Nimbus Breaker, Personal Memoirs
(Extracted from the archives by Calypso, daughter of former Enclave President Winter Breeze)

Okay, my thoughts I admit are conflicted. It’s been a rough ass last couple of months truth be told. Right fuckin’ pain up the jacksie. (Okay yes, I admit I still do celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, thank you Madam Winter for that!) ...Oh, by Celestia’s withers, where do I begin? Welp, suppose I should start from the very beginning. There are certain things I will omit for the time being, considering what others in the NCR would probably think of me if certain truths were to come to light, but for the most part, anyone who happens to read these memoirs will get the full frontal truth as it were.

Well, so I know who I am now. Nimbus Breaker, one of Stormy Skies’ right hoof ponies. What’s that old saying? Ah, oh yes. Now I remember. “She raises up your enemies with her right hoof and she smites you with her left.” Seems to be more and more prophetic every day, really at times.

Might have to resort to some guerrilla tactics soon next time I go into war -As if you could describe it as anything else- against Stormy Skies’ forces. Take for instance, Claw-Baiting. What you basically do with that is, find a Deathclaw and somehow lure it to your enemies and get the Hell out of the area before it mauls you. Then, you just clean up whatever mess is left over. Generally, the flaw in this plan, aside from having to tick off a Deathclaw, is dealing with a Deathclaw -More often than not, a Matriarch as they’re the easiest to piss off- once all is said and done with. Not a very fun prospect. I can see why Henri called Riptalon stupid whenever he suggested it. I’d call it bloody suicidal. Emphasis on bloody.

There’s warfare, and then there’s stupidity.

Lady Celestia above… Still can’t believe Stormy Skies was stupid enough to go off and align himself with the remnants of the Nightmare Society and get himself stocked up on enough IMP to go full-on Alicorn. Bloody crazy bastard. The day I shoot him in the head is the day my life will be complete.

-Addition by Calypso Breeze, a brief detailing information on the Nightmare Society and the mare known as the Firebrand-

Serenity’s notes: “Liar! This is hardly what I’d called brief!”

The Nightmare Society, that’s a particular Wasteland horror story most of us would rather forget. Me and my mother managed to trace some of their history going back centuries, and if you’ll excuse the pun it’s a real from nopony to nightmare story.

The best we can tell they originated as a small cult decades before the Great War, before Nightmare Moon even returned. They acted in secret under the direction of their High Priestesses and seemed to have had members as high up as the pre-war nobility. The cult worshiped Nightmare Moon as a Goddess, and was anticipating her return upon the Summer Solstice of the thousandth year where they believed they would become high ranking members of her new court.

I guess they didn’t expect Twilight Sparkle and her friends to defeat her like they did (extra note: For some additional irony I’ve found some evidence that Twilight may have traced her family line back to Luna herself, but that’s just speculation). And so with their Goddess defeated, they had to retreat back into hiding.

There’s not a lot of information about the Society between the defeat of Nightmare Moon and the Megaspell exchange at the end of the Great War. Most of it seems to have been lost or hidden away, but what we have found is troubling.

As evident by the files recovered from Stable 109 by the now deceased Lieutenant Bright Feather during what is referred to as the Mount Pleasant Island Incident, (Possibly the most ironic name for an Island if there ever was one I must add) the Society endured. It seems that a low-level Priestess named Penumbra managed to secure a position as the Overmare of the Stable along with other members of the cult, and turned it into their new Temple.

They slowly spread out of the Stable and met up with survivors of the Megaspell exchange in the nearby town of Lost Cove. Having a mixed relationship with them, the Society would often send missionaries to it and the other settlements on Mount Pleasant Island. However, it wasn’t until the crash of Enclave Vertibuck E419 that they truly posed any sort of threat.

Lieutenant Bright Feather was eventually successful in driving the Society away with the help of the locals, but not without great cost. In retrospect, perhaps if she hadn’t shown mercy towards the Society, so many lives wouldn’t have been ruined. I don’t mean that mercy is a bad thing, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Given the nature of IMP exactly how the Society first found it is unknown. What is known is that once they had it they used it to begin a mass conversion, the true nightmare had begun. When they started to run out, they even found the refined IMP left behind by the Crimson Empire (see records on the NCR-Imperial War and Dr. Ruby Starlight for more).

But this is also where the Society made its gravest mistake, and as a result created its own greatest enemy. As they raided the settlement of Pearl they took a young Unicorn mare named Ember, and they made her a weapon, a brand they would light to lead their forces in victory against Equestria, a mare that would come to be known as Firelight, the Firebrand of the South.

But what they could never anticipate was that Firelight would by a twist of the fates, become separated from the Society. She made friends with some locals and began to question everything the Society had ever taught her. She was instrumental in the removal of the Society Puppet Mayor of Nightingale Iron and the disruption of the Society’s hijacking of the airwaves through the local DJ Vox Populi.

The fact of the matter is, the Society had opened a bottle, and let the most dangerous of genies out. As I later learned, Firelight had a fragment of Celestia’s power in her, one that when drawn upon would make her powerful, and dangerous.

At the same time thanks to one of Firelight’s companions, another IMP Alicorn named Moonlight who had been exposed to Star Metal to draw out her own fragment from Luna to make her more like Nightmare Moon, a schism began to form in the Society. With Alicorns jumping away, the High Priestess at the time began to spread north into unaffiliated settlements.

There are a lot of details that we could go into here, but the conflict with the Society finally came to a head with the Battle of Haythens and the fall of the Temple. Between the schism and a potion created by the Mendi Doctor Neivi that was able to neutralize the High Priestess as a threat.

Firelight survived the war with the Society and along with her friends have settled down and helped the southern jungle rebuild and formed an alliance that still stands to this day. She and Neivi live together in Nightingale these days with their adopted daughters, with the threat of the Society long gone the brand no longer has to be lit.

Now, of course, even with the troubles in the jungles dealt with, doesn’t mean the nightmare of the Society story had to end. Oh no, crap like that never does. Apparently, the remnants managed to hook up with a fellow pony who was on desperate times. One Mr. Stormy Skies, the leader of a certain religion-based sect of the Enclave. You know, the ones who will strike you down with the ‘Wraith of Celestia” and all that?

