The Unraveled World

Chapters

Mind How You Go
Suicide Tree
Altius Volantius
Blood In The Clay
New Canterlot
The Pulled Thread
Where It Began
Thread Of The Soul

Mind How You Go

“He who is false to the present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and you will see the effect when the weaving of a life-time is unraveled.” William Ellery Channing

* * *

The zebra’s throat was as dry as a paper bag as he struggled to catch his breath in a dark corner of the long-abandoned shopping plaza. He huddled behind a dusty stack of shelves as his ears swiveled, trying to relocate his pursuer’s hoofsteps.

They were persistent bastards, Ekon thought. He quietly unscrewed the lid off of his canteen as he caught his breath. Nearly caught me in the sunken ruins of Palomino Ports, he thought while he drank. The farther I run, the faster they locate me, it seems.

There were lots of places to hide here, he knew, but the problem was they were tracking him in the middle of the day. All that daylight from the large, shattered windows made it easy for them to spot his movements. The summer heat was making him pant, but he learned to suppress that sound.

Ekon’s pointed ears stopped casting about as a distant thumping shook thin streaks of dust from the tiled ceiling. Two of the three hunters were above him. Where was the third? Still in the plaza’s food court? The restrooms? Ekon hated not knowing all the details. The last pony to get the big picture was usually the first to die. He figured that out in his first year in the wastelands.

Slipping his canteen back into his backpack, he frowned as he tried to formulate a plan to break out of the place without alerting anypony. They had short and long range guns, he knew. They also had body armor. Not so much that they couldn’t outrun him, however.

The plaza’s stores had been picked clean years ago, Ekon knew. That meant even the scavengers didn’t bother coming here anymore. Since this dilapidated building was near the edge of the recently formed crevasse, he thought it would be a good hiding spot for a long overdue rest.

Ekon’s searching party wouldn’t leave him be, however. The steps stopped right above him as they talked.

The zebra stood up slowly, his weary muscles grumbling at the strain. As he walked past an overturned shopping cart, his striped tail brushed against a drinking glass on a shelf. It slid off and broke with a teeth grinding crack.

The ponies above him suddenly went quiet. A moment later, they charged away from him. He followed the rapid thumping and realized that they were heading for the nearby stairs.

“Time to go,” whispered Ekon. Trying to navigate around the piles of garbage that five years of aggressive scavenging and vandalism produced, without making more noise, he slipped out of the store he was hiding in and ran down the newspaper covered hallway.

One of the ponies yelled, “He’s heading for the south exit!”

“Stop running, you little bastard!” yelled his partner.

They were getting closer. Ekon broke into a full gallop as he turned a corner. Past a few shattered display windows was the food court. Okay, he thought, I can do this. There’s an open door just past the tables. I just need to keep . . .

An arrow suddenly twanged into the wall in front of him. He skidded and stopped. That came from the window! Ekon took a moment to track the arrow’s trajectory and saw his third pursuer. The griffon was waiting for him on the parking lot’s roof. She was pulling another arrow from her quiver as she held up her crossbow. The problem with crossbows, he knew, was that it took at least a minute to reload. The shooter had to know that. So why did she bother to fire?

The clopping behind him was getting louder. Oh, that’s why. The arrow was only supposed to slow me up, not kill me. Maybe they just wanted to see me beg before they blew me away.

Running around the arrow, he heard, “Shoot him!”

The first deafening shot made his ears flatten. Ekon ducked instinctively as his escape route drew closer.

His right shoulder caught on fire as his ears began to ring from the second shot. The zebra screamed as he fell sideways.

“Don’t move!” bellowed one pony as they got closer. “Don’t you . . .AHHH!!”

Dizzy from exhaustion and from the blinding pain in his shoulder, he struggled to get upright, only dimly aware of the sudden thumping sounds and the screams. The copper scent of his blood filled his nostrils as Ekon shook his head, trying to regain focus.

A mare shouted in a cheerful high-pitched voice, “Hey, guys! You like guns? How do you like my party cannon?” A dull WHUMPH noise filled the air. “I’m having a blast, so why can’t you guys have two?” Another shot sounded behind him.

As the pain slowly ebbed away, Ekon’s mind raced. Was someone actually helping me? What in Equestria was that mare using? Every instinct he had told him to keep running, to not look behind him and get slowed down again. But he had to see.

It was a giant pink metal pony head. The head was topped with a large hairpiece, which looked like several magenta-colored marshmallows mashed together in a row, both ends curved into sharp spikes.

Under the head were three mechanical arms. One four jointed arm was outfitted with a comically huge red boxing glove. Another arm wielded a blue cannon. The third had a simple two fingered claw.

A silver jet engine under the arms kept the robot afloat like a bubble. He looked up past the smile-shaped grill and saw two large blue tinted camera eyes mounted on two-pointed stalks staring at him. This was the oddest looking robot he had ever seen. Why didn’t it have a monotone voice like other robots?

The two ponies in body armor were now plastered against the wall with large wads of multi-colored confetti. They thrashed and strained, but couldn’t budge.

“Hi, mister!”, the robot chirped. “Sorry we couldn’t get to you sooner, but I can’t fit through regular doors.”

“We? Who’s we?”

“We is me, silly!” The robot giggled as a third arm pointed its claw toward the griffon’s rooftop. “We is her, too!”

Ekon heard a startled squawk. A pegasus mare had flown down from the plaza’s roof and landed on top of the griffon. Since the zebra’s vision was blurring from blood loss, he wasn’t sure if he really saw the mare wield two crowbars as she bashed the Griffon so badly that feathers and blood flew up and around them. Did that mare really have black bat wings?

One pony yelled, “Gretchen! No!”

“Okay, guys,” said the robot, “It’s time for you to take a nap.” The ponies were both knocked out by two punches from the boxing glove.

After a few frantic moments of violence, the screeching from the griffon ended in a loud coughing gurgle. The pegasus stood up and turned towards the robot.

“It’s all right,” shouted the mare. “She’s dead! Is the zebra okay?”

“Uhm, nope. He got shot.” replied the robot. “And it looks like he’s gonna pass out.”

True to her word, that’s what Ekon did. He didn’t even feel his head hit the floor.

* * *

It felt like he had slept for two days when Ekon heard the robot say, “Hey, he’s awake. His pulse sounds pretty good, so I guess he didn’t lose too much blood.”

Ekon opened his eyes and saw two bright orange eyes staring back at him. “How are you feeling, pal?” asked the mare. She stepped back and smiled. “Glad we got to you in time. Those bandits almost blew you away.”

The zebra sat up from the sheet-covered mattress and looked at the pegasus.

The mare had a short-cropped black mane and dark brown fur. She was wearing a tight-fitting blue shirt with a yellow lightning bolt on the chest. The bat wings he saw earlier were folded over her true wings. A small backpack had a cord draped over the mare’s right shoulder. He blinked when he saw that her legs all ended halfway into what looked like thin aluminum crowbars, the tips pointing forward.

“You’re not dreaming,” the pegasus said. “I really have four metal legs. And bat wings.” She pulled at the cord with her teeth. With a twang, all four wings sprang out. He saw that the black wings were strapped to her natural wing’s carpal joints. When the cord was tugged again, the wings folded up just as quickly.

“The springs in my artificial wings help me glide without tiring my real wings. My metal leg implants are bolted to my forearms and cannons. Can’t have my legs popping off in combat, you know,” she said casually.

As Ekon sat up, he felt a sudden tight pain in his shoulder. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stare.” His ears flattened in cheek-burning embarrassment.

“Heh. You’re cute,” said the mare. “Don’t move around too much, okay? Those stitches need a chance to heal a bit before we go home. My name’s Spring Step. Nice to meet you.”

Spring Step held out a leg. Not wanting to look silly twice in one minute, he held out his right hoof and shook the metal hoof.

Wait, he thought, this mare beat a griffon to death with these legs. He put his hoof down and wiped it down on the bed sheet in what he hoped were subtle moves.

“Don’t worry, I washed it. It’s hard to stay as clean as I’d like in this place.”

Ekon looked around. They were in an apartment’s living room. Even with most of the furniture missing, it still looked fairly livable. There wasn’t a speck of dirt anywhere. Was that a scent of lemon air freshener? Since he was used to seeing a film of grime and rust everywhere he went, it felt strange to be in a place where you could lay your head down and not feel like you were wallowing in a dumpster.

He asked, “You people live here?”

“It’s our safe house,” the robot answered. “We have a few of these all over Equestria. This one’s a penthouse suite in the middle of the city.”

Ekon ignored his complaining muscles as he stepped out onto the patio. The sun was setting, it’s orange light making the nearby dust storm glow as it slipped past gutted warehouses. The mile-deep chasm was on his left, and the city park was on his right, so that meant he was on top of Clydesdale Towers.

“I tried to get into this place once, but three flights of stairs were smashed. I didn’t think anypony lived here.”

Spring Step chuckled. “That’s the whole idea, buddy. Say, what’s your name, anyway?”

“Ekon. Ekon Madaki.”

“I understand that zebra names have meanings to them, just like with ours.”

He blinked, not expecting to hear that. “Right. Ekon means strong.”

The robot floated over to him. “Name is destiny. Bed Spring here can hop higher than even I could. No wonder she was a Wonderbolts captain.”

“Speak for yourself, Tin Mare,” said Spring Step, smirking. “You’re lucky you didn’t get stuck with kitchen duty instead of this job. Lobbing pies don’t mean much in a firefight.”

“I prefer cupcakes, actually.”

Ekon tilted his head at the robot. “What do you mean, you prefer cupcakes? I thought you were a robot.”

“Yeah, a lot of folks think that. I have something to show you.” The back of the head popped loose, like a suitcase. “Try to not get too freaked out, okay?”

While the robot turned around, a round door hidden under the robot’s metal hairpiece hissed open. “Go ahead and grab an eye full. I won’t bite you. I don’t have very many teeth left.”

He cautiously peeked into the head. The pink pony was curled into a fetal position, facing away from him. Dozens of plastic tubes surrounded her like twigs in a bird’s nest. Some of those tubes were connected to plugs on her body. A steel helmet bristling with wires and blinking lights completely covered the head. A feeding tube was strapped onto her throat.

“W-what happened to you?”

Her shoulders shrugged as the door closed. “Sugar Cube Corner fell on me. It’s a good thing I was in Ponyville when the unraveling hit, otherwise I’d be a goner.”

“The unraveling?”

Spring Step said, “That’s what we Equestrians call the disaster. When the thread of magic that held the world together and gave us the two princesses unraveled and slipped away, everything went bad. Everypony’s cutie marks disappeared, too.“

“My real name was once Pinkie Pie, but when I got this body, I decided to use a new name for my new life. Nowadays, I call myself Pinksworth. Because I’m trying to prove my worth by helping people like you. Get it?”

Ekon nodded. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but did you choose this body on purpose?”

Pinksworth snickered. “Well, I drew up a lot of ideas for the eggheads at New Canterlot, but the only design they kept wanting to do was a four-footed pony-bot that looked like a creepy pizza parlor mascot.” She shivered, her arms rattling from the effort. “Forget that! I wanted something fun! That’s why I’m driving a giant pony head that has a cute boxing glove that knocks bad guys out, a party cannon that sticks them to the walls like SpiderMare’s webs and a cupcake dispenser claw for the nice ponies we find.”

Spring Step chimed in. “Pinks doesn’t have the stomach for my more . . . direct methods. However, Pinks can fly and is built like a tank, so she comes in handy in the field.”

Pinksworth’s camera eyes looked away from the Pegasus. “Well, I hover and can lift both of you guys up to this penthouse room, but I can’t glide around like you, Springy.”

Ekon snuck a glance at Spring Step’s legs, feeling as ashamed of the act as if he were gawking at her plot. “I had heard a lot of pegasi got injured when the magic went away.”

“Not just injured, Ekon. When the unraveling hit, Cloudsdale crashed into a valley. Did you know that most Pegasi used to spend seventy per cent of their lives in the air? That means that in one day, nearly two million of my kind died from falling a mile or more. Most of Cloudsdale’s residents perished in the crash.”

She sat in a chair, sighing. “I was on a patrol with my Wonderbolt team mates. I had just gotten a promotion to Captain and it felt so awesome to finally lead my guys anywhere I wanted. I decided to give Ponyville a thrill and make a fly-by over the town. We were probably a quarter-mile over the place when we all saw a bright flash of light. That’s when I felt a lot more gravity than usual.”

Spring Step’s ears flattened. Pinksworth hovered over to her and patted the pegasi’s back with the boxing glove. “At first, I thought I wasn’t flapping my wings hard enough, but then I heard my team screaming. I turned around and saw them flailing and panicking. None of us could fly anymore. I told everypony to stick their wings out straight and wide so that we could simply glide to safety. But it was like trying to fly a boulder. All I could do was watch my team smash into the landscape. I hit five trees before I landed.”

Pinkworth said, “That’s when the earthquake hit. It was the first one Equestria had in two thousand years, according to the eggheads. Earth pony magic wasn’t just for super strength and making plants grow, it turns out. It also kept the world’s surface quiet, too.”

“I was the only Wonderbolt to survive. The trees broke my fall, but they also destroyed three of my legs. Thankfully, the local hospital wasn’t trashed. That’s where Pinksworth and I met.”

Ekon asked, “I bet you two gave each other a lot of support, huh?”

Spring Step nodded. “Pinks resembled a wad of chewed bubble gum and I looked like a busted chair. When New Canterlot was getting built, some scientists offered us a chance to help rebuild Equestria. No way either of us could say no.”

He scratched his head. “Why did they take your last leg?”

“They didn’t. I gave it away.”

Ekon tilted his head at her. “Huh?”

Rubbing her temples, Spring Step grumbled, “Look, I hate odd numbers, all right? That’s just something my OCD does.”

“OCD?”

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Odd numbers drive me nuts as much as filth and a lack of discipline. That helped me to be a Wonderbolts captain, but it’s hard to keep it under wraps now that the world’s turned rotten.”

Ekon asked, “Didn’t you feel kind of dirty when you beat that griffon to death?”

Spring Step snorted in disgust. “I call that cleaning up the world. She tried to kill you, after all. Those bandits were probably going to murder you for your backpack. That makes them the filthiest people I know. The world is better off without them.”

He gulped. “So killing a killer doesn’t bother you?”

“People kill for all kinds of reasons, Ekon,” said the pegasus sternly. “If you don’t have a damn good reason for ending someone’s life, you are part of the problem. Street justice is messy, but it’s effective.”

“Uh . . . okay.”

“I didn’t just lose my Wonderbolts team, I lost the best friends I ever had at the time. Five years down the road and it still hits me in the heart as if it happened yesterday, because they would have done anything to help rebuild Equestria.”

Spring Step patted Pinkworth on the muzzle with a faint metallic clank. “Life only has value if you use it to help others. Bandits don’t value anypony’s life. Not mine. Not Pink’s. Not yours. That’s why I seldom think twice about bashing a bandit’s brains in. Sometimes I let them run off if I think I knocked some sense into them.”

“I see your point,” replied Ekon. I’m going to hear that brain-bashing line in my nightmares, he thought.

Pinksworth pointed her claw at Ekon and asked, “Well, you’ve heard our back stories. What about yours?”

He looked away, pawing at the bed sheets. “I . . . uh . . . don’t have much story to tell.”

“Can’t you tell us just a teensy bit?” implored Pinkworth. “A little story is better than nothing. I’ve had nothing. It’s boring.”

Spring Step smiled at Ekon’s confused look and shook her head. “Don’t engage her. Can you at least tell us what you were doing so far from civilization?”

“Well, I used to have a real job before the bad times. I was part of an archeological crew in a distant Equestrian mountain. The Canterlot Historical Society funded the job. My parents ran the dig site and my little brother Azi helped. It was tough and dirty work, but we found some pretty cool magical relics. Wizard staffs, a large hat with stars and bells, stuff like that. One day, we were all near the mouth of the cave when the unraveling hit us. We also saw a blinding flash.”

Ekon found himself slowly wrapping his front legs around his chest, as if to protect him from the dark, grinding memories.

“Next thing I know, the cave starts to collapse. My family and I ran as fast as we could through the falling rubble. I got out in time, but no one else did.”

Spring Step sighed in sympathy. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Were you able to get help?”

“Every town that might have been able to help me had either collapsed in landslides, swallowed by giant rifts or were underwater. I tried to get back to my country, but I was told by the border guards that it’s . . . mostly gone. Between the flooding and the volcano eruptions, I don’t think I’d recognize the place.”

“So there I was, the same as I am now. No family, no homeland and no prospects. For the past five years, I’ve been eking out a meager existence selling any kind of junk I can find to vendors. Sleeping with my back to the wall and trying to stay away from as many ponies as possible. You saw what those guys tried to do to me. So I hide and hope that the world gets better before somepony squeezes off a lucky shot and I die.”

Spring Step said, “Manehatten got flooded pretty badly, but it mostly functions. Why didn’t you try to find a home there?”

“I . . . uh . . . keep hearing that zebras don’t get much respect out there. A lot of ponies keep thinking we all speak in rhyme for some reason.”

“That’s silly!” said Pinksworth. “If zebras only spoke in rhyme, how would they sell oranges?”

He blinked. Then he started snickering. “Oh,brother. I’m beginning to see why you two get along so well. Pinkworth’s humor definitely comes in handy out here.”

“You gotta laugh to keep from screaming, that’s my motto,” replied Pinksworth.

