I was unusually calm as I walked into the maintenance wing and sat at my stall. My alarm clock must have been malfunctioning again because it was rare that I got here before anypony else. Since it wasn’t my duty to review what the day’s work would entail, I decided to just sit at my desk and tinker with my tools. I looked at Crescent Wrench’s stall and wondered just how long I would have to wait. As I sat, I found my eyes growing heavy and soon slipped into an accidental nap. I awoke an undetermined amount of time later to find that I was still alone. I sighed heavily and walked to the door to the wing and leaned against the wall, resigning myself to wait for my co-workers to show up. Where the hell are they?

“So is this what safety feels like?” A voice I didn’t recognize came from behind me.

I turned around to see somepony siting at my stall balancing a screwdriver on his hoof. He wasn’t wearing a jumpsuit so I didn’t recognize him from any of the other wings. His mane was yellow and his coat was unusually dirty.

“Don’t remember me huh? I guess that makes sense, you killed me without even looking at me. I can see why it wouldn’t leave an impact.”

“Ribbon Dancer?” What the hell was going on?

“I can see why you wanted to kill me. You had a great thing going in here. I mean, it isn’t exactly the most exciting life but you’ll never go hungry and don’t have to worry for your life every waking moment.”

The ground started to shake and the walls of the stable started to crack and shatter into a misty nothingness. I closed my eyes as the whole of my home fell apart. I tentatively opened my eyes to see Ribbon Dancer still sitting at my stall in the middle of a black void. I couldn’t see what I was standing on, a deep blackness was below and above me. As far as I could see in any direction were massive clouds of heavy fog.

“You better make my death worth something Sparks. You will see your family again. Me? This is all I’ll ever see.” He waved his hoof casually, as if to show of the darkness.

“He’ll never make it.” A deeper, gruffer voice spoke. Out of a fog bank walked the massive form of Granite. “When the weak kill the strong everypony suffers.”

I was still feeling extremely confused but it was soon overshadowed by a growing anger.

“No! No! You’re dead! You don’t get to taunt me anymore!”

“Fuck you scab. You didn’t earn my death, it was gifted to you. Just like Yellow Bell.”

As if on cue, a small cloud of mist from the void below swirled up before me and dissipated revealing the scene of me and Sunny in the kitchen of that house with Yellow Bell tied up.

“You’re a killer regardless of the circumstances. Self-defense or execution, it doesn’t matter. This is how you need to be.”

“That’s not true…I can…” I was losing ground to these apparitions.

“No you cant. You’re a weakling holding on to ideals that burned away with the world. If you can’t rise above the pathetic being you are then all that awaits you is death.”

Another swirl of mist formed beneath me, showing me a barren patch of wasteland with a half-buried skeleton. My skeleton.

“He’s right Sparks.” Ribbon Dancer jumped from my stall as it too faded into mist. “When we met you looked at me and thought I was weak yet I survived the race long enough to meet my death at your hooves.”

“I didn’t have a choice! I didn’t want to…” The fire of anger was starting to fade. I didn’t want to think about the choices I’ve made since I’ve come outside but now I was being forced to face them whether I wanted to own them or not.

“What will you do now? Do you have what it takes to make the hard choices? To kill when you need to or will you stand by and watch inoccents be butchered?” A miniature replica of the cart of slaves I saw on my first day rose from the mist, along with me cowering behind the rock on the hill.

“What will you do?”

I couldn’t muster a word, I felt as I did that day, too scared to fight and too scared to run.

“Disappointing. We all make our choices Sparks and you chose to not choose. You did nothing and you will do nothing.” Ribbon Dancer’s body started to fade away into the misty void. I turned to where Granite was standing to see that he was also fading away. He looked at me with a stern glare challenging me to do better. His face morphed into a warped combination of Yellow Bell’s and Sunny’s face. “Apathy is death…” With that last warning he finally faded completely. The fog in the distance began to rapidly enclose on me as the invisible floor returned to the barren surface of the wasteland. The fog continued towards me while the cloud was beginning to stain itself red. I felt my breath leave my lungs as the cloud congealed into a large bubble that turned to blood and splashed to the ground hitting me with a warm wetness. I tried to shield myself from the torrent of gore only to see it settle into a small pool. It started to bubble and shift up into the form of a small pony. I reached out a hoof slowly towards the blood pony. It whipped around faster than I could react pushing its face into mine.

“Apathy is death!” It stared deep into my eyes forcing the memory of the slavers I saw my first day to the forefront of my mind. Specifically the memory of the corpse of the little red colt that was dead because I refused to act. The blood terror continued to stare into my mind as its head exploded from the inside. It collapsed to the ground laying the same way as when I saw him after he died.

I woke up screaming into the night. Startling both Grim and Sunny into quickly jumping to standing positions with guns at the ready.

“What!? What’s happening?” Grim yelled as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Sunny did a quick check of the bombed out old sky-bus we decided to sleep in for the night before returning to sit beside me.

