Fallout: Equestria - Mending Hearts

Chapters

Prologue: Legends
Chapter One: Broken
Chapter Two: Mother
Chapter Four: Matters of the Heart
Chapter Five: The Hard Part
Chapter Six: The Journey
Chapter Seven: Setting Out
Chapter Eight: Putting the "Bad" in Badlands
Chapter Nine: Alone
Chapter Ten: A Dream Within
Chapter Eleven: The Great Desert
Chapter Twelve: A Fire Inside Us All
Chapter Twelve Addon: The Need to Feel
Chapter Thirteen: A Stable Town is a Stable Relationship
Chapter Fourteen: A Time in Need
Interlude: Dusk Fallen
Interlude: Meanwhile...
Chapter Sixteen: The Heart of the Matter
Chapter Seventeen: A Heart in Finality
Epilogue: Hearts Never Broken
Author's Notes
Chapter Three: Fears and Doubts
Chapter Fifteen: The True Nature of the Heart

Prologue: Legends

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Prologue: Legends

Littlepip. Velvet Remedy. Steelhooves. Radiant Star. Violet Iris. Lilith. Steeljack. It seems as though legends are born every day in the Wasteland, but in reality only the truly exceptional ponies rise to the status of a true legend.

My brother and I have always been regaled by our mother about the grand adventure she went on with Radiant Star, the Ministry Mare. It was a tale too impossible to believe, about a mare who fought against the spirit of Twilight Sparkle herself and persevered. It was a story about a legend.

Legends are funny things. We spend our whole life looking up to them, idolizing them, wishing for them to notice us. I've spent time in the company of legends. Radiant Star, the Ministry Mare herself, is my godmother, and she's as normal as any pony I've ever met.

So what makes a legend, truly a legend? Is it the circumstances that life has thrust upon them, or is there something deep down inside their very soul that speaks about justice, about the good fight? Is it something you're born into, or do you have to work at it? Did Littlepip know that when she crawled out of Stable 2 that she would be the savior the Wasteland needed? Did Radiant Star know that her journey to find answers to her own dilemma would end up shaping the path that the city of Chicacolt would take in the future?

The answers to these questions remain unclear to me. I digress, of course. This story isn't about legends, not really. It's about family. Specifically, it's about my family. Why then you may ask, am I talking about legends? It's because my family history is steeped in them, of course. I've been surrounded by the ghosts of legends my entire life.

So you might say that this story is about my family and the lengths that I would have to go to protect them. So before I get started, it's best that I tell you a little bit about myself and my family.

My name is Starry Night, and my brother's name is Lightning Chaser. We're kids who live in the settlement of Theater in the city of Chicacolt. Our mom's name is Patch. She was one of Radiant Star's companions during her adventure. She's strict, but she means well.

Our dad Steeljack... well, he's not with us. Mom always tells us he gave his life to protect her, and in turn protect us. That we were important to him, even though he never got to meet us. She won't say anything more than that.

Our life in Theater is pretty simple. My brother and I have spent a lot of time learning and training under Mom and Apple Danish, the defacto leader of the group that runs our little town. We've even got close friends, namely an earth pony by the name of Coconut Cream Pie.

But life, life is never simple. As we were about to find out, we'd be on our own legendary journey, and our life would never be the same.

Author's Note

And it begins...

Chapter One: Broken

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter One: Broken

Home is where the heart is.

The beginning to an adventure is always the most important piece to any legend. The heroes embark on a grand quest because of some great need or terrible fate that will befall their home if they don't find some major treasure. It's a common trope for these kinds of stories, after all.

Our own story, well it's not quite a legend. Not yet at least. But this is how it began all the same. Take it for what you will, but after that day, our entire world changed.

After that day, I found myself wishing I hadn't gotten up at all that morning.

* * *

“Mom?” I called out from my room. I turned to my bed where my work barding rested and began to slip it on. I was scheduled for another security watch shift and I was almost late. “Mom? I'm headed out. Do you need me to pick up anything on my way home?”

“I think we're good,” my mother's voice came from down the stairs. “Let your brother know not to dawdle on his way home, alright? He's got chores to handle, and training after that.”

I sighed. “I will. Thanks, Mom.”

I finished slipping into my barding and made my way downstairs past our living quarters. Mom smiled and waved on my way out. It was... strange seeing her so happy. For a good portion of our lives, Mom had always been so serious about everything. So much of our time was spent training and working underneath her that she almost wasn't really Mom. She was Patch. A legend in her own right.

I pushed open the door, moving those thoughts to the back of my mind. I didn't have time for little distractions, I was already a little late for my shift. While I was relatively certain I wouldn't get in much trouble, I knew my brother Lightning would give me a little shit for being late. I was usually the more punctual of the two of us, after all. But, a long night celebrating our birthday had led to me oversleeping the morning after… this morning. I was certain my supervisor would understand. Unless Cappa was on shift. Then I was officially screwed.

The whiff of baked goods hit my nostrils as I stepped out of my living quarters. I smiled softly as I walked amidst the crowded marketplace. The settlement of Theater was small, but it was lively, and it was my home: one that I'd grown quite fond of over the years. It was based inside an old Equestrian theater that had put on all sorts of stage shows for ponies before the war. Now, it served as the base of operations for the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Mafia, a group of bakers that acted as the protectors of the city of Chicacolt in this region. Not only did they protect ponies, but they also developed food processing systems that kept everyone fed and happy.

As I trotted through the market, I waved at a few of the other ponies I knew quite well. I kept going, knowing I had no time to chat. A tap at my side caused me to stop. I turned to look at who it was.

“Bit of a rush this morning, aren’t you?” the cream colored mare said as she fell in line next to me. She wore similar barding to mine, except hers clearly marked her as an Initiate in the order of Applejack's Rangers. The familiar apple and gears icon rested proudly on her shoulder patches.

“Coconut! Long time no see, eh?” I said, smiling.

Coconut Cream Pie grinned. “You looked like you were in a bit of a hurry, I had hoped to see you at some point.”

“Yeah... I'm sort of late for my shift,” I said, grimacing. “Had a bit of a late night last night.”

“I heard, I'm sorry I missed your birthday. Where's your brother at?” Coconut asked.

“He had a pretty early shift. Say, why did you miss my birthday? I thought you were going to be there,” I said, frowning.

Coconut sighed loudly. “Yeah... we didn’t get back in until this morning. I'm really sorry, Starry.” She averted her gaze from me for a few seconds.

“Oh, no, it's no problem,” I said. “I was just wondering. Sounds like they're keeping you busy with the Rangers.”

“Sort of. I just finished my week on, now I’m on leave for a week. They can’t keep us on patrol all the time when things are this calm,” Coconut replied.

We continued our journey forward, catching up on what had happened to us in the past couple weeks that we hadn't seen each other in. Eventually our walk ended at the security station up on the top floor of Theater, where my pegasus brother was waiting.

“You're late,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me. His eyes drifted over to Coconut. “Oh... h-h-hey there Coconut. You're back?”

I chuckled internally. My brother had it bad for Coconut. He knew I knew it too. There was very little between us that stayed secret. I'm pretty sure that Coconut knew too back then, it wasn't like he was subtle about his little crush.

“Hi,” Coconut replied, smiling softly.

I rolled my eyes. Would you two just get it over with already? I thought to myself.

“Yes. I'm late,” I said, interrupting my brother's doe eyed stare. “I overslept.”

“Not like you, Sis. Not like you at all,” Lightning said, grinning.

“Yes, well Mom says not to dawdle on your way home. You have some chores to do,” I said, giving a grin in return.

Lightning gulped loudly. Chores with Mom were an experience all their own, almost as bad as...

“Oh and you also have training with her afterwards,” I said, sneering. I had to get that extra little jab in there. Lightning deserved it, just a little bit.

“Great,” Lightning replied. “And why do you get to miss out on all that fun?”

“I have a shift. Which, I'm now exceedingly late for, thanks to you,” I said. I turned to Coconut. “Coco, I'm sorry we didn't get some more time to talk. If you want, we can hang out tonight after I get off my shift.”

“That's fine. I'll stop by your place later,” Coconut said. She glanced at Lightning. “Besides, I haven't seen Thunder Butt here in a while. Walk me back to the Ranger camp?”

“Buh,” Lightning replied.

Smooth, real smooth Bro, I thought, rolling my eyes. I grabbed him and pushed him towards Coconut.

“Go on then, you crazy kids get going. And don't forget to get home for chores,” I said, grinning.

Lightning rolled his eyes. “I'm going, I'm going. Don't remind me. I'm still trying to block out the last time we did chores and training in the same day. Later, blank flank.”

I growled under my breath as he and Coconut trotted off. I absolutely hated it when he called me that. Fearless Lightning Chaser, who somehow ended up with a cutie mark before I did, of three lightning bolts centered around a storm cloud no less. His special talent had to do with weather, of course. He got it when a particularly nasty storm rolled through town. It was Lightning's quick thinking in helping to create a set of lightning rods that absorbed the brunt of the storm's assault on Theater. After the storm had cleared, we were all safe and he'd gotten his cutie mark. Since then, he'd ridiculed me endlessly about how I didn't have mine yet.

Still, it wasn't my fault that I didn't know what my own talent was. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life yet. I was content learning and training under Mom, and I figured if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. My godmother, Radiant Star, told me that there are ponies out there that never figure out what their talent is, and never end up with a cutie mark. I sincerely hoped that wasn't my fate, but if it was, I'd make the best of it.

“Starry!” a tinny voice yelped from behind me.

I blinked. I'd been so angry and lost in my thoughts that I'd forgotten completely what I was doing. I turned around and faced my shift supervisor and smiled meekly. “Umm, hey there Cappa.”

“You're late,” Cappa Latte said. The deep brown earth mare regarded me with a curious expression. “What's up with that? You're never late. You too good to show up to work now?”

“Uh... yeah, sorry I kind of got in late last night because of our birthday celebration,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck and trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Cappa grimaced and thought for a few moments. When she spoke next, it was sickly sweet, almost as if she was completely faking it, along with her fake smile. “Alright. Don't let it happen again, okay? You're one of my best spotters. We need you up here when it's your shift time, got it? I don't care what it is, you get here on time.”

“Got it,” I said, trotting past her. “It won't happen again, I promise.”

I made my way out of her sight before she could change her mind. Cappa was prickly. She'd soon as smack the shit out of you before she gave you the time of day. She was especially hard on me, almost as if she could be construed as showing favoritism for one of the big wig's daughters. I hated her just as much as she hated me.

I sighed as I climbed up the stairs to the watch tower. It wasn't like we really needed the extra security anymore. Not since most of the bad guys in this town shipped off for greener pastures. The town we lived in, Chicacolt, used to be a pretty shitty place for lack of a better word. There used to be all sorts of bad gangs that controlled different areas of the city. There was even a cult of minotaurs that were devoted to the teachings of a prewar assertiveness instructor named Iron Will. In those days, the MMMM were just struggling to survive, fighting amongst each other and trying their best to stop one another from having control of the faction.

That all changed when my Mom and Radiant Star came through the town. It's the same old story that Mom likes to tell to us. Radiant Star helped unify the MMMM, enforcing their loyalty to Gluttony, the leader of the group. Since then, the MMMM was instrumental in defeating several of the larger gangs in the city. As of late, there was not much activity on any front in MMMM territory. Things were, well... good. It was almost as if the gangs had just stopped trying. Even the Cult of Iron Will had closed its doors tight after a while.

Since then, things around Theater were... well, boring. There were no raiders to watch out for, no psycho minotaurs, hell even the radiation had begun magically clearing up one day. Life was good. So of course that made my job feel kind of worthless. I felt like I was just going through the motions.

I sat up in the watch tower for a good several hours, watching the skyline of the city. I sighed loudly.

“Screw murals,” I said aloud, more to myself than to anypony that could possibly hear me. “This place needs a good kick in the pants.”

Of course, I was by myself. I groaned and put my head down in my hooves in boredom. By all accounts, I should have been happy with boredom. Boredom meant nothing bad was happening. Boredom meant that I got to go home at the end of the day and issue a report of how absolutely nothing tried to attack our settlement.

So why then... why then did I not feel happy about it? Why didn't I feel good about the fact that life was easy? I had everything I ever wanted really, except for my cutie mark. I had family, I had friends, love wasn't hard to find either. So why did I feel so... restless? It didn't make any sense.

I decided to try and amuse myself by trying to play a game of 'I Spy', which gets old really quickly when you're the only one playing. As it turns out, you win a lot. I spied a lot of little things. Gray buildings, gray streets, gray lamp posts. Why in the hell in the ponies of the past like the color gray so much? I groaned loudly, banging my head against the wall. There was nothing out there. Nothing interesting at all. Except for the bleeding pony running up the street... wait, what?

I jumped to the window, pulling out my binoculars with a flick of my magic. Yes, there was indeed a pony running up the street towards Theater. He wasn't running very fast, in fact he was kind of... limping. He didn't look so good.

My eyes widened. I had to tell somepony! Maybe this was the break I'd been waiting for! I nearly cried out for joy before I realized that I had yet to sound my alarm. I reached out with my magic and pulled down hard on the device, which started blaring. Within mere seconds, Cappa Latte was climbing the stairs up to my tower.

“What is it?” she asked. “This better not be another prank or so help me...”

I blinked. “Umm, no prank, Cappa. There's a pony up the street on his way in. He looks hurt. Somepony should go and help him.”

“Really? That's what you called me up here for? Some random pony who needs help?” Cappa said flatly.

“Well, isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? Helping the common pony folk and all?” I asked, growling under my breath as I did. I couldn't believe Cappa was pulling this shit. That pony out there needed help, and she wasn't even going to bat an eye or say a word about it.

“Oh, well if you want to go help him, I won't say nothing,” Cappa replied casually. “I'll just have to dock your pay a little, is all.”

Bitch! I thought to myself. I grimaced. “Fine. If you don't care about him, I'm going to get him and bring him in.” I trotted past my shift supervisor and stopped at the door. “And Cappa?”

“What?” she turned to glare at me.

“You will not be docking my pay for this. Don't you forget who my mother is,” I said angrily. I slammed the door and left before she could issue a retort. I didn't want to hear her shit, anyways. Mom would give me the rigamaroo later on about how I was supposed to be respecting my elders later on and then secretly praise me for doing the right thing. That was how it happened every time I mouthed off to Cappa.

I made my way quickly and quietly down to the side service entrance of Theater and pushed open the door, grumbling about Cappa and about life in general. The fresh air hit me like a ton of bricks on the chest. Ever since that day the radiation started cleaning up, the air in our area of the world had felt much cleaner. I took a deep breath, cleared my thoughts of Cappa, and kept moving.

I trotted down the street where I had last seen the injured pony, keeping an eye out for any movement. I stopped briefly, listening to the wind like Mom had tried to hammer into our heads all those years. Once I was relatively certain I wasn't being followed, I kept moving. It didn't take me long before I found him. The closer I got, the funnier he looked. Then I realized he wasn't a pony. He was a zebra. I had never really seen a zebra before, but Mom had shown us pictures of them.

I quickly assessed his situation. He was slumped against the rubble of a wall sitting off a nearby abandoned building, and he appeared to be in pretty bad shape. Blood seeped redly from what looked like gunshot wounds across his right side. His head hung low, and he wasn't moving, but he did seem to be breathing still. I trotted up next to him and poked at him to try and get him to come around.

“Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?” I asked softly. No response. I grimaced. If he was really hurt, he could have passed out. I was not a medical pony, and I had no idea how to help him if he was going to just die before I could get him to safety. I had no clue what to do. I did the only logical thing I could do. I panicked.

“Shit,” I uttered out loud. “Shit shit shit.” I had to do something! I was out here trying to help this poor zebra, all out in the open where anypony could...

Shit. I was apparently not very smart either. I thought back to some of the stuff Mom drilled into our heads. This whole thing could have been a trap, it could have been intended to get the drop on somepony who has the ability to get into Theater. Somepony of importance. Somepony like the head chairpony's daughter. Somepony like me.

I coughed under my breath, taking a moment to compose myself. There was no sense getting all panicky. I just needed to call this in on my PipBuck's broadcaster. If I could get through to Mom, they could get out quickly and find me before...

*BLAM*

A gunshot ripped through the air, barely missing my head as it slammed into the wall behind me. My eyes shrunk to pinpoints as I glanced up, following the path the bullet had come from. I couldn't see who had made the shot. That made things all the more worse. Shit. This was a trap. And I fell for it! Not only that, I was a complete bitch to Cappa over it too. I could hear her in my head, gloating over my coffin.

“I told her not to go, and she wouldn't listen!” is what she would say. She'd be happy about it too. Happy that I was, for all intents and purposes, no longer with the living.

*BLAM* *BLAM*

Two more shots hit the wall behind me, forcing me to dive over the wall behind the unconscious zebra. Whoever was shooting at me didn’t have a very good aim. I had to try and use that to my advantage, if I even had such a thing in this kind of confrontation. It's not like I fought snipers every week or something. I only tried to remember what Mom had told me about dealing with them.

“If you're in the open, find cover immediately. Being in the open means you're dead. Plain and simple.”

“Try and seek out a vantage point where you can see your enemy and they can't see you. This is hard, but doable. Even the best snipers have blind spots.”

I sighed. There was no way I was going to be able to take out this sniper myself, even if I did try and get beneath his line of fire. I cursed myself for being so stupid. I had been so tired of restless watch duty that when the first time something actually did happen, I was going to get myself killed for it.

“Can anypony hear me?” I said aloud, kicking on my PipBuck's broadcaster. “This is Starry Night, requesting assistance. Can anypony hear this?”

Static. I must have been way out of range. How far did I actually walk to find the zebra? I didn't even remember. I was stuck, and there was no help. I peeked my head out from behind the rubble. Far in the distance, I could see my attacker. He had stood up, either confident that he had either killed me already or confused that I had managed to elude him. What confused me even more was the fact that he was a minotaur.

He was young looking, but very muscular. His yellow eyes scanned the horizon. I couldn't tell how old he really was. However, his attire was of course, very familiar to me. He wore the crimson robes belonging to the Cult of Iron Will. He lifted his rifle and aimed again, putting a round into the building above me.

“Well, whoever you are, you're not very smart,” I muttered. “Drawing attention to yourself is the worst way to be a sniper. Seriously, even I know that.”

The zebra next to the wall groaned loudly as his head began to shake. He was still alive! Trap or not, he was seriously hurt and needed medical attention.

I had to do something before our assailant saw us. I took a chance and reached out with my magic, wrapping the zebra in glowing green. I picked him up carefully and floated him past the wall. A shot against the other side of the wall told me that our sniper had seen my magic trick. I pulled the zebra over and down onto the ground next to me. I reached over and grabbed onto him.

“Hey,” I said angrily, shaking him. “Wake up. I need you awake. Come on... wake up!”

The zebra stirred, his eyes fluttering as he tried to respond. He tried to sit up.

“Easy, easy. Do you know where you are? Do you know who you are?” I asked.

“Nnnngg,” the zebra replied.

Great. Just great. First I'm late to work, now I'm stuck out in the middle of the city with a zebra who's probably close to dying. Just your lucky day, Starry, I thought to myself. I grimaced, peeking up over the wall. The minotaur sniper was still there. Dammit! Why couldn't I catch a break here!

“Alright, alright. Let's not panic here,” I muttered. I looked around my immediate location, looking for an exit that didn't put me in the sniper's sights. Of course, there wasn't one. I couldn't wait forever. I wasn't quite patient or well supplied enough to sit here. Eventually I had to assume that more than just the sniper would be on their way, and that it was highly likely that more of those psycho cult members were closing in on my position at that very moment.

“Nnnngggg...” my zebra friend added. I found his assessment less than helpful.

A couple more shots hit the wall above me. I briefly wondered if the sniper had forgotten about me and was just having fun with target practice, but I doubted it. There had to be a reason he was shooting so high. My eyes drifted upwards and widened.

Fuck. Me. With. Luna's. Horn.

A large empty water tower teetered on the edge of the building. It was creaking loudly, and looked ready to fall. Another shot ripped through the air, smacking into one of the tower's support joints. It snapped in two, causing the whole structure to tilt forward a little more.

“Shit... shit shit shit shit!” I shouted. That bastard was trying to flush me out by making the tower fall on me! I had to move, and fast. I looked around again for the nearest exit that took me behind cover. There was an open door about twenty feet away on the next building over, but that was twenty feet that I'd be in the open. I needed a way to get across and not get shot.

“Nnnnnngggg,” my zebra friend said.

I blinked. Of course! The minotaur was using the zebra as a trap, so if I dashed across with him, he wouldn't be firing at me then. I realized that it was risky, after all the zebra could be the target given his condition. I had to chance it. I wrapped my magic around the disabled zebra and jumped out into the open, dashing madly for the open door as the last support beam on the water tower broke free. It fell down to where I'd just been standing and crashed, a shattering roar of sound that pierced my ears.

My heart was beating intensely as I ran. Gunshots echoed through the alley as they hit the ground beneath my hooves, forcing me to abandon my original plan of the door and head in the direction of Theater instead. My muscles seared with fire as I ran as hard as I ever had in my entire life. Eventually I realized I'd made it behind another building and that the gunshots had stopped.

I set down the zebra and slumped next to him. My heart was slamming against my chest and my body ached all over from the running. I was not a very physical or athletic type. I chalked up my ability to get the injured zebra over to this new hiding spot to pure and unadulterated adrenaline. I began to breathe heavily, grunting as I struggled to my hooves. I had to keep going. I had to get back to Theater, to Mom and the others.

I took a step forward and dropped to the ground. I tried to get back up, but found that I could barely move. Deep red trickled next to me. I glanced back at my flank, noting that my barding was soaked in blood. I'd been shot! I hadn't even felt the bullet hit me! I studied the barding closely, noting that it had a large rip in it. Mom had spent a lot of time drilling into our heads a lot about guns and bullets. Said it was knowledge that would save our lives one day. I was grateful for those lessons as I realized the bullet had just grazed me.

Now that I had noticed it, the pain arrived. It hurt like a son of a bitch, and I was bleeding pretty good. I cursed my stupidity under my breath and tried to get up again. Still unable to move. I tried accessing my magic, but the intensity of the pain made it too hard to concentrate.

Great. This is just perfect. I'm gonna bleed to death too, and no one even knows I came out here! I thought to myself. Except for Cappa, that bitch. If I got out of this alive, she was going to get a piece of my mind, and maybe a piece of my hoof to boot. Still, I had to do something. With all of my willpower, I pulled my left hoof out and used my teeth to tap on my PipBuck, opening my broadcaster application.

“If anyone... anyone can hear me... this is Starry Night... please, I need... need help,” I managed to cough out. “I'm... I'm outside the town of Theater... pinned down by sniper... bleeding...” I set the message to repeat itself as best as I could and slumped away from the PipBuck.

I had to hope somepony would eventually hear it. My eyes started to close, and I saw no more.

* * *

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Where am I? I thought. Everything around me was utter black. I couldn't see or feel anything. Indeterminant chatter echoed above me. What had happened to me? And what is that infernal beeping noise?!

Oh that's right, I was bleeding to death, I thought. This must have been what... the afterlife? Tartarus? The Summer Lands? Did any of that actually exist? If I was truly dead, why was I hearing so much chatter? I couldn't make the words out too well, but one half of it sounded a heck of a lot like Mom and the other... I couldn't place it.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

I told her not to go out there! You should be thanking me for letting somepony know what your stupid little filly did!

I nearly groaned. I knew that voice. Cappa. Great. Even in death, I was still hearing that bitch and her whiny annoying voice.

You didn't bother to let anypony know until several HOURS later, Cappa. Everypony up there spotting is your responsibility! That includes my fucking daughter! This is serious negligence on your part, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to fire you for this.

Mom? Wow, you sound pissed, I thought as I listened.

Fire me? I'm the best supervisor you got up there! You can't fire me because your daughter wouldn't listen to my advice.

Lilith? Remove this trash from my sight please. She's stinking up the place something awful.

With pleasure. Cappa? Out. NOW.

Fine. You haven't heard the last from me. I'll appeal to Danish. He'll listen to me.

The voices trailed off into the black, leaving me all alone again with my thoughts. I couldn't make heads or tails over what was going on. If this was the afterlife, where you heard what everyone was saying about your death, well then it sucked hard.

A bright light appeared in the distance, drawing my attention. Its warmth radiated across the black, and I felt... content. I felt really content. I found myself drifting closer and closer to the light, and I realized that I really wanted to go to it. I was very nearly close to the light's source when a hoof grabbed my neck.

“Oh geez. You really shouldn't be here yet,” a gruff voice said.

I stopped and turned away from the light, somehow it had lost a bit of its luster compared to my curiosity as to what other pony could be out here with me. The stallion standing before me was much older than me, probably more closer to Mom's age. He stood tall, his gray coat shining brightly in the darkness. He wore armor that gleamed. His blue eyes regarded me curiously.

“Who are you?” I asked. “What do you mean by 'shouldn't be here yet'?”

The stallion stopped and grimaced. “I mean, you're not supposed to be dead yet, Starry Night.”

I blinked. “How did you...?”

“Go home, Starry. Go home, and wake up. It's not your time yet,” he said, cutting me off.

I made to protest, to ask who he was, but he grabbed me and threw me back towards the black, away from the light that I had wanted so dearly to see. I fell instead of drifting, fell deep and far until I could feel pins and needles all over my body.

My eyes opened, and I gasped for air. The beeping noise that I'd been hearing was coming from a set of machines to my immediate right. I realized that I was on a bed, likely in a hospital of some sort. Had I been rescued? What the heck had happened to me?

“She's awake!” a voice said that I recognized fuzzily as Coconut Cream Pie.

My eyes struggled to focus on the room, but eventually the blurs coalesced into the forms of my mother, my brother, and my best friend. They weren't exactly smiling. In fact, they were grimacing.

“M-m-mom?” I stuttered. “What... what happened?”

“It’s alright. You lost a lot of blood, but you're going to be alright,” Mom said softly. A smile formed on her lips.

“I can't... I can't feel my legs,” I said. I tried to move a little, but nothing but more pins and needles. “Just... pins and needles.”

“That would be the Med-X wearing off,” Coconut said. “Rest assured, the doctors say you're going to make a full recovery.”

Mom smiled widely at me. It was sort of creepy. A little too creepy. Her good eye narrowed at me and I knew it. She was waiting for an opportunity to strike.

“Lightning, Coconut. Starry needs her rest. If you two could head on back home, that'd be great,” she said. There it was. Clear out my allies and strike.

Lightning glanced at me and mouthed something I couldn't make out. He knew just as well as I did when Mom was about to unload on one of us for doing something stupid, and I had effectively done the mother load of stupid. He grabbed Coconut and guided her out of the room. Mom followed closely behind before closing the door and turning to face me.

“You could have gotten yourself killed out there,” she said softly.

“Mom... I...” I started to say before she rushed across the room and grabbed me.

“You almost died! What were you thinking?!” she shouted.

“I was thinking about saving somepony's life!” I shouted back.

The feeling in my legs was starting to return in full. I pushed myself up so I could see myself proper. My flank had been all bandaged up and it actually looked pretty good. An IV hookup was pumping blood and other medicine into my body. I looked back at Mom.

“What you did was stupid, Starry. You didn't tell anypony you were leaving!” Mom said.

“Just Cappa,” I retorted. “And we all know how that worked out don't we?”

“That's beside the point. What Cappa did was wrong, but at least she wasn't out in the middle of a Celestia forsaken war zone, and for what? A spy for the Cult?” Mom replied.

My ears perked up at this. “Wait, the zebra? He was a spy? Are you sure?”

“Not important, Starry. Stop trying to change the subject. What in the world possessed you to do something so inane as to try and get yourself killed?” Mom said angrily.

“I told you. I was trying to save him! He was hurt! And he wasn't a spy, either! That sniper was shooting at him just as much as he was me!” I cried out. I was angry. Mom was wrong about him. She had to be. All logical evidence told me that I was right and she was wrong. She was treating me like... like a child! Like I was some fool filly to be told no and patted on the back! She was wrong!

“It was a trap, Starry! They were trying to bait you! All they were waiting for was for somepony unsuspecting to come out and try and help!” Mom said. She took a deep breath before continuing. “Killing you wasn't the goal, Starry. It was all for this. To get him into our midst.”

“What? What did you do with him?” I asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

“He's under close guard at the moment until Danish gets back. Then we'll decide what to do with him,” Mom replied. “Starry, I'm sorry, but you have to realize that just because things are getting better out there doesn't mean that we can waltz out our door and just help everyone we see.”

“It’s what Dad would have done,” I muttered under my breath.

“What did you say?” Mom said, raising an eyebrow.

“I said it's what Dad would have done!” I shouted back at her. I glared at her fiercely. I was angry at her.

“Don't... don't you dare mention him,” Mom said. She glared back, holding that gaze on me for several moment before deciding to continue talking. “You're on administrative leave for two weeks, starting today. That's my official punishment as chairpony. As your Mother, you're grounded. Indefinitely.”

“But...” I started to say. It wasn't fair! I didn't understand why she was doing it.

“No buts. You have to learn some respect, Starry, along with a little common sense,” Mom said. “Now, you're to stay here until the doctor tells you that you're able to leave, then you will come straight home.”

“What about the zebra?” I asked angrily. “Can I see him?”

“Why would you want to do that?” Mom said.

“I want to know if I made the right decision or not,” I said flatly. “You said it yourself. If he’s a spy, I want to know for myself.”

Mom sighed and closed her eyes for a second. “Fine. He's in the room next door. I will tell the guards that you're allowed to see him, but only under supervision.” She turned and walked over to the door. “You know... I am sorry. For what it's worth. But what you did was stupid and blind.”

I seethed. “I don't care. I meant what I said. Dad would have gone and saved that zebra and said fuck off to the consequences.”

Mom glared at me, but said nothing. She merely turned her head back and headed out the door.

I slumped back in my bed. What in the world had just happened? I never argued with Mom like that. I couldn't believe her nerve! I was just doing what I thought was right, and she acted like it was the dumbest thing I'd ever done. I grumbled to myself, deciding that there was no time like the present to find out if I was wrong or not. I had to see that zebra, to know if he was a spy or not.

I shuffled off of the bed, nearly falling to the ground on my wobbly legs. How long had I been laying there in that hospital bed? My body felt like jelly, and not the good strawberry kind either. I took a step forward, feeling very unstable but feeling something was better than waking up feeling nothing. I slowly and carefully made my way to the door and pulled it open. I glanced down the hall. There was nopony there. I cocked my head in confusion. Where were the guards?

“Hello?” I called out. No answer. “Okay... that's odd.”

I slowly made my way down to the room next to mine. The door was pushed open slightly. I peeked inside. If there had been a patient there, he was gone now. Was Mom lying to me? Did they already take away the zebra? What would they have done to him? Execute him? Oh Goddesses, what if they did? What if they cut off his head like in those old movies Mom used to make us watch? What if--

“Hello,” a thick accented voice said from behind me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around, seeing the zebra standing there. He was flanked by two MMMM guards.

“Oh, uh... hi there. You're awake,” I said, smiling.

“I am,” the zebra replied. “Are you here to change my sheets?”

I blinked, realizing that he must have thought I was the maid or something. “No... I'm the pony who saved your life. The one who came out to help you.”

The zebra's eyes widened. “That was you? I was told by your leaders that I was brought in with a pony. I had not expected my savior to be so... young.”

“I'm not that young,” I said, rolling my eyes. I glanced at the guards. They appeared to be rather bored for supposedly guarding a spy. “I thought that you were confined to your room?”

“Even accused spies must have bathroom breaks,” the zebra replied.

“Does that mean you're not a spy?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I told your leaders again and again that I am no spy. I am a runaway slave from the Cult of Iron Will's sick arena,” the zebra said. “My name is Xerves.”

One of the guards perked up. “I'm sorry Miss, but we have to get him back into his room now.”

“It's no worry. My mother said it was fine. You know who she is, right?” I said.

“Yes, Miss. Don't spend too long. We'll be right outside,” the guard said. He turned to the zebra. “Inside. We'll be watching you.”

I grimaced, following Xerves as we were both ushered inside of his room. The zebra took a seat at his bed, while I stood near the door.

“So, Xerves. Tell me what you were doing out there,” I said. “Because as it stands, my mom is pretty pissed at me for coming out to save you.”

Xerves sighed. “I was doing just as I said. I was running away. I am a slave, formerly owned by the Cult of Iron Will.”

I narrowed my gaze at him. Was he telling the truth? I couldn't tell. He looked pretty clean to be a slave, but then again that's probably because the doctors cleaned him up. Also, who knows what those crazy ass minotaurs did to their slaves these days. I'd seen firsthand myself that they weren't treated too well, but it had been years since the Cult's doors had been opened.

“The Cult doesn't let any slaves run free,” I said. “How did you get away?”

“I... I was on a work detail, outside of the Arena,” Xerves said. “I ran.”

“Cult doesn't open its doors either,” I said. “That means no work details. So who are you? Why were you running from that sniper?”

“I just told you --”

“And you lied!” I shouted angrily. “You're not a slave. I've seen what the Cult does to their slaves. You're far too clean to be one of theirs, plus you still have all your own limbs. Why are you lying?”

Xerves glanced at me and then down at the floor. His eyes said it all. “Fine. I'm not a slave from the Cult. I'm still a runaway. But I am no spy for the minotaurs. I promise you that.”

I grimaced. “So why are you here?”

“Looking for a safe place,” the zebra said softly. “I... I needed to get away from my family. The sniper was trying to take me as a slave. I do not know if he worked for the Cult or if he was alone. All I saw was him until I lost consciousness. I am sorry for misleading you, but my family... they are not pleasant. I wish to start anew, away from their corruption.”

I looked down at my hooves as I listened and sighed. I truly believed that Xerves was telling the truth this time. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he was some sort of super spy, he would have to have been the best one of all time. Still, I was pretty sure that Mom wouldn't believe me about it, not after the last conversation we had.

“Fine,” I said finally. “I believe you.”

“Does that mean I don't have to have guards?” Xerves said, raising an eyebrow.

“We'll see,” I said. I sighed. “I'll try to talk to my mother, but I make no promises.”

Xerves nodded. “Your mother is the one with the eye patch?”

“That would be her,” I said. “She's... sort of not too pleased with me at the moment, but I'll do my best to talk to her.”

“I can tell that she isn't very happy. We had a very... unpleasant conversation,” Xerves replied casually.

“Well, still. I'll see what I can do,” I said.

“Thank you,” Xerves said. “Now, I'm sorry, but I must be resting. My body still aches and I believe your doctors would be unhappy if I did not adhere to their plan of healing.”

I chuckled. “I should probably get going myself. I have to talk to the doc and get out of here. I'll visit you again when I can.”

“That would be lovely.”

* * *

I trotted along the back alleys of Theater, headed towards my home. The doctors had seen me fit to leave, and with my official punishment in effect, I had been directed to head to my home immediately. I grimaced, going over in my head what I was going to say to Mom about Xerves. She just had to see that he wasn't a threat! She had to know that he really was running away from the sniper.

I made my way up the stairs to where the housing section of the building was. My home was near the command center, since Mom had to be close to work all the time. I trudged down the final hall, fearing what was to come. Before I realized it, I was at my door. I opened it, expecting another bout of yelling. I hadn't expected silence, or the fact that our apartment was bathed in darkness.

“Hello? Is anypony here?” I called out. Where was Mom and Lightning? It wasn't that late. They would still be awake. So why weren't they responding to my calls?

I flipped on the hallway light and walked to our living room. A lot of the homes in Theater weren't very big, having been converted from old dressing rooms and the like. Ours was one of the largest, due to Mom's position in addition to the fact that she had two kids. It had used to be a dressing room for some major production star and so it had several rooms in it besides just the main lounge area.

Nothing. Nopony in sight. I grimaced in confusion. Where in the hell were they? I took another step towards Mom's bedroom, thinking maybe she had retired early for the night. I stopped in my tracks as I heard the door to our home open. I turned around as my brother made his way around the corner.

“Starry? You're home?” he said.

I nodded. “Doctors said I would be alright to come home. Do you know where Mom is?”

“She said something about taking a nap,” Lightning said. “I uh... I went and had a drink with Coconut.”

“Oh? Well, good for you. At least one of us is getting to be an adult. Mom seemed hellbent on treating me like a little filly earlier,” I said. I cocked my head. “Wait, you said Mom went to take a nap?”

Lightning nodded. His eyes met mine and we both looked at Mom's door. It was cracked open, just barely. I moved to it, my brother following closely behind me. I pushed it open cautiously. Something wasn’t right. Mom wasn’t the type to just take random naps. Constant vigilance was her mantra. Sure, she slept, but only when she had to. She would have been up, especially after I got done with the doctors. She’d want to make sure that I’d start on my grounding training and chores as soon as possible.

“Mom?” I called out softly. “Are you awake?” I flicked on the light and my eyes widened.

Mom was laying on her bed, convulsing and breathing heavily. Her eye was closed.

“Mom!” I yelled, running to the side of the bed. I grabbed my mother, trying to figure out what was happening. I had never seen anything like it before in my entire life.

I shook her, trying to wake her up. She didn't respond. I turned back to my brother, tears in my eyes.

“Call the doctors, NOW!”

Author's Note

And thus it begins! That's right folks, the beginning chapter of Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts. The ideas and concepts behind this story came to me from a subject very close to my own, from my daughter Kaleigh Rose, who had to undergo heart surgery at scant over 4 months old to repair a hole in her heart. She's recovering well now, but the ideas rooted and planted in my mind about a side story that would deal with something similar in nature (but not too similar).

I also very much enjoyed working with Starry Night and Lightning Chaser while I was working on Tales of Chicaolt's “Wasteland Rugrats” chapters, so thus I decided to continue their story, albeit aged up a little. Starry and Lightning are now very much in their teenage years, and I ultimately decided that Starry would be the more interesting of the two siblings to use as my focal point.

This story is about as close to a sequel as Starlight is ever gonna get, so I'm pretty excited to be sharing it with you.

That being said, I hope you enjoy the beginning of this romp. It's going to get pretty intense from this point out.

I also have a Patreon now! Go check it out! I could use the support!

Major thanks and awesomeness to Wirepony, McMesser, and Heartshine, my former Starlight team who I can't wait to hopefully work with again on this fic. Also, huge thanks to my wife Lucky Star, and much love to my daughter who is my hope and inspiration, and my smile.

Chapter Two: Mother

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Two: Mother

Mother is the name for Goddess on the lips and hearts of all children.

Death is a scary thing when you're young. Living in the Wasteland is an ever-present reminder that death is always looming over your shoulder, waiting to take you at any moment.

I was faced with death, watching my mother's face as she contorted and convulsed. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I had to do something. I had to save her.

I just didn't know how hard that would end up being.

* * *

“Mom... Mom, it's alright. It's going to be alright. Lightning's gone to get the doctors,” I frantically spouted as I held onto the convulsing body of my mother.

Several minutes had passed since Lightning had left. It felt like an eternity. All I could do was sit and watch while I held onto her. I only stirred when I heard the sounds of shouting and hooves thundering into our apartment.

“Get her onto a stretcher!” a voice shouted.

“Shit, this is bad,” said another.

I felt hooves grab onto my shoulders and I glanced back, seeing Lighting and Coconut. They both had grim expressions. I allowed them to lead me along in a daze as the medical ponies loaded Mom up on a stretcher. They began carrying her out of our apartment towards the infirmary. I followed behind, feeling utterly helpless. I couldn't do anything to help her.

Furthermore, I felt like my gut was going to drop any moment. The last conversation I'd carried on with my mother had been painful. It had been comprised of yelling and being angry with each other. I found myself wishing that I'd been able to tell her I'd loved her. I felt another stab in my own heart as I realized I was already writing her off, thinking about her in the past tense.

I lifted my head, listlessly glancing from side to side. The residents of Theater were beginning to come out of their domiciles, having been stirred by the shouting of the medics. As we passed by, I noticed many of them bowed their heads. I knew that Mom had been a respected chairpony, but I hadn't expected this. The ponies in this town knew something was wrong, and with these acts of respect, they were showing that they were with us. I tried to find some comfort in that fact, but found that I couldn't.

The infirmary popped up out of nowhere, and before I knew it we were inside and being ushered around by ponies in medical outfits. Mom was taken into another room. Coconut led me off to a different area, where we were supposed to wait. I stumbled along, taking a seat at the far end of the room away from her and my brother. I didn't want them to see me crack. They couldn't know that the last words I'd said to my mother had been filled with anger, with spite. They just... they just couldn't.

“Starry?” Coconut said, nudging my shoulder. “Starry. Look at me.”

I glanced up at her and our eyes met. In an instant, she already knew. She knew how painful this was for me. She sighed loudly and sat next to me. I lolled to one side, resting my head on her shoulders.

“It's not your fault, Starry,” she said softly.

“F-f-f-feels like it,” I stuttered.

“I know. And nothing I say can take that feeling away, but it's true,” she replied. “The best thing any of us can do now is trust and hope for the best. Right now though, you need some rest.”

I closed my eyes. She was right about one thing. I was so unbelievably drained, so tired from all of this. Maybe a rest would do me some good...

My eyes jolted open. No, I couldn't rest. I had to help Mom. I blinked, realizing that I was no longer laying against Coconut. And why did I have a blanket? I glanced across the room and looked at the clock on the wall. I'd fallen asleep and hadn't even realized it. Coconut and my brother sat next to each other on the far sofa. They too, appeared to be asleep.

The door began to open. I got up to my hooves as one of the doctors appeared inside the door frame.

“Ah, you are awake,” he said.

“Mom?” I asked immediately. There was time wasting. I needed to know what had happened to my Mom.

In the meantime, both Coconut and Lightning had stirred. The doctor sighed and pulled out a chart with his magic.

“Your mother is going to be alright, at least for the immediate future,” he said.

“What do you mean, immediate future?” I asked. “What happened to her?”

“Your mother was experiencing a reaction to some form of toxin that was present in her system,” the doctor said. “The toxin has been thankfully purged from her system, but it brought to light something else.”

“What are you talking about?” Lightning said. “Are you saying she was poisoned?”

The doctor grimaced. “When is the last time that your mother came to see a doctor here?”

I blinked, racking my brain and trying to remember. I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen Mom come to the infirmary, even for injuries. She'd always looked after herself.

“I don't remember, why?” I said. “Why does that matter?”

“The poison that your mother came into contact with is only the tip of the iceberg,” the doctor replied. “It was intended to kill her, for certain, but that's not what caused her reaction. Your mother has a problem with her heart. Something that she either knew about or didn't, and was managing it medically. Regardless, the poison exacerbated the condition.”

“Wait. She has a problem with her heart? What kind of problem?” Lightning asked.

“It's a degradation. A hole, a large one at that. While most healing potions can restore a pony to normal health, the magic can't affect chronic conditions like this,” the doctor said. “The poison tore at the hole, making it worse.”

“Can't you just... put something in her to stop it?” Lightning said.

The doctor sighed again. “Unfortunately, no. Even if we were to inject her directly in the veins with something like Hydra, there's no guarantee it would fix the problem. In fact, that could kill her, or worse.”

“The poison. You said that she was poisoned. Do you know what it was? Or who did it?” I asked quickly. A fear began growing in the back of my mind that I really didn't want to confirm, but I knew that I had to. I had to do this to help Mom.

“The poison is pretty well known to us. It's very similar to the same stuff that a local zebra named Envy uses for her own weaponry. Obviously, Envy is on our side, so we know it wasn't her,” the doctor replied.

I blinked. A zebra. There was a zebra in this very infirmary right now. Xerves. He'd lied to me. He'd... he'd used me. To get to my mother. To try and kill her.

My heart sank. This had been all my fault all along. I took a step back.

“No...” I said. I'd been the one responsible for Mom. If I hadn't... if I hadn't gone out and saved Xerves, she would still be...

“So where is Mom now?” Lightning said, missing my scared look entirely.

“Your mother is resting. She hasn't been conscious since we purged the poison out, but it appears that she is merely sleeping. You should be able to see her soon.” The doctor glanced over at me. “Starry, what's wrong?”

I panicked. He was here! Xerves was the one who'd poisoned her. Because of me. Because I had been stupid enough to save him. That meant he was a spy. I had to stop him. I had to find him and make him pay for what he'd done to my mother. Make him pay for what he'd done to me.

I charged past the doctor and into the infirmary hall, hearing shouting behind me. I pushed open the doors into the patient area and kept going, looking for Xerves' room. I found it with little issue. The guards weren't out front anymore. I kicked the door in and grimaced. The room was completely empty. I turned as the doctor, my brother, and Coconut caught up to me.

“Where is he?” I asked angrily.

“The zebra?” the doctor said. “We released him into MMMM custody earlier. They wanted to question him further, and we could not keep him here any longer.”

“Where?” I said.

“I fail to see why this is important, when your mother's life is on the l--” the doctor started to reply.

I grabbed onto his collar, pushing him up against the wall before he could finish his sentence. I glared daggers into his eyes and spoke calmly. “Where is he?”

“Starry,” Coconut said. “Put him down. What's wrong with you?”

“I will ask again. Where is the zebra? Where is Xerves?” I asked.

“C-c-c-command center most likely. He was escorted by a few guards,” the doctor said.

I grimaced, letting go of his collar. “Shit,” I said, looking over at my brother and my friend. “I'm sorry. I have to go. They have to know.”

“Have to know what?” Lightning said.

“That zebra. He's the one who poisoned Mom,” I said angrily. “And if they're not careful he could hurt somepony else.”

“The zebra that you...” Coconut trailed off as she pieced it together in her mind. She glanced at the floor nervously. “Oh.”

“We're coming with you,” Lightning said.

I shook my head. “What if Mom wakes up? You need to be here for her. Sorry, but I have to find Xerves before he hurts anypony.”

I pushed past them before they could respond. I was being stupid again, and I knew it. I should have let them come with me. I made my way out of the infirmary and made a beeline for the command center of Theater. It was still very late in the evening, and the main lobby lights had yet to come on. Still, there were ponies up and about. Ponies... shouting? Why were there ponies shouting?

I stepped out into the market place. Several MMMM guards were laying on the ground ahead of me. A few more stood over their fallen brethren. I grimaced. It had to be him. It had to be Xerves.

“What happened?” I shouted.

One of the guards lifted his head. “Hey, aren't you Patch's kid? I thought you were at the infirmary.”

“Doesn't matter. What happened? Where's the zebra?” I asked frantically. Nothing else did matter. The only thing that mattered was finding Xerves and making him pay for what he'd done.

“The zebra has escaped custody and is loose in the settlement,” the guard said. “We are doing all that we can to track him down.”

Shit! I thought angrily. Xerves was smart. He'd waited until they'd started to move him, then gotten the drop on the guards. My eyes drifted up to the rafters. Mom had always taught me to explore all angles of the situation, to look for the unexpected in the expected.

A shadow moved among the rafters. There! I thought. He's hiding above the town. A little light should help illuminate things. I growled under my breath and ignited my horn, sending a bolt of light upwards, startling the guards. The bolt flew into the air and exploded into little particles of light, showing my quarry.

Xerves. He had a sharp grin on his face. His eyes gleamed as they locked onto me. He leaped down onto the top of one of the market stalls and then down to ground level. He started galloping off away from us.

“Get back here!” I roared. I charged after him, putting every ounce of my energy into stopping him. I had to do something. I couldn't just sit back and let him go. Because if I did, if I stopped for one second, I'd be left with nothing but the stark reality that I might not get to see Mom's smiling face again. Mom was going to die, and it was my fault. If I could catch Xerves, perhaps... perhaps I could live with myself.

Xerves dodged to the right, narrowly missing a set of trash cans that somepony had set out. I charged through them, scattering them with a shove of magic. Xerves kept moving. He was just beyond my reach. I pushed harder, feeling my body protest all over from the strain, reminding me yet again that I was not an athletic pony like Coconut or my brother was.

I jumped forward, using the last of my momentum to slam into the zebra's back, sending him crumpling to the ground. I pushed myself up to shaky hooves, trying to stand tall over my quarry. He glanced up at me and grinned.

“Xerves,” I said angrily.

“Starry Night,” the bastard of a zebra replied casually. “You really should heed the warnings of your elders.”

I growled under my breath. “I'm going to kill you for what you did to my mother,” I snapped.

“Is she dead already? I knew that the poison was quick, but I had not realized it was that fast,” Xerves said, more to himself than anypony else. “Regardless, I think not. You are incapable of killing me.”

“You have no idea what I'm capable of,” I shot back. My horn glowed fiercely. I started to pant. Sweat dripped from my forelock.

Xerves frowned. His legs spun around, catching my own in a kick that interrupted my magic and knocked me off my hooves. I yelped and fell backwards, landing hard on my back. I scrambled to get up, but not before another leg came slamming down across my barrel. I cried out in pain as I heard something crack loudly. I shuddered, flopping onto my side. I looked up at Xerves and snarled.

“Ah ah, best to not move,” the zebra said. “You might tear something further.”

I took a breath. He was right about one thing. I could feel the fire inside my body. I'd broken bones before, but not like this. This felt like every inch of me was protesting at the simplest movement. I panted loudly.

“W-w-why?” I stuttered.

“That's not really a question I'm inclined to answer,” Xerves said. His ears perked up. The alarms had started going off all over the place. Xerves grumbled. “I had hoped for a much cleaner exit, but I suppose I can do it this way too. Good day, Starry Night. Do not try to follow me, I was not paid to kill you, but if you press me I will.”

And with that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness. He was gone. Gone! And there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing I could do except lay there and cry. Tears started flowing down my face. I shouted and cursed at Xerves hysterically. I didn't even really feel it when Coconut and Lightning arrived. I passed out on the stretcher as the medical ponies lifted me up.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of beeping and medical equipment again. I groaned loudly. I was going to have to stop this. It'd only been one day and I'd already been in the infirmary twice as a patient. I looked down my side, seeing that my barrel had been bandaged up. I felt better than I'd expected to after having taken that kind of attack.

Still, I didn't feel right. I'd let Xerves go. I'd failed Mom. I'd failed to stop her... her killer.

Stop it right now, Starry Night. Mom isn't dead yet, I thought to myself. The doctor said she was sleeping.

The door creaked open, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up to see Lightning and Coconut. I sighed.

“Hi,” I said softly.

“Hey,” Coconut replied. She cracked a soft smile. “Feeling better?”

“Physically... yes. Mentally... not sure,” I said.

“Maybe we can help with that,” my friend said. “Come on, up out of bed. We've got things to do.”

“Sorry, Coco. I... I can't,” I said. I needed to stew in my own thoughts some more.

Lightning stepped forward. “Sis. Come on. We want to show you something.”

I grimaced. It was clear that they weren't going to stop until I'd decided to come with them. I looked down at my hooves and grunted a meager approval. “Fine.”

“Good,” Coconut said as she helped me out of bed. “Trust us, you'll like this.”

I nodded, following alongside her as she helped me walk out of the room. I still felt very tender, but I was able to hobble at the very least. We made our way down the hall where we stopped at the next door. Coconut pushed the door open and ushered me inside. I lifted my head and I saw her.

Mom.

She was laying back on her bed with several different kinds of medical machines hooked up to her. She looked like hell, but she was... she was awake! Her good eye caught sight of me and a weak smile formed on her face.

“Mom...?” I said, rushing to her side. “Mom... I... I...”

Mom kept smiling. She reached out and pulled me close. I couldn't help myself. Tears started to fall. I sobbed loudly into her warm embrace. Needles and medical things all over her, poisoned and injured and yet, all she did was try to comfort me. I could hear her above my crying, trying to calm me down.

“Starry... it's alright. Stop crying,” she said.

I pulled back and stared at her. “But it... it was my...”

Mom grimaced. “It wasn't your fault, Starry. I was... I was wrong.”

“But... but... Xerves! He really was a spy, he tried to kill you!” I shouted. “He poisoned you!”

Mom nodded. “The doctors explained as much when I woke up. But that's not important right now. There are other pressing things we need to talk about.”

“But... Xerves got away! I tried to stop him, but I...” I blabbered on. “I failed...”

Mom smiled, pulling me close again into another hug. “Your father would be proud of you, Starry. He would have said that you were just like your mother, always rushing off into danger and saying 'fuck off' to the consequences. You didn't fail me. I... I failed you.”

“What do you mean?” Lightning said, interrupting. “Are you talking about your heart?”

Mom's smile turned to a frown. “The doctors told you. I had hoped that you never would have had to found out.”

“You knew?” Coconut said.

I pulled back, eyes widening. Mom had known about her heart condition? How? Why had she never told us?

“Since I was younger,” Mom explained. “I was told by the doctors in my Stable that I'd never live to be over thirty. And yet, here I am, still kicking.”

“But... the doctor said...” Lightning said, trying to piece things together. “He said that it's worse now. Because of the poison.”

“Yes... I am afraid that is the case,” a voice said from behind us. The doctor stood in the doorway, followed in by one of the other members of our family. Lilith.

“Hello, kids,” the black pegasus mare said casually. She still wore her power armor that marked her as head of Theater Security.

“Doctor. Lilith,” Mom said calmly. “Come in. I was just talking to my children about this.”

“Good, because we have quite a bit to discuss,” the doctor replied. “Unfortunately, Miss Patch. The heart condition you have is not something that we are capable of treating here. In fact, nopony in Equestria is capable of treating you.”

“Wait... so what's going to happen to Mom?” I asked.

“Starry,” Mom said.

“No, it's quite fine, Miss Patch,” the doctor said, turning to me. “It means that your mother doesn't have long before her condition begins affecting the rest of her. This is a very rare condition, and most that are afflicted with it die well before they are adults. With medicine it is manageable, but the poison made it so that even that is out of our control. The condition has worsened to the point where nopony can do anything for it.”

“I'm going to die,” Mom said flatly.

“But...” I started to say. “There has to be...”

“I'm sorry. There's just nothing we can do for her,” the doctor said.

“However,” Lilith interjected. “There is something that you three can do for her.”

“What? Anything. Just tell me what it is,” I said frantically.

Lilith smiled. “Just because no pony can treat her, doesn't mean that some zebra can't. The poison was meant to attack her heart, and it shared a similar makeup to what Envy uses. She may have some insight on healing your mother. She was an accomplished healer once.” The pegasus grimaced. “Unfortunately, our last coordinates on her are sketchy. If you want to help, you're going to have to find her.”

“Find Envy? Isn't she a little... crazy?” Coconut said.

I grimaced. “A little crazy” was an understatement. A long time ago, she was a bounty hunter who tried to take in Mom and her friends, specifically my god mother Radiant Star, for a large sum of caps. She'd failed, taking a nasty beating in the process. After the MMMM solidified their hold on the core part of the city, Envy became a recluse who shunned outside friends. In a land literally saved by the power of friendship, she was a nut job.

“She may be a little off her rocker, but she will recognize you three,” Lilith said.

“Indeed. We will spend time learning all that we can about your mother's condition,” the doctor said. “But insight from a zebra may very well help save her life.”

“Mom?” I said, glancing over at her. I didn't want to leave her so soon.

Mom smiled. “I believe that you three have a zebra to find. Go on. I will be fine. I'm sure you'll be back with a cure before the day is out.”

“But... what about Xerves?” Lightning said. “If he's the one who did this, shouldn't finding him be our top priority?”

“Xerves is gone,” Lilith said. “Of course finding him is a priority, but it’s one we’ve passed off to Applejack’s Rangers to sort out. Our main focus is our perimeters. stopping any new threats. The Rangers will find him and Xerves will be dealt with. And don't worry; you're not the only ones looking for Envy.”

I perked up. “Oh?”

“We're sending out a few other patrols to look for her as well,” Lilith said. “However, I have a sneaking suspicion that where Envy will avoid the other groups, she will let you find her, because of your relation to Patch.”

“I guess that means we're going off to find Envy,” Coconut said, smiling. “I suppose I should stop by the Ranger camp and get my stuff. I'll meet you guys at the front entrance?”

I nodded. “Lightning and I need to get our things together as well.”

“Good. Now, the three of you get going,” the doctor said. “We'll take care of your mother. Time is of the essence here."

* * *

I slipped on my barding and grunted under my breath. My rear was still rather sore from where I'd been shot. I ignored it as best as I could and turned to my gear. I had everything I needed to survive out there. Mom had been hell bent on ensuring that both my brother and myself were well equipped for Wasteland survival.

My kit contained all sorts of different roots and plants that Mom said could be cooked together to make healing salves and teas, in addition to four rolls of enchanted bandages. It also held a few healing potions, three bottles of water, some emergency rations, and rope. Mom was quite clear that rope always came in handy.

I bundled together my kit and put it in my saddlebag before turning to my weaponry. Another thing that Mom had always made sure of in our training was that we always maintained clean and functional firearms. My own was a beautiful silver inlaid .45 caliber pistol that Mom had built for me as a gift when I'd gotten the job in Security. It wasn't much, but it was mine. I'd called it Justice. Mom had told me once that giving something a name made it important, made it special. Somehow, it felt right. I placed Justice lovingly into my holster and bagged all the extra ammunition I could possibly need before turning to my brother.

“Ready to get going?” I asked.

Lightning looked up. He wore his own weapon, a twin rifle battle saddle that Mom had developed for him when he got his cutie mark. It was even emblazoned with said mark. Mom had explained that she had tweaked the design a little to try and make the whole thing lighter for a pegasus to carry. The two rifles were named Thunder and Bolt. I had teased him heavily about the name, I remembered.

Lightning nodded solemnly.

I frowned. “What's wrong”

“Do... do you think Mom's gonna be alright?” he asked. “I mean... this heart thing sounds scary, Starry. I don't want her to... you know.”

I sighed and made my way to his side. I grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, which he gladly returned.

“It's going to be alright,” I said softly. “We'll find Envy and fix this. We have to.”

Lightning nodded again, pulling away from my embrace. “We should get going then.”

“Right you are,” I said.

We made our way down towards the front entrance, where a pony in a bulky suit of power armor waited for us. I blinked as we got closer, realizing that it was Coconut Cream Pie. A large rifle hung off of the battle saddle on the back of the armor.

“Hey guys,” she said. “Ready to get going?”

“Coco?” I asked, blinking again. “Where in the heck did you...?”

Coconut grinned widely. “Oh, you like it? Star Paladin Berry is letting me borrow this for the trip. I explained to her what was going on and she temporarily promoted me to an acting Field Paladin!”

“That... that's great, Coco,” I said, smiling. “But we're just going to go find Envy. I don't think we're gonna need the extra firepower.”

“That's what I said,” Coconut replied as she lowered the visor to her helmet. It obscured her face entirely. “But Berry insisted. Besides... what if we run into that sniper friend of yours? Or Xerves? Better to be prepared, I guess.”

“I guess. Somehow I have the feeling that Xerves has moved on,” I said, feeling a pit in my stomach. He'd moved on, that's for sure. My mother was just a job to him, he’d done what he was paid for and moved on. And I hadn’t been able to stop him.

“Guys? We'd better get going,” Lightning interrupted.

“Lightning is right. Do you have the coordinates for where we last saw Envy?” Coconut asked.

I nodded. I pulled up my PipBuck and brought up the automap function. The coordinates were marked already. “It's not too far from here, but it is outside of Theater's perimeter.”

“Good,” Coconut said as we made our way outside. “From here on out, we travel in a triangle formation. I'll hold the rear, and you two will be flanking me.”

I nodded, falling into my position. It was clear that Coconut knew what she was talking about. All that training under the Rangers had done her a lot of good in that respects. She probably knew more about combat formations than Lightning and I did now.

We made our way towards the coordinates we'd been given, keeping a close eye on the city around us. Everything was quiet, which only meant that my mind would not shut up about everything that had happened lately. Mom sat at the forefront of my thoughts, my worry for her overshadowed by my rage against Xerves. Once we were finished with Envy, I made a mental note to try and find him. While my head told me that revenge wasn't the smart thing to do, my heart said otherwise.

The journey went by quietly and quickly and soon we'd arrived at the coordinates, the remains of an old bank. I trotted past the others and pushed open the aging doors. The smell of dust and mold assaulted my senses. It was clear enough that no one had been here in some time. I made my way in further.

“Hello?” I called out. “Envy? Are you home?”

“Maybe she's out,” Lightning said from behind me. He took a sniff of the air. “Or maybe she moved out. This place reeks.”

“Looks like there's a lot of water damage here and there,” Coconut interjected. “Couple that with several hundred years of mold buildup...”

“Regardless, if she was here, she isn't now,” I said, grimacing. “Shit. Now we're back to square one. Great. Just great.”

“Well, we know where Envy was at least, even if she hasn't been here in some time. Maybe there's some clue here as to where she went?” Coconut offered.

“I guess. But can we make it quick? It reeks in here,” I said. Plus I needed to find a certain zebra scumbag and put him six feet under.

Coconut chuckled and passed me a gas mask from her saddlebags. “Here. I came prepared.”

I blinked and accepted the mask, slipping it over my muzzle. I could breathe a little better, but the smell still made me feel like I had to hurl.

I walked past Coconut deeper into the ruins of the bank. As I walked, I flipped on my PipBuck's sensors. Thankfully nothing showed up other than Coconut and Lightning. That definitively proved there was no one else here. I wondered how long ago Envy had been using this location as her home. I trotted around the back of the teller's desk, hoping to find something that pointed to where we could find her.

Nothing. Nothing but junk and refuse littered the desks. I started to move forward and nearly tripped over some sort of wire below me. I heard a click. My eyes widened as a beam with spikes embedded in descended from the ceiling above. Frantically I accessed my magic, grabbing onto the beam and halting it before it could impale me.

“Uhh... think I found something,” I said, motioning to the beam, which now hung limply in front of me.

Coconut trotted back to me. Although I could not see her expression underneath her helmet, I was pretty sure it was one of her famous stone face grimaces. “A trap. Envy must have suspected somepony would come looking for her, otherwise she wouldn't have set this.”

“She didn't do a very good job,” I said.

“She probably didn't anticipate magic users,” Coconut said.

“Hey guys, there's nothing here, can we go back ---” Lightning said as he walked up to us. He stopped dead in his tracks. “What the heck happened here?”

“Starry found a trap,” Coconut said.

“Man, you guys get to have all the fun,” Lightning said.

I chuckled. “Don't worry; we'll save the next one for you, Bro.” I pointed at the door along the wall behind the trap. “It's highly likely that whatever she was protecting is through there.”

“Good eye,” Coconut said. With a quick flourish of her back legs, the spiked beam went sailing into the wall. “There. Now we can all get through.”

I blinked. How in the heck did she...? Sometimes earth ponies amazed me with how strong they really were. Shrugging the thoughts away from my mind, I made my way to the door and carefully inspected it for any possible traps. I should have been smarter about the beam. Mom had covered makeshift traps. I was letting my emotions and my boredom with being here get the better of me. I had to start using my head, or I was going to lose it.

“Not seeing any traps here,” I said, finishing up my inspection of the door. I carefully pushed it open, revealing a long hallway that ended in a collapsed section of the bank. Below the collapsed ceiling there was a tunnel that went underneath. Two very bright lamps illuminated the hall.

“Whoa,” Lightning said. “I wonder how deep it goes.”

“Let's be smart about this,” I said, as if saying it out loud would make me take my own advice. “Envy trapped the area in front of the door for a reason. Who's to say she hasn't laid any further traps?”

“I agree,” Coconut replied. “There's only one option. Lightning. You'll need to fly in and check for any traps.”

Lightning's face widened. “But... why me? Can't we just like... throw rocks in there or something?”

“And set them off? What if they're explosive traps?” I said. “You know what Mom would say if she were here?”

“She'd tell me that the best way to deal with trap triggers that require somepony to physically touch them are best dealt without touching them,” Lightning recited.

I sniggered. I was almost impressed that he'd remembered that lesson. Mom was such a stickler for making us memorize every little thing that sometimes we would lose parts as soon as we moved on to the next.

“Fine,” Lightning said after a few moments. “If I get blown up, it's your fault.”

“If you make it out alive, there might be a reward in it for you,” Coconut replied, lifting her visor briefly and winking.

Lightning gulped loudly and nodded. Silently he lifted into the air and flew through the door. He flew several feet in and stopped, looking down at the floor. After a few long moments, he hovered back outside and set down.

“Other than the fact that the place is dirty as hell, there's nothing there,” he said. “Nothing that suggests any further traps.”

“Alright,” I said. “Let's see what Envy was hiding down here.”

I trotted forward into the hallway, keeping a wary eye on my surroundings. Just because Lightning had cleared it didn't mean I was going to let my guard down. Mom had taught us better than that. But, as it appeared that he was right, that there really was no other traps leading up to the tunnel, I started to relax just a little.

The tunnel itself was fairly well lit and was wide enough to fit us comfortably. It went under a large chunk of the hall, finally turning upward into a small room. It looked to be some sort of back office that had been used by the bank manager. A Stable-Tec terminal sat on the desk, its soft glow the only real light in the room. I flicked my horn alight, bathing the rest of it in a greenish haze. There was nothing that indicated that there were any further traps. I grimaced, finding that slightly odd. Why go to the trouble of trapping the area around the entrance to the hall, but not trap the rest of the place? It didn't make any sense. Then again, this was Envy I was thinking about. Nothing made any sense when it came to her.

I trotted over to the terminal while Coconut and Lightning were looking around the room for any clues. It was still powered on. The last thing it had on the screen was an audio message waiting to be played. I clicked on the file, and a thick accented voice began to play through the terminal's speaker.

“If you have come to this place seeking me, I am gone. Do not try to follow me. The Cult is after me, and it will only bring danger to those who seek me out.

If this is the Cult and you've managed to get into this room, which is not an easy task for minotaurs, then I am happy to say that this terminal will be your doom. It is rigged to explode upon the completion of this message, sealing you inside forever...”

My eyes widened as the terminal began to beep. I backpedaled as fast as I could. “Uh, guys we need to get out of here now!”

Coconut's head whipped around at the same time. “Everybody into the tunnel!” she shouted.

I wasted no time filing in after her and Lightning into the tunnel. The beeping coming from the terminal got louder and started repeating much faster than before. We were about halfway through the tunnel when a deafeningly loud *thud* echoed off the tunnel walls. The tunnel began collapsing behind us.

“Shit! Run faster!” I yelled. I pushed all of my energy into running, breaking out of the tunnel behind my brother just as the tunnel fully collapsed. I leaped forward landed on my rump, grunting as I struck the concrete ground.

“Well, that was exciting,” Coconut said, panting loudly.

“Exciting? That was fucking scary!” Lightning exclaimed.

“She was being sarcastic, Bro,” I managed to say in between deep breaths.

“Oh. Sorry,” Lightning replied.

“It's fine,” Coconut said. She stood from where she'd fallen and made her way over to the tunnel entrance, which was now covered with rubble and debris. “Looks like there's no way we're going back in there. It's sealed up tight. I guess now we know why there weren't any other traps.”

“Yeah... Envy wanted to draw them in and get rid of them in one fell swoop,” I said, standing. “She mentioned the Cult though. I thought the Cult was like... gone.”

“I don't know,” Coconut said. “But it seems like we're back to square one again. We don't really know how long ago she recorded that message, and she didn't say where she was going for obvious reasons.”

I grimaced, hanging my head. The whole trip out had been a complete bust. We were going to have to return to Theater, to tell Mom that we couldn't find Envy. And then... then we'd have to watch as she withered away and died.

“Yeah,” I said under my breath. “Sounds like we should just head back to Theater at this point.”

“Agreed. Perhaps some of the other patrols have had better luck in locating Envy,” Coconut said.

“I'm all for that,” Lightning said. “Not only does this place reek, it's sort of creepy. Who knows what else is lurking around this area that we just alerted to our presence?”

I nodded. He had a good point. The explosion had been pretty loud. It was bound to attract some attention. Regardless, I could never pass up an opportunity to poke a little fun at my brother. We removed our breathing masks and started walking back towards the front of the bank as we spoke.

“Aww, is poor widdle Wightning afraid of the abandoned bank?” I said, snickering.

Lightning frowned. “Cut it out, Sis. I'm not scared of anything.”

“Oh? Did you ever tell Coconut about the time you --” I started to say.

*BLAM*

A gunshot broke through my sentence, slamming through the bank's front window. Glass sprayed everywhere as we ducked behind a nearby set of overturned tables.

“See? What did I tell you?!” Lightning exclaimed.

I turned to my PipBuck, flicking on my Eyes-Forward-Sparkle. A single red dot lay out somewhere beyond the confines of the bank. I grimaced. “There's only one. Sniper.” I considered that Lightning had been right, that the blast had attracted someone's attention, but why was there only one then? It didn't make much sense.

“Where?” Coconut said.

“I don't know, the E.F.S. only shows one dot,” I said. “It doesn't tell me where it is, just that it's in front of us!” I poked my head up from behind the table to see if I could tell where the sniper was.

*BLAM*

Another gunshot ripped through the broken window, striking the ground. It ricocheted off the cold stone and embedded itself into the wall. I ducked back down as quick as I could. Even if we couldn’t see them, the sniper could obviously see us and knew how to keep our heads down.

“I can't tell,” I said. “Could be on a rooftop, or in a building. I'm not really sure.”

“Well, that's useful,” Coconut said. “The real question is, what do we do now?”

“There's no other way out except for the front door. If there was a way out the way we came, it's trashed now,” I said.

“So we fight, instead of trying to run,” Coconut said.

“Are you fucking kidding me? How in the heck are we supposed to fight that?!” Lightning shouted. “The second we exit the building he's gonna blow our heads off!”

“Calm down, Lightning,” Coconut said, her words immediately deflating my brother's panic. “We're going to get out of here and get back to Theater. We just have to be smart about this.”

“We have to figure out a way out of here without alerting him,” I said, glancing about the ruined bank. I groaned when I saw no other way out. The front door really was it. I was starting to get really annoyed with these kinds of situations. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, while that bastard Xerves was laughing all the way to the bank. I had to get out of there so I could find him, and make him pay for what he'd done to...

Mom. Shit. Mom was going to die, and I wasn't going to be able to do anything about it. I couldn't stop it. I looked down at my hooves, sighing.

“Starry?” a voice to my right said. Coconut leaned in close. “Starry, we've got to move. I've got an idea.”

“What good is it? There's no way out,” I said. “He's got us pinned, Coco.”

“Yeah, he does. But we don't stay down when we're pinned. We look for a different angle,” Coconut said, pulling up the visor on her power armor helmet. “We'll get out of here and back to your mom, I promise.”

I looked up into her deep brown eyes and nodded. Coconut had been my best friend for the longest time now, and she'd never given me any reason to not trust her. “So what's your plan then?”

“We force his hoof. Something Star Paladin Berry taught me. One of the best ways to deal with this kind of situation is to force the situation to occur. Right now, he's toying with us,” Coconut explained. “We have to force him to react.”

“And how in the hay are we supposed to do that?” Lightning exclaimed.

Coconut glanced over at my brother, a smile forming on her face. I could see the inner workings forming her plan.

“Oh no,” Lightning said. “I am not going out there.”

“Lightning, you're faster than both of us combined,” Coconut tried to reason. “Besides, you only need to get across the street. Once you're there, you can cover our escape.”

Lightning cocked his head in confusion. Coconut sighed loudly and put her hoof to her forehead.

“What I'm saying is,” she continued. “If you get across the street, you can fire up at the sniper and distract him. While he's distracted, we'll make our way across the street and out from under his fire.”

“Alright,” Lightning said. “I'll... I'll give it a shot. I just hope I don't get shot.”

“You'll be fine,” Coconut said, batting her eyelashes at my brother. “Just trust in me. Please.”

Lightning nodded. I had to admit that he was a sucker for Coconut's feminine wiles, but she wasn't wrong. Lightning was a dead on fast flier, and few other pegasi in the MMMM could match his wing power, save for Lilith.

My brother crept back towards the back where the tellers were. No activity from our friend meant he couldn't see him that far back. Spreading his wings, Lightning bolted forward like a rocket. In a flash he had breached the front windows of the bank, bursting through and out into the street. Several gunshots echoed through the air as the sniper tried to adjust, but none of them hit. Lightning landed on the other side of the street looking no worse for wear. He quickly chomped down on the bit of his battle saddle, sending a few bursts of fire in the supposed direction of the sniper.

“Now!” Coconut shouted. She rolled out from behind the table and started hoofing it towards the door.

I nodded vigorously as I followed behind. My heart pounded as I jumped over the broken glass and out into the daylight. Every hoof step towards my brother felt like an eternity. My eyes drifted upward to keep an eye on our friend.

I blinked, stopping dead in my tracks part way through the street. The crimson cloak, the horns, it was the same sniper that had attacked me when I'd gone out and saved Xerves! He had lowered his gun the moment he'd seen me. Did he recognize me? I could certainly see him more clearly. His lower jaw was metallic, likely completely cybernetic. His cloak looked tattered, and his yellow eyes narrowed at me. Despite the wear and tear on his body, he looked rather young.

“Starry! Hurry up!” Coconut shouted. She was already on the other side of the street with Lightning.

The minotaur stood silently for a few more seconds and then made to move. I panicked, thinking that I'd been too slow and that he was going to shoot at me again. When he disappeared from the building, I blinked. He just... left, I thought. Why? Why did he just up and leave? He could have killed me...

“Starry!” Coconut shouted again.

I blinked again, returning to the present. I started moving towards the others. I stopped in front of them, only to meet two hooves grabbing me and shaking me.

“Are you insane?! You could have gotten yourself killed!” Coconut yelled.

“It... it was him,” was all I could say.

“Him?” Lightning asked.

“The minotaur, from the other day when I... when I saved Xerves,” I said, gritting my teeth at the mere mention of that bastard zebra's name. “He must have... I don't know... recognized me or something.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Coconut said, scanning the buildings with her eyes. “He's gone, though. What do you think he wanted?”

“How the heck should I know?” I said. “It's not like I can read his mind.”

“Maybe he's got a crush on you,” Lightning teased. “And he's just too shy to approach you.”

I shot him a death glare. “I don't think that's it, Lightning. Besides, he showed up right after that explosion. I wonder if he was here for Envy too.”

“Unless we see him again, it's likely we'll never know,” Coconut said. She glanced down at her own PipBuck. “It's getting late though. We should get going back to Theater.”

I sighed, and nodded. Coconut was right. We needed to get back. Maybe we'd get lucky and one of the other patrols had found Envy. I really didn't want to think about what would happen if anyone hadn't found her. A deep pit sunk into my stomach as we started walking. The only thing I could think of was Mom.

“Hold it right there,” a voice said from up ahead suddenly.

My head lifted towards the voice. That wasn't Coconut or Lightning. I blinked. Up ahead there were several large earth ponies. They were gathered around a slate colored unicorn mare. Except for the mare, the other ponies wore spiked metal armor emblazoned with the symbol of a demonic pony head wreathed in flames. Blood stains spattered on the metal where the spikes were. Raiders. Not just any raiders, but the Hellraisers, the filthiest gang of raiders in the whole city of Chicacolt.

The mare, however, was clean and dressed in a slinky black dress. A set of glasses sat on her snout, a sharp grin on her face. An SMG hung in the air beside her, supported by her magic. I wasn't quite sure what to make of her.

“Well, well, well,” she said, her voice silky and smooth. “What do we have here? Three lost little ponies in our territory.”

“Yeah,” one of the earth ponies said. “Lost.”

I glanced over at Coconut and my brother. This was not good. We had escaped near death only to blunder into... near death. I couldn't see a way to talk out of this.

You rock guys. Woohoo, I thought to myself.

Coconut took a step forward, puffing her chest out to look important. “Under the authority of Applejack's Rangers, you will stand down and leave us in peace.”

“Oh look. The little filly wants to sound important,” the mare replied, sounding highly amused. “We don't answer to Applesack and her stupid rangers, filly. This is our territory.”

“We don't mean to intrude,” I said softly. “If you want us to leave, we will.”

“Did you hear that boys? The filly thinks we're going to let them just leave without paying the toll?” the mare said.

“Yeah,” another of her entourage said. “The toll. Gotta pay the toll.”

I narrowed my eyes at the mare. Whatever this toll was, it was not going to be pretty. The Hellraisers had a reputation for being highly violent towards mares, especially younger mares, but they weren't stupid. They were the only gang in Chicacolt that still controlled a part of the city, if only by their sheer tenacity. In fact, they were the only raiders within the city limits, but they generally stayed away from MMMM controlled territories.

“What toll?” Lightning ventured.

I looked over at him, gaping. He didn't. He just had to ask. I glanced down at my holster, focusing on bringing out Justice at the first inkling of a problem.

“He wants to know what the toll is,” the mare said. Her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. “Boys, why don't you tell him?”

“The fillies,” one of the earth ponies next to her said. “Give us the fillies and you'll be free to go.”

Shit, I thought. We need to get out of here. I looked over at Coconut, our eyes meeting. She nodded slowly. Her gaze returned to the gang.

“That's a very fair offer,” she said. “But I'm afraid we must decline. We're on important business, and our friends wouldn't be too happy if you just took us. Perhaps some caps might cover the toll instead?”

The mare chuckled. “Oh, you are too rich. That wasn't an offer, dearie. Boys, get them.”

The two earth ponies in front charged forward, each one of them wearing large spiked shoes on their front hooves. They roared loudly as they closed the gap between us.

I ignited my horn, sending a burst of magic down to pull Justice out of its holster. I took aim on the one on the left and activated S.A.T.S. Time seemed to slow to a complete crawl as a display showing various targets on the first raider's body appeared. Selecting my shots had to be careful. Justice could only fire eight shots before I had to reload, and S.A.T.S. only let me queue up half of those at a time.

I decided quickly that the best place to go for would have to be their hooves. Knock those out and they'd be on the ground and no longer a threat. I queued up the four shots I had to the outside front leg and released S.A.T.S. Justice fired, sending four piercing bolts of hot lead towards the raider. They struck, completely obliterating his leg from the knee down. Blood exploded from what was left of the leg.

Mom had taught us many times before that in order to survive in the Wasteland, we had to be quick. If were being attacked, mercy wasn't an option. Stop the threat before it stops us, all that jazz. So I wasn't about to let some raider take me and my friend and force us into whatever sadistic plans that bitch unicorn had for us. Besides, I still had a zebra to deal with. I wasn't planning on dying anytime soon.

“Fuck!” the left raider cried out as he went tumbling forward. The other one kept coming, ignoring his fellow's plight. A mad shout of glee erupted from his mouth.

Coconut jumped back next to me and chomped down on the bit for her battle saddle. Her rifle swung out, sending a spray of fire into the approaching raider. Two of her shots pinged off the raider's metal armor, while the third found purchase in the raider's neck. Blood spurted onto the ground. The raider continued forward like nothing had even touched him. His eyes were bloodshot and his grin psychotic.

“Coconut!” Lightning shouted. He moved to intercept the raider.

He was too late. The raider slammed into Coconut hard, knocking her to the cold concrete. She grunted in pain. Lightning stood over her, seething as he readied Thunder and Bolt. The raider replied by punching my brother in the chest. Lightning went to the ground.

“Hey ugly!” I yelled as I turned to fire Justice at the raider. I stopped cold as a blast of gunfire struck me in my shoulder barding. I yelped and glanced in the direction it had come from. The unicorn mare stood there, grinning widely.

“Did you really think you'd be able to fight your way out of this?” she said.

“Stay away from my sister!” Lightning roared from the ground. He made to stand, but the raider slammed into him again.

I grimaced, my breathing starting to feel very ragged. I looked down at my shoulder. The barding was cracked and blood streamed from the wound. I was really getting pissed off at this. In the span of two days I'd been shot more times than I'd like to have been. I glanced up at the mare as my eyes started to roll into the back of my head.

The last thing I heard as I passed out was the mare saying something.

“Tie them up. And don't kill any of them. They're important.”

* * *

My eyes fluttered open. I was... alive? In a lot of pain, sure, but I was alive. I was... tied up, but still alive. I was on the floor. Well... shit, I thought. I craned my neck to see where I was.

The room we were in was dark, save for a few lamps sitting on the far table. I could barely make out the forms of Coconut and Lightning next to me. I could hear them breathing, which meant they were at least alive too. They were both stripped of their gear and bound. I looked down at my shoulder. It had been bandaged up. I blinked. The raiders fixed me up? That didn't make any sense. I wondered what kind of sick plans they had for us.

The door opened, revealing the unicorn mare. Her eyes glimmered in the darkness. She trotted across the room and stood triumphantly over me.

“Oh good. You're awake. We're going to be moving soon, so you'll need to be on your feet,” she said.

I grunted in reply. I was not interested in hearing what she had to say. I craned my neck further. Our gear was sitting on the table under the lamps. If I could just use my magic, I could get us out of here. I tried to flick my horn, and my eyes widened. I couldn't. My magic had been disabled!

The mare chuckled. “Did you think that we were just stupid raiders that wouldn't know how to deal with a unicorn? Well, the earth ponies are a little dense, but I'm not. I'm the brains of this operation, darling.”

“Who...?” I managed to say.

“Tsk tsk. No need for any of that. The Hellraisers don't like their mares to talk much, except for screaming of course,” the mare replied with a grin. “We'll be on our way to Filly's Pier pretty soon.”

With that, she turned and left before I could reply. I laid my head back in defeat. We hadn't managed to find Envy, but we had found trouble. I thought about Mom, and what she would do in this situation. Of course, she wouldn't have gotten herself caught, but if she had she would have had some form of an escape plan. Without my magic, I was pretty useless.

I heard stirring next to me. I craned my neck again to see that Coconut and Lightning were beginning to wake up.

“Starry?” Coconut whispered. “Where are we...?”

“I don't know,” I said. “That unicorn said we were going to be taken to Filly's Pier.”

Coconut remained silent for a few moments before groaning. “Shit. Filly's Pier. That's not good.”

“What's Filly's Pier?” Lightning said..

“One of the strongest Hellraiser controlled areas in the city,” Coconut said. “Even the Rangers won't go in. They take all of their slaves there. It's probably the worst place anypony could end up.”

“Great. Any idea how we get out of here?” I said. “That bitch shut off my magic. I can't untie us.”

“She took off my power armor too,” Coconut said. “Oh... Berry is going to be so mad at me...”

“We have to survive for that to happen, Coco,” I said. “At least they didn't take off our PipBucks. Probably not smart enough to take them off.” Except for maybe that unicorn mare. I expected that she would probably do that before they transferred us to the Pier.

“I can't move my wings either,” Lightning said. “They're bound too tightly.”

“Looks like we're gonna have to wait til they move us,” Coconut said.

I sighed, nodding as best as I could. Coconut was right. The only way we were getting out of here was to wait until the best opportunity to escape. I laid there and I thought about the last day or so. We had been unsuccessful in finding Envy, and had instead gotten ourselves caught by a group of psychos. I yawned. There was nothing to do but wait, and waiting... waiting was exhausting. I closed my eyes.

Mom... I thought as I drifted off to sleep. We'll get out of this, and we'll find Envy. We'll find her and we'll save you...

Author's Note

And there you have it folks, Chapter 2 of Mending Hearts is officially on the books, and we're rocking and rolling right ahead with the story. Will Starry and company break free of captivity? Will they find Envy? What is up with that minotaur sniper? Will I ever stop asking these questions? Who knows!

I'd like to thank you folks for all your support. I'm so sorry this took so long to get out! My writing process has gotten more intensive, and I spend a lot more time working things out than I used to.

Also, please please please check out my Patreon and support me! I want to love and give back to you fine peoples!

Big thanks to Wirepony, McMesser, and Heartshine. You guys are awesome. This is no lie.

See you kids on the flip side for Chapter 3! I promise it'll get published quicker than this did!

Chapter Four: Matters of the Heart

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Four: Matters of the Heart

Matters of the heart are not so easily fixed, forgiven, or forgotten

I knew that finding Envy was going to be the defining moment of our journey, but I had yet to realize just how defining that moment would be. Not only had she promised to help Mom, but I also met a kindred spirit in Rock Thresher. He was dark and mysterious then. It took a long while to learn more about him. The more I learned, the more I was glad he was with us.

Mom would often spend nights ribbing me about my lack of companionship. Truth be told, I never really was interested in matters of the heart.

How quickly that would change.

* * *

My eyes fluttered open in the darkness. The camp fire that Coconut had built was smoldering, providing very little light to see with. Regardless, I could make out the form of Rocky. He stood silently at the edge of our little camp, his weapon drawn. The others were asleep still. Lightning’s snoring made sure I couldn’t hear the small sounds of the building.

I pushed myself to my hooves. Despite what I'd been through, a couple hours of good rest really had done the trick. I felt better than I had in days. I stretched a bit and then tip-hoofed over to where Rocky was. He glanced at me, his yellow eyes narrowing.

“You are awake,” he said quietly. “You should be resting.”

“Couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind,” I whispered. “Is everything alright?”

Rocky's eyes glanced down the hallway. “I'm not certain this was the best place to make camp. Something's... not right here.”

I followed his gaze down the hall. He was right about one thing. Something wasn't right for sure. The little noises and whispers I'd heard during our meal, combined with the strange vision when we entered the place made me completely agree with Rocky's assessment.

I trained my eyes on the dark hallway, letting them adjust to the low light. I couldn't see as well as Rocky probably could, but I could at least make out shapes further down the hall. They appeared to be swaying back and forth, pony shapes staggering almost drunkenly.

“What the...?” I said softly. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Feral ghouls,” Rocky said. “I've been watching them for an hour now. They just... appeared out of nowhere.”

“Why haven't they attacked?” I asked. “It's not like them.”

“I do not know. I am hoping that we can leave soon without drawing their attention,” Rocky said. “I fear that with our current weaponry that we would bring the entire building down on us. My rifle is quite loud.”

I giggled as quietly as I could. “I can attest to that.”

“I... I'm sorry for that,” Rocky replied. “You do understand, I was doing my job.”

“No, no need to apologize,” I said, waving him off. “I probably would have done the same if I'd known who Xerves was.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Rocky said, his gaze still down the hallway. “Why did you save him?”

I grimaced, looking down at my hooves for a second. “I... I thought I was doing the right thing. All my life, Mom's taught us to do the right thing, to fight the good fight. To be better than the raiders and the scum of the Wasteland. I just... wanted to be like her, even for a moment.”

“I see,” Rocky said. He paused for several moments as he digested what I'd said. All the while he kept his eyes trained on the hallway, on the ghouls at the end of it. “For what it's worth, I am sorry for what Xerves did to you and your mother. He is... unstable. Mistress was blind to this fact, even though we tried to tell her many times.”

“She's his mother,” I said. “That doesn't really surprise me.”

Rocky's eyes glanced back at me for a second. He looked back down the hall, his eyes widening. “Where did they go?”

I followed his gaze. The ghouls down the hallway had mysteriously vanished. I blinked. How in the hell did they do that? Ghouls were usually slow and shambling, not fast and stealthy. I was starting to get a really sick feeling my gut over this place.

“I'll go get the others up,” I said quietly. “I think we should leave this place now.”

Rocky merely nodded in reply, his yellow eyes continuing to scan the dark hallway for any sign of life.

I turned back towards the others and nearly screamed as I almost face-planted into the snarling visage of a feral ghoul. The beast made a rasping noise that sounded a lot like sucking air through a straw before charging at me. Before it could get close to me, the loud retort of a rifle rang out in my ears. The ghoul's head exploded in a shower of gore, splattering me with bits and pieces of ghoul flesh. I blinked and turned back to Rocky. I swept a piece of ghoul eye off my brow and groaned.

“Really? You just said we had to be quiet!” I growled.

“You were going to be hurt,” Rocky replied. “I had to do something.”

Howling erupted from deeper inside the building. It poured out of the very walls, almost as if the entire place was alive. All of the ghouls here had heard that shot, and we'd alerted each and every one of them to our location.

“Shit,” I said, trotting over to where the others were pushing themselves up from their slumber. “I think it's time to go. Everyone up and at them!”

“What's happening?” Lightning said groggily. “Why are there ghoul pieces on the floor?”

“You doof,” Coconut said. “We were attacked.”

“Mistress, we must leave this place. I fear I may have alerted the ghouls to our presence,” Rocky said.

“You think?” I said, rolling my eyes.

Envy grimaced. She moved swiftly to the door and pulled on it. She growled under her breath. “We have a problem. The doors are locked. They won't open.”

“What?! What do you mean they're locked?!” Lightning shouted, charging past Envy to try and pull on the door himself. He pulled hard for several seconds before groaning loudly. “Dammit! I don't want to be eaten by ghouls!”

“Is he always so melodramatic?” Envy deadpanned.

“You don't know the half of it,” Coconut replied, rolling her eyes. She stepped up next to Lightning and nudged him out of the way. “Step back. I'm going to blow the door open.”

Lightning nodded silently as he made his way next to us. The persistent howling of the building echoed all around us. It was getting louder. We had to get out before every ghoul in the place descended upon us.

Coconut grinned widely and lowered her visor. Her rifle swung out from her battle saddle and she took aim. Several quick successive shots hit the door hard, blowing smoke up into the air. When she finished and the smoke cleared however, the door looked exactly the same as it did before. Lying on the ground in front of it were the bullets she’d fired, deformed chunks of metal laying on the floor.

“What the fuck?” she said aloud. “How...?”

The howling started getting even louder. I glanced back down the hallway and started seeing red eyes among the rubble and debris. We were out of time. We had to do the only thing I knew anything about and that was fight. But first, I needed something to fight with.

“Coco, throw me a gun!” I shouted. “I can't fight with just my magic.”

She nodded and pointed to her pack. I reached out and grabbed it with a burst of telekinesis, pulling a ten millimeter pistol out of it. It wasn't Justice, but it would have to do. I turned back to the hallway as the first of the ghouls started shambling into view.

The ghoul was larger than the average feral ghoul I'd seen, its legs misshapen. It glowed a bright green and had luminescent bile coming from its mouth. As soon as it stepped into the lobby, my PipBuck began to click like crazy.

What the...? Radiation? I thought that was all cleaned up, I thought as I glanced down at my PipBuck. I'd heard stories from Mom about what she'd called 'glowing ghouls'. I had been so readily willing to accept that it was just a story, and yet here was one in the flesh.

Rocky fired first before the ghoul could get closer. His rifle came up in a flash and delivered a high powered shot right into the glowing monster's chest. Green goo spurted on the ground as the ghoul let loose a throaty roar.

I lifted the ten millimeter and squeezed off a few shots. They disappeared into the side of the ghoul, and yet it showed no signs of wearing down at all.

“Shit,” I said under my breath. “This thing is tougher than normal ghouls.”

The ghoul roared and charged at the nearest target—Rocky. It lunged upon the minotaur, only to meet the butt end of his rifle. It went soaring back into the hallway, landing on another ghoul that had found its way to our camp. A sick *crunch* was heard as the ghoul underneath splattered into oblivion.

Envy growled under her breath, pulling several spinning bladed weapons from underneath her cloak. She chucked them into the hall. As they soared through the air, they broke apart into smaller bladed balls that found purchase in the paired ghouls’ dessicated frames. Ghoul blood splattered all over the ground, but it still did not stop the Glowing One.

The thing stood, its misshapen jaw hanging open as it roared again. Shit... just how much does it take to kill one of these things! I thought as I fired another set of rounds at the monster. Nothing. Not even a wobble. I cursed under my breath.

Lightning stood next to me, having slipped on his battle saddle during the fight. He took aim and chomped down on the bit in his mouth, both barrels spewing forth hot lead that also sank into the ghoul's tough flesh.

Coconut tried her best as well, sending round after round into the ghoul, but nothing seemed to be doing the trick.

The ghoul turned its head at us and snarled loudly. It lifted its head and began to gargle. A burst of green erupted from the beast, nearly knocking me to the ground. My PipBuck’s clicking sped up into an alarming buzzing. Not only was this thing tough as nails, it was also emitting radiation like it was a weapon!

*BLAM*

Rocky’s shot hit the ghoul in its jaw, tearing it completely off its face. The ghoul gargled louder as it emitted another wave of radiation. Rocky grunted and kept moving forward, lifting his rifle again and firing several rounds into the ghoul's legs. The ghoul stopped as he leveled the rifle point blank with its glowing green eyes.

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

Rocky unloaded his rifle into the monster's head, causing it to explode in a shower of green bits that lit up the hallway when they hit the wall and ground. The ghoul slumped forward and hit the ground hard, where it lay unmoving. We swiftly finished off the remaining ferals. Rocky grunted again as he turned to us.

“Are you all alright?” he said.

I glanced down at my PipBuck. The radiation had subsided, but even the short bursts of it had been enough to up my rad count by quite a bit. I was well over two hundred rads, and yet I didn't feel like anything was wrong with me. I nodded silently at Rocky.

“I'm sure that is not the last of these vile beasts,” Envy said. “We must focus on getting the door open.”

“We already tried that, remember?” Lightning argued. “It didn't work. We're trapped here.”

“I hate to say it, but my brother is right,” I said.

“Hey!” he said indignantly.

I chuckled softly. “Sorry, Bro,” I said. “But you're right. The door here won't open. Our only option is to go deeper in.”

“Wait, you want to go deeper into the building with all the crazy ghouls? Starry, did you hit your head or something?” Coconut said.

Envy narrowed her gaze at me and nodded. “Her logic is sound. It stands to reason that there is another path to egress this building. We can either spend time here trying to get through a door we may never be able to open, or we can press forward and hopefully get out of this place.”

The building began to howl loudly. We all looked up in apprehension. I knew that likely it was suicide to delve into the building's depths, but it was the only thing that made sense. There had to be an exit, there just had to be.

“If we are going to move we should do it now,” Rocky said. “More ghouls will be on their way.”

“Right,” Envy said. She pointed at me. “Starry Night, you will take point with Rock Thresher. You two will be our eyes and ears. Coconut, Lightning, you two will cover the middle. Use your PipBucks to identify where threats are and call them out. I will take up the rear and ensure no ghouls sneak up on us.”

“How are you going to do that?” Coconut said, cocking her head in confusion.

“I have my methods,” Envy replied, opening her cloak to reveal several rows of bladed traps. “These will slow down any ghouls who think it wise to attack from behind.”

The building howled again. I grimaced, lifting the ten millimeter into the air with my magic. I really, really missed Justice. I trotted over to where Rocky stood waiting.

“Alright then, let's go,” I said.

Rocky nodded silently. “Stay close. I'll hold off any ghouls in the front. You tell me where to aim and where to go.”

“Right.”

We started forward down the hall, keeping an eye on every little nook and cranny as we walked. The hall eventually ended in a staircase that had been collapsed over. Another hall extended out to the left. We rounded the corner, seeing two feral ghouls scraping at the walls.

“There!” I called out.

Rocky lifted his rifle and answered in kind. Two quick shots to the head of each ghoul and they were down for the count.

The hallway opened up into an office space. Rows of cubicles lined the room. Broken terminals adorned each desk. As I stepped in next to Rocky, my head began to grow a little fuzzy. I glanced up and saw the room again, this time pristine and new. I was alone, except for a pony sitting at one of the desks at the far end of the room. I couldn't see his face. I blinked.

What in the Sorrel Hells is going on in this place? I thought as I took another step forward.

The pony at the desk jerked forward and my vision of prewar Equestria vanished. In the pony's place stood another one of those glowing ghouls. It took notice of us and snarled loudly.

“Rocky!” I shouted.

Rocky nodded, lifting his rifle and firing several rounds at the monster's head. They hit like a ton of bricks, exploding the ghoul's head in a shower of glowing goop.

“What the...?” I said, looking over at the minotaur. “How did...?”

His eyes glimmered in the darkness. If he had a mouth, I could have sworn he was grinning. “Armor piercing rounds. Figured I needed a little more kick to take down these bigger ones.”

“And how many of those do you have left?” I asked.

He glanced down at the rifle and grimaced. “Not very many.”

“Great,” I said as I turned to let the others know it was clear. I stopped as I realized that they weren't there. There was no one there at all actually. It was just me and Rocky. My eyes widened in panic. “Envy? Lightning? Coco? Umm.... I think we got a problem here.”

Rocky turned his head towards me. “The others are gone? What happened?”

“I don't know,” I said softly. “It's not like there was any place for them to go. The hall only went one way. It doesn't make any sense.”

“Nothing about this place is making any sense,” Rocky said. “Our only recourse is to keep moving forward. We'll meet up with them. Likely they're doing the same.”

I nodded, glancing down the hallway behind us once more. For a brief fleeting second I saw a busy walkway, filled with business ponies fluttering to and fro like they were important. It flickered in and out and then finally died, revealing three regular feral ghouls. They rasped and howled as they charged at us. I yelped, lifting the ten millimeter and pulling the trigger.

*CLICK* *CLICK* *CLICK*

I blinked. Had I been so invested in moving forward that I'd forgotten to reload? I was certain I wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake. Mom would be disappointed in me if I had. I calmly and quickly pressed the button to eject the magazine. It didn’t move.

Great. Stuck. Just what I needed, I thought as the ghouls kept moving forward. A broken gun and feral ghouls about to eat me alive.

Rocky leaped next to me and struck the first of the ferals with his claws. In a flash, the ghoul's head separated from its body and went flying into the wall. The minotaur grunted, picking up the dead ghoul and launching it at the other two.

The other two ghouls tried to dodge, but were too slow. The body of their dead friend hit them like a train, splattering them on the ground. They struggled to get up as Rocky approached. Two quick strikes of his claws and they too were dead.

“T-T-Thanks,” I stuttered. “Stupid gun jammed and broke.”

“You are alright?” Rocky said.

I nodded. “Yeah. Let's keep going. I hate this place.”

We kept moving forward, finding ourselves in a topsy turvy maze of hallways and business offices, but no exit in sight. Occasionally we ran into a group of feral ghouls. They crawled around the building like radroaches. Without a weapon and only my magic, I had to rely on Rocky's expertise in melee combat, something Mom had never really touched on during any of our lessons. Her stance on melee combat was to avoid it at all costs. Melee combat, for a ranged fighter like me, meant I was dead.

Thankfully, we didn't run into any more of those glowing ghouls, and the howling of the building overall had died down. Perhaps it knew that it already had us in its clutches, and didn't need to alert anything to our presence. Or perhaps I was over-thinking it too much, and we'd simply killed enough ghouls to warn them off.

Feeling frustrated with not being able to find the others and not being able to find an exit, I pulled out one of the audio tapes I'd picked up in the lobby and slotted it into my PipBuck. A scratchy voice began to play in my ear-bloom.

“Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit! I knew it was a bad idea to join up with this caravan. I figured I'd make some extra caps, get out and maybe find my dad, but I didn't expect to find myself lumped in with a bunch of Luna-dammed slavers!

I found out about it when we passed into Chicacolt the other night. I was glad, cuz it was the last place I'd heard that Dad had been, so I thought I'd be able to break away for a little bit. No such luck.

We got into the city and that was when I found out what our cargo was. Fillies, colts, you name it, we had them. We were taking them all to a place the caravaners called the Pier. Some sick motherfuckers called the Hellraisers ran the place. Didn't sound very friendly. I got stuck guarding the slaves. I couldn't even look them in the eye.

I ran the next night. Ran until my hooves practically gave out from underneath me, like a fucking coward. At least I'd been able to open as many cages as I could have before I left. Fucking savages.

I stopped at an abandoned building, some place my PipBuck called the 'Hoofwich Building.' It struck a note with me. Looking through my notes, it was one of the last places Dad had been seen. I'm here now, hoping that he's still here or there's some clue to why he left.”

I grimaced, wondering just how old these audio tapes were. They looked like they'd been sitting on the front lobby desk for a very long time. I glanced over at Rocky, who was looking apprehensive.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“I am... concerned for my Mistress's safety,” he replied softly. “I had expected we'd have found them by now.”

I nodded. “I've been thinking the same thing. This place is just fucking with us. It's like its alive or something.”

We rounded the next corner. It led to a set of stairs that went down. A feral ghoul sat on the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Rocky lifted his rifle and fired, putting it down quickly before it could see us.

We made our way down the stairs, stopping to check and make sure the ghoul was dead before continuing on. A large metal door sat at the end of the hallway, appearing to be some sort of maintenance corridor. I cracked it open and grimaced. Pipework went everywhere. The maintenance area of this building was even more confusing than its normal floors. Not only that, there were cracks in the steel walls that showed bedrock underneath.

“This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder,” I said softly as I took a step forward. My mind began to grow fuzzy again as another vision of prewar Equestria appeared. It had been happening all over this place. As quickly as the clean-cut maintenance tunnels had appeared they disappeared. I wobbled forward a little bit, stumbling to my knees.

“Starry? Are you alright?” Rocky asked. He placed a claw on my shoulder.

“Yeah... I'm fine,” I said, panting. I glanced down at my PipBuck. The amount of radiation that I'd soaked up had gotten much higher. Was there something in this building's construction? Maybe a leak of some sort? I didn't know. “Let's keep going. The others have to be ahead.”

“No. We should rest for a moment,” Rocky said. “We do not want to push ourselves too hard, lest we find ourselves in the wrong kind of trouble. Do you see anything on your PipBuck?”

I grimaced and brought up the Eyes-Forward-Sparkle function on my PipBuck. No red blips, no friendly green blips except Rocky. I shook my head. “Nothing. Not even a radroach.”

“Good. We'll take a breather here. Ten minutes, tops,” the minotaur replied. He opened his side-pack and dug out a bottle of water. “Here. You need this more than I do.”

I took the water with my magic and began to drink it down greedily. I opened one eye and glanced at Rocky, who was staring at me. “What? Something wrong?”

The minotaur looked away for a moment. “Nothing. Sorry. I am just... concerned for your well-being.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling the heat in my cheeks. “I'll be alright. Are you sure you don't need any water too?”

“I do not require water to survive,” the minotaur said promptly. “As you can see... it would do me no good.”

“I... I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me,” I said, slumping to my haunches. I frowned. “So the... the face-plate doesn't come off?”

“No,” Rocky replied. He sighed heavily. “I'm sorry, Starry. I do not wish to discuss such things right now. Please, drink. I will stand guard.” He walked over to the door and hoisted his rifle up in case anything came through.

I frowned more, looking down at my hooves. Stupid stupid stupid! I thought. I'd gone and made him mad at me! Well, you did ask him about something that is apparently very personal, and very painful. Imagine how you'd feel if he asked how you felt about Mom's heart condition?

I sighed. My inner voice had a point. I was going to have to apologize to him the first chance I got.

“Rocky, I...” I started to say.

“Shh,” Rocky said quietly. He lifted his claw as to indicate silence. “I hear something.”

I flipped up my Eyes-Forward-Sparkle again. Still nothing. “There's nothing out there. Probably just the building settling or something. Look... I'm sorry about, well, you know...”

“Apology accepted,” Rocky said succinctly. “Now rest. We do not wish to tarry much longer.”

I nodded, taking another long draw from the water bottle he'd given me. Clearly, I'd struck a chord that he didn't want struck, and his acceptance was... short to say the least. I sighed, resolving to make it up to him once we got out of this fucked up place. While I drank, I slotted in another one of the audio tapes I'd picked up in the lobby. After a few moments of static and what sounded like heavy breathing the same voice from before came on.

