The Rising Calm

I sat at the back of the cage Frost and I were locked in, curled up in a tight ball, trying to protect my injured side. It had been three days since we were captured, and apparently the raiders who had captured us assumed we were part of something called the Institute. I didn’t know what that meant, as I’d expressed to the pony who was questioning me, only for him to drive his armored hoof into my side. His boot had spikes all over it, which I knew intimately because most of them had been inside me. Frost had, of yet, remained uninjured.

Probably because she was still quiet and hadn’t argued. She raged, but after learning who was holding us, she’d gone quiet. At least one of the other prisoners, who was gone now, was a doctor. I had no medical training, so I couldn’t patch up my injured side. The doctor had patched me up somewhat, so I wasn’t going to bleed to death. I didn’t know what had become of the doctor, but he’d been gone for three days now. I knew it had been three days because my Pip-Buck had, thus far, ignored all attempts to remove it. “So, you’re stuck.” A voice said in my ear and I looked to the left. There, standing not two feet from me, was the Mysterious Stranger.

“What? You just pop up whenever you think it’s funny?” I asked and Frost looked at me. “Great. You didn’t freeze time, so now she thinks I’m talking to myself.”

“Maybe think instead of talk. I’m speaking to you mentally, Ruby.” He said and I realized he really wasn’t talking. His lips weren’t moving at all and his voice really was coming from my head.

“So… like this?” I asked mentally and he winced, making a lowering motion with his forepaw. “Better?” I asked again, this time consciously trying to not yell. When he nodded, I nodded back. “Then maybe you’ll tell me what the hell you thought would happen when you sent me here!” I mentally shouted and he winced back.

“Ok, I admit, not my brightest moment.” He thought before lifting his left forepaw, revealing a black pip-buck on his wrist. “Thing must be busted. I guess I finally found a way to break it. Or Spi…er… Watcher messed with it last time I visited Security.” Shaking his wrist, he stared at the Pip-buck again and I blinked. He had a pip-buck. That meant he was from a Stable. “No it doesn’t.”

“Oh right… mental connection. If you’re not from a Stable, then who are you?”

“A guy’s gotta have his secrets, or so Rarity used to tell me. Though she would say that a lady has to have her secrets, but her secrets weren’t really secrets to me. Like this one time…”

“I don’t want to hear about… wait. Did you say Rarity?” When he nodded, I blinked again. “As in Ministry Mare of the Ministry of Image, Rarity. The mare who’s been dead for one hundred years?” he nodded again. “How do you know Rarity? You can’t be any older than Frost.”

“And just how old do you think I am?” he asked and I had to pause for a moment. I knew he could hear it, but I started doing math in my head. He chuckled when I reached my solution. “Not even close, I’m afraid. Here’s a hint, I’m younger than Twilight Sparkle would be right now.” I just blinked dumbly. “No? Well, that’s the only hint you’re going to get for now. I can’t tell if I can really trust you with the information. Anyway, you and your friend seem to be in a predicament.” I just glared. I didn’t want to look like a psycho mare by yelling at him again. When he didn’t speak after a moment, I sighed.

“So what do you want in exchange for getting us out of here?”

“A promise.” I kept my mouth shut, hoping he’d take the hint to continue. “There’s a mare out there. She’ll look, to the undiscerning eye, either like a Pegasus or a Unicorn. She took off her Pip-Buck, so I can’t track her location. I need you to find her for me. And, if you can, keep her safe. Gain her trust, and make sure she gets to the main SPP Tower. She’s a master healer, and she can help Equestria be brought back to the way it was before the war. There is no other pony in Equestria who is a more talented healer. Once you’ve found her, go to Tenpony Tower and speak with DJ Pon3 and the mare named Homage. I’ll make sure they’re both there, and expecting you.” He said then leaned back, a thoughtful look crossing his face. “Actually, go to Tenpony first. Find Homage. She’ll take you to the tower I need you to go to.”

