Fallout Equestria: Firebrand

"Men do not shape destiny.
Destiny produces the man
For the hour."
-Fidel Castro.

We made it back into the town without much problems. The guards let us through without much problem and we made our way back up to the clinic. I paused a moment and looked back at Lemon. “Go ahead inside, I just want to stay out and watch the stars for a little bit.”

“Okay,” Lemon said and pushed the door open and headed inside while I flapped my wings a little and headed up to the roof of the clinic and laid back and stared up at the moon and stars overhead.

I sighed as I looked at them, I had always taken some solace in the stars as if Nightmare Moon may be looking down on me. But now, I wasn’t so sure anymore. I had broken one of the most important rules in the Society by killing a sister, even if I was justified if there was any truth to it, she would look down on me with hatred.

What would the Society think? Would they go after Nightingale? Go after me and my friends because of what had happened? Maybe I should leave town, I was just going to endanger them, if I headed out to some unknown corner of Equestria maybe I could live the rest of my life without endangering my friends.

“Firelight? Are you up here?” I heard from behind, turning to see that white alicorn approaching me. “You’re thinking about that Alicorn, aren’t you, the one in the forest?”

“Yeah, I am,” I said softly as I shook my head and looked at her. “I already knew I didn’t want to go back to the Society, but, now that I’ve done that I’m afraid they’re going to make me a target, and hurt anypony that gets in their way. I, don’t know what to do if it endangers my friends.”

“I don’t know much about this Society stuff, but I don’t think they’re like that.” Moonlight said as she sat next to me. “Something tells me, they want to be non confrontational around this forest, like there is something here that they fear, and they don’t wish to risk it for a minimalistic reward.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said with a sigh as I looked back up at the stars. “I thought I knew how the world works you know? Everything made sense back in the Society, and then I come out here and everything changes. I wish I knew what to do.”

“I know how you feel, from a different perspective of course.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “In the stable, we’re told about the overworld, we’re told rumors and stories brought back from our scouts when they go out looking for new seeds to grow in our orchards. Out here, everything is so different.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this Moonlight.”

“I didn’t get caught up in this, I volunteered.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I didn’t know they were going to take me by force, I falsified the documents in hopes of catching their attention. Ever since the visit, ponies keep disappearing from the stable, one by one, most of them are pregnant.”

“The visit?” I asked and perked my ears up a little.

“Not too long ago, a group of Alicorns claiming to represent a group called the Nightmare Society showed up at our door and offered us supplies in order to be allowed to enter.” Moonlight said. “We accepted, and let them in, one of them they kept calling her the high priestess’ daughter. Anyway, they showed very little interest in us, and they raided our medical archives, and then they suddenly left.”

I paused a moment as I looked at her and then back at the stars. “How long ago was this?”

“Just a day or two ago, they must of taken at least a dozen ponies throughout the days, but we have no idea how they’re getting in.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I hoped that if I got them to take me, that I could figure out where they were taking the ponies, or how they were getting in and out.”

I paused for a long moment as I sighed and shook my head a little. “Moonlight, I…” I said and sighed again. “I wish I knew what was going on, they never told us anything about Stable 27 or what the plan was in there.”

“Yeah, well, we see how well my hairbrained plan worked out.” Moonlight said with a soft sigh, turning her gaze up to the stars as well. “I didn’t factor in Citrus, I didn’t tell her I didn’t want her to worry. I guess it was doomed to fail from the start.”

“Maybe, but what matters is you didn’t lose who you are in the process,” I said with a soft smile as I looked back at her. “Citrus still has you and your daughter still has her... umm, what do you call having a second mother?”

“I’m Mumma, she’s Momma.” Moonlight laughed. “It’s something Citrus told me she called her mothers.”

I laughed a little at that and smiled at her. “That’s cute, I like it. You’re very lucky to have such a wonderful mare, you know that right?”

“What about you? Dating the zebra? I mean come on, that’s awesome!” Moonlight said, looking to me. “The chemistry is so obvious, if you two aren’t then you totally should be.”

I blushed deeply at that and shook my head. “No, I’m not dating anypony, or anyone, yet I’m afraid.”

“What about that Pegasus? She’s rather dashing isn’t she?” Moonlight said with a smirk, nudging my side. “If I wasn’t a spoken for mare, I might just chase her myself.”

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you? I haven’t been in town very long, and I’m honestly still kind of figuring that out,” I said and shook my head a little.

“You miss your sister, don’t you.” Moonlight said, her tone of voice becoming more soft. “She misses you too.”

“I have a lot of sisters,” I said and looked at her confused. “What do you mean?”

“Right, you don’t remember…” Moonlight said with a sigh. “More will become clear tonight, I will visit you in your dreams, if you permit.”

“Okay, I’d be fine with that,” I said with a soft smile as I looked back up into the night sky. “I like it here, it’s really nice.”

“She did too, reminded her of home.” Moonlight said with a soft smile. “Maybe that’s why you like it too, but you don’t understand why”

“Maybe,” I said with a soft smile as I looked back at her and paused a moment. “I do sometimes wish I had what you and Citrus have. I’ve never really had anypony like that, even back in the Society.”

“Really? How long have you been with them?” Moonlight said “The Society I mean.”

“As long as I remember so, about six years,” I said with a shrug.

“Six years is a long time to not remember anything about yourself.” Moonlight said with a sigh, looking back to the stars. “I don’t know how much I can help you remember, but, I can at least help you remember her.”

I smiled a little at that and nodded. “I’d, like that, if I have somepony out there, I’d like to know who she is.”

“She was with the group who raided 27’s medical archives, they slept there one night and I wandered into their dreams, most of them had nothing but darkness, I don’t think they dream at all, but one, the Priestess’ Daughter, she dreamed… of a pony that looked just like you.” Moonlight said, looking at me.

“That, could mean a lot of things, but maybe you’re right…” I said with a sigh. “It’s odd, I, don’t even really know her that well. I wish I knew more, alright, if you want to enter my dreams tonight you can.”

“Alright, however - the cache, did you get it?” Moonlight said, looking around hoping to see a box or crate. “I need my pipbuck, I can’t live without one.”

“Oh right!” I said and reached into my bags and took out the PipBucks before levitating one up and over to her. “There you go, don’t want you feeling naked except around Citrus..”

