Manehattan Industrial Park
____________________________________________
7:02 AM

Dusk was quick to set the Guardian down once the craft was inside the bounds of the Manehattan Industrial Park. Before he left the cockpit, he flipped two switches, turning on a hologram projector alongside two separate maps.

Walking into the rear bay, Dusk was treated to a bug-eyed princess

“What is this supposed to be?” asked a confused princess

“That my friend is a hologram. I have a projector built into the ceiling.” said Dusk. Gesturing to the 3D maps, he went on. “Alright, on the left is the industrial park as it presently sits. The map on the right is a representation of the industrial park in the Wasteland.”

“So, we need to know which warehouse corresponds with the NCR designation then?” asked Dart.

“Indeed. Steeljack, you know the terrain better than I do. Anything stand out?”

Looking over at the map, Steeljack pointed at a warehouse along the wharf. “That’s the warehouse.” he said “Only reason I know about it is because I’ve been there. We’re talking when I was a kid, well before I moved to the Mall, but that’s the building.”

“Anything we should know?”

“Can’t say. I know there were catwalks in there at one point, but they were wrecked during the Last Day. Same deal with the windows and part of the wall facing the city.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Dusk spoke up. “No, I’m not telling you about the bombings Princess.”

“Any reason you’re singling me out?” asked Luna

“Because it doesn’t take a genius to notice your curiosity”

“Can we all just can it?” chirped Aegis “We can see the building, we know roughly what is in there looking at some old pictures of a destroyed clone, but where are we going?”

“We’ll breach through the cargo dock doors” said Dusk, pointing at the pair of roll-up doors. “From there, we’ll secure the storage area. Once done, we’ll sweep any unchecked areas of the building for intel. Before we go, we’ll plant demolition charges on the support columns in the center of the building, and bring the place down.”

“So, wanton destruction of private property?” asked Cosmo.

“Not wanton, controlled. I don’t want to risk leaving anything that could identify us, or leave anything for these slavers to find. It’s just a bonus that we’re taking out one of their outposts.”

Flash stood up, grabbing his rifle. “When do we go in then?”

“We breach at dusk after all of the workers leave.” said Steeljack “In the mean time, we need to get overwatch established on that warehouse.”

“Agreed. Bravo, get on it. We’ll rotate out every hour until we move in.” ordered Dusk “In the mean time, sit tight.”

7:45PM

Dusk looked down at his watch. Noting the time, he motioned to his associates. “Alright, time to move.” he said.

Wordlessly, he jumped down from the roof that he landed the Guardian on, using his magic to cushion his fall. The others dropped down, Dusk using his magic to lower them.

“Alright boss, we’re good.” said Steeljack

“Alpha, on me.” Dusk motioned to follow, shouldering his rifle while he closed the gap with the warehouse. The group quickly closed the gap, reaching the doors. “Dart, you up?” said Dusk over his radio.

“We’re online. I’m not seeing anything on my end.” replied the unicorn

“Copy.” Dusk motioned to Aegis. “Get the door. Flash, keep him covered.”

“On it”. Aegis moved to the door, and grabbed the bottom corner

“Steeljack, Cosmo, on me.” Dusk looked over at Aegis “On your go”

“Alright… In three, two, one” Aegis threw the door up.

“Alpha, move up!” yelled Steeljack

The group was quick to move inside. What met them was something of a shock. Before the team was a small crowd of armed guards, with a large rectangular object in the center of the room.

“Shit, we’ve been made. Fire at will!” yelled one of the guards.

“Alpha, get to cover!” yelled Dusk as he ducked behind a storage crate. He popped up, and with burst of rifle fire, he took out the supposed leader. “Steeljack, displace!”

“Working on it!”

The reason for the order became clear once Dusk broke cover and started spraying rifle fire with wild abandon.

“Since when was this part of the plan?” yelled Cosmo.

“Since now kid.” replied Aegis “Nothing survives first contact.” he said as he broke cover and killed a guard with a throwing knife. “And I mean nothing.”

TATTATTAT

Aegis took notice of Cosmo’s rifle, and then saw a guard slumped against the wall near him.

“A thank you would be great!” yelled Cosmo

But silence was the only answer. Completely misplaced silence.

“Clear”

Dusk stepped over the dead and dying and made his way to the object in the center of the room. “Steeljack, what is this thing?” he asked.

