Chapter Thirteen: A ‘Clean’ Expedition

“Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.”

It was time.

Emerald eyes stared at the cog-shaped door of Stable 36. Not too long ago Blaze had stood there, waiting in the lobby to leave the safety of her home. The last time she’d left with so many ponies, she’d expected to come home in one piece. Now, she stared at the heavy machinery with a yawning emptiness within her. She had no idea if she would ever see this side of the stable again.

Ponies were gathered around her, talking in groups as the four mares prepared to depart. Misty Sparks was heavy in conversation with her mother, their personable voices mixing with the chatter of Hammers and Grease. Three ponies Blaze had never seen before spoke with the Second Technician. Blaze assumed they were her father and roommates judging from their appearances. The older stallion was the same green hue as Grease and was built similarly. They wore their manes alike as well, something that chewed away at Blaze’s gut. She didn’t care to inspect Spritz and his marefriend.

Hammers was still talking with his protege. Security guards lined the back of the lobby, most of them dressed for a riot. Blaze couldn’t help but sneer. She knew Overmare Flare wouldn’t have ordered them there to make sure Blaze left. They were likely Chief Smokey’s final farewell. Only one of them garnered any interest from Blaze, Sergeant Cuffs who was politely standing aside awaiting a chance to speak with Misty Sparks.

Skyfire stood next to Blaze and laid a wing on the larger mare’s back. She caught where Blaze was staring now. Hammers was deep in conversation with his sister. “He’ll be along soon,” she said with a soothing tone.

Blaze snorted and tapped a hoof. “Course, course…”

“How have things been between you two?”

“Better. We talk, which is… well better.”

Skyfire smiled up at her and hummed. “He’ll miss you, I’m sure of it.”

Blaze hesitated at the sincerity of the pegasus. She was so different from everypony else in the stable. The cynicism Blaze was used to and doled out in equal parts was so absent from the pegasus she often found herself struggling to believe Skyfire. Perhaps along their journey of her exile Blaze would finally understand just how the pegasus kept so chipper.

“Where’s Blitz?” Asked Skyfire as she looked around.

Tensing, Blaze looked away. “I don’t know. I hope she didn’t sleep in.”

“It is really early…”

“0400,” Blaze muttered. “I haven’t been up this early in… Fuck I don’t know, a while.”

“I’ll admit it’s early even for me,” agreed Skyfire. “I got up by 0600 at the latest. We’ve been up since 0200.”

“You ever gonna not talk like the Enclave?” Challenged Blaze with a soft laugh.

Purple eyes squinted. “You use military time too though.”

“Yeah but-”

“Don’t be mean,” Skyfire interjected with a frown.

“It’s a joke, Feathers,” Blaze tried to soothe.

The grey mare squished her lips as she debated the response, before shrugging. “Maybe it’s too early for me after all.”

“I know I’ll be flopping back in bed after you’re gone,” Hammers’ voice interjected as he approached. Skyfire and Blaze brightened immediately, and he smiled wide. “I took a late shift today for a reason.”

Blaze stepped to her father only to pause in hesitation. “I guess the apprentice gets first dibs on the goodbyes?” She scoffed.

Nickering, Hammers used his magic to tidy up Blaze’s armor. Leather covered her stable barding heavier than that of the other mares. She swatted the magic away ineffectually, and he sighed. “I wanted to have the most time with you. It was just a quick goodbye for her, some reminders of what to do out there. You though…”

“Sure you’re not here for Feathers?” Blaze challenged.

Skyfire coughed and looked away. “I see you’re being petulant again,” he dryly replied. “Jealous? Or scared?”

“Fuck no, I ain’t scared of anything.”

“Bullshit,” Hammers flatly said. “But if you don’t want to confide in me, I don’t blame you. Just make sure you tell your friends what’s on your mind while you’re out there, okay?”

Her ears flickered as she processed his words. Usually, he would force her to either flee or shout. Accepting her hostility was different. “Uh, yeah, okay.”

