I wasn’t sure what I should have expected. We barged into the base unexpectedly, found our way down to the biggest secret the Manehatten Rangers have, and where in the middle explaining Sorbet’s betrayal before the plan imploded. Apparently the moment an outsider accuses an Elder, it’s game over and shock prod time. So off to the ‘brig’ I went, while Longbow promised she would sort it out.

That was an hour ago.

I had actually laid my head down to rest, finding the stiff bedding they had here a lot more comfortable than my mattress was at home. Carlotta and Sky were in the bunk above me, just waiting, the same as me, but they had since fallen asleep. Probably because their bodies were actually tired, apart from mine which had just recovered from a medically induced rest. All in all, I think it’s a good thing I can’t fall asleep, seeing as I might have seen Pinkie again. If I did, there would be no telling what I might do to her.

I sighed and rolled over, bringing my Pipbuck up to my muzzle. I bit down on the inventory fuse and yanked it out, placing it into the administrative socket with a click. I tensed up and slipped myself into S.A.T.S., scrolling to the notes section. If I have time, I might as well see what I can dig up about the mirror pond. 42 is dead, no question about it, but the Mirror pond is still something that must be found and destroyed.

The note tab loaded up and displayed that there were only 237 pages of notes, and that the other 1500 now read as corrupt. Alarmed, I scrolled to the audiolog section, disheartened to find that there were only four of the project logs left uncorrupted, and the recording I found back in Whinney. I guess as even with as tough as the Pipbuck was, the data was the most fragile thing in it. A thought jumped into my head that I was glad that I transfered B.I.T. out when I did. I don’t think I could have handled another loss.

I scrolled down to the first of the remaining logs and thought to play it, a quick click filled my ears as the box opened up, the voice of Twilight sounding happy for once was a nice change.

“Ministry of Arcane Sciences Chief Twilight Sparkle project log 7 - Project Golem Preliminary Copy Assessment, day two.

The medical team and I now have the physical test results and have found that this copy is a flawless reproduction of the real Pinkie Pie. The results are way above expected parameters, with reflexes, muscle strength, and overall endurance being better than that of even the highest of our Equestria Games gold medalists data.

As I stated in the previous log, the clone seemed to have a good grasp and language, and I have greenlit the education and mental function tests. So far, Pinkie’s orientation of the first project copy, whom she has designated as 42, has been a success. Along with her physical traits, Pinkie’s personality and intelligence have also been amplified. She solved all of the first echelon puzzles given to her so far in near record time, and is showing symptoms of boredom. As much as I think she may do the same with the next set, I will include the results of them with the next log.

One final piece of good news is that the replacement regulator for the machine has been delivered, and after we calibrate and install it, we should be ready to make another copy.

End of Report.”

The audio box closed as the log ended, the pipbuck automatically moving the cursor down to the next log and playing it. I’m not sure if it was an error in the coding, or something Pinkie Pie had set up, but whatever the reason, I still wanted to hear it.

“Ministry of Arcane Sciences Chief Twilight Sparkle project log 13 - Project Golem Incident Report.

42’s pranking behaviour has escalated to physical injury, the results of which sent my personal assistant to the clinic with a broken nose this morning, and completely destroyed the break room. As a side note, the amount of thought and the scale of her prank was impressive, relying on precise reactions from no less than four staff members, and the exact locations of two cups and a fork, as well as the coffee maker and refrigerator.

Pinkie assures me that 42 doesn’t have her level of Pinkie sense, but after todays events I am not inclined to agree. It is possible that it could have just taken a longer time to emerge, or that it may have just appeared on it’s own due to it’s own weirdness. I have also informed the rest of the researchers that for the duration of 42’s testing, she is to be locked inside her isolation room.

Unrelated to the injury from 42’s prank, one of the electricians fell asleep while he was working and gave himself a shock when installing the regulator. Unfortunately, it fried the replacement in the process. This was not a total loss, having in fact helped me find a flaw in the system. Due to the required voltage of the machine, and the feedback to draw ratio, every time we use the machine it will burn out the regulator. I have a meeting set up with Applebloom to discuss the development of a more durable solution, but until then, 42 will remain the only subject.

End of Report.”

Pinkie was wrong. 42 has to have had her own Pinkie sense! Heightened reflexes and intelligence can’t account for the level of impossibilities she’s performed. The next audiolog queued up and played automatically.

“Ministry of Arcane Sciences Chief Twilight Sparkle project log 27 - Project Golem Casualty Report.

My assistant, Scarlet Letter, was killed when 42’s original prank was resolved this afternoon. While discussing it in today’s evaluation, 42 appeared proud of her work, laughing as she asked how we didn’t see it coming. Upon asking her to elaborate, she proceeded to tell me that the broken nose wasn’t even the setup of the prank last week, that it had in fact been the breaking of the coffee pot that started it.

She described in great detail how the coffeeless electrician fell asleep and shorted out the machine, causing him to move on to fixing the coffee pot. Due to his new hesitation when working with live wires, he misjudged the gauge he needed and didn’t use the correct insulation. This choked off the current, which spent days slowly building up and overheating the mounting to the transformer in the wall. Today, when the transformer exploded, due to it’s placement, it blasted the refrigerator over, killing Mr. Letter.

[knocking on a door]

Another interruption? Yes, come in please.

[door opening and shutting]

Hey Twilight, I need to talk to you. It’s… about 42.

[shuffling of papers]

Sure thing Pinkie, just give me one moment.”

The log ended with a crackle as the entirety of the S.A.T.S. menu flickered. I canceled it, not wanting find out what happens when a Pipbuck’s magic cuts out mid S.A.T.S. use. The thing that I didn’t get was, if 42 was that uncontrollable, why didn’t Twilight seal her away somewhere like the East Orchard? Why give her to Pinkies ministry?

My ear flicked and perked as I heard hoofsteps approaching from down the hallway. Longbow opened the door outside of our cell and stepped in alongside a power armored stallion. Carlotta’s rear paws swung down from above, stretching as she yawned.