Yeah, them.

Desperation can make ponies do some strange and crazy things, and for the record, I have to say nothing’s crazier than teaming up with Stormy Skies, or Stormy Skies teaming up with the Nightmare Society. As I said, I guess hindsight is 20/20. We should have seen that one coming a mile away.

The Morningstar, or as most people who aren’t on his hit list know him better as Nimbus Breaker had every right to hate them, especially after what he learned they did to his family. Turned them inside out, in a way. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t crack under all the pressure the war with Stormy Skies’ sect put him under. I honestly wouldn’t blame him if he had. Hell, for all I know he did. It’s very telling he doesn’t say much about them or his war with them nowadays and all we know about the war with them comes from these journals or word of mouth. If you ask Nimbus, he closes up.

As Scootaloo once said to me: “The future holds infinite possibilities, that very moment your heart began to beat. Your destiny is set in motion, doesn’t mean you have to follow it. If fate’s lined up its path for you, just break the chains that hold you to it.” I know, possibly a bit poetic of her but I can see her point.

Nimbus, fate had a plan in mind for him, strings tying him down and did he let them control him like he was just a puppet? No, he broke those strings. Snapped them clean in two.

Nimbus once said on the people suffering on Stormy Skies’ tyranny and his possible fear of him: “My race: the pegasi you demonized and excommunicated, has fought and died through generations for this country. I do this thing... for Equestria, and her ponies, and her griffons, and her zebras and all her species. None of us pegasi have to know you all. And yet we do it anyway. And it's not the dying that frightens us; it's never having stood up and fought for you. I'm Nimbus Breaker. Of the Enclave, of the NCR, and of Equestria. And dying... has never frightened me. Stormy Skies, he can send his sick fucks at me and Equestria’s defenders however much he likes, but I will be there to meet them every time. No, that’s not right. We will be there to meet them every time.”

So, in the end, I’d say Stormy Skies met his worst nightmare if you forgive the poor joke.

-End of Addition-

Serenity’s notes: “You call that brief?”

Calypso’s notes: “Oh shut up.”

I guess me and Stormy are two birds of a kind, in a way. We both want to fight for our survival amongst the ranks, prove we’re worthy of calling Equustria home. His way however, it’s not the way of the Equine kind. No, it’s the way of a madman. Like the legendary Discord of old, he causes only destruction, chaos and disorder in his wake. He preaches order and serenity, but his actions are anything but of somepony looking for accord and harmony. If anything, and this would probably be high treason to some folks if they ever read this but I’d probably throw my lot in with Winter Breeze if worse comes to worst and allies aside from the NCR are needed to take Stormy down.

He’s a mad dog, and like all mad dogs, he must be… euthanized.

Honestly, and I know again this is probably bordering on high treason to certain higher-ups in the NCR but we may need to think of allying ourselves with Winter Breeze, maybe foster a peace treaty if only to finally bring this bloody age to an end. We need to evolve as a species, move past our old prejudices. Agh, sounds very new-age hippie of me I suppose, but truth be told it’s like a cycle at times. War, war never ends and it never seems to change. Maybe it’s high time it does that.

In the meantime, I must resign myself to the endless cycle of bloodshed and violence until a new, better way is found.

Ironically, to end this cycle new weapons must be developed. Ones to destroy Stormy’s madness at his very routes. I’ve handed off the plans we found at Starlight’s lab on Mount Pleasant Island off to that unicorn, Stripped Gear to see what he can do with them. Celestia knows, even as spread thin as Stormy’s forces are they’ve got powerful allies and powerful weaponry. His Dust Devils for example, armed with Gatling guns and if the rumors were true far more powerful explosive weapons. When it comes to fighting in the skies, the NCR is sadly very much outgunned.

Again, another reason why I say we should ally ourselves, if only out of convenience with Winter. She has the majority of anti-air capability, and quite a few Dust Devils, Vertibucks, and if the rumors are true her own personal powerhouse of a Cloudship called the Nightingale.

Celestia knows if we ever want to bring the Wastes to a truly lasting peace, we may need to start asking some hard choices, and then start making them even if we don’t have to like ‘em.

I’ve heard of what became of Arbu, after the massacre. Prison got built up on top of it, nowadays houses war criminals from the very first fight for freedom of the Wastes, including some family relations of the famous Deadshot Calamity. Still, I don’t know why I get compared to him by a few ponies but as the Prench used to say… C’est la vie I guess.

Few of them? Who knows, maybe they might start showing signs of changing their ways, probably a long shot but it’s worth thinking about. If there’s any threat to the Wasteland that warrants us bringing out a few old dogs like them, it’d be Stormy Skies and some of the Hardliners I know Winter’s just barely keeping at bay.

I know Stormy’s probably thinking the same thing as well, so I would suggest to the NCR that they make a move on this place, gain a few allies. I’d like to think that it’s quite easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself or herself as your enemy is the quintessence and real challenge of a battlefield. The other is mere business. A wise buck would get more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends I think.

And just in case things go sour, well I’ve got a plan for that as well. A new weapon. Named for an old piece of poetry about the infamous Thunderbird of Equestria’s southern jungles.

“Songbird, Songbird, see him fly,
drop the children from the sky.
When the young ones misbehave,
escorts children to their grave.
Never back-talk, never lie,
or he'll drop you from the sky!”

That’s how the poem goes. As for me, I have my own Songbird now, and it has a song of peace to sing.

From the personal logs of Riptalon Hawkwind
(Extracted from the archives by Serenity, adopted daughter of Stable-Tec Executive Scootaloo Dash)

Ugh, can someone just shoot me in the face right now? Honestly, all those stares from those ungrateful bastards in the NCR are starting to get on my nerves. Throw me out into combat with the fucking Enclave anyday, not deal with these bozos.

I can see why Gawd had a rough time integrating Talon Company in with the Wastelanders, difficult bunch to deal with. Hand them proof on a silver platter practically gift-wrapped for you, and they still won’t accept it.

