Fallout Equestria: Redemption
Author: Cooperdawg
Chapter 10: Broken Spirit
“A what point is even friendship not enough?”

I slowly started to come to, my head pounding as though a stampede were running through it. Keeping my eyes screwed up against the light, I shifted my body, testing my movement, and found myself tightly bound. I racked my brain, trying to remember what would have led to this, and the memories of my confrontation with my friends rushed back to the forefront of my mind. Crosswire had managed to knock me unconscious, the fucking traitor, and now they had probably left me here for the Steel Rangers to deal with.

“Why… why would she say things like that?” a soft voice asked, sounding somewhat choked up. It had to be Suture. No other pony would break down like that when we weren’t anywhere close to somewhere safe.

“I don’t know…” another voice answered, this one gruff and annoyed. Crosswire was the only one that would have this sort of reaction. “I’m hoping we’re going to get some answers, especially since how out of character it is for her. She never even turned on anypony like this back in the camp, and some of them seriously deserved it. Something isn’t right.”

“Well, she better have a fucking good answer,” Autumn Mist snapped, “A lot of what she said is just plain fucking wrong, especially considering what we’ve all been through these last few days.”

“That’s what I’m hoping as well,” Crosswire answered simply. I heard the sound of several sets of hooves stepping towards me and finally forced my eyes open, wincing at the renewed pain the light caused.

“At least she’s finally awake. Took her fucking long enough,” Autumn Mist growled. I shifted my gaze to her face and saw an expression of almost pure anger there, exactly as I had expected. The mare really was nothing if not predictable.

“The fuck you got me tied up for, Crosswire? I’m pissed, not violent!” I snapped angrily, straining against the ropes holding me in place.

“Just a precaution, Evergreen. Something is different about you, and we don’t know what else might have changed,” Crosswire explained, “And I want to know exactly why you started yelling at us like you did. Nothing you said made any sort of sense! It just isn’t like you!”

“I think I already gave you that answer, Crosswire: I opened my eyes. You lot are nothing but a bunch of selfish bottom feeders. You’re using me to get what you want, then the moment you don’t need me anymore, you’re going to throw me to the roadside and continue on your own!” I answered, making sure the ragged buck heard every note of anger and betrayal in my voice.

To my surprise, all he did was slowly shake his head and lower it to the ground, as though in pity. “You’re not going to goad me back to anger, Evergreen. I’ve already gotten over that. Now, I just want to get my friend back. What could possibly make you think that any of us are here for selfish reasons? If that were the case, Suture would have stayed behind in Metro when we came out here, Steel Curtain would never have asked to join us, I would have walked away the minute we were clear of that damned camp, and Autumn Mist would have shot you dead that night I almost died. None of that has happened.”

Some of what the tech was saying made sense, but I couldn’t seem to make myself react to his arguments. Anytime I tried to form words that would answer him rationally, or consider the truth behind his views, my thoughts were utterly crushed and the flame of my anger fanned to new heights. I found myself incapable of reasoning out any other beliefs other than the ones that I had walked into this room with.

“You say that, but what’s to stop Autumn from putting a bullet through my head this very second?” I snapped angrily, unable, and somehow even unwilling, to stop the words.

“You want me to?” the mare snapped, grabbing Hammer out of my holster with her magic and aiming the sleek black revolver at my head.

“Autumn, control yourself. We already agreed that Evergreen can’t be at fault for this. I know her too well. Nopony can change her opinion on something unless she lets them, and I can’t see her letting the Steel Rangers twist her views about us all like this,” Crosswire snapped, grabbing the weapon with his own magic and tearing it away.

“So you say, Crosswire. I think you’re putting too much faith in her willingness to trust us,” the dark mare snapped as she turned and trudged away, “Do what you want. I’m fucking done with this. If she figures her shit out, she better have a fucking apology ready.”

I watched the mare walk away, and some deep, primal part of myself was torn at the sight of her turning her back on me. Inside, I could feel whatever force was guiding my thoughts struggle to stamp out the feeling of hurt and turn it into more rage, but I refused to allow it that victory. I protected that feeling of grief and sadness, holding it safe like a flame from the wind as though it were the one small part of me that I now knew for sure was the only part that was entirely what I wanted it to be.

“Nothing to say for yourself, then?” Crosswire asked, looking down at me with grief-filled eyes, “Or is this what you really think now?”

“What do you want me to say, Crosswire?” I snapped, still not strong enough to fight the pressure in my mind that I knew was controlling me, “I can’t apologize, ‘cause I’m right! Nothing any of you have claimed holds any strength. Nothing proves that you are right!”

“Then look past our words!” the buck snapped, letting some of his frustration show, “Look at our actions! All of us are still here, at least trying to help you! We came here because we want to help you, Evergreen. We came here because we believe in what you’re trying to do.”

“Autumn obviously doesn’t!” I snapped, nodding my head in the direction the young mare had walked.

“Can you blame her? You drove her away, Evergreen, with the way you’re acting and the things you’ve said. And I’ll tell you what, the rest of us are getting awfully close to being done as well. If we have to worry about you turning on us every time you get left on your own for more than a few hours, well, I don’t know how long we’ll be able to put up with that,” the buck stated sadly, lowering his head and looking away from me.

Those words hurt me more than anything else so far had. The threat of once again being left alone in the wasteland was far too much to bear. I fought against the force in my mind, trying to drive it aside, trying only to get out a few simple words to let Crosswire know that I didn’t want this.

“I should have expected you’d have nothing to say to that,” the tech stated morosely as he started to turn around, “I guess Autumn Mist had the right idea after all…”

I struggled even harder against the shackles in my mind, throwing myself mentally against them, fighting with every ounce of strength and will I had to just call my friend back. “Crosswire, wait,” I finally managed to gasp, the first words in hours I’d spoken to him that were not laced with anger or hate.

The buck stopped mid-stride and turned to look at me. “What, Evergreen? I’m getting tired of listening to your insults. If you’re just going to yell at me again, save your breath. We’ve decided to go back to Metro if you weren’t going to listen to reason and at least try to do something about all of this, and we don’t intend for you to come with us, if that’s the case.”

I started to sweat with the effort of getting my own words out. Every single one felt like a battle won, but even then I feared it wouldn’t be enough. “I need you,” was all I managed to force out before the force in my mind overpowered me and drove me into silence.

Something in the tech’s eyes told me that he saw the struggle I was in, and knew how much more was being implied by the words than the obvious. A thin smile appeared on his lips. “I knew we couldn’t give up hope yet,” he stated, with just enough joy in his tone for me to know that he had been the one fighting hardest to keep my friends together, striding back over to me, “I need you to think, Evergreen. What happened to change your mind about us like this? It had to have been a single event, since I can’t see anything else doing this to you.”

I fought through the haze in my mind, battling against the force trying to keep me from analyzing my own memories, trying to think back and remember why everything had changed. I could remember the fight that brought us to the gates of the Rangers’s Outpost, and could remember the interrogations that followed. But in the space between the Elder leaving that first night and my new way of thinking, there was nothing but darkness. Whatever had happened to me, it had to have happened then.

“First night,” I forced out, finding it almost impossible to speak, making the words come out as little more than whispers, “Something… happened.”

“You mean that whatever happened to you happened during the first night we were here?” Crosswire asked, trying to puzzle out my meaning.

I nodded weakly. Even that simply action had been difficult, like fighting an uphill battle against an enemy that had had months to dig in.

“I think I have an idea,” Steel Curtain announced, finally showing himself and walking into my sight. I could see that the Steel Rangers had not yet returned his armor, making the Pegasus appear much smaller.

“What is it?” Crosswire asked after several moments of silence. Steel Curtain had fallen silent as he watched me, his gaze also obviously taking in the severity of my struggle. I could even see the pain in his eyes at the realization that there was nothing he could physically do to help me.

“Do you remember the day we all left Grovedale, and the nightmare that Evergreen had that night?” he asked, never taking his eyes from me.

“Yeah. You mentioned something about how she might have some sort of ancient evil living in her mind, something that the Princesses had sealed away thousands of years ago,” the tech answered.

“Exactly. I think it finally managed to gather enough strength to force a change in Evergreen in an attempt to make her return to the way of life she had been living. With all of us gone, it would only be a matter of time until she turned back to a raider’s lifestyle. It seems that whatever kind of creature this thing is, it feeds on misery and death. A raider is the easiest path to those things, and a powerful mare like Evergreen offers a better chance at a long life,” Steel Curtain explained.

“So you think that it was that thing that is twisting her thoughts like this?” Crosswire finished, tearing his gaze from the Pegasus and looking down at me, “It makes sense, and certainly follows with what we’ve learned about her life in Grovedale.”

Steel Curtain nodded solemnly and stepped up to me and looked down on me with a sad gaze. “Evergreen, listen to me. I know a part of you is fighting against whatever it is that is making you angry at us, and I can see that that fight is not easy. Just know that the rest of us are here for you, even Autumn Mist.”

I forced a nod, wanting to at least confirm to the Pegasus that I had heard him. “How… do I win?” I ground out between clenched teeth, the combination of my trauma-induced migraine and the sheer strength I needed to force the words out draining my strength at an alarming rate.

“Answer’s simple,” Autumn announced from her corner, “Tell the fucking thing no. Lucky you, you’re going to get your chance far sooner than you thought. Crosswire hit you hard enough that we spent most of the day just waiting for you to wake the fuck up. All we needed to know was that you wanted it.”

I turned my gaze to Crosswire, looking for confirmation from the buck and receiving a sad nod in response. “Go to sleep, Evergreen, and think about fighting that thing. It’s only come to you in dreams so far, so you’re going to need to fight it on its own turf. Seems like it has more power over you when you’re awake anyway.”

I nodded weakly and allowed my body to relax, hoping that will would be enough to win this fight. Thanks to the immense effort to maintain the small amount of control I had managed to gain over myself, not to mention the headache, I was soon struggling to keep my eyes open. It was with a heavy heart that I finally let sleep take me.

This time, things were different. This time, my mind was clear, and I knew what I was about to face. In the world of my dreams, the creature had very little control over me, and I knew, without any doubt, that my thoughts were my own.

I opened my eyes and looked about the room, the same that I had been lying in when I fell asleep, searching for it and steeling myself for the confrontation that was about to come. Not immediately noticing anything, I climbed to my hooves and started walking around the room. After making a full circuit, nothing had revealed itself, and I was beginning to doubt that this would work.

Suddenly, a cold gust of wind passed through the sealed underground chamber, making me shiver. I turned to face the direction the wind came from and saw it standing, already fully revealed, and with a shocked expression on its face.

“Evergreen, you surprise me,” it stated, a detectable note of pleasure and wariness in its voice, “I didn’t think you had the strength to come here on your own.”

“You’d be surprised what ponies can accomplish when everything they care about is on the line,” I spat, turning my body to face the creature.

A thin smile split the creature’s lips and it started walking towards me. Deep inside my chest I could feel my terror rising, making me want to back away, but I held my ground, unwilling to give this thing the satisfaction of still having control over me. This fight was my choice, and I would maintain that control.

“I think you overestimate yourself, Evergreen. But most of all, you overestimate them. It isn’t like you to see the best in others. I would know. I’ve been with you all these years. If there is anypony in this entire world that know you best, it is me,” it said, but its intent was easy to see. I had thrown it off guard with my appearance, and it was trying to salvage the situation.