Spring step yawned.”It’s been a long day, kiddo. I’m hitting the sheets and the iron pony’s got to recharge her batteries. I’m assuming you want to follow us back to New Canterlot? It’s a great place to start over.”

“Everypony’s welcome there!” said Pinksworth cheerfully. “No bigotry and no bandits. That stuff I sprayed those ponies with will break apart pretty soon, so you need us to watch your back on the trip anyway.”

Ekon took a deep breath and thought as carefully as he could. Five years of running and hiding. Those guys got too close to me today. Close enough to shoot me.

He looked at his rescuers. They don’t know everything. If we get out of town before we’re found, they won’t get a chance to know anything.

They’ll never know what I really did.

He nodded. “I’d like to actually live somewhere as a citizen and not just a scavenger. I hope travelling as three doesn’t aggravate your OCD too much.”

She smiled. “Nah, not really. I like you, Ekon. You’re shy and cute.”

You see only what I want you to see, Spring Step, Ekon thought. You’d hate the real me. Almost as much as I do.

* * *

The ponies that Pinksworth had immobilized had broken free of her bonds. Pulling the remaining colorful strands from his brown fur, Path Finder looked down at the pulped, bloodied remains of the griffon.

Sure Shot, a gray pony, had wrapped his hooves around the limp griffon’s body. He sobbed as he rocked her back and forth. “Oh, babe,” he whimpered. “ Sweet Celestia, I’m so sorry.”

Wiping his nose, he looked up at his partner. “If that stupid robot hadn’t interfered, I’d have shot that pegasus instead of the zebra. I swear, I feel like we got beaten up by a parade float.”

Path Finder stamped a hoof in frustration. “You shouldn’t have used a live round on Ekon in the first place! I told you to use either the tazer or the rubber riot bullets on his legs. I thought your name was Sure Shot, not Crap Shot!”

Sure Shot almost yelled at his partner. Suppressing the urge to scream in frustration from the death of his lover, he instead took a deep, calming breath. “You’re right, Path Finder. I guess chasing this slippery bastard for so long made me careless. Now he’s going to think we’re bounty killers, not bounty hunters.”

“We can’t afford to screw this up,” implored Path Finder. “Not with the bounty Azi’s offering us.” He rubbed his chin. “That robot seemed pretty sophisticated. There’s only one place I know where that kind of tech could come from.”

“Where?”

“New Canterlot. That’s where the all the best scientists have gone.”

Sure Shot groaned. “Great! If he reaches that walled city, We’ll never get him. Now that Ekon’s got protection and Gretchen’s dead, we need to get more muscle fast if we’re going to grab that zebra.”

“Don’t stress out. I know where we can get some serious muscle.”

“Great!” said Sure Shot. “Just let me have a crack at that psycho pegasus. I want her to suffer as bad as Gretchen did.”

As he collected the griffon’s weapons into his satchel, he said, “I want her to suffer for days.”

Path Finder smiled as he watched his friend seethe with anger. Sure Shot had been getting careless lately. The live round he had fired at Ekon was from a clip he had used to kill a bandit that attacked them yesterday. When Gretchen told them that she had spotted the zebra, Sure Shot should have changed to non-lethal ammo. Sloppy. Almost unforgivable.

Path Finder was willing to forgive his friend for this. But the wastelands had no room for luxuries such as forgiveness. In the past five years since the unraveling, they had both had to kill ponies.

Even when the ponies tried to crawl away, even if they begged for their lives, they had to die. When his partner hesitated to kill them, he stepped up to finish the job. Some would say that was cold hearted.

But the world didn’t allow anything but a cold heart. Maybe now that Sure Shot had lost his lover, he would soon be as merciless as his fellow bounty hunter.

Path Finder felt a warm surge of optimism about that distinct possibility.

Where there’s life, there’s hope.

Suicide Tree

After breakfast, which was heated by Pinksworth’s jet exhaust, Spring Step examined Ekon’s shoulder. Placing a fresh bandage over the wound, she said, “You’re healing well enough. Once Pinks comes back from recon, we’ll take off for New Canterlot.”

Ekon would have chewed off his own tail in order to stay in the safest apartment he had ever lived in. Begging with the likes of Spring Step, he knew, would be an exercise in futility.

The old mantra of hard-earned lessons played in his mind, however. Safety and security are delusions. A locked door can be kicked down. If something stays lost long enough, it will eventually get found.

That last lesson was also’s Dad’s mantra about the joys of archeology. Finding lost things, especially the things that would result in a employer’s bonus, were always welcome events.

After all, Ekon thought with a frown, those bounty killers got close enough to shoot me after five years of hiding and running. My days of being lost to them were over.

Another lesson slipped in unbidden. Friends are hard to find. Up until now, he was afraid to make friends with anypony.

After all, no civilization means ponies go hungry. Hungry ponies get greedy. Greed can trump trust and friendship. When your belly tells you how to run your entire life, nothing else matters.

In his delicate situation, Ekon knew for years that having friends in a world where ponies can get murdered for a can of beans might not be the best idea. Besides, the more people knew him, the more people might give those bounty killers a lead on him. It was better to be alone.

But it never felt very good to be alone. Zebras were social animals as much as ponies. Ekon had to go against his own crowd-loving nature in order to survive. But it never felt like he could ever thrive, could ever be more than a target on the run.

Pinkworth floated onto the balcony and into the living room. “It’s all clear!” she said cheerfully. “No eyes anywhere. We can take off now.”

Ekon smiled at her. The smile came easily to him, as he genuinely felt happy to see another person, even if she were locked up in a giant robot pony head. Even Spring Step, a pegasus with artificial wings and four metal legs that she used as lethal weapons, was a welcome addition to his life.

Something’s better than nothing, Pinkworth said last night. How true.

Spring trotted past Pinkie and hopped onto the balcony railing. “I’ll see you on the ground, Pinks.” Her artificial wings sprang out and she jumped into the sky. She pinwheeled around a few times and soon flew out of sight.

Pinksworth said, “Okay, Ekon. Do you want a ride on my head or get carried in one of my arms?”

“What?”

“You can hold onto my hair-curls if you don’t want to risk getting your tail burnt by my exhaust.”

“How did I get up here while I was knocked out?”

“You were placed on top of me and my friend laid on top of you. Then her legs wrapped around my front and rear curls. This kept you from slipping off me. If you were awake, you’d think you were on a threesome date. Or at least the cute meat in a pony sandwich. Aww, are you blushing?”

“Er . . . no,” Ekon muttered while taking a sudden interest in the floor.

“Darn! I’ll have to try harder. Tell you what. Why don’t you hold onto my party cannon?”

He climbed onto the cannon and hung on as tight as he could.

“Ready, Ekon? Here we gooo!”

Ekon tried to close his eyes, but one part of his brain, the part that wasn’t worried about falling to a messy death, wanted to see the decayed city from Spring Step’s point of view. He had heard of pegasi giving earth ponies rides like this, but he never knew any pegasi well enough to ask them for that kind of favor.

Even though he was gritting his teeth in fear, his huge smile came from the bright joy of flight. In Pinksworth’s case it was less like flying and more like a controlled fall, but Ekon enjoyed himself in spite of his involuntary whimpering.

No wonder Spring Step got artificial wings, he thought. At least that way she could glide.

She could leave the world behind, he thought with a twinge of envy. Until it caught up with her, at least. The world caught to everypony eventually.

After about a minute, they landed next to Spring Step. His legs were shaking as he stumbled onto the ground. He didn’t realize until a moment later that his heart was hammering from the excitement.

“I can tell you had fun,” remarked the pegasus.

Pinksworth slapped her boxing glove on the cracked sidewalk. “Darn! I forgot to do a barrel-roll! I can do more than just float around, you know.”

“It’s just as well,” replied Spring Step. “We’re trying to make a good impression on our friend here, not scare him half to death.”

“I got enough of that from those bandits,” Ekon said. He looked around at the surrounding gutted buildings, at all the places where his hunters could be watching him. Watching and waiting.

Spring Step patted him on the back. “Don’t worry. The Iron Mare has great hearing. If there were any bad guys out there, she would have heard them by now.”

“All I can hear now are buildings sliding into the chasm,” informed Pinksworth. “ Let’s hoof it, folks. We’re off to see the lizard.” She started bobbing her head back and forth, humming a cheerful tune that Ekon didn’t recognize.

“What do you mean? I thought we were going to New Canterlot, not the dragon empire.”

“She means Spike. He’s . . . an unusual dragon.”

“What makes him special?” asked Ekon.

“I know this sounds kind of nuts, but he’s from an alternate timeline. He came from an Equestria that never had its magic taken away and never lost Celestia or Luna.”

“How do you guys know he’s not a con artist?”

“He knows a lot of stuff that only high-ranking officials knew. Like where Celestia’s private library is.”

Pinksworth chimed in. “He knew my real name and the names of everypony in my family. No one in Ponyville knew that. That’s enough to convince me.”

Ekon asked, “Is he your boss?”

Spring Step shook her head. “He’s only about fifteen years old, so no. He’s more like an advisor. You’ll find out everything when we introduce you to him.”

Ekon followed Spring Step as they walked down the empty freeway. The further they got from the city, the calmer Ekon felt.

A few miles later, they walked past dusty fields of decayed corn and rotted trees. Row after row of failed crops were all that they saw for the next hour.

Ekon was so used to seeing bare branched trees that he had to stop when he saw a tree in the distance holding some kind of fruit.

He pointed at the tree and said, “Is that an apple tree?”

Spring Step frowned as she prodded him to keep moving. “There’s nothing there you want to pick.”

“What do you mean?”

“With no earth pony magic to help make plants grow, it takes over a year to grow any kind of food,” said Spring Step. “This farm once belonged to the Apple family. When the unraveling hit, their vast crops died. They took it as a sign that the world would soon end. A suicide pact put them in that tree. The father left behind a note.”

“The world never really ends, Ekon,” Pinksworth said. “But sometimes it makes you wish it did.”

The pegasus said, “That’s not the only suicide tree we found, either. Lots of ponies either became bandits or did themselves in. Either way, it’s a waste.”

“That’s why we try to take good folks away from all of this,” added Pinksworth. “We’ve lost way too many people as it is when the cities got destroyed.”

Ekon shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why don’t you bury them?”

“We don’t have the time to bury every dead body we see, kiddo,” replied Spring Step. “Better to spend our time helping the living.”

As they went over a hill, Ekon snuck a look at the suicide tree. Something swayed in the lower branches.

They were leg bones. Small filly leg bones that dangled like flowers in the dusty, silent breeze.

Ekon’s back wrinkled as he shuddered.

* * *

After an hour of walking past a few more farmlands, they found an empty farmhouse. Spring Step held up a hoof and said, “Okay, let’s break for lunch. Ekon, stay here with me. Pinks, check out the house.”

Pinksworth saluted her with the boxing glove and chirped, “Roger! Back in a bit!”

As she floated towards the house, Ekon asked, “Do you always send her ahead as a scout?”

“Why not? I’ve seen her take rifle damage that would have killed a Clydesdale. Tazers don’t do much except make her giggle. Maybe a big enough explosive would kill her, but most bandits don’t have the kinds of weapons or armor that your pursuers did.”

Spring Step looked over Ekon. “Now that I’ve had to think about it, I’m a little surprised that they used military tactics to hunt you down. I checked out the combat area while you were out. That sniper I killed deliberately missed you with that arrow. It seemed to me that were trying to capture you alive. No offense, but you don’t look like a treasure trove. That backpack of yours probably only has camping gear, right?”

Ekon’s ears curved back. Crud, she’s pretty observant, he thought. “I . . . uh . . . I guess they were slave traffickers?”

She rubbed her chin, pondering what he said. “If they wanted you as a slave, why would they risk killing you with live rounds?”

“W-well, you said it yourself. Bandits don’t value anypony’s life. If they killed me, that’s no big loss to them. Right?”

“Sure,” she replied, as she stared at him. For several moments.

Finally, much to his relief, she turned away to see Pinksworth come towards them.

“It’s all clear! Let’s eat!”

Ekon asked, “How are you getting into the house? Aren’t you too big for the front door?”

Pinksworth held up her party cannon. “Oh, I can make my own doors.”

True to her word, when she reached the porch, she raised her cannon and smashed open the door. She effortlessly knocked the surrounding frame and panels until she could float inside.

The farmhouse kitchen still had a sink and stove. Pinksworth used her claw arm to pull the stove’s plug out. A tiny outlet door near her exhaust popped open. When she plugged the stove’s plug into the outlet, she said, “Okay, guys, let’s boil that water and get rid of those nasty germs.”

Snickering at Ekon’s gap-jawed amazement, Spring Step said dryly, “Full of surprises, isn’t she?”

After everyone’s canteens were filled with freshly boiled water, they settled down to lunch.

Spring Step chowed down on a vacuum packed hay-burger. Ekon was amazed at how nimbly she was able to handle her meal with metal limbs. She needed her military-grade discipline to gain that kind of control over soft foods.

Pinksworth was pouring boiled water into a bowl of white powder that she procured from a hidden compartment. After mixing the components, she poured what appeared to be white applesauce into her smiling mouth grill.

Ekon asked, “What are you eating?”

“Well, today’s special is apple fritter surprise. The surprise is that it actually tastes like apples and not library paste like the first batch the eggheads made for me.”

Spring Step chuckled. “Oh, wow. I remember that. You made this horrible ‘bleeekk’ sound when you tried to eat that cruddy glop! They thought that your voice-box fritzed out!”

Pinksworth bonked her party cannon on the floor as she giggled. “Yeah! One of the scientist ponies said, ‘Help her! She’s choking!’. And I said, ‘No, I’m not! I just can’t eat school supplies! If you want to feed me, hire a chef!’”

“I was laughing so hard when you said that, I fell out of the bed. I didn’t have my legs yet, so I just kept writhing around on the floor, wiggling my stumps!”

“They had me on a bed-hammock, so all I could do was make a toothless grin and hawk up a white loogy on the floor. You looked like a newborn foal, rolling on your back and laughing. I do love to make ponies smile. No matter where I am.”

Their laughter was contagious, as laughter so often is. He couldn’t help but chuckle at their levity, yet be amazed at it. Ekon was never able to laugh at his own pain, could never find humor in what he had done to his family. He looked at the pegasus’s metal legs and then recalled what Pinkie’s real body looked like. How could anypony laugh with bodies that were this crippled?

That’s when it finally hit him. A moment of clarity about those he walked with. They both had a bond born not from mere suffering, but from endurance of that suffering. Sharing a laugh together was a survival trait for them. No wonder they got along so well.

In spite of their myriad differences, they were very much alike. They were both wounded survivors, having a laugh in the middle of a desolate wasteland.

Ekon envied their joy, their ability to endure so much hardship.

After Pinksworth caught her breath after her giggle-fit, her camera eyes looked out the kitchen windows. “I think we’d better stick around here for a while, Springy. There’s a dust storm coming in.”

“You’d think that not having any more farmers in this part of the world would reduce those storms.”

Ekon inquired, “What do you mean?”

“A lot of farmers tried to compensate for the lack of produce by expanding their crop fields as far as they could go. More tilling of barren fields meant more dust getting kicked into the atmosphere. The harder the farmers tried to get their livelihoods back, the more Equestria denied them that goal. This world does what it wants, Ekon, magic or no magic. We’re all just along for the ride.”

He snorted. “At the mercy of a place with no mercy to give.”

“Sheesh, listen to mister gloomy,” commented Pinksworth. “Only people can give mercy, silly. Places don’t do that. They never have.”

The pegasus yawned. “Listen, Ekon. These storms last a while. Pinks will stand guard while I catch a few winks. Why don’t you do the same, eh?”

Normally Ekon would hide in a closet and barricade the door before daring to take even a short nap. For now, however, he simply laid down in a corner of the kitchen and used his backpack as a pillow.

A few minutes later, he was dangling from the suicide tree. Something bumped into his left side. Ekon turned his head, the noose digging into his throat. There were his mother and father, swaying in the sunshine.

“Welcome home, dear brother,” said a voice on his right.

Ekon struggled to look to his right. Why weren’t his legs working? Why were they simply dangling like that filly’s legs?

It was Azi. Ekon’s little brother. He was sitting on a tree branch, swinging a noose in one hoof. “It’s good to have you back. I knew my guys would drag you back to me eventually. You can’t just run from your past, you know.”

“I shouldn’t be here. Cut me loose!” cried Ekon as he tried to shake his head free from his noose.

Azi sighed. “Do you remember what I told you before you ran off?”

He stopped struggling. “You said ‘you had better keep running, Ekon. I’ll find you and bring you back here. You’re going to get what you deserve’.”

Ekon’s brother patted him on the head. “And this is what you get for your cowardice. Mom and Dad would still be alive if you had just helped us escape that damned cave-in.”

“Please set me free, Azi. I’m sorry.”

He chuckled. “Not as sorry as you’re going to be. Hanging’s too good for you. Not even your weird new friends can stop me from getting what I want.”

Azi hopped off the tree branch and wrapped his legs around Ekon’s waist, straining his neck to the breaking point. “Soon you will suffer as our parents suffered. It took hours for them to die from their injuries. Hours, dear brother.”

“Azi!” he gasped. “I can’t breath!”

His brother had a faraway look in his eyes as he rubbed his chin. “That’s what Mom said. Dad could only scream.”

Ekon couldn’t talk anymore. He couldn’t even breath, only struggle as he felt his neck snap and his lungs collapse and his eyes close as his brother held him tighter and tighter and . . .

