“You’re doing what?” Tidbit’s voice reverberated on the stone walls of the small sleeping room that he and Misty were currently in.
“I am going to help Serenity get something she needs. You don’t have to come with me, but I will be asking Hero to come.”
“But look how far away she’s sending you!” He gestured at the map on the pipbuck Misty had been studying. Serenity had placed a marker from the computer in the office to Misty’s pipbuck’s mapping software. “That is at least three days walk from here!”

“She asked for my help. And I can give my help to whomever I want. And I won’t be going alone; I can get Hero to come with me. We don’t need you.” Misty rolled over in the cot she was laying in with a sigh of irritation. “I just hope she doesn’t want to take that psychotic bat with us”, she muttered to herself.

Tidbit skulked out of the room, muttering darkly to himself about the stubbornness of mares. Passing another open door, he could smell the burning sweet scent of the batpony’s drug of choice. He peeked in the door and saw her sitting on a cot, her eyes closed and her head bobbing, horizontal ears twitching slightly and a small smile on her lips. Next to the cot, he could see Hero had curled up to sleep on a nest of blankets A faint buzzing snore coming from the changeling, as one of her back legs twitched while she dreamed.

“What do you want?”

Tidbit startled a bit as Emjay caught his attention.. Her voice didn’t carry the anger that it usually had, one eye had opened slightly to look at him. He stood still and said nothing.

Emjay opened her other eye, and blinked slowly. “You know something?” she asked.

Tidbit shook his head and kept silent.

“You are incredibly fucking ugly,” Emjay laughed harshly, as if it was something she wasn’t used to doing. Then lowering her body, she rested her head between her forelimbs, and fell into a drugged sleep.Hero, having heard Emjay speak, awoke and looked over at the batpony then turned her blue eyed gaze at Tidbit and chirped.

Tidbit ducked his head out of the doorway and continued down the hall. He re-entered the vast storage cavern where he saw the alicorn levitating a series of boxes and crates near the remains of the fire. He watched as she lifted a clipboard and quill in her magic and ticked off something written on a piece of paper clipped to it. As she lowered the clipboard onto a box he trotted up to her. Her ears flicked back in annoyance at the sound of his hoof-steps and narrowed her eyes at him, irritated at the interruption and her own dislike of the ghoul.

“Why?” Tidbit’s voice rasped

“Hmmm?”, Serenity’s eyebrow quirked at the question.

“Why do you want them to do this thing?”

The purple alicorn sighed, “I asked Misty because it may have something I need, and I cannot go there myself,” Serenity continued, brow furrowing at the ghoul’s inquisition, “Misty will go, because she wants to, and possibly because a part of her still sees me as an authority figure, no matter what I tell her.”

“You are no Luna.”

“No I am not, and I never claimed to be. However, she has told me that her stable ponies were military trained, and I have a passing resemblance to Luna, who was the supreme leader during the war, so she feels that she is continuing her service,” Serenity smirked, “I may take advantage of that fact for my own ends,” the smirk dropped as the alicorn returned to her serious demeanor, “but do not think I am not utterly heartless. I will do my best to prepare her. And you.”

Tidbit snorted derisively at the final sentence. “And what makes you think I will go?”

“Hero will go because Misty is. The batpony will go because she is free and can choose to, she thinks, but mostly she will go because Hero will go.” Serenity looked intently at the dead eyes of the ghoul. “The question is why are you are going.”

“You’re sure I will,” Tidbit retorted.

“Yes I am.” Serenity turned away and walked to one of the large crates she had moved. Using her magic, she opened it and gestured Tidbit to look inside. “As I said I will not let you go unprepared”

The ghoul gasped as he saw the mass of ammo boxes contained inside the crate. The sort of ammunition that would fit into the weapons affixed to his armor.

“These are for the trip; which I know you will take with them,” Serenity glided over something small and placed it on the ammo boxes “This is, you might call, a peace offering.” It was a piece of power armor plating, one that could replace a battered piece of steel that would be under his barrel. This one was thicker, and had cooling fins across it, and Tidbit also noticed the thick wires that came out from the underside. “I don’t like what you are,” Serenity continued, “and I worry you will eventually go feral. But you are important to Hero and Misty. I cannot replace your armor, but this micro fusion pack will be able to power what parts you have.”

