“And that’s how equestria was made!” I gave a bright smile and waved my hooves in the air.

The amber colored eyes that sat across from me studied me curiously. “Ahm not one ta know a lot-a history, but Ahm pretty sure it didn’t start like that. Considering it existed before that war an all.” The young, teal coated earth pony mare definitely had the demeanor of her mother, but she had my eyes, hair, and gifts. She was Harmonic Drive, and she was my daughter.

“Oh come on, I have to end the story on a lighthearted note, besides, I’m sure Notepad could use the laugh.” I rolled my eyes and put my hooves down.

“Ah just don’t know what he’ll do now that yer done! Sixteen years he’s been waitin ta finish this tale.” She sighed and gave a laugh. “Though it was a good one. Ah never had any idea it was all so complicated, yet so simple.”

“Well, our history is important, especially with the way ponykind is headed.” I reached my hoof over and ruffled it through her mane, listening to her giggle and playfully bat my hoof away. “Watcher is far wiser than I had ever given him credit for, and he’ll be happy to know that this is finally finished.”

She scratched her chin and looked to the sky. “Ya know, ah thought of something the other day. There was a few inconsistencies in the story. Ya said that it took 2 days ta drive from Ponyville back ta Manehatten. But Forty Two showed up there only hours after her escape.” She shrugged and canted her head. “Ah get cause Pinkie Pie and all, but how did she do it?”

I laughed at that. “Oh, Pinkie’s since told me 42 was traveling by yakety sax.” There was so much Pinkie taught me after my adventure, and now things made much more sense. ‘Because Pinkie Pie’ is no longer all I had to say, i could explain things now that I knew how everything works.

Harmony scrunched up her muzzle in confusion. “Yaky what now?”

“It’s a Pinkie thing. When listening to it, she could travel faster than normal.” I rolled my eyes again with a smile. “Something I wish I’d known at the time. Would have made things a whole lot simpler.”

“Right…” She didn’t seem too impressed at that explanation. “And what about the party cannon? You never explained how it worked again after it was broken?”

“Well! As I’ve told you about Pinkie physics, anything that might remotely be correct, no matter how obscure to your goal it is, can work.” I felt like I was droning on like some boring school teacher. “Harmony, simple math question, what’s 42 divided by 6?”

“7, but that doesn’t explain anything.” She shook her head in frustration. “Ya can never explain anything simply, can ya dad?”

I straightened myself up and looked at her sternly. “You’re a Pie, come on, I know you can get this.”

Harmony groaned and tapped at her head with a hoof, taking a moment to think before letting out a small sigh. “Ya fired six shots before the final fight, and only when ya focused on 42, would it let ya fire it seven.” As soon as she said that outloud, I could see the gears in her head connect them. “Sometimes this family makes my brain hurt.”

I laughed nervously and rubbed at my mane. “Oh you have no idea…”

“Another thing…” She spoke up over me, reminding me that some things don’t change with time. “Forty Two’s death… why did the killing joke make her a skeleton?”

“Well, remember she said she was the real Pinkie Pie? She wanted to be real so badly.” I shrugged. “And poof, now she is.”

That brought a smile to her muzzle and a laugh from deep inside. I was proud of my daughter, watching her grow up with her brother has been one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed. She was smart, strong, and had a keen eye, just like I did.

“So, one last question about the story, why was Forty Two a bad clone?” Harmony’s curiosity was something I also believe she inherited from me. “Ah get that she went crazy when her pinkie sense came in, but why was it so strong?”

“See, I had to have Pinkie explain it a few times, but I think I understand.” I started, watching as Harmony leaned in closer, keeping her ears at attention. “The reason 42 came out corrupted was impure taint caused by Copper Rivet when she slipped in during the construction. The flux took part of her soul, twisting and corrupting it before shoving it into the only shell available at the time. There it mixed it with the special physics traits of Pinkie and imbued everything upon 42, creating the monster she was. See, the machine would have never worked otherwise, and the project would have been a failure had Copper Rivet never reached in.”