Taking a moment to examine the object, Steeljack stepped back. “Looks like a computer. Probably a small mainframe type”

“Then what’s with the platform?” asked Dusk

“You’re asking me?”

“Does it look like I’m asking anyone else?”

That was when the platform lit up, creating a bright green glowing object.

“What the fuck!?!” yelled Aegis

Through the portal came a small circular object, about the size of a baseball.

“Grenade!” yelled Steeljack as he tackled Dusk out of the way, followed by a resounding BOOM.

“Who’s still alive?” yelled Dusk

“A better question would be to ask who’s dead.” replied Flash

Almost immediately, two figures came through the object. One was a dark green unicorn. The other was a taller purple Alicorn, wielding some sort of massive weapon. “Guess who motherfuckers!” yelled the purple one, as her weapon started spinning.

“Everyone out!” yelled Dusk as he made a run for the entrance. “Bravo, I need coverfire, NOW!” he said into the radio.

“We’re on it.”

Dusk turned around at the door, spraying his rifle in response the the clearly crazy goddess. Steeljack joined him, taking the other side of the door. Aegis, Cosmo and Flash were quick to get out the door.

“Steel, demo charge!” yelled Dusk. Steeljack got the memo, priming one of the charges that he was carrying before throwing it into the room.

BANG!

“And now we run!”

Steeljack and Dusk broke into a sprint, running after their compatriots before they both heard an audible whine.

“Incoming!” yelled Steeljack. Neither him or Dusk were far enough away from the warehouse before they were thrown to the ground by an explosion behind them.

Immediately a black pegasus was on them. “Now, who wants to die first?”

“Lilith, wait!” yelled the green unicorn.

“What?”

“Does anything seem off to you?”

The pegasus looked around. “Lack of ruins?”

“Anything else?”

“No radiation either. Where the hell are we?” added the purple one

While debating what was clearly a lack of destruction, the newly arrived trio was unprepared for a hail of rifle fire from a maddened lunar diarch. Not to say she doesn’t have anger issues, but that’s beyond the point…

“Eat crystal you psychos!” screamed the diarch. Aiming went out the window, with the shots going high. That didn’t stop the purple one from raising a shield.

“Shit! Dead zombie princess! What the fuck is happening?!?!”

“If she’s a dead zombie, how is she shooting at us Star?.”

By this point, Dusk had managed to crawl out of what was a death zone, and took notice of a rather disturbing noise. Yelling.

“It came from over there! Hurry it up!”

“Oh shit.” He quickly took his rifle and sprayed up in the air. “Hey!”

“What?” questioned the diarch “I’m rather busy here!”

“Did anyone notice that the guards are already here?”

“Not a problem, I’ll just have them-”

“NO!”

“So, time to scram then?” quipped Dart

“Right on kid.” Dusk looked at the assailants. “Care to join us ladies?”

“And do what?” questioned the alicorn. “None of this makes sense, so why should we follow you anywhere?

“Because I’m a nice person and I’m easy to forgive when it comes down to getting the fuck away from the guard.”

“Still not convinced…” quipped the unicorn. “What are you doing for us?”

“Keeping you three out of prison. Now let’s go!” said Dusk as he ran for a nearby fire escape, newly expanded group on his tail.

Once they reached the roof, Dusk hit the release for the Guardian’s access ramp. “Alright, everyone in!” Dusk shouldered his rifle and let off a burst towards the oncoming guards. “Steeljack, get us airborne. Preferably now!”

Steeljack nodded as he boarded, heading straight for the cockpit.

“What did you call him?” asked Star, stopping by the end of the ramp as the others filed past.

“Steeljack. Listen, if he was your boyfriend, we can go over-”

“That’s not him.”

“Did he happen to get roasted by massive amounts of fire and radiation?”

“How in the name of the godes-” Star shook her head. “No, that still isn’t him, and that isn’t Luna who shot at us. Now, what the fuck is going on?”

“I’ll explain later. Right now we have to leave.” Dusk turned and ran towards the cockpit, followed by a rather noisy alicorn. “Steeljack, we’re good.”

“Fine by me.” Steeljack reached over and pressed a rather ominous red button. “Cloak should be kicking back in momentarily.”

“So, what have we learned today?”

“Well, the controls seem fine, cloaking works, and the heated seats need some tweaking.” Steeljack hit a few more buttons, and the Guardian began to move on its own. “Autopilot seems to work.” He turned around, noticing a rather confused intruder. “And I would suggest automatic doors.”

“She followed me up here, didn’t she?”