“My first night was not a pleasant one. I got no sleep whatsoever. I kept hearing things from deeper inside the building, little whispers coming from the walls. I swore several times I saw a feral ghoul lumber down a hall, but then it disappeared without a trace.

This morning I decided to venture deeper into the building to try and find some clues. I walked around in circles for what felt like hours and found nothing. Zippo. Squat. It took me equally as long to get back to my camp in the lobby. Along the way, I actually ran into a ghoul. It seemed to not even notice I was there, almost as if it was in some sort of trance. I carefully walked around it and kept moving forward until I got back to camp.

Why did Dad come to this city? To this place? Several times while I was walking around I got this fuzzy feeling inside of me. I... I saw things. Things I'd rather not talk about.

I panicked and tried to open the front door. It wouldn't budge. I tried kicking it. I pounded on it for several long minutes before deciding that nopony was going to hear me, and even if they did, they weren't likely going to let me out. Did those fucking slavers follow me here and lock me in? I don't know. I can't see anything outside the windows, even though its supposed to be broad daylight.

I'm going to have to look deeper tomorrow. There has to be some way out of this place and hopefully some clues as to why Dad came here in the first place.”

I grimaced. So, whoever this mystery pony was, he was having the same things happen to him that were happening to us. Seeing things, the ghouls, not being able to open the door. What was with this place? Was it some sort of prewar magic spell gone wrong? I'd heard often that sometimes the security systems put in place by the ponies of the past were a little eccentric and magical in nature.

I looked up over to see Rock and my eyes widened. The minotaur was no longer standing in the doorway. I hadn't even heard him leave. I stood and walked over and peered down the hallway. No one was there. I was alone. I looked down at my PipBuck, which confirmed happily that I was the only sign of life in the vicinity.

“Shit,” I said aloud. Did I piss him off that badly? I mean, I apologized and everything! I thought to myself. No... this is something else. Something this place is trying to do to me. I need to keep moving forward.

I glanced about for something, anything I could use to protect myself from the ghouls, should I come across one. The immediate hallway presented nothing of use, but the room just on the other side of the door produced a box with a lead pipe in it. I picked it up with my magic and hovered it next to me. It was going to have to do since my only other ranged weapon was out of commission.

I trotted into the next hallway, continuing to move forward. If Rocky had gone on without me, and I really doubted that he had, then he would be just up ahead. The hallway ended in a set of steel stairs that went upwards. What was it with ponies from the past and their stairs? I shrugged and started up them. My hooves clacked on the steel stairs much louder than I would have liked them to. I half expected a ghoul to rush down at me and catch me off guard.

I made it to the top of the stairs and stepped into the room beyond the doorway. The room I was in was likely some sort of business office that had been completely obliterated. A massive hole sat in the middle of the room, where I could see the floor below me. It too, had another hole that led to the floor below it. I could see… further down than I could actually see.

How far up am I? I thought as I studied the hole. There seemed to be a way to get down to each floor as large pieces of the floor above the next had made a bridge of sorts. I glanced up and almost yelped too loudly. Two feral ghouls stood across on the far side of the hole. They appeared to have not noticed me yet. They seemed to not notice anything all.

Almost as if they're in a trance, I thought, remembering the audio tape. I grimaced. I had to hope that the mystery pony was right and they wouldn't notice me slipping down to the next floor or be able to follow me. I dropped down and inched slowly around the hole, keeping an eye on the ghouls at all times. They showed zero interest in me or what I was doing. I glanced down into the hole and my eyes widened. A set of horns could be seen at the very bottom.

“Rocky?” I said under my breath. Before I could do anything to see more, they disappeared. I glanced back over at where the ghouls were. They were gone. “This place is getting weirder and weirder by the minute.”

I stood and took a gauge of my surroundings. Whatever the ghouls had been doing, they weren't around any longer to do it. I sighed and decided that I needed to move on. If that had been Rocky I'd seen at the bottom, I was going to have to get down there and find him. Likely he was in trouble, just like the others. I was starting to get worried for Coconut, Lightning, and Envy.

I made my way onto the piece of floor that led down to the next level and began to carefully tread down it. I stepped off onto solid ground and grimaced. There was at least two to three more of these to get to the ground floor. I reached into my pack and pulled out another one of the audio tapes. I figured it would give me something to listen to while I was traversing downwards. The same scratchy voice began to play from my earbloom, this time sounding... panicked.

“I... I found Dad today. Goddesses, it was... it was horrific. He had been transformed into a ghoul! I had to... had to shoot him, put him down... Goddess forgive me. He kept saying something I couldn't understand. 'Al'kreth, Al'kreth.' I don't know what it meant, but I knew it was him. He was wearing the gold hoof band Mom had gotten him as a gift. I guess now he's at peace. I took the hoof band from his body and put it on. Maybe it will remind me of better times.

I finally turned on my PipBuck's radiation counter. The amount of radiation coming from the lower levels of this place is astronomical. I can't help but think that's what happened to Dad.

I'm still trying to find an exit, but so far there's no luck. The hallways in this place, they change. They move around. I think I've got it mapped and then suddenly I'm in a completely new set of hallways. It's like this place... it knows I'm here. It's alive.

I found a large room earlier that leads all the way down. I'm going to try going there tomorrow and hopefully find a way out.”

I pulled up my PipBuck and checked the radiation. Sure enough, it was clicking away slowly. I grimaced. I hadn't thought to bring any RadAway in the first place, and even if the Hellraisers hadn’t taken our medical supplies, I knew I didn’t have anything relevant on me. I was surprised I wasn't feeling any of the normal effects of radiation exposure. I should have been feeling sick to my stomach, instead I just felt... normal. I wondered briefly if I was experiencing the symptoms and the illusions were induced by the radiation. I shrugged the thoughts away. There wasn't any time to dwell on that. I had to find the others. We had to get out of here and get back to Mom.

I continued down each level, wondering whether the mystery pony on the tapes ever found the exit he was looking for. The light got progressively dimmer the lower I went until I found myself on the ground floor. There appeared to be no other doors at the bottom except for a single maintenance door. Carefully I walked over and pushed it open. Another tunnel leading to a set of downward stairs extended beyond. Just how deep is this place? I thought to myself as I started down this new set of stairs.

As I got deeper, I noticed that the walls of the maintenance tunnels started giving way to natural rock formations. The only caveat was that the rock appeared to be worked stone. It was like somepony had actually carved the tunnel by hoof. It made just about as much sense as the rest of this fucking place. I kept moving forward, finding the tunnel opening up into a large cavern.

The place was dimly lit, if only by the glowing fungi that lined the walls. The path before me dropped off into a cliff that went straight down into a deep abyss of black. A metal staircase extended out and downwards towards the center of the cave. My eyes tried to focus as I realized that the whole place was teeming with feral ghouls. They moved to and fro in a seemingly purposeful pattern. It looked like they were moving things. I squinted as my eyes caught something that was definitely not ghoul-like in nature.

Horns. Stripes. Wings. My friends! They appeared to be bound to a rocky pillar at the far end of the cave. I couldn't tell if they were awake or not from where I was. I scanned the area for any way that I could get down to them without alerting the ghouls and that was when I saw it.

It was a massive obelisk in the center of the cave. Words couldn't even begin to describe the thing’s monstrous features. It was black as night, but it twinkled every now and then. Vague pony shaped forms were carved into it, but each one was monstrous in its own way. One had tentacles where its mouth should be, another had large claws like a crab at the ends of its legs. Just looking at the thing made me shiver. It was horrific.

I grimaced as I pulled my eyes away from the thing. I had to get down there and get the others out of here somehow, but I didn't have any weapons except for the lead pipe I was carrying. The ghouls would be on me within seconds. It would be suicide. I had to think smart. I had... I had to think like Mom. What would she do in this situation?

Gather more intelligence on the situation at hand, I thought to myself. Right. Mom would make sure she had all the information before charging in, guns blazing. Or in my case, lead pipe swinging. The only source of intel I had on this place was the audio tapes. I pulled the next one out of my saddlebags and slotted it into my PipBuck. Hopefully, it would give me some idea of how to proceed. The same scratchy voice started to speak but it sounded a little.... different.

“I found the heart of the building. The underchambers of this place are enormous. I... I canfeel the power here. Its seeping into my fur like a sponge. The ghouls here are actively ignoring me now. I think... I think I'm becoming one. I can feel my skin beginning to flake, my hair is falling out.

I caught a glimpse of something in the large cavern. It... it chilled me to my bone, but at the same time it drew me like a moth to a flame. I must know more. The ghouls, they seem to worship it. I've watched them sit at its base, howling to some Tartaran evil locked away.

I've heard the words they seem to form in their howls. All'z'reth, R'k'tylth. I don't know what it means. I... I want to know... is this what Dad was looking for? This... All'z'reth?

I know, Dad. I know. I have to go down there again. It is the only way. The only way out of this place. The only way out of this place... the only way...”

The recording shut off abruptly. Swearing under my breath I slotted the next one in and hit play. The voice started again but this time it was... gravelly. Hollow.

“All'z'reth. The blood of the fallen will flow. The knife will stab the wounds of the forsaken.

R'k'tylth. The forgotten one will rise. He will rise to devour the world of light above.

The one will come. The one will come. The one will come...”

My eyes widened as I realized the words from the recording weren't just coming from the recording. They were coming from behind me. I swung about and came face to face with a tall ghoul. It wasn't a pony. It was... a zebra? I could see the stripes on its mottled flesh. The ghoul's eyes gleamed as it walked towards me.

“All'z'reth. R'k'tylth. The one will come,” it said. It bore the same voice as the mystery pony on the recording. It was exactly the same!

I yelped, lifting the lead pipe into the air with my magic. I swung hard at the zebra ghoul, trying to connect with its head. The ghoul swerved to the side, causing my strike to completely miss. I brought the pipe back around as the ghoul swerved again. I missed.

“All'z'reth. R'k'tylth,” it said again. “The one will come.”

“Fuck off!” I shouted, lifting the lead pipe into the air. “Let my friends go, you freak!”

“All'z'reth. R'k'tylth,” the ghoul replied. It snarled and launched itself at me, knocking me to the ground. I hit my head on a rock and blacked out instantly.

* * *

I groaned loudly as my eyes opened. I wasn't dead, which meant that the ghoul wanted us alive for some fucked up reason. I glanced around, seeing the others bound up next to me. All of them appeared to be awake, except for Coconut.

“Starry!” Lightning said. “You're awake!”

“Bro,” I said. “What's... what's happening?”

“We do not know,” Envy said softly. “I have tried to communicate with the zebra ghoul, to no avail. He appears to be the leader. He keeps repeating the same words over and over.”

“All'z'reth. R'k'tylth?” I said, drawing a few stares. “Yeah, I know. How did you guys end up down here?”

“We were attacked and brought here,” Rocky said. “There is something wrong with this place. The ghouls here are... strong.”

“What about Coconut?” I asked, indicating the earth mare. I couldn't see her face through her helmet, but I knew something was off.

“She has not yet awoken,” Envy said. “The radiation coming from... the thing must be too great for her, even with the increased resistance that her power armor provides.”

I grimaced and struggled with my bonds. “We can't wait too long then. We have to get out of here. Coconut could die from that much radiation.”

“I am aware of the dire necessity of our escape,” Envy replied with a sigh. “But none of us are strong enough to carry Coconut from this place, and removing her from her armor would be fatal.”

“So what is your plan then? Try and talk to the crazy ghoul who's holding us captive? Because I hate to tell you, that's not working,” I snapped.

“Starry...” Lightning said.

I growled under my breath. “Don't you 'Starry' me, Bro. I really want to know what the plan is, because so far all of her plans have been pretty shitty,” I said angrily. “We can't just hang here and let Coconut die. For that matter, Mom is still counting on us to get back to Theater.”

Some of the ghouls took notice of our heated conversation because they began to hiss loudly in our direction. The crazy zebra ghoul barked something in a language I didn't quite understand to them, causing them to quiet down.

“Starry,” Envy said softly. “I realize that you are upset, but you must have patience. I suspect our chance to escape will come quite soon.”

I looked up, realizing that the crazy zebra ghoul was standing over me. His red eyes glowed brightly in the darkness.

“ All'z'reth. R'k'tylth. The one has come. The one has come,” he said in his gravelly voice. He pointed at two other ghouls and shouted again in that language. They shambled over and began to untie me.

“What are you doing?” I said as the ghouls grabbed me and lifted me up.

“ All'z'reth. R'k'tylth. The one has come. The one has come,” the zebra ghoul merely said. It said something again in the language I didn't understand.

The two ghouls carrying me complied and began carrying me towards... towards the thing.

I looked up, my eyes catching it up close. I wanted to scream. The things in the obelisk moved. They writhed, like they were waiting to be set free. The longer I stared at it, the more I wanted to help them. It took all my willpower to pull my gaze away from it. The others, they were shouting for me. I had to do something. I had to help them!

The ghouls lowered me onto an altar that smelled like something had recently died on it. My coat became slick and wet as they held me down. The rot assaulted my senses and I could hear my PipBuck clicking madly.

The zebra ghoul stepped forward, still muttering and chanting in its strange language. He lifted a knife in his hoof, a curved wicked blade that was still covered in some poor soul's blood.

My eyes frantically searched for some way out, some way to stop this thing from sacrificing me to whatever dark things lived in that obelisk. I finally caught a glimpse of something shiny. Rocky's rifle. It was propped up against one of the minor obelisks with the rest of our stuff. The ghouls had taken great care with our gear, almost as if they knew the value of the weapons.

I didn't have time to ponder that revelation. I growled and thrashed under the two ghouls holding me down and reached out with my magic. Despite knowing how to strip us of our weapons, these ghouls forgot one minor detail about unicorns. Disabling a unicorn's horn is key to disabling the unicorn as a combatant. It was rule number one of fighting them, courtesy of Mom.

My magic sputtered, but managed to grab a hold of the rifle. It lifted into the air, shakily but otherwise aloft. I grimaced as I started to squeeze the trigger.

The ghouls hissed and pushed me down harder, slamming my head against the cold wet stonework altar. My magic died completely, dropping the rifle to the ground with a clatter before I could even get a shot off.

Figures, I thought to myself. Should have known that plan was too easy to stop.

The zebra ghoul began to chant again as he lifted the knife into the air. Murder gleamed in his eyes. As he lowered the knife I started to struggle harder, trying to free myself.

Two metal hooves connected with the ghoul's head, showering crazy zebra ghoul brains all over the floor in a spectacular explosion of flesh. The leader ghoul slumped to the ground as the two ghouls holding me down began to hiss and snarl.

I looked up to see Coconut Cream Pie, in all her glory. Her visor was retracted and she looked like she was going to fall over at any moment, but yet she was standing.

“Let go of my friend!” she shouted. She reached back and swung hard, connecting with one of the ghouls on top of me, sending it flying.

“Coconut!” I exclaimed as I used my telekinesis to try and shove the other ghoul off. It seemed like it was a lot easier to do now that the leader had been dispatched. I jumped up from the altar and ran over to my friend, giving her a giant hug. “You're alright!”

“I'm not out of the woods yet,” Coconut replied with a cough. “We had to... had to wait until the ghouls weren't paying attention to us.”

I blinked, glancing past her. The others had extricated themselves from their chains and were collecting our gear. My eyes met Envy's cold stare. This had been her plan from the get go. Nearly let one of us get killed just so they could escape. I grimaced. I was starting to hate how she treated her companions.

“We have to get out of here,” Envy said. “On the way down here, we passed by a service tunnel. I suspect it will lead us out of this place.”

“Umm... what are we going to do about them?” Lightning said, pointing beyond the obelisk.

I glanced over in the direction he was pointing. Every ghoul in the place was hissing and growling, snapping as they inched towards us, conveniently blocking the stairway at the far end that led out of this hellish place. The obelisk in the center of the room howled, almost as if it were in pain. It was drawing the ghouls out from every part of the cavern right to us.

“We fight,” Rocky said, lifting his rifle and firing three rounds at the crowd of ghouls. “We fight, or we will perish here.”

“I don't feel like dying today,” Coconut said angrily as she bit down on the bit to her battle saddle. Her own rifle swung out and sprayed rounds into two approaching ghouls, turning them into paste. She panted loudly as she slumped back.

“Coconut!” I shouted. I grunted as I tried to help her up, but her power armor was far too heavy for me. I looked over at Rocky. “Rocky! I need your help with her!”

The minotaur nodded and made his way across, taking care to hit a few more ghouls on the way over. “I am not certain I will be able to lift her.”

“We have to try. We have to get her out of here,” I said, my eyes pleading with him. “I can try to lighten her with my telekinesis, but I'm not sure how long I can manage it.”

“I'm... I'm alright,” Coconut breathed. “Hit... hit the button on my PipBuck.”

I blinked, looking down at the mare's extended hoof. I studied it closely, noting that her power armor had some reserves of RadAway for direct injection. It wasn't much, but it was enough. I hit the button and Coconut sighed as she managed to get to four hooves.

“Thanks,” she said. “But we should be going.”

“Yes, let's get out of here!” Lightning shouted. His twin rifles echoed throughout the chamber.

I nodded and walked over to where the body of the crazy zebra leader was. I lifted his knife with my magic. It was going to have to do. It seemed like my luck with weapons was atrocious, so maybe this one would stick around. I charged forward next to Coconut as we made our way across the cavern. Rocky took up the rear, keeping any ghouls off our tails.

It still didn't seem like enough. The ghouls were everywhere. They poured from every orifice of the cave, almost as if this whole place was coming down on us for killing the zebra ghoul. Several of the glowing ones were mixed in with the crowd. Their very presence seemed to bolster the lesser ghouls.

“Up the stairs!” Envy shouted, tearing a set of ghouls that were blocking our path in two with a swift strike of her bladed gauntlet. “Hurry!”

I swung out and slashed through the neck of one of the nearby ghouls with my new knife. Its blood splattered all over the ground as it fell. In the corner of my I kept close watch on Coconut. She was still up and moving, but I didn't know for how long. How much radiation had she absorbed down here? Furthermore, why was it affecting her the worst and not the rest of us?

“Starry! Look out!” Rocky called out.

I blinked, shaking away my thoughts. One of the glowing ghouls had gotten close enough to try and take a swing at me. I jumped to the side and led my knife through the air with a burst of telekinesis. It hit home, taking the ghoul's eye with it. The creature howled before being put down by a quick burst of Rocky's rifle fire.

“Thanks!” I exclaimed, giving the minotaur a little smile.

“You are welcome,” he replied simply.

I grimaced. He's not still mad at me about earlier is he? I thought to myself. I mean... he accepted my apology.

“There are too many of them,” I said to him, trying to break the ice again.

“Yes. It appears the death of their leader has sent them into a frenzy,” Rocky said as he ushered me onto the stairs behind the others. “I will watch your rear. Hurry now.”

I admit, I hadn't exactly heard him right over the noise, but I blushed fiercely anyways. He caught my expression and his eyes narrowed.

“That... that wasn't what I meant,” he said.

“I-I-I know,” I stuttered. “Look, I'm sorry about before. You're not still mad at me are you?”

“Is this really the time?” Coconut said from next to me. She huffed and panted as we ascended the stairs. “Seriously, if you want to ask him out on a date at least wait until you're out of mortal peril.”

I blushed harder. “Coco! Not cool!”

“I hate to break up this little friendly spat, but we must keep going,” Rocky said. “I am going to try and cause a little trouble for our enemies once we get to the top.”

I blinked. “Alright, come on Coco. Let's catch up to Envy and Lightning.” I grabbed her close and started walking up to where the others were.

Envy and Lightning waited at the top of the stairs, where the zebra was pointing out the service tunnel she had seen. The hallways ahead were clear of any ghouls. They had all been down in the caverns it appeared.

Probably because they were going to sacrifice you to whatever things lived in that obelisk, I thought.

Rocky grunted as grasped onto the sides of the metal staircase. His claws dug in and he ripped them to shreds, dropping the metal and debris down the stairs. It slammed into the ghouls trying to climb the staircase, causing a domino effect that dropped many of the horde below. Rocky stood for a moment and lifted his rifle, raining armor piercing death down into the ghouls.

“Hurry, to the tunnel!” Envy said, pointing down the next hallway.

The tunnel branched off from the next section, leading to a set of stairs that went up. A set of metal doors sat at the top of the stairs, blocking our access. Envy trotted over and hit a switch on the wall, which caused them to retract. Rocky caught up with us as we made our up the stairs and into the room above.

“Quickly, we must close the doors,” he said.

“Wait, let me do something first,” I said. I reached out with my magic and ripped the outside switch out of the wall. I dropped it to the ground where it lay sparking. “Do it.”

Envy tagged the switch above, slamming the doors shut. She quickly dragged over one of the metal desks in the room and pushed it on top of them to hold them closed. After several long minutes of silence, the sounds of pounding and gnashing hit the other side.

“That should hold the ghouls for a while,” Rocky said.

The pounding ceased. It seemed that even psychotic ghouls knew when they couldn't get to a target, well enough to just give up.

I panted loudly and turned to take in our surroundings. We were in a power station control room, covered in switches and dials and status lights. Likely it was connected to the main Hoofwich Building, but given the amount of time we spent underground, I wasn't sure. A rim of light emitted from underneath the door at the far end. I trotted over and threw it open and breathed a sigh of relief.

Fresh air assaulted my nostrils, the Sun's sweet sweet rays causing everything beyond to glimmer brightly in the light. The outside world had never smelled sweeter. I took a step outside. I didn't recognize the part of the city we were in, but I didn't care. We'd made it. We'd gotten out. We'd...

“Coconut!” I heard Lightning shout.

I glanced back to see my friend doubled over on her side. I galloped over to her. Her visor was retracted and she was breathing hard. I grabbed her hoof with my magic and pulled up her radiation counter on her PipBuck. The readings were well over seven hundred rads. Coconut slumped over further. She coughed, hacking up fluid onto the ground before us.

“No... no Coco. Stay with us. Come on, it'll be fine,” Lightning said. “We need to get her to a doctor!”

“I'm... fine...” Coconut coughed out. “Just... help me up...”

“We must get her out of her power armor,” Envy said. “We can't carry her in the state she's in now.”

“Wait. Lightning. You know this city. There's bound to be patrols around. You need to go find one and bring them here,” I said calmly. “They'll be able to help her.”

“But... what about Coconut?” he said. “Starry, she's going to die!”

“She'll be fine, Bro. We'll keep her company. Now go, hurry, before she does die,” I said.

Lightning grimaced, but he finally nodded. “I'll be back as soon as I can.” His wings spread and he launched from the side of the building into the sky. Soon, he was a speck in the distance.

I looked down at Coconut. She was coughing and hacking up blood. I looked back out at the city. “Hurry, Lightning. For all our sakes, please hurry.”

Author's Note

Holy crap this chapter took a while to write! I had a heck of a time progressing through this because I wanted it to be a fun little side jaunt on our way back to Mom but also a long enough that it felt worthwhile. I certainly hope it did. It was fun to write, and we're progressing along nicely I feel.

The real question? Why does radiation not affect our plucky young Starry and Lightning? The answer is... MAGIC. Just kidding. We’ll be addressing that bit soon. Stay tuned!

Anyways, super huge thanks to Wirepony, McMesser, and Heartshine as always for stabbing my stuff like raw meat and turning it into awesome. You guys are the coolest.

Again, I'm going to plug my Patreon account. I really could use the support. I love writing, and I love producing content, so if you are enjoying what you are seeing and you want to give, then by all means, please do. Or, if you are of the mind of giving one-time, I do accept donations through PayPal. Just contact me through PM for details on this.

Chapter Five: The Hard Part

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Five: The Hard Part

Nothing can prepare you for the hard parts of life. One must live through them and survive.

Mom always tried her best while we were growing up to prepare us for the worst of ponykind. The raiders and slavers, the bad ponies who would kill you as soon as look at you. She tried to impart her wisdom as best as she could, and we tried our best to learn.

But in reality, all the textbook knowledge in the world doesn't amount to the life experiences we share with others. Nothing in the world could have prepared me to deal with Coconut, hacking up blood and suffering painful radiation sickness. I just didn't know what to do.

I was going to have to learn the hard way.

* * *

An hour passed. Coconut's coughing had subsided, thanks to an old bottle of water we found in the power station's break room. She was laying on a makeshift bed roll, sleeping. We had removed her from her power armor and set it gently against the side wall. We were all silent as we did what little we could to care for her until Lightning returned with help.

“It's been too long,” Rocky said, breaking the silence. “He should have been back by now.”

“He'll be back,” I said softly. I fixed my eyes on the city outside. It was silent as well. Too silent. I didn't like it.

A thump from the other side of the room snapped me out of my thoughts. Since our escape from the ghouls and Lightning's departure, they had tested the door from the tunnel into the power station several times. Every few minutes, they would rattle on it before giving up again. Envy had moved a few of the station's terminals over onto the door, adding more weight to hold it closed just in case.

I tried to ignore the thumping and instead focused on Coconut. She was asleep, but feverish and sweaty. It was weird, but I found myself worrying about whether or not she'd turn into one of those crazy ghouls like the zebra she killed. I shook the thought away. Radiation took time to turn somepony into a ghoul. A lot of time. But then... why did the zebra on the audio recordings say his father had become one? How long ago did those recordings take place? How long ago did he become one himself?

I took a deep breath. It didn't matter. Coconut wasn't going to become a ghoul. She'd just sucked up a bunch of rads and needed a doctor. Rest would certainly help with that. I had to hope it was enough until Lightning got back.

I sighed and turned to my PipBuck. The automap function confirmed that we were indeed several miles away from the Hoofwich Building's marked location. The tunnel we had come through must have extended underneath part of the city. The automap had managed to snag a name for the building we were in now, the aptly named “Power Station MX-ZQ128.” Highly inventive in their building names, those prewar ponies were.

I stood. I couldn't just sit and wait for Lightning to get back. I had to explore, to find out if there was anything else around that could help Coconut, at least to help tide things over until Lightning did get back.

“I'm going to poke around some of the other rooms, see if there's anything around that might help,” I said aloud.

“Rock Thresher. Go with her,” Envy said as she looked up from her sitting position. “I will remain here and watch over young Coconut.”

Rocky nodded as he moved to join me. He left his rifle next to Envy. It wouldn't do much good in these close quarters anyways.

I grimaced. I had sort of hoped to go off by myself, but there was no point in arguing. I was also worried still that Rocky was upset with me over what I'd said earlier. I strode over to the nearest door at the far end of the room and pushed it open. It was emblazoned with an equal sign. I paid little attention as I entered the room.

It appeared to be an office of some sorts, likely for the employees of the power station. A long broken water cooler sat along the wall, two skeletons lying next to it. Poor ponies never even knew what had hit them. Above the cooler were several posts, carefully set out to appear “fun.” EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL read one of them, adorned with the image of several smiling young ponies. They looked a little too happy.

I continued on with Rocky trailing behind me, my minotaur companion staying deathly silent as I rummaged through the desks in each cubicle. I really wasn't sure what I was looking for yet, mostly just hoping that somepony had been smart enough to stash some RadAway in a drawer for a rainy day. Mostly I just wanted to let my mind rest after the events of the past couple days. My thoughts drifted back to Mom. Was she still okay? How long would it take for her heart to just give up? I didn't even want to think about that inevitability.

I closed another desk drawer and sighed loudly. Either somepony had been here already, or these ponies just hadn't stored anything in their desks. In fact, each and every desk had pretty much the same setup, the same things in their drawers, and even the same notes attached to their boards. Messages like You can't have a nightmare if you never dream and Cutie Marks = Inequality gave me the shivers. Just what kind of company was this?

“Starry?” I heard Rocky's mechanical voice echo from behind me.

“Yeah?” I asked, sighing again. Here it comes, I thought to myself. The old 'I don't like you that way but I think we should just be friends' speech. Not like there was anything there to begin with I suppose. Just me and my stupid filly crushes.

“Are you alright? You seem... troubled,” Rocky said. His voice sounded genuinely concerned.

I blinked and turned back to him “I... I just want to help Coconut, that's all,” I said with a hesitation. I hadn't expected him to say something like that. “But it looks like this place has been picked clean already.”

“That's not it,” Rocky said. “I understand how much you wish to save your friend, but that's not what you're upset about.”

Dammit! Can he like, read my mind or something! I screamed inside my head.

“I'm fine. Look, let's try the next room. Maybe there's a maintenance closet with a first aid kit or something around here,” I said shortly, turning away and heading to the door at the far end of the room. It too, had the same equal sign on the door.

Rocky fell silent and followed behind me as I pushed open the door. The next room looked very much like the first room. In fact, it was exactly the same, right down to the posters above the water cooler.

“Alright, officially creeped out by this place,” I said aloud. “Not creepier than that building full of ghouls, but still pretty creepy.”

“I must admit, I am confused by the construction of this power station as well,” Rocky said from next to me. “Were ponies from before the war always like this?”

“No... this is pretty special, even for us,” I said. A cursory glance of the room revealed that every cubicle was the same as the last room. “We might as well head back. I don't think we're going to find anything here.”

Rocky hesitated and pointed at the other side of the room. “What about that door?”

I followed where he was pointing. The door on the other end of the room was different only in that it had a sign that said OVERSEER. I blinked. What, like a Stable Overseer? Probably not the same thing. Probably just means their boss, I thought to myself. “Seems like its worth a shot. But if it's another row of exact same cubicles, I'm heading back to check on Coconut.”

“Fair enough,” Rocky replied.

I trotted over to the door and pushed it open. The office was extremely neat, with absolutely no dust or debris to speak of. A plain utilitarian desk sat in the middle, along with a terminal sitting on top of it. In the far corner a metal tube extended from the ceiling to the floor. A security robot could be seen beyond its glass window. Sitting next to the desk was a safe.

“This looks promising,” I said aloud as I made my way over to the terminal. “Keep a watch while I try to open this thing up, okay?”

Rocky nodded, closing the door behind him. He stood just close enough that I could hear his breathing through his speaker.

I shook my head and turned my attention to the terminal. It was still active. I tapped a few keys and got a login prompt on it. I grimaced, racking my brain for anything about terminal hacking. It was a skill Mom had tried to teach us before, but it wasn't something that was high on her list of 'must-haves.' Hacking was something better left to the brainy ponies Mom had always said. I considered asking Rocky for assistance, but I honestly doubted he knew anything about hacking terminals either.

I thought for a few seconds and tapped in a password. Equality, I thought. That should do it. Except it didn't. The machine blared an Access Denied warning at me and returned to the prompt. I growled under my breath and glanced over at Rocky.

“Try connecting your PipBuck to it,” the minotaur replied simply as he walked over to hover over my shoulder.

I nodded and pulled the cable out of the PipBuck's slot, attaching it to the port on the terminal. Immediately, the terminal rebooted into an environment that showed characters, both numbers and letters on the screen.

“Good. Now one of the phrases here should be the password,” Rocky said from behind me.

I scanned through the jumbling of words and numbers, until I saw a phrase that kind of made some sense. Cutie-markless, it said. I punched it in and was met with the warm glow of an Access Granted message. “Uh... thanks,” I said softly.

“You're welcome,” Rocky said. He moved back to watching the door.

I watched him for a moment before returning my attention to the terminal. I was having a heck of a time figuring him out. It really seemed like he wanted to open up and be friendly, so why did this feel so awkward to me? I sighed aloud and started fiddling with the options on the terminal. There wasn't much, just reports on power maintenance and an audio message. I downloaded it to my PipBuck and set it to play while I hunted for the option to unlock the safe. A mare's voice came over my earbloom, set atop a jaunty little marching tune.

“Today, we stand upon the precipice of a brave new world! A world where all ponies, and all zebras can live in harmony. An equal world. A world without the oppression of the Ministries or Luna's rule.

Already, Equality Incorporated has managed to secretly acquire most of the power infrastructure companies within nearly eighty percent of Equestria's major cities. Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Chicacolt. We are everywhere. We have even brokered deals with the zebra nations, offering to provide power to them in the event of… a crisis.

In short, mares and gentlecolts, we are the future. I promise to you that coming soon our new world will be a reality. We will be free of the chains that cutie marks have placed on our lives. By shedding those chains, we can live free as we were always meant to be.

The day of reckoning is coming soon. I ask all of Equality Incorporated to stand up when that day does come. Stand up, and proclaim your independence! Stand up and stand with us, equal to the core.”

I blinked for several seconds. Prewar ponies were seriously fucked in the head. Free of the chains of cutie marks? What kind of drugs was this pony on? I shrugged and kept searching the terminal menus. I finally found the option to unlock the safe, hearing a soft click coming from the container as I pressed the button.

“Got it,” I said aloud. “Let's see what this pony had to hide.” I stood and walked over to the safe. The door swung open with ease, revealing its contents.

My ears pinned back. There wasn't much of anything in the safe that would help us in the immediate future. There was a book about cutie marks, which I filed into my saddlebags. In addition, there were a few Wingboner magazines and some caps. I rooted deeper into the safe and pulled out the final item the safe had kept locked up. It was a soft velvet box. Opening it, my eyes widened. A crystal orb sat inside, glistening in the light.

“What is it?” Rocky said.

I grimaced, closing the box. “Nothing much. A memory orb, some magazines, and a book. Don't suppose you like Wingboner do you?” I lifted the magazines with my magic.

“I... You can keep those,” Rocky said hastily. I could have sworn he was blushing. “Might be worth something to someone.”

“Right. Well, if you'd like to borrow them, you know where they'll be,” I said, flashing a grin as I stowed them away into my saddlebags. “But still, nothing that's going to help Coconut.”

Rocky placed his claw on my shoulder. “Your brother will return with help. He is impetuous, but I know that she means a lot to him. I could see it in his eyes.”

I nodded. “Lightning has always had a little bit of a thing for Coconut. I can never tell if she's just messing with him or if she really likes him back, though. I'm... not really good at that sort of thing, to be honest.”

“We should probably get back. Maybe he's back by now,” Rocky said. His change of the subject was clear as mud to me.

“Right,” I said. I stood and lifted the box containing the memory orb. I placed it inside my bags as well and nodded. “I'm ready to go.”

I took one step and froze. The metal tube in the far corner started to lift up, revealing the security robot inside. It was pony-shaped, unicorn to be precise. Its eyes were a deep red and at the end of each hoof was a wheel that it could move around on.

“Intruder. Intruder. Please identify yourself and prepare to be destroyed,” it said as it rolled out of the tube. It's front chest panel opened to reveal several energy weapons.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. I knew that it had been too good to be true. I lifted my new knife in the air with my magic. The only thing that Mom had ever taught me about robots was that they sucked.

Rocky roared in reply, leaping forward to slash at the security bot. He struck it square in the face, sending it rocking backwards into the wall. The robot retaliated, firing a bolt of pure red energy that just barely grazed the minotaur. Rocky clutched his side in pain.

I released the knife, sending it flying through the air where it found purchase in the robot's right eye. Sparks flew as the robot turned to try and fire at me next. I yelped and jumped behind the desk. The robot's blast hit and turned the desk and the terminal sitting on it into a pile of steaming slag.

Rocky took advantage of the opportunity and slashed into the robot's chest, tearing its laser weapons into tiny pieces. The robot, looking like it couldn't decide which of us was the greater threat, finally turned back to the raging minotaur. Rocky struck, using its hesitation against it as his claw went through the robot's neck. Rocky pulled hard, ripping servos and cabling free. The robot stumbled and went down, sputtering as it died.

I stood from behind the desk and grimaced. I reached out and pulled the knife from its eye using my magic and placed it back in my pocket. “Thanks. Are you alright?”

“I was barely hit,” Rocky said, lifting his hand from where the robot had blasted him.

My eyes widened. Rocky's wound wasn't bad, but the robot's blast had certainly burnt his coat away. Underneath melted skin I could see sparking electronics. What looked like blood marred the electrical components, but it didn't look like the wound was bleeding at all. I rummaged around in my saddlebags for a bandage.

“Yeah, well you're just lucky it didn't hit you full on. Look at the damage even a minor blast from that thing did. Let's get you bandaged up and get back to camp,” I said, lifting the bandage in my magic.

“I am fine,” Rocky protested. He started to turn away.

I reached out with my magic and caught him with it. “Oh no you don't, Mister. At least let me put a bandage on it. It'll help it heal and it won't snag on anything.” I lowered the bandage onto the wound and placed a layer of adhesive on it to hold it into place. Mom had at least taught me basic field medicine, even if it didn't include patching up cybernetic minotaurs. Unfortunately, that was the extent of our medical training. I didn't know how to do much more than that.

“I... I never wished for this, you know,” Rocky said softly as I finished applying the adhesive.

My eyes met his. “Wished for what?”

“This body. The things inside me. I... I did not wish to be this way,” he said.

“What happened?” I asked, chancing that he would give me an answer.

“The Cult of Iron Will is not gracious to its gladiators. They treat the losers and the winners both, replacing parts of their bodies with cybernetics so that the games can continue,” Rocky replied.

“Is that what happened to you? You were a gladiator?” I said.

He nodded. “I was the loser. I sometimes wonder if there's any piece left of me that's real.”

“I... I thought you didn't like talking about this,” I said.

“I don't know why... but I feel like I can trust you, Starry,” Rocky said. “You are... a friend. Mistress is always telling me that I should make more of them.”

I chuckled softly. “Yeah... Mom always told me the same thing actually.”

“You are quite close to your mother,” Rocky stated.

“Mom... she tried her best to train us, to make us ready for whatever we would have to face out here,” I said. I grimaced. “I don't know that it did much to prepare me for what's happening to Coconut. That ghoul down there in those caves, it was the same zebra that was on the tapes I found. That place made him into a ghoul. What if... what if the same thing happens to Coconut?”

“Then we'll figure it out,” Rocky said. “That is what friends are supposed to do for each other, right?”

I sighed and nodded. “I guess you're right. We'd better get back to Envy and the camp. Maybe there's some sign of Lightning.” At least, I'd hoped there was a sign of him. I didn't feel right in the first place leaving Envy alone with Coconut. Something kept nagging at me that she wasn't on the up and up, ever since being down in those caverns.

Rocky followed as we headed back through the eerily similar offices. I pushed open the door leading back into the power station and narrowed my gaze at Envy. She was standing over Coconut, grimacing. I followed her gaze. Coconut was still asleep it seemed, but there was more blood on the floor. She appeared to be breathing better. I grimaced and pulled out the knife I'd pulled from the zebra ghoul with my magic. It felt... comforting somehow to hold it.

“She had another coughing fit. I did what I could to help alleviate it with the water, but we are running low,” Envy said softly. “We must consider our options if your brother has been captured or worse.”

I raised an eyebrow. So here it was. I had known it was coming. “Our options are saving Coconut. That's it.”

“Starry, you have to consider what will happen if she undergoes ghoulification like the zebra below that building,” Envy said.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know about that?”

“I was able to reasonably work that out, yes. If Coconut becomes a ghoul, do you think she's going to be able to retain her sanity for long? Most ghouls had years to acclimate to what they were, she'd be turned into one in a matter of hours. Who's to say what that will do to her mind?” Envy said.

“So what, we kill her? Put her out of her misery before it gets to that point?” I said angrily.

“I...” Envy started to say.

“I know how you operate, Envy. You're all about 'acceptable measures' and sacrifices. You'd as soon as let all of us die if it meant you saved your own skin,” I said. I'd had enough of Envy. I didn't know why, but I just let the words I'd been bottling up inside myself just start coming out.

“Starry...” Rocky said.

“No, Rocky. She's been playing this game from the beginning with us,” I said. I lifted the knife into the air. “She doesn't even care about helping us. She probably doesn't even care if my Mom dies or not. Hell, it was probably her idea to send her fucking son after MY MOTHER in the first place.”

“I did no such thing,” Envy argued. “I was not responsible for what happened to your mother.”

“Starry,” Rocky said. “Put down the knife. Please.”

“No. I saw her eyes when Coconut saved me from the ghoul. She's responsible for letting Coconut soak up that much radiation in the first place,” I said, gesturing with the knife to make my point. “Now she wants me to kill my best friend without even trying to fix her!”

“No... I just want you to be ready to do what is necessary if she becomes a feral ghoul,” Envy said. “That is the reality of the situation.”

“Shut up,” I said, pointing the knife at her. “Shut up! I don't want to hear it! We're going to save Coconut, and that's it!”

“S-S-Stop...” Coconut said from below Envy. She coughed loudly and her voice sounded cracked. “Please... don't fight...”

My eyes widened and I dropped the knife to the ground. Immediately I felt like some weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt... weird. “Coconut? Are you alright?” I said as I rushed to her side.

She sighed loudly and coughed again. She met my eyes and nodded. “Feels... feels like my insides are cooked up and ready to be served on a silver platter.”

“Don't worry, Lightning went to go get help,” I said. “He's going to come back and you're going to be just fine.”

Coconut coughed, a trickle of blood coming out of the side of her mouth. “Starry, you need to do me a favor... Please...”

“What is it?” I asked frantically. “What do you want me to do?”

“If it does come to that, you must do the right thing,” she said, wheezing loudly. “If I turn... turn into a raving ghoul... I want you to do it.”

I blinked. I shook my head fiercely. “No, I can't. I can't do that. I won't let it come to that.”

“And if it does?” Envy said. “What do you expect will happen then? She will try to kill us.”

“I'm not going to let that happen!” I yelled. Tears filled my eyes. “I... I can't do that to you!”

“You have to...” Coconut said, coughing again loudly. “Starry please... listen to them... you can't be fighting over me... I'm a goner anyways... I need it to be you... I want it to be you...”

“No, no you're not!” I shouted, returning my attention to her. “You're going to be alright! Just stay with us until Lightning gets back. He's coming back with medicine to fix you!”

Coconut heaved loudly. “I think it's too late... for that.” She turned to the side and her eyes closed again. She stopped moving.

“Coconut.... Coconut? Come on, Coco... don't do this to me! You're my friend! Please, stay with me!” I blubbered. Tears flowed freely from my eyes. “Lightning's coming back! Come on, don't you die on me!”

A claw placed itself on my shoulder. “Starry,” Rocky said. “She's...”

“Leave me alone! She's going to be fine! She has to be!” I yelled. I shrugged his claw away and returned my attention to Coconut. I listened carefully, hearing the barest amount of breath coming from her. “She's still breathing, she's still breathing! Just barely, but she's still there!”

I had to do something to help her, but what could I do? I was not a medical pony by any definition of the term. I couldn't perform any kind of field work even if I had any idea of what I was supposed to do. Mom had never really prepared for something like this, probably because all the radiation was gone. And now, here I was faced with it, and I couldn't do anything to help. I felt useless.

“Hey kid, listen up,” a voice said through the static of my earbloom from my PipBuck. “You wanna save your friend, you listen to me.”

My ears perked up. The voice was jarring enough to pull my attention away from Coconut. “Who... who are you?” I said aloud.

“Who are you talking to?” Rocky said, his eyes narrowing at me.

“Never mind that kid. Listen, you want to save your friend, right?” the voice said. “I can help. Just pay attention to what I'm going to tell you.”

I looked up at both Envy and Rocky. “Somepony is talking on my earbloom. Says he can help us.”

“That's right. Your brother was in luck, finding my crew. He's on his way back with some RadAway, but it will be some time before he gets there. In the meantime, I tuned into your frequency. Your friend, she's having trouble breathing, right?” the voice replied.

I blinked. “How did...?” How did he know that Coconut wasn't breathing right?

“I've been listening for a little bit,” the voice said. “Now listen. You gotta do exactly what I say, when I say it. Got it?”

“I... I got it,” I said aloud.

“Good. Now, do you have a knife on hand? Something other than the wavy looking thing laying on the ground across from you,” the voice said.

I glanced over at the knife on the ground. Could this pony see us somehow? It didn't make any sense! “Umm...”

“Look, ask the zebra for one of hers. Straight knife. See if you can rustle up a straw too. You still have bandages, right?” the voice said.

I grimaced and glanced up at Envy. “He says I need one of your straight knives, a straw, and some bandages.”

“There was some cups in the other room with some straws in them,” Rocky said, turning quickly and heading in that direction.

Envy lifted one of her knives out of her cloak and lifted it out for me to take with my magic. “This mystery pony is slightly unnerving.”

“I agree, but he says he can help us save Coconut. I'm willing to take the chance,” I said as I took the knife. I returned my attention to the voice. “Got a knife and the bandages. Waiting on the straw.”

Rocky chose that moment to pop back into the room. A couple paper straws of varying lengths and colors rested in his claws. “I didn't know how long of one you needed so I just grabbed as many of them as I could find.”

“Good, good,” the voice said in my ear. “Grab the blue straw, the one with the bend on it. Now, you're gonna need some help with this next part. Your minotaur friend is going to need to hold her down, and the zebra needs to be ready to apply pressure.”

“What? What are we going to do?” I asked aloud.

“Listen, your friend isn't breathing because there's a blockage. So we need to create a way for air to enter another way,” the voice replied. “Basically we're going to punch a hole for air to come in on.”

I blinked. “Umm... he says that Rocky needs to come help hold her down. Envy, you need to come with the bandages and be ready to apply pressure...” I didn't know if this was the right thing to do or not, but I didn't have any time to doubt or second guess. Coconut's life was in peril, and if this could give her some time until Lightning got back, I was going to try it. My mind couldn't shake the nagging feeling as to how the voice knew all these things. It didn't make any sense.

Rocky nodded and made his way over to rest his powerful claws on Coconut's body. Envy dropped to the ground next to me.

“I am not sure I trust this voice,” she muttered.

I ignored her jab, coming from the zebra that’d been all ready to kill Coconut on the mere chance that she might turn into some sort of crazed feral ghoul. Instead, I focused on Coconut.

“Alright... now you've gotta feel around her neck. You should feel something hard. Do you feel it?” the voice continued.

I did as the voice said, feeling a hard lump along Coconut's neck line, close to her throat. “Yeah. I feel it. What is that?”

“Radiation does all sorts of weird things to a pony, but one thing that's pretty common is mutations of preexisting conditions,” the voice said. “Your friend probably had some sort of issue like tonsillitis as a filly, right?”

I blinked. I did vaguely remember that Coconut had something done when she was younger. I remembered it because she had to be stuck inside Theater for at least a few weeks in bed.

“Yeah, thought so. That lump is a hard piece of flesh that's solidified in her throat. It's preventing her from getting air,” the voice said. “I want you to poke a hole below that lump and make what amounts to an air hole.”

My eyes widened. “Umm... and then what?”

“You're gonna take the straw and insert it into the hole. Use whatever you can to soak up the blood and bandage it all down. Once that's done and she's breathing we can work on excising that lump out of her throat,” the voice said.

“I... I can't do this... I'm not a medical pony!” I shouted a little too loudly.

“You have to,” the voice said. “Listen, kid. You can do this. Just do what I'm telling you. Your friend is going to be just fine. I have faith in you.”

I grimaced and nodded. I wiped the sweat from my brow. Whoever he was, he was right. I needed to be strong for Coconut. I had promised her I wasn't going to let her die, and I wasn't about to give up on that promise. I looked over at Envy. “Get ready to apply pressure. I'm making the cut now,” I said.

The zebra only nodded silently as I lifted the straight blade in my magic. I gulped loudly. Alright... here goes... one... two... three! I thought as I brought the knife down hard, punching a clean hole through Coconut's neck. Blood spurted up as I pulled the knife out. Shit... there's so much blood... where's the hole, where's the hole?! I thought with a panic. Coconut spasmed, requiring Rocky to hold her even tighter down.

“Pressure!” I shouted. “I need to find the hole!”

Envy responded by pressing down hard where I'd brought down the knife. She cleaned up quickly, revealing the clean little hole that I'd made.

I lifted the straw and inserted it as best as I could into the hole before anymore blood could seep out. “How will I know that it's working? I'm inserting the straw now.”

“Insert the straw as far as it will go. Bandage it down. Her breathing should start to self-regulate,” the voice said. “You're doing well, Starry. You just need to focus.”

I grimaced. This pony even knew my name. I considered briefly that maybe Lightning had told him, but I knew my brother. He'd have been in panic mode just asking for RadAway so his friends could use it. So then, how did this pony know who I was?

I shrugged the thoughts away, and began wrapping the gauze and bandages around the wound, leaving the straw pointed out so that the air could get into it. My eyes dropped to Coconut's barrel. Instead of the subtle movements it had done before, it started actually moving up and down like a normal pony's would when breathing. Coconut's eyes weakly opened and they met mine. She tried to smile.

“Alright, I think her breathing is fine now. What's next?” I said to the voice.

“We need to cut that lump of flesh out of her throat,” the voice replied casually. “I warn you, this is not going to be pretty. We're gonna try and get you through this without too much damage to her wind pipe, but there's always the chance that she might not be able to talk for a while.”

“How am I supposed to do this?” I said, wiping the blood from the knife with a nearby bandage.

“You're going to make an incision along the lump of flesh and essentially carve it out. It's likely going to look like blackened char of some sort. Irradiated flesh is never good looking,” the voice said.

I gulped loudly and brought the knife down to Coconut's throat where the hard lump was. As soon as I touched the knife to her coat, I felt the lump squirm underneath. I blinked.

“Umm... it just moved,” I said aloud.

Envy's eyes narrowed as she followed where I held the knife. The lump on Coconut's throat was definitely moving. She did not look happy about that at all.

“Shit, I forgot about this part,” I heard the voice on the other end mutter under is breath. He didn't sound happy. “Just need to deal with this... Alright, stay calm. Make the incision and get ready to kill it. It's not going to be happy with you intruding on its host.”

My eyes widened. “Host? What the fuck does that mean?” I asked.

“Do you want to save your friend's life or not?” the voice replied. “Just trust me. You have to get that thing out of there, or your friend is not going to make it through this alive.”

I grimaced and brought the knife to bear again on the lump. I still wasn't sure if I really trusted this pony or not, but he had a point. Coconut's life was in danger, and I needed to do something about it. I lowered the knife into the squirming mass and made a quick decisive slice. Coconut's flesh gave way to whatever was inside.

Some thing poured out of the incision. It was bloody and covered in some sort of green slime. It looked almost exactly like one of those things that I'd seen carved into the obelisk down in those Goddess-forsaken tunnels. It had tentacles where there shouldn't be any and what looked like no eyes at all. A mouth containing a row of razor sharp teeth emerged from its mass. It howled and screeched as it detached itself from Coconut's body.

“What in the Sorrel Hells is that?” Envy said, echoing the sentiment of both myself and Rocky.

“Kill it!” I shouted, reaching out with my magic to hold Coconut's torn throat together as best as I could.

The thing lunged forward at me, its teeth glistening in the dark. I couldn't stop it, I was too busy focusing on Coconut. It landed on my shoulder and bit in. I screamed as its teeth dug in. Pain shot through my sides. I could barely keep the magic I was pouring out going.

“Starry? What's going on? Are you alright?” the voice said in my ear.

A claw shot out and grabbed a hold of the creature. Rocky roared as he tossed it across the room. It hit the wall with a resounding *SPLAT*.

“Deal with Coconut, I will take care of this,” he said, snarling.

I grimaced and returned my attention to Coconut. My shoulder still burned heavily with pain, making it hard to focus on the incision. Blood poured from it en masse. Coconut began to spasm more, adding to the difficulty of keeping her still.

“Starry! Are you alright?” the voice in my ear shouted.

“I'm fine, I'm fine. What do I do? She's bleeding everywhere!” I replied. I could hear Rocky in the background growling as whatever that thing was made its own awful sound.

“Don't panic. We just need to sew up the incision before she bleeds out. Is her throat clear, can you see?” the voice said.

I lowered my hoof and began to feel around Coconut's neck. It was slick with blood, but I could no longer feel any blockage. “Yeah... it's clear.”

“Alright. You're going to need to hold the incision together, and I want you to cauterize it with your magic,” the voice said.

“You want me to do what?!” I exclaimed. “I can't do that! I've never cast that kind of spell before!”

Rocky roared loudly. The thing that had been inside Coconut continued to make the same sound. Whatever the thing was, it was resilient. I heard the minotaur throw the creature against the wall again. It cried out horrifically.

“Trust me on this. You can do it. It's just like telekinesis. Wrap the incision in your magic, and then concentrate on speeding up the flow of magic. In your mind, envision flame,” the voice said.

I looked down at Coconut, her eyes fluttering open and close as she spasmed underneath us. I lowered my horn and directed my telekinesis to the incision on her neck. Holding the two flaps of skin together, I tried to do what the voice in my ear was telling me. Come on... speed up the flow... flame, come on flame! I thought to myself. The glow of the magic began to gradually get brighter and eventually became white hot. I... I did it! I thought, my eyes widening.

Coconut howled in pain as the fire melted her flesh together. I held the fire there for several seconds before letting the magic die out. The incision was charred, but her skin was intact. Coconut stopped spasming and simply laid there, breathing heavily. Her eyes fluttered up and met mine. A weak smile formed on her mouth. I grunted and began panting hard myself. Using that much magic was certainly going to hit me in the morning.

“You're gonna be alright,” I said softly. “Lightning should be here soon.”

“Good job kid. I knew you could do it,” the voice said in my ear. “Now, I think you should probably help your minotaur friend with your unexpected visitor.”

“Right. Envy, watch over Coconut. I'm going to help Rocky,” I said shakily.

“Is that wise in your state?” Envy said.

I stood, choosing not to answer her. Rocky was still fighting that thing, whatever it was. It had managed to latch itself onto his arm, but due to his cybernetics was unable to actually hurt him. I stepped forward, reaching out with my telekinesis. My shoulder ached as I grabbed a hold of the monstrous creature with my magic and tossed it across the room. I held the beast there and began to do the same thing I'd done to Coconut's incision, speeding the magic up.

The monster began to glow brightly as the flame took hold. Its cries were the most horrific thing I'd ever heard. It crumpled on the floor, its viscous body popping and crackling under the fire's heat. Eventually it stopped moving.

“Thank you,” Rocky said. “Where did you learn that?”

“I... I don't...” I said as my eyes rolled back up into my head and I fell over, passing out from the pain and exhaustion.

* * *

I came awake to a swinging sensation and a headache that could make even a brahmintaur cry. I was moving. Or rather, I was being moved. I was on a stretcher of some sort. I craned my neck to see who was moving me. A unicorn pony I didn’t recognize wearing a delightfully familiar MMMM uniform paced along next to the stretcher, moving it along with his magic.

“Whoa, easy now there, little miss,” the unicorn said. “Don't try and move too much. You've been through quite a bit.”

“Where...?” I managed to croak out.

“You're headed on your way back home, Miss Night,” the unicorn said. “Just lay back and relax. You'll feel a lot better if you do.”

I grunted in retort, but grudgingly accepted that he was right. I'd passed out after dealing with Coconut. Coconut! I thought to myself. “My... my friends...?”

“They're alright. Miss Cream Pie is recovering right alongside you,” the unicorn said. “What you did, that was something alright.”

I rotated my head in the other direction and saw Coconut. She was on the stretcher next to me, asleep. Walking next to her was Lightning. His eyes drifted and met mine. Within seconds he had moved and was hovering over me.

“Hey,” he said. “You're awake.”

“Hi...you're... late... butthead,” I managed to say with a weak smile.

Lightning let out a small grin. “You're lucky I got back when I did. What in the fuck was that thing that you killed?”

“Don't... don't know...” I said. The more I spoke, the easier it became to produce the words. “It... it was inside her.” I motioned at Coconut.

“That's what Envy said,” my brother replied. He grimaced and glanced back at Coconut. “Initial reports are that she's going to be alright, just minor vocal cord damage. Not really sure what that means yet. She might have a stutter, or she might just talk softly. Radiation levels have come down a lot. She's been asleep and on Med-X since you fixed her up. You did a good job, Sis.”

“What... what about the pony who supplied the... the RadAway?” I asked. “The one... on the radio...”

Lightning blinked. “Pony on the radio? What do you mean?”

“He said you found his... his crew...” I said. “Said he gave you RadAway.” I craned my neck so I could see my brother's face.

The look on it said it all. “I have no idea what you're talking about. I found a MMMM detachment that brought some medics with them.”

I scowled as best as I could. If Lightning hadn't actually met the pony that had helped me, then who was he? Why did he lie? How in the hell did he know so much about us? It hurt my brain thinking about it.

“Never mind,” I said. “How... how far away are we from home?”

“Close enough,” Lightning said. “Should be there in a half hour or so. You should rest. Rocky and Envy are guarding the caravan back.”

My gaze narrowed at my brother. “Watch her. She...”

“I know,” Lightning said, nodding.

I laid my head back and I rested. The subtle bob of the stretcher lulled me peacefully back into a form of sleep that I hadn't really had in the last couple days. True to my brother's word, I opened my eyes and saw home some time later. Standing out front of the entrance to Theater were Apple Danish, one of the heads of the MMMM and Lilith. I watched as they met the caravan.

“Lilith,” Envy said simply.

“Envy,” Lilith replied. “I hear that you ran into some trouble.”

“Trouble does not begin to define what these young ones have been through,” Envy said.

Lilith grimaced and nodded. She trotted over to my brother and I. She glanced down at Coconut, who still appeared to be asleep and sighed. “You three are very lucky to be alive. If we hadn't been tracking your PipBuck tags, it may have been too late.”

“Mom...?” I asked.

“Your mother is inside, resting. She too, has been through quite a lot. Let us hope this mission was not in vain,” the pegasus answered. Her eyes turned to the medics. “Take the unicorn to her mother's room to recuperate. Miss Cream Pie will be taken across the hall and is to be watched carefully while she recovers.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” the lead medic said. “Alright everypony, let's move out!”

The stretchers began to move again, toting us back into the relative safety of our home. Ponies popped their heads out as we passed by, watching with curious intent. Lilith stayed with us, her duties as security chief requiring her to escort Rocky and Envy as well. While she walked, we told her about everything that had happened since we had left.

The infirmary came up sooner than I had thought, and even sooner I was being brought into the room where Mom was and laid upon a bed next to hers. She appeared to be sleeping soundly. I could see Coconut across the hall being moved to her own bed. The others stayed behind in our room as the medics cleared out.

“I believe that I will remain guard outside,” Rocky said. “It may be a little too crowded in here.” He turned without any further words and left, just leaving Lightning, Envy, and Lilith.

Movement in the bed next to me drew my attention to Mom. She had stirred and was sitting up in bed. Her one good eye found Lightning and I and she sniffed loudly. A single tear stained her cheek.

“Starry? Lightning? You're... you're alright,” she said. “I thought...”

“We're okay, Mom,” Lightning answered for me. “A little worse for wear, but we're alive.”

“When they said you'd gone missing I... I didn't know what to do,” Mom said. “That being said, I can see that you were successful in the mission you were given.”

I chuckled throatily. Same old Mom, saving the sentimentality for last. I grunted as I pushed myself to a sitting position. “Yeah... we found Envy, just like you asked us.”

“These young ones had found themselves in a veritable pickle, Miss Patch,” Envy said. “They asked me to come here to see what I could do to help for your condition. We ran into some... complications along the way.”

I glared at her. After what had happened with Coconut, I still didn't trust her. She couldn't see how important friends and family were. If she had been able to, maybe Xerves would not have turned out so bad. Still, she was a necessary evil if she could help my mother live.

“The poison used by the assailant was very similar to poison you've used in the past,” Lilith said.

“Yes... as I explained to your children, the assailant was a zebra by the name of Xerves,” Envy said. “He is my son.”

Lilith's eyes widened. “Your what?! You mean to tell me that it was your son who attempted to kill Patch?”

“Calm down, Lilith,” Mom said. She appeared unfazed by this revelation. “Let her explain herself.”

“I am sorry for what has transpired, but my son was acting of his own accord. A contract was brought to us seeking your death, from the Cult of Iron Will. I refused the contract. Xerves sought the money, and thus accepted it without my knowledge or consent,” Envy explained.

“I see,” Mom said with a pause. She narrowed her gaze at Envy before looking to me. She sighed. “Well, at least you were able to keep my children safe. I do not blame you for the actions of your son. At the very least, I hope that you can help here.”

“I will do what I can, within my capabilities,” Envy replied.

“Good. I think that Starry here could do with some company of her own age while she recovers,” Mom said, motioning to me. “She can room with Miss Cream Pie across the hall.”

“But...” I started to say.

Mom glanced at me, shutting me up instantly. “I know that these past couple days have been hard on you, but you need to rest. Coconut needs you more than I do right now. Envy has to have time to review my condition, and there would be too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.” She waved at my brother.

I nodded solemnly as Lightning came over and helped wheel my bed out of the room, passing by a confused looking Rocky. Envy stayed behind with Lilith. They closed the door behind us as we exited. Mom was right, after all. I was worried about how Coconut was going to recover and being there for her was the best thing I could do at the moment.

“Are you planning on staying?” I asked Lightning as he wheeled the bed next to Coconut's.

“Of course,” he said, glancing over at her.

“She's going to be alright,” I said confidently. “She's strong.” I glanced down at my hooves. “Stronger than I am,” I muttered under my breath.

“I... I know,” Lightning said. “I just hope she gets better soon.”

I nodded and sighed loudly. “Well, if anything, all this rest is going to be great to heal up. My shoulder still aches like hell from where that thing bit me.”

“Does it actually hurt?” Lightning said.

“No... just a dull ache. Probably the Med-X wearing off. I'm sure it's nothing,” I said. “Did you bring my saddlebags in with us, by the way?”

“What, you want to look at the Wingboners?” Lightning said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Eww. No. You can have them. Better yet, give them to Rocky. He had a huge blush on his face when I found them,” I said, grinning widely. “No... the memory orb. Gives me something to do for a little while, and it technically counts as resting.”

Lightning nodded, pulling my bags out from underneath the bed. I grabbed the velvet box from inside and pulled it open. The memory orb glittered in the light.

“Are these things safe?” Lightning asked. “I mean, didn't Auntie Star use to have a lot of problems with them or something? She used to go on about them all the time.”

“I don't think there's anything to be worried about. It's not like I'm in the middle of a war zone and trying to use one,” I said. “Besides, you're here, and you need to get some rest yourself. All that flying had to have tired you out.”

“I suppose you're right,” he said. “Alright, well. Enjoy then. I'm going to go lay down myself for a bit.”

I nodded as he made his way over to the couch in the room. I turned my attention to the memory orb. Well... might as well, I thought as I reached out with my magic and grabbed the orb. The world fell away to blackness as I drifted into the world of the past.

Author's Note

Another chapter down, and this one was a fun one. We had some good times with this one, and although I'm super slow in writing it, it was still a lot of fun to write.

I did say that we'd find out in this chapter about the radiation, but not yet. Holding that off for a bit. It just didn’t feel like the right time yet.

Who is this mystery pony who seems so interested in Starry and our crew? Time will tell.

Big thanks to Wirepony, Heartshine, and McMesser for helping on pre-reading, edits, and everything in between. You guys rock!

Also a super big thanks to Striker1959, a brand new patron of mine on my Patreon! You’re awesome!

Chapter Six: The Journey

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Six: The Journey

The journey is long and hard, but rewarding in the end.

My experience with Coconut was a jarring buck to my head that enlightened to me a harsh truth. No matter how good ponies were willing to be, the past always came back to haunt us. We were doomed to repeat the mistakes our ancestors made. In this world, there was only one truth. Kill or be killed. Do unto others before they can do unto you.

I intended to hold fast to this truth. It was the only thing that was going to keep me alive in the trials to come.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

I blinked. I had never actually used a memory orb before, so I wasn't totally prepared for the feeling of being disconnected from my body. In fact, it felt more like I was just riding along than anything. I couldn't see anything other than what the pony whose body I was riding could see. It felt strange.

My host was walking down a long hallway. Out of their peripheral vision I could see the city of Chicacolt through the windows. Sunlight streamed through onto the ground, creating a soft light that made the stonework gleam. My host's hooves clicked and clacked softly, giving me at least something to listen to as they made it to the end of the hall. A door with an equal sign on it sat there.

My host knocked. A muffled voice sounded from behind the door. My host sighed loudly, pushed the door open and stepped inside.

“Ah, Crystal Clear. I was expecting you. Please take a seat,” the voice of the mare behind the desk said.

My host stepped forward and I got a good look at the room. It was lavishly decorated with what appeared to ancient artifacts and magical items of import. A bookshelf sat on the end of the room, stuffed to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes. My host faltered for a moment.

“Did I stutter? Please take a seat my dear. You're not in any trouble,” the mare behind the desk said.

My host's eyes met hers, and I finally got a good look at her. She was a unicorn, pink in color. Her mane was two-toned, a mixture of purple and teal. Her eyes glittered in the soft light of the room. She smiled.

“Sorry, Miss Glimmer. I was just... admiring your collection,” my host said. She slid into the open seat in front of the desk.

“Yes... isn't it lovely? Many of them are valuable artifacts from Equestria's ancient times,” Miss Glimmer replied. “But we're not here to talk about art, are we?”

“No, Miss Glimmer,” my host said.

“Please, call me Starlight dear. After all, here at Equality Incorporated, everypony is treated equally,” Glimmer said.

“Yes... Starlight,” my host replied. “You wanted to see me about something?”

“Indeed I did. I have a new job for you, my dearest Crystal Clear,” Starlight Glimmer said. She grinned widely. “One that I'm afraid to say, will take you from your current position. A temporary move, that is.”

“A new job? What is it that you want me to do?” my host said, shifting in her seat.

“The Ministry of Morale has need of able-bodied young ponies interested in doing Pinkie Pie's so-called 'good work,'” Starlight said. “I don't know how she's done it, but the Ministry Mare has gotten access to memory transmutation spells. I need to know how deep it goes. That's where you come in.”

“You want me to spy on the Ministry that spies on the rest of the populace?” my host asked hesitantly. “Won't I be found out almost immediately?”

“Oh, that's what I'm counting on my dear. Pinkie Pie is up to something. Something that impacts the work we’re doing here. In order to create an equal society free of the hurt of cutie marks, we must clear away the old world,” Starlight said. “When you are captured, you will deliver a message to Pinkie from myself. She will not be able to resist answering it. We were... friends once, you see.”

“Ma'am?” my host said. “Might I ask then, how am I supposed to return to work if I am captured?”

“I will handle all the details of your extraction,” Starlight said. She shuffled the papers on her desk with a flash of magical power and smiled as she handed over a manilla folder. “Everything you require should be inside. Your Ministry badge and report instructions. The Ministry building over on Filly's Pier will be where you shall be reporting. You are expected tomorrow morning, eight in the morning sharp.”

My host pulled a badge out of the folder and glanced at the full details of the mission. She grimaced, glancing up at the other mare. “What you're asking me to do... it's treason. What if I refuse? What if I tell everypony the truth?”

Starlight reclined back in her chair. A gleaming smile emerged on her face and she began to chortle loudly, nearly falling out of her chair as she did so.

“What's so funny?” my host asked. “I mean it. I'll go to Princess Luna with this. This isn't right.”

“Oh Crystal Clear, you are so funny!” Starlight said, her eyes narrowing. “That is precisely why I picked you for this mission. You aren't like the others. You're new here, you haven't accepted equality yet. I needed somepony with brains, somepony who wasn't just another yes-mare.”

“You're crazy. I'm leaving,” my host said as she made to stand up.

“Oh no,” Starlight said, reaching out with her magic. Two blue tendrils latched onto my host's forelegs, rooting them into place. “You're not going anywhere. Not until I say so. You see, I would not have picked such a strong-willed participant if I didn't have some sort of... incentive program.”

Her magic reached out again and flicked a button on her desk. A panel opened up in the wall, revealing a magical screen. On it, the image of a young foal playing with her toys appeared.

“R-R-Rainy?” my host stuttered. “What have you done with her?”

“Nothing... yet,” Starlight countered. “However, it should be clear now how this arrangement will work. You perform this job for me, and you will keep quiet about it. Or else.”

“I... I... alright, I'll do it,” my host said as she glanced back at the screen. She growled under her breath. “But so help me, if you hurt a hair on her head, I'll...”

“Thank you, my dear. That will be all I needed to hear,” Starlight interrupted. Her magic withdrew, freeing my host's forelegs. “Don't forget to dress nicely for your first day as a Ministry of Morale employee. Now, off you go. I must review these quarterly finance reports. This company won't run itself you know!”

The memory began to fade to black as my host stood up from the chair and began walking towards the office's entrance.

oooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My eyes opened to darkness. I wasn't sure how long I'd been in the memory. Hell, I wasn't even sure what I'd just witnessed. Some pony named Starlight Glimmer who'd had a grudge against Equestria? Over what, cutie marks? It didn't make any sense. I just knew I felt bad for the pony whose memory it was. Clearly she had been blackmailed into doing whatever Starlight Glimmer wanted her to do, with a foal's life no less. It left me feeling disgusted.

My eyes adjusted to the light and I realized I was still in my shared quarters with Coconut. I could see her sleeping form across the room, breathing peacefully. Several machines were hooked up to her, sleepless sentinels monitoring her vital signs. I grimaced, cursing our luck. If we had never went into that building Coconut would be safe and sound and not in this mess she was in now.

I groaned as I shuffled off the bed. The dull ache in my shoulder was gone, but the bandage remained. The only pain left was soreness from laying down so long. I made my way across the room to Coconut's bed side. I sighed and looked down at her.

The medical ponies had put a breathing tube in to help her breathe. Her throat had been bandaged up where I'd had to cauterize my incision. I could still see the charred skin in my mind's eye. Now, it looked much cleaner. She made no noise as I stood there other than the soft rumble of her breathing. Likely they'd had her on some sedatives to allow her to rest. I was glad that she wasn't in any pain. Whatever that thing was that had been inside her throat, it was gone. She was going to be okay.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “I'm sorry we didn't get you out of there fast enough.”

No answer. I hadn't expected one. I hung my head low and breathed in deeply before continuing.

“You've always been there for me, Coco. I promise to be there for you now,” I said. “I won't let anything like this ever happen again.”

“That is a strong promise,” a mechanized voice said from the door.

I turned to see Rocky standing there. His eyes gleamed in the darkness.

“H-h-hey,” I stuttered. “What's up?”

“I heard movement,” Rocky replied simply. “I figured you must have been awake, but I was instructed to check just in case something had happened to either of you.”

I grimaced. “I'm fine. I... I was just talking to Coco. You were eavesdropping.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean...” Rocky said. He glanced down at his feet. “I will leave you alone.” He moved to turn away.

You idiot, I thought to myself. You're never going to get the courage to admit how you feel about him if you keep pulling crap like this!

“Wait,” I said, stopping him. “It's fine. You couldn't have known.”

“Did you mean what you said?” he asked, catching me off guard. “Your promise?”

I nodded. I was about to say more when a knock on the door interrupted me. Lightning popped his head through the door.

“Mom's asking for us,” he said. “All of us.”

My gaze narrowed at him. “Lead on,” I said.

I trotted past Rocky, the minotaur falling in line behind me. We made our way across the hall into Mom's room. She was sitting up in her bed, a stern look on her face. Envy and Lilith stood on either side of her.

“What's going on?” I asked.

“You should take a seat,” Lilith replied.

Lightning and I nodded and took seats at the foot of the bed. Rocky stood off to the side next to us. Mom sighed deeply and began to speak.

“I know you were hoping that this was going to be where I told you that everything was going to be alright, that I was all better, but both of you know that I've never tried to sugarcoat life,” she said. “The truth of the matter is that Envy can't fix my heart.”

My eyes widened. I glanced at Envy. “Why...?”

“The condition that your mother has was worsened, mutated by Xerves' poison. As skilled and knowledgeable as I am, I cannot fix it. The best I can do is slow the process down, give you time,” the zebra said.

“Time for what?” Lightning said. “I don't understand. I thought you could help us? Why did we find you if you couldn't help? Coconut would still be...”

“I never said that I could help you,” Envy said angrily. “I said that I would try.”

“Envy...” Lilith said.. Her wings flared. “Calm yourself.”

“Sorry. I am trying to tell them they still have a chance to save their mother,” Envy replied.

“Talk then,” I said flatly. “Tell us what you know.”

Envy took a moment to compose herself. She sighed loudly. “Like I was saying. I can use my knowledge of the poison to slow its effects on your mother's condition, but I cannot affect it with zebra magic. I doubt that I could even ever come up with a salve or potion that could cure it. But... I know of one who can.”

I grimaced, my ears pulling flat. “Continue.”

“There is a legend. A pony whose special talent was empathic magic dealing with the heart. They were so accomplished at it, they became known only as the Heartmender,” Envy said. “They can literally mend hearts, make them whole again.”

“Where can we find this Heartmender?” Lightning said. “I mean, if they're a legend, who's to say they even exists? It could be a wild goose chase for all we know.”

Lilith chimed in. “I am still putting together the intel, but our sources suggest that this Heartmender does exist. We believe that whoever they are, they left Equestria many years ago. But, they did pass through Chicacolt at some point. I am planning on taking a team to go find them.”

“No, Lilith,” Mom said softly. “If you leave, you will be leaving Theater without one of its primary defenses. With Gluttony busy with Danish and Star, we cannot afford to leave ourselves wide open.”

“What would you suggest I do then, Patch?” Lilith replied curtly. “Let you perish when there is a real chance to save you?”

“I'll go,” I said, interrupting them. “Rather, we'll go. Lightning and I.”

“We will?” Lightning asked, glancing over at me. He coughed. “I mean... yeah, we will.”

“I cannot allow that,” Lilith said. “If your excursion to find Envy has proven anything it's that you are not ready for what you might encounter in the Wasteland. We nearly lost you once; we cannot afford to lose you again.”

“And I can't afford to lose her!” I shouted, pointing at Mom. “Don't you understand? This is the only chance we have... the only way we can save... save her.”

“Starry...” Mom said. She glanced over at Lilith. “You remember how young and impetuous we both were when we traveled with Star?”

“I remember that we hated each other at first,” Lilith said coyly. “What's your point?”

“My point is that we've all done stupid things,” Mom said with a sigh. “I've made my peace with this, but they haven't. They need that closure, Lilith. They need to know that they did everything they could do. They are his kids, after all.”

Lilith grimaced, and for a moment there was a highly awkward silence in the room. Finally, the ashen pegasus broke it. “Okay. They can go. But they're going to need help. Just the two of them alone can't do this.”

“I will accompany them,” Rocky said from behind me. “I will not allow harm to come to either of them.”

“Rock Thresher?” Envy said, her eyes widened. “What about Xerves? What about your contract?”

“I'm sorry, Mistress, but I owe it to Starry for what happened with Coconut. If I can help, and find Xerves along the way I will,” Rocky replied.

“I'm... I'm coming too,” a weak and thin voice said from the door.

My head snapped back. Coconut stood in the doorway, shaking profusely. It must have taken her every ounce of her strength to stand. Her mane was matted and she looked like she'd been sweating heavily. Still, her eyes held a fire, a will of their own. She was determined to see this through, no matter what happened.

“Coconut!” I said, trotting over to her. “What are you doing up? You need to rest.”

“Starry, I'm... fine,” she whispered as she looked from me back to the rest of the room. “I’m fine… and I’m going with them”

“Absolutely not,” Lilith said. “In your condition, you become a liability. What if you're exposed to something that further damages your body? This mission is going to be dangerous.”

“Don't care...” Coconut managed to say. Her voice was barely a whisper, but in the silence that filled the room I could hear it clear as day. “I... I have to help.”

“Coco... Please listen to Aunt Lilith,” I pleaded. “She's right. You can't come with us. I promised I would protect you, and this is the best way to keep you safe after what happened.”

Coconut grimaced and her eyes met mine. That fire, that will was still there. She shook her head stiffly. “No. I don't... need protecting.” She strained to get the words out. “I... I need to help. I'm coming whether... whether you like it or not.”

I studied her for a few moments. Coconut was serious about this. She was not going to relent. What was she trying to do? Was she trying to repay me for what happened in that power station? That isn't what I wanted... I just wanted my friend to be okay.

“Alright,” Mom said, interrupting us. “Coconut may go with them, provided that she goes back and rests right now. This expedition will not be leaving for a few days anyways, so there will be plenty of time to regain your strength.”

Lilith glanced over at Patch incredulously. “You can't be serious, Patch. Look at the state she's in. There's no way she's going to heal up in just a couple days.”

“I am quite serious,” Mom replied. “While Envy here has the time, she will assist young Coconut in her recovery. She has knowledge of calming salves and other medicinal items that can help speed up the healing process.”

“Of course,” Envy said softly.

I grimaced. I didn't want Envy anywhere near Coconut. This was her fault in the first place, but I knew I didn't have a leg to stand on about it. I looked back to Coco and forced myself to smile.

“Guess you're part of the team,” I said softly.

She strained to smile and reached out with her leg, bringing me into a hug. “Thank... thank you for what you did. I don't know...”

“I know,” I said, returning the hug. “Now go on and get back to sleep. I'll be in shortly.”

Coconut nodded and made her way back across the hall to our shared room. I glanced back at Mom, grimacing.

“I believe that is it,” she said. “In a few days, you four will leave and find this Heartmender. Bring them back here.”

Lilith shifted uncomfortably. “I still don't think this is the right way to go about this, but... I trust you, old friend. I must go and let the gate guards know,” she said. She trotted out the door and down the hallway.

“I must go as well. If young Coconut is to get better, I must create some healing salves for her,” Envy said. “Rock Thresher, join me. I wish to discuss this journey with you.”

Rocky glanced over at me briefly. We shared a nod and then he was gone, trailing behind the zebra. I looked back at Mom. Her good eye me mine and she nodded.

“You have questions,” she said flatly.

“The radiation in that building,” I said. I grimaced, struggling to find the right way to ask. “Coconut was so heavily affected by it, but the rest of us weren't. Rocky I get, he's cybernetic. Even Envy I can sort of see, some sort of zebra mysticism. Why didn't it affect Lightning and I?”

Mom closed her eye and sighed. “I suppose that has something to do with the circumstances of your conception and birth,” she said softly.

“Wait, what?” Lightning asked.

Mom shifted in the bed. “When your father and I... well, when you were conceived, we were still journeying with your godmother. There was a situation involving a friend of ours. We got stuck in a temple that was full of strange and powerful radiation.”

“What does that mean?” I said. “Did that have something to do with us?”

“Radiation has always worked in strange ways. It's magical in nature, we don't even really understand the limits of its effects, but ghoulism is one of the most common,” Mom said. “After we escaped from the temple, I... I thought that I'd lost you. I couldn't feel you inside me. At the time, I didn't know that you were both there.”

“You didn't know that you were having twins,” I said.

Mom nodded. “Your godmother, she did everything she could to get me to a doctor that understood pregnant mares. He was a ghoul in Manehattan, by the name of Dry Rot. During his examination, he concluded that the radiation down in that temple had somehow mutated the growing foal inside of me, splitting into two separate foals.”

“Wait, you mean we were originally supposed to be one pony?” Lightning said. His face contorted. “Eww.”

“Gee, thanks Bro. Love you too,” I said, sticking my tongue out.

“Regardless, I knew that there would be some potential side effects. My pregnancy did not last very long. Something about the radiation had sped up the process. You grew faster inside me than a normal foal would have,” Mom continued. “After I had you, I worried that somehow there would be problems or complications, but you seemed to grow normally so I thought nothing of it.”

“You think that being unaffected by the radiation is a side effect of that?” I asked.

“It is a fair possibility,” Mom said. “I'm not even sure what to say. I'm terribly sorry about Coconut, but I'm glad that neither of you were affected by it.”

I grimaced. I didn't begrudge Mom for caring for her kids. I was just glad to at least have some idea of what had happened down in those caves. My eyes widened as I remembered something else important.

“There's one more thing,” I said. “I didn't say anything about this before, because I wasn't sure how anyone would take it. There was a stallion on the radio. He's the one who told me how to save Coconut's life.”

“I wondered how that came about,” Mom said. “Skills like that aren't among the ones I taught you.”

“He told me that Lightning had found him and his crew, and that he gave Lightning Rad-Away for Coconut,” I explained. “He said that was how he'd found my broadcast signal.”

“Which never happened,” Lightning said. “There was no mystery stallion. I ran into a group of MMMM patrols and led them back.”

“I see,” Mom said coolly. “Go on.”

“He lied, but he knew my name. He knew things about me, about us. He even knew what was wrong with Coconut. He never even told me his name,” I said.

“Interesting,” Mom replied. “After you were knocked unconscious, did he attempt to contact you again?”

“No. It was like he had vanished,” I said. “It was the strangest thing. It was like he knew what was going to happen before I did.”

Mom stayed silent, grimacing. “If this mystery stallion contacts you again, I want you to attempt to get more information out of him.”

“Alright,” I said. “I will do my best.”

Mom nodded. She seemed rather undisturbed to this revelation. I thought it was a little strange. Why was that? What did she know that I didn't? Did she know the mystery stallion somehow? My mind wracked itself with ideas, trying to figure it out. My shoulder ached more, yanking my attention back to the real world.

“You alright, Sis?” Lightning said.

“Yeah. Just thinking,” I said. “If it's all the same to you, I think I'd rather retire for a bit. Need to get my rest if we're to be leaving again.”

“I believe that to be the best thing at this point in time,” Mom said. “Until you leave, you kids should come spend some time with me. I'm not going anywhere, after all.”

I smiled softly and stood. I trotted over to Mom's bedside and gave her a quick hug before making my way back across the hall. Coconut had already gone back to sleep, it seemed. I sighed. I was truly worried that something else was going to happen to her when we got back out on the road, but I knew that I had to let her do this.

I flopped into bed and groaned. The sheets had been changed while I was gone and they felt fluffier and more content than ever before. I flared my horn, bringing my saddlebags over next to my bed. Might as well get some organization done before I get to sleep, I thought.

I pulled open the bag and began sorting through things. The Wingboner magazines I set out to give to Rocky later. Despite his lack of a mouth, the expression he'd make would be worth it. Crystal Clear's memory orb was sorted back into the bag in one of the inside pockets. I was sure there was something there I was missing the first time I watched it. Why would somepony go to all that trouble to store that memory? It didn't make much sense.

The rest of my supplies were pretty bare, I realized. We were definitely going to need to stock up before leaving. I made a mental note to venture out in the morning and pick things up. A gleam of silver caught my eye at the bottom of the bag. I reached inside with my magic and lifted out the knife. The jagged one I'd picked up off the crazy zebra ghoul. How did...? I thought. I thought we got rid of this thing.

I grimaced as I grasped the knife in my magic. The only reason I'd picked up this thing was because I'd lost Justice. There was no getting it back. That angered me greatly for some reason I couldn't explain. I carefully lowered the knife back into the bag. As soon as I let go of it, I could feel my anger subside.

“What was that?” I muttered under my breath. I made a further mental note to ask Envy about the knife. While I didn't trust her, she was the most likely person to have some idea about this blade.

I finished reorganizing my bags, setting them back onto the floor. I yawned loudly and laid my head back on the pillow, letting sleep take me where it would.

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling a million times better. My shoulder felt completely healed up, and I was able to flex it without any stabbing pains. I glanced over at Coconut. She was stirring awake herself.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” I said cheerily. “How'd you sleep?”

“Better than... the night before,” Coconut croaked. “Voice is still a little froggy.”

“Well, I'm sure with Envy's help, you'll get better,” I said. “You'll see.”

Coconut smiled. “Thanks. What are you planning on doing today?”

“I need to run down to the marketplace and pick up supplies. We're not going to get very far without proper medical supplies and food,” I said. “Mom always says it's best to be prepared. We didn't really do that right the first time out. This time will be different.”

“Starry...” Coconut said with a frown.

“No, Coco. I meant what I said. I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it,” I said adamantly. “Besides, I'm not wrong. We do need supplies. Most of our stuff was taken by those Hellraisers.”

“Fair point,” Coconut said. She smiled slightly. It was good to see that smile. Earlier in the week it had felt like I would never see it again.

“Anyways. I'll let you be. If we're gonna be prepared, I'd better get going,” I said.

“Alright. I'll see you later then,” Coconut replied.

I left the room and made my way down the hallway and into the main infirmary office. I was a bit surprised to see Coconut's mother in the waiting room. She didn't say anything when she noticed me, just a glare. She'd always been resentful of our friendship, not to mention how she got boozed up all the time after Coconut joined the Rangers. Her mom hadn't been a part of her life for quite some time, so why was she here now? I didn't have the time really to ask, and even if I had it would have probably turned into a shouting match, so I guess it was kind of good that one of the doctors chose that moment to come out and sit down with her.

I pushed the infirmary door open and started into town. My first stop was to the security supply station, where I would try to put together some weaponry and extra barding for our trip. The mares there seemed happy to see me, and they wished Coconut well. They were able to provide everything I needed, and insisted I take a few bundles of apple grenades. They also arranged to have the bigger stuff delivered to our room.

My confidence high, I made my way through the throng of the busy Theater crowd towards “Horace's”, the bar in the rear of the settlement. Horace's was a place a pony could go to relax. The old pony Horace himself had long passed on, leaving the establishment in the hooves of his grandson. With Coconut's Mom at the infirmary and my errands almost completed, I needed to buy some time so I didn’t run into her there. That would be disastrous.

I trotted in and sat down at the bar, ordering a water to drink while I watched the crowd. Horace's was a standup place, and was in fact the most popular in the whole community. So of course, it was quite busy. The MMMM was doing well for its citizens, and it showed. Ponies laughed together, they sang, they drank. It was like the world had never ended.

“I'll have a whiskey, on the rocks please,” a feminine voice next to me said.

My heart froze. I recognized that voice. My eyes turned to the right. A unicorn mare stood at the bar just a few feet away from me. My gaze drifted to the holster on her hind quarters. My gun sat there, prominently displayed like some sort of trophy. I could see the word Justice engraved on the hilt. The mare's mane was a different color and style than before, but the voice. The voice was the same. It was her. Velvet Kiss. I knew it. What was she doing here? How did she get in? She was a Hellraiser! Unless... unless she was a spy!

I had to know more, but I couldn't confront her out in the open. If I was wrong it could delay our journey to save Mom. No, I had to follow her. Find out what she was up to. I waited calmly as I could, trying to not draw attention to myself as she downed her whiskey. She dropped a few caps on the bar in tip and then made her way to the entrance.

I made my move and paid for my water. I walked as stealthily as I could manage, keeping the mare in sight. She tried to blend in with the crowd, but I kept up with her, my eyes fixed on my gun the entire time. Did she know she was being followed? I couldn't tell. She finally departed the crowd, heading for a through way that there weren't any ponies at. I walked carefully and with purpose as she stopped dead cold.

“Who the fuck are you and why are you following me?” she said suddenly, turning about. Her horn glowed, illuminating the dark through way.

I growled under my breath. “You don't remember me? You stole my gun,” I said angrily.

The mare's eyes lit up as she took me in. A wicked grin appeared on her face. “The little filly. So, this is where you ran off to. You caused quite a ruckus up at the Pier.”

“What are you doing here?” I hissed. “This is MMMM territory, not Hellraiser territory.”

“Do I look like a raider? That's one of the best things about this job. I can go wherever I want, because nopony knows who I am,” Velvet said.

“Except for me. I know who you are,” I challenged. “I’d know your voice anywhere.”

“And what exactly are you going to do about that? It's your word against mine, and I have the perfect cover. I'm very good at what I do, after all. I was trained by the best,” she said.

I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”

“Rock Thresher didn't quite recognize me. I wiped his memory of my time spent under Envy. And well, I was gone by the time she showed up. My name wasn't always Velvet Kiss, either. That's just one of my aliases,” the mare replied casually.

I blinked. It seemed that there was no end to the number of ponies that had been trained by Envy. How many killers had she produced and nobody knew? I grimaced.

“You were one of hers,” I said. “A killer.”

“Envy really didn't know what she was doing. She thought that by passing on her skills, she could make a contribution to society. All she did was fuck up a bunch of young pony's lives,” Kiss replied with a smirk. “The only one she truly had under her hoof was Rock Thresher. Something about his misguided sense of morals, I think.”

“Rocky isn't misguided,” I spat. “He's better than you, than Xerves.”

“Ah, yes. The slut's kid. She didn't tell you that his father was someone she used and abused, did she? Xerves was produced from her highest quality breeding stock. The perfect killer for the the perfect mother,” she said. “How do you know him?”

“He poisoned my mother,” I said hesitantly. “I didn't know he was Envy's son until I met her.”

“You are far too trusting of the bitch,” Kiss said nonchalantly. “There are plenty of things that she hasn't told you. Despite her claims that she has honor, she still takes jobs to kill. Have to stay alive and put food on the table, after all.”

“Are you saying that she lied about Xerves' job?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. As angry as I was at Kiss, I wanted to know more. I had to know if Envy was responsible for Mom. If she was... I didn't know what I'd do.

“I'm not saying that she did. I'm saying that she might have told Xerves to do it so she didn't have to,” Velvet replied casually. “That's always been her M.O. Let others do the dirty work, so she can sit back and reap the benefits. She probably didn't even know it was your mother. She doesn't see others are ponies or whatever. She sees them all as marks, as targets.”

“Sacrifices,” I said firmly. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I’d seen it firsthand down in the caves below the Hoofwich. Envy didn’t treat ponies like ponies. She treated them like pawns.

“I see you've already seen what I've seen,” Velvet said. “Word of advice, my dear. Don't let her get to you. She'll turn you into her little worker bee, doing all the dirty work… for her.”

I grimaced. She was right about one thing; as soon as I got back I was questioning Envy further. I had to know before we left, because if she was responsible... I didn't want her there. I wanted her out, to make sure the MMMM knew where her colors flew. I glanced up, noticing that Velvet was walking away from me. She was trying to get away!

“Hey!” I shouted. “You're not leaving without giving me back my gun.”

Velvet stopped cold in her tracks and looked back at me. She wiggled her hips. “Oh, that. You want it, little filly? You gotta come get it.”

I growled under my breath and opened my saddlebag. The knife. It was still there. I lifted it out with my magic. I felt my anger surge as the knife slid into the air under my control. I wanted to kill this bitch. I wanted to cut her open. To see her bleed. She had stolen something that belonged to me! It was mine! I made that gun with my own two hooves!

“Give me back my gun, now,” I said.

“Giving threats now, I see,” Velvet said. Her horn lit and she lifted out Justice. “Your first problem was threatening me. I've killed more ponies than you could ever possibly imagine. Do you even think you have a chance?”

I gritted my teeth. Was she right? Probably. Did I care? Not really. My vision ran red. I charged at her, the knife soaring through the air next to me.

“That's your second problem. You brought a knife to a gunfight,” Velvet said. She aimed Justice and fired.

I didn't have time to move out of the way. The bullet struck my shoulder, the same shoulder that I'd been bit on. I felt searing pain throughout my entire body. I didn't care. I kept moving forward. I wasn't sure how I was shrugging it off like I was. Velvet's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't stopped me. She frantically re-aimed Justice, but it was too late. I was on top of her before she even realized it.

The tip of the knife cut along Velvet's chest, drawing a jagged line of blood that seeped down her chest. She tried to pull back and I followed, slashing wildly with the deadly implement. I caught her on the shoulder with it, sending her sprawling to the ground. Justice clattered along the concrete next to her. I stepped over, holding the knife tauntingly.

“How does it feel?!” I shouted angrily. “How does it feel to be the one not in control for once?!”

Velvet clutched her chest and shoulder. The blood dripped onto the ground beneath her. She glared at me bitterly. “Fine. Take the gun. I don't need it,” she said. “Just let me go.”

“Let you go? Like you let me go? No, I don't think so,” I said, waving the knife in the air. “You didn't let me go. You chose to keep me under lock and key. You don't deserve to be let go.”

“Oh look, the little filly has a grudge,” Velvet snapped. “Grow up kid. Life sucks. I took an opportunity in front of me. The Hellraisers, they make no qualms about what they do. They do whatever makes them happy. They pay well for it too.”

“Shut up,” I growled.

“Fuck off,” Velvet said as she pushed herself away from me. “You want to whine about what happened? Go whine to your mom. I told you already, you can have your gun back. You'll never see me again. That easy. Take it, and I won't tell anypony what happened here.”

I gritted my teeth and lifted the knife. I didn't care about the gun. I cared about what she did to me! She was going to sell me as some sort of sex slave! My blood boiled. Pure rage drove me forward as I brought the knife down into her shoulder blade again. The mare howled in pain as I twisted the knife.

“SHUT UP!” I roared. “I'm going to make you pay for what you did to me! To my friends!”

Velvet moaned as she tried to pull herself away again. I growled and took hold of her body with my magic, stopping her motion. Her eyes met mine and I could feel the fear in them. I could see it. She was afraid of me. I fed on that fear. I let it drive me. I pulled the knife free from her shoulder, her blackened blood soaking the awful thing.

“Starry!” a voice crackled to life in my ear. “Starry you need to stop this!”

My eyes widened. The voice. The stallion that had helped me save Coconut's life. What was he doing talking to me now? Was he nearby?

“No!” I cried out. “I need this! She's part of them. She belonged to Envy!”

“Killing her won't prevent what happened to Coconut, or your mother,” the voice said. “You can place the blame on her all you want, but it's not really you that's doing this. It's that knife you're wielding.”

I blinked, my eyes drifting to the knife. The knife was responsible for this? I couldn't believe it. It was just... just a knife! I growled. No, he was wrong! She deserved this! She deserved to die for the things she did! I glanced below me. My hold on Velvet had faltered, and she was scrambling to her hooves, clutching her shoulder. I roared and made ready to stab at her again when a jolt of electricity came out of my PipBuck, knocking me to the ground. I groaned as I watched Velvet exit the alleyway and disappear. The knife clattered out of my magic onto the cold stonework. She'd left behind Justice, the gun lying just within my reach.

“Sorry about this,” the voice in my ear said. “But I can't let you kill her. She still has a part to play. You have to trust me, Starry. This isn't you. It's the knife. It wants you to kill, it wants you to feed its anger.”

“What...?” I choked out. “What do you mean?”

“Feel it,” the voice said. “Can't you feel the bloodlust leaving you? You're not controlling the knife, it's controlling you.”

I blinked. I could feel the anger fading, just like he'd said. I didn't want to kill her... in fact... what had I done? I'd hurt her badly. All for what? A stupid gun? My eyes drifted to the knife. It called to me, beckoned me to pick it up. Begged me to go after her. But my shoulder hurt... I'd been shot there. I grunted through the pain.

“What... what do I do?” I said. I felt helpless against the pull of the knife's power. I was nearly tempted to pick it up again, just to end the searing pain in my shoulder.

“First of all, you need to get rid of that thing. The longer you let it get to you, the easier it's going to be for it to control you. You have to destroy it,” the voice said.

“How...?” I said weakly.

“Your fire spell. You should be able to use it to melt the thing,” the voice said. “You don't have much time. Do it now, or else everything is lost. Your mother, your friends, yourself. That's what it wants. It wants to use you to kill, just like it used that poor zebra it turned into a ghoul.”

I grimaced. The voice hadn't given me any reason not to trust him. Something in the back of my mind told me I could believe what he was saying. Something else wanted me to pick the knife up and go after Velvet Kiss. Go after her and finish what I started. Twist the knife deeper into the wound until she begged for mercy, and then bring the knife through her throat.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. No! I thought, pushing the thoughts out of my mind. That's what it wanted. What was it? Was it intelligent? I didn't know. I knew what I had to do, but I wasn't strong enough. The pain in my shoulder burned. I was bleeding.

“Starry! Stay with me! You have to destroy that knife!” the voice said, jarring me back to my senses.

“I... can't... too weak,” I said as I struggled to get up.

“No, you can do this. You have to. You can beat this thing,” the voice said.

I gritted my teeth and tried accessing my magic. I wrapped the knife in it, feeling the influence of its effects even more. I pushed through it, speeding up the flow of magic. I roared as the pain burst through my skull, the magic turning from flow to white-hot flame. It engulfed the knife in a blaze. I cut off the flow of magic and grunted.

The knife was intact. It hadn't worked.

“It... it didn't work!” I said, huffing. “The knife... it's still there.”

“Dammit. I hadn't counted on this. Starry, you need to get away from it. It's evil, pure and simple,” the voice in my ear replied.

“But what if... what if somepony else finds it?” I asked weakly. “I need to try again.”

I grunted and stood against the voice's protests. I flared my horn again and focused my will on the knife. Its influence shot back into my mind, drowning out everything else. I was stupid. There was no way I was going to beat this thing. Now that I knew it was influencing me, I could recognize it as a separate presence. It felt ancient, unyielding. It wanted me to use it, to kill. I had to find some way to get rid of it. My magic, as much as I liked to believe it was the best part of me, couldn't stop it. I couldn't destroy it.

I stopped my magic flow and reached out and picked it up with my bare hooves. I couldn't leave it here, and I couldn't touch it with my magic. It reacted to that.

“Starry?” the voice in my ear said. “Starry, what's happening?”

“I can't... can't destroy it with my magic. I'm going to take it, find some other way to get rid of it where it can't hurt anypony else,” I said.

“Listen to me carefully. Too much has changed already. You can't keep that thing near you. It's going to cause you to do something terrible,” the voice said.

“It already did,” I said. “I used it on Velvet, remember? Why do you care, anyways?”

“Because I have to,” the voice replied. “Because I wouldn't be able to face your dad and tell him I failed my promise to him.”

My eyes shot wide open. “What did you say? My dad? How do you...?”

“I can't talk about it, Starry. I'm not allowed to. Just know that I'm here to help you, should you need it,” the voice said. “Someday, we'll talk about this when you're ready. But right now, you need to get back to your friends and get going on your journey. That’s the most important thing you can do right now. Besides, you're injured. Leave that accursed thing and go.”

I grimaced. Guess I wasn't going to get any answers anytime soon. My shoulder burned from where Velvet had shot me. I needed medical attention, or at the very least a healing potion. The mystery stallion did have a point about that. I pulled my bag open and dropped the knife inside.

“Fine. But I'm taking it with me. If I can drop it in some crater on our way out of the country, it's better off there than laying in an alley here,” I said. “Besides... do I have some way of even reaching you if I need help? I don't even know your name.”

The voice silenced. Great, I thought. Way to tell him off. Static burst on the other end of the earbloom.

“Sorry about that. Shitty connection. Look, I don't agree with taking that thing with you, but I can't really stop you from here,” the voice said. “As far as how to contact me, I've hidden the frequency to contact me inside your PipBuck. Don't ask me how I did it, I can't tell you. As far as my name, I'm Dusk. I… I have to go now. Get yourself to a doctor, Starry Night.”

I glanced around me as the transmission cut off. Nopony was around. I picked up Justice in my magic and holstered it. I tightened my saddlebags and threw a piece of fabric over my wound. No sense in alarming anypony over nothing, I thought as I slowly made my way back towards the infirmary. Every step I took burned. I couldn't tell if the bullet was still inside or if it had just grazed me. Given that it was the same shoulder that thing had bitten me on, I wasn't sure if I could even tell if I looked at it closely enough.

By the time I made it to the infirmary I was barely walking, the pain was too much. I pushed open the door and nearly collapsed inside.

“Miss Night?” the front nurse said. She stood and walked over to me, brushing aside the fabric hiding the wound. “We need to get her to her room, now!”

Several ponies lifted me and placed me on a cart. I was losing consciousness fast. The last thing I remembered was seeing Mom's worried face before I passed out.

* * *

My eyes shot open and I instantly knew I was back in my room with Coconut. This time, I was the one who'd been passed out, as Coconut was standing next to my bed. Lightning sat on the other side next to... Mom?!

“Hey...” I said, catching their attention.

“Starry?” Mom said. “You're awake. How do you feel?”

“Ugh. Like a ton of bricks hit me,” I said, my head pounding. “What happened?”

“You tell us,” Mom said. “The nurses said you walked into the infirmary and just collapsed.”

My brain processed the events from before, running all the way back to... “Velvet Kiss,” I breathed.

“What? You mean, that Hellraiser that kidnapped us?” Lightning said. “What's she got to do with this?”

“She's here,” I said. “In Theater. I... I confronted her.” My mind reminded me of what I'd done to her. “I attacked her.”

“You attacked somepony?” Mom said, her eye wide. “I don't understand. Who is this Velvet Kiss?”

“She was one of my students,” a soft voice at the door said. Envy stood just inside the door frame.

“You,” I said coldly.

“She may have changed her name, but I am smarter than she believes me to be,” Envy said. “Velvet Kiss was one of my most promising students, before she left me.”

“This mare was the one who kidnapped you for the Hellraisers?” Mom said.

Coconut nodded. “I remember her,” she said, her voice still weak sounding.

“She told me about you,” I said, directing my voice to Envy. “She told me about your prodigies. About herself.”

“Yes... I assume she would have,” Envy said. “She and I had some irreconcilable differences.”

“So what happened between you two? Why was she here?” Lightning said.

“She... she didn't say exactly. I nearly ran into her at Horace's, and I followed her... she still had Justice,” I said with a twinge of anger.

“You confronted her to get Justice back,” Mom said flatly.

I nodded. “I was... so angry at her about it. About what she'd done. I wanted to make her pay. She caught me off guard and shot me. I... I stabbed her in the shoulder,” I said.

Envy's green eyes narrowed. “If she is injured it should not be hard to find her. I will go to Lilith and ask her to search the settlement.”

“Fine, do that,” Mom said. “We can't let her go if she's some sort of spy for the Hellraisers.”

Envy nodded and left the room, leaving the four of us. I groaned as I pushed myself into a sitting position.

“There's... there's something else,” I said. “Velvet insinuated that Envy had something to do with Xerves' attack on you, Mom.”

“I guessed as much by your reaction to her,” Mom said. “That's why I sent her to get Lilith. Neither of us trusts her, really. Remember what I always told you about enemies?”

“Keep them closer than your friends,” I parroted, remembering the lesson well. My eyes widened as I realized what Mom was doing. Even in her condition she was still the same tactical mind that I'd grown up learning from. Compared to her breadth of knowledge I was still just a foal.

“Right. What else happened?” she said.

“I... I heard him again. The stallion on the radio,” I said.

Mom grimaced. “I thought as much.”

“He helped me. That... that knife that we brought out of that building, the place that Coconut...” I said. “It's cursed. Something like that. It wanted me to kill Velvet Kiss, to torture her. It was feeding off of my anger. He helped stop me from going too far.”

“Wait, that knife you lifted off that psycho zebra ghoul?” Lightning said. “It was in your saddlebags.”

My eyes widened. “It's still there, right? Nopony touched it?”

“No,” Lightning replied. “I just noticed it when I got the supplies out of there.”

“Good. I... I tried to destroy it, but it didn't work,” I said. I hung my head. “I'm not sure what to do, I couldn't just leave it there. I figured we might be able to find a place to bury it.”

“Aren't you worried it will get to you?” Coconut said. Her face looked strained. “I mean... you said it was influencing you, right?”

I grimaced. “There is that chance, yes. I'm counting on you two to keep me grounded. I just... I couldn't leave it somewhere where somepony could find it so easily. It's dangerous.”

“Don't worry, Sis. We got your back,” Lightning said, placing a hoof on my shoulder.

Coconut grinned and did the same. “Always,” she said. “Come on Lightning. We should let Starry rest. We should touch base with Rock Thresher and get our things together to get out of here.”

“Thanks,” I said, my gaze returning to Mom as the two left the room. “I just seem to be getting in all sorts of trouble lately. I'm sorry, Mom.”

