Fallout: Equestria - Life is Miserable

Chapters

Hoofstep From Raiderhood
Flickers of a Hero
Creature Comforts
Era of War
Ameliorate
Changelings
Healing Home
Healing Home: Moment's Reprieve (sex)
Crystal Clear
Dream Diver
Setback
Mare of the Hour
Fear's Ordeal
Secrets Revealed
Fear's New Hive (Part 2)
Saving Jack Shit
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Solanum
Downtime (Part 1)
Downtime (Part 2)
Linebreiker
Returning Home
Fate
Death of a Mother
Nightmare Worth Dying For
Changeling Comforts
Fear's New Hive (Part 1)
Denouement: Forgiveness Begins

Hoofstep From Raiderhood

Rain pounded against the broken urban pathways, seeping into the cracks formed by frost heaving along the asphalt roads and cement sidewalks still remaining after the annihilation of the city. Metallic pitter pattering on onyx colored corrugated metal roofs. Cascading down the walls of skyscrapers, collecting in puddles 'n' potholes, flowing down gutters, running in streets, and gushing down old abandoned drains into equally forgotten sewer systems that ran underneath everything.

All below the thick, stagnant, rolling cotton cloud cover was drab and muted monochrome, with sickly brownish and yellow hues scattered here and there. Warm and muggy atmosphere sinking into the bones of all who inhabited it. A diseased world with motes of “light” traveling within it from place to place, trying to eke out a life within rotting remains.

But when everything was said and done, at least the liquid torrent was comforting, refreshing, and not acidic and irradiated for once.

Rumbling sounded off in the distance once every ten or so seconds, vibrating the air and making it smell of lackluster ozone. Heavy on the lungs and listless. Amidst all this environmental buzz a skeletal creaky carriage with ancient slipshod wheels rattled along the pavement; the gentle clip clop of two sets of hooves in step with each other rings out, one gait smaller and closer together than the other. A father and his colt, traders.

Glum Daylight, the parent, was a brown colored stallion with rippling, sinuous muscle and a size that intimidated most raiders, and dirty, tangled bronze mane and tail. His cutiemark a cresting sunrise with music note-shaped threads of wispy light radiating from it. His irises were a gentle gold, and had probably gotten him into trouble once or twice with raiders who wished to gouge them out and sell them. Over his torso hung lightweight armor, and strapped around his left foreleg was a holster with a high caliber revolver slipped into it. His steps were hefty and slow given he was the main source of power behind his vehicle, carrying a load of medical supplies and cans of food. It was a short distance they had to travel, bringing provisions to the small train car village they lived in.

Duskshine, however, was a rather lanky unicorn colt who had just gained his cutiemark. A dark gray coat of fur with suave, swept black mane and tail that seemed to hug his features just right, rather than being separate from him. A tuft of hair hanging over his vibrant lime green eyes. A rusty combat knife strapped to his right foreleg. While both of them could certainly use a cleaning, Shine came off as more hygienic, possibly due to how his parents cared for him. His cutie mark was of a stained cloth used for polishing leather.

“Are you sure the area's safe, Dad?” Shine's voice was wary with a cracked tone, befitting a colt who was in the middle of puberty.

“The scavvers are paid to keep this territory secure for us, son.” Glum's was deep and baritone, as deep as the faraway thunder, but much more harmonic, with a rustic lilt. “We'll make it home soon, then you can prepare for our trip to Friendship City.”

Silence reigned for some time. Just the storm sounds keeping the rain-soaked pair company as their wagon rolled along.

Shine flipped his hair away from his eye and smiled shyly at his father. His gaze was full of adoration and admiration, clearly looking forward to the day his body and telekinesis were strong enough to help pull the damaged carriage behind. To be able to help his parents. “Can you tell me how you and Mom met again?”

Glum grinned and nodded. It couldn't be heard very clearly amidst all the white noise and talking, but there was a gentle thrum of romantic jazz playing, with barely any radio static to accompany it. It gradually faded into their peripheral, but the music went unnoticed. “You never get tired of that story, do you son? I suppose there's not much else to keep you busy though.” His grin only grew. “Sure. Your mother and I first met at Friendship City.” The stallion had sure been through a lot. Had his own share of scars. Both physical and psychological. “As a traveling singer, I was preparing to sing at the theater that night for some extra caps. Your mother was there for the show.”

Shine seemed to revel in the story, imagining it for himself, completely inundated in visions of dirty stages with torn velvet curtains and what little spotlights still worked blaring down on the unpolished wood as his father sang his heart out. With terrible lyrics but that same enticing, heart pounding, mind bending voice of his.

“I saw her in the audience. Front row. Clearly an important mare. And as I warmed up my voice I thought about how I was going to get her attention. Eventually I just decided: to Tartarus with it, I'll just ask her for her name and use it in my song.” He paused. Letting it hang on that memory for a moment. “So I asked her, and she told me it was Dim Nova. I did what my heart told me and gave her a wink, told her to stay til after the show, and that I had a special performance prepared for that night.”

The colt was hopeful. “Can you sing it for me again, please?”

Glum let out a mirthful chuckle. “Sure, son.” And with a deep breath he began to sing. A freeform song about a lovely night under the cloud cover, splashing in puddles and staring into each other's eyes. Rolling about and passionately loving one another. It was keen and heartwarming. And lasted just long enough to scratch an intimate itch deep within the soul.

“After my act, I looked to her and said-”

Abruptly a sharp, earsplitting crack of sniper fire cut him off. Too swift for the naked eye to spot. A loud bang that tore through the musty air. Close by. A bullet ripped through Glum's right temple, blood spattering out the exit hole on the other side as the round pipped against the far wall, leaving a vivid mark in the concrete and tearing off slivers from the archaic structure. The strong stallion's eyes went dull and he slumped forward. Blood poured from the wound like a broken pipe and pooled on the ground. Life leaving him unceremoniously as Shine tried to realize what was happening, body stiff as a board. His worst fears coming to life before his eyes. His lips pulled downward, jaw gaping, eyes shrinking to pinpricks. Everything gone in an instant. His hackles raised. He let out a scream. Fear had an ice cold hold on his heart.

==========================================================================================

It had been a long few weeks. Full of tumultuous turmoil. Anger. Hatred. Sadness. Depression. And so many other things that were boiling over his brain and leaving him an exhausted mess of negative emotions. Fear's sparkling ruby eyes beaming brightly with latent magical energy. He was so drained. Nearly dead. He certainly wanted to die. But his will kept him going. His conversations with his stuffed mother, who was laying next to him, between his legs, kept him going. He stared into her glassy, lifeless eyes. A spark of light in the wasteland snuffed out. One he could no longer feel the soul signature of, usually. Only in his sleep sometimes. He could've sworn she was there though. With him. He could've sworn he saw the light in her preserved eyes now and then. He egged her on. Tried to get her to speak. And sometimes she would. He'd hear her voice in his crippled young head. Her words of comfort telling him to keep going. To keep trying. But how could he when every cell in his body felt like it'd turned to acid? Like his own self was eating his own body out of spite? When everything hurt and burned, and it left him unable to rest or find a modicum of comfort, even in her body? His breathing picked up again. His anxieties driven up a notch. His eyes darted about from side to side, becoming wild once more. Everything hurt. Life was pain. This wasteland was Tartarus. Why did she have to be taken from him once? He had her back, sort of. But it wasn't the same. He couldn't get her to tell him new information. Just old things. Things he already knew. He squeezed her tighter against his body.

Suffering.

Hurting.

Agony.

It was terrible. His life had become horrendous with one single shot. Fear was left alone. Left behind in the world of grief. In a world full of its own anguish and misery. He felt it inherently. The vibrations of Equestria. Its woe. How tormented it was, just like the novel his mother had found for him and helped him learn how to read. Dear Celestia, how he wished so desperately that, like in his novel, he could see his mother one last time. To speak with her truly and utterly for one final moment. He had become capable of magic, yet he was emotionally disabled. Psychologically damaged. Mentally distorted and twisted. Furiously throbbing feelings channeling through his soul and leaving him a husk of his former, loving self. He was only seven, near eight. Not that he knew. He had no recognition of when his birthday was. His mother always took care of that. Always seemed to know the exact date. Or at least that's how it appeared. The way she celebrated every milestone. Never again would he have that.

Fear was damp. His filthy fur and messy hair matted with moisture. The rainfall and water he'd bathed in cleaning him. Relatively. Everything clumpy and smooth. With a few muddled knots here and there. He spoke once more to his mother.

“Mommy... Why...?”

He desperately asked his stuffed mother, for probably the hundredth time.

“This is just how things are, and we must make the most of it.”

Something she'd always told him. To be strong. He was usually the strong one. But without her, what did he have? He sobbed into his mother's squishy, stuffed body. His brain unhinged. He felt so much fury he couldn't contain it. He stood up, and began pacing. Throwing his body this way and that. Having a tantrum about the cruelty. He screamed at the ceiling, wanting to know why he had to deal with this. Why he had been brought into this world. Why he was expected to live when the world itself was despairing. He shook his head violently from side to side, stamping his hooves on the ground, having a fit. The only thing that kept him calm was the gentle romance song, the airy jazz tunes coming from his mother's radio, stuck inside his saddlebags. His eyes were bloodshot. He was bawling. He wanted revenge.

"I... I hate you Mommy! You left me! You let the raiders take you! You knew everything... You never let them take you before!"

Storm's familiar inflection echoed in his mind. "I know sweetie. It was a terrible mistake."

"I hate those raiders. I hate all raiders. I hate ponies. You always admired me for my love but now... Ponies have so many choices in front of them. And they decided to take you away. They wanted to torture you and me."

"You never held that against them before."

"Yeah but now... Now they've taken away my dearest treasure. How can I not hate them for that?"

"You still have the book, and my rifle. And my weapon care kit."

Fear shook his head emphatically, tears running down his cheeks. It wasn't enough. "I hate this world. For crying to me about how much it's hurting. I hate the past. Why did ponies have that stupid war!?" Equestria had become such a shit hole of perversion and pain.

"You have to take care of the world. One little thing at a time. Just like you always told me you would."

"But... But I can't!" Fear blurted out woefully.

After a moment of mourning Fear continued. "Most of all... Most of all, Mommy. I hate myself. For being so weak. For not being able to take care of you. I couldn't push you out of the way. I wasn't knowledgeable enough to know better, to save you. And I hate myself for being so sensitive to all of this." He whimpered. "I should be able to overcome all this. You've told me I still have so much left. I shouldn't be so hateful. So angry."

"It's okay to not be okay sometimes, my little Nightlight."

"No it's not! I should be better than this!"

Fear's stomach growled at him for food. He was slightly emaciated and hungering for sustenance. It felt like forever since he'd had a meal, and it was driving him bonkers. He needed to eat to survive, even if his appetite was lacking due to his trauma.

Fear needed something to take away his wrath, and distract himself from his starvation. Some way to vent all this. He heard hoofsteps. The rattling of a carriage. He heard ponies coming close. He yanked his mother's Garand out of position and brought it with him. He would kill. He would kill as his mother had been killed. Not only that. He would release others from this Tartarus on Equus. He would end the suffering. That's what he told himself.

The injured colt got to the entrance of the Sky Wagon Station and laid prone on the ground, against his tummy, holding the butt of the rifle against his right shoulder and staring down the scope as much as he could. Aligning it properly and staring down the road. Looking for his targets. A colt and stallion. Carrying cans of FOOD! Perfect. He was on their right. He ground his teeth together, gripping the sten-like handle and glaring intently. Lining up the shot. A perfect blow to the head. He waited for them to get close. Held the gun in his telekinetic aura. Waited... Waiting... And as soon as it was perfect he pulled the trigger.

BAM.

The bullet flew true through his target. He heard the vague sclorch amidst the other noises. He watched his victim fall. He smiled in a sinister manner. He lined up for the second shot. Intending to take the colt out in one quick movement. And then surely he could take their supplies for himself, provided no scavvers were on their way to investigate.

As he lined up the sight and pulled the trigger, the colt moved at the last second, narrowly avoiding his fate as he ran for the skyscrapers across from the station. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the colt was hit in the knee instead. The knife shattering on impact, the shrapnel digging into his leg, the knee destroyed. The colt screamed again as he nearly fell to the ground, limping away as fast as he could, stuttering movements dragging him toward the entrance to the skyscraper.

Fear cursed and got up, levitating the rifle behind him and rushing past the rubble to the downed stallion as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He looked around, and noticed a revolver next to the body. His smile came back in full force. He unlatched the holster and pulled the firearm out and held it next to his body in his magical grasp. Then rushed after the colt. Feeling out his soul signature and following the path laid out before him. His saddlebags jostling behind him, the radio slotted inside ringing out.

==========================================================================================

Duskshine could hear the radio behind him. The smooth jazz tunes. Getting louder as he crawled along the ground, through a lobby and then down hallways, trying doors as he left a trail of viscera behind him. Bleeding out slowly. Excruciatingly slowly. He was panting, his eyes glazed over, full of absolute fright. His brows raised high and forehead creased with worry. He shook his head as he dove into one of the only rooms available to him, hearing a coltish whistling drawing near. He tried to hold his breath as he hunkered down under an abandoned desk.

Fortunately for the colt, it was too dark to see any blood.

Unfortunately for the colt, he was dealing with a natural hunter. A natural raider.

Fear stood in the doorway of the room and stepped inside, giving a witchly cackle as he cocked the revolver's hammer with a click. The cackle was just like his mother's full blown laugh. His lips were pulled back in a snarl. He felt so alive, the idea of taking this life invigorating him. He felt butterflies in his stomach at the thought, his nerves fraying. Was he really going to take a life in cold blood? Another one? His second kill in life? This one completely premeditated? Hunted? Fear jumped up onto the desk with a thud, making the colt underneath bite his lower lip so hard he drew blood, flinching harshly from the sound, his heart thumping in his chest, making him bleed harder. He was lightheaded.

The murderous colt hopped down onto the ground and spun around, leveling the revolver between the colt's eyes.

“No... P-please... D-don't... I have a m-mother.”

Fear hesitated, looking into those vibrant lime-green eyes, feeling Dusk's emotions. And saw his mother. Even if momentarily. The hunter's face contorted into a scowl and he jammed the barrel of the gun against the colt's forehead, whose breath hitched in his throat. He rammed it again, making the colt whimper. He was so... So ANGRY. Fear was livid.

“I had a mother. But all of you TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME.”

The colt pleaded. “I don't... Don't know what you're talking about... P-please... Don't k-kill me.” His voice cracked, showing once more that he had just hit puberty. So full of potential. With a mother that needed him, cared about him and his father. She needed them to get through life in the wasteland.

Fear didn't hesitate any longer, depressing the trigger and blasting a hole in the colt's head. After a moment his cheeks bulged out and he twisted his head to the side, dry heaving and retching forcefully from his kill, even if nothing came out except a little water. He could feel the soul signature of the colt gone. Vanished without a trace just like Glum's. Fear turned back to his victim with tired eyes. He took a deep breath through his snout. Let it flow through his larynx. And settle in his lungs. Chest rising, his mother's pendant swinging around his neck. He held the air for a long moment, smiling peacefully, glad he'd proven himself and to some degree "avenged" his mother. And then slowly expelled the breath out through his maw.

Knowing ponies would be looking for the colt later, and knowing the colt had a mother, even if he momentarily wished he could have taken her life too, he lugged the colt's broken body back to the carriage and threw him onto the ground next to his father. Remorseful he'd taken away the mare's loved ones. Watching with glee nonetheless at the two dead bodies, feeling a little sick, bile rising to his throat despite that. He felt ashamed. And giddy all at the same time. He shook his head and started gathering up the food the two had been carrying, sticking as much as he could in his saddlebags until they were bloated, like he hoped his belly would soon be. Grabbing even more than that in his telekinesis so he'd have as much as he could carry, then hurried back to his mother so he could grab her and flee the scene before anypony else could find it. Stomach roaring at him to remind him one reason he'd killed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_0TaOjUWQk

DJ-P0N3's voice, the voice of the wasteland, a light in the dark, erupted from the radio held in his saddlebags with barely any white noise in the background. “Remember colts and fillies, beware raiders! And beware even more the raider inside all of us. Stay true to yourself and your virtues, and you'll be fine. Now I have a story for all of you today...” Fear would feast soon.

Author's Note

Killing these innocents to everyone with a heart would be seen as irredeemable, that's the point. To show Fear at his lowest, most cowardly, most emotionally volatile. His actions ruin who he is in the audience's eyes and that's intentional. He's not supposed to be perfect. Many people have done things they regret in their lives, things they think they should probably be stoned for. Fear will carry the burden of what he's done for the rest of his life, once he's finally aware of it (and he will become aware of it). The story is about Fear coming back from the brink to heal the wounds of the past as he tries to deal with his own. I want people to see Fear as irredeemable so there are high expectations for him. He's not meant to be immediately understood at face value, not without effort. Eventually he will probably see himself as irredeemable. But that's the point. To regret your mistakes and learn how to accept them and make up for them as best you can. Without letting them destroy you.

Fear is a hurt, desperate child in need of love and guidance, and he doesn't deal with his emotions well. The hope is that he'll grow up into something everyone can be proud of. To everyone we meet, we judge them by the first thing we know about them, and often times those who have done something wrong the first thing we learn about them is an atrocity they commit. Not about their life growing up or who they may become in the future.

Flickers of a Hero

Fear couldn't tell how long it had been on the dreary road. Had it been maybe a month since Fear's first murders? He couldn't keep track of time as well as his mother. Smudges of muted orange, brown, and gray smeared across the landscapes surrounding the two traveling ponies Fearei and Compressed Crate. Nearby, old abandoned farmhouses popped up every half mile or so; rotten old stalks, dilapidated fences, and large boulders were all that spanned the gaps between buildings that were only fit for temporary protection from the elements before it was necessary to move on to a place located closer to current civilizations. How much time had to have passed to eliminate the need for places once so full of familial life? A much simpler era.

“Ugh, these places are just like where you died.” Fear murmured over the sound of jazz music blaring from his mother's radio.

No response this time from his mother.

Fear continued. “Yeah I feel the same way. It's terrible. Ponies in the past must've been evil to let all this happen.”

Storm's dead body spoke up. Aw, don't be that way my little Nightlight. They couldn't have known.

“Well, like you said, hindsight's always twenty-twenty.” He still barely understood the reference. Something about sight, but why did you have to attribute numbers to sight? What did each increment even mean? Fear paused. “I suppose the same can't be said for you since you always wore glasses anyway.” Fear chuckled under his breath. Which made Crate very uncomfortable, occasionally glancing back to the little colt following him.

There was no counter from his mother, which made Fear extremely frustrated.

“Look, it wasn't that big of a deal alright? I liked your glasses. They always made you seem more... Comfy.”

Thank you, my little Nightlight. The response was almost silent.

It had been going like this for hours now, and Crate was becoming increasingly concerned about the mental well-being of his traveling partner all the while, listening to one side of a clearly enthralling conversation with the stuffed pony on Fear's back. The stallion's fright that Fear was going to beat him to death with the butt of the Garand in his sleep on a whim escalating, especially with how unstable some of the conversation had been.

Fear was a very open pony, and had mentioned early on to Crate that he'd be of little use in a fight should they get into one, because he was out of ammo for his Garand. He mentioned using it to hunt radbeasts for food. Crate didn't believe him in the slightest.

The stallion was a caramel-coated earth pony, with shaggy fetlocks and choppy, straight brown mane and tail. He looked a little greasy and rather unkempt. A sigil of a four dimensional crate on his flanks. Not that anypony understood the conceptual side of math well enough to discern the meaning behind such a cutiemark. Strapped to his left foreleg was a loaded revolver, and on his back a pair of leather saddlebags carrying more supplies than it should be able to hold.

“Bluh, I can't believe we had to travel with an earth pony just to feel safe, Mom.” Fear muttered with a toxic tone.

Crate caught the tail end of that and his ears flicked in offense. But he decided to let it go. There were a lot of ponies out in the wasteland with supremacist views. But to hear such from a tiny colt was disheartening.

“I don't feel safe at all. But I suppose it's better than nothing. He has been... Somewhat kind. Aside from that judgmental stare he keeps throwing us.”

Storm didn't respond.

Crate however did. He responded with jolting his head toward the colt. His eyes widened; bulged out slightly. He had been very careful not to stare. Glance yes, but not stare. His hackles rose on end and he got a wave of goosebumps pouring across his skin.

“Still, after going around and sniping raiders and radbeasts I suppose it's nice to have somepony around me who doesn't want to kill me. Maybe good ponies aren't that bad. Even if he is an earth pony."

Crate rolled his eyes nervously and snorted. He was getting a little tired of the treatment.

Fear had been wandering aimlessly through the smothering darkness and scattered light, under the foamy cloud cover and above the dead lands, as if he might someday ascend by random chance. Or meet his mother again, never knowing where his legs would take him next. Just walking and surviving until the day he found the answer as to why everything was the way it was.

The colt's ears perked up a moment later and he spun around, having felt something enter the radius of his sixth sense. Of course it was a very small radius, too small to be of any real use, but it allowed him to 'see' the two hoofpads posing as scavvers before they got close enough to do anything. There was a click of a gun. Crate was still walking.

“Crate-” Fear was cut off.

Crate turned around languidly and froze.

The second hoofpad's, Ebony Glint's, voice was raspy, like the vocal cords had received some damage over the course of his life. “Why don't you two set down your saddlebags, I think all you got is more than enough payment for coming into our territory.”

Crate took a step forward, nearly seething. “I wasn't told there were scavvers in this area.”

Ebony shrugged. “Eh, we're more like knights of the road. Now. Drop it.”

Ivory Hammer, the one holding a gun in his mouth, nodded his head at their gear, encouraging them with the motion, all while eyeing Fear's gleaming pendant greedily.

Crate's lips gradually tugged downward, his head cocking to the side and hope sliding off his face. He grumbled something under his breath that made the two hoofpads grin victoriously. He gave his head a few shakes, twisting to look at his little companion.

Fear meanwhile had murder in his eyes. But he knew better than to express his feelings right then and there as he gazed over to the two stallions covered in monochromatic colors and decked out in leather armor, looking like the blight upon the wasteland Fear believed they were. Their eyes weren't yellow, but one was armed to the teeth in holstered knives belt-strapped across his body like some kind of video game protagonist. The other was holding a shoddily crafted handgun, as if the parts that made it up had come from different guns, all of which were low quality. As if he had taken the best parts from each to create a working one. He had one other handgun on his body that was rather ornate, but certainly was not meant as a primary firearm.

The colt's legs buckled. He bowed his head as if in defeat. His horn lit up and his mother was caressed by the telekinetic pulse, about to be lifted off of him. Within the slipshod handgun Ivory held in his mouth, the same warm vanilla aura coating Fear's horn also reached into the barrel, slithering along it and latching onto the firing pin. Fear could not afford to let anything of his be taken, and neither could he allow these mean ponies to continue living.

The two stallions were none the wiser. Crate was busy twisting his head back and leaning his body to the side, shifting and pulling his saddlebags off with his teeth. He honestly wished they'd just take the colt's stuff and leave him alone.

Seconds passed as Fear's mother lifted into the air. He released the hold on it, causing her to fall onto his back once more. Fear looked up, smiling.

Ivory's face contorted in confusion, eyebrows screwing up and jaw loosening slightly.

Ebony also looked curious. “What's the matter colt, having second thoughts?” His voice was full of mirth, a chuckle escaping his lips.

Fear smiled. A deadly, sinister smirk that matched his glittering ruby eyes too well, tilting his head back. “Eh, you could say that.”

Crate rolled his eyes. “Kid, just give them what they want. None of us are getting out of this unharmed otherwise.”

Fear's head jolted toward Crate, giving him a death glare.

Ebony smirked. “Whatever, just shoot him Ivory. Give him something to really complain about.”

Ivory depressed the trigger with his tongue. Or at least tried to. But nothing happened. It didn't go off.

Fear's head turned back toward the stallion aiming a gun at him.

Everything went in slow motion. “What are you waiting for Ivory, shoot him! Is it jamming again?”

Ivory looked flustered.

Fear pushed as much emotion as he possibly could into his thaumic gland. Transferring it into etheric energy. He concentrated and willed the power through his horn. Creating a powerful force.

The gun in Ivory's mouth wrenched to the side as he continued trying to pull the trigger, causing his head to turn along with it. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden force. He pulled the trigger again during the motion, and regretted it instantly. He knew exactly what was happening only a moment later.

Fear let go of the firing pin.

There was a loud bang.

A nasty squelch.

The bullet had fired right into Ebony's shoulder, through the lungs. He stiffened, neck craning down to look at his wound. The round had gone straight through the leather, and had managed to perforate one of the knives, causing it to nearly explode, the shrapnel scattering, some of it lodging into his body, creating even more damage. Ebony's eyes bulged out as he realized what had just happened, his body going into shock and falling to the ground, already bleeeding into his lungs. He was drowning. He coughed as much as he was able; his eyes rolled back. Blood flew from his mouth like spittle. He tried to say something but couldn't. Just wheezing.

Ivory was bewildered, and completely caught off guard. He barely had time to realize his friend was dying before Fear had already come up with his next plan of action. He'd slipped the revolver out from Crate's holster, who was stunned speechless all the while. Cocked the hammer as it zoomed up and pressed into the stallion's temple, and blasted straight away. Puncturing the skull and obliterating the brain. Causing Ivory's eyes to cross over his snout before he slumped to the ground as well.

Fear looked at his kills with a large smile plastered across his face and hovered the gun over to Crate again, offering it by the handle. “See Mom?” He looked back to the stuffed body on his back with starry, excited eyes. “I got this all covered.” Fear sounded more than enthused. He was brimming with giddiness. His smile splitting from ear to ear. Starting to mock them as Ebony bled out on the ground. “Oooh wow I'm such a big bad pony, teaming up and ambushing others just to make a quick cap. Wow, so evil.” Fear pranced about, singing the words like they were the lyrics to a song. “I love mugging colts and enslaving foals. It's too bad I can't do anything myself, and I definitely can't do anything right!” Fear stood in place and stuck his tongue out at the stallion who was left living, even if just barely, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

Ebony gasped out, his quivering eye staring at Fear as he drew closer, before his soul left his body.

Crate took the gun by the grip with his teeth and shoved it into his holster, staring intently at the colt who was now rifling through the two stallion's belongings. Fear took one of the cleaner, sturdier looking knives and put it into his bags, abandoning the rest. Crate stumbled over his words. “I... Uh. Um. Th-thanks, kid. That was. Uh. I'll admit that was a little new for me. And dear Celestia you're a quick thinker.” He coughed into his hoof. “I thought you said you couldn't defend yourself well?”

Fear thought about it as he continued patting the stallions down, getting a little blood on him from what was pooling on the ground. Frowning lopsidedly. “Eh. Mom taught me how to take care of a gun, and how they operate. And I realized I could feel out the firing pin in the gun while I was holding my mother. Make them think I was obeying while plotting their downfall.”

Crate ahemed. “Hm. Nicely done kid. I guess I, uh. Kind of owe you now, huh?”

Fear tapped his chin with a hoof, ceasing exploring the dead bodies for only a moment. “Well, I wouldn't mind having a place to stay. Or find some more ammo for my Garand.”

The stallion smiled a little, ignoring how used to scavenging corpses the colt appeared to be given he was so young. “Well, my wife and I wouldn't mind hosting you for a few days. You don't eat much do you?”

Fear shook his head. “Nah. When you gotta live off of barely anything for awhile you learn to spread your resources out as much as you can. Some days I refuse to even eat anymore because I want to wait until I'm sure I need it, or that I have another source.” He finished rooting around and turned to look at Crate, smiling widely, his forehooves caked in blood.

“Well then. I suppose since you saved my hide, or at least my gear, it'd only be right to invite you for a spell.”

Fear beamed. “I would really appreciate that!”

Crate turned around and started walking down the path they'd been going previously, beckoning him to follow. “Well, let's get moving then. We're losing daylight kid.”

The colt galloped around in circles, letting out cheering whinnies of victory, pumping his hooves against the ground. Crate turned back to watch him for a moment before turning back around and shaking his head with a chuckle. Fear stopped in his tracks, lips pulled up into a happy snarl, his face like a lighthouse with how bright it was. He turned to look at his mother as he trotted behind Crate. “Wow! I'm really glad we didn't kill him!”

Another bout of discomfort washed over Crate, but he tried to laugh it off.

Remember your loving nature, my little Nightlight, and you will never truly go without. Keep hope alive in your heart, as you always did when I was around. With it, the wasteland can never truly win.

As that voice echoed in his mind, Fear's ears gave a little twitch, and he felt a little relaxed. Suddenly the wasteland seemed a little brighter. The clouds almost scintillating with concealed light. DJ-P0N3's voice piped up over Fear's radio. “Got an old story for all you colts and fillies out there today! A story of slaves being freed in the Chicoltgo area! Sit tight and strap yourselves in if you've never heard it before.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hhd5XQDZvQ

Creature Comforts

It was morning when Fear and Crate set out for the last leg of their journey, and noon by the time they made it to the little village. The air was muggy and heavy, a stagnant moisture hanging in the atmosphere that fogged the lungs and made everything feel too thick to breathe. To top it all off, if things didn't shape up it was going to be unbearably warm later that day. The price to pay for living under the cloud cover, for blasting the world to Tartarus with balefire bombs, for ponies; zebras; and every other creature who was at the mercy of this new world.

Crate knocked on the door to his and his wife's home, rapping swiftly three times on the eroded wood to the beat of the jazz tunes playing in the background, the reverberations carrying through the little home. Eventually, there was a click from the harried lock being undone, and it pulled open in somepony's crimson magical aura. On the other side stood a slender unicorn with a short, lancing horn, her coat a warm yellow that looked like the hidden sun, and her long wavy mane and tail were a sugary bubble gum pink. On her flanks was a symbol: a blanket; a comforting foal swaddle. It looked incredibly cozy – as cozy as her brilliant ruby eyes. They were the eyes of a determined survivor; passionate and honest.

“Honey! You're back!” The mare lunged for her husband, her snout wrinkling up in joy as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck and held him tight. Her voice was full of relief.

The stallion draped a foreleg over her shoulders and pulled her in close with one strong yank, nuzzling his muzzle into the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. “I'm just as happy to see you.”

They stayed like that for a long moment, each embracing each other as Fear watched on in curiosity, giving his flanks a little bounce in order to readjust everything on his back. Fear eventually coughed into his hoof, causing Crate to let her go.

“Oh, right, sweetie. This is Fearei Shatter. He helped tip the tides in our favor when we were confronted by muggers.” He gestured to the colt behind him, stepping to the side so the mare could get a better gander at him. Then swept his forehoof to point at the mare. “And Fear, this is my wife: Angel Swaddle.” He leaned toward Angel's ear and whispered. “Please excuse some of his behavior, he's a little crazy.”

Fear's ears flattened against his skull as he shot Crate a withering glare, but then was immediately startled when Angel moved toward him and swept him up in a giant hug, sitting on her haunches and pulling him up into her forelegs, squeezing him against her chest. Fear's stuff nearly fell off of him as he hung in the air vertically. “I, uh, hey! Stop!” He could smell her aroma. He barely registered how it wasn't the cleanest thing ever. What really hit him though was the very faint scent of lavender surrounding her. He sniffed a second time just to be sure, not knowing the name for it but enjoying it nonetheless.

Then Angel smiled while eyeing the pendant and the stuffed cadaver. “Dear, you've done me a grand favor by helping my husband. Welcome to our home.” Her voice was sweet and sincere. It hung on the air just like the mugginess. There was a light weariness to it from an unknown past, but it hardly showed due to the strength laying in it.

Fear grinned. He tried to push off of her, finally being let go so he could stand on all fours. “Uh, no problem, I guess.” He brushed each of his forelegs with the other. “It was kind of him to invite me.” Fear had a wild, untamed, psychotic glint in his eyes, but he seemed... Sane.

Angel twisted around and moved for the door and beckoned the two to come inside. “Come on in, make yourself comfortable!”

Fear realized a moment later, probably a little late, that this mare was a unicorn. He was... Surprised to say the least. He cocked his head to the side, staring at her as she made her way in, and following after her behind Crate. He whispered to his mother, within earshot of both ponies. “Wow, can you believe it Mom? He married a unicorn! I wonder why?” Fear's voice full of awe and suspicion while Angel's ears flicked in response and Crate rolled his eyes.

The living room was interesting, with a couch, a wobbly card table, some old rickety wooden chairs, a couple end tables with various odds, ends, and trinkets. Ancient coffee coasters, a cup with a few aged pens. A bookshelf full of ratty pre-war books. It looked well lived-in, with a carpet curling at the corners and paint peeling from the walls. Clearly an unkempt house.

However, it was oddly clean. No dust anywhere around.

Fear admired it for a long moment, having seen a few houses while with his mother. This one felt the most... Homey though, if he had to prescribe a word. While Fear had been inspecting every little nook and cranny, Crate had been elaborating on their whole escapade together to his wife. Before Fear knew what hit him he was being cradled in another hug, his eyebrows raising in surprise. His telekinetic grip held his gear on his body as much as was possible.

“Thank you so much for all your help! Our livelihood was in my honey's bags! If you hadn't turned the tables on those muggers or had tried to run off, we wouldn't have supplies to sell.”

Fear was confused; it hadn't even occurred to him to run away. There'd been too much pressure to kill them, both to teach them a lesson and also to save their hides, but now that he thought about it, what he'd done was very dangerous and had little chance for success, even if any unicorn could have pulled it off. He turned to his mother as he was set down. “Wow, you were right Mom, I am reckless!” It was like some kind of startling revelation.

Angel continued, brushing off the fact Fear was speaking to a corpse rather easily. However, her eyes continued lingering on the beautiful taxidermy, familiarity in her gaze. “We'll make you a proper meal tonight, maybe play some games. Treat you like a guest of honor for the night. Sound good?”

Fear smiled brightly, pulling his forelegs together and tilting his head to the side, cheeks rising up over closed eyes. “Sure! Sounds great!”

The whole gesture clicked something in Angel's mind. A motherly, disarming grin spread across her muzzle. “You're a cutie, you know that? You take after your mother more than you can probably imagine.”

Fear's gaze bolted to her, looking at her in surprise. “Wait what?”

Angel affirmed with a singular nod. “I knew that pony on your back looked familiar to me. And that pretty, even if unpolished necklace. I've seen it someplace else before.”

Fear was speechless, his jaw hanging open.

“Your mother was from a stable, right?” She seemed to be making sure.

Fear nodded dumbly. “Y... Yeah. Stable 47. How'd you know?”

“That's right. I remember clearly now. Your mother saved me in Chicoltgo. You see, I was a slave there when that whole terrible situation was going down.” Angel pressed a hoof against her cheek, looking up at the ceiling and thinking back on it. “But your mother and a darling, dazzling stallion came to my rescue, and the rescue of quite a number of others slaves. Your mother taught a group of us basic math and how to read and write all the way back then. It was a shame that I didn't come out of that unscarred. I was rendered infertile by radiation poisoning.”

Fear tried to wrap his mind around this new information; trying to reboot his brain.

“Mh, yes. It was a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday now. The memory is a strange thing. I admired your mother so strongly, dear. She was a miracle worker, even if she did get caught once by the ponies she was fighting.”

The colt's eyes started to sparkle as Crate came up to Angel and pulled her in against his side with a foreleg.

“I'm sorry you lost your mother. She was an amazing mare.”

Fear felt numb. “I... I'm sorry too. About your. Uh. Infertile thing. That sucks.”

Angel pulled the colt in for a hug, squeezing him tight. “It'll be a pleasure to host the son of my savior for a night. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?”

There was a stupid grin plastered across Fear's face. Rather doofy. He ran a hoof through his mane, shaking his head, feeling a little off kilter and fuzzy. “I... I guess not? I've never actually seen an apple before. I know they grow them in stables.”

The unicorn mare grinned. “Mh. Yes. Your mother was far from her stable when I met her. Speaking of which, you should put a little thought into putting her body to rest. If you can bring yourself to do it.”

Fear shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, looking off to the side. “But then I might not... Hear her voice anymore.”

Angel giggled. “I truly doubt that, little Fear. She will always be with you.”

Fear looked up at her, straight in the eyes, contemplating it. “M... Maybe.”

Jazz tunes punctuated the silence.

Crate motioned toward the radio holstered in the saddlebags on the ground. “By the way, any reason you keep that thing on all the time kid?”

There was a moment of hesitation, before Fear shook his head and spoke up with a reluctant smile, eyebrows leaning outward. “Well. Mom used to always let me go to sleep with it on, and ever since she died I haven't been able to bare having it off. Whenever I do, I eventually get really hot and panicky. My body feels like it's burning up or freezing cold, my heart pounds in my chest, and my breathing gets weak. I start sweating and my legs tingle.”

Angel leaned her head to one side, frowning deeply. “Oh, you poor thing. Feel free to keep it on all night. But I hope you're prepared for when the spark battery eventually dies.”

Fear's lips tugged downward, ears flopping. “Y-yeah. I know it's going to happen eventually. I don't know what I'll do when it does. But I'll get through it. Even if she feels more gone than ever.”

Crate and Angel stared at him with pity, with the latter lighting up her magic and closing the door gently, the slab of wood creaking shut, the lock clicking into place a second later.

The couple made their way over to the couch and beckoned Fear to join them, which he did, sitting on the farthest side of the couch next to Angel, resting on his haunches as he tapped his chin with a forehoof. Crate was on the other end. “What do you all do anyway? You mentioned supplies were in those bags that Crate was bringing home.”

Angel smiled. It was a light in the dark and it stole Fear's breath away. “I help with the foals in the neighborhood, assisting with cooking and other small jobs. Crate goes from town to town cramming things into tight spaces and using his bartering skills, always brings back supplies for us, and sometimes for the village.”

Fear nodded a little in understanding, thinking about it. “That's pretty neat. I've never thought of what it'd be like to have an actual job.” He rolled his jaw around in circles.

“What would you do if you could live in a town, city, or village, Fear?” Crate queried.

The colt thought about it. “Well... I'd probably help upkeep guns or use my empathy for bartering or something.”

Angel was curious. “Sixth sense?”

“Mhm. I can feel emotions and souls and stuff. I can... Sometimes feel when ponies are trying to deceive me or intend to hurt me.” There was a pause. “I kind of hate it to be honest.” Fear rubbed his scalp with a hoof, frowning lopsidedly. “I can feel the emotions flowing around Equus. All the residual pain and suffering. All of its despair.”

Angel brought her forehooves together in front of her chest, tilting her head to the side and cooing. “Oh honey, no wonder you're hurting so much.”

Fear pursed his lips together, eyes darting from side to side. Blushing slightly. Something about that felt really off. “I don't know if I deserve that sympathy to be honest.”

Angel prodded. “Hm? Why?”

Fear swallowed heavily. “Well... I don't wanna talk about it.”

Angel sighed, and Crate piped up. “Oh, speaking of which, I should go get those en-bloc rounds you asked for.” He stood up from the couch and headed down a hallway behind them.

Fear stared at Crate, watching him go with a faint glare. “Speaking of which?”

Crate smiled and called back humorously. “Yeah. I remember you telling your mom you were glad you didn't kill me!”

Angel didn't know what to make of that, covering her mouth with a hoof and looking askance.

Fear felt the hope tremble within Angel, and it tugged at his heartstrings. “I... I... I wouldn't... Do that. I don't do that.”

Angel shook her head. “You live in the wasteland sweetie. I'm disappointed you didn't learn better from your mother, but a lot of foals like you end up on the wrong end of the gun. If they don't get enslaved. You should try heading to Friendship City though, they have some programs there for foals like you.”

Fear rubbed roughly at his head, feeling awkward. “I... I'll think about it.” He squeaked out. “I feel so uncomfortable right now.” Ever the open colt.

Crate came back, chuckling. “You should. Self-consciousness is a good trait to have in this situation. You've got problems, kid. But you can overcome them. We believe in you.”

Angel nodded. “Crate's right, sweetie. You have a lot of potential. You can beat this.”

Fear blushed a little more intensely under his fur, his cheeks puffing out and teeth gritting. He took the box of bullets Crate hoofed over, and levitated them over to his bags, opening up one side and looking across the room for space between a weapon care kit, a first aid kit, and some cans of food. Deciding instead to slip them into the other side next to the knife, a novel, and a health potion he took off a raider. There was also a little pouch sewn onto the fabric wall for a pre-war coin. The bit engraved with an intricate sun on one side and an equally detailed crescent moon on the other. “Thanks.” He huffed out.

Crate grinned. “No problem kid. Use them well. And not all in one place. Be the colt we know you can be.”

Fear gazed away from the two of them, feeling too weird to look them in the eyes.

Angel spoke up. “How old are you, anyway sweetie?”

Fear's eyes rolled into the back of his head, as if trying to grab the information from inside his brain. “I uh... Probably eight or so? It's hard to keep track of now that Mom's gone. She used to always keep track of that stuff. Always seemed to know how many days had passed, or at least she acted like she did. Just like she taught me math, reading, and writing by counting rocks and scribbling on the dirt with sticks.

Angel and Crate locked eyes with each other. “We should get you cleaned up for dinner. There's an old well in the village we can use.”

Crate stood up after Angel. “And I can go and borrow a deck of cards from one of our neighbors for tonight's game. It'll be fun. You could use a load off anyway, kid.”

Fear looked to them with a weary smile. “Sure. And so long as it's not irradiated. I once fell into a puddle that was so tainted I got sick and nearly died. It was a miserable couple days. I still don't know how Mom found that pack of Rad-away. As bad as it tasted, it wasn't nearly as horrible as the sickness was though.”

Crate whistled, impressed.

Angel held a hoof up to her mouth. “Wow. Close call. I'm glad you survived.”

Fear shrugged. “That's the thing. Mom was so in control. As if she'd accepted I'd died already, even though she was trying to find a way to help me.”

Angel put a hoof on Fear's shoulder as he sat on the couch. “We should get going.”

Crate unlocked the door and headed out. “I'll be back in an hour or so. I'm glad you lived too, kid.”

Fear managed a smile and rose from his haunches. “Yeah, sure. Let's do it.” He grabbed his mother and strapped her to his back, setting his saddlebags on his flanks. “Come on Mom. Maybe I can wipe some dirt off you while we're at it.”

That'd be sweet of you, my little Nightlight. I love you.

Fear beamed. “I love you too, Mom.”

Crate had already left and Angel looked concerned, but accepted it. Even an unhinged pony could be a good one, she was certain.

=================================================================================

As the orphan and caretaker trot toward the well, Fear spoke up. “So what is this village's name anyway?”

Angel was in front of Fear, twisting her head back to look at him. “Refuge.”

Fear felt the name tumble around along his maw as he tasted it on his tongue and felt it on his lips, coming to a decision as to whether or not he liked it. “Short. Simple. Comfy. I like it.”

There was a gentle, cool breeze on the air that combated the stagnant mugginess present in the atmosphere. Everything felt a little brighter and more airy. Less weighty.

“Mhm.”

There was a long silence aside from the smooth jazz tunes emitting from his radio as they neared the well. Protruding out from the land with a stone barrier protecting the hole and keeping things cool and others from falling in. There was a bucket next to it along with a long coil of rope tied securely to the handle.

“So. What's it like being married to an earth pony?” Fear inquired nonchalantly.

Angel took on a knowing gaze, grinning slightly, her eyes lidded. “I'm sorry, what was that?” She was giving him a chance to change what he'd asked.

Fear felt restless, clearing his throat, hoof against his lips. “Earth ponies. What's it like living with one?”

Angel sighed deeply. “You should know good and well, Fear. Your mother was one.”

Fear blushed and looked off to the side as they stood next to the well. “Well, yeah. But Mom died.”

Angel nodded. “Even the best of the best die. Her race had nothing to do with it. We both know you know that deep down. Besides, you should know. Earth ponies are physically powerful, grand innovators, and brilliant farmers. Their special brand of passive magic and necessities nurture those qualities. Many of Equestria's finest inventors and chefs long ago were earth ponies.” She was busy levitating the bucket deep down into the well, scooping up a large batch of water.

Fear felt ashamed of himself, and it showed in his stance. The way he leaned from side to side as if he couldn't relax and wouldn't look her in the eye. “I... I guess. I mean I would probably lose in a fair fight against one. I'm small and weak. I can't compete so I guess I have to use what little I have.”

Angel just nodded. “Yes, you better nip that sense of superiority in the bud, before it gets you killed or worse.”

Fear ran a hoof through his mane nervously. “I suppose.”

Things quieted down between them for a bit as Angel pulled the bucket out of the well and Fear set his mother and saddlebags off to the side.

“So how exactly did you stop that gun from firing?”

Fear grinned slightly, his eyebrows leaning away from his snout and eyes full of remorse, or at least mild discomfort. “Mom taught me how weapons operate. Any unicorn could do it given the same time and knowledge. I just happened to come up with the idea spur of the moment. I'm glad it worked out the way it did, because I didn't have a plan in case it failed.”

Angel set the bucket down on the ground and started gathering up an orb of water in her crimson telekinesis from what was sloshing around, floating it over to Fear and lightly smearing it across his fur, rubbing out smudges of dust and brushing it through his mane and tail, making it slick and slippery. Pulling out bits of detritus and, while it was still incredibly curly, allowing it to untangle a little. “What else did your mother teach you?”

The colt was busying himself with taking a similar clump of water and dabbing bits of it against his mother, washing the coat without letting it soak in. He didn't want to have to reinforce the stitching after making her soggy and heavy. It took a lot of supplies. “She taught me how unicorn magic works. For a non-unicorn she was very knowledgeable about it.”

Angel's eyebrows raised slightly as she continued taking bits of water and splashing it onto Fear's coat and hair, lathering him up and rinsing him off. Running it down his legs and smattering it across his neck. Leaving his coat black instead of dark gray and his purple mane a shade darker. “Oh? Like what?”

Fear thought about it as he finished with his mother. “Hmm... Well, like... How the brain emits emotions, and those are absorbed by the thaumic gland and converted into magical energy.” He paused, recalling the information. “How will directs the energy through the horn and body, and how concentration maintains it. That the scientific name for the horn is the cusp nerve. How the horn acts like an antennae because magic will not only be output by it, but thaumic energy can also be pushed into the horn and the leylines. It's the basis behind some spells.”

Angel tilted her head to the side as she finished cleaning Fear off, having used everything that was in the bucket effectively and efficiently. “Huh, I didn't know that. That's very interesting. It makes sense she'd know all that though, she did come from a Stable after all, they have a proper education system in those places. Kind of like Friendship City. However, we should get back now while you're all freshened up like a proper colt.”

Fear smiled bashfully, lifting a curled hoof up to his mouth, giving a little nod. “Sure. And... thanks.”

“Any time little Fear.”

==================================================================================

Fear was sitting on his haunches on the couch, leaning his spine back against the cushions as he held the novel his mother had scavenged for him so long ago and used as an assist for teaching him to read. It was a robin's egg blue cardboard cover that had withstood the test of time with no more than curled corners; sinewy oriental snakes and blossoming holly plants adorning it in a royal blue. On the front, in fancy black lettering, was “The Tormented,” and along the spine, “By: Orphynx.” It must've been a pseudonym because it didn't sound like any pony name Fear'd ever heard. The inside back cover regaled it as a story for teens that would leave their jaws dropped, and that once you picked it up you couldn't put it down, and near the back was a page with a music sheet and lyrics. Fear cracked open the front as he levitated it within a warm vanilla aura, his horn coated in the same chromatic ether.

“So why do you like this book anyway?” Crate asked curiously while sitting next to him, lazing back and enjoying what was about to happen. He knew how to read, but it would be a pleasure to hear a story and just have to imagine the words. Angel was in the kitchen cooking during all this, listening intently. The smells wafted from the room and filled the house. The scent of boiling potatoes and carrots, as well as interesting spices that were almost certainly saved for special occasions.

Fear thought on it for a while, running a hoof along his chin. “Hmm... Well, the main character Reiki really wants to see her husband one more time. To speak with him once more. It's horror and romance mashed together and it's really interesting. It makes me care about the characters, and her plight. And I just can't help but relate to it. Wanting to talk with Mom one more time too, even if it's just in my dreams. Even if I have to fight my way through nightmares and monsters just to get that opportunity. You know?”

Crate nodded. “It's a tale of loss and desire then. A tale of one mare fighting to gain something. Sounds like an adventure story.”

Fear grinned. “In a way, I guess it is. She's facing against a whole world of ghosts just to try and see her husband one more time. Anyways, time to get reading.”

The reading was a little slow going and sluggish, but it was rather clear and concise despite that. Fear made hardly any mistakes, even if it was a process. The story started off simple enough. It was about a unicorn mare named Reiki with an eponymous cutie mark, clad in multitonal hues – blue, teal, and emerald – who was attending her first day at the Ministry of Image hub in Fillydelphia. Going about her day and learning the ropes of her role as a photographer, and what that entailed. Reiki's first job was to interview an up and coming soldier by the name of Distant Sunrise (with titular cutie mark) who was fresh out of recruit training, and to take appealing photographs. Her test was to write an article about life in bootcamp and to make it sound appealing to the public so more ponies would be willing to join the military and to uplift public opinion. The pegasus stallion had a coat of fuscia, with wine and grape mane. Bright and vibrant colors that had not seen the light of day in what felt like forever for most of the ponies in the wasteland. Distant was an upstart with lofty ambitions of being a lieutenant. They learned a lot about each other, and by the end of the interview Reiki had slipped the stallion her address to come and visit her after work. The rest of the chapter was about Reiki's days getting settled in at her new job and getting to know the main characters. Reiki being a humorous, flexible mare with intelligence and an artist's eye, and Distant being a rigid, normally no-nonsense stallion with a flair for the dramatic and with intriguing interests in superstitions and the supernatural. There was a gradual representation of Reiki's faith in the system, and how pleasant it was to finally have a coltfriend, and how happy she was becoming with her new life away from her home in Manehattan. Eventually she gained an assistant by the name of Caramel Frame and became good friends with her. Caramel was portrayed as a shy, easy-going earth pony mare of milky browns and tans with a strong knowledge of aesthetic and who always enjoyed Reiki's comedy.

Crate had a faraway look in his eyes. “It sounds so peaceful in the book. I can only imagine things are going to go horribly wrong really soon.”

Fear nodded. “Yeah, things go south really fast. Only takes a couple chapters. What do you think so far?”

“I like it, kid. It has a ring to it. And I can't help but want to know where their relationship is going to go from here. Suprising that it made its way onto shelves back in war time Equestria though. It's very explicit about the Ministry of Image.”

“Yeah, it's really weird. Mom said that too. She also said that's probably why the author used a pseudonym. Partly so they wouldn't get, as she put it, rounded up by the propaganda machine of the time.”

Angel's voice rang out between the two of them. “Dinner's ready you two! Come and get some.” As she spoke she was pulling down three ancient, discolored porcelain bowls from the cupboards. One was chipped and another had a short crack on one side. They weren't very fancy, probably scavenged from somewhere, or they had been in the house since the beginning Fear assumed as he came in to look, the book put back in his saddlebags. Crate was right behind him as Angel used a stained, yet oddly not rusty, ladle to pour some of the stew into each of the three bowls. Diced carrots and sliced potatoes floating about on the surface and getting stirred up all over. There was small billowing clouds of steam rising off the surface.

Crate was the first to speak up, given Fear was in a little too much shock to speak properly. It felt like forever since he'd had a proper meal. A meal that was cooked, be it over a fire or some form of stove. “Thank you honey.” The stallion leaned in and pressed a kiss against Angel's cheek, before grabbing a bowl and holding it in the frog of his hoof, bringing it over to the card table and sitting down with it.

Fear took his own bowl within telekinesis, glancing from it to Angel and back again, his lips mouthing words but nothing quite coming out, his eyes wide as if paralyzed from the neck down. He swayed a bit, as if it was a little too much for him, before giving a shake of his head and taking a deep breath, slapping a hoof against his cheek.

“Everything alright dear?” Angel asked with lidded eyes and a bemused smile.

Fear gave a nod. “Mh. Yes. Thank you for dinner, miss. I appreciate it.” Fear trotted over to his stuffed mother with the dish in his grasp and held it in front of her as if she might be able to get something out of it. “Look Mom. It's real... Real cooked food. Stew. We haven't had this in ages.” He was still deeply impressed and couldn't quite comprehend what was going on. It was just so foreign, having known kindness only from his mother. Be it because he was too shy to approach anypony else or he just had not met the right equines.

Angel stared at Fear with a calm smile, watching him with kind eyes, a hoof pressed against her muzzle as she held her own bowl in a crimson aura. A second later she was floating a trio of spoons out and setting them on the table without really even thinking about it. Crate was busy staring at Fear while sitting on his haunches in one of the chairs. Angel made her way over to join him, and Fear did eventually too.

“Mom says thank you too. She's glad you're taking care of me.”

Angel giggled. “It's no problem at all, sweetie. Now, time to dig in.”

Without further ado, the group started eating, with Crate using sticky hooves to hold onto his own spoon and placing a combination of broth and veggies in his maw, pulling the food off with his lips. Angel was equally sedate in her eating habits.

Fear on the other hand was voracious, biting down on the spoon, causing his teeth to clack against the simply molded metal. It sounded rather cringey all things considered, like it hurt. But Fear seemed completely fine with it. Mashing the veggies up in his mouth and slurping down the liquid. He had been thinking about telling a story during dinner, but found himself enjoying the uncomplicated yet savory flavor, the hint of saltiness, and other faint spices littered in. The carrots were smooth and soft, with the potatoes being extra squishy and a little soggy, making it easy to nom on; nearly melting in the mouth like the fat of meat. It was... exquisite. “Mmhf nngh nh ngh gh.” Clearly, the colt was a vocal eater, showing his satisfaction openly, which caused Angel to blush and Crate to grin.

“Enjoying it that much, sweetie?” Angel asked after swallowing.

Fear nodded emphatically, gulping down a clump of food before speaking. “Yeah, Angel, it's super good!” His face was the incarnation of joy and pleasure. Food was the easiest way to his heart right now.

Dinner continued in that fashion for... Not very long at all, with Fear finishing first and leaning back against the chair to pat his engorged tummy, relaxing.

Crate finished last, wiping his mouth with a hoof after mimicking the other two by drinking down the broth, tilting the bowl back against his lips and draining it. He plopped the bowl down, spoon in it. “I'll get the table cleared off while you get the cards shuffled and dealt, honey.”

Angel simpered toward her husband and nodded. “Sure thing cutie. Thanks.”

Fear looked between the two of them as they parted ways, with Crate bringing the dishes into the kitchen one bowl at a time to be extra careful, and Angel moving to the end table and pulling out the pack of cards from its dilapidated box.

Angel started explaining. “So, little Fear. The rules of BS are simple. I'm sure you're already familiar with how to count. In this game aces come first, followed by the cards up to ten, and then jacks, queens, and finally kings. Each player takes turns putting a card face down in that order until we get up to kings, and then we start over again. You always state the alleged value of the card, even if you're lying. Whoever runs out of cards first, wins. The gimmick of the game is that at any time you may challenge another player by calling BS...” Angel was busy using telekinesis to riffle shuffle the cards above the table they'd eaten on, the ends smacking and flapping together on contact, then mixing them into each other by lifting them up and forming a bridge. It was continuous, effortless, and flawless. “...When they think another player has lied about the value of the card they've placed down in the middle. If somepony is right in their challenge, the pony who placed the misvalued card takes the pile. If the pony is wrong about their call, then they're the ones who take the pile.”

The colt was busy staring at Angel's expertise in shuffling, cocking his head to the side. “That's incredible. How did you learn to do that?”

Angel giggled and rolled her eyes, giving a little snort as her muzzle scrunched up, starting to distribute the cards in three different piles. One for her, one for Crate, and one for Fear. “Practice and observing others, little Fear. Did you get the rules?”

Fear nodded. “Y-yeah, sounds simple enough.” His jaw was drooping a bit as picked up his cards and made the amateur mistake of reorganizing them in order of value.

“Good. Now we'll just wait for Crate and we can get started,” the mare chirped.

Crate was back soon enough, sitting down in front of the other two and pulling up his hoof full of cards, latent magic flowing through his hooves and extending to the cards, gripping them tight through pure will. Fear and Angel held theirs in an actual field of magic.

“So who starts?” Fear asked as he looked to Angel and then Crate.

The two adults looked between each other before grinning and glancing back to Fear. Angel spoke up. “You go first, sweetie. Guest of honor and all that. Then we'll move left around the circle. Usually the one with the ace of spades starts though.”

Fear blushed deeply beneath his fur, his muzzle tilting down and eyes raising up, widening a bit. He felt incredibly embarrassed! Why were they treating him so nicely?! “I don't... Don't deserve all this kindness. We should just go with the original rules.”

Crate responded first. “Kid. There is rarely a pony in the wasteland who deserves kindness. Be it because of the sins of their forefathers or their own atrocities. Be it in the name of good, a skewed mind, or the name of boredom.”

The colt felt a bulge of curiosity in his gut. I suppose so...? I'll have to consider that.

Crate continued. “But without kindness nothing will ever improve. And ponies will just remain miserable.”

Angel gave a firm nod. “Indeed. Even when we're at our worst we have to try to be good. Endure. Remain steadfast in your beliefs even as everything tries to tear you down.”

“And kid, we believe in you.” He paused. “Besides, there's strategy in not using your aces right at the start.”

Aside from the radio, silence reigned over the room.

Fear rubbed his head with a hoof, not looking them in the eyes. “I don't deser-”

Crate chuckled, Angel snickered. “Kid. Just accept it and pay it forward when it matters.”

Fear considered that, boring holes into their eyes with his gaze. It was piercing and violent. But he eventually responded. “Mh. S-sure. In that case...” Fear selected a card from the far left of what he'd been dealt and slid it face down in the middle. “Ace.”

“Two,” Angel stated simply as she slid a card into the center.

Crate went next. “Three.”

The game was quickly underway, with each of the three doing their best in the game. Fear was usually able to tell when one of the others was lying, which was a little unfair, but it was easily made up for with the fact that he couldn't lie to save his life, having a variety of tells when he was being dishonest. Ranging from twitching, to a faint aghast expression crossing his face, all the way to hesitating before placing down his card. Leaving him to either get better or face a loss. The game went on for a couple hours, switching between who was in the lead many times, with Fear never miscalling a lie, but sometimes failing to catch Angel or Crate in one. They found it interesting and amusing, even if a little troublesome. It just incited them into finding out how to be more discrete and show less traits of deception. Overall, a very well-rounded game.

Crate spoke up first when it was done, while Angel picked up all the cards and put them away in the box, having been the one to win. “You did really well for your first time kid. Keep practicing and it'll make you even better at bartering.”

Fear was smiling by the end, his tail whipping back and forth behind him excitedly. He'd lost, but he felt good. It'd been a close game, with Crate having most of the cards. “Thanks. You two are really experienced too!”

Angel stood up. “Well, I think it's time for bed. We'll see you tomorrow, Fear.”

Crate was next, moving over to Fear and pulling him into a giant bear hug, surprising the colt into blue screening. One could almost hear the dial up as he tried to regain connection with the rest of his body. “Sweet dreams, kid. We'll see you in the morning.”

Fear gave a single, sharp nod. Speaking with uncertainty. “Yeah. Sure. I can't believe how much I've enjoyed this. It must be really nice living in an actual home instead of just traveling every day.”

Angel gave a wide smile. “You have no idea, Fear.” She wrapped Fear up in a hug as well once Crate had let him go and nuzzled her muzzle into his mane, caressing him and dragging a hoof down along his spine, giving him as much attention as he could handle. “We're happy to have met you, and we know you'll want to leave eventually,” she said with a sigh, clearly disappointed. “But we know you won't stay here forever. Even I can tell you're looking for something out there.”

Fear frowned. “I don't know if I am or not. Or if I am I'll ever find it. Something about the road just appeals to me.” He shrugged, winding his forelegs around Angel and hugging her close, his eyes tearing up. His voice stifling a little. “I think I'm just looking for my mother. Somehow... She's just not there. Even though she is.”

Angel pat him on the back. “I can't say I understand. But you've been through something traumatic. It's affected you deeply, and there might never be any coming back from it. But we both know you can be a good colt, and help others the way your parents helped me.”

A tear fell down Fear's cheek as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry, his muzzle wrinkling up, gritting his teeth and grinding them together. “Th-thanks... I'll try.”

“Good night Fear.”

“Good night kid.”

“Good night you two. I'll see you in the morning,” he squeaked out with a melancholic voice. A little more confident this time.

Fear watched the two of them leave the room, heading to theirs. Before he blinked once and hopped up onto the couch. He floated his mother over to him, settling her on top of his body and wrapping her legs around his form so that it felt like she was cuddling him. She was larger than his body by quite a bit. A warmth webbed out in his chest, nearly melting from the sensation of having her against him. She wasn't cold either. The stuffing had absorbed heat, so it didn't feel uncomfortable. It didn't feel like a dead body. But it didn't feel like her, either. Still, it was enough. The colt wondered why he couldn't fully imagine his mother being there with him, even though talking to her felt so real, and he heard her voice so clearly.

Angel came in a moment later, standing in front of Fear and laying a blanket over him and his mother, and fitting an old, stained throw pillow under his head. With a teasing intonation, she spoke. “Sweet dreams, you little troublemaker.” She gave him a little wink as Fear rested his head against the cushion.

Fear smiled, his eyes glassy and tired. “Good night again.” He watched her leave, feeling most of her presence leave his field of awareness.

Minutes passed and Fear really needed to get some things off his chest, so he whispered quietly to his mother when he was sure the others couldn't hear him. His thoughts were raging in his head, battering against his skull.

“They've shown me so much kindness Mom,” he choked out. “I owe them a lot. More than I've ever given anypony.” He paused. “I've been way too shy. Way too silent. Even if you were right and those early years weren't my fault. I still have to make up for them.” He lifted his head up and pressed it into the pillow again. Squeezing his eyes shut, he continued. “I just wanted to kill. Vent my hurt.” He shook his head, giving a shuddering sigh from the gut. “I almost love Angel like a mother, and that's not fair to you. I almost love Crate like a Dad. I don't want to betray you Mom.”

It's not a betrayal honey. It's reasonable to move on.

“I don't know if I want to move on.”

You have to, sweetie. You have to become big and strong. Like a proper stallion. Just like you always told me you would.

Fear grinned. “Stop it... Hush.” A few tears spilled down his face. “I am big and strong. And I'll prove it.”

Other than Fear's radio, silence filled the room.

Fear spoke up again. “You know those two I killed. I... I wish I hadn't. Maybe they would have shown me kindness too?” He asked in a coltish, hopeful voice. “But even if they hadn't. I shouldn't have. It wasn't their fault, even though I desperately want to believe it was. That it was everypony's fault for not helping.”

It's natural to feel that way. You're just angry my little Nightlight. It's okay to be angry. And sad. It's okay to be depressed and hurt.

Fear's eyes screwed up tight. “No it's not.” His heart ached. “I can't accept this. This isn't who I am.”

It's who everypony is. You'll understand in time.

“No.” Fear enforced, bullheadedly. “I don't want to understand. I just want to be me. I want to be good. And even if it hurts. I'm gonna be good. I'm gonna make up for what I did...” He was getting tired.

You cannot overcome without first accepting, my little Nightlight.

Fear felt his eyes growing heavy, frowning deeply. “I'm not... Not gonna. You can't make me.” In his mind's eye his mother's gentle smile permeated as he drifted off to sleep. Full of regrets. Full of anger at himself.

The colt's pendant glimmered and shimmered.

==========================================================================================

Waking up late was a pleasure Fear was not familiar with. Usually he woke up in the middle of the night from a vivid nightmare that dissolved quickly even as he tried to grasp what had terrified him so badly. Sometimes screaming, sometimes sobbing, and other times he woke up gulping down air as if he'd been starved of it. But for once he'd had a peaceful night's rest. Of course everything felt a little hazy and sluggish. It was a bit difficult to move and he had to put actual effort into it, but eventually he pushed his mother up and off of him and sat up on the couch, rubbing his eyes clear of sleepy crust. A moment later he noticed something. He gave a few sniffs at the air, perking up.

Crate was sitting at the card table reading a book. He paused and set it down to glance back at his guest. “Oh, kid, you're awake. Welcome back to the land of the living. Angel's making breakfast. Just some leftovers. Nothing major.”

Fear was in awe. “Oh, no... No problem. It's been a long time since I had breakfast.”

Crate grinned. “Well you're in luck then, kid.”

Fear got up off the couch and moved into the run-down kitchen, walking up to Angel and sitting down next to her.

Angel spoke up first. “How'd you sleep sweetie?”

“Better than I have in awhile. Though it's strange. It's really hard to move and talk. Feels like I'm moving through mud.”

The mare looked at him in curiosity. “Hm? That's strange. Maybe you're just groggy, honey.”

Fear affirmed. “Yeah, maybe.”

The door slammed open with a loud crack when it hit the wall.

Fear turned around, seeing Crate already moving to confront the pony that had nearly caved it in. “What on Equus are you doing?” Crate was barely finished speaking before his jaw dropped and he found himself with a number of new holes in his chest. He looked down at himself. He'd barely felt the knife slice through. He looked up, blood leaking out of his wounds and filling up his innards. He gave a little cough, spittle and crimson flying. His eyes rolled back into his skull and he fell over onto his side, his heart pierced. “What...?” He croaked out before his eyes dimmed.

Angel's face paled and she screamed. It was blood curdling. It sent shivers through the nerves.

Fear was just staring in horror, his face gaunt and terrified as he stared at the pony in the doorway. He didn't understand what was going on. Just a second ago everything had been fun and good and warm and kind. But now... Who was this pony?

A charcoal black unicorn with dust coating everything stood in the frame, looking down at his kill with a sinister smile, chuckling to himself. He had a frizzy lapis blue mane and tail, with a red bandanna tied around his head. The stallion's cutie mark was a wibbly wobbly clock. His eyes were a pure, lifeless onyx, yet charged with a yellow glimmer that was not lost on the colt. Fear took a step back.

“Hmm... I didn't expect an entire family.”

Fear's ears flattened against his skull. No, this had to be a nightmare. There was no way.

Angel pushed Fear behind her and threw a rusted knife through the air with telekinesis propelling it at the stallion. “GET AWAY!” She yelled out, horror in her voice. “GET AWAY FROM US!” She screamed.

The unicorn didn't even hesitate. As if he'd seen it coming before it even happened the stallion's knife, stained with multiple sources of old blood, was in the way of the projectile and deflecting it away. “Yes, yes. Fight me. Exciting.” His voice sounded deranged and rapid. The unicorn rushed forward.

Fear didn't even know what was happening. He was in too much shock, his mind and body paralyzed. It didn't help it was hard to do anything in his... Groggy? State. One moment Angel was reared back on her hind legs in surprise, letting out a frightened whinny, the next she was collapsing to the floor in a heap like her bones had melted under her weight and now she was just... Nothing. But. Flesh.

Fear took a step back. He looked up at the unicorn. “Who... Who are you?”

The unicorn licked the blood off his knife with a broad, flat tongue as he encroached on Fear. “Hm. I suppose I can tell you that. You're going to die anyway.”

Fear's pupils were dilated as far as they'd go. Expanded until they were infringing on the boundaries of his eyes. His irises almost non-existent. He was cowering.

The unicorn smiled. “Chrono Corona, kid. I'm not natural.”

Fear was confused for a moment. Not natural? The mystery cut through the terror like a blade through hot butter. But before he knew what was going on, the knife was impaling him, shanking into his body ceaselessly, leaving wound after wound. He could feel the warm blood flowing through his body. Leaving his circulatory system. He felt heavy. And light all at the same time. It burned. He blinked a few times as he fell to the ground. Bleeding out. He gasped for air. Or at least he tried. His lungs had been punctured. He couldn't breathe. He was dying.

This was it.

This was the end.

Everything started to go black.

Fear wasn't ready to say goodbye.

The colt bolted up on the couch in the darkness, his mother falling away from him as he gasped loudly for air, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. His chest heaving. He nearly fell backwards. What was that? What had that been? That was more vivid than anything he'd ever experienced. And the memories weren't leaving him. They were clear as day. More traumatizing than anything he'd ever experienced. The next thing he felt was anger. So much rage. He wanted to hit something. He could feel Crate's and Angel's souls. They were still alive. Unlike in the dream.

That was another thing. Looking back on it. He'd felt their souls. He'd felt them become extinguished. It'd been like a light going out. He was sweating profusely. So much perspiration. The couch under him was a little moist. He shook his head from side to side. Trying to figure things out, clenching the blanket in his hooves and pulling it and his mother against him. Then he winced, eyes crossing. There was a sudden flood of... Something. He nearly fell off the couch as he swayed from side to side, feeling nauseous. Everything was dizzy. And his perspective had shifted. He felt like he was up in the air looking down at his body. It was incredibly disorienting. He closed his eyes and tried to ride it out. Hoping it'd leave soon. He knew he had a lofty imagination but this was so much more... Lucid.

As he waited he started describing his dream to his mother, in detail.

I don't know what to tell you, my little Nightlight. Maybe you should leave?

Fear nodded. “Y... Yeah. It's dangerous here. That was way too real.” Fear looked around for a long time and decided on a course of action. “I can't leave them without letting them know,” he hissed out worriedly. He went to the bookshelf and pulled out a book at random, flipping to the back cover and tearing out a page. He fiddled it with his magic as he held it in front of him

What would he say?

The colt thought about it for awhile, before moving over to the card table and hopping up into the chair, floating one of the pens over to him and pulling off the cap. He tried it out and... Thankfully, it worked. Just took a little scribbling before it started writing. He almost panicked for a moment!

Thank you, Angel, Crate, for all your kindness. I will never forget it.

Fear realized something. It had been nagging at him for awhile but...

I realize now that the world doesn't revolve around my feelings. And I shouldn't always act on them.

He paused. Then continued writing, staring at the page.

I wanted to tell you in person that I'm going to try my best to be a better equine. That I'm going to change. But I think danger's coming here and

Fear hesitated. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the air flowing into his lungs and hilting there. He held it for a long time. It felt good to have oxygen again after his... Dream? He proceeded to write more. It was all rather sloppy, but he was trying his best.

I'm going to head it off at the pass. I don't know where it's coming from, but I'm confident I'll find it. You might want to take everypony and leave Refuge for a day. Just in case.

The colt frowned deeply, cocking his head to the side.

Also I love you two. A lot. I'll miss you both. Take care.

Fear felt satisfied with that. He left the otherwise blank sheaf of paper on the table and started gathering up his things. Setting his saddlebags on his back and curling his mother's hooves under her before strapping her around his barrel along with his Garand. “I hope you're ready for a fight Mom.” He whispered determinedly. “Because we're going straight into one.” He had no idea if he'd be able to win or not. But he had to try his best. “The world doesn't revolve around my feelings.” He repeated. “And it's not going to wait for me to stop being scared. Besides, I've killed a few raiders. I can take on this pony.” His voice cracked as he said that. He was going to do his best, and if he died then that was okay. He was ready. As ready as a colt could be.

Fear stepped outside and looked to the right, then the left. Where was he supposed to go? Which way was the stallion coming from? He grimaced and came up with an idea, noticing things were beginning to get misty. Vision was becoming more and more difficult. Hopefully it'd clear up by the morning. Otherwise there was no way he was going to be able to snipe Corona. If he was real that is.

The colt hoped the stallion wasn't real and he was just having an overactive imagination.

Fear slipped his pre-war coin out of his saddlebags and held it in front of him. As his mother had said, if he ever had trouble making a decision, the best bet was to flip a coin and trust in fate to guide him right. It was all he had. It was all he could do. He'd already told them to leave the village. Fear put force into one side of the coin and snapped it into the air. He watched it tumble around in the sky before coming back down. Sun, the way out of town. Moon, the way he came. He caught it in his magic and looked at the result. It was a sun. He was unsure, but he accepted it and started on his way. Loading his rifle all the while.

DJ-P0N3's voice blared from his radio. “Late night broadcast for all you nocturnal ponies out there! Make sure to take care of yourselves, even when the wasteland says you shouldn't. You're no use to anypony dead! Now tonight I'm going to regale you all with one of the old stories of Daring Herb Dashwood and Argyle Patch. Strap in children, it's going to be a long one!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2reDX2V1Z4

Era of War

It was early morning. The air was heavy with a thick milky mist that was like a steamy, opaque mirror. Concealing everything within a few feet and creeping onto the surrounding buildings of the small outpost like an infestation, the substance blending in with the faded walls and rusted iron doors. There was no nook, no cranny that the thin gas did not reach. Even the cloud cover above could not be seen through the bulky clumps of moisture. The only thing that seemed to penetrate the damp bubble of fog were the relaxing jazz tunes belting out of Fear's radio, but even that became muted and gargled once it got far enough.

Fear had no idea how far he'd traveled, only that the mist had gotten worse. But he knew he'd have to set up soon and hope for the best. He knew he'd have to turn off his radio. He swallowed as he made his way off to the side of the main road, his hooves crunching in the packed, desiccated dirt beneath him. It felt so old and dusty under him. Like it would break apart any second. It was so unhealthy. Fear rested his back against a wall, sitting down on his haunches and looking around. He really didn't want to turn off his radio. Maybe just a little while longer?

Time passed and he was given a break. The mist began to melt away as morning broke apart, the moisture settling like an old house late at night. Fear looked down the road the way he'd been going, wondering if he should keep moving or wait here. It was a decision that nagged at him. He felt so anxious, and the radio was still going. What would it be like when it was off? He grit his teeth and rolled his jaw in circles, glancing down with his eyes at the rifle he'd laid on the concrete. His horn lit up as he reached out, flicking the switch on his mother's radio. Immediately the sound cut off like it'd just clipped out of existence. Fear's breathing quickened. His eyes darted from side to side. The saliva dried up from his mouth. Everything became quiet. A palpable silence was all that remained, putting pressure on his bones. A quiet, buzzing tension that made his ears ring. Fear looked this way, that way, then down the road, leaning forward. The vague shadows, the faint outlines, all of it seemed much more pronounced. Every minor shift in the near motionless wasteland felt like an earthquake. As time passed it felt like his blood was boiling. His eyes quivered and his legs tingled. His tail hiked up and he got down onto his belly, sliding his mother off of his back and against the wall. He waited, pulling the Garand around and guiding the butt into the crook of his shoulder, looking through the scope, down the main road leading out of the outpost as the pendant jostled around his neck. The cracked cement under him felt uncomfortable on his limbs, just adding to the displeasure he felt in this situation. He was putting everything into killing this stallion, if he was real. An incredible intensity that settled over him. He was afraid. He knew it was irrational. That he'd come all this way, wait all this time, just for a stallion that might not even exist. His blood boiled with the power of heated nerves at the fact the stallion could just go around him, or could have come from a different side.

The colt was investing so much effort into this one idea, that it would work out. Taking the biggest risk of his life. His ears twitched as even more time passed - all of it going at a snail's pace, the minutes feeling like an eternity, everything in him just wanting it to be over. Whole body flushed with sweltering heat that made him sweat, switching between that and an ice cold that chilled him to the bone, making his body shiver and his teeth chatter, every ten or so minutes. It was becoming unbearable. But still he endured. After all, what would happen if he gave up? What would happen if he did not confront this here and now, if he didn't try?

It took much longer than it should have, and by the time there was a dot on the horizon walking closer, casually, without a care in the world, Fear was on the verge of giving up. Feeling sleepy and occasionally leaning onto his rifle as if he'd pass out any second. But once he saw movement – that slow, nonchalant sway – his eyes peeled back and he focused the scope.

Inky, powder black coat.

Frizzy, electric blue mane. Sticking out of a red bandana.

Flicking that familiar blood-stained knife into the air with telekinesis, causing it to spin. So aloof.

As he came closer Fear recognized that wibbly wobbly clock cutie mark.

Fear's breath hitched in his throat. His eyes going wide, pupils quivering. His jaw hung open, spazzing out like a fish out of water. He couldn't... Couldn't believe it. The memories came flooding back. Being shanked to death, over and over again, new holes being made in his flesh. Bloody slits fit for caps like some kind of jukebox. He felt the burn of every stab, the feeling of blood creeping through his body. The light-headedness. He tried to shake himself out of the paralyzing reverie, using sheer will to shatter through the glass box compressing his body in a compromising position. He ground his teeth together so hard his jaw ached, powering on, every muscle in his body straining from anxiety. Tensed to the max.

Staring down the sight, barrel pointed at the stallion, everything felt suddenly so easy. All he had to do was get over that momentary fright and then it was done. All he had to do was pull that simple little trigger and end this stallion's life before he could do anything terrible. Fear smiled deviously. It was just so... Clear. He felt mellow and loose for a lingering moment. Fear figured he'd go for a chest shot, right in the heart. Make him suffer before he died. Yes, that sounded good. After all, Chrono Corona had probably killed before, so why not? Fear adjusted the rifle by a bit, lined it up, and fired.

BAM!

He missed.

Fear's eyebrows rose. That was strange. He rose his head. The stallion had just completely swerved to the side at the last second, just as he was pulling the trigger. There was no way that was possible. Did he know Fear was there? Well, it didn't matter, there was no way he could repeat that. You can't possibly sense when somepony's going to fire a gun, unless you're me, and Fear knew he was too far away to ever be sensed. Right? Fear adjusted the barrel again, this time aiming for a headshot. His anxiety was picking up again in a wave, slowly rising, threatening to crash against his psyche. Fear swallowed hard and fired.

BAM!

Another miss. His head just tilted to the side, bullet whizzing past like it was nothing.

Fear looked up again. Suddenly that dot was getting a whole lot closer. Way too close for comfort. The colt looked through the scope again. The stallion was charging. Fear panicked, his heart thumping in his chest, beginning to sweat, his hackles rising on end. His breathing came in labored pants. Pupils shrunk to pinpricks. What is going on? What is happening? How!? The stallion had stopped flicking the knife in the air and was now levitating it in a diseased looking etheric aura right next to his own face.

Okay, there's no way he can dodge while he's charging like this. Fear prepared one more shot, down two valuable bullets so far. He fired again. And again missed. The stallion just leaned to one side. Away from the bullet. Barely adjusting his balance to keep himself standing.

Fear fired wildly, blasts of light spilling from the barrel of his rifle like a dragon spitting flames. Cracks echoed in the air. Every bullet was dodged, his shoulder hurt from the recoil. Fear stood up as the stallion got to him. He brought the rifle into the air, narrowly blocking a stab from the knife. His Garand twitched in place as the knife pulled back and was about to stab again. Fear sensed the intent, his eyes going wide as he threw himself to the side just barely, just in time. Every sense in his body quickly grew harried and tickly. His breath caught in his throat. The air quickly became charged with pure magic, seeping from both their horns. Fear's sixth sense went into overdrive over the course of seconds. He wanted to counterattack but the knife swiped horizontally. He reared back onto his hindlegs, barely avoiding it.

“HOW DO I KEEP MISSING!?” Fear's voice was frantic, a rhetorical question he didn't expect a response to.

“You're not like the others. Not quite raider, not quite innocent, and you dodge well.” The voice was calm and concise. Too succinct to be properly equine. And nowhere near civilized.

It was becoming a dance with Fear barely staying on all fours, looking for an opportunity to strike as his hooves waltzed across the ground. He could tell the stallion was trying to drive him into a corner, and Fear reacted to everything with instinct, hardly able to make sure there were no buildings behind him. Fear rolled and tumbled around, bouncing onto his hooves, trying to read the stallion's brain. “WHAT ON EQUUS ARE YOU!?”

No matter how much Chrono moved and spoke, he never ran out of breath, never needed a moment to recharge. He just kept coming, kept swinging. It was unnatural and lethal. “I am a science experiment.” Fear could feel the intent behind those words. To tire him out or get him distracted. He couldn't listen much if at all if he was to keep focusing on the desire to kill him with that knife! “Ministry of Arcane Science. An attempt to cross the flawed destiny-telling powers of the Crystal Heart with a pony.” The knife kept swinging, and Fear was barely staying out of the way, occasionally blocking with his Garand as he got further and further from his gear. “I have been in cryostasis for a long time,” his words came out in a bit of a jumble, trying to distract his opponent by making him think about what he'd just heard. “And I think it is about time I show... Well.” He laughed, sourly. “I, little colt, am what happens when ponies mess with time.”

Fear saw an opening during the laugh and twirled the rifle around, until it was laying point blank against Chrono's body. He didn't hesitate or anything, just firing. Another miss. He was out of the way as soon as it'd happened. Fear's jaw gaped as he brought it around and tried to crack Chrono across the head with the butt of it. Yet the stallion ducked and grabbed it in his telekinesis, using Fear's overreach against him. He wrenched it away from his grip with the sound of straining rope and shattering glass, throwing it off and to the side where it slammed into one of the buildings of the outpost and clattered to the ground. “Now let's see just how long you can last without that rifle.”

How do I beat something this impossible? Every attack I throw at him he just dodges like it's nothing, and- Fear ducked a slash of the knife. It whistled in the air over his head. -and keeps on coming. I have nothing that he can't dodge in my arsenal. Nothing I have can beat this!

Fear heard his mother's voice caressing his mind. When everything seems lost, take stock of all you have and do a brainstorming session. Words Storm had said many times in the past when one of them were stuck in a dire situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1ZXlaLIcA

As Fear bowed out of the way, wove to the side, and narrowly brushed with death on multiple occasions, he tried to come up with a way out of this mess. He needed something smart, something that Chrono couldn't get away from. His body was becoming sluggish and lethargic, slowly but surely. He knew he couldn't keep up much longer, getting barraged with a cut every some odd seconds. It stung but it was nothing compared to what a full hit would feel like. Reading and writing wouldn't help him right now. What else had Mom taught him? He winced as he avoided a brutal stab, then ducked as the knife tried to cut open his throat, causing him to swallow hard. Chrono was truly the most vicious pony he'd ever met, he would without a doubt kill every single pony in that village without a second thought, without a moment's reprise. He tried not to get distracted but he couldn't help but realize that only a machine gun or something could stop this obstacle.

Panting hard, muscles aching, essentially screaming at him to give him a break or face the consequences of full on collapse, it was taking everything Fear had to stay in the game. Anger and adrenaline being the only things surging through him to keep him going. His sixth sense the sole aspect that was keeping him a step ahead, and even then, Chrono always knew where he was going to move. The whole scenario was an excruciatingly cruel tango between the two of them that was pushing Fear to his limit. A fierce samba of stabs, spins, ducks, leans, and slashes. I am so fucking pissed this guy would consider killing good ponies like Crate and Angel. I can't believe I'd considered doing the same. I was horrible! THIS is the kind of equine that killed my mother, not those innocents! Everything was on the line, the whole village. His journey to find something he'd lost. And he couldn't think of a way out, constantly getting distracted.

Fear, focus! You need a way to stop him from using his magic, right? That's your goal. What do I know about unicorn magic? The memories flashed in his mind. Back and forth motion of magic through the horn. But how would that help? I can overload the thaumic gland! Or crush it or- or something! With raw magic! Fear had his idea. But he needed an opening. Fear banked to the side out of the way of an overhead swing. Chrono had easily ripped the rifle from his grip, so he couldn't do it while his enemy was using magic. I need an opening! Fear stared at Chrono as he kept dodging. I need to stun him!

The gashes were getting deeper, blood trickled from his cuts. It was becoming a race against time. His body would give out any second now. The air tingled from the outpouring of ether in the environment. Fear's face was full on panic mode, ears flopped against his skull. There are ways to leave a pony out of breath, ways to knock them out. He didn't have much magic to spare but... But. He remembered hitting his head a few times and getting a concussion. How can I do that to Chrono!? Something he can't dodge, something he can't dodge! Fear repeated incessantly in his head. He needed to rattle his brain up. He had only one chance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnypjQJV4E4

“You're strong enough to eat, kid! Maybe if I devour you I'LL become stronger!”

Surprise lit up on Fear's face as the knife perforated his chest, but he'd had enough presence of mind to leap back on instinct, keeping it from piercing a lung. Blood was flowing though. Too rapidly for comfort.

Fear's small body couldn't take much more. Alarm purged everything from his body, including hesitation. He slammed his teeth shut and went for it. The colt's horn lit up, a tendril of telekinesis shunting up into Chrono's nostril. This time it was Chrono's turn to look surprised. The sudden sensation of warm air rushing through his snout was enough to make him pause.

No stopping.

No giving up.

No surrender.

Fear latched onto that unicorn's brain and put some oomph into his magic, firmly grasping it and violently shaking it, slamming it in one deft movement against the inside of his skull.

As if realizing what Fear was trying to do, as it happened, Chrono tried to shove the knife into where Fear's chest was. Was. Fear stumbled to the side. He felt woozy, but he saw what he needed. The stallion's eyes crossed from the concussion then rolled around discrepantly, dropping the knife, his horn going dark and letting out a yelp. Pain and adrenaline inspired Fear, stumbling from side to side as if he couldn't get his hooves under him.

Chrono's hooves on the other hand weren't responding at all. His knees buckled under him and he fell, blacking out for a second. A crucial, integral second. Even as Chrono tried to catch himself Fear was already acting. Fear's horn lit up again, this time magic surrounded his enemy's horn. Fear took a step forward in defiance of his death. “I won't let you hurt Crate and Angel, and you're NOT. KILLING. ME!” Pouring on the juice, the energy funneled down through the crystalline nerves, touching the stallion in a way he'd never experienced before. As he was trying to get back onto his hooves, confusion crossing his face, Fear clamped down like a nutcracker with all his might, energy crashing into the thaumic gland and nearly making it explode.

Agony.

Suffering pulsated in Chrono's skull. His entire brain was on fire. It was like a muscle had been completely obliterated, right in the center of his brain. Everything was wobbly, he could hardly stand. His breath hitched in his throat. He screamed.

Bloody.

Murder.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

Chrono's magic didn't respond when he tried it, only managing to give off sickly sparks. He backed up, his legs feeling weak under him. He held his head, eyes squeezed shut, screaming again. A blood curdling, dangerous scream like a cornered animal.

It was now or never. Fear stamped on the ground, swiping the knife from off the ground next to him, his body feeling weak, blood pouring from his wound. He felt cold. “Because I'm their hero and they believe in me!” What little strength he had left for magic was pumped into holding the knife, slicing it through the air across Chrono's throat. It whistled, tearing intimately into his jugular, ripping apart his larynx and esophagus. Shredding it open and revealing it to the world. A veritable fountain of blood was exposed from the ruptured artery. The stallion's eyes rolled into the back of his head as Fear stood disobediently. He stood tall. A breeze whipped across his body as he watched Chrono gurgle and bleed out for a few seconds. Soon enough however, he was shuffling lazily back to his saddlebags.

It felt like an eternity to get there. The entire time he reveled in his endorphin rush. The pride of a job well done, and the exertion he'd put his body through. He laughed a little. “Even a science experiment is still just an equine.” It helped alleviate some of the tension and trauma he was experiencing, but if he was being sincere he was pretty sure he died and he was just dreaming, that he'd wake up soon.

Eventually he made it. He opened up the flap and pulled out the health potion as he fell to his knees, his brain a little sore. Popping the bottle open he downed it in a few quick gulps. His weight felt like too much to handle right now as his vision vignetted. As the medicine flowed into his body steam began rising off the wounds from the heat being generated in his cells, forced to divide at an unnatural rate. He was healing. His blood was coming back. Fear gasped. As the high began to fade he felt his anxiety return. The air was heavy with the scent of ozone. Fear reached out and flicked on his radio. He closed his eyes as the jazz tunes filtered out and melted away his stress and fright. Comforting him. He gathered up his saddlebags and mother, even as exhaustion tried to sweep him away into sleep. His mother's legs were curled under her as she was placed on his back.

Fear shook his head, lifting up his head and cackling like a witch, just like his mother used to sometimes do. All while stumbling over to his Garand, having remembered where it landed. He slurred to his mother. “I did it Mom,” he said woozily. “I fucking beat his ass. I fucking killed him.” He laughed, his snout wrinkling up, the high returning, a power high the likes of which he'd never experienced. “I feel like I'm soaring through the sky, above the cloud cover.” He was sure it wasn't the momentary blood loss. “I've never conquered something that impossible before. It's like I shook off radiation poisoning with sheer will alone.” He threw his head from side to side again emphatically. “This was incredible! This story is just... Impossible.” His voice faded. “No one would believe me.” He shook his head one more time. “Still. Mom. It felt good, doing the right thing. It was nice to kill though in order to do it.” Fear finally made it to his rifle and collapsed, all his stamina drained for now.

You did well my little Nightlight. Congratulations on a good job. Rest now.

“Thanks Mom. I love you. I can't believe how out of my league that guy was.” Fear realized then that he had a choice to keep moving or go back. “I don't... Don't deserve to go back. I did the right thing. I don't doubt that. But I've still done wrong things before.” He sounded sour, solemn. “And the call of a journey is echoing in my mind. It's pulling me forward.”