The stallion offered a hoof and she took it with even greater hesitancy. She had expected terse words of warning or a snarl of advice. Things had been more pleasant than in the last several years, but there were still heavy moments of tension. They were avoiding certain topics like her pending exile for most of their conversations. Now, on the precipice, there was no way for Blaze to run from it any longer. “Keep her safe,” he ordered.

“I will,” the mares said in unison.

Hammers smiled. His eyes were reddened and he sniffled. Blaze squinted. “Have you been… crying?”

“Yes, are you surprised?” he replied, sniffling a little. He’d stopped concealing things. It had been the greatest change in his behavior and took the most for Blaze to get used to. She wasn’t used to full honesty.

“I’ll be back, Dad. I won’t die out there.”

“I know you believe that,” he said simply. “I’ll pray for your safe return. Don’t forget to talk to Melody when you come back. I’d like to have a meal at the bar when you do, after of course.”

A laugh escaped Blaze and she slowly shook her head. “You want to share a drink with me?” She asked.

“I said meal, but I wouldn’t say no to a drink either. I’ll pay if you have some good stories to tell even,” he said. Before she could reply, Hammers pulled her into a hug. She blinked and hesitated, before returning the gesture. Her heart fluttered and Blaze swallowed a surge of emotion down. It wouldn’t do her good to get caught up right then.

Hammers turned to the pegasus and smiled. “Feathers, you better eat well out there.”

“The MREs Steel packed are better looking than most of the fresh-made meals I had back home,” Skyfire snickered. “I’ll be just fine.”

“And drink water,” he advised.

Groaning dramatically, Blaze threw her head back. “Oh come on, Sparky will nag us enough you don’t have to.”

“I’d like to be first, I have years of being a dad to catch up on,” Hammers laughed. A fetlock hoof lifted and adjusted her armor and this time she didn’t stop him. Moisture dampened his eyes. Blaze stepped forward and embraced him. “I…” His voice caught in his throat and he held her close. “I love you, Blaze. Make sure you come home one day.”

“I will,” she said slowly, barely able to keep her voice calm. “I’ve gotta protect these little ponies don’t I?”

“And we’ll protect you,” Skyfire vowed. She rested her wing over Blaze’s back once more. The large mare blinked and then smiled. She wordlessly hugged Skyfire.

Despite the rocky start of the fallen pegasus’ recent journey- from the enraged first meeting at the crash site to Blaze cleaning out her former room to let Skyfire truly have a home within the stable- Blaze found herself feeling good about this journey alongside Skyfire. Things had changed rapidly for each of the mares, both learning to trust more. Blaze found herself glad Skyfire was at her side while the others socialized. It was strange to think that somepony aside from her cousin could make her feel so at ease.

The lack of judgment for her past was refreshing, something the crimson-maned pegasus mirrored equally. Being scorned back home for not wanting to be a soldier, Skyfire had quite enjoyed her growing fit as a mechanic in the Stable. It was something that Blaze supported, having been the first pony to encourage her to stay on in such a position.

Out of every pony going out into the wastes, Skyfire was the one Blaze found herself worrying the most about. While Misty Sparks was the future heir of the stable, something Blaze knew to be incredibly important, Skyfire was a pegasus. Further, she was potentially a Dashite, something Blaze had heard of but never met before. Something about the uncertainty of Skyfire’s future made her want to protect the mare even more than her cousin.

Grease and her group of fellow earth ponies came over. Misty Sparks and Flare joined them as well, soft smiles on their faces as they took in the embracing pair. Blaze broke out of the hug with a blush, uncomfortable with so many ponies seeing her display affection. Nopony remarked about it, but the approval in their eyes was clear. She scowled to assure that they stayed quiet.

“Well,” Flare said to move things along. “Today is the day.”

“Glad to finally be throwing my fat ass out?” Blaze challenged with a sardonic smile.

“Couldn’t be sadder,” Flare replied frankly. Blaze’s smile fell. “But I know it’s for the best. The four of you will do just fine out there, I have full confidence in you.”

“At least somepony does,” Grease laughed. A battle saddle rested on her back, a multitude of personal etchings in the metal. Her father, Brass Tacks, kept checking how she was wearing it.