“I wouldn’t take it off even with her.” Moonlight said in delight, taking the pipbuck and clasping it around her leg, taking a few moments to adjust it. Blinking a few times and giving her head a shake before she smiled at me. “Go on, try one on.”
I took another one out and fit it over my foreleg, adjusting it a little so it wasn’t as tight. I blinked as the display started to form over my vision, showing a compass on the bottom along with an ammo count for my rifle and health bar. “Wow, that’s, trippy.”

“It’s called the Eyes Forward Sparkle, or EFS for short.” Moonlight giggled some “It’s why I can’t live without one, not being able to see every little detail makes me so uneasy.”

I looked at the PipBuck’s screen and information started to be shown on it. A readout of me appeared and then letters and numbers started to appear.

S: 8
P: 6
E: 10
C: 8
I: 6
A: 8
L: 4

“What the heck does that mean?” I asked as I looked at the strange readings.

“Oh! Those are your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats, I actually don’t know very much about them.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “I’d have to get you to a pipbuck technician if you really wanted to know more, just know you’ve got really good ones.”

“Good to know,” I said, though I wondered if maybe this was another side effect of being an Alicorn. I yawned and stretched out a little. “I should probably get some sleep.”

Moonlight started to fiddle with her pipbuck, before she looked confused and yanked my leg to look at mine. “Oh hey, we both have the same perk!”

“We do?”

“Yeah, lookie” Moonlight said, pointing at the pipbuck. “Alicorn Might, all special stats are doubled. That’s new, must be because of what they did to me.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said. “Look, if you need any help, I’ve got six years experience being an Alicorn, I think I can lend you a hoof if you need it.”

“Well, I admit, I don’t know how to use this.” Moonlight said, pointing at her horn. “I was a pegasus before, I can fly, I can even cloud handle, but magic? No clue.”

“I’ll teach you what I can,” I said as I got to my hooves and stretched my wings a little. “We should probably get these PipBucks to the others too.”

“Yeah.” Moonlight said as she stood. “I hope the doc has figured out how to make a shower.. I haven’t gone this long without one in… a very long time”

“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll figure something out,” I said as we started towards the stairs leading back down into the clinic proper. “Just, uh, I should warn you you might not exactly get a warm welcome around here.”

“I expected as much, considering I wouldn’t get a warm welcome in the stable despite them knowing me.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I think it’s just something you’re going to have to get used to, not a lot of ponies have reason to trust alicorns.”

“Yeah, but down there we’ve got three of the best ponies… well, two of the best ponies and the best Zebra, I’ve ever met,” I said with a soft smile. “They’re my friends, and hopefully, they can become yours too.”

“I feel the same way.” Moonlight said, breathing in deep as we reached the door. “I can only guess what they have been through”

I opened the door and smiled a little. Storm was asleep next to the bed with the three fillies while Lemon stood guard and Neivi had her nose buried in her book again. She looked up at us and smiled softly.

“Sorry its not the fanciest or most comfortable place to sleep, but its home,” Neivi said with a nod as she pointed over to a bed for Moonlight. “Just hope I don’t have to kick you all out for patients.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I rather sleep on the roof anyway.” Moonlight said with a smile “The stars are so comforting.”

“Oh, okay then,” Neivi said and blinked in surprise. “I can give you some blankets at least. I don’t want my guests to be uncomfortable.”

“Nonsense! I would hate to impose.” Moonlight said with a smile “However, we come carrying gifts of our own. Firelight, care to show our friends what we’ve brought them?”

“Of course,” I said and took out two PipBucks and gave them to Neivi and Lemon Lime followed by the bag. “And we’ve got more in here for the Underground.”

“This is great, I’ll get these to Soia as soon as I can,” Neivi said with a smile as she got up and gave me a light kiss on the cheek, I felt my face heating up a little as I blushed. “Thank you for bringing these FIrelight.”

“O-of course, but you should really thank Moonlight and Citrus,” I said a little flustered by that. “They got them for us.”

“Sorry they aren’t the newer fancier Pipbuck 3000, our stable was only given the 2000 mark IV model.” Moonlight said, motioning them to try the devices on. “They work bout the same, they just aren’t as new and flashy.”

“They’ll do,” Neivi said with a nod as she examined her’s closely. “You two should get some sleep, it’ll be dawn in a few hours and we don’t want you tired when we have to explain the situation to the inevitable Guard Inquiry.”

“Maybe that would be what’s best, but I’m too riled up to be heading to bed right now.” Moonlight said “Is there anything I can do, maybe… help set up a shower or bath or something?”

“Sure, if you know how, I won’t be much help, I’m a doctor not a plumber,” Neivi said. “But we don’t have running water, so it won’t be easy to get the water to it.”

I yawned and laid down in my bed as they talked. The evening had left me tired and I just wanted to sleep right now, they could figure out the shower thing without my help anyway. I pulled the covers over me and started to drift off to sleep.

“On second thought, a nap sounds nice…” Moonlight said, I could feel her looking at me and could hear the door close as she went back outside, presumably to the roof where she said she’d stay.

00000

As I became aware of what was happening I was in the middle of a dark shifting void. The voice sounded like it was coming from all around me.

“Who are you? What’s going on?” I demanded as I looked around in a panic.

“You know who I am, I’ve always been here, I always will be here,” the voice said with a loud laugh as the shadows began to form into a shape. “You cannot escape me, you are mine forever my little Firebrand! AND YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED!”

The shadows formed together into a towering Alicorn with sharp blue eyes and dressed in armor as she laughed loudly, her fangs showing as I recoiled a little.

Nightmare Moon herself was standing before me, and she was angry. She laughed wickedly as the shadows retreated around me and I screamed as I realized I was in Nightingale, the town was on fire as Alicorns attacked it, dragging ponies out of their homes as they did.

“This is the future… this is the future of all Equestria, it will burn and my followers shall rise like a phoenix from the ashes!” Nightmare Moon cackled as I saw one by one the ponies suffering the same fate as Moonlight, transforming into Alicorns as they fell in line with their attackers.

Blueberry Muffin, Wind Chime, Dawn Star… even Storm Wrangler. I curled up and cried as I tried not to watch it happening.

