After most of the taint had drained, and the dead had been tallied (only fifteen in all if you count Bishop and his guards.), work began on salvaging equipment out of the other towers. The Stalliatore twins had announced to their workers they were moving operations to Fillydelphia, meanwhile Peppermint hadn't even made an appearance. I assumed that she had finally had enough of this town and gotten out of here when nopony was looking. The town had returned to its normally quiet self, planks of wood stretched between the buildings to keep the ponies off the taint-coated roadway.

"Be careful with that!" Longbow winced and held her hoof out as I tinkered with the left fore cuff of her empty armor. I held the large metal tube in my mouth, pulling out and opening a small metal jar from my saddlebags. The large bags swung in the cold breeze as they hung off the Marauder's driver side mirror. "There are some very sensitive parts in there. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" She bit her lip as I slid one of the pneumatic pistons out of it's slot.

Sky and Carlotta had already gone to bed, seeing as they had both been up all day (and had to fly my heavy flank away from the taint flood.) but I wasn't tired. Longbow had wanted to do the 'Daily Maintenance' of her armor, but she had burnt out her magic earlier in the escape and needed my help. She had been hesitant to let me touch her suit, but ultimately agreed after she kept over-exerting herself to try to do it herself. I swear Unicorn magic makes their kind the laziest ponies ever.

"Look, I can fix anything. It's what I do." I slathered some grease from the jar onto my hoof turned to her and glanced back at my cutie mark, the set of meshing gears embellished on my flank had been a great source of pride to me since the time I was just a colt. "I'm a mechanic. If it's got parts, I can fix it." Longbow seemed to relax slightly as she watched me work her armor over, cleaning and greasing up the metallic shaft before slotting it back into the leg.

"I thought that you were a merchant?" She responded slowly. Her voice told me that the question was more personal curiosity than just trying to figure out if I had lied before.

I looked over the leg of the armor again before setting it down with a small sigh. "It's an... added benefit of my talent." I reached up to unhook the other leg from the suit. "I didn't figure it out until a while after I got my cutie mark."

"How did you get it?" She asked with a note of hesitation. I sat down and blinked for a moment before looking over to her. She blushed a bright red as she shrugged, her blood-stained, violet dress softly billowed in the wind. "If that's too personal to share, it's fine..."

I smiled and shook my head. "No, I don't mind telling, it's just not spectacularly interesting."

"You know, that's what everypony has said when I've asked, and it's always more interesting then they make it out to be." She said softly as she rolled her eyes and fidgeted her forehooves together.

I looked up in thought, squinting as the bright floodlights from the Stalliatore's tower streamed down onto us. "Well, in the settlement my mother, brother, and I used to live in, we had to earn our keep off scavenging. We lived along one of the great war's battle lines, picking over the rusting hulks of tanks and small camps." I paused for a moment to wipe my greasy hoof on my saddlebags, the off-white sacks so dirtied and worn from use it had turned a deep brown.

"Anyway, one day when we were looking around, I happened upon an extremely rusty artillery piece. The way it was turned up defiantly towards the sky, refusing to succumb to the will of time just fascinated me for some reason. The more I looked it over, the more I had to keep looking over it. Eventually, I found that not much was wrong with it, one of the recoil buffer pins had completely eroded away and the breech latch was slightly bent. Both of these were minor, minor things and anypony else would have missed it."

I held my hooves up and mimicked picking up a small object. "I looked around for awhile until I noticed that the ram rods used for loading shells were of nearly the same thickness , so I used one of the skeletal soldiers uniforms to make it stick and I forced it in there." I motioned like I was smacking the pin in.

"Why did you want to fix it?" Longbow asked quickly. "I mean, you couldn't sell an entire cannon to somepony, could you?"

I chuckled softly. "Like I said, it just seemed to call out to me. I didn't know why, but it just felt... wrong when it was missing such simple parts. I wanted to make it whole." I mimicked holding my hooves around a bar. "So after I had the new pin in place, I tried my hardest to bend the breech lock back into place. Little did I know that the gun had a few spells on it, allowing it to fire as soon as it was safe to do so. When I bent the lock back, I accidentally sealed the gun and set off the spell. After the smoke cleared, I was so stunned that I made the cannon work again, these gears appeared."

"But what does that have to do with being a merchant?" she asked as I closed my eyes and smiled at the memory of the old cannon, opening them again to be nearly blinded. (for some reason I kept forgetting those giant lights were up there. I'm just not that smart of a pony I guess.)

"Well, after I learned I could fix things, I started to bring broken things I found back to the house. As it turns out, even simple things like toasters have a demand in the marketplace. I started to sell what I could and noticed that my keen eyes and ears could pick up on the little things ponies did when negotiating. I could observe when they knew their bid was far too low, I could see when they thought it was a fair price, and I could hear when I was forcing them to spend everything they had..."

"So you made a living ripping ponies off..." Longbow sighed out as her expression dropped flat. On top of cutting me off, she sure knew how to jump to conclusions.

"No. I never charged more than a fair price, and I always undersold the competition. Well, except for when I started competing with Ditzy Doo..." I trailed off into a grumble. I shook off the annoying thought of giving things out for free and got back to looking over the power armor.

"SO..." She called out with doubt filling her words. "You've NEVER taken advantage of anypony because of your talent?"

A sharp shock ran up my spine as she reminded me of yesterday with Peppermint. I forced a smile and looked nervously up to her. "Umm... wow, you know I could use a bathroom break." I got to my hooves and took off at a canter over the hill towards the river. "I'll be back in five minutes!" I turned my head and called back to her as I crested the slope, slowing to a trot as I approached the bank of the Rein river. "I don't want to lie to her, she seems like a nice mare. Not to mention..."

I froze as movement to my right caught my eye, a small silver sphere was flying along the riverbank. I turned to face it as it came closer to see it was a sprite bot.

"Oh, it's you." I said as I rolled my eyes. "You shouldn't sneak up on ponies..."

The bot bobbed in the air silently for a moment. "Can't you see me coming on your E.F.S.?"

"My what?" I racked my brain for why that sounded so familiar. "Oh yeah! Brass had called my compass that the morning when..." I trailed off mid sentence. There I go remembering what I did to Harmony. I sat down and beat my hooves against my head sharply for being such a stupid pony.

"You... ok there, Backlash?" I could hear a slight tone of worry over the oddly robotic voice as it came over the speaker.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just trying to deal with my mistakes." My head throbbed as I blinked a few times. "Honestly, most of the time I keep forgetting that all this stuff in my vision means things."

"Well then, I wanted to tell you that I..." The sprite bot started to speak before watcher's words were replaced by a soft set of low chirps. I listened as my pipbuck seemed to emit them back quickly. As I tried to find a pattern to the tones, there was a sharp crack on the speaker before silence.

"Umm... Watcher?" I said slowly as I prodded the metallic sphere with my hoof.

A slow sigh emanated over the speakers. "Somepony has been commandeering the sprite bot network periodically. It's getting really annoying."

"Isn't that what... you... do?" I tapped a hoof on the dirt with a smirk.

"Yes, it is, but this has been happening every twenty two minutes to the second for the last twenty four hours." The spritebot bobbed slowly past me while Watcher spoke, turning around and floating back after a few feet, almost as if it was pacing. " At the very least, I have a good reason to use these bots."

"And that reason would be...?" Honestly I wasn't quite sure why he was doing it. I assume if he had wanted me to do something for him, he would have asked by now. Maybe as a ghoul he was just really bored and this was entertaining enough he wouldn't go feral?

"Well... you see... it's complicated." The hesitation and fear in his words were evident through the distortion. He didn't want anypony to know, but since he hadn't asked anything of me really, I didn't want to press the issue.

"I see. You wanted to tell me something?" I shrugged as I looked into the swiftly running river.

"I'm almost out of time, but it's about the pink... I mean Forty Two ." He said as my ears perked. "I just spotted her as she left Whinny, I just thought you should know that she is heading towards the power substation near there."

Why the hell would she go there? It's not a very secure building with minimal supplies if any, only some simple foor stores and a couple cots probably. The gears in my head screamed to a halt when I fit something in. I turned quickly and grabbed the spritebot between my hooves with a gasp.

"WATCHER. I need to know if Pallet is in there!" I stared wide-eyed at the small orb as it stayed silent for a moment before a soft crackle announced the return of the loud, upbeat polka the robots were known for. I let the bot go, watching as it bobbed along the riverbank slowly until it was out of earshot. I just hope that Watcher got my message, I need to know if Pallet is still alive and if 42 leaves her alone again, I couldn't just go in there on a hope and a prayer that she is still alive. What if it was just another one of 42's traps?

I turned and slowly made my way back up the hill, feeling my body yelling for more rest to recover from the night's events. As I crested the hilltop, an odd sight befell my eyes and I wasn't quite sure what to make of what sat before me. Longbow looked half dressed in the separate sections of her armor, some of the pieces hadn't quite been put on right, clamping closed on both the dress and her mane and tail. It had forced her to contort into holding an odd and presumably uncomfortable pose as she grinned over to me nervously.