“And… will she know how to get me in?” I asked and he grinned.

“She better.” He said before disappearing.

“Who did you yell at? Even the guards out there probably think you’re nuts now. Maybe they won’t feed you to the Deathclaw they have out there now. Might give their pet a disease” She said and I blinked.

“Hang on…” Walking over to the other side of the cage, even though it didn’t get me far, I looked at my Pip-buck. “Hey, uh… wolf… guy… I know you’re listening… where are you…?” I asked quietly. When he didn’t answer, I sighed and looked up. Time had frozen again and he was standing in front of me.

“Yes?”

“What are we going to do about the Deathclaw?” I asked and he smiled.

“Oh right… the Deathclaw. You’ll have to kill it. I recommend that.” He said, pointing behind me. Turning around, I saw a small box. Levitating it up, I turned to ask him what was up before it split in half, opened up, and wrapped around my foreleg, above my Pip-buck. I panicked and attempted to scrape it off, but it just expanded around my Pip-buck, keeping it visible, as well as covering my entire hoof. “That there is a… not quite patented Tank Buster. It doesn’t have a name, and it’s never been fully tested. It doesn’t have the kick to hurt its user, but it sure does have the impact you’ll need. Now… have fun.” He said before vanishing again. As soon as he was gone, Frost blinked.

“What the hell? That’s new. Did you always have that?” She asked and I looked down. The Tank Buster was still on my foreleg, under my Pip-Buck.

“N-no. It’s… a gift…” when she quirked an eyebrow, I waved her off. “I’ll explain later. We gotta get out of here though.”

“Well… good to hear. Because you two are up for The Pit. I doubt you’ll survive.” A mare said from the other side of the cage. I looked over and saw a trio of armored ponies, the mare in front with a scar covering her right eye, her mane cropped short, her armor reminiscent of evil ponies I’d seen pictures off in old childhood books. The other two ponies were wearing what looked like old hoof-ball pads with black dye splashed on them in random places. When I turned around, the Tank Buster had shrunk back into a bracelet, but somehow, I knew how to use it again.

If I had to venture a guess, the mystery pony who’d given to me had somehow implanted the knowledge in my brain. Following the mare out of the cage, I heard Frost follow me so I didn’t bother looking behind me. She either had complete faith in me or she planned to try and escape the second we were outside. That idea was squashed the second we were outside. We were in a gigantic cage, and across from us, chained to the wall, was a massive Deathclaw. From the size of it, I was sure that if it wanted to, I’d be little more than a squirmy snack it could swallow whole.

I swallowed and Frost stared at my back. “Fillies and germs, we are proud to announce to you the thirty-third annual… feeeeeeding gaaaaames!” A stallion shouted over the intercoms, followed swiftly by the screams and cheers of other raiders. “We have today’s meal! The Pegasus mare, well known by one and all, the terror of the Wasteland! The Raider Queen FROST WING!” the raiders all shouted again, but they weren’t friendly shouts. Frost was not popular. “And as an appetizer! A little filly, fresh out of the local Stable! We have… SHRIMP!” He shouted and I stared up at him. Before I could shout what my name was, Frost kicked my back leg.

“Shut up. If they know you’re name, it’s more embarrassing.” She said and I sighed.

“Now, without further ado… our champion… our favorite… our pet… BRUTUS!” He shouted and the gate of the Deathclaws cage opened. I swallowed and glanced down at my foreleg, under my Pip-Buck. I prayed to Celestia and Luna that this would work. “He has never been denied a meal before! And he never will be denied a meal, so long as he keeps us entertained!” With that, he pressed a button and the chain keeping the Deathclaw in its cage was snapped in half by a set of metal teeth that shot up out of the bottom of its cage.