“No,” I argued adamantly, stomping a hoof, “You only know what you want me to be like, but that isn’t what I was taught. You should know that, considering what you choose to wear as a cutie mark.”

The creature shifted its head to look at the mark on its flank, the two embracing skulls that I knew represented my parents. The smile disappeared from its face to be replaced by an unsure expression. I could tell that it was trying to puzzle out what I meant, which gave me a very clear advantage.

“It strikes me as odd that you use them to try to gain influence over me, but you don’t know the first damn thing about what they taught me,” I pressed, smiling mirthlessly now, “I find it hard to believe that you would try to use something that you know so little about, especially since you’ve been so careful with everything else.”

It lifted its gaze to stare me down, its red eyes blazing with anger, like two smoldering coals within the blackened logs of a dead fire. It opened its mouth as though it were about to speak, but I continued before it could get a word out. “Which makes me think that you can’t know anything about them, since they died well before you started showing up in my head. All you could get from me was my memory of their deaths, as well as my feelings for them. But you don’t know the first thing about them!”

“I know enough! I know that they influenced you greatly, and that is all I need!” it shouted, giving me my first real victory over the thing that I had ever had.

“And so the real purpose comes out,” I stated angrily, “You don’t want me to be happy. All you want is control over my life so you can take whatever you want from it. Well, let me tell you something. That isn’t going to happen. My life is mine, and nothing is going to take that from me.”

“You need me, Evergreen! The proof is all around you! How many times in all of those years in the gang were you seriously injured? Ever since you left, you’ve spent more time recovering from injuries than you have pursuing this ‘mission’ of yours! I can keep you alive!” it argued, taking another few steps towards me.

My smile broadened, knowing that I was going to win this altercation. “I would rather die happy and doing something I believe in than live a full life as something I despise,” I said, stepping towards the creature until our muzzles were only inches apart, “Now get out of my head.”

“I will not give in this easily!” it shouted and leapt at me, trying to bear me to the ground, except this time, I was ready for it.

I side-stepped as soon as I saw it start to move, letting it fly past me to land with a loud thump somewhere behind me. I turned and leapt at it myself, confident enough in my abilities that I believed I’d be able to win.

I collided with its side and drove it to the ground. It started to struggle underneath me, fighting to get the upper hand, by I had the better position, and held it pinned just long enough to shift my body about to free up my left foreleg and bring my Pipbuck down hard on its head.

It ceased its struggling, dazed by the blow, and I struck again. This time, its head smacked down hard against the ground, dazing it even farther. I climbed to my hooves and stepped around to its head, watching it intently for any movement. Slowly, it started to lift its head and looked at me with a hateful expression.

Grimacing at the creature, I turned and bucked as hard as I could, feeling something give underneath my hooves. By the time I faced the creature again, it was lying motionless on the ground, unconscious. A grin crept over my features as I couldn’t help but feel victorious, even if it was only temporary.

Thinking I had the opportunity to end this threat once and for all, I took a step closer to its head and raised a hoof, intending to cave in its skull. Just as I was about to finish it, I got light-headed and toppled over, striking my head hard enough on the ground to black out.

When I woke, it was thankfully without a headache, though I was bleeding slightly from my nose and ears, a fact that worried me until I realized that the flow had just about stopped. No permanent damage, then. I lay silently, motionless, for several minutes, simply collecting myself. Nothing seemed off or abnormal, and thoughts of my friends weren’t causing me any pain or anger. It seemed as though I had actually managed to fight that thing off, at least for now. There was no doubt in my mind that this solution was only temporary, especially considering it had managed to eject me from the dream while unconscious, or at least what I perceived as unconscious.

I listened, straining my ears to learn whatever I could of my surroundings. All I could make out was somepony’s muffled breathing. It was soft and measured, the breath of somepony that was fast asleep. Stretching my limbs slightly, I learned that I was still bound. Unsurprising, given the chance that I would be unsuccessful at regaining control over my own mind.

Once I opened my eyes, I was met with a surprising sight. The breath I had heard belonged to Steel Curtain, who lay asleep not five feet away from me, lying on the cold metal floor of the empty room Crosswire had tied me up in. I shifted a little more, hoping to wake the Pegasus.

Somehow sensing my movements, Steel Curtain started to move, his eyes fluttering as he emerged from sleep. Finally, one of his bright green eyes opened and fixed me in its gaze. The other eye snapped open and he raised his head up to stare at me with a hopeful expression. “Evergreen! You’re awake! How are you feeling?” he asked, his tone much more concerned than I was used to hearing from him. The emotion in his voice was almost painful to hear.

I grinned slightly before answering, trying to show the buck that I was me again. “Better now that I don’t have to fight for my own thoughts anymore. I’m sorry about the things I said, Steel Curtain. I didn’t mean any of it.”

“It’s already forgotten,” he assured me as he rose to his hooves and moved to untie me.

Within moments, I was free. My first action was to rise to my hooves and stretch. Spending a whole day tied up was the one sure way to have every single muscle group cramp up, and I needed to get rid of those knots.

“Thanks,” I said, stretching out my hind legs and watching with a bemused grin as the bucks eyes wandered over my body. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one that was having trouble controlling where their eyes went. “I have to say, Steel Curtain, you’re a lot smaller than I expected outside of that armor. I expected you to have a bit more bulk.”

The Pegasus chuckled and tore his eyes away from me, turning to pull a set of saddlebags from a chair and toss them towards me. Inside were all of my belongings. “Physical size actually works against us. The Steel Rangers are trained to be as strong as they can possibly be, which means they put on a lot of size, but it actually isn’t necessary to be all that strong to operate our armor. Sure, some strength and fitness is necessary, and we are trained to be functional soldiers, but we just turn out smaller in the end than most ponies expect us to be,” he said, tossing me my barding.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I stated as I pulled the armor on, “That armor looks heavy as hell. Wouldn’t you need to be that strong to use it?”

“Not at all. It’s powered armor, which means it does most of the work for us. Wearing it takes no more strength than it would take you to wear armor about twenty pounds heavier than what you’ve already got. It’s a workout, to be sure, but it’s a hell of a lot easier than it looks. But that’s the reason why stun rounds are so effective against us. If the power system gets knocked out, even if it’s only temporary, we can’t move a muscle. Same goes for the Steel Rangers. I would be surprised if any of them were strong enough to move without their armor being powered,” Steel Curtain explained.

I shrugged, unable to do anything but take the buck at his word. “So where’s everypony else?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Probably still sleeping. It’s pretty early still, and I know Crosswire didn’t fall asleep until late. He’s been worried sick about you ever since you asked for his help,” the Pegasus answered carefully. I could detect an odd note in his voice, as if he was concerned about something.

“What’s wrong, Steel Curtain?” I asked, “I can tell something is bothering you, so just spit it out.”

The Pegasus remained silent for several moments as he thought, then finally sighed in defeat. “It’s Crosswire. He’s a good pony, to be sure, and it isn’t that I have any problems with him, but… Shit, I don’t know…” he trailed off, looking everywhere except at me.

“You can talk to me, Steel Curtain,” I said quietly, “After all the shit I went through to get here, I promise, you can trust me. You guys are the only real friends I have, and I would never willingly betray any of you.”

“I know… it’s just, awkward,” Steel Curtain said, finally lifting his gaze and meeting mine. I held my tongue, letting the Pegasus get control over his own thoughts. After several moments of silence, he sighed in exasperation, “All right, here it is. I can see the way he looks at you when you don’t see. He’s been with you longer than anypony else alive, and he would do anything for you, Evergreen. And I mean anything. I’m pretty sure he’s in love with you.”

I was shocked into near speechlessness. I had thought that those thoughts were a result of that thing in my head’s manipulation, not actual truth. Fuck, I owed Crosswire one hell of an apology. “I… I didn’t realize,” I stammered, “Shit, I really messed up, didn’t I?”

“Well, I think he realizes you didn’t mean any of what you said but… yeah, you did,” the Pegasus answered with a sad grimace.

“Fuck… I am not looking forward to that conversation,” I said, “But why is that a problem with you? His feelings for me really don’t affect you, do they?” I was afraid of what the buck’s answer might be. Another part, one I almost didn’t want to acknowledge, was yearning for his answer.

As if confirming my fears, the Pegasus went quiet and tore his gaze away from me. “I really shouldn’t say. It’s nothing,” he said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself.

“Steel Curtain, if it’s this much on an issue, it isn’t nothing. We need to have each other’s backs, and if his feelings for me are an issue for me, well, I need to know,” I said, reaching out a hoof to make him look at me, “Even if I can’t answer them.”

At that, the Pegasus’s head snapped up and he fixed me in a painfully hopeful gaze. “Wait, you mean… you don’t feel for him that way?” he asked, then his expression turned to one off horror. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

“Steel Curtain, it’s fine. No, I don’t love him. He is my closest friend, and I value his loyalty more than anypony knows. I’m going to hate to have to let him down… but I can’t force something that isn’t there. But why does any of this matter?” I asked as his expression lightened and his ears perked up. I didn’t want to hear his answer, because I didn’t want to have to face what it could possibly be, but I couldn’t bear not knowing.

Unfortunately, the Pegasus was saved from needing to answer when Autumn Mist walked into the room, oblivious to our conversation.

“Evergreen, you’re finally up. I’m going to guess that everything is back to normal since Steel Curtain untied you?” the mare asked with a watchful tone. Her expression was carefully composed. It wasn’t hard to tell that she still wasn’t happy. When I nodded, she continued, “Good. As for anything you said, I can see that you’re about to start ranting an apology, so forget about it. Everything is forgiven. I remember the night in Grovedale, when we all found out about this thing. I don’t envy you, and I get it. Honestly, I’m surprised you managed as well as you did to fight through that fucking thing’s control. Let’s just hope this was the end of it.”

“I wish I could say it was, Autumn, but I don’t think that’s the case,” I said sadly, “But you guys know me well enough now to know when I’m being me, I hope. This thing isn’t gone yet, and I’m going to need all of your help for when it decides to show its face again. I managed to piss it off, and it isn’t going to be subtle anymore. Things aren’t going to be easy, but I need to know I have you guys at my back.”

“Say no more. I’m there. Need to keep an eye on you after all,” the dark mare said with a mischievous grin, “So, when are we going to get a move on? We’ve already spent far longer here than we should have.”

“We’re just waiting for Crosswire and Suture to wake up and join us. Then we need to get our gear from the Steel Rangers and get this Crystal where it was meant to go. From there, back to Metro,” I said, “I can ask who to deliver it to once we get our gear back.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I vote we give the sleepers ten more minutes, then get a move on. I hate being underground,” Steel Curtain announced with a nervous expression cast up to the ceiling.

I nodded in agreement and emptied my saddlebags, wanting to reorganize them while we waited.

Those ten minutes passed quickly, and before long, all five of us were gathered together for a quick breakfast before moving on. As with Steel Curtain and Autumn Mist, Crosswire and Suture assured me that there was nothing to forgive. All through the meal, I watched Crosswire carefully, but couldn’t pick up any hint of the feelings that Steel Curtain alluded to.

It wasn’t surprising. Crosswire had always been skilled at hiding his emotions, especially considering what we had been for all those years. That particular conversation was going to wait until we had some privacy, though. I wasn’t going to humiliate him in front of everypony else.