Misty Sparks cleared her throat and squinted. “More ponies do than not, I think,” she said. “Are… you ready though Blaze?”

Another sarcastic laugh escaped the large mare and she closed her eyes. “Even if I wasn’t, Smokey is no doubt counting down the seconds. If I’m not out by then, he’ll shove me out himself.”

Sergeant Cuffs frowned awkwardly and coughed into his shoulder. “Actually… he is. Yes.”

Blaze snarked in vindication. “Fucking knew it.”

The security guard shrugged. “He truly is not a fan of yours.”

“Good, ‘cause I truly ain’t a fan of his either. I’m glad the feeling is mutual.” Blaze stomped a hoof in emphasis. “Now is that everything? Everypony said their goodbyes?”

A multitude of eyes skimmed over the assembled ponies, final double checks and triple checks being taken. Blaze was tired of waiting. The anticipation was killing her. She stomped her hooves. “Open the fucking door already!”

“What about Blitz?” Skyfire asked as Sergeant Cuffs went to the control panel.

“She didn’t show?” Questioned Misty Sparks, “Really? I expected at least… I don’t know, a kiss. Did you two…” She trailed off and gestured vaguely. Her ears pulled back and she blushed as her mother arched a brow.

“Yes,” Blaze huffed, “but no, she’s not here. Whatever, I’ll see her again soon enough right?”

The whirring siren of the stable door unlocking and sliding open sent a jolt of energy down the mares’ spines. Despite how many times Blaze had been around for the nearly ritualistic procedure, the wailing sirens, and the heavy motor revving up, she felt tense. This time it felt, different. This time might be the last time she would ever get to see it open from this side.

The cool morning air seeped in as the stable door swung out to the side, sending a breeze that rattled Blaze’s concentration. She’d be living out there, from now on. Before the stable door had finished opening Blaze was walking out, not wanting Smoky’s baton nudging her out. She was ready, unlike a certain lime-eyed unicorn who froze up. “I-uh forgot how loud it is this early in the morning,” Misty Sparks lamely admitted, her ears pinning back. She yelped as a fluffy crimson wing patted her back.

Skyfire gave her best-encouraging smile, before quickly yawning. “Ah I, uh, I’m still waking up,” Skyfire giggled quietly, waving a hoof over her mouth before stretching out. “You know, I was finally getting used to not having the sky above me, and here I am going out into the wild blue yonder again.”

“Wild… blue?” Cuffs asked quizzically as he peeked outside. Down the tunnel of the hill the stable was built into was dim light. “It’s grey.”

“It’s a saying!” Skyfire protested, yawning again with a flurry of giggles. “I might need a pick me up, though I doubt anyone is making coffee this early.”

“It’s a pretty saying,” Misty Sparks giggled back towards Skyfire, taking a few steps forward with the pegasus. The moment of levity had broken the hold over the unicorn. She walked down the steel-grate pathway and through the threshold.

“Goodbye new home,” Skyfire commented quietly, blinking as she blushed. “I uhm, meant to think that. I need to wake up more.”

“You’ll be plenty awake by the time the sun is up Feathers!” Grease teased gently, snickering as Skyfire blushed, whining softly.

“I’m not a morning pega, I like my coffee!” Skyfire protested with a groan. “I should have asked to pack some with us.”

“I’m sure we can pick some up, there are a few traders I see up, and the general store probably is open, I asked yesterday if we could make some early last-minute purchases,” Grease chimed out with an innocent smile. “I recalled a certain tired pegasus liked her coffee~”

Misty Sparks balked at the earth pony, “How’d you convince her that? And I didn’t realize you needed coffee that badly, Sky.”

“Morning shift is rough,” Skyfire admitted with a relieved smile. “Come on, I can share some of the favorite brews I’ve found so far!” She added with an eager smile to the unicorn. Misty Sparks’ expression softened as she trotted over, nodding happily.

Blaze walked over curiously to nudge Grease, glancing at the pair trotting towards a nicely lit general store. “Did you do that to get them running off together?”