“EKON! WAKE UP!” cried Spring Step.

He sat up, gasping and coughing. His neck was sore as he rubbed it.

Pinksworth asked, “Is he okay? Why was he choking?”

“He must have slipped his head under one of his back-pack’s straps. It was pulling on his neck while he slept. Can you breathe now, kiddo?”

It hurt a little to swallow, but he nodded. He reached for his canteen and slowly drank. “I’m all right. Thanks.”

“I’ve had some nasty dreams, too,” said Pinksworth. “Usually about being trapped in a giant cupcake. Good thing I can eat my way out every time.”

Spring Step ignored her and asked, “Do you dream about your brother that often?”

Ekon spluttered water back into his canteen. He stared at her as he asked, “What?”

“You talk in your sleep. You said ‘Please set me free, Azi. I’m sorry’.”

Ekon groaned, set his canteen down and began to rub his temples.

“I sometimes dream about my team mates. We’ve all lost someone we love, Ekon.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to blot out the sight of his brother. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Spring Step got up and took a step back. “Sure. I understand. The storm’s gotten worse, so we might as well get some more rest.”

“I have an idea, Ekon,” Pinksworth said. “Maybe before you sleep, you should think of the good times you had with your family. That works for me.”

He looked at her and forced himself to politely smile. She has no idea how rotten I feel about my past. No one does.

Ekon pushed aside his backpack, not wanting to risk throttling himself again. Instead, he simply laid on the floor and tried to think of happier times. Discovering the vault of magic items with his father. Exploring the caves that seemed to reach all the way to the center of the world.

Fifteen years ago, when Azi was still in grade school, Ekon had gotten him two Junior Archeologist dinosaur bone kits. Plastic skeletons hidden inside hard clay tablets. An enclosed set of excavation tools were included with each kit.

“Why did you get me two of them?” Azi asked.

Ekon tousled his brother’s mane. “Dad says that if you really want to join him and I in our line of work, you have to learn how to do what we do.”

Azi beamed at him and said “Find lost things. Find history. That’s what Mom and Dad are always telling me.”

“It’s good to know the job’s goal, but even better if you know how to reach it. Work on one kit first and let me know when every bone is uncovered.”

Azi grabbed both kits and ran off to his room, shouting “Okay! I’m on it!”

A day later, Azi nudged his brother and said, “I’m done! Come see how I did.”

Ekon was surprised that his little brother had finished what was supposed to be a two day job at the least, but he looked forward to seeing the fruit of his brother’s labors.

Half the bones were snapped. The skull had deep grooves cut into it. The clay was reduced to dust. Ekon scratched his head. How did this big a mess appear so quickly?

A glint of steel caught Ekon’s attention. It was one of Dad’s larger rock hammers. It was covered in clay dust. The pick in the back of the hammer matched the skull’s grooves.

Azi was sitting in the middle of the blast radius, waiting for Ekon’s assessment. His ears drooped when Ekon shook his head and held up the hammer. “Did you use only this hammer to break open the clay?”

“Uhm . . . well, yeah.” Azi looked at his hooves. “I started to chip off a little of the clay at a time, but . . .”

“But you got ants in your tail and you wanted to speed up the unearthing of the bones. Right?”

Pawing at the floor, Azi begged in a meek voice, “Please don’t be angry, Ekon. I just want to be like you. That’s all.”

Ekon sighed, put down the hammer and sat next to his brother. Wrapping a hoof over his shoulders, Ekon said, “I’m not mad at you. I just wish that you would learn to slow down. Patience is an archaeologist’s best asset when there are fragile treasures to be found. These bones are cracked because you were just too anxious to see them.”

“I’m sorry I ruined your present.”

Ekon hugged his little brother. “Oh, that’s all right. That’s why I bought you two of them. The second kit’s a do-over.”

Azi’s ears flipped up as he turned to stare at Ekon. “Huh? You’re not mad?”

“Not for tearing up the first kit. The second one is your chance to get the skeleton out right this time.”

“I’ll do better, I promise!”

“That’s the spirit. Know your goal and gain the patience to reach it.” Ekon got up and picked up the steel hammer. “For now, don’t use Dad’s equipment, okay? Use the tools in the kit this time.”

Three days later, Azi nudged Ekon and said, “I got it done right this time, Ekon!”

“Okay. Let’s go take a look.”

The bones were fully intact and assembled. No nicks, holes or grooves could be seen in the plastic.

“Now that’s how it’s done,” declared Ekon. “Keep this up and soon everybody in the family will be at Dad’s work sites.”

They both smiled at each other. That was a bright and hopeful time, watching Azi grow. He was full of energy and promise then.

Pinksworth’s advice helped. While Ekon slipped away into a quiet slumber, he didn’t even see the suicide tree this time.

He did, however, hear his brother whisper something.

Soon you will suffer as our parents suffered.

* * *

Sure Shot and Path Finder were in a remote camp of bandits. Bandits and bounty hunters shared a brother’s bond founded on the most nobel of pursuits; making money. This bond was made even more solid by the thick clunk of gold bars hitting the floor of the leader’s tent.

Steel Jacket, a massive orange clydesdale, grinned a gap-toothed grin at his biggest payday of the year. “Well, will yew look at that? That there’s your ticket to getting’ that dang zebra straight inta yer lovin’ arms!”

Sure Shot asked, “How? Ekon’s got at least a day’s lead on us.”

“Don’t worry,” assured Path Finder. “Word in the wasteland is that you tamed a creature that’s got a sense of smell that’s second to none, right?”

“Tha’s right. But yew need to provide more’n gold. Got anythin’ with that zebra’s scent on it?”

“When Crap Shoot here fired the wrong damn ammo, he made Ekon bleed. I wiped up as much blood as I could.” He dug into his pockets and pulled out a bloody rag. “Is this enough to get a scent?”

Steel Jacket took the rag and nodded. “Yep! Lemme show you mah pride and joy. And source of income.”

The bounty hunters followed the clydesdale out of the tent. When they got to a large holding pen, the ponies both flinched when they heard a loud roar.

“Haw! Don’t pay ‘im no mind!” Steel Jacket laughed. “He’s jest happy to see me! Ain’t that right, Bullet?”

Path Finder scratched his head. “Why is his name Bullet?”

“Cuz this boy can find anypony, or zebra, in the first shot. Point ‘im in the right direction an’ he’ll go straight to the target,” said the clydesdale as he opened the gate to the pen.

In a blur, the manticore leapt out of its pen and landed with a jarring thud in front of the ponies. White horns and pointed ears capped the beasts’s red mane. The lion’s blond body was lean and muscular. Brown bat wings flapped anxiously. It’s large red scorpion tail curled and uncurled. The stinger on the end was as long and thick as a harpoon.

“Ain’t he a beaut? That stinger’s got enough toxin in it to kill anypony dead in two blinks of an eye. Ah trained him to run for hours, so we should have no problem getting’ to yer buddy real quick.”

Path Finder asked, “We?”

Steel Jacket grinned. “Shit, yeah, ‘we’! What? Yer thinkin’ Ah’ll let my best tracker just run off with yew guys? This ain’t a cart yer rentin’. We’re a package deal. Once yew boys nab your zebra, Ah’m takin’ Bullet home. Y’got a problem with that?”

“No, sir,” replied Path Finder.

“Good. Ah gotta feed ‘im first before we take off. Gimme five minutes.”

Sure Shot said, “That’s fine. I have to talk to my partner anyway.” Jerking his head away from the pen at Path Finder, he walked out of earshot.

“What’s up?”

“What the fuck? ‘Crap Shoot’? You humiliated me! When are you going to let my mistake go?”

“When Ekon’s delivered alive to Aki, that’s when.” Path Finder pointed a hoof at him. “I don’t let anypony or anything get in the way of our goal. Don’t fuck this up for us.”

“You used to be a lot cooler with my mistakes in the past. You’ve gotten mean, Path Finder.”

Path Finder looked at his friend with eyes as expressionless as a toad’s. “Ever since the world went under, I’ve had to kill ponies. In the past five years, I’ve learned that you have to be harder than the world in order to survive.” He leaned closer. “How hard are you, buddy?”

He turned away from Sure Shot and walked away.

“You’re not my buddy,” whispered Sure Shot. “I don’t know what you are anymore.”

Altius Volantius

After a few fitful hours of half-sleep, Ekon awoke when Pinksworth announced, “Okay, guys! The storm’s over!”

Spring Step asked, “Is your throat okay?”

“It’s a little sore, but I’m all right.”

“We’ll have the nurses look you over once we get to New Canterlot. It’s been five years since you’ve had a proper check-up, after all,” she said, smiling.

Ekon couldn’t recall the last time he had a proper bath, much less a good brushing of his teeth.

“How much further do we have to walk?” he asked.

Pinksworth replied, “Oh, another day or so. If we take off now, we can make the next safe house by nightfall.”

They left the farmlands behind. An hour later, they stopped in front of a billboard that said “Flim and Flam’s Apple Tonic! For a thirsty Equestria!” Over the slogan, someone painted, in bright red paint, “Celestia and Luna are not dead! They are merely unemployed!”

Pinksworth commented, “I like the Alicorn slogan better. Besides, that Apple Tonic tastes like wood varnish.”

“It probably is just varnish,” Spring Step replied wryly. “Those are two ponies I’d like to bash flat.”

Ekon said, “I had heard that the Alicorn princesses disappeared when the unraveling hit. Is anypony looking for them? It seems to me that they’d be easy to spot.”

As they walked past the billboard, the pegasus said, “When the earthquake devastated Ponyville, it also split the mountain that housed Canterlot, where the Alicorn’s castle is. When the castle and city hit the ground, most everypony there died almost instantly.”

Pinksworth added, “But no pony ever found Celestia’s or Luna’s bodies, thank goodness.”

“Since those two are goddesses, that doesn’t surprise me,” said Ekon. “After all, the sun and the moon are still rising on time, right?”

Spring Step snorted in frustration. “I’d gladly have a hundred days of night if it meant having even Princess Luna in charge of Equestria. They weren’t just deities, Ekon. They were rulers. Dispensers of justice. When they disappeared, it left behind a huge vacuum of political power.”

“So who’s in charge of Equestria?”

“Since the royal family got killed when Canterlot fell, what remained of the government decided to have the most experienced businessman they could find to run the show for the time being. Filthy Rich is his name, but he prefers to be called just Rich.”

Ekon struggled to wrap his head around this news. “So no one’s trying to find these goddesses?”

Pinksworth made a phfft noise and replied, “Of course they are, silly. I have a feeling they’ll come back when they can.”

Spring Step moaned. “Hope springs eternal for the silliest amongst us. Pinks, we’ve gone over this. If they really loved us ponies as much as they say they have, why would they let the world turn to crap like this? Why let millions of ponies die?”

“Maybe they had no choice but to leave, Springy. Maybe if we can fix this world as much as we can, that might inspire them to come back sooner.”

The pegasus flicked her wings and stamped her legs in frustration. “Really? How is that supposed to work?”

Pinksworth gave a three-shoulder shrug. “I dunno. How did pegasus magic work? I mean, look at your size of your wings and your head. Even when you were flying around at a hundred miles an hour, how did you keep from tumbling forward because of your big noggin?”

“Because magic,” asserted Spring Step. “It doesn’t need explaining. And you shouldn’t give me a line of smack about huge heads, Pinks.”

Ekon said, “Maybe it does. If we don’t fully understand magic, how will we ever know how to get it back?”

“Good question,” said Pinksworth. “I wish I could give a good answer. All I can say is you gotta have faith.”

“Pssh! Faith is a crappy substitute for brains, Pinks.” Spring Step nudged Ekon’s left shoulder. “I love her, but she’s got rose-tinted lenses on.”

Pinksworth nudged Ekon’s right shoulder. “I love her, but she’s got welding goggles on. She keeps seeing the worst in people. You’re lucky she likes you.”

“I’ve seen what she does to people that get on her bad side.”

“In a better world, I wouldn’t have to act like Judge Spring Step. The unraveling killed most of our military and police ponies. There aren’t too many prisons in the wasteland, so the rules about self-defense and arresting ponies have loosened up a lot.”

“That’s true,” replied Pinksworth. “There are a bunch more bounty hunters lately.”

Ekon felt a sliver of sweat trickle down his cheek. Please don’t ask about the ponies chasing me. Please oh please.

“Pinks and I are the closest thing to a police force out here. Not only do we help find wayward folks like you a home, but we also fight bandits and report on what’s going on out here. Pinks razzes my OCD, but I use my obsessions and compulsions to bring as much order to the world as possible.”

Pinksworth whistled. “There’s a hole with no bottom.”

Spring Step stuck her tongue out at her friend. “And you call me a cynic.” She stopped and held a leg over her eyes for shade. “Ah! There’s our next stop.”

She pointed at a monument on a distant hill. It looked like a white concrete flower.

Ekon said, “What is that?”

“It’s where I pay my respects when I’m in the area,” Spring Step replied as she broke into a trot. “Come on. This won’t take long.”

It was a grand sculpture of white polished marble. Fifteen feet high and twenty feet wide, it was carved to look like spread pegasus wings. On the tips of the eight large feathers were flying pegasi, which were also white marble. Between the huge wings was a silver disk with the words “Altius Volantis – Soaring Higher” engraved in the center.

There were dozens of flower wreaths and melted candles placed around the memorial. Family photos and even small statues of pegasi stood alongside them. A few of the flowers were fresh.

Spring Step sat and quietly read the gold plaque that rested at the foot of the monument. It read:

This monument is to honor those many brave pegasi colts and mares that died tragically when

the great city of Cloudsdale fell to Equestria. It is also made to commemorate those pegasi who

perished when Equestria’s magic had failed them. Nopony who is loved is ever truly forgotten.

Their immortal souls will soar higher than their mortal bodies ever could. May they always find

the wind under their wings. May the sun keep them warm. May they find eternal peace.

Spring Step sat in front of the plaque and read the words in a reverent whisper. She then closed her eyes and lowered her head. A moment later, she sniffed as tears dripped from her muzzle.

Ekon took a step towards her, but Pinksworth put her glove on his back and whispered, “Let her do this alone. Her parents lived in Cloudsdale. So did a lot of her team mates.”

He looked past the monument and into the valley beyond. The shattered remains of Cloudsdale were strewn across a mile of devastated forest. Enormous white pillars and shattered domes of steel and glass were engulfed in vines and trees. In a few more years, the city would be completely buried in the foliage.

In the five years of hiding from his would-be captors, Ekon had seen few memorials like this one. He assumed the people of New Canterlot put the sculpture here to honor the dead. Ekon had seen plenty of dead ponies in every state of decay, had walked past countless commemorative gatherings of flowers, photos and the like.

In a short while, the flowers would eventually decay into dust and the photos would fade into blank paper, leaving nothing for anyone to remember the fallen with. After a brief period of grieving, it was as if the dead had never existed.

This beautiful sculpture that Spring Step wept at, however, would outlast every living pony. The living would make sure of that.

A few minutes later, she stood up, wiped the tears away and said, in a shaky voice, “Well, I’ve said my goodbyes. Let’s go.”

Ekon asked, “How often do you come here?”

“Once a month, give or take a few weeks. It’s how I honor the memories of my parents. They meant the world to me.” Spring Step looked at him and said somberly, “Memories are the only things we own, Ekon. Never forget your past.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “Believe me, my past is never far from me.”

* * *

The sunset was a vivid red, which made the clay lake bed glow like a banked coal. The massive yacht tilted to one side, but the cracked clay held the boat firm as Ekon and Spring Step climbed aboard.

Spring Step had to check the place for squatters because Pinksworth was too big to fit anywhere but the dining room.

Ekon pointed at the thumping sounds Spring Step made and asked, “What if she gets in a jam and you can’t help her? Could you break through the wall?”

“I can tear through almost any wall that’s weaker than oak. My cannon’s pretty heavy, so I could it as a battering ram if I had to. Maybe if we keep traveling three, you can watch her back.”

He whirled around to face her, eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been on your own for five years, right? Gonna tell me you’ve never been in a fight?”

“No. Never. I have a knife, but I’ve never used it for defense, just for jimmying doors open.”

“Wow, I’ve been in a bunch of fights. Almost a lost a few, too.”

“How do you get used to fighting? I don’t know if I can do the things Spring Step has done.”

“Well, she was a Wonderbolts captain. The Wonderbolts are like an airborn version of the Royal Guard. Both of those armed forces are trained to protect Equestria, no matter how screwed up it gets.”

“That’s where she learned to fight the way she does?”

“Her whole family was in the Wonderbolts, so I’m guessing she was trained how to kick flank as soon as her skull hardened. She’s a great fighter, but she also knows what she’s fighting for. She knows her goal. In our line of work, we often have to fight to reach that goal.”

“Even if it means killing ponies?”

Pinksworth’s eyes drooped on their stalks a bit. “Yeah. Even that. It took a long time for me to accept that. I’d rather just immobilize ponies myself.”

Spring Step popped her head out of a nearby doorway. “Yeah, that won’t bite you in the butt someday. The boat’s clear. I call dibs on the couple’s suite. Ekon can sleep in the guest room.”

Pinksworth shook her head. “A single mare sleeping in a couple’s bed? That’s weird.”

“And comfy. You know what to do, Pinks.”

She waved her boxing glove at Spring Step as she floated out onto the ship’s deck. “Yeah, yeah. Keep watch while you snooze. I got . . . uh-oh!”