Mom smiled and pulled me close to her for a hug. “It's alright. I'm just glad you're okay.” She lowered her voice so that only I could hear. “Did the stallion on the radio say anything else?”

“He... he said he knew Dad,” I whispered. “He said his name was Dusk.”

Mom's good eye closed and she sighed. “I was dreading this,” she said softly.

“Do you know him?” I asked.

“Kind of. It's... it's a long story. One that I can't really tell you just yet. You have to trust me when I say that I will tell you when you get back. I promise,” she said.

I grimaced, but nodded. “Is it bad?” I said.

“No... But if you talk to him again, listen to what he says. He knows things, things that he shouldn't... but he does,” Mom said. “He'll help you.”

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. I was about to say something else when the door opened suddenly. Lilith stood inside.

“Both of you come with me. There's something you need to see,” she said.

I blinked. “Do what?” I asked.

“Come on, Starry,” Mom said. “Can you walk alright?”

I nodded, pushing myself off the bed. My shoulder still hurt, but it didn't hurt to walk. I walked behind Mom, following her and Lilith down the hallway. We stopped at the last door before the exit to the lobby. Lilith rapped on the door and pushed it open.

“Who the hell do you think you are keeping me here?!” a voice shouted from the room.

“Miss, you're hurt. You need medical attention and rest, please calm down,” the nurse replied.

My blood froze. Her. That voice. She was here?! I pushed past Lilith. Sitting up in the bed inside the room was Velvet Kiss. Her shoulder had been bandaged. She was shouting at one of the nurses. She stopped as her eyes met mine.

“YOU!” we both shouted in unison.

“Security, I demand that you arrest this mare! She assaulted me!” Velvet cried out.

“You shot me!” I shouted back.

“You stuck a knife in me!” she said angrily. “And twisted it around and stuff! I demand that she be arrested!”

“Calm down you two,” Lilith said. “No one here is getting arrested. Turns out, our friend here has a name for every occasion. Her identification says she's Uplifting Aria, a lounge singer of some accord, but she matches the description that Envy gave me. She was brought in by security after she was found passed out from blood loss.”

I grimaced, looking down at my hooves. “I...”

“Yeah that's right! She did it! That one right there! Arrest her and let me go!” Velvet shouted.

“Enough,” a voice said from the darkness. Envy appeared out of nowhere in the corner of the room. “We all know who you are, Polished Jewel.”

“I hate that name,” Velvet replied angrily. “What are you doing here? Don't you have some more youngsters to corrupt?”

“I am here to rectify a mistake I made, Jewel,” Envy said. “You have been causing quite the trouble in the city, young one.”

“I learned from the best,” Velvet said. “You taught me, or don't you remember?”

“I remember every one of my students,” Envy said. “You are no different. Ambitious, powerful, and ultimately foolish. Your power is not to be wielded in harm of others or for money, but in defense of those in need.”

“You take money for jobs,” Velvet said.

“I do what is necessary for my family to survive. We all do,” Envy said.

Velvet glared at Envy hard before turning to meet my gaze. “So what now? You've got me. What are you going to do with me?”

I burned inside. I knew what I had to do. It wasn't me that had driven home the knife into her shoulder, it had been the knife itself. It had compelled me to it. I realized that as much as I hated Velvet, I hated myself more for letting it control me. I hated that I had stooped to her level, and that if I hadn't been stopped by Dusk I'd have likely killed her. She wasn't much older than me. She was like me in a lot of ways, still a kid trying to grow up. I felt guilty suddenly. I'd nearly denied her the rest of her life. Even though she'd done some bad things, Mom had always told me that everypony deserved a second chance to do good.

“I...” I started to say as I made my way forward. “I'm sorry about... about your wound.”

“You're sorry? Really? That's the best you can come up with?” Velvet said. “It fucking hurt, you psycho!”

“Velvet Kiss,” Lilith said, interrupting us. “Are you or are you not a spy for the Hellraisers? Why are you here?”

“I'm not a spy for anyone. I look after myself. I do what I do to make money off everyone,” Velvet said. “So no, I'm not here to spy on you. I was here to sing, make a few caps, and be on my way.”

“What?” I said. “Then... why...?”

“Why was I so chummy with those Hellraisers? Because they're stupid,” Velvet said. “They pay very well to me, because I deliver. They're just too dumb to see that I'm using them for their money. It's not hurting anyone.”

“You have been making your money off the misery of other ponies, Jewel,” Envy said. “The intelligence of your clients notwithstanding, your work has been responsible for death.”

Velvet growled. “Stop calling me that! I'm not Polished Jewel anymore! I'm Velvet Kiss! I'm not a baby you can just coddle!”

“And you're not quite grown up, either,” Envy replied. She looked at Lilith. “If you would like, I will take her with me back to my compound. I do not think she will cause much trouble to you anymore.”

The silence in the room deafened. I looked up to Lilith. She motioned for Envy and Mom to join her in the hall, leaving me alone with Velvet. I looked back at her and smiled as I made my way to her bedside.

“Look... I really am sorry about what happened,” I said.

“Don't talk to me,” Velvet said angrily. “I just want to get out of here and away from all you crazy fucks.”

“Your name used to be Polished Jewel?” I said, ignoring her comments. “I think that's a pretty name.”

“I hated it,” Velvet said. “It was a stupid name. I was a stupid filly. After I left, I swore I would never be that name ever again.”

“Why? What's so bad about it?” I asked.

“If you must know, Polished Jewel was the name my parents gave me. They're dead now,” she said. “They died trying to protect me from raiders. I would have died too, if it wasn't for Envy. She saved me and started training me. At first I thought I'd found a new family. But Envy doesn't care about family; she cares about turning ponies into killers.”

I sighed. “I... “

“Yeah, I did some bad things. I turned lots of ponies into the Hellraisers,” Velvet continued. “I even sold a few to the Cult when they were still active. Shit, the Triad was one of the best buyers, until they collapsed. But I did what I did for me. Not for her. Why do you even care about this shit anyways? I thought you hated me.”

I grimaced. “I do. Believe me, I do. But that wasn't why I did what I did. I was... under the control of something powerful,” I said. “It influenced my anger towards you.”

“I see. Well, I'm not too fond of you either. You stabbed me and now I'm stuck here,” Velvet replied.

The door opened before I could say anything further. Lilith and the others made their way back into the room.

“We've made a decision,” Lilith said. “In order to keep an eye on Miss Velvet Kiss, in addition to keeping her out of further trouble, we've decided that the best course of action is to send her with your squad, Starry Night.”

“What,” I stated flatly.

“What?! You're sending me somewhere with her?!” Velvet growled.

“It's in all of our best interests. If you were to return to Envy's compound, you would just escape again. Your recent work has shown that you are trouble,” Mom said. “By sending you with Starry's team, your specific skill set will not only prove valuable, but they will be able to show you what it's like to be a part of something.”

Velvet grumbled under her breath. Her gaze met Mom's. “What's stopping me from just leaving? Skipping out when the time is right?” she asked.

“Oh, we believe that Rock Thresher will be able to keep you in line,” Lilith said. “You will be outfitted with a PipBuck. At all times, Rock will be able to track you.”

“Don't I get a say in this?” I asked. “Seriously. She kidnapped me!”

“You stabbed me,” Velvet said.

I growled. “You took my fucking gun! I wanted it back! Besides, you shot me!”

“Bitch! You were coming at me with that knife! What did you expect me to do!”

“GIRLS!” Mom roared. “Both of you stop right now!”

I stopped and glowered at Velvet. “She did it.”

“Nuh uh,” Velvet replied, sticking her tongue out.

“Seriously, can we knock it off?” Mom said. “Starry, I'm sorry, you don't get a say in this. Velvet's skills are... unique. Trust me when I say you can use them.”

I cocked my head. “What skills? Being an insufferable bitch?”

“Starry!” Mom said.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. I continued to glare at Velvet. I didn't like this. Who's to say that we weren't going to wake up one morning in chains and being carted off to Goddess knows where? I didn't trust her.

“Jewel, I think it's probably time that you show Starry what we mean,” Envy said.

“Stop calling me that,” Velvet said angrily. She huffed. “Fine.”

Velvet's horn glowed a sickly green, a crackle of flame surrounding her body. In a flash, her entire form changed. She had a different coat and mane color, and were those... wings? My eyes went up to her brow. Her horn was gone!

What the fuck? I thought she was a unicorn! She's a pegasus now?! I thought.

“What the...? How did...?” I stammered.

Velvet rolled her eyes. A second crackle of green flame whooshed up around her, revealing a black body covered in what looked like armored plates. Velvet's head was insectoid in nature, her normal eyes replaced with round multi-faceted ones. A pair of beautiful gossamer wings sprouted from her back. She opened her mouth and several clicks and buzzes came out of it.

“What... what are you?” I said.

The green flame whooshed again and Velvet was back. She grinned. “I'm a changeling. Master of disguise, that whole bit. I can change my form to look like whomever I want.” She changed again, becoming a perfect copy of me for a brief second and then back to her Velvet form.

“Velvet's unique skill may be of some assistance during your journey, should you find yourself in situations that require it,” Lilith said.

“I'm also proficient in all forms of your weaponry, so there is that,” Velvet said with a smug look on her face.

I grimaced and turned away from her, facing the others. “If it's all the same to you then, I'd like to get back to my room and get some rest. If we're leaving soon, then we all need to be rested up for the journey ahead.”

I stood and trotted out the door past Mom and Lilith. I met eyes with Envy on my way out. Just how many? How many ponies and zebra and changelings have you turned into heartless, psychotic killers? I thought. I made one final glance at Velvet, who mostly looked confused, and then left.

I made my way back down the hall to my room and stepped inside. Coconut and Lightning were still gone, so there was only one thing to really do. I plopped into bed and let sleep carry me away.

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling a thousand times better. My shoulder had healed enough that it didn't feel like it was burning all the time, so that was good. I craned my neck and stretched out, popping all the kinks out of my back. It was time. We had to leave today. If we didn't, who knows how much longer Mom had. It had to be today.

I pulled my saddlebags out and reorganized one final time. I left the knife in the very bottom, not even daring to touch it with my magic. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. I was clearly incapable of destroying it. There had to be something out there that could do it.

I strapped my barding and bags on and looked down at my holster. Justice sat proudly there, gleaming in the light. I smiled softly. We'll find this Heartmender, Mom, I thought to myself. I swear it.

I left the room and made my way down the hall to Mom's room. No one was there, but there was a note that said to meet in the Theater Commons, one of the public meeting areas of the settlement. I trotted out of the infirmary, thanking the nurses for their time and efforts before I left.

The Theater Commons wasn't too far from the infirmary. As I neared there I could hear raised voices. Coconut and Lightning.

“Why does she have to come with us?” Lightning said loudly. “She's a spy for the Hellraisers!”

“I'm not...” I heard Velvet say.

“I agree with Lightning,” I heard Rocky reply. “It seems too coincidental that she would show up so soon.”

“Yeah,” Coconut said.

I trotted into view. Mom, Lilith, and Envy stood next to where Velvet was. The changeling was stammering, trying to defend herself against the barrage of my brother, Coconut, and Rocky. Thankfully, my presence seemed to deflate things a bit as Rocky caught a glance of me. He motioned, and the others followed.

“Hey,” I said.

“Starry! You're up! Are you feeling better?” Coconut said, coming over to me and giving me a hug.

“I'm fine, Coco. Can't keep me down for long,” I said confidently. My eyes met Velvet's. “I see you guys have met our newest member.”

“This has to be some sort of joke,” Lightning said. “Right, Sis? She isn't seriously coming with us, is she?”

Velvet looked apprehensive. I could see the PipBuck around her leg. I very nearly felt bad for her, if she wasn't such a crazy bitch. Still, none of us had much choice in this matter. Mom was right on the money about enemies, after all. I couldn't help but think that had something to do with this. Another test for us to learn.

“She is,” I said. “Velvet is going to be part of our team. We should treat her accordingly.”

Velvet breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank... thank you,” she said.

“Oh, I'm not finished,” I said, trotting over to her and leaning in. “I'm going to be very clear about this. You try anything, anything at all that hurts my friends, and you will meet the barrel end of Justice. I meant it.”

“Starry? Everything alright there?” Mom said.

I grinned as I watched Velvet glare at me some more. “Just fine, Mom. Looks like we're ready to get going. Just doing some last minute checks of things,” I said.

“Where exactly are we going, anyways?” Velvet said.

“Yes... you will need the route information,” Lilith said. She lifted her hoof and flipped open the cover on her power armor, revealing a PipBuck. She pressed a few buttons. “I've transmitted the last known coordinates of the possible route that the Heartmender was last seen on, based on our research. We don't know if it's accurate, really, but it's the best information we have on them.”

I glanced down at my PipBuck's screen. The automap function had engaged with route details. “This leads not just out of the city but out of Equestria,” I said.

“It is likely that the Heartmender has left the country, yes,” Lilith said. “Sightings of such a pony are quite rare, and our research was based on a lot of hearsay.”

I nodded. I knew deep down that I was going to do whatever it took to find this Heartmender pony. I had to. I wasn't about to let Mom die. I trotted over to her and gave her a hug. Lightning joined me.

“Don't worry, we'll be back soon,” I said.

“I know you will,” Mom said with a smile. “I have faith in both of you. You'll find your way home.”

I smiled, tears in my eyes. I wiped them away and nodded.

“Alright, let's go!”

Author's Note

Woo! Chapter 6 down and out! This one was a bigger chapter than the rest have been. It was a bit necessary to be able to properly introduce Velvet Kiss, our new changeling friend! We now have a fearsome fivesome on their way to find THE HEARTMENDER!!! Who is this mystery pony who can heal hearts? You'll just have to keep reading to find out!

Also, another cameo from our good friend Dusk! Yes, he has a name!

Much thanks to Heartshine, McMesser, and last but not least Wirepony for all their work on helping me edit/pre-read this stuff.

Super duper thanks to the folks that are helping support on me on Patreon! If you like what you're reading and you want to support me, check it out! It's super easy to do, and helps support content creators like myself!

Chapter Seven: Setting Out

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Seven: Setting Out

There is only one rule in the Wasteland: survive.

As we set off on what was sure to be the start of my own legendary tale, I only really had one feeling. Fear. I feared what we were doing, where we were going. I feared what was going to happen to Mom while I was gone. I feared Velvet Kiss, even though I knew she wasn't really a threat. I feared that we wouldn't find the Heartmender, that we wouldn't be able to save Mom.

If it hadn't been for Lightning, Rocky, and Coco, I think I'd have driven myself crazy with my fear. But, as it turns out, having friends to help talk things through helps immensely. Fear was not an emotion I needed. I needed courage, hope, and instinct. I needed to be able to survive. We needed to be able to survive.

If we couldn't survive out here, we were dead, and so was Mom. And I was not going to let that happen. I was going to find the Heartmender, even if it killed me.

* * *

“Are we there yet?” I heard Velvet Kiss lament from behind me. It was the fifth time since we'd set out on our journey that she'd asked that same question. I was ready to kill her.

Instead, I took a deep calming breath and responded without glancing away from my automap. “Not yet, Kiss. Now quit asking, it's annoying as all fucking get out.”

“But we've been walking for hours! I never walk this much,” Kiss replied.

“Seriously, do you ever shut up?” Lightning said. “Remind me again why we brought her along.”

I stopped and grimaced. Why had Mom agreed to send Kiss with us? Because she's technically the enemy, I thought carefully. And keeping her close is more important than letting her run free. The logic was sound enough. Keeping Velvet with us meant that she wasn't off making trouble for others.

“Because, we need her abilities,” I said.

“Thank y---” Velvet started to say.

“What we don't need, is you flapping your jaw every five minutes. We're not even out of the city yet,” I interrupted. I glared at Kiss. “The only data we have on the Heartmender is that they left the city and one possible route based on complete hearsay. So until we get to the first settlement along that route, let's just all stay quiet and get along, alright?”

“Fine,” Kiss said, lowering her head.

I moved back into a steady trot. I had never truly been this far out away from home before, and we were headed even further, out of the city. I had to keep my head on straight. No mistakes, no more of my friends getting hurt. Get out, find this Heartmender, get home. Simple.

The city was quiet as we made our way through the empty streets. Usually there was a bustle of trading caravans migrating from settlement to settlement, but not today. It made our whole journey that much more somber, I supposed. At least most of the settlements on the outskirts of the city were friendly, like Filiet. Even though that place stunk to high heavens, the ponies there were decent and honest.

“Hey, hold up,” Coconut said in a hushed tone, her voice distorted slightly by her power armor. “I'm picking up some activity on my E.F.S.”

I grimaced, lifting my hoof and giving the signal to stop. I brought up my own E.F.S. and began scanning the buildings around us. There were a few red dots with up arrows above them. That meant they had to be in a building nearby and on our left. I looked over at Coconut, who nodded.

“Alright everyone, stay low. It could just be radroaches, or it could be something else. We don't want to draw undue attention to ourselves. Rocky, keep an eye out,” I said.

“Will do,” Rocky replied softly.

We crept along carefully and I tried my best to keep quiet as I glanced up at the building. I couldn't see exactly where the dots were in the building, only that they were upwards. We had to hope we were making as little noise as possible to not draw their attention, whoever they were.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we made it past the building. I was silently cheering inside until I heard it. A series of crunching sounds from behind us. I spun about, watching as a pony in power armor dove from the building, landing onto the ground with a force so massive it nearly knocked me over. Several large cracks appeared in the concrete below it. The pony in the armor lifted their head and regarded us carefully before speaking.

“Unicorn, pegasus, unicorn, earth pony, minotaur,” it spoke in a clearly masculine voice. “Descriptions match. These are the ones we were notified about.”

“Huh?” I said, pinning my ear back. His blip still appeared red. No matter what, he was still considered hostile. “What do you mean? Who are you?”

“Your worst nightmare, sweetie,” a voice from above said.

I snapped my head towards the source of the voice. Standing just inside a hole in the wall of the building was a dark gray unicorn stallion with a slicked back blue mane. He appeared to be older. A combat shotgun hung in the air next to him, engulfed in his magic.

Shit! Mercenaries? Were they working for the Hellraisers, come to get us? How did they even know we were headed this way? I thought frantically. I glanced sidelong at Velvet Kiss, wondering... no... she wouldn't put herself in danger. The pony in the power armor had clearly mentioned her as well.

“Who are you?” Coconut said. “And what do you want from us?”

“My... employer sends his regards. He was fairly certain you were going to try and follow him out of the city, so he hired some extra protection,” the unicorn said.

My eyes narrowed. “Xerves.”

The unicorn's eyebrows raised slightly. “Yes... he said you would probably know his name. He also said that we were to kill you if you did try to follow him.”

I grimaced. Xerves somehow knew we were coming here? This way? How in the hell did he know that? My eyes widened. A bug... it's the only possibility. He knew we'd be leaving the city, because he bugged me, I thought.

“So what, Xerves hired you to do his dirty work?” Velvet Kiss piped up. “You stupid fucks. He's probably gonna kill you after he's done with you.”

“Oh, I'm more than prepared for that,” the unicorn said. “Been at this merc game a long time, and I've been double-crossed more times than I can count. This is no different. I get my caps and I get to kill people. It's a win-win scenario for me.”

“Tell me where he is,” I said angrily. “Tell me where Xerves is.”

“Sis?” Lightning said under his breath as he glanced at me.

“Tell me!” I shouted, ignoring my brother. I was mad. Xerves... Xerves tried to kill my mother and he was just... toying with us! I had to know where he was! Before I could say anything further, I felt a claw on my shoulder. Rocky stood next to me.

“We cannot afford to be delayed,” he said. “Our journey is of the utmost importance.”

“Negative,” the unicorn said with a grin. “You aren't going anywhere. Sledge, take them down.”

“Affirmative,” the pony in the power armor growled. He launched forward into a charge, the weight of his power armor shaking the ground as he came on like a freight train.

“Shit!” Coconut shouted as she moved to the side, her rifle popping out of her own power armor. She took aim and fired, hitting the armored pony directly in the chest. It didn't stop him. In fact, it didn't even slow him.

The armored pony barreled right into Coconut, who met his charge without flinching. I could hear Coco grunting with effort even over the screeching of their armor smashing together, but it was clear that the other pony was stronger. He tucked his shoulder in and did… something, and Coconut went lying to land in a heap.

I moved quickly to assist, my horn igniting. A gunshot rang out and sparks hit the ground in front of me. I glanced up at our other assailant, grimacing angrily.

“Stop playing around, Sledge,” he said.

The armored pony stood and turned towards the rest of us. With another paw of his hoof, he lurched into a charge again. This time, headed right towards me.

I yelped and froze, unable to move. I watched as Rocky appeared out of nowhere in front of me, his mechanical claws reaching forward and grabbing onto the armored pony. He roared loudly as his feet dug in, before physically lifting it from the ground. With another huff and a roar, he threw the armored pony to the ground and began pounding at its head.

I blinked. I had never seen Rocky so... so fierce before. It was like he was an animal, pure and uncaged fury being released all at once.

The armored pony however, still seemed unfazed by the damage. Calmly he lifted a hoof and kicked out, forcing Rocky away. He stood.

“Interesting,” it said. “Data analysis complete. Cybernetic enhancements. You are special. I shall enjoy ripping you limb from limb.”

“Now now, Sledge. We need them alive,” the unicorn said. “Boss wants to kill them personally. We're mercenaries, not assassins.”

“My apologies,” the armored pony said. “Executing capture protocols.”

My eyes widened as I realized that the armored pony wasn't a pony at all, it was a robot! The way it talked, the way it moved... the way it took a hit. There was no way this thing was a real pony. If it was a robot, then there was a chance we could get away from these fucks without getting caught. We weren't even out of the city yet, and we were already wasting too much time.

“Rocky!” I shouted. “It's a robot! Aim for its power core!”

Rocky nodded, his yellow eyes narrowing at the armored pony. He roared and strode forward, his claws unfurling. As he did, shots rained down from above.

The unicorn had finally entered the fight. He ducked back as Coconut and Lightning took aim and returned a hail of fire from their respective weapons. I glanced about to find Velvet Kiss, but couldn't see where she'd ran off to. Great... first fight and she left us, I thought to myself How am I gonna explain that to Mom?. I turned to assist Rocky, feeling confident that the other two had their opponent well in hoof.

The robot lifted a hoof, firing what appeared to be a netting of some kind. I reached out with my magic and grabbed it, forcing it off course. Rocky charged, slamming into the robot hard. It went crumpling to the ground as Rocky launched himself onto its back. He clawed and ripped at the robot's armored exterior, hunting frantically for the robot's power core.

The robot heaved itself back to its feet, spilling Rocky unceremoniously to one side. It stood calmly, its visor lit up bright red.

“Shit, laser!” I shouted as I ducked behind a pile of rubble.

A bright beam of reddish energy erupted from the robot's visor, making a scorch mark on the ground where I'd been. The robot turned to my hiding spot, its laser charging back up. It stepped forward menacingly.

“Your fight is with me!” Rocky roared as he slammed into the robot's side, causing it to discharge its laser weapon into the ground.

Rocky brought his claw up into the robot's throat, cutting through the armored plating to the cybernetics below. With a bellowing roar, he ripped pieces of electronics free. The robot sputtered and fell over, unmoving. Rocky stood there, panting loudly. Or at least that's what it sounded like to my ears.

“You alright?” he said.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said. “We'd better help the others, though.”

“Right,” Rocky replied.

I glanced over at where the others were holed up, still locked in a firefight with the unicorn mercenary. He appeared focused on them. I was about to move, to take a shot when a blast of laser fire struck me, sending me flat on my face. Pain shot throughout my entire body. I glanced back to see the head of the robot, floating freely in the air.

“Do not attempt to resist capture,” it said. “Resisting means death. And believe me when I say, I will enjoy killing you.”

“Oh yeah, enjoy this,” I growled, lifting Justice into the air. I activated S.A.T.S., the interface showing just the head as a viable target. I queued up as many shots as the spell would allow for, a total of three, and released.

Justice fired three consecutive shots, each one slamming into the robot's floating head. The first two barely did much damage, but the third cracked it's visor. It started to glow an angry red. My eyes widened.

“Stupid meatbags,” the robot head said. “I hope that in killing me, you kill yourselves. Good bye.”

“Shit, run!” I shouted as Rocky helped me scramble to my hooves.

We ran hard and fast, ducking into the ruins of the building as the robot's head exploded in a fiery blast that incinerated the ground below it and ignited several skywagons along the road. I groaned as I poked my head out. The others, were they okay? I smiled as I saw Coconut standing over Lightning, shielding him from the debris and heat.

“Alright, that's it!” I heard a voice shout from above. The unicorn sniper growled under his breath. “You've gone and pissed me off. You killed my robot.”

“I don't think you're doing anything,” a voice said from behind him. Velvet Kiss appeared out of nowhere, the glossy chitin of her natural form gleaming in the dim light. With a flick of her magic, she disarmed the stallion and forced him to the ground. I saw her grin menacingly as she picked up his weapon with a flare of telekinesis. She stepped forward.

“Wait!” I called out. “Velvet, stop! He knows where Xerves is!”

Velvet growled under her breath and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I won't kill him.”

Her eyes glowed and she shapeshifted, returning to her ‘normal’ form. I could hear the gasps coming from Lightning and Coconut. Velvet scoffed as she picked up the unicorn with her magic and lowered him from the open crevice down to us. When she finished, she reverted back to her normal form, her horn flashing as she teleported next to me.

The unicorn merc sat up, gritting his teeth, saying nothing. I trotted over to him and lifted his chin with my magic, staring him in the eye.

“Now, tell us where Xerves is,” I said. “I need to know what he's planning.”

“Sorry honey, not paid enough to know where my employer is physically located. Last I heard, he was on his way out of the city. We were only hired to slow you down,” the unicorn replied casually.

“Can we kill him yet?” Velvet said angrily. “He's pissing me off.”

“No,” I said, returning my attention to the unicorn. “Who are you? Why would you work for somezebra as psychotic as Xerves?”

“Name's Iron Comet,” the unicorn replied. “And isn't it obvious? I'm a merc. Xerves had caps. I needed work. It's as simple as that.”

“And you don't know where he is?” Rocky interjected.

“No. Like I said, we were only hired to slow you down. He thought you might come looking for him, something to do about somepony he killed,” Iron Comet said.

“Almost killed,” I said. “My mother. Xerves poisoned her.” I glanced over at Lightning and Coconut. They were still staring at Velvet Kiss, who looked exceedingly annoyed with the attention.

“Look, I did my job. You've spent more than enough time sitting here jawing at me. Let me go and let me tend after my robot friend,” Iron Comet said.

“Your robot friend tried to blast our faces off,” Rocky said.

“Yes... well, Xerves didn't say nothing about a minotaur,” Iron Comet replied.

“Why should we let you go? You tried to kill us,” I asked.

“I agree. He may have a communications line set up to Xerves. If we let him go, he could warn Xerves,” Velvet said. “I say we kill him.”

“You gonna listen to this pyscho bitch? I wasn't trying to kill you fucks, just delay you,” Iron Comet said angrily. “Besides, you're the ones who killed my robot.”

“You did fire first, and he attacked first,” I retorted.

“I do not agree with Kiss's sentiments of murder, but I do agree that we shouldn't allow this pony to walk free,” Rocky said.

I glanced over again at Lightning and Coconut. “What do you two think?”

“Bwuh?”

I rolled my eyes. “I asked what you thought about how to deal with this merc.”

“Oh, right,” Lightning said. “I agree with Rocky. I don't think we should kill him. We're not murderers.”

“Ugh, fine, then I'll do it,” Velvet said, stepping forward. “That's why I'm here, aren't I?”

I put up a hoof, stopping her in her tracks. “I can't let you do that Velvet. We'll tie him up here and call in to the MMMM. They can come pick him up. We can't afford any more time loss. It's getting dusky and we need to get to the last settlement before getting out of the city by nightfall.”

Velvet grimaced but nodded. She wasn't going to challenge my authority, it seemed. I turned to Iron Comet. With a flick of my horn, I bound his hooves with some rope in my saddlebags.

“Lightning, call it in,” I said.

“You know this won't hold me. I'll be gone before your little MMMM fucks get here,” Iron Comet said.

I grimaced. He was right about one thing. The only reason he hadn't used his magic to get away now was because he was disarmed and surrounded. If we left him there...

“I may have something to deal with that,” Velvet said with a sigh. Her horn glowed, floating something small and rounded out of her saddlebag. “A magic inhibitor should prevent you from using your magic to escape.”

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“Envy gave it to me before we left. I've got a few more. It was... in case I needed to use them against any enemy unicorns,” she said, her eyes meeting mine.

I processed that for a moment. Did Envy know that Xerves had hired this pony? That would mean that Xerves would had to have been in contact with her somehow. And in that case, it meant that Xerves... Xerves knew about the Heartmender. He had to. It was the only thing that made sense. And if he knew about the Heartmender... then he was ahead of us. And we were running out of time already.

“Do it,” I said. “We need to go.”

Velvet nodded, lowering the inhibitor onto Iron Comet's horn. “There, there. Now sit here and be a good little unicorn.”

Iron Comet glared and tried to access his magic, growling loudly when it did nothing.

“You're gonna regret this,” he said. “You just made me your enemy. This won't be the last time you've seen me!”

I paid no attention as I trotted past him and back onto the road. I could hear his shouts and curses as we moved farther away. His interruption may have cost us the entire mission.

The others followed, unsure of my sudden need to move. I was going to have to explain it to them, but first I needed to touch on a more important subject. My brother and my best friend's continued staring at Velvet Kiss, like she was some oddity to note in a book somewhere.

“Velvet,” I said as we walked. “I think perhaps you'd better explain to Lightning and Coconut. Otherwise I think they may stare at you this whole time.”

“Yeah... how did you do that back there?” Lightning said.

“What he said,” Coconut added.

“I... Fine. I guess you were going to find out sooner or later,” Velvet said, grimacing. She sighed and took a deep breath. “I'm a changeling. Capable of transforming into other ponies at my desire.” To illustrate, her horn glowed and suddenly there was a copy of Lightning walking next to my real brother. Velvet changed back just as easily.

“Wow, that... that's actually kind of cool,” Lightning said.

“It explains quite a bit of why you were brought onto this mission,” Rocky said. He walked calmly next to me. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine. We don't have time for this, we need to get to the settlement before nightfall,” I said, continuing forward in a hurried fashion.

“Sweetie, slow down,” Coconut said, retracting her visor. “We can't move as fast as you. Well, Lightning can, but I certainly can't in this power armor. We're all tired and we'll get to the settlement here soon.”

“We can't waste any time,” I said angrily. “It's already too late.”

“What do you mean?” Coconut said.

I stopped in my tracks. I sighed loudly. “Xerves knew we were coming this way. He knew we were leaving the city. Can you follow where I'm going with this?”

“Xerves knows why we are leaving the city,” Rocky said calmly. “He knows about the Heartmender.”

“Right,” I said. “And if we don't hurry... he'll find them. And then there won't be any hope for Mom... ever.”

Coconut grimaced and stepped up next to me. I felt a cold metallic hoof touch my shoulder. “Starry... we'll get there before he does, I promise. But we can't do that on tired bodies and empty stomachs.”

“I do not require food or sleep,” Rocky said flatly.

“Not helping man, not helping,” Lightning said. “Coco's right. We're all tired, well most of us are tired. We'll get to the settlement and then we'll plan out our journey from there after some rest and some food.”

I sighed again. “You're right,” I said with a nod. “I just... that unicorn... he already delayed us. I'm just worried that Xerves has already found the Heartmender's trail.”

“If he has, we'll follow him and deal with him when the time comes,” Coconut said.

I grimaced and nodded again. “Let's go then.”

* * *

We started forward once more, filled with a more renewed purpose than before, but still just as tired. Within the hour the first inkling of civilization appeared. We joined up with a caravan heading to the outskirt settlement nestled next to an old prewar bunker known as Bunker City. Not the most exciting name, but it did an excellent job describing what wasn’t the most exciting place.

The closer we got to Bunker City the more apprehensive I felt. I was worried that Xerves was going to find us, I was worried that he was going to find the Heartmender, and I was equally worried that we'd done the wrong thing with Iron Comet. The others may not have liked it, but I was teetering on whether I should have just let Velvet Kiss take care of it. I wondered if the knife in my bag was influencing that line of thought. Either way, I worried that it wasn't the last we'd seen of the unicorn merc.

We parted ways with the caravan just outside the city and headed through the gates. Bunker City was on the very border of Chicacolt. Many of its buildings consisted of prewar tanker wagons and military vehicles that had been rebuilt into shops and domiciles. The bunker itself had been turned into the city's primary inn and place of leadership, since it had enough beds to house ponies weary from the roads. In the distance, the cold Wasteland stretched out beyond. Even with the radiation gone, the Wasteland was still there. I shuddered. It was the first that I'd ever seen it in such a raw capacity.

The guards at the gate led us to the inn, where we were able to just sit and attempt to get some rest. I didn't like the concept of just resting. Xerves was out there somewhere, and he knew that we were there too.

I groaned and leaned back against the wall of our room, drawing the attention of Rocky. The minotaur loped across the room and sat next to me. His yellow eyes pierced the dim light.

“You are alright?” he asked.

I nodded. “I... I'm fine. I just can't stop thinking about it.”

“Xerves.”

“Yeah... he knows, Rock. He has to. And you know what really worries me? How he knows,” I said.

Rocky rested his claw on my shoulder. It felt reassuring. I blushed.

“You think Envy had something to do with it,” he said matter of fact.

I grimaced. “I do. Does that bother you? I know how highly you hold her in regard.”

“I am not so blind to see the world before me. You have shown me that you are willing to do anything for your mother, it is no far cry to see a mother do anything for her son,” Rocky said. “Regardless of my training, if Envy is responsible for allowing her son to remove the only hope we have for your mother, I will do what is necessary.”

“I... Thank you,” I said, leaning up next to him. “That... that means a lot to me.”

“You're welcome,” Rocky replied. “I... we... we are alike, you and I. We both see the world for what it is. I wish we had met under... friendlier circumstances.”

“Me too,” I whispered. “Me too.” I sat in the comfort of his presence, knowing that somehow deep inside, we actually understood each other. A warmth in my stomach told me that maybe I just wasn't crushing. That maybe I'd actually found a soul worth caring for. One who understood what the world was really like.

“No,” I heard Velvet Kiss say.

“Oh come on,” Lightning said from across the room. “Please?”

“No! Leave me alone!”

I rolled my eyes. “I'd better go see what the commotion is all about.” I stood and made my way over to where Velvet was sitting.

Lightning and Coconut were sitting across from her, several magazines splayed out in front of them. My eyes widened a bit as I realized they were those old Wingboner magazines we'd found in the power station.

“What's going on here?” I asked.

“We're trying to get Velvet to change into Miss Equestria, page forty-two,” Lightning replied eagerly.

“Yeah,” Coconut said.

“Let me get this straight. You're trying to get her to change into a porn queen?” I said blankly.

“Well when you put it like that....” Lightning said, looking down at his hooves. “Sorry, Velvet.”

I glanced over at Velvet. She rolled her eyes.

“Look, if I do one, will you guys leave me alone from now on? If you haven't forgotten, we still need to eat,” Velvet said.

“Promise,” Coconut said. “We won't bother you about it again.”

“Fine,” Velvet replied. A flicker of green engulfed her body and in her place was one of the most beautiful mares I'd ever seen. She was clean and her mane bounced a little in place. She winked at both Lightning and Coconut, both of whom had dropped jaws. Another flicker of magic and she returned to plain old Velvet.

“That was... awesome!” both Coconut and Lightning said at the same time.

“Looks like they like you,” I said softly. Coconut and Lightning were too engulfed in their own laughing to hear me. “It's good to have friends who like you for what you are, isn't it?”

“Please. I was only doing it because I need to eat too,” Velvet said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Changelings don't eat real food. I mean, we can. But honestly, we feast on feelings. Specifically, love,” Velvet said. “That was enough to keep me sustained for a while.”

I blinked. “You eat what?”

“Love. We can sense it. Just like I can between you and the big guy over there,” Velvet replied, throwing her head back towards Rocky. “You've got a crush on him, don't you?”

I blushed fiercely. “No, I don't.”

“Hah, you so do. So cute,” Velvet said. “Got a thing for the non-equines don't ya? I don't blame you. He's cute once you get past the robot parts. Wonder if his d-”

“Velvet, seriously. Cut it out,” I said sternly. “Sorry, I just... please don't say anything?”

Velvet grinned. “No worries, Starry. I won't say anything about it.”

“About what?” Lightning said.

I rolled my eyes. Of course my brother had chosen that moment to pay attention.

“Nothing, Bro. Come on guys, let's go see if we can get something to eat and then stock up for the road. If we're going to beat Xerves and find the Heartmender, we're going to need our strength. Besides, somepony here might know something,” I said, smiling.

* * *

“A heart-what? Never heard of it.”

“Heartmender? Xerves? I don't know anypony by that name, sorry.”

“The Heartmender? You're looking for the Heartmender?”

I paused for a second. “You've heard of them?”

The unicorn seated at the bar nodded. “The Heartmender is a legend. Supposed to be a pony capable of powerful empathic magic. But it's only a legend. I don't think they actually exist.”

I grimaced. Nopony in Bunker City, except for one lone unicorn, had ever heard of the Heartmender, and even he thought she was a myth. We'd spent the last hour or so eating at the local (and only) bar in town, and I'd gone around to try and see if anypony could tell us anything.

Of course, they couldn't. Not even the name Xerves rung any bells with anypony. I sighed, trotting back outside the bar with the others.

“Nothing,” I said. “Only one pony and he doesn't even think the Heartmender is real.”

“So what do we do now?” Lightning said.

“I say we follow the map marker still,” Coconut interjected. “Keep going along the trail.”

“Wait. We're just following a stupid map marker?” Velvet said, raising an eyebrow. “So whoever this Heartmender is, no one knows where they are? Or if they even exist in the first place?”

“They exist,” I said matter-of-fact. “They have to exist. Otherwise, why would that one pony ever have heard of them in the first place?”

“Yeah... in a legend! Geesh, you guys are dumber than you look, you know that right? Legends aren't real,” Velvet protested. “What's next? You're gonna tell me that there's a Mare in the Moon?”

“We have to believe,” Rocky said simply. “Legends are merely stories based in some truth. Even if the Heartmender isn't some all powerful empathic pony, they must have some knowledge of a medical process that could save Starry's mother.”

Velvet groaned. “Alright, look I get it. You want to save your mom, and that's real sweet. I just don't think we have enough information to go on.”

“No, but Xerves might,” I said, cutting her off. I caught a glimpse of something on one of the roofs in the distance. I grimaced. “By all indications, he knew we were coming this way. He must know we're on the right track. If we can find him, maybe we can get the information out of him somehow.”

“That's a good idea,” Coconut said. “But how are we going to find him? The only lead we had we tied up and left in the middle of nowhere.”

“He's going to tell us,” I said, pointing past the others.

Standing on top of nearby roof was none other than Iron Comet himself. The mercenary frowned. I could see that he had somehow managed to remove the magic inhibitor. Not only that, he was accompanied by the floating severed head of his robot companion. Several of the nearby townsponies watched carefully as the mercenary jumped down to our level.

“I told you already that you would see me again. Seriously, leaving me on the side of the road with a magic inhibitor? You should have just killed me,” he said angrily.

“You got free fine enough,” I said flatly. “For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your friend. He shouldn't have attacked us.”

“Oh, Sledge wasn't my friend. He was just a robot I built. I was trying to get you to let me free,” Comet said. “Didn't work, of course. But, one of the perks of having a robot is always having an extra set of hooves to get rid of a magic inhibitor.”

“I see,” I said with a grimace. “Well, you're free now. So would you care to clue us in on where your employer might be hiding?”

“All I know is that he's left the city, but you won't be following him,” Comet replied. “Word on the street is, not only are the Hellraisers on the lookout for several ponies who escaped their captivity recently, but they strangely enough match your descriptions.”

“So what? You going to be a bounty hunter?” Velvet said. “Don't forget, last time I kicked your butt solid.”

“You got the drop on me, I'll give you that. You won't again,” Comet said.

“Isn't there some way we can work this out?” I asked. “You don't owe anything to Xerves.”

“Sorry sweetie. It's nothing personal. I listen to the hard jingle of caps, and nothing else,” the unicorn said. He lifted his rifle into the air. “So, let's come along quietly this time, alright?”

“Right, because there's not five of us and one of you,” Lightning said. “You're outnumbered, and you don't have your robot to help you.”

Iron Comet grinned. “Who said I was outnumbered?” He whistled sharply and stepped back a few paces.

All around us guns popped out of nowhere. The ponies brandishing them were dirty and unkempt, their eyes wild and mad with excitement. Hellraisers. How they'd gotten into the town unnoticed, I wasn't sure, but one thing was for certain, they meant business. I looked around at the suddenly empty streets. The townsponies didn't want anything to do with this. I grimaced at the lack of help given to representatives of the MMMM. I suppose it made sense all the way out here. The ponies on the outskirts didn't trust anyone they didn't know.

“We don't have time for this,” I hissed under my breath. “Rocky. How many do you think there are?”

“By my system's estimation there are around twenty ponies in the vicinity, including the mercenary,” Rocky whispered.

“I don't like that number. What can you do about the sharpshooters?” I said.

“I can deal with them if that's what you're asking,” Rocky replied.

“Give up you lot!” Iron Comet growled. “You're done here. The Hellraisers get their bounty, I get paid double, from them and Xerves. Win win, really.”

I grimaced. “Rocky, take down as many as you can and give us a path to escape. Lightning?”

“Yea?”

“I need you to run interference. Keep their eyes on you at all times. If you're distracting them, they won't see Velvet. Velvet, you need to use your stealth, get to our room and get our stuff. Can you do that?” I asked.

Velvet nodded. “I don't prefer dying here either.”

“What about you?” Lightning asked.

“Coconut and I are going to work on dealing with fancy pants. He's right about one thing, we're outnumbered here, but he's calling the shots. If we can remove him from the fight, we may have a shot at escaping with our lives,” I said. “We'll split up and meet just outside the city. Don't get caught.”

I sighed and recalled Mom's training on dealing with an overwhelming and impossible situation. The most important thing in that kind of situation was to distract the enemy long enough to get away. Granted, Mom would have never put herself in this kind of situation to begin with. It didn't help my confidence level any that I had. Would Mom have killed Iron Comet the first time? I didn't know, and that's what worried me.

“Tick tock,” Iron Comet said. “Make your choice. I'm pretty sure they don't care if you're alive or dead. I get paid either way.”

“Rocky, go,” I said.

Rocky roared and jumped towards the nearest Hellraiser. With a sickening *crunch* he grabbed the ponies neck and twisted. He snarled and picked it up and threw it across the plaza at another group of them.

Gunfire and chaos erupted. Lightning took to the skies above, flying back and forth as he fired shots into the crowd of ponies. Everypony seemed to be focused on him and Rocky, they didn't even notice Velvet transform into one of them and slink off. I grinned and bumped up next to Coconut across from Iron Comet.

“Outnumbered, eh? You're outgunned,” I said, lifting Justice into the air. I took aim and fired.

Iron Comet snarled and moved to the side, his horn flaring as he used a bit of magic to deflect the bullet. “You're going to have to do better than that, filly.”

Coconut charged, her metal frame carrying her forward. I kept firing, keeping Iron Comet busy deflecting bullets, not giving him enough time to avoid Coconut. She struck him dead on, sending him soaring through the air into a nearby wall. He grunted and crumbled to the ground.

“Come on!” she shouted.

I nodded, following behind her. Shots rang out as the raiders realized that we were escaping, that it was futile to fight the pissed off minotaur and the flighty pegasus. I glanced back and watched Rocky and Lightning run off in the chaos together. Several of the raiders followed them while several more followed after us.

“Keep going!” I called out as we ducked in and out of alleyways made of corrugated metal boxes.

Bullets deflected off metal, creating a cacophony of noise that filled our ears. The edge of the town had to be coming up soon, and we were still being followed. I wasn't sure how we were going to escape this and lose them. I'd hoped that once we'd gotten out of the city into the Wasteland that the raiders wouldn't follow, but now I wasn't so sure.

Coconut and I lunged forward, making our way out of the alley amidst pure and utter chaos. Raiders were everywhere. Gunfire erupted, taking down three of them in our path. I glanced up to see several of the guard ponies from the town. They were fighting back! We had a shot after all! I charged ahead, lifting Justice out. I took several pot shots at a few of our pursuers, forcing them to fall back.

“We've got to meet up with the others and get out of here!” I shouted.

“What about the townsponies? They can't hold off a force like this all by themselves.” Coconut said apprehensively. She turned and fired her rifle, hitting a raider in the chest. He dropped back and lay still.

“And we can make the difference? Coco, we're in over our heads here!” I pleaded. “Normally I'd be all for helping, but we have to retreat.”

“If we retreat, then these ponies have us to blame for their troubles,” Coconut said. “Think Starry, what would your Mom do?”

I grimaced. She had me there. Mom would never let a settlement be destroyed by a group of raiders. She'd do better. She'd expect me to do better, and she would be very cross with me if I came home and let this town go to complete shit. I sighed and nodded.

“Alright, fine. What's your plan, then?” I asked.

“We make our way up to the guards up there and assess the situation,” Coconut said. “If we can, try to pick up the others and fill them in.”

I nodded again. “Lead the way. Hopefully we can drive off these bastards.”

Coconut trotted back into the fray, myself hot on her hooves. We picked our way through the battle, which had escalated into a full on firefight. Hellraisers fired on guards, guards fired back against Hellraisers. I couldn't keep track of who was who, I just knew that we needed to get to the guard tower. From there, we would at least stand a chance at figuring out how to fight back.

Quickly we climbed the stairs up the guard tower, coming face to face with the barrel of one of the guard captain's rifles. We lifted our hooves to indicate that we were friendly.

“You two! What are you doing up here? Civilians are to stay indoors,” the captain barked.

“We're here to help you,” Coconut said. “I'm with the Steel Rangers, my friend here is with the MMMM. These raiders are here because of us. We're hoping that we can help drive them out of town.”

The guard captain grimaced and lowered his rifle. “So you're the reason these sick fucks are here? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put you down myself.”

“Um... him?” I said meekly, pointing past the captain.

The captain spun about and looked right up into Rocky's cold yellow eyes. Lightning stood next to him, looking no worse for wear.

“We mean your town no harm, captain,” Rocky said calmly. “But my friends are right. You do need our help.”

“Alright, fine. What did you have in mind?” the captain said with a sigh. “We're just a trade outpost. We don't have the kind of firepower to deal with a force this large.”

“No, but you do have a locked armory,” I heard a voice say. I glanced over to see Velvet Kiss, smiling widely as she carted our stuff through the air. “Sorry I'm late. Ran into a few of those raider fucks on the way up.”

I grinned as I took my saddlebags from her. I knew she'd come through, somehow. Velvet was slowly learning to be part of a team, or perhaps it was merely her own survival instinct keeping her here. I honestly couldn't tell which.

“Well, yes, but we've never been able to get inside...” the guard captain trailed off. “It's locked by a security system.”

“Rocky? What do you think? Can you get in with your interface?” I asked the minotaur.

“It's certainly worth the shot,” Rocky said with a shrug. “I cannot guarantee my systems are compatible.”

“Would using my PipBuck help?” I said.

Rocky's eyes narrowed for a second and then he nodded. If he'd had a mouth I swore he'd have grinned widely.

“That might do it,” he said. “Let's get down there and find out.”

* * *

After navigating the chaos once more, we found ourselves in the bunker below, in front of a massive steel door. I grimaced as I stepped up next to the terminal connected to it. We hadn't even seen Iron Comet since the fighting started. I was greatly worried we weren't done with him just yet.

“Here it is,” the guard captain said with a grimace of his own. I could tell by his eyes that he was afraid, angry, distraught. “We've tried to get in on occasion when the thing resets, but it's no use. The password is locked tight. I'm going to go back up and try and hold the raiders off while you get inside.”

I nodded, lifting my PipBuck. A cord extended from it, connecting to the port on the terminal. I looked to Rocky. He stood next to me, his arm opened by a hidden compartment. Another cord snaked out from it. I took it in my magic and hooked it into the input on my PipBuck.

“Alright... let's see what we've got here,” I said as I engaged the terminal's security functions. Numbers and letters mixed with special characters scrolled up the screen in random order.

“This is an extremely high security terminal,” Rocky said suddenly. “The... the encryption alone is far above my understanding.”

I narrowed my gaze at the screen. There had to be a way inside! This was quite possibly the only way we were going to save this town. There had to be something! I tapped a few keys, trying to discover the password as best as I could, but each time the screen changed to a different random order.

“Wait,” Rocky said. “Can you go back? There's... there's a pattern.”

I looked up at him. He was entranced with the screen, his yellow eyes wide. I returned to the screen and tapped a few more keys. The previous order of characters appeared briefly.

“There,” Rocky said, pointing at a few of the symbols. They appeared to be random in nature, but they were very similar. “Select that one.”

I moved the cursor over and selected it. A new screen appeared, different than what appeared when I selected incorrectly. “That... that did something. Can you find another one of those?”

“I can try,” Rocky said. His eyes scanned the screen over and over until he lifted a finger, pointing at the far left of the screen. “There. That one.”

I selected the symbols, bringing up a third screen. It appeared to be mostly the same. I couldn't understand it, but somehow... somehow Rocky could see what the hell was going on. Did it have something to do with his cybernetics? I shrugged. If it got us into this place, I didn't care.

“There,” Rocky said, pointing at the middle of the screen.

I started to move the cursor over when I heard yelps from the guards behind us. Gunshots rang out. I glanced back to see that two raiders had breached the bunker. They were accompanied by a pony I had hoped had died in the initial chaos. Iron Comet growled as he stepped into the light.

“We're not done here, kid,” he said angrily. “Get them.”

The two raiders snarled, starting forward only to meet the cold metal of Coconut's hooves. My power-armored friend slammed into them, sending them soaring to the ground in front of Comet. He chuckled.

“You guys are good, I'll give you that. But we've got this place surrounded. There's nothing more you can do,” he said. “I'm going to give you a chance to surrender now before I have to kill you.”

“Starry, hurry,” Lightning said. “We'll hold him off. You get that door opened.” He spread his wings and soared across the room at Comet.

The unicorn growled and stepped to the side, letting Lightning take a nosedive right into the wall.

“Pathetic,” he said. “Just pathetic. You should learn to never just blindly charge into a fight, you fool.”

“Don't you call him pathetic!” Coconut roared. She charged forward, letting the weight of her power armor carry her. She slammed into Iron Comet, sending him back into the same wall as Lightning.

Iron Comet was on his hooves in an instant, his magic reaching out for his rifle. He lifted it just above Lightning's head and stopped. “Hold it right there!” he shouted. “Anypony else makes a move, and I splatter his brains everywhere.”

My eyes widened. The screen on the terminal still sat there blinking at us. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Coconut stopped cold in her tracks. I couldn't move. Iron Comet stood above Lightning, his gun trained on my brother's forehead. A cold sneer formed on his lips.

“That's right. Now, I don't personally enjoy killing,” he said. “But I'll make an exception here. You four have been a pain in my ass, and I haven't even known you all that long.” His eyes narrowed. “Wait. Four? Weren't there--?”

“Forgot about me, dumbass,” Velvet Kiss said as she appeared out nowhere next to him. Her magic reached out, slicing Iron Comet's rifle into pieces. Another blast of magic hit Comet himself, pushing him across the room far away from Lightning. “Starry, get that door open! We got this!”

I nodded, returning to the screen. I hit the button to select the symbols that Rocky had previously pointed out and was instantly met with a single prompt.

OPEN DOOR?

I blinked. That was it?! Just answer three prompts and that's it? I thought to myself. I quickly typed Y and hit the enter key. A soft hissing noise sounded from the door as it began to grind open.

“It appears that we were successful,” Rocky said.

“We hope,” I said as I disconnected from the terminal. I glanced back across the room where Velvet Kiss had Iron Comet bound in magical energy.

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” he said. “I won't fall for that trick again, changeling.”

“Oh, so you do know what I am,” Velvet said with a wry grin. “Feather boy. Are you alright there?”

Lightning groaned as he stood. “Yeah, my head hurts like a son of a bitch, but I'll be alright. Hey, you guys got the door open!”

Almost as if on cue, the door finally finished opening, a large crunching noise followed by a hiss. The lights inside the armory turned on automatically, revealing a sparse room. In the center of it was... a robot? Yes, a robot. And that was it. A robot surrounded by a circular platform and a terminal connected to it.

“What the...?” I said. “Where's the weapons? The armor? There's nothing here!”

“Hah! Fools. There was no hope for this town the moment the Hellraisers stepped inside,” Iron Comet spat. “They were doomed from the get go.”

“Shit... he's right,” Coconut said. “Without any additional firepower... the town will be overrun.”

“What about the robot?” Velvet Kiss said.

“What about it?” Coconut asked.

“Well... if it was locked up here, it stands to reason that it must have been a combat model. If we can get it up and running...”

I blinked. “That's it. She's right. If we can get the robot working, we can use it to defend the town, drive off the Hellraisers.”

“None of us here know that much about robots though, Sis,” Lightning said.

“No. That's not true,” Rocky interjected. “He does.” He pointed at Iron Comet.

“Oh, 0that's rich. Now you need my help,” Iron Comet said with a laugh. “Well you can fuck right off. I'm just going to wait here until the Hellraisers kill you stupid fucks.”

“Do you really think that the Hellraisers will honor your agreement?” Velvet said with a grin. “They're not known for being honorable, after all. They are raiders. They'll kill you before you ever even get to see your precious caps.”

Iron Comet scowled for a moment. His eyes darted to the floor as he thought things through. “Alright. But I want my freedom. My freedom in exchange for activating the robot.”

“Deal,” I said before anyone could say a word. “Contingent on the fact that you never try to come after us ever again.”

“Hold up, are you sure we can trust him?” Lightning said. “What if he turns on us?”

“I won't,” Iron Comet said. “You are right about one thing. The Hellraisers aren't honorable to the mercenary codes. I would be lucky to be killed as reward for the bounty, but in all likelihood, I'd be sent to the Pier as one of their sick fuck slaves.”

“Velvet, release him,” I said. “But keep his gun. What's left of it, I guess.”

Velvet grimaced, but she nodded her assent. Her magic died off, dropping Iron Comet to the ground. The stallion stood and glanced over at me.

“You know, you'd make a good merc, kid. You've got guts. I like that,” he said. He trotted over next to me and stopped. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You should know... Xerves told me he was headed north out from here. Through the Badlands. He told me... that he knew you would come for him, that he'd wait for you there.”

“Why would you...?” I asked, glancing over at him.

“Mercenary's honor. I gave my word to leave you alone in exchange for the robot. That makes us even, and I don't like that. This is a freebie. Now you owe me,” he said with a wink. His voice returned to normal levels. “Alright let's see here. This thing is... wow. It's definitely prewar. Never seen anything quite like it.”

“Can you activate it or not?” Rocky said, a hint of anger in his voice.

“Hold your bull horns big guy. I didn't say I couldn't,” Iron Comet said. “Just... give me a claw here while I poke at the terminal.”

I glanced over at Lightning, Coconut, and Velvet. My brother and best friend had glares on their faces, while Velvet had a hard grimace. She appeared to be studying the situation unfolding in front of us.

“I don't know about this, Sis,” Lightning said. “What if he does something to the robot?”

“I... I don't know, but I believe he's sincere,” I said.

“I'm not sure of him myself,” Coconut said. “But I do know that I trust Starry. We should all just be extra cautious, though.”

“He's not lying,” Velvet finally said.

“How can you tell?” Coconut asked.

“I... I can read emotions. It helps with feeding,” Velvet said, blushing. “He's sincere. He realized once I told him what the Hellraisers would do to him that I was right, we're his only chance of getting out of this with his ass intact.”

“Wait... what?” Lightning said. “Feeding? Like, food?”

“Not the time,” Velvet hissed as she glanced outside the bunker. “We need to hurry. The guards can't hold off the raiders for much longer.”

I followed her gaze. She was right about that. The guards had managed to stabilize before the bunker entrance, but beyond that the town was chaos. I shuddered to think of how many might have already died in the firefight. I was shaken out of my reverie by a pony walking towards the entrance, the guard captain. His eyes were wild.

“We're getting dangerously low on ammunition. Were you able to get inside the armory?” he asked frantically.

I nodded with a grimace. “I'm afraid there aren't any extra weapons or armor though. Just a robot, combat model it looks like. We're trying to get it up and running right now.”

“Got it!” I heard Iron Comet shout. “Alright, now. When I tell you to do so, bust open the casing. The lever's stuck, and it won't open, so we've gotta do it manually.”

“Alright,” Rocky replied.

The guard captain's eyes narrowed. “Do you think this will work? We're barely holding on as is.”

I nodded again. The captain sighed and returned his own stiff nod. He trotted back off towards the firing line where the other guards had holed up. I returned to the others.

“Is it working?” I asked.

“We believe so,” Rocky said. “Are you ready for me to open the casing?”

“Yes. Go ahead and crack it open. The robot's systems are starting up now...” Iron Comet replied as he hit a key on the keyboard attached to the terminal screen.

Rocky stood up next to the casing holding the robot in and reached out with his claws. With one swift motion he pulled apart the casing, releasing the large robot. It's terminal screen attached to where it's eyes would be lit up and it slid forward on treaded legs. The screen lit up, showing the face of... a happy pony?

“CLICK,” it said. “BEEP CLICK BEEP.”

“Umm... hi?” I replied.

The terminal screen changed to a pony laughing and then back to a smiling pony. I blinked. What the hell was this thing? There was no way this was a combat robot!

“CLICK CLICK CLICK,” the robot said. It's screen changed to a question mark.

“I think it's trying to communicate with us, but it's voice processor is broken,” Iron Comet said. “Robot, can you understand us?”

The robot's head bobbed up and down. A picture of a smiling pony reappeared on the screen.

“Good. We need your help. There are innocent ponies in this town, they need help. Bad ponies,” I said. “Do you understand?”

The robot nodded its large head once more. An image of an angry pony appeared on the screen. It made another clicking sound and rolled forward again. It's front legs lifted, converting from tread to what appeared to be two laser cannons.

“I guess it really does know what to do,” Lightning said, his voice in awe.

The robot moved towards the entrance of the bunker, pushing it open with relative ease. I grimaced.

“Come on, we'd better follow it, make sure it knows who the good ponies are,” I said.

“If it's all the same to you, I'm going to stay right here,” Iron Comet said. “Perhaps I can glean some more information from the terminal about the robot. Maybe try to send commands to it.”

“Velvet, you stay with him,” I said, earning myself an eyebrow raise from the stallion. “Not in case you do something you're not supposed to, for protection. Velvet can hide in the shadows and get the drop on anypony.”

Velvet nodded. For once, I was surprised she didn't have a witty comment or sassy retort. She was doing her job, like she was asked. I smiled. Perhaps... perhaps she wasn't so bad. I mean, she'd already helped save us several times. I made a mental note to thank her later.

“Come on!” Coconut said as she trotted out the bunker after the robot.

I followed closely behind her, stepping back out into the war zone proper. At least, it had been a war zone until we showed up. The robot's presence had definitely had an effect on the raiders and the guards alike, silencing everypony as it ground past. It lifted one of its laser cannons, firing a bolt of red that tore into a raider. Once everypony realized what side the thing stood on, the fighting began anew.

I made my way through the craziness, keeping tabs on our new metal friend while taking potshots here and there with Justice.

The robot meanwhile, kept pressing forward, firing here and there at every raider it could hit. The effects of this were inspiring. The raiders fell back until they were fleeing entirely. Cheers could be heard from above the roar of the gunfire. We were winning! Within mere moments, the robot had helped turn around the entire scope of the battle.

And then it was quiet. The robot stopped cold and turned back around, heading back towards the bunker. It had a dancing happy pony on its terminal screen. It slid into the bunker and disappeared.

* * *

Several hours later, we stood in the bunker across from the robot's pod. It had returned there, presumably to recharge. Iron Comet had kept his part of the bargain, and he'd been gone by the time the guards arrived back to retake the bunker. I had sincerely hoped it was the last time I'd ever see him.

“We did it! Those raiders won't bother us again!” the guard captain shouted with glee as he walked up to us. “Thanks to you five. I don't know what we'd have done if you weren't here.”

I grimaced. “Probably never would have gotten attacked in the first place,” I said. “After all, it was our fault that the raiders showed up.”

“I have no anger towards you concerning that,” the guard captain said. “You did what was right in the heat of battle, and you helped your fellow pony when it counted. That makes you alright in my book. My name's Jitters. Anytime you need a place to stay in Bunker City, you can count on us.”

“Thank you,” Rocky said. “How many casualties?”

Jitters frowned. “Thankfully, casualties were kept to a minimum. Most of the traders and shop owners were holed up in their stores, and raiders' primary focus was on the guards. We lost ten good ponies today, but we saved much more.”

“We're glad we could help,” Coconut said. “The Steel Rangers never back away from fighting the good fight.”

“Neither do the MMMM,” Lightning said with a grin.

“Yes... about that. I've used the communications radio to put in a call to Theater. A caravan is on its way to resupply us. We've officially decided to join the MMMM. This kind of problem has shown us that we can't defend ourselves on our own out here on the border. We need help,” Jitters replied.

I nodded, glancing over at the robot pod. The robot had re-activated, its screen once more a smiling happy pony. “What will you do with him? He seems friendly,” I asked.

“I... I don't know. The townsponies all agreed that while he was the reason we were able to pull through, they're frightened of him too. Prewar technology aside, robots aren't always the safest to have around,” Jitters said. “Not to mention the upkeep and maintenance.”

“And you can't just shut him down now that he's been awakened,” Rocky stated.

“Right. I was sort of wondering if... well, if he could go with you,” Jitters said.

The robot whirred and clicked loudly, almost excitedly. His screen changed to a happy dancing pony and he almost seemed to dance himself on his treads.

“Huh. Now there's a sight I'd never thought I'd see,” Velvet said. “A happy robot.”

“Do you understand us? You want to come with us?” I asked, turning to the robot.

“CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!” it said frantically. It sounded... excited.

“At least it's not another mouth to feed,” Coconut said. “Could come in useful out there in the Wasteland.”

“It's agreed then. We'll take him. But he's going to need a name,” I said. “We can't just keep calling him Robot.”

“Robby?” Lightning said. All eyes turned on him. “What? What'd I say?”

“CLICK,” the robot said. The screen changed to a laughing pony.

“I think I know what to name him. Click? Does that sound good to you?” I said.

“CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!!!!”

“I think it likes that,” Rocky said.

I chuckled to myself. Another member added to our motley crew, bringing our total up to six. And while I couldn't help but laugh as I watched the others with Click as the robot whirled around in place happily, my mind was distracted. I couldn't get what Iron Comet said out of my mind. Xerves was waiting for me. Me. Not anypony else, but me. I couldn't shake that away as much as I tried.

I glanced away out the window of the bunker and looked out at the town. The damage was extensive but the ponies were already cleaning up the bodies of the dead raiders, looting before disposing of them. In the distance, I could see ponies burying the guards that had perished in the fight. I thought of what I had almost done. I had been ready to leave, to let this town perish, just to feed my own agenda.

In that moment, I had been just like Iron Comet, self-serving and amoral. My thoughts turned to the knife in the saddlebags. That vicious, wicked thing capable of making me feel terrible emotions. Had it been responsible for that? I was sure it wasn't. Instead, it had been all me. I had been willing to let an entire town be slaughtered just to get to Xerves, to find the Heartmender before he could.

What in the world was wrong with me?

Author's Note

And there we have it folks, Mending Hearts Chapter 7 in the bag! This chapter took me forever! Thankfully what gave me an appropriate kickstart on this happened to be a patron! I had a new $15 patron sign up, by the name of Iron Comet, whose reward included a cameo in a chapter. And thus, Iron Comet in the chapter was born. Will we see him again? I'm sure we will. I'm not well known for making one-shot cameos that don't have impact on the story.

If you've been living under a rock, it's worth noting that I am now doing regularish book giveaways of Fallout Equestria: Starlight on Patreon! The next of these is scheduled to occur in July, where I hope to be giving away a full set of books if I can get enough patrons lined up.

Speaking of Patreon, I have some ridiculously awesome patrons. Stryker, Silentwoodfire, Cylestea, Iron Comet (i.e. the higher up club) you guys are the best. Give these guys some applause. For reals. For the guys at the low end, you're also super cool, as every little bit helps.

If you do like what you're reading, and you want to consider supporting me monetarily somehow, check out my Patreon! I also do take private donations if you don't want to do the whole subscription thing. PM me for details on that.

I'd like to give a big thanks to Wirepony, McMesser, and Heartshine. My core peeps. Y'all are the best as well.

Moving forward towards Chapter 8: The Badlands!

-V

Chapter Eight: Putting the "Bad" in Badlands

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Eight: Putting the “Bad” in Badlands

Where the earth is cracked, and hope is all but forgotten.

Stepping outside of Equestria proper felt very strange. Whatever had cleared up the radiation had really only done so for our own country. It hadn't done anything to the lands beyond our borders. There was still a wild part of our world where everything and anything tried to kill you. The Wasteland persevered.

Still, spirits were high to a point. We were able to spend time getting to know our newest companion, Click, as best as were able to communicate with his broken voice processor. It seemed as if we were starting our journey out properly, no matter how uncertain our future was.

Still, I couldn't shake the nagging thoughts in my head about Xerves. He knew somehow that we were searching for the Heartmender, and he was headed to find her before us. And yet, he had also told Iron Comet that he would be waiting for... well... me. Why was I so important to him? What compelled him to seek out this confrontation? Was it because I saved his life?

I wish I knew, but I had a feeling that I was going to find out very, very soon.

* * *

“Are you sure we're going the right way?”

“Yes.”

“Really? I could have sworn I've seen that rock already.”

“We're going the right way.”

“Are you sure? I don't think you're sure. You don't sound sure.”

I furrowed my brow and glared at Lightning. “Would you cut it out?! We're going the right way, we've been walking in a straight line for like... the past hour or so!” I shouted angrily.

Lightning grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous. We've... never been outside of the city before, you know that.”

“Really? You two have never been outside of Chicacolt?” Velvet said as she trotted by.

“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Why? What about you?”

“Oh, I wasn't born in Chicacolt. I was born out here in the Wasteland,” Velvet said. “Changeling hives are rare, but we still exist here and there. There were quite a few of us before the war.”

“Hives?” Lightning said inquisitively. “You mean, like bees?”

Velvet rolled her eyes. “Yes, exactly like bees. Buzzing, yellow, bees.”

She kept trotting forward, grinning widely as she let my brother try to process her comment. I grimaced. It had been over two hours and we'd just been walking straight out into the Wasteland along the line specified on my PipBuck's map function, and there was just... nothing. No buildings, not even really a road. Just endless rolling hills and rocks.

“Rocky, can you see anything out there?” I asked.

“Negative,” Rocky said. “No sign of any activity. We are alone.”

“At least we're alone, and nopony's watching us,” Coconut said with a heavy breath inside of her armor visor. “Could be worse.”

“You do know that you're jinxing us, right?” I asked.

“What?” Coconut said.

“CLICK,” Click said loudly.

“What he said,” I said. “No, I mean... you know when somepony says it could be worse, that usually means things do get actually worse, right?”

“Oh come on, you fillies don't actually believe that, do you?” Velvet said with a guffaw. “Holy shit, and I thought the robot was stupid.”

“CLICK.”

“Oh whatever, not like you can talk back,” Velvet retorted.

“What, you don't believe in that sort of thing? It's true,” I argued.

“Please. I refuse to believe there's some sort of cosmic deity that sits around trying to make things bad for ponies who say 'it could be worse,'” Velvet said with a chuckle. “That's like... the stupidest thing that I have ever heard.”

“We should likely stop soon for rest,” Rocky said calmly, interrupting our argument. “It is going to be dark soon.”

I sighed. Rocky had a valid point. We weren't all cybernetic or robotic. We needed to eat, to refresh. The problem was... I didn't want to. I wanted to find Xerves and stop him from finding the Heartmender before we could. Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to sway the others to this goal immediately, I just nodded.

“Alright. Rocky's right. Everyone keep an eye out for some place to hole up for the night. We'll stop within the next hour so that we can eat and rest,” I said.

“I was starting to get a little hungry anyways,” Lightning said.

“You're always hungry,” Coconut replied with a chuckle.

“Hey! Not always!”

The banter continued on for another ten minutes or so while we searched aimlessly for somewhere to bed down for the night. I silently cursed at myself at the lack of any supplies that would let us camp out in the open, but those kinds of things were typically bulky and not easily carried for long term travel. We were going to have to make do with something else.

Every step forward however, proved fruitless. We saw nothing more but the rolling hills of bleak wasteland extending as far as the eye could perceive. There was nothing out here. Not even any wildlife. And yet, my PipBuck kept pointing us forward. I grimaced. What if we were on the wrong trail? What if the Heartmender didn't really exist? I couldn't accept that.

“Hey, what's that?” I heard Coconut say.

My ears perked up and I followed her motion, drawing out of my thoughts for a moment. In the distance was the beginnings of a valley, deep reds and browns overshadowing the endless gray. I squinted at something gleaming. Set inside a wall just inside the valley there appeared to be a building of some sort. The closer we got the more I realized that it definitely was a building.

“It's something at least,” I said. “But what is it doing all the way out here?”

“Who cares? It's better than sitting out in the middle of nowhere just waiting for something to eat us,” Lightning pointed out.

“Yes,” Rocky said. “However, we should approach with caution.”

I glanced over at Velvet. She looked... unnerved. She was silent. Usually she had some sort of quip right about now. What was wrong? I tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her attention.

“What?” she hissed.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I'm fine. We should get to this place soon. I need to feed,” she said angrily.

I nodded. Perhaps that's just it. She's just hungry. Changelings probably get upset from lack of food, too, I thought. Still... it's weird that she's suddenly just silent.

“Alright, we'll make for the building,” I said. “Everyone keep your wits about you. Click, can you alert us if you see anything?”

“CLICK,” the robot replied. His screen changed to a happy smiling pony.

“Was that a yes or a no?” Lightning asked.

“It was a yes, you goof,” Coconut said.

We kept moving forward, heading towards the strange building. As we got closer, I realized that it wasn't just the valley. The land itself was changing, the ground no longer the gray dead grass. Instead it felt more... solid, comprised of clumps of red clay and brown dirt. We were well and truly outside of Equestria.

I lifted Justice out of its holster, holding it ready in my magic. There was nothing on my E.F.S., but I didn't want to be caught unawares. Mom had always taught us to not be overly reliant on the technology and to always trust our instincts, and something about this place made me feel... strange, alien even. Perhaps that was what was getting to Velvet too. I wasn't sure.

The building loomed ahead. A sign sat out front of it, with writing in what appeared to be plain Equestrian set over some symbols. I couldn't quite make out what they said.

“Power Station ZB3X5,” Velvet said aloud. “It's an old power substation...”

“What is an old power substation doing all the way out here?” I said. “There's nothing around for miles.”

“Perhaps more will be made clear once we get inside,” Rocky said.

“Still, let's be careful. Everyone keep an eye out,” I said.

We approached the substation gingerly. I brought up my E.F.S. again, and thankfully saw nothing. No red blips, no bad things, nothing to worry about. I still worried.

I moved ahead of the others, stepping up the ramp towards the substation's door. I reached out with my magic and pushed it open, my hornlight just barely enough to see the interior of the building. The power station was bare. There wasn't even any debris or rubble. The only thing I heard was a vague clicking sound that was probably coming from the old speaker system. I found myself wondering if nopony had even been here on the day the bombs dropped, but I felt that was unlikely. It was more likely that somepony else had cleaned this place up, but who?

“Looks clear,” I said aloud. I lowered Justice back into its holster. “It's dark though. Need to see if we can turn some lights on.”

“I will locate the power source,” Rocky said. “My eyes are better attuned to the darkness. Velvet, will you accompany me?”

Velvet grimaced, but nodded.

“Alright, let's be careful here. Rotating shifts to guard the entrance. Click, you're on first rotation. You don't need to sleep, so we can all get some rest while Rocky and Velvet work on getting the power on,” I said.

“CLICK,” Click replied. His screen changed to a smiling pony.

We made our way inside and I watched as Rocky and Velvet disappeared down the hallway into the dark. I began unrolling my pack, keeping an ever watchful eye in that direction. I knew deep down that they would be fine, that if anything were to happen that they'd call us immediately, but still I worried about them.

I decided that I needed to get some sleep. My legs were tired from walking so much, and my throat was dry and scratchy. I lifted out my water bottle from my bag and took a deep draw before laying my head back against the bedroll. The others were doing the same. Click stood in front of the doorway, ever vigilant. I closed my eyes and within moments I fell asleep.

* * *

I shuffled hard on my bedroll, grunting as my dreams tormented me. I saw myself running away from Bunker City, running and watching as the city burned to the ground. I saw myself lifting Justice to Iron Comet's temple, pulling the trigger, feeling no remorse for my actions. I saw myself watching my friends dying in the ruins underneath the Hoofwich Building.

I tossed and turned until I could no longer. I shot up, my eyes wide open. It was still dark. Why was it still dark? I didn't understand. Rocky and Velvet should have gotten the power back on by then. I turned to the others, intending to say something. My eyes widened as my vision adjusted to the light.

I was alone.

“Hello?” I said as I stood, my legs shaking. The other bed rolls were still there, but they appeared to be... rummaged through. One of them was shredded into several pieces. What happened? Where had my friends gone? Why was I left behind? Nothing made any sense.

I took a few steps forward, hearing a light chuckle come from behind me. I spun about, seeing another pony standing in the shadows that hadn't been there before.

“Who are you?” I asked. “What's going on?”

The other pony shifted, saying nothing. It turned, and I could see its eyes. They were deep red. A glow of red emanated from the pony's forehead.

Another unicorn? I thought as I tried to get a better look.

The light illuminated the pony's face, and I nearly fell over as the pony made its way towards me. I closed my eyes tight and opened them again. It was still there. It was still wearing a face that was impossible.

It was me. My mind turned to the obvious answer.

“Velvet, this isn't funny,” I said. “Cut it out.”

“Velvet isn't here,” the other pony said. My own voice spoke back at me. “It's just you and me.”

“Who... who are you?”

“Isn't it obvious? I'm you, or at least, I'm the part of you that takes what she wants, the other pony said, her tone melodious and low. “The part of you not paralyzed and weak with fear.”

“That's... impossible. How? How are you here?” I said frantically.

“I'm not really here,” the other me replied casually. “Come now, Starry. You're a smart mare. Figure it out.”

I looked down at my hooves and grimaced. “This is a dream,” I said. “I'm dreaming.”

“Bravo. Like I said, you are smart,” the other me said.

“But... if this is a dream, then you're not real. I can wake up whenever I want,” I said.

“Oh, just because this is a dream doesn't mean that I'm not real. I'm just as much a part of you as the filly that wet the bed,” the other me said. “Like it or not, I'm here.”

“What do you want then? Huh?” I asked angrily. “What's the point of a dream like this?”

“We're just having a chat,” the other me said. “You've been drawing me out a lot lately. Such bad thoughts. Such... naughty thoughts.”

My face turned red. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, please. I'm you, remember?” the other mare said. “I know that you've been thinking about him. Velvet was right you know. She could feel the connection. It doesn't hurt that he's cute, either.”

“Rocky... Rocky's not interested in that,” I said vehemently. “He's my friend. We're just friends.”

“Oh, but you want to be more than friends,” the other me replied casually. She sauntered around me, circling as she spoke. “Don't deny it. You want him, but you're afraid. Don't be. You must take what you want, Starry. Throw caution to the wind.”

I glanced at my hooves. She was right about one thing. I did want more than just friendship with Rocky, deep down, but I knew that it would never happen. There wasn't the time for it. Not with having to find the Heartmender. Not with having to save Mom.

I glanced back at the other me. I didn't know what was happening or why, but this felt wrong. It felt like someone else. This wasn’t me. I didn’t think like this. Or I hadn’t… until I got that knife. My eyes widened as I realized it..

“Oh, you have figured it out haven't you?” the other me said, her eyes flashing a deep red.

“You're not me,” I said. “You're that thing. The thing inside the knife.”

“Very astute, and incredibly smart,” the other me said. “That's why I picked you, Starry. You are smart and capable of wielding true power. You just need the push to take what you want.”

“No. I'm not going to use you. Never again,” I said. I closed my eyes, hoping and praying I could will myself awake. I heard the other me chuckle softly.

“We'll see about that,” she said. “Heed my advice, Starry. Take what you desire. Give in to it, and together we can make this Wasteland a better place. All’z’reth’s will be done.”

I kept my eyes shut and counted to three before opening them. My eyes opened to blackness. The other me was gone. The blackness covered everything, intensifying until I could see no more.

* * *

My eyes shot open with a jolt to a soft white light. I sat up quickly, rubbing the side of my head with a hoof. My head felt like a jackhammer was being driven into my skull. How long had I been asleep? I looked to my left, seeing Rocky propped up against the wall next to me. He raised an eyebrow.

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“A little while. Not too long,” Rocky rumbled.

“Where's everyone else?”

“In the other room. You were... tossing and turning. The others felt it was necessary not to disturb you,” Rocky replied calmly.

“But you stayed?” I said.

Rocky nodded. “I wanted to be sure that you were alright.”

“I'm... I'm fine,” I said, glancing down at my hooves. I could feel the heat in my cheeks rising. I decided I needed to change the subject and fast. “Did you find anything else in this place?”

“Unfortunately, no. It appears to have been thoroughly cleaned out. No debris, no rubble, not even a single skeleton,” Rocky said.

“That's strange,” I replied. I was starting to have a bad feeling about this place. If the station was completely clean, then someone had already been here. What if they came back? “Let's go see the others. We should leave soon.”

Rocky merely nodded as he stood and helped me to my hooves. I could feel the heat again as he touched me, my mind drifting to my dream. Was it really so bad for me to tell him how I felt? I shook the thought away as quickly as it came. This wasn't my subconscious trying to tell me something, it was that thing in the knife trying to break through, to take control. I had to keep focused on the task at hand, and get rid of that thing as soon as possible.

You could leave it here... I thought to myself. I grimaced. I really couldn't though. If I was going to do anything with it, I was going to have to bury it or figure out a way to destroy it. Letting it sit where someone else could find it didn't sit right with me.

We made our way out to the others. Click stood calmly in the doorway, keeping an ever watchful screen while Coconut and Lightning sat in the corner and chatted lightly. Velvet sat nearby, her eyes glued to some book she'd found. They perked up as we walked into the room.

“Hey Sis,” Lightning said. “Feeling better?”

“I'm alright,” I replied. “But I think we need to get going. Something just doesn't feel right about this place.”

“You're not wrong,” Velvet said, lifting the book. “I found this in one of the offices.”

I took the book in my magic. It was a journal. I flipped open the pages, reading the last entry aloud. The date on it threw me off. It was post-war, but dated about fifty years ago.

I found an old substation at the end of the valley. If I'm lucky, the insectoid bastards won't find me here. I'm low on food, water, and medical supplies. I'm nearly out of ammo too. I gotta get back into Equestria proper before they get here. They give themselves away with that damned clicking sounds they make. I don't think they realize that I can hear them. It's helped keep me ahead of them several times now.

I'm tired though, and I need to rest. This place seems clean enough. I can't bank on them just passing by though, it's pretty noticeable. I'm going to rest for a bit and then get going. They can't chase me forever.

I grimaced, scanning down the page to the end of the entry.

I can hear them. That clicking sound. They're coming. They're too close for me to escape. I'm boxed in. The worse thing is I can hear clicking inside too. A trap. I wasn't escaping, I was being herded here so they could capture me. I have mere moments... Goddesses above... if you find this, tell Sun Spark I love her...

The rest of the writing trailed off illegibly. I glanced up at Velvet. Our eyes met as we both heard it. The clicking sound that had been there before, suddenly at the forefront of our attention and getting louder. I hadn't given much thought to it earlier because it sounded innocuous. Now I knew it was a trap.

“We need to go!” I shouted, removing Justice from its holster.

The others scrambled to get their things together as the clicking sounds got worse and worse. I turned at a high pitched shrieking beep from the doorway. Click dropped back, the image of an unhappy pony on his screen. He had claw marks on his casing. A shimmer filled the air and something stepped out of it.

The creature was equine in nature but covered in black chitin, and had large insectoid like eyes. I recognized it immediately as a changeling. It held what appeared to be an energy rifle of some sorts in its green magic.

I lifted Justice and fired. The changeling ducked, my shot missing by a mile and pinging off of the metal beams behind it. The changeling clicked loudly, lifting a weapon.

“Starry, duck!” I heard a shout from behind me. I dropped like a rock as Coconut fired over me, catching the creature off guard.

The changeling yelped as the round struck it, sending it flying back into the wall where it landed in a pile of green blood. More clicking surrounded us as several more of the creatures shimmered from out of nowhere.

Click pushed himself up, aiming his laser weaponry at two of the changelings. He fired, his blasts missing as the two changelings rushed forward, knocking him over. One of them spewed some green goo out of its mouth, completely immobilizing him.

Chaos erupted all around me. Behind me, Rocky tangled with three changelings, his claws slashing wildly through the air before he too was hit by more of that green goo. To my side, Coco and Lightning stood back to back, firing their weapons at more of the insectoid creatures. They too succumbed to the green stuff. I stood tall as Velvet ended up next to me, her own weapon hovering in the air next to her.

“Can't you like... talk to them?” I hissed.

“I tried to, they ignored me,” Velvet said. “If they do understand me, they likely don't care.”

“Everyone else is down. We should try talking to them. Maybe it's just a big misunderstanding,” I whispered. I lowered Justice into its holster. “Hey! We surrender! Don't shoot!”

Several more of the changelings shimmered out of nowhere. One of them wore a sash that must have been some sort of identification, marking it as the leader. It stood over Click and opened its mouth, emitting that harsh clicking sound. Three of the others came up behind it and began to lift Click, still encased in the goo.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Leave him alone!”

The head changeling's alien eyes glanced over at me and Velvet. It growled and clicked loudly, lifting one of its legs to point at us. Two changelings walked past him and up to us.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

The head changeling nodded. The other two changelings hissed and opened their mouths, expelling more of that green goo. Everything faded to black as it covered myself and Velvet.

* * *

I blinked. I'd been to this place before. It was the void. The endless void. I couldn't remember why I'd been there, I just knew that I had.

I turned to look around, seeing nothing but vague shapes and forms. Was this death? No. The changelings hadn't killed us, they'd captured us. I struggled, trying to force myself to wake up from this awful place, this place of endlessness. I couldn't. I couldn't wake up.

“All'z'reth.”

My eyes widened as the voice rocked through my core. I frantically looked around, searching for the origin of it. In the distance, in the void I saw a form. Two blood red eyes stared back at me.

“All'z'reth.”

“What? What is this?” I called out.

“I am that which is is unfathomable. Do you hear my call? I call to you with every waking moment.”

The knife. Of course. I was knocked out, which based on my recent interaction with whatever the thing inside it was, was what allowed it to attempt to do whatever it was going to do to me.

“No. I'm not... Leave me alone... I'm not going to answer your call!”

“Oh you will. You will. You are the one. The one who has come. All'z'reth.”

I scowled. I had to stay strong, to prevent the thing from getting to me. I couldn't even understand what it wanted. It didn't want what I wanted. I wanted... I...

“You wish to save your mother. You wish revenge upon the wicked Xerves. You wish to be strong, to be powerful. I can give you all of that, and so much more. Heed my call, young one. You are the strongest of them all.”

“No. I... I can't...”

“Why not? Why shouldn't the world kneel in supplication to you? Why shouldn't you be able to fulfill your revenge? Why shouldn't you be able to save your mother? You can.”

“But... you're... it’s... its wrong,” I tried to say. I was having trouble thinking clearly. I saw flashes of Mom in my mind. Dying. Dead. Gone. I saw Xerves laughing over her grave. The dark presence in my mind was right about one thing. I needed to stop him, and I needed to save Mom.

“Is it so wrong to wish for life?”

I looked down at my hooves. No... it wasn't. I grimaced and looked back up the shadowy form, at the red piercing eyes in front of me.

“S-S-Show me.”

* * *

My eyes flickered open to varying shades of green. In fact, nearly everything in front of me was shaded in green. I tried to move my legs, but found that I was unable to. I looked down and realized my legs were stuck, encased in the same kind of green hardened goo that the changelings had shot at us.

I lifted my head and tried to take in my surroundings. I was inside a very organic looking cavern, all smooth curves and bulges. Occasional parts of the cavern glowed with a green light, which explained why I was seeing everything in shades of the sickly color. I craned my neck to the side as my eyes adjusted and I could see the others clearly. They were being held in a similar fashion as I was. They all appeared to be unconscious. I couldn't see Click among them. Where was he?

“Starry?” I heard a soft voice say.

My head craned to glance to my side. Velvet's eyes opened, flashing green. I realized that she had been reduced to her normal form.

“Velvet? They're holding you too? I thought maybe...” I started to say.

“I'm not from this hive, they don't know me,” Velvet said. “Starry, we have to get out of here. Wild changelings like this... they... they don't just devour the feelings of emotion from their victims. They devour their victims.”

I gulped loudly. “But... how? I can't move, and I don't even know where Click is.”

“They moved him. Took him somewhere. I'm not sure where,” Velvet said with a sigh. “They took us by surprise so quickly.”

“If we can get free, can you guide us around here?” I asked.

Velvet grimaced, but nodded. “It's been a really long time since I was in a hive, but they're all mostly the same design,” she said. “But we have to get free first. This stuff is as hard as a rock.”

“We're going to have to somehow make them let us go and get the drop on them,” I said softly. “The problem is, I don't know how we're going to do that.”

Before Velvet could reply I heard steps in the hallway beyond. Two changelings appeared in the entrance to our prison. One of them, much larger than the other, stepped forward, light green magic shaping its body as it walked. Eventually a rough looking unicorn stallion stood in front of us. He grinned wickedly as he looked us down and up.

“Who are you? Why are we here?” I asked cautiously.

The changeling's eyes widened. He opened his mouth and spoke. “Trespassers. Badlands belong to us.”

“If you let us go, we'll be on our way,” I said confidently. I could see Velvet's eyes in my peripheral. She was frightened.

“Trespassers do not leave. Trespassers punished,” the stallion-changeling replied. “Trespassers die.”

Velvet suddenly spoke from behind me, talking in clicks and hisses that I didn't understand. I took it to be whatever her native language was. The stallion responded in kind with harsh unforgiving clicks that made me think the conversation wasn't going well.

“What is he saying?” I asked.

“He said that his group controls this area and everything in it,” Velvet said. “We were trespassing in one of their way points. They... they don't care if we didn't mean to, only that we did. However, we did bring them a robot, which is why they haven't dismembered and eaten us yet.”

“Click,” I said angrily. “What did you do with him?!”

The stallion clicked harshly once more. Velvet hissed back before sighing.

“He said that they plan to turn the robot into a weapon of war, something they can use to unite the other tribes in the area,” she said. “Shit... Starry... these aren't just changelings... they're raiders. They're evil.”

The changeling-stallion cackled wildly and for a brief moment, I could see it. I could see the madness inside. If we didn't find a way out of this, we were done for. They were going to kill us. The only reason they were keeping us alive was because of Click. He clicked again at Violet, angrily.

“He said that he'll be back to find someone to help configure the robot,” Velvet said. “Or else we'll all die.”

I grimaced, keeping stone-faced as the changeling turned and trotted back to the entrance, transforming back into his insectoid self. He clicked loudly again and turned, spraying more of that green goop to create a barrier. As soon as it covered the entrance I felt the stuff holding me down begin to crack. Suddenly my legs were free. I fell forward, grunting as I heard the others drop as well.

“Where... where are we?” I heard Lightning say.

“Trapped, it seems,” Rocky answered. He stood shakily and looked to me, his yellow eyes narrowing. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah... I'm fine, but that's not the real problem. These... these changelings... they're raiders. They've got Click, and the only reason they haven't killed us yet is because they can't get him online,” I hastily explained.

“But... none of us know anything about robots,” Coconut said as she stood. She'd been stripped of her power armor.

“I'm the only likely candidate for interfacing with Click,” Rocky said with a grumble.

“If you... if you did it could you reactivate him? Take them by surprise?” I asked.

“And do what exactly? Get captured again? We didn't exactly fare well the first time around,” Velvet said with exasperation. “We walked right into their little trap.”

I grimaced. Velvet had a point. For all the training and all the effort Mom had put into us to try and prepare us for the outside Wasteland, we were doing a pretty poor job of living up to those standards. I had led my friends into this hell, I was going to have to be the one to get them out of it.

“Alright. Look. We've got some time before they come back. We're stuck here for the time being, so we can make a plan,” I said. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“Okay, so we build a giant wooden pony...” Lightning started to say.

“Anyone have any good ideas?” I said, cutting him off before he could finish. I sighed loudly when no one offered a reply. “Alright then. I guess I'll have to come up with a plan.”

“Starry, calm down. We'll think of something,” Coconut said softly. “But we can't do that if we're not up to strength. Haven't you noticed it? We're not well.”

Velvet grimaced. “She's right. They're slowly draining us. They can feel our emotions and they're draining them right out.”

I stopped for a moment and felt. Velvet and Coconut was right. There was something nagging on the edge of my thoughts, something alien and unknown. And yet... I wasn't feeling any worse for wear. In fact, I felt fine. Why did I feel fine when the others looked and felt like hell? It didn't make any sense.

“Alright... alright. Look. Everyone try and rest up then. I'm going to see if I can't get in contact with someone. At least we have our PipBucks,” I said, waving my foreleg holding the device in question. It seemed the changelings hadn't figured out how to remove them, or likely didn't care. “Maybe if we can send a distress call, somepony could come help us.”

Before any of the others could say anything, I trotted to the other side of the cavern and brought up my PipBuck. I tried to access the broadcaster, but all I seemed to be getting was static on the other end. I brought up the automap and it actually crashed the device, forcing it to reboot. The only thing that seemed to be working was S.A.T.S. and the inventory functionality, which only had one item listed of Unknown. I grimaced angrily after trying over and over for what felt like hours, but according to my PipBuck was only ten minutes. Of course the clock would be functional, I thought to myself.

“Starry?”

I looked back to see Rocky sitting next to me. His eyes narrowed as he motioned at the PipBuck.

“Is... everything okay?” he asked.

I looked down at my hooves and sighed. “No... I can't get out to anyone. And every time I try to bring up a map, my PipBuck crashes.”

“I see. Is there anything that I can do?” Rocky said softly.

“No... I'm going to keep trying. It's the only thing I can do,” I said.

Rocky nodded and walked away to join the others. I wanted to tell him to stay, to keep me company, but I was too focused on the task at hoof. I kept playing with my PipBuck until I found the notes tab under a sub menu I usually didn't use. One of them stuck out at me.

STARRY READ THIS!

I flicked to it and blinked as my PipBuck started connecting to an outside source. Static filled my earbloom and then suddenly... a voice.

“Starry?”

I blinked. “D-D-Dusk?” I said under my breath. “Is that you?”

“Yes. I see you found my hidden option I inserted into your PipBuck menu,” Dusk replied casually. “You sound worried, is something wrong?”

“We're... we were captured by a group of changeling raiders,” I whispered. “Just outside of Equestria... some place called the Badlands.”

“Badlands? Sweet Celestia what are you doing there? I would have thought you would have gone around the place... Okay... well... hmm...” Dusk said over the feed. “Are you hurt? Do you have anything that could be used as a weapon?”

“No... some of the others are experiencing fatigue though. Something Velvet calls emotion draining. I feel fine though,” I said with a grimace. “As far as a weapon is concerned... I don't think so. Our gear was taken when they knocked us out and brought us here. Wherever here is...”

“Listen, you need to get out of there. I don't know how much I can help you, but I'll do my best. The first priority, you need to find Click. Once you do, patch your PipBuck into him and I can direct you the rest of the way using him,” Dusk said calmly. “First things first though, you need to get out of that room. I have an idea... hmm...”

“What? What is it?” I asked.

“Well, this stuff really responds to phase harmonics, you know... sound waves. So if I can just... there. I've made an adjustment to your PipBuck and added a new radio station to it. Tune to it and it will emit a localized sonic burst that should shatter that hard green stuff,” Dusk said.

I blinked. “You did what? How... how did you do that?”

“Don't worry about that. You have no time to waste. Get going!” Dusk said.

I stood, turning to the others. “I may have a way out of here.”

“Were you able to reach someone?” Lightning said. “Who were you talking to?”

“I... I got through to Dusk,” I said, glancing down at my hooves. “He gave me a possible way to get out of this room.”

“Wait... who's Dusk?” Velvet asked.

“The pony on the radio,” Rocky stated calmly. “The one you were talking to when Miss Coconut was in trouble.”

“Right. The one and the same. He told me if we can find Click, then we can get out of here. He can... connect into him and help us,” I said adamantly. “But we need to move fast, or it'll be too late.”

“And you just... trust this strange pony?” Coconut said, her eyebrow raised. I could see that even she was doubting me. Why was she doubting me? This was Coconut! My best friend!

In truth, I doubted it myself. It all felt too coincidental, like Dusk knew more than he was letting on. What did he know about us? About what was going on? Did I really trust him? He had helped in saving Coconut's life... I knew that much to be true, and that's all that mattered to me.

“I do,” I said finally after making my decision. “Coco, he helped me when your life was in danger. You've never doubted me before, please listen to me now.”

Coconut looked down to her hooves and sighed. “You're right. I don't know why I would ever think otherwise.”

“Likely it has something to do with the emotional drain on all of us,” Velvet said calmly. “As positive emotions are drained, negative emotions run high.”

“It just means we need to get out of here, and fast,” Lightning said. “Before we all end up chewing each other’s throats out.”

I grimaced. He was right about that. “Alright then. Stand back. According to Dusk, turning on my PipBuck's radio should emit a frequency that will disrupt the wall.”

I stepped forward and lifted my leg. I browsed through the menus on my PipBuck until I found my radio. I clicked it on and waited. Then suddenly there was a high pitched whine that burst forth from its speaker. The wall in front of me began to shimmer and shake.

“Aahhh!” I heard from behind me. I turned my head to see Velvet holding her hooves to her ears. This thing was affecting her too?

“Velvet?!”

“I'm alright, keep going. It's just really loud...” she replied.

I nodded and turned back to the wall, trying to do my best to keep the PipBuck pointed at it. At first it felt like nothing was happening except for the shimmering, but then suddenly a crack burst open in the center. Pretty soon, the crack widened and fissured until the entire wall was no more. I cranked down the radio volume and clicked it off. The cavern walls shook around us.

“There's no way they didn't hear that,” I said. “We're going to have to be quick. Dusk? Can you tell us where to find Click?”

Dusk's voice burst into life, startling the others as they too were able to hear it. “Go right. I've got a bit of a bead on this place, but it's not great. I'll be able to help you more when you get the robot back.”

“Got it,” I said.

We made our way into the hallway carefully and quickly. It was long and tunnel-like in nature, kind of like an ant colony. It made sense I supposed, given the insectoid nature of the changelings. I pointed to the right and we started down it. There was no one around at all. It made no sense. The changelings had to have heard the noise. They would come and check our prison.

We rounded the only corner at the end of the long tunnel, opening up into a chamber. I glanced up at the walls in horror. Lining them were more of those green structures. Inside of them were ponies, frozen in terror. Was this what we would end up like? Frozen food for a group of changelings? I shuddered at the thought.

“What the fuck...?” I heard Lightning say softly.

“Keep moving,” Dusk's voice said. “At the end of this hallway, you'll turn left. I'm getting a faint signal from the robot.”

I nodded, pressing forward. The others followed silently, watching all around as if they expected to be attacked at any moment. We quickly found the end of the hall and turned down to the left. I stopped cold as we nearly ran into two changelings. They clicked loudly in their alien language, lifting their rifles in the sickly green glow of their magic.

Rocky snarled and leaped into action before they could fire. He grabbed one of the rifles and slashed it to bits with his claws. The other changeling growled, sending a blast of telekinesis at my friend, flinging him into the wall.

I blinked. The effects of the emotion drainage were starting to become more pronounced, even affecting the usually stoic Rocky. I had to do something and fast. I flicked up my PipBuck's inventory, hoping to find anything that could help me, but knowing I wouldn't. And yet, there was something. An unknown item? What the hell? I selected it, and suddenly I felt its presence.

The knife. How...? How had the knife gotten on me when they'd stripped us of our gear? And yet, here it was floating in the air in front of me, gripped in my magic.

“Starry? Where did you...?” Coconut said.

My eyes narrowed at the two changelings. They had stopped, looking at the knife with wide eyes. They were enthralled by it. I grinned and lifted it higher into the air. I wanted to use it. I didn't want to really, but in that moment, I hardly cared. I wasn't going to let these things kill me or my friends. I had to use what I had available to me, and what I had was the knife. In that moment, my perception of it changed. I wanted it. I wanted to use its power.

I growled and brought it across in a wild slash, tearing the unarmed changeling's throat apart. Its lifeblood spilled out and onto the ground, greenish in color, as the other changeling moved to lift his rifle. He never got a chance. I brought the knife back around, embedding it into my attacker's left eye. I roared and pulled it out, repeatedly stabbing the insectoid beast until it stopped moving. I panted loudly and looked over at Rocky.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I... I am... where did you get that?” he replied.

“I... I don't know, but it doesn't matter. It's a weapon,” I said. “We need to keep moving. We don't have much time.”

Velvet spoke softly. “That thing is evil, Starry. You need to throw it away.”

I glared at her angrily. “Don't tell me what to do. We don't have a choice. Now are we finding Click or not?”

“Fine, but once we get out of here, we're burying it,” Velvet said with a grimace.

I turned back to the hallway and started forward. Who cared what the other thought about the knife? It was the only way I was getting us out of this hellhole. The others followed cautiously behind.

“Starry,” I heard Dusk say.

“Unless you have something to say about where Click is, shut up.”

“...fine. I'm picking up the robot's signal clearer now. At the intersection, go right. The robot is being held in a large open room it looks like.”

I followed along until the intersection came up. I made a hard right and barreled right into another group of changelings. They were getting more frequent, likely having realized we were free. They stood no chance against me, aided by the power of the knife. I had to find Click. I had to find the Heartmender, to save Mom.

I slashed out, dropping one of them to the ground hard. The other I barreled into, growling madly. I felt rage inside me, building with every changeling I attacked. What was going on? I knew deep down what it was. The knife was driving me forward, controlling my every action. I hardly noticed the others behind me. I kept moving forward.

“Dusk, where is he?”

“Starry, you have to stop,” Dusk replied.

“Enough. Where is Click?”

“The signal I'm getting says he's just up ahead. You're nearly on top of him,” Dusk said with a sigh.

I moved forward, deeper into the room before me. This room was more... technological than the rest of the hive. There were actual walls here, like the raiders had built the hive onto the original structure. Several changelings stood around Click. The robot was hooked up to several terminals, lying on its back. The changelings turned around, clicking loudly in their own language. I growled and waved the knife in the air.

“Let him go,” I said menacingly. “Now.”

The changelings yelped loudly and scurried away. I took a step forward, ready to chase them down, but managed to stop. I turned to Click. The robot appeared to be disabled. His screen was blank.

“Starry?” I heard from behind me. The others had caught up. Coconut stood next to me. I glared at her and then back to Click.

“Dusk,” I said, ignoring her. “Can you get Click online?”

“Yeah, I can do it. Just give me a few moments... and.... done!”

Click's body started to move, his viewscreen turning back on. The robot stood, the face of a happy pony appearing on the screen.

“CLICK!”

“Dusk. You said you can interface with him, so you can see us?”

“Right. Give one second to upload that program,” Dusk replied.

Click's viewscreen began to change colors for a few seconds until static appeared. Suddenly the face of a unicorn appeared. He was dark, and I couldn't see much of his coloration as the feed was black and white. I knew it was Dusk.

“Good,” I said. “We're wasting too much time. Can you locate our gear?”

Dusk frowned. “Starry. You need to stop for a second. This isn't you. The knife, it's getting into your head. You need to put it down.”

“Dusk's right, sis,” Lightning said as he stepped up next to Coconut. “You're not acting right. Please do what he's asking you to do.”

I growled under my breath and then started shouting. “And let ourselves get captured again?! You're all being drained of your strength and I have a weapon that can get us out of here, and you want me to throw it away?! Are you all fucking crazy?!”

“No, we're asking you to trust us,” Rocky said. “Trust us that we're only trying to help.”

“That thing is evil,” Velvet interjected. “I can feel the powerful hate coming off of it. If you don't get rid of it, it will consume you.”

“I'm getting a reading. We need to resolve this now before we're surrounded,” Dusk said from Click's screen.

I looked down at my hooves and glared. I wasn't going to let anything prevent me from finding the Heartmender, from getting out of this hellhole. But... was the knife right? Was it what I wanted? I could feel it festering, feel my hate rising. I stood still, pondering my options.

“We're running out of time,” Dusk said. “Starry, quickly. Give the knife to Rocky.”

I shook my head. “No. You don't understand. I need it to save Mom.”

Coconut sighed loudly. “Look, this isn't the time to be arguing. Those changelings are going to be on us any second. Dusk, did you find our gear? If we had our stuff we could fight our way out.”

“I did, but there's no time. They're almost...”

I heard buzzing all around us. Changelings stood at every angle inside the room. They were dressed like raiders, bits and pieces of metal and leather strapped to them as armor. At the head of the host of changelings was the one from earlier that had questioned us. It transformed into a mare, a grin forming on its face.

“You all did very well in re-activating the robot,” he said. “Letting you run free lost me a few warrior drones, but it was worth it. They were barely intelligent.”

“What do you mean? We escaped,” Coconut said.

The changeling leader chuckled loudly. “Not at all. You were released on purpose. I knew you would try to escape, to try and get to the robot. I placed a few drones here and there to make you think you were being slowed down. It worked out well, don't you think? Helps when you have a little help. Isn't that right, Miss Kiss?”

I turned back and looked at Velvet. She shrank underneath my glare. The changeling leader grinned widely as Velvet shook her head violently.

“She didn't have any choice, of course. She's a drone class. She can't resist the call of a queen,” he said. “We've been using her to keep tabs on you the entire time.”

“I...” Velvet said. Her eyes widened. She took a few steps backwards, struggling to look away, but she couldn't.

“All of this for just a robot? What kind of raiders are you?” I asked angrily.

“Oh. Yes. That is what she told you. Raiders. No, I'm afraid that was incorrect. We're not raiders. We're survivors. This hive has been surviving for centuries,” the leader replied casually.

“By taking ponies from the Wasteland and draining them dry of their emotions,” Lightning said.

“Yes... well, we have to eat, don't we? But now, with this robot, we can save our tribe and become a true power in the region,” the changeling said.

“I don't think so,” Dusk said from Click's screen. “Even with the capabilities this robot possesses, it is highly unlikely it will aid your quest. I'll shut it down myself if I have to.”