“What do you want me to do? Just sit down?” questioned Star

“That would make my life easier.” said Dusk, pushing Star out of the cockpit with his magic. “So, sit the hell down. We’ll go over everything later.”

“But-”

CLICK

“At least the doors are soundproofed.” Dusk grabbed the chair on Steeljack’s right. “Who are they?”

“Old friends. Thought you would of guessed that much.”

Dusk seemed to ponder something for a moment. “They were with you when you got.. You know.”

Steeljack nodded. “Goes without saying Now, what are you planning on telling them?”

“Just how we found you with preserved cranial tissue and managed to craft you a new body with that blank-whatever.”

“Nothing else then?”

Dusk just shook his head. “Not my place. If you want to go over post-mortem bullshit then be my guest.”

“Thanks.” Steeljack seemed to be deep in thought. “Just keep them away from me for now. I need some time to think.”

“I’ll do what I can, but I doubt I make a decent brick wall.”

____________________________________________________

Manehattan Wire, 8:00PM

Celestia had returned to the factory once she had heard of an apparent attack in Manehattan. Considering her knowledge of recent events, it was a simple hypothesis that her new associates were somehow involved.

“So Auntie” asked Blueblood “Are you going to just stand here until they get back?”

“Of course.”

“No other reasons then?”

“No.”

“Not out of concern for a certain psychopath?”

Celestia drew pause. “Are you getting at something Blueblood?”

“Nothing at all. But I do question the need for a noise-maker spell…”

“You heard what the guards were calling over the radio. There were nine dead bodies in that warehouse.”

“Doesn’t matter at this point. They’re already back..” quipped Blueblood.

Celestia noticed a pale green, thing, descending from the sky towards the courtyard. Walking forward, she noticed a ramp drop, and a small crowd filed out, led by a talk purple alicorn. “So, who would you happen to be? Dusk’s latest stray?”

“Stray is such a strong word my dear princess” added Dusk as he slipped past. “Anyway, purple one’s Radiant Star, green mare is Violet and the walking black model of death over there is Lillith. Still working out a theory on why they’re here, but looks like whoever our slavers are, they have some serious tech. Some sort of quantum mirror, energy weapons, armor, really weird computers. And to top it all off, they apparently didn’t know what manners were. Poor bastards…”

“Dusk, you’re quickly giving me a headache.” said Celestia, as she shook her head in disapproval.

“Dear goddesses, they’re both alive. Violet, I’ve gone crazy.” said the purple alicorn.

“Care to explain Dusk?” questioned the diarch.

“Well, they did try to kill us with a bunch of explosives… They know Steeljack and-”

“Alright, back up” interjected Violet “We saw Steeljack get roasted, by a dragon mind you. That is not Steeljack.”

“Well, good to see you again too…” said Steeljack as he walked past the group.

“Really, that isn’t him.” insisted Violet. “And that isn’t Celestia. She died!”

“Look, I obviously need to bring you guys up to speed. Let’s all just go inside, have some drinks and I’ll explain everything.”

____________________________________________________________________

8:05PM

Dusk walked into his office, companions in tow. He was quick to go for his desk, pulling out two bottles of scotch and five glasses, quickly setting up the glasses on his desk and haphazardly filling them. “So then ladies, what do you wish to know?” inquired their host.

“For starters, where the hell are we?” inquired Radiant.

“Equestria, in an alternate universe. By your timeline, you’re in the prewar era. To be accurate, we’re talking roughly thirty years until the bombs start to fall.”

“Bombs?” asked Celestia

“Yes, bombs. Massive war, mass technological advancement, and all ended in an apocalyptic firestorm that resulted in billions of deaths.” Dusk noticed that Celestia had an air of shock to her. “There’s a reason I’ve tried to avoid telling you.”

“And how does that work?” asked Violet “How did we get, well, here?”

“I’m assuming that you followed those soldiers through what was some sort portal. Maybe a Quantum Mirror of some sort. I’m not well versed in multiverse theory.” Dusk paused to sip from his drink “But we’re not here about all of that, are we? No, you want to know how your dead friend is alive.” Dusk stopped to pull a folder out of his desk “It started with a discovery of a mirror of sorts in the Canterlot Archives about four years ago. Based off of some notes that were stored with the artifact Comet managed to figure out how to get it to work, and we had the rather crazy idea of walking through it. From there… From there we found hell.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Equestrian Wasteland, Tenpony Tower Sublevels, Three Years Ago

“Alright, where the hell are we?” questioned Dusk.