Once we finished eating and had all of our gear stowed away, I made my way back to the main hallway and waved down one of the passing Steel Rangers, asking the armored pony to fetch the Elder. The young stallion gave me a questioning look, but nodded curtly when it became apparent that I wasn’t joking and disappeared around a corner, reappearing a short time later with both Bitter Orange and Apple Crisp in tow.

“I see that you are in much better spirits today, Evergreen,” the Elder announced jovially, “That’s good to hear. Your friends mentioned how you weren’t feeling well yesterday.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” I answered vaguely, “And I was hoping we could get our weapons back. We were wanting to move on today and get on with our jobs. There is still a lot to be done.”

“Of course,” the Elder said with a nod, looking over to Apple Crisp. The Star Paladin gave the Elder a look of disapproval, but stepped forward and deposited a bag that, when opened, contained all of our weapons. Steel Curtain’s gear, however, was conspicuously absent.

“Where’s Steel Curtain’s armor and weapons?” I demanded, “We’re going to need those as well. As you well know, the wasteland is a dangerous place, and he is our one pony capable of taking a hit.”

Before the Elder could answer, Apple Crisp spoke, “Elder, I must once again protest this. The Pegasus is going free because this mare managed to accomplish an impossible task, but that does not mean we should trust him! If we return all of his gear, it could well mean our destruction.”

“Star Paladin, we have spoken about this, and I have already made my decision. The Dashite’s armor is being stored in our research labs. It was simply too heavy for us to easily transport down here. We can stop there on your way out for him to recover,” Bitter Orange said with a sharp glance at the red buck, “Now was there anything else you needed?”

“Only to know who exactly we’re supposed to be delivering this Crystal to,” I said, pulling the enigmatic thing out of my barding.

“Ah, of course. Once the Pegasus has his armor, I will show you all to her. No doubt she will be surprised to see it,” the Elder said with a sad grin, “Now, if you would all follow me, I will show you to the research labs. Star Paladin, you are dismissed to see to your duties.”

“Yes, Elder,” the massive red buck intoned, obviously unhappy with the situation, then turned and disappeared around a corner.

“Sorry about him,” the Elder said, “He means well, but it is nearly impossible to change his opinions on anything. Please follow me.”

The Elder led us deep into the base, passing dozens of armored and non-armored ponies. I had had no idea that there were so many ponies here. It made their claims that they didn’t have the strength to defend themselves seem almost ludicrous, until I realized that the vast majority of the ponies around us seemed to be young, very young. The average age seemed to be a couple of years younger than even Autumn Mist was.

“I can see you looking around, and I know you can see the obvious. Everypony here is so young, in many cases too young to be fully active members of the Steel Rangers,” the Elder said, looking over to me, “I was hoping you wouldn’t. We are the very definition of the fact that numbers are not everything. For every combat-able pony we have, there must be three of us that aren’t fully trained. We’re doing our best, but it will be many years before we can hope to rival the strength we once had here.”

“What happened to the older ponies?” Suture asked, stepping forward until she was just a step behind me.

The Elder sighed heavily as she organized her thoughts. “A tragedy from long before any of you were born. I was still just a filly, and Elder Flash Powder was our leader. He ordered the Knights and Paladins to take control over a nearby power station that he wanted to restore to working condition to provide some extra power to the Outpost. Unfortunately, the station was already inhabited by a band of ruthless mercenaries. Even given our technological superiority, they were experienced and dug in. We won, in the end, but lost eighty percent of the ponies sent to take it. We’ve been struggling to recover ever since.”

“Whoever was in charge was an idiot not to retreat and reassess the situation. They got everypony killed,” Steel Curtain said, “We were trained to know better. If we encounter a force we can’t beat, we fall back, reassess, and re-engage, if we deem ourselves to have a chance at victory. If not, we’ll regroup, call for reinforcements, and then strike.”

“We learned that lesson the hard way, from that fight. Flash Powder relied too heavily on our technology. He thought our armor made us invincible. Now we know better,” the Elder answered, her voice choking up slightly. There was something more to her story, but to ask would be too much like prying into her private business. She was already letting us go, I didn’t want to push our luck.

We finished the journey in silence, though luckily it wasn’t long enough for the silence to become awkward. Inside the research lab, Steel Curtain’s armor sat on a pedestal, obviously recently disconnected from the lab equipment. The Pegasus immediately darted forward and started to pull on his armor, a process that absolutely fascinated me.

For a system that appeared so solid, it came apart into a surprising number of pieces. It didn’t take long before I had completely lost track of what was supposed to go where, but Steel Curtain obviously knew exactly what he was doing as he quickly donned the armor with the air of a well-trained soldier. Within minutes, he was fully armored. I was actually a little sad to see his well-toned body disappear underneath the black plates.

“Ah, much better,” he sighed with an ear-to-ear grin, “I can’t even tell you how much safer I feel now.”

“You’ll see that we returned everything that was attached to it when you were taken in,” the Elder said, “you’re ammunition included.”

“I see that,” Steel Curtain answered, hitting a control and reloading his weapons with a series of loud clunks, “Good to see that everything is still working.”

“Of course. Now, I believe you all have one last task to see to?” Bitter Orange asked, turning to me.

“Yes. Could you please lead us there?” I asked, nodding at the older mare.

The Elder nodded simply and led us out of the room. To my surprise she led us up towards the surface. The room she stopped in front of was on the first level underground, surprising, given the possible importance of the pony we were finally meeting.

“Right in here. Now be careful, she is quite old. When you’re finished, simply send for someone to take you to the surface, and you can be on your way. Thank you, Evergreen, for all of your help,” the Elder said with a slight bow, then turned and walked away.

I watched the old mare disappear, then turned to face the closed door in front of me. I was finally going to get rid of the damn crystal that had heralded the biggest change in my life. I swallowed and opened the door, stepping inside to face whatever would come.

The chamber was sparsely furnished, with only a simple bed and desk inside. Seated at the desk, hunched over some paper or other, was the shape of an Earth Pony ghoul. Some pieces of hide were still intact, revealing that the pony had once been a deep purple in color, and the few wisps of mane that were left were a light pink in color, mixed in with some darker shades of the same color.

“Miss, I have a delivery for you, from Metro,” I announced as I stepped into the room, reaching into my barding to pull out the Crystal.

The ghoul turned to face me, fixing me in a piercing stare that I swore cut right through to my very soul. Those light green eyes held so much pain in them that I was surprised this pony was still sane. She had lived through hell and was now forced to survive in an underground bunker in one of the most hostile environments known to ponykind. But despite her pain, her stare was not unkind. If anything, I would call it curious.

“Come closer, dear. My eyes aren’t what they used to be,” the pony said, her voice rasping as every ghoul’s did, but the tone was lighthearted, and held a sense of humor I hadn’t heard in anypony for many years.

I complied, stepping up next to the ancient mare and offering the Crystal up to her. She looked down at it then carefully, almost gingerly, lifted it from my hooves.

“I was told that one of these was on its way to me the day before the bombs fell,” she mused, looking into the depths of the Crystal, her eyes following the flitting light inside, “I’ve spent the last two hundred years hoping it would find its way to me, if only to find out why I was important enough that the newest technology should be wasted on a mare such as myself.”

“Well, it’s finally here,” I answered, grinning slightly, “I hope it contains some good news.”

The mare smiled sadly and looked up at me. “Anything it contains is from the closing days of the war. No news was good then, but maybe it will bring me some closure. I can see that you’ve spent a lot of time with it. I think it’s only fair that you hear what is inside.”

“Are… are you sure?” I asked, even though part of me was jumping at the chance to find out what secrets the damned enigmatic thing held, “I don’t want to pry into your private life.”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure,” she said with a knowing grin, “Now come, sit. We’ll see what was so important that it had to reach somepony like me, who had no real bearing on the war. Besides, I don’t think that this is any news that anypony should have to hear on their own.”

Quietly, I did as the old ghoul asked, seating myself at the table directly across from her. She carefully placed the Messaging Crystal between us, then placed both her hooves on the table so that the Crystal was contained between them.

“Wait, what about my friends?” I asked, looking over to where everypony else sat by the door, anxious looks on their faces, “Are you sure you want them to be a part of this as well?”

“If you trust them, then that is enough for me,” the elderly mare responded, giving them little more than a cursory glance before turning her attention back to the Crystal in front of us.

Ever so slowly, she brought one of her hooves into contact with the rough, yet polished, surface of the Crystal, her eyes screwed up tight in concentration. Suddenly, the Crystal began to glow from the inside, the small flitting light coming to a halt in the exact center of the thing and shining to fill the inside with a harsh bright light that almost hurt to look at.

After a few moments a voice resonated from the Crystal. “Miss Cheerilee, this is Apple Bloom,” a light voice with a slight southern accent said from the depths of the Crystal. The voice was filled with such sadness that my heart was almost breaking simply listening to the two-century old message, despite my anger at the duplicitousness the mare had been a part of with Stable-Tec, “I hope that this message reaches you before it’s too late. I… we, that is, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I… decided to send this message to you as a sort of apology. With the direction this war has taken, we realize the terrible things we’ve done just to make sure that ponykind survives. We tried to figure out where we went wrong, but… it just seems like so many of our ideas will lead to nothing more than more heartache, and you were the only pony we could think of to send this apology to. Especially since Applejack and Rarity are so caught up in their own ministries and have no time for the work we’ve been doin’.”

The voice of Apple Bloom fell silent for several moments as the mare apparently tried to catch her breath. I looked across the table, tearing my gaze from the Crystal to look at the aging ghoul before me. Tears were filling her eyes, and several wet trails could be seen coursing down the remains of her cheeks. In all the years this mare had survived, I could imagine that it would take a lot for her to have this sort of emotional reaction.

“Well… I suppose that that is really everything there is to say… We realized the hurt we’re going to cause, and we’re sorry. I should have listened to Scootaloo months ago when she started saying how much this business was bothering her. Now it’s too late… I… I guess I just wanted you to know that we set up a place for you, in Stable 113, outside of Seaddle. We just want you, our old teacher, to be safe. I promise, it’s one of the control Stables. You’ll be able to survive there, if anything goes wrong.”

The Crystal dimmed as the voice dissipated, becoming a completely dull shape, with even the light that had been on the inside no longer to be seen. Cheerilee, the ghoul I was sitting with, was crying openly. “I got the passes to the Stable the same day I was told about the pending arrival of the Crystal. Fearing the worst, I booked my journey out here for that same day. I never made it in time… the bombs fell during the crossing. Those of us that survived the radiation from the drops became like me. By the time I made it to Seaddle, the Stable was long since closed. I should consider myself lucky that I survived this long… At least I learned that they felt some remorse for their work. They were such innocent fillies so long ago, wanting nothing more than to find out what their Cutie Marks were… I guess that same curiosity followed them even into adulthood. They did always need to know everything about everything,” Cheerilee said sadly.

“There are far worse ponies than them, even in those times,” I said, surprisingly moved by the sincerity in the message, “If you like, I could stop by that Stable, see if there’s anything left for you there. We’ll be able to get in.”

The old ghoul looked up at me, a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Please. It would mean the world to me.”

I nodded solemnly in response. “They aren’t the only ones that were looking for a reason to live again,” I said, “Some of us today are still looking for the reason to deserve life anymore.”

“You are?” the old mare asked, a knowing look in her eye. It was the look of a mare who knew all too well the tricks younger ponies used to hide their emotions.

All I could do was nod confirmation. “I’ve made my share of mistakes. It’s long past time I fought to make them right.”