“Something bothering you Sparks?”

“I…I don’t know. I had a really bad nightmare.”

Sunny wistfully looked towards the sky. “What was so bad about it?”

I rubbed my foreleg nervously, uncertain if I wanted to share what happened.

“C’mon Sparks, tell us what happened. Medically speaking I find it fascinating to see what kind of impact dreams can have on your mind.” Grim took a seat on the other side of me.

Sunny gave Grim a nasty glare through squinted eyes.

Grim rubbed the back of his neck while shying away from Sunny’s eyes. “Uhh…Sorry. That probably sounded insensitive.”

I didn’t see it like that at the time but even though I knew they both had good intentions in asking me about it I still didn’t know how to share the dilemma the nightmare brought. It was, more often than not, kill or be killed in the wasteland and I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Even still my mind had a hard time accepting that reality. They were right unfortunately, all of them. Red Asphalt, the ghosts in my head and Sunny, all of them were right. If I couldn’t do what needed to be done then others would suffer because of me. The ghostly specter of the red colt flashed through my mind causing me to cringe.

“You want to talk about it?” Sunny’s voice came off very motherly and the look in her eyes seemed genuine.

“I…I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it.” I didn’t like not sharing what was on my mind with them but it was something I wanted to tackle on my own, it needed to be me. I kept thinking about every time we were in danger or in a fight and how I was always relying on Sunny to do the fighting for me and recently Grim too. It was a fault in my character that I had to change if I wanted to survive the wasteland and I wanted to face my weakness on my own. “I’m sorry, I want to deal with this one myself.”

Sunny’s expression slipped to one of disappointment or something akin to it. “Oh…Ok.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? Talking about what’s bothering you can be healthy.” Grim too looked genuinely concerned about what was bothering me but I was adamant about my decision.

“I’ll be all right guys, thanks.” The conversation was starting to weigh on me, keeping my friends in the dark wasn’t a decision I made lightly but one I had to make. I said it before, wastelanders just wouldn’t understand. I rolled up my makeshift blanket and tried to go back to sleep. I awoke later to the sound of whispering. I don’t know how much time had passed but it still wasn’t morning. The whispering was coming from Sunny and Grim so I decided to try and eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

“…Don’t have any reason to think he’d lie to us…seems like he meant what…” I heard Grim start.

“That’s not what I meant when I asked…wanted to know why you came with... you after?”

“I have no foul…still don’t know myself why…if I find what I’m hoping…tell you and him.”

“…Don’t know if I… I’ll be keeping an eye on you and if you do anything to…amount of medical training will help you.”

“I wouldn’t be wasting my time if…see something in… in time.”

With those last words followed the sound of shuffling, presumably the two of them attempting to return to sleep. Whatever was on their minds would have to wait, provided they felt like sharing it all.

We awoke, had a simple breakfast of whatever we could muster and continued on our way towards ‘the College’. I looked eastward to the bulk of the Baltimare ruins and wondered if my quest would ever take me into them fully. Grim was going on about something he read in a book about the old world and judging by the look in Sunny’s eyes when I looked to her to see if she was following, she wasn’t. I inched my way over to her.

“You have any idea what he’s talking about.” I whispered.

Sunny shrugged “I think he’s talking about pre-war politics or something, I kinda tuned him out a while ago.”

“You know it’s rude to talk about someone when they’re right in front of you.” Grim had stopped in front of us and spread his wings to block our paths. “It might not seem important to you but history needs to be remembered in order to build the future.”

I saw a lot of myself in that statement. Not because of how alike our ideals were but because it was Watcher who wanted us to meet. Watcher couldn’t have known that I was that kind of pony could he? Why else would he try to introduce us? I was suddenly suspicious of Watcher again. I was grateful that he was, in a way, responsible for me making these two friends but curious at how he knew what kind of morals I had. I had a lot to ask Watcher if we ever met again.

“Oh well, story times over for now, we got company up ahead.” Grim pointed a claw forward at two ponies, one mare and one stallion, traveling with a cart filled with supplies and junk being pulled by one of those toast colored two-headed cow things that Dusty had. They were going in the same direction we were and had yet to notice us.

“Oh good, let’s see if we can sell some of the stuff we found in the mall.” With that Sunny trotted up behind the cart and called for their attention. Grim and I did the same and when we caught up Sunny was already negotiating for our junk. She turned to us when we arrived and smiled. “And here are my companions. If you got anything you wanna get rid of now’s the time.” Grim and I simultaneously started digging through our bags for stuff we picked up that we didn’t need. Grim and Sunny had much bigger piles of salvage than I did. All I had to offer was the gun and ammo I found in the Overmare’s office and I wasn’t about to bargain with the PipBucks I had. I sat back and let Sunny deal with the traders as I still didn’t quite understand how much caps were worth so it was best to let her handle it so I didn’t get ripped off. We traded all our stuff for mostly healing potions, ammo for our weapons and a small stack of caps.

