cue, the voice had read my mind and spoke.

“Bell is the only one that hasn’t been affected by this.” the voice rasped, soon followed by coughing. I arched a brow. “Bell…” he rasped before coughing again. “Bell… is the fifth and last… however… my influence had not reached her. For she is tied to the universe herself.” I remained silent, letting the voice of my dad finish. “Bell… her magic exceeds even our own Starswirl. What took him centuries of solitude and hunting, was now available through the mind of a young filly who does not realize the potential she has.”

I stood up and growled again.

“We won’t let you near her…” I hissed. My dad’s voice rasped and coughed uncontrollably now. Almost as if he was laughing. He then calmed himself before continuing.

“I’m afraid I cannot do much more. Four is enough.” I heard him wheezing a bit. “Go… Courier… Your road is at an end. You must now let Equestria bear witness to its’ fate. Show this land the choice of redemption it needs.” He coughed again. “As it is our lineage to do so.” With that, the bot popped and there was vintage music playing. I darted my eyes in thought as Spike’s voice popped back through.

“Courier… I… I managed to work around it.” He said. I arched a brow. “I heard what your father has said.” I bowed my head and nodded weakly.

I’m a total fucking mental wreck.

“Spike… I hoped you were recording it…” I said suddenly. Spike was quiet before sighing.

“I… I did… I know you don’t want your family lineage out to the public. I’ll delete it if you want.” I shook my head.

“No. In fact… let the whole world hear it. In fact, give it to Homage. Give it to Little Pip.” I turned to look at the Stable. “At least they can know the true threat we are facing. Sombra maybe going after the maidens and disturbing the balance of the universe. But that doesn’t mean down here in the real world that ponies are still in control of Equestria’s fate.” I then took a moment before looking at Spike. “Spike… take a letter.” Spike was quiet. Quiet for a long time. I waited for him to respond.

“Heh… I don’t remember the quill and parchment to be so small…” I heard his voice falter a bit. “But… if I do send it… it’s only going to go to one place…” I shook my head.

“When Little Pip activated the G.O.E., She not only cleared the land of taint. She even opened up the whole possibility of travel.” I sighed. “And with my own work in clearing up the roads, it should be safe to deliver a letter.”

“Are you suggesting…” Spike began. I nodded.

“Ask for a courier to deliver it to Little Pip.” I said. Spike was again quiet.

“Alright… who should I ask for?” he said. I smiled.

“Cheesy Chester.” A moment of silence.

“Alright… I’m ready.” I cleared my throat.

“Dear Equestria. I know you may not bother to care about us much. But know that we are working our way back into your arms. Your fate right now is being decided by two souls. You will bear witness to it. However, that doesn’t mean you should lose the hope. So I’m asking you. Give us another chance. Only then will we truly know your light again. Take heed these words, Light Bringer. For Equestria’s fate lies in our hooves. Yours truly, Savior” I heard what sounded like a scribble on the other end. Then, Spike took a deep shaky breath.

“I’m ready.” He said. I nodded.

“Now, just send word to the Express and ask for Courier Five of the Crystal Express. Eyes for the Light Bringer only. He will know what to do after.” I said. Spike moved the sprite bot over to me.

“Are you ready… to face your dad?” he asked. I bowed my head and nodded weakly.

As much as I wanted this to be all a dream… there was no going back. Now or never. I then put my game face back on and trotted to the silo. I grabbed the door with my magic and took a deep breath. I then opened the door and stepped through.

The silo entrance was trashed entirely. And not only that, I had to take cover when a turret suddenly sprang to life and fired on me. I got grazed twice before leaping over a table and flipping it. I pulled out Sinful and Malice and took aim, entering S.A.T.S. I pulled the trigger and the turret exploded. I blinked suddenly, realizing what I had just done. I used S.A.T.S.

“I thought Stable Auto Targeting Spell was an exclusive spell with the PipBuck?” I asked to myself. Spike replied to this.

“Oh, I think I remember Little Pip a while back mentioning that S.A.T.S. can be used by anypony. As long as they know it they can use it.” He said. I arched a brow and looked at my foreleg. The empty sensation of not having my PipBuck on my arm. I sighed and came out of cover. The table in the middle was an utter mess with papers and folders lying around. I noticed that to my left there was a door that was blocked off by debris and live wires. The one on my right was locked and I realized I couldn’t pick it. I frowned and went over to the desk and started rummaging through the mess. I sighed in defeat, seeing nothing of interest come up.