You can do as you wish, my little Nightlight. I believe you will do the right thing.

Nodding once, he stilled his body. “Thanks Mom. It was amazing, proving myself that way. I've never felt so alive; so accomplished.” He was still damaged but... “Maybe I'll get to do it again. Protect others with my life, and prove that I'm the dominant unicorn.” He looked back toward the stallion, petulantly sticking his tongue out at the lifeless corpse. “Get fucked you stupid asshole.” He snootily tilted his head up. “I win. You lose. Better luck... NEVER! Hah!”

Fear pulled his mother off of him and held her against his body, nearly encompassing him with her stuffed form. He held her tight, dragging a hoof down along where her spine once was, using what he had left of his telekinesis to wrap the stuffed legs around his body. “I regret not staying long enough to get victory snuggles from Angel. I deserve them but... This'll do.” His mother wasn't the same as before, but it was good enough. “Someday I'll get to experience that again.” He sounded uncertain, but it convinced him for now. He rested his head against her body. Not sure but... He could've sworn he felt her presence. His eyes went limp as he was lulled to sleep. Was it his imagination or did he feel a hoof gently stroking over his back, caressing him into a nap?

Whatever. Angel was right... Somehow... Somehow she'll always be with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079qsH6j4XI

Ameliorate

Nuclear winter may have been over for 180 or so years but there were still those moments in time where instead of the cloud cover that curtained the starry sky from the wastelanders below absorbing heat, it did no more than reflect and protect them from the warmth, be it due to soot or other atmospheric phenomenon that wished nothing but to see those down below suffer. The past month had seen a lot of that, with temperatures usually decreasing to somewhere a little below freezing. Snow had fallen recently during what would have normally been a rainstorm, so there were a couple inches of the crunchy powder scattered across the ground everywhere that didn't have upper protection. Because of this, it smelled just like snow, which is to say every other smell was far less pungent and everything just felt slower and ponies could see their breath.

During all of this Fear was taking shelter within an old war-torn factory, his body heat keeping him warmer than most would feel. The radiating warmth absorbing into his fluffy coat of dark gray fur, as unkempt as it was, despite the tangles here and there. There was debris all around him. Old assembly machinery, conveyor belts, compressors, branding equipment, the works really. There were a combination of large and small cardboard boxes, crates, and trash in the area. Garbage ranging from buckcake wrappers all the way to office supplies that had fallen from areas once inhabited by desk job ponies due to earth tremors from the bombs falling.

Fear himself was making the most of this treasure trove of items by strapping appropriately sized cardboard boxes around his legs and over his head, horn poking out of a hole he'd made, as well as over his barrel. All of them broken down and then put back together with packing tape. This was his home; this was his playtime; this cardboard was his armor. Fear was pretending to fight off piles of boxes that were crafted in the shapes of robots using a terrifyingly weak version of telekinetic bullet. Building up the psychokinetic pressure in his horn and blasting it like a paperclip slingshot into the boxes. Barely even making a dent. But it was enough.

Storm's stuffed body, Fear's Garand, and his saddlebags were laid in a corner of the factory nearby him as he continued to fight off his imaginary foes, playing as any colt should, even if technically he was growing too old for these little games of pretend. Overall, he was making a lot of noise, boasting like any good hero should about how he was going to eradicate all threats to Equestria and yelling out his motives to bring harmony back to such a glorious, bright land full of sunshine and rainbows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48no1gQdUXA Appropriately themed jazz music belted out from his radio during his crusade against the android menace.

It was during his play, and in part due to it, that he didn't sense the filly coming up to him until it was nearly too late, his horn glowing as he prepared another bolt of telekinesis and whipping around, jaw slack. If anything he looked incredibly silly standing there covered in cardboard boxes printed with logos and information with his horn lit up and jaw hanging open, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

The filly, who Fear immediately recognized as the mare from his dreams, just younger, due to it being seared into his imaginary retinas, had a look of sly bemusement on her face, as if she were secretly making fun of the colt for his antics. Her smirk spreading from ear to ear, her head twisted to the side lightly as she held a hoof against her lips. There was a balletic rigidness to her. Stiff posture yet loose muscles. Unlike the mature, slender mare with elegant curves the mare from his dream had, this filly had more of a lankiness, which was still different compared to Fear's stoutness. She clearly hadn't finished developing. However her amethyst mane and tail were as beautiful as ever, and those violet, gem-like eyes with their entrancing sapphire ellipticals seemed to pierce into his soul. She also wore a pair of heavy duty, durable saddlebags. Fear knew that while she was clearly judging him slowly, she was not a threat. She didn't have the color of a threat in his mind's eye, and neither did the whispers of her soul feel malignant and damaged. If anything those whispers spoke of purity, wisdom, and superiority.

“Why exactly are you making so much noise? Do you not know being so loud will attract predators? Where is your mother, colt?” The filly spoke like she was older than she clearly was, though the way she carried herself gave her a few extra years. There were also no contractions in her speech patterns, as if she'd intentionally cut all such improprieties from her lexicon, neither were there any syllables wasted. There was no room for failure and weakness when you were her. The air around her was smug, but open-minded. Her voice was melodic, dutiful, full of purpose. Like she'd found her calling long ago and she would cut down any who got in her way.

Yes, this was definitely the mare from his dream, albeit far more obvious about who she was, and far less gentle.

“I'm Fearei Shatter. Who're you exactly?”

The filly felt emotions in order. One, she was flummoxed by his improper speaking, clearly, rolling her eyes in a small arch and shaking her head. Second, she was a little flustered because as silly as the colt was, he was kind of cute. Clearly damaged. But trying his best. And further, he hadn't even come close to answering her question. Foremost, there were many tumultuous emotions running through the colt's head, and his facial expressions showed each and every one of them. From recognition, to feigned offense, to calm.

“I...” The filly hesitated, pressing a hoof against her chest and tilting her head into the air, gently closing her eyes. “I am Ameliorate Reverie. And you would do well to remember that. Are you going to answer my question or not?”

Fear just grinned stupidly, his tail hiking up, saying the first thing that was on his mind. “I dreamt about you, you know.”

Amelio was completely thrown off guard by that little statement, recoiling back as if she'd been slapped. A powerful blush flowed across her face as her lips tensed up and undulated a bit in concern, her ears flopping back against her skull. While she was clearly still frustrated her question hadn't been answered, she was just as clearly enthralled by the fact somepony had dreamt of her. “Oh? What was the dream? Was it something grand and extravagant like me?” She recovered her composure and pressed the hoof against her chest again, standing tall and wiggling the front of her body.

Fear noticed the filly's embarrassment and interest easily. Huh, she was fun to tease. Fear took a step forward and flicked his tail to the side. Maybe he should tease her more. “Hmm... Well. I don't know if you'd really like to hear it. Are you really interested in hearing about my little old dreams?”

Amelio snorted. “Not even slightly.” Her face wrinkled up a little in frustration at being teased as she felt the colt drawing closer to her. Fear was clearly not armed, and he did not seem like a threat.

Fear rolled his eyes and shrugged as he sidled up next to her. “Really? Well that's too bad because it was really interesting. I dreamt the both of us stood above the entire wasteland, ruling it all together as lovers.” His eyes were lidded, intentionally flirting with the filly.

Amelio huffed and sat back on her haunches, pulling back her forehooves and thrusting them out, shoving Fear over to his side, who yelped as he took a tumble from the filly's strength. Fear started laughing a little as he got back onto his hooves and Amelio spoke. “I really doubt that.” able to tell he was lying, but still clearly interested. His flirtatious behavior was a little new for her. A reluctant, squeamish grin crossed her face. “I always did want to be a leader of some kind however.” She nodded once, firmly, putting her head back into the air snootily. “As in a council member of Friendship City or something to do with Tenpony Tower.” She paused for a moment as Fear dusted himself off, his cardboard armor having deflated slightly from the fall. “You know, ponies say Princess Luna was capable of dreamwalking. I never really thought about it before but would that not be interesting and beautiful, to manipulate dreams and watch how ponies react?”

Fear shook his head, smiling doofily. It was interesting seeing a filly his age, or near his age. She was probably a year or two older than him. “I mean maybe. I don't like interfering a ton.” Amelio's face visibly fell. That certainly seemed at odds with that blatant blood lust deep inside of him. Still, Fear clearly wasn't lying. Sincerity was etched across his face and engraved in his young, feminine voice. “As for what I was doing... I was playing Mega Mare. Have you heard about Mega Mare? Mom always told me stories of her when I wasn't listening to the DJ.”

The filly's smile returned again at those words, happy to finally hear about what he was doing.

“Also, I know I'm being a little loud, but I didn't feel any wild monsters around. I guess I indulged a little too much though.”

There was no way for Fear to compare her disposition to the moon because he'd never seen it, but if he had he would. Mysterious, bright, intelligent, calm, shimmering. Flawless from far away with little craters when you looked closer at what made her who she was. Amelio cocked her head to the side as she spoke “You are a dork. And not really, Dad primarily tells me about-”

Fear interrupted her rather readily, before she could mention her father's stories about his time in Chicoltgo, chirping out. “Yeah, I'm a dork, but I'm proud of it!” He closed his eyes and looked smug. “And why don't I tell you some stories and we can play together?”

Amelio smiled a tiny bit, shaking her head and rotating her eyes in a wide, condescending arch. This was incredibly juvenile, and she was a little upset about being interrupted – this colt was very rude – but Fear's enthusiasm was infectious, and she couldn't help but adore how honest he was about how dorky he was in a place as unforgiving as the wasteland. It was attractive. She had to work out some of his wrinkles, perhaps, but he seemed like he'd make a good friend at the least. “Sure, why not? I have a half hour to spare.”

“Well in that case let's get you outfitted in some armor.” As Fear went about collecting papery wafer-thin boxes he began explaining the basis. “Essentially Mega Mare was this fictional hero during war-time Equestria who was built by Doctor Applebloom. The second in her line following Alpha Mare, a red android compared to Mega's blue. It was their job to bring harmony and prosperity to Equestria, but the other doctor, Wiz Caesar, a zebra that was working with Dr. AB ended up stealing Alpha Mare and all the other androids they were working on together in order to try and rule the world.”

Amelio sighed at the explanation. It was simple enough, but incredibly silly.

Fear just continued, ignoring her. “Mega Mare was thus outfitted with the latest weaponry and magic in order to put a stop to the zebra doctor's plans and bring harmony back to Equestria, by whatever means necessary. But unlike the Caesar's bots Mega Mare was not allowed to hurt actual equines, despite being able to make her own decisions. The three laws of robotics.” Fear began reciting. “A robot may not hurt an equine or, through inaction, allow an equine to come to harm. A robot must obey all orders by equines except when it conflicts with the first rule. And third, a robot must protect its existence as long as it does not conflict with the first or second law.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws2H5d_btUE

The filly was a little surprised by Fear's knowledge and memory. Her eyebrows raising.

As Fear finished outfitting Amelio with packing tape and cardboard, Amelio having shifted her saddlebags to the corner where Fear's laid, Fear gave a curt nod. “Your name is Alpha Mare, and it is your job to help me spread everlasting harmony throughout Equestria by beating up all these robots and machinery.” He threw out his foreleg to gesture to the whole factory. “We just gotta beat 'em up with telekinetic bullet. Are you familiar with it?”

Amelio shook her head. “Not really. I only really know a light spell and some special things my father taught me.”

Fear grinned. “Well you're in luck. To use telekinetic bullet all you have to do is gather up a bunch of pressure in your horn until it feels like it's gonna explode, then direct it and release it. It'll cause a bullet to fly out of your horn.”

Amelio did just that, gathering up a ball of telekinesis. Compressing it and thinning it out into a dart, and then releasing it at one of the boxes. Unlike Fear's it managed to make it jiggle and created a cavity, nearly piercing it. A little more power and she'd have an incision.

“Alright then Alpha! Let's get going!”

There was a giant, stupid smile on Amelio's face. She felt so incredibly silly, but this was rather fun. “Yes Mega, let us go!”

Fear laughed as they began fighting their way through towering boxes and defunct machinery, running over conveyor belts and jumping across holes and avoiding sharp spikes that would grind them into meat strips if it were still operating and they fell in. Jumping the gaps was difficult and they sometimes had to help each other with their telekinesis to lighten their weights and allow them to leap higher and farther, but they were quickly climbing the dangerously, precariously placed debris as they fired and tore into the boxes around them, which they occasionally acted like they were being attacked by and screaming and laughing. It was overall a good time, and soon they were up to the offices.

Mega and Alpha resorted to calling each other sister as they started over-turning desks and peppering lamps and old terminals with telekinetic darts, peppering everything within range. Shattering glass and tearing apart this and that. Going through the motions of a craftily laid out war factory dungeon

Eventually they came to the primary terminal, having beaten up even robots that had long ago stopped functioning due to their security being turned off. Mega cried out. “It's the dreaded Terminal Mare! We have to put a stop to her otherwise she's gonna turn on the self-destruct and we won't be able to escape! Come on sis'!”

Alpha just rolled her eyes again, smiling broadly as they started jumping around on top of everything and firing bullets at the terminal.

“It's not enough Alpha! We need to combine our powers in one big shot! But be careful we can't afford to get hit!”

Alpha nodded and jumped to Mega's side and they put their horns together, Amelio's long and almost royal. Fear's horn stubby and appropriately belonging to a pipsqueak. They generated energy together, pouring their magic into the tips of their horns. Black and white swirled together between them like yin and yang, coalescing into a giant telekinetic bullet. They crafted and tempered it, hammering it into a giant charged shot worthy of their combined powers. “Three! Alpha cried.

“Two!” Mega replied.

“One!” Alpha finalized.

“FIRE!” They both shouted at once.

The force of the telekinetic bullet whistled through the air as it flew loose, shredding through the terminal and deactivating it for good. Too bad for anypony who wanted to use the terminal, but good for the two of them who'd had such a good time.

“Yeah! Sis! We did it!” Mega cried in victory.

Alpha clapped her hooves against Mega's as they “reverted” back to their normal selves, falling on the ground and laughing, holding their bellies.

Fear and Amelio eventually made their way back to the entrance of the factory, looking at the wreckage of everything they'd destroyed and toppled over. Still laughing occasionally. Fear was the first to speak. “Haha! No zebra leader stands a chance against our power!” He puffed out his chest, grinning like a hero with blazing crimson eyes. As violent as they looked, they seemed almost tame.

Amelio just stared at Fear, shaking her head a little. She found herself slipping into the quicksand of attraction. Falling for his confidence, dorky honesty, and overdramatic bravery. Everything he'd exhibited during their little game, and everything she could feel from the whispers of his soul. He had clearly done... Wrong things in his life. She could sense the blemishes, the stutters and stammers of every whisper. The lack of full security in who he was. He was slowly crumbling, that much Amelio could tell. But perhaps they could help each other. He was a cute little colt. Amelio draped her foreleg over Fear's shoulders as they wandered back to the front of the building. They got their saddlebags and other gear together, Amelio's having been hanging out atop Fear's protectively. Eventually Fear strapped Storm to his back once more. And with that they left the factory behind. The filly watched Fear for awhile as they walked together to... Well, she had no idea where Fear was going, but she was going back to her father.

Fear honestly just wanted to hang out with this new filly for awhile longer. It wasn't often he found others his age and that wanted to play with him.

Amelio finally broached the one topic that interested her the most a minute later. “Who is that mare on your back, and why do you carry her?”

Fear winced and twitched for a second as if something had hit him. Still. It always... Felt better talking about it. As if he was able to give a word of warning or to just enjoy regaling ponies with the tale. Nopony ever stuck around though, or was it that he never stuck around? But since this pony might stick around and since she seemed nice to stay with... Maybe he should go into more detail? He looked back behind him at the oversized stuffed plushie strapped to his back with a cord. “Well, she's my mother.” He sounded hesistant and unsure. He knew others felt uncomfortable.

And uncomfortable Amelio did feel. Fear was clearly very damaged. She eased out the words she thought she might regret. “What... What happened to her?” It was clear Fear didn't want to let go, and she didn't blame him for that, even if she knew it was unhealthy to carry your stuffed parent. She'd never do anything like that.

Fear looked back and nodded. "Well... It was early in the morning.”

=========================================================================

Amelio seemed to know exactly where she was going as Fear told the story in vivid detail to his new friend. They were headed to a specific part of a nearby outpost named Notres. At least that's what the sign said. A lot of the letters were faded with time. It looked like a warning sign instead of a welcome one. Not that anyone knew but it once said 'No Trespassing.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPUTddT8APc&feature=youtu.be&t=145

The air was chilled and cold, everything solid and slow. Things were sluggish and dry. It poked against the skin and crystallized the fur given enough time and lack of heat. It was like someone taking a brush to the body and gently grazing over it. Things were still, and the snow crunched under hoofsteps. Fear and Amelio were heading into the outpost limits and toward one of the buildings in particular. Amelio seemed to know exactly where she was going, homing in on a signal only she could feel, or at least that only she was familiar with.

A few moments later as they approached, the door opened and out stepped a dazzling old stallion with youthfulness in every bit of his features, only more pronounced by his thin lips, which were a vague simulacra of something familiar and cozy. Yet despite the youth, his perfectly combed mane was a pure glistening platinum, like threads of gossamer covered in morning dew. The silken hair and tail were curly, twisted, and suave, perfectly coiled as they reflected light like sparkling stars. A short, swirly pearl-tipped horn jutted up out of his forehead. His smooth, short, luxurious fur coat was beautiful, a calm, gorgeous periwinkle blue. His eyes a pure pool of indigo that looked like glossy ink or jewels, full of life and fire despite the weary undertones to his being. The cutiemark adorning his flanks was glorious, albeit shamefully greyed out as if a chemical had been used to make it monochrome. As is, the symbol was a large mirror with ornate trim and two drama masks overlaid. One sad with a darker shade, the other happy with a lighter tint. On his back were a pair of durable, light brown saddlebags that looked almost good as new, somewhat full, evenly weighted, and without much detail. Aside from a sheathe on one side holding a sharpened black knife with a slightly curved ivory handle. In a word, he was magnificent, and looked like he belonged in pre-war Equestria as an actor.

Amelio gestured to the stallion who was coming down the steps leading to the front door and spoke. “Fear, this is my father Simulacrum.” She turned to her father then. “Dad, are you finished with your errands?” It was odd how flawless and proper Amelio's mannerisms were aside from the casual way she referred to her parent.

Fear looked from Simulacrum to Amelio and back again, understanding right away just how somepony like Amelio could have been sired. Fear himself was gradually falling for Amelio too, as if it were love at first sight. There was discomfort about his feelings, but he couldn't deny he enjoyed playing pretend with her, and was interested in doing more. He'd just have to wait and see what the future held.

Simulacrum stepped into the snow, grinning a bit. Even that was somehow charismatic and charming. With a nod, he responded. “Yes, Ame, I'm finished. Right on time too.” He looked to her little friend and stiffened, visibly flinching at the sight of the dead body sewn up. Then he eyed the pendant around the colt's neck, hiding his emotions on the surface. All that registered between the two older foals, one nearing her teens, was a hint of surprise. “Hey there kid, what's your name?”

Fear was a little put off by the surprise, but then again all ponies seemed to feel that way regarding his mother. “Fearei Shatter. It's nice to meet you Simulacrum.”

Sim's eyes glassed over for a moment.

Amelio looked between the two as Fear asked what was wrong.

“Nothing kid, just call me Sim, that'll do.” Sim gave Fear a hesitant smile and shrugged. There was a warm, fatherly look to his eyes. As if he had perfected it over the years. Or maybe he had always had it in him. “Say, you didn't kill your mother did you?”

Fear shook his head. “Nah. Though how'd you know she was my mother?”

Amelio piped up right after Fear, saying “no, he didn't. He told me the story about it and he's definitely not lying. Raiders killed her.” Very quick to his defense. Her eyes wide with a little concern.

Fear glanced to his new friend and tilted his head. “You can tell whether or not I'm lying?” Sure Amelio could have just been protecting him with that, but if she was Fear would have felt her lying.

Sim chuckled. It had a cozy bitonal attribute. High pitched and low pitched all at once. But there was little questioning it, as it just felt like a trick of the vocal cords. “She's an empath. Why? Are you one too? Also, regarding your question: she's a full sized mare, and you wouldn't carry around just any random pony with you I assume.”

Fear's smile was unending and powerful as he nodded emphatically. “Yeah! Of course I am! I can sense ponies around me in a pretty big distance, I'm no slouch!” The explanation sated him well enough.

There was a little uncertainty in Sim's eyes. Fear sensed discomfort but it was probably because the stallion didn't trust him yet. After all most ponies didn't immediately trust a pony that was carrying around a dead pony. Some just assumed he was a raider like all the others. Thankfully for him he easily passed for as young a colt as he looked, if not a little younger, and further he didn't wear blood-soaked raider armor. Nor did he wear leather saddlebags. Anyways, that was fine, these two ponies felt really good. Amelio was kind and felt like she had a lot of integrity, even if easily corrupted, and Sim felt like he was being mildly dishonest, however he was kind enough. He had probably just done horrible things too, accounting for the blemishes in the whispers of his soul. And overall he was a very extravagant source of light despite that. He felt like a sun who just wanted to nurture ponies. Fear was about to ask about the empathy thing, as he hadn't met anypony like him before but...

“Why don't we get settled for the night? You can come with us. We already have a little encampment set up a little ways outside town off the road. Would you like that?” Sim clearly didn't mean it, but it was easy to tell what Amelio was feeling just by how she defended him.

Amelio started jumping a little, looking between the two males. “Yeah come on! Let us go! Let us camp for the night! Together!” She was excited and giddy, sitting on her haunches and clapping her hooves together, excited to have a playmate.

Fear shrugged, grinning nonchalantly. “Sure, what do you do for a living anyway Sim?” The three started on their way as the stallion began explaining his expertise.

“I'm a comfort horse. Probably the best of the best if you ask those I've taken care of. I do everything from foalsitting to massages, all the way to actual sex. Though my real talent lies in acting. I've done a few tiny plays but nothing major. Where are you from kid?”

The colt was very impressed, looking at Sim in awe. “Wow! I always kind of wanted to try out a life like that – being a comfort horse I mean – I've done it before. But I can't really stop fighting. I hate myself for it but I'm always drawn to it.” Sim seemed concerned at that, but ignored it. “I myself grew up in the wasteland, but my Mom's from Stable 47 out by Stalliongrad.” Fear turned to his mother and spoke to her, nearly chirping. “These two are really interesting Mom!”

They certainly are, sweetie. There's something off, but they seem very kind. I'm happy for you my little Nightlight.

Fear beamed to the utmost while the other two looked on in concern.

Sim lifted a hoof, turning it upward. “You ever been there or thought about going there? It's technically your home too after all.” This caused the colt to wither a bit.

“Welllll... No.” Fear admitted. “But I've thought about it a bit. Seems like it could be kind of fun I guess.” He nodded his head to the side.

Sim bounced his saddlebags into the air a bit as he adjusted himself. “Well! Why don't we escort you there? I'd love to visit that stable too, or any stable for that matter. Maybe you can even put your mother to rest where she belongs. Where she began.”

Amelio squeaked. “Yes! That would be very cool! Road trip!”

Fear grinned and nodded sheepishly, shrugging a shoulder. “Sure, I'll consider it.” Truth be told he was contemplating running away. He didn't want to give Storm up. She felt so good to talk to. But it'd be wrong to leave them high and dry when they just wanted to help him and... It wasn't like he was doing anything else. Stable 47 might even have answers about his mother and the pendant she carried. Be able to tell him things about her life growing up so he could get to know her better. Storm had always been incredibly personal and private, even around him. So maybe he should. Besides, the stable probably wouldn't ask for his mother back. He knew it was delusional denial, but he refused to give her up and was falling into the desire to visit.

Sim's invigorating smile returned. “Well then, the next leap will be the leap home.”

“Huh?” Fear was confused. That sounded weird.

Amelio rolled her eyes. “That is something Dad always says to keep us in high spirits, as if there is some kind of home waiting out there for us. He says he learned it from an old radio play.”

Sim chuckled that same weary yet energetic laugh. “I've told you Ame, your grandparents are waiting for you to come visit again.” He ruffled Amelio's mane with a hoof. “It's your home as much as it's mine.”

Amelio grumbled. “Yes, but I want a real home. Somewhere I can be the leader of. I want to be incredible. I want everypony to look up to me, respect me, and adore me. I want them to come to me for all their problems, for my leadership. I want them to respect me.”

Sim just grinned while Fear felt enticed by the filly. The colt decided to tease her a little. “Well you can lead me any day,” he sultrily said with a clearly seductive tone. Sim rolled his eyes.

Amelio blushed deeply and looked away as they got to a stack of firewood.

Sim opened up his saddlebags. Fear could see some bags of caps, a fancy spark lighter with a picture of the alicorn Princess Luna engraved on it, two canteens – one with a gash running along it horizontally, and another bag of something round and spherical – they looked squishy. Sim took out the lighter and pulled open the cap, holding it in a turquoise telekinetic aura. He hit the switch with a 'kachick' and the flame fwooshed into being. After lowering the flame to the dry wood, it eventually caught flame, becoming engulfed especially as Sim lit both ends. There was always at least a little dead wood still remaining for things like this.

The group got comfortable, and Fear finally decided to ask the question most pertinent on his mind. “So Meels is an empath too, right? What do you guys know about it?”

Amelio was about to say something before Sim interjected. “We might tell you eventually. If you can prove you're trustworthy.” Amelio scoffed.

“But he is super trustworthy!”

Sim just glanced to her.

“Sorry Dad.” Amelio deflated, staring at the ground.

Sim gave an understanding nod to his daughter. “I trust you Ame, but he's a little wild. Throwing around anything and everything.” His head turned to Fear. “I want to know you're not too impulsive before we share information with you, Fear.”

Fear was a little bitter at that, but he didn't resent them. He could understand what they were saying. “I mean I kind of get it. I'll prove myself! Don't worry!”

Amelio sulked. “Sorry Fear. We will tell you soon.”

Sim then pulled out the bag full of spherical goods and opened it up, popping out two strange, magenta, grape-like orbs. With a closer look Fear was able to see juicy fluid coursing around inside, swirling about like his cutiemark. He floated one over to Amelio who took it in her charcoal magic. Slipping it into her mouth and chewing.

“What are those?” Fear was curious as ever.

“Our dinner for tonight.” Sim was as forthcoming as ever.

“Can I have one?” Fear queried.

Amelio took up the mantle for this one. “I do not know if they would affect you or not honestly. They are special and only energize certain kinds of ponies.”

Fear was a little confused and left out, but dropped it. They had their secrets. As irritated as he was, this explained why Sim felt like he was hiding stuff. Besides, they'd been kind to him so far. While he tried to stop dwelling on it, he went through his own saddlebags and pulled out a can of cream corn, popping the hatch lid and peeling it backwards, exposing the contents. He held it out in his telekinesis over the open fire, whose flames were licking at the air. It was moments like this he appreciated being a unicorn, even as he tried not to get a full head on his shoulders. After all, it was nice to be able to cook things without risking burning himself, without needing to rely on utensils.

Amelio piped up. “So Fear, do you know any scary stories meant for stuff like this?”

Fear contemplated it, tapping his chin with a hoof. “Well I mean I know a few. Have you ever heard the one of Slenderstal?”

Amelio shook her head. “Never. Tell us.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OC9LjTeipI

Fear tried to determine where to begin, rolling his jaw with the hoof and squinting at the cloud cover above as he reveled in the heat of the flames. “Well, Slenderstal is this huge, slender pony as his name implies. He's said to have been as large as the princesses. A completely white pony dressed in a black suit and tie. His legs were as long as the branches of the tallest tree, with a face completely blank of any features. Nothing but empty skull covered in flesh and fur. No eyes, no mouth, no snout. His ears don't even have holes. The most dexterous thing on him are these really long, slim, greasy tentacles that sprout from his back to help him capture little colts and fillies.”

The colt continued. “They say he drives ponies mad. Never quite revealing himself for real except to foals, who he steals away to do Celestia knows what to them.” The flickering flames caused light to dance across Fear's features, leaving him encased in shadows here and there, and covered in light in others. Constantly shifting. “This particular story is about a particular filly who was out wandering through Manehattan's run down shops all on her own. She was looking through an old boutique, exploring the various dresses that had survived the bombs going off and darkness had settled in. It encroached around her like a monster ready to swallow her whole.”

Amelio was rapt with attention; although uncertain that she believed a word of it. It sounded too weird.

“Well, eventually the little filly found a great big mannequin wearing a suit of the highest quality fabric. She admired it for a long time, before finally looking up at the one wearing it. She didn't quite expect what she saw. A heavy weight overcame the filly. She felt like she was suddenly drowning, couldn't come up for air. It was an unhealthy obsession with this mannequin that suddenly moved. Its tentacles coming down to pick up the little filly and hold her at eye level. They locked eyes with each other, and as the filly's mind was broken, snapped in two, she was finally set down. Thoughts ran through the filly's head. Wild, corrupt thoughts. She needed to serve this entity. This entity that wore clothing of the finest silks. She needed to be with him. And the only way she could be with him was...”

Fear paused, pulling his can from the fire and setting it down in front of him, waiting for it to cool as steam rose off of it.

“You guessed it. She eventually went home and later that night she killed her parents, seeing the figure from the shop out of the corner of her eye the entire time she was doing it.”

Amelio snorted and rolled her eyes. “That was not very scary. You almost had me going though. You kind of rushed through it at the end. And besides, how does he see without eyes?”

Fear fumed and huffed, crossing his forelegs over his chest. “I don'know, I always assumed he used, like, empathy or something to locate souls. Doesn't matter. If you don't like it, you do better.”

Sim was enjoying their antics as he laid by the fire, relaxing to scary stories that hardly had any basis in reality as far as he knew.

Amelio grinned sinisterly. “Gladly. This story is about a mare by the name of Bloody Merry Gold. They say she is one of the many dangers you can encounter within Canterlot's pink cloud. Her entire body is emaciated and mutilated, the clothing from her death fused to her flesh and blood cascading down her entire body. They say she was around the day the pink cloud was released and got caught in it, her coltfriend leaving her to die in the bathroom of their house while he ran to try and escape in one of the bunkers. Only he never made it.”

There was a pause as the fire illuminated Amelio, making her seem more silly than terrifying.

“According to legend, you can meet up with Bloody Merry's eternal spirit if you go to Canterlot at night and find a mirror, broken or not does not matter. And cry in front of it her name three times. They say depending on whether she takes a liking to you, she either stabs you to death with mirror shards, leaving you to bleed out on the floor due to how angry she is for being left to die, or she takes pity on your poor, worthless soul and pulls it out of your body through your mouth, and whisks it away into the night, leaving your body a husk to be claimed by nature while you remain with her in agony forever. And that is the legend.”

Fear rose an eyebrow, not believing a word of it as he chomped and chewed on his food. “Well, that wasn't much of a story, but you certainly told it well so... Good job.” He gave her a genuine smile, his compliment sounding and feeling sincere.

Amelio's face flushed with crimson heat again. “Th-thank you, Fear.”

Sim shook his head. “Alright kids, time for sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”

Fear shrugged as Amelio and he laid down on the ground, the snow around the fire melted. The radio helping lull him to his rest.

Amelio, curious, inquired: Fear, do you have to keep that thing on all night?

Fear nodded as he closed his eyes. “Definitely. Turning it off always gives me an anxiety attack.” The filly seemed satisfied by that, albeit worried, and tried to enjoy the sound of the smooth jazz tunes that were nearing their end.

“I'll wake up during the night and put some more wood on the fire,” said Sim comfortingly.

As the jazz tunes ended, DJ-P0N3's voice kicked up. “Remember children, family is the most important thing in the wasteland, and family is more than just those related to you by blood! They're those who choose to stick by you in the worst of times and the best of times. They're the ones we share life's happiest and most miserable experiences with. Through thick and thin, family is with you.”

Changelings

Author's Note

This chapter is a little out there and contains sexual imagery in the context of education. No actual sex takes place. I alluded to this revelation in Nightmare Worth Dying For.

Changelings

The whooshing of howling wind was ever present today. It had been about five days and it was snowing again. If the elegant flakes of frozen water came down any harder, any thicker, any more violently it would have been a full on blizzard. As it was it was rather calm and quiet, with a vague mist permeating the area. It was cold enough for ponies to see their breath, wispy trails of steam coiling about in the air and rising upward, mixing with everything else. While it wasn't chilly enough to be dangerous, it was certainly enough to be excruciating. Sim was taking the lead, his head up and following an unknown path. A trail only he could see. He always seemed to know where they were going, as if he'd been around long enough to have an internal map. That or they were just shuffling along a road. It was hard to tell which to be honest. Fear and Amelio were merely huddled up together for warmth. Well, Fear was. As powerful as his body heat was it was just nothing compared to the warmth Amelio was giving off right now. It confused the Tartarus out of Fear, he couldn't explain it, it was just another mystery heaped onto everything else that they wouldn't answer no matter how much he annoyed them by asking. Which was about three times so far. He could tell that no amount of prodding would get an answer. Amelio was cracking, but she believed heavily in her father.

Fear respected that. It reminded him of how he felt about his mother, which currently had a curtain of powder covering her body on his back.

In order to have something to do, primarily because Fear was bored and there was no way they could play traveling games in this weather while trotting, he decided to break the silence like shattering glass with a monotonous question. “Are you sure you can't tell me what's going on?”

Sim just shook his head, not that Fear could see it. It was a combination of denial and also Sim was impressed at the colt's persistence. Sure he had tried to distract him with other forms of conversation but Fear always seemed to be able to drag the topic right back to the things he wanted to learn about.

Amelio on the other hand was about to respond in good humor, able to read Fear like a book, but perked up instead. Her head reaching up into the air, ears standing erect.

Fear stopped with her. “What's wrong?” A moment later he felt it too. It was clear the older filly had more time to practice her craft.

“Dad, stop. There are...” Amelio's ears flicked. “Five ponies. A lot of malignancy. And maybe five others. They feel weary.”

Sim halted and looked back to the others, trotting over to them.

Fear piped up, glancing from Amelio to Sim. “Slavers, you think?”

Sim nodded. “I'm sure of it. We have no idea how heavily they're armed.”

Amelio left Fear's side as Sim told him to turn off the radio. While the wind might've masked it up to this point there was no reason in giving their location away. Fear hesitated, reluctantly lighting up his horn and flicking the switch. The smooth jazz tunes cut off instantly. Immediately Fear's eyes darted from side to side, his breath hitching in his throat and beginning to sweat, his limbs tingling. The father and daughter were busy whispering to each other. Fear moved a little closer to try and make it out, but the last thing said, the only thing he caught was.

“You're up Amelio. I'm counting on you. We don't have time to avoid them.”

Amelio gave a firm, defiant nod with pursed lips, pushing her mane back as she unclipped her father's knife holster and unsheathed the black blade, gripping the ivory handle in her charcoal magic.

Fear wasn't sure what to make of this. He wanted to kill the slavers and free the ponies on account of them being slavers (most likely), but didn't know what he could possibly do. He looked past Amelio and Sim. There was no way to see clearly through the snow and mist, so there was no way he could be of much use as a sniper, even if someday he might be able to sense where a pony was simply by feeling out their soul. Besides, there was also no high ground to hide in, even if the low visibility would conceal him too. Further, it was a lot of bullets. Five total provided he didn't miss one of his shots. And they'd be moving around after the first two blasts.

No, there was no way for Fear to help in this situation. He looked to his new friends, cocking his head to the side as Amelio suddenly vanished from his vision. Like she'd never been there at all she was suddenly just... Gone. Masked by snow and mist. Her entire body invisible. Fear's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and bulged out a little. “What??” The confusion was evident in his cracking squeak of a voice. It sounded like he was asking a question about a question.

Sim moved over to Fear and sidled up next to him, using his turquoise magic to yank Fear against his body, laying down in the snow, coaxing Fear's muscles to kneel with him. “Down here, Fear.” Sim draped a foreleg over the colt's back. It felt warm and comforting. Too warm. Unnaturally warm. Though the fatherliness present within it was intoxicating. Fear felt Sim's regulated, calm breathing and firm heartbeat, closing his eyes.

“What's she doing Sim?”

Sim smiled down at the colt with a tenderness in his gaze. “I don't like killing because it takes too much time off my life and I prefer talking things out nowadays when I can. But I've done it many times despite disliking it. Amelio's taking care of this group for us. We want to help the ones who've been captured after all.” Sim's grip around Fear tightened, squeezing him close and nuzzling into his mane.

Wait what? Fear thought to himself, vision bolting toward Sim's face with jaw agape as if he was about to have a conniption from the strange information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFXqJ--L_Kk

Amelio was busy sneaking up on the group. Winding around them in a circle. Magical vibrations radiated out from her horn. Illusions of the highest quality – the quality of a noble – leaked from her and entered all ponies in the vicinity. Covering up the noise of her hooves in the snow. Hiding her breathing and body, whose entirety was transformed into a sheer alabaster. The illusion also masked the knife she was carrying next to her, which was quickly molding and melting. Changing shape. Lengthening outward into a short pole, a blade pricking at the end and extending outward like it was made of light before permeating fully into a physical construct. Still a white handle with a now giant, crescent, inky black blade. A miniature scythe that looked like it could decapitate anything with the right motions and enough pressure.

Amelio's eyes sharpened, swiftly transitioning into that of an owl's. Her gaze pierced through the hazy weather and stared at the ponies. They were in an arrowhead formation. Four behind the cart, two on both sides a fair distance away keeping track of what was happening, and one in the front taking point. The cart, complete with blanket-covered cage on top, was being dragged through the snow by a burly earth pony that they intended to sell. Amelio brought the scythe close to her body as she wound around, snaking through the snow and coming up to one of the ponies from behind. They were all armed to the teeth with primary and secondary firearms, thick cloaks covering their bodies and keeping them warm, as well as carrying full saddlebags. Amelio grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes and sneaking up right on the first pony's heels, glad that they weren't having any sort of perverted or macabre discussion like slavers and raiders were wont to do. A telekinetic ring wrapped around the first stallion's muzzle as the scythe cascaded around, slipping up against his throat. The tip brushing against the side of his neck.

Amelio didn't hesitate.

The stallion did. His eyes went wide, every muscle in his body stiffening from the sudden phantom sensation of a sharp edge pushing into his neck. He didn't have a single moment to contemplate it any further because a second later...

There was a brutal swipe.

The scythe penetrated through the fur and flesh, incising the head right off the shoulders. The body slumped into the snow as a fountain of blood sprayed up and tainted the white with gore, the head thumpfing into the snow and creating a small crater where it landed. The pony's eyes were bulging out, his jaw opening and closing as if to say something. The light in his eyes quickly went out, going dull and vacant. Not even having time for final words.

Amelio grimaced and lifted her head into the air. She hated killing. She hated the texture of blood on her hooves and the taste of it on her soul. But doing things nopony wanted to do was what leaders did, and she wanted to be a leader. So she'd bear any burden in an effort to be somepony others could look up to. Amelio flicked her head to the side as she approached the other pony on the opposite flank, none of them any wiser. Quickly beheading each and every pony in the back before they knew what hit them. Not even noticing their brethren collapsing lifelessly by a single filly's hoof.

Back with Sim and Fear, the stallion had finally responded. “It's complicated Fear. Maybe you'll understand someday. You're still just a colt after all.” Sim gave Fear a teasing wink, causing Fear's cheeks to puff outward, eyes glaring holes into Sim as he grumbled in frustration. He accepted it though. He might be able to annoy answers out of Amelio but Sim was like trying to yank something out of hardened concrete. His answers were held in tighter than teeth. Besides, he was still dealing with an anxiety attack, barely keeping his breathing under control as he rested against Sim's comforting body, sandwiched under his mother's.

Amelio had deadly precision. Perfect and lethal. She was a Lunar Reaper. A Moon Angel of Death. And she didn't stop there. Fear could feel each 'red light' leaving his awareness one by one as the filly continued her rampage through the snow, finishing it off by going up to the pony taking point and slicing away the unneeded part of his body as if it were vestigial. As soon as Fear felt the last cancerous light go out he flicked on his radio, immense relief flooding into him and making him sigh in bliss.

There was a loud scream and a whinnie as the bulky stallion's eyes, the one dragging the cart, dilated, suddenly rearing back onto his hindlegs from the sight of a guillotined pony. He was desperate to escape, thinking they'd just been ambushed by raiders someway, somehow. But being hitched to a cart made it slow and difficult to escape.

The commotion in front of the concealed cart caused the ponies in the cage to stir and stand. A raspy voice sounded out from within. “Powerhouse... What is it?” There was concern etched into it.

The stallion named Powerhouse screamed again. But there was a sudden shush as Amelio appeared from behind him, as if from out of nowhere, her body back to its original appearance “Shh! Keep quiet! I am helping you escape!”

Powerhouse stared at the lanky filly with disbelief in every piece of his body, one eyebrow risen high on his face. But he didn't have time to protest as he was quickly being unhitched with telekinesis, leaving him to go free.

“Hang there for a second, I need to get your friends out of their cage.”

“Powerhouse? What is...” There was a fit of coughing. “Is it?”

Powerhouse finally responded in a gruff voice. “I... I think we're being rescued?” The stallion was frazzled, his heart finally calming down after the unexpected attack. Quickly moving over to the slaver that was in front of him and gathering up his gear, wishing he'd been the one to take him out and save his kin.

Disoriented, surprised gasps echoed in the cage combined with baffled muttering. Amelio hopped up onto the cart as the scythe reformed back into a knife, the blade slipping into the hefty unicorn-proof lock. It began to change shape once more, filling out the keyhole and sliding the tumblers into place. When it was finished Amelio wrenched it to the side, clicking it unlocked, pulling the artificial key out and yanking the door open. The knife quickly reverting back to its normal shape.

Amelio gave the others inside a nod. “Get all the slavers' gear and get out of here, you lot. Take care of yourselves.”

The ponies were restless, trying to get up and work their legs once more. They looked like they hadn't seen actual light in a couple days. The one who'd spoken to Powerhouse looked to Amelio with gratitude. “Thank you. We don't even know your name but you've done so much for us. We'll take these weapons and... And everything back to our village to help protect it.”

The filly grinned cutely. “You do that. And my name is Ameliorate Reverie. I will likely see you again, I am sure.”

The stallion nudged the filly with a hoof as they all passed by her and started collecting up the gear. Amelio was swift in getting back to the others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQcKzdl0ow

Fear could sense Amelio coming and glanced from the direction she was in to Sim. “How... How did she do all that?”

Amelio shrugged as she came into view, then looked pleadingly to her father. “Dad? Can we please tell him now?”

Sim seemed to get a sadistic glee out of leaving Fear in the dark. But maybe it was time. He'd stayed silent and seemed to know when he was outmatched. Maybe he wasn't as impulsive as they'd assumed. There was always a chance. “I suppose we can tell him some things. What do you want to know first, Fear?”

Fear considered it, looking back and forth between the two, surprised they were finally giving him answers. His face hardened, knowing that Sim wouldn't explain the comment from before. Just anything involving Amelio most likely. He could feel the exhausted ponies from earlier leaving the area. “Well I suppose let's start with the fact Amelio released those ponies. I've picked locks with telekinesis by feeling things out before but that takes five minutes at least for even the simplest locks. I timed myself once.”

Sim shrugged. “Well. That knife I carry around with me,” the same knife Sim was sheathing again after Amelio hoofed it off to him, “is made from changeling carapace. They're incredibly valuable because pumping them full of any kind of magic will enable them to transform into whatever you will. Almost anything.”

Fear's eyebrows rose. “So you two are changelings?”

Sim grinned and leaned against Fear, staying close to him in order to keep him warm. “I'm half. Amelio is a quarter. My mother was a changeling. Her name is Emulae. Changelings need ponies to survive, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I'm sure you've noticed, but I'm under the impression Amelio's desire to be influential and a leader is the changeling side of her primarily, a desire to be a queen. And maybe something to do with her mother.” Sim's body became rigid at that moment.

Fear took the hint. Amelio's mother was probably a point of contention, or maybe a sour thing. Perhaps their mother had died too? He wouldn't bring it up.

Sim visibly relaxed when the inevitable question wasn't asked. Perhaps Fear wasn't nearly as impulsive as he thought?

The colt was busy recalling stories of changelings. How dangerous purebred ones could be. How they transformed and became all sorts of horrible monsters at will. That it took powerful weapons to take down the strongest ones. But they could also easily be starved to extinction and almost had after the war. He also remembered myths that the same radiation from the end of the war caused them to mutate into terrible beasts. Fear looked toward his mother with lidded eyes and grumbled. “This explains a lot, Mom.”

It certainly does, honey!

Sim could tell what was going through Fear's head. Of course, who wouldn't think of those stories? “They're not all dangerous. Some changelings, for whatever reason, will go so far as to reproduce with ponies, or if they can manage it, other species. Their fluctuating genetics allow genes to combine unlike most others. It's a matter of survival, and sometimes a matter of attraction. After all, a changeling pony hybrid has two, possibly three sources of nutrition. Still, most changelings prefer to lie low, because the Steel Rangers see them as a threat and unnatural.”

Fear recalled stories his mother told him about the Steel Rangers. How they were hoarders of technology and had their own way of living. Created by Ministry Mare of Wartime Technology: Applejack, they usually believed they themselves were meant to survive. Also that there were detachments of them with differing beliefs. Most of the ponies below the elders, the leaders of the Steel Rangers, were essentially brainwashed and hardly ever thought for themselves. According to her at least, they had no individuality or freedom. If they did, then it was just to decide which detachment they wished to follow.

There was a deep desire within Fear to befriend one, or at least test himself against one. Irrational, and probably crazy, but still there.

Fear came to the obvious conclusion, remembering one of his primary questions. Something that had been bothering him for awhile. “Okay, so is that what those things you ate are? Are they made of love?”

Amelio was surprised by the question as she laid down on her belly in front of the two males, her eyes widening.

Sim snorted amusedly. “Indeed. They're heart cherries. I take some of the love I drain from a pony when I comfort them and use an old changeling technique to morph it into a physical substance. Then I put it into one of my canteens. Eventually I take it, water, and changeling resin to create them.”

Fear was uncertain, fidgeting in place. “Is the feeding process painful? And changeling resin?”

Sim shook his head. “Not even slightly, Fear. In fact it can become addicting like a drug. And all changelings can produce a gooey resin from their teeth. Transformation magic mixes with a special substance and expels as a slime, eventually drying and hardening.”

The colt cocked his head to the side in curiosity, his ears flopping. “It isn't? Well that's good. What's it like?”

Amelio spoke up first. “A... Lot of ponies become concerned that it will hurt. After all, it is such an intrusive process, why would it not?” Sim just nodded once.

“Indeed, it is actually very pleasant. My mother did it to me when I was young just so I would know what exactly it was I was doing to other ponies, and so I could more easily cater the process to each individual. She believed it was important.”

Fear shrugged. “Well okay then, what's it like? I mean I don't really want it to happen to me right now, but maybe you can describe it?”

Sim considered it, and Amelio responded. “It is... Interesting. I will describe the process.” She introduced. “It starts often with cuddling, or any remote physical contact. Sometimes it involves light nibbling, but the real bite is metaphysical.”

Fear interrupted. “What's metaphysical mean? Actually wait I think that word was in my book once.” He quickly corrected himself. “It's like, uhh...” Fear tried to think of the word for it. “It's like when something is beyond physical, or a sort of spiritual physical right? Sometimes emotional?”

Amelio nodded. “Yes. It is the metaphysical fangs that matter, not the physical ones. A changeling will puncture the consciousness of a pony. It starts with a...” She hesitated. “Sharp, anxious sensation. It surges through you, but is quickly replaced by an unending calm.” Amelio's eyes darted from side to side during her explanation, as if searching the world for the words she needed.

Sim tried to explain it in better detail. “It's a little like... What's a good metaphor?” He tapped his chin with a hoof, looking up into the air. “Like the calm you get after eating a really good meal. You feel lethargic and incapable of much of anything. It's very blissful. Then a warmth takes root in the belly, expanding outward like a web, ensnaring your being and leaving you breathless, while a comforting cold spot forms at the base of your neck, around the spine. It's chilly and makes everything tingle. It's as if a spirit passed through you.”

Fear nodded, understanding it so far. He could almost imagine it. “I might ask you all to try it on me sometime so I can experience it for myself.”

Amelio smiled. “I would gladly show you, Fear. After the cold spot begins, goosebumps start flowing along the skin like waves of pleasure. That is when the feeding begins. Emotions, particularly love, are slurped out through the fangs. You can feel them leaving you so clearly it is rather... Passionate. And intimate. You hardly know it is happening. Just that you feel incredible. The remaining emotions slosh around inside of you and feel more apparent. As it continues there is a sense of rightness and fulfillment. It is like you are achieving something glorious, a feeling of purpose that nothing can really compare to.”

Sim added. “It is like a venom. You believe you are serving the hive. Just subconsciously knowing you are giving to something greater than yourself. It leaves you groaning and feeling like jelly. I have only been to a spa once, in Friendship City. And I would compare much of it to that.”

Fear was curious. “Is that why it's so dangerous? It sounds really amazing.”

Amelio nodded. “Yes, Fear. While there is some danger in going too far, draining too much love or too many emotions from a subject, the primary concern is in a pony becoming addicted to the sensation.”

Sim finished. “After the feeding process, a sense of anticipation and anxiety floods the subject as the fangs pull out. Then the emotions bubble up to the surface of their consciousness and congeal like a scab, leaving everlasting peace in its wake. Depending on how much you take out, the subject will start to feel... Distant. Disassociative. And light-headed.” Sim's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he searched for the right words. “It is very pleasant, peaceful, and hazy however. No matter how much is taken out you feel tired and sluggish. You just want to rest because you can hardly think straight.

Fear wondered. “I've heard talk of headaches afterward. What's that about?”

Amelio grinned, batting a hoof. “That is purely a long-term effect to constant mental control. Once the subject finally comes out of their state of relaxation and suggestibility...” It was hard to remember all these words! “They will sometimes get a headache. That, too, is because it is like a drug. Like painkillers, the mind becomes unused to thinking for itself and it becomes difficult to function alone.”

Fear kind of wanted to experience it for himself. It sounded fun. But all drugs were addictive. “You know, this reminds me. I often feel full and energized after sex. Do you think I might be a changeling?”

Amelio rolled her eyes. “I mean it is not insane but still unlikely... I think?”

Sim opened his saddlebags with magic and pulled out a heart cherry. “Here, try one. Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to experience it.”

Fear took the heart cherry as Sim continued talking.

“Also that explains your other question. The reason our body heat is so centralized and radiates out from us so well. Just gets trapped. Is due to basic application of changeling magic.”

“What else can changeling magic do?” Fear proceeded to pop the grape-like orb into his mouth. The effect was immediate as he chomped down, causing the liquid to gush out of the fluid-dyed resin and into his mouth. Fear looked like he'd been zapped with electricity, his entire body going rigid, muscles locking up and eyes bulging out even as he laid there next to Sim. His eyes then rolled up into the back of his head as his mouth hyper salivated over the meal, his maw becoming slick. Fear shook his head a little, eyes crossing and lips puckering up a moment later as if he'd eaten something sour. Then, before he knew it, his mouth twisted up as his body melted, eyes lidding and legs going weak. Fear relaxed on his barrel as he experienced his first dose of pure, unadulterated love. The water just seemed to bring out the taste even more. It was more chocolatey than anything he'd ever experienced in his life. And so much more... Fresh. “Mmmmnfff...” The energizing effect was fast acting. He felt like he'd had a full meal in no time at all.

Sim and Amelio laughed pretty loudly at his dramatic and vocal reaction to what they'd become accustomed to.

“The first one is always a doozy,” Amelio stated. Then sobered up. “Guess he is indeed a changeling. Who would have thought?”

Sim nodded. “It is. As for your question Fear, changeling magic can be used for all sorts of things. The imagination's the primary limit, but it's also determined by just how much changeling you have in you. It can be used as a weapon for those well-versed in transformation. You can increase the durability of your muscles, and even give yourself more. You can form carapace over your fur in certain places, the amount depending on how strong your changeling side is. Or for pure-bred changelings just toughening what is already there. It can be used for pleasure, such as forming cilia somewhere on or in your body, or even prickly barb-like studs. There's also auto-lubrication, and so many other uses.”

Fear thought about it, clearly in awe as he wondered just what Sim was capable of.

Sim didn't stop there. “As you might expect, due to all this transformation capability, changelings are also heavily immune to diseases, infections, and viruses due to our high mutation rate and evolution. However, because of this they're also predisposed to dangerous cancers. We are far more susceptible to them than any pony. Radiation can be dangerous. It might have the unintended side effect of making some stronger, but that is so rare it's basically .1% of changelings. It's not worth even attempting. And even then it doesn't work all the time.” He shook his head.

Fear nodded, understanding. “So if changelings are prone to mutations, is that what empathy is? Is it just a mutation?”

Amelio decided to take this question, tilting her head to the side. “Empaths are what they are due to the fact they have the same crystalline nerves that fill a horn also filling their entire brain. Webbing throughout it. Fused to the neural matter. It causes them to be sensitive to magic, and because it is attached to the parts of the brain that involve emotional processing, it allows for a sixth sense. And as I am sure you know, magic, destiny, souls. They are all carefully intertwined like a Gordian knot. You cannot pull one apart without potentially doing irreparable damage. That is why souls and destiny are forbidden magics and only zebras are familiar with it.”

That sounded a little scary to Fear. He swallowed hard.

Amelio lifted a hoof and raised it into the air. “Anypony can generate the mutation. I suppose it is not too surprising it occurred to both of us. There are other various evolutionary things changelings can experience. Benefits and detriments both. Empaths themselves come in all shapes and sizes from what I have been told. Any creature can develop it, though most exhibit it in different ways. We experience it like an antennae through our horns. Others might feel it as vibrations in their hooves, wind currents on their wings, or maybe see something when they look in another creature's eyes. It is all dependent on how the quirk manifests.”

Fear was impressed by... All of this. How could he have ever forgotten a filly like Amelio in his dream vision? It made no sense. “How do you know all this?” He asked in an awe-filled tone.

Sim shrugged. “My mother connects to her old hive mind now and then, and she taught me so much. I asked her about the empathy long ago one of the times I visited her, then explained it in detail to Amelio. It is possible for hybrids to connect to the hive mind, but they cannot usually do it from far away, so...”

Fear latched onto one part of that. “Hivemind. Does your mother come from one hive or the hive?”

A smile spread across Sim's face. “There are multiple hives. Queens primarily, but sometimes kings. They are expressions of their hive. Emulae comes from Viola's hive. Their expertise is in infiltration and reproduction. Utilizing stealthbuck-levels of camouflage to the point of near invisibility, and secreted aphrodisiacs. Here.”

Fear cocked his head to the side. 'Here' what? He got his answer without even asking the question a moment later when he caught something out of the corner of his eye, bolting his vision over to stare at it. It was... A changeling?

Covered in glorious black chitin, the changeling towered up to nearly Princess Celestia's full height when she was in her prime. She had brilliant amethyst eyes with watermelon pink polka dots sprinkled about like some kind of exotic flower. Crystalized sap of the same hue as those dots was strung along her long legs and drenched over her sharp, long horn, like an encasement of translucent armor flowing over pure ebony carapace. As black as a calla lily. With very few holes in her form to speak of unlike most changelings. There were overlapping plates along her abdomen and neck. Around that neck was a mane of pink fur, like a gorgeous fluffy moth, the same hair forming a tuft on her head and flowing from the dock of her tail, looking like a rod of fuzz. The shell on her back was a brilliant, gleaming violet with a glossy surface. Her wings a sparkling, glimmering fucsia. Insectoid in appearance. Protruding from her skull were a pair of jagged ears that looked more like a crown of seashells than aural sensors. The figure in front of him said something, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. All he knew was that her voice was potent and viscous. And the power he could feel her exuding produced a strange clarity like putting on glasses, it stuck fast and didn't let go. Her presence was like nectar that seeped into everything around it. Still, it was calm and had a hint of sedation. Fear wasn't sure he could continue remaining in such a presence. But just as fast as it appeared, it was gone. Vanished from his sight.

“How did you do that?” Fear asked curiously, his eyes wide in a combination of fear and excitement. “I saw her like she was actually there!”

Sim considered telling Amelio to try her thaumic connection with Fear but decided against it. Then shrugged. “It's simple illusion magic. It goes hoof in hoof with transformations. Amelio used a combination of the two in order to conceal herself and her weapon from the slavers and slaves. Once she gets good enough she'll be able to also disguise the heat she gives off when it comes to organic infrared vision. Robots can't be fooled by those illusions however, only transformations.”

Fear thought about it, impressed at how far Amelio had come. Whereas Fear had learned to be a sniper, sort of, Amelio had clearly learned how to be a stealthy killer. “What are the other hives?”

Amelio just kept quiet as Sim spoke. “There are big ones and small ones. The other one I'm personally familiar with is Solanum's hive. His excels in subjugation and combat. They're able to stretch their bodies in any way as if they're rubber without the use of transformation, and are often capable of injecting paralyzing venom through their fangs. Some can even secrete a numbing poison from their hooves. There... Are rumors that some have discovered how to harness, and are aided by the mutative effects of radiation rather than being harmed by it. But I don't know the full legitimacy of that rumor. Still, if you ever come across one you should never engage.”

Fear caught something out of the fringes of his vision once more. Another majestic and regal changeling covered in chitin of the purest black. It looked a little like latex in how it shimmered in the light. The form reaching taller than Viola had. His eyes were a piercing, sickly golden hue. His ears were a pure eggshell white, as were his wings. Overall he wasn't nearly as entrancing in appearance as Viola, and he had many holes in his legs and lancing, curved horn. However, his voice was another matter entirely. It was toxic when it touched the ears. Seeping in like liquid poison and getting into the cracks of the head. It was multi-tonal and impossible to resist. Impossible to rebel against. It took all of Fear's will just to not fall into place from the sheer power in it. And his presence was just as commanding. Like a thick miasma that brought Fear nearly to his knees in worship. He couldn't understand why he was so easily swayed by such a... Monstrous creature. He was clearly bad news. And just like that the vision wasn't there anymore.

Still. Instead of being scared, Fear was curious if he could befriend a ling from the Solanum hive. Or have a friendly spar. See which was better, their physical attributes and transformative powers or his... Well, he only had a Garand, so certainly not his guns. Too bad.

Sim spoke up again. “Speaking of changeling attributes, you may also be intersex like I am. In that you can lay eggs as well as fertilize somepony.”

Another illusion overcame Fear. In front of him were a trio of eggs. They looked like peeled, lime-green oranges with translucent surfaces. A foggy, swirling interior. Thin, bulging dark-green blood vessels. And a dark green yolk deep inside that was faintly throbbing. They sat in a pool of neon green, pasty, gooey, slick, and oily fluid that Fear recognized as being nutritional in nature. The illusion was a little uncomfortable and squicked him out slightly, causing him to close his eyes and cover them with his hooves.

Amelio was also flush from the sight, not feeling comfortable either.

Sim just laughed. “You know kid, given you love to tease my daughter so much you sure can't take any teasing yourself.”

Fear just huffed, glaring off to the side.

“Also, changelings don't usually need to worry about STDs, so I'm sure you're fine on that front.”

The colt hadn't thought of that at all. That was interesting. And kind of a relief. “So how do I go about laying these eggs? And just find out if I can, in general?” It was good to remain informed!

Sim grinned. “Thattaboy. You're more mature than you let on. All you need to do is put pressure on the perineum-”

Fear cut off Sim. “What's the perineum?”

Sim shook his head. “Uh, right. It's the taint. The part just behind your testicles.”

Fear was still a little uncomfortable about this whole conversation, but understood it was better to understand his body than to claim ignorance when he could be knowledgeable.

“Essentially all you do is put pressure there and it forces latent transformation magic to switch around the tubes, allowing you to deposit eggs from your pouch, and also morphs the penis. It also causes a numbing agent to be released that painlessly relaxes cervixes. Of course, genetic material must still be supplied for fertilization.”

Fear nodded along, taking it in stride. Amelio on the other hand clearly was not enjoying this conversation very much. Though she'd had it maybe a year or two prior. Fear though decided he'd try it another time. When he was alone. “Hey Mom why'd you never tell me any of this?”

Because you're too impulsive, my little Nightlight.

There was also the fact that she never told him anything new, he realized.

Sim piped up. “She probably didn't want to make you worry. I'm sure she couldn't tell you how to manipulate that part of you anyway, so it makes sense.”

Fear affirmed that with a nod. “I suppose... It's not like I ever knew my father so it makes sense. I'm sure he just ran off on her after having me. That seems like a very wasteland thing to happen.” Though he did recall his father was technically a hero in the eyes of some ponies, as was his mother, that didn't mean he was a good father. “I don't particularly hate him for it though. I mean it's not like we couldn't get along without him and, who knows? Even if he was there doesn't mean Mom would have survived. He could have died sooner. Just because you're a hero doesn't mean you're invincible.” He looked to his mother, a small fit of disassociation creeping on him, making him feel like his awareness was rising off his body and he was looking at himself in the third person.

Sim just stared at Fear longingly.

Amelio found the words to be oddly wise and realistic. Fear was clearly a humbled pony, and not very judgmental. She thought about how her father was a hero, and how he was eventually going to die too from either another pony or natural causes. And due to his disease Amelio would likely forget his existence one day. Life was miserable.

Fear broke the mood by asking the other question on his mind. “What were your parents like Sim? Why'd they get together? Was your father scared of changelings?”

Sim smiled broadly. “A lot of ponies are scared of changelings, but not quite like back when there was propaganda about us. There's still a lot of fear because of a changeling's appearance, and the fact there is little to no knowledge about love, other emotions, and how a changeling interacts with them. But my father was a very brave pony and loved all creatures equally. Even Hellhounds.”

Fear recalled Hellhounds. They were those gruesome, brutal mutations of a regular diamond dog. Dangerous as all get out. Fear wondered if they were loyal friends if you managed to get close to them. Even he didn't want to try his hoof at fighting one though. They were literal beasts in combat, from what his mother told him, and not to be trifled with. Fast as a speeding train, and as powerful as one too. And those deadly claws... Fear shuddered.

“If my father, Pumpkin Pep, ever found one that enjoyed his food he'd offer a friendship with them. Emulae loved what he had to offer the wasteland, and loved him for his spirit. He had the qualities of pony kind that she couldn't get enough of.”

Fear ‘huh’ed. “I hope I get to meet them someday.”

Sim shrugged again, rolling his shoulders. “I'm sure someday you might be able to.”

Amelio felt a little uncomfortable. “Hey Fear? Can you read us more of that book?” She kind of wanted to escape into another world.

Fear grinned. “I thought you'd never ask! Sure!” And with that he began pulling out his novel, Tormented. All while they stood up to get going, with Amelio hanging out next to Fear's side and helping keep him warm with her body heat.

Continuing where he left off, Reiki and Sunrise had been getting to know each other for quite awhile, going on dates and really hitting it off. They were there for each other when they needed one another, and were growing closer by the day. Eventually they decided they ought to get married, after all no better time than when things were at their saddest and most stressful to do something happy and memorable. There'd also been stories lately that were being kept lowkey about ponies being gripped with War-Time Stress Disorder, an ailment similar to PTSD but not treated nearly as well. The Ministry of Morale was picking up those thought to be a problem in order to 're-educate' them into being joyful. It was a little disconcerting, but it was better that than leaving them to suffer right?

Unfortunately Sunrise was called to the front lines soon after. Things were going well for awhile, as they sent letters back and forth, counting down the days to the end of his tour of duty so they could have their ceremony. But one day the letters just stopped coming. And soon after a pony came to Reiki's home with the terrible news. Distant Sunrise had been killed in combat. Reiki was beside herself with sorrow, feeling like she'd lost a piece of her soul. She was weak and couldn't even leave the house. Caramel Frame came to her house now and then to help get her on her hooves so she wouldn't be taken away, but it was difficult. Especially since Frame was dealing with some misery of her own, having lost her brother some time before in a freak accident. They tried to be there for each other but eventually it wasn't enough and Reiki was taken away, never to be seen again.

Or at least that's what Frame thought. Frame missed Reiki too dearly. Her work was suffering too. And as Reiki started to make herself a home in the brainwashing institute, going along with whatever parties and plans the Ministry of Morale had for her, trying to keep her in high spirits, she found herself slowly sleeping more and more. It seemed a lot of the ponies there were beginning to do that. And every one of them had a common thread. They were seeing their loved ones a final time in their dreams. There were so many patients there, from those who were the sole survivor of an airship accident to those who'd gone crazy from stress and did something they regretted. And eventually Reiki had that same dream. A dream of a manor that Distant Sunrise led her into. She began to sleep more and more, just for a chance to catch up with him in that mansion so that she could speak with him one more time. And during that time Caramel Frame was brought to the same facility. They were together again, and quickly falling under the sway of this strange curse.

Fear decided to take a break there for the day.

Amelio was curious. “I wonder if you can actually meet dead loved ones in your dreams. I wish there was a way to learn how to dreamwalk.”

The colt grinned and flank bumped her, barely even budging the filly. “I'm sure if anypony can figure it out, it's you.”

Amelio blushed a little. “Thank you, Fear.”

Fear continued, waggling his eyebrows. “I mean I'd love to have you rooting around in my dreams doing weird things.” He giggled a little.

Amelio huffed hard, snorting a little and shoving Fear over onto his side, forcing him to crash into the snow. Fear just laughed.

“Of course I'd also love to be able to see others, especially you, one more time.” He gave her a little wink.

Amelio just looked up, snootily. “Well, maybe I would consider visiting you if you stopped flirting with me for one single second.” Both of them could tell Amelio loved it though. “But yes, I hope you would visit me too.” She turned to her father. “That goes doubly for you, Dad!”

Sim laughed and twisted his head around to stick his tongue out at the two of them. “Perhaps. Who knows?”

DJ P0N3's voice echoed out of Fear's radio. “Remember, children! Be careful where you step in life. The wasteland is a dangerous place and learning can create trouble. Information is more valuable than caps, and far more perilous. Knowing the wrong things can make you enemies. But in the end, they can also bring together allies. Be careful who you trust.”

Healing Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR1k9_nmbSg

Life seemed a little more definite for Fear as of late. Understanding more about who he was made pieces fall into place, giving him understanding he'd never had before. Yet there were still missing parts of the puzzle. He'd talked it over with Amelio and found out she'd never experienced sensory overload when she was young due to her empathy. Why had he been different? Why did he search for something he could not find? What was he looking for? Something told him that the answer to these questions were the same, and when he found out he'd never be the same again. Sim had given no more than a noncommittal grunt, and Amelio had cited brain abnormalities as a possible cause.

Fear had noticed over time that Sim was often ambiguous with his answers. And pushing for answers rarely got him anywhere. Sim was tight-lipped and Amelio had been a good little daddy's filly throughout. Even if she knew the answers to certain questions she would not betray her father. While Sim never told a lie, he was never bluntly honest either, which was something Fear could tell hurt the stallion.

Things were still snowy, with lots of crunchy alabaster icing coating the ground; however it was all far more clear and crisp, completely lucid. The group could see for at least a mile, as if they were looking through rinsed lenses. It felt as if they could shatter the monochrome picturesque scene with a simple buck of their hooves, with how sterile and chilled it all was. Jazz music filtered through the air, creating wibbly wobbly vibrations and keeping them all company during their trek into the Stalliongrad city limits, passing through a solemn, traditional residential zone that was near the outskirts. Fear's and Amelio's sixth sense on alert. So far things had been silent and empty. As usual, Sim seemed to know where he was going. The stallion had said it was because he'd seen a map of various stables multiple times on a pipbuck, Stable 47 being among them. Fear couldn't believe his luck honestly – it seemed too good to be a true, but Sim was obviously sincere. No hint of deceit in his explanation.

Truth be told, Fear knew essentially what a pipbuck was, and they were going to a place that had a lot of them. Before now he'd never seen one, not even on his mother. His mother had told him they were given to everypony, or nearly everypony within a stable. They had a lot of memory storage, and were basically terminals for the foreleg that allowed ponies to do many things. Like use the Eyes Forward Sparkle spell, something that his empathy was similar to in that it allowed a user to differentiate between hostiles and friendlies. There was also the Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell, which his mother's talent was very much like. In that his mother could speed up her perception of time in order to have longer to think or analyze a situation. The primary difference was SATS allowed for instant targeting with a firearm, and oftentimes even a melee weapon. The comparison caused him to miss his mother ever more. No matter how much she seemed to be there, she clearly did not have the same capabilities she used to. She could no longer brainstorm and help him through things. Fear whipped his head from side to side rather vehemently, trying to shake out the thoughts and pull himself from this particular swamp he'd sunken into many times before. To help with that, he tried to think of other questions he could ask about changelings, a subject he still didn't know enough about in his opinion.

“So how exactly is your memory so good, Sim?” Fear's questioning nature seemed to never end. He was always diving into the smallest niches for information to the point it'd make other ponies frustrated, Sim clearly found it very entertaining. As demonstrated by that disarming smile he always wore. He seemed to especially enjoy the way Fear always managed to find a way to steer the conversation back to one of his previous questions.

“Well...” Sim's eyes rolled this way and that, collecting the right words. “I have a few specific memories stored on a sort of... Alternate space. Kind of like on the air? It's a modification of what makes up a changeling hivemind. A spell taught to me by my mother. It exists around me, constantly fueling back into me and anypony attached to me as long as I have the magic to upkeep it. It takes the form of an illusion or a daydream when I access it. Amelio can also connect with it sometimes. I might allow you to as well someday.”

Fear was in wonder at the idea changelings had some way to hold memories safely with magic, cocking his head to the side and looking at the strange, dazzling stallion. “I assume it takes more magic the more you're storing.”

Sim grinned, his eyes looking off to the side as if to see behind him. Impressed with how quick Fear was at figuring things out. He knew the colt would be a danger to anypony trying to hide a secret given enough experience interrogating others. “Yes, and I often switch things around to make it easier to hold. Someday it'll all be given to Ame when it's my time to leave this world. If you run out of magic or energy, or have others constantly accessing information and putting it back over and over again, the memory starts to deteriorate. Which is why some need to be refreshed, and it's better to only use it sparingly.”

Fear shuddered a bit at the morbid revelation. Losing memories was not something he was comfortable with, nor was he comfortable with Sim eventually dying and leaving Amelio and him on their own. They'd hardly been together and he already felt this way. “Alright then. Moving on. Meels, you, and I all like art. We've talked about some of the playbooks and novels you have at your parents' home in Neighvada.”

Amelio nearly swooned at the mention of those books. “The story about the reindeer of Hearth's Warming past, present, and future are my favorite!”

Fear just shook his head, smiling bemusedly toward the filly. “Exactly. Are all changelings like that? Do they all enjoy art, Sim?”

The stallion fell deep in thought for a moment as he tried to figure out how he was going to explain. Becoming inundated with explanations that overlapped each other. “Changeling aesthetic is a...” Fear kind of knew what that word meant. “Strange thing.” Sim was silent for a moment longer, trying to recollect. “I see the beauty in everything, including changeling lifestyle. I see magic in what is usually practicality. There isn't much actual art in changeling society, but there are good feelings. All lings have a purpose and a place, even drones. They all contribute something. They sometimes tell stories.” His thought process changed tracks. “Emulae loved pony art and...” Sim was clearly trying to get his words in order, experiencing something rather heavy. “Some changelings have taken the practice of doing the same kind of art as ponies, tried to keep traditions alive. Sort of? But with their own species. Using their own way.” He paused. “Something I realized long ago, and that you should too, is that there can be art in every little thing. Even in order, even in practicality, there is something to be admired that can stimulate the mind.

Fear noted that Sim was on the verge of rambling, but found the lesson interesting. The stallion wasn't quite like his mother when it came to teaching.

“Whether it be the beauty of chittering conversations, the dance of a fight, the muted colors used in hive construction – which are mostly greens and blacks, with some purples, yellows, and whites depending on the hive – you can find art everywhere. It's like finding a silver lining. Though things every changeling loves to do are relax, enjoy a good meal, and converse with each other. They love to learn and evolve, and often they'll relax in slime pools.”

Fear was curious, it wasn't quite the answer he was looking for, but what he focused on was the last part. “Okay, what's a slime pool like?” It didn't sound gross to him. Something about it was comforting.

Sim nodded his head a little, rubbing a hoof along his chin. “They're essentially recesses in the ground full of a strange slime. I've only experienced one once when my mother took me on a trip. They feel cozy to rest in, for a changeling it's like being back in an egg. For a hybrid it's like being back in the womb or egg, whichever you developed in. The calming, hypnotic glow to it all leaves you in a trance and regresses you back to better days, even if you've never experienced those better days. There are restorative properties to it for fur coats and chitin, and gives a gentle glisten. It flows into every crack and leaves you feel like you're being molested, but not uncomfortably. It's more like it knows exactly where to touch you to relieve all your stressors, but it's not alive.” Sim shrugged, shaking his head. “It's a little like an alien mud bath, but far more sticky. It just melts right off when you get out though. Prolonged exposure to the substance allows a changeling to become more flexible in how much love they can store too.” Sim rested his head against a hoof and sighed. “I haven't been to one in ages. I'd like to go again. They're usually found underground where moisture has built up and changelings have lived.”

Fear lingered on that description, trying to imagine it. Deciding to dwell on that rather than his previous thoughts. He wondered if he'd ever get a chance to have such a magical experience. “

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtJdHfc11nE

It had been a rather long trot but the group eventually made it to... Where was this? Fear looked up at the sign on the multi-story building they were in front of as his two partners entered without much fanfare. Fear cocked his head to the side, trying to read the dirty, gritty thing. Par's'l I'd's'ries. Fear wondered what it could have once said. As it was it made no sense to him. But Sim seemed to know. He clearly recognized the letters... Somehow. The stallion was certainly strange. But he quickly followed in after them.

The deserted lobby was grand and a little extravagant, with many planters, hanging from the ceiling, between rings of couches, and rimming stairwells leading upward. Except every planter had nothing but dry, brittle plants remaining if anything at all. The dirt was gray and dead. The lighting in the messy place was non-existent, and supplies scattered all over the ground and stuffed and strewn haphazardly in desks, cubbies, and across the ground. The only light came from the exterior. Fear looked around the intricate waiting room, seeing doors on the upper levels, and hallways on the first floor. The stairwells had glass and steel wire railings, some kind of art nouveau thing. What used to pass for lighting in the place had come from paper shade orb lamps.

Fear noticed he'd been left behind a moment later and quickly reached out with his sixth sense to find the others again, racing toward one of the hallways and through a door. It was some kind of reception area with a desk, some more desiccated planters, some rickety old chairs. Sim was currently tapping slowly over a keypad lock, entering a series of numbers that he seem to have memorized. Yet it was clear Sim wasn't as good with terminals as Storm had been. Just by watching him. Amelio was looking over his shoulder.

“What is in there, Dad?”

Sim grinned. “A surprise. I told you I've seen maps before. And stable locations are often the same. With reception areas like these that are out of the way. This one just happens to be in a pharmaceutical company.”

Fear watched as the keypad beeped and two cylindrical steel rods that were holding the door in place shunked out of their sockets with a loud mechanical noise. Allowing them entry.

Sim opened up the door and gestured into the black abyss that led downward. “You two want to go first or would you prefer me to?”

“Is it safe?” Amelio asked.

Sim shrugged. “I mean, you tell me. You two are the empaths.”

Fear laughed. “There could be robots.”

Sim pointed a hoof at Fear. “Right you are Fear.” He paused. “But if you two don't want to see it before me that's fine.” Sim's horn took on a white glaze like a heated up piece of metal, before that molten energy slithered up his horn and formed an orb of light that illuminated the area. “Follow me you two.”

Fear and Amelio obliged, with Fear closing the door behind them after Sim requested it. “So what's down here, Sim?”

Sim just smiled. “Stable 47, Fear. Your home.”

Fear wasn't sure he believed Sim. No, he believed that it was Stable 47 (though he didn't know what to expect) but he didn't believe it was his home. “What was the code for that door anyway? And how'd you know it?”

Sim wasn't surprised. The question was bound to come up. Fortunately he'd been prepared. “129472. I learned it from the hacker pony that showed me the map of the stables. She'd been to a lot of places, and had gathered a lot of information.” Sim hoped Fear wouldn't ask for a name. He couldn't lie about the name. Fear would know something was up. The mare who'd given him the locations had also gotten them from other terminals, so that part wasn't a huge deal.

Fear didn't ask. Whether because he knew better or because he wasn't interested was uncertain. Sim would probably offer that information anyway if he was going to.

As they got to the bottom of the next set of stairs they were in a large, open, dusty room with four columns holding up the ceiling. Motes of grime littered the air, floating about after having been stirred after who knew how long. Amelio was the first pony to gasp when she noticed the amount of equine skeletons littering the ground around... Fear gasped second at seeing the great big steel door that was more a giant gear than an entrance to a facility. It was gray and maybe a little rusty with 47 painted on it in big, blocky, yellow letters. The paint was chipping away so it appeared faded. Fear moved up to it, pressing a forehoof against the solid, dense metal. It felt smooth, and like it could withstand numerous explosions.

“How do we get in?” Was Fear's first question, while Amelio tried desperately to avoid stepping on or near any skeletons, walking daintily with a disgusted expression on her face, staring at the corpses with a shudder rocking through her body. Skulls, ribs, spines with tail docks, tibia, and so many other various pieces were sprinkled around, some connected to the whole and others... Not.

Sim gazed around as his spell lit up the room for the most part, casting shadows of the three of them and the columns. Empty of everything except for death. “Well provided the cameras are still functioning, they'll see us eventually.” It was at that point Fear noticed a speaker connected to the wall next to the door. He started looking around at the ceiling in the corners for a camera.

The first thing that happened was a spotlight flicking on and beaming down at the front of the door. A spotlight that flickered a few times and looked as if the glass had been partially damaged. They could feel the heat radiating off the old thing. Fear lifted his foreleg to shield his eyes, while Sim and Amelio just contracted their pupils and looked somewhere that wasn't directly at the light. Soon enough there was a loud crackle and a fizz. A ringing sounded out from the speaker next before everything cut off and a voice erupted. The only other sound being Fear's radio.

Her voice was beautiful, eloquent, strong, and powerful. The voice of a singer and a leader. It was rather aged but still full of determination. A commanding tone laced into the words. There was a tinniness to it from the speaker. “You do not look like Steel Rangers. Who are you?” The words had a hint of threat to it that could not be denied. As if they were one step away from being shredded into strips.

Fear hesitated. Amelio and Sim kept silent. Fear stiffened and held himself tall a moment later, narrowing his eyes, still not finding the camera. “I am Fearei Shatter. This is Simulacrum,” he gestured to the stallion, “and Ameliorate Reverie,” then motioning to his closest friend. “We are...” He looked to the others again. “Guests I think?” Fear looked back at the door, then spotted the camera out of the corner of his eye and looked to that, stepping over to it. “My mother told me she came from this stable.”

The camera focused a little as the mare remained silent for a moment. “What was her name, why are you carrying my daughter on your back, and what proof do you have?” There was an accusatory tone. After all, who would not be wary of seeing their daughter on a small pony's back?

Fear steeled himself a little, gritting his teeth and holding himself confidently, a confidence he didn't entirely feel. He pulled the pendant off from around his neck with telekinesis and held it up to the camera. “She was your daughter?” There was some awe in his words. Just some. He shook his head a little. “Her name was Brainstorm. I couldn't bear to live without her so... I stuffed her. And she always carried this pendant with her.”

Silence reigned once more. It was a little while later that the voice picked up again. “How can we trust what you say, and that the pendant you carry is the right Seer’s Eye?”

Fear stumbled a little, running a hoof through his mane. Swinging his head from side to side. How could he prove any of this? “I uhh... I don't know.” Seer’s Eye? Is that what it’s called? “I mean is there really a way you can trust either of us three?” He paused. “I can at least tell you what I've seen in it though. I've seen miraculous things. It's saved my life a few times by showing me visions of possible futures. Where to go sometimes. And it's shown me things I should avoid. It's really weird because it seems to have a mind of its own. It only shows me things it...” There was uncertainty. “Thinks I need to know?”

Amelio looked at Fear in earnest curiosity, her ears flicking. Sim was just silent, as if not surprised by any of this. Though like always, it didn't show. He'd been hiding things from Fear since the start.

Fear continued. “I've seen this thing called an exoverse before,” he said, trailing off. “Where many timelines exist. It's maddening. And it's tempted me a few times to go scrying through it in more detail, to look at those special timelines. But... I don't want to end up like my mother. I just want to... I just want to change things?”

The mare finally spoke up. “Welcome to Stable 47, Son of Breinstorm. We are trusting in your nature as a pony.” The way the voice enunciated the name made it clear that Fear's spelling and pronunciation was wrong. There was a subtle nuance to his mother's name that was hard to speak, but it seemed possible to do.

Fear, Amelio, and Sim looked at each other in wonder, Sim less so, before a moment later the sound of grinding metal echoed in the room. The vault door beginning to roll away, sliding over its tracks in order to reveal the interior of the shelter.

There was a dimly lit foyer on the other side. Full of pipes running along the walls, gun metal gray colors. Rather bland and drab. The entrance had a catwalk-like, cheese-like grating rimming it with a few steps leading down onto bumpy metal plated flooring. The foyer led to a corridor that split off into three different paths. The middle leading to an elevator that went further down.

“Stay at the entrance. I will be there to see you soon and guide you around.” Then the speaker cut off with a crackle.

Sim was the first to make his way in, marveling at everything with a straight face. Taking in the sheer technological wonder. Amelio followed in on his heels, their hooves clanking on the metal. Fear went in next while thinking about what his mother had told him about stables. That they were created by a corporation called Stable-Tec, founded by Applebloom, the president, with the vice presidents Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. That every stable was created to protect groups of ponies from the inevitable destruction of Equestria. Some even had zebras in them? He couldn't remember for sure. And that nearly every stable had been devised not only to preserve life, but also with some kind of experiment in mind in order to find out what went wrong in the past and fix the mistakes in the present. For the future.

Waiting felt like an eternity as they sat around, all three of them not wanting to go against orders, especially with the ceiling turrets trained on them, and even more because Amelio and Fear were afraid they'd get lost if they tried to explore without a pony to guide them. Sim spoke up after a while. “Never thought I'd be here...” There was a sense of longing to his voice, before he swung his head from side to side. Modifying his statement. “In a stable.” Amelio made her way over to her father and nuzzled into his side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M2rDHGE1cs

The mare came in some time later. “Hello you three. My name is Freiya Song.” She was absolutely beautiful. Especially her voice, which they could now hear in its full glory. The siren-like nature of it. It was calm, melodic, dutiful, and brimming with purpose. Yet there was an inherent compassion that spoke of a mare that, while willing to do horrible things for the sake of her ponies, she was also a mare that would gladly take time out of her schedule to visit a pony at the clinic to sing them a song with her darling voice.

The others were somewhat in awe of the sight. Admiring Freiya's long, curly locks of peppermint crimson and white mane, thick and swirly tail of the same colors. Her excellently groomed and trimmed charcoal gray coat of fur. Her kind, dynamic, and energetic emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle just right. The white freckles on her cheeks combined with her agely wrinkles along her forehead, cheeks, eyes, and body. Her long, conical horn as sharp as a pin with a groove flowing over it in the shape of an eddy. A large, indigo ribbon tied into her mane, and the sweet, fandango pink treble clef with a heart in the middle for the swirl on her flanks as a cutie mark. Further, she looked even more professional given the clothing she was wearing. The pale blue stable barding meant specifically for utility, with pockets on the shoulders and a zipper going down the middle, with a faded yellow gilding and blocky 47 printed on both the popped collar and back. Then there was the pipbuck on her right foreleg – a technological armlet; a dark gray bracelet with buttons, wires, speaker, and a dark-green screen with all sorts of information calibrated into it, from text storage, inventory management, and maps all the way to radio reception, combat assistance, and vitals. It had ports, a recess for holotapes, as well as an extendable cable built in that allowed her to jack into terminals. While large and in charge, it wasn't as bulky as one would expect, nor as weighty.

Freiya gently tilted her head to the side, eyes lidding as she stared at Fear. “So... This is my daughter's progeny.” The mare closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. A smile dared to form on her face, warmth flowing into her eyes. “My sweet, deafening little storm cloud had quite the son.”

Fear was reluctant, raising a foreleg and bending it at the knee, unsure of what to make of all this. The uncertainty etched into his face.

“It seems your mother followed her father's naming conventions when she had you. That is sweet.”

Confusion flowed onto Fear's face, twisting his muzzle up. “What?”

Freiya was considerate for a moment. “My late husband, Silver Speech, was a lover of puns and portmanteaus.” Given the look on Fear's face, Freiya elaborated. “Those things when words can be used in more than one way, or when words are combined to form one.” She dipped her head. “Breinstorm.” There was that pronunciation again. “R-e-i was his idea. And it seems our daughter put 'rei' in your name as well.”

Amelio looked as if she'd been struck. Fear didn't notice it, but Sim did. He could almost read her mind. He knew what was going through her head. Amelioreit. After all, he had told her of that once. The filly looked to her father, and her father just shook his head as if to say 'not now.' Amelio was uncertain, but obeyed.

Freiya continued. “Come here, Fearei. Give your grandmother a hug. Growing up in the wasteland is no easy task, I am sure.”

Fear hesitated, but slowly moved up to her, wrapping his forelegs around her neck and squeezing tight.

“That Garand is a weapon she took from here, by the way. I am glad you have taken care of all her belongings.”

Fear started to tear up, his eyes becoming glassy.

“You are home now, Fearei.”

Fear squeezed his eyes shut as salty water began to drain down his cheeks. His face twisting up in pain.

The hug lasted a long time, Amelio confused all the while. But eventually, like all things, it came to an end as Fear sniffled and hiccuped before pulling away.

“I do not know if it appeals to you,” Freiya began, “after all, I hardly know you. But would you like to be our next overstallion? You have brought such a valuable item to us. Valuable to our survival. It is only right we offer you the opportunity to learn and grow as your mother did, so that you may be able to take the place she once held.”

Amelio's confusion was replaced by unending envy. She glared daggers at her friend for a moment. It was terrible he was being offered such a position so easily! Without even proving himself first.

Fear... Didn't know what to make of this offer. He took a step back, closing his eyes and holding his head in a hoof. The fact of the matter was... I don't deserve it. I killed that colt. His father. I left a mother without. It's been haunting me for a long time. I don't know how long. Ever since I parted ways with Crate and Angel I guess? Ever since I fought Chrono Corona. He looked up at Freiya. I realized I didn't deserve to go back. I became what hurt me. And I don't deserve this now. I'm probably too stupid to be in that position anyway. Even with all the teaching and books in the stable that my mother could appreciate while she lived here. I'm nothing like her. She was more incredible than I'll ever be. Fear shook his head. “No. I don't think so. But Amelio might be.” He gestured over to the filly, surprised he hadn't heard a plea from his mother. Perhaps he had this decision all under control. Sort of.

Amelio's look of envy switched immediately to one of gratitude. Her cheeks rising up over her eyes from the smile she gained.

Freiya was startled, but content. “Is that something you would like Ameliorate?” The filly was clearly proud that the mare had remembered her name so easily.

Amelio acknowledged Fear. “What would you do if I became overmare?”

Fear thought about it, shrugging. “I don't know. I don't think I can stay cooped up in a stable. I'd probably just leave again eventually.”

Freiya saw the conflict in Fear's eyes. “You could always be one of our scavengers, Fearei.”

Unsuredness penetrated Fear. He remembered his changeling heritage. His guilt. No, I don't deserve to live in a place like a stable peacefully. “Thank you, but no.”

Amelio nodded. “Then as loathe as I am to admit it, I do not accept it either. I wish to stick with Fear. I care about him immensely.” If anything she was probably a little obsessed. She admired him from what felt like afar.

And that was something Fear was very aware of. I really don't deserve her loyalty. I don't deserve any of this.

You do deserve it my little Nightlight. You need to move on.

Fear focused on that. I'll make my own decisions, Mom. The tone was a little rebellious.

Freiya gave a nod too. “That is fine. I will at least try to prepare a gift for you and your friends before you leave, as thanks for letting me see my grandson and bringing my pendant back.” She paused, uncertain. “You are bringing the pendant back right?”

Fear shrugged. “I mean... I don't want to grow addicted to it. What would you use it for anyway?”

Freiya smiled wearily. “The Seer's Eye can be used for many things. It can be used to gather information that is no longer available in books. With it at our disposal the only thing limiting us is materials. We will also be able to be aware of potential threats before they come. An experienced scryer can easily determine what is and isn't. It can also inform us of the best thing for us to invest in with enough time and effort spent gazing into its depths.” She reached out to Fear. “Do you understand the full nature of the Seer's Eye, Fear?”

