Another day in the oh-so-wonderful wastes, Jabari mused as they left Fillydelphia behind in a drenching downpour as thunder cracked somewhere overhead, and trekked onwards to this apparently famous Junction Town. Personally, he didn’t see what was so great about it really, the zorse thought to himself. Just another outcropping in a sea of small towns that just so happened to honor a ‘hero’.

A hero, whom he might add basically did some unscrupulous things to get what she wanted. In his mind, Littlepip was no better than Red Eye. The two weren’t so different, really in some ways. Sure, Red-Eye resorted to slavery, but Littlepip could arguably be considered a mass murderer trying to justify a means to an end. She was after all, prone to bouts of outrage and went all trigger happy whenever this happened if the stories were true. Just ask the remnants of Arbu’s massacre. Hellmare indeed. He thought back to a conversation between him and Cannonball back in Tiria’s settlement…

“Cannon,” Jabari asked. “What, in your honest opinion was Littlepip like?”

Jabari was only a young buck then, about eleven years of age and still recovering from the death of his mother.

The large old rat stared down at him. He was an odd creature to be sure, hunched back like a diamond dog. His left leg gone and in its place a machine gun.

“Frankly I never met her. My species even if we are happy with what she did, we don’t trust ponies. She may be this Lightbringer but to us, she is just as bad as Red-Eye.”

“How so?” Jabari asked in surprise, considering for all his life he’d heard nothing but soaring praise for Littlepip from Homage’s radio show.

He sighed, looking away.

“It’s a long painful story little one. But ponies have attacked us all our lives. It took Tiria just for us to trust the ones we have with us. Thanks to what Wheeltread did to my species. Trying to buy us as slaves. Trying to own us, just chasing us from Manehatten to out here to this dump. Continuously saying that he owns us. We will be his, we will be his slaves. Naming us… Rat Creepers. Ponies to me if not all of them I digress are just as big as a threat they were in the war. You got to understand hatred will always last. No matter even if some did well.”

“Still not getting to the point, how was the Lightbringer as bad as Red-Eye?” Jabari pressed, his horn crackling with magic in his frustration.

He sighed, Jabari telling right off the bat that he didn’t want to talk about it. Not to someone so young.

“Please, hardly innocent anymore. I was forced to eat my own mother’s entrails, and watch someone get crucified!” Jabari deadpanned. “He deserved it all the same, but…” Jabari sighed, trailing off.

“Young age to my kind is a way of learning. But learning of evil is not something we wish. But…” Cannon sighed, taking a deep breath. I’m sorry to ruin your image of this perfect pony, but Littlepip, she murdered a town of ponies. Now she had every right to for what they did. But the eyes of my kind that is a threat. Now maybe I’m focusing to much on the hatred of the past,” Cannon sighed again, shaking his head. “But I always have learned no matter what a pony may have a good want to do what they do. But so did the war at first. I wasn’t there but my kind are what came from it.”

He sighed again.

“Maybe I’m too focused on what happened. But even though she is a hero to you and others,” Cannon took another deep hesitant breath. “To us, she could just turn into another threat. I don’t mean to be this way little one. Just after years and years of pain from them, It’s hard for most to understand.”

“I… I see.” Jabari whispered, and nodding his head with Cannon’s words leaving him a lot to think on.

And what did Littlepip get out of all of it in the end? Well, she became a god just like Red-Eye wanted, and one hell of a bad one really considering she wasn’t doing jack-shit to give the Wasteland any help against the Enclave. Sure, he knew she was stuck in that tower of hers, but she could easily send down lightning bolts from this manufactured storm of hers like some thunder goddess of old times to strike down Enclave aircraft.

In the end he, he supposed, time would judge them all. After all, was he any different than those two? Killing and slaughtering Raiders as he made his way to the Stable where he’d met up with Nimbus and the others. Raiders, in his mind, were just simply ponies just trying to make a living in this world. Sure, he didn’t sympathize with their methods, not by a long shot but at times he had to wonder, what was right or wrong in this world at times?

“Time judges us all,” Tiria had liked to say he remembered. “Time will judge us all.”

