Fallout: Equestria - Last Legacy

Chapter Two: Hornstead

"Nothingness!"

I was warm. The world lay still.

My cheek tingled. I lifted a hoof to scratch it. It didn't tingle anymore. Back to sleep.

My cheek tingled. I scratched it. Back to sleep.

My ear tingled. Okay, what the Dickens, dude?

There was a soft snicker behind me as I shot up in the bed. My bed? No, this was not my bed. Why was this not my bed? I looked around. Not my room either! Why was this not my room? I looked to the left. Not my wooden walls, or my dresser. I looked to the right. My eyes were drawn to the edge of the bed, where a gigantic pair of eyes were watching me... peering into my soul.

There was a moment when the pair of bulging pupils and I simply stared at one another, fixated, unmoving. The moment didn't last long.

The noise that escaped my lips was the shrillest sound pony vocal chords could make. I kicked back against the covers, tossing them over my stalker in a panicked fit. It (?) started to scream as well and scrambled around the room, blind as it ran. I threw the lamp next to the bed. It crashed against the wall. I threw my pillows, which fwoomped harmlessly off of the tangled sheets that had now made a rush for the door. I picked up the dresser nearby, lifting it clear over my head.

Wait, what?

At that moment my peripherals alerted me to the presence now standing in the door. A stallion. And not one I knew. I didn't like that, so I threw the dresser. The stallion shut the door just as the running bed sheets had escaped... but it didn't stop the dresser. The object in question soared straight through, knocking it clean off its hinges and crashing down a hallway in a splintery heap.

Wherever I was, it was time to go. I jumped out of the bed, soaring out the door and noticing a number of heads peering into the hallway as I ran past the crumpled pile of dresser and towards the only visible staircase. I lost coordination halfway down and fell flat on my stomach. Pushing up, I bolted toward the nearest door and threw it open. I was greeted with the sight of somepony sitting on the toilet. I screamed, and he returned the favor, throwing the book in his hooves at me. I didn't bother shutting the door behind me as I made a mad dash for the other door in the room. Upon opening it, the head of some kind of creature turned to me, staring me dead in the eye as it drooled dully. I screamed again, slamming the door shut. Just then, a silvery, transparent wall appeared around me. I crouched low against the floor, huffing erratically as the stallion from before walked slowly into view. "Woah now, hey! Just calm down!" He stared at me a moment, his horn alight with a silver glow as the dome crept closer along the ground towards me. "Just play nice! It's okay, you're okay! No need to worry, just... calm... down!" I tried to kick the shield away, but it was no use; the darn thing just absorbed the shock. "Calm down, Stablemare!"

Stablemare? The hoot?

I shook my head. "Where am I? Who the hoof are you!"

And for Goddess' sake, why hadn't I seen him before? Everypony in Tranquility knew everypony else. This... this was an impostor!

"Everything will be explained! But first, I just need you to... stay there." I pulled my hooves away from it as best I could, but it was no use. It touched my forelegs with a chill, and then worked its way up my belly, and then... it was gone. The wall disappeared, and the stallion was left in the middle of the room, looking concerned as I stared back at him. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

It took a little moment, but I nodded. He simply smiled, letting out a baited breath. "Okay. Good. Now, I'm sure you're just as curious as we are. So how about you just... settle down, and we can get some proper introductions?"

I nodded again. He slowly moved forward, sitting gently down beside me so as not to startle the crazy mare.

"Okay..."

The stallion's name was Preacher. He came from Let's Not Talk About That Yet. And my bedside stalker? A filly by the name of Lily. From what he'd told me, she wasn't actually allowed in my room. "For good reason, clearly," he'd said. He called it my room. But it wasn't mine. It was his room that I'd been using for the past few days. Confusing, right? I didn't really get it either.

After some getting acquainted, he told me that I'd been rescued. From where? "Let's not talk about that yet." But I was a patient mare. Except when I woke up in some stranger's house; that might set off some alarms.

He'd only wanted to ask me some questions. He said he'd helped me somehow, that he only wanted some help in return. I asked him what he meant by that. Same response as my last couple of questions.

"Do you know how you got here?" he asked.

I thought for a moment, remembering only the last time I'd been awake. Being taken away. Starved of air. Left alone to fend for myself. I shook my head. Let's not talk about that yet.

"And you don't remember the procedure?"

"Procedure?" I repeated.

"Thank Celestia. Trust me when I say that you're a lucky mare... erm... ah... what's your name, if I might ask?"

"Everdawn."

"Everdawn," he echoed, tasting the name on his tongue. "I apologize for any pain you may have experienced as a result. You were in a desperate state, and we did our best. Although, be advised, your body may not be used to its new... potential." What? "At least the anesthetic worked, so we didn't get off on the wrong hoof there. You don't seem to be feeling any major negative effects of the operation."

I shifted to a more comfortable position. "I guess not." I would have asked, but Let's Not Talk About That Yet was a place I was sick of visiting. A meadow sounded better right about now. I had that same feeling of needing an escape. I needed to run. Hard. Away. Back to Mom and Dad, the safety of my home.

"Do you even know your stable number?"

"I don't even know about half the stuff you're talking about," I remarked. "Listen, I like your house and all, but I'm not looking to stay any longer than I have to. When can I go home?"

He paused for a moment, then his eyes met mine. "Why don't we get you acclimated first? Come on upstairs, I have some ponies you should meet." Without another word, he stood and made his way up the staircase, over to the (former) door frame, and beckoned me with a tilt of his head. I followed, bidding an apology as I walked past where the door used to be. I still didn't know how I'd thrown something so large.

As he guided me toward a side-room that bordered this one, I heard a sharp ruckus followed by laughter.  There were other ponies here! I practically leaped with joy as Preacher led me into a spacious living room. For some reason, as I rounded the corner I half-expected to see ponies from Tranquility. I was sadly mistaken. Sitting on various pieces of furniture around the living area were complete and total strangers... who looked like they hadn't bathed in years. The smell confirmed it.

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Everdawn. She's going to be staying with us for a few more days, so I want you all to give her your warmest welcomes." The group stared at me as he spoke. I smiled as brightly as a fake smile can bright. "Remember... she's in our home. And while she's in our home, she's as good as family. Is that understood?" The ponies in the room nodded solemnly, some muttering small yeahs. Everything went quiet, and when I looked at Preacher he seemed to be glaring at one pony in particular who sat toward the back of the room.

"Aye-aye Cap'n," the voice spoke gruffly, scoffing. Preacher gave her one last look.

"We're leaving for Comms, so all of you better have your jammers active." A few members of the group reached up to their shoulders, pressing on something out of sight before they filed out what I presumed was the front door. After the last of them disappeared, he turned back to me. "In the meantime, feel free to look around. Don't mind some of the mess, but just... try not to touch anything that looks like it's connected to something else." He started toward the door, and then shouted, "Lily! Make sure you keep an eye on Miss Stablemare for me! Make sure she doesn't get herself hurt!" He turned back. "Oh. And Everdawn. Welcome to Hornstead." The door shut quietly behind him.

I gawked a moment before I heard but the tiniest of noises to my right. Sure enough, as I faced those gigantic eyes again, I couldn't help but jump.  "Would you stop doing that?!" The filly simply kept her gaze aloft to me. Those pupils, so enormous in comparison to the rest of her head, only seemed to bulge further in my direction as I leaned away. "Seriously, you're creeping me out!"

Not so much as a blink in response.

"Okay, well, you just keep doing that. I'm going to go... take a look around, if that's allowed." Her head cocked. Okay, this was more than enough nightmare fuel for one day, thank you very much. I began to walk away, gaining distance as the filly casually turned those saucers in my direction. I practically jumped around the corner, putting myself out of view as I trotted up the stairs. After casually inspecting a few of the rooms, I decided to head back down. Bad move. Lily was at the top of the staircase, staring at me as if I'd never left her sight.

Preacher, could you do me a favor and hurry back?

I crept up the staircase towards her, never breaking eye contact (much to my dismay) as I scooted around her lone figure and headed toward the door to my room. From behind me I heard her voice say levelly, "We're not supposed to go outside without permission." Yes, and that certainly made me want to stay.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" I pleaded, not really wanting to be around this pony any longer.

"Stay here, with me." No! No thank you! She began to advance towards me. "I have some toys that we can play with." Goddesses, those eyes!