"A little help please?" She said with a slight amount of shame to her voice. "It's just a teensy bit harder than I thought to put this on without magic." She wobbled unsteadily and I couldn't help but shake my head and giggle softly to myself.

"You know, you're kinda cute when you ask for help." I fired back playfully as I walked over and started to unlatch the suit. It might as well have been dawn, because the blush she gave seemed blindingly bright. She fidgeted as I got the last few pieces off and walked towards the room.

"Thanks for tonight, Backlash." She said through a sniffle, her words denoting happiness. "My brother would have been proud to know you." She said softly, shutting the door as she went inside.

Bed sounded good, but the prospect of having to live through the nightmares another night was just enough to keep me going. I had just put everything back in my saddle bags as I sat at the edge of the parking lot. I could make out the low rumble of thunder on the horizon, probably a storm system moving in. At least a little rain might help wash away some of the taint. I reached my hoof over and clicked on the radio to my Pipbuck, listening as Sapphire Shores reminded me just how lonely a pony could get. My thoughts drifted a bit before Dj Pon3's smooth voice refocused me onto the radio.

"News time my little ponies! Now pay attention Fillies and Colts, the Pool has been closed... indefinitely. Details are still coming in, but it seems that the tower housing the King known as White Bishop was demolished and the resulting collapse flooded the town with a large amount of taint. Who knew that making the Pool a little dirtier would help make the wasteland cleaner for everypony."

As much as it sounds like it's going to help, nothing is going to change. The Stalliatores will go set up shop again and somepony will start producing more liquor somewhere else. The cycle will never end.

"So what pony have I been told we have to thank for this extraordinary feat?" He inquired with a tone of eagerness.

Oh Celestia he can't...

"That's right everypony! The same wasteland crusader who has been hot on the hooves of the Pink Mare. I have a proposal to Mr. Backlash and company, if you are ever around the Tenpony area and have some free time, swing by the broadcasting station so I can give the good ponies of the wastes an interview with the stallion who's finally making a difference. Oh and when I say free time, I mean anytime you aren't eradicating troublesome gangs, toppling underworld kingpins, or fighting the good fight against scourge of the pink mare."

I turned off the radio and closed my eyes as my head sunk, wanting to beat myself back into wasteland obscurity. If my notoriety keeps getting inflated at this rate, every gang and settlement in the wastes will either try to kill me, refuse me, or ask for my help. I don't even have time to deal with Moron and his plans yet, let alone delve into some pre-war bunker for the Steel Rangers. Every day I spend doing other things, 42 gets closer to finding where the pond was taken. My ear twitched as the night breeze picked up slightly, a humble voice carried softly along it.

"Sleep"

My eyes went wide as I froze, the word echoing softly in my mind. It had been the same voice I heard when this all started, but I knew that voice now.

"Harmony!" I called out as I spun and rocketed towards the Marauder, slamming painfully into the side of it as I peered into the back seat. She was just the same as she had been the last day and a half, laying stiffly on floor with a bloody hole punched through her neck. I don't know what I expected, ponies don't magically come back to life after being dead for days.

I turned and slumped against the car door. How could I have heard her before if I didn't know she even existed a week ago! Is it just my mind playing tricks on me, or was she always destined to die by 42's hooves? I felt a spike of pain in my head as I tried to think, the breeze kicking up and chilled me to the bone. I hooked a hoof over the open window frame and pulled myself back up, looking down over the large mare again.

"Harmony..." I could barely even form the soft words as I hung in the window. "I'm sorry..."

I slowly stepped back and walked towards the door to my room, taking one last look back at the Marauder's backseat before slipping inside to sleep. Sky was sitting awake on the bed, holding Carlotta's head as she stroked the blue feathers softly. She smiled softly as I looked up to her. I did my best to return it, but couldn't muster the energy to keep it up.

I laid down against the door and let out a long yawn, closing my eyes as my mind tried to tell me I'd just have more nightmares. I thought to myself that if I have them, than I deserve it. The last thing I thought before I succumbed to the will of sleep was that because there was no escaping what I have done, I might as well buck up and face it.

I shivered and was jolted awake at the feeling of something slapping against my flank. I hazily looked up to see Carlotta repeatedly opening the front door against me, the cold morning air biting at my skin between slaps. She smiled down at me as she watched me curl up and shake from the near freezing temperature.

"You a merchant or a doorstop? Get up already!" She teased as Longbow got to her hooves from her seat at the table.

"He's a mechanic." The blue mare retorted smartly as she walked into the bathroom.

The gruff griffin sighed. "HE is in the way." She said as she kicked me lightly.

"Fuck off, Carlotta." I said as I tried to get comfortable again. "No metal walls here for you to force me up with." I smiled as I closed my eyes again.

"Yeah, but there is a tub in the bathroom." She replied slowly "Have you ever heard the sound of talons on porcelain?"

"Alright, alright! I'm moving!" I said as I stretched my legs out painfully. It probably wasn't the best idea to sleep next to the door anyway, but frankly I didn't care. It was a night without dreams, and to me that meant it was the best sleep I'd gotten recently. "Carlotta, I need to talk to you and Sky about something. Where is she?"

"She went for a morning flight around the town to stretch her wings." She leaned down to me and pressed her beak against my muzzle in annoyance. "Something I've been trying to do for the last five minutes except your fat flank has barricaded us in. So move."

"Thanks for the amazingly flattering update." I grumbled as got to my hooves. Carlotta swung the door open and gave me a face full of feathers as she smacked me with her outstretched wing before she jumped up and took off. I peeked my head out the door, noting that it must have rained earlier like I thought, leaving small puddles scattered about the lot. A long train of ponies caught my attention as they carried salvaged equipment up along the roadway and over the bridge.

"Why, good gracious me, if it isn't the Stallion Ah've been searching for!" An overly enthusiastic voice called out from Ripcord's office. A cream colored mare with a build not unlike my own strolled casually out, sporting oversized sunglasses and a straw brimmed hat to cover her light blue mane. She wore a plus sized, ornate, pink dress and walked with deliberately dainty steps.

"I am terribly sorry, Backlash, she has been rather insistent on speaking with you about a job." Ripcord called out as he poked his head through the office window.

"Uh huh... hello, Mrs...?" I don't think I've ever met this mare before, I think I would have remembered somepony covering their anger by forcing a smile as hard as she was trying. Maybe she was related to one of the victims from yesterday. Better stay on guard.

"Oh, do pardon me, where are my manners! I am Mrs. Jackpot Stalliatore." She bowed slightly as she spoke. "I have come to make a request of you." Her voice faltered at the end of the statement. So she was one of the Stalliatore twins, no wonder she was pissed. Oh, and that she wanted something from me but didn't send one of her lackeys ment she had to be holding out.

"Well, I'm pretty full up on jobs I have to do. Your request will have to wait." I said with a note of disappointment. Although I don't like to work for ponies like her (or Myron), I was still curious about the job. Maybe it would be something mundane?

"Well now, it will take only but a moment of your time." She grinned the same evil grin that Myron had given me, reaching up and unbuttoning the top of her dress with her hoof to let a small, metal bar spring up under her muzzle. I tensed up reflexively as she moved to bite down onto the bit of her hidden battle saddle, slipping into S.A.T.S. before she could fire. I mentally relaxed as the targeting spell coated her in an outline of pink before I pulled up my inventory. I looked down and highlighted the Party Cannon before stopping.

If I fired at her with the cannon, the ball would continue through her and hit either Ripcord, or one of the innocent ponies moving things in the background. The only option is for me to use Heartstopper to kill her, that way there is only minimal risk to injuring Rip. Wait, why the fuck am I rationalizing killing ponies? Is this how Sky has to think things through? Fuck, I just want my old life back!

An odd realization hit when I thought about heartstopper. I have never fired a gun before. Sky has always been there to protect me, and I have the hoof-eye coordination of a drunk when it comes to doing anything other than fixing something. (Also, I don't really count the party cannon as a gun, it's more of a... destructive device, you know, like plastic explosives. No moving parts and such.)

If I let S.A.T.S. do the work, how could I screw it up? I selected the sleek shotgun and watched as a flash of purple stuck it in my mouth, looking over the small heart inscribed on the gun as I thought to cancel the menu. As the targeting information came up, I used the poor thought of the words 'I just want to end this quickly' and S.A.T.S. closed promptly. I was thrust abruptly back into real time, watching as Jackpot's hidden battle saddle fired, punching holes in her dress to send one of the rounds into my vest harmlessly, and the other sides shot grazing across my right leg lightly.