Jabari himself would admit this to be true. His own coat was covered in the blood of others, at least metaphorically. In actuality, it was machine oil but to him, those Pinkie-Bots deserved a second chance. They were living things too in a sense, were they not?

Thinking back, he remembered back to the fight at the factory, and how it ended. Sure, he like everyone else saw Pinkie herself manifesting as this hologram and kissing Twilight full on the lips, but did that Pinkie-AI really know how many ponies she killed, or came close to killing?

He suspected not.

Jabari found himself in the midst of chaos. This was definitely not what he signed on for. Kill some Raiders, kill some Enclave, not deal with mad robots! Firing a small blast from his horn, shorting out a robot, he groaned out in pain. He never really had been able to master magic. It was different for half-unicorns like him, they didn’t have so much control over magic as compared to say, a full-blooded unicorn. They were lucky if their magic didn’t go wild and spark chaotically. Certain spells, Jabari knew, could literally burn him up if he wasn’t careful.

“This is on you, Twilight Sparkle, fun-killer and ruiner of all parties! You could have chosen to support me, let the party continue forever! But no, instead you forced me to go cold-turkey!”

“I… I had to! There was no other way!” Twilight pleaded. “You weren’t yourself anymore, Pinks!”

“It’s not Pinkie, it’s just an AI who thinks it’s the real deal!” Stripped shouted, lining up a shot with his rifle, and pulling the trigger. A red beam of pure magical energy scythed through several bots, including one going for the crank gun rendering them to nothing but ashes.

“I was… I was doing fine,” the AI bellowed, seemingly choking over her speech as a holographic head of it’s basis appeared on a screen. “Until you had to come along, and take everything away from me! My friends, my life! My parties! I built my life around being a party pony, and you ruined it!”

“This, this is madness!” Stripped Gear shouted, before Jabari bore witness to the unicorn falling over the side of a railing. Jabari tried to reach out and catch him with his magic, but it was no use. Jabari let out a shout of despair, before he saw a distinctive stormcloud gray form dart down with the speed of a rocket after the pony.

He sighed in relief, before swinging around with Bleeding Edge and decapitating a Pinkie Bot. Pulling out a pair of SMGs from his foreleg holsters he’d nabbed from the NCR weapons cache back in No Mans Land, he let a group of them have it.

High above, Twilight was desperately trying to negotiate with the Pinkie-AI.

“Pinks…” Twilight whispered tearfully, drowning out all the sounds of chaos around her. “We’re friends, you know me.”

“We. Are. Not. Friends!” the AI screeched as Jabari’s SMGs ran out of ammo, and he tossed them aside. “You ruined that, when you told me to throw all of those Mint-Als down the toilet!”

“It was for your own good, and you know it!” Twilight shouted back, tears streaming down her face. “It's hard to believe that two ponies that seem to have so little in common could ever get along. But I found out that if you embrace each other's differences, you just might be surprised to discover a way to be friends after all.”

“What the hell is she doing?” Jabari asked, as with one wide swing, he cleaved a Pinkie-Bot’s head clean off its neck.

Nimbus’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Flashfire, please tell me you’ve got a lot of ammo stored up in that little command center of yours!” he shouted into the comms as he pulled out his pistol.

“Not a lot, but it should last me a good bit if anyone ever came a-knocking. Well, I’d go down in a flamboiement de gloire at least, if that’s what you’re asking, eh papillon?”

“Mate, no time to consider being suicidal, or going out in whatever the hell a flamboiement de gloire is!” Jabari heard Nimbus shout.

“Is… Is that gunfire?” Flashfire asked nervously.

“Oh, what, did you think it’s cello music?” Nimbus snapped in the most sarcastic tone possible. “You’re going to have incoming in a minute if me and Stripped here fall! Hold the line as long as you can, and protect Starglow above all else! Do you hear me? Protect Starglow!”

Then the familiar chant of “Fun!” started up again, and Jabari narrowed his eyes. He knew what he had to do. Concentrating all of his magic into his horn, and hoping and praying this wasn’t stupid as all hell, he teleported out in a flash of bright green light and just in time to cleave a Pinkie-Bot in half with his shock sword Bleeding Edge, engine oil splattering his face as the smoldering pieces fell to the ground in a heap.