Ekon asked, “What’s wrong?”

Pinksworth’s eyes bugged out as her lenses focused towards a distant dust trail. “I see four bogies inbound! Two of them . . . wait a minute!”

Spring Step ran out onto the deck, peering at the distance. “Spill it, Pinks! What’s wrong?”

“Two of them are those ponies we left behind in the city!” Pinksworth turned towards Ekon. “Did you steal some pirate gold coins or something?”

“No! M-maybe they want to get even with Spring Step for killing that griffon?”

Spring Step scowled. Then she nodded. “Yeah. Maybe that’s it.”

Pinksworth said, “Well, they’re cheesed off enough to bring along a clydesdale and . . . oh, please say you’re kidding!”

Ekon cried, “What? What do you see?”

“One of Ekon’s buddies is riding a manticore.”

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Haven’t seen one of those bastards in years. Their tail stinger toxin can kill anypony in under a minute.”

“Ekon?” said Pinksworth. “You might want to sit this one out. You’ll need more than a door-opening knife for this fight.”

Spring Step stretched her legs and arched her back as she loosened up for battle. “All things considered, Iron Mare? I’d rather be flying.”

Blood In The Clay

Path Finder held on to the manticore’s mane for dear life as it led his fellow bounty hunters towards their target.

He asked the clydesdale, “Hey, Steel Jacket? Are you sure he’s got a good fix on Ekon? We only got a little bit of blood from his gunshot wound for this beast to smell.”

Steel Jacket laughed. “Yew ain’t got no faith in my boy there, I swear. Bullet could track a blood-scent all the way to Tartarus if’n he had to.”

Sure Shot said, “As long he knows to not kill Ekon. You two just need to take out that stupid pink robot. That pegasus with the metal legs is mine to kill, got it?”

When they were a half-mile from the boat, Spring Step pointed at Ekon and said, “Get below decks. If you can find something to defend yourself with, grab it. Don’t leave the boat until I say so.”

When he went down the stairs and was out of earshot, Spring Step asked Pinksworth, “It’s not just me they’re after, is it?”

“Well, maybe they really want revenge. Ekon’s got a lot of baggage he’s not willing to let go of. He’s not telling us any more than he wants, that’s for sure.”

“I have a feeling that he’s not going to tell us everything, even when we get to New Canterlot.”

“That’s his choice, Springy. Not one that I’d make. I know how hard it can be to keep secrets, especially the kind that makes him talk in his sleep. Ekon is his own worst enemy.”

Spring Step scratched her head. “What do you mean?”

“You cry at that memorial because you miss your parents and friends. But you’ve made your peace with that loss. I don’t believe that Ekon’s made peace with himself or his loss at all. He’s got a ton of guilt over something he did.”

Spring Step shrugged. “His brother’s haunting his dreams for a reason.”

“We’ll have to stick a pin on that thought for now, Bed Spring.” She slapped her boxing glove and party cannon together. “It’s clobbering time.”

“Time to pony up,” replied Spring Step as she jumped off the deck, popped open her wings and glided towards the pony on the far left.

Sure Shot saw his target flying low towards him. He skidded to a halt and pulled out his hunting rifle. Standing on his rear hooves, he wrapped his front hooves around the large trigger and handle. He took aim at her head and growled, “Smile, you creepy bitch.”

Just as he pulled the trigger, Spring Step stomped her hooves into the clay, which launched her over his shot.

“What?” Startled, he frantically cocked the next round. He looked up a moment later and saw only her rear hooves as they smacked into his face.

Screaming, Sure Shot flipped over and bounced the back of his head into the clay. His rifle slipped out of his hooves and clattered away from him. For a moment, there were two moons in the night sky.

He scrambled upright and wobbled on all fours, frantically scouting for the pegasus. “Where the fuck are you?”

She said, “Not such a big stud without your gun, huh?” as she slammed into his back.

“Is this how you killed Gretchen? By fighting like a coward?”

Spring Step landed in front of him and replied, “No, I killed her because I fight like a soldier. Was she your girlfriend? Your widdle snuggle-bunny?”

“Shut up!”

“Tell me, did she taste like light or dark meat?”

“I’ll tear your legs off!” he yelled as he charged at her, eyes wide and mouth frothing.

That’s right, thought Spring Step. Keep getting pissed at me. Anger makes the enemy stupid and so much easier to take out. That’s what my dad taught me.

Sure Shot swung a hoof at her head, but she dodged it easily. One advantage to having light aluminum legs is that they can make any pony fall with a minimum of effort. While her target finished his missed swing, she swung her right foreleg at his back.

As he landed with a lung-emptying thud, she continued to tease him. “Was she hoof-licking good? Did her beak ever hurt you when she tried to get a mouthful from your yearling-sized dick?”

Spring Step danced around him as he got back up. Wiping the blood from his split lip, he said, “For that last line alone, I’m going to beat you until you can’t breath. “

Meanwhile, Pinksworth was laughing as the manticore tried to smack her with his huge paws. The creature was gasping for breath harder and harder until it finally sat on its haunches and roared in frustration.

Path Finder finally got disgusted and yelled, “For the love of Celestia, would you do something about this loony robot, Steel Jacket?”

The clydesdale climbed onto the boat deck and leaped onto Pinksworth. Scrambling to gain a foothold on her hair, he began bashing his huge hooves into the metal, trying to find a weak spot.

Pinksworth pointed her eyes at the clydesdale and said, “Welcome to Pinkie’s carnival!”

Steel Jacket could only stare at the huge blue-tinted cameras as he asked, “Say what?”

“Time for a ride!” she cheered as she launched a hundred feet straight up.

Steel Jacket could only scream as he hung onto Pinkworth’s front hair curl.

“Ever been on a merry-go-round?”

“No! Never!”

“Gee, it sounds like you had a boring childhood. Let’s make up for lost time, okay?” Pinkworth began to spin in place like a berserk carousel, whistling circus music and giggling.

As the world turned into a whirling cone of streaking star lights and moon glow, Pinksworth said, “Want to go faster? Raise your hooves if you want to go faster!”

The clydesdale’s head rolled from side to side as his eyes rolled up and closed. Slipping off her head, he fell towards the boat. By the time his head cracked against the deck, he had passed out from the spinning.

Path Finder shook his head. “That’s it. I’ve reached my limit with this frickin’ zebra.” Leaping off of the flustered manticore, he pulled out his tazer.

Unlike his partner, he preferred weapons that could be fired from his mouth. From a distance, it looked like he was chewing on a large brick of charcoal, but the twin steel spikes in the front could fire a small bolt of lightning that could knock out anything smaller than a minotaur.

Since the robot was still slowing its spinning, he knew he only had a moment to get out of the thing’s sight. The pony scrambled onto the boat, leapt over the sleeping clydesdale and ran into the living room.

Checking under the table, he heard a faint thumping of hooves beneath him.

He smiled. Bingo.

Since the stairwell was the only exit that Path Finder could see, he knew that Ekon had run out of places to hide. He climbed down the steps carefully, making sure nothing creaked beneath his hooves. Five years of hunting you, he thought. I don’t know why your brother wants you alive, but he’s paying me too much to care.

He peeked into the open door on his left. An empty bedroom. No hiding spaces.

There was a closed door at the end of the hall. Azi’s more obsessed with getting you back to the mountain than I am. If I’m not careful, I’m going to turn into that stark-eyed loon.

When Path Finder was two feet from the door, he raised both forelegs and bashed the door open.

In one second he saw that Ekon was pointing a yellow plastic tube at him.

In two seconds he realized that Ekon had pulled the trigger of a flare gun.

In three seconds he had a sunburst of fire explode into his chest.

In the midst of Path Finder’s sudden blinding agony, he bit down on the tazer. Cobalt blue arcs of electricity curled over the fire that had reached his cheeks. The urge to scream forced the tazer out of his mouth.

He frantically swung his front hooves at the flare melting a hole into his chest armor and flesh. As the fire spread from his chest to his hooves, the zebra sprang from the room, knocking the pony into a wall.

Path Finder was too busy smothering the flare’s fire by mashing his smoldering chest into the carpeted floor to care about the escaping zebra.

Meanwhile, Sure Shot pawed at the clay as he glowered at Spring Step. He noticed that he was building a small pile of clay pebbles. While keeping eye contact with the pegasus, he placed the tip of his right front hoof under some of the dislodged clay.

When Spring Step blinked, he kicked a few clay fragments into her face. Startled, she darted to her right. This distraction gave the pony enough time to charge at her.

She spread her legs out to keep from tipping over as he slammed into her chest. Since his legs had considerably more muscle than hers, he was able to lift her forelegs up. She scrambled to gain purchase, but her rear hooves could only slide across the clay.

He tucked his head under Spring Step’s chin and leapt forward. She waved her forelegs as she swayed back from his pushing. Her legs clattered on the ground as she landed on her back.

Sure Shot loomed over her, smiling. “Got any more clever lines for me, little filly?”

She shook her head. Then she bit down on the release cord for her wings and yanked. The wings popped open, slipping under his front hooves. He stumbled back, startled.

The pegasus reared back and aimed her forehead at his bloody nose. She felt the muzzle’s cartilage collapse like a foam coffee cup against her skull. His scream made her ears ring as he scrambled to get away from her.

While he stood on his rear legs, the torrential nosebleed began to paint his front hooves. Since he was dizzy from the pain, he didn’t notice that Spring Step was flapping her wings to get herself up and back on her feet. Shaking the clay from her mane, she closed her wings.

Picking up Sure Shot’s rifle, Spring Step slung it over one shoulder. “Are you going to beat me to death now or later?”

He could only stare at her. Reeling from the pain that only seemed to get worse, he shook his head. He’d been injured before, but never so severely. “So what happens now? Are you going to kill me or what?”

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Sure Shot.”

“Listen up, Sure Shot. I only killed your friend because she was shooting arrows at Ekon. But he’s ours now. We’re taking him back to our home, so stop chasing us.”

“I loved her,” he whimpered, his tears making his bloody nose sting. “You took her away from me!”

She nodded and siged. “Yeah. I figured that. But that’s the risk you guys take when you hunt someone out here. Go home. Find some other kind of work. This job’s going to kill you if you don’t quit.”

His jaw dropped. “You’re letting me go?”

“Once in a lifetime offer for you. I’m seldom this generous. But listen up and listen good.” Spring Step pointed at her rifle. “If I catch you out here hunting anyone again, if you so much as sneeze in my general direction again, I’ll blow your head off at the neck and use your skull for a candy bowl.”

A yellow puddle splashed around his hooves.

Grinning at this sight, relishing his fear, she said “Go ahead. Call me a liar.”

Sure Shot shook his head, turned around and ran towards the boat. “Path Finder! We are leaving!”

Path Finder emptied his canteen into his burn wounds. He heard his partner screaming something, but since he was still below decks, he could only make out the frantic tones. Since the tazer had run out of juice, he left it behind. Climbing the steps, he rummaged around his pockets for other weapons.

Peeking over the top stair step, he saw the insane robot nudging Steel Jacket with its giant boxing glove. “Who designed that damned thing?” he whispered. “A circus clown?”

Pinksworth turned towards him and said, “Uh . . . no, I did! You shouldn’t whisper about fillies behind their backs, mister. It’s kinda rude.”

His eyes popped wide. “Please say you’re just a robot.”

“Okay. I’m not, though.” She floated closer, aiming her cannon at him. “I guess you’ll have to stick around here for a while.”

Recalling how long it took to cut himself free from her webs last time, he frantically pulled out a grenade.

Pinksworth held up her boxing glove. “Hey! Don’t use that! You’ll hurt the clydesdale!”

He shrugged. “Screw him.” His teeth clamped onto the grenade pin.

As he spit out the pin, the grenade clattered across the living room. Path Finder slid down the stairs and slapped his hooves over his ears.

The explosion pushed him into a wall. A dark plume of smoke and wood shrapnel swirled around him as he scrambled up the damaged steps.

Slowly crawling through the smoke, he waved thin clouds away from his eyes, hoping that he’d find the robot (cyborg?) blasted into paper weights.

Instead, he found that the clydesdale’s head and neck were gone. Between them, there was a smoking, fragmented crater.

“What are you trying to do, kill us?” cried Sure Shot as he climbed aboard the boat. “Let’s get out of here!”

“We have a job to do, dummy! I’m not leaving till it’s done!”

Sure Shot stared at him for a moment, then looked behind him. When he saw Spring Step walking towards the boat, he ran over to Path Finder. “Forget it! It’s over! I’m bleeding half to death and you’re burned up like a marshmallow. You blew up Steel Jacket and the manticore is about to bolt on us.”

Path Finder frantically looked around the boat. “But he . . .”

Sure Shot stamped a hoof and shouted, “I’m leaving on that thing’s back! You have five seconds to join me!”

As Sure Shot leapt onto the manticore, Path Finder heard the robot (cyborg?) say, “You’d better get out of here before you kill yourself next, mister.”

That voice was just beyond what remained of the smoke. He patted his pockets, trying to find something to take out that robot, something more substantial than a grenade.

“Three seconds!” barked his partner.

Path Finder shouted, “All right! Hold on!”

Leaping over the bloody remains of Steel Jacket, he climbed onto the manticore. Sure Shot patted the furry ruff of the beast and cried, “Giddy-up! GO!”

Growling, the manticore got on its feet and raced away into the night.

Pinksworth floated from the front of the boat to the deck, struggling to keep her jet running smoothly. The grenade blast shot hot shrapnel into the engine, making her leave a black trail of smoke. The once quiet exhaust coughed and rattled as she kept wavering like a balloon in a blustery wind.

Ekon peered around her. “Are they gone?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think you want to look at the mess they made on the deck. Hold onto my back and I’ll float down to the ground.”

Spring Step ran over to them. “Are you guys . . . oh, you’re not okay. I was hoping that grenade didn’t hit you.”

“I’m a little wobbly, but it’ll take more than that to reach my chewy center.” Pinksworth pointed her glove at Ekon. “It looks like our favorite zebra found a new toy, though. He really did a number on the pony that tried to blow me up.”

“Ah, you found a flare gun.”

Ekon nodded, wincing at the memory of the pony’s burning flesh. And his screams. “Hit him in the chest. It’s more effective than my knife, that’s for sure.”

Pinksworth gasped and pointed at Spring Step. “You got blood on your head!”

Spring Step rubbed a hoof onto her forehead. “It’s okay. It’s not mine. Both of those bastards are going to need some serious medical care.” She patted her rifle. “At least I got a souvenir for my trouble.”

Ekon pointed at the wrecked boat. “I don’t think this is a good rest stop anymore.”

Spring Step sighed and shook her head. “No, it’s not. Crap, that boat had nice beds, too.”

“It’s another twenty miles to New Canterlot,” informed Pinksworth. “Maybe if we hoof it, we can get there before my jet conks out.”

“What if I fire this flare gun into the air?” suggested Ekon. “Aren’t there other ponies like you guys out here that would spot it and help us?”

“We’re kind of spread out, Ekon,” replied Spring Step. “Let’s walk at least another ten miles before we fire that thing, all right? We’ll have a better chance of getting spotted by a border patrol.”

The prospect of hoofing it that far made Ekon hang his head and groan. Pinksworth patted him on the head with her boxing glove. “It’s okay, Ekon. We’re almost at the finish line! Look at it this way; at exhausted as we are, the bandits we scared away are much worse off!”

* * *

Path Finder glared at his bloodied mess of a partner. “What the fuck was that all about? I thought you wanted to kill that pegasus!”

“She would have killed me, but she didn’t.” Scowling, Sure Shot shook his head. “You know what, Path Finder? I’m fucking done with this job.”

“What? Don’t you dare bail on me!”

“It’s all turned to shit for us, pal! They’re almost at New Canterlot, I lost my gun and you blew up Steel Jacket.”

Path Finder pulled on the manticore’s mane, which made the creature stop. “When did your balls drop off? You kept going on about how you’re going to rip that mare’s head off for fragging your girlfriend. But when she busts your nose and steals your rifle, you run off like a filly that got spanked!”

“That’s not fair! That pegasus had to have been a Wonderbolt. You know how tough they are, even if they can’t fly anymore.”

“I don’t care if she was the reincarnation of Princess Celestia herself! That’s twice now you’ve fucked everything up!”

Sure Shot pointed at the burns on Path Finder’s chest and neck. “I can’t help but notice you didn’t get the job done either.”

Path Finder rubbed his temples and sighed. “Do you remember what we used to do for a living before the world unraveled?”

“Yeah, we used to take rich ponies on animal hunting expeditions into the Everfree forest. When those woods slid into a chasm, we took up bounty hunting.”

“I trusted you then, Sure Shot. We’ve killed a lot of creatures large and small. I’ve gunned down I don’t know how many bandits and never thought about my kills twice. I guess trying to bring back one zebra alive is just too much to ask of you.”

Blowing his bloody nose clean, he asked, “Why are you talking down to me?”

Path Finder looked into his partner’s eyes. “I thought maybe your anger towards the killer of your lady would make you more focused during this job. But it’s obvious that you’re not useful to me. Not anymore.”

He turned to face Sure Shot. Placing one hoof on his shoulder, he reached for the manticore’s scorpion stinger. “There’s no more room in this world for useless ponies.”

Sure Shot turned his head to see the stinger being yanked towards him.

“Path Finder, no!”

He screamed as the stinger was pushed deep between his shoulders. When the stinger’s toxin filled his veins, the pony’s heart stopped and he fell lifeless into the manticore’s mane.

