Fallout: Equestria - Echoes

Fallout: Equestria

Echoes

Chapter 07: Diamond in the Rust

“Ruby, ghouls right!” Whipping my shotgun that way, I snapped a blast into a pair rushing out of the door, then another into the ghoul stumbling over them. Cashew and I didn’t stop, and we let the rest gather behind us, content to add more to the chase.

Catching up to Ironhoof had been easy. He ran along the streets, straight as an arrow to Ironshod Armory. He and his men also yelled and shot up every building as they passed. Like a stampede, the ghouls poured into the street, forming a herd, with him in the lead and us trailing behind.

Crack, crack, crack! I’d never heard Dust fire his rifle so quickly. He flew overhead, slowing as he reached an intersection nearly a block away, glancing back at us before perching atop an old lamp post leaning against the building next to it. The horde had rounded the corner down the street he was aiming at, mostly ignoring him. I saw a safe opportunity and teleported Cashew and I ninety percent of the way.

Cashew stumbled. “Dammit, warn me first.” I had meant to, of course, but I was falling back to my team’s combat practices. We teleported so much we knew when it was happening.

Slowing until I peeked around the corner, I sped into a canter to follow the horde, now passing into the next intersection. Cashew and I were only a short distance behind them now, close enough that if they stopped and turned on us I’d teleport us away without a word of warning.

Close enough that the minigun fire that started shredding the ghouls nearly hit us by accident.

The unexpected fire threw my focus, and Cashew and I both cut into the building beside us, some sort of office building. Ghouls inside were already running toward the door when we busted though it, and our shotguns fired hot. I had to burn a ghoul with a firebolt while we reloaded, but our breather was short lived. The gunners on the miniguns had noticed our engagement and swiveled to fire into the building. The mostly windowed walls of the first and second floor were shattered by the multitude of rounds, but we hid behind the grand staircase toward the back of the open floor.

“Can’t you blow them up or something?”

I shook my head. “I can’t cast at something I’ve never seen. We need to find a back door-”

Boosh- boosh! Rockets! The building shook when they hit, dust and debris falling from every surface. I couldn’t see where they had hit, like they hadn’t even been aimed at us.

“Ruby, we need-” Yes, yes, I know that. I don’t have time to warn you. Again.

I could see a window across the street, back the way we had came. It would have to do. A blink and we were in the clear, watching the building we had been inside collapse, filling the streets with dust and smoke. Cashew swore and moved to a window to signal Dust.

On the opposing side of a main thoroughfare was the Ironshod Armory, and it was a fortress. I only got a glimpse of the street level defences before they were enveloped by smoke, but they were a wartime style I was familiar with, using concrete barricades for cover and barbed wire out in layers before them, all centered around a single pair of large double doors. Every other entrance on this side was blocked by rubble, and the windows were boarded up as well.

The roof was higher than our position, but I could clearly see three minigun emplacements, one above the door and the other two at each corner of this part of the building. Each gun was well protected by a what was essentially a scrap bunker. Nothing else appeared to be on the roof, but all of those boarded up windows begged for a sniper to be placed inside. I couldn’t see the rocket launchers, so either some of these windows were a facade or they were on the ground outside.

They joined me at the window, and Dust let out a quiet whistle.“Is this the part where yah decide they’re too tough and we go on somewhere else?”

Cashew checked her pipbuck. “Paladin Raspberry Tea will have gathered an assault team by now, and should be on their way. I’ll send them a ping on our location.” Pipbucks were surprisingly secure for civilian tech, so I fully expected the bandits to not have the ability to intercept that message.

“You’re familiar with the interior, correct? Should I expect large production and storage rooms with the occasional office?” I wasn’t very familiar with factories of mundane tech. Hopefully they weren’t too different.

“Yes, that’s right. I don’t imagine the bandits have restructured much.”

The dust had settled, even if the cloud would remain for some time. Those ponies on the ground couldn’t do much more than defend themselves, but those gun emplacements could see as well as I and easily shoot anywhere in front of the building.

“Any idea of how many hostiles inside?” I didn’t know how many ponies I was willing to kill today. Probably too many, but I set that thought aside.

“We believe there are around two hundred in the facility, but that does include those defending outside, and they won’t abandon the other outer defences when we attack this one.” Cashew lowered her pipbuck. “Paladin Tea will arrive in about fifteen minutes.”

That would be fine. “I’m going to take out those heavy guns. After that, I’ll break in through that door and lock it behind me.”

“What ‘bout us?”

“Dust, I want you to hold your fire until I’m inside. Once I’m there hit anypony trying to follow. Cashew, direct your Paladin to follow me in when she arrives. With any luck, most of the Rust Rebels will be outside, far from sensitive machinery, and no longer armed to deal with Steel Rangers.”