“About damn time you got us out of here!” She hopped down to the floor, rolling her neck stiffly until it let out a few light pops.

“Sorry about that, Elder Strudel doesn’t exactly have a lot of free time these days. You guys can head outside if you’d like, the elder just wants to see Backlash.” Longbow’s magic levitated a key over to the door, unlatching it with a loud clang as Both Carlotta and Sky pushed their way past her, nearly knocking over the stallion next to her. I pushed myself up from the bunk, groaning as my whole left side ebbed in pain.

“So, will she hear me out without sending me back down here?” Longbow cringed as I suggested it, looking slightly embarrassed. I knew it wasn’t her fault, and that it’s just procedure, but I’m just tired of dealing with ponies like this. I just want to go back to the life I had. And I will, just as soon as Sorbet is stopped, and Futura is safe.

“She has agreed on the condition that you provide evidence.” Longbow pointed to my Pipbuck. “The audio log from Lemon is all she wants to hear.”

Fuck.

“About the audio logs… they were corrupted when the Pipbuck broke. I don’t have Lemon’s file anymore.” I sighed and got to my hooves, exiting the cell slowly. There was no way we could stop Sorbet on our own, we needed the help of the Rangers. The lime green Stallion next to Longbow shook his head and stepped over.

“Let me take a look at it, if I can get to the original file, I may be able to salvage at least a segment of it.” He held his hoof out expectantly, giving me a small smile. Both his expression and his words were genuine, I just wasn’t sure why he wanted to help. Every Steel Ranger I’ve met past Longbow and Brass have been out for themselves. So what did he want from me?

“Don’t worry Backlash, Fruit Cup here will get it done.” Longbow spoke up as she wrapped an armored hoof around him, pulling him close. “Fruit Cup’s pretty much been my only friend since we were paired together in training. I was sad when he got sent on deployment with my mother, but I knew he was in good hooves.” She hoofed at his bristly neon red mohawk in a playful manner.

“I see… so you and her then…?” I asked. Not that he wasn’t cute, he was just a bit too… happy. It’s something I love to see when it’s got a reason, but no pony in the wasteland is just this happy for no reason. Well, Pinkie Pie notwithstanding. I was relieved to see that my words brought a look of horror to his face.

“ME? HER!?” He looked like he was having problems processing the words. Though, I think I knew where he was going with it. “THE HELL!? She’s like a sister to me!” And there it is!

“That’s what I keep saying about MY sis!” I jumped forward and threw my hooves around his neck, feeling as he went rigid. “Thank Celestia, finally somepony who understands!” I pat him on the back, feeling as his breathing was shallow and he was making a soft whine. “And... I’m choking him.” I let go of him and stepped back, happy to see him draw in a large breath as he dropped to the floor with a heavy thump. I felt as the straps around my Pipbuck loosened, the whole unit glowed in Longbow’s aura as she pulled it from my leg and dropped it onto the recovering Fruit Cup.

“Come on, best to not keep the Elder waiting.” She spoke with a note of content as she stepped over her best friend. He gave her a smile and a soft wave as she stepped over him, giving me a glance that read that he was afraid of me. It was about more than me just nearly squeezing him to death, I’m sure of that. As I followed Longbow, the idea plagued me more and more. I had to know.

“Ok, I need you to be honest. Do I look… scary?” The words brought a smile to my muzzle. It was just such a ridiculous thing to ask, I mean, how many ponies are going to give a straight answer anyways?

“No. You look like a pony who took a balefire egg to your everything and lived to tell about it.” She sighed, sounding disappointed again. I think she was worried about why I was asking, like maybe I thought that I looked like the monster I think I am. Which is wrong, because if that were true, I’d look a whole lot worse than I do. “You know, if you want to impress my mother, you’re going to need to quit beating yourself up so much.” Now I’m confused.

“Wait, why do I need to impress her again? I thought that it was the Elder’s call to help us or not.” We turned and trot down yet another hallway, winding our way through a labyrinth of grey walls to goddesses know where. This prompted an odd thought that I couldn’t help but ask. “Also, if this is a Steel Ranger’s base, where were all the stairs? The last one was practically made of them, but this one only had them at the entrance to the dry dock.”

“This is an old Equestria Royal Navy base, not a Steel Ranger’s bunker. We just repurposed it is all.” She replied smartly, coming to a stop in front of a set of double doors. “Trust me, you want to impress my mother. It will help if we ever want her to know that you are in love with me.” She gave me a warm smile and let out a soft laugh as I blushed. “Come on, we’ll have time to talk later.”

The second she opened the door and we stepped in, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, darkness greeting me as I dropped to the floor.

The warm breeze drifted through the tree above me as the sun beat down on my coat. The dirt under me warmed my body, while the grass tickled me awake. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as I rolled to my hooves, standing up and feeling dizzy for a moment. The sound of quickly beating hooves coming through the dirt behind me caught my attention. The gears in my head kicked up as I knew exactly what I needed to say to Pinkie, but before I could spin around, the most peculiar feeling hit me.

My good eye started to sting.

I spun around just in time to see a full grown Pink mare slam into me, sending me flying back against the large tree. She lifted me up and twisted her forehoof sideways against my neck, both pinning me in place, and choking me. The half melted smile 42 wore felt like it was pride itself, beaming her unerring confidence to me.

“So nice to see you again, Backlash! So this is where you’ve been going to get the low down on me.” She looked around cautiously, probably on the lookout for Pinkie Pie. ”Such a resourceful arch nemesis you’ve turned out to be!” She lowered her forehoof just enough so I could speak in wheezing words.

“How… are you… alive?” I kicked my hind legs uselessly and tried with all my might to pry her hoof from me with my own.

“Oh, well I wouldn't quite say I’m alive, seeing as that blast fucked me up pretty good. Who know’s if my body is good enough to pull through the wounds or not. Though, I expect we’ll both know soon enough.” She looked up to me, looking over my face with a feigned interest. “Goddesses Backlash, is it just me, or did that explosion actually make you more handsome?”