Flashfire was unloading round after round into the oncoming hoard, after directing Starglow to a safe spot behind some storage crates, but eventually, he heard the clicking of empty cartridges and the pony’s eyes widened.

“Oh fuck…” he muttered, before Jabari tossed him his shotgun, and the air was filled with the sound of a loud boom as magical energy utterly smashed a Pinkie Bot’s head to nothing but small pieces of scrap metal and molten slag.

Behind her crate, Starglow’s eyes were darting right and left at the carnage, and she was whispering: “Pinkie… why? Why would you do this?”

Soon, her cover was exposed as one Bot tossed the crates aside, and Jabari’s eyes widened as he cleaved off another bot’s head and he let out a shout of: “NO!”

But nothing happened, the bot’s optics seemed to soften in recognition and instead she turned her guns back onto Jabari and Flashfire who were rapidly getting backed into a corner.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of gunfire, as Soulshine recovered and pulled out his minigun and let the bots have it, the sound of thunder filling the room as he cut down swath after swath of the murder-bots in what Jabari saw to be glorious fashion -His heart started to beat a little faster, even if he didn’t quite know the reason then- like some sort of knight in shining armor until eventually, it was all over. Not with a bang, but with a whimper as the bots all seemed to clatter to the ground for no reason at all. One by one, they fell, clattering to the floor as the lights faded from their optics.

“Okay, someone want to explain to me what the ‘ell just happened?” Nimbus’s voice boomed.

“Twilight Sparkle happened,” Gabby stated, with more than a hint of pride in her tone.

Eventually, they left the ponies to their own devices, asking if they wanted to follow along to Junction Town but Soulshine simply shook his head. He said they had dead to bury, give them their proper respects. Jabari couldn’t argue with that. What stunned Stripped Gear and Flashfire more, was Nimbus joining in on the twenty-one gun salute as they laid the bodies to rest.

Nimbus’s words? “It may have been a fool’s battle, but they went out like soldiers should have. They at least deserve that much. I’m a bastard, I fully admit that, and I probably do deserve the nickname I’ve been given by Stormy, but I have full respect for any kind of soldier.”

The any kind of soldier phrasing did set a few members on edge, given what it sorta implied but then again, Jabari mused, a former member of the Enclave would probably have some leftover attachment to his former comrades.

“Just a few miles up ahead, we should be in Junction Town by nightfall provided no unfortunate circumstances befall us!” Target had shouted, looking over the horizon of the wastes atop a small boulder through a viewfinder.

“Oh, like the unfortunate circumstances we always seem to run into every other day?” Riptalon deadpanned. Target, of course, ignored him. Eventually, the group arrived at the ruins of an old church devoted to someone called “Megan” and a rectory. Odd name, really, but Jabari had seen and heard worse.

Inside the ruined walls of the church, Jabari observed happy ponies prancing around grassy fields alongside a blond-haired bipedal figure. Places like Ponyland, Flutter Valley and such were dropped in old bibles, and inside the ruins of the main church itself was a tomb seemingly devoted to this Megan. The roof had caved in, the stained glass long since shattered and rain was pouring inside the old church, but the tomb remained intact, spells long since placed on it ages before protecting the occupant.

“Who was she?” Jabari asked, after reading through some of the various texts with a sense of melancholy for happier, worry-free times.

“Megan,” Twilight sighed, lighting a fire of magical purple flame to withstand the cold battering rain. “Very few texts actually survive to tell us who she was really, but what we do know was that she was this great hero, looked up to by all, even the Princesses in their young age. Guided them, showed them the way alongside their teacher in magic, Starswirl the Bearded.”

“You lot, you had it lucky really. Lot of other religions, whatever god or goddess they believe in, can't just have gone and talked to 'em if things got rough,” Nimbus muttered, speaking up for the first time since they’d entered this place. “You Equestrians...? Well, you could just saunter up to Canterlot Castle or someplace like here and Bob's your uncle.”

“Never took you for the religious type Nimbus,” Riptalon remarked in surprise.

“Considering where I grew up, you'd probably be more surprised if I didn't believe in a higher power.” Nimbus deadpanned.

“Heh, some higher power and some goddess if she let your precious country and the rest of the world get all turned to Hell.” Riptalon snarked.