“So… Forty Two had an extra piece of soul shoved into her?” Harmony scratched at her mane as she tried to work it all out.

“No, she was a magical clone, she was never supposed to have a soul in the first place.” I sighed and shrugged. “It was having just the slightest shred of one that drove her mad. I didn’t know it at the time, but Pinkie told me that Copper Rivet couldn’t rest until I had killed 42 and restored the missing piece of her.” I smiled as I thought about it. “That mare herself was there of course, and she thanked me before moving on as Isaac had.”

“Ah see.” Harmony yawned and shuddered as the wind picked up around us.

“I think that’s enough for today young lady. Best not keep your mother waiting.” I got to my hooves and have her a hug, taking time to enjoy the warmth she gave off. “Make sure to tell your mother that I miss her, and tell your brother that I love you both very much.”

“Ah’m pretty sure they already know Dad, but ah’ll tell her for ya.” She hugged me back and pat along my neck before breaking it off and taking a step away. “Besides, with me moving ta live in Dodge full time, ah won’t get ta give her any of ya messages, so ah’ll make sure she knows before ah leave.” She smiled, but immediately scrunched her muzzle again, telling me she had one last question that was bothering her. “Dying on that mountain, did it hurt as much as ya said it did?”

I laughed nervously and looked about as I tried to come up with an answer she’d like. “No, I didn’t feel a thing.” Nailed it. That was the biggest lie I’ve told in a long time. It hurt so much more than I said it did, enough that I’d take another thirty taint mutations before going through it all again.

“Huh, mom was right.” She gave me a sly smile and chuckled. “Ya really can’t lie worth a can of beans.”

I gave her a soft grin and reached my hoof out, bopping her on the muzzle and watching as she flashed away into thin air. I rose to my hooves, turning from under the old tree to look across the grassy rolling plains. The Pie family’s house stood proudly in the open, towering like a monolith. No, like a beacon, welcoming any and all who found their way here through Pinkie’s meticulous planning. Before heading over, I took a moment to enjoy the sunlight on my coat, feeling as the cool evening breeze washed over me.

Being dead has it’s perks. I no longer have to worry any longer about my loved ones getting injured here. But, there are the mixed blessings, like knowing the outcome of everything. I have seen what is to come for the wasteland, for the world for that matter, and it is grand. But I have also seen what it will cost, and what must be sacrificed to achieve it.

For example, my son, Short Staff will get married to a wonderful unicorn named Sunny Muffin and have a strong unicorn colt. At the age of 43 though he will die defending his family from a raider attack. His death means that they will live, and I know that when he joins me here, he’ll see the necessity of it. Yes, the access to this information saddens me, but I also know that all the suffering and pain that must come will be worth it. I can’t explain it any better than that, and I know it doesn’t make sense to most, but to understand it like I do, you’d have to be dead like me.

As for Harmonic Drive, she’s got a much more important role than even I had in shaping what the wasteland is to become, even though she won’t be leading the adventure she will partake in. I know the trials and troubles she will go through, and I know what her friends will sacrifice to complete it. In the end, that stubbornness inside of all Pie family members, that beacon of hope, will carry her through the fire and the flames unscathed.

There was a rustling in the tree behind me, and it made me smile wider. “Care to join me Pinkie?” I spoke with the hope that she would.

“You sure? I’m not interrupting your internal monologue, am I? I mean, I don’t...” A loud snap preceded the pink filly yelping and flopping out of the tree onto my head. “Wow, nice catch!” Another snap preceded a thick branch falling and hitting me hard in the back, forcing me to the ground with a thud. “Oh wow, a double nice catch!”

“Thanks, Pinkie.” I groaned and pushed the branch off of me, shaking myself off. “Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah!” She bounced off my head and onto the dirt, springing about on her hooves. “We’ve got another family member who needs our help in New Pegasus. I left him a friend to guide him, but what do you say to helping me roll some dice up here to give him a bit of extra luck?”