It roared at us and Frost bolted to the side, trying to get around it to get behind it. Shaking my head quickly, I lifted my hoof and pointed it at the Deathclaw. As I did, my eyes widened as the band under my Pip-Buck expanded, encasing my entire hoof and adding a small barrel on the end of it. Frost saw it and dove backwards, racing the other way. Somehow, she seemed to know what it was. Eyes boggling, I stared at the Deathclaw as it raced at me only to, suddenly, be no more. It was as if it just wasn’t there anymore. And neither was the half of the arena behind it. There was sudden silence as Frost bolted over and shook her side at me.

After a moment, she whacked me on the head. “Hey, pay attention. Bite my wings free. We’re outa here.” She said and I shook my head quickly, bit a piece of the rope and pulled, tugging the rotting rope loose. The second she was free, she took the air, spiraled around, and scooped me up, flying out of the arena. Once we’d gotten far enough away that I couldn’t hear gunfire anymore, she landed, setting me down gently, before turning and staring at the band around my foreleg. “Where in Celestia’s dripping nether regions did you get that?” she asked and I stared at it.

“It was… given to me… while we were in the cage…”

“Bull shit. I was with you the whole time and one of those raiders didn’t bother coming in and slipping something on you. The only way I wouldn’t have noticed was if… no.” She glared at me, striding forward and forcing me to plop my butt in the mud. “You were approached by that Mysterious Stranger guy, weren’t you? For some strange reason, he’s helping you without you even having to use that SATS program.” She said and I stared up at her, shaking. “Fuckin’ hell kid. You could have fucking said something.”

“He asked me not to… He also asked me to find somepony.” I said and she sighed.

“Who?” She asked and I stood up as she backed away.

“I need to get to Tenpony Tower. I need to find a pony named Homage.” She blinked before plopping her rear in the mud.

“Homage. Right… of course. Of course this Mysterious Stranger wants you to find only one of the most popular and famous ponies in this Celestia forsaken wasteland. At least she’ll be easy to find. But we’ve got quite a way to go.” She said and I stood up as she turned to walk away, in the direction of a tower I could only assume was Tenpony Tower.

About an hour later, we were about half way to Tenpony Tower when we stopped, the sun setting on the horizon. “We’ll camp here. No rivers nearby means no bathing, and I don’t have a tent to keep out the chill. Means we’ll have to snuggle for warmth. Aren’t you lucky?” She snarked and I sighed as I collapsed. I was exhausted. When she plopped down next to me, she sighed.

“What?”

“I don’t have my guns anymore. We had to leave them behind when you vaporized half of the Stadium.” She said and my ears drooped.

“I’m sorry… I… I can give you mine…” I said, reaching behind me and levitating out my pistol. My Pip-Buck kept it safely tucked away in my barding, utilizing a spell that shrank it down to a minimal size so it didn’t over-weigh me. As soon as it was out it grew back to normal size. She took it and looked it over, hefting it in her wing as if holding it that way were normal. When that didn’t seem to work, she gripped it in her teeth, her tongue able to depress the trigger.

“Well, it’s not a battle saddle. It’ll take some getting used to. I suppose I should say thank you.” Shaking my head, I stared at the ground.

“It’s because of me you lost your guns… so I’m sorry… if I hadn’t peeked into that memory…”

“You wouldn’t have learned anything. What did you learn anyways?”

“The war was going on even behind our own doors here in Equestria. It was a memory of some Stallion. I don’t know what his name was. He raped and murdered a mare named Minty Fresh. She’d apparently been helping Zebras by giving them supplies and freeing prisoners. I could understand her being imprisoned and executed for treason… but raping her? I think maybe he wasn’t an official member of the Ministries and was just doing his own thing.” I said and she nodded.

“If that’s the case, then Equestria was broken long before the bombs fell. Maybe the Zebras did us a favor.” She said and I stared at her. “If there were ponies doing that under the eyes of the Ministries… then Equestria was breaking before the war even started.” Walking away from me, she stomped on the ground a little.

“Um…”

“We need to get you to the SPP tower.” She said. “This is something Homage and the rest of her friends need to know.”