“Good. Then do this for me, and I will forgive you for your past,” she said, a hard look coming into her eyes, promising both forgiveness and damnation. I now had two ponies holding me to my pledge to live a better life. It would have to be enough.

“I’m guessing that I’m going to find you here, then?” I asked, getting back onto my hooves.

“No, I’ve been locked up in this bunker for far too long. It’s time I faced the world again. I’m going to head for Metro, since it seems that they have become a respectable city, though I will need some time to prepare for the journey.”

“We can speak to Mallet on your behalf then, when we get back,” Suture spoke up from the door, “He’ll see that you’re properly welcomed.”

Cheerilee nodded her appreciation at the maroon medic. “Thank you. Now, if that is all, I have a lot of preparations to make.”

“Of course,” I said with a curt nod as I turned and made my back to the door. My friends were already filing out, leaving the old ghoul to her memories and preparations.

In the hallway, Crosswire was standing with a bemused look. “It’s been a long time since I’d spoken with her. Bitter Orange discouraged any of us younger ponies talking to her. She said that it generated too many of the wrong ideas in us, would make us think too much about the whole world, rather than just the Rangers. I’d forgotten that she had once been connected to those three.”

“It is incredible,” I agreed, “I just like the thought that I’m not the only one that realized my mistakes. Those three had at least as much to make up for as I do. At least I never knowingly mislead ponies to their deaths.”

“What do you think we’re going to find in Stable 113?” Suture asked, “Do you really think the Stable-Tec heads left anything behind for her?”

“Well, it was a control Stable, so for all we know it could still be sealed,” Crosswire answered, “but yes, I think we will find something. From the sound of that message, Apple Bloom really wanted her to get to that Stable. My guess is the other two left something behind for her as well.”

“Hmm… I hope you’re right. She’s had so much pain in her life, she deserves a little closure. She obviously loved those three a great deal when they were still fillies,” Suture said, looking over to me with a hopeful look on her face.

“You don’t need to ask me to go. It’s the only right thing to do,” I said quickly, holding a hoof up to keep the medic from getting to emotional with me, “I’d already thought we would stop there on our way out from Seaddle. Besides, I haven’t got a clue where it is. Shooting Star probably does, though.”

“That makes sense. We still have a lot of other work that needs to be done as well. It’s smarter to make our way there when it’s actually on our way, rather than having to detour to get there. Message said it was outside Seaddle, so I can’t see it being too far anyway,” Steel Curtain added.

“Well, you all know my vote,” Autumn Mist said, her voice distant and aloof, “I hate Stables, and I’d rather have nothing at all to do with this one as well.”

“Honestly, Autumn, I agree with you,” I said, turning to look at the dark mare, “But this could be important. Don’t you want to know what led to all of this?” I waved a hoof around, taking in the entirety of the world we lived in.

“I know what caused it. The war with the fucking zebras. Nopony could take the high road and find a peaceful solution. Instead, they had to go and fuck life up for the rest of us,” Autumn spat angrily, “And the apologies of three mares that have been dead for two hundred years don’t mean a whole lot to me. But hey, if you think it’s important, Evergreen, then I’m there. I trust you enough for that.”

I nodded my acknowledgment of the compliment and turned to face down the hall. “Thanks, Autumn. I appreciate it. Now that we have that decided, let’s get a move on.”

We made our way out of the bunker, emerging to find that the rain had actually stopped for a short time, and it felt as though it had been that way for a while, as the air was heavy and humid, and we were all soon sweating profusely as we made our way out of the small canyon that housed the Outpost. I could only imagine how hot Steel Curtain’s armor was getting.

“Keep your heads up and your eyes peeled,” I warned as we turned the last corner to reveal the trail leading out of the mountains, “There could still be a pack of manticores out here.”

Heads perked up at the order and everypony looked a little more alert. Despite our care, the way seemed clear, and not so much as a radroach crossed our path. Within a couple of hours, we were coming up on the trail that would lead towards my old camp. I found my gaze being drawn to the peak in the distance that Heart Attack had been making for. I hoped that he made it to the peak and got to see the sky. Ponies deserved to realize their dreams, especially if they were something as simple as that, something that would have been a given to anypony from before the war.

My mind began to wander, wondering what it would be like to be able to lift my head and see the sun whenever I wanted. A fierce anger gripped me at the injustice of the Pegasi, stealing away the sun from the rest of us. They were punishing us for the simple fact that we didn’t have wings, and I could easily believe that even if a Pegasus was born on the ground that they wouldn’t be welcome up there.

“Hey, Evergreen, what’s the plan? It’s starting to get dark out here, and the camp is pretty close,” Crosswire’s voice said, breaking my reverie.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts then looked at the ragged unicorn. “Honestly, I would rather not go back to that place. We shouldn’t be too far from some simple shelter. There’s ruins all over this part of the mountains: Lean-tos and pre-war structures the caravans use as shelter. We can use one of those.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I think I know where the closest is. Let me lead,” Crosswire said, pushing his way to the forefront of our formation.

I let the buck take the lead, falling back into his position on our flank. My eyes automatically started scanning the horizon, searching for movement, but it seemed like all life had left the region. My E.F.S. was completely blank, excepting the blue bars that were my friends.

We pushed on through the gloom that was quickly growing darker, casting long shadows over the ground to our side. By the time the shape of the old ruined structure presented itself before us, it was completely dark, and we only managed to find our way forward by the grace of our Pipbucks’ lights and the lights coming from Steel Curtain’s helmet after he pulled it on and hit a few controls.

We came within thirty yards of the structure when Crosswire brought us all to a halt, his ears swiveled forward towards the structure. His horn was glowing and his SMG was floating beside him, pointing in the direction of the ruin.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, coming up next to the tense buck.

“Somepony is already here,” he said, “And I don’t think they’re caravaneers; I don’t see any Brahmin. Anything on the E.F.S.?”

“No, nothing,” I answered after a cursory check, “You sure somepony is here?”

“Shut up a moment and listen,” he said, though not harshly. It was the tone he reserved for when we could potentially be in danger.

I did as he asked, straining my ears and taking a few tentative steps towards the structure. Sure enough, I could make out the faint rustle of barding and the clopping of hooves on concrete. I couldn’t imagine why nothing was appearing on my E.F.S. though. At this range, something should show up.

“Any ideas?” Autumn Mist asked, her rifle already out and primed. I could see the tension in her limbs as she mentally prepared herself for combat.

“This doesn’t have to end in blood,” Suture said quietly, “We don’t know who these ponies are. That doesn’t mean they’re bad.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed, “but it doesn’t make sense not to be careful. We might have created a power vacuum in the area when we took out Crackshot. These ponies could be trying to move in to replace him. On the other hoof, they could simply be travelers, like us. I don’t like this.” I looked over to Steel Curtain. “How good is your visibility with that helmet?” I asked.

“Pretty good. With it being dark, I can make out a pony at fifty yards,” the Pegasus answered. Damn, it must have night-vision for that kind of range.

“Good enough. Do a quick flyover and see if you can make out if these ponies are raiders, wastelanders, or something completely different,” I ordered.

Steel Curtain nodded quickly, then launched himself into the air. The color of his armor made him disappear almost instantly, so all we could do was wait for him to reappear.

It took almost ten hoof-biting minutes, but the Pegasus did finally land amongst us again. “I trust when you and Crosswire say there’s somepony here, but I can’t see anything. Wherever they are, they know how to hide from somepony in the air. I don’t think raiders are smart enough to do that effectively.”

“I agree. So these aren’t raiders. That leaves one option, since it’s too dark to make for another shelter. Suture, you’re with me. Autumn, watch us. First hostile movement on their part, I want you to start shooting. Crosswire, keep to the shadows if you can, but I don’t want to intimidate these ponies. Steel Curtain, it goes without saying for you to stay out of sight,” I ordered, “Suture and I will approach and make it known that we’re here. If we’re lucky, they will be as hesitant to start a fight as we are.”

Nods greeted my orders all around, and within moments we were ready to go. Slowly and confidently, the medic and I approached the structure, making no effort to hide our approach. When the main entrance came into view, I stopped. “Hey, anypony in there? We’re looking for shelter for the night!” I shouted, “We aren’t looking for a fight, either! We’re just travelers!”

All those small tell-tale sounds disappeared instantly. I began feeling distinctly ill at ease. I couldn’t say why, but I knew we were being watched and carefully judged. These ponies were careful, and if they didn’t like what they saw, I had a distinct feeling that we wouldn’t be walking away, despite our skill.

“We aren’t here to fight,” I shouted, “We’re tired and need to rest. If you need to know, I’m just a pony working for Mallet, of Metro. I promise, we have no ill intent.”

“Why should we believe this pony?” a heavily accented voice asked. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I spun around in place, trying to place the origin of the sound, but I could see nothing. It had sounded like it was close, but there was nothing on my E.F.S. A quick glance at Suture told me that the medic couldn’t see anything either.

“We cannot,” an equally accented voice, this one much deeper, answered, “They are a risk.”

“Hey, we don’t want to fight!” I repeated again, “We’re peaceful, I swear, by the Princesses above, we don’t want to fight!”

“She swears by false gods and the agents of evil. Was it their power that let her find us?” the first voice asked.

False gods? Agents of evil? Never had I heard those words being said in response to the Princesses. “Please, I don’t want a fight,” I said, my voice almost begging. I was still spinning around, wanting to face the pony I was begging to, but nothing was revealing itself.

“No. She has not been touched by their evil,” the second voice answered, almost conversationally.

“But there is much blood on her. I can see it,” the first voice insisted.

I looked down at myself, but the only blood I could see was a little bit of my own dried blood on my barding and some that had stained through the bandages that were still wrapped around the wounds in my legs. The voice made it sound like I was bathing in blood, so I didn’t have a clue what it meant. The entire conversation was beginning to freak me out. It reminded me far too much of the creature in my head.

“What pony is not covered in blood,” the second voice said, “The blood is this world, not the pony. There is truth in her words. She did not approach for a fight. I will speak with her.”

All of a sudden, a blue bar appeared in front of me, and a pony-shape emerged from the shadows and stepped into the light cast by both Suture and my Pipbucks. The maroon mare let out a shocked breath as the pony stepped into the light, revealing that the figure wasn’t a pony at all.

Black and white stripes covered the buck’s hide, and on its flank, in place of a cutie mark, was a highly stylized glyph. The best way I could think of to describe it was as a Semi-circle that had multiple lines running across and along the arc, with a few small circles in the area enclosed by the arc itself. His eyes shone green in the light, and his stare, though not harsh, was heavy, and I found myself wanting to get out from under it. He was weighing us carefully, and it didn’t take a genius to see that he was on edge. Every line of his body was poised to spring. I did not want to give this pony a reason to.

“We’re just looking for a place to rest,” I repeated, drawing myself up to my full height and stating the zebra in the eyes, trying to show him that I wouldn’t be intimidated. I knew many ponies in the world still despised the zebras, even now, two hundred years after species should no longer matter. To me, they were just survivors of a life none us had asked for, the same as I was.

“All five of you?” he asked pointedly, his gaze leaving mine for the barest instant as he looked over my shoulder to where Autumn Mist was undoubtedly sitting.

I was briefly shocked into speechlessness, but thankfully, Suture was well enough in control to answer. “Yes, all five of us. We just faced a lot of danger up in the mountains, and we were making our way back to Metro. This was the closest shelter to our path.”