“First, why you didn’t tell me about this before? I thought that Harmony and Short Staff were the last Pies” I scratched my head. Just because I knew of coming events, doesn’t mean I know everything. I can only see the outcomes of questions I knew to ask in the first place. “How many more family members are out there?”

“Of course you aren’t the last, silly! I have relatives stashed all over Equestria, in case of a family emergency!” She giggled and landed softly on the ground, swinging her gaze to behind me as I heard soft hoofsteps approach. “On second thought, maybe I’ll come get you later.’

“Oh, hey there Pinkie, staying for dinner?” Brass trotted up with a smile and a wave. “Which is almost done because Backlash has been out here for what seems like ever!”

“You know I could just make it morning so you made lasagna for breakfast, right?” I gave him my toothiest grin, and quickly found a spatula smacking me on the top of my head.

“I don’t care! I’ve slaved for the last three hours, pouring my love for cooking into it, and you are going to eat it mister!” He giggled and swat around my hooves as I bravely defended myself from his attacks.

“Alright, alright!” I laughed and held my hooves up in surrender. “I’m coming, buddy.” I looked over to Pinkie. “I’ll catch up with you later Pinkie.” She nodded with a bright smile and took off like a pink bolt, leaving her pink contrail behind that smelled of cotton candy.

“Oh, Backlash, I had a question.” Brass remarked with a bright blush. “Do you… do you mind pulling Standtall down for dinner?”

“You kidding?” I gave a light chuckle and motioned towards the house. “I’d love to meet the Stallion who makes you blush so much. That and Harmony has been itchin to hoof wrestle him.” I got to my hooves and pat him on the head. “Come on, I’ll get my fishing rod and you can point me to his part of heaven.”

He jumped up onto my back as we both smiled. Things in the afterlife were good, and even though I would have rather fought for those months to spend more time down below, the wasteland was fine without me. Besides, years from my death, even after the days sunshine and rainbows are only memories of years past, my story is still told. It stands as a testament to the strength of the ponies in the wasteland, not speaking of the Crusaders, but of the Merchants of Hope.

“Or is it?”

“Pinkie! you are ruining my dramatic ending!”

“Sorry! I thought these folks would want a standard fallout ending though, one that tells them about all the ponies you affected in your journey. You know, showing the impacts your choices made?”

“Fine, I guess that’s a good point.”

“Can I tell it!?”

“Go for it.”

Longbow retired from Steel Rangers shortly after the twins were born, even though they offered her a position as the new Star Paladin of the reformed Delta contingent. She moved to Tenpony on the request of Dj-Pon3. There, she raised both Harmony and Short Staff and took the job there as Head of Security. Since her instatement, and due to her reputation, there have been zero physical altercations between residents in the tower, and crime is down to a prewar low.

Skyline and Carlotta spent the years following the fall of 42 raising Pallet as their own while managing the Sunshine trade caravans. They expanded the business to three full-time carts which sold quality goods for little to no profit. This was possible because they could feed off of the original MoM bunker Backlash had stumbled onto, taking only the things that wouldn’t be enough to upset the balance of the recovering wasteland. Pallet eventually grows to be a mare just as ambitious and flighty as her mothers, inheriting Sky’s battle saddle after she promised to watch over the caravans with the same loyalty as her mother had. Carlotta passed away three days before their 20th anniversary from a painless, inoperable brain tumor, effectively breaking the family curse. After the funeral, Sky decided to go search for records of her parents above the clouds, and is constantly searching around Equestria for answers. She still stops by regularly to see Longbow, Harmonic Drive, Short Staff, and Pallet.

After the news of 42's demise, Dr. Giggle Fits took an expeditionary group out to medical supply cache 5706. After integrating what he could into Tenpony's infirmary, he quit his job there and packed up the remaining supplies, choosing to wander the wastes and give free care to those who needed it. After using the last of his supplies on a injured caravan, Dr. Fits was gunned down by a young band of raiders. His only regret upon death, was not being able to help ponies anymore.