"As... enticing as that sounds, I think I'll pass." She continued her advance. I made an effort to shoo her away. It didn't work. She kept getting closer. This kept getting weirder. I'll admit, it was one of the more uncomfortable 30 seconds of my life. "Aren't there kids your age to play with? Besides, shouldn't a filly like you have some chores to do or something? Friends? Anything?" Please. Oh Goddesses please!

It seemed to do the trick.

She paused. "Oh. Idea!" The little filly seemed to wander off into her own thoughts as she disappeared inside my room and out the door from the living room, leaving me completely alone inside the house. As the silence settled within the home, she appeared again, grabbed my hoof, and with some kind of freakish strength, pulled me along with her.

**  **  **

I don't care who says otherwise, this place was not my home. This was not Tranquility Mane.

With buildings that practically toppled over one another and a crowd that dwarfed any other I'd seen, I was utterly bewildered from the moment I walked (dragged?) out that door.

Ponies left and right sold every ungoddessly arrangement of items imaginable. Products too strange to name littered the street in great abundance as every conceivable smell jumped up my nose and hid. From somewhere within the droves of striding hooves I spotted children running amuck. Voices chimed out across the expanse of livelihood, indecipherable from the multitude of others cramming the marketplace. The stores, serving as centers for thoroughfare, cluttered in a way that I'd never seen back in town. Hell, our entire population could have fit in two or three of these shops alone!

"What is this place?" I could only gaze in awe.

The buildings were brick, with a variety of windows that led to all manner of walkways and mezzanines to and fro across the plaza, practically dancing with activity as any number of ponies shuffled along in their daily activities. I even caught sight of a bird flock along the rooftops. Amidst all of this, the tone of this town's livelihood rung clear to me as a new sort of feeling took hold. It wasn't really nervousness, and it wasn't excitement. Nervoucitement? Whatever it was, I felt like I ought to see more before I passed my final verdict on the town I didn't even know.

Lily turned abruptly into an alleyway, cutting off my view of the wonderland now behind us. So encompassed were my thoughts that I almost forgot I wasn't alone. She spoke up. "I like the markets too. They're most kids' favorite place to play... but I won't tell you why. It's a super-duper secret." She'd slowed down to talk with me, looking back to the markets as we crept further down the alley.

"By the way," I started, "Why were you watching me earlier? Doesn't that seem kinda... I dunno, weird?"

She hmm'd. "Well, it's just that when they brought you in, everypony started freaking out. They said you were sick, so I couldn't see you. I had to be patient until Mr. Preacher finally left you alone. So when my daddy left for work and Mr. Preacher left you all by yourself, I crept into your bedroom and watched you sleep," she said unabashedly.

"And how long did you do that?"

"Oh, all night! I thought I should watch you till you woke up, so I did! You're a special one!" Oh Goddesses, I didn't need to know that.

"Hey... Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"How did I get here?"

"I 'unno. Daddy said we'd have that talk when I'm older."

"No, not like that! I mean, who brought me here?" Then the thought occurred to me: I was walking alongside a pony I didn't even know, through a strange new place with strange new ponies. "Wait, do you even know where we're going?"

"Of course I do. What, kind of dodo do you take me for? We're going to see Mr. Preacher and the others. You didn't want to play, so you must be boring like all the other adults, which means that you'll have more fun if you're with them instead. Plus, I can go see my friends instead of having to watch you!"

"Thanks, I think. But won't he be mad that you kinda... disobeyed him?"

"Nah, he never gets too angry at anypony. He's a nice stallion. All the other ponies like him, but I know I'm his favorite, 'cuz he told me so." She grinned. "'Sides, he told me to watch you, not ground you." She had a point.

"Well, you said you liked the markets. We should... maybe go there sometime. Hate to spend all day indoors, y'know?" Like you usually do, you hermit? Oh shut up. Might be nice to spend time with this little filly. She seemed sweet enough.

She answered with a harrumph, locking her eyes to the ground. "The ponies here are nice enough, and it's safer than where we used to live. But it's just... it's not like home. So many rules, so many responsibilities. And none of it makes any sense!" She frowned. "The ponies in the uniforms tell us to do stuff that we don't want to do."

"What kind of stuff?"

Lily opened her mouth, unsure of how to put it. As ignorant as I may have been, she looked little more than lost herself. Perhaps explaining it was the hard part. Her hoof tapped her chin as she pursed her lips. "The boss lady's not very nice. She doesn't like Mr. Preacher—told him herself. And Mr. Preacher says that because Ms. Stoopid Boss Mare doesn't want any of us here we have to work extra hard to make our place."

"Like how?"

"Well, it's a lot of things actually," she said. "Sometimes Mr. Preacher and the others have to go out into the bad parts, where ponies aren't allowed without permission. They walk out the gates and then I see them in a couple days. They say it's a secret, but Ms. Bossy Mare has almost caught them a couple of times. Daddy says that when he leaves I have to keep my head down and stay out of sight."

Daddy? Which one of the ponies I'd seen wore that title? It felt like every time Lily spoke, I had to ask another question about what she said, and I was getting tired of requesting explanations. What did she look like, a dictionary? It might just be better to keep my mouth shut and wait for Preacher to get ba—

"So then why don't you ask one of..." I thought back to the group, "... your friends to help you?" Wait. Was that another question? And about a question nonetheless!

She looked away. "Daddy's busy. He says I bother him too much... that I should..." she plastered a goofy look on her face, going into a deep Southern drawl, "... act more like a grown mare." Despite my giggle, I felt an almost unnatural sympathy for the filly. I'd never had very much responsibility thrust upon me, only a lot of expectations to live up to. And now, I wasn't even sure I'd see my parents again. But at least they'd looked after me, supported me when I needed it. Could her father be somepony that just didn't care? Was that even possible? I couldn't imagine.

"Hey," I piped, "it'll be all right. He's just so busy trying to look out for you that he doesn't have much time for anything else." I gave her the most sincere smile I could. "I don't know this place very well, but I'll bet that he's a pretty great dad for doing the things he does." Was this what she wanted to hear? I hoped it was. I didn't know these ponies well enough—a fact that was quickly spawning regret as I realized just how alone she must have felt. She nodded, as if hearing my train of thought.

"Yeah, I know that. But... all he's done since we came here is 'run errands' this and 'run errands' that. Things changed! I'm scared of losing him, and if he gets caught leaving I know something bad will happen to him... and he just keeps doing it." She looked more guilty than anything now. "I wish it'd been him instead."

Huh?

"What do you mean by that?" She looked surprised that I'd heard her. "Him instead of what?"

She looked over to the side. "Forget it."

For the rest of the way I thought about the morning, the events that had transpired upon my waking. No matter how many times I saw them, the new faces of the crowd just couldn't seem to click. Every new pony was just another from Tranquility, although in strange attire. Was this part of the acclimation Preacher had mentioned?

It took some time before we actually stopped. For the back half of our journey into this strange town, we'd gone through a series of alleys and cramped spaces in which I'd seen a few things I wish I hadn't. Ponies fighting over scraps of food, bickering about 'rations' and whatnot. Not only that, but there was something decidedly wrong with their bodies. They were skinny. Too skinny. Lily said they were 'starving', which confused me. 'Starving' was just another word for hunger, wasn't it? I saw what I presumed to be a family out on the streets, begging for something called 'caps.' A couple times I caught Lily staring off into space. How could anypony get used to seeing things like this?

I'd grown a general discomfort in my stomach some time ago, although it had turned into a sharp, spasmodic pain around four blocks back. Lily said it was because I was hungry. I asked her what the difference was between hunger and starvation, still bewildered. She looked at me like I was an idiot. To me, hunger was when hay sandwich sounded good for lunch. Hunger was when a little salted seaweed from the docks made you drool. At first glance, food didn't seem so good with pains like these, but when I really thought about it, I started to crave. I sure didn't mind getting the munchies, but this? I could eat a hor—

Haystack. Yeah. Haystack.

And not a moment later did Lily alert me of our arrival. I looked up at a building in front of us that strangely resembled town hall (albeit stuck between two sides of a larger building), hearing a great number of noises from within. There were silhouettes of ponies in the windows.

A few of the shapes seemed to notice us as well, and within seconds, the noise level inside spiked. I heard a number of shouts and hollers to indicate our presence. A few of the voices sounded angry, others simply hectic. It all died down when we walked through the front door. Lily seemed to take the opportunity to bathe in the spotlight.