“I’ll find you...42.” I turned my head flat against the tree, both trying to get more air, and to keep her focus off my bad side. “You’ll pay… for Brass.”

“Seriously, that little monster was annoying, wasn’t he?” She rolled her eyes and pressed her hoof into my neck harder, keeping me from answering. “I guess it might have just been me. Oh well, you know what they say! In order to rule Equestria, you’ve gotta break a few foals.” She gave me that grin again while I did my best to bore my gaze through her skull. “Speaking of foals, I really hope I don’t stay here for too long, seeing as Pallet is probably pretty thirsty in her cage.”

“Pal..let?” How had she survived the blast? You know, I don’t even care, at least she made it out!

“Yeah, that kid is just the stubbornest thing that ever lived, but what are you going to do? Gotta love her anyway, you know?” She sighed sorrowfully, her muzzle turning into a small frown. “Maybe you wouldn’t know. It’s just something all mothers feel.”

“You’re… a mother?” I gasped for air loudly as she swung her gaze down to the dirt, softening her hold on me again.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know, seeing as you had the files. Maybe I misjudged just how resourceful you were.” She squinted and glared up at me as the wind picked up, rustling the leaves loudly. My ear perked and twitched as a creek came from a branch above me. “Why don’t you tell him, Pinkie? Tell him how after Twilight had me sedated for the tests, her assistant would sneak in and have some ‘fun’ with me?”

“He may have been a bad pony, but you didn’t have to kill him.” Pinkie’s voice came from above, she was being honest, but I could tell it was taking everything she had just to keep herself from flying into a rage. “You aren’t allowed here. Abominations don’t get into the afterlife.”

“Awww, you going to let her talk to you like that, Backlash?” 42 giggled happily. “Then why don’t we just take this little dispute outside.” She spun and slid me from the tree, tossing me to the ground like I was nothing. “I’ll leave you my calling card when I get back, come and see me sometime, Backlash.” She reached her foreleg up, striking herself in the face with her own hoof and disappearing with a flash.

I lay in the dirt as Pinkie dropped from the tree, galloping over to me. It had all been for nothing. Peppermint, the Pool, Brass’s death. None of it mattered because she wasn’t dead.

“I… I’m sorry, Backlash. I knew what was… I couldn’t… I’m just so sorry.” Pinkie’s words came from deep inside, conveying sadness, regret, anger, and shame. “Please don’t hate me, I didn’t mean for everything to end up this way.”

“I don’t hate you Pinkie, as much as I want to blame you for everything, it’s all on me.” I finally regained my breath, pushing myself up with a grunt. “And as much as I’d like to continue talking with you, I have to get back to the real world and go murder the hell out of 42. So would you kindly send me back?”

She gave a small nod before springing herself into the air, dropping down onto me like she always had, sending me back across the void to where I could actually do some real good.

I let out another gasp as I came too on the floor, my head pounding as somepony was dabbing at it with a cloth. I opened my eye, looking up to see a yellow mare with a striking silver mane in spell manacles, being restrained a few feet from me. My eye focused in on the grey blotch of her cutie mark as my vision cleared, the shape of a silver paper clip coming into clarity and making my heart sink.

An elderly brown mare strode through the door on the opposite side of the room we were in, her bright white and grey streaked hair a stark contrast to the dark blues of the walls and ceiling.

"Gentlemares! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!” As she approached, Longbow raised her hoof into a stiff salute. “What is going on here, I demand an explanation." Well, at least she’s straight and to the point. Pretty sure no monologuing means I can cross her off the ‘is likely to be a bad guy’ list.

“Sorry Ma’am. Paper Clip just attempted to murder Backlash.” She sounded incredibly nervous as the Elder used her magic to adjust the small, round framed glasses on the end of her muzzle. Paper Clip hobbled forward, sitting down and raising her bound hooves in my direction.

“This Barbarian was the one who got Brass Tacks killed!” Her voice when her gaze drifted over to me shifted tone, sounding like it was channeling the fires of Tartarus through it. A small, grey cylinder was floated over to the elder, the dim ruby red of a power gem in it all but giving it away as a power hoof.

"This is outrageous. I have never had this kind of behaviour in the war room before!" She set the weapon onto a table nearby and let out a sigh. “I will deal with your actions later, Paper Clip. Bolt Action, take her to the brig.” She nodded to a hulking stallion in power armor, watching as he hoisted her up onto his back and took her away.

The towel floating above me lifted away before the sharp prick of something won out over my splitting headache. I tried to shift myself, instead finding that I couldn’t move at all.

“Quit moving, or I’ll mess this up and have to start all over again.” The voice coming from above me was that of an extremely effeminate stallion.

“How bad is he, Suture?” Longbow called over as I shut my eye, wincing as I was poked again and again.

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure how he survived a blow like that. Most ponies would be dead, but he must have an extremely thick head. Though, I could have used a heads up about his blood.” His words made the throbbing in my head worse only up until I felt my skin crawl up my head. I let out a whine as it burned. “Oh, suck it up, you’re fine.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, It slipped my mind. Backlash does have quite the endurance and propensity to take a lot of punishment.” I opened my eye to see her turn to face the Elder. “Ma’am, Fruit Cup is extracting the audio file for you, he should be here soon.” I felt the pressure on my body lift as the largest stallion I had ever seen took a step away from me. His white coat had a tinge of pink to it as he stood under the fluorescent lighting, matching the color of his mane.

“Alright, He’s good to go, if you need me, I’ll be in the infirmary.” He spoke so softly for his size, I had to look around to make sure that there wasn’t somepony else with a body that matched his effeminate voice. As he trot over past the Elder, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. The gears in my head kicked on, telling me that with a pallet like that, he was probably her son. My head pounded as I got my hooves under myself, wobbly standing up as the Elder looked me over.