A leathery ear flicked as the ghoul rolled one of his cloudy eyes up at the alicorn. “At least you are honest, which is more than I expected from one of your kind.” He looked away. “I have seen what your sort have done in the past, seen the remains of those who have died at the hooves of your kind. At least when a ghoul goes feral they have no mind, but your kind have done these things while still rational.”

“Do you think I have done terrible things,” Serenity asked.

Tidbit shook his head. “I don’t know, I’d like to say yes, but truthfully I just don’t know.”

Serenity turned her full attention to him. “I have done things that should never be done, at the will and for the purposes of the Goddess,” she told him flatly, “There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her, nor my sisters. We are after all, family.” She looked away from him. “That doesn’t mean that I do not regret some of them. But for her, and my sisters, I would not have hesitated to continue. But now…” her voice trailed off.

The silence continued for several uncomfortable minutes. Tidbit broke it. “I think I will get this power pack installed, seems that I have a long trip to do, and I must be ready.”

Serenity nodded at him, and took up the checklist again, and started reading it. Tidbit picked up the micro fusion reactor in his mouth and turned away. As he began walking to his armor he thought he heard a whisper. “Thank you.”

“I don’t want her to come!” hissed Misty to the changeling.

Hero shrugged, “We told her what we are doing, and she told Hero that she will come too.”

The pair entered into the main cavern where they saw Emjay and Tidbit already waiting there. Tidbit was working on his armor as he muttered to himself, a few strands of wire hanging out from some of the joints, as Emjay was sitting in front of a selection of blades, her eyes glazed in awe. She pawed at some of them before taking one up in her hooves, examining it closely. Sitting on her rump she lifted her other front leg and with a deft and practiced swipe, sliced a thin groove into the bare skin where the manacle had been. She shuddered visibly and a look of pain and relief swept across her face, before she licked the blade clean, and replaced it.

Misty’s eyes bulged at the sight, she had assumed that the batpony had been deliberately cutting herself, but to see it first-hand shocked her. She made to gallop over, before Hero grabbed hold of her tail in her fanged muzzle and stopped her. Misty sighed and hoped that Hero knew what she was doing.

Oblivious to the unicorn and changeling pair, Emjay’s eyes closed, and she breathed deeply, taking the pain into herself, and permitted herself a small smile. Her ears flicked upright as Serenity trotted over, carrying some leather pads, armor and a battered looking pipbuck over. She deposited them in front of the batpony, then cast a gaze over at Hero and Misty. After seeing them, she bent low and whispered in one of Emjay’s fluffy ears. Emjay straightened up suddenly, looked over at the pair, then seemed to reluctantly put on the thick leather armor and padding. She rolled the pipbuck away.

“EUREKA!” the ghoul’s shout distracted all of them. “All freaking night I worked on this thing and finally it’s working!” Tidbits normal rictus grin seemed to grow even bigger as he came out from behind his armor. Seeing that all eyes had turned to him, his smile faded back down to the normal death grin he usually wore.

“Uh sorry”, he muttered. Lights on the armor flickered and glowed. He powered it back down again and started opening it ready for him.

Serenity motioned to unicorn and changeling, gesturing them to follow her, as she led them each to a pile of supplies that she had meticulously organized during the night. “These are for you,” she said quietly ,“as I promised.” Serenity wandered off, clipboard and quill in her magic and ticked off something on her list.

Misty looked at the pile before her, a Ministry of Peace saddle pack, an assortment of healing potions and first aid kits, ammunition for the sidearm and rifle that were also laid out for her, enough rations and a canteen of water for the journey. Misty also saw a fresh new camouflage uniform, this one also bearing the same cross and butterfly symbol as a unit patch that the saddle bags had. She also saw that the uniform had been augmented with thick leather pads yet still had the proud 15 of her stable number on its back and collar.

Hero looked down at the food, ammunition and weapons that she had before her. She also saw that her own shirt had been repaired and cleaned. The tan colour contrasting with the deep blue moon and star patch on its shoulder.

Hero and Emjay watched as Misty packed her saddle packs, while her pipbuck logged every item. Hero copied her, and heard light pings as her own pipbuck began to log her inventory . The Batpony didn’t start packing hers until she had slid several of the blades into straps on her armor. Serenity returned to the batpony, and showed her how to fit the long wing blades to the leading edge of her leathery batwings.