“You got in the way of my goal.”

Feeling as numb as a rock, Path Finder pushed his only friend off the manticore. Sure Shot hit the ground with a wet thud.

Path Finder patted the manticore’s head. “Well, Bullet. I guess it’s just you and me now. Let’s go back to your home and hire your master’s buddies. Then we’ll all go to Aki’s mountain. Maybe seeing my new partners will convince him I can still get paid for my trouble.”

As the number of miles grew between him and the body of his friend, he felt the tears rise. In the silent moonlit desert plain, he wept. Even in a ruined world, where mercy can get a pony killed, even the most brutal people can be shaken by personal loss.

But soon his tears dried. Then the numbness returned stronger than before.

When a heart turns to stone, he reasoned with absolute certainty, it cannot be hurt.

Nothing will hurt me ever again.

New Canterlot

Ekon had seen postcards of Canterlot before the unraveling pulled it off the mountain. Where there was once a proud city of ancient beauty, only a gaping wound in the mountain remained.

Since Ekon, Spring Step and Pinksworth arrived at New Canterlot in the middle of the night, none of them were interested in anything but food and rest.

Surrounding the city was a high concrete wall, much like the ones Ekon had seen in history books. This wall had spotlights, one of which swung its beam onto the approaching trio.

“Halt!” barked a voice behind the light. “Who goes there?”

Spring Step grumbled. “You know who we are, Snails. Open the door.”

Snails snickered. “Can you gimme the password?”

“Open the door, monkey brain!” hollered the pegasus.

“Okay. Close enough. Snips, hit the button!”

The spotlight swung away from them and pointed at the opening door.

The trio walked into New Canterlot, the sight of which made Ekon snap fully awake. If he thought the safe, clean apartment that he first met his rescuers in was impressive, this place left that tiny room behind.

For one thing, the city had working electricity that provided juice to a vast color palette of neon signs and street lamps. Even in the theoretically civilized parts of the wasteland, only a few yellow moth-swarmed bulbs would light a porch or two.

Every building was completely intact. No broken windows or cracked pavements anywhere. For one darting moment, he imagined that the unraveling never happened. The illusion was unbroken until he looked at the mountain where Canterlot once stood.

Pinksworth sighed contentedly. “It’s good to be home. What do you think, Ekon?”

When someone lives like a homeless person for five years, they miss the little things. Coffee. Chocolate. Clean clothes. A truly safe place to lay one’s head.

All of those long-absent delights were now in front of him. He smelled the bakery selling coffee and chocolate donuts. (No more moldy, bug-infested food! No more rusty cans of outdated botulism fodder!)

It was weird seeing ponies walk around with not a stitch of clothing on them. (Shouldn’t they at least be wearing gun holsters?) Some ponies wore T-shirts that said “Celestia and Luna are not dead-They are merely unemployed”. Others wore clothing so colorful and extravagant that they would have been gunned down by bandits for the silk alone.

He felt like he was floating, but not entirely from a lack of sleep. He sat on the ground and took this new paradise in. Ekon let the tears slip down his cheeks.

Spring Step smiled and chuckled. “That’s one perk of this job I love, Pinks. Watching refugee ponies cry when they get past the gate.”

“Tears of joy, Springy. Tears of joy. Ekon’s starting to look a little wobbly, though.”

The pegasus stretched her legs, making her shoulders and hips pop. “Join the club. I’ve had enough wasteland wandering for now. Let’s get to Canterlot Institute.”

Wiping his tears away, Ekon asked, “What’s that?”

“It’s where we live, Ekon,” Pinkworth explained. “It’s also where Spring Step got her legs and where my new body was built. You’ll stay there until we can get a place for you.”

As they traveled towards the middle of the city, he noticed that ponies were waving at them cheerfully. Unlike the bounty hunters that pursued him, nopony was repelled at the sight of Pinksworth or Spring Step.

“Hi, Petal Pusher!” said Pinkworth as she waved her boxing glove at a passing green mare. “How’s the flower shop going?”

Petal Pusher smiled as she said, “Just fine, Pinks.” Her eyes widened. “ Ooh, you two got a zebra this time!”

Ekon waved shyly. “Hi.”

The mare waved back at him. “You’re very lucky, sir. They got me out of Baltimare before it went underwater. This city’s full of people they’ve rescued. You’ll find lots of friends here, I’m sure.”

Spring Step said, “Yeah, he’ll fit right in. Let’s go, you two. My bed’s calling my name.”

As they walked down the quiet street, Ekon noticed small boxes next to the street lights. Squinting at them, he recognized them as security cameras. Pointing at one of them, he asked, “Is there much crime here?”

Spring Step replied, “Well, it can be hard for career wasteland scavengers to keep their hooves to themselves, but they aren’t much of a problem. No, these cameras are on the lookout for a much sneakier brand of criminal.”

“Bank robbers?” queried Ekon.

“Changelings, silly!” said Pinksworth. “Their disguise spells can fool regular pony eyes, but never mechanical ones.”

“Have you ever seen one in the wastelands?”

“No, but they might have died out when the magic went away. They feed off of emotions, which is kinda like eating magic. We ponies don’t call say that friendship is magic for nothing, you know.”

Spring Step added, “We can’t take any chances, though. It’s hard enough just keeping bandit hordes from taking over the biggest city in Equestria. We don’t need those damn bugs drinking us up like coffee.”

Canterlot Institute was a ten story marvel of steel girders and huge glass panels. It reminded Ekon of the hospital his brother was born in.

He frowned at that memory. Don’t think about Azi anymore, he told himself. You finally arrived at a place where his men can’t reach you anymore. You’re safe.

You won’t suffer the way your parents suffered.

The sliding glass doors opened without a sound. The high ceiling was adorned with large colored paper spheres with lamps in them. The floor was polished white tile that made Spring Step’s aluminum legs click like soda cans. The desk in the middle of the entrance room had a grey mare with lopsided eyes tapping at a computer. She looked up, smiled and waved at them.

“Wow, guys. You were gone for three weeks,” she said. “Looks like you bagged a cute one this time.”

Ekon replied, “I keep getting called that. I wish zebra mares felt that way.”

Pinksworth said, “Well, there is this dating service next to . . . “

“Zip it, Pinks,” ordered Spring Step good-naturedly. “First things first. Derpy, we need to get this guy a room. He’s been out there ever since the unraveling took place.”

Whistling, she replied, “Wow, that had to have been rough.”

“You have no idea,” said Ekon ruefully.

Tapping at the keys, she shut one eye and studied the monitor. “Okay, I got one for him. I’ll print out the key in a minute. What’s your name?”

“Ekon Madaki.”

“Is that back pack your only possession?”

“Nowadays, yes.”

“Do you have any fruits or vegetables to declare?”

Ekon smiled. “No. Why, are you hungry?”

Derpy snickered and handed him a white plastic key card. “Cute and funny to boot. Not often I see that in a wastelander. Okay, here you go, Ekon. Room two three seven. Take the elevator to the second floor and turn right.”

Spring Step patted him on the back. “We’ll bang on your door in twelve hours, kiddo. When you take a shower, remember to scrub that bullet wound gently.”

He looked at the key card. It had his name printed on one side. It had been ten years since he had his name printed onto anything.

When he opened his room door, the almost forgotten scent of fresh linens filled his nose. When one lives with nothing but a back pack, the simplest pleasures become almost priceless.

Ekon took a hot shower that lasted a half hour. For the first ten minutes, he simply closed his eyes and let the filth of a ruined world swirl down the drain.

“I’m beyond you, Azi,” he whispered. “For the moment, I’m beyond everything.”

When he toweled himself dry, he locked the front door. He had to fight the old urge to barricade the door with a chair. (No more bandits. No more bounty killers.)

He looked out the large window next to the bed and tried to count the city lights. It was like seeing the stars of the night sky taking up residence in the city. Unlike in the abandoned cities he explored and hid in, he didn’t feel dangerously exposed standing in front of the window. (No longer being hunted.)

Ekon slipped into the impossibly soft bed. In less than a minute, before he even realized it, he slipped into a deep slumber.

He was in the mountain’s caves. It took ages to map them all as they branched out in all directions like an ant’s nest. One cave was particularly unique, however. The walls were worn glass-smooth by what Ekon’s father, Alafin, has guessed was magic. Only the best magic wielders could sculpt rocks on a molecular level. The walls were engraved with drawings of Celestia and Luna. Why? Well, the answer was a lost thing that was sure to be eventually found.

Ekon’s mother, Tarana, had translated the old Equestrian texts well enough to know that a powerful magician once lived here. These caves were of great interest to the Canterlot Historical Society because records of the caves were destroyed in a fire.

She was still scribbling notes at her work desk when Ekon got out of the smaller caves and sat down in a chair next to her.

“Hello, dear. Where’s your brother?” she queried.

“He’s somewhere nearby, I guess.”

“He’s hard to get away from, that’s for sure.” She put down her pen and faced him. “Let me ask you something, son.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think you’re beyond Azi now?”

He stepped away from the chair. “What do you mean?”

“You are Azi’s lost treasure and he will find you. He is nothing if not stubborn.”

Ekon banged the table testily. “But I escaped the wasteland! He can’t touch me now!”

“Every one of us is connected to each other, child. Even Celestia and Luna. If you want to end his search for you, you must become more than just his target.”

He slammed his hooves into the table, sending documents flying. He yelled, “What do you mean?”

Spring Step rapped on his door and hollered, “I mean it’s time to rise and shine, Ekon!”

Ekon flinched as his eyes snapped open, an after-image of his smiling mother fading away from his vision.

“At least I wasn’t hanging from a tree this time,” he whispered. Ekon then hollered, “Just a minute, Springy!”

“Hey, only the Iron Mare calls me that,” replied Spring Step, laughing.

He opened the door and saw that the pegasus was wearing a shirt that said “Crowbar Queen”. Her metal legs were now painted a dark gray.

“Like what you see? I asked the eggheads to make my legs less shiny. Come on, I’ll show you where they’re rebuilding Pinkie’s body.”

When they stepped into the elevator, she pressed the button marked “basement” three times. Then she punched the tenth floor button three times. “It’s the access code for the think tank levels.”

“You mean the science labs?”

She nodded, smiling. “You got it. Looks like a shower and a good night’s sleep did you a world of good. You’re less groggy now.”

The lights on the floor button panel counted down past “basement”. The elevator kept riding down what felt like five floors then stopped. The doors opened to reveal an immense room that had dozens of scientists, workers and other assorted ponies working at dozens of workstations.

One had a robot with enormous guns attempting to walk a straight line. A blue pony walked past them who had a pair of three fingered robot hands strapped to her back. The hands waved as she winked at Ekon.

Beyond the flurry of activity, they heard Pinkie Pie say, “I keep telling you guys, I don’t want lethal weapons!”

Nudging Ekon in the ribs, she trotted towards her friend’s voice. “Come on. Just stay close to me.”

Ekon had seen only a small part of Pinkie Pie when she was plugged into her suit. Now she was lying on her back in a hospital bed. Her rear legs were gone. Her forelegs ended in shriveled stumps. With her helmet removed, he saw that she was shaved bald. Long scars crisscrossed her face and head. Pinkie had the bluest eyes Ekon had ever seen.

Those eyes turned towards Ekon and she smiled. “Oh, hey! How are you feeling, Ekon? Good morning, Springy.”

“It’s three in the afternoon, Pinks,” explained Spring Step.

Pinkie groaned. “No wonder I still feel a little frazzled.” She waved a stump at the brown pony scientist behind her. “Or maybe it’s because Clock Twister . . . “

“Time Turner!” grumbled the pony.

“. . . the ticktock pony says that I need to replace my party cannon with a flame thrower. Or maybe a buzz saw. How are those going to be practical in a fight?”

Time Turner rubbed his temples and asked, “Did that ludicrous boxing glove help you in the wastelands?”

“Yeah. I knocked out two ponies with it. Look, just because my pal Spring Step kills ponies doesn’t mean I want to. Or even have to.”

Spring Step said, “I did let that bounty hunter pony go. I could have broken a lot more than just his nose, but I didn’t. Hopefully he’s pursuing a less violent life.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Eh. One can only hope.”

Time Turner held up a blueprint of Pinkie’s armor. “Can I at least install the self-destruct feature? One big concern of ours is you getting captured and your gear being used by the enemy. If it looks like that might happen, you tell the suit to blow up with the catchphrase of your choice. Then you’ll get shot out the back in a protective cocoon right before the armor self-destructs. Then a homing beacon switches on that we can pick up from anywhere in Equestria. “

She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. How big a boom are we talking about here?”

“Oh, the kind you get from five pounds of C-4. Your cocoon should protect you from . . . most of the explosion.” Time Turner suddenly found it difficult to avert his eyes from the ceiling.

Rolling her eyes, she remarked, “Gee, how can I say no? Fine, go install the bomb. But give it a ten second fuse so I can at least roll away as far as I can.”

Grinning, the scientist trotted away. “Okay, guys,” he hollered to a nearby workstation. “She said yes! Pinkie wants big boom!”

“That’s going to be my catchphrase. I love eggheads,” Pinkie said as she laid back in her bed. “Give them something explosive to work with and they’re happy as ferrets in a raisin pile. Welcome to the think tank, Ekon.”

“I had no idea that anything like this was going on these last few years.”

Spring Step said, “This is where Pinkie and I supported each other while the staff here built my legs and her suit.”

“I bet that took a while,” mused Ekon.

Spring Step walked over to Pinkie and hugged her. “It two weeks for me to talk to anypony, even Pinkie.” Breaking off the hug, she draped a foreleg over Pinkie’s shoulders. “But she never quit trying to talk to me. The only thing I wanted to do back then was die. All I could think of was, ‘What’s the point of going on? Why bother doing anything?’ “

Pinkie added, “When she asked me that, I told her that anything is better than nothing. Doing nothing is not only boring, it’s not natural.”

“When Pinks started getting depressed, I told her something my dad taught me. ‘Life is a series of exchanges. Sometimes it takes more than it gives, but you can never afford to give up hope.”

“This world needs all the hope it can get,” said Pinkie. “But you have to believe in yourself before you can help others. We were inseparable for two months in this place. Mister and Mrs. Cake are gone, but I have my buddy here to help me stay focused.”

Spring Step said, “I lost nearly everypony I loved, but Pinks here reminds me that it’s not all bad. Sometimes her sense of humor is the only thing that keeps me from screaming.”

Ekon’s ears drooped. “You guys are the first ponies I’ve met in five years that didn’t try to rip me off, rob me or shoot me. The only thing life ever gave me for five years was misery.”

A white pony with a red mane and a white nurse cap pushed a tray cart next to Pinkie’s bed. She looked at Ekon and said, “What you need to get now are immunization shots. I also need to check that wound. Do you have any allergies we need to be aware of?”

Swallowing while staring at the tray’s hypodermics, he replied, “Yes. I am very allergic to needles. How did you know I was here?”

Spring Step said, “I told the nurses that you needed what we call the ‘Wasteland Special’. It’s a bunch of booster shots that’ll get you back into full fighting trim. After she has her way with you, and Pinks gets suited up, we’ll go talk to Spike. When I mentioned your full name to him, he became very interested in talking to you.”

Ekon’s eyes widened. “He’s . . . heard of me?”

“Well, he’s read some files about your father. Alafin Madaki. That’s his name, right?”

“Yes. I guess he wants an update on what we found at the dig site, but I’m not sure why. It seems that archeology should be the last concern this city has.”

She shrugged. “Spike’s been searching for clues on how to bring magic back into the world. Any info you provide might fill in some gaps that the collapse of Canterlot’s library left behind.”

When Spring Step turned and walked away, Ekon scratched his head. The mountain he escaped from seemed to house a temple where Celestia and Luna were worshiped.

How would such a temple help with Spike’s search?

The Pulled Thread

“Now I know how a pin cushion feels,” grumbled Ekon as he scratched at the fresh bandage on his shoulder.

The nurse smiled as she tossed out the fifth hypodermic used on the zebra. “I’m just glad you didn’t sleep around a lot like some ponies those two bring in. Some wasteland ponies are only alive because their STDs are too busy fighting each other to kill their hosts.”

Spring Step poked her head into the nurse’s medical station. “Is he fixed up now, nurse?”

“Well, he won’t feel like sitting in a chair for a while, but he’s good to go, Spring Step.”

He forced a polite smile as Ekon walked past the nurse and into the hallway. Pinksworth was floating behind Spring Step as she commented, “Jabbed you good, didn’t she? You’ll thank Nurse Heart Beat later, believe me.”

Ekon rolled his eyes. “I guess. How are you guys doing?”

Pinksworth said, “I got my body refurbished and outfitted with a new engine, so I’m doing great!”

“I always feel better with a fresh set of legs. Well, let’s go meet Spike.”

They left the Canterlot Institute as the evening sky turned bright orange. There were many more ponies on the streets this time. In the rainbow-colored swarm of ponies, Ekon spotted black and white stripes. A zebra slipped past him without even giving him a sidelong glance.

Some of the golden mushroom-capped spires of the old Canterlot castle were now serving as housing for restaurants and stores. No sense letting a castle’s rubble go to waste, Ekon figured.

They walked towards a building that was ringed with stone pillars. Above the front door was a brass plate that read “Canterlot Intelligence Agency”. The two royal guards saluted them.

“Good to have you back, Captain Spring Step,” said one guard.

“It’s great to see you, Brass Tacks. Spike wants to see the zebra.”