He frowned. “Yah mean yer goin’ in there by yerself?”

“Of course.” That was the safest way for these two.

Cashew stomped a hoof. “What am I supposed to do? I’ve told you before, I’m not defenceless.”

You are fragile. “Then go in with your Paladin.”

She harrumphed at me, but I was busy readying a spell and looking at the defences. This had to be hard and fast. Unfortunately for these ponies, that was always how the Battlemages operated. Faster than the Shadowbolts, our commander once boasted. Rainbow Dash begrudgingly agreed. I blinked away from the building and my companions.

“The fuck?” A quick glance over my shoulder, and I picked the pony who had yelled from inside the bunker. My second spell stifled his yell. The ponies around him all cried out against my witchcraft when he transfigured into an apple shaped grenade. My maroon magic held the pin while the grenade fell to the floor.

Gathering another spell, I refocused on the other bunker in front of me. They hadn’t noticed me yet, so they were entirely unprepared for the sudden icy wind slipping in through the windows. The wind coalesced into a small crystal floating in the center. A muffled explosion behind me drew their attention, and they started to make the connection between the glow of my horn and the icy crystal. An instant later, the crystal burst, icy spines piercing through flesh and metal.

I quickly examined the bunker behind me. While the gun appeared still functional, these bandits, or perhaps the Steel Rangers before them, built the turret so it could not attack another. I walked around the structure, thankful for the wall when the sickening squelch of the fragmented grenade returned to his pony form.

The third bunker was well aware of me and some were running out to shoot me. A quick trio of firebolts tore into the two ponies and through the door they shut behind them, my small fireball following closely. The walls shook when it exploded inside, followed by only the sound of quiet burning.

On the roof there were at least three stairwells down and five other turrets, though those guns and ponies were at the far ends of the building. I could see ponies stepping out, concerned about all the the explosions they were hearing. They didn’t matter to me. I went to the closest stairwell and entered the facility.

The stairwell was empty, along with the hallway on the top floor. I saw a window facing further inside the building part of the way into the hall, so I started walking. Drawing the shotgun, I leaned up to the first door and put my ear to it. Nothing. Opening it quickly, there was nothing to shoot. Moving to the next, I didn’t need to lean close to hear the sounds of guns being loaded. I kicked open the door, two blasts making quick work of the bandits inside.

Back in the hall, I knew the rest of the building was aware this was no longer an external attack. The next door opened when I was halfway to it. A earth pony, far too reckless, stepped out, casually looking down the hall at me with his gun hanging from the sling. One blast later, he dropped to the floor, parts of him splattered on his friend behind him. Said friend backed into the room and pulled the door shut, swearing the whole time. Getting a short running start, I blasted the door handle just before I slid hoof first into the door and into the room. He fired first, but at the empty doorway. I fired before he could strafe his gun toward me. Standing to face the last pony inside, he swung an iron pole at the floating shotgun, keeping the barrel pointed away from him. That did nothing to save him from a lightning bolt, and I stepped out of the room, now silent.

I could hear ponies yelling from the stairs, but I still wanted a look out that window. I pulled out the submachine gun and pointed the two weapons either way down the hall while I ran, bypassing a door along the way. Reaching the window, I loaded shotgun shells while observing the factory floor. There were obvious alterations since the war, and hopefully a few more since the Rangers were forced out. There was a large area caged off, filled with ponies of all kinds, and a couple other races, most notably a pair of griffons.

In the center was a raised platform, a large rectangular metal girded floor with an scrap built throne upon which sat a very specific pony, staring right back at me. Around him were four unarmed and unarmored zebra. In the middle of the platform were five of his personal guard from the park, well equipped with rifles and partial combat armor.

The first clear yell drew my attention back down the hall. Short bursts from my submachine gun made the ponies dive for cover, one crossing the hall into another door while the others backed into the stairwell. They blindly fired into the hall and I, without cover, cast a quick small shield around me. The door I had past popped open, and the staccato of fire from another machine gun opened up on me. That had to end, so I sent an indiscriminate fireball through the door, ending the shooting with a blast and tossing the door into the hall. I couldn’t keep casting spells like this.

Feeling more impacts from behind me, I turned and ran toward them, pouring more energy into my shield and blasting away with my shotgun. Two ponies shot from behind different doors, and a third from the stairwell at the end of the hall. Too many ponies, thundering up the stairs. Keeping up the submachine bursts behind me and shotgun blasts down the hall before me, I past the first door and whipped a firebolt inside. The second pony slammed his door shut, so I ignored him, facing the stairs. I barely looked at a new pony and his flamethrower before the roar and the flames washed over me, withering my shield. I ran away, turning both weapons at him, hoping to get the pony with a lucky shot.

