Fallout Equestria: Sundownby Queen Sanguine DreamsChaptersChapter 1: IntroductionsChapter 2: Stable StabilityChapter 3: Steel StridersChapter 4: Rangers and ReprimandsChapter 5: Skittish ScavengersChapter 6: Paladin ProtectorsChapter 8: ElderberriesChapter 9: Misty MemoriesChapter 10: Recollection RoadChapter 11: Reality's ReturnChapter 12: Initial InsecuritiesChapter 13: Braggadocious PerspectiveChapter 7: Braggadocious BalefireChapter 1: IntroductionsChapter 1: Introductions! Hello! Since you’re going to be tagging along with my mind, I’ll give you a tip. The funny sideways scribbles are what I’m thinking, (Usually) and the normal boring scribbles are the usual stuff! Awesome. Not a bad beginning, if I do say so… myself. Right. This is going to take some getting used to, even for me. Right then! Onwards to the story and everything, since that’s what books are for… At least I hope so. Now, if you’re listening to this without some kind of Audio thinga-ma-what’s-it, then this will probably sound like a whole bunch of squeaky nonsense! That’s because I’m a Batpony. OOooooOOoooo, Batpony. Yeah. Not hiding in a cave somewhere, being secluded and sleeping with my 4th cousin. Hurray for Genetics and radiation in the wastelands, right? Now you’re probably thinking, “Hey Sundown, I thought that couldn’t happen because only Batponies make Batponies. That’s their whole issue, right?” And to you I would say, “Sure! Why not! But then I wouldn’t have a story of me being a Batpony, now would I? That would be really boring, because then I’d just be some other regular wasteland trotter that goes around killing raiders and saving the day, like every other pony out there.” And then you’d say a thing, and I’d say a thing, then I’d realize we’re having a conversation inside of my head when you’re not actually here, and then I’d just get worried about if I’m supposed to be shy and awkward around you. Nopony wants a story like that! Unless they do, which in that case, that isn’t this story! This is a story about a regular freak of accidental familial genetics and mutation from radiation and other words with more than a few syllables. So, as my uncle would say, “Start from the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop!” We begin my story of being a Batpony… In a cave! Yeah, Cliché I know but at least most of us know what a cave is like. Except this cave was super fancy! In that it wasn’t all that fancy, but it was my cave, and I felt it was. Nyeh. That’s me sticking my tongue out at you, since you can’t see my expression through an audio tape, or a book, or whatever this thing is now. Anyway! This cave was pretty dry, (as far as caves go) and had a slightly used mattress (Blood stained, springs poking out of the fabric, and I assure you that is definitely not my urine stain. Honestly.) A completely intact end table with four whole legs and a little drawer. (‘Intact’ is relative. I used a lamp as a leg repair for the thing, after using it to bash a raider’s head in. I’ll explain later.) The floor was pretty much a bunch of rock, with some cloth strewn about to resemble a carpet. Rock gets boring to walk on after a while. The best part of this whole ‘Fancy cave’ deal was that it wasn’t even my cave! I was sort of borrowing it for the night while the real owner decided his blood and brains were desperately needed as wall decoration over in the corner, on an equally decorated sofa he had somehow managed to drag in here. I’m sure he’ll be fine, I gave him a healing potion to hold on to at least. Besides, cave acoustics don’t really work when you can hear a bobby pin drop at two hundred and fifty feet in a rainstorm. Drip. Drip. Drip. Uhg. This place is about a four on the scale of ‘Not really dangerous, but really annoying anyway’ scale of bad places to sleep for the day. At least I don’t have to worry about more than the usual since the sky felt like vomiting its humid love all over the ground for a few hours. I could just find something to use as earplugs, but then I wouldn’t be able to hear that raider stumbling around outside of the cave entrance. Wait, what? Realizing that it probably wasn’t a good idea to lay on the mattress in the middle of the cave in broad (Cloud covered) daylight, I decided to slink to the side of the walls where there was noticeably less daylight trying to get me killed with its whole ‘Spotlight the Batpony’ business it seems so fond of. “Well, awesome. Mr. Raider hasn’t seen me in the cave yet, so I should be good.” I had whispered to myself, sneaking further along the wall to creep up on the oblivious raider looking at Decorum over in the corner. I think he was trying to take the healing potion from the late Interior Decorator. “Huh? Who’s that squeakin’?!” the art critic bellowed at the top of his insane lungs. Or at least he would have if he was actually yelling. I suppose to any normal wasteland pony it would sound normal speaking volume, but my ears were just that blessed by Luna, Goddess of listening to mice fart. Also the night, which I’m actually quite enamored. Please don’t eat me, Moon Goddess. At this point, I had begun my attempts to fuse myself into the wall to get away from the very loud and angry person that was in the cave entry way. I figured he was a raider from the fact that his armor was a hodge-podge of metal, spikes, skulls and entrails that would make a butcher blush. That, and his pinprick sized pupils looked like he'd had one too many hits of Dash to go with his Stampede. Speaking of Stampede, that's immediately what he did the second he spotted me being a spaz on the wall. "HEY! YOU GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW. I'M GONNA GET ME A MUTANT TROPHY FOR MY COLLECTION WITH YOU!" He in fact did scream at the top of his insane lungs. At this point, a battleship performing its own rendition of the 1812 Overture would've been more graceful to my ears at this distance, and I hurriedly flapped my leathery bat wings up and away from the loud raider to the back of the cave, where I and my dark grey coat would blend in better. Oh yeah that’s right! You have no idea what I look like. Should've probably said that sooner. I have a dark grey coat of fur for my body, similarly dark grey and black wings, and dark grey hair with a stripe of deep orange going down the middle. I tend to leave my messy hair off to one side to be easier to deal with. My eyes, like my namesake, have the same coloration as the setting sun. Or so I'm told that’s the color of the setting sun. I've never been able to confirm that, what with all the clouds being ever present in the wasteland. Anyway, back to me being chased by a very loud and bloodthirsty raider! Since he was being so obnoxiously loud and painful to my eardrums, I decided to return the favor and sing the song of my people. It's called a Sonic Screech, and has a tendency to liquefy organs from the soundwaves playing havoc with cell membranes. Or something. That’s how sonic stuff works, right? What do you mean I should know this? Just because I'm a bat doesn’t make me a bat expert! Are you a... 'You' expert? Thought not! Right. Now that we've got that sorted out, my screech pretty much consists of me putting on my war face and giving my best "AAAAAAHHHH!" in the general direction of whatever scares me. Yes I brush my fangs, don't even ask. Thankfully, this raider was within screaming distance from me frantically flying away from him, and he caught a whole face full of my singing talent. Dropping to the floor and screaming even louder than he was yelling, I decided that he needed the bed in the cave more than I did, took my potion and my things, and made a hasty withdrawal for quieter pastures. Unfortunately for me, raiders don’t usually travel alone, and I flew outside to be greeted by a whole bunch of rusted barrels of death (More from the tetanus than the bullet, I’d think.) and equally degraded raiders with more drugs in their system than a pharmacist can shake a Pestle at. Yes I use metaphors a lot for describing things. It’s easier and somepony might actually learn something if they do some research trying to figure out what my metaphors reference in the first place. Besides, it lets you use your imagination! "Get that mutant Pegasus and break its fancy wings!" "Shoulda stayed up in the clouds, chicken!" "I’m gonna fry you alive, bird!" Oh, well. With that completely reasonable and sound argument I should throw down my arms and submit to your fine hospitality, yes? Nope! At that point I banked right and followed the terrain down from the cave's entrance, doing my best to dodge stray fire from the makeshift weaponry the raiders had gotten their hooves on. I gave them a good few earfuls of my opinion and managed to escape with a few scrapes from going too close to the rocks, and more than a few grazes from bullets zipping past. About an hour after the raiders had gotten tired and given up their chase, I noticed that the sun had finally gone down and I could begin my day. Yes I work at night. I like to switch the places of what things are called. When I’m awake, it’s Day, when I’m asleep, its night. Even if when I’m awake is Night, and when I’m asleep it's Day. Hey, it works for me and I don’t really expect anypony else to follow my schedule. So! Let’s get down to what I usually wear, since I totally forgot to even describe myself to you. Oh and yeah, I'm a Mare, just to be completely blunt and straightforward so there’s no confusion. My clothing usually consists of a leather tunic that I’ve painted black so I can blend in better, and a head covering for the same purpose. I use some goggles to try and hide my eyes for when I’m in town, and my wings can be hidden in the tunic so I don’t get attacked for being a "Pegasus" even though I doubt anypony even knows what a Batpony is anymore. More often than not I get mistaken for a Mutant or a Pegasus anyway, and it’s not like I can explain my position when all they hear is frequent squeaks coming from me with funny expressions. I don’t talk to ponies much for this reason. "Hey, You there!" Oh crap, I've been caught thinking! Looking up, I notice what looks like a Caravan wandering past with a very upset and roughed up guard leveling a shotgun at my face. How did I not even notice him sneaking up on me? I must've been really zoned out from those raiders or- "Are you listening?" Eep! "Squeak?" Yes? "Oh great." the guard groaned through the mouthpiece holding his shotgun. He shot a glance at me promising all kinds of pain if I did so much as squeak again, and looked towards what I assume was his employer. "Who's the Mare?" The caravan boss called to his guard. "Won’t say! Only squeaked at me. I think she's scared, boss!" He chuckled, and had me stand up and shoved me toward his leader. "Scared eh? What do you got to be scared about, little missy? Big bad wasteland got you down?" Looking quickly to my sides, I noticed more Caravan guards that were quickly looking like not caravan guards and more like Slavers. "Well come on, mare. Lemme hear that voice of yours." the guard with a voice as soothing as a unicorn scraping their horn on a chalkboard. "Squeak, Squi skree ski skriiskurr squiike." Hi. I'd like a Mocha Latte. "What the hell kinda voice is that? You get mutated or somethin'?" "Ssk Skqu." Oh Yes. Whether or not he'd ever understand a word I said wasn’t even a concern. I already figured out a long time ago that nopony could understand me, so I smart arsed my way through almost every social interaction just to amuse myself and calm my nerves from the fact that I’d been caught by slavers who probably wanted to do more to me than have a somewhat pleasant conversation. I understood what he was saying just fine, and I can speak just fine as well. There’s just the whole issue of my vocal range being so high that I can find people in the dark with it. Does make it pretty fun to play hide and seek though. "Well that’s just great, boss. We got us a mute. How's one of those Fillydelphia bosses gonna order around a slave what can’t speak? Won't know if she's being disrespectful or not, and I definitely don’t want to hear that thing squeaking the whole way back. I say we just leave her and deal with some other ponies." the slaver guard actually reasoned to his leader. "Yeah we could, but wouldn’t it be fun to use her as a squeaky toy? Think of all the stress relief we could do with her!" the Boss less reasonably suggested. "Yeah but boss, wouldn’t that get annoying real fast? She can’t even scream I bet, let alone beg us to stop. She’s already hurting my ears just standing here looking at us... Hey! Stop looking at us like that!" The guard threatened by waving his shotgun around in my face. I responded by looking at the "Boss" and setting off a storm of squeaks, pretty much agreeing with the guard's points and recommending they get a raise, but they probably only heard a litany of squeaks that sounded like an orgy of rats in heat. "AUGH BY THE GODDESSES, FINE!" The boss said while falling to the ground and covering his ears with his hooves, telling the guard to get the caravan moving while I continued my well-reasoned plans for decorating my dream home should I ever find a freestanding structure with a reasonable mortgage rate in a relatively raider-less neighborhood. "Get out of here, freak!" the distraught guard menaced, I assume to save his hard bought shotgun shells more than anything. Happily obliging them, I galloped in the opposite direction of my unknown slaver 'friends' before coming to a slow trot while making a mental note to be more observant in the future. Right as I stepped on a skeleton. Loudly. Ow. My poor ears. Chapter 2: Stable StabilityChapter 2: Stable Stability After I had managed to successfully avoid dying, I wandered around for the rest of the 'day' in the ruins of some city. Never really bothered to learn the names of these places since they all tended to be decrepit hives of scum and villainy anyway. This city, however, was just so awesome that it had a vault underneath the town hall that I found by good fortune of shouting, a gunshot, and the sounds of arguments between a few ponies. Yeah, they were really loud and I was surprised to see that nopony else had actually heard these few in their ordeal. Poking my head around a corner, using my hooves to cling to the side of the stable entrance to not fall on my face, I spotted the unruly quartet of quarreling questers. An earth pony, a unicorn, and - "TWO FREAKING PEGASUS, WHAT!?" I unwittingly squeaked out at almost a volume loud enough to make weaponized. The earth pony, (White coat, Blue mane and a utility jumpsuit) jolted his head upwards to look where my head used to be, me having retreated fast as possible to hold my heart from trying to escape from my chest in an act of self-preservation from my stupidity, around the corner of the vault door. "What was that noise? Did anypony else just hear squeaking?" What I assume the Earth Pony stallion had asked his companions. "Um, Yeah? I think we have more pressing matters here than some mouse getting spooked, Gearbox." One of the mares of the group said with an air of annoyance. "Besides, we still gotta deal with this murderer you managed to get to tag along with us. Come on Gearbox, she just killed an entire Stable! There’s no way she can stay with us after that!" Another of the mares protested. Wait, this buck sure has a lot of mares with him. Is this a Mare-em? Hah. Okay, I'll kill myself later, promise. "Just leave me alone! I already know I messed up and you're not making this any easier on me, Lightswitch!" the voice of a clearly distressed and sobbing mare called out to the group. I assume that would be the one that 'killed the stable'. Yeesh, she was sobbing into the floor plating and I could still hear her voice vibrating my eardrums from twenty feet away. Hold on. If we're ponies, why do we measure in feet? Shouldn't we measure in hooves? That'd make more sense... Unless math got invented by Sand Dogs or something, which wouldn’t be that hard to believe. They all got a bunch of those fancy robotics on them, even if they can barely put two words together that don’t end in "Kill" and "Pony". Oh well, I guess that’s a question for the ages. From now on, I’m just going to measure everything in Hooves. Hah, take that, scien" HELLO?" The earth pony had politely asked directly next to my ear. "Squeak!" I replied, holding my ears and crumpling to the floor in a flurry of hooves and more squeaks, trying to stop my ears from ringing. "OH, JEEZ. I'M TERRIBLY SORRY MA'AM. CAN I HELP YOU?" The earth pony said more calmly than he should've, given the situation and being in the wastes. Honestly I was surprised I hadn't had my organs forcibly ventilated at this point, but his speaking this closely next to me wasn’t helping matters. I decided to take action and frantically wave my hooves and shake my head in the negative, hoping he would get the point and not look too closely at the fact that my head wrap and goggles had flopped off of my head in my frenzy. Oh, Crap. The earth pony, Gearbox I think his name was, just stood there like he had seen a jelly sandwich get up and leave his lunchbox while staring at me. "Squeak?" What? I inquired. "Um..." He turned away to speak to his Mare-em, (Hah! Got you again!) "I think you should see what the squeaking was." He turned back to see me desperately getting my goggles and head wrap back on to cover my 'exotic' features. "I swear, Gear, if this is another of your... pranks. What?" The unicorn I assumed was named Lightswitch said to me, then looked at Gearbox. "Who is that?" She said, rudely pointing a hoof in my face. "I have no idea, but she squeaked at me." He looked from his companion to the strange pony clad in black and grey before asking, "Who are you, and why haven’t you shot at us yet? You've kind of just been sitting there." Using my superior intelligence and charisma, I gave a hearty shrug accompanied with an 'I dunno' expression on my face. Perfect. "Is she an idiot?" The unicorn I was rapidly disliking asked, while looking at me like she'd stepped in something. From around the corner, another of the mares poked her head through the open Stable door wearing a nurse's cap and an odd uniform that looked either mercenary or military (I don’t know these things! It had a bunch of pockets and it looked official, okay?) "Is it safe?" The nurse looking Freaking Pegasus asked. I stared at her with a look of wonder exceeding a Foal earning their cutie mark, while the downer Unicorn just scoffed at trotted off to go badger the remaining Pegasus in the Stable. "Well, 'it' hasn't decided to eat us at least. Some wicked looking fangs on her." Gearbox stated flatly. Hearing fangs, I shut my mouth a bit too fast and drew blood from my lower lip, letting out a squeak of pain and held my mouth with my hooves while sitting on my haunches. "Aww, did somepony hurt themselves?" The nurse coo'd at me. Coo'd at me! I’m not a foal! I've definitely lived on my own successfully enough to not die out here in these wastelands and I was being treated like a foal for biting myself on accident. The indignity. I did my best to growl menacingly at the nurse, but it had the same effect as a kitten getting upset with a bowl of milk. "Gearbox, I'm keeping her." "But she's not a-" "My decision is final! She is mine, and I shall call her Squeaky." "She’s a living pony! You can’t jus-" "I can, will, and did!" Apparently having no say in the matter, I sat there looking between the two of them bickering. "Swift Shot, She isn’t a pet. She's a living pony. We aren’t slavers and you can't just take her as a 'pet' against her will!" retorted Gearbox, clearly upset and definitely too loud for my ears. "Gearbox, she’s gotten here on her own, and I know that she's her own pony." She looked down at me, noting the fanged smirk on my face and asked, "Now then, would you like to join us? Oh wait... Actually, can you even speak?" After a few moments, I realized she was serious, and began digging through my saddlebags for a piece of charcoal and paper I had found in the Cave earlier. "What is she doing?" called Lightswitch from inside of the stable. After another moment, I returned to face them, lifting a page that had the words: Yes. I can definitely speak. The only problem is that my voice is too high of a frequency for your ears to register, so therefor you will only ever hear squeaks from me when I attempt to speak. "Well. I'll be damned. She can actually talk, sort of." Gearbox responded after reading my message. "See! Told you she's her own pony!" Swift happily said, trotting in place. "So, does that mean I can keep you?" The nurse Pegasus asked me again, albeit this time more directly. Mulling over my options and infinite possibilities, given my glorious status as a nopony without any ability to speak properly to anyone, complete physical inability to use firearms, and lack of companions to talk with, I decided the best course of action was to nod profusely in the affirmative until my goggles decided they didn’t want to hold on to dear life anymore, and revealed my 'freaky' Batpony eyes. "GAAAH!" The nurse screamed into my face, sending me sprawling on the floor covering my own ears and screeching into the ceiling, sending dust into my face and making me squeakily sputter while trying to get my vision un-assailed by dirt. "What the hell happened to you!?" The nurse exclaimed, shortly after I stopped holding my ears in pain and twitching. I got back up, glared daggers at her loudness, and wrote down: Stop being so loud, you're hurting my ears :c I'm a Batpony, It comes with the genetics. At the word 'Batpony', I saw both of their faces scrunch up with confusion and look at my sides, expecting to see wings or something. Then I noticed I was still wearing my 'definitely not a winged pony' tunic, and promptly shook myself out of it and the rest of my gear. Yes I was naked at this point, but we ponies don’t normally wear clothes, in case you hadn't noticed that. I let my wings spread to their full width, put my head up and to the side like I was posing for a patriotic poster, and gave them a fang filled toothy grin from ear to ear while looking at them with my wide eyes. (Pupils shaped like a dragon’s, for whatever reason. I guess that’s normal?) "Well, damn." said Gearbox, apparently getting the message to tone it down, and he spoke in a whisper. "Oh, if you'll excuse me, I have to be 'loud' for a moment." the Swift Shot warned. I covered my ears and heard "Everypony! Get over here and look at this!" Oh great, now I have to deal with the Gawking Gang. The other two ponies came back, Lightswitch and the 'murderer' Pegasus. "BY THE GODDESSES, WHAT IS THAT THING!?" The Pegasus belted out into my face, as I once again tried to avoid falling over in pain from the volume. "Shh! Her hearing is really sensitive, so stop shouting!" Gearbox harshly whispered. "Oh really, she's 'Sensitive' is she?" The murderer Pegasus said with a wicked spark in her eyes. This was going to hurt, but I was going to enjoy being louder than she was... Mwahaha. "JUST HOW SENSITIVE IS HER HEARING, REALLY?" She shouted as best she could into my ear. I responded by shouting back loud enough to send her sprawling backwards into a safety rail with a satisfying CRACK of bone impacting stainless steel. I then got off of the floor, used a wing to brush my shoulder off, and squeaked triumphantly. Then I noticed that everypony else's ears probably hadn't stopped ringing yet, and I should probably get a healing potion ready so they didn’t decide now was the best time to make me into a bonding agent. “Owww…” was the most common reply from my new ‘friends’ after my outburst. Gearbox was the first to get up, head held in his fore hooves trying to ease a splitting headache. He looked at me holding a healing potion with the definition of fanged smugness on my face, and lazily swiped at the healing potion I held in my hooves. Failing to connect, he slumped over sideways and stared at me with his head resting on the cold stable floor, grumbling “Did you really have to go and make all that noise?” I looked around me with feigned innocence and surprised shock at the accusation, and pointed a wingtip at the previously loud Pegasus that had assailed my ears with volume before I had shouted in response. “This is just another reason we shouldn’t have this crazy pony in our group to begin with. First she kills a stable, now she’s antagonizing mutants for the sake of fun!” Lightswitch angrily pointed out to Gearbox. “It wasn’t intentional, Light! Emerald here is just gonna have to play without her chemical sprayers indoors is all.” “Wasn’t intentional!? She killed an entire stable, Gearbox! Nopony is safe around her!” Well. This seems like a whole lot of drama I have absolutely no context for. I wonder how this will pan out. Oh wait! Maybe I’ll get to use my sledgehammer on somepony! Oh yeah, I have a sledgehammer by the way. Yes it’s fairly loud when I hit somepony with it, but at least I only have to hit them once. Usually. Most of the time. Okay, yes it takes a few strikes to keep somepony from getting back up, but it’s better than gunfire. Even silencers have a habit of making my ears pop with every shot. I’m not really a good shot with them either, anyway. I wonder what happened with that nurse pony. I haven’t heard her make a sound this whole time, and I don’t want to deal with ‘Emerald the Loud Mouth’ right now. Leaving the two conscious ponies to bicker about whatever it is they bicker about, I found the nurse slumped over the side of a railing. She was busy drowsily blinking and trying to figure out why she was upside down when I pulled her back up to the safety of the cold catwalk and hoofed her a healing potion. She didn’t seem as hardy as the others in the group, and I don’t honestly care that I may have broken a rib of Emerald’s either. Besides, wasn’t I technically her ‘pet’ now? After she had finished sipping about a quarter of the healing potion, she set the sparkling pink thing aside and looked at me with what I think was… something, I guess. She didn’t look hostile or upset at all, which was strange considering most ponies are out for my blood after I scream. “You really can’t talk, can you?” She asked, forgetting that my hearing is sensitive. At least it wasn’t intentional or to get on my nerves. To reply, I simply shook my head and softly tapped her muzzle with a hoof, what I call a ‘boop’. She went cross-eyed for a second, and was fairly confused as to why I had poked her nose. I shrugged, and sat next to her, looking at Lightswitch and Gearbox continue their debate about morality in the wasteland. Swift Shot (That was her name!) instead decided to study my appearance without me noticing, but not a lot gets past me when I’m not distracted or zoning out thinking about why we even measure in feet. “I don’t think that you’re a mutant. Everything about you is too specific for a mutation, let alone a lot of them all being in the same theme to begin with. Were you like this since birth?” Swift questioned out loud. With raised eyebrow, I slowly nodded at Swift and almost went back to watching the two argue when I noticed her nurse hat was askew on her head. I pointed at it, and after an awkward second of comprehension, she adjusted it and stared back at me. I guess it was pretty confusing for her. Imagine going about your normal (For the wasteland) life, and suddenly a relatively friendly flying freak decides that they’re going to agree to being your pet, even though they’re sentient and can live successfully on their own without your help. Add on top of that, the fact they can shout so loud that you either get sent across a room or your organs decide they don’t want to be as tightly knit as they used to be with the rest of the gastrointestinal gang, and liquefy. Probably about as crazy as somepony hugging a Balefire Phoenix I’d imagine, but nopony would be crazy enough to do that, right? I was brought out of my thoughts by Swift tapping the side of my head like I had become a malfunctioning toaster that she was trying to get working. I looked at her with a squeak of ‘Ow’ and booped her nose in revenge, which made her more confused. “She’s a monster, and a threat to the entire wasteland! Who knows what kind of ponies we’re going to have to fend off when she gets a bounty on her head!” Lightswitch yelled at Gearbox. These two were still arguing? Ponies die in the wasteland all the time, from everything to raider attacks, starving to death, Taint exposure (Nasty stuff, taint is. I’ve heard it described as a rainbow sludge that decides you’d look a whole lot better as a meat explosion or worse, depending on its mood.) Radiation poisoning, slavery, rape, torture, and somepony not liking the way you looked at them or talk even. Don’t even get me started on mutants, Alicorns, or Batponies. Those are the worst. I mean they can’t even speak to anypony and all they do is squeak! Can’t hold a conversation for more than five minutes and always need to make everything neat and tidy. “Are you alright? You seem to space out a lot.” I heard Swift say next to me. I definitely didn’t get startled and jump to my hooves. “See, that’s what I mean. Are you sure you haven’t been hit in the head or something? You could have a concussion.” The nurse Pegasus worried. I thought a concussion made you dizzy and vomit a lot? I’m pretty sure I’ve slept recently too, and I don’t think you’re supposed to do that after you get hit in the head. “Helloooo…” The nurse was waving a hoof from side to side in front of my eyes now. Do I really zone out that much? On the other hoof, I suppose I’d lose my mind if I was completely attentive to every little noise and scratch that was happening around me, not to mention hearing heartbeats and breathing and the skitter scutter of bugs crawling around and leaky pipes and venting gasses further down the stable and— “AAAAAH!” Well, more like ‘Squeak!’ but just assume whenever I talk, it’s a series of squeaking noises that roughly sound like the words they’re supposed to be in the first place. Anyways, I was now covering my ears while on the floor, keeping my eyes shut and trying to zone out again before I went nuts from all the sounds. It’s not really as effective as it sounds though, it just muffles everything a tiny bit. While I was busy hyperventilating and trying to contain my panic on the ground, Emerald let out a pained groan and peeled herself off of the catwalk railing and slammed into the floor. I’m pretty sure I heard the grinding of bone, and the nurse took off with my healing potion after casting a baffled glance at me. Lightswitch and Gearbox had stopped arguing, and split up in a huff. Lightswitch trotting over to me, Gearbox moving towards Swift Shot and Emerald. Opening my eyes, I actually remembered I haven’t described her to you yet. She had a lemonade coat, white and orange mane and eyes colored like beach sand. Her cutie mark looked to be a flash of light, so I guess that means she’s good at… light? I mean her name is Lightswitch, so that’s a given. Oh, she’s also a Unicorn, in case I didn’t mention that. Maybe she’s good at making electrical lighting, like an electrician! That’d be neat to have with my dream house. I could have a generator for all the lightning and… wait. I’m a Batpony. Why would I want lighting anyway? More often than not it just hurts my eyes. Then I realized that she is probably looking at me on the ground, rolling my head around in thought with my eyes dancing back and forth between sentences like an insane pony. I chanced a glance upwards. Yep. She thinks I’m crazy. “Come to think of it, I think you might be the more dangerous one between Emerald and yourself.” She said with a smirk, staring down at me while I was on the floor. “What’s your name, anyway? It’s not Merry Stew, is it?” What the hay kind of name is Merry Stew? I looked at my cutie mark, and pointed to the sun on it, then pointed downwards with a hoof. “Sun…Down?” She guessed, looking at me for confirmation. Wow, somepony actually got it on the first try! She must be a pretty smart pony compared to most I deal with, even if I’m not the brightest myself. Oh, I should probably respond to her so she stops looking at me like that. I nodded my head when she repeated ‘Sundown?’ again. “I’m Lightswitch, in case you didn’t hear during our little disagreement over there. Nice to meet you.” Then she did something crazy. She extended one of her forehooves out at me, just holding it in the air and pointed flat at me. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and slightly open mouth, questioning her sanity with my expression. At least I hoped it looked like that. “Um… it’s a hoofshake? Like when you meet somepony new and want to assure them you’re a friend?” The lemonade unicorn looked at me like I was the crazy pony here. How is holding your hoof out supposed to make somepony like you? It just looks like they’re pointing at your chest with their hoof. I held a hoof on the same side that she did, and pointed at her chest with it. She just looked down at my hoof, and then back at me before covering her face in that same hoof she had pointed at me. “I’m not pointing at you. You’re supposed to shake my hoof with your hoof.” She grumbled at me through a covered face, looking at me like I was the idiot here. How is shaking somepony’s hoof supposed to do anything but make it so you can’t use all your hooves if they decide to attack you? They could also pull on your hoof and slam you into the ground! It’s just asking for trouble to let someone grab a hold of your hoof in any situation. I know a much better way to make friends than trying to shake their hoof. Food! So, with this in mind, I completely ignored her protests and began digging through my saddlebags for some Sugar Apple Bombs that I keep on me. (More because other ponies really like them than me needing them. I don’t need sugar in my system, I’m on edge enough as it is.) Holding the two hundred year old sugar supplement in my hooves, I offered it to Lightswitch, who looked just as confused as I assumed I had when she tried to shake my hoof. Her look wasn’t changing fast enough, so I took out my writing tools and wrote: Food = Friend Grabbing = Scary “You’re scared of shaking my hoof? How have you even survived in the wasteland if you’re scared of a hoofshake!” she asked nopony in particular, spinning around and trotting to her friends. “Gearbox. She’s afraid of a hoofshake! A hoofshake! She acts like she hasn’t seen another pony in her life, or how to properly interact with them. I can’t fathom how she’s survived this long without anypony else. We barely make it day to day in our group, let alone with a psychopath that you insist on keeping with us.” Yikes. They barely survive? They either don’t know how to stay quiet, which is a given at this point I think, or they don’t know how to scavenge properly. Speaking of that, if everypony in the stable is dead, why aren’t they looting them? Seeking to remedy this affront to all things salvageable, I made my way past the two arguing ponies to loot what remained of the stable before a hoof grabbed my hind leg and made me jump. “Hold up, sensitive. You won’t survive down there, too much gas.” grumbled Emerald, the stable murdering Pegasus with way too concerned friends. Well if there’s a lot of gas, then I’ll just have to wear a gas mask, wont I? While looking through my saddlebags, a hoof tapped my head and I looked up to find Gearbox with a grim expression standing over me. “She doesn’t mean any normal kind of gas. She has her own special mixture that eats at your skin and makes you fuse to things if you don’t melt outright. A gasmask won’t help. It’ll more than likely just melt onto your face than anything beneficial.” Oh. Well that explains why they weren’t looting then. Why did I just get myself stuck with the crazy ponies that don’t scavenge, insist on having raiders in their group, and like to be grabby? I decided to wait patiently for the group to gather themselves, making sure my sledgehammer wasn’t in danger of falling apart on a swing when I needed it, and that I was wearing all of my ‘definitely not a Pegasus or a mutant’ outfit. “I think that the only weapon you’d need is a megaphone, what with that voice of yours. What’s with the sledgehammer?” asked Emerald after getting her ribs set and healed by Swift. I pointed to the engraving I had done on my sledge hammer. The handle said ‘Swingy’ and the hammering part said ‘Smashy’. Emerald didn’t seem impressed, and sat down next to me. “You don’t look that tough. How’d you manage to survive in the wastes? You look like a strong breeze could knock you down for the count, even If you can swing that thing with any skill.” She pointed at my sledgehammer while giving me a light shove, making me rock sideways a bit. I’ll admit, I’m not the hardiest pony. I can take a few hits but I prefer to scream at somepony and get out rather than fight them to the death. Besides, that just causes problems for whoever lives because you either get called a raider or run out of towns, or get a massive bounty on your head cause you killed somepony’s mare or buckfriend. I’d rather be quick and deadly than slow and shot to pieces because I thought I was a one pony army. Besides, I don’t want the added effort of shadow flashing my way around a fight and being weighed down by a metric buckton of armor or weapons either. It’s just that much more taxing to do. Oh right, Shadow Flashing. It’s like what a unicorn can do when they teleport, except I do it between shadows, and a lot easier than a unicorn can. I try not to do it a lot, because it makes me feel cold afterwards. I might like Luna, but I don’t want to be actually on the moon with her just to hang out. She’s staring at me. Did I do something wrong? Oh I know! I didn’t answer her again. I know she can’t understand me, but I decided to answer her anyway just to annoy her with my squeaking. “I sneak. If I can’t sneak, then I run. If I can’t run, then I smash. If I can’t smash, then I teleport. If I can’t teleport, then I squeak. If I can’t squeak, then I cry. If I can’t do that, then I’m really screwed!” I replied as a barrage of squeaks. Yes my normal speaking voice is that quiet. The reason everypony else’s speech is bolded is because it’s that Loud to my ears, and I don’t want to repeat myself in saying how loud everypony is all the time. “Never mind, squeaky toy. Forget I asked anything.” Emerald said, trying to cover her ears while cantering away. It was actually pretty funny seeing her try to keep her balance when also trying to cover her ears. She probably could’ve used her wings, but I think my squeaking was making it hard for her to think. The group was trying to be quiet to talk amongst themselves, but I could still hear them just fine despite the distance of about forty hooves. (Take that, science!) They were discussing if ‘we are seriously considering taking that mutant with us. Yeah I don’t look like most ponies, but come on Gearbox, I don’t eat foals for Celestia’s sake. I’ve only got slightly reflective eyes with a pupil that looks like a double pointed wooden spear, batwings, fangs and a really squeaky voice that can melt faces. At least I don’t kill stables. I also tried to give Lightswitch some food after she did her weird hoof grabby thing and was civil with a pony that had tried to burst my eardrums with her volume! I’m a pretty chill pony.’ Well, those were the highlights of the conversation they were having. Most of them in favor of my staying while I walked around taking great interest in the staircase leading out of the stable entrance enclosure. Taking a seat on the steps, I decided to focus on things outside of the little cubby hole we were in to see if anything was waiting around for us to emerge into the moonlight. Wait, when did I sleep last? I know I was going to sleep when those raiders bugged me, then I dodged some slavers, and I ran into this group. How long ago was that? A day? Huh… I should probably keep track of these things. Have I eaten anything since then? I don’t remember if I did. Oop, I hear a noise! Some clinking and clanking, hoofsteps, grumbling and mumbling and... Caravan! Wait, last time I thought it was a caravan it was actually slavers. I should probably tell the group that there’s a bunch of slavers wandering around outside. Getting up from my spot and cantering back down to the stable area, I poked my head around and found a distinct lack of anypony. Well, they didn’t go down into the stable, because they said there was a bunch of gas that killed everypony. Maybe they left without me? Hmm… That’s possible but kinda rude. Maybe one of them ran off and they had to chase them. Then they’d probably run out the other way that’s here, run across the street and run right into- BRRRRRRRT!! Ow! My ears! Ka-tink, FWOOOOSH Wait. Fwoosh? Fwoosh means big BOOM!! Augh! Why with the shootings and the explosions and the -- EEP! I had turned over on my side to see a towering monstrosity of metal looming over me, pony shaped with metal plating and spikes running down its head where the mane should be, with more bladed things where a tail should- “Speak or be destroyed, civilian.” The monster boomed at me with its already obnoxiously loud voice being amplified by the armor it was in. Chapter 3: Steel StridersChapter 3: Steel Striders “You’re so loud!” I squeaked in terror back at the giant thing. I doubt he’d understand me but he did say speak. And I assume it was a he based off of the booming voice and the fact that everypony else seemed to be calling it a ‘Paladin Copper Wire’. Wait, was that his name? A pony! “Hah, too frightened to respond. Scribe Hay Hen, take this one to the entrance of Stable 96. We will gather the other stable dwellers there as well. Report when the entrance is secure.” Paladin Copper Wire began barking out orders, but I get the sense I wasn’t supposed to hear those since they sounded like they were echoing inside of his armor. I covered my ears to try and save them from the onslaught of his battle saddle’s dual minigun setup as I was dragged away from the fighting by who I assume was Scribe Hay Hen. I didn’t really resist or try to get away like I probably should have, given the circumstances. I was too busy trying to not having permanent hearing loss and keeping everything on my person from slipping off and revealing how much of a ‘not a mutant’ I was to the armored monoliths that were now surrounding me. I was finally set down in the entrance of the vault, about four more of those giants in metal were there, with ten more lighter armed ponies carrying what looked like fancy boxes with triggers somewhere I couldn’t really see. Two of them, scribes I’m guessing based off of how they were responding to the orders of the paladins, pointed their fancy boxes at my face while my hooves were tied together and I was left sitting awkwardly on the floor with a guard rail as my back rest. Roughly ten minutes and a lot of loud noises that I couldn’t stop myself from wincing later, I saw Gearbox, Lightswitch, Swift Shot and Emerald being dragged back by as many Paladins to the Stable entrance and plopped next to me. I was going to give them a smile before I remembered that my fangs would give me away, so I settled with a small squeak when Gearbox looked at me like I had done something wrong. “Steel Rangers! You’re with the Steel Rangers and you set us up for an ambush, didn’t you?!” Gearbox accused directly into my ear, making me fall over trying to scramble away from the volume of his assault. What the hay is a Steel Ranger, anyway? Why did they think I set them up? Was it because I left while they were talking about me, or that I was already here when they came back? I was tied up! How was I with these Steel Rangers if I was in the same spot they were in? “Gearbox, calm down. She’s tied up too. I doubt they would hogtie an informant of theirs.” Lightswitch tried to reassure Gearbox, who was still glaring daggers at me. I tried to glare back at him, but my tinted goggles only made my look like I was baring my fangs at him like an angry bloatsprite. “What the hell? Does that one have fangs?” Oh no! I once again too quickly shut my mouth, causing my fangs to dig into my lip and make me squeak in pain while the scribe that had seen my fangs galloped off to find a Paladin. Now I was royally screwed. There’s no way that even the average wastelander can look past fangs, let alone these types in their super armor with a ton of weaponry won’t immediately think I’m some mutant out to drink their blood. I still don’t know why these four next to me didn’t shoot me on sight the moment they saw me, but now I was definitely dead. The scribe later returned with who I assume was Paladin Copper Wire and Scribe Hay Hen. “Waster, Scribe Steady Trot accuses you of being mutated by the wastelands. What say you?” Paladin Copper Wire said, looming over me with a few more scribes ready to blast me with their boxes that shot light. Oh no, oh no, ohno-no-no-no-no-nononono I don’t want to die! They look like they’re going to kill me! What do I do?! I took a peek up at them, and there was more than enough firepower aimed at my head to turn me into a Balefire crater. So I did the only thing I could do in a situation like this. I flopped over on my side, trying to wiggle away and out of my bindings while crying my eyes out in sheer terror at my imminent and painful death. “Don’t hurt her! She’s a Batpony! Goddess Luna smite you if you touch her!” Nurse Swift Shot blurted out, sealing my fate for all eternity as the most unlucky of Bat ponies in existence. I balled myself up as best I could, slamming my eyes shut and waited for my painful death. Then nothing happened. I thought that maybe they were messing with me, so I tried to make myself even smaller before I noticed my goggles were being pulled at. I tried to stop whoever was pulling at them, but my hooves were bound and my wiggling was put to a stop by a very heavy and cold metal hoof stepping on my wings, to which I squeaked out again in pain because he was pressing on me like they weren’t supposed to be there. The goggles finally came off with small streaks of my panicked tears, and I blinked them away to clear my vision as the Scribes set about taking off all of my equipment. Normally this would make me feel exposed and in even greater danger, but considering that I was dead anyway, I resigned myself to a shaky tremble and squeaky sobbing, the thought of them tearing my wings off crossing my mind not more than a few times as the Tunic finally slipped off past my roped hooves. “Waster, Speak now. Are these changes a result of mutation, Taint or Killing Joke? I would not think you would be Enclave as they have a tendency to not like mutation or transformation magic to begin with.” Paladin Copper Wire said, his tone less menacing and more of curiosity. I tried my best to speak, honestly. But you know my voice, it only comes out as squeaks no matter what I do. “She can’t talk normally. Her voice is too high pitched for us to hear. Leave her alone!” Lightswitch growled at the Steel Ranger, before a scribe gagged her with some hoof kerchief on the spot. “Paladin Copper Wire, I have a suggestion.” Scribe Hay Hen offered. “Go ahead, Hay Hen.” “If she really is a Batpony, and her voice is too high to speak, we can modify a radio set to alter the frequencies so she should be barely within our hearing range. I’d have to patch it in through your helmet, and everypony else’s conversations would be too low for you to hear, so you’ll be effectively deaf while speaking with the waster.” The Scribe explained. “Make it so, Scribe Hay Hen. Set a time for one minute so I can remain updated on our status exploring the stable.” After I had somewhat gathered myself and it didn’t look like I was immediately going to be turned into an ash stain on the floor in my immediate future, I was hoofed a radio to speak into to talk with Paladin Copper Wire. “Waster, State your purpose here.” The Paladin demanded. “Oh, your voice isn’t loud! If you’re not going to kill me, can you thank the scribe for not making your voice so head splittingly deafening?” I almost hugged the radio, but I figured that would get me shot for trying to mate with equipment or something from these ponies perspective. “Loud? I was speaking to you normally.” I assume he was giving me an annoyed glare, but with the helmet I couldn’t be sure. “Your normal is my deafeningly loud. My hearing is really sensitive, and I heard you all stomping around outside a few minutes before you all tried to bring Equestria crashing down on everypony. I thought you were slavers with all the clanking and grumbling, so I went back in here to tell these four that you were probably the slavers I had run into earlier, but they were all gone. Then a bunch of shooting started and you were standing over me.” I was trying to explain everything as fast as possible before my minute was up in an effort to not get killed by annoying the Paladin. “You heard us? Clanking and grumbling was it? And you were exactly where I found you when you heard all of this, yes?” To my surprise, he didn’t sound like he was angry at me personally, so I clarified. “I was over at the other entrance, the one on the right from here. Then I moved over to where you found me. You’re not going to kill me for looking weird, right?” I risked asking. Then my radio beeped, and his voice got to its typical loudness again. “Hmm… I think this ‘batpony’ is telling the truth. She says that she heard us coming before our skirmish and went looking for these other four, only to find them gone. I would think that if you’d kept this one close by, you could have avoided us altogether.” He said with a chuckle to the group next to me, who were all grumbling their annoyance with Gearbox. “As for the rest of you, the next time we perform a stealth mission, I don’t want to hear from one of our targets that you were quote ‘clanking and grumbling’ so loudly she heard you coming moments before we arrived!” The leader of this group of Steel Rangers scolded. Targets? Oh great. I’m still a special on the ‘death and dismemberment’ menu. Moon Goddess save me! “Yes, Paladin!” They insisted on shouting in unison. Then I remembered he had said something about exploring the stable, and I risked waving a hoof near his face to get his attention. His head swiveled in my direction, and I eagerly pointed to the radio I was holding and made talking motions, fangs be damned. “Scribe Hay Hen, another session if you would. This had better be important, Batpony.” Beep. Click. “This thing is working now, right?” I asked, and received a nod from the Paladin. “Okay, I remember the group next to me talking about how one of them had ‘killed the Stable’ with some kind of gas that makes ponies fuse to their equipment, the walls, or just outright melt. I thought you’d want to know in case you sent anypony down there. I don’t know if they were just saying that, but I figured that you wouldn’t shoot me if I helped out your group. Oh I just said that out loud, didn’t I? I’m gonna stop talking now…” I said while slowly putting down the radio from my face and trying to appear small as possible to the giant, metal clad powerhouse of a Paladin standing over me. “Did they say what color this gas was? I wouldn’t think pink cloud would be so far from Canterlot, let alone in a Stable.” He inquired. “Oh!” I fumbled and brought the radio back up to speak. “They just said that ‘It was Emerald’s special mix’ or something like that. You could ask the white and green pony over there about it, but she’s kinda mean.” I explained, then realized I was talking to a walking armory, and I doubted he would’ve cared how mean somepony was when he could just as easily turn them into fertilizer by sneezing. Beep. Click. Whelp, here goes nothing I guess. “You there, white and green Pegasus. Is your name ‘Emerald’?” Copper Wire asked Emerald, who was fidgeting around on the ground, trying to get out of her binding I think. She stopped struggling and looked up with panic, before trying to set me on fire with her eyes and responded, “Yeah, that’s me. What’s it to you?” She was going to get herself killed, speaking like that! I just hope those Steel Rangers have enough good sense to not let me get hit with the crossfire when they decide she’d look better as wallpaper. “Explain the reports of gas in the Stable we are occupying. Is this Pink Cloud?” The Paladin was now looming over Emerald instead of me, so I squeaked a sigh of relief and slinked into a corner to try and hide before any of the Rangers decided that I needed to get tied up again. They mostly seemed intent on watching Copper Wire, so I think they weren’t all that attentive. The two scribes that had pointed their weapons at me earlier were trying to get past the Stable’s console controls in the far end of the room, and others were moving supply boxes around and patching armoring for the Paladins that had received a few hits in the fighting. I don’t think it was from the four though, they didn’t seem to have any weapons on them to begin with. “Pink? Naw, my stuff is green. ‘Cause I’m Emerald, not Pink-erald. Or whatever a pink gem is.” Emerald seemed like her ego had been bruised from the way she was sniping at the Paladin. “Rhodonite?” a stallion unicorn scribe who was shifting boxes around had helpfully suggested, with a pink coat, auburn and ginger mane, and a Cutiemark that was probably a Rhodonite. “Thank you, Scribe Clear Report.” The paladin said with a groan. The scribe responded by snapping to attention with a salute, and belted out, “Yes, Paladin Copper Wire! I am glad to be of service to you in this operation and will endeavor to be of further assistance even if not directly called upon, Sir!” Then resumed lifting boxes and remaining oblivious to several hoof covered faces surrounding him. I then heard muffled grumbling from the Paladin’s armor that sounded roughly like ‘That unicorn is going to be the death of us all.’ Abruptly clearing his throat for effect, he returned his attentions to Emerald who was sneering at him from the floor. “So, this gas of yours. How long until it dissipates? Can it be removed by water spray? Exactly how long of an exposure until it is lethal? Does it attack just flesh or does it affect materials as well? Is there any kind of protection against it?” he interrogated, moving closer to Emerald with every question until they were face to armored helmet from each other. “Get out of my face, tin can!” She shouted, ears flattened backwards in annoyance while she struggled more with the ropes. Then I saw Scribe Clear Report’s ears perk up on hearing ‘tin can’ and he raised a hoof to point out something before he was tackled by several more Scribes nearby and gagged before he could speak. At this point, I was busy trying to navigate myself away from the small army of heavily armed and armored ponies so I wouldn’t get killed when the metaphorical fan was hit with the fecal matter that was bound to come flying out of this situation. “I don’t usually stick around long enough to nerd out about it, Tinny. All I know is that it does its job good enough that I don’t have to worry about ponies coming back to kill me, and I know for sure that anypony down in that Stable is toast!” she grimaced, before looking away with a pained expression. Copper Wire stood still for a moment, before turning to a group of scribes and ordered them to find the box with sealed environmental suits before looking to where I used to be. “What the- Who was watching the Batpony!?” he shouted in anger to nopony in particular. From the way every Steel Ranger in the area froze and looked at him, then between themselves in confusion, my guess is that they all had assumed somepony else was watching me at went off to do their own thing. Scribe Clear Report was squirming on the ground, muffling his words through the hoof kerchief in his mouth. The Paladin moved over, and had the scribes remove the gag. When a bulky earth pony that had been sitting on him got off, he bolted upright to attention with a salute, and again belted out, “Paladin Copper Wire, I saw the Batpony target sneak away while your attention was focused on the Pegasus. I saw fit to inform you before I was silenced by my ‘comrades’, Sir.” The glare he gave spoke volumes of annoyance that should’ve been recorded by somepony in the room, considering they were mostly scribes, while ponies tried to shrink out of sight of the Paladin. Copper Wire stomped a hoof on the ground, causing a loud clanging noise of powered metal against catwalk that had me squeak in pain from the ventilation system I was attempting to crawl through. Yes I can fit in a ventilation system! I’m flexible, but don’t get any ideas! “There, in the ventilation ducts!” a pony near me had shouted. Oh crap, now they’re going to turn ME into ventilation! Sure enough, I heard a lot of clicking and electrical noises that sounded like their magic laser rifles being loaded and pointed at my general area. “Batpony, Get out of the vent or we will be forced to remove you from it. You have ten seconds to climb out before we open fire.” Copper Wire mandated. Oh no, don’t panic! Don’t panic! I can do this! I looked down the length of the vent, and realized that it would take me a whole minute of frantic movement to reach the end, and now there was no way I had time enough to move out the way I had come to get into the vent. I decided to look down at the vent next to me, cover my ears, and Screech as loud as I possibly could into the metal. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” But to the ponies in the room, I assume it sounded more like an ear splitting banshee’s wail being repeated by the metal vibrating so fiercely that it buckled from under me as I started falling to the floor from the shattered fragments scattering away. I fell down in what seemed like slow motion as I saw ponies crumple to the floor holding their ears and writhing on the ground, trying to save themselves from the sheer volume while the Paladins had swayed slightly and began shooting where I had been moments before. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT Zap! Zap-Za-Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTT The vent I had remained in had been cut from the ceiling, falling on top of me but not crushing me as I had made a perfect hole for my body with my screaming, so I instead compressed myself as small as I could to avoid stray weapons fire and general death zooming all over the place. “-ase fire, cease fire now! I SAID HOLD YOUR FIRE!” Paladin Copper Wire bellowed out, trying to drown out the cacophony of weapons fire with his amplified voice. Eventually, shell casings and the sound of magic rifles powering down filled the room, amidst groaning and complaining about ringing in the ears. Soon afterwards, I heard creaking as the vent was lifted off of me to stare up at Paladin Copper Wire, his weapons not glowing hot like the other Paladin’s had been, as he stared at me through that metal helmet of his. To say I was shivering and trying to disappear into the floor would’ve been an understatement as to how badly I did not want to be the center of so much firepower’s attention. The Paladin then finished with a shove of the vent, it clanging behind me and rolling a bit on the backs of some shell casings before banging into somepony’s hoof, who then yelped in pain. He pointed at a scribe nearby, “Scribe, Radio now.” Before looking back down at me. The scribe hurriedly floated a radio over to me, and I heard a click and beep. “Explain yourself immediately.” He stated without hesitation. “W-w-Weapons! Death bad! Aaah!” was the only thing I could get out before I was reduced to a sobbing wreck on the floor, trying to crawl into the vent again but being held in the air by a few scribes joining forces to levitate me with their cheating unicorn powers. They floated me around to be eye to eye with Copper Wire. “Try again. Explain yourself slowly.” Copper Wire stated calmly. After a moment of trying to regain myself and not freak out, the radio gave a beep and a click, then was resumed by Scribe Hay Hen a moment later. “I… I just don’t want to die because of those idiots over there yelling at you! You’re all a walking armory and they just keep saying stupid shit that’s going to get me killed!” I said between sputters of tears and sobs to the unflinching behemoth before me. “You are not allied with those four over there?” He asked flatly. “N-no?” Then I realised I probably just got myself killed with that, and blurted out “Please don’t kill me! You’re a nice pony and I don’t want to die! I won’t scream again I promifff” He had stuck an armored hoof in my mouth! Copper Wire stared at me for several moments before the radio clicked and beeped again, then turned to the four that had somehow not caught a stray beam nor bullet that whole time, but were staring daggers at me. “Release the batpony, but keep her guarded this time.” He called over his shoulder, a bit of annoyance in his voice. I was dumped unceremoniously to the ground, and had my hooves tied to one another, then some rope tied my wings to the ropes tying my hooves, as I sat there looking like a ball of rope with a Batpony head sticking out. “Yes, Paladin Copper Wire! I will keep her guarded to-“ Clear Report had managed to get out before getting cut off with several ‘Shut the buck up!’s from nearby Scribes and even another Paladin. Copper Wire paused for a moment, before looking down and speaking to Gearbox. “Is this Batpony a member of your party?” he asked plainly. “Not on my life, she aint!” Gearbox angrily retorted. Then Copper Wire moved to the next in line, Lightswitch. “Do you care about the life of this Batpony?” he pressed. “I’ve only known her for less than an hour before you brutes showed up!” She scoffed He moved to the next, Emerald. “Would you care if this pony was killed in front of you?” he said a bit too happily, as my hopes sank through the floor at making this out alive. “She doesn’t talk, but she isn’t that bad! Leave her alone, she doesn’t deserve you toasters killing her just for being who she is!” Emerald yelled at Copper, before giving me a curious glance and returning to glare at the paladin. “Hmm.” He said, apparently disinterested. Then he moved to the last, Swift Shot. “That uniform. It is Enclave, is it not?” he said, a note of detachment in his voice. “I wouldn’t know anything about any Enclave, Ranger.” Swift stated with a poker face. “Is that so? Then you wouldn’t mind removing that uniform to look at your cutie mark, would you?” Cutie mark? What does that have to do with the ‘Enclave’? For that matter, what the hay is the Enclave anyway? Aren’t they those Pegasai that left before the war so we’d all be stuck down here with no sun? “Don’t you touch me, Ranger!” she blurted, losing her composure. “Name, Rank and Serial Number.” Copper Wire ordered. Swift muttered under her breath, before looking right into his face and spitting on his mask. “Alright then. I’ll just have to take it out on the Batpony to get answers then.” He menaced before turning about to move straight at me. I would’ve done something like panic, but I wasn’t even able to twitch a muscle, let alone move. Screaming would just get me killed anyway, so I was royally screwed now. “Don’t you touch her!” Emerald and Swift Shot shouted in unison, before looking in surprise at each other, then doing their best to bore holes in Copper Wire’s armor from behind. “Something you’d like to say, then?” He turned around to face Swift Shot. “Emerald Storm, Corporal, 944-312.” “Swift Shot, Corporal, 944-313.” They both stated in a tone of resignation. “You’re both Enclave then? That was unexpected. Of the same unit no doubt as well. Sign up together?” “What do you care, Toaster?” Emerald growled at the paladin. “I want to know what two Pegasai, an earth pony and a unicorn are doing around a stable in a ruined city, and why it’s so important that they sent you two down here disguised (Poorly, I would add) as waste landers with suitable cover stories and unmarked as Dash-ites.” The paladin retorted. Dash-ite? “Why don’t you go breathe in some chemicals to find out? Theres plenty down there just waiting for you, Paladin.” Emerald sneered. “Oh, well I’d much rather send somepony expendable, like this Batpony here. It’s too bad we hadn’t planned for any Bat ponies in our mission, or we would’ve brought some wing coverings for her. She’ll just have to… Wing it, I guess.” He said without any mirth whatsoever. This is all because I said he was ‘nice’ isn’t it? He just went full comic book villain the moment I said that too. Are you enjoying this, Celestia? I bet you are, you great fat ball of— Eep! Paladin Copper Wire was standing directly over me, and I hadn’t even noticed again. “Scribe, Radio.” He barked out. Beep. Click. “Don’t mind the show. I’m trying to interrogate them before I move my team deeper in the Stable and since they only reacted to your impending doom, I went with it.” Paladin Copper Wire explained. If I was physically able, I would’ve melted with relief at me not having an impending and gruesome death. “So, you’re not going to make me go into a death stable and choke to death while melting?” I said like a foal getting a present on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “No, but for now I would ask that you play along and act very distressed as soon as the radio shuts off. Otherwise even more ponies are going to die just trying to get the Stable open, let alone getting the technology inside that we’re here for in the first place. Don’t make any move that would signal agreement with me. Wait a few moments so I can radio to my fellow paladins, then scream loud, just not enough to injure any-“ Beep. Click. How long does he want me to wait? Oh I know, look of confusion followed by scared look, then I’ll wiggle around like I’m trying to escape and then- “AAAAAAAAHHHH!” I screeched less loudly than before, but just enough that it decked several scribes nearby, while some paladins moved to carry me away while putting another of the seemingly endless supply of hoof kerchiefs into my mouth. They carried me far enough away that I barely made out the cries of Emerald and Swift Shot calling after me and getting cross with Copper Wire while he did his best evil pony laugh he could muster. Later, they set me down next to a few initiates who were caught playing poker in a store room, as they were told to unbind me and make sure I didn’t leave the room. The door sliding shut with a metallic clang, I shared awkward looks with the group of scribes who were trying their best to not seem like they were staring at my outlandish-ness. “Um, Hello. I’m Initiate Card Swipe. These are Initiates Hat Trick and Cheese Wheel. Don’t ask.” Then he did the whole ‘Hoof Shake’ thing at me! Even these Steel Rangers insist on it! The wastes are mad, I tell you. He must’ve noticed my blank stare at his hoof, because he smoothly swung it up to brush back his mane, before turning around to sit down at the makeshift table of Boxes with an awkward cough. “Are you a mutant?” Cheese Wheel, I assumed from the wheel of cheese on his flank had asked, hopping around like an excited foal around me. “You look like a mutant! You got funny eyes and silly wings and oooooh, those are some pointy teeth you have Miss Mutant! How’d you get tho—aaah!?” He was pulled aside, putting a stop to his barrage of questions by Hat Trick, who gave Cheese Wheel a light smack across his face before setting him down in a chair. “Don’t mind him, He’s not all there. I’m Hat Trick, what’s your name?” The mare of the group asked. I blinked a few times, made a squeaky noise, and then realized they can’t hear me without the fancy radio. I pointed at my Cutie mark of a sunset, and pointed down with my hoof. “Um sure, there’s a seat over there if you want to sit down?” Card Swipe offered. I tried not to face hoof, then made a point of me… pointing… at the sun part of my cutie mark. “Sun?” Cheese Wheel questioned, her voice drawn out as if searching for another word. I nodded yes while pointing at her, then pointed down at the floor. The three of them looked to where I was pointing, and said in unison “Grate?” I face hoofed, fell on my haunches and let out a squeak of despair at them being so close and yet so far away. Hat Trick looked like she had a flash of inspiration, then hoofed me a black marker and a blank card. I nodded with a fanged smile at her, which had the result of her shivering for some reason, before writing Sundown the Batpony on the card. When I showed it to them, they let out a resounding “Ooooohhhh.” The door then abruptly wooshed open, two paladins looking in to see me holding a card in between my fangs with a surprised and wide eyed look at them when I whipped around. “Sundown the batpony… got it.” Then they slammed the door shut with a click this time. “Uh, what do you think that was about?” Cheese asked. “Maybe they didn’t get her name before they sent her down here?” Card Swipe speculated. I shrugged and set the card down on the table with a squeaky ‘Bleh’, and took a corner to take a nap in. Then I noticed I hadn’t eaten or used the filly’s room in about a day, and squirmed as I both held my stomach and did my best to do the ‘Potty Dance’ to express my needs. After a few moments of confusion at my spasmodic display, it finally clicked and they tried opening the door to get out. “Aw great. They locked the door!” Hat Trick complained. “Well, we’ll just have to get it open, now wont we!” Card Swipe grinned, spreading ear to ear as he rubbed his hooves together with glee. Chapter 4: Rangers and ReprimandsChapter 4: Rangers and Reprimands Now that there is a break in the action, and having nothing better to do than hold my bladder, I’m going to describe the three Initiates with me that have, for whatever reason, decided to help me use the filly’s room. Card Swipe, an earth pony stallion with a dark blue coat, green eyes and a lime mane was busy using said cards to try and… do something with the bolt catch on the side of the door through a crack. Cheese Wheel, a unicorn stallion with cheddar coat, Swiss mane and sand colored eyes was hopping around the room, looking for a container or a bucket in case of worst emergency, and something to cover up the smell of the container if I was forced to use it. Hat Trick, a unicorn mare with white coat, light pink and silver hair and even pinker eyes was trying to yell her way through the door for somepony to unlock it and let us out. It wasn’t helping my ears, but I was too busy making faces that looked like I was going to explode to really care about the volume while all this was going on. I guess in hindsight, it doesn’t really matter if they were friends, so long as they didn’t want to be locked in a room with the smell of my waste stinking up the place. That was good enough for me, because I didn’t want that either. Cheese Wheel had come up empty in his search, and had resorted to banging on the door like a pony possessed, along with Hat Trick joining in and yelling as well. Soon enough, the door wooshed upwards and the three fell over on their faces as I bolted up and over the card ‘table’ made of boxes and hugged the face of the Paladin that had responded to the ruckus we were causing. “Bathroom, where!? Now!” I unintelligibly squeaked into his face, before he flicked me off and I flew over the heads of the three initiates helping me. “Initiates, explain yourselves immediately!” The decidedly not Paladin Copper Wire demanded. “P-Paladin Overwatch!” The three stammered, and stood at attention. “Out with it, Initiates.” He really didn’t seem to be in the mood for this. “We were attempting to open the door for Sundown the Batpony, and then we couldn’t get it open and we were getting worried tha-“ Cheese Wheel blurted out, before being interrupted by Paladin Overwatch. “Sundown, the… Batpony?” He inquired. All three of them motioned with their heads at me, crumpled in the corner with a box of Abronco cleaner on my head. “Right… This is one of the targets that Paladin Copper Wire spoke of, yes?” his tone had dropped down to a mellower one upon seeing me, as his attention returned to the Initiates. “Yes, Paladin Overwatch! She signaled a great need for the head, sir!” Initiate Hat Trick reported. Cheese Wheel snickered, and was smacked hastily by Card Swipe. “Why are the four of you in this supply closet, anyway?” The three looked amongst themselves, then glanced back at me before facing the Paladin. “Guard Duty?” “Prisoner Escort.” “Card Games!” Cheese Wheel finished, receiving glares from the other two initiates. The Paladin stood there unmoving, I imagined he was blinking the disbelief off of his face before moving to the side and pointing down a hallway. “Escort the prisoner to the restroom, then report back here on the double, Initiates.” He ordered in a slight daze, before moving on to what he was doing before being interrupted. “Whew!” The initiates let loose as they almost fell to the floor in relief. Then Paladin Overwatch popped his head back through the doorway. “When we get back, you all have toilet scrubbing duty for a week.” And then vanished once more. “Damnit!” Hat Trick burst out, before covering her mouth. They spent a few moments checking the hallway to make sure that Paladin Overwatch wasn’t lying in wait, and ushered me through the hall down to the restrooms that were thankfully unguarded. The initiates decided that this was the perfect time to practice their ‘Breach and Clear’ training, and flooded into the lavatory with charged magic beam pistols and whooping from Cheese Wheel. A few moments (And weapons fire) later, they emerged from the room proclaiming a victory over a Radroach that had hidden underneath a trashcan. Finally being cleared to use the restroom, I flew past the three of them and slammed a door shut, hurting my ears but not even caring as I sat down to relieve myself in the surprisingly clean Stable restroom. This thing has been sitting around, unused for over two hundred years and it doesn’t look the least bit degraded! Oh wait, right. They said they had just killed the stable, so this was probably getting cleaned by some janitor pony just yesterday. At least they did a good job! As I sat on my porcelain throne contemplating the irony of life, I overheard the three Initiates standing guard and gossiping outside of the room. “Do you think they’re gonna offer her to join the Steel Rangers?” Cheese Wheel said, their voices noticeably less loud through the door, but I could still hear their whispers. “Her? She’s a mutant! I don’t even think batponies exist, she’s probably just a really weird Pegasus!” Card Swipe responded. “Well she’s still cool! Yeah her voice is squeaky and she re-arranged all of our cards into a wall around a box for some reason, but she’s not as bad as Combat Knife!” Cheese Wheel argued. “Oh, by the goddesses don’t even get me started on Combat Knife. He’s such a loser!” Hat Trick’s voice then got substantially more uptight and nasal before she continued. “I’d like to use my combat knife on the troll for three damage!” Then she finished with a snort. The three then giggled before making more jokes at the expense of Combat Knife. “Oh, that’s absolutely right, that’s a good point there, ah huh.” Continued Card Swipe, nasal impersonation included. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Then a series of slurping noises sounded along with more giggling. “There we go, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my waaaaaater. HONK.” Before the three hit the floor laughing. “Hello there, my Initiate friends!” A metallic and nasally voice called out to them, causing them to freeze and shuffle upright as fast as equinely possible. “Greetings, Paladin Combat Knife.” The three responded. “Ish your patrol going well, I hope?” ended with a sniffle heard through the door. “Yes, Paladin Combat Knife.” Hat Trick responded curtly. “Excellent. Are you three still up for Raiders and Caravans tomorrow?” The Paladin asked, hope laced through his voice. The three Initiates stammered before speaking at the same time. “Uh, um. Weapons diagnostics training!” “Radio Calibrations and retrofitting!” “Armor Maintenance and cleaning!” “Very busy!” “Toilet Scrubbing Duty!” “Very sorry, Paladin. Perhaps next time?” Card Swipe hurriedly finished, all of them stopped their parade of excuses not to attend. “Naw, well that’s a shame then. Maybe next week?” Paladin Combat Knife replied, a bit deflated. “Of course, Paladin!” they said in unison once more. “Carry on then, Initiates.” Combat Knife then continued down the hall, his hoof steps clanging almost sadly on the catwalk. Waiting a few moments, of what I imagine them to be peering down the hallway, the three burst into laughter once more after keeping a straight face through their encounter with the nerdiest Paladin I had ever heard in my life. “Oh Goddesses I almost lost it!” cried Card Swipe. “Raider’s and Caravans!” agreed Hat Trick. “I can’t believe I said ‘Weapons Diagnostics!” finished Cheese Wheel, before I finished my business and opened the door to find them rolling around on the floor, wiping tears from their eyes. They all looked up at me with misty eyes, before standing up and putting on the best serious face they could manage, before it all fell apart after a short silence of them looking at each other trying to eat the grins on their lips and bursting into laughter once more. I gave them a signal for them to give me a card to write on after they had regained their composure, and wrote a short message on the card before flicking it back to them. Hat Trick lifted it with her magic for all of them to read, and they looked up at me for a quick moment before laughing all over again. “Waaaaaater! Pffft, hahahaa!” Cheese Wheel giggled while using Hat Trick as support. “Oh, by Celestia’s Beard I wasn’t expecting that from you of all ponies, Sundown!” Hat Trick chuckled while trying to keep Cheese Wheel from falling over. After a few moments, something dawned on them and Card Swipe asked after confirming with his Initiate friends. “Wait, Sundown. Did you hear us through a double reinforced bulkhead door? There’s no way you’d know about that joke because we were whispering…” I motioned to get another card to write on, and showed them my message: I have really sensitive ears. Right now you’re all at shouting volume just speaking normally to me. Please don’t yell to test it, I can scream louder and neither of us want that. Ask Paladin Copper Wire if you don’t believe me. It looked more like: Hearing Good, Voices Loud, Ask Copper Wire. On the other side of the blank card, I wrote: I’d love to join the Rangers with you three. After they had collectively finished reading my scribbles, they looked amongst themselves then back to me with a few worried expressions. “You heard us talking didn’t you?” Card Swipe worried. I nodded that I had heard everything they’d said, and he immediately apologized for calling me a mutant. “I still don’t think you’re a ‘Batpony’ though.” Card Swipe finished. Hat Trick turned her head sideways before her horn glowed as she looked me up and down. Should I feel weird about this? “Wow. That’s really interesting.” She muttered, before continuing. “The only mutation I’m seeing is in her ears, otherwise she doesn’t have anything foreign in her body. Not that I’ve ever seen a Batpony before, but most of this checks out as Equine, aside from the vocal chords just being completely alien to me.” Hat Trick then finished her clinical evaluation with her horn going dim. Well at least they didn’t have to slice me open for that, I guess. “How would we even go about getting her recruited though? I don’t even know what Role she would fill.” Card Swipe asked the group. “Isn’t it obvious?” Cheese Wheel asked, and then explained when we all looked at him. “Forward Scout duty! Her hearing is phenomenal, and they don’t get into heavy combat either!” The other two Initiates actually look dumbfounded that Cheese Wheel had made such a brilliant observation, and I gave my approval by booping him on the nose and smiling. “Weird poking aside, she can fly! At least I think she should be able to with those freaky wings she has.” Cheese Wheel finished. “They’re not freaky…” I said with a pout on my face. Well, squeaked. “Aw, you made her sad, Cheese!” Hat Trick scolded, while moving to my side and giving me a hug. “Don’t you worry about him, we’ll find Paladin Copper Wire and vouch for you! You’re a neat pony, Sundown.” Card Swipe said with cheer, while looking around to get his bearings on where the Paladin actually was now that some time had passed. Moving as a unit and taking up the whole hallway with the four of us being side to side, with me in the middle squeezed between Cheese Wheel and Hat Trick, we made our way to the Stable entrance where I had last seen Paladin Copper Wire. Upon arriving, we noticed the distinct lack of anypony being there, and a couple shredded crates and bloodstains. Wait, bloodstains? Shredded crates? Uh oh. “What on the moon happened here? Where’s the Paladins!?” Card Swipe began to panic, before being patted on the back by Cheese Wheel. “Don’t worry about it Swipey, We’ll find ‘em!” Cheese Wheel assured. “Hey Sundown, can you use those ears of yours to hear anything? Listen for clanking, whirring, or weapons fire if you can. I can’t hear squat.” Hat Trick suggested. Sure, why not. I only almost lost my mind last time I focused on it. I nodded, closed my eyes and started to swivel my ears around like two radar dishes. Creaking…hissing from pipes…somepony talking with some spooky voice thing… Gunfire! My eyes popped open suddenly, startling the Initiates before I pointed a hoof in the general direction of the gunfire. They all shared a look, shrugged, gathered some ammo and we set off to go find out what all the commotion was about. As we all left, I noticed an intact notepad with a sharpened pencil just lying next to a pool of blood, so I happily nabbed it. A few minutes of exploration later, passing a few bodies of Scribes and shell casings, we came to a large chamber with a whole lot more bodies all wearing numbered jumpsuits sprawled out on the floor, their flesh bubbled and festering like an infection where it met with other ponies’ meaty bits. It was difficult to not step in the gore, so I instead used my wings to hover over the nastiness, getting a few “Aww, lucky!” remarks from the Initiates who had to slog through the devastation. “Well, these must’ve been the Stable dwellers. They all got ‘96’ on their flanks where a cutie mark should be because of their jumpsuits.” Card Swipe stated, sounding more official as his training over-rode his urge to gallop away from the madness. “I count at least four Scribes, a Paladin and two more initiates dead in this room alone. They aren’t fused with the Dwellers so they must’ve died later. Spread out and cover this floor. Sundown, get high as you can and listen for anything hostile.” Hat Trick ordered, becoming the leader of the group. Can do, Miss Hat Trick! I thought, giving a mock salute before zipping off towards the ceiling. The room was based around a large cylinder that took up most of the center, a lot of green plant life all throughout the tube going up through the ceiling and past the floor. Maybe it was some kind of vertical greenhouse? There were separate offices around the outskirts of the room, a stairway leading up and away and two more rooms overlooking everything. One room had a circular window overlooking the Green Tube (That’s what I’m calling it now.) with ‘Overmare’ above it. With how the bodies were arranged, it looked like some kind of speech was being given. There were only a few spots not covered by the melted flesh on the floor, mostly around the edges of the deceased crowd and next to some catwalk platform overlooking everypony. Looking around at the windows leading to the edge rooms, I noticed a few of them were cracked by what looked like bullet holes, or maybe just somepony bashing as hard as they could’ve while trying to escape. If this was the result of ‘Emerald’s special mix’ I wanted no part of being anywhere near the mare. “Do you hear anything, Sundown?” Hat Trick called out after returning to the center of the room with Card Swipe and Cheese Wheel. Oh yeah, I was supposed to be hearing, not seeing. Hovering for a bit, and ignoring the flapping of my wings, I slowly spun around the room intently listening for anything that wasn’t dead quiet. Louder hissing, no more weapons fire, no more creaking pipes either… “I got nothing. “ I said, before remembering they can’t understand me. Again. As I flew down I quickly wrote down my observations as succinctly as possible before hoofing it over to Hat Trick. “No more Creaky Pipes, No Guns, Louder hissing?” She listed off, giving me a weird look. “What do you mean by the ‘Hissing is louder’?” Cheese Wheel asked. I blinked at them, then closed my eyes while lifting a hoof up like a compass needle before slowly spinning around in my hover. At one point I stopped, then went to the list and pointed at ‘Hissing’. “Loud hissing is that way then, correct?” Hat Trick asked for clarification. I nodded in the affirmative, and she readied her Magic rifle while motioning to form up. “Alright, anypony else got any leads?” “Well, theres a whole lot of dead folks in here, no bullet wounds on any of our ponies and a whole lot of scratch marks all over the place.” Card Swipe reported. “I found a Cafeteria. Most of the food there had some strange green tinge on it and looked rotten. Most of these corpses don’t look that decayed, so they weren’t starving before whatever happened here, happened. I think they were at an assembly of some kind, but there’s spots missing where ponies should’ve joined this carpet of the damned.” Cheese Wheel stated. “Really Cheese? They’re dead. Have at least some respect for the poor souls.” Hat Trick scolded, before looking to me. “Alright then Sundown, write your findings.” She said, giving back my Notepad and pencil. Green tube in the center of this place looks like some kind of Green House. Maybe it was contaminated and didn’t make their food right? The scratchy things look like they could be some kind of animal that got loose. I don’t know how common Zoos are in a Stable, but can’t ever be too sure. I think that those missing spots could’ve been Emerald and Swift Shot’s position, because they were arguing about how Emerald had killed an entire stable. I’m assuming that this is the stable they were talking about. I finished my thoughts, and gave the notepad back to them. Yes I can be serious when the situation calls for it, nor am I a complete idiot. All the time. Mostly. Shush! “Well if it killed the whole stable, why weren’t they affected by whatever happened? I don’t see any dead pegasai in this heap, but I don’t think that they’d be immune because of some feathers on their side.” Card Swipe said in response to my findings. “Yeah, no Pegasai. Maybe it’s a chemical agent that targets specific biology?” Hat Trick offered. “I think we should move out. We aren’t gonna get the whole story just standing here talking about it.” Cheese Wheel stated, readying his weapon. Hat Trick looked up and floated the notepad back into my saddlebags. “Okay Sundown, one last check before we find out what the Hissing was.” I did my best imitation of a radar dish once more, and noticed the sound of zappy magic weapons toward the hissing sounds. My eyes popped open again as I quickly flew down and mimed somepony shooting and getting hit before pointing at the sound of the Hissing and weapons fire. “Alright, no time to lose ponies! Let’s go save who we can!” Cheese Wheel cheered, and we moved out to face whatever was going on further up in the Stable. Chapter 5: Skittish ScavengersChapter 5: Skittish Scavengers These stairs go on FOREVER. Seriously, who designed a vault in the middle of a city where the stairs… go up? Wait. If this whole thing is underground, I’m certain that the stairs should be going down, right? Stable Tec is confus-CLANG! Ooh, pretty stars. “You okay there, Sundown? You just flew into a bulkhead.” Somepony with a fuzzy voice asked, before I felt the world flying upwards and noticed that my vision was funny too. Then there was a brightly glowing light and my vision flooded into clarity. “Be more careful next time, okay?” Hat Trick patted my back, before moving with the other Initiates to breech the door I had done my best to dent with my head while flying. I took up my planned role of listening through the door to see if anything could be heard on the other side before I gave my signal. Nodding for contact, shaking for clear. Seeing my head shake, they relaxed and pushed the button that opens these thick doors before sweeping in. I peeked my head around to see what was going on in the room before joining them. It seemed to be some kind of science lab. There were half filled beakers and stains all over the steel tables and floors, a discarded mop and bucket over in the corner and a lab coat or two smeared with crimson on another table with a blood trail leading through another door. A few moments of searching later, and all the Initiates sounded off with “Clear!” from their zone of searching while I poked around and sat looking confused at a terminal that was still on. From the writing on the terminal, and I mean that it was literally on the terminal’s screen, whoever had written it clearly wanted a big red button to be pushed somewhere. I figured since it was written in blood that it was important, at least. The actual writing on the terminal beyond the blood was talking about some kind of duplication procedure to do with plants. Maybe clone them with magic so that one potato could feed a couple dozen ponies or more? “WHAT’S ON THE TERMINAL?” Cheese said next to my ear, making me jump and scowl at the unnecessary pain. “My bad, Sunny.” He whispered with a sheepish smile. I pointed with a hoof tip at ‘Plant Cloning: Attempt 334, Series 5-6’ before opening the document on the terminal. It looked like a scientific log that catalogued their most recent attempt. Click. “Attempt three thirty four, Series five through six.” An excited mare’s voice stated. Apparently it was an audio log. “We finally managed it! It may have taken since the dawn of the apocalypse, but we actually managed to clone several plants and vegetables without death, contamination or injury! Everypony has taken their own sample of what I’m calling ‘Clone Brew Stew’. I’ll think of something with more flair later, but this is it! We don’t have to worry about overpopulation or food rationing anymore. The Overmare is holding a celebration in the main hall later today, where the kitchen staff is going to prepare more meals for the rest of the stable to enjoy. She voiced some concerns about the coloration of the cloned food, but we assured her that nothing could go wrong, after all the testing we did. It didn’t even turn the mice green like the other attempts, and we should be able to cook any cloned foodstuffs without them exploding like they did a few days ago. I’m still finding mashed potatoes in my mane, even. With more luck, we should be able to clone any food we come across if we ever decide it’s worth it to venture outside the stable. I’m sure somepony survived the end of the world after all. If our own tenaciousness is anything to go by, then I’m sure some Zebras have as well. Ooh, maybe I’ll get to meet some weird mutant Gryphon! Oop, I gotta go now. The lead scientist is calling my name. End log!” Click. “Well.” Hat Trick whispered next to Cheese, Swipe and I. “That seems to be what we’re after then.” “Um, Hat? I think the food is what killed everypony in here. It doesn’t seem like they actually tested it that long.” Cheese pointed out. “Then what about all the claw marks, scratches and weapons fire still going on? You don’t think this stable had robots, do you?” Swipe added. Or what if it turned everypony in to giant lizards with claws that shot lasers from their eyes! I returned to reality to find the three of them giving me a blank stare as if expecting my input, so I shrugged while hopping off of the stool and began to hearing check the next door leading further into the stable. Finding absolutely no sounds coming from anywhere on the other side of the door, I moved to press the open button before my hoof was brushed aside by Hat Trick. “Wait!” She hissed in a whisper, “What did you hear?” I blinked, then took out my writing things and wrote: Absolutely nothing at all. Then smiled, before realizing how odd that was for me to not hear a single thing. Hat Trick looked like she had seen a ghost, before swinging her rifle up to point at something behind me and wordlessly screaming with bright flashes of light coming from her rifle. I turned in confusion just in time to see a looming abomination of pony flesh and scales, standing half again taller than a Paladin trying to squeeze its way through the doors with what looked like claws crunching the metal like tin foil. Why isn’t there any sound? Am I deaf all of a sudden? Oh, I should probably get out of the- “-WAY!” Cheese shouted, knocking me to the ground with the woosh of a large claw swiping over our heads, giving one of my ears a love tap with its passing. “FALL BACK, GET THROUGH THE SIDE DOOR NOW!” Hat ordered, with Cheese and Swipe dragging me back until I got to my hooves and we bolted for the door past the bloodied lab coats. As our door was flying upwards, the beast had pried its horrid body through the shredded remains of the door, leaving bits of itself behind without any sign of pain or sense of self-preservation. The creature was emitting a deep green glow from around what looked like several unicorn heads arranged like flower petals around one large eye staring right at us. “INSIDE!” somepony yelled, before I was yanked through the doorway and it slammed shut. I overbalanced, and began to tumble a bit down a staircase before unfolding my wings to steady myself and hover, holding a foreleg that had been banged by a sharp edge. “Keep moving! That door isn’t going to hold that monster and we still have to find any survivors!” Hat ordered, and we began moving as quickly down the stairs as possible. It was easier for me, since I could glide the way down the steps, but I stopped every few moments to see if I heard anything. This is a pretty long staircase. Reaching the bottom a few moments later, we came to a few more doors. Living Quarters, Security, Overmare’s Office and Infirmary. Hat Trick looked at all the signs, then checked us all for injuries before deciding. “All right. We’re going to the Security room to see if they have anything with heavier firepower than these beam weapons. Sorry Sundown, but I’d rather get out of this alive with some minor hearing loss than get killed saving your ears. No offense.” I nodded my head in understanding, and we proceeded to be stopped by a locked door. Of course, because it’s a Security Station. Maybe there was a sleepy guard that missed the celebration, and they’d have a key? I tapped Hat on the side, and pointed at Living Quarters. She seemed confused, so I poked the security door and swiped one of the cards I had written on earlier like a passcard, before pointing at the Living Quarters again. “Oh. Because guards need sleep, duh.” Card Swipe said, facehoofing. “Definitely going to request you for our squad, Sundown.” Cheese smiled. The door to the Living Quarters swished up easily, and we were graced with the sickening stench of rot and sewage or worse. My ears went back so fast they tried to jump off my head and fly away, with my face scrunching up as I tried to cover my nose with my forehooves as the others similarly gagged or held their breath with teary eyes. A few moments passed before we became accustomed to the stench enough to move forward, even if I still felt sick and I’m sure the others felt the same. “Augh, I can taste it!” Swipe sputtered, trying to rid his mouth of the nastiness but only making it worse. “Sundown, keep an ear out for noise. If you ear gurgling, that’s me trying to keep my rations down.” Cheese grumbled, a hoof to his mouth. The passageway was entirely too clean to be giving off this kind of smell. There was another door that was opened further down the hall, to where I assume the smell was coming from. As we made our way down, I noticed our hoof falls were getting quieter and signaled a stop. “What’s up, Sun?” Hat asked, before realizing she hadn’t been whispering. I pointed to the floor and gave it a few hard stomps with a hoof, but it sounded like a foal smacking the floor with a toy rather than the clang it should’ve been. “Oh crap, that thing is around here!” Swipe blurted, swinging around to watch the hallway we’d walked through with his rifle. We advanced cautiously down the remainder of the hall before I poked my head through the doorway. Inside there was more of the ‘pony carpet’ with a few bodies strung over the edges of the catwalks like they’d been trying to escape. There was a scribe’s bloody and mulched form resting with their back to a guard rail watching our door, several cartridges littering the space around it. I say ‘It’ because the corpse was so mangled I couldn’t actually tell who the pony had been. Most of their face was ripped off with their tongue lolling through their jawbone onto what remained of their neck like a gruesome tie. An exposed heart and lung were apparent with half of the ribcage torn or broken off, all the blood having left the area a while ago and pooled underneath the poor soul. Then I heard the muffled sound of somepony losing their rations, and turned to see Hat Trick holding her belly while Card and Cheese held her mane back and looked out for another of those monsters. I waved to Cheese and pointed further down the Living Quarters, and trotted in place, hopefully telling him I was going to go scout ahead. He nodded, but motioned to the laser pistol laying on the floor. “Take the pistol with you, Sunny. It’s mute enough that it shouldn’t hurt your ears right now. Just bite down on the handle and use your tongue to fire the trigger. It’s the skinny metal bit in the center. It should fly straight to where you look, just make sure that you aim with your mouth, not your eyes. I don’t think our weapons are going to make a dent in that monster, but you can signal where you are with the beams. We’ll meet up with you as soon as Hat is alright.” I smiled, and armed myself with the pistol that was thankfully far enough away from the bloody mulch that was a scribe that it wasn’t contaminated. Then I found out that the mouth handles weren’t designed with fangs in mind, and dropped it the floor with a clatter. Ow. I bit too hard. What the hay did they make those mouth guards out of, Steel? I looked down at the laser pistol, and noticed the stainless steel shine of the handle for the first time. Yep, Steel. Wait a minute, the weapon clattered when it hit the floor? I stomped a few times on the steel floor paneling again, receiving a resounding clang in response. Yay, The monster is gone! The Initiates seemed to have noticed my antics, and with Hat Trick only dry heaving now we moved further into the Living Quarters, checking each room that we could open because the rest were either broken, sealed shut with pony carpet or on lockdown. Turning up empty aside from some 200 year old preserved foodstuffs, bandages and a sensual toy, we regrouped next to a set of stairways stating: Infirmary -> <- Security Living Quarters “Well, considering the state of this place, maybe the guards got hurt? We could also go for more medical supplies if that thing comes back for us.” Swipe began. “There’s also a chance that whomever survived will be holed up there, so we might find our people there too!” Cheese continued. “Alright, we’ll scout out the Infirmary before seeing if this Security door is locked as well. Sundown, you’ve been doing a good job keeping an ear out for us, so I’m going to agree with Cheese to get you on our squad when we get out of this place, not if.” Hat Trick finished with a determined look amongst us. I gave my best salute to mimic what I had seen the Scribes in the main chamber do previously, but it was probably really sloppy considering the chuckles from the group. “Everypony, we’ve been doing a great job not getting ourselves killed so far. Let’s keep it that way and get out of this mess in one piece. Move out!” Hat ordered, and we set off to the Infirmary, checking every corner with a magic rifle or my sensitive hearing. We were only stopped a few times by sound deciding to go on vacation, I assume from the monster being on a floor near us. Then an idea struck me. I tapped Hat on the flank, before getting out my writing supplies. I don’t think my screech will work against a monster that mutes sounds and I have no weapons I can use. Fangs and normal pony guns don’t mix. I frowned at her as she read the last of my message, worry on my face at my realized helplessness if we ever get into combat without my sledgehammer or any of my gear. Not like a heavy weight on a stick will do much against something that turns bulkheads into confetti with its passing, but it’s the thought that counts. Hat Trick rested a hoof on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it, Sunny. We’ll all get out of this alive and well.” It seemed to me like she was trying to convince herself of that more than anything, but at least they all had my back. Being in the Steel Rangers seemed to look better and better the longer I spent with these Initiates, and we already have been through things more terrifying than we should’ve been in the first place. This whole situation seemed like something for a squad of paladins, not a random Batpony and three Initiates. I nodded my head and gave a squeak that was as upbeat as I could manage with a smile, and we set off to our objective of the Infirmary. A few moments of travel later and my ears started twitching spasmodically. I took a seat and tried to get them to stop with my hooves before I heard the faint sound of a minigun belching out hot death from further down the hallway. I turned behind me to look at the Initiates, who were all holding their ears and shouting with worried expressions between them before looking at me for an answer. I pointed a hoof towards the sounds of minigun fire only I could hear apparently, and we dashed off. Brrrrrrrt…. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtt. BrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRTTTTT. “Reload right, ready left! Firing!” The metallic voice barked out, resuming the waterfall of shell casings on the floor, firing down another hallway. “Targets on the right flank! Wait, EFS has them as blue! BLUE ON RIGHT FLANK, HOLD FIRE!” I heard somepony shout as we rounded the corner. I barely ducked a magic beam as it singed my mane when I heard the end of the Scribe’s warning. I poked my head out to find a makeshift barricade surrounded by blood, bodies and spent ammunition littering the floor of the Infirmary Ward with two paladins dispensing death down another hallway with Unicorns on reload duty. The scribe that had been shouting was none other than Clear Report, who waved us over with a frantic hoof as we dove behind the barricades. “What fresh hell is this!? The Batpony and three Initiates come out of nowhere without a scratch on them?” Clear Report was blabbering, and a nearby unicorn mare who was bandaging a wounded Scribe gave him a light shove on the shoulder before returning to her attempts at saving a paladin from bleeding out. The sound of hissing steam was coming from the Paladin with dual miniguns, as a huge drum was ejected from the back of the minigun and reloaded by a Scribe before he continued his barrage. The barrels were all glowing a dangerous red as tracer rounds poured down the hallway marking where his shots would land against what looked like a writhing mass of flesh and talons being held at bay by the assault. One minigun was apparently kept in reserve to cool off as the other fired to prevent the weapons from breaking as quickly, but it was clear that they’d run out of ammo before that would be an issue. “We were just about to fall back and call this operation a wash. We’ve lost too many ponies to this death trap. Paladin Copper Wire and those other four targets are nowhere to be seen after heading to the Overmare’s Office. We’re going to hold out as long as possible before withdrawing and sealing this Stable with explosives. We can’t let these things get out into the wastes or it will be a slaughter, as much as those wasters deserve one.” Clear Report monologued, before taking note that I was a ‘waster’ and present. “The mutant cause you any troubles?” he asked with an uneasy glance at me. “Negative. Saved our hides more than once. Is there enough time for us to find Paladin Copper Wire before we extract?” Hat Trick asked. Clear Report tapped his chin with a hoof for a moment before deciding, “You’ve got five minutes before we pull out of here. Another ten to set up the charges in the right spots and seal the Stable door. We’ll wait one minute before we seal it, so you had better hurry!” We all jumped to our hooves and set off without another word to find Paladin Copper Wire; myself following along with the Initiates because I wasn’t going to survive long in this place without them, and neither would they survive without me in here. Besides, they were the closest thing I’d come to as far as friends during my time in the wastes, and I wasn’t going to let them get themselves killed because I was scared of a giant wall of eldritch horror. Chapter 6: Paladin ProtectorsChapter 6: Paladin Protectors “Time!” Hat Trick stated, and three beeps sounded from their gear. “Aright, we got fifteen minutes and counting. We need to get there early incase everything goes bad, which considering what we’re up against it most likely will.” We were galloping down hallways, jumping over upturned tables and barricades as we made our way through the stable during our hasty briefing by Hat Trick. “We have ten minutes to find Paladin Copper Wire, and get back to the Stable entrance before we get locked in here with nightmares incarnate. Any questions?” Hat Trick finished. “Supplies?” Card Swipe said while breathing steadily. Apparently they were used to this kind of effort and it wasn’t slowing them down all that much to gallop and talk. “We got a few healing potions, and some more cartridges from the Infirmary. Not saying that’s enough to waste. Make your shots count. Go for anything glowing or that looks vulnerable.” Hat Trick responded, weaving around a corner as the group moved up a staircase to the main chamber where we met our first monster. “Glowing? Like in the simulations, right?” Cheese Wheel called out, taking up the rear while I flew close overhead. The hallways in this stable were about three ponies in height, but the doorways were more of a bother to get through as they dropped to a pony and a half. About six hooves tall, hah. “Yes, Cheese. Just like the simulations.” Hat confirmed as we made our way to the main chamber and the Initiates spread out while I went on ‘Hearing Duty’. “Central, Clear!” “Left Side, Clear!” “Right Side, Clear!” “Squiri Squui, Squeak!” I finished, then facehoofed. They regrouped on me as I flew back down from the ceiling with grins. “Good effort, Sunny.” Card Swipe said before getting serious again. “Alright. Death monster is nowhere to be found, so let’s go down the way it came up.” Hat Trick stated, and we made our way to the mangled and bloody remains of the doorway it had clawed its way out of. It looked like the door had exploded into a fountain of shrapnel and gore, with bits of flesh dangling in thin ropes from the shredded metal of the door frame. We gathered together and peered down into the badly lit staircase, flickering lights and sparks coming off of the walls from earlier. “Sundown, hear anything?” Cheese asked. I stood at the top of the staircase and closed my eyes to focus on any sound that would come from down below. Skittering, clicking, hoofsteps, weapons fire and… screaming? My eyes shot open and I wheeled around to the three of them and nodded eagerly that this was the right way, pointing down frantically with both my wings and a hoof. “How do you even manage to do that thing with your wings?” Card Swipe asked, before huffing and asking another question. “Paladin Copper Wire?” I shrugged, but made a loud squeaking noise in my quietest attempt at yelling. It ended up sounding like a whistle but it got the point across. “Good enough. Let’s go get em!” Hat motioned with a hoof, as they readied their weapons and lead the way down the bloody and slick staircase. “Watch your step, everypony.” Cheese warned. The squishy sounds of our hooves trampling discarded flesh and bursting whatever pestilent boils that had decided to grow along the floor was extremely gross to say the least, but time wasn’t on our side as we made our way to the bottom floor of the Stable and the door opened to reveal the bottom of the Greenhouse tube. It looked like a giant had tried to stuff as many ponies as they possibly could into a science tube, and didn’t care if they survived the effort. Two more paladin bodies were strewn about on the floor, one of them ripped clean in half. Metallic inner workings of their armor mixed with the gore of their intestines and it didn’t seem a clean death. One of them had tried crawling away from their other half before collapsing on the body of a Scribe missing their legs. The other paladin had gashes and chunks of armor ripped out, revealing the frame of the armor and the pony underneath. “Paladin Copper Wire!” The initiates gasped in unison as they rushed over to their commander, sprawled on the floor and breathing heavily in his damaged armor. One of his hooves looked like hash browns crammed into a tomato soup can, while his helmet had half of it ripped off, revealing the bleeding stallion beneath. His eye was hanging onto his face by a thread as he tried to move his head to look at the Initiates. “No… Get out of here! You’ve got to-“ He tried to warn, before everypony but myself went deaf. I jumped into the air on reflex as the place I had been standing turned into a warped metal crater from the monster slamming a claw where I was a moment before. The initiates realized they couldn’t hear anything as they turned around to see the amalgamation of scribe, paladin and stable dwellers before them. What amounted as its ‘chest’ was covered by the remains of powered armor and metal plating ripped from the stable itself, just slammed into its chest with flesh growing around it. The flower of unicorns around its eye had grown to a full spiked mesh running down its neck, with several more eyes looking out with a green glow in every direction. The eye itself having split into what looked like hundreds of insect eyes, the honeycomb lattice of it glowing like the runes of a spell. It had no mouth to speak of, and made no noise as it lifted the structure of the doorway I had flown from, tearing it to pieces as large chunks of rock from the stable’s foundation came pouring down on it in a chunky grey landslide. The Initiates had been pouring on fire into everything that glowed on the beast as it shuddered slightly with every pop of the eyes along its neck. I don’t know why they knew to shoot for the bits that were glowing, but I wasn’t complaining that it had a weakness. I saw Paladin Copper Wire trying to stand, but there were various red lights flashing from what remained of the inside of his helmet as he attempted to right himself. He flicked one of his hooves, and a minigun on his battle saddle swung over to provide support to the Initiates as he yelled in pain towards Hat Trick at his side. From this distance it seemed that they could still hear each other, but I was flying in erratic patterns over the head of this giant thing trying to distract it and not be turned into paste. “Sundown, get to the entrance now! Get backup!” I heard Hat Trick yell loud enough to just barely make out. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave my new friends to their fate, before I was slammed aside by the wake of the abomination’s claws. I spiraled out of control towards the Greenhouse Tube before barely leveling out and narrowly avoiding a broken neck from slamming into the side of the tube. I bounced off of the reinforced plastic and fell down onto the ‘pony carpet’ of the floor next to the paladin, feeling a hot liquid running down my side and leg. Looking down in a daze, I saw a deep gash running down my right hind leg almost to the hoof, and that my wing had the membrane sliced across the center. My ribs had mostly protected my organs from horrible death, but my vision began to blur from the pain. I heard somepony swear before something was brought to my mouth and poured down my throat as my vision cleared again. “Sundown! You’ve got to get us help. We only have five minutes left before that door closes! You’re the only one fast enough to get up and back in time.” Hat Trick shouted into my ear, chucking the empty healing potion at the monster with her magic before opening up another volley on it. I got to my hooves with some difficulty and tried flapping my wings. Everything was sore and still fresh, but just barely mended enough to do what she’d asked. All of the Initiates gathered around the fallen paladin as I swooped around the behemoth and flew upstairs to the main stable door as fast as I could. I arrived roughly half a minute later to the sounds of charging weapons and a few yelps of surprise before ducking below some beam fire and hiding behind a box. “Hold fire, that’s the mutant!” Scribe Clear Report ordered before galloping over to me. “Where’s the rest of the Initiates? With the paladin?” He asked in a rush. I nodded yes, and wrote “Bottom Floor!” on a nearby cloth before he rallied the Minigun paladin from earlier and a few scribes that could be spared from guarding the entrance as the last of the explosives were set up. “We’re making this quick! Bolt downstairs and get anypony that’s alive out of there. Move!” The scribe belted out before we rushed back down. I heard a beep and noticed that the timer on his gear said one minute remaining. We were met half way by a staggering Paladin Copper Wire with Cheese Wheel on his back, Hat Trick and Card Swipe covering the rear by firing down the hallway where the monster was last. “Use Incendiaries!” Paladin Copper Wire called out to us, and the sounds of reloading were heard, filling the chamber before Swipe and Hat fell back to the rest of the group, joining Copper Wire and myself. We waited for what felt like eternity, without any sound to give an ominous approach or a bellowing roar to announce the monster’s arrival. Flashes of light spewed forth from the Steel Rangers still standing as the wounded were ushered upstairs and out of the battle. Unicorns from the back ranks used their telekinetic magic to hurl steel apples with a red ring around the center at the approaching doom coming from the hallway below before erupting into a fountain of fire. Then it screamed. It wasn’t a regular, pain induced cry of agony. It was the sound of hundreds of ponies gurgling and crying in an unholy choir of torment and suffering. Several scribes stopped firing, and I found myself frozen in place at the horrifying noise. The worst part is that it never stopped. It was a constant wail of sheer horror that frayed the nerves and made blood run cold. The deep green glow surrounding it had been shattered when the fire leapt at it, breaking whatever spell had been on the beast and unleashing its tide of anguish as it barreled towards us from across the open space of the meeting hall. You might hear it differently based on who you ask, but after that display not a single one of us stood our ground. We made for the exit to get out of there as fast as physically possible, from the hardest veteran to the newest recruit. Not a single pony stood in resistance to that thing as we desperately crammed through the skinny doorway in a desperate attempt to not be dragged back down to Tartarus where that indescribable terror had clawed its way out of. A few more cries of pain were heard as the monster cleaved through scribes and paladins unlucky enough to not get out of its way in time as it slammed into the doorframe with its entire body, its screams like an endless battlecry of demons and lost souls. I regained myself only enough to make sure more than just I would make it out of there, as I helped a few ponies to their hooves and had a wounded earth pony draped on my back as I moved as swiftly as I dared up the stairs. Its wails could be heard louder and louder as I got further away and broke out of the mangled hallway to the stable entrance where Clear Report and a wounded Paladin Copper Wire were directing survivors out of the stable and topside as swiftly as they could. I saw a medic carrying Cheese Wheel up the steps leading out of here with Hat Trick and Card Swipe close by, only survival and their friend on their mind. I looked back at the rest of the Steel Rangers attempting their escape as the hallway buckled and warped around the monstrosity chasing them up the steps. They weren’t going to make it before that thing did! I spun on my hooves and raced towards the Paladin, screaming bloody murder (Squeaking) and pointing behind myself with a free wing that wasn’t holding my wounded baggage. Paladin Copper Wire and Clear Report looked up to see my frantic blur racing past them as the weapons fire drew closer and closer to the Stable door. “Blow it! Blow it now or we’re all dead!” Paladin Copper Wire shouted to the demolition team as I made my way up the stairway and out of the stable. “But sir, there are still-“ Clear Report tried to argue. “BLOW IT!” Paladin Copper Wire screamed, as the last few scribes and a paladin were cut down by the monster as the stable door grated closed like a giant gear locking into place with the screech of grinding metal. A pony pressed a button on a remote, and a deep boom was heard as nearby buildings shook from the blast inside of the stable. I could still hear the monster even after the charges had gone off, but it wasn’t beating against the door and the ground itself looked ready to cave in as cracks began spreading from the stable outwards. “Topside, Move it!” Copper Wire shouted to the few of us too shocked to move. They must’ve thought it was dead because they had looks of relief written all over their faces, that it hadn’t been them killed by the beast, that at least some of their friends had made it out of that hell alive. When I was finally able to move, I gathered myself and the wounded stallion on my back, and slowly made my way to the makeshift camp the Steel Rangers had set up in a nearby building. Every one of them looked exhausted, beaten, wounded or broken entirely. Some were rocking in the corner or curled up like foals, trying to hide underneath bloodied table cloths in the pre-war restaurant that had become their command post. I know I’m focusing a lot on the other ponies, and not my reactions. But that’s because the most horrifying thing I had ever experienced in my life wasn’t over yet. A deep boom and crack was heard from the direction of the stable, roughly a block away. Then another, and another, and another. Rangers looked up in horror from where they lay, some moving to the windows with looks of disbelief on their face as the booming continued, spider web cracks spreading from the direction of the stable outwards. The ground began falling out of existence as a final resounding Boom was heard, and a large gear with ‘96’ detailed in yellow on it soared through the air and obliterated a nearby structure. Coated in grey ash and dust, wailing and screaming louder than before, stood the monstrosity of Stable 96. Chapter 8: Elderberrieshapter 8: Elderberries It wasn’t a bad cell, as far as underground bunker prisons go. Not that I’ve actually been in that many underground bunker prisons in my life. If at all. Okay, I’ve never been in this kind of situation before, but at least I have apples. That’s always a plus! I must’ve been in here for a while, because I was already starting to get hungry again. An Initiate had come by to take my tray, and looked all kinds of confused when he saw a pile of drained apples get pushed at him. Something along the lines of “How the hell do you drain an apple like it’s a juice box!?” I didn’t really know, so I just smiled at him and he ran off with the tray. I was really beginning to enjoy the fact that the light in my cell had gone off about two hours ago, so anypony that looked too closely to the lasers barring me from leaving would get the shock of their life when they saw my eyes reflect light off of them, right back at them with an orange sheen. Then they would back up in shock for a second, before slowly coming closer and I would lunge forward, say “Hello!” and smile at them, and they would run off to go find one of their friends and tell them to “Check out that prison cell in the back.” And the process would repeat again. I almost spooked a paladin even, but I couldn’t tell all that well with their face hidden beneath the armoring they seem to never take off. How do they go to the bathroom? As I was getting tired and planning on going to sleep, the lights of the cell flipped on and I heard a few ponies enter. With a groan of annoyance I got off of my comfortable cot and walked up to the lasers to see who it was. “Initiate, please close the door behind us.” Elder Rasa spoke softly when it wasn’t time for official business, and had come by once or twice to just stare at me. He’s kind of creepy when he just stands there and looks at you. Maybe that’s why he’s been the boss for so long. Just stares at ponies until they melt out of his offi- CLACK, CLACK, CLACK “Aah!” I squeaked, holding my ears from the loud noise of the elder banging his fore hooves together to get my attention. “Good. Now that I have your attention, we can begin the interrogation.” He said flatly, motioning to a scribe to turn on some device she was holding with her magic. “Interr… uh oh.” I said, completely audible. “What.” “Much like the beast reported to have been encountered in the stable, this device is a focused audio dampener. Normally this would render somepony’s voice or equipment out of hearing range, but for our purposes it will allow you to speak normally when directed at you.” Elder Rasa explained with a grin. “Oh. Well that’s neat! Can I keep one? You have no idea how hard it is to communicate with ponies when all they hear is squeaks and-“ He held up a hoof to silence me, before speaking. “I want to know several things. You will only speak to answer my questions, understood?” I nodded, before remembering I could actually speak and said, “Yes!” “Good. First of all, how did you get to the Hoofington region?” “Um… Hoofington? I just thought it was just some ruins like everyplace else.” “Regardless of your knowledge of the area, how did you get into the city without being spotted?” “Spotted? You mean there was ponies looking for me, or that I wasn’t supposed to be there?” “Yes.” “Wha-“ “To both of your questions, yes.” “Oh… I just flew there after getting chased off by Raiders and Slavers from a cave I was staying in for the daytime.” “Where is this cave?” “Um.” I closed my eyes and tried to remember the paths we had taken, eyes flickering underneath their lids for a few moments as I heard the Elder grumble a bit like he was being ignored, before opening my eyes and pointing towards the right of my cell’s door with my hoof. “About that way.” “You… You were blindfolded before you came here, correct?” “Yeah, but I’m a Batpony. I don’t navigate the same way you ponies do. I remember where I’ve been and make a mental map that I follow. I never understood the whole North East South West thing. I just kinda went in the direction I remember it being last, relative to where I’ve been and how I got to where I am now.” The Elder blinked at me for a few moments, before moving on. “How did you come into contact with the original four targets?” “Oh, you mean Gearbox, Lightswitch, Emerald and Swift Shot?” “Eh, yes.” “Well, I was resting on top of a ruined building for a bit after getting chased off by slavers nearby, and I heard a bunch of arguing and then a gunshot so I decided to investigate and see what was up.” “You mean to attack them.” “What? No! They didn’t sound like they were mean or anything. It just sounded like a bunch of ponies arguing about something.” “So you’re telling me, that a wastelander like you, wouldn’t take every possible opportunity to backstab and steal from other ponies to survive, in a situation where they would do the same to you in a heartbeat?” “Um, no? That’s just mean!” “You are a very unusual pony, Miss…?” “Sundown!” “Strange. A few more questions.” “Okay.” “Before you were captured by Paladin Copper Wire and his rangers, if was reported that you heard them coming long before they arrived?” “Yeah. I have very sensitive ears and I heard a bunch of clanking and grumbling so I thought that it was the slavers from before, so I went to warn the other ponies about it but they were all gone. Then I heard a bunch of minigun fire and a missile launcher go off, and Copper Wire was standing over me, shouting in my face.” “Then you were captured, and brought into the Stable, correct?” “Yep, and then I got tied up and it was really scary. I tried to escape but they caught me in a vent before I could get away and I would have died if I didn’t scream the vent apart.” The Elder moved his head back, startled, before regaining his composure. “Shouted… the vent apart?” “Yep! I can show you if you wa-“ “No-no! No that’s alright. I believe you, no need for that.” He gave a throat clearing cough before regaining his composure, and continuing with his questions. “From there, Paladin Copper Wire tells me that the other four that were with you took great interest in your safety. Why would they care for you if they had only met you for such a short period of time?” “Well… I didn’t try to kill them or anything. I think they wanted to keep me as a pet.” “A…pet. Don’t you mean as a slave?” “Nope! Swift Shot said that she wanted me as a pet, probably because of my squeaking.” “Odd.” he simply stated, and we stood there staring at each other for a while. I figured it was a staring contest and we only continued after he blinked first a few minutes later. “Very odd. At any rate, from that point you were willing to assist the Paladin with his interrogation, correct?” “He said he didn’t want anypony getting hurt, so I went along with his plan. It was kind of goofy. He was acting like a comic book villain for a bit, but I don’t think the other four caught on.” “A comic book villain? Like Mane-iac, yes?” “Oh, you know her too!?” “That doesn’t matter.” He said hurriedly, attempting to redirect the conversation from his comic book reading leisure activities. “From there, you were introduced to three Initiates.” “Yep! Cheese Wheel, Hat Trick and Card Swipe. They’re pretty neat and helped me find a restroom.” He had a stone faced expression, and only blinked a few times before continuing. “The restroom.” “Yep!” “Right. After that, what had happened from your point of view?” “Well, I overheard them making fun of somepony named Paladin Combat Knife, then I made them giggle with a reference to what they were talking about and they got spooked that I heard them through a ‘double reinforced door’ and I told ‘em my hearing was really good! Then Hat Trick did some kind of cheaty unicorn magic thing and I felt weird, and she said my ears were mutated. Then we went to go find Paladin Copper Wire and there wasn’t anypony around. Only bloody rags and shredded boxes and stuff.” “Right. Aside from the bathroom ordeal this is consistent with what the Initiates had told me. Continue.” “Well, we started looking around and found a big meeting hall with a green tube in the center. And there was a pony carpet too! Anyway, I was being the scout for the group with my ears an-“ “I’m sorry, ‘Pony-Carpet’?” “Yeah, a bunch of ponies’ flesh fused together along with their bones like a carpet along the floor. They didn’t tell you?” He looked like he had found out that someone had used his morning bowl of oats as a restroom. “Certainly not!” he shouted, before realizing he had lost himself, turned and whispered something to the scribe next to him and faced me again. “We will continue this at another time. I have some Rangers to speak with…” he stated with a hint of impending doom towards said Rangers. “Wait! How come I couldn’t hear you whispering?” I asked in a rush to speak before he left. He left the room anyway, and the scribe walked up to me with her device. “Dampener field, works both ways.” She said with a smug grin, before clicking the device off. “Skree! Squ sqi… eeeee….” Wait! Can I… Awwww. “See ya, freak.” The scribe sneered before leaving and locking the door to the cells. Well now the lights are on, I don’t have any apples, and nopony can visit me now. This sucks hayseed. Deciding I should try and get as much sleep as I can before my stomach makes its return with a need for apples, I hopped onto the small cot I was given only to find there was no pillow or blanket on it. I decided to pull the mattress off of the cot, and went over to the corner of the cell next to a sink and propped it against the wall between the toilet and the sink, making a half tent of shade with the mattress before laying down in my makeshift fort. I think I heard some clanking and muffled shouting through the walls, but I was already too dozy to really care about what was going on and soon fell asleep. oooOOOooo A bright object had just smacked into me as I plummeted out of the sky, unable to break free and right myself. Somehow there wasn’t any pain, and as I tried to move, the glowing thing had me locked into it as I fell backwards towards the rapidly approaching and unsafe looking landing site soon to become a crater with a side of scrambled Batpony. I closed my eyes, waiting for my impending doom at the hands of celestial space rock. And then nothing happened. I chanced a peek and noticed that this glowing thing and I were just hovering over the ground, slowly spinning clockwise before it set itself down with me on the top of it. “You may free yourself, Night Guard.” A regal sounding yet kind voice told me. After hopping down from the rock, I looked around to find a unicorn mare and a brightly colored foal standing next to her. She wore a night blue robe adorned with gold trim that concealed her features and a rune covered scarf around her neck. The foal next to her was also a unicorn, orange coat with red and white accented mane. Clack, Clack My attention was returned to the mare in front of me, next to the large rotating orb. “Night Guard, please report your findings.” “I got hit with a big rock from the sky.” “Very astute.” She said with a look of exasperation on her face, as the foal tried to hide his giggle with a hoof. “What is your name, Night Guard?” The dream then unfocused and all sound came as a mumble for a few moments. “I am Marelin. Apprentice to Princess Celestia. This is Brag, don’t mind him.” The foal looked a little disappointed, but didn’t protest to his presence being ignored. “I was admiring the night sky of Princess Luna’s creation and ensuring nopony was in distress when I noticed that thing hurling itself toward me. I tried to get out of the way but I was struck by it instead. I honestly don’t know why I’m not powder at the moment.” “That would be partly of my own doing. I too saw the orb flying from the sky and attempted to slow it before it could hurt anypony. Sadly you were hit directly by it. I think it would’ve brought you with it into the ground if I hadn’t stopped its decent.” “Do you know what this thing is?” I said, giving it a few taps of my midnight plated hoof. The dream became blurry as I heard what sounded like shouting in the distance. “Night guard, are you there?” I returned to the present, as the hoof of Marelin was waving in my face. “Oh! Yes, sorry. I thought I heart somepony shouting in the distance.” The apprentice looked at me with some confusion before her horn glowed, looking me up and down. “Odd… you’re radiating with magical energies.” She stated with curiosity before her horn stopped glowing. “I think you should return to your duties, Night Guard. Be sure to file a report about this, as I will do the same for the Princesses. I’m certain they will wish to know what has happened here tonight.” The dream became blurry again as I felt myself falling backwards into nothingness oooOOOooo “-ndown, Sundown wake up already!” I heard a voice whispering harshly nearby. I groggily stood up before bumping my head on the mattress as it fell sideways to the ground, to see the three Initiates, Paladin Copper Wire, Clear Report and Elder Rasa standing outside of my cell. “Wha?” I squeaked, moving closer to the deactivated door of my cell. Clear Report moved a strange collar towards my neck suddenly, and I let out a warning screech as I reared up at the thing. “Calm down!” He said crossly, most of the group not in power armor having to cover their ears. I looked worriedly at the Initiates and Copper Wire, and they nodded at me with smiles. Well. If they’re okay with it then it can’t be that bad, right? Click. “Alright, now that that is over with, we can continue.” Elder Rasa stated with relief. I put a hoof to this weird steel collar around my neck, fidgeting with it a bit before Hat Trick knocked my hoof away in worry. “Don’t mess with it! It’s a bomb collar, in case you try to escape again. Sorry…” She looked away quickly after my look of betrayal had seared into her after hearing ‘bomb collar’. The group filed out of the prison cell with me at the center, being followed at the rear by Paladin Copper Wire with the Initiates in front of me. I was getting stares from the Steel Rangers that hadn’t been on the Stable 96 mission and overheard gasps and grumbles of annoyance at bets being lost, concerning what had been in the prison cell. I kept my head down and looking to the floor to avoid any looks of disgust or anger that may have been shot my way. After all, nopony in the wastes liked Pegasai, and I seriously doubt that they would tell the difference between a Batpony and a Pegasus even if we looked nothing alike. Pony with wings is a pegasus to them, I guess. My posture must have caught the attention of Copper Wire, because he sped up to walk alongside me. “Chin up, Sundown. They were given a short briefing on Batponies before you were released. We didn’t want a riot to happen when we got you out of the cell.” He explained, before Elder Rasa cut him off and ordered him to ‘Stop speaking with the prisoner.’ We maneuvered our ways through the spacious halls through the bunker, passing a few barracks, some recreational centers, a large restroom, armory, training hall and ‘simulator room’ before coming up to the Medical Ward. I was told to move ahead of the rest of them, and the door slammed down behind me, making me jump. In front of me was a Unicorn mare with white coat, purple mane and red eyes. “Hello, my name is Redundance, although everypony calls me ‘Doctor Scour’ for some reason.” She said with a slight scowl. She had a cutie mark of a healing potion wrapped in bandages, so I guess that was the reason for her name. “Now, if you’ll take a seat over here, we can begin with a quick medical scan to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. Don’t worry about my credentials, I spent the past few days doing research on batponies from information we have stored in the archives.” She quickly reassured me as she moved medical looking equipment around, gave me some kind of apron with spots all over it while tying it behind my back and lifted me with her magic onto the bed. I had opened my mouth to speak but she clamped my jaw shut with more of her cheating unicorn-ness. “Nah-ah ah. Can’t have you speaking with that collar on you. If you try to screech loud enough to hurt somepony it will make your head explode all over my medical bay, and nopony wants to clean up crème de la batpony, do they?” She said with a fake smile, still frantically moving equipment, bandages, potions, rad-aways and various other supplies around the room in a flurry of magic before finally setting a stool down in front of me and taking a seat. The room looked like she was about to perform every kind of medical procedure possible. I thought this was a checkup? “Now, let’s begin!” She said, way too happily for comfort. Her horn glowed again and I felt my whole body tingle like it had fallen asleep. Moving around in the slightest set off the feeling of pins and needles stabbing me so I did my best to sit still while she did whatever it is that medical ponies do. I started to feel woozy and swayed for a moment before Redundance caught me, and set me down on the bed, hooves in the air. I can’t move! “Now, the Autopsy can begin! Mwahahaha!” She cackled, before looking down at my frantically moving and worried eyes. “Oh dear, honestly. What kind of pony do you think I am?” she giggled, before moving out of my sight and returning with a surgical mask. “An evil one! Mwahah!” she cackled again, and I swore I heard a lightning bolt land somewhere in the background before she flicked her mask away into the corner with her magic, and I could feel myself able to move again. “Just kidding. You have no idea how boring it is around here. Nopony can take a joke, I swear.” She chucked with an air of nostalgia, before setting me upright and taking the apron thing off. “Alright, here is what I’ve found. Your ears are certainly mutated, though I can tell it isn’t from Taint. I’m a bit disappointed to say I have no idea what exactly caused them to mutate the way they have, but the rest of you checks out one hundred per-cent as completely Batpony as you can be!” the Doctor was completely ecstatic at revealing this news, as she was reared on her hind legs and flailing her hooves about as she finished, before collecting herself and ushering me off of the bed. “Now then, I will send my full report to the Elder as soon as I can. I will also recommend he take off that awful collar from you. I can tell that you’re a good pony, Sundown. I have my ways.” She gave a conspiratorial wink at me, before opening the door and giving my flank a smack on the way out. “Toodles!” she called, with the door slamming shortly after I had left. The Initiates had their jaws on the floor as I looked up at them with an obsidian colored blush, which quickly evaporated as I saw Elder Rasa staring at me, his head turned from a conversation with Copper Wire. The Initiates snapped to attention just in time as the Elder and Paladin moved to take me back to the cell I was beginning to call home. I had a lot I wanted to say, but with Redundance’s warning I didn’t want to risk my head turning into red mist. I turned around to face the Initiates as the cell zapped back to life. “Don’t worry, Sunny. We’ll get this sorted out, I promise.” Cheese Wheel said, giving me a grin that raised my spirits a bit. “Enough. You are no longer needed for the moment, Initiates.” Elder Rasa stated, as they gave a quick salute and went out of the prison section. Now it was just Paladin Copper Wire, Scribe Clear Report, Elder Rasa and myself in the prison section. I decided to sit on my mattress that was still on the floor, not bothering to put it back on the frame as I stared at the three of them through the grid of lasers. “Now then. Would you two like to explain to me why you didn’t report a ‘carpet of ponies’ in your findings of Stable 96?” The elder questioned Clear Report and Copper Wire. Both of them looked at the other, Clear Report with a look of horror and Copper Wire’s expression being unreadable behind his helmet. “A-a what, sir?” Clear Report asked. “What do you mean by a ‘carpet of ponies’, Elder?” Copper Wire asked. I was getting worried, were they trying to hide what had happened down there? “The prisoner here states that some areas of the stable were covered in a blanket of pony flesh and bones enough to resemble a carpet! Don’t tell me you didn’t see something like that, it would be goddesses damned impossible to miss!” The Elder fumed at them. “Elder Rasa… The floor had blood streaks all over it as well as some green chemical mixture that I assumed was from one of our targets previously using to kill off the inhabitants before we arrived. I never saw a ‘pony carpet’ as you describe.” Paladin Copper Wire stated. Clear Report looked between Copper Wire and myself as if we were insane. “What? Paladin, the ground was covered in plant life and dead animals. You were there! You must’ve seen all the bodies in the Living quarters.” The scribe belted out almost in panic, like he was about to be caught by his parents for lying. The head of Copper Wire moved back a bit at Clear Reports statement, before looking at me. “Sundown… are you saying you saw a ‘carpet of ponies’ littering the floor when you went into the stable?” he asked in a worried manner. I nodded my head, my own confusion adding to the mix. “Elder, if I may. What did the Initiates say happened in the stable?” Clear Report asked. “All three Initiates were taken in separately to give their account of the story, as well as every member of your team, Paladin Copper Wire. As I am realizing with you three, this isn’t a conspiracy to hide the truth of what happened there to cover up for some failure on your parts. Everypony sent on that mission has a different account of what occurred, what they saw, what they fought against and how they got out as unique as their cutie marks.” Elder Rasa stated, pacing around in a circle while speaking. “How can that be, Elder? We were all there and we hadn’t barely said a word on the way back here!” Clear Report was getting more disheveled by the moment. “Barely spoke? I saw Sundown here liquefy a group of raiders that had ambushed us on our way back!” Copper Wire was also beginning to panic. “Enough! We won’t get anywhere with this if we all devolve into a blind frenzy of worry. Let’s examine the facts, shall we? From the beginning. All of you nod or shake your head at the events that I speak of so we can determine where everything deviated.” We all nodded our head and he began. “Alright. I had ordered your group to scour the nearby ruins for technology that would assist us in cloning our own food so we could expand our operations. Yes?” The scribe and paladin nodded. “You sent a small scouting team ahead of the main group to report back findings and any targets you may have to deal with before arrival.” More nods. “The scouts reported four ponies at the entrance to the Stable. Two Pegasai, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn.” Nods. “You moved the main group to intercept and encountered Sundown, who had somehow remained undetected to you, and captured the original four targets.” They both looked at me, and we all nodded. “Your brought them down for interrogation, discovered the Pegasai were from the Enclave, and Sundown escaped from her bindings.” Copper Wire and I nodded, as Clear Report shook his. “The Pegasai were shot after we had recaptured Sundown, or so I had thought…” he stated. “Hmm… Did anypony notice the Unicorn of their group using a spell?” The Elder asked. I waved a hoof, and pointed to my collar with a pout. “Clear Report, if you would.” He motioned to my collar, and it came off with a snap after being set aside by Clear Report’s magical aura. And a device clicked on, attached to the ceiling of my cell. “Test… awesome!” I said with cheer, before continuing. “Emerald and the Paladin were in an argument, and I had noticed that before he called out that I was missing, she looked like she had been struck with something painful. I thought it was just because she felt bad, but it could’ve been something else. After I was sent away I never saw any of them again, now that I think about it.” I added to the conversation. “Right… Now that I remember, ‘Emerald’ had said something about ‘breathing in the chemicals downstairs’. I had assumed that they would be fairly visible if they were still active, as she had stated that it was a green gas, but I saw nothing when I went down there.” Copper Wire said. “I didn’t see any gas either, Elder.” Clear Report stated. “Nope!” I helpfully added. “Perhaps it was a neurological agent. That would explain the radically different stories. There is one thing that hasn’t been accounted for, however. Do any of you know the name ‘Braggadocious’?” Elder Rasa asked. “Oh, don’t get me started with that raider. Had to run him off before he got close enough to melt anypony with that flamer of his.” Clear Report blurted out of turn. “Raider? I saw a malfunctioning Protect-a-pony shambling around the restaurant.” Copper Wire said with a sideways look at Clear Report, before they all looked at me. “Wizard.” I said plainly. “Right…” All of them said in unison, before looking at each other in mild surprise before continuing. “Well. As evident from Doctor Scour’s reports, you are all clear of any contaminants or agents from the surface, so you shouldn’t have to worry about… Wizards.” Rasa said with a shake of his head at me. “I will simply designate that stable as a hazardous zone, and we will come up with another solution to our supply problems. Paladin Copper Wire, Scribe Clear Report. What would you say about the character of ‘Sundown’ here? Is she a threat to this chapter of the Steel Rangers?” The elder asked them. “Well, before we found out that every one of us had been hallucinating the entire time, I would’ve jumped to defend Sundown and request that she be integrated immediately. Now, however, I am unsure if I spent any time with Sundown at all.” Paladin Copper Wire said, choosing his words carefully. “My experiences with Sundown may have also been influenced by hallucination, but she has caused no trouble to us while she has been here, even with a bomb collar around her neck at one point. Even now I have no doubt she could screech until we died of blood loss from our ears at this very moment, but she seems content to just sit there and observe. All in all, I think she’s just a bit creepy with how silent she is, but she could be an asset to us, Elder.” Clear Report giving his namesake to the Elder. “Very well. I shall ask the Initiates of whom she is reported to have spent the most time with about their opinions as well, even if one of them is completely convinced they had a ‘romantic encounter’ with her.” Rasa said with a slight shudder. Hey! I’m a batpony, not ugly! I stuck my tongue out at the Elder as he turned away from me, calling Clear Report out of the cell with him and dismissing Paladin Copper Wire. “Hey, Sundown.” He seemed a lot less sure that we were on friendly terms now after the conversation. “Hello!” I said cheerfully, despite his worried tone. “Did you cause those hallucinations?” he asked, moving closer to the cell. “I have no idea how I would even begin to do that, Copper. Why are you asking me?” I said with a bit of a snap to my tone. “I get the feeling you’re a lot smarter than you seem, so it makes me wonder what your motive is.” “Motive? I can’t be cheerful without a sinister plot? I think you read too many comic books, Copper.” I said while trying to hide a giggle with my hoof. He didn’t seem convinced, and turned the lights out before standing in the doorway of the prison entrance. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Sundown.” He said ominously. “You too!” I called down the hall in my squeaky yet still clear voice. Chapter 9: Misty MemoriesChapter 9: Misty Memories oooOOOooo My vision was extremely blurry as I felt myself flying over a forest, with the sounds of battle in the distance. As my senses returned to me, I saw Batponies and Pegasai in hoof to hoof combat, killing each other with sword strikes or crossbow bolts. Banking left, I narrowly avoided a similar fate as a bolt streaked into the side of my helmet, knocking a strap loose and sending it plummeting to the ground beneath me. I resumed my course, heading for the Castle of the Twin Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Marelin had concluded her observations about the orb that had struck me nearly a month ago, and along with her observations about my own state, something was about to happen that was good for nopony. I took off as soon as I had heard in order to warn Princess Luna, who would be holding court at this hour of the night, only to come to a full skirmish between Celestia and Luna’s guards. I landed on the balcony leading to Luna’s chambers and was allowed passage by her guards after hearing of my need to report Marelin’s findings. I opened the balcony door to find the room in complete disarray. Shredded blankets and pegasai down was littered all over the floor. It looked like somepony had attempted to assassinate the Princess in her sleep and been defeated, by the bloodstains and shattered weaponry on the ground. “Princess Luna?” I called out to the room, receiving no response. I quickly searched the room for any sign of the Princess before heading deeper into the castle in search of her. Trotting down the stairs carefully, I heard the sounds of a door being battered open with shouting as another battle started in the chaos. That could be the Princess! I thought, rushing to the scene to ambush Celestia’s guards that were fighting with the night watch in a corridor. Taking up a blade that had fallen to the ground, I shadow flashed above one of the golden plated guards with a soft electrical zih-poof in time to plunge the sword down between his shoulder blades and neck, skewering his spine, lungs and heart in one stroke. He let out a pained gurgle as he collapsed to the ground dead, as his partner growled and leapt at me. With another flash, I appeared behind him and bucked him to the floor. The unicorn used his magic to lift his partner’s sword and his own from the floor, attempting to overwhelm me in a flurry of attacks. I gave ground enough to be pushed to the floor, and as he rose both swords to finish me off in a final attack, I flashed behind him, slicing his horn from his head. If I wasn’t so focused on informing and rescuing Princess Luna I would have frozen in horror at the inequine sound coming from the guard’s mouth, so I mercifully finished him off with a strike between his side plates as he was impaled through the lungs and collapsed to the ground in a bloody thrashing mess. The night watch that had been fending off Celestia’s guards were beyond the door, giving me thanks for saving them. They were new recruits and had barely been given their equipment a week ago before this had happened, and were certain they would’ve died if I hadn’t shown up. I asked if they knew where Princess Luna was, and they directed me to the main audience chamber. They said that Princess Celestia was confronting Princess Luna about an ‘eternal night’ and her being a threat to all of Equestria. I couldn’t believe that the timid Princess of the night would ever endanger her subjects, and rushed to her defense. Along the way I almost ran into more of Celestia’s guards. They were winning the battle on the outside of the castle from the sounds of it, and it was only a matter of time before they breached the chamber and were able to reinforce Celestia’s personal guard. Shadow flashing and sneaking past a few skirmishes between Night and Day guards, I found my way to the chamber where the Princesses were at a standoff. Celestia was adorned in shining gold armor, encrusted with gems that shone like the sun with magical enchantment and protections. Her white coat as pure as fresh snow with her mane and tail like a nebula as she stared down her sister, assisting her guards with magic enough to set them upright and ready to fight. She wore several pieces of jewelry around her neck, with a star tiara on her head. The Elements of Harmony! Oh no, she wouldn’t use those against her own sister, would she? I swept down from the railing that was overlooking the main audience chamber to land by Luna’s side at the throne dominating the center of the room, along with more of her own guard that had stayed by her side throughout the fighting. As I glanced to make sure she was unharmed, I backed away in fright. She was not the Princess Luna I knew! Her coat was black as Ink all across her body, wearing a sky blue armor with a shining crescent moon in the center of her ornate chest plate. A similarly colored helmet rested on her head, a place for her horn to come through to a menacing point that looked long enough to pierce a pony from front to end. Her ethereal mane and tail looked like the night sky and flowed from her body like silk caught in a breeze while clinging to her body, the stars shifting as if looking through a portal. Her once kind eyes had now become as a dragon’s, slit pupil and turquoise in color, promising pain and retribution for the suffering she had endured and an agonizing end to her enemies. She growled at the Sun Goddess, revealing her teeth to a row of fangs that would tear any flesh to ribbons were she so inclined. “Do you honestly think you can stop me with the Elements, you foal!?” she bellowed at her sister, who wore a pained expression on her face. “You know as well as I do that we shared the Elements of Harmony together. You cannot use them without my help! Soon, all ponies will see the glory of the night as I do, for I will bring about night eternal!” She boomed at Celestia, flashes of lightning and the sounds of battle punctuating her declaration. The Princess of the Sun looked upon her sister, and the few Night Guard that remained alive as the floor was littered with the dead and dying of both sides. I wavered for a moment at the sudden change of Luna’s appearance, but I swore to remain in her service until released by Luna or death itself. “Nightmare Moon, I will give you this last chance to surrender my sister. Enough ponies have died from your insanity.” The Goddess of the Sun spoke firmly, her eyes glowing like a barely contained inferno as the temperature in the room began to rise, and her mane and tail became fire and caused their armor to shine like the sun as she spread her wings and rose to hover in the air. “You know you cannot defeat me, Celestia. That is why you have come here in your desperate attempt to slay me before I take my rightful place as Ruler of Equestria! I will never bow to you again, Sister.” Nightmare Moon finished with a fang filled sneer, raising on her hind legs while flapping her wings for balance as she slammed down to the ground with bolts of lightning erupting from her horn, slamming into the few of Celestia’s guard that remained standing, sending their blackened and charred forms hurling into the stonework behind them and shattering the door to the courtyard, filling the room with the sounds of mayhem and slaughter. “Then I am sorry, sister.” She stated with sorrow, as the Elements began to emit a blinding light and Celestia’s horn flared hot as the sun itself. “What!? No! You cannot use the Elements without me!” Nightmare Moon shrieked. “You have left me no choice… goodbye, Luna.” She finished with a tear steaming off of her face, as a lance of light burst forth from her horn, encircled by a rainbow and rapidly approaching all of us, directed at Nightmare Moon. “Nooo!! You cannot do this! Celestia, Tia! Nooooooo” Nightmare Moon’s scream eventually faded, as a pillar of light burst from the ground in an explosion of magical power, sending everypony but Celestia away from the center as it shot into the night sky, hitting the grey celestial body in the center. Soon, the moon had the image of a dark mare in armor, waiting with infinite patience. Groaning could be heard as the surviving guards of both sides picked themselves up and got to their hooves, unsure of what to do now that Nightmare Moon was gone. I formed up uneasily with the rest of those from the night watch as we stood our ground, certain we were about to be executed for allying ourselves with the corrupted goddess of the night. oooOOOooo “Aaaahh!” I shrieked in fright, breaking the ceiling bulb and sending a shower of glass on the top of my mattress that I had once again been using as a fort. I bonked my head on the mattress, sending the shards of glass into the toilet and through the beams of my cell. I was sweating from that… dream? Was it a nightmare, or a vision? I have no idea what that was, but they’ve been getting a lot more detailed lately. Darn wizards and their… wait, darn Stables and their brain altering chemical things. “Sweet dreams?” I voice giggled next to me as I screeched again and whipped my head around to find Redundance looking at me with a smirk on her face. “You’ve been tossing and turning so much in that little corner of yours it tripped an intruder alarm on one of the security cameras. When they saw it was just you throwing a fit, they had me check it out. I told him it was just a dream, but I think a certain Paladin has the hots for you~” she teased, as she dropped the cell’s laser grid and stepped in with a yellow bag decorated with pink butterflies on it, before re-starting it with her cheaty-powers. “One observation has made me curious though. Since you’re a batpony, why haven’t you just shadow flashed out of your cell? It stops objects from passing through it, but not teleportation.” She said while rooting through her medical bags. Wait. Oh crap, I totally forgot I could do that! Zi-Poof Aha! Wait. “Of course, I pointed that out to the Scribes who were maintaining your cell, and they added a few enchanted gems to the security system to prevent such a thing from occurring. If you wanted to know.” She said from the ceiling. But wait, my bed was on the ceiling too. Uh oh. I fell to the floor from the ceiling with a short screech of panic as I hit my head on the steel paneled floor, and slumped over to the side with a resounding thud of pain as I landed on one of my wings. “Owww.” I moaned, laying on the floor and not wanting to stand up while Redundance giggled to herself and put a bandage on my head. Completely wrapped in its binding, not in any way useful. “Hold that for me, would you dear?” she asked, continuing to dig through her bags, setting aside a whole arrangement of medical equipment all around my room. I huffed from my position on the floor, in enough pain to be content with being a shelf for the time being as I continued to wonder about that strange dream. It was way too specific to actually be a dream, but I had this feeling like I had been through all of what had happened before. I could ask and see if Redundance and her unicorn magic powers of cheating could help with it, but she’d probably paralyze me again. I tried to get up to look at her, and found out she had already made me incapable of movement as I was flooded with pins and needles again. “Now hold still, ‘Sunny’. This will only sting for a moment.” She said, with a large needle hovering next to her from what I could see out of the corner of her eye as I could feel my slit pupil eyes contract in terror. She slowly moved toward me, making it seem like eternity as bells tolled in the distance for the impending mild discomfort I would soon experience as steel slipped its way into my rump and I squeaked in annoyance. “Ow.” I made a point of announcing while feeling the needle move around slightly. “Oh, quit being such a foal. I’m already done!” the evil doctor pony chirped, before flinging the needle directly into the laser beams of my cell as they vaporized in a brilliant blip of light. “And now it’s decontaminated. Hurrah for science!” she said with gusto, repacking about half the medical bay into her bag somehow. “Wuh dith oo doo?” I mumbled, my tongue turned to a useless blob while I tasted mint. “Oh, nothing you should be worrying about, deary. Just a bit of numbing agent to make sure you don’t do anything rash for the next bit! Elder Rasa has ordered me to go rooting around inside of your noggin, and I can’t have you thrashing about like you did before I came in, or somepony might get hurt! Now, hold still.” She snickered, knowing full well I was only capable of blinking at this point. My whole body stopped feeling like it existed entirely, as she laid down next to me with her horn glowing a bright red. “Now, let’s see what memories you’ve got between those tufts of fur between your head!” she said, as my vision faded to black. oooOOOooo The Sun Goddess herself was slowly marching towards us, still alight with the power of the sun after her banishment of Nightmare Moon. The marble floor left scorch marks in her wake, as more gold plated guards stormed into the Hall. Between myself and the two recruits I had saved earlier, there were about twenty of the night watch still left after today, all crammed and huddled next to another in the back of the room behind the throne, as Princess Celestia conversed with officers who gave reports to her, right until she loomed over us. We were badly beaten as it was. Most of us were wrapped with bandages or tattered uniforms in a desperate attempt to stop bleeding from various wounds and injuries from the battle previous. The blast from Luna’s banishment had crumpled a few of the plates of my silver and midnight colored armor into uselessness, and I had since tossed them aside. I stood only in the hoof guards and tunic of my uniform, tending to another of the night watch who was in far worse condition than I was. Certainly, I was worried about what Celestia’s punishment for us would be, but I had more pressing concerns trying to keep the few friends in Equestria I had left in a state of living, as one of the night guard I was tending to thrashed around, threatening to undo his bandages. The now Lone Ruler of Equestria loomed behind me, waves of heat buffeting my back as I desperately tried to do what I could for those dead and dying. The Sun Guard had already taken their wounded and moved them to the opposite side of the hall, as the few of us that could stand any chance of fighting guarded the perimeters of each side of the halls, neither side wanting to fire a shot to cause more death. “Night Guard, whom leads you now?” Princess Celestia asked, directed to all of us. Her voice was laced with sorrow, I assume for the loss of her sister Luna. The few of us that were conscious enough to respond looked between us, worry and fear evident in their faces before they looked to me. “Sundown leads us, Princess Celestia.” One of them said. I looked up from the batpony mare I was attempting to calm, as I met the gaze of those still standing, a sense of doom washing over me as I thought I had been thrown under the carriage. I spun around to face the Sun Goddess, looking down at me with a tired expression as her features returned to the gentle and motherly figure I had become accustomed to when seeing the Princess. My body tensed up in anticipation of pain or worse, until my gaze met that of Celestia’s. “Nightmare Moon’s reign is over, Sundown. There is no need to continue fighting.” She looked up from me to the rest of the ponies gathered in the room, most of them having stood down their guard as the Princess made her way across the hall. She stood in the center of the room, just ahead of the twin thrones that dominated the hall, where Nightmare Moon had stood before she had been banished just moments before. She looked ready to deliver an historic speech before my vision blurred and I fell into darkness. oooOOOooo My head hurt. Wait, let me rephrase that. My head felt that it was on the receiving end of training a whole den of Hellhounds. No, that’s not right. My head felt like it had been squashed by the Goddess of the Sun herself! There we go. “Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuu.” I managed to say, tongue still numb as I saw Redundance get herself upright and stare at me with a most sincere look of shock I have ever seen. “That… that was not a dream. That was a memory! You… what!?” Redundance blubbered, before making a few attempts to get up and rush out of the room, turning the cell’s gate on and off so fast a portion of her tail had been sliced off by the lasers. My body was still entirely too numb to maneuver properly, but I could still get enough movement out of my legs to pull myself up and rest my head on my sideways mattress as I waited out the numbing agent. How could that have been a memory? I’ve been in the wasteland all my life, as far as I can remember! There’s no way I lived that long ago. No goddesses flippin’ way. Even if I was, what would that mean for me now? It’s not like I can just wave a hoof and summon Luna to fix everything in the wastelands. Hey, if I’m going to tempt fate, I can at least make it something useful, right? The numbing stuff was helping with my splitting headache as I went back to simply lying down on the cold, soothing steel floor of my cell. It didn’t seem to be a very short lived numbing, because it felt like hours had passed before anypony came to check up on me. “Whoa! What happened to you, Sunny?” The visiting Initiates asked, not wanting to turn off the beams to the cell for risk of getting in trouble. I flailed a drugged hoof in the direction of the medical bags that Redundance had left behind in her rush, as I breathed heavily on the floor. “Mmm Num.” I muttered, blinking slowly while looking at them. “You’re… numb? Who did this to you, Sundown?” Hat Trick asked, and I did my best to point a heavy hoof at the medical bag laying nearby, the syringe laying on the floor next to it. Hat Trick used her Telekinesis magic to lift the syringe closer to them, before letting out a growl and dropping the device to the floor of my cell. “We’re going to get help, Sunny. Stay there!” Card Swipe said, all of them rushing out of the door and leaving me alone in the cell again. Yep, sure. No problem guys. I’ll just go get some food, oh wait! I can’t, because I’m numbed to the bone and locked in a prison cell. Maybe I could get in trouble at the armory but wait, I CANT because I’m locked in a prison cell, numbed to the bone! ‘Stay there’ he says. I blew a lazy raspberry at my situation and continued to lay there, numbness being a constant companion as more time passed. I must’ve fallen into a dreamless nap because I awoke to be floating through the air with a red aura around my body moving away from the Medical ward. I was able to move my head a bit now, and saw that Redundance was being trailed by Elder Rasa, who was shouting for ponies to move aside as we made our way around the bunker. We came to a circular room with a large map on the side wall as Paladin Copper Wire and Clear Report came through the door behind us, locking it with pressurized gears sealing it. I was floated over to a wooden table in the shape of a half circle in the center of the room, as my head nudged a terminal and I was set down. Clear Report came by and set the Audio Dampener next to me and clicked it on, before returning to his spot to whisper amongst those gathered. A few worried and surprised glances were flashed my way as I lay there in a numb daze that was slowly dissipating. How long have I even been here? Has it really only been a few days since the Stable? Yikes. It feels like I’ve lived here my whole life at this point. Everything just passes by in one huge blur. Clack. “Auu. Mmai ebbrs.” I mumbled. “Yep, she’s awake.” Clear Report stated. “Ooh, looks like I used the surgical numb-er instead of the interrogation numb-er. My bad, Sundown! It was supposed to have worn off a while ago but we’ll just have to wait it out.” Redundance said with a hint of regret. “Doctor Scour, pay attention please.” Elder Rasa snapped. “I’ve told you ponies, my name is Redundance!” she snapped back. “Doctor, please. You’re asking me to believe that this batpony here, was a member of Luna’s personal guard? Even after reviewing your evidence and the historical archives, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest such a thing occurred as you described. Elder Rasa seemed even more unconvinced as he explained what was going on. “To suggest that anypony has lived that long and remained hidden is a complete absurdity bordering on blasphemy to scientists and scholars everywhere!” The Elder finished with a harrumph. Oh, that’s what this is about. So good I can defend my position while laying on this table like a fish. “Yes, granted this was just one instance of memory, but if we continue with this we can potentially gain a wealth of knowledge on the years before Nightmare Moon was banished!” Redundance argued. “We have complete records of everything that happened already, as well as numerous re-tellings and even fiction about it! Who is to say that these memories are even real? They could’ve been planted there by whomever this spy is working for.” Paladin Copper Wire said, throwing a look my way, helmet firmly secured in his flank. “Spy is more than harsh, Copper Wire. Sundown at best would rank as an ‘unfortunate bystander’ now, a complete far cry from any sort of spy. Besides, were she a spy she could’ve easily killed us all at any point in the Stable, or even when we got back to the bunker.” Clear Report said, bringing the tone of the conversation down to sane levels. “That much is completely true. She forgot she could Shadow Flash before I told her!” Redundance said with a bit of pride, before noticing the two were staring at her. “What? I told the Scribes to secure the cell so she couldn’t of course. What kind of doctor do you take me for?” “An ebil wun.” I blubbered with a raised hoof that soon flopped down on the table. Mwahaha. “Right.” The elder said, giving me a blank look. “Then aside from conspiracy theories or rewriting the history books, what can be said of Sundown’s memory?” “Well, I’m sure that in this case she either can’t remember, or had them blocked by somepony else.” The three Steel Rangers looked amongst themselves before trotting over to me, while I laid there attempting to move my hooves in a circle. “Sundown, when did you start getting these memories?” Redundance asked, moving some of my mane that had fallen near my eye away with a red glow. I thought for a while, running through everything in the past few days before I gasped. “Witharde!” “Anypony else understand that?” Rasa asked. “She said ‘Wizard’ Elder.” Clear Report…reported clearly. Duh. The elder face hoofed and beckoned the other members of the group to him near the map on the side of the room while I stared at the sealed door across from the desk that was now becoming my bed. I heard whispering that I couldn’t make out, on account of the Dampener next to me making my hearing ‘normal’. There’s probably somepony out there in the wastes that would give their cutie mark to have something like this, if their ears were as sensitive as mine. I let out a squeaky yawn as my eyelids fought to stay up from how long it was taking them to finish talking, before Redundance zipped over to my side and started saying words about ‘sleeping again’ and ‘hurrying with’ something or other. Darn wizards and their sleepy spell power…thingies… Yaaaawwwwnnn. Darkness. oooOOOooo It was the middle of the day, sun overhead and wispy clouds flowing around our chariot as I looked to my side. Marelin, Brag and Princess Celestia were in the Pegasus driven contraption as we flew to Canterville, soon to become Canterlot if the contractors and masons had anything to say about the new capital of Equestria. My body still hurt from a multitude of cuts, bruises and scratches I had received in the fighting only yesterday as Marelin explained to the Sun Goddess about her findings on the strange orb that had fallen from the sky. “My theory, Princess Celestia-“ Marelin began “Please, you may call me Celestia… No need for the formality when it is just us.” “Erm, right. Anyway, my theory is that most nights, ponies make a wish on a falling star. Most of them burn up in the sky before they ever reach the soil, but it has been known in the past for some of those ‘wishes’ to make it to the surface. This wish in particular doesn’t seem to go away. Before you had banished Nightmare Moon, she was wishing for an eternal night, correct?” Celestia looked distressed, before finally answering with a simple “Yes.” “Then it is my theory that her wish had come true. At least the ‘Eternal’ part. I have cast several small spells at the orb, and tried to enchant gemstones with its properties. Upon using said stones, I have noted that they do not fade with their power. Needless to say, if anypony with ill intent got their hooves on this orb…” “It would be a disaster for Equestria.” Princess Celestia finished. “Pri-, Celestia… I have another theory as well. Sundown here, was struck by this ‘wish’ while she was on patrol a month ago when the orb was first found. By all rights she should have died on impact, but when I slowed the decent of the orb enough to study it I noticed that she was unharmed, if a bit confused. I grumbled a bit, but realizing I was in the company of the Goddess that saw fit to spare my life, I quickly shut up. “At any rate, I think that she may have been hit hard enough by the wish that a bit of it has… rubbed off on her, for lack of a better term.” Wait, what? “You mean I’m ‘eternal’ now?” I asked, not believing. “It is possible. I have another theory as well, if you would permit it.” Marelin said with a look to Celestia. “Very well, what is your-“ ZZZZAAAAPPP The next thing I knew, I was falling rapidly through the sky past multiple clouds in a dead plummet to the ground. oooOOOooo What a complete reproductive organ! Chapter 10: Recollection RoadChapter 10: Recollection Road oooOOOooo As I fell from the sky, being zapped by a bolt of lightning summoned by the most powerful unicorn mage in Equestria, I took a moment to take stock of the events in my life up to this point. I had become a Night Guard, I was struck by a colossal meteor from space which turned out to be the wish of Nightmare Moon for an eternal night. Being the corrupted goddess of the moon, she was in direct control of all things related to the night yet either had to overpower Celestia and take the throne, or as a supposed backup plan, had to cast night itself into an eternal power source. On top of all of this, I had become ‘Eternal’, which the rapidly approaching farmland beneath me was about to test the limits of. In the few remaining precious seconds of existence I was growing increasingly fond of, I realized that despite being stuck with enough magical energy to be disintegrated, my once light grey coat had turned a distinct charcoal color, with my hooves themselves being pitch black. I had no idea if I even had a mane or tail to speak of, considering I was still twitching and in spasms from the amount of electricity I had somehow survived, but I really wanted coffee at that point. What even is coffee anyway? CRUNCH FLOP SNAP THUD Ow? I think I hit the ground hard enough to bounce off of tilled farmland. Does that make it more bouncy than regular land, or softer? Wait a minute, how am I not dead after a fall from that height? I tried to move, or do anything but breathe, but my body wasn’t cooperating. I should probably be in a world of agony and suffering right about now, but I couldn’t even blink to get the flecks of dirt out of my eye. Shouldn’t that be concerning me? I decided that it didn’t really matter, and a few moments later I heard the tail end of shouting before the chariot carrying the Sun Goddess, Marelin the Evil, and Brag floated down and landed with a thud on a patch of wheat nearby. “Marelin, you had better be quick in explaining your actions.” I heard Princess Celestia say in a very stern tone to my side. “Well, I had figured that the best course of action in studying the limitations of being Eternal was to see if that also meant physical immortality and immunity to harm. Seeing as how Sundown here wasn’t completely disintegrated by a spell designed to do just that, I would say that my experiment was a resounding success. However I have noticed that she isn’t breathing. I should probably be doing something about that, shouldn’t I?” Marelin the Evil Wizard Pony of Evilness said. I noticed myself being levitated and turned around to face the trio of ponies, and with a bright flash of light from Marelin the Decidedly Not a Good Pony in my Opinion, I was returned to the world of pain and agony that was life. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGHHHHH” I eloquently screamed at the top of my lungs with enough force to send their mane’s flying directly behind them like they’d been struck by a hurricane. I think a nearby farmpony cried for his wheat field which had been flattened, but I was too busy shouting at Marelin to really care. “Luna sodomize me with the Moon! What is wrong with you, you sadistic witch!?” I screamed at Marelin, after regaining enough of my breath to do so. “What evil has possessed you to even consider that shooting a bolt of lightning into somepony is a good idea!?” After that, Marelin released me from her telekinetic grip and I flopped onto the floor and crumpled into a heap of batpony on the earth. Still in agony and breathing heavily, I didn’t have the energy to do more than continue my barrage of expletives at the wizard mare. After about ten minutes of this, Celestia deemed that the verbal abuse I was dishing out was enough, and moved me upright while setting a pillow from the chariot underneath me. I wasn’t done, but I continued to glare daggers at Marelin the Sadistic. “Ahem.” Marelin the Douche cleared her throat before continuing. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, I can explain. In this case, being Eternal does not mean that you are exempt from harm, only that death will not claim you. I would perform another test to see how long it would take for your body to restart itself, but I think that would be in bad taste considering you just fell from the cloud layer without more than a change in coat color. Nice eyes, by the way.” She levitated a mirror over to me, and my once normal pony eyes had warped into something resembling the dragon-like eyes of Nightmare Moon herself, and they were now a blazing orange color instead of their normal light blue. “Well that’s just fantastic. You’ve struck me with magic hard enough that I have Dragon eyes. I’m not really sure how to feel about this.” I stated with detachment, not really over the fact that I’d recently been dead, except not dead. I moved my head to get a better look at the rest of myself, and noticed that my teeth had grown fangs, and my hair now had a stripe of the same orange coloration as my eyes running down the middle of my mane. Despite being a bat pony, I didn’t have features before now that looked like they’d come straight from the corrupted moon goddess herself, space mane not included. “Would you explain why she resembles my banished sister?” Celestia asked with a somber voice, still emotionally tender after only recently banishing said sister to a thousand year prison sentence on the moon. “Without study, my guess would be that since Nightmare Moon made the wish and its eternal nature, that some of her magic would be responsible for its creation and effects. So in short, she’s become infected with some residual magic of Nightmare Moon.” Nope. Too crazy. Not going to believe that my life has suddenly become that twisted, that quickly. No way, no how. I don’t care if Celestia herself is staring at me like that, I don’t care that the guards are unsheathing their swords and moving towards me, I don’t care that even Brag is starting to cast magic at me. This is too insane and I’m not having any of this nonsense anymore. I am definitely not corrupted by the fears and anger of a neglected goddess that wanted to cast all of Equestria into an eternal night just so she could get the same recognition and love as her sun controlling sister. And then I realized that I was pinned to the ground by two fields of magic with swords pointed at my neck and a very concerned princess staring at me. “I’m not evil!” I yelped, trying to struggle with about as much success as a snail escaping salt being poured on them. “That’s what all the evil ponies say!” Brag blurted out, clearly not helping my situation. “I’m not evil, I swear it! I’ll bake you cookies! Evil ponies don’t bake cookies!” I desperately begged, still squirming in a panic. “What are your orders, Princess Celestia?” One of the Pegasus guards managed to clearly state, sword gripped in his mouth and held against my neck. “Definitely don’t kill the bat pony! I’m a nice pony, I wouldn’t hurt a fly! I’m not evil!” I cried out pathetically. “Well I don’t think we actually can kill you in the first place. That’s the whole issue with you being eternal, isn’t it?” Marelin the Decidedly Evil Pony in this situation stated matter-of-factly. “But I haven’t done anything evil!” I screeched. “You killed Celestia’s guards, assisted Nightmare Moon and are currently eternal because of said threat to Equestria. You’ve been imbued with the darkness that took hold of Princess Luna and now look like a pony possessed.” Marelin bluntly said. “That’s not my fault! I was confused!” I pleaded. “You killed my brother!” The other Pegasus guard protested. “Did not!” “Did too!” Did not!” “Did too!” “Enough!” Princess Celestia boomed over the argument. “This is getting us all nowhere. We need a way to make certain that Sundown is telling the truth, is not evil, and won’t have to be turned into a statue to safeguard Equestria.” “What is it with you and turning ponies into statues!?” I shouted, annoying the guards holding me with my volume. Celestia stomped her hoof on the ground, causing a minor tremor with her temper, before using her cheaty-alicorn magic to lift me off of the ground and place me gently into the chariot. Then she used said magic to bind me in chains and I slumped down in relief at not being turned into a statue, killed, or made to become another test participant in Marelin the Madpony’s experiments. “Marelin, I ask that you find the source of Nightmare Moon’s corruption within Sundown in any way possible. We need to know if anypony else has been affected this way, and how to save them if possible.” The Not Merciful and Benevolent Sun Goddess said. “Nooo! She’s going to zap me with lightning again, o-or throw fire at me, or turn me into a newt!” I protested from my spot in the chariot, now having the Pegasus guards strapping themselves in to pull it. “Hmm, hadn’t thought of transfiguration magic yet. Good suggestion, Sundown!” Marelin chirped, hopping next to me and throwing a hoof around my shoulder. “We’re going to be the best of magic buddies together!” she giggled ominously. “Marelin, no unnecessary tormenting of evil ponies. We’re supposed to set the example, remember?” Brag said, shoving a hoof into Marelin’s snout, causing it to scrunch slightly. “I’m not evil!” I cried, falling over in despair at being ignored and resigned to my fate as unwilling magical target dummy. “Shush!” everypony said in response. Some hours later, my unending pleading long since being stopped by a hoof kerchief, we arrived at a back entrance to the freshly constructed Canterlot Palace. How they managed to create an entire castle not even a few days since moving to Canterlot I’ll never know for certain, but I suspect it has something to do with an Immortal Goddess and an army of loyal unicorn subjects doing the work. Princess Celestia had since left, going to the court to hear requests and pleas from noble ponies looking for table scraps of acknowledgement from the sun princess, and farmers of the nearby lands reporting the supposed upheaval of their lives from a few weeks of unending night having wilted their crops. It seemed odd, because the farmer with the wheat field earlier had been totally fine. I was being led by Marelin, Brag, and two unicorn guards now and heading deeper into the palace where they supposedly had a dungeon installed for ‘special prisoners’ like myself. Passing a few of the cells, I had noticed there were no doors and a one way window that went across the length of the cell for guards to look in. I noticed a Minotaur that had his entire body etched in red glowing runes, an older mage looking stallion who had lost his marbles and was casting spells in every direction of his cell in a futile effort to do anything to it. There was also a room filled with a black smoke, and I noticed two glowing red eyes following my own, looking at me through the supposedly one way glass. “Creepy.” I mumbled, before being yanked to keep pace with the guards following Marelin and Brag. We passed through two ornately decorated wooden doors that swung open with a loud bang, making Marelin wince at the unintentionally overdramatic entrance to her lab. After giving a cursory glance to the runes etched into the wooden doors, she motioned for the guards to leave and again slammed them shut with a bit too much force before giving an exasperated sigh through her teeth. “You doing okay, Marelin?” Brag asked, moving a few books around with his magic as Marelin got a chair with leather straps reoriented to face me, and pulled down a large metal cauldron from one of the shelves overhead and setting it down nearby with her magic. “Yep! Completely in control and not at all worried about the expectations laid before me by the goddess of the sun!” She belted out, moving in a panicked frenzy as objects flew around the room and set themselves down in semi-scientific looking spots that looked like they’d do something. Meanwhile, I had just been sitting there in my chains taking in the scene before me and been very worried as to why a chair would need straps and a metal helmet on a swivel attached to said chair. “Marelin, bruh. You’ll be fine! Don’t sweat it. I’m sure the Princess will give you more than enough time to crack this evil pony’s resolve and we’ll both get rewarded and have ice-cream to celebrate!” the colt said reassuringly to Marelin, but worryingly to my own ears. “She’s Eternal, Brag! We don’t have all of eternity to match wills with the eternal spawn of Nightmare Moon!” Marelin countered. “Um, if I could share some input?” I tried, raising a hoof with a clattering sound of chains. “No more talking, evil pony!” Marelin shouted, using her magic to fling me into the chair, removing my chains and strapping me in with the leather bindings and moving the weird metal helmet with a bunch of gems and copper wires coming from it onto my head. “Bu-“ “No talky!” She interrupted, shoving yet another goddess damned hoof kerchief in my mouth. I accepted my muffled fate and settled for a glare at Marelin, who had since ignored me and put the finishing touches on her equipment that nearly buried the room from floor to ceiling in whirring, clanking and gear spinning sounds. Marelin the Crazy let out a sigh of frustration, before spinning my chair clockwise a few times before stopping me, and huffed again before moving me counter-clockwise a smidgeon. “There! Now we can begin with the testing.” She stated, flinging off her cloak and putting on some kind of white coat with a bunch of pockets on it, and a pair of glasses. Finally being able to get a look at her, Marelin had a sand colored coat, White and yellow striped spikey mane with a similar tail, sporting mahogany eyes. “Fire!” She abruptly stated, as Brag’s horn lit up and bathed me in a jet of flames before ending a moment later. As the fire ended, I looked around as well as I could, what with my body and head being held firmly in place by enchanted leather straps. “Darn. No effect!” Marelin stated, writing it down on a clip board before going through a whole list of every sort of magic known to pony kind for the rest of the day, each one having little to no effect on me, aside from mild discomfort. “No, this shouldn’t be happening! You’re eternal, not invincible!” Marelin snapped, becoming frustrated at this turn of events. “Maybe she’s just immune to magic?” Brag suggested, and Marelin spun around with a sparkle in her eye as she then turned and dashed off only to return with an armory’s worth of swords, halberds, maces, crossbows and other implements of death and pain. “Should we try ‘em all at once!?” She shouted half crazed already by her efforts. “No! We’re the good ponies here, remember? She’s the evil one!” Brag said with a look of disbelief. “Oh, fine then! I’m gonna start with the spikey mace!” Marelin grinned devilishly as I squirmed and fidgeted away from the spikey mace of imminent pain and injury floating towards me. Then the doors burst open again, making Princess Celestia and her two Pegasus guards wince at the unintended bang the doors gave off, only to stare at a crazed Marelin holding a Morningstar in her magic, who equally stared at the shocked Sun Goddess while shifting her eyes frantically back and forth. “I can explain!” Marelin blurted, dropping the weapons with a cacophony of noise to the floor. I met Celestia’s gaze with hopefully pleading eyes as her focus shifted around the room to take in all of the equipment Marelin had been using for some purpose or another, to the scorch marks behind my seat and other magical after effects that still flittered about the room before finally resting on Marelin herself, who was babbling incoherently on the floor beneath Celestia’s hooves. “Marelin, my faithful student… What the hay is going on!?” She shouted, making everypony surprised at her sudden outburst as ears reoriented themselves forwards after recovering from the volume. Marelin looked back at Brag for help, but the colt just shrugged and trotted over to me and started releasing me from my binding. “Brag, what are you doing?!” Marelin shouted, before being stopped by Celestia’s magic as she tried running in the air, to be turned around and pointed at the face of the Sun Goddess who was giving her a stern look. “Explain to my why you have Sundown strapped into an execution chair, surrounded by weaponry and the aftermath of magic spells, and why you appeared to be readying a Morningstar to strike a helpless prisoner.” Celestia said, her stare going straight into Marelin’s soul. “Eheh… um. Science?” She offered weakly, tapping her forehooves together with a nervous grin on her face. Celestia dropped Marelin from her magical grasp without ceremony as she addressed Brag. “Braggadocious, are you able to explain this madness?” she asked, moving forward and ignoring Marelin. “Well your royalness, Marelin decided that since Sundown here is Eternal that she could test the effects of whatever spells she wanted to, to see if they would be able to hurt Nightmare Moon when she comes back from her vacation on the moon. I thought it was most un-cool, but she’s my teacher and I had to go with it.” Brag explained, finishing his task of releasing me and I hopped out of the chair onto wobbly legs, having been stuck there for quite a long time being blasted with everything and a kitchen sink, which lay in broken pieces somewhere in the back room. Marelin looked up with betrayal from her position on the floor, but before she could respond she was silenced by a look from Celestia. “What would you do to see if Sundown has been afflicted by Nightmare Moon?” Celestia asked. “Well your Sunniness, I would say that Sundown already proved she isn’t evil, because she hasn’t used any of Nightmare Moon’s abilities to annihilate us and has actually been pretty chill about all the things we’ve done so far. Though I honestly haven’t been able to tell since we gagged her forever ago.” Upon remembering that I still had that dreaded Hoof kerchief in my mouth, I spat it onto the ground and growled through my teeth and fangs at Brag and Marelin. “Well, she looks upset to me.” Celestia said matter-of-factly. “I’ve had it with you insane ponies!” I screeched, attempting to fly out of the room before being grabbed by Brag, Marelin and Celestia with their cheaty powers and dragged back into the room. “I’ve come down here because I found a pony that has the uncanny ability of seeing a pony’s soul.” Celestia calmly stated, like she hadn’t just said something completely bizarre. Though I guess that is what my life had come to at this point. I was eternal, technically a servant of the banished Nightmare Moon, and about to be looked up and down by somepony who claimed to see souls. A bright pink earth pony mare, with a mane and tail like cotton candy and sky blue eyes literally bounced into and around the room before abruptly sticking to the floor with her hooves. She wore glasses without lenses, a giant tan nose from some creature I’ve never encountered, and a fake moustache. “She refuses to state who she is, exactly, but I am confident in her abilities.” Celestia said, as the pink mare moved around me with squinty eyes being offset by the ridiculousness of her headwear. “Why is that, exactly?” Marelin asked, as I continued my staring contest with the bright pink and bubbly mare, before I blinked and she appeared in front of Marelin. “Spoilers, duh!” She shouted while giggling at some joke nopony else understood, as Marelin unattached herself from a ceiling light. “Now, for Miss Evil McEvilpony pants!” she declared, hopping right next to me and pressing her nose against mine, causing them to scrunch up as I tried to escape this invasion of personal space. “Nope, you’ve gotta sit still, you silly filly!” she said, throwing me into the chair I had just been released from with an strength I wouldn’t attribute to a minotaur, let alone a pink mare with party balloons for a cutie mark. I tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she held my hooves down with her own as she climbed onto the chair, her hair whipping like a tail and knocking the helmet with wires out of the way as the room’s lighting dimmed for dramatic affect. “Look into my eyes…” She said ominously, waving her forehooves about while making ghost sounds, while her eyes themselves became an entrancing swirl that I couldn’t not look into. After a moment, my entire world melted away and I stood in the middle of a black abyss. No land, no water, no sky. Only darkness with an obnoxiously pink party pony prancing around me. “So!” She said suddenly, making me flinch. “Let’s see what’s in your head Miss Evil Pony!” “I’m not evil!” I said, punctuating with a stomping hoof on nothing in particular as I realized there wasn’t even a floor, and began falling with the pink pony. “Aaah!” I yelped in surprise, as I felt the odd sensation of the ground rushing towards me again even though the ground didn’t exist, wherever we were. We then abruptly stopped, and when I opened my eyes we were in a completely grey version of Equestria. “Welp, now that we’re here, we can start going through your memories to see how nasty you really are!” she said with way more cheer than the situation could even begin to call for. “I’m telling you, I’m not evil!” I still tried to argue, on the verge of giving up even trying at this point. “Ooh! I know, let’s ask your subconscious what it thinks about everypony!” she said, grabbing me as we somehow flew toward a crowd of lookalike ‘Sundowns’ in a town square. We arrived far sooner than I would’ve expected considering the distance, but stopped just short of slamming into the crowd like a missile. “Oh, I get to answer first!” A Sundown with glasses said. “No, me! I’ll convince her we’re not evil!” A Sundown in my Night Guard uniform said. “But we aren’t evil!” A Sundown looking like I had before being Eternal said. “Well that’s what everypony else thinks!” A Filly version of myself said. “Screw what everypony else thinks, we have really awesome looking eyes now!” An inebriated Sundown slurred. “Stop yelling, please…” A Sundown with long hair whimpered in the background. “Yes, we will convince the strange mare that we are the most not-evil pony in all of Equestria, Mwahahaha!” somepony laughed most maliciously, before realizing that had actually come out of my mouth. “Oooh, this is gonna be a doozy! What should I call all you ponies?” The pink party mare asked. “I got this!” the drunk Sundown managed. She pointed with a free, non-cider holding hoof at each of us in turn. “Sun-nerd, Guard-down, Normal-down, Sun-Filly, Shy-down, Spooky-Sun and myself being Drunk-down!” she finished with a belch. “Wait, if you’re drunk, then what part of me do you actually represent?” Spooky-Sun asked Drunk-down. “Well I’m *hic* obviously Sundown’s uninhibited self! Duh!” She finished with yet another hiccup. “Then that means I’m her smart side.” Sun-nerd continued. “I’m her sense of duty.” Guard-down proudly stated “I’m the real Sundown!” Normal-down called out. “I’m… um… I don’t actually know?” Filly-down said innocently. Shy-down just squeaked. “Well I am obviously the best Sundown!” Spooky-down declared, a hoof to her chest in a pose of pride. “Wowee, you remind me a lot of some ponies I know!” the Pink mare declared before pulling all of us into a large huddle, her hooves somehow defying nature and stretching out enough to grab us at the same time in one large scoop. “Too close!” Shy-down whimpered. “So, which one of you is the Evil Sundown?” The mare asked, looking suspiciously at each of us, as we all looked at another in confusion. “I already told you, we’re not evil!” Guard-down protested. “I think its Spooky-down!” Sun-filly accused. “Nonsense! Everypony knows that the evil one is always the innocent filly that nopony suspects!” Spooky-sun retorted. “Wait, shouldn’t there be some kind of test or evidence for who is evil?” Nerd-down asked. “I think Marelin is evil!” Normal-down yelled, hurting everypony’s ears. “Shut up, Normal-down!” Guard-down said, giving Normal-down a bop on the head with her armored hoof. “I’ve got it! We’ll play tic tac hoof, and whoever loses is the evil pony!” the Pink mare said, earning baffled stares from all Sundowns present. “That’s stupid!” we all said in unison. “Darn, I was hoping one of you would oust themselves as the evil pony with that, but you all said no!” the party pony pouted. “What does that mean?” Sun-filly asked. “It means you’re a grumpy grump!” the mare responded, her hair slightly deflating. “Being a grumpy pony doesn’t make us evil!” Guard-down protested. Her hair re-inflated with a bright smile, as an idea had come across the mare’s mind. “I know, we’ll play truth or dare, except you can only tell the truth!” She stated excitedly. “Then wouldn’t that just be us telling the truth to your questions?” Nerd-down asked. “Nopey Dopey! You all have to Pinkie-oop. Um, You all have to Pink Party Pony Promise not to lie, or else!” She said, waving her hooves ominously in front of her while looking into each of our eyes. “And how do we do…the thing?” Drunk-down asked, regaining consciousness. “It’s easy! Repeat after me, but don’t ever break a Pink Party Pony Promise!” she warned, before reciting the ritual and we all repeated with: “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my—Aaaahh!” we cried, sticking a suddenly appearing cupcake into our eyes, causing us to blink pastry for a few moments before it vanished. “Good enough for me~!” She said in a sing song voice, before having us line up. “Okay, first pony is Nerd-down!” She said excitedly, getting into the ‘game’. “First Question: Are you the evil pony?” She asked, leaning in with her head turned sideways to give one eye a good look at Nerd-down. “Um… I- I’m… Bleh!” She said, trying to make her tongue work correctly. “Ah-ah! No lying missy!” the party pony warned, waving a hoof back and forth in front of her. “No!” Nerd-down managed finally. “Second Question: Have you ever hurt anypony intentionally?” her eye continuing to stare at Nerd-down. “I wou… ne… Yes!” Nerd-down finished, finally giving up at resisting the Pink Pony Promise’s effects. “Third Question: Would you hurt the Princesses?” She pondered the question for a bit, before answering, “I would only hurt one Princess, that being Celestia, if Luna ordered me to, because I’m in service to her until death take us or we are released from her service.” She finished, stating the oath the Sundowns had taken to become a Night Guard. “Oki doki Loki! NEXT!!” She abruptly shouted, as Nerd-down was shuffled in a half circle to re-join the line. Guard-down was next to be questioned, and she shifted uncomfortably in her armor. “First Question: Have you ever hurt or killed anypony?” Guard-down began sweating and shifting her eyes around nervously. “Yes…” “Second Question: Have you ever tortured or made another pony miserable because you could?” “Y…Yes.” Guard-down began to become teary eyed as she tried to hold back tears. “Third Question: If you could take it back, would you?” The pony leaned in close enough to stare Guard-down directly in the eyes with a burning intensity we could all feel, since we were all technically the same pony. “Yes!” Guard-down said, a waterfall of tears erupting from her eyes as she fell to the floor in sobs, before the pony continued. “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “N-n-No!” She cried, and was whisked quickly away to bring up the next Sundown, which happened to be Sun-filly. “First Question: Do you like pranks?” “Ye… Of cou… Um. When I’m the one doing them… I don’t like being pranked” Sun-filly pouted. “Second Question: Would you steal from another pony if you could?” “N… I wouldn… I would no… Darn it, yes!” Sun-filly said, being thwarted by the Promise. “Third Question: Would you bully another pony?” Taking into account her other attempts at lying, Sun-filly simply stated “Yes.” In defeat, staring at the floor. “I told you it’s the cute and innocent ones that are evil!” Spooky-down declared with an air of victory. “Final question! Are. You. The Evil. Pony?” the pink Interrogator said putting emphasis on each word. “Ye… I a…” She sighed again, before stating “No.” and being whisked away, replaced by Drunk-down. “Oh give me a break.” Spooky-down huffed. “First Question: If a really hot stallion wanted you to have sex with him, would you?” the Pink Pony surprisingly said completely seriously. “Wait, what? What does that have to do with anything? How is me liking stallions evil?” Drunk-down asked. “Would yooouuu?” The pony dragged out, ending in a lower tone. “Um… well… Alright fine, I totally would. If he was saf… I mean if he didn’t ha… Damnit, Yes!” Drunk-down finished in exasperation, her sober-ness returning rapidly. “Second Question: Would you blame somepony else for something that was your fault?” “I mean, not if they were my frie… Not unless it was really ba…” She sighed. “Yes.” “Third Question: Do you talk about ponies behind their back?” “Yes.” She stated without hesitation. “Final Question: Are you the evil pony?” “Nope.” “Huh.” The party pony said, seemingly surprised, before another Sundown took the spot. It was Shy-down. “First Question: Do you have any friends?” Shy-down squeaked a bit, before gathering the courage to mutter, “N…no.” That seemed to take the wind out of the Pink Pony’s interrogation for a moment, before she resumed. “Second Question: Do you care about anypony, including yourself?” Shy-down looked right at the pink pony before answering, “Y…Yes. I care about not dying. I care about ponies who help me and make me laugh. I don’t care about ponies I don’t know, though.” She said ashamedly. “Third Question: Would you help a stranger in need, even at cost to yourself?” Shy-down looked up with a hurt expression before being louder than she had been before, which amounted to a more normal speaking volume. “Of course I would…not. Only when I’m on duty would I do that. Somepony might try and trick me to hurt me if I didn’t look like a guard, and ponies scare me!” “Final Question: Are you the Evil pony?” “No…” she finished, slumping down and resting her head between her forehooves on the ground, before being rotated out and replaced with Spooky-down. “Well, that was a completely shameful display.” Spooky-down stated, before turning her attention to the pink pony. “Oh, this’ll be easy.” Guard-down said, recovering from her breakdown during the questioning. “First Question: Would you enslave other ponies to work for you?” “What!? Never! That is just plain horrible.” Spooky-down said, shocked at the question. “It’s because of my features, isn’t it? That’s raci-!” “Second Question!” the pony said, interrupting. “Would you overthrow Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna if she wasn’t Nightmare Moon?” “Why would I overthrow anypony? Do you know how much work that would leave on my shoulders if I had to rule an entire kingdom? That’s entirely too much effort!” She stated, brushing off invisible dirt from her shoulder. “Third Question: Would you ask that ponies work against their will for the greater good of the kingdom in order to save it from a larger threat that they don’t believe is going to be coming?” “Well that’s specific.” She said, before thinking on her answer. “Yes, I suppose if it was for the greater good, then I would do such a thing.” “Aha! You just said Slavery was a bad thing, and you wouldn’t overthrow anypony, but you just agreed to do both of those things!” “Wait, what?” “Having ponies work against their will, and being in a position of power to be able to have enough influence to do that sort of thing would mean that you would need to be a ruling figure to over-ride their rights, and force them into slavery!” the pony explained. “But… but I’m a good pony! It’s not because I can, it’s because they don’t understand the need in order to defeat some hypothetical foe!” “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “That’s Racist! Of course I’m not. Honestly, just because I LOOK like I would eat baby foals doesn’t mean I actually do!” Spooky-down protested, before being whisked away. The final pony was Normal-down. Everypony just looked at her like her time had come, but the Pink pony continued her questioning. “First Question: Why did you become a night guard?” “To protect and ser… um. To fight for a better and…” She sighed. “For rent money.” “Second Question: Did you care about anypony other than yourself before becoming a guard?” “Well… I cared about my paren… darn it, thought I would be able to get that one at least. Nopony cared about m… okay that’s not true either, My parents cared about me. Not in the traditional ‘I love you, lets hug and get ice-cream.’ way, but the ‘Do your work and don’t be lazy, help around the house and stop looking for any sign of affection.’ Way. I guess that was their way of caring, so in the way that they care about if I die, then I care about if my parents die, but not about them personally.” “Third Question: Do you blame other ponies for your own shortcomings or failures?” After a few moments of thought, and looking between all other gathered Sundowns, she stated, “Yes.” “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “Isn’t that obvious? She’s the last pony and none of us are evil!” Guard-down said, before being hushed by the pink mare. “No… I’m not evil. I’ve just made my share of mistakes and misdeeds. I’m not out to make other ponies’ lives miserable for the sake of my own entertainment or any kind of malice to another. I try my best to listen to the complaints and arguments of other ponies to empathize with where they’re coming from but I don’t always get along with everypony. I’ve killed ponies, I’ve tortured ponies, and I’ve been a bully and a thief. I have stolen and blamed others for my own wrongs and gotten away with it. I’ve thought about being a great ruler that everypony bows down to and worships, and I’ve thought about just living a normal life where I don’t have to have responsibility or look after anypony but myself. But I’m not an evil pony.” Normal-down finished, looking weary and beaten as she slumped down and was whisked away to be replaced by Nerd-Down. “Final Question: Which one do you think is the evil pony?” “I thought you’d already asked everypony their questions?” Nerd-down asked, surprised. “I didn’t ask your final question until now, silly!” she chirped in response, before becoming deadly serious again, awaiting Nerd-down’s answer. A few minutes passed, Nerd-Down having a very animated and expressive thinking process as she mulled over everything she had heard and witnessed over the interrogation. “I… I honestly don’t think anypony here is evil. We’re all a part of Sundown, but none of us on our own are really all that ‘evil’. Does that mean that we’re right, and Marelin and the Princess are crazy, or that all of us combined are the evil pony?” Nerd-down asked, grasping at straws for any hope that they would be cleared of ‘evilness’ by their mysterious pink interrogator. “You get all that, Princess Celestia?” she asked, turning her head to a rapidly becoming visible Princess, Marelin and Brag, along with the two Pegasus guards from earlier as the room flowed back into existence and my subconscious retreated into my mind. “I can see why you called her in here, Princess Celestia.” Marelin said with her jaw lightly hanging. “Marelin you’re gonna catch flies, brah.” Brag said, and Marelin closed her mouth with a snap. “Uuuhg, I don’t feel…” I said, falling over exhausted. “Mmm… I’ll just lay here, if that’s okay with you all.” The party pony pulled out a long checklist on a clipboard as well as a pencil from her mane, going down the list and marking things all over it before putting the pencil behind her ear, and handing the report to the princess, somehow writing and holding the pencil with her hoof, instead of her mouth like anypony that can’t use magic would do. After a moment of reviewing the list, looking between the pink pony and myself, the princess held up the report in her magic and announced the findings. “This report, given by ‘Pink Party Pony’ states that Sundown here has a total Evilness rating of… Below Average.” She showed us the report, which had a D in red ink as a grade. “How is that possible? She served Nightmare Moon and killed guards! She has-“ Marelin was interrupted by the Pink pony’s stare at her, before the pink mare’s expression exploded into a grin wide enough to make a dentist faint. “Oh this is just terrific! Now I can throw a ‘Sundown-totally-isnt-an-evil-meanie-pants-pony-of-evil’ party!” she rattled off, bouncing in place before coming to an abrupt halt and looked at a watch that had sounded an alarm and appeared on her left hoof. “Aww, darn it! I don’t have any more time. Bye bye, Everypony!” she said, waving a hoof and throwing out confetti before vanishing in a flash of light. Everypony stayed silent for a moment just staring at where the mare had been, before Marelin spoke up. “Is this what you deal with on a daily basis?” Marelin asked, looking at Celestia. “Yep.” The Sun Goddess said with a heavy sigh, before turning her attention to me. One of the Pegasus guards threw down their helmet and transformed into an insectoid pony with fly wings, soul-less teal eyes and a horn with holes in the side of it. “You know what? The Queen says you can have Equestria. She isn’t dealing with this kind of crap.” The bodysnatching and shapeshifting changeling said, before flying out of the room to leave the rest of us once again staring in disbelief. “Is this real life?” I asked from my position on the ground. “Apparently.” Braggadocious replied. oooOOOooo Chapter 11: Reality's ReturnChapter 11: Reality’s Return I came out of my strange-ness induced dream to the muffled sounds of alarms going off. I couldn’t open my eyes and I couldn’t feel anything either. Actually, I couldn’t even move! Uh oh… I know what this feels like. Did I die while I was ‘asleep’? Well. I could always just wait and see what happens. … … Nope! This is too boring. Move body! Come to li- “Ehhhh.” I had tried to scream, but my body only had enough energy to lazily rasp and sputter. Opening my eyes to a burning sensation, I noticed that I was laying sideways on the floor which had gotten significantly less sterile and clean than when I was last awake. The room was nearly pitch black, save for the deep red emergency lighting spinning around the room to signify that something had gone horribly wrong. Well, no dip! Of course something went wrong. I feel like a corpse! Using all of my limited strength, I lifted my head enough to look around with a now mind splitting headache to go along with my aching everything. More of the room was in complete tatters and there was a large pony shaped scorch mark on the wall, probably a unicorn by the outline. Attempting to stand proved fruitless, as my body was having enough issues telling my brain to lay down and just rest, because it was in no condition to just get up and go right now. Resigned to my temporarily floor-ridden status, I decided to see what I could see. I was still in that odd circle room that was owned by Elder Rasa. The terminal on his desk looked like it had exploded and there were reports and status updates strewn about the place like rice at a wedding. Why do they even throw rice at a wedding? Wouldn’t it be better to eat the rice than throw it on the ground? I mean sure, if there were birds or chickens or something nearby that could eat the rice then it wouldn’t be so much of a waste, but as far as I knew, it was pretty much just to give everypony something to do while the couple trotted off into the sunset or where ever they went to after a wedding. Returning from my thoughts to reality, I heard a bit of sparking coming down a hallway with light hoof falls. Either somepony was trying to be sneaky, or they were trying not to get killed by some sort of hazard. I tried calling out to them, but it came as a faint screech over the alarms that were sounding. “Who’s there?!” I heard somepony say, clearly startled from around the corner and down the hallway. It wasn’t loud enough to hurt my ears, but I suppose that my ears had since given up after me being dead for I don’t know how long. Add to the fact that these alarms had probably going off for as long as I’d been out, or longer, then I wouldn’t blame them for taking a vacation. “Hello?” I heard the voice ask again, slightly closer now but sounding worried and more cautious. “Shh! You’re going to get us killed, Swipe!” I heard another pony hiss, sounding a lot like Hat Trick. “Hey!” I squeaked loudly, hoping that they would remember I was the only pony they knew that communicated this way. For a few moments I heard about as much silence as could be had in a damaged and malfunctioning underground bunker of the Steel Rangers, but it was noticeable. The ponies outside whom I assume had been the Initiates had stopped moving for a few minutes now, and I was getting worried. I once again attempted to stand up, my body protesting significantly less now that it had been given a moment to make sure everything was actually working correctly. With shaking hooves I managed to stand upright and sway into Rasa’s table, shifting it a bit and causing a loud screeching sound from the Elder’s desk moving across the steel floor. “There it is again!” I heard another pony whisper shout, sounding like Cheese Wheel. Well at least the Initiates were alive! Now all I had to do was get over to them. Shambling around the room, nearly falling on my face a few times from papers slipping underneath my hooves, I managed to slam myself into the door with a lazy thud to look around the corner. Between the swirling red lights, pitch black hallway and sparking wires, I managed to find three Initiates with magic rifles pointing my way. Seeing as how they don’t speak high frequency bat pony, I decided to wave a hoof at them, only to fall on my face and slump into the hallway with a halfhearted moan of injury. “What the hay is that?!” Card swipe shouted, shakily waving his magic rifle around in my general direction. I tried standing again, body still being annoyingly weak from being dead, and promptly gave up my insanity and just lazily waved a hoof at them from my increasingly comfortable position on the floor. The Initiates inched closer to me, not taking their rifles away from my head as they got in a better position to flick their combat helmet’s lights on, blinding me. I would’ve shielded my eyes, but I was honestly too worn out and fatigued to do much more than let out a squeak of complaint at them while squinting. “By the… is that Sundown?!” Cheese Wheel seemed a lot more surprised that I think he should’ve been, but I really didn’t know how long I had been out. It seemed like a few hours at least, judging from all the stuff laying strewn about everywhere. Maybe a Minotaur had come through the bunker and started ripping off deck plating or something. Ow. Ow. “Ow!” I screeched louder, making Card Swipe jump back and stop kicking me with his hoof. He shouted in surprise at my screech, and leveled his magic rifle at me again. “Sundown, if you can hear me, squeak three times!” Thinking about what words I could use to make it sound like three squeaks, I settled for “You are dumb.” His rifle dropped, while the other two kept theirs aiming at me as Card Swipe picked me up from the floor onto shaking hooves and my body swaying back and forth, threatening to send me to the floor again. “Hat, Cheese, do we still have any apples on us?” Card Swipe asked, looking between his friends. Apples? I haven’t been gone that long, have I? I don’t even feel- I heard an angry growling, and my attempt to look at my own stomach nearly sent me to the steel floor again before I was caught by Cheese Wheel and Hat Trick. Yep, need food. “Card, are you sure she isn’t a zombie or something?” Cheese asked, still pointing his rifle at me and looking concerned. “Cheese, don’t be an idiot. The only zombies are those ghouls from before the war, and they look all dead and rotted or like burnt leather. Sundown just looks like she hasn’t had food in about two months. Actually, come to think of it, when was the last time you ate?” Hat Trick asked me, lowering her rifle finally. I actually have no idea, but I can’t exactly speak with the Initiates either. Wait, when did that become a thing for me? I could speak to everypony just fine in my memories! I blame Marelin. I felt woozy again after my short daydream, and fell on my side again. “I’ll take that as an ‘I don’t know’” Hat said, aiming her rifle to cover the hallway they had come through to guard it against some unseen foe. Cheese Wheel pulled some apples out of his saddle bag, and I would’ve pounced on him immediately upon seeing the deliciousness he held with his magic just near me, but once again my body had more to say about our ability to move than my apple fanaticism. I opened my mouth which had become almost mummified from my lack of any kind of nutrients in the past… two months? Yikes. Anyway, my fangs jutted from the rest of my teeth like small spears as I waited for Cheese to get the idea and feed me. Feed me, Cheese Wheel. Feed me! Cheese Wheel gulped, I assumed he was remembering the last time somepony had apples near me, and hovered one directly into my fangs. I bit down on the apple with enough vigor to have them seriously consider if I was a zombie again for a moment, as I felt some of my strength returning to me. “Moooore!” I squeakily rasped, giving him a hungry look that probably convinced him that it was either the apples or himself that I was going to eat next. He floated seven more apples in my direction, emptying his saddle bags in a slight panic that made an apple wall between him and myself. It was close enough that I could just move my neck around to devour the delicious fruits in a few bites or more, not even draining the juices from them and eating them whole. Hat Trick and Card Swipe shared looks of concern, before Card Swipe mentioned he was glad that I didn’t eat meat, which earned him a smack from Cheese about jinxing them. I felt substantially better after my small feast of apples, and moved all my limbs around to see if they worked correctly this time. I didn’t feel a hundred percent, but I could definitely move on my own and my wings were working fine. I gave them a wide smile for helping me, which just seemed to make them shiver before I gave them a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Okay Sunny, just like the stable. See what you can hear through all of these alarms and we can get out of here safe and sound! I just hope tha-“ Card was saying, before getting smacked across the face by Hat Trick. “What the frolicking fuck did Cheese Wheel just tell you about jinxing us, Card?!” Hat shouted at him, before covering her mouth again at being so loud, and swearing for a second time that I had known her. I looked between all of them like they were crazy, and they looked at me like I was going to eat them. We all decided to just continue on anyway and hope for the best. I hadn’t heard about Jinxes before, but if they were anything like a Pink Party Pony Promise then I was sure you didn’t want to mess with them. Most of the journey out of the bunker was uneventful, save from a ceiling tile landing on my head somewhere near the restroom area. A few rooms had the rotting corpses of Steel Rangers and some other ponies that looked like Raiders or Slavers. I pointed out the other bodies that had been looted and were rotting, and they mentioned something about a red eye. Sort of odd, but whatever. They said that this bunker was a halfway point between the Hoofington area and another city called Fillydelphia. Hat Trick explained that after I had been floated into Elder Rasa’s office, there was a massive electrical discharge that overloaded the bunker’s generators and disintegrated Doctor Scour, whom they still refused to call Redundance for some reason. Wait a minute. Massive electrical discharge? Marelin the Flashback actually hit me with magic strong enough to kill somepony even witnessing its memory! I continued my lucky string of getting my squeaky questions across, as they continued to bring me up to speed about the goings on of the last few months. Apparently the skies had opened, a stable dweller had killed some mutant self-proclaimed goddess and set off a balefire megaspell to do it, the Enclave had come down from the sky and gone to war with a slaver lord named Red Eye over in Fillydelphia, the Steel Rangers had a civil war over ideology and some security mare from another stable had saved Equestria by killing a god from the stars. Oh yeah, and there’s Alicorns all over the place. Just like Luna and Celestia. They’re from that one Mutant goddess thing. So all in all, not that much. … Pfft, okay I can’t. I just can’t keep a straight face. That is so completely absurd I just can’t even comprehend it all happened in two months. Like, seriously?! ‘Oh, not a whole lot happened, Sundown. Just the sun coming back, two gods dying, a few wars here and there, you know how it is.’ Ponyfeathers I say. Complete and utter Ponyfeathers. Then again, I’m also the eternal spawn of Nightmare Moon some thousand and two hundred years from the past that just got a chunk of their memories back, having no idea how they were lost in the first place and I am also incapable of death on a cosmic level. Give or take a couple decades. You know how it is. Luna, you drive me to drink. Anyways, resuming our travels after leaving the ruined bunker, we had snuck past a few of the lingering forces of the Slaver Lord Red Eye, whom had been killed by the Stable Dweller (also known as the ‘Light Bringer’ for somehow bringing the sun back) and his armies destroyed and scattered by the Enclave, before they had a huge showdown at Hoofington with some equally horrible things that blew up all their giant warships of doom and destruction. Nopony will tell me the exact details, because all of this information comes from the charismatic voice of some stallion DJ that can be heard in a great many areas of the Wasteland. At this point I had finally realized that I had absolutely no weapons or armor to speak of to defend myself. I was just an emaciated looking eternal batpony with three surviving initiates of the Steel Ranger’s civil war that had come back to the bunker looking for… Wait a minute, why did they even come back to the bunker if it’s been so long? I made a screechy noise to get all of their attentions, before I poked Hat Trick in the chest and motioned back toward the bunker. “You want to go back?” she asked, tired from the long march along broken streets, sickly brown grassy knolls and so much pulverized rock and ruined city. I shook my head, and poked each of them while giving my best ‘Huh?’ look, and pointed back at the bunker again. It took them a few moments and some guessing, but they finally pieced together that I was asking why they had come back. Upon realizing what I had been asking, they resumed to hushed tones out of my earshot, which happened to be about fifty hooves away at a whisper. They had me nod or shake my head if I could still hear them, which made them worry even more at how far away they had to be for me to not hear them whispering. Cheese Wheel noted that their average speaking must be deafening, to which I face hoofed, having already told them as much. On second thought I can’t really blame them for forgetting. I was dead for over two months, and I had only known them for what, a few days at most? Actually, if I’m eternal, why can I even die in the first place? Do I just get knocked out and my spirit comes back to say ‘Hey body, get your lazy flank up!’