“Well, a basement.” stated a grey earth pony.

“No shit Comet.” groaned a white pegasus. “Dusk, can you talk some sense into this yanker?”

“As much as I’d love to backhand the both of you, he’s on the right track Strike”. Dusk paused to look around, noticing a green flashing screen in the opposite corner. “But what the hell is that?”

Comet walked over to the screen, and examined it with curiosity. “Well, it say’s Stable-Tec.”. Noticing the keyboard, he started punching away at it, and noticed characters appear on the screen. “It’s some sort of type-writer, I think.”. His continued typing led to a change in the screen, with a logo appearing.

“So, are you done playing with toys yet Comet?”

“Strike, shut it.” Comet never took his eyes off the screen. “Ministry of Arcane Sciences... Project Ichor…” Comet turned around and looked at his cohorts. “What the hell is that?”

Then a rather mechanical voice came from the screen. “Local network access reestablished, updating servers.”

“What the actual fuck? Comet, Strike, have I gone crazy?” asked Dusk.

“Server update complete. MAS external connections inactive. Established premise outlined by tier zero proven true. No noticeable outside activity consistent with established civilization norms.”

“Again, what the fuck?”

“New user detected. Please identify.”

“Uh… Comet, what did you do?”

“Please identify to enable further access.”

Comet stepped forward. “Identify new user as Comet Tail.”

“New user ‘Comet Tail’ activated. Granted administrative privileges per tier zero protocols. Welcome to Project Ichor.”

“So Comet, what did you do there?” asked Strike

“Apparently I’ve been granted administrative privileges according to the… Whatever.”

A new voice, somewhat scratchy in nature spoke up from the screen. “It’s called a computer. Specifically a Stable-Tec type five terminal. Software version 1.0.05.0.1. Intelligence program designate ‘Ozymandias’ online and operating at 90.1289% efficiency with no outside maintenance or updates. Welcome Director Tail.”

“Uh… Ok. Thank you Ozymandias.” Comet turned around. “What do I ask it?”

“We know what it is… Maybe ask for access to whatever the project is?” suggested Dusk.

“If you think so Dusk.” Comet turned back to the screen. “Ozymandias, grant access to Project Ichor per directors orders. Identify my compatriots as additional administrators. Designates Dusk Light and Strike Out.” stated Comet.

“Of course. Identifying previously addressed individual as Administrator Light, and openly insulting individual with daddy issues identified as Administrator Out.”

“Since when do I have daddy issues?” asked Strike

“Since my sarcasm and humor subroutines came back online. Retroactively granting access to Project Ichor based off of request of Administrator Light.”

Behind the trio, a section of wall slid away, revealing a sizable laboratory built around a large cylindrical object. As the trio walked in, the door slid shut. A light in the ceiling began to flicker and a holographic purple unicorn appeared.

“What the hell is that supposed to be?” asked Strike.

“Administrator presence confirmed, beginning message playback. To whom it may concern, this message is from Director Twilight Sparkle of the Ministry of Arcane Sciences. Should Project Ichor’s Tier Zero protocols be triggered by outside data through the tower systems, the nearest capable individual will be granted director-level clearance to the project and the full archives stored in this facility. Included are blueprints, reports, historical records, a timeline of the war and any data added to the server through connections to Stable facilities.”

With that, the projector died, and rows of screens lit up along the walls. But three items stole the attention of those viewing the spectacle. A large boxy object in the center of the room began beeping and revealed some sort of large jar, followed by the tube illuminating itself internally, revealing what appeared to be a body. But what was most curious was the presence of a high-backed lounge chair with some sort of probes surrounding where one’s head would be.

“Really, what the hell is all of this stuff?” asked Strike again.

“Other than someone’s crazy idea of a mad scientist’s lair? Couldn’t say.” answered Dusk. “Comet, what do you make of all of this?”

“Don’t know. Some sort of cloning facility?”

“Sirs, the goal of Project Ichor was to create a genetically modified soldier that stands to be more durable, flexible, and have greater motor control. The body you see is a blank that was requisitioned from the Chimera project for the expressed purpose of these modifications. The fluid it is suspended in is an offshoot of IMP development, used to rebuild a blank slate into a modified version of a candidate’s body, as we discovered that cranial transplant enabled the highest success rate. All project progress halted before testing could begin on the current modified blank subject.”