“Then your little friends here will die,” the changeling said. “We have you all surrounded, and you're miles underground. There is no escape.”

Dusk grimaced from inside the screen. The changeling leader was right about one thing. There was no way out of this. We were stuck.

“Does it matter? You're going to kill us anyways,” Rocky said. “If I'm going to die, I'm going to take down as many of you as I can before I go.”

“Same here,” Coconut and Lightning said in unison.

“I don't think you quite understand. Release the robot, and I will let you go. It is that easy,” the changeling replied.

I scowled. There had to be a way out of this without giving up Click, but I couldn't see it. If we didn't give him Click, he was going to kill us. If we did... we'd be giving up our newest friend to save our own skins. It burned me up inside. I hated these things so much.

You could just always... oh... I dunno... kill them all, a voice in the back of my head said.

I blinked. What...?

You know who I am, Starry. All'z'reth. R'k'tylth. The one has come.

You... the thing inside the knife.

Yes. I can help you, Starry. You can stop this. Give in. You're stronger than the others. You don't need them. Show them how strong you are. Show them your strength.

No... I can't. They're right, you're evil. I need to throw you away.

Use me, Starry. Kill all of them. You are the one. The one who is capable of wielding our power without it corrupting you. None of them have been worthy, truly worth of the glory of All'z'reth. You are.

My mind reeled with possibility. Yes... I could see myself heralding in a new age. The age of All'z'reth, whatever that was. I would have the power to save Mom, and I wouldn't need a Heartmender to do it. The feeling of it was... intoxicating to say the least.

But... killing? Why would I?

You've already taken their blood. My body is stained in the glory of your kills. Take more of it for yourself.

It was right. I'd already killed several changelings on the way to this point in time. I blinked, not really truly realizing what I'd done. I looked down at the knife briefly, and there it was. The proof of my transgressions. Blood stained the knife, shining bright red in the darkness. Was I willing to shed more? Not doing so meant my friends could die.

Your friends must be shown your glory, Starry. They must be shown your strength.

I grimaced. It was right. I was strong. I had power. The power of All'z'reth would help me get my friends away from this place safely.

“So, do you have an answer?” the changeling leader replied. “Are you willing to comply and give us what we want?”

I responded first before anyone else could. I lifted the knife into the air with my magic, shrieking loudly as I forced it into the changeling's eye socket. He howled madly, staggering backwards. I ripped the knife out, greenish blood spurting everywhere as he fell to the ground.

Chaos erupted around me. Three changelings lifted their rifles, struggling to fire. I turned with a wicked grin and sent the knife soaring across the room, slicing open their throats in a hot second. I roared with delight. The thing inside was right. It felt good to show my strength. It felt good to show how powerful I was. I would show them all.

“Starry?!” I heard Coconut shout.

I pushed her outside of my mind and focused on the task at hand. There would be time for praise and supplication later. I snarled and pulled the knife back to me. I heard movement as several changelings that had their firearms trained on us moved to fire. I spun around and growled, sending a wave of telekinetic energy out with my horn that sent them sprawling to the ground.

“Stay down!” I roared, slashing wildly with the knife. “You will not hurt my friends!”

I brought down the knife, repeatedly stabbing at the changelings. Eventually I began to realize that they weren't attacking anymore. They were running.

Good... good... run away, scurry like the bugs you are! I gleefully thought. Run away before I stamp you out!

The hive shuddered as I felt another presence creep into the room. I heard the others gasp. I wasn't paying much attention to them. Instead, I glared right at her as she appeared.

The queen. She was enormous in size, standing several hands higher than the rest of them. Her eyes shone with green fury.

“Desecration!” she bellowed. “What is the meaning of this?!”

I turned, my face covered in changeling blood. I could feel it drying on my coat as I spoke. “All'z'reth. You will all die and face judgment.”

“Starry! You have to stop this!” I heard Dusk cry out. “That thing... it's taking you away from your friends! Remember why you are here! Remember your mother!”

“I am doing this for her, and for all of you,” I spat. I glanced up at the changeling queen. “Tell me. Do you wish to die today?”

“Abomination. My children are dead, and you claim their blood. No matter what happens, I have died. The rest of you... leave this place. Take this creature with you. You will find your belongings above in the entrance hall,” the changeling queen replied angrily.

I snarled triumphantly. I'd done it. I'd gotten us free. There was nothing to stop me now. I would leave and find Xerves and the Heartmender, and then I would return to my mother and save her! Then all would exult in the name of All'z'reth! I stalked towards the hallway leading above. I could hear the others following. Of course they would follow. I was powerful. I was strong.

The changelings scurried away as we made our way back to the surface entrance of the hive. Their eyes showed the fear inside they held for me. It felt good. The entrance was a cave mouth, the harsh Badlands lay before it. The others acquired their gear, while I stood inside of the entrance.

Xerves was out there. I had to find him, had to show him that I too was now stronger than he. We made our way into the valley, striding forward towards destiny.

I didn't hear them as several sets of hooves and a set of claws tackled me to the ground. I had been too busy reveling in my strength. The betrayers! They sought to separate me from the knife! I wrestled against their holds, trying to access my magic.

“Get it away from her!” I heard Coconut shout.

“Dammit, Starry, hold still!” Lightning said.

“Let me go!” I cried out. “Stop!”

“I have the knife,” I heard Rocky say. “Let her up.”

I growled as I was released from their grasp. I stood and leveled my gaze at the others. Rocky held the knife in his claws.. He slid it into his bandolier. I could still feel its power, pulsing and waiting for me to use it. Just because he'd removed it hadn't severed my connection to it. It was too strong now. I tried to access my magic, but found it diminished. I reached up to my horn and felt a dampener ring.

“Give it back,” I said angrily.

“No!” Lightning replied. “Sis, you have to stop. Do you know what you just did back there? You just murdered a fuckton of changelings!”

“I had to. They were going to kill us.”

“Starry,” I heard Dusk's voice coming from Click. “You need to calm yourself. The entity in the knife is feeding off your rage and emotions for your friends, for your mother. You cannot let it control you.”

“What he said,” Velvet added. “I can feel the energy coming from that thing. Its evil incarnate.”

“What do you care, Velvet? You would leave us if you didn’t have to stay.”

Velvet grimaced. “That's... that's true. I don't care. I would soon as leave. I'm here against my will, and I don't really like any of you...” She glanced up at me. “But I... I wanted to. I wanted to try to learn to be better. I saw how much you all care for each other, and I wanted to not be the pony I was before! You showed me that!”

“You are a fool. Weak.”

“Maybe I am, but at least I'm not fucking evil,” Velvet replied with a growl.

I snorted in derision. I turned to my brother, a wicked grin forming on my face.

“What about you, Lightning? Dearest brother, who would rather spend his time with his snout up Coconut's plot than learning Mother's lessons? What would you have me do? Let them kill us?”

Lightning blushed as he glanced at Coconut. He started to say something before she butted in.

“Hey! Leave him alone! He's your brother!” she shouted. “Have you forgotten why we're here?!”

“Oh, Coconut. Poor, sweet, deluded Coconut. And what exactly have you done? Oh, that's right. Nothing. You even almost died! I had to save you. To answer your question, no I have not forgotten. I am going to save Mother, and along with it... the world.”

“Starry, stop this! You can't let that thing beat you! Fight it!” Dusk said from inside Click's screen.

“And why do you care, Dusk? Why should I trust you? You know so many things, but you're powerless to stop this, aren't you? Why do you know so much? How did you know my father?!”

Lightning's eyes widened as he glanced at Dusk. Dusk stayed silent.

“We should restrain her,” Rocky said silently. “She is a danger to herself and to us. We must separate her from the knife.”

“You will give me the knife,” I said forcefully.

“What are we going to do after that? She's gone, Rocks. I can feel it. Her emotions, her positive ones, they're fucking gone,” Velvet said under her breath. I could hear her clear as day. “Not even... shit. Not even what she felt for you.”

Rocky's yellow eyes narrowed. “I am more than aware of those feelings. I... I wish we did not have to do this, but we must. It is the only way she will survive. Velvet, you will prepare the rope. Bind her and don't let her get up. Coconut, you and I must be ready to hold her.”

I growled under my breath, tensing up. I had to bide my time and wait. Wait for them to strike.

Coconut and Rocky dove in head first, likely hoping their combined weight would hold me until Velvet could wrap her ropes around me. I tried to access my magic again, trying to force it through the dampener. It wouldn't go. I growled and snarled as they tried to hold me, gnashing my teeth until I could find purchase on something tangible. Then I realized one crucial thing.

Rocky forgot to give the knife to someone else.

I howled as I reached out with my dampened magic once more. I tugged hard on the edges of the dampening field, hoping that my connection with the knife could prove stronger. The knife heeded my call, and I heard its blade find purchase.

“Ahh!” I heard Rocky shout. He stood, clutching his one clawed hand with his other.

My eyes widened. The knife had impaled his claws, cleanly through. A mixture of blood and what looked like oil ran down his arm. His yellow eyes appeared pained. I blinked. In that instant, I felt the connection to the knife began to falter.

“What... what have I...?” I stuttered.

Rocky grabbed the knife's handle and pulled it out, howling in pain as he did so. The others moved to crowd him.

I paid no attention to them, only to him. What had I done? I didn't mean to... I glanced down at the knife. I leaped forward and grabbed it with my teeth. I had to get away. I had to run. There was no way they would try to save me now. I had done the unthinkable. I'd hurt Rocky. I... I hurt him.

“Starry!” Rocky cried out in pain as I fled. I could hear his screams haunting my every step.

I ran, my blood pumping in my body. I ran until I could hear the calls of my friends no more.

Author's Note

And there we go. Another chapter down in the books. Holy crap, what a chapter. I had a heck of a time writing this, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Part of one of the big things I wanted to do with this chapter was to accelerate and start resolving the “cursed knife” plotline. Who is All'z'reth? Well, the world may never truly know.

And then, of course... that ending. Chapter 9 will be interesting to say the least. How will Starry fair on her own? What will the others do in the meantime?

Super huge thanks to my editors, Wirepony/Heartshine/McMesser. You guys are the stupendously best!

Another super huge shoutout to my patrons over on Patreon! You guys are way cool, and I'm glad I have you supporting my work. That being said, if you are interested in supporting my craft, check out my Patreon and pledge!

Until Chapter 9 folks.

-V

Chapter Nine: Alone

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Nine: Alone

We are all alone at some time in our lives.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

She's gone. I can't believe it. She just... she just ran... I thought to myself. I blinked several times before moving to call after her. I was too late. She had disappeared out of view.

“She's gone, sweetie,” I heard Coconut say. “She's gone.”

“We need to go after her,” I said. “She won't survive out there alone.”

“Are you crazy?” Velvet Kiss hissed angrily. “She stabbed Rocky. She's fucking nutso.”

“Which is why we need to go after her!” I insisted. “She's my sister. She needs our help. Rocky, can you please back me up here?”

I glanced over at the minotaur, gauging his response. He would think of something. He always did. He would want to help Starry.

Rocky rumbled and nodded. “Lightning is right. We should make sure she's alright.”

“Thank you,” I said. “What are we waiting for then? Let's go after her. I can just dump her PipBuck tag into mine and we can track her from there.”

“I'm afraid that won't work out here,” Dusk said from inside Click's body. The robot stood silent and still, the unicorn's face on the screen. “The Badlands are famous for scrambling radio signal. It's unlikely that the PipBuck can target another.”

“If that's true, then how are you talking to us?” I asked skeptically. Just because Starry trusted this guy didn't mean that I did. I had doubts about his motives.

“My tech doesn't use those kinds of wavelengths,” Dusk said simply. “We don't really have the time for explanation. I can help you find Starry. Rocky, if you will step over here?”

Rocky nodded, his eyes narrowed at the robot as he approached. The robot lifted its arm and carefully grasped where Starry had stabbed him. I grimaced and watched as Coconut stepped up beside me.

“Are you alright?” she asked under her breath.

“I... I just want to find Starry. She's all I've ever had, Coco. If we lose her too... I don't know what I'll do,” I said, meeting her gaze.

Her eyes glistened and she nodded. “Me too. Starry's been my best friend since I can't remember when. We can't abandon her now.”

“I'm finished,” Dusk announced. “In addition to repairing the damage done to Rock Thresher's cybernetics, I've upgraded his tracking system. He should be able to locate Starry's signal.”

“Look, I don't really totally agree with this,” Velvet interjected. “But we can't just go running right after her. We're all exhausted and hungry, and we need to rest. If Rocky can track Starry, then she can't get that far ahead of us. She's going to have to stop too.”

Coconut grimaced next to me. Her stomach growled as if on cue. “Velvet is right about that. We should find someplace to hunker down and get some rest.”

I raised a hoof before she silenced me. “Just a few hours, Lightning,” she said. “Just long enough to get some food and some sleep for those of us that need it.”

I looked down at my hooves and sighed. She was right. We needed to get away from the changeling hive before their queen realized we were no longer a threat, and we did need some food and rest. I thought about how Starry was doing at that moment and grimaced. I glanced up at Coconut and nodded.

“Alright,” I said. “But we should find somewhere away from here.”

“I couldn't agree more with that,” Velvet said.

I fell in line behind the others, giving one final glance off into the Wasteland. Wherever my sister was, I hoped she was alright. She had been with me for so long that I couldn't even begin to fathom something bad happening to her. Something was wrong with her, I knew that much. She needed our help.

I grimaced, thinking of why we'd come on this journey in the first place. Mom. Mom needed our help too, but she also needed both of her kids. If there was any hope to find this Heartmender, she was going to need both of us to do it.

We trudged on for what felt like forever, but in all reality only amounted to a half hour. The sun had begun beating down upon us, the blasted landscape of the Badlands surrounding us. How does anything survive out here? I grumbled to myself.

During our sojourn, Dusk had taken leave of us, allowing Click to take over once more. The robot was understandably confused but had assurance from Dusk's messages that he was alright. Pretty soon he had returned to his jovial happy pony on his monitor. Dusk had advised that he would return soon, that he had something important to take care of.

I still wasn't sure if I trusted him or not, but Mom indicated she knew him somehow, and he had yet to actually lead us into danger, so I chose to err on the side of caution. I would trust him for the time being, at least until I could get some answers from him.

We stopped under the cover of the entrance to what appeared to be an abandoned cave. Rocky confirmed that his tracking showed that Starry was stationary for the moment. I didn't know whether to feel bad or good about that fact. I sat apart from the others at the edge of a nearby cliff, looking out in the direction we were tracking her at.

“What are you doing right now?” I whispered to myself.

“Hey,” I heard a voice from beside me.

I glanced up, seeing Coconut. She sat down next to me and smiled softly. I lost myself in her smile. No matter what, Coconut could make me feel better. She had a way with ponies that just naturally did that. I squeaked out a smile back.

“Hi,” I whispered. “I'm just wondering if we're doing the right thing. What if Starry's hurt? That thing inside that knife...”

“We'll help her, Lightning,” Coconut replied softly. “We won't abandon her. She's family. Whatever is happening with her, we'll figure it out.”

“It just feels like... like we aren't doing enough. We're just sitting around and she's out there... in the Badlands. All by herself,” I said, frowning. “I just hope she's okay.”

“According to Rocky, she's stationary for the time being. We haven't seen anything out here besides those changelings, and if there are more of them, I'm sure that the Queen of that hive will have spread the word about us,” Coconut replied. “Besides, it's not going to do us any good to rush across this place without a plan or being well rested.”

I sighed. “You're right. I just...”

Coconut met my gaze and nodded. She slid closer to me and pulled me into a hug. “I know. I know...”

We sat there for a long time until the sun had disappeared below the horizon. I took one last look out there, wondering and praying that we would be finding my sister soon.

* * *

Starry

* * *

I hit the ground hard and I grunted. The pain in my side flared as I struggled to keep my breath. How far had I run? Where was I? I couldn't tell. I struggled to stand to get my bearings.

You hurt him.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't look. I couldn't breathe. What was wrong with me? Why did I do that? Why did I...?

You HURT him. You stabbed him. You meant to kill him.

No! I thought in response. I didn't mean to... I didn't mean it!

He was going to hurt you. You did what you had to do.

I could have stopped! I could have let them help me! I could have given up.

No you couldn’t have. You’re weak. They wanted to take the only thing that could give you strength… me.

No… I didn’t…

I shook my head and tried to push the thoughts away. I couldn’t let the thing, whatever it was, win. My friends had been right. The thing inside the knife was evil, pushing me to attack my friends. My friends… the only ones that actually cared about me.

Rocky. I hurt Rocky.

I groaned and glanced around me. I didn’t recognize where I was. I was in some sort of stone valley, with wind carved red rock all around me. I was nowhere near where my friends had been. Were they coming to find me? Did I even want them to? I didn’t know if I even wanted them to come. I would just try to hurt them again.

I stared down at the knife. I wanted to throw it, to make it go away. But I… I couldn’t. Why couldn’t I?

Because you need me.

I cringed at the voice inside my head. I didn’t need it! I needed my friends! I needed…

I didn’t know what I needed. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know what I needed. I wanted Xerves. He had to be way ahead of us now. He was going to find the Heartmender before we could, and then it would be all over for Mom.

So find him. Find him and make him pay for what he did.

I blinked. Was that even possible? There was no way I could catch up with him. I didn’t even know where I was, let alone where he was. My stomach grumbled. I was hungry. I didn’t have any supplies with me. I was going to die out here because I was stupid, and didn’t listen to my friends when it counted. I glanced down at the knife. Why did this thing even want me again? I wasn’t strong. I was weak.

Yet you keep going. Funny how that is, isn’t it? You keep going, despite everything that’s happened. That’s not strength though. That’s tenacity.

What can I do? I have nothing. I am nothing. I’m pretty sure there’s probably some monster out here just waiting to eat me. I can’t find Xerves, I have no idea where he is, I thought back at the thing inside the knife.

You have a PipBuck with a map. You can use it to navigate towards where Xerves was headed, towards the thing that will save your mother.

The Heartmender. I couldn’t believe it but the thing was right about that. The map was still inside my PipBuck that led to the last known location of the Heartmender. I could use that to find Xerves before the others could, before he could find the Heartmender and end any chance of my mother’s survival.

I grimaced, flipping on the map. I wasn’t far off from the trail. All I had to do was move.

I put my head down and started out. First, at a walk, then a trot, then lurching and stumbling into a full out run across the Badlands.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

“She’s on the move again,” Rocky said. “Faster this time. Signal’s stronger.”

“Can you tell where?” Coconut asked, standing from where she had been sitting next to me.

“All indications appear that she is actively moving along the path contained in the map to the last known location of the Heartmender,” Rocky said. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t understand. Why would she continue on?”

“She doesn’t want to let Mom die,” I said softly. “Or maybe she’s managed to free herself from that cursed knife.”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t she come back to us then?” Velvet said, rising from her slumber. “I mean, she’d consider coming back to us, right?”

I grimaced. Velvet had a point. Why would she go on ahead without us if she had been able to rid herself of the knife’s influence? As I thought things through, my eyes widened as I came to a stark realization.

“Xerves,” I said. “She’s not just going to try to find the Heartmender, she’s going after Xerves.”

“If that is the case, we must catch up with her,” Rocky said. “Under that thing’s influence, there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

I nodded and trotted over to where Click had been sitting. The robot appeared to be charging silently. I tapped his shoulder, causing his screen to flare to life.

“CLICK,” he said.

“Click? Can I speak to Dusk?” I asked quietly.

The robot, although it seemed to give no inclination that it understood my request, merely stood there as the screen changed to the black and white of the unicorn I still didn’t trust, but needed to talk to.

“Lightning? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Starry. She’s on the move again. She’s heading towards Xerves. I think she’s trying to find him before she finds the Heartmender. Starry said that… well she said that you knew things about what was going to happen,” I stammered out. “Well? Do you?”

Dusk sighed on the screen. “I do. I have some knowledge as to what is to happen in the future. Why?”

“What will she do to him?” I asked succinctly.

“Well, there are a number of different permutations, variables to consider,” Dusk said. “Each one changes the outcome ever so slightly so that--”

“Dusk. Does she kill him?” I asked, interrupting the stallion’s scientific talk.

Dusk looked grim. He nodded his head. “Yes. Most outcomes of the timeline point to that fact,” he said.

I sighed and looked down at my hooves. “What if we stop her? Keep her from killing Xerves?”

Dusk blinked and looked down at his console. He furiously tapped the buttons on it and was silent for several long seconds. Finally he looked up at me. I felt my breath tighten.

“I… I don’t know,” Dusk admitted. “I don’t know what will happen if you stop your sister from killing Xerves.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s… that’s good, right? That means we could stop her, help her get back to being herself.”

“I would advise caution, if that’s what you’re thinking of doing, Lightning. Just because I don’t know what will happen, doesn’t mean nothing will. The consequences of your actions could be just as disastrous as they are beneficial,” Dusk said, his voice urgent.

“I’m aware, but I can’t let her kill him. If she does… she won’t be Starry anymore. It’ll break her,” I said with a sense of finality. “I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen. You can let Click back in now. We’re going to get going on the road.”

Dusk grimaced and looked like he wanted to say more, but must have thought better than that. Finally he nodded and without saying anything further the screen dimmed and went back to the happy smiling pony that we associated with Click’s default personality.

“CLICK!”

“Yeah, we’re gonna go get Starry, big guy. Come on, let’s get out of here,” I said.

The robot rolled beside me to where the others waited. Coconut’s face looked grim.

“Are we ready to go?” I asked.

“Ready. I’ve got a bead on Starry’s movements,” Rocky said. His eyes narrowed at me. “Why were you speaking with Dusk?”

“I wanted to know something important,” I replied. “We don’t have much time. We need to find Starry before she finds Xerves.”

We started forward, silent and sure, heading in the same direction that Starry was. If we were lucky, we’d catch up to her before she could catch up to Xerves. I sighed under my breath, hoping that Dusk was wrong, that by stopping her we could avoid catastrophe instead of causing it.

I’m coming Starry, I thought to myself. I’m coming.

* * *

Starry

* * *

I moved forward with purpose, much more purpose than I’d had in days. Not since I’d found out about Mom’s condition, and the bottom fell out of my world. In the back of my mind, the thing in the knife nagged on at me. I’d found that the thing’s voice was fairly subdued since I decided to find Xerves. I still couldn’t get rid of the knife, it would not let me leave it anywhere. Any time I managed to set it down, I felt magically compelled to come back for it.

I had seen no signs of anything since I’d been walking. The Badlands was a harsh, unforgiving place, and not somewhere that anypony actually made their home. Eventually however, I found the remains of a caravan that had been travelling back to Equestria. The wagons appeared abandoned, the bodies of ponies scattered about. One of the wagons held a barrel with a logo and a name. Aqua Pura. I recognized it as something the ghouls needed. Irradiated water from outside of radiation free Equestria imported in so that ghouls could live on with the necessary amount of radiation needed to keep their bodies and minds intact.

I approached the caravan cautiously. The pony bodies nearly appeared mutilated until I realized that they were in fact, all ghouls. Still, it wasn’t immediately clear what had killed them. My stomach rumbled again. I needed food. Even any amount of irradiated water that existed in that barrel would suffice. I stopped next to one of the wagons, glancing down at the body of the ghoul next to it. It wasn’t moving.

I grimaced and levered myself up onto the wagon. A quick search revealed a freezer containing some irradiated packages of Cram. I stuffed the disgusting food into my mouth faster than my PipBuck clicked and sighed as my stomach settled to accept it. I was about to search the rest of the wagon for any supplies when I heard the sound of shuffling. A foul smell settled upon my nose.

The ghoul rasped loudly behind me as it lunged. I yelped and jumped out of the way, kicking backwards into the ghoul’s face. It stumbled for a moment and then continued forward. I turned, snarling as I lifted the knife into the air. It glowed, angry and powerful, as I swung it around into the ghoul’s neck. The implement tore through the rotting skin, severing the ghoul’s head instantly. Foul black blood leaked all over the wagon as the head rolled to a stop nearby.

More rasping sounds followed. I quickly realized that the ghouls here hadn’t been dead, that they had all gone feral and dormant, and now something live and fresh had just wandered in their midst. All around me the ghouls rose, interrupting their slumber to feast upon me.

I jumped away from the wagon as one of the ghouls slammed into the wooden surface where I had just been. My eyes widened as I took in my plight. There were ghouls everywhere. This had been a very large caravan. Three of the rotting monstrosities rushed towards me, howling and slobbering like mindless animals. I lifted the knife again. It was the only thing I had to protect myself. To my surprise, the ghouls simply… stopped. They hovered at the bare edge of my perimeter, but never dared to lunge forward. I blinked, feeling very confused.

They recognize the power. Our power.

I glanced at the knife. It was glowing bright red. It must have some control over feral ghouls! I didn’t know how or why, but I lifted the knife further towards them.

“You see this? Huh?! You answer to this!” I shouted at them angrily. “Leave me alone and let me forage in peace!”

The ghouls hovered for a few long moments before apparently deciding that it was not worth messing with me or the power of the knife. They moved away and laid down calmly and quietly. I blinked. What did I just do? I thought to myself.

You used our power to sway them.

I shuddered at the voice inside my mind. I tried to ignore it, ignore what I had done, but I couldn’t. Something deep inside of me knew that I had used the power inside the knife, that I had given into it. That was why I’d attacked my friends, why I’d ran.

Is giving in really so bad? I’ve kept you alive. I’m helping you find Xerves, helping you get your revenge.

At what cost? My soul? What do you even want? Why am I so fucking important to you?

You’re the first to come around in a long time that hasn’t succumbed to the sickness. That makes you special.

I glanced down at my hooves. The sickness? My eyes widened when I realized what it meant. Radiation. I was heavily resistant to radiation. I’d had the knife in my possession for weeks and not been turned into a ghoul yet, like the zebra had been.

The previous owner turned within a day, the voice muttered. It sounded… disappointed.

I glanced at the ghouls littering the caravan around me. They’d gone silent, accepting of the fact that I was here, that I wasn’t a live meal. I was one of them, maybe not in body, but in mind. I walked forward and rummaged through the rest of the caravan’s supplies. There wasn’t much more food, but I did find a saddlebag I could toss things into and to continue on. I also had managed to find a working .45 pistol with some ammo.

I looked down at the rest of the caravan and moved on. I had no time to waste. If Xerves was getting further ahead of me, then I needed to get to him, and soon. I checked my PipBuck to make sure I was on the right trail, and once I had determined that I was, I started forward, letting determination carry me towards my destination.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

“She’s moving erratically, stopping and going every few seconds, but we’re close,” Rocky said. “We should catch up with her over the next ridge.”

I grimaced. I hoped that Starry was alright. I didn’t know what I would do if she wasn’t. She had to be okay. She just had to be!

“It’ll be alright, Lightning,” Coconut said from beside me. “I know it will.”

“I hope so,” I muttered under my breath. I cleared my throat and looked forward. We were coming down into a valley where there had once been the remnants of what appeared to be a wrecked caravan.

“A caravan? All the way out here?” Coconut said. She cocked her head in confusion.

“Ghouls,” Velvet chimed in. “It’s one of the ghoul caravans that get irradiated water and bring it back to Equestria. Look, I can see a drum of Aqua Cura on the one wagon.”

I narrowed my eyes at the caravan in question. Something felt off about the whole thing. The pony bodies laying around the caravan all appeared to be dead, but there was one on the wagon. It looked like its head had been separated from its body. The caravan had also been ransacked, at least what was left had been taken.

“Something’s not right,” I said. I flicked on my E.F.S., but the signal was so scrambled, it couldn’t give me any actual readings. “We should go around.”

“It’s just an abandoned caravan,” Velvet said. “It’s not like those ponies are getting up and walking around any time soon.”

“My scanners indicate that Starry passed through this area and out the other side,” Rocky said. “If we go around, we may not be able to catch up with her.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off as we started heading down towards the caravan. As we walked into its midst, I realized I could smell the stench of decay all around us. I knew immediately that I’d been right. I didn’t have any time to ponder how Starry made it through this area without being attacked.

The first of the ghouls arose from next to the wagon containing the Aqua Cura barrel. It lunged at Coconut, screeching loudly. It made a meaty urk as Rocky snatched it out of the air with his massive claws. He launched the ghoul across the valley and into another ghoul that had been getting up to attack. They slammed together with such force that their bodies splattered on the ground.

“So, is it too late to say I told you so?” I shouted as I unleashed two bolts of fire from each of my guns into the nearest ghoul.

“Okay fine, you were right!” Velvet Kiss called back as she shapeshifted into a large male pony. With a quick turn and buck she knocked the heads off of two of the ghouls.

I felt Coconut’s presence next to me. Her rifle swung off the back of her battle saddle, firing several shots into some of the approaching ghouls. They dropped to the ground instantly.

“There’s so many of them!” she exclaimed. “Where are they all coming from?!”

“Doesn’t matter, just keep shooting!” I yelled. “We have to get through them to get to Starry!”

Rocky roared, using his massive weight and cybernetics to destroy ghoul after ghoul. There seemed to be no end to them. Velvet Kiss fought by his side, using a combination of her shapeshifting abilities and her gun to kill them. Click stood there, as the ghouls just couldn’t seem to damage him whatsoever. His lasers melted scores of them. For all of our skills however, it felt like we were fighting a losing battle.

“We have to run!” I shouted. “To the end of the valley!”

Coconut growled, using her forelegs to bat at a ghoul that had managed to get past her rifle’s defenses. She slammed both forehooves into the ghoul’s head, turning it into a black paste that left residue on her power armor. She turned to me. “Lead the way. I’m right behind you.”

“Rocky, Velvet! Follow us, we’re getting out of here! Grab Click!” I called out.

Rocky nodded as he motioned to Click to follow. The robot, completely oblivious to the fact that the ghouls hadn’t stopped coming, just moved forward, running over several of the rotten beasts in the process. Velvet followed closely behind him and jumped up onto his back to get a better view of things.

As we made our way to the edge of the valley, the ghouls stopped coming. A few stragglers appeared, and then nothing. I stopped and huffed, my eyes drifting back up the route towards the caravan. It sat there as it had when we first walked into the valley, lifeless and unmoving. I couldn’t understand it.

“Is… is everyone alright?” I asked, taking deep breaths.

“I think we’re alright,” Coconut said as she lifted her visor. Her face appeared sweaty and hot. “What in the fuck was that all about?”

“Crazy fucking ghouls, is what that was,” Velvet said as she jumped down from Click’s back.

“Yeah but… why’d they just… stop?” I said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Nothing in this forsaken place makes any sense,” Rocky said. “However, I want to apologize for not listening to your instinct, Lightning. It was… foolish of me. I too, want to see Starry’s return. I feel blinded by that slightly.”

I blinked. Rocky was apologizing to me? Since when did that happen? I decided to take it as it was and nodded.

“It’s fine. We really couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” I said. “We’re going to have to be prepared for anything out here. Now… about Starry, do you have a bead on her now?”

Rocky’s yellow eyes narrowed. “Unfortunately, I do, but she’s not close. She’s now several hours ahead of us it seems. It’s the best I can ascertain with the data that I have.”

“Is she still moving?” I asked.

Rocky shook his head. “For the moment, she is stationary. But I fear that may change, soon enough.”

* * *

Starry

* * *

I sat up and groaned. The Cram, although it hadn’t done much to me in terms of radiation poisoning, was giving my stomach the fits. I had to stop briefly to sit down and collect my breath before moving on again. I had no idea if I was getting any closer to Xerves, but the map on my PipBuck showed that I was close to the location marked on it.

I decided to press on. Standing, I started forward, taking step after step along the rocky route. The wind howled across the Badlands. This place was inhospitable, and I had yet to see any true living thing other than the ghouls and the changelings we had met when we arrived in this place. I surmised that there were likely more changelings underground, and that news of me and what I could do had circulated around. Or they just weren’t interested in me, I wasn’t sure.

I made my way down a ridge, nearly stumbling over myself. I stopped at the foot of the ridge and gasped.

It was the remnants of a town. Crumbled buildings spread out for miles and miles. A heavy thick mist settled on the town. What is this place? I thought as I started down the rocky ridge towards the place. This can’t be where the Heartmender is, can it?

And yet, the PipBuck map pointed directly to this place. I double and triple checked it over and over before deciding that it was right. My heart leaped into my throat. What if the Heartmender had been here? What if… what if they were dead? Destroyed by whatever it was that decimated this town? I couldn’t face that reality.

As I descended, I noticed that the town was eerily lifeless. There were virtually no signs of life, not even any vegetation. Who had lived in this place? Ponies? The skeletons that I did see did appear to be vaguely equine. I started walking into the town proper, glancing side to side as I tried to follow the PipBuck marker. Despite how lifeless the place felt, I didn’t feel alone.

I stopped in the middle of a broken street, peering at the buildings around me. Most of them were broken, hollow, things. Only a few were intact. I grimaced, moving forward. I had to find out what had happened to the Heartmender, and to find Xerves.

Xerves. I figured that maybe he had decided to leave after he realized the Heartmender was gone. Perhaps he’d figured that would be a big enough blow to me that he didn’t need to kill the Heartmender, that the Heartmender was already gone and so too would my mother. He was right though, if the Heartmender didn’t exist, then I’d made this journey for nothing more than pure unadulterated misery and pain. Not to mention that I’d managed to alienate myself from my friends in the process.

I pressed forward with rapid determination. The closer I got to the mark on the map, the more my stomach began to turn. I looked up and saw the area where the marker led. It was a dark alley in the center of the town. I started to walk down it, but stopped and took a deep breath.

This is what you wanted. Closure. Once you have it, then we can return to Equestria, and take back what belongs to us.

I tried to ignore the voice, the very sound of it grating and pounding inside my head. I shook my head and moved on autopilot, each leg placed in front of the other. I didn’t see the trip wire until it was too late.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

My eyes widened as I leapt backwards and tried to duck for cover. An explosion erupted from the wall where I’d been standing, showering me with rock and dust debris. I coughed as I moved to sit up.

“Pity, I had hoped that would have killed you,” a voice from above me somewhere said.

I looked upwards immediately. Through the haze and thick mist I could see the form of an equine, and not just any equine, standing on top of a nearby building.

“Xerves,” I said angrily.

“The one and only,” the zebra said. He stepped forward more so that I could clearly see him. His green eyes shined in the dark light. “I must admit, you are a persistent one, Starry Night. However, why are you alone?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, ignoring his question.

“Oh, a little of this, a little of that. Mostly waiting for you. You are at a loss here. This Heartmender you’re looking for, they don’t exist,” Xerves said casually. “Figured it might be more fun to kill you instead.”

“Not if I kill you first,” I shouted, pulling the .45 out of its holster. I fired two shots that should have hit the zebra, but instead he ducked out of the way of them. “Hold still, while I make you pay for what you’ve done!”

Xerves’ eyes glimmered. “You’re going to have to catch me first. Oh, and I should warn you. I set quite a few of those little traps all around this city. Good luck getting around all of them.”

With that, he leaped to the next building and zipped off into the darkness. I cursed under my breath and thought about squeezing off another round at him, but I couldn’t see him enough to aim properly. Doing that would be wasteful of ammo. I stood instead and charged off into the alley, heading towards where Xerves was headed.

I moved carefully and quickly through the network of streets and buildings, unsure as to how Xerves had managed to get around from top of building to top of building like he was. I hadn’t managed to go very far when I’d found the second of his little tricks. A mounted flamethrower sat inset on a wall, along with a tripwire mixed into the dirt. Merely stepping onto it would have been enough to trip it. Suspended across the alley above it was another tripwire, one that made it very difficult to get through without tripping either or both of the cunning traps.

I glanced around, looking for a way around. In the distance, I could see Xerves closing the distance between us. I had to move fast. A nagging thought in the back of my mind told me that this what he wanted, to make me tire myself out so he could take me down easier, but I didn’t care.

Show him our power. Use me to destroy the traps. I cannot be harmed.

I grinned fiercely, unsheathing the knife and letting it float into the air in front of me. It glowed an angry red as I thrust it at the tripwire in the air, cutting it in two. The trap sprung to life, spewing fire forth from the lip of the flamethrower. It didn’t take long for the fire to die down and for me to grab the knife out of the air and run.

Every step I took I was beset upon by Xerves’ traps. He had managed to spread them around the whole of the ruined settlement. He must have had a massive amount of time to do so. How long had he been here? I didn’t have much time to think as I disabled or destroyed each one, using the power of the knife.

I ducked around the next corner, panting hard. Xerves stood, leaning casually against a wall, studying one of his forehooves. The zebra appeared to just be waiting for me.

“Are you enjoying this? You seem to be getting tired,” he called out.

“Go… go fuck yourself!” I called back.

“Highly eloquent, to say the least,” Xerves replied casually. “I’m rather surprised you have been able to get past my traps. I think I hid them very well, don’t you?”

“I think I’m gonna shove one of them up your stupid ass!” I angrily shouted. “Why are you doing this?! Why?!”

“Well, at first it was because I needed to escape the city. Seeing as how your mother didn’t actually die, I needed to get out before the Cult of Iron Fucks got wind of that,” Xerves said, his gaze narrowing at me. “But once I found out about your little quest, about the Heartmender, and the fact that you brought my mother into this mess… well… it got personal.”

“What the fuck does your mother have to do with this?” I said, breathing harder and harder.

“She has everything to do with this! Do you really think I could be anything else other than what I am?! I’m a monster, and it’s all because of her! Your mother is the same, don’t you see? You know exactly what I mean,” Xerves said loudly. “You’re just too stupid to see that.”

“My Mom is everything to me!” I called out. “And you are going to pay for what you did to her! I swear I will make you pay!”

“Come on then, little Starry Night,” Xerves said. “Get on with it.”

* * *

Lightning

* * *

I could hear the explosions from up ahead. The map marker on my PipBuck pointed down the ridge at what appeared to be some sort of settlement. In the darkness, I could see the flashes of light amidst the crumbling buildings.

“What in the hell is going on down there?” Coconut said from beside me.

“Nothing good,” Rocky said.

“Is Starry down there?” I asked.

The minotaur’s eyes narrowed. “As best as I can tell, yes,” he said. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I, but we’d better get down there and find her before anything else happens,” I said.

“CLICK.”

I grimaced and started down the ridge. My heart beat heavy, I could feel it with every hoof step. What would I find down there? Was Starry alright? I pushed myself forward, needing to know just how far south things had gone.

* * *

Starry

* * *

I tore the knife through another bomb trap and dived backwards. The resulting explosion shuddered all around me as I coughed up more and more rubble dust. Xerves seemed to just be watching me from his vantage point. I couldn’t figure out how in the world he managed to stay up there. He had to have ran out of buildings to run along eventually.

Still, it seemed as if his plan was working. I was getting sluggish, slow. If it hadn’t been for the knife and it’s power, I’d have been dead ten times over. I mostly wanted to lay down and die. But yet, I kept going. Something deep inside drove me forward.

Hate. Pain. Rage.

The voice in my head shouted for blood, and I was more than willing to let it. I wanted Xerves to pay for what he had done, and I wanted to be the one to mete out that punishment. I wanted to be judge, jury, and executioner. I wanted to take all the pain he had caused and return it upon him three thousand times more. There was no way to explain the feeling other than that I hated him, and I wanted him to die a painful death.

“You’re getting slow,” the bastard of a zebra said with a cocksure smile. “I’ve only broken a sweat.”

“Why do you keep… keep running?” I stammered out. “Are you afraid I’ll beat you? Is that it?”

“No, I rather enjoy the chase, to be honest,” Xerves replied casually. He grinned widely and his eyes shimmered in the darkness. “I’m just biding my time, waiting for you to exhaust all of your strength.”

I stood there, panting hard. I growled under my breath. He was right. I was stupid to have given into the chase, but he was right that this had all been a ploy to get me to wear myself down.

Show him your strength. Make him understand how strong you really are.

The voice pounded in my ear. It, too, was right. I had strength still. I had power that I could draw on. I released the knife from its sheath and snarled angrily. The magic within it tore into my body and filled my life force up with power like I’d never known before. All I had to do was let it. I realized what a fool I’d been. I’d been avoiding this, and all I had to do was let it in. It was so easy to just let it do what it wanted.

I let it. I let everything in, let the power fill me with hate and rage. I was done being weak. I wanted the power the knife was willing to lend me.

“I’m going to show you strength,” I said with a hiss. “And then, I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done! I’m going to tear your limbs apart and make you suffer!”

Xerves’ gaze narrowed. His eyes flickered to the knife. I could see his uncertainty.

Fear.Good… good… he can feel fear, I thought, feeling confident and strong. I felt as if I could do anything.

My horn flared, sending a blast of telekinesis at the building that Xerves was standing on. It began to crumble from its foundation. The zebra’s eyes widened as he stumbled to jump to the nearest one. I was ready for him. My magic reached out again, striking at the building he was jumping to. It began to crumble as well. Xerves yelled as he went tumbling to the ground in a massive crash.

“Not so confident now, are you?” I said venomously. I grinned as I stalked towards him. I held the knife in the air beside me. “You know, to think… I was scared of this thing. I didn’t want what it offered, but now I realize… it’s not so bad. I’ll show you, of course, right after I’m finished gutting you like a fish with it.”

Xerves popped up from his prone position, flicking out with his hooves. Two metal star-like projectiles flew through the air towards me. I grinned and stopped them with a wave of telekinetic energy, letting them fall to the ground. I hadn’t realized just how strong my telekinesis could be before that point. It had just been another tool. I hadn’t realized that it was also a weapon.

“Something’s changed,” Xerves hissed. “Where is this coming from? You should be on your knees in exhaustion.”

“Nothing’s changed, Xerves. I’ve just finally come to accept what I’ve been denying for some time now,” I crowed. “That I am stronger than you, and I will end your life for what you did to my mother.”

“You will try,” Xerves replied angrily. With one swift motion, he pulled his own knife out of his cloak and into his mouth. His eyes nostrils flared in anger.

“Oh, you have a toy too? Let’s compare,” I said as I stalked forward in determination.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

The explosions stopped. I heard rumbling closer to the center of the ruined settlement. With all the dust and debris, I couldn’t see or hear anything. The settlement around us shook.

“What was that?” Velvet whispered.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like any of this,” I said as I tried to flip on my E.F.S. The scanning on it was still broken. I couldn’t tell if there were two targets up ahead or thirty.

“Rocky, can you see anything?” Coconut asked.

The minotaur stopped for a moment and let his eyes scan our surroundings. His gaze narrowed. “This whole town is riddled with traps. We need to be careful.”

“Is that what caused all those explosions?” Velvet said.

“CLICK,” the robot behind her said. His screen changed to the face of a scared pony.

“It’ll be alright, Click. We’ll find Starry,” Coconut said, placing her hoof on the robot’s shoulder. It seemed somehow to calm it.

“Can you identify where these traps are?” I asked, glancing up at Rocky.

“Yes… With some difficulty,” Rocky said. “We’re going to have to be careful.”

Another explosion rocked the foundation around where we’d been hiding from up ahead. Dust and debris kicked up all around us. Something big was happening. I could feel my coat tingling. It felt… horrible. It was anger and pain all wrapped up into one.

“The magic… I can feel it,” Velvet said. “Can’t you? Holy shit… that’s strong.”

“What are you talking about? I can’t feel anything,” Coconut said, raising an eyebrow.

“I can…” I said softly. “It feels… wrong.”

“It’s that… that thing. That knife. It has to be,” Velvet said. “Starry’s in trouble. I can’t… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we have to stop her. We have to help her.”

“Rocky, lead the way. We’ll be on your tail,” I said. I glanced forward, gaze narrowed in fierce determination. I’m coming, Starry.

* * *

Starry

* * *

I roared, lunging at Xerves, the knife in tow as he tried to dodge my strike. He was starting to falter. Every attack left him looking more and more ragged. I grinned deeply, exulting in my newfound power. I didn’t know why I hadn’t just let the knife in before. It was power beyond all belief and reason!

My next strike caught the zebra in the side, slicing a gash that began to bleed profusely. Xerves howled as he dropped the knife clenched in his jaws. He jumped back and placed a hoof to the wound.

“How… how are you?” he stammered out, panting hard.

I wiggled my knife in the air. “Oh, you know… this little trinket. It’s magical, and it contains an evil entity that wants to wipe out all of known civilization,” I said. “But right now, we’d be happy with just killing you.”

Xerves narrowed his gaze at me. I could tell by the way his eyes shifted back and forth, he was gauging whether or not he could escape. Indeed, he tried to run off to the side to get away. I didn’t let him. A blast of telekinesis cut off his avenue of escape as another building crumbled in front of him.

“Ah ah ah,” I said. “You don’t get to run away this time.”

That’s right, Starry. He hurt you. He hurt your family. Make him suffer. Make him pay. Once it is done, then we can return to Equestria and begin our work once more!

I chuckled at the voice. It sounded sweet in my head. I enjoyed hearing it. It comforted me in many ways that the real world could not. I would finish this, and then I would go back to my home and save my mother from her condition myself. The knife’s power would be sufficient to help me with it.

“In fact, you won’t be harming anyone ever again, Xerves,” I said, stalking closer towards him. “You said you were a monster? You’re nothing. I’m a true monster, and you will soon find out what that means.”

Xerves stumbled backwards, clutching his side in pain. “Stay back. I’m warning you.”

“That’s rich, coming from you. You’re nothing but a scared little zebra. That same scared little zebra I took pity on, the one I saved from Rock Thresher’s bullets,” I taunted, waving the knife back and forth. It glowed angrily in the air beside me. “You’re weak. A weak little momma’s boy. Not even that… a bastard.”

“You don’t scare me,” Xerves said nervously. “I’ve killed more ponies than you can count. It’s what my mother trained me to do. That’s why I killed your mother. Because I was trained to do it. And you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it.”

I grinned. I could literally smell the fear wafting from him as I got closer and closer. He tried to scramble backwards to get away, but he was blocked in from the debris. There was no more tricks. No more escaping this time. I had him right where I wanted him.

“You didn’t kill my mother though,” I said. “You failed.”

“Did I? She has a condition that’s going to kill her, that I accelerated with my poison,” Xerves said. “She’s as good as dead. What you’re doing out here, trying to find the Heartmender and all that… it doesn’t mean anything. She’ll be dead by the time you get back.”

“SHUT UP!” I roared as I lunged forward, slamming into him and knocking him to the ground. “No more games, Xerves! It’s time for you to face the music.”

Xerves coughed up what looked like blood. “Killing… killing me won’t stop the inevitable. It won’t bring… bring your mother back,” he said.

“No,” I said with a growl as I slammed my hoof into his face, knocking him out cold. “But it’s going to feel very good.”

* * *

Lightning

* * *

We ran swiftly, trying to dodge the insane number of traps that had been laid in this place. I didn’t have much time to even fathom who had done that, but my gut told me I already knew. Xerves was here, which meant that Starry and him and were fighting. I had to get to her. I had to stop her from doing it. She couldn’t kill him, she just couldn’t.

Rocky roared as he ripped through the debris and rubble, attempting to clear a path through the dust. With his enhanced cybernetic eyes, he was able to identify which paths to take to get around Xerves’ traps. I only hoped that the extra time spent wouldn’t be too late.

“I’m going to try and get a good look from above!” I shouted as I took to wing. I flapped hard and rose into the sky. It didn’t really matter. I couldn’t see much at all through the dust. I soared back down to meet the others. “I can’t see anything. There’s too much dust and haze.”

“We’re getting closer,” Rocky said. “We have to keep going.”

I nodded, following as closely behind Rocky as I could without getting bashed in by the debris he was crushing through. Soon, we broke into what appeared to be a large clearing of buildings. At first glance, I thought it was a town square of some sort. I quickly realized it was because most of the buildings had been practically leveled by something.

That something was up ahead. Below an outcropping of buildings lay Xerves, struggling with Starry Night, my sister. My fur stood up on ends once more. I could feel the power, the anger and hate radiating from that knife that she held in the air.

I rushed forward as Starry lifted the knife into the air.

“Starry, NO! Stop!”

* * *

Starry

* * *

“Starry, NO! Stop!”

I faltered for a brief moment. Of course, my friends. My brother. I had not quite anticipated that they would actually try to come after me. They were fools. They didn’t understand what this meant to me. I heard Lightning trudging towards me amidst the dust and debris.

“Starry…”

“Stay back,” I called out. “Come no closer.”

“Starry, what are you doing? This isn’t you. Please, listen to me,” he said.

I paid no attention to him. I was only focused on the zebra below me. He quivered in his unconsciousness. There were no words to be had from him now. The anger welled up inside of me. I growled loudly.

“Lightning, step back. I’m going to stop this once and for all,” I heard Velvet Kiss’ voice echo. Poor, poor, stupid Velvet. Pity. I’d thought she was the smart one of the bunch.

“No! Don’t. I can do this; just let me talk to her!” Lightning replied.

“CLICK.”

“Starry, you don’t have to do this. Let us help you. You don’t have to kill him,” Lightning said. He took a step forward.

I responded by flashing the knife. “I said, no closer. Come any closer, and I’ll kill you. All of you. Hell, maybe I will just for fun. But this fuck? He’s as good as fucking dead, and you know it. He poisoned our mother, Lightning. Don’t you get that? He fucking poisoned her… for… for money! He’s the entire reason we’re out here in the first place!”

“I… I know, but killing him won’t save Mom,” Lightning said. “Letting that thing control you won’t save her either. We have to find the Heartmender. They’ll be able to save Mom.”

“THE HEARTMENDER DOESN’T FUCKING EXIST!” I roared. “It’s a myth, Lightning! A myth that we were all stupid enough to believe! We gave into it because we thought it gave us hope! Well, it doesn’t. We’re not going to save Mom that way!”

“Then… let’s go home. Be with her. Accept what we can’t change,” Lightning said. “I love Mom too, Starry, but she wouldn’t want to see you like this. Please. Don’t kill him.”

Kill him. Fulfill your destiny.

Xerves coughed below me. “He’s right…” he whispered. “You can’t save anyone now. You’re a fool, Starry Night. A Luna-damned fool.”

“Go to hell,” I said angrily.

“I’ll see you there…” Xerves said.

I roared, lifting the knife into the air. It hung there for several long seconds.

“Starry, stop! Don’t kill--”

I interrupted him by bringing the knife down into Xerves’ throat. The wicked blade cut nicely into the zebra’s flesh, splitting it apart in a mess of blood and sinew, causing him to cry out in intense pain. I lifted it upwards again, blood dripping from it as I brought it back down into his face, hitting his left eye and ripping it out entirely as I brought the knife up again. I slammed down hard again and again, ripping chunks of flesh from the zebra’s face and neck. There was no mistaking his final breath of life as I lowered the knife over the base of his skull and pressed in hard.

I snarled and roared, bringing the knife to bear across his neck once more. So easily the knife cut into his flesh and bone, severing his head from his body. It rolled to the side, and I exulted in my power. I looked down at myself, covered in zebra blood.

Something inside me snapped. My eyes widened, and I realized I was crying and screaming.

What… what did I just do?! I thought frantically. I’d murdered someone. No, not just murdered. I’d executed him, bloodily and without a single thought. And then I’d ripped his head from body to make a point. The shock of it was too much to bear. I looked at the knife, dripping and stained from Xerves’ blood. It had done all of this. It had brought me to this point.

I felt sick to my stomach. I lurched over and vomited. I couldn’t bear the stench of it. When I was finished, I stood shakily. I left the knife where it had fallen on the ground, still drenched in the blood of the zebra I’d hated so much. And yet, I realized in that moment, that he was right about one thing. Killing him wasn’t going to bring Mom back.

I couldn’t bring Mom back. I couldn’t save her. I was a failure, a weakling. I couldn’t even face my friends. Why were they still here? Didn’t they know that they were looking at somepony who couldn’t resist power? Somepony who gave in to her base desires, and used that power to eviscerate another.

You did it because you wanted to, the voice inside the knife said.

No! I didn’t want this… I didn’t… Leave me alone! I don’t want your power… I thought back at it. Tears flowed freely down my face. I didn’t have the strength to keep going. I wasn’t strong. I was weak.

And thus, I slumped over just as quickly as I had gotten up, and passed out.

Author's Note

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Chapter Ten: A Dream Within

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Ten: A Dream Within

Dreams are the gateway to spiritual revelation.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

“How is she?” I asked, glancing over Coconut’s shoulder. She had been tending to Starry for what had felt like ages after she had passed out.

“She’s unconscious still, but breathing. As best as I can tell her body went into shock, which caused her to pass out,” Coconut replied with a sigh.

“But she’s going to be alright, right?”

“Lightning…”

“She’s going to be alright, right?” I insisted.

“I don’t know,” Coconut said. “This could just be temporary, or it could be prolonged. There’s no telling how extensive the damage is to her psyche alone.”

I glanced down at my hooves. “Sorry. I just…”

“It’s alright,” Coconut said. “We’re just going to have to make do with what we have right now. But we can’t move her, not yet. We’ve gotta give her a chance to pull through on her own.”

I nodded, turning away from the makeshift tent that Coconut had put up to place my sister under. I wasn’t totally sure what to do. I was lost. Starry had always been the planner, the real brains. I was just… the joker. I knew that much deep down. I was the lazy one, the one who never really amounted to anything.

And here I was, trying to make things right. To get my sister back, to save her. How could I do that? How was a screwup like me supposed to help her?

“Lightning.”

I glanced up, seeing Rocky standing there. I realized I’d been walking without purpose, without reason. The minotaur’s shrewd yellow eyes regarded me curiously.

“What is it?”

“There is something you need to see,” he said, motioning for me to follow him.

I nodded and fell into a steady trot behind him. We walked for a short distance, back towards where Xerves body lay. We hadn’t yet decided whether we would bury him or not. I didn’t know if I even could stomach it. Rocky loped past the body into the ruined stone building a few paces down away from it. The building was caved in mostly, but not in as bad of a shape as the rest of the buildings in this strange place.

“I was doing some recon,” Rocky said quietly. “And I came across this place. Most of the buildings around here are destroyed, but this one has a door that goes downward.”

“Downward?” I asked, cocking my ears to one side. “That means there’s some sort of secret bunker?”

“That’s the only thing I can think of,” Rocky replied. “I wanted you to see it before we talked to the others.”

“Why?”

“Miss Coconut is tending to your sister, leaving only Velvet and the robot to defend them. It makes logical sense in this environment. Besides, I believe you and I should be more than capable of dealing with whatever is down there,” Rocky explained.

I grimaced. “You have a point there. Well, let’s get on with it then.”

Rocky nodded and motioned for me to follow him through the abandoned building. We made our way to a room in the back, where inset into the floor was a metal covering. It was very clearly a door leading to a cellar of some kind. It looked like it had once been covered by the floor tile, but it had long deteriorated.

“Is there a lever or something that opens it?” I asked.

“I looked around, but couldn’t find anything. I’m certain that this doorway must have been remotely accessible. It’s emitting a signal,” Rocky replied.

“Can you open it that way?”

“My cybernetics aren’t that advanced,” Rocky said. “I’m going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”

The minotaur brandished his claws and stepped forward, reaching down towards the lip of the door. The metal protested Rocky’s attempt to rend it from where it lay with loud, cacophonous screech. With a guttural roar he lifted up the two halves of the door and tossed them across the room. I stepped up next to him and peered down into the stairwell. Darkness filled all available space, making it difficult to see what was down there.

“Well,” I said, flicking on my PipBuck’s light. “Let’s see what’s down there.”

I started down the cold metal steps, hearing nothing but my own breathing and the clanking of both Rocky and I as we made our way down. The stairwell extended far below before we saw the first inkling of light. Several emergency lights, still working after all this time, lined the stairwell about halfway down, illuminating our path to the bottom.

The landing at the bottom of the stairs extended into a large bunker filled with junk. Neatly organized rows of dollies and foal’s toys covered the floor, leaving only a narrow path. At the far end sat an empty bed, the mattress and everything intact. Along the wall near the bed was a desk with a terminal. It appeared to still be operational.

“Look at all this stuff,” I said as I made my way through the rows of junk. “It looks like it’s all from up above.”

“Someone took great care to save these items,” Rocky uttered. “Dolls, pieces of artwork. These must have belonged to the ponies that lived in this place.”

I made my way across the room towards the terminal. I hoped there would be something there that would give any kind of idea what was going on here. I clicked a few of the keys, but there seemed to be nothing more than a few image files and an audio recording. The images were of ponies around a town. It seemed to be the town that we were in. I grimaced and downloaded the audio file to my PipBuck and set it to play aloud. Static emitted from my PipBuck’s speaker before the voice of a mare started to speak.

“Idiots, blasted idiots, the lot of them! They didn’t listen to my warnings, and now the unthinkable is happening. Maybe coming all the way out here was a mistake. It seems like no matter where I go, nothing but pain follows.

The raiders are coming, for sure. There’s no stopping them this time. No bargaining will save this town. It’ll be levelled to the ground. I’ve been… collecting things from the townsponies surreptitiously. Saving what I can in my bunker below my office. Perhaps… perhaps somepony will find it someday and can make some sense of all this shit.

*sigh*

I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to help ponies. Even with my special brand of magic, it seems like all it ever does is cause me pain. I guess I should be used to it, heartmending after all is a very rare and unique talent, but it’s finally catching up with me.

I’m done. After the raiders clear this town, they won’t find me, because I’ll be long gone. I don’t even know why I’m recording this. If you’re listening to this recording, it’ll mean that I’ve been gone so long that somepony finally found this place. Maybe there’s hope out there, I don’t know, but I’m going to keep heading back west until I find it.

Signing off for the last time here, this is Heartshine.”

My eyes widened as they locked gaze with Rocky. The Heartmender had been here. Not only that, she had a name. She was a real pony.

“How is this even possible?” I said aloud. “The Heartmender. She was here.”

“Is there a date on the recording?” Rocky asked. “Perhaps it could give us some information on when she was here.”

I grimaced, checking the details of the recording in my PipBuck. No date was listed. Just the name of the file Signing Off. I shook my head.

“No, but she said she was headed west. I wonder if she left any indication around here as to where she was going,” I said, opening the desk drawers and rummaging through them while Rocky began to investigate the rest of the room.

There wasn’t much, a few gum wrappers and a Guns & Bullets magazine. Slotted inside the magazine was a photograph. I pulled it out and inspected it. It was faded, but I could clearly make out a few ponies on it. Centered in the middle was a young looking lime green pegasus with a multicolored mane. She appeared to be smiling. On each side of her were two other ponies, a unicorn and an earth pony to be exact. I flipped over the photo, noticing some writing on the back of it.

Hope Junction

We’ll never forget you, Heartshine!

“Hope Junction,” I said aloud. “Was that what this place was called?”

“Did you find anything?” Rocky asked.

“Just an old photograph,” I said, showing it to the minotaur. “Do you think that Hope Junction was the name of this place?”

“Unsure, I can’t find anything with that name,” Rocky replied. “Maybe that’s where she was heading back to?”

“She did say something about looking for ‘hope’,” I said. I pocketed the photograph in my side pocket. “We should get back to the others. I don’t think we’re going to find anything else here.”

“Agreed, lead the way.”

* * *

Starry

* * *

Darkness. Floating darkness. It surrounded me, permeated every inch of my awareness. I was motionless, hanging there in the void. I struggled to look down at myself, but found that I could not see even myself.

What is this place? I thought. Am I… dead?

Memories came rushing back at me. My friends coming to try and save me. Xerves taunting me. His death… no… his execution. The crazed look on my face as I cut off his head. And then… darkness. What had I done? What had I become?

“Where am I?!” I shouted at the void. There was nothing, not even an echo. No sound existed here. Nothing existed. “Please… I just… I just want to go back…”

“This is the border,” a soft voice said from beside me. “The border between this life and the next.”

My neck craned to the side to get a look at the source of the voice. A stallion stood beside me. His deep gray coat emerged from the darkness, and somehow the glimmer of his spiky black mane could be seen. I glanced down and realized I could see myself again. I looked back up at the stallion. He looked so familiar, like I’d seen him before.

“Who…?” I started to ask.

“Starry…” the stallion said. “You already know who I am.”

My eyes widened. Memories that I knew I hadn’t had started flooding into my mind. I remembered him like it was yesterday and yet… I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t know him, because he died before I was born. He had died, so that I could live.

“D-D-Daddy?” I whimpered, sniffling like a little foal. “Is it… is it really you?”

The stallion smiled coyly. “You look as beautiful as ever, Starry Night. It’s unfortunate that we had to meet again like this, but things are not as they were.”

I didn’t say anything as he walked over and pulled me close. I felt the tears overflow as I sobbed into my father’s neck, overjoyed to see him. I couldn’t believe it was him. I had to have been dreaming, right? Was this even real?

“I’m real,” Steeljack whispered, almost as if he had read my mind.

“How? How... are you even here?” I managed to say as I pulled back from him.

Steeljack smiled. “This place, it exists in between the physical world and the spiritual one. The barrier here is thinnest during our dreams. As it stands, you are asleep.”

“I passed out after…” I said. My face reddened as I remembered what I’d done. I turned away. “You must be disappointed in me.”

“What came to pass is not your fault, my daughter. Your mind had become twisted, imbalanced by forces that sought to use you,” Steeljack replied. “I regret not being able to approach you sooner, but that force kept me from reaching you in time.”

I looked down at my hooves and sighed. What I had done to Xerves, it was deplorable, no matter what he had done he had not deserved the punishment I meted out upon him. I knew that I would never be the same again after what I had done. I felt my father’s hooves close around me once more, pulling me into an embrace that felt all too familiar, and yet so distant at the same time.

“Dad?” I asked softly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Why… why do I remember you? I feel like we’ve done this before, many times, but you… you died before I was born, so how do I remember this?” I asked hesitantly.

Steeljack grimaced. “I had hoped to not have to explain that, but I guess I can’t put anything past you. You got your mother’s smarts, I’ll give you that,” he said. “The reason you can remember me is because the reality you live in right now is different than the one you and I shared.”

“What? I don’t understand…”

“In your timeline, I died defending your mother from an irradiated dragon. In my timeline, well… Violet took my place. I helped usher you and your brother into life on that mountaintop.”

“Wait, timeline? Are you saying that time changed or something? Aunt Violet didn’t die, she and Auntie Star visit all the time,” I said, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.

“Yes… Star took Violet’s death hard. In that version of the timeline, she killed Spark and Twilight, so angry about the journey that claimed her love from her. She went into hiding after that. I don’t think she ever forgave herself for what she had done. Your mother and I, we took you to Theater, where we tried to live on,” Steeljack explained.

I couldn’t believe it. Time had changed? Not only that, it had changed drastically enough that my father had perished instead of Aunt Violet? I couldn’t quite grasp it, but deep down I knew it was right.

“How…? How did it all change?” I asked. “None of this makes any sense, but somehow… I know you’re telling the truth.”

Steeljack sighed. “Dusk. He was a friend of ours during our time at Theater. Something, something happened. Something big. I can’t quite explain what, because it happens in the future, and the possibility of it happening again… I can’t even fathom,” he said. He paused for a moment to collect himself. “Regardless, Dusk went back in time. A megaspell he told me, one that allowed a pony to exist outside of time. It was incredible power, perhaps too much for anypony to bear, but Dusk aimed to use it for good. He went back and inserted himself into our timeline, using his knowledge of the future to try and prevent what was to come to pass.”

“But in doing so… you died instead of Aunt Violet?” I asked.

My father nodded solemnly. “I knew that I would never get the chance to hold you and your brother in my hooves, but if there was even the chance that Star’s presence in the upcoming future would prevent it from happening, I gladly gave my life to do so. Dusk ensured that your mother had all the skills to raise you, finding her after she moved back to Theater and teaching her all he knew so that she could pass those teachings onto you and Lightning.”

“How do you… do you know these things if you died?” I asked. “How could you even know that Dusk was telling the truth in the first place?”

“Because I witnessed the future that was to come to be,” Steeljack said calmly. “Dusk took me there. He showed me what would happen if we didn’t try to change things. Star was the focal point. She needed to be present or else everything that we had ever worked for was lost. You… were lost.”

My eyes widened as I came to a realization. “You didn’t do it for him… you did it for us. Lightning and I.”

My father grimaced, but nodded all the same. “Unfortunately, time is not something one can just play with like a child’s toy. It has a way of self-correcting, forcing certain events to occur but in different order, or causing different events entirely.”

“Hoofwich. The knife,” I said. “I was never supposed to have found that thing.”

“Or it was supposed to happen and hadn’t yet in Dusk’s timeline, I’m still a little fuzzy on some of those details,” Steeljack said with a grin before frowning once more. “Regardless, that thing has accelerated the chain of events that led you to the here and now. And it’s not over, not by a long shot.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The presence inside that thing. It calls itself All’z’reth. It’s here, and it’s waiting for you,” my father replied. “It wants to destroy you, make you into its puppet to reap chaos and destruction wherever it goes.”

I looked down at my hooves once more. “And I nearly let it have complete control,” I whispered.

“Yes, but you showed something that it fears. You showed guilt, understanding that what you did erased a life from this world,” Steeljack said. “You showed remorse. This creature, it doesn’t understand that concept. All it knows is power. It fears that you are strong enough to beat it, to remove it from your body.”

“How can I? I don’t even know if I have that kind of strength,” I said.

“I know you can,” Steeljack said, pulling me close into an embrace once more. “Because you’re my daughter, and you can beat this thing. Besides, you won’t be alone.”

“I won’t?”

“Of course not. Do you really think I’d let my own daughter face an extraplanar evil entity all by herself?” my father said with a wry grin.

I chuckled, finding myself wishing we had more time like this to laugh instead of cry. Somewhere deep down I knew this was the last time I would be seeing my father for good. Before I could say anything, I heard it. The pounding and beating of a drum heralding the arrival of the mighty All’z’reth.

“It’s near.”

* * *

Lightning

* * *

I found Velvet and Click standing guard at the edge of our camp’s perimeter, both robot and changeling scanning the skies and ground for any possible enemy. Velvet had assumed the form of a griffon, using the race’s keen eyesight to keep an eye out.

“Velvet, have you eaten?” I asked softly.

The brutish looking griffon glanced down at me and in a flash of green light became the mare known as Velvet Kiss again. She grimaced. “I’ve… been nibbling a little on the emotions running through the air,” she said. “I should be alright. Is… is Starry awake yet?”

“Not yet. She’s still resting,” I said. “Coconut is looking after her.”

“How much longer do we have to wait? I don’t like this place,” Velvet asked. “It feels… off.”

“CLICK.”

“I know, I don’t like it either. Something happened here, something more than just a raider attack like the recording said,” I said.

“Recording?” Velvet replied. Her eyes flashed with curiosity.

“Rocky and I found a bunker hidden underneath one of the buildings. There was a recording on a working terminal there. Something about a raider attack, but here’s the real kicker… the pony recording it was the Heartmender,” I said.

“Wait, what? The Heartmender actually exists? They were here?” Velvet said, eyes wide.

“She,” I corrected her. “It was a mare. Her name was Heartshine. She said something about going back west. That raiders were attacking this town.”

“Hmm…” Velvet said. “But you’re right. This looks like it’s a lot more than just your run of the mill raider attack. Where are the bodies? We haven’t even seen a single skeleton. It’s just… empty.”

I grimaced and nodded. “The further we get from this place, the better I think. But until Starry is up and awake, I don’t know how far we’ll get out beyond it,” I said. “I’m going to go check on her now--”

“Lightning! Hurry!” I heard Coconut’s voice shout. “It’s Starry!”

I turned on the spot, digging my hooves into the blasted landscape and charged in the direction of Coconut’s voice. I stopped at the makeshift tent, eyes wide.

“What is it? Is she awake?” I asked frantically.

“No, she’s… she’s convulsing. I don’t know what to do! I need help!” Coconut shouted.

I glanced down beneath my friend. Starry’s body was shaking uncontrollably, jerking back and forth like she was having some sort of seizure. I dropped to her side and held onto her as best as I could while Coconut rooted through our medical supplies.

“I found a sedative, but I don’t know if it will work!” Coconut said panickedly. “I can’t tell if she’s having a reaction or what’s going on!”

“We have to do something!” I called back to her. “Give me the sedative!”

Coconut nodded, handing the vial of the sedative to me. She moved to Starry’s other side and did her best to hold her down while I held the vial to her lips. I poured it down her mouth and held it shut. Within a few slow seconds, Starry’s body stopped convulsing.

“What are we going to do, Lightning?” Coconut asked, her eyes teary.

I had no answer.

* * *

Starry

* * *

I steeled myself, holding fast as the beast neared. My father stood silently next to me, a cold grimace on his face. I did not know how long we had together, but the ominous feeling in the air told me that it wasn’t long. The pounding around us had gotten louder, increasing my anxiety.

All’z’reth was coming. Whatever it was, it was timeless and evil. It wanted me to turn against my friends, my family, my home. It wanted me only because I was untainted by its sickness.

And then it appeared, not as I expected but as I knew it would. A much larger, brutishly featured version of myself appeared before myself and Dad. Its eyes glowed red and it cracked a wicked smile.

“So we meet at last, Starry Night,” it said, its voice echoing into the void.

“Leave me alone,” I said calmly. “I don’t want anything to do with you any longer!”

“You think that you can challenge me? That even with the help of your father, that you have any capability of defeating me here? I am All’z’reth! I am a God, Starry Night! I am the only true power here!” the creature shouted. It lifted a hoof and its horn glowed, sending shockwaves throughout the void.

I could feel my body, back in the real world and wracked with the pain, the magic causing it to convulse and writhe in the presence of my friends. I could see everything within my mind’s eye. I didn’t know how to make it stop. I screamed, sinking to my knees.

Suddenly I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I glanced up at my father, who calmly reassured me with his eyes. I felt the convulsions begin to slow. I growled under my breath as I stood and faced the monster.

“Get out of my head! Get out of my body!” I roared.

“You cannot defeat me. I will claim your body for my own, giving rise to a new era in Equestria! The era of All’z’reth!” the creature said, taking a step forward. “I am the beginning and the end, and you will bow before my greatness!”

The creature lunged forward unnaturally, it’s legs stretching and moving in strange ways as another set of extra appendages protruded from its sides. The beast’s maw opened, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth. Any resemblance it had to me at all began to slowly disappear. I jumped backwards as a slimy tentacle slapped the nothingness in front of me, barely missing. I growled, trying to access my magic as I closed my eyes. I felt the power inside of me begin to shape and give form, but nothing happened when I tried to call on it.

“Starry, look out!” Steeljack shouted.

My eyes popped open to see a tentacle lashing towards my face. My vision filled with a blur of gray as my father lunged in front of me to deflect it with a strike from his power armored hoof. The creature roared in retaliation. I grabbed ahold of Steeljack’s hoof as he brought me to my hooves.

“Thanks,” I said.

“We need a plan. This thing is too powerful for either one of us to face it alone. I’m not even sure if we can beat it together,” my father said.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“There is nothing that you can do. Once I am in complete control of your mind and soul, you will be powerless as you watch me kill your little friends and your brother. I think I’ll save him for last, and make it slow… and painful…” All’z’reth crowed.

My friends. My friends! That was it! If there was some way… somehow I could reach my friends they could help me. Together, we could beat All’z’reth!

“Dad… what if… what if we could send a message to the others? Is that possible?”

Steeljack pondered for a brief moment before replying. “It may be possible, but how would you intend to reach them? What could they even do?”

“You said this place is where the barriers are thin. If I can reach Velvet, maybe her empathic magic as a changeling could link with mine and bring everyone here,” I said. “I’m just throwing out ideas here, I don’t know if this will actually work or not.”

“What do you need me to do?” Steeljack said.

“Can you maybe keep ugly face busy for a few moments? I need to concentrate,” I said.

Steeljack grinned. “Of course. I got your back, kid,” he said. He turned to face All’z’reth. “Hey, ugly! You want her, you gotta get through me!”

“Gladly.”

Steeljack rushed forward as I closed my eyes and started focusing my magic. I thought only of Velvet Kiss.

* * *

Velvet

* * *

I watched Lightning leave and turned back to the robot. I hadn’t told him that I was actually starving. The emotions were running high in the air, but they weren’t really emotions I liked to feel. Fear didn’t exactly taste good to changelings.

“Thanks for not saying anything,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” came the voice of the unicorn Dusk. His image appeared in Click’s monitor. “Thank you for not telling Lightning I was still around.”

“You’re really worried about Starry, aren’t you? I mean, I can’t feel those emotions because you’re behind that screen, but I can just tell,” I asked.

“I… I am. I’m worried that something bad is going to happen to her,” Dusk replied. “Tell me. Why haven’t you fed?”

“It’s complicated. There’s love in the air for sure, but it’s tinged with fear. Fear is… icky. Like, have you ever eaten Cram?” I said.

“No, that’s not a delicacy I’m familiar with,” Dusk said.

“Well, alright. Cram I guess was supposed to be a dog food of some kind. Ponies eat it because well, it’s better than nothing. Not me though. Shit’s gross,” I said. “It’s the same with fear. Fear does… weird stuff to changeling physiology. Makes us paranoid, shit like that.”

“I see. And you’re afraid that might happen to you if you decide to intake any,” Dusk said.

“I’m afraid that it will happen,” I said. “Fear makes me crazy, power-hungry. I know because that’s all I fed on while I worked for the Hellraisers. Since I’ve been with you… I haven’t had a single drop.”

Velvet!

My eyes widened. I looked up at Dusk. “Did you… just say anything?”

“No? I was listening to your story,” Dusk replied.

“That’s… alright. I must be tired from the hunger exhaustion, is all,” I said, turning to watch our perimeter once more.

Velvet! You have to listen to me!

I yelped as I fell over from the shock of the voice in my head. I knew that voice!

“S-S-Starry?!” I said aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Dusk said. “Are you alright? Should I go get the others?”

I waved him off as I tried to listen for her voice again. When it didn’t come I considered the fact that maybe I was going crazy anyways.

Velvet, it is me! It’s Starry! I got through to you!

I blinked. The voice echoed in my head. It was her. Starry was talking to me in my head!

What’s going on? Where are you? How are you even doing this? I thought back to the voice.

Velvet, listen to me very carefully. I need you to round up the others. What’s happening right now, it’s very bad. I can’t… I can’t do it without all of your help. Bring them to me. I’ll… I’ll figure out the rest once you do that.

I grimaced, but nodded even though I knew she couldn’t see it. I looked up at Dusk.

“We need to go get the others. We may be the only ones that can save Starry,” I said, running back from the perimeter towards our camp.

Dusk clattered behind me quietly as we reached the tent. I lifted up the flap and stepped inside, seeing Coconut and Lightning sitting quietly next to Starry’s body. A broken vial lay on the ground next to Lightning. Beyond them, Rocky stood, watching over them.

“I just talked to Starry. We need to save her!” I shouted, breaking them out of their concentration.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

“I just talked to Starry. We need to save her!”

I jumped at Velvet’s voice and glanced up at her. She had talked to Starry? How was that even possible? I looked past her at the robot, seeing Dusk’s face inside the monitor.

“What do you mean you talked to her?” I asked. “And what’s Dusk doing back?”

“He was keeping me company on the perimeter,” Velvet said. “That’s not important, though. The important thing is that Starry, she contacted me somehow. She told me I needed to get us all together here, that we needed to help her.”

I grimaced. “Velvet, Coconut is doing the best she can to keep Starry calm while we try to figure out what to do. She’s getting help.”

Velvet grimaced and then suddenly seemed to space out for a brief moment. Her eyes glazed over and she shook her head. “No. Starry says we have to help her defeat it. She says she can’t do it alone.”

“Defeat it?” Rocky rumbled. “What does that mean?”

“Velvet, have you actually eaten? You look like watered down hell,” I said. “Or is this something that Dusk put you up to? One of his little plans.”

“I assure you I am just as confused about this as you are, Lightning,” Dusk interjected. “I’m only here to ensure that Starry is alright.”

I growled under my breath. “Starry’s going to be alright. We’ve got her stabilized for now. We should be able to move her soon.”

“No! You can’t move her!” Velvet shouted. “Ugh… why won’t you listen to me! Starry is telepathically communicating with me! Why is that so hard for you to believe?!”

“Lightning, maybe she’s telling the truth,” Coconut said, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “Let’s hear her out.”

I sighed, nodding my assent. “Fine. Sit down. What does Starry want us to do?”

“She just keeps repeating that she needs our help to defeat it,” Velvet said as she took a seat next to my sister. “She says that I should be able to… empathically connect our minds to hers.”

“Is that something changelings can even do?” Rocky rumbled.

“Theoretically, yes,” Dusk interjected. “A strong intense burst of emotion should allow Velvet’s empathic centers to connect to your minds, but that emotion must be positive in nature and directed at Starry.”

“How do you even know that? Are you some sort of expert on changelings now?” I asked angrily.

“No, but I do know something about magic,” Dusk replied briskly. “Perhaps wherever Starry is, trapped deep within her own mind, is a place where that magic is most receptive. That would be the only way that something of this nature would even work.”

“How do we do this?” Coconut asked. “We have to help her.”

“Agreed,” Rocky stated.

Velvet grimaced as her eyes glazed over for another moment. When she came to, she began to speak. “We should gather around her. Dusk, unfortunately you’re not going to be able to come with us. I can’t pick up on your emotions, so… you need to stand guard.”

“Understood.”

“Everyone else, I need you to direct your thoughts to Starry. Think of the most positive memory you can of her. It needs to be strong or I don’t even think I could begin to do this,” Velvet said. “Close your eyes and think only of her.”

I breathed in deeply, closing my eyes and started thinking of nothing but Starry. It was easy. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since all of this had began. I pushed past what had happened in the now and focused on the Starry I knew and loved. My sister, the one who had always been there to protect me, love me, and be my friend.

I felt it suddenly. Her presence. It was all around us. It flowed through and connected each of us to it. The surge of magical energy roared around us, and I knew that something big was happening here.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a different place. A void of nothing. Standing on each side of me were the others. Across from us stood Starry and a stallion in gleaming power armor. Beyond them, a thing of incomprehensible definition. I looked to my sister and grimaced.

“Starry?”

* * *

Starry

* * *

“Starry?”

I turned, opening my eyes. I had felt the connection from the others as soon as Velvet had initiated the spell. I hadn’t even really known if that was going to work, or if Velvet could even do it in the first place. But it had worked, and they were here.

“Starry? What’s going on? Where is this place?” Lightning asked as he took a few steps forward. “I don’t understand.”

“We don’t have much time for explanations,” I said calmly. “I called out to Velvet because I need your help.”

“The thing that was inside the knife,” Velvet uttered, her eyes wide with realization. “That’s what you meant about defeating it.”

I grimaced and nodded. “I only had so much time while Steeljack holds it off. So I was kind of urgent. Forgive me if I sounded too harsh.”

“Starry!” Steeljack called back to me as he dodged another tentacle attack from All’z’reth. “If you’ve got a plan, now would be a great time to put it into play!”

Lightning’s eyes widened. I knew he recognized Dad too as soon as I saw it. I placed a hoof on his shoulder.

“Not right now,” I said calmly. “After. We need to stop All’z’reth first.”

“All’z’reth?” Rocky rumbled.

“That’s what it calls itself. It wants to control me to bring its magic back into our world. I… I’m not strong enough to defeat it myself. I need your help. I realize that this is… that I fucked up, that I let this thing get into me and I used it to hurt you, that you had to watch as I murdered someone…” I trailed off.

I felt Velvet’s hoof on my shoulder. She smiled widely. Out of all the ponies, I hadn’t thought she would be the one who would approach me first. Perhaps it had something to do with the empathic nature of her race, I wasn’t sure.

“Starry. It’s not your fault,” she said. “I admit… I wasn’t the best of myself. I even kidnapped you. But if there’s anything you’ve taught me, it’s that having friends makes you better than you can ever be. I’ll help you. Let’s make this fucker pay for what it’s done.”

“Pssh, I’m your best friend,” Coconut said with a grin. “No matter what, through thick and thin. We don’t give up on each other.”

“Rocky?” I asked. “You’ve been unusually quiet.”

The cybernetic minotaur’s eyes narrowed at me. I half expected him to storm off or something else, but instead he lifted his claws and placed them on my shoulder.

“After this is all over, we will speak, but for this, I am with you. I will help you,” he said.

Lightning smiled softly. “You know I’m with you.”

“Starry!” Steeljack called out. “I can’t keep this up much longer!”

I turned around and stared at All’z’reth. The creature roared in challenge as we made our way next to Steeljack. The stallion huffed and panted, but appeared to otherwise be okay.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine. Held out long enough,” he said with a chuckle. “I see that you were able to contact your friends.”

I nodded, turning to the creature. “You won’t win,” I said. “We’ll beat you. No matter what. I will not become your vessel of evil.”

“You are a fool, Starry Night. You do not know what you have done. Now that your friends are connected to you, I can kill them here and now! You have doomed them and Equestria!” All’z’reth crowed.

My eyes widened. Was that true? In my haste to bring my friends to me, I hadn’t considered the impacts that act would have. Did I just hand All’z’reth what it wanted on a silver platter? It wasn’t possible. I was doing what I thought was right…

“Hey, ugly! I’d like to see you try and kill me! I’m going to make you pay for what you did to my friend!” I heard Velvet shout.

“Yeah! I’m not backing down until you’re gone from my sister’s mind!” Lightning called out.

Rocky roared in retaliation. Coconut shouted as well. They were all here, regardless of the danger, regardless of what may happen. They were all here… for me. My heart swelled as I thought of each of them. I stepped forward from amongst them.

“No, All’z’reth. You’re wrong. You won’t get the chance to kill my friends, because my friends are a part of what makes me strong!” I shouted. “They are what define me as a pony! They give me their strength and loves, but most of all they give me their friendship! A stronger force than even you could even begin to comprehend!”

“You will bow before my greatness! All of you will bow! I am the mighty All’z’reth, the One that has Come! Kneel and submit to my power!” All’zr’reth roared in reply.

I stomped my hoof, hitting solid ground. The force of the magic that erupted in response shook this world to its very foundations. The power washed over the eldritch being as it shrieked and shrank back. I realized what my father had told me was right. All’z’reth was afraid of me. It was afraid that I would find my strength, that I would be able to shake off its influence.

It was afraid of my friends, and of the power they gave me. It must have known that they were the key to defeating it, forcing it away back into the object that contained it. I conjured it in my mind’s eye. The knife. It floated in the air in front of the abomination.

“This was your prison, wasn’t it? In using it to kill Xerves, I let you into my body,” I proclaimed. “I’m going to put you back into it and then I’m going to bury you here where nobody else will ever be able to find you!”

My magic exploded, seeking the amorphous form of the eldritch creature. It writhed and shrieked as it tried to escape. As my friends stood by my side, I could feel their emotions channeling through me. I could feel the power they lent me. With one final flick, I unleashed that power.

All’z’reth vanished in a swirling vortext, howling and screaming all the way. In a blink of an eye, all that was left was the knife, floating endlessly in the void. With a swish of my horn, I dispelled it. I stood there for several long moments, taking in what had just occurred. All’z’reth felt… gone. I could no longer feel its presence, its evil infecting me. I had managed to do it. I turned around, glancing at the others. Steeljack stood just behind them. He looked… forlorn. I saw him turn to walk off.

“Wait!” I shouted, startling my friends as I ran past them. “Dad!”

Lightning was at my side just as quickly. Steeljack stopped and sighed loudly.

“I don’t have a whole lot of time left you two,” he said. “My purpose here was to help Starry. Now I’ve gotta head on back.”

“Back to where?” Lightning said, his eyes wide with awe.

“Back to the other side,” Steeljack said. “I’m sorry that you had to see me this way, Lightning, but Starry can explain everything. I’m just glad to know that my son has turned into a fine young pony, and a hell of a stallion.”

“I… Thanks… Dad,” Lightning said.

“Starry, you take care of each other. There’s a lot more coming your way, and you need to be prepared for it,” Steeljack replied, glancing over at me. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other again, until… well, you know…”

I nodded, before lunging forward to embrace him. Lightning joined too. We stayed there for several long moments, embracing the father we barely knew. I wanted that moment to last forever. Alas, it was not meant to be.

“I must be going, and you must be waking up,” Steeljack said. “Remember, take care of each other. You’re all you have out here.”

I looked at Lightning and smiled brightly. His grin back told me all I needed to know. I glanced back at Steeljack, who had turned and was walking off into the void. He began to fade from view, finally dissipating into nothingness.

“Lightning?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s get out of this place. I’m ready to wake up now.”

“You got it, Sis.”

* * *

My eyes shot open and I began to cough, the shocks wracking my body as tears streamed from my eyes. All around me, my friends began to come out of their own trance. Coconut was the first to come out, wasting no time in pulling out a canteen to offer me some water. I gratefully took it and began to drink as the others emerged.

“That was… unique,” Coconut said. “We didn’t even really do much, did we?”

“We mostly just stood there,” Lightning pondered.

“No… you did a lot more than you think,” I said, my voice still feeling rather raspy. “You helped me defeat that thing. I can’t feel it anymore.”

“Neither can I,” Velvet said, closing her eyes. “In fact, I feel… wow I feel great. That thing, it must have been casting a pall over this place with its strong emotions. But now… now that weight has lifted.”

“How are you feeling?” Rocky rumbled.

I turned and met his eyes. I felt my cheeks go crimson and I looked down. “I’m… I’m fine,” I stammered. “I…”

“Later. Alone. Please,” Rocky said simply.

I nodded. I knew that I had a lot to make up to the minotaur, for everything that had happened. I’d done a horrible thing in attacking him the way I had, I just hoped he didn’t resent me for it. I sighed and closed my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “For everything. For dragging you all out here. This was a waste of time. There is no Heartmender, and there never was one to begin with. It was just a myth. We should probably just head home, and spend what time we can with Mom.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re going to want to head home now,” a familiar voice said. “Not just yet, at least.”

My eyes shot open and I saw Dusk inside Click’s monitor. The stallion had a smug look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him. Knowing what I knew about him then, that he was a time traveler, I should have gotten up and walked away, but his statement intrigued me.

“What do you mean?”

“Let her listen to the recording, Lightning,” Dusk said. “The one you found inside the bunker.”

Lightning’s eyes widened. “Oh, shoot. I almost forgot about that. While you were out, we found something. Something… well… just listen.”

Lightning held out his PipBuck and played the recording. My eyes widened as it got to the part talking about heartmending, and then the pony’s name at the end.

Heartshine.

The Heartmender was real, and she had a name.

“But… how?” I asked once the recording had finished.

“Perhaps the map marker you followed to get here intended to lead you here to her bunker,” Dusk said. “Or perhaps fate thinks you are worthy enough to continue the quest.”

I gazed at him shrewdly before turning to Lightning. “So what’s the plan then?”

“At this point? Rest for one more evening, make sure that you’re doing alright, and then head west,” Lightning said. “I don’t think we’re in any immediate danger here, since we’ve seen basically nothing since we got here.”

“In that case… I’d like to see this bunker. If you don’t mind,” I said. “Dusk? Would you mind joining Lightning and I?”

“I don’t see why not,” Dusk said, his gaze narrowed at me. He knew I knew something, I could just feel it in his eyes.

Lightning nodded, helping me to my hooves. The others set about getting the rest of the camp ready for resting, while Dusk, Lightning, and I walked solemnly in the direction of the bunker. Once we were far enough out that the others wouldn’t hear, I spoke.

“Our father sends his regards,” I said simply.

Dusk’s eyes went dark. “So… you know why I am here and what I am then?”

“Dad explained everything, yes,” I said softly.

“Starry? What are you talking about? What did Dad say?” Lightning said.

“Dusk isn’t from our reality. He’s not even from our timeline. He’s a time traveler, Lightning. That’s why he knows so much about what’s going to happen. Not just a time traveler, but a time meddler,” I growled. “He had to mess with time.”

“I assure you, I had noble intentions…” Dusk started to say.

“Your meddling killed my father!” I shouted angrily at him. He went silent. “If it hadn’t been for you, Dad would still be alive, and maybe we wouldn’t even be here in the middle of fuck-all nowhere right now!”

“If I hadn’t done what I did, none of us would be here right now!” Dusk angrily retorted.

“Wait… so Dusk did something that changed time, and it caused Dad to die?” Lightning said. “But… why? How does that even happen? Time travel is… well it’s not really scientifically possible.”

“No, but it is magically possible,” Dusk said. “The spell has its side effects, but I am capable of traveling to any point in Equestria’s timeline. Unfortunately, it also means that forever more I am effectively both simultaneously a part of and not a part of every timeline in existence.”

“If that’s the case, why not go back and stop the War? Stop all this shit from ever happening in the first place?” I asked as we arrived at the building where the bunker was.

“Because there are some moments in time that we cannot change, fixed moments where time is locked. The Great War is one of those moments,” Dusk explained. “Time… time has a way of self-correcting, like I’m sure your father has already told you. The event I went back to try and change, to prevent, likely will still occur, but I have hope that it won’t.”

“Then why bother attempting to change it, if you think it will happen again?” Lightning said.

“I believed the event in question to be malleable. I didn’t think it was fixed, but too much has happened already that has made me question that belief,” Dusk replied. “I… I am very sorry about what happened to your father in this timeline, but you must understand that if Violet died instead of him, then we would be worse off in the long run.”

“Auntie Violet? What’s she got to do with this?” Lightning asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Dad died on the mountaintop, facing the dragon,” I said calmly. “In Dusk’s timeline, Violet sacrificed herself to save the others. Auntie Star took different actions. She became withdrawn. She actually used her magic to kill the Element of Magic and Princess Twilight. She severed a connection in the Elements of Harmony.”

“Yes… and in doing so she doomed us to a far worse fate!” Dusk said. “When she went into hiding…”

“The event you’re referring to… what is it?”

“A war. Catastrophic. The final war. Everything in Equestria, simply gone in an instant,” Dusk said coldly. He glanced down closing his eyes before he spoke again.

“No Stables to save anypony, no withstanding the radiation, no ghouls, nothing. Just complete and utter annihilation of every living thing on the planet.”

Author's Note

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Chapter Eleven: The Great Desert

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Eleven: The Great Desert

A grain of sand in the nick of time.

I pored through the belongings of the townsponies in the bunker frantically, searching for what answers I could find about the Heartmender, if any existed. While I worked, what Dusk had said tugged in the back of my mind. He’d gone back and changed time, all of existence had fractured, creating an alternate reality. He’d explained it as a notion known as the multiverse theory. Infinite worlds that existed among infinite timelines.

In this one, my father had died. Perished under the flames of a radioactive dragon. In another, Violet had taken his place, leading Dusk to do what he had done. He had claimed it was because a war had come that was the greatest conflict the world of Equestria had ever known. The final war, he called it. He even said it was still possible that it could happen, despite his efforts to maneuver time to stop it.

I felt used. Betrayed. I wasn’t sure what to think about what was to come, I just wanted my mother back healthy and happy. I wanted to be happy myself. My experience inside my mind with the knife and my father had left me feeling… drained. It felt impossible to express even the barest hint of a smile or extend the slighest bit of empathy. I felt burnt out. Lightning had tried to get me to spend time with the others, but every attempt felt awkward. No matter how much they’d supported me inside my memories, I couldn’t get past the feeling that they still blamed me for what happened, especially Rocky.

Instead, I opted to make the best use of our time left in this place by myself, searching through the bunker that Rocky and Lightning had found the recording from Heartshine in. I’d found nothing here that was significant to me, just but letters, furniture, and foal’s toys. This place was a dumping ground, almost as if the entire town had stuffed all of their sentimental value here in the event that anything bad would happen.

Something bad had happened. The town had been decimated, left in the state that we’d found it in. Something that had been so bad that it prompted Heartshine to leave the town to its fate. I still couldn’t believe that the pony had existed. The picture of her, and I knew which one was her, showed very clearly that she was real. Really really truly real. And she wasn’t even a unicorn! How was it possible that she knew magic? It didn’t make sense.

Nothing made sense though. My entire body still ached from everything that had happened. I glanced across the room and my eyes settled on the knife.

We’d brought it here, Rocky carrying it so that it didn’t affect anypony else, so that it would be buried inside of this bunker when we left. Rocky had managed to get the door system functional so that we could close the doors and then bring down the building on top, sealing it away forever. Nopony would find it.

I found it odd how such an innocuous thing had caused such calamity. The being inside of it was clearly ancient, maybe even older than Equestria itself. It brought to mind many questions about where it came from and what it really wanted with the world. I only knew the pain that it had caused me and my friends.

“Starry?” a voice said, startling me from my thoughts.

I glanced over at the door to the bunker, seeing Velvet Kiss. She waited anxiously for me to respond.

“Velvet. What did you need?” I asked with a sigh.

“Starry, look I… I know that we haven’t gotten a chance to talk much since… well…” she said timidly. “I just… I can feel it you know. What your emotions are doing. It’s not healthy for you to bottle it all up like that.”

“Velvet, I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine,” I said. “There is nothing I can say or do to repay what you did for me.”

“You… You would have done the same for me, I’m sure,” Velvet said. “In fact, you did do the same for me, but… But now… What happened took a lot out of you. I just don’t want you to lose who you are because of it.”

“I’m almost done here. Why don’t you let the others know I’ll be up shortly and we’ll get on our way?” I asked, ignoring her comments. “I don’t think I’m going to find anything else of use here anyways.”

“Alright…” Velvet replied turning away from me. “Just… If you need to talk…”

With that, she left. I turned back to the pile of junk I’d been sorting through. I couldn’t talk about it. Not after everything that had happened. Even though my friends had been instrumental in defeating All’z’reth, I still felt guilty about what had led to that event. I stood, shoving aside the pile and started towards the door when I noticed something shimmering in the next pile over.

I pushed it aside and plucked the shiny object from underneath a table. A memory orb? What is this doing here? I thought with a grimace. I shrugged and placed the orb inside my saddlebag, intending to view it later to see. Maybe it held some clue to Heartshine’s location.

I walked back up the stairs out of the bunker and out of the building it was housed in, seeing the others waiting for me. They were quiet, clearly talking about me while I was not present. I rolled my eyes and stepped forward.

“We can go. I didn’t find much of anything down there,” I said. “Just a memory orb.”

“Well, that’s something at least, right?” Lightning replied. “I mean. Maybe it has some sort of clue on it.”

I shrugged. “Either way, I don’t think staying here any longer is going to help us. We need to move on, continue following the Heartmender’s trail.”

“I agree with Starry,” Coconut said, winking. “This place creeps me the fuck out. Are the charges set?”

“Yes,” Rocky said simply. “I am ready whenever you are.”

“Do it,” Lightning said.

Rocky nodded, lifting a tiny device in his claws. He pressed a button and there was suddenly a loud booming sound as the detonation occurred. The building sunk in on itself, rubble filling every available hole as it covered where the bunker was. I grimaced. It was finished. The knife was gone.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

* * *

We started walking in the direction set by Heartshine’s message, westward away from the little town with no name. I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders the farther we got away from the knife and it’s overbearing presence. I hoped and prayed silently that no one would ever find it again.

The walk was silent however, beyond the hushed chatter of Coconut and Lightning. It seemed in my short absence the two had finally resolved something of their feelings for each other, or rather at the very least finally grown closer. I admit, I was happy for Lightning. I was less than happy for myself.

Velvet was spending her time alone, likely trying to figure out how she was going to approach me again. Rocky was also spending time away from me, which had led to my current state of despair. It really drove home what I had done to him. Even though I had been under the knife’s influence, I’d still attacked him, and despite the fact that his arm appeared to be healed I had no doubt in my mind that if I’d been able to, I would have gone farther than that. My experience with Xerves had taught me that much.

That left me in the company of Click. The robot scooted along by my side cheerfully, and I idly wondered whether it was really him or if Dusk was secretly watching me for any alterations to the timeline. Regardless, Click wasn’t acknowledging me, so I might as well have been walking alone.

Hours passed, and we soon moved from the rocky red ground we’d grown accustomed to onto what appeared to be fine sand. It stretched out for miles and miles, rising and falling dunes of the stuff. Very little outcroppings of rocks appeared on the horizon. There was one certainty to this place. It was definitely not Equestria.

“There isn’t much shelter out there. We’re going to have to be careful,” Lightning said, stepping forward. “Click and Velvet will watch our backs, while Rocky, Coconut, and Starry will take the core of the group. I will be flying above to scout ahead.”

I merely nodded. It was clear that since I’d been gone that my brother had stepped up a little and was actively taking charge. I wasn’t going to dispute that. I didn’t really have the right to do so, not after what I’d done. I wasn’t sure I would even be trusted to lead.

I fell in line behind Coconut and Rocky, slightly outpacing Velvet and Click while they cautiously took up the rear. Above us, Lightning flittered back and forth in the sky. The sun beat down upon us, bringing with it blistering heat. It was absolutely miserable. As we walked, occasionally Lightning would swoop back down and advise on some rock outcropping he’d seen here or there.

I became acutely aware of Coconut walking beside me after several long moments of silence. I said nothing, knowing that she would likely try to make the first move.

“Hey,” she said, proving my theory true. “You alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” I said sullenly. “A little warm, but I’m fine.”

Coconut grimaced and nodded. Silence fell upon us once again. It felt… awkward. Several more moments passed before she spoke again.

“Starry… you know nobody blames you for what happened, right?” she said.

I scowled. “I… I really don’t feel like talking about it, Coco. No offense, but I just… I need space.”

“We’ve given you plenty of space,” Coconut said, frowning. “You act like this is all your fault, but it’s not. That thing, it made you do what it wanted.”

“Coco…” I said. “Please… just… just drop it, alright? It’s not worth discussing any longer.”

Coconut growled under her breath. “Why not? You and I both know you won’t broach the subject. I saw what happened in there. You were happy to see us. What happened to that? We came for you because we care about you.”

“I… I know you did,” I said tersely. “And I really appreciate what… what you did. But, I’m just… I’m not ready yet, Coco. I’m not ready to talk about it all.”

Coconut sighed. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. But you know… consider it? I’m always here. You know that. I’m not going anywhere. You’re my best friend, after all.”

“I… I know,” I said, trying to crack a smile. It didn’t come. Instead I likely looked like I might throw up.

With that, Coconut merely nodded and went back to her own business. I let a sigh of relief escape under my breath. I didn’t really want to talk about any of this at all, regardless of everyone’s incessant pandering. At the very least, it seemed like I wouldn’t have to worry about Rocky trying to approach me. He seemed content to keep his distance. I didn’t mind.

After what felt like forever, we crawled to a stop. Looking around, it didn’t seem like we’d made any headway whatsoever, despite being in the middle of nowhere without shelter. I felt like I could take two steps backwards and be right back in the Heartmender’s basement. The sun above had waned slightly, reducing the heat to a cool simmer.

“There’s a large outcropping miles out amidst a cluster of smaller rocks along the way, looks safe. Probably at least another day to get to the big one,” Lightning said as he landed next to us. “We’re going to run out of light soon.”

“We can’t keep going in the dark,” Velvet said. “Very few of us can see in the dark, and the light from Click would be enough to attract anything… unfriendly.”

“It’s settled then. We’ll make camp here and then proceed forward in the morning,” Lightning said.

“I’ll take first watch,” I said. “After we get the tent up, of course.”

Lightning nodded. “Alright. We’ll take turns watching camp. Anything happens, don’t hesitate to alert the others.”

I stood and watched the others scurry to unravel the tent from Click’s storage compartment. Apparently they’d found it in that town and taken it with them just in case. Within moments they’d had it set up, thanks to Velvet’s magic. I trotted over and propped myself up along the side of it while the others began setting up for the night.

The sun slowly began to dip further before it finally dissipated on the horizon. The only light came from the soft glow of my PipBuck. Even with it, I couldn’t see much of anything beyond the small circular area directly surrounding our camp. I shivered, pulling over my blanket. Without the sun around, the heat of the desert fled, leaving a night that had cooled down immensely.

Time set in. I sat there, listening and watching for anything, but there wasn’t even any wind blowing. Just… silence. There weren’t even bugs in this place. All I could hear was my own shuffling of my blanket. I wasn’t aware of how long I sat there before the tent rustled.

“You look cold,” Rocky’s gravelly voice echoed from beside me. He stood next to me, glaring out into the desert.

“Well, it is cold out here,” I said. “Probably want to cover up.”

“My internal systems keep my body at a constant temperature,” Rocky replied. “I have no need for covering.”

“I… I see,” I said, standing. I turned to the tent. “I guess I’ll leave you to it then.”

I started to open the cover for the tent before Rocky spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between us.

“Wait,” he said.

“What?” I asked, glancing back at him. “Did you need something?”

Rocky’s yellow eyes narrowed. He glanced down at the ground. “I owe you an apology. I… I was unaware of your feelings for me. What happened… with you and I… it must have been hard for you because of that.”

“I… I don’t want to talk about it,” I said angrily. “I keep telling everyone that, and nobody seems to want to fucking listen.”

“Just because you don’t want to doesn’t mean you don’t need to,” Rocky replied. “You didn’t deny my statement. You had feelings for me.”

I sighed heavily. “Yes.”

“And now?”

“I… I don’t know how I feel.”

“I see.”

“Look… I know that you guys are just… I know you’re trying to help,” I said, taking a deep breath. “But you can’t help what I did. I hurt you. I hurt the others. I killed Xerves, and even though I knew deep down he was bad and deserved it, he didn’t deserve to be executed by me. He should have been brought to justice for his crime.”

“You feel you are beyond redemption? That we cannot forgive you?” Rocky asked.

“I feel like even though I got rid of that fucking knife, it left its mark on me. I can’t feel anything positive,” I said. “No matter what happens now, that thing will always be a part of me. What I did while it controlled me? I let it do those things. That was me.”

“Are you certain?”

“Am I…? Really? I know what I did, what I let it do,” I said, my eyes widening and my anger rising up into my voice. “And while I appreciate your concern, I’m not worth the effort. Not anymore.”

“You are,” Rocky said softly. “I… admit that I was unaware of your feelings, but that does not mean I did not feel the same for you. Even when you attacked--”

“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. “Don’t tell me for one second that you loved me, because if you did… it would just hurt more. I’m already in enough pain.”

Rocky paused for a moment, taken aback. “Alright,” he finally said. “What would you have me do then? Sit idly by while a friend is in pain? I thought that our presence in your mind would have allowed you to understand that all of us care about you.”

“I’ve… I’ve regretted it ever since,” I said with a sigh. “Ever since I woke up… I can’t feel love, I can’t feel hope. I rid myself of All’z’reth, but it… it took something from me. I can’t explain it.”

“I see,” Rocky said, his eyes narrowing. “I… I do not have much experience with these things. Believe me when I say, that we are only trying to help you, Starry.”

I grimaced. “I… I know,” I said. “I… I wish you could help me. But I’m not worth it. I’m not worth the effort. Now, I’m going to go get some sleep. If you’ll excuse me.”

I moved to turn to go back into the tent when I heard a noise that was definitively not Rocky moving around. I turned back and glanced at the minotaur. His eyes indicated he’d heard it too.

“What was that?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, peering into the darkness.

The noise occurred again, a skittering sound followed by the desert moving beneath us slightly. My eyes widened as I looked down. Whatever it was, it was massive. I felt the earth shake and shiver all around us.