Amelio was at a loss for words, just staring at the ground. Everything was a little much. Sim's lips were just pursed.

Fear shook his head. “No, I don't think I do. What is it, exactly? I didn't know it even had a name.”

Freiya rotated her eyes in a wide arch bemusedly before chortling at the fact her daughter had never explained it. “It was a long-term joint experiment between the Ministry of War-Time Technology and the Ministry of Arcane Science. It was an experiment to discover what made the Crystal Heart from days long past tick, and how to replicate its ability to see various destinies, and improve upon it. The original Seer's Eye is lost to time, this is just a recreation. One of our distant ancestors, Rei Fate, was the original wielder. She was a fortune teller. Her talent was giving light to others. And Equestria needed to understand that talent.”

Fear thought back to Chrono Corona. The odds are unlikely, but I suppose that with the limitless timelines out there, it was inevitable that one would be this one. “Why can destiny be changed? Isn't it a fixed source of power?”

Freiya grinned, showing the life still left in her. “Destiny is transient and malleable by its very nature. There are very few certainties, and what certainties there are, aren't as certain as you'd expect. There are so many opportunities and possibilities. So many ways cutie marks for instance, can manifest. So many ways an individual can go about their life. They can give up their destiny and even foster a new one so long as the power is there. So long as it is, it can grow. But when it is cut off, there is no going back.”

Fear was baffled, and it showed on his face. “Isn't that all forbidden magic though, like soul stuff?”

Freiya chuckled. “It is indeed, but there were so many experiments back then, and the Crystal Heart was a natural occurrence. Most fields of study were forbidden, and those that weren't were under heavy lock and key. But that's enough about this.” She shook her head. “I only have one more question before we get the lot of you sorted out. Is there any possible way you'd be willing to let my daughter stay here?”

Fear snorted, rolling his eyes. He had little control over himself in that moment as he sarcastically remarked: Not unless you have something of equal value to exchange.

Freiya's eyes squinted knowingly. “We... Might have something like that for you to appreciate. If we could make a doll of your mother, my daughter, would you be willing to let us have her body back?”

Fear legitimately considered it. Genuinely. He couldn't really decide, looking this way and that as if he could find answers in the corners of the properly lit room. “I mean... Maybe.” Fear's voice was as quiet as a whisper. How can I say no to THAT? Fear recalled Angel's words that his mother would always be with him. They wriggled into his skull and made a home so long ago, and they were constantly coming back.

Amelio finally piped up. “It is alright if you are not willing to let go yet, Fear. Someday you will be ready, but you do not have to rush it.”

Fear held his head in a hoof. What would Mom want? “Why did Mom leave the stable anyway?”

Freiya pressed a hoof into her forehead, sighing. “She was always such a freedom lover. Could never sit still. She was all over the place, getting into every nook and cranny, learning every little thing she could. Becoming skilled at hacking into things and looking at restricted files. She even managed to find some we never even knew about with her developing skills. She wanted to be a teacher, to pass on everything she learned. To write non-fiction. She wanted to aid the wasteland itself. We could not stop her. She was set to be the next overmare, but soon after the ceremony she just... Took off with the Seer's Eye and her specialized pipbuck. She couldn't stand to be held down.”

Fear couldn't help but giggle a little. “Yeah, that's Mom. I'm not surprised it took her so long though. She always had difficulty following through with risky moves. She reprimanded me for being reckless a few times.”

Freiya chuckled. “Yes, that is my deafening little thunder cloud. Always so full of energy, but always so anxious. Never certain.”

Fear nodded a few times in understanding. “Well, I want to be what my mother couldn't. So I'll give you her. I'll make the reckless decision. Mom's not here well enough to stop me, and she deserves to finally rest.” Maybe there was a hint of resentment still left, but it was small.

Freiya gave a nod in return. “We will get to work on the doll right away.” She turned to the others that had so far been mostly silent. “And what would you two want as gifts?”

Amelio was startled out of her reverie by the question. She hesitated before asking a question in return that had been on her mind for awhile. The reverence she had in her voice for Freiya was immense. “You said your daughter discovered many things and that the Seer's Eye can find out even more. Do you know anything about dreamwalking?”

Freiya ahhed. “Yes, we have a book on it in fact. There weren't many copies of it. It was given to us solely because the skills talked about in it can be used with the Seer's Eye. However, multiple ponies here have read it and we can compile the information into a new copy once more, if you want it?”

Amelio shifted from hoof to hoof, gratitude present on her face. “R-really? That would be splendid, thank you. Are you sure?”

Freiya nodded again, this time with closed eyes. “One hundred percent. Besides, Storm would want that information to get out of this stable a little. Teaching was her life.” She then turned to Sim. “And Simulacrum, what is it you desire?”

Sim gave a charming smile. “Please, call me Sim. And do you have any extra pipbucks? I've always wanted one.”

Freiya thought on it for a bit. “Certainly. I suppose we can gift you one. You know we will be able to find you if we ever need to right?”

Sim grinned, tilting his head to the side. “That's the plan, yes. I wish to be able to store information on something, and to be able to hack terminals easier.”

Fear was curious about that. Perhaps his spell was not perfect? Sim had said as much.

Freiya's face softened. “In that case, yes, we can do that for you. Would you like a copy of the songs I've written and sung with my late husband to go with it?”

The stallion's face brightened like an intense light bulb, clearly enticed. “Yes! I would love such a thing! I might even bring them to Tenpony Tower someday and have them copied so the wasteland can enjoy them like Fear is right now.”

The radio was still going strong as a matter of fact even down here. Well, almost. There was a little white noise. Barely noticeable.

Fear took the pendant back off again and hoofed it over to Freiya. “Here. Take this. You guys need it more than I do.” There was a hint of concern in his voice, as if he couldn't bear to part with it, but he was anyway. After all, it'd saved his hide a few times and it was a reminder of his mother.

Freiya took it and put it around her neck. The Seer's Eye glimmered like a glint in somepony's eye.

“Your choices are so important.” Freiya and Fear said at the same time. They looked at each other and then smiled.

“Come with me now you three, I will show you to the rooms you'll be staying in for a few days.”

Fear followed Freiya out.

Sim called to Amelio. “One moment please Amelio.” Then he called after the others. “We'll be right behind you. I just need to speak to my daughter real quick.” The stallion waited for them to be out of earshot, watching them head down the elevator. Then turned back to Amelio. “Ame, I'm sorry to have hidden this from you, but Fear is your brother.”

A multitude of emotions crossed Amelio's face, but there was an ever present awareness as if she'd suspected it. “So... He is the one you gave that to.” She looked off to the side as she said it, pursing her lips. Then looked down at the ground, almost feeling as if she was betraying her father. “I still love him you know. I... I cannot get enough of him.” She paused. “When did you know?”

Sim smiled. “When I first saw your mother on his back and her pendant around his neck. And I don't expect you to stop. There's a lot of your mother and me in both of you. It's not surprising you find yourselves attracted to each other. But please, do not tell Fear yet. I do not want him to know. I want to keep it secret for as long as possible.”

Amelio honestly wasn't even certain Fear could be held down by just one mare. It was true many changelings indulged in polyamory due to their very nature of being reproductive. But Amelio was more monogamous. Still, she was a good filly. She listened to her father. She was against keeping it secret, but she knew about Sim's disease, and she understood what was at stake. She respected her father. She nodded once. “I will keep it secret Dad.” She turned her head toward the elevator where Fear and Freiya had disappeared to. “So that is my mother, hm?”

Sim confirmed with a grunt and a nod. “Yes, Storm is your mother. The one who helped me in Chicoltgo, where you got your saddlebags from.”

Amelio wrapped her forelegs around Sim's neck, hugging him close. “I am sure he will be happy to know you are his father.”

Sim was wary, it was carved into his face. “I just don't want to hurt him, Ame. On accident or on purpose. I've always loved him.”

Amelio closed her eyes. “I understand. I will help you take care of him. It is a good thing he never heard the stories you told me about your efforts in Chicoltgo.”

Sim nodded uncertainly, not even sure if Fear knew about Storm's part in that. “I was also happy he did not ask about your shared mother when it came up awhile back. I was surprised he didn't ask why I reacted to him the way I did when we first met, but I suppose he was just used to those reactions.”

The two parted from the hug and headed for the elevator.

==========================================================================================

It was a day or two later. The stable's cafeteria was incredibly colorful overall. After all, it was a place where many ponies met up to have food and shoot the breeze. With red and white checkerboard linoleum tiles and multi-colored tables, booths, and chairs. There were also pieces of art on the walls from ponies in days long past that had used what materials they could get a hold of, either from outside the stable or inside, in order to spruce up the place. It was also filled currently, though not to the brim, with colorful pastel ponies in stable barding, each with a pipbuck of their own. All with a general genetic understanding of color theory.

Fear and Amelio had come to the cafeteria in order to have something to eat, and were currently nomming on canned veggies, brought straight from the wasteland. A recent and clandestine acquisition. It supplemented what little farming they could do. What little fruits and veggies they could get were frequently deformed or malnourished, as if they hadn't quite had the catering they needed.

“So that's what Mom told me. That Discord is constantly bringing things in from another dimension or something so that wastelanders always have more, even though it's never enough. Keeps the chaos but allows us to survive.” Fear shook his head.

Amelio looked sour. “That sounds stupid. But it does explain how we are still discovering things to scavenge to this day.”

Fear nodded as he took a bite of his string beans. “How've you been sleeping lately by the way? I haven't asked yet.”

Amelio looked off to the side. “To be honest it has been almost a dream come true, having a bed like this. I have not gotten to sleep in one many times. And while the pillows are clearly old and well-used, it is nice to have something to lay my head on.”

Fear grinned and winked. “You do know you're always welcome to lay on me right? I can be your pillow.”

Amelio rolled her eyes and grinned right back. “Of course you would offer. I am sure you just want to get between my legs.” She joked.

Fear nodded. “Well there is that, but I also want you to be comfortable.” The sincerity in Fear's statement was intoxicating.

Amelio blushed, hiding her face behind a hoof. “Ugh, Fear...”

Fear shrugged. “The bunk beds are good but I'm even better.”

Amelio just hid further, squeaking and cowering.

Fear turned the conversation away. “So Amor Fati. The next overstallion. What do you think of him?”

Amelio thought on it, spinning her can of food around in circles. She felt kind of nauseous so it was difficult to eat. Her hooves also felt a little prickly. Eventually she began to eat though, not wanting it to go to waste. “Well, he seems rather nice, albeit a bit... Zealous. I hope he will be good for the stable.” She finally stated. “I know he had a crush on your mother when she was around.”

Fear looked off to the side. “Yeah, him calling me out wasn't particularly pleasant,” Fear grumbled. “Still though, I agree, he seems to have the stable's best interests in mind.”

The filly's head hurt a little bit, but she easily ignored it. “Thank you by the way, Fear, for giving me the option to be the next overmare. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. The thought was sweet of you.”

Fear shrugged once more. “Well it was nothing really. I knew that was something you'd love. I'm just sorry I held you back.”

This time it was Amelio's turn to flirt. “Fear, with you I am never held back. Especially since you seem to enjoy me commanding you around so much.”

The colt's face actually flushed red at that. “Yeah, well, you're a good leader so there!” He tried to tease back. Unfortunately Amelio didn't quite take the bait, counting her first win over Fear.

==========================================================================================

Fear was in the overmare's office a couple days later. A place with old bookshelves, a terminal, turrets, and knicknacks of all sorts. Including a painting of the alicorn Princess Luna on one of the walls. It was overall rather barebones, but it worked for what it was. Freiya was with him, pulling something out of a box that she'd recently been given. When she lifted it out and floated it over to Fear in a crimson aura, Fear was at a loss for words. He stood there for a long time just... Staring.

It was a tiny plushie, smaller than him, built like his mother. With two gray eyes. It wasn't exactly like her but it was... It was good enough. Fear levitated the plushie over to him, sitting back on his haunches and wrapping it in his hooves, holding it against his chest. It was strange how small it was. It easily fit in his grasp. It wasn't quite the same as the corpse, that much was sure. It couldn't cuddle him back. It couldn't spoon him. But at least this... Could give him comfort. He wondered if he was getting too old for it.

Freiya spoke a little while after. “I am glad you like her so much. Bendy Button spent a lot of effort on her, and tried to get her likeness just right. I know it's not quite the same but, we tried with what materials we had available.”

Fear nodded. He... “I understand. Maybe in pre-war Equestria it could have been better, but I accept this.” He constricted the plushie a little tighter.

“By the way, Fear, I had a proposition for you. I wanted to know if you'd like to deliver my daughter's eulogy. I figured the honor should go you since you knew her the final days of her life and... I just thought I should offer.”

Fear looked up from the floor at Freiya. “What's a eulo...” His eyes widened. “Oh right, that thing ponies do at funerals.” He remembered from his novel. “I mean, I suppose I could.” He shrugged. I don't know if I'm worthy, or if she'd think me worthy. It feels like I hardly knew her.

You knew me just fine, my little Nightlight. Stop deprecating yourself. You'll heal in due time. You have ponies who believe in you.

They only believe in me because they don't know what I've done.

Crate and Angel believed in you. Everypony believes. I believe in you.

Fear was surprised he was hearing his mother's voice. But it was her, clear as day. Sort of. It was more like a thought, but it had her voice to it. Her lilt. “I... I suppose I can try. I might need help though.”

Freiya nodded. “I will gladly help you Fearei. I was hoping you'd ask. Just let me know when you want to do it.”

Fear managed a smile. “By the way, I've been wondering.” He gestured to the pendant around Freiya's neck. “Tell me more about it. I don't really understand it and I've always been curious.”

Freiya didn't know where to begin. “Well... I guess. What did you want to know?”

“I don't know, like... Are there rules to using it?”

“Well, for instance every time a pony puts it on for the first time, they will inevitably be given a vision of their own mortality. Something that's unlikely to happen, but still plausible. It tests your mettle by showing you something that would break a lot of ponies. Make them question themselves, or terrify them into giving it up. A pony might confuse it for a daydream however if they don't know exactly what they are seeing. Sometimes the Seer's Eye will, in order to bring you to terms with the power you wield, show you multiple outcomes of a situation.”

Fear recalled the daydreams he'd had the day his mother died. Of being left to bleed out. Of being used as a slave. Of his mother's body being violated in front of him. His teeth ground together. “What did you see when you first put it on?”

Freiya looked to the side ashamedly. “Well, it is certainly something I will never forget. The Seer's Eye was very hard on me. It knew I had experienced a rather cozy life. A sheltered one. It made sure I knew exactly what was at stake for a leader when I put it on. It showed my late husband being captured by Steel Rangers and tortured into giving the location of the stable, the code for the door... And... It was. Very vivid.” Freiya's voice was a little stuttery. “It's seared into my mind. We were not treated kindly. The Seer's Eye showed me one of the worst possible outcomes.”

Fear rubbed his head with a hoof, just imagining it. “That's... That's awful.”

Freiya nodded. “The more sheltered you are from the harshness of life, the more you do not understand pain, the more noble your aspirations, the harder your vision will be. I learned from it that I needed to do everything in my power to keep the stable safe, but I also learned from it self-control. I did not let it break me. I wielded the Seer's Eye as any leader should. If you do not learn self-control, the Seer's Eye will use you, you will not use it.”

Fear felt uncomfortable. “Is there anything else you can use it for? I thought about looking into other timelines where I was doing well, or with my mother.”

Freiya smiled sadly. “Yes you can use it for entertainment too. But you should not let yourself become engrossed in those visions, lest you be lost forever. We've had ponies in the past who've fallen prey to it. The ponies under an overmare or overstallion watch their leader closely to make sure they are not becoming corrupt, nor that they are breaking from the pressure of the Seer's Eye.”

“That makes sense. You have to work together after all. I'm glad it doesn't make a pony invincible.”

Freiya bat a hoof. “Hardly. Difficult to take down, but not invincible.”

Fear looked at the stable barding and pipbuck on Freiya. “By the way, I've always wondered, how are the pipbuck and barding made?”

Freiya looked down at herself, pressing a hoof against her chest. “Well, we have some automatic sewing machines that use recycled materials. That is, when we need new ones. Usually we just reuse the old ones. Often ponies have a difficult time parting with it due to growing up feeling it against their body. As for the personal information processors, we were given all the ones we have now during the war by Stable-Tec. We have the blueprints for how to build them on the main terminal just in case we find the resources to make more, but usually we just try to keep the population at a certain level because coming up with the components for new ones is problematic.”

Fear nodded, a little saddened.

“Do you know what happened to your mother's pipbuck, Fearei?”

Fear thought about it, rubbing his chin with a hoof. “It was one of the few things she told me about herself. She said something about how she crafted a virus on it so that if it was ever taken off of her and studied it would fuck up the machines used to do it. And one day she got the opportunity to fuck up some Steel Ranger shit.”

Freiya wasn't pleased with the colt's language, but waved it off. “Yes, she was always amazing.”

Fear 'oh'ed. “By the way, that reminds me. How come you could never find my mother through her pipbuck? You told Sim you'd be able to find him?”

Freiya looked a little nervous. “Well... Breinstorm was brilliant and clever. Before she left she deleted her pipbuck registry from the main terminal.”

Fear blinked. “Wow, that easy huh?”

Freiya shook her head. “It's not easy. But she knew her way around one. Especially with the aid of her pipbuck. She was capable of many things.” She shrugged. “Was there anything else you wanted to know?” The mare was clearly a little embarrassed they'd been tricked by Storm.

Fear thought about it. “Well, one other thing I guess. How did you and my grandfather get together?”

Freiya smiled again and moved over to a picture frame that was sitting on the desk. It was colorless and showed a small stallion with a pair of square glasses on his snout. “Silver Speech was one of our scavengers. His silver tongue was useful for bartering, and he always had an eye for detail. Could talk his way out of the worst situations. He had a confidence and go get 'em attitude I never did, and he talked his way into my heart. We would sometimes look into the Seer's Eye together. I would guide him through it. We wrote some songs together, and sometimes sang together, using the pendant for inspiration.”

Fear thought of Amelio, and regretted giving the pendant away. Maybe he could have guided her through the pendant. He shook the thoughts from his head though. He wasn't going back. Just moving onward to the future. “Thank you for your help, Grandma.”

Freiya smiled and ruffled Fear's mane with a hoof. “Any time, Fearei. I'll miss you, you know.”

“I'll miss you too.”

==========================================================================================

Fear had been guided to a small room in the stable with a single, square metal locker in the wall, a lever next to it, and a tall podium to the side with a working mic that was connected to the Stable's speaker system sitting on it. Everything was as drab as everything else. This room was hardly ever used except for cremations after all. Using a spell matrix that was still going strong to burn things, drain it of salt, and recycle what was left into fertilizer. With him were Freiya and a long, tall brown pony that looked like he was from Saddle Arabia just about. He wore a white medical face mask and had a solar-themed cutiemark surrounded by a stethoscope. It was a strange thing all in all, and the pony's onyx eyes and short black mane and tail left him feeling eerie. It didn't help his face was so gaunt with sunken eyes, and was seemingly emaciated. Still, everypony seemed to appreciate him nonetheless. His name was Pike. Apparently Storm and him had grown up together and were relatively good friends. The more Fear learned though, the more he found out she wasn't private with solely her son. She was warm and inviting to everypony, but rarely ever made solid connections. Ponies were always left wanting more from her, but less because she was so alluring and more-so because she was so mysterious and she hardly let anything slip. Though it was also the alluring.

The colt was busy going up to the podium and standing on his hindlegs, leaning on it with his forehooves as he thought about his speech for the millionth time. Shaking his head a little, unable to quite believe it.

Pike spoke to him in a quiet, subdued voice. It sounded so far away and almost hypnotic. But it had emotion lingering in it. So it wasn't monotonous. “Good luck Fear. It's been a pleasure to meet you.” The stallion was incredible if Fear was being honest. He was highly intelligent, and had read most of the books in the stable's library at least a few times over. If he'd been a little better at conversing and the talent hadn't been needed elsewhere, he probably could have been the next overstallion. Pike pulled the locker out from its resting position, revealing an oversized tray for ponies to be laid on so they could be shunted inside. The stallion took the stuffed Breinstorm off of his back rather reverently and set her in a dignified position, laying her on the tray, before slowly rolling it shut and twisting the bar that would lock it into place. “Whenever you're ready, Fear.”

Fear nodded, looking to Freiya next. “So I just... Push on this?” Fear set a hoof down on a button next to the mic, causing the thing to beep, a bit of a squeal echoing over the speakers in the stable for a moment.

Freiya smiled to him. “You're more than capable of this, Fearei. Believe in yourself.”

Fear nodded and took a deep breath, already tearing up as he swallowed hard. “Hello, ponies of Stable 47. I know you all don't know me, but you've probably heard of me. I'm Fearei Shatter. I know for a fact all of you have heard of my mother Breinstorm. Many ponies looked up to her for all sorts of reasons. Many loved her confidence, others adored her vibrant energy. Some had crushes on her. Everypony I have talked to, all of you were sad when she left. I can't tell you how sorry I am that happened, but I also can't tell you how privileged I am to have gotten the chance to be her son.” Fear choked a little. “And I'll thank each and every one of you to the end of time for giving me the opportunity to know her. To be with her. For letting her go free.”

There was a pause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kTgA6hxRlU

“I've been chosen to speak about my mother on behalf of everypony, and I appreciate all your support. More than I could ever say.” Fear coughed and cleared his throat. “My mother was a very private pony, as most of you all know. She often kept her own secrets, kept inside her own mind. Rarely opened up, but was always there to lend a helping hoof.” Fear closed his eyes. “She often fought, albeit in gentle ways, for what was right. She was a sharpshooter of the highest quality. A professional hacker. An avid reader. A wonderful teacher, and an exceptional mother.” Fear stared up at the ceiling. “I remember clearly how she always celebrated my birthday, no matter what we were going through. And more often than not she managed to find a can of tuna for me to eat. She always made me feel special, just like she did with everypony she encountered, even on days that were never really special at all.” Fear pressed a hoof into his eyes. “Mom put up with me even when I was weak and useless. She took care of me and felt inspired by me even when I was barely able to do anything. Even when I was silent, shut down, and overwhelmed with sensory input from my empathy, she loved me. She loved me for how much I loved everypony in the wasteland. And never let me forget it. She adored me for my ability to see the silver lining in the darkest of moments, and I wish I could have seen the silver lining in her death. But no matter how much time passes, I'll never forget her. I want to do her proud. I may have failed a bunch of times, but I know... I know she loves me. And always will. Someday all of us will be able to let go of the pain, but today isn't that day. And I hope the ponies of this stable continue to remember her for what she was: an example of greatness.” Fear pulled his hoof off the button, letting the mic go dead.

Freiya gave Fear a small round of quiet applause. “Well done, Fearei.”

Pike nodded. “That was rather heartfelt. I understand how you feel. I think you managed to connect with all of us. We feel for you, Fear.”

Freiya motioned for Pike to begin as Fear pressed his forelegs into his eyes, sobbing his heart out. His entire body was trembling, wracked with sorrow, every muscle under his fur shaking with violent tremors. Tears flowed freely like a dam had been destroyed. A couple years worth of pent up feelings finally leaving him in a huge deluge of negative emotion. There was relief, longing, terror... So many things that Fear couldn't cope with no matter how hard he tried, and he cried it all out, hiccuping and sniffling, the smell of tears and snot filling his nostrils. His snout drained actively as it continued filling up with more and more mucus. Fear shuddered and heaved, shaking his head from side to side. Everything falling away from him even as the crematorium blazed to life and Pike and Freiya came over to him, holding him in their embrace. Trying to comfort the foal who'd lost something dear to his heart.

Everypony in Stable 47 wept.

==========================================================================================

Fear and Amelio were hanging out at the shooting range. The only thing really different about it from any other shooting range was the large mural of a sunset on the back wall made up of paint. The two siblings, though Fear didn't know that yet, had just finished. Fear had been showing off his accuracy and prowess with rifles. They had completed the process by taking all the bullets and casings and emptying them into a bin to be recycled at a later date. They'd been told early on that this was the place where Storm had learned to be the sniper she was in life.

Fear hesitated as they sat in the waiting room of the range. Everything was mostly silent, and they were relatively alone. So they had privacy.

Amelio spoke up before Fear could. “You know Fear, that eulogy you delivered was really beautiful. You expressed your feelings wonderfully. I could tell just how strongly you felt for her.”

Fear looked off and to the side. “Yeah... About that.” Fear sighed, closing his eyes, not looking at her. “Soon after my mother died I... I did something horrible.” He hesitated, trying to summon the courage to tell her. Amelio just listened intently, knowing this was hard for him. “It's been eating at me forever, but ever since the eulogy it's been even worse. And I need to tell somepony before it eats me alive.”

Amelio lifted a hoof and brushed it along Fear's cheek. “What did you do, Fear?” Her tone was curious rather than judgmental. She knew he'd done some horrible things after all, she could hear it in his soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG000ziNVs4

Fear's chest twitched, his body flinched from her touch. “I uhh... I killed an innocent colt and stallion. He had a mother, the stallion's wife. They're... They're dead Amelio. They're not coming back. The mare, whoever she is. She's not gonna ever have ponies coming back to her.” Fear held his face in his hooves, tears starting anew. He grit his teeth, crying openly. Trying to stop. “She's going to be alone, Amelio. She's never... Never going to have that happiness in her life again. Just like I'm never gonna have Mom again. I did something horrible.”

Amelio wrapped Fear up in a giant hug, embracing him fully. “Oh Fear... Poor, poor Fear. Shh... I understand.” She cooed to the colt.

“I don't know how to make up for it Amelio. Is it even possible?”

Amelio shook her head as she held the colt. “No... I do not know if it is. Hopefully that mare will have a village to take care of her and comfort her where you did not... But that still does not excuse what you did. And nothing will probably ever really be enough. You left a mare without the love of her life, you left her without a precious son. She is probably suffering beyond the norm right now.”

Fear glared, that wasn't at all what he wanted to hear, it just made him feel more worthless.

Amelio didn't stop though. “You spread your illness of loss to other ponies, an illness that grips hearts and shreds them into ribbons. And someday you are going to have to pay for the terrible thing you did.” Fear squeezed his eyes shut. “You are going to have to face the consequences and either endure them or give into them. There may be no forgiveness from the wasteland.”

Fear hung limp in Amelio's embrace.

“But. Fear. As your friend I forgive you. You are going to spend your entire life trying to atone for what you did, and you may never succeed. But the thing is? I believe in the you that exists here and now, Fear. I love you.”

Fear felt his heart lighten by just a bit. I don't deserve her loyalty. But I'll make sure I deserve it. “I love you too Meels, and when you become a leader I'm going to serve you for eternity.”

Amelio nodded, stroking a hoof along his spine. “I hear your soul, Fearei. I hear the stubbornness inside of you. I hear the will of a leader, and the determination to find a way to keep going even after death. I also hear the rattle, the throes of a little colt who is still crumbling apart and needs to find a way to overcome. But I believe in you. I would be lying if I said your bravery and honesty did not inspire me. They are not traits I am well suited for. My name is Ameliorate, yours is Fearshatter. Our parents believed in us, that is why they named us what they did. They believed in these virtues. These acts. What do you think our cutie marks represent Fear? They are symbols of change. Everything we touch can change. We are not perfect, but it is what we are best at. If anypony can do it, it is us, Fearei.”

Fear choked, squeezing his eyes shut and weeping. “I won't let you down.”

==========================================================================================

Fear, Amelio, and Sim were leaving the stable some time later. Maybe a couple days. The gear door grinding closed behind them. They watched it shut, the floodlight remaining on for awhile longer so they could see themselves back to the door upstairs. Allowing them to exit very easily. There hadn't been much to do aside from read and hang out with ponies in the stable, but overall it had been a very enjoyable experience. Fear understood now what home was like, or at least he sort of did. He hoped he'd be able to visit again one day.

They walked together up the stairs, exiting the door and making their way through the reception area. Each of the three carrying their gifts. Fear his new plushie on his back. Amelio, her book on dream walking in her saddlebags. And Sim, an old pipbuck on his left foreleg loaded with the music of a songstress, feeding on slight amounts of his magical energy and with more heart cherries.

Fear had also decided, after his conversation with Amelio, that he would one day return to Manehattan and find the village that son and father had been heading to before he killed them. He remembered exactly where he'd done it too. The sight of the skywagon station was burned into his retinas. There was no way he was forgetting any time soon. Fear was confident and refreshed. Emotionally renewed. Amelio and Fear played 'I Spy' as they wandered through the city to wherever their next leap would lead them.

Author's Note

Next chapter is going to be a sex scene between Fear and Amelio while they were at the stable.

Honestly I've been planning this revelation that they're siblings for awhile. But because Fear can sense lies it's difficult to foreshadow it directly. They both have the same mutation, in the exact same way, their cutie marks are both symbols of change - Fear's is a spiral - Amelio's is a delta. I compared their magic to yin and yang when they were in the factory together. Further, I also both foreshadowed and diverted attention away from this by having DJ-P0N3 talk about family at the end of Ameliorate. Even more, in Creature Comforts I have Angel Swaddle describe Fear's father as a dazzling stallion. And the only other character I use the word 'dazzling' to describe is for Sim when you first meet him.

In order to increase the foreshadowing though, I retroactively added what Amelio was going to say when she first met Fear, before he interrupted her. She was going to tell him about all the stories her father told her of his time in Chicoltgo.

Healing Home: Moment's Reprieve (sex)

Author's Note

This takes place near the end of Chapter 9: Healing Home. This optional chapter has consensual sex between two underage ponies. Discretion advised. This is just fantasy and I am wholly against child rape.

Healing Home: Moment's Reprieve (sex)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjGvBpgrwb8

Fear choked, squeezing his eyes shut and weeping. “I won't let you down.”

Amelio had been attracted to Fear for a long time, and that had only increased with learning just how genuine his soul was. And with his admission of guilt, she couldn't help but admire his bravery. “You will not let me down, hmm?” Amelio leaned in close to Fear, remembering every time he'd ever teased her. “I want to know, Fearei, just how sincerely do you mean that? How will you support me?”

The colt hesitated, trying to think of the right words. He wasn't exactly clear on where she was going with this yet, trying to catch up emotionally. Fear shook his head a little attempting to come up with something. “Well... I'm going to serve you to my fullest ability. Do whatever you need when you need it. With all my heart. I will make sure you're cared for and that ponies realize just how great you really are.” They leaned together, their horns tapping together, their breaths mixing together, slithering and tangling about, meshing and merging intimately. “I just... Want to be there for you.”

Amelio simpered, her eyes lidding. “Is that so? Well. Not the most romantic thing I would have ever expected to come out of your lips, but certainly enticing.” She started to shove Fear backwards a little, toward a wall, pushing him increasingly harder until his back was up against the wall. “You told me once, during our many flirtation sessions, that you knew a lot about ponies. How they tick.” The older filly cooed a little as she pushed the smaller and currently awkward Fear up and onto his hindlegs, pinning his body against the wall. Her form towered over his as she stood on her hindlegs too. “Tell me what kinds of things you can do Fear.”

Fear cocked his head to the side, immediately knowing where this was going but feeling a tad disconcerted. Still, there was an uncomfortable stirring in his loins, a desperate yearning roiling between his hindlegs. “Well... I uhh...”

Amelio loved having this power over Fear. Leaving him speechless like this. It was far different from their usual banter. Where he left her squealing and uncertain about how things would proceed between the two of them.

“For mares I usually start by brushing along their sides, slowly circling them like a predator. Demonstrating how much I want them, and radiate emotions of lust.” Amelio used telekinesis to gently finger his lower lip, pushing it around and making it difficult for him to talk, lightly molesting him. “Get them even more into the mood then they already are and I uh...”

Amelio reached forward, pressing her full lips against his cheek, then planting another kiss against his lips. Soft and tender. “Go on, little Nightlight.”

Shivers jolted up Fear's spine from the words, his eyes widening and twitching, pupils dilating and quivering. His jaw lowered and rose a few times, ears giving a flick. “Well I...” His eyes rolled back a bit. “I uhh...”

Amelio grinned, reaching over to Fear's lower lip and gnawing on it, kneading her teeth into the flap of flesh. “Mmh...” She eventually pulled off, looking him in the eyes, forcing his to stare longingly into hers with a little metaphysical force. “I'm waiting. Your leader is waiting.” A subtle, imperceptible flash of green surged across her eyes, reflecting in Fear's eyes and burning into his retinas, squeezing past the pupils and worming into his brain. The power of suggestion teasing the lobes and digging in, leaving him feeling more open-minded and a little... Drugged.

Fear repeated the words with what was nearly a swoon as his eyes glazed over. “Leader... Waiting.” He nodded a little, trying to recompose himself. “Then I roll them over onto their back, give them a gentle hoof massage and bury my face into their muff. I lick them into arousal, only pulling up to talk about how big my dick is... How wide I'm going to spread them apart.” Fear was getting more and more into it. “Tell them everything they want to hear. Then mount them. Perch on their body and slide into them. If I can reach their mouth I even... Even kiss them.”

Amelio nodded in understanding, putting more force on Fear's form. “Well, not the most passionate display, but I suppose it is good enough.”

Fear's eyes narrowed a little. “Passionate huh? I'll show you passionate!” He wrapped his forelegs around her body and, with a little telekinetic force, twirled the two of them around until he'd slammed Amelio's back against the wall he'd just been on, looking up at her, into her eyes. Fear didn't even hesitate before latching their lips together, twisting his head to the side and ramming his tongue into her mouth, forcing it between her lips and sliding over her tongue. His broad, flat, smooth pink carpet dashing to the side then batting against hers, dexterously slipping up under it and flicking it up, lustfully stroking along the side, sweeping across the top, and pinning it down against her maw. Amelio squealed from the fine, intricate movements, her eyes widening before resting shut. She didn't really fight back, embracing Fear with her forelegs as their tongues brushed against each other and weaved a brilliant celestial tessellation of passion. Fear's movements were oddly articulate and experienced, and Amelio's were a little sloppy and those of a novice. By the time they were done both were breathing heavily through their snouts, snowballing air back and forth between each other as their saliva mixed together in Amelio's mouth. Fear pulled his tongue out and took his lips off of her with barely any sound.

They were both panting. Amelio was feeling electrified. Her jaw was hanging open.

The colt looked into Amelio's eyes. “I want to take you Amelio. I want to give you my seed and make you my bitch.”

The camera keeping an eye on the room turned off temporarily.

Amelio was slowly becoming aroused, especially from that kiss. Her mound was becoming swollen and flush. Her clit engorging. Pasty feminine brine leaked out and glazed her nethers, secreting across it, making it glisten. “Is that so? Well what are you waiting for Fear? Get to work on your leader.”

Fear nodded dumbly and crouched down, getting on all fours and wandering around Amelio. They changed places, allowing Fear to get up into Amelio's snatch. She could feel his heated breath splashing across the sensitive flesh. A moan escaped her lips as her knees buckled. Unable to have patience, she shoved her crotch into Fear's face. He could feel the spicy, palpable lust and heat between her legs. He gave it a firm smooch as he was smothered, his tongue sliding out of his mouth and gently licking along her folds, again and again, incessantly, gradually slurping from top to bottom, stimulating her clit into winking a few times as he wove his tongue between her labia, eventually locking his lips around one fold and sucking on it, mumbling something incoherent over it and flicking his tongue along it, sliding against it.

Amelio pushed back a little harder, her butt rising into the air a little, causing Fear to stand on his hoof tips as the filly's head touched the ground. Presenting to the colt. Fear continued his ministrations, a vacuous pressure pulling on one of her labia as he continued to draw on it like he was pulling breath, eventually letting go of it and wrapping his lips around her clit, squeezing tight around it, pinching it hard, his teeth occasionally brushing against it threateningly as his tongue swept against it, lapping and lashing like a whip, wriggling against the underside, teasing underneath the hood, sucking hard, his cheeks compressing with every pull of his lungs. It just made Amelio gasp for air as her legs trembled under her, having a hard time staying standing, feeling pressure build up in her loins, leaving her close to climax.

The whole thing was rather obscene. Amelio was light-headed. Fear could hardly get any air that wasn't tainted with the scent of Amelio's pheromones. Leaving him love drunk on sex.

“YES! DON'T STOP FEAR!” A full body shudder wrenched through the filly's body. “Dear Luna I can't take it!”

Fear noticed Amelio's defenses were crumbling solely because she'd used two contractions in a row. His mouth pulled off of her clit, his horn lighting up as telekinetic force clamped around her clit and pinched it hard, rubbing against it all over, grinding into it and creating a heated friction with the pressurized air. Fear puckered his lips and pressed it against the entrance to her pussy, folding his tongue in half and reaming her with the skilled tendril. Punching into her body and pushing deep inside, as deep as he could reach. Ceaselessly pounding into her with the muscle. Lewd squelches and squishes sounding out against his face as he tried desperately to get air. And every time Amelio clenched her kegels around that tongue the more weird it felt, able to feel the squirming, writhing tongue within her even more clearly.

Amelio's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she was finally brought to orgasm, her clit winking as her loins spasmed, her innards around her womb tightening up and squeezing down pleasantly like she was being milked, mare cum jettisoning out of her and all over Fear's face, a long arcing stream gushing out of her and blasting into Fear, leaving him sticky and gooey. Shimmering in the light. The cumming just didn't seem to end, lasting for seconds at a time as Fear continued pushing her over the edge, forcing her to drop into an ocean of orgasm. More pussy grime getting onto the colt. Amelio's chest was heaving as she yanked off of Fear and twisted around, lunging at Fear and shoving him to the ground, onto his back.

Fear looked up at her with lidded, glassy eyes, trying to get air himself as he looked into Amelio's eyes above him, his face wet with her fluids. Amelio pressed her hooves into his chest as she started grinding her cunt against his dick, now fully telescoping from his sheathe. She looked down at his junk, impressed with it. Proportionately, compared to Fear's body, it was large. A girthy, turgid member that laid against his belly. A royal ebony, dark as black licorice. A little pre drooling out of the tip. A strong, tubular curtain rod of muscle running along the underside. A thick, fat medial ring. Rippling veins of various sizes running along the taut surface. And to top it all off, a ridged, flared crown. And Amelio was currently dragging her snatch all over it, getting it covered in glorious clam oil, making it shine bright, Polishing that piece of meaty lumber. Fear moaning deeply from the attention to his slender, trunk-like shaft.

Amelio got up onto her hindlegs, using telekinesis to pull Fear's cock up into the air, standing it up straight, making it perpendicular to his body and slowly sinking her hips down onto it, penetrating herself with what was essentially her own personal dildo. Squeezing down around the fuckspire, feeling like a princess about to be saved by a knight in shining armor. She sank further, like she was in quicksand, diving down onto Fear's breeding rod. Rocking her hips around in circles, from side to side, back and forth. Slowly squeezing him deeper into her.

Fear's entire body tensed up as Amelio took him. Fear bucked his crotch up against hers, as she began sliding up and down over Fear's member, their hips connecting with each other now and then, plapping and slapping together.

Friction built between the two as Amelio tried to coax her brother and closest friend to orgasm after what he'd done for her. Fear unfortunately was a near hair trigger and already close to blowing his load deep inside of her. “Meels! You have to get off! I'm gonna cum!”

Amelio nodded, wanting to feel Fear's cum inside of her uterus, but decided against it, pulling up and off of him with a schlorp and then laying down on top of him, her teats and cunt rubbing into his cock as he approached the cusp of climax too.

It wasn't much longer before Fear felt the orgasm of a lifetime all from his best friend, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he groaned out deeply. Foal batter churning in his balls before flooding through his ducts and powering up his shaft, erupting from his spasming urethra in ropes and ribbons of nutslime. Ejaculating so hard it clipped Amelio's chin and draped over Fear's chest and face, getting him muddy with off-white yogurt, giving himself the icing of a lifetime with his seed. Warm and creamy. Oily, slippery strands and thin threads bridged with sticky clumps and thick wads of pearlescent sperm toothpaste. His balls draining as he was milked for all he was worth by Amelio's and his body.

Fear's head was singing Amelio's praises, going empty and light as he gushed, lights flicking on in his brain and explosions going off within like the fourth of July, pleasure shrapnel shredding through his neural matter and leaving him guhhing and babbling like a foal. A smoky, smoggy haze settling over him, choking out all thought.

Both Fear and Amelio tried to catch their breaths. Their session finally ended. Covered in a congealed mess of both their fluids. Gooey and made of pure passion.

Amelio sighed. “We will be together forever, Fear.”

Fear nodded emphatically. “I hope so.

Crystal Clear

Author's Note

Another strange chapter, if not far more excessively than chapter 8. This is based on lore I've been building within roleplays for awhile. I don't know what you guys will think of it, but I hope you'll like it!

Either way, this chapter is focused primarily around Amelio.

Crystal Clear

Life had continued on as 'normal' for a few days ever since the trio had left Stable 47, exiting Stalliongrad and attempting to get back on the track of Sim's travel route for his comfort horse duties. After all, there were a lot of ponies who depended on him for his services, and always looked forward to seeing him again. He was a special reprieve from the bleakness of the wasteland for some who didn't have special ponies to call their own.

Or so Sim said.

It was also clear by the way he spoke that he'd settle down eventually if it meant giving Amelio the opportunity to learn and grow. It took many caps to get a place in Tenpony Tower, and Friendship City wasn't very easy to gain influence in either.

The snow was beginning to melt, overall things were looking up. Everything was still rather fresh instead of stagnant, not quite cold not quite warm. A nice, mediocre temperature that was reminiscent of a recently made cookie sundae. Comfortable climate for everypony involved, allowing for a lot of relaxation. Surrounding the trio were mostly a host of dead trees, essentially a forest of sorts that was slowly breaking apart, snapping away and becoming nothing more than dust, brittle wood everywhere.

“So, are you three ready to listen to Freiya's songs with me?” Sim had been waiting for Amelio to be ready to take a break with her educational tome, and Fear to finally be prepared to turn off his radio for a little while in order to listen to something much different.

Amelio looked up, having had her snout planted in the book, finally pony-ear-ing the page she was on before sliding it back into her saddlebags. “Hm. Sure, I suppose. You, Fear?”

Fear was hesitant, his face screwing up and lips forming a frown, teeth exposed ever so slightly. He cocked his head to the side before his horn lit up and the switch on the radio flicked off. “Yeah, shoot.” The anxiety was ever rampant, but not quite as bad. The tingles were only just barely, and the heat not quite as sweltering. The chest tremors felt more like purring.

Sim lifted his left foreleg, staring at the newly-attached terminal and using telekinetic force to press some of the buttons, navigating through to the memory storage and prepping the data files for playback. “Alright, first one's called Wanderer's Lullaby.”

Fear looked forward toward Sim, eyebrows raising. “That... Sounds familiar.”

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBjNmGvyA9mpEBeu8cPwDl-29ZaCdV_sP

The voice that erupted from the pipbuck's speakers, mingling with the background instrument was vibrant and... No other word for it than thorough when it came to how it affected them. Fear especially.

Emotions could be heard in every lyric, as if Freiya believed each word she was singing with her whole heart, stirring enough to empower a unicorn with how pure and firm the performance was. The voice was like a siren. The enunciation perfect and crisp. Bleeding passion. Dribbling with intimacy. The lows enough to calm a storm or encourage a depression; the highs enough to ensure fright or inject elation. If it was acting it could earn the highest award all on its own. As changelings they could almost taste it. Changelings would revel in it. It was intense. Perfect for a pony like Fear, and overwhelming for anypony not familiar with her, easily bringing them to tears. But that crushing nature of it was incredible, infectious, and intoxicating. Manipulative. It seeped into the brain and changed it. Guided it. Made unused neurons overflow with synapses.

The three were impressed as they listened to each lyric, Fear blinking a few times as he started to tear up, which was becoming rather common for him. His face tensed and he sniffed. He recognized this song. Fear's ears flopped against his skull and he looked down at the ground. “This... This song is the one Mom used to sing to me.”

Amelio glanced toward her brother and best friend curiously. “Well I mean it makes sense. Your mother was her daughter.”

Fear nodded and held a hoof against his head. “Y-yeah...” The colt felt like he'd been brutally struck in the gut. Everything felt vague and faraway. The physical symptoms of his anxiety lifted like a shroud or a veil. Everything felt all the more... Clear. It was like a final message from his mother. He wanted to listen to it again and again before bed. Just wrap himself up in it like it was a foal swaddle or a thunder blanket. Fear hoped one day he'd find his own way like the song suggested. The song brought back many memories of hanging out with his mother. Learning by her hoof. Eating with her. Being saved by her. Like a final goodbye.

Sim had been intending to teach Fear how to harness his changeling magic and Amelio had been learning how to lucid dream. Methods to become aware she was dreaming, such as looking at something that had words on it, looking away, then looking back and seeing if it was any different. Noticing whether or not everything was stuttery or sluggish. She was also exercising her subconscious with philosophical questions noted within the book, and using meditation. Both entertaining thoughts and learning to deflect unnecessary feelings. There were moments she became lucid and immediately panicked about how long she'd been asleep for, and was unnerved at the idea she'd fallen into a coma and couldn't wake up, which roused her out of sleep within a few seconds, but she was trying her best to become comfortable with the dreaming state.

Another problem that had been arising, though far less mental, were the pin and needle sensations poking and tickling her extremities and other parts of her body. The occasional nausea made it difficult to eat, despite only having a heart cherry once every couple days.

On a positive note, Fear had been talking to his mother far less. Conversing with his new friends or thinking to himself instead. He still heard her voice, but it wasn't common, only coming when provoked.

Back in the present, Fear was finding himself enamored with the songs. Music about optimism in a place as dark as the wasteland. Believing in the better nature of others. It stole his breath away. It didn't quite feel naive, or innocent. Just... stubborn. Like somepony realized they could make a decision to have faith or they could give in and stop believing in everything, and they'd chosen to remain hopeful despite all the agony. Fear knew the background too. Freiya had seen all she needed in the wasteland, so she must've also seen things that encouraged her. A smile graced Fear's lips. The one about treating those burning wounds, the table being set, and the bed being made, reminded him so much of Stable 47. It made him feel warm and fuzzy, like he'd eaten a good stew and it was sloshing around inside his belly. His anxiety squished down more the more as he listened, and he found himself entranced. Sighing blissfully. Then there was the romantic duet between Freiya and who he assumed was Silver Speech. Silver's voice was smooth, silky, and chocolatey. It seemed to dig into all the folds of the brain, squeezing into every little niche and opening up everything, pulling out every secret within. It had so much elocution. The songs ranged from immensely comforting and cozy, all the way to romantic and full of visual words. Some a combination. Some full of longing to see another again.

Fear was at a loss for words during most of them. A distant, empty gaze in his eyes.

The final one though reminded him of a version of the Enclave. Reminded him of the pegasi, who, aside from Dashites – ponies who were branded as traitors to the ones above the clouds – had decided to forsake Equestria entirely during the war in order to make their own little home away from everypony else, in order to escape the traumas and destruction of war. And there they sat to this day, doing nothing more than holing away when everypony else needed help and assistance. Concealing the wasteland with a permanent quilt of clouds. It was a somber song.

When it was all over, Amelio was the first to speak. “Wow, Miss Freiya really knows what she is doing, huh? And her husband was not half bad either. He must have sung a lot while traveling the wastes.”

Fear gave a singular nod, still at a loss for words. Not sure he had the strength or energy to speak, despite feeling inspired. A strange contradiction of emotions.

Sim thought about it, sighing joyfully. “Yeah. It was really good. This truly was the best gift I could have asked for. We'll have to make a stop by Tenpony sometime so we can get this music on the radio.”

“That'd be cool, yeah.” Fear finally eased out in a subdued voice. He couldn't quite feel the anxiety much anymore. If anything everything felt like... a new start. Still, he'd be damned if he stopped listening to DJ-P0N3 and missed a broadcast. But for now, they could just continue listening to these new songs until they grew tired of them.

Sim spoke up over the music as he started back from the beginning with Wanderer's Lullaby. “Fear, I think now is a good time to teach you a couple things.” Sim fell back a ways, sidling up next to Fear and guiding him. “I'm going to have you focus internally while we walk.”

Fear looked to Sim, all of his muscles loose and lax. “Uh, right, sure.” The colt sounded like he was in a daze.

Sim nodded once and continued. “Alright, just close your eyes and lean against me as we walk. Search deep inside of yourself. I'm sure you already know by now that your regular magic feels akin to rushing water. Well, changeling magic feels more like pressurized steam. Hot on contact, hard to hold. Melts everything it touches and quickly evaporates once it leaves your body.”

Fear thought about it, searching inward.

“Eventually you'll also be able to force transformations on other changelings and hybrids like Ame and me with enough experience. It's like latching onto someling else's latent magic and just jerking it into place.”

Amelio was busy going back to her reading as they continued listening to the songs in order.
Fear hadn't found it yet but he was already curious. “What exactly am I searching for? I know regular magic is more like something generated, but you're telling me I need to find this?”

Sim grinned, flank bumping Fear gently. “Indeed. All your cells are constantly producing it passively. You just need to learn how to grab hold of it and channel collections of it into parts of your body and use it just how you'd use regular magic. You need to learn how to excite the process on a whim, and shove your will into it. Otherwise it'll just keep leaking off of you and going to waste.”

Fear's thoughts dwelled on that for a bit before he gazed inward once more, looking for the feeling of... Steam? It would certainly be interesting once he found it.

==========================================================================================

Time had passed. Likely a month. Fear couldn't keep track. Everything just blurred by.

Well it would have if Sim and his pipbuck weren't keeping track of the days. It had a clock on it after all. Checking it showed it indeed had been about a month, a little more. Fear was progressing swiftly with learning the basics, having been taught how to transform love into a physical substance. It required forming a shell out of magic and filling it with pure, raw transformative powers. Then converting the love he was draining into that shell. It was a process that took quite a bit of thought, and the only reason he'd gotten opportunities to practice it was due to Amelio, Sim, and some of Sim's friends that knew what he was, offering up themselves for practice. Fear got the hang of it rather quickly.

The colt had also recently purchased another canteen with Sim's assistance, the first one having been acquired about a year prior. A year? Fear couldn't tell. Either way, he now had two canteens, one filled with water and another with a horizontal gash on it filled with the love he'd been collecting, slowly becoming a comfort horse like Sim. Sim had been teaching him some tricks with transformation, and Fear had come up with a couple of his own, such as forming tendrils on his hooves to help with more articulate movements. Sure he could hardly put it into effect without arousing suspicion, but he could do it! He'd also at one point tried to scare Amelio by turning himself into a tiny version of Slenderstal.

Suffice to say, it hadn't worked.

Amelio actually beaned him across the head with a hoof for trying, then shoved him over and kicked him while he was down. Fear accepted the abuse like a doormat. After all, he kind of earned the punishment. Or at least that's how he felt.

Speaking of Amelio, her headaches had become more prominent, almost always present. Not too terrible as far as pangs went, but still unwanted. It was leaving her a little crabby and worried which, on those rare occasions her composure cracked, caused her to lash out. She always apologized for it though. She was also experiencing muscle weakness and difficulties with her telekinesis. Now and then, without warning it'd just... cut out. The nausea had worsened, which made it very good she didn't usually eat regular food.

Fear and Sim showed concern, but Amelio would always assuage them with warm words. The colt was usually in denial, and when he wasn't he regretted giving up the Seer's Eye, remembering how Storm found the radaway for him when he was suffering from radiation poisoning. Thinking that, perhaps if he had the pendant he could find out what was wrong with Amelio and discover a way to fix it. Amelio could always discern his thoughts and comforted him, telling him the stable needed the pendant to survive, and they would eventually join the wasteland and bring the pendant with them.

Sim's worry could hardly be abated. There was nothing he could do for his daughter and he wasn't used to having something this far out of his control. Sure he had given up control of his life long ago, but this seemed like insult to injury. An injury he'd taken upon himself.

On the bright side, Amelio was becoming more confident in her dreaming. No longer afraid she was going to be stuck in limbo for eternity due to a coma. She was beginning to revel in them, sometimes even daydreaming, her subconscious having become strong enough to handle just about anything. Amelio was learning to use the magic that made up a dream bubble's shell, the inherent energy laced in it to fuel her magic. Even sometimes pulling on her daydreams for strength. Also teaching herself how to perform the Dreamkiller spell. Something that could penetrate even the most impossible of nightmares, piercing through moments when the subconscious actively worked against itself. It took discipline, but Amelio had fought through it with hard work and brutal effort. Her illusion magic had been assisting with the development of those skills.

For now the three were getting settled down for sleep, Fear cuddling his plush and, like he'd taken to, snuggling close to Amelio, forelegs wrapped around her and holding her close. He never wanted to let her go. Amelio drifted off to sleep rather easily.

Before she knew what was going on she was suddenly in a bright and lively casino. Only it was veritably empty except for two figures aside from her. The liveliness was in the sounds surrounding her. Ranging from slot machines flicking along and dinging, cards being shuffled by unseen hooves and telekinesis, all the way to pachinko machines. All of which were things Amelio had never seen before. The colors on everything were pure and overly saturated, almost giving Amelio a headache within the context of her dream as well. Everything was so loud it was difficult to grasp. Amelio was at a green felt card table with freshly lacquered wooden rimming. She was sitting in one chair and next to her was her brother. Though something seemed strange about him. He didn't seem all there. Quickly and easily, she recognized him as just a construct.

Next, Amelio looked across from her as her tail flicked, sitting on her haunches on a stool. The being across from her was large, way too large to realistically fit in the building she was in. Yet, surreally enough, the creature did. It looked like a giant crimson and violet Ursa Major with stellar constellations scattered about, with multi-hued nebulas for a set of eyes that had deep O-class stars radiating light for the pupils. It was an incredible sight, and the presence was alarmingly weighty. Amelio suddenly felt like she was about to be crushed from sheer miasma. Like she was being pulled into a blackhole and everything was as slow as could be. The enormous bear, a bear that gave off the impression of being even larger than reality, was full of so many connecting stars. Except they weren't actually connected. They just solidified the notion that each and every one of them were somehow linked to another, and some had multiple bridges spanning the points, like webs of... something.

Amelio was in awe. Even as the egregious noises surrounding her battered at her skull. Chinging and chiming bells everywhere. The whole scene was crystal clear to her. She watched the giant bear for awhile as it held a deck of cards between its paws, starting to shuffle them in all sorts of ways, consecutively with an unhindered flow. They just flew through the air into the separate piles, seeping together like grains of sand. The cards were extravagant and ornate, with designs on the backs that insinuated... Things. Impossible things. And the fronts were hazy, unable to be read. Amelio didn't understand them no matter how hard she tried to focus. She knew she was dreaming. Everything felt like a dream except for this bear. It seemed much more... Potent. “Who are you?” She asked as the cards cascaded together.

The bear responded simply. “Neur.”

Amelio nodded once, rather curtly. “Right. Neur. I know I am dreaming. What is this place?” She gestured to the area around her.

Neur just smiled, his lips pulling back into an excited snarl. “You are in Life, my dear Amelio. But you have choices. Just like your brother, every choice you make is incredibly important. But that is the case for every mortal. It just turns out you have less time right now than others.”

Amelio narrowed her eyes, then closed them. Taking a deep breath through her snout. She knew. “Is that so? And what exactly are you?”

Neur grinned a little wider. “You are keen to accept things you have no control over I see.”

Amelio shook her head. “It is not that... It is just... I had a feeling the time for second chances had already passed. There is only so much you can do in the wasteland,” her voice tapered off as she looked to the side, away from Neur.

Neur gave a firm, comprehending nod. “That is true. There is only so much you can do anywhere and everywhere. But that is the beauty of life. How you choose to live with limited power.”

It sounded like there was a whole story laying behind those words, of creatures who had tried to take more power than could be allowed. And who had tried to do dangerous, sinful things to all of creation.

Or was it just a dream?

Amelio pressed a hoof against her head. “That does not answer the question though of what are you? You do not appear to be a construct of my subconscious. You are somehow different. You are more... Solid. You are more like a projection of something far more powerful.”

Neur slammed the deck of cards on the table and started flicking them apart from each other before quickly merging them back into one pile. “I am a manifestation of connection. A consciousness made up of every link in existence, spanning across every reality. I am the physical approximation of it. I am ancient. And I have a deal for you,” Neur said while putting the deck back into place.

Amelio gave a sly smirk. “Sounds impossible, but if you have a deal I am willing to listen.”

Neur continued. “There are many cards in this deck. Resets, second chances, limitless power, timeline divisions, various destinies, meanings, and so many other things. Anything you could possibly comprehend and beyond is in this.”

This had to be a dream. But Neur didn't feel like a construct.

Amelio looked at the deck. “And we are going to play a game together for my life?”

Neur chuckled. A deep, uproarious chuckle that had no beginning and no end. It seemed to span all of time and go far further. “Not even slightly. I don't like playing games of chance. It is the silver tongued Fate who does those.”

Amelio's eyes sharpened. “Yet you are offering me a deck of cards.”

Neur shook his head. “The contents of this deck are a given. I have not rigged the deck, but no matter how much I shuffle things are going to be a certain way.”

Amelio looked over to the construct of her brother who had been entirely silent the whole time, just staring at the cards. “And what is he here for?”

Neur spread the cards out. “He is one you are connected deeply to, aside from your father. The connection between you two is so powerful I do not think there is anything that can truly break it forever. The connection between you both is, without measure, limitlessly close, and it is like that in every reality because of just how powerful it is.”

Mind-boggling. Amelio was at a loss for words at the implications.

“I want you, knowing what you know now, to decide what in life is important to you. Here and now. By drawing a card. I want you to show me your destiny. What you choose to make of your life. If you are truly great or if you are merely weak and incapable of anything.”

Amelio scoffed. “I am perfect. You cannot begin to comprehend my greatness.” It was mostly a bluff, but Amelio was confident in herself. She had come this far.

Neur pushed the cards forward. “Then draw a card, and show me what it is you are going to accomplish with your life.”

Amelio hesitated. All at once memories flashed through her mind. The most prominent of which were Fear giving her the opportunity to be overmare, and the fact that she was dying. What could she possibly achieve in her short timeframe? Would she leave Fear to fend for himself?

The filly looked to her brother's construct. Really looked at him. Stared into what made him who he was. She reached out a hoof to his shoulder and dragged it along. “Brother...” She knew that no matter what her destiny was, there were only so many things you could do in certain situations. There were innumerable things she could do to try and save herself. If she could figure them out in time.

Neur smiled again. “I'd say you're running out of time, but really there is no such thing as time in places like these. The answer will take less than an instant. If anything, the choice was already made long, long ago.”

Amelio hovered a hoof over one of the cards, blinking once. She wanted desperately to choose her own destiny. To choose what her life meant in the grand scheme of things. To decide everything once and for all. To be a leader. But... Her brother. She looked back to him, tracing a hoof over one of the elaborate cards.

Neur read Amelio's thoughts. “His construct is here as no more than a witness to your glory Amelio. He has barely a destiny of his own. You know that as well as I do.”

Amelio laughed out loud. It was like a melodic chortle. “Yes, yes. I know. Ever since Dad revealed... Yes. I know.” She shook her head. “But he is here. He is more than a witness to my glory. He is my brother. And he should have the opportunity to decide something as well.”

Neur leaned forward, his paws clasping the table. “That's a big answer for such a little filly,” the bear teased with a grumble.

Amelio brushed her mane back. “I know, right? Can not get much bigger than that. But you should know he has taught me bravery in the face of what you can not control. He has taught me many things. And I am sure there is much I can teach him. I trust him to move on. To be strong. I trust him to make the choice.”

Fear's construct came to life next to her, staring at her with wonder, before reaching out for one of the cards. The one furthest away from them. Uncertainty crossed his face. He looked to his sister as he flinched back.

Amelio grimaced. “I trust my brother to ameliorate the wasteland.” She was the big sister. She put a hoof on Fear's shoulder. “Do it Fear. You may have many regrets, and you probably always will, but you can rise above them. You are far stronger than me, somepony who has no regrets.”

Neur gestured to the construct. “It is in your hooves, Fear.”

The construct flipped the card over. Something familiar to the three of them was on it. But it was indecipherable.

Everything went black.

All noise ceased.

The dream ended.

==========================================================================================

Amelio woke up early in the morning next to her brother, not that he knew yet. Yawning and stretching out her legs far from her body. Jaw hinging open to intake air and fill her lungs. She smacked her lips a few times as she looked around, still feeling incredibly fatigued. Probably the illness she knew she had. Her time was limited. What card had Fear drawn? It had been a vivid dream, more than most. She remembered it blatantly. Neur had been a kind soul, she could tell that much. Maybe even a little innocent.

The others would wake up soon enough Amelio knew as she watched the dead wasteland remain dead. There was nothing coming to life right now, but maybe someday. Somehow she knew that... in some way, she'd get to see the wasteland recover. Amelio looked forward to it. In the meantime, she decided to use her time left wisely. Maybe if she finished the dream walking tome she'd find a way to cure Fear of his nightmares. He almost always had them. She remembered many times being woken up by his banshee-like screaming and sobbing. So she started reading through the book again.

Fear woke up next, gripping his plushie even tighter, cradling the Breinstorm doll close to his chest and slowly sitting up, blinking away bleariness. Fear and her talked about much of nothing as they waited for Sim to awaken.

Sim eventually did awaken, with a grunt and a snort. And soon enough they were back on their way traveling to the next village.

As they walked, Amelio requested that Fear finish Tormented.

It had been a long journey through the dream manor for Reiki and Caramel, both using a special camera within their dreams that allowed them to fight back spirits that attempted to subsume them into death. At one point it appeared as if Caramel had succumbed to the snake and holly tattoo, to the pain, and followed her brother to the afterlife. Reiki had woken up with a start and looked to her bunkmate (after all, no better way to get over Wartime Stress Disorder than to have a friend close by!) seeing her surrounded by blinded equine ghosts. Not turning to soot though like all the other victims. Finally, after going back to sleep Reiki had come across the start of it all. The mare who had created the curse in the first place due to a ritual gone wrong. Reiki fought off what had essentially become an embodiment of hurt, the spirit of another who had also lost somepony important after choosing to take the hurt of others.

Reiki got to see her fiance one last time in the sea of the dead, a place with a blazing blue sun, black sky, and deep, dark, glossy waters. All as spirits who were finally freed from the curse got to cross to a true afterlife. It was a tearful reunion, bittersweet as could be, because although Distant Sunrise took the manifestation of Reiki's pain, he had to leave her behind with solemn words.

“If you forget me, then I will truly die. As long as you live, I will live.”

It ended with an epilogue of Reiki, Caramel, and a few others who'd managed to survive being discharged from the brainwashing center. The two got their jobs back, and it ended with a beautiful description of a distant sunrise. Normality returning. The war ending. Ponies living happily ever after with a zebra surrender.

The ending only incentivized Amelio to finish her learning before illness finally took her.

==========================================================================================

It was another night of Fear and Amelio sleeping nuzzled together. Amelio was having a strange, incoherent dream about Stable 47, Amor Fati, and a strange filly that was his daughter, when she noticed something off about her dream. She looked up into the corner of the stable corridor and focused. Eventually floating above the ground as her concentration made it feel like her eyes were crossed, everything freezing in place from sheer will alone. She drew closer to the corner and looked at it. On the surface it looked like merely a shimmer, but deeper down, in her subconscious. She could tell it was a crack. She hesitated for a moment, contemplating what it could mean, before the information finally returned to her, eyes widening. She'd been looking for something like this for a long time.

Amelio had been trying to find cracks like these in her dreams whenever she remembered to search, and finally, finally she'd found one. Amelio gathered up the energy from her dream and focused it into her horn as if it was second nature, aiming her Dreamkiller spell at the wall. With a little oomph put into it a solid beam shot out and struck it. The wall worbled and wrinkled, before shattering and crumbling apart.

And with the wall crumbling apart so too did the dream itself entirely erode away. Given enough time at least. Like a bubble popping.

Without warning Amelio was stuck in a large black abyss filled to the brim with a flowing river of bubbles with all sorts of images contained within, reflecting on the surface. Amelio was swept along in the swift current, tumbling away to somewhere and nowhere all at once. She couldn't tell where she was going but she tried to focus once more on that ability of flight, eventually reining control over herself and righting out like a canoe in rushing rapids. She looked around for awhile and began swimming against the flow, drifting along at a lazy pace. Amelio marveled over the sheer number of bubbles within her sight. Still, it clearly ended at some point. Either not everypony was dreaming right now or there just weren't that many ponies still left. Or maybe a combination of the two. Still, it trailed along behind for a ways.

It wasn't until a moment later that Amelio remembered her true purpose. To find Fear's dreambubble and merge with it. Alleviate his nightmares. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on that one goal and tried to find her brother, noticing a number of bubbles flickering red like warning sirens, dimming on the surface to a dangerous rose color. Eventually she found what she was looking for though, a bubble with Fear on the surface. It was him amidst a rainy day next to a skywagon station. It was glaring red too. She zoomed toward it and shoved herself into the shell, covering herself in dreamkiller so that she'd slip right in, burrowing deep and coming out the other side without popping it.

Amelio twisted her gaze this way and that, noticing that the farthest reaches of the dream were currently curtained off by a veil of mist similar to a computer that hadn't yet loaded all the graphics. She was surrounded by towering skyscrapers, many of them chipped away, some fallen to the ground, all of them abandoned. She drew closer to the streets and alighted on the cracked asphalt. She could sense her brother all around her and in one singular place all at the same time. It was a strange sensation, like feeling two of him. It threw her off a bit but still she proceeded along, finding the familiar skywagon station leaking water and a familiar drenched colt who was staring wide-eyed at a lanky unicorn colt with his mane hanging over one of his eyes. He was glaring deathly daggers at Fear, who was leaning backwards and cowering.

The filly got closer and noticed Fear's eyes were bulging out of their sockets, completely bloodshot, and his jaw was hanging open to try and get air, none of which he could. There was a lime green field of magic surrounding Fear's throat – he was being choked to death! His neck compressed until the larynx was flattened inside. The same field covered the colt's horn. Fear's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he tried desperately to collect air, his chest twitching before he began squirming on the ground, rolling from side to side, trying to shake off the telekinetic force. Yet at the same time... He didn't care. He knew he deserved it. He was prepared to die.

Fear's subconscious was giving up.

Amelio didn't hesitate, charging her horn with charcoal magic and lancing out a bolt of dreamkiller magic at the construct murdering her brother. The spear shot through the colt's body, making him fizzle, then surrounded him, causing the construct to glow before dispersing into motes of light with the shattering of glass.

Fear gasped for breath and slammed a hoof on the ground in desperation as he was finally allowed to breathe, both in the dream and in real life. Fear pressed his muzzle against the ground as he heaved for air, his chest rising and falling ceaselessly. He then eventually looked up and around. Finding Amelio he stood up and made his way over to her. He could feel her presence. Her actual being. “Amelio? What are you doing here?”

Parts of the dream began to melt away, becoming more like sludge than vivid constructs.

Amelio just smiled. “You were in trouble so I decided to do something about it. You are dreaming Fear. Nothing more. You do not exist in this time and place anymore.” She stated, looking around at everything. “No more than a nightmare.”

Fear looked around too, watching it all seem to fall apart and switch to something different. “Th... Thank you Meels. You shouldn't have had to see that. My guilt.” His head jolted away from her, unable to look her in the eyes.

Amelio shook her head. “No, Fear. We are in this together. Together, forever. Just like we said.” She moved up to the colt and gave him a nuzzle with her muzzle. “Trust me. I trust you.”

Fear had a solemn, sorrowful look in his eyes as he turned back to her, his eyebrows leaning outward. “O... Okay. I trust you, Meels.”

Amelio nodded, then pressed a hoof on top of Fear's head. “Good boy.” She said before ruffling his mane. “Maybe soon I will be able to rid you of those nightmares once and for all. My book is teaching me about how they operate. It is in part magical, and in part due to chemicals in the brain. Adrenaline or something I think. WTSD pills are supposed to help with stuff like that.”

Fear cocked his head to the side as he and Amelio laid next to each other in the downpour, both of them getting slick and cool. “That's pretty cool. The book must be really well researched!”

Amelio kissed her brother on the cheek. “It really is, Fear. Maybe someday I will let you read it and you can learn too.” She gave him a little wink.

Fear grinned slyly. “Maybe I'll just do it when you least expect it! I can see it now: Fearshatter, destroyer of nightmares!”

Amelio rolled her eyes. “Dream on, buddy.” The two of them giggled together for awhile.

Fear frowned. “Really though, I might give it a shot. But for now... I guess you're my guardian angel.”

Amelio smiled. “I am more of a moon angel, I am certain. There are pictures of Luna, stars, and moons in the book and I find them to be very lovely. As lovely as me.”

Fear shook his head from side to side in disbelief. “You're amazing, you know that?” He huffed. “But sure, you're my guardian moon angel.” Fear gave her a kiss back on the cheek. Then hesitated. “Will you stay with me for the rest of the night, Meels?” He paused. “Please?”

Amelio nodded. “Sure. Maybe you can come up with something new for us to do in here. Got any ideas?”

Fear thought about it. “Well, I could always introduce you to my mother I guess.”

The filly had a melancholic smile on her face. “Sure, Fear, as you wish.”

Fear smiled, his tail whipping back and forth as he summoned his mother's visage. All his memories of her. Amelio could tell it was just a construct based on his memories.

But it would be enough for now.

Dream Diver

More time had passed. Amelio was in the void between dreams for probably her fifth time. She'd been sleeping far more often lately due to fatigue – she knew her time was drawing short. And because of it she was desperate to learn as many secrets as possible. Amelio was exploring the furthest reaches, trying to go beyond her boundaries of a moment prior, throwing all caution to the wind and becoming more and more reckless as she struggled to accept her upcoming death. Sim always carried her on his body nowadays, with Fear and the stallion trying to come to grips with losing their precious companion together. Fear and Sim constantly nuzzling together and weeping over what they knew was coming, Fear especially. He did not want to lose another special pony in his life. But there was nothing he could do.

Amelio always assured Fear that things would be okay when she was awake. That he would grow into a fine stallion one day. But it just wasn't quite enough as Fear hiccuped and sniffled, trying to hold onto her as much as he could, sometimes carrying her himself along with his plushie. Needing her in his life. He just... couldn't let go. But he knew, deep down. It was coming.

The void on the other hand, the liminal space as the book called it, was becoming more and more like a second home. She was powerful here. Becoming capable of so much. She had explored other dreams and gained a handle on the most difficult of aspects. She was finding entertainment value. And learning the deepest, darkest secrets of ponies was enthralling. But still, somehow she knew this wasn't all there was. There was something more out there. She didn't know if it'd be as terrible as some of the worst raiders, or those dreaming of lost loves ones, though she hoped it'd be beautiful like the dreams of non-feral ghouls who sometimes slept, their dreams of pre-war Equestria, despite the occasional nightmares of their radioactive transformation. Still, she knew there had to be something more, an edge, or something beyond. Neur was her only clue, and it was her inspiration to try and break the limits of consciousness. It was that, and a desire to find a way to persist long after death, even if it meant being in a coma for eternity. Perhaps she could even come back and visit her father and brother once she detached.

Either way, she'd come up with a plan. A daring plan, one that she didn't know if it would work. Amelio swam in the river of dream bubbles, closing her eyes and collecting as much energy from all the consciousnesses that she could. Connecting with each and every one of them. Drawing strength. When she opened her eyes the sapphire ellipticals surrounding her pupils became more pronounced. They gleamed, and had sharper edges. The orbits of planets were in her eyes as her sixth sense reached as far as it could. Searching, searching for something deep in the farthest reaches.

There was nothing.

At first.

As she concentrated harder she found something on the fringes. Something so far away, so distant it seemed impossible anypony could ever find it no matter how hard they tried. It would take days of searching just to locate it. But she sensed it, deep in the abyss. Lingering in liminal space. And she took off toward it, rocketing into the inky blackness away from the main stream, heading for where she did not know.

Amelio's curiosity had paid off. There was something out there. On the final frontier. Her lips pulled up into a snarl and her teeth grit as she giggled and snorted in ecstasy, so happy to have found another mystery. A dreambubble that was so far apart. It clearly wasn't a second stream, a second wave of consciousness. No. As she burst past the speed of light toward her destination she knew that something had pulled their dream bubble out of the wave of others to a safer location. A solitary refuge. And she was about to explore it! Amelio had never been so excited in her life. With all the feelings of death and despair lately, this felt like her one chance – she felt so alive. So full of energy even as she felt a little tired within the dreamscape. Her body would not hold her down forever, she was determined. But alongside that...

The filly had made a decision recently. Once her time came, no matter if she found a way to persist after death or not, her final act in life would be to give the remnants of her destiny to her father. She would give him back his life. His ability to make a difference. She would charge him up and give color back to his cutiemark. He would have that energy, the energy of an individual connected to a whole, once more.

Amelio finally reached the ostracized dream bubble, approaching closer and seeping into its gravity space. The orb was beautiful like a marble. There was a giant castle in it, and a courtyard. A bright, vibrant night sky full of stars and a moon. It was not her first time seeing these things. Ghouls had dreams of things like this too. She recognized this from her sleepy travels as Canterlot Castle. It was a giant, enormous, protruding structure on the side of a cliff face, with waterfalls dotting here and there. Fancy architecture all around with undulating spires and riveting, rippling towers. Jutting platforms made of marble and other materials. It was gorgeous, especially under the limelight of the moon, and the twinkling stars above. The castle made of lavenders, alabasters, and honey yellows. The grass and shrubbery in the courtyard garden being made up of the finest greens imaginable. So healthy and lively. More life than Amelio felt within her. After all, she was filled with no more than flickering embers and smoldering ash. She knew her time was coming. Amelio coated herself in dreamkiller and pierced through the dreambubble, coming out from within. She felt the air of a high elevation. So clear and crisp. It brew through her mane and over her body as she made her way down to the courtyard and alighting on the stone pathway, intricately carved blocks making it up. Amelio looked around, then up at the sky, literally gasping.

Above her the night sky was even more beautiful than ever before. There were so many stars, so many glistening spectral colors from nebulae and faraway galaxies that just stole Amelio's breath away. Comets streaked across at regular intervals. This was far more detailed than any night sky she'd ever seen before, as if other ponies had merely forgotten what midnight was capable of. So many celestial phenomenon graced her eyes and reflected back in it.

Amelio shook her head a little in disbelief before eventually wandering toward the castle entrance, no guards to speak of. No other constructs to inhibit her progress. Who could have created this? She was thankful she'd already gotten over the sensation she was going to fall into the unending skies in places like these from previous exposure.

As the filly moved toward the entrance, she wasn't surprised when everything around her melted away and something new dribbled into position like sludge. She was in the throne room. A place full of ornate yet simple stained glass workings on either side that let in moonlight. The designs were all of various simplistic shapes making up complex images, mostly suns and moons guiding little ponies toward... somewhere. Tapestries lined the hallway accented with a scarlet carpet with white rimming. Tapestries with unusual curvy designs and crescent moons topping them. On the edges of the hallway were recesses in the ground for water to flow through, water that came from further back, from six daises, three on either side, that trickled water down into the next. It was clean and pure. Up the curving slants leading to the back wall were two thrones with red cushioned backings, one smaller with a moon above it, and the other larger with a sun above it. And on either side of each were a grand arching door leading further in, backed by respectively decorated stained glass.

Beyond the majesty of the place, which had even more intricacies to it than she could take in on first glance, was a turgid scent hanging in the air. That of battery acid. It was tangy and burned the nose. It became more and more present the closer she got to the royal chairs in back. Amelio shook her head a few times, trying to dislodge the scent from her snout. She'd never experienced this scent before, but it reminded her of something. Either way, Amelio was used to seeing things like this, however not quite this expansive and detailed. If this dream bubble's engineering was so finely tuned than either the pony had a strong subconscious or they had multiple ponies working on it.

The owner of the scent revealed herself soon enough, stepping out from behind the moon-topped throne and staring down the long distance toward the entrance. The mare was tall but not quite majestic. If anything she looked rather sickly. Sticking out of her forehead was a sharp, conical horn revealing herself to be a unicorn. She had a lush, mulberry mane and tail that were thick and heavy, clumps of hair hanging on the sides and back, some of the front of her mane even hanging in front of her miserable, rose-colored eyes. She looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders with her gaunt face and slumped posture. There was so much anguish in her gaze it almost forced Amelio to look away. The mare was covered in an exotically silver coat, and had unshorn fetlocks. Overall a huge mess. Her cutiemark however was the most interesting thing of all. A table saw placed between a split planet, sliced all the way through. A cutiemark of destruction. But Amelio couldn't discern just how destructive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhU_uTM9mBY

The mare's voice was sharp and slightly raspy, with a violent undertone to it. It spoke of a mare who was brutal and used to forcing other ponies into position. “What are you doing in the throne of my princess?”

Amelio lifted a foreleg and bent it at the knee. “I am Amelioreit Reverie.” She had begun using the correct pronunciation of her name now that she knew the full implications about it. She wanted to be proper after all. “I am the daughter of an overmare, and I am here solely out of curiosity. Who are you?”

The mare loosened up a bit as she began pacing between the thrones, her muscles rippling somewhat with each step. “I am Acute Sway. But you can call me Saway. That is my real name as far as I'm concerned.” She gave a small nod, as if to confirm that was how things were. “I don't know how long you've been asleep, or how you found this place, but I myself have been asleep for a very long time. I don't know how long.”

Amelio cocked her head to the side. “What are you doing here?”

It seemed Saway had not had a guest in awhile, and thus was very forthcoming with the information. Besides, it couldn't hurt too bad to be loose-lipped? “At one point, before Equestria was sundered into ruin, I wished to destroy the world myself. See it toppled and wrecked. Completely annihilated.” She shook her head. “I believed it was my talent at the time, even if now I see the true meaning behind such a vicious cutie mark.” She swept a foreleg out to the area around her. “Nowadays I remain here, with my Princess of Death. I aid her and protect her, and in return she gives me life. And together, we give each other companionship.”

Amelio was at a loss for words if she was being entirely honest. A mare who wanted to destroy the world? Just for the sake of it? No, there had to be more to her than that. She could sense as much. Saway was wracked with guilt and pain. She had seen things. She understood the nickname, sort of. A combination of her cutiemark and the last part of her actual name. If anything the real name also made sense. In a weird way. “Why did you want to destroy the world?”

Saway smiled bitterly, twisting her head from side to side. “Cutiemarks were everything in pre-war Equestria. Held on the highest pedestal, yet most ponies never even understood their true meaning. They just assumed. Everypony told you to follow your destiny, a lot believing in that so blindly they would allow anything to befall them. But I realized...” She shook her head again. “No it doesn't matter. That is all in the past now.” Saway looked back to Amelio. “I'm sorry to say but you must either leave, or suffer the consequences.” There was a look of fear in the mare's eyes, as if she still couldn't believe a mere filly had found her way to this dreambubble. In fact, she couldn't.

Amelio was rather insulted by the insinuation she was a danger. She felt Saway's fear and took it personally. The filly was close to dying, she knew it. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to explore and learn more, and she was going to divert attention away from her upcoming death by solving mysteries. Besides, sleep was her domain now. “Fine, if that is how you wish to play it. Come at me.” Amelio adjusted her positioning, lowering to the ground, getting ready for a fight. She was unabashedly defiant.

Saway started to rise up off the ground, a cold hard darkness surrounding her body like a shell, another body. It wrapped around her barrel and neck. It was full of moving shadows, inky black darkness and bruise-blues. Splotches and ripples. It had a pair of hands and two tendrils for legs. The sight was rather abhorrent, especially those gleaming, pure yellow eyes that pierced everything about her. They were chilling. And the equine face was bordering on uncanny valley.

Amelio lifted an eyebrow in concern. “What on Equus are you?”

Saway smirked as the nightmare head came down over hers like a helmet, fusing their eyes together into a creepy amalgamation. “Nightmares are fused to my core, it keeps my consciousness alive.” That explained the look of avid, abject horror in her shrunken eyes. “We must protect Luna. We are Nightmare's Way.”

Amelio's first act of the battle was to start firing off dreamkiller lasers from her horn, collecting up the energy and unleashing it in powerful bolts at the collection of nightmares and pony as it rushed at her. It didn't seem to do much of anything to the monster though, just creating small dents. Amelio threw herself to the side when the monster came close enough, having reached back and thrust one of its clawed hands out to try and skewer through her. The sight of those gleaming talons seared into Amelio's retinas.

The monstrous Nightmare's Way dug its tendrils into the ground, creating holes in the floor and causing cracks to web out from the puncture marks as it quickly about faced, lunging at Amelio in an attempt to gash her soul from her body.

Amelio jumped backwards, finding herself shrouded in moonlight from one of the stained glass windows. She barely had a moment to spare before Nightmare's Way followed up with a combo, slicing and dicing through the air, slashing at Amelio to try and remove her from this dreambubble and wake her up. However as the limbs passed through the moonlight, the shell keeping the monster corporeal started to worble and deform, the whole thing wavering. Amelio caught it right off the bat but realized she needed to put distance between her and the monster.

The filly grew a pair of changeling wings and flapped them, speeding away from where she'd just been cornered and making her way to the thrones.

The clawed creature crashed into the wall, causing glass to shatter and the walls to crumble. Falling down upon the mare. Nightmare's Way provided a parasol to protect its host from the shrapnel raining down around them.

“So, you think you are invincible, hm!?” Amelio called out as Nightmare's Way rose into the air and rearranged how its arms were built, turning them into a combination of those and wings, taking off after Amelio.

Amelio wrenched her body in the air, doing a loop de loop, barely avoiding the charging monster that flew right under her. The filly was in control. Gathering up three spells at once into her horn. Concentrating on three different things at once as she hovered.

Nightmare's Way hit the ground, screeching across it, crashing into one of the dishes of water and causing it to break apart on contact, water spilling everywhere and soaking the ground and carpet. The monster let out a vicious screech and threw itself into the air, soaring like a bullet straight for Amelio.

Amelio's charged spell, the charcoal magic surrounding her horn, was leveled at the beast as it came straight for her. Amelio bat her wings one final time and lifted into the air slightly. She put her hooves against the creature, performing a reverse stomach throw. Aiming her horn at the beast's back at the same time. In one fell swoop she unleashed dreamkiller, telekinetic bullet, and a light spell all at once, the plasma seeping off her horn in one deft movement and bursting out the tip like a lightning bolt.

The bolt jammed into the creature's back as Nightmare's Way flew right under Amelio again. There was a hideous scream of agony as the spell burrowed into the creature, getting in deep. The shadows sizzled and popped, white flames bursting to life and burning away more and more of the shell. Saway's body went flying through the air, hitting the ground. She couldn't catch herself with her hooves, causing her to tumble and roll, nearly breaking her neck as she eventually lost momentum, only her physical body keeping the shadows from being ignited deep inside of her. Saway writhed on the ground, screaming for mercy before going limp, her chest heaving.

Amelio was also breathing deep, floating down to the ground and resting. She caught her breath, smiling victoriously before making her way over to Saway, using telekinetic force to pin her to the ground and keep her from moving.

Saway was shriveled up, her form completely bare of shadows. She looked weakened and like she could barely hang on. Her face was screwed up in pain as she looked at her conqueror with terrified eyes. “P-please... Spare me.”

The filly looked deep into those rosy eyes of Saway's, glaring at her. Amelio realized then and there she could be a murderer too, because she considered killing Saway once and for all, her chest rising and falling rapidly before calming. The filly felt uncomfortable about that fact. Saway was staring at Amelio with unhinged horror, her life and 'afterlife' flashing before her eyes. Amelio could feel it intimately. Her gaze was hard. “I am going to die soon anyway. I could kill you and take you down with me.” Her voice was as cold as ice. A frozen anger. She recalled her brother and his regret. Amelio's eyes narrowed and lidded, then she tilted her head up snootily. “But I am not going to.” She considered telling Saway she deserved to rot, but didn't have it in her. She would not hurt Saway like that. She was already defeated.

Amelio considered kicking dust onto Saway's body, but decided against that too. The mare might have contemplated destroying the world, but she didn't know everything about her. Just that she was in pain and had guilt just like her brother. Amelio instead gave Saway a nod of acknowledgement and hurried off to the thrones as her wings receded, moving up the curved slopes to get into the moon door. After all, Saway had said 'Luna' and luna was another name for 'moon.'

The room around Amelio liquefied and dissolved once more, the one ahead of her permeating into existence with ease. Truth be told in dreams things often just switched like a camera cut, but due to the filly's experience with dreams the transition was all the more apparent. Where Amelio came into was nearly indescribable. A long corridor that spanned probably thirty yards. And it seemed to never end no matter how far down Amelio went. It was lined with swirling columns topped with recesses filled with colorful plants, stained glass windows depicting moments during the war, special battles, Equestria's past conquered foes, the six ministry mares, and strange items that Amelio didn't recognize as the Elements of Harmony. The middle of the hallway was lined with magenta, but overall everything were various shades of blue.

At the very end of the hallway, when Amelio finally got closer, she saw two figures. One was a unicorn with a curved horn, mint green mane that was giant, thick, and curly, and a similarly messy tail. Unimpressed gaze, and absolutely mottled coat of gold and pale yellow. Drawing closer Amelio noticed something strange about the ancient-looking, wrinkled stallion. His eyes were an incredibly bright pear green. But the odd part were his pupils. They were draconic-looking; slitted. The stallion was talking to the second figure, a figure who was taller than him by a couple heads.

Luna was grievous, so much so Amelio literally had to look away in order to take a break from the sight once she got close enough to see her. She looked like a desiccated corpse, like all the moisture had been sapped from her body. She was emaciated beyond belief, appearing as if she could crumble away into dust and blow away on the wind with the slightest touch. Still though, she was an incredibly majestic alicorn with lancing horn, frazzled feathered wings, beaming aqua and cyan eyes, and a stunningly commanding presence. Covered in a dark blue coat of fur that looked unhealthy, with some patches of it missing. The worst part of it all though were her mane and tail. While they were extraordinary displays of her starry night, having twinkles of light scattered through the aurora-like magical navy blue hair, it was all slightly grayed and both mane and tail were in tatters, nearly shredded apart. Like strips flowing off of her as if it were alive. With holes here and there like a changeling. When Amelio looked back at the figure she audibly gasped, causing both of them to look up and toward her. Luna was simply ghastly, symbolizing just how far she'd fallen, and how much the pink cloud had damaged her.

The golden stallion looked back to Luna, in her eyes, before turning around. A green aura surrounded his horn and a spell was unleashed, a dart of light firing in front of him and opening up into a giant portal made of pure swirling darkness that the unicorn left through.

Luna held herself tall and regal, looking back to Amelio as the filly drew closer. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head up slightly. “Clarum somnium,” she whispered. As she spoke louder, her voice became just as authoritative as her presence. “Who are you, why are you here, and what happened to Saway?” The sound of her voice was loud and in charge, full of royalty. However, there was a sample of terror laced in it. Luna was clearly apprehensive. Amelio could feel it.

Amelio noticed that behind the mare who was twice as tall as her was a tri-hued door of lavender, pink, and indigo with a sun in the center. It was framed with gold. It reminded Amelio somewhat of a vault. She could see bright light seeping out of the cracks. The door couldn't be fully locked it seemed. The filly steeled herself and held herself with dignity. “I am Amelioreit Reverie. I defeated her. I am here to sate my curiosities and understand why this dream bubble is separate from all the others.”

Horror penetrated Luna's features. She sounded uncertain, her voice wavering. “You did not kill her did you? Once her dream self is gone she is dead for good.”

Amelio shook her head, yet smiled brightly. Confidently. “No. I would never do something like that. Are you really a princess of death though?”

Luna's eyes narrowed. “I guess you could say that, little filly. I am in fact Princess Luna.” The mare gave a gentle, weak smile. Full of unsuredness at the fact a mere filly had found her in this place of refuge. In her sanctuary. And managed to defeat one tainted by nightmares. “You do not look like a raider.” Luna was clearly scared of Amelio. “However, I am sorry to say that I must fend you off and seal you from this place before you find my treasure.”

Amelio glanced behind Luna, looking at what Luna was probably referring to. “What is your treasure?” She didn't have much opportunity to ask though as without warning the glass windows lining the hallway took on a reflective sheen, becoming mirrors. Only Amelio's form was not reflected in them, only Luna's. And just as suddenly, while Luna's body was taking on a gentle shimmer like a star, the entire air around the two of them was becoming dark as night. Creeping into every crack and leaving Amelio unable to see anything aside from Luna (including her reflections) and the door ahead of her. Everything seemed so far away and distant. The filly immediately rose her guard, getting into a battle stance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRyDsZTzC_k

The only warning as to what came next were the signs coming from Luna's soul. Amelio dove forward as one of Luna's reflections seared past her, cutting through the air. Coming out of the mirror and nearly grazing Amelio's flanks with one of her wings. “What in Tartarus!?” Amelio squeaked, quickly about facing, then spinning in a 180 once more. Suddenly she was being assaulted by multiple copies of Luna. Amelio only dodging and weaving out of the way of each due to her sixth sense. The copies had no reflected soul but the main body gave off intent. The original body stayed far away and let her fractal counterparts do the work.