Across the way, the undead earth pony stallion had filled his own pack, and was slipping the leather leggings on, before placing himself into the now powered front armor. There was a snapping pop sound as the plates sealed themselves, crushing his ribs once more.

Now fully clothed and packed the three females sat together and watched.
The bat pony glanced over to Hero, "That one, in the armor, that's a male right?" she asked quietly. Hero shrugged, working out male and female was not something she had much experience doing. Misty on the other hoof hearing it face hooved.

"I knew something was wrong," she exclaimed, a dirty grin on her face, "I have seen pictures of steel rangers in my stable! That is a Stallion there, but that armor... that's a Female steel ranger armor,” Misty cackled gleefully.
"Our big strong Male dresses up as a girl to fight," Misty laughed, while Hero just looked confused.
"You’re just jealous cos my legs look damn fine in this" Tidbit's voice dripped with sarcasm, but he did a model's pose.
“Besides, the greatest ponies of Equestria were mostly all female, the most magical, the strongest, the kindest, the happiest and giving, not to mention the most loyal.” Tidbit put on the helmet, and let the power flow through it lighting up the covered eye with a heads up display. “If I can be half the pony they were, I would be proud, no matter what armor I am wearing”.

I know you want me to get to the fun parts of the story, but trust me, we will be very soon. So please settle down. The boring bits are just as important as the fun stuff. How else would you know about the why as well as the how?
Moonbeam Shine, you put your sister down now!

The sun had risen high into the bright blue sky as the group walked and flapped steadily down the old road that Serenity had sent them on earlier in the morning. Tidbit had taken the lead, after Misty had sent the information from her pipbuck to the power armors on board computer. Misty and Hero walked side by side as Misty continued in her attempts at getting Hero to say the word ‘I’ in reference to herself, with predictable lack of results. Emjay, who had discovered that her untethered wings allowed her to fly, flapped overhead, the sunlight glinting off the steel on her wings leading edge, and the blades she had strapped to her body. She remembered, with some growling embarrassment, that her abilities to land still had a lot to be desired, especially after the violent high speed face plant into the cavern wall just before they set out in the morning.

“There’s a ruined house ahead that we can rest, and you can have something to eat,” Tidbit called back. Misty looked relieved to be distracted from her fruitless tutoring of the stubbornly third person self-referential Hero. Flapping lazily above them the batpony snorted.

After a quiet quarter of an hour of trotting, the group entered into the ruins of a gray brick house. Tidbit, his suits built in Eyes Forward Sparkle proving the place vacant of all dangerous life. He settled himself in the center of the room, as the rest of the small group looked around, poking at the trash piles strewn around the dirt floor, or looking at the crude fatalistic graffiti scrawled on the stonework. Hero was the first to open her pack and bring out one of the Stable-Tec brand Apple Protein bars, (A glass and a half of full cream apples in every bar) that Serenity had given her. She examined it closely, then shoved one end in her mouth and started chewing.

“You should take the paper wrapper off first” Misty remarked as she sat down beside Hero.

“We discovered that It’s the best tasting part,” Hero responded as she noisily chewed.

Misty chuckled as she unwrapped one of her own and ate it quickly. “I think you might be right” she remarked, “I can’t taste any apple.”

Emjay silently had joined them, and was chewing on a bar, watching the still Tidbit distrustfully. Tidbit’s only visible eye was closed as he rested. While he was dead, and never needed to sleep, he did still enjoy moments of quiet to rest his mind.

“Ok, lets finish getting your pipbuck set up.”, Misty turned to the changeling. She took Hero’s leg up and pressed a button on the device. Misty stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth a she watched the screen before pressing a hoof edge on an icon. A warning popped up on the screen. Misty looked up at Hero. “This might be a bit weird to start with, but you are going to start seeing things in a few seconds”. She tapped the screen.

Hero squealed as her vision was briefly obscured with a green static, before returning to normal, but now she could see amber lines and letters in the lower left and right of her eyesight. Hero moved her head around, and noticed that one of the lines moved with it, then back at Misty. There she noticed one of the bars in the lower left site corresponded with Misty. Above her head, the changeling could see some writing. She turned and looked at Tidbit and Emjay, and saw that they also had a bar and some writing.