“Now that business has concluded allow me to introduce myself.” The stallion started. “My name is Rain Drop.” He then took a step back beckoning the mare to step forward. “And this is my wife, Sandy Storm.” She did a little curtsy and smiled warmly.

I was caught a little off guard with how welcoming they appeared. I hadn’t seen anypony smile like that outside.

“A pleasure, my name is Sunny.”

“You can call me Grim”

“And…um my name is Sparks.”

“You look familiar Sparks, have we ever met before?” Rain Drop asked, quizzically stroking his chin.

“I don’t think we ever met him dear, but look at his colors.”

Rain drop closed one eye and stroked his chin with more fervor, clearly deep in thought.

“Oh I’ve got it! You’re him aren’t you? The Harbinger! Oh we are so pleased to meet you. We heard about you on the radio!” He eagerly grabbed my hoof and shook it intensely.

This was the kind of thing I was dreading after hearing that DJ did a report on me. Maybe it would be different if I felt I was deserving of such praise and even though my actions improved their life it made me feel like I was deceiving everypony.

“We only have to worry about bleeders on our routes now and they are very rare and aren’t interested in robbing us blind.”

“It’s pretty safe now, almost to the point we don’t have to hire protection every time. You’re like the Guardian.” Sandy finished.

That sounded like an interesting title like the one I was given. “Who’s the Guardian?”

“I don’t really know, a couple years ago there were rumors of a mare called the Guardian who protected merchant caravans but I never knew anypony who met her.”

“There’s always a bit of truth in rumors.” Sunny added.

I wondered if she really existed or was just a ghost story created by the raiders or even the caravaners to try and keep them away. If she was real I hoped I would meet her. She sounded like she also had a heroic reputation thrusted on her or maybe she genuinely wanted to help ponies.

“I suppose it’s only pony nature to hope that ponies like her exist. Role models to believe in and such.”

“Like you eh Sparks? Unlike the Guardian, somepony can claim to have met you and I’m honored that it’s me.” Rain Drop did a silly little bow. Although the gesture was not lost on me I definitely didn’t want ponies giving me special treatment.

“Please stand up, I’m nopony special.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve removed one of the last organized raider clans. Without anypony to rally under the raiders don’t pose much of a threat on their own.” Sandy was looking at me in a way that reminded me of how I used to look at the old Mysterious Mare Do Well comic books. It was almost like adoration.

“We’d be grateful if you would join us on our trip. You’re heading south too, right?” I could practically see Rain Drop’s eyes gleam with anticipation.

“I suppose we could travel with you. At least as far as we can.”

“Great! Wonderful!” Sandy clopped her hooves together excitedly before slapping the two-headed creature on the rump to get it moving. “C’mon Rainy let’s get this show on the road.”

“Right behind you sweetheart.” They immediately set off along on their way.

I was still a little stunned at how the ponies of the wastes were treating me, leaving me standing in place watching them happily trot along just thrilled by my presence.

“You guys comin’? We got a lot of ground to cover.” Rain Drop waved for us to follow, a lopsided grin on his face.

Sunny walked up beside me and smiled a sly grin. “I think they like you.”

She didn’t give me a chance to react as she trotted up to join the couple.

“I told you the wasteland needed a pony like you.” Grim said from the other side of me before he also left me in silence to join Sunny.

It was interesting to see just how the ponies of the wasteland thought of me. Or at the very least these two. It honestly made me happy and at the same time conflicted. On one hoof I was glad that my actions were helping the greater wasteland and on the other hoof they weren’t really my actions. In that regard I was like the Guardian they told me about. Whether I was real or not (in my actions) I was somepony to believe in or look up to. I didn’t have the heart to tell them the truth.

“You folks thirsty? We got plenty of Brahmin milk.” Rain Drop gave the orange creature a loving pet to punctuate his statement.

I finally got a name for the two headed cows. I spared a glance at its undercarriage and saw that it indeed did have an udder. Although given the whole radiation cooked aesthetic of the thing I was going to pass.

“So…where are you heading?” Sandy twiddled her hooves together nervously while looking at the ground.

“We are going to the College. We are looking for somepony and hopefully we can learn something there.” Grim answered.

“Oh that’s good, then we’ll still have you when we get to the Crater.” Rain Drop chirped. “It’s about two hours from here. Nice town, nice traders, just got a new mayor.”

“Y-you don’t mind if we stop there do you?” Sandy added.

“I don’t see the harm. You said there are traders there and the more prepared we are the better.” I didn’t plan to spend the night there though. We couldn’t spare the time. The longer Paladin Sureshot was missing the greater chance there was that something terrible would happen.

We walked silently for a while, the couple content with just my presence. I didn’t care for the situation so why not start up a conversation?

“Have you two been traders long?”

“Not really. We only made the decision to get away from…from…” Sandy petered off, her voice cracking slightly.