My breaths growing heavier, another icy wind spread from my maroon glow, gathering into a crystal before me. This burst was focused and narrow, sailing down the hall, ripping into the ponies that had rushed out. Now out of range of the flamethrower, I spun and cast my own magical equivalent, my flames sweeping into theirs and engulfing the rest of the hall around him. The roiling flames shifted, and I knew the other pony flames had ended, but I was afforded no respite. An explosion knocked me from my hooves, shattering my shield and the window beside me.

Pulling myself up to the window, I saw the pony, standing amidst crystal spikes, reloading his rocket launcher. I couldn’t keep exchanging fire like this. I went in too heavy to handle without a working H.E.R. Glancing down, I saw Ironhoof, sitting in his throne, my sword in his hooves, a smirk on his face.

I pulled the door up off the ground and tossed it out the window, jumping right after. The second rocket exploded behind me, splintering me with shrapnel and littering my fall with debris. In freefall now, obstructed from those below by the door, I had a moment to think. My magic was too low for any more spells. Even strenuous levitation might cause burnout at this point. All I had left were four guns, years of experience, and unresolved revenge.

The door didn’t fool those below. Bullet ripped through, and I opened up with my drawn guns. Gripping the door in magic, I slowed the fall enough to roll with the landing, though I wouldn’t feel good about it tomorrow. Everypony in his guard were between me and Ironhoof and protecting themselves from the debris, giving me a moment to act.

I unloaded the last of the submachine gun on the guard furthest away, the shotgun on the closest, and drew both pistols, running into the group. I let the empty gun fall and jumped onto the nearest living pony, tackling him and stomping his face. Rolling back, I pulled him up between me and his friends. They hesitated, but I did not, putting several pistol round into two of their unprotected faces. The last guard fired, and I could feel several of his rounds pierce his friend and hit my own armor. Pointing the shotgun, a flash of hope crossed his face when the weapon clicked empty. That hope was crushed by pistol fire, dropping the last one dead. I pushed the dying pony off me and stood, surprised to see the three zebra walking at me. They had nothing but wrappings and heavy collars to fight me with.

I killed those five in seconds and they still wanted to fight? Other explosions, muffled by walls, filled the silence of their approach. While I was struck by their devotion, I still raised my pistols at them. I had killed so many zebra in my life, even with the war over, what were three more- Four!

I dropped my stance, feeling something whisk over my head. While the swing missed my head, it knocked one of my pistols out of my grasp, and the return swing hit the other. Ready this time, my empty shotgun caught her third swing. Her form, I recognized it. It was off, though. Perhaps years of apocalypse could do that to a style.

Not wanting them to pick up the dead ponies weapons, I pushed into the zebra. They were odd to me. All female and hardly clothed, they seemed more like a harem than an elite guard, yet here they were, the last line of defence. There was more, though. Like the way they completely ignored the guns on the ground.

Now surrounded, I knew I had made a mistake. Quickly shifting direction, two moved to outflank me, doing so easily. I jabbed the shotgun at the second zebra in front of me, then swung when I missed. She took the hit and caught the gun, tossing it aside. I ducked under the hoof of the first zebra and reached out and kicked her back leg, dropped her to that side. The two behind me moved in, but I threw bodies at them. Just me and the second zebra, we threw a couple hooves at each other and I realized another thing.

These mares were sloppy martial artists. That was what was odd. Every zebra soldier I had fought either stuck to their guns or could snap my neck at the first mistake.

She hit my shoulder once, but I hit her face twice and shoved her to the ground. A pair of hooves grabbed me and lifted, throwing me to the ground. I twisted out, but still hit hard. Rolling to my hooves as quick as I could, I blocked a kick to my face but took a kick to my flank, followed by another to my back knee. Standing back up, the zebra who threw me got a clean hit on my face, letting me taste blood. It didn’t matter that I was better than any one of them. These four, ancestors to those I had killed so recently and so long ago, would kill me. Of course, I wasn’t just going to let them.

I kicked my whole body at the zebra on my left, pushing her off balance. I spun away from her, kicking out my leg to sweep hers. I threw a wild buck at the zebra who kicked my face, missing her but keeping space between us. I stepped into the kick of the zebra that had kicked my behind, still taking the hit but wrapping my hooves around her. Spinning, I threw her at the other zebra. The other zebra had already moved, and was about to buck me, and I was in no position to avoid it.

I jumped up and away, and the zebra buck sent me even further. Landing out from between them, I didn’t have a moment to relish my new bruise and perhaps a broken rib. Feeling plaster debris under my hoof, I swept them at one of the two closest zebra. She blocked it from her eyes, but the action delayed her, and I met the other zebra’s hoofstrike with my own. Stunned, she watched as I hooked her hoof with mine and rolled away, flinging her over me.