Her eyes went wide as she realized that I had somehow armed myself and that she had failed to kill me. I bit down on the shotguns grip, pulling the trigger as I glared at her. I had only seen ponies shoot shotguns before, really knowing only that they shot a spread of metal balls and they were relatively easy to fix. Nothing prepared me for that shot, the party cannon being my only real experience, I had expected less recoil. A lot less recoil.

The shotgun jerked my neck to the side sharply as it flung from my mouth, Jackpot's screaming winning out over the ringing in my ears as several holes opened in her left foreleg. She kneeled on her good leg as her other bled thick streams onto the concrete. I got my bearings back as a door opened behind me. Myron walked up beside me holding his small revolver in his mouth and smiled at the injured mare.

"YOU!" She spat out between the whines. "YOU ARE BEHIND THIS!?"

Myron's answer was simple, firing a single, well placed shot through her sunglasses. Myron spit out the pistol as Jackpot slumped forward onto the ground. Longbow came crashing through the door behind us wearing half of her armor, looking around wildly before setting her sights on the pale stallion. I looked up to see the gaze she was giving and turned around, stepping between her and Myron.

"That mare tried to kill me." I said firmly, staring straight into her blue eyes. "Myron killed her in my defence."

Longbow leaned over and looked at the bloodied mare, studying her before going wide eyed. "You... that was Jackpot Stalliatore..."

Carlotta and Sky came racing around from the side of the building, galloping to a stop next to me. "Sky and I heard gunfire, is everypony alright?" Carlotta said quickly. She seemed to be quite shaken from such a simple exchange she hadn't even been in.

"Jeeze, Carlotta, since when did you turn soft?" Myron teased

"Fuck off, Moron, at least I have friends." She countered back sharply.

The young stallion grumbled and grabbed his gun again before turning and heading back into his room. I nodded and giggled slightly, holding out a hoof to Carlotta, happy to see her hoof bump me. Sky gasped and grabbed around my slightly bloody outstretched leg, looking it over closely before she let it go.

"It's just a flesh wound. You should be alright as long as we clean it out." Sky said as she rummaged around in her saddlebags. I walked over and bit down on heartstoppers grip, lifting it and depositing it into my own bags looked over to Rip's office. I was worried when I couldn't see him and that a few of the pellets from my shot had punched into the small room. I canted over to see him lying on the floor with his hoof over his chest and a small puddle of blood around the side of his head.

"Fuck..." I turned my sore neck and yelled back to the group. "Sky! I need help!" I maneuvered myself over him and moved his hoof away. Fuck, what am I supposed to do... get him conscious! I slapped his muzzle lightly. "Come on... wake up, buddy... don't be dead." Ripcord let out a rough groan as the rest of the group tried to pile through the door. He reached up and rubbed the back of his bloody head as he opened his eyes.

"Where are you hit?" Sky called as she stepped up and kneeled down next to the olive pegasus.

"What was that?" Rip said as he sat up, pulling his hoof away from his head. "I have to ask that you speak up!" I looked from his bloody hoof up to where his ear should be, but was nothing more than a shredded mess. "I think I may have struck my head when I dove to cover, it would explain this dreadful aching I seem to be feeling."

We all let out a collective sigh of relief as Sky took a few minutes to wash and wrap the last of our magical bandages around his stumpy ear. "Thanks again Miss Skyline for applying your medical skills to expertly dress my grievous wound." Rip turned and gave her a tight hug as she pat him on the neck.

"No problem, just try to keep it clean after you take the bandages off." Sky said as she took a step back. "Anyway, Carlotta mentioned you needed something, Backlash?"

I nodded and looked at her. "I hate to ask this, but do you think that you can go and get the Skycar? I still want to bury Harmony at the Garage, but..." Sky put her hoof over my muzzle softly and nodded sadly. I hugged her tightly and thought to myself that finally, I can do what I promised.

After we had moved Harmony's body into the hotel room, it was only a few minutes before I had reinstalled the Spark Battery Controller to get the Marauder rolling again. Longbow had managed to put her armor on correctly before joining me inside the car, seeming relieved to have it back around her. We left Sky and Carlotta to continue on our way toward Manehattan, and I was surprised to see that Longbow seemed to be getting used to the jolts and shakes the heavy vehicle gave as we clipped along the old road. The old highway took us around the northwest of Colt mountain before it was a straight shot to Manehattan.

We had ridden for about an hour before we even saw a glimpse of civilization again as we passed Redwing. The old mining town was one of a number of attempts to revitalize the search for gemstones, but had fallen on hard times without striking anything of value. Sometimes Sky and I would stop there for the night, but the towns ponies were a skittish bunch and frankly seemed generally unstable.

"Thanks..." Longbow said as she scooted up next to me on the bench seat. "...for telling me how you got your cutie mark. I know it's a personal thing, and most ponies don't like to share it."

"Well, maybe you could share yours with me, hell, I'd like to at least see your flank for once!" I blushed and face hoofed as she stifled a laugh "Wait... that came out wrong. What I mean to say is every time I'm around you, you were in your armor or you were in that dress."

"It's not something I like to just share with anypony. It's a personal badge of honor to me, it was a big part of my life to get it." She said as she blushed slightly.

"Could you at least give me a hint? Or tell me your special talent?" I said as I nudged her armored chest with a smile, drawing one across her muzzle in response.

"I can judge ponies." She stated bluntly.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what that even meant, but I let her continue. "With my magic, I can review the memories of a ponies crimes and tell if they are truly sorry of his or her actions. Whether they are worth reforming or not." I must have had my confusion all over my face as she had to rephrase it. "The magic allows me to share their emotions of the event as I watch their memories of it. If I feel regret and remorse, or even horror, they knew what they did was wrong and have a chance at being reformed."

That was... impressive? I don't know how else to describe it, but I had never heard of anything like that before. I wonder what she would read off me if she could watch the last two weeks. I stiffened up slightly. What if she has already read me? I looked over to her slowly as she cocked an eyebrow.

"No. I haven't judged you yet." She crossed her armored forelegs and frowned. "Do I need to?"

I gave a nervous grin and shrugged. "I don't actually know! I'd like to believe I've had good reasons for my actions." Good going Backlash, now she's totally going to judge the living shit out of you.

"I was going to say..." Longbow started before she looked out the driver side window. "...what is that?"

I swung my gaze over to see we were driving past a small group of old houses known to travelers as Minefield (not a super creative name, though to give the local ponies credit it IS accurate). I noticed there was an oddly-shaped, white rock sitting next inside the ruined playground in center of the ruins. "That's weird. I don't remember that being over there."

No pony has ever really been through the ruins because during the great war, somepony thought it would be fantastic if they laid anti-tank mines all over the place. The stupid things are magnetic, so you can't bring a minesweeper in to clear them AND they are buried almost randomly. I slowed us to a stop, shutting off the marauder as I looked closer at the round-ish rock, slowly making out the true shape.

"That's not a rock in Minefield, it's a zebra..." I said slowly as I swung the door open. "Hang out here while I check it out."

"Screw that!" Longbow said as she scooted closer to my door. "I'm going with you."

"Nonono! Freeze!" I said sternly as I held my hoof out. "There is a reason I parked this far away, they are magnetic mines, if you get too close, your armor will set them off." Longbow grumbled to herself as I shut the door, sitting in the front seat with her forehooves crossed. "It will only be a minute. I promise."

I turned and slowly walked towards the town, noting that most of the mines in this section had been set off, leaving small craters filled with the bones of a few ponies. (Well, I couldn't be one hundred percent sure there were no mines, but I hadn't exploded yet!) As I approached the playground, I noticed the body had lacerations all over it, but very little blood.

"The buzzards must have been picking at this for a while." I said as I tried to carefully push myself over the playground fencing, only to have it fold forward under my weight, dropping me on top of it with a slam. I got to my hooves and dusted myself off, looking up to see the Zebra was a stallion, and had one of the mines laying upside down on top of one of his forelegs.

"Well, that's weird." I crouched down and looked at the mine from a distance, noticing that the trigger hadn't been depressed and that the mine should be safe to move. I walked up and bit down on the handle of the mine, attempting to flip it over to disarm it. I was surprised to see the Zebra's leg held to it tightly as I lifted it up and turned it over. I hit the disarm switch with my hoof and sighed through the bit as a small green indicator popped up on the mine to show it was safe. I tugged the mine to toss it beside me, only to have the stubborn leg refuse to let it go.

I grunted and pinned the leg with my hoof, twisting my still sore neck with all my might to fling the disk, finally breaking hold of the Zebra. I watched with a cringe as the disk flew twenty feet or so, surprisingly landing in the dirt with a thud. I crouched low, half expecting it to attract another mine, but happy to see it just sit there as the dust cleared. I shrugged to myself and looked back down to see the striped body staring up at me with eyes filled with both fear and confusion.

"Please, do not hurt me!" He said softly as he trembled on the ground.

"Woah, I'm not here to hurt you." I said slowly, taking a step back. "I saw you lying here and came to see if you were alright."