I suddenly got the feeling that I overstepped my bounds by asking. “Oh…if you don’t want to talk about-”

“No…no, it’s ok Sparks.” She wiped some tears from her eyes.

“Don’t bring it up if it still hurts you sweetheart.” Rain Drop tried to console her.

“I’ll be ok Rainy…I can do it. It’s been long enough.” She swallowed the lump in her throat and wiped her eyes one more time. “Nine months ago we were living in a little farmhouse north of here. We couldn’t get much food to grow but we were able to keep and breed several Brahmin. One day our son Evergreen ran away and joined a group of raiders. The note he left behind said he wanted to help provide for us and would only raid outside the Baltimare wasteland. For about four months it was just Rainy, our daughter and me at the farm. Then our son came back and the raiders followed him. They demanded we hoof over our Brahmin and anything of value or they’d kill him and then us. Rainy didn’t take too kindly to that and shot and killed the one holding Evergreen. We all ran into the house to protect our home and after what felt like seconds a firebomb came crashing through our kitchen window. Our farm was engulfed in fire and in the chaos Evergreen was killed, our Brahmin stolen and our daughter went missing. We travel the wastes in hopes of finding out what happened to our daughter.”

Sandy must have had an incredible amount of trust in me to share that story with us.

“Do you have anything to go on?”

“We heard a name before Evergreen was killed. It was Chestnut something or something Chestnut.”

I suddenly felt a cold chill wash over me. Chestnut was at the stadium when we killed Red Asphalt and it was very unlikely he survived given how I saw the Regulators executing the survivors. I guess I still wore my feelings visibly on my face as both Rain Drop and Sandy were looking at me with wanting eyes.

“You know something we don’t?” Rain Drop said sternly.

“Rainy please!” Sandy pushed Rain Drop back a bit. “Sparks if you know anything please tell us.”

“…I met a raider pony named Salted Chestnut.”

“Yes yes! That was him did he have a grey unicorn mare with him?”

“…No…he didn’t.”

“Oh…well where did you meet him? Maybe we can track him down and tort-”

“No you can’t. I hate to tell you this but he was with Red Asphalt’s clan when we took it down. I don’t think he survived.” Even if I was a real hero I don’t think it would ever make delivering this kind of news any easier.

“…Oh…I see…”

Sandy didn’t bother wiping her tears away this time. She very slowly crawled inside the cart. I reached out a hoof to try and comfort her but a pleading look from Rain Drop stopped me in my tracks.

“Let her go…it’ll take time for her to recover, if she does at all.”

“I…I’m sorry…I…”

“It’s not your fault. We both got this idea in our heads that there was a chance we would find her after we heard about you. When we first heard about you on the radio we thought that only good things would keep coming. I don’t think Sandy thought that your actions would in any way hurt our hopes, that’s probably why it’s hitting her so hard.”

I could understand where he was coming from. If I built somepony up in my head only to see them fail that would possibly shatter my reality too.

“And if you don’t mind I’d like some time to myself. You are still welcome to come with us but I’d like to be alone for now.”

I could feel sweat sticking my mane to my head. “O-of course…take all the time you need.”

I fell back behind the cart where Sunny and Grim had been casually observing.

“I trust you guys heard all that.” They both nodded.

“Don’t let it bother you Sparks.” Grim draped a wing around my shoulder. “Sometimes things happen that are beyond your control. Just because you couldn’t stop something doesn’t lessen your value as a hero.”

That was just it though, my value as a hero. The fact that I had any was troubling. Even more so now that I saw the results of my actions both positive and negative, from the same ponies even. I looked to Sunny to see if she had anything to add.

“If you worry about saving everypony you might not save anypony.” She shrugged indifferently, saying pretty much the same thing she said in the mall stable.

I stared blankly at the back of the cart as we kept walking. The emptiness of the wastes were starting to become filled with ruined homes and for lack of a better word a proper road. I trotted up beside the cart and was amazed at what I saw. Unlike the other settlements I’d seen; Black Town, the Stadium, or Requari, The Crater was in a class of its own. The others had all been built upon the remains of old world buildings and suburbs but this one was built completely from the ground up after the war.

Dominating the sky above the city’s wall was a giant antenna array with improvised catwalks built around it where I saw at least three ponies patrolling with huge sniper rifles. Below them was a patchwork winding staircase that presumably went all the way down.

We made our way to what I assumed was the front gate. The walls surrounding the city were made entirely of scrap metal and stood about twenty-five feet tall. From atop the gate an armed guardspony looked down at us, similar to how I first entered Black Town. He looked over us with a vigilant eye but his expression faded when he saw the cart loaded with goods.

“Traders! Open the gates!”