"I'm baa-a-ck!"

Meanwhile, on the Everdawn side of the spectrum, time had frozen in place. I'd never seen so many ponies cramped into one room, except maybe for Town Game Night. There were hanging terminals and desks and monitors like the one the mayor had, and so many cords connecting all manner of electrical instruments together that weaved and bunched together like roots. It was a bit dizzying to look at it all. All of the wires I could see ran to a single port that fed into a large metallic cube covered in blinking lights. A slow steady hum filled the room in wake of the silence created by our entrance.

Why was everypony staring at me?

"Everdawn!" Preacher was now making his way over to us. "What are you doing here? Lily, she could have gotten hurt! What would have happened if you were taken?" The filly smiled innocently. He groaned. "Well, I suppose it's too late to turn back now. Welcome to HQ, Everdawn. Unfortunately you caught me at a bad time, so I'm afraid you'll just have to find something to occupy yourself with until one of us can escort you safely back to the house."

Safely? What did I need an escort for?

A pony from another room called his name, prompting him to turn face and hop over a few wires to get through a door. For someone of his age, I wouldn't have expected the leap to be taken so easily. "Everyone, take care of our guest! And for pony's sake, don't let her go wandering off somewhere." He looked apologetic. "Sorry Everdawn. Just precautions." For the second time today, the door closed gently behind him.

By now most of the ponies within the room had gone back to work. The few who had come in to investigate the sudden interruption returned to their work stations in different parts of the building. I was just about to head over to one of the couches myself when I heard someone approaching. I turned to look, and all I saw was somepony's mane and ear tucked against my head, a hoof around the back of my neck in a warm embrace. For such a sudden intrusion of personal space, I didn't mind so much. Where I came from, ponies nuzzled a nose to say hi. That, and a mane smelling of berries certainly helped. It was better than creepy filly eyes, at least.

"Nice to finally meet you Stablemare." She smiled brightly. "Hope you didn't mind the hug. I just don't much care for hoofshakes. Plus, if you're staying here, you're pretty much family."

"O-Of course not, I don't mind," I answered. I wished I'd returned the hug. "And... why does everypony keep calling me that?"

"What? 'Stablemare'?"

"Yeah."

"Well, 'cause that's what you are, silly. A mare from a stable, so ponies call you that. What else did you expect?"

"Well, my name would be a start," I said with a little smirk.

She smiled. I'd walked into a trap of some sort. "Well then, My Name, it's nice to meet 'ya." I giggled profusely. How clever!

A stallion nearby slammed his head on the desk, stealing my attention away.

"Oh, don't mind him," the mare said. "He's just being melodramatic. Poor stallion can't appreciate true comedic genius!"

He didn't even lift his head. "It's not genius! Never has been, and it never will be!"

The mare in front of me stuck her tongue out as the stallion got back to typing at the terminal in front of his face, adjusting his glasses. Her ears perked up and she turned to me. "Oh! I almost forgot. The name's Ukulele."

"Everdawn," I greeted.

"Well then, now that we've got the first part out of the way, you got any questions you need answered?" Only a million.

The stallion spoke up again. "Yeah. Like, 'Why aren't you doing your job?'"

"Nobody asked you!" This time he stuck his tongue out at her. They went back and forth for a moment before she turned back toward me expectantly.

"Well. For starters, I guess, where am I? What is this place?"

"You mean 'this place' like this place," she gestured around her, "Or do you mean like geographically? Or... maybe you mean the city? Or the district?" Sure. Yes. Any! All of the above!

"Um... whichever...?"

She chuckled to herself. "Well, little missy, I'll tell you where you are! You're in the capitol of Nowhereville, the creme d'la creme of the Wasteland's fuckery department, the city of Hornstead! Under command of the appointed oh-so-high-and-benevolent Commander Evangelica herself. You'll find no other territory in the Wasteland as efficient at maintaining pure, unadulterated sanity. Except for the NCR. And the Followers. And the Union. And the other fifty-something Sombra's Hoof outposts stationed around the Wastes. But hey, who's keeping track, right?"

"Um... the Wasteland?"

She blinked as her mouth hung open. "Shit, you're really as clueless as they say, aren't you? 'The Wastes'? 'Shithole Central'? Really doesn't ring any bells? Nothing?"

I shook my head.

"Well damn. And here I was thinking this would be easy. Hmm... where do I start? The Wasteland's a... well, I guess you could say it's whatever's left of a country that existed a long time ago. It starts down at the borders of the Badlands and ends up in the Crystal Mountains. You... do know what a country is, don't you?"

I'd overheard the word a couple times back when I lived with my parents. Needless to say I never had much of an education back in Tranquility. All the programs they offered were optional, and since I was never very good at paying attention to those sorts of things I just took reading and writing and got the hell out of there. "Big... piece of land?"

"Now you're getting it! Hornstead is just a little speck of pony civilization in the middle of it. Well... no, it's more to the left. But anyway! We've got a market, a housing district, plenty of fresh food and water, a hospital, and enough energy to go around. And if that don't float your boat, we've got 15-meter-tall concrete surrounding the entire city to keep out some of the bigger critters. Each gate is protected around the clock by sentry turrets and pony guards. Don't get me wrong, every once in a while you'll get a radroach infestation and a couple ponies get bitten, but at least it isn't something with bigger teeth. All-in-all, not too bad of a city, until you have to go out on one of the scavenging runs. We usually come back in one piece, but sometimes... sometimes one pony just doesn't come back."

Okayyyyy...

"And what about Preacher? Where does he fit into all of... this?"

"Preacher?" She put a hoof to her chin. "Preacher's... Preacher's special. Yeah. That's the word. He's convinced more than anypony that Sombra's Hoof is just a great big lie told by ponies who are up to no good. No matter how much or who says otherwise, he still believes in his heart of hearts that they're nothing but trouble."

"Then... why are you all living here? You said this was an 'outpost' of theirs, so why stay?"

"That's a good question, isn't it? Truth is, most of us aren't even permitted to be on this base. I won't point any hooves, but rumors say that Preacher's the only one who's actually allowed to live here." She looked back to the dozens of other ponies sitting at terminals, typing away. "But who's to say we're not doing our fair share of work to earn our keep? To answer your question though, it's all for Preacher. He gave us a place to call home, ponies to call a family, and in the end that's better than living out in the Wasteland. He's the reason we're all still here. He's a good stallion. Somepony we can believe in. So when he says that Sombra's Hoof needs to be shut down, it's fair game to say that they might. I've never heard him tell a lie in his life, and I've been here for a while."

"You've been talking for a while too." The voice came from behind me. Ukulele just smiled as I came face-to-face with Preacher. "Back on your head, soldier," he told her. She waved good-bye and returned to her work station next to Head Smack.

"I see you've met one of our office workers."

I could only smile. By now you're beginning to understand that I wasn't the most socially adept pony, partly due to my isolation in Tranquility, and partly due to the constant sense of astonishment that each new sight and sound presented.

"Come on," he said, "I have something to show you." He led me past the cables and into the room he'd entered before.

"I thought you were busy," I said.

"Sometimes things work themselves out," he stated. "After you."

As I made my way into the room, I spotted a great number of brightly-lit monitors that shone across various tabletops and surfaces. Together they illuminated the room in an eerie glow, casting long shadows against the walls from the four heads sitting in front of them. One of them looked back at us for a moment.

"What is this place?" I whispered, afraid to disturb the peace.

"This... this is where we watch."

"But for what?" He's convinced more than anypony that Sombra's Hoof is just a great big lie.

"Anything that catches the eye, really." He approached one of the screens apprehensively, mumbling to one of the ponies in the seats about 'camera three'. Within seconds, the entire collection of screens began to shift, and what I first thought was merely a series of lines and dots became the cityscape of Hornstead. The rooftops disappeared to reveal the central marketplace I'd seen earlier, although this time, there was a certain organization about the ponies. They stood on either side of the street, as if behind some sort of invisible line, while other types of ponies went through the center. The screens zoomed in to reveal the uniforms walking down the middle of the crowd. They marched in a single cadence with eyes hidden behind helmet visors. I'd never seen anything like it.

But the mood of harsh unity between the ponies in formation was cancelled out by the smiles and pleasant waves of the crowd as a single group of non-uniforms followed the marchers. They were unicorns. Every single one of them.