? Eventually, their conversation was interrupted by another band of Red Eye’s slavers turned to Raiders, and we had to duck for cover inside of a bombed out brickwork building that had once been a large industrial scale cake factory. ‘FOREVER’ A slightly destroyed and yellowed poster from before the war said, my face scrunched into it as I was thrown into a broom closet to avoid getting hit by stray bullets and magic beams ‘For my safety’ as Hat Trick said. The closet itself was fairly nice as closets go in that it still had a few chemicals, a mop bucket with most of a mop still there, and a sink with a mirror. I guess the janitor of this building liked to look at their reflection. Since the sounds of chaos, mayhem and general death related injuries were still happening outside, and the door being locked, I decided to look at my own reflection in the- “Eee!” I squeaked in panic, before realizing that reflection was me and not some horrible monster from a foal’s storybook come to life to eat me. I looked like a charred skeleton of a pony, coat barely clinging to my body as most of my muscles and fat had either burned away or simply degraded to the point of nonexistence. My face was the very definition of gaunt, and I think that calling myself a mummy earlier was actually a good guess. Bracing myself for a smile, I noticed that my gums had all receded and exposed more of my teeth than normal. My fangs now looked like spikes that would tear somepony’s throat out if I got too close, and my eyes were bloodshot on top of being their usual dragonly slit pupil selves. I can totally use this to my advantage to scare the pants off of somepony! This is gonna be awesome! I now saw my wide smile in the mirror, however horrifying it may have been to anypony else, it was making me even more excited at the idea of breaking down the wooden door that held me in this closet in order to leap out, wailing like a banshee and helping out the Initiates. “Hey, check that door before we go after those steel rejects!” a gruff sounding voice yelled from outside the door, and I saw the handle rattling. Oh, this is just perfect, Mwahahaha! … I’m still not an evil pony! The door finally gave out from the now confused and startled unicorn on the other side of the door, covered head to hoof in shoddy metal plating attached to leather as he dropped the door on the cement floor of the bakery. My guess was that he was not expecting a Janitor’s closet to be holding a mummified batpony with dragon eyes, and I would be right as he decided the best course of action for his current situation was to gallop away while wetting himself before I could even start screeching at him. Aw… Well at least there should be more of these raiders around! This is a whole lot better now that I know I can’t actually die. “What the hell is wrong with you, Cut Throat?” The gruff voice from earlier asked, I assume to the unicorn I had run off earl—Wait a minute. Cut Throat the Raider pony? Who the hay names their foal ‘Cut Throat’ anyway?! Broken from my thoughts, said Cut Throat the Raider Pony of Ridiculously Lazy Parents With Poor Taste bounded around the corner with a few more of his buddies. Despite the fact that he was shaking behind one of the larger earth ponies, the three new raiders he had brought with him didn’t really think much of me, which I soon fixed as I spread my batwings and gave them a good earful of sonic screech to the face from down the hallway. Using my newfound time to think about awesome ways I could torment these raiders, I settled for shadow flashing around and screaming directly into each of their faces until they would either melt or run off. I’m not evil! With my wide, mummified and fang filled grin, I flew at the raiders that were holding their ears or trying to pick themselves off of the ground and slammed into Cut Throat. We flew together in a jumbled mess right into a brick wall, where he broke my fall with a very satisfying Crunch of his spine being broken and slumping to the floor. “Hahaha!” I chirped squeakily, getting way too much joy out of how fun it was to… Oh great. I’m turning evil, aren’t I? Whatever, the Initiates are outgunned and I can’t die. Might as well have fun and be evil if it means I won’t be helpless and crawling around on the floor sobbing like last time. In the Stable. With the Steel Rangers who were going to kill me for being in the wrong place. You know what? Why am I even helping the Steel Rangers? Oh yeah, they came back for me and gave me food, but they never actually told me why they came back in the first place. Whoof-CRACK I was literally smashed out of my thoughts with what looked like a street post that had been ripped out of the concrete and flung through a nearby brick wall, adding to the stress of the Factory’s structure to remain standing with a few groans coming from whatever ghost held it standing. I was covered in a dirty brown and red dust mixed with the grey of concrete from the makeshift mace that had hit me, as I struggled to get myself upright. “Shum-nny whanna tell me wuh dat fing was?” The gruff yet muffled voice from earlier asked, a bit of worry in his voice. I assume he was the one with the big mace, since his speech was so weird. “I think it’s a Wendigo!” somepony yelped, barely in control of themselves. His comment earned him what sounded like a smack on the face, several ponies arguing about the possibility of wendigoes being present when there was no frost or snow, and the fact that wendigoes look nothing like pony mares. “Enuff, let’sh go an git em.” Gruff Guy rumbled, and was joined by a few half willing cheers from his raider buddies as they moved to the Sundown shaped hole in the brick wall. During this time, I had seen fit to look at my surroundings and notice I was on the factory floor. Said factory floor had a very high ceiling, with rafters that I could hide and maneuver around while in flight. I also noticed that the Initiates had barricaded themselves in what looked like a site manager’s office with some upturned tables and furniture barring the door. I had already tapped a hoof on the glass window overlooking the factory floor that was filled with long since decayed cake, nearly spooking them enough to shoot me through the window. I had finished telling them about the hole in the wall before Gruff Guy broke a bigger hole in the wall with his mace. I then flew up into the rafters and waited for them to pile in. Setting his mace down, his voice was much clearer. “Alright. Spread out in groups of two and find the weird monster thing. Shoot those tin heads if you find ‘em as well.” Gruff Guy said, picking up his mace and joining a raider unicorn mare that was holding two machetes in the air with her cheaty powers and looking more than a bit drugged out of her mind. “Come on out, Wendi-go-go-go-GET OUT HERE!” Screamed Machete (That’s what I’m calling her.) Deciding not to go near the crazed mare for the moment, I noticed that she was erratically stabbing cakes that were near her while biting the blade of the other machete. Yes the blade, not the handle or anything else. Her mouth displayed a canvas of scars, I imagine from her cutting herself so many times in a fit of rage. Deciding that enough was enough, I gave a series of squeaks to let the Initiates know it was about time to open fire. The raiders had gathered in groups of four with their backs to each other and looked every direction but up. That worked out just fine for me, and I swooped down from the ceiling screeching like a banshee over the heads of the raiders who were either holding their ears or ducking for cover from the magic beams coming from the three Initiates above them. As I banked left to do another screaming run, I spotted a raider pointing a shotgun at me and shadow flashed behind her. Tapping her shoulder, she turned around to expect one of her raider buddies, only to find my ear to ear death grin to greet her before a wall of volume forced her to fall to the ground and hold her head together from the vibrations. The gunfire and beams zipping through the air all around me were deafeningly loud, but at some point my ears had given up trying to register the noise and became a painful ringing. It allowed me enough respite to focus on my new goal of stealing from Machete. Machete was busy jumping all over the place, picking up random objects with her telekinesis and flinging them in the direction of the Initiates. I took this as my chance to tackle her in the middle of one of her jumps. I couldn’t hear a word she said as I slammed into her, and my own screeching added to the confusion as her ears started bleeding. Then I tried to wrestle her off of me, but in my emaciated and near mummified state, she had a lot more strength than I did. We both plummeted to the ground soon after I had crashed into her, and we tumbled through several raiders and cakes before coming to a stop at the far end of the factory wall. She grabbed a hammer, two boxes of nails and a saw with her telekinesis as I was getting myself off of the floor. I noticed that the cardboard boxes had fallen to the floor, as a wall of carpentry nails flew towards me. I used my wing to try and shield me from it, but the punctures of the nails just stuck in my wing like an Iron Maiden pointing at me. I didn’t really hurt like it should, and that was worrying me. I didn’t know if that was because of me re-discovering my Eternal nature, or the fact that I might not have the energy left to really feel it. My ears were already out of commission and I was running out of steam to keep up with my attacks. Then the Iron Maiden of my wing slammed into my ribs, as Machete had run into me at a full gallop while I was still recovering. Trying to unstick my wing actually did cause me pain before I got the nail embedded wing out of my chest. We both looked down at my chest, and noticed there was no blood. She just seemed to get even more upset, and I was too confused to comment. Beams of magic started flashing our way, streaking across our vision as the Initiates were too pinned down for accurate fire, but still tried to help me out anyway. I used the momentary distraction to see if I really could rip out somepony’s throat with my fangs and lunged. Turns out it’s pretty easy. Easy and satisfying. … I’m not evil, I’m just really hungry still! I saw Machete crumple to the floor and attempt a last few hoof punches in my direction before I turned my focus to the other raiders. I still had her windpipe and some of her throat in my mouth, so I decided that I would go for scare tactics again. With the gore still in my mouth, I screeched and swooped down on them, dropping the giblets into some raider’s lap who then freaked out and started shooting at me wildly. The Initiates had managed to drop quite a few of them, judging from the ash piles and scattered bodies around the factory floor. Only Gruff Guy and three of his raider buddies remained. I heard some muffled noises, and the flashes and gunfire stopped. Looking from my perch on the ceiling, I saw the Initiates and the raiders walking towards another, so I decided to join in. I landed pretty roughly, but instead of making me look like a fool for almost breaking a hoof in my exhaustion, it spooked two of the raiders that were near me. Machete’s blood was still dribbling down my face, and my nail-impaled wing wouldn’t close correctly, so I just left both of them open. It had the effect of me looking like I would grab somepony in my wings and eat them, so I went with it. Everypony seemed more than a little skittish about me trotting towards them with a big bloody grin on my face, but I supposed since I did look like something out of a horror story that I could at least seem cheerful. My ears were still ringing from all the damage they had suffered from the noise of the fight, but Hat Trick and Gruff Voice looked to be making a deal of some kind while shooting nervous glances in my direction every now and again. I didn’t really know what they were saying, so I nodded randomly when they looked at me and always kept the fleshy grin on my face. I thought about menacing one of the raiders who was looking at me, but even looking in his direction had him pointing a gun at me. I just let out a tiny ‘Scree’ at him, and he nearly lost himself before getting smacked upside the head by another raider. I slowly trotted up to the argument between Gruff Guy and Hat Trick, looking between the two with my mummified murder grimace. I was having way too much fun right now. I chirped at the both of them, and they looked down in unison, only to yelp and move away from me at the same time. Way too much fun. Oh hey, the ringing is going away! “-nt get that thing the hell out of here, I’m not gonna be so lenient on letting you tin cans through here!” Gruff shouted, trying to act like he had any cards to play. “We called this parley so Sundown here would stop slaughtering all of you! There’s enough dead ponies in the wastelands now, so we don’t need any more!” Hat trick shouted back, trying to take a moral stance. “You mean that thing is on your side?!” Gruff asked, baffled. “That thing is Sundown! She’s a Batpony!” Hat answered. “You know what? Just get you, your friends, and that monster out of here!” Gruff yelled while backing away with what remained of his crew. Hat Trick let the argument drop, and after the Initiates had grabbed their things and spent some time looting the bodies of the dead raiders, we set out from the warehouse into the battle devastated ruins of Fillydelphia. The Initiates would look back at me every now and again with fear in their eyes as I met their looks with a stare. They’re scared of me… Chapter 12: Initial InsecuritiesChapter 12: Initial Insecurities We had traveled as a group for the next few days, scavenging, sharing rations and avoiding a few more confrontations. My strength was returning after every meal and rest, and I was beginning to look more like my old, non-mummified self. Instead of looking like a corpse, I now resembled a starved pony that had been given a lucky break. During the night, the Initiates had kept an eye on me almost as much as the wasteland, and I think it was because they thought I would eat them in their sleep. No new memories came to me as I got a few hours of rest over the nights, and ended up being entirely dreamless. “Alright. Our new headquarters is about half a kilotrot from here, and we’re due back tomorrow so we shouldn’t have much issue with Elder Rasa.” Hat Trick said, looking over a brewed pot of vegetable stew and rations that she had prepared for us. I had long since eaten all of the apples they’d had, and although it wasn’t as tasty or nourishing as those blessed apples, it still did the job well enough of keeping us alive. During our travels and sparse encounters with ponies that sought to trade with us, the Initiates had kept me out of sight. Now with the base coming up, I was worried if I would have to disguise myself or hide to get in, or if I was the entire reason they went back to their old bunker in the first place. “We should radio in, so they know not to mistake us for raiders and take shots at us.” Cheese said, scooping out some of the stew with a makeshift ladle into an old army bowl. Hat Trick passed off her spoon to Card Trick so he could keep stirring, as she went to the radio equipment and messaged our arrival. Over the past days I had managed to get all of the nails that were embedded in my wing out, but it was still full of holes. Cheese had tried to use some of his healing magic, but it didn’t do anything for me and confused him enough that the subject was dropped after about half an hour of trying to figure out why. I knew it was because of Nightmare Moon’s eternal ‘gift’ that I had been unwittingly struck by, but I felt it wouldn’t go down so well if I had explained that. At best, they would think I was crazy. At worst, they would just try to kill me if they knew anything about history. After we had finished our meal and reported in, we packed up and moved out in the direction of the Steel Ranger base over the ridge. I knew that I could revive myself if I ever died, but I didn’t want to just magically heal myself without explanation while I was walking with the Initiates. They would probably think that I was an infiltrator of some kind that was taking on my appearance to find their new base. As their new stronghold came into view, I noticed some power armored rangers along the makeshift walls, patrolling with what looked like rocket launchers and miniguns on their battle saddles. Around the area were some Scribes and Knights here and there, (I had learned that you could either become a Scribe or a Knight, who later became Paladins.) along with more Initiates that looked like they had been wandering around the wastes and given a Ranger’s uniform. Maybe they were recruited? “Halt!” One of the armored Paladins called out, and we came to a stop. “Stand and be recognized!” the Paladin ordered. Hat Trick walked forward, and answered the challenge. “Initiates Hat Trick, Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe reporting. Target in addition, non-hostile.” The paladin paused a moment before spotting me. “That’s not what my EFS is saying, Initiate. Whatever your target is, is flashing between hostile and friendly.” He warned, training his weapons on me as a few more Rangers came up to investigate. I’ll admit, I wasn’t having an easy time trying to not tear him in half. I was pretty sure I could, but I also knew that it would get me killed again and then I’d have an even harder time controlling myself. I was in conflict between part of me wanting to cause havoc, mayhem and destruction, and another part just wanting to lay down and rest with friends. I saw a few of the Unicorn knights’ horns light up, but the confusion on their faces told me something had gone wrong. “We can’t tranquilize her, our spells aren’t working!” One of them was about to panic. I think they must’ve been new, because the Knight and Paladins weren’t looking all that phased by what was going on. They did, however, aim their weapons at me. “Stand down! This is our mission’s target. We’re to report to Elder Rasa only, please move aside!” Hat Trick called out before the situation became worse. A few of them backed down, but two paladins in powered armor came towards us as escorts to the Elder, and we were allowed inside. I wasn’t too happy at being called a ‘target’ again, but it was better than waking up all on my own without food or help in the wasteland. As I was getting my own memories back, I was losing the few that I did have of my life in the wastes. I didn’t even remember why I had come to that cave in the beginning of my story, or how I had gotten there in the first place. I don’t remember what had made me so cheery and innocent, because after some of my memories were returned from my life before, I was fighting some instinct to just maim and kill everypony I saw. We were brought to a large reinforced door that soon swung open to the inside of a building made of brick and rusted metal. The inside was decorated with a few rotting carpets and banners, along with wooden furniture that the apocalypse had been slightly more kind to. Judging from the stacked munitions and medical supplies around, along with some rooms holding nothing but sleeping bags, cots and additional bedding, it seemed fairly makeshift. There were hastily constructed barricades over a few doors and some ceilings were propped up with metal beams that were melted into place. “These Steel Rangers are going to imprison you; experiment on you!” What? Where the hay did that voice come from? “They will betray you! Run, escape from here!” The voice in my head seemed pretty convinced of my impending doom, but I was still willing to give the Rangers a chance to prove it wrong as we were lead to Elder Rasa’s office towards the middle of the building. The Elder’s door was even more reinforced than the front door to the building, and after several clicks it swung open, and we were called into the room. “Initiates, debrief.” Rasa said sharply, as the Initiates went into the room and lined up. I followed after them, deciding to rest on a dusty couch as the two Paladins escorting us came into the room and the door slammed shut. “Target apprehended, Bunker completely fubar. Skirmishes with raider groups, no casualties. Target heard us coming, but didn’t attack. We gave food to the target, and were accompanied back to base.” Hat Trick reported, and stepped back. Card Swipe spoke next. “Target assisted in our defense against large band of raiders. Four survivors on their side, minor injuries on ours. Total of twenty three casualties, unknown how many were killed by the target. Possibly saved our lives. Raiders thought the target was a wendigo.” He stated flatly, and Cheese Wheel finished. “Informed target of happenings within last two months. EFS was reported to switch between friendly and hostile in regards to the target. Target was found in severely emaciated state but is rapidly recovering to former health.” He stated with purpose, and moved back. Elder Rasa looked at me, and clicked on a sound dampening device. “Now then, does your version of events follow with what was described?” Elder Rasa asked, earning confused looks between the Initiates. “Test… yep.” Was all I said before he made a motion to the two Paladins. Before I could look over to them and see what they were doing, they were on top of me and trying to force a collar around my neck! I tried screaming them off of me, but the dampener just made me sound panicked as it finally clacked on as I was held on the couch. “I warned you…” “What is going on?!” I yelled, trying to struggle with ponies in power armor. “Target is hostile.” One of the paladins reported. “You think?!” I growled, spitting on his visor. “Bring the Dampener with you, lock her in the observation room. No visitors.” Rasa ordered, looking at the concerned faces of the Inititates. “You’ve performed your mission perfectly. You are dismissed.” The Initiates saluted their Elder as I was dragged kicking and yelling from the room. Soon enough, the Paladins had gotten tired of my resistance and clobbered me with their armored hooves. ”I’ll take care of you. Just go to sleep and let go…” The voice whispered in my ear, as I felt my vision fading to black. oooOOOooo I found myself waking up in a dungeon cell, hooves shackled to the wall and laying on my side in a bed of hay. Two guards were posted outside of my holding area, muttering to each other about their distaste of bat ponies after Nightmare Moon’s attempted uprising. One was trying to talk the other out of entering my cell and outright killing me, though was doing poorly considering I had killed his brother. My movement was causing my chains to rattle, and draw the attention of the guards. “Oh, look who’s awake.” The guard intent on murdering me had stated. “Nopony is gonna care if we get some ‘free therapy’ in, are they?” he asked the other guard. “What do you mean? She’s Celestia’s prisoner! We can’t do anything to her, or we’ll get banished, or worse!” the guard of the brother I murdered had responded. “Who’s gonna say it was us that did it? There’s a bunch of other guards on this shift, and they get rotated every so often. Nopony will know it was us.” He darkly suggested. “Except every single guard that can see what she looks like! They’ll all know we beat her up.” “Not if we move her to the far end of the cell, out of the light. We can tell the next guards on shift about just who this scum is, and they can get some therapy of their own in as well. Everypony keeps their mouth shut, and we have ourselves a nice new punching bag.” There was a pause as a look of conspiracy went between the two guards, and my cell door creaked open. The guards snuck inside after making sure every other door in the block was locked and closed securely. I knew that magic couldn’t hurt me, but I was still just as vulnerable to swords, maces, hooves and any other physical weapon as almost anypony else. These guards where there when it was revealed that I couldn’t die, so they knew this well in advance before roughing me up a bit, and moving me to the dark corner of the cell and re-chaining me. This section of chains was to the ceiling, and I was hung by all four hooves upside down. I couldn’t do much more than let out muffled pleas of mercy and agony as I was pummeled, cut, slashed, beaten and bludgeoned all over my body. I had spat up blood and vomited more than once at the damage being done to me. I had deep gashes and cuts covering my body, but I was unable to die from my wounds as they kept up their efforts. After an eternity of their assault, the banging of the next shift came from a door down the hallway. Huffing and panting heavily from exertion, the guards gathered their equipment and locked my cell before speaking with the next set of guards to replace their shift. I heard a few voices get raised in alarm, but they were quickly hushed as I heard their hoof falls come closer. “See, Nopony can tell she’s even hurt. Her eyes do a nice job of reflecting from the dark, so we didn’t touch em. I’m sure she’s killed more than a few of your buddies, and she can’t do nothing to get back at you either. Let this be a secret between us guards, because Celestia knows that the captains give us enough reason to ‘unwind’ after a hard day’s work.” The guard that wanted me dead had said. “You’re sure nopony will tell?” one of the new guards, a Pegasus, had asked. “Of ‘course not. Just say that its part of her punishment from Celestia. Not all the guards are gonna like carrying it out, but she killed my friend’s brother.” He spat in my direction through the cell bars. A bit more convincing from the guard later, and all four of them walked in and locked the cell, intent on getting their revenge for anything they thought I had done wrong, and then for things others had done to wrong them. Towards the end, it was pretty much just because they could. My body had long since been reduced to a heap of bruises, butchered flesh and disfigured bone as I dangled from the ceiling by my hooves. I couldn’t move a muscle or lift my head. The only thing they didn’t hit was around my eyes, but there was enough blood coming from my body and neck that I had been blinded a while ago. I had long since stopped trying to fight the pain and heal myself, so I had died a few hours ago. I was watching with detachment at what they were doing to my body, but only after the next shift of guards showed up did they notice I wasn’t alive anymore. “What the- You said she couldn’t die! She’s not breathing and the next shift is here!” One of the guards panicked. The other guards looked amongst themselves with worry, as the door to the cell block burst open. They all hurried out of my cell and locked the door as Celestia herself rounded the corner, flanked by four of her honor guard. “I wish to speak with the prisoner.” Celestia stated, as the guards shared nervous looks. “Shes… down in the washroom being cleaned, Princess Celestia!” the guard of the murdered brother said, saluting with a shaky hoof. “I just came from there, Sword Slash.” Celestia said with suspicion. “Well then you must’ve just missed the prisoner then!” The murderer guard offered. “Open the cell door.” Princess Celestia ordered, as the guards went into a minor panic. They tried to come up with a list of excuses at the same time, and Celestia’s honor guard moved them aside as she unlocked the door and stepped through. Her horn glowed only for a few seconds before finding me dangling as a mutilated corpse from the ceiling before its magic cut out, plunging the room into darkness again. Her face was contorted in anger and betrayal, as she whipped around to face the guards responsible for protecting me. “Did you do this?” She said with a tempered and level voice, all the more terrifying from the level of anger barely contained from behind it. “N-no, Princess Ce-“ A guard tried, before she flung the four of them against the wall with her magic. “DO NOT LIE TO ME!” She bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice, meant to address thousands of gathered ponies throughout the city. Used in the small confines of the dungeon, it was loud enough to make the foundation shake with bits of dust raining from the ceiling as torches flickered on the walls and the guards tried to appear as small as possible covering their ears. While this was going on, I assumed it safe enough to revive my body. I tried to breathe, but my lungs had been shredded by repeated stabs through my broken ribs. With my throat cut out and blood seeping from my wounds, I only managed to gurgle and jerk in pain. The sounds caused all guards present, including the honor guard of Celestia to jump in surprise as a few let out startled shrieks. Celestia turned her gaze to my slowly repairing body, and ordered the four guards to be locked in a cell at the other side of the block before walking next to me. She studied me as my body slowly repaired itself. Eventually I was able to start screaming in agony at my mutilated body, as I convulsed and shook uncontrollably in the air. Celestia stood there, watching in horror as my features were warped and twisted into a form that roughly resembled the bat pony I was before. I tried to ask for help, to get me out of this dungeon, but my voice was not repaired enough for speech. It came only as squeaks and whimpers that she couldn’t understand as I begged and pleaded with her to be released. Her personal guard soon returned, and she turned to address them. “Take her to the gardens. Unshackle her when you get there.” She stated completely detached from the horror she had witnessed, as I screamed and cried out to be released, to let me go. I had done nopony any harm since Nightmare Moon had been banished. I hadn’t raised a hoof in anger against another pony. I deserved to be released and set free. Later, I stood atop a stone pedestal in the hedge gardens outside of Celestia’s palace. I was surrounded by guards of all races as Celestia came forward. She didn’t say a word, nor did anypony else that was present. Her eyes began to glow, along with her horn, and the Alicorn goddess of the sun cast a spell that began to entomb me in stone. She was going to turn me into a statue! I tried to fight it, to move and resist what was happening to me. I could feel my limbs locking in place and unable to move or free myself from the stone that was replacing my body. My wings and chest were soon locked, having been trying to fly away before the stone took them. Before the rest of my body was encased, I pointed a hoof accusingly at Celestia with a look of pure hatred at having me trapped in eternity, conscious, in stone. The last few moments before my eyes were taken, I saw regret on the face of the Sun Princess. If I was to ever escape, I would not show mercy to anypony in Equestria for what she had done. After all, Nopony had shown any mercy to me. oooOOOooo I came out of the memory, shaking my head furiously to rid it of something that had become stuck in my mane. Only then did I notice it was somepony’s intestine. I looked around at where I was, coming out of a blinding haze as the world flew into focus. Bodies. Bodies of ponies were everywhere. Ripped apart, blown to bits, shredded beyond recognition. Scribes had been impaled with their own weapons. Paladins had been burned alive in their armor, their charred husks propped against walls and each other. Knights and Initiates had been ground to paste and thrown from rooftops to become heaps of broken bones. Some were still alive, screaming for help or a quick death. I looked down at the ground, at my hooves. They were drenched in the crimson blood of those I had killed while inside my head. I checked myself for injury but could find only scratches and bits of my coat torn out. “I told you I would take care of you.” The ethereal voice in my head said. It was soft, soothing even. It calmed me when it spoke, filling me with a sense of belonging and companionship. I had never felt love before, so I had no way of knowing what that was like. I had never had any true friends that I could count on to be there for me in a time of need. But this voice sounded so familiar, like somepony I used to know closely. Who are you? I thought. “You don’t need to worry about things like that now. All that matters is that I am here for you, and I will never let anything bad happen to you.” She responded. Her voice flittered between words like a gentle breeze, reassuring me that all was well in the world even as I strode through the devastation and slaughter of the Steel Ranger base. I had nonchalantly kicked aside the limbs of a few ponies as I walked through the building leading to Elder Rasa’s office in a dream like haze. There was nothing to worry about, everything was going perfectly for me. I wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t tired or worrying about… anything. Nopony was hurting me, nopony was looking for me. All was well. I heard gurgled coughing from a room nearby, and a walked through the archway that once held a door to find Hat Trick laying in the corner behind a couch. Her magic rifle was shaking in her grip before it fell to the floor with a clatter and she fell over in a heap. On a desk nearby was the Dampener, still going off and muting the sounds of the room. Something told me that the dampener was the only reason she had survived, as the bodies of Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe lay in the room as well. They were in bloody shreds and Cheese was missing both of his forelegs. Hat Trick was still coughing, so I walked over the corpses of her fellow Initiates and stood over her. She looked up at me after a coughing fit, and tried to scramble away from me in terror. I stopped her with a hoof placed on her chest, and she froze. “Please… please don’t kill me. I haven’t done anything to you! I didn’t hurt you, I didn’t attack you! I didn’t want you to be taken prisoner, please!” She begged, too weak to move the hoof I was resting on her. I simply stared at her as she struggled, her eyes were desperate and pleading for her to leave me alone. “She’s lying.” The voice snapped, the gentle breeze turning into an angered tempest. “You’re lying. Tell me the truth.” I said without emotion as her panicked efforts redoubled shortly before her wounds sent her into a pained coughing fit and she spat out blood. I pressed my hoof into her chest, causing her body to wrench in pain. “We were sent to gather your body!” She cried out, and I set my hoof aside so she could speak. “Elder Rasa started talking about old mare’s tales from before the war, about a moon of nightmares.” She sputtered out the words between hacking coughs filled with blood. “He said that if we found you, we would get promoted to Knights! Just jump straight up the ladder because he could do that for us. So we went out to find your body, but you weren’t dead!” She was trying her best to explain, but her body was too busy trying to stop her from talking and getting herself killed faster. I tilted my head sideways, finding myself more interested in how long she would take to die than what she was actually saying. “Rasa said that you had been alive, before the war. He said that you would be able to bring the Rangers back together. He said you knew the Elements of Harmony!” Pfft. Yeah, I know them pretty well. They sent Nightmare Moon away. “He said that if you knew the Ministry Mares, that you would’ve known Applejack. That you would’ve convinced the other Elders that it was our mission to protect other Ponies, not to be keepers of technology.” Her breathing was becoming erratic and uneven. I was sure she was in her last few moments of living. I had never heard of these ‘Ministry Mares’, or known an Applejack. All I was certain of, is that they had planned to use me to settle some civil war. Planned to use me for their own ends after having locked me away. So soon after that memory, I was never going to let myself be used again. I was never going to be at the mercy of other ponies that time and again had treated me as property. That had used me and abused me without any regard to my own sense of self. She was still babbling about something. Talking about some device in a mountain that was going to fix the wasteland and make everything better. I couldn’t care less, because Equestria was doomed to fall if it was run by ponies like these Steel Rangers. They had allowed raiders and slavers to operate freely, endangering the few innocent citizens of Equestria. I may have been the last of the Night Guards, but I wasn’t going to let that happen any longer. I needed to cleanse Equestria of the rot that was keeping it from returning to its former glory, and I was going to start with Hat Trick and the Steel Rangers. “Stay your hoof, Sundown.” The soothing voice asked. I was about to end Hat Trick by stomping her head into the floor, but the voice asked and I listened. “She will be useful to you. Find her a healing potion and she will be indebted to you.” The voice swayed my opinion almost effortlessly, as it was far more relaxing and enjoyable to follow with it than to think for myself. In a trance, I walked out of the room and left Hat Trick in a pool of her own blood and began searching through the boxes of medical supplies that had escaped the devastation. I found a box that had a hole through it, but I opened it to find three purple bottles of super rejuvenation potions, although one had shattered and was only half full. I carried the box in my mouth, and set it down in front of Hat Trick. She looked up at me weakly, before I opened the box and held the potion to her mouth so she could drink. After the second bottle she was able to move on her own, and carefully drank from the jagged edges of the last rejuvenation potion. “Why?” she asked quietly, setting down the broken potion and looking at me. The soothing voice spoke through me, though sounding like my own voice. “You will follow me, Hat Trick. I have saved your life, so you are in my debt.” The voice spoke. Hat Trick looked at me suspiciously, squinting her eyes like she was trying to find something in my face. “Who are you?” She asked finally. “The one who has saved your life, of course.” The voice replied with a cheery tone. When the voice was not speaking, my face held an expression devoid of all emotion. I let the voice take control of me, because it had guided me this far and protected me when I tried to defy it. I would’ve been a prisoner again were it not for her efforts, and the voice was filling me with calm euphoria. “We will travel to the ruins of Fillydelphia, to see if any of the slaves there have survived the battle with the Enclave and Red Eye’s forces. From there, we will seek out any remaining Steel Rangers.” The voice hummed, using my body to gather supplies and saddlebags for the coming journey. “And why is that?” Hat Trick asked, gathering food and ammo into her own saddlebags. The voice stopped searching and walked over to Hat Trick, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Because they are the first that must be removed from the wasteland, if Equestria is to become whole once more.” The voice smiled, sending shivers through Hat Trick. The voice went back to gathering the last few bits of supplies, and Hat Trick followed her through the devastated wreckage of the compound outside of the building. The main gate and surrounding walls were completely toppled or obliterated, with the burnt and exploded corpses of ponies lay scattered about. Blood and gore was everywhere, without a single survivor calling out for help. “Don’t worry about the Rangers, Sundown. They were going to use you for their own ends. It is better this way.” The voice washed over my worries like the tide, and I sank deeper into the comfort she provided. I had noticed that while the voice was speaking, she didn’t need to be near an Audio Dampener. “Were you just messing with us, with your squeaking?” Hat Trick asked, having noticed as well. “No, my voice was damaged when we met. I was only recently able to heal most of the damage that was done to it.” The voice stated calmly, making me feel at peace. “How is that?” Hat Trick asked, moving around a large rock that had propped up the corpse of another Initiate. “Do not worry about things that don’t matter, Hat Trick. All that matters is that we are safe for now, and as long as you stay with me, you will be safe as well.” The voice stated softly, glancing back at a confused and suspicious Hat Trick before looking forward again towards our goal of Fillydelphia. “‘We’ are safe for now? Who is we?” Hat Trick asked, growing more suspicious. “Well, Sundown and I of course. You can be safe as well, so long as you remain with us.” The voice responded like she was teaching a classroom of Foals. “You mean that you’re not Sundown?” Hat Trick asked again, getting something out of her saddlebag. It was probably a snack for the road, nothing to worry about. “Of course I am Sundown, and Sundown is myself.” The voice replied cryptically. “So Sundown didn’t kill everypony back there, it was you?” Hat Trick asked, a clicking noise coming from behind us as we abruptly stopped to look back at Hat Trick. She was holding a large and menacing looking revolver in her magic, and aiming right at our head. “We are Sundown, and Sundown is us.” The voice said with a bit of caution as she looked between the revolver and Hat Trick. “We will cause you no harm, should you continue to-“ BLAM! … That definitely was a feeling that I’m sure somepony will have invent a new word for, just to adequately describe. For now, I’ll just go with ‘Oh-my-bucking-sweet-Celestia-my-face-just-turned-into-shredded-meat-dear-goddesses-why-would-o w-ow-ow-why’ as an apt descriptor. Hey… The voice is gone! Then I fell sideways with a squishy flop, and my vision faded to black. Chapter 13: Braggadocious PerspectiveChapter 13: Braggadocious Perspective At some point, I am most definitely going to make this time travel spell entirely more bodacious. It takes me a whole month just to travel a couple centuries time, and one would think that it wouldn’t be an issue since you can just travel to any point in time, thus making the travel time completely pointless. The only problem with that, is you’re stuck contemplating life while flying through a tunnel of eldritch horrors and your Grandmare Butterscotch. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” Grandmare Butterscotch asked with a fluctuating voice as she gently drifted around me for the six thousandth time, offering me her endless supply of Butterscotch Candies that nopony in their right mind would want. “I am most fine, Grandmare Butterscotch.” I, Braggadocious, had answered. She had since lost the appearance of an elderly mare about a millennium ago, but that didn’t stop her from pretending that she wasn’t killed the second I discovered this spell though experimentation. Yes I feel responsible, but she’s also been able to run a fairly extensive candy empire here in the lands between time and space. I’m fairly certain she’s even entertained a few cosmic horrors as guests for tea. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” Grandmare asked again, forgetting that we had had this conversation countless times before. Unless this was her form of paying me back as revenge. “Just fine, Grandma.” I huffed. The end of my journey was coming up, and It couldn’t happen fast enough. I had just returned from informing Marelin about my encounter with Sundown in the first Balefire War before Celestia dropped in on the conversation just as I was mentioning the ‘Entombed’ Night Guard that was afflicted with the magical corruption of Nightmare Moon. The Sun Princess had originally planned to have Sundown preserved and protected against any harm or would be murderers while she was frozen, but judging from the Bat pony’s expression set in stone, she wasn’t appreciative of it. I know that if I had been frozen in stone for over a millennium that I wouldn’t be harboring any good feelings, especially since Celestia had forgotten that whole part about rendering the pony you’re casting the spell on unconscious before you cast it. I was actually more surprised that Sundown hadn’t gone completely insane while she was trapped as a statue all that time, but she didn’t seem to be all there in the first place when I met her. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” she asked again, giving me a wink this time that almost made me explode with frustration. My exit was almost here, thank the goddesses, so I controlled myself. “Thank you for your time, Grandmare. See you later!” I called out to her, as my exit from the wormhole yanked me through the portal. BLAM! My portal had opened to the sound of a single, loud gunshot as I tumbled through the air, contorting so I didn’t end up impaled on something in the wasteland before I fell to the ground with concrete crunching under-hoof. I looked up in time to see Sundown falling over with a fairly squishy flop, her blood gushing from where her head used to be and her throat was gurgling blood. “Whoa. Most unpredicted.” Well, it was true. I was hoping to return before somepony had killed her, but I guess I took longer than I had thought. “Who the fuck are you?!” A unicorn mare holding a large and dangerous looking revolver shouted at me, voice cracking from apparent stress. “Fear not, for I am Braggadocious. Student of Mar-“ BLAM! I cringed, and quickly checked myself. She had shot into the air this time, thankfully. “Who. The fuck. Are. Yooouuu!” She screamed from barred teeth, looking ready to tackle or shoot me if I said something stupid again. I had forgotten that I was in the wastelands, not Canterlot. “Friend! I am a friend, and I mean no harm to you!” I hastily replied, hooves upheld in surrender as I sat down on the concrete. She was breathing heavily and straining to hold back what looked like a whole lot of anger. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying she had just turned Sundown’s head into a new bowl, so I didn’t like the thought of my head becoming another demonstration of her bone carving skills with a revolver. “Do you know what the fuck just happened here? Do you know what this monster just did to everypony I knew?! She killed them! Every single fucking one of them are dead now because of her, and she can’t even die!” She was ranting now. Her magical hold on the revolver was aiming it erratically and I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t shoot somepony on accident, including herself. I looked over at the corpse of Sundown, her brains scattered on the filthy ground and her head had become a goopy paste. “Don’t you even dare say ‘she looks dead to me’ or I will end you!” she screamed, pointing at me with the revolver and now a magic pistol that she had picked from in her magic. “Do you know what the worst part of it is? She wasn’t even in control! Not the Sundown I know, something fucking possessed her and went on a rampage! The only thing I could think of to help her, was shooting her in the face! I don’t know if she can come back from that, but at the very least she won’t be able to kill anypony else.” Her anger was beginning to fade, and was being replaced with exhaustion and grief. I decided not to press her, as she was probably going to break on her own. “I… I can’t anymore. I can’t take all of this bullshit in the wastes, not on my own. I’m not stupid enough to ask a pony that literally drops out of the sky, especially when they look like a… wizard.” A look of confusion spread across her face, before she asked my name again. “I am Braggadocious…” I paused, waiting to see if she would shoot me for the full name, but she spoke before I could continue. “You were there, at the Stable?” She asked cautiously, still pointing a lot of death in my direction. “Most certainly.” “Why? Sundown said that you had blown up the stable, and healed everypony. But the only problem with that is that nopony can remember the same stable, let alone seeing a wizard.” She was dropping her guard. Her weapons were pointed towards the ground in front of me, so I took the opportunity to switch the safeties on while she was distracted. “I can’t tell you why. She is correct that I healed all of you that I could, although some of your allies were already too badly hurt or injured for my skills to fix.” I explained with a forced calm, heart beating from the adrenaline of having weapons pointed at me. I knew that they couldn’t kill me outright, as a gift from Marelin saw to it that I was well protected. Not invincible, but protected. I call it ‘The Bro-ach of Marelin’ to annoy her. They would still hurt to get shot with though. “I’m guessing it would be too much to ask you to fix all of this?” She gestured with a magic rifle held with her telekinesis at the carnage of the devastated Steel Ranger base. Corpses and shredded equipment strewn everywhere like a hurricane of blood and death had leveled the place. “I can see who I can help. Do you know who the most recent to die was, aside from Sundown?” I lowered my forehooves and stood up, cautiously walking towards the emotionally distraught mare. “My friends… Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe. They died next to me.” She said quietly, guns clattering to the concrete without a care for their condition. I offered my help, and she led me through the carnage into a small room with an Audio Dampener. The one she had pointed out to be Card Swipe was a crunched mess of bloody ribs sticking from a caved in chest, and Cheese Wheel was missing his limbs with a look of agony and terror frozen on his face. “I will do what I can for them.” I promised, holding them in the air with the bright glow of my magic. With sickening crunches and blood spurting from the effort of placing bone and limbs where they should be, I gave my best attempt at Necromancy. Normally to any Unicorn in Equestria, the knowledge of the Zebra’s Black Book would be kept a secret, penalty of death. I, however, was a student of Marelin and close friend to Celestia for centuries. It pays to know the right ponies. My usual orange and red colored aura of magic was replaced with a null black, draining the color from the room into a greyscale shift that streaked into my horn. The bodies of the Steel Ranger’s friends were lifted by this same void and floated into the air. “Are you sure that you wish your friends returned?” I asked with my eyes closed, concentrating on the next portion of the spell. “Do it already!” she snapped back. Very well then, nopony must’ve told her to be careful what she wished for. The bodies were bathed in a black and grey fire, a growing whirlpool of dark magic coming from beneath them as I chanted the words necessary for the ritual to begin in earnest. “Mittentis reditum de morte ad vitam, robur animae ad reparare, ad renovandam vitam. Integro corpore et spiritu vivificetur et ligare.” “Qui patitur amor, qui habitant fames esse constitit atque benignus. Et mors ultra non dicere te , et in perpetuum exilium a falce metit.” “Maledicens animam scilicet et amicus est tibi in ministerium eris. Contemnis malitia et ad inimicorum odia , ne pro defectu tui tuendae poenam sempiternam.” At this point, the room was a complete hurricane of necromantic energy, the final words of power to be spoken to bind the souls to their master proper. All sound, all light and all movement had stopped to witness this unnatural event. The dark light of the spell’s power had torn several cracks in the foundation and walls of the building in which it was cast, the eyes of the Initiates friends becoming pure white orbs, glowing and searching for their souls to return. “Anima vestra revertetur ad reliquias ossa tenentur domino stat dum mortis data est gratia. Servabis Donec soluti corpore tueri permaneas in eius servitio. Surgam, et factum est. Non permisit quies!” The spell was completed with a vicious shout, as the souls of the initiates were ripped from their enjoyment of the afterlife and dragged screaming back to their bodies, held together from the force of the spell and sealed forever in their bones. In a final release of energy, the screams of the damned exploded outwards from the building. The souls of those Steel Rangers recently dead and dying were scattered to the winds in a final flash of agony before the sound, light, and natural color of the world swam back to take the place it once held. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGGGG!!!” the Initiates screamed, living in pain from their wounds being noticed as they awoke from death. The Initiate that had requested her friends be returned to her had forgotten me entirely at this point, and I had to make sure that Sundown hadn’t used this time to regenerate herself and escape. She brushed past me, trying to console her friends and get them to calm down as I briskly trotted out of the building in search of the tainted night guard. The muffled sounds of the panicked and pained Initiates faded away as I determinedly marched past the smoking wreckage of burnt out power armor and fused plating of a few Paladins as I saw Sundown’s corpse already twitching and willing itself back to life in a spasmodic heap of twisted magic. Screeches and high pitched yelps of agony escaped the now reforming mouth of the resurrected night guard, as I opened another portal back to pre-war Equestria and shoved her still recuperating form into it. Giving the surrounding devastation a last glance, I hopped into the maelstrom after her as the portal closed. “Equitum portæ ad terram , pro duobus placer.” Portal to Horse Land, Room for two please. Just because it looks fancy, doesn’t mean it is. Chapter 7: Braggadocious BalefireChapter 7: Braggadocious Balefire Then the monster of Stable 96 exploded. Twice. What in Luna’s moon!? Getting myself off of the old restaurant’s floor, I peered through a window to the now crater of Stable 96 that had doubled in size. It had turned into a white hot bowl of glowing heat and fire, as a pony shaped figure wearing a completely ridiculous outfit that looked like it had leapt out of the pages of some old mare’s tale. Billowing cape, pointy wizard hat and flowing robes all with flame decals adorned the approaching stallion. He looked like the embodiment of balefire and radiated heat from his fiery red coat, with an orange and white mane that resembled an inferno with eyes like a campfire. In his hoofsteps were ashen imprints of his passing. He kept his head bowed low as he approached the wounded Steel Rangers and I managed to pick my jaw up from the floor, only to have it drop again as I got a full look at his downright regal features. “Greetings and salutations, my most splendid of Equines!” He announced, in a voice that resembled surfer bronies from some old videotape of the Neighties. “I do most profusely apologize for my pets must un-cool temper tantrum. I assure you, my metal bros and night guard, that I won’t allow this unfortunate happenstance to occur again.” The blazing unicorn announced with a flourish. What. Paladin Copper Wire staggered beside me, still wounded but with his eye swollen instead of hanging loosely from his face. After a moment of pained breaths and attempts at speech, the fire wizard spoke again. “Oh! Most uncool, Brah!” he said, somehow keeping his voice authoritative yet cheery with his odd accent. “That must’ve been the work of my obliterated pet, yeah?” he pointed at Copper Wire while his horn lit up like a miniature sun. An aura of gold and red enveloped Copper Wire as he slowly lifted from the ground, the weight of his power armor and earth pony heft like he was an action figure to the image of fire. “I’ll have all of you right as rain in a moment, dudes. No prob.” He said, smiling and bobbing his head at random, his eyes flicking around like sparks from a forge as he looked over the Paladin. Then with a bright flash, he released the paladin and he landed on the ground with a resounding THUD-CLANG of metal and mass. My mouth had somewhat regained its ability of speech, as I attempted to ask who this strange unicorn of fire was, but only squeaked as usual. “Who…?” I managed. “Fear not, Night Guard bro-mare. I understand your confusion! I am Braggadocious, Best Student of Marelin sixteen centuries running, and the Element of Fire, brah. When news of my latest experiment’s escape had reached my most wonderful ears, I immediately absconded in search of him! Imagine my most intense befuddlement that my audacious pet had traveled time to a wasteland of death and most heinous suffering of pony kind. The Laws of Time state that I can’t intervene with your lives, nor solve the conundrums you face, but I can most certainly fix all the mistakes that my indirect interference has caused and set you back on the path you would’ve properly traveled!” Braggadocious finally finished, taking a large breath as his form seem to be stoked like a fire with the intake. “Now, if you would all congregate in an orderly manner, I’d be most willing to assist your injured and deceased bros and mare-bros with my incredible magical skill!” He announced to the gathering group of Steel Rangers. Paladin Copper Wire groaned and shifted himself from the floor to stand up… completely healed! “What… what happ- where am I?” He stammered in confusion as he looked around from the hole in his helmet between Braggadocious, the wounded Rangers and myself. “All will be explained in time, Metal Brosef. Gather your clan and I will save those I can. Hah, I rhymed! I must’ve spent too long in Roam again.” The spirited fire mage cheered with a grin across his face, trotting in place while sending up tufts of smoke from his hoof falls. Oh crap, now my descriptions just rhymed. It’s spreading! “Who are you?” Paladin Copper Wire asked, before being cut off by Scribe Hay Hen. “I request you rest. Braggadocious here has offered assistance and… revival of our friends.” Now she’s rhyming! The paladin seemed completely over his head, so instead just huffed in confusion and walked off in a daze to gather the wounded and dead of his Stable exploration force. “So, most beautiful of the night guard I’ve seen in these lands, what brings you to this cloud covered and horrific time? Seeing the sights or looking for your own lost experiment?” The element of fire said, a bit too close for comfort as I began sweating from the heat radiating off of him. “Um…” I squeaked, leaning away from him being invading my personal space. “Worry not, bro-mare. I can understand you perfectly! It’s not that hard to reverse a mute-ation spell after all, and I know the Night Guard are soft spoken when they want to be!” he chuckled, while draping a foreleg over my shoulders and pulling me closer to the furnace that was his body. His hooves were like stones in the desert. I began sweating and squirming even more, trying to get away from the Element of Fire before I burst into flames, and he soon realized why I was moving around so much. “Oh, my most sincere apologies bro-mare! I hadn’t even realized I was bleeding off so much energy from the transportation spell.” And with a bright flash of his horn, the ethereal fire that had engulfed his body disappeared to reveal what looked like a regular (albeit incredibly clean, for the wastelands) unicorn stallion. He was still in his fire adorned garb, but no longer venting off heat like an erupting volcano. “Would you be so forgiving as to give Braggadocious your name? It would do me no good to keep calling you Bro-mare, after all.” He requested, taking one of my hooves in his own while looking at me. What is happening? Somepony help me what is going on! OhmyLunawhatisgoingonimgoingtodiewhyismyheartdoingthishelp! “Oh, bummer. I’ll see you when you wake up then, Night Guard Bro-mare!” the mage said as my vision began to blur and I fell backwards into the dirt. oooOOOooo Bright green fields, night skies with white puffy clouds and a gentle breeze carried me through the air as I soared over what looked like a small village next to a forest. Not a care in the world for the cold nipping through my coat and freezing the silver and midnight plated armor I was wearing as I glided through the sky at this altitude, gazing down and watching the ground for anypony in distress or need of aid as I carried on my nightly sweep of the hamlet a mere twenty kilo trots from Canterville. Nothing usually happened this far out, but it was still my duty to make sure that Princess Luna’s night was as safe as her sister Princess Celestia’s day. Besides, I got to enjoy the star filled sky that Luna had so diligently worked to create every single night for the subjects I was now watching over, even if none of them ever did stay up long enough to enjoy it. I had heard the reports of the regular ponies insisting that Luna’s night was full of terrors, demons and other nonsense they had convinced their foals that would gobble them up as soon as they left the safety of their lamp-lit hovels. I can see why Princess Luna was so hurt. After all, enough light in one area would block out the absolute beauty that she had crafted every night for her subjects enjoyment, only to be scorned and rejected on the sheer principle that the night is dark. If only the villagers could appreciate the night in the same was as Luna’s Night Guard could. There would be no more fear or misunderstanding about the night, no more arguments between Princesses Celestia and Luna over the Princess of the night being ignored and shoved into the shadow by the older sister’s day. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared in the night sky, streaking across the tapestry of Luna’s creation… and headed right for—oof! oooOOOooo Uhg… my head. Why did… Did I pass out? What kind of dream was that? “Most splendid Mare of the Night! You’ve returned to the land of the conscious once more!” The chipper fire mage blurted out, his head popping upside down and staring at me as I opened my eyes to the blinding sun… Or his face. “The rescue of your allies is nearly finished, as is my time in this plane of reality. Would it be true, that I would be able to learn of your name before I depart, shy Bro-mare?” he offered one of his burning hooves to lift me up, his spells apparently re-heating him enough that he had grown tired of dissipating all the energy after each cast. “My name is Sundown.” I squeaked at him, hoping he could actually hear me as I remembered he had said before. Braggadocious paused his spell casting for a moment to look at me curiously, before finishing with the last of the Steel Rangers that had been mutilated by the monster of the stable… or his pet, I should say. “That is most interesting! Night Guard Sundown… I may have to return here after all.” he finished, muttering to himself. He might be able to understand me, but I don’t think he knew that my hearing was as good as it is. “Mage… Braggadocious, was it?” Paladin Copper Wire asked, completely healed and his armor repairing itself as a scribe fed what looked like scrap metal and gems into a port on the side of his suit. “Student of Marelin, Braggadocious, Element of Fire.” He said with an exaggerated bow and the… The HOOFSHAKE. Even a downright demi-god of magic does it! It’s so dangerous, does nopony realize the danger of offering your hoof to somepony! “I would ask if this is some kind of trap, but considering that you’ve returned nearly every one of my brothers and sisters from even death itself… Do you need anything as payment for your-“ Paladin Copper Wire nervously asked before he was cut off. “Worry not, my well-armed metal-bro. I’ve almost more than I will ever need, and I’m certain you would need any supplies you could get your hooves on in this environment. I bid you good luck, and may the Princesses of Sun and Moon watch over you!” he announced with a final flourish, before vaporizing in a massive flash of light that I was frantically trying to blink away for a few minutes afterwards. Click. Beep! Beep! Beep! Click. “Scribe Hay Hen, Radio please.” Paladin Copper Wire asked abruptly, gathering himself before reporting to the radio’s signal. “Paladin Copper Wire, respond, over.” The voice on the radio demanded. “Paladin Copper Wire responding to message, over.” “Report status, over.” “One Target captured, four missing and presumed dead. Casualties… minimal. Three in total. Identification Tags were retrieved before detonation of Stable 96, upon encountering unstoppable mutant beast…thing. Over.” “Right… Have a report ready as soon as you report back to base for Debriefing. You stated a fifth target, over?” “Confirmed. Claims to be a ‘Batpony.’ Served during the fighting to assist myself and three Initiates. Initiates request integration of target into their squad on arrival, over.” “Report back to base, Paladin. The Elder will review your report and decide then, out.” Click. The paladin returned from his conversation to find myself talking with Cheese, Hat and Swipe in a corner of the restaurant along with Clear Report and Hay Hen. Several other Steel Rangers were around us as Hat recounted the tale of how the three initiates and myself managed to navigate our way around the ‘Death Stable’ as they had begun calling it, without a scratch or injury until the very ending scramble. They had put a lot of praise into my hearing keeping them safe, even if I was next to useless in an actual fight. Clear Report quickly pointed out that nopony could stop that thing even if they were the Stable Dweller herself (Whoever that was) before they slowly went silent as they noticed Copper Wire over them. “Alright. Everypony ready to move out? We have another mission.” The paladin said with a flat tone. Grumbles and murmurs of discontent went through the group before they realized the paladin was within earshot, as they assembled in the now clear central area of the restaurant. “Yes Paladin! All ready to move!” They announced as one to the paladin. “Good. Our next mission is going to be a long and difficult one. Even more difficult than the ‘death stable’ we just went through.” He deadpanned. More murmurs and quiet voices of protest rang from the group, and a few of them had begun to sweat that anything could’ve been worse than that stable. “Paladin Copper Wire, where are we going sir?” Cheese Wheel asked. The paladin paused for a moment, looking over all of them before walking nose to nose with Initiate Cheese Wheel before he said, “Going Home, Initiate.” And burst out into laughter as even the veteran rangers had nearly collapsed to the floor in relief at the news. Several cheers of hot meals, warm beds and hopes of alcohol to wash their worries away from the nightmare of not even a few hours ago began to flood their minds at the plans already being made for when they got home. I couldn’t help but smile at the news, and was thankful that I received a few hugs and pats on the head instead of stares of anger or disgust for my fangs and teeth gleaming in the light as I smiled wide, before Hat Trick asked, “Paladin Copper Wire, what of Sundown? Is she going to be allowed to join us at the base?” Steel Rangers I hadn’t even met murmured in agreement with me joining them, as Copper Wire answered, “Yes Initiate. Sundown is going to be coming with us. Even if she is a ‘Target’ for our mission, being grouped with those four survivors of Stable 96, she has aided us immensely in our mission. Would any disagree?” he challenged, looking over the Rangers. To my immense glee, not one of them did as I was floored from the cheer of the Steel Rangers. “Alright, Alright! Enough, you’re hurting the batpony’s ears!” Card Swipe waved his hooves, getting their attention as I was helped to my hooves by Hat Trick and Cheese Wheel. About half an hour after we had packed our gear and moved out from the ruins of the city and our restaurant post, the Initiates had been discussing the random appearance of Braggadocious, who had already become something of a myth amongst the Rangers that saw him to the Rangers that were wounded or unconscious, not believing in a tale of some unicorn of fire appearing out of nowhere to make everything right again out of the blue. A few pointed out that they wouldn’t have thought of those monsters in the stable before today either, but with the deaths of their friends and allies being tied with that statement, they dropped the subject and we continued our march to wherever the Steel Ranger base was. As I was just about certain that my hooves were going to fall off, I switched to using my wings to hover around and keep pace with the trotting Steel Rangers. I heard some muffled communications between the power armored Paladins of the Steel Rangers, keeping a watch out with their EFS for any movement or signs of hostile intent as they swept and scanned around the traveling group. A few scribes were talking to Paladin Copper Wire about the need to blindfold me before they reached their base, because that was standard procedure in case I was a spy, but Scribe Hay Hen questioned the validity of blindfolding somepony that can see with sound in the dark. She also stated that I didn’t have a Pipbuck, so it’s not like I could give anypony a map directly to their base either, but they decided to blindfold me anyway to keep with procedure and not get in trouble for negligence after the apparent failure of their mission. Well, they were supposed to bring some technology back with them from that stable, but that was pretty much cut short from the giant monster and huge explosion, then Braggadocious’ entrance of balefire to the area pretty much sending any hopes of salvage to the winds. At least being blindfolded meant I could get off of my hooves and give my wings a rest. I was used to traveling the wastes, sure, but I wasn’t used to traveling so long and slowly over rocky terrain when I could just fly everywhere under cover of darkness. I was placed on the back of a Paladin somewhere near the center of the convoy, from what I could tell by echolocation and squeaks of discomfort giving me some idea of where I was. The paladin I was laying on didn’t seem to mind or notice me, and at least they didn’t see fit to tie me up again. I rested my belly on his armored back while I draped my hooves over his sides and let my wings cling to my side as I rocked around from his movement. Bunch of rocks getting knocked around by hooves. Cl-clank, Cli-clonk. Cli-Clack, Cli-clop. Yay walking noises! I wonder if Braggadocious is going to show up again anytime soon. Probably not, he seemed pretty busy. Why am I thinking about Braggadocious when I’m going to an uncertain fate with Steel Rangers? I only knew him for less than an hour, did he really make that big of an impression on me? He only talked to me for a few moments and I outright fainted. Maybe I have a crush on him or something… Aw, that’s just mean, brain! Giving me a crush on a buck I can’t even see again because he travels through time on a whim. I squeaked a huff, slightly startling somepony that sounded like Hat Trick traveling beside me. “Oh, hey Sundown. I thought you were sleeping. You doing alright?” she asked. I was blind, so I couldn’t read her expression. She seemed pretty calm though. I lifted my head to nod and stared in her direction, looking where her eyes would be. “Whoa, that’s really creepy. Can you see me with that blindfold on?” I tilted my head at her, and shook a hoof side to side. Sorta? “Like, can you see normally or… I don’t even know how to ask how you can see.” To demonstrate, I set out a series of rapid clicks ending in a short screech, and I saw her ears fold back in fright at my sudden burst of noise as a few ponies stopped outright to question what the hay noise that was. I tried to melt into the back of the Paladin to avoid looks, before the group started moving again. I pointed at where I thought Hat Trick was, and let out a series of clicks and a smaller squeak to point at where she had moved to, booping her on the nose. “That’s really freaky, but cool at the same time! I’m guessing they blindfolded you because of protocol?” I heard Cheese Wheel ask. I nodded, and the group was stopped as a call to hold position was repeated down the line to those without radios. Chirping, I noticed the rangers were taking positions to cover the side of the road we had been traveling. Focusing, I heard whoops and cries of raiders in the distance, but they were moving away while shooting at somepony. Probably a caravan. Raiders and Caravans. At least the name is relevant, I guess. Soon enough, we were on the move again as the Initiates talked with me about being a Batpony and questioning why I was out in the wastelands, and asking why they hadn’t seen more than just me as far as batponies went. I didn’t really have an answer to that, because as far as I knew I had always just been on my own in the wastes. Sure I had some gaps of memory here and there, but it all seemed to fit well enough. Even if that one dream I had was totally strange, it was still just a dream, right? A loud roar made me jump from the conversation, as I heard a few ponies stop and look around for whatever had made the noise. I held my stomach and fell off the back of the Paladin, rolling on the ground in a long skree of pain. I heard a few ponies looking at me, and asking what had happened before Cheese Wheel asked, “Um, Sundown? When was the last time you ate?” giving me a nudge on the side with a hoof. My expression must have spoken for me, because next thing I knew I had some apple tasting thing shoved in my mouth and I froze. Apples. They have APPLES!? I bolted upright, nearly head-butting a scribe as the drained husk of the apple fell from my fangs and I looked around in a blindfolded frenzy for more of the blissful blobs of delicious goodness. My squeaks and screeches announcing my zealous need for more of the gift from the goddesses before I was held down with a hoof by a paladin, as Copper Wire came back to investigate what was going on. “Paladin Copper Wire, I don’t think Sundown has eaten… anything in the past few days. I heard her stomach growl a few canters back! She must’ve been starving so I gave her an apple and…” I was still squeaking so I saw the scribe raise the drained husk of the apple I had devoured the juices of bliss from in an instant. “It was completely shriveled before she even sat upright! Batponies don’t drink blood, right?” I swear I could feel him shivering next to me, but I only had fangs for the apples I knew he was carrying in his saddlebags. I had managed to eat about four or five more of his apples before I was torn in protest from his treasure trove of delight (Saddlebags) by at least four scribes and a paladin, my screeches of anguish going unheeded as I cried out for more apples. I’m not one to usually brag, but I’m pretty strong. There’s a reason I used a sledgehammer as my weapon of choice and it wasn’t for looks. Regaining my hoofing, I managed to buck off two scribes and shake a third off before I dived back at the apple bearer when a gunshot rang out with a very upset Paladin Copper Wire shouting. “Sundown! Calm down immediately or we’ll be forced to tie you up!” I fell to the ground covering my ears from the volume of the shot, using a free hind hoof to paw at the scribe who was backing up in terror from me as I was tackled by the now annoyed scribes I had chucked off of me. I was secured to the ground and I heard the murmurs of gossip as the scribe looked through his saddlebags and began pulling out fruit husk after husk that I had eaten in the blink of an eye. “Wow… At least we know what to feed you now. I was worried we’d have to go hunting or something.” Card Swipe said with a bit of surprise in his voice, before looking at the other Initiates staring at him. “What, don’t bats eat meat or something?” “She’s a Batpony, Card. Fruits and vegetables, duh.” Cheese responded. “Well jeez, mister batpony expert, So-ree.” Card snarked. “Alright that’s enough. Sundown, Hold your hunger until we get to our base. We should have enough to feed you, unless this was just a snack… Please may this have not been a snack.” He finished with a quiet prayer to Celestia and Luna to cut him some slack after what happened today. I spent the rest of the trip on the back of the Paladin, staring blindfolded at the (very worried and smelling of sweat) holder of deliciousness that was apples. I held two hooves up to my eyes, before pointing one of them at the Scribe of Apples, and he fainted on the spot. He later awoke right beside my blindfolded self, smiling open mouthed with my fangs out and he yelped in surprise and tried wiggling off of the paladin. After that it was mostly me just messing with whomever got within squeaking distance and asking if they had any apples, vocal range be damned. Sadly, they either slowed down enough to keep a distance from me or shook their head and trotted forward. Eventually we came to a halt and I heard the paladin receiving commands through the radio his helmet was muffling and I was set down, blindfold being taken off finally. After being momentarily blinded by the light, my eyes adjusted and we walked through some very heavy looking blast doors to an underground (Yay!) bunker. The flooring was lined with steel paneling and there were a few floor and ceiling turrets at the main entrance as our group packed tightly together as the doors shut closed with a loud KU-CHINK, like a massive deadbolt slamming it into place. Scribes and paladins began filing out of the room as soon as the door opened, going to wherever it is that Steel Rangers go to after a mission, as an older looking unicorn in a faded crimson robe came through the doorway to speak with Paladin Copper Wire, the three Initiates and myself. “Paladin Copper Wire, Initiates Cheese Wheel, Hat Trick and Card Swipe.” The rasping voice of whom I assume was ‘The Elder’ stated with a slight bow of the head. The four of them returned the bow with a salute, and parted to reveal me peeking over what used to be the back of the Paladin, but was now open air. I meeped and looked around for another hiding spot before I turned back and saw the Elder looking right at me, a foreleg’s distance from my face. “You must be the ‘target’ that survived the mission, I take it?” He asked in a monotone with more command and vigor than before. I looked at the Initiates and the paladin to save me, since I could only squeak, but they stood at attention. “Uh… Yes?” I skree’d at him as quietly as possible. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at me before calling Copper Wire over. “Is she incapable of speech?” he asked curtly. “In a way, Elder Rasa. She claims to be a ‘Batpony’, So her voca-“ Copper Wire managed before the elder silenced him with a raised hoof, and he fell back to his previous spot. The Elder stood for what seemed like hours, just staring at me while I started to sweat and gave a nervous smile at him before instantly regretting it. “Hmm… We will have to send her to Doctor Scour to confirm her story. I’m sure that there must be some record to compare pre-war batpony physiology with this… wastelander.” He rubbed a hoof on his bearded chin before declaring that I be sent to the prisoner cells and given a meal while Doctor Scour runs a physical on everypony that was on the mission before seeing me. I was going to complain about how small the cell was before I noticed a pyramid of apples sitting on a tray in the cell, and dove straight into it at the sight of them. Then I heard a loud series of Zaps as I learned the prison cell was a net of magic beams for a door. Who cares, I just got a whole fourteen apples!