“No, no, this isn’t real, this is a dream…” I said.

“You brought this upon them child, you will die but not before they all join me!” Nightmare Moon said, the malice dripping in her voice.

“THIS IS A DREAM!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, forcing Nightmare Moon back in shock as I did. And with that, the world around me stopped as the fires receded and the Alicorns vanished with Nightingale returning to normal. “YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE!”

“WHAT?” Nightmare Moon screamed as she started to vanish with my horn glowing brightly, the flames forming around me once more, this time with more intensity than before.

“This is my home, my town, I will not let you and your monsters take that away!” I said as I stepped forward, the fires burning around the terrified Alicorn. “You will not win, not as long as the flames burn bright, I will fight you, I will fight you with every inch of my being!”

And with that, the fires consumed the Alicorn and she vanished up in smoke. And the town in my dream was back to normal, I looked up at the night sky above me and paused a moment as I saw what I swore were three stars shining brighter than all of the others.

“Is that what you are to them? A firebrand?” A soft voice spoke as the sound of the fluttering of wings filled the air before a white pegasus landed beside me, I recognized her as Moonlight. “Being a firebrand is a very important thing, you know.”

“I’m starting to realize that,” I said with a sigh as I looked back at her. “I never thought much about it, it was just a title the High Priestess gave me.”

“Do you think you know what kind of title she would of given me?” Moonlight said with a smile “I mean, they clearly had a plan for me, after their mind control spell didn’t work they kept trying to pull me away.”

“I don’t know, the High Priestess didn’t tell me anything like I said before,” I said with a shake of my head. “All I know is that there was something important to the survival of the Society in your Stable.”

“Our spell.” Moonlight said. “There are no stallions in our stable, the only way we’ve been able to reproduce and keep the population going, is through a spell we were tasked with developing.”

“That would be valuable to a group that is made up entirely of mares,” I said with a nod. “I’m guessing that’s it, unless there’s something else.”

“Well, they took our spell and all the research we had on it, and then they started taking ponies, well, we didn’t know it was them until now, and technically we still don’t, Only I and Citrus do.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I think the spell didn’t work the way they wanted it to, and they are taking those pregnant to look into them, and the doctors who perform the spell to teach them how.”

“Hmm, maybe,” I said and shook my head a little. “Something about this is still bugging me, like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle.”

“We most likely are, however. I did promise to show you something tonight, if you wish to still see it.” Moonlight said, smiling at me. “I think something similar happened for her as to what happened to me, but it was interrupted and so she only remembers a little, but remembers enough.”

I paused a moment and looked at her and then back out at the dreamscape of Nightingale. I had my past taken away from me by the Society, this was my future now. Still, I wanted to know where I came from, so I looked at her and nodded.

“Alright, I’ll see it,” I said with a soft smile.

Moonlight stood, and within moments the dream around us shifted and changed, we were in the forest, surrounded by homes and huts. I could hear laughing and playing around.

“Dreams have the same power as memories, This may not be entirely accurate however I know several details are accurate.” Moonlight said and smiled to me. Using a wing to point over to a hut. “I suggest you look in the window, and stay quiet, holding these kinds of dreams together takes a lot of energy and if you start disrupting it I might lose it.”

I nodded and trotted over to the window of the hut and looked into it to see what was going on inside. Inside there was a young Unicorn filly with a light red coat and yellow and orange mane playing with an older Unicorn.

My eyes went wide when I saw the older Unicorn, she had the same orange-gold coat and red mane, the same freckles. She, looked exactly like me, only without the wings, and happier. I didn’t say anything, but I felt tears start to flow down my face and I wasn’t sure why.

It took me a moment to realize that the younger filly looked like the High Priestess’ daughter, but, how was that possible? Why did she have a memory of me?

“This settlement, it’s called Pearl.” Moonlight said. “And those two in there, are you and your sister, Sparks is her name, I believe.”

I didn’t want to say anything, I wanted to see these two playing together for as long as I could. The name registered in my mind, Pearl, that was the same settlement the three fillies had come from, the one that had been attacked by the Society and they had been the only ones found.

We weren’t miserable, we weren’t suffering, we had a good happy life here. I clenched my teeth a little, the Society had taken this away from us.

“Firelight, Does this give you any information you should seek?” Moonlight said as she stood next to me. “Perhaps, just some information on who you used to be?”

“I, think so, at least a little bit,” I said softly as I looked back at Moonlight, I was still crying a little. “I don’t remember everything still, but, I’m starting to understand. Right before I came across you in the forest… I had a flash of memory of being submerged in liquid, and I remembered the name Sparks.”

“This can provide you one more clue to your past.” Moonlight said, gently pushing the window open just a inch. “Listen.”

“Fillies, come, it’s dinner time!” A mare’s voice I didn’t recognize was heard from elsewhere in the house.

“Coming mom!” Sparks said before turning and running off, calling back to younger me. “Come on Ember, you don’t want to make mom and dad wait!”

I blinked as I watched the two run out of the room. “Ember? Is, that my name?”

“Firelight, of the Nightmare Society.” Moonlight said with a bright smile. “You truly are, Ember, of Pearl.”

“I wish I could remember her,” I said softly as I looked down at my hooves. “Ember I mean, she seems… happy, like she’s got a good life here with her family I guess.”

“Ember or Firelight, she is one in the same.” Moonlight said, smiling warmly. “Ember may be hidden under everything the society did to you, but she leaks through - I see her in your smile, I hear her in your voice, she is still you - you just need to find her.”

“I’d like to do that,” I said and looked back at her. “I’d like to get to know… well, me better.”

“Perhaps, the first step to do that, is to visit Pearl.” Moonlight said as the dream started to dissolve. “I have enough to know where to find it, and I am sure your friends can be of great assistance. I am sure we can be allowed to leave and go visit, and perhaps find more of you there.”

“I’d like that,” I said with a smile. “Though, we’ll have to get some of the extra guests to safety first. The last thing we need is to put them in danger too.”

“Those fillies?” Moonlight said, as they sat in a void of black now. “Perhaps…”

A door appeared in front of us, opening it Moonlight walked through and turned to me. Holding out a hoof inviting me to follow.

I took her hoof in mine and followed her through it.