Amelio didn't hesitate as she continued to waltz in the hallway avoiding the copies, drawing power from the dream bubble itself, drawing power from Luna herself and pulling it in. Coalescing strength as her telekinesis built up in her horn. Tremors surrounded Amelio as incredible power collected within her. The room started shaking before Amelio released all the built up pressure with a scream. Telekinetic force surged outward, channeling through the entire room. It bashed against the walls and knocked the weakened Luna off her hooves. But the primary purpose was a success. The mirror windows, all of the ones in the hallway burst apart at the seams, breaking into thousands of pieces that crashed against the floor and scattered apart into even smaller shards.

Every reflection worbled out of existence until only the real Luna was left trying to push herself back onto her hooves. “Im... Impressive.” She acquiesced. “But can you keep up your struggles to the end?”

Amelio stood tall, squinting at Luna as her shimmering body began to ebb and flicker, flaring light outward and creating many shadows that rushed toward Amelio.

The strange thing was, Amelio felt another power deep within the dream bubble. Pulling on the shell's power itself had revealed it to her. She hesitated, trying to latch onto that other source of power, that distant strength she couldn't quite clarify. As she tried though, the shadows lashed out at her, whipping from every side. Amelio tried to slide away, jump over, and duck under loads of whipping tentacles but before she knew what was happening they were striking and bashing against her. One hit, two, and more again and again battering and bruising her. The sound of physical shadows striking flesh, muscle and bone resounding through the air.

Amelio was at a loss for anything to do. Once the first one happened she was being comboed like it was nothing, her body was going limp. Was this the end? She tried to move, tried to do anything, but was swiftly being juggled in the air, incapable of anything. She looked toward Luna whenever her flipping, tumbling body allowed her to. She was giving off light like a light bulb. The shadows seemed to be receding away from her, not harming her. Was this place just as dangerous to her as it was to Amelio? She tried to catch her breath, having been winded by the... tenth hit? The skin under her fur becoming blemished with contusions. Then the next one struck out at her, right across the head, making her brain jostle, which hurt more than it ever should. She could feel all of it, spittle going flying. Amelio's horn lit up with a black aura, dark as the shadows assaulting her, and tried to cast a spell. A modification of the telekinetic bullet. She pushed energy into her horn and released it in a wave, enveloping her and rippling through the air, batting away the tendrils.

Then Amelio hit the ground in a heap. It was hard to get herself moving, but she forced herself to her hooves and rushed at Luna, slapping away the tendrils she could barely sense coming with a telekinetic force, panting hard and limping.

When Amelio managed to make it to Luna she lunged, rearing back a forehoof and throwing it forward into a shocked-looking alicorn, right into her chest. It connected hard, and it caused the mare to spit up blood as she nearly collapsed to her belly.

The tendrils lashed out at Amelio again and wrapped around her, coiling around her belly, constricting around her neck, and binding her legs, holding them all tight and squeezing down, dragging her away and trying to strangle her as Luna heaved and shook from the pressure of the punch, taking a knee, her eyes full of horror at the filly who'd managed to hit her. She was terrified beyond belief.

Amelio wrestled and struggled, writhing and wriggling on the ground, trying to get free. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head and face turning blue. She had only one opportunity! She needed to grab hold of that power behind Luna and use it for herself! Amelio closed her eyes and focused as much as she could through sheer will, forcing herself to remain peaceful, even as she was growing weaker.

It was as if Amelio was a miner taking a pickaxe to a rock, because once she swung it one last time and cracked open the stone, pure gold revealed itself to her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS2GUseyIHI

And when that happened Amelio felt a surge of power. She tried to direct it into her horn but she couldn't direct it anywhere. It stimulated her changeling nature and forced a transformation the likes of which she had never felt before. With an explosion her body molded into a far taller version of herself, nearly as tall as Luna, with long flowing locks of topaz hair rather than amethyst. The ellipticals in her eyes having enlarged to the point of completely overtaking the violet nature, now they were pure blue. Turning green as wisps of gold energy flowed off of them. Her horn split into branching black antlers, flecks of charcoal energy flaking off of them. Her cutie mark had grown, a multitude of deltas spanning her flanks and barrel, and reaching to her legs. All of them glowing with power. It was like the light of the moon and the abyss itself were all radiating off of her body, giving everything a bright sheen, petals and wisps of the magical energy flowing off of her.

The shadows that had burned away and were now trying to lash back out at her and grasp her again were stopped by the nearly blinding light being emitted by the filly... Mare? It was hard to tell. Amelio looked down at herself, in all her unrefined beauty, then back up at Luna who was taking steps away from her in fright. She clearly wanted to run, but she had nowhere to run. Still, she had one more... One more thing up her sleeve. Her horn took on a colorful aura as she cast one more spell.

Amelio rushed at Luna, but before she could get there she was vaulted off her hooves and farther back, all the way down the hall, her large body clipping against the floor and rolling across it, nearly breaking her neck in the process as she tried to get back onto her hooves, sent all the way back to the entrance from the gust of pressure. But she didn't stop, she steeled her body and narrowed her eyes and galloped back to where she'd been. All while in the encompassing shadows pricks of light began to appear. Before Amelio knew what was going on they were falling, like comets trailing right for her. She wove to the side, then another. More just kept appearing and cascading down toward her like pellets. When they managed to connect they stung like a bitch, burning away parts of her body like it was never there at all. Scraping against her and pulling off flesh. Amelio snorted and decided to put the energy she'd acquired to good use.

With a little channeling of transformative magics Amelio felt her body recede and compact into a large albino snake with golden eyes. Amelio, now in a far more proper form for dodging these bits of light, slithered across the ground, over glass shards and toward her target. Winding closer and closer, nearly swimming over the flooring as sprites of light fell to the ground and melted away like snowflakes.

Luna saw the transformation and felt a pang of fear the likes of which she'd never experienced in her life. It was true she was a far cry from the alicorn she once was but this was... impossible. A mere filly shouldn't be capable of this. Was she even truly a pony? The presence of Luna's consciousness should have been more than enough to stymie any major dream transformations.

Was Amelio a changeling?

The idea scorched Luna's entire being with terror. “WHAT ARE YOU!?” She screamed in the Royal Canterlot voice as her enemy drew nearer. “STOP! I CONCEDE! PLEASE!”

Amelio didn't stop.

There was no ceasing at this point. She was in the heat of the battle. She was still a filly. And she was going to show Luna where she went wrong.

Luna tried to gather more power from her sanctuary but couldn't. It was out of power to give. All that was left was the power allowing everything to remain. Luna tried to back up, seeing her millennia-long life flash before her eyes, even in her sleeping state. She shook her head from side to side as Amelio, like a snake, launched herself at Luna. Amelio's body transformed back to normal as she tackled the alicorn, driving her to the ground and pinning her with a hoof, rearing another foreleg back, about to strike Luna's face into submission. Until she was dead. But she hesitated as she panted, energy cascading off her body.

A light shimmered on her hoof where her body connected with the alicorn.

Suddenly things became far more clear. Luna understood the filly's determination to see things through to the end. “You will die soon?” It was more of an impressed statement than a question. “I can feel it. There is something wrong with your body.”

Amelio grit her teeth, her lips pulling back into a furious snarl. She was angry at Luna for holing up in her dreams like the Enclave holed up in the clouds. She considered once more killing the alicorn and taking that treasure for herself so she could try to beat whatever was killing her. “Why should I not take your treasure for myself you coward!?”

Luna actually flinched more at the words than any of the physical threats Amelio posed to her. “Yes, I probably deserve to die for being a coward.” The admission stung. Amelio could tell. Luna had clearly thought of this many times. “But if you were me you would have done no different.”

Amelio knew she couldn't say that either way. She knew one pony who might be able to, but he wasn't here right now. “So why should I not take it for myself? I want to live like you have lived! I want to continue helping ponies, leading them in their dreams! Why do you get to be so special you coward!?”

The words stung more the second time than the first. But Luna kept her calm, even as her voice wavered. “The power is solely used to keep consciousness within the dream realm alive. When I die it breaks apart. Where the nightmares are a darkness, this treasure, created by ritual, is light. It is a spell to transcend death, only to be used when one is literally at death's door. It is dangerous otherwise, able to leave a body a husk for all of time.” Luna shook her head. “If it even works. Transcendi Mortem.”

Amelio caught her breath, her body still aching from all the hits she'd endured. She relented though. She'd not heard of this spell. Could only the princess of the night, a princess of death, had heard of it?

“It is a spell built by myself. Meant to save ponies on the battlefield, but it was never implemented. Before I died to the Pink Cloud I used it. I created a power source for myself where my consciousness could continue to thrive. All I had to do was tie myself to it forever. Then I transferred my dreambubble from the stream to here. If you cast the other half of the spell after linking yourself to it, you may be able to live in death.”

Amelio sighed, relaxing a little despite herself. Still holding Luna against the ground. “Why do you not help the wasteland more?”

“What I have been exposed to here has been beyond my worst nightmares. Not a day goes by that I do not regret the atrocities that have been committed by ponies and zebras alike, the atrocities that led to the wasteland. Because there are no limits in dreams, I imagine the things I have seen here are so much worse than in reality. No Tantabus could ever torture me as much as being close to other ponies in this dreamscape.” As far as Luna knew, Celestia was also dead. After all, how would she know of a pony that had transferred her soul to a machine and no longer slept? “After all the damage I have witnessed, I can not bear to see my little ponies once more. I was blinded by war lust and became the very thing the zebras feared I was. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy by all of us.”

Amelio recognized the Tantabus spell from the book. It was a way to create a personal nightmare for yourself that would allow your subconscious to grow stronger, or be used as a way to remind yourself of your failings. Amelio knew if Fear could, he would use one to remind himself of the ponies he killed for all of time. “Is there no way I can convince you to help your ponies again? Or to hold night court or... Or something?”

Luna shook her head. “You would never understand the amount of regret in me. The hurdles I would have to overcome to do something like that. The emotions I have felt. You are pure, Amelio.”

Amelio frowned, stepping off of Luna and allowing her to get up. “I know I may not be able to understand, but I know somepony who can. And I may be able to introduce you to them. But first I need to learn this spell. I need to prepare myself.”

It may not have been guaranteed to work, but Amelio would try her damndest to survive after death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG9zlui8wfE

Author's Note

This chapter didn't exist in my original plans and was a sort of... Second-to-last second addition.

Acute Sway is actually a villain from another story I started crafting like four or five years ago but never published because it was just way too out of date. I also changed her colors, she was originally black and white, with nondescript eyes and a horn made out of crystal. Cutie mark was the same as it is now, and part of her story was realizing what her cutie mark truly meant. Whether it was to destroy the world or just to shatter creatures' worlds (their preconceptions), and if she would decide to follow through with that talent or not. Either way, I had a pretty large background thought out for her that I might get into another time if anyone's ever interested in hearing about it.

The other pony talking to Luna was Nyx, and I don't know if I'll ever elaborate on him, but he's in the same corner as Saway in that I created him for a roleplay as a villain. Just not a villain in the same way. In this continuity, I'm not making him a villain though.

As for Amelio, there are quite a few songs I associate with her. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyh4NvaHm_0 This is one. Amelio is so much like the moon. You only see the side of her she chooses to let you see, and hardly anyone sees the dark side. But no matter what, what you see is what you get. There's no inherent mystery aside from what makes it tick, but once you understand that, everything becomes clear. The three words I primarily associate with her are 'imperfect,' 'gorgeous,' and 'peaceful.' Where Fear gains power from strong emotions, Ame gains most of her power from peace and tranquility. I hope that's clear in my portrayal of her. While we're at it, here's one more song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WJKiUW3kOI

Setback

Relentless darkness scarred and scored the scene much like the radiation and taint seeped into the ground. A pall of all-consuming emptiness swallowing up good spirits. These shadows would be far more oppressive than anything Fear had ever dealt with in his life, if they weren't so familiar to him. It was the darkness of death and everything that inevitably led up to it. It was in a phrase, entropy of the highest caliber. An uncontrolled beast that knew no limits and devoured all you loved. All positivity was swept out of those in situations like these like a knee to the gut, where all seemed lost, and was replaced with dire, existential dread. Even those who laughed about it were just coping with the heftiness. No one could hear the damned cries of those who had gone before, because they were dead. So who knew what was left on the other side?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e195dOroahA

Fear and Sim were together, standing around Amelio who laid on her back on the ground. Her eyes occasionally opening to stare up at the cloud cover above her. Fear was weeping already. He could feel Amelio on the cusp. Close to leaving them forever. His breath left him too because of it. Sim was stoic, the only sign on his face that he felt anything being the deep frown and sunken eyes. He'd clearly lost some sleep over his daughter's condition, it was weighing on him heavily. Fear could feel it in the stallion's soul. He was mourning too, just internally.

Amelio gestured for her father to come closer, beckoning with a hoof ever so softly, like the motion wasn't there at all. Sim acquiesced, moving down to muzzle level with his daughter. Amelio whispered. “Closer. I need... To tell you.”

Sim looked over to Fear, then nodded and held his ear to Amelio's maw, covering up the side closest to Fear with a hoof.

Fear wanted to listen. So desperately he wished to know what she was saying to her father. He was sure there were supposed to be no secrets between them, yet...

Sim nodded a moment later, pulling up and looking down at his daughter with a heavy-set expression. “I will tell him. For you, for us. And I will teach you.”

Fear questioned readily. “Tell me what? Teach her what?” As curious as ever, even when tears slipped down his cheeks.

Sim denied the colt an answer. Instead after a moment an understanding passed between father and daughter. Amelio's dull eyes lit up for a bit, scrolling from side to side as if analyzing something inside her head. Then giving a firm nod of understanding. “It is... Complicated. But I think I can do it on short notice. There is only one opportunity after all.”

Fear watched with interest as he cocked his head to the side.

The moment between Sim and Amelio, who both had their eyes closed, went deep. They felt each others' resonance as a spell between the two was cast. One of the mind and soul, not the horn. Amelio could see within her a chain, a crimson wire-frame chain that made up a four dimensional polyhedron. Amelio felt out its texture. How it spun and spiraled, twisting around ceaselessly. Throbbing and beating like a heart. The chains of destiny. The power of destiny. It was complicated and unfathomable, and Amelio knew this was as close an approximation as she'd ever get of the power that was now at her hooftips. Sim guided her along the journey over their forbidden connection. Having experience with her dreams made it easier for Amelio to see this far inside of her being. And right now it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Amelio and Sim touched their hooves together. Didn't matter the body part really.

Fear's curiosity only heightened. There was a gentle buzz in the air. Something felt like static. “What are you doing?”

Amelio whispered sullenly. “My final act as daughter and... friend. Giving you both a final gift before I leave, possibly forever.”

Fear assumed she meant their uncertainty that there was an afterlife. Amelio hadn't told Fear, didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing.

Amelio winced as she delved further in and clipped out a humongous chunk of the infinitely-sided polyhedron. Tearing it away and feeling something very wrong. So very, very terribly wrong. The sense of dread was unbearable. Her face twisted up into one of pure discomfort.

Sim was there for her, reaching in and doing something akin to surgery, fixing what was leftover and making a three dimensional heptahedron. It was a far cry from what used to exist within her soul. It was so small and vulnerable, the color faded. It looked like strings, barely functioning. It hardly moved.

Amelio gasped hard as she transferred the excised fate tissue, made of pure energy, to Sim. The potential was volatile and heated, writhing around and flailing about out of control. Sim's eyes sparkled at the presence of destiny so close to him he could taste it. He licked his lips as he pulled it into him, face twitching as well as he unthreaded the remains of his, so much smaller than Amelio's, and looped the extra slack around delicately, using hivemind memory in order to achieve it. It was only his second time doing fatum sanitatem, so there was a little sloppiness to it, but it'd be good enough. Sim remembered what Fear's looked like before he'd added to it. More like a polygon than a four, or even three dimensional shape. Suitably, Fear's destiny had looked like it was laying in wait to latch onto anything it could.

Sim felt the power of fusion deep within him. A prismatic glow surrounded his entire body as an amethyst hue returned to his hair, mixing with the platinum and looking like he'd simply regressed in age a couple decades, regaining some youthfulness. His cutiemark recovering its color. The mirror becoming a blazing sapphire, the ornate frame gaining a golden luster, the depressed mask becoming a cool violet, and the joyful mask becoming a sunny pale honey yellow.

Amelio on the other hand, went limp as her eyes rolled into the back of her head from exhaustion, panting heavily. Or at least she would if her breathing wasn't so labored. Her cutiemark had gone from pure black to a wishy washy gray, not even shimmering with shafts of light anymore. Her hair having turned silver as if from old age. She made a motion to Fear for him to come hither. Fear complied. “Before I leave... Fear... I just want to tell you...” Amelio took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Squeezing them. “That I love you. And I trust you. No matter... what happens, I believe in you.” Fear was holding Amelio's hooves in his as Sim pulled away from Amelio, looking down at his daughter with a cocktail of gratitude and sorrow in his eyes.

Sim's dying torch had been reignited by the passing of his daughter's own flame.

Fear finally broke down completely, burying his face in Amelio's chest, sobbing his heart out once more. “I don't want to lose you Meels! I can't lose another pony! Not... Not like this.” Fear's voice had a hint of solemn resignation to it. As if he knew he had to accept it, despite everything demanding he not.

Amelio shook her head. “Shush, Fear.” She tried to quiet his crying. “You have to... say goodbye. If only for a little while. If things go right, I will be back.” An ominous air followed the comment.

“What do you mean?” Fear choked out, barely holding back tears in that moment.

“You may see, you may not. I make... no guarantees. Now Fear, I must sleep. Promise me you will... treat my body with sanctity and... burn it.”

Sim nodded, giving a little grunt. “We will.”

Fear grit his teeth, pulling off only to nod as well. “Yes. We will. You have my word. I'll let you go.” It took all of Fear's strength, according to the sound of his voice.

Amelio grinned up at her brother. “You have grown a lot in a short time... Fear. I am proud of you. Now, it is time for us to say goodbye. Possibly for... good. Who knows what the future holds? The Seer's Eye... showed you many destinies. Make yours... the greatest you can.”

Fear burst out crying once more against Amelio's chest, getting her fur a little soggy with tears and messy with snot.

“You loser. How am I... supposed to sleep with you wailing on me like this?” Amelio's tone was teasing.

Fear laughed in the midst of his crying. “Shut up. I know you can put yourself to sleep,” he countered.

Amelio smiled and closed her eyes, horn lighting up. “True enough, little Nightlight. Cast away the darkness for me. Make my last dreams pleasant.” Fear was the red star that lit up the dark side of Amelio's moon.

Fear hiccuped and smiled. “Always. In waking or in dreaming, I'll be there.”

It took a few moments, but Amelio's body eventually went quiet, her breathing regulating. And soon after it just... Stilled.

Fear cried even harder, clenching his eyes shut, confused about everything that just happened, smearing his face from side to side. Sim shed a few tears too as he grabbed his daughters saddlebags and put them on his back. “My little filly,” Sim whispered longingly, regretfully. An aching emptiness filled both stallion's and colt's heart. Loss weighing both of them down and nearly drowning them. Suffocating them.

Finally, Fear spoke. “Why didn't the pendant warn me this was an outcome?”

Storm's voice was silent.

Sim spoke up instead. “It probably didn't see it as necessary.”

Fear glared at Sim as if to demand: not necessary!? But instead he shook his head from side to side violently and cried harder, his eyes screwed shut. “What did I do wrong?” There's no one left to stop me if I go rogue and try to control everything. Well, maybe Sim.

Storm's voice echoed in his head. Your friend will always be with you in your heart.

Sim moved over to caress his son, wandering around Amelio's body to do it. Not wanting to desecrate her by walking over. “You did nothing wrong.” His voice was comforting and fatherly. So confident. “Life is just unfair sometimes. I have all sorts of stories about life being unfair. All you can do is gather the pieces and try to move on.”

Fear lashed out, yanking away from Sim and shoving him away as much as his short legs would enable. “Life shouldn't have to be unfair! Life isn't unfair. Ponies make it unfair. I don't... Don't know where to begin.” I wish I could see the future. Something definite right now of all times. Fear was angry at the stable for making him give up the pendant. But he knew Amelio would tell him he did the the right thing.

You did the right thing, my little Nightlight. Of course Mom would say that too.

Sim tried to give Fear a little time, just looking at his son sadly.

Fear continued. “Ameliorate's dreams will never live. Is this punishment? Was she roped into my sins? Is it my fault? Did I cause whatever killed her?”

Sim shook his head, cooing to Fear. “It was nothing you did. This isn't punishment. Trust me, I've been around awhile. Karma doesn't truly exist. Ponies are given chances for redemption all the time and sometimes they just run out of time. Sometimes life is unfair. I know it hurts, son. It's all about choice.”

Fear was at a loss for words for a moment, his crying ceasing like a snap of the fingers. “S-son?” Two emotions flashed through him. First: shock. Next: anger. Fear got up off his haunches and pointed a hoof threateningly at Sim. He didn't know what to say, just pointing maliciously, his leg trembling as it hung in the air. Based on how Fear was shaking, it was clear he wanted to hit something. The feelings were crystal clear all over his strained face. With his clenched jaw and gnashing teeth. Fear looked off to the side, screwing his eyes shut again, more tears cascading down his cheeks. He was about to ask Sim why he left, but then it all came flooding in. All the answers filled him up. Sim was lacking a destiny. Why was he lacking a destiny? Fear slumped forward, feeling as if he'd been struck in the gut. He took a few wavering steps back, throwing his head from side to side in disbelief. His jaw drooped, his eyes bulged out. He was winded, he couldn't breathe. He looked up at Sim. All... all the answers just... lying there. “Why... why did you give me your destiny?”

Sim gazed at Fear pityingly. “You were born without one, Fear. You had what ponies would see as a genetic defect.”

That still didn't make any sense. “Why did giving it up mean you had to leave?” Fear knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it. Destinies were very personal things. He knew that intuitively.

Sim turned his head to the side, looking away. “I'm ashamed to admit the reason for that.”

Fear sounded uncomprehending, but he understood it all at once. “I'm... I'm the reason Amelio grew up without a mother.” Why didn't they tell him sooner? Obviously his mother couldn't tell him, she never told him anything new. It wasn't actually her, even if sometimes it felt like her. Either way? Probably for the best. “Did Amelio know?”

“Amelio learned of it while we were in Stable 47. She said she still loved you, and I asked her to keep it secret. I didn't want you knowing Fear.”

Fear trembled furiously. Squeezing his eyes shut again and breathing hard, his chest heaving as he stood there, knees buckling. He reached a hoof up to try and grab at what felt like a pierced heart.

Sim proceeded. “You aren't the reason Amelio grew up without a mother, Fear. It was both Storm's choice and mine.”

“W-why...?”

“We both knew that over time, because you had something I could never have again, opportunities I'd never find... and because I would one day die, that I would grow resentful of you. Eventually. Whether I liked it or not. I would not be able to stop those emotions. And one day I might've done something I'd regret with sound mind. It's why I've not been as warm toward you as I am toward Amelio, and why I kept my distance. Why I didn't originally want you to come with us, even though I'm glad in hindsight you did.” Sim's lips pursed. “I'm so, so sorry Fear. I never wanted to hurt you. I thought the best way I could save you was by you never knowing me at all. So I asked Storm to stay silent about me. Storm, wanting me to have a pony to love and take care of, told me to bring Amelio with me.”

Fear collapsed onto his belly.

“I'm sorry for leaving you both. I understand if you blame me and don't want to see me, but you're all I have left, and now that I can protect you and teach you what I want to, I want to be better.” Sim hesitated. “If you'll give me the chance.”

Fear was silent for a long time, hiccuping and sniffling. Still unleashing tears and snot everywhere, his snout plugged up. He could tell Sim was sincere, how ashamed and apologetic he was. Fear laid on his stomach with legs splayed out away from him diagonally. “Amelio... Amelio forgave me. She loved you. It would be wrong of me not to forgive you too. We've both done things we regret, and I don't want to be alone anymore.”

Sim grinned a little despite himself, albeit sadly with eyebrows leaning outward. “Then the next leap will be the leap home.”

Fear felt a renewed pang of anger at himself for not being able to protect Amelio. All while remembering what his mother told him about his time in her womb. What he was like. How he was always happy and emotive, showing her more love than she could handle. And what he was like when he was born. How he did not cry. “Is that why I didn't cry? My... genetic defect?”

“Yes. You hardly had any individuality of your own. You were born to find a hive, or somepony strong enough to serve. Changelings usually have their own destiny and individuality, but sometimes they are inherently tied to their hive.”

Fear thought about it, remembering Amelio saying that only zebras were familiar with destiny and soul magic. He sniffed a little, needing to blow his nose. “Amelio said... only zebras were familiar with destiny and soul magic.”

Sim shook his head. “Changelings have learned all sorts of things from others, just because zebra are familiar with it doesn't mean others don't know about it. Really, changelings are as tied to destiny as ponies, just differently.

Fear began sobbing again, realizing new things about himself. Why he was the way he was. Why he'd shut down so much as a foal due to sensory overload; become silent. It was because he was developing an identity of his own, and until then he'd been inundated with every creature and the world itself. That's why Amelio wasn't the same as him, because of his defect.

Sim tried again, moving over to Fear to hold him, comfort him, and let him sob into his coat as he took out his spark lighter in order to burn Amelio's body.

The resulting pyre lit up that little bit of the wasteland, crackling and popping as flesh and bone sizzled.

DJ-P0N3 had been on the entire time, and the next song broadcast on the radio was bittersweet, and oddly fitting for the moment. Fear had heard it before more than a few times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WzObiHuGgc

The light of the fire continued for a long, long time. Almost unnaturally extended.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhtwz6F2wEg Amelio's goodbye. Maybe someday in this timeline Fear will return from a red star to a blue star.

Mare of the Hour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6HX2m-HNY

Life felt like a curtain of white noise for Fear right now; blanketing him like a few feet of snow, smothering him in sorrow and depression; unable to feel much of anything, except that lingering sadness that pierced him to the core. It was like this now and then, but right now it was the worst of all. A gentle thrumming of numbness and solemnity that had no comparison. It left Fear's eyes drooping, nearly trapping them closed, and his jaw unable to move. He laid in an odd contortion on a bed, the bed belonging to a friend of his father's, covered in ancient, thinning, dirty mauve and scarlet sheets with unusual designs splattered across them. One of Fear's hooves dangled off the side and his head rested on a flattened pillow, his head pointed forward; neck twisted to the right; an unnatural angle most would consider painful. With a glassy stare Fear couldn't bring himself to do anything. He was glad they were stopping in Hour Town on the way to Neighvada for a couple days, because Fear wasn't sure he was capable of much.

A gentle sigh that became a tumultuous roar by the end escaped Fear's lips.

Fear couldn't move.

Fear couldn't sleep.

Fear couldn't stand to be awake.

The colt had been thoughtless off and on during his depressive state, occasionally groaning as if in his death throes, before contemplating his guilt over his sister's death and those he had killed once more. It weighed on his consciousness like an anvil, burying him six feet under, making him wish he were dead. He felt strongly, and he cared deeply, and with that self back to the forefront he was, at the same time, not himself at all. He couldn't feel bouncy and excited in this oppressive, miasmic mood. And then the tsunami of thoughts started once more.

How could you get any worse, Fear?

I don't know, kill the whole town? Fuck it. Be glad I'm not worse, stop judging me.

You don't deserve to use that excuse, just because the wasteland's hard doesn't give you a reason to be sour and mope in bed all the time.

Fear screwed his eyes shut, quivering in the bed. He knew it was damaging to think this way, but he couldn't help it.

Try going out and meeting ponies, be part of their life.

Fear let out a snort, his nostrils flaring, eyes peeling open, ruby irises glowing like starlight.

But I don't want to, what if they find out and don't want anything to do with me? Fear curled up in a ball on the bed, shivering as if a chill was penetrating down to his bone marrow. I can't take that rejection.

Fear peered out of one eye when he heard his mother's voice. You're just young and inexperienced. Rejection isn't that hard my little Nightlight.

The colt huffed as he held the conversation with what felt like three parts of him, one of which didn't feel like him at all. Says you, I don't want to experience anymore pain.

Fervor came back at him, as if bouncing off the ropes of a wrestling ring and swinging at him violently. Well you have to, you're not going to get anywhere by being in bed all the time, have some fucking courage. Embrace the pain, enjoy it, because when things finally get better, and they will... when you finally get to breathe, you're going to be happier than you ever have before.

The optimism in those statements was garish and scathing. It felt like a blinding light searing away a vampire's flesh. But I'm not happy, I can't be happy. I lost my happiness many times over.

Fear's inner voice wasn't dead. Then pull it back from the abyss, pull it back from Tartarus, pull EVERYTHING and the wasteland ITSELF out of Tartarus. Just get on your hooves and MOVE, Fear. The colt was starting to think his inner voice was immortal.

Fine. If it'll make you shut the fuck up I'll MOVE.

Fear ground his teeth together and slid out of bed like a slug, hitting the floor in a heap and moaning like a zombie. He dragged a hoof along the floorboards before eventually finding the power in his muscles to stand. His countenance was wobbly and exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in days, but he was up and moving.

Blurring across Fear, melting into sludge, was the abode a friend of Sim's had lent to them for their short stay. With his depression things mixed together and lost all detail and defining features. It was difficult to pay attention while in this soggy mire. Fear eventually left the home, his jaw hinging open and intaking a huge lungful of air until his knees quaked under him, as if he'd just awoken from a coma. Fear smacked his lips and stepped out into the gray and brown wasteland. He looked right, then left. Across from him was a row of houses and other buildings, behind him was the same. It was just one long strip of road with many structures spanning the sides. With a sign on the outskirts that said 'WELCOME TO OUR TOWN.' Which was super weird in Fear's opinion, because who named a town that? It had to be 'hour.' The 'H' must've just been rubbed off to time, after all, most of the other letters could barely be made out. Fear wouldn't let the logic of there not being room for an 'H' detract him.

That stubbornness felt good on his soul. He wanted to believe fleeting, meaningless details. It helped him feel like he had a grip on the world, like what he thought mattered.

Then the background sound of somepony shouting became clear to him. He looked down the road, his jaw hanging open at the sight of somepony preaching.

The mare looked to be some kind of hobo priestess... or something. It caused Fear to cock his head to the side. She was so dusty and dirty, as if she hadn't had a bath in a long time. Maybe it didn't appeal to her? Maybe she didn't have time or opportunity? Maybe she didn't care? Fear took in her visage more. She was an earth pony, interestingly enough. Fear had discarded his unicorn supremacy awhile ago, but there would always be hints of it, those little temptations whispering to him that he was the best solely because he was a unicorn. Fear put himself back on track and examined her more, analyzing her salmon pink mane, the numerous silver streaks arcing through it, how it was wavy with the bangs braided and tied around her head like a laurel, a half-up braid crown, her tail braided as well. It caught Fear by surprise, that such mane styles could still exist. She'd look gorgeous if she just bathed, especially with that intense sky blue coat of fur that could probably use a trim. Fear looked a little closer, noting her cutiemark, an object he didn't recognize, but was a white piledriver. What he did recognize was the symbol of the two sisters seemingly etched into it. Laying right behind her, under one of her rear hooves, was an interesting... object, that Fear didn't understand either. It had three limbs, and at the base, in the middle, was a ring that a hoof could fit through, but it also had marks where the teeth rested. On two of the sides were a pair of short pegasus wings that looked rather high tech, and on the top what looked like a unicorn horn (as long as a rifle's barrel) with an eddie etched into it where, obviously, power surged through. He slowly made his way toward her, her speech becoming more audible by the second as he was yanked out from his reverie.

“Friendship is beautiful! It leads to harmony! And with harmony of the soul comes healing! With friendship we have stability! We all need to band together to make the wasteland a better place! The future is all we have!”

Fear seemed a little put off by Mcshoutsalot in the distance, but was nonetheless intrigued by what she had to say. It wasn't often he heard such optimistic blather spouted from somepony else. Even his father was rather reserved about it.

A pony that didn't quite stand out to Fear, which he would eventually chastise himself for not trying to remember, approached Fear, staring at him, then the mare he was watching. “Are you new here or just young?”

Fear didn't look at the pony, just staring at the strange mare who kept shouting things. “Mh. A little of both.” His voice sounded dazed, after all he'd only recently pulled himself out of the murky muck of himself.

“Huh, well that's Faithdriver. She's a preacher. She comes by every few months to speak to us. Very loud and a little obnoxious in public, but in all honesty...? In private she's the sweetest pony you ever met.”

Fear glanced to the pony, who was various shades of muted red and brown, then back to this... Faithdriver. Newfound interest summoned to his eyes. He ignored the pony and started trotting up to the preacher with his head tilted to the side. She was saying something about the two sisters and then...

“The Unity doesn't understand! The path to alicorn-hood is not a physical journey, but a spiritual one! It is when we accept our brothers and sisters for who they are that we find harmony, and all three will become one. It is when we put aside our differences and unite that we find the alicorn inside all of us!”

Fear snorted at that, not believing a word of that superstitious mumbojumbo. Still, it sounded very pleasant on the ears, and on his soul. How could he reject it fully?

Faithdriver then noticed she was being watched. She went silent and turned to face the colt. There was a flaming determination in her ocean blue eyes the likes of which he'd never seen. It was as if the fear of Tartarus itself had been driven into her and only given her strength, the brilliance of the sun itself being mined out of the challenges she'd faced. She almost looked like she might blow up at him, like such energy was contained within her that she was a ticking time bomb, but Fear didn't back down. “Hello little colt, what's your name?” Her voice was gentle compared to what she'd sounded like before, as if she were trying to usher in armageddon at first.

“Uh...” Fear was at a loss for words, his eyes dilated past their maximum as he stared at her slack-jawed. Shaking his head a moment later, he cleared his mind and spoke. “Fearei Shatter, miss... Faithdriver?”

“Faith is fine, sweetie. So you heard me preaching huh, Fearei?” Her voice was soft yet powerful, resonating with everything that made Fear who he was. It clawed at his soul and dragged it to the surface, pushing back the haze that was hanging over his mind, exposing him for who he was. It was violating and comforting all at once.

“Fear is, uh, good.” He rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, gently caressing his mane. “But yeah, I did. You have a really, uh, powerful voice. I can tell you believe what you're talking about.” In his addled state it was a little difficult to come up with a compliment, but he felt like it was right to try.

“Of course I believe! I have many stories, some I've memorized from the good book, and others are my own personal experiences.”

The two were quiet for a moment. Faith was kind enough to give Fear time to think, able to tell he was having a difficult time. “Stories huh? Anything inspirational?” The colt found himself more desperate than he'd thought for something incredible, ravenous for the material.

“That depends Fear, what inspires you?” Faith gave him a gentle smile that shimmered in her dynamic eyes.

Fear looked off to the side, his tail whipping to the other, narrowing his eyes. “Well... I've been having a hard time with regrets lately. It's paralyzing, bringing me to a standstill. I can't get out of my... mire.”

“So stories of redemption then? I have just the thing.”

Fear's attention snapped to Faith at that, feeling numb all of a sudden, but a much different kind of numb. This one was just dumb and dazed than heavy and hazy.

Faith cleared her throat for a moment, and then began what she was... maybe best at? Preaching. “Long ago before the war started there was an impoverished potter, somepony who makes pots, named Golden Link. A mare by the name of Raven Inkwell was busy searching high and low for somepony who could make a special pot for her leader.” Faith had a slight smirk on her face. “She eventually came to Link and asked him for his best work. A few days later he produced his results, and wouldn't you know it? It was completely horrible. The most ugly thing you ever did see. Raven couldn't bring herself to look at it, it was such an insult to the senses. She told Link just as much, talking about how she'd never pay for such shoddy craftsmanship.”

“Link, with a knowing smile on his face, asked Raven if she might be willing to give him one more chance. Raven, not having much faith in ponies who failed once, was very reluctant to give him a chance. After all he'd just proved himself to be a terrible potter, how could he possibly ever improve? But against what she thought at the time was the right choice, she agreed. One more chance and she'd be back in a week, giving him a little more time to work.”

“Well, when Raven came back the next week the most extraordinary sculpted pot was there waiting for her. It was gorgeous, the most beautiful thing she ever laid eyes on. The sheer beauty of it was enough to make her break down into tears. She never believed it was possible that this potter, somepony who had failed to prove himself the first time, could take the raw material and recraft it into something almost supernatural. Raven took the pot, spreading word of the potter's skills and paid him handsomely.”

Fear was a little uncertain. It was okay, but he could tell she wasn't done.

“Later, a horrible accident occurred and that once extravagant pot was shattered into many pieces. Raven decided to go get a new one, but was asked by Link to bring her the old. Not knowing what could possibly be done about it, she agreed. After all, he'd proven himself once before. Maybe he just wanted to see his work one final time before it was thrown away? Either way, she humored him. Confusing her, Link told her to come back in a few days, he was going to work around the clock in order to restore it to its former glory. Raven, not knowing what to think, agreed yet again. And when she came back... a miracle was waiting for her. The pot and all its pieces had been repaired with the the finest golden glue she could imagine. It sparkled in the light and gave the once destroyed piece of art a whole new facet to its existence.”

“The moral of the story is, we are all artisans that are working on ourselves. As long as we wait to set, we can continue balling the clay up and recreating our sheer potential into something amazing. We do not need to let our past define us if we can continue building ourselves and everything around us anew. And often when the present breaks us, we can rebuild that potential with hard work and the right tools. Our futures are greater than our pasts. Never forget that, Fear.”

Fear was tearing up, completely enamored with the story and moral, sniffling a little. It didn't reach quite as deep as he hoped, but it was enough. Not a cure all, but certainly a salve. “When I was younger – I don't know how much, I've lost track of the time – I did an awful thing. I killed a couple innocents...” Fear stroked one foreleg with another. “Maybe more. I don't... really recall. Just my first real kills.” He bit hard on his lower lip. “I've tried my life since then to make up for it, but eventually my sister was taken from me, similar to how my mother was. And I just... I was too weak to protect her, to heal her. I was too weak to fight myself. And I was... I couldn't handle myself. And I'm still, to this day, regretting... everything.”

Faith lifted a hoof and put it on the stammering, rambling colt's shoulder. “There is still hope for you, for everypony. You are young, you are naive, I can see it in your eyes. You have potential. Fear, never let anypony convince you otherwise. You can make amends, you can change yourself, and you have the power to unite others.” The mare glanced to Fear's side, looking at his flanks. “You may end up collecting more ponies than you can imagine within the depths of your whirl. Have faith.” The smile on Faith's face was giant.

Fear was... uncomfortable. But inspired. He felt more understood than ever, and it caused a pleasant warmth to blossom in his chest and bubble up his throat, seeping out his eyes in the form of heated tears. They stained his cheeks as he sniffled and sobbed, weeping openly in front of her. Was it understanding, or was he just flattered? He couldn't tell. But for once in what felt like forever there was a true sense of genuine hope, not something he'd created himself, but something somepony else created for him, something that couldn't be killed by natural causes. He hiccuped a few times, feeling like the downward spiral was going in reverse. “Thank you... Th-thank you. Th... thank you, Faith.” He gulped down air. “I hope we can see each other again. Maybe... if you want. You can come to Neighvada with my father and me?”

Faith's smile only seemed to grow larger, her eyes sparkling. “I will... consider it, Fear. I will give you my answer in the morning. Until then, take care of yourself.”

Fear nodded a few times, trying to catch his breath, and made his way back to the house to rest. He felt more exhausted than ever before all of a sudden, but this time like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was feeling tired for the first time in his life. His face was gaunt and eyes sunken, rings around them. Everything once more blurred together as he headed to bed in order to finally... finally sleep. All while thinking of his sister. The radiant Amelioreit Reverie.

==========================================================================================

The guilty colt's nightmares returned in full force. He was hiding behind a rock, the only cover available to him in the vast, limitless expanse around him, obscured on the edges only by an impermeable fog. He was huddled together with his father, mother, and sister. A giant, ferocious radbeast was stalking them. How had it found them? How had it gotten through their senses? It didn't matter. Everything just fell into place in dreams like this, logic didn't reign. Just feelings. His father and mother, fading in and out, got out from behind cover to try and attack the radbeast. But all Fear heard a moment later was the wet ripping of flesh, moist slashes, and the loud sounds of evisceration and bodies being torn apart and devoured by a vocal eater. Fear cowered, his sister trying to comfort him. They were all alone. Then Amelio said something, Fear tried to stop her, but before he could she was surging around the corner to do what their parents couldn't. Fear spun around to try and pull her back to safety but before he could the fearsome beast was upon her.

But before teeth could sink into his sister's body, a loud bzzorp flashed through the air, coming from nothingness, and blasted into the beast's side, scorching into it and causing the entire thing to glow before splattering into motes of light with the shattering of glass. Fear blinked, and a moment later his surroundings were cleaved by a huge divide, a crevice reaching into the abyss, and it was only growing. Fear yelped and panicked, rushing away from it, trying to run, his sister becoming bleary and disappearing as he suddenly heard a voice.

Fear twisted around, looking into the abyss, his dreambubble shredded apart, and saw in the distance so many different orbs of light sharing with him various images, from garish terrors to warm paradises. His breath hitched in his throat. Then he heard the voice again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QcRAq8CtUo

Merging into Fear's sight was his sister. No longer young like she once had been. Now she looked aged and gray. Like she could fall apart at the slightest stress. She looked far more mature and regal too, as if she'd aged decades and Fear had stayed the same. The mare's body was floating in the air, her body dangling under her freely. Her eyes were completely whitewashed, before they eventually regained their violet and sapphire luster as the power receded. A gentle smile crossed her face, and she tilted her head to the side. “Good to see you again, Fear.”

Fear's mouth opened and closed like a dying fish, his eyes full of tears. “A... Ame?” The colt moved forward, a disbelieving look on his face. “My guardian Moon Angel?” He gave a loud, ungodly sniff.

Amelio nodded once, confirming it, her face seeming to distort, her motions blurred. Fear's body suddenly felt sluggish, impossible to move. “Yes. Come with me. I have much to show you.” Before Fear could react Amelio bolted toward her brother, hooking their forelegs together, and rocketing off with him, an ultrasonic blast being unleashed in their wake. And then soon an explosion of light expelling out from the two, pulsing outward like a ripple on a pond, as they sped up even further. Though there was no wind resistance to speak of.

Everything around the pair became gnarled and morphed, what was ahead of them suddenly behind. It felt less like they were moving and more like everything around them was gliding past them. Fear saw a dot of light in the distance, like a far away star. It caught his vision and held it.

Amelio spoke softly, comfortingly. Stealing his attention away and holding it on her, though Fear's eyes sometimes seemed to pass through her. “I want to tell you about my final dream Fear. The one during my death.”

Fear lightly nodded his head. “S-sure thing, Ame.”

“Mh. You have always been an inspiration to me brother, and that was true during my final moments. In my dream the three of us were back in Stable 47, and I was given the option to become Overmare once more, eventually. I accepted it because I was desperate to do something with my life. I ended up wearing the Seer's Eye proudly and I helped the stable avert disaster – I led it to prosperity, though eventually you decided you wanted to leave because your guilt was too much. However, I manipulated my dream. I ended up saying all the right things to get you to stay, and be with me. Forever. Despite you learning of our shared lineage. Eventually though, I knew I had to abandon that dreambubble.”

Fear had a quiet smile on his face. “I missed you, Ame.”

Amelio grinned broadly. “I missed you too, Fearei. And I am glad that you have not come to hate me.”

“Pshaw.” Fear bat a hoof as they got closer to their destination. “I could never hate you.”

“I am happy to hear that, Fearei.” She reached over to him and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek that made Fear blush intensely. “I have been biding my time ever since, gathering my power, recovering my strength. Becoming one with the liminal space beyond what you could ever imagine. I have discovered there is a latent power to everything, even in the deepest reaches. This void exists within something, and when I need a boost I feed on it, nightmares, or Luna's treasure.”

“Luna? Princess Luna?” Fear sounded confused.

“One and the same. I found her during my sleep sometime before I died. I made an arrangement with her. You will learn it when we get to our goal.”

Fear looked ahead again, noticing another one of those orbs was getting alarmingly close. As they approached Fear put a foreleg over his face, their bodies careening into it. Instead of becoming a smear on the surface they just pierced right on through, together, as brother and sister. Amelio guided Fear, gliding down to the castle courtyard, same as when she'd first arrived there, and then led Fear into the castle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_boJmXqUYtg

As soon as the environment changed around them, seeping from one thing to another, having barely a threshold, Fear was caught by surprise when another mare came up to him, her hooves clopping on the carpet and staring deep into his soul with face just looking to brawl, her gaze harsh and violent, glaring daggers into the colt.

It was Saway.

Not that Fear knew that.

Amelio stood off to the side.

“So you're Fearei.” There was an appraising expression on Saway's features. “I must say, I'm not impressed. You're missing a certain... oomph.” Her voice matched the look in her eyes.

Fear sighed, appearing more weary than ever, as much as when he went to sleep. “Oh... shut up, I'm going through some shit.” He looked off to the side.

“No excuses. You have a lot to live up to, Fearei Shatter.” Saway slammed a hoof on the ground to get his attention.

Fear stomped forward, his jaw tightening as he got in her face, which was hard given how small he was. Despite that, their muzzles nearly touched, with Fear having to reach up to do it. Amelio let them be, knowing they weren't going to kill each other. “Yeah!? Well maybe I don't want to live up to everypony's expectations! Maybe I just wanna live in peace! I don't have to do shit and you can't make me!”

An indescribable tingling sensation passed between them. Something beyond them, beyond description, that reached into their timeless, limitless souls. It spanned past dreams and waking, past timelines, and past distance. There was a connection there, as if in some small way, they already knew each other.

“I can tell you don't mean that, and it feels like in another life we'd've been dire enemies.” Her voice was rough and raspy with murderous undertones.

“S-same.” Fear pushed out his lower lip, almost pouting, but not moving from his position. “F-fine. I'll... do whatever. I'm gonna try my best, I guess. I'm just complaining.”

Saway gave Fear an indecipherable look, seeming to analyze the colt. “You're a good kid, Fear. Just cut the excuses and be responsible.”

The two stared at each other, though Fear was the first to relent.

Saway had a knowing, amused gaze. “You're gonna need my assistance someday.”

Fear pawed at the ground as he stared at it. “P-probably. Probably going to need everypony's help someday. So why don't we just be friends?” He looked up at her with a hopeful smile, tilting his head to one side. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”

Saway smiled awkwardly. “Sounds like a plan, kid.” She held out her hoof to seal the deal.

Fear bumped hooves with her, but before he knew it Saway had latched on with sticky hooves and was lightly shaking their hooves up and down.

Amelio flowed past Fear. “Come, Fear. It is time to meet the Princess of Death.”

Fear's eyes widened slightly in surprise, his lips twisting up in confusion. “Princess of Death?” He quickly slipped past Saway to follow her.

“Take care of yourself, Kid.” Saway called out, pulling inward a little out of a sudden sense of loneliness. Fear waved back over his shoulder to the vicious mare.

“Luna, Fear.” Amelio stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh.” Fear went silent for a time as they walked down the long hallway that seemed endless, before speaking up again. “So who exactly was that?” The level of curiosity in his voice was intoxicating. “I feel like I know her. It's almost...” he shuddered, hackles rising on end. “Supernatural.”

“That is Saway.” Amelio's voice gave no leeway one way or another whether she appreciated or confided in the mare. “Far before the war she lived in Pugallup as an only foal, eventually moving in with a wealthy uncle when her parents passed away. She was on the brink for most of her life, trying to decide what it was she was supposed to do, thinking her talent was pushing the world off the cliff. But at the time it was already doing a fine enough job doing that on its own. Eventually she decided to join the Equestrian military to hurry it along, and through it ended up discovering her true talent, sawing apart preconceptions about how the world worked. She had been doing it all her life ever since before she got her cutiemark. Before she knew it she was in Luna's personal guard, her own preconceptions shattered.” The two of them passed through the lunar door into the vault room that the mare of the night used as her own personal quarters. “She was not in Canterlot the day the pink cloud hit because she was undergoing an experiment fusing nightmares to her soul in order to keep her living after death. Unfortunately it did not work quite as planned, and she is as you see her now. She was alive for years after the bombs hit though, just clinging to life until her body gave out and her consciousness went to sleep. It was a complex ritual to weaponize the nightmares without letting it consume her identity.” She shook her head a little, as if disappointed in one of the many things she said.

Before Fear could react to any of that, of which he had no idea how to, he saw Luna in the distance and gasped, freezing up. “Holy shit, she's a wreck!”

Luna sighed, looking more unamused than ever. Amelio just chortled loudly.

“What is she doing here!? Why isn't she... out there? Doing stuff? Doing something?” Fear was frazzled by this new information, looking from Luna to Amelio and back again.

The princess gave Fear a dirty look as she approached them. She was getting really tired of this, especially from somepony like Fear, she could see his sins. They were written on his face.

Amelio spoke. “She has been horrified by the dreams of destruction so many ponies have had. So many violent, depraved dreams that she has hidden herself away.” Then she went silent.

Fear shot both of them an understanding, yet defiant glance. A weird contradiction of expressions.

Luna took Fear in wholly, finding it hard to believe he was capable of what she needed of him, and even more-so, she was reluctant to believe. She didn't want to face her own issues. Besides, she was an alicorn and she couldn't overcome, how could a colt like Fear possibly achieve what she had never been able to? Luna snorted at him.

After a little tension, Fear finally spoke up. “The world doesn't revolve around your feelings, nor mine.” A lesson he had learned while with Angel and Crate. “It's okay for things to not be okay.” Something he'd only learned just now, when realizing that everypony was in the same boat as him. “It's a process. Life is miserable but we don't have to let it kill our light. I'm...” Fear was uncertain, remembering his mother. “I'm a nightlight.”

Luna sighed, her eyes revolving in their sockets. “I have done an enormous amount of wrong, Fear. Countless irredeemable acts have been cast by my hoof. I became Nightmare Moon and hurt my sister and ponies. Even after being redeemed, I still brought Equestria to war over a misunderstanding that turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I brought death and suffering to countless: past, present, and future. I condemned an innocent, anti-war confidant and advisor, and I do not know anymore if all I did was right or wrong. My errors in judgment have cost the lives and well-being of so many of my little ponies. I do not deserve to face them, let alone serve them.” Luna was looking down at the ground with a sorrowful, heavy countenance.

Fear sucked in a desperate breath of air as there was a pause in everything.

“And even now,” Luna continued, “I can feel your pain stabbed through your heart like a stake. Your crumbling will, all you have experienced. You are just as damaged as everypony else.”

Fear took a long time to speak, swaying on his hooves from the sheer gravity of what he was told, able to feel Luna's emotions. “You have to come back though. We need you, and we have to redeem ourselves!”

“I cannot be redeemed.”

Fear remembered everything in the short period of time, his conversations with Amelio and Faith. “Spirals are a symbol of change. Anything and everything can change, as long as you don't let it set.”

Silence permeated the air.

“Well.” Luna started. “As Amelio has proposed, I have a test for you. If you can overcome your demons, then I will accept that the wasteland and I can as well, and will continue to watch over their dreams and nightmares.”

Fear's eyes lit up, a smile crossing his face, not knowing at all what was in store for him but more excited than ever before. He recognized his chance for redemption, standing tall and proud, puffing out his chest.

Luna guided Fear out of the room at an incapacitated pace, back to the throne room and then to the door behind Celestia's throne. It was just a dark room that Fear, Amelio, and Luna stared into. Fear was just busy thinking. Am I capable of any of this? Really truly? “So, what should I expect? What am I supposed to do? What kind of test is this? You'll hold your end of the bargain right?” He fired off questions rapidly, not even waiting for one answer before announcing another.

Luna refrained from answering all but the last question. “Fearei Shatter, if you can overcome these trials I will do everything in my power to watch over ponies once more.” And before Fear could react Luna shoved Fear through the door, then slammed it shut. “Good luck.” She called out with a voice full of condemnation. And then the door clicked, locking behind him.

Fear glanced around in the dark void, suddenly very afraid. Before he could react though, the room lit up with a glaringly white light, nearly blinding him.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COMuuzByCNs Fear and Amelio.

Fear's Ordeal

Ever since his mother had died, Fear's eyes had been a ravishing ruby; tainted, violent, and ferocious. Full of untamed fury as out of control as his mane. They glowed softly like low class starlight, beaming uncomfortably at those who stared at him for too long. Seething and ebbing against the soul, causing it to crank to a boil the more time was spent around it. It was a disturbing light that never seemed to fade. And right now those very eyes were adjusting to the blinding white light of the room. Blinking away the spots that formed along his retinas.

Fear took a few steps forward, glancing this way, then that, sweeping his head from side to side in broad motions. Everything felt distorted and empty, like there were so many of him in this one very place. It was a strange sensation; hearing your own soul speak to you, whispering of its traumas; bandages; evils; and glories all at once, echoing around you incessantly, never relenting, and Fear was experiencing that right now as everything began to settle in this boundless alabaster room. Fear's breath hitched in his throat as he tried to focus on something, anything within the limitless expanse that stretched out before him, like walls never existed. He twisted around to look behind him, but there was no door, having long ago disappeared.

Trapped. Isolated. All on his own. No ponies to lead him, no followers to inspire him. He was alone. Alone with his thoughts, with everything that made him who he was and beyond. It was crippling and left the colt kneeling down as he tried to come to grips with this solitary existence, where no family nor friends, not even enemies, existed to keep him company nor pull him out of his reveries. He felt like he was in an oppressive dream, weighing down on him and holding him captive. Such was the overwhelming presence of self.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekPaYGVLifY

As Fear was nearly brought to tears by the burden of his soul, his chest heavy and breathless, a needle point of darkness was summoned beneath him and slowly encroaching outward. It pulsed outward like a ripple on a mirror, leaving perfection completely disrupted. Fear's head was light and his eyes were lolling about as his body shifted. The darkness swallowed up the ground, spanning forever, beginning to swallow up Fear as well. It felt salty, and thick, like sludge melting around his body and pulling him in. A soggy mire of loneliness and animosity. Fear could feel the sensation of hatred needling into him, piercing his flesh, tickling his mind. The sensation of loss in its purest form, shredding apart his brain and leaving him feeling limp and incapable. It was like every time he'd spent in a depressive state magnified by a thousand. He couldn't... couldn't breathe. Couldn't... couldn't move. It was sucking him in, sticking to his body, glorping around him, the abysmal darkness. It stained his body like ink and warped his body and mind. Leaving him a shadow of his former self. Fear cried openly, unable to sniffle due to the pressure on his lungs and body from the quicksand. He wept openly, everything he'd ever experienced crashing down around him. His eyes were frantic, his nerves frayed.

Fear didn't know what to do. He was falling deeper. First his hooves were covered in muck, now his barrel, then his shoulders. It was creeping up to his neck, daring him to make a move and make the process go faster. Panic pierced the fog, digging into the lobes of his brain like a dire headache and scooping out what little motivation there was. Fear's eyes bolted open, his jaw hanging loose. Fear's hooves clawed at the surface of the gunk, trying to tear it away from his body, trying to yank himself out. Struggling to find purchase on something that had no solid form. It just swept around him and pulled him further in. Every muscle in his muzzle tensed up as his face contorted into sheer fright, eyes wild with fear. A second later, he schlupped down under the surface.

Refusing to breathe, refusing to open his mouth, the colt attempted to hold out for as long as he could, squeezing his eyes shut as he sank into space he'd always feared to go. It was crushing, collapsing around every piece of him, not leaving a single trace of will in him. He squirmed and flailed, trying to get back to the surface, trying to swim, but struggle was being pushed out of his body, bubbles leaving his snout as the murky depths pulled him deeper. What am I supposed to do!?He was coming close to... Fear gasped, pulling in the most agonizing substance into his body imaginable. It felt like he was swallowing razor blades into his lungs, cutting him up. He sobbed openly, gargling as he tried to get to the surface. The pain was unbearable, slicing into every single bit inside of him, getting everywhere. His mind couldn't operate, not when it was seeping into his ears as well. Getting into his brain. Cutting it up. Fear just wanted to... to leave it all behind. He wanted it to end.

Fear transformed his hoof into a blade out of desperation, intending to pierce it through his heart and end it all. Save himself from the pain by bringing himself to paradise. Right now numbness could only be considered paradise. Fear hesitated though as tears fell down his face. He didn't... didn't want to do it. No matter how bad it got. He needed... needed to just... find someone else. Fear opened his eyes, peeling back the lids, staring upward. It hurt his corneas, stabbing into them. It was the worst thing ever. The tears just made it harder. The whole experience felt like he was losing everything.

Then came the hate. A pure, unadulterated hate for anything and everything. Bubbling, broiling acrimony affecting every pore in his body. Fear tried to fight against it, tried to pretend he was happy, that it wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. Even as he shuddered in his prison of pain. A forced smile crept onto his face as he suffered, trying to push it all out, attempting to hold back his tears. He couldn't, wouldn't feel this way. The waves of malignancy were smothering him though, nearly destroying him. He couldn't keep up much longer.

In desperation, Fear relented. He closed his eyes and admitted what he was feeling. This is the worst thing in the world. There is nothing worse than this. I hate EVERYTHING and that will NEVER change. I'm gonna be here forever! But... but I don't have to act on it. I just need to... come to peace with it. If I don't, my flailing will just hurt others. Fear ceased his struggling as he fell deeper. His bladed hoof morphed back to normal. I will come out the other side. Always. I will overcome. It will hurt. It will tear me to pieces. But I will win. Fear's body was shaking violently from all the pain, gradually becoming accustomed to it.

It felt like an eternity in the depths, but as he gave up, let the feelings wash over him, and found peace, things began to speed up. He was descending far more swiftly. It impacted him less. Fear filtered it out, his eyes eventually opening and staring downward.

Eventually he hit the bottom of the sea of enmity, his hooves touching the ground. He found inner strength as the pain subsided. He rolled his neck a few times and looked around, everything around him darker than vantablack, yet he could see so clearly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6MKHn3oddk

Fear saw something approaching in the distance. A figure lacerated to Tartarus and back, with all sorts of incisions lining their body, bleeding freely all over the ground, leaving a snail trail of crimson iron along it. Its head was pointed toward the ground, a long, loud, murderous groan escaping its trembling lips as it drew closer. When it got to about twenty feet from Fear it slowly looked up, a nightmarish vision the likes of which made Fear back up and fall onto his ass in shock. “Hahaha! I remember you. Do you remember me?” The figure, which Fear recognized as himself, started to turn around at the neck, the bones popping and reconfiguring as, like an owl, it turned upside down, staring at Fear with a thirsty, cruel smile spread across the muzzle, the flesh rippling along the neck where it was twisted unnaturally. Then it crackled back into place. “We told Mother that we'd make the wasteland a better place. Don't you remember Fear? We were so sure of ourselves. So certain we were capable. But we're not. Are we?” Its voice was stilted like a puppet being controlled by invisible strings, asking the question like an innocent foal.

Fear hesitated, rearing back. “I don't...” Fear knew exactly what this was. It gave off a demented aura of murderlust. It was familiar to him, he recognized it clearly like the information was engraved in his soul. “I meant what I said!” There was an uncomfortable shiver in his voice, full of reluctance.

“Oh? Is that right, Fearei Shatter? Well, I know how we can go about it. If you're willing to follow me.” The monstrous colt crept closer, seeming to slide along the ground toward his host. “Just... just listen to my voice. And everything will be okay.”

Fear didn't want to accept this was part of him. It made him so skeeved out it was incomprehensible. It caused his whole body to shift and cavort as he tried to move away. “Get away from me! I don't want anything to do with you!”

The monster didn't relent. “Oh come on, we're just going to make the wasteland a better place.” The calmness in his voice was unnerving as more blood spilled off his body. “We're going to be the downfall of everypony, of course, but it'll bring peace and happiness to those who are in pain. You were going to bring peace to your suffering self just a few minutes ago after all, weren't you?”

Fear flinched back, remembering his idea to kill himself. “Get away from me!” Fear lunged forward and threw a hoof, slamming into the monster's face. The bone snapped and crunched as the head bent at an odd, lethal angle.

The monstrous form just laughed sourly as he sat back on his haunches and brought his forelegs up, snapping his head back into place to look back at his host. “You cannot get rid of me Fearei Shatter. We are bound for life from now on.”

Fear immediately spun around and started sprinting away, occasionally looking back to see the monster was right on his heels.

“You can't escape Fearei Shatter! I am always with you! We are one and the same. And I will achieve dominance over you. Because I am you!”

Fear stopped in his tracks, leaning forward, rearing onto his forelegs and slamming his hindlegs back, bucking the monster with all his might in the face, splattering the muzzle into gore, the skull breaking apart from the force like a rotten tomato. But it quickly started to remerge as laughter echoed. And as Fear stared with wide eyes, the monster shoved Fear to the ground, pinning him against the abyss, leaning in close.

“We... are... one. Fearei Shatter.”

Desperation came to the surface once more as Fear looked with unhinged horror at his desecrated self, mouth agape, eyes wide, pupils dilated. He couldn't comprehend what he was doing, what he was supposed to do, or anything. I could... I could kill myself so he's never unleashed! But... that would be the easy way out. So how...? The monster opened its wide mouth as if to start biting into Fear's face, some strange form of autocannibalism.

Fear didn't know what to do. He couldn't struggle anymore. I'll run out of strength if I just push him away. He's part of me. He can't die if I don't die but... Fear wrapped his forelegs around his monstrous self and yanked him in for a brilliant bear hug. “Just because you're part of me doesn't mean I have to listen to you! We can be together! And still do the right thing! I don't... I don't love you but you're part of me, and I want to love me. I can't fight you, but I can't also feed you all the time. You need to learn to go without, just like me.”

A bright light surrounded the two of them as surprise crossed the monstrous Fear's face. He tried to pull back and away as the dominant side initiated the merge. It was like fairies floating off of them as the monster struggled, flailing around, being pulled into the dominant side slowly but surely as Fear accepted himself.

“I created you, I accept you, but we need to lay some ground rules!”

An unholy screech filled the air.

“Just listen to me!”

It took a long time, but the rage died off, tapering down as only the monster's head stuck up out of Fear's chest.

“We're going to do the right thing, but we can't kill all the time! Time and a place for everything!” Fear gave the monster a little smile. “We'll get there. Eventually.”

The monster plunged into Fear's chest. And suddenly the dominant side was all alone once more.

==========================================================================================

Fear had been traveling the abyss for what felt like days. When was he ever going to wake up from this nightmare? All he could remember was that he wanted out, wanted to escape. But there was something holding him here. Eventually, with all strength leaving him, he just flopped to the ground, unable to continue going. He rolled around on the ground, trying to wake up, wanting Amelio, wanting his mother, wanting his father, wanting anypony who would listen to what he'd had to deal with. It was harsh and unfair. Why did he...? Fear shivered, feeling cold all of a sudden, and wet. Water was starting to congeal around his body. Fear stood up on all fours, looking around at the blue liquid converging on him. He lifted up a hoof in fright, and when the water rose up over his body to subsume him, Fear let out a frightened whinny and stood up on his hind legs. Trying to fall back and away, the water only latched onto his body. It pulled his forelegs away from him at a perpendicular angle, and then flash froze to the back of his body, wrapping around his limbs and sticking to the fur with the coldest ice imaginable. The sudden drop in temperature felt like pins and needles were poking at his flesh, with a numbing frostbite tickling at the frogs of his hooves and the tips of his snout and ears. The ice stung on his body, and caused frost to gather on his fur. His breath came out in cloudy bursts of steam as he tried to move, struggling against his binds, yanking on his T-pose structure, limbs shuddering from the strain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1OqDrzuNM

Blinking once, Fear was suddenly face to face with a very angry looking lanky colt. The same colt he'd killed... what? Two years ago? Fear wished he could remember. He tried to lean backwards in his bonds, but only succeeded in flattening himself. Fear's entire face twisted up into a look of concern as he stared at him.

Though, it'd probably be a little more comfortable if the colt's face wasn't covered with a scold's bridle. Fear could see the spike inside of Dusk's maw, which he bit down on actively despite how painful it looked, causing the guilty colt to flinch away at the sight. The way the straps wrapped around Dusk's head and held him in place, it was all sorts of disturbing.

Fear was assaulted with a sudden wave of guilt. He would have collapsed if he wasn't being held up by ice, closing his eyes and venting his sadness through tears. Was it sadness or was it relief? He couldn't tell. The tears swiftly froze into icicles that nipped his cheeks. Was this colt a ghost? It would explain the drop in temperature. Fear opened his eyes, having to really pull on them due to almost being fused together by frozen tears, and looked into Dusk's eyes. “I... I'm sorry.” He gasped out. “I was hurting... I, I couldn't control myself.”

“Excuses.” The speech was distorted due to the bridle, and it clearly hurt the colt to talk, to even be there, to be in front of Fear, but he was anyway. “You are a murderer! Murderer!” The colt leaned back and shoved a hoof into Fear's chest, making his ribs tremor. Fear coughed and hacked, weeping as he felt his sins crawl up his back. Or was that the ice? “You deserve to die by another's hoof just like me! I didn't deserve what you did to me! I didn't deserve to be hunted down and murdered! But you did it anyway! You depraved inequine monster!”

Fear sighed, looking away, still teary. He gave a shake of his head. “You're... you're right. I've known for a long time that I deserve to die, that I deserve to have everything taken from me. That I deserve to suffer untold amounts of pain, and it'll still never be enough for the trauma I have inflicted.” The words came out, some alien to Fear's young voice. As if his feelings were being manifested by their location. “But I can't... can't die yet. I can't let myself die before I've done what I can with my life. Before I've tried to make amends. But when my life comes to an end, when it's finally my time to go, I want to go to your mother and have her kill me in return. It will never be enough if she can't hurt me the way I've hurt her and you, and your father. But I just... nopony else deserves to suffer for my sins.”

“But you... you deserve to lose everything!” The colt petulantly exclaimed.

“I do. But I've learned there are ponies who love me, and they'd be hurt if I was taken away before it was time. When the time comes for me to die I can suffer for eternity, I accept that. But in order to break the cycle...” Fear sounded uncertain. “I have to forgive myself until it's time to reap what I've sown.”

The lanky colt pushed his hooves against his eyes and sobbed. “But you... you...”

“I do. But I can't. Not yet.” Fear felt his guilt alleviate, even if only a bit, or at least he felt like he was capable of moving again. The ice began to melt around him, as if his body heat was warming it up. Fear fell to all fours and gave the colt a smile. “Punishment later, not now.”

Dusk huffed. “Fine! But I'm holding you to this promise! If you don't stick to it I'm coming for you and everyone you love and who loves you!”

Fear nodded once. “You have my guarantee.”

And with that Duskshine dispersed into motes of light, fluttering away into the abyss, Fear watching the flakes drift off. What he was left with was a name: Dim Nova. The colt's mother.

Fear was left alone after that, just looking around, wanting desperately to find an exit but not seeing any within sight. The expanse was mind numbing and exhausting. He didn't want to wander anymore. He was so sick and tired of traveling, just going wherever his heart took him. He was almost ready to die. He couldn't find the source of his agony, and he couldn't find his destination no matter how hard he tried.

Luckily for the colt, his destination was coming to him.

On the horizon were a pair of figures that Fear recognized. It caused a fountain of excitement to well up inside of him upon seeing them. His sister, as healthy and young as could be, and his mother, without a bullet wound in her head. He immediately started prancing toward them, hopping and skipping in the air as he took it at face value. Maybe this was his reward for coming to terms with so much?

Only it wasn't meant to last. The two figures stopped in their tracks and stared at him. Fear halted too, and watched them. “Mom? Ame? What's wrong?” He took a step forward, as if trying to coax them into speaking. Their cheeks puffed out and it looked like they were about to puke. Then Fear, closeby, saw their bodies ripple and squirm like something was undulating under their flesh, using their bodies as puppets. It grossed Fear out beyond belief, nearly throwing up at the sight of his loved ones contorting wildly. He turned away for a moment, suddenly hearing the tearing of flesh and cracking of bones, the ripping of sinew and snapping of joints. He looked back in curiosity and horror.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSTklkYAcdw

Both his mother and sister's bodies were turning into something bestial, long spindly spider legs made out of ebony carapace jutting out of the sides of their barrels and holding them up multiple feet in the air. Their original legs dangled under them lifelessly, twisted and broken apart. Their necks were shattered at the base, their heads lolling limply as their mouths gaped open, giant teal eyeballs with slitted pupils bulging out of them, staring at Fear. Their tails morphed into bulbous scorpion stingers that flailed around in the air for something to pierce.

Fear was aghast, his whole face screwed up in terror at the sight of what had once been his kind, beloved family turned into something grotesque. And then they lashed out at him. Fear felt it coming, jumping to the side, then hopping back as two stingers plowed into the ground where he'd once been. The two creatures lunged at him, banging their heads together as Fear tried to escape.

“I'm not gonna fight you! Stop it! Mom! Ame! Please!”

They didn't listen, their legs skittering toward him, the eyeballs firing red searing lasers at the colt who was trying desperately to get away. They scorched the ground, leaving steam rising off where they'd hit. Fear was dodging and weaving again and again, winding around lashing tails and beams of light.

“STOP!” He shouted despairingly.

Death rattles were all that greeted the colt as the monstrous amalgamations bum rushed him. Fear could feel their intent to end his life, to take him from everything he loved.

Fear fought back, jumping forward and spinning in the air, transforming his tail into something draconic, slamming the brunt of the limb into his sister's face, causing her to scuttle to the side and ram into his mother, their extremities tangling up together. Fear hit the ground, tail forming back to normal as he watched them come back at him. The waltz beginning anew.

The monsters' movements were growing sickeningly accurate, working together to try and hit Fear when he was cornered. Fear responded by fighting back passionately, realizing it was kill or be killed. He lashed out at them, his will and emotions turning into psychokinetic energy that lanced off his horn and crackled along his hooves. Fear danced over the ground and struck back randomly, trying to hit them, the monster's body's getting burned the more he pounded those energy-coated hooves. Slamming into the joints of the legs and batting the tails away with a variety of animalistic transformations, using what his father had taught him, and the power of dreams to shield his body.

Fear kept at it, striking roughly, attacking harshly, just as violently as the creatures were coming at him. Eventually he leaped into the air at his sister, spreading his forelegs apart as webs of psychic lightning arced between them and his horn, traversing the short distance and searing across the air. “I won't let you have your way with me!” Fear leaned back while soaring and threw his body forward, bringing the electricity to bear against his sister's body. The thunder pulsed through her, creating varicose veins along her body that erupted outward before bursting into gore, blood and guts rupturing outward and coating Fear in grime. The colt fell to the ground in a heap as his sister laid dying.

“B... Brother...” An alien voice called to Fear from Amelio's gagged mouth. The eyeball inside of it swelled up and exploded in even more disgusting juices, causing Fear to look away as he heard the monstrous screams of his mother next to him.

Abominable sounds filled the air as the bestial Breinstorm shifted and squirmed, increasing in size, her forehead splitting apart and forming a colossal mouth as sharpened teeth filled the new maw. Fear blanched at the sight, able to see his mother's brain within the mouth, and psychic energy erupting from the maw. “FEEEEEEEEEEEEAR!” The scream was demonic and full of anguish, his mother's body growing to behemoth proportions, far bigger than Fear could ever imagine. It paralyzed his entire body. Fear couldn't move no matter how hard he tried. “WHYYYYY DOOOO YOOOOOU FIIIIIIGHT?” The scream was drawn out and as ungodly as Breinstorm was enormous, it shuddered through Fear's body and left him a mess of mush on the ground. The creature roared despondently, as if it couldn't understand. “WHYYYYY DOOOO YOOOOU FIIIIGHT MEEEE!?”

Fear held his head, trying to think past the moment. Why AM I fighting? To survive? Why do I want to survive? Because others are counting on me, sure, but... Fear was broken out of his reverie when he felt a burst of intent blast against his brain. Fear rolled backwards and started running as spears of psychic energy jutted out of the creature's mouth and started jabbing into the ground, creating powerful explosions that nearly rocked Fear off his hooves. The colt was panicking, not knowing how he could possibly... why was he...? It clearly wanted to kill him! Why was it getting more powerful? The answer came as if on a breeze, flowing into Fear's mind and creating a source of strength. Because she's all I have left! But she's... Fear dodged another explosion, just barely, his entire body singed. He couldn't feel that side of his body anymore, everything was tingling, and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. It was difficult to move, his legs nearly giving out on him as he ran. She's not all I have left! I still have so much more! I need to move on!

It was as if the flood gates had been let loose. Willpower and mental strength surged through Fear's entire body, his cerebral cortex brimming with vigor, more psychic energy than he'd ever imagined spawning deep inside of his brain. His eyes fizzled out, becoming completely white washed as magical energy surged through him, his intuition taking the power of his reasoning, the power of his epiphany, and directing it toward a spell that was his namesake. Spectral energy gushed from his body as he twisted around in the air. A spider leg slammed down onto where he was, attempting to crush him, but was blocked by a sphere of ether with nary a crack in it. Fear's jaw hung open as he stared up at his mother, everything becoming more clear than it ever had before. I have to move on. Fear lashed out with a jagged wire of rainbow energy, plunging into his mother's form and scattering throughout it.

And then Fear saw his mother, the construct of her, explode right before his eyes. Everything faded to white.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POpHpg_JY_M

Amelio and Luna had been waiting at the Celestial door for only a short time, everything within proceeding over what felt to them to be the course of an instant. Both of them expected an exhausted, if not destroyed Fear to come out of that room, but what they did not expect was for the door to open and...

Fearei Shatter stood proudly, chest heaved out and head held high, determination and newfound purpose and strength reflecting prominently in his... sapphire? Eyes. They were a beaming, brilliant aqua blue that pierced the darkness and tore it away. They were the most glorious, precious glowing gems in the wasteland, full of innocence and love, a gentle calmness permeating the starlight irises. There was a golden resplendence to Fear's body that didn't seem to let up in the colt's defiant posture, a smile the likes of which could never exist in the wastes split across his face, teeming with happiness and relief. “HAH! That wasn't so bad!” There was a certain repose about him, like the tranquility of an undisrupted pond. “You should've seen me! I was all like pow pow kapow! Get wrecked!” He was shadow boxing the air while standing on his hindlegs, his countenance in a word: success. “I took on everything and came out on top!” He fell to all fours and looked up at them.

Amelio grinned like a filly. “Everything you exhibited in there was a manifestation of your thoughts and willpower, Fear. You won't be able to recreate it very easily, if at all, in the world of the waking.”

“What!? Really? Too bad.” Fear kicked at the floor, pouting, clearly disappointed.

Luna meanwhile was staring at Fear with newfound consideration. The weight on her shoulders was heavy, looking as if she was about to collapse from the revelation displayed before her. “Are you not... tired?”

Fear shrugged. “I mean sure yeah, but it's not that big a deal. I feel better than I have in a long time!” The colt was all happy-go-lucky peppiness.

Luna gave a firm, curt nod with a grimace on her face, her soul heavy with wonder. “I am... not sure I can do what you have done, Fearei.”

Fear narrowed his eyes at her. “Well, it was hard, I don't blame you! But you promised! You have to.”

Amelio turned to Luna, her grin one of superiority. “Indeed you do, Princess Luna. It is your turn now.”

Fear thought to himself, realization forming over his features. If Mom hadn't died I probably would never have gotten this chance to prove myself and my ideals. I don't know if it's enough, but it's something.

Luna's horn lit up as a smile crossed her face, and in front of her a ring of black cord focused into existence, and on the end of it was a small, finely polished silver screw with a supernatural navy blue shimmer to it. She floated it down and over Fear's head. “Ad astra per aspera. I think this will be a fine symbol of your ability to fix things, Fearei.”

Fear grunted. “You're not backing out on your deal are you?”

“Not at all, my dear Fearei.” Luna's voice had a lingering air of peace and weariness to it, clearly knowing what she had to do.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0KZMH3NtSo

Sorry if "Fear" doesn't feel like a word anymore. :P

Secrets Revealed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdCCebg8gtE

Life was a hot tub of relaxation for Fear right now. The throne room felt like a jacuzzi melting away all of his stressors and keeping things calm and bubbly, formless and slack. The colt hardly felt any urgency to get anywhere, and while he stood amidst a new friend and his sister, he hardly wanted to move on, but he knew that despite his exhaustion he had to. His soul was yearning for another adventure, and his healed body was spurring him onward. Luna stood next to him with an appraising stare, still trying to come to terms with this new source of inspiration, with having seen Fear perform a deed beyond her imagining, coming to grips with every single facet of himself and moving on from his actions instead of dwelling on them. Instead of breaking and killing himself, instead of hurting himself or letting his murderlust consume him, instead of letting his guilt break him, and instead of letting his connections destroy him; he had alternatively endured, accepted, moved on, and let go in such deft motions Luna was left reeling.

As for Amelio? She was immensely proud of her brother. She had believed in him, and that belief had not been in vain. Her ego flared. The honor she felt toward her brother and herself was incredible. She delighted in Fear's victory to the point her face was scrunched up, eyes lidded, and she was about ready to pounce on her brother with every ounce of strength remaining in her. Giddy and vibrating with excitement. Inwardly at least. On the outside she was as peaceful as a leaf on a lake. Still and serene.

Fear looked around at the two, his eyes falling to half mast as he suddenly felt really woozy, swaying on his hooves a little, eyes revolving asynchronously. Things were becoming muddy, vague, and heavy; too prominent – everything blurring out – it was a pulsating sensation of his mind coming back online fully. He was waking up. “Look,” he just about wheezed out. “Princess. You don't have to succeed at helping ponies all the time, you just have to try.” Fear stomped a hoof as he forced himself to remain stable. “I got it!” His face lit up like a celebration for all that was right in the world. “If you're ever afraid... just say: fuck it, it doesn't have to be perfect but I need to get something done.” Fear gave a shake of his head, feeling all fuzzy and out of it.

Luna frowned, looking at Fear with a judgmental expression. “That is... vulgar.” She pounded a hoof into the floor as well, bobbing her head once. “Still, I will try.” The alicorn was clearly afraid of making more mistakes like she'd done so many times in the past. Even with Starswirl it felt like she'd always been the weaker sister. But here Fear was, weak and still pushing onward. “You're a little too wise to be a colt, Fear.”

Fear waved it off with a hoof, glancing to the side and closing his eyes. “Nah. Just coming up with shit off the top of my head. I'm always on the edge of my hooves, pressure's my friend.”

Amelio finally sidled up to Fear affectionately, draping a foreleg over the colt's shoulders and pulling him in close, nuzzling into his neck. “And you do it well, I always believed in you. I just hope my time will come soon too.”

“Pfft!” Fear spat derisively. “You do a ton!” The amount of support in the colt's voice could hold up a planet. “Though if you could, could one of you please look for Angel Swaddle, Compressed Crate, and Dim Nova in the dream world?” His voice was shy and concerned, as if afraid somepony would lash out at him for asking such a thing.

“The liminal space, you mean.” Amelio, ever quick to correct her younger brother.

Fear rolled his eyes. “Yeah. That. I just want to know how the first two are, but could you please comfort Dim? Check on her? Be there for her? Give her good dreams but not like... too good that she wants to stay asleep all the time? I... I killed her husband and son and I just...” Fear cowered away from the two, his mind feeling as if it had been severed in two, and one side was existing on a higher plane than the other. It was all sorts of disorienting. “Want her to be happy. I want her to be able to overcome like I did, you know? I don't want her to...”

Amelio's face was soured with a look of pity, head tilted slightly, a frown caressing her muzzle as she broke Fear out of his rambling. “We will find and take care of them, brother, you just focus on taking care of everypony you are familiar with, yes?”

Fear looked from Amelio to Luna, a strained frown on his face, eyes tearing up. “Thank you, both.” Then he glomped his sister, wrapping her up in a tight hug. “I miss you so much.” The world was growing distant, like he was receding away from them through a tunnel, his consciousness leaving everything and funneling away from existence.

==========================================================================================

The colt woke up in bed with a languid, agonizing groan. His tongue was hanging out and his body rested in an awkward position with his legs bent at odd angles and head twisted to the side, laying in a way only children could. His plushie was pressed against his chest with one hoof. Sim was sitting in a corner waiting for him, reading an old war time novel that had been on the room's bookshelf.

“So. You're awake. Where'd you get the necklace from?”

Fear's horn lit up as he lifted the necklace he felt resting on his chest up to eye level, eyes opening and contracting to stare at it. It had an ethereal, psychic navy blue sheen to it that sort of pulsated when Fear looked close enough.

Sim then looked up from his novel and gasped for air when he saw his son's eyes. He had an expression of curiosity and shock, his jaw dangling open.

“Mmh... whuh? Fuck it... uhh...” As Fear laid there with squinted eyes memories came back to him in bits and pieces. Not so many specifics, but he was remembering... some things because of the necklace. He recalled his trials, Amelio, Luna, and Saway, but not the entirety of his conversations with them. It felt so separate from him, like it was a whole other pony that he was only half connected to. Like some kind of siamese twin. “Hmm... I had a dream. About Meels and Princess Luna. And this mare named Saway. They put me through these diff... easy trials and I overcame them. Became a better a pony, let go of so many negative things that were clouding me, and accepted others for what they were.” Fear's voice was grasping nebulously as he tried to remember details, unable to quite figure things out on his own. The dreams had been so vivid.

“Well, if I hadn't seen Amelio in my dreams recently too, and that necklace, I'd say it's too impossible to be true. Yet the wasteland is full of crazy things, I've seen some.”

“Hmh? Like what?” Fear slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes empty of sleepy crust. It felt like Heaven to be squeezing his eyes balls around like this, like doing a drug for the first time. It was invigorating, giving him a physical high that slowly wore off.

“Well I mean... when Amelio was young I found a sword used by Luna's old guard in a manor in Pugallop. It was the dirtiest thing I'd ever seen, but I gave it to Amelio because I thought it was pretty neat and it'd give her something to dote on, as it wasn't like I could give her a doll. Amelio took care of it, wiping it down and showing it more love and care than she'd shown anything to that point aside from me. One day, she started pumping the emotions she was feeling into it, and it hummed in response as if resonating with her. The more she cared for it by infusing it with positive emotions, the newer it appeared, and eventually it looked more polished than anything else in the wasteland.”

Fear had a nagging inkling that the information was important for some reason. It drove him nuts. He knew he'd heard of a sword, the lunar guard, and Pugallop before. But it was so far away he couldn't grasp it. Too... too difficult, especially this early in the morning. “What happened to it?”

Sim tapped his chin with a hoof, setting the novel he was levitating off to the side on an end table. “She decided to leave it at my parents' place as a decoration. She didn't want to use it for battle because she already had our knife.” Sim shook his head in disbelief. “I mean it's not the most surprising thing that there would be a weapon based on emotions, but still. It's neat the kinds of things you happen to find, the way things just happen to line up.”

Fear's eyes spun in an arch. “Tell me about it.” Fear was determined to remember why this all sounded so important to him, why it struck a cord that reverberated deep within him. “Well, maybe I can check it out when we get to Dryfield?”

“Certainly Fear, I'd be happy to show you that old thing. In the meantime...” Sim reached out with telekinetic force to his saddlebags and pulled out a couple heart cherries from them, floating one over to Fear and popping the other into his mouth.

The colt's magic reached out to the heart cherry, Fear's and Sim's etheric auras mixing together into a beautiful chroma of pale turquoise. They could feel each other's minds, their nerves, in that moment. It was a strange sensation of touching that had no comparison.

Fear levitated it over to his mouth, slipped it between his lips, and nommed. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he moaned and drooled all over the paste coursing into his maw. Fear's body shook a little from sensational ecstasy. When he was done and calmed down, he spoke. “By the way... I uh, I think I made a new friend that might be joining us on our journey.”

“Oh?” Sim looked up suspiciously, his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, her name's Faithdriver but, uh, you can call her Faith.”

Sim gazed skeptically at his son. “You didn't tell her about our... secret, did you?” Sim had a distrustful tone, having known Fear was impulsive.

“I mean I've been thinking about it. She seems super trustworthy and she's kind of... blinded? By these notions of friendship and harmony. It's really...” Fear was searching for the right word.

Based on the colt's tone, Sim knew what he was trying to say. “Endearing?”

“Yeah! I think. And I'm sure she's open-minded enough to not be...”

“Xenophobic?” Sim had a hoof against his chin, staring at Fear unamusedly.

“If that word means hates other species then yeah, sure, that.”

Sim sighed, closing his eyes. “Fine, Fear. If you want to tell her I'm not going to stop you. You need to learn these lessons on your own, I know you're not the type of pony to listen all the time. Besides, if you really trust her then I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But, huge but, if she attacks us it's on you to protect us by whatever means necessary.”

Fear's face screwed up at his father from how dark that statement was. Then he sighed. “Alright Dad.”

The two of them got up, gathering their stuff together including Amelio's old saddlebags, which felt awfully alone all of a sudden. Fear was carrying his garand slung over his back and his mother plushie hanging out of one of his saddlebags. They left the house swiftly enough.

Faith was outside waiting for them, yelling something about how friendship, virtues, and harmony would ultimately be what destroyed radiation and taint in the wasteland to anypony who passed by, though nopony believed her. On her back were her weapon and saddlebags. The bags, interestingly enough, had a tourist logo of Friendship Statue emblazoned on both sides like a cutie mark. They looked more like souvenirs than actual bags, and were a little frayed from overuse. She heard the door open behind her, ears giving a little flick, and turned around to greet the two with a simple smile on her face. “Hello. You must be Fear's... father?”

Sim gave an affirmative grunt and a nod of his head, not knowing what to think of Faith. She smelled faintly, though it was neither a good nor bad scent. It was almost like overripe fruit, but soft on the senses, and thus tolerable and maybe even a little pleasant. Almost. “So you're Faith?”

“That's righ-” Faith was cut off when she saw Fear slip out behind his father, her face going dumbstruck. Jaw falling slack, eyes widening, pupils dilating, ears flopping against her skull. Faith moved up to Fear with the quickness of a predator, brushing past Sim and sitting on her haunches. The mare reached out to Fear's face and grabbed it in her forehooves, surprising Fear as she twisted it this way and that, staring into his eyes.

“Ah, hey! What are you doing!?” Fear tried to pull away half-heartedly, secretly enjoying the manhandling, barely able to budge in Faith's earth pony grip, his cheeks getting squished.

“Your eyes! What happened!?” Faith was clearly in awe.

Fear glanced off to the side, his head staying in place, not sure how to respond to that question. How do I tell her it was something beyond belief?

Faith was exuding wonder at the sight. “They're the most beautiful, innocent thing I've ever seen. So... so smolderingly expressive and untainted. Your eyes were pretty, albeit disturbing before but now...? Now they're just gorgeous and unusual.”

Fear grunted a little, rolling his eyes and trying to pull away again. Faith finally released him, letting Fear shake his head clear, still feeling the lingering touch of her hooves smooshing his face. “I suppose I could tell you. I have a lot to tell you actually.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Faith was clearly intrigued, ready for a story in return for hers, something to add to her collection of tales.

Sim pressed a hoof against his forehead and groaned inwardly, unable to believe Fear was actually going to do it.

“Yeah, but let's get out of town first,” Fear elaborated.

==========================================================================================

“So, I'm curious, what exactly happened? And where'd you get that necklace? I'd imagine you'd wear something as weird as that all the time.” The excitement in Faith's voice was palpable, yet subdued.

Fear considered it heavily, before explaining the story of his trials in as much detail as possible, explaining seeing his dead sister, whose saddlebags Sim was now wearing, and Princess Luna in glorious high definition.

Sim considered his son heavily, quietly impressed with him.

Faith whistled by the end of the story. “That's a lot to take in, Fear! So... the revered Princess Luna is back? Gosh! I wish I could meet her. You're a lucky colt, Fear.” Faith was clearly at a loss for words for the most part, just trying to comprehend all of it. “I knew something was curious and strange about you when I met you, but I never would have imagined anything like this. The idea that Princess Luna will be watching over us once more...?” She couldn't help but whistle again, impressed. “I just... I can't believe it. It's too much! The fact that she was always there, not dead. I'm so... so happy.” She turned to Fear, nudging him in the shoulder. “Fear, thank you for bringing one of our princesses back to the wastes. To Equestria.”

The colt was visibly uncomfortable as he shrugged, looking off to the side. “No problem? All in a day's work?”