Chapter 1: IntroductionsChapter 1: Introductions! Hello! Since you’re going to be tagging along with my mind, I’ll give you a tip. The funny sideways scribbles are what I’m thinking, (Usually) and the normal boring scribbles are the usual stuff! Awesome. Not a bad beginning, if I do say so… myself. Right. This is going to take some getting used to, even for me. Right then! Onwards to the story and everything, since that’s what books are for… At least I hope so. Now, if you’re listening to this without some kind of Audio thinga-ma-what’s-it, then this will probably sound like a whole bunch of squeaky nonsense! That’s because I’m a Batpony. OOooooOOoooo, Batpony. Yeah. Not hiding in a cave somewhere, being secluded and sleeping with my 4th cousin. Hurray for Genetics and radiation in the wastelands, right? Now you’re probably thinking, “Hey Sundown, I thought that couldn’t happen because only Batponies make Batponies. That’s their whole issue, right?” And to you I would say, “Sure! Why not! But then I wouldn’t have a story of me being a Batpony, now would I? That would be really boring, because then I’d just be some other regular wasteland trotter that goes around killing raiders and saving the day, like every other pony out there.” And then you’d say a thing, and I’d say a thing, then I’d realize we’re having a conversation inside of my head when you’re not actually here, and then I’d just get worried about if I’m supposed to be shy and awkward around you. Nopony wants a story like that! Unless they do, which in that case, that isn’t this story! This is a story about a regular freak of accidental familial genetics and mutation from radiation and other words with more than a few syllables. So, as my uncle would say, “Start from the beginning, and when you come to the end, stop!” We begin my story of being a Batpony… In a cave! Yeah, Cliché I know but at least most of us know what a cave is like. Except this cave was super fancy! In that it wasn’t all that fancy, but it was my cave, and I felt it was. Nyeh. That’s me sticking my tongue out at you, since you can’t see my expression through an audio tape, or a book, or whatever this thing is now. Anyway! This cave was pretty dry, (as far as caves go) and had a slightly used mattress (Blood stained, springs poking out of the fabric, and I assure you that is definitely not my urine stain. Honestly.) A completely intact end table with four whole legs and a little drawer. (‘Intact’ is relative. I used a lamp as a leg repair for the thing, after using it to bash a raider’s head in. I’ll explain later.) The floor was pretty much a bunch of rock, with some cloth strewn about to resemble a carpet. Rock gets boring to walk on after a while. The best part of this whole ‘Fancy cave’ deal was that it wasn’t even my cave! I was sort of borrowing it for the night while the real owner decided his blood and brains were desperately needed as wall decoration over in the corner, on an equally decorated sofa he had somehow managed to drag in here. I’m sure he’ll be fine, I gave him a healing potion to hold on to at least. Besides, cave acoustics don’t really work when you can hear a bobby pin drop at two hundred and fifty feet in a rainstorm. Drip. Drip. Drip. Uhg. This place is about a four on the scale of ‘Not really dangerous, but really annoying anyway’ scale of bad places to sleep for the day. At least I don’t have to worry about more than the usual since the sky felt like vomiting its humid love all over the ground for a few hours. I could just find something to use as earplugs, but then I wouldn’t be able to hear that raider stumbling around outside of the cave entrance. Wait, what? Realizing that it probably wasn’t a good idea to lay on the mattress in the middle of the cave in broad (Cloud covered) daylight, I decided to slink to the side of the walls where there was noticeably less daylight trying to get me killed with its whole ‘Spotlight the Batpony’ business it seems so fond of. “Well, awesome. Mr. Raider hasn’t seen me in the cave yet, so I should be good.” I had whispered to myself, sneaking further along the wall to creep up on the oblivious raider looking at Decorum over in the corner. I think he was trying to take the healing potion from the late Interior Decorator. “Huh? Who’s that squeakin’?!” the art critic bellowed at the top of his insane lungs. Or at least he would have if he was actually yelling. I suppose to any normal wasteland pony it would sound normal speaking volume, but my ears were just that blessed by Luna, Goddess of listening to mice fart. Also the night, which I’m actually quite enamored. Please don’t eat me, Moon Goddess. At this point, I had begun my attempts to fuse myself into the wall to get away from the very loud and angry person that was in the cave entry way. I figured he was a raider from the fact that his armor was a hodge-podge of metal, spikes, skulls and entrails that would make a butcher blush. That, and his pinprick sized pupils looked like he'd had one too many hits of Dash to go with his Stampede. Speaking of Stampede, that's immediately what he did the second he spotted me being a spaz on the wall. "HEY! YOU GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW. I'M GONNA GET ME A MUTANT TROPHY FOR MY COLLECTION WITH YOU!" He in fact did scream at the top of his insane lungs. At this point, a battleship performing its own rendition of the 1812 Overture would've been more graceful to my ears at this distance, and I hurriedly flapped my leathery bat wings up and away from the loud raider to the back of the cave, where I and my dark grey coat would blend in better. Oh yeah that’s right! You have no idea what I look like. Should've probably said that sooner. I have a dark grey coat of fur for my body, similarly dark grey and black wings, and dark grey hair with a stripe of deep orange going down the middle. I tend to leave my messy hair off to one side to be easier to deal with. My eyes, like my namesake, have the same coloration as the setting sun. Or so I'm told that’s the color of the setting sun. I've never been able to confirm that, what with all the clouds being ever present in the wasteland. Anyway, back to me being chased by a very loud and bloodthirsty raider! Since he was being so obnoxiously loud and painful to my eardrums, I decided to return the favor and sing the song of my people. It's called a Sonic Screech, and has a tendency to liquefy organs from the soundwaves playing havoc with cell membranes. Or something. That’s how sonic stuff works, right? What do you mean I should know this? Just because I'm a bat doesn’t make me a bat expert! Are you a... 'You' expert? Thought not! Right. Now that we've got that sorted out, my screech pretty much consists of me putting on my war face and giving my best "AAAAAAHHHH!" in the general direction of whatever scares me. Yes I brush my fangs, don't even ask. Thankfully, this raider was within screaming distance from me frantically flying away from him, and he caught a whole face full of my singing talent. Dropping to the floor and screaming even louder than he was yelling, I decided that he needed the bed in the cave more than I did, took my potion and my things, and made a hasty withdrawal for quieter pastures. Unfortunately for me, raiders don’t usually travel alone, and I flew outside to be greeted by a whole bunch of rusted barrels of death (More from the tetanus than the bullet, I’d think.) and equally degraded raiders with more drugs in their system than a pharmacist can shake a Pestle at. Yes I use metaphors a lot for describing things. It’s easier and somepony might actually learn something if they do some research trying to figure out what my metaphors reference in the first place. Besides, it lets you use your imagination! "Get that mutant Pegasus and break its fancy wings!" "Shoulda stayed up in the clouds, chicken!" "I’m gonna fry you alive, bird!" Oh, well. With that completely reasonable and sound argument I should throw down my arms and submit to your fine hospitality, yes? Nope! At that point I banked right and followed the terrain down from the cave's entrance, doing my best to dodge stray fire from the makeshift weaponry the raiders had gotten their hooves on. I gave them a good few earfuls of my opinion and managed to escape with a few scrapes from going too close to the rocks, and more than a few grazes from bullets zipping past. About an hour after the raiders had gotten tired and given up their chase, I noticed that the sun had finally gone down and I could begin my day. Yes I work at night. I like to switch the places of what things are called. When I’m awake, it’s Day, when I’m asleep, its night. Even if when I’m awake is Night, and when I’m asleep it's Day. Hey, it works for me and I don’t really expect anypony else to follow my schedule. So! Let’s get down to what I usually wear, since I totally forgot to even describe myself to you. Oh and yeah, I'm a Mare, just to be completely blunt and straightforward so there’s no confusion. My clothing usually consists of a leather tunic that I’ve painted black so I can blend in better, and a head covering for the same purpose. I use some goggles to try and hide my eyes for when I’m in town, and my wings can be hidden in the tunic so I don’t get attacked for being a "Pegasus" even though I doubt anypony even knows what a Batpony is anymore. More often than not I get mistaken for a Mutant or a Pegasus anyway, and it’s not like I can explain my position when all they hear is frequent squeaks coming from me with funny expressions. I don’t talk to ponies much for this reason. "Hey, You there!" Oh crap, I've been caught thinking! Looking up, I notice what looks like a Caravan wandering past with a very upset and roughed up guard leveling a shotgun at my face. How did I not even notice him sneaking up on me? I must've been really zoned out from those raiders or- "Are you listening?" Eep! "Squeak?" Yes? "Oh great." the guard groaned through the mouthpiece holding his shotgun. He shot a glance at me promising all kinds of pain if I did so much as squeak again, and looked towards what I assume was his employer. "Who's the Mare?" The caravan boss called to his guard. "Won’t say! Only squeaked at me. I think she's scared, boss!" He chuckled, and had me stand up and shoved me toward his leader. "Scared eh? What do you got to be scared about, little missy? Big bad wasteland got you down?" Looking quickly to my sides, I noticed more Caravan guards that were quickly looking like not caravan guards and more like Slavers. "Well come on, mare. Lemme hear that voice of yours." the guard with a voice as soothing as a unicorn scraping their horn on a chalkboard. "Squeak, Squi skree ski skriiskurr squiike." Hi. I'd like a Mocha Latte. "What the hell kinda voice is that? You get mutated or somethin'?" "Ssk Skqu." Oh Yes. Whether or not he'd ever understand a word I said wasn’t even a concern. I already figured out a long time ago that nopony could understand me, so I smart arsed my way through almost every social interaction just to amuse myself and calm my nerves from the fact that I’d been caught by slavers who probably wanted to do more to me than have a somewhat pleasant conversation. I understood what he was saying just fine, and I can speak just fine as well. There’s just the whole issue of my vocal range being so high that I can find people in the dark with it. Does make it pretty fun to play hide and seek though. "Well that’s just great, boss. We got us a mute. How's one of those Fillydelphia bosses gonna order around a slave what can’t speak? Won't know if she's being disrespectful or not, and I definitely don’t want to hear that thing squeaking the whole way back. I say we just leave her and deal with some other ponies." the slaver guard actually reasoned to his leader. "Yeah we could, but wouldn’t it be fun to use her as a squeaky toy? Think of all the stress relief we could do with her!" the Boss less reasonably suggested. "Yeah but boss, wouldn’t that get annoying real fast? She can’t even scream I bet, let alone beg us to stop. She’s already hurting my ears just standing here looking at us... Hey! Stop looking at us like that!" The guard threatened by waving his shotgun around in my face. I responded by looking at the "Boss" and setting off a storm of squeaks, pretty much agreeing with the guard's points and recommending they get a raise, but they probably only heard a litany of squeaks that sounded like an orgy of rats in heat. "AUGH BY THE GODDESSES, FINE!" The boss said while falling to the ground and covering his ears with his hooves, telling the guard to get the caravan moving while I continued my well-reasoned plans for decorating my dream home should I ever find a freestanding structure with a reasonable mortgage rate in a relatively raider-less neighborhood. "Get out of here, freak!" the distraught guard menaced, I assume to save his hard bought shotgun shells more than anything. Happily obliging them, I galloped in the opposite direction of my unknown slaver 'friends' before coming to a slow trot while making a mental note to be more observant in the future. Right as I stepped on a skeleton. Loudly. Ow. My poor ears.
Chapter 2: Stable StabilityChapter 2: Stable Stability After I had managed to successfully avoid dying, I wandered around for the rest of the 'day' in the ruins of some city. Never really bothered to learn the names of these places since they all tended to be decrepit hives of scum and villainy anyway. This city, however, was just so awesome that it had a vault underneath the town hall that I found by good fortune of shouting, a gunshot, and the sounds of arguments between a few ponies. Yeah, they were really loud and I was surprised to see that nopony else had actually heard these few in their ordeal. Poking my head around a corner, using my hooves to cling to the side of the stable entrance to not fall on my face, I spotted the unruly quartet of quarreling questers. An earth pony, a unicorn, and - "TWO FREAKING PEGASUS, WHAT!?" I unwittingly squeaked out at almost a volume loud enough to make weaponized. The earth pony, (White coat, Blue mane and a utility jumpsuit) jolted his head upwards to look where my head used to be, me having retreated fast as possible to hold my heart from trying to escape from my chest in an act of self-preservation from my stupidity, around the corner of the vault door. "What was that noise? Did anypony else just hear squeaking?" What I assume the Earth Pony stallion had asked his companions. "Um, Yeah? I think we have more pressing matters here than some mouse getting spooked, Gearbox." One of the mares of the group said with an air of annoyance. "Besides, we still gotta deal with this murderer you managed to get to tag along with us. Come on Gearbox, she just killed an entire Stable! There’s no way she can stay with us after that!" Another of the mares protested. Wait, this buck sure has a lot of mares with him. Is this a Mare-em? Hah. Okay, I'll kill myself later, promise. "Just leave me alone! I already know I messed up and you're not making this any easier on me, Lightswitch!" the voice of a clearly distressed and sobbing mare called out to the group. I assume that would be the one that 'killed the stable'. Yeesh, she was sobbing into the floor plating and I could still hear her voice vibrating my eardrums from twenty feet away. Hold on. If we're ponies, why do we measure in feet? Shouldn't we measure in hooves? That'd make more sense... Unless math got invented by Sand Dogs or something, which wouldn’t be that hard to believe. They all got a bunch of those fancy robotics on them, even if they can barely put two words together that don’t end in "Kill" and "Pony". Oh well, I guess that’s a question for the ages. From now on, I’m just going to measure everything in Hooves. Hah, take that, scien" HELLO?" The earth pony had politely asked directly next to my ear. "Squeak!" I replied, holding my ears and crumpling to the floor in a flurry of hooves and more squeaks, trying to stop my ears from ringing. "OH, JEEZ. I'M TERRIBLY SORRY MA'AM. CAN I HELP YOU?" The earth pony said more calmly than he should've, given the situation and being in the wastes. Honestly I was surprised I hadn't had my organs forcibly ventilated at this point, but his speaking this closely next to me wasn’t helping matters. I decided to take action and frantically wave my hooves and shake my head in the negative, hoping he would get the point and not look too closely at the fact that my head wrap and goggles had flopped off of my head in my frenzy. Oh, Crap. The earth pony, Gearbox I think his name was, just stood there like he had seen a jelly sandwich get up and leave his lunchbox while staring at me. "Squeak?" What? I inquired. "Um..." He turned away to speak to his Mare-em, (Hah! Got you again!) "I think you should see what the squeaking was." He turned back to see me desperately getting my goggles and head wrap back on to cover my 'exotic' features. "I swear, Gear, if this is another of your... pranks. What?" The unicorn I assumed was named Lightswitch said to me, then looked at Gearbox. "Who is that?" She said, rudely pointing a hoof in my face. "I have no idea, but she squeaked at me." He looked from his companion to the strange pony clad in black and grey before asking, "Who are you, and why haven’t you shot at us yet? You've kind of just been sitting there." Using my superior intelligence and charisma, I gave a hearty shrug accompanied with an 'I dunno' expression on my face. Perfect. "Is she an idiot?" The unicorn I was rapidly disliking asked, while looking at me like she'd stepped in something. From around the corner, another of the mares poked her head through the open Stable door wearing a nurse's cap and an odd uniform that looked either mercenary or military (I don’t know these things! It had a bunch of pockets and it looked official, okay?) "Is it safe?" The nurse looking Freaking Pegasus asked. I stared at her with a look of wonder exceeding a Foal earning their cutie mark, while the downer Unicorn just scoffed at trotted off to go badger the remaining Pegasus in the Stable. "Well, 'it' hasn't decided to eat us at least. Some wicked looking fangs on her." Gearbox stated flatly. Hearing fangs, I shut my mouth a bit too fast and drew blood from my lower lip, letting out a squeak of pain and held my mouth with my hooves while sitting on my haunches. "Aww, did somepony hurt themselves?" The nurse coo'd at me. Coo'd at me! I’m not a foal! I've definitely lived on my own successfully enough to not die out here in these wastelands and I was being treated like a foal for biting myself on accident. The indignity. I did my best to growl menacingly at the nurse, but it had the same effect as a kitten getting upset with a bowl of milk. "Gearbox, I'm keeping her." "But she's not a-" "My decision is final! She is mine, and I shall call her Squeaky." "She’s a living pony! You can’t jus-" "I can, will, and did!" Apparently having no say in the matter, I sat there looking between the two of them bickering. "Swift Shot, She isn’t a pet. She's a living pony. We aren’t slavers and you can't just take her as a 'pet' against her will!" retorted Gearbox, clearly upset and definitely too loud for my ears. "Gearbox, she’s gotten here on her own, and I know that she's her own pony." She looked down at me, noting the fanged smirk on my face and asked, "Now then, would you like to join us? Oh wait... Actually, can you even speak?" After a few moments, I realized she was serious, and began digging through my saddlebags for a piece of charcoal and paper I had found in the Cave earlier. "What is she doing?" called Lightswitch from inside of the stable. After another moment, I returned to face them, lifting a page that had the words: Yes. I can definitely speak. The only problem is that my voice is too high of a frequency for your ears to register, so therefor you will only ever hear squeaks from me when I attempt to speak. "Well. I'll be damned. She can actually talk, sort of." Gearbox responded after reading my message. "See! Told you she's her own pony!" Swift happily said, trotting in place. "So, does that mean I can keep you?" The nurse Pegasus asked me again, albeit this time more directly. Mulling over my options and infinite possibilities, given my glorious status as a nopony without any ability to speak properly to anyone, complete physical inability to use firearms, and lack of companions to talk with, I decided the best course of action was to nod profusely in the affirmative until my goggles decided they didn’t want to hold on to dear life anymore, and revealed my 'freaky' Batpony eyes. "GAAAH!" The nurse screamed into my face, sending me sprawling on the floor covering my own ears and screeching into the ceiling, sending dust into my face and making me squeakily sputter while trying to get my vision un-assailed by dirt. "What the hell happened to you!?" The nurse exclaimed, shortly after I stopped holding my ears in pain and twitching. I got back up, glared daggers at her loudness, and wrote down: Stop being so loud, you're hurting my ears :c I'm a Batpony, It comes with the genetics. At the word 'Batpony', I saw both of their faces scrunch up with confusion and look at my sides, expecting to see wings or something. Then I noticed I was still wearing my 'definitely not a winged pony' tunic, and promptly shook myself out of it and the rest of my gear. Yes I was naked at this point, but we ponies don’t normally wear clothes, in case you hadn't noticed that. I let my wings spread to their full width, put my head up and to the side like I was posing for a patriotic poster, and gave them a fang filled toothy grin from ear to ear while looking at them with my wide eyes. (Pupils shaped like a dragon’s, for whatever reason. I guess that’s normal?) "Well, damn." said Gearbox, apparently getting the message to tone it down, and he spoke in a whisper. "Oh, if you'll excuse me, I have to be 'loud' for a moment." the Swift Shot warned. I covered my ears and heard "Everypony! Get over here and look at this!" Oh great, now I have to deal with the Gawking Gang. The other two ponies came back, Lightswitch and the 'murderer' Pegasus. "BY THE GODDESSES, WHAT IS THAT THING!?" The Pegasus belted out into my face, as I once again tried to avoid falling over in pain from the volume. "Shh! Her hearing is really sensitive, so stop shouting!" Gearbox harshly whispered. "Oh really, she's 'Sensitive' is she?" The murderer Pegasus said with a wicked spark in her eyes. This was going to hurt, but I was going to enjoy being louder than she was... Mwahaha. "JUST HOW SENSITIVE IS HER HEARING, REALLY?" She shouted as best she could into my ear. I responded by shouting back loud enough to send her sprawling backwards into a safety rail with a satisfying CRACK of bone impacting stainless steel. I then got off of the floor, used a wing to brush my shoulder off, and squeaked triumphantly. Then I noticed that everypony else's ears probably hadn't stopped ringing yet, and I should probably get a healing potion ready so they didn’t decide now was the best time to make me into a bonding agent. “Owww…” was the most common reply from my new ‘friends’ after my outburst. Gearbox was the first to get up, head held in his fore hooves trying to ease a splitting headache. He looked at me holding a healing potion with the definition of fanged smugness on my face, and lazily swiped at the healing potion I held in my hooves. Failing to connect, he slumped over sideways and stared at me with his head resting on the cold stable floor, grumbling “Did you really have to go and make all that noise?” I looked around me with feigned innocence and surprised shock at the accusation, and pointed a wingtip at the previously loud Pegasus that had assailed my ears with volume before I had shouted in response. “This is just another reason we shouldn’t have this crazy pony in our group to begin with. First she kills a stable, now she’s antagonizing mutants for the sake of fun!” Lightswitch angrily pointed out to Gearbox. “It wasn’t intentional, Light! Emerald here is just gonna have to play without her chemical sprayers indoors is all.” “Wasn’t intentional!? She killed an entire stable, Gearbox! Nopony is safe around her!” Well. This seems like a whole lot of drama I have absolutely no context for. I wonder how this will pan out. Oh wait! Maybe I’ll get to use my sledgehammer on somepony! Oh yeah, I have a sledgehammer by the way. Yes it’s fairly loud when I hit somepony with it, but at least I only have to hit them once. Usually. Most of the time. Okay, yes it takes a few strikes to keep somepony from getting back up, but it’s better than gunfire. Even silencers have a habit of making my ears pop with every shot. I’m not really a good shot with them either, anyway. I wonder what happened with that nurse pony. I haven’t heard her make a sound this whole time, and I don’t want to deal with ‘Emerald the Loud Mouth’ right now. Leaving the two conscious ponies to bicker about whatever it is they bicker about, I found the nurse slumped over the side of a railing. She was busy drowsily blinking and trying to figure out why she was upside down when I pulled her back up to the safety of the cold catwalk and hoofed her a healing potion. She didn’t seem as hardy as the others in the group, and I don’t honestly care that I may have broken a rib of Emerald’s either. Besides, wasn’t I technically her ‘pet’ now? After she had finished sipping about a quarter of the healing potion, she set the sparkling pink thing aside and looked at me with what I think was… something, I guess. She didn’t look hostile or upset at all, which was strange considering most ponies are out for my blood after I scream. “You really can’t talk, can you?” She asked, forgetting that my hearing is sensitive. At least it wasn’t intentional or to get on my nerves. To reply, I simply shook my head and softly tapped her muzzle with a hoof, what I call a ‘boop’. She went cross-eyed for a second, and was fairly confused as to why I had poked her nose. I shrugged, and sat next to her, looking at Lightswitch and Gearbox continue their debate about morality in the wasteland. Swift Shot (That was her name!) instead decided to study my appearance without me noticing, but not a lot gets past me when I’m not distracted or zoning out thinking about why we even measure in feet. “I don’t think that you’re a mutant. Everything about you is too specific for a mutation, let alone a lot of them all being in the same theme to begin with. Were you like this since birth?” Swift questioned out loud. With raised eyebrow, I slowly nodded at Swift and almost went back to watching the two argue when I noticed her nurse hat was askew on her head. I pointed at it, and after an awkward second of comprehension, she adjusted it and stared back at me. I guess it was pretty confusing for her. Imagine going about your normal (For the wasteland) life, and suddenly a relatively friendly flying freak decides that they’re going to agree to being your pet, even though they’re sentient and can live successfully on their own without your help. Add on top of that, the fact they can shout so loud that you either get sent across a room or your organs decide they don’t want to be as tightly knit as they used to be with the rest of the gastrointestinal gang, and liquefy. Probably about as crazy as somepony hugging a Balefire Phoenix I’d imagine, but nopony would be crazy enough to do that, right? I was brought out of my thoughts by Swift tapping the side of my head like I had become a malfunctioning toaster that she was trying to get working. I looked at her with a squeak of ‘Ow’ and booped her nose in revenge, which made her more confused. “She’s a monster, and a threat to the entire wasteland! Who knows what kind of ponies we’re going to have to fend off when she gets a bounty on her head!” Lightswitch yelled at Gearbox. These two were still arguing? Ponies die in the wasteland all the time, from everything to raider attacks, starving to death, Taint exposure (Nasty stuff, taint is. I’ve heard it described as a rainbow sludge that decides you’d look a whole lot better as a meat explosion or worse, depending on its mood.) Radiation poisoning, slavery, rape, torture, and somepony not liking the way you looked at them or talk even. Don’t even get me started on mutants, Alicorns, or Batponies. Those are the worst. I mean they can’t even speak to anypony and all they do is squeak! Can’t hold a conversation for more than five minutes and always need to make everything neat and tidy. “Are you alright? You seem to space out a lot.” I heard Swift say next to me. I definitely didn’t get startled and jump to my hooves. “See, that’s what I mean. Are you sure you haven’t been hit in the head or something? You could have a concussion.” The nurse Pegasus worried. I thought a concussion made you dizzy and vomit a lot? I’m pretty sure I’ve slept recently too, and I don’t think you’re supposed to do that after you get hit in the head. “Helloooo…” The nurse was waving a hoof from side to side in front of my eyes now. Do I really zone out that much? On the other hoof, I suppose I’d lose my mind if I was completely attentive to every little noise and scratch that was happening around me, not to mention hearing heartbeats and breathing and the skitter scutter of bugs crawling around and leaky pipes and venting gasses further down the stable and— “AAAAAH!” Well, more like ‘Squeak!’ but just assume whenever I talk, it’s a series of squeaking noises that roughly sound like the words they’re supposed to be in the first place. Anyways, I was now covering my ears while on the floor, keeping my eyes shut and trying to zone out again before I went nuts from all the sounds. It’s not really as effective as it sounds though, it just muffles everything a tiny bit. While I was busy hyperventilating and trying to contain my panic on the ground, Emerald let out a pained groan and peeled herself off of the catwalk railing and slammed into the floor. I’m pretty sure I heard the grinding of bone, and the nurse took off with my healing potion after casting a baffled glance at me. Lightswitch and Gearbox had stopped arguing, and split up in a huff. Lightswitch trotting over to me, Gearbox moving towards Swift Shot and Emerald. Opening my eyes, I actually remembered I haven’t described her to you yet. She had a lemonade coat, white and orange mane and eyes colored like beach sand. Her cutie mark looked to be a flash of light, so I guess that means she’s good at… light? I mean her name is Lightswitch, so that’s a given. Oh, she’s also a Unicorn, in case I didn’t mention that. Maybe she’s good at making electrical lighting, like an electrician! That’d be neat to have with my dream house. I could have a generator for all the lightning and… wait. I’m a Batpony. Why would I want lighting anyway? More often than not it just hurts my eyes. Then I realized that she is probably looking at me on the ground, rolling my head around in thought with my eyes dancing back and forth between sentences like an insane pony. I chanced a glance upwards. Yep. She thinks I’m crazy. “Come to think of it, I think you might be the more dangerous one between Emerald and yourself.” She said with a smirk, staring down at me while I was on the floor. “What’s your name, anyway? It’s not Merry Stew, is it?” What the hay kind of name is Merry Stew? I looked at my cutie mark, and pointed to the sun on it, then pointed downwards with a hoof. “Sun…Down?” She guessed, looking at me for confirmation. Wow, somepony actually got it on the first try! She must be a pretty smart pony compared to most I deal with, even if I’m not the brightest myself. Oh, I should probably respond to her so she stops looking at me like that. I nodded my head when she repeated ‘Sundown?’ again. “I’m Lightswitch, in case you didn’t hear during our little disagreement over there. Nice to meet you.” Then she did something crazy. She extended one of her forehooves out at me, just holding it in the air and pointed flat at me. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and slightly open mouth, questioning her sanity with my expression. At least I hoped it looked like that. “Um… it’s a hoofshake? Like when you meet somepony new and want to assure them you’re a friend?” The lemonade unicorn looked at me like I was the crazy pony here. How is holding your hoof out supposed to make somepony like you? It just looks like they’re pointing at your chest with their hoof. I held a hoof on the same side that she did, and pointed at her chest with it. She just looked down at my hoof, and then back at me before covering her face in that same hoof she had pointed at me. “I’m not pointing at you. You’re supposed to shake my hoof with your hoof.” She grumbled at me through a covered face, looking at me like I was the idiot here. How is shaking somepony’s hoof supposed to do anything but make it so you can’t use all your hooves if they decide to attack you? They could also pull on your hoof and slam you into the ground! It’s just asking for trouble to let someone grab a hold of your hoof in any situation. I know a much better way to make friends than trying to shake their hoof. Food! So, with this in mind, I completely ignored her protests and began digging through my saddlebags for some Sugar Apple Bombs that I keep on me. (More because other ponies really like them than me needing them. I don’t need sugar in my system, I’m on edge enough as it is.) Holding the two hundred year old sugar supplement in my hooves, I offered it to Lightswitch, who looked just as confused as I assumed I had when she tried to shake my hoof. Her look wasn’t changing fast enough, so I took out my writing tools and wrote: Food = Friend Grabbing = Scary “You’re scared of shaking my hoof? How have you even survived in the wasteland if you’re scared of a hoofshake!” she asked nopony in particular, spinning around and trotting to her friends. “Gearbox. She’s afraid of a hoofshake! A hoofshake! She acts like she hasn’t seen another pony in her life, or how to properly interact with them. I can’t fathom how she’s survived this long without anypony else. We barely make it day to day in our group, let alone with a psychopath that you insist on keeping with us.” Yikes. They barely survive? They either don’t know how to stay quiet, which is a given at this point I think, or they don’t know how to scavenge properly. Speaking of that, if everypony in the stable is dead, why aren’t they looting them? Seeking to remedy this affront to all things salvageable, I made my way past the two arguing ponies to loot what remained of the stable before a hoof grabbed my hind leg and made me jump. “Hold up, sensitive. You won’t survive down there, too much gas.” grumbled Emerald, the stable murdering Pegasus with way too concerned friends. Well if there’s a lot of gas, then I’ll just have to wear a gas mask, wont I? While looking through my saddlebags, a hoof tapped my head and I looked up to find Gearbox with a grim expression standing over me. “She doesn’t mean any normal kind of gas. She has her own special mixture that eats at your skin and makes you fuse to things if you don’t melt outright. A gasmask won’t help. It’ll more than likely just melt onto your face than anything beneficial.” Oh. Well that explains why they weren’t looting then. Why did I just get myself stuck with the crazy ponies that don’t scavenge, insist on having raiders in their group, and like to be grabby? I decided to wait patiently for the group to gather themselves, making sure my sledgehammer wasn’t in danger of falling apart on a swing when I needed it, and that I was wearing all of my ‘definitely not a Pegasus or a mutant’ outfit. “I think that the only weapon you’d need is a megaphone, what with that voice of yours. What’s with the sledgehammer?” asked Emerald after getting her ribs set and healed by Swift. I pointed to the engraving I had done on my sledge hammer. The handle said ‘Swingy’ and the hammering part said ‘Smashy’. Emerald didn’t seem impressed, and sat down next to me. “You don’t look that tough. How’d you manage to survive in the wastes? You look like a strong breeze could knock you down for the count, even If you can swing that thing with any skill.” She pointed at my sledgehammer while giving me a light shove, making me rock sideways a bit. I’ll admit, I’m not the hardiest pony. I can take a few hits but I prefer to scream at somepony and get out rather than fight them to the death. Besides, that just causes problems for whoever lives because you either get called a raider or run out of towns, or get a massive bounty on your head cause you killed somepony’s mare or buckfriend. I’d rather be quick and deadly than slow and shot to pieces because I thought I was a one pony army. Besides, I don’t want the added effort of shadow flashing my way around a fight and being weighed down by a metric buckton of armor or weapons either. It’s just that much more taxing to do. Oh right, Shadow Flashing. It’s like what a unicorn can do when they teleport, except I do it between shadows, and a lot easier than a unicorn can. I try not to do it a lot, because it makes me feel cold afterwards. I might like Luna, but I don’t want to be actually on the moon with her just to hang out. She’s staring at me. Did I do something wrong? Oh I know! I didn’t answer her again. I know she can’t understand me, but I decided to answer her anyway just to annoy her with my squeaking. “I sneak. If I can’t sneak, then I run. If I can’t run, then I smash. If I can’t smash, then I teleport. If I can’t teleport, then I squeak. If I can’t squeak, then I cry. If I can’t do that, then I’m really screwed!” I replied as a barrage of squeaks. Yes my normal speaking voice is that quiet. The reason everypony else’s speech is bolded is because it’s that Loud to my ears, and I don’t want to repeat myself in saying how loud everypony is all the time. “Never mind, squeaky toy. Forget I asked anything.” Emerald said, trying to cover her ears while cantering away. It was actually pretty funny seeing her try to keep her balance when also trying to cover her ears. She probably could’ve used her wings, but I think my squeaking was making it hard for her to think. The group was trying to be quiet to talk amongst themselves, but I could still hear them just fine despite the distance of about forty hooves. (Take that, science!) They were discussing if ‘we are seriously considering taking that mutant with us. Yeah I don’t look like most ponies, but come on Gearbox, I don’t eat foals for Celestia’s sake. I’ve only got slightly reflective eyes with a pupil that looks like a double pointed wooden spear, batwings, fangs and a really squeaky voice that can melt faces. At least I don’t kill stables. I also tried to give Lightswitch some food after she did her weird hoof grabby thing and was civil with a pony that had tried to burst my eardrums with her volume! I’m a pretty chill pony.’ Well, those were the highlights of the conversation they were having. Most of them in favor of my staying while I walked around taking great interest in the staircase leading out of the stable entrance enclosure. Taking a seat on the steps, I decided to focus on things outside of the little cubby hole we were in to see if anything was waiting around for us to emerge into the moonlight. Wait, when did I sleep last? I know I was going to sleep when those raiders bugged me, then I dodged some slavers, and I ran into this group. How long ago was that? A day? Huh… I should probably keep track of these things. Have I eaten anything since then? I don’t remember if I did. Oop, I hear a noise! Some clinking and clanking, hoofsteps, grumbling and mumbling and... Caravan! Wait, last time I thought it was a caravan it was actually slavers. I should probably tell the group that there’s a bunch of slavers wandering around outside. Getting up from my spot and cantering back down to the stable area, I poked my head around and found a distinct lack of anypony. Well, they didn’t go down into the stable, because they said there was a bunch of gas that killed everypony. Maybe they left without me? Hmm… That’s possible but kinda rude. Maybe one of them ran off and they had to chase them. Then they’d probably run out the other way that’s here, run across the street and run right into- BRRRRRRRT!! Ow! My ears! Ka-tink, FWOOOOSH Wait. Fwoosh? Fwoosh means big BOOM!! Augh! Why with the shootings and the explosions and the -- EEP! I had turned over on my side to see a towering monstrosity of metal looming over me, pony shaped with metal plating and spikes running down its head where the mane should be, with more bladed things where a tail should- “Speak or be destroyed, civilian.” The monster boomed at me with its already obnoxiously loud voice being amplified by the armor it was in.
Chapter 3: Steel StridersChapter 3: Steel Striders “You’re so loud!” I squeaked in terror back at the giant thing. I doubt he’d understand me but he did say speak. And I assume it was a he based off of the booming voice and the fact that everypony else seemed to be calling it a ‘Paladin Copper Wire’. Wait, was that his name? A pony! “Hah, too frightened to respond. Scribe Hay Hen, take this one to the entrance of Stable 96. We will gather the other stable dwellers there as well. Report when the entrance is secure.” Paladin Copper Wire began barking out orders, but I get the sense I wasn’t supposed to hear those since they sounded like they were echoing inside of his armor. I covered my ears to try and save them from the onslaught of his battle saddle’s dual minigun setup as I was dragged away from the fighting by who I assume was Scribe Hay Hen. I didn’t really resist or try to get away like I probably should have, given the circumstances. I was too busy trying to not having permanent hearing loss and keeping everything on my person from slipping off and revealing how much of a ‘not a mutant’ I was to the armored monoliths that were now surrounding me. I was finally set down in the entrance of the vault, about four more of those giants in metal were there, with ten more lighter armed ponies carrying what looked like fancy boxes with triggers somewhere I couldn’t really see. Two of them, scribes I’m guessing based off of how they were responding to the orders of the paladins, pointed their fancy boxes at my face while my hooves were tied together and I was left sitting awkwardly on the floor with a guard rail as my back rest. Roughly ten minutes and a lot of loud noises that I couldn’t stop myself from wincing later, I saw Gearbox, Lightswitch, Swift Shot and Emerald being dragged back by as many Paladins to the Stable entrance and plopped next to me. I was going to give them a smile before I remembered that my fangs would give me away, so I settled with a small squeak when Gearbox looked at me like I had done something wrong. “Steel Rangers! You’re with the Steel Rangers and you set us up for an ambush, didn’t you?!” Gearbox accused directly into my ear, making me fall over trying to scramble away from the volume of his assault. What the hay is a Steel Ranger, anyway? Why did they think I set them up? Was it because I left while they were talking about me, or that I was already here when they came back? I was tied up! How was I with these Steel Rangers if I was in the same spot they were in? “Gearbox, calm down. She’s tied up too. I doubt they would hogtie an informant of theirs.” Lightswitch tried to reassure Gearbox, who was still glaring daggers at me. I tried to glare back at him, but my tinted goggles only made my look like I was baring my fangs at him like an angry bloatsprite. “What the hell? Does that one have fangs?” Oh no! I once again too quickly shut my mouth, causing my fangs to dig into my lip and make me squeak in pain while the scribe that had seen my fangs galloped off to find a Paladin. Now I was royally screwed. There’s no way that even the average wastelander can look past fangs, let alone these types in their super armor with a ton of weaponry won’t immediately think I’m some mutant out to drink their blood. I still don’t know why these four next to me didn’t shoot me on sight the moment they saw me, but now I was definitely dead. The scribe later returned with who I assume was Paladin Copper Wire and Scribe Hay Hen. “Waster, Scribe Steady Trot accuses you of being mutated by the wastelands. What say you?” Paladin Copper Wire said, looming over me with a few more scribes ready to blast me with their boxes that shot light. Oh no, oh no, ohno-no-no-no-no-nononono I don’t want to die! They look like they’re going to kill me! What do I do?! I took a peek up at them, and there was more than enough firepower aimed at my head to turn me into a Balefire crater. So I did the only thing I could do in a situation like this. I flopped over on my side, trying to wiggle away and out of my bindings while crying my eyes out in sheer terror at my imminent and painful death. “Don’t hurt her! She’s a Batpony! Goddess Luna smite you if you touch her!” Nurse Swift Shot blurted out, sealing my fate for all eternity as the most unlucky of Bat ponies in existence. I balled myself up as best I could, slamming my eyes shut and waited for my painful death. Then nothing happened. I thought that maybe they were messing with me, so I tried to make myself even smaller before I noticed my goggles were being pulled at. I tried to stop whoever was pulling at them, but my hooves were bound and my wiggling was put to a stop by a very heavy and cold metal hoof stepping on my wings, to which I squeaked out again in pain because he was pressing on me like they weren’t supposed to be there. The goggles finally came off with small streaks of my panicked tears, and I blinked them away to clear my vision as the Scribes set about taking off all of my equipment. Normally this would make me feel exposed and in even greater danger, but considering that I was dead anyway, I resigned myself to a shaky tremble and squeaky sobbing, the thought of them tearing my wings off crossing my mind not more than a few times as the Tunic finally slipped off past my roped hooves. “Waster, Speak now. Are these changes a result of mutation, Taint or Killing Joke? I would not think you would be Enclave as they have a tendency to not like mutation or transformation magic to begin with.” Paladin Copper Wire said, his tone less menacing and more of curiosity. I tried my best to speak, honestly. But you know my voice, it only comes out as squeaks no matter what I do. “She can’t talk normally. Her voice is too high pitched for us to hear. Leave her alone!” Lightswitch growled at the Steel Ranger, before a scribe gagged her with some hoof kerchief on the spot. “Paladin Copper Wire, I have a suggestion.” Scribe Hay Hen offered. “Go ahead, Hay Hen.” “If she really is a Batpony, and her voice is too high to speak, we can modify a radio set to alter the frequencies so she should be barely within our hearing range. I’d have to patch it in through your helmet, and everypony else’s conversations would be too low for you to hear, so you’ll be effectively deaf while speaking with the waster.” The Scribe explained. “Make it so, Scribe Hay Hen. Set a time for one minute so I can remain updated on our status exploring the stable.” After I had somewhat gathered myself and it didn’t look like I was immediately going to be turned into an ash stain on the floor in my immediate future, I was hoofed a radio to speak into to talk with Paladin Copper Wire. “Waster, State your purpose here.” The Paladin demanded. “Oh, your voice isn’t loud! If you’re not going to kill me, can you thank the scribe for not making your voice so head splittingly deafening?” I almost hugged the radio, but I figured that would get me shot for trying to mate with equipment or something from these ponies perspective. “Loud? I was speaking to you normally.” I assume he was giving me an annoyed glare, but with the helmet I couldn’t be sure. “Your normal is my deafeningly loud. My hearing is really sensitive, and I heard you all stomping around outside a few minutes before you all tried to bring Equestria crashing down on everypony. I thought you were slavers with all the clanking and grumbling, so I went back in here to tell these four that you were probably the slavers I had run into earlier, but they were all gone. Then a bunch of shooting started and you were standing over me.” I was trying to explain everything as fast as possible before my minute was up in an effort to not get killed by annoying the Paladin. “You heard us? Clanking and grumbling was it? And you were exactly where I found you when you heard all of this, yes?” To my surprise, he didn’t sound like he was angry at me personally, so I clarified. “I was over at the other entrance, the one on the right from here. Then I moved over to where you found me. You’re not going to kill me for looking weird, right?” I risked asking. Then my radio beeped, and his voice got to its typical loudness again. “Hmm… I think this ‘batpony’ is telling the truth. She says that she heard us coming before our skirmish and went looking for these other four, only to find them gone. I would think that if you’d kept this one close by, you could have avoided us altogether.” He said with a chuckle to the group next to me, who were all grumbling their annoyance with Gearbox. “As for the rest of you, the next time we perform a stealth mission, I don’t want to hear from one of our targets that you were quote ‘clanking and grumbling’ so loudly she heard you coming moments before we arrived!” The leader of this group of Steel Rangers scolded. Targets? Oh great. I’m still a special on the ‘death and dismemberment’ menu. Moon Goddess save me! “Yes, Paladin!” They insisted on shouting in unison. Then I remembered he had said something about exploring the stable, and I risked waving a hoof near his face to get his attention. His head swiveled in my direction, and I eagerly pointed to the radio I was holding and made talking motions, fangs be damned. “Scribe Hay Hen, another session if you would. This had better be important, Batpony.” Beep. Click. “This thing is working now, right?” I asked, and received a nod from the Paladin. “Okay, I remember the group next to me talking about how one of them had ‘killed the Stable’ with some kind of gas that makes ponies fuse to their equipment, the walls, or just outright melt. I thought you’d want to know in case you sent anypony down there. I don’t know if they were just saying that, but I figured that you wouldn’t shoot me if I helped out your group. Oh I just said that out loud, didn’t I? I’m gonna stop talking now…” I said while slowly putting down the radio from my face and trying to appear small as possible to the giant, metal clad powerhouse of a Paladin standing over me. “Did they say what color this gas was? I wouldn’t think pink cloud would be so far from Canterlot, let alone in a Stable.” He inquired. “Oh!” I fumbled and brought the radio back up to speak. “They just said that ‘It was Emerald’s special mix’ or something like that. You could ask the white and green pony over there about it, but she’s kinda mean.” I explained, then realized I was talking to a walking armory, and I doubted he would’ve cared how mean somepony was when he could just as easily turn them into fertilizer by sneezing. Beep. Click. Whelp, here goes nothing I guess. “You there, white and green Pegasus. Is your name ‘Emerald’?” Copper Wire asked Emerald, who was fidgeting around on the ground, trying to get out of her binding I think. She stopped struggling and looked up with panic, before trying to set me on fire with her eyes and responded, “Yeah, that’s me. What’s it to you?” She was going to get herself killed, speaking like that! I just hope those Steel Rangers have enough good sense to not let me get hit with the crossfire when they decide she’d look better as wallpaper. “Explain the reports of gas in the Stable we are occupying. Is this Pink Cloud?” The Paladin was now looming over Emerald instead of me, so I squeaked a sigh of relief and slinked into a corner to try and hide before any of the Rangers decided that I needed to get tied up again. They mostly seemed intent on watching Copper Wire, so I think they weren’t all that attentive. The two scribes that had pointed their weapons at me earlier were trying to get past the Stable’s console controls in the far end of the room, and others were moving supply boxes around and patching armoring for the Paladins that had received a few hits in the fighting. I don’t think it was from the four though, they didn’t seem to have any weapons on them to begin with. “Pink? Naw, my stuff is green. ‘Cause I’m Emerald, not Pink-erald. Or whatever a pink gem is.” Emerald seemed like her ego had been bruised from the way she was sniping at the Paladin. “Rhodonite?” a stallion unicorn scribe who was shifting boxes around had helpfully suggested, with a pink coat, auburn and ginger mane, and a Cutiemark that was probably a Rhodonite. “Thank you, Scribe Clear Report.” The paladin said with a groan. The scribe responded by snapping to attention with a salute, and belted out, “Yes, Paladin Copper Wire! I am glad to be of service to you in this operation and will endeavor to be of further assistance even if not directly called upon, Sir!” Then resumed lifting boxes and remaining oblivious to several hoof covered faces surrounding him. I then heard muffled grumbling from the Paladin’s armor that sounded roughly like ‘That unicorn is going to be the death of us all.’ Abruptly clearing his throat for effect, he returned his attentions to Emerald who was sneering at him from the floor. “So, this gas of yours. How long until it dissipates? Can it be removed by water spray? Exactly how long of an exposure until it is lethal? Does it attack just flesh or does it affect materials as well? Is there any kind of protection against it?” he interrogated, moving closer to Emerald with every question until they were face to armored helmet from each other. “Get out of my face, tin can!” She shouted, ears flattened backwards in annoyance while she struggled more with the ropes. Then I saw Scribe Clear Report’s ears perk up on hearing ‘tin can’ and he raised a hoof to point out something before he was tackled by several more Scribes nearby and gagged before he could speak. At this point, I was busy trying to navigate myself away from the small army of heavily armed and armored ponies so I wouldn’t get killed when the metaphorical fan was hit with the fecal matter that was bound to come flying out of this situation. “I don’t usually stick around long enough to nerd out about it, Tinny. All I know is that it does its job good enough that I don’t have to worry about ponies coming back to kill me, and I know for sure that anypony down in that Stable is toast!” she grimaced, before looking away with a pained expression. Copper Wire stood still for a moment, before turning to a group of scribes and ordered them to find the box with sealed environmental suits before looking to where I used to be. “What the- Who was watching the Batpony!?” he shouted in anger to nopony in particular. From the way every Steel Ranger in the area froze and looked at him, then between themselves in confusion, my guess is that they all had assumed somepony else was watching me at went off to do their own thing. Scribe Clear Report was squirming on the ground, muffling his words through the hoof kerchief in his mouth. The Paladin moved over, and had the scribes remove the gag. When a bulky earth pony that had been sitting on him got off, he bolted upright to attention with a salute, and again belted out, “Paladin Copper Wire, I saw the Batpony target sneak away while your attention was focused on the Pegasus. I saw fit to inform you before I was silenced by my ‘comrades’, Sir.” The glare he gave spoke volumes of annoyance that should’ve been recorded by somepony in the room, considering they were mostly scribes, while ponies tried to shrink out of sight of the Paladin. Copper Wire stomped a hoof on the ground, causing a loud clanging noise of powered metal against catwalk that had me squeak in pain from the ventilation system I was attempting to crawl through. Yes I can fit in a ventilation system! I’m flexible, but don’t get any ideas! “There, in the ventilation ducts!” a pony near me had shouted. Oh crap, now they’re going to turn ME into ventilation! Sure enough, I heard a lot of clicking and electrical noises that sounded like their magic laser rifles being loaded and pointed at my general area. “Batpony, Get out of the vent or we will be forced to remove you from it. You have ten seconds to climb out before we open fire.” Copper Wire mandated. Oh no, don’t panic! Don’t panic! I can do this! I looked down the length of the vent, and realized that it would take me a whole minute of frantic movement to reach the end, and now there was no way I had time enough to move out the way I had come to get into the vent. I decided to look down at the vent next to me, cover my ears, and Screech as loud as I possibly could into the metal. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” But to the ponies in the room, I assume it sounded more like an ear splitting banshee’s wail being repeated by the metal vibrating so fiercely that it buckled from under me as I started falling to the floor from the shattered fragments scattering away. I fell down in what seemed like slow motion as I saw ponies crumple to the floor holding their ears and writhing on the ground, trying to save themselves from the sheer volume while the Paladins had swayed slightly and began shooting where I had been moments before. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT Zap! Zap-Za-Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTT The vent I had remained in had been cut from the ceiling, falling on top of me but not crushing me as I had made a perfect hole for my body with my screaming, so I instead compressed myself as small as I could to avoid stray weapons fire and general death zooming all over the place. “-ase fire, cease fire now! I SAID HOLD YOUR FIRE!” Paladin Copper Wire bellowed out, trying to drown out the cacophony of weapons fire with his amplified voice. Eventually, shell casings and the sound of magic rifles powering down filled the room, amidst groaning and complaining about ringing in the ears. Soon afterwards, I heard creaking as the vent was lifted off of me to stare up at Paladin Copper Wire, his weapons not glowing hot like the other Paladin’s had been, as he stared at me through that metal helmet of his. To say I was shivering and trying to disappear into the floor would’ve been an understatement as to how badly I did not want to be the center of so much firepower’s attention. The Paladin then finished with a shove of the vent, it clanging behind me and rolling a bit on the backs of some shell casings before banging into somepony’s hoof, who then yelped in pain. He pointed at a scribe nearby, “Scribe, Radio now.” Before looking back down at me. The scribe hurriedly floated a radio over to me, and I heard a click and beep. “Explain yourself immediately.” He stated without hesitation. “W-w-Weapons! Death bad! Aaah!” was the only thing I could get out before I was reduced to a sobbing wreck on the floor, trying to crawl into the vent again but being held in the air by a few scribes joining forces to levitate me with their cheating unicorn powers. They floated me around to be eye to eye with Copper Wire. “Try again. Explain yourself slowly.” Copper Wire stated calmly. After a moment of trying to regain myself and not freak out, the radio gave a beep and a click, then was resumed by Scribe Hay Hen a moment later. “I… I just don’t want to die because of those idiots over there yelling at you! You’re all a walking armory and they just keep saying stupid shit that’s going to get me killed!” I said between sputters of tears and sobs to the unflinching behemoth before me. “You are not allied with those four over there?” He asked flatly. “N-no?” Then I realised I probably just got myself killed with that, and blurted out “Please don’t kill me! You’re a nice pony and I don’t want to die! I won’t scream again I promifff” He had stuck an armored hoof in my mouth! Copper Wire stared at me for several moments before the radio clicked and beeped again, then turned to the four that had somehow not caught a stray beam nor bullet that whole time, but were staring daggers at me. “Release the batpony, but keep her guarded this time.” He called over his shoulder, a bit of annoyance in his voice. I was dumped unceremoniously to the ground, and had my hooves tied to one another, then some rope tied my wings to the ropes tying my hooves, as I sat there looking like a ball of rope with a Batpony head sticking out. “Yes, Paladin Copper Wire! I will keep her guarded to-“ Clear Report had managed to get out before getting cut off with several ‘Shut the buck up!’s from nearby Scribes and even another Paladin. Copper Wire paused for a moment, before looking down and speaking to Gearbox. “Is this Batpony a member of your party?” he asked plainly. “Not on my life, she aint!” Gearbox angrily retorted. Then Copper Wire moved to the next in line, Lightswitch. “Do you care about the life of this Batpony?” he pressed. “I’ve only known her for less than an hour before you brutes showed up!” She scoffed He moved to the next, Emerald. “Would you care if this pony was killed in front of you?” he said a bit too happily, as my hopes sank through the floor at making this out alive. “She doesn’t talk, but she isn’t that bad! Leave her alone, she doesn’t deserve you toasters killing her just for being who she is!” Emerald yelled at Copper, before giving me a curious glance and returning to glare at the paladin. “Hmm.” He said, apparently disinterested. Then he moved to the last, Swift Shot. “That uniform. It is Enclave, is it not?” he said, a note of detachment in his voice. “I wouldn’t know anything about any Enclave, Ranger.” Swift stated with a poker face. “Is that so? Then you wouldn’t mind removing that uniform to look at your cutie mark, would you?” Cutie mark? What does that have to do with the ‘Enclave’? For that matter, what the hay is the Enclave anyway? Aren’t they those Pegasai that left before the war so we’d all be stuck down here with no sun? “Don’t you touch me, Ranger!” she blurted, losing her composure. “Name, Rank and Serial Number.” Copper Wire ordered. Swift muttered under her breath, before looking right into his face and spitting on his mask. “Alright then. I’ll just have to take it out on the Batpony to get answers then.” He menaced before turning about to move straight at me. I would’ve done something like panic, but I wasn’t even able to twitch a muscle, let alone move. Screaming would just get me killed anyway, so I was royally screwed now. “Don’t you touch her!” Emerald and Swift Shot shouted in unison, before looking in surprise at each other, then doing their best to bore holes in Copper Wire’s armor from behind. “Something you’d like to say, then?” He turned around to face Swift Shot. “Emerald Storm, Corporal, 944-312.” “Swift Shot, Corporal, 944-313.” They both stated in a tone of resignation. “You’re both Enclave then? That was unexpected. Of the same unit no doubt as well. Sign up together?” “What do you care, Toaster?” Emerald growled at the paladin. “I want to know what two Pegasai, an earth pony and a unicorn are doing around a stable in a ruined city, and why it’s so important that they sent you two down here disguised (Poorly, I would add) as waste landers with suitable cover stories and unmarked as Dash-ites.” The paladin retorted. Dash-ite? “Why don’t you go breathe in some chemicals to find out? Theres plenty down there just waiting for you, Paladin.” Emerald sneered. “Oh, well I’d much rather send somepony expendable, like this Batpony here. It’s too bad we hadn’t planned for any Bat ponies in our mission, or we would’ve brought some wing coverings for her. She’ll just have to… Wing it, I guess.” He said without any mirth whatsoever. This is all because I said he was ‘nice’ isn’t it? He just went full comic book villain the moment I said that too. Are you enjoying this, Celestia? I bet you are, you great fat ball of— Eep! Paladin Copper Wire was standing directly over me, and I hadn’t even noticed again. “Scribe, Radio.” He barked out. Beep. Click. “Don’t mind the show. I’m trying to interrogate them before I move my team deeper in the Stable and since they only reacted to your impending doom, I went with it.” Paladin Copper Wire explained. If I was physically able, I would’ve melted with relief at me not having an impending and gruesome death. “So, you’re not going to make me go into a death stable and choke to death while melting?” I said like a foal getting a present on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “No, but for now I would ask that you play along and act very distressed as soon as the radio shuts off. Otherwise even more ponies are going to die just trying to get the Stable open, let alone getting the technology inside that we’re here for in the first place. Don’t make any move that would signal agreement with me. Wait a few moments so I can radio to my fellow paladins, then scream loud, just not enough to injure any-“ Beep. Click. How long does he want me to wait? Oh I know, look of confusion followed by scared look, then I’ll wiggle around like I’m trying to escape and then- “AAAAAAAAHHHH!” I screeched less loudly than before, but just enough that it decked several scribes nearby, while some paladins moved to carry me away while putting another of the seemingly endless supply of hoof kerchiefs into my mouth. They carried me far enough away that I barely made out the cries of Emerald and Swift Shot calling after me and getting cross with Copper Wire while he did his best evil pony laugh he could muster. Later, they set me down next to a few initiates who were caught playing poker in a store room, as they were told to unbind me and make sure I didn’t leave the room. The door sliding shut with a metallic clang, I shared awkward looks with the group of scribes who were trying their best to not seem like they were staring at my outlandish-ness. “Um, Hello. I’m Initiate Card Swipe. These are Initiates Hat Trick and Cheese Wheel. Don’t ask.” Then he did the whole ‘Hoof Shake’ thing at me! Even these Steel Rangers insist on it! The wastes are mad, I tell you. He must’ve noticed my blank stare at his hoof, because he smoothly swung it up to brush back his mane, before turning around to sit down at the makeshift table of Boxes with an awkward cough. “Are you a mutant?” Cheese Wheel, I assumed from the wheel of cheese on his flank had asked, hopping around like an excited foal around me. “You look like a mutant! You got funny eyes and silly wings and oooooh, those are some pointy teeth you have Miss Mutant! How’d you get tho—aaah!?” He was pulled aside, putting a stop to his barrage of questions by Hat Trick, who gave Cheese Wheel a light smack across his face before setting him down in a chair. “Don’t mind him, He’s not all there. I’m Hat Trick, what’s your name?” The mare of the group asked. I blinked a few times, made a squeaky noise, and then realized they can’t hear me without the fancy radio. I pointed at my Cutie mark of a sunset, and pointed down with my hoof. “Um sure, there’s a seat over there if you want to sit down?” Card Swipe offered. I tried not to face hoof, then made a point of me… pointing… at the sun part of my cutie mark. “Sun?” Cheese Wheel questioned, her voice drawn out as if searching for another word. I nodded yes while pointing at her, then pointed down at the floor. The three of them looked to where I was pointing, and said in unison “Grate?” I face hoofed, fell on my haunches and let out a squeak of despair at them being so close and yet so far away. Hat Trick looked like she had a flash of inspiration, then hoofed me a black marker and a blank card. I nodded with a fanged smile at her, which had the result of her shivering for some reason, before writing Sundown the Batpony on the card. When I showed it to them, they let out a resounding “Ooooohhhh.” The door then abruptly wooshed open, two paladins looking in to see me holding a card in between my fangs with a surprised and wide eyed look at them when I whipped around. “Sundown the batpony… got it.” Then they slammed the door shut with a click this time. “Uh, what do you think that was about?” Cheese asked. “Maybe they didn’t get her name before they sent her down here?” Card Swipe speculated. I shrugged and set the card down on the table with a squeaky ‘Bleh’, and took a corner to take a nap in. Then I noticed I hadn’t eaten or used the filly’s room in about a day, and squirmed as I both held my stomach and did my best to do the ‘Potty Dance’ to express my needs. After a few moments of confusion at my spasmodic display, it finally clicked and they tried opening the door to get out. “Aw great. They locked the door!” Hat Trick complained. “Well, we’ll just have to get it open, now wont we!” Card Swipe grinned, spreading ear to ear as he rubbed his hooves together with glee.