He nodded and opened the door. “Is it getting any better out there?”

She shrugged. “Well, there aren’t quite as many bandits around, I can promise you that.”

The guard winked and replied, “Ah. Gotcha.”

The lobby was almost as big as a stadium. Four large hallways branched out from the lobby and were filled with ponies doing, Ekon assumed, government work.

“Spike’s probably in the library, Ekon,” said Sping Step.

When Ekon stepped into the library, he almost burst into tears at the sight of so many unburned, untorn and unvandalized books. One constant source of anguish for Ekon was the lack of something to read. During the last five winters, most of the libraries in the wasteland were emptied of books, which were used for kindling rather than reading.

He was so preoccupied with the vast walls of books that he jumped a little when something green and purple stepped in front of him.

“Ekon Madaki, I presume?” asked a five foot tall dragon. He had light purple scales and eyes as green as the frill on his head. He held out a hand.

“Yes,” replied Ekon as he shook his hand. “You must be Spike.”

Smiling, he said, “You got it. Man, I never thought I’d ever meet you. When your family stopped sending reports here, we had assumed the worst.”

“Did Spring Step tell you that I’m the last survivor of that particular dig?”

Spike’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, she did. I’m so sorry about what happened to you and your family.”

“Thank you.”

Spike walked over to a table that had a small hill of books and scrolls on one side. Sitting in a chair, he gestured to the others to sit. “While you guys were out on patrol, I and a few wizards finally found out what spell screwed up Equestia’s magic.”

Ekon pricked up his ears. “I thought the magic had simply disappeared.”

The dragon shook his head. “Magic is just energy, Ekon. It can’t be destroyed, just relocated. What I’m about to tell you needs to stay in this room.”

“You got it. But why all the secrecy?”

“Because a loony unicorn named Starlight Glimmer is to blame for Equestria falling apart. If that information got out, then all unicorns would be under suspicion. “

“I see your point,” said Ekon. “I don’t suppose this particular unicorn is still at large, is she?”

“No, she’s dead. Let’s go back to when we all first arrived at this timeline. This is what happened. “

Twilight Sparkle fell to the ground next to Spike. Starlight Glimmer fumed as Twilight scrambled to get on her hooves again.

“Starlight! You have to stop this!” Implored Twilight. “Every time we come back to Equestria, every version gets progressively worse! When are you going to understand that you can’t win this fight?”

“I once ruled an entire village with my magic. That place’s future was in my hooves and my hooves alone.” She sighed. “I was happy until you and your idiotic friends ruined my perfect world!”

“You can’t go back, Starlight. Why would you want to? Nopony should control the minds of others the way you did and nopony can control the future. Not even the Princesses.”

Starlight Glimmer’s ears drooped as she stared at the ground. “You took away my future, Twilight.” A scroll popped into existence, gripped by Starlight’s magic. “It’s only fair that I take away yours. Thanks to this spell. Written by none other than Starswirl The Bearded. I found it in a mountain temple while I was hiding from you.”

Starlight opened the scroll, which began to glow like a banked coal. Mystic symbols appeared and began to swirl around the paper. “If I can’t own the future, then no one will.” She closed her eyes and whispered an incantation.

A bright flash of light erupted around them. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head and groaned. Blinking the lights out of her eyes, she pointed her horn and grunted.

Starlight flinched but then smiled. “What’s the matter, Princess?” she asked mockingly. “Having trouble with your horn? Oh, my. It looks like your cutie mark disappeared again!” Looking at her own blank flanks, she laughed as she added, “So did mine!”

“What did you do to me?” Twilight demanded.

“I took away your magic. And my magic. And everypony’s magic. I did what Celestia did to Luna when she went rogue, but on a much larger scale. Now they are both gone.”

Twilight’s jaw slacked as she tried to comprehend what she was told. “You’ve crippled the world! Why would you do this?”

“Because you got in my way, Twilight. Now everypony has to suffer because of your interference. You only have yourself to blame for all of this.”

The world began to tremble. A horrendous cracking from deep underground, loud as a thunder clap, lifted them up into the air. As they landed in their backs, a huge fissure appeared and began to open like a mouth near Starlight.

“Welcome to the past, Twilight!” cried Starlight, her pupils shrinking to pinpoints, a manic grin showing most of her teeth. “We may have been equals in magic, but I can still kick your ass!”

Twilight reared back as Starlight charged at her. With a loud smack of flesh, they both tumbled into a growing cloud of dust as they frantically bashed at each other. Spike leapt at Starlight, dug his claws into her back and bit into her neck.

Screaming, she untangled herself from the fight and tried to buck him off, which only prompted him to dig his claws deeper into her flesh.

The chasm continued to grow closer to Starlight as she thrashed around. Twilight ran up and slammed her right foreleg into Starlight Glimmer’s head. With a grunt, Starlight slumped to the ground, stunned .

“Get off of her, Spike!”

Spitting the taste of blood out, he hopped off of Starlight. “What now, Twilight? Without magic, we can’t go home again!”

Rubbing her chin, she replied, “We can’t give up, Spike. Let’s get to Canterlot. We know where Starswirl kept his spells and notebooks. You saw the scroll’s symbols, so maybe that will help us find a counter spell.”

“What about her?” He asked, tilting his head at Starlight.

She snorted. “Forget her. I’m not about to drag that dangerous lunatic around. Let’s go.”

When Twilight turned away from Starlight, she grabbed onto Twilight’s rear legs. “No! You don’t get to play the heroine anymore!” she cried.

The ground shook even more violently, making Twilight fall to her knees. The chasm near Starlight grew wider until it slipped under Starlight’s flanks. Both ponies screamed as the collapsing earth dragged them away from Spike.

Twilight struggled to break free from Starlight’s grip. “I . . . I can’t . . . listen, Spike. Get to the castle. Tell the royal guard and the mages there everything you know. You’ve got to fix this, Spike. No matter what it takes, Equestria needs to be made right again!”

One moment they were there. In the next moment, she and Starlight fell screaming into the black void.

Spike wiped away a tear, took a deep, calming breath and continued. “I must have run for hours, scared that the world would swallow me up like it did to Twilight.”

Ekon said, “I know what it’s like to live in fear, believe me. Did you ever find that counter spell?”

“No, but your father might have.”

Scratching his head, Ekon queried, “How do you figure that?”

Pulling a thick sheath of envelopes from the book mountain, Spike said, “These are his monthly reports sent to the Canterlot Historical Society that we were able to recover. In his last report, he sent us pictures of wall carvings he discovered that month. Many of those symbols look just like the ones that floated around the spell scroll that Starlight used. That doesn’t surprise me, as an earlier report states that it looked like someone rummaged around the temple and took a few things. A few scrolls, for example.”

Spike held up a crumbling leather-bound notebook. “This is one of his journals that we recently found in a hidden chamber deep within Canterlot’s mountain. Two thousand years ago, Starswirl lived in that cave, creating spells and honing his magic skills. According to this book, he figured out a way to not only get rid of both the Princesses, but also to bring them back. I and my colleagues believe the means to bring Celestia and Luna back are in a chamber that your father didn’t have time to dig into before the unraveling hit.”

Ekon’s eyes widened. “Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely. That’s why we need you, Ekon.”

“To do what?”

“To guide us through the caves and to the chamber, of course!” Spike said with a friendly smile. “According to your father, you know those caves like the back of your hoof. Any maps he may have sent us were lost in Canterlot’s wreckage.”

Ekon started to sweat as he struggled to keep his voice calm. “L-look, you don’t really need me for this trip, do you? Besides, the cave entrance collapsed. You can’t get in anyway.”

Pinksworth raised her boxing glove. “That’s not a problem, Ekon. I’m sure the eggheads will give me all the C-4 charges I need to get in that cave.”

Spring Step walked over to Ekon and patted him on the back. “You don’t have to worry about those bandits, kiddo. They were both so messed up from that fight that they wouldn’t dare screw with us again. “

“And if any new bandits show up, they’ll have to deal with me,” said Spike proudly. “My dragon fire is organic, so I don’t need magic to roast any bad guys.”

“If we’re trying to bring back Equestria’s magic, don’t we need a unicorn for that?” asked Pinksworth. “I don’t think welding a horn on my suit will help.”

Spike held up a hand. “Don’t worry, Pinkie. A talented unicorn named Moondancer has already volunteered to join us. Believe me, she’s equal to the task.”

“One thing puzzles me, Spike,” said Ekon. “Did the Princesses ever know that Starswirl created spells to evict and bring back both of them?”

Spike shrugged. “Well, they suspected he did. That’s why your family was sent to that mountain temple. To find out for sure.”

Ekon swallowed. “Uh . . . when do we leave? Hopefully not right now.”

“Nah, it’s a bit late in the day for that. We’ll all meet at the front gate tomorrow morning at eight. Spring Step will wake you.” Spike put a hand on Ekon’s left shoulder. “I know we are asking a lot from you, especially since you’ve had such a hard time out there. Going back to the place where you lost everything can’t be easy for you. This is faint consolation, but I think your parents would be proud of you for helping us.”

“Yeah. Proud. Sure.” replied Ekon as he looked away and got up from his chair. “I guess I’ll see you guys at eight.”

At midnight, Ekon checked the hallway outside his room. No ponies were in sight. He put his back pack on, shut the door quietly and slipped out of the Institute.

Using all his sneaking skills learned from dodging his enemies in the wasteland, he snuck past every security camera (he hoped) and avoided every street that could have any kind of traffic.

After ten minutes of slinking in the shadows, he stopped at the front gate. He looked up at the guard tower and hollered “Uh, Snails? Are you on duty?”

A teenage unicorn poked his head out a window and looked at Ekon. “Hey, you’re that zebra dude! What’s up?”

“I have to go. Don’t ask me why, just open the gate.”

Snails tilted his head at him. “I don’t think Spring Step would like that.”

Ekon grit his teeth. “I don’t care! Just open the . . .” He heard the sound of metal legs landing behind him.

His ears flat against his head, he turned to see Spring Step retracting her bat wings.

“Now how did I know you were going to pull a runner on us?” she asked as she stamped towards him. “Gee, maybe it was because you were sweating bullets in front of Spike?”

He held up a conciliatory hoof. “Now Springy, you have to understand . . .”

“Oh, I understand, all right.” Pressing her muzzle against his, she yelled, “Your brother’s still alive, isn’t he? He was the one that sent those bounty killers after you!”

A dozen different excuses, lies and half-truths scrambled to escape his mouth, but having an angry mare being close enough to bash his head in made any attempt to lie impossible. Ekon sat down, hanging his head in defeat.

“Yes, Azi’s still alive. He’s angry that I didn’t help our family escape the cave-in. I could hear him swear revenge on me through the rocks that blocked the cave.” Tears pillowed and slid down his cheeks as he looked at Spring Step. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I tried to find someone that could help me rescue him. But no one could help. So I went into hiding instead.”

She snorted. “I don’t suppose sneaking into the temple and explaining yourself to Azi ever occurred to you?”

“Why, so he could have a clear shot at me? I thought he’d give up trying to hunt me down eventually, but I guess that’s my fault in a way. When we were younger, I taught him the value of patience.”

“So you didn’t even try to solve this problem,” she grumbled.

He stamped a hoof. “Look, I’m not a bad-ass military killer like you, okay? I’m just an archeologist zebra who only wanted to find lost things with my family. Nowadays, the lost things in my life are what I can never find again. I lost my family, my old life and my brother.”

“So you think abandoning us and hiding in the wasteland again is the way to make anything better for yourself? You call me a killer, but at least I’m living my life the way I want to.”

She sat down next to Ekon, pulled the cord and wrapped a wing around him. “I lost my family and old life in the same day, just like you. But thanks to friends like Pinkie, I didn’t let those losses change me into something I didn’t want to be. Sure, I miss being able to fly and not just glide around like a kite, but it’s better than living like a target.”

Ekon’s ears pricked up as he recalled his mother saying, “If you want to end his search for you, you must become more than just his target.” She might have said this in a dream, but his mother was often the voice of his conscience throughout his life. He didn’t understand what she meant a day ago.

But he did now.

“I’m sorry I tried to run off. You’re right, Spring Step. I’ve been running from my past for so long, I never worked up the guts to get a future. Now that I finally have friends I can trust, I can face my brother now.”

She smiled. “That’s more like it. Come on, kiddo,” said Spring Step as she lifted him onto his hooves. “Let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

Where It Began

New Canterlot was miles behind Spike and his crew. Spring Step was wearing her Wonderbolts uniform and had Sure Shot’s rifle slung across her back. She wore a bandolier around her gut that swung heavy with weaponry. Ekon wore his backpack. As they walked past the lake bed where the yacht was embedded, they witnessed a slow swirl of vultures drifting around the boat. A cluster of them hopped and swarmed around the ship’s deck.

Spike said, “Kind of a bummer you guys lost that rest stop.”

Moondancer asked, “Are those birds eating a dog? Or one of their own?”

Ekon replied, “I hate to say this, but they’re digging into one of the people that were hunting me. One of the other bounty killers blew him up when they tried to kill Pinksworth.”

The unicorn trembled at that mental image. “What kind of nut does that?”

Spring Step nudged Ekon and cocked her head at the others. Ekon nodded and admitted, “I guess my brother paid them enough to not care who dies as long as I got killed.”

Spike stopped and stared at Ekon. “Now wait a minute. I thought you said your family was dead.”

“I didn’t want anyone to know how messed up my life really was. I didn’t tell Pinksworth or Spring Step the truth when they were taking me to New Canterlot. I was afraid they might think I was too much trouble to rescue.”

Pinksworth whistled with surprise. “Wow. I thought Springy was a cynic. We’re all a little messed, up, silly. Spring Step chose to have four metal legs instead of three. I chose to ride around in a giant metal pony head. But so what? At least we rescue people, not hunt them.”

Spike raised his brows. “Are you telling us everything we need to know now? How much of a fighter is your brother?”

“He’s five years younger than me and a bit skinnier. He’s never been in a fight, so that might explain why he didn’t personally hunt me down.” He rubbed his chin and pondered this. “Once he finds out what happened to his bounty killers, he’ll stand down to us.”

Moondancer said, “Since he’s been living in Starswirl’s temple all this time, maybe he’ll be able to provide more clues as to what’s in there. I’d like to know what Starlight Glimmer meant when she told Twilight Sparkle ‘Welcome to the past’.”

Pinksworth said, “Hmm, maybe she means that the world used to look like this? The problem with that is everypony knows that Celestia and Luna were always here.”

“Here we go again,” muttered Spring Step. “Really, Pinks? If they were as old as the world, where did they come from?”

She shrugged her three arms, “Hey, it doesn’t really matter, right? Where you came from isn’t as important as where you’re going, I always say. Besides, if Moondancer can pull off the plug that’s holding back the magic and the princesses come back, you can ask them that question yourself! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Yeah.” She had to smile at her friend’s enthusiasm. “It is.”

Moondancer crinkled her thick eyebrows and said, “I’m not completely sure I can do much, guys. Spike thinks I can finally put all of the clues and hints Starswirl left behind and can somehow pull off this job.”

Spike gave the unicorn a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t stress, Moondancer. Before the Unraveling, you graduated at the top of your class. If you’re anything like the book horse I once knew, you’ll be okay.”

“It feels really weird whenever you talk about a Me that I never was. I’ve never been a misanthropic recluse like the other me. It’s like you’re talking about a twin that I never knew existed.”

Spike chuckled. “It feels strange talking about ponies that don’t exist in this reality. I’ve lived in this alternate world for five years and I sometimes still feel like an intruder.”

“We’ve lost friends and family, including you. But you also lost an entire reality. I have no idea what that feels like.”

“I try to not brood over it,” he replied with a shrug. “All I can do is make do with what I have and be grateful I have it. Just like everypony else.”

* * *

An hour later, they were walking down a cracked and weed-pocked road. Up ahead of the group another tornado of vultures picked and dug into a body on the side of the road.

Spring Step squinted at the shape. “Hey, wait a minute,” she said as she started to trot faster.

The corpse’s fur was grey. The body armor was better than average. Just like . . .

“Sure Shot!” cried Spring Step as she ran into the frantic mass of scavengers, making them scatter away.

The remaining vultures flew off, squawking angrily at the intrusion as her companions ran over to the chewed remains of the pony.

Spike pointed at the body. “Is this the guy you fought a while ago?”

She could only stare in stunned disbelief. A moment later she replied, “Yeah. I beat him and told him to never hunt people anymore. I never thought I’d see him dead.”

Ekon asked, “Was he shot?”

Pinksworth floated around him, her camera eyes zoomed to full magnification. A few moments later, she leaned down and pointed her claw between Sure Shot’s shoulder blades. “Nope. This hole’s a lot bigger than any bullet wound I’ve seen. It’s about the size and depth of a tent stake.”

Spring Step sat up, eyes wide. “Or a manticore stinger.”

“Wait a second,” said Pinksworth. “Both those bounty killers took off on that manticore. Why did only one pony get stung to death? If that beast didn’t like the ponies riding him, why aren’t we seeing both bodies?”

“Because Spring Step wasn’t killed by the manticore. His partner must have stabbed him in the back with the stinger and dumped him here.”

Moondancer shook her head, bewildered. “So some pony kills not only the guy on the boat, but also his partner? He’s got to be madder than a bastard on Father’s Day.”

Spring Step brushed away dirt from his clouded eyes. She said, in a distant voice, “I let him live. Gave him a chance to change. Now look what happened.”