Just as my hooves were under me again, another strike caught my shoulder. I reeled and stumbled away, but strike after strike chased me. I backpedaled through several, then bolted forward, shoulder checking one of the three mares in the attack. Completely off guard, she bounced off the platform, but my thigh caught a kick that nearly dropped me. Stepping away and turning to face them, I ducked enough to only get a glancing hit to my forehead. Dazed and stumbling, one of the mares tackled me.

Rolling with the fall let me pull her over so she wasn’t on top of me, and I pushed away before she could get a hold of me. That left me under the other zebra, who was reared up to stomp me with all her might. I managed to wrap one of her hind legs just as she came down, and only one hoof hit my shoulder. Arm numb, I twisted my body and pulled her over me, making her stumble between the tackling mare and I. She didn’t try to hold me, so I rolled away and stood, squaring off against the two of them.

The mare I had flung was behind me, and the mare that had bounced off the platform was at the stair to my right, holding a metal pipe, and tossed another one to the tackling mare. I stared at each of them, getting a good look at the eyes of the zebra who would finally kill me. Finally end it.

“Ruby!” Dust’s twang called from some other world. A glint caught my eye, falling from the air. With my levitation, the only magic I really had left, I caught my sword.

The zebra did not wait, and neither did I. I spun and kicked low at the zebra on the stair, missing but making her pull back her strike. My sword flicked behind me, and a spray of red shot across us, the mare falling with red at her throat. I jumped and kicked down and the other unarmed mare, and she backed out of reach. The tackling mare swung her pipe, but from above me my sword thrust into the path of the swing and past, piercing her chest. I grabbed the blade’s grip in hoof and dashed, drawing the blade from the mare and slicing through the unarmed mare’s neck, and spun again, pointing the blade at the last mare before either one had dropped. She looked between her comrades, uncertain, and I charged, thrusting the blade past her sorry defence, digging deep into her chest and lifting her.

I pulled the blade from her, a flourish and a flick removing much of the blood. Death had come for me, had gotten so close I could see her, but yet again was chased away, taking those I stood against. Someday, I might see her face, when she finally took me, and I might see that it was my own, a mirror in the shroud.

“I’ll kill them all! Let me go or I’ll do it!” I couldn’t remember who was yelling. It wasn’t Onyx or Indigo. Some other stallion. Not Dust either, no twang in the words. I tried to look around, but all was black and white and red. Like it always was. Even so, I stumbled toward the voices.

“Okay, okay, we’ll let y’ go.” That was the twang, that was Dust Devil. I looked up, and saw his browns. Beside him was other brown and blonde and a little green glow. Cashew and her pipbuck.

“Killing them won’t save you, Ironhoof.” The mechanical rasp of a Steel Ranger, but a familiar female one. “You will die regardless.”

“I’m not bluffing!” I could see the pony on the ground, begging and waving around a controller with a red light. “I will kill them.”

“I’m not bluffing, either. You have forever earned the mark of enemy of the Steel Rangers, and we will not let you escape our justice.”

“So ya’ll just let ‘em-” I shot my sword between Dust and Cashew, the last bit of strength I had ending Ironhoof’s life. Almost as quick as the sword, Dust dove at him, grabbing something from his hoof. He did something and the light went out.

“Justice is served,” the Ranger said.

Dust wasn’t looking at me, but at the device. “If I hadn’t been quick enough, Ruby, you would have killed...” When he finally looked at me, I tried to stare back, but the world was swaying and he was fading. Everything started to go sideways and white.

<==M M==>

“I’ll do it,” I said.

Colonel Stonehide, the earth pony and senior officer in the room smiled and rapped the table. I doubted he truly appreciated what he was asking, but Major Borealis, a unicorn like myself, seemed fully aware. Even as he had listened to the Colonel present the idea of a unicorn unit using offensive magic, the Major struggled to appear neutral, to not fidget or shift his papers constantly. Now, his eyes were white saucers, and I could see his mouth ajar.

“Are- are you sure? Absolutely sure?”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.” There wasn’t any question. I was committed to doing everything I could in this war, taboo or no.

The Colonel stood, saying “Now where is the next one?” He went out the door with a bounce in his trot.

“What will I do now, sir?” I didn’t exactly know war magic, and I had no idea who could teach me. The only real answer would be Princess Luna herself.

The major never looked away from me. “Go back to the waiting room, please. If the others answer as quickly, we will provide further instructions today. If not, then we’ll send you home and contact you tomorrow.”

“And then, sir?”

He shook his head and straightened his papers. “When Princess Luna authorized the creation of this unit, she emphasized the special training it would receive before it was permitted to enter the war. When that training is finished, you will be among the first Battlemages Equestria has seen in a thousand years. After that, may Celestia’s grace guide your souls.”