Chapter 4: Rangers and ReprimandsChapter 4: Rangers and Reprimands Now that there is a break in the action, and having nothing better to do than hold my bladder, I’m going to describe the three Initiates with me that have, for whatever reason, decided to help me use the filly’s room. Card Swipe, an earth pony stallion with a dark blue coat, green eyes and a lime mane was busy using said cards to try and… do something with the bolt catch on the side of the door through a crack. Cheese Wheel, a unicorn stallion with cheddar coat, Swiss mane and sand colored eyes was hopping around the room, looking for a container or a bucket in case of worst emergency, and something to cover up the smell of the container if I was forced to use it. Hat Trick, a unicorn mare with white coat, light pink and silver hair and even pinker eyes was trying to yell her way through the door for somepony to unlock it and let us out. It wasn’t helping my ears, but I was too busy making faces that looked like I was going to explode to really care about the volume while all this was going on. I guess in hindsight, it doesn’t really matter if they were friends, so long as they didn’t want to be locked in a room with the smell of my waste stinking up the place. That was good enough for me, because I didn’t want that either. Cheese Wheel had come up empty in his search, and had resorted to banging on the door like a pony possessed, along with Hat Trick joining in and yelling as well. Soon enough, the door wooshed upwards and the three fell over on their faces as I bolted up and over the card ‘table’ made of boxes and hugged the face of the Paladin that had responded to the ruckus we were causing. “Bathroom, where!? Now!” I unintelligibly squeaked into his face, before he flicked me off and I flew over the heads of the three initiates helping me. “Initiates, explain yourselves immediately!” The decidedly not Paladin Copper Wire demanded. “P-Paladin Overwatch!” The three stammered, and stood at attention. “Out with it, Initiates.” He really didn’t seem to be in the mood for this. “We were attempting to open the door for Sundown the Batpony, and then we couldn’t get it open and we were getting worried tha-“ Cheese Wheel blurted out, before being interrupted by Paladin Overwatch. “Sundown, the… Batpony?” He inquired. All three of them motioned with their heads at me, crumpled in the corner with a box of Abronco cleaner on my head. “Right… This is one of the targets that Paladin Copper Wire spoke of, yes?” his tone had dropped down to a mellower one upon seeing me, as his attention returned to the Initiates. “Yes, Paladin Overwatch! She signaled a great need for the head, sir!” Initiate Hat Trick reported. Cheese Wheel snickered, and was smacked hastily by Card Swipe. “Why are the four of you in this supply closet, anyway?” The three looked amongst themselves, then glanced back at me before facing the Paladin. “Guard Duty?” “Prisoner Escort.” “Card Games!” Cheese Wheel finished, receiving glares from the other two initiates. The Paladin stood there unmoving, I imagined he was blinking the disbelief off of his face before moving to the side and pointing down a hallway. “Escort the prisoner to the restroom, then report back here on the double, Initiates.” He ordered in a slight daze, before moving on to what he was doing before being interrupted. “Whew!” The initiates let loose as they almost fell to the floor in relief. Then Paladin Overwatch popped his head back through the doorway. “When we get back, you all have toilet scrubbing duty for a week.” And then vanished once more. “Damnit!” Hat Trick burst out, before covering her mouth. They spent a few moments checking the hallway to make sure that Paladin Overwatch wasn’t lying in wait, and ushered me through the hall down to the restrooms that were thankfully unguarded. The initiates decided that this was the perfect time to practice their ‘Breach and Clear’ training, and flooded into the lavatory with charged magic beam pistols and whooping from Cheese Wheel. A few moments (And weapons fire) later, they emerged from the room proclaiming a victory over a Radroach that had hidden underneath a trashcan. Finally being cleared to use the restroom, I flew past the three of them and slammed a door shut, hurting my ears but not even caring as I sat down to relieve myself in the surprisingly clean Stable restroom. This thing has been sitting around, unused for over two hundred years and it doesn’t look the least bit degraded! Oh wait, right. They said they had just killed the stable, so this was probably getting cleaned by some janitor pony just yesterday. At least they did a good job! As I sat on my porcelain throne contemplating the irony of life, I overheard the three Initiates standing guard and gossiping outside of the room. “Do you think they’re gonna offer her to join the Steel Rangers?” Cheese Wheel said, their voices noticeably less loud through the door, but I could still hear their whispers. “Her? She’s a mutant! I don’t even think batponies exist, she’s probably just a really weird Pegasus!” Card Swipe responded. “Well she’s still cool! Yeah her voice is squeaky and she re-arranged all of our cards into a wall around a box for some reason, but she’s not as bad as Combat Knife!” Cheese Wheel argued. “Oh, by the goddesses don’t even get me started on Combat Knife. He’s such a loser!” Hat Trick’s voice then got substantially more uptight and nasal before she continued. “I’d like to use my combat knife on the troll for three damage!” Then she finished with a snort. The three then giggled before making more jokes at the expense of Combat Knife. “Oh, that’s absolutely right, that’s a good point there, ah huh.” Continued Card Swipe, nasal impersonation included. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Then a series of slurping noises sounded along with more giggling. “There we go, I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my waaaaaater. HONK.” Before the three hit the floor laughing. “Hello there, my Initiate friends!” A metallic and nasally voice called out to them, causing them to freeze and shuffle upright as fast as equinely possible. “Greetings, Paladin Combat Knife.” The three responded. “Ish your patrol going well, I hope?” ended with a sniffle heard through the door. “Yes, Paladin Combat Knife.” Hat Trick responded curtly. “Excellent. Are you three still up for Raiders and Caravans tomorrow?” The Paladin asked, hope laced through his voice. The three Initiates stammered before speaking at the same time. “Uh, um. Weapons diagnostics training!” “Radio Calibrations and retrofitting!” “Armor Maintenance and cleaning!” “Very busy!” “Toilet Scrubbing Duty!” “Very sorry, Paladin. Perhaps next time?” Card Swipe hurriedly finished, all of them stopped their parade of excuses not to attend. “Naw, well that’s a shame then. Maybe next week?” Paladin Combat Knife replied, a bit deflated. “Of course, Paladin!” they said in unison once more. “Carry on then, Initiates.” Combat Knife then continued down the hall, his hoof steps clanging almost sadly on the catwalk. Waiting a few moments, of what I imagine them to be peering down the hallway, the three burst into laughter once more after keeping a straight face through their encounter with the nerdiest Paladin I had ever heard in my life. “Oh Goddesses I almost lost it!” cried Card Swipe. “Raider’s and Caravans!” agreed Hat Trick. “I can’t believe I said ‘Weapons Diagnostics!” finished Cheese Wheel, before I finished my business and opened the door to find them rolling around on the floor, wiping tears from their eyes. They all looked up at me with misty eyes, before standing up and putting on the best serious face they could manage, before it all fell apart after a short silence of them looking at each other trying to eat the grins on their lips and bursting into laughter once more. I gave them a signal for them to give me a card to write on after they had regained their composure, and wrote a short message on the card before flicking it back to them. Hat Trick lifted it with her magic for all of them to read, and they looked up at me for a quick moment before laughing all over again. “Waaaaaater! Pffft, hahahaa!” Cheese Wheel giggled while using Hat Trick as support. “Oh, by Celestia’s Beard I wasn’t expecting that from you of all ponies, Sundown!” Hat Trick chuckled while trying to keep Cheese Wheel from falling over. After a few moments, something dawned on them and Card Swipe asked after confirming with his Initiate friends. “Wait, Sundown. Did you hear us through a double reinforced bulkhead door? There’s no way you’d know about that joke because we were whispering…” I motioned to get another card to write on, and showed them my message: I have really sensitive ears. Right now you’re all at shouting volume just speaking normally to me. Please don’t yell to test it, I can scream louder and neither of us want that. Ask Paladin Copper Wire if you don’t believe me. It looked more like: Hearing Good, Voices Loud, Ask Copper Wire. On the other side of the blank card, I wrote: I’d love to join the Rangers with you three. After they had collectively finished reading my scribbles, they looked amongst themselves then back to me with a few worried expressions. “You heard us talking didn’t you?” Card Swipe worried. I nodded that I had heard everything they’d said, and he immediately apologized for calling me a mutant. “I still don’t think you’re a ‘Batpony’ though.” Card Swipe finished. Hat Trick turned her head sideways before her horn glowed as she looked me up and down. Should I feel weird about this? “Wow. That’s really interesting.” She muttered, before continuing. “The only mutation I’m seeing is in her ears, otherwise she doesn’t have anything foreign in her body. Not that I’ve ever seen a Batpony before, but most of this checks out as Equine, aside from the vocal chords just being completely alien to me.” Hat Trick then finished her clinical evaluation with her horn going dim. Well at least they didn’t have to slice me open for that, I guess. “How would we even go about getting her recruited though? I don’t even know what Role she would fill.” Card Swipe asked the group. “Isn’t it obvious?” Cheese Wheel asked, and then explained when we all looked at him. “Forward Scout duty! Her hearing is phenomenal, and they don’t get into heavy combat either!” The other two Initiates actually look dumbfounded that Cheese Wheel had made such a brilliant observation, and I gave my approval by booping him on the nose and smiling. “Weird poking aside, she can fly! At least I think she should be able to with those freaky wings she has.” Cheese Wheel finished. “They’re not freaky…” I said with a pout on my face. Well, squeaked. “Aw, you made her sad, Cheese!” Hat Trick scolded, while moving to my side and giving me a hug. “Don’t you worry about him, we’ll find Paladin Copper Wire and vouch for you! You’re a neat pony, Sundown.” Card Swipe said with cheer, while looking around to get his bearings on where the Paladin actually was now that some time had passed. Moving as a unit and taking up the whole hallway with the four of us being side to side, with me in the middle squeezed between Cheese Wheel and Hat Trick, we made our way to the Stable entrance where I had last seen Paladin Copper Wire. Upon arriving, we noticed the distinct lack of anypony being there, and a couple shredded crates and bloodstains. Wait, bloodstains? Shredded crates? Uh oh. “What on the moon happened here? Where’s the Paladins!?” Card Swipe began to panic, before being patted on the back by Cheese Wheel. “Don’t worry about it Swipey, We’ll find ‘em!” Cheese Wheel assured. “Hey Sundown, can you use those ears of yours to hear anything? Listen for clanking, whirring, or weapons fire if you can. I can’t hear squat.” Hat Trick suggested. Sure, why not. I only almost lost my mind last time I focused on it. I nodded, closed my eyes and started to swivel my ears around like two radar dishes. Creaking…hissing from pipes…somepony talking with some spooky voice thing… Gunfire! My eyes popped open suddenly, startling the Initiates before I pointed a hoof in the general direction of the gunfire. They all shared a look, shrugged, gathered some ammo and we set off to go find out what all the commotion was about. As we all left, I noticed an intact notepad with a sharpened pencil just lying next to a pool of blood, so I happily nabbed it. A few minutes of exploration later, passing a few bodies of Scribes and shell casings, we came to a large chamber with a whole lot more bodies all wearing numbered jumpsuits sprawled out on the floor, their flesh bubbled and festering like an infection where it met with other ponies’ meaty bits. It was difficult to not step in the gore, so I instead used my wings to hover over the nastiness, getting a few “Aww, lucky!” remarks from the Initiates who had to slog through the devastation. “Well, these must’ve been the Stable dwellers. They all got ‘96’ on their flanks where a cutie mark should be because of their jumpsuits.” Card Swipe stated, sounding more official as his training over-rode his urge to gallop away from the madness. “I count at least four Scribes, a Paladin and two more initiates dead in this room alone. They aren’t fused with the Dwellers so they must’ve died later. Spread out and cover this floor. Sundown, get high as you can and listen for anything hostile.” Hat Trick ordered, becoming the leader of the group. Can do, Miss Hat Trick! I thought, giving a mock salute before zipping off towards the ceiling. The room was based around a large cylinder that took up most of the center, a lot of green plant life all throughout the tube going up through the ceiling and past the floor. Maybe it was some kind of vertical greenhouse? There were separate offices around the outskirts of the room, a stairway leading up and away and two more rooms overlooking everything. One room had a circular window overlooking the Green Tube (That’s what I’m calling it now.) with ‘Overmare’ above it. With how the bodies were arranged, it looked like some kind of speech was being given. There were only a few spots not covered by the melted flesh on the floor, mostly around the edges of the deceased crowd and next to some catwalk platform overlooking everypony. Looking around at the windows leading to the edge rooms, I noticed a few of them were cracked by what looked like bullet holes, or maybe just somepony bashing as hard as they could’ve while trying to escape. If this was the result of ‘Emerald’s special mix’ I wanted no part of being anywhere near the mare. “Do you hear anything, Sundown?” Hat Trick called out after returning to the center of the room with Card Swipe and Cheese Wheel. Oh yeah, I was supposed to be hearing, not seeing. Hovering for a bit, and ignoring the flapping of my wings, I slowly spun around the room intently listening for anything that wasn’t dead quiet. Louder hissing, no more weapons fire, no more creaking pipes either… “I got nothing. “ I said, before remembering they can’t understand me. Again. As I flew down I quickly wrote down my observations as succinctly as possible before hoofing it over to Hat Trick. “No more Creaky Pipes, No Guns, Louder hissing?” She listed off, giving me a weird look. “What do you mean by the ‘Hissing is louder’?” Cheese Wheel asked. I blinked at them, then closed my eyes while lifting a hoof up like a compass needle before slowly spinning around in my hover. At one point I stopped, then went to the list and pointed at ‘Hissing’. “Loud hissing is that way then, correct?” Hat Trick asked for clarification. I nodded in the affirmative, and she readied her Magic rifle while motioning to form up. “Alright, anypony else got any leads?” “Well, theres a whole lot of dead folks in here, no bullet wounds on any of our ponies and a whole lot of scratch marks all over the place.” Card Swipe reported. “I found a Cafeteria. Most of the food there had some strange green tinge on it and looked rotten. Most of these corpses don’t look that decayed, so they weren’t starving before whatever happened here, happened. I think they were at an assembly of some kind, but there’s spots missing where ponies should’ve joined this carpet of the damned.” Cheese Wheel stated. “Really Cheese? They’re dead. Have at least some respect for the poor souls.” Hat Trick scolded, before looking to me. “Alright then Sundown, write your findings.” She said, giving back my Notepad and pencil. Green tube in the center of this place looks like some kind of Green House. Maybe it was contaminated and didn’t make their food right? The scratchy things look like they could be some kind of animal that got loose. I don’t know how common Zoos are in a Stable, but can’t ever be too sure. I think that those missing spots could’ve been Emerald and Swift Shot’s position, because they were arguing about how Emerald had killed an entire stable. I’m assuming that this is the stable they were talking about. I finished my thoughts, and gave the notepad back to them. Yes I can be serious when the situation calls for it, nor am I a complete idiot. All the time. Mostly. Shush! “Well if it killed the whole stable, why weren’t they affected by whatever happened? I don’t see any dead pegasai in this heap, but I don’t think that they’d be immune because of some feathers on their side.” Card Swipe said in response to my findings. “Yeah, no Pegasai. Maybe it’s a chemical agent that targets specific biology?” Hat Trick offered. “I think we should move out. We aren’t gonna get the whole story just standing here talking about it.” Cheese Wheel stated, readying his weapon. Hat Trick looked up and floated the notepad back into my saddlebags. “Okay Sundown, one last check before we find out what the Hissing was.” I did my best imitation of a radar dish once more, and noticed the sound of zappy magic weapons toward the hissing sounds. My eyes popped open again as I quickly flew down and mimed somepony shooting and getting hit before pointing at the sound of the Hissing and weapons fire. “Alright, no time to lose ponies! Let’s go save who we can!” Cheese Wheel cheered, and we moved out to face whatever was going on further up in the Stable.
Chapter 5: Skittish ScavengersChapter 5: Skittish Scavengers These stairs go on FOREVER. Seriously, who designed a vault in the middle of a city where the stairs… go up? Wait. If this whole thing is underground, I’m certain that the stairs should be going down, right? Stable Tec is confus-CLANG! Ooh, pretty stars. “You okay there, Sundown? You just flew into a bulkhead.” Somepony with a fuzzy voice asked, before I felt the world flying upwards and noticed that my vision was funny too. Then there was a brightly glowing light and my vision flooded into clarity. “Be more careful next time, okay?” Hat Trick patted my back, before moving with the other Initiates to breech the door I had done my best to dent with my head while flying. I took up my planned role of listening through the door to see if anything could be heard on the other side before I gave my signal. Nodding for contact, shaking for clear. Seeing my head shake, they relaxed and pushed the button that opens these thick doors before sweeping in. I peeked my head around to see what was going on in the room before joining them. It seemed to be some kind of science lab. There were half filled beakers and stains all over the steel tables and floors, a discarded mop and bucket over in the corner and a lab coat or two smeared with crimson on another table with a blood trail leading through another door. A few moments of searching later, and all the Initiates sounded off with “Clear!” from their zone of searching while I poked around and sat looking confused at a terminal that was still on. From the writing on the terminal, and I mean that it was literally on the terminal’s screen, whoever had written it clearly wanted a big red button to be pushed somewhere. I figured since it was written in blood that it was important, at least. The actual writing on the terminal beyond the blood was talking about some kind of duplication procedure to do with plants. Maybe clone them with magic so that one potato could feed a couple dozen ponies or more? “WHAT’S ON THE TERMINAL?” Cheese said next to my ear, making me jump and scowl at the unnecessary pain. “My bad, Sunny.” He whispered with a sheepish smile. I pointed with a hoof tip at ‘Plant Cloning: Attempt 334, Series 5-6’ before opening the document on the terminal. It looked like a scientific log that catalogued their most recent attempt. Click. “Attempt three thirty four, Series five through six.” An excited mare’s voice stated. Apparently it was an audio log. “We finally managed it! It may have taken since the dawn of the apocalypse, but we actually managed to clone several plants and vegetables without death, contamination or injury! Everypony has taken their own sample of what I’m calling ‘Clone Brew Stew’. I’ll think of something with more flair later, but this is it! We don’t have to worry about overpopulation or food rationing anymore. The Overmare is holding a celebration in the main hall later today, where the kitchen staff is going to prepare more meals for the rest of the stable to enjoy. She voiced some concerns about the coloration of the cloned food, but we assured her that nothing could go wrong, after all the testing we did. It didn’t even turn the mice green like the other attempts, and we should be able to cook any cloned foodstuffs without them exploding like they did a few days ago. I’m still finding mashed potatoes in my mane, even. With more luck, we should be able to clone any food we come across if we ever decide it’s worth it to venture outside the stable. I’m sure somepony survived the end of the world after all. If our own tenaciousness is anything to go by, then I’m sure some Zebras have as well. Ooh, maybe I’ll get to meet some weird mutant Gryphon! Oop, I gotta go now. The lead scientist is calling my name. End log!” Click. “Well.” Hat Trick whispered next to Cheese, Swipe and I. “That seems to be what we’re after then.” “Um, Hat? I think the food is what killed everypony in here. It doesn’t seem like they actually tested it that long.” Cheese pointed out. “Then what about all the claw marks, scratches and weapons fire still going on? You don’t think this stable had robots, do you?” Swipe added. Or what if it turned everypony in to giant lizards with claws that shot lasers from their eyes! I returned to reality to find the three of them giving me a blank stare as if expecting my input, so I shrugged while hopping off of the stool and began to hearing check the next door leading further into the stable. Finding absolutely no sounds coming from anywhere on the other side of the door, I moved to press the open button before my hoof was brushed aside by Hat Trick. “Wait!” She hissed in a whisper, “What did you hear?” I blinked, then took out my writing things and wrote: Absolutely nothing at all. Then smiled, before realizing how odd that was for me to not hear a single thing. Hat Trick looked like she had seen a ghost, before swinging her rifle up to point at something behind me and wordlessly screaming with bright flashes of light coming from her rifle. I turned in confusion just in time to see a looming abomination of pony flesh and scales, standing half again taller than a Paladin trying to squeeze its way through the doors with what looked like claws crunching the metal like tin foil. Why isn’t there any sound? Am I deaf all of a sudden? Oh, I should probably get out of the- “-WAY!” Cheese shouted, knocking me to the ground with the woosh of a large claw swiping over our heads, giving one of my ears a love tap with its passing. “FALL BACK, GET THROUGH THE SIDE DOOR NOW!” Hat ordered, with Cheese and Swipe dragging me back until I got to my hooves and we bolted for the door past the bloodied lab coats. As our door was flying upwards, the beast had pried its horrid body through the shredded remains of the door, leaving bits of itself behind without any sign of pain or sense of self-preservation. The creature was emitting a deep green glow from around what looked like several unicorn heads arranged like flower petals around one large eye staring right at us. “INSIDE!” somepony yelled, before I was yanked through the doorway and it slammed shut. I overbalanced, and began to tumble a bit down a staircase before unfolding my wings to steady myself and hover, holding a foreleg that had been banged by a sharp edge. “Keep moving! That door isn’t going to hold that monster and we still have to find any survivors!” Hat ordered, and we began moving as quickly down the stairs as possible. It was easier for me, since I could glide the way down the steps, but I stopped every few moments to see if I heard anything. This is a pretty long staircase. Reaching the bottom a few moments later, we came to a few more doors. Living Quarters, Security, Overmare’s Office and Infirmary. Hat Trick looked at all the signs, then checked us all for injuries before deciding. “All right. We’re going to the Security room to see if they have anything with heavier firepower than these beam weapons. Sorry Sundown, but I’d rather get out of this alive with some minor hearing loss than get killed saving your ears. No offense.” I nodded my head in understanding, and we proceeded to be stopped by a locked door. Of course, because it’s a Security Station. Maybe there was a sleepy guard that missed the celebration, and they’d have a key? I tapped Hat on the side, and pointed at Living Quarters. She seemed confused, so I poked the security door and swiped one of the cards I had written on earlier like a passcard, before pointing at the Living Quarters again. “Oh. Because guards need sleep, duh.” Card Swipe said, facehoofing. “Definitely going to request you for our squad, Sundown.” Cheese smiled. The door to the Living Quarters swished up easily, and we were graced with the sickening stench of rot and sewage or worse. My ears went back so fast they tried to jump off my head and fly away, with my face scrunching up as I tried to cover my nose with my forehooves as the others similarly gagged or held their breath with teary eyes. A few moments passed before we became accustomed to the stench enough to move forward, even if I still felt sick and I’m sure the others felt the same. “Augh, I can taste it!” Swipe sputtered, trying to rid his mouth of the nastiness but only making it worse. “Sundown, keep an ear out for noise. If you ear gurgling, that’s me trying to keep my rations down.” Cheese grumbled, a hoof to his mouth. The passageway was entirely too clean to be giving off this kind of smell. There was another door that was opened further down the hall, to where I assume the smell was coming from. As we made our way down, I noticed our hoof falls were getting quieter and signaled a stop. “What’s up, Sun?” Hat asked, before realizing she hadn’t been whispering. I pointed to the floor and gave it a few hard stomps with a hoof, but it sounded like a foal smacking the floor with a toy rather than the clang it should’ve been. “Oh crap, that thing is around here!” Swipe blurted, swinging around to watch the hallway we’d walked through with his rifle. We advanced cautiously down the remainder of the hall before I poked my head through the doorway. Inside there was more of the ‘pony carpet’ with a few bodies strung over the edges of the catwalks like they’d been trying to escape. There was a scribe’s bloody and mulched form resting with their back to a guard rail watching our door, several cartridges littering the space around it. I say ‘It’ because the corpse was so mangled I couldn’t actually tell who the pony had been. Most of their face was ripped off with their tongue lolling through their jawbone onto what remained of their neck like a gruesome tie. An exposed heart and lung were apparent with half of the ribcage torn or broken off, all the blood having left the area a while ago and pooled underneath the poor soul. Then I heard the muffled sound of somepony losing their rations, and turned to see Hat Trick holding her belly while Card and Cheese held her mane back and looked out for another of those monsters. I waved to Cheese and pointed further down the Living Quarters, and trotted in place, hopefully telling him I was going to go scout ahead. He nodded, but motioned to the laser pistol laying on the floor. “Take the pistol with you, Sunny. It’s mute enough that it shouldn’t hurt your ears right now. Just bite down on the handle and use your tongue to fire the trigger. It’s the skinny metal bit in the center. It should fly straight to where you look, just make sure that you aim with your mouth, not your eyes. I don’t think our weapons are going to make a dent in that monster, but you can signal where you are with the beams. We’ll meet up with you as soon as Hat is alright.” I smiled, and armed myself with the pistol that was thankfully far enough away from the bloody mulch that was a scribe that it wasn’t contaminated. Then I found out that the mouth handles weren’t designed with fangs in mind, and dropped it the floor with a clatter. Ow. I bit too hard. What the hay did they make those mouth guards out of, Steel? I looked down at the laser pistol, and noticed the stainless steel shine of the handle for the first time. Yep, Steel. Wait a minute, the weapon clattered when it hit the floor? I stomped a few times on the steel floor paneling again, receiving a resounding clang in response. Yay, The monster is gone! The Initiates seemed to have noticed my antics, and with Hat Trick only dry heaving now we moved further into the Living Quarters, checking each room that we could open because the rest were either broken, sealed shut with pony carpet or on lockdown. Turning up empty aside from some 200 year old preserved foodstuffs, bandages and a sensual toy, we regrouped next to a set of stairways stating: Infirmary -> <- Security Living Quarters “Well, considering the state of this place, maybe the guards got hurt? We could also go for more medical supplies if that thing comes back for us.” Swipe began. “There’s also a chance that whomever survived will be holed up there, so we might find our people there too!” Cheese continued. “Alright, we’ll scout out the Infirmary before seeing if this Security door is locked as well. Sundown, you’ve been doing a good job keeping an ear out for us, so I’m going to agree with Cheese to get you on our squad when we get out of this place, not if.” Hat Trick finished with a determined look amongst us. I gave my best salute to mimic what I had seen the Scribes in the main chamber do previously, but it was probably really sloppy considering the chuckles from the group. “Everypony, we’ve been doing a great job not getting ourselves killed so far. Let’s keep it that way and get out of this mess in one piece. Move out!” Hat ordered, and we set off to the Infirmary, checking every corner with a magic rifle or my sensitive hearing. We were only stopped a few times by sound deciding to go on vacation, I assume from the monster being on a floor near us. Then an idea struck me. I tapped Hat on the flank, before getting out my writing supplies. I don’t think my screech will work against a monster that mutes sounds and I have no weapons I can use. Fangs and normal pony guns don’t mix. I frowned at her as she read the last of my message, worry on my face at my realized helplessness if we ever get into combat without my sledgehammer or any of my gear. Not like a heavy weight on a stick will do much against something that turns bulkheads into confetti with its passing, but it’s the thought that counts. Hat Trick rested a hoof on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it, Sunny. We’ll all get out of this alive and well.” It seemed to me like she was trying to convince herself of that more than anything, but at least they all had my back. Being in the Steel Rangers seemed to look better and better the longer I spent with these Initiates, and we already have been through things more terrifying than we should’ve been in the first place. This whole situation seemed like something for a squad of paladins, not a random Batpony and three Initiates. I nodded my head and gave a squeak that was as upbeat as I could manage with a smile, and we set off to our objective of the Infirmary. A few moments of travel later and my ears started twitching spasmodically. I took a seat and tried to get them to stop with my hooves before I heard the faint sound of a minigun belching out hot death from further down the hallway. I turned behind me to look at the Initiates, who were all holding their ears and shouting with worried expressions between them before looking at me for an answer. I pointed a hoof towards the sounds of minigun fire only I could hear apparently, and we dashed off. Brrrrrrrt…. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtt. BrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRTTTTT. “Reload right, ready left! Firing!” The metallic voice barked out, resuming the waterfall of shell casings on the floor, firing down another hallway. “Targets on the right flank! Wait, EFS has them as blue! BLUE ON RIGHT FLANK, HOLD FIRE!” I heard somepony shout as we rounded the corner. I barely ducked a magic beam as it singed my mane when I heard the end of the Scribe’s warning. I poked my head out to find a makeshift barricade surrounded by blood, bodies and spent ammunition littering the floor of the Infirmary Ward with two paladins dispensing death down another hallway with Unicorns on reload duty. The scribe that had been shouting was none other than Clear Report, who waved us over with a frantic hoof as we dove behind the barricades. “What fresh hell is this!? The Batpony and three Initiates come out of nowhere without a scratch on them?” Clear Report was blabbering, and a nearby unicorn mare who was bandaging a wounded Scribe gave him a light shove on the shoulder before returning to her attempts at saving a paladin from bleeding out. The sound of hissing steam was coming from the Paladin with dual miniguns, as a huge drum was ejected from the back of the minigun and reloaded by a Scribe before he continued his barrage. The barrels were all glowing a dangerous red as tracer rounds poured down the hallway marking where his shots would land against what looked like a writhing mass of flesh and talons being held at bay by the assault. One minigun was apparently kept in reserve to cool off as the other fired to prevent the weapons from breaking as quickly, but it was clear that they’d run out of ammo before that would be an issue. “We were just about to fall back and call this operation a wash. We’ve lost too many ponies to this death trap. Paladin Copper Wire and those other four targets are nowhere to be seen after heading to the Overmare’s Office. We’re going to hold out as long as possible before withdrawing and sealing this Stable with explosives. We can’t let these things get out into the wastes or it will be a slaughter, as much as those wasters deserve one.” Clear Report monologued, before taking note that I was a ‘waster’ and present. “The mutant cause you any troubles?” he asked with an uneasy glance at me. “Negative. Saved our hides more than once. Is there enough time for us to find Paladin Copper Wire before we extract?” Hat Trick asked. Clear Report tapped his chin with a hoof for a moment before deciding, “You’ve got five minutes before we pull out of here. Another ten to set up the charges in the right spots and seal the Stable door. We’ll wait one minute before we seal it, so you had better hurry!” We all jumped to our hooves and set off without another word to find Paladin Copper Wire; myself following along with the Initiates because I wasn’t going to survive long in this place without them, and neither would they survive without me in here. Besides, they were the closest thing I’d come to as far as friends during my time in the wastes, and I wasn’t going to let them get themselves killed because I was scared of a giant wall of eldritch horror.
Chapter 6: Paladin ProtectorsChapter 6: Paladin Protectors “Time!” Hat Trick stated, and three beeps sounded from their gear. “Aright, we got fifteen minutes and counting. We need to get there early incase everything goes bad, which considering what we’re up against it most likely will.” We were galloping down hallways, jumping over upturned tables and barricades as we made our way through the stable during our hasty briefing by Hat Trick. “We have ten minutes to find Paladin Copper Wire, and get back to the Stable entrance before we get locked in here with nightmares incarnate. Any questions?” Hat Trick finished. “Supplies?” Card Swipe said while breathing steadily. Apparently they were used to this kind of effort and it wasn’t slowing them down all that much to gallop and talk. “We got a few healing potions, and some more cartridges from the Infirmary. Not saying that’s enough to waste. Make your shots count. Go for anything glowing or that looks vulnerable.” Hat Trick responded, weaving around a corner as the group moved up a staircase to the main chamber where we met our first monster. “Glowing? Like in the simulations, right?” Cheese Wheel called out, taking up the rear while I flew close overhead. The hallways in this stable were about three ponies in height, but the doorways were more of a bother to get through as they dropped to a pony and a half. About six hooves tall, hah. “Yes, Cheese. Just like the simulations.” Hat confirmed as we made our way to the main chamber and the Initiates spread out while I went on ‘Hearing Duty’. “Central, Clear!” “Left Side, Clear!” “Right Side, Clear!” “Squiri Squui, Squeak!” I finished, then facehoofed. They regrouped on me as I flew back down from the ceiling with grins. “Good effort, Sunny.” Card Swipe said before getting serious again. “Alright. Death monster is nowhere to be found, so let’s go down the way it came up.” Hat Trick stated, and we made our way to the mangled and bloody remains of the doorway it had clawed its way out of. It looked like the door had exploded into a fountain of shrapnel and gore, with bits of flesh dangling in thin ropes from the shredded metal of the door frame. We gathered together and peered down into the badly lit staircase, flickering lights and sparks coming off of the walls from earlier. “Sundown, hear anything?” Cheese asked. I stood at the top of the staircase and closed my eyes to focus on any sound that would come from down below. Skittering, clicking, hoofsteps, weapons fire and… screaming? My eyes shot open and I wheeled around to the three of them and nodded eagerly that this was the right way, pointing down frantically with both my wings and a hoof. “How do you even manage to do that thing with your wings?” Card Swipe asked, before huffing and asking another question. “Paladin Copper Wire?” I shrugged, but made a loud squeaking noise in my quietest attempt at yelling. It ended up sounding like a whistle but it got the point across. “Good enough. Let’s go get em!” Hat motioned with a hoof, as they readied their weapons and lead the way down the bloody and slick staircase. “Watch your step, everypony.” Cheese warned. The squishy sounds of our hooves trampling discarded flesh and bursting whatever pestilent boils that had decided to grow along the floor was extremely gross to say the least, but time wasn’t on our side as we made our way to the bottom floor of the Stable and the door opened to reveal the bottom of the Greenhouse tube. It looked like a giant had tried to stuff as many ponies as they possibly could into a science tube, and didn’t care if they survived the effort. Two more paladin bodies were strewn about on the floor, one of them ripped clean in half. Metallic inner workings of their armor mixed with the gore of their intestines and it didn’t seem a clean death. One of them had tried crawling away from their other half before collapsing on the body of a Scribe missing their legs. The other paladin had gashes and chunks of armor ripped out, revealing the frame of the armor and the pony underneath. “Paladin Copper Wire!” The initiates gasped in unison as they rushed over to their commander, sprawled on the floor and breathing heavily in his damaged armor. One of his hooves looked like hash browns crammed into a tomato soup can, while his helmet had half of it ripped off, revealing the bleeding stallion beneath. His eye was hanging onto his face by a thread as he tried to move his head to look at the Initiates. “No… Get out of here! You’ve got to-“ He tried to warn, before everypony but myself went deaf. I jumped into the air on reflex as the place I had been standing turned into a warped metal crater from the monster slamming a claw where I was a moment before. The initiates realized they couldn’t hear anything as they turned around to see the amalgamation of scribe, paladin and stable dwellers before them. What amounted as its ‘chest’ was covered by the remains of powered armor and metal plating ripped from the stable itself, just slammed into its chest with flesh growing around it. The flower of unicorns around its eye had grown to a full spiked mesh running down its neck, with several more eyes looking out with a green glow in every direction. The eye itself having split into what looked like hundreds of insect eyes, the honeycomb lattice of it glowing like the runes of a spell. It had no mouth to speak of, and made no noise as it lifted the structure of the doorway I had flown from, tearing it to pieces as large chunks of rock from the stable’s foundation came pouring down on it in a chunky grey landslide. The Initiates had been pouring on fire into everything that glowed on the beast as it shuddered slightly with every pop of the eyes along its neck. I don’t know why they knew to shoot for the bits that were glowing, but I wasn’t complaining that it had a weakness. I saw Paladin Copper Wire trying to stand, but there were various red lights flashing from what remained of the inside of his helmet as he attempted to right himself. He flicked one of his hooves, and a minigun on his battle saddle swung over to provide support to the Initiates as he yelled in pain towards Hat Trick at his side. From this distance it seemed that they could still hear each other, but I was flying in erratic patterns over the head of this giant thing trying to distract it and not be turned into paste. “Sundown, get to the entrance now! Get backup!” I heard Hat Trick yell loud enough to just barely make out. I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave my new friends to their fate, before I was slammed aside by the wake of the abomination’s claws. I spiraled out of control towards the Greenhouse Tube before barely leveling out and narrowly avoiding a broken neck from slamming into the side of the tube. I bounced off of the reinforced plastic and fell down onto the ‘pony carpet’ of the floor next to the paladin, feeling a hot liquid running down my side and leg. Looking down in a daze, I saw a deep gash running down my right hind leg almost to the hoof, and that my wing had the membrane sliced across the center. My ribs had mostly protected my organs from horrible death, but my vision began to blur from the pain. I heard somepony swear before something was brought to my mouth and poured down my throat as my vision cleared again. “Sundown! You’ve got to get us help. We only have five minutes left before that door closes! You’re the only one fast enough to get up and back in time.” Hat Trick shouted into my ear, chucking the empty healing potion at the monster with her magic before opening up another volley on it. I got to my hooves with some difficulty and tried flapping my wings. Everything was sore and still fresh, but just barely mended enough to do what she’d asked. All of the Initiates gathered around the fallen paladin as I swooped around the behemoth and flew upstairs to the main stable door as fast as I could. I arrived roughly half a minute later to the sounds of charging weapons and a few yelps of surprise before ducking below some beam fire and hiding behind a box. “Hold fire, that’s the mutant!” Scribe Clear Report ordered before galloping over to me. “Where’s the rest of the Initiates? With the paladin?” He asked in a rush. I nodded yes, and wrote “Bottom Floor!” on a nearby cloth before he rallied the Minigun paladin from earlier and a few scribes that could be spared from guarding the entrance as the last of the explosives were set up. “We’re making this quick! Bolt downstairs and get anypony that’s alive out of there. Move!” The scribe belted out before we rushed back down. I heard a beep and noticed that the timer on his gear said one minute remaining. We were met half way by a staggering Paladin Copper Wire with Cheese Wheel on his back, Hat Trick and Card Swipe covering the rear by firing down the hallway where the monster was last. “Use Incendiaries!” Paladin Copper Wire called out to us, and the sounds of reloading were heard, filling the chamber before Swipe and Hat fell back to the rest of the group, joining Copper Wire and myself. We waited for what felt like eternity, without any sound to give an ominous approach or a bellowing roar to announce the monster’s arrival. Flashes of light spewed forth from the Steel Rangers still standing as the wounded were ushered upstairs and out of the battle. Unicorns from the back ranks used their telekinetic magic to hurl steel apples with a red ring around the center at the approaching doom coming from the hallway below before erupting into a fountain of fire. Then it screamed. It wasn’t a regular, pain induced cry of agony. It was the sound of hundreds of ponies gurgling and crying in an unholy choir of torment and suffering. Several scribes stopped firing, and I found myself frozen in place at the horrifying noise. The worst part is that it never stopped. It was a constant wail of sheer horror that frayed the nerves and made blood run cold. The deep green glow surrounding it had been shattered when the fire leapt at it, breaking whatever spell had been on the beast and unleashing its tide of anguish as it barreled towards us from across the open space of the meeting hall. You might hear it differently based on who you ask, but after that display not a single one of us stood our ground. We made for the exit to get out of there as fast as physically possible, from the hardest veteran to the newest recruit. Not a single pony stood in resistance to that thing as we desperately crammed through the skinny doorway in a desperate attempt to not be dragged back down to Tartarus where that indescribable terror had clawed its way out of. A few more cries of pain were heard as the monster cleaved through scribes and paladins unlucky enough to not get out of its way in time as it slammed into the doorframe with its entire body, its screams like an endless battlecry of demons and lost souls. I regained myself only enough to make sure more than just I would make it out of there, as I helped a few ponies to their hooves and had a wounded earth pony draped on my back as I moved as swiftly as I dared up the stairs. Its wails could be heard louder and louder as I got further away and broke out of the mangled hallway to the stable entrance where Clear Report and a wounded Paladin Copper Wire were directing survivors out of the stable and topside as swiftly as they could. I saw a medic carrying Cheese Wheel up the steps leading out of here with Hat Trick and Card Swipe close by, only survival and their friend on their mind. I looked back at the rest of the Steel Rangers attempting their escape as the hallway buckled and warped around the monstrosity chasing them up the steps. They weren’t going to make it before that thing did! I spun on my hooves and raced towards the Paladin, screaming bloody murder (Squeaking) and pointing behind myself with a free wing that wasn’t holding my wounded baggage. Paladin Copper Wire and Clear Report looked up to see my frantic blur racing past them as the weapons fire drew closer and closer to the Stable door. “Blow it! Blow it now or we’re all dead!” Paladin Copper Wire shouted to the demolition team as I made my way up the stairway and out of the stable. “But sir, there are still-“ Clear Report tried to argue. “BLOW IT!” Paladin Copper Wire screamed, as the last few scribes and a paladin were cut down by the monster as the stable door grated closed like a giant gear locking into place with the screech of grinding metal. A pony pressed a button on a remote, and a deep boom was heard as nearby buildings shook from the blast inside of the stable. I could still hear the monster even after the charges had gone off, but it wasn’t beating against the door and the ground itself looked ready to cave in as cracks began spreading from the stable outwards. “Topside, Move it!” Copper Wire shouted to the few of us too shocked to move. They must’ve thought it was dead because they had looks of relief written all over their faces, that it hadn’t been them killed by the beast, that at least some of their friends had made it out of that hell alive. When I was finally able to move, I gathered myself and the wounded stallion on my back, and slowly made my way to the makeshift camp the Steel Rangers had set up in a nearby building. Every one of them looked exhausted, beaten, wounded or broken entirely. Some were rocking in the corner or curled up like foals, trying to hide underneath bloodied table cloths in the pre-war restaurant that had become their command post. I know I’m focusing a lot on the other ponies, and not my reactions. But that’s because the most horrifying thing I had ever experienced in my life wasn’t over yet. A deep boom and crack was heard from the direction of the stable, roughly a block away. Then another, and another, and another. Rangers looked up in horror from where they lay, some moving to the windows with looks of disbelief on their face as the booming continued, spider web cracks spreading from the direction of the stable outwards. The ground began falling out of existence as a final resounding Boom was heard, and a large gear with ‘96’ detailed in yellow on it soared through the air and obliterated a nearby structure. Coated in grey ash and dust, wailing and screaming louder than before, stood the monstrosity of Stable 96.
Chapter 8: Elderberrieshapter 8: Elderberries It wasn’t a bad cell, as far as underground bunker prisons go. Not that I’ve actually been in that many underground bunker prisons in my life. If at all. Okay, I’ve never been in this kind of situation before, but at least I have apples. That’s always a plus! I must’ve been in here for a while, because I was already starting to get hungry again. An Initiate had come by to take my tray, and looked all kinds of confused when he saw a pile of drained apples get pushed at him. Something along the lines of “How the hell do you drain an apple like it’s a juice box!?” I didn’t really know, so I just smiled at him and he ran off with the tray. I was really beginning to enjoy the fact that the light in my cell had gone off about two hours ago, so anypony that looked too closely to the lasers barring me from leaving would get the shock of their life when they saw my eyes reflect light off of them, right back at them with an orange sheen. Then they would back up in shock for a second, before slowly coming closer and I would lunge forward, say “Hello!” and smile at them, and they would run off to go find one of their friends and tell them to “Check out that prison cell in the back.” And the process would repeat again. I almost spooked a paladin even, but I couldn’t tell all that well with their face hidden beneath the armoring they seem to never take off. How do they go to the bathroom? As I was getting tired and planning on going to sleep, the lights of the cell flipped on and I heard a few ponies enter. With a groan of annoyance I got off of my comfortable cot and walked up to the lasers to see who it was. “Initiate, please close the door behind us.” Elder Rasa spoke softly when it wasn’t time for official business, and had come by once or twice to just stare at me. He’s kind of creepy when he just stands there and looks at you. Maybe that’s why he’s been the boss for so long. Just stares at ponies until they melt out of his offi- CLACK, CLACK, CLACK “Aah!” I squeaked, holding my ears from the loud noise of the elder banging his fore hooves together to get my attention. “Good. Now that I have your attention, we can begin the interrogation.” He said flatly, motioning to a scribe to turn on some device she was holding with her magic. “Interr… uh oh.” I said, completely audible. “What.” “Much like the beast reported to have been encountered in the stable, this device is a focused audio dampener. Normally this would render somepony’s voice or equipment out of hearing range, but for our purposes it will allow you to speak normally when directed at you.” Elder Rasa explained with a grin. “Oh. Well that’s neat! Can I keep one? You have no idea how hard it is to communicate with ponies when all they hear is squeaks and-“ He held up a hoof to silence me, before speaking. “I want to know several things. You will only speak to answer my questions, understood?” I nodded, before remembering I could actually speak and said, “Yes!” “Good. First of all, how did you get to the Hoofington region?” “Um… Hoofington? I just thought it was just some ruins like everyplace else.” “Regardless of your knowledge of the area, how did you get into the city without being spotted?” “Spotted? You mean there was ponies looking for me, or that I wasn’t supposed to be there?” “Yes.” “Wha-“ “To both of your questions, yes.” “Oh… I just flew there after getting chased off by Raiders and Slavers from a cave I was staying in for the daytime.” “Where is this cave?” “Um.” I closed my eyes and tried to remember the paths we had taken, eyes flickering underneath their lids for a few moments as I heard the Elder grumble a bit like he was being ignored, before opening my eyes and pointing towards the right of my cell’s door with my hoof. “About that way.” “You… You were blindfolded before you came here, correct?” “Yeah, but I’m a Batpony. I don’t navigate the same way you ponies do. I remember where I’ve been and make a mental map that I follow. I never understood the whole North East South West thing. I just kinda went in the direction I remember it being last, relative to where I’ve been and how I got to where I am now.” The Elder blinked at me for a few moments, before moving on. “How did you come into contact with the original four targets?” “Oh, you mean Gearbox, Lightswitch, Emerald and Swift Shot?” “Eh, yes.” “Well, I was resting on top of a ruined building for a bit after getting chased off by slavers nearby, and I heard a bunch of arguing and then a gunshot so I decided to investigate and see what was up.” “You mean to attack them.” “What? No! They didn’t sound like they were mean or anything. It just sounded like a bunch of ponies arguing about something.” “So you’re telling me, that a wastelander like you, wouldn’t take every possible opportunity to backstab and steal from other ponies to survive, in a situation where they would do the same to you in a heartbeat?” “Um, no? That’s just mean!” “You are a very unusual pony, Miss…?” “Sundown!” “Strange. A few more questions.” “Okay.” “Before you were captured by Paladin Copper Wire and his rangers, if was reported that you heard them coming long before they arrived?” “Yeah. I have very sensitive ears and I heard a bunch of clanking and grumbling so I thought that it was the slavers from before, so I went to warn the other ponies about it but they were all gone. Then I heard a bunch of minigun fire and a missile launcher go off, and Copper Wire was standing over me, shouting in my face.” “Then you were captured, and brought into the Stable, correct?” “Yep, and then I got tied up and it was really scary. I tried to escape but they caught me in a vent before I could get away and I would have died if I didn’t scream the vent apart.” The Elder moved his head back, startled, before regaining his composure. “Shouted… the vent apart?” “Yep! I can show you if you wa-“ “No-no! No that’s alright. I believe you, no need for that.” He gave a throat clearing cough before regaining his composure, and continuing with his questions. “From there, Paladin Copper Wire tells me that the other four that were with you took great interest in your safety. Why would they care for you if they had only met you for such a short period of time?” “Well… I didn’t try to kill them or anything. I think they wanted to keep me as a pet.” “A…pet. Don’t you mean as a slave?” “Nope! Swift Shot said that she wanted me as a pet, probably because of my squeaking.” “Odd.” he simply stated, and we stood there staring at each other for a while. I figured it was a staring contest and we only continued after he blinked first a few minutes later. “Very odd. At any rate, from that point you were willing to assist the Paladin with his interrogation, correct?” “He said he didn’t want anypony getting hurt, so I went along with his plan. It was kind of goofy. He was acting like a comic book villain for a bit, but I don’t think the other four caught on.” “A comic book villain? Like Mane-iac, yes?” “Oh, you know her too!?” “That doesn’t matter.” He said hurriedly, attempting to redirect the conversation from his comic book reading leisure activities. “From there, you were introduced to three Initiates.” “Yep! Cheese Wheel, Hat Trick and Card Swipe. They’re pretty neat and helped me find a restroom.” He had a stone faced expression, and only blinked a few times before continuing. “The restroom.” “Yep!” “Right. After that, what had happened from your point of view?” “Well, I overheard them making fun of somepony named Paladin Combat Knife, then I made them giggle with a reference to what they were talking about and they got spooked that I heard them through a ‘double reinforced door’ and I told ‘em my hearing was really good! Then Hat Trick did some kind of cheaty unicorn magic thing and I felt weird, and she said my ears were mutated. Then we went to go find Paladin Copper Wire and there wasn’t anypony around. Only bloody rags and shredded boxes and stuff.” “Right. Aside from the bathroom ordeal this is consistent with what the Initiates had told me. Continue.” “Well, we started looking around and found a big meeting hall with a green tube in the center. And there was a pony carpet too! Anyway, I was being the scout for the group with my ears an-“ “I’m sorry, ‘Pony-Carpet’?” “Yeah, a bunch of ponies’ flesh fused together along with their bones like a carpet along the floor. They didn’t tell you?” He looked like he had found out that someone had used his morning bowl of oats as a restroom. “Certainly not!” he shouted, before realizing he had lost himself, turned and whispered something to the scribe next to him and faced me again. “We will continue this at another time. I have some Rangers to speak with…” he stated with a hint of impending doom towards said Rangers. “Wait! How come I couldn’t hear you whispering?” I asked in a rush to speak before he left. He left the room anyway, and the scribe walked up to me with her device. “Dampener field, works both ways.” She said with a smug grin, before clicking the device off. “Skree! Squ sqi… eeeee….” Wait! Can I… Awwww. “See ya, freak.” The scribe sneered before leaving and locking the door to the cells. Well now the lights are on, I don’t have any apples, and nopony can visit me now. This sucks hayseed. Deciding I should try and get as much sleep as I can before my stomach makes its return with a need for apples, I hopped onto the small cot I was given only to find there was no pillow or blanket on it. I decided to pull the mattress off of the cot, and went over to the corner of the cell next to a sink and propped it against the wall between the toilet and the sink, making a half tent of shade with the mattress before laying down in my makeshift fort. I think I heard some clanking and muffled shouting through the walls, but I was already too dozy to really care about what was going on and soon fell asleep. oooOOOooo A bright object had just smacked into me as I plummeted out of the sky, unable to break free and right myself. Somehow there wasn’t any pain, and as I tried to move, the glowing thing had me locked into it as I fell backwards towards the rapidly approaching and unsafe looking landing site soon to become a crater with a side of scrambled Batpony. I closed my eyes, waiting for my impending doom at the hands of celestial space rock. And then nothing happened. I chanced a peek and noticed that this glowing thing and I were just hovering over the ground, slowly spinning clockwise before it set itself down with me on the top of it. “You may free yourself, Night Guard.” A regal sounding yet kind voice told me. After hopping down from the rock, I looked around to find a unicorn mare and a brightly colored foal standing next to her. She wore a night blue robe adorned with gold trim that concealed her features and a rune covered scarf around her neck. The foal next to her was also a unicorn, orange coat with red and white accented mane. Clack, Clack My attention was returned to the mare in front of me, next to the large rotating orb. “Night Guard, please report your findings.” “I got hit with a big rock from the sky.” “Very astute.” She said with a look of exasperation on her face, as the foal tried to hide his giggle with a hoof. “What is your name, Night Guard?” The dream then unfocused and all sound came as a mumble for a few moments. “I am Marelin. Apprentice to Princess Celestia. This is Brag, don’t mind him.” The foal looked a little disappointed, but didn’t protest to his presence being ignored. “I was admiring the night sky of Princess Luna’s creation and ensuring nopony was in distress when I noticed that thing hurling itself toward me. I tried to get out of the way but I was struck by it instead. I honestly don’t know why I’m not powder at the moment.” “That would be partly of my own doing. I too saw the orb flying from the sky and attempted to slow it before it could hurt anypony. Sadly you were hit directly by it. I think it would’ve brought you with it into the ground if I hadn’t stopped its decent.” “Do you know what this thing is?” I said, giving it a few taps of my midnight plated hoof. The dream became blurry as I heard what sounded like shouting in the distance. “Night guard, are you there?” I returned to the present, as the hoof of Marelin was waving in my face. “Oh! Yes, sorry. I thought I heart somepony shouting in the distance.” The apprentice looked at me with some confusion before her horn glowed, looking me up and down. “Odd… you’re radiating with magical energies.” She stated with curiosity before her horn stopped glowing. “I think you should return to your duties, Night Guard. Be sure to file a report about this, as I will do the same for the Princesses. I’m certain they will wish to know what has happened here tonight.” The dream became blurry again as I felt myself falling backwards into nothingness oooOOOooo “-ndown, Sundown wake up already!” I heard a voice whispering harshly nearby. I groggily stood up before bumping my head on the mattress as it fell sideways to the ground, to see the three Initiates, Paladin Copper Wire, Clear Report and Elder Rasa standing outside of my cell. “Wha?” I squeaked, moving closer to the deactivated door of my cell. Clear Report moved a strange collar towards my neck suddenly, and I let out a warning screech as I reared up at the thing. “Calm down!” He said crossly, most of the group not in power armor having to cover their ears. I looked worriedly at the Initiates and Copper Wire, and they nodded at me with smiles. Well. If they’re okay with it then it can’t be that bad, right? Click. “Alright, now that that is over with, we can continue.” Elder Rasa stated with relief. I put a hoof to this weird steel collar around my neck, fidgeting with it a bit before Hat Trick knocked my hoof away in worry. “Don’t mess with it! It’s a bomb collar, in case you try to escape again. Sorry…” She looked away quickly after my look of betrayal had seared into her after hearing ‘bomb collar’. The group filed out of the prison cell with me at the center, being followed at the rear by Paladin Copper Wire with the Initiates in front of me. I was getting stares from the Steel Rangers that hadn’t been on the Stable 96 mission and overheard gasps and grumbles of annoyance at bets being lost, concerning what had been in the prison cell. I kept my head down and looking to the floor to avoid any looks of disgust or anger that may have been shot my way. After all, nopony in the wastes liked Pegasai, and I seriously doubt that they would tell the difference between a Batpony and a Pegasus even if we looked nothing alike. Pony with wings is a pegasus to them, I guess. My posture must have caught the attention of Copper Wire, because he sped up to walk alongside me. “Chin up, Sundown. They were given a short briefing on Batponies before you were released. We didn’t want a riot to happen when we got you out of the cell.” He explained, before Elder Rasa cut him off and ordered him to ‘Stop speaking with the prisoner.’ We maneuvered our ways through the spacious halls through the bunker, passing a few barracks, some recreational centers, a large restroom, armory, training hall and ‘simulator room’ before coming up to the Medical Ward. I was told to move ahead of the rest of them, and the door slammed down behind me, making me jump. In front of me was a Unicorn mare with white coat, purple mane and red eyes. “Hello, my name is Redundance, although everypony calls me ‘Doctor Scour’ for some reason.” She said with a slight scowl. She had a cutie mark of a healing potion wrapped in bandages, so I guess that was the reason for her name. “Now, if you’ll take a seat over here, we can begin with a quick medical scan to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. Don’t worry about my credentials, I spent the past few days doing research on batponies from information we have stored in the archives.” She quickly reassured me as she moved medical looking equipment around, gave me some kind of apron with spots all over it while tying it behind my back and lifted me with her magic onto the bed. I had opened my mouth to speak but she clamped my jaw shut with more of her cheating unicorn-ness. “Nah-ah ah. Can’t have you speaking with that collar on you. If you try to screech loud enough to hurt somepony it will make your head explode all over my medical bay, and nopony wants to clean up crème de la batpony, do they?” She said with a fake smile, still frantically moving equipment, bandages, potions, rad-aways and various other supplies around the room in a flurry of magic before finally setting a stool down in front of me and taking a seat. The room looked like she was about to perform every kind of medical procedure possible. I thought this was a checkup? “Now, let’s begin!” She said, way too happily for comfort. Her horn glowed again and I felt my whole body tingle like it had fallen asleep. Moving around in the slightest set off the feeling of pins and needles stabbing me so I did my best to sit still while she did whatever it is that medical ponies do. I started to feel woozy and swayed for a moment before Redundance caught me, and set me down on the bed, hooves in the air. I can’t move! “Now, the Autopsy can begin! Mwahahaha!” She cackled, before looking down at my frantically moving and worried eyes. “Oh dear, honestly. What kind of pony do you think I am?” she giggled, before moving out of my sight and returning with a surgical mask. “An evil one! Mwahah!” she cackled again, and I swore I heard a lightning bolt land somewhere in the background before she flicked her mask away into the corner with her magic, and I could feel myself able to move again. “Just kidding. You have no idea how boring it is around here. Nopony can take a joke, I swear.” She chucked with an air of nostalgia, before setting me upright and taking the apron thing off. “Alright, here is what I’ve found. Your ears are certainly mutated, though I can tell it isn’t from Taint. I’m a bit disappointed to say I have no idea what exactly caused them to mutate the way they have, but the rest of you checks out one hundred per-cent as completely Batpony as you can be!” the Doctor was completely ecstatic at revealing this news, as she was reared on her hind legs and flailing her hooves about as she finished, before collecting herself and ushering me off of the bed. “Now then, I will send my full report to the Elder as soon as I can. I will also recommend he take off that awful collar from you. I can tell that you’re a good pony, Sundown. I have my ways.” She gave a conspiratorial wink at me, before opening the door and giving my flank a smack on the way out. “Toodles!” she called, with the door slamming shortly after I had left. The Initiates had their jaws on the floor as I looked up at them with an obsidian colored blush, which quickly evaporated as I saw Elder Rasa staring at me, his head turned from a conversation with Copper Wire. The Initiates snapped to attention just in time as the Elder and Paladin moved to take me back to the cell I was beginning to call home. I had a lot I wanted to say, but with Redundance’s warning I didn’t want to risk my head turning into red mist. I turned around to face the Initiates as the cell zapped back to life. “Don’t worry, Sunny. We’ll get this sorted out, I promise.” Cheese Wheel said, giving me a grin that raised my spirits a bit. “Enough. You are no longer needed for the moment, Initiates.” Elder Rasa stated, as they gave a quick salute and went out of the prison section. Now it was just Paladin Copper Wire, Scribe Clear Report, Elder Rasa and myself in the prison section. I decided to sit on my mattress that was still on the floor, not bothering to put it back on the frame as I stared at the three of them through the grid of lasers. “Now then. Would you two like to explain to me why you didn’t report a ‘carpet of ponies’ in your findings of Stable 96?” The elder questioned Clear Report and Copper Wire. Both of them looked at the other, Clear Report with a look of horror and Copper Wire’s expression being unreadable behind his helmet. “A-a what, sir?” Clear Report asked. “What do you mean by a ‘carpet of ponies’, Elder?” Copper Wire asked. I was getting worried, were they trying to hide what had happened down there? “The prisoner here states that some areas of the stable were covered in a blanket of pony flesh and bones enough to resemble a carpet! Don’t tell me you didn’t see something like that, it would be goddesses damned impossible to miss!” The Elder fumed at them. “Elder Rasa… The floor had blood streaks all over it as well as some green chemical mixture that I assumed was from one of our targets previously using to kill off the inhabitants before we arrived. I never saw a ‘pony carpet’ as you describe.” Paladin Copper Wire stated. Clear Report looked between Copper Wire and myself as if we were insane. “What? Paladin, the ground was covered in plant life and dead animals. You were there! You must’ve seen all the bodies in the Living quarters.” The scribe belted out almost in panic, like he was about to be caught by his parents for lying. The head of Copper Wire moved back a bit at Clear Reports statement, before looking at me. “Sundown… are you saying you saw a ‘carpet of ponies’ littering the floor when you went into the stable?” he asked in a worried manner. I nodded my head, my own confusion adding to the mix. “Elder, if I may. What did the Initiates say happened in the stable?” Clear Report asked. “All three Initiates were taken in separately to give their account of the story, as well as every member of your team, Paladin Copper Wire. As I am realizing with you three, this isn’t a conspiracy to hide the truth of what happened there to cover up for some failure on your parts. Everypony sent on that mission has a different account of what occurred, what they saw, what they fought against and how they got out as unique as their cutie marks.” Elder Rasa stated, pacing around in a circle while speaking. “How can that be, Elder? We were all there and we hadn’t barely said a word on the way back here!” Clear Report was getting more disheveled by the moment. “Barely spoke? I saw Sundown here liquefy a group of raiders that had ambushed us on our way back!” Copper Wire was also beginning to panic. “Enough! We won’t get anywhere with this if we all devolve into a blind frenzy of worry. Let’s examine the facts, shall we? From the beginning. All of you nod or shake your head at the events that I speak of so we can determine where everything deviated.” We all nodded our head and he began. “Alright. I had ordered your group to scour the nearby ruins for technology that would assist us in cloning our own food so we could expand our operations. Yes?” The scribe and paladin nodded. “You sent a small scouting team ahead of the main group to report back findings and any targets you may have to deal with before arrival.” More nods. “The scouts reported four ponies at the entrance to the Stable. Two Pegasai, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn.” Nods. “You moved the main group to intercept and encountered Sundown, who had somehow remained undetected to you, and captured the original four targets.” They both looked at me, and we all nodded. “Your brought them down for interrogation, discovered the Pegasai were from the Enclave, and Sundown escaped from her bindings.” Copper Wire and I nodded, as Clear Report shook his. “The Pegasai were shot after we had recaptured Sundown, or so I had thought…” he stated. “Hmm… Did anypony notice the Unicorn of their group using a spell?” The Elder asked. I waved a hoof, and pointed to my collar with a pout. “Clear Report, if you would.” He motioned to my collar, and it came off with a snap after being set aside by Clear Report’s magical aura. And a device clicked on, attached to the ceiling of my cell. “Test… awesome!” I said with cheer, before continuing. “Emerald and the Paladin were in an argument, and I had noticed that before he called out that I was missing, she looked like she had been struck with something painful. I thought it was just because she felt bad, but it could’ve been something else. After I was sent away I never saw any of them again, now that I think about it.” I added to the conversation. “Right… Now that I remember, ‘Emerald’ had said something about ‘breathing in the chemicals downstairs’. I had assumed that they would be fairly visible if they were still active, as she had stated that it was a green gas, but I saw nothing when I went down there.” Copper Wire said. “I didn’t see any gas either, Elder.” Clear Report stated. “Nope!” I helpfully added. “Perhaps it was a neurological agent. That would explain the radically different stories. There is one thing that hasn’t been accounted for, however. Do any of you know the name ‘Braggadocious’?” Elder Rasa asked. “Oh, don’t get me started with that raider. Had to run him off before he got close enough to melt anypony with that flamer of his.” Clear Report blurted out of turn. “Raider? I saw a malfunctioning Protect-a-pony shambling around the restaurant.” Copper Wire said with a sideways look at Clear Report, before they all looked at me. “Wizard.” I said plainly. “Right…” All of them said in unison, before looking at each other in mild surprise before continuing. “Well. As evident from Doctor Scour’s reports, you are all clear of any contaminants or agents from the surface, so you shouldn’t have to worry about… Wizards.” Rasa said with a shake of his head at me. “I will simply designate that stable as a hazardous zone, and we will come up with another solution to our supply problems. Paladin Copper Wire, Scribe Clear Report. What would you say about the character of ‘Sundown’ here? Is she a threat to this chapter of the Steel Rangers?” The elder asked them. “Well, before we found out that every one of us had been hallucinating the entire time, I would’ve jumped to defend Sundown and request that she be integrated immediately. Now, however, I am unsure if I spent any time with Sundown at all.” Paladin Copper Wire said, choosing his words carefully. “My experiences with Sundown may have also been influenced by hallucination, but she has caused no trouble to us while she has been here, even with a bomb collar around her neck at one point. Even now I have no doubt she could screech until we died of blood loss from our ears at this very moment, but she seems content to just sit there and observe. All in all, I think she’s just a bit creepy with how silent she is, but she could be an asset to us, Elder.” Clear Report giving his namesake to the Elder. “Very well. I shall ask the Initiates of whom she is reported to have spent the most time with about their opinions as well, even if one of them is completely convinced they had a ‘romantic encounter’ with her.” Rasa said with a slight shudder. Hey! I’m a batpony, not ugly! I stuck my tongue out at the Elder as he turned away from me, calling Clear Report out of the cell with him and dismissing Paladin Copper Wire. “Hey, Sundown.” He seemed a lot less sure that we were on friendly terms now after the conversation. “Hello!” I said cheerfully, despite his worried tone. “Did you cause those hallucinations?” he asked, moving closer to the cell. “I have no idea how I would even begin to do that, Copper. Why are you asking me?” I said with a bit of a snap to my tone. “I get the feeling you’re a lot smarter than you seem, so it makes me wonder what your motive is.” “Motive? I can’t be cheerful without a sinister plot? I think you read too many comic books, Copper.” I said while trying to hide a giggle with my hoof. He didn’t seem convinced, and turned the lights out before standing in the doorway of the prison entrance. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Sundown.” He said ominously. “You too!” I called down the hall in my squeaky yet still clear voice.