With that the gates started to be pulled up and apart, screeching as they did. The town certainly lived up to its name as the first thing I saw inside the gate was a downward slope into a giant crater. Inside the crater were dozens on ramshackle structures, some built into the sides of the crater and some built up on stilts that were held together and connected through suspended walkways and stilts of their own. We slowly made our way down into the crater eventually stopping near the base of the antenna tower that had been built around almost to the point that it may as well have been a scrap building all on its own. Rain Drop started taking things out of the cart and setting up a display of some kind when a door leading to the tower was loudly kicked open. A light brown griffin with white plumage walked confidently out into the promenade like he owned the place. He stretched out his wings and prepared to take flight when he stopped and looked towards us. He made an immediate beeline in our direction and stopped in front of us. He stood tall and gave us all very stern glares which were accentuated by the scar across his beak.

I was staring to sweat under this guy’s glare when his expression changed to one of joy.

“Sunny Smiles! I never thought I’d see you here. I thought you were too busy with that crusade of yours to leave that fish farm you call home.”

Sunny chuckled quietly. “Hello Jack. Glad to see somepony hasn’t killed you yet.”

The Griffin called Jack laughed loudly before wrapping Sunny into a powerful hug, one that she surprisingly returned. “How the hell have you been boss?”

“I’ve been keeping busy, have you listened to the radio lately?”

Jack looked at Sunny then to Grim and finally to me. “You aint sayin’ what I think you are…are you?”

Sunny nodded.

“So that means you helped…”

Sunny nodded.

He pointed a claw at me. “And that makes him…”

Sunny grinned and nodded.

“Ha ha ha! I guess you have been busy, I should have known. Now I see why you left Requari; playing partner to the Harbinger must take all of your time.” Jack broke his conversation with Sunny and walked to me, slapping me hard on the shoulder with a smile. “Good work Harbinger, glad to see you're real. Red Asphalt was on our shit list for a long while. Might be some time before he’s forgotten but he won’t be missed.” He jabbed a claw into my armor, next to the number 63 on the shoulders. “Stable-dweller huh? ...Same number too. You’ll do just fine out here kid.” He jumped into the air and hovered there for a second. “Sunny we’ll have to catch up another time, I’ve got some duties as mayor to attend to.” He did a little two claw salute and flew away.

What did he say about the number? Clearly he had met somepony from my stable before but how could that be? Could it be the same pony who sold their PipBuck to Corkscrew in Black Town? The one who escaped before me.

“Old friend of yours Sunny?” Grim asked, releasing me from my thoughts as I turned my attention towards them.

“Yeah, that was my old second-in-command Smilin’ Jack. He left Requari after the failed attack on Monument Stadium two years ago. Good to see he’s doing well. Mayor huh? Didn’t think he had it in him.”

“We’ll have to make it a point to come back here sometime.” I assured, checking my PipBuck to make sure the town was mapped.

“So I think we are equipped well enough, should we get back on the road or…” Grim left the question hanging.

I couldn’t think of anything we needed. We restocked pretty well from the mall and what we traded from Rain Drop. Really, I only wanted to escort Rain Drop and his cart here rather than actually explore the town, for now at least.

“Yeah we should.” I walked over to Rain Drop and placed a hoof on the table he had propped up and set with goods. “How’s Sandy doing?”

He smiled as he answered. “I think she’ll be fine. She just needs a little rest.” I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was unconvinced by his own words.

“Again I’m sorry. It was a pleasure to meet you both.” My ears were practically stapled down to my head after I saw the pain in his eyes.

“Do look us up should you return. I think it’ll be easy to convince Sandy to stay here and settle down.”

“I’d like that, until then Rain Drop.”

“Until then Harbinger.”

I waved to him over my shoulder as we started back up the hill we came down from. Except for Grim, he slowly flew above us. Never thought I’d be envying wings in my life.

As we passed through the gates I found that I was almost immune to the sound of gravel grinding under my hooves and the bleak emptiness of the wastes. Despite the possible danger I really hoped that our mission…well MY mission, would eventually allow us explore the ruins of the city. I could always slightly smell the ocean in the air and part of me wanted to walk the beach around the bay. I started thinking back to the Crater and a question came to mind.

“Hey Sunny…why didn’t you go back to Requari?” I didn’t want her to think I didn’t want her company but she was the leader of a group of vigilantes, she had better things to do than follow me around the wasteland.

“Hmph. Since we killed Red Asphalt and his gang the most immediate danger is gone. I left my top lieutenant Blackhawk in charge and they can operate without me for a while, besides can’t I just want to help out a friend?”

My ears fell back in shame. I guess I already knew the answer but some part of me just needed to hear it. I smiled at her answer but at the same time my heart ached that I had asked to begin with.

We walked in silence so often that it was almost not awkward anymore but the keyword there was ‘almost’.

“So…Grim. It occurs to me that we don’t know a whole lot about you. Where are you from?”

“I’m from a city up north called Whinneapolis. That’s where my family and the rest of my clan…I mean company of Talons are.”

“Why did you come down here?”

“…I don’t know. I just felt that Baltimare was in more need than Whinneapolis.” I wasn’t sure I believed his answer, the distant look in his eyes and uncertainty in his expression betrayed him.