“You will now be able to see living things around you, places you need to go, and how healthy you are, without looking at your pipbuck. Amber means it’s a friend, or at least, it’s harmless, red bars are enemies or dangerous creatures,” Misty explained, “And if the pipbuck knows who or what they are, it will display the names.”
Hero stood up and turned around watching the bars and compass move with her. Then she turned towards one of the grimy walls behind. “Red means enemies,” Hero questioned “Like those?”

Misty and Tidbit turned and looked at the wall, and both noticed multiple red bars in their own EFS.
“Uh oh” Misty gulped.

Tidbit got up and peeked out one of the windows. “Steel Rangers,” he growled.

Misty shot a surprised look at the ghoul. “But we were taught that they were great warriors during the war.”

Tidbit snorted, “Warriors, yeah, once,” his once visible eye narrowed, “But now they are glorified raiders, killing anyone in their way, and stealing technology. Nothing is safe, no camp, no town, no stable.”

Misty’s memory flashed back to the mortally wounded Commandant Overseer, and her gasping about ‘armored ponies’.
“Aw Tartarus no!”

Hero pulled a sidearm out of her pack, and levitated it in front of her, while Emjay sensing the tension in the room grinned, her eyes glittering darkly. Misty pulled out the rifle, checked the magazine, then slid it home with a click. There was the sound of the bolt being drawn back and snapping forward as she chambered the first round.

Tidbit looked around at the now armed and grim looking group of mares. “Uh, what are you doing?”

Misty snarled, “I bet it was them who attacked my home and killed my friends and family. I am going to make those fuckers pay.”

Hero chirped

Emjay just flashed a grin at Tidbit.

“We have to get out of here! You can’t go against Rangers!” Tidbit pleaded.

His voice was drowned out by the roar of automatic fire from outside. Hero, Misty and Tidbit dived to the ground as bullets screamed overhead, a line of holes blasting through the stone walls. Hero reached out with her magic and flattened the still standing batpony to the dirt. Emjay screeched in outrage glaring at the changeling, her legs spread eagled as green magic kept her from leaping back to her hooves.

The gunfire abruptly stopped. A harshly amplified mare’s voice rang from outside. “Grenade, that window!”

A red orb of an apple grenade sailed through the smashed window, and bounced once on the ground with a metallic clink before being caught in the quickly thrown levitation field of Misty, who arced it back out the window. It had only just cleared the sill before it detonated. The concussion rocked the room and made Hero lose control of her own magic letting a screaming bat pony with bleeding ears free. Emjay leapt into the air with a horrifying screech and flapped her wings frantically as she used her forelegs to rub at her ears.

The corner of the house collapsed as a rocket smashed into the masonry. In a blur of grey, Emjay launched herself though the new gap, and rocketed towards the incoming Steel Rangers; bullets arcing up towards her. Hero and Misty got back onto their hooves, and darted to windows, and started shooting back at the rangers, but their bullets could only bounce off the power armor.

Tidbit pushed some of the broken stonework aside and lined up his own larger guns at the advancing figures and fired. One of his rounds slammed into the chest armor of one of the four armored ponies, causing it to shudder and step back, before turning its attention to Tidbit. It was distracted enough for Emjay to land on its back. The added weight caused it to stumble briefly, throwing the snarling batpony off balance till she gripped around the ranger’s throat. She extended a hoof blade and stabbed at the black Kevlar fiber neck protection, but the blade simply slid off.

“Hold still, Knight Cherry Sour, you seem to have an annoying growth on your back, let me remove that for you.” a larger ranger with Crusader rank markings on his armor ignored the incoming rifle rounds and sauntered over to his underling, lifted one of his metal hooves and punched it into the side of the rabidly snarling Emjay. There was a sickly thunk of metal hitting flesh and the batpony’s body flew from the rangers back and bounced hard on the ground. She growled and got unsteadily to her hooves as the larger ranger turned its own guns to her. “Goodbye”, the rangers deep voice rumbled.

Two large rounds struck the Rangers armor, knocking him off balance briefly throwing off his aim, just as a black and green blur buzzed over, grabbed the groggy batpony around her barrel and flew back to the shattered remains of the building.

“I could have taken him!” screeched Emjay as Hero lowered her onto the ground “I would have ripped his fucking throat out!”

Hero landed in front of Emjay, her wings folding back under the blue shell of her back.