Back in Tranquility, we'd only had one unicorn in town—the mayor. It was his mark of leadership, his proof of worth to see that the town was taken care of. To see all these ponies with the same mark was doing a number on me.

As I looked onward into the monitors, I heard the door open behind us, and a pony notified Preacher that we were ready for operation. I didn't quite know what that meant, but the door closed and Preacher turned to me. "Everdawn," he said, "the ponies you are seeing on these screens here are part of a larger group. Much larger, in fact. And what you are witnessing is a ceremony. Their ceremony. It is meant to offer hope to those who live here, to help them all survive." If it was so good, then why was he frowning? "But it is also a lie; it's a sick, twisted, deceitful notion that only takes with the illusion of giving.

"Most ponies aren't aware of it. Most ponies haven't seen the truth for themselves. But once they do," I gave him a strange look, "there won't be a single officer dead or alive without some kind of a bounty on their head." He diverted his attention away from the screen. "We're going to expose them tonight. After all this time of planning and hiding, we've finally decided to make our strike. But it just so happens that you showed up." He smiled. "We'd be honored if you decided to come along."

I stuttered. "Me? Why me? What can I do; I don't even know what we're doing! What makes you think I can help?"

He took a rather long moment to answer. "Consider it a mutual investment. Everdawn... I don't think you understand what I meant earlier. Your body isn't the same as it was." I was getting some majorly bad vibes right now. "Before tonight happens, I think it's time we both found out what you're capable of."

**  **  **

He walked me out to the back of headquarters, where an enclosed alleyway filled with strange equipment awaited us. All around us I spotted metal bars and poles held together by chains and what appeared to be steel cables of some sort. And all of it looked extraordinarily heavy.

I followed Preacher over to a small bench beside the orgy of machinery.

"Now, before we begin, I'd just like to tell you the purpose of the exercises we'll be conducting. Everdawn, these tests are meant only to gauge your physical strength and your stamina that have increased since the operation."

"You still haven't told me what you did to me," I reminded him.

"In time, dear Stablemare, in time." He strolled over to one of the machines, putting his hoof against it. "All right, why don't we try this one first?" I curiously approached the looming heap of metal crossbeams. Two bars stuck out in front of a series of wires that connected to a number of stacked blocks. I hooked a hoof around one of the bars, before Preacher corrected me. "Two hooves." I grabbed the other bar.

My front legs flexed in a way I'd never seen as the cords went taut. I pulled, but nothing happened. With a second tug, I only heard the heavy creak of the machine. Nothing.

"This is stupid!" I lamented. I'd never had to lift anything particularly heavy in my life. What was the point of doing it now? "How much am I lifting, anyhow?"

In anticipation of the question, he had already bent down over the weights on the other end of the bars. He waved a hoof to the other machines. "See each of these stacks?" I nodded. "This one is around fifty pounds. Think you can handle that?" Fifty pounds? Really? Well, no wonder it wasn't going anywhere! I hadn't been trying for something like that. Just over half my body weight. Preacher said something had changed, maybe that was it. Shouldn't be too hard...

"Fifty?" I planted my hooves and gave another tug, harder this time. "That shouldn't be too bad..." The cords all went taut at once, straightening to attention as I put a little more effort in. Slowly I began to feel a little less resistance as I put my full force into the pull. I closed my eyes, concentrating on keeping balance as the new weight stressed my body. My whole body began to heat up as I grunted, finally moving the stack of fifty. "How's... this?" I opened my eyes, looking over to Preacher and four other ponies who were now staring wide-eyed at the feat. I huffed, holding the weight in place as I turned around.

It wasn't fifty. I may not have been the smartest pony when it came to numbers and what they meant, but as the stacks hovered in front of my face, pulled upright by the cords, I read the number: 500. He'd left out a zero.

But that wasn't what caught me off guard. As I looked around, breathing more heavily, half a dozen other stacks raised up in the air. The metal cords from the bars I was pulling were connected to chains and other cords that branched out to a few of the other machines through a series of levers and pulleys that brought other blocks straight into the air. I wasn't just lifting a quarter of a ton anymore... I was lifting three of them.

The shock caused my grip to loosen, leading to an ear-splitting slam as the bars slipped and the weights all simultaneously dropped, some snapping their cables and others sending their bases sprawling off-balance. Meanwhile, another group of ponies had gathered around Preacher and were now gazing onward at the spectacle. I was more concerned about the fact that I'd just broken their machinery.

"I'm so sorry!" I shouted, "I didn't mean to break them, I just tried my best, I'm sorry!" Their jaws remained agape. "P-Preacher?"

"Everdawn," he started, eyes unblinking, "I think that's enough for the time being."

**  **  **

It was that look again. The same look they used to give me back in Tranquility. The expression that knew another pony as a stranger; as an outcast, rather than a friend. There wasn't a single face in that crowd that didn't share it. As if I'd never left town, I felt a sort of estrangement. Me and them. They had numbers, and that meant I had amounted to nothing more than a foreigner. I was a freak. I was alone.

I frowned. "What?"

But they never answered. They just continued to gawk. It was getting irksome. If it weren't for Ukulele popping out from the front, I might have thrown something. "Guys, come on. At least ask her out before you go full mast on her." I could have kissed her, if the thought wasn't so repulsive. I mouthed out a 'thank you' as most of the ponies were snapped out of their stupor and trudged back inside. Ukulele winked before returning with the others.

I trotted up to Preacher. Beside him stood another, similarly aged stallion. "What in the hoof was that about?" I asked. "Why would you lie to me like that? Now I look like some sort of freak!"

"Why?" he repeated, stunned, "Because look what you did, Everdawn! I've seen a lot in my days, but I've never seen a thing like that before!" He put a hoof behind his neck, glancing back at the equipment in wonder. "I can't imagine anypony doing that without a little buck of... well, Buck," he exclaimed. The stallion to his right made a quick flick of his eyebrows over to me, and Preacher had the look of a foal with candy. "Oh, where are my manners? Everdawn, meet Abeth, my... associate." The two of them smiled warmly. "He's responsible for making sure none of us get caught by anypony we don't want to be. He's also quite the head of our scavenging party."

"Hardly," Abeth replied. "I just don't appreciate the thought of being dead weight." And once again, nothing was truly answered. I'd had enough of this. No more using introductions to beat around the bush.

"Preacher!" He whipped around to me, startled by the sudden loud noise. "What. Have. You. Done to me? I want answers, now." I advanced toward him, and he took a step back.

"Everdawn, you have to be patient. Information of that sort is dangerous if it gets out."

"Try me," I said. "I wake up, find myself in a stranger's bed, not knowing where I am, who any of you are, and for the remainder of the day the only pony who's had enough courage to really talk to me was a filly and a mare I didn't even know! I need answers!"

"Okay!" he said, meeting my eyes. "Okay. You want your answers? You'll get them when we get home. At least let us get out of ear range from everypony else."

And that was that.

**  **  **

Hydra. Buck.

That's what he'd called them. The first was some sort of fluid designed to help ponies. It grew bones and even entire limbs (what happened to the first ones?), but seeing as how my body wasn't so much amputated as severely underused, it ended up having the effect of a strengthening agent to the bones and muscles instead. The second one helped to activate some 'hidden potential' in both of those things. Preacher said that if I hadn't had the special circumstances I did, I would have died. Apparently the drug was far too strong for any normal pony to take more than once a day. Which is when the important question came up.

"How much did I take?" He looked nervous when I asked.

"We... uh... kept you on a steady supply for about two days. One dose every twelve hours, plus a kick of Buck just in case your heart stopped. The third day we let you recover... to let it sink in," he explained.

"'In case my heart stopped'?!" I blurted. "How do I know I'm not just going to drop dead any second now?"

Now it was Abeth who spoke up. "Well, for one thing, each drug we injected was fast-acting and quick to exit your body. If anything had gone wrong, you wouldn't have woken up this morning. And two, we used half a carton of healing potions each time we fed it to your system."

Preacher primed his attention back to me. "Look at the bright side," he said. "It worked, didn't it?"

"But how did you know? What made you so sure I would be able to wake up?"

He sighed. "Everdawn. Sometimes you just have to settle for a happy hunch."

"You weighed my life on a 'happy hunch'?" I gaped.