“...Fair point.” Nimbus was forced to admit.

“By Celestia’s ne-” Jabari whispered softly, quickly stopping himself upon remembering what a holy site this was. “I never knew how far back your history went. I just have to wonder, when did it all go so wrong? And why?”

“That’s… that’s a story I’d like to know myself honestly. It’s a question I ask myself every few days or so.” Twilight replied sadly, shaking her head.

“All because of some damned rock from the stars,” a new voice said, as a zebra leaped down from a windowsill, some sort of glyph adorning her flank. She wore various beads and necklaces, alongside a tattered brown cloak and some gold hoops through her right ear. “I found that rock you know, and it still infuriates me to this very day that the damned war was started over some bloody damned superstition over your Princess being this demon from the stars amongst other brands of shit.”

All of the ponies gave the zebra a look, glaring at her for swearing in such a holy site, and in front of a child. She had the decency to wince, at least for this second reason. “I apologize, Princess Twilight.”

“Y-You know who I am?” Twilight asked in shock, stuttering slightly. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have been surprised. Ponies will talk, especially after she basically committed a Sonic Rainboom in miniature at the battle of No Man’s Land.

“How many kinds of fool do you take me for, eh?” the zebra asked. “I mean, if the appearance alone wasn’t enough, your little stunt’s all over the wire now.”

Twilight groaned, her suspicions confirmed.

“I’m sorry, who are you again?” Riptalon asked in suspicion, reaching for Lawgiver. Never hurt to be cautious these days. Some may have called him paranoid, but was it really that when every criminal gang in the wastes was out to get you?

“Xenith.” the zebra answered simply.

“...Right, you’re one of Littlepip’s posse aren’t you?” Riptalon remembered, smacking himself in the head for not remembering sooner. He’d heard her described, and even seen her in Junction Town once or twice before he went rogue.

“Yeah, suppose you could put it that way,” Xenith replied, and trotted up to one of the church pews and sat herself down upon it, the seat creaking under her weight. “So, came to Megan’s church eh?”

“Yeah, just for a quick break really,” Twilight said. “Rest our weary legs.” she continued, gesturing to Starglow who was nearly fast asleep by this point. Jabari honestly pitied the poor girl, wondering what kind of nightmares she’d have after seeing the Pinkie-Bots. To him, they were just ghosts of a long-dead mare, but to Starglow? She probably knew the real Pinkie more or less if what he’d heard was correct.

Taking out a small little violin from his saddlebags, along with a bow, he began to strum a soft song that Xenith recognized, and gave him a “Really?” look. Jabari rolled his eyes.

“It’ll soothe her to sleep, but I would like a vocalist. My singing voice… well, let’s go with it being fairly terrible and leave it that eh?”

“Fine, fine, but let it be known I’m during this under duress, and only for a filly,” Xenith mumbled before she began to croon out a soft song about a mysterious land as Jabari’s soft playing against the strings created this beautiful, wonderous sound. Seems everyone had their hidden talents.

“When you're walking alone seeking company and wine
In an unfamiliar city with its spires in the sky
She'll be all by herself under flickering streetlight
Her eyes will pull you in and then she melts into the night

“She'll slide to your side and compliment your stance
She'll stroke your rank and ego, promising a chance
She hangs on every word as you take in her perfume
Her laugh's bewitching music, you'll belong to her soon

“And she'll say --- Take me down to Zebratown
There's a place we can dance the night away
Drinks will flow, I'll dip, you sway
Once we're down in Zebratown to stay…”

Soon, Starglow was fast asleep, with Twilight pulling closer against her barrel with her wings to keep her warm.

“Does beg one to wonder, whatever happened to these places, like Ponyland and this Flutter Valley,” Nimbus pondered. “I’d honestly, at some better time when all this blows over, would like to find out. Go on a explore, just some grand adventure and find out for meself. Uncover a bit of lost history and all that.”

“Trust me,” Riptalon said. “This gets me curious. I’m not one for pony history, normally wouldn’t give a flying feather, but even I admit I want to know where you guys came from. So, if this was a better time and place you could count me in, I’d promise you that.” he smiled. Suddenly, Xenith’s ears perked up, and she motioned for silence. Twilight quickly put out the fire as everyone quieted down.