“If you are mere travelers, why did the armored Pegasus fly over us? And why is the young one aiming at my head with a rifle? Do you truly mean no harm with this evidence of aggression?” he asked, looking at me. His stare was not accusing, it merely presented the facts. If anything, that unnerved me even more. Had our positions been reversed, I would have probably already started shooting.

“We’re being careful,” I answered slowly, “This area is not safe. Until a few days ago, a large raider gang lived a short way away. I couldn’t know if you were friendly or hostile. I sent Steel Curtain to see if he could figure it out. Autumn is preparing, just in case you decide to attack. We don’t want to fight, but we can if we have to.”

“Can you win?” the zebra asked suddenly, the question catching me off guard.

“I… I would like to think so, especially after the dangers we have faced,” I said, “We have faced many enemies that most would run from, rather than face down, and we’re all still alive. That has to count for something.”

“Surviving against brutes and barbarians is no special feat,” the zebra intoned, “They are not real enemies, merely obstacles in the path of the determined.”

“Then what does count as a real fight?” I demanded, my annoyance at the zebra’s superiority overcoming my unease at his obvious confidence. “We’ve fought organized forces out here, most notably a small force out near Buckview. They weren’t raiders, or barbarians.” Our altercation with Greymane also sprang to my mind, but I didn’t mention that.

“I hear the truth in your words. You have convinced me that to fight you would be difficult, and invite more troubles than I am equipped for,” the zebra stated. I noticed immediately that he hadn’t said anything about losing.

“So what does that mean? Can we stay? It’s too dark for us to go anywhere else,” I asked hopefully, “And where is your friend?”

“You may stay, for the night. In the morning, I imagine we will take our separate paths. Our goals do not coincide,” the buck answered simply, turning and walking towards the structure.

“I must protest this decision,” the first voice rang out, but once again, I could not make out the source, “There is evil in this mare. I can see it.”

“The truth in her words outweighs that. Evil has touched all in this blighted land. Not even we have avoided its touch,” the buck answered conversationally.

“There is more in her than in most! We are in great danger!” the first voice insisted, and its owner materialized from the shadows to block the buck’s entry into the ruin. The zebra it belonged to was small, enough so that I thought that Autumn might be larger than she was. She was covered by a dark cloak that hid most of her body, and when she turned to look at me, I took a step back in shock. Where her eyes should have been were two milky white orbs. The zebra mare was blind.

Despite the buck’s words before, the zebra mare’s words made him pause and turn to look at me, and I could see the doubt in his eyes, as well as in his stance. He had positioned his rear legs so he could quickly push himself to the side, should fighting become necessary.

“What pony hasn’t made mistakes in their past?” I asked, “I know I have. You have to believe me, I’m only trying to help ponies now. I left that life behind.”

“You were a raider, the one in charge in these parts,” the large buck stated. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes, I was, but I left that all behind. I’m working with Metro now. You have to believe me,” I pressed. My tone was no longer fearful. I was becoming convinced that there was no longer going to be a peaceful solution. Already, I was mentally preparing myself for the coming struggle. Something told me it was going to be at least as difficult as the fight with Greymane had been.

“I am required to do nothing. The protection of my charge is my only obligation,” the buck stated harshly, “And she views you as a threat.”

“Then what makes you better than us?” Suture spat angrily, stepping forward so she was between me and the large zebra, “You call us evil, and now you’re going to attack us simply because that blind mare says so? We have done nothing but ask for peace and a place to rest. If you attack, you will be as bad as raiders. I have grown beyond the pointless bigotry of other ponies, but your actions here only serve to support their hatred of your species!”

“She dares to insult us so? These ponies have allowed themselves to be greatly corrupted by the evil of this land, if they resort to these methods,” the small mare said angrily, her speech becoming faster and more excited, and the accent making it almost impossible to understand her.

“They insult us because they speak the truth,” the buck stated, his stance relaxing. I could see a grin forming on his lips, thought I couldn’t say what he thought was funny, “And they are right. Regardless of what you see that is hidden to me, they are not enemies. Not on this night. I will not fight.”

“You will do as I say! I am your charge, and I cannot sleep with this evil near me!” the small mare insisted. I had to strain my ears to make out her words, her accent was distorting them so much.

The larger zebra turned to the small and said something in their own chattering language. While I couldn’t understand a word of what he said, I could deduce it easily enough. His tone was the same of every guard I had ever heard when facing overwhelming odds or a situation where they didn’t believe violence was necessary: letting her know in no uncertain terms that he was not going to fight, no matter what was said. I didn’t need to know the language to know that.

By the time he finished speaking, the small mare had a chagrined look on her face, though her ears were still laid back against her head in anger. He turned back to where Suture and I stood: me poised and ready to spring, and her standing as though ready to bolt for her life. “I apologize for her behavior. We have spent so much time needing to fight every pony that crossed our paths, we have forgotten the company of civilized ponies. It is as you said, everypony, and everyzebra, makes mistakes. This has been ours. Please, join us and be welcome.” With that, he turned and disappeared inside the structure. The smaller zebra looked at me darkly for a moment, the blank white orbs of her eyes boring into my chest, before she disappeared into the ruin as well.

After a few moments, Crosswire appeared from the shadows. His SMG was once again stowed safely away in his barding. “Well, I can safely say that I wasn’t expecting that,” he stated dryly, “Good job in keeping him from turning us into paste, Suture.”

“Oh, I imagine that small one was more than capable of fighting as well,” Autumn Mist said as she trotted into our circle, her rifle still floating beside her. Once she was settled down with us she put the weapon away, sliding it into the loop on her back.

“You think? She was blind,” I asked, “How much good would she be in a fight?”

“Well, she was awfully perceptive for being blind. And the way she was moving her head definitely didn’t look like she couldn’t see. Trust me, I knew a pony once that was. Bastard barely moved his head at all,” Autumn insisted, “Besides, she’s a zebra. They’re all supposed to have some kind of kooky power.

“Seriously, Autumn? You’re bigoted against zebras as well?” Crosswire asked as Steel Curtain landed amongst us.

“No, but I’m just saying, the legends and stories my parents told me said that almost every zebra has some sort of special power, kinda like ponies with our cutie marks. I mean, they do all have a unique glyph on their flanks, also like our cutie marks. Stands to reason that they all have some sort of unique ability or talent as well,” the young mare insisted.

“It would make sense,” the Pegasus said, “And it explains why she has a protector. She definitely can’t see the same way we do, but she doesn’t seem as… dependent… on him as a blind pony would be. So either her other senses are much sharper than they would be, or she does have some sort of sixth sense to make up for the absence of her eyesight.”

“Does any of this really matter?” I asked, “In the end, we’ll be parting ways in the morning, and it won’t matter anymore. Let’s get in there and get some rest. I’m too hyped up from that exchange right now for sleep, so I’ll take first watch. Steel Curtain, I’ll wake you when I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.”

The Pegasus nodded his acknowledgment and we made our way into the ruin. The two zebras didn’t even seem to notice our entry, but I was under no illusions that they knew we were there, and that at least one of them was watching us very closely. My friends settled down in the corner opposite of our two hosts, and I positioned myself by the door so I could see out. I wasn’t really expecting any trouble tonight, considering how quiet our journey this far had been, but there was no sense in lowering our guard. The wasteland was still the wasteland, and that was not going to change anytime soon.

It took a few moments for me to finally settle down, and by that time, I could hear the change in breathing from my friends that meant they had drifted off to sleep. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

My eyes were beginning to grow heavy when I felt movement at my side. I turned sharply and came nose-to-nose with the large zebra stallion. I couldn’t help but to let out a short shout of surprise as my heart leapt into my throat. I shifted over to give the zebra some space, as well as to gather my shattered nerves. A small grin was on the zebra’s face.

“Let a mare know when you’re sneaking up on her,” I complained, trying to keep my voice low so as to not wake up any of the other sleeping ponies.

“Why would I tell a pony I was sneaking up on them? Seems to cause the opposite of what I wish,” the zebra answered ponderously, his grin widening.

“Very funny,” I said with a grimace, “So you’re protector and a comic. Great.”

“A zebra has to find something to laugh about in this bleak world that we must live in,” he answered solemnly, the grin fading from his face as he looked out into the gloom beyond the doorway, “Otherwise the madness overcomes you, and life becomes unbearable. Do you not agree?”

My mind turned to the few moments with my friends where we had all laughed as a group at some joke, or to the feeling of victory after we beat the fighters outside of Buckview, the first time all five of us has fought together. “I guess you’re right. It’s easy to forget about those moments. They tend to get buried under the daily atrocities we’re faced with.”

“You see many of those?” the zebra asked me. His tone wasn’t accusing or prying, but sympathetic.

“More than I would care to admit. Have you ever been to Buckview, the small town that was far to the east of here, almost to the forest?” I asked. When the zebra shook his head, I continued, “Well, it was leveled, completely burnt to the ground. My friends and I were the ones that confirmed it. Only survivor was a small filly. The ponies that destroyed the town had piled up all the bodies in the main square and burned them. The fire was still going when we got there. Fuckers came back the next morning, so we did the only thing we could and avenged them. Nopony deserves a fate like that, not if they are trying to build a town and keep it afloat. All they wanted was to survive.”

“That is terrible indeed. With all the struggles of this life, it is not easy to face death on that scale. I saw something similar once, many years ago, before being given my current charge. I was still living in the zebra lands, and the home of my ancestors. A tribe that had chosen to worship the harshness of this world, the equal of your raiders, attacked a village. They didn’t have the grace to burn the bodies, but left them where they fell. Blood still stains the ground of that land,” my companion offered. I got the feeling that he was much older than he appeared to be, but I could see in his eyes that the sight still haunted him.

The silence grew between us, as there was very little that could be said on top of what had already been shared, so I decided to take a risk. “Your charge, she seems very… severe,” I said carefully, not wanting to upset the large zebra. He seemed like he was usually light-hearted, but being with strangers always made everypony guarded. Zebras were no different..

He sighed heavily and dropped his gaze down to the ground. “She can be very difficult. She has grown much and changed more in the years I have been with her. Life on the road is not easy, and if a zebra is not careful, it can harden you to the value of life. Were it not for the words of your red friend, I fear I would have done as she wished and attacked you, and I would have been wrong to do so. But we came from far away, from a land that has been damaged much more than this one. Next to my home, this city would be considered a haven of peace.”

“Where was that?” I asked, curious. Seaddle was bad, even I knew that. There were the countless gangs and raider bands that moved about the wasteland itself, not to mention the never-ending turf war that was constantly being waged in downtown itself. “I was born up to the northwest a ways, a few days travel outside of the city. My parents moved us inland, trying to find an easier life than one with all the dangers that the coast offers.”

A gloomy look came over the zebra’s features as thoughts of his home came forward. “It pains me still to think of home, and the reasons I had to leave, even given the harshness and the dangers. I hail from our ancient capital, Roam, but had to leave when Yaari was given to me as my charge. The circumstances of her birth demanded that we leave, and it was my duty to see her safe to our destination.”

“Why is that?” I asked, “She doesn’t seem especially different from anypony else I’ve met.”

“Then you must keep very odd company indeed,” the zebra said, shooting me a look that told me he knew I was just trying to be polite, “Yaari was touched at birth, but none could tell if it was by the stars or by more benevolent spirits. Either way, it has shaped both our lives ever since that fateful day. I am sure you noticed that she does not see the same way we do, by the light of day or our artificial forms of illumination, but rather she simply knows what is in the world around us. She is not blind in the usual sense of the word. Her words from our meeting should have proven that. She saw something in you, some great evil. Even without her Sight, I can feel it as well.”