“I won’t need it, sir.” I stood and walked to the doorway, but paused. “And she shouldn’t waste the effort on me.”

For three hours, I waited. I had been the first, and during that time, twelve other unicorns had gone into and out of that room. Only four remained after, and the ones who had left had regarded me and the others with disdain before departing. One, a dark coated stallion with brilliant orange hair and appeared to be my age, had gone in twice, once right after me and again after everypony else had gone. The entire time in between he stared at a picture. The only other stallion who stayed was a little younger than me with an indigo coat and a teal and yellow striped mane. He hadn’t spent much more time in the room than I had, and all his time since had been staring at a Talisman Science magazine.

Eldest among us was the only pony I recognized and it was from reputation alone. Sunset Shimmer’s crimson and yellow mane was fading, but her amber coat was as vibrant as I’d ever seen in photos of her. She was rumored to be as talented as Twilight Sparkle herself, and to be put into a room with her because of my own magical talent was inspiring indeed. However, she was the only civilian among us. I knew we were being selected for a military unit of unicorns, so perhaps they wanted her to help train us. After she had left the meeting room, she found an Equestrian Army Today and began reading in earnest.

The final mare was only slight older than me. She had a light purple coat and a purple mane with aquamarine highlights. She didn’t read or talk, only observing the others, much like myself. She was the last pony before the dark one’s second entry, and after he had come out, the two senior officers came out as well.

The colonel was practically bouncing. “Congratulations. You five are going to be the first of your kind in over a thousand years. The major will fill you in on what steps come next.” He quickly left, probably to fill in his superiors with the news.

“The five of you will be transferring to Canterlot by the beginning of next week.” His gaze wandered between us, unwilling to stay on any one of us for any length of time. “There you will be instructed in combat magic by the finest unicorns in the Equestrian Armed Forces and Princess Luna herself.” He nearly choked on the next words he said. “With enough effort, you may become a force so powerful you will change the tide of this war forever.”

He forced himself to focus on Sunset. “Miss Shimmer, since you are not yet in the military I will be guiding you through the process for the rest of the week.” That was surprising. I was going to be training alongside another of my foalhood heroes, the mysterious Sunset Shimmer.

“Ruby Moon, I have an additional task for you.”

“Yes, sir?”

“There was a no show today, a Miss Nebula. I’d like you to stop by her place of work and ask to come in at some point this week. You can find her at Rarity for You.”

“Yes, sir.” Oh, one more? If she said yes, that would bring us to six, just like the Elements of Harmony. Only it would be six unicorns, and our purpose would not be to save Equestria, but to destroy its enemies.

v^V^v

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. The quiet beeping to my left was accompanied by a few thin rays of light into the dark room. Judging by the orange color, it was what little amount of the sunset could reach through the undoubtedly overcast sky. I shifted in the bed, sitting up to look about the room.

Dust Devil was sitting in the corner, sleeping, his gear to one side and mine, including my sword, to the other. Opposite the mostly boarded window was a shut door and a viewing window with a curtain drawn across it. The rest of the room was bare but for a heart rate monitor and a IV stand. Even of the general debris I’d been used to seeing in every building up to now was missing. I tugged the corded sensors off, flicking the power switch before the tone could drone into my ears.

“You’re finally awake.” It wasn’t Dust’s voice, but that of a young mare. I looked around the room again and found it just as empty the first time.

“Either you’re hiding at the foot of my bed or under it. Show yourself.”

A very dirty dark colored hood rose at the foot of the bed. With the room already dark, the hood concealed her face.

“I want to come with you.”

I frowned. “What?”

She walked to my left side, and put a hoof onto mine. “Let me come with you. I can be useful.”

I caught myself staring at the hoof. The hood was part of a short cloak that only reached her knees, and where her legs were bare I saw black and white stripes. Though not the first zebra or filly that I had seen, she was the first of both that I had the chance to speak to.

The war was over, I reminded myself. Everyone had lost.

“Show me your face.” She shook her head, shifting the hood back just enough to reveal her face. She was, indeed, a zebra filly. “Why come with me?”

The look she gave caught me off guard. The tilt of her head, the slightly raised eyebrows; she reminded me of the very worst teachers I’d had.

“Why else?” I wanted to smack that tone right off your face, filly. “You’re the safest place in this world.”

Wait, I’m safe? I picked a fight with a hydra, a raider base, and a bandit gang. Well, she probably didn’t know all that. “What makes you think that?”

“I’ve heard about you. The rangers are all talking about it. How you came from the past and fuck shit up.” Whoa, filly, language! “You killed a hydra like it was nothing, slaughtered raiders and bandits. If you can do all that, then I’m safer by your side than anywhere else.”