"As I said before, we didn't have a lot of other options." Funny, considering all of the resources I saw you disposing at that headquarters of yours. At least I was getting answers though. So much for waiting until we got home. We'd walked under the cover of the market mezzanines for most of the way there. But unlike the marketplace I'd seen earlier, Hornstead suddenly looked like a ghost town. "Why is nopony around? Is there a curfew or something?"

"Has anyone told you that you ask a lot of questions?" Abeth quipped.

"No, I don't think so," I answered, earning a facehoof.

Preacher stopped him before he could say anything else. "Enough. Both of you, try to keep quiet until we get back." Before I could ask why, he told me not to. Maybe Abeth had a point.

We reached the house in a steady trot. Everything was dark when Preacher opened the door. He flipped a switch to his left, and suddenly the room lit up with the glow of a few overhead lamps that hung eerily from the ceiling. I jumped as I noticed the ponies within, sitting on various pieces of furniture. They were the same ones I'd seen this morning... I think. One detail of the room stuck out to me the most though, vaguely reminding me of home.

"The windows are shaded. Why?"

"It's a security measure," Abeth answered me, before Preacher could.

"Against Sombra's Hoof?"

"Everdawn," Preacher added, "there are a lot of spying eyes in Hornstead. You'll learn that soon enough, but for now, keep in mind that the things we do, we do for a reason. It can answer a lot of questions without them having been asked." I bobbed my head understandingly. "Good. Now it's time to introduce you, properly this time, to our little family." A few of the ponies rolled their eyes at that word.

They had assembled toward the front of the room. Although now there was something visibly different about them. Unlike the cold stares I'd received this morning, they simpered under the lamplight in a way that gave the impression of welcoming.

"Earlier you asked me why I lied to you. Well, this is it. It was because doing what you did has proven to all of us what you're capable of. Just like I knew it would. You gave us hope for somepony who might be willing and able to make a difference. You may not understand everything that's happening—and that's okay, you don't have to figure it out all at once—but just know that once we're done here tonight, we can talk about anything you like. You'll get all the answers you can ask for." I had to admit, that sounded pretty good. I wasn't so sure I could make as big of a difference as Preacher said though. "But for right now... you all need to get ready."

Abeth turned to them. "Everypony have their gear?" A round of check's sounded out. "Jammers primed?" Check. "Good. We have a couple of hours to prepare. Make sure you're all ready by then. In the meantime, Preacher and I are headed to the ceremony. Good luck, all of you."

"Everdawn," Preacher whispered, "stay with the others. No matter what, don't get separated from them. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I got it. But Preacher," he stopped and faced me. "How do I know what to do? You're all depending on me, but I don't even know what you're depending on me for."

"They'll fill you in. Don't worry too much, just... go with the flow. Improvise if you have to. Oh, and one more thing... good luck. Make it back safely, then I'll answer your questions." He shut the door softly. Wait... had he just evaded again? Drabbit! Was I going to have to glue him in place?

The room was silent, but I knew the ponies were still there. When I finally got the courage to turn around, they were waiting for me. A mare was steadily walking toward me, analyzing from head to hoof.

"So, this is the fabled Stablemare who almost beat Burly? Almost hard to believe, isn't it?" She glanced back at the others, who watched her with caution. "Everdawn, isn't it?"

"Well, I wouldn't quite put it like that. I didn't know how much it would be. It just kind of happened."

"'It just kind of happened.' Listen to her. Sounding like a real stable dweller already. Besides, you got the augmentation, so it was to be expected. Because you're practically family now, aren't you? Do you even know who we are though? Do you even know the ponies you're trusting your life with?"

One of the stallions came forward. "Katana, that's enough..."

"Oh, but of course you do. We're Preacher and company, aren't we? Just another group of ponies. Is that what you think?"

"Enough, Katana," another mare spoke up.

"I'm trying to have a conversation, guys. Don't be so rude. After all, this little mare needs to hear what I'm about to say." She brought her face straight up to mine, paralyzing me for a moment as her pupils narrowed into pinpricks. "Listen up, Stablemare, don't think for one second that we'll so much as skip a heartbeat before we leave you behind. Preacher may have taken a liking to you, but those of us with half a brain know never to trust an outsider, stableborn or not. This plan has been in the works for months, and it's not going to be thrown to the chimeras by some outsider who got lucky! Got it?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. Rogue, get this newbie suited up." As she walked away, I heard her mutter, "She'll need it."

The others had stopped smiling and were now looking scornfully at the mare who had stormed upstairs.

"Sorry about that," one of them said as he reached out and pulled my hoof into a strong shake, "Don't mind her. She's like that to everypony. I'm Bronco by the way, and this is Waster, Gypsy, Burly, Brimstone, Rogue, Stim, Alloy, and that little gem of a wastelander was Katana. And despite what certain members of our crew would have you believe, we're all glad to have you here."

"Glad to be here," I lied, shaking his hoof. "Hope I'm as useful as ponies think I am."

He laughed. "Well, after nearly breaking Burly's record, I'm sure you can be."

The stallion in question was a single bulging muscle of a pony. I tried to offer a silent apology, but he didn't seem to notice. I smiled at Bronco. "I'll try."

"That's the spirit," he heartened. "By the way, if you're hungry, we've got some leftover food in the fridge. I know you haven't had anything except for water, so help yourself. We've got a canteen under the sink that's got filtered tap, but whatever you do, don't drink from the jug. You'll be in bed for another week." Katana yelled for him, giving way to some sort of subdued fear. "I gotta go. See you in a couple hours."

"Oh, I... okay..."

Meanwhile, the other ponies in the room had already separated, some gone to different corners and others most likely upstairs. A mare and a stallion caught my eye, so I decided to inch over and have a word. Hey, if Preacher wasn't going to answer my questions, at least I could try with one of these ponies instead.

I cleared my throat. "Um... hiya." They looked to one another, silently wrangling over who should speak to me.

"Hello," the stallion identified as Gypsy finally answered. The mare next to him—Brimstone, if I recalled correctly—sat silently, her hair covering a part of her face. "Is there something you need?" Helpful ponies! Yay!

"Gypsy, right?" I asked. He responded with a grin. "I was just hoping to get to know some of the ponies I'm working with." Despite recent exposure to so many new faces, Gypsy looked just like a stallion I'd known back in town. I had to take a second to clear my head of the thought.

He sat back a little, now looking amused. "Got something on my muzzle?"

"No, it's not that, I just... you look like somepony I know."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." He rubbed the back of his head. "So, erm, what would you like to ask about?" Brimstone suddenly huffed, turning to me impatiently. I must have interrupted something. But that wasn't what concerned me about her. The bottom of her face simply wasn't pony. Her jaw, all the way to her lips, was composed of a sleek metal that mended cleanly to her flesh. For the life of me I couldn't help but to stare. What would I like to know?

"What happened to you?" The mare's eyes grew fiery for a moment before Gypsy put a hoof to her shoulder, giving a shake of his head.

"Any other questions on your mind?"

I should have been more sensitive. Maybe a less personal question. "What's this group? Why aren't all of you back at headquarters?"

"Headquarters? With all those desk jockies? I think I speak for everyone here when I say ponies like us aren't cut out for Comp Sec or Programming. These days I hear it's been a nightmare, so it's better to be in Scav anyway. Besides, the job has more perks than any of those boring old office jobs."

'All those desk jockies'? 'Boring old office jobs'? Was having an office job the mark of a boring pony too? What about Ukulele? Surely she couldn't fit that description. She was the most fun pony I'd been around all day!

"What do you think about Ukulele?" He looked puzzled for a moment.

"Who?"

"Ukulele. Office pony? Short black mane, purple coat? She's really fun, you should try talking to her sometime. Might change your mind about having a 'boring desk job'."

"Ukulele?" He turned to the mare beside him, who shrugged. "I've never heard that name before..."

"You forget my name sometimes," Brimstone remarked. "Wouldn't surprise me if you didn't know somepony in Comms' name."

A voice chimed behind me, "Everdawn. Come on, let's suit up. You'll have plenty of time to chat after we get you some gear." The pony whom Bronco had identified as Rogue was now standing before me. Her eyes were a capturing sight—silver that blended into white and black around the edges. I hadn't noticed them before due to the poor lighting in the room, which I was now regretting.

"Oh, right." I turned back to Bronco. "Well, it was nice meeting you!"