“It’s… a complicated issue,” I offered meekly, “I don’t have any plans for the wasteland beyond trying to help it, but… we all have obstacles we need to face. This one is mine.” Even I had heard enough about zebra superstition to know that simply offering up the fact that some creature was living in my head and twisting my thoughts would be a death sentence.

“Your words carry much truth. I have spent most of our journey trying to determine what my obstacle will be. As the months have passed, more and more I am beginning to think that it is Yaari herself. The harshness of the road has not been kind to her, and I have not always been fast enough to spare her from harm. Her experiences have hardened her from the easy-going young zebra she once was. You’ve seen what she is, and I fear what she might become.”

“Why is she your responsibility?” I asked, shifting myself to face the zebra head-on. As soon as the words left my mouth I saw him stiffen. This had to be extremely personal, but it was too late for me to back down, but at least I could try to temper it. “What I mean is, why you? What made you so special that somepony… er… somezebra else couldn’t watch her? Where were her parents?”

“Her parents… Her father had died some months before, fighting to protect the small village where we lived. Her mother died of grief only days after her birth. She held on long enough to see Yaari into this world, then departed. It is my belief that it was the grief of her mother that gave her the gift, or curse, that she now lives with,” the zebra answered slowly, as though weighing his words carefully before speaking them. “She was given to me because I was all that was left for her to go to. Everyzebra knew from the moment she opened her eyes that she could not remain in the village, and as the only Outsider that had been brought in, the duty fell to me to see her taken care of.”

“But why did you have to leave? Just because she was born blind? That doesn’t make any sense!” I protested, “That village threw her to the horrors of the wastes simply because she was born different?”

“You don’t understand, and I cannot blame you for this. You were not raised as we were. Had she simply been blind it would have been different, but when she opened her eyes that first time, she could stare straight into the soul of anyzebra around her. Even now, she sees straight to the core of anyone that crosses our path. It is how she saw the evil in you. It is why we had to leave. It is simply our way.”

I snorted, completely unconvinced. “We can hardly be blamed for something that isn’t our fault,” I snapped angrily, “I didn’t choose to bear my burden.”

“We never do,” the zebra answered me sadly.

“Eresti, why are you speaking with this foreigner?” a sharp voice, one that I easily identified as coming from Yaari, suddenly cut in.

“Because, despite what you may see, young one, she has a good heart. Even one as limited as myself can see that. The evil you can see is not her choice,” Eresti answered, his tone just as sharp as the young zebra mare’s was.

“But she is still a stranger and cannot be trusted! Do I need to remind you of your charge again? Or the mercenaries on the steppes?” Yaari snapped, advancing until she stood only a few feet away from the massive zebra. I could see her glaring at him, the colorless white orbs that were her eyes boring into Eresti’s.

Once again, the massive zebra stiffened and pulled himself to his full height, where his head, even while sitting, towered a full foot over me. “You do not,” he ground out, “but nor will I allow such rudeness to one that has not earned it. Strangers only remain that way if no attempt is made to learn of each other. We all face the same dangers, it is only right that there are some who choose to fight against the madness as we must. Your safety is my life, as it always is, but your life is in no danger with these ponies.”

“But that is the problem! They are ponies, not zebras! Their motives are always unknown. All we can know is that they care only for themselves!” the young mare spat.

“Now wait just a minute,” I protested, rising to my hooves and facing the mare, “What the fuck did I do to deserve that! All I’ve done these last two weeks is help others! Fuck, half the time it ended up with me coming a lot closer to death than I would like!”

Yaari snapped her head around so that her eyes were gazing straight at me. It felt like my entire soul was being laid bare to the small zebra. “I can see what you are, Evergreen. I see every secret, and every life that you have taken. So many innocents that needn’t have died, yet they met their ends at your hooves. Even now, all your actions serve only to achieve what you want. You simply delude yourself into thinking you are helping others, but in the end, it is all about you and your precious redemption. Nothing can remove the stain of innocent blood from your soul,” she snapped, stepping towards me until our noses were almost touching.

“At least I’m trying to be better,” I answered quietly. Her words had struck me far deeper than I wanted to admit, casting a shadow over my soul that I doubted I would be able to shake easily. A part of me knew that she was right, that everything I was doing was wasted effort in the end. I had lived too long doing the wrong thing, taken far too many lives to be forgiven. Even though there were ponies that welcomed me, towns that were happy to see me, there were always going to be ponies that would never forgive me, that would always know me as the one that had destroyed them. There would always be ponies like Autumn Mist.

“And failing badly in the attempt,” Yaari sneered, “You claim to be better, but how many dozens have you killed since your supposed change of heart?”

“They were all raiders or gangers!” I protested angrily, “The only fight that wasn’t against somepony like that was the one outside of Buckview, and they were responsible for the destruction of that entire town! I’ve been fighting to save lives, to try to help others. Where is the wrong in that?!”

“Ponies are still dying. You haven’t changed a bit, Evergreen. The evil in your heart will never be wiped away, and you know that. You are nothing more than a cold-hearted killer, and you shall never be more,” the small zebra stated, then turned to return to the corner where she had been sleeping. “Esteri, come away from there. I don’t want her polluting your thoughts.”

With an apologetic glance in my direction, the massive zebra rose to his hooves and followed Yaari to the corner, where he settled down to get a bit of rest.

I sighed heavily and turned to the corner where my friends were sleeping. I needed some time to sort all of this shit out, and I couldn’t do that if I had to be on watch. Within moments, I had Steel Curtain roused and was lying in the spot he had just vacated. I figured that with a night’s rest, everything would be clearer, but trying as hard as I could, sleep would simply not come. My mind was too full of visions of torn bodies and dead ponies, the result of my life. My entire history was littered with blood and corpses, and it seemed that they would be everything that I would ever leave behind.

As the sky lightened with the dawn, I was still lying awake, and my thoughts had dragged me down into a spiral of self-loathing. I could find no reason to disagree with Yaari. Every time I thought I had found a reason for my fighting that didn’t benefit myself, I could easily think of half a dozen reasons why it did. As my friends began to wake, I resigned myself to the fact I was not going to find a reason and that the small zebra was right. I would never be anything more than a killer focused only on my own gain. Hell, I’d said more than once: I wanted redemption, and I was now resigned to the fact that I was never going to get it.

We ate a quick meal before setting out, bidding the zebra pair a good journey on our way out, and set ourselves on the road towards Metro. We were still a long way away and I was already exhausted. There wasn’t much conversation during our journey, which was something I was not going to complain about. I didn’t think I was capable of conversing normally with my friends anyway. What did I have to say to them? I had made myself out to be some sort of Paragon of good, or to put it in Shooting Star’s words: a hero, when the truth was that I was just as fucked up as any other pony out here. Every choice I made resulted in somepony dying, and they all expecting me to be capable of making those kinds of decisions again.

“So are we making for that house again?” Crosswire asked as we paused for a midday meal, “Even if we want to push ourselves unnecessarily, we aren’t going to make Metro by nightfall, so we need to think about where we’re staying for the night.”

“I don’t see why not,” Autumn Mist mumbled around a mouthful of a snack cake, “It’s a good spot. What do you think, Evergreen?”

At her question, everypony turned their gazes to me. For the first time, I felt uncomfortable under their stares. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t want to make the choice. Somehow, I knew that even a choice as simple as this would only lead to more bloodshed. But at the same time, I needed to maintain the façade that I knew what I was doing. A strong leader never shows that they aren’t fit for the position. “Yeah, sure,” I finally managed to force out, “It’s as good a place as any.”

Autumn Mist nodded resolutely at my announcement, and the others seemed content with the answer as well, all except for Crosswire, who kept his steady gaze on me for several moments more.

“You all right, Evergreen? You haven’t seemed quite yourself today,” he asked, a concerned note in his voice. I looked at him and saw the worry clearly reflected in his gaze.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… didn’t sleep well, that’s all,” I said with a weak grin in a bad attempt to deflect his worry. Unfortunately, that was exactly the wrong thing to say, especially given my particular situation.

“Dreams again? Anything you think we should know about, or can’t you remember?” Suture asked, moving herself over next to me in an obvious attempt to help me should it become necessary.

I quickly shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I just didn’t sleep well, that’s all. Had a hard time falling asleep, and it wasn’t very restful. I’m just tired, I promise. I swear to you guys, if something had happened that concerned that… thing, I would let you know.”

“All right, if you’re sure. Just remember, we’re here to help,” Steel Curtain said, his voice betraying just as much concern as both Crosswire and Suture were showing. Even Autumn Mist seemed abnormally concerned.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, can we get moving again? We’ve already been stuck in the open for longer than I’m comfortable with,” I asked, getting to my hooves in an attempt to get away from all the attention. All their concern with my… condition… was making me feel like I was some sort of invalid, and I hated it.

Nopony argued with me, and in just moments, we were on the move again, any last bites of food being swallowed while we walked. As before, we made good time, pressing on through the light rain that we easily put out of mind. The assurance that my friends were there for me did nothing to dispel the fears and doubts that had taken root in my mind, and with every step I became a little less sure of what I was trying to do. Why was I really trying to organize the wasteland against Seahawk? For all I knew, just letting him move in and control the different towns would bring stability to the region. Nopony ever accepted change easily, so a show of force would be necessary, and though Buckview might have been a little too far, I couldn’t deny that it definitely gave me a healthy respect for strength of his forces. I was starting to believe that the only reason I was following this path was because it would keep the status quo, at least well enough that the various leaders of the various towns would still be in charge of their small spheres of influence and could tell themselves that very little had changed. In the short term, it would save lives. But in the long run, when all the dust settled, would it really make a difference? How many would die in the fighting before it was all said and done?

Before I knew it, the sky began to dim as evening approached. The house we were going to use as shelter had just appeared on the horizon, but as it grew larger, I noticed that something seemed off.

“Hey, everyone, hold up. Something doesn’t seem right,” I ordered instinctively. I had made the choice to come here. Now, I had to deal with the consequences. At least I knew what I was capable of. “Steel Curtain, can you fly in there and see if anything is out of place. I don’t think we’re alone.”

“More unexpected visitors to our shelter?” Crosswire asked with a sardonic grin.

“Maybe. Would it really be that surprising? We’ve been cleaning up the trade routes pretty well. Who’s to say that others aren’t traveling as well?” I shot back as Steel Curtain nodded his acknowledgment and shot into the sky.

We waited in silence as the buck gained altitude and arced towards the small house. He made a couple of passes, both high enough that nopony on the ground should be able to see him unless they knew what to look for, then winged his way back towards us where he landed gracefully a couple of feet away.

“I’ve got bad news,” he said almost before his hooves touched the ground, “There are ponies there, and they are definitely not friendly.”

“Raiders?” Autumn asked, already floating out her rifle.

“Worse. Slavers,” the armored Pegasus answered icily.

I felt my stomach drop at the words. Once again, my decision had led to bloodshed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape it. “How many?” I asked distantly, the words only coming because my body and mind were reverting to the formula of fighting. They knew what was needed here. I would deal with the emotional fallout later.

“A decent sized party. From the air, it looked like there were at least a half dozen of ‘em outside. Who knows how many are inside,” Steel Curtain answered.