“So Yew tells me that you can prove Elder Sorbet is a traitor to the Steel Rangers. Tell me this, if this was true, why would you help us? Other than the safety of the wastelands, what are you getting in return? No pony does anything out here for ‘the greater good’ anymore.” She studied me with a look I knew all too well, as it was something I’ve seen every time I have to look in a mirror. She was looking for clues of if I would lie.

“Revenge, retribution, redemption, take your pick. It’s my fault she could even start this, so it’s my job to end it.” I put my hoof to my muzzle and rubbed at it. “So I guess you could say it’s none of those things. It’s my responsibility. Nothing more.”

“I see, and is there any other evidence of her misconduct other than the audio file?” She sat down, looking satisfied enough with my answer, though, her expression told me she was relieved that I told her the truth at all. “I cannot act unless I have solid proof that she is deliberately hiding things from the Rangers.” Strudel turned her head as Longbow gasped and looked at me with a bright smile.

“Brass can prove it!” She trot over to a terminal on the wall, her magic wildly tapping keys even faster than Brass had been able too. After only a moment, the loud whine of a printer chirped to life as a single sheet of paper was expelled. She ripped it from the machine and floated it over. “When they were there, Brass had to sign out their equipment from the lock up. Why would Sorbet overlook a M.I.A. name being used to sign out gear in her armory?”

“I fucking love you!” I galloped over to Longbow and put my hooves on the sides of her head, pulling her into a quick kiss. Sorbet had ignored him and demeaned him, and it made me feel so damn good that it was him who got to finally bite her in the ass for once! Longbow pushed me off of her as her face flushed a rosey red, my eye catching the unamused look of the Elder staring at me. “Oh, I… I’m sorry about that.” I smiled nervously and took a step back, bumping into a pony who hadn’t been there a minute ago. A robed stallion pushed past me, trotting up to the Elder and hoofing back his hood.

“Sorry to bother you Elder, but our maneframe is picking up a distress code from the south west quadrant. It’s listed as a Celestia tier emergency and is coded that they are under attack.” He hoofed a sheet of paper from his robe, setting it in front of her. She tilted her head up to use her glasses, mouthing the words as she read them just enough I could read her lips.

“Emergency distress. Condition two lockdown ineffective. High casualties. Send Reinforcements...”

As she continued to read, my eye twinged, flaring the pain in my head. No, Celestia please, don’t let it be her. If you love all that is good in this world, you will make sure…

“Enemy is a single combatant. Species: Earth Pony. Gender: Mare. Pallet: Pink on Pink.”

“No…” My hooves gave out from under me, my meaty flop onto the floor catching Longbow’s attention as I felt light headed again. She came over to me, lowering herself down and brushing a bit of my mangled mane from my face. “It’s 42. She’s still alive.”

“But, she couldn’t have made it out. YOU barely made it out!” I could hear as the hope from her voice faded, her legs giving out as well. She leaned her head forward and pressed against mine. “It’s fine. It will all be fine. We have the Steel Rangers behind us now. We can take her on.” I don’t even care that she was forcing the words, and that her voice told me she truly didn’t believe that it would make a difference.

I have to latch onto something to keep from breaking down again, and this would have to do.

“You’re right. With the might of them behind us, there is nothing we can’t do!” I smiled up to her, running my hoof down her cheek. The calm between us was shattered by the loud wail of multiple alarms going off, the room instantly becoming a flurry of activity. Longbow and I both jumped to our hooves to avoid the rush of busy ponies, crowding around the table in the center of the room to stay out of their way. The Elder seemed the most calm of everypony, striding over to a radio position and ushering the robed pony who had been at it, away.

“Casserole, Status Report.” She hoofed a few toggles on the board in front of her, rousing a crackle from a set of speakers placed on the wall. “Is it the same enemy from Delta base?”

“One archano-tech enemy, unknown configuration. Five hundred meters out from my position and closing.” His voice came through with the muffled tones of someone whispering. “Anti-Machine rifle at the ready, what are your orders, Ma’am?” Longbow’s ears perked up and jumped for the radio console before I could even register it had happened. She slammed her hoof on the call button.

“How many legs does it have!?” She practically screamed out before Elder Strudel knocked her away from the console. The Elder’s horn flashed and a pair of magical manacles appeared around Longbow’s hooves. “If it has two legs, it’s friendly!” Longbow shouted up from the floor, using her magic to tug at the cuffs. Strudel was about to speak when the answer came back over the speakers.

“Enemy is bipedal and has closed to four hundred meters. Do I have permission to engage the target?” His voice came back, now more worried. It had to be ED though. I have never seen any other old world machine that walked on two legs. “Elder, I need an order.” Strudel stood for a moment, before she hoofed down the button and let out a sigh.

“Hold your action. Maintain visual contact and continue reporting in.” She grumbled through the microphone.

“Roger, Wilco.” Was all that came through before she hoofed the toggles back to their original positions. She turned and undid the bindings from Longbow. “I want an explanation from you, NOW.”

“Um… you see Ma’am…” That was as far as she got before the Elder gave her a look that could have probably scared Carlotta into shaping up.

“No, Him. I have heard enough from you, Paladin.” Strudel’s words made Longbow go stiff. This old lady was crazy scary, and even worse, she had just set her sights on me. “All this shit started with you. So let’s hear it.”

“That ‘enemy’ out there is a pair of A.P.s loyal to the Ministry of Morale. They have enough firepower to wipe out half this base.” I took a step back, feeling naked without my Pipbuck’s inventory spell. “You open fire, you’re killing a lot of ponies here. I’m telling you, do not attack them.”

“You aren’t helping your case. My duty is to defend this base, against any and all who would seek to destroy it.” She looked over me with a sneer. “You may be correct about Sorbet, but this is MY base, and MY family. You don’t get a say in it.”

“Actually, he does.” The overly proud voice of Maple Syrup spoke up from behind me, practically making the whole room turn as he strode through the doorway with Fruit Cup in tow. Seriously, even the way he walked in he was flaunting himself off as high class. And here I was thinking all the prissy ponies lived in Tenpony. “Go on Cup, tell them what you found.”