I then looked behind me to see another door. It read Maintenance. I narrowed my eyes and walked over to the door. It slid open to my surprise and me and Spike stepped through. It was a long tunnel that lead to another door at the end. I could make out graffiti.

Once again, my dad couldn’t have made it much more clearer as to where I am supposed to go. I trotted over to the door and opened it. When we stepped through, I couldn’t help but notice something off. Other than the generators, I couldn’t help but notice a room with a glass window on the other side. It was a laboratory. I walked around the generator and saw a door with a terminal. Testing the knob with my magic, I quickly brought out my screwdriver and bobby pin. I swore quietly when it broke. I reached for another and tried again. It broke and I sighed. I reached for another and blinked. No more bobby pins. I groaned in frustration.

“Having trouble?” Spike asked. I shook my head.

“Other than no bobby pins? I’m good.” I said with a smile as I started tapping away at the terminal. Geez, the security here must have been tight. Whatever they were working on in this silo, they definitely didn’t want prying eyes. I scrolled through the symbols and found to my chagrin only two matching pairs. Unfortunately, they only gave me a chance to retry again and eliminate one dud. I bit my lip. What would be close to ironic a password? My site came to a word.

>PROJECT

I frowned and tapped the keys. I made it through. The terminal brought up three options. Activate Defense Protect-a-pony. Disable turret defense and unlock door. I didn’t like the idea of activating protect-a-ponies, so I decided to deactivate the turrets and then unlock the door. However, when I did, I heard the sound of something beeping. I looked up and saw that there was a storage tube with a protect-a-pony in it. It hummed to life and the tube slid open.

“B-but I didn’t activate the protect-a-ponies!” I stated. Karma was starting to be a bitch again. I took cover as the bot clanked out of the tube. I heard it hum.

“Halt! Identity unknown! Reveal yourself and you will not be harmed!” the bot said in its metallic voice. I bit my lip. I then pulled out the carbine and checked to see how much ammo I had left. Half a clip. I took a deep breath and darted out of cover, entering S.A.T.S. The protect-a-pony turned to me slowly as I aimed at its head. Confirming the target, I opened fire in short bursts. The bot’s head blew apart and it hissed and fizzled to the ground. Spike suddenly bobbed over to me.

“There might be more around here.” He said. I nodded and quickly opened the door into the lab. I definitely didn’t want to waste my resources on fighting robots. I’ve already dealt with ghouls with guns, bat creatures and a hellhound. I don’t want to deal with the worst defense protocol bots ever. I quickly trotted through the lab, ignoring the skeletal remains of two ponies hunched over the lab tables. I stopped and blinked. Looking back over, I noticed that one of the skeletal ponies had something on them. An ID card.

I plucked it off of the coat with my magic and brought it over. I read the name.

Night Crescent. I furrowed my brows and looked at the ponies again. They had fangs for teeth. Was this entire missile silo entirely run by bat ponies? Well duh. What do you think that building under us was? And if you recall, there was that Dawn Glow mare. I agreed with the horned pony. But we mustn’t get sidetracked. We still have your father to deal with. I also agreed with the winged pony. No matter which way you looked at it, something dark happened before the bombs fell. And it involved something that had to deal with my ancestor and an entire colony of bat ponies. Why else would my dad be holed up in a Stable right next to the silo meant for these scientists? And from what Dawn Glow stated, they were trying to find a better substitute for energy using balefire magic.

I trotted over to a door with a card reader. Swiping the card and beeping to confirm it, the door swung open. It lead to a metal chair bolted to one side of the room. I saw test tubes and chemical beakers lined up on a table behind the chair. And not only that, there was a small hoof tray with dried blood on the utensils. I suddenly got the chills running down my spine. Dawn Glow has also stated they need test subjects to volunteer for something. My guess is what caused that entire colony of bat creatures.

But what in the hell did they use? I was getting side tracked again. But my curiosity was peaking through the roof. I scanned the room more. Other than it being like out of a horror movie, I did see another room with a small slanted window looking in on the room. I swiped the card and it beeped open. I then noticed skeletal bat ponies, at least three of them, crowded and slumped around a door. One of them seemed to have something strapped to its’ hoof. I trotted closer.

It looked like a hoof claw. Meant for the royal night guard years ago. But… what in the hell was a scientist holding this?