“So a small enough group that we should be able to take them pretty easily,” Autumn Mist announced, chambering a round in her rifle, “Good. So what’s the plan, Evergreen?”

I looked from pony to pony, taking in all of their determination to save whatever slaves were being held inside that house. Even Suture had that look on her face. She was beginning to understand a fact that I now wished I had never learned: If you wanted to save some ponies in the wasteland, others had to die. Inwardly, I sighed. What was the world coming to when I could convince a mare that despised fighting that killing was necessary? I didn’t want this anymore. All I wanted was for the blood to end.

But that wasn’t what was expected of me.

“Autumn, you’ll take up a position on that small outcrop over there,” I said, pointing to a small hill a short distance away that would give the sniper a relatively clear view of the house that was topped with several large boulders that should give her some cover, “Steel Curtain, I want you in the air keeping those bastards from moving around. If any of them come into the open, they’re yours. Crosswire and I will split up and hit the house from opposite directions, so that they have nowhere to run. Suture, I want you with Autumn Mist. If a stray shot happens to find her, we’ll be too far away to help.”

Everypony nodded their understanding as I laid out the plan. Overtop their determination, I could see another emotion on their faces: trust. My other plans had mostly worked well, with only minor flesh wounds being the worst injuries, and they trusted my decisions, almost without question. Normally, I would have been honored. But now, I just didn’t want that kind of responsibility. The day would come when I badly misjudged something, and then somepony would die. I just had to hope that that day wasn’t today.

“All right,” I said with a sigh after a few moments, “Let’s do this. Keep the slaves alive. They are why we’re doing this.”

Now there was no more time for second-guessing. Our course was set and, my decision or not, I had to play the hand I’d been dealt. I knew how to kill, and that was exactly what was required here.

I made my way in a broad arc to come at the building from the side so that I would be out of Autumn Mist’s line of fire. A glance at the sky while I moved revealed that Steel Curtain was already winging his way up, becoming smaller and smaller until he was just a small dark spot against the vast grey cover of the clouds. For better or for worse, once I got a bit closer, we would all be in position.

It only took me a matter of minutes to get into position, at which point I saw no reason to drag the waiting out any longer. I strode out of cover openly, Hammer already in my mouth, and marched up to the closest pony I could find.

“Hey, everpony, look at this stupid motherfucker,” the dirty yellow earth pony stallion announced as I approached, “Bitch is just asking for a little, heh, hospitality. How much you think we could get for a looker like her?”

“Jack shit, asshole,” I snapped, shoving any doubts to a far corner of my mind. They would eat me up later, but for now, I needed to be mean. “Free your slaves, and I’ll let you lot live. That is my only offer. Refuse, and you die.”

“What? You gotta be fucking kidding me!” the buck laughed heartily, throwing his head back and clutching at his belly in his mirth, revealing an incomplete set of dirty yellow teeth in his mouth, “You really think that a single pony could take out all of us? You’re out of your fucking mind!”

By this time, several other ponies had wandered over to watch the scene that was unfolding. All in all, there were six slavers that I could see, not to mention the ten or so slaves that were staked to the ground with explosive collars that were barely a dozen feet away from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see hopeful looks on many of their faces, and even a hint of what might have been recognition.

“Why does nopony ever think to count?” I muttered before looking the dirty earth pony. “I take it you don’t accept my offer then?”

“Fuck no, but I got one of my own. Fuck me, and I’ll forget the bullshit that came out of your mouth there,” he answered with another laugh even as he lifted a well-polished shotgun and aimed it at my chest, “Otherwise I got a different kind of load to give you.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I stated icily, then pulled the trigger. The shot flew exactly where I intended and slammed into the stallion’s face, just under the center of his nose, before exploding out the back of his head. The shotgun fired as the buck’s tongue hit the trigger reflexively, but the force of Hammer’s shot sent the barrel wide, and only a few pellets of shot sparked off of my barding, with a couple biting painfully into my already wounded leg.

I managed to keep my footing and slipped into S.A.T.S., where I set up three shots on three separate slavers, hoping to kill all three, thought the chances of that were pretty slim. Time snapped back to reality and the bullets fired. Two of the slavers fell to the shots, one’s head disintegrating under the force of the shot, and the second almost getting decapitated as the round tore through his neck. The third shot flew wide to bury itself in the wall of the house.

In the next instant, I was diving to the side and trying to get into whatever cover I could find, gritting my teeth against the pain in my leg, even as the world erupted with the sounds of battle as my friends joined the fighting. The sudden movement re-opened the wound I already had, and the bandage around it was quickly stained red with blood, not to mention sent a spike of pain straight up the limb, forcing a cry of pain from my throat.

I forced myself around the corner of the building where I could catch my breath and gingerly put my weight on the leg. If it wouldn’t hold, I would not be in good shape for this fight. Luckily for me, it held, although it was painful. But pain was something I knew how to deal with.

I gripped Hammer tighter in my mouth and turned the corner again. Four more slavers were on the ground, three of them felled by shots that could only have come from Crosswire’s SMG, and the third completely decapitated by a perfect headshot from Autumn Mist. The front door of the house opened violently enough to swing 180 degrees on its hinges to slam against the wall before the strained metal of the hinges gave and the door fell to the ground.

“What the fuck is going on out here!” a voice shouted as a large unicorn mare stepped out of the door, floating an obviously well-maintained assault rifle beside her. Her bright blue coat was streaked with sweat and grime, and her unkempt yellow mane was falling around her face as though it had a mind of its own. A sniper round shot past her head to cut down a pony following her out, and the mare glared out in the direction of the shot, straight at the hill where Autumn Mist was shooting from. “Stupid cunt,” she muttered, then raised her rifle and fired three precise shots.

An intense rage gripped me, narrowing my visions until all I saw was the unicorn, and I charged straight forward. I only had two shots left, but I didn’t give a fuck. A pony was shooting at one of my friends that should have been well out of the line of fire, and that was not okay. I barely made it halfway before the mare turned her head in my direction, a somewhat startled look on her face, and tried to lever her assault rifle at me.

Too slow. I fired both rounds that I had left, not even caring about trying to use S.A.T.S. The first struck the unicorn in the side, opening a neat hole that immediately started to gush blood and elicit a shriek of surprised pain. The second slammed into the rifle, knocking it off center so that the shots that bellowed out of it flew high and wide, cleanly missing me. The two shots bought me enough time to drop Hammer into its holster in midstride, then lower my head and slam into the mare’s side myself, driving her to the ground with a grunt.

We landed heavily, and I wasted no time in lashing out to gain the advantage, landing a sharp blow on her head that broke her concentration and sent the rifle clattering to the ground. A staccato of gunfire rang out behind me, but I pushed the rest of the fight out of my mind, trusting that Crosswire and Steel Curtain would keep any other slavers off of me.

The mare was a surprisingly strong for a unicorn and managed to land several solid blows that made my ears ring and dislodge me somewhat from my position on top of her. I kicked a leg against the flowing gunshot wound, forcing a cry of pain from the mare, then pressed, using the agony of the wound to make the mare fall back and give me an opening. I lashed out with my other leg, but the unicorn warded the blow off with her own, then heaved against me, knocking me off balance and buying herself enough space to kick me viciously in the gut.

I lost my grip on her and fell back, wincing as my full weight came down on my wounded leg, but immediately pushed myself back to my hooves and renewed my attack. I didn’t have the advantage of momentum anymore, but her injury was far worse than my own. The unicorn and I battled back and forth, with her matching me blow for blow. Our movements were too tangled and close for anypony with a weapon to interfere, and we both knew it.

But the advantage was with me. The gunshot wound was making the unicorn tire faster, and I fought to back her up against the wall of the house, then sprang to the side, feinting at her throat, then landing the blow against her wounded side instead. The mare staggered into the wall, coughing up a dark glob of blood as she did, so I pressed the attack, landing blow after blow on the mare. I finally managed to maneuver my way to the mare’s rear, where I jumped on her and wrapped my front hooves around her neck in a stranglehold, then used my weight to drag her to the ground to land heavily on her wounded side.

“I suggest you don’t kill me yet,” the mare coughed out, fighting for breath with every word. Blood was now flowing from her mouth and nose, staining the ground around her head a dark crimson.

“And why would I do that,” I panted in return, not letting up the pressure of my grip at all. I was bleeding from several small cuts as well, most irritably from a cut above my right eye that was leaking blood into my eye, making it difficult to see from that side.

“Because they all die if you do,” the unicorn snapped, her stare looking straight at the bound slaves.

A quick look confirmed that she wasn’t bluffing. Floating in the air before me, surrounded by the same deep blue aura that surrounded the mare’s horn, was a detonator, with the button depressed.

“If I die, my magic fades, the button rises, and the bombs go off. You’ll have failed, cunt,” the unicorn spat weakly, a line of red streaming from her mouth as she did, “And the best part is I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. That shot of yours did an awful lot of damage.”

It didn’t take a genius to see that the mare was telling the truth. Already, blood was seeping out from under her body, and I could feel the strength draining out of her. Her breathing was growing weaker, not to mention the fact that it sounded wet. She had a minute, at best, to live. The detonator was floating too far away from me to reach in time, which left only one option.

“Crosswire, start getting those collars off, now!” I shouted, loosening my grip slightly so the unicorn could get more air, “And you had better stay alive for as long as fucking possible.”

“Heh, you really think I’m just going to let you free them? Cocky bitch,” the unicorn muttered as Crosswire galloped past me towards the slaves, “Don’t forget, all I need to do is let go.” Already, her voice was beginning to grow quiet, and I could feel her beginning to grow limp in my grasp. She wasn’t trying to hold on to life. If anything, she was trying to speed her own death.

“Don’t even think about it, bitch,” I snapped, praying to any deity that would listen to make the mare hold on for long enough so Crosswire could do his work. “You let that thing go, and I promise you I will make sure you die slowly.”

“Far too late for that, cunt. At least I’ll die knowing you failed, and all those fucking slaves will have died for nothing! They could have lived long lives, maybe even earned their freedom somewhere down the line. Instead, you’ve doomed them to death,” the unicorn laughed, blood now spurting from her mouth with every other word.

She was in her last moments, and she was using them to taunt me. I doubt she knew exactly how much her words were adding to the grief and self-loathing I was already suffering. I knew exactly what situation I was in, and if any of those slaves died, their blood would be on my hooves.

The slavers breath began to become shallow, and her eyes began to close. I didn’t have much time. I saw only one solution, and there was every possibility that I wouldn’t be fast enough. All the same, I shifted my weight, bringing my rear legs up underneath me and bracing them against the ground on either side of the slaver. Even as she exhaled for the last time, I sprang forward, lunging for the detonator with my open mouth.

As the magic holding it evaporated with the slaver’s death, my mouth closed around the detonator. I clamped down hard, praying that I had managed to keep the button depressed, and landed on my stomach, driving the wind from my lungs, as well as another white-hot streak of pain through my injured leg. In the moments after, I guessed that I had to have been successful, because there was no explosion. Either that, or I had been killed in it as well, but I didn’t feel dead.

I gingerly rose to my hooves, keeping my injured leg off the ground and turned to look at Crosswire, who was standing with a dumbfounded look on his face, a collar floating next to him and the freed slave staring at me in near adoration.

Something landed heavily and I turned to see Steel Curtain watching me, his eyes wide. “Did you just do what I think you did?!” he exclaimed, his voice excited, “Holy shit, that was amazing! You just saved all their lives! Crosswire’s too! He had that collar right next to his head when you jumped!”