Chapter 9: Misty MemoriesChapter 9: Misty Memories oooOOOooo My vision was extremely blurry as I felt myself flying over a forest, with the sounds of battle in the distance. As my senses returned to me, I saw Batponies and Pegasai in hoof to hoof combat, killing each other with sword strikes or crossbow bolts. Banking left, I narrowly avoided a similar fate as a bolt streaked into the side of my helmet, knocking a strap loose and sending it plummeting to the ground beneath me. I resumed my course, heading for the Castle of the Twin Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Marelin had concluded her observations about the orb that had struck me nearly a month ago, and along with her observations about my own state, something was about to happen that was good for nopony. I took off as soon as I had heard in order to warn Princess Luna, who would be holding court at this hour of the night, only to come to a full skirmish between Celestia and Luna’s guards. I landed on the balcony leading to Luna’s chambers and was allowed passage by her guards after hearing of my need to report Marelin’s findings. I opened the balcony door to find the room in complete disarray. Shredded blankets and pegasai down was littered all over the floor. It looked like somepony had attempted to assassinate the Princess in her sleep and been defeated, by the bloodstains and shattered weaponry on the ground. “Princess Luna?” I called out to the room, receiving no response. I quickly searched the room for any sign of the Princess before heading deeper into the castle in search of her. Trotting down the stairs carefully, I heard the sounds of a door being battered open with shouting as another battle started in the chaos. That could be the Princess! I thought, rushing to the scene to ambush Celestia’s guards that were fighting with the night watch in a corridor. Taking up a blade that had fallen to the ground, I shadow flashed above one of the golden plated guards with a soft electrical zih-poof in time to plunge the sword down between his shoulder blades and neck, skewering his spine, lungs and heart in one stroke. He let out a pained gurgle as he collapsed to the ground dead, as his partner growled and leapt at me. With another flash, I appeared behind him and bucked him to the floor. The unicorn used his magic to lift his partner’s sword and his own from the floor, attempting to overwhelm me in a flurry of attacks. I gave ground enough to be pushed to the floor, and as he rose both swords to finish me off in a final attack, I flashed behind him, slicing his horn from his head. If I wasn’t so focused on informing and rescuing Princess Luna I would have frozen in horror at the inequine sound coming from the guard’s mouth, so I mercifully finished him off with a strike between his side plates as he was impaled through the lungs and collapsed to the ground in a bloody thrashing mess. The night watch that had been fending off Celestia’s guards were beyond the door, giving me thanks for saving them. They were new recruits and had barely been given their equipment a week ago before this had happened, and were certain they would’ve died if I hadn’t shown up. I asked if they knew where Princess Luna was, and they directed me to the main audience chamber. They said that Princess Celestia was confronting Princess Luna about an ‘eternal night’ and her being a threat to all of Equestria. I couldn’t believe that the timid Princess of the night would ever endanger her subjects, and rushed to her defense. Along the way I almost ran into more of Celestia’s guards. They were winning the battle on the outside of the castle from the sounds of it, and it was only a matter of time before they breached the chamber and were able to reinforce Celestia’s personal guard. Shadow flashing and sneaking past a few skirmishes between Night and Day guards, I found my way to the chamber where the Princesses were at a standoff. Celestia was adorned in shining gold armor, encrusted with gems that shone like the sun with magical enchantment and protections. Her white coat as pure as fresh snow with her mane and tail like a nebula as she stared down her sister, assisting her guards with magic enough to set them upright and ready to fight. She wore several pieces of jewelry around her neck, with a star tiara on her head. The Elements of Harmony! Oh no, she wouldn’t use those against her own sister, would she? I swept down from the railing that was overlooking the main audience chamber to land by Luna’s side at the throne dominating the center of the room, along with more of her own guard that had stayed by her side throughout the fighting. As I glanced to make sure she was unharmed, I backed away in fright. She was not the Princess Luna I knew! Her coat was black as Ink all across her body, wearing a sky blue armor with a shining crescent moon in the center of her ornate chest plate. A similarly colored helmet rested on her head, a place for her horn to come through to a menacing point that looked long enough to pierce a pony from front to end. Her ethereal mane and tail looked like the night sky and flowed from her body like silk caught in a breeze while clinging to her body, the stars shifting as if looking through a portal. Her once kind eyes had now become as a dragon’s, slit pupil and turquoise in color, promising pain and retribution for the suffering she had endured and an agonizing end to her enemies. She growled at the Sun Goddess, revealing her teeth to a row of fangs that would tear any flesh to ribbons were she so inclined. “Do you honestly think you can stop me with the Elements, you foal!?” she bellowed at her sister, who wore a pained expression on her face. “You know as well as I do that we shared the Elements of Harmony together. You cannot use them without my help! Soon, all ponies will see the glory of the night as I do, for I will bring about night eternal!” She boomed at Celestia, flashes of lightning and the sounds of battle punctuating her declaration. The Princess of the Sun looked upon her sister, and the few Night Guard that remained alive as the floor was littered with the dead and dying of both sides. I wavered for a moment at the sudden change of Luna’s appearance, but I swore to remain in her service until released by Luna or death itself. “Nightmare Moon, I will give you this last chance to surrender my sister. Enough ponies have died from your insanity.” The Goddess of the Sun spoke firmly, her eyes glowing like a barely contained inferno as the temperature in the room began to rise, and her mane and tail became fire and caused their armor to shine like the sun as she spread her wings and rose to hover in the air. “You know you cannot defeat me, Celestia. That is why you have come here in your desperate attempt to slay me before I take my rightful place as Ruler of Equestria! I will never bow to you again, Sister.” Nightmare Moon finished with a fang filled sneer, raising on her hind legs while flapping her wings for balance as she slammed down to the ground with bolts of lightning erupting from her horn, slamming into the few of Celestia’s guard that remained standing, sending their blackened and charred forms hurling into the stonework behind them and shattering the door to the courtyard, filling the room with the sounds of mayhem and slaughter. “Then I am sorry, sister.” She stated with sorrow, as the Elements began to emit a blinding light and Celestia’s horn flared hot as the sun itself. “What!? No! You cannot use the Elements without me!” Nightmare Moon shrieked. “You have left me no choice… goodbye, Luna.” She finished with a tear steaming off of her face, as a lance of light burst forth from her horn, encircled by a rainbow and rapidly approaching all of us, directed at Nightmare Moon. “Nooo!! You cannot do this! Celestia, Tia! Nooooooo” Nightmare Moon’s scream eventually faded, as a pillar of light burst from the ground in an explosion of magical power, sending everypony but Celestia away from the center as it shot into the night sky, hitting the grey celestial body in the center. Soon, the moon had the image of a dark mare in armor, waiting with infinite patience. Groaning could be heard as the surviving guards of both sides picked themselves up and got to their hooves, unsure of what to do now that Nightmare Moon was gone. I formed up uneasily with the rest of those from the night watch as we stood our ground, certain we were about to be executed for allying ourselves with the corrupted goddess of the night. oooOOOooo “Aaaahh!” I shrieked in fright, breaking the ceiling bulb and sending a shower of glass on the top of my mattress that I had once again been using as a fort. I bonked my head on the mattress, sending the shards of glass into the toilet and through the beams of my cell. I was sweating from that… dream? Was it a nightmare, or a vision? I have no idea what that was, but they’ve been getting a lot more detailed lately. Darn wizards and their… wait, darn Stables and their brain altering chemical things. “Sweet dreams?” I voice giggled next to me as I screeched again and whipped my head around to find Redundance looking at me with a smirk on her face. “You’ve been tossing and turning so much in that little corner of yours it tripped an intruder alarm on one of the security cameras. When they saw it was just you throwing a fit, they had me check it out. I told him it was just a dream, but I think a certain Paladin has the hots for you~” she teased, as she dropped the cell’s laser grid and stepped in with a yellow bag decorated with pink butterflies on it, before re-starting it with her cheaty-powers. “One observation has made me curious though. Since you’re a batpony, why haven’t you just shadow flashed out of your cell? It stops objects from passing through it, but not teleportation.” She said while rooting through her medical bags. Wait. Oh crap, I totally forgot I could do that! Zi-Poof Aha! Wait. “Of course, I pointed that out to the Scribes who were maintaining your cell, and they added a few enchanted gems to the security system to prevent such a thing from occurring. If you wanted to know.” She said from the ceiling. But wait, my bed was on the ceiling too. Uh oh. I fell to the floor from the ceiling with a short screech of panic as I hit my head on the steel paneled floor, and slumped over to the side with a resounding thud of pain as I landed on one of my wings. “Owww.” I moaned, laying on the floor and not wanting to stand up while Redundance giggled to herself and put a bandage on my head. Completely wrapped in its binding, not in any way useful. “Hold that for me, would you dear?” she asked, continuing to dig through her bags, setting aside a whole arrangement of medical equipment all around my room. I huffed from my position on the floor, in enough pain to be content with being a shelf for the time being as I continued to wonder about that strange dream. It was way too specific to actually be a dream, but I had this feeling like I had been through all of what had happened before. I could ask and see if Redundance and her unicorn magic powers of cheating could help with it, but she’d probably paralyze me again. I tried to get up to look at her, and found out she had already made me incapable of movement as I was flooded with pins and needles again. “Now hold still, ‘Sunny’. This will only sting for a moment.” She said, with a large needle hovering next to her from what I could see out of the corner of her eye as I could feel my slit pupil eyes contract in terror. She slowly moved toward me, making it seem like eternity as bells tolled in the distance for the impending mild discomfort I would soon experience as steel slipped its way into my rump and I squeaked in annoyance. “Ow.” I made a point of announcing while feeling the needle move around slightly. “Oh, quit being such a foal. I’m already done!” the evil doctor pony chirped, before flinging the needle directly into the laser beams of my cell as they vaporized in a brilliant blip of light. “And now it’s decontaminated. Hurrah for science!” she said with gusto, repacking about half the medical bay into her bag somehow. “Wuh dith oo doo?” I mumbled, my tongue turned to a useless blob while I tasted mint. “Oh, nothing you should be worrying about, deary. Just a bit of numbing agent to make sure you don’t do anything rash for the next bit! Elder Rasa has ordered me to go rooting around inside of your noggin, and I can’t have you thrashing about like you did before I came in, or somepony might get hurt! Now, hold still.” She snickered, knowing full well I was only capable of blinking at this point. My whole body stopped feeling like it existed entirely, as she laid down next to me with her horn glowing a bright red. “Now, let’s see what memories you’ve got between those tufts of fur between your head!” she said, as my vision faded to black. oooOOOooo The Sun Goddess herself was slowly marching towards us, still alight with the power of the sun after her banishment of Nightmare Moon. The marble floor left scorch marks in her wake, as more gold plated guards stormed into the Hall. Between myself and the two recruits I had saved earlier, there were about twenty of the night watch still left after today, all crammed and huddled next to another in the back of the room behind the throne, as Princess Celestia conversed with officers who gave reports to her, right until she loomed over us. We were badly beaten as it was. Most of us were wrapped with bandages or tattered uniforms in a desperate attempt to stop bleeding from various wounds and injuries from the battle previous. The blast from Luna’s banishment had crumpled a few of the plates of my silver and midnight colored armor into uselessness, and I had since tossed them aside. I stood only in the hoof guards and tunic of my uniform, tending to another of the night watch who was in far worse condition than I was. Certainly, I was worried about what Celestia’s punishment for us would be, but I had more pressing concerns trying to keep the few friends in Equestria I had left in a state of living, as one of the night guard I was tending to thrashed around, threatening to undo his bandages. The now Lone Ruler of Equestria loomed behind me, waves of heat buffeting my back as I desperately tried to do what I could for those dead and dying. The Sun Guard had already taken their wounded and moved them to the opposite side of the hall, as the few of us that could stand any chance of fighting guarded the perimeters of each side of the halls, neither side wanting to fire a shot to cause more death. “Night Guard, whom leads you now?” Princess Celestia asked, directed to all of us. Her voice was laced with sorrow, I assume for the loss of her sister Luna. The few of us that were conscious enough to respond looked between us, worry and fear evident in their faces before they looked to me. “Sundown leads us, Princess Celestia.” One of them said. I looked up from the batpony mare I was attempting to calm, as I met the gaze of those still standing, a sense of doom washing over me as I thought I had been thrown under the carriage. I spun around to face the Sun Goddess, looking down at me with a tired expression as her features returned to the gentle and motherly figure I had become accustomed to when seeing the Princess. My body tensed up in anticipation of pain or worse, until my gaze met that of Celestia’s. “Nightmare Moon’s reign is over, Sundown. There is no need to continue fighting.” She looked up from me to the rest of the ponies gathered in the room, most of them having stood down their guard as the Princess made her way across the hall. She stood in the center of the room, just ahead of the twin thrones that dominated the hall, where Nightmare Moon had stood before she had been banished just moments before. She looked ready to deliver an historic speech before my vision blurred and I fell into darkness. oooOOOooo My head hurt. Wait, let me rephrase that. My head felt that it was on the receiving end of training a whole den of Hellhounds. No, that’s not right. My head felt like it had been squashed by the Goddess of the Sun herself! There we go. “Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuu.” I managed to say, tongue still numb as I saw Redundance get herself upright and stare at me with a most sincere look of shock I have ever seen. “That… that was not a dream. That was a memory! You… what!?” Redundance blubbered, before making a few attempts to get up and rush out of the room, turning the cell’s gate on and off so fast a portion of her tail had been sliced off by the lasers. My body was still entirely too numb to maneuver properly, but I could still get enough movement out of my legs to pull myself up and rest my head on my sideways mattress as I waited out the numbing agent. How could that have been a memory? I’ve been in the wasteland all my life, as far as I can remember! There’s no way I lived that long ago. No goddesses flippin’ way. Even if I was, what would that mean for me now? It’s not like I can just wave a hoof and summon Luna to fix everything in the wastelands. Hey, if I’m going to tempt fate, I can at least make it something useful, right? The numbing stuff was helping with my splitting headache as I went back to simply lying down on the cold, soothing steel floor of my cell. It didn’t seem to be a very short lived numbing, because it felt like hours had passed before anypony came to check up on me. “Whoa! What happened to you, Sunny?” The visiting Initiates asked, not wanting to turn off the beams to the cell for risk of getting in trouble. I flailed a drugged hoof in the direction of the medical bags that Redundance had left behind in her rush, as I breathed heavily on the floor. “Mmm Num.” I muttered, blinking slowly while looking at them. “You’re… numb? Who did this to you, Sundown?” Hat Trick asked, and I did my best to point a heavy hoof at the medical bag laying nearby, the syringe laying on the floor next to it. Hat Trick used her Telekinesis magic to lift the syringe closer to them, before letting out a growl and dropping the device to the floor of my cell. “We’re going to get help, Sunny. Stay there!” Card Swipe said, all of them rushing out of the door and leaving me alone in the cell again. Yep, sure. No problem guys. I’ll just go get some food, oh wait! I can’t, because I’m numbed to the bone and locked in a prison cell. Maybe I could get in trouble at the armory but wait, I CANT because I’m locked in a prison cell, numbed to the bone! ‘Stay there’ he says. I blew a lazy raspberry at my situation and continued to lay there, numbness being a constant companion as more time passed. I must’ve fallen into a dreamless nap because I awoke to be floating through the air with a red aura around my body moving away from the Medical ward. I was able to move my head a bit now, and saw that Redundance was being trailed by Elder Rasa, who was shouting for ponies to move aside as we made our way around the bunker. We came to a circular room with a large map on the side wall as Paladin Copper Wire and Clear Report came through the door behind us, locking it with pressurized gears sealing it. I was floated over to a wooden table in the shape of a half circle in the center of the room, as my head nudged a terminal and I was set down. Clear Report came by and set the Audio Dampener next to me and clicked it on, before returning to his spot to whisper amongst those gathered. A few worried and surprised glances were flashed my way as I lay there in a numb daze that was slowly dissipating. How long have I even been here? Has it really only been a few days since the Stable? Yikes. It feels like I’ve lived here my whole life at this point. Everything just passes by in one huge blur. Clack. “Auu. Mmai ebbrs.” I mumbled. “Yep, she’s awake.” Clear Report stated. “Ooh, looks like I used the surgical numb-er instead of the interrogation numb-er. My bad, Sundown! It was supposed to have worn off a while ago but we’ll just have to wait it out.” Redundance said with a hint of regret. “Doctor Scour, pay attention please.” Elder Rasa snapped. “I’ve told you ponies, my name is Redundance!” she snapped back. “Doctor, please. You’re asking me to believe that this batpony here, was a member of Luna’s personal guard? Even after reviewing your evidence and the historical archives, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest such a thing occurred as you described. Elder Rasa seemed even more unconvinced as he explained what was going on. “To suggest that anypony has lived that long and remained hidden is a complete absurdity bordering on blasphemy to scientists and scholars everywhere!” The Elder finished with a harrumph. Oh, that’s what this is about. So good I can defend my position while laying on this table like a fish. “Yes, granted this was just one instance of memory, but if we continue with this we can potentially gain a wealth of knowledge on the years before Nightmare Moon was banished!” Redundance argued. “We have complete records of everything that happened already, as well as numerous re-tellings and even fiction about it! Who is to say that these memories are even real? They could’ve been planted there by whomever this spy is working for.” Paladin Copper Wire said, throwing a look my way, helmet firmly secured in his flank. “Spy is more than harsh, Copper Wire. Sundown at best would rank as an ‘unfortunate bystander’ now, a complete far cry from any sort of spy. Besides, were she a spy she could’ve easily killed us all at any point in the Stable, or even when we got back to the bunker.” Clear Report said, bringing the tone of the conversation down to sane levels. “That much is completely true. She forgot she could Shadow Flash before I told her!” Redundance said with a bit of pride, before noticing the two were staring at her. “What? I told the Scribes to secure the cell so she couldn’t of course. What kind of doctor do you take me for?” “An ebil wun.” I blubbered with a raised hoof that soon flopped down on the table. Mwahaha. “Right.” The elder said, giving me a blank look. “Then aside from conspiracy theories or rewriting the history books, what can be said of Sundown’s memory?” “Well, I’m sure that in this case she either can’t remember, or had them blocked by somepony else.” The three Steel Rangers looked amongst themselves before trotting over to me, while I laid there attempting to move my hooves in a circle. “Sundown, when did you start getting these memories?” Redundance asked, moving some of my mane that had fallen near my eye away with a red glow. I thought for a while, running through everything in the past few days before I gasped. “Witharde!” “Anypony else understand that?” Rasa asked. “She said ‘Wizard’ Elder.” Clear Report…reported clearly. Duh. The elder face hoofed and beckoned the other members of the group to him near the map on the side of the room while I stared at the sealed door across from the desk that was now becoming my bed. I heard whispering that I couldn’t make out, on account of the Dampener next to me making my hearing ‘normal’. There’s probably somepony out there in the wastes that would give their cutie mark to have something like this, if their ears were as sensitive as mine. I let out a squeaky yawn as my eyelids fought to stay up from how long it was taking them to finish talking, before Redundance zipped over to my side and started saying words about ‘sleeping again’ and ‘hurrying with’ something or other. Darn wizards and their sleepy spell power…thingies… Yaaaawwwwnnn. Darkness. oooOOOooo It was the middle of the day, sun overhead and wispy clouds flowing around our chariot as I looked to my side. Marelin, Brag and Princess Celestia were in the Pegasus driven contraption as we flew to Canterville, soon to become Canterlot if the contractors and masons had anything to say about the new capital of Equestria. My body still hurt from a multitude of cuts, bruises and scratches I had received in the fighting only yesterday as Marelin explained to the Sun Goddess about her findings on the strange orb that had fallen from the sky. “My theory, Princess Celestia-“ Marelin began “Please, you may call me Celestia… No need for the formality when it is just us.” “Erm, right. Anyway, my theory is that most nights, ponies make a wish on a falling star. Most of them burn up in the sky before they ever reach the soil, but it has been known in the past for some of those ‘wishes’ to make it to the surface. This wish in particular doesn’t seem to go away. Before you had banished Nightmare Moon, she was wishing for an eternal night, correct?” Celestia looked distressed, before finally answering with a simple “Yes.” “Then it is my theory that her wish had come true. At least the ‘Eternal’ part. I have cast several small spells at the orb, and tried to enchant gemstones with its properties. Upon using said stones, I have noted that they do not fade with their power. Needless to say, if anypony with ill intent got their hooves on this orb…” “It would be a disaster for Equestria.” Princess Celestia finished. “Pri-, Celestia… I have another theory as well. Sundown here, was struck by this ‘wish’ while she was on patrol a month ago when the orb was first found. By all rights she should have died on impact, but when I slowed the decent of the orb enough to study it I noticed that she was unharmed, if a bit confused. I grumbled a bit, but realizing I was in the company of the Goddess that saw fit to spare my life, I quickly shut up. “At any rate, I think that she may have been hit hard enough by the wish that a bit of it has… rubbed off on her, for lack of a better term.” Wait, what? “You mean I’m ‘eternal’ now?” I asked, not believing. “It is possible. I have another theory as well, if you would permit it.” Marelin said with a look to Celestia. “Very well, what is your-“ ZZZZAAAAPPP The next thing I knew, I was falling rapidly through the sky past multiple clouds in a dead plummet to the ground. oooOOOooo What a complete reproductive organ!
Chapter 10: Recollection RoadChapter 10: Recollection Road oooOOOooo As I fell from the sky, being zapped by a bolt of lightning summoned by the most powerful unicorn mage in Equestria, I took a moment to take stock of the events in my life up to this point. I had become a Night Guard, I was struck by a colossal meteor from space which turned out to be the wish of Nightmare Moon for an eternal night. Being the corrupted goddess of the moon, she was in direct control of all things related to the night yet either had to overpower Celestia and take the throne, or as a supposed backup plan, had to cast night itself into an eternal power source. On top of all of this, I had become ‘Eternal’, which the rapidly approaching farmland beneath me was about to test the limits of. In the few remaining precious seconds of existence I was growing increasingly fond of, I realized that despite being stuck with enough magical energy to be disintegrated, my once light grey coat had turned a distinct charcoal color, with my hooves themselves being pitch black. I had no idea if I even had a mane or tail to speak of, considering I was still twitching and in spasms from the amount of electricity I had somehow survived, but I really wanted coffee at that point. What even is coffee anyway? CRUNCH FLOP SNAP THUD Ow? I think I hit the ground hard enough to bounce off of tilled farmland. Does that make it more bouncy than regular land, or softer? Wait a minute, how am I not dead after a fall from that height? I tried to move, or do anything but breathe, but my body wasn’t cooperating. I should probably be in a world of agony and suffering right about now, but I couldn’t even blink to get the flecks of dirt out of my eye. Shouldn’t that be concerning me? I decided that it didn’t really matter, and a few moments later I heard the tail end of shouting before the chariot carrying the Sun Goddess, Marelin the Evil, and Brag floated down and landed with a thud on a patch of wheat nearby. “Marelin, you had better be quick in explaining your actions.” I heard Princess Celestia say in a very stern tone to my side. “Well, I had figured that the best course of action in studying the limitations of being Eternal was to see if that also meant physical immortality and immunity to harm. Seeing as how Sundown here wasn’t completely disintegrated by a spell designed to do just that, I would say that my experiment was a resounding success. However I have noticed that she isn’t breathing. I should probably be doing something about that, shouldn’t I?” Marelin the Evil Wizard Pony of Evilness said. I noticed myself being levitated and turned around to face the trio of ponies, and with a bright flash of light from Marelin the Decidedly Not a Good Pony in my Opinion, I was returned to the world of pain and agony that was life. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGHHHHH” I eloquently screamed at the top of my lungs with enough force to send their mane’s flying directly behind them like they’d been struck by a hurricane. I think a nearby farmpony cried for his wheat field which had been flattened, but I was too busy shouting at Marelin to really care. “Luna sodomize me with the Moon! What is wrong with you, you sadistic witch!?” I screamed at Marelin, after regaining enough of my breath to do so. “What evil has possessed you to even consider that shooting a bolt of lightning into somepony is a good idea!?” After that, Marelin released me from her telekinetic grip and I flopped onto the floor and crumpled into a heap of batpony on the earth. Still in agony and breathing heavily, I didn’t have the energy to do more than continue my barrage of expletives at the wizard mare. After about ten minutes of this, Celestia deemed that the verbal abuse I was dishing out was enough, and moved me upright while setting a pillow from the chariot underneath me. I wasn’t done, but I continued to glare daggers at Marelin the Sadistic. “Ahem.” Marelin the Douche cleared her throat before continuing. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, I can explain. In this case, being Eternal does not mean that you are exempt from harm, only that death will not claim you. I would perform another test to see how long it would take for your body to restart itself, but I think that would be in bad taste considering you just fell from the cloud layer without more than a change in coat color. Nice eyes, by the way.” She levitated a mirror over to me, and my once normal pony eyes had warped into something resembling the dragon-like eyes of Nightmare Moon herself, and they were now a blazing orange color instead of their normal light blue. “Well that’s just fantastic. You’ve struck me with magic hard enough that I have Dragon eyes. I’m not really sure how to feel about this.” I stated with detachment, not really over the fact that I’d recently been dead, except not dead. I moved my head to get a better look at the rest of myself, and noticed that my teeth had grown fangs, and my hair now had a stripe of the same orange coloration as my eyes running down the middle of my mane. Despite being a bat pony, I didn’t have features before now that looked like they’d come straight from the corrupted moon goddess herself, space mane not included. “Would you explain why she resembles my banished sister?” Celestia asked with a somber voice, still emotionally tender after only recently banishing said sister to a thousand year prison sentence on the moon. “Without study, my guess would be that since Nightmare Moon made the wish and its eternal nature, that some of her magic would be responsible for its creation and effects. So in short, she’s become infected with some residual magic of Nightmare Moon.” Nope. Too crazy. Not going to believe that my life has suddenly become that twisted, that quickly. No way, no how. I don’t care if Celestia herself is staring at me like that, I don’t care that the guards are unsheathing their swords and moving towards me, I don’t care that even Brag is starting to cast magic at me. This is too insane and I’m not having any of this nonsense anymore. I am definitely not corrupted by the fears and anger of a neglected goddess that wanted to cast all of Equestria into an eternal night just so she could get the same recognition and love as her sun controlling sister. And then I realized that I was pinned to the ground by two fields of magic with swords pointed at my neck and a very concerned princess staring at me. “I’m not evil!” I yelped, trying to struggle with about as much success as a snail escaping salt being poured on them. “That’s what all the evil ponies say!” Brag blurted out, clearly not helping my situation. “I’m not evil, I swear it! I’ll bake you cookies! Evil ponies don’t bake cookies!” I desperately begged, still squirming in a panic. “What are your orders, Princess Celestia?” One of the Pegasus guards managed to clearly state, sword gripped in his mouth and held against my neck. “Definitely don’t kill the bat pony! I’m a nice pony, I wouldn’t hurt a fly! I’m not evil!” I cried out pathetically. “Well I don’t think we actually can kill you in the first place. That’s the whole issue with you being eternal, isn’t it?” Marelin the Decidedly Evil Pony in this situation stated matter-of-factly. “But I haven’t done anything evil!” I screeched. “You killed Celestia’s guards, assisted Nightmare Moon and are currently eternal because of said threat to Equestria. You’ve been imbued with the darkness that took hold of Princess Luna and now look like a pony possessed.” Marelin bluntly said. “That’s not my fault! I was confused!” I pleaded. “You killed my brother!” The other Pegasus guard protested. “Did not!” “Did too!” Did not!” “Did too!” “Enough!” Princess Celestia boomed over the argument. “This is getting us all nowhere. We need a way to make certain that Sundown is telling the truth, is not evil, and won’t have to be turned into a statue to safeguard Equestria.” “What is it with you and turning ponies into statues!?” I shouted, annoying the guards holding me with my volume. Celestia stomped her hoof on the ground, causing a minor tremor with her temper, before using her cheaty-alicorn magic to lift me off of the ground and place me gently into the chariot. Then she used said magic to bind me in chains and I slumped down in relief at not being turned into a statue, killed, or made to become another test participant in Marelin the Madpony’s experiments. “Marelin, I ask that you find the source of Nightmare Moon’s corruption within Sundown in any way possible. We need to know if anypony else has been affected this way, and how to save them if possible.” The Not Merciful and Benevolent Sun Goddess said. “Nooo! She’s going to zap me with lightning again, o-or throw fire at me, or turn me into a newt!” I protested from my spot in the chariot, now having the Pegasus guards strapping themselves in to pull it. “Hmm, hadn’t thought of transfiguration magic yet. Good suggestion, Sundown!” Marelin chirped, hopping next to me and throwing a hoof around my shoulder. “We’re going to be the best of magic buddies together!” she giggled ominously. “Marelin, no unnecessary tormenting of evil ponies. We’re supposed to set the example, remember?” Brag said, shoving a hoof into Marelin’s snout, causing it to scrunch slightly. “I’m not evil!” I cried, falling over in despair at being ignored and resigned to my fate as unwilling magical target dummy. “Shush!” everypony said in response. Some hours later, my unending pleading long since being stopped by a hoof kerchief, we arrived at a back entrance to the freshly constructed Canterlot Palace. How they managed to create an entire castle not even a few days since moving to Canterlot I’ll never know for certain, but I suspect it has something to do with an Immortal Goddess and an army of loyal unicorn subjects doing the work. Princess Celestia had since left, going to the court to hear requests and pleas from noble ponies looking for table scraps of acknowledgement from the sun princess, and farmers of the nearby lands reporting the supposed upheaval of their lives from a few weeks of unending night having wilted their crops. It seemed odd, because the farmer with the wheat field earlier had been totally fine. I was being led by Marelin, Brag, and two unicorn guards now and heading deeper into the palace where they supposedly had a dungeon installed for ‘special prisoners’ like myself. Passing a few of the cells, I had noticed there were no doors and a one way window that went across the length of the cell for guards to look in. I noticed a Minotaur that had his entire body etched in red glowing runes, an older mage looking stallion who had lost his marbles and was casting spells in every direction of his cell in a futile effort to do anything to it. There was also a room filled with a black smoke, and I noticed two glowing red eyes following my own, looking at me through the supposedly one way glass. “Creepy.” I mumbled, before being yanked to keep pace with the guards following Marelin and Brag. We passed through two ornately decorated wooden doors that swung open with a loud bang, making Marelin wince at the unintentionally overdramatic entrance to her lab. After giving a cursory glance to the runes etched into the wooden doors, she motioned for the guards to leave and again slammed them shut with a bit too much force before giving an exasperated sigh through her teeth. “You doing okay, Marelin?” Brag asked, moving a few books around with his magic as Marelin got a chair with leather straps reoriented to face me, and pulled down a large metal cauldron from one of the shelves overhead and setting it down nearby with her magic. “Yep! Completely in control and not at all worried about the expectations laid before me by the goddess of the sun!” She belted out, moving in a panicked frenzy as objects flew around the room and set themselves down in semi-scientific looking spots that looked like they’d do something. Meanwhile, I had just been sitting there in my chains taking in the scene before me and been very worried as to why a chair would need straps and a metal helmet on a swivel attached to said chair. “Marelin, bruh. You’ll be fine! Don’t sweat it. I’m sure the Princess will give you more than enough time to crack this evil pony’s resolve and we’ll both get rewarded and have ice-cream to celebrate!” the colt said reassuringly to Marelin, but worryingly to my own ears. “She’s Eternal, Brag! We don’t have all of eternity to match wills with the eternal spawn of Nightmare Moon!” Marelin countered. “Um, if I could share some input?” I tried, raising a hoof with a clattering sound of chains. “No more talking, evil pony!” Marelin shouted, using her magic to fling me into the chair, removing my chains and strapping me in with the leather bindings and moving the weird metal helmet with a bunch of gems and copper wires coming from it onto my head. “Bu-“ “No talky!” She interrupted, shoving yet another goddess damned hoof kerchief in my mouth. I accepted my muffled fate and settled for a glare at Marelin, who had since ignored me and put the finishing touches on her equipment that nearly buried the room from floor to ceiling in whirring, clanking and gear spinning sounds. Marelin the Crazy let out a sigh of frustration, before spinning my chair clockwise a few times before stopping me, and huffed again before moving me counter-clockwise a smidgeon. “There! Now we can begin with the testing.” She stated, flinging off her cloak and putting on some kind of white coat with a bunch of pockets on it, and a pair of glasses. Finally being able to get a look at her, Marelin had a sand colored coat, White and yellow striped spikey mane with a similar tail, sporting mahogany eyes. “Fire!” She abruptly stated, as Brag’s horn lit up and bathed me in a jet of flames before ending a moment later. As the fire ended, I looked around as well as I could, what with my body and head being held firmly in place by enchanted leather straps. “Darn. No effect!” Marelin stated, writing it down on a clip board before going through a whole list of every sort of magic known to pony kind for the rest of the day, each one having little to no effect on me, aside from mild discomfort. “No, this shouldn’t be happening! You’re eternal, not invincible!” Marelin snapped, becoming frustrated at this turn of events. “Maybe she’s just immune to magic?” Brag suggested, and Marelin spun around with a sparkle in her eye as she then turned and dashed off only to return with an armory’s worth of swords, halberds, maces, crossbows and other implements of death and pain. “Should we try ‘em all at once!?” She shouted half crazed already by her efforts. “No! We’re the good ponies here, remember? She’s the evil one!” Brag said with a look of disbelief. “Oh, fine then! I’m gonna start with the spikey mace!” Marelin grinned devilishly as I squirmed and fidgeted away from the spikey mace of imminent pain and injury floating towards me. Then the doors burst open again, making Princess Celestia and her two Pegasus guards wince at the unintended bang the doors gave off, only to stare at a crazed Marelin holding a Morningstar in her magic, who equally stared at the shocked Sun Goddess while shifting her eyes frantically back and forth. “I can explain!” Marelin blurted, dropping the weapons with a cacophony of noise to the floor. I met Celestia’s gaze with hopefully pleading eyes as her focus shifted around the room to take in all of the equipment Marelin had been using for some purpose or another, to the scorch marks behind my seat and other magical after effects that still flittered about the room before finally resting on Marelin herself, who was babbling incoherently on the floor beneath Celestia’s hooves. “Marelin, my faithful student… What the hay is going on!?” She shouted, making everypony surprised at her sudden outburst as ears reoriented themselves forwards after recovering from the volume. Marelin looked back at Brag for help, but the colt just shrugged and trotted over to me and started releasing me from my binding. “Brag, what are you doing?!” Marelin shouted, before being stopped by Celestia’s magic as she tried running in the air, to be turned around and pointed at the face of the Sun Goddess who was giving her a stern look. “Explain to my why you have Sundown strapped into an execution chair, surrounded by weaponry and the aftermath of magic spells, and why you appeared to be readying a Morningstar to strike a helpless prisoner.” Celestia said, her stare going straight into Marelin’s soul. “Eheh… um. Science?” She offered weakly, tapping her forehooves together with a nervous grin on her face. Celestia dropped Marelin from her magical grasp without ceremony as she addressed Brag. “Braggadocious, are you able to explain this madness?” she asked, moving forward and ignoring Marelin. “Well your royalness, Marelin decided that since Sundown here is Eternal that she could test the effects of whatever spells she wanted to, to see if they would be able to hurt Nightmare Moon when she comes back from her vacation on the moon. I thought it was most un-cool, but she’s my teacher and I had to go with it.” Brag explained, finishing his task of releasing me and I hopped out of the chair onto wobbly legs, having been stuck there for quite a long time being blasted with everything and a kitchen sink, which lay in broken pieces somewhere in the back room. Marelin looked up with betrayal from her position on the floor, but before she could respond she was silenced by a look from Celestia. “What would you do to see if Sundown has been afflicted by Nightmare Moon?” Celestia asked. “Well your Sunniness, I would say that Sundown already proved she isn’t evil, because she hasn’t used any of Nightmare Moon’s abilities to annihilate us and has actually been pretty chill about all the things we’ve done so far. Though I honestly haven’t been able to tell since we gagged her forever ago.” Upon remembering that I still had that dreaded Hoof kerchief in my mouth, I spat it onto the ground and growled through my teeth and fangs at Brag and Marelin. “Well, she looks upset to me.” Celestia said matter-of-factly. “I’ve had it with you insane ponies!” I screeched, attempting to fly out of the room before being grabbed by Brag, Marelin and Celestia with their cheaty powers and dragged back into the room. “I’ve come down here because I found a pony that has the uncanny ability of seeing a pony’s soul.” Celestia calmly stated, like she hadn’t just said something completely bizarre. Though I guess that is what my life had come to at this point. I was eternal, technically a servant of the banished Nightmare Moon, and about to be looked up and down by somepony who claimed to see souls. A bright pink earth pony mare, with a mane and tail like cotton candy and sky blue eyes literally bounced into and around the room before abruptly sticking to the floor with her hooves. She wore glasses without lenses, a giant tan nose from some creature I’ve never encountered, and a fake moustache. “She refuses to state who she is, exactly, but I am confident in her abilities.” Celestia said, as the pink mare moved around me with squinty eyes being offset by the ridiculousness of her headwear. “Why is that, exactly?” Marelin asked, as I continued my staring contest with the bright pink and bubbly mare, before I blinked and she appeared in front of Marelin. “Spoilers, duh!” She shouted while giggling at some joke nopony else understood, as Marelin unattached herself from a ceiling light. “Now, for Miss Evil McEvilpony pants!” she declared, hopping right next to me and pressing her nose against mine, causing them to scrunch up as I tried to escape this invasion of personal space. “Nope, you’ve gotta sit still, you silly filly!” she said, throwing me into the chair I had just been released from with an strength I wouldn’t attribute to a minotaur, let alone a pink mare with party balloons for a cutie mark. I tried to squirm out of her grasp, but she held my hooves down with her own as she climbed onto the chair, her hair whipping like a tail and knocking the helmet with wires out of the way as the room’s lighting dimmed for dramatic affect. “Look into my eyes…” She said ominously, waving her forehooves about while making ghost sounds, while her eyes themselves became an entrancing swirl that I couldn’t not look into. After a moment, my entire world melted away and I stood in the middle of a black abyss. No land, no water, no sky. Only darkness with an obnoxiously pink party pony prancing around me. “So!” She said suddenly, making me flinch. “Let’s see what’s in your head Miss Evil Pony!” “I’m not evil!” I said, punctuating with a stomping hoof on nothing in particular as I realized there wasn’t even a floor, and began falling with the pink pony. “Aaah!” I yelped in surprise, as I felt the odd sensation of the ground rushing towards me again even though the ground didn’t exist, wherever we were. We then abruptly stopped, and when I opened my eyes we were in a completely grey version of Equestria. “Welp, now that we’re here, we can start going through your memories to see how nasty you really are!” she said with way more cheer than the situation could even begin to call for. “I’m telling you, I’m not evil!” I still tried to argue, on the verge of giving up even trying at this point. “Ooh! I know, let’s ask your subconscious what it thinks about everypony!” she said, grabbing me as we somehow flew toward a crowd of lookalike ‘Sundowns’ in a town square. We arrived far sooner than I would’ve expected considering the distance, but stopped just short of slamming into the crowd like a missile. “Oh, I get to answer first!” A Sundown with glasses said. “No, me! I’ll convince her we’re not evil!” A Sundown in my Night Guard uniform said. “But we aren’t evil!” A Sundown looking like I had before being Eternal said. “Well that’s what everypony else thinks!” A Filly version of myself said. “Screw what everypony else thinks, we have really awesome looking eyes now!” An inebriated Sundown slurred. “Stop yelling, please…” A Sundown with long hair whimpered in the background. “Yes, we will convince the strange mare that we are the most not-evil pony in all of Equestria, Mwahahaha!” somepony laughed most maliciously, before realizing that had actually come out of my mouth. “Oooh, this is gonna be a doozy! What should I call all you ponies?” The pink party mare asked. “I got this!” the drunk Sundown managed. She pointed with a free, non-cider holding hoof at each of us in turn. “Sun-nerd, Guard-down, Normal-down, Sun-Filly, Shy-down, Spooky-Sun and myself being Drunk-down!” she finished with a belch. “Wait, if you’re drunk, then what part of me do you actually represent?” Spooky-Sun asked Drunk-down. “Well I’m *hic* obviously Sundown’s uninhibited self! Duh!” She finished with yet another hiccup. “Then that means I’m her smart side.” Sun-nerd continued. “I’m her sense of duty.” Guard-down proudly stated “I’m the real Sundown!” Normal-down called out. “I’m… um… I don’t actually know?” Filly-down said innocently. Shy-down just squeaked. “Well I am obviously the best Sundown!” Spooky-down declared, a hoof to her chest in a pose of pride. “Wowee, you remind me a lot of some ponies I know!” the Pink mare declared before pulling all of us into a large huddle, her hooves somehow defying nature and stretching out enough to grab us at the same time in one large scoop. “Too close!” Shy-down whimpered. “So, which one of you is the Evil Sundown?” The mare asked, looking suspiciously at each of us, as we all looked at another in confusion. “I already told you, we’re not evil!” Guard-down protested. “I think its Spooky-down!” Sun-filly accused. “Nonsense! Everypony knows that the evil one is always the innocent filly that nopony suspects!” Spooky-sun retorted. “Wait, shouldn’t there be some kind of test or evidence for who is evil?” Nerd-down asked. “I think Marelin is evil!” Normal-down yelled, hurting everypony’s ears. “Shut up, Normal-down!” Guard-down said, giving Normal-down a bop on the head with her armored hoof. “I’ve got it! We’ll play tic tac hoof, and whoever loses is the evil pony!” the Pink mare said, earning baffled stares from all Sundowns present. “That’s stupid!” we all said in unison. “Darn, I was hoping one of you would oust themselves as the evil pony with that, but you all said no!” the party pony pouted. “What does that mean?” Sun-filly asked. “It means you’re a grumpy grump!” the mare responded, her hair slightly deflating. “Being a grumpy pony doesn’t make us evil!” Guard-down protested. Her hair re-inflated with a bright smile, as an idea had come across the mare’s mind. “I know, we’ll play truth or dare, except you can only tell the truth!” She stated excitedly. “Then wouldn’t that just be us telling the truth to your questions?” Nerd-down asked. “Nopey Dopey! You all have to Pinkie-oop. Um, You all have to Pink Party Pony Promise not to lie, or else!” She said, waving her hooves ominously in front of her while looking into each of our eyes. “And how do we do…the thing?” Drunk-down asked, regaining consciousness. “It’s easy! Repeat after me, but don’t ever break a Pink Party Pony Promise!” she warned, before reciting the ritual and we all repeated with: “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my—Aaaahh!” we cried, sticking a suddenly appearing cupcake into our eyes, causing us to blink pastry for a few moments before it vanished. “Good enough for me~!” She said in a sing song voice, before having us line up. “Okay, first pony is Nerd-down!” She said excitedly, getting into the ‘game’. “First Question: Are you the evil pony?” She asked, leaning in with her head turned sideways to give one eye a good look at Nerd-down. “Um… I- I’m… Bleh!” She said, trying to make her tongue work correctly. “Ah-ah! No lying missy!” the party pony warned, waving a hoof back and forth in front of her. “No!” Nerd-down managed finally. “Second Question: Have you ever hurt anypony intentionally?” her eye continuing to stare at Nerd-down. “I wou… ne… Yes!” Nerd-down finished, finally giving up at resisting the Pink Pony Promise’s effects. “Third Question: Would you hurt the Princesses?” She pondered the question for a bit, before answering, “I would only hurt one Princess, that being Celestia, if Luna ordered me to, because I’m in service to her until death take us or we are released from her service.” She finished, stating the oath the Sundowns had taken to become a Night Guard. “Oki doki Loki! NEXT!!” She abruptly shouted, as Nerd-down was shuffled in a half circle to re-join the line. Guard-down was next to be questioned, and she shifted uncomfortably in her armor. “First Question: Have you ever hurt or killed anypony?” Guard-down began sweating and shifting her eyes around nervously. “Yes…” “Second Question: Have you ever tortured or made another pony miserable because you could?” “Y…Yes.” Guard-down began to become teary eyed as she tried to hold back tears. “Third Question: If you could take it back, would you?” The pony leaned in close enough to stare Guard-down directly in the eyes with a burning intensity we could all feel, since we were all technically the same pony. “Yes!” Guard-down said, a waterfall of tears erupting from her eyes as she fell to the floor in sobs, before the pony continued. “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “N-n-No!” She cried, and was whisked quickly away to bring up the next Sundown, which happened to be Sun-filly. “First Question: Do you like pranks?” “Ye… Of cou… Um. When I’m the one doing them… I don’t like being pranked” Sun-filly pouted. “Second Question: Would you steal from another pony if you could?” “N… I wouldn… I would no… Darn it, yes!” Sun-filly said, being thwarted by the Promise. “Third Question: Would you bully another pony?” Taking into account her other attempts at lying, Sun-filly simply stated “Yes.” In defeat, staring at the floor. “I told you it’s the cute and innocent ones that are evil!” Spooky-down declared with an air of victory. “Final question! Are. You. The Evil. Pony?” the pink Interrogator said putting emphasis on each word. “Ye… I a…” She sighed again, before stating “No.” and being whisked away, replaced by Drunk-down. “Oh give me a break.” Spooky-down huffed. “First Question: If a really hot stallion wanted you to have sex with him, would you?” the Pink Pony surprisingly said completely seriously. “Wait, what? What does that have to do with anything? How is me liking stallions evil?” Drunk-down asked. “Would yooouuu?” The pony dragged out, ending in a lower tone. “Um… well… Alright fine, I totally would. If he was saf… I mean if he didn’t ha… Damnit, Yes!” Drunk-down finished in exasperation, her sober-ness returning rapidly. “Second Question: Would you blame somepony else for something that was your fault?” “I mean, not if they were my frie… Not unless it was really ba…” She sighed. “Yes.” “Third Question: Do you talk about ponies behind their back?” “Yes.” She stated without hesitation. “Final Question: Are you the evil pony?” “Nope.” “Huh.” The party pony said, seemingly surprised, before another Sundown took the spot. It was Shy-down. “First Question: Do you have any friends?” Shy-down squeaked a bit, before gathering the courage to mutter, “N…no.” That seemed to take the wind out of the Pink Pony’s interrogation for a moment, before she resumed. “Second Question: Do you care about anypony, including yourself?” Shy-down looked right at the pink pony before answering, “Y…Yes. I care about not dying. I care about ponies who help me and make me laugh. I don’t care about ponies I don’t know, though.” She said ashamedly. “Third Question: Would you help a stranger in need, even at cost to yourself?” Shy-down looked up with a hurt expression before being louder than she had been before, which amounted to a more normal speaking volume. “Of course I would…not. Only when I’m on duty would I do that. Somepony might try and trick me to hurt me if I didn’t look like a guard, and ponies scare me!” “Final Question: Are you the Evil pony?” “No…” she finished, slumping down and resting her head between her forehooves on the ground, before being rotated out and replaced with Spooky-down. “Well, that was a completely shameful display.” Spooky-down stated, before turning her attention to the pink pony. “Oh, this’ll be easy.” Guard-down said, recovering from her breakdown during the questioning. “First Question: Would you enslave other ponies to work for you?” “What!? Never! That is just plain horrible.” Spooky-down said, shocked at the question. “It’s because of my features, isn’t it? That’s raci-!” “Second Question!” the pony said, interrupting. “Would you overthrow Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna if she wasn’t Nightmare Moon?” “Why would I overthrow anypony? Do you know how much work that would leave on my shoulders if I had to rule an entire kingdom? That’s entirely too much effort!” She stated, brushing off invisible dirt from her shoulder. “Third Question: Would you ask that ponies work against their will for the greater good of the kingdom in order to save it from a larger threat that they don’t believe is going to be coming?” “Well that’s specific.” She said, before thinking on her answer. “Yes, I suppose if it was for the greater good, then I would do such a thing.” “Aha! You just said Slavery was a bad thing, and you wouldn’t overthrow anypony, but you just agreed to do both of those things!” “Wait, what?” “Having ponies work against their will, and being in a position of power to be able to have enough influence to do that sort of thing would mean that you would need to be a ruling figure to over-ride their rights, and force them into slavery!” the pony explained. “But… but I’m a good pony! It’s not because I can, it’s because they don’t understand the need in order to defeat some hypothetical foe!” “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “That’s Racist! Of course I’m not. Honestly, just because I LOOK like I would eat baby foals doesn’t mean I actually do!” Spooky-down protested, before being whisked away. The final pony was Normal-down. Everypony just looked at her like her time had come, but the Pink pony continued her questioning. “First Question: Why did you become a night guard?” “To protect and ser… um. To fight for a better and…” She sighed. “For rent money.” “Second Question: Did you care about anypony other than yourself before becoming a guard?” “Well… I cared about my paren… darn it, thought I would be able to get that one at least. Nopony cared about m… okay that’s not true either, My parents cared about me. Not in the traditional ‘I love you, lets hug and get ice-cream.’ way, but the ‘Do your work and don’t be lazy, help around the house and stop looking for any sign of affection.’ Way. I guess that was their way of caring, so in the way that they care about if I die, then I care about if my parents die, but not about them personally.” “Third Question: Do you blame other ponies for your own shortcomings or failures?” After a few moments of thought, and looking between all other gathered Sundowns, she stated, “Yes.” “Final Question: Are you the Evil Pony?” “Isn’t that obvious? She’s the last pony and none of us are evil!” Guard-down said, before being hushed by the pink mare. “No… I’m not evil. I’ve just made my share of mistakes and misdeeds. I’m not out to make other ponies’ lives miserable for the sake of my own entertainment or any kind of malice to another. I try my best to listen to the complaints and arguments of other ponies to empathize with where they’re coming from but I don’t always get along with everypony. I’ve killed ponies, I’ve tortured ponies, and I’ve been a bully and a thief. I have stolen and blamed others for my own wrongs and gotten away with it. I’ve thought about being a great ruler that everypony bows down to and worships, and I’ve thought about just living a normal life where I don’t have to have responsibility or look after anypony but myself. But I’m not an evil pony.” Normal-down finished, looking weary and beaten as she slumped down and was whisked away to be replaced by Nerd-Down. “Final Question: Which one do you think is the evil pony?” “I thought you’d already asked everypony their questions?” Nerd-down asked, surprised. “I didn’t ask your final question until now, silly!” she chirped in response, before becoming deadly serious again, awaiting Nerd-down’s answer. A few minutes passed, Nerd-Down having a very animated and expressive thinking process as she mulled over everything she had heard and witnessed over the interrogation. “I… I honestly don’t think anypony here is evil. We’re all a part of Sundown, but none of us on our own are really all that ‘evil’. Does that mean that we’re right, and Marelin and the Princess are crazy, or that all of us combined are the evil pony?” Nerd-down asked, grasping at straws for any hope that they would be cleared of ‘evilness’ by their mysterious pink interrogator. “You get all that, Princess Celestia?” she asked, turning her head to a rapidly becoming visible Princess, Marelin and Brag, along with the two Pegasus guards from earlier as the room flowed back into existence and my subconscious retreated into my mind. “I can see why you called her in here, Princess Celestia.” Marelin said with her jaw lightly hanging. “Marelin you’re gonna catch flies, brah.” Brag said, and Marelin closed her mouth with a snap. “Uuuhg, I don’t feel…” I said, falling over exhausted. “Mmm… I’ll just lay here, if that’s okay with you all.” The party pony pulled out a long checklist on a clipboard as well as a pencil from her mane, going down the list and marking things all over it before putting the pencil behind her ear, and handing the report to the princess, somehow writing and holding the pencil with her hoof, instead of her mouth like anypony that can’t use magic would do. After a moment of reviewing the list, looking between the pink pony and myself, the princess held up the report in her magic and announced the findings. “This report, given by ‘Pink Party Pony’ states that Sundown here has a total Evilness rating of… Below Average.” She showed us the report, which had a D in red ink as a grade. “How is that possible? She served Nightmare Moon and killed guards! She has-“ Marelin was interrupted by the Pink pony’s stare at her, before the pink mare’s expression exploded into a grin wide enough to make a dentist faint. “Oh this is just terrific! Now I can throw a ‘Sundown-totally-isnt-an-evil-meanie-pants-pony-of-evil’ party!” she rattled off, bouncing in place before coming to an abrupt halt and looked at a watch that had sounded an alarm and appeared on her left hoof. “Aww, darn it! I don’t have any more time. Bye bye, Everypony!” she said, waving a hoof and throwing out confetti before vanishing in a flash of light. Everypony stayed silent for a moment just staring at where the mare had been, before Marelin spoke up. “Is this what you deal with on a daily basis?” Marelin asked, looking at Celestia. “Yep.” The Sun Goddess said with a heavy sigh, before turning her attention to me. One of the Pegasus guards threw down their helmet and transformed into an insectoid pony with fly wings, soul-less teal eyes and a horn with holes in the side of it. “You know what? The Queen says you can have Equestria. She isn’t dealing with this kind of crap.” The bodysnatching and shapeshifting changeling said, before flying out of the room to leave the rest of us once again staring in disbelief. “Is this real life?” I asked from my position on the ground. “Apparently.” Braggadocious replied. oooOOOooo
Chapter 11: Reality's ReturnChapter 11: Reality’s Return I came out of my strange-ness induced dream to the muffled sounds of alarms going off. I couldn’t open my eyes and I couldn’t feel anything either. Actually, I couldn’t even move! Uh oh… I know what this feels like. Did I die while I was ‘asleep’? Well. I could always just wait and see what happens. … … Nope! This is too boring. Move body! Come to li- “Ehhhh.” I had tried to scream, but my body only had enough energy to lazily rasp and sputter. Opening my eyes to a burning sensation, I noticed that I was laying sideways on the floor which had gotten significantly less sterile and clean than when I was last awake. The room was nearly pitch black, save for the deep red emergency lighting spinning around the room to signify that something had gone horribly wrong. Well, no dip! Of course something went wrong. I feel like a corpse! Using all of my limited strength, I lifted my head enough to look around with a now mind splitting headache to go along with my aching everything. More of the room was in complete tatters and there was a large pony shaped scorch mark on the wall, probably a unicorn by the outline. Attempting to stand proved fruitless, as my body was having enough issues telling my brain to lay down and just rest, because it was in no condition to just get up and go right now. Resigned to my temporarily floor-ridden status, I decided to see what I could see. I was still in that odd circle room that was owned by Elder Rasa. The terminal on his desk looked like it had exploded and there were reports and status updates strewn about the place like rice at a wedding. Why do they even throw rice at a wedding? Wouldn’t it be better to eat the rice than throw it on the ground? I mean sure, if there were birds or chickens or something nearby that could eat the rice then it wouldn’t be so much of a waste, but as far as I knew, it was pretty much just to give everypony something to do while the couple trotted off into the sunset or where ever they went to after a wedding. Returning from my thoughts to reality, I heard a bit of sparking coming down a hallway with light hoof falls. Either somepony was trying to be sneaky, or they were trying not to get killed by some sort of hazard. I tried calling out to them, but it came as a faint screech over the alarms that were sounding. “Who’s there?!” I heard somepony say, clearly startled from around the corner and down the hallway. It wasn’t loud enough to hurt my ears, but I suppose that my ears had since given up after me being dead for I don’t know how long. Add to the fact that these alarms had probably going off for as long as I’d been out, or longer, then I wouldn’t blame them for taking a vacation. “Hello?” I heard the voice ask again, slightly closer now but sounding worried and more cautious. “Shh! You’re going to get us killed, Swipe!” I heard another pony hiss, sounding a lot like Hat Trick. “Hey!” I squeaked loudly, hoping that they would remember I was the only pony they knew that communicated this way. For a few moments I heard about as much silence as could be had in a damaged and malfunctioning underground bunker of the Steel Rangers, but it was noticeable. The ponies outside whom I assume had been the Initiates had stopped moving for a few minutes now, and I was getting worried. I once again attempted to stand up, my body protesting significantly less now that it had been given a moment to make sure everything was actually working correctly. With shaking hooves I managed to stand upright and sway into Rasa’s table, shifting it a bit and causing a loud screeching sound from the Elder’s desk moving across the steel floor. “There it is again!” I heard another pony whisper shout, sounding like Cheese Wheel. Well at least the Initiates were alive! Now all I had to do was get over to them. Shambling around the room, nearly falling on my face a few times from papers slipping underneath my hooves, I managed to slam myself into the door with a lazy thud to look around the corner. Between the swirling red lights, pitch black hallway and sparking wires, I managed to find three Initiates with magic rifles pointing my way. Seeing as how they don’t speak high frequency bat pony, I decided to wave a hoof at them, only to fall on my face and slump into the hallway with a halfhearted moan of injury. “What the hay is that?!” Card swipe shouted, shakily waving his magic rifle around in my general direction. I tried standing again, body still being annoyingly weak from being dead, and promptly gave up my insanity and just lazily waved a hoof at them from my increasingly comfortable position on the floor. The Initiates inched closer to me, not taking their rifles away from my head as they got in a better position to flick their combat helmet’s lights on, blinding me. I would’ve shielded my eyes, but I was honestly too worn out and fatigued to do much more than let out a squeak of complaint at them while squinting. “By the… is that Sundown?!” Cheese Wheel seemed a lot more surprised that I think he should’ve been, but I really didn’t know how long I had been out. It seemed like a few hours at least, judging from all the stuff laying strewn about everywhere. Maybe a Minotaur had come through the bunker and started ripping off deck plating or something. Ow. Ow. “Ow!” I screeched louder, making Card Swipe jump back and stop kicking me with his hoof. He shouted in surprise at my screech, and leveled his magic rifle at me again. “Sundown, if you can hear me, squeak three times!” Thinking about what words I could use to make it sound like three squeaks, I settled for “You are dumb.” His rifle dropped, while the other two kept theirs aiming at me as Card Swipe picked me up from the floor onto shaking hooves and my body swaying back and forth, threatening to send me to the floor again. “Hat, Cheese, do we still have any apples on us?” Card Swipe asked, looking between his friends. Apples? I haven’t been gone that long, have I? I don’t even feel- I heard an angry growling, and my attempt to look at my own stomach nearly sent me to the steel floor again before I was caught by Cheese Wheel and Hat Trick. Yep, need food. “Card, are you sure she isn’t a zombie or something?” Cheese asked, still pointing his rifle at me and looking concerned. “Cheese, don’t be an idiot. The only zombies are those ghouls from before the war, and they look all dead and rotted or like burnt leather. Sundown just looks like she hasn’t had food in about two months. Actually, come to think of it, when was the last time you ate?” Hat Trick asked me, lowering her rifle finally. I actually have no idea, but I can’t exactly speak with the Initiates either. Wait, when did that become a thing for me? I could speak to everypony just fine in my memories! I blame Marelin. I felt woozy again after my short daydream, and fell on my side again. “I’ll take that as an ‘I don’t know’” Hat said, aiming her rifle to cover the hallway they had come through to guard it against some unseen foe. Cheese Wheel pulled some apples out of his saddle bag, and I would’ve pounced on him immediately upon seeing the deliciousness he held with his magic just near me, but once again my body had more to say about our ability to move than my apple fanaticism. I opened my mouth which had become almost mummified from my lack of any kind of nutrients in the past… two months? Yikes. Anyway, my fangs jutted from the rest of my teeth like small spears as I waited for Cheese to get the idea and feed me. Feed me, Cheese Wheel. Feed me! Cheese Wheel gulped, I assumed he was remembering the last time somepony had apples near me, and hovered one directly into my fangs. I bit down on the apple with enough vigor to have them seriously consider if I was a zombie again for a moment, as I felt some of my strength returning to me. “Moooore!” I squeakily rasped, giving him a hungry look that probably convinced him that it was either the apples or himself that I was going to eat next. He floated seven more apples in my direction, emptying his saddle bags in a slight panic that made an apple wall between him and myself. It was close enough that I could just move my neck around to devour the delicious fruits in a few bites or more, not even draining the juices from them and eating them whole. Hat Trick and Card Swipe shared looks of concern, before Card Swipe mentioned he was glad that I didn’t eat meat, which earned him a smack from Cheese about jinxing them. I felt substantially better after my small feast of apples, and moved all my limbs around to see if they worked correctly this time. I didn’t feel a hundred percent, but I could definitely move on my own and my wings were working fine. I gave them a wide smile for helping me, which just seemed to make them shiver before I gave them a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Okay Sunny, just like the stable. See what you can hear through all of these alarms and we can get out of here safe and sound! I just hope tha-“ Card was saying, before getting smacked across the face by Hat Trick. “What the frolicking fuck did Cheese Wheel just tell you about jinxing us, Card?!” Hat shouted at him, before covering her mouth again at being so loud, and swearing for a second time that I had known her. I looked between all of them like they were crazy, and they looked at me like I was going to eat them. We all decided to just continue on anyway and hope for the best. I hadn’t heard about Jinxes before, but if they were anything like a Pink Party Pony Promise then I was sure you didn’t want to mess with them. Most of the journey out of the bunker was uneventful, save from a ceiling tile landing on my head somewhere near the restroom area. A few rooms had the rotting corpses of Steel Rangers and some other ponies that looked like Raiders or Slavers. I pointed out the other bodies that had been looted and were rotting, and they mentioned something about a red eye. Sort of odd, but whatever. They said that this bunker was a halfway point between the Hoofington area and another city called Fillydelphia. Hat Trick explained that after I had been floated into Elder Rasa’s office, there was a massive electrical discharge that overloaded the bunker’s generators and disintegrated Doctor Scour, whom they still refused to call Redundance for some reason. Wait a minute. Massive electrical discharge? Marelin the Flashback actually hit me with magic strong enough to kill somepony even witnessing its memory! I continued my lucky string of getting my squeaky questions across, as they continued to bring me up to speed about the goings on of the last few months. Apparently the skies had opened, a stable dweller had killed some mutant self-proclaimed goddess and set off a balefire megaspell to do it, the Enclave had come down from the sky and gone to war with a slaver lord named Red Eye over in Fillydelphia, the Steel Rangers had a civil war over ideology and some security mare from another stable had saved Equestria by killing a god from the stars. Oh yeah, and there’s Alicorns all over the place. Just like Luna and Celestia. They’re from that one Mutant goddess thing. So all in all, not that much. … Pfft, okay I can’t. I just can’t keep a straight face. That is so completely absurd I just can’t even comprehend it all happened in two months. Like, seriously?! ‘Oh, not a whole lot happened, Sundown. Just the sun coming back, two gods dying, a few wars here and there, you know how it is.’ Ponyfeathers I say. Complete and utter Ponyfeathers. Then again, I’m also the eternal spawn of Nightmare Moon some thousand and two hundred years from the past that just got a chunk of their memories back, having no idea how they were lost in the first place and I am also incapable of death on a cosmic level. Give or take a couple decades. You know how it is. Luna, you drive me to drink. Anyways, resuming our travels after leaving the ruined bunker, we had snuck past a few of the lingering forces of the Slaver Lord Red Eye, whom had been killed by the Stable Dweller (also known as the ‘Light Bringer’ for somehow bringing the sun back) and his armies destroyed and scattered by the Enclave, before they had a huge showdown at Hoofington with some equally horrible things that blew up all their giant warships of doom and destruction. Nopony will tell me the exact details, because all of this information comes from the charismatic voice of some stallion DJ that can be heard in a great many areas of the Wasteland. At this point I had finally realized that I had absolutely no weapons or armor to speak of to defend myself. I was just an emaciated looking eternal batpony with three surviving initiates of the Steel Ranger’s civil war that had come back to the bunker looking for… Wait a minute, why did they even come back to the bunker if it’s been so long? I made a screechy noise to get all of their attentions, before I poked Hat Trick in the chest and motioned back toward the bunker. “You want to go back?” she asked, tired from the long march along broken streets, sickly brown grassy knolls and so much pulverized rock and ruined city. I shook my head, and poked each of them while giving my best ‘Huh?’ look, and pointed back at the bunker again. It took them a few moments and some guessing, but they finally pieced together that I was asking why they had come back. Upon realizing what I had been asking, they resumed to hushed tones out of my earshot, which happened to be about fifty hooves away at a whisper. They had me nod or shake my head if I could still hear them, which made them worry even more at how far away they had to be for me to not hear them whispering. Cheese Wheel noted that their average speaking must be deafening, to which I face hoofed, having already told them as much. On second thought I can’t really blame them for forgetting. I was dead for over two months, and I had only known them for what, a few days at most? Actually, if I’m eternal, why can I even die in the first place? Do I just get knocked out and my spirit comes back to say ‘Hey body, get your lazy flank up!’