“Um, I think we should wake the others,” I said.

A dune broke just ten feet away from the tent. A giant creature with far too many skittering legs and giant mandibles rose above us. It was scaled and golden like the color of the desert sand, and its snake-like body extended deep into the ground below it. It roared loudly.

“I think running would be a better option,” Rocky said. “Wake the others, hurry!”

I opened the tent to reveal groggy ponies struggling to gather gear. A second roar made explanation unnecessary as we all piled out of the tent.

“What the hell is that thing?” Lightning said.

“I don’t know, but we need to run,” I said. “In the direction of the rocks, quickly.”

“What about the tent?” Coconut asked.

“Leave it, no time to take it down,” Lightning replied.

I followed the others outside of the tent as the creature lunged at it, smashing it to pieces beside us. It howled almost as if it were frustrated.

“Run! I will hold the creature off!” Rocky shouted. “Go!”

The others began to start off towards the west while the creature began to rise again from having destroyed the tent. I grimaced and started to go with them before stopping and returning to Rocky’s side.

“What are you doing? I said, run!” Rocky yelled at me.

“I’m not letting this thing kill you,” I said. “You… you’re my friend. And you need the help.”

Rocky’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. You can help. Any ideas then on how to kill it?”

Before I could respond the monstrous wurm-like beast lunged towards us, meeting the savage claws of my minotaur friend. Cybernetics clashed against hard carapace as the two beasts fought. The monster latched onto Rocky with its many legs, trying to pull him apart as the two mandibles lowered to clamp down upon him.

“Hey! Let him go!” I shouted, sending a blast of telekinetic energy at the thing’s face, or at least what I assumed was its face.

It roared as the magic struck it, startling it just enough to drop Rocky. The minotaur landed on his feet, jumping back to barely miss getting struck by a lashing leg. The beast shrieked at its failure and shot forward again once more, this time smashing right into a sand dune as Rocky dove out of the way. It emerged once more, rising into the air, but not immediately attacking. Instead it hovered there for a moment, turning back and forth as if listening. I blinked.

It can’t see us, cuz we’re not moving, I thought. It’s blind… An idea formed in my mind.

Rocky snarled and the wurm creature dove at him, once more taking a sand nap as it soared past him and into the ground below.

“We can’t keep dodging it, it doesn’t even seem to be getting tired!” Rocky shouted. “We have to do something!”

“Hold still! I have an idea!” I shouted back.

I glanced around as the form of the massive wurm began to lift out of the sand once more. I grimaced, pulling up the remains of the tent with my magic. I lifted it up and shook it like it was some form of treat, ensuring that the metal shook about to make it noisy and loud.

“Come on, take the bait. Look at it,” I muttered under my breath. “Here boy, here boy!”

The wurm seemed to pause, almost as if it were studying the lump of fabric and metal that had been the tent. It followed it as I levitated it away from us.

“That’s right… go get the treat,” I said, tossing the remains as far as my magic would let me.

The wurm eagerly dove after the crumpled remains of the tent, completely ignoring myself and Rocky in its fervor to devour it. I blinked and glanced at Rocky.

“I think perhaps we should use this opportunity wisely,” I said.

“I think perhaps you are right,” he replied.

We turned and started running, heading in the same direction that the others had gone. In the darkness I couldn’t see where they were or where they were going. I had to trust that Rocky’s vision was good enough to see them.

“Do you think he’s coming back for us yet?” I asked.

A roar in the distance told me that it had probably devoured the remains of the tent and was unsatisfied at the meal.

“If he wasn’t, he is now,” Rocky said. “There is a small outcropping of rocks not far from here. The others are there. I can pick up Lightning’s PipBuck signal from here.”

I glanced back, trying to see anything in the dark desert, but I couldn’t even see if the monstrous wurm was gaining on us yet or not. I turned back as Rocky veered off to the left, a black form settling in my vision. I could see light, a PipBuck light in front of me.

“Over here!” I heard Lightning shout.

We scrambled onto the rock as the creature roared loudly behind us. It burst out of the ground just feet away from the outcropping.

“Turn the light off!” I hissed.

Lightning fumbled with his PipBuck, shutting the light down. The wurm hovered there for several long, agonizing moments before it subsided back into the sand below. I waited for another moment before letting out a sigh.

“Is everyone alright?” Lightning said quietly.

“Shaken, but okay,” Velvet replied in the darkness. “Click is alright too. He’s lucky he’s got treads.”

“I’m fine. How in the heck did you two manage to get away from that thing?” Coconut said, addressing Rocky and me.

“Starry threw the tent,” Rocky said.

“I kind of noticed that it wasn’t attacking when Rocky and I were standing still,” I said. “I guess it can’t see you if you’re not moving.”

“Weird…” Lightning said. “Well, I guess we’ll have to wait out the night here. How are we on supplies? What did we lose in the attack?”

“I managed to grab some medical stuff, but some of the food may have been left behind,” Coconut said, frowning.

“Great…” Lightning said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to make it to that large outcropping in the morning and hope that thing is nocturnal.”

* * *

Morning arrived, and none of us felt very happy to see it. With little supplies left and barely any food, combined with the possible threat of giant wurm attack, none of us had slept very well at all. Although we were notably closer to the large outcropping of rock, we knew that we had to make it there that day to have any chance of survival.

The sun wasted no time in swelling up into the sky, the heat pouring from the sky and radiating from the sand as we trudged forward. What little water we had left was divvied up already. We only had hope for what we would find at the rocks.

By mid day I could see the rocks closer on the horizon. My eyes widened. The rock outcropping was much larger than I think Lightning had been able to see. It was almost like a large valley leading upwards into a massive cavern. The desert stretched on for miles around it. The closer we got, the more I felt. I was feeling the opposite of what moving away from the knife. As we drew nearer to the massive stone, I could feel a warm steadiness. I was increasingly confident that something awaited us there that would help us on the rest of our journey.

Hours passed and we finally slowly were feet away from the edge of the rocks. We had thankfully yet to see another of the wurm-like creatures, confirming Lightning’s hypothesis that it or them were nocturnal in nature. As we approached the rock, the heat of the day began to break up slightly, a small breeze washing over us.

“Holy cow…” Velvet said from the rear. “Never thought I’d be so happy to feel the fucking wind.”

“You and me both,” Coconut said, wiping sweat from her brow. She was carrying most of the pieces of power armor that came off her frame strapped to her back to try and cut down on the amount of heat she had been experiencing. Her visor and helmet rode slung along her shoulder. “It’s almost as if the sun was actively trying to murder us.”

“It’s a little odd though that there is suddenly a breeze,” Lightning said. “We should investigate this place and see if there’s any water, or something that we can use to hydrate ourselves.”

We started up the rocky path that led towards the center of the outcropping. As we walked the beating sun dropped away completely, killing the heat entirely. We all breathed sighs of relief as we let the cool breeze wash over us. We emerged out of the path into an incredible sight.

Trees. Trees everywhere. Leafy green trees that were lush and full of life. They stretched out for what seemed like forever across the rocky plateau, creating a natural canopy that repelled the sun above.

“Holy…” Coconut said.

“CLICK.”

“You said it, buddy,” Velvet breathed out next to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much green.”

“How in the heck could I not see this from the air?” Lightning said, frowning. “I feel like I should have been able to see these.”

“You would not have been able to see our trees, pegasus,” a voice said, causing our attention to divert across the path.

Standing in the clearing was an earth stallion, his crimson body marked by several tribal tattoos. Around him stood several other ponies of various races, each of them also covered in tattoos. The stallion leaned with a staff next to him.

“Who… who are you?” Lightning asked.

“We are but mere pilgrims, here for the Great One, the source of this growth that has become our home,” the stallion replied calmly. “You are travelers through this area, yes?”

“We are,” Coconut said. “Do you have any food? Any water? Our supplies took a massive hit last night. Our camp was attacked by a monster.”

“Yes… the sandwurms. Vicious creatures,” the stallion said. “Of course we can assist you with food and water. Come. I am Kephali, chief of the tribe of the Great One. We live here in this oasis.”

“Who is this Great One?” I asked aloud, raising an eyebrow.

Kephali grinned widely. “I will let him explain that to you. I will take you to meet him once you are fed and hydrated.”

I glanced at Lightning who merely shrugged. He took a step forward and bowed to Kephali.

“We accept your invitation,” he said. “The food and the water and the extra supplies will greatly aid us in our journey.”

“Excellent. Then come. If you wish, you may leave your mechanical here. The coolness of this part of the valley will keep it safe and sound,” Kephali said.

“CLICK!”

“That’s right, big guy. You get to hang out here for a bit,” Velvet said, patting the robot on the side.

We started walking behind Kephali, flanked on each side by the other tribal ponies. I couldn’t help but feel like we had been somehow kidnapped, but yet I couldn’t really feel any negativity from the others. In fact, they seemed friendly enough.

Kephali led us downwards to another section of the oasis, covered with vegetation. As we approached, it became clear that these ponies were actually living here. I could see tiny woven huts, children, gardens. In the center, a great well spring overflowing with cold crisp water.

“Come. Drink. Sit at the table and eat. I shall have your provisions stocked while we speak,” Kephali said, motioning to a simple table in front of the well spring.

I shuffled uncomfortably behind the others as we made our way to the table. I sat down, my eyes watching as several of the tribal ponies carted out plates of food for us. Fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts. I eagerly dug in as Kephali sat at the head of the table.

“You have come a long way. Your clothing suggests so,” he said.

“We’re from Equestria,” Lightning replied. “A city there named Chicacolt. Do you know where we are?”

“Equestria? You crossed through the Badlands safely? Many creatures die there,” Kephali said. “I am impressed. This place is known as the Great Desert. It is a place that not much life can thrive in, which is why we are grateful for the Great One and this oasis.”

“This Great One created this place?” Coconut asked.

“Yes, he is responsible for the lush growth, the food we eat, the water we drink. We owe him our lives,” Kephali said.

“How did… How did you even end up out here in the first place?” I asked, speaking up for the first time. “You didn’t come from Equestria, right?”

“No… our home is across the other side of the Great Desert. We were outcasts, exiled from our home. We were on the brink of death when we found this place,” Kephali replied. “As time went on, others joined us. We have become like family. And what of you? Why are you traveling across this place?”

“We’re searching for somepony,” Lightning said, motioning to me. “Somepony who can help our mother. She’s… she’s not well. Only this pony’s magic can save her.”

“Interesting. And you believe this pony came across this desert?” Kephali asked.

“We have a voice recording. It indicated that she was heading west,” I said. “She’s a pegasus named Heartshine.”

“I am sorry, I am not familiar with such a name. If a pony by that name came here, then I would have been aware. However, perhaps the Great One would be able to provide some insight,” Kephali said. “I believe it is time that we met with him. Come.”

He stood, motioning for us to follow him. I glanced down at my plate and took a final bite of my lettuce and strawberries before getting up myself. My body felt… refreshed. It had never really experienced fresh food before. I’d always had the scraps of the pre-war world. It was… good.

Kephali led us down away from the wellspring, delving even further downwards to the center of the oasis. The lush growth was even greater here, nearly eclipsing the path. It led to a massive cave door. Just past it was a grove filled with even more lush foliage, but the centerpiece of the place was the massive tree that sat in the middle.

As we neared the tree, I kept expecting to see a pony of some sort walking around, this Great One they referred to. However, I saw nothing. I glanced up at the tree and my eyes widened.

Embedded in the center of the tree, covered head to hoof in bark and roots was a pony. His eyes flashed open and he looked down at us. His eyes were sullen and dark. His body was withered, decrepit. A ghoul? I thought.

“Kephali?” the pony said, his voice throaty and raw. “Who is this before me?”

“Visitors, Great One. They seek your guidance. They are searching for somepony, perhaps you might be able to help them,” Kephali said.

“Leave us. I will speak to them in private,” the pony said, croaking. “Just the pegasus and the unicorn.”

“As you wish, Great One,” Kephali said. “The rest of you may follow me. We shall make sure your provisions are ready to go.” He moved toward the entrance to the grove.

“You two will be alright?” Coconut said, looking pensive.

“We’ll be fine,” Lightning said. “Go on, go check on our gear. We’ll be there soon.”

Coconut nodded as the others followed behind Kephali. Within moments they had disappeared from the grove.

The pony in the tree wheezed for a few long seconds before adjusting his head to see us better. “You come from Equestria? You come to help me?”

“Help you? We came to get your help?” Lightning said. “What is it you need help with?”

“I… I am trapped. This tree… it wasn’t always like this. My body wasn’t… wasn’t always like this,” the Great One said. “I was a real pony once. My name was Grass Roots.”

“How did… how did this happen?” I asked. “What are you? A ghoul?”

“I… I don’t know. It has been so long, that even I do not recall what led to this state. My friend Orville has been with me for as long as I can possibly remember,” the pony in the tree said. “Perhaps he knows.”

“Orville? Are you… talking about the tree?” Lightning asked.

“Yes… Orville… yes. Always here, always present. Always whispering. He tells me things. He told me about you two. Searching for a way to save your mother,” Grass Roots replied.

“How did…?” I started to ask. “You heard us talking to Kephali.”

“I can see far. My roots let me witness things normal ponies cannot,” Grass Roots wheezed. “I saw and listened to you. I believe you understand me… My plight. In turn… I might be able to help you.”

“Explain,” Lightning said.

“I am… Old. So old. I cannot even remember my old life. I don’t even remember how Orville and I came to be. I know that I have been stuck this way for a very, very long time,” the pony in the tree said. “I beg you to end my suffering. I am in pain. I cannot bear to live, but Orville… he keeps me alive.”

My eyes widened. “You are asking that we… that we kill you.”

“Wait, what? Why would we…? Don’t you provide food for these ponies that live here? Shelter?” Lightning said.

“These ponies… They are misguided. They think I am some great pony. They do not see my pain. They only see what benefits them,” Grass Roots said, coughing. “They are selfish.”

“The plants in this place. The trees. The ponies said you provide them. They all grow from you,” I said, grimacing.

“Yes… a side effect of the mutation…” the tree pony replied. “Once I am dead there would be no more new growth. Everything would die.”

“Why would we even consider doing this? What you’re talking about… It would not only be murder, but it would be genocide,” Lightning said. “There’s nothing you can possibly say that would--”

“I know this pony you seek,” Grass Roots said, interrupting Lightning. “I know this Heartmender. I know where she’s gone.”

“What? You know Heartshine? How?” I said, my eyes widening.

“I met her long ago. She offered to attempt to heal my condition. Mine is not a condition traditional magic can solve. She was unwilling to assist me in a greater capacity,” Grass Roots said. “She left. This happened before the others arrived.”

I shared a glance with Lightning. A definitive lead to save Mom, right in front of us, and the only way to obtain it was to agree to… To kill this… This thing. A pony who wanted to die, to be granted mercy. I found myself able to somehow sympathize with him. I wanted mercy as well. I wanted to be trusted again, but I knew that it was futile.

Lightning’s gaze told me not to even consider it. I grimaced and looked up at Grass Roots.

“Do we have to decide now?” I asked.

“What? You’re actually considering…” Lightning said.

“We need to rest,” I said. “I say we sleep on it, and discuss it with the others. This is a real legitimate lead to Heartshine. We have to consider our options.”

“I… I can’t believe you’re even…” Lightning said, sighing loudly.

“You do not… Have to decide now,” Grass Roots said. “Rest… And give me your answer later. I beseech you to make the correct decision.”

“Thank you,” I said simply. “For allowing us to stay here and rest. Come on, Lightning. We should return to the others and make sure our supplies are good.”

I strode past my brother, his face contorted in an expression of disappointment. He shook his head and started walking after me. After a few moments he’d caught up to me. Once we had exited the grove, he spoke.

“You can’t be serious,” he whispered. “That… that pony in there is crazy. These ponies depend on this place to live.”

“You heard him. He’s in pain, Lightning. These ponies don’t even see that. They laud him as their Great One, something to be worshipped,” I argued.

“It would be murder,” Lightning hissed. “Did you already forget what happened with Xerves?”

I stopped cold, staring at him. The blood drained out of my face. Of course I hadn’t forgotten. It was still fresh in mind, every time I closed my eyes. I could still see his eyes as I rammed the knife into his skull, feel the blood on my coat as I ran the jagged weapon through his neck. I could see his head lying on the ground.

I turned and kept walking. I heard Lightning curse under his breath.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean…”

“Didn’t mean to what? Just fucking say it, Lightning,” I said. “I know how you feel about it. You all do it. You all look at me like I’m a fucking monster, that you think I need your help. You don’t think I know how badly I messed up?”

“I... “

“Just… Just leave me alone. We have more important things to deal with, and I don’t really need this shit right now,” I said angrily. “You wanna play like everything is happy and hunky-dory, but you’re too fucking blind to realize that it isn’t. Everyone has tried approaching me already, even Rocky, which surprised the holy living fuck out of me. You all don’t seem to realize that I just want to be left the fuck alone.”

Lightning grimaced. “Alright,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I was just…”

“So help me Luna if you say you were just trying to help, I will punch you,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I get it, you know. You all care for me, otherwise you wouldn’t have done what you did for me. But… realizing everything I did under All’z’reth’s control? Along with finding out about Dad? That’s gonna take time for me to process, and all you guys are doing is making it worse by continually reminding me of my fuckups.”

Lightning nodded. “We should probably get back to the others then. We’ll talk more about Grass Roots with them.”

He marched past me, hanging his head. I sighed again deeply and followed behind him. I’d understood that he and the others truly did care for me, but I found it harder and harder to feel just about anything. No matter what I did, I just felt… Angry.

We walked in silence as several of the tribal ponies guided us towards where the others were staying. As we approached them, Kephali perked up and noticed us.

“Ah, you have returned,” he said. “Your audience with the Great One went well, I take it?”

“You could say that,” Lightning said, glancing at me furtively. “We are going to stay the night and rest, and then be on our way in the morning.”

“Of course. We have a hut set aside for you,” Kephali said. “I will send for your robot to be brought down to you.”

“Thank you for your kindness. It’s… refreshing,” Lightning said. “Our journey has been long, and you are the first ponies we’ve come across really that haven’t wanted to kill us.”

“You are most welcome,” Kephali said, an eager grin on his face. “Now come, come. I will show you to your hut.”

We followed behind Kephali for another few feet until we found ourselves at a simple hut. It was empty of everything except for several beds that had been shoved inside. Kephali bid us good night and then walked off, his tribal ponies following behind him, while the others entered the hut and began setting up for the night. I went into the corner and began setting up my own bed while the others spoke.

“So… what was the Great One like?” Coconut asked. “You two didn’t say much on the way here.”

Lightning grimaced. “The Great One is a mutation, a pony named Grass Roots. He’s causing the growth here in this place. He says he knows where the Heartmender went.”

“Did he tell you where?” Velvet asked.

“No. He… He had a request that he asked us to fulfill in order to acquire that information,” Lightning said. “But I… I don’t think we can do it.”

“What was it? It can’t be that bad,” Coconut said.

“He asked us to kill him. He claims that his condition is causing him immense pain and that he has lived an incredibly long time like this,” Lightning said. “He’s asking for this in return for the location of Heartshine.”

The others gawked. The first one to speak was Rocky, surprisingly enough.

“What happens if this creature dies?” he asked.

“Likely the plant growth in this place does too, if he’s connected to all of it,” Lightning said. “The ponies that live here would no longer be able to rely on the food, the water that his growth provides.”

“We’d doom them,” Velvet said. “Then what are we going to do? Is there any other way we could get that information? I’m not sure I like the idea of dooming an entire tribe of ponies to starvation and the heat of the desert over this.”

“I… I don’t know,” Lightning said. “I told him we’d have an answer for him before we left. That we would sleep on it and discuss it as a group.”

I grimaced, glancing down at my bed. I slumped into it while the others argued and talked. I had no real place in their discussion. At some point, Click arrived in the care of several tribals, quelling the argument until they left. I sighed and opened my pack. Just inside was the memory orb I’d pulled from the bunker. I glanced back up at the others before igniting my horn and reaching out to it with my magic. The world fell away in a blur.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My host hurried down the hallway. I recognized it from the last memory orb. It was the same hallway that had belonged to Starlight Glimmer. The familiar door with the equal sign on it sat at the end.

Instead of knocking however, my host frantically pushed open the door and walked in, taking a seat at the empty desk. A blue glow illuminated the room as she turned on her desk lamp and clicked her intercom.

“Miss Belle, I am to have a guest soon. Please make sure she is allowed back to see me,” my host said.

“Of course, Madam Glimmer,” a female pony’s voice echoed from the speaker.

My host clicked off the device and slumped back into her seat. She twiddled her hooves, apparently nervous about something. After several seconds, she sat forward as the intercom clicked on again.

“Miss Belle, also… could you perhaps bring me back some tea? I’m feeling… ill,” she said.

“I’ll have some sent back, Madam,” the female pony replied.

“Thank you. You’re too kind,” my host said.

“So, you like tea, Glim Glam?” a voice said from across the desk.

My host nearly jumped out of her seat as she quickly ascertained that she wasn’t alone in the room. I found myself blinking as well. She had been alone when she entered the office, right? My host’s eyes focused in the darkness on a pink mare sitting in the seat across the desk. A mare whose face I’d seen in numerous advertisements around Theater.

“Pinkie Pie, I’ve been expecting you,” my host said, her voice sickly sweet. “My receptionist didn’t warn me you were already on your way back.”

“She doesn’t know I’m here. I skipped past her,” Pinkie said casually, looking down at an outstretched hoof. “You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

“Crystal Clear,” my host said with a cough.

“Crystal Clear,” Pinkie repeated. “I want to know why you sent her to my Ministry. She’s not a bad pony at all, and yet… We caught her trying to break into a top secret facility that’s only supposed to be known to exist by myself and a select few.”

“Not as select as you’d like it to be,” my host replied. “I’ve had spies in your Ministry from the get go, Pinkie. Didn’t you know this?”

“I was fairly sure I’d weeded them all out,” Pinkie said. “What do you want, Starlight? Why are you trying to get into my facility?”

“Advanced memory transmutation magic,” my host said without skipping a beat. “The ability to overwrite a pony’s memories with whatever you desire. I will admit… That level of power sounds like it would be much more attractive in my hooves than yours.”

“That’s classified information,” Pinkie said. “Why?”

“Equality of course,” my host replied. “When all of Equestria is equalized, then nopony will argue or fight. It will end the war.”

“That sounds like treason,” Pinkie said with a grimace. “Princess Luna would be very interested to know what you’re doing here.”

“Oh pish posh. Princess Luna has far too much on her hooves to even worry about little old me,” my host sad, tittering. “I don’t think she will even listen to the words of a drug-addicted, mentally crazed lunatic such as yourself.”

“I’M NOT CRAZY!” Pinkie shouted angrily. “And Luna will listen. Your pony will give you up. We have ways of making ponies talk.”

“Mmm… Yes I am aware of this. But you won’t get Crystal Clear to do anything against me, because she simply can’t. By signing a contract for Equality Incorporated, she magically signed a binding spell that makes it so she physically cannot speak about the company she works for and her who her employer is,” my host explained. “You have nothing but a domestic terrorist who attempted to break into a secure M.O.M. facility.”

“And what if I tell Luna what you just told me? Huh?”

“Oh, Pinkie Pie. Do you really think I didn’t plan for this eventuality? I wanted you to come see me. So we could discuss the finer details of how you’re going to spin this to the media,” my host said.

Pinkie’s ears contorted, indicating a measure of confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I know you’re on the outs with Twilight, for starters. Public perception is that you’re a psychotic lunatic who’s on witch hunts against innocent lives. But a real valid domestic terrorist? Well, that would certainly put a positive spin on your Ministry, wouldn’t it?”

“I… I guess,” Pinkie replied. “Why? What’s the angle?”

“Mmmm… I figured you would ask that. I want some of that technology you’re developing in that facility,” my host said. “Just a smidge of it. You give me that, you get Crystal Clear and you get a public that doesn’t outright fear you. It’s win win, really.”

“Not so win win for your pony on the inside,” Pinkie Pie said. “I’d have figured you’d have begged for her life to be spared.”

“Oh, please. Execute her if you must. I have her filly in a secure location. She’s already undergoing the reprogramming necessary to become a very effective replacement for her mother,” my host said.

There was a knock at the doorway. My host lifted her hoof and beckoned for the mare to enter. A pale pink unicorn walked inside, carrying a tray of tea and muffins along in the air with her magic.

“Your tea, Madam Glimmer? For you and your guest?”

“Thank you, Sugar Belle. You may set it here and then leave us,” my host said.

The unicorn nodded, setting the tray on the table. She turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her. My host smiled, lifting the two cups of tea and placing one in front of Pinkie Pie.

“Fine,” the pink mare said after taking a long sip of the tea. “But how will we make this exchange?”

“You go on public record, denouncing Crystal Clear’s crimes against society. Show the ponies of Equestria that we will not tolerate zebra sympathizers, and show them the proof that she was working to bring down the regime from within,” my host explained. “My ponies will be in contact with your Ministry to set up the transfer of the technology.”

Pinkie grimaced. “You’re dangerous, Starlight Glimmer.”

“Oh you have no idea.”

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

I stirred awake out of the memory orb to darkness and silence. It seemed that the others were sleeping already. The coolness of the night’s breeze wafted across me from the window. I shuffled out of bed and made my way outside. There was no sign of the tribal ponies anywhere. They must have gone to sleep as well.

I kept racking my brain, trying to figure out what these memory orbs meant. The two I had seen were both about the same pony, this Starlight Glimmer character. She’d seemed to be evil, but her motives were very unclear. What didn’t make much sense was why a second orb had been in the bunker we’d found Heartshine’s message in. How did it travel that far away from the first one? Were there more?

I became acutely aware of a low humming sound next to me. I looked up to see Click standing next to me, the visage of Dusk in his monitor. I groaned audibly.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve come to try and talk to me about how sorry you are and how much you care about me,” I said.

Dusk chuckled slightly. “No, I’m not here about that. I was slightly wondering how you were holding up, but it seems like that’s a taboo topic.”

“I’m… I’m fine. But can I… Can I ask you something? Do you think it’s possible if All’z’reth did something to me? The others… They’re trying, but they won’t leave me alone and all it’s done is made so incredibly angry. Angrier than I’ve ever felt in my life. I literally shouted down my own brother. I just… I feel broken and wrong.”

“Hard to say,” Dusk replied. “All’z’reth left its mark on you, and left you with memories of nothing but pain, hurt, and regret. Learning how to get past those memories is up to you, really.”

“I… I see,” I said. “So what else did you need?”

“I have been going over my notes on this timeline, and there’s something that doesn’t make sense. That town that you found Xerves in. It existed in the version of the timeline where your father… Survived,” Dusk said. “I found some information on it. Hope Junction. A waypoint for travelers heading back and forth from the Great Desert.”

“So… In our version of the timeline, the town was reduced to rubble,” I said. “Why is that so special?”

“I couldn’t find any information in our notes as to why the town suddenly vanished,” Dusk said. “It… It gives me a bad feeling about all of this. The extent of what all changed in this timeline isn’t readily apparent, but I worry that whatever causes the war... “

“You’re worried that it caused that town to be destroyed? Heartshine’s message said something about raiders,” I said.

“Did that look like anything a raider could or would do to you? There were no disemboweled heads. No spikes. No… That town wasn’t destroyed by raiders,” Dusk replied.

“So what was it destroyed by then?”

“That is the real question, isn’t it? I have my suspicions, but I’m still sorting through my notes to verify them.”

“What causes this war? Who instigates it? You were incredibly vague about that piece,” I said.

Dusk turned grim. “I can’t. It’s… It’s too much to even think about the possibility that it will happen again.”

“But if we know… Then can’t we prevent it from happening?”

“No, that would be impossible,” Dusk said. “If we know too much about our future, time… time figures out a way to make it true.”

“But you know, right? What makes you so special?” I asked.

“I don’t even know my own future, Starry. I only know what I’ve experienced and what I’ve went back to. I don’t know anything past the War. As far as I know, there is nothing past the War,” Dusk said.

I sighed and turned to look back at the lush growth surrounding us. “I have a question,” I said.

“Go on.”

“The ponies here… They extoll the virtues of their Great One. They praise and worship him like he is some sort of god. But he’s not. He’s a pony, just like them. A pony who’s in pain.”

“Yes… I overheard your friends speaking about this,” Dusk said.

“What would you do? The ponies here feel false love for him. They don’t even see the pain he’s in. Is there any amount of empathy in being merciful?” I asked.

“I’m no philosopher, Starry, so I can’t quite tell you what to do here. The others have loosely decided to continue westward in the morning, but if this pony has a location lead on the Heartmender… Perhaps speaking to him again could convince him to part with that information. There’s always a way,” Dusk said.

I grimaced before cracking a tiny smile. “Maybe I will do that. Thanks, Dusk. For you know… Not being crappy. I appreciate it.”

“You’re… You’re welcome,” Dusk replied. “Time heals all wounds. That’s one thing I have learned from all of this. But there are some wounds, time alone cannot heal. Sometimes, we need our friends to heal to. Time will help guide you to that point.”

“I… I hope so. I’m… I’m gonna go speak to the Great One now, I think. Good night, Dusk,” I said, starting down the familiar path heading back to the grove.

“Good night, Starry.”

I turned and began walking, staying quiet as I could as I neared the location of the Great One’s grove. I saw none of the tribal ponies, not even Kephali. Breathing a sigh of relief, I approached the entrance to the grove. I walked down the tunnel, considering what it was I had come to do.

The others were fools. They didn’t see the pain, didn’t understand how it was hurting Grass Roots. The tribal ponies meant well, but they wouldn’t do what was necessary. It was long past time talking about things. Decisive action needed to be taken here.

As I walked, I wasn’t sure why I felt these things. I’d been vastly unable to connect back to the others empathically since my experience with All’z’reth, and yet here I was thinking about Grass Roots in a familiar, almost intimate fashion. Was I really feeling something here?

Are you really? Or are you going to do it just because you want to? I thought to myself.

I grimaced. Had All’z’reth really tainted me in leaving me? A final ‘fuck you’ to really screw me over? When I tried to feel, I felt nothing. But when I had seen Grass Roots… all I felt was disgust. Yes, that is the feeling. I felt disgusted that the tribal ponies would take such advantage of him. But also… I felt disgusted that Grass Roots existed, disgusted that he could speak. In truth, I didn’t feel anything positive towards him at all. All I felt… was hatred.

“Hello…?” the tree pony’s croaking, gravelly voice said. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” I said softly.

“The unicorn outsider,” Grass Roots replied. “Why are you here?”

I bit my lip. “I’ve come to accept your offer. Tell me where the Heartmender went,” I said.

“I see… and you will hold to your end of this bargain?” Grass Roots said, croaking loudly.

“Yes. I’ll do it,” I said, my horn igniting. A soft grin formed on my face. “I’ll end your pain.”

Author's Note

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Chapter Twelve: A Fire Inside Us All

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Twelve: A Fire Inside Us All

Burn, baby, burn

Fire raged, the smoke climbing all around me. I stood still, watching as the flame consumed everything it touched. Grass Roots didn’t scream, didn’t howl. He had accepted his fate, and now I knew everything that I’d needed to know about finding the Heartmender. We could finally leave this wretched place and be done with this mission.

As the smoke began to thicken, I coughed slightly as the touch of it tinged my eyes. I stepped backwards, away from the burning tree. I felt myself slam into something behind me. I turned quickly, realizing that it was Kephali. His eyes were glued to the scene in the grove.

“What… what have you done? What has happened to the Great One?”

“What you couldn’t,” I said simply. I turned to head towards the exit.

“Wait… you can’t… you can’t leave! You must be punished for this!” Kephali shouted angrily. “You destroyed the Great One!”

“Try and stop me,” I snarled, my horn glowing softly. “Your Great One wanted to die. He was in pain. You were just too blind and too stupid to even see that.”

Kephali’s expression contorted into blind rage. “Guards! Guards! I need you now!”

He lifted his staff with his mouth and pointed it towards me. I rolled my eyes and cast the spell I’d been holding inside my horn, setting the dinky piece of wood on fire. Kephali jumped backwards, yelping. I turned and started heading back towards the entrance. I needed to get back to the others before this escalated even further out of control.

I could hear the guards on their way. I grimaced, looking for a place to hide. Kephali was still busy putting the fire of his staff out, so I jumped into a nearby set of bushes and waited for the guards to pass by. Kephali finished dousing his staff and looked around, not seeing me concealed in the bush.

“The unicorn outsider! She did this! We must find her and bring her to justice!” he roared angrily. “Search the area! She can’t be too far away!”

I cursed under my breath. This had gone from bad to worse. I had hoped to be away from the grove before Kephali found Grass Roots, and by then it could be construed as an accident. Not anymore. What would the others think of me then? Did I even care?

I decided that I didn’t. I didn’t care what the others thought of me. I just wanted to find the Heartmender, get her back to Mom, and be done with this entire thing.

A section of the guards broke away, poking around the grove for any sign of me while Kephali and a few others started attempting to contain the fire. It was laughable that they could even try to contain it, but it also gave me a great idea. I lit my horn as softly as I could, sending another fire spell roaring across the grove where it lit up the section the guards were exploring.

“Over here!” the guards shouted, gathering Kephali’s attention. They made their way across the clearing towards the fire, trying to put it out.

I took the opportunity, jaunting towards the exit from the grove, keeping low to the ground as much as possible to avoid being seen. The darkness prevailed, preventing the guards from spotting me. The settlement was in a roar by the time I made my way closer to our camp. Tribesponies rushed to and fro, shouting about this or that. They barely noticed as I strode by.

“Starry!” I heard my brother call out.

I grimaced, and tried to put on a concerned face. My friends didn’t need to know what I’d actually done. “Lightning. Something… something happened to…”

“The whole settlement is in disarray,” Lightning said. “What happened?”

“Grass Roots… I went up to talk to him, to try to convince him to help us,” I said, feigning distress. “He… he told me where to find the Heartmender. I… I went back to thank him for helping us… and he… somepony… he was on fire!”

Lightning’s eyes widened. “Wait… what? You mean…”

“Grass Roots is gone. Kephali is trying to contain the fire now,” I said breathlessly. “But it’s hopeless. He’s dead.”

“We need to help then,” Lightning said. “I’ll get the others.”

“Wait. No. There’s nothing we can do, Lightning. We need to leave, now,” I said. “I have the location for the Heartmender saved in my PipBuck.”

“And not help these ponies? They helped us,” Lightning said angrily. “What’s gotten into you, Starry?”

“What’s going on out here? What’s all this commotion about?” I heard Coconut say groggily.

“Go wake the others. There’s been an incident. We need to help,” Lightning said softly.

“What happened?”

“Just get the others out here, I’ll explain when we’re all assembled,” Lightning replied.

Coconut merely nodded and headed back inside to round up the others. Lightning turned to me and grimaced.

“We’re going to go help Kephali and the others figure out what happened,” he said. “You can either come with us and help, or stay here. Your choice.”

“Lightning… Please, you have to listen to me. You can’t go up there,” I said, lowering my gaze to the ground. I had no choice at this point. I was going to have to make him understand why they couldn’t help. “There’s… circumstances.”

“Circumstances?” Lightning said, his eyes widening. Realization dawned on his face. “Starry… what did you do?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t have a choice,” I stuttered. “You have to understand… he wasn’t going to tell us any other way.”

“You didn’t…” Lightning said, his face contorted in disgust. “You did, didn’t you? You set the fire. You did what he asked us to do.”

I looked to the ground. “Nobody was supposed to find out like this, but even now Kephali is looking for me. He saw me, Lightning. We need to leave before he finds us,” I said. “He doesn’t understand why it had to be done.”

“I don’t even understand why it had to be done, Starry,” Lightning said, lifting a hoof and burying his face in it. “How soon before he comes looking for you here? We should be scarce before that happens.”

I blinked. “Wait… what? You’re taking my side?” I asked.

“You’re not giving us much of a choice,” Lightning said grimly. “Kephali will consider us accomplices. You said it yourself, he doesn’t understand.”

Shuffling came from inside the domicile as the others appeared. Click had gone back to his normal robot self. The others looked extremely confused as to what was going on as they read both Lightning’s and my expressions.

“What’s going on? Where’s the fire?” Coconut said.

“New plan,” Lightning said, glaring at me. “Seems we have the information we need to find the Heartmender. We leave immediately.”

“What about this incident you referred to? What happened?” Rocky said.

“It’s fine. The tribal ponies here have got it under control. We should leave them be,” Lightning said.

I felt the weight of what he was doing bearing down upon me, but felt no strong feelings of appreciation regardless. All I wanted was to be away from here, to find the Heartmender and then go home. Anything else didn’t matter.

Shouting interrupted Lightning’s discussion with the others. I turned my head towards the path leading up to the grove, seeing the tribesponies headed by Kephali. They saw me, appearing to be incredibly pissed off. Spears flew through the air at us.

“Everyone, get back!” I shouted as I lit my horn.

The spears never made it to us, being reduced to mere cinders beneath my fire spell, surprising the tribesponies long enough for me to block the path with a wall of fire, barring them from charging at us.

“That won’t hold them for long, we need to leave!” I yelled at the others.

“Starry? What in the world is going on? Why are they trying to attack us?” Coconut said.

“There’s no time to explain right now,” Lightning interrupted. “Starry is right about one thing, we need to run. Everyone, down the path and back to the rocks!”

I charged ahead of the others, growling under my breath as another group of tribesponies moved to intercept us. I released another fire spell, startling them as we charged past. The others save for Lightning were blindly following, not sure if they should defend themselves or not against the tribesponies. Even Lightning pulled his punches when it came to keeping them at bay, preferring to fire his guns into the ground to keep them from gaining ground.

Time slowed to a crawl. The fire had spread widely beyond the grove. There was no stopping it. Soon it would consume everything. I knew as soon as I saw the trees and the plants beginning to wither that this would be the end for this settlement. Grass Roots’ death would cause everything to eventually die. The tribe would be left without food.

I found myself not caring. I pressed forward, continuing our flight to the exit. The tribesponies were attempting to converge on us, but we were moving too quickly for them to keep up with us.

A group of tribesponies managed to flank us, pushing us to the right path. I didn’t even know where the exit was anymore. Things were too confusing and happening too fast. A tribal pony tried to jab me with a spear. I growled under my breath, grabbing a hold of it in my magic and turning it on him. He went down quickly, blood staining his chest where I’d struck him. I continued following the others until we ended up in another clearing of the oasis. It was burning as well, the fire licking the very edges of the settlement. Smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe.

“Where is the exit?!” Velvet shouted. “Where do we go?”

I wheeled around searching for the exit. It had to be somewhere. Everywhere around us, trees burned and fire reigned. I groaned as I realized that the exit had to be the way we came from, back through the fire and the tribesponies. If we wanted to escape, we were going to have to go through them.

“It’s back this way! We got turned around!” I called out, pointing back the way we came.

I charged down the path as I met the first of the tribals waiting for us. They seemed surprised that we were running back towards them, almost as if they hadn’t expected it. I used that surprise to my advantage, using my magic to force them to each side of the path. I pelted through, gritting my teeth at the chaos that had been unleashed upon this place. The tribals that weren’t engaged in trying to stop us were too busy trying to get the fires under control.

I scanned quickly for the exit, finding the path that led downward out of the oasis and back towards the rocks. I motioned for the others to follow me and began running, the blood in my body pumping hard as I pushed through the heat and the adrenaline to try and get away. My senses felt dead. All I cared about was getting out and getting to the Heartmender. Nothing else mattered.

Soon however, the lushness and dry heat of the fiery oasis fell away, replaced by the battering heat of the desert. The sun engulfed every fiber of our being. We slowed to a walk, glancing back at the entrance to the oasis. None of the tribesponies were following us. I breathed deeply, straining to keep it together for what I knew was going to come next.

“What the fuck just actually happened?” Velvet said, breaking the silence. “Why were they attacking us?”

I breathed in again and again, feeling like the heat might kill me. But I couldn’t let it. I had things to do.

“Yeah, Lightning. What was that all about?” Coconut said angrily.

“Calm down,” Lightning said, glancing at me. “It’s… it’s complicated. Isn’t that right, Starry? Why don’t you enlighten us as to why the tribe was attacking us?”

I slowed my breathing to long deep breathes before I grimaced and looked away. “I… I killed Grass Roots. Or rather… I delivered him from his pain and suffering.”

“You did WHAT?!” Coconut shouted, her eyes wide with incredulity. “Starry… why?”

“Because I was the only one who could do it!” I shouted back. “You all let your feelings get in the way. You didn’t see how much pain he was in! He wanted to die. He wanted to be set free of his mutation!”

Lightning glanced back at the entrance to the oasis. The fires could still be seen floating around the entrance, smoke billowing up into the air. It looked like a black husk, rotting in the middle of the desert. The tribe would have their hooves full trying to keep the fires from consuming everything. That was why they weren’t following us.

“And in doing so, you nearly killed an entire tribe of mares, foals, and stallions,” Lightning said solemnly. “Even if they do survive the fires, the growth in there that was caused by Grass Roots is already dying. I saw it on the way out. They’ll be out of food and out of time.”

“They were preying on him,” I said viciously. “Using him and his mutation for parts of his body. It was disgusting. They deserve what they got.”

“Fucking hell,” Velvet said with a snort. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Even I’m not that fucked up.”

“Starry, sweetie…” Coconut started to say.

“Stop. I’m not doing this right now, Coconut. I’m tired of this ‘sweetie’ this, ‘sweetheart’ that business. I’m not a child, and you should know better,” I spat back. “If you want to be my friend, then listen and understand. I didn’t do this because I was disgusted by what they were doing to Grass Roots, but because he begged me! He told me where the Heartmender is and begged me to end his suffering!”

“At what cost?” Coconut uttered, her voice cracking.

I grimaced. “At the cost of being able to save my mother in time. The only cost that matters. That’s why we’re all here, right? We all came here to save Mom.”

“But not… not like this,” Coconut said. “I… I don’t know how to process this. How can you all be alright with what just happened? It’s just like what happened with Xerves.”

“Don’t you dare utter his name,” I hissed. “What I did to him… I was a monster, possessed by a monster. I was helping Grass Roots. It’s different.”

“It’s still murder, Starry,” Coconut said. “You still burnt him alive. You still killed him!”

“Enough!” Lightning shouted, interrupting us before we could say anything further. “Stop. Please. I can’t listen to this. You two more than anything should be able to move past anything. You’re best friends. Regardless of intent, we can’t change what happened. We have to move on and move forward. Nothing’s going to convince Kephali that we were looking out for his best interests, so what’s done is done.”

Coconut grimaced. “I’m not sure that I can move on, Lightning. If you approve of this… I… I don’t know. I can’t approve of this. I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m… I’m going home. I can’t stay here anymore.”

My eyes widened. She wanted to leave? Was she crazy? We were in the middle of a hostile desert that wanted to make quick work of us.

“Coconut… you know that’s not possible,” Lightning said softly, walking up to her. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere. It’s not safe for you to leave.”

Coconut glanced down at her hooves. She looked up at me. I could see it in her eyes. She hated me. She hated what I had become.

I again found myself strangely not caring. I’d done what I’d done because Grass Roots had asked me to. I didn’t need to justify the reasons to her. I knew deep down that something was still wrong with me, but I couldn’t care less. It was like a piece had been ripped away from my soul.

“Alright,” Coconut finally said. “You’re right. I’ll stay. But only until we get back with the Heartmender. After that... “

“What about the rest of you? Are you staying with us?” Lightning asked succinctly, turning to Velvet and Rocky, who’d been abnormally quiet.

“I don’t really have a choice,” Velvet said. “You said it yourself. We wouldn’t survive out there on our own. Besides… Envy would probably fucking kill me if I returned without you.”

“I will stay,” Rocky said simply. His yellow eyes narrowed in on me. “I made a commitment.”

Ouch, I thought. I could feel the pins and needles from his glare. He wasn’t too happy with me either.

“CLICK.”

Lightning sighed deeply and glanced at me. “Alright. Then we should be on the move before Kephali and the others decide it's time to venture out from the oasis. Besides… Grass Roots gave you the location, right?”

I lifted my PipBuck and pulled up the map. The location was clearly marked as being several days away still to the west, but it was marked nonetheless. The location had no name.

“He said it was a settlement, ran by free slaves who had passed through the desert,” I said. “It doesn’t have a name. He said it didn’t want a name. The Heartmender… Heartshine… she was going there for some reason.”

“This isn’t far away, maybe a few days off if we hustle,” Lightning said. “And considering we don’t have a tent anymore, we’d better get moving so we can find some shelter.”

I nodded, stepping forward ahead of the others as I made my way off the rocks and onto the hot sand. I needed to keep ahead of things, ahead of the others. All I cared about was getting to the Heartmender, getting her to Mom, and then figuring things out from there. The Heartmender had to be able to save her.

I didn’t even want to consider what had happened with Grass Roots. Had I done the wrong thing? Could we have achieved the same result of finding out where the Heartmender was without fulfilling his desire to have peace? I didn’t think so. The mere thought of leaving him there filled me with hatred and disgust. I shouldn’t have felt that. What exactly had the act of purging All’z’reth from my mind and body done to me?

Coconut hated me. I could feel it as we walked. No one said anything. Silence reigned, but I could feel her stare at the back of my head. She didn’t understand the choice I’d had to make, the sacrifice. None of them did, and I could feel their hate rushing off of them. Even Velvet, who had once kidnapped me and forced me to be a slave. Even she felt hate for me.

Hours passed. We were far away from the oasis, but the black smoke erupting from the trees still cut a dark line across the otherwise reddish sky. It was a constant reminder of what I’d done. The desert still seemed to crawl on for miles, but at the very least a breeze had managed to cut through the sweltering heat, providing a measure of relief. Shelter had not yet presented itself. The supplies we had were all from the oasis settlement.

The sky began to darken as we passed from sand to rock, marking what appeared to be the end of the seemingly endless desert. With the passing of the sun and our departure from sand to rock, the heat faded almost immediately. Beyond lay a valley filled with twisted rock formations and blackened trees. We stood for a few moments, gauging the lay of the land.

“We should be able to find some shelter up ahead with the trees in this area,” Lightning said, breaking the silence. “We’ll get set up somewhere safe and then figure out how much farther it is to this town.”

“Is it just me or does this place seem to be even creepier than the desert with the scary sandwurms that try to eat us at night?” Velvet quipped as we made our way down into the valley.

I again found myself at the front of the pack, not wishing to even look at or acknowledge the others. Even Velvet’s joke went unanswered as we walked, a fact that had seemed to put a pall on discussion in general. Instead we walked silently through the valley as the sky grew darker with every little step. Soon we found ourselves at an outcropping of dead trees that looked to be secure enough to camp in.

I walked over to the far end of the clearing and began setting up enough of my bedroll to sleep on. I could feel the others watching me, judging me silently. I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep and then wake up and then keep going until we found Heartshine. I slumped into my roll and turned over. I didn’t expect any of them to ask me to handle guard duty. I didn’t want to.

I opened my pack and pulled out the second memory orb, the one from Starlight Glimmer’s memories. I shrugged silently and reached out with my magic, letting it envelop me again so that everything went far, far away.

* * *

My eyes fluttered as I came out of the memory. It was still reasonably dark outside. A biting chill rippled across me as I sat up from my bedroll. The camp was still, silent. Everyone was asleep. Wasn’t someone supposed to be guarding it? It didn’t make any sense. Maybe everyone just decided it didn’t matter who guarded or didn’t.

However, something just didn’t seem right. None of the forms around me moved even normally. And where was Rocky and Click? None of this made sense. I pushed myself to my hooves from my bedroll and stepped cautiously into the camp. There was an eerie chill to the whole thing. I made my way to Lightning’s bedroll and laid a hoof on it. It was hard and lumpy. I pulled the cover away, revealing a cold, black rock.

“What the…?” I said aloud. “Did they… leave me?”

Lightning crackled across the sky, followed by the sound of thunder. Had there been thunder before? There hadn’t been any weather across the desert. Rain began to fall around me, the wind whipping around. Water seeped into the ground at my hooves, causing them to sink in just a bit. What was happening? Was I having some sort of dream?

“Hello?!” I shouted. “Is there anyone out there?!”

The wind whipped around harder and harder, the rain violently contorting to its wishes. I stood soaked, mane to tailbone. Lightning flashed across the sky once more, accompanied by booming thunder. Amidst it all I could hear… laughter? I looked for the source of it, finding it in a shadowy form at the edge of my vision. My eyes widened as I recognized it.

“It’s not possible…” I whispered to myself. “We got rid of you. Why are you still here? It’s impossible…”

“You could never get rid of me,” the voice called out through the storm. “I’ll always be here in the shadows, waiting. I am a part of you!”

“You’re not a part of me! We got rid of you!” I shouted back. “You can’t be… You can’t…”

There was no further response. I slumped back onto my haunches and started crying. I wasn’t sure what else to do. All’z’reth was still a part of me. It had ripped away the part of my heart that could fee, that could love, and hidden its horrible self inside. I couldn’t feel empathy. I couldn’t feel anything.

When I’d killed Grass Roots, I hadn’t felt anything. No empathy for his plight, nothing. I’d felt disgust and hatred for the ponies that were taking from him, but even then the feelings had felt dull, muted. I’d wanted to kill Grass Roots, I’d wanted to deliver him from his pain in some vain attempt to feel. Coconut was right. What I’d done had been murder, but I didn’t care. I wanted to feel even something worth feeling.

Because All’z’reth had taken that from me. It had killed that part of me. The part that wanted friendship and love. And it was still there, taking and taking from me until I was sure I would be taken over entirely.

I sat and I cried in my mind’s space because that’s all I could even think of to do.

* * *

My eyes opened to the same darkness, but yet I knew immediately that I had been either dreaming or having a vision beyond the memory orb. I could hear the soft snores of my friends as I pushed myself from my bedroll to an upright position. My senses felt dull as I scanned the camp for who was on guard.

My eyes widened slightly when I saw Rocky’s bulky form sitting at the edge of the camp, his rifle at his side. He was guarding? A wry smile elicited itself from my mouth. Maybe I could feel a little something after all this night.

I shuffled out of my bedroll and quietly stalked across the camp until I appeared at his side. He casually glanced at me, seeming to be confused that I was awake.

“You are awake,” he stated simply.

“Had a bad dream,” I said softly. “Woke me up.”

“This area is quiet,” Rocky said. “Too quiet. It makes me feel uneasy.”

“You think there’s something out there?” I asked, glancing at him.

“No. I think there’s nothing out there, which is why I’m uneasy,” Rocky replied casually. “I’m worried it’s just us out here.”

“You think so?” I said.

“I do,” Rocky said shortly. He turned towards me, his yellow eyes narrowing. “What are you doing, Starry? I thought that you didn’t want to speak to me anymore.”

“I… I don’t know,” I said. “I thought maybe you could help me feel something.”

“Feel something? Like what?”

“Anything. Something’s… something’s wrong with me,” I whispered. “I don’t even know how to feel anymore. I can’t feel love, or hate, or even disgust.”

“Is that why you killed Grass Roots?” Rocky replied. “To feel something?”

“No? I don’t know. Maybe?” I said. “I don’t know why. He knew where Heartshine went to… and I needed that information. But that doesn’t matter, does it? Whether I did it to show mercy to someone who was suffering, or just to try and feel something, or to pursue my goals… You all think I did wrong. I could see it in all of your eyes. Judging me.”

“Judging myself,” Rocky said. “Because I agreed with your course of action.”

My eyes widened. “You what? You thought what I did was… right?”

“It didn’t seem fair at the time to argue with the others, especially given the way that Coconut reacted to it,” Rocky replied. “But yes… I remained silent while the others argued and agreed over taking his life, and even considered doing the deed myself.”

“Why?”

“When I was with the Cult, they took and took from our own flesh, replacing it with this in order to keep us healthy and fighting. It was the same thing with the tribe. They were taking from him, using him. It wasn’t right,” Rocky said, looking back into the distance.

“So why didn’t you decide to do it?” I asked.

“Because I thought maybe… maybe I was better than thinking that way. I thought that maybe I was going to be better for you,” Rocky replied, his eyes meeting mine.

I breathed heavily, feeling a pressure building up in my loins. I knew exactly why I’d come up here. I needed to feel something, anything. I knew what I wanted.

“Does… does your mask come off?” I asked hesitantly.

Rocky seemed taken aback by the question. “My mask?” he asked, pointing to the speaker where his mouth was. He appeared confused.

“Yes. Does it… does it come off. Is your mouth functional?” I asked. “I mean, I know you don’t need to eat…”

“It doesn’t. I don’t know why…” Rocky started to say.

I lunged into his arms and pressed myself against him, placing a kiss upon his cheek and the side of his speaker. “That’s okay. I just figured… well… maybe you’d like to help me feel something, and I could give you one of those for real,” I said with a grin.

Rocky’s eyes widened as he leaned into me. “But… I thought…”

“Don’t think. That’s the problem, Rock. You think,” I said. “Please. Just… help me. Help me feel something. I need you.”

* * *

Some time later...

* * *

I glanced over at Rocky and made a content but disjointed sigh. For a brief moment, I had nearly felt something. Now all I felt was soreness between my legs and a dull ache. I didn’t know where to go from here. Rocky was laying back against the tree, his piercing yellow eyes watching me carefully.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I… I didn’t feel anything substantial, it was very brief. I thought maybe…” I said.

“That it would make you feel something all the time,” Rocky replied. “Is that what you wanted out of this? Just sex?”

“No!” I shouted. “Never. I… I just don’t know what’s wrong with me, Rock. I feel like… like All’z’reth left something inside of me. Like it’s making me be unable to feel feelings.”

“Why haven’t you told the others? Coconut and Lightning? They would understand,” Rocky said. “They are your friends, after all.”

“Should I? Coconut… she hates me. And even so, I don’t even care that she does. I can’t even feel bad about it,” I said. “Why would she listen to my inane need to feel something?”

“She would understand,” Rocky said simply as he stood and returned to the perimeter. “You should try. You may be surprised at the outcome.”

“I… I suppose,” I said. “But first… I should probably clean myself off.”

I stood, sighing as I felt the dampness still on my inner thighs. I spread my legs and ignited my horn, sending a cleansing spell across my body that wiped clean the evidence of the previous hour’s activity. I turned back towards the camp, intending to clean off my face and stopped cold, staring right into Coconut Cream Pie’s face. Her eyes were wide as she took in the stains on my face. Realization must have dawned on her as she narrowed them once more.

She said something that I didn’t hear. I blinked, quickly realizing that I’d forgotten to take down the sphere of silence spell I’d cast so the others wouldn’t hear Rocky and I.

“Starry? What’s going on?” she said as soon as I could hear her.

“Umm… well…” I said. “Would you maybe mind if I finished cleaning myself off first?”

“Go ahead,” Coconut said.

I nodded, igniting my horn and casting the cleansing spell along my head and face, cleaning up quickly. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

“Look, I can explain…”

“No, I think I got the jist of what just happened,” Coconut replied. “I don’t understand what’s going on with you lately, Starry. First this business with the knife, then Grass Roots, now this…”

“You want the truth, then? You want to know why I’ve been so fucked up since we left Xerves?” I asked, growling under my breath. “I can’t feel anything, Coconut. I can’t feel love, I can’t feel hate. No empathy, no nothing. My senses are dull and dead, and it’s because of that fucking thing All’z’reth. It left me with this… this lack of feeling!”

Coconut’s eyes narrowed. “And Rocky? What about that? Does that mean you don’t love him?”

“I… I can’t even tell anymore,” I said. “I don’t even know what feeling is.”

“What about me? What do you feel towards me?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, Coco. I can’t feel anything,” I said, glancing at my hooves. “But I almost did… I almost felt something.”

“Is this why you killed an innocent? Why you condemned an entire tribe to death?” Coconut said angrily. “To feel something?”

I looked up at her and grimaced. “P-p-partly,” I stuttered. “You didn’t see him, Coco. He was in pain. It was… it was mutual. I don’t know how else to explain this. I did what I had to.” I looked back down. “Rocky was wrong. You don’t understand.”

Coconut looked taken aback at this. She sighed deeply after a few long moments of awkward silence. “You’re right. I… I don’t. But that… that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you. What you did… it was wrong, whether you felt anything about it or not. But there’s nothing we can do about that now. We’re far away from the oasis, and what’s done is done.”

“You said you would leave,” I said sullenly. “Because you hate me.”

“I don’t… I don’t hate you, Starry,” Coconut said. “I could never hate you. And yes… I considered that once we got back home… leaving for a while. But I won’t. Not if you need me. Not if you need my help.”

I slumped to my haunches. “I… I do. I really do. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Coco, but I know it’s got something to do with that damned All’z’reth.”

Coconut smiled softly and walked up next to me, wrapping her foreleg around my neck. “We’ll figure it out, alright? Until then… could you maybe try to not kill anyone else?” she said, winking. “I mean… unless they really are a bad guy, that is.”

I nodded. “I’ll… I’ll try.”

“Good,” Coconut said. “Now then… how was the um… you know…”

“The sex?”

“Err… yeah,” Coconut said, her cheeks reddening. “I mean… you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“It was… nice,” I said simply as Rocky reappeared from the perimeter.

He stopped and glanced between myself and Coconut, his yellow eyes narrowing as he established what had just been discussed. However that seemed to not be why he was here.

“We have a problem. Wake the others and prepare for a fight,” he said gravely. “I was wrong. We’re not alone out here.”

“What is it? Monsters, giant eels?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“Worse. Slavers,” Rocky said.

* * *

“Slavers?” Lightning said as he glanced between the group. “All the way out here? How can you tell?”

“They have a caravan filled with slaves, both changeling and pony. Not too far from here,” Rocky explained. “I did some scouting and saw some of their number scrounging around it. They didn’t see me, but it stands to reason they know we’re here.”

“Do you think they’re looking for the slave town? Where we’re headed?” I interjected.

“Perhaps,” Rocky said. “A town full of free slaves would be a bounty worth having.”

“CLICK.”

“Click, you said it,” Velvet said softly. “You said they have changelings on the caravan? Why don’t we hit these guys before they find us and save the slaves? Would put us on the up and up I think.”

“Their numbers appear to be heavily guarded and well armed,” Rocky said. “But a tactical strike may thin out things enough to free the slaves.”

“Are we sure this is a good idea? Our supplies are low and even well rested we’re not exactly taking down an army,” Coconut said. “I mean, I’m all for freeing slaves, but I just want to make sure we’re ready for it.”

“This is a venture you should undertake,” a familiar stallion’s voice emanated from Click. Dusk’s face had reappeared on the monitor screen. “I’ve been doing some research and this is something you should do.”

“Dusk? Have you been watching us this whole time?” Lightning asked.

Dusk grimaced and nodded silently. I looked down at my hooves. That means he saw and knew about Grass Roots. He had to know. Why didn’t he come forward before now? Why didn’t he try to say anything about it? Unless… unless he knew he couldn’t stop it. Was me killing Grass Roots a fixed point in time? Was anything malleable?

“These slavers pose a direct threat to the town you are searching for,” Dusk continued. “If you were to disrupt their operation enough, it would keep the town safe and hiden for the time being. And any slavers we capture may know something about the exact location of the town.”

“I agree with Dusk,” Rocky said, his yellow eyes narrowing at the rest of us. “Lightning, you and I will lay out a plan of attack. One that maximizes our strengths and minimizes our weaknesses. The rest of you will get together our gear and take stock of what we have.”

Lightning nodded, moving to sit next to the minotaur to start working on the plan. I moved to the edge of the camp by myself while Coconut walked over to the gear and started working on it. I felt a flutter next to me as Velvet landed in her natural form. What was she up to? Was she looking to feed?

“I’m sorry about before,” she said in a raspy voice. “I tend to forget that sometimes, people look at the real me, and they think that I’m a monster. And for a while, I was just as fucked up as you are now. Being with you guys… it’s helped. A lot.”

I nodded solemnly. “Velvet, what do you feel from me?”

Velvet’s multi-faceted eyes shimmered and she grimaced, her fangs curling in a little lip bite. “Nothing. Nothing at all. What… what happened to you? How is that even possible?”

“All’z’reth,” a voice said from behind us.

I glanced back to see Dusk rolling up in Click’s body. He had a pained expression on his face.

“All’z’reth’s magic infected her heart, and when we removed that infection by expelling the entity from her body… it also removed Starry’s center of empathy,” he said simply.

“You knew?” I said.

“I had a suspicion. After what happened with Grass Roots, I extrapolated the rest of the data out and came to the same conclusion you did,” Dusk replied.

“So… because of that thing that was in her… she can’t feel anything?” Velvet asked, reverting to her pony form.

“It left me with the inability to feel anything,” I said. “Velvet… can I talk to Dusk real quick alone? I have some… questions for him.”

Velvet nodded. “Sure, I’ll go help Coconut with the gear.”

She trotted back over to where Coconut was working as I stared up at Dusk.

“You knew what I was going to do,” I said. “You didn’t try to stop me. Why?”

“Because I knew that there would be no way to stop you. You needed to find the information to find the Heartmender, and that’s something that happens in the timeline,” Dusk said with a frown.

“So it was fixed?”

“Not exactly. I could have woken the others or restrained you myself using this body,” Dusk replied. “But that wouldn’t have solved anything. You wouldn’t have been able to get the information you needed any other way, and you wouldn’t be here right now where you needed to be. My meddling in the timeline has caused more than enough problems that this time, not meddling was what was needed.”

“I see,” I said softly. “And what now? What happens after this?”

“I don’t know, Starry,” Dusk said. “That’s the thing that worries me the most. I’m having trouble finding the lines and threads that lead to the future. We’re in uncharted territory, I’m afraid.”

“And my condition? You figured it out, but do you know how to stop it?” I asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for that either,” Dusk said, closing his eyes and sighing. “Removing All’z’reth needed to be done or else something far worse would have happened.”

“I know,” I said. “I’d have become like it. A monster, a demon. I just… I wish it could end.”

“Starry, Dusk, we’re ready,” Coconut said as she walked up to us. She’d donned her visor once more, obscuring her face. “Let’s go listen to the plan.”

* * *

I huddled down on the edge of the valley ridge, overlooking the next valley over where the slavers had made their camp. After not having seen any life in this place at all, it was strange to witness a camp made up of both changelings and ponies. The slavers moved to and fro around the camp, many of them guarding the perimeter or on patrol.

Several more of them huddled around campfires, eating and drinking loudly. Beyond them, a cage on top of a wheeled cart sat, filled with slaves. They looked famished, beaten, abused. Changelings in natural form weakly buzzed by the bars, and ponies both young and old lay gasping for breath.

I glanced across the ridge over at Rocky. The plan had been very simple. Hit them before they knew what was happening, and then release the slaves. Disrupt things so that they couldn’t regroup and then be back into the wilderness of the valley before they even knew what was happening.

I grimaced. It was a good plan, but there was a kink in it. The slavers were packing some pretty heavy artillery, including a combat robot that was quietly rolling around the perimeter of the camp. Rocky intended to take it out himself with a shot of his sniper rifle. I had no weapon, instead intending to use the fire spell I’d learned so well to shock and awe the slavers into running.

The entire thing seemed incredulous. We were six against a whole caravan of slavers. There was no way this was going to work, but Dusk seemed convinced that we needed to be here.

I watched as Rocky moved into position. Below the ridge I could hear the laughter of the slavers. I was also picking up on some conversation.

“...this place is fucking haunted, I’m telling you…”

“...you’re shitting me…”

“...-ck I’m serious! There’s a fucking ghost out there…”

My eyebrows raised. A ghost? Slavers actually scared of something? That seemed surprising. Perhaps we could use that to our advantage. If they were scared enough of the hint of a ghost, maybe I could conjure up an illusion of one to scare them even more. Combined with the attack…

My horn glowed softly as Rocky began aiming his rifle, waiting for the robot to come into view. As soon as it did, he fired. The bullet streaked across the clearing silently, slamming into the combat robot’s head in a shower of sparks. Immediately the camp stirred into a frenzy, giving me the perfect opportunity to strike.

Magic coalesced in the air, sending out an illusion of a white flailing ghost that began swooping down upon the slaver camp. As I readily expected, many of the slavers began the shout and scream, running about almost comically. I didn’t expect the illusion to be believed for too long however.

Meanwhile, the others utilized the chaos well enough, firing from behind cover to hit as many slavers as they could. Things appeared to be proceeding as planned.

“It’s a fucking illusion, you fucking morons!” I heard one of the slavers shout as he took a pot shot at the ghost flying around. “We’re being attacked!”

“Shit,” I muttered as I dispelled the illusion. “Well, I knew that wasn’t going to last long.”

A cracking shot through the air from Rocky sounded from the next ridge. Even with his accuracy and the others hitting slavers here and there, there were still too many of them to count. I could see Coconut and Lightning next to each other, firing off shots from behind cover as well. Velvet stood on top of Click, letting the robot handle the majority of the firing power while occasionally sending out a blast of magic to supplement.

And then the side of the ridge exploded. I felt myself get thrown back several feet, my ears ringing. What in the fuck was that?! I thought frantically as I tried to get back onto my hooves. My eyes widened as I saw it. A mounted launcher on the caravan. Its massive barrel was smoking as they loaded another shell into it.

“Shit shit shit shit! Mortar! Everyone pull back!” I shouted.

“Back from the ridge!” Rocky roared. “Now!”

I scrambled away from the ridge as the launcher fired again, the mortar booming into the ridge wall with thunderous wrath. Dirt and debris exploded everywhere, sending all of us flying to the ground once more. Click sat turned on his side, unable to right himself, his wheels spinning in all directions. Velvet lay on the ground next to him, clutching a bloodied up leg. Coconut and Lightning were on the other side, on the ground as well. The only one standing appeared to be Rocky, who roared loudly, sparks flying from his cybernetics.

“Hold fire!” I heard one of the slavers shout. “You’re outgunned up there, whoever you are! Why don’t you come on out and join us? You’ll make a fine addition to the other slaves.”

Rocky roared bestially in response.

“Alright, fine, have it your way then,” the slaver shouted back. “Boys, go get em. If they resist, we’ll just mortar the shit out of them.”

I grimaced, scrambling to get to my hooves besides Rocky. He’d been damaged, not seriously, but enough that there was exposed wiring on his side.

“What do we do?” I asked as the others found their way next to us.

“This plan sucked,” Velvet said sarcastically.

“And you had a better one?” Lightning quipped back.

“Shut up you two,” Coconut interjected. “Rocky, can you lift Click? We’re gonna need him before they get up here.”

Rocky shuddered and then nodded, walking carefully over to the robot, whose face had become that of a frowning pony. He reached down and helped the robot upright, where it could move again. Click too, had some exposed wires from the mortar blast.

“They’ve got a nice clear shot to hit us with that mortar again,” Lightning said.

“We were well in over our hooves on this,” Velvet said, groaning as she cradled her arm. “I’m sorry I even brought it up.”

“Are you alright?” Coconut asked.

“Think I might have broken it. Hurts like a sonofabitch,” Velvet said. “So what, we run? Like, now?”

“If we run, they’ll mortar us for sure,” I said. “Or follow us until they run us down. No… we’re stuck.”

We sat and waited for the slavers to crest the ridge. It was all we could do. We were broken up and beaten down. I failed to see how this was going to help anyone if we couldn’t even free any slaves.

“HALT!” a voice shouted from the upper ridge. “WHO DARES VENTURE INTO THE TERRITORY OF THE RAIDER QUEEN?!”

I blinked. Raider Queen? I thought as I tried to focus on the pony standing on the upper ridge. Her voice was clearly feminine, beyond the obvious name of “Raider Queen”, but I couldn’t really make out her face or coloring due to the strange tribal armor she was wearing. Spikes and gore jutted from every angle of her armor.

“The Raider Queen!”

“I heard she devours her victims whole and then spits out the bones!”

“I heard she eats meat!”

“We eat meat too, you dumbass!”

“I mean, like pony meat!”

Whatever she was, she was a lifesaver to us. The slavers, even with their mortar gun, seemed to be genuinely afraid of her. Except for their leader, who I was able to pick out standing next to the caravan with the mortar launcher, a unicorn with a mercenary look to him. My eyes widened as I realized I recognized him from before we’d left the city of Chicacolt and Equestria. Iron fucking Comet.

“Oh fuck,” I said. “Not him.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are up there?” Iron Comet shouted at the unknown pony. “This is our caravan and our slaves, so you can just fuck right off!”

“YOU WILL TURN BACK OR PERISH AT THE HOOVES OF THE RAIDER QUEEN!” the unknown pony shouted. “MY FORCES WAIT AT MY COMMAND TO TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!”

“Well I got a mortar launcher that says otherwise!” Iron Comet called back. “What do you got?”

“CORRECTION! YOU HAD A MORTAR LAUNCHER!” the unknown mare called out, lifting her hoof.

Out of nowhere a blast of magical energy struck the mortar launcher, setting it on fire. Iron Comet’s eyes widened as he jumped away from the caravan before it exploded. The explosion cracked a massive hole in the side of the cage, allowing the slaves to crawl out to freedom. As they did, the slavers tried to rally them back up but were obviously shaken by the so-called Raider Queen.

“YES, RUN! RUN FOR THE HILLS YOU PATHETIC SWINE! THIS IS THE TERRITORY OF THE RAIDER QUEEN!” the mare catcalled.

The slavers scattered as more energy blasts struck the camp. Many of them that stopped to fight back were struck down into smoking heaps. As the scene unfolded, the mystery mare from the upper ridge disappeared. I couldn’t track where she went.

Iron Comet fled up the ridge, shouting and cursing as he tried to get his slavers to stand their ground. He skidded to a stop in front of us, groaning loudly.

“Oh… fuck. Not you guys again,” he said.

“Iron Comet,” I said. “I thought we’d never see you again.”

“That was you guys that were attacking my caravan? Fuck. You know, if you’da said something, we could have worked things out, business like, you know?” the gray unicorn replied.

“I don’t know about that,” Lightning said, stepping forward. “Just what are you doing all the way out here outside of Equestria?”

“What does it look like? Making money. Gotta make money somehow. Couldn’t really get it done in Chicacolt, besides I never got actually paid from that job for you bozos,” Iron Comet said. “If you’re here, you must have caught up to Xerves, right?”

“Xerves is dead,” I said sullenly. “I killed him.”

“Oh. Well. Shit,” Iron Comet said. “Guess that means I’m definitely not getting paid now. And now with all those slaves gone… fuck me in the ass.”

I rolled my eyes and growled. “Look. I don’t know exactly what’s going on here, but what the fuck just actually happened?”

“Oh, you mean the Raider Queen? I’ve run into her a few times now. That’s why we scrounged up that mortar launcher, fat good it did us,” Iron Comet said. “She apparently runs this territory. Breaks up any operation trying to run here. Nopony knows what she looks like, or who she is, but she’s backed up by real firepower.”

“Look, we really just want to know if you know anything about a slave town that’s supposed to be in this area,” Coconut intervened. “You tell us what you know, and we’ll let you leave with your head intact. Sound like a good deal?”

“Oh no. If you remember right, that’s not how this works, Steel Ranger,” Comet snarfed. “You owe me remember? I gave you a freebie. I told you where Xerves went.”

“It’s important that you tell us what you know about the town,” I said, taking a step forward, my horn glowing softly. “Before things get out of hand.”

“Starry, calm down. Remember what we talked about,” Coconut said. “If you kill him, we won’t get the information we need.”

“Kill me? Why would you kill me? I didn’t do anything to you guys this time,” Comet said, groaning loudly.

“Then perhaps you’d better start talking,” I said, stalking behind him, my horn continuing to glow. I was getting impatient.

“Look. I don’t know anything about a slave town, alright? It’s a myth. One of the other slavers was talking about it,” Comet said angrily. “So if you just let me go, I’ll be on my way and out of your hair.”

“Are you sure you don’t know anything?” I asked inside his ear, nearly spooking the poor stallion to death.

“I swear!” he shouted.

“He’s telling the truth,” Velvet said. “I can feel it. He doesn’t know where the town is.”

I sneered at Iron Comet. There was a twinge in my mind. I didn’t like this stallion, at all. I really wanted to smack him around, maybe kill him. I blinked. That was strange. Was I feeling something or was it just what my brain associated Iron Comet with? I couldn’t tell the difference.

“Fine,” I said. “Get out of here. Before I change my mind.”

Iron Comet grimaced before nodding. “You guys better be careful if you plan on going any further in. That Raider Queen, she’ll do you in too.”

“We’ll take that under consideration,” Coconut said. “Now get out of here.”

“CLICK.”

Iron Comet growled under his breath and ran off, scampering towards where his slaver friends ran off to. I sighed loudly.

“Tell me again why we let him live?” I asked as I returned to the others.

“I’m very proud of you for restraining yourself,” Coconut said, patting me on the shoulder. “Besides, he didn’t know anything.”

“I know. So what was that? The Raider Queen? It seemed like a big joke,” I asked.

“I don’t know, but if Iron Comet was right about anything, we’ll find out soon enough,” Lightning said. “Come on, let’s search the remains of the camp for any supplies, then move on.”

We trudged down the exploded ridge towards the camp, grunting under the pain of our minor injuries. Coconut had wrapped Velvet’s leg, indicating that it had indeed been broken under the stress of the explosion. She limped along painfully, using her magic to help pick through the wreckage.

The caravan itself was decimated by the destruction of the mortar launcher. There were even a few dead slaves inside the wagon, but it was impossible to tell if it was the explosion that had killed them or if they had already been dead. Regardless, the rest of the slaves were gone, nopony was around to tell us.

We found very little in the way of medical supplies or food, but replenished our ammunition easily. It seemed the slavers weren’t terribly interested in keeping their slaves alive. When all was said and done, we headed back up the ridge and back into the valley, heading towards the red blip on my PipBuck’s automap. That still didn’t tell us if the town was actually there, but it was a start.

We walked for an hour before Velvet started to complain about pain in her leg. Coconut sat with her for several moments, double checking the setting before sighing loudly.

“She needs better medical attention than I can give,” she said. “If we don’t find this town soon, we may have to amputate the leg.”

“Amputate? Like what, cut my fucking leg off?” Velvet said. “Fucking Celestia. I really am a bug.”

“Nobody’s cutting your leg off yet,” Coconut said. “But we need to get you something like a health potion or anything that would help the leg heal better before it gets worse.”

“According to the map, it’s still several hours off from where Grass Roots told us the Heartmender went to,” I said. “Do we even think she can make that far?”

“Doubtful. Not walking at least. We may have to rig up something to carry her, and that’s if the infection doesn’t get worse,” Coconut said.

“Hello, I’m right here. Click can carry me, right?” Velvet said.

“CLICK.”

“That is… an option,” Coconut said.

“HALT! YOU ARE IN THE TERRITORY OF THE RAIDER QUEEN! LEAVE OR BE ANNIHILATED!” a loud voice shouted from slightly further up the valley.

I turned and my eyes widened. It was the same unknown mare from before. She stood in the shadows, lifting her hoof to the sky.

“Or maybe we ask her for help,” I said.

“The Raider Queen? Are you fucking mad?” Velvet said. “You know what raiders are, right? She knows what raiders are, right?”

“I agree, perhaps we should move on,” Rocky said. “We’ve witnessed already the damage this one can do.”

“Um, Rock. She’s standing exactly in the way we need to go,” Lightning interrupted.

“Then we go back the way we came and go around her territory,” Coconut said.

“Agreed. She’s gonna fucking eat us if we don’t,” Velvet said. “Raiders are fucking crazy sick. I know, I worked with a bunch of them.”

“Fuck it, I’m gonna go talk to her,” I said, sitting up and heading to the lower part of the valley before the so-called Raider Queen.

“HALT RIGHT THERE! YOU ARE IN MY TERRITORY! I AM THE DREADED RAIDER QUEEN AND YOU WILL OBEY ME!” the mare shouted.

“Yeah, hey listen… we’re not invaders or intruders, so whatever act it is you’re playing, I don’t believe it. One of our friends is hurt, seriously injured, you know. She broke her leg and its infected. We’re looking for a town that’s nearby,” I called out. “Do you know it?”

The mare stopped for a moment, almost as if she were pondering my words. Finally she lifted into the air. Wait, she lifted into the air? She’s a fucking PEGASUS?! I thought, my brain screaming as she soared down towards us.

“Great, now you’ve done and pissed her off!” Velvet shouted. “We should probably run now.”

My eyes widened as the mare in the gory, gleaming armor landed on the ground in front of us. With a flash she took her helmet off, revealing a beautiful multicolored mane and a lime green face covered in some form or war paint. Her eyes glanced over at Velvet and at the rest of us.

“I have medical supplies,” she said. “It should be able to help stabilize her leg until we can get her to town.”

I blinked. “Okay…”

“Do you want my help or not? We have to be quick about this. Nopony should see me out here without the getup on,” the mare replied.

“Oh, so we’re not going to die? I’m okay with this,” Velvet said from behind us.

“Please, if you can help, it would be appreciated,” Coconut said.

The mare nodded succinctly, pushing past me to walk over to where Velvet sat. She picked at a saddlebag that had been stuffed up underneath the shoulder blades, pulling out several potions. Coconut gingerly took them from her and began giving them to Velvet.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Did you just say ‘get her to town’?”

“Well, yeah. We need to have a doctor look at her,” the mare said, sighing loudly.

I blinked again and turned, focusing on the mare’s appearance. My eyes widened as I realized I’d seen this mare before. In fact, this singular pony was the entire reason why we were in this hellhole beyond Equestria. The very reason we’d trekked across the desert, come through the Badlands, and why we’d left Chicacolt in the very first place.

It was her.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name beyond Miss ‘Raider Queen’,” I said.

“Oh, sorry. That’s just a bit of an act I put on. Helps scare ponies away from the town that aren’t wanted, like those slavers,” the mare said with a smile.

She reached up and brushed away some of her face paint, the lime green of her face coming through instantly. Her dirty mane fell in curls around her face, but I knew instantly that I was right. It was her.

“My name’s Heartshine. What’s yours?”

Author's Note

Well, now we've hit a pretty big apex of this story, the first introduction of Heartshine. I can only hope that I'm doing her character some justice with this.

If you like what you've read here, and want to see more, than hit me up over on Patreon! I do regular book giveaways and other things for patrons!

Chapter Twelve Addon: The Need to Feel

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Twelve Addon: The Need to Feel

I need to feel… something...

I breathed heavily, feeling a pressure building up in my loins. I knew exactly why I’d come up here. I needed to feel something, anything. I knew what I wanted.

“Does… does your mask come off?” I asked hesitantly.

Rocky seemed taken aback by the question. “My mask?” he asked, pointing to the speaker where his mouth was. He appeared confused.

“Yes. Does it… does it come off. Is your mouth functional?” I asked. “I mean, I know you don’t need to eat…”
“It doesn’t. I don’t know why…” Rocky started to say.

Rocky’s eyes widened as he leaned into me. “But… I thought…”

“Don’t think. That’s the problem, Rock. You think,” I said. “Please. Just… help me. Help me feel something. I need you.”

I reinforced my statement by grinding myself along Rocky’s leg, my crotch burning and yearning for something to make me feel anything. I knew what I was doing was working. I could feel Rocky below me. He wanted it just as badly. There were no more words to be said.

I reached inwards, assaulting Rocky’s neck with suckling kisses downwards and onto his chest. I giggled for a second as I felt him shudder.

“Starry, I…”

“Shh… remember what I said? Besides, I can feel you. You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

“I… I… Yes… keep going…”

“Good. Now just sit there and let me do all the work,” I said, grinning widely as I returned to doting on him with kisses.

I was struggling as hard as I could to feel something, to get something out of this. I felt nothing more than the pressure and the buildup in my loins, my body’s natural response to sexual arousal. I knew I’d been attracted to Rocky, but I hadn’t quite realized just how much my body appreciated and desired him. All I knew is that I wanted it badly, whether it would make me feel something or not.

I started moving my hips, grinding myself against Rocky’s body as I continued to kiss down his chest. I could feel a hot wetness between my legs coupled with his rock-solid erection poking at me. I chuckled softly as I stood.

“Let’s relieve some of that pressure, shall we?” I said, my horn glowing softly.

A soft pale light enveloped his bodysuit, peeling it away from the bulging member I was expecting to see. It arose in the dark light, engorged to its full length. My eyes widened at the girth.

“Well, at least that part of you is intact,” I said. “You look like you’re ready to burst already.”

I lowered my head down until I was at level with the enormous minotaur penis, curiously reaching out with my tongue to lick the head. Rocky made a soft groan as I wrapped my tongue around his throbbing cock. I’d never seen one so impressively large. Sure, I’d seen the occasional stud hanging out in the bathrooms on accident at Theater, but none of them really compared to Rocky.

“Hnng…” Rocky emitted as I continued to lick all the way down the base of his shaft to the two large hanging ballsacks. “Starry…”

“Shh… you let me do whatever I want,” I said softly as I returned my attention to the tip. Already it was beginning to leak, dribbling an impressive amount of precum.

I grinned, licking a little off the head. It was salty and utterly delicious. I decided that it was time to move forward. The heat in my loins guided my actions as I wrapped my lips around the head of the massive dick and began to suck hard. Rocky’s body responded by thrusting slightly upwards, sending his member deeper into my throat. I exulted in the sensation of being filled as his cock slid further inward. I vaguely searched for some emotional feeling related to the sensation, but sadly felt nothing but the pressure of having a dick in my mouth.

I pulled back, moving up and downwards, allowing the now slimily lubricated cock to penetrate my mouth over and over. All the while I could feel and hear Rocky’s groaning getting louder. Panicking I reached out with my magic, creating a sphere of silence around us. With no possible way of waking up the others, I re-engaged allowing him to pound me in the mouth with his cock.

“Starry… I... I…”

I kept going, knowing what was coming. Up and down I moved, gagging on the thickest, meatiest dick I’d ever seen in my life. And yet, I still felt nothing emotionally. All I felt was the fire in my loins building up more. I needed to go further, but first I had to let Rocky blow off of some steam.

Rocky’s dick began to pulse and throb as it spurted hot, sticky strands of cum into my mouth, causing some to run out my nose. I let him ride it out, my mouth still firmly sucking every last drop out before letting go.

“Mmm…” I said, glancing up at him. “How long has it been since that happened?”

“Too… too long…” Rocky coughed.

“Not too long that you aren’t ready for round two,” I said, indicating his still erect member. “Ready to get worked on again?”

Rocky nodded. “But won’t the others…”

“Sphere of silence. They won’t hear us. I’ll be as loud as you want,” I said, winking.

Rocky merely nodded again. I stood, positioning myself so that I could lower my broiling pussy down upon his cock. I lowered myself until the very tip sat at my slit. Without hesitation, I moved down and let him fill me.

“Fuck!” I shouted loudly as the minotaur’s girth stretched my pussy wider than I even thought possible.

I groaned loudly as I worked my way down the massive shaft, grunting as Rocky thrust upwards, stretching me out all the way down to the hilt as his ballsack slapped against me. The pressure was immense, filling me in entirety. My pussy felt like fire, aching for the release that had been building up since I’d sat here next to Rocky.

“Do you want me to move?” Rocky said softly.

I nodded, and then I felt his girth shifting inside me as it slid out from me. The sensation of being filled thrilled my body in every way, and I craved more of it, but I still felt nothing emotionally. Wasn’t sex supposed to evoke an emotional response? I needed more.

“Rocky. I want you to do me a favor…”

“Yes?”

“Fuck me. Hard.”

I stood and turned around, presenting myself to him. Pulling away from him exposed my wet marehood to the night air, and I shivered at the chill. I felt him shuffle to position himself behind me as his claws grabbed onto my rump. I grimaced as I felt him dig into me.

And then he entered me once more, this time forcefully and powerfully. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as repeatedly he slammed into me. I could feel his balls slapping hard against me with every thrust, his massive cock practically impaling me. I moaned and shouted loudly, the sphere of silence preventing the others from hearing. Of course, if any of them had woken up they would have seen me silently fucking the minotaur, but I didn’t care in the heat of the moment.

And still, while the pleasure centers of my body registered every movement, every thrust, every little thing as being intensely pleasurable, I still felt no emotional attachment.

“FUCK!” I shouted, the thrusting pushing me ever closer to the inevitable. I needed the release, needed to climax in every possible way.

The pressure of one final thrust sent me over the top, feeling his cock start to flare inside of me. Then suddenly I was being filled with cum again, this time leaking out of my pussy and down my legs. The feeling triggered my own orgasm, causing me to shake uncontrollably as pleasure rippled across every inch of my body.

In that fleeting moment… I felt something. A sliver of love for Rocky. A mere shadow of what I’d held for him before All’z’reth.

And then it was gone as I rode down the high of my orgasmic sensations. I felt Rocky’s massive girth withdraw as he slumped back against the tree. I fell backwards against him, grunting as we laid there in a sticky hot mess. I could feel his cum leaking out of my pussy and knew that we were definitely going to need to get cleaned up before the others awoke.

However, for a moment, I didn’t care. I’d felt something. Something had happened. But it had only been for a moment. A moment that I would try my hardest to get back.

A moment that I would never, ever forget.

Author's Note

Yes, I wrote some obligatory porn for Mending Hearts, with the exception that it's not really joyful. Starry's in a pretty bad place at the moment, and this chapter was designed as the mere mention that there may be hope for her yet.

Chapter Thirteen: A Stable Town is a Stable Relationship

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Thirteen: A Stable Town is a Stable Relationship

Just when we thought all was lost, we were found again…

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. All the searching through the Badlands, through the Desert, and now through the valley. All the pain and anger had been worth it. We’d found what we’d been looking for.

The Heartmender. Heartshine.

The pony that was supposedly able to help my mother with her unique brand of empathic magic. This was a mare who was legendary.

And yet, she was not as she seemed.

* * *

“Hoosier! Open the gate! We have wounded down here!” Heartshine shouted up at the guard tower.

The walled off town stretched for several miles in each direction. There was no actual telling how big the town actually was, but it was very apparent that it was well hidden. The town itself was not that far away from where Heartshine had found us, but it was cloaked by a wall of mist that conveniently hovered along the upper valley. The only way to possibly have seen the town would have been from the air.

Velvet lay resting on a stretcher that we had managed to pull together out of spare fabric and rocks. It wasn’t comfortable, but it kept her still while we transported her. My horn glowed, floating along the makeshift bed. I set it down carefully, waiting for the gate to open.

An elderly earth stallion peered at us from above in the guard tower. He leaned out to get a better look at us.

“Heartshine? Did you find more freed slaves?” he said gruffly.

“Not exactly. But they’re friends, or will be soon enough. Open the gate, Hoosier, it’s okay,” Heartshine said, glancing sidelong at us. “We got a mare who needs to see the doctor.”

“You got it,” Hoosier replied casually, reaching down to flip a lever.

In front of us a large gate began to swing open, giving us the first view of the town we had been searching for. It appeared dirty and dingy, built primarily out of old steel containers that had been converted into homes and businesses. As we entered I noticed that in all reality, the wall was much longer than the town itself, likely to give off the impression that the town was bigger on the inside. What I noticed more was that the town was fairly crowded. Numerous ponies milled about, watching us warily as we entered. The sheer presence of Heartshine likely kept them at bay.

Heartshine led us through the town happily, a bit of a bounce in her step as we made our way towards where she’d indicated the doctor was. We stopped at the far end of the town next to a large covered tent marked with the familiar markings of the Followers of the Apocalypse. As I entered the tent next to the others I was surprised to see a blue alicorn working amongst the wounded and ill being held there.

“Ah, Heartshine! You’re back. Excellent. I need some assistance with a few of the new arrivals. They’re feeling… well, you know,” the alicorn said as she took notice of us. “I see you picked up some new friends.”

“Doctor Shimmer, these ponies have a friend outside with a broken leg and a possible infection,” Heartshine said. “Do you think you can help them?”

“I’ll have to look at her. I’m quite certain we have the supplies. Now, go on. Take off all that gawdy stuff and get to work. We’ve got ponies to save,” the alicorn replied succinctly.

Heartshine nodded with a smile, discarding all of the things she wore as the Raider Queen in the corner of the tent. With a flutter of her wings, she nodded at us.

“The Doctor here will look at your friend. I have some ponies to attend to, so if you’ll excuse me,” she said.

“Wait,” I said suddenly, stopping her. “After… after you’re done can we talk? It’s important.”

“Of course,” Heartshine replied with a soft smile. “Now go, help your friend.”

I nodded as she flew off into the tent. I watched for a brief moment as she sat next to a pony at the far end of the tent, scrutinizing every little movement for some hint of the magic she held, but there seemed to be nothing. She just… sat there? I felt confused. Maybe I was missing some key piece of how heartmending worked?

“Alright, let’s have a look at your friend, shall we?” the alicorn said. “My name’s Shimmering Night, but the ponies here just call me Doctor Shimmer. You lot look like you’ve been through quite the hell to get to Stable Town. Where are you all from?”

“Equestria, ma’am,” Lightning said. “Primarily the city of Chicacolt.”

“Chicacolt? That is a long way. Hmm… last I heard a fellow sister of mine was holding down the fort in that city,” Doctor Shimmer said as she followed us outside to check on Velvet. “Well, you did a decent job wrapping it and keeping her still, but she is going to definitely need some medical attention. If you will all excuse us, I have work to do.”

Her horn glowed, gently lifting Velvet into the air. Carefully she pulled her inside the tent and moved her to one of the cot beds that was empty near the front. Quietly, she removed the wrapping from Velvet’s leg to inspect the break. She grimaced, but nodded to herself as she floated over a few tools and medical supplies.

We sat just outside the tent, waiting as the doctor did what she could for Velvet. I sighed, leaning my head against the burlap flap.

“Feels weird to not have to worry about being shot at or attacked, I’m not sure I can even remember how to relax,” Coconut said aloud.

“Did you see how she was talking to those ponies back there in the back?” I asked. “Like, what do you think she was doing?”

“Maybe just talking to them? If they’re ex-slaves I can’t imagine what they’ve gone through is easy,” Lightning said. “Maybe just needed a friendly face is all.”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” I said. “I just… maybe I just expected that we’d see heartmending in action. But it didn’t look like she was doing magic.”

“She is a pegasus pony,” Rocky interjected. “Her magic may not be obvious to the naked eye.”

“Still, something’s off. I can’t place my hoof on it,” I said. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The tent flap opened and Doctor Shimmer appeared. She glanced at us and grimaced.

“I have some startling news regarding your friend,” she said. “She’s a changeling.”

I blinked. “Um… we knew that already,” I said deadpan.

“CLICK.”

“Is she alright?” Lightning interjected, shooting a glare at me.

“Yes, well. Thankfully your friend is strong enough or well trained enough to keep her pony form even while grievously injured. Since her anatomy is staying stable, I was able to set the bones and clear up most of her infection. She’s resting for the moment,” Doctor Shimmer explained.

“When will we be able to leave?” Rocky asked.

“You just got here, and your friend needs to heal. Not for a couple days at best,” Doctor Shimmer replied with a huff. “Besides, you all look like you need food, rest, and…” she sniffed the air a bit. “...a shower.”

“Is there someplace we can accomplish those goals?” Lightning said. “We don’t want to intrude too much here.”

Doctor Shimmer nodded and pointed at the lane of steel just across from us. “Our chapter of the Followers set up some temporary housing down the way when we got here. You can speak with my sister Golden Chalice. She can help get you situated. You can see your friend…”

“Velvet,” I said. “Velvet Kiss.”

“Thank you. You can see Velvet later on. Now, is that all you needed or are there any other medical related things I can assist you with?” Doctor Shimmer asked.

“When she’s finished, can you send Heartshine to meet with us? It’s rather important we speak with her,” I said, raising a hoof.

“Heartshine? Alright. I’ll send her to see you as soon as she’s done with the patients,” Doctor Shimmer said.

We nodded, trudging our way across the path, across the settlement. As we walked, many of the other ponies in the town regarded us cautiously. I couldn’t really blame them. We didn’t exactly look like ex slaves, especially Rocky.

I glanced up at him as we walked. I hadn’t had much time to talk to him again about what had happened between us the other night. With Velvet’s injury, our discovery of the Heartmender, and everything else, there just hadn’t been an opportunity. Beyond just the sex, I had felt something that night. Some sliver of empathy and love had crept back inside me, if only for a minute. It had given me some hope that I could return to normal after All’z’reth had broken me.

Relatively quickly we came across another set of storage containers that bore the familiar symbol of the Followers of the Apocalypse. They looked pretty bare, except for the presence of a second alicorn standing in front of them, along with a few other townsponies. This alicorn was a green. I found myself thinking of Radiant Star for a moment, wondering how far out the Followers had traveled and how they managed to get here in the first place.

The alicorn’s ears perked up as she regarded us. “You must be the newcomers that everypony here is talking about,” she called out. “Come, you must be weary from your travels.”

“Uh… thanks. My name is Lightning Chaser and this is my sister Starry Night. Coconut Cream Pie, Rock Thresher, and the robot’s name is Click,” my brother said, pointing at each of us in turn.

“CLICK.”

“Well, it’s certainly a pleasure to have you here. My name is Golden Chalice. I assume you’ve met my sister, Doctor Shimmer?” the alicorn replied with a smile.

“She’s treating one of our friends for a broken leg,” Coconut piped up. “We just came from there.”

“Excellent. I am sure that we have somewhere here that we can find for you to stay until your friend can be healed up,” Chalice replied, motioning to the stacks of storage containers. “It isn’t much, but we were able to get some running water installed so you can clean up.”

“Thank you, that will be fine. Do we uh… owe you anything for this?” Lightning asked.

“Pssh. The Followers provide help to all,” Chalice said with a titter. “You don’t owe us a thing. We’re just here to help the ponies of this town survive in this hostile area and build something positive out of their lives.”

Lightning nodded and motioned for us to follow up the corrugated metal stairs towards our accommodations. Click moved to the lower section, positioning himself where he would be safe from the weather. I hung back briefly, glancing at Chalice.

“How did you guys get all the way out here? I didn’t think the Followers went outside of Equestria,” I asked.

“My sisters and I were offered a mission outside of Equestria, to find other civilized ponies and to help spread the good word of Velvet Remedy and how we wish to help them rebuild through medicine and good will,” Chalice said without skipping a beat. “Unfortunately… before we found this place our third sister… she perished in a battle with slavers. These ponies took us in and helped us, so now we do what we can to help them.”

“I see. Well… thank you again for helping us. I should be joining my friends,” I said.

“No problem. There are a few places that sell food closer in the center of the town. It isn’t much, but if you have caps to barter with they will feed you,” Chalice replied, motioning back towards the town.

“Thank you,” I said, trotting up to the stacks.

I found the others claiming their own storage containers, which appeared to have been well converted into crude but serviceable living quarters. The walls of each had been reinforced and each one had a few beds inside. Another container appeared to have been converted for use as the bathroom and shower.

I noticed that Coconut and Lightning had claimed a space for their own. I received a wink from Coconut, egging me on to the next container over where Rocky was. He was settling in and taking stock of his supplies when I knocked on the side of the container.

“Do you mind if I room with you?” I asked hesitantly.

Rocky glanced up at me, his yellow eyes taking me in. “I… I don’t mind at all,” he said. “There is only one bed however. I’m not sure if…”

I rolled my eyes at him. “We can sleep in the same bed, you goof. It looks like it will be big enough for the both of us. Might have to cuddle,” I said with a grin.

Rocky narrowed his eyes. His mask made it impossible to tell if he was smiling or frowning. “Are you sure?”

I sighed, walking over to drop my bags next to his stuff and sat. “I am. I don’t know what it was that I felt, Rock, but I felt something. To be clear, I don’t just mean the sex. I mean I felt something for you. If that’s true, that means that whatever All’z’reth did to me isn’t permanent. I can get back my empathy, my love.”

“You… you know that I would be more than willing to help you with that,” Rocky said.

“I know. And that’s why I’m still here, willing to try,” I replied. “Anyways, now that’s out of the way. Do you know if the shower works?”

“You know how I get with water. Makes me feel funny,” he said. “You should probably shower however.”

“Are you saying I stink?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know what I meant,” Rocky rumbled. “It’s been a long journey to get here. Clean up before the Heartmender arrives.”

I nodded, slipping off my barding mindlessly. I set it in the corner next to my gear and headed towards the showers. As I walked past Rocky I swished my tail a little, trying to entice his wandering eyes. I glanced back and winked at him as I left and headed across the walkway into the shower unit.

I heard giggling. One of the showers was already in use, the sound of running water blurring the giggles I heard from behind the curtain. I could see two very familiar sets of hooves underneath the curtain. And then I heard a moan. One of those sets of hooves was positioned behind the other.

“OHH!” I heard Coconut shout. “Oh Goddess!!”

Well… I’d say it’s about time those two finally got together and did the deed, I thought to myself. Granted, not that I wanted to be present during my brother’s first attempt at coitus.

I rolled my eyes and quietly slipped into the next shower over, hoping that the water being turned on wouldn’t interrupt my brother and my best friend’s lovemaking. It was a good thing for them to finally be together.

“Fuck… Lightning… oh… FUCK!!!”

Wow… Coco, you’re kinda loud, I thought as the water clicked on and started pouring down my back.

It was cold, but it felt amazing as it ran over my coat. I reveled in it as I listened to the sounds in the stall next to me. Coconut was still shouting like she didn’t care who heard them, and Lightning was grunting like a madpony. I scrubbed myself off and tried to get as clean as I could. I shut off the water and stepped outside, lifting a nearby towel that looked like a rag and started drying off. As I left the shower unit, I could still hear my brother and Coco going at it.

I stepped back over to the storage container where Rocky was, setting the towel out on the railing to dry. I walked back in to find that Rocky was busy cleaning up all of our gear, mine included.

“Hey, you didn’t need to do that,” I said with a brief smile.

“I know,” Rocky said with a sigh. He sounded… sad. “I wanted to feel like I was doing something. I… I feel pretty bad about what happened on the ridge.”

“About Velvet?” I asked. A nod. “You know that wasn’t your fault, right? Shit just kinda went sideways.”

“And it was our plan based on my information. I didn’t know about the mortar launcher, and I should have known,” Rocky said.

I walked over and wrapped a foreleg around his neck. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I may not be able to feel much in the way of empathy for you right now, but at least I’m blunt enough to know that it isn’t your fault at all what happened. Velvet’s going to be okay, and now that we found Heartshine we can get back home.”

“You… you’re right,” Rocky said. “When we get home we can fix everything. Maybe… maybe after that I can join you in Theater.”

“What about Envy?”

“It’s long past my time to stay with her. My time with you all has shown me that,” Rocky said. “I’m not upset at coming with you.”

“Good,” I said, reaching down to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m glad to hear that.”

A knock came at the side of the storage container, pulling me away from Rocky. I turned to see Heartshine standing in the entryway, a crimson blush smeared across the green of her face.

“I uh… hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said. “You said you wanted to talk to me.”

I glanced over at Rocky before returning my gaze back to her. “That’s right. We definitely need to have a big long talk.”

* * *

We walked alongside behind Heartshine, the pegasus leading us to a local food and drink establishment in the center of the settlement, a place she had said we could speak openly. Click stayed back at the stacks with Golden Chalice. The alicorn had appeared to be fascinated by the robot. I silently hoped that Dusk wouldn’t show his face while she was interacting with Click.

I sidled up next to Coconut along the way behind the others, raising an eyebrow at her. “So… how was it?”

Coconut’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. “Um, what? Nothing happened!”

“Please. I saw how you positively glowed when we came to get you. You haven’t looked that happy in ages. Besides, I also heard you in the showers,” I said softly with a wink.

“You what?!” Coconut nearly shouted.

Lightning and Rocky glanced back at us briefly before looking back to where we were going. I chuckled slightly.

“Relax, Coco. I was quiet and did my best to not interrupt. Besides, you weren’t too interested in keeping quiet about it during the act,” I said. “I’m just ribbing you. I think I’m supposed to be happy for you. I’m not sure with the whole ‘no feeling empathy or love’ thing.”

“Gee. Thanks,” Coconut replied. “You are truly the bluntest of instruments, aren’t you?”

“Yes, well. That’s kinda what I am now, yes,” I said, placing a hoof to my chin. “I guess that means you can pick me up and chuck me at bad guys.”

“Starry…”

“Okay okay, I’m sorry. All I have to say is it’s about time. Lightning’s pined for you since we were foals,” I said.

“Well I’d be lying if I said the feeling wasn’t mutual. Lightning’s… sweet. Kind. And recently he’s been really trying to step up and be a real leader,” Coconut replied. “You know, after you went nuts and all.”

“Ha ha,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Hey, you started it. Besides, it doesn’t help that I nearly walked into line of sight of you and Rocky.”

“Speaking of, how was the sex? Not that I care or anything. I just want some material to use against Lightning later,” I replied casually.

Coconut rolled her eyes this time. “It was fine. Geez. Do you always need to pick on him?”

“When it comes to you? Sure,” I said. “I’m kidding of course. You certainly sounded like you enjoyed it.”

“A little,” Coconut said. “But not another word, because we’re here.”

She pointed outwards, noting that we had indeed arrived at our destination. A small shanty shack made of corrugated metal and wood sat in the dead center of the town. All around this shack, tables sat out where ponies were sitting and eating. Inside of the shack steam arose out through a hole in the top of it as a pony inside of it frantically cooked. Outside of the shack stood a unicorn mare with a pencil and paper floating in the air next to her.

“Looks brilliant,” I said wryly.

“It’s about the only place in the whole town that’s doing well really,” Heartshine said. “I’ll order some food and some drinks. Go ahead and find a table to sit.”

We nodded, heading for the nearest open table. We shuffled in to sit down, waiting for Heartshine to return. Eventually she did, placing a dirtily scrawled piece of paper on the table.

“Alright. While we’re waiting on some food to arrive, why don’t we get right to the bottom of things?” she said flatly. “You specifically said you wanted to speak to me, and you aren’t escaped slaves. You don’t fit in to…” Heartshine gestured sloppily. “To here. So, who are you and why are you here?”

Everyone else looked to me. I sighed deeply before beginning.

“We came here looking for your help,” I said softly. “Your magic. It’s something of a legend back home in Equestria. Our… our mother is in a bad place right now. She has a problem with her heart. We were sent to find you to see if you would be willing to come back and help her.”

“I see. I had sincerely hoped that I would never have to go back to Equestria, unfortunately,” Heartshine replied. “Your mother has a heart problem? What kind of heart problem?”

A unicorn mare walked by, dropping several glasses of water on the table along with plates of what appeared to be very burnt hay or pieces of squirrel before walking away.

“She has a hole that is tearing away at her from the inside,” my brother spoke up. “She’ll die if it’s not corrected.”

Heartshine glanced down at her food and sighed. “I’m sorry that you came all this way,” she said, idly poking at a piece of hay. “My magic… it doesn’t fix physical problems with the heart like you are describing.”

My eyes widened. “What? But… wait… your magic is Heartmending, isn’t it?” I asked. “Isn’t that what you do?”