“I mean it Fear, you fought your issues and won, and you have the evidence to show for it. A lot of ponies drown in their problems, or they drown their problems with drugs, sex, and violence.”

Sim nodded a few times. “I'm proud of you too, Fear. You're well on your way to making up for the past, I'm sure.”

Fear smiled softly at that, despite the discomfort. “So, changing subjects, what about you Faith? What's your past like? I've already told you a little about me.”

Faith regarded Fear for a few moments before beginning to explain. “Well, I never knew my parents for one thing. Don't know if they were good, bad, or morally ambiguous. All I remember is growing up as an orphan in Friendship City. I was beloved by my peers, often solving disputes, though eventually I became a scavver because I couldn't sit still. I knew there was something out there, a glorious destiny waiting for me. Eventually I found a book of the two sisters during an excavation. I read through it during my time off and became so inspired I decided to travel from place to place spreading the good word. That's why Princess Luna's return is so... such a powerful event. Even if most ponies don't clearly remember their dreams, the fact that Princess Luna would return to us is more than I can possibly imagine. We've gone without for so long.”

Silence reigned for far too long as Fear processed that information. “Hey Faith?”

“Yes Fear?”

“What do you think of changelings?”

Sim held his breath.

Faith hummed. “Well, to be honest I never really thought about it. I don't know much about them, just rumors. I always wanted to befriend one, prove that harmony extends beyond ponies. Like I said in Our Town, friendship is stability, and we're all searching for the alicorn inside all of us.”

Sim's ears gave a little flick at that information.

The colt grinned. “Well I suppose you're in luck then,” he said amicably.

“Huh? Why's that?” Faith's gaze turned suspicious immediately, but not afraid. “You're not a changeling are you?”

Fear shrugged. “Well, I mean, kind of. A quarter changeling. Dad's half.”

Faith tapped her chin, thinking on it, eyes gazing to the cloud cover above. “Well I'd say that explains a lot, but it really doesn't! Because I honestly don't know you that well. Still, that's cool. You should keep that information under wraps though, I won't fool myself into believing everypony's as brave as I am. So is it true changelings eat love?”

“Well yeah, I've also been able to eat other emotions actually.”

Sim grunted. “I am too. Love is the most filling however. We turn that abstract energy into pure life force.”

Faith was clearly impressed, her brows risen on her face. “In all fairness I'm sure love and other emotions never go away forever. If they did they wouldn't be constantly in flux and other changelings or ponies would have died out long ago from the feeding process.”

Sim grinned from ear to ear. “You're a smart cookie, Faith.”

Faith did a little bow, sweeping one foreleg over the other. “Thank you, Sim. I like to think I have a level head on my shoulders, even if I like to joke away my problems. After all, impulsivity will get you killed.” The mare spared a glance to Fear, whose cheeks flushed crimson under his coat. Sim guffawed bitonally. Faith then gave Fear a little wink. “Anyways, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship, thank you for trusting me.”

Sim glimpsed behind him at Fear. “Hey, while we're traveling you want to learn another changeling trick?”

Fear's tail lashed to the side like a whip, then to the other as his mouth hung open, suddenly very excited. “Sure!” Ever greedy for new tricks, though he still had to practice.

Sim thought about it for a few moments. “I'm going to teach you how to form carapace armor on parts of your body. It takes a lot of focus. It's similar to camouflaging yourself, but it's all transformation, no illusion to it.”

Fear nodded emphatically, staring at Sim as he spoke.

“In order to do it you need to hyperproduce transformation magic on a part of your body, and slowly layer it on itself repeatedly; dig deep into your primal instincts, everything that makes you who you are inside, and with pure will pull it to the forefront. Your genetics will do the rest. It'll create a hard shell where you gathered the magical force.”

And so, Fear was on his way to developing a new trick, switching his efforts between them all. Interestingly, it didn't take him long to plunge inside of himself and pull out the key to his genetics so he could create the armor, it just took awhile to stack the magic.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxyrNfjUFdY

It had been a few nights and a couple nightmares but Fear, oddly, once more found himself back in the castle courtyard. His movements were listless and near comatose, yet all the sensations around him were vivid and close to seizure-inducing. The colors spoke to Fear on a congenital level, like something he should have seen before but hadn't. That was how all the shapes were too. It all felt like home away from home, like he'd traveled a great journey and staked his claim in this castle. Fear made his way up to the door, able to hear nightingales chirping and owls hooting despite never experiencing those animals and their sounds before. It gave an ambiguous sense of presence to everything. Fear knew he wasn't alone, even if he couldn't feel anything more than himself at the moment.

Upon entry, he found Saway on the other side, greeting him in the throne room like before. She carried herself with pride and that familiar viciousness she had come to be known for. However, there was newfound respect in her eyes as they fell upon Fear's small form. She gave him a violent, ego-stroking smile as she walked over to him, nudging him in the chest with a hoof. “Good to see you, Colt.”

Fear was in a daze the entire time, his mouth hanging open in a frown, like he was supposed to remember something.

After a moment of the mare staring at Fear expectantly, Saway's voice broke the silence. “Hey colt, you wanna learn something neat from my time alive?”

Fear finally spoke up, cocking his head to the side, perking up and standing a little taller, a smile emerging on his face. “S-sure.”

Saway's horn dipped down to be level with the top of Fear's head, and soon enough tendrils of shadowy energy were creeping out of the base, slithering along her cusp nerve, and reaching out like fingers toward the air between the mare and colt. They conglomerated into an orb of swirling shadows that coalesced in the air in front of Fear. “Now you clench down on my magic with yours.”

Fear nodded once and reached out with his magic, his horn lighting up with a warm white aura and clasping down around the orb, forming a glistening sphere around it that smelled a bit of vanilla extract on contact, while Saway's smelt like battery acid. Fear felt a little of Saway flake off onto him, causing him to giggle and roll his shoulders, leaning to one side and smiling even brighter. He shook his head, feeling all sorts of awkward at the intimate touching.

Saway then pulled away and brought a hoof up to her forehead, performing a rigid Equestrian military salute.

Fear hesitated for a moment, staring at her with an 'oh' on his face, before doing the same, going stiff as he held a hoof against his forehead.

“There you go colt. A magical hoofshake followed by a salute.”

Fear had heard of salutes before. That's when he remembered the sword, Pugallop, and everything. His eyes went wide as he vibrated in place, his jaw going slack. “Oh oh oh oh! Did you, uh, used to wield a sword that worked with emotions?”

Saway's gaze narrowed at the colt. “Mh, yes, I did. How'd you know?” She eyed Fear warily, with a hint of skepticism.

“Apparently my Dad and Ame found one years ago. She kept it at my grandparents' house in Neighvada. You don't mind, do you?”

A look of sullen irritation crossed Saway's tense features, her face twisting slightly, clearly annoyed. “Eh, it's not like I can use it anymore. I don't like the fact that ponies went scavenging around in my home, let alone the fact that they found it.” She shuddered. “But I'm not gonna stop you from keeping it. Besides, if somepony's taking care of it... I suppose I can grant my permission.”

Fear's tail swayed back and forth as he beamed up at her. “Thanks Saway! I appreciate it!”

Saway slid past Fear, jabbing him in the flank. “Anyways, you should get going. My Princess of Death wishes to see you.” She twisted around and gestured with a hoof for Fear to head to the lunar door.

The colt gave a nod and trotted toward it at an active pace. “Take care of yourself Saway,” he called back.

“Hah, what else am I going to do around here?”

Fear just threw back a smile at her as he got along his way.

==========================================================================================

Luna, upon seeing her guest, called out to him. “Fearei Shatter, it is a pleasure to see you again. I see my little spell has worked well to bring you back here.”

Fear halted in place, eyes spinning from the statement, head leaning to the side in curiosity. “I'm sorry, what?”

Luna gently trot toward Fear. “I cast a spell on you before you left my dreambubble. I keyed you to it, so from now on you will appear here when you go to sleep. After Amelioreit told me about your nightmares, I figured you'd appreciate a little more stability. I am sorry it took so long to go into effect, I had to get all the threads and coordinates right. Takes time, you understand.”

The colt thought about it. It's a little annoying she didn't ask first, but it's definitely better to be able to see all my friends when I go to sleep from now on instead of dealing with nightmares. Fear then realized that he had no desire to bring his mother back into his dreams. Huh, I've really let go haven't I? Sure it'd be nice to see her... but the temptation was no longer there. It wasn't a prominent wish in his mind. “Why are you here anyway? Why aren't you out there in the dreambubbles?”

“Do not worry, Fear. I have been holding up my end of the deal, sending weakened mirror images of myself from bubble to bubble checking on my little ponies. I have discovered a lot for myself by reading them and learning about them. I found that this... Enclave has not only separated themselves from the wasteland, but a couple hypnomancers in their midst have made their own Flow solely for pegasi. It is a shame, really, that they would be so desperate to distance themselves that they would use my own spells against the rest of Equestria.”

“You know, I'd feel worse about it if you hadn't done the same exact thing.”

Luna's eyes narrowed, a grin forming on her face. “Touche, Fear. You are right. Still, it is a shame that they have done the same as me.” Her voice had a mournful tone to it.

“So what else did you discover? You've been helping ponies. Anything interesting?”

“Hmm... I would have to say the most interesting ponies I have discovered within the primary Flow are the ghouls. According to them, they hardly ever sleep, and there are so few non-feral ones. One was a Steel Ranger dreaming about Applejack. I think I know who it was. He was so sure Applejack had died, but I... swooped in and rescued her from her fate in his dream, then brought them together so he'd find peace, even if only for a little while. I then spent a bit of time interviewing him. I do not think he remembered upon waking.”

Luna continued. “I also managed to find a pegasus who dreamed about the wastes, though his bubble was still separate from the other races. Next to his I found one who was dreaming about the previous pony, that he'd been exiled from the clouds and ended up dying. I assuaged his fears by showing him a vision of his... what I assumed to be a brother, living beneath the clouds with other ponies.”

Fear smiled brightly like a little lighthouse. “That's pretty neat. You find any really horrendous things too?”

“Yes, but not quite as horrible as I had imagined. The enslaved ones and the raiders are the worst though. The reapers make me shudder absolutely. It is such a shame the problems I have caused for everypony.”

Fear shrugged. “Sure you caused a lot of problems, but there's no point in beating ourselves up for our mistakes. All we can do is try to move on and make amends for them. And so far, I'd say you're doing a bang up job by being there for ponies in their dreams and gathering information about the wasteland.”

Luna put a hoof against her chest. “Thank you for that, Fear. Amelio has also been keeping me in check, making sure I do not produce a Tantabus to torment me for my sins.” She shook her head a little.

“You better fucking not!” Fear squeaked. “We're suffering enough already, it's time for the suffering to stop.”

“Certainly. You have changed Fear. You are a far cry from the colt that came to me a little while ago. It is... incredible the change you have undergone. And I am glad you still wear that necklace.” She pointed to the screw with a hoof.

“Are you serious? It's only been a few days!” He then looked down around his neck. “Oh yeah, I got a compliment on it and stuff, it's really neat! What's it supposed to do anyway?”

Luna blinked once, slowly. “Nothing really, Fear. It is just evidence of what you have endured, and what I now believe you capable of. It will follow you in dreams and waking as long as you wear it, and even when you lose it, it is bound to you. You will come across it once more soon enough.”

The colt grinned like an idiot. “Sounds pretty cool. Thanks for the present, Princess!”

“You are more than welcome, Fearei Shatter.”

Fear swept his head to the side. “Anyways, speaking of information gathering... I'm going to Dryfield, Neighvada soon. You got any idea of what I should expect over there? No reapers, right?”

Luna tilted her head to the side and smiled bemusedly. “It doesn't really work like that, Fear. But from what my reflections have explained to me on our bond, there have indeed been some dreams taking place around Neighvada regarding a mysterious pony that goes by many names. Provisional Cure, Contingent Vision, and other such pseudonyms. He's apparently collecting a bunch of raiders together for his own ends, yet I could not find his dream bubble no matter how hard I searched. There are many things going on in the wasteland at once, so I cannot give more information than: he appears to be building some type of empire. Some of the ponies who dreamed about him also dreamt about the families they had to support.”

Fear considered it heavily, dazzled by how much information she'd managed to collect. “Sounds like there's more going on than meets the eye.”

A twinkle appeared in Luna's eye. “Yes, that is the feeling I get as well. It is nice to know as impulsive as you are you can see those things.”

“I mean Mom always admired me for being able to see things not a lot of other ponies could so... yeah.”

“Your mother must have been very intelligent, Fear.” Luna had a gentle, parental smile on her face.

“You have no fucking idea.” Fear laughed a little to himself.

“As for those ponies you mentioned: Dim Nova, Angel Swaddle, and Compressed Crate, I am still looking for the former. She might be dead, Fear.”

Fear's heart seized up, eyes quivering, staring at Luna. “You don't... you don't think?”

Luna shook her head, her smile placating. “No Fear, I do not think she did anything rash. But we will find out soon enough. If I can't find her then I will find somepony who knew her, but then again you have to keep in mind that I can't check on everypony every night and some things are beyond my reach. I am only one mare.”

“One mare with a ton of reflections!” Fear exclaimed with fresh hope.

“Indeed. But you should go find your sister now. I think she is busy meditating in the treasure room.” Luna stepped off to the side, motioning to the vault behind her. “She is in there often.”

Fear grimaced. “By the way, what about Crate and Angel?”

“Judging by their dreams, they have an adopted foal who's taking up most of their time and energy. That or they're dreaming of the same pony together.”

Stress alleviated from Fear's face like evaporating water, becoming a look of exhaustion instead, like an anvil had been lifted off his shoulders. “Thanks Princess. I'll see you later.” And with that he galloped toward the vault, opening the door the rest of the way and stepping into an alabaster room bereft of all luxuries and necessities, including distinguishable floor. All it had were some arched panel mirrors like you'd see in a mansion.

Amelio looked up from her spot in the... middle? Of the room, sitting on her haunches. “Oh, Fearei, it is you. I am happy to see you! How are you?” Her voice sounded tired, disoriented, and isolated.

Fear had a solemn expression on his face, brows leaning outward, a sorrowful smile on his lips, a little wateriness to his eyes. “It's good to see you too, Meels. I'm doing really well to be honest. I feel like I've beaten back most of my depression. I can focus more easily on the present, and I don't feel like I'm as guilty anymore. I'm just... stable. Aside from the nightmares before now.” He grinned and shrugged, eyes arching in their sockets.

Amelio smiled back and nodded once, standing up and making her way over to Fear, pulling him into a loving embrace.

“Oh! I also met a new pony recently by the way! Her name's Faithdriver.”

“Oh? What is she like? Tell me all about the ponies you meet, Fear.”

Fear focused, his face twisting up, tongue hanging out, forehead scrunched as he focused on the room and summoned a dream construct of the mare he'd met, who was by far taller than him, and a little more bulky due to being an earth pony. The construct was carrying her saddlebags, weapon, and everything!

“Ooh! She is very interesting, Fear. You certainly meet the strangest ponies.”

Fear giggled and snorted nervously, looking off to the side. “Yeah uh, she's a preacher and... uh. Really believes in friendship and stability. She's a good friend. She knows about my changelingness and all that good stuff.”

Amelio looked back to Fear with a sly look in her eyes and a teasing grin. “Oh? Is that so? And just how did she find out?”

“I uh. Told her?” Fear's eyes darted from side to side.

“Mhm, as I would expect. Fear you have to be more careful.” Amelio had a chiding, motherly tone to her voice.

“Hey! I was really careful. I knew she'd understand, stop teasing me.” Fear blushed a little, batting a hoof at her.

“Yes, I bet you were,” she stated with a sardonic inflection. “Anyways, Fear, I wanted to tell you. I do not know when my time will be up. I am sure as the decades pass I will need to spend more time in here until eventually I just... fade away.”

Fear shifted uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. “Fade away?” His voice sounded like a chastised colt.

“Yes. You might forget me, you might not. My impression on you may diminish over time. I do not know what will happen. Eventually my presence in the dream world will fade and I will be able to do close to nothing. But you have our father, and hopefully you will have him for a long time to come. As well as your new friends. Keep making new relationships, Fear.”

Fear's face scrunched up like an accordion, ever troublesome. “I will fight destiny itself to remember you, Meels! I won't let you be taken from me.”

Amelio just gave a knowing, lidded smile, a sparkle in her eyes. “You need to work hard on becoming incredible, Fear.”

==========================================================================================

The town the trio found themselves in was derelict and gray, like the rest of the wasteland. They had been moving from house to house, doing cursory examinations of the insides for anything useful or unique and moving on to the next. It was a good way to pass the time, and it wasn't like they were in any particular hurry. Fear seemed the most excited about the exercise. It reminded him of time with his mother scavenging in cities, and it also kept his morale up. For him it was a like gambling, you never knew when you were going to finally strike it rich.

After all, Faith had already found her canned food for the night, and a little something else to make it worthwhile with Fear's help.

They were in another such building, with Sim advising Fear to keep his voice down in case of raiders, in which Fear reminded Sim that he'd feel the raiders coming a mile away so it wasn't that big a deal, all as they searched a new house, this one looking plain and more than abandoned, yet well kept. There was also an old sleeping bag in the kitchen where somepony had probably been staying at one point before being ambushed by raiders.

Faith and Fear were busy scouring over old bookshelves, of which there were many in this little abode, clearly the home of a scholar. Faith was the first to find something interesting, using a couple hooves to part some books out of the way and using her teeth to yank out a manilla folder that was packed to bursting with pages. Thankfully for her, when she pulled it out, set it on a nearby table, and opened it up, the papers were all stapled together. She didn't quite understand what it was at first as Fear continued looking over the bookshelf.

“What'd you find, Faith?” In the background the two could hear the opening and closing of cupboards, drawers, and cabinets. Sim was fishing around for something to call his own, but was mostly finding junk that they couldn't take with them or risk oversaddling themselves.

Faith hummed in thought, leafing through the pages. “I think it's... I think somepony was intending to write a book?”

Sim called out from another room. “A manuscript perhaps?”

Faith nodded once, though nopony could see her. “I think so. It's called Friendship is Discord.” She paused for a moment, putting it all away and slipping it into her saddlebags. “Strange, and not usually something I'd go for, but it looks well-researched and convincing enough. I'll have to give it a read. It appears finished but unedited.”

Fear 'huh'ed and gasped when he came across a rather fat tome, pulling it out and scanning over its cover. It had three different faces on it in a triangle pattern. Each was cross cut down the middle, with one side being an equine and the other side being some kind of psionic alien. The cover said Shadow Paladin Saga with the bottom reading out Three in One novel by Christened Gold. Fear twisted it over to read the back while floating it in his magic, quickly scanning the words. Apparently it was about a unicorn archaeologist who was on site when an alien entered his brain, then he had to go on a journey to save the alien's race and himself. It was touted as a novel for young adults that would bring them into a world of sci-fi adventure. Fear nodded appreciatively and stuck the book in his saddlebags. He'd come across a lot of books,but many of them were generic romance novels that had been 'fixed' by the Ministry of Image. There were also some action Daring Do novels, but Fear wasn't too keen on those. He'd read a couple inside one of the bunkers Storm and him had stayed at, but they never held his interest like some of the others. “That's neat, Faith.” Then he called out to Sim. “You find anything Dad?”

Sim murmured something before speaking. “Ah! Here we go!” Under a pile of blankets and other stuff near the sleeping bag... “I found a black cup and a bunch of dice. We could probably play some games with it.”

The colt was officially satisfied with their haul. “I think we got enough to last us awhile then.” Fear gave his saddlebags a pat with telekinesis and headed for the door.

Sim called after him. “Hang on Fear, still gotta check the bathroom. Maybe there'll be some medicine.”

Fear rolled his eyes. “We don't really need medicine remember?”

Faith opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Sim. “Remember Faith is traveling with us now, so it's best to be prepared.”

Fear huffed. “Yeah, you're right.”

Faith just smiled pleasantly. “You're kind, Sim. Thank you for thinking of me.”

Sim accepted the gratitude gracefully. “Any time, Faith.” After some rooting and rummaging around, the stallion came back out with a smile. “I found some antibiotics and WTSD pills. Could go for a high price, who knows?”

Faith clapped her hooves together. “Thanks Sim. This place was really worth it.”

Fear rolled his eyes. “Yeah, the other houses barely had anything of value.”

Sim laughed. “Nothing you thought was valuable at least. Faith found some food through it.”

Fear smiled lopsidedly. “Yeah, yeah. True.”

“Well, let's get going then,” Faith offered while shifting her saddlebags on her back and heading out.

After a few moments Fear broke the reticence. “So, Faith. What's Friendship City like? I was told once I should go there and join the Wasteland Crusaders.”

Faith hummed, as she was wont to do. “Well, Friendship City isn't nearly as wealthy and protected as Tenpony Tower, but it has a lot of shops and things to do. Even has a movie theater that plays films once every week, with a little donation booth to help keep things up and running. There's a library and a spa, and overall it's just a really swell place. The Wasteland Crusaders are rather kind, and while the orphanage is gone now, it's still teeming with life. It's such a misfortune that the ghouls were kicked out though.” She murmured to herself, thinking about it. “While I did learn some carpentry while I was there from books and the Crusaders, the upper levels are unusable because of how volatile they are. But that's also why your new necklace really appeals to me. I used to like fixing things in my off time. Stabilizing and repairing things. I did the same thing with laughter when I was younger, and still sometimes do.”

Sim waited for Faith to finish before speaking up. “Friendship City is kind of a quiet place. Very nice and pleasant. There are some good ponies there. I've done my business around it before, and thankfully they don't charge me taxes because I don't live there. I've met some very kind ponies, and some ponies you'd never expect had a history out in the wasteland.”

Fear took in all the information and thought on it, imagining what Friendship City must be like.

==========================================================================================

Some time later, within Luna's dreambubble, Amelio, Fear, and the host were spending time together, enjoying each other's company while Luna catered to her little ponies in their dreams. It felt good to have somepony other than just Nyx and Saway to talk to for once.

“Amelio, I'm really excited to see that sword you found.”

“Sword?” Luna prodded curiously.

After remembering, Amelio laughed gaily. “You know, I had forgotten about that thing.”

Luna nudged Amelio. “What sword?”

Amelio turned to Luna and nodded a little. “Yes, Princess. I found a sword awhile back that belonged to your old guard.”

“It belonged to Saway apparently,” Fear interrupted.

Amelio looked at Fear with a startled expression, clearly taken aback as Luna leaned forward in interest, like a pony who'd just caught a juicy piece of gossip. “Interesting. I never would have imagined those would be found. Hm.”

“What are they exactly, Princess?” Fear asked, putting his forelegs on the ground in front of him.

“They are exceptional swords made from quartz and a special metal alloy, so that it absorbs the energy around it.”

“Oh! Oh! Can it absorb magical attacks?!” Fear was suddenly swept up into a fervor.

“Not quite, Fearei,” Luna began. “It doesn't have the right technology for that. However, it does allow it to absorb emotive and raw magical energies in order to have a mind of its own. Each of my sister's and my swords were imbued with our essence so that they would be able to... I suppose you could say keep their wielders company when they were alone.”

“Huh, okay then. Is there anything else about it I should know?” Fear was still curious just not as fervent.

“Well,” Amelio stated, “negative emotions cause it to wither and rust but positive emotions help upkeep it.”

Luna gazed at Amelio admiringly. “Indeed, and further, positive emotions will cause it to surge to its wielders defense. Taking care of it encourages it to take care of you. With negative emotions it will lash out accurately at others, but may ultimately lash out at you as well. It requires a keen balance.” Her gaze fell on Fear next. “Do you intend to use it, Fearei?”

Fear stammered. “I mean... I don't know. Do I really want to? It seems like a huge responsibility, and I don't know how I feel about using Saway's sword for trivial things. And to be honest I don't think I'd want to pump it full of negative emotions at all, I don't want to hurt it.”

Luna and Amelio smiled toward Fear as Saway walked in. “If we're all being honest here, I will too: I don't mind you using it.” Her voice was as raspy and violent as ever, with a condescending subtext. “I just want it to be taken care of. It was incredibly important to me.” Saway gave a curt, affirmative nod. “Princess Luna is my existence, both in life and death. To be completely honest? You would have had a hard time wielding it before your trials anyway. All full of pent up, tumultuous emotions that you were, they would have seeped into the sword and confused it. But now that your mind is at peace, it will listen.”

Fear hesitated. “Still... I dunno,” He dragged out.

Luna put a hoof against her chest. “Fear, I would be honored if you used one of my swords to help protect you and others. I am sure you would have made a great knight or bodyguard during the war, probably for my sister.”

Fear rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, smiling like a doof. “Aw fuck, you're jus' sayin' that Princess.” Fear bat a hoof at her, cheeks flushing ruby as he looked away.

“Well, maybe a little,” Luna admitted with a teasing tone. “Also you should really watch your language Fear, it is improper around a Princess.”

Amelio got a sly smirk across her face. “Right, like I do not hear you constantly using antiquated swear words while I am in the treasure room.”

Luna huffed and stuttered, grimacing and narrowing her eyes, blushing intensely. “I! Mh! I never! Sard! I am just doing that because I see so many terrible things in the dreambubbles!” She tried to excuse herself, giving a little grunt and sticking her nose into the air.

Saway, Fear, and Amelio began laughing pretty loudly at that.

Author's Note

Faith's Theme

Fear's New Hive (Part 2)

Breinstorm always had a melodic, syrupy warmth to her voice that echoed and reverberated in creatures' heads, seeping into the cracks and gunking up the thoughts and works. It was always a pleasure to hear, and the mare could often keep her composure in even the worst circumstances, even when being eaten alive by her anxieties. She was currently with her young son in an old, cluttered bunker full of old supplies and trash that needed to be taken out one day – today was not that day. They were holed up, with Fear laying on the bottom half of one of many bunk beds. Storm had spent a few long, grueling hours searching through the Seer's Eye for a way to get some radaway that would be sure fire, using tips and tricks to speed up her searching and increase her prowess.

“Honey. I need to leave for a little while but you'll be okay while I'm gone won't you? I need to go out and get the medicine that will protect you.” She'd already given him some Rad-X that happened to be in the bunker to slow the spread, but it wouldn't be enough to actually cure it. Still, it'd stymie it until she could get back.

Fear was feverish, his stomach nauseous, barely hanging on to consciousness as he shuddered and heaved, his eyes lidded, sweat drenching his entire form. “N-no Mommy. Please. Stay with me.” He reached out for her, scared more than could be.

“Be brave for me Fear. Be the little Fearshatter I know you can be. I've made you as comfortable as I can, I love you so much, and I know you'll be okay. I want to protect you to the ends of Equus, but to do that I need to leave.” Storm brushed a hoof through her son's mane, getting really up close to the pale foal.

“P-please at least sing me my song first?”

Storm nodded once, smiling brightly, and turning her head to the side. The lyrics to Wanderer's Lullaby flowed out from her gut like she'd taken singing lessons far back, ringing in the air with a sort of sloppiness from years spent neglecting the skill. Still, her voice could calm a storm, with a latent thunderous energy behind it that could deafen a hellhound.

Fear was quickly slipping into rest, his shaking, swaying body stilling as sweat dribbled down his face. The last thing he remembered as consciousness left him was his mother leaving the bunker for Celestia knows where.

Fading in and out of consciousness was a horrible, surreal thing. You never knew when you were going to collapse for the final time, but at the same time you could hardly tell you were even alive. Everything was so bleary and off the walls. It was like lingering in zero-g, unable to do anything without pushing yourself off something else. Fear wanted to move, but he hardly had the strength. He wanted his mother. Wanted her presence. But she promised she'd be back soon, and she was always right. She was always strong, and always succeeded.

When he finally awakened, fully aware and not just dipping in and out, he felt so much better, yet exhausted. Storm was gently petting through his mane, singing the song again as he recovered his strength. His eyes teared up to the brim, his breath hitching in his throat as a smile spread across his face. Storm was his angel. He let out a cute sigh of bliss, closing his eyes. “Mommy?”

“Yes sweetie?” Storm had a superior, victorious grin on her face. Having beaten back the odds simply because of her scrying capabilities. Fate could get fucked.

“Thanks.” Fear's voice was full of gratitude and worship.

“Anytime, my little Nightlight.”

Fear eyed the glimmering pendant around Mommy's neck as he drifted off into sleep again so he could heal the rest of his energy.

==========================================================================================

“That was a sweet story, little Nightlight.” Faith gave Fear a teasing wink. “Your mother took really good care of you, didn't she?”

“Yeah, she was the best. Coddled me a lot. I miss her a lot, but... I don't really... miss her, you know? Not anymore. I mean I miss her but it's like? I'm not obsessed anymore. It's nice to just live my life without her now, because I can do that. I don't need her anymore.”

“That's a sign of growing up, Fearei. I'd say you're doing rather well overcoming your demons.”

“Thanks.” Fear blushed faintly and pressed his muzzle into the mattress.

“Anyways, I have to go now. I'll bring you up some dinner so you don't have to spend more energy around the others. I'm sure they'll understand.”

“Thanks again, Faith. You're a real friend.”

“Anytime Fear.” And with that Faith slipped out, pulling the door shut behind her with a hoof.

Silence reigned over the room once more as Fear thought about his past. It'd been awhile since he'd spent time recalling growing up with his mother, all the times spent learning with her and being protected by her. Honestly it wasn't that exciting, looking back on it. But it had been special to him. Developmental. It'd given him the love he'd needed for long enough, and given him time to grow until he could make it on his own. I was so shy back then Fear thought to himself. Or was it that I was just in some kind of catatonia? He only knew that word due to his Tormented novel.

Sim came in awhile later levitating a plate with a slice of pumpkin pie and a strange, onyx-colored ring in his magic. “Hey there son, how you feeling?”

“Hmm...” Fear leaned his head to one side. “Much better to be honest. It's nice to have some time alone to really... register everything that's happened, you know? To really understand that I have such a big family now and to come to terms with it.”

Sim gave a fatherly nod and sat down on the bed next to Fear, setting the plate closeby and holding the ring up. “Do you know what this is, Fear?”

“Huh? No. Is it a wedding ring?” He'd heard of those! There was one in his novel.

Sim laughed gaily. “No, Fear, silly. It's a magic inhibitor. It's made from hivestone. Back before the war most of them were made from it before they were developed technologically.”

Fear sat up and floated the slice to his lips. “What's hivestone?” Fear then took a huge bite of it, not recognizing the food but not caring. His face lit up to Tartarus and back as his eyes dilated, all from the taste. He munched and nommed, his teeth crumbling crust and smearing the meat of it everywhere, his tongue flicking around. “Wow, this is delicious,” Fear shouted through a mouthful of food.

“Hahaha, yes it is Fear. And hivestone is a naturally occurring rock formation found around Equestria, especially on the outskirts. It emits a wavelength that jams almost all forms of magic in its vicinity. The largest masses release an aura, but the smallest chunks will only negate magic within it. This ring for instance, only magic that goes through the hole becomes nullified.”

Fear continued chewing voraciously and then swallowed. “That's pretty neat. What are we going to use it for?” He took another fervent bite out of the pie, already almost finished with it.

Sim grinned slyly. “Well, in case we come across a unicorn on our journey tomorrow, we're going to use it on them. Simple, right?”

Fear was a little surprised as he finished chewing and gulped down the food. “So we're leaving tomorrow night?”

“Yes, Fear. Indeed. So you better get some actual rest soon. We'll be leaving first thing so we can gather information.”

“Alright Dad, I'll see you later.” Fear finished stuffing his face full of pie and hoofed over the plate.

Sim grabbed the plate in his turquoise ether. “By the way, Faith will be sleeping with you tonight.”

Fear's ears perked up. “With me? Or in the same room as me?”

Sim gave Fear an unamused, scolding glare. “You know which, Fear.”

Then Fear realized there must not've been enough rooms to house all of them so they needed to share. He looked away. “Yeah, sure, thanks.”

Sim left the room, but not before whispering to Fear. “Good night, sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams, Dad,” Fear replied right back. And with that Fear cozied up on the bed with his plush, seeping into sleep.

==========================================================================================

Returning to the castle courtyard was becoming a calming ritual that Fear couldn't get enough of. It felt like a breath of fresh air after a lifetime spent breathing nothing but pollution. It brought his senses back into gear and rendered him docile and peaceful, unafraid of anything that could come at him. It was difficult to ever get worked up when he knew he was coming back to a portion of his family every night. Come to think of it, Fear's family was growing very rapidly lately.

Fear approached the throne room, everything melting into place around him as he glanced ahead to Saway and Amelio having a chat. They both noticed his presence first – first Amelio then Saway when she saw her glancing toward him – then both trot up to him.

“Fearei!” Amelio was as excited and tired as ever.

“Colt!” Saway just as militaristic. She felt like what Fear would imagine a sergeant to be like.

Fear bounded toward them with a smile on his face, as if he were hopping into the afterlife with a settled heart. “Meels! Saway! Good to see you!”

Amelio chided Fear. “Remember not to sleep too much, you do not want to become obsessed with me.” Despite the chastising tone, there was also a teasing inflection.

“Hah, whatever. You know I have more will than that!” He bat a hoof at her, shaking his head.

Amelio just giggled sweetly as Saway looked at them bemusedly.

“So how are you doing, colt?”

“Well I met one of my grandparents.” Fear gave a little shrug of his shoulders.

“Oh?” Amelio queried. “Only one? What happened?” She sounded a little concerned.

“Yeah. Grandpa Jack's been kidnapped or whatever by some ponies. We're going into town tomorrow night to figure out what on Equus is going on.”

Amelio was a little worried, but overall she had a serene air about her. “Well, if anypony can do it, it is you. Be careful, I want to see you back soon enough.”

Fear nodded once, firmly. “Oh by the way, apparently we also have a couple aunts and an uncle now. Chirpy Chatter's the uncle. Rose Touch and Aromirage are the aunts.”

“What? Really?” Amelio cocked her head to the side. “I have not heard of them, but I might be able to visit them in their dreams.”

Fear shrugged a shoulder. “They were probably born sometime after you last saw your grandparents.” Truth be told, that's exactly what had happened. Jack and Emu had realized they wanted more kids, not only to take care of and enjoy, but also to take over the farm since they were getting on in years. Fear lifted a hoof nonchalantly. “Anyways, they're really nice, though Chirp's kind of a dick sometimes. He doesn't mean to, it's just... he doesn't think.”

Saway swatted Fear upside the head, causing the colt to wince. “Be nice, colt. You hardly think before you act and speak either.”

“Yeah but I don't...”

“Yeah, you have hurt others. Give him a break,” Saway insisted.

Fear sighed. “Fiiiiiine. You're right. I'll look past it.” It was hard to do though! “They're overall nice anyway. They have bright futures and they look like they're happy for the most part.”

Amelio's expression was pure happiness and relief, lifting a hoof up and holding it against her chest. It eased Fear's heart and reminded him of everything he loved about his sister. He wasn't sure if he was romantically attached or just platonically, or maybe it was a bit of both? “That is how the world should be in the end. Everypony happy and not having to suffer.”

Saway's eyes spun in an arc. “No. You're kids so you wouldn't understand, but everypony needs to go through some sort of difficulty in order to grow and become strong. Otherwise they become soft or don't fully develop their morals.”

Fear was about to say something but Saway cut him off.

“No. There's a time and a place for everything, and so long as our difficulties don't break us, they make us better.”

Fear shook his head wildly, then slumped. “Actually, I don't really know to be honest. But I just know I'm lucky to be the me that was able to repair himself.”

Saway nodded a couple times. “The scars will last forever, not everypony can go through the kind of therapy you experienced, colt. Still, difficulties shape us. They give nutrients to our soil and are akin to the sun's rays. They are one source of our life.”

Amelio was ever the good filly, being non-argumentative, just thinking on what her elders had to say and either dismissing it or accepting it. She didn't have any counters, clearly.

Fear was still uncertain. “I do agree difficulty has its place but... I wanna see a pony grow up smoothly.”

Saway grinned to one ear. “Some would compare difficulties to rocky or tainted soil. Unable to grow anything good. I don't. I think it's rich. A few problems bring ponies to their peak.”

Fear had no contradiction, so he just dropped it. “By the way, I saw your sword Saway.”

“Oh? What'd you think, colt?”

Fear tilted his head from side to side and pursed his lips. “It's very... interesting. I can sort of feel Princess Luna and both of you in it. Not the soul, but your emotions, your personalities. It's a strange sensation, like some kind of...”

Saway's eyes lidded. “Like an AI?”

Fear gave a confirmative nod. “Yeah, exactly. Like some kind of robot. It feels real, even if I know it's not. But I'm gonna treat it like it's real, because you guys did say it could lash out if not taken care of properly.”

Amelio grinned from ear to ear. “That is a good idea.”

==========================================================================================

“According to my ongoing research within the bubbles, Contingent is looking into a way to cure radiation and taint so plants can be regrown in the wasteland. However, it is strange, I still cannot access his dreams. I know he's sleeping, but there seems to be something blocking my vision.” Luna was thrown for a loop. “The same goes for some of his minions. He might have taken your grandfather in an attempt to meet those ends. Viewing your grandfather's dreams show he is not being treated horribly, though they clearly do not respect him. I cannot say why, as Pep has not met Contingent in person.” Luna shook her head as she briefed the colt. “It is a mystery, one I am sure you will be able to solve in the waking world. Still, his minions do have faith in him, and seem swayed by his confidence and will.”

Fear was sitting quietly, listening intently, feeling a sort of prickly danger creep up his spine, leaving him shuddering and with goosebumps forming along his flesh, tickling the back of his neck. Something was very wrong about all of this. There was far more going on, he could tell. Or was it just his imagination or paranoia? He couldn't discern. “Alright, thank you Princess. I appreciate it.” Fear's voice was tense and on edge, his teeth grinding together in worry, almost gnashing.

“The world really has fallen apart, has it not, Fearei?” Luna's inflection was sorrowful and resigned, her feelings a maelstrom of negativity.

“Yeah, sure it has. But it's just going to make us stronger when we get through it. Don't abandon us yet, we still got a lot more strength to show you. Life's gonna be a close call but we're gonna win.” Fear gave her a reassuring smile that prodded Luna's lips into curling upward.

“Just... be careful Fear. It seems this Contingent wants to do a lot of good, though I do not know how I feel about organized crime of any sort.”

Fear gave a firm nod. “Sure thing, Princess, thank you.” He then glanced off to the side. “Say, Princess, do you think it's necessary to go through hard times in order to grow?”

Luna considered it silently, closing her eyes for a moment as she dwelled. “I honestly do not know, Fear. I do not know what is right. But that is what wisdom does, it shows you how much you don't know. It shows you all sorts of uncertainty.”

“Then what good is experience?” Fear blurted out.

Luna opened her eyes, a kind smile spread across her face. “Let me finish, Fear. I may not know what is right, but I do have advice. It doesn't matter whether it is right that we must face difficulties, what matters in the end is how we respond to the cards we are dealt. What matters is how we face life with our mortality and limited powers. I was always weaker than my sister, often couldn't keep up in our learnings with my teacher Starswirl. I realized I handled things the wrong way, and I have continued doing so out of that weakness. Yet I am still getting more chances to improve.” Luna's eyes contracted as she stared at Fear. “I do not regret the past any longer, and I think that is something we all must learn in order to become powerful, no matter what our past consists of, in order to move on to the future with heads held high.” She put a hoof on Fear's shoulder. “If you had to go through everything all over again in order to attain what you currently have, would you?”

Fear adopted a faraway look to his eyes. He thought about his mother, the family he hurt, the ponies he killed, Crate, Angel, everypony he'd met that he regretfully couldn't remember with clarity, Amelio, Sim, Freiya, the ponies in Stable 47, Faith, Emulae, the annoying Chirpy, the sagely Rose, and the shy Mirage. All of them flashed through his mind in the span of moments as his jaw hung open and the memories penetrated his soul. He was lax for awhile before stiffening visibly. “Well, to be honest, no. Not yet. I'd rather not have killed anypony in that family.”

Luna just smiled. “You'll get there eventually. When you finally have closure perhaps, or maybe when you have learned to fully forgive yourself. You are still struggling to overcome. You are nearly there, just a little bit further.

Fear's head fell and rose. “But to be honest... changing any of it seems like it'd change everything. And I don't know if I want that.” He stared at the ground.

“Indeed. All you need to do is think about it and you'll succeed.” Luna then paused. “Fearei, there is somepony I would like you to meet,a close friend of mine for probably 1,200 years.”

Fear's face contorted in confusion. “What? Who?” Who else could there be that he could meet?

“His name is Nyx.” Though not many knew it was not his full name. Luna turned around to face the empty space around her. “Nyx, you can come out!”

A portal filled with swirling purple and black shadows emerged from nothingness, out stepping the golden and yellow pony Amelio saw the first time she met Luna. Fear was impressed with his wizened visage, the slitted draconic pupils rendering him curious, the sheer presence holding him down. Nyx seemed so aged, his mane and tail a mess of hair. The cutie mark on his flanks was also strange, a single dot with two rings surrounding it in a pulsation pattern. It was the symbol for Hypnos, not that Fear knew.

“Nyx, this is Fearei, the one I told you about. Fearei, this is Nyx. He was around before the time of Starswirl the Bearded. He is an empath like you.”

Fear was dumbstruck as he gazed at the exhausted pony. “Wait what? He's an...?”

“Yes.” Nyx's voice was calm and flowed like a river. It gushed against Fear's mind and left him feeling almost crippled with peace. It had a gentle lull to it that drowned the colt in an emotionless state, leaving him feeling at one with the world and so over it at the same time, like he just wanted to be the pony's friend no matter what. “It's a pleasure to meet the colt who has received such accolades and benevolent judgment from Princess Luna. I have heard much about you.”

Fear could instantly tell that the shadows, the monsters in the dark, and every nightmare imaginable rested at Nyx's beck and call, as well as fled from him, as if he had mastered them. His aura did not stretch forever, but it stretched far and wide. Fear wouldn't be surprised if the nightmares had tried to escape from under his hoof.

“Nyx was an empath who became tired of conflict in this world,” Luna began, “he tried his best to bring peace to ponies, making friends with many different species, including dragons and thestrals.”

Huh, Fear thought, Faith would probably like him.

The ancient stallion had a drained countenance. “I was always very adamant toward them that I spoke only for myself and nopony else though. And that I wouldn't be able to be around forever.”

Luna grinned wearily. “He was also adept at manipulating dreams, and taught me a few tips and tricks while I was Nightmare Moon. He prefers to remain private and undisclosed however, often hiding in the shadows.”

Fear's eyes jolted to Luna. “When you were Nightmare Moon?” Then back to Nyx. He had been told stories of the nightmare by Luna a couple times. “But that would... that would mean.”

Nyx looked away. “Yes, I live on the moon. As a mass of lingering emotions more than anything else. I exist most prominently within dreams.”

Fear blinked rapidly, trying to wrap his head around such an existence.

“I created what you know in your time as a spell matrix in order to achieve a long range teleport to the moon. I wanted to get away from everyone and just live in peace, away from every emotion on Equus. I am sure with you experiencing the pain of the wasteland you've wished for that on numerous occasions.”

Fear nodded dumbly.

“Unfortunately for me, a group of ponies eventually built one of those structures on the moon. A stable.”

Fear's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to process, tried to come to grips with what he was hearing. “That's pretty c-cool. But I don't know if you should have ran away.”

Nyx's face took on a lopsided smile. “I know that Fear, but I was reaching the end of my life. It was time to entrust the future to everypony else. Besides, heroes were starting to rise up around Equestria and... it was just my time to go Fearei.”

Fear's expression was a little sorrowful, bottom lip protruding and eyes gazing emptily. “Well, at least you were there to keep Princess Luna company I suppose,” he stated with a tentative smile and a light shrug of a shoulder.

Nyx smiled broadly. “That's the spirit.”

==========================================================================================

Dryfield was an interesting yet unassuming town. It had once been a rather large hotel with little twists and turns, brick bridges and metallic staircases leading to upper levels, with balconies and an old water tower combined with mill to pump more refreshing liquid from underground, much like a larger town might have, luckily for this place.

On the outskirts of this hotel, with its attached shop and sky wagon garage for travelers, was a small field of old faded pull wagons scattered about from ponies who'd come from far off after hearing about news of potential prosperity, with a few pony-made landfills and trenches on the borders for protection.

It was one step away from being taken over and made into raider territory, yet so many steps away at the same time. It could make a final stand, yet it was so vulnerable. Much like the equine body, it just took the right contact in order to shatter it to pieces, otherwise it'd keep going til kingdom come.

The bar Fear, Sim, and Faith had gone to had once been the hotel's check-in, with kegs put behind the counter and shot glasses from the wasteland plus the hotel rooms filling shoddy cabinets, recently made out of dead wood. It was amazing the nails still held to this day.

Overall, Dryfield was a wonder and a scummy rotting place all in one, with a solitary road traversing through it.

Scavver's Tavern was busy, bustling with ponies just shooting the breeze and gossiping about nothing and everything, from the state of their houses to the future of the town and everything in between. It was a place for information like all fables with such places, and Sim was busy interrogating ponies about the recent transition from civilized ponies to outright thugs working for some higher up. He was having a difficult time getting any information, even with Faith helping him out by keeping the mood light and assuring others that things were fine. Everything was fine. Nothing could be better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIy2jIl_GI

Fear was busy sitting at one of the downtrodden tables next to the latest equine of interest, grilling him on various topics and technicalities, including his set of weapons that were encrusted with gems of all types brimming with the scent of o-zone, giving him an almost rejuvenating aroma, masking whatever was natural to him. The thing was, he wasn't equine at all. He was vastly different from any creature Fear had ever met, or maybe would ever meet. He was a cat. A bipedal, talking tabby with exotic, dangerous stripes and a tail that just didn't quit. He was clad in old, muted clothing that had a few rips and tatters from close calls, and a little cloak that wrapped around his neck and draped down to his feet, which were covered in a pair of greaves beset with jewels of the highest caliber, as were the plated gauntlets covering his paws. He gave Fear the impression of a world weary traveler who had given up everything for the sake of a dream, but what kind of dream could possibly exist in the wasteland? Then again, Amelio had a dream once upon a time. The cat had a plaintive countenance that left Fear wondering just what he'd given up.

“So, Gentler, you're from Abyssinia huh? Tell me about it. This is the first I've heard of it.” Fear was leaning on the table with an 'elbow,' head in a hoof, staring at the cat with renewed interest. His pronunciation of the Abyssinian's name was a little unusual, the first part of it less like 'generation' and more like 'again.'

Gentler took a swig of his shot, his eyes lidded, whiskers on his face quivering. He looked rather beat up and gamey. Slightly wrecked and somehow titillating, with a latent energy that told Fear: this is a cat who could beat my shit up. Which just left him more alluring to befriend. “Colt, why don't you go bother someone else?” He had an aloof tone to his voice, having seen too much and not wanting to be bothered.

“Come on, be a pal. I just want to learn more about the world. Surely you can appreciate that!” Fear didn't dare reach toward the Abyssinian, not wanting to piss him off. He knew under the table, resting beneath the cat's legs, was a saddlebag like he'd never seen before. It was actually just a backpack, but Fear had still never seen that type in his life! It also had a strange seal on the back with a faded flag with a green crystal on it. Fear assumed it was the flag of Abyssinia but he couldn't be sure.

Gentler glanced at Fear with a raised eyebrow, setting his drink down. Fear could tell he was amused, and maybe a little curious as well, even if he didn't show it. Besides, the colt had on his pair of saddlebags, the sheathed lunar sword connected to his saddlebags, and a beat up-looking Garand. But the most invigorating part of his ensemble were his eyes and the screw necklace. It spoke volumes about the kind of pony he was. That he was just as strange as this Abyssinian. It probably helped that, just as Sim had left Amelio's saddlebags at the house, Fear had left his plushie there too in the care of his uncle and aunts. “Fine.” It was abrupt and a little rude. “What exactly do you want to know?”

Fear put both forelegs on the table and leaned forward, waggling his eyebrows. “Well you know... for instance, the history of Abyssinia, why I've never heard about it, what those gloves you have are, what you're doing here, what your goals are. Stuff like that?”

The cat considered it, his tail giving a flick. “As for my country, we specialized in magically enchanted gems. Decades ago we reverse-engineered artifacts like the Misfortune Malachite, learned how they ticked with the help of some of Equestria's finest. We learned how to imbue them with spells and make them greater than they ever were before, and how to generate certain effects with artifacts.”

Fear was in awe, his jaw hanging open. “Wow! That's pretty cool. What's the Misfortune Malachite? It sounds dangerous.”

Gentler lidded his eyes, sipping his drink. “It's a cursed artifact that causes whoever wields it to experience untold misfortune and bad luck. It is the downfall of everyone who lets it get near them. Back a long time ago some said it was just baseless superstition but... well. Even the Storm King found out the hard way you don't screw with unknown forces.”

Fear was leaning forward, tail wagging rapidly. “Who's the Storm King!?” He liked kings, sort of!

“Before the Great War between Zebrica and Equestria started, as things were reaching a boil, Abyssinia was attacked by a satyr known as the Storm King. A white-furred, horned menace that conquered all in his path and had a hunger for power the likes of which not many creatures saw in their lifetime. We were easily outnumbered and outgunned by their technology, learning a harsh lesson about the meaning of battle. We reached out for anyone who'd listen to our plight, searching for help from anyone, and ended up getting the aid of Princess Celestia. With her and a detachment of her knights our land was freed. She pursued the Storm King who had been betrayed by one of his commanders and as it was going on Celestia took him down and had him sent to Tartarus despite his attempts to sway others.”

Gentler finished off his drink, slamming it down on the table.

“They say taking the Malachite with him and keeping it close to his breast was the reason he'd been ultimately betrayed and defeated. After that our treasures were returned to us and ponies occupied our land in case of zebra attack while we finally got our butts into gear and started researching ways to become stronger. We were safe from the eventual balefire bombs while we harnessed the power of gems. The first beneficiary of that technology was a unicorn by the name of Tempest Shadow, who was given greater control and channeling ability over her magic. As thanks for our assistance, even though she was more of an experiment, she vowed to protect us.”

The colt recalled his vision of himself in that palace of crystals that felt so long ago now. It seemed they could do just about anything. Fear was in wonder for a time. “Well, what about you? What's your story? Why are you here in Equestria? Why would you ever come here?”

An impish, cat-like grin played across the Abyssinian's face. “Mh, about that. I was a naive kitten long ago, looking to see how I could repay Equestria for helping us in the past by bringing it back to its former glory. No idea how I was going to do it, but I wanted to try. It was a one-way trip, and I eventually gave up and just settled down.”

Fear frowned deeply, reaching forward and putting a hoof on Gentler's arm. “That's sad, I'm sorry. We don't deserve outside aid to be honest.”

“Maybe not, but you got it anyway.”

After a moment, Fear queried further. “What was it like growing up?”

Gentler's slitted, lemon yellow eyes rolled back, as if scanning his brain for the information. “Eh.” His voice was leery and cynical, with a hint of worldliness to it. “I was mainly raised by my mother.”

Fear grinned and yapped, “hey, me too!”

Gentler's smile only increased in intensity, his eyes having an otherness to them that made Fear wary. “I had a bunch of brothers and sisters. My father was a scout for our king and he was often away on missions, but I admired the importance of everything he did for the kingdom. He was a hero in my eyes, just like everycat who had come before him, and even Tempest Shadow, whatever happened to her. All my siblings went off to do their own thing.”

“Do you wish you could see them again someday?”

An obscure, secluding haze settled over Gentler's eyes. So far away, he looked like he wasn't even in the same universe anymore. “I mean, maybe. If I got a chance. But I'm still trying to figure out how best to help my new home.”

Fear was impressed. “You're devoted, huh?”

“I... I guess you could say that.”

A few moments later Sim and Faith came up. “Alright, come on Fear. We're headed to an institute about half a day's walk away. We'll get there by daybreak if we leave now. That's where this boss we're looking for is.” Sim's voice was a bit of a rumble with how frustrated he was at having to go through any of this.

Fear looked to Sim, then to Gentler. “Hey, I gotta go now but, Gentler, would you like to come with us? You might feel more fulfilled if you do.”

Gentler raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. “Go where? What could a colt like you possibly be doing?”

Fear beamed. “We're going to go save my grandfather from a mob boss or some shit!” He was super happy!

The Abyssinian gazed long and hard at Fear. “Sure, if you're feeling up for a fight.”

“A fight?”

Sim groaned. “Come on Fear, we don't have time for this.”

Fear waved a hoof at his father. “No, no Dad, we totally do. Besides, the more the merrier. So you want a fight huh? I guess I can abide by that.”

Gentler pushed his chair out with one fell swoop, yanked up his backpack, and swept it around him, slipping it onto his back, arms through the straps. “Sounds good, colt. Come on then. We're wasting moonlight.”

Fear quickly hopped after the cat with unadulterated enthusiasm pumping through his body. Couldn't be that bad right? “You've seen the moon before?”

Gentler confirmed that with a sour nod. “Yeah, the clouds don't extend to everywhere.”

Sim followed after Fear. “Come on, Fear, listen to me. This isn't a good idea.”

Faith was uncertain. “He seems to be trying to judge your son's character, Simmy.”

Sim glared at Faith. “I figured that much, but we don't have time for it. Besides, Fear could get seriously hurt. He's hardly ready for a one-on-one fight like this.”

Fear met Gentler outside, both of them getting low to the ground in a fighting stance, with the colt speaking up. “So, you want a fight huh? Let's do it.”

Gentler extended a hand. “Come at me, Fearei. Let's see what you're made of.”

Fear unsheathed his sword deftly with telekinesis and held it in the air, charging ferociously at Gentler with a battle cry.

Gentler casually stepped to the side, punched once. The sword came up and blocked it, barely quivering in the air. He punched again, this time going for a sideways uppercut at the colt's face. The sword twisted around and blocked that too.

Fear transformed his right forehoof into a blade and rammed it into Gentler's abdomen.

Gentler spun to the side, one of his legs sweeping up into a roundhouse and aiming for Fear's side. The sword twisted around and blocked the foot, sliding under it and shoving it into the air, sending Gentler off balance.

The Abyssinian did no more than jump back on one foot, then lurch forward in a series of swings, all ricocheting off the sword, until with the final hit in the combo the gauntlets glistened and a magical nullification field surrounded it, slamming into the sword and causing the telekinesis surrounding it to fizzle out. It fell to the ground.

Fear's eyes went wide as he felt the follow-up spin kick coming. He ducked under it. The Abyssinian hopped up, continuing the spin and bringing his other leg down on top of Fear's skull as he landed on the previous foot. The greave thudded when it connected.

Spittle flew from Fear's mouth, nearly biting his tongue from the shock of being struck. His mind reeled and everything went numb.

Gentler followed it up with a hook right for the side of Fear's head. Fear responded just barely by forming a mound of carapace on his cheek as the fist connected. The chitin cracked apart on contact.

Despite the armor, Fear's body fell to the ground like a ship's anchor from the force of the punch, collapsing in a heap.

Faith quickly raced over to Fear as he groaned in the dirt, unable to get up, the carapace receding.

Gentler had a keen look to his eyes. “Looks like I win colt. You really should learn to fight better.”

Fear complained. “You used magic!”

Gentler grinned, one of his canines sparkling. “You should have used more magic, colt. Your enemies aren't going to hold back. At the rate things were going I could have ended that fight long ago.”

Fear huffed, getting up, his cheek swollen, a lump forming on the back of his head under his mane. “That hurt.”

“Gonna cry about it, colt?”

Sim was about to step up but Fear held a foreleg out. “No... I'm just frustrated. I thought I was making so much progress in my training.”

Faith gently stroked through Fear's mane. “You are honey, you're still young though. You have to work harder at it.”

Gentler crossed his arms over his chest, cloak billowing. “The mare's right, colt. You have a lot of work to do before you're capable in melee. But, nonetheless. I'll go with you. Someone needs to watch your back.”

Fear smiled despite the pain he was in, his jaw aching and head brimming with agony. His brain felt like it'd become engorged and was now threatening to spill out of his skull. “Well. Welcome aboard.” He uttered bitterly with a hint of enthusiasm.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S22HL5sYX1c

Saving Jack Shit

Along the journey to their destination, Fear had intuitively taken it upon himself to pile all of his team's skills into a cauldron and mix it about to see what kind of plans came up in his mind. He already knew Sim's changeling abilities, and Faith's skill with distraction and charisma, but Gentler was a complete blindspot. He had certainly asked Faith if her weapon was silent, to which the mare had replied 'not at all, it's more of a sniper rifle, the shot can bend depending on what it feels near it.' She'd also explained that she had a pair of binoculars in her saddlebags, and was still looking for a gunsmith who could find a way to attach some kind of scope. It was a curiosity where she'd found it, but Faith told him it was a personal story that she didn't feel like sharing yet. During the rest of the discussion Fear had revealed just why he'd been able to form carapace and transform his hoof into a small blade.

Gentler had been surprised, but not put off. After all, he'd accurately judged Fear's integrity. He'd hardly even looked shocked, but Fear could feel it.

“Well, colt, I've gotten good at stealth ever since coming here, I can hunt relatively well – it's easy for me to pick up on days old tracks and remains, as well as to catch scents and sounds on the wind. I learned a little medicine, how to make various tonics, while I was in Abyssinia.”

Fear hummed, picking up the habit from Faith. “Well, what can those gauntlets of yours do? I know they disrupted my telekinesis when we were fighting.”

An arrogant smile formed across Gentler's face. “Heheh, I'm glad you were able to pick up on that.”

Fear snorted. “I mean it's not like it wasn't obvious or anything. Like, seriously. What do you take me for? A dolt?”

Gentler slapped Fear on the flank, causing him to feel slightly uncomfortable, glancing back at the Abyssinian. “I don't know. You seem like you have a long road ahead of you, for sure! I don't know how much faith I have in you. But you're interesting for sure.” His emotional waves remained stable, no sign of intention to deceive lingering in it.

Fear rolled his eyes in a circle. “Gee, thanks.”

“Anyways,” Gentler continued, “they have three gems, so three spells loaded in.” He had already explained, in terms that Fear couldn't understand, how the combination of metal, cores fused into the gems, and specialized wires generated and conducted magic. “There's nullification, magnetism, and electricity. So I can punch through a magical barrier, increase the strength of my punch like some kind of gauss rifle if the creature has armor, and deliver a paralyzing shock. Temporarily.”

Fear nodded sinisterly, rubbing his chin with a hoof. “Nice... nice.” He cooed to himself. “I'll try to come up with a plan.”

Sim didn't have high hopes for his son. He was still inexperienced. What kind of plans could he possibly come up with?

Faith was hoping that Fear would be able to come up with something. She wasn't much of a planner.

==========================================================================================

It was daybreak by the time the group reached the institute. They could see a large two story building that spanned for a couple blocks in the distance. It was made of gray concrete, way too blocky to be considered artistic, and rather plain and boring. The windows were spartan at best; simple and barely there, and it had a skywagon parking lot in the front. The block letters on the front that distinguished it from any other building was falling apart, with the forest green paint flaking off and fading: Stable Tec Environmental Institute of Equestria. Some of the letters were missing, but it could easily be guessed what the overall message behind it was. It was a souringly appropriate base of operations for what they were here to put a stop to. Fear was the last to notice the two snipers on the roof of the institute.

Fear's mind was already raging inside as he tried to come up with a plan of entry, but Sim easily slipped past the squad, motioning for them to wait there, as he approached the pony out front currently standing guard. He was a unicorn decked in a pair of pistols and leather armor made from bloodwings, with a few chitinous plates taken from radscorpions. Overall he looked like a force to be reckoned with, even if his stance, muted colors, and frizzy hair screamed less 'danger' and more 'get the fuck off my property you stupid kids.'

Sim waved at the two snipers before sweeping a hoof through the air as he called out. “Hello! Sir! Are you available for a moment?” His voice sounded like that of an expert solicitor but he was hardly one.

The stallion made vague horse noises in frustration as his green eyes lidded. “Get away from the property, we don't want whatever you're selling.”

Sim coughed into his hoof. “Ah, right, certainly. However, I heard your boss was looking for more... able-bodied ponies to do his, ahem, dirty work. And I figured we could be the ones to do it. We even have somepony with us good with medicine who might be of help!” He pointed toward the Abyssinian as he finally got right up in the pony's face, beckoning his accompaniment to join him once he was sure the pony wouldn't shoot on sight. Fear was the first to hurry over.

The stallion lifted an eyebrow as he stared at the gathering of ponies. Sim had a less than threatening air about him. He seemed more like a pony that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. How could he hardly be an example of muscle? “And the colt?” The stallion asked while pointing a hoof at him.

Sim 'ah'ed. “How could you not possibly recognize one of the most dangerous raiders in the wasteland? Look at those eyes of his! Perfect at seeing in the dark, nary a thing wrong with them. He's a perfect sniper! And that sword of his? Could slide into the cracks of the toughest armor imaginable. He's a walking typhoon just waiting to be unleashed!” Sim had his foreleg draped over the colt as he stared into the stallion's eyes. With a little influx of magic through his brain and pumping into his eyes, an imperceptible green light shone across them for a split second.

The stallion jerked slightly from the sensation of worms wriggling into his brain through his eyeballs. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation at all, and if anything felt like pure bliss and relaxation. A strange contradiction to be sure. The stallion's eyes lidded and he felt more... more agreeable. He didn't know why but all of a sudden there was no reason to really test them. This dazzling pony's words were worth their weight in gold. “Hm. I... I guess. Fine. I'll let you through. Mister Contingent Vision is in the superintendent's office, just follow the map on the first floor.” And with that the stallion stepped to the side in order to let them past.

Sim gave a grateful nod and ushered everyone in ahead of him. “Thank you so much sir! You are very kind. Here: for your trouble.” Sim pulled out ten caps from his saddlebags and held them out to the stallion.

The unnamed one rubbed his head with a hoof, trying to become aware again. There were faint whispers and delirious static bristling in his brain that felt so incredible he couldn't explain why he suddenly felt so good. It just felt that good to be under Sim's sway. Or maybe Sim was just that experienced. “N... no, that's okay. Keep it. I'm glad to... to let you through to see my boss.”

Sim just smiled broadly. “You sir, are very kind to an old stallion like me. Take care of yourself, I'm sure we'll be working together before too long.” Sim gave the stallion a pat on the neck and headed inside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8f70MO3DE

Faith whistled. “That sure was impressive, Simmy.”

Sim's eyes revolved in their sockets. “Don't call me that please, that's reserved for my parents. But thank you Faith.”

Gentler was just busy looking around while Fear was staring at his father in awe with how he handled that situation.

The Institute was economical, in a word. With hardly anything decorating the lobby aside from a marble stand displaying a glass map of the compound, a front desk behind it for checking in, a small station to the side for security which appeared to be half full, a hallway at the far end leading forward and then off to either side, and right before that a spiral staircase that led up to the second level. The second level was a raised platform that circled the edge of the lobby with a few hallways scattered here and there that led to different areas. Everything was silent.

Fear piped up without any provocation, though he was quiet about it. “There are guards. But I think they’re busy playing. Their intentions are all over the place.”

Sim's eyes narrowed. “Yes, I saw a couple cameras outside directed at the front entrance.”

Fear boggled at his father, he hadn't seen those! He had to pay better attention.

Sim immediately made his way up to the map, followed by Faith and the rest.

The map was elaborate, and though it showed an elevator further in on the first floor, it did not seem to go up to the second. There was also a set of stairs on the second floor that went up to the roof. Gentler was the first to point out the oddity.

Sim reasoned it out. “It probably goes down a floor. It would make sense that the research would take place below ground and outside around the facility.” He then pointed with a hoof toward the map of the second floor. “There's the office.” And with that he was hurrying along his way. There was nopony at the front desk to stop them.

Gentler was impressed with the sheer capability of Fear's father as he followed along on the stallion's heels, the group heading up the stairwell and to the glass catwalk ringing the lobby. They took a couple turns with Sim leading the way, Fear's heart pounding in his chest. Things were way too quiet for his comfort. He thought about turning on his radio but fought the urge as a bit of perspiration flowed freely.

“You're right Dad, by the way,” he finally said, “there are ponies underground. I can feel their souls. Some of them seem to be sleeping right now.” His gaze was a little empty as he searched with his sixth sense.

Sim wasn’t surprised, just glaring at nothing in particular.

The group had a false sense of security, making as much noise as they wanted – except for Gentler who was always as silent as a mouse aside from the gentle click of his greaves. As they rounded a corner an earth pony greeted them. He was staring long and hard at them. The pony had a glorious golden mane and tail with ash-y streaks running through it, as well as a burning orange coat that was a little too shaggy to be healthy. His mane hung over his eyes slightly, as if he could use a haircut. His eyes were a brilliant bright emerald with a crimson sheen. On his flanks was a reptilian green ouroboros cutiemark.

Fear felt awkward under the gaze and took a few steps back. He felt something off about this pony. He had something behind him, at least that was the best way he could describe it.

“What are you here for?” The stallion's voice was... unhinged. A little feral. Like he'd spent time in places ponies shouldn't be spending time in.

Sim adopted an amicable expression at the drop of a hat. “We're simply here to offer our services to Mister Contingent Vision, nothing more, nothing less.” Sim continued a moment later as the stallion analyzed him. “I'm Simulacrum, what's your name?”

“Simulacrum, huh?” A sneer formed on the pony's face. “The same Simulacrum that Pumpkin Pep has been speaking of?”

Sim was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise. He twisted his head to the side, pursing his lips. “Mmh, maybe. And you are?”

“Luminous Ash.”

Fear moved up behind his father. “Dad something's seriously wrong here.”

Lumi was striding forward with a graceful gait.

“He seems... seems damaged. I don't think...”

Sim lowered to Fear's ear. “When I give you the signal, get out of here.”

“I'm not going to leave you here!”

Sim hissed. “Do it!”

Fear nodded, but secretly, as he turned his head forward, he knew he was going to try and slip by. He was going to do his best to convince Contingent to step down.

Lumi's hooves glistened from the light being cast by the overhead lamps. “I'll give you one chance to leave here with your lives.” He paused. “I owe it to Spear.”

Fear realized then and there why the stallion felt so weird. Not the damaged part – that was clear as day, that one was like he used to be. The weird part was everything that seemed to be behind Lumi. He's a hybrid! Fear voiced his concerns. “Dad he's a hybrid!”

Sim's eyes dilated from the information. “We're not leaving.”

Whatever's behind him – it's a hive! Just like Emulae and the others!

Lumi spat, “so be it.” And bum rushed Sim.

Gentler was right up in Lumi's face, pouring force into a hook punch. Lumi bent his neck forward, ramming the Abyssinian in the gut and sending him careening into Sim, the two of them toppling backwards into a tangled bundle.

“Fear get out of here!” Sim cried while Lumi lifted a hoof to jam the colt in the face.

Faith had been charging up energy for a little while, magical energy zapping between the 'feathers' of her weapon's pegasus wings, pulling in energy from the air around her before coalescing in the horn. Without any warning aside from a powerful 'vrrr' a telekinetic bullet that looked more like an ovular arrow shot from the tip, careening straight for Lumi.

Lumi fell to the side, having seen the charge out of the corner of his eye, the bullet scraping past his body and creating a deep gash that bled profusely. The stallion limped as the blast exploded at the end of the hall with a loud boom, destroying the wall and leaving a crater that exposed the room beyond it.

“Fear run!” Sim repeated as Gentler and him got up.

Fear, instead of running back, ran forward.

“Fear!” Sim cried as Ash pumped an illusion into the air, making the room grow wobbly and incomprehensible, like everything was melting and gyrating, rumbling and keeping everypony from staying on their hooves and feet. Fear stumbled, nearly falling.

Sim countered the illusion, pumping out a magical image that negated it. Returning it to normal.

Fear was quick to get back on his hooves and race down the hall as Sim grunted.

“Damn colt!” Sim cursed.

==========================================================================================

It had been a long race through the remaining couple hallways. Amazingly enough, or maybe not so amazingly, nopony and no other changeling had been active on this floor, it seemed Lumi had been the sole guardian of it. Fear checked and rechecked the map lingering in his memory with a grimace on his face. He needed to hurry and tell the boss to stand down, or explain to him to stand down, or convince him to. Or... or something! Fear needed to do something! Fear grit his teeth, unsure of himself so much his stomach was knotting up.

The walls and their faded picture frames and dead potted plants blurred by the colt as he screeched to a halt at a single door. Fear didn't even hesitate, pulling it open with telekinesis and barging in. “Contingent!” He called furiously. “Call your dogs off!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNbVJ2Im1Ik

The office was like any other, with that all too familiar portrait of Princess Luna that seemed to stare into your soul. Only it was torn to shreds. Contingent was sitting behind a desk with the chair facing the colt. “So. You got past.” The 'ling's voice was toxic, demanding submission of all who heard it, and nearly driving Fear to his knees. The chair twisted around, exposing the changeling behind the operation. He reached forward and slammed his hooves on the desk, on either side of the built-in terminal, as he revealed himself from the shadows, the paperwork and other items trembling from the force. “I figured you all deserved to see my true form.”

Contingent was a strange changeling. He had ebony carapace and holes just like Emulae, but he had what looked like fins in place of his ears, which were colored a sickly eggshell white. The membranous shell was as well, but his compound eyes and chitinous wings were a vivid crimson that looked brighter than blood, almost neon. He had no gossamer hair nor tail to speak of, as if he had cut it off. It made him look far more well-kept, only adding to the sleekness of his polished body. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your acquaintance mister...?”

Fear's voice was stuttery and uncertain, as if he didn't know how to voice his opinion let alone where to place his hooves. “F-Fearei Shatter, sir.” Fear glanced off to the side, unable to look him in the eyes. The presence was entrancing, and driving him six feet under already. How was he supposed to fight against something like this? What was the king like?

“Fearei. I'm sure you understand by now what we're trying to achieve. An untainted world, cured of its ills. A world of order and respect.” Contingent stood up and wandered around the desk. Fear cowered backwards, his tail hiding between his legs. He looked like a kicked puppy. “Surely you can understand that this world needs those who are superior and those who are inferior in order to function, a hierarchy in order to thrive.”

Fear's voice was quiet. “I don't... I don't know.” Fear stood his ground. “All I know... all I know is you don't treat my grandfather with respect, and while Lumi is willing to follow you to the ends of Equus, he... he seems damaged. Almost unhinged.”

Contingent began pacing. “All necessary sacrifices for a better world. One in which the true masters, the ones who have suffered since time immemorial, rule over the weak.” Something about that sounded off. It wasn't the speech itself that affected Fear, it was the emotions hidden behind it. Fear narrowed his eyes.

“And just what does this supposed master species determine is right?”

Contingent spun to face Fear, stomping a hoof on the floor, speaking as if reciting. “A world in which ponies do not define our future any longer! A world in which changelings reign supreme! A world in which changelings are the saviors so desperately needed, and where the roles are reversed, with ponies being treated as trash!”

A sly smile crept onto Fear's face. “You don't... actually believe that. Do you?”

“And what have you to say in argument!?”

Fear shrugged. “I don'know. I don't know if any species deserves to be supreme or not. All I know is my experiences and feelings, and those tell me that I don't want to be better than... everyone. Not in that way.”

“What would you know? You haven't lived our life!” Contingent spat.

Fear glanced off to the side. “Well, for one thing, I know everyone has their importance, their specialties, their roles. I used to be prejudice against earth ponies and pegasi, but nowadays? I mean, I get that it's right to be kind. Isn't it?” Fear sounded uncertain, as if he was in a haze and just grasping for his ideals.

Contingent's face faltered. His features slackened. “You don't... don't know what you're talking about. Changelings have gone through Tartarus, we didn't deserve the wasteland. We deserve prosperity. And ponies are going to come with us because... because they're our food source!”

Fear shook his head. “I mean, maybe? A food source can be treated with respect can't it? They're living creatures just like you or me.”

“You're nothing but a crossbreed!”

“And I know that means something to you! I may not be family but... but, I know we've all gone through difficult times. And all we have when it comes right down to it is each other!”

“But your Chrysalis-forsaken Steel Rangers certainly don't feel that way! Your Enclave abandoned you!”

“True,” Fear conceded easily. “But...” His smile returned, a look of assuredness coming to light. “That doesn't mean we have to be them. It doesn't mean we can't bring them into our fold, teach them the right way to do things. I know you feel it too.”

“Idealistic nonsense!” Contingent hissed, taking a threatening step toward the colt.

Fear didn't back down. “Idealistic, maybe. But what do we have in a broken world but our ideals and virtues? Everypony is grasping tight to their ideals in order to make a better world, but we don't have to abandon what makes us good... creatures, in order to do it.” Fear hesitated, glancing away. “Right?”

Contingent's legs buckled under him, as if the weight of everything he'd been doing suddenly collapsed on top of him, as if he could no longer carry the burden. His face turned to one of horror as if he was looking in a mirror. He took a step back and fell on his haunches, covering his face in his hooves as if he couldn't bare to be seen.

Fear approached.

“Get away from me!”

Fear didn't stop.

“I said get away!” Contingent's voice was shaky. Terrified.

Fear reached out a hoof. “We're not enemies.” The colt's voice was the most calming, charismatic thing on the planet in that one moment, and a little haunting – in a good way. Like a singularity pulling everything and everyone into the center of his spiral. Everything spun around him in that one moment, leaving Contingent reeling. He thought about batting the hoof away, but he couldn't. The colt was speaking to something deep inside of him.

A shudder pumped through Contingent's body. “The king... the king says all this stuff. I thought I believed it, but... but I don't.”

Fear moved up to Contingent, wrapping him up in a hug. “Everything's going to be okay. Can you please call off Lumi? I don't want anyone to get hurt.”

Contingent squeezed his eyes shut, sending out the message.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtIBXMLoGEo

Steam rose off of the gash in Lumi's side as the cells unnaturally reproduced as quick as lightning, the flesh restoring itself in a matter of seconds when it realized something had hurt it.

Faith glanced up over her weapon, hackles rising on end from the sight. It was like the hybrid had taken a health potion. Her stomach flipflopped.

Lumi bolted at Faith, but was intercepted by a swinging Gentler – a straight punch, a hook, an uppercut, and a roundhouse – each dodged in swift succession. Lumi did an uppercut of his own, trying to jab Gentler in the gut.

Gentler flipped away and charged at Lumi with a side kick using the greave, electricity flowing over the metal as the gems charged up a static shock.

Lumi weaved to the right, pulling up his hindlegs and bucking Gentler in the abdomen as the Abyssinian passed by. He grunted as he was sent crashing into the wall, his clothing being the only thing saving him from the paralytic poison that had dampened the cloth.

The cat might've had a bruised rib or two, but he got up and lunged at Lumi, gauntlets crackling with electricity as he swung again, and again. Lumi had dodged to the side, and was now flowing back down the hallway, his rear no longer facing the wall. Gentler threw a punch for Lumi's head, then tried to slam a fist with a hook into where he predicted the hybrid would be.

The gauntlet nearly connected, but Lumi had followed through, spinning in a circle as he ducked, then shoved his hindlegs out again, bucking the Abyssinian right in the chest during his overreach.

The wind was knocked out of the cat a second time as he was sent hurtling through the air and crashing to the ground, tumbling in a circle as he felt his ribs nearly crack from the pressure. He groaned on the floor.

Sim had unsheathed his carapace knife and was now throwing himself into the fray, swiping left, right, vertically, trying to slash through Lumi who kept backing up. He was nearly at the end of the hall. Lumi and Sim were staring at each other in a frenzy. Though a second later a surge of green crossed the regenerative hybrid's eyes, boring a hole into Sim's brain and leaving him feeling like a fifty pound weight was hanging over his entire body. His form shook violently and he nearly collapsed to the ground, one eye lidding and the other twitching as he was suddenly struck with paralysis.

Lumi lashed out during it, slamming a hoof into Sim's cheek, both dislocating and numbing the other hybrid's jaw and sending him to the ground, the knife clattering to the floor. He then heard the charging sound of Faith's weapon, but it was too late. A powerful telekinetic bullet vwoompfed out of the tip of the horn and obliterated a hole straight through the front of his body, shredding through a lung and destroying organs and musculature. Blood flowed freely for... a few seconds. Before Lumi's flesh began to sizzle, pop, and boil, becoming effervescent and repairing itself within the course of ten seconds.

Faith was at a loss for words as Lumi remained standing. The hybrid left Sim on the ground, unable to get on all fours, the suggestion still latched onto his brain like a parasite, galloping toward the preacher.

Gentler was there to interfere with the hybrid's plans once more, though he was slumped over and holding his chest with one hand as he intervened, bringing a foot up and trying to jam it into Lumi's jaw.

It hit.

A static shock coursed through the greave and into the hybrid's jaw, paralyzing his face and causing all his facial features to slacken, unable to move properly. But Lumi wasn't out for the count, even with the concussion. He staggered backward and lashed out at the hurt Abyssinian, ramming a hoof into where Gentler's gut was.

Was.

Gentler, panting, swerved to the side and brought up one of his knees, jabbing it into Lumi's face, who stumbled backwards again as his snout was broken, bleeding profusely before it immediately healed, leaving the blood stain on the muzzle. Gentler held his leg in the air and snapped it toward Lumi in a roundhouse, trying to crack him across the face and bring him down.

Lumi reared back onto his hindlegs to avoid it, then fell back onto all fours as Gentler's leg slammed into the wall, putting a hole through it. The hybrid threw a hoof into the Abyssinian's side, sending him crashing to the ground from the pain lancing through him.

That's when Lumi got the message. He was distracted for a single moment, feeling exhausted from repairing his body so much, and sidestepped another eruption from Faith's cannon, the blast firing through the hole she'd already made and blowing an opening to the outside.

“Stop.” Lumi declared. “Spear says the fight is over.”

Gentler was left holding his ribs, cringing in pain, resting against the wall.

Faith was at a loss for words, lowering her weapon.

Sim was just finally starting to stand up.

==========================================================================================

Fear had learned Contingent's real, changeling name soon after meeting with him and getting back to the others. It was Spearmint Wing. The changeling had explained to Fear he was willing to give the colt a chance to prove his ideals true. In the wasteland it was might makes right, more often than not, and thus Fear was given a time period of three months to strengthen himself far enough to take on King Solanum. To either defeat him or somehow convince him to stand down like Fear had done Spear. The changeling would keep Solanum busy until then, and near the end of the three months he would tell him that somepony wanted to challenge him for dominance.

The colt didn't think he could do it, after seeing the rampage Lumi had gone on, completely devastating his allies. Sim's ego was hurt more than anything else, he'd never faced anything as dangerous as Lumi before, trying to figure out why he was able to regenerate his body. Lumi had explained it was mutation in his cells. It shortened his lifespan greatly but it allowed him to recover from mortal wounds – the only thing that would be able to kill him was something cutting off his head, like a zombie. Even damage to his brain could be repaired given enough time, though of course he would suffer from amnesia due to it.

Gentler's pride was also sore, but his ribs even more so. Taking two bucks and a punch in the side had left him reeling, using the walls to help hold himself up. Breathing was agonizing, and he needed to rest every ten or so minutes. He had taken to using Sim as a walker, leaning on him.

Faith was the least wounded out of all of them, though she was shaken to her core at the true strength of a hybrid.

A hybrid they had learned was a reject, a mistake. One of the higher ups in Solanum's hive had procreated with a mare while disguised and he'd happened to be born. Upon finding out what Lumi's father really was, his mother had disowned him, run away when they least expected it. Lumi was left without a mother, but had been accepted into the hive as a lesser citizen. His father had nearly abandoned him however, but Spear had taken pity on him and brought him into his fold. He had specifically asked for the hybrid to be placed under his jurisdiction during the research as a bodyguard.

It was because of that, that Lumi had decided to devote his life to Spear. He was the only one who'd ever shown him such respect, kindness, and a desire to have him. But despite Spear's change of heart, his intention to give Fear a chance, Lumi would not join Fear in his rebellion against Solanum. He was too loyal to the ones who had given him a home rather than forcing him to forage in the wastes.

Still, the only thing Fear could think about was his upcoming confrontation with Solanum. Even if the others had promised to help him, and he knew Luna and the others would help train him as well, it was only three months.

Three months.

Fear was almost confident. Barely. And he might have saved Pumpkin Pep from being used as a research specimen, but in all honesty? With a new threat, greater than anything he could ever imagine, he didn't feel like he'd saved anything or anyone. It was kind of irrational, he knew, but it was there.

Maybe it was because Fear knew Jack was just going to get kidnapped again by a different changeling if Solanum was not stopped? And he knew: it'd be far more merciless.

Likely.

==========================================================================================

Faith had taken Gentler, with the help of Lumi, to a makeshift nursing station. Gentler was using some homemade salves on his ribs, and was being given bandages to help keep things stable. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Fear and Sim had been brought downstairs via the elevator, and quickly led through the bare minimum corridors, past all sorts of doors to offices and research chambers, to where Jack was being kept. Spear had told them they'd ceased their pony-based experimentations on his orders when Fear had convinced him to, and had also told them that the ponies they'd hired for duties around the facility were in order to give some semblance of business to the ponies of Dryfield and get in their good graces. Of course they were also being used to discreetly siphon love. Fear thought it was insincere given they weren't going to be treated with respect in the end, but accepted it. Creatures had to live, and maybe Spear would finally take a step toward treating other species well, like he had wanted to do.

Which was why, despite following orders, Spear had taken those who were most likely to obey him and agree with him on the mission he'd been given. Perhaps he'd seen it coming, or perhaps he'd been looking for an excuse to go against his king's wishes all along. Spear explained that the king was merely an expression of the majority of the hive, not the minority as well. The king just kept the minority in line.

Fear thought it strange that he could inspire a minority to fight back.

Sim and Fear were guided toward a room with one-way mirror windows and a revolving door. Sim was the first to enter, followed by Fear and Spear. The colt could already hear Sim and Jack on the other side.

“Simmy?”

“Pop!”

Fear then felt the sensation of two souls brimming with joy at being reunited. It was a heartwarming sensation. Unlike the room he'd just entered, which was a sterile, blank white office that had been converted into a bedroom. It had a recently added bed with restraints fused to it, a bookshelf full of old, entertaining pre-war books, an oddly not dead potted plant, and a table for eating. But that was about it. The colt glanced to Spear with a raised eyebrow and unamused frown as if to ask, 'really?'

Spear just took the brunt of the expression, watching the father and son be reunited. It wasn't exactly the most tear-jerking reunion ever, unless you were them or Fear.

Then Fear took in Pumpkin Pep, otherwise known as Grandpa Jack, himself. He was a strange unicorn. He looked like some kind of old boy band from pre-war Equestria, with his swept, pumpkin orange mane, twisted tail, and shaggy periwinkle fur. He just had that sense of youthfulness, and seemed like he could make any young mare swoon. What startled Fear was how much shorter he was than Sim – like he was almost as stout as Fear, but a tiny bit taller. When Jack opened his eyes, it revealed a pair of beauties Fear wouldn't have expected on any farmer of all ponies. They looked precious and naive, truly a gem in the wasteland, the color being a soft indigo. Fear leaned to the side to get a view of his cutiemark, which was a pair of orange pompoms with succulent green stem handles.

“What was this place used for anyway?” Fear asked, as curious as ever, while his parent and grandparent caught up, his tail flicking from side to side. “Was it really an environmental institute or is that just a cover up?” He sounded conspiratorial.

“No. No cover up. This place was no more than a project by Stable-Tec, with the backing of the Ministry of Image and Ministry of Morale.”

“What, really? That's it?”

“Yes. They wanted to genetically engineer vegetation for higher quality foods, alluring sights, and the ability to grow in various conditions. The research was supposed to be used in stables, but it never got too far off the ground unfortunately. Maybe if it had there'd be more information for all of us to use in our endeavors.”

Fear looked back to Jack and Sim. “That's a real shame.”

Sim and Jack parted ways, with the hybrid stallion pointing a hoof toward Fear, who was finally starting to pay attention to them.

“That's my son, Fearei Shatter. The one I told you about last time I visited.”

Pumpkin Pep's eyes sparkled, hurrying to Fear and wrapping him up in an unexpectedly tight hug, causing Fear to gasp for air and flail a little. “Hey! Too tight!” Fear eased out, too much pressure on his lungs.

Jack finally let him go. “So you're my little savior huh? Well aren't you the cutest little thing! You know I got called adorable often when I was a little rambunctious colt like you.” He leaned down and furtively whispered. “Your father says you need to listen to him more but I think you're just fine, Fearei. Keep up the good work and always follow your instincts.” He lifted his head up while Sim stared disapprovingly at him. “Anyways! Let's get home. I want some real food for once!”

Fear was... happy.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=behTPFmFlCY Not a perfect match, but it'll work for now.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

A couple days later, early in the evening Fear woke up to start his training. It was a pain in the ass to get up without much sleep, but Gentler had been insistent on the militaristic regimen.

The colt knew that, while he didn't agree, Saway would have been more than okay with it. It left him feeling groggy as he made his way outside the abode to get ready for his gallop. Chirp was there waiting for him, doing a few stretches, extending a leg and bending toward the ground, then moving to another. Wrapping his legs over his body.

“Hey hey hey! It's Fearei!” Chirp was loud and proud, glancing to him with his dynamic golden eyes, brimming with energy. “Don't worry,” he said, reading the colt's sour face, with its deep frown, furrowed brows, and wrinkled snout, “you'll get used to waking up like this in due time. Early to bed, early to rise, et cetera et cetera.”

“I really don't know,” Fear replied bluntly. “But if you insist,” He conceded without argument, moving over to him. “So you do this all the time?”

“Nah,” Chirp denied, “not always. But I'm making a special exception for you. Eventually you're going to need to do it on your own so my siblings and I can get to work, but for now I'm gonna join you in your training.”

Fear lifted an eyebrow in interest at the younger colt, before getting into the groove of stretching along with Chirpy, splitting his legs apart and dipping low to the ground, greasing up his joints. “Well thank you.”

Chirpy shook his head as he stood up, waiting for Fear to finish. “No, thank you. You saved my father. Whatever you did, you did well.”

Before Fear knew it they were up and galloping, the air brushing through Fear's mane and caressing his body as he pushed onward, pumping his legs against the ground in a steady rhythm, Chirp sprinting right alongside him. It was rather peaceful, albeit difficult as the time passed. Eventually Fear's muscles were feeling the strain of each movement, acids building up in the cells faster than they could be removed by his circulatory system. His breathing quickened, and his cheeks flushed red. His diaphragm was working overtime while Chirpy seemed barely winded.

Fear was slowing down, and Chirpy was too, but only so he could keep pace. “Remember,” Chirpy spoke carefully, “don't push yourself too hard or you'll regret it and won't be able to keep up with the regimen.” Fear gave a singular nod in response as he panted, his lungs burning and heart hammering in his chest. He could feel the blood flowing. It was freeing and so terrible at the same time.

Running like this didn't feel pleasant on Fear. It was nice to just move but at the same time there was nowhere he was headed, giving the whole exercise an awkward sensation that he couldn't place nor could he remove from his mind. The lack of a destination nagged at him, leaving him feeling nervous. But he threw himself into the task nonetheless, even as his legs shook from the strain. He tried to alleviate it by telling himself the destination was the farmhouse, but that seemed fake. Still, he pressed forward.

Unfortunately for the oldest colt there, he had to walk the rest of the distance home because he was just too worn out.

By the time he was done, Fear was on the verge of collapse, sweat dripping down his body, tongue dry from how much it was hanging out. His muscles felt like they were going to give out on him.

“Stand up on your hindlegs against the wall, it'll help you breathe,” Chirpy was quick to supply.

Fear nodded, standing as tall as his small form would allow, leaning against the homestead. He felt the difference immediately. It was small, but obvious. His lungs opened up far more than they did when he was standing naturally. It felt good. Weird, but good.

When he finally caught his breath Chirpy was back, holding out a canteen. “Here you go Fear. Drink this.”

Fear grabbed the canteen in his telekinesis, unscrewing the cap and taking a couple huge swigs.

“Hold it in your mouth for a bit, it'll make it last longer.”

The inexperienced colt obeyed, swirling it around inside his maw, bulging out his cheeks, pushing it about with his tongue, before finally swallowing a little while later. It felt good and refreshing, lubricating his parched throat. He felt so hot.

As if reading his mind, Chirp continued. “The heat will abate. Your lessons with Mom will also help with that, but the sweat will cool you down either way!” He was more excited than he should be, and it annoyed Fear.

Still, that was one task done for the day. It hadn't been that hard, but what Fear didn't know was that keeping it up was the most difficult part of improving yourself. Consistency was the only way to get better.

==========================================================================================

Not much later Fear met Rose in the back of the house for his telekinesis training. There were too many rocks to count, from small ones to large ones.

“Okay Fear,” she said, remembering how he preferred to be addressed, “we're going to start small and simple, with your focus, then moving onto endurance. We'll switch every day between endurance and strength. You ready to grind yourself to the bone?”