“Look, young miss-”

She tapped my pipbuck light off, “I can be useful, I swear. After all, you think they let me in here? Zip it about me, okay?” She ducked out of sight again.

What? This filly was very odd. I hadn't another moment to think before the door opened. Dust roused from the lights being turned on and the heavy hoofsteps of an armored Steel Ranger, without the helmet. The armored mare had a red mane in a bun and beside her was Cashew, looking cleaned up in a vaguely Equestrian army officer uniform, and a elderly stallion in a similar outfit, though of clearly higher rank and with a long coat. His mane was fully grey, and his coat had faded to a olive color. None seemed to show any signs of noticing a filly that didn't belong.

“Ah, awake at last.” The elder was eager, but his voice felt thin. “I was worried you would be out for days and I would have to leave before you woke. Lucky me, it seems. I am Elder Split Pea. This is Star Paladin Raspberry Tea, and you’re familiar with Proctor Cashew.”

Split Pea approached and shook my right hoof, while Raspberry Tea and Cashew held back. Dust, uncommonly still and stiff, stood close to my left. Nopony seemed to notice the zebra who had to be under my bed. Believing that, at a minimum, they would not approve her entrance, she was beginning to impress me. Star Paladin? Either she had been promoted after the battle, or the title was occasionally shortened.

“I would introduce myself, but I’m sure Cashew had told you all about me.” Tea stiffened when I said Cashew’s name, but Split Pea only nodded.

“Yes, she has, but don’t hold that against her. Our dear Cashew wants the very best for our order. Now,” he raised his gaze to Dust, “if I’m correct, you are the famous Scavenger that works for the Tower Witch.”

Dust nodded, though he seemed to be eying the Star Paladin. “It’s my first time meeting a Steel Ranger Elder.”

Split Pea waved a hoof. “Don’t be so worried. If she was more friendly, we could be allies. As it is, though, we have to respond to hostility in kind. Ah, but don’t worry, we have no intentions of harming you. After all, it seems you are accompanying the good Captain here to visit her old friend. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

Dust eased up at that. I doubted he trusted them, but he knew as well as I that what they wanted was my loyalty. “Elder, what are your intentions?”

“Why, to be your friend, of course. I won’t hide it from you: I think you are one of the most important ponies alive right now. So much has been lost that even technologically inclined ponies such as our good Proctor have difficulty keeping the lights on. I’ve looked up what old pre-war files we have on you, and I’ve seen your qualifications. Not to mention who you know.”

“Who I know? What do you mean?”

He pointed at Dust. “The Tower Witch. She built that tower out of advanced pre-war technology. We want it, of course, but what we want more is her. She could help us learn so much, and she should before she succumbs to the inevitable.”

That was a worrying thought. “You mean turn feral?”

“Yes. She’s being absolutely selfish by not sharing her knowledge with anypony else. Why, with how much she knows, she might be the only pony still alive who understands technology the way she does. All we want is to rebuild Equestria.”

This was not the face of aggression I expected from what Dust had said, nor did it explain the guilt Cashew clearly felt about her faction. Now, however, she was practically beaming. I was clearly missing something, but I didn’t think he would offer it if I asked.

“So you want me to go to Tower and ask Moondancer to be friendly and teach your technicians?”

He nodded with enough bounce that I worried for his old bones. “For the short term, yes. I’d also like for you to join the Steel Rangers. I’d be content to offer you the position of Star Paladin, to which I attest is no small position at all, and-”

“No.” The elder’s mirth dropped to shock, while Raspberry Tea offered wide eyes and a hanging mouth. Dust and even Cashew seemed relieved, letting out bated breaths. I’m also quite sure I heard very muffled sound from somewhere in the room that was not under my bed.

“I am content to be an unofficial associate for now,” I continued, “with the possibility of accepting your offer in the future. I have, however, learned a few things from my travels so far, and they lead me to question the very integrity of your endeavor. I will pass along your offer and request to Moondancer, but I will not label myself a Steel Ranger as of this moment.”

The Star Paladin finally spoke up, and it was definitely the same voice of the paladin we met before, and maybe the one I heard at the end of the battle. That part’s still a bit hazy.

“We are the best chance Equestria’s got. Everypony else is raiding and pillaging, scrounging around for scraps, or fiddling away to themselves. The Steel Rangers are the only ponies trying to rebuild. If you care at all about the Equestria you lived in, you would join us.”

Cashew was solemn, but did nod. The elder had looked at Raspberry Tea, but looked back to me, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“If ya’ll were really tryin’ to rebuild, ya wouldn’t go ‘round stealin’ tech from those who earned it. I can tell you from personal experience that Steel Rangers will hold ponies at gunpoint for a working talisman or some such thing. You don’t care ‘bout rebuilding nothin’.”