He sat up sharply and looked around quickly, hyperventilating heavily. "You need to help me!" He said as he looked up at me. "They are going to kill me if they find me again!"

"Slow down and take a deep breath. First of all, what is your name?" I said slowly, holding my hoof out for him to grab. He just stared up at me with wide eyes, his vision darting between my gaze and my hoof.

He took a few long breaths before he calmed slightly. "I... do not remember." He said as he pushed himself to his hooves without my help.

I sighed and facehooved. "Can you not remember anything? Or just not your name?"

He seemed to ponder this a moment. "Most of it is fuzzy, but I remember being pulled from a mine shaft. I was caught in a cave in, but was saved when a group of ponies dug me out. For some reason they tried to kill me and I ran. I kept running until I saw this place, but that is where I lose everything again."

Fantastic. From what I can tell in his voice and expression, he's telling the truth. But now this opens up a whole new question. What do I do with him?

"Well, the only mine I know of around here is the Redwing mine." I watched him tense up at the name. "Is that where you're from?" He gave a small nod. "I can take you back there if you would like."

He shook his head "They will just try to kill me again!" Starting to quake again as his eyes darted around. "Please take me somewhere else, anywhere else!"

"Ok, it's ok." I lowered my voice and pointed my hoof back towards the Marauder. "I'm on my way to Manehattan, you can ride with us as long as you agree to not murder us..." I tried to say it as lighthearted as possible, but I still didn't want to get murdered by some random wastelander I just wanted to help.

"Alright. I will go with you." He said slowly, turning and shakily stepping over the fallen fence. I gave my best reassuring smile and walked up beside him, glancing over his... what did they call them again? whatever the Zebra equivalent of a cutie mark was. It was remarkably similar to a spell matrix chip. Maybe he was some sort of computer whiz? My attention was drawn over to a rock as it wiggled slightly, slowly dragging itself closer. My eyes went wide as I reflexively dropped my hooves out from under me, trying to scream to warn the stallion of the mine next to him.

The explosion was deafening as the anti-tank weapon went off. I could feel small rocks and hot bits of metal punch into my hide as the blast knocked me back a good three feet. I gasped and coughed as I struggled to breath, finally sucking in some air. I looked up to see Longbow standing over me in the bloody dress with a frown. I worried for a moment she had been hurt by the mine, but she was trying to speak to me. I couldn't hear what she was saying as she pulled me back to my hooves, helping me limp along as the smoke and dust cleared, walking up to the shredded flesh of the zebra stallion.

I shook my head to try to clear my vision, but it didn't help me understand what I saw any better. I was staring down at the open remains, the zebra's chest cavity was a mess of all sorts of tubes and boxes, half his right foreleg was severed to reveal several servos and actuators along with a plethora of wiring. This... THING was a machine. I sat down and leaned forward, the largest box had some sort of port, in fact I think it's the same kind of port a Pipbuck could connect to. I'm sure I screamed it, but I told Longbow to grab my toolkit from the glove compartment.

After a few minutes of tinkering, I had jury rigged a connector cable out of the robo-zebra's own parts. Would it be robo-zebra? Cyber-zebra? I don't fucking know, I mean I had no idea stuff this complex could even exist! I attached the cable both into him and my Pipbuck, looking down to the screen as it flashed lines of code before coming up with a notification.

A few more lines of code scrolled before a prompt for a single text file sat on the small computer. I hesitantly opened it, slightly disappointed when I saw it was short.

So... yeah. I'm kind of at a loss on this one. I've seen lots of prewar stuff, but nothing this... ridiculously weird. I mean FUCK, what in Celesita's name am I supposed to do with a freaky cyber-robo-zebra-thing! I closed the text file only to have another notification pop up.

Wait... this thing is still in good enough condition to run? It just took an anti-tank mine to the CHEST! I looked up over to Longbow, who had a health potion held in her mouth and a worried look on her face. I looked over myself for a moment to see if any of my injuries were bad enough to warrant a potion, but was startled to feel the purple liquid poured into my ear. As I shook my head vigorously, I was greeted by the sound of the mid day breeze.

"Wow. Why didn't I think about that last time?" I said as I hit the side of my head softly, trying to get the remaining potion out. I felt Longbow force my head the other direction before pouring more of the potion into my other ear. I was happy to be able to hear her put the bottle down.

"I would be surprised..." She said as she took a step back. "...but with the last few days you've had, it's not hard to think this sort of thing happens all the time."

"Up until two weeks ago, my life was never this interesting, I swear." I looked back down to my Pipbuck with a sigh. So, now what do I do. I mean, I've never seen tech this complex, but I'm sure that I could find someone who would be interested in it. Well, I could f...

"Are you going to fix him?" Longbow asked quite bluntly before I could even finish thinking it. "Fix IT I mean. It can't really be a him, can it?" My Pipbuck beeped as a new notification popped up.

"I guess I could try, but to be honest, I've never seen anything like this before." I unhooked the cable from my Pipbuck and stood up with a sigh. "Hoist him onto me so we can get him to the Marauder, I don't want to find out I can fix him and have another one of those mines blow him to bits and undo my work."

"What if it activates another one while we are pulling it?" She said with hesitation in her words.

"Then we get to see if he and I can take another blast, I'm sure you'll be fine. I took one and I seem fine." I replied lightheartedly.

"One, you aren't fine, you're insane to even be thinking of this. Two, we're going to call it a him?" She joked back as I leaned down next to the robotic zebra. She used her hooves to roll him over, levering him up onto my back with a piece of the broken fence near the playground. As the remains flopped onto my back, I happened to remember that metal is heavy, and a Zebra made of metal, covered by flesh was doubly so. My limbs protested as I strained myself to stand up.

"Eeyup!" I managed to say under the tremendous strain, taking stiff, short steps towards the car. Alright, three feet down, only about forty seven more to go. I heard Longbow shuffling in the dirt behind me for a moment, suddenly trotting past me with the severed leg in her mouth. I noticed that the hoof was bending along it's joints smoothly in her muzzle, arcing back towards me as she walked.

"Longbow!" I groaned out. "The hoof... it's following... a magnet!" She stopped and looked down at the robotic appendage, turning her head slowly and watching as it stayed pointing at one specific rock in the dirt. "We can use that.... to guide us... through!" I watched as she nodded and slowly walked with me. Over the next grueling twenty minutes, I struggled to pull the heavy machine along the path the hoof guided us through. I had to use my forehooves to drag myself forward along the ground the last few feet to the car, but we made it. I panted heavily and moaned as Longbow pushed him off my back and onto the dirt.

"You... Uh, alright there, Backlash?" She said softly as she put a hoof on my shoulder.

I raised my hoof painfully and waived it lightly at her. "I'll be... fine. Just need... a small nap." As I panted on the cool dirt, I shut my eyes for a moment to try to think, of how I was going to pull this off, unsurprised when I felt all my pain drift away slowly.

The warm breeze felt good as it blew through my mane, the sunlight pouring down from above giving me the strength to get up once again. I smiled as I sat up, opening my eyes to find myself laying in the grass under a familiar looking tree. I could hear jubilant music playing in the distance that instantly brought happiness to my mind. For once, I was glad to be back here, finally able to get a break from the horrors of the wasteland and my nightmares. I pulled myself to my hooves, enjoying the feel of the grass underneath them.

"Well, time to say hello to Pinkie I guess!" I said softly, feeling my ear twitch suddenly. That happened far to often to not be one of the weird pinkie sense things. I'll have to pay more attention next time it happens.

"AAAND YOU JUST DID!" The overly hyper voice shouted from above. I watched in surprise as the bright pink filly dropped out of the tree branches and landed on her hooves in front of me.

"You certainly like spending time in that tree, don't you?" I asked as she bounced on her hooves. "Not to mention, it's the only one around here. Why is that?"

"Oh, it's because she reminds me of a really, really, REALLY good friend that I haven't seen in a long time!" She said as she bolted around me, galloping circles around the tree as she giggled. The sky darkened for a moment, making me turn to look up at the sun. One of the Balloon shaped clouds was passing across it slowly.

"So... the tree is a she?" I slowly asked, not sure if she was serious. Upon further thought, she IS Pinkie Pie, so something that absurd has to be true.

"Mhmmm!" She said as she skidded to a stop in front of me. "Anyway! I have to send you back now. You weren't supposed to come back yet and your friend is helping me plan the best party!"

"My...friend?" I rubbed the back of my head in confusion.

"Uh-huh! She's all super big and tough looking for a unicorn, also she keeps telling me how you helped her and her friends!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Harmony..." I muttered under my breath. I took off towards the music as fast as I could, my hooves thumping along the soft ground as I pushed them to carry me faster than ever before. A pink blur sped in front of me before I was stopped abruptly. Pinkie had a single hoof on my chest as she shook her head.