“You had no right to do this!” The screeching batpony was visibly shaking with rage.

Hero reached up and booped her on the nose. Emjay’s eyes crossed and a look of total confusion at her own snout.

“You would have died.” Hero’s voice was flat, but her body quaked as if full of too much energy. “We need you to get the others and get them out of here. We have an idea.” Hero lifted her gun from where she had dropped it, and put it back into her pack, then put both hers and Emjay’s pack on Emjay’s back.

“Do it. Now!” Hero’s buzzing voice grew intense. Her wings buzzed again and she flew for a hole in the wall and outside.

Tidbit and Misty continued shooting at the slowly advancing Rangers. They skittered away from the larger caliber rounds of Tidbits 50 caliber guns, but seemed to ignore the smaller bullets from Misty’s rifle. The changeling shot through the hole in the wall and straight up, wings buzzing furiously. One of the rangers directed its weapon skywards and fired at the fleeing changeling.

“Ignore it,” the Crusader ordered, “I want that power armor from that idiot in the building”

“Yes Crusader,” the other rangers responded.

Misty and Tidbit watched in horror as Hero’s form grew smaller and smaller as she gained altitude before ducking down under another barrage from the attackers. Emjay yelled out to them “She said she has a plan! She said to get out of here!”

Realization dawned on Misty’s face. “Oh crap” she muttered and ran over to her bag and put it on quickly. She looked back and saw Tidbit just looking at the pair of them. “Move your ass,” she yelled at him. Neither of them had any warning as a bullet smashed into the side of Tidbit’s throat. The Kevlar split apart as dried flesh and dark ichor sprayed out. Tidbits head slumped forward as he fell to his knees.

Misty rushed over to him as more rounds flew over their heads, grabbed him in a levitation field and dragged him over towards the door. Emjay, in an unusual display of helpfulness, quickly grabbed his bag in her mouth, and followed.

Overhead the changeling reached the peak of her flight, tipped forward, and started to fall. This time she was choosing, this time she was aware, this time she deliberately forced all the energy she had absorbed from Misty and the small amounts that Emjay had so leaked out... she forced it all into her horn. Green flames flickered around her figure then erupted into an intense ball of arcane fire. The air screamed as Hero cut though.

Misty and Emjay threw themselves into a ditch behind the house as the rangers continued their assault, unaware that the house was now empty. Emjay saw the look of fear on Misty’s face as the unicorn lowered the wounded ghoul into the ditch with them. Tidbit gurgled and coughed as his necrotic flesh started to knit together.

“What is going on,” Emjay asked, still confused, “What is she doing?”

Misty looked up from where she was putting a field dressing over the armored throat, and pointed with a hoof up in the sky. Emjay’s eyes followed where the hoof was pointed and saw a green meteor hurtling towards the ground.

“GET DOWN,” Misty yelled to Emjay as she threw herself flat on the bottom of the ditch pushing Tidbit flat with her.

Small flicks of wings sent Hero in a slightly different descent as she tried to aim towards one of the steel rangers. Her eyes narrowed as she forced more power into the magic that burned around her. The tortured air screaming in her ears.

“CEASE FIRE,” the Crusader ordered his knights. Their weapons fell silent, leaving only the sound of crumbling masonry and the cracking of cooling weapon muzzles. “Knight Waterfall, see if the targets are neutralized."

“Yes Crusader Jelly Tip”. The chosen rangers masculine voice betrayed little emotion. Then he looked up as his enhanced hearing picked up a screaming sound from above. “Uh, Crusader?” He pointed up to the green dot that was rapidly growing in size.

“All knights! Scatter,” the Crusader Ranger yelled, as the sound quickly went from a light whistle to an earth shaking scream. Four steel rangers fled, but it was too late.