“Nevermind, I know exactly what this place is now!”

“Comet?” asked Strike “Did I ever tell you that you’re a damn asshole?”

“Once a day, twice on Tuesday.” said Comet with a smirk.

“If I may interject for a moment,” asked Dusk “where are we supposed to find available cranial tissue? I do like my brain where it is.”

“Sirs, we could use the external sensors to try and find an appropriately preserved specimen. If one of you uses the terminal chair, we could use the tower sensors to locate one.”

“Dibs on the chair!” yelled Dusk, jumping into the chair. “Ozzy, if I may call you that, how does this work?”

“New designation ‘Ozzy’ accepted. In regards to your inquiry sir, the probes will connect to your nervous system, enabling mental control of the Project’s systems and immediate access to all records in the database.”

“Is it painful?” asked Comet

“Depending on the individual pain tolerance, the initial experience could be somewhat disturbing. Shall I proceed?”

“Do it Ozzy.” ordered Dusk. “So, anyone want to wag--- AGH!!!” Dusk started writhing as the probes appeared to drill into the side of his head.

“Shit! Ozymandias, shut it down now!” yelled Comet

“Negative. Physical override triggered and other users locked out.”

Almost immediately, the probes retracted from Dusk’s head, leaving a rather disgruntled unicorn. He was silent as he got up and walked over to a wall display, which slid away to reveal a rather impressive armory of energy weapons.

“What the hell are those things?” asked Comet

“Energy weapons. Enough for the scientists to protect themselves. Chrome one is a metal blaster, the other big ones are laser rifles. The two small ones are laser pistols. They’re all supplied by MicroFusion Cells, mounted in a port on the side of the weapon. Each cell supports twenty shots before requiring replacement.”

“Dusk,” asked Strike “How do you know what those are?”

“The probes granted me access to the database. While the scan was running I had Ozzy show me the database. Granted he didn’t know to throttle anything back, but he’s a basic AI. Nothing that I can do about that.”

“Sir, I have the precise coordinates for you. I’ll upload them to your pipbuck.”

“Thanks Ozzy.” Dusk grabbed a cylindrical bracer out of the armory, putting it on his right arm. “Comet, Strike, I’ll be gone for a bit. Maybe a day at most. Just stay down here, and no one should find you two.”

“And you plan on ditching us to go do what now?” asked Strike

“Got a location where I can find a brain. Just going to go get it and come back.” answered Dusk. “So stay here. No reason for the boys upstairs to find us.”

“Boys upstairs?” asked Comet “What do you mean?”

“Sorry, too busy teleporting!” yelled Dusk, as he popped away to parts unknown.

______________________________________________

Manehattan Wire, Present Day

“So, to keep this short, I found where Steeljack was buried, nearly got killed by a dragon, managed to kill said dragon, grabbed his brain after some field archeology and got back in time for dinner.” Dusk paused to take a swig of his scotch bottle “All things considered, irradiated chips taste nasty. Probably the worst dinner I’ve ever had, but that’s beyond the point. Once I got back with his brain, we just tossed it into the Ichor device and let the machine do it’s job. All said, we probably spent three days in that room before we left, and you can fill in what happened then.”

“But Steeljack got roasted.” stated Radiant “How the hell did his brain survive?”

“Simple, radiation is a sneaky little bastard” answered Dusk. “Looking back, I could have grabbed some tissue samples to test my theory, but while his dermal layers were toast and by appearance he was dead, that radiation at the least kept his brain alive. Some of the information in the database referred to something called Ghoulification. I think that could have had something to do with it.”

“Do you expect me to believe any of this?” asked Star. “Live goddesses, no radiation? Who the hell are you?”

“Didn’t we already go over this? My name’s Dusk, and I-”

“Shut up, just shut up.” order Star, getting up from her chair and throwing Dusk against his desk. “That is not Steeljack, that is not Celestia. Luna didn’t shoot at us, AND YOU’RE GOING TO START TALKING!”

“Are you done?” asked Dusk indifferently “Because I do have a 10:00 that I need to keep.”

“I’d listen to the lady and start talking. Otherwise I could always start cutting…” suggested Lilith, flexing her black metal wings.

“I might have a problem with that.” Star and Lilith turned around, to find Steeljack standing in the door with a rifle pointed at them. “Now get off him Star.”

“And who do you think you are?”

“Who was on top of Patch when we visited Theater?”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” said Star. “Violet, back me up.”