Pinksworth rubbed her friend’s back with the boxing glove. “There’s no way you could have known this would ever happen to him. Don’t blame yourself.”

“I’m not, Pinks. I’m blaming his partner.” She scowled and grit her teeth. “ If we run into that bastard out here, I’ll make him wish his daddy pulled out early.”

Spring Step hooked her right front hoof around Sure Shot’s neck and dragged him into the grass. “Pinks? Get over here and help me bury him.”

Ekon scratched his head. “I thought you guys never bothered to bury the dead.”

The pegasus looked at him through slitted eyes. In a deep, leaden tone, she replied, “I’m making an exception. Is that all right with you?”

Wincing at her derision, he trotted over and helped the ponies dig the grave.

As Ekon scooped out dirt from the grave, he thought, I’m helping to bury the same pony that nearly killed me a few days ago. Why?

It was then that he recalled what Spring Step said in their remote apartment, “Life only has value if you use it to help others. Bandits don’t value anypony’s life.” She also said, “If you don’t have a damn good reason for ending someone’s life, you are part of the problem.”

In the past five years, Ekon had not seen much consistency, or application, of ethics and rules. After seeing the world through her eyes, however briefly, he finally understood. He wasn’t simply helping her lay to rest a bounty killer, he was burying a pony that she’d had shown mercy to. Path Finder had stolen away Sure Shot’s chance for a better life that Spring Step had given him. This made Path Finder part of the problem.

None of them said anything during the digging. It was only after the grave’s dirt mound had been tamped down with Pinksworth’s glove did Spring Step say, “You deserved more than this. I’m sorry.”

As they walked away from the grave, Spike smiled and said, “You always did have a big heart. “

“Only for certain people, Spike. I’ve met a lot of ponies who are led to do terrible things out here. Sure Shot seemed to be one of those ponies that wasn’t happy doing his work. I have a soft spot for people who’ve lost their way in life, I guess.”

Ekon asked, “Is that what you saw me as?”

“I sensed that something was eating at you that you didn’t want to talk about. Since nagging you would only make you clam up more, I figured I’d just let you decide when it was time to spill the beans.”

Ignoring the rising burning in his gut, Ekon hung his head and said, “For the past five years, I’ve been living in self-loathing. Deep down inside, I figured having armed ponies chase me was part of my penance.”

Pinksworth tilted her eye-cameras in confusion. “Huh? Penance? Is that like repenting?”

Moondancer smiled politely. “No, dear. Repenting means having regrets over past misdeeds. Penance is voluntary self-punishment.”

“Oh! Well, I’m still confused. So you thought living in constant fear of getting murdered by your brother’s hired killers was what you deserved?”

Ekon sighed, his ears hanging low. “Yeah. Last night I almost went back to the wastelands alone because I was still too scared to face my brother again, that I had to keep punishing myself.” He cocked his head at Spring Step. “But Springy convinced me that my old life was the pits.”

“I think you knew that when we found you,” said Spring Step. “You were ready to climb down from the whipping post, Ekon. I just had to give you a few nudges to fully realize that.”

“I’m glad you did. The least I can do in return is to tell Azi that if he wants me dead, he’ll have to kill me himself.”

Spike winced. “Uh . . . Let’s not give him ideas, okay?”

“Just stay close to me, Ekon,” suggested Pinksworth. “I’ll web him up like a fly if he gets trigger happy.”

* * *

It took three days of travel to reach the mountains that Ekon left behind. Pinksworth studied the jagged mountain plains with her eyes at full magnification. “I can see the dig site, Ekon. It looks like the entrance is cleared of rubble. There are a few solar panels nearby, so I guess the cave’ll have some lights on.”

Spring Step looked over the area with her sniper rifle’s scope. “I don’t see any bandits, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any in the cave.” She turned to the rest of the group who hide in the shadow of a nearby boulder. “Let’s keep together. If anypony sees anything, let me know.”

While everyone else was scanning the surrounding hills and rocks, Ekon could only stare at the large cave entrance. Every moment of his running away came flooding back with terrible vividness.

Soon you will suffer as our parents suffered.

Ekon flicked his head, shaking away the voice of his nightmares. “No,” he whispered. “I won’t.”

“Won’t what, Ekon?” asked Pinksworth.

Catching himself, he said, “Nothing. Just thinking out loud.”

Spring Step held up a hoof to her lips. “Shh! You guys keep quiet. Pinks? We’ll stay outside the entrance while you check out the cave.”

Pinksworth nodded. “Okay. Back in a bit.”

Holding her cannon out, she floated quietly into the shadowy maw of the cave.

A moment later, her distant voice called out, “Hello? Is anypony home? Listen, if a zebra named Azi is in here, I just want to say that his brother wants to talk.”

After a minute of silence, Ekon found that he was rapidly tapping his right front hoof on a rock. “Come on, Pinks. Get out of there.”

Several moments went by. Finally Pinksworth drifted out of the cave, much to Spring Step’s relief.

“I couldn’t find any bandits, but I think somepony’s in the temple. I heard hoofsteps.”

Spring Step raised a brow. “That’s it? Just one person in there?”

“As far as I know,” she replied.

Spring Step nodded and pointed a hoof at the cave. “Good enough. Okay, everypony, let’s get in there. Ekon, stay close to me.”

The closer Ekon walked towards the cave, the more vividly his worst memories returned to him. He could recall the curves and cracks of the cave entrance as if he had designed the place. It must have taken ages for someone to remove all the fallen boulders that separated Ekon from his angry brother.

You had better keep running, Ekon. I’ll find you and bring you back here. You’re going to get what you deserve.

Before he walked into the entrance, he looked to the left and saw two stones with words chiseled into them. One read “Alafin”, the other “Tarana”.

He broke from the group and stood in front of the gravestones. Spring Step took a step towards him, but then saw the names. She backed away and gave Ekon room to grieve.

When you live in the squalor of the wasteland, you hold onto the memories of better times. Those soothing recollections of his family often shielded Ekon from a world of collapsing buildings and slope-browed bandits.

Alafin’s limitless perseverance spurred him on his entire life, which he then taught to Azi. Tarana’s wisdom, which seeped into his dreams not long ago, enriched him.

But now they were gone.

Because of me, he thought bitterly. He shook that thought away as it were a bothersome fly. None of this was his fault. It was Starlight Glimmer that caused the cave in. At least she got what she deserved; a fatal plunge into a chasm she helped create.

As he got up and walked into the cave with the others, he hoped he would be braver than her.

Thread Of The Soul

Starswirl’s temple was a simple one-story building, carved into the cave walls. A few halogen lamps lit up the cave. Past the temple were several cave entrances.

Spring Step said, “Stick with me, Ekon. I want to find your brother before we go any further. Pinks? Stay close to the others. If anything goes wrong, get them out of the cave first.”

Pinksworth nodded her massive head. “Will do! Hey, I just heard some hoofsteps from the temple. Maybe you should say hello, Ekon.”

Swallowing down his nervousness, he took a deep breath. “Azi!” he shouted, “ It’s Ekon! I know you’re in here! Don’t worry about these people, they’re friends of mine. I just want to talk to you.”

A zebra peeked around the temple’s doorway, his left eye blinking. “What happened to Path Finder and Sure Shot?” he asked.

Ekon replied, “Sure Shot’s dead, Azi. I don’t know where Path Finder is.“

Azi stepped away from the doorway. His right eye was covered by a black eye-patch. “I paid them a ton of money to get you back here, one way or another, but I never figured you’d grow a spine and face me yourself.”

“Azi, I tried to find people who could help get everyone out of the cave-in, but the world was too screwed up for anyone to help me.”

His brother snorted in disgust. “That’s your excuse? It took me three weeks to dig my way out of here. That’s three weeks of watching our parents rot. Three weeks of digging at tons of boulders, with only one working eye, no less. A piece of falling debris smashed into my eye, Ekon. Every day, it hurts.”

Ekon’s bottom lip trembled at the sight of his wounded brother. “Azi, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

Pinksworth turned towards the cave entrance. “Uh, guys?”

Ekon waved her off. “Just a minute, Pinks. Listen, my friends and I aren’t just here so I can see you again . . . “

“There’s a lot of movement outside, Springy!”

Spring Step pulled her sniper rifle off of her shoulders and cocked a round into the chamber. “Who is it?”

A familiar angry roar filled the cave as the manticore ran towards Pinksworth. Three armed bandit ponies rushed in behind the beast.

Path Finder hopped off the manticore’s back as Pinksworth was gripped by the beast’s large paws. Landing on all four hooves, his large backpack, which was heavy with bandit weapons, almost made him fall over. The backpack’s straps pulled against the bandages around his chest, making him hiss with pain. He stared at Ekon in disbelief for a moment before he spotted Spring Step.

She raised the rifle towards him, the cross hairs gliding near his face.

One of the bandits fired his gun at her. A bullet smashed into the rifle, knocking it out of her hooves.

The manticore slammed Pinksworth into the ground, which made her yelp in surprise. The beast then bit down on one of her eye-stalks and began to pull.

“No! Bad manticore! No treats for you!” cried Pinksworth as she slammed her boxing glove into her attacker’s gut.

Roaring in agony, the creature pulled away from her, yanking her eye off. Spitting the camera-eye out, the manticore began to circle around Pinksworth.

“Ooh, you are a naughty critter!” Pinksworth scolded. “I’m going to swat your nose for that!”

When the beast charged at her, she fired her cannon into its face. When the elastic confetti stuck fast into its eyes, it scrambled to a halt. Clawing desperately at the sticky webbing only made the large paws get tangled and stuck to the manticore’s head.

“Ka-bam!” she yelled, slamming her glove into the animal’s forehead.

With a whimper, the manticore landed unconscious with a large thud.

Spike and Moondancer hid behind a nearby boulder, but a bandit spotted them.

Spring Step dodged the next shot from the bandit and whipped out her spare gun. A lucky hit hit the bandit in the chest, but Path Finder closed the distance faster than she figured he would.

Both Ekon and Azi backed away as Path Finder bit down on her left front foreleg and yanked her sideways. As she staggered, he let go and swung at her head.

She ducked under his hoof and turned her gun towards him.

Azi screamed “Everypony stop! Right now!”

Path Finder flinched with surprise and stopped. Staring wide-eyed, he exclaimed, “Azi, these people . . .”

“Who told you to attack these ponies? Your men almost shot my brother! Tell your crew to stand down!”

Pointing frantically at Spring Step and Pinksworth, he pleaded, “B-but, sir!”

Stamping a hoof impatiently, he glared at Path Finder. “Do you like getting paid? Then put down your guns this instant!”

Spring Step kept her gun aimed at him while she backed away next to Ekon. “Pinks?” she said. “Keep Spike and Moondancer right next to you over there.”

Waving her glove, she replied, “Will do! I’ll keep my one eye on them!”

Path Finder’s bandit crew put away their weapons and gathered next to him. One of the ponies whispered, “What’s going on? I thought we were supposed to kill these oddballs protecting Ekon.”

He whispered, “Just wait. Let’s see how this plays out.”

Ekon took a calming breath. “As I was saying, I and my friends are here for two reasons. One, I want to make things right between us.”

Azi sat on his haunches and crossed his front legs. “Yeah, it only took you five years to grow a pair.”

“It’s hard to be brave against armed bounty killers, Azi.” Ekon pointed at his shoulder wound. “See this? One of your men shot me a few days ago. How brave can I be against a five year grudge?”

Azi said, “For the first three years after I got out of the cave, I really wanted you dead. When I found a hidden stash of gold bars in the temple, I hired Path Finder and Sure Shot to hunt you down and kill you.” His eyes glimmered with a faraway look. “For three years all I could think about was them dragging your dead ass back here. I thought your death would be even payment for mom and dad dying. I even prayed that they would make you die slowly.”

Spring Step scratched her head, bewildered. “For what? Running away from a cave-in? You heard Ekon swear that he tried to find help, right? There’s more to this story than your brother realizes, isn’t there?”

Smiling humorlessly, Azi replied, “Hmm, you’re pretty clever. At least Ekon found a good friend. You’re right, there’s a lot more to tell.”

“I don’t understand, Azi,” Ekon lamented. “What did I do that made you want to kill me?”

Azi stared at him in disbelief. “What, you seriously don’t remember what you did?” He got up and walked slowly towards Ekon. “When the cave-in started, we all ran towards the cave entrance. Our parents were right behind me as you raced towards us. Remember?”

“Uh . . . y-yeah.” Ekon struggled to focus on a memory that was blurry at best.

Azi was only a few hoofsteps away when a steely edge crept into his voice. “Do you recall exactly and precisely what you did next?”

Ekon could only shake his head.

“You knocked me over! You were so fucking anxious to get out of the cave, you pushed me down to get to the entrance first! Mom and dad tripped over me when you did that! By the time we all got back up, the only way out was blocked!”

“Azi, I . . .”

Azi mashed his muzzle against Ekon’s, tears streaming down his cheeks. “And then a boulder snapped loose from the ceiling and killed our parents! That wouldn’t have happened if you helped us all escape instead of thinking of just yourself! You stupid, thoughtless fucker!”

Spring Step intervened, saying, “Now hold on, Azi. You were all in a panic trying to get out. There’s no way Ekon deliberately knocked you over.”

Ekon wept as he put his front hooves on Azi’s shoulders. “Azi, I’m sorry! You’ve always looked up to me ever since you were a kid. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you, but how is killing me supposed to help anyone?”

“Because pain was the only thing in my life from then on.” Azi lifted his eye patch, revealing a milky, pulped eye. The eye lid was purple-tinted scar tissue. “I had the pain of losing my entire family. I wanted you to suffer as I had suffered.”

Azi gestured towards the caves past the temple. “For the first three years since you left, I prayed for your death, with only my research of this dig site to pass the time. My bounty hunters kept me up to date on how badly Equestria has turned out to be. I began to think, ‘What is the point of holding onto this vendetta when the whole world has suffered worse than I have?’”

Wiping away tears from his muzzle, he continued. “That’s why in the last two years, I told Path Finder and his partner to not kill you, but instead bring you back alive.”

“You forgave me,” guessed Ekon.

“Yes,” said Azi as he hugged his brother. “You taught me the value of patience. But I had to teach myself the value of mercy. It took far too long for me to be brave enough to let go of the past.”

“I’m no longer your target,” Ekon said as he recalled what his mother advised in his dream. “I just wish I was brave enough to come back here a lot sooner.”

Their ears pricked up at the sound of Path Finder’s gun cocking. They turned to see him pointing his gun at Azi. “Bravery. Mercy.” He spit out the words as if they were moldy food. “You two have no idea how weak you are.”

Spring Step took a step towards the bounty hunter, but one of the other ponies aimed his revolver at her head. She scowled, angry at herself for getting so distracted by the zebras.

Azi fumed as he cried, “Path Finder, put that piece away! I got my brother back, so your job is over. I’ll pay you the amount we agreed on.”

Shaking his head, he growled, “I thought you wanted him alive so you could kill him yourself! If I had known you were wimpy enough to forgive him, I would have blown him away out of sheer spite!”

Ekon could only stare into Path Finder’s furious pin-pupil eyes. “Oh, good grief, you’re crazier than I thought. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since you killed your own partner.”

Whirling towards Ekon, Aki yelped, “What?!”

Spring Step nodded. “That’s right, Azi. He stabbed Sure Shot in the back with that manticore’s stinger.”

“How could you do that to your friend?” demanded Azi.

“Because that’s the only thing this rotten world allows!” His voice began to crack as his gun drifted between the brothers. “It demands that you kill your friends when they become too weak to rely on!”

Azi stared down the barrel as the gun pointed towards his face. “You’re both too weak to live. I owe Ekon a bullet to the head for shooting me with a flare gun, anyway.”

Path Finder’s ears swiveled towards a whooshing sound behind him. Turning around, he spotted a glint of metal just as Pinksworth’s severed eye bashed into his head. Screaming in blinding agony, he hit the rocky floor with a muffled crunch.

“Booyah!” shouted Pinksworth with a triumphant whoop. “I knew I could hit you from here!”

Pulling himself up, spitting out blood and tooth fragments, he yelled, “Kill them all!”

One bandit turned away from the zebras and ran towards Pinksworth, taking aim with a hunting rifle.

Spring Step leapt onto the bandit closest to her, knocking him off his hooves. “Run, you guys!” She yelled, struggling to keep his revolver away from the zebras. “Get your asses out of here!”

Azi nudged Ekon as he ran from the fight. “Come on, Ekon!”

Path Finder growled as he spotted the zebras escaping into the temple. Forcing himself to ignore the pain of his broken teeth, Path Finder reached into his backpack and pulled out a six round grenade launcher.

“I have had enough of you, whatever you are,” he seethed as he aimed at Pinksworth. He fired a round at her.

Pinksworth shot her party cannon at the flying grenade, smothering it in the elastic webbing. The explosion was just muffled enough to only startle the bandit galloping closer to Spike.

She shouted, “Guys? Stay behind me,” as she aimed her cannon at the bandit.

Path Finder fired again.

A fireball blossomed from her cannon, making her cry out in surprise. A moment later the cannon popped loose from her fragmented, smoldering arm and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Spike’s eyes widened at this sight. Balling up his fists, he stepped out behind Pinkworth. “That’s it,” he fumed. “I’ve had it up to here with this crap!”

The bandit was sidetracked by the sight of Pinksworth’s damage just enough to not notice the flames streaming from Spike’s mouth. A second later he was bathed in dragon fire.