Granted, Nimbus is saying the same thing about me and continuing disbelief of Midnight being a traitor and ratting us out to Stormy Skies so I suppose I have no room to talk really.

Bastard, complete and utter bastard. That’s what that pegasus is, even if I admit he is a really damn good shot. Saved our lives, and more importantly Starglow’s life (What, so sue me! I’m getting attached to the little filly!) a few times when we were coming here with those sharpshooter abilities of his.

Doesn’t even bother to use The Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell or S.A.T.S for shorthand over half the time if what I heard from Target is correct. So I will give him this, bastard or no he could really give Deadshot Calamity a run for his money in the aiming department. Maybe we should set up a firing range, just for fun Henri suggested, compare notes between those two and see who really is the better shot.

Didn’t know Nimbus was poetic though, as apparently he’s named his newly acquired rifle Songbird after some old piece of poetry originating from the jungles of Southern Equestria. Songbird, he calls it. Of all things! Sings the song of peace, he states. Beautiful instrument of destruction, I’ll give him that much. Gold trimmed, with a silver dragon on the side and a heck of a lot of oak wood detailing as well. A deadly weapon, from a far more civilized age I suppose.

But back to my current problem. Henri and Regina both put in good words for me, and the President of the NCR and Firebright’s words both go a long way here, but still doesn’t stop the citizens from distrusting me and my guns. It’s like they think I’ll turn Lawgiver on them on any given moment.

Can’t say I blame ‘em I suppose in the long run, as in hindsight I did make maybe too much of a show killing off those traitorous bilge rats back when I first started on my mission.

On a brighter note, Xenith (Lovely gal) says she’s trying to pull in a favor with the local weapons master, do some work on my knives. Get them reforged and made sharp enough to cut through Enclave Power Armor. Not sure how she’s going to do that, but… If she manages to pull it off I’ll owe her a favor. And I always repay those.

Always have, ever since my early days in the Talons. Actually, even before that really. If you’ll allow me to regale you with a tale?

Did I ever tell you how I was inducted into Gawd’s Talons? Welp, this was some odd twenty years ago when the Wasteland was even crappier than it is now, but saved Gawd’s life if you can believe it. I was just a young punk then, about fifteen or so just coming out of the stable. Give or take a few years, memory’s not as good as I’ve like it to be. Had just a few caps to my name, a six-gun strapped to my side and my lucky knife -Which I still carry to this day- called Hellhound’s Bane. Found Gawd and some of her talons including a very young Regina pinned down under Raider fire. Apparently, Gawd was taking Regina out for her first hunt, her first bounty collection. Guess they start ‘em off young in Talon company.

Anyways… Turns out the guy they were chasing after? Learned of Gawd coming to strike him down and hired a Hell of a lot of Raiders to protect them. Fuckton of ‘em really. Gawd had managed to take down a few, but she and Regina were pinned behind some rocks and ammo was getting rather low from what she told me. So, out of the goodness of my heart and I still don’t quite know why I did it even today, did what I did best. Made a show of things by first mimicking the call of a Deathclaw getting those Raiders spooked, before charging in the midst of all the chaos and began to start slitting throats.

Saving her daughter’s life like that? Not something Gawd took lightly, and when I got shot in the leg by a lucky Raider she went to town on him and ripped him apart with her bare claws. Afterwards, she said if a wanderer like me ever needed a place in life just come to her. Flash forward a few years, and needing quite a bit of money to pay back a nasty form of loan shark I gladly took her up on that offer and found myself amongst the ranks of the Talons. Just like that. Repaid my debt to that shark, and well, turns out the Talons aren’t happy if you harm one of their own and when they found out I was being hunted they took the ass out and allowed me my share of the spoils. Funny that, really. Guess Karma really is a bitch.

They always said mothers should never let their babies grow up to be cowgriffons, or in this case Talon Company members, but man oh man they should retract that rule. Best choice of my life I ever made. Got me quite a bit of caps on the side, and a rep for getting things done when needed. Plus, I became feared by anyone with any amount of sense. Made infiltrating the gangs of the Wastes that much easier after I went ‘rogue’. Nobody wants the Blackhawk after their ass it seems.

Now, how do I get Nimbus into bed with me? Yes yes, I know you may be thinking what the flying fuck mate? You hate his scrawny little ass! But in some aspects, I beg to differ. Not so scrawny really, in that form-fitting suit of his… hoo boy, man it looks tight! And I do mean tight! Just because I hate his guts, doesn’t mean I can’t admire him.

By Celestia’s Withers, I’d love to have some of that. Angry, rough sex. Put that asshole in his place, see if he can really handle me and want to boss me around after all that, the dick. And yes, that word choice was fully intentional.

-Addition by Serenity Dash, a brief detailing information on her thoughts on all of that-

Two words. EWWWW! and disgusting! I so didn’t need to find any thoughts on things like that in Riptalon’s logs! God, now I need some brain bleach to scrub that mental image out of my head. Celestia, I’ll never be able to look at either of them the same way again! If this ever gets chronicled into a book, leave those thoughts out of it please guys!

-End of Addition-

Oh just fuck me with a ten-foot pole, maybe he is right and I’m just lying and denying it to myself, that Midnight really was a traitor. The facts, if I stare at them logically do seem to add up. To repeat Nimbus’s own words on the subject no matter how much I hate to do so…

“Stormy’s very willing to ally himself with anyone, as long as it furthers his cause. So as much as I hate to admit it, Midnight’s a very good candidate for ratting us out. Twilight was never with us for all the time, so she didn’t know everything we were doing right up till we got in contact with her, she didn’t know we were coming to the island, and besides, given how much she hates the Enclave, and their ideals, and believes she failed Equestria and it’s populace, do you really think she’d ally herself with someone who would destroy everything the nation was once founded upon? A madman who takes Celestia’s beliefs of forgiveness and such, and twists them in such a way to suit his own madness and delusions?”

That’s what he said, and the writing’s on the wall. What’s that old phrase? The truth being a bitter pill to swallow? Damn, if Nimbus is right then this really is one bitter little pill. Goddess, I don’t know. I… I just need time to think about this honestly, that’s all I need. Time. In the end, that’ll judge us all and in the end, it’ll judge me and Midnight but for the time being until actual proof comes to life that he was a traitor I will consider him a hero who died honorably. That is all I will say on the matter.