Fear hesitated, standing in front of the filly as if he was staring at a drill sergeant. “I don't...”

Rose bellowed, “good! Now, pick up as many of the rocks as you can.”

With a solemn nod Fear acquiesced, his horn gaining a warm white aura. It extended to a bunch of tiny pebbles and small stones, levitating them into the air, as many as he could carry. This wasn't so bad.

“Okay, now.” Rose floated a few of her own, and started doing a bunch of little designs with them, varying between figure eights, stars, moving them all at once up and down separately from each other, and back and forth, pushing her mind to do more than one activitiy at a time. “Follow my motions.”

Fear was reluctant, not sure he could do it, but he agreed and started, beginning with the figure eights. It wasn't long before he dropped a few rocks and had to pick them back up on Rose's command, his mind already getting discombobulated from the effort.

Next it was stars. Fear swept his rocks around, some going flying as he tried to keep up with Rose's speed, causing him to blush fiercely and cower away.

“You're doing well so far Fear, don't stop yet,” she encouraged, pushing Fear to grab his rocks and try again.

Fear was already utterly disoriented, a haze settling over his mind from the effort in commanding multiple things at such a swift pace, by the time they'd moved to levitating each rock in separate directions. It was too much for Fear to handle and he eventually collapsed onto the ground holding his head, kicking his hindlegs out behind him rabidly from the sensation of his mind breaking down into bits and pieces. It was too much, it almost hurt, but it was more of a prickle than a pain. It left him gasping for air.

Rose sighed. That was bad news. Fear cringed. “Alright we'll move to endurance.”

Fear nodded, unable to refrain from letting out a whimper, causing Rose to smile softly in pity. She wasn't sure he could do it, but tried to hide it from the empath.

Unfortunately she didn't do a good enough job and Fear was left doubting himself.

“Alright, Fear, this'll be simple. All you have to do is hold a bunch of medium sized rocks, heaviest you can manage, and lift them as high as you can into the air and hold them there.”

Fear nodded, again, rather sullenly, unable to look Rose in the eyes, staring at the ground. He swept his magical aura around a bunch of rocks, not as many as he'd carried originally, a bunch of rather weighty ones, and tried to heft them into the air. It was difficult at first, his telekinesis almost failing to respond from how tattered his mind already was, but he pushed through it and with a bunch of brute force lifted them. Higher... higher. Until they were about ten yards in the air above him. He held them there for what felt like an eternity, but was actually only a few minutes, before they all fell out of his grip and crashed in a heap to the floor with a bunch of thuds.

Rose had Fear keep doing that until the colt was fragmented.

==========================================================================================

Next up on the list was sparring with Gentler. Who had no intention of going easy on the colt. Fear stood across from the Abyssinian, wanting it all to end already and he hadn't even finished the day's worth of practice. Gentler motioned for Fear to come at him, and already he knew he wouldn't be able to constantly surge after the cat with all his strength. He could hardly lift anything, still recovering from telekinesis training.

Fear however obeyed and lunged at Gentler, swinging wildly.

Gentler simply moved out of the way, grabbing Fear by the hoof, and shoving him by the back of his head into the ground. Defeating him instantly.

And it just repeated until Fear's legs were trembling under him from exertion, from fighting. He was becoming more and more disconcerted by the insurmountable wall facing him. Sure, Gentler gave advice but it was hardly worth anything, and he was being told he couldn't use the sword yet because he was training his telekinesis elsewhere. Further, they'd agreed that Fear would train with the sword in his sleep because Luna could keep everything realistic with her power, it wouldn't tire Fear out technically, and it would be practice with using a sword that wouldn't fly to his defense automatically.

Still, Fear persevered. Eventually learning to coax Gentler into making the first move. Despite that, Fear was trying his best not to cry. Especially when Gentler told him he'd eventually be training with weights!

==========================================================================================

Soon enough Fear was inside the house, in the living room, training with Mirage. She was guiding him through meditative practices, helping him control his breathing and aiding him in deflecting intrusive thoughts. In the background one of Mirage's records was playing.

“F-Fear, w-whenever a f-faulty emotion c-comes to you. J-just...” Fear was incredibly irritated by the stuttering, but he dealt with it. “Just accept it f-for what it is, and focus on something, a-anything. B-be it your breathing. Th-the sounds around you, l-like my music. O-or your own heartbeat.”

Fear took the advice and tried his best, thoughts of how awful this training had been so far occasionally entering his head. It was terrible, he'd been so excited at first but now he was just exhausted. Fear tried to block it out but had a hard time. He couldn't stop thinking, mind couldn't stop racing about how bad he felt. And Gentler was treating him like an enemy and it was-

Mirage, seeing Fear's breathing becoming frantic, pulled him out. “F-Fear!” She shouted. “Calm down. B-breathe.”

Fear took a deep breath through his snout, letting it flow through his larynx, and felt it settle in his lungs. He held it there.

“One... two... three... four... five... six... seven, and o-out.” Mirage was too good at this.

Fear slowly let the gust of air out of his mouth, goosebumps trailing up his spine.

“S-soon w-we'll move t-to actually generating a-and n-nullifying illusions. L-like shattering g-glass, making s-someone think they're injured. Th-things like that.”

Fear tried again. Overall it was difficult to focus on something that wasn't what he wanted to pay attention to, but he was getting there. The music helped. It was hard getting his breathing under control.

By the end, Fear was uncertain about himself, but not as disheartened as after his practice with Gentler.

==========================================================================================

Emulae was tutoring Fear next – outside again, helping him access his transformation magic more effectively, teaching him how to generate it at a far more rapid pace, and helping him cement his carapace armor.

Fear was determined to figure that last part out if it was the last thing he did. It would help immensely in his training with Gentler.

“When it comes to growing your hair out, all you have to do is focus on pulsing the magic into the strands of hair, one at a time.”

That was the hard part, Fear thought as he tried to get the hang of it. It was trying to separate each individual hair. All he could focus on was clumps, and it was causing everything to get all funky. He tried to push magic into it in order to grow it, but it was becoming a mess. Emulae had to show him how to shed the hair afterward and grow it back.

Fear realized how far away he was from ever being able to turn invisible. This was just so much work, it weighed on him and caused him to slump over as he tried to access it.

“Eventually I'll have you attempting to sneak around the house and steal snacks, Fearei.”

The colt was so certain that was impossible he didn't even want to try.

Eventually, though it seemed like such a distant idea, Emulae was going to teach him how to generate and trap in more body heat, and how to cool himself off, how to create more of his body, grow his hooves out, and... and... so many other things. It was impossible. Fear wanted to throw a temper tantrum.

But he didn't.

==========================================================================================

After that Fear was exercising with Faith. Doing push ups, crunches, shoving rocks around with brute force, and so many other activities that swept Fear's mind into a tizzy, he didn't even know which end was up as his muscles grew sore and ragged.

Faith was kind and a good guide, but dear Celestia, was she a slave worker. She pushed him to the brink and beyond, forcing him to try his best. He was struggling just to get by even a little bit. His breath coming out in huffs as every muscle in his body quivered viciously like they were about to pop, or even tear apart at the seams, the tendons about ready to rip into shreds. But Fear continued. He didn't know why he was continuing as he did the monotonous work, pushing himself further past his limit, but he was.

What's pushing me? Why am I doing this?

Fear's inner voice came back with a vengeance. Because you need to protect everything that's dear to you!

But why do I have to? Why can’t anyone else do it?

Because you put forth the idea. You're the one who has to prove the ideals! Spearmint is depending on you to shove Solanum's beliefs down his throat!

Fear continued bending his body in strenuous ways, curling his abdomen and shoving himself up off the ground, the exercises interspersed between each other. Constantly flowing through them and back to the beginning until he was trying to shove boulders with his body. It was such an effort in futility.

I can't do this! Why does everypony expect this of me? I'm just... I'm just a colt.

You're a colt who can do anything! Believe in yourself!

Fear huffed and shoved, putting all his effort into it, budging it an inch as he oomphed along. His inner voice wouldn't quit, but he sure wanted to.

==========================================================================================

Fear was so, so incredibly sore. Every piece of his body screamed at him for mercy, but he knew mercy wouldn't be coming anytime soon as he laid in bed groaning like a zombie. Nothing would ever be the same. He was just going to keep punishing himself with this... was this punishment? Punishment for his sins? Had he still not done enough? Fear's mind was ravaging itself, tearing it apart, trying to get to the heart of the matter as the aches in his body, in his brain, spread so deep it felt like it was in his bone marrow, deep in the crevices of his mind. It was in the core of his being.

The colt was agony incarnate.

Sim came in a little while later as Fear took his break, opening the door with telekinesis and gently shutting it behind him with a little click. “Fear?”

Fear ground out threateningly. “What?” His voice was ferocious. A startled look crossed his face, and then an apologetic one, his eyes wide and tense, his mouth curving downward at the tips. “I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean...”

Sim waved a hoof. “It's alright, don't worry. Besides, after what you've been through today, and what you're about to go through, I understand the anger. The day's almost done, but you're still not through. Do you have more strength in you Fear?”

Fear's inner voice sounded out before his brain could respond. “Yes! Definitely! I'm not giving up! Who said anything about giving up? Not me!”

Sim stared at Fear, concerned. “Alright. Well, I thought it'd be a good idea for you to learn how to eat love while fighting. In order to drain energy from your opponent.”

Fear's face fell gaunt at the insinuation.

Sim noticed. “Don't worry, you're not going to fight me. Yet. But in order to get your meal for the next couple days I'm going to have you drain it from me so you become more adept at it.”

Fear' face softened, and he nodded once, his lower lip jutting out and trembling. “A-alright Dad.” It would taste good, but it wasn't like the heart cherries. Still, it couldn't be that hard, he'd practiced already with the ponies in town. Not a lot, but at least ten times! Maybe twenty. Fear hadn't kept count.

“Oh, and I'm going to teach you how to store love for future use so you can power yourself up when tired. It should help. But in order to do it we're going to need to practice once a day until you have a surplus.”

Fear gawked at Sim. “How...?”

“How will I generate that much love? Don't worry, Fear. I got that taken care of. All I need to do is think about your mother and sister.”

Fear's expression immediately floundered for something more lighthearted. “Well is that all?”

Sim hummed, picking it up from Faith. “Well, no. We're also going to get you practicing implanting suggestions in order to harvest love.”

Fear sighed, burying his face in the pillow. It was nearing daybreak.

==========================================================================================

At least Fear wasn't famished anymore when he returned to the castle of dreams, Canterlot. At least that's what it was to him nowadays. Fear hesitated in the courtyard for minutes on end, just catching his out of control breath and calming down. He didn't know what the others had in store for him, but not having any relaxation, neither night nor day, was going to wear on him, he knew. It was already grinding him into powder at the mere thought of not getting a single moment's rest.

Could he really beat a king with this much training? Over a period of three months? Everyone seemed to think so.

Fear didn't think so. He wasn't sure he could even beat Lumi, when three of his allies had failed to beat him.

Eventually he made his way into the castle, meeting up with Saway, who was quick to do their usual magical hoofshake and salute. At least it was familiar. Everything seemed to blur up until the point Saway uttered the magic words.

“So, colt, I've been thinking about what I can teach you that the others can't. Well, my Princess could probably teach you this, but I'm a better... teacher for it.” She rolled her eyes. “Because I'm literally fused to nightmares. I call it the Nightmare Pressure. It's an overwhelming psychic force that emits from you and paralyzes your enemies with fear. It fits you perfectly given your name.”

Fear was at a loss for words, and it showed on his dumbstruck face, jaw hanging open, slightly off kilter, his eyes lidded, a little drool forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Come on, it's not that big a deal, colt.”

Fear wasn't so sure. “Well, okay. How do I call upon the nightmares?”

Saway smiled sinisterly. “I'm glad you asked, colt.” That caused Fear to shrink away, his ears flattening against his skull. “You start by calling on the darkest depths of your imagination, where every monster you've ever encountered lies. Where the raider inside of you hides at night. Your murderlust, everything. You call on it and you bring it to the surface. You pull it into your eyes, and you share it with everyone no matter who they are.”

“Isn't that... isn't that dangerous?”

“Only if you can't pull it back on command.” Saway said it like it was no sweat at all. “Besides, if worst comes to worst you have me and everypony else here ready to beat some sense into you. So don't worry.”

Fear still wasn't sure. “Alright, if you say so.” He uttered awkwardly. Fear plopped his hind end down on the floor and closed his eyes, seeking deep inside of himself.

“It'll be easier for you here in the dream world than out in reality, so you'll eventually be able to do it outside too.”

Fear didn't know which was worse, the idea that he'd succeed in calling forth the nightmares to his mind or the idea that he'd fail. Either way he didn't have to wait long. It wasn't hard to reach back to what he used to be. It was clawing at the surface waiting to be unleashed, having been starved for much too long. Suddenly Fear felt very hungry, almost starving. His stomach was emptier than it ever had been, and his mind was hazy with the need to feed on... on violence. Fear opened his eyes, pupils slitted. A pressure, however weak, started to flow from him, making Saway feel like she'd become an empath for an instant from the... however faint, terror she felt.

“Whoa colt!” Saway immediately reared back a hoof and slammed it across Fear's face, knocking the sensation loose and back into the abyss as spittle went flying from his mouth.

Fear held his cheek. It hurt as much as reality. Or at least he thought it did. He couldn't tell if he was actually feeling it or if he was imagining it. “Aww, fuck that hurts.” He rubbed at the the spot he'd been punched.

“Again.”

“Again!?” Fear was livid.

“Yes. Again, colt.”

Fear immediately withered. “Fine.”

“As you continue practicing you'll learn to control it more, and eventually become strong enough you can overwhelm your opponent's mind.” While Fear tried to get it just right, which was feeling impossible, Saway told him about her time negotiating with changelings during the war, trying to get them on their side. She never succeeded of course. Chrysalis had always wanted nothing to do with the war. She knew it was going to turn ugly real fast. Just trying to infiltrate pony society in order to gather love was a dangerous effort due to the Ministry of Morale. Changelings who were caught were ultimately put into re-education centers to be brainwashed into loving ponies in a far more unhealthy way. To the point they'd turn their back on everything they ever knew.

Fear blanched at the thought.

==========================================================================================

Luna knew Fear was going to be completely battered, nearly broken, by the time it was her turn with the colt. But unfortunately she would show no mercy. “Welcome back, Fearei. It is good to see you.”

Fear nodded, rubbing his swollen cheek. “Yeah, good to see you too.” He didn't sound too thrilled.

“Hard night and day?”

Fear nodded sorrowfully. He didn't have the strength to speak.

“Well I'm sorry to say but we have to get to work, we don't have time to revel in self pity.”

Fear audibly whimpered.

“I'm sorry, Fearei. This is difficult, but just think about how much you'll gain.”

“What will I gain?”

Luna tilted her head to the side and smiled at Fear softly. “Strength the likes of which no one else could imagine. Eventually you'll be able to take on the world.”

“Yeah, but I'll still get killed by guns.”

“Hm, maybe. But if you conclude your training with flying colors you'll be more than capable of beating creatures into submission before it comes time to raise guns.”

Fear thought about that. He was silent for a moment. “You sure?”

“Very sure, little Fearei.”

Fear forced a smile onto his face. “Fine then, sure. What were you going to teach me again? I've had a long... time.” Fear didn't know what to call it. Night? Day? It was a mix of both at this point. He'd had a long dream too. It felt like an eternity. The trials weren't nearly this hard.

Luna gave a firm nod. “I will first be teaching you how to harness the shadows, how to pull them around you and manipulate them, then I will be teaching you how to walk within the shadows. And after that, when I think you are ready, I will teach you the Starlight Shredder spell.”

Fear's eyes sparkled. “What's that?”

Luna's smile only increased in intensity, becoming furtive. “It is a special spell I used on your sister when she first came here. It is a combination of spells and shadow manipulation, where you create pinpricks of light within the dark and use them to assault your enemies. The more magic you funnel into the spell, the more dangerous it becomes.”

Fear whistled. “Whoo, that's pretty incredible.” He paused. “You really think I can learn that?” He asked suspiciously.

“Most certainly.”

“Well alright then, let's get busy.” Fear lowered to the ground, his tail sweeping back and forth.

“We will start with meditation.”

“Aw fuck!” Fear exclaimed. Well, he'd be practicing meditation in sleep and waking it seemed.

==========================================================================================

Fear was uncertain about the majority of his training, especially right now as he faced down both his sister and mentor. Both Amelio and Saway. “Please have mercy on me,” he squeaked out.

Amelio shook her head wildly. “Not on your life, Fearei! You have a mission to beat this... this Solanum and bring glory to our family, to your new hive!”

Fear cocked his head to the side, smiling despite himself as he held the manifested wooden training sword in his dream telekinesis. “What, really? You think it's like a hive?” Something about that felt good.

Saway shuddered. “I don't wanna be part of anyone's hive.”

Fear's face fell.

“But, colt.”

Fear's face lit up again.

“If you can beat me and your sister in combat one day, I will let you call me part of your family. Hive. Whatever.”

Fear was nearly bouncing up and down.

“So let's get started,” Saway declared, and was immediately besetting Fear in a number of swings.

Fear struggled to keep up, using the sword to try and block it. Saway seemed to know just how to strike in order to lure him into a corner, before 'stabbing' him with her training sword, leaving him furious.

“Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready!”

Saway smirked. “Tough luck colt, your enemies will always get you when you're not ready. Now, en garde!” Saway was immediately assaulting Fear once more.

Fear flailed as he tried to keep up, Amelio soon joining in when Fear least expected it. It was a pain in the ass as the wooden swords clacked together incessantly. Pushing Fear to the breaking point.

==========================================================================================

“So Princess Luna told me everything.” Nyx's voice was as calm and invigorating as ever.

“Everything?” Fear tilted his head to the side as he talked with the ancient pony.

“Everything. She explained that you're going to go up against a changeling King and war for power.” Nyx lifted his head slightly. “You really know what you're getting into?”

A deep sigh escaped Fear's lips, scratching his head with a hoof. “Not even slightly anymore.”

Nyx was silent for moments upon moments, leaving Fear uncomfortable. “Well, I'm going to teach you the basics for befriending creatures and keeping those friendships. You know, just in case he's willing to listen to you.”

Fear was hopeful. “You think he will?”

“No.” Nyx was succinct. “Not even slightly. But it doesn't hurt to try. And it'll help if you have to convince his hive to go without him.”

Fear glanced off to the side. Then down at the floor. “Okay, what'cha got for me?”

“First of all, you need to be confident. Hold yourself high. Second, you need to love yourself with all your heart, and demonstrate through an ear that's eager to listen that you have love to share. You want to have others do all the talking, and only respond when they have a question or are interested in you. You have to demand respect, have a backbone, a presence to everything you do, but cater to others. You have to show mutual interest in each others' hobbies, everything. You have to learn how to enjoy the smallest of things, and hope that they reciprocate.”

The colt wasn't at all sure about this.

“Further,” Nyx continued, “you have to understand a creatures' society and way of living. You have to ask questions, get to know everything that makes them who they are. You have to learn if they are an outcast, or if they are popular. You must educate yourself all about them, make them your entire world, memorize every little thing about them. You have to be unassuming, disarming, and calm.”

Fear was even more uncertain. “Do you really think I can do all that?”

“I don't know,” Nyx admitted. “You seem friendly enough, like you already have some of those attributes naturally. But you also seem like a pony that is full of himself at times. You seem like you're always thinking and not always listening. Which reminds me, you also have to learn to read others.”

Fear sat back on his haunches.

“But do not worry. I will be teaching you how to befriend others by creating the constructs of creatures that I've met during my time alive. You will converse with them, pacify them, and learn about them. They will become as much a part of you as they have of me.”

“Sure. Let's begin I guess.”

Fear's lack of confidence made it more than difficult.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZrddJPGp1I

As Fear woke up blearily, all the memories of his sleep and the previous night came back to him in full force, gushing against him and leaving him sputtering, nearly falling apart. In fact, he did fall apart. His body trying to raise, and then falling back to the pillow. He was in such agony, and his soul was hurting. His darker emotions were bubbling to the surface from his time with Saway. Everything was eating at him, it was too much to bear. It started with a hiccup, then a tear, then a full on weeping session as Fear cried into his hooves. Getting snot and tears all over his fur.

I can't do this.

For once his inner voice was silent.

I'm not ready for this kind of training. I'm just ten? Maybe eleven? Years old. I'm too weak. How can anyone expect this of me? How can they expect me to take on a King who's as old as Solanum? There's no way, it's impossible. I should just give up.

Fear gasped for air, his sixth sense smearing to the point he couldn't sense anything from just how vivid and intense his emotions were. They crashed against him, leaving him smothered.

I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this. Fear continued repeating. I'm just one colt, not even a stallion. It doesn't matter if somehow changelings mature faster than ponies, I don't feel like a changeling, I'm not even more changeling than pony. I'm just a quarter. A lame crossbreed. Spear was right the first time. I wasn't right. “I wasn't right.” Fear sobbed to himself. Sniffling and snorting, trying to clear his snout even as his thoughts thundered in his head. It was like a storm of emotions, his eyes flickering to crimson a few times as he laid in bed.

“Fear?” Faith's voice came from closeby. “Are you okay?”

“No! I'm not okay at all!” Fear was mourning for all the lost potential, regretting ever having gotten his hopes up. “I can't do this, Faith! I can't win. I've already gone through one full day of punishment, I can't do anymore!”

Faith moved over to Fear's bed, sliding onto it and wrapping Fear up in her hooves. Her faint, overripe fruit scent and muscular earth pony body nestled into Fear. Her hooves pulled the colt in close, holding his head against her chest. “Shh... shh... it's okay.”

“It's not okay! Solanum's going to win and I can't do anything to stop him! I'm a failure!”

Faith shook her head. “Not even slightly Fear.”

“Gentler hates me!” Fear pouted.

Faith chortled.

“What's so funny!?”

“Gentler has more faith in you than any of us combined, Fear. All of us are scared of Solanum. We couldn't even beat Lumi, and he wasn't a King, just a hybrid who was born with a special mutation.” Her head swayed from side to side. “You should have seen how Gentler talked about you at the tavern. It was amazing. He was hyping up your story so much it was silly.” Faith snickered and snorted while remembering it. “All while you were resting and contemplating at home how you were going to do all this, making all these plans, Gentler was busy talking you up, how he'd finally found the pony who was going to help save the wasteland.” She sighed in bliss. “You should have heard him, he was so wild and excited.” Faith's muzzle scrunched up in happiness.

Fear snuffled a few times. “R-really? Why didn't he tell me?”

“I don't know, Nightlight.” The name sent shivers running down Fear's spine. It felt good. “Perhaps he didn't want you getting a big head on your shoulders. After all, you'd just convinced a changeling chosen by his own king to rebel.” She squeezed Fear tight. “Look, Nightlight. None of us would be helping you if we didn't believe in you to overcome. You just have to drag all that willpower up from the deepest trenches of your being and wield it. You have to be incredible, Nightlight.”

Fear hiccuped. “But I'm just one pony. I'm just a colt.”

“And you're a colt who killed a psychotic science experiment. You're a colt who brought Princess Luna back to the wasteland – who by the way has come into my dreams and we've swapped stories about you.”

Fear couldn't help but grin at that. “R-really?”

“Really, Nightlight. You've overcome your demons and kept on trucking. You've endured so much. Just endure a little bit more. There'll be peace at the end, I promise.”

Fear blinked the tears away. “You really truly promise?”

“Like Ministry Mare Pinkie Pie used to say: cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

The colt couldn't help but giggle at that. “F-fine. If you're so sure. It's gonna hurt a lot but... but I'll try.”

“That's all anyone of us can ask of you, Nightlight. For you to try your best. We know you can do it.” Faith smooched Fear on the cheek. “Now get ready, you have to meet Chirp downstairs for your run.”

Fear sighed. “Fiiiiiiine.” He rolled his eyes in a wide arc. “If you say so.”

“I do say so, Nightlight.” Faith's words made Fear smile more broadly than it felt like he had in months.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079qsH6j4XI

Solanum

The three months were up before Fear knew it, though at the same time it'd felt like it'd taken forever, every exercise drawn out beyond measure. It was excruciatingly difficult and Fear still didn't believe in himself. His lessons with Nyx had suffered because of it. How was he supposed to convince a king, an expression of a hive, of anything? That was like trying to out-talk a bunch of creatures at once.

Spear had given Fear the directions to the hive, telling him that Solanum was expecting him within a few days and not to keep him waiting if he was indeed intent on fighting for dominance. He had both garand and sword with him, intending to use both at the same time if he could. His dexterity with telekinesis had only improved and... well. The fruits of his training were a secret to all but those who'd spent the time propping him up to be his best.

Sim, Faith, and Gentler were all coming with the colt, traveling with him and giving him emotional support, as well as backup in case anyling tried to attack him on the way. Even if Spear had told him no changelings would attack, none of them trusted it for sure. Sim, who was carrying the colt's saddlebags, had explained that sometimes individuals took matters into their own hooves rather than waiting for the king or queen to make a decree. It sometimes caused chaos, and other times it allowed for the hive to grow further. It was always a case by case basis.

It wasn't long at all before they were in range of the hivestone formation that made up Solanum's hive. Immediately, it nullified Gentler's gems despite the fact that they tried their best to function. Fear's shadow spells were useless, and so was normal telekinesis. Thankfully he'd learned how to use telekinesis via his changeling magic instead, so it wasn't a big deal.

Faith's weapon was also not working. The lot of them were at a huge disadvantage, and they were going into enemy territory.

All they had was Solanum's word that no one would try to dogpile them and dispose of them before they could face the king.

Fear felt more uncomfortable than ever before, and it only became a far more passionate sensation, digging into his brain and scooping out chunks as if he was being probed and examined, when they got into the hive.

Prince Piercing Nettle was the one who was guiding them through the various contracting and dilating cavern walls, as if it was alive, leading them to the King. Nettle was a powerful changeling with rippling carapace. He looked like he was constantly in motion, even if it was no more than his wings occasionally fluttering. He looked a lot like Spearmint, but he had a lustrous golden shell and eyes, with a long, flowing alabaster gossamer mane that fell straight down his shoulders, tail framing his hindlegs. His presence was the most dominating force Fear had felt to date, aside from Sim's illusion of what Solanum was like.

Navigating the breathing pathways wasn't the problem, they had assistance for that.

The problem was the sheer malevolence Fear was experiencing. Changelings they passed jeered at him. He could sense a whole hive mind chittering and buzzing closeby that wouldn't let him in, but he could hear all the words directed at him.

“Dear Chrysalis he's small!”

“That little thing thinks he can take on our king?”

“Look at him, he can barely stand to be in the presence of our hive mind!” It was true, Fear was cowering before the amount of presences and emotions drifting about inside of it. It was throwing him for a loop, numbing his thoughts, making it difficult to be... himself.

“He's a fucking failure.”

“Look at his eyes glow! He can't hide emotions for the life of him. He's weak.”

“Fuck that horn! So stubby – no one would ever want him for that.”

Then the name calling started.

“Queefshitter.”

“Fartsplatter.”

They knew everything, not only his name but about his genetic defect. How'd that get out?

“You're no more than a drone, stop pretending to be something you're not!”

“You don't deserve to be anywhere near our king you pathetic mutt!”

Fear tried to block out all the thoughts being relentlessly thrown at him, trying to focus on meditating, attempting to control his breathing and heart rate. He was scared. No changelings wanted him there. None voiced their opinion at least.

“Can't do anything a fullbred can.”

“Barely big enough to be a cocksleeve without breaking.”

“Bugwhorse.”

“Is that a pony or just the other half of what I didn't eat last night?”

“Hey where'd this talking doll come from?”

The derisive comments never seemed to cease as Fear wandered through the labyrinthine hallways, slowly heading further underground toward...

“Where are we going?” Fear asked with trepidation.

Nettle responded simply, a condescending tone to his voice. “We're headed to the heart of the hive. Where changelings past and present will bear witness to your fight; to determine whose ideals we should follow; who is the strongest.”

“Oh.”

Faith reached over toward Fear. “It's going to be okay Nightlight.”

“Pfft,” Nettle spat. “He's a dirty amalgam and he knows it. This is about proving a point, and the point's going to be proven one way or another. This little waste of space doesn't even deserve an audience, doesn't deserve to have breath spent on him, yet the king believes all rebels should be put in their place no matter how inferior and insignificant.”

Fear was at a loss for words. Everyone stayed silent.

“Here.” Nettle hissed. “Beyond here is the heart of the hive. Go in and take care of your business. Pray to your sisters, you won't be leaving alive.”

Fear gave a solemn nod and slipped past him into the room beyond.

The door, like a camera shutter, zipped closed behind him, sealing shut. Nettle turned to them and smiled. “You shouldn't have come here you know. You should've just let the foal go on his own.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tByGFY8WRY

Sim stepped up. “We wouldn't do that to him. He deserves to have support.”

Gentler huffed. “That colt... he's going to do great things with his life. He can't be stopped here.”

Faith just smiled determinedly, her brows leaning inward defiantly.

Nettle sat on his haunches and pushed his forehooves together. “Well then. I don't suppose King Solanum would mind if I took out the riffraff while he's dealing with the drone.”

Sim's eyes widened, Gentler punched a fist into his palm, and Faith took a step back. “That wasn't the deal,” Sim hissed with furious eyes, boring a hole into Nettle.

“Too bad, deals change all the time. Besides, your friend there is destined to fail.”

“He's my son, and he doesn't fail.” Not ultimately at least.

“Bah, whatever!” A flash of green surged past Nettle's eyes, but Sim closed his at the last second, before lashing out. Sim transformed his hoof into a blade, careening it straight for his face.

Nettle stepped back. Sim lashed out with another bladed hoof for the changeling's neck, stepping forward onto the the other hoof as it morphed back. The changeling stepped back again, pressing against the wall.

“You little shit!” The prince spat as he lunged at Sim, tackling him to the ground and raising a hoof to pound into his face, both pairs of saddlebags falling off onto the ground around him.

Faith was coming at Nettle with a valiant war cry, using two hooves to swing her weapon through the air horizontally, intending to bash the changeling's face in. He rolled off to the side however, causing the weapon to whiff air. Nettle then lurched at Faith, intending to burrow a sharpened hoof into her jugular.

Gentler was there though, leapfrogging over Faith and shoving her to the ground, passing over Nettle, somersaulting and landing against the door on his feet, twisting around like he was in zero-g and thrusting a fist out to bash the prince's skull in through the back.

Nettle leaned forward and jumped, diving over Faith's and Sim's bodies, shoving them together, flitting his wings to give him distance, twisting around and charging up his horn, firing off a searing green laser at the cat who'd fallen to his knees.

Gentler leaped forward, bringing his gauntlet in the way, taking the brunt of it, a scorch mark forming along the metal, nearly tainting one of the gems. As the Abyssinian flew through the air over Sim and Faith, he lashed out with a hook, which Nettle dodged, then he curled into a roll as the others were getting up.

The prince bellowed. “Perhaps we should make the arena a little more appropriate for a fight!” And with that his horn lit up with a gunky green aura that reached out to the hivestone walls. Demonstrating his power, the cavern began to stretch out like it was being blown apart.

All three stood ready. Sim standing next to Gentler, and Faith on the other side holding her weapon like a hammer on her back, hoof through the hole.

Three green lasers lanced out from Nettle's horn, surging at the trio who dispersed, running to either side of the changeling while Gentler faced him head on, charging forward.

The prince backed up slowly, firing off another laser at Gentler, which was swiftly dodged. The cat was watching the build-up of magical energy closely and using his superior reflexes to avoid it. Gentler reared his left hand back, intending to punch a hole straight through Nettle's face, but it was a feint.

As the prince ducked, Gentler launched himself into the air, twisting around and landing with his feet on the ceiling, then barreling straight for Nettle.

The changeling lined up his horn and charged up energy, intending to fire a bolt right through Gentler's heart. Only it wasn't meant to be.

Sim reached out with his changeling magic, using telekinesis to save the Abyssinian in the nick of time, pushing him out of the way.

The bolt fired off of Nettle's horn. It cracked the ceiling.

Gentler landed on the ground with a spinning flourish.

Before the prince knew what was happening Faith and all her earth pony strength was right up next to him, swinging downwards with her weapon like a sledgehammer. The horn crashed into Nettle's skull, nearly cracking it open in one deft movement, sending the changeling plummeting to the ground, nailing his face into the rock.

With Nettle's brain nearly randomized in his cranium, jumping around like it was on crack cocaine, the prince was out for the count.

==========================================================================================

The room Fearei entered was large and expansive, glowing green. There was a bridge leading further in toward a dais with an unusual sigil on it that Fear didn't recognize. In a pit surrounding the entire area was a bath of changeling slime giving off cozy light and comforting heat. Fear looked over the edge into the goop, and could've sworn he saw something swimming within it. It wasn't anything living, Fear didn't feel monsters with his sixth sense, but there was definitely something. A presence that throbbed against him, whispering things to him. Dangerous things. Ever the easily influenced colt, he had a combination of encouragement and discouragement entering him though he couldn't understand why. Suddenly he was elated, his heart rising into his throat, and also even more sullenness, his stomach knotting up in his abdomen. Fear looked back toward the dais and saw...

Solanum.

Ever in his oppressive glory like Sim had shown him, yet it was far more brutal than even that. The booming presence was too much, officially bringing Fear to his knees before he could get to him. The colt was crawling forward in reverence despite every wish pumping through his body. “K-King Solanum. I am here.” He wanted orders. Wanted to be told what to do. No matter what it was, he wanted to achieve it. Serve the higher power.

Solanum turned around to face Fear. “So you are just a drone.”

Fear heaved and huffed, trying to bring to every bit of him he could. It was a struggle, pulling forth his will, using everything he'd ever experienced during his training to just... stand... up! Fear's legs trembled as he forced himself onto all fours, his head bowed, eyes squeezed shut. He couldn't... couldn't fight in this state.

“Do you really know what you are doing nymph, what you are fighting? You are rebelling against more than you could ever imagine. You don't deserve to be in my presence the way you are.”

“I... I... I... came here to ask you... to demand...” Fear's breathing was ragged. “That you stop your war against ponies. S... stop belittling them. They... they don't deserve all of it!”

“Oh? And why should I listen to you?”

“I don't... I don't know.” Fear tried to show the uncertainty that Nyx had taught him. “We want to set an example.”

“Examples don't work in the wasteland, I'm afraid.” Solanum's voice was deep and pronounced, almost sexy. “If we succeed in healing the wasteland we deserve all the credit, we deserve to be the rulers. Don't you agree, nymph?”

Fear wanted desperately to agree, nodding his head despite his wishes. “N... no. You're supposed to.” He dragged out his ideals kicking and screaming from when he was young. “You're supposed to help others despite what you get in return. If others elevate you then... that's... their... choice.” Fear gasped and fell to the ground again.

“I'll tell you what, Nymph.” There was a certain admiration and respect to Solanum's voice that hadn't been there before. “You endure being part of our hivemind and I'll think about considering your proposal.”

Fear nodded again. “F... fine. I... I accept.” He eased out as if he couldn't breathe.

Solanum closed his royal eyes and reached out with his lancing horn, touching the top of Fear's head. Suddenly, the area's secrets were unlocked for him, opening up before him. Now he was zooming across what felt like time and space, thousands of stars that were changeling souls from past and present surging past his vision, battering against his mind. The whispers of everything deluged over him, cascading and enveloping him, wrapping around his soul and crushing it. Smothering it. Drowning it. He couldn't hear himself think. A fit of catatonia formed over him as he fell onto his side, his breathing becoming faint, his eyes dilating, bulging out of their sockets. He could hear so many changelings that didn't want his presence amidst them.

Fear was going brain dead, his identity completely inundated. He couldn't... couldn't recall himself no matter how hard he tried. What was his name? What were his ideals? What was his reason for being? It was to serve the hi... No.

Fear squeezed his eyes shut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0RMGid6vo

Memories, his own, came flooding into him. Learning with his mother, being coddled by her. Carving his own path through the wasteland. Sure he'd hurt others, but that didn't mean he deserved to be under another's command, because...

Because... he was making up for it. Crate and Angel believed in him. They'd taken care of him. He'd slaughtered the fuck out of Chrono Corona. He hadn't gone through all that just to lose here! And then there was the pendant, showing him all sorts of things, all sorts of various destinies, but none that applied to him in the here and now, as if teasing him.

If Fear wasn't going to give into the Seer's Eye and its whims how was he ever going to give into this... this conglomeration of identities!? They weren't him! This hive wasn't him! He didn't belong to it! Fear remembered Amelio, and Sim, and everyone else. All of it came thudding into his brain like meteors.

Fear's eyes flashed as his fervent breathing calmed. Fear slowly pushed himself up onto his hooves. He was dazed but... he could... fight. “Fuck you, Solanum.” Fear defiantly spat.

“So you do have some will in you after all. It's too bad I have to kill you.” Without warning the King lashed out with a hoof, turning it into a spear and driving it into Fear's body.

Or at least it would have if Fear hadn't felt it coming. He jumped backwards, the spear plowing into the ground, a web of cracks spreading out around it. “Gonna... gonna have to do better than that!” Fear seethed.

“Oh, don't worry, I will.”

Fear huffed and puffed, recalling all his training. Without thinking he proceeded across his list of plans, growing out his hair and fur, and shedding it at an alarming rate. Soon there were so many fibers hanging in the air it was nearly a tempest and it was difficult to not breathe them in. Fear was hidden among them.

The colt pumped out an illusion with all he could manage, trying to hide his body within the storm.

Solanum quickly lost sight of the hybrid.

Fear unsheathed his sword and held it at the ready, unslinging his garand off his body and holding it next to him. And before he knew what he was doing he was galloping around the arena, shedding more and more fur and hair. Creating an absolute torrent of amethyst and dark gray.

Solanum didn't know what to do, he was at a loss for everything. He'd never seen a technique like this before. The king's carapace began to ripple and squirm, pieces of it growing out from him and slicing off his body, raising into the air at the ready.

The colt dashed at Solanum, bringing his gun to bear. The king heard his hooves coming – rookie mistake. And lashed out with a spear of carapace. It hit the ground, missing Fear by an inch because he swerved to the side.

Fear pressed the gun up against Solanum's flank and pulled the trigger as he dashed past.

Burn marks marred the surface of his carapace, ichor seeping out of the wound as Solanum's leg lifted into the air, no other reaction besides that. He couldn't use that leg anymore without severe pain, but he'd kept the bullet from damaging anything more. “So. You can sense me.”

Fear cried out. “Of course I can you idiot!” Fear was nearly screaming as he lost himself in the cloud of hair and fur.

“In that case let's see how well you do with illusions.”

Abruptly in Fear's sixth sense there was a host of Solanum souls dotting the arena, confusing him to no end. They were all moving at once, even the one that was standing still. Fear boggled vacantly as he stood still, getting lost in the sensation.

Solanum took that time to find Fear by making a ring of carapace spears, then twirling them around the arena in a vortex, knowing he'd eventually hit the colt.

The only reason Fear'd managed to survive when a lance was about to impale him was due to his sword throbbing and coming to his defense, clearly not affected by the illusion. It swept through the storm and bashed against the chitinous weapon, diverting it off and to the side. Then another, clanging against the carapace and sending them flying. But now Solanum knew where Fear was.

Fear tried to nullify the illusion, but it just changed forms, becoming something else, he couldn't keep up! So he stopped trying.

Solanum approached where he knew Fear was. Fear used his eyes and tried to fire a bullet at the king, who wove to the side and lashed out with a leg, like an alien it grew until it coiled around Fear like a python, squeezing against him and holding him in the air.

Fear was still dazed, unable to move. He tried his best to squirm out, bringing the sword down onto the arm of carapace to try and sever it, but it didn't even make a dent.

Solanum chuckled. “You know, Fear, you could have made a great changeling. Even if you never would have been anything more than a crossbreed.”

Fear strained and struggled in his bonds, about to fire a bullet at Solanum, only the king constricted tighter, stealing Fear's breath away and causing his magic to fail him, both weapons clattering to the ground. “Fuck... you...” Fear gasped out, his body turning blue.

“So how should I kill you? The long and obscene way, forcing you to run out of oxygen? Or should I just end it quick by stabbing you through every part of your body?”

Fear ground his teeth together, grinding and gnashing. “Finish me off... c-coward.” Fear coaxed out of his mouth.

Solanum glowered at Fear. “As you wish, Nymph. Normally I'd feel bad about killing someone as young as yourself, but examples must be made.”

“I thought... heheha.... examples didn't work?”

Solanum pounded a hoof on the floor and without any more due process pumped transformation magic into Fear's binds. A bunch of thorns burst out of the insides, stabbing into Fear in his stomach, neck, legs, and chest, puncturing every artery and organ, perforating him completely. Only his head was safe. Fear gasped, or at least tried, his eyes going dull.

With a shink the thorns receded along with the binds, leaving Fear's corpse to plummet to the ground.

“What a shame.” Solanum grinned, victorious.

“It was an illusion!” Fear's voice sounded out as a sword stabbed into the king's back, right through his spine. then wrenched along the carapace, sending wild sensations of pain and danger flirting with Solanum's brain.

“Wh-what!?” Solanum didn't scream. Fear was saddling him, so he built up transformation magic in his back, intending to shove out a spire of carapace to skewer through the colt. Fear, however, felt it coming and pumped his own transformation into the changeling in order to forcefully revert the morph and leave it normal.

Fear held on with his hooves around the sword in case the king tried to buck. “I'm an empath and you're not! Get fucked!” Fear yanked the sword out, causing more ichor to spurt from the king's body as Fear wound the gun around, intending to blast the changeling in the face.

Solanum looked at Fear for one single second.

Fear's eyes flashed green.

It felt like Solanum was falling through an abyss, his pupils enlarging and becoming faraway, his jaw hanging open.

The end came quick, the blast resounding through the room as a bullet punched through Solanum's skull.

==========================================================================================

An uproar rose like a tidal wave in the hive mind when they felt the presence of their king disappear. They'd thought it was over when they felt Fear's presence fade. Had they killed each other? How was that possible? But before the lings could get into any actual discourse Fear's presence returned.

“Your king is dead.” Fear spat on the connection, still almost drowning in the collection of minds.

The outcry was instant. They didn't understand. How could the king be dead? Just like that? The voices were tumultuous.

“Shut up!” Fear growled out at them. “I'm going home. I have my own hive to tend to.” Saway had eventually agreed to be called part of Fear's hive, with a little force from the colt. He was riding a victory high like he hadn't experienced since he beat Chrono, but it wasn't time for that right now. “I'm leaving Spearmint Wing in charge. If you don't like it you can come fight me, fuckers.” The colt's voice was furious. He'd inevitably found out the prince had tried to attack his family while he was fighting Solanum.

A voice rang out. “But... but aren't you our king now!?”

Fear shook his head hazily. “Not even slightly. I rule my own hive.” Sort of. He wasn't actually ruler, he knew. But they listened to him and supported him. It was close enough. “But Spear will be listening to me from now on.”

Spearmint's voice came up next. “Congratulations Fearei, how'd you do it?”

The colt was surprised to feel the friendly changeling connect with him. “Uh... well. I'm an empath, he's not. He couldn't tell I was using an illusion. It was just that real to him. That or he really wanted to believe it.”

“I see. Well done. I'll take things over from here. I hope you don't mind if we keep in touch?”

“Not at all, Spear. I'm going home. And eventually I'm gonna travel again, I'm sure. But until then I'm taking some downtime. I want to spend time with my hive.”

Spear tried to calm his new hive down. It was fast, but it was simple. The victor had decided the new leader, and no one would dare fight with that decision.

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsNGZEXzfUs

And that's the end of Fear's first real adventure.

Downtime (Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZUln73KN-I

Dim Nova was nowhere to be found; no place did her dreams exist within the Flow. Amelio had even helped the alicorn seek out any presences in the farthest reaches using her sixth sense, but nothing was found. It was as if the mare had just completely disappeared, a theory furthered by those who'd known her up until her vanishing. But beside that, Fear had at least gotten to see Crate and Angel again. They were joyful upon seeing him, having never expected they'd see each other in their dreams.

Luna had collected the colt and two lovers, bringing them together in one dreambubble.

“So yeah, after I beat that bitch Solanum I left for home again. Sorry the story took so long.” Fear rubbed his left foreleg with the right, glancing down and to the side.

Crate's gruff voice sounded out gaily. “No worries Fear, we're just happy you've been doing better! Isn't that right sweetie?”

Angel nodded softly, a gentle smile spread across her face. “Indeed. It's a pleasure to see you again, even if only in our dreams. You'll have to come visit sometime so we can play cards again.”

Something about the whole thing didn't feel... authentic. There was a mentality to it all, Fear could tell it was all in his head but at the same time it wasn't, the others around him weren't products of his imagination. It felt as if everything was at his beck and call, and all he had to do was imagine it in order to make it a reality. But whenever he woke up, things felt even more fake than ever before, like life was made up of dolls and the only thing that set it apart were the souls. Despite all the actual physical sensations that weren't a product of the mind there was something... off about it. All the time. It left the colt unsure about the state of things more often than not, but Amelio assured him that it was natural for nothing to feel absolute as you got used to sifting between sleep and waking.

Fear looked up with a brilliant smile splitting his maw open, his legs rigid and tail whipping from side to side. “I'd really love that! So I heard you two have an adopted foal now?”

The two lovers gazed at each other for a moment, with Crate speaking first. “Huh, you really find out everything in this place?”

Fear shook his head wildly. “Nah! Not even slightly. There's so much that can't be found out. It's all about what creatures dream of and stuff, ya know?”

Angel 'hmm'ed. “Well, it would have been nice if we could have told you about him ourselves. Crate found him on his route awhile back. He was a little feral, recently escaped from some slavers, and we took him in. He's a real hoofful sometimes.”

“Oh? What's his name?” Fear was ever the curious colt.

Crate took a step forward. “We call him Bidden, but his full name is Glory Bidden. His parents had high hopes for him.”

Fear's ears twitched, his lips creeping a little higher. “That's pretty cool.” It reminded him of his mother. “I'm sure he'll manage to do a lot.”

Angel shrugged. “I don't know if we can expect that much out of him, but it'd be nice if he just became a functioning member of the wasteland. We might try to move to Friendship City at some point in order to have a little more protection. We'll have to live in the Slums but we might be able to get some work around there.”

Fear hopped up, beaming like a sun. “That'd be super cool!” He squeaked. “I'd have to make sure to visit you three!”

Crate rubbed his chin with a hoof. “Provided we remember all this when we wake up we'll have a lot to tell him about the little colt who killed our murderer.”

Fear's brows lifted slightly. “Oh, by the way, did you two get my note and stuff? Did you all leave town?”

Angel shook her head. “We got your note, yes. We were concerned, and saddened. But we figured you had a good reason for leaving.” The mare's voice was solemn and downtrodden. “We took our things and left for a day, but we couldn't get anypony to join us. I trusted your mother, so I trusted you knew what you were talking about. I'm just glad it turned out to be nothing. We didn't know what to make of it when we got back. Other ponies made fun of us for it, but we knew... you'd probably done something to stop it.”

Crate nodded. “It's good to finally have the full story of what happened.”

“I'm just glad I finally got to tell you. I was so worried you guys would think I was crazy, or think I abandoned you, or, or... a whole host of other things!” Fear bounced up, stomping both forehooves against the ground. “Like I said, I just didn't feel like I deserved to stay. It reminded me of all these.. emotions. All these things I'd done. But I'm doing better now, and I found... something akin to peace.”

Angel moved up to Fear's front and wrapped a foreleg around his neck, pulling him into her bosom. “It's fine, Fear. We're just glad you're well. It's good to have closure.”

Crate sidled up next to the colt and draped a hoof over his flanks, yanking him in close. “Indeed. You'll always be welcome around us, little savior.”

Fear sighed, closing his eyes. “I'm just glad you believe me and this is all real.”

==========================================================================================

“Got a special broadcast for all you colts and fillies out there!” The DJ's deep voice spouted from Fear's mother's radio, blaring at full volume in the fields of crops. “I recently got news from the Neighvada Desert that a pony killed off King Solanum in his own home, and the hive is now under new management. I don't know quite what to expect of Spearmint Wing but I hope all you children out there will treat him with respect and, who knows? Maybe he'll return the favor! We could always use more loyalty in the wasteland. Either way, the roads should be safer now! Less likely to be abducted and used as a slave. Whoever the little pony is that removed a constant threat from life in the desert, we thank you!”

Fear was busy training with Gentler all over again as he listened to the broadcast, a smile seeping onto his face as was becoming constant at this rate. He felt more full of himself than ever before, like he could take on anything. He'd been told to watch for the repeating broadcast, never thinking he'd be talked about by his favorite hero aside from Mega Mare.

The colt only came up to Gentler's thigh as they fought, with the Abyssinian flowing through a variety of punches and kicks, which Fear all dodged or deflected with pulses of telekinesis or the swat of a hoof depending on which spell was contained within the cat's weapons, his newfound, faintly sinuous muscles rippling under the surface of his tiny body with each little motion. He could use transformation magic to give him even more strength by this point, but it seemed redundant and useless.

Fear swerved to the side as a kick sailed over his head, then jumped into the air as Gentler's other leg sweeped out for his limbs. During the Abyssinian's spin he lashed out with a fist for the colt's head, as a powerful shock zapped in the gauntlet. Fear responded simply by twisting his head to the side as he hung in the air, his horn lighting up, a telekinetic field wrapping around the hand and forcing it down and back as he landed on the ground again. The unicorn let out a valiant war cry as he yanked with all his power on Gentler, trying to bring him crashing into the ground.

Gentler countered by leaping forward, doing a flip in the air and pulsing a magic nullifying spell through his gauntlet, unlatching him from the magical grip and landing on his feet, spinning around with a leg out to roundhouse Fear's hindlegs.

The colt reared up onto his forelegs and somersaulted, his spine bending at a weird angle thanks to his calisthenics with Chirp, and landed back on his hindlegs. Though as he did he took a deep breath, held it, and slipped into the ground like it was water.

Due to the cloud cover above the entire wasteland was covered in shadows, fortunately for the hybrid, allowing Fear to swim within like a shark, the only sign of his presence being a darker shade where he laid.

Fear darted under Gentler's greaves before he could pump nullification into them and send the colt sprawling into the air from the force, raising up out of the surface behind him and gasping air as Gentler spun around again, bringing a heel to bare against the colt.

But it was a feint. Fear's head popped out of the ground before he dove back in and bolted behind the Abyssinian. Fear came up from the rear just as Gentler's leg was finishing its sweep, Fear's foreleg jutting up in a punch and striking the cat in the knee, causing his leg to wither away, pulling back against his body.

Fear dipped back into the ground as Gentler flew forward at him, intending to clip him in the jaw with a static shock punch before he could disappear.

The colt was too swift however and immediately launched out of the ground from behind Gentler, hopping up and landing on his back, wrapping a foreleg around his neck. Fear thought about manipulating the shadows to try and strangle the cat but his magic nullifying spell would have quickly put a stop to that, so he decided against it. Fear wrapped Gentler's throat in a choke hold, holding his foreleg against the two blood vessels that brought oxygen to his brain.

Gentler responded by flipping over onto his spine and using the back of his head to butt Fear's skull into the ground, his gauntlets coming up to Fear's tightened foreleg with electricity crackling along them, intending to touch the harassing limb and make it numb.

Fear felt it coming with his empathy even as his head reeled from the bang against the ground, roughhousing with the cat as his foreleg turned into shadows, collapsing around the Abyssinian's throat just as the hand came up, touching his throat and sending a powerful shock flowing through Gentler's system and making it difficult to breathe.

The colt huffed, one eye lidded and the other twitching from the soreness in his skull. “Surrender!?” Fear was frantic, hoping that was the end of the fight.

Gentler coughed and hacked. “M-mercy!” That was the end of their daily spars. “Well...” the Abyssinian wheezed. “Well done again, Fear.”

Fear's grin reached untold lengths as he let go of the cat and slipped into the shadows before appearing on all fours a few inches away, panting for air, still wincing from the blow to his head.

==========================================================================================

Gentler and Fear stared intently at each other across the table at Scavver's Tavern, with the colt sitting on his haunches in one chair and the Abyssinian sitting across with his feet planted firmly on the floor. The cat had a large, condescending smirk on his face, leaning forward, vision needling into the unicorn. Fear on the other hoof was determined, his face set in a heavy scowl and eyes penetrating deep into Gentler's soul. He would not lose, slamming his hoof on the table, the shot glasses between them jostling from the force. “Your start,” Fear coaxed.

Gentler smirked, his whiskers shivered as his snout wrinkled up. “A tom got hit in the head with a can of sparkle cola. At least it was a soft drink.”

Fear kept a straight face, leaning on an elbow and holding his chin with a hoof. “The shovel was a groundbreaking invention.”

Gentler merely shrugged and grinned. “Want to hear a joke about construction? I'm still working on it.”

Fear's lips turned upward, jerking slightly. “So what if I don't know what armageddon means? It's not the end of the world.”

Gentler sighed, eyes rolling in their sockets. “If I had fifty caps for every time I failed a math exam I'd have five hundred twenty caps.”

The colt took a moment to think about that. When he finally got it his jaw hinged open and his eyes widened, a little snrrk escaping his lips, snout scrunching. Fear stomped a hoof and took a shot, his whole body cringing from the taste. After wiping his mouth with a hoof, he continued. “What do you call a fish with no eye? A fsh.”

Gentler's brow lifted an inch at that one. No other reaction. “My brother,” he began simply, “and I often laughed about how competitive I am.” The cat leaned forward. “I laughed more.” He had a sinister expression.

Fear's tail whipped to the side under him, trying to keep a straight face. “I still remember what my Mom said before she kicked the bucket.”

The cat nearly whistled at the gall.

“How far do you think I can kick this bucket?”

It was such a dark joke Gentler couldn't help but laugh, batting a paw and taking a swig from one of the shots, slamming it back down against the table. “My girlfriend's dad told me he wanted her home before midnight. I told him he already owned her home.”

Fear couldn't help but giggle at that, cursing to himself under his breath as he struck another shot down his throat. It burned like Tartarus. “What's the difference between roast bloatwing and pea soup?”

“What?”

“You can rrr... rrroast a bloatwing but no one can p... pee ssssoup.”

Despite himself, Gentler chuckled at the dumb joke, knocking back a shot with the experience of a heavy drinker. “I didn't want to believe Mom was stealing stuff from her job as a road worker, but when I got home all the signs were there.”

Fear wasn't able to resist laughing, tapping a hoof on the table and shaking his head wildly before using telekinesis to drink down another glass. His breath smelled like alcohol already, and his eyes were becoming glassy. “Wha... whuh's brown and has... hassss wheels? Sssss.”

“Fucking lightweight,” Gentler teased. “A wagon?”

“N... nnno. Dirt. I l-lied about the wh... wheels.” Fear's mouth moved like he was trying to chew on something that wasn't there.

Gentler guffawed out loud, nearly busting a gut as he slumped over, holding his abdomen. The cat downed another bit of alcohol.

Fear's sixth sense was blurring beyond comprehension, all the souls in the area starting to mix together and everyone's intent becoming a fierce amalgamation of emotions that he couldn't keep up with. He was left so far behind in the dust, with everything spinning around him he was becoming dizzy.

“Fine.” Gentler conceded. “What's the difference between a cat and a complex sentence?”

The hybrid's face was sagging to one side as he tried to understand the question, one eye lidded and his lips tugging downward. “Huh?” When he finally regained cognizance he shook his head and queried, “what?”

“A cat has claws on the end of its paws, a complex sentence has a pause at the end of its clause.”

Fear's face was expressionless for moments as he tried to comprehend the punchline, squinting suspiciously at the cat. After a few moments it clicked, recalling his time with his mother, getting it by context only (which was how he understood most things), and stutter-giggled to himself tipsily. “Eheheh hee hee heh... haha.” Fear reached out with his magic, nearly knocking some shot glasses over, before successfully gripping one and lifting it to his lips, cocking back the drink and wincing as it drained into his stomach. “I'm... mmm I'mmmmm sssscared of ele... elevators. So I'mmmm going to start taking... taking steps to avoi... avoid them.”

Gentler laughed a little at that, partly at how drunk Fear already was and partly at the joke itself, pouring a shot into his mouth. “What do you call a pile of cats?”

Fear gazed at Gentler vacantly.

“A meowtain.” There was a giant smile lingering on the Abyssinian's face as he said it.

Fear's entire face screwed up in euphoric laughter, his shoulders rocking and eyes squeezed shut, bellowing out laugh after laugh until one laugh too many caused him to throw up all over the floor next to him with a loud, heaving 'blooooorf!'

==========================================================================================

Faith had invited Fear into one of her street sermons. A new one for a new age about Princess Luna and her role in their dreams. That peace would be kept within the dream world one way or another, and that those with WTSD would be able to rest easier nowadays that a princess had been brought back. Fear helped with it, supporting her like the colt he was and shouting at everypony just as she did.

Unfortunately nopony believed them. Everypony just kept walking on by without a single care in the world for the two crazies on the side of the road shouting at them.

“Karma doesn't exist! We all get many moments to change our ways and become better! Every time we face another pony,” Fear yelled, “we get the opportunity to stand down or keep going. We get the choice to question our actions and think critically. We often face those who are similar to us, those that show us what we could be, or what we can be! I've met so many ponies that've shown me what I could become if I'm not cautious, and what I could be if I work hard and listen to others!”

Faith took a step forward, holding the weapon she normally carried with her for self defense under her hind hoof. “There is order in communication. There is harmony and discord in friendship. Positive change is all around us, just waiting to bring us to our higher selves. To reveal the alicorn inside all of us!”

“Friendship is stability!” Fear cried. “Everypony should take a deep look inside themselves and analyze everything that makes them what they are! Get help from others! Be good! Everypony has it in them! There is not a single creature that is handicapped – that doesn't have it!”

“Evil is simply born from misunderstandings and boredom, we can do better!” Faith was insistent as ponies just passed them by.

“The wasteland tests our mettle, and we have a choice of either drowning our problems in sex, drugs, and violence,” as Fear'd learned from Faith, “or we can walk straight and true with the help of others and recover! We can heal! The wasteland can heal! Just by devoting ourselves to each other and our higher ideals!”

“All creatures,” Faith proceeded, “may live in peace! All races! There is no one superior race nor species, we all have something to contribute to the restoration of the wasteland! The discord generated by friendship will ripple outward and change the world!”

And it continued like that for at least a few hours. Fear did this with Faith at least once a day, helping her with her preaching. Often repeating. Sometimes discovering more lines of reasoning. Occasionally Faith proclaimed stories to those who'd listen, and Fear joined in with the tales of self.

==========================================================================================

Fear stared at Emulae for a time, his tail whipping back and forth as he sat at the dining room table, surrounded by cowboy kitsch. Old creaky wood, wallpaper, antiquated paintings of scenery (had it once belonged to a painter? Fear had to ask Jack) and a number of homely, miscellaneous crafted trinkets. Overall the whole room emanated a feeling of hygge that crept into the flesh like acid, corroding stress and the chill of discomfort. The colt was always impressed with it all, but right now he was focused on the female changeling across from him. She had a sincere, affectionate, and gentle smile on her face that eased the energy right out of Fear's reserves. It was like there was a crack in the dam that held back his world's worth of determination, leaving him lax. Ever since he'd met her he'd been trying to come to terms with the unusual, wild sensation that nibbled at him like being stroked along the spine. He looked from her to the middle of the table, rather casually. His eyes hooked on the vacant napkin holder that looked like the jaws of some craggy wild animal, and the scant few knicknacks piled next to it – they all looked friendly with each other. In particular, his gaze was caught on an antique clay frog that was polished to a shine, with poisonous colors coating it in an oddly realistic fashion. His expression was contemplative. “Alright I'm ready.” Fear calmed his breathing, falling into a meditative trance, and focused on the reliable, substantial frog bauble.

Emulae's eyes slimmed, blinking once at the hint of nonchalance in Fear's tone. Given his usual failures at these exercises, it was strange, almost as if he'd gained a dollop of confidence. She focused on Fear's mind, expelling illusory wavelengths from her body. They caressed the unassuming amphibian sculpture, molding and warping it. It transformed right before Fear's eyes, becoming something that every rowdy sensory input told him was real and dangerous. But he kept his cool, using the newfound integrity of his mind's eye to endure. His head twisted to the side slightly, but he kept his eyes on the frog, which was now snarling at him like a wild dog, having opened its mouth to reveal rows and rows of serrated teeth. It looked ready to lunge at him.

Fear pushed out illusory currents of his own, filling it up. Right before Emulae's eyes the frog began to change even more, morphing into a beast with tentacle whiskers that lashed out at the changeling, wrapping around her throat and constricting.

Emulae's eyes widened, feeling the sensation of having her airway cut off. “Hee hee, you've gotten so much better at this game little Fear.”

Fear kept quiet as he tried to put all his power into making the mirage as real as possible.

Emulae hardly moved, with one hoof in reality and one hoof in the dream. She then twisted it back around on Fear in a way he'd come to expect, bringing the table between them to life, slowly transforming from a four-legged slab of wood into a towering timberwolf, the napkin holder forming a ridge of spines, and the trinkets piled on top becoming sickly warts that looked like if they popped, they'd splash gross, vomit-inducing ichor everywhere.

Which is why Fear saw it coming.

The bubbles on the skin of the newfound, drooling creature that roared in his face popped, vile gunk splattering everywhere and oozing all over the ground, droplets plastering on Fear's face and body. At least that's how it felt. It was oily and summoned up every ounce of disgust within him, making his stomach flop once, then twice, then convulse and nearly heave up his lunch. Fear's throat constricted and he held his breath, cheeks puffing out, saliva filling his mouth at the sensation of approaching discharge. He held himself back though, but because he was so intent on braving the responses gurgling and brimming inside of him, he wasn't prepared for what came next.

Emulae's illusion proceeded, the giant maw of the ex-table chomping down on Fear's skull, the teeth digging into his neck and causing blood to blossom. Fear could feel the release of life-giving fluids seeping from him. He couldn't breathe, as if something had severed his larynx, and everything had suddenly gone dark. All he could see was shadowed brown hues, the interior of the creature's wooden mouth.

Still, Fear endured. He was used to visions like this from her. He would not give in, he would not break. He would not shatter. Even now he pumped delusions outward from him.

The timberwolf shifted and cavorted in front of Emulae.

Fear pulled on something deep inside of his memory. The timberwolf began to melt, turning into a behemoth of sludge before easily taking on a new shape, becoming something so giant the house around them began to break apart. Fear let out a war cry deep within himself as he put everything he could into the illusion. Growing larger, and larger, more and more massive, borrowing on the changeling's memories of what was around them, until all that was left was debris of the house, Emulae, and the farmland around them. It became something far more sinister and bestial, something with a lack of sentience, as well as an abstract moral compass all in one. Something that Emulae could sense was far beyond her. It was bigger in every way Emulae could imagine. The head of it, which was now facing the changeling, became more flowery with blossoming petals, a fractaling, worm-like mouth that funneled deep inside, with sequential rings of teeth surrounding the insides and a hearty, durable shell made of rigid, spikey plates that jutted outward like a giant dragon's scales. They rippled actively, the mouth of the creature collapsing, teeth ramming together, the petals folding closed around Emulae's body, pulling her in. Fear kept going with the illusion as Emulae was thrown for a loop.

Emulae could smell the creature's breath, something otherworldly and ephemeral, a toxic drug leaving her delirious and nauseated like diethyl ether. There was something frightening about it that struck her to the core, as if her very soul, her consciousness was about to be ingested. She saw herself approaching the teeth.

The terror Fear felt when he'd first encountered the Dirge within the exoverse came rampaging over Emulae's awareness, trampling her into the ground, and leaving her ragged and panicked.

“Stop!” Emulae shouted. Her breathing was heavy, her heart hammering in her chest.

Fear ceased the illusion, everything returning to normal, reality yanking into place with a jerk and a flash. A huge smile spread across his face. “I win. Finally.”

Emulae smiled, holding a leg against her chest and trying to calm herself, panting heavily. “In... indeed you d... do. Good... good job, little Fear.”

==========================================================================================

“So where are you from, originally?” Fear glanced to his grandfather who was trotting by him, side closest to the crops they were passing. Jack had his eyes on every single piece of vegetation sticking up here and there, and seemed to be feeling out for the slightest disturbances in his yield with narrowed vision, focused on things Fear could neither see nor feel. It was a kind of congenital instinct, a natural talent that had been cultivated over time like the very plants Jack took care of, and it was something Fear wasn't sure he possibly had in him even if the point of this was to teach him the basic idea behind it.

“Haha, you have a hard time focusing don't you?” The stallion's voice was bemused, a sly smile creeping on his face that couldn't be wiped off no matter how hard anypony tried. “Well, I suppose I can tell you that story. If you really wanna hear it.”

Fear stomped a foreleg against the ground. “Yes! Definitely! I like to learn!” Fear's smile was equally bright and infallible, for now at least.

“Hehe, well.” Jack thought about it, as if it'd been a long time, his vision casting to the quilty, sinuous cloud cover above before returning his gaze to the fields. “I grew up in Maneami with my parents. Before the war it was a city of eternal partying, which is why it was often visited by Ministy Mare Pinkie Pie herself.” Jack halted and 'hmm'ed. His eyes caught sight of a small patch of withered, shriveling pumpkins a little further in. They looked to be browning and growing mushy. Strips of skin were peeling from them, looking an unhealthy orange underneath. They seemed to be struggling, though it didn't help most of them were covered in a thin layer of dust and needed to be rinsed off. Jack wove through the clumps of vine-leashed pumpkins, almost as if dancing, with Fear following along behind him, toward the patch. “Stick a pin in that thought for now, Fear, this is what I wanted to show you.” Jack's lips were firmly pursed as he stood over the pumpkins, watching the small bunch of them with an analyzing gaze.

“O-okay.” Fear sounded uncertain, sitting back on his haunches next to him, before his vision cast to the pumpkins.

As time passed, the colt felt something brimming in the air, wafting off of his grandfather. It was... unusual. It tickled his brain. Suddenly he could feel every crystalline nerve inside of his brain resonating with the emotional output. His mind was teeming with sensory, nearly overload. Fear's jaw dipped, his eyes widening, pupils dilating slightly at the sensation. With a flick of his ears, he spoke. “How are you doing that?”

Jack shushed Fear and knelt down to the plants, breathing on them. The carbon dioxide flowing from his maw and swirling around in the air, lovingly caressing the coiling, winding stems and the tough gourds themselves. He was speaking sweet nothings. Fear leaned forward to listen, his ears twitching again. It was encouragement, words about how they were doing so well, and soon enough they'd be fulfilling their purpose, their destiny. They would be cared for until the end, and the end would be glorious, it would be an amazing destination. It was... riveting. Words alone couldn't do it justice. Fear wondered if the inspirational speech could ever be directed at him. The colt watched as Jack went from pumpkin to pumpkin, affectionately whispering to each and every one of them, time passing at a shimmy, even going so far as stroking his hooves along the plump pumps and holding them against his body, sharing warmth.

Fear's eyes aimed at Jack, concentrating on him, pupils contracting as he tried to figure out what he was doing. His lids fell shut as he tried to find the source of those emotions. It was clear where it was coming from but... it was originating specifically from his horn.

Waiting until he was done, Fear finally spoke again. “How'd you... how'd you do that?”

Jack smiled, standing tall and stepping up to Fear. “Well you know how unicorn magic is powered by emotions?” Fear nodded dumbly, his mouth a gentle frown, eyes boring holes into the stallion as if he held all the answers of life, the universe, and everything. “Anypony can do it, radiating emotions, but unicorns have the easiest time of it because they're familiar with forming magical energies with their emotive power. All you have to do is sort of... direct the emotions into that part of your body, overriding the thaumic gland. It's a little difficult – it requires meditation to figure out. But eventually you can.”

Fear glanced to the pumpkins, gnawing his lower lip, clearly intrigued. “Huh, okay. Thanks.” A smile broke across his face and he jerked his tail to the side, having something new to work on alongside all his other practices.

“It might actually be similar to that nightmare pressure your little dream friend taught you.”

Fear's head bolted into place, staring at Jack dumbstruck. “Really? Wow.” Fear pushed a hoof against his jaw and stared at the earth, eyes lidding. “Thanks.”

Jack beamed, putting a hoof on Fear's shoulder and guiding him back to the pathway as the colt contemplated his options.

The trot was calm and sedated, the roiling clouds above as still as ever, like cottony gray dirt encompassing the whole of the sky. It'd be depressing for most, but sometimes if you looked close enough you could make out shapes within the divots and chunks. Eventually Jack prodded Fear and questioned him. “So, you want to hear about my life?”

Fear was yanked out of his reverie and looked up like he'd been in a daze, a little disoriented. “Oh, yeah, uh, sure.” His mouth curled upward once more as he glanced between Jack and the road.

“Well, as I was saying, Maneami was a ride, even when I was young. Lots of drugs, et cetera. If you scavenged long enough eventually you'd salvage some old thing or two. I did a lot of experimenting growing up, and on one of my...” Jack coughed into his hoof, “acid trips. I discovered the wonders of meditation and how to pump emotions from my horn. It just sort of... opened up to me. Back then I could've sworn I'd even been able to feel things nopony else could!” A gay laugh escaped his lips. “But yeah, I started doing it all the time, making everypony feel good, and one day I found a packet of seeds and old, desiccated soil. I decided to try and grow something because, hey, you never know right? With dormant seeds and all that, you might find something.”

“So I was desperate, y'see? I was trying my absolute best with what I had, trying to find as much water as I could to keep it up, and took care of it every day. Even when I left Maneami to seek out my own destiny I looked after it. And one day... it sprouted!” Jack stood up on his hindlegs, throwing his forelegs outward like an explosion, his face lit up like a blazing inferno of happiness. “I was so, so excited that I just kept it up! And eventually it grew into a nice flower, albeit unhealthy. And I tried my best to get it to blossom like those ancient pictures, and I got my cutiemark. It was a struggle, I tell ya. Meanwhile I was avoiding raiders like the plague, making a little money by hunting down various items for other ponies, I always had a knack for finding just the right object. I made friends and relationships, occasionally offered my services as a comfort horse.”

That explained how Sim learned some of what he knew, Fear thought.

“And after a long time taking care of that little flower, it finally bloomed. I was so ecstatic, there are no words.” The stallion sighed wistfully. “I kept it with me for a long time, I still keep it in my little gumdrop's and my room to this day.”

Fear 'huh'ed. “So when'd you find this farm? And when'd you meet Emulae?”

“Well, I met Emulae shortly after the flower blossomed for its second time!” Jack's eyebrows were raised, as if they couldn't stand to be held down. “We hit it off immediately. I didn't find out til later, when I'd earned her trust and proven myself, that she was a changeling and that the primary reason she'd taken a liking to me so fast was because I'd been able to grow a flower, a viola no less. But I was more enticed than ever. We'd already had sex multiple times and, really? It was neat to hear just how she felt about me, and I realized that learning what she really was didn't change at all how she'd treated me previously, and if anything it showed she was making herself more vulnerable than ever by actually revealing it to me. After that, unless we were around other ponies, I had her be her true self all the time.” The stallion was vibrant, yet calm like a lava lamp. “As for the farm.” Jack looked back the way they came with appreciation and gratitude etched all over him. “My little gumdrop and I came here at some point for shelter, and the previous farmer, who wasn't doing so well in his old age, offered to tutor me on how to take care of the crops if I promised to stay and help the town nearby. Of course I promised. I believed it was my destiny for one, and second of all that's just the kind of pony I am!”

Fear had a weary smile. After dealing with the Seer's Eye he wasn't sure there was such a thing as destiny. Or at least one true destiny. There were many destinies, and by seeing what you might do you could always change it and carve a new one. That's how it seemed at least to him. “Wow, that's a pretty cool story! So you eventually had my Dad?”

“Yeah, after we finally settled down we figured it'd be for the best to have a foal. Over time I brought prosperity, far more than it ever had in the past, to this little farm. Eventually the Steel Rangers also took an interest in it, and... the rest is history.”

Downtime (Part 2)

Before Fear and Rose was a box. A simple box with marred, faded top. It had a picture of a flowery valley overlooking the Everfree Forest and Canterlot during the night sky and flitting fireflies. It was a glorious little puzzle, like something you'd see in a dream, but not something you'd see in paradise. It was surreal, but not high contrast. It felt authentic. The only reason it was strange was because most creatures hadn't seen such views in a long time. Still, the similar shades here and there would make it difficult to put together. It said on the front it was a thousand piece, edgeless puzzle for added difficulty.

“So you really think we can get this done in a few days?”

“Well, seeing as I've put it together before, I'd consider myself a failure if we didn't. We just have to work hard,” Rose responded easily enough.

“Where'd you get this anyway?”

“Dad says it came with the house. Maybe it was scavenged a long time ago? Who knows. But this place is full of little things like that.” The filly had a tight smile spread across her face. She reached out with her telekinesis, a violet chromatic ether surrounding the box and popping off the lid, upending it with a smooth movement, and puddling the pieces all together on the dining room table. Immediately the filly got to work, using her hooves and magic to scatter the pieces around, revealing this and that, her eyes already catching little details as she set the top of the box in the corner before them so they could look at it for reference. Each segment looked as good as the day it'd been bought. Despite its overuse none of the paper was peeling off the cardboard, which made Fear's heart rise in his chest from happiness, lips twisting upward.

“You know, my mother was really good at puzzles like these.”

“Oh? Really?” The filly reached out, pulling piece after piece from the pile and setting them off to the side, knowing exactly where they went.

“Ye'h. There were some jigsaw puzzles in the stable she came from and she'd occasionally put them together. It was how she cultured her talent.”

“Talent?” Sliding some more chunks around and snapping some together with Fear's help.

“Uh-huh. She could speed up her perception of time to have longer to focus and think.”

“What, like S.A.T.S?”

Fear gave an agreeable nod. “Something like that. I don't know if it was a natural talent to her or if she just figured out how to reverse engineer the spell. But yeah, she was super good at putting these things together.” Fear gasped, catching Rose's attention, as he pulled out a number of pieces that looked like they belonged near each other, occasionally glancing at the reference image, and pooling them next to him.

“Do you ever wish you could have done something like this with her?”

“Oh yeah, sure.” Fear nodded emphatically, shrugging his shoulders as if to say 'wouldn't you?' “Definitely. It's a little bit of a sore spot that I won't ever get to do those little things with her, but I also got to do a bunch of traveling games with her that we thought up together, some revolving around scavenging and stuff. She taught me a lot.”

Rose bobbed her head as she pulled out a few more segments from the main pile and organized them for later recombination. “You ever thought about, you know... looking through that Seer's Eye thing you told us about in order to spend more time with her in some way?”

Fear hummed. “Well... yes.”

“Why didn't you?”

“I was scared to be honest. Mom was already unwilling to let it go, she was always so protective of it. You'd almost think she'd call it precious. But she wasn't... controlled by it you know? Or was she? I can't tell. She kept it close to her heart always. I didn't want to end up like her. Part of me didn't care if I did or not, but I ended up deciding I should abuse it for entertainment as little as possible. I'm sure some me made the opposite choice.”

Rose cocked her head to the side. “Huh, okay. I never would have thought you the kind of pony to refrain from doing something just because you're scared.”

“Well... less scared, more cautious.” As Fear locked a couple pieces into place something flashed across his vision, his forelegs falling limp as he was pulled faraway. A vision coming to him, as if the remnants of something connected to him. A portrait of his mother and some strange, lavender mare working together on a puzzle. Fear's face screwed up in confusion as the vision dissipated.

“Everything okay?”

“Y-yeah... just had some kind of daydream.”

“Weeeird. What was it about?”

“My mother and some strange pony I've never met before putting together a puzzle. Both of them were using their talents to try and speed through it.”

“I assume you've never experienced anything like that in the past?”

“Nah. I mean, I've had a bunch of daydreams. Sometimes I still have random daydreams I don't understand when I see something associated with the vision.”

“What do you think it is?” Rose queried curiously.

“I don't know. It reminds me of when I wore the Seer's Eye.”

Rose snagged a few pieces from the pile and latched them together like a pro. “Maybe it's leftover taint, is that possible?”

“I don't... don't know. Grandma Freiya never mentioned if it was possible.”

“Then who knows?” Rose asked with an ominous tone as they continued configuring the jigsaw.

==========================================================================================

“Yo! I'm glad I finally got to have some time to play with you Fear!” Chirp called out in a brazen voice to the one next to him. A few yards away was a metal stake in the ground, and at the sides of both hybrids were a bunch of horseshoes overlaid one another in a heap. They were old, some rusty, some chipped, nicked, and scraped. One was slightly bent out of shape, warped from time. Everypony knew that was the one saved for last – a true demonstration of skill. “Remember, no telekinesis!”

Fear shook his head ruefully, frowning deeply. “Yeah, yeah... fine.” Fear threw Chirp a sly look. “Wouldn't even dream of cheating.”

“Well given how not excited you are I don't know!” Chirp's words caused Fear to wince.

Fear was starting to think he knew where he got his openness from, his Dad's side. “You go first. Show me how it's done.”

“Sure thing boss!” Chirp exclaimed with a salute, getting into position and picking up a horse shoe with a hoof, swiping it up off the ground and spinning it around in lazy arcs around his forehoof. Twisting around and around in loose revolutions. The orange-maned hybrid lined up his vision and his arc, slowing down ever so subtly, rearing back his leg and snapping it forward just as the back of the contoured metal reached the front.

Without a flourish it whipped through the air, continuing to whirl as it soared straight for the stake and slamming it so hard it reverberated a little with a ping, spiraling around the jutting metal until it fell limp against the ground.

Fear's eyes were wide. “I mean, is this even fair without telekinesis?”

“Do you want me to hold back against you?” Chirp was asking the hard questions with an innocent tone.

“Um, I don't know actually. But it's gonna take me at least a few months of constant, and I mean constant, practice to get anywhere near that good.”

Chirp's smug smile infuriated Fear, but he let it go with a sigh and a turn inward. “Eh, at least you'll get it eventually.”

“It's not very fun being constantly curb stomped in a game.”

Chirp clicked his tongue. “Fine, after this I'll help you get up to speed. But first let's see how you do!”

Fear rubbed his mane with a hoof, thinking about it. “Al-alright. If you insist.” He then picked up a horseshoe in his hoof, holding it up by the curve. His hoof was a little too small to hold the entirety of this one. He didn't dare twirl it around or make a show of it, for fear of accidentally powing Chirp in the face if it got out of his control. This just wasn't the kind of dexterity he was used to.

Using a lame swing of his forearm, the horseshoe tentatively flew through the air, arcing up, and landing a foot away from the stake with a dull 'thud.'

“See? I'm just no good!” Fear flushed fiercely and twisted his head to the side.

Chirp whistled. “Well... to be honest it's better than I expected!”

Fear felt the sincerity seeping off the statement, so it couldn't be a lie. Right? His anxiety told him it was anyway, but his sense was hardly ever wrong in this case. He knew the difference between imagination and feeling. “Well... fine. Your turn.”

It continued like that for awhile, with Fear never getting very close to the stake, but always trying his best. Chirp missed only once or twice, his horseshoe skidding across the ground a few inches from it, showing he wasn't perfect yet either.

On Fear's final throw he was tempted, sorely tempted to aid his throw with telekinesis. The string of past defeats gnawed on his integrity like rabbits tearing at crops. It hurt deep inside to know he was such a failure.

As if reading his mind, or perhaps like Jack knowing just what to say, Chirp spoke up with a... chirp. “Don't worry Fear, it's not like you're proving anything, and besides? We're hardly ever naturally talented at the things we do. It's fine! I wasn't talented at it either. Dad floored me with his skill the first time we played. So relax.”

Fear nodded once, rather graciously, and tried to ease the tension out of his muscles with a few deep breaths through his snout. He adjusted his positioning with nuance, trying to replicate most of Chirp's posture, and threw the horseshoe high.

It crescented through the air and pounded against the floor, kicking up a little dust, landing a couple inches from the stake. The close call was, despite being a failure, an elation for Fear that caused the corners of his lips to curl upward. He couldn't help it, his chest puffing out. “You see that!? I can do it!”

Chirp laughed. “Of course you can, it just takes practice! Everything does! Even talents need to be cultivated!”

Fear just grinned from ear to ear, his cheeks rising up over his eyes which shimmered brilliantly like jewels.

==========================================================================================

"Are you really sure this is a good idea?” Fear's uncertainty rang true and essential.

“O-oh c-come on, d-don't be a f-foal.” Mirage had a lively smile that, while uncommon, fit her well. She wiggled her body from side to side, getting herself completely jived up and loose. Flicking her legs this way and that, shaking them out. Before moving over to the bookshelf and pulling out one of her vinyl sleeves. It had a faded picture of a mare in a trench coat posing dynamically on the cover. The name of the album was “Femme Fatale” by... the cover was too scarred to recall who it was made by. Too bad that they'd died to obscurity, only their art in its purest form, without branding survived. Mirage walked over to the living room's spark battery operated gramophone and pulled up the needle, sliding out the disc, and setting it in place. She started the machine and put the needle down on the groove. There was a scratch, and soon enough wispy jazz tunes were wafting from the brass speaker with only a slight distortion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-0cgHsPIv0

Fear's stomach knotted up into a pretzel leaving him queasy and his legs shaking under him.

“C-come on... relax.” Mirage took a deep breath through her snout and held it in her lungs before slowly releasing it in waves, her entire form going still. “Dancing's not so bad.” As the music surrounded them and latched onto their souls, driving them to tapping their hooves on the floorboards, Mirage seemed more in her element than ever. “Now, follow me.” Mirage stood up on her hindlegs, holding her forehooves parallel to the floor. She swung them from side to side as she took a step forward, then clicked the other hindhoof in front of that one in a dexterous display Fear was sure only earth ponies were capable of. Then Mirage stepped back, back again, and clicked the other hindleg behind that one. Left, right, left, right, left, right, exposing her 'heels' the entire time, rocking around as if she was on ice but had complete control. A fanciful Charleston.

Fear lifted an eyebrow, and considered it. He stood up on his hindlegs and tried to repeat her movements. Slowly at first, feeling unsure of himself.

“Th-think of it like this. The dancing will help you in combat.”

The colt was very plussed after that statement. Still, he was uncertain. His hindlegs dipped around each other, but on the sweep backwards he accidentally lost his balance, teetering back and forth. “Wh-whoa!” And without much effort he fell forward onto his face with a thud. Again, he was blushing fervently as he tried to push himself up and get on all fours where he belonged.

“Shh shhh...” Mirage stated, wrapping her forelegs around Fear's and holding them up, coaxing him onto his hindlegs again rather smoothly. Both of them were standing and holding each other. “We'll try something different. Follow my lead.”

The filly was a little smaller than Fear, by barely anything at all. She stepped to the side, and Fear followed her, Returned, then stepped back, then Mirage moved Fear away from her and with a risky movement of her hooves, reached up and twirled him around.

Fear was a little dizzy, his eyes rolling around in their sockets as he tried to reorient himself, staggering back and into Mirage's embrace. The filly giggled and got him back onto his hindlegs, her earth pony strength easily keeping them up. They repeated the movements from before, but it got a little more complex, with dips and bends, crossing hooves over each other. Mirage ordered Fear to deviate from her, to step away from her every time she waltzed to the side, then they came back together like a pair of magnets. Mirage spun Fear again and stepped back and to the side once more, causing Fear to fall forward. Mirage's leg cupped the colt, who fell into her embrace once more. She then shoved him up and leaned back. They held onto each other as both nearly fell backwards, then they sprung back toward each other like a rubber band, twirling around with one another before Mirage finished with a flourish, bending over Fear and giving him a smooch on the cheek.

“How was that?” Her breathing was calm and quiet, while Fear's was ragged and panting.

“Haah... haah... haah... That was... that was fun!” He stated, sweating a little, mostly from all the close calls of nearly falling. “I definitely need more practice though! That was like a fight.”

Mirage brought a hoof up and swept back her mane as the next song began. “W-we'll keep going then.”

==========================================================================================

Fear was still getting used to remembering everything while asleep, be it recalling bits and pieces from being awake, or remembering everything that happened while he was asleep when he awoke. It was troublesome, like two different lives that hardly crossed over each other, mixing between dimensions constantly, seeping between one and the other with a little effort. Sometimes he even couldn't help but wake up in the middle of his sleep in order to use the bathroom. Those were always the most frustrating parts, being cut off during conversation with one of his friends because he needed to switch spaces once more. The physical body was a horrid piece of art sometimes. And trying to satisfy his waking desires within sleep was always futile.

The worst one was when he had an itch while asleep and no matter how much he scratched it, it wouldn't go away until he realized that if he was going to achieve relief he'd have to wake up.

All in all, not that Fear could understand the comparison, but dreams felt a lot like experiencing first hand a corruption of your favorite game. Not because it was spastic and nonsensical, but because it was wild, crazy, and surreal, with a hint of hidden logic that could only be understood through context, and you could hardly remember the experience after it was over.

Dreaming and waking were two sides to a coin that Fear found frustrating even on the best of days. Transitioning between waking and sleeping was also terrible, because he always ended up disoriented and unsure of what was real and what wasn't. Even if his dreams were 'real.' It left him drowsy sometimes, and completely unmotivated. Troublesome to the highest degree. Yet at the same time? He kind of loved it. It was interesting exploring two different worlds, occasionally getting to inhabit the dreams of others when he joined Luna or Amelio on a mission to another bubble.

Right now he was informing Princess Luna about Faithdriver's newfound manuscript, recently finished.

“So yeah, friendship and chaos are apparently so intertwined that even the force you knew as Discord could viably learn how to accept friendship if reasoned with, while still being himself.”

“Hm, that is interesting, little Fear.” Luna glanced away, narrowing her vision. “I really wish I had not had Rarity remove so much from Equestria's literature.”

Without warning a new voice arrived, sounding playful and amused. Luna recognized him immediately as Discord, her gaze whipping about wildly. “It's nice to see some regret for your actions, Luna. But what's done is done, that is the nature of chaos. I learned my lesson, and all of you have too. Change is exciting, is it not?”

Luna and Fear were left speechless, staring into nothingness in the vault room. Fear immediately felt the presence disappear from his radar, a presence that felt powerful and constantly shifting, like a rubik's cube that never properly aligned but was constantly twisting about. He could tell it was still seeking peace, that the cubes making up the larger model were broken, the stickers peeling and fading, getting scratched off. They'd been through a lot, and its movements were slow. It had been drained, but it was doing its best to keep going, clearly.

Luna charged forward, calling into empty air. “Discord! Come back! I'm sorry!”

Amelio stepped in from the treasure room, blinking blearily, having been busy meditating. “What is all the ruckus about?” She sounded slightly annoyed.

“Just the spirit of chaos saying 'hello' I guess??” Fear sounded as if he was asking a question of a question, clearly thrown for a loop, yet still content. He hoped Discord, whoever he was, would find the peace he was seeking.

Luna appeared solemn, yet stood as tall and strict as ever. A hint of royalty even in her damaged body.

Fear grinned lopsidedly, reaching out to rest a hoof against her foreleg. “Cheer up, Luna, he'll be back I'm sure. At least that's confirmation he's doing something out there.” Then he turned around to talk to Amelio who was standing between rooms, looking baffled. “By the way, Amelio, I never told you how Shadow Paladin Saga ends.”

==========================================================================================

Canterlot Garden was a beautiful place, with a fence on the border that was designed to be like spiraling branches and roots of a tree, the arch gateways coated in coiling flower-ridden vines, all of them blossoming and looking as gorgeous and potent as ever, like they gave off the most pollen. They looked as if they belonged in the rainforest. The rest of the garden was littered with bushes, shrubbery, trees, and plants of all different kinds in a sort of disorderly way, with monstrous statues randomly placed which snarled at passerby, as if they were creatures spared being locked in Tartarus, only to be locked in stone instead. Some were turned into fountains, and Fear was impressed that there were many dream constructs of various colored birds scattered here and there, perched around in different places. Some owls hooted sorrowfully, wailing about a time long past based on the pony's consciousness, while other avians tweeted and sung about newfound hope. Or were they making music in order to seduce other birds?

It was unclear.

All Fear knew was, as he looked around, holding a pail of water styled in the shape of an adorable little elephant – trunk and all – in his telekinesis, that he was enjoying the 'new' area of the castle grounds that he'd never gotten to see before. He was following Saway around, right on her heels, trickling refreshing liquids onto the plants surrounding him. It wasn't strictly necessary, but it was a calming ritual that the mare had introduced him to.

“I used to come here many times to learn how to meditate when I was under Princess Luna's service, and would sometimes aid the gardener with his rounds,” Saway rasped out.

“Huh, really?” Fear asked, glancing over to the mare that had brought him here. “It must've been really calming for you.”