“What happened here? It seemed like there was a struggle.” Spike stated. I looked around the room. He was right. The examination window on the other side had a crack with blood on it. And not only that, some equipment long dead were scattered about. I frowned and unhooked the hoof claw from the skeletal pony. When I did, the skeletons suddenly fell down onto their sides. My ears twitched as I heard something clattering on the other side of the door. Hooking the hoof claw onto my right fore hoof, I readied myself as I planted myself against the door. Since I was out of bobby pins and realizing that the ID card wasn’t going to access this door, I had to improvise. With a grunt, I bucked kicked the door open.

And when I did, I was suddenly diving onto my belly as something big and hulking flew over me, screeching. I looked up in time to see a bat creature flailing wildly around near the window. It screeched more, causing the glass to break a bit. I jumped to my hooves, hoof claw at the ready. The bat creature suddenly turned on me and hissed. I couldn’t help but notice a lab coat and an ID card hanging from it. It read the name Sun Fang.

I grit my teeth and narrowed my eyes. 'Poor bastard. Had your entire research turn on you and you decided to leave them to die. But… that’s not all there is to it, is there?' It screeched again and flapped once, bounding towards me. I ducked as it swiped a claw and I brought up my hoof claw, digging it into the jaw of the creature. Feeling it lock into place, I heaved and spun my body, feeling the claw slide through the flesh of the creature with ease. With a spurt of blood lining the walls and splattering onto my duster, I saw the head roll away as the body flailed back before crumpling to the ground. I dusted myself off and looked at the decapitated body. Plucking the ID card from the corpse, I entered the room and found a lone terminal and a syringe lying on the desk.

I also noticed a note on the table. I grabbed it with my magic and read it.

The fools! Thinking they can just not take this opportunity!? Bah, and it finally took that damn courier long enough to deliver me the last of the ingredient to the balefire mutation. Let them rue the day as I, Sun Fang, have outplayed the stars! Equestria is doomed to fail. But there is still hope. I am the protector of this colony. And I will see to it that it is fulfilled. Long live the Nightmother!

I sighed and shook my head. 'Well, so much for being the hope of Equestria.' I pushed aside the empty syringe and typed away on the terminal. I used the ID card to unlock it and scrolled through the options.

I saw two options; disable lock down protocol and activate Balefire poison room. I noticed that the Balefire option was active. I looked back to the room. I was feeling even more depressed. These ponies were tasked for the betterment of not just themselves, but for the rest of Equestria. And all thanks to one certain individual that it was gone to shit. I deactivated the lockdown protocol as well as deactivating the Balefire poison room. The silo suddenly blared to life with a siren.

“Courier?” Spike said from the other room. I quickly spun around and rushed out of the room. “H-Hey Courier, wait for me!” Spike called out. I heard him flying close behind me as I galloped out of the building.

Reaching the outside, I turned and looked up. I balked when I saw something tall and white rise out of the back of the hill. It was a missile. And not just any missile. A balefire bomb.

“Is that, what I think it is!?” Spike stated. There was not much we could do. Before we knew it, the missile suddenly roared to life and took off into the sky. My heart fell to my stomach. I was going to hurl. What the hell set it off!? And where was it going to hit!? I stared in horrified awe as the missile grew smaller and smaller into the sky. Suddenly, in a blinding ball of green fire, the missile exploded. A green mushroom cloud formed where the bomb was set off. Shit this was not good! I looked to Spike.

“Spike, what happened!?” I asked. Spike was quiet a moment before speaking.

“I-It seemed to have prematurely exploded. It was out of reach of Equestria, fortunately. It also seemed to have exploded close to space.” Spike suddenly was abruptly cut off when the voice of my dad spoke through.

“And now you know the true nature of what it can do.” My dad said. I grit my teeth in frustration.

“What the hell set it off!? All I did was deactivate the lock protocol!!” I stated.

“And that is where it starts. That protocol is also the same protocol that has me locked in here was keeping the giant beast asleep. Deactivating the protocol activated the test fire.” I balked.

“T-test fire!? That thing could have drifted off course and hit Equestria!!” I exclaimed.

“But you shouldn’t have worried about it in the first place. The coordinates were… changed in a manner of speaking.” I blinked, feeling the agitation reach me. I then had the sudden realization.

“You… you did it… you set me up again… you set it up so I can unintentionally set it off…” I said.

“Correction. Our ancestor did.” He stated with a cough. I was at a loss for words now. Then, I gasped. Reading the letter stated that a courier had brought something to the silo.