Junction Town:

“You’re all kinds of stupid, you know that right?” Gabby asked as she observed Nimbus’ bent wing. Nimbus himself, he was laying on his back on a metal table with his wings being pointed upwards. His damaged wing, Flashfire observed, tt wasn’t broken beyond any sort of repair, but it was in fairly nasty shape and in a position no wing probably should have been in. “I swear, diving in after a unicorn you just met and barely knew in a combat zone! You didn’t even know how tough that armor the NCR gives out is, and if would save your life and break your fall!” Gabby continued to rant in the background.

“Hey, it was either that or letting Stripped go splat on the ground,” Nimbus remarked. “Never lose sight of any potential allies. Allies, like chickens and curses come home to roost in a way, if you believe that old pegasi saying.”

“Several kinds of damn fool, and then some…” Gabby muttered, before breaking out into a laugh. “Granted, this is from the griffon ghoul who traveled all around the post Day of Sunshine and Rainbows Wastes where radiated water was scarce as some sort of avenging angel protecting those in need.”

“Yeah, been meaning to ask you about that actually,” Nimbus remarked. “I mean, to find a good source of radiation these days, you’d have to go pretty bloody damn far out of your way. Like to Southern Equestria or something like that, and those uncharted places are pretty much the closest place we have to Hell on Equus here.”

“...What, like the rest of Equestria isn’t Hell on Equus?” Gabby seemingly joked, but Nimbus knew better. She was deflecting, trying to get the line of conversation flowing to a different topic. He’d done it often enough, for Celestia’s sakes so he knew when and how to recognize it. Nimbus would be having none of that particular line of utter bullshite on his watch.

“True, but still… Really, where are you getting your Rads?” Nimbus asked, or rather pressed. Gabby was one of those in his party that was a mystery to him, not really talking that much about herself. She was an enigma to him, he aimed to change that. Nimbus didn’t like not knowing things. Especially important things. “And I have to ask, you’re always so cheery. Kinda a hard attitude to maintain this great whacking pile of shite we happen to live in. How do you manage it?”

“You mind shutting up, while I put this wing of yours back into place?” Gabby grunted out before handing Nimbus a bottle of medicine. “Drink this, help dull the pain. Or not, your choice.” She’d studied basic field medicine. She’d had to, just in case she ever had to patch herself up. She may have been undead, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be damaged.

“Still deflecting, and I won’t drink that. I want to be awake, just so I can talk to you.” Nimbus remarked.

“Fine, your choice. It’ll hurt like hell though.” Gabby returned.

“Been hurting like hell ever since I crashed and burned,” Nimbus replied simply, as Gabby began pulling the damaged wing straight with Flashfire holding another part of it down. “I’ve been tortured, I think I can stand this for a little while longer.”

“You’re all kinds of fools and then some, you know that?” Gabby deadpanned.

“You’re not the first to tell me that,” Nimbus snarked even as he grunted out in pain as Gabby began forcing his wing back into place, perhaps with a bit more effort than was necessary. “And I doubt you’ll be the last.” His wing, it would probably have been dealt with a long time ago, but nobody had ever really gotten the chance to do so between all the running and gunning since they’d left Fillydelphia’s factory.

Gabby groaned, Nimbus was a stubborn bastard and probably wouldn’t budge on his stance no matter what you do. He was like a brick wall in some ways. Just as unmoving and unwavering. You’d have to knock down his ideals completely for them to change even in the slightest. Depending on the situation, this was either a good thing or a bad thing. For the Wastelands, it was a good thing as he was dead-set on putting down the rabid dog known as Stormy Skies. For her, it was a bad thing as he would keep on pressing her till he found out the truth. Best she gave him at least some of it, to appease him for the time being really. Plus, she supposed having someone to talk to about these things, and get them off her chest would be therapeutic for her in the end. At least that’s what some of the ponies and other critters back in that town devoted to that wolf stated. Crow, that little bugger, he was a particularly stubborn proponent of this.

“...I kill. I don’t want to, but I kill,” Gabby whispered. “Oh, suppose it wouldn’t be so bad I guess given you have to kill to survive out here but when it’s against your fellow Ghoulkind who are dropping by the day anyways given the aforementioned lack of reliable radiation…”

She let out an almost feral screech, unnerving Nimbus even as Gabby swung out her front forearm and smashed a bunch of medical supplies, the contents inside dripping to the floor and glass flying everywhere with some of it cutting into Nimbus’s skin drawing blood.

“Gabby…” Nimbus whispered, dropping his emotionless mask for just a moment.

“I’m committing genocide against our own kind! Ghoulkind! In a way, that makes me no different than Stormy Skies, who just wants to kill all but those who don’t follow his beliefs of pegasi superiority! Tell me Nimbus, how does that make you feel, working with someone who’s not so different from your own arch-enemy!?!” Gabby shouted, tears streaming down her face. She hadn’t noticed the drawn blood, or if she did she was too caught up in her own emotions to even care.

“Actually, it does,” Nimbus stated. “Stormy, he doesn’t give a flying fuck as to what he kills, all in the name of his bloody religion and whatever God it stands for -Cause I doubt Celestia would approve- as he’s gone off the deep end and into just over-the-top new lands of just plain snake-fuckingly crazy!” he stated, complete with hoof gestures. “You, you haven’t. You’re simply killing to survive, just like the rest of us.”

“Not the way I would have put it,” Flashfire remarked. “Might probably have been with more delicacy and less crassness but can’t deny he’s got a point.”

“Yeah, tell that to the ghouls I beheaded or ripped to ribbons…” Gabby murmured to herself, fighting back tears. “You know, a while back I was in Southern Equestria, deep in the jungles…” she began.

Gabby was not a happy griffon. Far from it. “Welcome to the Jungle, we have fun and games!” that radio broadcast had stated. She laughed in disgust. It was hot, muggy, raining and the undergrowth and the very treetops were filled with every sort of thing imaginable that wanted to kill you.