The stallion the wasteland knew only as Dj-Pon3 delivered the double edged news of 42's defeat to the wasteland. Though momentarily disheartened, the view from his control room changed from day to day afterwards. Images of ponies rising from the hardships of the wasteland, banding together with others for the common good of ponykind came up everywhere. The hope he found in these images moved him more than he could ever emote to those who listened, and was only ever truly appreciated by his son on the day Dj-Pon3 retired. Vox graciously took his father's position and continues to broadcast to this day, keeping watch for any roving band of ponies doing extraordinary things in the wastelands. And as is tradition, he keeps the ponies who live there informed, no matter how much it hurts.

Ripcord never ended up joining the Sunshine trade caravan, instead leaving to join the group of radio performers at the communications complex north of the Pool. He has since become one of the more revered actors of the crew. ‘Afterschool Equestria: A Teacher's Passion’, though still controversial to some, is one of the most well liked stories in the wasteland’s history.

Some travelers would tell stories of the ghost of Mariposa, her haunting song could be heard on the wind, beckoning the weary to a disastrous fate. But Willow Wisp stood as a lone sentry inside the entrance to Mariposa, keeping watch over the goddess for another twenty years, up until the point when she completely faded from the physical plane, and into the annals of time.

Seeking the other orchard A.P.s out, P.I.N.K. and B.I.T. helped build a suitable body for D.A.S.H. and the three of them headed west along the old highway systems. Curiously, they disappeared completely after being sighted trekking into the Everfree forest. The eventual fate of the two love struck Artificial Ponies and their new companion may never, truly be known.

After 42 destroyed Red Wing, Pariah and Righteous Fury migrated to the Sunshine Garage with the other survivors. Due to his family's history with the MoM, and his extensive knowledge of things before the war, Skyline appointed him senior caravan leader, allowing him to follow in his father’s hoofsteps. Righteous Fury currently has the highest number of successfully defended caravans of any merchant company in the northeast, and is having the time of her life traveling Equestria with her father.

Twain's epic battle with the enormous mare spilled outside of the towns walls, and the fighting took them quite the distance from Red wing. No clear winner could be seen when his ammunition was expended, and the large mare's strength drained. Amidst the pause the stalemate brought, the two burst into a hysterical fit of laughter, seeing each other as equal opponents. For Twain, that day not only marked the fall of the pink menace, but the day he found the love of his life. Linebreaker recovered from her wounds and swore off raiding, taking up arms with Twain the two of them becoming an unstoppable mercenary team. Though his adventures with Backlash had ended, the fates of the two families were eternally intertwined, and their descendants were destined to meet again.

For her heroic actions in solving what the pegasus media called ‘a brazen attack against the good citizens of the enclave’, Silver Star was promoted to the rank of Captain, and now commands the Lenticular as it patrols the skies above the cloud layer. She however never forgave the earth pony and his friends who turned her life upside down, and vowed on her family name that one day, the vengeance she believed them entitled to would be served. She became so lost in hatred, that even on her deathbed, she called upon her daughters to continue looking for him, refusing to believe the stories of his demise. And in the show of loyalty that is expected of all pegasi, they agreed to carry out her misguided wishes, never straying from her goal.

In a bizarre twist of fate, the bullet that 42 used on Crankshaft, deflected off his skull, merely knocking him unconscious instead of killing him. After spending three weeks in solitude, he lost his mind completely and went feral. He is still under the Pie family farm house waiting for those who might finally end his suffering.

Myron's name was indeed lost in time, forgotten only months after his death. He was missed by no one.