“So says the Scavenger,” Raspberry said with venom, “who would sell a talisman to any raider with caps.”

Dust Devil practically spit out his response. “I would never work with a raider, and I would never steal a half corrupted water talisman from a village in the sticks surviving on cattails and weeds, but you are definitely guilty of one of those things.”

The Elder raised a hoof, shaking from his old age. “Enough, you two. I know we have a reputation in the wasteland, and I respect your decision. I implore you to reconsider, but I’ll say this before anything else: We want to protect ponies, we really do, but our resources force us to make difficult decisions.”

Resources. That was the thing, wasn’t it. What had started the war so very long ago was what drove everypony to madness still to this day. That wasn’t enough, though. What I really needed was more information. I could ask, but between Dust and Raspberry, I expected that I would hear two sides to every story, both sides as heroic and tragic as the other. I needed a convenient third party.

“Hey, filly. What do you think?” Everypony blinked at me.

Dust raised a hoof to touch my head, “Did yah hit your head a little hard, there?” I brushed away his hoof.

“Reveal yourself and I promise you can come with me at least until Tower.”

A ceiling tile above me slid open, and the filly dropped down on the empty part of the bed. Dust and Split Pea both took a step back, and Raspberry Tea dropped to a combat stance.

“Intrud-”

“She’s with me! She’s fine.”

Raspberry paused long enough for Split Pea to straighten himself and nod.

Looking her in the eyes, I said, “Why don’t you tell everypony your name and your completely honest opinion of the Steel Rangers. I promise you have my protection.”

I thought I was ready. Thought I had heard foul language during the war. I was not prepared for this. Luckily for me, everypony else was far less prepared for the flurry of colorful insults the filly spewed at the top of her lungs. Raspberry Tea tried to get in a word, but that only caused her shrill to raise an octave. I almost called her out when she used Princess Celestia’s name in such an explicit manner that a navy barracks would have shriveled in shame, but I was suddenly wary when a pair of armed and armored rangers appeared at the door, investigating the disturbance.

I said, sharp enough to cut steel, “You didn’t tell us your name.”

She stopped cold, turning to face me with such a look that I felt my sharpness melt away.

“Zujine.”

Raspberry Tea was fuming. “Oh, quiet now, you little shit? How did you get in here?”

Zujine took in a deep breath and I quickly said, “Keep it conversational this time.” She paused with her mouth wide, snapping it shut at me.

“Fine. All of you idiots have way too much trust in your stupid pipbucks and your dumb magic armor. I could wear a fluffy pink hat with a bell on it and still sneak past those dumbs you call guards.”

That made the Star Paladin’s eye twitch. “You’re telling me you just walked in past the guards? All the way to this room?”

“Look, I’m not a liar. I came in right behind the time traveler. All those robots, making a fuss, not even noticing the filly slipping in between their hooves.” She mimicked the action with her hooves, giggling a bit. I couldn’t help but smile at the juxtaposition of her size and her language.

“Wait, you came in with the medical team? I escorted them myself, you weren’t there.”

Zujine shrugged, “Yeah, you’re just as dumb as the other robots.”

“Steel Rangers are not dumb robots!” Tea stomped her hoof, sending a heavy vibration through the floor and cracking the floor.

The Elder raised a hoof, “Stop arguing like a filly, Star Paladin.”

“Yeah, I’m the filly. I don’t even know how you ponies won the war with your stupid armor. Oh, wait, you didn’t. You lost it like everybody else.”

I held my smile, unsure of what to do. I had agonized over that very thought, but hearing a filly like Zujine say it like that, well, it was eye opening.

Dust’s twang instantly drew Zujine’s gaze. “You sure you wanna say something like that? She was in the war, y’know.” He gestured to me with a hoof.

She followed the hoof and looked right into my eyes. “Thanks for the hellhole. When are we leaving?”

Ha. I felt an energy spread out into my face. It should have been more familiar, but as my smile spread and the chortle began, I started shaking uncontrollably, struggling to breathe. I couldn’t open my eyes. I laughed until I cried, and I could hear the filly laughing with me. It was just… Wiping the moisture from my eyes, I took a deep breath. Slowly letting the air out, I opened my eyes to the nervous room around me. Cashew and Dust had never seen me laugh before, and now that I thought about it, I was laughing about the end of the world. Whatever this filly was, I think I needed her.

“Yes, Elder, I think-” The last bit of laughter squeezed out of me. It wasn’t something I was used to. “I think I would like to get on my way. Was there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

He shook his head at the filly, now curled up on the bed, squirming with giggles. “I would like to send an escort with you.”

Assaulting a fortified position? Sure. Travelling in hostile territory? No. “I hardly need a Steel Ranger to slow me down.”