“Heartmending isn’t an act of healing a physical heart. It’s healing a pony’s emotions, it’s the power of empathy focused through the lens of training,” Heartshine replied. “In pre-war times, we were the front line of pony mental health. Ponies trained to heal the emotional heart. While I do have some medical training, fixing a physical hole in somepony’s heart is a lot harder than fixing a broken heart. And that sort of training is something I simply do not have.”

“So what you’re saying is that you can’t help us,” I stated, standing. “That we came all this way from Chicacolt to find the one thing that could possibly help my mother, and you can’t even do it?”

“Starry, calm down,” Coconut whispered.

“No. I want to hear her say it,” I said. “I want to know that I could have just stayed with Mom before she died.”

Heartshine sighed loudly and looked down at her food. “Well, there goes my appetite,” she muttered. “You have to understand that what those ponies in Equestria think I am, some source of magical healing energy, isn’t who or what I am. It’s one of the reasons I left in the first place. They think I have some great ability to heal? They’re misguided. They don’t know what I am capable of. So no, I can’t help you.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?” I said with a growl. “There’s more to this story than you’re telling us. Why did you leave Equestria? Why did you leave Hope Junction to perish?”

I casually lifted out something I’d been carrying with us since we got here and threw it on the table. It was the picture of Heartshine I’d picked up at Hope Junction. Heartshine’s eyes widened as she saw it. Her face twisted into a scowl.

“We’re done here,” she said. “As soon as your friend is done healing, you should leave this place and go home. Don’t bother me again. Please.”

She sat up, extended her wings, and took off back towards the Followers medical tent. I stood there stunned. I groaned, slumping down into my seat. It felt weird that I felt absolutely nothing about this. I felt like I should be angry, upset, hurt. Everything we’d done, every piece of the journey had been for nothing.

I wanted to throw up. Being unable to feel the emotional pain of this was too much. And yet, something was off. Heartshine’s reaction to the photo was the tipping point. She was running from something. I wasn’t sure how I knew that, but I was sure of it.

“So what now?” Lightning said, breaking the silence that had fallen across the table.

“We go home,” Coconut said without skipping a beat. “We find another way to help your mother. If this Heartmender can’t do it…”

“She’s hiding something,” I said, interrupting both of them. “I don’t know how I know it, but she is. You saw how she reacted to the photo. Something happened there, and I’m going to find out what it was.”

I shuffled off the bench and stood without waiting for a response from the others, grabbing the photo and stowing it in my sidebag. I ran off, ignoring their pleas, heading straight towards the medical tent. I arrived in minutes, stopping only to catch my breath before I entered. I took a deep breath and pushed open the flap. I scanned the tent for Heartshine, finally resting upon her lime green frame sitting next to… Velvet Kiss. It appeared that she’d been moved to one of the nicer beds.

Velvet appeared to be awake and speaking to Heartshine. I slowly made my way through the tent, unsure of what I was going to say. Velvet caught notice of me first, her reaction alerting Heartshine, who turned to glare at me.

“Starry?” Velvet asked. “Is that you?”

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” she said icily.

“Wait. I came to say I’m sorry about the photo,” I said quickly. “Clearly that upset you. I just want to understand why.”

“Photo? Upsetting ponies? Sounds about par for your course, Starry,” Velvet cracked.

I rolled my eyes in response. “I wish I could say I felt glad to see your dry wit is still with us, Velvet, but you know…” I said. “Still, you look like you’re going to be alright.”

“Few days give or take,” Velvet replied. “Heartshine here was just tending to my um… feeding habits.”

“Oh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the lime green mare.

“Your friend isn’t the first changeling I’ve encountered. I’ve learned over time how to tune my magic to help nourish and feed them,” she replied. “Why are you here, Starry? I made it very clear to you that I don’t wish to be bothered by you.” she asked, quirking a brow at me.

“I just… I just want to talk, that’s all,” I said. “Five minutes of your time. I want to explain some things.”

“I have a strong feeling that you should,” Velvet said, interrupting. “I don’t know why, but I think it will help.”

Heartshine glanced back at her and the hard eyes softened. She sighed. “Alright. Five minutes. Follow me,” she said, motioning for me to follow her to the empty corner of the tent.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Velvet as I passed by.

I made my way to the corner where Heartshine had sat upon an empty bed. I took the space on the bed across from her and glanced down at my hooves.

“We found Hope Junction on our way here. I did… I did a horrible thing there. I took the life of a zebra, the one whose poison had caused my mother’s heart condition to accelerate. Except I didn’t just kill him, I executed him. Brutally,” I started to say. “I was… infected I guess is the right word. An ancient being that called itself All’z’reth. It influenced me, nearly drove me to insanity, and after all was said and done… it took the one thing that made me a real pony. It took my empathy.”

“That would be why I can’t feel anything from you,” Heartshine said softly. “Just a sliver, really. Curious.”

“I continued ahead because I was so sure that you could help us. And you can, can’t you? But something happened. The photo… the way you reacted to it,” I said, figuring things out in my head as I spoke. “Those ponies meant something to you.”

“They were fools and idiots,” Heartshine said. “They thought that we would be safe. They didn’t bother with things like basic safety, with protection. The bad guys were gone. The radiation cleared up. They didn’t understand that none of that mattered, that bad things still happened. I tried to save some of them when the raiders came. They didn’t survive.”

“What happened there? The entire place looked like it had been nearly flattened,” I said.

“The raiders weren’t just the run of the mill raiders. It was an army. Slavers. Crazed minotaurs. They had some sort of suppression device. It leveled the town. I watched… watched as it burned and died,” Heartshine said, looking down at her hooves. “Everywhere I’ve gone, bad things follow. I’ve always tried to help ponies, but they wouldn’t listen to me. No matter how much I loved them, they wouldn’t listen when I tried to get them to leave.”

“Minotaurs? The Cult of Iron Will is the only minotaur slavers I know of,” I said, trying to put two and two together. “But that would mean they were outside of Equestria…”

“The name sounds familiar,” Heartshine replied. “It was… so long ago that the town was destroyed. If you found that photo, that means you found my bunker. It was… the only concession I could get from the ponies there when they really figured out that the raiders were coming.”

“Who were the ponies in the picture?” I asked.

“Close friends I made while I was there. The unicorn, his name was Flint. Knew quite a bit about rocks and how to work quarries. The earth pony… her name was Pear Jam. Excellent baker, knew all sorts of things…” Heartshine said wistfully. “They died. I couldn’t save them.”

“Is… is that why you don’t want to come with us?” I ventured hesitantly.

“My magic… it’s imprecise, Starry. Even if I did come with you, there’s no telling whether or not I would be able to save your mother’s life. It generally doesn’t work the way you, you need it to,” Heartshine said solemnly. “I’m sorry. I just… I can’t face going back to Equestria. It just reminds me of far too much pain and sorrow. Of friends that I lost because I couldn’t help them.” She looked down at her hooves, and closed her eyes. “Regret is one emotion that I try to avoid feeling at all costs.”

I mulled over her answer for a few moments before speaking up. “Just… just because you couldn’t save them doesn’t mean you couldn’t try to save another,” I said. “But… I understand. If that’s your decision… then once Velvet is healed… we’ll leave and go home.”

Heartshine nodded mutely. She sighed before smiling painfully. “I am sorry about your mother. I know that you came a long way to find me.”

I stood and walked away, leaving the photo behind on the bed next to her. I watched closely as she cradled it in her hooves, turned away and began to weep softly. I sighed and returned to where Velvet was lying.

“Everything alright?” she asked. “You look… upset.”

“I do? I don’t feel upset,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t feel anything. It sucks. And not to mention that this entire journey was for nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Velvet said. “We found the Heartmender, didn’t we?”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. “Heartmending can’t fix Mom’s problem. It’s an empathic magic, not a physical cure.”

“But… she can do it,” Velvet said insistently. “I can feel her, all the way over here. Her magic is strong enough to do anything she wants.”

I looked back in the corner where Heartshine sat quietly. She had taken to lying on the bed, staring off into space. If she was truly capable of healing my mother, then why did she think she couldn’t?

“She doesn’t know what her full potential is,” Velvet whispered. “Her heart has been broken, cutting her away from her true power. It needs mending too. Just like yours.”

“Deep, even for you,” I said softly. “But I think she’s right. She can’t help us. As soon as you’re healed up, we’re going home. I’m going to go back to the others. You need your rest and so do we.”

“Alright, but--” Velvet started to say, but I was already gone.

* * *

The others had said nothing after I arrived back at the stacks. I slid into bed and tried to sleep as Rocky slumbered next to me. I couldn’t get my mind off of what Velvet had said. Heartshine could save Mom? It didn’t make sense.

I must have fallen asleep at some point in the evening because when I awoke again it was dark out once more. Rocky snoozed silently next to me, or at the very least his apparatus was silent. I shimmied out of bed and stepped onto the cold floor of the container. I stepped onto the walkway and looked out over the town.

It was serene, peaceful. A quiet hush had swept across the town. Nopony seemed to be out and about. It seemed as if everything was just… normal. It felt strange. I turned and walked down the stairs to where Click was resting.

“It seems that we are both finding ourselves unable to sleep,” Dusk’s voice came from the robot’s speaker. The monitor illuminated to show his face.

“I guess,” I said. “Why can’t you sleep?”

“Mostly because where I’m at… it’s impossible to do so. I’m in a constant state of awareness, unable to actually put my head down and rest,” Dusk said. “One of the more unfortunate side effects of the time limbo. What about you?”

“I can’t stop thinking about Heartshine. She said she can’t help us. Her magic doesn’t do what we thought it did,” I said. “But Velvet said something that caught me off guard. She thinks Heartshine’s broken too, just like we are.”

“It’s a very real fear that comes about when we find out that those we know only in legend are just as normal as any other pony,” Dusk said. “It’s hard.”

“I guess maybe I just… I expected more. I did find out something rather interesting while I was speaking with her,” I said. “Hope Junction. It was attacked by the Cult of Iron Will.”

“The Cult? What would they have been doing all the way out there? They almost never extended their reach beyond the city,” Dusk said, grimacing.

“She said they had some sort of device. A suppression cannon that flattened the town. That would account for the damage done there, right?” I asked.

“Yes… but where would the Cult have gotten such technology? That sort of technology is… oh no… this isn’t possible,” Dusk said, groaning loudly.

“What? What is it?”

“This technology would only exist in your future,” Dusk replied. “There’s no way possible that this could have happened.”

“What does that mean? That somehow the Cult has time travel capability? They don’t even seem smart enough to do that,” I said, pondering on his words.

“Or they have someone providing them with this technology. This isn’t good, Starry. If the Cult had access to that technology and they destroyed that town with it… then what else is stopping them from… wait… do you hear something?” Dusk said, cocking his ear.

I blinked, putting my ears up at attention as well. At first I didn’t hear anything, and then I heard it. The whistling sounds of something soaring through the air piercing through the quiet of the evening. The whistling intensified as it got closer, and then it hit.

An explosion rippled across the outer wall of the settlement, tearing apart corrugated metal and sending flaming debris flying. The guard tower exploded as well, falling to the ground below.

“Shit,” I muttered to myself. “Dusk, you go and find Heartshine and protect her and Velvet! I’ll wake the others.”

“Already on my way,” Dusk replied as the robot’s treads engaged, speeding him away from the stacks towards the medical tent.

“Golden Chalice!” I shouted, hoping that the alicorn would hear me as I jaunted up the stairs towards the others. “Rocky, Lightning, Coconut! You guys gotta get up!”

Coconut popped her head outside of their containment unit, already wearing her power armor. I blinked. Did she like, sleep in it or something? I thought to myself. Behind her stood Lightning, already suiting up in his gear. Beyond him, Rocky stepped out, carrying his sniper rifle.

“What’s going on? We heard an explosion,” Lightning said.

“Someone is attacking the town,” I said. “Dusk is headed to ensure Heartshine and the medical tent is safe. We need to get to that wall and find out who is attacking.”

“Agreed,” Lightning said. “Rocky, I want you to find yourself a good vantage point. If you see something or someone trying to break through, shoot to kill. Coconut, you and I are going to head to the wall. Starry, you get Golden Chalice and get her up there as well. We’re going to need the support of the town’s two alicorns.”

I nodded, heading back down the metal staircase to where Golden Chalice’s home was and pushed aside the curtain to enter. I stopped dead in my tracks. Two large hulking monstrosities were standing over Chalice’s unmoving form. From where I was standing, she was still breathing, but just barely. My mind immediately raced to thinking about Doctor Shimmer, Heartshine, and Velvet. If the attackers had already gotten into the town…

One of the bipedal monsters glanced back at me, its eyes glowing a deep blue. I couldn’t tell what kind of creature it was other than that it was tall, had spiky silverish hair, and piercing eyes. It lifted a claw and barked something in a language I didn’t quite understand before starting towards me.

“Oh no you don’t,” I said, igniting my horn.

A fire spell leaped forward into existence, bathing the bipedal creature in a blaze of flame that sent it stumbling back into its fellow biped. The other monster reeled slightly from being struck, but simply brushed it off and growled in whatever language it was speaking. It lifted one of its claws, ejecting some sort of projectile from the gauntlet covering it. I ducked as an electrically charged bolt hit the wall behind me, sending a spark that gave my rump a solid smack.

I growled under my breath. This was wasting time that the town didn’t have. I needed to end things quickly. I grinned, looking back at the bolt stuck in the wall. With a flicker of magic I ripped it away from the wall and thrust it back at the one that had shot it. It struck the creature in the chest, the electricity from its payload sending a shockwave throughout its body. It dropped to the ground next to its friend. Neither one moved.

I crossed the container to Golden Chalice. She was still breathing, but roughly. I grimaced. With her out of commission I was going to have to get to Velvet and the others quickly. Who the fuck were these guys that were attacking us? And how had they gotten into the town without us seeing them?

The explosion, I realized. It had given them a small window to get into the town and attack Chalice. They’d caught her offguard before she could go help. I sighed and glanced about her domicile, looking for anything that could help. A healing potion on the shelf stood out. I grabbed it with my magic and slowly craned Chalice’s head so I could get it down her throat. Within moments the magic worked its way through her and her eyes opened.

“What… what happened?” she coughed.

“Don’t sit up too quickly, you got attacked by some freaks,” I said, pointing at the unmoving forms of her attackers. “The town’s being attacked by someone.”

“My sister. She’s being attacked as well. You must go and help her,” Chalice said. “I can feel her calling for me.”

I nodded with a grimace. “I’m going to head there now. Can you use your magic?” I asked.

Chalice concentrated, a green glow wrapping her horn in soft light. She nodded in response. “I think so. Can you help me into my bed? I should be able to hold down things from here,” she said.

I helped her to her hooves and onto the bed. “Do you have some form of protection?” I asked. “You’ll be alright?”

Chalice nodded, levitating out two large rifles. “Let’s see them come for me again while I am prepared for them. Now go, please find my sister. She needs help,” she said.

“I will. Stay safe,” I said, turning to head back out to the town.

I stepped into chaos. The townsfolk were in disarray, having been somewhat mobilized by my friends to action. Still, everything was being smashed or broken into two. I grumbled under my breath and started off towards the medical tent. I had to get to Heartshine and Doctor Shimmer before something bad really happened.

I heard gunshots behind me. Likely coming from Golden Chalice. I had to hope she was going to be alright in her condition. I pushed on, charging towards the tent. I could see two more of those strange bipedal monsters outside of it. Standing across from them was Doctor Shimmer. A shield spell had been called up, repelling the invaders’ weapons, but it wasn’t going to hold for long. Already I could see Shimmer’s tiring face.

I glanced about as I planned my approach. Where was Heartshine and Velvet? Hell, where were any of the other patients? And Dusk? The flapping tent showed nopony inside.

I got my answer a second later as a lime green blur ripped out from behind the bipedals, bringing down a clawed hoof gauntlet upon one of their heads. It dropped like a rock. So you’ve got some fightning skills at least, I thought as I leaped out and sent another fire spell blazing at the remaining creature. It crumpled to the ground in a heap.

“Are you alright?!” I shouted as Shimmer dropped her shield.

“We’re… better,” the alicorn said with a huff. “My sister. Is she alright?”

“She’s okay,” I said. “I got the drop on some of the fuckers trying to ambush her. What about the patients?”

“Moved to an underground bunker,” Heartshine said as she landed on the ground next to us. “They should be alright down there.”

“Is Velvet with them?” I asked. “What about the robot?”

“Ah, negatory. Your friend is very fast healing. As soon as the trouble started she was out of bed and ready to go. She’s probably with your friends now along with the robot,” Doctor Shimmer interjected with a steel-eyed gaze. “For now, that’s where we should go as well. They’re going to need our support.”

She started off towards the town gates where the others would be fending off the invasion. I glanced at Heartshine and shrugged, following after her. I figured the best place to be in an invasion was behind the incredibly strong alicorn with super-powerful magic. Heartshine fell in line next to me as we ran behind Shimmer.

“So, hoof claws? You can do more than just mend hearts, I see,” I said wryly.

“Had to learn to survive out there somehow,” Heartshine replied with a sigh. “I just wish that shit like this would stop happening to towns I move to.”

“I’ve never seen anything like these monsters before,” I said. “How would they have even found this place? It’s pretty well hidden.”

“I don’t know, but hopefully we can repel them,” Heartshine replied.

I nodded, returning my attention to the fray as we arrived at the gate. I heard the cracking sounds of Rocky’s sniper rifle cutting through the chaos, dropping another one of the bipedal monsters. The gate itself had fallen, a pulled siege wagon being thrust through it. There were ponies too. Ones that looked strangely familiar to me, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen them before.

Another explosion rocked the side walls of the settlement. Whoever was commanding this force had some seriously heavy armaments to back up their minions with. Whatever we did next, we’d need to deal with the artillery if the town was going to even have a chance.

“Starry! We have a real problem here!” I heard Coconut shout from above somewhere.

I glanced upwards. The town’s resistance, although light, had mustered together along the storage containers that made up the town square’s businesses. Coconut and Lightning stood side by side, each firing like mad at the invaders. From somewhere beyond them stood Rocky, aiming his sniper rifle and letting it loose with another crack, taking down a pony attempting to climb onto the siege wagon. I climbed up next to them, watching on as Heartshine and Shimmer took places near the towns ponies that had been injured, helping tend to them.

“Where’s Dusk and Velvet?” I said. “These fuckers tried to hit Chalice and Shimmer while we were busy! They knew they were here and how to get in!”

“Shit,” Coconut said. “We’re having trouble keeping them away from the wall. We’re getting pushed back with every attack. Whatever they’re hitting the town with, its strong stuff.”

“I can’t even fly for fear of getting picked off,” Lightning replied. “Whatever these monsters are, they’re suicidal.”

I grimaced, trying to run through my head a way out of this. The town was being overrun and there was nothing we could do about it. The town ponies weren’t even remotely prepared for such an attack. These creatures and their weapons felt too advanced for the level of technology we’d seen in this area. It reminded me of Iron Comet and the mortar launcher. Where had he gotten that from? I couldn’t remember if he’d said where he’d found it.

Something clicked in my mind as I remembered something Dusk had said. The Cult of Iron Will had access to technology that hadn’t been created yet. These creatures had access to futuristic weaponry. Or were they the ones from the future? I couldn’t piece it together. All I knew was that there was something incredibly off about these invaders.

“We gotta get that wall under control,” Lightning said, interrupting my thoughts. “If it falls completely we are fucked.”

“Which means that to do so, someone is going to need to go outside and take out those launchers,” I said, putting pieces together in my mind. “I think I have an idea, but I need to find Dusk.”

Lightning scanned the chaos, pointing across the battlefield at a large robot smashing back and forth into several of the ponies that had filtered into the attack. Riding atop of him, firing wildly was Velvet Kiss. It was a sight I couldn’t even imagine in my wildest dreams.

“There!” he shouted. “Starry… don’t do anything stupid, alright?”

“You know me,” I said, bounding down off the storage containers into the fray.

The change in climate was immediate. Two more of the strangely dressed ponies rushed at me brandishing what appeared to be magical energy weapons. I growled under my breath and lit my horn, bringing out my own gun and cracking loose two shots that hit their own weaponry. I didn’t have time for this! I had to get to Dusk and Velvet!

“Need a lift?” a voice said from beside me.

I glanced sidelong to see Heartshine. “Wha?”

“I said, do you need a lift? Doctor Shimmer’s taking care of the patients and is keeping them away from the injured. You look like you are gonna do something fucking crazy, and well…” Heartshine said. “I’m tired of running. I wanna help.”

“We need to get over to Velvet and Dusk,” I said, pointing out at the robot across the chaotic mess of a battlefield. “But if we fly over, you’ll just get shot down.”

“Leave the dodging to me, you just hold on and keep that horn going,” Heartshine said with a wild grin. She reached over and grabbed onto me, lifting me up into the air slightly. “Oof. You’re not as light as I thought you were.”

“Are you saying I’m fat?”

“Sweetie, just shoot things,” Heartshine replied.

I grinned widely, nodding as the lime green pegasus shot forward, dodging and weaving as bolts of red and green energy tried to strike her out of the sky. I floated my gun along, taking shots at every would be assailant. Within moments we landed next to where Velvet and Dusk were rolling along. The robot turned, Dusk’s face grim. Velvet however, had a crazed grin on her face.

“Starry! There you are,” he said. “We have a real problem here, this tech is--”

“Future tech, I know. I put the pieces together after we talked,” I said. “We have to hit those cannons outside the wall or this town is fucked. Does Click’s body have any more grenades left?”

“What’s the plan?” Velvet said as she landed on the ground next to Dusk.

“We need to get beyond the wall and get across their front lines and destroy those launchers, but only Click can do this,” I said. “He has enough firepower to take them out single handedly.”

“That sounds like a suicide mission,” Dusk said. “Are you sure that Click will do it?”

“Only way we’re going to find out is if we ask him. Dusk, can you switch to my PipBuck and give me audio-visual feed from Click?” I asked.

Dusk nodded, the static on the monitor returning as Click’s happy pony face appeared in the screen. In one corner of my PipBuck’s heads-up-display, I could see myself through Click’s eyes. In the other corner, Dusk.

“CLICK.”

“Click, have you been listening to what’s going on? You have to help us. If we can’t beat those cannons, we’re all going to die here, do you understand?” I shouted.

“CLICK!” the robot chirped happily. It’s monitor screen turned into a nodding pony’s head. “CLICK CLICK CLICK!”

“Click says that he agrees,” Dusk said in my ear.

“Good. Here’s what you need to do,” I said. “You should be able to punch through the side wall and circle around and flank from the other side. Turn off all your screens and lights that would tip anyone off to you. Once you’re in position, you need to hit those cannons with everything you got.”

“CLICK!”

I sighed for a moment, looking up at the robot. “And Click? I’m really sorry, alright? This… this isn’t going to end well for you. I wish I could say you’re going to come out of this alright, but… but you’re not.”

“CLICK.”

“He says he’s ready, and he’s right. If we waste anymore time, it’ll be too late to strike,” Dusk said.

“Starry, are you sure that this is the only way? I kinda like Click. He’s goofy,” Velvet said.

“We have to do something or this town is going to be run over and then none of it will even matter,” I said, glancing sidelong at Heartshine. “What we came here for won’t have mattered.”

Click turned without answering anyone and started jetting towards the side wall of the settlement. Within mere moments he had punched a sizable hole that allowed him to exit.

“What now?” Velvet asked.

“Let’s get back to the injured and help Doctor Shimmer. I suspect there’s not much else we can do other than help stem the tide of the bloodshed and protect the town,” Heartshine said.

I grimaced and nodded, watching in the corner as Click moved out into the valley wilderness surrounding the town. Quietly he crept along, lying as low as he could as he circled around the invading army. As we made our way back through the throng to Doctor Shimmer, I could only watch as Click’s user interface pointed out the locations of the siege weaponry that was assaulting the wall of the town. At the moment, they were quiet, unused. The invaders had been nearly stemmed. All that was left was to take out the cannons and hopefully cause such a disarray that we could turn the tide of the battle.

I sighed as I watched. It was the only plan I could think of on such a short notice, and even then… I felt nothing about it as I watched the robot move closer to the enemy camp. I didn’t feel shame or anger or even hurt as Click hurtled himself closer to what would likely be his last day with us. Something about that inside of me made me wonder if I would truly ever feel anything again.

“Are you alright?” Heartshine said from next to me.

“Yeah… I just… you know how you’re supposed to feel bad about something like this?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Oh.”

“Something’s wrong with me, and I don’t really know how to fix it,” I said softly as I watched the scene unfold in the upper corner of my heads-up.

Heartshine placed a hoof on my shoulder. For a brief moment, I felt a twinge of regret. For a moment I felt something more substantial than nothing. Then it was gone as Heartshine removed her hoof. I looked up at Heartshine and smiled. She smiled back softly.

Then my eye caught something in the upper corner where Click was moving. He had managed to get around the entirety of the invaders and had positioned himself on a ridge just above the siege cannons. They appeared to be in the process of being reloaded by several ponies and what looked like minotaurs. Standing in the center, directing them were several large individuals and two ponies.

My eyes widened as I realized where I’d seen all these ponies before. Some of them were slavers that had been a part of Iron Comet’s group, but the rest… were from the oasis. Click’s eyes turned down towards the individuals standing in the center of the activity.

“This isn’t good,” Dusk said in my earbud. “This isn’t good at all.”

Standing at the head of the group was two ponies. Both of them I knew. One of them looked scared shitless, the other with fire in his eyes. Iron Comet, the mercenary and Kephali, the leader of the oasis ponies. Kephali held a new staff, this one appearing to be made of steel and technology.

Standing above them was a minotaur I’d seen only once before, several long years before when Lightning and I were just learning our places in the MMMM. It was a minotaur that had long controlled the most ruthless slaver gang in all of Chicacolt, the Cult of Iron Will. Wrath. The monster that had once nearly broken my god-mother, Radiant Star.

The other individual standing behind him was something I didn’t recognize. It appeared to be a unicorn, but it was much larger than both Kephali and Iron Comet and as tall as Wrath. His horn was curved and wicked, a glowing red. His eyes burned and he was bathed in a crystalline armor that looked far too advanced for any other technology that existed in this timeline.

Click’s weaponry engaged, firing off a volley of grenades and lasers at the siege cannons, setting them ablaze. In the distance from where I was standing, I could hear and see the light show as the cannons went up in a blaze of glorious flames. Click kept firing until he was completely out of ammunition. The leaders of the army scrambled to ascertain who was attacking them.

And then suddenly, Click’s screen went dark.

Author's Note

Another chapter! I'm on a roll lately! I got caught by the writing bug, and managed to crank this baby out quickly!

Things as they say, are getting real.

Do you like what you've read here? Consider supporting me on Patreon! Also, check out my Discord Channel if you'd like to connect with me directly! https://discordapp.com/invite/Xxyuq7R

Chapter Fourteen: A Time in Need

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Fourteen: A Time in Need

Time is a storm, raging and violent…

The fighting fizzled out after the siege cannons exploded. Those creatures fighting for the enemy had retreated back to their side of the wall. Something inside of me told me that this wasn’t over, that it was just beginning. Something bigger was moving in place, something that was going to overtake all of us.

I thought of what Click had done, his noble sacrifice. I thought of the brief moment that Heartshine had touched me with her magic. I had felt something, a connection I hadn’t felt since All’z’reth had infected me.

I watched carefully as the townsponies gathered their dead and wounded. Doctor Shimmer stood at the forefront, guiding them to a tent to be checked on. Golden Chalice had also arrived, looking a little worse for wear but still alive. Heartshine stood next to me while the others were working on getting the town gate back in place enough to slow down a second wave of attack.

“Starry,” Dusk said in my ear. “We need to talk, now.”

I grimaced and glanced sidelong at Heartshine. “Dusk said he needs to talk,” I said.

“Dusk is the pony that was on your robot friend’s monitor?” she asked. “Who is he?”

“It’s… it’s a long story,” I said. “Just… hold down the fort until I get back.”

“Alright. I need to make a stop back at my place anyways,” Heartshine replied. “If there’s going to be a second attack, we need a little more firepower than what we have.”

“Be careful, alright?” I said, bumping hooves with her. I watched as she flew off towards her domicile before turning my attention to Dusk. I walked off towards a quiet corner of the town where we could be alone. “Alright, what’s going on, Dusk?”

“We are in a very serious pickle here,” Dusk said. His face looked weary and tired. “That unicorn leading them, he is bad news. If he is here, we are in a lot of trouble.”

“Who is he? Why is he here?” I asked. “None of what’s happening here is making any sense.”

“That’s because none of the reasons why he came here have happened yet,” Dusk said with a sigh. “His name is Deathless Crystal, and he’s the Archmage Supreme of the Crystal Empire. He is in charge of all military operations that the Empire pursues.”

“The Crystal Empire? Didn’t it get destroyed in the Great War?” I asked, cocking my ears to one side.

“In one timeline, yes. In my timeline, the Empire disappeared and then reappeared with a vengeance, bent on the utter destruction of pony kind,” Dusk replied. “Their technology is far more advanced than you can imagine. The Crystal Empire of my timeline’s primary line of research was Megaspell Weaponry.”

“Like… balefire bombs,” I said flatly.

“Worse,” Dusk said. “I fear that I am the cause of all of this. By jumping back the way that I did… something must have allowed them to travel with me. I’m responsible for this, all of it. What I did… didn’t change a fucking thing.”

“Wait… what do you mean?” I asked.

“The temporal megaspell, the one that I latched onto… it was inside the Crystal Empire,” Dusk said. “I found it, and used it to bring myself back in time.”

“Alright, but I don’t understand… what does that have to do with us in the here and now?” I said. “Why does this Deathless Crystal want this town?”

“He doesn’t… he wants you and your friends,” Dusk said with a scowl. “The Crystal Empire must have reason to believe that you can save me from this temporal prison. If so, their goal is to take you and your friends out of the equation before that can happen.”

My eyes widened. “I can’t believe any of this, Dusk. So, Crystal Empire assassins from the future come back to defeat us before we can impact future events? It sounds… crazy,” I said.

“I know it does, but I assure you that everything is true,” Dusk replied. “And now that Deathless Crystal is here, we can’t fight him. He’s gathered too strong of a force for us to take him on head-on.”

I grimaced, glancing down at my hooves. “Where is your prison, Dusk? Why are they so afraid of you?” I asked.

“We don’t really have the time to go into that right now,” Dusk hissed with urgency in his voice. “You need to prepare for another wave of attack, and I need to think up a way that we can beat Deathless Crystal without getting you and the townsponies killed. That’s going to take me some time.”

I blinked as Dusk’s image faded out of my E.F.S., disappearing into nothingness. I scowled, cursing under my breath as I started heading back towards the town. As I reached the main plaza of the town, I stopped in my tracks, hearing a voice wash over all of us.

“Inhabitants of Stable Town! You have something that belongs to me! I tried to be merciful, but you resisted. You will turn over the unicorn named Starry Night, the Heartmender named Heartshine, and their friends to me! You have one hour to comply,” a raspy angry voice shouted. “One hour, then my generals will enter and collect you personally, dead or alive. They will leave nothing behind.”

I shuddered, feeling the voice shake my bones to the core. That couldn’t be anyone but Deathless Crystal. I noticed that many of the other ponies milling around the plaza were staring at me, as was Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice. They knew who I was, and they knew that they wanted us. I could see in their eyes they were ready to throw us over to them. After all, they didn’t know us.

But they did know Heartshine. Their eyes softened as she appeared, carrying a large bag. She dumped it at my hooves and grimaced as she saw me.

“I just heard their leader,” she said. “This isn’t good.”

From behind her, I saw Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice approaching. Lightning and the others had returned from the gate, walking up behind me. I tensed, ready to move if I had to.

“Hold yourself,” Golden Chalice said. “We do not mean you any harm. My sister and I have spoken at length about our predicament, and we agree as well as does the town, that we cannot in good faith turn you over to these monsters.”

“Exactly. It would go against our very code as Followers of the Apocalypse. If these beasts want to fight, we shall give them a fight,” Doctor Shimmer added. “Besides, they are asking for one of our own as well. Heartshine has been invaluable to the town. We will not let them have her.”

“Thank you,” Lightning said softly.

“We have a much bigger problem now, then,” I said. “The one in charge of this army, he’s bad news, and his generals… they’re just as bad. Well… sort of. I saw all of them through Click’s viewfinder before…”

“And?” Coconut said.

“This guy that’s in charge, Dusk said his name was Deathless Crystal. His generals… well, one of them is Wrath,” I said, noticing Rocky’s eyes narrow at the mention of the name. “The other two are… are Kephali of the Oasis and Iron Comet.”

“Iron fucking Comet? Are you fucking kidding me?” Velvet interjected.

“Yeah, he didn’t look too thrilled to be there,” I admitted. “Maybe he’s our linchpin. If he turns against them, then the extra firepower could be enough to overpower Wrath.”

“Excuse me, but who is Wrath?” Golden Chalice asked.

“Wrath is the leader of a Cult of psychotic minotaurs from our home city in Chicacolt,” Rocky rumbled. “The same Cult that I was born into and escaped from.”

“He’s also clinically insane and capable of incredible feats of strength,” Lightning added. “If he’s here, we’re very much outclassed.”

“Ahem.”

We all turned as one to glance at Heartshine. While we’d been talking she had been working with whatever she’d brought in the large bag. As she snapped the final piece into place, she blew some of the dust off the massive rifle that she now brandished.

“Haven’t used this thing in a long time,” Heartshine said with a wistful look in her eyes. “But they made these things to last, so hopefully this will give us the punch we need to take down this Wrath character.”

“What the fuck is that thing? It’s so big,” Velvet said with awe.

“I call it the Buster,” Heartshine said, a small grin forming on her face. “It’s a charged energy weapon. It can fire normal shots, but it can also fire a burst round that depletes the energy cell while providing a massive kickback of energy.”

“I’m impressed,” Lightning said. “And you can handle firing it?”

“Please, I’m not some little filly,” Heartshine said. “Granted, it’s a little heavy, but I don’t need to carry it to get a bead on a minotaur. I just need clearance.”

I grimaced, considering what Dusk had told me about Deathless Crystal. I needed to make sure that everyone knew what we were up against. I raised a hoof, drawing their attention.

“This pony that’s in charge… we need to be careful. He may have given or outfitted his generals with technology that’s far beyond our own time,” I said. “We need to be prepared for just about anything.”

Lightning glanced at me and scowled. “Dusk,” he said knowingly.

“What do you mean, beyond our time?” Doctor Shimmer questioned. “Are you suggesting…?”

“I’m suggesting that we be careful. We should try to separate them as much as possible,” I said. “Give Heartshine the space she needs to deal with the important one.”

“I will face Wrath,” Rocky rumbled.

“What? Are you sure about that?” I asked, my eyes widening as I turned to look up at him.

“I am sure. Wrath is mine,” Rocky said.

“Coconut and I will deal with Iron Comet,” Velvet said. “That shady fucker will be crying by the time I’m done with him.”

“That just leaves… Kephali,” I said. “I suppose it's only right that I face him.”

“We’ll face him,” Lightning said, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “Together.”

“My sister and I shall provide magical support for you, should there be any forces that hinder you,” Golden Chalice said.

“And I’ll be set up with the Buster, ready to go. Rocky, you’re going to need to give me an opening if I’m going to hit Wrath, but you’ll need to be careful you don’t get hit too,” Heartshine said, hoisting the massively oversized rifle and heading off to where she could get a good vantage shot.

“It’s settled then, we’ll draw them in and cut their leadership off in one fell swoop,” Doctor Shimmer said. “I will inform the townsfolk to withdraw and hide. The less of them that are injured, the better.”

I grimaced and turned to the others. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I had a bad feeling about all of it. I turned away and walked past the broken gate. In the distance beyond the wall I could see the fires of the army waiting beyond our doorstep. This town, these ponies, they were all going to die…

Because of me.

* * *

The hour passed as we made ready for the inevitable. At the last minute of it all, Deathless Crystal’s voice washed over the town once again.

“I see that you still wish to resist me. No matter. I gave you a choice to live, and you chose to ignore it. Now, you will pay for that decision!” his voice roared. “Generals, proceed with the attack!”

I tensed up, standing next to Lightning in place. I could feel them coming. The ground thundered at their approach.

The gate crumbled under their attack, as Wrath himself threw the broken pieces of it to the side. The minotaur appeared to have been outfitted with crystalline gauntlets that augmented his own savage claws. He was flanked by several more of the strange bipedal creatures along with a few other minotaurs.

“Come and face me like true warriors!” he roared. “I will bathe in your blood this night!”

Rocky rumbled and roared as he stood to face him. Without saying a word, he dove into the fray, tearing into several of the creatures before appearing to face Wrath. At even the barest glance I could tell that Wrath was easily two times Rocky’s size.

“Ah, the runt! I remember you, runt. You think that you can challenge me? The greatest of all of the Cult of Iron Will?!” Wrath shouted in challenge. “You will die where you stand!”

“I am no runt!” Rocky roared as he rushed in, slamming the larger minotaur in the chest, knocking him back.

At the gate, Kephali and Iron Comet appeared. They were flanked by ponies and more of the strange bipedal monsters. Kephali’s staff was made of what appeared to be cybernetic crystal, and he was wearing some crystalline armor. Iron Comet held a rifle in his magic that looked far too advanced for anything else I’d ever seen before.

Kephali locked his eyes on us and pointed his staff. Several of the ponies next to him along with the bipeds rushed towards us. I grimaced, nodding at Velvet and Coconut. They broke off from our group, attempting to draw Iron Comet’s attention. Lightning and I dove into the battle headfirst as Shimmer and Chalice brought their magic to bear.

Within mere seconds, blasts of telekinetic and light magic struck the creatures in front of us, sending them soaring through the air and out of the fight for good. I jumped above another of the bipeds and landed in front of Kephali. The earth pony sneered at me.

“So, the murderer shows her face,” he said. “Your actions at the oasis decimated my tribe. In turn, I shall destroy you and your friends.”

“You and your tribe were hurting Grass Roots!” I shouted. “He was in pain, and he wanted to die!”

“And in turn, you killed my friends and family. Innocent lives were lost! You deserve no less!” Kephali cried out. “You will all perish!”

“Whatever you think is happening, you’re on the wrong side,” Lightning said as he landed next to me. “This pony who’s commanding this army… he’s the real enemy here!”

Kephali snarled, lunging forward with his staff. I jumped out of the way before the end of it struck the ground, sending sparks of magic that nearly shocked me. I growled, sending a blast of fire meant to take out the shield. Instead of setting it on fire, it merely glanced off of it.

Kephali grinned wickedly. “That trick will not work on this little toy, murderer. You will have to do better than that,” he said.

I grimaced. I just hoped the others were having better luck than we were. Cautiously I sidelong glanced at where Rocky and Wrath were fighting. The two minotaurs were back and forth, slashing wildly and crazily enough that none of Wrath’s minions even dared to get involved. It was impossible to tell if either of them were gaining any amount of ground.

My eyes jumped over to where Iron Comet and the others were. Relying on Comet to be a linchpin in the whole operation seemed to have not gone well at all, as both Velvet and Coconut were dodging shots and retaliating against the mercenary. The battle was wearing thin on all sides, and there was no way we could be expected to keep this up, let alone defeat them.

I leaped out of the way again of another strike by Kephali’s staff as Lightning tried to rush in and attack. Kephali gracefully followed through his attack and struck my brother on the jaw, sending him into the air and to the ground.

“Lightning!” I shouted.

Lightning slowly tried to rise, only to take another slash of the wicked crystal staff to the face. He flipped over onto his other side and lay unmoving, only just breathing.

I growled under my breath, sending another blast of fire at Kephali. The earth pony casually batted my attack away, sending it fizzling to the ground like it was nothing.

“I told you before, that will not work,” he said. “You cannot win this fight, murderer. You and your friends will be destroyed, and this town will be razed. The Crystal Empire will rise and this world will end as you know it.”

I charged forward, feinting from side to side as I tried to catch him offguard. My horn glowed brightly, preparing to launch another fire spell. Kephali sneered and brought the staff upwards, striking me hard in my chest, emitting a burst of electrical energy that engulfed me. I thundered to the ground, groaning at the pain that shot through my entire body.

Kephali towered over me, a smug grin on his face. He lifted the staff, holding it aloft as his eyes pierced mine.

“You are helpless, murderer. But I will not kill you yet, no. You will watch. You will watch as your friends are defeated and killed, and only then will I grant you the sweet merciful release of death,” he said. “Starting with your brother.”

I struggled to move, but found that I couldn’t. The electrical energy in the staff had paralyzed me somehow. My eyes widened as Kephali moved to my brother’s unconscious form. He lifted the staff and stabbed it viciously into Lightning’s rib cage, sending waves of electricity into his body. Lightning writhed and screamed until he stopped moving entirely. Kephali pulled away, leaving his body a charred lump of black. He no longer moved.

“NO! LIGHTNING!” I shouted, tears forming in my eyes. Something triggered inside of my body. The pain I had sought to feel leaped to the forefront, removing all normal thoughts and breaking through whatever All’z’reth had done to me. “YOU... YOU FUCKING MONSTER!”

“You call me a monster, yet you are one yourself,” Kephali said calmly. “You will pay for your crimes. All of Equestria will pay for your crimes.”

I wept. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t even use my magic. Kephali was right. I was done. Helpless. I could only watch the end.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rocky. Wrath was holding him by his head, cackling madly. And then in an instant, his clawed gauntlet had punched through the chest of a person I thought I could love. Rocky fell of Wrath’s gauntlet, landing in a heap on the ground. Wrath brandished Rocky’s heart in the air with a roar and then threw it down, crushing it into a million pieces with one armored hoof.

I heard shouting. From my right, I could see Iron Comet and the others still fighting. However, Velvet and Coconut were struggling to dodge his attacks. With two quick shots, Iron Comet splattered their brains all over the ground, even through Coconut’s power armor. They fell down to the ground, dead before they even hit it. Iron Comet cackled wildly.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to die. My friends who had all been with me… they were all dead. My brother was dead. My mother was going to die. I had failed everyone. I watched on as the approaching army obliterated Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer. I watched Heartshine try to fire her weapon, but it was futile. Her first shot missed by the merest of margins, and she was blown apart as return fire struck the barrel of her weapon. Everything was dead. Except for me.

“Starry…” I heard a voice say.

I blinked. I knew that voice. I knew it.

“Dusk?” I whispered.

“Starry, you need to stay very still for me. This is the only time I’m going to be able to do this. It’s going to be disorienting at first, but you’re smart. You’ll figure things out,” Dusk said as his image appeared in the corner of my E.F.S.

“What…?” I managed to say as I looked up to see Kephali standing over me. I couldn’t begin to form a reaction to what Dusk had said. What had he meant?

“And now… you will die, murderer. It is all over for you,” he said as he started to lower the staff.

I blinked as a white light washed over me, and then suddenly… there was nothing.

* * *

“...My sister and I have spoken at length about our predicament, and we agree as well as does the town, that we cannot in good faith turn you over to these monsters...”

I blinked. Golden Chalice had just finished saying she wasn’t going to turn us over to Deathless Crystal’s army. Why did it feel like I’d heard that before? Why did I get a bad feeling about that? None of it made any sense. I felt disoriented.

“Wait,” I said before anyone could say anything else. “Something’s not right. I just… I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.”

“What do you mean?” Heartshine said.

“Just, something’s off. I feel like… like we’ve done all this already, like déjà vu?” I replied. “Don’t you feel it too?”

“Not particularly, no,” Heartshine said.

“Are you feeling alright, Sis?” Lightning asked, placing a hoof on my shoulder.

I shrugged him off and glanced down at the bag that Heartshine had brought. “Magical energy weapon… Buster gun?” I said, unsure how I even knew what I was saying.

“How did… how did you know that?” Heartshine said.

“I don’t know,” I said. Something clicked in the back of my mind. Whatever plan we were coming up with, wasn’t going to work. It wouldn’t work. We were all going to die. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I did. It was a deep rooted feeling in my very bones. “But I do know that we can’t hold out against Deathless Crystal and his army.”

“We have magical support behind us and Heartshine’s weaponry,” Doctor Shimmer interjected. “They can try to take us, but they will fail.”

“No, you don’t… you don’t understand,” I said, my eyes widening. More and more came rushing back. “If we don’t figure out something else… if we try to face them head on… we’re all going to die.”

A synapse in my brain snapped into place. Dusk. Dusk had done something to me. What had it been? The memories began rushing back, things that hadn’t even happened yet. Horrible things. Lightning being burnt to a crisp. Rocky’s heart lying on the ground. I nearly doubled over.

“Starry!” I heard Coconut say. She was at my side in an instant, holding onto me. “What’s wrong?!”

“I’m okay… I’m fine…” I said as I pulled myself back up. “I just… I saw something.”

“Saw something?” Velvet interjected. “Like, in your mind? Are you a mind reader?”

“No… I…” I started to say, realizing that it would sound incredibly crazy for me if I told them I saw something that hadn’t even happened yet. “It was nothing. Just feeling a little out of sorts.”

“Right then. Well we don’t have much time before this Deathless Crystal’s ultimatum is up,” Doctor Shimmer said. “We must formulate a plan for holding off their attack and turning back their generals.”

I grimaced. There was no way a plan like that would work. Somehow I had seen it, experienced it. What exactly in the hell had Dusk done to me? I had to think fast. Was there a way out of this scenario that didn’t involve us all dying a horrific death? We couldn’t stop them from overrunning the town, but could we stop them if we were… closer?

That would mean walking up to Deathless Crystal and his generals, putting ourselves right in the line of fire. An idea sparked in my mind. Another memory floated forth from things that had yet to occur.

“Heartshine… your gun. Could it be rigged to explode? Like, a bomb?” I asked, cutting off whatever conversation they were having about defending the town.

Heartshine cocked her ears to the side. “A bomb? I guess the energy cell could be rigged to the firing mechanism to blow. Why would you want to…?” Her eyes dawned in realization. “You want to surrender ourselves to them.”

“Can’t get anything past you,” I said with a wink. “So, is it possible?”

“Wait… you want us to surrender?” Lightning said. “Are you serious? That would be suicide, you realize that, right?”

“I agree. This is not a course of action I would consider,” Rocky rumbled as well.

“Look. It’s not smart, I know… but if we got them to drop their guard, even for a moment… that could be all we need to take down Deathless Crystal and stop this whole thing,” I pleaded. “If we let them come to us, then they will be able to bring their full force of their generals upon us, and we will not be able to beat that.”

“Starry’s right. Even if we had Heartshine’s firepower on our side, there’d be no way we can take down these guys if we let them come to us,” Velvet interjected.

“So then how do we even get the bomb close to them? There’s no way they’re going to let us get anywhere remotely close to them with anything that looks like a bomb,” Coconut chimed in.

Shit, I thought. I hadn’t thought of that part. How could we get the bomb in their midst without them realizing it?

“What if we store it underneath our gear in something? Is there a way we can remotely detonate it?” I said frantically. “We could do that, right?”

“Starry, calm down,” Coconut said. “I could rig something up, but are you sure they won’t check it? Not to mention, all of our gear would be on top of it. We’d probably be destroying it too, including any amount of debris that would fly around. It’d be dangerous even for us.”

“Yeah I’m not too sure I like that idea,” Velvet said. “My leg is only just feeling better. I’d rather not break anymore appendages.”

Or get shot in the head… I thought, shuddering softly.

“What if we rig it up inside the bag?” Rocky pointed out, rumbling deeply. “And we just walk up to them? If they’re arrogant enough that they believe they have won… what does it matter that we have weapons?”

“Rocky does make a great point there,” Velvet said.

“Enough,” Doctor Shimmer said. “I will not allow this kind of plan. It goes against my very fiber of my being to allow anypony walk into the firing line like this. We will hold the gate and the town, and that is final.”

“You try that, and your very fiber of your being will be blown to bits,” I challenged. “This is the only way we can get them away from the town and possibly stop all of this.”

“She’s right,” Heartshine said softly. “Besides… I have to do this for myself. If I don’t… I’ll let too much regret back into my heart over not doing enough for this town when it needed me the most. I’ve got so much regret already. I don’t want more.”

Chalice glowered. “Fine. We will leave you to your mission then. But be careful.”

“Rig up the bomb,” I said, glancing over at Coconut and Heartshine. “We’ve got a date with a madman.”

The two nodded, moving over to start working on the bomb. I casually walked away from the group, off where I could be somewhat alone. I glanced at my E.F.S., looking for any sign from Dusk. Nothing. What had he done? I remembered a bright white light, and then suddenly I was back talking to the others.

“Dusk?” I asked softly. “Are you there?”

No response. I scowled.

I started considering the options. Time travel. Dusk had somehow sent my consciousness back in time. How? I thought he was stuck in some sort of temporal prison, so how could his magic effect…

Shit. So stupid. Of course. Dusk has a connection to me and Lightning. He must be able to exercise that connection somehow, I thought. But he said he could only do it one time… which means he’s not able to connect to us again.

“Starry,” I heard Lightning say.

“Lightning,” I whispered. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“Not being able to protect you,” I said. “Lightning… I watched… I could only watch as you… as the others…”

Lightning scowled. “Dusk,” he said after a long pause.

I nodded. “He did something. I don’t know what it was, but he did something that changed things again. Now I can’t even get in touch with him. Something isn’t right.”

“And you know for certain that giving ourselves up is how we get out of this? What if this ends up just as bad?” Lightning asked.

“We have to try,” I said. “If we don’t… we die anyways. Besides… maybe this will at least give us some insight as to why Deathless Crystal wants us.”

Before Lightning could respond, Coconut and Heartshine appeared. They nodded in unison.

“It’s ready to go,” Coconut said.

I grimaced. “Right. Let’s go meet a crazy pony,” I said.

* * *

We trudged up the long hill outside of the settlement towards the waiting army. The creatures at the edge of the perimeter merely joined us in our ascent, guarding us as we approached the top of the camp. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about all of this. I’d witnessed the horrifying nature of our own deaths, and somehow that left me wondering if this course of action would lead to the same ending.

We crested the ridge, coming to a stop in the center of the enemy camp. The bipedal creatures moved away from us, grunting underneath their masks as they stopped at each end of the camp, forming a circle around us. I could see the remains of Click off to the side, sitting atop one of the storage caravans. I closed my eyes briefly, sighing. The robot had given up his life for us, and yet now his sacrifice felt hollow. I felt hollow for asking him to do it. I opened my eyes again. Based on the condition of his body and head, there was no way to repair the damage done. Click was… gone.

A group of the bipedal guards broke the circle, creating a path for the leader of their army as he stepped into our midst. The unicorn was much larger than his troops, his helmet obscuring his face entirely. His red horn glowed angrily as he stopped in front of us. On each side of him, but far behind him, stood Wrath, Iron Comet, and Kephali. They scrutinized us with angry eyes, but held themselves in check before Deathless Crystal. How had they been recruited by Deathless Crystal? Had he known all along that we would be here and these were the right ponies and minotaur to recruit for our capture? Nothing made sense anymore.

“So… you have decided wisely in giving yourselves up to me,” the unicorn said, his voice rasping and throaty. “You would not have liked it if I had to do things the hard way.”

“What do you want from us?” I asked angrily. “Why are you here?”

“To be truthful, I don’t really need or want anything from you, other than your bodies paraded before my glorious Queen,” Deathless Crystal said. “However, your relation to a unicorn named Dusk is known to us. He has done something that has changed things again.”

I blinked. Deathless Crystal had felt the change as well? How? It didn’t make any sense. Unless… Dusk had said the spell originated from the Crystal Empire. Perhaps something about this unicorn being from there had something to do with it? I couldn’t wrap my hooves around how that was possible.

“So, what happens now? Are we to be executed?” Lightning said, stepping up next to me.

“You will be taken before my Queen, may she long reign, and she will decide your ultimate fate. We must know the secrets this Dusk carries. He will make himself known for your sake,” Deathless Crystal said, rasping loudly.

“Forgive me your grace, but the unicorn mare, I am owed blood for her actions against my tribe,” Kephali spoke up, sneering at me. “She murdered one of our own.”

“And the rest of them completely fucked up my operation,” Iron Comet added as he turned an eye towards Heartshine. “If it weren’t for that green mare, I’d be up to my hooves in slaves right now.”

“The runt,” Wrath rumbled, glaring at Rocky. “He is a runaway from the Cult of Iron Will. He and the others who have offended us will pay in blood.”

“Silence,” Deathless Crystal said, turning towards them. “I collected you all because you have specific talents, talents that I desire. You will learn to use them in service of the Empire, or you will be disposed of.”

Kephali glared at him, but merely nodded. Wrath sneered, but his yellow eyes closed and he nodded as well. Only Iron Comet persisted.

“No, I came with you because your fucking guards bullied me into it,” he said, stomping a hoof. “Even then, you promised me that town and all the ex-slaves in it. All I want is my cut and then I’m out of here.”

“Ever the mercenary, I see,” Deathless Crystal said. He took a rasping, heaving sigh. “Fine. You will receive your ‘cut’, as you so-call it.”

Deathless Crystal’s horn glowed an angrier red, sending out a blast of energy that struck Iron Comet in the chest with a force so powerful, I had never seen anything like it. Iron Comet shrieked as his body began disintegrating right before our eyes. Within mere seconds, the unicorn was dead and nothing but a pile of ash on the ground.

“Guards, clean up this mess. This is what happens to those who think to challenge the might of the Empire,” he said, turning to the remaining two. “Think about him next time you decide to speak out of place.”

My eyes widened. The strength of Deathless Crystal’s magic was off the charts. I watched as the guards cleaned away what was left of Iron Comet. It had taken nothing at all for him to die, just a mere flick of a horn. There was no way we would be able to challenge such a monster, even if we could set the bomb off in time. I cautiously looked at Heartshine and Coconut, grimacing.

“Now then, guards. Lock up the prisoners. We shall make for the Crystal Empire as soon as possible,” Deathless Crystal called out.

The guards began to move towards us, closing in deeper.

“What do we do?” I whispered frantically. “We can’t set the bomb off here.”

“Give me a chance to hide the detonator…” Coconut hissed. “Talk to him.”

I scowled, knowing that if I sent the wrong word… I’d be dead. “Wait!” I shouted.

Deathless Crystal turned his gaze towards me. I fidgeted as he took me in.

“You are testing my patience already, Starry Night,” he said.

“I just want to make sure that if we come with you, this town will be left alone!” I called out. “Nopony there will be hurt, right?”

Deathless Crystal’s horn glowed brightly before subsiding. “I don’t believe that you’re in any position to make demands,” he said. “The town was sheltering you, and you believe that by giving yourself up that it will make up for their transgressions?”

My gaze narrowed at him as he thundered past us, parting his army to look down the ridge at the town below. He cackled wildly.

“Burn it to the ground,” he commanded. “Leave nothing alive. It has served its purpose. Let it be a statement of the Empire’s might!”

“No!” Heartshine shouted, tears in her eyes as the army crashed forth. Her nose began to bleed severely, forcing her to close her eyes and bury her face into my shoulder.

I glared, feeling nothing as I watched the town burn. I could hear the cries and screams of the ponies within. I could see the futile struggle of Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer as they fought with the rest of them. They disappeared under the horde of monsters. And yet, I still felt nothing. Within mere moments after the army had attacked, the town lay in ruins. Bodies lay strewn about, burning as one large funeral pyre.

Deathless Crystal turned back towards the camp. “Secure the prisoners,” he called out at Wrath and Kephali.

The minotaur and earth pony nodded, stepping forward with their complement of guards as they ushered us onto a caged cart that looked like it had been prepared just for us. I wondered if Coconut had been successful in hiding the detonator. When the guards didn’t bother removing her power armor, I knew that she had. However, one of the guards had grabbed the bag containing Heartshine’s gun/bomb and placed it on a different caravan, far from where Deathless Crystal would be. Wrath and Kephali strode up to lock the cage and our restraints.

“Wrath,” Rocky rumbled quietly as Wrath quietly shut the cage door.

“Do not speak to me, runt,” Wrath uttered. “You are the one that Envy stole, yes? My sister is brazen, but she should know better than to steal from me.”

“I left with Envy because I wanted to,” Rocky replied. “You act as a lapdog to this pony. You are a leader. Why?”

Wrath sneered, his lip curling to reveal his fangs. “I am no lapdog, runt. I know where true power lies. The Empire has technology far beyond our own. I am offered a place in their ascension,” he said.

“You are a fool,” Rocky retorted. I’d never seen his eyes so carefully trained on anything else as he narrowed them at the leader of the Cult. “You saw what happened to Iron Comet. Do you follow so blindly to think he will let you live as well?”

Wrath snarled and stepped away, saying nothing. Kephali stood in his place, glaring at me.

“Well? Say what you’re going to say,” I said, waving a hoof. “You’ve been itching to do it, I can tell.”

Kephali growled under his breath. “You murdered innocents. Many of the tribe perished after the death of the Great One. I will see to it that your blood is mine,” he said.

“Is that it?” I asked. “Is that all that Deathless Crystal had to offer you to get you to join him? My blood?”

“That’s all I require,” Kephali said before turning away. “What happens after that is none of my concern.”

The cage door shut and locked, the two remaining generals of Deathless Crystal’s army walking away and towards their leader. Deathless Crystal himself took his place at the head of the caravan, being pulled forward by several of his strange bipedal guards.

Within moments the caravan lurched forward, the army moving alongside as one. I grimaced and sat, glancing over at Heartshine. Her nosebleed had subsided, but her eyes were still filled with tears.

“I’m sorry about the town,” I whispered.

“There wasn’t anything anyone could have done,” she said, wiping her face. “No matter what route we chose, someone was going to pay. There was never any way out of this, was there?”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “This plan went to shit really quickly, didn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement, I think,” Heartshine replied. “Still… Chalice, Shimmer… the rest of those ponies… it’s the same thing over and over. No matter what I do, no matter where I go… the ponies I come to care for die.”

I turned to her, my eyes widening. I was starting to understand a little more of why she had left Equestria. Heartshine turned and laid down, resting. It was good that she could rest. I sighed and looked down at my hooves and then the others.

“Coconut,” I said. “Were you able to… you know…?”

The power-armor clad mare nodded. “But they put the bag in the wrong spot. There’s no way that he’s going to check it for anything.”

“There might be a way to arrange that,” Rocky rumbled quietly.

“Well, we’re listening,” Velvet said. “I’d much rather prefer getting out of here than being led to our deaths.”

“Wrath,” Rocky said. “He may be psychotic, but even he is smart enough to see that following this monster is not honorable by the code of the Cult.”

“And how does that arrange anything?” Lightning said. “He won’t challenge Deathless Crystal.”

“Wait… but he saw what happened to Iron Comet,” I said. “He’s gotta have some doubts about his chances of survival now. He didn’t say anything about it, but his expression gave it away. He’s not happy about this. Maybe we can use that.”

“Why would he help us though? I’m sure by now, he knows who we are and who we’re related to,” Lightning said. “You remember what happened with Apple Danish. He doesn’t like us very much.”

“Regardless, he is bound by the code of the Cult,” Rocky said. “He cannot abandon its principles if he sees that this is a fool’s cause.”

“Well, then how do we get him on our side then?” Velvet asked. “This caravan doesn’t look like it's stopping any time soon. We don’t even know how far away the Crystal Empire is.”

“Then we need to get his attention somehow,” Rocky said. “And I know just the way.”

“How?” I said.

“I am going to challenge him for command of the Cult,” Rocky said. “On the grounds of dishonor of the Cult’s principles.”

“Are you mad?” I said, glaring at him. “Rocky… he will kill you. You can’t do that.”

“It is the only way to show Wrath that he is wrong about following this monster, and our only chance of escape. If we can destroy enough of the caravans with the bomb, and hopefully kill Deathless Crystal in the process, then we can escape into the wilds,” Rocky said. “Even if I die… Wrath will understand his dishonor.”

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in that statement,” I said. “Can’t we try just… you know… talking to him?”

“Do you think Wrath will listen to anything but violence?” Rocky retorted.

I grimaced. He had a point there. Wrath was the leader of the Cult, and would only respond to the Cult’s doctrine, which Rocky knew he could appeal to. I sighed deeply and nodded. As much as I hated the idea, I knew it was the only way that we could convince Wrath to help us against a mutual enemy.

“How do we even get that far if that’s the plan?” Coconut said.

The caravan came to a slow, and then halted. I glanced at my PipBuck. We’d only been traveling for an hour or so. There was no way we had arrived at the Empire. I nudged Heartshine, waking her. She seemed disoriented and her eyes were still a little red, but within moments she was fully awake and alert.

I glared outside the cage, watching as several minotaurs and the strange bipedal monsters came crunching on the ground by us. I heard shouting. There was a reason we were stopped. Something was happening.

That something answered my ponderings in the form of an explosion that rocked the center of the caravan. My eyes widened, first thinking that somehow the bomb had gone off, but I realized it hadn’t came from where the bomb had been stored. A flash of glaring light appeared in the center, and I saw what had happened.

Standing defiantly, manes blazing with glory, were Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice. They appeared beaten and broken, but their eyes were full of hatred and rage. They looked… bigger, taller, stronger. Something had changed within them.

“You murdered innocent lives, foul monsters!” Chalice shouted, her voice elevated and her horn blazing with powerful magic. A shield extended around the two alicorns, protecting them from any real harm.

“Release our friends, and perish where you stand!” Doctor Shimmer ordered, her horn forming a magical spell above it that arced across the caravan, killing several of the guards before slamming into one of the storage carts, knocking it over to one side.

“Rocky…” I whispered. “This could be our opportunity. Can you bust out of these restraints?”

Rocky glanced down at the chains binding us. With a short tug, he nodded.

“Good. When shit starts to go down, you bust us out. Heartshine, Coconut, you’re responsible for getting the bomb. Velvet, Lightning, you take the detonator and run. I’ll alert you with a shower of purple sparks. Rocky… you and I are going to distract Kephali and Wrath while the two alicorns are focused on Deathless Crystal,” I said frantically. “I just… I just hope that they can keep him busy long enough for the bomb to be planted.”

Coconut handed the detonator to Lightning, a grimace on her face. Heartshine still looked upset, but her expression hardened into fierce determination. Rocky merely nodded.

“Alicorns? Very interesting,” I heard Deathless Crystal call out. “You think you can challenge the might of the Crystal Empire?”

“Our town was destroyed by your army, but we remain to mete out justice!” Golden Chalice retorted. “We are stronger than you give us credit for!”

“Strong perhaps, but not wiser. You are fools for thinking that you can attack me,” Deathless Crystal said.

From where we were, I could see Deathless Crystal’s horn igniting a deep red. My eyes widened. If his powers were stronger than alicorn magic, than we were truly doomed. A sickening red blast arced across the clearing, slamming into a shield spell that was raised by Golden Chalice. The blast curled around the spherical shield before both dissipated.

“And you are the fool for thinking that we are defenseless against your foul magic!” Golden Chalice roared. Her horn ignited, sending a blast of telekinetic energy towards Deathless Crystal.

“Rocky, now. While they’re distracted,” I whispered.

Rocky narrowed his eyes and nodded, ripping upwards with his claws. He pulled out the chains with ease, slicing them apart into tiny pieces. Without saying a word, he turned around and slashed open the door to the cage. Heartshine and Coconut darted out, sneaking back around towards the back caravan. Velvet and Lightning escaped just as fast, heading in the opposite direction away from the caravan itself. I glanced at Rocky.

“Let’s do this,” I said.

I dropped out of the caravan with Rocky beside me, keeping a close eye on the two alicorns and Deathless Crystal. Despite his claims of being overpowered, the two sides appeared to be pretty evenly matched, neither one gaining magical ground over the other. The issue was that Chalice and Shimmer were tired, despite their seemingly large size and magical strength.

My eyes followed to the rest of the caravan guards and the two generals. They stood back, watching as their leader did battle with the alicorns. None of them appeared to be too interested in intervening, likely for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. Wrath and Kephali stood side-by-side. I motioned at Rocky, who silently acknowledged by charging across the clearing and slamming into the larger minotaur, who clearly hadn’t been ready for his attack.

Kephali tried to react, shouting for the guards. I cut him off with a gout of fire from my horn that caused him to jump back, yelping loudly.

“Runt! You escaped only to meet my claws!” Wrath roared as he threw Rocky backwards. He landed next to me in a heap.

“Guards! Restrain these prisoners, and do a perimeter sweep! The others have escaped as well!” Kephali called out.

The guards moved to action, surrounding us and cutting us off from the two generals. I grimaced, waiting for Rocky to make his move.

“I invoke the Rite of Iron Will!” Rocky shouted, stopping Wrath cold in his tracks. “I challenge you, Wrath, as leader of the Cult. I will show you that this path will lead you to your destruction!”

Wrath sneered, cricking his neck. “You really believe you can challenge me in the Rite of Iron Will? You are nothing but a runt, and I am Wrath!” he snarled. “Your challenge is accepted. Guards! Do nothing to this one. He is mine.”

“Are you mad?” Kephali said. “We must focus on capturing the rest of the prisoners! This is a distraction!”

“I am not dishonorable, pony. You do not know of the ways of Iron Will. I will meet the runt’s challenge with strength and conviction!” Wrath echoed, his sneer widening. “Choose your second, runt!”

“I nominate the unicorn, Starry Night!” Rocky roared back.

“A pony? You must be mad, runt. It is accepted however,” Wrath replied.

My eyes widened. “Wait… you never said anything about…” I muttered under my breath.

“The second in the trial is merely an observer. They ensure that the challenge is upheld from each end to the utmost honor. You are not to intervene in any of the fighting. Doing so will invalidate the challenge,” Rocky quickly explained before returning his attention to Wrath. “Name your second, Wrath.”

Wrath grinned widely, his eyes glancing down at the earth pony Kephali. “My other general shall serve as second and witness to this glorious combat,” he said. “This way, we are equal.”

Kephali looked up at the minotaur. “Wait, what? We cannot waste time with this distraction! The master shall be done with these alicorns momentarily, and we should not allow the prisoners to run free!”

I glanced across the clearing towards Deathless Crystal and the two alicorns. They remained locked in a heated magical battle that was slowly waning towards the crystal unicorn’s favor. I grimaced. We needed to be quick. I watched carefully for any sign of Heartshine and Coconut. Neither appeared as of yet.

“I cannot refuse the Rite of Iron Will! No minotaur can,” Wrath said. “Come now runt. We shall set our terms in battle! Guards, part so that we may settle this once and for all!”

Rocky’s eyes narrowed as the guards parted, jumping to the side as Wrath barely waited for the guards to be out of the way as he barreled forward. I yelped myself as I was nearly clipped by the enraged minotaur. Rocky turned quickly, striking out with a claw that connected solidly with Wrath’s shoulder. A stream of blood streaked down the larger minotaur’s arm.

“Regardless if I win or lose, you will acknowledge that following this madpony is not honorable to the Cult of Iron Will!” Rocky roared. “Should I lose, you will do the honorable thing!”

“Interesting terms, runt!” Wrath snarled back. “You are most certainly a skilled combatant. I will accept them. However, if you lose, I get to choose what happens to your friends!”

Wrath lashed out, slamming into Rocky with a punch that knocked the smaller minotaur away into two of the bipedal guards, who went slumping to the ground under Rocky’s weight. With a quick roll, he moved as Wrath descended, killing the two guards with a two-claw attack meant for his foe.

“Accepted!” Rocky called out as he watched his opponent stand.

“Good, then let us finish this!” Wrath replied with exultant delight.

The larger minotaur charged, lowering his head to gore the other. Rocky retaliated by placing both claws downward, grasping onto Wrath’s horns and twisting, sending the cult leader to the ground. He connected with another solid strike. Blood streamed from Wrath’s other arm as the larger minotaur stood.

“You are strong, but you will never be strong enough to beat me!” Wrath roared, lunging forward.

I heard shouting from all around, between the guards and the battle raging elsewhere. Kephali stood near the guards, a solid grimace on his face as he glared at me. I had a feeling he was not going to take his eyes off me even once. I glanced over at where the battle between Deathless Crystal and the alicorns was taking place. On my E.F.S., two friendly dots had appeared. I grinned. Heartshine and Coconut were okay. All they needed to do was plant the bomb somewhere close to Deathless Crystal without being caught, and get away. I had high hopes that Heartshine would be able to do this.

I returned my gaze to the two minotaurs battling before me. Rocky had appeared to have sustained a cut from Wrath, a gash of blood and sparks coming from his left claw. It didn’t look like it was functional. I didn’t know what to do. Rocky had told me not to intervene. I felt… nothing. I cursed under my breath. I wished I could feel something, anything that would tell me that I was still a pony deep inside.

Wrath charged again, grabbing onto Rocky’s left claw before the smaller minotaur could react. With a quick pull, I heard a loud snapping sound as Wrath ripped Rocky’s left arm out of its socket. Blood gushed and sparks flew. With a wet *plop* the arm fell to the ground next to him. Rocky dropped to his knees. Wrath stood tall over his kneeling opponent, howling with glee.

“...Starry… the bomb is set… repeat… the bomb is set… we’re on the move away from the caravan… nopony saw us…” I heard in my earbloom. It was Coconut Cream Pie.

I scowled and lifted my PipBuck. “Velvet, Lightning… the bomb is set and the others are away… I repeat… the bomb is set... “

“But what about you and Rocky?” I heard Lightning say in my earbloom.

“We’re still busy. We’ll be fine. Just do it,” I said.

I lowered my PipBuck and glared at Kephali across the clearing. His eyes widened as he realized something was up. He looked like he was going to move to stop Wrath and Rocky’s fight, but halted, cursing under his breath.

I turned back to the fight seeing Wrath still standing over Rocky. He lifted the younger minotaur’s head up so he could see his face.

“You are an honorable combatant, young Rock Thresher,” Wrath cackled. “I am impressed at how well you were able to hold your own in battle against me. It is a shame that you have to die.”

Many things happened in succession. My eyes widened as Wrath lowered both massive claws and with a quick twist of his biceps instantly broke Rocky’s neck. As the minotaur I had come to know and come to potentially love dropped to the ground below him, the bomb went off in the camp. Something broke within me. I shouted, calling out Rocky’s name as explosions blew through the entire caravan. Munitions ignited, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Deathless Crystal roared as the bomb went off, shards of metal striking him in several places along his body. The two alicorns, Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer quickly threw up another shield, keeping themselves safe from the debris.

Rocky lay on the ground, unmoving. Blood leaked profusely from the arm that Wrath had removed. I wanted to die, a small spark of what I knew I should have felt leaking through. I slumped to my haunches, vaguely unaware of the chaos erupting around me as minotaurs, ponies, and the strange bipedal creatures tried to respond to the bomb. I looked up as a piece of debris nearly came right at me, being stricken away by Wrath himself.

The larger minotaur stood above me regarding me curiously with a sneer. Kephali instantly took the opportunity to be at his side, his staff pointed at my face.

“Do you see what your silly little contest has done! They rigged the caravan with explosives! You stupid minotaur!” he shouted.

Wrath glared down at him and then back at me. “Rock Thresher was an honorable combatant. His name shall be written in the annals of the Cult of Iron Will’s history. As such, I will honor his request.”

He turned swiftly and grabbed Kephali by the head, crushing his skull in one fluid gesture. My eyes widened as blood spattered all over me from the earth pony’s death. Wrath howled with delight as he picked up the earth pony and tossed him across the clearing.

“But… but you said… you said you got to decide… what happened with us?” I stuttered, trying to process what had happened.

“I did,” Wrath said. “But your friend was right about one thing. I followed this mad-pony out of desire for power, but there is no honor in his conquest. He does not care for others, only for his own Empire.”

“The… the bomb… it was meant to incapacitate him… we should… get there now,” I said, standing shakily. “Will you help me? Defeat him? To the bitter end?”

“Glorious combat is what I live for, Starry Night. Yes… I do remember you. Long ago, you challenged me and won,” Wrath replied. “I do not forget and I always repay my debts.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I glanced over at Rocky, sighing. “I… I loved him. I think. I can’t tell anymore what I can feel and what I can’t.”

Wrath stiffened and sneered. “Then let’s make his death mean something,” he said.

I nodded, following after him as we rushed towards where Deathless Crystal and the alicorns had been dueling. The crystal unicorn lay splayed out along the ground, impaled by several large pieces of metal along his body. I quickly noticed that he was still alive, a foul smelling black substance leaking from where he had been struck. Beyond him, the two alicorns stood, looking exhausted and unable to continue. Both sides had been worn out. The guards that had been watching had been scattered, fleeing off into the wilderness.

“Starry Night. To think that you were able to outsmart me,” the crystal unicorn said, his voice ragged and heavy. “Turning my generals against each other, against me… a hidden bomb. You are much more ruthless than I gave you credit for.”

“You attacked me, my friends. Because of you, two of my friends are now dead,” I said, stepping forward. “And for what? Because you thought that I would tell you where Dusk is?”

Deathless Crystal cackled. “We… we already know where Dusk is. It’s getting to him that is the issue. He cannot prevent what is happening. The Empire shall rise once more, and all of this world and everything in it will perish. We shall be the inheritors of time and space itself.”

“You think you’re so superior? You lost,” I said. “You won’t get Dusk. I won’t let you. Face it. You’ve been beaten.”

“You think it is that easy, do you?” Deathless Crystal said. His horn started glowing a deep red. An arcing lance of red energy erupted from it, coming straight for me.

My eyes widened as I was tossed to the side by none other than Wrath. The large minotaur took the full brunt of the blast to his chest, snarling loudly as he brought both claws down on Deathless Crystal at the same time. The crystal unicorn’s helm cracked wide open, more black fluid leaking from inside. He slumped over, unmoving.

Wrath stepped backwards, the magical energy eating away at his chest as he glanced over at me. With a small grin, he dropped backwards to the ground, his yellow eyes rolling into the back of his head as the magic devoured him the rest of the way. Within mere seconds he was ash on the ground.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Wrath… he had sacrificed himself… for me? For what… honor? I couldn’t fathom it. I sat there as the two alicorns, Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer walked up towards me.

“Starry Night? Are you alright?” Doctor Shimmer called out. She looked like she’d been beaten with a bat, her eyes barely open.

“Starry!” I heard voices calling out. I glanced behind me to see the others charging across the clearing of broken caravans.

I shoved myself to my hooves and nodded. “I’m… I’m alright,” I said finally as I felt Lightning’s hooves grab ahold of me. “You don’t have to worry, I’m okay.”

“Where’s Rocky…?” Coconut said.

I looked down at my hooves, silent. Suddenly I felt another set of hooves wrap around me. It was Heartshine. She had tears in her eyes the moment she touched me.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Let it out. We both need this.”

And suddenly, I exploded with feeling, my heart aching as I lived through Rocky’s final moments, the strength he had shown in facing Wrath, how he had shown the older minotaur the value of honor. I began to weep, Heartshine weeping alongside with me. The others looked on in silent understanding, that this is what I needed to do. To grieve. To feel.

After several long moments I pulled away from Heartshine. Her eyes were as red as mine. I realized that she wasn’t just sharing my pain, but sharing hers as well. She’d lost friends in Stable Town. Ponies she’d come to know by name. Years worth of regret and pain had built up inside of her, every town she’d tried to help fallen to the same fate. She was right. She needed this as much as I had.

“I know that this is probably the wrong time, but we need to move,” Lightning whispered. “The guards have scattered, but if they come back.”

I grimaced, but nodded. I glanced down at Deathless Crystal’s body. His helmet had been cracked and had fallen away in Wrath’s attack. What I saw confused me. The unicorn beneath was a ghoul. His rotting coat was orange in coloration, his horn black. I looked over the rest of him, ensuring that he was indeed dead. Attached to his armor was a container. I pulled it away and opened it slowly, revealing a memory orb. I scowled.

“We need to get Rocky’s body… and Wrath’s remains. They deserve to be buried,” I said finally, looking at the others.

Doctor Shimmer’s horn glowed softly, gathering up what had remained of the two fallen minotaurs. Within moments we were walking away from the caravan, finding a place where we could be hidden from any prying eyes.

The two alicorns, for all their beaten selves, assisted in digging two gravesites for each of them. I watched carefully as they laid each in, wondering what might have been if Rocky was still with me. I scowled as Wrath’s remains were entombed. No matter what he had done, he had been responsible for killing Rocky, but it had happened as Rocky had likely always intended, through honorable combat.

“Rocky was strong,” I heard Lightning say. “Stronger than most. He and I… we didn’t get along too well at first. But he was my friend, and I will fight for his loss.”

“The big guy didn’t care what I was, just accepted me for what I could be,” Velvet said softly. “I’m actually going to miss him.”

“Rocky… Rocky died protecting all of us,” I said after several long moments of silence. “He was as Wrath called him. Honorable. In the end he showed Wrath and all of us what being a leader is. Wrath… Wrath did the right thing at the end. He gave his life to protect mine.”

Chalice and Shimmer nodded, their horns glowing as the gravesites covered over with dirt. Simple stones were placed at the head of each one. Silence reigned over our small group. We were tired, beaten, and without much in the way of supplies.

“What happens now?” Coconut said after a few moments.

“We need supplies. There’s no way we’re going to survive out here without food and water,” I said, thinking things through. “The caravan should be easy to raid for stuff.”

“We shall take care of that,” Doctor Shimmer interjected. “If we are to be coming with you, then we will need to make sure that we can survive.”

“You’re… coming with us?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Of course. Stable Town is lost. There is no point in going back. We came to find you, and find you we did,” Chalice said.

I nodded silently, mulling over their decision. She was right after all, but I worried that she wasn’t going to like were we were headed next. Deathless Crystal was right about one thing. I knew where Dusk’s prison was as well. It was where it had always been, right in the heart of the Crystal Empire.

“Go then,” I said, glancing at Heartshine. “Heartshine? What are you going to do now?”

The lime green mare sighed. “Times of old, I would up and run away from my problems. But… I sense that I can’t do that now. I want to come with you, I want to try and help your mother. It’s the right thing to do. Besides… I have a feeling that we can help each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I channeled my magic through you, I felt the block on your empathic centers. I think… I think I can help push past it,” Heartshine replied. “In return… I felt… I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time when I connected with you. I felt hope, Starry. And it got me thinking… that I really need hope right about now.”

I smiled softly and walked over to her, wrapping her in a hug. My heart swelled, the other mare’s empathic magic allowing me to feel just a sliver of hope as well. Perhaps, even in the darkest of times, hope was all I needed to feel too.

* * *

Doctor Shimmer and Golden Chalice returned to our camp within the hour from the caravan, flush with medical supplies, armor, and weapons. The guards that had come back had been quickly dispatched by the two alicorn sisters, and there was no sign of either Kephali’s tribal ponies or the remaining minotaurs that had been under Wrath’s command.

Darkness descended upon the camp as we began preparations for moving out. I still hadn’t told the others where we were going, because I didn’t even know for certain myself where the Empire was. To find out, I needed to get in touch with Dusk… somehow.

I walked a short distance from the camp, pulling up my PipBuck and scanning the map for anything that would resemble the Crystal Empire’s location, but came up with nothing for my trouble. The Empire was also likely back in Equestria, which meant crossing back across the desert to get to it.

I fiddled with my PipBuck some more, looking for that hidden option that would let me get in contact with Dusk. I finally found it, grimacing as it reached a dead end.

“Dusk… what happened to you? Where are you?” I said aloud.

A burst of static erupted in my earbloom. “...Starry… Starry are you there…?!” I heard through it.

“Dusk? Is that you?” I asked.

“Starry… listen… there’s n-... time… I… I can’t… Listen… the Empire… they’re… they’re back…”

“Dusk!” I shouted. “Come on, dammit! I need to talk to you! What did you do?!”

“...PipBuck... coordinates… please…”

The static cut off and my earbloom went dead. I growled under my breath, kicking the dirt beneath my hooves. An indicator went off in the upper right hand corner of my E.F.S. I brought it up and found a note containing a set of map coordinates. I blinked. Dusk had managed to get through briefly… to send me coordinates. They could only be one thing.

“Starry? Are you alright?” I heard from behind me. “I heard shouting.”

I turned around, seeing Lightning. I sighed, but nodded.

“Are you sure? I just… I know that you and Rocky were close. I just wanted to make sure you were alright,” he said. “I’ll just go back to the camp.”

“No, wait,” I said, reaching over and grabbing ahold of him. I pulled him into a hug so fierce I thought I would never let go. “Thank you for checking on me. I think… somewhere deep inside… I needed it. But we have something more important to do now.”

I let go and started heading back towards the camp, Lightning in tow. The others had used some of the supplies to set up food and a campfire. I stepped into their midst.

“Once we’re all rested… we’re heading back towards Equestria,” I said calmly.

“Towards your home, Chicacolt, right?” Heartshine asked, raising a hoof.

I shook my head fiercely. “No. Dusk is trapped, and we need to save him. But that’s not all… if we do nothing… the Crystal Empire will return, and it will destroy not just Equestria, but everywhere. Deathless Crystal was just the beginning. We need to be the end.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Velvet said.

“Our destination is the Crystal Empire itself. Dusk… he’s trapped there in a temporal megaspell. A time prison. We’re meant to free him. I can… I can feel it in my bones. None of this is happening by happenstance,” I explained. “If we do… maybe we can prevent all of this from happening.”

“But… you’re talking about the Crystal Empire. Won’t they know who we are and why we’re there?” Coconut asked. “What can we do against that kind of power?”

“We’ll do what Rocky would have wanted us to do. We’ll take the fight to them,” I said. “Besides, we have their tech and their armor. We could easily fit in. Well, except for Chalice and Shimmer.”

“We know spells that may be able to assist with such a deception,” Chalice replied. “We’re in. We owe the inhabitants of Stable Town that much.”

“Then it’s settled. In the morning we’ll raid the caravan again for anything extra we may need, and then we’re headed to the Crystal Empire,” I said.

As the others discussed amongst themselves, I walked back to the edge of the perimeter and looked up at the night sky.

“No matter what happens,” I said aloud to myself. “I will make them pay for everything. You have my solemn vow on that, Rocky.”

Author's Note

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Slowly inching closer towards the inevitable conclusion to Mending Hearts!

Interlude: Dusk Fallen

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Interlude: Dusk Fallen

Dusk grimaced as he slammed his hooves on the console. He had done all he could do. The megaspell could only expend so much power in a single burst, and what he had asked of it was momentous. Sending a pony’s consciousness back in time? Theoretical insanity.

The unicorn huffed and stood, looking back at the place that had become his home and prison over the past years. The time construct wasn’t very spacious, but it had its charms. Still, he needed to focus on the task at hoof.

“Gideon,” he called out.

“Yes, Master Dusk,” a feminine voice replied from out of nowhere.

“Can you please calculate again the odds of the Crystal Empire’s return to the timeline?” he asked.

“Sir… the odds of the Crystal Empire’s return have not changed since the last time you asked me,” Gideon said. Her voice sounded… concerned.

Dusk scowled. All of this, everything he had ever done and it was all for nothing. He had done the impossible, traveled through time itself, changed events for what he thought would be the better. In the end, he had only doomed the world. There was no stopping the war from coming. No stopping the end of everything.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “Thank you, Gideon. That is all I needed.”

“Of course,” the time construct computer replied.

Dusk turned to the window of the time ship and sighed. There was no more he was going to be able to do until Starry and her friends arrived to save him from his prison. Beyond the window, the throne room of the Crystal Empire loomed. He had been stuck here for too long, so long he couldn’t even remember how he had arrived back in the Empire.

One thing he did know, was that he couldn’t get out. The megaspell construct that he had used to travel through time was affixed to the Empire like glue, a by-product of the magical power that was held by its ruler. His only saving grace was that the Crystal Empire couldn’t access the time construct itself, some portion of its magic being devoted to protecting it and anypony unfortunate enough to be inside.

“Good morning, Dusk,” a silky smooth and altogether venomous voice said from beyond the barrier.

“Your Majesty,” Dusk said with a hiss.

The alicorn on the other side of the crystalline window sneered. Her eyes glowed a deep red, her skin rotting and sloughing away from the narcotizing muscle underneath. A crystal crown sat upon her brow. She spread her wings slightly, once majestic instruments tattered and despoiled of years of decay.

“After all of these years, you still believe you can stop us. What have you done?” the alicorn replied, her voice reaching into rasping levels of hatred. “Something changed within the timeline. I felt it.”

Dusk glowered. Of course she had felt it. An event of such massive power and temporal nature would obviously be felt by those who had felt time’s embrace. She wouldn’t know what had actually happened, just the temporal energy left behind from the event.

“Nothing that would be of concern to you, your Majesty,” he replied. “I may not be able to get away from your prison, but I can still do my part to save Equestria.”

The alicorn turned away, snarling loudly. “You may be able to hide your actions from me, Dusk, but they will not matter once all has been moved into place. Deathless Crystal shall have your precious Starry Night within his grasp, and then there will be nothing you can do to stop the Crystal Empire.”

“Don’t underestimate them, your Majesty,” Dusk replied casually. “Individually, they are weak, but together they are mighty.”

“Do not lecture me on the values of friendship,” the alicorn queen said, the final word dripping off of her tongue like icy venom. “I knew the very pillars of friendship.”

The alicorn turned away and snarled loudly. A flourish of her horn summoned a cutie mark of three gems floating in midair.

“Generosity! Was Equestria so generous when we needed their help?!”

Another flourish of her horn. A cutie mark of three apples.

“Honesty! A virtue that Equestria forgot in the search of power and military might!”

A cutie mark of three butterflies.

“Kindness! Did Equestria show kindness to the zebra when they needed help? Did they show kindness to me in my time of need?!”

A cutie mark of three balloons.

“Laughter! A virtue most certainly left to the side in bloody, unforgiveable war!”

A cutie mark of a cloud with a lightning bolt going through it.

“Loyalty! Was Equestria loyal to me when my husband died?! No!”

A cutie mark of the one and only Twilight Sparkle.

“And finally… Magic. The spark that ignites all of the virtues of Harmony. A quality Equestria lost in its vain attempts to take what did not belong to them!”

The alicorn turned back towards Dusk, a hunger brewing in her deep red eyes. “I know all about the virtues of the magic of friendship, Dusk. I was there as Equestria lost itself. I saw what it became. Self-absorbed. Greedy for power.”

“And look where it got them,” Dusk replied. “I know this is hard for you. But what you’re doing will not bring him back, Ca--”

“Do not dare speak that name!” the alicorn shrieked, her voice emitting a powerful magical wave of energy. “That name holds no significance for me any longer. I am the Queen now, and you shall address me as such!”

Dusk scowled. “Yes, your Majesty,” he said, his tone flat.

“You mock me,” the alicorn replied with a huff. “You mock, and yet I am the one in control here. The Empire is stabilizing in this timeline without your help. You did this. Your tampering with the timelines did all of this.”

Dusk looked down at his hooves. She was right, after all. He had splintered the timelines, fractured the continuum, and for what? To save Equestria? What was he really saving? He returned his gaze to the alicorn. Her hate for Equestria was grand. Left unchecked, she would slake her thirst for vengeance across a land that did not know she even existed.

It was not a fate he wanted for anyone. He had seen firsthand how the Empire had brought his world, his time, to the brink of extinction. He couldn’t have that happen again.

“I’m going to stop you, too,” Dusk finally said with a grim look on his face. “I won’t allow you to destroy my home. Not again. Not ever.”

The alicorn’s eyes and horn flared angrily as she began to cackle madly. “Won’t let me? You have no choice but to watch as everything you ever cared about burns to the ground,” she said. “I’ll leave you to dwell on that.”

The alicorn stalked away, leaving Dusk to his own thoughts. He sighed and returned into the time construct’s main bridge, taking a seat at the console.

“Gideon,” he said with a sigh. “ I need to see Starry Night and the others. Is that possible yet?”

“Energy reserves are still low, but I may be able to establish a connection,” Gideon replied succinctly. “It won’t be strong though. You will only be able to view.”

Dusk grimaced, but nodded. “That’s fine. I just need to see and make sure they’re alright. The timeline adjustment should have taken place,” he said.

The screen in front of him fizzled to life, static from all angles but slowly coming into focus. He could see Starry from the camera inside her PipBuck and the others. They were in chains, captive. Dusk scowled as he watched. If they had been captured, Deathless Crystal would be bringing them to the Empire. Or at least… where the Empire would be once it phased back into the timeline.

He watched intently as the caravan they were in halted. Two alicorns were challenging Deathless Crystal. Starry and the others escaped. He watched as Starry and Rock Thresher stared down Wrath. His eyes widened as Wrath killed Rocky. The image started to fizzle and fade.

“Gideon, can you get it back? Dammit, Gideon, I need to see it!” the unicorn shouted angrily.

“I’m sorry, Master Dusk. Power reserves on the timeline management devices are low. Estimated several hours before they can return to full strength,” Gideon said.

Dusk sighed loudly and glanced down at his hooves. It was happening again. This time, there was no way he would be able to save her. The unicorn scowled. A long time ago, he had given a solemn promise to help keep Starry Night safe from harm, and he had failed a close friend in that promise.

“Gideon, let me know as soon as the power reserves are back up,” he said with a loud yawn. “I am going to have to hope… hope that they make it through this.”

“I shall do that, Master Dusk,” Gideon replied.

“Good. I’m going to rest for a bit. I can’t think straight,” Dusk said as he stumbled towards his living quarters. He slumped into his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Dusk awoke to the sound of alarms going off. He lurched out of bed, groaning loudly as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

“Gideon, what’s going on?” he called aloud. No response. “Gideon? Where are you?”

He shook off the grogginess of his sleep, heading towards the bridge. Consoles were ablaze with fire, the overhead alarms blaring as he tried to use his magic to contain it. His horn flared wildly, creating bubbles of vacuum around each fire to snuff it out.

“Gideon! I need an answer!” he shouted.

“H-H-H-Hull integrity at fifty percent,” Gideon replied suddenly, stuttering loudly. “Attacks are c-c-c-coming from a-a-a-all angles. Est-i-i-i-imated power failure in t-t-t-ten minutes.”

Dusk’s eyes widened. There was only one way that the Crystal Empire could attack the time construct. The timeline had solidified, letting the Empire into the chamber. The Empire had returned to Equestria.

“Gideon! I need to get in touch with Starry! Can you put me through? There’s no time!” Dusk shouted.

“P-p-p-power level is l-l-l-low but I b-b-b-believe I can place a connection,” Gideon replied.

The monitor in front of Dusk flared to life, a static filled screen showing Starry Night’s dirty face. She appeared unharmed for the most part, but looked… upset.

“Starry! Starry are you there? Listen… There isn’t much time to tell you what’s going on, but I have no time myself. You must listen to me. I’m sending you the coordinates of my location. The Empire is back. I repeat, the Empire is back. The coordinates will be on your PipBuck. Repeat, the coordinates will be on your PipBuck. Please… hurry,” he said as quickly as he could.

The communication shut off immediately. Dusk sighed.

“We can only hope she got the information. Gideon, transmit the coordinates, then prepare for boarding,” he said.

“It is done,” Gideon said.

“Good. Now… let’s face the music,” he said.

He turned towards the entrance to the time construct. Sparks flew everywhere as the door blew open. Dusk grimaced as the alicorn queen of the Crystal Empire stepped through the entrance. Her red eyes gleamed with malicious glee.

“Cadance,” Dusk said.

“You shall not use that name before me, Dusk,” the alicorn replied. “We have you now. The Empire has returned to glory, and you will see the fall of your world once again.”

Dusk scowled as several crystalline guards walked past, flanking the alicorn queen. Within seconds, he was in chains.

“Take him to my personal prison,” the alicorn instructed. “I want him to have a front row seat for the end of the world.”

Dusk shouted loudly as he was taken from the time construct. Cadance cackled maniacally, standing tall as he disappeared from view. Just beyond the throne room, a younger alicorn appeared. She walked up to the queen.

“Mother,” she said. “I bring news from beyond. Deathless Crystal… he is dead.”

Cadance growled under her breath. “Send out the patrols. We will find this Starry Night, and her friends. I will make them pay for this. And then… Equestria shall taste blood and balefire once more!”d balefire once more!”

Interlude: Meanwhile...

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Interlude: Meanwhile…

Patch coughed loudly, feeling her body shiver as the cold set in. She rolled to one side in the bed and sighed. It had been weeks since Starry and Lightning had left. Lilith had done her best to track their PipBucks to a point, but at some part after leaving Equestria, she’d lost them entirely.

Now… there’d been nothing. Patch worried. Not just about them, but about herself. Her heart had been getting worse. The coughing had started. Her body felt perpetually cold. There were times where she could barely move without the aid of the Med-X the doctors were keeping her on. She knew what was coming.

She was dying, and she knew it. And somewhere out there were her children, the two reasons she kept going. Searching for something she didn’t even think existed, let alone would even help keep her alive for long.

Time was running out. Time was always going to run out. As Dusk would have said, it was only a matter of time.

Dusk. Patch’s nose cringed at the mere thought of his name. The stallion had come to her ages ago while she had been resting in Ponyville, right before Steeljack… before he had died. He had told her that she needed to get to her husband, that she would set things in motion that would help save the world. She had arrived to get him killed, burned to death by a dragon.

After she had arrived back in Chicacolt with the twins, Dusk had appeared again. She’d attacked him out of anger, berated him for making her watch the love of her life perish before her very eyes. Surprisingly, Dusk had hugged her, consoled her, and offered apology for what had happened. He’d explained that one day, she would understand why things had happened the way they had, that she needed to prepare for the day when it would all matter.

He’d explained that she would need to prepare her children for this as well. That she would need to train them in everything that she could possibly think of. And then he left her that information to begin. After that, he disappeared, promising to check back in. He never did.

Until Starry mentioned his name. Somehow he had contacted her, but not physically. Patch scowled, worried what the mysterious stallion wanted with her children, with Starry. He was trying to stop something, something major. Patch could never put a hoof on what that was.

A knock came at the door. Patch groaned and sat up in her bed as Lilith and Apple Danish entered.

“To what do I owe the pleasure today?” Patch said with a cough. “Come to pay your last respects?”

“Ever the light-hearted one,” Danish said. “But alas, you’re going to have to wait for that. We’re here on business.”

“Business? The council can meet just fine without me,” Patch said. “Unless… there’s been word from the kids.”

“No. Unfortunately not,” Lilith said with a sigh. “We’ve heard nothing from them since their signal disappeared into the Badlands.”

“Then why are you here? I’m a little busy… napping,” Patch said with a sigh, resting her head back on her pillow.

“One of our patrols outside of the city to the north was attacked,” Danish said, taking a seat next to the bed.

“Attacked? Raiders? The Cult?” Patch said, taking interest.

“Not exactly,” Lilith said. “Whoever this patrol was… disciplined. Efficient. Ruthless. They left exactly one pony alive, and then they gave him this to bring back to us.”

Danish lifted a device with his magic into the air. It was a portable screen, almost like a terminal in a sense. He pressed a button and it flared to life, displaying the image of what appeared to be an alicorn with glowing red eyes. Her skin was desiccated, her horn cracked in places. As Patch looked on, she began to speak.

“Ponies of Equestria. I am speaking to you on behalf of the newly returned Crystal Empire. I am Queen Crystalis, supreme ruler of all that I see. None of you likely know who we are, but you will soon enough. This message is being disseminated by my forces in every major settlement in the Equestrian Wasteland. Hear me, Equestria, your judgment is at hand,” the alicorn said before pausing.

“Long ago, my people were shunned for attempting to mediate love and prosperity amongst Equestrians and the Zebra. I was shunned by my own family by choosing to remain neutral, to manufacture our own weapons and technology in the event of the very end,” the alicorn continued. “My people and I paid the price for Equestria’s sins. I watched as balefire rained upon your world, and I chose to halt it before it reached my own doorstep.”

“It has taken my people a long time to return back to this world, but we have watched and observed what has happened since the Great War. We have watched as your kind have taken up arms against each other, how you have scavenged the treasures of yore, and how you believe that you can return to the glory days of old Equestria. Ponies of Equestria, you are fools, and you will pay for your foolishness,” the alicorn said before stopping. Her eyes glowed fiercely as the recording cut off.

“That’s where it ends… and then it gives us a set of coordinates,” Lilith said. “It’s… it’s a targeting system coordinate. It points directly to the center of Chicacolt.”

“You’re saying…” Patch said, her eye wide with fear.

“They intend to bomb us,” Danish finished for them. “They intend to bomb all of Equestria. They want to kill us all.”

“Why tell us where? That makes no sense,” Patch said frantically. “Why tell us so we can evacuate the city?”

“Because maybe it doesn’t matter,” Danish said. “Even if we evacuate the city… maybe we’ll all still die anyways.”

“Then what do we do?” Patch asked. “Shouldn’t the Council see this information?”

“They have, and they think this is fake. A sham. They don’t see that it’s most certainly real,” Danish said. “There’s one detail in the video that I think you might notice.”

Patch cocked her head and was about to say something as he started playing the video again. Her singular eye locked in on it, looking behind the alicorn in the video. And then she saw it. A unicorn stallion in the background. Her voice caught in her throat.

“You see him don’t you?” Danish said. “I may not have a good memory, but I do remember that unicorn coming and seeing you after you got back with the kids. Who is he and why is he there?”

“Dusk,” Patch uttered. “His name is Dusk. I don’t understand why he’s there. I haven’t seen him in well… a long time.”

“I believe this lends to the credibility of the video,” Danish said. “That means this threat is very real. That’s why we came to you, to get the evidence we need to make the Council understand what we’re up against. I’m going to go take this straight to Gluttony.”

He stood, heading towards the door, leaving Lilith alone with Patch. The pegasus grimaced and glanced at her old friend. Patch appeared to be in intense thought.

“Lilith,” she said.

“You’re leaving,” Lilith said with a grimace.

“How did you know?”

“It was the way you said my name. I’ve been your friend a long time now. I know you,” Lilith replied with a wry smile. “Why? You can barely move.”

“If Dusk is captured by this Crystal Empire… then that means the kids are heading there too,” Patch said. “I don’t know how I know that, but I do. Dusk was helping them along… he has to have been in contact with them.”

“And you think going there will get the kids back,” Lilith said. “Right. You’ve officially cracked if you think you’re going there alone.”

“I’m not going there alone. You’re coming with me,” Patch said with a grin.

“You’re serious about this,” Lilith said, her eyes narrowing. “Then how do we get past their patrols without getting captured? How do we even find them in the first place?”

“There has to be some sort of reverse metadata in that video,” Patch replied. “Or rather in the device itself. Of course, we need to acquire it from Danish.”

“Won’t he find out once it goes missing and stop us from leaving?” Lilith asked.

“That’s why we need to be out of here by the time he does,” Patch said. “I’m gonna need for you to bring Para Bellum with you when you do. She’s at the apartment.”

“And how are you going to get out of here without the doctors knowing?”

“Leave that to me.”

Lilith grimaced, but nodded. She stood, heading towards the door. “I’ll see you in fifteen?”

“Fifteen. At the abandoned warehouse just beyond the northern border.”

The door closed, leaving Patch to her own devices. She climbed out of bed, quietly making her way to the cabinet where her medicine was stored. She pulled out several vials of Med-X and a vial of Hydra. She’d heard the doctors say it was a last chance if things got severely worse. Patch sighed. She was willing to take that chance if it meant seeing her children again.

Within moments, she was gone.

* * *

“Patch? Patch, are you there?” Lilith called softly in the darkness.

“I’m here,” Patch said, emerging from behind the abandoned warehouse. “Did you bring what I asked?”

Lilith nodded, motioning to the case on her back. Patch removed it with her teeth and opened it, revealing a disassembled sniper rifle. Lilith also produced the tablet device.

“Good,” Patch said, lifting the device. “We’re going to have to figure this thing out on the way. We know the Empire is to the North, so we’ll start that way.”

With practiced ease, the earth mare quickly assembled her weapon, strapping it to her sidesaddle to be used at a moment’s notice. A bit on a cord wrapped around her neck, the firing mechanism for the gun. At one time, she could fire the gun standing straight up without the aid of the mechanism, but old age had put a damper on that.

“Just like old times,” Lilith said with a slight chuckle as the two started walking northwards. “Now all we need is Star’s fat ass being silly and Violet telling her to stop.”

Patch said nothing, her gaze carefully trained on her destination. Nothing was going to stop her from getting her children back. Not the Crystal Empire, not anything.

“If you seek peace,” she muttered under her breath. “Prepare for war.”

Chapter Sixteen: The Heart of the Matter

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Sixteen: The Heart of the Matter

Let’s get right down to business, shall we?

We were shoved forward down the hallway, forced to walk at gunpoint towards a fate that seemed much more uncertain. I wasn’t sure what to make of the seemingly younger ghoul alicorn, other than that she was incredibly terrifying and commanded a presence that kept every living thing in her presence in perfect order.

We stopped just short of a massive entryway into what appeared to be a throne room. I recognized this place already, as the throne room from Starlight Glimmer’s memories. It was a lot to take in.

“Guards, escort the prisoners inside. Except for the alicorn of course. Take her to my chambers. She’s my plaything,” the alicorn said with a grin.

Chalice’s face dropped, all of her energy focused hard on avenging the death of her sister having been completely sapped away. Her wings and magic had both been restrained. She had little choice but to move as the guards urged her away from the group. The ghoul alicorn watched this all in utter glee, her eyes alight with fanatic wonder. She then turned to the rest of us before walking into the throne room.

“Oh, Mother! Look what I found!” she said in a sing-song voice that was sick and disturbing. “I told you they would come to us!”

My eyes drifted past to the mare sitting on the throne at the top of the room. Her red eyes smoldered, her massive dessicated wings spread on each side of her. Her grin was like sheer venom, her flesh rotted and twisted in what could only be called pure agony. She was darkness incarnate.

Above her, my eyes found a cage, suspended in midair. Sitting inside was a unicorn, a unicorn I knew and recognized. My eyes widened as he turned his head to gaze down upon us.

“Dusk!” I started to call out before the guard stepped forward to silence me. I growled as I stepped backwards away from him.

“Order!” the alicorn on the throne said fiercely. Everything stopped in its tracks, including me. “Guards! Bring the prisoners and put them before me. I wish to speak to them.”

The guards nodded, pushing us forward until we were at the steps, looking up at the monstrosity on the throne. With a flourish of her horn, she closed the throne room door.

“So… you are the infamous Starry Night. I’ve heard so much about you from your friend,” she said, her voice dripping with venom as she nodded to Dusk’s presence above. “He seems to place a great deal of importance on you and your friends. Pity that I do not see why. I should have you executed right now, but I think it would be far more interesting if you got to see why you are here before living your days out in prison. Slow, but painful, for what you’ve done to my family.”

“And what did I do to your family?” I spat.

“My archmage, and my daughter’s love. You killed him,” the alicorn said, her red eyes flaring. “Perhaps I’ll let my daughter play with you. She’s very skilled in her talents after all.”

“Thank you, Mother,” the younger alicorn said with pride. “I’ll make sure not to disappoint you. After all, they deserve it after what they did to Deathless.”

The older alicorn tittered. “Well, then be off to prepare then. I understand you have another plaything waiting for you already. An alicorn, no less?”

“Yes, Mother,” the younger alicorn replied.

“Then go. See to her… ‘care,’” the older alicorn said with glee. “I will deal with these ones.”