Honestly, she was so far from home or anything that could even be remotely called a home of any sort because of one simple singular reason. Or one simple singular pony, to be exact. The Lightbringer, the Toaster Repairpony, the Hellmare. Littlepip. After she’d broken the Enclave’s cloud cover over the world, and started to control the weather she’d also brought good clean water to most of Equestria. And for ghouls like Gabby, that presented a problem.

Sure, there was the occasional presence of stuff like Aqua Cura that showed up every now and then with unicorns using some of their magic to infuse water with artificial radiation but it wasn’t exactly a popular aspect amongst many as radiation ruined Equestria and not a lot of creatures were keen on having more of that stuff out there.

Gabby remembered a quote from Littlepip, having read it in that book of hers. “I would fight to make that bright and innocent past our future once again. Even if it means dashing myself against the evil and cruelty of this wasteland until there is nothing left of me. And then, when I am too broken to go on, I will float my dying body right down the throat of the darkness and make it choke on me.”

What a damn hypocrite, Gabby thought to herself. She only fought for the future of ponies, not thinking about the repercussions and what effects using the S.P.P would have on everyone else.

So, in the end, what was the lesson and what was the takeaway? Don’t follow the Lightbringer’s teachings, it would only wind up getting you killed in the end. Steelhooves could attest to that.

Some may have had differing opinions, and some may have called Gabby a bitch her friend Scootaloo included but frankly Gabby didn’t give a damn about what others thought at about this particular moment. Slowly trudging through the thick undergrowth, hacking and whacking her way through the vines and foliage that presented themselves in front of her, she sighed in relief when she finally stumbled across a pool of water that was literally glowing with radiation.

It was a small pool, almost tiny in fact but it was like an oasis in the deserts of Saddle Arabia to her at that very moment.

Trouble was, she wasn’t the only ‘camel’ to have stumbled across such an oasis. Other ghouls, looking just as desperate as her by the gleam in their eyes were stumbling out of the woodland.

Gabby’s claws sharpened, she knew she would have to fight for her life, and for this little pool. That pool, in this very moment, was her life in fact. Gabby, letting out a shriek charged her claws bared and slammed into the first of the three enemy ghouls tackling him to the ground, before she raised her claw and struck slashing open the ghoul’s face in an ugly gory mess with an eyeball even hitting her in the face.

Her wings bared, she let out a hiss like some sort of monstrous cat daring the other two to come closer and suffer the same fate as their fellow. Seemingly driven into a vengeance-filled fury for the loss of their fellow, the two others did.

Gabby slammed one up against a tree, choking the ghoul on its windpipe her claws digging into its throat like serrated blades. She then tossed the nearly beheaded ghoul aside, the body slumping into the mud below with a rather unceremonious squelching sound.

The final ghoul was now horrifically afraid of this creature in front of her, this monster slaughtering her kind like it was nothing to her. This creature in a feral fury, giving into her base instincts in a desperate fight for control and for survival.

And so, it seemed to one Silver Spoon, so must she. She’d ventured this far from her homelands in search of a source of irradiated water because she simply didn’t trust a lot of unicorns not to have poisoned their so-called Aqua Cura with pure water just out of sheer bigotry.

She threw a powerful punch to Gabby, neither of the two old friends recognizing the other in their mad fury and lust for life as they brawled, rolling around in the mud and beating each other savagely.

Gabby, she eventually got the upper hand and began punching Silver Spoon over and over in the stomach in a haze, until she heard a voice cry out.

“G-Gabby, stop!” Silver choked out. “P-Please, this isn’t you!”

Gabby’s eyes widened in horror as she took in the appearance of the ghoul she had been so savagely beating to death. All for just a simple source of water.

Her claws retracted, and she pulled herself up off of Silver, and she looked at herself, then at the pool, and then at the ghouls she’d slaughtered. They’d been like her, just searching for that faint hope and just like a candle she’d snuffed it out for them.

“Go… Just go,” Gabby stated. “Drink. You’ve earned as much. Me… I think I’ll just find my water elsewhere. I don’t deserve this oasis. Not after… Not after this.” she choked out, and began to walk off before nets were thrown over their heads.

“Hey Red Hot,” a male voice shouted. “Look at what we found! Should fetch us a nice price indeed…” a stallion said, with a lustful gleam in his eye as he looked at Silver. “Oh, when we get back to Appleloosa you and I are going to have some fun indeed…”

Back in the present day, Gabby was looking at her claws now as if they were stained with blood. Nimbus’ eyes had widened in recognition and remembrance. Red Hot, he knew that name.

“Honestly, there’s this one ghoul here that keeps creeping me out. Used to be a griffon, from the looks of it. Very young one too. Been giving me the evil eye ever since we found her… Honestly, I’ll sleep better once she’s out of our hooves.”

“I’m starting to share that brick brain Red Hot’s opinion on the matter. That griffon… Gives me the creeps. Just the way she stares at you… Those hollow eyes. Can never tell what she’s thinking exactly. Least we don’t have to feed her. I’m not getting any closer to that cage than I have to.” The voice commented. “Celestia above… Least that other mare her age, the one with the spoon on her flank, is much better. Sure, she doesn’t speak much but at least we’re the cause of that. So glad we… broke her.”

Nimbus let out a growl. He wasn’t sure who it was directed to, Gabby for her cold-blooded murder of those ghouls or Red Hot and his compatriot for raping Silver. Flashfire on the other hoof, he was whispering “Oh Celestia…” and crossing herself as he thought about Gabby’s story.

Gabby whirled to face them. “Don’t you see now? Don’t you see? I’m just a murderer, no better than them. On the edge of going full feral. Someday soon, I’ll want to kill, and kill and just never stop.”

“I promise you Gabrielle Gruff,” Nimbus stated as he placed a hoof on her shoulder making Gabby’s eyes widen at the usage of her full name. “I will not let that happen. I will keep you from going feral, I will keep you on the right path.”

A pistol was shoved into his hooves. “Found this at the armory,” Gabby stated. “Uses 12.7×40mm ammo. Supposed to blow holes in Enclave Power Armor. If you ever fail to keep me on the right path as you so state, use it to blow a hole in my head. Kill me, before I do the same to you.”