"Yeah... you too..." For some reason he looked deeply troubled. Brimstone whispered something, and they resumed their conversation. Meanwhile, Rogue had disappeared. She was now waiting for me by the stairs. As I trotted over she gave me a friendly nudge.

"You seem to be quite fond of introductions. Hope you didn't take what Katana said to heart."

"No, of course not. I'm sure she had a good reason for saying it."

"Well, maybe, but don't let her boss you around like that. If you do, she'll just keep on doing it, and soon enough your name'll change to Doormat. Anyway, you wouldn't happen to know your own measurements, would you?"

Suiting up. That's right. I shook my head. "It's been years since I last put something on." Tranquility was too temperate to need any sort of clothing.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to double as a tailor," she said.

As we walked past the doors in the hallway, one in particular held something of interest to my ears. There were noises coming from the other side. Creaks. An orchestra of them. Two names written in marker adorned the polished wood. The first was written in cursive, with sharp curves that led on an aggressive tone. Katana. The one below it was all capitalized; it was a simpler feeling. Bronco.

"Rogue," I whispered, gesturing toward the door. A panic crept over her as she realized which one I had been pointing to. The creaking got louder. She cringed, grabbing me by the hoof and leading me further down the hall and into another room labeled with her name. The door shut gently behind us.

She gave a relieved huff. "Okay, just... choose an outfit. You're about my size, so the changes won't be too hefty. They're in the bottom drawer of the shrunk over there. Take your time."

I thanked her, making my way over to the large wooden cabinet and opening the drawer. Inside lay a collection of attire, the likes of which I'd never seen before. Metal rods traced like threads through the fabric of a dull green shirt that hugged a bulky saddlebag holster, while more solid black platelets gripped the hard inner fabric of a brown leather jacket. I dug through a few more, noticing a dress whose glory days had long passed. I took things from each outfit until I had what I needed.

"Hope you don't mind me cherrypicking a bit," I said as I turned around.

"Well, by the looks of it you've chosen everything that was too heavy for me anyway. And judging from your... talents... it shouldn't be as hard for you to carry. Come on, let's get you fitted." She tugged on a rope, revealing a three-way mirror behind a set of curtains. "Haven't used this thing in ages." Next she opened a dresser nearby, pulling out a ball of thick orange yarn and some dangerously thin piece of metal that looked unnaturally sharp. "Now just hold still. This won't hurt a bit."

**  **  **

She lied.

The fitting was more alike to psychological torture than tailoring. Each swipe of the needle was another stroke of fear in my stomach, another skipped heartbeat. She'd jabbed me a number of times with the darn thing already; I was beginning to worry.

"How long did you say it's been since you did this?" I strained. She thought for a moment.

"Don't know exactly. Couple years, I think."

"How'd you learn?"

The question brought a smile to her face. "Preacher taught me when I was still new here. Told me I might need it one day when I finally make it out."

"Everypony seems to like him so much. You'd think he knew everything," I commented.

"Well, that's what happens when you're like a million years old," she joked. I laughed, only to be rewarded with the point of the needle again.

"Youch!"

"Sorry."

"... Rogue?"

"Yes, Stablemare?"

"Katana said I got something. Augmention. Augmation."

"Augmentation?" she offered.

"Yeah, that's it. What exactly does that mean?" I sounded like a child again, asking what this meant and what that was, and how foals were made... come to think of it, I still never got a straight answer to that.

"An augmentation is... well, I guess you could say it's just another example of Risk versus Reward in the Wasteland. On one hoof, the pony in question runs the chance of a horridly painful death. But on the other hoof, that same pony might gain a permanent improvement to their body. The price usually outweighs the benefits, but according to Lifeline you never have to worry about a single side effect." Hydra. An improvement.

I couldn't stop thinking about the way Katana had said it. Besides, you got the augmentation. "Is she... jealous?"

Rogue laughed. But it was replaced by a sigh. "Yeah. Maybe. I'm sure she knows that you can do good, but that doesn't stop her from wishing she could be in your horseshoes. For hours we argued. Debated. The only solution was to give you the hydra in hopes that it would open up your system a little bit. So many of your arteries were closing. The buck was for your heart. None of us knew for sure. Whatever mumbo-jumbo happened in that operation, it sure did the trick. And Katana... she feels like she could do a lot more with your strength. There've been some... concerns as of late."

"Like what?" I probed.

She quickly shook her head. "Nothing you should be concerned about yet."

"Aren't we on the same team here? I might be able to help." I smiled toward her. "I won't tell a soul."

"Ugh. Fine. Rumor has it there's a traitor in our midst. In the Scav team, I mean. Whoever it is, they've got connections to Comms, and they know about you. It could be any one of us. Katana suspects that she could find out who it is if she had some kind of an advantage... your kind of advantage." At my look of concern, she chuckled. "But they're just rumors. The only pony that seems capable of it is Abeth anyway, and he's done nothing but right by us."

The train of thought derailed via needle prick. A jolt of pain shot up through my leg, forcing an involuntary yelp. She quickly apologized. Finally Rogue stopped, looking me up and down as if I were the outfit itself. "Well, it looks like that's about it. Turn around and tell me what you think."

I gasped.

The three-way mirror revealed a pony to me that I had never thought existed. The light brown leather of the jacket was a perfect match to my color scheme. Mud-brown straps attached to some kind of holster, while the shirt tapered off into a crescent shape that folded nicely around my flanks. In the end, I looked good. Empowered. Competent. Strong! And for once, I asked a question that mattered.

"When do we start?"

**  **  **

The plan was simple. The team would enter a restricted zone, plant some devices called cameras inside a building, and from there all I'd have to do was help get the team to the roof. They'd take care of the rest. We waited until late at night.

Drums were beating in the center of Hornstead. It was something I wasn't used to; something so primal, so unrelenting. An orange pyrelight polluted the view of any stars above as a rising plume of smoke melted into the moonless night sky. Now I knew why it had to be tonight: we had all the right cover in all the right places. No moonlight to set us apart from the buildings. Nopony in town to spot us on our trip to the rendezvous. There were still guards patrolling the walkways and scaffolding, but at least the ponies I was following knew what they were doing. Or, so I'd hoped.

A few of the guardponies roamed the streets, searching for anypony who may have looked suspicious, while others scanned the rooftops. I didn't even want to think about what would have become of me if we were caught. The thought made the heavy rhythm in the backdrop all the more ominous. It drowned out my thoughts as we leapt across the building tops. For some reason it reminded me of Tranquility, when I used to venture up onto the roof of the convenience store (with great exception to the rising ambiance).

I was starting to understand why Rogue had never wanted these clothes. True to her word, they were heavy, although this wasn't their disadvantage. The main downfall to particularly dense articles of clothing? They're loud. So when we finally hopped down from a nearly two-story drop, the crate that I landed on all but snapped into splinters, prompting the others to hurry along much faster than I'd anticipated. Katana had been right about one thing: they didn't even hesitate to leave me behind. I caught up, apologizing. She met me with a frown.

"Stablemare. You're coming with me. We're gonna take a detour... one that won't get us all killed if you fuck up. Follow. Now."

I did as I was told, allowing her to lead. She betrayed an acrimonious demeanor as the others continued on their route down an alleyway. "And for the love of all things good, at least try to be less of a klutz."

She led the way across a nearby street, cobblestone clopping loudly under my hoofsteps as I followed along. We crossed into another alleyway as she vaulted over a fence, looking back at me expectantly. And when I landed on my face, she just sighed a little. She stopped me as we got to a corner leading into an outdoor atrium between the buildings. There was a padlock on the only door leading into the open area; bars ran up the sides of the passageway, providing hook points for a fence that extended all the way up to the building tops. The door was the only way in.

"Lucky for us both, I've got a key," Katana exclaimed. Opening the padlock, she slid inside. When I followed her in, I looked around. There were no available exit points. The only openings were second story awning windows. And the door was now being locked behind me.

"Katana. What are you doing?"

"Sorry about this. Hope you don't mind settling in for a while." The padlock clamped shut around the locking mechanism, the door bolt sliding shut through the bars.

"But what about the mission?"