“This is the dreamscape.” Moonlight said as she walked, looking around all I could see was a path lined by doors the lead to nowhere. Surrounded by a bluish blackness that had what appeared to be little orbs floating around in it.

“So, this is, how many ponies’ dreams?” I asked as I looked back at her. “How far does this reach?”

“With training, I suppose it could have an infinite reach, but my ability only lets me reach as far as the outskirts of Nightingale.” Moonlight said. “Every creature’s dreams, even the rabbits and birds, are here.”

“That’s a lot of ponies,” I said as I looked around. “So, we could say, go into Neivi’s dream if we wanted?”

“I would suggest against it, Dreams should be left alone unless invited, or if the pony is having a nightmare.” Moonlight said. “So, this deity of yours, Nightmare Moon, Nightmares are horrible things, yet you want to worship somepony who has it in their name, doesn’t seem very logical, does it.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she actually had a point there. I had never really thought about that before, that was more of a name to run away from very fast than something to worship. I hadn’t really thought about it until now.

“I, couldn’t tell you,” I admitted sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head. “It was all I ever knew, so I didn’t really question it until I wound up in Nightingale.”

“You know they have taken ponies away against their will, you saw them forcefully trying to kidnap me.” Moonlight said as she kept walking. “You’ve seen who you used to be, your sister, you had a family, you were happy, and they took you from that and destroyed your village. They worship a nightmare figure, I think at this point it’s fairly clear that they are not who they claimed to be.”

“I’ve realized that, but sometimes it’s hard to lose those teachings,” I admitted with a shake of my head. “I don’t want to hurt these ponies, I’m not like them. But when I shot that Alicorn, I still felt… wrong.”

Moonlight looked back at me like she was about to say something, but a sound caught her attention and made her snap her attention forward and sprint off down the path stopping at a door, staring at it as though she feared to open it.

“Firelight, do you hear it?” Moonlight said, looking to me. “I’ve seen this before, in the stable… We need to wake up, Now.”

I blinked in surprise but I nodded. I closed my eyes, trying to wake up as the world around me faded.

00000

My eyes snapped open and I shot up in bed as I looked around for any sign of what Moonlight might’ve been feeling. Everypony around here seemed fine though, though Neivi was looking at me concerned.

“Somepony is in danger” Moonlight said, as she burst through the clinic door. “That dream, it isn’t normal - I’ve seen it in the stable on two occasions, Either somepony has been hit with something and is knocked out, or they’re taking somepony.”

“Everypony in here is fine,” Neivi said as she checked the others. “Which means it had to have been somewhere in town. That, doesn’t really narrow it down though.”

“Is there a common place they are taken from? Or any construction locations?” Moonlight said. “Or, I hope not, but - any pony that might be aggressive enough to assault another pony?”

“They’re takin’ ‘em from all over town really,” Storm Wrangler said as she stretched out a little. “But usually they’re from tha orphanage or some of tha older ponies’ houses. Lookin’ fer one location that might be targeted is like lookin’ fer a specific needle in a whole stack full of needles.”

“She’s a cream colored earth pony, there can’t be that many here can there be?” Moonlight said with a sigh. “Dazed dreams are very blurry, I couldn’t get any more details then that.”

“Cream colored earth pony mare, there are a few of those,” Neivi said as she adjusted her glasses a little and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hmm… I wonder.”

“Do you have an idea of who it might be Neivi?” I asked as I looked at her.

“Maybe, it could mean nothing, and I probably shouldn’t even be telling you this because it’s a patient,” Neivi said with a shake of her head. “But if she might be in danger, I can’t stand by and let her get hurt.”

“She is, trust me she is. Ponies don’t just get randomly knocked out or put into trances.” Moonlight said, looking at Neivi. “It might be wrong for me to hope, but I hope she did nothing more then fall from one of these bridges, at least then she’s not in danger anymore, she just needs immediate help.”

“Sometimes the Mayor’s aide comes in with bruises and other injuries,” Neivi said with a shake of her head. “She fits the description, but she refuses to talk about where she gets the injuries. It, may be connected, and it’s the only case I can think of that might be similar in town.”

“Where would she be right now.” Moonlight said, looking to me and then back to Neivi “The more time we sit here and talk about it, the more likely things get worse for her.”

“Either in her home or in the mayor’s office, probably the latter,” Neivi said and gave her a nod before looking at Storm and Lemon. “You two stay here, I’ll take them to the mayor’s office first, she might need medical attention.”

“I know that this may be a stretch.” Moonlight said “But we may need to consider the Mayor’s quarters as well. Many officials, mayors and overmares included, tend to have flings with their assistants.”

“Also possible,” Neivi said with a nod. “Given the late hour that might be a good idea to check, unless they were working late. We should check there first.”

“Look, Ah don’t want ta put a damper on things here, but if yah want ta save her ya’ll are gonna need ta get it right tha first time,” Storm Wrangler said with a shake of her head. “Ah’ll get one of tha guards outside ta send word over ta see if we can check tha other location. Its tha best Ah can do right now.”

“Lets go.” Moonlight said, moving to the door and looking back to us. “I hate this, why do ponies do these things.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted with a shake of my head. “We should get going though before it’s too late.”

We headed out as Storm talked with one of the guards, I just hoped we weren’t too late

00000

“Wait, yah want ta go ta Pearl?” Storm Wrangler asked as she blinked and looked at me confused for a moment. It was the next morning and we had just finished talking to them about it. “Yer kiddin’ right? That place has been empty since tha Nightmare Society laid waste ta it 6 years ago.”

“It’s too complex to explain it, just know, a important piece of her past and perhaps a key to her remembering is there.” Moonlight said, with a shake of her head and a sigh. “Without showing you, it’d be practically impossible to explain it in a way you would understand.”

“It’s a risky prospect,” Neivi said as she adjusted her glasses a little and looked between me and Moonlight. “The fact is that abandoned settlements like that don’t last long, the jungle tends to reclaim them rather quickly. There’s no guarantee that there is anything left there that would be recognizable.”

“Not to mention we’ve got those three back there,” Lemon said as she gestured towards the fillies who were playing in the other room. “We can’t just leave them here.”

“We can move them into the Underground,” I pointed out. “Soia and the others can keep them safe.”