“Star Paladin Syrup, the base may be in jeopardy and now is not the time to interrupt me.” Her voice was seething, obviously having very little affection for him. “This type of behaviour may have been excused by your father, but I will not tolerate it!”

“Ma’am, this is relevant.” Fruit Cup took a step forward, cowering down when Strudel gave him her murderous gaze. “He is… that is to say…” He could hardly form the words under so much pressure. “... the head of the M.o.M.”

The Elder facehoofed and shook her head slowly.

“We know of all the heirs currently living in the wasteland, and outside of some that could be in stables, it’s not very likely. Besides, all of the M.o.M. chief’s relatives are accounted for in new Pegas.” Her voice dropped as she spoke, her agitation with everything had probably given her the same headache I have. The pony at the radio set his headset down with a click, hoofing at the switches on the board.

“Ma’am?” It was the now normal volumed, yet frightened voice of the stallion from before. “The machine has approached my position. It is refusing to leave until it speaks to a pony named Backlash.” All the eyes in the room turned to focus on me as I couldn’t help but smile. “She says he’s inside the base and that she wants to see him. Please advise…A.S.A.P.”

It had been another 15 minutes of getting a stern talking to by the Elder for ‘breaking protocol’ and ‘putting the base at risk’ because of ‘primitives like me’ not seeing the consequences of my actions. After what felt like hours, ED arrived, sending the base into a frenzy to get a look at the unique machine. Everypony else had scrambled to get a good look at it, and here I was trying to negotiate for the Steel Rangers help. At least I had my Pipbuck back.

“Look, if 42 is still alive, then we need to get to the cloning machine before she does.” Longbow tapped her forehoof on the table in an authoritative way as she spoke.

“The only problem with this is the fact that there is a stable door standing between us and it.” As I talked, I looked over to the Elder, who almost seemed lost in thought. “And before it’s suggested, we can’t just leave it. She will find a way in, one way or another. I’d just rather beat her to it.”

“It’s a normal stable door, you say?” Strudel didn’t even look up as she spoke, tracing her hoof through the air as if to draw something only she could see. “There may be something we have that can be used for that, provided we can both find the parts, and get it to the door.”

“Great, I know just the mare to see about finding hard to find parts.” This was the perfect setup for us! “Now, just to tell you, the settlement she lives in is about to have a large alicorn problem.”

“Out of the question. We are the Steel Rangers, not a mercenary organization. All the available personnel will already be heading to check on Delta base.” She looked up to me and pressed her forehooves together on the table. “I’m sorry.”

“What if the base is already lost?” Longbow spoke up again, rubbing her chin lightly. “Send in a small advanced team ahead of everypony. Backlash can even get them there a day in advance of the others. They Slip in, check it out, and report on if the rest are even needed.” If it is 42 like the report said, then there won’t be anypony there alive to find. Even worse than that, 42 could just be waiting there to ambush me. At least with a smaller team, if things did go bad, she wouldn’t slaughter the whole of the Manehatten Steel Rangers.

“That may have worked for you before, but it is way outside of our normal tactics and highly risky. I say wait and breach like protocol has always dictated.” The Elder’s suggestion roused a sigh from Longbow.

“If it’s just a trick that Sorbet is pulling as part of her betrayal, then she will be expecting ‘normal protocol’.” Her tone shifted to something I hadn’t heard in her voice before, giving off hatred and barely contained excitement. “This way, we might catch her off guard, or save the others from an ambush.”

The gears in my head clicked together, helping me to realize why Longbow was pushing so hard for it. If she got there first, she planned on killing Sorbet herself. It wasn’t about ambushes, or efficiency, or even about saving the wasteland. It was about good, old fashioned revenge.

And I won’t stand for it.

“But if it IS 42’s doing. She’ll be inside waiting for us. There is no way I am going to let a small team get slaughtered for no reason by her when they could have had backup.” I caught the burning gaze of Longbow as she shifted herself uneasily. At least she knew to keep from yelling at me until this was over. However unfair she thinks it seems, I will not let her take her revenge. “What if I offered an alternative for your services. And before you go back to the whole ‘not a mercenary’ speech, if you help me, I agree to pay you in weapons upfront, and let you keep the Orchard once the machine is destroyed.” As the elder took her time to think about it, I was ready to get my game face on and negotiate.

“I can agree to those terms. Fruit Cup will give you the details of the parts when you get to your supplier. Now, get yourselves up top and ready to go.” She nodded, catching both Longbow and I off guard. “Paladin Longbow, I am assigning you to Star Paladin Maple Syrup’s squad as the advanced infiltration team.” I was about to object when she continued. “BUT, the moment it looks to be too dangerous to proceed, get out and seal the door. That is an order.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Longbow smiled and gave a stiff salute, her words giving away that the order was something she never intended to follow. I nodded in thanks to the Elder before both Longbow and I trot out of the war room, heading for the drydock to meet with the others. We had walked all of a minute through the old labyrinth before Longbow held out her hoof against my chest, pushing me back against the wall. She used her amplified strength to push me up and pin me there.

“What the hell was that in there!? Did you forget what I told you!?” The gears in my head spun wildly, trying to push the feeling of bark scraping against my back and the shortness of breath from taking over. I wheezed and kicked my rear hooves again as Longbow continued venting her rage. “We are going to do this MY WAY. We are going to go in there and I’m going to finally give that bitch what’s been coming to her!”

The world started to tilt and spin as I couldn’t breathe, darkness clawed at my vision before Longbow gasped and let me go. I slumped to the floor as I struggled to get any air at all. Reflexively, I coughed hard, sending splotches of red to the floor with each wrenching hack. My lungs stung and burned, feeling like they were trying to work their way up my throat, and I was almost worried that I was having another taint mutation, but the pressure let up and I felt myself breathe again.