“Why did you become a doctor? From my understanding most griffins these days are mercenaries.”

“…That’s…harder to answer…I’m really not that interesting. I’m sure you’d get better stories from Jack”

“Don’t count yourself out pal, I’m sure you’re plenty interesting.” Please keep talking.

“No really, have you ever eaten the heart of your enemies for fun? I guarantee you he has.” He looked over to Sunny as if daring her to confirm his point to which she reluctantly nodded yes. “If it’s all the same to you Sparks I really don’t want to talk about my family. I came down here for more reasons than to help ponies and let’s leave it at that.”

Small talk was a skill of mine that had thus far shown no signs of improving. So rather than stick my hoof in my mouth again I opted to stay quiet.

We continued on for around another forty minutes when we saw smoke off in the distance.

“Anypony else see that?” I asked nopony in particular as both Grim and Sunny galloped passed me towards the smoke. I inwardly groaned and did my best to catch up to them. We crested a small hill to find the source of the smoke. An upside down traders cart had its contest spilled all over the ground while the cart itself and its escorts were slowly burning to cinders. The smell reminded me of the battle in the stadium which made me puke in my mouth a little bit.

“Oh Goddesses…” I cringed away from the sight and checked my E.F.S. Other than Grim and Sunny I saw no other blips on the compass. Whoever did this left no survivors. I retreated from the wreckage and practically buried my head in the dirt to try and get away from the smell when I heard an odd rattling sound. I looked up to see a set of heavily armored legs. Did one of the Rangers follow us? I kept panning up until I got to the head whereupon I screamed and frantically tried to scurry back to Grim and Sunny. Whatever had been in the armor had long ago died if its exposed skull was any indication. Sunny and Grim trotted up to my prone form and helped me to my hooves.

“What the hell is that thing!?” Grim asked.

The armored skeleton took an aggressive stance.

“Ghost Walker!” Sunny shouted as she pushed us both to the ground as a torrent of fire came flying out of the skeletons battle saddle. I could smell that the edges of my armor and the tip of my tail had been singed as we quickly got up. I levitated my gun out and blindly opened fire. Some bullets found their mark but did little more than ricochet off its armor and uselessly blow a few holes in its skull.

“Don’t aim for the head! We need to find a way to disable the armor!” Sunny called out.

Grim did his best to knock the thing over as he tackled it head on. The Ghost Walker held its ground but could no longer hit him with its flamethrowers. Grim couldn’t stand up to the armor’s hydraulics for long as the Walker lifted its front legs catching Grim’s hind legs and flipping him over onto his back. Grim quickly rolled out of the way as two metal hooves slammed into the dirt where he had been seconds earlier, kicking up a cloud of dust. Sunny ran in next and did a jumping kick into the Walker’s left flamethrower, hitting it hard enough to bend it downwards essentially disabling it. I did the only thing I could against such a heavily armored target and wrapped it in my magical aura and tried to lift it into the air. The Walker didn’t seem to notice it was airborne and only concerned itself with trying to immolate us in more flame to which I tried to keep its battle saddle pointed up. I started to pant heavily from exertion as I couldn’t get the thing very high off the ground. I gritted my teeth and put everything I had into my horn. A second aura flared to life around my horn as the walker shot off higher into the sky. I couldn’t take the strain any longer as I released my magical grasp. The armor crashed to the ground hard with two of its legs caving in on themselves and turning the old bones inside to dust. It kept trying in vain to stand up and resume the fight but its smashed armor kept it from doing so. It kept trying to spray flames from its weapons but it either didn’t notice or didn’t care that it was only spraying a thick gel from its broken barrel. I sucked in a deep breath and prepared myself for another spell.

“Get down!” I yelled as I mustered up a lightning bolt and shot it into the walker’s broken weapon mechanism, igniting the fluid inside causing the suit of armor to explode in a shower of metal plates, fire and bone fragments. The force of the explosion knocked me off my hooves and I felt something sharp rip through my right ear. I couldn’t find the energy to get all the way up so I settled for a difficult sitting position. I found myself breathing heavy from exhaustion and had to wait for the ringing in my ears to go away. I felt something warm running down my face and dripping off my chin. I ran a hoof across my cheek, brought it back to look and saw that I was bleeding. I remembered the pain I felt before I hit the ground and gently touched my ear and winced at the feeling. Whatever had hit my ear went clean through and left a sizable hole behind.

“No kill quite like overkill eh?” Sunny was sitting to the left of me, picking bits of bone out of my mane.

“Good shot Sparks.” Grim came and sat on my right side. “Oooh…um here, take this potion. I don’t know if you know this but the potion won’t fill in your ear so you’re going to have to get used to that hole.”

“What!? How big is it?” I accidentally went to touch it again only to regret it right after. “OW! Son of a bitch!”

“Just drink the potion.” Grim pushed the potion bottle into my chest.