"I can't let you do that, Backlash." She spoke with a soft, sad tone as her hair deflated, laying flat as she looked up to me. "It's against the rules and I'll get in trouble."

"I have to see her." I said as I tried to take a step sideways, finding that I couldn't move at all. "I need to tell her that I'm sorry. That I hate myself because I couldn't save her." My vision was blurring as tears welled up in my eyes.

"She knows, Backlash." Pinkie smiled up at me softly, her blue eyes conveying the most sincere gaze she'd ever given. "I'll tell you what. If you pinkie promise not to tell anypony back in the real world ever, I'll let you see her."

My thoughts jumped back to the old man, how he made me promise never to tell anypony about how to make Luna come out. I remembered how I had failed to keep that promise, and ended up getting the pony I cared the most for killed as a result. I didn't want to make that mistake again, I don't want to risk losing anypony else due to my own selfish stupidity.

"No, you're right." I said as the tears rolled down my cheeks. "I can't keep that promise. I'm sorry, Pinkie." I felt the filly throw her hooves around my neck tightly, hugging me warmly.

Pinkie whispered into my ear softly "It's ok. She doesn't blame anypony for the things that happened to her in life, she was just happy she met you before it was over." That made a small smile draw across my muzzle slowly as it sunk in. I felt as she dropped off of me and took a few steps back. "I'll see you again soon, Backlash!" The filly yelled as she bounced high into the air, dropping her hooves onto my face, knocking me back into darkness once more.

I groaned out heavily as the pain returned all over my body, making me instantly regret not having Longbow dose me with a healing potion or med-X earlier. "How long was I out for?" I mumbled as I slowly opened my eyes, staring up into the deep blue eyes of the robotic zebra standing over me, a red glow softly pulsed in the recesses of his pupils.

"Oh, Backlash, you're up! You've been out for almost an hour." Longbow called out before trotting around from the front of the car. "Say hello to Isaac! It looks like when you connected your Pipbuck, it fixed his memories." He smiled softly down over me as I looked back to him.

"Umm... why is he running again?" I said as I tried to remain still, hoping that he wasn't going to go into some existential rampage to kill all ponies.

"So, after you fell asleep, I gathered all of his parts together and was looking over him in more detail, you know, standard steel ranger stuff." Longbow's horn gave a dim glow as she could barely levitate a Fancy Buck snack cake across the hood, starting to munch on it as she talked. "I noticed that one of his boxes had a slot for an auto repair talisman, which got me to thinking that I'll just let him use the one from my suit, and wouldn't you know it, Isaac here put himself back together! Well, mostly. Anyway, I've filled him in on the last 120 years more or less." Isaac nodded happily as she finished her snack cake.

"I... see." I replied skeptically as looked over the near flawless striped hide. "I thought the suit's repair talisman could only repair metal, how did you get your flesh back?"

Isaac mouthed the words to me with a nervous look on his face before finally looking over to Longbow. "Like I said, he's mostly back to normal. His speech system doesn't seem to be working yet." She said with a small sigh. "Oh, and yeah, I gave him all of the cans of beans you had, he just scarfed them down can and all! It was very fascinating to watch. Why were you even carrying so many anyway?" Finally, some good news. Celestia knows I hated playing bean roulette, and they were always the last thing I reached for when going to make food. "Anyway, he must have some sort of other talisman that heals tissue like the repair one mends metal. I would love to get him back to base to look him over..."

My brain screamed as it tried to process everything, the gears feeling like they were going to melt from working so hard. I put my hooves over my head and groaned. "Oh, Celestia, why must everything make me hurt?" I turned to tell longbow we weren't going to do that, but stopped when I noticed a few red bars moving on the edge of my E.F.S. from the other side of the car. I frantically waved for longbow to come closer. "Bad guys coming, get over here!" I whispered as she walked over.

"What?" She asked before turning towards me.

I nodded slowly I turned my vision towards the bars, finding that it was just a sea of red lines. I peeked my head up and looked through the window, seeing a mass of feral ghouls slowly shambling towards us.

"Ghouls." I said with a whisper.

"Do they look like they want to talk?" Longbow whispered back with a shrug.

"No..." I said with more fear in my words than I wanted to hear myself say.

"How many?" She said as she sunk against the side of the car.

"Lots." I said as I drug my hooves down my face.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder, my eyes turning to meet Isaac's as he smiled and drew something in the dirt.

I looked up in confusion just as he turned and bolted past the front of the Marauder, taking off into the open desert at an unprecedented speed. The mass of ghouls let out a series of horrendous screeches as the whole herd gave chase after him. The gears in my head connecting one last thought before giving out, sending a sharp stab of pain along my neck.

"Longbow, is all of your stuff in the car?" I whispered as I turned to her, getting a slow nod. "Get in to the back seat quietly, I have an idea." I gingerly opened the driver side door and climbed in, waiting for the soft click of the back door to close. I sighed softly and tried to relax, letting my mind clear itself slightly.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Longbow said softly.

"Alright, lets go!" I shouted as I sharply hoofed the engine start button, grinning as the large magical engine thundered to life before I shifted it into drive and slammed the accelerator down. The tires spun with a light scratch and kicked up rocks before we were propelled forward, sharply turning away from Minefield before correcting back towards the charging ghouls. As much fun as it was, I didn't need to blow up twice in one day.

"What's the plan again!?" Longbow yelled from the back seat, trying to contend with the noise of the engine as it thrummed quickly.

"When we pass Isaac, you open your door and pull him in!" I called back and swerved to avoid a ghoul who had turned back to attack us. We had caught up to the main group, overshooting them as the Marauder pulled us along with relative ease while I looked out the window and smiled to the Speedy Zebra, getting a soft smile in return. I slowed down and steered towards him, trying to keep the jostling vehicle steady as we raced across the uneven terrain.

"Just a bit closer, Backlash!" Longbow yelled as she opened the door. I maneuvered the vehicle with a light touch, drifting closer and closer as the screams and howls of the feral ghouls filled the air. I heard a loud thump on the roof, making me swerve slightly. "Or he could get in that way!" She yelled as she shut the door with a thump. I turned around to ask her what happened, only to watch as he swung himself through the passenger side window to sit on the seat next to me. He beamed a smile as I looked him over in disbelief.

"We all good!?" I called out as I turned the car back in the direction of the highway. I was relieved to see both Longbow and our new zebra passenger nod. Good, no more distractions. If we kept driving until nightfall we could make it back to the garage by midday tomorrow.

"Th-nk Yo-" Isaac's voice crackled out before emitting a loud grinding noise. "Thank you is what I meant to say." The crowd of ghouls had seem to have given up pursuit and disappeared over the horizon.

"No problem?" I said as I cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't really do anything though..."

"You removed the magnet from me. If you hadn't, I would have just laid there forever." He stated rather matter-o-factly.

"Just, hold up one second." I said as I facehooved. "How can you even exist? I didn't even know that level of robotics was even scientifically possible!" I prodded his chest with my hoof sharply. "YOU aren't scientifically possible! The most complex one I've ever run into is one of those sentry... security bot... things, and that's tinker toys compared to you!" I put both hooves back on the wheel in frustration.

"Although I still do not know everything myself. I believe I was built to be a spy during the war and tasked to blend in with the work force at the mine. Make friends and live a simple life as they monitored me, all while I didn't even know I was... this" He waved his hoof over himself. "I was buried accidentally when my tunnel collapsed and I guess I went into hibernation, only being reactivated a few years ago when I was dug out during exploration of the mine. Unfortunately they saw what I was and ran me out of town. I figured out most of the robot stuff when I had time to look myself over."

"So how did you end up in Minefield?" Longbow asked as she threw her hooves over the seat between us.

"I used to live there. I had a modest sized house, a nice green lawn, even had one of these." He smiled and ran his hoof along the dashboard slowly. I watched as his smile faded, a sad look falling over his face. "But that was all a lie. I am not real, just some machine."

I scrunched up my muzzle in thought before looking over to him. "That's not what the file on my Pipbuck said. It said they transferred a zebra's brain into this body, so that means you must have had an actual body at one point." I didn't know if that was true, but the emotions he wore were far too convincing to be just a machine. I could hear it in his synthetic voice, the notes of a true sadness. Machines can't feel pain or anguish.

"It matters not. I have no purpose in this new world." He said softly.

"What about your glyph mark?" Longbow suggested.

"It has no meaning to me, I used to move rocks all day and know next to nothing about computers. If I was truly a zebra at one time, that was not my glyph mark."

I smacked my hoof on steering wheel as an idea popped into my head. "You do have a purpose! You had to have good pony to pony interaction skills to be some sort of spy, so why not get a job as somepony who deals with lots of other ponies! Think of what you could do as somepony like a... security officer, or maybe a Regulator? Not to mention you're faster, stronger, and more attuned to your surroundings than any regular pony."