“Backlash… I… are you alright?” I don’t think that was an appropriate question to somepony who was nearly just suffocated. She sat down in front of me, holding a hoof out with a shameful expression. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.”

“Longbow, I’m fine.” I pushed myself up, feeling weak and lightheaded, though I knew that would pass. “But you need to look at yourself. When I met you, it was like you wanted to bring justice to the wasteland. And I thought that it was a foolish idea, but the more time I spent with you, the more I believed that you could do it. Don’t lose yourself to this revenge, not like you did to Bishop.”

She shrank down at the mention of him. She knew that killing Bishop was the only way to bring him to justice, but even she could see that she enjoyed it too much. Sorbet could still be brought to justice if 42 doesn’t kill her. Longbow didn’t have to kill her out of revenge. She looked up to me, determination filling her eyes.

“I promise I won’t.” My ears played back her words over and over, nothing but sincerity and resolve came through. I took a step forward and pulled her into a tight hug, feeling as she wrapped her own hooves around me. “Everything has just happened so fast… I don’t want to forget who I am.”

“I won’t let you.” I gave her a smile and leaned back. “Now, come on. This detour has taken long enough.”

After a few more minutes of walking (and far too many flights of stairs later), we re-emerged into the light of the dull grey sky. Maple was striding along a neatly filed line of paladins, barking off instructions with a voice that was beaming with pride.

“Congratulations squad! You’ve won an all expenses paid trip down the highway to tartarus! I know that field work isn’t something we normally get to do aboard the Nautilus, but Elder Strudel needs everypony on deck for this mission.” He stopped and looked Fruit Cup over, raising his hoof up and putting it through his mane. “Paladin Fruit Cup! Your mane is past regulation length, fix it!”

“Fruit Cup, belay that order.” Longbow called out, causing Maple to trip up mid stride. “Mane length is only regulated for unicorns without modified helmets, you know that Maple.” Her words turned his coat red in anger. “And don’t tell me you outrank me. That’s only on mission, not during prep time.”

“Whoa Maple, you going to let her talk to you like that?” A white earth pony stallion spoke up. He was quite lanky looking, even through his armor. His tan mane frizzed about in all directions, each curling pomf of it ended in a dark brown tip, and he had a dark brown moustache that extended into a twisting curl from each side of his muzzle. The one thing though that got me was his voice. He was the same stallion who had called up over the radio over ED.

“Unless YOU want to be the one to shave their mane, I suggest you all go to the armory and stock up.” Maple was pissed, there was no denying it, but he maintained incredible control over the others with his voice, I could see it in the way they all saluted at the same moment. They truly admired him.

The thumping and jostling of power armor made my head pound as the group trot past me and down into the base, leaving me in silence only after the bunker door mercifully swung shut. The fluttering sound of wings announced both Carlotta and Skyline’s arrival beside me. Sky immediately took notice to the oozing wound on the back of my head.

“Goddesses, are you ok? They didn’t do anything to bad to you, did they?” She grabbed at the sides of my head, pulling it down so she could get a good look at me. “Oh… hopefully it didn’t cause a concussion, whatever it was.”

“Right, cause a concussion might disrupt the emptiness inside his skull that gets us into these situations.” Carlotta remarked sarcastically. “Well, whatever situation you got us into sure did the trick. From up there, it looks like the whole base is getting ready for war.”

“They are.” I knocked Skylines hooves away from me, looking up up at the pair. “42 isn’t dead.” I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction I had expected from the two of them, but what I didn’t expect was complete and utter speechlessness. “The Rangers are mobilizing because she just took out Sorbet’s bunker. Get flying, we’ll need to know if 42 is still in the area.”

“You’ve got it, boss.” Carlotta’s expression was flat, and every ounce of tone or emotion was just simply gone from her voice. She spread her wings and took off, launching into the air as Skyline looked at me sadly, giving me a nod before she joined Carlotta. I watched as the two took off through the air, listening as the heavy robotic stomps of ED came closer.

“Hey there Chief! We had wondered where you popped off to!” P.I.N.K. seemed just as happy as ever to see me. I smiled up to her, canting my head as I heard a sharp banging coming from inside of her. “Oh! Sorry about that, I forgot you were in there!” She shouted before the pneumatic his of the wireless compartment opening filled my ears, The curled form of Notepad spilled out onto the concrete below me with a thump.

“Forgot about me!? I’ve been banging to be let out for ten minutes!” He angrily kicked at one of ED’s legs, which was a bad idea, seeing as… well, as kicking metal was just a bad idea!

“You brought him?” I groaned. I know that watcher had wanted this guy to get my story, but this wasn’t the time. “Look, Notepad, you can’t come with me. It’s too dangerous.”

“Hey, I’ve covered wars ya’ know.” He brushed himself off as he stood up, adjusting his swat barding straps. “Just take me with you! I’ll stay out of your way, it will be like I’m not even there!”

“Fine.” I rolled my eye and facehoofed. “Only because I have some questions I need YOU to answer for me. But we aren’t going to talk until Futura is safe, got it?” He nodded. “Good, now get back in and let’s go.”

“What? Can’t I ride with you?” He asked in a pleading tone, trying to keep his eyes from wandering to look at ED.

“There isn’t room. I’m transporting 6 power armored rangers inside of the Marauder. If you don’t want to sit inside ED here, you can take your chances outside on the rear frame of the car, with the ground speeding under you at 80 miles an hour through one of the worse sections of the old equestrian highway system.” He cringed at the thought of becoming nothing more than a red smear on the ground due to one, good pot hole. “OR, you can sit on top of ED, exposed and out in the open where nasty things like bullets can get you fairly quickly.”

“I get it, I get it. I’d rather get there alive.” He shook his head and crouched as ED lowered down for him. “Just please promise me that we’ll have time to talk. I got most of your story from the others, but I want to hear it from your perspective.” I nodded, which seemed to be good enough for him.

“You girls know where the bunker we’re headed to is? The best description I can give you is that it’s in an old quarry about halfway between ponyville and Red Wing.” This was going to be annoying if they didn’t know where it was.