“Well, yes, they could,” Neivi said with a sigh and shook her head a little. “We need to report on the change of situation to them anyway. But I still don’t like the idea of going to Pearl, what if you don’t like what you find out?”

“Knowing something is better than living in the dark.” Moonlight said. “Not to mention, I can feel the forest… I don’t know how to explain it, but I think it has respect for Pearl and what happened there.”

“Just, give me the chance to learn, I’ve already started to remember things, and I want to see if I can remember more,” I said with a sigh and a shake of my head. “You all gave me a home because you believed it was the right thing to do. I don’t remember who I was or where I came from, not completely at least, I just want to know more.”

Storm Wrangler paused a moment and adjusted her hat a little before she sighed. “Look, fer what it’s worth Ah’d like ta help yah. Ah’m supposed ta be keepin’ an eye on yah anyway, so if yah run off all willy-nilly Ah’d get in trouble. Ah’ll lend ya’ll a hoof ta get ta Pearl.”

“And I’m not about to let you get yourselves hurt again,” Neivi said with a nod. “You can count me in too.”

“You helped me find my family,” Lemon finally said after a long moment. “That’s something I can’t ever really repay you for, but I’ll at least try.”

“And you never needed to ask me for help. I’m still trying to come to terms with everything, and I think you understanding will help me understand.” Moonlight said with a smile “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

I smiled a little and looked between the four of them. They really were my friends if they were willing to do that. “Thank you, all of you. I’m glad that I’ve got all of you to help me out.”

“Well, yah don’t really know how ta get ta Pearl so yah would just wander around tha jungle anyway,” Storm Wrangler said with a soft smile. “Lets get these fillies ta safety before we do anythin’ of course.”

“Of course,” I said with a nod and looked back at Moonlight before I gave her a hug. “Thanks Moonlight, this means a lot to me.”

“Hey, I’m here to help.” Moonlight said with a smile and nod. “And really, I can’t resist a good mystery anyway.”

“You four get the fillies down into the underground,” Neivi said. “I’m going to go talk to Rising Sun and tell him what happened. If he knows, then the council will be informed and hopefully everything will be okay.”

“Alright,” I said as Storm went over to talk to the fillies to explain the situation. “We’ll meet you at the town gate when we’re both done, okay?”

“Okay,” Neivi said as she talked with one of her aides that would take care of the mayor’s injured aide while we were gone before looking back at us. “As long as the council is informed we shouldn’t have any problems with the Mayor, I hope.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said with a shake of my head as we got our bags together and I secured the rifle into its spot.

“Would it be too much to ask if I could get a gun of some sort?” Moonlight said, looking at my rifle. “I mean, I don’t expect we will need to use them… but for safety’s sake?”

“Ah’ll have ta get one from tha armoy,” Storm said with a nod. “But Ah’m sure that shouldn’t be much of a problem. Better ta have one just in case we need one.”

“Yeah,” Lemon said with a nod. “I’ll have to grab one as well.”

“Just as a reference, if you have forgotten…” Moonlight said and sighed. “I may have a horn, but I don’t know how to use it, I’ll need a saddle.”

“That’s easy enough ta handle,” Storm said with a nod. “We’ll swing by tha armory when we head into tha underground.”

“Alright, then we have a plan I guess,” I said with a nod and looked back at Moonlight. “If you want, I can teach you how to use telekinesis later so you can at least do that.”

“Well, I’m sure there is some traveling distance between here and Pearl, maybe we can use that time to practice a few tricks.” Moonlight said with a nervous smile. “So this underground, is it like, an abandoned Stable or something?”

“Old mine system actually,” Lemon said as she and Storm came over with the fillies. “But, we shouldn’t talk about that outside of the clinic. Let’s get going.”

I nodded and gave the fillies a smile. Wind Chime I think for a moment actually gave me a small smile before turning her head away from me.

“Come on, lets go,” I said as we all headed out of the clinic.

00000

The trip to the underground was mostly uneventful. We told Soia what had happened at the mayor’s residence the night before, but she seemed more worried about what he might do than anything else.

Still, she said that they’d deal with any problems that came up along with what allies they had in the guard and the town itself. They’d watch the three fillies until we got back in time for the Council’s vote on what to do with the Mayor.

Once everything was clear topside we headed back up and met up with Neivi at the gate who gave us a nod. “We have Rising Sun’s vote, and if he can convince the others we’ve got this in the bag. It shouldn’t be that hard given everything that happened.”

“That’s good,” I said and let out a sigh of relief. “So we should be all clear to head out to Pearl again?”

Neivi nodded as she looked back up at the gate. “I hope you two know what you’re doing, we don’t know what we might run into out there.”

“Well, It’s day time, and most of the forest baddies, at least, the ones we were taught about in the stable are active mostly at night.” Moonlight said, rubbing at her chin for a moment. “Then again, that was before everything was… well, messed up.”

“Tha jungle can kill yah a thousand different ways or more,” Storm said with a shake of her head. “If we’re gonna make it ta Pearl before nightfall we need ta take tha safest route, which means takin’ tha ferry across tha river.”

“I don’t know, this jungle, I think there’s more to it than meets the eye.” Moonlight said. “In the stable, our orchards were dying and we were barely able to feed ourselves, but then without changing anything, our trees strengthened over night, and these weird flowers on vines grew all across the trunks of the trees.”

“Interesting,” Neivi said and adjusted her glasses a little. “Some settlements, including Nightingale, have documented similar increases to crop yields in the past. There is something about this jungle that’s different than even the ones I’ve read about back in Zebrica. But I can’t put my hoof on it.”

“Probably somethin’ leftover from tha war,” Storm Wrangler said with a shrug. “There’s a lot of things out there like that.”

“Maybe,” I said softly as I looked up at the towering jungle trees. “The High Priestess always warned us about the Jungle, but mostly focused on the wildlife not the Jungle itself.”

“Honestly, I think there’s something out there controlling it. I’ve sensed it in the dreamscape but outside of it I’ve never been able to find more than circumstantial evidence supporting my claims.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I wonder if maybe, the jungle itself is alive.”

“Most things have a spirit, trees included, but…” Neivi said and paused a moment. “I see what you mean. When I visit Canterbury again I’ll have to consult with the shamans there, perhaps they can shed some light on this.”