“Especially Watcher.” The Mysterious Stranger said from behind me, causing me to jump and nearly slide down the rain soaked hill. Apparently, he didn’t bother with being invisible this time, because even Frost jumped and spun on him, biting down on nothing, since her Battle Saddle wasn’t there anymore. “If ponies were raping and murdering each other with the Ministries watching, Watcher needs to know about it. I think I have a quicker away to get you two there.” He said and I stared at him.

“And just how are you gonna do that? My being all Mysterious?”

“Not exactly.” He grinned as he turned and aimed a pistol at her. I panicked for a moment until he pulled the trigger and, instead of a bang, I heard a pop and suddenly Frost wasn’t there anymore. Turning the pistol on me, he pulled the trigger and I felt like my insides were suddenly my outsides and then they were rapidly my insides again as I found myself in a gigantic cave with a huge computer in it. A moment later, the Mysterious Stranger popped into existence next to me and holstered the pistol.

“Artemis? What the hell?” a voice said from above and beside me, causing me to look up. Way up. Standing over me, staring down at him, was a massive purple dragon with green spines.

“We need to go to the SPP tower, Spike. I’d go there myself, but I can’t transport ponies there. So… be a pal and send them there? I’ll meet ‘em there.” He said before he disappeared again. The giant green dragon, Spike, sighed before looking down at us.

“The least he could have done was tell me why, but I assume there’s a good reason.” He said before he sucked in a breath and unleashed a torrent of green fire on me and Frost. I expected to feel like I was burning, but instead, that same reality twisty feeling came over me and suddenly I was in a massive white room with hundreds of computer screens, the Mysterious Stranger, Artemis, covering his head from a flurry of blows from a relatively small unicorn mare. She was almost smaller than me.

“You didn’t warn them!? You just randomly shoot two ponies, making them think you were going to kill them, all so they could come here?” she shouted, still whacking him.

“Pip, easy, easy. Jeez… They have information that you need to know. You too, Celestia, so pay attention.” He said and she stopped. I blinked and looked around before, suddenly, we were joined by the Goddess herself, Celestia. She looked as regal as I’d always thought she would. Flowing into a curtsey, I heard Artemis chuckle. “You don’t have to do that anymore. This isn’t the real Celestia. Well… not technically. It’s her consciousness. Welcome to the S.P.P or Single Pony Project. Now, tell them what you know.”

I looked at him, then at Little Pip, then at the Goddess and swallowed. My audience included at least one of the most powerful, influential ponies in all of Equestria from before the war. And, if my brain was working correctly, the most powerful fighter in the Wasteland and the savior of the Wastes. When he cleared his throat, I shook my head quickly.

“I think I can take it from here, Artemis.” Pip said and he looked at her and nodded. She walked over to me and I looked at her until she tilted her head forward, extracting the memory from me and simultaneously putting it into a new sphere. As soon as the memory was gone from my mind, the orb sank into the ground and played on the screen. I’d already lived it, so I didn’t dare view it again. Closing my eyes, I stared at the floor as the memory played for them.

“That’s terrible…” Pip said, extracting the orb from the floor and putting it in a small case made of glass before it too sank into the floor.

“If it is a true memory and has not been tampered with, then that means Equestria had more problems than my student ever could have hoped to face even with her friends. It is from the war, that much I could tell. But from slightly before the War truly started. Artemis, did you know of this stallions ministrations?” Celestia asked and Artemis shook his head, a snarl on his face.

“No, Princess. Had I known, I’d have taken him out of the equation myself. Look there.” He said as he pulled the memory back up, frozen solid. The stallions’ eyes were on Twilight Sparkle until he noticed Minty. “Minty Fresh wasn’t his final target.”

“Your mother was.” She said and Frost and I both turned to stare at Artemis.