“Knew that song was a bad idea. Something’s coming,” she whispered out. “Hide, make yourselves scarce!” she hissed, as everyone got to cover, hiding behind ruins as Target, Jabari, Gabby and Twilight ushered Starglow out of the area leaving only Nimbus, Riptalon and Xenith behind to face the oncoming threat.

“Please let it be a deathclaw…” Riptalon muttered, readying Lawgiver.

“Why, oh why, are you wishing for a Deathclaw?” Xenith asked in disbelief.

“What, never heard of Claw baiting?” he asked in return, and Xenith gave him a look.

“You’re an idiot,” she told him, with Nimbus just looking confused.

“What’s Claw baiting?”

“Well, if we survive this, I’ll tell you,” Riptalon replied as several Enclave troops in Stormy’s employ judging by their armor color busted in the door, only to be faced with Xenith holding a combat knife made of some unknown metal that glinted in the moonlight, and one very pissed off Ursagryph and former Enclave soldier.

“Hope you realize you’re in a house of God here, right?” Xenith snarled, eyes narrowing and leveling her blade. “You defile this sanctum.”

“Pretty sure he’s already tainted this church,” one of the soldiers said pointing to Nimbus before a shot rang out and he slumped to the floor dead, a hole in his helmet and blood pooling out.

“I beg to differ,” Nimbus commented. “I agree with the zebra. Only ponies tainting this place, you and your lot.”

And so a battle broke out, guns firing and blades meeting, Xenith, she had this almost dancelike-style as she gracefully ripped into the armor of the soldiers -Dodging every shot as she did so- with her starmetal coated knife, finishing the last one by shoving it right into his jugular. He gurgled a bit, before falling to the floor.

Nimbus made a small grimace of disgust at the sight after the short little skirmish was over and sighed and shook his head. “Really hated doing that, not sure why.”

After Riptalon wiped some of the blood out of his fur, he remarked: “Ya know, I think it's sorta an irony thing. Thou shall not kill, right?”

Nimbus shrugged. “Ah, I was never one for following rules anyhow. You should know that by now. Thou shall not steal, right? Sure as Hell been doing plenty of that.”

“...And cursing in a house of God.” Xenith muttered quietly to herself.

“No, I just have to wonder, what’s the point of it all? This killing, there’s just no bloody fucking point is there? No point at all… By Gusty the Great, this whole thing is just a bloody waste of time. In the end, all we’re going to do is kill ourselves over the orders of a madman. Sometimes I wonder, why I don’t just leave this entire Wasteland to rot in its filth.”

“Because,” Riptalon said, laying a claw on the pony’s shoulder. “Not the kind of pony you are. Sure, you’re a grade A asshole and a dick who could learn a bit of tact, but you’ve got a good heart and besides, I highly doubt you’d leave till you settle your score with Stormy, and find your brother.”

His resolve returning, Nimbus nodded.

“Well then,” he stated. “Can’t find him just by sitting around here eh? Soon as this storm passes, we get moving. Tally-Ho!”

And it wasn’t even that next morning, Gabby spotted something from atop a cliffside. Small buildings, and train cars in the distance along with a statue glinting in the early morning sunrise. “It’s here, Junction Town! Just over this next pass!”

And Nimbus smiled. Maybe, just maybe he could get a little peace. And find a bar to hole himself up in. Celestia knew he needed a fucking drink.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so, yeah. First off, apologies for the month-long wait. Had to really figure out how to tie this chapter in with the ending of the last. I do want to explain I don't share my views about Littlepip with Jabari. Sure, mare did some fairly terrible things, but to say she's as bad as Red-Eye? Going a bit far I think.

Still, I do believe showing someone else's perspective on her was a good idea (Thank you Malla for writing Cannonball's lines) and gave Jabari a bit more of a character. Now, if only I could figure out how to do the same with Gabby and Starglow.

Speaking of characters, Xenith. Wanted to include her, as the poor girl gets so little love in this fandom anyways, and she's a badass zebra. Also, Megan and all the G1 references. Figured it'd be an interesting if not melancholy twist, and I know Malla's included G1 references in his universe as it is.