“A bunker by a Quiche? Or did you say it was a Quail? Or was it a…” The speaker that P.I.N.K. was using cut out abruptly, the voice of B.I.T. coming over the other. “We know where it is. Even if we didn’t, we do have your Pipbuck to follow.”

“How can you track it though without your wireless unit?” Which led me to another damn good question. How did I not ask that right off the bat? “How did you guys find me here in the first place?”

“OH, OH! I know!” P.I.N.K.’s voice roared through her speaker again, the pink headlight on her side swiveled to look at B.I.T.’s headlamp. The purple light gave a quick up and down motion before P.I.N.K. continued. “Cause it’s tainted with poison!” And that wasn’t the answer I expected. “The casing is made out of a special alloy that, in small amounts is harmless, but for up to twenty four hours, leaves a trail to wherever the owner has been through! It was only put into high ranking official’s gear, you know, just in case they were ever foal napped.”

“I see… so if it was that rare, why does ED have a sensor for it?” I looked down at the busted casing to my Pipbuck, the flaking edges shining in the midafternoon light.

“Oh heavens no. With a broken casing like that, you’re leaving behind a HUGE trail that even our meager sensors could pick up!” P.I.N.K.’s voice was just a bit too enthusiastic that I was soaked in a poisonous chemical that other robots could track. Just another thing I have to worry about. “But don’t worry, that chemical takes years of exposure to kill you, so I’m sure you’ll be fine!”

“I feel so much better knowing that it gives everything else in the wasteland that can sense it time to kill me first. Thanks.” I walked past ED, heading toward Longbow as she talked with Maple by the car.

“Glad I could help you feel better Chief! See you there!” Her bright, oblivious demeanor was a nice change of pace from the last few days. What I wouldn’t give just to go back to living without the knowledge of just how fucked up my life has become. As she stomped off ahead of us, I thought to myself that I did appreciate all that both P.I.N.K. and B.I.T. were doing for me. They had their freedom, and each other. They could have run off and lived their own lives, but instead, they chose to help me.

I hope I’m worth it.

We had made good time as we bounced over the old, worn roadway, the sun was starting to set as we passed the still blazing remains of the Pool, and had actually set hours ago as we closed in on the bunker. I cringed everytime we bottomed out from any real pothole due to the fact that we were dangerously weighted down. It worried me that if it starts to rain, we might get so bogged down that we’d have to hoof it, and we’d never make it to Futura in time. Longbow was pressed tightly to my side, leaning into me to avoid sitting too close to Maple. Before we left, Maple introduced us to his team.

There were the three I had already knew of, the first being Fruit Cup, their archano tech expert. The second was Casserole, their forward recon, stealth, and markspony. The third was Suture, (who I was surprised could even fit inside his armor) and was as I knew, their combat medic. First of the members I hadn’t met, was Frosted Cakes, she was their repair and salvage expert, who apparently also had a fascination with explosives. Lastly, was their radio mare, Doppler. She honestly looked out of place the most among them, as her armor sported all sorts of ad hoc antennas that I couldn’t even guess what they were for. Funny thing though, is that the whole time I’ve seen her, she’s been the only one to never remove her helmet.

“So, what can you tell us about this mare we’re supposed to look out for?” Maple’s helmet speaker cut through the wind without problem as he leaned against the dash so abruptly, I swear I could feel the marauder tilt forward. “Right now, we’re going in blind, and I don’t like that one bit.”

“Look, you don’t want to see her. You see her, you’re dead. She see’s you, you’re dead.” Why can’t I just go back to this morning, back before I knew she was still alive. “Just trust me, we go in, we look for Sorbet, and we get out of there. That’s it.”

“He’s right Maple, this mare has a tendency to just show up in a place you’d never expect. We barely made it out of the East Orchard after she showed up.” Longbow’s tone was better than at the base, sounding much calmer and level headed. “The only one of us who might have an advantage here is Doppler, seeing as she might be able to hear her before she strikes.”

“You heard her, Doppler, helmet off for this mission.” Maple called back, rousing a soft sigh from the mare. She lifted her hooves and twisted the helmet off, pulling it up to reveal a midnight black coat, with piercing yellow slit eyes that looked just as out of place as her large, frill tipped ears. I had only see a few of the bat ponies in my life, but never had I seen an earth pony one.

“Aye, sir.” I could barely hear her words through the wind as she sank down, avoiding my gaze in the rearview mirror at her and shying away from everypony in what looked to be a mix of shame and fear. “If I may suggest… that I maybe could be stationed outside?” She didn’t sound like the other rangers at all, seeming more nervous than all of them combined. I guess she really didn’t like going on missions. “My equipment…”

“Will be fine. You keep going on that you need redundant antenna’s for just in case one fails anyway. No, unless there’s any other reason you can’t go in, I’m sorry but orders are orders.” He sounded irritated and droned on in a way like this isn’t his first time explaining this.

The fact that I hadn’t slept yet started to get to me, making me wish I had actually gotten that nap in while we were detained in the base. But as I yawned, the headlights highlighted the faint metallic glint of one of the quarry’s old digging machines. The sound of beating wings helped me focus a bit more as Carlotta dipped down through the darkness next to my window.

“Pull over, we’ve gotta talk.” That was all she said before disappearing. The way she said it though was concerning, her words having a note of hesitation to them again. I did as she asked and slowed the Marauder down, stopping us a ways from the entrance to the quarry. Maples Squad noisily piled out of the car before I had even turned it off, groaning as they stretched their stiff limbs. Both Sky and Carlotta floated over as the only light around us came from the Ranger’s headlamps.

“Fourty Two was definitely here. She left something outside of the base, and I’m pretty sure she wants you to see it.” Skyline spoke as if half asleep, looking more exhausted than even I felt. The whole lot of us followed through the darkness, climbing up the dirt wall around the quarry’s edge and peeking over. A bright light came from the tunnel that led in, shining almost directly on a colorful looking wagon that sat in the middle. It was hard to make out with just my one good eye, but it looked like it had the crude shape of a gear painted in blood on it. I started to pull myself over the crest to get to it, but was stopped as Carlotta grabbed me and raked me back.