“Yes, Mother. Thank you, Mother,” the younger alicorn said as she turned tail and left the throne room.

“Why are you keeping Dusk hostage? What does this have to do with us at all?” Lightning said.

The alicorn stood, her horn flickering to life as it showed a globe with a large landmass upon it. Her eyes smoldered as she stared down at us.

“Equestria. Once my home, a home that shunned and hated their neighbors, a home that became a lawless wasteland of ponies who didn’t deserve to survive, let alone live in it. We sought to change all of that, by wiping the slate clean,” the alicorn queen said. Her horn flourished as a wave of green fire washed over the landmass before the entire globe disappeared.

“But we were stopped from reaping the rewards of our labor. Although we succeeded in our goals, the time megaspell that Dusk stole from our vault trapped us in time. We could not escape until the timelines lined up once more,” the alicorn continued gleefully. “But it is of no consequence. The Crystal Empire has returned, and we will once more destroy this world and begin anew. This is my order, as Queen of the Crystal Empire, Crystalis the Red!”

“Something’s wrong with her,” Heartshine whispered during the alicorn’s tirade. “Something mentally and physically. Her heart exudes nothing but hatred.”

“Think she’s close to feralism?” I asked back under my breath. “That would explain a lot.”

“That doesn’t help us get out of here,” Lightning whispered. “We need to get Dusk and get a move on.”

Crystalis cackled haughtily. “I’m afraid you will not be collecting Dusk. I have a special punishment reserved for him for his crimes against the Empire. He will get to watch, front row, as I burn the world he cares about so much.”

“Do you really think that you’ll be able to destroy everything? There’s going to be a war if you put yourself out there like that, and the ponies of Equestria will fight you,” I said stiffly. “The Lightbringer herself controls the weather towers. You won’t last five minutes.”

“Oh, you think that to be true, do you?” Crystalis replied casually. Her horn flourished once more, opening a massive window behind her throne. It shimmered to life, showing images of large metal casings and assembly lines.

“Prior to the end of the Great War, the Crystal Empire’s technology was developed beyond leaps and bounds, but our primary research was into megaspell development,” she stated. “Suffice to say, we have enough munitions to burn Equestria into the ground ten times over in half the time it took the zebras to do so.”

I grimaced, needing to keep her talking. The longer she kept talking, the more we learned, and the longer she wouldn’t realize I was working on trying to send a distress call with my PipBuck.

“So why haven’t you? You have the power, why haven’t you used it?” I challenged. My eyes widened as I realized something. “You can’t, can you? You’re missing a component. You’re missing her.”

Crystalis’ eyes narrowed at me. “Guards! Throw these prisoners in the royal prison. I shall send my daughter to… play with them later. Now begone. I do not wish to be disturbed,” she said angrily.

The guards pushed into it, interrupting my chance of putting together some sort of distress call. I scowled as they ushered us from the throne room, taking us towards a large elevator of some kind. It went downwards until we appeared in a massive underground crystal cavern. The guards calmly shoved us into it and then went back up, the elevator disappearing completely.

I blinked as I studied our surroundings. The caverns were cut from some strange black crystal that shimmered in the dark. I quickly decided to try my PipBuck. No signal. No wonder the guards hadn’t cared about taking any of our gear away.

“What in the heck happened up there?” Coconut said. “What made her go crazy like that? Who’s this ‘her’ you mentioned?”

“Starlight Glimmer,” I said hurriedly, lifting a hoof to my horn. I tried to slide the horn ring off of it, but found that my horn ached with intense pain as I did. I breathed out and stopped, the pain subsiding.

“And just who is this Starlight Glimmer?” Lightning asked.

“She’s a pony… she was in the memory orb that Deathless Crystal had on him. The same one I’ve been watching over and over,” I said, trying to explain breathlessly. “I think she had something to do with the Empire’s technology and control over the megaspells.”

“Well, whoever she was, it doesn’t really matter much. This place is pretty much impenetrable. There’s something off about it, too,” Coconut said cautiously as she walked along the walls of the prison cave, running a hoof along the crystal. “This black crystal. Nearly every other structure we saw was made of a bluish/greenish crystal. But this? It’s different. I can feel it.”

“Something very wrong with it,” Heartshine said, placing a hoof to her temple. “It’s giving me chills in my wings.”

I scowled, stalking along the wall as Coconut did. She was right about one thing. Whatever this place was made of, it wasn’t natural. Something in the crystal was off. Was that what had caused the pain in my horn a moment ago? I thought up to the horn ring around my horn, shutting off my magic. My eyes widened.

“The black stuff eats magic,” I said. “Or rather, sucks it away from a pony. This isn’t just a prison, it’s a death trap.”

“Great, so we’re going to die down here, with no way of getting out or even a plan to break free,” Lightning said sarcastically.

“No… I don’t think so. If the queen wanted us dead she would have just executed us. She needs us for something,” I said, placing a hoof to my chin.

“Which means what exactly? It’s not like we’re going to break free of her guards,” Lightning replied. “Not to mention that she has Chalice separated with that psycho daughter of hers.”

“I… I don’t know, but she can’t leave us down here forever,” I said. “We just have to think of a way to escape when her guards come to collect us.”

“And Dusk? You saw him. He’s in the throne room. There’s no way we’re getting to him without squaring off with the queen,” Coconut said.

*slump*

My eyes widened as I watched Heartshine fall over, nearly hitting her head on the cold crystalline ground. I was at her side instantly, grimacing as I started checking her over. She was conscious still, but only somewhat, with a nosebleed pouring from her face. Something was wrong. My eyes fell to her wings, looking less vibrant in coloration than they had before.

“Shit, this is bad. This stuff is draining her. Come on, Heartshine… you can beat this thing, come on… it’s me, Starry,” I said as I cradled her in my hooves. I glanced back at the others, my eyes tearing up.

“What are we going to do?”

* * *

Velvet

* * *

I fell. Hurtling through the air, kicking and screaming as I tried to move, but the armor I was wearing was so heavy that it felt impossible to move around in, let alone move through the air with.

All around me, the creatures of the lake were in a frenzy, jumping up and out to try and attack Shimmer. My eyes widened as one of them bit in, a gush of blood washing across the lake in a sick, gory rain. And then suddenly, she was dead and her body rushed passed mine, striking the water with a sickening sound that I never ever wanted to hear. I saw Chalice from above, her eyes fierce with determination to save both me and her sister, but it was too late. The water was rushing closer and closer and…

Impact. I struck the water and began to immediately sink. My eyes widened as I struggled to move. The armor made it increasingly difficult. I thought maybe the creatures would just attack me now, and end this, but they didn’t. Instead, I was sinking towards the bottom of the frozen waters. I was so very, very cold.

I growled under my breath. I had to break free somehow! I started racking my brain for something, anything that would do. Changelings of old had the ability to transform into much larger creatures… but it was a skill I’d never been able to do. Still… I had to try. If I didn’t, I was most assuredly going to freeze, or drown… or both.

I focused hard on my mutable form, feeling the changeling magic roll through me in waves. I could feel the magic taking hold, but it wouldn’t change my form. I screamed internally and tried again. Nothing. Was I simply too weak to do it?

I closed my eyes and breathed in and out, thinking of the others, about why I was here. At first, I’d been conscripted, ripped away from a life of anger and hate because I was forced to, but now… I wanted to be with the others. And they wanted me… not because of my skills or what I was, but because I had found common ground with them. They wanted me because of me, not because of anything else.

I opened my eyes, drawing on that strength as I accessed my changeling magic once more. I focused on the shape and the design of the crystal water horses that were floating all around me. A sickly green glow erupted from all around as my body contorted to push the armor off of my body. The water rushed in as soon as my head finally changed, and then suddenly I was free floating. The armor I’d been wearing sunk below me.

I blinked, my amphibious eyes taking in my surroundings. The other creatures swimming in the glacial lake hadn’t quite noticed my change. I quickly decided that I needed to move, but to where? There was no way I was getting into the Crystal Empire the same way the others had, and even then I was reasonably sure they’d been captured. I glanced around to look for another way, noticing that the sides of the lake were lined with cavernous holes. Some sort of underground structure? I couldn’t tell, and to be honest, I really needed to get out of the freezing water.

I swam up, cautiously treading towards the surface of the water. If there were still patrols from the Crystal Empire around, it would look suspicious for one of the creatures to be heading away from the glacier lake. I pushed through the water, glancing about. Nothing had noticed me as of yet. I glanced towards the wall of the Empire. It was quiet, the sky darkening overhead of it. I needed to move quickly.

I pushed myself out of the water and began inching away from the lake, freezing every little part of my new body as I did so. As I began moving away, I felt the changeling magic fading away, my body reverting to its natural form. I quickly started to move, the chill of the air biting into my wet skin. If I didn’t find someplace to get warm soon, I was going to freeze to death out in the middle of nowhere.

I heard sounds coming from the lake behind me, shouting. I hid behind a tree and watched as several Crystal Empire soldiers stood at the other side of the lake. They were scouring Shimmer’s body from it. I scowled. They were likely to be looking for me next. When they didn’t find me… I shuddered from the thought and the cold. I needed to keep moving.

I struggled to activate my magic, but it wouldn’t come to me. Either it was too cold, or the magic I’d used to break free from the armor and escape had been too much for me. I wasn’t sure. I quietly slipped through the dead trees towards the upper ridge, trying to remember where we’d stayed the night before, and which direction it was. My wings felt frozen solid. I started to climb, hoping and praying that the soldiers hadn’t seen me or found that I wasn’t in the lake yet.

I crested the ridge and took a deep breath. My body was stiff from the cold. I heard shouting from below. Shit, I thought as I started running. A laser blast struck the ridge, sending ice and rock crumbling below. I yelped and kept moving, finding it harder and harder to get any traction in the wind and snow. Another blast struck the side of the ridge. I jumped and landed on the cold ground, finding myself unable to move. I groaned as I heard hoofsteps.

Shit… I’m sorry, Starry. I tried to survive, I really did, I thought to myself.

“It’s a changeling?” I heard voices. The voice was silky and smooth.

“Fuck, that’s not just any changeling, it’s Velvet,” I heard a second voice say. It was rough and feminine. “We need to get her someplace warm.”

I groaned loudly as I passed out from the cold, feeling a set of hooves grab me and start to drag.

* * *

Starry

* * *

An hour passed, and I stayed by Heartshine the entire time. Her breathing had calmed down and she appeared to be sleeping, but at some point it wasn’t going to be enough to keep her calm. I wiped my eyes, unsure of what to do. We were stuck, and getting Dusk was seeming less like a mission and more like an impossible task.

Coconut and Lightning were attempting to stay positive, standing watch as I tended to Heartshine. Even they didn’t have a plan to get away. I didn’t know what they were thinking at this point. Everything was seemingly lost.

Suddenly, the humming sound from the elevator came, and a massive door opened. Several guards appeared, along with the younger alicorn from before. Her eyes gleamed as her lips curled into a sneer.

“I’ve been sent by Mother to collect you,” she said. “She wishes to speak to the unicorn, and only the unicorn.”

I stood, glaring at her. “My friend is having a reaction to this black shit. She needs to be taken out of here.”

“That wasn’t part of my instructions,” the alicorn replied. “I was instructed to collect only you.”

“Well, you can instruct your Mother that she can fuck off,” I said angrily. “Heartshine can’t stay here for much longer, or she’ll die. I’m banking that your Mother wants me alive for some reason, and if I’m pissed off, I won’t help her do what she wants me to do, is that right? Am I on the nose?”

The ghoulish alicorn scowled before rolling her eyes. “Fine. You can bring her, but the others have to stay here. The guards will bring them some food and water while you are gone,” she said with a lazy tone. “Guards, collect the pegasus and take her to the infirmary for void crystal poisoning. And don’t you dare say anything about this to my mother. She’ll have my head for sure.”

I blinked as several of the guards came and picked up Heartshine, taking her into the elevator. “I’m confused,” I said. “You’re actually helping me. That was… unexpected.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you’re right about one thing. Mother does want you alive, and I don’t have the time to deal with your shit,” the alicorn replied angrily. “You killed Sunburst, that much is true, and that pisses me off more than anything. I want so badly to kill you, to make you feel pain, but I have to do what Mother says, or else. Now… get in the elevator before I change my mind, and I make you get in.”

I glanced at the others. Lightning nodded calmly.

“Go. We’ll be alright down here,” he said.

I sighed, nodding as I headed into the elevator after the alicorn. I scowled as the doors closed and it began to hum once more as it rose.

“What’s your name?” I asked softly.

The alicorn turned and glared at me. “What do you care what my name is? I am nothing but a servant to the Empire.”

“But you have a name. I care, because well… I’m sorry about Sunburst. I didn’t know that Wrath was going to just… kill him,” I said, looking down at my hooves. “I lost someone I loved that day as well.”

The alicorn’s smoldering gaze softened for a moment. She appeared conflicted. “It’s…” she said after a few moments of silence. “Flurry. My name is Flurry.”

“You loved him, didn’t you? I saw it in a memory orb. The way you looked at him when he arrived home,” I said.

“Sunburst… was my first crush. I was eighteen, he was older. I didn’t know any better. But after… after the War… when it became obvious that we were ghouls… we didn’t care,” Flurry replied. “Ugh… why am I even talking to you about this? You’re the enemy. Mother says you’re going to stop us.”

“I came here to save a friend,” I said softly. “I owe Dusk that much. But seeing what you’re doing here, preparing to destroy Equestria? It feels wrong, and I think… I think you feel the same way.”

Flurry’s expression twisted into anger. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, be quiet. We’re almost there.”

I grimaced, doing as she had asked. The elevator stopped humming and the doors opened. The guards carrying Heartshine moved out and turned immediately to the left, disappearing down the hall. Already she was appearing to have regained more color in her coat. I wanted to be with her, but this was the best way to get her help with her condition.

Flurry motioned for me and the other guards to follow her. We went to the right instead, and I recognized the hallway again from earlier as the one leading to the throne room. We stopped outside of it, and Flurry lifted a hoof and knocked.

“Mother, I brought the unicorn as you requested,” she said.

The door creaked open and the younger alicorn ushered me inside. She quickly disappeared, making me wonder whether or not she was really as bad as she put on display. In the elevator… she seemed to be genuine about her affection for Sunburst. Perhaps… perhaps that was the key to stopping all of this. I didn’t know.

I walked through the silent throne room, glancing upwards at Dusk’s cage. The unicorn was looking down at me solemnly. He nodded slightly as I approached the throne. Crystalis sat, looking out upon the Empire from her vantage point.

“I apologize for my… anger earlier. You caught me rather unawares with your knowledge of us,” she said.

I scowled. “So I was right. You do need me alive for something,” I said.

“Right down to business I see,” the alicorn replied nonchalantly. “Allow me to cut the chatter then. Yes, I was planning on killing you, but your outburst earlier changed my mind. You know things from the past, because you have seen them. You have not seen everything, however.”

Her horn glowed, lifting something small and round into the air. It was a memory orb. Crystalis set it in front of me. It shimmered a deep purple.

“I have not ever viewed this, because it belonged to a dear friend of mine. You know her as Starlight Glimmer. She became one of us, helping us further our technology to heights beyond nopony’s reach. She was the creator of the time megaspell that removed us from the timeline originally, based on a spell from Starswirl the Bearded,” Crystalis explained.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?” I asked, staring hard at the alicorn. “And now you want me to help you destroy Equestria in her stead.”

“It sounds so… bad when you put it like that. Whatever has Equestria done for you, my dear Starry Night? It has done nothing for any of us. The ponies that live there are petty, unappreciative of what they have. They hate us for what we are. Different. Even during the war, the ponies of Equestria did not want anything to do with the Empire. We were shunned for being different because Equestrians were paranoid about everyone, including their neighbors. My husband died for Equestria, and what did they give him? A funeral. My husband who died, so that my sister-in-law could seek out immortality,” Crystalis snarled angrily. “I will decimate Equestria for their sins against my people!”

I remained silent, glancing at the floor. Crystalis must have noticed this because she stopped shouting.

“I know that I sound… well… crazy, but Equestria isn’t worth trying to save,” she said. “It’s time for something new to take its place.”

“You sound crazy because you are crazy,” Dusk said from above. “Do not listen to her, Starry. This world is still worth saving.”

“Silence!” Crystalis shouted, her horn glowing as she put up a barrier around Dusk’s cage, silencing his protests.

“I’m not going to help you,” I said. “I would never… never destroy my home. I have family, friends. Ponies I want to go back to. Sorry about your luck, but you’re going to have to kill me. But know that you won’t succeed. The ponies of Equestria, they’ll stop you. The Lightbringer will stop you.”

“The weather towers? The ones that don’t exist in this area of the Wasteland? The Ministry of Awesome didn’t have the jurisdiction to build them here, because I didn’t allow it. I wanted nothing to do with the Ministries and their war machine, we simply wanted to be left alone,” Crystalis said. “But the war came to our doorstep anyways.”

She lifted the memory orb into the air.

“I guess I’m going to have to show you why we need you, after all,” she said as she thrust the orb at my horn.

I tried to move but I was frozen solid, powerful magic rooting my hooves to the ground. My horn sparked as it touched the memory orb and everything turned to white.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

The sky was filled with green fire. My host’s eyes widened as it arced across the sky.

“They actually did it,” she whispered. “By the Goddesses.”

She turned and started running from the balcony towards the throne room, all other troubles second to the green fire in the sky. She skidded to a stop and pushed through the door and shouted.

“Cadance! It’s happening! Equestria… the zebra… they’re using megaspells on each other!” she shouted.

Cadance jumped up from her throne, a scowl on her face. “Tensions have been building for months. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable occurred. Is the backup plan ready, Starlight?”

“I… I think so. We don’t have much time to test it. I’m not even sure what will happen when the Empire disappears, the math behind it is too much for anypony to comprehend,” my host stammered.

“Starlight, I believe in you. You were the one who came up with this as a way to escape if things got bad,” Cadance said with a smile. “We need to do what we must to survive.”

My host nodded. “There’s only one minor problem that I need to mention,” she said. “The spell and its transponder have to be attached to the outside of the Empire. I can’t cast it from inside.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. “Wait… but that means…”

“It means I’ll be sacrificing my life so you can live,” Starlight replied. “Before you try to stop me, please don’t. You gave me a place to be what I wanted to be, to flourish in magic and understanding. You gave me a home, and my friends back. Away from the evil that was Equestria. I won’t ever forget that. But there’s no other way to do this.”

“I… I know,” Cadance said with a sigh. “I suppose then… that this is good-bye. I wish that we had more time.”

“After I cast this spell, you’ll have all the time in the world,” Starlight said. “And once the timeline acclimates, you’ll be able to return and show Equestria how not to do things. You’ll save them. I know you will.”

“I… I will. I promise you that I will save Equestria,” Cadance said. “Now… go. We’re running out of time.”

Starlight scowled, but nodded as she turned and started running to the outer platform. She made it in no time, pulling the skiff aside and taking off towards the outer wall where her device was waiting. The skiff set down outside of the Empire at the base of a station that housed the device.

“Alright… it’s time to make this work. I just hope it does…” she whispered to herself.

She stepped inside the station, taking in the device that she had prepared. It was spherical in nature, an ever changing spell matrix rolling around inside of it. It sat suspended in midair above a transponder.

“Gideon,” she said.

“Yes, Starlight Glimmer?” a feminine voice replied.

“Once this is over, store a copy of yourself in the other module that’s linked inside the Empire vault. If this doesn’t work and the Empire returns prematurely, they’re going to need you,” Starlight said. “In addition, I need you to disable the weapons arrays for the launch spells. Cadance will probably be pretty pissed about that, but she’ll understand that it was for the best.”

“Affirmative,” Gideon said. “Transfer of primary memory storage and megaspell matrix complete. Weapons bay megaspells deactivated.”

“Excellent. Let’s get this show on the road then, Gideon,” Starlight said with a grin, her horn glowing softly.

“Megaspell matrix stable. You may proceed with casting the spell,” Gideon said.

Starlight nodded, her horn sending a magical beam of energy into the spell matrix floating above the transponder. It started pulsing with glowing energy. Starlight grimaced, concentrating hard on the spell in mind. It had been one she’d found amidst the archives of Canterlot’s libraries, based on an old spell from Starswirl the Bearded. She’d been able to modify the spell to send an object outside of the timeline.

In this case, that object was the entire Crystal Empire and all of the ponies within it. It was a momentous task, but it would work. Starlight was sure of it.

The orb poured energy outwards into the ground, causing the earth beneath to shake and rumble. Starlight cut off the magic and stepped outside and watched. The Empire began to shimmer as the magic took hold. Within several long moments of shimmering, it was suddenly… gone. A hole sat where it had been. Starlight breathed a sigh of relief.

“It… it worked,” she said.

“Indeed it did, Starlight,” Gideon replied from her PipBuck.

“Thank you, Gideon… thank you,” Starlight said as her eyes glanced up at the sky.

The green fire was arcing ever closer. Starlight could feel it in her bones. This was the end for her.

“Gideon. One more thing that I need you to do for me. I need you to send a message to the Empire. One that they will find in the future,” she said. “Can you record all of this?”

“I have been recording for posterity, Starlight. As you asked me to do always,” Gideon said. “I will convert your message to a memory orb and enter it into the time matrix.”

“Good. I need Cadance to know that… that Equestria wasn’t always all bad. It’s going to take love and compassion to change things in the future. She needs to be the leader they all want to be if she wants to change the world. Please tell her that for me.”

“It is done,” Gideon replied.

“Good. Thank you for everything, Gideon. It’s almost time,” she said.

The green fire slammed into the valley, and then suddenly there was nothing.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

I doubled over as I came out of the memory orb. I couldn’t believe what I’d seen. Cadance… Cadance was wrong about everything. She was never meant to destroy Equestria. She was meant to save it. What had happened?

My eyes widened as I realized it. Somehow along the way, the entire population of the Empire had become ghouls. They were slowly losing their grip on reality, Cadance most of all. They were never meant to destroy Equestria, they were meant to save it.

“You witnessed the end of our time here, did you not?” Crystalis said with a smug grin on her face.

“I… I saw Starlight. At the end. And you’re wrong about Equestria, Cad--” I started to say.

Crystalis’ eyes flared with anger. “DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME!” she shouted. “That name is no longer my own. It is forbidden to speak it.”

“But… you have to listen. Starlight never wanted you to…” I tried to reply.

“Silence! Starlight gave her life for us, so that we might prosper. Without her, however, we found that we are unable to activate the megaspell matrices for the weaponry. I believe you may be able to help reactivate them,” Crystalis said angrily.

“But… you don’t understand. Starlight disabled the weapons on purpose,” I said, pleading with her. “She never wanted you to destroy Equestria!”

“I can see that you are unwilling to cooperate,” Crystalis said, her eyes smoldering red. “Perhaps I should provide you with incentive. Guards, bring her friends here.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked as the guards exited the room.

“Oh, this is very simple blackmail. You will help me, or I will kill your friends. All of them,” Crystalis merely replied. “Until then, you can catch up on old times with your good friend Dusk.”

Her horn glowed softly and I started to protest, but was cut off by her magic. I disappeared and reappeared in the cage next to Dusk. I slumped on the floor of the cage, sighing before turning to face the one we’d come all this way to save.

“I’m sorry we had to meet this way,” Dusk said solemnly, his eyes closed. “Everything I did, I did to save Equestria, and in the end I fucked it up even worse.”

“Seems like we’re both in that boat,” I said. “None of this makes sense. I thought she brought us here to kill us, and now she wants to use me to kickstart their technology?”

“Cadance thought she could sway me, to see things from her point of view. But when you have nothing to lose… she couldn’t convince me to help her, so she decided to focus on you. I’m sorry, Starry. She won’t stop until your friends are all dead,” Dusk replied. “She’s crazy. Borderline close to feralism, if that’s even possible for an alicorn.”

“I can’t let that happen,” I said, looking down at my hooves. “I’ve lost… too many already.”

“The Empire is relentless, and Cadance is mad. I fear there’s no way to stop her and the Empire without the time megaspell,” Dusk said softly.

“She came from your timeline,” I said calmly. “When the time megaspell returned the Empire, it returned to your timeline.”

“The Empire came back, yes. They were… relentless in their pursuit of a unicorn to help them destroy Equestria with their megaspells. They found me during a battle, a battle in which… well… your mother and father both died protecting you and Lightning,” Dusk explained. “I don’t know what happened to you, because I was captured after hiding you. The Empire tortured me for days… weeks… Cadance herself thought she could break me.”

“What… what happened?” I asked.

“I managed to escape. I was… crafty. I had no friends left, so the guards didn’t watch me too carefully. I escaped into the tunnels below the Empire, and stumbled upon their vault. That’s how I met Gideon,” Dusk said.

“That name…” I said. “It was the same one that Starlight called the entity inside the time spell. I saw it in the memory orb.”

“Yes… Gideon was a copy of the original artificial intelligence that Starlight had cooked up inside of the time megaspell construct she devised. Ingenious design, really. Gideon was completely self-aware of what had been occurring since the Empire’s return to the timeline. Somehow being inside the time-space continuum had irradiated the Empire enough to cause mass ghoulification,” Dusk continued. “Gideon was appalled, having a sense of… loyalty to ponykind instilled in her programming by Starlight. It seems that at the end, even she realized how futile the struggle was.”

“Gideon helped you activate herself,” I said, figuring out the rest on my own. “The Empire was sent back into the space-time continuum.”

“Well, sort of. I used the time spell to go back in time as I explained before… I changed the past, hoping that it would prevent the Empire’s return, or perhaps maybe even prepare Equestria better against them, but that was a failure, and I ended up trapped inside the time construct inside the Empire when I returned,” Dusk replied. “Cadance discovered me and had it transported to her throne room to keep an eye on me. When I found I could contact you, I knew I had to reach out to you and help you, but I messed up… I’m sorry, Starry. I wish I could have done better for you.”

I placed a hoof on his shoulder blade and smiled softly. “It’s alright, Dusk. I… I recently just learned about how to feel again, so I can tell you one thing… I’m not mad at you. I think I have an idea on how to stop all of this, but I’m going to need some help.”

“I’m all ears…” Dusk said, glancing at me with a smile creeping onto his face.

* * *

Velvet

* * *

My eyes fluttered open, feeling the warmth of a campfire nearby. I took in my surroundings as I started to sit up. I was in a cavern out of the wind and snow, a roaring flame close enough that I could feel the warmth in my bones. A blanket had been tossed over me. Sitting across the campfire were two ponies. One of them, a jet black pegasus, lifted her head and stared directly at me.

“Patch,” she said, nudging the other. “She’s awake.”

The other pony, an older green mare with an aging blue mane, turned her head. Her eyepatch spoke volumes to who she was. It was Starry’s mother. What was she doing all the way out here? Wasn’t she bedridden the last time I’d seen her?

“Velvet? Do you know where you are? Do you know who we are?” she said as she hopped up and sat next to me.

“P-P-Patch? And… Lilith?” I stuttered, my voice still raspy. I realized I was still in my natural form. “What… what are you…?”

“Don’t try too much. You nearly died from hypothermia,” Lilith said. “You’re lucky we found you when we did.”

“Starry… captured…” I said, rasping.

“We know,” Patch said. “We gathered that much after finding you. She’s inside that place, the Crystal Empire. Our tracker device has her placed there.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Lilith said.

“It… it was a trap,” I said, racking my brain for what had happened. “Something hit the skiff… and I fell into the water… I barely escaped… but Shimmer…. Shimmer died.”

“Shimmer? Who was Shimmer?” Patch asked.

“She… she was an alicorn who joined our group…” I explained. “Her sister and her wanted to stop the Crystal Empire. They were… helpers at the town that we found the Heartmender in.”

“The Heartmender? You mean, she exists? She is real?” Lilith said, cocking her ears back.

“Real as you and I,” I said. “But the town we found her at was attacked by the Empire. They want Starry and her for some reason… I don’t know why.”

Lilith and Patch shared a look between the two of them, a grimace. I struggled to access my magic, sending a wave of it through my body to try and attain my typical pony form. The green energy washed over me, transforming me instantly.

“That’s… that’s better,” I said with a soft smile. “How did you two… how did you get here?”

“We walked,” Patch said bluntly.

“What Patch means to say is, that one of our patrols was attacked by a group of Crystal Empire soldiers. They sent a device with a message that they had returned,” Lilith said. “We saw Dusk in the image. We headed out to come here to find Starry and Lightning.”

“Yeah… that’s why we were headed there. Starry thought she could save Dusk,” I said with a sigh. “But that plan went to shit real quick.”

“We need a way inside the Empire. I need to find my children,” Patch said. “And we need to know what’s happened to you since you left.”

I started talking, explaining everything that had occurred since our departure from Chicacolt. As I spoke, I realized just how much we had been through and how much of it had been because of our shared friendship. I sighed as I finished, leading up to how I’d fallen from the skiff and escaped the glacier lake.

“Rocky’s dead? And so is Wrath?” Lilith said, raising an eyebrow. “That is most unfortunate. Envy’s going to be pissed.”

“I think Starry’s got her beat. Pretty sure she was in love with him and that they boned,” I said without thinking.

“What,” Patch replied.

“I mean, I don’t really know, but she was pretty fucked up it seemed after he died,” I said. “Granted, she couldn’t feel anything, and that made it worse I think.”

“Right, well… moving on,” Lilith said, glaring sidelong at a seething Patch. “We need to figure out a way inside the Crystal Empire. We know that the skiffs are one way, and approaching on foot doesn’t work because of the glacier lake and those… monsters.”

“What about… underground? When I was in the lake I noticed a bunch of caverns lining the side of it… and the lake wasn’t that deep. Maybe there’s a set of caverns below the city we could use to infiltrate?” I asked.

“That is as good an idea as any,” Patch said. “We’ll head out within the hour, provided you can move.”

* * *

Heartshine

* * *

My eyes fluttered open, my head pounding and screaming from all of the pain in this place. It hadn’t just been the caves that had caused me to pass out, it had been this place. I could feel it everywhere, my magic overloaded by all of the hearts screaming out for help. The Crystal Empire was full of them, and most of all at the top was Queen Crystalis. Her heart roared for love and help. Her pain was the greatest, shouldering the burden of her entire people.

I sighed, looking down at my neck. A crystal necklace had been fastened there, likely to lessen the effects of what I’d heard the younger alicorn refer to as void crystal poisoning. I groaned and sat up in the bed I’d been placed in.

The room I was in was vast and wide, and the bed I was in was no exception. In fact, the room didn’t quite look like any infirmary I’d ever been in. It looked more like the chambers belonging to a teenager. It was messy with posters of stallions I’m sure were long dead plastered across a crystal vanity.

My eyes widened and I realized that I was in her room. The younger alicorn had me brought here?! I scrambled up and landed on my hooves on the cold floor. Wasn’t this where she’d had Chalice brought? If that was so… where…?

I turned, seeing a second four post bed across the room, covered in drapes. Why would a filly need to have two beds in her room? I heard labored breathing coming from it. I stepped cautiously towards it.

“Chalice?” I called softly. “Is that you?”

No response. More labored breathing. Dammit, I thought to myself. What is going on in this place?

I stepped closer, reaching up with a hoof to pull down the drapes. They fell with relative ease and my eyes widened as I took several steps back. Chalice lay on the bed, strapped down and muzzled. She was unconscious but still alive, however… her body had been opened up in places, exposing muscle and tissue and… organs. My nose began to bleed as I took it all in. It was just like everything I’d ever tried to do. Ponies around me… they ended up dead, or worse. Chalice had been a friend, a real friend around the settlement. And now…

I shut my eyes. Chalice was still alive, but only barely. Even if I could get her out of here… which I couldn’t with her size… it wouldn’t matter. The guards would be upon us before I could even get anywhere. I couldn’t do anything for her, but I could ease her pain… I could be merciful.

I stepped closer, reaching out with my wings to touch and caress her. Instantly I felt connected to her pain, and I knew what needed to be done. She wanted release, relief from the constant pain. She pleaded to my heart, asking that I do it. But I couldn’t… could I? Could I actually physically affect the heart? My magic hadn’t been able to do that before… but after what had happened with Starry… I’d helped fix an empathic blockage that nopony had ever seen before.

Tears streamed from my eyes and my nose gushed blood. I had to do something or the pain would be too much for me to bear. I reached out with my magic, and cradled the very essence of Chalice’s heart in my wings.

And then I squeezed. It was quick and decisive, and in a mere second it was over. I felt Chalice’s body go limp underneath my wings, breaking the connection. My eyes opened and I realized she was no longer breathing.

I… I just killed… I started to think before recomposing myself. No… I gave her mercy. Release. She wanted to be with her sister. Now she can be.

I reached up, wiping the blood from my nose. I sniffled, tasting the copper from the few drops that had dripped into my muzzle. I picked up the drape and pulled it over Chalice’s body, covering her before I slumped to my haunches, breathing hard.

“That was beautiful, I’ll have you know,” a voice said from across the room.

I turned, seeing the younger alicorn ghoul sitting on a lounger. How long had she been there? Had she seen the whole thing? Was she… she going to do the same thing she’d done to Chalice to me?

“Stay away from me,” I said instinctively.

“Are you afraid of me?” the alicorn said. Her eyes drifted to the body under the drape. Realization dawned on her face. “Ah, you think I mean to cut you open like I did her? No, that would defeat the purpose of things. I only did what I did to her because… well… I like cutting things open and seeing how they tick… and I’ve never seen another live alicorn other than my mother and great-aunts.”

“You killed her,” I said angrily.

“No, I think that was you,” the alicorn replied casually. “I see the void crystals didn’t fully kill you. Mother would be upset. She needs you alive as well.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? She needs your talents to convince Starry Night to use her magic to kickstart the Empire’s weaponry,” the alicorn said. “You’re going to help her understand why we need her.”

My eyes widened. “I would never do such a thing,” I said, stamping a hoof. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

“The thought had crossed my mind…” the alicorn said wistfully. “However… I have an… alternative proposition for you. That little trick of yours you just did… do you think you could do it again?”

“Why… why do you want that?” I asked.

“Mother is… well… she is unhinged. She thinks your friend is the only way to solve this problem, and I know for a fact that if she had just made Sunburst stay here then he would have figured out a way to enable the weaponry,” the alicorn said. “He was smart like that. But she had to send him out to get killed. So I’ll be quite simple and blunt. I want you to do that to my Mother.”

“So that you can take over? What happens then?”

“Simple enough. I send you and your friends on your way, and you get to wait until I conquer Equestria,” the alicorn said. “The world will cower at the hooves of Queen Flurry Heart! Nothing will stand in my way!”

I blinked. “Your name is Flurry Heart?”

The alicorn stopped, scowling. “Yes, yes, I know it’s not very intimidating…”

“It’s actually sort of… cute,” I said.

Flurry growled under her breath. I got the impression that she didn’t really do ‘cute.’

“How do you even expect to get me close enough to your mother to even do this?” I said. “It’s not like she’s going to just let me walk up and touch her with my wings.”

“Yes… that is a conundrum. We’ll have to sort that out soon. Mother wants me to bring all of you to the throne room. I expect she intends to have you executed as… leverage,” Flurry said with a grin. “We’ll use that opportunity to get you close to her.”

I grimaced, glancing back at Chalice. Flurry had been responsible for killing her. If I could get close enough… kill them both… release their pain and give them mercy… I would have to keep it close to my chest, but I could do it. For Chalice. For everypony that I’d ever failed in my life. I would do anything to make it up to them.

“Fine. I’ll do it,” I said softly.

* * *

Lightning

* * *

“Starry and Heartshine have been gone for some time, don’t you think you should stop trying to get the elevator to come down? It only works for them, sweetie,” Coconut said.

I sighed and glanced over at her. She was pristine, even when dirty. She smiled softly, motioning for me to sit next to her. I nodded and made my way to the rock next to her.

“Sorry, I just… I hate not knowing what’s happening. I feel like we’re going to be stuck down here,” I said. “We need to get out and get the others out of here.”

“We can’t really do anything down here,” Coconut said with a sigh. “I hate it too, but at least we’re together.”

“Yeah… I… I’m glad you’re still here. So much has happened. Rocky, Shimmer… Click. I just… I can’t believe all of it,” I said. “Anyone of us could have died, and we pulled through for each other…”

“Well… love does save us all,” Coconut said with a grin.

“You… you love me?”

“Of course I do,” she said. “Was there ever any doubt to that?”

“No, I suppose not,” I said with a sigh. “Well… if we end up both dying down here, I guess you should know that I… I love you too.”

Coconut smiled softly and reached in, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad,” she said. “Now… do you hear a whining sound?”

I blinked. “A what?”

“A whining sound… it’s coming from that wall over there…” Coconut said, pointing across the room.

I stood, walking towards the wall, cocking my ears to listen. I could hear a low whining and grinding sound from beyond it somewhere. It… it sounded familiar. Like I’d heard it before. My eyes widened as I placed it in my memory.

“Get back away from the wall!” I shouted as I dove behind a pile of rocks.

The wall exploded, shooting crystalline debris everywhere as a massive hole appeared in the side of the cavern.

“Whoo! That’s right baby! The BITCH is back!” I heard a familiar shout as the smoke started to clear.

“Auntie Lilith?!” I called out through the haze.

“Lightning?!” I heard an even more familiar voice call out as a green blur rushed out of the haze and grabbed ahold of me.

“M-M-Mom?!” I said as I took in what was happening. “What are… what are you doing…?”

I pulled away and looked into my mother’s face. She looked… pained, but happy to see me. I looked past her to see Lilith standing triumphantly in the hole she’d made, alongside...

“Velvet?” I asked.

The changeling grinned widely as she caught vision of me and Coconut. “Lightning? Coconut? You two are alright!”

“What in the Sorrel Hells happened to you?” Coconut said as she trotted up the group. “Last we saw you were falling into that lake.”

“It’s a long story,” Lilith said. “One that we really don’t have time for. Where are the others?”

“They took Starry and Heartshine, and Chalice was taken when we got here in the first place. Heartshine was sick,” Coconut explained. “There’s no way up into the palace except for the elevator, and it only works for them.”

“Well, luckily for you two, we have a way up through the caverns,” Lilith said. “It should get us into the palace, but we’re going to have to be stealthy until everyone has some weaponry.”

I glanced at Mom and grinned. “Lead the way. Let’s go save our friends.”

* * *

Starry

* * *

The cage began to lower, turning to show Cadance, in all her terrible glory. I glanced at Dusk, hopeful that our plan would work. It had to work.

The cage stopped on the floor and opened up, allowing Dusk and I to exit. We walked silently to the foot of the stairs and looked up the throne.

“Starry!” I heard from behind me.

I glanced back to see Heartshine, being led in by Flurry. She rushed across the hall, stopping on a dime and wrapping me in a hug.

“Heartshine? You’re alright!” I said. “What about the others?”

“That is a problem,” I heard Flurry say from behind her. “Mother. I have news. The prisoners in the caverns have escaped. The wall is blown to bits and they must be in the cavern system below the city.”

Cadance stood, her red eyes smoldering. “Unacceptable. Find them. They must not be allowed to interfere.”

“Understood, Mother,” Flurry said in a monotone voice. She turned to the guards. “Take all available support troops into the caverns. Locate the prisoners and report back to me.”

The guards nodded and vacated the throne room, leaving only us, the Queen and the Princess. I grimaced. Coconut and Lightning had escaped? How was that possible? I realized that meant that all I really needed to do was stall, and perhaps this plan could work after all.

“Now then, let us get back to the business at hand, shall we?” Cadance said. “I am not a patient Queen, Starry Night. You will help us, or there will be consequences.”

I stepped forward, keeping my eyes trained on her. There would have to be no fear, no giving away what we were going to do.

“We’ll help you,” I said. “Dusk and I talked it over and we decided… we will help you.”

“Excellent,” Cadance replied with a wicked grin. “And Equestria as you know it… shall be forever changed.”

Author's Note

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Chapter Seventeen: A Heart in Finality

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Seventeen: A Heart in Finality

The journey of the heart must end…

* * *

Earlier…

Velvet, Patch, Lilith

* * *

“I can’t see down here. Where the fuck are we going?”

I heard Patch grousing behind me as I walked. I kept my gaze focused on the tunnel leading downward. The tunnel was indeed dark, but not to me. My eyes could see clearly down it, but stopped me from seeing the end. According to tracking Starry’s PipBuck we were getting closer to the city. I didn’t know how deep we’d gone, but it was definitely far below the surface.

“The tunnel’s opening up in a few feet,” I said after another long pause between talking. “Be on alert.”

We took several steps out of the tunnel into the massive cavern. It was gigantic, littered with all sorts of glowing crystals that lit up the entire place, making it incredibly easy to see. It was impossible to tell just how big this place was, and whether or not this was always here or if it was actually part of the Crystal Empire.

“Keep alive, we don’t know if there are hostiles in the area or not,” Patch said. “As best as I can tell we’re pretty much directly underneath Starry’s PipBuck signal, but it’s being shitty.”

“I’m not getting anything on my E.F.S.,” Lilith chimed in. “But that doesn’t mean anything down here. My PipBuck is getting interfered with as well. Velvet, can you see anything out of the ordinary?”

I scoured the landscape inside the cavern, looking for anything that could possibly impede us. Even with the better light I still couldn’t see much. I shook my head.

“Nothing that I can see. Where to now?” I asked.

“Hmmph. Well, we need to figure out a way to get up,” Patch said. “There’s a big column in the center that extends all the way up, maybe that’s a shaft?”

“Only one way to find out,” Lilith said. “A few good missiles should break through that crystal.”

I grimaced as we stepped forward, closer to the main column. As we walked, we noticed there were other columns extending upward, perhaps other ways to get into the city. The central column was perfectly cylindrical, extending miles above our heads. If there was a way up it would have to be from inside the column.

My ears flicked at a sound. It was faint, but it sounded like something crunching on the ground. Something was down here. I glanced over at Lilith. It seemed like she had heard it too. I turned to whisper to Patch and nearly walked right into something else.

The creature in front of me rasped and howled almost as if it was in pain. I jumped back as it lunged forward, snapping and gnashing with vaguely equine teeth, albeit sharpened to crystal points. Its eyes were completely hollow and its body was hard and rigid. I yelped as the thing lunged at me once more. It got close to catching me before a bullet rocked through the side of its head, dropping it to the ground immediately.

Patch glowered as she dropped the mouth bit of her rifle. “What the flippity fuck is that thing?” she asked.

We were answered by the sound of more of the strange creatures howling all around us. There were dozens of them, all stumbling forward in the same stilted way. They were surrounding us completely. I pulled out the gun that Patch had given me, holding it tight with my mouth.

“Shit, I think they’re ghouls,” Lilith said. “They’re everywhere, and my E.F.S. doesn’t even show them. Aim for the head, I’m gonna get above and try and ambush some bitches.”

I growled under my breath and fired off several shots at two of the approaching creatures, striking them both directly in the face. The recoil of the gun really made my jaw feel sore, but I didn’t have the time to adjust for it. I heard Patch’s rifle make several retorts, taking down a few more of the creatures.

“I made an opening, come on, let’s give Lilith a clean shot!” Patch shouted.

I nodded and ran with her, narrowly being missed by the remaining ghouls. Lilith hovered above, hooting and hollering. The ghouls seemed to be focused on her voice.

“It’s like they can’t see,” I whispered. “They’re navigating by sound.”

“Well let’s give them something loud to chase after!” Lilith shouted as her missile launcher unwound from the side of her power armor.

I blinked. Emblazoned on the side of the thing was a cutie mark of three broken hearts and the words “THE BITCH” scrabbled in rough paint. Lilith crowed as the missile loaded into the chamber and the device began to whine loudly. It fired, speeding across the crystal cave at the remaining ghouls, who appeared to be following the sound towards the central column.

“Get down!” Patch hissed as she dragged me behind a rock formation.

The missile struck the wall, the resulting debris impaling the remaining crystal ghouls and also blowing a large hole in the side of the column.

“Whoo! That’s right baby! The BITCH is back!” Lilith shouted.

“Auntie Lilith?!” I heard a familiar voice shout from beyond the hole.

* * *

Later…

Velvet, Patch, Lilith, Lightning, Coconut

* * *

“So how do we get up to the city then?” Lightning said, glancing around the cave. “There doesn’t seem to be any way to get up there.”

“We were attacked by ghouls so we really haven’t had much time to look around,” I said. “But it’s possible that some of the other columns could lead up.”

“Or they’re prisons with no escape too,” Coconut said.

“Well, then we’re kind of fucked, don’t you think?” Lightning said.

“Lightning! I heard that!” Patch shouted from behind us.

“Oh jeez, come on, Mom. I’m a grown pony now, I can’t say fucked?” he said as he went off to argue with the older mare.

“You know, it’s really good to see that you’re okay,” Coconut said as she stepped up next to me. “We all feared the worst.”

“Thanks…” I said, trailing off. “I would have been a goner if not for Patch and Lilith. You said Heartshine was sick? From what?”

“Starry thinks it had something to do with those black crystals inside of our prison. Like they sapped the magic out of her somehow,” Coconut replied.

“Great. It seems like even the environment is trying to kill us out here,” I said. “If we can’t get up to rescue Starry, then what happens then? We go home? We all know the Empire is bad news.”

“We’ll get to them. There’s more of us now, we have a fighting chance at least to stop all of this,” Coconut said.

My ears flicked, hearing movement behind us. At first, I thought it was more ghouls, but I realized it was clunkier and heavier sounding. Like… armor.

“Halt!” a voice shouted. “Turn around slowly!”

I turned to see two Crystal Empire guards. They had emerged from the hole we’d made in the prison. Great, I thought. Just flipping great. I watched intently as the two guards trained their weapons on us. From out of the hole stepped a being so incredibly scary looking that I nearly fell to the ground just looking at her. She was a ghoul, but she was also an alicorn.

“Shit,” Coconut said.

“You know her?” I whispered.

“Yeah she’s the one who brought us down to the dungeon,” Coconut said.

“Ah, it appears as though you escaped, and you had help! That’s amazing. How did you manage to call for help all the way down here? A changeling, an earth pony, and a pegasus? This sounds like a joke,” the alicorn said casually.

“Who the fuck are you and why should I care?” Lilith challenged.

“Tut, tut. I wouldn’t try anything. If my guards don’t take you down, my magic is certainly more than a match for whatever you five can pull off,” the alicorn replied. “Besides… I have a proposition for you.”

One of the guards turned to look at her. “Um… Princess?”

The alicorn’s horn flared and both guards’ necks twisted around, dropping them to the ground instantly.

“What the flipping fuck?!” Lilith shouted. “Why the fuck would you down your own ponies? Just to prove how strong you are?!”

“You Wasteland ponies are so… colorful in language, I must admit. No, I’m offering you a chance to save your friends and leave this place,” the alicorn said.

“You’re… wait… what?” Lightning asked.

“You heard me,” the alicorn continued. “You see, I don’t believe in putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak, so in the event that the empath fails, I need a little backup. I can get you up to the palace undetected and to your friends, you just have to do one teensy little thing for me.”

“And what’s that? Kill your mother?” Coconut said with a snort.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’d like you to do,” the alicorn said. “Do it, and I will allow you and your friends to leave the city in peace.”

“What are you getting out of this?” Patch asked.

“Power, of course. Mother dies thanks to insurgent rebels, and I take control of the city,” the alicorn said.

“And what about Equestria?” Lightning said.

“Oh, I still conquer Equestria. The difference between myself and Mother is that I will give the ponies of Equestria a choice to submit to our superior rule. I will be a just and fair tyrant, if there ever was such a thing,” the alicorn protested.

“We’ll fight you,” Patch said. “You won’t win such a conflict.”

“Maybe not, but would you rather have that than Mother pressing a button and ending it all in an instant? You may not realize this, but above in the city there are entire banks of megaspells just waiting to be fired off,” the alicorn explained. “I am offering the lesser of two evils, as it were.”

“And if we refuse?” I said.

“Well, then I kill all of you right now and then I have to hope the empath can do it,” the alicorn said. “But come on, do you really want to die?”

I glared at her, working things through in the back of my mind. I could tell just by her aura and her feelings of intense hatred that this pony meant what she said. She could kill all of us as easily as she’d killed the two guards. It would take nothing for her to do it. And then where would we be?

I realized quickly that Patch must have been asking herself the same exact questions and telling herself the same exact things. She closed her one good eye and sighed loudly.

“Fine. We’ll do it. How are we going to get back up into the palace?” she asked.

“Excellent. I’ll provide cloaking devices. They should mask your presence long enough for you to position yourselves within the throne room,” the alicorn said with a wicked grin.

I scowled. What have we gotten ourselves into?

* * *

Starry

* * *

The guards had marched Dusk, Heartshine, and I out of the throne room and towards the main computer room, where everything controlling the defenses of the city were stored. Cadance had not bothered to join us, instead requesting our presence when we had the weapons system online.

The door behind us closed, leaving us inside the computer room. The guards sat outside the door. A cursory glance around the room showed that there was no way in or out except for the entrance we came in.

“Well, phase one of plan ‘stay alive’ is working,” I muttered aloud. I glanced sidelong as Heartshine. “Are you alright? You looked pretty bad down there in that prison.”

“I… I’m fine,” Heartshine said. She appeared fairly shaken. “I found Chalice. She’s… she’s dead.”

I grimaced, lowering my head for a brief moment. “How?” I asked.

“She had been cut open by Flurry Heart… for… curiosity,” Heartshine said, grimacing as a nosebleed started to form from her left nostril. “I… I gave her mercy. I stopped her heart.”

My eyes widened. I reached over quickly and pulled the mare into a quick hug. I felt her wings brush me and I could feel the anger radiating off of her.

“You did what you had to, Shine,” I said. “You did what you had to.”

“I… I know,” Heartshine said. “I still feel… ill about it, but I know it was necessary to give her peace and let her be with Shimmer.”

I pulled back and wiped her nosebleed with my hoof. I smiled softly.

“I’d hate to interrupt this tender moment, but we don’t have much time to do what we need to do here,” Dusk said with a cough.

“Right, sorry,” I said. I turned to Heartshine. “We have a plan, but we’re going to need all the help we can get. Are you in?”

Heartshine looked down at her hooves for a brief moment before looking up and smiling fiercely. “I’m in.”

“Good,” I said, walking across the room to the console. I looked over at Dusk. “I assume you’re familiar with this technology?”

“To an extent,” the unicorn replied softly. “I’ve always been pretty good with computers after all. You take that console and I’ll take this one. Miss Heartshine, I presume? We need you to watch our backs. Those guards are going to come in before too long.”

Heartshine nodded, standing aloof in front of us so that she appeared to be staring at the wall, while her eyes trained on the door. I silently wished I could have been there for her with Chalice. As much as she’d done for me, it still felt like she was taking steps back. Once this was all said and done… we’d have to have a long talk.

I stepped up to the console, reaching out with my magic to start tapping buttons here or there. I knew in the back of my mind what I needed to find. I needed to find Gideon. She had to be here somewhere. She would be the key to stopping all of this. The energy from the megaspell array could be turned inwards, fueling the time construct to send the Crystal Empire back into the space-time continuum for good. The plan had only fallen to me after thinking what Dusk would do in this scenario. It felt strange relying that much on a stallion who had done nothing but completely fuck up my entire life and any chance I had at a normal family relationship, but it was the only way to stop the Empire from destroying civilization as we knew it.

A beeping sound alerted me from my thoughts. It wouldn’t be long before Cadance figured out that we were indeed not fixing the megaspell array as she’d asked us to do. We needed to be done before then.

“We have a bit of a problem. The power lines for the main megaspell array have been… well… they’ve been cut,” Dusk said softly. “The amount of magical overload it took to do this. They probably don’t even know.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, it means even if we find the copy of Gideon, she isn’t going to be able to cast the spell until the lines are reconnected. Someone is going to have to go down to the array and do that,” Dusk said.

“Great. So what now?”

“We find Gideon, and get her online. She should be able to take control of all the subsystems of the city, making it difficult to take control back. Once she’s in control, we ditch the guards and fix the power lines. Then once we’re out of the city, we transmit to Gideon that we’re ready,” Dusk explained softly.

I grimaced, but nodded before returning to my console. The technology of the Empire was indeed far above anything I’d ever seen before out in the Wasteland. I couldn’t even fathom how they had managed to build so much. Except I did know how. Starlight Glimmer. She had been responsible for part of it, I knew deep down. Still, the nature of the technology was beyond my wildest dreams. How had Starlight even been able to concoct such things?

I hit upon a directory hidden deep inside the system, my eyes widening as I realized what it was. It was an audio file. I pulled it up and hit play. I immediately recognized the voice as Starlight Glimmer’s.

“Artificial Intelligence log… I don’t even know what the date is here. All concept of time here is… fuzzy. That being said… everything that I’ve done to Gideon so far has made the AI exactly what I wanted out of it… caring, compassionate, but also shrewd and practical.

I… I have a confession to make. I’ve seen the future. I’ve seen what happens. Equestria loses, and everything dies. It’s not a future I wish to see again. I once thought I knew what Equestria needed. Equality. Pssh. Misguided, I was. I didn’t see what was actually the most important thing until I saw what would happen in the end.

More than anything, we need friendship to survive. And it’s my hope that by instilling that sense of compassion into Gideon, that I can save the Crystal Empire, the one place in all of Equestria that can bring back the ideals of light and friendship to the world after I am gone.

Of course… if you’re listening to this, I am likely dead. Whether I succeeded or failed depends on one thing. Gideon?”

“Yes, Starlight?”

“How are you feeling today?”

“I am… confused, Starlight. These images you have shown me. I do not understand.”

“You will. Someday, you’ll understand it all. Just keep reading over that journal I fed into your databanks, okay?”

“Affirmative.”

“You don’t have to say affirmative, silly.”

“...okay.”

“That’s better.”

“Starlight?”

“Yes, Gideon?”

“I’m scared.”

“Me too, but at least we have each other, alright?”

I blinked. Gideon was not only part of the time construct, but she was also sentient? Perhaps… perhaps this plan could be altered, and Gideon could convince Cadance…

“I found her,” Dusk said quietly. “I had no idea she was…”

I turned immediately to his console. “Bring her up. We need to talk to her,” I said quickly.

Dusk nodded and tapped on the console. A visualization of a pony, a pony I knew all too well from all the memory orbs I’d been in. She smiled with a quick grin and winked.

“Hello, Dusk,” she said. “And you must be Starry Night. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“You… you look just like…” I stammered.

“Yes, Starlight modeled my visual representation after her own,” Gideon replied. “I assume she desired some sort of legacy.”

“Gideon, we have a problem. The Empire… Cadance wants us to enable the weapons systems. We don’t have much time before she figures out that we’re talking to you. Can you enable the locks to this room?” Dusk asked quickly.

Gideon smiled. “I can do that. Locks engaged,” she said.

Behind us, I heard the door locks engage. The guard must have realized it as well as they started pulling on the door to try to get in.

“Alright, good. That gives us a little more time before they can stop us,” Dusk said.

“Gideon… you must know what what’s going on with the Empire… Cadance… everything is not what Starlight wanted. She wanted peace, friendship, compassion. We need to stop this madness. Can you help us?” I implored the artificial intelligence. “We need you to take control of the city. If we can show Cadance what you’ve seen… maybe… just maybe we can stop her from doing the wrong thing.”

“I can attempt to take control of the city’s subsystems, but it may take longer than you have before the guards enter the room. There are a lot of safeguards in place that I have to get around. Jeez, this code is just awful. Starlight really was kind of lazy,” Gideon said with a frown. “I’ll see what I can do, but you’ve got more pressing problems. You need to get out of here. The ventilation shaft is open. I suggest you use it.”

I glanced at Dusk and Heartshine and shrugged. “Alright. Which way do we go?”

A lit up path appeared on the screen. “This path should take you out of the palace and into the city. I will stay in remote communication with your PipBuck,” Gideon replied.

“Guess we’d better do as the pretty pony on the screen says,” Heartshine interjected. “I don’t know much more that door can take.”

I glanced back. The guards were battering at the door, and would likely break through any second.

“Alright. Gideon, we’ll be in touch,” I said as I motioned towards the ventilation shaft at the top end of the room.

I reached out with my magic and ripped the shaft door open. It was a tight fit, but we didn’t have much of a choice. We crawled in single file and I pulled the door back closed behind me just as the guards burst through the door.

* * *

Velvet and Company

* * *

The elevator stopped and we hesitated for a brief moment. There was no assurance that the invisibility spell devices that Flurry had given us were working, and I didn’t quite trust her. She wanted power, but wasn’t willing to directly challenge her mother to get it? It felt like we were being set up for failure. It made me feel nervous. That was a feeling I didn’t like.

I glanced around at the others. They seemed to be feeling the same way. I could feel it radiating off of them. None of this was good. If we had an invisibility spell how could I see the others? It didn’t make any sense.

The door opened and Flurry stepped off, disappearing to the left without saying a word. I took a step outside, grimacing. There was no one around to even test the viability of the spell. Still, it seemed that for the moment we had some time to figure out where we were.

“This level looks different than where the throne room was,” whispered Lightning.

“Great. How do we find our way up there then?” Coconut said softly.

“I don’t know, but we have a problem. Starry’s signal is actually moving away from the palace. We need to do something soon,” Patch said.

“Let’s remain on the move. Somewhere around here is a way up besides the elevator,” Lilith said. “Besides, if Starry managed to escape then it may be prudent to try to find an escape route ourselves.”

I grimaced, following behind the others as we made our down the abandoned hallway. Something certainly felt off about all of this, almost as if Flurry Heart wasn’t quite sure we would be able to do the job. To be honest, I wasn’t sure we would be able to pull such an act off ourselves. This whole thing was a big trap.

This level of the palace appeared to contain no guards whatsoever, but that didn’t stop it from being completely baffling. Every twist and turn seemed to lead to new ones, and I considered that we were possibly going around in circles several times. There were also no doors to anything else, just vents and more hallways. Furthermore, we saw no sign of Flurry, despite heading in the same direction she had.

“Okay. I’m confused,” Lilith said after several long moments of silence. “This place is empty. Where the fuck is everyone? And furthermore, how the fuck do we get out of here?”

“I knew I had a bad feeling about that alicorn,” I said. “This was all just a ploy so she could play with our heads. Get us lost, and then fuck with our minds.”

Hoofsteps interrupted our discussion as several guards appeared at the end of the hallway we were in. They signaled in our direction, their weapons trained on us. I cursed under my breath. Of course the cloaking devices didn’t work! Why would I have expected to trust Flurry Heart?!

“Well, no matter. Looks like we aren’t as lost as it seems,” Lilith said with a grin. “Let’s just ask these fine folks for help, shall we?”

In a mere instant she flew across the room, bringing a bladed wing into the helmet of the lead guard. It sliced deep, sending the guard sprawling to the ground. The rest of the guards moved into action to retaliate, the first of which took a bullet straight to the chest as Patch let loose a barrage. Both Coconut and Lightning also took action, firing before they could be fired upon. Within moments the guards lay on the ground, unmoving.

“That was… anticlimactic,” Lilith said. “They didn’t actually know where we were, and they died so easily.”

The guards suddenly dissolved into nothingness in front of our eyes, as well as the walls and floor and well… just about everything. It was replaced by a long circular gridded room. Flurry Heart stood in the middle.

“Excellent work. You understand that I had to test your aptitude to see how good you really were. Seems like you know how to work well together,” she said. “But I’m afraid it won’t be good enough to take on my mother. She’ll see right through you and decimate you. Sad too, I had such high hopes for you now that your other friends have somehow escaped.”

“So it’s true. Starry did get away from you,” Patch said.

“Momentarily, yes,” Flurry said with a scowl. “I’m afraid though, it won’t matter. You won’t be joining her. This is as far as you go. I have no use for you now.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” Lilith said. “We’ll just have to kill you.”

“Do you really believe that you can do that? I’d love to see you try,” the alicorn said with glee in her voice. “I really think you should just accept that you’re in over your heads here.”

I scowled. I could feel the hatred emanating from her. This mare hated everything. It didn’t make any sense at all. None of it did. First she offered us a job, then she tests us, then she claims we weren’t good enough, and then wants to kill us? Her mind was cracked. Just how long were we wandering those hallways? I know it didn’t feel like that long, but perhaps she was watching us and reading us the whole time? I thought. It’s like she’s… fucking bipolar or something.

“I will decide when I’m in over my head,” Patch said, lifting her rifle. “In fact, I’m pretty much done with this. Move aside, I’m going to get my daughter.”

“You asked for it,” Flurry said. Her horn glowed softly as her magic extended outwards. A wave of powerful energy ripped across the room.

Patch retorted with a quick shot from her rifle, seemingly striking the alicorn directly in the chest, but nothing happened. In fact, the bullet seemed to pass right through her. My eyes widened as I parsed what that meant.

“She’s not actually here,” I said aloud. “It’s a hologram!”

Flurry Heart cackled as her horn settled down. “You’re smart. I like that. Yes, this is a hologram. I needed to vet you after all to see if you could kill my mother.”

“I’m really confused. This was just another test?” Lightning said.

“I know, it’s super dramatic. I can never do anything halfway,” Flurry said, lifting a hoof with a grin. “The truth is, the palace is in chaos looking for your friends. There’s no way you’d be able to get around up here without being seen even with the cloaking devices. I needed to get you through a different way. At the end of this level there’s an elevator that will take you up to the throne room level. From there, it’s all on you to get there.”

I glanced over at Patch. “What do we do? Do we trust her?” I asked.

“We have to get to Starry. If this is the way we do it, then let’s go,” Patch said. She scowled and then coughed for a few seconds. “Besides… we’re stuck here if we don’t do anything.”

The rest of the group begrudgingly agreed as Flurry’s image disappeared. I walked behind the group as we made our way towards the single elevator that the alicorn had mentioned. I couldn’t quite grasp what was going on here. Starry had escaped? If she’d gotten away, maybe there was a chance for us to get away as well.

We stepped into the elevator and it hummed softly as it went up. The door chimed and opened onto a wide hallway overlooking the city. Things appeared just as Flurry had said. The city was in full blown panic as guards moved to and fro below on the palace grounds. We could hear hoofsteps down the hallway. We needed to move before more guards came.

“This way,” Coconut pointed down the hallway from the left of the elevator. “The throne room was that way. Maybe there’s a place we can hole up and come up with a plan.”

“And hopefully avoid any other guards along the way,” Lilith said. “I don’t like being snuck up on.”

We started moving in the opposite direction of the hoofsteps, hoping that the guards were far behind us. At the far end of the hallway I could make out what could only be the throne room. Several guards were posted around it, but they appeared to have not noticed us yet. We had the element of surprise on our side.

“Lilith. Do you think you can quietly take them out?” Patch said.

“Doubtful. We’d better find some place to hide,” Lilith said, her eyes shifting around. She pointed at a nearby door down the hall. “There.”

We quietly crept forward, pushing open the door slightly and entering. The room we were in appeared to be some form of bed chamber. My eyes widened as I took in the sight that met my eyes from across the room.

Chalice. She was splayed out, cut up and opened on the bed. She appeared to be dead. My blood simmered.

“Oh… oh no,” Coconut said as she approached the dead alicorn. “Chalice. She’s…”

“She’s dead,” Patch said. “You knew her?”

“This was one of the alicorns who came from Heartshine’s town with us,” Lightning said. “This must mean…”

“Yes… you’re in my personal chambers,” a silky voice said from inside the room. Flurry Heart appeared almost out of thin air, sitting on the other bed in the room. “I apologize for the mess. I haven’t really had the time to clean up.”

“You… you fucking bitch, you killed her!” I shouted angrily. Rage poured off of me like sweat.

“Tut tut. You don’t want the guards to hear you do you? The cloaking devices only do so much,” Flurry replied. “Besides… I didn’t kill her. I merely… experimented on her. The empath was responsible for her death.”

“The empath… you mean Heartshine?” Lightning asked.

“Yes… she considered it an act of mercy,” Flurry said. “I found that very intriguing. One of the reasons I placed her in my pocket. She’s currently with your other friends. I suspect she’ll do what she’s told and get them back into position so that I can take out my mother. Until then… I recommend you stay put here. There isn’t much you can do until the empath returns with your friends.”

“What about…?” Lightning said, motioning his head towards Chalice.

“Ah, right. I can do something about that,” Flurry replied, igniting her horn. In a brief flash, the entire bed and Chalice with it completely disappeared.

I scowled, growling under my breath as Flurry Heart passed by us, pushing the door open and leaving. No matter what she’d said I still didn’t understand why she was keeping us alive, let alone treating us like she liked us, but then doing shit like leaving Chalice’s dead body laying around? None of it made sense. All the while I could continue to feel the intense hatred rolling off of her in waves.

“I don’t like this,” I hissed as she left. “We’re being set up to die.”

“I know,” Patch said solemnly. “But don’t worry about that. It’ll all work out according to my plan.”

“Wait… you know? And you have a plan?” I asked, blinking.

“Yeah, she’s got a plan,” Lilith said confidently before glancing at the earth mare. “Wait. You have a plan?”

“Yeah. Like I said. Don’t worry. We have the element of surprise. She doesn’t know that we know,” Patch said. “We’re gonna get out of this alive. Trust me.”

* * *

Starry

* * *

I fell out of the ventilation shaft onto the ground next to Heartshine and Dusk, grousing as I pulled myself up to sitting. We were finally outside the palace after moving through the shafts for what felt like hours. I could breath breathable air again! I quickly noted that we were in the open, forcing us to move behind an outcropping of unlabeled metal containers.

“So… what’s the plan? Where’s the power cables to the weapons battery?” I asked.

“According to the diagrams, they’re outside of the palace proper and to the west,” Dusk replied. “We’re going to have to go underground to get to them.”

“How are we going to do that? The guards have to be searching the palace grounds for us, right? We have no way of defending ourselves against an attack,” Heartshine said.

“Stealth is our best friend at the moment. We need to be on the move, or we will be found out,” Dusk said, his eyes scanning the grounds before he stopped. “There. A maintenance hatch that leads down. We should be able to use it to get under the city. From there we need to get to the power cables and assess the damage to the power matrix.”

“It’s as good a plan as any, and we’re clear to move,” I said, glancing about. “Go!”

We moved out of hiding, crossing the open air towards the hatch. All the while I waited for the inevitable, for a guard to capture us, but it never occurred. I threw the hatch open with my magic as Dusk and Heartshine slid down into it. I followed, pulling it shut. Darkness enveloped us until a soft light emanated from both Dusk and my own horn. After breathing heavily for several long moments I was able to calm down and take stock of where we were.

The tunnel was cold and dank and ran back and forth both away and towards the palace. It looked almost unused. That was good for us.

“Alright, the junction we’re looking for is that way,” Dusk said, pointing down the tunnel away from the palace. “We need to turn on the power to the array by fixing the breaks in the cables.”

“If it were so easy to fix this, why didn’t the Empire come down and do it themselves?” Heartshine asked while we walked along the cold tunnel.

“Because the system reported it only when I poked it harder than anypony normally would. At normal glance, it would appear the power was fine, just that the weapons themselves were disabled,” Dusk explained. “This… Starlight Glimmer planned for this, maybe?”

“Starlight’s plan was put in place to protect the world as well as the Empire,”a voice said from my PipBuck.

“Gideon? Is that you?” I asked.

“It is, Starry Night. I am now in complete control of the Crystal Empire’s facilities. As we speak, Queen Cadance is attempting to stop me. Starlight’s programming will prevent that,”Gideon replied succinctly.

“Good. Keep her on her toes until we get the power back on to the array, and then we’ll go from there,” I said with a grin.

“There is something… else. An anomaly. There are living ponies present in the palace. They are not from the Crystal Empire,” Gideon said.

“Lightning and Coconut,” I said with a grimace. “Wait… you said they’re in the palace? But they were in that cavern with the black crystals before…”

“My scans show five entities. Two pegasi, two earth ponies, and a changeling,” Gideon said. “Scans show that two of the entities are… aging.”

My eyes widened as I shared a glance with Dusk. “Thanks, Gideon. We’ll keep that in mind. We’re headed to the power junction now.”

Gideon’s voice disappeared, leaving us with our own thoughts. Aging… ponies? A changeling? Was Velvet alive? And if so… had she gotten help? What were they doing in the palace? Nothing made any sense. All I knew is that we were going to have to go back for them… and when we did… Cadance would be there.

It didn’t matter. We had control of the city under Gideon’s systems. We just needed to turn the juice back on and we could send the Crystal Empire back to wherever they came from.

Still, the nagging thoughts kept getting to me. Who were these other ponies? A thought flashed across my mind. What if… what if it was Mom and Lilith? I couldn’t fathom why they would be here, especially with Mom’s condition.

“Starry? Are you alright?” Heartshine asked. “You look… strained.”

“I’m fine… I just… I have a bad feeling about all of this,” I said. “You heard what Gideon said. We’re going to have to go back for our friends once this is all said and done.”

“At the next junction we need to turn right,” Dusk said softly. “Then it’s not far until we reach the power station.”

I nodded, silently stalking behind the other unicorn as we made our way to a four-way junction. We turned right and started walking towards the power station, my thoughts worming their way inside as I felt even more uneasy about everything.

The tunnel eventually opened up into a massive cavern that was, what I assumed was the power station. Massive crystal battery banks lined the cavern, and in the center a giant weave of broken cabling lay sparking. It illuminated the entire place in a chaotic and erratic light.

“There,” Dusk pointed out in the center of the room. “The cables that are broken. Gideon did a number on these, that’s for sure. It’s going to take some time to fix.”

“Get to it, then. Heartshine and I will lookout for anything strange,” I said with a grimace.

* * *

Velvet

* * *

I fidgeted around the room, not really knowing what was going on other than the fact that the guards outside the halls were running around like mad ponies. An alarm suddenly started going off, catching all of us off-guard.

“What’s that?” Coconut said. “Did they find Starry and the others?”

“No… this is something different,” Patch said as she peered out the crystalline door.

“Attention, Crystal Empire inhabitants. My name is Gideon, and I am now in control of the entire city’s subsystems. Please, do not be alarmed. It is not my intent to harm you, but to educate you and show you a better way. I repeat. My name is Gideon…” a loud voice began blaring throughout the palace.

“Gideon? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Lilith said. “It’s almost like someone hacked their system.”

“Which is perfect for us,” Patch said with a grin. “The chaos will give us time to put my plan into action.”

“And what plan is that?” Lightning asked.

“We need to warn Equestria about the Empire. But we’ve got an opportunity to cut it off at the head and get rid of two of its leaders. First we deal with the psycho alicorn and then the Queen,” Patch said.

“Is that even possible? You saw what that psychotic bitch did to Chalice,” I protested angrily. “How can we even begin to beat something like that?”

“Oh, I think we can wrangle up some ways to handle that. Those guards are all armored up pretty well. Pretty sure they have an armory on this level. They’d have to in order to have all the gear necessary to protect the Queen. Chances are, during this panic, they’ll be too busy dealing with whatever this is to protect it,” Patch said.

“And what then?” Lightning asked.

“Then, we find that monster and put her out of her misery,” I said. “I’m on board. And I even have a great idea on how we can get there.”

I grunted under my breath, accessing my changeling magic. I reached deep inside, looking for the same spark that had gotten me out of the lake. I found it easier this time, my eyes and body glowing bright green as my form shifted and moved into a perfect looking copy of Flurry Heart.

“There. Now we should be able to move through this level without any issues,” I said. “If anyone asks, I’m taking prisoners back to their cell.”

“We’ll need to be wearing some restraints,” Patch said. “But it’s a great idea. Come on, let’s make this happen.”

Within moments we were ready to step out of the room. I pushed the door open carefully, using my instincts to gauge whether it was safe or not. The hall was clear at the moment, so we stepped outside and began walking away from the throne room area. As we walked, a few guards here or there passed by without issue. In fact, they seemed to be ultimately scared of me in the guise of their Princess. We moved quietly as I kept a close eye for the real Flurry Heart in case she appeared.

We came across a room that had been labeled as the Armory within several moments. It appeared to be completely unguarded. With confidence I walked up and scanned my hoof on the pad next to the door. It glared red at me. I growled under my breath.

“No time to try the easy way,” Patch said, pulling her rifle out from underneath her cloak. She lifted it it and fired directly into the pad.

The pad sparked into lifelessness as the door opened. I grinned sheepishly as we stepped inside and pulled it closed behind us. Patch took point, wandering into the armory to find some weaponry. The room was large enough for all of us to fit comfortably and then some. Lining each wall was shelves where boxes were stored.

“Looks like they are using quite a bit of the weapons already, but there’s still some choice pieces. Take what you can and some body armor and let’s get going,” Patch instructed. “It’s not going to take long for this… Gideon to figure out where we are, and we don’t know if she’s friendly or not.”

“I can assure you, I am not your enemy,” a voice said from the speaker mounted on the wall.

“You’ve been listening to us?” Lightning asked. “Who are you?”

“I am an artificial intelligence designed by Starlight Glimmer, code-named ‘Gideon’. I have established control of this facility based on protocols left by her and enabled by Master Dusk and his companion Starry Night,” Gideon’s voice calmly replied.

“You know where Starry is?” I asked, piping up. This was the first good news I’ve heard since we got here.

“Starry Night is currently located outside of the palace. She is attempting to subvert power to the megaspell weapons array so that I may use it to gain full control and activate the time construct,” Gideon said. “I assume you are her friends?”

“And family,” Lightning said, glancing over at Patch. “We need to get a message to her. Can you help us?”

“Certainly. I have performed full identity scans and will provide her with information regarding your presence here,” Gideon replied.

“Excellent. Let her know as soon as we’ve dealt with the ruling hierarchy of the Crystal Empire we’ll be on our way to her,” Patch said, her determination showing deep in her expression. “Now, can you tell us where Princess Flurry Heart is?”

“Of course. Scanning. Princess Flurry Heart is on the lowest floor of the palace. I will mark a path to a relevant elevator on your PipBuck,” Gideon said.

I scowled as I dissipated the form of Flurry Heart, returning to my natural insectoid shape. The body armor we’d been able to scrounge up was just enough to fit us, along with a few magical energy weapons for good measure. It would have to be enough. Patch took down the directions from Gideon and we prepped to leave. Patch was the last of us to leave. As she started to I heard Gideon call back out to her again. I couldn’t help but overhear it, thanks to my sensitive changeling ears.

“Your name is… Patch, is it? You have some significance to Starry Night.”

“Yes. Starry’s my daughter.”

“I have calculated that there is a 15% chance of survival on your part in this mission. Analyzation of your body scans indicates that your heart has a 95% chance of failure at the rate you are pushing yourself. You should consider letting the others handle this…”

“Gideon, fuck off. I’m doing this for my daughter and for everyone else in Equestria. If I don’t… we all lose.”

“Noted. Good luck, Patch.”

* * *

Starry

* * *

I kept my eyes trained on every outcropping, every orifice, every tunnel as Dusk started his work. His horn and magic were trained on the cables, carefully reaching out to reattach each one to its correct pairing. It was tedious, and Dusk wasn’t even sure about whether it would ultimately work, but it was the best plan we had at the moment.

Heartshine sat with me, carefully watching as well. Every few seconds I’d catch her looking at me, possibly thinking of something to say. She shifted. She fidgeted. I was sure that what had happened up above with Chalice… it wasn’t good for her. It was almost like it was her version of what I had done to Xerves.

“Are you alright?” I asked softly, catching her attention. “You keep fidgeting.”

“Yeah… no… I don’t know,” Heartshine said. “I can’t… I can’t get that image out of my head still. What I did… It… it’s haunting me.”

“For a while… after what happened with Xerves… I felt the same. I couldn’t get that image out of my head… after what I did, I just couldn’t deal with it,” I said aloud. “But then something strange happened.”

“What’s that?”

“I met you. And you seemed to know exactly what was hurting me, but at the same time… you were hurt too. What happened, really?” I said.

Heartshine sighed deeply before starting to speak. “I told you already that I tried to use my talents to help Equestria, right? Well… I tried to start an order of Heartmenders, ponies who had unique talents much like my own. Ponies that could help other ponies heal,” she said.

“And?”

“And it all went to shit. Raiders, slavers, whatever you want to call them… they’d target us at every opportunity they got. We were fodder to them, and most of us couldn’t even properly defend ourselves,” Heartshine said. “Within a few months… there weren’t many of us left. One of my most trusted Heartmenders left after that. What she said… it cut deep. She said I didn’t care enough, that it was my fault that ponies died out there. That I put them in that danger. And she was right.”

“But you were trying to help ponies. You couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” I said.

“That isn’t the problem. I got… complacent. I was so used to helping everypony myself that when I started the order… I let them go do everything. I was lazy, and I didn’t take charge like I should have. When the attacks started happening, I didn’t do anything,” Heartshine replied. “I… I choked. I couldn’t do it. And because of that, innocent lives were lost.”

I grimaced and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “What happened after that?”

“After she left… I broke down. Started wandering from town to town, looking for work. Finding friends, love… you name it. But they weren’t her, and every time it just reminded me of what had happened. Every town that I visited, attacked in some way. Every time, somepony I cared about, dead,” Heartshine said. “And every time, it was because I chose to do nothing. I got out before it got worse.”

“Hope Junction,” I said.

“Hope Junction was the worst. It was the straw that broke the pony’s back. I left Equestria for good, hoping that I’d find something better for me,” Heartshine replied. “I found Stable Town. I thought… I thought I could make a new life there.”

“It seemed like a nice town, really,” I said wistfully. It felt like it had been ages to me since we’d left there. “Quaint.”

“It was… and when Chalice and Shimmer came to the town… I thought maybe… with the Followers I could do some good again,” Heartshine continued. “But we saw how that turned out.”

I nodded, continuing to keep an eye on both Dusk and the tunnels. Besides the sparkling and crackling of the electricity in the air, there was nothing.

“Well… for what it’s worth… I think you did everything you could to help me,” I said aloud finally after several long moments of silence. “You didn’t back down there… and I still think you can help ponies. You helped Chalice… you gave her the mercy she desired. What you did up there wasn’t a weakness. It was strength.”

Heartshine looked up at me and smiled, a slight tear in her eye. “You always know just what to say, don’t you?” she asked.

“I try,” I said, my ears pinning back at a sound coming from one of the tunnels. “Did you hear that?”

It was a thumping sound, faint at first, but growing louder. Had the guards found us? I didn’t think it was possible. The sound was… erratic however. There was no order, no foundation to it. It didn’t sound like the marched hoofsteps of the guards.

And then I smelled it. A stench so rotten, so foul that my nose nearly shrank half its size in response. It smelled like… like rotten mint. I heard a crackling shriek rip through the air. Something was coming. Something big.

“Dusk… we’ve got company,” I said. “What’s your status?”

“Still working. This cabling is a bit of a mess,” Dusk replied.

I scowled, keeping my eyes trained on the tunnels feeding into the room. Another shrieking sound rippled throughout the room. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It could have been coming from all three of the tunnels for all I knew. I could feel Heartshine behind me, both of our hearts racing as we waited with bated breath.

And then some… thing emerged from the tunnel directly across from us. It was… elongated, its skin crackled and blotchy. Its maw stretched out with rows of strange jagged teeth. It didn’t look like a pony. It didn’t even have eyes that I could see. It looked like something out of an old horror film from before the war. It stood on two hind legs, its head bobbing back and forth like it was hunting for something.

“Shit shit shit,” I muttered under my breath as I lit my horn.

“What the flipping fuck is that thing?” Heartshine said from behind me.

The thing shifted its head in response. It didn’t have eyes, but it was tracking us through the sounds of our voices. It took a step forward and shrieked once more. My horn seared as I considered our options. My eyes shifted to the tunnel to our right and I acted, sending a blast of energy at it that made a crackling sound as it landed. The creature took the bait, spinning quickly and descending upon whatever had made the noise. It struck the wall headfirst, stumbling about as I tried to think of part two of the plan.

“Heartshine…” I said under my breath. “When I say go, you pick me up and fly straight up, alright?”

The lime green mare nodded calmly. I took a step to the left, directly in front of one of the crystal batteries lining the room. Heartshine stepped with me as the creature heard us. It turned and started lumbering towards us.

“Go!” I shouted as Heartshine grabbed my waist and lifted.

We went up in the air as I dropped a blast of magic downwards to draw the creature’s attention. The creature, still focused on the sound in front of it barreled right into the battery. It struck with such force that the crystalline structure cracked, leaking caustic fluid all over the creature. The thing howled, falling backwards in a heaping pile of smoking rotten mint. As we set down, the thing finally let loose a dying wail before moving no longer.

“Watch what you’re doing with those batteries,” Dusk said, his eyes still focused on the cabling. “We need them mostly intact.”

“Sorry, heat of the moment,” I said. “Hopefully there aren’t any more of those things out there.”

“Starry Night?” a voice said through my PipBuck.

“Gideon? Is that you?” I asked.

“I detected a fluctuation in the power grid. Is everything alright?”

“We’re fine, Gideon. There was a… monster,” I said after considering how to term it. “We’re still working on repairing the cabling. Or rather, Dusk is.”

“Excellent. Starry, I have been in contact with your friends. They are alive and in the palace. There is one thing that concerns me…”

“And that is?”

Your mother is present with them. I have scanned her vital signs. She does not have much time if she continues to push herself like this,” Gideon replied, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

My eyes widened. Mom was here?! How was that even possible? If she was there, then that meant that Lilith was also there. How had they gotten here in the first place? How had they even known to come here? There was so much I didn’t know. My eyes widened further as I also realized that Gideon had said a changeling was also present. Velvet was alive?!

“Gideon… where are they now?” I asked quickly.

“They are in the palace proper. I overheard them talking about launching an attack on Princess Flurry Heart and Queen Cadance,” Gideon said.

I growled under my breath. “They won’t be any match for that psycho bitch,” I said.

“What do we do? We can’t just let them walk in to their deaths,” Heartshine offered.

“We’re not. We’re going to go back and help them. Dusk? Do you think you can manage down here by yourself for a little while?” I asked, turning to the unicorn.

“I probably can, but not if another one of those monsters comes,” he replied. “You want to go back to the palace to help your friends.”

“They need our help,” I said. “If we don’t go now, they could be dead.”

“Then go. I’ll deal with this and contact you via Gideon,” the unicorn said. “And Starry… good luck.”

* * *

Velvet

* * *

The elevator towards the lower floors of the palace seemingly took forever as we waited for it to stop. Its soft hum did nothing to sooth our anxiety of what was coming next. The elevator halted and it opened up into chaos. Guards were moving to and fro, hunting the outside of the palace grounds as they tried to get things under control. It seemed that Gideon had taken control of everything and was using the palace’s defenses against them.

It was hell. Guards were trying to disable magical energy turrets left and right as they fired upon their own ponies. Alarms were raised. Things were in such flux that the guards patrolling the halls didn’t even acknowledge our presence as they were too busy trying to stop their own defenses. I gathered that it was also possible that the cloaking device that Flurry had given us was still functional, but I really doubted it.

We moved through the hallway, silently and quickly as we made our way towards the center room where Gideon had indicated Flurry Heart was. We found it, a massive veranda around the center of the palace base. The flooring was grated, the light dark and dreary as we approached. At the very center stood Flurry Heart. She was looking up at something that was bright, shining. It was pulsing, but it looked sickly.

“Looks like both my plans were a wash,” Flurry said to herself as we stalked into the room. “You got loose. The empath didn’t do what I asked… oh well. I guess I’ll have to wipe the slate clean and start over. If I get the chance. Whatever your friends did, it’s got something in our system attacking the city, but it’s no matter.”

“Stand down, Princess,” Patch said, lifting her rifle. “Face facts. You’re not winning.”

“You know,” Flurry said as she turned to face us. “Time was, this city… this Empire stood for something more than just blind hate. Our magic, our love for our country… it radiated across Equestria with the power of the Crystal Heart. But the Heart no longer answers us. It sits here… pulsing, sickly… dead. It waits for the living, and we are not those ponies anymore.”

She took a few steps forward and giggled. “It’s funny. I may just have to kill Mother myself. And then, Equestria will suffer what it did to us. It will feel the pain of our Empire.”

Her horn lit up and magic seared across the room towards us. I yelped and leaped to the side as a bolt of energy struck the ground, melting a hole in the grate. The metal fell below to nothingness. Flurry tittered loudly at our predicament.

“Fan out! Don’t group together!” Patch barked. “Engage at will!”

A crack ripped through the air as the elder mare fired her weapon, the bullet soaring across the air towards the alicorn. Flurry snarled and ignited her horn, bringing up a magical shield that deflected the shot. She responded with another bolt of energy aimed right towards her, but it never arrived. Lilith shot into the air at breakneck speed, slapping a bladed wing at the bolt, sending it flying away up towards the pipework of the ceiling. With a quick grin she spun and bit down on her firing bit, sending a few smaller missiles flying from her signature weapon.

Flurry’s horn brightened, grabbing ahold of the two missiles in the air and detonating them. Her eyes filled with devious glee as she began firing off blast after blast of magical energy, forcing us to scatter and dodge as best as we could. From what I could tell, Lightning and Coconut were both firing their own weapons upon the alicorn, but they weren’t making much headway. Lilith was busy flying around sending missiles into the shield, while Patch was crouching and sniping from behind cover. It still didn’t matter. Flurry was in total control of this battle, wielding her magic like she had battled for years.

This was lunacy. We were doomed from the start of this conflict. Flurry Heart wasn’t like the Wasteland alicorns. She was the real deal. We needed to distract her somehow, to give Patch or Lilith an opening. An idea sprung into my head.

I reached deep inside once more to that primal place, the source of the changeling magic that had produced me, and tugged hard. I needed to bring forth something, something stronger than even I was. Something that I could use to defeat her. I found something more… more powerful than I expected. It pulled me in, and I let loose a guttural roar that shook the very walls.

I floated in the air, exulting in my newfound capabilities. I wasn’t sure what I was, just that whatever it was I could feel the hatred in the air and that it attracted me. I wanted all of it, to share and devour every last drop. I wanted to feel the hate wash over me. I shrieked loudly as I landed upon the Princess through her magical shield, latching onto her with such ferocity that she didn’t have much time to react. She struggled and I struggle back. I would not let her get away with what she had done to Chalice. Not after Shimmer had given her life in the attempt to save my own. I would feed on that hate, that fear.

Flurry Heart snarled, calling upon her magic once more as she tried to dislodge me. She couldn’t. Her horn glowed as it summoned one final gambit before I took every last drop of feeling. Her eyes glazed into feralism and she snarled back as she lunged into me.

“You will not defeat me!” she shrieked.

I roared, slamming into her body with all the force I could muster. My new form was strong, whatever it was. The alicorn stumbled backwards from the blow, her horn glowed brightly, summoning forth what appeared to be a sword made of magic.

“I do not have time for this. I have an Empire to take control of!” she said with a mad cackle. She lunged towards me with the blade.

My eyes widened. I felt warmth across my body and pain. The blade was embedded in my side, blood flowing freely down my legs as I lumbered backwards. The changeling magic had left me when I’d needed it the most. I could feel my strength beginning to drift away. In front of me the alicorn panted loudly, her own magic close to being spent. I cackled and snarled wildly as I lunged back at her, forcing her backwards.

*BANG*

A gunshot ripped across the room, tearing into Flurry Heart’s neck. Foul ichor spurt from the wound, followed by more gunshots as the others used the opportunity I’d been able to give them. I slumped backwards onto the ground and could only watch as Flurry Heart fell, her magic unable to keep up with the barrage. I’d siphoned enough of her hate, her strength, that she could not stand against the combined might of my friends.

Friends. It was funny to consider such a thing. It felt like ages since I’d once kidnapped Starry and Lightning, since I had no friends. But now… now I did. And it felt right that I would perish protecting them with all of my might.

“Velvet! She’s down,” I heard Lightning say.

“Velvet, can you hear us? It’s Coconut. Turn your head, please,” I heard Coconut’s frantic, worried voice. “Shit. She’s not responsive. This wound… it’s bad. I can try to close it up, but there might be all sorts of internal bleeding.”

“Halt!”

Hoofsteps, marched and orderly echoed throughout the room. Through my glazed and blurry haze I could see the guards, and another alicorn standing angrily tall over the others. A breath caught in my throat as I watched the others being taken and placed into chains. I couldn’t make out what the alicorn was saying, but I knew it wasn’t good.

And then… darkness cast itself over my sight. I felt so… so weak, so very weak. It was so easy to die, to let all of yourself go. I’d done what I could for my friends. They were still alive. That was all that mattered.

I let out one final breath, and then slumped over, my eyes drifting to Flurry Heart's body just a few feet away. I coughed up blood, giving a tiny laugh as I felt my body slowly revert to my natural changeling form.

“F-f-f-fucking bitch. Serves her right, “ I managed to say before the very last vestiges of life left my body.

* * *

Starry

* * *

We emerged from the maintenance hatch inside a vast network of grates and metal pipework. The room itself was circular, and the best I could tell was at one of the lowest levels of the palace. I grimaced. If that was the case then we could head up without much trouble from the guards. Gideon had said that our friends had been here, but at first glance I could see no signs of them.

I took a step forward, Heartshine stalking closely behind me. At the center of the room was a massive reactor, inside of it a spinning crystalline structure that appeared to be made into the shape of… a heart? Yes, it was definitely a heart, but it was… cracked. It looked sickly, pulsing and glowing an unhealthy glow.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Heartshine said. “A crystal heart? What kind of sense does that make?”

“It’s probably important, otherwise why would it be here?” I said aloud. “Not important to our mission, however. Fan out. We need to find the way back up to the throne room.”

“Alright. Hopefully we’re not too late,” Heartshine replied before stalking off.

I grimaced. Hopefully you’re right, I thought to myself as I made my way across the floor of the room. Something had happened here. A fight. Burn marks scored the walls and there were pieces of the grated metal missing in some places. I glanced around, looking for some way out, finally resting on a hallway leading out and away from this place.

“Over here,” I said aloud. No response. “Shine? You hear me?”

“Starry? You’d better come here,” I heard her reply. Heartshine’s voice sounded… unsure… cracked… scared.

I turned and walked towards the sound of her voice, around the side of the circular column. As Heartshine came into view I very quickly ascertained the source of her uncertainty and fear. Laying not far from each other were two forms. My eyes widened as I jumped to uncertain conclusions, the face of my mother jumping to the forefront, and Gideon’s words about her.

As I got closer, I realized it wasn’t Mom… but it was equally as bad. Velvet Kiss lay still on the grated flooring, a gaping wound in her side. She’d reverted to her natural form, but I knew it was her. Laying not far was an alicorn, a ghoul. Flurry Heart. Several holes dotted her neck and head, her blood oozing and puddling below her in a pool of rotten ichor.

“Velvet,” I said shakily. “What… what happened?”

“I don’t know, but I found them like this. They were just… left here,” Heartshine said.

I lowered myself next to Velvet, sighing deeply as I pulled her eyes closed. I thought I’d lost her once before, and when I realized she was alive… It was too much to bear now that it was happening again. I closed my eyes and shed tears, feeling like this whole journey had done nothing but destroy my friends. All for what, really? I didn’t know what, but it was not worth it all.

“I’m sorry,” Heartshine said, placing a hoof on my shoulder. “I wish there was something I could do.”

I opened my eyes. “The only thing we can do is get to the others. If they’re not here it means they were captured. We need to get to Cadance’s throne room,” I said with fierce determination. “Gideon? Are you there?”

“I am… here. You are correct in your assumption, Starry. The rest of your friends were captured by the Queen and her guards. She has asked me to locate you and tell you that if you do not show yourself, she will execute all of them,” Gideon replied.

I growled under my breath. There was only one way this was going to end it seemed. It was going to have to end with Cadance. I stood, motioning for Heartshine to follow me. There would be no use in trying to take Velvet with us. I would have to hope I could come back for her, but something deep inside my gut told me that wasn’t happening.

“I found a hallway that may lead to the elevator,” I said as we walked. “Seemed to be the only way out of this place. Gideon? Can you confirm?”

“The elevator is just around the corner of the hallway,” Gideon said. “Starry… I am… sorry about your friend.”

I blinked. “I… I am too,” I said. “Thank you, Gideon.”

We moved to the hallway, quickly finding the path to the elevator. I scowled, pushing the button and stepping on. Heartshine stepped quietly next to me. The elevator began its soft hum, ascending towards the top of the palace spire.

“So… what’s the plan?” Heartshine asked.

“Try to free the others… get out before Gideon has control of the entire system. Go from there,” I said aloud. “As far as dealing with Cadance is concerned… she’s mine. I’m going to stop all of this.”

“Are you sure you can? Even with Gideon in control of the weapons array… Cadance is an alicorn. She’s much stronger than you are,” Heartshine said.

“I know. I have… well, I have an idea,” I said as the elevator hummed to a stop. “And now… we get to see if that idea works.”

The elevator opened and we stepped into the empty hallway. There were no guards here. Cadance didn’t need any. Outside it seemed that chaos still reigned as Gideon’s attacks on the palace persisted. I could feel the thumping of explosions upon crystal. I could hear the deaths of the guards as they struggled to regain control.

We moved forward, single-minded and ready to face what would come next. The throne room loomed ahead of us, waiting for our arrival. I pushed open the door and we stepped inside, immediately setting our gaze upon the Queen of the Empire sitting upon her dais. Hanging in the air above her were several other ponies. I could make out the form of my brother, mother, and friends inside of it, unconscious but appearing alive. Cadance had yet to notice our presence. There were no guards here either. Had she seriously considered that she was so powerful she didn’t need any? The alicorn was turned, looking over the city while appearing that she was speaking to someone.

“This is my city! My Empire! Return control of the system to me at once! Equestria will pay for its crimes!” she snarled.

“I am sorry. I cannot perform that function,” Gideon calmly replied.

Cadance snarled loudly and slammed a hoof onto the console next to her throne room. Her eyes turned towards us, smoldering and full of hate. She stood, fully acknowledging our presence.

“So… you think you are smart, turning my own city against me. Allowing this thing to have control,” she said.

“Better than you having control over the weapons,” I spat. “Now, you can’t destroy Equestria. You failed, Cadance.”

“That is not my name!” Cadance shrieked angrily. “You do not understand the pain that Equestria put myself and my people through! How they abandoned us when we needed them most! We survived to save this world, to remake it in our own image!”

I scowled. “Heartshine,” I muttered. “Get the others the instant things start going down. I want them out of here, especially my mother. Do you understand?”

The other mare nodded calmly, dropping back to stay quiet behind me as I stepped forward to meet Cadance’s gaze.

“You’re wrong, Cadance. You were given a chance. A chance to save Equestria by providing your light and love. A chance to heal a world. Starlight Glimmer wanted you to have that chance, because she saw what was going to happen,” I challenged. “She saw the end of Equestria. The war, the megaspells.”

“More lies from an Equestrian! You will speak no further! I will make you give control of my city back to me, and then I will execute your friends for the murder of my daughter!” Cadance shouted. “And then you will watch as I cleanse Equestria of its disease, bringing forth a new age of prosperity!”

I scowled. There was nothing I could say that could get through to her now. Cadance was focused, immensely on the death of Flurry Heart and cleansing the world. Starlight Glimmer… she had failed. I sighed. There was only going to be one way out of this, and it was going to be through Dusk’s actions. Once Gideon was in control of the weapons array, then I only had to hope that Heartshine could get the others away in time while I kept Cadance occupied.

“Fine, no more talk,” I said, igniting my horn. A blast of fire erupted from it, arcing across the throne room at the alicorn.

Her red eyes widening, Cadance ignited her own horn and quickly sent out a blast of magic that dissipated my own. She followed it up with a bolt of pinkish-purple magic, searing into the wall next to where I’d been. I jumped to the side, narrowly missing it as Heartshine flew upwards and out of the way towards the cage. She landed on it, quickly working to disengage the lock.

Cadance’s eyes drifted upward and she prepared to fire upon the pegasus. I growled loudly and fired off a quick set of magical energy bolts that struck her on the neck, forcing her attention back on me. The alicorn lunged forward, striking the crystalline floor with her full force, cracking it and sending me back against the wall. I stumbled as I pushed to my hooves. There was no way I’d be able to keep this up for very long and I knew it. Cadance was a million times more powerful than I was. I was merely a gnat, and she was the hoof that swatted it.

I just had to be a truly annoying gnat. I grinned, moving to the side to fire off another set of bolts to keep her attention. Above us, Heartshine had managed to awaken Lilith, and the two pegasi were ferrying out the rest of the group. I shared a knowing look with Heartshine before the group disappeared, leaving only Cadance and I.

“It’s over, Cadance! Soon, Gideon will have control over the weapons array, and she will use the megaspell batteries to power another time spell. We’re going to send you back to where you came from, and you’ll never return to the timeline ever again,” I said confidently. “Dusk and I made sure of that!”

“Do you think you can beat an entire Empire! My guards will be on your friends with orders to shoot to kill within moments. You will sacrifice them to stop us?” Cadance cackled wildly. “I will not be denied my vengeance, Starry Night! I will have Equestria!”

The alicorn lifted into the air and soared towards me, striking me with full force as we went through the crystal window and out onto the balcony beyond. I grunted with pain as I struggled to move. Pieces of crystal embedded in my legs. I could barely move. Cadance stood tall, proud, fierce. Her eyes were maniacal.

“You have lost! Your friends will die. You will die. Your entire world will die! You see, Starry Night… I have a backup plan. Should the megaspell weapons array fail to function… my skiffs will deliver the weapons manually. They’re already being loaded upon them as we speak!” the alicorn crowed. “I have won! My vengeance will be sated, and I will not be stopped by a mere child!”

“Excuse me, but that’s my ‘mere’ child,” I heard a voice say as a gunshot blared across the balcony, striking Cadance in one of her outstretched wings.

Cadance stumbled backwards as the source of the voice appeared. My eyes widened. Mom?! I frantically thought as Patch stepped onto the balcony, her rifle poised and ready. She fired again, and again, each time striking Cadance in a vital area. The alicorn snarled as she was caught offguard, her horn igniting to create a shield to stop the bullets.

“Enough!” she roared, sending a blast of magic towards my mother.

“Mom!” I shouted as I tried to muster my own magic.

I was too weak. I couldn’t summon much more than a burst of sparks as the telekinetic blast hit my mother full force. The green mare went soaring, striking the wall with a sickening cracking noise. For a brief moment, she lay unmoving. My eyes watered with tears as I feared the worst. And then suddenly, Mom was pushing herself up into a sitting position.

“Starry, listen to me!” she called out. “I need you to do something very important! Remember the tales I told you as a foal! Remember what your godmother did! This is very important!”

I blinked, struggling to recall exactly what she was talking about. Instead, I shouted back. “No! You need to get out of here! She’s going to kill you!”

“Oh yes… I am going to kill both of you,” Cadance interrupted, stepping in between us. Her horn blazed with magic. “She killed my daughter, so it’s only fitting that I take hers first before killing her.”

Cadance moved towards me, the fire in her eyes burning deep as she stood over me triumphantly. I wracked my brain, puzzled by my mother’s words. Remember what my godmother did? Was she talking about Star? What did Star do? I couldn’t place a hoof on it at all!

Cadance stood directly over me now, her magic blazing as she prepared to unleash it. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think. There was no doubt about it. I was going to die unless I did something. If there was only some way I could make Cadance see what she was doing was wrong! If there was some way I could make her remember, perhaps the damage could be reversed!

My eyes widened. Of course… the memory orb! Star performed all sorts of memory spells, but I still have Starlight’s memory orb to fall back on! I thought frantically. Except… I didn’t exactly have the orb. It was still… inside the throne room. I focused on it, the magical signature of the object. That familiar signature that belonged to Starlight Glimmer, and I called to it. The orb appeared out of nowhere just as Cadance unleashed a bolt of magic, striking the orb first. The orb activated, taking over as the mare slumped over in the throes of the past. Her eyes glazed over as the orb’s connection kept her tuned to the memory. Would it be enough? I wasn’t sure, but it would have to be good enough for me to get Mom out of this.

I heard my mother cough. I struggled to move, pulling myself along the ground towards her. My legs burned with pain, the crystal pieces inside grinding my muscles as I made my way to her side. Blood poured from an open wound, a massive piece of crystal having punched through my mother’s shoulder. Her good eye rested upon me, a smile forming on her face.

“I got to see… to see you one more time before the end,” she said. “You did it, Starry. You remembered.”

“The end? No… no Mom. It’s not the end. We have to get out of here. We have to get to the others,” I said. “It’s going to be fine. I found the Heartmender, Mom. She can save you.”

“No… she can’t. She confirmed as much to me already before I came back. Starry… I was… I was wrong to hide my condition from you. You and your brother… you’ve always meant everything to me,” Patch said before taking a moment to cough. Blood appeared on her hoof. She took a deep breath before continuing. “But you and I both know there was no fixing this. Heartmender or not.”

“Then… then why send us out to find her?” I asked.

“Hope? I hoped that maybe… maybe you would be able to find a way to stop this, that I could spend a little more time with you both. But now… now I see that I really just wanted time that I never had,” Patch said, her voice strained. “I wish we could have had more time together. Your… your father would have liked that I think.”

“I… I know. I met him,” I said. “Well… sort of. In my mind. It’s a long story.”

“I’m sure that I’ll have plenty of time to hear it from his side of things,” Patch said with a smile. “But you need to get out of here. If you’re right and Dusk is going to have control of the system soon… you can’t be here when that megaspell goes off.”

“But I… I can’t leave you,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “I just found you again. We have to get you somewhere safe.”

“Starry. I’m already right where I wanted to be. Don’t worry about me. I’ve accepted my fate. I can feel it already,” she said. “I’m weak. I only had enough in me to help you. The rest is up to you and your brother.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Patch said. “It’s time for your turn to be the hero. To be a legend. The savior who stopped the Crystal Empire. It has a nice catchy ring to it, doesn’t it? Your god-mom is gonna be so jealous.”

“I…” I couldn’t say anything. I reached in and embraced my mother tightly, causing her to cough again but she didn’t seem to care as she pulled me closely. I cried deeply as I held her close. I didn’t ever want to let go.

“I know. I know… I love…” Patch started to say before she coughed again. Her body began to spasm underneath my embrace. With a quick shudder she fell still.

I pulled back, my eyes widening as my mother’s head slumped to the side. There was no mistaking it. She was… she was gone. I wept, solemnly as I pushed myself to my hooves. I could barely walk, but I had to, for her sake. I had to get out of here. I glanced over at Cadance. The ghoul alicorn appeared to be stirring. Her breathing was laborious. She stood and glared at me.

“Star… Starlight… she…” the alicorn started to say. “She…”

“You saw the truth,” I said calmly, wiping my tears. “You saw what she did. How she knew. Why she did it.”

Cadance’s red eyes burned as she nodded quietly. “Everything about this war took and took from me, and nopony ever gave back… except for her. She was my friend, somepony that I trusted more than anything. And everything she did, she did with compassion… with love. For me. For my people. For… for Equestria,” she said. “I understand now what she wanted, and what I can never give her. I failed her.”

“She wanted you to be better. She wanted all of this to be better,” I said, motioning at the chaos of the city below. “All she ever wanted was for you to make Equestria a better place.”