With that, only silence filled the room before it was soon replaced with the sound of Gabby’s retreating pawsteps.

“Bon Dieu, vous semblez vous trouver toujours dans l'épaisseur de celui-ci ne vous?” Flashfire asked, and Nimbus only nodded in reply.

“You know,” Xenith told Jabari as she and the young zorse walked into Junction Town’s armory, where the town’s sole blacksmith worked. “Probably with the right amount of scientific knowledge, I could probably do you a favor and get that sword of yours reforged.”

“N-No thanks, it’s a family heirloom,” Jabari stated nervously, still unsure of how to act around other ponies. “I’d… I’d rather keep it as it is. B-Besides, it’s done me pretty well so far I think…” he remarked, drawing the blade from it's sheath and letting it crackle with electricity.

In the background, the radio played, keeping everyone up to date with the latest news. It was a minor comfort, that even with the war waging that DJ Pon3 would always be there and it seemed always giving them something to hold onto. That faintest bit of hope, no matter how dim, she always managed to find that light in the darkness.

"This is DJ Pon3 coming at you with another news report. It seems that the Enclave has once again been driven back, this time from the city of Horseton that they had laid siege to for the last few days. It seems that once again our good friend the Wanderer had a hoof in this as she was last reported leaving the old Horseton Knights Hoofball Stadium. Glad to see it didn't fall to the Enclave, as my assistant will tell you, there's a lot of bad memories in that city. Now let’s get back to the music."

The next song was rather depressing, at least to Jabari and he sighed while Xenith gave out a shudder at the singing voice and quickly turned off the radio. She’d heard that voice before, and it never bode good intent for anyone.

“I get the feeling you’re not comfortable around other ponies, are you?” Xenith asked, as in the background metal hammers clanged and steam hissed from the forges.

“Y-Yeah, no I’m no. Didn’t really grow up in a pony town. Sure, there were a lot of other creatures like these giant rat things, and walking anthro wolves but ponies were a rare sight and to be quite frank rather distrusted. Oh, some of them, the residents of my hometown -I-It’s this little slice of suburbia just outside of Manehatten you see- had this inherent distrust for ponies, blaming them for screwing up the Wasteland. I… I suppose some of those beliefs may have been passed down to me, I questioned everything about ponykind. Whether they were worth interacting with, and that sorta thing.”

“Well, I suppose in some regards they’re not that far from the truth I admit. Your hometown I mean,” Xenith remarked. “Could have talked to Zebra kind just that little bit more, tried to make them understand that Luna wasn’t some demoness from the stars and anything relating to her wasn’t worth killing over. You know what I found once? A rock, a rock from the stars,”

“Yeah, that meteorite or whatever it was.”

“Those demons from the stars we all feared,” Xenith remarked, her facial expression cold and her tone one of tranquil fury. “They’re just rocks in the end, just rocks! I swear, to hay with those beliefs! We all lost in the end of the war. Equestria, the griffon lands, the Zebra’s homelands, the dragon’s kingdoms. Each and every one of us lost the war due to our own inherent distrust and stupidity.”

“I… I kinda get the feeling you’re trying to tell me something here,” Jabari stuttered out, nervously rubbing the ground beneath him with a hoof.

“Yeah, maybe I am in a way I suppose. My point is, trust? That’s what won us Equestria back. Distrust and old grudges, they’ll only lead to devastation and death in the end. Knowledge is power is the old saying, is it not? The more we understand one another, the less likely we are to repeat this sorta vicious cycle.” Xenith told him.

“Zebra’s got a point,” Stripped Gear remarked from somewhere nearby as he went over the plans he’d been given by Riptalon. The plans the griffon and company had found in Starlight’s lab on Mount Pleasant Island. “The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice,” he stated before chuckling. “Ironic really, it was a zebra who made that quote in the first place! Oh, if they only knew… They’d be up in arms!” Stripped laughed to mostly himself, and Xenith raised an eyebrow. Something about the way he worded that, it was like he didn’t see himself as part of ponykind. Maybe she was being ridiculous, maybe she was being paranoid.

Xenith smirked. “And yet ponykind or at least one pony in particular adopted this as one of their own favorite sayings back in the Golden Age. Guy went by the name of Chancellor Neighsay. Started out as a bigot from what I heard, hated anything that wasn’t a pony. Griffon, zebra, changeling… You name it. In the end, it took a group of six -only one of which was an actual pony- to save Equestria from disaster. Here’s another Zebra quote for you Stripped. One you’ll probably recognize, as it was adopted by Princess Celestia herself. Want to hear it?” she asked, looking towards Stripped and then towards Jabari who both nodded. Xenith then spoke. “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

“Maretin King Jr…” Jabari whispered, before repeating a quote from that exact same zebra. “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.” Tiria, she always liked that one. Now, if only other ponies like the Enclave would listen.” he murmured.

“Wise mare,” Xenith complimented.

“Wolf actually,” Jabari corrected with a trace of sadness and longing in his tone. “But yeah… Very wise.”

“Heh, supposed to be forging a new weapon of war against the Enclave. Stormy Skies’ Enclave to be more precise as I share the idea that if we could come to an understanding, war between us and Winter’s sect could be avoided. But here I am, philosophizing with you two!” Stripped Gear chuckled. In the corner of his eye, and although he wouldn’t mention this till much later he swore he saw a skeletal thin pony in a black hat and duster watching him seemingly in approval before vanishing into the shadows. He would later receive a card, a tarot card to be more accurate. The Three of Wands, facing in a upright manner.

“Dare I ask what you’re cooking up?” Xenith asked as she pulled two glowing hot knives out of the forges. They glittered with some unknown metal. No, it wasn’t unknown Jabari corrected himself. He’d seen it before. Starmetal, the same type of metal Xenith’s own knife was made out of it.

Jabari watched as she set the twin combat knives aside before another stallion picked them up and nodded as he was told to hand them off to Riptalon.