“Come on, Backlash. You know that she has to have rigged this up to kill you. If anyone is going down there, it’s one of these fools with their fancy ass armor.” She grunted and sat ontop of me, making bolts of pain shoot through my side.

“Frosty, since you’re always the one with the urge to blow yourself up, you’re it.” Maple called out, tapping her on the back of her helmet. With little hesitation or effort, she had hopped up and galloped down to it, staying a good ten feet away as she did a walk around the cart. She stopped and leaned close to one end of it, looking it over intently for a few moments.

“Sir, it’s got writing that says ‘push me’ on the side of it next to what looks to be some sort of release mechanism. Should I activate it?” Her voice boomed through the cold night air, carrying to the distance loud enough that we all cringed. Maple turned to Longbow and leaned his head up, looking past her to me.

“You’re the expert on this mare, what will activating it do?” The soulless eyes of his helmet made me uneasy as I tried to think, giving him the only answer I could that would make sense.

“I’m pretty sure it will explode, but 42 is unpredictable, and honestly, it could do anything.” I turned my gaze back down to the cart, my morbid curiosity getting the better of me the longer I looked at it. “Whatever it is, she told me she would leave me a calling card to find her by, this has to be it.” There was a burning feeling in my chest as I leaned forward, my mouth speaking before my mind. “We need to do it.”

“Alright Frosty! Hit it and get to minimum safe distance!” Maple spoke just loud enough through his helmet that it got to her, getting a nod before she hoofed the side of the wagon. It jolted and bounce as the rounded top dropped down, a selection of streamers and brass horns erected themselves around a glowing box in the center of it. I tried to focus my eye on the glowing box, not quite getting it before Carlotta jumped off me and jet past the galloping Frosted Cakes.

“That’s Pallet!” Sky shouted as she too jumped up, about to take off before Maple hooked a hoof around her. “Let me go! I can help!” I looked down to the cart, seeing Carlotta tug and pull at the covering of the box, a filly sized object was moving about inside it. 42 surprised me by not lying about Pallet, but to do this! I knocked my head painfully with a hoof to get back on task as Skyline kicked and hit at Maple in a futile attempt to break free.

“You know it could explode!” Maple growled through his helmet. “Losing two members is not worth the risk!” There was a loud crackle from the box that sounded similar to the start of an audio log.

“Heya there Backlash, consider this that calling card we talked about. You’ll find that I already took care of that whole ‘megaspelling the wasteland’ problem. I even left her alive too, just because I know how much you also love murdering innocent ponies. Funny thing is, I keep doing all of these favors for you, but you never seem to understand that giving is a two way street. So I'll be waiting at the Bucklin bridge for the ultimate showdown. You bring your friends, I'll bring mine. Don’t forget to bring me my pond either, it’s the only way I’ll spare your precious wasteland now. Oh, and before I go, one last thing. You have until the end of the song to save the last living resident of ponyville. Good luck!”

Her voice cut out as Carlotta tugged with all her strength at the box in the center, slowly bending the covering off of it with her bare talons. The flags and tubes on the box started to wave around as a quick, upbeat song played through them.

“Carlotta, come on!” I screamed out at her, unsure if she could hear me over the song. She was definitely making progress at ripping it off, but I was unsure if it would be fast enough. I have no idea how long this song might last! With one final tug, the mountings for the cover sheared off as she tossed it down, scooping up Pallet and turning around in one fluid moment. As she took off, the song came to an end, hanging for a moment before a loud, ding played.

The blast wasn’t more than one would have expected from a rocket, but the whole cart disintegrated into high speed shrapnel, bouncing off of the helmets of a few of the rangers, and thankfully missing Skyline and I. Carlotta’s shredded form dipped out of the air and slammed into the dirt a few feet from us, laying there unmoving as streaks of red dripped down the slope.

“NO!” Skyline tore herself from Maple and dashed over to Carlotta as all I could think was that I had just gotten another one of my friends killed. Skyline sobbed loudly as she turned Carlotta over, pulling both her and Pallet close. It was then that I could hear Pallet’s sobs join in, sounding weak, but at least she was alive.

Suture galloped up, pulling out a super restoration potion from the medical tin built into his armor. He pushed Skyline away forcefully, moving Pallet and turning Carlotta over before pouring the liquid over the gaping, bodily wounds. Through my tearing eye, I could see the wounds close up, forming bright new scars on her back. Carlotta gasped and clawed at the dirt as she locked up in pain, flaring her tattered wings out reflexively. I rose to my hooves with a smile, screaming out into the night.

“THAT’S RIGHT 42, YOU DIDN’T FUCKING WIN!” My outburst made the others look at me like I was crazy, but I stopped caring when the gears in my head spun out something I needed to take into consideration. I ruined her plans for the East Orchard. I ruined her plans for the Pool, and even now, a challenge like this means that She’s afraid of me stopping her. If she is that desperate, then we can do this. If she wants one final fight at the bucklyn bridge, then after we save Futura, I’ll bring the full might of the wasteland to bear onto her. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trap, or if she wants to surprise me with something there. Nothing short of a megaspell is going to stop me from finally taking her down.

-------------------

Level Up!

+15 Barter

New Perk: Monstrous Charm - You look like a walking train wreck. Everypony hates to see you, but can’t help but keep on looking! You’re intimidation gains you an additional 15 points to barter, but you now also have -1 to your charisma.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Kkat, Somber, Mimezinga, No_One, Stonershy, John Colt, Hetnu, Xjuan, Sawyer, Vocal, Tinker, and Bad Pun for their inspiration and support in the writing of this fic!

Shout out to Regolit, Deathpony, and Retl for their feedback! I really do love to hear what you all think!

(Sawyer totally noticed I forgot to put this up!)