Longbow tapped my shoulder softly, beaming a bright look to me. "That's not half bad! Ever since they expanded trade, Friendship City is always looking for better security guards to weed out the smugglers and riff-raff."

"You... really think that would be a good idea? Would they hire a Zebra?" Isaac asked as he stiffened up. I don't think he expected us to be so helpful. "What if they find out about me?"

"Friendship City is open to every race, and without landmines and cave in's, I think you'll be fine..." I said hesitantly "...although, it might not be a bad idea to just explain yourself away as a Cyberpo... Cyber-Zebra. I've only seen one Cyberpony in all my years of trading, and that was up in Paradise, so I don't think many folks will question you if you tell them that."

"You've been to Caledonia?" Longbow asked with genuine concern and more than a little curiosity.

"Don't ask." I said flatly. I didn't wanted to be reminded of those times, the good or the bad. I shuddered lightly and shook the thought from my head.

After a few long hours of driving, the sun was finally setting as we bounced along the old roadway. I kept my eye out for a place to pull in to spend the night at, joyously remembering an old fuel station nearby that Sky and I sometimes camped out at. I flicked the headlights on as the sun dipped down, shrouding the hills in cloaks of black as we turned off the highway and made our way along a winding, one lane gravel road.

The Marauder's bright beams highlighted the dilapidated and rusting structure, the flaking paint still mostly spelling out Poseidon Gas N' Go! A friend of Solaris.Ink in light blue lettering. I rolled the thudding vehicle slowly towards a small garage attached to the the main building, looking around and checking my E.F.S. for any hostile bars, happy to find it empty. As the Marauder pulled into the small carport, I shut it off, letting the relaxing silence fill the air.

"I didn't even know this was here, what is this place?" Longbow muttered under her breath, her words filled with amazement. She pointed her hoof over to the two small rusted boxes sitting out front. "What was it used for?"

"It's a gas station." I stated with pride.

"A what?" Longbow said flatly as she looked back to me.

"It was an invention called gasoline and was utilized inside internal combustion engines as a highly inefficient fuel source." I shrugged as I leaned back in my seat. "It's not surprising you've never heard of it, being as it was only around for a few years. With the invention of spark batteries, Poseidon was closed by Solaris due to unprofitability and all these stations were just left to rot away."

"Wow." She said as she looked around in wonder. "How do you know all this?"

"I like to visit pre-war museums. I went through the museum of arcano technology last time I was in Fillydelphia. They have some pretty neat stuff stored in there." I said with a note of pride.

"He is correct you know." Isaac said slowly. "They stopped using these a little after I was born."

Wait... what? "You know when you were born?"

He froze in thought for a moment. "No... but I know that these were antiquated technology when I was young." He smiled and looked up at me with a sparkle in his eye (not literally though, that would just be freaky). "I was young! I am a real Zebra, I just didn't know it!" He jumped giddily on his hooves for a few moments, crashing into me and hugging me tightly.

"Alright there Isaac, settle down." I laughed lightly and awkwardly hugged him back. "I told you that you had to once have had a real body." Score a win on my part for an educated guess!

Longbow leaned back in her seat with a long yawn, pulling one from my muzzle as I followed hers. "I think we should all get some sleep." She said as she curled herself up on the plush seat. I nodded and got to my hooves as Isaac sat back.

"Do I even need to sleep?" He asked as I failed my hop over the seat, landing on my face on the floor with a thud and a groan. Fuck that hurt, any more trauma and my neck will be the next on the growing petition of body parts wanting to retire.

"My advice is that you at least try to get some. You can take the front seat" I grumbled out into the floor mat as I flopped completely onto my side. I lay for a moment waiting for a response, but got nothing. Shrugging, I pressed my back against the front seat and closed my eyes, trying to think of the warm dream with Pinkie, imagining the sun as it shone down, radiating brightly onto me. I smiled as I drifted away, looking forward to my second good sleep in a long while.

I woke to the sound of the howling wind, slowly opening my eyes as I lifted my head to look around. My vision cleared enough for me to see it was still dark outside the skycar. I wondered where my friends were as I pushed myself off of the cold floor, shivering and walking slowly over to the open door. I leaned on the frame as I peered out slowly, gasping as I watched Longbow being held in the air by Pallet's father and another one of Ponyville's dead pegasi. She struggled uselessly as they hovered her over the side of the building.

I froze as their voices echoed deeply inside my mind. They were right, I only got ponies killed trying to save them. She was doomed either way.

I felt their words tear into me, gasping as pain shot through me, gaping wounds opening up all over my body to pour black blood out into the night. I don't want to be a murderer! I just want to help everypony! It's not my fault!

Their words tore the wounds bigger as I screamed. The inky black liquid gushed out, spreading into a large puddle underneath me.

"Please! No more!" I looked up to see Longbow's crying face, I could hear her sobbing quietly as they held her over the darkness. "Help me..."

I waited for the inevitable pain to rip into me, for them to yank my very soul out and devour it, but there was nothing. As I waited, I felt something else welling up inside me. A pulsing warmth was spreading through me, it was something I hadn't felt in a long time. I watched as the gushing wounds glowed brightly, pouring light out that shrunk the inky fluid into nothingness.

"PUT HER DOWN!" I yelled as I charged out of the skycar, slamming my hooves against the roof as I galloped towards Longbow. The pegasi laughed and let go, her blue eyes filled with fear as she dropped. I jumped and dove over the edge of the building, reaching out my hoof for hers as we both fell into the darkness. I yelled and strained to reach out, finally hooking around her hoof, thinking to myself at least she wouldn't go alone.

I yawned lightly as I woke up, pulling myself closer to the pile of warmth next to me, feeling it scoot closer at my touch.

"Huh?" I murmured softly. My mind snapped my eyes open, leaving me staring right into Longbow's blue striped mane. I sat up slowly and pushed the bloodied dress that was draped over us away, rousing a yawn from the unarmored mare.

"Hey there, you." She said slowly with a smile, brushing her mane from her eyes. "I got cold, so..."

I jumped to my hooves and clambered out the window of the Marauder, taking off down the gravel road in a panic as my lungs threatened to strangle me. I wheezed and dropped down onto my knees, my heart slammed against my ribs as I tried to get back up. Longbow came galloping up after me, skidding to a stop a few feet away.

No, this can't be happening. Not again. "Stay BACK!" I shouted through my gasps. "I will not lose you to her."

"It's ok, I'm staying right here." She said calmly, her voice filled with concern. "Just take big, deep breaths. In, and out. In, and out..."

I gasped and let the air out methodically, feeling as my racing heart slowed slightly. The world came into focus again as I concentrated on her words. I relaxed and got back to my hooves as I could finally control my thoughts again, trying to force everything into a box in my mind, then bury that box and build a house on top of it where I could move in and forget everything.

"Talk to me, Backlash. I need to know what's wrong." She said as she sat down. I glanced up slowly, my eyes looking over her before drifting down to her flank. I tilted my head to line up the cutie mark of a golden set of scales with one side having what looked to be a feather, and the other having a coin. She turned herself uneasily as I darted my eyes back up to hers. I felt a raindrop hit my muzzle, drawing my gaze to the dark grey sky as I sighed softly.

"I'm sorry." I spoke loudly. "It's just, the last mare I met died shortly after we woke up." I kicked at the gravel lightly. "She deserved better."

"I see..." Longbow's words held the bitter tone of disappointment. "You two were close?"

I shook my head. "It wasn't like that, well, part of me hoped it might have turned out to be that way." I looked over at longbow as more raindrops started to fall. "I... haven't had anypony I cared for in years, and with what happened to Harmony... I just don't know if I'm ready."

Longbow frowned and looked down at the dirt, the rain picking up to a light drizzle. "We better get moving." She said with pain filled words, turning and walking slowly.

"Wait. Longbow. I need to tell you something." I called out, watching her stop mid step, her wettening mane hung down straight as it swayed lightly in the breeze. "Ever since I left ponyville, I've been having the same nightmare. Every time I go to sleep, I relive the same hell." She started to walk away again. "Last night it was different. You were there with me."

Longbow hesitated, letting me take a few steps forward. "You gave me the strength to break the cycle. You gave me the will to try to be a better pony. I felt something in that dream last night, something I hadn't felt in a long time." She turned her head slowly, as the rain picked up again, staring at me with a despondent gaze.

I stamped my hoof down in the gravel hard. "It was hope. I know that because yesterday, you gave your suit's repair talisman to Isaac. The day before, you set aside your own personal code to bring in Myron." I took a few steps closer, standing beside her as the heavy rain drove my own mane into my eyes. "You are more to me than just another mare in a suit of armor. You're beautiful, strong, caring, steadfast, true to yourself. It was those qualities that put the thought in my mind that I can change, that there is hope for my soul yet. I don't know if you feel the same feelings towards me, but I'll go through hell and back before I let somepony like you slip through my hooves."