I sighed in defeat, drank the potion and closed my eyes as I felt the warming sensation of magical science stitch my wound closed. Mostly.

“Be honest Sunny, how bad is it.” I gave a thoroughly unconvincing grin to try and give the look a bit of normality.

Sunny squinted her eyes, staring intently at my ear. She opened her mouth to answer when I saw Grim in the corner of my eye holding his claws up and shaking them to get her attention while shaking his head ‘no’.

“Umm…looks good Sparks…yeah.”

“And the award for best actress goes…to somepony else! Seriously guys, tell me! Is it that noticeable?” I flopped my ears around to emphasize the question. My tail flicked in annoyance after I didn’t get an answer. “That noticeable then.”

Sunny nodded. “Yeah but it could be worse. I’d say it gives you character.”

I opened my mouth to say something back when I noticed just how many scars she had. Whether I didn’t notice or never thought it important I had missed some very obvious ones. She had one that started just above and ended below her left eye; she had another that came up from her chin and stopped at her right cheek. Those were just the ones I could see on her face. Who knew how many others were beneath the leather duster coat she wore. It occurred to me as I was scanning the weathered coat that I don’t think I ever saw Sunny without it. Even in the stadium they had taken my armor and her HAT but let her keep the coat. Just like with the scars I either never thought it was important or cared enough but right now I was really annoyed that I had yet to see her cutie mark. I decided to let it go as every time I opened my mouth thus far about things like that I ended up doing more harm than anything else. I got back on all four hooves and sauntered over to the bulk of what was left of the ‘Ghost Walker’ as Sunny called it. I flicked my ear in irritation as it was going to take some time getting used to the feeling of air blowing through it.

“It’s unusual that you see one alone.” Sunny mused aloud. “Wonder if that means anything.” Sunny had followed me to its remains and kicked a piece of metal as she spoke. She had that same suspicious look in her eyes as she did in Stable 71. “Either way it looks like you’re getting the hang of surviving out here.” Sunny placed a hoof on my shoulder for a moment, probably the closest thing to a compliment I was going to get.

I nodded with a smirk. If I was going to bring my family out into the mess it would be wise to actually be able to teach them something rather than leech off of somepony else like I did. I waited for the heat of the explosion to die down before Grim and I both started picking through what little remained of the armor. And for a moment I wasn’t in the Wasteland. Something about the mindless act of doing technical work, something I had done for years in the stable, brought me a great sense of calm. After twenty minutes of digging and sorting what bits we found we had a pretty good idea what it was.

“This must have been top of the line technology, from what I can tell the suit had automatic hydraulics that could take over if the wearer was hurt or was otherwise incapacitated.” I started.

“And I found what looks like artificial muscle that I think could record the wearer’s movements and replicate them which is how it was able to fight us with a dead occupant.” Grim added.

“And?” Sunny raised a curious eyebrow.

“…Umm that’s it.” I sheepishly rubbed a hoof through my mane.

“Were we supposed to be looking for something?” Grim asked.

“I guess not. Shall we keep moving?” Sunny nodded her head in the direction we were supposed to be going.

As we got moving again I was still feeling the annoying sensation of the air going through my new ear hole, which reminded of something I had ignored before.

“Hey Sunny, how’d you get those scars?” I tried to ask as gently as I could, careful not to step on anypony’s hooves.

“These?” Sunny scoffed. “I’ve been on my own in the world since before I got my cutie mark. You don’t grow up to be my age in the wasteland without fighting the whole way and some fights leave marks on you, in more ways than one.” She pulled her hat down over her eyes as she finished.

That made me think she was talking about mental trauma. Which gave a lot of weight to Grim’s theory that something happened to her that created her other side. Some kind of intense suffering that fractured her mind into something outside her control. Maybe that was why she hid her cutie mark. Because she was ashamed of it or…or it linked to Downpour.

Before long, the terrain we were wandering was becoming more uniform, like it wasn’t natural. Across the fields were little lattice like nets of plastic on top of the dirt. If the namesake of our destination was any indication of what it was before the war then those plastic nets must have been what was left of where they rolled out the grass lawns. Not far in the distance were three buildings, a central one and two smaller ones to either side all surrounded by a brick fence with guard towers dotted along the length.

“That looks like a college. Think that’s the place?” a rhetorical question for sure as nopony answered.

We continued along the fence under the watchful eyes of whoever was inside the guard towers. After turning one corner along the wall we came to a double sided wrought iron gate with a security booth in between them. There wasn’t anypony in the booth and as we approached the gate we were stopped by a voice coming through a speaker on the wall above the left gate.

“Leave the premises immediately or we will be forced to take action.”

I saw the broken shell of where a camera had once been mounted and knowing they couldn’t see us gave me a bit of confidence.

“We are looking for somepony. Elder Lions sent us.” The voice behind the speaker was silent for a bit and I could hear the faint sounds of whispering in the background.