The filly squealed, “Oh shit, she said your dumb robots are slow!”

While amusing, I didn’t feel like her expositions punctuating every statement I made. “Zujine, please keeps your comments to a minimum.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She went quiet and still with a quickness that was unnerving. The Steel Rangers all stared at her.

The elder returned his eyes to me. “Thank you, Captain. What I meant was that I wanted to give you an assistant for interacting with us in the future. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we maintain a high level of operational security, and while you consider yourself an ‘unofficial associate’ you’ll understand if I’m unwilling to give you the means to access our communications.”

Perfectly reasonable, though I didn’t even know what other enemies they had. “I understand.”

“To that end, I would like it if you would continue to allow Proctor Cashew,” the good Proctor’s eyes widened, “to travel with and assist you. She is familiar with all of our operations and I’m sure she can supplement any technological troubles you may come across.”

Cashew stared at the Elder until he finished, then moved her eyes to me. I’m surprised the Elder sprang this on her.

“I won’t object if she agrees.”

The Elder turned to Cashew, and she snapped to a neutral expression. “What say you, Proctor Cashew?”

“I am proud to serve the Ministry.” Wait, did they really consider themselves the M.W.T.?

The Elder turned back to me, a beaming smile on his wrinkled muzzle. “It is settled then. You are free to leave at your leisure. I look forward to our next meeting, Captain. I hope you will have reconsidered before then.” He bowed his head to me, then walked out of the room, Raspberry Tea at his side.

Zujine glanced at Cashew and Dust. “So this is our troupe? Somehow you managed to get a unicorn, a earth pony, a pegasus, and a zebra in one group? Are you some kind’ve equal rights freepony? What’s next, a griffon? A dragon? Oh, I hope it’s a hellhound!”

Now that the Elder and Star Paladin had left, Dust shifted his weight and fiddled with his sling. He also stared at Zujine. I started climbing out of the bed while he started talking.

“Ah’m not ‘gainst her joining us, but Ah’d like to know more about this filly. How you knew she was here and where she came from in the first place.”

Zujine answered quickly, “You ponies don’t even know the slaves you freed? Of course, forgive me for being beneath your attention.”

Dust quit his fiddling. “I was a bit preoccupied with makin’ sure miss fireball over here didn’t bleed out, being my job to deliver her an’ all.”

“Oh, and you thought the best way to help her was to throw a sword at her?”

Glancing between myself and the filly, Dust squared up, face to face with Zujine, who was still standing on the bed.

“Ah knew she could use it, and I thought it would make’em back off enough fer me to get a clear shot.”

Though I was putting on my barding, I noticed now that her hood had slid back, revealing her black and white mane tied into tight buns from her forehead straight down her head and back, making her appear larger than she actually was. While under that cloak, I couldn’t be sure of her age, or anything, really.

She put a hoof on the railing at the foot of the bed, raising her head higher than Dust's. “So you weren’t expecting her to cut through his zebra harem like bullets through a pony? You should have seen her entrance! Burst out of the upper levels in an explosion, and by the time we opened our eyes again she had slaughtered his fuckin’ guard! And nopony, No Pony, has ever gone hoof to hoof with the harem like that.”

His harem? Those four zebras were Ironhoof’s harem? I didn’t see any other zebra in that cage, so I couldn’t be sure, but-

“Hey, Ruby, that’s your name, right? What’s that badass emblem on you barding? Is that a unicorn skull?” She had rushed up to me and was poking at my breastplate.

“Yes. I was part of a unit called the Battlemages. We were an all unicorn-”

“What this phrase mean? Mors noster aeternum?” Zujine said. Well, she tried to say.

“Death is our eternity.” I had never said it so evenly. It was normally a somber thing.

She slowly looked up at me with wonder. “Badass. Let’s get out of this dump. Where are we going?”

Tower. It wasn’t far. In fact, it was closer than Station. On top of that, the territory we would be traveling through was considered safe. Shortly after the Sheppony Crossing, we’d be on Sheppony Island, though staying at the northern tip and not venturing to the majority of the island. Halfway across the tip, Steel Ranger territory would end and Mustang would begin. Cross the Lady Day Bridge, stay along the coast another couple miles, and we’d be at Tower.

There was something in the way. Not a threat, per se, but a curiosity. On the way, in the upper-class housing around the Summer Palace that the bridge was named for, was the residence of Onyx Comet. I doubted very much that I would discover why he felt as he did, but perhaps I might learn something. What he had said, it couldn’t have been, yet I trusted him. I needed an answer.

Footnote: Updated Perk List. Added Perk: Tag! Melee Weapons -- You didn’t complain to your mother when she made you take fencing lessons. Back then it was all family duty and tradition. Now? It’s all about death, and who meets her first.