When the bandit took a breath to scream, his lungs filled up with the searing flames. He could only wheeze due to his vocal cords snapping from the heat. The overwhelming pain made him drop and writhe a few moments before he finally died.

Pinksworth stared at Spike’s handiwork for a moment. “Yikes! And the eggheads wanted to give ME a flamethrower?”

An explosion knocked Pinksworth sideways. Her severed boxing glove flew past Spike and Moondancer.

Pinksworth waved her claw at the manticore as she flew away from Spike. “You guys hide behind that thing! Be right back!”

Path Finder’s hooves shook as he fired at her, shearing pink metal away from the left side of her head. Smoke boiled from the hole.

“You have serious anger issues, mister! I think you’ve been in the wastelands too long!” She was almost on top of him.

Ekon’s hooves slid as he stopped in mid-gallop. He turned towards the explosions that rang out from the temple doorway .

Azi yelled, “Don’t stop now! Are you crazy?”

“I’ve been running away for five years, little brother. Now that I’ve found you, I can’t lose my friends.”

“But you’re not a soldier!”

“No, I’ve been a self-hating coward. But I’m sick of living my life as if it were a form of punishment.”

Azi tilted his head. “What? What you talking about?”

Ekon pointed towards the cave. “These ponies risked their lives to save me, Azi.” He broke into a gallop. “I have to return the favor.”

“Ekon! No!”

Spring Step struggled with the bandit. Digging her rear legs into the rocks, she opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on the bandit’s muzzle. While he struggled to pull away from her bloodstained teeth, she lifted her right foreleg and slammed it down onto his gun-holding hoof. With an audible snap of his radius, he screeched and dropped the gun.

The bandit yanked his head loose and thrashed frantically to get out from under her. He managed to kick Spring Step in the gut. When she squeezed her eyes shut from the lucky hit, he swung his uninjured leg into her chest.

Reeling from the unexpected blow, she backed away, sitting up on her haunches.

He grabbed his gun and swung it towards the pegasus.

Shaking away her pain, she saw the glint of the gun barrel as the gun took aim at her head. In the space of a heartbeat, she felt like she was looking down the mouth of a train tunnel.

Then a blur of black and white fur smashed into the bandit. The gun went off, but the bullet zipped past her ear and ricocheted off a nearby cave wall.

Landing on his back, the startled bandit saw a furious zebra lift up his hooves. The last thing he ever felt were those hooves frantically pounding skull splinters into his brain.

Pinkworth slammed into Path Finder, his legs spread across her face. Firing her jet exhaust at maximum thrust, she crashed into the temple.

Path Finder bounced off the wall and fell to the floor. He hadn’t let go of his grenade launcher, however. Even with two ribs broken, he struggled to take aim at Pinksworth.

“Yeesh, you’re like a roach!” she exclaimed. She grabbed the barrel of his weapon with her claw and tried to yank it away. Unfortunately, pulling the weapon forced him to pull the trigger.

A fireball blossomed from her jet engine as she crashed into the stone floor with a loud clang. Path Finder’s ears were ringing, but he still heard a hiss coming from the top of the head. Ignoring his screaming rib cage, he stood up and peeked inside the smoking cockpit.

“Uh-oh,” trembled Pinkie Pie as Path Finder grinned evilly at the helpless, coughing filly.

He reached inside, but flinched when a shot was fired. His legs suddenly went numb and he slipped out of Pinkie’s view.

Blood trickled from the small hole that he found in his lower back. A moment later, he saw the ragged, gory maw in his gut. He looked over at Ekon, who held the bandit’s revolver at him with bloodied hooves.

His head began to tilt from one side to the other as he slumped to the floor like a wet rag. Grinning mirthlessly, he said, “Well, well, look at you. Big, bad, zebra brother saving his marefriend. Your parents would be proud. It gets easier after this, you know.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Ekon.

“The first kill was easy. I see what you’ve done to that bandit. I’ll bet I was even easier to kill. Soon, you won’t even think twice about blowing ponies away. You’re finally going to be strong enough for this world.” He snickered. “ Just like me.”

Taking a step closer, Ekon kept his aim steady. “No. I could never be like you.”

Path Finder’s eyes dilated as he became limp. “That blood on your hooves will never wash off, Ekon. You’ll see.” He closed his eyes. “Only the . . . s-strong . . . survive.” His head slumped forward.

Spring Step cautiously approached Path Finder. Carefully lifting one eyelid, she nodded to Ekon. “He’s gone. It’s about fucking time, too.”

Pinkie peeked outside her cockpit. “Uh, Ekon?” she said. “You can put down the gun. We won.”

Ekon placed the gun on the steps of the temple. Feeling lightheaded, he sat down and stared at his front hooves.

His bloody hooves. That smashed in a pony’s skull as if it were a clay pot. That began to tremble as a low moan rose in Ekon’s throat.

Spring Step turned to see Ekon hugging himself, moaning and rocking back and forth. She trotted over to him, but was beaten by Azi as he dashed past her to hug him.

Popping open her bat-wings, she engulfed the brothers in her embrace.

“It’s okay, Ekon,” whispered Azi. “It’s all over now.”

“There’s blood on me, Azi.”

“I know.”

“I’ve just killed two ponies. Without thinking. Without even trying.”

Spring Step consoled, “You did it to save me and Pinkie Pie. Thank you, Ekon.”

“I feel sick,” moaned Ekon. He blinked and stared at Spring Step with rising fear. “What if Path Finder’s right? What if I start acting like him?”

He shivered, tears dripping off his muzzle as he looked at Path Finder’s corpse. “What if . . .”

Azi gently planted a hoof over Ekon’s lips. “Shh! Hey, listen to me, big brother. For a while there, I was as bloodthirsty as that nut was. But I eventually came to my senses. I know what Crazy Town looks like, believe me. If I see you travelling there, I’ll let you know.”

Spring Step rubbed Ekon’s back. “So will I.”

Spike sat down next to the trio and added, “Same here.”

Moondancer said, “Count me in.”

Pinkie tsked in mock annoyance. “Ahem! Don’t forget about me, Ekon. You have more friends than you know.”

Ekon looked at his brother and smiled. “Oh, I think I have a pretty accurate head count.”

* * *

After Pinkie was pulled from her wrecked suit, she was strapped to Spike’s back. “Hey, guys?” asked Pinkie, “Let’s all go into the temple and away from this mess, okay?”

Azi waved them in as he turned on the temple’s lamps. The room’s large round table and three chairs were carved from the cave rocks. The walls were smothered in ornate scribblings of ancient languages. A faded black cave painting of Celestia, Luna and Starswirl the Bearded covered one entire wall. Smiling at the fascinated stares of the newcomers, Azi guessed, “I take it you guys are here for more than just my family reunion.”

Spike replied, “That’s right, Azi. I and Moondancer are from the Canterlot Intelligence Agency. Your father sent us reports about the artifacts he discovered here. We think that the secret to bringing back the Princesses and Equestria’s magic is hidden somewhere around here.”

“They need me to navigate them through all this mountain’s caves,” said Ekon.

Moondancer examined the huge painting. “One question that’s been rattling around my brain is why this temple is so remote. If Celestia and Luna were worshipped here, why wasn’t this temple located in a city or at least a town?”

Azi smiled and chuckled. “Because this temple isn’t where they were worshipped. It’s where they were created.”

His smile grew even wider as he looked at one gap-jawed reaction after another. “I wasn’t just waiting for Ekon, you know. I kept myself busy continuing our parent’s research. A few scrolls are missing from this temple’s library . . .”

“Those have to be the spell scrolls that Starlight Glimmer stole!” exclaimed Spike, wide-eyed.

Azi flinched from the news. “What? Who are you talking about?”

Spring Step said, “Starlight was this insane unicorn mare that somehow found out about Starswirl’s most powerful spell. Before your family showed up here, she swiped it and used it to send the magic and the Princesses away.”

Rubbing his chin with a hoof, Azi said, “Yeah, that explains the how. I would love to know the why, though.”

Spike pointed at himself. “I was there when the Unraveling started. She swore that if she couldn’t control the future, then no one would.”

Azi pointed at Moondancer. “So you guys brought another unicorn to try and make a counter spell?”

Moondancer nodded, smiling shyly. “Well, I’m hoping I can, especially after all that we had to go through to get here. Now what’s this you said about the Princesses being created here?”

Azi sat on one of the stone seats and held up an ancient, yellowed scroll. “That’s what he admits in this journal of his. Two thousand years ago, he felt that Equestria needed dynamic rulers in order to bring all the pony tribes together. Starswirl was the world’s first top-tier wizard, you see. He needed someplace private to conduct his Princess-building experiments. “

Turning to the wall painting, he gestured to the alicorns. “Having both wings, horns and an unnatural size was enough for anypony to take notice of them. When Celestia and Luna were eventually released into the world, he was the one who had taught them how to be rulers.”

Moondancer scratched her head. “What about when Luna rebelled and got sent to the moon? Did Starswirl have a contingency plan for that?”

Azi nodded. “Celestia was the only one who knew that spell. But only Starswirl knew how to get rid of both Princesses in case they both turned bad.”

Pinkie asked, “But why did he make a spell that could take away all the world’s magic? That’s seems kinda mean.”

Looking over a few more scrolls, Azi replied, “Since the Princesses are made of solid magic, having any magic on the world’s surface would give them something to climb out of the pit with. No magic means no ladder.”

Ekon examined the scrolls. “What do you mean, ‘climb out of the pit’? Where did the magic and the Princesses go?”

Azi held up a map of the world. “I figure about halfway towards the world’s core. There’s a nickel and iron alloy layer down there that’s kept all that energy from sinking any further.”

Moondancer studied the map and pointed to a few scribbled lines. “It says here that a cave reaches all the way down to this layer. This mountain was a volcano a long time ago, I guess.”

Smiling appreciatively at her, he remarked, “You have a good eye for detail, Moondancer. I can show you the cave’s entrance where Starswirl created the so-called ‘Alicorn sisters’. There’s one tiny problem you guys will have to deal with. When the earthquake hit, it dumped a bunch of boulders on top of that entrance.”

Pinkie’s ears pricked up. With a wide, manic grin, she asked, “Would an explosive of, let’s say, five pounds of C4 open up that cave?”

Blinking in surprise, Azi replied, “Uh . . . I want to say yes, but I don’t have anything like that.”

Turning her head towards Spike, Pinkie asked, “Spike? Could you be a sweetie and get my self-destruct device out of my suit?”

* * *

Spike carefully planted the bomb in the middle of the boulder pile. He had never handled explosives powerful enough to shred Pinkie’s suit before, so he treated the device as if it were made of eggshells. When he was confident that it wouldn’t slip off the giant rock pile, he ran back to the others.

“Okay, now what, Pinkie?” he asked.

“Let’s move down the cave a little further.”

When they all moved out of sight of the blocked cave, Pinkie said, “Everypony, cover your ears and count to ten.” When they did this, Pinkie took a deep breath and yelled “Pinkie wants big boom!”

After a few heartbeats, a sudden teeth-loosening roar flung boulders and dust down the cave. Pinkie giggled with delight, saying, “Ohh, somepony remind me to kiss Time Turner when we get back home!”

When the dust settled, the cave’s boulders were smashed to scattered rubble. When Moondancer cautiously peeked into the cave, she shivered. “If I didn’t know any better, I would swear I could feel magic in this chamber.”

Spike found a wooden torch, breathed a bit of fire onto it and placed it on a nearby wall-mount. The stone chamber was as big as the temple. A perfectly round black cave was at the far end. “I think you’re right. It’s like what I told Ekon, magic is just energy. All the world’s magic must have reached a certain filling point before flowing up to the surface.”

Azi asked, “So why aren’t the Princesses here?”

Moondancer studied Starswirl’s writings on a nearby wall. “According to this, he used this spell to retrieve them and all the magic.”

“Can you make the spell work?” asked Spike with a twinge of anxiety. “Please say yes.”

Moondancer walked over to the seemingly infinite cave and pointed her horn into the darkness. “I’m going to say definitely maybe. My horn’s getting just enough juice to hopefully pull this off. You guys might want to stand back.”

While Moondancer’s companions huddled together away from her, she closed her eyes and recited the spell she had memorized from the wall.

Her horn glowed.

And then flared like a firecracker.

Ekon would later recall being able to see every color in the universe as the typhoon of magic rushed past him. Because his eyes were open, he could observe, for only a moment, the nervous system of his brother. For an even shorter moment, he witnessed what his brother’s soul looked like. A swirl of luminescent cloud, just like his own.

Then, as quickly as it began, the magic stopped it’s flow. Moondancer wobbled and then slumped to the floor, moaning.

Spring Step ran over and pulled her onto her feet. Moondancer opened her eyes, stared at the pegasus, and said, “Spring Step?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re flying.”

Pinkie squealed. “Ooh, look at you! I guess you don’t need your bat-wings anymore!”

Landing on her hooves, she laughed at her good fortune, but then stared into the cave that now glowed a florescent blue. “Never mind my wings, where are Celestia and Luna?”

Azi said, “This cave runs miles towards the inner core. Give them time.”

A few moments later, everyone saw two blotches of light rushing towards the chamber. One was white, the other a dark blue. Moondancer stepped away from the cave entrance.

The white blotch coalesced into a familiar Alicorn shape as it got closer. Spike stood next to Moondancer, bowed at Princess Celestia with closed eyes and said, “Welcome home, your highness.”

Princess Celestia stared at Spike and went “Merp!”

Princess Luna drifted past her sister and said, “Narf!”

Spike slowly lifted his head and a shiver rattled down his spine as he saw the condition the rulers of Equestria were in. The sisters were translucent and floated around like pony-shaped jellyfish. They stared at everything and everyone with the mad fascination of a kitten.

Celestia chirped “Blark!”

Luna brayed “Nee!”

Trying desperately to not panic, Spike planted his hands on Moondancer’s cheeks and asked, through gritted teeth, “Are you absolutely certain you cast the counter spell right?”

“Yes, I promise! I don’t know why they’re acting like this.”

Azi held a hoof over his mouth to hide his amused smirk. “It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? The layer of iron and nickel alloy I mentioned earlier is at least a thousand miles wide. When they got sent away, their minds got spread throughout all that surface for five years . No wonder they lost track of them-selves.”

Moondancer gently pushed away Spike’s hands. “He’s right, Spike. It would be like spreading a pat of butter over an entire loaf of bread. You couldn’t really tell where the butter was, right?”

Spike sat down and stared at the ghostly princesses as they drifted around the chamber. Then he snapped his fingers. “Wait a second! Azi, isn’t this what the Princesses were like before they were taught by Starswirl?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

Spike jumped to his feet and pumped his fists. “Then that means we can still get them to rule us again!”

“Meep!”

“Neeg!”

“Er . . . after we take them back to New Canterlot. And after they graduate.”

Spring Step asked, “How are we going to sneak these proto-princesses past the gate? Snails will flip if he or anypony else sees them like this.”

Pinkie said, “Why don’t we stuff them into my suit’s cockpit? They haven’t solidified yet, so it would be like stuffing bed sheets in there. After my suit gets delivered to the think tank, you pop open my suit and let the reeducation begin!”

Ekon asked, “But the engine’s blown up. How are we going to get the suit out of the cave?”

“By having pegasi air-lift it back home, of course, silly! When my self-destruct bomb went off, my suit’s locator beacon switched on. We’ll be seeing plenty of friends soon.”

Spring Step trotted over and nuzzled Pinkie. “You’re a genius, Pinks. Spike, I need you to do two things for me.”

“Sure, name them.”

“First, get these bat-wings off me. I don’t need them anymore.”

“What else?”

“Strap Pinkie onto me. I want to fly her back to New Canterlot myself.”

Pinkie sniffled as tears pillowed around her eyes. “Aww, you don’t have to do that. It’s a long trip!”

“Hey, you spent the worst days of my life trying to lift me up. It’s time I returned the favor. In a literal way.”

In a few minutes, Spring Step flew out of the chamber with Pinkie cheering like a foal on a roller coaster.

Spike shook the hooves of both Azi and Ekon. “I want to thank both of you for all you have done. Since this temple’s messed up from all the fighting, you’re both welcome to stay at New Canterlot.”

Ekon put a hoof over his brother’s back. “Maybe later. Azi and I have a lot to catch up on, so I’m staying here for now.”

The dragon smiled. “I was hoping you would say that. Twilight would have been proud to have seen you patch things up with your brother.”

“She would be just as proud of you, Spike,” replied Ekon.

He nodded, wiping bothersome specks of dirt from his dampening eyes. “I’ll see you guys outside. Moondancer? Help me herd these fillies away.”

When the brothers were alone, they hugged.

Ekon said, “I’m sorry I was such an idiot for so long.”

“I already said I forgive you. You’re going to have to forgive yourself eventually,big brother.”

“I’m recalling something dad taught me. ‘If something stays lost long enough, it eventually gets found.’”

Azi patted Ekon’s non-wounded shoulder. “We were both lost for years.”

Ekon smiled at his brother. “But not anymore.”

“Welcome home, Ekon.”

* * *

“Make compassion the cotton, contentment the thread, modesty the knot and truth the twist. This is the sacred thread of the soul; if you have it, then go ahead and put it on me.” – Guru Nanak

THE END

Author's Note

Aaaaaand it's done! Finally! I wrote the final draft of this chapter till two in the morning on 1/8/17!

I hope you guys like this mammoth effort!