“Nope. I’m just going to sit here until this shit starts making sense.”

“Look, Star now would be a good time to get off me.” said Dusk, as his horn began to glow.

“Why? What are you planning on doing about it?”

“This.”

BOOM!

Star and Lilith were thrown back through the wall, landing on the factory floor below in a rather undignified manner.

“Celestia, take care of the pegasus. Purple one is mine.” said Dusk.

“And why should I?” asked the Diarch.

“Because that psycho is rather good with a rocket launcher.”

“Rocket launcher?”

“Think a shoulder-fired cannon.” said Dusk as he dropped off the ledge.

____________________________________________________

Star groaned as she got back up, using her minigun as leverage. Lilith was in a similar predicament.

Dusk dropped down from the upper level, pulling out a knife as he walked over to Star. “Didn’t I tell you to get off me?” he asked. “And now I busted up my office. Look, I can’t imagine what sort of shit is going through your head. But you need to calm the fuck down and try to listen.”

“Listen to what? How you plan on keeping us here? Torturing us for information? I’ve been through worse hell than some kid throwing me through a wall.”

“I want you to think critically!” insisted Dusk. “I know that the lack of devastation seems far fetched, but it isn’t. Do you honestly think that there wouldn’t be a world that hasn’t been annihilated by megaspells?”

“Why should I believe you? I’ve fought the Element of Magic, a corrupted Ministry Mare, countless psychopaths, and you want me to believe that the world didn’t end?”.

“I want you to believe that this world didn’t end! I’ve seen the Wasteland. I’ve fought raiders and nearly died of radiation poisoning. So I know where you come from Ms. Star. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you just don’t think that any of this could be possible. But here you are, aren’t you?”

“You know, you might be onto something. If I’m really here, then I could easily pick you up and toss you through a wall.” said Star as she lit her horn.

“I’m going to feel this in the morning, aren’t I?”

______________________________________________________________________________

SHITTTTTT!

BANG!

Damn, my leg!

“Go get him Star!” yelled Lilith. “Now, where was I?”

“You were going to sit there while I tried to make you see reason.” stated Celestia. “Don’t you see how foolish this fighting is? There is no reason for us to try and kill each other when there are clearly more important issues at hand.”

“How is the clear lack of devastation seeing reason?”

“Lilith, is it so unusual to assume that there can be peace?” inquired the princess.

“I’ve seen enough to doubt that.” said Lilith as she got up.

“Then you do realize that I can’t let you just get up and help your friend?”

“And what’s stopping me?” asked Lilith as she picked up her rocket launcher.

“Two things. First is that your friend must fight her battle alone.” Celestia took the opportunity to charge her horn. “Second, I’m a good shot.”

Lilith’s rocket launcher began to whine. “Then lets dance!”

______________________________________________________________________________

Violet took her moment of peace to look around the damaged office, taking note of an old set of armor adorning a stand near the newly-widened door. It was old royal guard armor. It was brass plate over a kevlar cloth, with black paint hiding most of the brass’ trademark color, bar trim along the edges and seams. The helmet was long gone, replace with a kevlar hood and a black shemagh scarf. The vambraces showed signs of modification, with additional layers of plate added to reinforce them. On the right vambrace was a heavily worn symbol; the mark of Celestia.

“That’s Meteor Shower’s armor.” said Steeljack, noticing the attention that Violet was paying to the set.

“Who’s Meteor Shower?” inquired Violet.

“He was Dusk’s grandfather. From what I’ve been told, he died while what was left of Blaze Squad at the time took on a platoon of Changelings that were harassing the border regions near Dodge Junction.”

“Assuming I believe you, which I’m still rather iffy on, how long ago was that?”

“About seven years ago. I’ve been here for just about three years.” said Steeljack.

“Well, assuming you’re well, you, you seem like you’re taking care of yourself.” said Violet.

“Ya, well with a lack of death at every turn, that makes taking care of myself relatively easy…” Steeljack paused for a moment, seeming to choke up. “Violet, what happened to Patch? What about the twins?”

“Well, Patch is doing OK. After Starry Night and Lightning Chaser were born, she settled in at Theater. Lilith and Danish have helped where they could, babysat, taught them how to shoot. You know, normal wasteland stuff.”

“How old are they now?”

“That’s a bit complicated…” said Violet, staring at her feet. “The radiation spiked their development. Everything slowed down a few years ago, but they’re both the equivalent of young adults.”