“You have no idea, colt. I honestly miss it. I miss all of Equestria back even before the war, when we were all at peace and things were thriving.”

“Well I mean, didn't prosperity come from the war too?”

“Sort of, colt.” Saway paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts as she poured a stream of water onto a plot of soil. “It's true that the war enabled industrial revolution, for technological upheaval, and miraculous innovations. But over time we lost something integral to who we were as a species during it, and maybe even because of it.”

Fear shook his head. “I don'know. I mean do you really think we needed such a big threat in order to have all those things? I mean we could have learned things anyway.”

Saway sighed, a resigned tone to her usually combative voice. “I don't honestly think so. Everything we built was originally for war, we just happened to find other uses for them. In life there is nothing quite as progressive as battle.”

The colt tightened his lips into a scowl, trying to come up with something to say against that. “I think you can have peace without... the word for when you're so content it's dangerous.”

“Complacency?”

“Yeah, that. I think.”

“You're young, colt. You...”

Fear cut her off. “I may be young, but you're not that old either, you've spent most of your 'life' trapped in this dream. Besides, war doesn't always lead to innovation as you said. The wasteland is an eroding place, and a lot of us are trying to come up with ways to help the wasteland, not to hurt others, but in an effort to heal and return it to what it once was. And even now there are those who cause war who are doing nothing more than scavenging what's left behind, not creating something new. War just leads to creatures being stuck in limbo.”

Saway stared at Fear for a time, a fresh respect for him welling in her eyes. “If you say so, colt,” she said with a tired inflection.

“I do say so. I may be young but I sometimes know what I'm talking about.”

Saway just laughed at that.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjGvBpgrwb8

Amelio lovingly fondled Fear's cheek as they stood in the treasure room, the filly gazing deep into Fear's pooling eyes. Her violet irises brimmed with intelligence and wisdom, a certain energy and will to live burning within that set Fear's heart alight, teasing his soul and making him wriggle and squirm the longer he was beset by her assault. His throat closed up, and he pursed his lips, his heart twisting around and wringing out blood like a sponge, his body feeling cold all of a sudden. Or at least that's how it would feel if he was awake. Right now he was just experiencing lame, faint simulacrums of the process.

“You know, Fearei, I missed you a lot. Being half dead and half asleep is very detrimental to my joy.” Amelio's hoof curled around his chin, pulling him in close with a stumble. Fear could feel some vague replica of her breath on his skin, or at least something so similar to it, it might as well have been real. Fear's eyes lidded and he stepped in place a few times as if he couldn't get comfortable.

“I, uhh...” Their rendezvous had become far and few between lately, and he knew the filly had been planning something. He could feel it leaking off of her like a toxic ooze. It was obsession in its purest form. A kind of scheming that left him breathless and incapable of real speech. Or at least close enough. “I uhh...” He repeated, his eyes darting to the side.

Amelio simpered, raising a shoulder and cocking her head to the side as she pulled Fear in for a firm kiss, then another, their lips pecking against each other repeatedly. Affectionately. Endlessly. Fear was lost in a wash of emotions that made his hooves tingle, eyelashes fluttering.

“A-Amelio...” Fear squeaked out.

“Shh...” She cooed, nuzzling their muzzles together risquely. Her head tilted to one side and she admired his form, slowly walking around him like a predator, eyeing up the succulent piece of meat she'd been long deprived.

“Amelio...” Fear continued, trying to say something, his voice hitching in his throat.

“You are very naughty, Fearei Shatter. Little Nightlight.” The combination of names left Fear nearly collapsing. He could feel the heat radiating off of her, needling into his form, into his consciousness. It was hard to remain standing, hard to remain afloat in her overwhelming presence, as if she was using everything to try and drown him and turn him into the drone he was always meant to be. “Such a sad excuse for a stallion, constantly struggling like the little bug that you are, no more than a drone.” The abuse was affectionate, and stirred something in his hammering heart he couldn't explain. She was behind him, breathing on his tail, giving the dock little nips and making him yelp quietly.

“I, uhh...” Fear couldn't bring to bare any of his arsenal of words, feeling inundated by her. It was smothering.

Amelio sidled up next to Fear, brushing against his side and kissing his cheek. Her body was larger than his, and it helped encourage the feeling of being dwarfed, emotionally, mentally, and physically. It was like she towered over him in every way possible. Like she was going to dominate him. It was salacious and scandalous. Being abused and sexed up by your sister. He glanced to the floor, off to the side, unable to hold her gaze. “You are going to be mine for eternity, little Nightlight.” Her telekinesis reached out, and she felt him up, grasping his nethers and caressing his jewels with the pressurized air. It felt alarming and violating, yet so erotic, his rear rising into the air, tail hiking up. Her magic then clasped down on his jaw, squeezing into his cheeks, caving them in. Holding his maw open.

They'd done this little dance before, and it usually ended in a violent, rampant romp, with Fear being struck, clawed, and laid. Their souls would mingle and intertwine like their tongues during a french kiss, a supernatural tessellation of consciousness, threatening to spill into each other and become one another. Twirling and cavorting in a samba of passion and intimacy that had no comparison.

So it always would, but this time with a little bondage and immobilization using dream constructs.

==========================================================================================

The moon looked like snow in a way, or was it cheese? Some kind of cream. Fear didn't know what to compare it to, because in all honesty he'd never seen anything like it before. It was solid and firm, packed densely. White, faded ground with craters sprinkled around, varying depressions in the soil, with earth bundled up around the rims of each from where meteors had stricken. The light from the sun was blaring and almost blinding. It was just another star, but this one so much brighter – he couldn't look directly at it.

Nyx was sharing with Fear what it looked like to be on the moon looking down at everything else. He got the distinct sensation that if he jumped he'd end up sailing off into the great unknown, which is basically what would happen. There was little to no atmosphere, and definitely no such thing as cloud cover. It just went... on... forever. It caused Fear's eyes to dilate despite all the light surrounding him. He was effectively disoriented, to the point it felt like his brain was rattling around inside his head.

But it was all a dream. Part of a dream at least.

Still, something about it all was more peaceful than anything he'd ever experienced. Part of the dream sensation that Nyx included was that there were no souls for as far as Fear could feel or hear. No single emotion aside from the old stallion that sat right next to him. Fear looked down onto the planet Equus. He could see the cloud cover, what looked like a seal of gray, and other white clouds distributed elsewhere. He could see the vibrant blue seas, the radioactively untouched lands that were covered in different hues of green and brown. Everything. It caught his interest and held it. He pawed at the white earth beneath him, told by Nyx that it had once been part of Equus before being launched into space by a comet impact. Fear wanted to explore the stable built on the moon, but Nyx was insistent that he see only the moon as a memory, of when it remained untouched.

“So is this... all there really is?” Fear asked.

Nyx guffawed. “Yes. It's pleasant isn't it?”

Fear nodded, lifting a hoof to press it against his chest. “Very. It stills my heart. It's so silent. My ears are ringing.”

Nyx 'hmm'ed. “You know I've only ever shown Amelio this view. Soon after she recovered some of her strength. Saway never wanted to look at it, telling me that being stranded on a desolate rock was no longer her wish ever since she'd discovered her true purpose.”

Changing the subject, Fear asked, “you mentioned something about obsidian-ish rocks? What are those?”

“Oh,” Nyx stated, shaking his head clear and glancing to Fear. “It's a special mineral only found on the moon. You can usually find it by digging around inside the craters. It's basically star material. Some of it was found on Equus and built into weapons.” The stallion shook his head. “It's a shame that innovation was primed for war. That material could have gone to better uses.”

Fear hummed sadly. “Yeah.” His voice was solemn, almost a whisper. “I was talking to Saway about it some time ago, how we don't need war in order to innovate.”

Nyx chuckled. “No, you don't. You just need a purpose. Any purpose. Necessity is the mother of invention, as Princess Luna used to say.”

“Really? She said that?” Fear queried.

“Mhm,” Nyx responded. “It wasn't her phrase but she certainly liked to say it. She ever tell you about how, before she became Nightmare Moon, she would create golems out of earth in order to have friends who would stay up and appreciate her night with her?”

Fear didn't know what to make of that. It was heartbreaking, dismal, and still somehow funny. It was his inexperience that made it seem absurd, and therefore hilarious. “No, she didn't.” Fear's gaze settled back on Equus. “She was really suffering a lot huh?”

“She always has been,” Nyx confirmed. “She's been through a lot. I could feel her pain when she came to the moon with me. She was susceptible to the corruptive influence of the nightmares because of it. It was a shame. I tried to bring her back but... there's only so much you can do to pacify someone until the real elements of harmony can work their magic.”

Fear couldn't tell if Nyx was talking about the artifacts Luna had mentioned, or something more obscure and abstract.

==========================================================================================

“Fear, this is Fireheart, Fire, this is my son Fearei Shatter.” Sim gestured from one pony to the other. The three ponies were currently standing outside one of the many caravans inhabiting Dryfield. Fireheart was a simple unicorn, with bacon-like red hair and pink coat. His cutiemark was an equally simple spark lighter, his eyes a captivating crimson. He gave off an aura of warmth and trustworthiness, like you could rely on him for anything and everything. “He knows everything.”

Before Fear could react, the much larger however feminine stallion wrapped Fear up in a hug, holding him against his chest. “Whoa!” Fear exclaimed with wide eyes, letting out a squeak like a squeeze toy when enough pressure was put on his chest.

“Pleasure ta meet ya Fear!” Fire warmly shouted. “Sim's an old friend of mine! We grew up together, we were always getting into trouble scavenging in ah few of the old hidden labs and factories in the area.”

Fear was let go, gasping for air. “I uh, huh? There are places like that around here?”

“Sure as ahm standin' here before you right now!” Fire grinned from ear to ear. “There are ah lot of areas in those old places that still haven't been accessed yet because they need passwords. Maybe someday you can check it out and give it your all!”

Sim spoke up, holding his foreleg in the air. “Well like I told you I do have a pipbuck now so maybe we can get in.” The stallion's grin was also off the charts, his dazzling indigo eyes taking in his old friend. “Anyways I just wanted to introduce you to my son. It might seem a little weird but he might be taking up my comfort horse duties at some point.”

“Well is that right?” Fire nudged Fear in the shoulder with a hoof. “Ahm sure you'll make ah fine comfort horse, Fear. The apple don't fall far from the tree and all that, after all!”

Sim had been taking Fear around the entirety of Dryfield, introducing him to each of the ponies he knew by heart in order to get him well-known. This was the first pony who'd had such an egregious reaction however. It was oddly encouraging. “Thanks, sir. I'm gonna try my best. I'm learning his tricks and everything!” Fear was as kind as his father and grandfather.

Fire bobbed his head once and lifted a hoof like he was doffing a hat. “Ahm sure ya will, Fear. Come find me if ya ever need anything okay? Ya scratch mah back ah scratch yours.”

Fear was as uncomfortable as ever when it came to meeting so many new ponies at once, communicating with those he didn't go up to of his own volition. He never knew what to say in those situations! But he decided to fall back on the tried and true. “Thank you very much, I'll make sure to do it. You take care of yourself.”

Fire smiled brightly. “Sure thang Fear, you too.” The stallion reached up and ruffled Fear's mane, driving him a little nuts, before walking back into his caravan and closing the door, making sure to turn around and wave at them once beforehand.

Sim waved back. “See you later Fire!” With that the father and son began heading home. “You did really well Fear.”

“You think? Thanks Dad.” He was showing a lot of gratitude recently! “I'm trying my best.”

“You're doing super well. By the way, I was recently gifted a playbook about a peace riot in war-time Equestria. I'm intending to perform it at Scavver's Tavern. You want to help me prepare?”

Fear's eyebrow rose. “Uh, sure thing. That'd be cool. It'd be neat to see you in action finally.”

“Sounds like a plan then!” A couple minutes of silence later and Sim's pipbuck began beeping incessantly. It was an annoying sound, sure to get the attention of any and all ponies around. Sim and Fear halted, while the hybrid lifted his pipbuck to his eyes to check on the message. “Huh? That's strange.”

“What is it Dad?”

“It's a message from Stable 47. They're calling everypony to hurry back to the stable.”

“Is it an emergency?”

Sim gave Fear a flat look. “Well it is an emergency broadcast so I imagine as much.”

“We should go! We need to check on them!”

==========================================================================================

“So, Faith, Gentler, will you please come with us in case it's something dangerous? The more the merrier and all that!”

Gentler tsked and rubbed his chin with a gauntlet, twisting his head from side to side. “I mean we coooould. But then you'd owe us.”

Faith glared daggers at Gentler. “Well, I for one will come with you Fear. It might be neat to see the inside of a Stable for once. I'd like to know what they do for fun, and who knows? Maybe they'll have some interesting reading material!”

Fear turned to Gentler and brightened. “Yeah, sure thing. If you guys ever need help with something in your lives I'll be there lickety split! I want to help you guys as much as possible!” The colt squeaked out.

Faith grinned. “That's kind of you, little Nightlight. We'll definitely come with you, right Gentler?”

Gentler wasn't certain. This seemed hardly along the lines of helping the wasteland. But helping Fear out would probably be beneficial for later. “Fine, you got yourself a deal kid.”

Fear bounced, his legs quivering from how rigid they were as he landed. “I'll do everything in my power to help you guys out when the time comes, thank you!” He bowed his head to both of them. “Dad's at the house telling everyone that we're heading out. Come on!” And with that he beckoned them to follow.

==========================================================================================

Luna was reluctant – it showed in every feature on her face. “I can not tell you what could be going on, Fearei. Freiya Song and the other ponies have not been dreaming in days.”

Fear twisted his head to the side, rubbing his mane as he looked between the three.

“You will need to be careful, Fear,” Amelio warned. “It may have something to do with the Seer's Eye.”

“How do you know that, Amelio?” Fear was curious as ever, readjusting his positioning.

“Just a hunch. I do not suspect they are dead.”

Saway huffed. “Sounds like you're being too hopeful, Ame. They probably got ambushed by the Steel Rangers or something.”

Fear squealed. “No way! I hope not!”

Luna shook her head. “Before you get into a tizzy, you should prepare yourself for the trip by practicing a little more.” She set a hoof on Fear's shoulder. “I will summon you to the dream realm if I discover anything of true import. And in case you are worried, I have not seen any Steel Rangers dreaming of a raid on a stable, so it should be safe.”

Fear looked at Luna incredulously. I don't know how comfortable I feel with her having that much control over my dreaming and waking. Still, I trust her. “I trust you, Princess.” Many ponies probably wouldn't, there were probably ponies who didn't feel comfortable with the princess invading their dreams anyway.

As if reading his mind, Amelio interrupted. “I was actually the one to suggest it. I knew you would rather be prepared than risk losing out on something.”

Fear was both amazed, and annoyed with his sister. Still, it was time to get down to business. Who knew what he was going to find? He needed to be in tip top shape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__UmzLJF7Ho

Linebreiker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kl1Q0ApSAA

Dim Nova was more adorable than beautiful, with large, hearty lime green eyes and stout body structure. Her form leaned more toward supple width all around than any sane height. Pudgy all over, with squeezable cheeks, squirrely, inset mouth, and abominably cute eyelashes. With straight mane and tail so blue it was almost black, and a stubby, dark gray coat of fur she was as her name implied, a dim nova. Full of light in the best of times, her cutiemark representing as much.

Of course right now, after having just received the news of her husband and son's death, she was beside herself with sorrow. She had mourned for days and nights straight, barely sleeping. Her nightmares were fitful and piercing, digging deep into the depths of her soul and scooping up everything that made her who she was, pouring it out around her like the innards of a gutted beast. It was a violating sensation, one that left her bridging with the brink of oblivion. Drawing ever closer to total annihilation. Her everything taken from her to the point it felt there was no such thing as future, only past. Only what she'd lost. Such a ferocious change in lifestyle (or was it deathstyle?) that she could no longer see ahead of herself. As if she'd become farsighted in a matter of minutes, and blind in a matter of days. Dim struggled, she squirmed, she writhed like a dying animal, everything inside of her burning away from just knowing that some raider was out there not experiencing the Tartarus that she'd been exposed to. There was no living, and to be honest she wasn't sure there was such a thing as dying in her state. There was no way to rid this agony. It would persist, because it was ethereal, enduring, spanning everything. She just wanted it all to end; for this survivor's guilt, and general anguish to cease.

And it was that energy which drew Linebreiker to her. Everything became a blur for the mare as she was approached by a filly-looking mare. Dim took her in with teary eyes. Breiker was a short yet slender earth pony with forest green fur, much like her father Amor Fati, a shattered web of wyrd cutie mark that was sky blue in hue, and curved blonde mane and tail – less curly, more just arched. Seafoam green eyes greeted all who looked upon her face, styled in such a way they gave off a supernatural vibrancy that had no compare. Like electricity was crackling behind her mind, a subdued energy that could last an eternity. The oddest part of her though, Dim thought in her sorrow, were the sharpened, pointed ears. They looked more like horns than a pair of aural sensors.

“Who... who are you?” Dim blinked away her fresh tears, her face stained in brutal displays of mourning that should never be on a single creature's face for as long as they lived. No creature deserved the scars that dotted her body, demonstrations of her misery.

The mare pulled her forelegs together, cocked her head to the side, and smiled so brilliantly it was like a star, her cheeks rising up over closed eyes so much like her mother. Around her neck an aqua blue pendant gleamed like a third eye, strapped to a black cord. “My name is Linebreiker, but you can call me Breiker. All my friends do!” She chirped gleefully.

The excitement was garish, and it infuriated Dim. She wanted to lash out at the mare, accuse her of violating the privacy of a grieving widow. But all she could think was...”Line... breiker?” She tilted her head to one side, holding a hoof against her trembling lips. “What kind of name is that?”

Breiker bat a hoof. “Pfft.” The mare was somehow polite despite giving such a rude gesture. It was naturally charismatic, needling into the soul and tickling the source of a creature's affections. Like a lovable doll, or a little filly that knew just how to strike all the right cords. “Silly, it's nothing serious. Just somepony who likes to break things apart, like pain. You get it right? The kind of pony who doesn't like to see others suffer, to see others chained down by their miseries.”

Dim bit her lower lip, looking to and fro like a mare who'd been scandalized, or maybe a mare who thought they're in a dream and they're about to wake up. It was unclear. “Forgive me for being rude...” Dim paused. “Actually, don't. I don't care.” Her voice hiccuped, her face cracking apart at the seams, as if she was about to fall into a pile of pieces, her eyebrows leaning outward and mouth nearly melting off her face, eyes dipping. Her hooves shook against her body as she tried to hug herself back together. “But I don't see why you'd bother me like this.”

Breiker's eyes shimmered as she tried to think about how best to weave around this broken mare's concerns. Of course she didn't need to do much planning because she was already so far gone, but it paid to be tactful. “I just feel like a pony like you shouldn't have to suffer like this! It's not right, you know? I'm a sort of... spirit guide.” She stated flatly, holding a hoof against her chest and narrowing her eyes. “I bring others to better places. A place where there is no pain.”

Dim, too far gone to think much of it, responded simply, a delicately enraged expression crossing her features. “I'm not going to... to die or kill myself just because... because...” she sniffled hard. It was ugly and didn't befit her. “Of a broken heart.”

“Oh, certainly!” Breiker was quick to agree. “Where I take ponies is not death. It is freedom. Freedom from the past. Freedom from what makes them tick. I bring them back to what they are naturally. What they're supposed to truly be.”

Dim's vision contracted, staring at Breiker, uncertain she should be humoring this fantastical mare much longer. “Really?” She said with a tone that brokered no foolishness. “And what am I supposed to be?”

Breiker's eyes went vacant for a moment. “Well... you're supposed to be happy. Some ponies are supposed to be violent, some are supposed to be loving. All are supposed to be carefree, held down by nothing but their primal urges. They should not be sad. They should always be happy, doing what makes them happy.”

Dim's face screwed up in concern, hugging herself a little tighter. “And... I'm supposed to just trust you?”

“Yes, essentially.” Breiker pushed a lock of hair out of the way of one of her eyes, beaming like a little lighthouse at the sonless mother. The sunless mother. “I bring ponies peace. Do you want peace...?” Her voice lingered, clearly requesting a name. Breiker already knew her name, but it was best to play stupid sometimes. That was what her mother taught her.

“Dim Nova.” The mare hiccuped. “I... apologize for not giving my name sooner.” Something about Breiker calmed Dim. Looking into her eyes made her feel like everything was going to be okay, that the energy surging behind her eyes would be used for good things. Glorious things. Her eyes narrowed again, scrutinizing Breiker.

“It's fine! Totally! I even-”

Dim cut her off. “What do you gain from all of this?”

Breiker's face fell. Then it formed into a sly grin, tilting her head to the side. It was a familiar gesture. One she'd inherited from her mother. Fear would recognize it. “Well...” The mare began pacing in the meaninglessly decorated yet dilapidated room. “I want to see everypony happy! That was my mother's wish. And I inherited it from her. But happiness to us means freedom from everything. And someday, when I gain enough power, I'll be able to free everyone. I'll be able to give everyone happiness!” The mare stood up on her hindlegs and pounded her forehooves into the ground. “To have that power I need others to join me, to believe in my vision for a better world. A world where the wasteland doesn't matter and we create our reality.”

Something about that seemed oddly blasphemous, not that Dim had the experience with entities like Fate or Neur to know. “Is that all?” Dim looked toward the ground. “It seems too good to,” a hiccup, “be true but... you clearly believe strongly in it.” The mare swayed from side to side as she tried to come to a decision.

“How about I give you a demonstration of what it feels like to be cut off, and then you can decide for yourself what you think is right?”

Dim flicked her ears. “You... you promise?”

“I promise.”

Dim nodded once and sniffed again, hocking back phlegm. “Fine. I accept.”

Breiker smiled brightly. “Thattagirl! Now, this won't even hurt slightly.” Breiker moved up to Dim swiftly, as if she were merely gliding rather than trotting, lifting a forehoof into the air and pressing it against the mare's forehead. Her pendant glimmered and sparkled, shifting around against her neck as if it had a mind of its own. Wispy tendrils of pale green energy slithered out of her hoof and snaked into Dim's mind.

Dim's eyes widened, the pupils dilating. The process was over before it really began as Breiker pulled away, holding an orb of light in her hoof. Dim felt things in order. A sort of instinctual fear, a sadness welling up inside of her that caused her organs to knot up, her eyes to tear up. She leaned backwards a little, looking around in a sort of panic before settling on Breiker. Suddenly an expression of peace washed over her features, the wrinkles and tension in her face evaporating like water in a desert. It was quick, assuredly painless, and easy. There was some lingering regret, but that wisped away like it had never been there at all. It was hard to grasp regret when you couldn't remember what you were supposed to regret. “That's all?”

“Well, not quite. I just need to bring you into my little safe space before we can really begin. That's where you'll be completely cut off from everything you ever knew.”

Something about that felt... wrong. Like she was leaving behind a whole host of... something that cared about her. But she could hardly bring herself to regard it with the weight it deserved, as if she'd been swayed in one deft movement. She stood up and smiled at Breiker. “I'm ready.”

Breiker popped the orb of light into her mouth, bulging out her cheeks before swallowing it whole. “Then let us begin.”

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5u7LmS1c2A

If the wasteland weren't so barren it'd be idyllic in some places, one of those being the docks near Friendship City. With its creaking, grinding ancient wood. Its soft breeze caressing the necks of all who stood on its piers, and its plopping, slopping and ebbing waves against its shores. The sounds of long abandoned buoys and ringing bells, some with broken chimes, echoed along the distance, and sometimes the abrasive screech of metal grating on metal filled the air when the nearby bridge was lowered so ponies could cross.

On one of these docks was one Fear, a Fear, enjoying the sea breeze with eyes closed, occasionally opening them solely to stare longingly into the murky, tainted depths of irradiated water. Poisonous and acidic. The taint was so thorough, so dense, that it bled outward and almost tickled those who got too close. You could almost feel it coiling around you and yearning to yank you deep under its depths like the clammy claws of a long dead innocent.

This Fear was scarred, in more ways than one. He was older, wiser, and far more guilty. Having lived life as a raider for some years before slipping into something resembling normality. It had been a redundant, featureless life, albeit exciting and full of daring raids, his body marred with the marks of injury. Blemishes striped across an eye, a bullet hole in the center of his cutiemark, nicks and scrapes over his legs where he'd taken more than a few knife swipes, and teeth marks in the dock of his tail. His eyes remained a violent ruby, occasionally filtering to an ambiguous violet. But never did it lose its ghostly glow and its otherworldly shimmer.

Tired was the best way to describe his features, how his face grew slack and his legs shuffled along under him. He was exhausted of life, of making the wrong choices, of killing others with his once built up, yet minor arsenal of weapons. The weapons he no longer carried. Having never met family, having never really made any friends, having never really found harmony in any way, shape or form. He was still yearning for something, something that only a god could give him. Reprieve from his sins. A clean, untarnished past. A second chance to do his best. Fear sighed, able to feel the blisters of evil trailing along his back, threatening to burst and consume him. What he needed was, simply, oblivion. As he stared into the water, he was close to granting his own wish, when he felt a presence nearby.

Linebreiker had a curious, suspicious fondness for Fear in her sparkling eyes, her lips upturned into a strict, wary smile. As Fear turned around to face her she came up, gliding along like a phantom. “I see you sold your mother's pendant.” Breiker stood next to Fear, on the edge of the pier, overlooking the sea.

“I'm sorry, who are you again?” The young stallion asked with a raised eyebrow. It sounded more like a frustrated interrogation from someone who'd been interrupted than it did any innocent query.

“My name is Linebreiker. I feel the energy wafting off of you. The desire to see it end. The need to shroud yourself in shadows.” She nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. In reality. It was more the Seer's Eye around her neck that was feeling the pull.

“Breiker huh? Strange that you're about my size.”

“I know, right!?” Breiker cast Fear a glance, her smile only growing. “It's really strange! Maybe it runs in our family.”

“I'm sorry, our family?” This Fear seemed oddly numb to the statement, but again the wasteland was full of crazy, batshit insane occurrences.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Breiker apologized like she truly meant it. While she seemed friendly enough, there was a sinister undertone to everything that made her who she was. Fear could feel it, it was like speaking to a devil. “Where are my manners? I'm your half sister.”

“Half... sister?” The stallion gazed wistfully out at sea, cocking his head to the side like he couldn't believe it, testing the words in his mouth. Yet he felt no intent to deceive, a sense that he'd cultivated over the years. He glanced back over to her, noticing she was holding up the pendant. A pendant he knew well. “So what brings family to me here, now of all times?”

“It should be obvious enough, Fear. You're at the end of your rope. You want it all to end. You're desperate for a change. You have nothing in this life worth hanging onto. Your determination has run its course and you're floundering for a purpose.” Breiker paused. “I have that purpose in mind for you.”

“Is that so? And what do I get out of it?”

“It’s readily apparent, really.” She stated with narrowed, lidded eyes, gazing into the distance.

“Humor me,” Fear spat.

“Well, I want to give you the second chance you've been dreaming of for so long. The ability to cast away your past. To satiate that part deep inside of all yourself that you try to hide from others, the part that drives you to seek out those stronger than yourself until they end up not satisfying you anymore.”

Fear snorted. “And how do you know all this?”

Breiker held the Seer's Eye level with their vision. “Well, this thing of course. But it's more than that. I know a lot about you Fearei. I've spoken with your mother.”

Fear was so knocked off kilter by that single statement it took him a few moments of squirming in his seat before he gasped, finally able to intake air. “I'm sorry, what?” He was doing a lot of this lately.

Breiker began to explain what she was, what she did for a living, the Seer's Eye, details that weren't privy to most creature's ears, and what she needed of him. “And in essence, since Freiya's escaped from her fate, I need you to sort of... defend me. I know there will be ponies coming to confront me in due time, and I want you there to... stall them.”

“And why me?” Fear seemed furious yet intrigued. Puzzled.

Breiker wrapped a foreleg around Fear's shoulders and pulled him in much to his chagrin. Yet it felt... while uncomfortable, it felt cozy. Still, he could tell this mare was, while honest, not the kind of pony he should be making deals with. Still, intriguing. “Because, Fear, you are my half brother.” And you're a sucker, but she didn't say that part. Fear could tell she was hiding something. “And I know you'll take this opportunity to help me. After all, what's in it for you is far better than anything you'd ever get otherwise.”

“Can I have a while to think about it?”

“Well I mean... this is the best place and time for any important decisions to be made. In a way I have all the time in your world but... you see this Seer's Eye thing? As it is right now I can only approach distant futures and pasts that are far, far from my own timeline.” In fact, it was more due to the circumstances surrounding Fears' futures than it was because of the Seer's Eye.

“Huh?” He couldn't tell the full legitimacy of her statements. It felt more like static, but not because it was being hidden. Just because it was so... vague.

“It's complicated Fear.” Breiker bat a hoof. “Essentially, the farther you are from me, the more I can see. But you must understand we're really not all that far apart Fear. We're like two peas in a pod, constantly struggling to attain something the powers that be won't let us have. I'm just trying to fulfill the wishes of our mother, you know?”

Fear's eyes contracted as he thought on that. “And you're saying that in exchange you'll let me start over?”

“Yes, pretty much.” Breiker gave a cute, confirming bob of her head. “It'll almost be like a memory wiping, and one day? It'll be a complete erasure of your sins. You'll be able to start over. But I can't completely cut you off from the past just yet.”

“Huh? Why's that?” Fear thought it sounded criminal the way she said it.

“Because, Fear.” Breiker rolled her eyes. “Do you really want to forget about our mother that soon? I'm sure you'd like to keep at least one memory alive.” The truth was: she didn't want Fear attacking her; the second truth was: she wanted Fear to still be useful to her.

“F-fine.” Fear muttered, his pupils fixating on a space far away from them. “I accept. Just take me into this... safe space or whatever.”

“That's the spirit!” Breiker exclaimed, before lifting a hoof, pale green energy slinking from it and entering Fear's head, burrowing deep into his skull and rooting around in... not just his brain. She'd gotten stronger over time, even if time was relative. There was no real order to it, the way it all correlated was, as far as she could tell, more a matter of essentiality and relevance. There seemed to be no other ulterior determining factor. Some weird form of synchronicity that pissed the mare off to no end.

Breiker was certain Fate had something to do with it, the smarmy bastard. Still, he wouldn't be winning anytime soon. She'd make sure of it. All she needed to do was connect a few strands to this Fear and he'd be swimming in the power he needed to... well, that was a secret.

After all, it wasn't like she could risk her own life... yet.

==========================================================================================

The world spun and eddied around Fear, our Fear, as he was whisked away into a spell of sleep. Everything fell away, dripping and dropping, disappearing in the distance as the colt was transferred to the world of dreams, appearing outside of the Castle of the Two Sisters with a stagger in his step, eyes rolling around discrepantly in their sockets, his hooves nearly twisting under him as he tried to catch his balance. Unfortunately he failed as the nausea from being overcome with such a disorienting bewitchment, collapsing to his side as his everything twisted and whirled. He could tell it wasn't actually spinning, his eyes were just constantly moving. Fear tried to get his hooves back under him as Luna came rushing out of the double doors.

“Fearei!”

Fear whined. “Whaaaat? Why did you do that?” Then it came to him as if a burst of intelligence, eyes widening. “Did you catch anything from Freiya?” Sim was currently carrying the colt's body in the world of the waking.

Luna nodded once in confirmation, yet she had a dire expression etched into her face. She tilted her head up and motioned for Fear to follow.

Fear lethargically got onto his hooves, nearly falling again when the world spun once more, feeling completely whack from the sudden transition still, his hooves stumbling beneath him, before he hurried into the castle.

The transition was just as muddled and bewildering, everything popping into place around him like it'd always been there, which confused him even on the best of days. He liked it so much more when dream areas just blended into each other surreally, though it was too bad Luna didn't agree.

Freiya was standing in the middle of the corridor, speaking with Saway, her entire body baggy and loose, as if even though she was sleeping she was feeling that inherent exhaustion you sometimes felt when you were sleeping. Fear knew the sensation well. Feeling tired while resting was the worst, worse than being fatigued while awake. Fear charged past Luna, calling out to his grandmother. “Grandma! Grandma! Where've you been!?” Amelio was nowhere to be found, probably in the treasure room meditating again.

Saway waved to the colt, and Fear glanced to her, giving a nod of acknowledgement, as he skidded to a halt in front of the peppermint-maned mare. Freiya spoke, her eyes sunken and like she'd lost something of herself. There was something off about her presence, clearly weak and not all there, as if a section of her had been lobotomized and put in a prison somewhere else. She was struggling just to be here. “Oh, thank goodness it's you. They told... told me they could get you here but I didn't... didn't believe them. Princess Luna is real?” She was distracted for a moment, as if she was just as dizzy as Fear had been a moment ago.

“Yes! She's very real! And I'm here. We're coming to the Stable, what's wrong, what's going on!?”

Freiya's head dipped toward the ground as she held her head in a hoof, leaning to one side. “Amor Fati... he... betrayed us. Tried to sacrifice us all to that strange... mare.”

“What mare!? What's going on!?” Fear was beside himself with panic, his heart hammering in his sleeping chest, anxiety tearing away at him.

“I managed... managed to escape her grip. I found Amor and stole the Seer's Eye back before it could be used to power her more.”

“Power who!?”

“Storm's daughter.”

Fear took a startled step back, his jaw falling open in shock, pupils dilating. “Amelio!? She did this!? That's impossible – she's here!” Fear squeaked out.

“No... Amelio?” Freiya looked at Fear baffledly. “Amelio is your sister?”

Fear stomped a hoof on the ground. “What's going on!?” Fear shrieked like a filly.

Freiya swallowed hard, trying to get her words in order, a headache puncturing her brain. “Amor Fati. He... in another timeline. He had a daughter with Stormy. Linebreiker. It was... terrible.”

Finally noticing the Seer's Eye around Freiya's neck, Fear lunged forward, holding Freiya. “Bring me to her!” He remembered delving into the pendant whenever he was asleep, as if he couldn't help but fall into its grasp. Surely he could use it again through the dream. Surely Freiya could connect him to some world in which Linebreiker existed, so he could learn for himself.

Luna stepped up to Fear. “Calm down, Fearei. Freiya has been awake for days. She was afraid this... Linebreiker would try to capture her and pull her back into wherever she came from and sever her from the past. So she stayed awake until she no longer could.” She set a hoof on Fear's shoulder, putting a hard pressure on his body, nearly forcing his knees to buckle.

“But!”

“No buts,” Saway's raspy voice cut in. “Give her time. Things will get solved.”

Freiya coughed. “I can... I can bring you there. With the pendant. I don't know why Amor did this. He was so kind, so right. He had the potential. Why did he...?”

Fear gave Freiya a shake. “Please! Take me there! I can talk sense into whoever this is! I can do it! I've trained for this!”

Freiya looked up staring at Fear for a long moment.

“Come on! We don't have time to waste!”

The mare thought on it, considering her options. Fear was just a colt, what could he possibly do? Still, she had no other choice. It was either try this now or risk waiting until Breiker came to grab her. “Alright. Grab hold of me.”

Fear grunted and wrapped his forelegs around his grandmother's neck.

“Take care of yourself, Fearei,” Luna supplied.

Saway hesitated. “Give her Tartarus, colt.”

Fear squeezed his eyes shut. Cutting Grandma off from the past? How is that possible? Ponies need a past in order to live don't they? If the past never mattered, would Dim still be alive?” Those would be the first questions he'd ask her – he was going to get to the bottom of this.

Freiya wound a foreleg around Fear's body and pulled him close, shutting her eyes gently and focusing on the pendant. A pinprick formed in the center of their bodies, swiftly becoming a vortex that surrounded them, pulling them in like a whirlpool and dragging them off to who knows where.

==========================================================================================

As the two traveled through nothing and everything, rocketing through a new, different kind of void surrounded by silvery wires, the same color as the orbs that had been taken out of creatures' heads by Breiker, Freiya tried to explain to Fear the situation. “Her intention, I think, is to gather power from those who give themselves to her, in order to eventually destroy past and future, leaving only an ever lingering present.”

Fear was confused, it made no sense to him. Before he could interrupt, Freiya was talking again.

“She has been using nightmares in order to break apart the wills of others and leave them susceptible to her whims. Like some kind of illusion.”

“Is she a changeling?”

“No... I don't think so. I don't know how she's doing it. I think she's using her Seer's Eye. Her control of it is beyond me.” Freiya shook her head in disbelief as they zoomed past holes in the exoverse, the only thing beyond it being the visceral image of stretched screams.

“But if you destroy the past how are you supposed to live? How can you survive without an...? Uhh...”

“Origin?”

“Mhm! That!”

Freiya held a hoof against her head as her hindlegs dangled behind her. “The best answer to that question is another question. How can you die, or cease existing, if you have no future nor past to dictate that disappearance?”

One of Fear's eyebrows rose on his face. That was very alarming, and also too complex for a colt like him to understand. How could he possibly convince her to step down from... whatever she was doing, if he didn't understand what she was doing and the sheer implications of it? Still, it was alluring. If the past didn't exist, then sins didn't exist. If the past didn't exist, then the wasteland couldn't exist. But neither could paradise. Could it?

“We're here.” Freiya stated simply as they landed on broken concrete. It was a small world built on null, with nothing but the power of thought. The same power of thought, Fear realized, that had allowed the colt to traverse the exoverse in the first place. It was merely consciousness that thrived here, but this structure felt frail. It was a gray, ruined city, completely thrashed with brutal rips in space-time, like it was tearing apart at the seams. Fear looked around him, seeing nothing but timelines and this tiny section of metropolis.

In the distance Fear heard a signature speaking to him. The only thing it spoke of was ambition. A desire to see her strivings to completion. As if she had denied everything in order to have that sole intent leftover. Fear charged ahead, leaving Freiya, his ride, in the dust foolishly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzvrXR1mT2w

“Linebreiker! Breiker! Show yourself!” He shouted out.

“So,” Breiker's voice echoed through the streets. “Freiya has brought a Fear to me. How appropriate. Almost seems predestined.”

Fear raged. “There is no such thing as one destiny! I could've been here, I could have not! It was my choice! All of our choices led up to this!” Fear stomped a hoof on the ground. “Show yourself damnit!”

Breiker flew into Fear's vision, and immediately the colt recognized that this wasn't a mere consciousness. The mare before him was here in the flesh. She existed within the exoverse, floating by thought alone.

Fear backed up.

“Choice doesn't exist when you have a past or an outside force defining for you what it is you're going to do.”

The colt's mouth lowered and raised, silent cries escaping his lips. Finally he found his voice. “How does that make any sense,” Fear yelled.

“With just the present, all you have is the here and now, nothing outside of you is constantly holding you down, holding you back. All that matters is the now. You can do whatever you want, and things will just be constantly reset. You don't have to suffer, you can be free. Surely you can appreciate that.”

All of Fear's training went out the window in that moment, incensed. “You're doing it against creatures' will! You're bringing everyone down to your level and giving no choice! No one wants to live like that!”

“Dim Nova certainly did!”

Fear's eyes widened, falling back onto his haunches, holding his forehead with a hoof. “Dim... Nova?”

“Yes. Your little murder spree certainly made my way far more acceptable than continuing to be bound by their past. You should join me, throw this world away. How could you dislike me for giving creatures a better life of forgetfulness and peace?”

Fear stuttered. “I... I... uhh...” He struggled in the dark for anything to say. Ignorantly, he spouted the only thing he could think of. “Still! You're using them all for your own ends!” He lunged forward, screaming at her. “You're manipulative! Sacrificing creatures who are suffering just to gain power from them!” Things were connecting like wildfire spreading across a forest. Of course, of course she was using the power inherent in those past and futures she severed in order to enable herself to reach farther. It made sense!

“Only so that everyone will no longer be beholden to their pasts, their potential futures, or to others! I am giving everyone the power of the pendant to carve out their own destinies, with nothing holding them back. Neither loved ones, enemies, nor existence utterly! I am letting them be themselves for eternity! With no threat of entropy! Do you understand just what I'm trying to accomplish!?” Breiker firmly rebuked Fear.

“You're nothing but a predator! A scavenger! The lowest of them! What about Grandma, Bendy Button, Pike, Endeavor, Eagle Eye, Frosted Tip, the foals, and everypony else of Stable 47!? Are you going to make them suffer just so you can take their power for yourself!?” Fear was livid. “What about their wishes, what about their futures!?”

“But wouldn't it feel good to have no more wasteland!? For there to be no consequences to anything we do!? Just running rampant all the time following our original urges without anything shackling us down?”

“But it wouldn't mean anything!” Fear stomped his hooves on the ground like he was having a temper tantrum. There'd be no relevance! Not that Fear understood the concept. Just the fact it wouldn't have meaning. “We'll be constantly looping! Never changing! Always repeating itself! We'll never atone for our mistakes and achieve greatness! That's not freedom!”

“But at least we won't be imprisoned by everyone who never did enough for us, never be held down by our sins!” Breiker was adamant and would not back down, floating closer to Fear, power building up in her hooves, green energy coalescing.

“It's better to be shackled than to never progress! Besides, you're carving a swath through creatures, bringing everyone into your influence without their consent!” Fear understood consent intrinsically. Intuitively. “You're making others suffer for your own ends, just pushing it on others!”

“Not like you have any room to talk, murderer!” Breiker accused. “With some misguided sense of right and wrong you end Solanum's life, make some changelings destitute, and kill those who hurt you, and those who don't, simply because you're a contradictory mess!” Breiker leveled her hooves at Fear, shooting out wads of energy with a shoompf.

Freiya tackled Fear to the side. “Look out Fearei!”

An explosion sounded just behind them, craters being left in the cracked asphalt as Freiya got Fear to his hooves. “So the refugee shows herself. I won't let you get away again, Grandma!” Breiker called out with a chiding tone.

Freiya shook Fear. “You have to get out of here! You have to go back!”

“No! I won't leave you!”

“Please, Fearei! Promise me you won't come back!”

“I won't!” Fear shrieked again, throwing his head wildly from side to side.

Breiker was approaching fast. She would not risk murdering Freiya's consciousness. She needed her and the pendant.

Freiya ripped the Seer's Eye from around her neck, holding it in her telekinesis and throwing it forward as she pumped a spell into it. With one deft movement she shoved Fear into the ensuing hole.

The portal closed after Fear's exit.

Author's Note

This is ONE answer to the inevitable question, “what would have happened if Storm had stayed in Stable 47?” Just three more chapters left!

Returning Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KTHL9M_Cv4

Fear had told his family everything and the reactions had common themes.

Saway had been surprised, solemn, then violent. Needling Fear to get his act in gear and take Breiker out. Realizing what a threat she was to everything. Saway demanded that Fear become the soldier he was always meant to be and remove her from existence, to tear away her very being from everything and ruin her. The mare was scared, terrified even. Down to the core of her heart she felt fear the likes of which she'd never experienced. Sure she had once believed herself the destroyer of everything but nowadays she knew... she knew better. She was afraid to lose it all, to finally die. And even if she'd still be alive, she did not regret where she came from, and where she was. She did not regret what she had, and therefore she supported Fear with all her heart.

Luna was in shock, another pony lost from her powerlessness. She was shaky and pale, trying to come up with an excuse as to why it wasn't her fault, but she knew in essence it was. It was because she had not been the Princess she had set out to be. Luna wondered where her dearest sister was. Why had she died? Why had she abandoned Luna? Just like Saway, Luna may have had great sorrow, and at one time great loneliness, but she didn't want to lose everything she'd experienced. She didn't want it to be null and void. There were always moments you wanted it all to just end, moments where emotions were at their high point. But when you calmed down you realized how important your existence was. Even if no one ever watched it, ever learned from it, was ever inspired by it, it still meant something to you. And somehow she knew it would always mean something to her.

Amelio knew that well enough. That connections lasted beyond time and space. She had spoken to Neur once before, though she'd never admitted the encounter with anypony because she didn't want them to think she was crazy. Still, learning about Freiya's sacrifice was... perturbing. And exhausting. What was going to happen to Fear? That one question rang in her mind like a holy bell, the divine query becoming her everything as she hid in her safe space, in her room of recovery, within the treasure room. It was probably a self-fulfilling prophecy, but Amelio couldn't help but lack faith in her brother. He was young, hesitant, and weak. Sure maybe he could take on a king, but how could he ever take on what had essentially become a goddess without preparation? He couldn't even take on an alicorn at full power. Amelio shuddered from head to hoof, like a tremor was rumbling through every cell in her body, calling out to the powers that be for something, anything.

Nothing responded to her. But Amelio felt eyes on her. Less on her, more on her destiny. As if something with a predatory gaze stared deep into her.

Nyx had been beside himself, though it didn't show. He just stepped in place a few times, lifted a hoof, wiped his brow, and closed his eyes. Preparing himself for the end of everything, and the birth of something new. The stallion wasn't sure he wanted to forget everything he'd ever been through, to be severed from it. No that’s not true; he knew inherently he didn’t, but he wasn't sure he had a choice in the matter anymore. This threat had gone unchecked for too long. What could possibly fight against it? This gathering force of nature? A force of change? No. Fear and Amelio were explicit forces of change, he was an explicit form of change (his cutiemark doubled as a ripple), and Discord was especially a force of change, he reminded himself. This Linebreiker was a force of entropy, the death of death. But nothing of past nor future would remain. That made him... sad.

Sim merely pursed his lips and looked off to the side. His heart pounded in his chest like it was hammering in a nail, about to rip apart from the force. Sim's gut clenched up and he tried to hold on tight to anything and everything. Suddenly he knew what his purpose was, or at least one of his purposes. He had spoken with Storm many times about the Seer's Eye, during some of the happiest moments of his life, aside from when his foals had been born. He knew that one of his iterations would have become the one to fulfill this task, whatever it was. The one that would have been forced to confront something so maniacal as Linebreiker. It chilled him to the bone marrow, leaving him wiping the cold sweat from his brow. He'd have to fight harder than he ever had before. He was confident in himself. After all, he'd saved some ponies and changelings in Chicoltgo. If he could do that, surely he could do anything? It was a tentative hope.

Faith was numbed, all the way down into her nerves. It felt like every muscle in her body had fallen asleep, and so had her consciousness. She was so done with everything, so afraid. There was too much emotion from Fear's explanation that she didn't know what life held in store for her. She'd spent all her life building up a resume of actions, and now due to one megalomaniacal pony all that was going to go to waste? No, she wouldn't allow it. She was going to push onward and remember everything anyway. She wouldn't let it all go to waste, she wouldn't let it all just... stop mattering. Because it was supposed to have meaning. Faith was here with the slayer of a science experiment, the destroyer of a king. How could she possibly lose when she had her hero right beside her the entire way? He was a conduit of peace and prosperity, even if he was still too young to inspire everything around him. She knew Fear had potential, and she wouldn't give up as long as he was here.

Gentler whistled long and low, unsure of what to make of any of this. It struck him, leaving him trembling from the sheer enormity of what he was up against. Suddenly the wasteland itself didn't seem like it was what he was supposed to be saving with his life. Now it just seemed like he was meant to be saving past and future? Sure if there was no past the wasteland would have never come to be, and something better could replace their current selves. But there was no... relevance to it. It wouldn't mean anything. How could he live with himself knowing he hadn't achieved his goals, and was simply living on someone else's efforts? The answer was: in Breiker's world he could. But that didn't mean he had to live with it right now. He would rebel.

Upon arriving at Stable 47, everything blurred for Fear. Suddenly no one was excited about visiting a real-life stable for once in their lives. Sim wasn't concerned about living it up. Gentler wasn't concerned about learning more, and Faith wasn't concerned about preaching. The only thing Fear could focus on was the cold, still body laying in front of the open entrance to the Stable.

It infuriated the colt. Fear's jaw snapped shut.

It enraged him beyond belief. His brow furrowed, entire face creasing in animosity, teeth gnashing.

Acidic anger bubbled up from the depths of his being, burning through his entire body like a volcano, erupting into his brain and making everything tingle, especially his hooves. He stomped on the ground repeatedly, charging over to the lifeless body of Freiya Song, his grandmother. Dead Seer’s Eye around her neck. Why could Fear not feel the slightest bit of magic dwelling in it? Was it because Grandma used it in a last ditch attempt to get him out of there in a hurry? Had Breiker taken the power from it? Every memory popped into his head at once and fizzled. It hurt, it hurt so much. He was losing everything, all to a half sister. Fear nudged Freiya with his muzzle, trying to get her to move a lot like Simba trying to wake up his dead father. It was just as useless. Freiya's vibrant lime green eyes gazed dully, vacantly at the wall as she was pushed and prodded.

Fear was hurt, afraid he'd never hear Freiya's mellifluous voice again, that he'd never experience the joys of living, nor the miseries. That everything he'd overcome would be in vain, for naught, leaving him in the dust with nothing but the present. The past and future mattered, damnit. “I'm gonna murder the shit out of that Celestia-forsaken bitch!” Fear growled out, his eyes flickering between red, violet, and blue. “I'm gonna stick my hoof so far up her ass I can grab her heart and yank it out!” The colt was livid as ever, his brows slanting downward, eyes sharpened to points.

Sim put a hoof on Fear's shoulder, and the colt's eyes stopped on sapphire. “The next leap will be the leap home.” The confidence in his voice invigorated Fear, but it wasn't enough. They had to actually do it, and make it permanent.

Fear was going to make sure that no erasure of the past, nor future, would ever make Linebreiker come back from the dead once he was through with her. He was going to obliterate the very concept of what made disastrous Linebreikers who they were. Everyone supported him. Dim Nova and others might be against him, but he'd fight them too. Because others were counting on him. Breiker was going too far with her ideals! She was shattering everyone indiscriminately.

With saddlebags on his back, the colt charged into the stable. The others followed.

It took a fretful hour of searching for something, anything that would help them find a way to put an end to this threat, to the point they were all becoming worn out from stress, everyone except for Fear at least. He knew, just knew there would be something. And he wasn't giving up until he found it. And they found it in the Overmare's office, which was a wreck. It looked like a typhoon had hit it. It was depressing, but Fear couldn't focus on that right now. All he could concentrate on was the swirling portal in front of him that made his heart leap into his throat. This was it. He sensed both Breiker and... himself? On the other side of that portal. It would take him there, to where everything mattered. Fear didn't hesitate in this case, lunging into the portal.

The others looked at each other worriedly, with tense expressions all around, not knowing what to expect, figuring it was a trap, but they had no other options. They dove in after the colt.

==========================================================================================

The group was separated. It was indeed a trap. After all, Breiker might've been a villain to the point of making sure she had one final showdown with her destined enemies, but why would she be so sure of herself she didn't craft something with her expectations?

Gentler was the first to fall into place, glancing around wildly and positioning himself for a fight, fists in the air, legs parted, his left side facing any who'd come at him, guarding his chest and keeping his legs loose so they couldn't be easily attacked. The Abyssinian jumped back like a frightened cat when everything swirled around him, taking another shape, the shape of his home. It was a place full of almost patronizingly cattish structures, with buildings formed out of what were essentially scratching posts, or at least they had the shape of them, with spiraling architecture and towers that belonged to a domesticated feline. It was home alright, and... Gentler recognized some of the Abyssinians traveling along the streets. Something about it felt... familiar. He rushed toward one of them, putting his paws on the shoulders. The silver tabby looked surprised to see him, nearly jumping out of his skin.

“Gentler!? What are you doing back? How'd you get back?”

“Silken, why are you here!?”

“Hey I asked first!” The other cat looked a little annoyed. “What are you doing back in Abyssinia?”

“I don't... I don't know.” Gentler looked around. “I shouldn't be here. I went through a portal and I just... popped out here?”

“Portal? What are you talking about.” Silken looked over Gentler's shoulder, looking for whatever he could be talking about, the golden streets shimmering in the sun. The sky was clear. Gentler hadn't seen it for so long. It even smelled like Abyssinia. “Well, at any rate, welcome home. You should go see the king and let him know you're back.” Silken pointed toward the palace in the distance.

Gentler was at a loss for words, standing limply in the middle of the road with jaw agape.

“Here, you don't look like you're in any position to be walking on your own, let me help you.” The silver tabby put a paw on Gentler's shoulder and guided him toward the palace. “So what've you been up to anyway? What brings you back?”

A debilitating sense of deja vu settled over Gentler. Something about this seemed very familiar. It was like he was experiencing something that had already happened. It was terrifying, and suddenly he knew where this was going. “I don't...” Gentler's hackles rose beneath his cloak and tattered shirt. “I was chasing this pony named Linebreiker and I ended up here. I shouldn't be here! I should be in Stable 47!”

“Relax Gentler, calm down! I don't know what you're doing here but I'm sure everything's fine.”

“Everything's not fine!” Everything about this felt too real to be real, but something about it told him it was more real than anything he'd ever experienced. He was somewhere else. Sometime else. The tom began hyperventilating, his chest rising and falling at an alarming rate, breathing heavily, rapidly, his paws feeling like static was tickling them. But despite it he couldn't bear to push Silken away. He needed something, anything with him right now. Everything was slowly clicking into place. Fear had told him about the exoverse, how it showed things that could happen, that might happen, that would happen if you didn't change it.

It felt like an icicle was trailing down Gentler's spine at the realization, as if a light switch was flicked on. Why was he being shown this? His jaw dipped as he saw something in the distance. It was right on time, something off. It was a zebra, black and white stripes and all with a pair of plain saddlebags trotting toward the palace. It wasn't totally abnormal to see a zebra in Abyssinia, but something about it was more than suspicious.

Gentler ran as fast as he could to catch up. Silken followed him, shouting after him. “Hey! What's going on!? What's gotten into you Gentler!?”

The traveling Abyssinian reached out a hand. “Stop that zebra! No!” Despair gripped his heart. In that saddlebag, it couldn't be. That bulge. It was as if the nightmare was just coming to him, everything falling apart. This was something that would happen if he didn't stop it.

The zebra glanced back, a wild look in his onyx eyes. Panic pushed into his mind and he reached toward his saddlebags.

“No! Stop!” Terror gripped Gentler's soul. His home!

The zebra pulled out a green balefire bomb, complete with glowing core. With one fell swoop he lifted it up. It wasn't the proper place but now was as good a time as any. He slammed it down into the floor. The energy was released. It was like a sun going off in front of Gentler. Buildings and citizens around the cat were vaporized.

Gentler lifted his hands up to shield his body from the hellfire, he felt the heat even though it was so far away. The blinding light. As everything was torn away from him, his body was whisked away, as was, in that moment of frailty, his past and future. He couldn't hold onto it.

==========================================================================================

Faith was back in Friendship City, everything... seeming normal. She was already too on edge, especially when she realized Fear was no longer with her. Not knowing what was going on, but feeling the very real soil beneath her hooves, she traipsed toward the entrance at the base of the emerald pony statue that rose up into the air, situated on a base that had a whole city built into it. It was unusual being back on the island all over again. No one seemed to realize she was there, hardly anyone recognized her, they were all too busy with their own lives. But Faith knew it was still her hometown.

Maybe she should visit the orphanage? The thoughts came simply like a lubricated machine. She was susceptible to the influence. It hardly seemed strange to be back home all over again. What was she doing? Something about a dangerous mare...

As Faith trotted, she heard a sound above her, and looked up into the sky. The cloud cover wasn't parting, but something was certainly bulging out from under it. An ebony bulkhead, something that looked like a giant battleship with numerous propellers on the back of it holding it aloft. It hummed as it lowered to the ground. Other ponies around Faith stopped what they were doing to look up, especially the guards protecting the entrance to the city. The first thing Faith heard was a shout.

“The Enclave are here! They sent a Raptor!”

Faith glanced with a dumbstruck expression, and that's when the chaos started. Energy weapons trained on the city fired swiftly upon it. They were all perfectly aimed. It only took three or four bolts of energy before they hit their target with a vengeance. First to go was the bridge, breaking apart into a million metal shreds, explosions sounding off everywhere incessantly, deafening Faith and leaving her in a numb panic. Her face creased as she looked around, seeing ponies all around her turning into ash, pieces of settlement turning into wreckage, and the statue city being reduced to rubble without mercy.

As Faith's stomach fell out from her, the weakness in her heart was born to the surface as energy lasers peppered the area around her, sizzling the earth and leaving it charred. Her body was yanked out of the timeline, and her past and future were pulled out from her head leaving her more a doll than a real pony.

==========================================================================================

Sim was just as victimized. While it was similar to the others, it was more complex, seeing the deaths of all he loved, everyone he cared about falling from him like sand through fingers. He couldn't hold onto anything no matter how hard he tried, and the wasteland was falling apart around him. The zebras had come back to finish the job they'd failed at, warlords taking over the wastes in a matter of years, and the Enclave, fearing eventual retribution, used their cloudships to blast the striped menace from the face of Equus. Going on to war with the zebra nations, leaving not even the innocent zebras alive.

Nothing was left. And neither was Sim's hope. Seeing a potentiality play out in front of him he no longer knew what was real and what was just illusion, he couldn't tell what was going to happen and what wasn't. He couldn't tell if he was being shown the future or some possibility that was farther from him than Storm was in death. Not that it mattered, because Sim's past and future were scrubbed from the stallion as easily as stealing an apple from an orchard. It didn't matter any way if this was his destination, what did he have to fight for if he couldn't put a stop to something like this?

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9etGBYMYsI

BAM!

BOOM!

CRACK!

Spearheads of thunder and lightning erupted from the ground surrounding Blue Fear, pumping into the air and lancing outward like arcing webs, electricity spanning like an umbrella, splinters and crumbling crags of asphalt flying into the air and falling down everywhere, dust made of consciousness flitting about and whirling around. The colt was dodging erratically, following the conductor's baton that was Red Fear's, the stallion's intent.

Orbs of flame fired from the stallion's horn, searing through the air and cooking the void until it was simmering, exploding against the cement and other materials, barraging against walls of concrete and rebar, magic in its primest form unleashed, elemental energies fluctuating as it was pulled from timelines all around Red Fear, an arsenal of ether baring against Blue Fear.

“Get fucked you stupid adult me!”

“Just die!” Red Fear cried out.

Blue Fear's head was ringing from the multitude of explosions, a cascade of water gushing out of Red Fear's horn and blasting like a pressure hose at the ground, following his swerving movements. The colt was using every bit of training, everything from the calisthenics with Chirp to the dancing practice with Mirage to waltz around the city as road was ripped apart behind him.

Breiker might have told the colt that she only brought one of him with her because overkill wasn't graceful or elegant, and she hardly wanted to kill the colt, just weaken, but right now Blue Fear wasn't sure his alternate self agreed with any of those sentiments.

Red Fear was clearly missing something integral, and had something unusual in its place. He had an obsession with Breiker that Blue Fear could feel leaking off of him into the air. He could see it in those crimson eyes – what had he been through? Was this what it was like to look at himself? All scarred inside and out? Blue Fear hardly wanted to kill himself and that extended to other versions of himself. He was hesitating as he danced around the field, avoiding all sorts of elemental attacks, from ice shards that plunged into the streets and then melted immediately into amorphous water that flooded after him to try and grab and freeze around him, all the way to the very earth upheaving under him and trying to crush him.

Anyone without empathy would have been dead long ago. Blue Fear's mind was frizzy with sensory input, following along and trying to just survive the entire time. During it he'd been leeching off of the stallion's love, trying to tire him out, but it was barely doing anything. It was like the stallion wasn't powering himself with love, but something far more abrasive and slimy. Obsession.

Blue Fear glanced behind him as the ground broke apart, pulling open like a canyon. He jumped to the side as he reflected on his statement that if he was really predestined to come here then everything would be easy, he would have already won, and not only that but there'd be other hims there to help! He just happened to be here. Maybe one of him was guided, sure, but it was his choice to fight back.

And right now he didn't want to fight back. He couldn't kill himself.

But Red Fear certainly wanted to murder him.

Blue Fear had wanted to kill Breiker, but now he was reluctant. After killing so many creatures before, why was he finding it hard to do so now? Finding it hard to discover that murderlust? He had to awaken it again. He had to pull on it. It was in him. He could do it. Blue Fear dodged another lightning bolt that charged up out of the ground with speed he couldn't follow, the side of his body sizzling, a few furs catching alight and burning the flesh from the proximity, the rest of his fur standing on end from the static. The colt wasn't yet breathing hard thanks to his endurance training with Chirp and Faith, but he knew that'd be changing soon if he didn't do anything.

The next attack was a burst of air pressure that gusted out of Red Fear's body like a violent hurricane, slashes of wind lancing through the atmosphere and busting against every single little thing. Blue Fear tried to take cover behind a wagon, but both were quickly lifted up into the air, the object and living creature rolling and tumbling through the sky as the colt's legs flailed under him, eyes wide. His saddlebags nearly slipped off his body but Fear reached out with his telekinesis and yanked them against him, holding them there. Reacting on instinct he melted his body and gear into the shadows, attaching himself to the underside of the wagon that was thrown across the road, crashing into the ground, wooden parts breaking off, axles going flying, the entire caravan skidding along the ground and popping into the air, spinning and twisting as more wreckage was sent careening into buildings. Eventually the wagon bashed against a structure at the end of an intersection and Fear waited for everything to go still before popping out, completely unharmed but cringing from the sound of chaos surrounding him.

Blue Fear had to do something. He looked deep inside of himself, pulling on the monster within with a roar, his face darkening as everything was shrouded in a miasmic acrimony. Red Fear entered it and was instantly shaken, hesitating as he trembled in the air, floating via thought alone, a technique taught to him by Breiker. Blue Fear yanked his sword out from the sheathe on his saddlebags, the lunar blade shimmering in what little light there was being given off by the various strings of time surrounding them. The colt charged toward the stallion, brandishing the sword at the ready. Adding onto the nightmare pressure as he grew closer, using every ounce of murderlust inside of him to paralyze Red Fear. Blue Fear hopped into the air, put a telekinetic platform under his hooves, and jumped again, leaping from magical construct to magical construct. It was far more efficient than levitating himself with magic, and it relied on his physical muscles as well as his thaumic gland.

The colt swung the sword for Red Fear's neck, who floated backwards when he'd finally gotten a hold of himself. He then leveled his horn at Blue Fear. The colt responded by dancing to the side with a pulse of telekinesis as a shotgun burst of shredding snowflakes fired out of his horn in an arc, melting as they got further away, and during his twirl brought his sword around, attempting to hack through Red Fear's limbs from the back.

Red Fear lifted up and tried to blow the colt away with another explosion of air pressure but Blue Fear reacted by latching onto the stallion's shadow, fusing to his body and coiling around him in his entirety, trying to strangle him. Red Fear countered by setting off a light elemental spell in his hooves, causing them to glow with white molten brightness, bringing it to his neck and trying to burn away the shadows.

Blue Fear retreated away, still fused with Red Fear's shadows, and tried to pump transformation magic into the stallion, attempting to create lethal lumps throughout his entire body, inside and out, wanting to use cancerous bulges to mess up his nervous system and interfere with his circulatory system.

Red Fear screamed and reacted on instinct, shunting transformation magic into his body, and then into Blue Fear to try and do the same to him.

Blue Fear unlatched from the stallion, popping off of his body in alarm and winding the sword around to chop off Red Fear's tail, the same tail which immediately flicked away and transformed into flames, a combination of morphing magic and elemental spell, forming into a whip of fire and striking out for Blue Fear, trying to crack against his fur and set him ablaze. Blue Fear attached himself to Red Fear's shadow again, before popping off the other side and swinging his sword around for Red Fear's neck.

Red Fear ducked, flowing into a forward somersault, his tail still a lashing incinerator, causing his entire body to become a roaring inferno wheel.

Blue Fear backed away, falling toward the ground, and pumped magic into the air, as much as he could spare, breathing heavily. Shadows surged around him, filling the air, coalescing into an orb surrounding the two Fears. Blue Fear hit the ground with an 'oof' and rolled onto his legs with a balletic flourish, the sword sweeping around him. Using the sword as a conduit, the colt crafted a light spell in his horn that glinted off of the blade and refracted into tiny dots everywhere around the abyss of darkness.

Starlight Shredder! Blue Fear screamed out in his mind, the incantation sending a surge of raw emotive energy flowing into his thaumic gland and pulsing outward from his horn. Immediately the pinpricks of light came to life, divebombing Red Fear from every angle, slashing through the air at him.

The streaks of light brightened as more magic was pumped into the spell, with Blue Fear letting out a scream as he borrowed the light from the timelines surrounding them in order to increase the size of each star. Red Fear let out a cry as a multitude of balls of fusion gas, tinier than a baseball, careened straight for him, slicing into his body and cutting into him. Red Fear struggled, trying to dodge them all.

But as Blue Fear screamed for vengeance, putting his all into the spell, even more pinpricks of light formed, the colt drawing from every single source of inspiration he could find, pumping emotions into his thaumic gland like there was no tomorrow, using every single iota of violence within him to power through it, magical miasma surrounding his body, the air taking on a hint of ozone.

Soon enough the stars were impacting with Red Fear's body, slamming into him and exploding on contact instead of melting away like snow. The stallion's body was exploding into showers of gore that rained down everywhere, getting swallowed up by the void of shadows drowning him.

Blue Fear gasped for air as he let the spell go, the void dispersing in an instant, Red Fear's remains falling through the air, tumbling around and slamming into the road, splattering on impact. A smile graced his lips, tilting his head into the air, puffing out his chest, his breath coming out in heaves.

“Bravo! Encore!” Breiker's voice sounded out from nearby, her clapping forehooves echoing in the air. “Very well done Fearei! I didn't think you had it in you to kill yourself.”

Fear huffed, shaking his head wildly and stomping toward the soaring Linebreiker. “Shut the fuck up you stupid bitch!” Fear snarled out with a wicked expression engraved into his face.

“No, no, I don't think I will, you deserve all the credit for taking down a version of yourself. Of course I never intended you to lose, but hey, whatever? You killed yourself! Congrats.” Breiker commended the tense colt.

“I said shut up! He wasn't me!”

“Oh, but of course he was, all yous are inherently you. I know you know that as well as I do. We both believe it in totality. Stop fooling yourself.”

Fear lunged forward, snapping his teeth at her. “Whatever! I won! And now I'm going to thresh your body apart and leave your head on a pike!”

“My my, what violence. You certainly went out of control didn't you little Fearei?”

Fear brought his sword to bare, holding it next to him as he rocked back and forth on his hooves, battle ready just like Gentler had taught him.

“Now now, little Fear. What kind of host would I be if I hadn't prepared a gift for you?”

“Gift?” Fear's pupils quivered at the insinuation Breiker had anything for him.

“Indeed. Come on out you three.” Breiker clopped her hooves together three times, like snapping fingers in order to call a waiter.

From buildings surrounding Fear came three figures, three figures the colt knew way too well. It was damaging just seeing them, his knees buckling under him, nearly collapsing onto his belly at the sight.

It was Sim, Faith, and Gentler. All staring at him with a vague, subtle hint of malice that was not lost on the colt.

Fear took a few steps back, every ounce of murderlust draining from him like the color in his face. “What...? What did you do!?” He demanded.

“Oh, nothing really. Just mix and matched some timelines to get a specific result.” Breiker stared at one of her forehooves with disinterest, eyes lidded. “You'd really like it honestly. It's very fun! Almost like cooking. It feels good to make a pony do whatever you want, even if it's only temporary.”

The colt's snarl left his face as he backed up further. With every step away he took, the three around him closed in.

“You can't run away Fear. Just accept your fate. You're mine now. Your pasts, your futures, everything about you belongs to me. It's futile to keep fighting.”

Fear rubbed his head violently, mussing up his mane more than it already was as he sat on his haunches. He wasn't going to give up. He couldn't give up. But he also couldn't kill them.

Faith hefted her weapon up, sitting back, and charging it up, a gentle 'vrr' filling the air as energy flowed into it from around her.

The colt knew then and there that it was his hesitation that caused this mess. He should have been searching for them, helping them. He'd played into Breiker's hooves. Fear's ears flattened against his skull as he cowered away from his family.

“Come on Fear, just die already. It's okay to die. It's like a little pinch and then everything goes away. That's kind of how it feels to have your past and future excised from you, or so I hear.” The chirpy melody in Breiker's voice was disconcerting.

“Like Tartarus I'd ever give you myself!” Fear charged at Breiker, intending to use his telekinetic platforms to get to her.

Unfortunately Gentler and Sim were also coming for him, with the stallion's carapace knife brandished and Gentler's gauntlets at the ready as they threatened to collide with him.

Equally unfortunately, Fear felt Faith's intent when it was nearly too late, as if she knew exactly what he'd do. The colt's face fell as he figured out who the mare was aiming at – his father.

Fear didn't think before acting, twisting to the side and lunging at his father, right in the way of the bolt of arcane energy that erupted from the tip of Faith's weapon, surging through the air like a knife through butter. It slammed into him, then shot through him, right through his barrel, creating a huge hole that couldn't be healed no matter what Fear did.

Breiker laughed. It started out as a sort of hiccup, before breaking into full blown guffawing. “Oh my dear Celestia you are such a fool! Fear! I never knew you had it in you! So this is the you that you're always going on about, the self-sacrificial lamb! You should've figured out long ago that those under my sway don't die! Without a past, without a future, how can you?”

Fear's mouth gasped and spasmed like a dying fish, his eyes wide and dull. He could feel organs missing, he felt so much lighter. Everything was dimming. It was a fast death, but not before his hope completely drained from him.

==========================================================================================

The next thing Fear knew, he was standing in the middle of another void, a much different one. This one completely bereft of every single living thing except...

His mother. Storm was standing in what he could only define as the center of something. She twisted around to see him, her vibrant lime green eyes lighting up upon seeing him. “Oh! My little Nightlight!” The snow white mare trot over to her son, pulling him into a hefty embrace that none could compare to. “Ohhh I missed you! I've seen you die, I've seen you live, I've seen you struggle, and I've seen you thrive. But I never thought I'd see you here, finally.”

Fear struggled, his eyes wide, trying to remember what was going on. The last thing he could recall was diving in the way of his father so he wouldn't be shot. Then he was here. “What is this place, Mom?” He was too numb to all of it, feeling like he was asleep, but more than ever before – his eyes heavy. It was like he was living in syrup. There was a sort of metaphysical humidity he couldn't get over. It felt thick and sticky.

“Oh honey. We're dead.”

Fear nodded singularly, disheartened. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“It's fine though. I'll be reincarnated soon! This me at least. It's this whole thing you see. Fate calls it the Ring of Fate. Really egotistical and arrogant I think, but that's just how he rolls. He was laughing when he told me.” Storm squeezed Fear, who looked around.

“Well, where is everyone else? Why am I only seeing you?”

“I don't know honestly, honey! I've seen lots of ponies, sort of. Pieces of them. Everyone ends up here eventually when their iterations reach the center of the circle of life. Everyone starts at a different distance from the middle, and we're all walking toward it, with pieces of us breaking off as we go, as if we're slowly disintegrating from a black hole.”

That was way too complex! Fear creased his eyes shut. “That makes no sense Mom.”

“Eh, I did my best. Can't blame me for trying. You'll get it someday. But anyways, new souls are coming in all the time, and others are resetting with new bodies, new identities, new destinies, repeating over and over until they grow and they see the true meaning of... everything.”

Fear was getting a headache from all this philosophical mumbo jumbo. He just wanted to go back. “I want to go back. I need to go back. Linebreiker is trying to end everything. She's... unnatural. She's trying to kill something important. I can't... let her do it.”

Storm sighed. “Oh, my little Nightlight. I'm sorry to say but it might not be your choice anymore. I know what she's doing. Well, a piece of me does. So all of me does.” Fear let out another gut wrenching sigh, this was way too complicated. “Here, how about I sing you a song that pieces of me were making for you? Many of me always wanted to express my true feelings, how I felt about you, and how I felt about myself. It's important you understand how important you are to me, even if you end up never remembering in life.”

Fear pushed away from Storm.

“I'm sorry, what?”

Storm grinned. “I said let me sing you a song – a different song, my little Nightlight. You'll... probably remember someday.” The mare wrapped Fear up again and stroked a hoof through his mane. “Just relax, you're going to come back to life soon and forget all about this. But if everything goes well, it won't be the end.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDTD24KsdGc

Fear listened intently to the gentle hum, the admiring lyrics that were just for him. As Storm swayed with him in her embrace, he closed his eyes gently, and swayed with her. He had left his plushie back at Dryfield, not wanting her to get damaged for some reason while he was out and about saving the world.

He never expected he'd have his real mother right in front of him. All sorts of emotions welled within him. Hatred, anger, love, regret, happiness, and ambition. The ambition was the strongest thing of all. But he knew? It was probably too late. He'd had his chance, and he'd messed up big time. As Storm sung to him how she really felt, Fear's consciousness began to fade. In a way. He was being pulled away, toward a bright light.

As Storm finished, she grinned at her son. “That's a different light than the light of the afterlife!” She sounded like she was helpfully supplying new information, but to Fear it just sounded like a foreign language. Fear gazed into its depths as he was pulled towards it, as if magnetized, drawing closer and falling in. “See you later honey! Another time, another life.” Storm waved to her son as if she had lost all the anxieties that once plagued her in life.

Fear just waved back, drained, hollow, and vacant.

==========================================================================================

Coming back to life should normally be a very disorienting, brutal affair. But it wasn't for Fear. He'd felt the pinch, but he was feeling another one as he opened his eyes. His body was back to normal, but his mind was corroding, something integral leaving him. The last thing he saw before everything faded from relevance to his here and now was Breiker smiling down at him, her hoof held against his forehead. There had never been so much clarity, and so much fog, in Fear's head at the same time as the sickly green tendrils rooted around in his brain. He could hear a hum and various shlucking noises as things were being pulled from him, tentacles digging into everything that made him who he was, tugging on the chains of his destiny, and pulling out bits and pieces, tearing away himself.

At first it felt utterly joyful to forget everything, like coming up for the cleanest air imaginable, everything that had ever held him down falling off and crashing into the ground like taking off a set of weights. But soon enough, he knew he was forgetting something. There was a noticeable gap in his consciousness, something important was missing.

And unlike Dim Nova, he wasn't content to just let go. Whatever he was forgetting was important, he knew. He wasn't going to be swayed by... who was this again? It didn't matter, but that feeling of forgetting something important, it made him angry. It made him violent. He was full of pent up rage. As Breiker finished the process, Fear lashed out, swinging a hoof for her face, trying to deck her across the snout.

The hoof connected, and it caused her snout to cascade off to the side, breaking apart. She yelped, falling backwards as the colt lunged at her, attempting to get on top of her and beat her brains out, anger being the only thing driving him in that single moment.

Fortunately, Breiker knew how to deal with ponies like this. She knew Red Fear would have wanted to do the same. She immediately collected magical power within her hoof and slammed it into Fear's chest as he got on top of her.

Fear shuddered, coughing up crimson and staggering backwards, his ribs hurting. Before he immediately reset, he was back to peace, and then back to anger.

But by that time Breiker was already back in the air where the colt couldn't reach her while she teased the everloving fuck out of him, taunting and tricking him, only for him to return back to a peaceful state, then return to anger.

Over, and over again. An ephemeral pair of emotions that didn't end.

Breiker, more enthralled than ever as she played with her toy, couldn’t help but gleefully think to herself finally, now the only one who can stop me is that smarmy bastard Fate, and there’s no way it’d ever interfere directly. I've as good as won.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSCyP5sfvg

Fate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4uhfIV6s8c

It had been two days relative to Amelio. Her eyes were tired, sunken, and struggling to remain open. Sure she'd meditated, but she hadn't rested at all. Her entire being was throbbing like a heart, or an overclocked brain. Everything pulsing around her, horn feeling like something separate from her, and her legs trembling and limp, barely holding her up, almost asleep as they buckled under her. Her tail hung laxly between her legs, not having nearly the energy nor the excitement to swing.

Amelio was depressed.

She had no vitality left in her. Just dragging herself along.

The filly had paced around the castle grounds contained within the dream bubble many times over, never leaving, just sluggishly pulling herself along as she waited for her dear brother to come back, to come to her and tell her everything was okay. That Breiker had been taken care of and everyone had been saved. That her past and future weren't going to cease. That things weren't going to be broken away into tiny pieces and dumped into nothingness to be erased.

Yet there was nothing. Fear was nowhere to be found. He hadn't been sleeping, Luna's bewitchment couldn't latch onto him and pull him into the dream bubbles, as if her spell had never existed at all.

Amelio's ears flopped against her skull, her lips tugging downward like gravity was too hard to fight against, her forehead smooth but brows leaning outward like they were trying to melt off her face. There was nothing she could do. She'd cried out Fear's name like a wolf howling to the moon, solemn and sorrowful, with a heavy heart that she just wanted to rip out of her chest – as if she still had one. She might not've had a physical body anymore – a living one – but nonetheless she felt the simulacrum sensations of having one anyway. Amelio knew that eventually she would forget what it was like to have a body unless others reminded her, but for now her mind could give her all of that.

In the courtyard Amelio reflected back on Saway's restless rituals and Luna's mourning. Nyx's despair. They had lost, everything was gone.

Still, something pressed against Amelio's brain, an imprint from long ago, a dream she'd had. She knew there were entities out there that could... maybe interfere. Maybe if she called desperately upon them they'd come to her? Maybe if she prayed hard enough they'd reveal themselves. After all, how could they stand watching their existence crumble around them and become irrelevant? Amelio still remembered what Neur's presence felt like, and she was sure that her connection to him had remained. She reached out fiercely, her only hope left. “Neur. I don't know if this is hopeless, or if you can hear me. If you can see me and feel me and... maybe hold me in my time of need. But I need you. I need everything you are, I need you to do... something. Anything.” With closed eyes she kept repeating Neur's name, becoming more desolate with each utterance, tears flowing past the cracks of her eyes. In her time of defeat she saw no need to continue the facade of speaking properly, losing even that bit of herself to oblivion.

It wasn't Neur that responded to her though. “The little filly is certainly very determined to reach us.”

Amelio whipped around with wide eyes, staggering backwards and falling onto her rump as she looked at what appeared behind her. It was a black, ceaselessly shifting biomass made of gaseous void that had no clear definition to it, seeming to smear everywhere as if it couldn't be contained, except for one cyclops eye peering intently at her – or was it through her? That eye, with its gorgeous spectral iris didn't seem to need to look directly at her, and it didn't seem to care enough to do so, because it already knew everything it needed to know. It was almost... dismissive. Amelio could sense something enormous within that eye, something normally insincere and mysterious, as if you could never officially determine its desires, or what it held important, if anything. “Who... are you?”

“You know, I've played a lot of games ever since I first came into being. With other entities. Never before have I lost to anyone. I've seen threats to existence come and go but nothing has ever compared to that mare Linebreiker.” The eye closed, and suddenly Amelio felt like everything was way too far away, that nothing mattered as long as she wasn't in its gaze. It opened a moment later, sparkling with a hint of amusement at seeing the filly back up away from it. “Why don't you take a guess as to who I am?”

Amelio summoned every ounce of remaining strength within her, her throat undulating as she swallowed hard, jaw tensing up, eyes sharpening. She walked in place a couple times, adjusting her positioning, and cocking her head to the side in curiosity, trying to solve the mystery. “Well, I only have one guess. You like to play games, you want me to guess, and I have only heard of one creature that fits that description. You do not seem like the kind of entity that would...” she narrowed her eyes, twisting her head to the side, looking at the entity with just her eyes. “Make me do something without a fighting chance. So.” Amelio stated succinctly. “You must be Fate.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os5Ch0GZVvQ

A grumbling guffaw escaped the biomass, which shifted and squirmed, little ripples appearing over its surface from the vibrations. “Hahaha, you are a very perceptive filly. You know Fear, as much as I appreciate his various services to me, would never figure it out right away.” Fate paused. “Maybe.”

Amelio stammered. “Y-you underestimate my brother.”

“Oh I know,” Fate acceded, “he's surprised me on a few occasions, which is saying something.” The entity glanced to the side, his singular eye squinting. The formless entity rumbled, a new voice coming from it. "That kid Fear makes... literally the worst decisions. For instance, I dunno, swallowin’ Fate into his stomach instead of just livin' the high life, datin' my sister.." It was stuttery and masculine. Belonging to a stallion for sure. Suddenly images flashed across Amelio's awareness of her brother righting a terrible wrong, partly his own fault, by killing a nearly magic-less stallion trying to make his own master timeline, by tricking him and creating a paradox with the help of Fate and a pony whose name flit to her consciousness: Maple Butter. Only... as the vision concluded, Amelio realized her brother had given his own life to do it. She watched him in seconds, as he struggled to cope with his loss of innocence, die from a corroding timeline (prevented from splitting, the potential energy causing it to eat itself), joined in death by a stallion whose most defining feature was his huge eyebrows.

“What was that? Who was that?”

Fate snickered. “One of my record keepers. He recalls the timelines that have failed, yet still hold importance. After all, it's such a shame to watch something be completely erased is it not?” The voice was insincere, as if it couldn't be trusted, and Amelio couldn't sense his intent either. If anything it sounded more like... Fate was trying to goad her into agreeing with the sentiment, whether or not he truly believed it himself.

“Well, I certainly think so. That is why my brother tried to kill Linebreiker. A half sibling of ours.”

“Oh I know – I know all about her. She's been a thorn in Minuette's and my side for... well, not that long. But you get the idea.” His tone was smarmy and condescending. Amelio didn't let it get to her.

“Minuette?”

“Oh, yes. There are many entities, we all play games together!” All of a sudden his voice sounded like a foal as the formless blob bobbed up and down, then did a little somersault in excitement. “I make free will a possibility, as much as can be conceived anyway, by maintaining alternate paths, none being definite. But there's a... system to it. Usually.” Fate peered to the side, conspiratorially. “Neur maintains connections, Kioku roosts on the cusp of everything. Geometer gave birth to shapes, starting with creatures like the Dirge.”

Amelio, listening intently, recalled Fear telling her about the Dirge within the exoverse.

“And Minuette oversees the Seer's Eye, making sure new alterations can be born, and that it isn't abused.”

Amelio's brow creased, and a hoof came up to push against her forehead. “You are all crazy, you know that? None of you should even exist. We should be alone.”

“Come now, even I know you don't mean that and I don't pay attention to everything going on around me – who possibly could?”

The filly hesitated. “Why are you here?”

Fate chortled, all sorts of voices, voices from all timelines ringing out at once. As if Fate had memorized the little creatures that amused him so much. “Well, your brother certainly took on a new mantle when he swallowed a part of me into him.”

“Oh? And what did my brother come up with?” Amelio fluttered her eyelashes, a hoof against her chest, tilting her head to the side.

“Oh, you'd probably expect it. It was incredibly punny. Fateshatter. As if he'd somehow been expecting it.”

Amelio laughed despite the situation she was in. It felt good for her imaginary diaphragm to spasm like that. She shook her head sullenly. “Yes, that is like my brother. I think we all like puns.”

“You could become Ameliofate you know.” Suddenly Amelio got the sensation that Fate was looking at a hoof innocently, as if manicuring himself.

Amelio sighed. “You must be kidding. Why would I do that?”

“It should be clear as day!” Fate was obviously bemused. “Your brother needs your help.”

“And why are you choosing to help? You do not seem like the type.”

Fate considered Amelio for a long time. “Let's just say I dislike Linebreiker as much as you do, and to give you a little hint as to what actually makes me tick, I operate in a field of what is essential and... things you don't want to comprehend. There's no such thing as good and evil with me. But Linebreiker has gone far past what I can allow and become what you would call sin incarnate.” Fate shrugged, or at least that's how Amelio interpreted it. “Normally I wouldn't interfere directly, just let things take their course. After all, your brother lost fair and square! But, you called out to me, and I can tell you're willing to do everything to have a hoof in this story. So? I'm going to give you the opportunity to make a change.”

Amelio was reluctant. “And what can I do to help him?” She was truly at a loss. She didn't even know what happened to him.

“Both you and your brother,” Fate allowed, “have a spell intrinsic to your very natures. A spell that is in your DNA, within your destiny. It is your namesakes. Fear has used his many times in those moments of need, and it's always taken a destructive or protective form. As far as my relative linearity is concerned, this will be the first time you've used yours, Ameliorate Reverie.”

Amelio glanced off to the side uncertainly. “And how am I supposed to do that? It sounds dangerous, like a last resort. I know Fear has used his before. Back when he was undergoing his trials set by Princess Luna, he used a spell she was not familiar with.”

Fate's eye formed a smile. “Well, normally it takes an unnatural influx of emotion, or in your case, peace. But in order to span the distance we're discussing, I'm going to need to be part of you, inside your soul aiding you.”

The filly thought on it, truly contemplating the idea. “It sounds dangerous. Is there something you are not telling me?”

“Perceptive as ever. When I enter you there will be taint of me leftover. After all I can not cleanly separate myself once I've attached myself to you. Partly because you do not have a body to reset what I have done, you will forever have a part of Ameliofate within your soul. You will be able to see more than you ever wanted, and experience more than you ever needed to. Your morality will shift, and you will become something new. Your heart cannot survive, it cannot stay the same after being merged with me.”

Amelio sighed. “I thought as much.” She held her head in a hoof, shaking it softly from side to side, trying to come to terms with what Fate was saying. Not only had she given up her destiny for their father, but now she was giving up an integral part of who she was in order to save her brother, and, essentially, all of existence.

“If it means anything to you,” which it obviously did, “you will at least be able to last for much longer. My interference will heal the damage to your destiny. Not completely, but enough to bring you back to what you used to be, sort of.”

Amelio smiled at that. It was a tentative smile, a little reluctant. She nodded once. “Fine, let us do this.”

“Oh, and one more thing. I have something I want you to tell your brother. After all, he's going to be traumatized after all this, and constantly doubting himself if he isn't told.”

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8tYXFTA0ws

Fear was surrounded by a nebula, twisting, twirling orbs of energy shooting out of a Seer's Eye levitating in front of him at eye level, the spheres revolving around him like strobe lights cascading around him in orbits. Everything gyrated and shook like earthquake tremors. Fear's tail and mane hung in the air, laying weightless in zero g as air pressure shunted up from underneath him, the sheer power pumping through him. Tumultuous wisps of multi-colored energy lashed out at everything, whipping across existence and slashing into the skyscrapers and streets made out of consciousness, dragging through them and erupting out, carving a path into everything, destroying the placeholder world Breiker had generated.

The orbs jumped into Fear's body, incessantly. One after another, more and more rushing into him like a vigorous deluge of spirit.

It had been an eternity exposed to the cyclic nature of peace and fury constantly sweeping through him like a unicycle wheel, spinning spinning spinning, tumbling through him and never ceasing. But now, that was all done. All gone. Fear was remembering everything. It started with his sister, the pony connected so intimately to him, the pony he'd done so many things with, and like a wild chain of synapses the connections just kept coming, memories reigniting within his mind as time was mended, past and future repairing, and even more than that, bits and pieces of those selves that were beyond him connecting for the barest of moments.

Breiker was effectively terrified, holding a foreleg over her eyes trying to shield herself from the glorious light show being performed in front of her, her tail hiding between her legs. “What the fuck is going on!?”

As everything died off, Fear's persona returning to normal except for his white-washed eyes, caught in a reverie, the colt latched onto one primary memory wafting out of the Seer's Eye like it were a tangible substance that he could drink from. Fear grabbed the cordless pendant within his telekinesis. His eyes flared and everything became clear. His vision darted from the cowering Sim, slinking Faith, and awed Gentler. Fear shoved a hoof out against the pendant, the field of white telekinesis surrounding both, melting into his hoof and lancing outward like a whip, becoming a much longer limb.

Fear cracked it, then whipped it forward before Breiker could react, not having expected any of it, everything too new to her. There was a look of wonder in the mare's eyes like she was experiencing something divine.

The limb lashed around Breiker's barrel, squeezing into her like a garrote wire and tearing apart her flesh. It was a milky white, gently shimmering like a sun's plasma surface, with aqua blue threads streaking through it from the power of the pendant.

Fear yanked backwards, tightening his hold on Breiker's stomach.

Breiker, before she could comprehend what was happening, gasped, her jaw falling open and tongue blepping out, eyes going wide as her stomach was forced to upchuck everything she'd eaten.

Only, what she'd eaten wasn't actually food. The most recent ingestions were the orbs of silvery light she'd taken from his family. Fear lunged forward as they dropped toward the ground. With deft movements, recognizing the presences in each orb, Fear's hindlegs became a flurry as he spun around and kicked each section of time into their respective hosts.

The chrono energy pulsed as it seared through the air, plunging into the chests of each paralyzed figure, sinking into them and causing their bodies to light up with a soft silver glow, radiating outward from them as healing occurred, everything falling into place. Memories flooding back, shackled emotions returning.

Sim was the first to gasp out, falling to the ground.

Then Faith.

And afterwards Gentler.