“Here, I’ll tell you what your new friends found on Mount Pleasant. What they told me, actually,” Stripped replied before breaking out into a remarkable impression of Riptalon’s voice. It was rather frightening really, the accuracy and the degree to which he could imitate it. “Weapons plans, far more intriguing. Ideas for things like a Plasma Caster. Supposed to fire hot bolts of magic to targets, and bind these bolts before they detonate. Sounded pretty nasty, but wait! There’s more! The bolts were supposed to bounce off other surfaces as well, but it seemed Starlight could never quite get the idea working. Kinda of a shame in the end, sounds like something I’d want to try on those Enclave bastards. There were a few mentions here and there of a few trial runs in the terminals, but they always ended… explosively and not in the way Starlight intended suffice it to say.” That’s what he told me, anyways.” Stripped admitted with a shrug.

“Right… And you expect to succeed where a genius of a mare failed?” Jabari asked, an eyebrow raised and more than a hint of skepticism in his tone.

“Genius in magic, but not a genius in weapon making. That’s something else entirely,” Stripped corrected, booping Jabari on the nose making him emit a small little sneeze. “Now me, I just so happen to be Junction Town’s resident expert on building and crafting custom weapons from scratch. That’s my title amongst the Wastelanders. The Builder.” he said with no small amount of pride. Perhaps well earned, perhaps not.

“...Or the madman. Being a great genius and being insane sometimes go hoof and hoof…” Xenith muttered to herself, and if Stripped heard her he paid her no mind.

“Now, shoo! Shoo, both of you! I need peace and quiet to work here! This isn’t something I can work over by you two yammering on about philosophy!”

Neither zebra bothered to tell the pony he himself had been just doing the exact same thing a few minutes before.

“So, Manehatten’s suburbs huh?” Xenith asked as the two exited. “Aren’t you worried about any sort of… attack?”

“Yeah, I am. There’s a reason I agreed with Regina and Calamity when they entered my home. That town of mine, it needs to do something. Because Manehatten, or should I say Tenpony Tower and Celestia One are prime candidates for either side of the Enclave to take over and use as a base of operations. They could hold the whole of Equestria hostage if they did so.”

“Well, from zebra to zorse,” Xenith stated. “If that ever happens, I’ll be there to back you up in your battle. That I promise.”

“T-Thank you,” Jabari whispered gratefully. “L-Let’s just hope it never happens okay?”

In any case, a few days went by with life going as normal. All seemed quiet in Junction Town, neither Enclave faction making any movements. Normally, for one Nimbus Breaker and Henrietta Firebright this would have been a relief, but all was too quiet. And then there was another thing. DJ Pon3, he’d gone dark. Something was wrong, and they all knew it. Nobody just dared to voice it aloud.

Currently, Nimbus was at his natural habitat, aka the local tavern with a glass of Wild Pegasus Whiskey in his hoof. Henri was beside him, just drinking a glass of water.

“...Okay, you’re at a bar and yet you choose a glass of water as your preferred poison. Seems counterintuitive if you ask me. You’re at a bar, you’re supposed to get drunk.”

“I value my liver,” Henri replied. “Besides, the last time I got drunk at some bar somewhere, I ended up having sex with Blackjack herself of all ponies.”

“...Wow, Just wow,” Nimbus stated. “Not sure if I should berate you, or congratulate you for being an idiot.”

“Aren’t those pretty much the same thing?” Henri deadpanned, with an eyebrow raised.

“Not to me,” Nimbus shrugged.

“How’s your wing?” Henri asked in concern.

“I’m the one who really should be asking the questions here, but I’ll let you have that one I guess,” Nimbus replied with his wing in a cast set to come off soon, and now outfitted with new body armor. It was similar to the type he picked up in Neigh Orleans but made of much thicker fabric. When he was given it, he was specifically asked word for word to try not to ruin this one. There were only so many of these suits to go around after all. It’ll be fine, give it another night and I’ll be up and flying again in no time. Now a question for a question, a pound for a pound. Why’d you leave us after the whole rogue NCR ponies cooking up pot incident? Would have been great to have you during the whole Pinkie-AI fiasco really…”

Henri turned, and gestured out into the streets where she saw Flood Waters and Nzuri playing a game of kickball with another filly, a yellow pegasus with a dark red mane sorta making her resemble a younger version of the Stable-Tec executive Apple Bloom.

“That’s why,” Henri stated. “I know it sounds sappy, but the children of Equestria? They’re my rock, they’re what reminds me to stay true to myself. To never lose my values in the madness and chaos of it all. A filly, she ended up changing me for the better, kept me from becoming just another merc who’d die on a mission.”

“Puppysmiles, yes. I’ve heard the stories coming out of the 52,” Nimbus admitted. “I mean to pay her grave a visit really, one day. I sorta respect her in a way, a filly braving everything Equestria has to offer just in search of her mother. Reminds me of myself in a way, I’m just trying to find my brother… wherever the hell he is.”

Henri smiled. “Just like Scootaloo. I met her once, you know that right? During my travels here after leaving you guys.”

“Take a picture, it'll last longer,” Henry remarked dryly as she observed the mare known as Scootaloo observing her curiously.

“Sorry, I just was curious is all,” Scootaloo remarked. “You're not exactly what I expected out of a Ranger.”

“We come in all shapes and sizes Scootaloo,” Henry said with a shake of her head. “I can't say I was expecting to run into you though.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Scootaloo replied, in this sorta deadpan tone.

“So let me guess, you went on a journey to look for your family or something didn't you?”

“Yeah, how'd you know?" Scootaloo asked, blinking a little in surprise. To be fair, that was a strangely specific guess.

“About 10 years back I traveled with another survivor, a filly who was looking for her mother,” Henry said with a sigh. “It, didn't end well for her, she was a good kid... usually.”

“I'm sorry, what was her name?” Scootaloo inquired of Henri curiously.

“Puppysmiles Days, I know, strange name even for you ponies," Henry said with a shrug which made Scootaloo’s eyes go wide. “What, did you know her?”

“Yeah, I met her while her mom was working for Stable-Tec,” Scootaloo said in reply, Apparently, she was beyond astounded that the rather hyperactive little filly she’d once known had survived the apocalypse and clearly left an impression on her griffon escort. “Cute kid but she never could get my name right, kept calling me Scootie or something like that.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Puppysmiles alright, she kept calling me a chicken.” Henry said and the two shared a hearty laugh.