Emjay covered her sensitive ears as the screaming reached its crescendo until there was a brilliant green flash of light. Green fire roared out across the ground, following a shockwave that shattered the building and blasted the fleeing Rangers throwing them across the ground like ragdolls. Above the impact a mushroom cloud billowed up, an ugly mixture of green changeling fire and red brown dust

The silence that followed seemed to be as loud as the explosion that preceded it. Thick dust clouds filled the air as Emjay and Misty lifted their heads and tried to find their bearings in the choking atmosphere. Deep inside the cloud a changeling stood in the middle of a huge crater, her body shivering as she tried to find the energy to continue. Her friends were safe now, she hoped, but she needed- She had to get some energy. Turning her head around she could see the battered armor of one of the rangers, the helmet ripped away by the concussive force of her magic enhanced crash landing. Hero dragged herself over to the ranger and saw that the rangers was still alive, though she could see blood in the corner of the mare’s mouth. Not hungry for meat, but starved for something else, Hero stood astride the prone figure and looked at the mare’s white face and cheery red striped mane. A new instinct took over as Hero placed her horn on the earthpony mare’s forehead, drawing tendrils of white energy out of the pony, to be absorbed into Hero’s horn. The mare’s eyes opened and she gasped in pain as Hero continued to rip her life essence out of her.

Emjay dumped her bags next to Misty and shot out of the ditch into the dust cloud, running as fast as she could while using her wings to try to fan away some of the dust. Her twitching ears could hear a faint screeching sound so she followed it quickly. Stumbling over the lip of the crater she slid down its side, eyes scanning through the thinning clouds until she found her target. A black carapaced figure standing over one of the metal clad ponies. Emjay made her way quickly to them, but stopped suddenly as she watched Hero draining energy out of the pony. Its flesh had become wizened and wrinkled as if it had been sucked dry, its eyes were rolled back and mouth agape, a pained wheezing burbling sound coming out of its throat. She flapped her wings and flew over to the changeling and watched in amazed horror as the white tendrils faltered.

“Hero! Stop,” she shouted at the concentrating changeling.

Hero looked up at Emjay, her eyes glowing bright blue with the stolen energy.

“We have to go. Now!” Emjay urged and nudged Hero with her forehead.

Hero simply nodded and started back the way that Emjay came.

Emjay looked down at the gasping wheezing wretch that lay before her. She flicked her hoof and the blade shot free. She lifted her hoof high then thrust the blade into the mares desiccated mouth and into its brain. There was a gurgle and the Knight, once known as Cherry Sour, was still.

The blade retracted with another flick and Emjay caught up with Hero and led her to the ditch. The dust cloud was settling, as Hero, Misty, Emjay and Tidbit, who was nodding a lot as his neck was not quite supporting the weight of his head and helmet, used that time to leave.

“Are you sure about this,” Misty asked Tidbit as they settled for the night. In the hours since they had left the old house, they had made several miles towards their goal, and away from any surviving steel rangers. Tidbit had walked as solidly as ever even though he had kept his head down.

Tidbit nodded and rasped, “Yeah, I heal pretty quick, just bring me my canteen.”

Misty looked worriedly at him. “I can stand guard for half the night and Hero can do the other half, you don’t need-”

Tidbit cut her off, his voice rough. “It will be fine. I just need my water.”

Misty went to where the packs were all stacked together, and retrieved the heavy canteen from Tidbits saddlebag. She levitated it in front of her and brought it to him. He took it in his mouth, placed it on the ground, then bit at the lid, lifting it out before speaking.

“Please stand back. As a Ghoul the water I need is radioactive, it is not safe for ponies like you,” he told the medic. She retreated a few yards, sat and watched. Tidbit took the neck of the canteen into his mouth, and tipped it up. Misty’s pipbuck registered a small increase in local radiation and showed it on her EFS as he drank a few gulps before he put the canteen down, and put the stopper back in. “Go and sleep, I will keep watch.”
Misty looked at him doubtfully but obeyed. But as she settled down, she made sure that her sidearm was in easy reach.

Hero was snoring as Emjay watched her. She decided not to tell the others what she had seen in the crater. Truth be told a part of Emjay relished in seeing Hero doing what she did to the ranger, she also knew that Hero had saved her, and the rest of them, doing her suicide dive. But the other part never wanted to see it again.

Author's Note

Yay! Its not been too long since the last update! I have the next few chapters plotted out. so the next one will be started on friday (I need to get Bloodbound done) as well as try to work out artwork for the next chapter.

As some of you know, I am going through Immigration to join my wife and my sons in the USA. This is a bit of a distraction from doing BB and Fo:E,H but mostly it is expensive, especially with some fees having just gone up suddenly (and a new fee added) If you can spare a few dollars (everything is in $AU ) please press the button below, and help me get home. (Home being where the heart is)