“As far as I know, he never got to her. Dad was a little more protective than that, and the Shadow Bolts run by Dash kept a pretty tight grip on areal infiltration of any of the Ministry Towers. Even without the Shadow Bolts or the…” He stopped and glanced at us before looking up at the image of Celestia, who nodded. “Or the Archons, the ministries were protected from infiltration rather well. I mean, the Archons were within the ministries themselves, but even without the Archons, dad had his own guards from the Twilight Guard always following mom and the rest around.

“Though, knowing mom, the Twilight Guard was usually dispatched to help with issues involving the Stables, and there at the end to help with evacuations. If they weren’t around her when his plan went into action, then mom didn’t die when the bombs hit Canterlot. She was assassinated.”

“And not by a Zebra conspirator, as Golden Blood would have had us believe.” Celestia said, causing Artemis to nod. I stepped up about then.

“Um… who are the Archons? And the Shadow Bolts?” I asked and Celestia smiled at me. Pip looked up at her then smiled and nodded the ok for Artemis.

“Before the war, the Archons and the Shadow Bolts were elite soldiers to two of the ministries. The Shadow Bolts were Rainbow Dash’s personal guards. They never left her side, except there at the end when she ordered them to help with evacuation procedures. But the Archons were even more elite. While the Shadow Bolts could infiltrate the ministries by pretending to work there as maintenance ponies, the Archons couldn’t.

“Where the Shadow Bolts could use stealth, from just knowing how to sneak well to using the Stealth Bucks integrated into their armor, the Archons were always too conspicuous. And as they were trained by my dad to be the ultimate elite fighting force, they wouldn’t have let anyone get by and threaten Equestria. Let alone someone within the Ministries. Towards the end of the war, the Archons were all assigned to protect mom and the rest of the Ministry Mares. Which means an assassination attempt never would have happened. The Archons had the authority to arrest anyone within the ministries, even high ranking scientists.

“Think of them as a special police force. Nearly invisible to the naked eye, while sticking out like a sore thumb. If you noticed one, you’d know he or she was an Archon. But you wouldn’t be able to tell anyone, because you’d be dead.”

“And if anypony got passed an Archon to assassinate Twilight, it means one of two things. Either the Archon was corrupt and was paid off…”

“Unlikely.” Artemis interrupted, earning a smoldering glare from Celestia.

“Or… the Archon in command of protecting Twilight was murdered. Also unlikely, as they were trained to be even more elite than any of the Guards of Canterlot.”

“And… if the Archon was corrupt and paid off?”

“Then it means their commanding officer was also paid off.” Artemis said and I looked up at him. “Which is why that is the most unlikely of all possible reasons. My father was their commanding officer up to the end of the war.”

“Until he disappeared. Remember, Artemis? Your mother wanted him to retrieve the mirror from the castle so she could attempt to create replicas of it to place in Stables for Ponies to use to escape should the war infiltrate into the Stables themselves.”

“I remember. He went to retrieve the mirror and the bombs fell. After that, he had disappeared. Maybe a bomb increased the power of the mirror and he was sucked through it. Maybe the bomb that hit the Everfree caused a shockwave that knocked him into it. We aren’t sure and we can’t be sure.” He said and Celestia nodded.

“So… what’s the plan?” Frost asked and I looked up at her.

“The plan is you two need to get more information on these possible infiltrators to Stable Tec itself. If they were the real cause of mom and the others dying, then…” he trailed off and looked at Celestia, who nodded.

“If Twilight and her friends did not die due to the bombs falling, and were in fact murdered, then we can make an arrangement to have all of this repaired. Time will still have gone on, but the results will be very much different.” Celestia said and I looked over at Little Pip. She was smiling, and that smile made me hope that this worked.

Level Up) Perk Received: Wasteland's Salvation. You and your friends have a chance to fix the Wasteland, once and for all. +2 to Charisma.
Perk Received: Friend of the Light Bringer. You now know Little Pip, the Light Bringer of the Wasteland. All stats increased by 4.