"The mission?" Her face became stern and angry. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you don't exactly belong here. You haven't earned the right to call yourself one of us, and if you really think that you can just waltz on in here and get the Princesses' suite, you've got another thing coming. How about we strike a deal, hmm? I will worry about the mission, and you just sit tight. Somepony will be back by morning to pick you up. Until then, shut your big mouth, and stay hidden. Nopony needs you getting arrested or killed."

I grimaced. But then she seemed to remember something. "Oh, and by the way, Preacher doesn't need to know about this. We sure would hate to see his oh-so-precious Stablemare have something awful happen to her, now wouldn't we?" My nod sufficed. "Good. Now stay put. I've got a job to do."

I hadn't been threatened very many times in my life. The few times I had were nothing more than warnings about losing dessert if I didn't stop talking back, but even then I had listened. To think, just a few minutes ago I had felt so good about myself. But as I looked around to the dull walls and picnic-esque tables, I felt a desperate need to get out. A house? Fine. A room? Fine. A cage? No thank you.

All it took was a simple kick to bend the iron. Another one actually broke one of the hinges on which the gate stood. Another one finally made some progress, but I felt my hoof do something it wasn't supposed to. The crack could have stirred the dead.

I screamed. I screamed a lot. And cried. Sobbed too. My leg contracted as I lay there on the floor, grasping it in agony. For a while it seemed to dull into a subtle throb, and then just like that, it was gone.

I opened my eyes to look at the appendage, straightening it out and feeling only the slightest bit of strain, and even that soon disappeared. Was this the power of hydra at work? Or was it buck? I couldn't remember which did what. As if it had never happened, I stood up, sensing nothing odd about my leg.

I didn't want to do that again. Not in a million years. But I had to get out of here. Maybe both hooves could do the trick.

I lifted my back legs in the air, balancing precariously on my front hooves as I reared up to buck the metal gate, this time with full force. I focused all of my strength as my legs flexed and connected with the cast iron. The hooks holding the chain link fencing into the walls of the building not only gave way, but pulled chunks of their attachment points out with them. The ground in which the gate was mounted cracked as the support beam for the door bent at an impossible angle. Speaking of which, the door... the sorry, sad little door that now lay warped into a concave figure at the end of the alleyway.

Whoops.

I stood up, hurrying to get to the rooftops as I raced down the passageway and took a look around. Nopony in sight, although one thing certainly set me off—the drum beats had gotten noticeably louder. As my head swiveled right, the flashlight of a guard rounded the corner and I tried to duck. Too late. With a shout that really didn't sound by accident, the stallion called out to me. "Halt! Come out and keep straight! No sudden movements!"

I didn't respond. I could only sit there, terrified of what was going to happen. Would I die? What if I never found out where my parents had gone? How would I get back to them if I was dead!

I sat there as the guard yelled for me, trying desperately to think of something. A few hoofsteps later, and his flashlight shone around the corner, illuminating the bawling mare in a fetal position. "I'm sorry," I kept saying, "I never should've left!"

"Hooves! Up!" he shouted. "Now!"

I looked up to him. "Please don't kill me! I just need to get back to the marketplace, and then I'll go straight home, I promise!" Great, I'd resorted to begging. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"I'm only going to tell you one more time, civilian!" he snapped, grabbing me with his magic and lifting me up. I squirmed, kicking every which way as I panicked. He lifted out a pair of metal circles with a chain between them, fastening them around my back hooves as I looked frantically for a way to escape. His magic set me down, and we began to walk. "Now, come along, and don't struggle. It'll only make it harder on you." What would the others think?

"Can you please just let me go?"

"Just shut up already," he said, "I don't get paid enough."

"No, you don't understand! I have to —"

"I said shut up!" he barked, giving me a stinging pain in my backside.

Now, at this moment, I was only concerned about my own safety. The pony-shaped hole in the brick wall roughly twenty hooves behind me reminded me of that fact.

Whoops.

I stared for a moment before trying to run. The metal chain connecting my hooves had a different idea. After falling flat on my face, I picked myself up off the cobblestone street, tussling with the cuffs before they simply snapped. The chain now dangled loosely from each hoof, although the circular parts still clung tightly to my leg. That would have to do until I got back to Preacher.

"Oh sugar! The others!" In a rush, I scrambled to reach the rooftops, searching above for a possible path. One low window offered what appeared to be a sturdy iron flower rack. But it must have been at least two stories high. How would I reach it?

Planting my back legs on the ground, I thought back to lifting the bars. I thought about the energy I had to put in in order to get something out. It was a balance. When I opened my eyes, I was crouched to the ground, my legs trembling with the buildup of energy. With one great resounding hope, I bounded...

... and soared straight past the window. My rump broke the fall to the third story balcony, and I got up, immediately inspecting my surroundings. The edge of the rooftop was just above. Lucky me! Although... as I looked down over the edge of the balcony, the height suddenly seemed much more real. A simple hop was all it took to send me up a story and onto the roof. The shingles were wet, causing my back leg to slip off the edge. I gasped and held on to the flat surface, slowly pulling myself up to the safer part of the ledge. Within seconds I noticed another guard patrolling a few buildings over.

With unreserved panic, I raced across the building tops, jumping over gaps that I wouldn't have been able to clear before today. The squad was nowhere in sight. I had to find them, and quick; Hornstead didn't seem the kind of city to be lost in. I racked my brain trying to find a clue of where to find them. And then I remembered something. What you are witnessing is a ceremony... we're going to expose them tonight. The drums continued to beat as the plume of smoke rose into the night sky, and suddenly, I had somewhere to be.

**  **  **

My hooves touched down hard on the sidewalk, the drum beats having reached yet another crescendo. A simple wooden fence stood between me and the ceremony, which meant Bronco and the others couldn't be very far away. But, of course, as I held onto that assumption and squeezed through the tight gap in the wooden panels, I realized just how wrong one pony could be.

The crowd was hundreds. Thousands, if I didn't know better. It made the marketplace look trivial and... chaotic. The mass was gathered in a sort of eerie order, with a single platform at the front that hosted the ceremony's main event. Upon it sat an assorted group wearing strange armor of black and purple. A single obelisk stood erect in the center, surrounded by an array of glyphs. They pulsed sinisterly in time with the drums.

Just then, a unicorn from a line at the front of the crowd stepped up to the stage, and the drums strained slowly toward a staccato. The stallion approached the crystalline obelisk in the center, and inserted his horn into a stone hole, causing the prism to erupt into a brilliant orange. Fires appeared from the glyphs on the floor, slowly enveloping the stallion, and the crowd began to chant. At that, the drums went crazy, pounding into an overwhelming bass that vibrated within the deepest cavities of my chest. I was almost ready to run for my life in the opposite direction...

... when somepony screamed. The explosion took a moment to register as the stage showered down broken stone and the remains of the crystal obelisk. The shockwave rocked the very cobblestones beneath me as the front of the crowd was all but obliterated in a single fiery blast. Those unlucky enough to be left alive at the front galloped wildly away, some of them alight and burning. And all I could do was stand there like a lost filly, frozen in the chaos. All around me ponies screamed and shoved, panic finally breaking out as I found my senses and kicked straight through the fence behind me, bolting down the street. The ponies who'd stood in front of me followed closely behind as we all scattered. The sound of sirens attracted any guards in the area as I turned into an alleyway and continued to run. Screams echoed behind me as loud bangs rang throughout the city.

How could this happen, what's going on?! How in the world is this real! There was little time to think. I had to get back to Preacher's house, no matter what. Of all the times in the past day I'd needed an explanation, now demanded one most.

My ears were still ringing as I sprinted down the road, following the trail of apartments we'd traversed before. The metal circles around my hooves jingled cheerily with my hoofsteps as I navigated. I lost track once or twice before I finally found the opening to headquarters. The doors were locked, so I banged on them until someone answered. The doors finally opened, and inside sat all of the ponies I'd seen earlier. At once, they turned, some pointing shiny cylindrical objects at me, others simply staring in shock. Preacher appeared through the door to the monitoring room, pushing past a stallion who had wedged himself between us.

"Everdawn! What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

Whether it was my inability to string words together into a coherent sentence or the fact that I'd just witnessed death firsthoof, I began to cry. I fell back on my haunches, looking to the ponies in the room who simply gawked, and bawled. I tried to ask why. I tried to shout. I tried to scream. But all my body seemed capable of was choking out sobs and gagging as Preacher sat and hugged me.