Breiker shouted out as she finally tore the whip off of her body. “No! You can't do this! This is impossible! You shouldn't be able to summon any of this!” She built up power in her hooves and fired them at Fear, spiraling around and exploding against the ground, gaseous energy expelling and eroding everything it touched like a flesh eating bacteria with an organic sizzle.

Fear was already far away, sweeping up his sword and saddlebags, getting them propped up on him as Breiker prepared for another fight. “Get your asses into gear everyone!” The colt shouted, knowing everything wasn't done yet. His eyes slowly returned to normal, his hope reconciled. He wouldn't be giving in again, even if someone died, even if everything was taken away, he would not be killed again, not in any way. Fear sprinted toward Breiker who was getting ready to fight the quarter hybrid.

Gentler shouted out, slamming a fist against the ground, the gauntlet clacking against the asphalt. “It doesn't matter if we win!” They were still completely torn. “Everything we love is just going to be taken from us! Abyssinia is going to be vaporized!”

Fear screamed as he dodged an orb of energy, and then another, dancing through the streets to get to the mare that had caused all this. “It doesn't matter what's going to happen in the future! What matters is now! What matters is how much we cherish what we make!” Fear jumped up, creating stairs out of hoof-sized telekinetic pads.

Breiker shot out more wads of energy at Fear, trying to hit him.

Fear saw every one of them coming, jumping to the side and catching himself, pushing him around in the air with telekinesis, showing a mastery of it he'd only acquired by training his ass off. “And even if it did matter, you bet your life I'm never going to let it go down that way! We're going to find a way to stop all of it, to save everyone!” Fear leaped at Breiker, swinging his sword around.

Breiker leaned backwards, and during his overreach fired a ball of energy at him.

Sim was there to help though, using his magic to yank Fear down.

“Because I'm a hero just like Mega Mare!” Fear shouted with more determination than he'd ever felt before in his life, bringing the sword back around and arcing it upwards to cut through Breiker vertically.

Breiker soared upwards, barely dodging the tip of the blade, generating magic in her hooves.

A quiet 'vrr' sounded in the background. All Faith could think was Fear is here! Everything's gonna be fine!

Sim carried Fear in his telekinesis, giving a surface for him to fight on as the colt continued to hold the Seer's Eye with sticky hooves.

Gentler finally broke out of his panic, shivers traveling up his spine, goosebumps forming on his skin.

“Because we're winners! We don't give up!” Fear continued as he dodged one ball of energy, leaping back.

Gentler snapped to attention, his vision bolting to Breiker, a scowl set in his face. He ran for one of the skyscrapers, generating magnetism in his greaves and running up the steel girders with the powerful force.

Fear's eyes widened as he saw another ball of energy surging toward him, he hopped to the side, barely bypassing it, his fur getting singed. Fear didn't hesitate another second. “And we're a family and family doesn't give up on each other!” The colt saw his death shooting toward him a moment later, the third ball of energy searing toward him.

Gentler jumped off the skyscraper, launching himself off of it by polarizing the magnetic spell, flying through the air like a gauss bullet. A nullifying spell stirred in one of his gauntlets. The Abyssinian punched through the deadly ball of energy and continued right past.

Fear brought the sword to bear, avoiding the traumatic thoughts of having died by his family's hoof, it wasn't time to think of that right now.

For Breiker, it was too late.

The colt slashed horizontally, intending to slice right through Breiker's abdomen.

Breiker backed up, using her fourth hoof, a hind hoof, to build up energy in order to obliterate the colt right in front of her.

Faith unleashed the shot built up in her weapon. The arrow of energy cut through the air, hitting Breiker right up her ass, exploding on contact and blowing away her hindlegs and lower body.

Breiker screamed, her face screwing up, eyes squeezing shut. She tried to float backwards, trying to get away.

Something sparked deep inside of Fear, seeing his family fighting to protect him, fighting for a common goal, and feeling the deep, desperate desires of his sister in the back of his mind. A war cry left Fear's mouth as emotions unraveled deep inside his mind, pumping into his thaumic gland at a dangerous level.

Fear's horn lit up, power filtering from the Seer's eye and into his head.

The colt lined it up at a retreating Breiker.

And fired. “You're not getting away! And you're never coming back!”

A rainbow hued bullet, constantly shifting in color, fired from Fear's horn, hitting Breiker in the back of the skull and exploding on impact.

It was like a synapse going off, prismatic colors exploding outward and shredding apart Breiker's body, a little bit of time spilled into it erasing her soul.

Moments later, there was a second explosion as Fear was levitated toward the ground by Sim. This explosion was new, all the pieces of past and future that Breiker had eaten expelling outward and scouring through the void, off to find their hosts and return them from whence they came. Hopefully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4a8V4nFgtg

Death of a Mother

As the pair, a colt and filly, trod through the serene snow away from an abandoned factory they'd finished playing in, the older filly finally broached the one topic that interested her the most. “Who is that mare on your back, and why do you carry her?” The frost in the air kept things chilly and crisp under the smothering cloud cover.

Fearshatter winced and twitched for a second as if something had hit him. Stomach dropping from his body. Still. It always... Felt better talking about it. As if he was able to give a word of warning or to just enjoy regaling ponies with the tale. Nopony ever stuck around though. But since this pony might stick around... Maybe he should go into more detail? He looked back behind him at the oversized stuffed plushie strapped to his back with a cord. At least one and a half times his size, maybe a little more. It was his mother who he carried with him everywhere. Her mouth and other orifices had been sewn shut, and she had thread reinforcing several bits of torn preserved flesh here and there, as well as along the underside. Brainstorm had been a beautiful mare in life, and even now with her somehow sustained, vibrant-now-dull lime green eyes she was a sight to behold, despite all the dust that had covered her once pristine powder white coat. Her precious golden mane was still swept back like flames in a forest or waves on a beach, with a light crimson dusting scattered throughout, same colors as her coiled tail. Her cutie mark was faded from the elements and whatever chemical he'd found, but one could still make out the dark gray brain with three yellow thunderbolts sparking outward from the bottom.

Fear looked back and nodded. "Well... It was early in the morning.”

The sound of gunfire was prevalent on the prewar farmhouse, near an old bunker, shots ringing out constantly, bullets flying and chipping against the rock Brainstorm and her foal were hiding behind. The littlest, cutest colt crying, his friendly, glowing blue eyes full of tears that never stopped flowing.

“M-mommy are we going to be okay?”

The raiders screamed. “We're going to skin you alive you bitch! Stop fighting and maybe we'll go easy on that colt of yours!”

A motherly smile. Storm pat Fear on the head with one hoof, running it through his curly, unkempt purple mane as she held the M1 Garand in her other foreleg, holding the sten-like trigger bit in her mouth, releasing it for but a moment. “Everything's going to be just fine sweetie. It's just a little scuffle between bad ponies. I'll make sure to sing you your favorite song when this is all over.” The mare sounded so sure of herself, the pendant around her neck rustling against her chest. One... Two... Time for them to reload. The raiders so far had not shown smart tactics, firing together instead of separately. The fence and rocks they were hiding behind were good cover though.

Fear nodded, sniffling, looking so adorable and helpless. His coiled, twisted purple tail flicking to the side. He could feel his mom's emotions. She was completely calm and at peace. Everything would be okay if even Mommy could be strong in such a violent, chaotic cacophony.

Storm grimaced and focused, rolling around the rock and getting down on her stomach, looking through the rifle's scope, holding the trigger in her mouth, using one hoof to balance it against her shoulder, and the other hoof to adjust the sight. A unicorn could use it better honestly. But she was skilled with it. She had practiced with it many times and was an expert by this point, and had taught her son the basics. Time slowed to a stop for her as she focused on the raiders attacking them, as if she were falling into an organic form of SATS. There were the four. She restored her sense of perceptions and moved to line up the gun with the first raider. Bam. He was down as he was reloading. The bullet casing flew out. Next. Bam. Down. Storm was a smart mare, but she had underestimated. They'd been lulling her into a false sense of security.

Without warning, as she was aiming a fifth came out of hiding and targeted her. The next shot rang out and through her skull, brain matter exploding outward through the small hole.

Everything slowed down as Fear looked at his mother, laying on the ground. Dying. It wasn't an instant death. Fear brought his forelegs to his muzzle. He screamed. His mother was feeling things in order. Panic for her son. Panic for her life. Then peace. Fear sensed it all. She didn't even have time to tell him she loved him. He couldn't even tell her he loved her. He sniffled, his jaw jerking, snout flaring. Tears flowed. He reached forward.

“YEAH! GOT THE BITCH! Now we can get that stupid fucking colt!”

Fear lunged forward. Everything was numb. What had just happened? One minute his mother was calm with deadly precision. The precision of a teacher who knew she had to defend her son. Fear was shaking. No, he was trembling violently. Everything was crashing down around him. He had no one. His jaw slackened. His brain was fizzing out. His eyes were turning red. No, this couldn't be. It was too soon. Mom always said the wasteland was a harsh place... Memories flashed through his mind. Laughing with her, learning with her, traveling with her, snuggling with her. His favorite song. He'd... His eyes quivered. He'd never get to do any of that with her again. These raiders had taken everything he held dear from him. And they were going to take more. They were coming out from cover. Fear's emotions burned. They blazed. His short horn grew a field of magic. He'd been pretty shit at magic before, always having to use the mouth handle and take the pain of kickback. But now... Fear grit his teeth, getting low to the ground like his mother taught him. Aim. Fire. Fear stared through the sight, holding the gun against his shoulder like he'd been taught, balancing it with one foreleg and eyes focusing on the crosshair as much as he could. It was a little faulty due to his shaking and small body, but he tried his best.

One blam. The kickback hurt. “Shit! THE COLT'S FIRING AT US!”

They ran for cover.

No. Fear couldn't let them get away. Another shot. The bullet pinged off the dirt. Four bullets left. Mom always told him to keep count. He aimed harder, gritting his teeth and ground them into powder. He had to get this right. Line up. Fire.

BAM. There was a wet, squishy plap and a raider went down to the ground, a scream ripping out that began to taper off as the stallion bled to death. Fear had hit an artery.

Three bullets. Two murderers.

“STOP AND KILL THAT COLT!” The stallions got down low to the ground with their own weapons and started to fire.

Fear felt images caress his brain as it crackled with energy, the pendant on his mother's body glowing from such close proximity- not that Fear knew. Bullets whizzed over the colt's body. Forms of him bleeding out desperately and his dead mother being used as a fleshlight in front of him coalesced in his mind, driving him further. Just an overactive imagination right?

“Fucking fire at him!”

“My gun's jamming!”

“Fuck everything!”

Fear felt calm. It wouldn't last. He fired. A miss. Just barely. Two bullets left. He didn't have time to reload. They'd be on him once they heard the ping of him being out. Images of him being shackled and used as a slave in Fillydelphia barraged his mind. Horrid radiation poisoning. Malnutrition. Abuse. He'd heard horror stories on his mother's radio of the place. DJ-P0N3 warned about it. No. He couldn't let that happen to him. He would stop this here and now.

Aim. Fire.

BAM!

A loud squelch. A scream. Bleeding out again.

“Going to shove my hoof up Suncow's ass!”

Fear had one more bullet left. He had to make it count. Shots flew over him. One nearly grazed his cheek. The colt's sparkling red eyes were glowing brighter than ever. He was on a mission. For vengeance. Karma. He'd make them pay.

Line up. Pull the trigger.

BOOM!

Thuck. The clip pinged as it was ejected.

Everything was silent.

Fear started to cry. He started to sob. He didn't put down the gun. Mom's lessons. Never carry an empty weapon. Fear reached for his mother's saddlebags, opening them up like they were a purse and rooting around for the next en-bloc clip. Put the tip against the ground. Flick the safety on. Slide out the bolt. Jam in the clip. Shuck. Fear set down the gun and moved to his mother. He held her in his forelegs, looking at the bullet wound in her skull. He needed to use her first aid kit and sew that up. The colt felt something strange on his flanks and looked back. His cutie mark. A jagged spiral of rainbow energy. He needed... What did he need? He needed his mother back. Cutie mark didn't matter. His mother couldn't be proud of it if she was dead. The pain in his shoulder didn't matter. The agony in his head. The things he'd seen. All of it. Was too much. The vivid pictures of his mother being used.

“No... Mommy... I couldn't let it happen.”

The colt would eventually loot the bodies like taught and struggled to drag his mother back to the prewar bunker they had been staying at. Under the tarps and ancient appliances. He had an idea. A crazy one. But it'd allow him to be with her forever. He'd gut her. Preserve her coat. Take out the bones. Stuff her and sew her back up.

Starting the process was the hardest part. It felt like he was being dragged through mud toward a cliff. He knew that after doing this there would be no going back, but he also knew if he didn't hurry, he would lose his mother for good. But he also knew, somehow, that he'd already lost her. He didn't feel her soul signature anymore. She was gone. And if he didn't rush the body would begin to rot. But beginning seemed so insurmountable as well. It was nearly paralyzing. Eventually he ceased his uncertainty and shoved himself over the cliff into the brink. Tumbling down the mountain of sanity toward rock bottom. Getting battered, bruised, and broken bones the entire way.

It took three days without sleep and only water and food breaks, just listening to DJ-P0N3 while he worked, using telekinesis for the fine, dexterous motions in stitching. His telekinesis might've been empowered by the trauma, but even before: manipulating something as small as a needle was relatively easy. The place reeked of death and other things. Knowing how to gut and eat rad monsters had helped. Fear was covered in his mother's blood for a couple weeks before he finally found a place to bathe and get the blood out of his dark gray, fluffy coat of fur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2ZaFg40vqY

Author's Note

For those wondering, I get it's a mistake to not show Storm and Fear being happy mother and son for a few chapters, but that's kind of the point. We're supposed to hear about it all in past tense, because that's what it is. It's completely cut off from who Fear is now, and Fear is trying to find that self once more.

Nightmare Worth Dying For

It had been a long time since his fight with that horrible unicorn. Fear had lost count of the days. The months. Had it been a year? Two? He wasn't sure. All he knew: he was doing better. Or at least that's how it felt. His abilities were progressing. Enhancing. It still felt like acid was deep in the pit of his stomach 24/7 but by now it had become just backdrop along with everything else. He was spending a little more time around other ponies, which was healthy for him. Still talking to his mother on a regular basis though. His body was too small to do any meaningful scavenging so unfortunately he had also begun selling his body occasionally for extra caps as well as room and board, though it strangely always left him feeling energized and full, as if he'd had a quality meal. It gave him something to rely on aside from buying cans of food to eat from. Fear only found it fortunate that he wasn’t being explicitly taken advantage of and abused, even if sometimes he thought he deserved it. Nor was he being enslaved to work industry (of which there was likely only one place that held such work: Fillydelphia) amidst radiation and taint that would destroy his body - it was the small victories. Among all this, he at least found joy in making a profit by doing irregular jobs that required fighting. For now though, he was just getting settled down for sleep. He still regretted leaving Crate and Angel, but hopefully the letter had been enough. Everything was lonely despite finding others along his journey, those traveling like him and those trying to make a living.

Night time had come all too soon, and although the only difference between day and night was a vague shadow that cast over the land beneath the cloud cover, it was more than enough for Fear, who had grown up in it, to nestle under a blanket and drift toward sleep. A blanket affectionately given to him by a mare he'd helped with various services, some more questionable than others. Sleep came easy in his full state, vitality regenerating during his rest. Necklace glimmering around his neck.

Dreams came swiftly. Before Fear knew what was going on he was deposited in a blank, dark abyss. An ominous deep vantablack void that knew no beginning and no end. The only existence he was aware of was his own. There was a deep feeling of agoraphobia penetrating deep inside of him, and he could no longer hear his radio, which made the unalterable silence deafening. His eyes crossed over his muzzle as he looked around. There was a familiar feeling of sluggish movements, like in his first dream with Chrono Corona. His body just blurred into place around him. There was no actual breathing. Just... Being. Fear blinked a couple times, then squinted, leaning forward and looking into the distance. If he didn't know any better he could swear... Things were melting, permeating into existence all around him. As if he just needed to adjust his focus and suddenly everything came into vision. He looked around him all around in a spherical 360, twisting and tumbling as he floated in zero gravity. Billions of thin threads of silver, shimmering gossamer could be seen stretching across the vast, limitless expanse. With many connected in clumps that stemmed from less threads further back, like a tree. So much light was being given off like an unending starfield that he had to shade his eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlgeQV8CuG0

With everything coming into his awareness eventually a long, flowing tube of gasoline-like spectral glossiness faded into his sight. It had no foundation, just like every other gathering of strings, but this one was every color of the rainbow, and some he'd never seen before. It was incredible, so beautiful; he was entranced. Before he knew what he was doing he was zooming toward it at an indescribable speed, faster than light. Something about all of this just... He just knew. The word 'exoverse' popped into his mind. And somehow he knew that this wasn't actual distance. And if it was, his thoughts and will were guiding him. He had no corporeal form. He was only what his consciousness believed he looked like. These ideas floated about, as if something was whispering the information to him. It was mysterious and very disconcerting, but he accepted it with ease. It didn't feel malignant. It just felt like it wanted to help him. Of course while there was the distinct sensation that whatever was speaking to him wasn't clean nor pure of heart, it certainly wasn't out to get him. Surrounding him were ribbons and fibers of... What are those? The answer came from a gentle, succulent voice that was nearly indiscernible from his own. Timelines. Various destinies. Fear just nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world, accepting it for what it was. There was no panic. It just felt like regular everyday life. There was nothing in him that could get worked up. At least not much. Everything felt hazy. As swift as his movements were, like long range teleportation between the white lines, it was like moving through molasses, something smearing across his face like riding a motorcycle through humid air.

Eventually he got to his destination, the tube of rainbow light more prodigious than anything he could ever imagine. He wasn't even near it but it looked more enormous than even the cloud cover back in reality. He was surprised by it. Then, slowly, ever so slowly like a snail, it began to fizzle and pop, little disturbances forming along the shell like a TV gradually losing its picture. He watched it, and saw even more gleaming white wires deep beneath the surface. Numerous, uncountable floss-like cords. It was unfathomable and if he wasn't able to just... Let if flow over his mind it would have driven him insane trying to comprehend the mass. It was like a world was opening up to him.

The quarantine has lifted. The words sounded so full of amusement and pressure, like it was trying to coax him into exploring more. But somehow Fear knew that if he did, he would become addicted with what he saw. That he wouldn't be able to give up that vision. It was incredible, and he couldn't quite concentrate with the sheer power at his hoof tips.

Then Fear caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Sputtering, spasming motion far in the distance. Near one of the timelines. It was then he noticed, that the longer he spent in this... Exoverse, the more he was able to see. He burst into action solely out of curiosity, rocketing through the endless inky atmosphere filled to the brim with silk bridges as he blinked occasionally. He tried to call out to the voice but it would not answer. It usually only came unprompted. Unprovoked. He could not garner it into responding to him. But that was fine.

When he made it his body came to an abrupt halt, but he didn't feel any lingering momentum. It was just moving then stopping. As suddenly as he had began, he had ended. Fear looked over the flickering timeline, noticing something was trailing along it, mashing it up between... Teeth? It looked like a large hedgehog-ish creature, but it was no more natural than anything he had ever seen. With a spiky shell and a head made of... Flower petals? Fear only knew what flower petals looked like from images on terminals his mother and him managed to find. Then he drew nearer.

Stop.

Fear obeyed. The command had been concise and rather powerful. He looked around him for the voice.

If it eats your consciousness your body will be no more than a husk.

Fear looked back to the creature, one word coming to mind as he stared at it, watching it devour the timeline in bits and pieces, flakes of it flitting out from behind it. Dirge. The colt gave a firm nod as if understanding. As if everything about it was natural. It was feeding. Something had guided it to this timeline specifically. This timeline was not a good one. He didn't know how he knew that, and he didn't know why, but it seemed obvious.

What is all this?

The voice finally responded with the same word as before, echoing in his consciousness and making it thrum like a vibrating string instrument. Exoverse. As if that was all he needed to know. It felt so beyond him, yet so close. Easily within his grasp if he just reached out and took it. Fear watched for awhile longer, staring as the ring of teeth that went on forever chomped down and consumed the timeline.

You are ready to carry.

The voice continued.

Your choices are so important.

There was no end. Fear spiraled.

Every version of you comes here eventually.

Fear's head throbbed, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Knowledge is at your hoof tips.

Grunting and tumbling, Fear felt everything growing distant and vague.

Use it responsibly.

Bolting awake, Fear's eyes popped open. He wasn't sweating this time, but... That had been an incredible experience. He didn't remember all the words clearly. Just something about responsibility. He gazed at his pendant, something drawing him to it. However he knew it was dangerous. Was this why his mother carried it around with her everywhere? Why she never let go of it? Was she... Fear felt so tired. Was she addicted to it? He was being pulled back into sleep as he thought of his future. Closing his eyes once more, he drifted off. Sweet jazz tunes and exhaustion lulling him to sleep.

===================================================================================

Fear's dreams returned in full force as he laid under the blanket so lovingly provided to him. He was in a dark cavern. Full of crystalline structures jutting up out of the ground and sticking out of the ceiling. A collection of stalactites and stalagmites made out of varying colors of quartz, some lucid and some opaque. Others cloudy and others filled with sprites of gas.

A monotone voice once said “With the right stone, you could rule all of Equestria if you wanted to.”

There was a gentle, yet oppressive force of magic in the area. Surrounding a throne made of the stuff covered in gold gilding, were piles, hills, and mounds of colorful and faded bottle caps alike. With heaps of weaponry ranging from loaded pistols to balefire bomb launchers. All collected in one spot like a sizable hoard, with loose ammunition scattered around. Behind the throne was a treasure trove of food that had been collected over time, along with a wagon with chiseled crystal wheels, made for easy magic usage. Sitting in the throne was a crimson eyed Fear, his pendant flashing rose. His stuffed mother was nowhere to be seen, having been disposed of long ago in an effort to move on to where he was now. He had an “elbow” on the armrest, holding his head in his hooves as he looked at the intruder before him, a smirk spread across his face. On his head was a crown made of fused together bullets that could still explode with the right stimulation, and on his back a tattered, pre-war, crimson and ermine cape like a king might wear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKVnZm_yz4

Fearei felt like he'd accomplished something important. Something nopony else could do. Like he'd finally brought some level of peace to the wasteland and this was his castle. A place where his abilities came in full force. Where he could sense the entire wasteland. Where he could reach out and touch the minds of others so directly. Control their emotions. Thought police. And if they didn't obey he'd just manipulate others into doing his bidding. It was easy enough, and he got enough sleep each day to recover. And this hoard was his payment. At his side a corrupted version of a sword he somehow knew he'd found at an antique shop.

But there were those who resisted his command. His rule. His greatness. His kingliness. And one of them was standing in front of him. A mare with a snow white coat. It reminded him of his mother. Curly purple hair and tail flawlessly manicured. Pearl-tipped horn. Violet eyes with blue ellipticals. She had a heavy set, saddened expression. On her flank an abyssal delta with vantablack shafts of light emitting from it. She stood there, the pinnacle of grace and beauty like her father. Fearei didn't recognize this mare. She had eluded his awareness. His sight. And he didn't understand why. But when he tried to mouth words they didn't come out. It was like he had been silenced. Muted. But it was more like it was difficult. And to try and talk required heavy breathing.

"You... Dare... Face... Me...?"

Fear was talking in his sleep.

The mare nodded once. There was a sword by her side as well. With indigo rod-like handle and silver blade. Crescent moon etched into the pommel. The mare was as cool as the night, and looked to be a couple years older than the stallion across from her. The mare pulled it from its cloth scabbard strapped to her body, and held it at the ready, pouring into it positive emotions. There was an emotive thrum of power.

Fearei grimaced. "So that's... How it is... I... Give you... Everything... And this... Is how... You repay me...?" It was so difficult to speak. He was muttering quietly while he slept.

The pendant around his neck, in reality, glimmered a little.

Her voice was melodic. Dutiful. Purposeful. "You have become no more than a monster, Fearshatter." Elegant. Perfect for a noble, had she been born before the war ever started. Her enunciation was seamless.

Fearei screamed, his aura flaring to life as he pulled his own solar-themed sword and shot it out straight for the mare, intending to pierce her heart, negative emotions filling the blade and creating a buzz.

The mare's sword didn't even hesitate, coming to its wielder's defense like it meant nothing, gliding through the air and slamming into the others' blade, redirecting it and then sliding it up and away. The mare sprinted at Fearei who brought the sword down and around, charging forward.

The two differently sized ponies clashed, hooves on hooves, swords individually trying to overpower the other. Chilled charcoal magical aura against warm vanilla ambience. There was the clap of hooves and the clash of metal, cling cling shing, ricocheting off of each other as they both tried to claim the upper hoof. The mare was at peace. Fearei was violent. He wanted to keep everything he had worked so hard to achieve. So hard to find. He had given everything to get to this spot and he wouldn't have it taken from him.

Both stallion and mare tried underhanded tactics. The mare tried to yank Fear off the ground and dangle him, strangle him by the end of his cape. Fear sliced the fabric clean off in one fell swoop. He retaliated by trying to grab her heart in his telekinetic field. She countered by trying to finish him off while he was distracted.

Neither of them could gain the advantage no matter how hard they tried, clear as day that they were sussing each other out with empathy as they battled against each other for dominance. Their minds were starting to tire. Their brains beginning to throb. They were both tied so intricately to magic but neither of them allowed defeat. Their hooves started connecting with the others' bodies. Trading blows. Punches, bucks. Cracked ribs. Bruised muscles. Black eyes. Dislocated jaws. Slam bam smack jam. Their bodies were fatigued. After a prolonged struggle the two made one last ditch attempt to end the other, their swords shearing through the air.

Both stallion and mare were impaled on each others' blade. Through the chest. Down to the hilt. Both pony's eyes widened. Their jaws dropped. They twisted each others' sword. The mare kept her eyes open, smiling victoriously, feeling peace overcome her. She was ready to die.

Fearei on the other hoof panicked. He was frustrated. Angry. So many negative emotions. Their swords pulled out of each other with a shlick. Fearei snapped his sword a few times, flicking the unwelcome blood off. The mare did no such thing. She wanted the blood of the other on her hooves. It felt right. The stallion though. He felt himself fading. No amount of will was saving him from this. From fate itself. From the crashing down of karma upon his soul. Of this mare, so deeply connected to him though he could not understand why. He felt himself fall to the ground. Blood was pouring out of his wound with every beat of his heart. It cascaded out like a broken pipe. He felt his vision dimming. He cursed to himself. Everything lost. He felt everything falling away.

And he woke up in a cold sweat, eyes rolling around asynchronously from the sheer vertigo and sense of disassociation pumping through him, feeling like he was going to puke or exit his body and ascend into the clouds. It had been a clear, vivid warning. One that seemed so far away and so unlike him. Yet it seemed so enticing. No. He would not be that. He would resist such an outcome. Perhaps one day though, he would find that mare from his dream, that he'd never seen before, but still recognized.

Fear frowned deeply, very concerned after what had happened after his last nightmare with the same vivid sensations. But like his last nightmare, he had changed things, right? He could change them again. He looked over to his Garand, picking it up and setting it in his lap, examining his weapon thoroughly before beginning the process of disassembling it with telekinesis after unloading it. He removed the trigger assembly, tapped until the stock came loose, the attached sten-like bit coming with it. Unhooked and slid out the spring. Removed the follower arm pin and operating rod catch. Lifted out the magazine slide. Drew back the operating rod, then rotated it up and pulled it away. Slipped out the bolt. Undid the lock screw and took off the gas cylinder. And finally slid off the hoof guard. He reached for his saddlebags with his magic and took out the weapon care kit that once belonged to his mother, starting the calming ritual of caring for his firearm. Applying lubricant to the parts that needed it, and admiring the operation of such a fine machine as he explained his dream and nightmare to his mother, both still clear in his mind. Jazz tunes echoing around him so he had something to work to.

Changeling Comforts

Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHy47KFY8t4 Sim's theme.

The alternate name for the home of Sim's parents was Perfection as in the place from Tremors. I couldn't decide between that and Dryfield but ultimately went with Dryfield.

Changeling Comforts

The atmosphere was brown and stagnant as ever, cool to the touch and not so bad. Still and musty however, with a lot of motes of dust hanging in the air. Especially where Fear and Sim were, under mounds of broken, collapsed stalwart gray highway. Clumps and chunks fallen all around, piled up over each other as if they just couldn't stand the test of time, or maybe they had been around during one of the bombs? It was uncertain, but whatever it was, it had been the perfect home, deep down inside, buried under loads of crumbling concrete and jutting rebar, in a little alcove in the packed, desiccated soil, was a special occurrence not found in many parts of the wasteland. A changeling slime bath.

It was thick and viscous, sticking to itself and becoming slippery with anything else it touched. Flowing along and draining into one large pool. It was bioluminescent and lit up the huddled room of infrastructure in a gentle green glow, like a soupy green sun. With pale olive greens and deep lime greens here and there, most of it oversaturated. The slime thickened in certain places, and thinned in others, roiling around and occasionally glorping when movement disturbed the surface. It was more like a marsh than anything else, but oh so cozy. Like a mud bath, molding against carapace and easing into every pore, nook, and cranny like an invasive tentacle massage, cloy and goopy. It was warm to the touch, nearly hot, as if it absorbed the heat around it and became a sauna of sorts. It felt oily against Fear's and Sim's body, and hardly stuck at all, drooling everywhere, never quite detaching from itself. The light it emitted was a gentle thrumming glow that reminded Fear of something primal and intimate, something all at once familiar and alien to him. Something he'd never experienced but was wholly attuned to. Not only that, but it reminded the colt of something important about his empathy, something he couldn't quite put his hoof on. It gently eased his mind and brought him back to simpler times, seeming to speak to him, whispering to him about better days. It congealed around the colt and stallion, having some suction to it.

“So yes, you will always have a subconscious need to serve, combatting with a deep, heartfelt desire to be on top of everything. A weird contradiction. You'll have to decide how you want to live your life given those conflicting emotions. It's because of your genetic defect and artificial destiny. You haven't found balance yet, nor may you ever; you may always be battling with both those needs and may never find peace. But I'm sure even in chaos there can be a level of contentment.” Sim's voice was calm, on the edge of a sigh as he relaxed in the cozy pool.

Fear's eyes revolved around in their sockets, tapping his forehooves on the rim of the pool, the gunk up to his neck. He was uncertain but it explained a lot. He spoke willingly, though it was unclear if it was to Sim or to his plushie that sat in the corner along with the pair's saddlebags, Sim's slumped over Fear's protectively. “Hmm... I suppose that explains my desire to prove myself. I'm always looking for the next big thing to show that I'm the best. Always thought it was the... uhh...” He recalled the word he'd learned from his novel. “Oh right, trauma. That.”

Sim shrugged. “I mean maybe. It could be a combination of all sorts of things, since the more reasons we have to do something, the stronger the behavior is.”

“This bath is really... clumpy. And, like, it gets everywhere. Maybe too much everywhere. I can feel it soaking into my fur and flesh, pulling out all the bad stuff. You know? I can feel it reaching into my mind? Just sort of kneading at it. Tickling something deep inside of me. It's so smooth.”

Sim could tell Fear was mostly talking to his mother. After all... “You've been talking to your mother more.” Besides, Sim already understood how it felt, and Fear wasn't the type of pony to broadcast everything he felt.

Fear's eyes narrowed and glanced to the side at his father. “Mh. Maybe. But at least I've been using the radio less.” He sounded somewhat hurt, as if offended that he'd been caught on something that was beyond his control, something that he was addicted to. And the radio was indeed off! No chill jazz tunes oozed out of his radio, neither did they escape the speakers of Sim's pipbuck.

Sim caught on and nodded softly. “Yeah, and I'm proud of you. You've been doing really well. I'm proud of you for fighting your gut reactions and weaning yourself off of it.”

A faint smile crossed Fear's face as he leaned back. “Mh, yeah, it's been super difficult!”

Sim just grinned back and rested his eyes shut.

Silence in its purest form reigned for what felt like a long time. It was hard to tell how much passed without looking at Sim's pipbuck. The only thing that accompanied them was the pulsating glow coming from the slime bath.

“How are these baths created anyway? You never explained it to me.”

Sim chuckled bitonally. “Hmm... well you never asked Fear – didn't know you were curious.”

Fear laughed, shaking his head wildly. “Hush, of course I was curious! It just never occurred to me is all.” His voice trailed off at the end.

Sim's muzzle scrunched up as he snickered, relaxing again and sighing out his stress and tension. He thought about Amelio for a moment, harkening back to her and the times he'd spent with her. He agreed with himself that he felt bad about it, and tried to think about how good it had been instead. Then he came back to reality. “Well, Fear, spores from a bioluminescent fungus called muco involuta collect in warm, humid, dark environments full of nutrient-rich rocks and dust.” There were indeed a lot of rocks around them, looking moist as if covered in a slight dampness. They looked almost too clean. “It overtakes the location and, while creating an oxygen-rich atmosphere, it eventually uses up all the nutrients in an area. Then it expels more spores that eventually float off to other areas or attach to other creatures and lie dormant until the conditions are just right, and as the original fungus dies off and decomposes, it creates large volumes of a nutritious slime. It can only survive in proper conditions. For instance, sunlight burns it so fast it's like it's being devoured, and cold air freezes it swiftly, making it wither and break apart.”

Fear was sort of keeping up, there were a lot of big words that he barely understood, only by context could he catch on. It also explained why Sim knew what to look for and what to expect. “So why's it feel so...” Fear's voice stuttered, building up into a crescendo of relief. “Good?”

“Shh, relax, I'm getting there.” He peeled open an eye to stare at Fear before continuing. “The reason changelings are so tuned into the slime is due to the fact we are originally born from a carnivorous plant tainted by magic water. It's theorized to have been radioactive. And the special fungus mutated from a cancer-ridden herb, likely due to radiation or magical interference as well, so the two have a lot in common. It reminds many changelings of being back in their egg. You? You weren't born from an egg exactly so you didn't get to experience that. But it still twists that part of you, the part of you that instinctively knows what it's like. It's like being back in the womb for you.”

The colt understood the gist of it, but it was still a little to complicated for him. “Is this like the slime that changelings expel from their teeth?”

Sim grinned a little brighter. “Nah. That's different. That's more of a resin that hardens once its been exposed to oxygen for a long period of time. Changelings have a special gland in their teeth that generates a substance which, when mixed with transformative magic, becomes a unique gel. So much comes from such a small place because the magic amplifies and multiplies it, allowing for shape manipulation.

Fear thought on that, his eyes narrowing and staring at the ceiling as he rested, feeling the stiffness leave his muscles the longer he spent in the bath. He spoke in a low, muttering voice. “It's too bad Ame isn't here to experience this with us... I miss her. The way she talked and her peaceful personality...”

Sim could easily see where this was going and tried to head the train off at the turn. Distracting Fear, he spoke up. “Hey, Fear? You wanna learn how to craft a mini hive mind? So you can store memories and connect with others like us?” Sim supplemented the questions by gliding along the side of the tub and sidling up next to Fear, draping a foreleg over his shoulders and pulling the colt in.

Fear twitched, broken from his reverie. “Uh, yeah, sure, why not?” His voice was a little stuttery.

Sim faltered for a moment, trying to put into words such a magical occurrence while Fear listened on intently. Fortunately for the stallion, Sim was good at conveying things into language. Came with the territory of being an artist. And having a teacher like his mother, even if she had taught him more by feeling. “Well, essentially you have to generate an illusion inside your own mind and... sort of... pull it out of yourself. Link yourself by a thin thread and leave it in the air around you. When you get it right it'll feel like you've expanded the size of your own brain. That's the best way I can describe it. And others will be able to feel its presence if you allow them to, and then, if you allow them to again, connect to it. To allow someling to connect to it you must match the vibration of your mind with theirs. Easier than it sounds.”

Fear had his eyes screwed shut as he attempted what seemed like the impossible, shaking his head a little in disbelief as he went at it for minutes on end, trying to generate the illusion and then just... Yank it out? As if he was trying to expand it around himself. Eventually, after what felt like too long, he got a small burst of something. Fear's eyes popped open and he yipped. “Yeah! I did it!” The exclamation was full of determination as he lifted a forehoof and threw it into the air. Fear could tell it was small, but it felt like a bubble! “But how do I make the bubble stronger? It feels like it could snap at any second, and can't hold anything!”

Sim pat his son on the back, giving him a round of clopping applause a moment later. “Good job. And it's like turning something into industrial strength. You use transformation magic in a more... mental way, and build more tentative illusion as a sort of... liminal space. And with experience you'll become better at it. As long as you don't go too fast you can make it bigger over time. Hive memory is faulty, which is why there are often changelings whose job it is to keep memories fresh, though it will always be a patchwork job if it isn't sustained regularly.” Sim paused, letting Fear splish splash around, riding the high of his victory. “Do you want to learn how to plant suggestions in a creature's head now? Remember, you have to practice this on your own time. And with willing participants.”

The colt was beyond happy, forgetting his troubles for just a moment as his tail wagged furiously beneath him. He then nodded emphatically. “Yes, I'd love to!”

“Remember, only use it when there is no other way, or you really have to calm a pony down or get them to do what you want. Only in important circumstances. Also you can cause a mind to revolt against itself if you're not careful, and then the pony may fly into a berserk rage for a time until they come to terms with it or realize they're being influenced.”

Fear considered those weighty words. Well, he didn't want Sim to be disappointed in him, and he didn't want anypony else to be either, in life or death. Though does it really matter if they're disappointed in me in death? It's not like they can say anything. The hackles on Fear's back rose up on end a moment later when he felt a familiar presence, a recognizable soul signature. He looked around the room, startled and baffled.

“What's wrong?”

“Just thought I... felt Mom.” Fear's voice was far away. Sim's eyes widened and he leaned back a bit, jaw dipping open. “But yeah, anyway, shoot.”

Sim shook his head clear. “Basically, you gather up transformation magic and sheer willpower into your brain. You mold it into something they might think for themselves, or imbue it with an emotion of docility, with a believable reason they should feel that way. Then you pump that amalgamation into your eyes. It'll cause an imperceptible green flash to overtake your eyes as the changeling part of you converts it into a spell.”

Fear bobbed his head up and down gently, before looking into Sim's eyes and trying it. It took a minute but he got... something. His eyes flashed green for a moment like Sim had said, an attempt to make him laugh.

Sim just grinned and told him to keep trying, nudging him in the shoulder with a hoof. “You're getting there. I almost felt it. You were a little too obvious though.” Sim paused and explained more. “Trying to force a suggestion too hard can break a creature's mind if the magic used in it is more powerful than what they have in their entire body. Many creatures are more prone to being swayed a certain way depending on how emotionally volatile they are. All you have to do is guide them around in a circle until they get to where you need them.”

Fear stared into the rippling pool of slime, keeping that in mind. “Thanks, Dad.” He pressed a hoof against his chin as he lingered in thought. He recalled feeling his mother's presence. I always wanted to hear stories about her. “What was Mom like?”

Sim leaned his head from one side to the other in contemplation, eyes rolling this way and that. “Storm wasn't perfect. She had problems getting close as I'm sure you know.” He glanced down to his son as he said that. Then he looked up again, still holding his son close. “It translated into extreme privacy and discomfort when opening up to most ponies. She named you Fearei Shatter because she believed in you to be better than her, and capable of doing what made you uncomfortable or scared.”

Fear's bottom lip pushed out in a bit of a pout, feeling a little guilt at not being better. He squeezed his eyes shut and discarded it for now, trying to distract himself. “You have family, right?”

“Yeah, a mother and father. Near Dryfield, Neighvada. They live on a farm on the outskirts of the village, which is made up of an old roadside motel and ancient trailers. They grow sunflowers and mutated pumpkins. The sunflowers are used as food and components for homemade radaway, since sunflowers, once genetically engineered, can more effectively sap away radiation than any other plant. As for my parents: Pumpkin Pep, known as Jack, has a green hoof and knows how to get certain crops to grow even in irradiated areas.”

Fear interrupted in his surprise. “What? Does he like, modify the components or something?”

Sim pulled his lips back into a smile. “Something like that. His voice is encouraging. Everything he does, stimulates something in them to be the best they can be. Even if that means mutating in order to survive. Emulae, my mother, loved him for that, for being able to change others simply by being himself. She also loved him for his love of others, capable of doting over the most dangerous or insignificant creatures. He was everything she loved about ponykind's best traits. And she was once a confidant for Queen Viola herself. More durable than any creature I've ever met. Able to endure any problem with a giant smile on her face. Her shell was made of titanium, figuratively speaking.”

Fear considered that for a time, before returning to the topic he was most interested about. “You and Mom had dealings with the Steel Rangers before right? In Chicoltgo?”

Sim nodded once. “Yes. When your mother and I were young, we were battle-hardened, naive go-getters just looking to make the wasteland a better place or die trying. We knew the risks and we wanted to prove ourselves capable. We were young and foolish. Shooting first and asking questions later. We were excited about leaving our mark on the wastes. We were both full of guts, but I was reckless while your mother was the voice of reason between us. But even so we were charged with enthusiasm. Either way, I was always looking to get into the arts wherever we went, performing for caps, while Storm was often running cons taught to her by her father.” Sim readjusted himself a little, getting comfortable.

“Eventually we reached some settlements surrounding Chicoltgo and learned of some sinister going-ons in the area. We learned that ponies were being used as slaves to help mine helium and find junk to repair some downed airships in the area that a detachment of interested Steel Rangers found. The rangers intended to put them back into commission to help fight the Enclave and anypony else who stood against them. This particular detachment was not at all against using slaves, and were particularly cruel to those not of their brotherhood.” Sim shook his head solemnly. “There were also changeling outcasts in the area who just wanted to live in peace, and they got caught up in the trouble as well. They would have been executed if the steel rangers learned about their true nature, or pushed far more brutally than something that was 'natural' like their equine friends.”

Sim continued after clearing his throat. “Your mother and I fought valiantly in order to free slaves and make the areas safer so they could go back to the way things used to be before the Steel Rangers came. But then the inevitable happened. They found out where we were hiding and they ambushed us. Most of us got away, but your mother and a couple others were captured. I only know her part of the story because she told me later. Storm explained to me that she was brought to their main bunker so she could be interrogated before being executed for continued crimes against the rangers. Without trial if you'd even believe it. They all knew the kinds of things she'd done. According to her it was written all over her normally stoic face.” Sim laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “They took her pipbuck off of her, a specially designed pipbuck made for overmares, and ended up putting it through the grinder. They tried to extract whatever data they could from it, knowing she was from a stable. They'd hoped to find out the locations of other stables, and everything Storm had collected on it. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us, one thing Storm had on her pip was a rather heinous virus that seeped into their systems and put everything on the fritz. It even got so bad it started wiggling its way into their power armor, shutting down most of them and giving everypony there a time in Tartarus. And only Storm knew how to eliminate the virus.” Sim had a giant smile on his face at the memory.

“That's where your Dad comes in. You see, I'd been busy ever since her kidnapping trying to get a bunch of changelings together, though they weren't quite as skilled as me, in order to risk a break in. I didn't know what to expect, or what to do, but I promised them I would take the lead, and if something did happen to me they were supposed to retreat immediately. But I assured them that wasn't going to happen. With a brave speech and everything. We made our way to the bunker as chaos was being let loose. We had a simple time getting in and slaying those that didn't surrender to us. I found Storm in their interrogation room just smiling like an angel. I had never seen such a grin of superiority on her face before then, and it was the sexiest thing I could ever imagine. In the end, we accomplished setting those slaves free. We stayed behind to teach them everything we knew, to both ponies and changelings. It took awhile of hard work, but we achieved it.”

Fear was sleeping soundly, having dozed off some point during the story. Just relaxing in the bath that reminded him of safety and family somehow, and enjoying Sim's calming voice.

Sim noticed and sighed. “Mmh, good night Fear. I'll wake you soon,” Sim whispered, giving his son a kiss on the head. Then he began singing a song to his son that he'd been working on for the longest time. Every time he'd thought of that little colt, he'd put that energy toward expressing his heartfelt feelings. Not the ones tainted with jealousy and loss, but the ones built on a foundation of love and compassion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYj0B71M06I

Fear's dreams were simple and clean, dreaming of no more than his father protecting him from his sins against Equestria.

==========================================================================================

Amelio had been dragging on the power of Luna's ritual for quite some time now, slowly recuperating her strength. She felt weak and faint. Barely able to hang on. Her consciousness was all that was left of her, and it was slacking. There was so much she was missing. So much of her destiny, so much of her mind. She could barely feel herself at all as she sat on her haunches in the middle of a white abyss focusing on the latent power converging around her. Shining bright on her like the sun on a plant. It was calming and peaceful. Energizing and invigorating. She couldn't get enough. Kind of like when you've just woken from sleep and you can't get enough of your cozy bed, or can't get enough of being asleep. Amelio was in that state, so hard to leave, so hard to do anything. She knew something was gradually sucking at her soul, at her very being. Trying to siphon away everything that made her, her. But she resisted against it, yanked herself back from the brink. Back from nothingness. From non-existence. She still had to see her brother again.

In her mind's eye she could see it, a diamond-like black hole in the center of everything, projecting out black light that took the shape of a giant lovecraftian catfish with terribly long and thick tendril whiskers that whipped and flailed, reaching out to grip any and everything. Its frog-like legs jutting out the bottom tipped with talons that struck the ground and buried deep into it. Claws that could lacerate her apart and scissor her into pieces of her former self. She could feel it coming after her. Could feel it opening its great big maw, those thick and plump lips gaping as a vacuous pressure formed, trying to suck her into its great big gullet. Into the black hole. It was the vast nothingness trying to swallow her whole, leave her as nothing. Her destiny, that three dimensional heptahedron wobbling and barely remaining stable. It was shuddering as wind passed over it, threatening to fall apart into links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgBHTbRNlUQ

Amelio stood her ground, digging her hooves into the white floor and pushing herself back, trying to get away. It seemed like only a matter of time and eventually it would come for her, it would just suck her into its void. But Amelio was defiant, putting everything she had into struggling even as she healed herself and recharged. Amelio let out grunts and huffs as the creature closed its mouth and lashed out at her, a tentacle whipping around and striking her in the side, rattling her bones and making them crack under the pressure as she was hurtled off her hooves and multiple feet into the air, skidding across the ground and tumbling to a halt.

Gasping for air, Amelio tried to get back up, her body refusing to move. Everything was pain. She was so close. She refused to be pulled in, even as it started sucking on her once more. When it realized she wasn't budging, her will was assaulted all over again. But Amelio was ready. She pushed herself up and jumped over the tentacle, falling back to the ground in a heap, then rolling off to the side swiftly as another tentacle came ramming down onto where she had just been. Amelio let out a sigh of relief, but wasn't done yet. Every piece of her ached like it was sprained, she couldn't take much more. But she needed to do something. Amelio readied herself on swaying legs for the next strike, transforming her foreleg into a sharpened khopesh blade. She jumped up, twirled around, and slashed through it. The tentacle turning into misty darkness as the creature roared and howled with agony. Amelio crashed into the ground again, nearly skewering herself on her own leg. She got up as quick as possible, feeling a dose of strength return to her the more she fought. She wouldn't... give up. She ground her teeth together, a look of pure disobedience crossing her face, anger in every muscle, eyebrows leaning inward ferociously.

Amelio felt the next tentacle come, and the next. They slammed at her. Amelio jumped into the air, using telekinesis to push her body this way and that in order to spin around, becoming a slicing dicing machine of fury, her legs turned into blades, chopping through tendril after tendril of the ghastly creature. Eviscerating and severing limbs. All turning into smoke and ash that fell to the ground and dissipated into the air. Amelio felt some of her strength return, even as her destiny construct threatened to crash around her from how unstable it was, and she charged at the creature like she was on bladed stilts, using her momentum to carry her forward. As the creature reeled in pain Amelio lunged her body at the creature, pulling back her right foreleg and slamming it down into the creature's upper lip, giving it a new piercing, perforating a hole right through to the bottom, skewering it all the way through and into the ground. Amelio grunted as she put all her effort into breaking off that mutated dream part of her, and reformed her throbbing, hurting leg, climbing up onto the creature and swiping her legs through the fins, slicing them clean off. Then throwing herself at the black hole crystal creating the construct, rearing back her left foreleg, and punching it straight into the diamond.

Only it did nothing. Just shimmered.

Amelio fell down onto the writhing creature below her hard, and rolled off to the side, too tired to do anything else. But at least for now... she'd be safe from vanishing utterly.

Fear's New Hive (Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJMhgyV1Mjk

The Neighvada Desert was... almost barren. Flat dirt everywhere covered in a thick layer of dust. It was less akin to sand dunes and more like a thin layer of powder that covered the cracked ground. Craggy rock formations rose and spired here and there, with mini plateaus randomly placed. Everything was some mute shade of gray, with gentle oranges, peaches, and browns. Things were dry as chapped lips, and relatively cool despite the location. However, the most interesting part of the whole area were the creosote bushes and other vegetation; the scattered patches of bristly, shrubby, clumpy stalks; gatherings of various cacti and yucca dotting the horizon, pushing up from the earth in a smattering. This interspersed flora demonstrated that it was different from the rest of the wasteland, barely touched by the fallout, though still tainted.

Fear, Sim, and Faith had recently made a pit stop at an oasis that was on the singular road leading through the desolate environ, rimmed by stone ridges. They'd spent a little time playing a dice game that involved the art of lying in order to win. Faith had been incredibly bad at it, hilariously so. But despite that Fear had been unable to refrain from taking pity on her and believing her nearly every time she'd told a fib. Sim was skilled, and Fear was getting better. It made for a well-rounded game overall.

It was currently early in the night as they traveled, though it could hardly be discerned aside from the altered climate. Fear and Faith were reading while walking, with Faith holding the stapled pages in one hoof and occasionally turning the page with her talented teeth and walking on three hooves, while Fear held his novel in his telekinesis. Both of them trot at a leisurely pace behind Sim, who seemed to be waiting for something while on the edge of his hooves.

Eventually they took a break from reading when Sim started speaking, both of them looking up from their material, Fear's ears flicking and Faith's eyes lighting up. Fear was more intrigued than Faith, and it seemed to be more geared toward him anyway. It was just an explanation on how and why the desert had grown unusually tamer since the bombs had gone off, as if the climate change in other areas of the wasteland had spread to here, albeit indirectly.

When Sim was done talking Fear finally glanced toward Faith, thinking long and hard about what she'd been reading. He'd been curious for awhile. “Hey Faith, what's that... manuscript? About, anyway?

Faith hummed, measuring her words carefully as she cautiously slipped the folded pages into her saddlebags so she could walk unencumbered. “Well... it's about how friendship, while harmonious, is not inherently without Discord.”

“What do you mean? Sounds different from what you're usually preaching.”

Faith gave a small nod and continued. “As in: there is order, sure, but there is also chaos in how it makes us feel. It can make us feel all sorts of emotions, from sad for someone else, angry at something someone has done, happy spending time together and being merry, and even mourning with one another. It's never really the same or monotonous, it's an orchestra of emotions that rises and falls based on the conductor that is life.”

Fear was impressed, as evidenced by the way his eyebrows rose on his face, jaw hanging open in an 'oh.' “That's oddly poetic.”

“Mhm,” Faith continued. “It also brings to light the fact that... well. We make friends with both those who are similar to us and those who are different. It takes all kinds to make a group of friends. Opinions are constantly differing. This text makes the argument that if friendship were truly order, we'd be talking to ourselves and no one else. We would just be speaking to mirrors. Friendship requires chaos in order to thrive, in order for us to realize what matters in life and who's important to us. It explains that there is harmony in disorder. It goes into far more detail than that, even using survey data, but that's what I'm taking from it so far.”

Fear was in awe at the concept, considering it heavily, glancing forward once more.

“What's your book about Fear?” The colt could tell Faith wasn't actually that keen on learning, able to tell by her emotions radiating from her, but knew it was only polite to show mutual interest.

“Well, it's about this guy named Rebel Ram, who's honestly kind of a timid unicorn archaeologist. He starts on an empty alien planet researching something, I don't remember what, when he gets a letter from this big rich guy named Valentine – he's the son of an emperor – to go study an artifact on another planet. It's an enormous temple, far bigger than most things, that belonged to some fourth alien race – there are three alien races by the way – who was some kind of a hybrid of two of the three. It's all gold and blue and shit. He goes there with his team in order to check it out, but it turns out there's an immovable gate leading further in that they can't get past. So one night while he's thinking on how to access this inner sanctum, he gets inspiration from this hermit crab thingy, whatever that is, and realizes that the combination for the door must be something that's relevant to every living creature, no matter how big, small, advanced, or basic. He realizes that the combination must be this thing called the Golden Ratio, so he returns to the gate in order to touch the rectangles next to the door in that pattern with his hoof, causing it to open up. He celebrates for a bit, before hurrying in where he finds a psionic alien with no mouth who belongs to the more reptilian of the three races, who's laying dying in a spaceship, frozen in time. Ram touches her without thinking and time just sort of... starts back up again, and with it the alien's spirit surges into his brain, taking up space in it. It gives him these telepathic and psychokinetic abilities that are beyond a normal unicorn, and he's now trying to live with a new presence in his mindspace; turns out she's some kind of keeper of knowledge.”

Faith's interest was genuinely piqued now. “So Rebel Ram essentially becomes an empath like you?”

“S-sort of. It's far more than I am, but it's really close! I kind of love it to be honest. It's nice to be able to relate to him, even if he is a total pansy sometimes.”

The journey continued on in relative reticence for a long while, with just the padding of the trio's hooves on the dirt and the light breeze passing between them. Fear eventually turned on his mother's radio to break apart the quiet, leaving him to enjoy some jazz tunes all over again. He'd missed this.

Sim finally spoke up, as if he'd found what he was looking for. “We're in range, you two. I'm going to send word to my mother.” He then went silent as the others looked on inquisitively.

Mom, you there?

Oh, honey! It's been so long! I'm so glad to hear from you! Especially because... mmh. How do I put this? There was a weariness and hesitance to Emulae's mental voice. Your father's been kidnapped, Simmy.

WHAT? Sim was rendered speechless and looking like an idiot, his maw gaping and eyes disbelieving. He slumped forward, getting into a readied stance as if looking to take somepony on even as they continued walking, like he was going to fight a phantom enemy.

Yes. The kids and I-

KIDS?

Yes, Simmy, calm down. It's okay. The Steel Rangers have said they're going to help Jack in exchange for some free radaway. It's fine.

“THE STEEL RANGERS?” Sim was finally shouting out loud as well as in his head, both vocalizing and sending it on the wavelength. Fear and Faith looked at him with concern.

Fear questioned his father. “What's going on?”

I said calm down. Again, it's fine. Some mob boss or some such sent a couple of ponies to us saying they're taking Jack with them to see their leader, and I haven't seen him since. I'm sure they're just talking with him and he'll be back soon enough. And if not, the Steel Rangers will be able to rescue him. Now quiet down, everything's okay. Your siblings are eager to meet you.

Sim stopped in his tracks, trying to keep up, holding his head in a hoof. Mom. We're coming now. And we're going to save Pop.

Honey, come on. Emulae was pleading. They have control of the entire town, you're just going to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Bullshit, Mom. Pop needs us. We're not letting some upstart have his way with us. End of discussion.

“Dad?” Fear repeated.

Language, sweetie! But fine, I can see I'm not going to be able to change your mind.

By the way, Mom? Sim was tentative.

What is it honey?

Amelio's dead.

The line went cold.

“Dad, what's going on?”

Sim grunted. “Change of plans, Fear. Faith, you can stay at my parents' place if you want. Fear, you too. Once we're there I need to go into town and find out information about this mob boss or whatever who's running things around Dryfield. He took your grandpa.”

“WHAT?” Fear exclaimed. Faith looked even more worried. “No way! I'm going with you too.”

Faith replied, “I as well Sim, you've earned my loyalty. And who knows? Maybe we can talk some sense into them.”

Sim's expression was grateful and tense, a gentle frown and teary eyes. “Thank you, you two. Supposedly the Steel Rangers in the area are looking into it but who knows how long that'll take?” Sim's inflection was sardonic.

“The Steel Rangers,” Fear questioned, “why are they here?”

“They occasionally receive discount supplies from my parents in exchange for normally keeping them safe.”

“WHAT!?” This was becoming a familiar word for Fear. “Why didn't you tell me!?”

Sim's explanation was logical and succinct. “Because Fear, I didn't want you getting any big ideas about befriending or, sisters forbid it, joining them like I did when I was young.”

Fear thought about it, looking up at the cloud cover and pursing his lips. He nodded his head from side to side and responded. “Alright, that's fair,” he relented. “Let's get going.”

After a moment Fear spoke again. “Oh by the way, Princess Luna actually told me something about this!”

Sim glanced back to Fear with a lifted eyebrow. “Oh? What's that?” Faith glanced to Fear too, clearly intrigued.

“Yeah, apparently he's trying to make the wasteland a better place or something, and a bunch of ponies depend on him for their livelihood? I'm unsure. She's still looking into it.”

Emulae's voice came back a moment later. Simmy? You there?

Yeah Mom, what's up? We're on our way.

I'm sorry about little Ame. She was such a sweetiepie. I'm sure you miss her tons.

Sim was quiet for a moment. I really do Mom. She was my world for so many years. But I'll get over it, I'm sure. She visits me in my dreams now and then. Anyways, I don't want to talk about it right now, I'll be there soon with a couple guests. They already know so don't worry. One of them's my son.

Oh? You found Fearei? I look forward to seeing him! Take care of yourself.

Bye Mom.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3jJ0qIoQQ

Sim was the first to approach the door of the quaint farmhouse abode after the trio had traveled through some rather large fields of pumpkins and sunflowers among other, albeit tinier sections of crops. It was amazing the family was able to get it all watered and harvested. Fear asked as much as they neared.

“It helps that it rains hard, though rarely, in the desert, and that the climate's changed over the years. The old windpump also aids the efforts.” Sim responded with the knowhow of somepony who had spent his early years farming.

Fear wasn't sure that was acceptable enough, but he ended up just looking behind them, staring at the plants that would one day be reaped. The way they swayed in the gentle breeze. Fear looked further and saw a strange structure rising up out of the earth in the fields – it was the windpump – he didn't know that though. He watched it spin lethargically, holding the colt's attention for much longer than it should have, slowly entrancing him with its revolutions. Suddenly, before he knew what was going on, he was being swept up in a giant hug by a... someone with carapace?

“Ohhh my little Fearei!” Whoever this was, her voice was brimming with uncontained energy, even if they sounded aged. “I never thought I'd meet you!” Her exclamation was drawn out like she was trying to squeeze the life out of Fear with both her forelegs and her words. “Ohhhh! Such happy days! My little grandson! The smallest thing there ever was!” Her voice was sweet on the ears, like succulent molasses added to an already delicious dinner.

Fear's wind was completely squeezed out of him for awhile, his cheeks puffing out and eyes bugging out from their sockets. He struggled to breathe, before eventually being set down, allowing him to get a good look at Emulae.

She was a beautiful changeling, with polished inky black carapace covering her entire body. Numerous holes covering her four legs in an artsy pattern and one punched through her curved horn. Her ears looked like a crown of seashells, much like Viola had when he'd seen an image of her. He was kind of in awe with how vibrant she was, with her compound fuschia eyes, wings, and gossamer tail and mane, the latter which was done up in a ponytail. The shell covering her barrel like a ribbed saddle made out of incredibly tough membrane was a vivid amethyst, leaving her to be possibly the most gorgeous thing Fear had ever seen. The way the light refracted through the chitinous wings, a pale shade of pink, a little see through, left an impact on the colt, nearly enchanting him.

Immediately, before Fear could finish taking her in or finish reveling in her appearance, Fear was beset by a trio of hybrids, tackled to the ground and getting nuzzled from head to hoof, all over as if they were searching for love. Fear couldn't understand what was going on, his head swimming and reeling. He tried to take in the visage of all three as he attempted to recover the ability to speak that had been knocked out of him.

Emulae spoke carefully, making sure Fear was paying attention. “Fearei, this is Chirpy Chatter.” Emulae gestured to the most hyperactive of the bunch, an earth pony colt with pumpkin orange coat of fur, some unshorn fetlocks, and wavy asphalt gray mane and tail. It looked dusty and dirty. He had a cutiemark of a cicada with music notes flowing from it.

“Rose Touch.” Emulae then motioned to the unicorn filly who Fear could've sworn was kneading out his stress, concern, and surprise just by touching him with hooves. Rose was covered in various violets and rose colors, from red to pink. She was oddly gentle with him, yet had a piercing gaze that prodded his soul and made him feel as if every facet of himself, including his sins, was being laid out for everypony to see. Her cutiemark was an equine body surrounded by rose thorns. They, oddly enough, didn't look painful.

“And Aromirage.” Fear looked to the last in the bunch, an earth pony filly who had been the first to move away from him. She looked as shy as a deer with the way she was positioned, about ready to bolt for some kind of cover. She had a long, curtaining mane that was a brilliant sunny orange and fell over one of her eyes, her tail curling upwards at the tip. Her coat was a soft periwinkle that was perfectly groomed. Mirage seemed to have a very sweet scent about her that made Fear's body feel like jelly, turning him into mush, everything becoming all wobbly and difficult. Her cutiemark was... hard to explain. It was a pile of powder with aroma lines wafting off of it. Fear was still trying to get his bearings, standing up and putting all his gear back on.

“Hey hey hey Fear, good to finally meetcha! We heard about you before! Hardly know ya though!” Chirpy was enthusiastic and right in Fear's face, nearly shouting at him.

“It is... a pleasure to meet you Mister Fearei,” Rose simply said.

“H-hi F-Fearei,” Mirage stuttered out before hiding behind her mane, clearly the youngest of the three.

Fear tried to get back on track, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them, seeing Faith and Sim talking in the distance. “I uhh... good to meet you three too? Or... something. Sorry, I'm kinda at a loss.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I didn't know I had more siblings?”

Chirpy's smile was energetic and beaming. “Silly!”

Rose grinned as well. “We're actually your uncles and aunts, Mister Fearei.”

Fear rubbed his noggin, able to feel a headache coming on. They didn't look much taller than him, except for maybe Mirage who was shorter, and they didn't sound much older than him, yet he knew they were younger than him by at least four years, maybe more? It was irritating, burrowing into his mind and leaving him feeling frustrated. “Well, uh, why don't you show me around I guess?”

Chirpy was quick to volunteer responsibility. “I'll show him around! I can do it! Pick me pick me!” He started racing around in circles, much to Fear's chagrin.

Emulae smiled. “Go for it Chirp, he's all yours.” Emulae ushered the others back inside, leaving Fear to be escorted around the farm.

Chirpy showed the older colt the barn, the pumpkin patch, the sunflower fields, some other crops, and the windpump, explaining all of it to him and how it worked; the schedules in which everything was harvested and how they took care of it all.

Fear was flabbergasted by the end of the about half hour tour, trying to keep up with the hyper colt. “Why...” He tried to put the question he had into proper words. “Why do you all seem so... mature?” Fear wasn't sure that was the right question. Chirpy wasn't immature per se, from what he'd seen of him. Just young. He seemed like he did and knew a lot, and might've even been better educated than Fear.

“Well, maybe it's 'cause most changeling hybrids age quickly in order to fulfill their role in a hive? I bet that's it. It's why we found our cutiemarks so fast. But I mean we've also been raised in an effort to take over Mom's and Dad's place on the farm one day. Learning how to sow, harvest, barter, et cetera. We're familiar with all the equipment and everything.”

The colt was stuck up on the 'changelings grow faster to contribute to the hive' part of that explanation. It didn't really make total sense, mostly because it hadn't been the case for him. Had it? He'd mostly started really growing after his mother died. Another silver lining he supposed. At least it was when he got his cutie mark. “It wasn't the case for me. I didn't grow fast. It took awhile after a traumatic event to realize my role, and even now I'm not so sure.”

“Well maybe you're just a special case Fear? Or maybe it's because you don't have as much changeling in you as us!?” Chirpy was full of suggestions.

Fear wasn't certain why but that felt really insensitive. He couldn't place it. His impression of the colt soured a little. “Well what's your role?”

Chirpy was quick to explain. “Well, I inherited my father's skills with speech! Sort of. I can chat with monsters and plants and tame them all with enough time and effort. Though if I'm not careful I can be a little annoying.”

Fear rose an eyebrow. “You don't say?”

“Hey! What's that supposed to mean?” Chirpy was indignant.

“Nothing. What about the others?”

Chirpy was easily distracted, starting to elaborate on his siblings. “Well, Rose is an up and coming masseuse, that's what our parents say, and Mirage is this thing called an aromatherapist. We all use our talents on the farm and in town, as well as provide physical labor. It keeps us busy and fulfilled and we enjoy ourselves, so what's not to love? We're eking out a life for ourselves just like our parents!”

Fear got a far-flung look to his eyes, a little glassy. “Neat. You three really have it all here don't you?”

“Well, I mean, until Dad was kidnapped. But I mean.. Mom's doing a really good job of keeping us in high spirits, it's contagious.”

Fear stared at Chirpy with a soft frown on his face. “Don't worry, I'm going to get him back for you if it's the last thing I do.”

Chirpy swung his head from side to side emphatically. “No. Make it one of the things you do, not the last. I don't want to lose my nephew.” He slung a foreleg over Fear's shoulders and held him close, causing the colt to feel mildly uncomfortable.

Fear glared at Chirpy, but huffed and acceded. “Fine. It'll be one of the things I do.” Dear Celestia, Chirpy was a hoofful.

==========================================================================================

The guest room Fear had been given to stay in was simple and sweet, made from boards of wood, wooden pillars, etc. With a somewhat gaudy throw rug that was a mishmash of colors and designs, chaos in its purest form. Some basic necessities like end tables, dressers, and beds with accompanying sheets. It was all rather... plain. But something about it was comforting to the colt. It felt like another home. Like a cozy grandparents' house. Fear had never experienced before, so he wasn't sure why he could compare it to that, but that's how it felt. He was still trying to come to terms with the nymphs and Emulae as he balled up on the bed, cuddling his Breinstorm plush. All of this was so hard to get used to. It was strange – he felt so... ostracized, but he knew they were more welcoming than anypony he'd ever met, aside from maybe Crate and Angel. Fear was contemplative over it, not depressed nor offended anymore. Just... dazed.

Rose tapped on the door a few times. He knew it was her from the whispers of her soul. “Mister Fearei, may I please come in?”

Fear looked up from the wall and glanced toward the door with a loose jaw. “Sure. And please, call me Fear.”

Rose cracked open the door, slipping in gracefully as if she were made of fluid. “I heard you had a... 'good' time with Chirp.”

Fear rolled his eyes and twisted away. “Define 'good time.'” Fear felt oddly open with her despite only knowing her for a little while.

A sagely smile crept across Rose's face. “You sure you're not feeling that way just because of things he said? He can be a little bullheaded and inconsiderate sometimes. He's made Mirage cry once or twice because of his words. He's still working on fusing to his role. Aside from that, he told me what happened. You've probably been fulfilling your role for longer than you thought.”

The colt considered it carefully, before returning to face her. “Hmm... Sure. Yeah. The tour was fun and I learned a lot. He's just a hoofful.”

“He really is. I hope you forgive him though, he's just a little too hyper.”

“Yeah... yeah, I getcha. I won't hold it against him.”

“Good, thank you Mister Fear.”

Fear raised an eyebrow. “Just Fear is good. I don't like being called 'mister' right now. I'm not that old.”

Rose lidded her eyes and giggled. “Okay, Fear, as you wish. Anyways, I was told you wanted to see niece Ame's heirloom.”

Both of Fear's eyebrows lifted up in surprise at that, something that was happening a lot lately. “You mean...?”

“Yes.” Rose turned to the door. “Mirage, if you could, please.”

Mirage slowly came in carrying the sword on her back, nudging the door open all the way with her muzzle and making her way over toward Fear. She was trembling, her chest heaving, yet her breaths came out in quiet pants that could barely be heard. She was obviously scared.

The scabbard was nothing interesting, just a little thing made of old cloth, stained here and there. The real show was in the sword itself. It had a long, indigo, rod-like handle made for swinging it with telekinesis, with an ornate, cratered pommel shaped like a crescent moon. The entirety shimmered and reflected light like a mirror, yet it was sturdy enough to take some hits. It looked awe-inspiring, like the actual moon. The crossguard, which Fear assumed was for catching things, was also rather full of detail. It looked like constellations. And the silver blade that reached for what almost seemed like forever to a colt as small as him was magnificent and sharp, precise and lethal. Its edges accurate. When he looked closely he could see the quartz lining it, and he could feel. Fear's eyes dilated as if he was lost in a trance. It felt like Luna, it felt like Saway, and it felt like Amelio. It had Luna's grace, Saway's viciousness, and Amelio's obsession for him. It wasn't their soul, just residue of their personality.

Then came the memories, rushing back into him like a flood. A tsunami that broke apart his mind, causing him to shake and shiver, nearly dropping the blade. They were vivid memories of his nightmare where he and his sister fought to the death in a cavern of crystals. She had been using this sword, and he had been using a solar themed one. Fear immediately resheathed it and put it next to his saddlebags.

“I-is it t-to your liking, Fearei?” Mirage could see the colt trembling.

Fear nodded once, a harsh gaze permeating his features. He was inheriting something special. Now he knew for sure that he wanted to wield it. Sure it would have been nice to have that sun one – he felt like a sun – but this would be good enough. It had his sister in it. Fear's voice was tentative and bewildered. “Yes, Mirage, thank you. It's... incredible. More than I expected. I can feel the potential radiating from it.” He definitely could feel the power.

“I... I'm glad, Fearei. I'll be going now.” And just like that she hurried out of the way before he could respond.

Rose watched her go. “That's our usual Mirage. If you get her talking about music or smells though you'll have her yapping your ear off. Just have to know how to keep her with you then she's all yours.” Rose turned back and smiled to Fear. “Anyways, I'll leave you alone now. I'm sure you have a lot to think about.” It was almost like she could read his mind. She was likely just reading his expressions.

Fear nodded dumbly and made his way over to the bed again, still contemplative. He wondered if he ought to go to sleep and tell the others the good news? It was getting early in the morning after all, and they'd want to travel when it was night-ish. Better temperatures then.

Time seemed to pass by in a blur as Fear laid there not knowing what to expect, isolated from the world. Unexpectedly, Fear felt Faith's presence coming to the door. And then she stopped, and started knocking. He glanced to the door again. Faith had a really unique knock. Just the power behind it, the rhythm and pacing, everything. It felt like the mare, light-hearted and groovy. It's special, bringing a smile to Fear's face despite all his overwhelming feelings. “Come in.”

Faith entered, pushing the door open all the way. “Hello Fear, it's good to see you. How are you holding up? You okay?”

“Ye'h.” Fear thought about it, resting his head on the pillow again. “Just don't know what I'm supposed to do, and being around so many energetic ponies is draining. I don't know why.”

“Who knows, Fear? Maybe you're actually an introvert or some combination of it and extrovert?” Faith knew so much.

Fear repeated the word. “Introvert...? I mean, maybe.” Is that what I am? “I didn't grow up with many ponies around me always giving me attention, and the world was pressure enough. I already told you all about my growing up and such. I just don't know what to say to them.”

Faith nodded. “True, but you never gave me any examples of what it was like growing up with your mother. You should do that sometime.”

Fear considered it. “Hmm... maybe. You really that curious?”

A patronizing smile crossed Faith's face, though Fear didn't catch it because it felt less like an insult and more like a tease. “Fearei, I didn't grow up with parents remember? I'd love to hear what it's like to have one. Seeing you snuggling with your father now and then has been fruitful for me.”

Fear grinned again from ear to ear. He couldn't help but smile around Faith. The unknown pony who'd spoken to him was right, she really was the most pleasant pony he'd ever been around, aside from Crate and Angel at least. Fear sighed slightly and bobbed his head once. “In that case I'll tell you about the time she took care of me while I was suffering from radiation poisoning.”

Denouement: Forgiveness Begins

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTb4TnSJEH0

Fear stared longingly at Dim, with wide, pleading eyes and a gentle frown. The colt didn't know where to begin, what to say, or anything. All he knew was that he had to try and make things right. But how can you possibly make right a murder? It didn't really matter either way, Fear knew he had to try, he had to take a stab in the dar- no, wait, that's a bad metaphor. He had to... root around in the dark for a light switch. Yes, that was much better. He needed to scavenge the pieces leftover and put them together into something new. With hammering heart in the dreamscape, Fear put a hoof to his chest and cleared his throat. “So, uh, Miss Nova. I'm... sorry.”

Dim Nova was unimpressed, and her heart ached beyond belief. Fear could tell, he could feel it radiating from her like staring at a broken vase. There was nothing that could put it back together. “You say sorry, but I don't really feel it.” She had her forelegs crossed over her chest, sitting on her haunches.

The colt had a lot of choices on how to react to that. Of course I feel it, he thought, I've never stopped feeling it, never stopped regretting it. But it wasn't time to argue with her, he knew that. Nyx had taught him to navigate conversations like this. “What I mean is... is there any way I can make it up to you?”

Dim lifted an eyebrow, looking as if she was about to snap and beat Fear to a pulp. “You really think anything can possibly make up for what you took from me?” Dim glanced around. “Luna! Princess Luna! I want to go now!” She called.

“Look. Uhh... miss Nova. I...”

“No! You look! You stupid, horrible little colt!” Dim Nova was practically screaming at him, standing on all fours and pointing a hoof at him, nearly jabbing it in his chest. Fear didn't react, just staring down at it. “You took something precious from me! Something I can never get back! There is no replacing what I've lost! What you've taken from me! Nothing could ever take back your choices and I for one don't see the pain I feel on your face! I want to make you suffer! I want you to lose everything!”

Fear's hooves curled under him as he pursed his lips, ears twitching. His frown deepened and tears formed in his eyes, but he held them back. This wasn't the time to cry. It was just manipulative. “I... feel the same way.”

“Liar! You're just saying that because... because you're trying to lull me into a false sense of security!”

Fear continued staring at the ground, eyes wide, a little speechless. She can see the cracks in her own argument. The colt's mouth closed and he looked up at her with a defiant, glassy gaze. “Do you really think that?” He saw the next words coming.

“Yes! That's all raiders like you ever think about, how you can best hurt the next pony you come across. All you care about is infecting everything with your disease! I bet you go around eating other ponies! Why is Princess Luna making me do this!? Why do I have to be here!?”

Fear had a lot of things he could say. He tapped a hoof on the ground, considering his options. “I figured you would want to see the pony who took so much away from you, to do whatever you want to him.”

Dim shrieked. “All I want to do is kill you, you evil little colt! You don't deserve to live! You don't deserve happiness! Because of you my family will never live again! Because of you I will never see my son grow up, find a mare to be with, and be happy! Because of you my husband will never, ever sing to me again! You are a horrible, revolting little colt and I want to murder you and take all you love!”

Fear weathered the screaming. “Then do it. You can kill me as much as you want here. You can take out your aggressions as many time as you want. I promise I won't wake up from shock.”

Dim took the invitation to heart, as if it was the only thing she needed to pounce on him and start beating the living daylights out of him, rearing back a foreleg and striking him in the face with it, pulling back the other and pounding it down into his muzzle, jamming, slapping, and punching him ceaselessly, without end, hooves connecting in swift succession, never letting up, relentlessly showering him in a rain of blows, his muzzle getting screwed up, face swelling and bruising, skull cracking apart, lips splitting, tongue getting bit, throat collapsing, ears tearing, eyes gouged out.

The mare stood up, not yet satisfied. Even with the supposed brain damage Dim could feel the life still inside of him. She continued hammering into him, trampling her hooves into his body, slamming it down into his ribs again and again, first bruising, then cracking, then snapping off and puncturing his lungs, his heart weakly beating back in an attempt to stay going. Dim pulled one of his forelegs up to her mouth and bit down, as hard as she could, and tore from side to side, trying to rip a piece of him out and spit it out, only succeeding in making a multitude of bite marks. The mare screamed wildly, hitting him indiscriminately, kicking his body around, messing up and randomizing his organs with every blow of her hooves, crushing his scrotum and using all the strength she could to snap his legs in half with loud, disgusting, gruesome cracks.

Fear felt all of it. He almost failed to keep his promise in not waking up from shock because, even if it was all in his head, he knew how it should feel. It was a dull, throbbing sensation in the back of his mind, the way his body fell apart from the brutal assault was all too real to him. His windpipe was smashed, nearly shattered, and it was hard to breathe in waking too. If not impossible. Fear laid there, dying in a way as authentically to him as if he was awake. It brought back all sorts of memories of his vision dying by Chrono Corona, and recollections of dying by Faith's hoof, being shot by her. He remembered it intimately, and despite being far more painful than either of those encounters put together it felt the same. Everything fading away. He tried desperately to cling to life, to cling to sleep, to not wake up and leave Dim there alone, but it was becoming so far away.

Dim was sobbing into her hooves, crying her heart out, in reality and in dreaming, her entire body feeling exhausted and somehow... fresh. She could feel again, certainly. It wasn't just sadness. Getting out all the fury left her mourning all over again. She wasn't sorry, but she felt dirty and humiliated, like she'd done something wrong in the sight of some powerful being. She wasn't apologetic at all, and she'd never say she was sorry. “It's... not... enough...” Dim gasped out between her weeping, her chest heaving as everything clouded with tears and snot. “It'll never be enough.”

Fear heard her cries and through sheer will managed to fix at least part of himself, his mind brimming with wild sensory input, still remembering the state he was in, as if he couldn't just shrug off the entire thing because he didn't have that kind of control over his dreams. His voice came out in a wheeze, unable to see above him because his eyes were too swollen shut, one nearly crushed and hanging out of its socket from being pounded out of his skull. He shook his head. “Dim...”

Dim looked up, surprised. How could he still be alive? Or asleep? Or whatever it was that mattered here? How could he even speak!? She was pretty sure she'd deflated his larynx. Dim stared at the mess of colt on the ground and glared at him. “What do you want!?” She spat with such venom it was clear she'd not forgiven him at all.

“F-forgive me...”

Dim interrupted. “I will never forgive you!” She reached up to slam her hoof into him again, but hesitated.

“For being so... brash but...” Fear gasped out, breathing roughly, air coming out in labored pants. “But what if... what if I try to be the... colt you lost? Or... something?”

Dim sighed deeply, like a tumultuous tsunami leaving her lips. She wasn't sure if she was impressed by the colt's gall and determination to set things right, or offended by it and his very existence. Maybe both. But it came out as a tired, unnaturally calm response. “What makes you think you could possibly live up to my son and husband? I told you, there's no way they could ever be replaced.”

Fear closed his eyes, or at least as much as he could when they were so engorged from broken blood vessels and irritated flesh. “No... not that. What if I could...” he was grasping at straws, and it was noticeable by his voice, he didn't know how to word what he was trying to say. “What if I could... be somepony you could put your faith in. To be better. And to achieve your wishes.” Every word came out raspy, as if he couldn't speak right. “Make the future better, all for you. Dedi... dedicate my life to atoning. In the name of your... loved ones.” Fear coughed and hacked, and it nearly caused his throat to collapse all over again.

Dim was once again both impressed and offended. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't fault the colt for trying his hardest to make things right. It would never be right, but as she watched the colt try his damndest anyway, she couldn't help but realize... maybe it was possible to move on and latch onto something new? The hole in her heart may not be able to be filled, and the loss would always be rattling around inside of her mind, but perhaps she could build onto her heart until the hole was eclipsed.

==========================================================================================

Saway had spent a lot of time thinking ever since she'd been convinced Fear had lost, convinced that she was going to lose all past and future. And now, with Fear back, she'd had to spend even more time thinking. First it was coping with the stages of grief, of which she'd not finished, and then she'd had to spend time coping with the relief and newfound admiration she felt toward Fear. Never before had she actually believed in such things as heroes. As far as she was concerned every hero disappointed you eventually, but that was partly because, as a hero, she'd disappointed others and she'd seen her greatest heros disappoint her. Of which she had maybe one. But now, as she looked on the still crippled Fear, debilitated from his run in with Dim, only keeping the facade of his bodily damage in order to remind himself of what he'd done, and what he'd accomplished, Saway couldn't help but see Fear as a new breed of hero.

One that, hopefully, wouldn't disappoint her.

“Colt. I mean, Fearei. It pains me to admit, but I think you might've grown far better than me,” her voice rasped out as violently as ever, undertones of resignation buried in it. She didn't have the heart to fight her newfound feelings. It felt so much better to embrace them, but with it also came a strange sense of depression she couldn't articulate.

Fear, with swollen eyes and barely fixed legs, spoke up with as much exhaustion as Saway felt. “Eh.” He hardly had the energy to discuss anything, tired in both dream and waking from what he'd achieved with Dim Nova, and how he'd achieved it.

“No, really,” Saway continued as if she was having a whole conversation with the speechless colt. “I've decided that... if I had never found my true purpose, I'd've wanted you to be the one to put me down.” It seemed to take all of her strength to vocally admit it, but... there it was.

“Saway...” Fear sighed. “I would have spent my life trying to convince you to step down. With my murderlust dormant now I can't help but feel a sense of...” Fear rolled a hoof around, causing the bones to rattle as he looked off and to the ceiling. “That thing where you just want peace.”

Saway nodded once, rather sullenly. “Pacifism. The word you're looking for is pacifism.”

Fear thought about it. “Yeah. I guess. But y'eh, I don't want to hurt you Saway. I don't want to hurt anyone. I feel like when I was a foal again but... I know sometimes you have to hurt others in order to get places. It's... complicated.” He glanced to the floor.

Somehow the two of them got the feeling that if the world had forced them to fight, it would've played out exactly as Fear stated. Still...

“Besides, I learned from the best,” Fear continued, “so thank you. Don't count yourself out. You helped me a lot.”

Later, Luna and Nyx, both dealing with the heavy weight of progress being restored and maintained, commended Fear on his heroic duties. The alicorn just wished she had something new to bestow upon Fear to memorialize his accomplishment, both in seeking some ounce of forgiveness and in restoring order to the multiverse. For now. Nyx on the other hoof was just glad he could live in peace again, and promised himself he'd be sharing that harmony with Fear when and where he could.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE9p0Mugsi4

Amelio had been very insistent that Fear not meet with her yet. Not until she was ready to show him what had happened. Not until she was ready to explain it all. With body back to some semblance of normality, color restored to her mane and tail, and her cutiemark throbbing with shafts of black light as brilliantly as ever, she did her best to explain what had happened starting with her visit from fate, and her becoming Ameliofate.

“By the way, Fearei, we wanted to tell you...” Amelio continued, unnerving Fear with her usage of plural pronouns to the point he shifted in place. “Nothing is set in stone, but they are set in a dirt road. It can be added to, it can be taken away, you can modify it however you wish, and once you roll your wagon in the same path too much it will be the only one you can take without struggling. We tell you this simply because we know you've been having doubts about killing Breiker. That is just how you are, always considering your options after the fact. After you have dived in headfirst into everything you ever do, we know you finally start asking questions. And finally, we know you are going to have issues dealing with all your new traumas, with losing Amelio in some small way, with being killed by your family. Et cetera.”

Fear was silent.

“Life is going to be hard for you off and on, Brother, but we know you can endure. Unfortunately, though we will be able to help you in your endeavors to heal yourself, we can no longer spend time together like we used to anymore, Fearei. It is not right.”

The colt had been quiet for a long time, holding back tears he was sure would come out any moment. His voice cracked as he questioned why, why he was losing one of his favorite past times. Spending time with his sister.

“Because, Fearei. It is... a sensation that the Amelio side of us has when mixing with the fate side. The best way I can describe it is an inherent sense of wrongness. I feel more like a mentor to you now than any friend, or any sister, or any lover. The best way to describe it is to compare our relationship to old Equestrian laws about age of consent. We no longer feel comfortable spending time with you like that. Or in really any way that is not a teaching position.”

Fear managed a weak grin. “For a pony whose morality has become skewed, that sure is a mortal mindset.” Fear twisted a hoof around, trying to alleviate the depression he felt with a sense of humor.

“It is more than that. You will understand someday, Fearei Shatter.”

The colt was more than uncomfortable with his full name being used by this conglomeration of entity and sister.

==========================================================================================

Fear's family hadn't left Stable 47 yet. There were still a few more things to do before they could happily depart. One was relaxing and enjoying what the place had to offer, another was Fear discussing with his family what they'd been through.

It was Sim's turn first, and that had gone rather well. Sim had explained he'd get through it well enough, he just needed some time to get through his own thoughts on the matter. He'd explained he was sorry for attacking Fear, and that he wished he could take it back, but knew he never would. Still, he sang the song for Fear he'd been crafting, the song he'd last sung while they were spending time in the changeling baths.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYj0B71M06I

Fear was enamored by it.

Next was Faith. They'd had a good, long talk. The mare was desperate for Fear's forgiveness, and he gave it with ease. It still hurt him, sure. He wasn't sure he'd ever get over the image of taking a bullet for his father, of being shot by a mare he considered family, maybe even a sort of mother figure, but he'd do his best to get over it, remembering Amelio's words that he had to be careful of accidental resentment. And to be cautious about the paths his thoughts took when he was at his weakest.

Gentler was third and final. He was a strict, silent Abyssinian in those moments, but he apologized cleanly to Fear. The colt could tell it was eating away at Gentler to the point he blamed himself for not being strong enough at the time, and still faulted himself for being too weak to handle it even now. Fear took steps to assuage that by bringing him to Freiya, and together the three of them looked through the new Seer's Eye they'd been gifted by Amelio's spell to see just what was going to become of Abyssinia in many futures. They couldn't determine what would happen in theirs, it was too far up in the air based on what choices they made in the here and now, but the possibilities they did see were varied. Fear promised him that they'd take a trip to Abyssinia once they found a way in order to protect it from that probable zebra warlord who would one day be taking a trip to Gentler's old home.

Freiya (whose consciousness had merely been ingested, not killed) explained to Fear, when they were alone, what happened to Amor Fati. The cause behind Breiker getting some of her power. They'd come to the conclusion that the stallion had been blinded by a sense of parental obligation, a reluctance to go against his daughter's cutiemark, and a desire to have even more purpose in his life. It was because of that they weren't going to execute him, but he certainly had shown he didn't have the kind of inner strength and responsibility to be Overstallion. Freiya promised Fear they'd be grooming a new overmare or stallion immediately so his grandma could retire as soon as possible. While spending time with her, the mare asked Fear what he thought of her songs.

Fear replied that his favorite was probably that Pollyanna one. It reminded him so much of what he used to be, and so much of what he wanted to be.

Freiya told Fear that she believed every silver timeline was a silver lining, a new source of infinite potential as long as you knew what to make of it. And that Freiya would help him in all his endeavors in the future. If he ever needed help, he could request Princess Luna summon her to the world of dreams and he would give him a look into the pendant if he so needed. And that she would be paying attention to it to make sure he stayed safe.

==========================================================================================

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9JDjWgl9Y

When they got back to Dryfield, where Fear had kept his plushie due to not wanting it to get damaged, and his Garand because he didn't think he'd have enough ammo to keep it worthwhile, the colt helped his father now and then to practice for his upcoming play, and continued spending time with his family, making new memories and preparing for his next big adventure. It was certainly exciting in an awfully redundant way, occasionally fending off raiders and having fun like a colt should.

Eventually, while laying in the guest bed at the farm, Fear looked back on his journey up to this point, from losing his mother to meeting Crate and Angel, all the way through killing Chrono and finding his new family, as well as going through his own ordeals and defeating Solanum and Breiker. And finally, he thought about his vague, distant memories of meeting his mother in the cusp of the afterlife and what she'd sung to him, her true feelings toward him. Fear realized something in those moments. We don't have to let misery define us, we can overcome. Life is a blank slate painted on by everyone, and misery is just part of the rainbow that makes it up. The colt twisted in bed, leaning to the other side. I'm not going to erase my traumas, but I am going to paint over them, build them into something new. I grow stronger in spite of my damage, not because of it. Just because I live in a wasteland doesn't mean everything is devoid of hope.

Author's Note

It seems far more appropriate to me for Fear to acknowledge the misery and go, "you know, it's part of life, but there's a lot to it all than just misery." Fear's technically lost his sister a second time, and he's now dealing with the trauma of having been killed by his family. If he's careful about it, it won't make him resentful. It might not have been explicitly their fault, but emotions are irrational and it doesn't erase the fact that it happened, you're still likely to dwell and brood if you're not cautious. Saying "life isn't so miserable anymore" just feels too happy. I want it to be a hopeful ending, not saccharine. Fear's going to appreciate the good things about life and move on from the bad.

Besides, I'd rather subvert the title of the story in an unexpected, philosophical way, rather than completely deviate from it. It's foolish to think life isn't going to continue throwing bad things at you, but it's going to continue throwing good things at you too. Fear's young and inexperienced, but he's starting to realize that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiJ6Msj9uPY

And here, is a little art of the family.