“The Steel Rangers huh? So be it. We are going to send some guards to the gate to let you in. Be prepared to surrender your weapons.” With a crackle the speaker fell silent. We stood in front of the gate waiting for the guards that were supposed to usher us in.

“I don’t like this.” Sunny started. “I’m not giving up my weapons, not again.”

I looked to Grim to see if he had something to say. “I think I’ll be fine.” He made a fist with his claws. “I’m never without a weapon.”

It was easy to forget that Grim had combat training given how fervently he kept us in good health.

“Okay, Sunny if you want to stay outside that’d be fine.”

“Ok, you two be careful in there and Grim? Keep an eye on this one.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“I’ll be keeping watch from across the way. There.” She pointed out across the empty streets to a two story apartment that had a good view of the gate and front of the College itself.

Grim and I nodded just as the gate was pulled back by two ponies while another two quickly moved forward and patted us down for our weapons. Grim and I surrendered them with little trouble and Sunny turned around and took her leave. The guards eyed her suspiciously as she went.

“Our companion wishes to stay outside, pay her no mind.” Grim spoke with a charming voice.

The guard scoffed dismissively. “Fine, follow me.”

We made the short walk to the main double doors that had its once vibrant red paint flaking in places and along the edges, revealing the aged cracked wood beneath it. The doors were opened and the hinges groaned in protest revealing a well maintained foyer. In front of us were two sets of stairs that went up and around a statue and met on the second floor. To the left, right and behind both sets of stairs were hallways that led out of the foyer. To each side of the door were glass trophy cases displaying various awards and accolades and above them were an assortment of flags, both from outside Equestria and other Equestrian territories. The statue between the two sets of stairs was of a unicorn mare with a starburst cutie mark wearing a formal suit with a neck brooch that matched her cutie mark. I felt like I knew who this mare was but couldn’t quite place where I had seen her before, if I had at all. The base of the statue read ‘Founder: Twilight Sparkle’ and with that I remembered. Twilight Sparkle led one of the six Equestrian ministries during the war. Twilight Sparkle and five other ministers essentially ran the country and only answered to Princess Luna herself. Twilight Sparkle led the Ministry of Arcane Sciences which explained why the College was so well maintained and hadn’t succumbed to the effects of time as others had. There were likely many spells and enchantments protecting the College making it possibly one of the safest places in the Baltimare Wasteland.

“I’m afraid the Director is not available right now to help you. You will spend the night here as our guests so if you would keep following us please.” The guards didn’t leave any room for argument.

We were in no position to refuse. I just hoped Sunny would be alright by herself for the evening. We were led down the hallway to the left of the foyer and out the door to the courtyard, heading to the next-door building. As we stepped outside I noticed that the sun had indeed dipped low into the sky. The building we were led into was one used for student lodging so the rooms were surprisingly well put together. The one we were to share for the night was simply furnished with two beds, one in each corner on opposite sides of the room with a tall window in between them and a dresser in front. The guards told us where we could find food and not to leave the dorm building until they came back to collect us. Despite the fact that, for the time being, we were practically prisoners I didn’t get that feeling. This place was great! A center of learning still intact and founded by one of the greatest mares who ever lived. We saw several other ponies moving about the hallways, retreating to their rooms for the night. They were dressed in modest scientist scrubs which only made my desire to explore the College grow larger. I felt a touch on my shoulder and turned to see Grim giving me a sympathetic look. A look that I could easily read. Now’s not the time. He was right, I wouldn’t be discovering anything until tomorrow. Grim and I picked up some food from the kitchen area and retreated to our room for the night.

“This place almost seems too good to be true huh?” I asked.

Grim waved his claw in a neutral expression. “I don’t know what to make of this place yet.”

“Well…hopefully we’ll get some answers from the Director tomorrow.”

The night passed by quickly and without dreams for which I was thankful for. Grim was up and about by the time I awoke and was looking very pleased with himself. “Sparks, when was the last time you bathed?”

I honestly hadn’t thought about it but Goddesses above I hadn’t cleaned myself since the day BEFORE I left the stable. Grim smiled at the look on my face and continued. “They have a shower room. The water works. It’s hot and it’s clean!”

My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as I leapt out of bed and eagerly followed Grim to the showers. Grim laughed as I hastily threw off my armor and almost tripped over it as I scrambled to the water handles. Grim left the room as I started to take off my jumpsuit and sighed in bliss when I felt the water hit my coat.

When I returned to the room Grim wasn’t there but I did find a note with an image of my cutie mark drawn on it. I curiously grabbed it with my magic and opened it. And what I saw scared me.

Underneath the text was a crude sketch of the College itself. Somepony was watching us and they had been inside our room.

Footnote: Level Up!
New Perk: Stable Shot – Your attacks are smooth and precise. You have a higher chance to score a critical hit on an enemy, equivalent to 5 extra point of luck.

Next Chapter: Chapter Eight: Mistakes of the Past Estimated time remaining: 28 Hours, 36 Minutes