She turned away just enough to hide her face behind her mane, speaking loud enough I could just hear her over the rain. "I... don't know what to say."

My attention was drawn up as Isaac flopped himself halfway out of the driver side window. "OH, COME ON!"

I went to yell at the eavesdropping zebra only to have longbow spin around and press her muzzle to mine, my muscles melting as she wrapped her hooves around me. I pressed into her kiss, gasping softly before plunging into another. She drew back slowly and looked up at me with her bright blue eyes, her soft gaze a mixture of happiness and inner peace. I laughed softly and smiled wide as I tilted my head up to the rain, letting the cold drops wash away my worries.

A boom of thunder made me jump, but as I recovered, I felt too good to stop moving. I bounced on my hooves and started to dance around the gravel like an idiot. I know I can't dance, but I just felt like I had to, I couldn't contain myself as I twirled and bobbed, rousing a soft giggle out of Longbow. I can't believe how incredibly good it felt to just open up and lay everything out. The loud crack of lightning split the air as it struck a dead tree next to the small carport, forcing my legs to drop me low for a moment.

"Maybe we should get going..." I said with a nervous smile, turning to see that Longbow had already started to run for the car. I bolted after her, scrambling across the growing puddles and slamming against the side of the Marauder with a laugh.

"Are you two love birds finally good to go?" Isaac said with a good natured nudge to my side as I got in. I hit the start button and threw the vehicle in reverse, the low thumping of the engine as we pulled out quickly filled me with satisfaction as we pulled back next to the old, rusty gas pumps. I shifted back into drive and took off down the road, eager to get back home.

We were on the road for a little over an hour when I flipped on the radio, hoping to hear something fun come on. To my dismay, it was one of the depressing songs on the playlist, but even Sweetie Belle couldn't ruin the mood I had.

"It's time for... the news!" Dj-Pon3's voice blared over the speakers sharply. "Now I know we haven't heard some bad news in a while, but it seems that the PInk Mare has inspired some chaotic followers. Gangs all across the wastes have been reportedly seen wearing pink masks, robbing and killing unwary travelers and merchants on the hunt for our dear crusaders."

And there it fucking goes. Nothing like the mention of 42 to ruin my day. Worse is I knew it would happen, you can't just give someone a reputation like he's been doing and think people wouldn't act on it! I sighed and smacked the steering wheel.

"My advice is that anypony traveling the roads should be on their guard with EXTRA guards to boot. Also, a quick message to the Crusaders if they are listening. Feel free to give those gangs the same lesson you gave the Rock gang, you'll be doing everypony a favor. My heart goes out to the families of the ponies that have..." I flipped the radio off with a huff.

"I have a few questions." Isaac said as he raised his hoof. "Who is the pink mare? Who are the crusaders? And should we be worried that we are being followed?"

Longbow leaned forward from the back seat. "We are being followed? How can you tell?"

"Simple." He said as he pointed to the roof. "She flew by earlier trying to get our attention."

I slammed on the brakes and turned off the road, accidentally smashing the unbalanced zebra against the dashboard, and Longbow against the front seat. "Oh, sorry Isaac..." I said with a cringe as he shook his head on the floor, turning to look up and out of the window. I watched as Skyline dipped down with the silver pod in tow and landed it next to us, she had a bandage wrapped around her right wind and one of her Gauss rifles had a charred hole melted into the side of it. I didn't even want to start with how shot up the skycar looked.

"Geeze, Sky, are you alright? What happened?" I said as I turned the car off and stepped out onto the muddy soil.

"It's forty two. She showed up at the pool after we came back to pick up harmony. She declared herself the new queen of equestria and executed Nickle Slot in front of us. Everypony there just fell in line with her after that! Myron practically groveled to her! That son of a bitch FUCKING bowed at her hooves!"

I held my hoof up to her muzzle. "Woah, slow down. Myron did WHAT?" Her nod gave me the most distinct form of nausea. This is not good. "If he finds out we're who she's looking for, he'll bring the whole wasteland down on top of us. FUCK!" I screamed and kicked at the mud as the rain didn't show any sign of letting up. "How did she even get there! She was just spotted heading back through whinny!" I paced back and forth nervously.

"She rode in on a Griffinchaser, one of the original models. I don't know where she found it, but she's going to be coming for us." Sky added slowly, stopping me with her hooves. "Backlash, Rip and Carlotta stayed back to slow them down. Hell, I barely made it out of there. I have to go back and help." Her hooves slipped off my chest as she started to sob softly. "I just hope she's still alright."

"It will be alright." I said as I stepped up and pulled her close. "Look, You can't go back, I need you to do something for me. I need you to fly to Tenpony and tell Dj-Pon3 what happened and that I'm heading to Baltimare. Carlotta is a tough griffin and I'll make sure to send Carlotta straight home when she catches up to us. I promise you that she'll be there by the time you get back, sound good?"

Sky sniffed and nodded. "Please hurry back." She whispered softly before jumping into the air and taking off again. So 42 has a way to quickly get around the wasteland again, she has Myron's loyalty, and is turning every gang rabid across Equestria. That's just fucking perfect. Fuck you, fate, can't even let me have a single good day, can you?

I trotted through the thick mud over to the car and got in, quickly starting it again and hitting the accelerator. The wheels spun and sunk into the mud, not finding any traction. I groaned and threw the transmission into reverse, once again failing to pull the Marauder back onto the road. I growled my frustration and slammed my hooves on the steering wheel, hearing a soft pop as some of the enamel cracked.

"Would you like me to get out and push?" Isaac suggested rather plainly.

"No, even you couldn't push this thing. What I need is a way to get more traction." I said as I softly rested my face on the wheel.

"I can do that." He said with a semi-upbeat tone as he effortlessly hopped out the window and disappeared. "TRY GOING FORWARD NOW!" He yelled out after a moment.

I looked back at Longbow and shrugged, putting it into drive before slowly pressing on the accelerator. I was happy to see us crawl forward and back onto the roadway without any problem, stopping to let Isaac back in as he trotted up. He swung open the passenger side door and squished in, covered from mane to tail in mud as he smiled.

"You had me run you over, didn't you." I said as I glared at him. "let's just find a piece of wood or something next time." I leaned back and got us back up to speed, rolling down the decrepit highway yet again.

"Well my body IS made of metal, so why not use it to help?" He said with a shrug, still grinning widely. "I want to help ponies and OH DEAR CELESTIA WHY AM I BLIND?" He stated abruptly as he flailed his forehooves and fell onto the floor with a wide gaze.

"What? Are you alright? Do I need to stop again?" I said quickly.

"No, the pegasus said we must keep going. I will be fine."

Longbow leaned close to me and whispered into my ear. "You probably shouldn't have run him over..."

"My ears do still work however, and this is not his fault you know. I am not completely blind as I have some sort of message flashing that is telling me I have low power." He said with a semi-sarcastic voice, trying to cover up the worry deep in his words. "Do you know what will happen if I shut down?"

"I didn't see any spark battery ports on him..." Longbow said slowly. "...although there is one hole I never..."

I cut her off before she could even finish that horribly wrong idea. "Before that get's weird, remember I've seen a cyber-pony before, he just needs gemstones. I'd rather not part with them, but I have a small stock of them back at the Garage he can have."

"Thank you, Backlash, your generosity is appreciated." He said as he held one hoof high and waved it. "Do you think that I will die if I run out of power?"

"Don't worry about that, we shouldn't be far outside of the city and in just about a half hour or so we'll be home and I'll get you those gems." I said as I we flew down the wet road.

"That does seem to be a bit of a problem..." He said as he tapped a hoof on his blankly staring eyes, trying to hide the fear that bled from his speech. "There is a countdown timer for a cascade overload showing here that only has twenty five minutes remaining on it." He gave a nervous smile and shrugged. "I do not know what that is, but I do not think it is anything good." I had even read that on my Pipbuck when it rebooted him, how did I forget about that!?

"You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" I said as I slammed my hoof on the accelerator, pushing the Marauder faster as the thunderous engine roared. I felt the car start to loose traction on the wet roadway, forcing me to back the speed down slightly. If I can find a route that would cut my time by twenty minutes, I'd be good, but sadly I can't just fly in a straight line. Another check mark for my 'Sky was right about getting a skycar' list.

"Fuck, we need more time!" I said as we screamed down the highway.

"Head for Tenpony!" Longbow called from the backseat.

"That only shaves like five minutes off the trip! It takes at least that long to get inside and to shop unless you're naked or made of money!" I said as I tried to keep us on the road.

"THEN FIND A FASTER WAY IN!" She yelled angrily.

"I vote we see what happens when the timer runs out." Isaac said with a forced smile.

"SHUT UP, ISAAC." Longbow and I shouted in unison.