"It's okay," he told me. He picked my head up with his hoof, gazing deep into my eyes and leading me back into the monitoring station. The ponies inside shut the screens off and took their leave hurriedly. Preacher took me aside and sat me down into one of the chairs. "Just tell me what happened."

And I did. About Tranquility. About Mom and Dad. About Katana. I couldn't bring myself to talk about the ceremony at first. But after a little convincing, even that slipped out. At the end of it all, Preacher sat back and rested his neck against some invisible wall. He started five sentences, and then settled with one.

"I'm sorry," he said.

I sniffed. "Why?"

"Everdawn. You've been very patient as of late, and I'm sure that you've noticed that I dodged your questions earlier, but it's not because I don't like answering. It's because things aren't as simple as you ask them. In this place, there is almost never an easy answer to anything, so it's really better to show you an answer than tell you. And I'm afraid that what's happened here tonight is another instance of that. What you saw wasn't entirely by accident."

"What do you mean by that?" He sighed.

"I'd have to show you," he said. "You'd have to see it to know. But what I'm trying to say is that... we were responsible for what happened. The team you were sent out with, their job was to do what you saw. I'm just sorry you had to see it from the place that you did. I should have known Katana might do something stupid. But if it's any consolation, I'm glad you made it back safely."

I couldn't reason. I couldn't think straight. "B-But... all those ponies..."

"... were a part of something that should never have existed in the first place." He adopted a stern countenance. "That ceremony is a lie, Everdawn. It's an abomination to our pony way of life, and it mocks any sense of morality we might hold in the Wasteland. Sombra's Hoof is an embarrassment to Harmony! And as despicable as this may sound, what we did is justified by that simple fact. Ponies like that cannot be allowed to live!"

"Justified? Morality?" I remembered the ponies who ran away from the flames, burning alive. I couldn't fathom that anything that horrid could be reasonably called 'justified'. "You killed them! What could they have done that would deserve something like that!" I yelled, knocking the chair over as I stood up.

"I wish I could simply tell you, Everdawn! I really do! But this is bigger than anything I can explain in a couple of minutes. It's bigger than all of us! And that's why you have to see it to understand. Until then, I'm sorry, but you just have to take my word on it."

"No! Why can't you just explain this to me? Why do I have to live remembering the screams of those poor ponies until I understand? How long will that be?"

He fell his head. "I... I don't know."

I glared at him. "Then why should I! You've been avoiding my questions on purpose, but I still don't know what happened that brought me here... I don't even know where in the hay 'here' is! Hornstead is just a name! And now, I don't even know what to believe, and you tell me to trust you on... on faith?!"

"I know it's a lot to ask," he said. "But please. Just trust me."

I was considering him. I really was.

"Tell me how I got here first. Nothing complicated. Just what happened. Step-by-step," I ordered. "I'll decide if I can trust you after I know the truth." I paused. "The whole truth."

He was reluctant, but I had given him the right motivation. "It all started a few days ago..."

oo000~ * ~000oo

"Help me open this," Katana said to Burly, who made short work of the sliding metal door. They stood just past the giant gear-shaped hole that comprised the entrance to the hidden steel structure.

As the group crept through the rusted hallways of the interior, they scavenged, taking medical kits and and a variety of other supplies that still served some kind of function. One side of the network was closed off from a collapse that had happened over a century ago. Wires hung down everywhere, holes lining the walls in sporadic lines. Some doors didn't open so easily, in which case, Burly was called to work. Most were wide open, waiting for visitors as the ancient machinery inside sat dusty with decay.

"According to the map, the head pony's office is on the gardening level," Gipsy said.

"Which is...?" Rogue asked.

"Another floor down. We should find it soon," he said. "Just around the next left and down the stairs. The atrium is there."

The group followed him, weaving their way through a network of bent metal and broken steel. "Be careful around the pipes," Brimstone cautioned, "the water inside is still pressurized. If you're in front of a breach in the iron, it'll be a mess."

"Just space yourselves evenly so we don't put too much stress on anything," Abeth instructed as he stepped over a hole in the floor. "Keep your head on a swivel. Worry more about the variables we don't know." At that, they spread out, keeping even space between one pony and the next. Taking a left and descending a tilted stairway, they arrived at the atrium balcony overlooking a series of pods. The Overmare's office was to the left. "Fan out, but keep within ear range. Search whatever you can, however you can. We only have a couple more hours, so let's make it quick. And be careful."

The bunch split into teams of two, which separated into rooms along the balcony. Meanwhile, Abeth stood behind with Brimstone as she worked on opening the door labeled in faded paint, Overmare. Burly would be of no use here, they all knew this. The Overmare's office was always the hardest to open.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," she mumbled, plucking one of the wires from inside the opening panel and hooking it up with a small cube.

"You always do," he said.

"Yeah, but not like this. Something about this stable is..."

The door interrupted her. As it slid open, a control room lay deserted with a pony skeleton laying protectively over the primary console. Without a moment's notice, Abeth patted Brimstone's leg and made short work finding the key taped under the table. Placing it into the authorization port, he was greeted with a simple message: Oxygen levels critical. The speakers within the room suddenly blasted the warning over and over as Katana stood in the hallway and yelled for him.

Abeth made his way back onto the mezzanine of the atrium, no longer caring for the data in the computer as a whole new source of activity alerted him.

"The pods! One of them is —"

oo000~ * ~000oo

"..."

"— is what?" I begged. "Is what? What happened?"

He was silent as he looked behind me to the monitors. He bore the visage of pure horror, mouthing out only a single word. "No..."

A sound like the explosion at the ceremony shook the equipment in the monitoring room, and then there were screams. Pieces of metal tore through the wall as cracks and bangs opened into a symphony. And whatever calm Preacher had retained before was instantly lost. My ears, for the second time in thirty minutes, were ringing.

The wall in front of us blasted into pieces, and everything went silent. Preacher took my leg and pulled me after him.

But things didn't stop happening. As the door opened, I saw ponies running, holes appearing in the surfaces around them as they fell to the ground and stopped moving. Debris showered down as the computers were torn apart from some kind of invisible hailstorm. Everywhere there were holes, and everywhere those holes caused chaos. Ponies left and right hit the ground. Holes. Desks fell apart. Holes. The walls blew open. Holes. And in the midst of it all, one mare stood, watching the carnage unfold.

Ukulele. She was smiling.

Rumor has it there's a traitor in our midst.

Preacher unlocked a hatch in the floor, and dropped to the ground. There was a hole in his head. Scarlet fluid pooled on the floor as I fumbled back to one of the overturned desks. I was crying again. Again. I tried screaming his name, but he simply laid there. Maybe he couldn't move. That's when I finally realized it. The holes had killed him. They took life. I had never seen death before today; now I'd seen it twice. What ungoddessly place was this?

The cacophony continued as I witnessed a hoof desperately pulling the rest of its owner. The stallion who'd sat next to Ukulele this morning gasped for breath. The holes were in his neck, but they hadn't taken his life yet. My eyes flashed back to the hatch. Had Preacher been trying to lead me away from all this? Whatever was going on, I had to escape. The hatch lay open, waiting. I looked back to the stallion laying on the floor in front of me.

"I'm sorry."

From behind the desk to inside the hatch was one fluid leap as the ground and walls were violently ripped asunder, holes appearing all behind me. The drop was only a body length deep, but I was in a tunnel now, dark and lonely. A feeling of claustrophobia took hold. No time for that. Keep running. Don't stop. Not until you've reached the end. I could hear them shouting for me. I could hear the screams.

My breaths filled the silence that became of the tunnel as heartbeat after heartbeat thudded in my ears. I squeezed through gap after gap in the walls. Just keep breathing, don't stop. Don't stop, whatever I do, I mustn't stop now!

There was a light at the end of the tunnel.

I raced for the exit, nearly tripping over a stalagmite before at last, I was free. I could only catch my breath as I put a hoof up to my eyes. The light from the sunrise was nearly blinding. I looked onward in hope and desperation...

... but the world ahead was beyond anything I had known.

Hoofnote: Level Up

New Perk: Lifeline Augmented — Your body has been permanently enhanced by Buck and Hydra.  You now experience enhanced regeneration when your bones or limbs have sustained more than 75% damage or become severely crippled.

Quest Perk added: Earth Pony Might — You have tripled the amount and duration of physical force you can exert.

Soundtrack Unlocked: The Morning After

Shattered Intentions

Justified