“And it was probably intended for the lost souls of this place to set it off. It just seemed something changed and it caused a lot of… somnus so to speak.” Somnus? My latin may not be the best, but I remember reading a few latin words in my study classes. Sleep. I looked up to the silo. Dad had stated the missile was on standby. And I knew exactly why it wasn’t activated. Sun Fang interfered with the schedule by trying to change the project on them. And it all went awry, leaving him to activate the lockdown protocol, thus putting the missile to “sleep”. I then started to have mixed feelings.

Who was the real bad pony here? At first it seemed they were ready to start using balefire energy as a means of betterment for everyday life. And then one individual ends up changing it on them and caused an entire colony of bat ponies to be mutated into those creatures. So… who was the bad pony? Both parties seemed to have delayed the inevitable. And apparently, with the espionage interference of my ancestor, everything seemed to be a jumbled mess.

“Courier… are you alright?” Spike asked. I blinked and looked at him. My father must have left during my train of thought. I nodded weakly.

“Spike… am I bad pony?” I asked. Spike bobbed a little.

“That’s a ridiculous notion if I ever heard one.” He said. I arched a brow in confusion. “Don’t think setting off that balefire bomb was your fault. Because it wasn’t. Who knows… probably some pony else 200 years ago started it and didn’t get a chance to set it off.” I shrunk back a little when he got close. I stared into those metallic eyes. “You are not a bad pony, Courier! You have friends and family back home! They look up to you. You are the driving force for them!” he seemed to falter a bit. “I… I may not have been the best of support for Twilight in her darkest days… but you are right that people can change… and so I’m starting now. And that means supporting you in stopping a pony from trying to destroy everything we worked so hard for.” I said nothing but smiled quietly.

Spike was right in a sense. And hearing those same exact words I’ve said during Chryxal’s darkest moment. I had almost succeeded in helping him cross that line. The line of friendship. But I guess he had spent so long alone to truly grasp it. It made me wonder. Would I have ended up like Chryxal? I shook my head. I put my game face back on and nodded to myself again.

“Alright Spike. We’ve made it this far. And we won’t back down. Are you with me?” I asked with a small smirk. Spike bobbed happily.

“To the very end!” he said. I turned and trotted to the panel by the Stable. I noticed that the panel was now active and unlocked. All I had to do was pull the lever down. The familiar sound of an alarm and the hissing of gears reached my ears. I stood in front of the massive cog like door and waited. Metal screeching and more hissing, I watched as the cog suddenly pulled back a little and then move to the side. I felt myself getting nervous all of a sudden. But then noticing Spike by my side, it subsided. Together, we can stop my dad from seeing this project through. I took a step in and found myself staring down a hallway leading to a big metal armored door. I noticed graffiti on the door.

I walked over to the door and frowned, seeing the ID reader. I was about to swipe the ID card of Sun Fang when all of a sudden, a voice broke through. It was automated.

“Scanning retina.” It stated. I blinked and suddenly saw a blue line shoot out to my right eye. “ID confirmed. Welcome, Courier Sixteen.” I blinked and heard the hissing of the metal armored doors slide open. Me and Spike stepped through and suddenly, the lights popped on. They illuminated the ground one at a time in a small time interval before the overhead lights turned on. I then noticed tall monitors being displayed in static high on the sides of the wall. A long metal catwalk extended to a big half circle stairs circling what looked like a metal hatch.

As I stepped forward more, I noticed that there were monitors and terminals to my sides at a lower level. I had reached the middle of the catwalk when I looked up to see a silhouette of a figure with his back turned on me. I gapped when I saw the figure press something on his foreleg and another siren blared. The metal hatch opened up and what ascended from the ground was none other than a balefire bomb. The hatch above it opened as well. But the bomb came to a halt halfway and with a loud flap, the Equestrian flag fluttered down and displayed magnificently on the bomb.

Then, the monitors clicked on. I looked to see flags draped around them. They were all familiar too. The Remnant… The RCE… The Enclave… The AppleJack Rangers… The Legion and the NCR. It was like a gathering of the top leaders of Equestria. And it seemed just like that too. When the monitors started blinking on and I noticed the faces of unfamiliar ponies and zebra looking down on us. They looked grimly at me. Then, another monitor popped alive. It hung over the half circle podium overlooking the metal hatch. What I saw was something I wasn’t expecting.

A giant purple dragon hunched over a small monitor. I then heard Spike suddenly gasp and looked at the monitor. The dragon looked confused. Spike wasn’t kidding about being a dragon.