“I asked how old they are.” said Steeljack with a dark look in his eyes.

“Twelve. They’re twelve.” said Violet.

“Damn…” Steeljack paused for a moment, seeming to take in this new information, tears starting to stream down his face. “And I’ve missed it all?”

“Why would you care?” asked an impassive Violet.

Steeljack grabbed Violet by the collar, pinning her against the wall. While doing that, he knocked an old pocket watch off of Dusk’s desk. That pocket watch began to glow a light yellow.

“Because I’ve missed everything!” yelled Steeljack. “I missed everything...”

“Boy, let the lady go.” said an unfamiliar voice. Steeljack turned around to find a blue earth pony standing behind him. His mane had long gone grey, and he was wearing an old black t-shirt paired to equally old cargo pants.

“Who the hell are you?”

SHIT!

“Who was that?” asked the stallion.

“My boss getting thrown around again. Now, who are you?” asked Steeljack again.

“Meteor Shower.” said the stallion as he turned to leave the office.

“Care to say that again?”

“Meteor Shower. Now if you’re done with the stupid questions, I have to stop my grandson from getting his sorry ass handed to him.”

______________________________________________________________________________

“And meanwhile, back at the Legion of Doom…” snarked a bloodied Dusk.

“Just shut the fuck up!” yelled Star, landing a punch right to the ribs. All the while, Lilith and Celestia kept playing their game of cat and mouse...

BOOM!

“Lady, can you just stand still for one fucking minute!” yelled Lilith

“We’ve gone over this already, haven’t we?” asked the princess. “The fact of the matter is that-” OOF! The princess was cut off by a quick uppercut from her opponent, staggering her back.

“See, was that so hard?” asked the pegasus.

“I’d say that it was sheer stupidity.” said a new voice.

“Oh it was… Wait, wha-”

ZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!

Lilith didn’t even get a chance to see her attacker before she crumpled to the ground into an undignified heap. The new arrival, a blue stallion, quickly stepped over his opponent to tend to the princess.

“Captain Meteor Shower at your service.” said the stallion as he took a bow.

“Meteor Shower… Tell me, how did you pull that spell off?” questioned Celestia “I thought you lost your horn at the Battle of Midlothian Ridge?”

The stallion stood up and cracked a smile. “So you do remember me? I’m touched.”

“Captain…”

“Simple really. With no horn to direct my magic, I had to develop some more… Creative ways of tapping into it.” Meteor held his hand up, letting electricity crackle off of his fingertips. “It’s all a matter of how you direct the spell. Although metal wings attached to a live current would logically shock the hell out of the lady wearing them if I, say, grabbed said wings.”

“You’re a madman.”

“Well aware of it m’lady.”

By this point, Meteor took note of the beating his kin was receiving at the hands of an enraged purple alicorn. “Oi! Didn’t I teach you how to fight?” yelled Meteor.

Dusk took notice of the yelling, and went pale when he saw who was making all of the noise. That left Star with an opening to grab Dusk and throw him through one of the factory’s storage sheds.

“Great. Just fucking great!” Meteor started charging up his electricity spell as he walked over to the alicorn.

“Hey lady!” he yelled. “Go fuck yourself!” With that, he shot a lightning bolt from his palm, catching Star square in the chest. She didn’t even make a noise before she hit the ground, twitching from the effects of the lighting bolt.

Meteor ran over to where Dusk landed, digging through a pile of splintered wood only to find the vest he was wearing under the rubble. That’s when someone tapped his left shoulder. Turning around, Meteor found himself face to face with a furious unicorn.

“You’re right. You did teach me how to fight.” Dusk delivered a massive punch to Meteor’s jaw, knocking the old stallion on his ass.

“At least you don’t hit like a girl anymore.” joked the old stallion, spitting out blood on the ground as he tried to get up.

“Another astute assessment.” Dusk delivered a kick to Meteor’s gut before grabbing his mane and dragging him to his feet. “So, what have we learned?”

“That you’re an angry young stallion?”

Dusk delivered another punch, striking Meteor in his ribcage. “No. Next time, make sure you’re actually dead.”

Dusk charged up his horn, casting a telekinetic field over his grandfather and smashing him into the brick wall that made up the factory’s facade before dropping him on the ground.

“Cosmo! Dart! Get your asses out here and clean up this fucking mess!” yelled Dusk as he stepped over his grandfather’s unconscious body.

Author's Note

With some remedial editing done as of 4/25/15