With the Pink Menace now confirmed dead, the merchants of the wasteland who had sought shelter during the storm of chaos, emerged and began to traverse the wastes again. The sudden influx of tired merchants helped Tiger Lilly to get Futura back on track, rebuilding the outpost to it’s former glory. With the stories of it surviving a full on assault spreading across the lands, the merchants brought their families there to keep them safe and in the span of only six months, it’s residential population went from fifteen, to three hundred. On the one year anniversary of His visit, Lilly unveiled a statue of Backlash cast from the metal of the air defence gun. The merchant’s memorial, as it is now called, is visited by those who travel in the hope it will give them the endurance to make their way back home.

Sourdough's shop expansion sent the sales of his bakery through the roof, making the already wealthy stallion richer than he had ever dreamed. But seeing the generosity of Backlash and his friends had changed him in a way he would never recover from. He kept enough of a profit to live in the tower, but returned his extra earnings toward the other shops in the market. With the added funds, trade exploded and when the merchants abroad returned to the prestigious tower, bringing with them prosperity and the security of their futures. One of his daughters, Sunny Muffin, grew up with the stories of the merchant who helped the community, and was inspired. When she was of age, she made the decision to leave the baking business to her sister in order to give back to the wasteland as a traveling merchant herself. She joined up with the Sunshine Merchant's and found an added bonus in the form of Backlash's son, Short Staff, falling in love with him shortly after her first year working with him.

With the wasteland recovering from the impact of 42, heroes started to emerge more often, cropping up in every town and settlement from Las Pegasus to Baltimare. Watcher’s search for the new Elements of Harmony seemed to hold promise for the first time since the end of the war. At the forefront of his search, Notepad continued to chronicle the events of ponies who did extraordinary things. And finally, sixteen years after 42's defeat, Notepad finished the story Watcher had sent him to so long ago. On a relatively normal day ten years later, Notepad died. There was no pony there to record his life history, but Notepad wanted it this way. He had lived vicariously through the stories that he scribed so diligently, becoming part of them himself in the end. In the days after Sunshines and Rainbows, when the ponies in the lands would read the stories he kept, everypony knows the name of the author who sacrificed his life. They knew he did so that they, and others may remember the good of ponies that emerged through the balefire.

Railspike and his unlikely band of marauders came out of the fight in Red Wing with only eight to their group. Forged in the fires of battle, the sense of family these eight gained held them together as they left the battlefield, deciding to follow Railspike back to his hometown of Whinney. Upon arrival, they discovered a small comune of ghouls scavenging off of the irradiated ruins of the Sugar Apple Bombs factory, and in the interest of friendship, decided to jointly found a community that welcomed all wanderers and travelers. The town flourished and prospered for a time, but that would come to an end too soon. Three decades later, when the worst winter the wasteland had ever experienced swallowed the settlement and the forty eight who lived there, the wastes were left only to ask what had happened. Though to most, the repeating fate of Whinney may have seemed like a curse, there were a few who knew the truth. The journey of the heroes who knew however, is a story best kept for another time.

And finally, Maple Syrup returned home with his rangers to a hero’s welcome. The Elder, impressed by their steadfast dedication in upholding the values of the Steel Rangers, cleared their names and reinstated his unit. Maple however, found himself humbled by what had happened on the mountain, and he swore to himself that he would change his attitude toward life. In a sign of reverence, he had the gold stripped from his armor, and recast as a plaque in honor of his son, so all would know the name of the one ranger he aspired to be. His armor now sports the painted cutie mark of a brass tack on it’s flank plates, a constant reminder to himself that he needs to do better. Little does he know, that he and his rangers will soon have the perfect chance to prove just that...

Author's Notes:

That's it for Merchant's of Hope!

Thank you for staying with it and reading my Story. Once again, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, anything you want to tell me. You are all the best readers I could have ever asked for, period. If you liked my story, go ahead and check out any of the other's on my page, and at the end of most of the other chapters here I've listed quite a few great ones as well. Thank you again, these 8 months writing for Backlash and crew, have really been fun, and you can be damn sure that I'm going to miss it.