“Maybe, if the jungle itself is alive, all you need to do to have it protect you, is do something for it…” Moonlight said, lost in thought for a moment. “Neivi, can you tell me if when Nightingale put down or expanded its grow beds, if the trees nearby seemed to respond to them? And if more of those flowers showed up?”

“I’d have to check the agricultural records, but it’s possible,” Neivi said and frowned a little. “What are you thinking?”
“You give to the jungle, the jungle gives to you” Moonlight said with a soft smile. “Symbiosis.”

“But didn’t you say that the earliest settlers had to basically fight off the Jungle to establish Nightingale?” I asked as I looked over at Neivi.

“Yes, they did,” Neivi said as she looked thoughtful for a moment.

“How does the body react to a foreign infection?” Moonlight said, looking between myself and Neivi. “It reacts with hostility, trying to expel the intruder, but once you showed yourselves as not harmful, it stopped trying to get rid of you.”

“So, then tha early responses were, tha jungle’s immune system or somethin’?” Storm Wrangler asked and the others nodded. “Interestein’, so tha big question now is, where is all of this bein’ controlled from? If its like a livin’ bein’, then shouldn’t it have somethin’ resemblin’ a brain?”

None of us really had an answer to that. Though there was one possibility that I had considered, I just shook my head a little. That was something to worry about for later, right now we needed to get to Pearl.

“Come on, we’re almost to the River Ferry,” Lemon said. “Lets just hope we didn’t miss the departure.”

00000

The River Ferry as it turned out was an old boat that looked like it had been patched up a lot over the years. We made it just in time to get aboard and take the ferry down the river towards where Pearl was.

Since I left the Society I’ve actually started to learn more about both myself and the outside world. It’s been certainly an interesting experience so far, with its proverbial ups and downs.

While on the ferry I apparently learned that Alicorns and boats do not mix well, so I found myself throwing up my breakfast over the side of the boat.

“Seasick huh?” A familiar voice asked as I finally managed to pull myself up and see Neivi trotting over to me.

“Yeah, I’ve never really been on a boat before,” I admitted sheepishly as I looked over at her with a weak smile. “You seem to be doing fine at least.”

“This is nothing, I spent a few months as a Doctor on an Atori vessel when I was of age because I wanted to see the Homeland,” Neivi said with a shake of her head. “We crossed paths with Okambo, a whirlpool fueled by a Megaspell that travels around the oceans near the Homeland. A few waves on this river is hardly comparable to that.”

I blinked a little in surprise as I looked at my Zebra friend. She didn’t really sound like she was bragging, more like it was her small way of trying to make me feel better. “That sounds like quite the adventure.”

“Yeah, it was,” Neivi said with a sigh. “I spent a little time in Carthage and met other Mendi there. But, Equestria is my home, it’s the only home my family has known since we immigrated here long before the war started.”

“I’m glad you’re here Neivi,” I said and Neivi smiled softly as she brushed her mane out of her face a little. “You and the others have done a lot to help me, it means a lot.”

“We just saw a pony in need, I’d hope that anypony would’ve done the same in our position,” Neivi said with a soft smile. “You’re a good pony Firelight. You’re trying to help around here, and that’s really what’s important right now, I’m glad we found you.”

I was a bit surprised when I felt her forelegs gently wrap around me in a hug. I smiled softly and hugged her back as I wrapped my wings around the Zebra mare gently and closed my eyes. There was something nice about being this close to her, she was warm and actually smelled kind of nice…

I blushed and shook my head, I didn’t really want to think about that right now. We had to get to Pearl right now. Besides, she probably wouldn’t be that interested in me.

“Are you two lovebirds done yet?” Lemon’s raspy voice asked and I blushed a little as I realized the Ghoul could see us. I let go of Neivi and tried not to look the Zebra in the eye.

“We’re not, we were just…” I said with a blush and Neivi rubbed the back of her head embarrassed. “What’s up?”

“Storm Wrangler just talked to the Captain, it sounds like we’re only about 5 minutes away from the dock,” Lemon said. “He also said that there are some reports of Raiders near Pearl, so we need to be careful.”

“Good to know,” Neivi said with a nod. “Alright, let’s get ready to go then.”

“Yeah,” I said as I got my gear back together and looked back out at the river for a moment.

There was something about the river, something almost beautiful but at the same time haunting. I could see nothing but jungle, and as I thought back to what they were talking about before, I had to wonder what was waiting for us out there.

What was the rest of Equestria like for that matter? I hadn’t been farther north than the Temple, so what else could be happening there? Maybe someday I could see more of Equestria, but for now I had other things to worry about.

I just hoped that everything was going to go okay.

00000

The ferry stopped at a dock farther upriver. I stretched my wings out a little and looked up at the sky for a long moment. The jungle was going to be thicker from what I could see, I kind of wish I could fly again, it might at least take my mind off a lot of things but I didn’t know where we were going.

I looked over at Moonlight and gave the Alicorn a soft smile. “Hey, uh, are you still interested in learning how to use your magic on this trip? Not sure I’ll be the greatest teacher, but I can at least try and teach you some basic stuff.”

“Well, it’d be nice to actually be able to make a use of myself more than what I could already do” Moonlight said with a smile in return. “I know most Equestrian magic is based on will and desire, but I know there’s more to it than that.”

“Yeah, and honestly this isn’t the best place to learn most of it,” I said with a shake of my head as we started to walk down a trail. “We’ll start with something simple, pretty much all Alicorns start with telekinesis.”

My horn glowed orange as I carefully picked up a small rock off the trail and levitated it over to her. “Concentrate on the stone, start simple by just trying to make it rise and fall. Its how we all start out.”

“Isn’t that based on a old foal’s game?” Moonlight said with a soft giggle. “I remember unicorns in my class when I was younger practicing by passing a ball around like that.”
“Probably yeah, its just how I was trained and every other Alicorn was trained,” I said with a shrug as I set it on the ground near her. “I never really gave the origins of it much thought really.”

“It’s just thought, right? Focus on the rock, focus on lifting it, imagine yourself lifting it…” Moonlight said, looking at the rock. “Just carefully imagine the rock weightless in your hold…”

Without warning, her horn started to glow, sparking a few times at first before her aura surrounded the rock, levitating it a few inches from the ground before it suddenly went skyward, shooting off into the distance out of control.