“Huh, the Mare in Black herself. The sole survivor of Equestria’s old days, and you meeting up with her, amongst other legends. Gotta be a really small world.” Nimbus remarked.

“You seem different, you know that right?” Henri observed. “Normally you’d be snarking your ass off at me by now. Right now though, you seem almost respectful. What happened to you?” she asked in a tone of motherly concern. Never mind the fact that Nimbus was older than she was.

“It’s… It’s private,” Nimbus replied, his eyes drifting to the pistol in its holster. The one Gabby had asked him to use to put her down if needed. “And to be honest, I’d like to keep it that way. See, here you are asking the questions again. I’m supposed to be the one doing that.”

“And I’ll keep asking questions. Okay, I’ll let you have your privacy as everyone’s entitled to a little bit of that and if you ever want to talk about it I’ll let you do it on your own time. But I think it’s time we talk about the elephant in the room.”

“Such as?” Nimbus asked.

“Midnight Radiance. Traitor or no, you have to admit you and Riptalon owe your lives to him. He bought you some time so you could take down that anti-air gun. Maybe he did rat you out to Stormy Skies, maybe he didn’t. But in the end, I’d say he made repentance. I think you owe him that much, to at least give him some sort of honors.” Henri told him firmly, leaving no room for argument.

“I… I suppose you’re right. I do owe him that much. Lived fast, and he died young. Far too young, really,” Nimbus stated. “Had a great and shining future in front of him, and however diluted his path may have been… he deserved better. Tonight, that’s when I’ll do it. I’ll gather his personal effects, and burn them. Let them become ashes in the wind.”

“You sure you’re up for this? Burying a comrade or a friend, it’s never an easy thing to do. Letting them go,” Henri said, speaking from experience. “If… If you need the support, I’ll gladly-

“He was neither,” Nimbus stated emotionlessly, although anyone with even a hint of a brain could tell he was lying. “He was just someone I knew. So no, I don’t need any of your damn support.”

He thought to himself: “It is far easier to accept a little lie than objective fact, no matter how much it stares you in the face.”

“Stubborn as a mule, this one…” Henri thought to herself. She was going to have none of it. “No, I’m going. Lie to yourself all you want, but you’re just as broken up as any of us about his death. Tonight, I’m coming with you.”

And so she did. That night, as the sun set and a fire was built Henri stood in the shadows as Nimbus began to recite an old pegasi funeral prayer as he tossed Midnight’s personal effects into the blaze one by one. The Lyra doll went first, then a couple of enchanted shurikens. Other items were soon to follow.

“Ná seasann mo uaigh agus caith
Níl mé ann.
Ní codlaim.
“Tá mé míle gaoithe a buille.

“Tá mé an glints diamanta ar sneachta.
Is é solas na gréine ar gráin shástaithe.
Is mise báisteach an fhómhair.
Nuair a dhúisíonn tú i gcathair na maidine,

“Is é an rush atá ag éirí suas go tapa
Éin ciúin in eitilt ciorcail.
Is mise na réaltaí boga a shineann ar an oíche.
Ná seas ar mo uaigh agus caoin;
Níl mé ann.
Ní raibh mé bás.”

And with that, Nimbus saluted and stated: “Sleep well, young buck.”

A few days later, the party was gathered around a radio listening to some music when it crackled with static and a very familiar voice began to come through.

“Hello Equestria, this is your President speaking to you from Tenpony Tower in the ruins of Manehattan,” Winter Breeze's voice sounded over the radio after a minute. “The Tower and the entire city of Manehattan is now under the control of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Now I'm sure you're all wondering what has happened to DJ Pon3, the stallion whose voice has broadcast over the Wasteland for the past 211 years,” Winter Breeze continued. “I can assure you that the good DJ is still alive and well in our custody, but I think it’s time we break the charade that they have been playing for the past two centuries.”

Riptalon and Nimbus shared a look, what the Hell could she be up to? Then Nimbus’ eyes widened in horror and recognition and he let out a mutter of: “Oh no…”

Even as he did this, he thought once more to himself: “It is far easier to accept a little lie than objective fact, no matter how much it stares you in the face.”

“You see my dear Equestria, the pony that is willing to, in his words, tell the truth no matter how hard it hurts has been lying to you this whole time,” Winter continued and ponies around the two began to whisper, wondering what she exactly meant by that. “DJ Pon3 is a lie Equestria, he's been lying to you since he first started broadcasting. The pony you've known as DJ Pon3 for the past few years is a Zebra by the name of Xiraia, and before that, it was the Unicorn Homage, ironically the Element of Honesty. The Enclave will not stand for such deceptions in the future Equestria. We will continue to fight for you Equestria, for the future of our world. This is President Winter Breeze, signing off.”

Author's Notes:

Okay... Whew boy. Talk about a whopper. First off, massive thanks to Ruinqueen for several things. One, for letting me use the lines of dialogue from Survivor's Guilt here, and two for writing a good portion of Calypso's notes.

Secondly, going to try and make this 10,000-word chapter my new average. I noticed during a re-read of Survivor's Guilt it took Ruinqueen 100,000 words to reach the Battle of Manehatten and yet here I am at 140,000 words and yet that hasn't happened yet. Granted, this story isn't about Nimbus and co following Scootaloo around on her every adventure, as they've got their own problems to deal with but considering how long it was taking me to reach major events that affect everyone in the SH storyline I think it was time I upped my word count for each chapter.

Now, wanted to give Gabby some character as she's always sorta just been... well, just there since she was introduced, so I devoted a section of the chapter to her really. Delved into her thoughts, and some of her personality. Might make her seem like a bitch, but at least she's no longer that dull really. Now, if only I could say the same for Starglow. Still at a loss as to what to do with her. Might drop her from the story entirely except for minor cameos here and there.

Finally, Nimbus's poem in English.

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there.
I did not die. -Mary Frye

As ever, thoughts and feedback on what I'm doing are welcomed.