I held my hoof up. "Look, I just got a shop there! I..." My words trailed off as a realization hit me. That's it, I have to sell it. "Ok, I can do it." I shook my vest off while trying to keep the car straight, pushing it and my saddle bags into the middle of the seat.

The next eighteen minutes were some of the tensest moments in my life as we flew down the ruined and muddy streets to enter the massive city. Every turn was a gamble that I'd lose control, every mud puddle had the potential to pin us in place like glue. My heart beat against my chest heavily as we made the final turn towards the massive, singled out tower. We sped across the open plain that lead to the front door, I watched through the rain as the guards tensed up at my quick approach.

I slammed on the break and cranked the wheel to the left, skidding us nearly in a full circle as I kicked the door open, jumping out as the car came to a stop. I rolled through the mud and back to my hooves to charge towards the doors as the Guards just looked on in shock. I bolted up the front steps and threw my shoulder into the heavy door to slam it open, finding myself instead smashing through the glass plate with a resounding crash.

My muddy hooves slipped on the tiled floor and propelled me down the long hallway with a wet screech, the polished surface keeping my momentum up until I hit the far wall. I scrambled and got up, running towards the lobby where my shop was, turning at the last moment toward the restaurant next door to it that was filled with regal looking ponies eating fancy, overpriced food. I spun and bucked the wooden door open, knocking it off it's hinges and getting a gasp out over everypony as they stopped eating and looked over to me.

"This is an emergency, the first pony to give me their gemstones gets my store next door." I said as I panted heavily, feeling as some of the mud on me slicked down my coat and hit the floor with a wet plop. A white unicorn stallion with a combed back blue mane levitated a small pouch over to me.

"Thank you." I said before I gripped the sack in my mouth, turning around and taking off through the doorframe, pounding across the floor back towards the entrance. "Hold on, Isaac, I'm on my way!" I said through the small bag as I blew out of the lobby and slid around the corner towards the exit, only to see one very angry looking Mare of Tenpony Admissions. "Out of the way, emergency!" I yelled through the bag as my hooves kicked off, carrying me towards her as fast as I could.

I shot past her as she stepped aside with a gasp, my legs pushing off the top step of the stairway to propel me through the air. I slammed down into a large puddle and rolled painfully along the ground before I reoriented myself, slamming against the door of the Marauder with a grunt. I hoofed it open again and climbed over the seats to Isaac, dropping the bag into my hoof before stuffing it against his muzzle. feeling as he licked a few of the gems out and swallowed them whole.

He hoofed the bag away as he started to blink and look around the car. "Huzzah! I am cured!" He yelled jubilantly and flailed his hooves in the air. I flopped down onto the seat cushion and panted heavily, dropping the sack with a groan.

"Umm... Backlash." Longbow said as she leaned over the seat. "I think you should probably go explain why you just broke their tower..."

I had been "detained" inside a small office just past the front entrance. I was told to sit on the floor as to not muddy the upholstery, but I grew bored of waiting and sat in one of the armchairs as I waited for Dj-Pon3 to come down as I requested. I could hear the guards murmuring outside the door about how neither of them wanted to shoot an unarmed pony and how it was the fault of the tower for not being more specific on how to deal with ponies like me.

I sighed and crossed my forehooves as the door opened slowly. Kontra poked her head in with a soft smile before walking in slowly. "I wanted to tell you your friend Dipstick and his family made it here safely. I got them a residency on the third floor temporarily, but I had the thought, that if you aren't going to use it, they could use the room that came with your shop."

I shook my head slowly. "I just sold my shop. I don't own that room anymore." It hurt to form the words, the shop Sky and I had worked so hard to earn was just, gone. Yes it was for a good cause, but it still hurt.

"I see. Well, your deposit would cover six months of their rent on the third floor, could I convince you to do that?" She said with a hint of disappointment.

"Oh yeah, if you can please do that, they deserve it." I said with a sigh. "Did my sister swing by earlier by the way?"

"Yes, she was just leaving when you caused the commotion down here." She brushed her black mane from her face before turning to walk out. She stopped as she opened the door, looking like she was about to say something, before she winced in pain, hoofing her chest momentarily. She walked out quickly and shut the door behind her, leaving me alone again for the next few minutes before there was another knock at the door. It swung slowly as Skyline hovered in and gave me a hug, I could see Dj-Pon3 was talking to the admissions mare in a low whisper in the hallway behind her.

"Did..." Skyline started to ask as I put my hoof over her muzzle.

"I didn't see her, but I'm sure she's sitting at home worried sick about you." I said as I brushed her mane softly with my hoof. "You should go. I won't be much longer here." I gave her the most comforting smile I could muster. She nodded and flew out the door as Dj-pon3 strolled in casualty, shutting the door and levitating off his sunglasses.

"So...what's this I hear about you storming the tower for a bag of gems?" he said as he sat down on the armchair hoofstool.

"It's a long story. So I'll give you the short version." I said with a stern voice as a he looked over me, his eyes telling me he wasn't comfortable having me here. "My passanger out in the car is a cyber-zebra. His cybernetics run on gemstones and due to unforeseen circumstances, he ran out. If his power dies, so does he. We cut it really close, but the gems I acquired saved his life."

"So you sold your store... for a hoof full of gems... to save a random zebra's life?" Dj-pon3 looked at me in disbelief, a small smile parting his muzzle. "You are too good to be real, Backlash. The wasteland is just going to love this."

I shot to my hooves. "No! You have to stop! You can't keep telling them about me, you'll put everypony I know in danger."

Dj-pony frowned and leaned forward. "You think that we aren't all in danger? Do you have any idea what's really going on out there?" He got up and kicked the stool away from him. "Right now, you and your friends are the only thing standing between complete chaos in the wastes. I'm sorry if you don't want to be in the spotlight, but everypony needs to know about what you are doing. More so now that forty two is converting gangs into her own private army."

I sat back as my thought screamed to a stop as his words slammed into my ears. I wondered how I can always be so wrong once someone spoke without hesitation, with true purpose behind every word. How can I be so short sighted or selfish about things that I let it blind me? I could blame it on the reappearance of 42, or on being a generally unintelligent stallion, but I always find some excuse. The wasteland was looking to me to be an icon, a beacon, to sacrifice all I have for the good over everypony. Why me? Well, why not me?

"They need you, and I won't keep the the good you are doing from them." He said as he put his hoof on me. "Look, I'll take care of things here. You should go if anypony is to believe you are actually heading for Baltimare."

I nodded, flopping out of the seat before walking to the door and opening it slowly. "You're right, they need me. But what happens if I fail, what will that do to them?" I went through as shut it softly. I may have felt like a weight was lifted as Longbow showed she felt the same way I did, but now I was just handed the weight of Equestria to bear. I can't fail, I need to stop 42, for the sake of everypony.

I trotted outside to see Longbow sitting next to the car with her eyes closed, Isaac was doing the same with his head out of the backseat window.

"Can you smell the grass Backlash?" Longbow said with a smile.

"Um... what?" I asked as I trotted by and opened the driver side door.

"I was describing what grass smelled like to Longbow. Have you ever smelled it before?" Isaac said as he looked over to me, he looked happy, almost in a state of bliss.

I sighed as I got in and shut the door. "Yeah, I have."

"Bullshit, don't lie to him!" Longbow stated with more disappointment in her voice than I wanted to hear.

"I'm not!" I retorted as I started the car, watching as Longbow kept eye contact with me, walking around the front of the car before getting in and slamming the door as she glared at me. "Celestia as my witness, I swear I'm telling the truth."

"There hasn't been fresh grass outside of a stable for a hundred years." She narrowed her eyes as she spoke. "Unless you've been inside one, it's impossible that you've smelled it."

I tapped the side of my head with my hoof. "Well I've smelled it in my dreams, felt it under my hooves." I shifted the car into drive and pulled away from Tenpony, heading towards home. "Besides, I'm related to Pinkie Pie. Nothing's impossible."

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

LEVEL UP!

+10 Small guns

+ 5 Repair

New perk: Wild Warrior - Your unconventional and needlessly reckless style of fighting leaves most opponents busy wondering instead of moving to fight back. Whenever you catch an enemy off guard, they lose 3/4 of their effective DT instead of just 1/2.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to the illustrious Kkat for creating Fallout: Equestria. Thanks to Somber for keeping this wasteland crazy train running strong (probably something to do with being powered by whiskey...). Thanks to Mimezinga for keeping the innocence alive in the grim dark future. Thanks to No-One, womb without, this story would not exist. And thanks to Stonershy, for just general kick-assery in the field of side stories, You rock! (woohoo!)

A special set of shout outs to Regolit and John Colt. Thanks for your feedback! I have been putting it to good use and hope to hear more! Keep on being awesome you two!

My normal thanks to Bad Pun, who's effort in the war against the letter e is second only to the effort of taking care of the many orphaned comma's he finds places for in my story.

Finally, to you the reader, who in reading this makes it all worth it. So thank you, you are awesome.