“Uh, did yah just do that?” Storm asked as she looked up at the sky surprised. “Because Ah think yah need ta work a bit on yer control.”

Moonlight appeared flustered and embarrassed, looking away and puffing out her cheeks, before she finally looked to Storm with a sigh. “You try doing it when you’ve got more magic than most ponies will ever have in their lifetime.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’ll get it eventually,” Neivi said with a smile as she looked back at her. “I’ll bet Firelight wasn’t very good at it when she started either.”

“Yeah, I, kinda once accidentally destroyed a bunch of plates,” I said and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

“No no, I got it… I just need something heavier.” Moonlight said as she looked around for larger rocks “A small rock is too light for my level, I need something comparatively heavy.”

“Hmm, lets see,” I said as we started to look around. “I’m sure we can find something.”

“Hey, what about this?” Lemon asked as she pointed at a good sized fallen tree that had been broken in half. “You could try and lift part of that.”

“Part?” Moonlight said, tilting her head as she looked to the tree, taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and once again I could tell she was focusing, Her horn glowing and aura wrapping around the entirety of the fallen tree, at first only levitating it a few inches from the ground before suddenly, much like the rock, she accidentally flung both halves of the fallen tree skyward.

“Okay… that wasn’t a good idea,” Lemon said as she looked up and then back at Moonlight. “Lets, not have you try and lift any of us yet, please.”

“Definitely not,” Neivi said.

“Okay, this is a start, you have power but you need to work on your control,” I said and looked at her and then at the others for a moment. “Try to regulate the amount of magical power you exert on the item.”

My horn glowed again and I levitated another stone up effortlessly, moving it around slowly. “See, all you have to do is focus on keeping it under control in your mind. Control your power, don’t let it control you.”

Moonlight took a deep breath and nodded “I’ll try…” watching as she focused herself and her horn started to glow, another pebble from the path levitating into the air, much like her previous attempts only staying a few inches from the ground, lifting it farther and starting to move it around till suddenly her magic, instead of launching the stone, fizzled out and the stone fell to the ground.

“You have got to be kidding me…” Moonlight mumbled.

“Well, at least yah didn’t send it flyin’ up into tha stratosphere,” Storm Wrangler said as she looked at the stone.

“Don’t worry about it, nopony is perfect,” I said with a soft smile as I placed a hoof on Moonlight’s shoulder. “If I had a… what do they use as money out here?”

“Caps,” Neivi said.

“Cap for… wait, caps? You mean like, bottle caps or something?” I asked as I looked at the Zebra surprised. “You’re kidding right?”

“No, she isn’t.” Moonlight chimed in. once again levitating another rock and dropping it once more. “Even in the stable, when we accepted a few traders in we learned about bottle caps and their monetary value, something to do with being able to seal bottles of purified water, right?”

Neivi shrugged a little. “Yeah, it’s mostly unnecessary in that regard these days since Gardens of Equestria went off, but it’s pretty much used as money universally in Equestria. And well, between Sparkle-Cola, Sunrise Sarsaparilla, Opal, and your companies up north, it’s a pretty abundant source of money in the Wasteland.”

“Also, because most of the tools used to create said bottle caps were destroyed or lost, they are a finite resource. Giving them value.” Moonlight added. “It’s silly, and kind of outdated and pointless now, but even living in the stable we understood the value of something we deemed garbage before hoof.”

“Huh, the Society always had their own currency and I never met with any of the traders sympathetic to the cause,” I said with a shrug. “That was always left to the Priestesses whenever they would come by.”

“Yeah, different groups have different things fer currency sometimes,” Storm said with a shrug. “Ah heard about a group up in Horseton, well before they lost tha war a few years back, who printed their own coins. There are probably others out there too.”

“Yeah, Heck we still used the bit down in the stable, but we-” Moonlight said before she cut herself off. “Gosh Darn it son of a…” She said, rubbing at the spot between her eyes with a sigh, apparently having pegged herself in the forehead with a stone.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I think so?..” Moonlight said, as she kept rubbing her forehead. “I dunno, maybe the doc should take a look at it…” She said, before she stopped and looked ahead of us in awe, having us shift our attention forward I could see we were here, at the ruins of Pearl.

The settlement was surprisingly intact, though it was partially overgrown by the jungle encroaching on it a little. Still, I could recognize some of it from the dream I had of my foalhood memories.

I stopped in mid-step as I looked around, I could feel a tear falling down my face a little. I didn’t know this place, not really, but there was something about standing here, especially after that dream, that hit me hard.

This was my home, there was no question about it in my mind. Even if I didn’t remember it, the very thought was making me cry.

“There is something here… something important.” Moonlight said before she took a deep breath, steadying herself she started to concentrate, at first we couldn’t tell what she was doing, till her horn started to glow as her aura found its target, a pile of burnt wood and tile near what would of been city center starting to shift and lift, till a bright bronze bell pulled from the mud and rubble, as it free’d itself from its prison it’d toll, that haunting ring echoing across the land.

“What tha heck is that thing?” Storm Wrangler said as she covered her ears a little.

“I, don’t know…” Neivi said as she looked at it confused for a moment and then back at me. “Do you know what it is?”

I tried to remember and shook my head. “Sorry, I’ve got nothing.”

“Yeah, well unless we want to attract every Raider nearby over here we better stop,” Lemon said with a shake of her head. “What’s up with that thing anyway?”

“Excuse me, but it’s called a town bell, every old equestrian settlement had one.” Moonlight said with a huff. “What, do you not understand the importance of the bell? It’s the voice of the town, dedication of the bell is a very important ceremony.”

“Well, yeah, I got that,” Lemon said with a shake of her head. “It just seemed weird that you sensed something and dug it out.”

“This place, it knows much suffering, even before the society came. It leaves… lasting scars on the environment.” Moonlight said. “I sense them, subconsciously, and I felt this one was important.”

“Yeah, but uh, shouldn’t you set it down before you fling it off again?” Neivi asked.

“It’s fi- actually, you’re right… don’t want a flying bell to crush somepony…” Moonlight said with a sigh, putting the bell down and silencing its haunting resonance.