I turned back around to look at Crosswire, who seemed to finally be coming back to his senses. “Holy shit, Evergreen. I was not expecting that to work. Guess you really didn’t have much of a choice though, right? Bitch was bleeding out anyway. Thanks for the save. I’m sure this lot appreciate it too.”

I couldn’t speak around the detonator in my mouth, and I didn’t want to risk it, but then something popped into my head. I whirled back around to face Steel Curtain and waved wildly towards the hill that Autumn Mist had been on.

“What? Oh, Autumn? She’ll be all right,” the armored Pegasus said with a relieved grin, “That slaver had one hell of a good shot to hit her from all the way out here with that rifle, but Suture got working on her almost immediately. That’s why I wasn’t in the fighting. I flew back there to make sure Suture didn’t need any help. You and Crosswire seemed to have everything more or less under control over her anyway.”

Relief flooded through my body and I fell heavily onto my rump. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. My leg was killing me, and after that hoof-to-hoof fight, I felt like my entire body was one large bruise.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you,” Steel Curtain said, walking up to my side and reaching into his saddlebag for a healing potion and offering it to me. I glared at him, but only got a puzzled look in return. Finally, the Pegasus’ face lit up with understanding and he put the potion back with a bemused grin. “Right, you’ve got a detonator in your mouth. Can’t really drink a potion with that there. I’ll go see how far Crosswire is with those collars, and I’ll put them somewhere where the explosion won’t kill us.”

I nodded at the buck and forced myself back to my hooves so I could join him. Crosswire already had five of the ponies freed, all of whom were clustered together and watching me. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, but it was obvious that they thought they knew who I was. Doubtless they’d call me the Heroine of Seaddle the first chance they got. I really needed to talk to that fucking DJ. I really didn’t deserve the title. My fucking ‘heroic’ act had almost gotten all ten of these ponies killed.

Before long, Crosswire had the last pony free and Steel Curtain was arcing away into the evening sky, loaded down with ten explosive collars that were set to explode. It was a good thing to; my jaw was really beginning to hurt.

He was still just coming back from over a nearby hilltop, winging his way towards us when Suture and Autumn Mist joined us, the latter leaning heavily on the former with a stark white bandage wrapped around her chest. “Don’t worry,” Suture announced as she approached, “It isn’t as bad as it looks. That was just the easiest way to bind it. Torso wounds are the hardest to clean out.”

“Yeah, yeah. It doesn’t even hurt,” Autumn insisted, yet made no attempt to stand on her own.

“That’s the Med-X, Autumn,” Suture stated candidly as she helped the mare lie down against the wall of the house, then made her way over to me. “I see you managed to hurt your leg again, and – what the hell is in your mouth?”

At that moment Steel Curtain landed and nodded at me, and I spat the detonator onto the ground. In the distance was a muffled explosion. “Detonator,” I said, working my jaw to try to get rid of the ache, “The leader managed to get it out and prime it before I could finish her. Grabbing it like that was the only way to keep them alive.” I nodded in the direction of the clustered ponies we had managed to save.

“Well, at least you managed to do it,” Suture said with an approving nod, “They certainly didn’t deserve to die. Now, let me look at that leg of yours. Lie down, it will be a lot easier to examine that way.”

I did as the medic bid and watched as she unwrapped the bandage around my leg. As it came free, I couldn’t help but wince at the sight. The wound I had suffered in the Stable had fully re-opened, and I was pretty sure I could see bone.

“You were walking on it, weren’t you?” Suture demanded with a sharp look at me.

“More like fighting,” I stated lamely, “Didn’t really have a choice. They would have ended up dead had I not, not to mention myself.”

“I see. Well, you really need to be more careful,” Suture lectured me as she cleaned out the wound and re-bound it, “Otherwise, it will never heal properly. You really shouldn’t be walking on it at all, but I know that isn’t an option, so we’ll just have to make do.”

I grunted in response. The fatigue was starting to catch up with me, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, there was still work to be done, namely dealing with all the freed ponies.

Already they were slowly approaching me, as if they were worried what my response would be. The pony in front was a brown earth pony buck with a jet-black mane. He looked young, but held himself as a pony that had seen a lot of the wasteland. Something about that struck me as incredibly sad.

“You’re really her, aren’t you?” he asked, a note of awe in his voice, “I knew you would come! I just knew it!”

“I’m nopony special, kid,” I muttered, shifting uncomfortably, but was unable to go far as Suture was still finishing up on my leg, “Just a pony trying to help where I can, for whatever good it does.” My melancholy was starting to come back with a vengeance, but I had to keep it under control. These ponies didn’t deserve that. Crosswire had been right the last time we freed a bunch of slaves: I had to be more diplomatic with the other ponies that crossed out path.

“Which is far more than most are willing to do,” the buck insisted, “We would have most likely ended up dead by the end of the month without you! These slavers don’t give two shits about any of us. Treat us barely better than a bunch of fucking raiders.”

That comment drew my attention, and I fixed the buck in a harsh glare. “Careful what you say. Raiders are an entire world apart from slavers, trust me. We cleared out a raider den a week or so ago. Slavers actually treat their slaves like ponies. No, they don’t treat them well, but they do recognize that they have to live. Raiders only see others as something to play with. There is not an ounce of concern for the well-being of their victims in their heads.”

The buck took a startled step back, a look of shock plastered on his face. “I… uh… ok,” he stammered, “If you say so. They didn’t seem to treat us like ponies.”

“Tell me something, kid. What can a slaver do with a slave that they’ve disfigured or maimed? I’ll tell you: kill them. Which means they lose profit. In the end, all slavers care about are caps, but they can’t make caps with damaged goods,” I stated, “If you get in this situation again, remember that. Anypony can survive if they know how to behave around slavers. You listen to every word that comes out of their mouths until you find that chance to get the hell out.”

“Oh… I see,” the buck muttered, his ears dropping in defeat, “I’m sorry.” He turned around and started to walk away, his head held low, every line of his body showing how dejected he felt.

Something about his obvious sadness resonated with me, reminding me of how shitty I was feeling as well. At least his feelings were something I could fix. “Kid, I didn’t mean to be so harsh,” I said, feeling a small amount of happiness when the buck’s ears perked up at my voice, “I just want to make sure that you lot know what to do if this ever happens again. Being enslaved is no small problem, but being caught by raiders is much, much worse. At least getting caught by slavers is survivable.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point,” the buck admitted, “We just didn’t think anypony would show up to save us. We thought it was all over.”

“You were closer than you think. Slavers are good fighters. We were just better,” I answered, looking over to my friends. Suture had already finished with me and was helping Autumn Mist get comfortable, where it looked like she was giving the injured mare another shot of Med-X. Steel Curtain was with Crosswire, who were both talking to the other ponies about the Princesses-knew-what.

“They must be lucky, getting to travel with you. I mean seriously, how many ponies get to travel with the Heroine of Seaddle!” the buck exclaimed, becoming very animated as he did.

“I’m the lucky one,” I stated quietly, keeping my eyes locked on them, particularly Steel Curtain, “I’ve put them through so much, and they still stick by me. I couldn’t ask for more. I’m still afraid that this is all a dream, and I’ll wake up and be alone. They are all that are really keeping me going anymore. I would have died long ago without their help.”

“Well, every hero needs help right? Shooting Star was right, you are a driving force for change. I’m just happy to see that you’re still here. The last few days have been scary hearing nothing about you,” the buck said, a genuine note of worry in his voice.

I let out a sigh, trying to decide what to say. I finally settled on holding back any comments until I was actually speaking to the DJ himself. “He needn’t have worried. I just had some other work to see to with a group that doesn’t like to advertise themselves,” I said vaguely, letting the buck use his imagination.

“That’s good to know. Well, we’d better get out of here! Don’t want to attract too much attention to you. Thank you again for the help! You saved our lives!” the buck shouted, trotting back to the other freed ponies.

I followed him over, not intending to simply let those ponies wander out into the wasteland by themselves. They would be preyed on before they got half a mile away. When I approached, I didn’t get a chance to get a single word in before every single pony was practically swarming me, thanking me for my help. I suffered through their gratitude, every single word just digging a deeper hole in my soul, making me feel all the more guilty for how close I had taken them to dying.

When they were finally wrapping up and about to leave, I shouted out for them to wait. “I am not letting any of you leave tonight! The wasteland is far too dangerous at night. The only reason we ended up here was because of nightfall, and this house is a good shelter. I suggest you lot stay here with us for the night. We’re headed to Metro in the morning, and you are all more than welcome to tag along that far.”

The look they gave me was far too close to worship for my liking. I was really going to have to talk to Shooting Star about this reputation he was giving me. This shit was just getting too ridiculous. Pretty soon, ponies were going to be risking themselves in my name, thinking that the shit I did was as easy as wanting to. Sure, I wanted the wasteland to change, but not by letting other ponies be reckless.

As a group, we made our way into the house, with the former slaves settling down in their small groups of previous acquaintances at random on the ground floor. Unfortunately, there was not a whole lot of extra space, so we were going to have to go upstairs.

I gingerly led the way up, remembering the scene Crosswire and I had found there the first time we had stayed here. I would do everything I could to avoid disturbing that resting family.

We started to settle in, with Autumn Mist and Suture taking the first room we found that was open, where the medic helped Autumn settle down on the bed. While she kept insisting that the dark mare was going to be fine, Autumn Mist was still moving stiffly, and grimacing every so often when she twisted a certain way. I hoped it was simply because the young mare wasn’t used to getting shot.

Steel Curtain opted to settle down in the hallway, claiming that his armor made every sleeping spot about the same anyway, and he’d be able to react to danger much quicker from there. All that left was the last bedroom, the one I didn’t want to step in.

Crosswire had no such issues, and marched right in, but paused at the doorway. I slowly followed him, but stopped at the next to him, feeling my heart drop down to my stomach and tears beginning to form in my eyes. The slavers had made it up here. Two things made that perfectly clear.

The first made me realize why the buck had claimed that the slavers were no better than raiders. The corpse of a young mare, easily about the age of Autumn Mist, lay on the bed. She had been a unicorn with a light blue hide and pink mane, though both were ragged and streaked with blood. Open sores covered her body, all of them now black with congealed blood. It was obvious that she had been repeatedly raped and beaten, and had finally succumbed to the injuries, probably a few hours before we had arrived. As gruesome as the sight was, it was not what brought the tears to my eyes.

At the foot of the bed was a pile of bones: the skeletons of the family that had died here when the bombs fell. Sitting almost perfectly on top was the tiny skull of the child that had lain between its parents. Its eyes were staring straight at the door, seemingly boring right into me, fixing me in their cold, empty stare. It felt like the world had lost even more of its innocence.

Level Up!

Perk gained! – Sniper – Your chance to hit a target in the head while in S.A.T.S. has been significantly increased.

{Again I find myself apologizing for a long delay. Believe me, it is not intentional, my life is just busy between work, working on several other projects, and generally enjoying my summer. Also had the problem of my hard drive crashing halfway through July (thankfully lost none of my writing). I realize that some decisions I made in this chapter might annoy some people, and step on some toes (which is something I usually try to avoid) but to my mind there was no other way I could have done things, considering the directions I want this story to go. As always, thanks to Kkat for the original FoE, and thank you to MUCKSTER and Cody for your invaluable help with editing. Feel free to check out the story at the hub page right HERE.}