? Eventually, their conversation was interrupted by another band of Red Eye’s slavers turned to Raiders, and we had to duck for cover inside of a bombed out brickwork building that had once been a large industrial scale cake factory. ‘FOREVER’ A slightly destroyed and yellowed poster from before the war said, my face scrunched into it as I was thrown into a broom closet to avoid getting hit by stray bullets and magic beams ‘For my safety’ as Hat Trick said. The closet itself was fairly nice as closets go in that it still had a few chemicals, a mop bucket with most of a mop still there, and a sink with a mirror. I guess the janitor of this building liked to look at their reflection. Since the sounds of chaos, mayhem and general death related injuries were still happening outside, and the door being locked, I decided to look at my own reflection in the- “Eee!” I squeaked in panic, before realizing that reflection was me and not some horrible monster from a foal’s storybook come to life to eat me. I looked like a charred skeleton of a pony, coat barely clinging to my body as most of my muscles and fat had either burned away or simply degraded to the point of nonexistence. My face was the very definition of gaunt, and I think that calling myself a mummy earlier was actually a good guess. Bracing myself for a smile, I noticed that my gums had all receded and exposed more of my teeth than normal. My fangs now looked like spikes that would tear somepony’s throat out if I got too close, and my eyes were bloodshot on top of being their usual dragonly slit pupil selves. I can totally use this to my advantage to scare the pants off of somepony! This is gonna be awesome! I now saw my wide smile in the mirror, however horrifying it may have been to anypony else, it was making me even more excited at the idea of breaking down the wooden door that held me in this closet in order to leap out, wailing like a banshee and helping out the Initiates. “Hey, check that door before we go after those steel rejects!” a gruff sounding voice yelled from outside the door, and I saw the handle rattling. Oh, this is just perfect, Mwahahaha! … I’m still not an evil pony! The door finally gave out from the now confused and startled unicorn on the other side of the door, covered head to hoof in shoddy metal plating attached to leather as he dropped the door on the cement floor of the bakery. My guess was that he was not expecting a Janitor’s closet to be holding a mummified batpony with dragon eyes, and I would be right as he decided the best course of action for his current situation was to gallop away while wetting himself before I could even start screeching at him. Aw… Well at least there should be more of these raiders around! This is a whole lot better now that I know I can’t actually die. “What the hell is wrong with you, Cut Throat?” The gruff voice from earlier asked, I assume to the unicorn I had run off earl—Wait a minute. Cut Throat the Raider pony? Who the hay names their foal ‘Cut Throat’ anyway?! Broken from my thoughts, said Cut Throat the Raider Pony of Ridiculously Lazy Parents With Poor Taste bounded around the corner with a few more of his buddies. Despite the fact that he was shaking behind one of the larger earth ponies, the three new raiders he had brought with him didn’t really think much of me, which I soon fixed as I spread my batwings and gave them a good earful of sonic screech to the face from down the hallway. Using my newfound time to think about awesome ways I could torment these raiders, I settled for shadow flashing around and screaming directly into each of their faces until they would either melt or run off. I’m not evil! With my wide, mummified and fang filled grin, I flew at the raiders that were holding their ears or trying to pick themselves off of the ground and slammed into Cut Throat. We flew together in a jumbled mess right into a brick wall, where he broke my fall with a very satisfying Crunch of his spine being broken and slumping to the floor. “Hahaha!” I chirped squeakily, getting way too much joy out of how fun it was to… Oh great. I’m turning evil, aren’t I? Whatever, the Initiates are outgunned and I can’t die. Might as well have fun and be evil if it means I won’t be helpless and crawling around on the floor sobbing like last time. In the Stable. With the Steel Rangers who were going to kill me for being in the wrong place. You know what? Why am I even helping the Steel Rangers? Oh yeah, they came back for me and gave me food, but they never actually told me why they came back in the first place. Whoof-CRACK I was literally smashed out of my thoughts with what looked like a street post that had been ripped out of the concrete and flung through a nearby brick wall, adding to the stress of the Factory’s structure to remain standing with a few groans coming from whatever ghost held it standing. I was covered in a dirty brown and red dust mixed with the grey of concrete from the makeshift mace that had hit me, as I struggled to get myself upright. “Shum-nny whanna tell me wuh dat fing was?” The gruff yet muffled voice from earlier asked, a bit of worry in his voice. I assume he was the one with the big mace, since his speech was so weird. “I think it’s a Wendigo!” somepony yelped, barely in control of themselves. His comment earned him what sounded like a smack on the face, several ponies arguing about the possibility of wendigoes being present when there was no frost or snow, and the fact that wendigoes look nothing like pony mares. “Enuff, let’sh go an git em.” Gruff Guy rumbled, and was joined by a few half willing cheers from his raider buddies as they moved to the Sundown shaped hole in the brick wall. During this time, I had seen fit to look at my surroundings and notice I was on the factory floor. Said factory floor had a very high ceiling, with rafters that I could hide and maneuver around while in flight. I also noticed that the Initiates had barricaded themselves in what looked like a site manager’s office with some upturned tables and furniture barring the door. I had already tapped a hoof on the glass window overlooking the factory floor that was filled with long since decayed cake, nearly spooking them enough to shoot me through the window. I had finished telling them about the hole in the wall before Gruff Guy broke a bigger hole in the wall with his mace. I then flew up into the rafters and waited for them to pile in. Setting his mace down, his voice was much clearer. “Alright. Spread out in groups of two and find the weird monster thing. Shoot those tin heads if you find ‘em as well.” Gruff Guy said, picking up his mace and joining a raider unicorn mare that was holding two machetes in the air with her cheaty powers and looking more than a bit drugged out of her mind. “Come on out, Wendi-go-go-go-GET OUT HERE!” Screamed Machete (That’s what I’m calling her.) Deciding not to go near the crazed mare for the moment, I noticed that she was erratically stabbing cakes that were near her while biting the blade of the other machete. Yes the blade, not the handle or anything else. Her mouth displayed a canvas of scars, I imagine from her cutting herself so many times in a fit of rage. Deciding that enough was enough, I gave a series of squeaks to let the Initiates know it was about time to open fire. The raiders had gathered in groups of four with their backs to each other and looked every direction but up. That worked out just fine for me, and I swooped down from the ceiling screeching like a banshee over the heads of the raiders who were either holding their ears or ducking for cover from the magic beams coming from the three Initiates above them. As I banked left to do another screaming run, I spotted a raider pointing a shotgun at me and shadow flashed behind her. Tapping her shoulder, she turned around to expect one of her raider buddies, only to find my ear to ear death grin to greet her before a wall of volume forced her to fall to the ground and hold her head together from the vibrations. The gunfire and beams zipping through the air all around me were deafeningly loud, but at some point my ears had given up trying to register the noise and became a painful ringing. It allowed me enough respite to focus on my new goal of stealing from Machete. Machete was busy jumping all over the place, picking up random objects with her telekinesis and flinging them in the direction of the Initiates. I took this as my chance to tackle her in the middle of one of her jumps. I couldn’t hear a word she said as I slammed into her, and my own screeching added to the confusion as her ears started bleeding. Then I tried to wrestle her off of me, but in my emaciated and near mummified state, she had a lot more strength than I did. We both plummeted to the ground soon after I had crashed into her, and we tumbled through several raiders and cakes before coming to a stop at the far end of the factory wall. She grabbed a hammer, two boxes of nails and a saw with her telekinesis as I was getting myself off of the floor. I noticed that the cardboard boxes had fallen to the floor, as a wall of carpentry nails flew towards me. I used my wing to try and shield me from it, but the punctures of the nails just stuck in my wing like an Iron Maiden pointing at me. I didn’t really hurt like it should, and that was worrying me. I didn’t know if that was because of me re-discovering my Eternal nature, or the fact that I might not have the energy left to really feel it. My ears were already out of commission and I was running out of steam to keep up with my attacks. Then the Iron Maiden of my wing slammed into my ribs, as Machete had run into me at a full gallop while I was still recovering. Trying to unstick my wing actually did cause me pain before I got the nail embedded wing out of my chest. We both looked down at my chest, and noticed there was no blood. She just seemed to get even more upset, and I was too confused to comment. Beams of magic started flashing our way, streaking across our vision as the Initiates were too pinned down for accurate fire, but still tried to help me out anyway. I used the momentary distraction to see if I really could rip out somepony’s throat with my fangs and lunged. Turns out it’s pretty easy. Easy and satisfying. … I’m not evil, I’m just really hungry still! I saw Machete crumple to the floor and attempt a last few hoof punches in my direction before I turned my focus to the other raiders. I still had her windpipe and some of her throat in my mouth, so I decided that I would go for scare tactics again. With the gore still in my mouth, I screeched and swooped down on them, dropping the giblets into some raider’s lap who then freaked out and started shooting at me wildly. The Initiates had managed to drop quite a few of them, judging from the ash piles and scattered bodies around the factory floor. Only Gruff Guy and three of his raider buddies remained. I heard some muffled noises, and the flashes and gunfire stopped. Looking from my perch on the ceiling, I saw the Initiates and the raiders walking towards another, so I decided to join in. I landed pretty roughly, but instead of making me look like a fool for almost breaking a hoof in my exhaustion, it spooked two of the raiders that were near me. Machete’s blood was still dribbling down my face, and my nail-impaled wing wouldn’t close correctly, so I just left both of them open. It had the effect of me looking like I would grab somepony in my wings and eat them, so I went with it. Everypony seemed more than a little skittish about me trotting towards them with a big bloody grin on my face, but I supposed since I did look like something out of a horror story that I could at least seem cheerful. My ears were still ringing from all the damage they had suffered from the noise of the fight, but Hat Trick and Gruff Voice looked to be making a deal of some kind while shooting nervous glances in my direction every now and again. I didn’t really know what they were saying, so I nodded randomly when they looked at me and always kept the fleshy grin on my face. I thought about menacing one of the raiders who was looking at me, but even looking in his direction had him pointing a gun at me. I just let out a tiny ‘Scree’ at him, and he nearly lost himself before getting smacked upside the head by another raider. I slowly trotted up to the argument between Gruff Guy and Hat Trick, looking between the two with my mummified murder grimace. I was having way too much fun right now. I chirped at the both of them, and they looked down in unison, only to yelp and move away from me at the same time. Way too much fun. Oh hey, the ringing is going away! “-nt get that thing the hell out of here, I’m not gonna be so lenient on letting you tin cans through here!” Gruff shouted, trying to act like he had any cards to play. “We called this parley so Sundown here would stop slaughtering all of you! There’s enough dead ponies in the wastelands now, so we don’t need any more!” Hat trick shouted back, trying to take a moral stance. “You mean that thing is on your side?!” Gruff asked, baffled. “That thing is Sundown! She’s a Batpony!” Hat answered. “You know what? Just get you, your friends, and that monster out of here!” Gruff yelled while backing away with what remained of his crew. Hat Trick let the argument drop, and after the Initiates had grabbed their things and spent some time looting the bodies of the dead raiders, we set out from the warehouse into the battle devastated ruins of Fillydelphia. The Initiates would look back at me every now and again with fear in their eyes as I met their looks with a stare. They’re scared of me…
Chapter 12: Initial InsecuritiesChapter 12: Initial Insecurities We had traveled as a group for the next few days, scavenging, sharing rations and avoiding a few more confrontations. My strength was returning after every meal and rest, and I was beginning to look more like my old, non-mummified self. Instead of looking like a corpse, I now resembled a starved pony that had been given a lucky break. During the night, the Initiates had kept an eye on me almost as much as the wasteland, and I think it was because they thought I would eat them in their sleep. No new memories came to me as I got a few hours of rest over the nights, and ended up being entirely dreamless. “Alright. Our new headquarters is about half a kilotrot from here, and we’re due back tomorrow so we shouldn’t have much issue with Elder Rasa.” Hat Trick said, looking over a brewed pot of vegetable stew and rations that she had prepared for us. I had long since eaten all of the apples they’d had, and although it wasn’t as tasty or nourishing as those blessed apples, it still did the job well enough of keeping us alive. During our travels and sparse encounters with ponies that sought to trade with us, the Initiates had kept me out of sight. Now with the base coming up, I was worried if I would have to disguise myself or hide to get in, or if I was the entire reason they went back to their old bunker in the first place. “We should radio in, so they know not to mistake us for raiders and take shots at us.” Cheese said, scooping out some of the stew with a makeshift ladle into an old army bowl. Hat Trick passed off her spoon to Card Trick so he could keep stirring, as she went to the radio equipment and messaged our arrival. Over the past days I had managed to get all of the nails that were embedded in my wing out, but it was still full of holes. Cheese had tried to use some of his healing magic, but it didn’t do anything for me and confused him enough that the subject was dropped after about half an hour of trying to figure out why. I knew it was because of Nightmare Moon’s eternal ‘gift’ that I had been unwittingly struck by, but I felt it wouldn’t go down so well if I had explained that. At best, they would think I was crazy. At worst, they would just try to kill me if they knew anything about history. After we had finished our meal and reported in, we packed up and moved out in the direction of the Steel Ranger base over the ridge. I knew that I could revive myself if I ever died, but I didn’t want to just magically heal myself without explanation while I was walking with the Initiates. They would probably think that I was an infiltrator of some kind that was taking on my appearance to find their new base. As their new stronghold came into view, I noticed some power armored rangers along the makeshift walls, patrolling with what looked like rocket launchers and miniguns on their battle saddles. Around the area were some Scribes and Knights here and there, (I had learned that you could either become a Scribe or a Knight, who later became Paladins.) along with more Initiates that looked like they had been wandering around the wastes and given a Ranger’s uniform. Maybe they were recruited? “Halt!” One of the armored Paladins called out, and we came to a stop. “Stand and be recognized!” the Paladin ordered. Hat Trick walked forward, and answered the challenge. “Initiates Hat Trick, Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe reporting. Target in addition, non-hostile.” The paladin paused a moment before spotting me. “That’s not what my EFS is saying, Initiate. Whatever your target is, is flashing between hostile and friendly.” He warned, training his weapons on me as a few more Rangers came up to investigate. I’ll admit, I wasn’t having an easy time trying to not tear him in half. I was pretty sure I could, but I also knew that it would get me killed again and then I’d have an even harder time controlling myself. I was in conflict between part of me wanting to cause havoc, mayhem and destruction, and another part just wanting to lay down and rest with friends. I saw a few of the Unicorn knights’ horns light up, but the confusion on their faces told me something had gone wrong. “We can’t tranquilize her, our spells aren’t working!” One of them was about to panic. I think they must’ve been new, because the Knight and Paladins weren’t looking all that phased by what was going on. They did, however, aim their weapons at me. “Stand down! This is our mission’s target. We’re to report to Elder Rasa only, please move aside!” Hat Trick called out before the situation became worse. A few of them backed down, but two paladins in powered armor came towards us as escorts to the Elder, and we were allowed inside. I wasn’t too happy at being called a ‘target’ again, but it was better than waking up all on my own without food or help in the wasteland. As I was getting my own memories back, I was losing the few that I did have of my life in the wastes. I didn’t even remember why I had come to that cave in the beginning of my story, or how I had gotten there in the first place. I don’t remember what had made me so cheery and innocent, because after some of my memories were returned from my life before, I was fighting some instinct to just maim and kill everypony I saw. We were brought to a large reinforced door that soon swung open to the inside of a building made of brick and rusted metal. The inside was decorated with a few rotting carpets and banners, along with wooden furniture that the apocalypse had been slightly more kind to. Judging from the stacked munitions and medical supplies around, along with some rooms holding nothing but sleeping bags, cots and additional bedding, it seemed fairly makeshift. There were hastily constructed barricades over a few doors and some ceilings were propped up with metal beams that were melted into place. “These Steel Rangers are going to imprison you; experiment on you!” What? Where the hay did that voice come from? “They will betray you! Run, escape from here!” The voice in my head seemed pretty convinced of my impending doom, but I was still willing to give the Rangers a chance to prove it wrong as we were lead to Elder Rasa’s office towards the middle of the building. The Elder’s door was even more reinforced than the front door to the building, and after several clicks it swung open, and we were called into the room. “Initiates, debrief.” Rasa said sharply, as the Initiates went into the room and lined up. I followed after them, deciding to rest on a dusty couch as the two Paladins escorting us came into the room and the door slammed shut. “Target apprehended, Bunker completely fubar. Skirmishes with raider groups, no casualties. Target heard us coming, but didn’t attack. We gave food to the target, and were accompanied back to base.” Hat Trick reported, and stepped back. Card Swipe spoke next. “Target assisted in our defense against large band of raiders. Four survivors on their side, minor injuries on ours. Total of twenty three casualties, unknown how many were killed by the target. Possibly saved our lives. Raiders thought the target was a wendigo.” He stated flatly, and Cheese Wheel finished. “Informed target of happenings within last two months. EFS was reported to switch between friendly and hostile in regards to the target. Target was found in severely emaciated state but is rapidly recovering to former health.” He stated with purpose, and moved back. Elder Rasa looked at me, and clicked on a sound dampening device. “Now then, does your version of events follow with what was described?” Elder Rasa asked, earning confused looks between the Initiates. “Test… yep.” Was all I said before he made a motion to the two Paladins. Before I could look over to them and see what they were doing, they were on top of me and trying to force a collar around my neck! I tried screaming them off of me, but the dampener just made me sound panicked as it finally clacked on as I was held on the couch. “I warned you…” “What is going on?!” I yelled, trying to struggle with ponies in power armor. “Target is hostile.” One of the paladins reported. “You think?!” I growled, spitting on his visor. “Bring the Dampener with you, lock her in the observation room. No visitors.” Rasa ordered, looking at the concerned faces of the Inititates. “You’ve performed your mission perfectly. You are dismissed.” The Initiates saluted their Elder as I was dragged kicking and yelling from the room. Soon enough, the Paladins had gotten tired of my resistance and clobbered me with their armored hooves. ”I’ll take care of you. Just go to sleep and let go…” The voice whispered in my ear, as I felt my vision fading to black. oooOOOooo I found myself waking up in a dungeon cell, hooves shackled to the wall and laying on my side in a bed of hay. Two guards were posted outside of my holding area, muttering to each other about their distaste of bat ponies after Nightmare Moon’s attempted uprising. One was trying to talk the other out of entering my cell and outright killing me, though was doing poorly considering I had killed his brother. My movement was causing my chains to rattle, and draw the attention of the guards. “Oh, look who’s awake.” The guard intent on murdering me had stated. “Nopony is gonna care if we get some ‘free therapy’ in, are they?” he asked the other guard. “What do you mean? She’s Celestia’s prisoner! We can’t do anything to her, or we’ll get banished, or worse!” the guard of the brother I murdered had responded. “Who’s gonna say it was us that did it? There’s a bunch of other guards on this shift, and they get rotated every so often. Nopony will know it was us.” He darkly suggested. “Except every single guard that can see what she looks like! They’ll all know we beat her up.” “Not if we move her to the far end of the cell, out of the light. We can tell the next guards on shift about just who this scum is, and they can get some therapy of their own in as well. Everypony keeps their mouth shut, and we have ourselves a nice new punching bag.” There was a pause as a look of conspiracy went between the two guards, and my cell door creaked open. The guards snuck inside after making sure every other door in the block was locked and closed securely. I knew that magic couldn’t hurt me, but I was still just as vulnerable to swords, maces, hooves and any other physical weapon as almost anypony else. These guards where there when it was revealed that I couldn’t die, so they knew this well in advance before roughing me up a bit, and moving me to the dark corner of the cell and re-chaining me. This section of chains was to the ceiling, and I was hung by all four hooves upside down. I couldn’t do much more than let out muffled pleas of mercy and agony as I was pummeled, cut, slashed, beaten and bludgeoned all over my body. I had spat up blood and vomited more than once at the damage being done to me. I had deep gashes and cuts covering my body, but I was unable to die from my wounds as they kept up their efforts. After an eternity of their assault, the banging of the next shift came from a door down the hallway. Huffing and panting heavily from exertion, the guards gathered their equipment and locked my cell before speaking with the next set of guards to replace their shift. I heard a few voices get raised in alarm, but they were quickly hushed as I heard their hoof falls come closer. “See, Nopony can tell she’s even hurt. Her eyes do a nice job of reflecting from the dark, so we didn’t touch em. I’m sure she’s killed more than a few of your buddies, and she can’t do nothing to get back at you either. Let this be a secret between us guards, because Celestia knows that the captains give us enough reason to ‘unwind’ after a hard day’s work.” The guard that wanted me dead had said. “You’re sure nopony will tell?” one of the new guards, a Pegasus, had asked. “Of ‘course not. Just say that its part of her punishment from Celestia. Not all the guards are gonna like carrying it out, but she killed my friend’s brother.” He spat in my direction through the cell bars. A bit more convincing from the guard later, and all four of them walked in and locked the cell, intent on getting their revenge for anything they thought I had done wrong, and then for things others had done to wrong them. Towards the end, it was pretty much just because they could. My body had long since been reduced to a heap of bruises, butchered flesh and disfigured bone as I dangled from the ceiling by my hooves. I couldn’t move a muscle or lift my head. The only thing they didn’t hit was around my eyes, but there was enough blood coming from my body and neck that I had been blinded a while ago. I had long since stopped trying to fight the pain and heal myself, so I had died a few hours ago. I was watching with detachment at what they were doing to my body, but only after the next shift of guards showed up did they notice I wasn’t alive anymore. “What the- You said she couldn’t die! She’s not breathing and the next shift is here!” One of the guards panicked. The other guards looked amongst themselves with worry, as the door to the cell block burst open. They all hurried out of my cell and locked the door as Celestia herself rounded the corner, flanked by four of her honor guard. “I wish to speak with the prisoner.” Celestia stated, as the guards shared nervous looks. “Shes… down in the washroom being cleaned, Princess Celestia!” the guard of the murdered brother said, saluting with a shaky hoof. “I just came from there, Sword Slash.” Celestia said with suspicion. “Well then you must’ve just missed the prisoner then!” The murderer guard offered. “Open the cell door.” Princess Celestia ordered, as the guards went into a minor panic. They tried to come up with a list of excuses at the same time, and Celestia’s honor guard moved them aside as she unlocked the door and stepped through. Her horn glowed only for a few seconds before finding me dangling as a mutilated corpse from the ceiling before its magic cut out, plunging the room into darkness again. Her face was contorted in anger and betrayal, as she whipped around to face the guards responsible for protecting me. “Did you do this?” She said with a tempered and level voice, all the more terrifying from the level of anger barely contained from behind it. “N-no, Princess Ce-“ A guard tried, before she flung the four of them against the wall with her magic. “DO NOT LIE TO ME!” She bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice, meant to address thousands of gathered ponies throughout the city. Used in the small confines of the dungeon, it was loud enough to make the foundation shake with bits of dust raining from the ceiling as torches flickered on the walls and the guards tried to appear as small as possible covering their ears. While this was going on, I assumed it safe enough to revive my body. I tried to breathe, but my lungs had been shredded by repeated stabs through my broken ribs. With my throat cut out and blood seeping from my wounds, I only managed to gurgle and jerk in pain. The sounds caused all guards present, including the honor guard of Celestia to jump in surprise as a few let out startled shrieks. Celestia turned her gaze to my slowly repairing body, and ordered the four guards to be locked in a cell at the other side of the block before walking next to me. She studied me as my body slowly repaired itself. Eventually I was able to start screaming in agony at my mutilated body, as I convulsed and shook uncontrollably in the air. Celestia stood there, watching in horror as my features were warped and twisted into a form that roughly resembled the bat pony I was before. I tried to ask for help, to get me out of this dungeon, but my voice was not repaired enough for speech. It came only as squeaks and whimpers that she couldn’t understand as I begged and pleaded with her to be released. Her personal guard soon returned, and she turned to address them. “Take her to the gardens. Unshackle her when you get there.” She stated completely detached from the horror she had witnessed, as I screamed and cried out to be released, to let me go. I had done nopony any harm since Nightmare Moon had been banished. I hadn’t raised a hoof in anger against another pony. I deserved to be released and set free. Later, I stood atop a stone pedestal in the hedge gardens outside of Celestia’s palace. I was surrounded by guards of all races as Celestia came forward. She didn’t say a word, nor did anypony else that was present. Her eyes began to glow, along with her horn, and the Alicorn goddess of the sun cast a spell that began to entomb me in stone. She was going to turn me into a statue! I tried to fight it, to move and resist what was happening to me. I could feel my limbs locking in place and unable to move or free myself from the stone that was replacing my body. My wings and chest were soon locked, having been trying to fly away before the stone took them. Before the rest of my body was encased, I pointed a hoof accusingly at Celestia with a look of pure hatred at having me trapped in eternity, conscious, in stone. The last few moments before my eyes were taken, I saw regret on the face of the Sun Princess. If I was to ever escape, I would not show mercy to anypony in Equestria for what she had done. After all, Nopony had shown any mercy to me. oooOOOooo I came out of the memory, shaking my head furiously to rid it of something that had become stuck in my mane. Only then did I notice it was somepony’s intestine. I looked around at where I was, coming out of a blinding haze as the world flew into focus. Bodies. Bodies of ponies were everywhere. Ripped apart, blown to bits, shredded beyond recognition. Scribes had been impaled with their own weapons. Paladins had been burned alive in their armor, their charred husks propped against walls and each other. Knights and Initiates had been ground to paste and thrown from rooftops to become heaps of broken bones. Some were still alive, screaming for help or a quick death. I looked down at the ground, at my hooves. They were drenched in the crimson blood of those I had killed while inside my head. I checked myself for injury but could find only scratches and bits of my coat torn out. “I told you I would take care of you.” The ethereal voice in my head said. It was soft, soothing even. It calmed me when it spoke, filling me with a sense of belonging and companionship. I had never felt love before, so I had no way of knowing what that was like. I had never had any true friends that I could count on to be there for me in a time of need. But this voice sounded so familiar, like somepony I used to know closely. Who are you? I thought. “You don’t need to worry about things like that now. All that matters is that I am here for you, and I will never let anything bad happen to you.” She responded. Her voice flittered between words like a gentle breeze, reassuring me that all was well in the world even as I strode through the devastation and slaughter of the Steel Ranger base. I had nonchalantly kicked aside the limbs of a few ponies as I walked through the building leading to Elder Rasa’s office in a dream like haze. There was nothing to worry about, everything was going perfectly for me. I wasn’t hungry, I wasn’t tired or worrying about… anything. Nopony was hurting me, nopony was looking for me. All was well. I heard gurgled coughing from a room nearby, and a walked through the archway that once held a door to find Hat Trick laying in the corner behind a couch. Her magic rifle was shaking in her grip before it fell to the floor with a clatter and she fell over in a heap. On a desk nearby was the Dampener, still going off and muting the sounds of the room. Something told me that the dampener was the only reason she had survived, as the bodies of Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe lay in the room as well. They were in bloody shreds and Cheese was missing both of his forelegs. Hat Trick was still coughing, so I walked over the corpses of her fellow Initiates and stood over her. She looked up at me after a coughing fit, and tried to scramble away from me in terror. I stopped her with a hoof placed on her chest, and she froze. “Please… please don’t kill me. I haven’t done anything to you! I didn’t hurt you, I didn’t attack you! I didn’t want you to be taken prisoner, please!” She begged, too weak to move the hoof I was resting on her. I simply stared at her as she struggled, her eyes were desperate and pleading for her to leave me alone. “She’s lying.” The voice snapped, the gentle breeze turning into an angered tempest. “You’re lying. Tell me the truth.” I said without emotion as her panicked efforts redoubled shortly before her wounds sent her into a pained coughing fit and she spat out blood. I pressed my hoof into her chest, causing her body to wrench in pain. “We were sent to gather your body!” She cried out, and I set my hoof aside so she could speak. “Elder Rasa started talking about old mare’s tales from before the war, about a moon of nightmares.” She sputtered out the words between hacking coughs filled with blood. “He said that if we found you, we would get promoted to Knights! Just jump straight up the ladder because he could do that for us. So we went out to find your body, but you weren’t dead!” She was trying her best to explain, but her body was too busy trying to stop her from talking and getting herself killed faster. I tilted my head sideways, finding myself more interested in how long she would take to die than what she was actually saying. “Rasa said that you had been alive, before the war. He said that you would be able to bring the Rangers back together. He said you knew the Elements of Harmony!” Pfft. Yeah, I know them pretty well. They sent Nightmare Moon away. “He said that if you knew the Ministry Mares, that you would’ve known Applejack. That you would’ve convinced the other Elders that it was our mission to protect other Ponies, not to be keepers of technology.” Her breathing was becoming erratic and uneven. I was sure she was in her last few moments of living. I had never heard of these ‘Ministry Mares’, or known an Applejack. All I was certain of, is that they had planned to use me to settle some civil war. Planned to use me for their own ends after having locked me away. So soon after that memory, I was never going to let myself be used again. I was never going to be at the mercy of other ponies that time and again had treated me as property. That had used me and abused me without any regard to my own sense of self. She was still babbling about something. Talking about some device in a mountain that was going to fix the wasteland and make everything better. I couldn’t care less, because Equestria was doomed to fall if it was run by ponies like these Steel Rangers. They had allowed raiders and slavers to operate freely, endangering the few innocent citizens of Equestria. I may have been the last of the Night Guards, but I wasn’t going to let that happen any longer. I needed to cleanse Equestria of the rot that was keeping it from returning to its former glory, and I was going to start with Hat Trick and the Steel Rangers. “Stay your hoof, Sundown.” The soothing voice asked. I was about to end Hat Trick by stomping her head into the floor, but the voice asked and I listened. “She will be useful to you. Find her a healing potion and she will be indebted to you.” The voice swayed my opinion almost effortlessly, as it was far more relaxing and enjoyable to follow with it than to think for myself. In a trance, I walked out of the room and left Hat Trick in a pool of her own blood and began searching through the boxes of medical supplies that had escaped the devastation. I found a box that had a hole through it, but I opened it to find three purple bottles of super rejuvenation potions, although one had shattered and was only half full. I carried the box in my mouth, and set it down in front of Hat Trick. She looked up at me weakly, before I opened the box and held the potion to her mouth so she could drink. After the second bottle she was able to move on her own, and carefully drank from the jagged edges of the last rejuvenation potion. “Why?” she asked quietly, setting down the broken potion and looking at me. The soothing voice spoke through me, though sounding like my own voice. “You will follow me, Hat Trick. I have saved your life, so you are in my debt.” The voice spoke. Hat Trick looked at me suspiciously, squinting her eyes like she was trying to find something in my face. “Who are you?” She asked finally. “The one who has saved your life, of course.” The voice replied with a cheery tone. When the voice was not speaking, my face held an expression devoid of all emotion. I let the voice take control of me, because it had guided me this far and protected me when I tried to defy it. I would’ve been a prisoner again were it not for her efforts, and the voice was filling me with calm euphoria. “We will travel to the ruins of Fillydelphia, to see if any of the slaves there have survived the battle with the Enclave and Red Eye’s forces. From there, we will seek out any remaining Steel Rangers.” The voice hummed, using my body to gather supplies and saddlebags for the coming journey. “And why is that?” Hat Trick asked, gathering food and ammo into her own saddlebags. The voice stopped searching and walked over to Hat Trick, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Because they are the first that must be removed from the wasteland, if Equestria is to become whole once more.” The voice smiled, sending shivers through Hat Trick. The voice went back to gathering the last few bits of supplies, and Hat Trick followed her through the devastated wreckage of the compound outside of the building. The main gate and surrounding walls were completely toppled or obliterated, with the burnt and exploded corpses of ponies lay scattered about. Blood and gore was everywhere, without a single survivor calling out for help. “Don’t worry about the Rangers, Sundown. They were going to use you for their own ends. It is better this way.” The voice washed over my worries like the tide, and I sank deeper into the comfort she provided. I had noticed that while the voice was speaking, she didn’t need to be near an Audio Dampener. “Were you just messing with us, with your squeaking?” Hat Trick asked, having noticed as well. “No, my voice was damaged when we met. I was only recently able to heal most of the damage that was done to it.” The voice stated calmly, making me feel at peace. “How is that?” Hat Trick asked, moving around a large rock that had propped up the corpse of another Initiate. “Do not worry about things that don’t matter, Hat Trick. All that matters is that we are safe for now, and as long as you stay with me, you will be safe as well.” The voice stated softly, glancing back at a confused and suspicious Hat Trick before looking forward again towards our goal of Fillydelphia. “‘We’ are safe for now? Who is we?” Hat Trick asked, growing more suspicious. “Well, Sundown and I of course. You can be safe as well, so long as you remain with us.” The voice responded like she was teaching a classroom of Foals. “You mean that you’re not Sundown?” Hat Trick asked again, getting something out of her saddlebag. It was probably a snack for the road, nothing to worry about. “Of course I am Sundown, and Sundown is myself.” The voice replied cryptically. “So Sundown didn’t kill everypony back there, it was you?” Hat Trick asked, a clicking noise coming from behind us as we abruptly stopped to look back at Hat Trick. She was holding a large and menacing looking revolver in her magic, and aiming right at our head. “We are Sundown, and Sundown is us.” The voice said with a bit of caution as she looked between the revolver and Hat Trick. “We will cause you no harm, should you continue to-“ BLAM! … That definitely was a feeling that I’m sure somepony will have invent a new word for, just to adequately describe. For now, I’ll just go with ‘Oh-my-bucking-sweet-Celestia-my-face-just-turned-into-shredded-meat-dear-goddesses-why-would-o w-ow-ow-why’ as an apt descriptor. Hey… The voice is gone! Then I fell sideways with a squishy flop, and my vision faded to black.
Chapter 13: Braggadocious PerspectiveChapter 13: Braggadocious Perspective At some point, I am most definitely going to make this time travel spell entirely more bodacious. It takes me a whole month just to travel a couple centuries time, and one would think that it wouldn’t be an issue since you can just travel to any point in time, thus making the travel time completely pointless. The only problem with that, is you’re stuck contemplating life while flying through a tunnel of eldritch horrors and your Grandmare Butterscotch. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” Grandmare Butterscotch asked with a fluctuating voice as she gently drifted around me for the six thousandth time, offering me her endless supply of Butterscotch Candies that nopony in their right mind would want. “I am most fine, Grandmare Butterscotch.” I, Braggadocious, had answered. She had since lost the appearance of an elderly mare about a millennium ago, but that didn’t stop her from pretending that she wasn’t killed the second I discovered this spell though experimentation. Yes I feel responsible, but she’s also been able to run a fairly extensive candy empire here in the lands between time and space. I’m fairly certain she’s even entertained a few cosmic horrors as guests for tea. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” Grandmare asked again, forgetting that we had had this conversation countless times before. Unless this was her form of paying me back as revenge. “Just fine, Grandma.” I huffed. The end of my journey was coming up, and It couldn’t happen fast enough. I had just returned from informing Marelin about my encounter with Sundown in the first Balefire War before Celestia dropped in on the conversation just as I was mentioning the ‘Entombed’ Night Guard that was afflicted with the magical corruption of Nightmare Moon. The Sun Princess had originally planned to have Sundown preserved and protected against any harm or would be murderers while she was frozen, but judging from the Bat pony’s expression set in stone, she wasn’t appreciative of it. I know that if I had been frozen in stone for over a millennium that I wouldn’t be harboring any good feelings, especially since Celestia had forgotten that whole part about rendering the pony you’re casting the spell on unconscious before you cast it. I was actually more surprised that Sundown hadn’t gone completely insane while she was trapped as a statue all that time, but she didn’t seem to be all there in the first place when I met her. “Are you shure you don’t want my candies, shweety?” she asked again, giving me a wink this time that almost made me explode with frustration. My exit was almost here, thank the goddesses, so I controlled myself. “Thank you for your time, Grandmare. See you later!” I called out to her, as my exit from the wormhole yanked me through the portal. BLAM! My portal had opened to the sound of a single, loud gunshot as I tumbled through the air, contorting so I didn’t end up impaled on something in the wasteland before I fell to the ground with concrete crunching under-hoof. I looked up in time to see Sundown falling over with a fairly squishy flop, her blood gushing from where her head used to be and her throat was gurgling blood. “Whoa. Most unpredicted.” Well, it was true. I was hoping to return before somepony had killed her, but I guess I took longer than I had thought. “Who the fuck are you?!” A unicorn mare holding a large and dangerous looking revolver shouted at me, voice cracking from apparent stress. “Fear not, for I am Braggadocious. Student of Mar-“ BLAM! I cringed, and quickly checked myself. She had shot into the air this time, thankfully. “Who. The fuck. Are. Yooouuu!” She screamed from barred teeth, looking ready to tackle or shoot me if I said something stupid again. I had forgotten that I was in the wastelands, not Canterlot. “Friend! I am a friend, and I mean no harm to you!” I hastily replied, hooves upheld in surrender as I sat down on the concrete. She was breathing heavily and straining to hold back what looked like a whole lot of anger. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying she had just turned Sundown’s head into a new bowl, so I didn’t like the thought of my head becoming another demonstration of her bone carving skills with a revolver. “Do you know what the fuck just happened here? Do you know what this monster just did to everypony I knew?! She killed them! Every single fucking one of them are dead now because of her, and she can’t even die!” She was ranting now. Her magical hold on the revolver was aiming it erratically and I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t shoot somepony on accident, including herself. I looked over at the corpse of Sundown, her brains scattered on the filthy ground and her head had become a goopy paste. “Don’t you even dare say ‘she looks dead to me’ or I will end you!” she screamed, pointing at me with the revolver and now a magic pistol that she had picked from in her magic. “Do you know what the worst part of it is? She wasn’t even in control! Not the Sundown I know, something fucking possessed her and went on a rampage! The only thing I could think of to help her, was shooting her in the face! I don’t know if she can come back from that, but at the very least she won’t be able to kill anypony else.” Her anger was beginning to fade, and was being replaced with exhaustion and grief. I decided not to press her, as she was probably going to break on her own. “I… I can’t anymore. I can’t take all of this bullshit in the wastes, not on my own. I’m not stupid enough to ask a pony that literally drops out of the sky, especially when they look like a… wizard.” A look of confusion spread across her face, before she asked my name again. “I am Braggadocious…” I paused, waiting to see if she would shoot me for the full name, but she spoke before I could continue. “You were there, at the Stable?” She asked cautiously, still pointing a lot of death in my direction. “Most certainly.” “Why? Sundown said that you had blown up the stable, and healed everypony. But the only problem with that is that nopony can remember the same stable, let alone seeing a wizard.” She was dropping her guard. Her weapons were pointed towards the ground in front of me, so I took the opportunity to switch the safeties on while she was distracted. “I can’t tell you why. She is correct that I healed all of you that I could, although some of your allies were already too badly hurt or injured for my skills to fix.” I explained with a forced calm, heart beating from the adrenaline of having weapons pointed at me. I knew that they couldn’t kill me outright, as a gift from Marelin saw to it that I was well protected. Not invincible, but protected. I call it ‘The Bro-ach of Marelin’ to annoy her. They would still hurt to get shot with though. “I’m guessing it would be too much to ask you to fix all of this?” She gestured with a magic rifle held with her telekinesis at the carnage of the devastated Steel Ranger base. Corpses and shredded equipment strewn everywhere like a hurricane of blood and death had leveled the place. “I can see who I can help. Do you know who the most recent to die was, aside from Sundown?” I lowered my forehooves and stood up, cautiously walking towards the emotionally distraught mare. “My friends… Cheese Wheel and Card Swipe. They died next to me.” She said quietly, guns clattering to the concrete without a care for their condition. I offered my help, and she led me through the carnage into a small room with an Audio Dampener. The one she had pointed out to be Card Swipe was a crunched mess of bloody ribs sticking from a caved in chest, and Cheese Wheel was missing his limbs with a look of agony and terror frozen on his face. “I will do what I can for them.” I promised, holding them in the air with the bright glow of my magic. With sickening crunches and blood spurting from the effort of placing bone and limbs where they should be, I gave my best attempt at Necromancy. Normally to any Unicorn in Equestria, the knowledge of the Zebra’s Black Book would be kept a secret, penalty of death. I, however, was a student of Marelin and close friend to Celestia for centuries. It pays to know the right ponies. My usual orange and red colored aura of magic was replaced with a null black, draining the color from the room into a greyscale shift that streaked into my horn. The bodies of the Steel Ranger’s friends were lifted by this same void and floated into the air. “Are you sure that you wish your friends returned?” I asked with my eyes closed, concentrating on the next portion of the spell. “Do it already!” she snapped back. Very well then, nopony must’ve told her to be careful what she wished for. The bodies were bathed in a black and grey fire, a growing whirlpool of dark magic coming from beneath them as I chanted the words necessary for the ritual to begin in earnest. “Mittentis reditum de morte ad vitam, robur animae ad reparare, ad renovandam vitam. Integro corpore et spiritu vivificetur et ligare.” “Qui patitur amor, qui habitant fames esse constitit atque benignus. Et mors ultra non dicere te , et in perpetuum exilium a falce metit.” “Maledicens animam scilicet et amicus est tibi in ministerium eris. Contemnis malitia et ad inimicorum odia , ne pro defectu tui tuendae poenam sempiternam.” At this point, the room was a complete hurricane of necromantic energy, the final words of power to be spoken to bind the souls to their master proper. All sound, all light and all movement had stopped to witness this unnatural event. The dark light of the spell’s power had torn several cracks in the foundation and walls of the building in which it was cast, the eyes of the Initiates friends becoming pure white orbs, glowing and searching for their souls to return. “Anima vestra revertetur ad reliquias ossa tenentur domino stat dum mortis data est gratia. Servabis Donec soluti corpore tueri permaneas in eius servitio. Surgam, et factum est. Non permisit quies!” The spell was completed with a vicious shout, as the souls of the initiates were ripped from their enjoyment of the afterlife and dragged screaming back to their bodies, held together from the force of the spell and sealed forever in their bones. In a final release of energy, the screams of the damned exploded outwards from the building. The souls of those Steel Rangers recently dead and dying were scattered to the winds in a final flash of agony before the sound, light, and natural color of the world swam back to take the place it once held. “AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHGGGG!!!” the Initiates screamed, living in pain from their wounds being noticed as they awoke from death. The Initiate that had requested her friends be returned to her had forgotten me entirely at this point, and I had to make sure that Sundown hadn’t used this time to regenerate herself and escape. She brushed past me, trying to console her friends and get them to calm down as I briskly trotted out of the building in search of the tainted night guard. The muffled sounds of the panicked and pained Initiates faded away as I determinedly marched past the smoking wreckage of burnt out power armor and fused plating of a few Paladins as I saw Sundown’s corpse already twitching and willing itself back to life in a spasmodic heap of twisted magic. Screeches and high pitched yelps of agony escaped the now reforming mouth of the resurrected night guard, as I opened another portal back to pre-war Equestria and shoved her still recuperating form into it. Giving the surrounding devastation a last glance, I hopped into the maelstrom after her as the portal closed. “Equitum portæ ad terram , pro duobus placer.” Portal to Horse Land, Room for two please. Just because it looks fancy, doesn’t mean it is.
Chapter 7: Braggadocious BalefireChapter 7: Braggadocious Balefire Then the monster of Stable 96 exploded. Twice. What in Luna’s moon!? Getting myself off of the old restaurant’s floor, I peered through a window to the now crater of Stable 96 that had doubled in size. It had turned into a white hot bowl of glowing heat and fire, as a pony shaped figure wearing a completely ridiculous outfit that looked like it had leapt out of the pages of some old mare’s tale. Billowing cape, pointy wizard hat and flowing robes all with flame decals adorned the approaching stallion. He looked like the embodiment of balefire and radiated heat from his fiery red coat, with an orange and white mane that resembled an inferno with eyes like a campfire. In his hoofsteps were ashen imprints of his passing. He kept his head bowed low as he approached the wounded Steel Rangers and I managed to pick my jaw up from the floor, only to have it drop again as I got a full look at his downright regal features. “Greetings and salutations, my most splendid of Equines!” He announced, in a voice that resembled surfer bronies from some old videotape of the Neighties. “I do most profusely apologize for my pets must un-cool temper tantrum. I assure you, my metal bros and night guard, that I won’t allow this unfortunate happenstance to occur again.” The blazing unicorn announced with a flourish. What. Paladin Copper Wire staggered beside me, still wounded but with his eye swollen instead of hanging loosely from his face. After a moment of pained breaths and attempts at speech, the fire wizard spoke again. “Oh! Most uncool, Brah!” he said, somehow keeping his voice authoritative yet cheery with his odd accent. “That must’ve been the work of my obliterated pet, yeah?” he pointed at Copper Wire while his horn lit up like a miniature sun. An aura of gold and red enveloped Copper Wire as he slowly lifted from the ground, the weight of his power armor and earth pony heft like he was an action figure to the image of fire. “I’ll have all of you right as rain in a moment, dudes. No prob.” He said, smiling and bobbing his head at random, his eyes flicking around like sparks from a forge as he looked over the Paladin. Then with a bright flash, he released the paladin and he landed on the ground with a resounding THUD-CLANG of metal and mass. My mouth had somewhat regained its ability of speech, as I attempted to ask who this strange unicorn of fire was, but only squeaked as usual. “Who…?” I managed. “Fear not, Night Guard bro-mare. I understand your confusion! I am Braggadocious, Best Student of Marelin sixteen centuries running, and the Element of Fire, brah. When news of my latest experiment’s escape had reached my most wonderful ears, I immediately absconded in search of him! Imagine my most intense befuddlement that my audacious pet had traveled time to a wasteland of death and most heinous suffering of pony kind. The Laws of Time state that I can’t intervene with your lives, nor solve the conundrums you face, but I can most certainly fix all the mistakes that my indirect interference has caused and set you back on the path you would’ve properly traveled!” Braggadocious finally finished, taking a large breath as his form seem to be stoked like a fire with the intake. “Now, if you would all congregate in an orderly manner, I’d be most willing to assist your injured and deceased bros and mare-bros with my incredible magical skill!” He announced to the gathering group of Steel Rangers. Paladin Copper Wire groaned and shifted himself from the floor to stand up… completely healed! “What… what happ- where am I?” He stammered in confusion as he looked around from the hole in his helmet between Braggadocious, the wounded Rangers and myself. “All will be explained in time, Metal Brosef. Gather your clan and I will save those I can. Hah, I rhymed! I must’ve spent too long in Roam again.” The spirited fire mage cheered with a grin across his face, trotting in place while sending up tufts of smoke from his hoof falls. Oh crap, now my descriptions just rhymed. It’s spreading! “Who are you?” Paladin Copper Wire asked, before being cut off by Scribe Hay Hen. “I request you rest. Braggadocious here has offered assistance and… revival of our friends.” Now she’s rhyming! The paladin seemed completely over his head, so instead just huffed in confusion and walked off in a daze to gather the wounded and dead of his Stable exploration force. “So, most beautiful of the night guard I’ve seen in these lands, what brings you to this cloud covered and horrific time? Seeing the sights or looking for your own lost experiment?” The element of fire said, a bit too close for comfort as I began sweating from the heat radiating off of him. “Um…” I squeaked, leaning away from him being invading my personal space. “Worry not, bro-mare. I can understand you perfectly! It’s not that hard to reverse a mute-ation spell after all, and I know the Night Guard are soft spoken when they want to be!” he chuckled, while draping a foreleg over my shoulders and pulling me closer to the furnace that was his body. His hooves were like stones in the desert. I began sweating and squirming even more, trying to get away from the Element of Fire before I burst into flames, and he soon realized why I was moving around so much. “Oh, my most sincere apologies bro-mare! I hadn’t even realized I was bleeding off so much energy from the transportation spell.” And with a bright flash of his horn, the ethereal fire that had engulfed his body disappeared to reveal what looked like a regular (albeit incredibly clean, for the wastelands) unicorn stallion. He was still in his fire adorned garb, but no longer venting off heat like an erupting volcano. “Would you be so forgiving as to give Braggadocious your name? It would do me no good to keep calling you Bro-mare, after all.” He requested, taking one of my hooves in his own while looking at me. What is happening? Somepony help me what is going on! OhmyLunawhatisgoingonimgoingtodiewhyismyheartdoingthishelp! “Oh, bummer. I’ll see you when you wake up then, Night Guard Bro-mare!” the mage said as my vision began to blur and I fell backwards into the dirt. oooOOOooo Bright green fields, night skies with white puffy clouds and a gentle breeze carried me through the air as I soared over what looked like a small village next to a forest. Not a care in the world for the cold nipping through my coat and freezing the silver and midnight plated armor I was wearing as I glided through the sky at this altitude, gazing down and watching the ground for anypony in distress or need of aid as I carried on my nightly sweep of the hamlet a mere twenty kilo trots from Canterville. Nothing usually happened this far out, but it was still my duty to make sure that Princess Luna’s night was as safe as her sister Princess Celestia’s day. Besides, I got to enjoy the star filled sky that Luna had so diligently worked to create every single night for the subjects I was now watching over, even if none of them ever did stay up long enough to enjoy it. I had heard the reports of the regular ponies insisting that Luna’s night was full of terrors, demons and other nonsense they had convinced their foals that would gobble them up as soon as they left the safety of their lamp-lit hovels. I can see why Princess Luna was so hurt. After all, enough light in one area would block out the absolute beauty that she had crafted every night for her subjects enjoyment, only to be scorned and rejected on the sheer principle that the night is dark. If only the villagers could appreciate the night in the same was as Luna’s Night Guard could. There would be no more fear or misunderstanding about the night, no more arguments between Princesses Celestia and Luna over the Princess of the night being ignored and shoved into the shadow by the older sister’s day. Suddenly, a bright flash appeared in the night sky, streaking across the tapestry of Luna’s creation… and headed right for—oof! oooOOOooo Uhg… my head. Why did… Did I pass out? What kind of dream was that? “Most splendid Mare of the Night! You’ve returned to the land of the conscious once more!” The chipper fire mage blurted out, his head popping upside down and staring at me as I opened my eyes to the blinding sun… Or his face. “The rescue of your allies is nearly finished, as is my time in this plane of reality. Would it be true, that I would be able to learn of your name before I depart, shy Bro-mare?” he offered one of his burning hooves to lift me up, his spells apparently re-heating him enough that he had grown tired of dissipating all the energy after each cast. “My name is Sundown.” I squeaked at him, hoping he could actually hear me as I remembered he had said before. Braggadocious paused his spell casting for a moment to look at me curiously, before finishing with the last of the Steel Rangers that had been mutilated by the monster of the stable… or his pet, I should say. “That is most interesting! Night Guard Sundown… I may have to return here after all.” he finished, muttering to himself. He might be able to understand me, but I don’t think he knew that my hearing was as good as it is. “Mage… Braggadocious, was it?” Paladin Copper Wire asked, completely healed and his armor repairing itself as a scribe fed what looked like scrap metal and gems into a port on the side of his suit. “Student of Marelin, Braggadocious, Element of Fire.” He said with an exaggerated bow and the… The HOOFSHAKE. Even a downright demi-god of magic does it! It’s so dangerous, does nopony realize the danger of offering your hoof to somepony! “I would ask if this is some kind of trap, but considering that you’ve returned nearly every one of my brothers and sisters from even death itself… Do you need anything as payment for your-“ Paladin Copper Wire nervously asked before he was cut off. “Worry not, my well-armed metal-bro. I’ve almost more than I will ever need, and I’m certain you would need any supplies you could get your hooves on in this environment. I bid you good luck, and may the Princesses of Sun and Moon watch over you!” he announced with a final flourish, before vaporizing in a massive flash of light that I was frantically trying to blink away for a few minutes afterwards. Click. Beep! Beep! Beep! Click. “Scribe Hay Hen, Radio please.” Paladin Copper Wire asked abruptly, gathering himself before reporting to the radio’s signal. “Paladin Copper Wire, respond, over.” The voice on the radio demanded. “Paladin Copper Wire responding to message, over.” “Report status, over.” “One Target captured, four missing and presumed dead. Casualties… minimal. Three in total. Identification Tags were retrieved before detonation of Stable 96, upon encountering unstoppable mutant beast…thing. Over.” “Right… Have a report ready as soon as you report back to base for Debriefing. You stated a fifth target, over?” “Confirmed. Claims to be a ‘Batpony.’ Served during the fighting to assist myself and three Initiates. Initiates request integration of target into their squad on arrival, over.” “Report back to base, Paladin. The Elder will review your report and decide then, out.” Click. The paladin returned from his conversation to find myself talking with Cheese, Hat and Swipe in a corner of the restaurant along with Clear Report and Hay Hen. Several other Steel Rangers were around us as Hat recounted the tale of how the three initiates and myself managed to navigate our way around the ‘Death Stable’ as they had begun calling it, without a scratch or injury until the very ending scramble. They had put a lot of praise into my hearing keeping them safe, even if I was next to useless in an actual fight. Clear Report quickly pointed out that nopony could stop that thing even if they were the Stable Dweller herself (Whoever that was) before they slowly went silent as they noticed Copper Wire over them. “Alright. Everypony ready to move out? We have another mission.” The paladin said with a flat tone. Grumbles and murmurs of discontent went through the group before they realized the paladin was within earshot, as they assembled in the now clear central area of the restaurant. “Yes Paladin! All ready to move!” They announced as one to the paladin. “Good. Our next mission is going to be a long and difficult one. Even more difficult than the ‘death stable’ we just went through.” He deadpanned. More murmurs and quiet voices of protest rang from the group, and a few of them had begun to sweat that anything could’ve been worse than that stable. “Paladin Copper Wire, where are we going sir?” Cheese Wheel asked. The paladin paused for a moment, looking over all of them before walking nose to nose with Initiate Cheese Wheel before he said, “Going Home, Initiate.” And burst out into laughter as even the veteran rangers had nearly collapsed to the floor in relief at the news. Several cheers of hot meals, warm beds and hopes of alcohol to wash their worries away from the nightmare of not even a few hours ago began to flood their minds at the plans already being made for when they got home. I couldn’t help but smile at the news, and was thankful that I received a few hugs and pats on the head instead of stares of anger or disgust for my fangs and teeth gleaming in the light as I smiled wide, before Hat Trick asked, “Paladin Copper Wire, what of Sundown? Is she going to be allowed to join us at the base?” Steel Rangers I hadn’t even met murmured in agreement with me joining them, as Copper Wire answered, “Yes Initiate. Sundown is going to be coming with us. Even if she is a ‘Target’ for our mission, being grouped with those four survivors of Stable 96, she has aided us immensely in our mission. Would any disagree?” he challenged, looking over the Rangers. To my immense glee, not one of them did as I was floored from the cheer of the Steel Rangers. “Alright, Alright! Enough, you’re hurting the batpony’s ears!” Card Swipe waved his hooves, getting their attention as I was helped to my hooves by Hat Trick and Cheese Wheel. About half an hour after we had packed our gear and moved out from the ruins of the city and our restaurant post, the Initiates had been discussing the random appearance of Braggadocious, who had already become something of a myth amongst the Rangers that saw him to the Rangers that were wounded or unconscious, not believing in a tale of some unicorn of fire appearing out of nowhere to make everything right again out of the blue. A few pointed out that they wouldn’t have thought of those monsters in the stable before today either, but with the deaths of their friends and allies being tied with that statement, they dropped the subject and we continued our march to wherever the Steel Ranger base was. As I was just about certain that my hooves were going to fall off, I switched to using my wings to hover around and keep pace with the trotting Steel Rangers. I heard some muffled communications between the power armored Paladins of the Steel Rangers, keeping a watch out with their EFS for any movement or signs of hostile intent as they swept and scanned around the traveling group. A few scribes were talking to Paladin Copper Wire about the need to blindfold me before they reached their base, because that was standard procedure in case I was a spy, but Scribe Hay Hen questioned the validity of blindfolding somepony that can see with sound in the dark. She also stated that I didn’t have a Pipbuck, so it’s not like I could give anypony a map directly to their base either, but they decided to blindfold me anyway to keep with procedure and not get in trouble for negligence after the apparent failure of their mission. Well, they were supposed to bring some technology back with them from that stable, but that was pretty much cut short from the giant monster and huge explosion, then Braggadocious’ entrance of balefire to the area pretty much sending any hopes of salvage to the winds. At least being blindfolded meant I could get off of my hooves and give my wings a rest. I was used to traveling the wastes, sure, but I wasn’t used to traveling so long and slowly over rocky terrain when I could just fly everywhere under cover of darkness. I was placed on the back of a Paladin somewhere near the center of the convoy, from what I could tell by echolocation and squeaks of discomfort giving me some idea of where I was. The paladin I was laying on didn’t seem to mind or notice me, and at least they didn’t see fit to tie me up again. I rested my belly on his armored back while I draped my hooves over his sides and let my wings cling to my side as I rocked around from his movement. Bunch of rocks getting knocked around by hooves. Cl-clank, Cli-clonk. Cli-Clack, Cli-clop. Yay walking noises! I wonder if Braggadocious is going to show up again anytime soon. Probably not, he seemed pretty busy. Why am I thinking about Braggadocious when I’m going to an uncertain fate with Steel Rangers? I only knew him for less than an hour, did he really make that big of an impression on me? He only talked to me for a few moments and I outright fainted. Maybe I have a crush on him or something… Aw, that’s just mean, brain! Giving me a crush on a buck I can’t even see again because he travels through time on a whim. I squeaked a huff, slightly startling somepony that sounded like Hat Trick traveling beside me. “Oh, hey Sundown. I thought you were sleeping. You doing alright?” she asked. I was blind, so I couldn’t read her expression. She seemed pretty calm though. I lifted my head to nod and stared in her direction, looking where her eyes would be. “Whoa, that’s really creepy. Can you see me with that blindfold on?” I tilted my head at her, and shook a hoof side to side. Sorta? “Like, can you see normally or… I don’t even know how to ask how you can see.” To demonstrate, I set out a series of rapid clicks ending in a short screech, and I saw her ears fold back in fright at my sudden burst of noise as a few ponies stopped outright to question what the hay noise that was. I tried to melt into the back of the Paladin to avoid looks, before the group started moving again. I pointed at where I thought Hat Trick was, and let out a series of clicks and a smaller squeak to point at where she had moved to, booping her on the nose. “That’s really freaky, but cool at the same time! I’m guessing they blindfolded you because of protocol?” I heard Cheese Wheel ask. I nodded, and the group was stopped as a call to hold position was repeated down the line to those without radios. Chirping, I noticed the rangers were taking positions to cover the side of the road we had been traveling. Focusing, I heard whoops and cries of raiders in the distance, but they were moving away while shooting at somepony. Probably a caravan. Raiders and Caravans. At least the name is relevant, I guess. Soon enough, we were on the move again as the Initiates talked with me about being a Batpony and questioning why I was out in the wastelands, and asking why they hadn’t seen more than just me as far as batponies went. I didn’t really have an answer to that, because as far as I knew I had always just been on my own in the wastes. Sure I had some gaps of memory here and there, but it all seemed to fit well enough. Even if that one dream I had was totally strange, it was still just a dream, right? A loud roar made me jump from the conversation, as I heard a few ponies stop and look around for whatever had made the noise. I held my stomach and fell off the back of the Paladin, rolling on the ground in a long skree of pain. I heard a few ponies looking at me, and asking what had happened before Cheese Wheel asked, “Um, Sundown? When was the last time you ate?” giving me a nudge on the side with a hoof. My expression must have spoken for me, because next thing I knew I had some apple tasting thing shoved in my mouth and I froze. Apples. They have APPLES!? I bolted upright, nearly head-butting a scribe as the drained husk of the apple fell from my fangs and I looked around in a blindfolded frenzy for more of the blissful blobs of delicious goodness. My squeaks and screeches announcing my zealous need for more of the gift from the goddesses before I was held down with a hoof by a paladin, as Copper Wire came back to investigate what was going on. “Paladin Copper Wire, I don’t think Sundown has eaten… anything in the past few days. I heard her stomach growl a few canters back! She must’ve been starving so I gave her an apple and…” I was still squeaking so I saw the scribe raise the drained husk of the apple I had devoured the juices of bliss from in an instant. “It was completely shriveled before she even sat upright! Batponies don’t drink blood, right?” I swear I could feel him shivering next to me, but I only had fangs for the apples I knew he was carrying in his saddlebags. I had managed to eat about four or five more of his apples before I was torn in protest from his treasure trove of delight (Saddlebags) by at least four scribes and a paladin, my screeches of anguish going unheeded as I cried out for more apples. I’m not one to usually brag, but I’m pretty strong. There’s a reason I used a sledgehammer as my weapon of choice and it wasn’t for looks. Regaining my hoofing, I managed to buck off two scribes and shake a third off before I dived back at the apple bearer when a gunshot rang out with a very upset Paladin Copper Wire shouting. “Sundown! Calm down immediately or we’ll be forced to tie you up!” I fell to the ground covering my ears from the volume of the shot, using a free hind hoof to paw at the scribe who was backing up in terror from me as I was tackled by the now annoyed scribes I had chucked off of me. I was secured to the ground and I heard the murmurs of gossip as the scribe looked through his saddlebags and began pulling out fruit husk after husk that I had eaten in the blink of an eye. “Wow… At least we know what to feed you now. I was worried we’d have to go hunting or something.” Card Swipe said with a bit of surprise in his voice, before looking at the other Initiates staring at him. “What, don’t bats eat meat or something?” “She’s a Batpony, Card. Fruits and vegetables, duh.” Cheese responded. “Well jeez, mister batpony expert, So-ree.” Card snarked. “Alright that’s enough. Sundown, Hold your hunger until we get to our base. We should have enough to feed you, unless this was just a snack… Please may this have not been a snack.” He finished with a quiet prayer to Celestia and Luna to cut him some slack after what happened today. I spent the rest of the trip on the back of the Paladin, staring blindfolded at the (very worried and smelling of sweat) holder of deliciousness that was apples. I held two hooves up to my eyes, before pointing one of them at the Scribe of Apples, and he fainted on the spot. He later awoke right beside my blindfolded self, smiling open mouthed with my fangs out and he yelped in surprise and tried wiggling off of the paladin. After that it was mostly me just messing with whomever got within squeaking distance and asking if they had any apples, vocal range be damned. Sadly, they either slowed down enough to keep a distance from me or shook their head and trotted forward. Eventually we came to a halt and I heard the paladin receiving commands through the radio his helmet was muffling and I was set down, blindfold being taken off finally. After being momentarily blinded by the light, my eyes adjusted and we walked through some very heavy looking blast doors to an underground (Yay!) bunker. The flooring was lined with steel paneling and there were a few floor and ceiling turrets at the main entrance as our group packed tightly together as the doors shut closed with a loud KU-CHINK, like a massive deadbolt slamming it into place. Scribes and paladins began filing out of the room as soon as the door opened, going to wherever it is that Steel Rangers go to after a mission, as an older looking unicorn in a faded crimson robe came through the doorway to speak with Paladin Copper Wire, the three Initiates and myself. “Paladin Copper Wire, Initiates Cheese Wheel, Hat Trick and Card Swipe.” The rasping voice of whom I assume was ‘The Elder’ stated with a slight bow of the head. The four of them returned the bow with a salute, and parted to reveal me peeking over what used to be the back of the Paladin, but was now open air. I meeped and looked around for another hiding spot before I turned back and saw the Elder looking right at me, a foreleg’s distance from my face. “You must be the ‘target’ that survived the mission, I take it?” He asked in a monotone with more command and vigor than before. I looked at the Initiates and the paladin to save me, since I could only squeak, but they stood at attention. “Uh… Yes?” I skree’d at him as quietly as possible. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at me before calling Copper Wire over. “Is she incapable of speech?” he asked curtly. “In a way, Elder Rasa. She claims to be a ‘Batpony’, So her voca-“ Copper Wire managed before the elder silenced him with a raised hoof, and he fell back to his previous spot. The Elder stood for what seemed like hours, just staring at me while I started to sweat and gave a nervous smile at him before instantly regretting it. “Hmm… We will have to send her to Doctor Scour to confirm her story. I’m sure that there must be some record to compare pre-war batpony physiology with this… wastelander.” He rubbed a hoof on his bearded chin before declaring that I be sent to the prisoner cells and given a meal while Doctor Scour runs a physical on everypony that was on the mission before seeing me. I was going to complain about how small the cell was before I noticed a pyramid of apples sitting on a tray in the cell, and dove straight into it at the sight of them. Then I heard a loud series of Zaps as I learned the prison cell was a net of magic beams for a door. Who cares, I just got a whole fourteen apples!