I looked at the bell for a long moment and then back out at the town. What did she mean by it knowing much suffering? Was there something about this town that I couldn’t remember? I filed it away for something else to figure out later.

“So, uh, what are we gonna do with this thing?” Storm asked as she looked at the bell.

“Part of me says leave it here, it's where it belongs, but another part tells me it deserves to be remembered and placed in view, rather then quietly rotting in ruins.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “Perhaps we should bring it back to Nightingale, have it dedicated to them and put up in a new tower.”

“Maybe,” I said with a soft nod. “Let’s look around some more first and then make a decision. I, want to see more of this place.”

“Take your time, I suggest you look for your home... “ Moonlight said, a look of concern coming across her face. “This, may be a lot for one pony to take in.”

I nodded and started looking around the town. I was trying to get memories of what had happened here from my mind, but it was like they were still locked away. I sighed a little and brushed my mane back, had we come all the way here for nothing?

I sighed as we headed through the town, I was about to say we should head back when I saw a building. It was falling apart in some places and I could see plants growing out of it, but it was familiar somehow.

Somehow I knew that this building was my home. But I paused outside of it, I couldn’t bring myself to enter the building somehow, as if going inside would make everything feel so real.

What was I supposed to do?

“Firelight, are you okay?” Neivi asked as she trotted over to me and looked at the old house for a moment. “Oh… this is your old home isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” I said as I stared at the building. “I don’t know what to do right now, I feel like I should go inside, but at the same time…”

“You’re not sure you want to?” Neivi asked and I nodded a little. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to Firelight. We came here because you thought it would help you figure out who you are, if you’re not sure you want to know yet then we can head back to Nightingale.”

I paused a moment as I looked at her and then back at the house. I honestly had no idea what to do, we had come all this way for me, was I really ready to go back without at least trying to learn something?

“Will you go inside with me Neivi?” I asked as I looked over at the Zebra mare.

“Of course Firelight,” Neivi said with a soft smile. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

I nodded and took a deep breath as I opened the door and we headed inside.

The house was dusty and mostly empty. It was kind of eerie actually, it was just so quiet that I half expected something to jump out at us. But nothing happened, it was just an empty house with a few pieces of furniture here and there.

“Are you remembering anything?” Neivi asked as she looked at me.

“No, nothing’s jumping out,” I said with a shake of my head. “Maybe this was all a waste of time, I don’t see anything that might remind me of anything.”

I sighed a little, this was looking more and more like it was a big waste of time. We checked the rooms, and I was about to just leave when I saw something resting on the floor covered by dirt.

I levitated it up to me and brushed the dirt off. It was an old piece of jewelry, a broach of some sort that looked faded but may have once had a shine to it. I looked at it for a long moment as if waiting for something to come to me.

“What is it?” Neivi asked.

“I think this was my mother’s,” I finally said as something clicked in my mind. “It was an old family heirloom, she must’ve left it behind during the attack. That’s, really all I can remember though, it’s like everything from here is gone…”

“Its okay Firelight,” Neivi said as she placed her hoof on my shoulder. “Come on, let’s go back to the others.”

I nodded and put the broach onto my old robes and headed back out of the house to where the others were looking through the town. “Any luck?”

“Nah, this place is pretty much picked clean Ah’m afraid,” Storm Wrangler said with a shake of her head. “Ah’d guess either tha Society or Raiders.”

“Did you find anything?” Lemon asked.

“I found an old family heirloom, but that’s about it,” I said with a shake of my head as I looked down at the broach. “There’s not a lot left like you said. Thanks anyway, all of you, this means a lot to me.”

“No problem, Ah’d want yah ta do tha same fer me,” Storm Wrangler said as she adjusted her hat a little. “We should probably get goin’ if we want ta catch tha ferry across tha river again.”

“Yeah,” I said and looked back at the town for a moment. “We should get going.”

We nodded and headed back out of town. I stole a glance back towards the abandoned settlement for a moment and sighed, that hadn’t been as informative as I had hoped.

I knew my past was out there somewhere, I just had to find it.

00000

“So I’m at the Fillydelphia Stable-Tec HQ for a meeting and I get there early right?” Lemon Lime said retelling one of her stories from before the bombs fell. “And Vice President Scootaloo is in there already kissing Ms. Belle. Needless to say when they realized I was there it was a very, very awkward moment.”

“Ah’ll bet,” Storm said and blinked a little. “Wait, Scootaloo was datin’ Rarity’s sister?”

“Apparently,” Lemon said with a shrug.

“I uh, no offense and not to be rude. But… who are these ponies?” Moonlight said, looking at Lemon. “I get you’re pre-war, but names really aren’t enough to really know who you’re talking about.”

“They’re tha ponies that made tha Stables,” Storm said with a shake of her head. “And Scootaloo is, well that’s another story entirely but she’s a bit infamous in Pegasus history.”

“Sorry about that,” Lemon said with a shake of her head.

“Ah, they’re stable-tec ponies then.” Moonlight said with a soft nod. “Still doesn’t really ring a bell for me, anyway, wonder if that’s why they made Stable 27, dedicated to mare on mare reproduction.”

“It’s certainly possible, or they were experimenting with means of repopulation, a sort of worst case scenario if there was no stallions left,” Neivi suggested. “But it’s not like we can just ask them what their intentions were.”

Lemon paused a moment and shifted uncomfortably. She looked like she wanted to say something but just then we reached the gates to Nightingale which were shut of course. We waited a moment as the guards were clearly visible above the gate.

“Aren’t they going to let us in?” I whispered to Neivi.

“They should’ve already opened up,” Neivi whispered back before calling up. “What’s going on here?”

“By order of Mayor Steel, you’re all not allowed entry into Nightingale under any circumstances,” one of the guards called down to us. “He has enacted emergency protocol 17-B and any enemies of the town are to be kept out, and shot if they attempt to break in.”

“Emergency Protocol 17-B?” I asked as I looked at Neivi.

“It gives emergency powers to the Mayor if the town is under threat from an enemy within or without,” Neivi said through gritted teeth. “Irrumator, he’s declared martial law, and we can’t get into the town.”

Great, just, great things had gone from bad to worse.

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: Shadow of the Past.
Details: You've gained a better knowledge of your own past as well as the world around you. You get an extra five points in stealth.