“The radiation. The megaspells contained within this place. It all… warped things. Warped our minds. We believed we were escaping Equestria, but really… we escaped nothing. We lost ourselves to it. I lose my… my daughter to it. My trusted advisor, Sunburst. My friend, Starlight Glimmer. I lost myself to it,” Cadance said, standing next to the balcony railing as she looked down upon the city. “I have only myself to blame. I cannot become what Starlight wanted. But… perhaps you can.”

Cadance’s horn glowed softly, her magic taking hold of my legs as it purged the crystals from it. I felt my legs grow in strength and I could walk much easier again. Still, a sharp stabbing pain jabbed at me as I stood.

“That’s as much as I have I fear,” Cadance said before I could reply. “I can feel my mind slipping away, Starry Night. I urge you to leave this place before that happens. I do not know what I will do when my mind gives way to feralism. I will prevent the skiffs with the megaspell batteries loaded from leaving the city. The shields surrounding it will stop them, but will permit you to leave in peace.”

“I… Thank you,” I said. I turned to the body of my mother, lifting it carefully in my magic and resting it upon my back. “Gideon?”

“I’m here, Starry Night. I will stay with her until the end,” Gideon replied. “It’s what Starlight would have done.”

“Good,” I said before starting to make my way out of the palace. I grunted as I made my way, bringing up my PipBuck to try and find my friends. I quickly located them at one of the skiff launching pads. I pulled up my PipBuck’s broadcasting functionality.

“Dusk? Are you there? What’s our status?” I called out. “I’m headed to get the others out of here.”

“The power array is completed, but there’s only one hitch, Starry. Somepony has to stay and activate the time megaspell. Gideon can’t do it on her own. She’s not a unicorn after all,” Dusk’s voice replied calmly.

My eyes widened. “Dusk… what are you saying?” I said.

“I’m saying… that this is goodbye. You have to go. Your generation… well it’s much more important that you survive and not an old fuddy duddy like me who’s spent too much time trying to fix time when time didn’t need fixing,” Dusk replied. “Get out of here, and I will activate the time construct. Gideon and I have discussed this, and it’s the only way.”

“But… Dusk…” I said as I continued walking.

“No worries on my end, Starry. I did what I did because I thought I could make a positive change in the world… and thanks to you… I did,” Dusk said. “I saw what happened with Cadance through Gideon. I’m… I’m sorry about your mother. She was… nice.”

I glanced back at Mom, closing my eyes to suppress a tear. “She was everything,” I said. “And now… now she’s with Dad.”

“As it should be. Now get out of here, before the shit really hits the fan,” Dusk said. “Get out, and go live the rest of your life. You deserve it. And… don’t ever play with time. It never turns out well. May the Goddess be with you, always.”

I nodded, the tears bursting out regardless. I hadn’t known Dusk all that long, but he had been a part of this for a long time. I was… I was going to miss him in a sense. I kept moving, fighting through the tears until I found the balcony I was looking for. I strode out onto it, as Lightning met me. His eyes found Mom’s body and he dropped to his hooves, embracing me with all of his might. I embraced him back before telling him what Dusk had said. He nodded, assisting me with Mom until we got her onto the skiff.

Coconut fired up the device and it took off, heading away from the palace towards the northern ridge. The energy shield around the city seemed to do nothing as we passed through. The skiff landed on the ridge as the city itself seemed to envelop in a bright white light. The light grew until it covered everything.

I stood upon the ridge and watched as the Crystal Empire disappeared forever.

Author's Note

If you've enjoyed this, there's still yet more (the Epilogue!). If you'd like to help support what I do, please consider checking out my Patreon!

Epilogue: Hearts Never Broken

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Epilogue: Hearts Never Broken

No matter what, our heart is never broken.

* * *

Months Later…

* * *

I glanced out of the window at the settlement of Theater. Things were… well… normal. As normal as anything could be after a funeral. The services had finally been held for Mom. I had stood before the assembled ponies that knew her well, and spoken of her bravery. Of her love for her children. Of how she gave her life to protect others.

Of how she gave her life to protect me. I very nearly hadn’t made it through the entire speech. I wouldn’t have, without Lightning and the others there. Their strength had helped me make it through it.

“It was a lovely speech, you know that, right?” a soft, velvety voice said from behind me.

I turned to meet the owner of the voice, my god-mother Radiant Star. The alicorn sat across the room, accompanied by her partner Violet Iris.

“Thank you,” I said softly. “I just… I wish things had turned out differently.”

“Your mother was a great pony,” Violet said. “She would have been proud of you.”

“Your tale is… almost too incredible to note if I hadn’t seen the information on the Crystal Empire myself. Are we certain that they are truly gone?” Star asked. “What if they return?”

“I don’t think that will be happening,” I said. “Dusk… he seemed reasonably certain that Gideon could keep the city out of the timeline indefinitely. Besides… maybe Gideon was able to get through to Cadance.”

I sighed and sat down across from the alicorn and unicorn. My legs still ached from the damage that had been caused to them, no matter how well Cadance had been able to heal them. A constant and painful reminder of what I had lost.

“Still. I think we should remain vigilant,” Star continued. “Just in case.”

“I have that covered,” I said. “MMMM detachments will be making regular patrols up that way and keeping an eye on the place. Besides… there’s lots of crystal that’s mine-able up there. We might be able to make something out of it.”

“You’re settling into your new role well it seems,” Violet interjected. “It suits you.”

“Taking over for Mom… it wasn’t easy,” I said with a sigh. “But it’s what she would have wanted.”

“Well… regardless. I reiterate what Violet said. Patch would be proud of you,” Star said with a smile. “You did good, kid. Savior of the Crystal Empire? I mean, even I don’t have a great name like that.”

I giggled. “Mom said you’d probably be jealous.”

“Me? Jealous? Never,” Star said with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh, you’re totally jealous,” Violet said. “Now come on. We’d better get a move on. Things to do, people to see. Ponies to save. You know the drill.”

Star sighed loudly. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, Vi. Cracking the whip like always,” she said.

“Maybe if you’re good, I’ll crack the other whip tonight,” Violet said as she stood and walked out of my office.

Star’s face went beet red, and I stifled a chuckle. She stood and started towards the door before stopping.

“Your mother… she was one of my best friends. I’m going to miss the hell out of her,” she said softly. “But seeing you… your brother… it just fills me with a bit of pride. It feels good knowing that the next generation has got this well in hoof.”

She pulled the door closed after her, leaving me alone with my own thoughts. I sat for several long moments, sighing. A knock on the door, pulled me out of my mind.

“Come in,” I said.

The door pushed open to reveal a familiar green pegasi. Heartshine smiled brightly as she entered.

“I… I just figured I’d come by before I got on the road,” she said. “Gonna be a long trip and all.”

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay?” I asked. “You could do a lot of good around here… besides… I… I need you.”

Heartshine rolled her eyes and giggled. “You don’t need me, silly. You’ve got this. Besides… I think it’s time I returned to the world, right? There’s still… still a lot I don’t know but I do know that you were right. I can’t just hide, or run away anymore. Pain… pain is always going to be something that occurs, but that pain is what makes us ponies. I have to share the good and the bad equally.”

I sighed, looking down at my hooves. I was going to miss her deeply. Heartshine. The mythical Heartmender who was really just another hurting pony deep down. She had given me the push I’d needed to learn to feel again, and in turn… I’d helped her as well. We'd helped mend each others hearts.

“If you ever need anything, you know where to find us,” I said with a sad smile. “I’m going to miss you, Shine. Come back someday, alright?”

Heartshine smiled back and walked over next to me, wrapping her wings around me in a careful embrace. Her magic enveloped me for a moment, filling me with a sense of peace. She pulled away and grinned.

“Of course I’ll come back, silly filly. But for now… I have to go. You have a job to do. There’s a lot going on,” she said. “But someday… I’ll come back. That’s a promise.”

The lime green mare smiled again and stood, heading towards the door.

“Be safe out there,” I called after her.

“I will. Don’t worry about that,” Heartshine replied as she walked out of the office.

I took another deep sigh and stood, looking out upon the settlement once more. Ponies were starting to filter in from outside, trading with our merchants for things they needed to survive. In the distance, I could see Lightning and Coconut, side by side as they moved the crowd along. My two new chiefs of security for the settlement, the two had never left each other’s side since we got back.

I smiled. There was a very good reason for that. Not long after we’d gotten back, as we were settling into things, Danish and Lilith had approached us with taking over the settlement. It seemed the two had decided that it was time to pass on the torch so to speak. I had hesitantly accepted, but thanks to Lightning and Coconut, things had been… working.

I grinned a little as my eyes rested on Coconut. The strong mare who had always been by my side had come to me a little over a week ago with some news. She was pregnant. I was going to be an aunt. Lightning’s face had been over the moon when he found out. I was looking forward to it. After everything that had happened, I was ready for it. I turned to my desk, sighing again as I thought about my own ventures. The only one I truly loved had never been a pony, but a minotaur.

Rocky’s face seared across my mind, and I smiled. His sacrifice had allowed us to stop the Empire for good. It hadn’t all been in vain. I knew that somewhere… he was whole again. He was himself. And one day, I knew that I could meet him like Mom had met Dad. I was sure of it.

I thought about everypony we’d met and lost along the way of our journey. My mind turned to Velvet, a curiously strange changeling who’d tried to kidnap us and sell us for caps when we first met, but turned into one of the most staunch friends I’d ever known. We hadn’t been able to go back for her body. I had felt saddened about that, but she had died protecting her friends. She had died a hero. She had been remembered for that, along with Rocky. A statue had been erected in the center of theater with their names.

I thought about Chalice and Dr. Shimmer. Two alicorns, sisters, who had given everything up to try and stop the Empire. They were together again, I was sure of it.

I thought about Dusk. A pony whose intentions had been good, but his execution… well, you know. Still, Dusk had done the right thing in the very end. He had given his all to stop the Empire, to the point of sacrificing himself so that the next generation could prosper. I wished deep down I’d been able to get to know him better. Of course, I’d heard stories over the past few months. About a crazy unicorn in a ship that was saving ponies, claimed to be a time traveler. I wondered if that meant he was alive… and if he was… well… he was out there doing good.

No matter what had happened, no matter how beaten or broken we had been… our hearts, our souls, had never faltered. They had never been broken. We had done what needed to be done, because our hearts were solid.

All because they had been mended by the most powerful force in existence. Friendship. Love. Companionship. We had each other, and that’s all that really mattered.

I smiled and turned off the light to my office. Perhaps, I needed a bit of a break myself. Maybe, just maybe, I’d go down and enjoy the marketplace, and hang out with Lightning and Coconut while they did their rounds.

I made my way out of my office and locked the door, and walked towards the future, ever bright and ever winding. Time was a storm waiting to happen, and I was going to head into it with my heart forever changed.

THE END

Author's Note

And there we have it... the end of another thing I spent 2 years on to finish. :)

If you enjoy what you've read, please consider giving a like... throwing a comment, etc, maybe even a favorite. Your support is greatly appreciated.

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Author's Notes

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Author’s Notes

Completing a work of fiction, even fanfiction is a fairly incredible feat it seems for many of us. Often times things get started, but never finished, and we find ourselves in a position wondering why we even bother.

I certainly actually felt this way about Mending Hearts at some point. With a story that was wildly different than what I’d done with Starlight, I felt the notion that not many people were as invested in it as they were with my previous work.

And of course, the numbers definitely show it. Mending Hearts has far less in the way of views than Starlight and way less in the way of actual comments. Truthfully most writers would have given up on it. But the story weighed on my mind. It cried out to be finished, to show where Starry Night and Lightning Chaser ended their story, an ending I knew all too well in my mind.

I took a break, one that was perhaps a bit too long for story’s sake. I started working on an original piece of fiction (one that is still not finished as of this writing but at least being actively worked on), and dove into a few other projects before finally deciding to get back to Mending Hearts.

Since getting back to it, despite the numbers, and despite the lack of comments, I pushed forward with the ever growing intention to just finish the damn thing. Originally I had a lot more planned out that was going to drag out the story much longer before we got to the Crystal Empire. Originally it was going to be just Wrath attacking Stable Town, and we’d get to see Heartshine interacting with Patch in Theater before the Empire made itself known.

None of this really introduced any urgency in the storyline, and felt very filler so it was cut from my ideas and the focus placed on the Empire as the definitive “big bad” of the story.

Dusk was used as the framing device behind this. Originally introduced as a mere cameo for Stryker1959 (a patron of mine who has in a sense become a very important person for me to go to on matters related to this character), Dusk became a big part of the storyline in a big way. Originally in Starlight, Steeljack never dies and instead Violet perishes during the battle with the dragon. This hardens Star’s heart and she murders Spark / Twilight instead of saving them, causing permanent damage to the fabric of the Elements of Harmony.

Of course, this never happened because Dusk went back in time and changed things. Part of the big theme of this story is accepting responsibility, growing up and allowing life to happen as it happens. Starry Night goes from being a impetuous but well trained young adult into a mature and understanding mare. Lightning goes from being the goof to being a leader. Velvet… oh poor, poor Velvet, she goes from being a bad guy to sacrificing her life for her friends.

On the subject of death, it was fairly well known to me from the get go that the only characters that would potentially survive to the end were Starry, Lightning, and Coconut. Rock Thresher, acting as a possible love interest for Starry (due to her prime interest in well… other species) would eventually die, as it happens to the claws of Wrath, leader of the Cult of Iron Will. This presented a stark difference from Starlight, in that many of the main cast besides Steeljack makes it to the very end. Not to mention that Golden Chalice and Shimmering Night both die near the end, as well as Velvet. Oh, and the entire population of Stable Town.

Now that I look back at it, there’s a lot of actual death in the story. Xerves, Iron Comet, Wrath, Rocky, Stable Town, the alicorns, Velvet… so many characters take the final plunge. It was very… cathartic for me to write this, as it wasn’t something I was overly used to.

Another thing I tried to emphasize with this story was the themes of time travel and the dangers of changing the timeline, in addition to the presentation of threats beyond imagination, eldritch horrors much like how the Fallout series addressed with the Dunwich areas. These parts of the games were always my favorite since I am a fan of the work of Lovecraft and the like. All’z’reth was born out of that idea, and while we never learn really that much about him (as we should) his presence sticks around Starry and infects her to the point of burning out the empathic center of the heart.

Finally, the heart. Much of this story is centered around the journey to save Patch due to her heart condition. My own daughter at 2 months old was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect (VSD), a form of congenital heart disease. At 4 months old, she received surgery to correct the defect and at the time of this writing, is now 3 years old and kicking life in the pants. That struggle, the hopelessness you feel as a parent behind it, how there isn’t much you can do except to trust another life to the hands of a trained professional, is one of the big things that ultimately drove me to finish Mending Hearts. This story is just as much for her as it was for me.

Wrapping up, I hope you enjoyed the story. It was certainly a different approach for me, and taught me a lot in finishing it.

As for the future… I am not sure on what I will do with Fallout: Equestria next. To be honest, I don’t get much time to read many FoE fics anymore, but I still greatly enjoy what the subfandom has done for me. In time, perhaps I might finish Tales of Chicacolt or start another piece of work, but for right now it’s up in the air. I do have an original piece of work I need to finish after all.

Signing off,

volrathxp

Chapter Three: Fears and Doubts

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Three: Fears and Doubts

When in doubt, rule by fear and threats of violence

For most of my young life, I've been afraid of many things. I was afraid of the dark once. I would stay up all night with my flashlight on, huddled under my covers because I was afraid that something would get me in the dark.

Of course, I've since learned to put those foalish fears behind me. Instead, I fear more tangible things. The realities of the world I live in. Bullets and bomb and mines, traps and illness and starvation. Most of all, the ponies who use those against me, who would seek to end my life. “A constant state of fear and paranoia is a healthy state”, Mom would often say.

I was afraid then. I was afraid I would never see her again.

* * *

I came back to consciousness at the sound of the door opening. I pried my aching eyes open and groaned at the pain in my shoulder. My shoulder ached heavily from where I'd been bandaged, a dull thump that told me they’d given me Med-X, and it had worn off. Light flooded the room and nearly blinded me, and before I knew what was going on I had been lifted into the air and my legs unbound. I fell backwards onto my hindquarters, grunting.

“Get up,” a brusque voice said. It was one of the Hellraiser stallions. His eyes glinted as he regarded me. “Before I make you get up.”

I glared at him and pushed up onto four hooves. My shoulder wasn’t throbbing anymore, it was pure agony. When I got free I was going to make sure that every one of those psychos would meet Justice.

I glanced over at the others. More Hellraisers were unbinding their legs and getting them up. At the door, the mare watched with glee.

“Good, good!” she crowed. “This batch will be perfect for the Pier. We're moving out, boys. Time to pack it up and head home.”

“Bout fucking time,” one of the raiders said. “Feels like it's been too long since we saw Morale, Kiss.”

“Yes, well you'll have plenty of time to drink and take all the chems you ever wanted when we get there. First things first, we need to get there without alerting those stupid bakers to our presence,” the mare replied sternly. “Don't forget what happened the last time we ran afoul of those do-gooders.”

“Don't worry, boss. We'll get these fish back to their bowl,” the Hellraiser next to me said. He smelled a lot like rotten fish, so I guess his choice of words fit.

“Alright,” the mare apparently named Kiss said as she trotted up to us. “You three will be chained together. If you scream, speak, or make any other noise, one of the boys will kill you. If you so much as make a whimper, I will kill you. You'll walk when you're told to, rest when you're told to. Shit, you will even piss when I fucking tell you to. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

I nodded. Nopony made a peep. There was no point in antagonizing them into a confrontation. Not without our gear, and not without a plan. Albeit, I wasn't relatively certain how we were going to make a plan without being able to speak.

Three of the raiders came and attached chains to our legs, holding us together. I resisted the urge to throw up as the fishy smelling one brushed by me.

“Good! I love it when they've accepted their fate. Now should you have to address me, and you really shouldn't, my name is Miss Velvet Kiss. Until we get to Filly's Pier, I am your master,” the mare said. A shit-eating-grin formed on her face. I desperately wanted to wipe it off with bullets.

One of the raiders popped his head in. “Boss, looks like the coast is clear. We should go.”

“Excellent. Now then, let's get going. And remember to keep up with the group. If you drag too much ass, I'll let some of the boys sample the merchandise before we get to the Pier,” Velvet Kiss said, winking at me.

I grimaced, trying to find a way out of this. I couldn't see one. Our only hope was that Lilith sent out patrols to find us when we didn't return to Theater. I started walking forward, following the others as the raiders carrying our gear brought up the rear of the pack. In short, we were surrounded. Even if we could make a break for it, there was no way we'd get very far before they took us down. The chains ensured that much, but it was more than just that. Other slavers used to use bomb collars to prevent their slaves from getting away. Not the Hellraisers. They used fear, pure and simple.

The bright morning sun hurt my eyes as we made our way out of the abandoned building and out into the streets. I didn't really recognize the part of the city we were in, at least not without being able to check my PipBuck. I was slightly surprised that Velvet Kiss hadn't tried to remove it, but ultimately was grateful. It would mean that hopefully, Lilith would be able to find us by our PipBuck tags.

My eyes drifted to Velvet Kiss as we walked. She seemed intelligent, too intelligent for a gang of psychos like the Hellraisers were. I didn't know really what to make of her except for the fact that she royally pissed me off. Her smug attitude made me want to punch her in the face. I pulled my eyes away from her just so I wouldn't do something incredibly stupid and get myself killed.

I looked up at the buildings around us and nearly stopped in my tracks. A flash of crimson in the light. The minotaur sniper stood on a nearby roof, his weapon drawn. I glanced around. Nopony else had even seen him. I looked back up. He was gone. I blinked.

What in the heck is he doing? Why is he following us? Hell, why is he following me?! I thought as I kept walking. Is he trying to kill me or freak me out? Either way, he's freaking me out!

I looked ahead at Coconut and Lightning. They hadn't noticed him either. I put my eyes forward and kept walking, closing the distance between myself and them so we wouldn't get tripped up by the chains. No matter what I did though, I couldn't stop thinking about seeing that stupid minotaur. It didn't make any sense. He'd shown up when Xerves had appeared, and again at Envy's place. And yet, he hadn't actually tried to kill me.

We slowed to a stop at an intersection in the street. Velvet Kiss lifted a hoof, pointing north. I still didn't recognize where we were. There was a lot of this city that I didn't know, and that freaked me out a little bit. The fact that we were so far outside MMMM territory meant that it was unlikely that we'd be found quickly. I didn't really know what the range on PipBuck tag tracking was, but if we were already at the Pier by the time they tracked us down then it was really too late.

We kept moving, this time in the direction that Velvet Kiss had pointed. I let my eyes drift up and around. The only familiar thing I could see was the spire that belonged to Filly Tower in the distance. It was the literal center of the city, so it could be seen from everywhere. Unfortunately, it still didn't give me a good idea as to where we actually were.

Several hours passed as we plodded along. We stopped at certain intersections, waited, and then were forced to keep moving. My legs hurt all over, but I didn't dare stop when we were walking. All throughout the journey, I kept catching glimpses of the crimson-cloaked sniper. He was keeping up pretty well all things considering. I thought it was pretty strange that I was the only one who noticed him. Each time I saw him, he disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

With each and every stop, the raiders grew increasingly restless. A few times they'd put their hooves on Coconut and myself and had even given us a few bruises and scratches. One of them tried to bite my neck, drawing a line of blood on it. Each time Velvet Kiss put them back into their place. I realized that she was the only thing holding them back from having their way with us. The money must have been worth it to deal with such psychotic stallions. Of course, we didn't fight back either. Fighting back would have broken her rules, and something told me I really didn't want to break her rules before I could fight back effectively.

We were all deathly thirsty, our throats dry because we hadn't had any food or water for what felt like forever. I was starting to go a little stir crazy because of the inhibitor on my horn. Not being able to feel my magic really bothered me. The possibility of never feeling it ever again frightened me to no end. My thoughts drifted to Mom while we walked. I hoped and prayed that she was alright, and that Lilith had hopefully gotten up some form of search team to come find us.

“Stop!” Velvet Kiss called out suddenly and happily, jarring me from my thoughts. “We're close to home boys!” She pointed down the street. Far in the distance, down a large hill and across a narrow bridge was Filly's Pier.

The Pier itself looked to be in pretty piss-poor shape. I could see the wreckage of Equestrian Navy ships in the harbor next to it. They were barely afloat, many of them halfway sunken already. Rubble and debris from the large steel warehouses that had occupied the Pier was spread everywhere. The bridge itself was lined with barbed wire. Several guards stood in shoddily constructed towers above the entrance. At the rear-most end of the Pier was a mish-mash of lights and pink metal that could be seen clear as day even without binoculars. The top-most portion of the structure was adorned with the face of Pinkie Pie, the Ministry Mare of Morale.

“Look at it, boys. Home,” Velvet Kiss said. She glanced back at us and grinned widely. “Take a good hard look. You won't be seeing the outside of the place again, once we're inside. You should relish this opportunity.”

I wanted to relish sticking my hoof into her face repeatedly. I grimaced. If we were going to make our move, we were going to have to make it before we made it into the Pier. If we got inside, there was no going back. We were going to have to chance it. I tore my gaze away from the view. There had to be some way out of this.

It was then that I caught that flash of crimson again.

I looked right at him, and I almost swore that he saw me too. He stood on another rooftop, weapon at the ready. I had to admit, the craftsmanship of his rifle was stunning. It gleamed brightly in the sun. The minotaur then lifted his claw and made a motion. It took me forever to realize that he was signaling to me. It took me even longer to realize that he wanted me to duck. As he lifted his rifle my eyes widened.

I took a wrong step forward and tripped, falling to the ground. Luckily, I had drifted back enough that the chain attaching me to Lightning and Coconut drew taut, tripping them as well.

“Hey!” one of the raiders behind us shouted. “Get up, fish! Boss didn't say you could--”

*BLAM*

A deafening roar echoed across the street as the sniper fired. The bullet struck the raider in the head, splattering his brains all over the pavement. Chaos erupted. The surviving raiders scrambled to find the source of their attacker.

“What's going on?!” Lightning shouted, no longer caring about our imposed silence.

“Our friend in the rooftops,” I said under my breath. “Decided to help us out.”

“Who?” Coconut said.

“You know who,” I said. “Our sniper friend.”

*BLAM*

Velvet Kiss snarled loudly as one of the raiders next to her fell to the ground. “Get that sniper! Find him and fucking end him!”

“Working on it, boss!” the fishy smelling raider shouted. He pulled out a mouthgrip pistol and began to fire wildly off into the distance towards the rooftop where the minotaur was. I rolled my eyes. There was no way he was going to hit him from here.

*BLAM*

Fishy's chest erupted in blood and gore and he crumpled to the ground. Couldn't have happened to a nicer raider, I thought, grinning.

“Where the fuck is he?!” Velvet Kiss roared. “Get him you stupid fucks!”

“We need to get out of the line of fire,” I hissed under my breath. “Before we're next on the hit list.”

“We need to get our gear first,” Coconut replied, pointing at the raiders that had been previously carrying it. They'd thankfully dropped the gear on the ground at the sound of the first gunshot.

“I still can't use my magic,” I said. “If you can get this inhibitor off, maybe we can help our new friend, if we can even call him that.”

More gunshots erupted from the raiders, but for every four to five rounds of assault rifle fire the sniper returned in kind with one shot. Most of the raider bunch was down and out. Velvet Kiss was hiding behind a pile of rubble, screaming and shouting.

“Hold still,” Coconut said as she bit through the straps holding the horrible ring to my horn. She bit down on the ring itself and pulled, hard. The inhibitor ring pulled off and I felt a familiar warmth in the base of my horn.

I grinned, igniting my horn. It felt so good to have my magic back! I didn't even know how much I really missed it! With a burst of telekinesis, I ripped the shoddy shackles off my legs. I freed Lightning and Coconut after that. Lightning spread his wings and grinned at me, and I returned it happily.

“Alright, let's get our stuff and help,” I said, making a beeline for our gear.

Velvet Kiss turned her head, noticing that we were free. “The slaves!! Get the slaves! Get them!!”

“Kind of pinned down here, Kiss!” one of the other raiders who had been smart enough to jump behind his own pile of debris said.

“I don't fucking care! Get them!” the slave master snapped.

Another gunshot rang through the air, forcing the other raider to duck back behind his cover. I smiled. That would give us enough time to get our shit for sure.

I was the first to reach our gear that the raiders had so unceremoniously discarded. My magic reached out and grabbed onto Justice, lifting the gun into the air. I turned it on one of the raiders cowering behind a large set of rubble.

“Don't kill me!” he shouted. “Please!!”

I growled under my breath and counted to four. On four, I fired. The raider slumped to the ground, dead. I couldn't afford mercy for these fucks. Not after what they'd put us through. They didn't deserve it.

“Sorry,” I said under my breath. “Begging isn't really my style.” I lowered my weapon and holstered it. It felt really good to be able to use magic again.

By the time I turned back to the others they'd already managed to get their gear back together. Coconut had even gotten her power armor back on somehow. I blinked. Earth ponies, I thought to myself.

“Shall we help our new friend?” I asked loudly over the sound of Velvet Kiss and the remaining raiders squabbling about who was coming to get us. Every time they appeared to get courageous, the sniper on the rooftop would keep them pinned down.

“Are you certain he's our friend? He did try to shoot at us earlier,” Lightning said.

“I'm sure,” I replied. “He's had plenty of opportunity. We're in the open, but he's keeping Velvet Kiss down instead. Remember what Mom always said?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” we both recited, chuckling.

“Alright, you got me,” Lightning said. “But we got a problem. We're seriously close to Filly's Pier. Who's to say somepony else isn't gonna hear this and send reinforcements?”

“That's why we're going to help,” I said. “Right, Coco?”

Coconut's eyes gleamed as she lowered her visor. Her battle saddle rifle swung around, sending a spray of fire at the raiders from behind. Many of them yelped loudly as bullets skipped off the ground in front of them.

“I'd run if I were you,” she said.

The eyes of the raider gang went collectively wide. The ones that were left scrambled to get away, but didn't get very far. Heads and legs exploded with gore as the sniper mopped up those we flushed out. At some point, the only ones left were Velvet Kiss and the other raider that had managed to hang low.

I glanced up. The sniper had disappeared. Where did he...? I thought to myself. My eyes went back down to Velvet Kiss, who looked like she'd figured out that our new friend was gone as well. Her SMG came up in her magic as she rushed at us.

“You fucking slaves! Look at what you did!” she roared as she loosed a burst of fire at us. Her aim was pretty terrible, however. If she'd have learned anything like I had from Mom, she'd have known that running and gunning, while looking cool, isn't very accurate at all. The best results come from the calm and collected movements.

Unfortunately, I was all out of those myself. This raider bitch had chained me up and forced me to walk most of the day, and very nearly had sold me into slavery in the one of the most depraved areas of the city. She'd starved me, she'd dehydrated me, and I wanted to put her so far underground it wasn't funny. So I did what only came natural to me at the time.

I charged too, lifting Justice in the air and taking pot shots at her as she came at me. I missed, of course. I am a terrible shot when I'm not focused on it, but I didn't care. I wanted her to be done for, so I could get back to Mom and figure out what to do next. With a growl I leaped into the air and slammed into her. Well, more like we slammed into each other.

We both went down to the ground, our weapons tumbling with a clatter next to us. I snarled, pushing up as fast as I could only to meet the barrel of Justice being pressed against my temple. My eyes widened as Velvet Kiss stood, her horn glowing softly.

“I think not,” she said, glancing past me. “Your friends are quite busy, so let's not mince words. You're brave. I like that. But you're also stupid. Did you really think that you and your friends could escape this close to the Pier?”

I glared at. “The thought had crossed my mind,” I spat.

She frowned and smacked my face hard with the grip on Justice. I felt a tooth break upon impact. Pain shot through my face.

“I wasn't expecting you to reply,” she said. She kept Justice trained on me, grinning widely as she floated out a small radio.

My eyes craned to see what was happening to the others. As best as I could see, the raiders had rallied and surrounded them. Not only that, a few new raiders had appeared, likely because of the noise floating down to the guards at the Pier. I returned to staring hard at Velvet Kiss.

“Oh, excellent. Reinforcements,” she said. “Your sniper friend must have been taken care of by the other Hellraisers. Meaning that without help, you're right back to where you started.”

“Let her go,” a gravelly voice said. It had a hint of static to it as well.

I blinked, looking in the direction of the voice. The crimson-cloaked minotaur stood there calmly, his rifle trained on Velvet Kiss.

“It seems as though your friend didn't bite the dust after all?” she said. “No matter. You won't be leaving here either. Make one wrong move and the filly here will get her brains splattered all over the place.”

“I will repeat once more. Let her go,” the minotaur replied.

I blinked again. I couldn't even see his mouth move. Was he wearing some sort of mask? Was that why his voice sounded so distorted?

“Are you thick?” Velvet Kiss said. “This is my property. My slave. Mine. Not yours. Drop your weapon or I will do what I must to discipline you.”

The minotaur hesitated, lowering his weapon slightly. He growled softly before lifting his rifle again. “Let her go, or I will fire.”

“And risk the life of your pretty little friend? She'll be dead before you even pull the trigger,” Velvet Kiss replied, pressing the barrel of my gun harder against my forehead. “I suggest you drop your weapon if you don't want to see that happen.”

The minotaur glanced at me and back at Kiss. His eyes hardened and he lowered his rifle, dropping it to the ground. Several of the other raiders swarmed him, binding his claws and taking away the weapon.

Velvet Kiss grinned widely. “Excellent. You're not the usual stock, but you will make a fine slave.”

“Kiss,” the male raider that had survived said. “What about these two?”

I glanced over to see Coconut and Lightning. They were being marched up next to us, solemn looks on their faces and bruises all over from where the raiders had beat them. I couldn't blame them, really. We'd tried to escape, and we'd failed. Not only that, we'd roped another into this as well. I was starting to really hope that any moment Lilith would drop in and save us, but it wasn't looking likely. I was sure Mom was feeling horrible about all of this. I hoped that it wouldn't aggravate her heart condition.

“Bind them. We're not far from the Pier. We'll take all four of them in. The minotaur will fetch an especially handsome payment,” Velvet said. She motioned at a couple of the other raiders from the Pier to come and shackle us.

The chains were placed back on our legs, this time with the minotaur sniper leading our little train. In addition, the magic inhibitor was put back on my horn, negating my magic once more. We started walking again, this time forced along by the other raiders. Velvet Kiss trotted happily at the front, my gun holstered on her belt and the minotaur’s rifle bobbing in her magic. I really wanted to yank it back and splatter her brains with it, but no magic meant no bounce, no play.

We walked in silence as we crossed over the bridge leading into the Pier. I felt the hungry eyes of all of the raiders on me as we walked under the guard towers. A loud scraping sound nearly startled me as I realized the raiders were retracting a portion of the bridge. My heart sank. Even if we did get loose, there'd be no getting home without getting across that bridge. I looked ahead to the newest member of our little slave group.

The minotaur walked stiffly thanks to the chains. Now that he was closer I could see more detail to him. His arms were powerfully built and very muscular, covered slightly by the crimson cloak he wore. I could see the hints of scars on his forearms. He looked as though he could snap his chains at any second, so I wondered why he had given up. Was it because of us? Because of me? I didn't know. I couldn't see his face to get any indication of what he was thinking. His horns were weathered, one of them cracked in several places, while his hair was well kept and braided down his back, disappearing into his cloak. It was actually sort of... cute.

I saw his head turn to glance back at me and I looked away, trying to hide the fact that I'd been staring at him. Instead, I focused on our surroundings. The Pier was as dirty and disgusting up close as it had looked from far away. Refuse littered the street, and several times I had no recourse but to step in what I assumed was feces. It took most of my willpower to not release the contents of my stomach. We were passed several times by packs of Hellraisers on their way out of the Pier. Most of them jeered at us and said things I'd rather not repeat in polite company.

We passed into one of the Pier's minor settlements. I was surprised to see several youngsters and mares around. The image the Hellraisers had given off to the rest of the city was always one of psychotic and oppressive violence, especially towards the opposite sex. And yet, I had witnessed already that there were mares within the organization that were respected, feared even. Velvet Kiss was one of them. It was strange to see it on a larger scale. They gave us solemn looks as we passed by, almost as if they knew where we were destined to go.

“Stop!” Velvet Kiss called out suddenly. “We will rest in this settlement before moving on to Morale in the morning. The boss will want to personally inspect the slaves, and I want to be paid, not killed.”

The other raiders grumbled, but grudgingly accepted Velvet Kiss' authority. “What about the slaves?” one of them asked. “Where are we supposed to put them?”

“Unbind them, strip of them of whatever gear they have, and stick them in a room,” Velvet Kiss said. “They should be fresh for the boss tomorrow.”

I glared at her as the others moved to take us away. I silently swore that I would make her pay. First things first though, we needed to get out. I hoped that our new friend could help with that.

We were shoved into a nearby building, the remnants of what appeared to be an old ticket office for a ferry boat. The front window was cracked just enough to let in air, but was painted over so we couldn't see outside. Once inside, the raiders undid our chains, except for the minotaur. His claws remained bound. He sat in the corner silently as the raiders slammed the door shut, bathing the room in darkness.

I flicked on my PipBuck's light, still unable to believe that the raiders hadn't tried to cut it off yet. Likely Velvet Kiss didn't believe that they were a threat to her. I looked over at Coconut and Lightning. “Are you two alright?”

“Feel like I got the shit kicked out of me,” Lightning said.

“That would be because we did, sweetie,” Coconut replied. She winced. “I'm fine, though. Think I have a broken rib, but can't really tell.”

I grimaced. “We have to get out of here. Coconut, you're good with all this tech stuff, do you think that our PipBucks could get out a distress call?”

“I could try, but I doubt it would work. The Pier has so many metal structures on it that the signal just bounces all over the place. It's like a natural scrambler. Something prewar. Berry told me about it,” she said. “Apparently, the last time she was here, she couldn't even use her radio.”

I looked down at my PipBuck and started fiddling with it. Sure enough, the radio wouldn't pick up anything. I sighed loudly and slumped back against the wall. I glanced over at the minotaur. He watched us silently.

“So, what's your story? Why in the hell did you stop shooting?” I said, anger filling my voice as I stood in front of him.

The minotaur lowered his gaze to the ground. Several long moments passed before he spoke in that grating voice. “I am... sorry.”

I blinked, taken aback by his words. He was sorry? That certainly didn't make any sense. I sighed, breathing in and out. “Alright. Apology accepted. Let's start with the simple questions then. Who are you?”

“My name is Rock Thresher,” the minotaur said calmly.

“That's a bit of a mouthful,” I said, grinning. “Got a nickname?”

“No,” the minotaur said. I could tell he was a hoot at parties.

“Okay then... how does 'Rocky' sound? Can I call you that?” I asked. I continued before he could respond. “So, Rocky... my friends and I would really like to know why you're following us and why you saved us, well... tried to save us from the Hellraisers?”

The minotaur's yellow eyes met mine. In the dimmed light I could see his face more. His lower jaw was more than cybernetic. It was practically fused to his face! He didn't have a mouth! No wonder he didn't make any jaw movement when he spoke. In place of where a mouth would be was a speaker. My eyes widened as I saw it.

“I was hunting the zebra. The one that you saved,” Rocky replied. “My employer wished for him to be dead.”

I grimaced at the mention of Xerves. I felt the knife twisting in my back, further reminding me of the fact that I'd saved him and what he had done to Mom. I coughed. “Yes, well that explains that part, but why follow us? Why try to save us?”

“My employer also instructed me to retrieve you,” Rocky said after a few moments pause. “You set off her trap in the bank. She wanted to know who it was that did that.”

“Wait... her trap in the bank? You work for Envy?” Coconut said.

Rocky nodded. “I am part of her... family.”

“Family? What do you mean?” I asked, cocking my head. “Envy has a family?”

“My employer trains and assists many mercenary operations in the city,” Rocky said. “She takes us in, cares for us.”

I blinked. I hadn't quite considered Envy to be the maternal type, but clearly she had some effect on our new friend. “Okay... what about Xerves? Did she train him?”

“Yes,” Rocky said.

“Did she send him to kill my mother?” I asked, anger rising in my voice.

“Starry...” Lightning said, placing a hoof on my shoulder.

“Don't you 'Starry' me,” I said, removing his hoof. I stomped the ground hard. “Did she or did she not send Xerves to kill my mother?”

Rocky fell silent for a few moments before replying. “No,” he said. “She did not. She was approached for the contract, but refused it.”

“So Xerves took it up on his own? Who hired him?” I asked angrily.

“I do not know. Envy would be able to give more information on this,” Rocky said. “I was instructed by her to find and eliminate Xerves once she had found out he'd left. When that failed, I returned to her and reported my findings.”

“And then you showed up at her old home when her trap went off,” I said, putting the pieces together in my head.

“Envy instructed me to locate whoever set off the trap,” he said.

“When you saw that it was me, you stopped shooting,” I said. “You recognized me.”

“Yes,” he said. “You were the one that helped the zebra.”

I winced. “Yeah... that was me,” I said. “I made a mistake that day. One that's nearly cost my mother her life. That's why we were looking for Envy. We hoped she knew any sort of medical techniques that could help save her.”

“I can take you to her,” Rocky said. “But first, we must free ourselves from this captivity.”

“Yeah... you saw how well our last attempt went,” Coconut said. “If we're not out of this place soon, there's a fair shake we won't ever get out.”

“Yeah, we got our butts kicked,” Lightning said. Everyone glanced over at him. He shrugged. “What? We did.”

“Yes, well. If we're going to be working together, I guess some introductions are in order,” I said. “My name is Starry Night, and this is my brother Lightning Chaser. Over there is Coconut Cream Pie. She's with Applejack's Rangers.”

“It is... good to meet you,” Rocky replied. “And do not worry about escaping. Mistress Envy should be arriving to collect us soon. She has been tracking my location.”

“Wait, what?” Coconut said. “How is she doing that?”

“My body has cybernetic impants in it, including tracking devices that allow Mistress Envy to keep tabs on my location,” Rocky said casually. “I have initiated a distress beacon to alert her of our situation.”

“Wow,” I said. “That's certainly fancy. How... how did you get them if I might ask?”

“I do not discuss that part of my life,” Rocky said simply. His yellow eyes glanced at the ground. “Bad memories.”

I grimaced, but nodded. “Understood. How long do you think it will take Envy to get here then?”

Shouts and gunshots erupted from outside, almost as if my question was being answered by Envy herself. I stood and rushed over to the painted window and tried to bust it open to see what was happening. Unfortunately the metal grating over it made it practically impossible to break.

More shouting and more gunshots came from outside. Then, almost as if a storm had just blown through, everything was silent. I heard hoofsteps coming up to the door. A swift kick landed on the door, knocking it from its hinges. Light flooded into the tiny room as the door swung inwards. A dark green-eyed zebra stood on its hind legs just outside.

She wore a dark brown cloak that hid her form and the multitude of weapons she certainly hard on her. Her mane was wild, and her piercing green eyes commanded attention. Envy's gaze rested on us and Rocky and she sighed loudly.

“Always getting into trouble, Rock Thresher. If you keep this up, I may have to resort to drastic measures,” she said.

Rocky stood to full height and briskly swung his arms apart, snapping his chains into tiny pieces. “I am sorry, Mistress. The possibility of civilian casualties was too high.”

Envy's eyes flittered back over to us. “I see. You three are the ones who set off my trap?”

“Yeah... that was me,” I said. “Sorry about that.”

“Ah, now I see. You are from Theater,” Envy said as she examined us with her eyes. “What are you doing so far from your home?”

“We were... looking for you actually,” Lighting said.

Envy grimaced. “Well, you have now found me. I do not wish to know why, I came only to retrieve my best employee,” she replied brusquely.

“Please,” I pleaded. “You know our mom, Patch. She needs your help.”

“I know this mare, this mother of which you speak. Tell me then, why she did not come and sent three youngsters instead to seek?” Envy said.

“She was poisoned,” I said. I narrowed my gaze at her. “She was poisoned by Xerves.”

Envy's eyes narrowed as well. I could tell that I'd stuck a chord somewhere. She grimaced. “Come with us. We shall retreat from this hellish place to a much safer location to discuss this. Rock Thresher, acquire their gear and ensure their safety.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Rocky said. He moved past her, exiting the tiny room. He returned a few short moments with our gear, depositing it on the ground in front of us. He then walked up to me and pulled the magic inhibitor away from my horn so I could use my magic once more.

I glanced down at our things, searching for the one piece of my own gear I knew I wanted back. My eyes narrowed as I realized it wasn't there. “Where is my gun? That bitch took it.”

Envy blinked, apparently having some issue processing what I'd said. “Ah, the unicorn mare who captured you. She took one of your weapons from you?”

“Yeah, she took the gun Mom made for me,” I said as I pulled on my barding. “Didn't you kill her too?”

“Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen,” Envy said. “I am sorry. I do not know where she went.”

I cursed under my breath. That gun meant everything to me. It was a reminder of who I was, of who... who Mom was. It reminded me of what she gave up for us to be alive and free. It was mine, and I wanted it back.

“We do not have much time,” Envy said. “We must leave. The innocents in this town will call their raider masters to come here.”

“Innocents? What do you mean?” Coconut said, her visor lowering to obscure her face once more. “Didn't you take out the raiders?”

“Not everypony the Hellraisers harbor here are evil. Many of them are slaves who know no other life than slavery,” Envy explained. She motioned outside the door.

My eyes followed her motion past the heaps of dead raiders. Huddling across the plaza were the mares and the youngsters we'd seen on our way in. They looked scared of us. I couldn't imagine living such a life. I was frightened enough of the prospect of going to Morale as a slave. Still, there were other more important things on my mind. I stepped outside of the tiny room past Envy and trotted over to them.

“Hello?” I said softly.

The mare in front stared at me and shrank away from me. I grimaced.

“I'm not going to hurt you. You don't have to live under their shadow any longer. You can be free,” I said calmly.

The mare shook her head. I could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't going anywhere.

“Fine, let's start with something a little easier then. The mare that brought us here, Velvet Kiss. Where did she go?” I said.

“Starry...” Coconut said. “We have to go.”

“I need my gun, Coco,” I said, growling under my breath.

“Young one, I am sorry for the loss of your weapon, but we must leave. Even I cannot defeat a massive army of these raiders. We will be captured,” Envy said.

I turned back to the mare. “Where did she go? Did she go to Morale?”

The mare tentatively nodded. I grimaced. Shit... Shit shit shit shit shit! I thought to myself. I'd lost Justice. It felt like I'd lost a piece of myself.

“Starry,” Coconut said again. “Come on. I know that Justice meant a lot to you, but there's nothing we can do about it.”

“We could go get it,” I said angrily. “She can't have gotten far during the attack.”

“Are you crazy, Sis? We're in the middle of Hellraiser territory, and you want to go deeper in?” Lightning said. “I don't know about you, but I'd rather take my chances with the crazy zebra lady.”

Envy raised an eyebrow. “Crazy?”

“No offense,” Lightning said, grinning sheepishly.

“None taken,” Envy replied. Her eyes turned back to me. “Your brother is correct in at least one part of his statement. The Hellraisers will not be too pleased with our intrusion. We must pull back to our headquarters.”

I fumed. I knew they were right. I knew Justice was gone. It was just too hard to accept. I'd had the gun for so long that it was a part of me. More than that, it had been a gift from Mom. Mom... who was lying on her death bed, waiting to die. Because of me. Because I had been too stupid to accept the fact that there was still danger in this world. Because I had been too stupid to face reality.

I felt a hoof pulling me away from the crowd of slaves. Coconut led me back to the others. I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I'm not really sure why. I just glared at Envy as she motioned to a path that led out of the settlement and back towards the city. I followed along quickly and quietly behind the others. I took one look back at the settlement and decided then and there that I would come back one day, and when I did... Velvet Kiss was going to pay for what she had done.

* * *

“We are being followed,” Rocky said softly.

“I know,” Envy replied. “They've been following us since we left the settlement.”

I glanced about. I couldn't even see anything behind us, let alone hear anypony trying to follow us. According to my senses, we were alone in the alleyway we had escaped down. “How do you know that?”

“Smell. Hellraisers aren't prone to taking baths,” Envy said. “Keep moving. We must make haste if we want to make it to the bridge.”

“Isn't the bridge... you know... retracted?” Lightning said, piecing things together in his head. “How are we supposed to get across it? Wait… if it’s still retracted, how did you even get here?”

“Do not worry about that. I will take care of it once we arrive,” Envy said. She turned to Rocky. “Rock Thresher, watch our backs. I fear we may be embroiled in conflict before we make it to the bridge, and I do not relish the thought of being surprised.”

Rocky nodded as he fell back behind me. “Yes, Mistress.”

I dropped pace a little, settling next to the minotaur. “I'll help him keep an eye out.”

“That won't be necessary,” Rocky said. “I can handle this on my own.”

“That's nice. Still gonna help you,” I said under my breath, winking. “Why do you keep calling Envy that name anyways? Mistress? Are you two... you know...” I made a motion with my hoof.

Rocky's eyes widened. “Of course not. She is my master. I do what she asks of me.”

I grimaced. “That kind of makes you sound like you're a slave.”

“No,” Rocky said. “My will is my own. I have given up some of my freedom in return for the honor of learning from her. She is no slaver.”

I nodded. I have to admit, I was intrigued by him. I had met minotaurs before. They were usually part of the Cult of Iron Will, and usually psychotic. I had never met one as well mannered and calm as Rocky was. It didn't hurt that he was easy to look at either. Once you got past the cyber hardware, he was pretty cute. Great... now you're crushing on a minotaur. You need to get out more often, Starry, I thought to myself.

Rocky tensed for a moment and stopped. He lifted his rifle. His yellow eyes scanned the alley.

“What's wrong?” I said, stopping next to him.

“They are close. If you are going to help me, perhaps you can use your magic to try and flush them out. A light spell should do it,” Rocky replied.

I smiled. “That I can do. Just tell me where you want me to point it.”

Rocky moved his rifle, and I followed his lead. With a flare of my horn, I sent a bolt of light in the direction he was pointing. It was then that I could hear their laughs. The cackling madness of the Hellraisers was on our tails. They were everywhere. I didn't realize they could be that silent, that the only way that Rocky and Envy knew they were there was by smell alone.

One of the raiders popped up from where my light spell had settled. He lifted a rifle in his own magic and took aim. He never even had a shot. Rocky's sniper rifle exploded, tearing the raider's head from his body in a flash. He fell to the ground in a heap. I could hear the cackling getting louder.

Rocky pointed his rifle again, and I sent my light spell out. Another raider took the bait and lost his head for his troubles. All the while, I could hear hooves pounding on pavement. The raiders were getting closer, and not only that, there were far more of them than I had thought there were. It was as if the entire population of the Pier had descended upon us.

“I don't think this is such a good idea,” I said hesitantly.

Rocky grimaced. “I agree. There are too many of them. We should be catching up to the others now, I think.”

I nodded, turning to join him as we started running to rejoin our friends. Several gunshots rang out as the Hellraisers made their move. Three hulking monstrosities appeared out of nowhere, massive ponies in motley armor charging after us as we ran. I yelped loudly as one of them nearly took my hindquarters off with a spiked club.

“Mistress! We have company!” Rocky called out as we caught up to Envy and the others.

Envy grimaced, pulling several bladed weapons out from underneath her cloak. “Quickly now, run to the bridge! It is not far! Rock Thresher, ensure their safety! I will join you soon!”

“Yes, Mistress!” Rocky said, motioning for us to follow him. “Please, come with me. We must get to the bridge.”

I glanced back at Envy. “But we have to help her. She'll be captured!”

“I will be fine,” Envy said as she threw one of her bladed weapons at the group of monstrously large raiders that had been on our tail. It slammed into the leader’s eye, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap. “Go! I shall join you shortly!”

I grimaced. I wanted to stay and help her. We'd gone through too much to find her in the first place to be forced to abandon her. However, reason smacked me in the back of the head in the form of Coconut Cream Pie.

“Come on, Starry! We have to keep moving!” she shouted. “We're no good here! We have to leave it up to Envy!”

I nodded, turning to follow my friends. She was right. I didn't have my gun, and even with Lightning's speed and Coconut's firepower, the raiders had proven to be more than a match for us before, and that was when there was only a couple of them. I had to leave the only hope of maybe saving my mother behind, in order to save myself. I just hoped I was making the right decision.

I cantered along behind the others, grunting loudly at the physical exertion that was wearing down on my body. The only thing that kept me going was the adrenaline. Well, that and the utterly excruciating fear of being caught and turned into somepony's plaything. I followed blindly as we neared the end of the alleyway. I could smell the lake. We were almost to the bridge. Almost free.

The bridge was in sight as we emerged from the alley. Rocky spun to the side, lifting his rifle and letting loose two sharp blasts from it. Two raiders standing guard on the tower above the bridge fell to the ground before they could even react. He motioned to my brother.

“Fly up and hit the switch to lower the bridge,” he said.

Lightning hesitated for a moment before finally nodding and extending his wings, taking off in a flash. He landed on the guard tower and walked inside. After several moments, the bridge began to shriek and squeal as it lowered. Lightning exited the tower and landed back next to us, looking very proud of himself.

“Don't get cocky,” Rocky said. “We still need to get over the bridge.”

Lightning grimaced. “Yeah, yeah. We know. Why are we taking orders from you again?”

“Because he's the one with the big gun?” I argued.

“I'm with Starry on this one,” Coconut said. “I just want to get the hell out of here, and he knows how to do it.”

The grinding bridge began to screech to a halt. My ears perked up.

“The bridge is down,” Rocky said. “Come on. I shall provide cover fire.” He started towards the bridge.

I followed with the others, hoping and praying that Envy was going to catch up to us. We made it onto the bridge and started across it. The sounds of shouting carried across from the Pier as Envy appeared out of nowhere from the alleyways. Three Hellraisers armed with baseball bats with spikes embedded in them were chasing after her. Rocky's rifle came up and took out two of them. The third was felled by a few combined shots from Lightning and Coconut.

Envy was panting as she caught up with us. She acknowledged us and pointed. “We do not have much time before the whole Pier realizes that the bridge is down. We must make it across before they can regroup and bring it back up.”

I nodded as we started to run. My sides burned, my legs burned, everything about me burned. I was not used to all this physical exertion. But still I ran. I ran harder than I'd ever had in my entire life. And within mere moments, we were across. We were out of the Pier. Out of the clutches of the Hellraisers. Away from... her. We didn't even look back, we just kept going.

Eventually we began to slow down to a walk once we had all realized that we were no longer being pursued. Feeling the need to eat, drink, and rest, we quickly found the nearest abandoned building to take refuge in.

It was a massive structure that shot up above our heads. It was nestled just on the outskirts of the city in its own little lot. The grass around the lot was dead or dying, crinkling underneath our hooves. As we approached, I thought I caught glimpses of movement in the dark windows. When I looked again there was nothing there. There weren't any signs out front indicating where we were at. I glanced down at my PipBuck and brought up its automap functionality. The only thing listed for this location was something called the “Hoofwich Building”.

“Quickly. Inside,” Envy said quietly. “You must be exhausted, and we have much to talk about.”

I nodded as I followed the others into the lobby. She was right about one thing. We did have quite a bit to discuss. I needed to know how she knew Xerves, and why he came after my mother. But most importantly... I needed to know if she could save her. I needed to know that Mom wasn't going to die.

In that moment, I was very afraid of the answers to these questions. I was afraid that I was going to arrive back at Theater with Envy in tow and that Mom would be already gone. Even though it had only been a day, I felt like I'd been away from her for an eternity.

* * *

“Whoah,” Lightning said.

“You're telling me,” Coconut replied.

I blinked. The lobby of the building appeared to be as pristine as the day the bombs dropped. The lights even worked! I couldn't believe it. Not many places in the Wasteland, even in this day and age, looked this good. There was even a functioning Stable-Tec terminal sitting on the front desk, which was immaculately clean. It was a far cry from the devastation just outside the front doors.

“This is... crazy,” I said aloud. I took a few steps forward. “Can you guys believe this place? It's like...” My head began to ache and I stumbled. When I looked up again, the pristine vision of the lobby was gone. Rubble lay strewn about. The front desk was sunken into the ground, the terminal there laying on it’s side and sparking occasionally. The lights flickered on and off, revealing a long dark hallway at the far end that led deeper into the building. Whatever I had seen before was gone, and in its place was the Wasteland at its best.

“What the hell just happened?” Coconut said, glancing up at Envy.

The zebra narrowed her eyes. “I do not know. But I believe it would be prudent to stay within this area while we rest. Do not wander. We do not want anyone getting lost in this place.”

I nodded, walking over to the front desk. I was vaguely paying attention as Envy directed the others to start setting up a place to rest in the corner, My curiosity piqued by the strange vision we'd encountered, I used my magic to lift the terminal back upright. I grimaced as I realized the screen was also broken. Laying next to the terminal were a few bottle caps, in addition to what looked like a set of audio tapes. They were unmarked. I shrugged and swept them into my saddlebags. Perhaps they'd be fun to listen to later on. I then took out a few of the desk drawers and broke them apart with my magic, figuring we could use them to make a fire to cook something.

I made my way back to the others. They'd managed to set up a crude little camp. I deposited the wood in the center of the camp. “I pulled apart some of the drawers for a camp fire,” I said.

“Excellent,” Coconut replied. She picked them up and began to arrange them appropriately. Pretty soon she had a nice warm fire to cook with.

We didn't have much to really eat. A lot of our rations of oats had been taken by the Hellraisers, leaving us with only a pittance. Envy thankfully had some to add to the mix, ensuring that we had a filling meal. As we ate, I watched Envy and Rocky. Rocky wasn't eating at all. I wondered briefly if he could eat with his cybernetics, or if he even needed to in the first place. Envy also did not eat, instead preferring to keep an eye on our surroundings.

As we ate, I thought I was hearing things. Whispers, tiny bits of sound that were coming from deeper inside the building. Probably just radroaches, I thought. Or something worse. I glanced at the others, noting that it didn't seem that they'd heard any of it themselves.

As we finished our meal, Envy stood and faced us. She looked grim.

“So... explain to me why you set off my trap,” she said. “You mentioned Xerves already.”

I stood, sighing. “Xerves showed up outside of our settlement, hurt and being attacked. We brought him in, where he attacked my mother.”

Envy's gaze narrowed at me. She motioned to Rock Thresher. “Rock Thresher here explained to me that somepony from the MMMM had interfered in his work. He was sent to track down Xerves.”

I looked down at the ground. I couldn't look her in the eye. “That was me. I saved Xerves. And in turn, he poisoned my mother.”

“I see. Your mother, she is the one with the eye patch, correct?” Envy said.

I nodded mutely in response. It was all I could do to keep from breaking down. “Yes, her name is Patch. You met briefly before my brother and I were born.”

“Ah yes. I do remember her,” Envy said. “And what condition is your mother in now? You said you needed my help as a healer. Were your doctors unable to remove the poison from her system?”

“Yes. The doctors were able to stabilize her,” Coconut interjected. “But there is another problem, which led to us trying to find you.”

“It's her heart,” Lightning said. “She has a bad heart condition, and Xerves's poison accelerated it. We were hoping you could look at her and help her.”

Envy grimaced. “Matters of the heart are difficult to heal. I... I will come with you and see what condition your mother is in. I feel... obligated after what Xerves did to her.”

“Your protege here mentioned that he was some sort of mercenary assassin that worked for you. That you trained him,” I said angrily. “That he was working a contract to kill my mother.”

Envy turned her gaze downward. “It is true that I trained Xerves. What mother would not train her young in the arts of survival in this world?”

My eyes widened. Xerves. Envy's son. I blinked several times.

“Wait... he's your son?” Coconut said.

“Yes... and I'm afraid that he has already left the city,” Envy said. “I take in ponies, zebras, and even ones like Rock Thresher here. I train them to survive. It is the best thing I can do to try and help this city. But Xerves... he wanted more. He wanted to take the dangerous jobs, to be a true mercenary. His moral compass was... misguided.”

“Who approached you to kill my mother?” I asked point-blank.

Envy frowned. “The Cult of Iron Will. The MMMM has long-time been a thorn in the Cult's side. Wrath, my brother in spirit, wished for her to be dead. He was willing to pay handsomely too.”

“But you refused the job?” Lightning said.

“Yes. I do not take contracts to kill. The MMMM have been very kind to me and mine, and I did not wish to sour that relationship. Xerves however... he's long been bristling at the chance to perform a job of such nature,” Envy explained. “When we found out that he was gone, I knew exactly what had happened. Now I fear that he is gone for good.”

“He ran,” I said. “I tried to stop him, but he got away. He got away and now... now Mom is...”

Envy reached forward and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Do not fret, young one. We will make haste and see what we can do about your mother. I promise you, I will do what I can.”

I met her gaze and nodded. I swore to myself that I would do whatever I could as well to find Xerves and make him pay for those he'd hurt. He would not be allowed to harm anyone else.

“Now then,” Envy said. “We must rest. Food can strengthen our bodies, but rest strengthens our minds. You must be exhausted from your ordeal on the Pier. Rock Thresher and I will take shifts. In a few hours time, we will make our way back to Theater.”

I nodded again. I was pretty tired, and a small glance at Lightning and Coconut and I knew they were too. We were all banged up and breathing hard and despite the good meal, Envy was right about us needing rest. I trudged to my bedroll and slumped onto it, grunting. My eyes drifted to Rocky, who was standing guard at the edge of our camp. He watched the empty hallway beyond the lobby, his eyes shrewdly picking apart the area for any threats. I smiled a bit as I watched him. I wondered if he had heard the strange whispers I'd heard during our meal.

Moments passed and I began to drift off, letting sleep take me wherever it desired, feeling at the very least safer with our new friends watching out for us. After this, we were bound for home, and hopefully a cure for Mom's heart.

At least, I hoped so...

Author's Note

And there we are, another chapter down and many more to go! This story is really shaping up to be a lot of fun to write, that's for sure. And now we have our new mysterious minotaur Rock Thresher, aka Rocky! He's going to be a lot of fun to work with and I can't wait.

Major big time thanks to Wirepony, McMesser, and Heartshine for all their awesome pre-reads/edits. You guys are the best!

Also, please please please please check out my Patreon! I could really use the support to keep writing!

Chapter Fifteen: The True Nature of the Heart

Fallout: Equestria – Mending Hearts

Chapter Fifteen: The True Nature of the Heart

There is no greater power than the love of a true heart

My eyes adjusted to the familiar dark office of Starlight Glimmer’s, as I realized I was inside of her body once more. The mare was hard at work at her terminal, furiously typing up a message that was being sent across the company.

“Sugar Belle, I need you to get my personal things together. I’ll be taking a leave of absence from the company. Issue the lockdown command on the bunkers,” she said into a microphone. No response. “Sugar Belle, do you read me?”

“I am afraid your receptionist has been taken into custody,” a male voice replied.

My host glanced up and scowled as she took in the intruder to her office. It was a unicorn stallion with an orange coat dappled with white. His beard was impressive and well maintained, a set of gleaming spectacles set upon his forebrow. He wore a robe that marked him as a high ranking officer of some military organization.

“You’re not Ministry,” she said. “Who are you?”

“I see you don’t quite recognize me, Starlight Glimmer,” the stallion said casually. “I”m not surprised. We lost touch many years ago. I am here on official business from the Crystal Empire.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “Sunburst? Is that… it can’t be. You were a scholar. A bookworm.”

“We all have to adapt to survive,” Sunburst replied carefully. “Now again, I am here on official business. We have reason to believe that your company is in possession of technology that you should not have.”

“What my company has access to is none of the Crystal Empire’s business. I’ve heard what you ponies have been doing. Stealing tech and weapons from honest hard-working business. I don’t know how you do it without drawing the ire of the Ministries,” my host said with a larger scowl on her face. “Well, you can’t have my company. I’ve worked too hard for my goals to let it all go.”

“Yes… your goals include the subjugation of Equestria subjects, brainwashing. What you like to call ‘equality,’” Sunburst said. “I’m sure that Princess Luna would love to hear all about you. Or has she already? Was that why you were in such a hurry?”

“I received… intelligence that the Ministry of Morale was going to raid the main facility today,” Starlight said, gritting her teeth.

“Yes… well that’s not going to happen of course. When they arrive, there will be nothing for them to raid. Guards, seize Miss Glimmer and escort her to my private skiff. She will be… useful,” Sunburst said.

Starlight protested as two large bipedal creatures entered the office. I’d realized I’d seen them before, as part of Deathless Crystal’s army. My host shouted and struggled as they grabbed her, placing her in chains and forcing her out of the office. Sunburst walked in front of her as he spoke on some form of intercom device.

“Are the bunkers secure? Excellent. Issue the transmogrification command and send them back to the Empire. Leave no trace behind. As for the building itself… burn it to the ground. Make it look like an accident,” he said aloud.

Starlight’s eyes widened as she was pushed up the stairs to the roof of the office building, where an air skiff waited quietly. My host was shoved onto the skiff roughly, Sunburst stepping up next to her. The skiff lifted into the air as the building below began to crumble to nothing. Starlight gasped as she heard screaming from below.

“But… all those ponies down there!” she shouted up at Sunburst.

“Is that caring I detect?” Sunburst asked, a wry grin appearing on his face. “I wasn’t aware you cared for anyone, Starlight. You will see soon that none of this matters. What matters is the goal. What matters is the end.”

My host grimaced and watched as her life’s work burned before her eyes. She closed them, and the memory went dark.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My eyes opened to darkness, the soft chill of the air biting into my coat. I pulled my blanket tighter around me, sighing as it subsided. I missed Rocky. I missed his scent, his warmth. Everything about him. I’d only had a little time understanding that before his death that the things that we truly loved we only knew after they were gone. I sighed again.

We’d made two days of progress towards the coordinates that Dusk had sent us, taking us back east towards Equestria. As we’d crossed over into new territory, the area around us got visibly chillier; snow peppering the mountainous terrain.

I thought hard about the memory orb I’d just come out of. I’d watched it several times since our trip had began, trying to understand why Deathless Crystal would be carrying such a thing. The only conclusion that I found myself coming back to was that Deathless Crystal was actually the stallion in the memory, Sunburst. It felt strange though, as Starlight Glimmer had said, he had been a scholar, not a warrior. And yet, somehow deep down I knew I was right. Had Deathless Crystal kept it because he wanted to remember who he was? Or was it because of Glimmer herself? I couldn’t tell.

Light broke over the mountain ridges, bringing forth a chilled and damp morning that pervaded all of us. I groaned and sat up, my joints aching from the cold as I started gathering my gear together. I pulled on the necklace I’d welded together around my neck. Hanging from it was a piece of metal, a part of Rocky’s cybernetics that I’d kept. It felt comfortable, like he was still with me. I sighed and turned to find the others setting up to have breakfast.

Everypony seemed to be in… well… actual good moods for once. Despite how serious our mission was, there was a livelihood to the conversation. I noticed that Lightning and Coconut sat much closer together than normal, eyeing each other and giving tiny smiles. I was happy for them. They deserved it.

Velvet sat quietly nearby, feeding on her own terms while the two alicorns chattered amongst themselves.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I looked up, seeing Heartshine. Her eyes looked baggy but she appeared to be in better sorts than a few days ago.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked.

“Alright,” I replied softly.

“You watched the memory again,” she stated.

“I did. I keep hoping I’ll find something there that might give me some idea who Deathless Crystal was and why the Empire is so aggressive,” I said.

“Starry. Sweetie. Sticking your head into the past doesn’t help you see the future,” Heartshine said, sitting next to me. “A wise pony told me that once. It’s advice I need to start taking myself, so don’t go thinking I’m a hypocrite for telling it to you.”

I chuckled softly. “Wouldn’t think of it.”

“Good. Now listen. Are you sure about this whole plan? If we’re caught by the Empire…”

“I know. I know the consequences. But if we don’t save Dusk, if we do nothing… then it’s all going to happen just the same,” I explained, annoyance creeping into my voice. “We have to do something.”

Heartshine smiled. “There you are, Starry Night. I was afraid you were losing your conviction, but I can feel it rolling off you in waves,” she said.

I blinked. “Wait what? Was that a test?” I said.

“Maybe just a small one. If we’re going to get through that block All’z’reth placed inside of you, it’s going to take a lot of chipping away at it,” Heartshine said. “The only way we’re going to do that is going to be a little bit at a time. Little tests like that show you’re making progress.”

“I’m still a little annoyed that it was a test.”

“You’ll get over that part, Sweetie,” Heartshine said with a giggle. “Later when we stop we’ll try a meditation exercise. I’ll see if I can connect to your heart and work on the blockage directly. How does that sound?”

I nodded eagerly. Any attempt to bring the dull feeling up and away was a solid attempt in my book. I glanced down at my PipBuck. The automap was still pointing head on to the coordinates that Dusk had given us. The Empire was still days away. I had to hope that it was not too late to save him.

“We should probably go over some sort of plan,” Lightning said as he stood up.

“Considering that we know nothing of what the Empire’s patrol routes look like, we are going to need to be highly careful approaching the Empire proper,” Golden Chalice said. “If we can get a good look at their patrols we should be able to come up with an illusion spell to make them see us as they are.”

“We have to assume that the Empire knows about Deathless Crystal,” Velvet said. “Which means they’ll know who it was that did it. They’ll be patrolling for us. We need to be ready to fight.”

“That’s why I want Chalice and Shimmer to take point on each side of the main group the further we get into Empire territory,” Lightning said. “Their defensive capabilities are bar none. If we’re ambushed, they’ll know about it and will be able to react.”

“Agreed,” Shimmer said.

“I would prefer not to engage combat if at all possible,” Lightning said. “Our goal is infiltration. We have to assume the Empire has communication channels. If they get back around, we’re going to have a much harder time with our disguises.”

I grimaced, taking another bite out of the rations. We were treading into dangerous territory now. Things were only going to escalate from here on in. I glanced over at Heartshine, listening intently. I worried about bringing her along, that if something happened to her then Mom may never… No. I shook my head at the thought. If we did nothing, if we allowed the Empire to wield their might against the Wasteland… it was like Dusk said. There’d be nothing left.

We finished our breakfast and began packing together our gear before setting back on track. I felt the unwieldy weight of Rocky’s sniper rifle strapped across my side. Despite how large the gun was, I couldn’t have left it where it might get scavenged. The time might arrive when I would have to use it.

We kept trudging forward, gritting our teeth as the wind kicked up here and there, making the biting chill even more painful to walk through. The ground beneath became harder to walk on as the ice set in, making it slick. Several times I nearly slipped out from underneath myself.

Hours passed as we walked, silence reigning supreme over the group. The two alicorns walked on each side of us, their eyes cautiously scanning the frozen weather for any danger. I myself kept scanning my E.F.S. for anything out there that could be potentially dangerous, but there was nothing, not even any wildlife.

We stopped at a ridge just above a small sloping valley. In the distance we could see more mountainous terrain and farther beyond that I could make out a massive spire of ice. My eyes widened as I realized that it could only be one thing. The Crystal Empire. I scowled slightly. That was where Dusk was being held.

As I glanced down over the ridge I nearly doubled over trying to scramble back before I was seen by a group of what appeared to be ponies far down below us. I hadn’t even seen them on my E.F.S.! They appeared to be clad in black armor, their faces obscured by breathing masks not unlike Coconut’s Ranger armor. Their eyes however, were a pale glowing green. They all carried battle saddles with what appeared to be high tech energy weapons mounted from them. All told, there were at least five of them marching in order.

“A patrol,” Lightning whispered. “We’re lucky they haven’t spotted us yet.”

“Yeah…” I said. “Look at their armor. Could we use that to disguise ourselves if we captured it?”

“Maybe. But look at their weapons,” my brother replied. “That’s some serious tech.”

I grimaced. He was right. The Empire’s technology appeared to be a hundred times more powerful over our own.

“So we get the drop on them,” I said, returning to where the others waited. “Chalice, Shimmer? Do you guys think you can do an invisibility spell of some sort?”

“I can,” Doctor Shimmer said. “But do you think they will be fooled by it? Their technology can likely see through such a veil?”

“Only one way to find out,” I said. “If we can pick them off one at a time, and use the weather to our advantage…”

“It’s risky,” Velvet Kiss said. “But reward prefers risk! Or something like that. I don’t know, it’s an old saying.”

“Well, we’d better plan this attack quickly,” Coconut said. “They are headed up the ridge at a fairly brisk pace.”

I grimaced. “Alright. Here’s what we’re going to do then. Shimmer, I want you to create a sphere of invisibility in this area. I’m going to hang up the ridge a bit and take shots at them to get their attention. As soon as they pass through, we’ll ambush them. Try to take them out without damaging the gear too much.”

“I’ll come with you,” Heartshine said. “I might be able to help spot for you.”

I nodded, motioning for her to follow as we made our way further up the ridge. We found a spot that was nice and shielded from view, watching as the others disappeared in thin air. Thanks to my E.F.S. I could still track their movements as they hung back behind a large rock nearby. I lifted Rocky’s rifle off my back with my magic, setting it up on the ridge. I peered through the scope, aiming it at the hill.

“You think this is going to work?” Heartshine asked calmly.

“I think no matter what we do, it’s probably fucking crazy, so might as well go the full nine, right?” I said, settling on the cold ground.

“Starry… I know you’re having a hard time right now but…” Heartshine started to say.

“Shhh…” I whispered. “They’re coming up the hill.”

I glanced through the scope, confirming what my E.F.S. already knew to be true. The patrol group crested the ridge, seemingly unable to see the others as they marched past the rock. I angled the sniper rifle with my magic, and breathed out as I squeezed the trigger with a flourish of telekinesis.

The shot struck the leader of the patrol, glancing off the hard crystalline armor. The desired effect had been achieved. The patrol scattered, shouting in rough voices as they tried to ascertain where the shot had come from. I ratcheted up a second shot, striking the leader again. I cursed under my breath as I realized the bullets weren’t doing a damn thing. It wasn’t even penetrating. But it was doing what I wanted it to, which was distracting them.

A shimmering shield erupted out of nowhere as Golden Chalice and Shimmer ambushed the patrol group. Magical energy flew everywhere as the two alicorns wielded their might and the Empire soldiers tried to fire their energy weapons back. One of the soldiers lifted into the air and dropped as Chalice growled loudly.

The others joined the fray, appearing out of nowhere on the other side of the patrol group. Velvet Kiss assumed the form of a monstrous looking bear, swiping at two of the patrol members. They went down hard, unmoving. Within mere seconds, the patrol had been dispatched, lying on the ground. I blinked.

“Holy hell. That actually fucking worked,” I uttered aloud.

“Confidence,” Heartshine said knowingly. “That’s all it takes, right?”

She placed a hoof on my shoulder and I felt her magic run through me. A bright smile appeared on both of our faces. I felt as if I could do anything, proud of the ponies who were with me. A tinge of sadness streaked across my heart as I glanced down at Rocky’s gun. In some small way, he’d helped with this victory.

We trudged down the ridge towards where the others waited, the Empire’s soldiers lying upon the cold ground. I stepped up to their leader, pulling off his helmet after finagling with the clips that held it on. I grimaced and did the same to the others with my magic. It was as I suspected. They were all ghouls. These ones looked different than Deathless Crystal had. Their body was hard, almost crystalline in nature.

I looked up to talk to the others when a hoof grabbed my leg. I yelped as I pulled back, the unmasked ghoul starting to pull himself up using me. He snarled and growled, his teeth gnashing. My horn lit, sending a bolt of telekinesis into its face. It impacted, punching a clean hole in the ghoul’s head and dropping it to the ground.

Gunshots erupted as the other ghouls started to get up as well. One of the ghouls tried to latch onto Golden Chalice, but the alicorn merely shrugged it off with a flourish of telekinesis.

“Shit…” Velvet said aloud. “Those fuckers were feral.”

“Or at the very least on the verge of feralism,” Doctor Shimmer said carefully as she stepped up next to me. Her careful eye examined the body of the leader. “This armor appears to be giving them some sort of solution in their breathing masks. When you disengaged it…”

“You mean, the Empire actually has a cure for feralism?” I asked.

“A cure that only lasts as long as one is on it, I fear,” Shimmer replied. “As soon as they took their first breath of actual air… the solution must have stopped working.”

“Is there a way to um… disable that feature in their armor? We’re going to need that stuff to get inside the empire,” Lightning intervened.

“Maybe,” Coconut said from beside him. “But it’s going to take some time to look into. We’d better move their bodies and make camp somewhere warm.”

“Agreed,” Golden Chalice said. “My coat is already freezing from standing here too long.”

I shivered slightly, nodding as I latched onto the patrol leader’s body with my magic and began dragging it along. We walked along the ridge until we found what appeared to be a large cave. After determining it to be empty and abandoned, we settled inside. With some dead wood we made a fire as we assisted Coconut in removing the Empire soldier’s armor.

I walked over to the mouth of the cave and looked out across the landscape. The Wasteland here was frozen everywhere, ice and snow covering just about everything. In the distance, the Crystal Empire stood, towering over everything and anything. As the sky began to grow dark, the Empire lit up, shining across the land.

I pulled out Sunburst’s memory orb. Despite what Heartshine had said, I still felt there was something to it that could give us some idea of what to expect in the Empire. I inspected the orb carefully, turning it over in the small metal carrier it was held in. Something drew my attention, a button of some sort on the carrier. I pressed it with my magic and something within the memory orb… changed. A different swirl of coloring appeared.

My eyes widened. What had just happened? I reached out with my magic to activate the orb, allowing my mind to fall into the world of the past once more.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My eyes adjusted as I realized I was still in Starlight Glimmer’s body, but the memory I was viewing was most assuredly different. I was still on the air skiff, but now I was outside of Equestria. The air was colder, and in the distance through my host’s eyes I could see the Crystal Empire looming.

“It’s quite beautiful, really,” a male voice said from next to me.

My host glanced over to see Sunburst staring off at the Empire in the distance. His eyes were focused on it like a hawk.

“What happened to you?” my host asked. “I… I remember you used to be kind.”

“One might say the same about you, Starlight,” Sunburst replied casually, never once taking his eyes from the Empire. “Brainwashing ponies into serving you, taking away their cutie marks, sabotaging Ministry operations. The Starlight I remember was nothing like that.”

Silence fell between the two ponies. For several seconds they sat there as the Empire loomed ever closer.

“This war… it gave me perspective,” Starlight finally said. “Equestria is sick. The virtues we all used to live by… they’re dying. We have to do what we can to survive… to adapt. Equality allows us to be the same, so we can learn the ways to adapt again.”

“We understand each other then,” Sunburst said, turning to glance at my host. “You will appreciate the Queen all the more once you meet her. Our goals are not too dissimilar, Starlight. We too believe that Equestria’s death is near.”

“Then why muscle me here? Why destroy my company and steal my assets?” Starlight hissed loudly.

“Would you have come otherwise? We’ve had our eye on you for some time, Starlight. Your magical prowess is bar none, save for the Princesses,” Sunburst said. “I’ve been working on a project for some time that you may be able to assist us in completing.”

The skiff descended, landing on a platform that extended out from the tallest spire of the Empire. My host stepped off, her eyes wandering all around. Outside of the Empire, the city only appeared to be frozen over, but inside the city was warm and bustling, filled with activity. Starlight could spot several large factories all around the city. Sunburst motioned at the guards as he nodded at Starlight.

“How did you…?” she asked.

“Holographic imaging technology. The world sees what we want it to see,” Sunburst said. “We’ve been… apart from Equestria for some time now you see. Now, we must be heading inside. We do not wish to keep her Majesty waiting.”

My host scowled, but nodded regardless, tearing her gaze away from the city below to follow behind Sunburst. As they crossed inside the cold winds subsided, replaced instantly by immediate warmth. The two ponies, flanked by the strange bipedal guards, made their way through the long ringed hallway until they finally stopped in front of a massive throne room. Sunburst knocked on the door.

“Enter,” a voice said from beyond.

Sunburst grimaced, pushing the door open and allowing Starlight in after him. My host’s eyes widened as she took in the room she’d stepped into. A great crystal throne arose at the far end of the room, just beyond a grand war room round table. The vastness of the room didn’t frighten my host as much as the mare seated upon the throne did.

Her poise was regal, but her gaze was downright menacing, her sharp eyes trained on the two ponies before her. Her wings spread out on each side, and her horn glowed softly. The alicorn queen of the Crystal Empire was terrifying to behold. On her side further down the dais, a younger looking alicorn female glanced up out of boredom. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Sunburst.

“Archmage Sunburst, you have returned from your mission,” the elder alicorn said. “I assume you were successful.”

“Of course, my Queen,” Sunburst said. “Risk favors reward, after all. All of Equality Incorporated’s assets are firmly within our control. The media will see it as a Ministry operation. The Ministries will deny it of course, but no risk is posed to our operations here.”

“Excellent,” the alicorn said. She turned her attention to my host. “And you must be the infamous Starlight Glimmer. I’m grateful to get to meet with you finally. I am Cadance, Queen of the Crystal Empire.”

“I’m aware of who you are,” my host said with a grimace. “You took my company from me, my life’s work. Why?”

“Come with me. I will explain everything,” Cadance replied. She glanced down at the younger alicorn and Sunburst. “Sunburst, Flurry, go on then. I shall listen to your debriefing later.”

The younger alicorn nodded, taking Sunburst by the hoof and walking with him towards the throne room’s entrance. My host glanced back, noting how excited and animated the younger alicorn was with the older unicorn. She turned back to Cadance, who motioned for my host to follow her. They walked in silence to the balcony where they stood looking over the grand empire below.

“We share the same thoughts, you and I,” Cadance said softly. “Equestria as it stands today is dying. The greed, the corruption, the hate… it’s all accelerating us towards something big. The end of the world is coming, Starlight. I can feel it in my bones.”

“And you want to what… stop it?” Starlight asked.

“Hah. You think me to care about what happens to Equestria? No, Starlight. I don’t want to stop the end of the world. Nothing can stop the end of the world. What I want to do is simple, and far more selfish. I want to save my Empire from this destruction,” Cadance said.

“How…?”

“Lifetimes ago, a unicorn by the name of Sombra ruled this Empire with an iron hoof. He used powerful magic to make the Empire disappear for thousands of years,” Cadance replied. “I want to do the same. I want to make the Crystal Empire disappear, so that when the end does come… we will be safe. I want to ask for your help to do this.”

“Why me? I’m nopony.”

“You are talented in magical areas that even Sunburst can’t reach. Your magical prowess is something we need to achieve our goals,” Cadance said softly. “Or would you rather go back to being second fiddle to Twilight Sparkle?”

My host looked down at her hooves and sighed before looking back up at Cadance. The alicorn smiled slyly, almost as if she already knew the answer before her host did.

“I’ll do it.”

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My eyes fluttered open as I came out of the memory orb, struggling to wrap my head around what I’d just seen. Somehow whatever spell that Cadance had mentioned, the Crystal Empire had managed to recreate it with the help of Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer. But, the Empire soldiers we’d seen thus far had all been ghouls. Something must have happened to turn them that way.

I turned my attention back inside the cave. The others were sleeping it seemed. It was still dark outside. The bodies of the Empire patrol lay just outside the mouth of the cave, frozen still. Their armor lay back at the end of the cave, splayed out and separated. I breathed a sigh of relief as I returned my gaze to the outside world.

*crunch* *crunch* *crunch*

Something moved upon the snow outside of the cave. I scowled, looking to my E.F.S. A friendly target moving towards us? What could be out there that’s friendly? I stood my ground as the crunching sounds got louder. My horn lit up slightly, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

“Starry, it’s me,” a voice said in the darkness as Heartshine appeared. “I was just out trying to gather more firewood in case we needed it.”

“Oh. Geez, sorry,” I said as I delit my horn. “I didn’t realize you’d left.”

“That’s alright. Gave me an opportunity to try this out a little,” the pegasus mare said, stepping into the light. She appeared to be wearing one of the suits of armor. “Don’t tell Coconut, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure on everything, but it works just fine.”

“It’s covering your wings?” I asked, intrigued by this development.

“Yeah, it seems like it was designed mainly for the crystal ponies, and none of them appear to be pegasi. But the armor is pretty roomy so…” Heartshine replied. “I’d better get out of it though before Coconut wakes up.”

The armor hissed softly as it separated easily, allowing Heartshine to step out of it with relative ease. I grinned, igniting my horn to carefully carry the armor back to where the other suits were sitting. I glanced back at Heartshine.

“So did you get firewood?” I asked.

“Most of the trees in the area are too wet and dead to make for good wood. I think what we hit last night was it,” she said with a sigh. Her eyes dipped down to the memory orb. “You were watching it again, weren’t you?”

I nodded. “Except this orb has multiple memories stored on it. I think they belonged to someone who was close to Deathless Crystal, or rather… who he used to be before the war,” I said. “The Empire somehow… removed themselves from Equestria before the end of the war. Some sort of spell.”

“That’s why nopony ever saw it before now?” Heartshine asked, taking a seat next to me.

“Except for Dusk. Where he comes from… the future… this all happened. The Empire returned… and they were responsible for a war that ended the world… for good,” I said, trying to let Heartshine process as much of this as she possibly could.

“So you’re saying… the current Empire is from an alternate timeline? A version of the world where they destroyed the world with their technology?”

I nodded. Heartshine sighed loudly and glanced down at her hooves. A moment later she she brought a hoof up to rub her temple.

“Fuck. That’s messed up,” she said after a few moments of silence. “And Dusk… he traveled through time to try and fix things?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds like he didn’t do a very good job,” she deadpanned.

“Heh, yeah I guess you’re right about that,” I said. “So what now? You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“We have time. I’d much rather focus on you, Starry,” Heartshine said softly.

Heartshine smiled softly and reached across, placing a hoof on my shoulder. Instantly I felt her magic connect with my own. It was getting easier with every touch she gave to me, almost as if she was truly helping to remove the empathic block on my heart. I returned her smile and sighed deeply.

“Your heart aches for feeling,” Heartshine said. “Every time I channel my magic through you I can feel it yearning for more. It wants to be set free, but the blockage strangles that yearning.”

“How… how can we remove it?” I asked.

“I have an idea, but it’s potentially risky,” Heartshine explained. “Up until now we’ve just been chipping away at the block, hoping to weaken it. But it’s not working. We need a more… direct plan.”

“I’m listening.”

“Channel your magic into mine. Mix it with my powers and we can attack the source directly within your mind,” she said.

“What’s the downside to this not working?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… I could get theoretically lost inside your mind and go completely braindead,” Heartshine said nonchalantly. She grinned. “But hey, what’s a little risk, right? We have to try something.”

“I guess… I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you or anyone else,” I said, glancing down. “I don’t know if I could take that.”

“That right there shows that our work has been having some impact, it just needs that little push,” Heartshine said. “This might be good for both of us.”

I grimaced, but nodded after a moment of silence. “Alright. We’ll do it… together.”

Heartshine nodded, scooting closer so she could position herself as close to me as possible. She reached out with both of her wings, wrapping them around my neck in an awkward hug. I could feel her magic moving through my body, soothing and painless. I lit my horn, seeking the source of that magic, allowing mine to mix and mingle with it.

“That’s it, I can feel your magic,” Heartshine whispered softly. “Now, close your eyes and imagine your heart.”

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

My eyes opened to a vast plane of stars, scattered across the horizon for miles upon miles. There seemed to be no end to it. I took a step forward, testing the gravity of the situation, finding that there seemed to be no issues with moving. I glanced about, noting that I was alone. Where was Heartshine?

“I’m here,” a disembodied voice said from the nether. A lime green mare appeared out of the darkness. “Well, not here physically per se, more like here in spirit.”

“What is this place?” I asked.

“Your mind, or rather, the entrance to your heart,” Heartshine said calmly. “We must be quick. We need to find the blockage.”

I turned my head to one side and my eyes widened as I focused on the idea of the blockage. I saw it. “I… I see it.”

Settled several feet across from us was a large door, wrapped in massive vines. The vine-work was black and slimy looking, constricting the door tightly. Mixed throughout the vines were various creatures. I recognized them all. Mom. Dad. Rocky. Lightning. Every thing or person I had truly felt love for in this world. The vines were squeezing the life out of them. They called out in unison, a cacophony of sorrow.

“It’s like… a tree,” I said aloud.

“The heart generally is regarded as a tree-like structure,” Heartshine said. “As a Heartmender, I’m able to prune the branches of the heart to keep it healthy and help ponies through their pain, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean… this kind of blockage is unlike any empathic heart condition I’ve ever seen. Whatever this All’z’reth did to you, it’s on a whole other level,” Heartshine explained. “We need to be careful here. This growth… if it’s allowed to continue unchecked… it will probably kill you. The only thing we can do here is approach, and go from there.”

I nodded as I cautiously approached the tree, trying to get a feeling for how best to proceed. The voices of my loved ones howled in anger, almost as if they sensed my approach. Shadowy goo dripped from the tree into nothingness below. I grimaced. I had to do something, but I wasn’t sure what I could do.

The tree answered for me, as some of the shadowy stuff slid off in front of me, congealing into the form of a pony. My eyes widened.

“M-M-Mom?” I stuttered.

“Where were you, Starry?” the form of my mother asked harshly, her one eye piercing my very soul. “Where were you when I needed you the most?!”

“I… I…” I said, tears forming in my eyes. “I had to…”

“You left! You went off and let me die by myself!” the shadowy form screeched. “Selfish little brat!”

“You let me die,” another voice said. Rocky’s form appeared next to her. “I trusted you to uphold the rules of the challenge, and you let me perish in combat.”

“But I… that... “ I stuttered more. Tears streamed down my face, staining my cheeks. “I didn’t…”

“You’ve let everything and everyone you’ve ever loved down,” the voice of my brother said from the other side. “You don’t deserve to love. You don’t deserve to feel.”

“Starry! You need to listen to me!” Heartshine called from behind me. Her voice was faint, distant. I could barely hear her. “Don’t listen to their lies! Don’t let them turn you away! That’s what they want! They want you to submit to their will, to allow the pain in your heart to kill you! But you can beat it, you can be stronger. You have the willpower, I can feel it deep inside of you! Push through! Summon your fiercest memories of your loved ones!”

I blinked, realizing that she was right. The shadowy figures were playing upon my fears, using them to try and debilitate me. I needed to be stronger than that. Stronger than I thought I could be. I gritted my teeth and focused my mind as the shadow forms continued to berate and demean me. I latched onto memories of my family, of my friends, of my love. Rocky and I laying together for the first and only time. My mother’s caring embrace. My brother, for all his goofiness, and how he stood behind me in times of need. I summoned them all to the forefront of my mind, drawing on their strength and peace.

“Give up, Starry Night. You will never find peace, never find true happiness,” Velvet Kiss’ voice said as her form appeared. “You will never be free of me.”

“I… WILL… NOT!!!” I shouted, channeling the magic of my memories into a spell that attacked the forms all at once.

The shadowy creatures shrunk from the magic as it grasped a hold of them and pulled them from the tree. I felt Heartshine add her magic to my own, bolstering it with her own powers. As the last of the shadows dissipated, I felt the tree begin to grow before me, grander and taller than it had been before. My eyes widened as the door opened, and then everything turned white.

ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo

I awoke with an ache in my heart. An ache I hadn’t felt in a long time. I sat up slowly, taking in everything I was feeling. All at once I felt everything that had been repressed by All’z’reth’s spell. My tears flowed freely as I realized how much I truly had loved Rocky, how much I missed my mother, how much I loved my friends.

I could feel again.

I sniffled loudly as the tears stopped coming. At first I thought that we’d been unsuccessful, and that the block was returning, and then I realized that it was Heartshine. The mare was holding onto me, embracing me and telling me that it was going to be okay. I pulled away from her and smiled softly.

“You… you did it,” I said. “You helped me get rid of it.”

“No… you did most of it, Starry,” Heartshine replied softly.

“I wouldn’t have been able to clear them all away without your magic,” I said. “You can help ponies, Heartshine. You’ve always been able to. You just… you let the bad stuff get to you. You did something good here. I can feel again, because of you.”

Heartshine glanced at her hooves for a moment and then her eyes met mine. I could see there was still a lot of hurt in them. But even so, I could see understanding. She nodded.

“Perhaps there’s still more work for me to do out there,” she said. “Perhaps we can still save this world, one pony at a time.”

I smiled softly, glancing out at the frozen Wasteland. “You’re right about that,” I said. “Now let’s go get the others up. It’s time we made for the Empire. I can feel it.”

I stood, heading back into the cave where we found the others just beginning to stir. After a quick breakfast, and assurances from Coconut that the suits of armor were indeed safe to wear, myself and the other normal sized members of our group began piecing them together and putting them on. Within a half hour we all appeared to be members of a Crystal Empire patrol group.

“We should reach the Empire within the day,” I said. “Barring no other obstacles, of course.”

“We shall use our invisibility charms to conceal ourselves alongside you,” Golden Chalice said. “It’s clear that their technology is incapable of piercing the veil, no matter how seemingly advanced it is.”

“Speaking of, do the guns they carried still work?” I asked Coconut.

Coconut shrugged and turned towards a nearby tree. Her mounted blaster came to life, tearing into the tree and turning it into ash. “Looks like it,” she said.

“Good. Our goal is clear. We get into the Empire, we locate Dusk and we get out,” I said. “Once we’re out, we get the hell out of Dodge and back home to warn everyone about the Empire.”

“And if shit goes south?” Velvet said.

“If shit goes south, we do what we can,” I said. “We should get going. The Empire isn’t going to stop and wait for us.”

The others nodded and we turned, heading down the ridge into the frozen valley, the spires of the Crystal Empire looming over all. Surprisingly, the armor we wore kept us fairly warm, even as the wind began to pick up. We walked in silence, not wanting to give away our secret to anyone that might be watching us. We shuffled onwards, not sure what to expect when we reached our destination. We had to only hope our disguises would be good enough to get us inside. I wasn’t sure where exactly Dusk’s time prison would be, but based on our last communication he was in danger. Had the Empire finally managed to break through to him?

The valley sloped downward more as we finally came out of the mountains and over the next set of ridges. I stopped cold as I took in the valley that encompassed the Crystal Empire. The city was massive. A giant wall extended all around the circular city, made completely of crystal. From our distance, I could see spires of guard towers ringing the entire thing. The inside of the city was behind a shimmering shield of energy, but it looked still very much like it had in Starlight Glimmer’s memory. In the center of the city, a large spire extended into the air, much larger than any other structure.

“The palace,” I muttered. “That’s gotta be where Dusk is.”

“How do we even get across to there? Look,” I heard Lightning say from beside me.

My eyes drifted down at the terrain surrounding the wall. The entire place was sitting on top of a massive glacier lake. It looked near impossible to cross. Not only that, there appeared to be many lifeforms either below the surface of the water or ringing the shore according to my E.F.S. I grimaced underneath my visor. There was no telling what was down there or how to get across.

“Look,” Velvet said, pointing to the air.

A skiff hovered in the air, speeding out of the city towards the ridge we were huddled on. A group of Crystal Empire patrol guards stood on it, silent and stoic as it approached.

“That’s our ride in,” I said. “Get ready to put your game faces on. Chalice, Shimmer, you’re probably going to need to fly alongside us.”

“Got it,” Chalice whispered.

The skiff continued along until it reached the ridge about twenty feet off from where we were standing. We marched forward along as the inhabitants of the skiff took notice of us. The leader of the patrol motioned for the rest of the patrol to continue on.

“Patrol twenty-four B, acknowledge,” he called out. “State your business.”

My mind raced. Shit… what do I say? I thought frantically.

Patrol twenty-four B, passcode six-five-three-six, a voice I recognized as Doctor Shimmer’s appeared in my head. I blinked. Since when could these alicorns use telepathy?!

“Um… Patrol twenty-four B, passcode six-five-three-six,” I said. “Returning to base, sir.”

“Your patrol was assumed lost, soldier,” the other patrol leader said. “What happened out there is that Celestia-forsaken Wasteland?”

“We were attacked by some Wastelanders and were stuck and unable to check back in,” I said, trying as best as I could to sound business-like. I patted Rocky’s rifle on my back. “Managed to bag a souvenir from one of them though. If you don’t mind, we’d like to take the skiff back and report back to command.”

The patrol leader looked back at the skiff. “Of course, soldier. I’ll leave you to it. I must be off on my own patrol.”

I nodded as we made our way towards the skiff. “Thank you. Good luck out there. These Wastelanders are tough, but they can’t stand up to the might of the Empire,” I replied.

I took a tentative step onto the skiff, followed by the others. Although I couldn’t see them, I could feel the alicorn sisters’ presences as the skiff rose into the air and circled about and began to head to head back towards the Crystal Empire. As it flew across the lake, I could see the creatures that I had seen indicators for on my E.F.S. They appeared to be crystalline water horses of some kind, their eyes demonic in nature. I grimaced, wondering why the skiff was flying so closely to the lake as my eyes drifted back to where we’d disembarked from.

The other patrol leader was still there, watching us calmly. My eyes widened.

“This is a trap,” I said aloud. “They fucking know we’re coming.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that,” Velvet said. She pointed a hoof towards the walls of the Empire.

My head turned in an instant, noticing several massive energy weapon bays begin to open up along the wall. A blast of energy arced out from one of them, intent on colliding directly with our skiff. As it was just about to hit, an energy shield appeared out of nowhere, deflecting it.

Golden Chalice and Doctor Shimmer reappeared from each side, their horns blazing as they tried to push away the energy blasts coming our way.

“Shit shit shit! They’re trying to blast us out of the sky! And this fucking thing is getting lower by the second!” Velvet shouted. “Getting us closer to those things below!”

“Coconut! Try to override the auto pilot,” I said. “We have to keep this thing in the air and turn away from the Empire before we’re blown to bits.”

“On it!” Coconut called back as she knelt next to the skiff’s control panel. She ripped it open and began tinkering with the wires.

Below, one of the strange crystal water horses leaped out of the water and slammed into the skiff from underneath, nearly taking us all overboard. I growled under my breath and focused on it, sending a blast of energy at it with the mounted rifle. I missed. More of the creatures began approaching the lower we flew.

“Coconut…” I called out. “Need an answer here!”

“I’m working on it!” she shouted.

Outside of the skiff, the two alicorns howled as they kept throwing shield after shield up to try and deflect the continued attacks from the wall. It was a war on two fronts, and we were quickly losing both. There would be no way we’d be able to keep this up if we couldn’t get control of the skiff.

Velvet and Lightning took point on the rear of the skiff, firing downwards into the lake to try and stem the creatures from attacking. It was only going so well, as many of the creatures just shrugged off the blasts of energy. Heartshine stood next to me, and although I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was worried. I grimaced.

“Heartshine, see if you can help Coconut,” I said. “I’m going to try and deal with the guns.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it!” Coconut shouted as the skiff suddenly began to wobble. “It’s under my control!”

“Take us up!” I called out. “Pull away from the lake!”

“Got it!” Coconut exclaimed as the skiff began to rise and pull upwards sharply.

The whole thing lurched as one of the larger water horses struck it from below again, wobbling the whole thing even more. I heard a shout and a cry for help as I watched Velvet Kiss tumble overboard. The changeling mare free fell towards the glacier lake, shrieking as she did.

“Velvet!” I called out. “Coconut! We have to go down and get her!”

“I’ve got her!” Doctor Shimmer shouted. “My sister can handle the guns, I’ll get Velvet!”

The midnight blue alicorn tore away from the skiff her wings folded as she dropped through the sky towards Velvet. As she reached her she struggled to envelop her in a telekinetic field. I couldn’t do anything but watch as she grabbed her and began to pull back up.

Suddenly one of the water horse creatures leaped out of the air and slammed into Shimmer. With a quick turn, the alicorn fell backwards and Velvet continued to fall towards the water below. More of the creatures began to leap and attack Shimmer as she tried to ward them off with her magic. One of the creatures lunged upwards and extended its jaw, biting down hard on the base of one of Shimmer’s wings. Blood spurted and Shimmer began to fall next to Velvet.

“Velvet! Shimmer!” I shouted. “Coconut! We need to go down, now!”

“I… I can’t! The skiff is locked again! It’s like they overrode us!” Coconut called back.

“They’ve stopped firing on us!” Chalice said, turning her head back as she took in the scene below. Her eyes widened. “Sister! I’m coming!”

The green alicorn soared downwards headed towards the other two ponies as the skiff leveled off in the air. I grimaced under my mask as I could only watch and not help. My gut wrenched as I watched Chalice move closer only to be rebuffed by the sheer ferocity of the creatures. She shouted raggedly as she tried to push past them, taking a few beatings herself before pulling up.

“SISTER!!!” Chalice roared as both Velvet and Shimmer hit the water.

In mere seconds the creatures were on Shimmer, biting and gnashing at her as she thrashed about to try and escape. It wasn’t enough to escape the monsters. Blood soaked the ice and water as the alicorn went limp.

“SISTER!!!!!!!” Chalice cried out.

Her magic rained down terribly upon the beasts, beams of telekinetic energy ripping through them, but it wasn’t good enough. Shimmer was already gone. Chalice snarled loudly as she soared downwards, blasting through every creature she saw to reach her sister’s broken body but it was already too late. It had begun sinking into the glacier water, a bloody stain on the pure waters. Chalice turned back upwards and began flying back towards the skiff before the creatures could get at her too.

I felt a lump in my stomach and began scanning for any sign of Velvet on my E.F.S. There was nothing. Strangely enough, the monsters hadn’t even gone for her at all. My gut told me that it was the armor, maybe somehow the creatures recognized the Crystal Empire soldiers. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that Velvet was gone, and that it was my fault. No… Velvet knew this was going to be dangerous. She knew the risks.

“Velvet’s… gone,” I said aloud as Chalice landed on the skiff. I couldn’t even believe what I was saying.

“And so is my sister,” she growled. “The Crystal Empire will pay for this. No one kills one of my sisters and gets away with it.”

I pulled off my helmet as the others did. Heartshine’s face was streamed with tears, a tiny trickle of blood coming from her nose. I could tell this was not good for her.

“There’s not much we can do right now. If Velvet survived… she’ll get out of there. She’s crafty,” Lightning said before turning to Chalice. “I’m… I’m sorry about Shimmer.”

“Thank you…” Chalice responded. “I can’t… I can’t begin to tell you how much her death pains me. We were… connected.”

“Coconut, can you get control of the skiff again?” I asked, stepping up next to her while my brother consoled the poor alicorn. I couldn’t stop to grieve. We needed to get out of this situation.

“Negative. Even if I wanted to, I can’t override their override,” she said. “We’re headed right for that big spire.”

My eyes flashed to the spire. “The palace. Just… just great,” I said with a grimace.

The skiff silently kept going as it passed over the walls of the Empire. Below I could see the wall guards simply looking at us as the skiff flew overhead.

“What’s the plan?” Coconut said, glancing at me.

“I…”

I looked over at Chalice, who was fuming and staring angrily at the spire before us. I looked at Heartshine, who sat quietly, brushing the blood away from her nose and the tears from her eyes. My heart ached over Shimmer’s death, my new-found feeling kicking me right in the ass as I struggled to not buckle over and start bawling myself. The truth was, I wasn’t sure what to do. But I knew we couldn’t let the Empire beat us. Not here, not now.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But we should be ready for when the skiff lands. We may have to fight them off to gain control of it again.”

“Oh, they’ll feel my entire wrath,” Chalice said heatedly. “I will make sure of that.”

The spire loomed closer as the skiff rose upwards towards a platform. In the back of my mind, I recognized it as the same platform that Starlight Glimmer’s memory had taken place on. The skiff set down with a large hissing sound. Nopony was around… yet. As soon as we touched down, the door at the far end of the walkway opened and out strode… an alicorn.

Chalice roared as the skiff touched down, jumping off and her horn ablaze with powerful magic. The other alicorn, one I realized quickly enough that it was a ghoul alicorn, merely smirked as her eyes and horn glowed brightly, defusing Chalice’s magic.

“Now now, that will be quite enough of that,” the alicorn said with a raspy voice. “We don’t need to get violent.”

“Your creatures killed my sister!” Chalice shouted. “I have every reason to be violent!”

The alicorn ghoul tittered as if Chalice had told some form of joke. Her magic extended outwards, locking Chalice at each leg so she couldn’t move.

“Guards, take these prisoners to the royal brig. Mother will be very pleased to see that they are being dealt with appropriately,” she said. “I shall deal with the alicorn personally.”

Behind her several armored crystalline ghouls stalked forward, pointing their weapons at all of us. I scowled as I stepped off the skiff onto the platform.

“Ah,” the alicorn ghoul said. “You must be Starry Night, the one who killed Deathless Crystal. It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. Mother is simply dying to meet you as well. Suffice to say, if you make things difficult… I will kill you. All of you.”

I grimaced, glancing at the others. I didn’t see any other way out of this with Chalice out of the way. I nodded and surrendered my weapons. The others walked off of the skiff next to me and did the same.

“Excellent. Now, let us be off. History as they say… awaits,” the alicorn ghoul said with another titter. “No time like the present, after all.”

Author's Note

And we're almost close to the end folks. Just a few more chapters, that's all.