“W-what!? How did you…!?” Spike stated. I noticed something behind him. It seemed to be a big collection of monitors with glowing lights and buttons. Then, the figure turned to me and I balked a little.

There, staring me down, were the familiar golden eyes of my dad. His black ratted mane and tail and his pale grey hide and beaten down and tattered courier duster. He held up a fore leg and coughed into it. Which was strange considering he was wearing a rebreather. He rasped and stood up right, looking down on me. That’s when I narrowed my eyes as two sprite bots floated down next to him.

“What… happened to you?” I said suddenly. My dad said nothing as he pressed a few more buttons on his PipBuck. I heard a loud screech before hearing the voice of DJ Pon3 echo through the place.

“…and that is why you should… what the hell!?” I heard the sound of clattering. “W-what’s going on!? Am I still on the air?” My dad coughed again and I saw his cold dead eyes examine the set up.

“You need not to worry… Homage.” My dad said.

“Who is this!? And why are you interrupting my broadcast?” Homage said, suddenly dropping the act.

“On the contrary. I am broadcasting all over Equestria.” He said.

“What are you…?” Homage began. It was Spike that broke through.

“Homage! We’ve been compromised! They know about me! About G.O.E.!!” Spike said as he fumbled on the monitor trying to look for the camera in his room.

“Is that a… dragon!?” I looked up to see that a stern looking mare under the AppleJack Ranger’s monitor exclaimed.

“What is the meaning of this!?” A neatly dressed military uniformed pegasus under the Enclave monitor spoke up.

“Sir, we can’t seem to cut off the line!!” a voice stated behind the neatly dressed mare under the RCE monitor said. She turned and barked at the off screen voice.

“Find a way! Pinpoint the location of this broadcast!!” the mare stated.

“Sir, it seems that the signal is coming from everywhere!” another off screen voice said. I looked over to see a neatly dressed griffon look intimidatingly at me.

“Lessen the strength and pinpoint the location! Whoever this is, you are broadcasting on private lines!” the griffon under the NCR monitor said. The Remnant and Legion leaders seemed quiet as they looked on in amusement. I stared in awe at the conflict. Dad was broadcasting live everywhere!

“It is time to pull back the veil covering the eyes of Equestria.” My dad stated. The leaders and Spike were struggling to find a way to cut off the line. But my dad stood there looking at me. “Let them try all they might. I made a certain connection in the line. One that you can’t force out of or disconnect. I am connected from Tennpony to the Lucky 38. Equestria is listening and the ones deciding its’ fate watching.”

“J-just what kind of show is this!?” Homage echoed.

“Heed well and look upon the true fate of Equestria.” My dad said. It was surreal. He seemed to have the full attention of the leaders. Spike even seemed at a loss of words. “For centuries, the land of Equestria slept while it slowly faded from the poison. Look behind me and listen.” He shot out a hoof behind him and pointed at the metal balefire bomb.

“A… is that a balefire bomb!?” The griffon of the NCR stated.

“A what!?” Homage echoed. “Then… that glowing green mushroom cloud… was that…”

“A misconception. My daughter was unaware of the trouble our ancestor caused.” He said.

I shook my head and stomped my hoof.

“Dad! This is insane!? Why the hell did you even think this was the fate you wanted me to see!?” I exclaimed. He looked at me and coughed. Regaining himself, he spoke.

“Courier… or Savior of the Roads as you are referred to by the unaware. My daughter. On your twentieth birthday, your coming of age. You will decide the redemption of these souls that have been trusted with the fate of Equestria.” He gestured to the monitors. Spike suddenly looked grim.

“You bastard!!” he roared, spurting green fire. Unfortunately, he was still on air.

“Spike!? Are you okay!?” I heard another voice chimed in as an echo. I recognized that voice. Spike blinked.

“L-LittlePip!?” he said. My dad coughed more.

“And the Light Bringer is in attendance as well. So then… let me be the first to say to you Courier. The Savior of the Roads.” He reached behind him with his magic and pulled out a 12.7MM submachine gun and rested it on his shoulder. “Happy birthday.”

Footnote: Max Level Reached!

Author's Notes:

And here I thought I wouldn't have made it this far on my own with this story. But thankfully, I still had my inspirations to go on. The second to last chapter. A long road that has been walked on for a while for me. I am relieved to say that even though I had ups and downs with this story, I had a lot of fun creating the characters and their interactions.