“Maaaaybe a little bit, I just know that Skyfire pretty much needs it. She wasn’t sleeping the best sharing a room with you, no offense…. I think?” Grease offered with a shrug. “She never complained about you, just that she didn’t sleep well.”

“Right right right. I hope she buys enough to stay alert. Sparky is ditzy enough that we’ll need every pair of eyes we can, and Feathers can fly at least to scout,” Blaze grunted softly and rubbed her temple for a moment. With an arched brow, she paused as Grease stood there smiling at her. “What?”

“Look at you thinking about the safety of the group, maybe there is hope!” Grease trilled, her head up high with a giggle as she trotted off towards the surface, causing the fellow earth pony to grumble in protest, trudging after her. Blaze glanced once over her shoulder, catching the eye of her father from the threshold. He smiled, the only bit of encouragement she needed, and she gave a sharp nod.

Then the stable door yawned shut.

Blaze paused for a moment, watching it latch closed into place. Nothing could penetrate it without great effort. She was truly separated, the image of Hammers and Flare watching her seared into memory. A grimace came from the mare and she looked at the dirt. Voices came from the end of the tunnel, cheery, light, and full of hope. Blaze glanced up at where Grease waited at the end of the tunnel, the other two already far onto the street. A sigh dredged itself out of her and then her hooves began to move.

She left Stable 36 behind her.

No sunlight basked the mare as she walked into the open. Only the soft yellow glow of streetlights warmed her hide as Blaze strode onto the wooden sidewalks. Grease had fallen into step alongside her without a word. At the early hour, there were a dozen or so guards and little else on the surface. A groggy stallion glared at them from across the street as he scrubbed graffiti from the walls of the weapon shop. Three guards muttered darkly, watching Blaze with obvious hate. Stiffening, Blaze lifted her chin and kept at the same pace.

“Don’t mind them,” whispered Grease, “they’re just jealous they can’t go on an adventure.”

“I highly doubt that,” growled Blaze. The laughter of her cousin and Skyfire came from ahead. One guard glanced that way and she bit her cheek at the flash of warmth in his eyes before he returned to whispering with his coworkers.

Grease snorted. “Then don’t give them the satisfaction.”

“Not like I really care what they think,” Blaze growled.

The shorter earth pony took her in, the tension in the mare’s stride, and the way her ears flicked. “Sure,” she said, “let’s just get some coffee. Maybe Sky got us some too.”

“I hope not, I don’t want either of them spending caps on me.”

The pair hadn’t gotten a dozen steps closer to the store before the door swung open, Misty Sparks leading the way outside. Skyfire trailed closely behind with a box on her back. Blaze’s fears materialized when the pair practically bounced over to them.

“Blaze! Grease! I got us all coffee!” Skyfire vibrated with an energy uncharacteristic of her. “I might have uhm gotten a cup myself and drank it and it was super yummy so I wanted to make sure you all got some!”

“And she got herself one for the road,” Misty Sparks added with amusement, the pegasus whining in defense.

“I also got a pound of it, and a few things to prepare it on the road!” Skyfire admitted, dodging the subject of the fourth drink on her back.

Grease giggled loudly as Blaze stood there, visibly fuming. “What was I just saying?” Blaze snorted before sighing and rolling her eyes. “Well, she shouldn’t have a third cup. I suppose I can have this. It’s just coffee right?”

“Just coffee?” Skyfire huffed gently, puffing up her wings before pushing a cup each into the earth ponies’ hooves. “No, this is a nice dark roast which is smooth and not too much caffeine in it! It’s actually tasty.” She giggled quietly, sitting down as Misty Sparks levitated both the drinks for a moment.

“When did you get so coffee astute?” Grease asked with a laugh before sipping at her coffee. “Don’t tell me the Enclave has bad coffee?”

“Yes!” Skyfire whined quietly, huffing energetically, “It’s really terrible, and you only ever down it in small shots, extra concentrated. Outside of when they could import good stuff grown on the ground.”

“Like espresso?” Misty Sparks offered, slightly confused.

Skyfire blinked. “Like what now?”

“Well I think, Blaze, you should try it then. Entertain Feathers,” Grease added then, ribbing the taller earth pony.

Blaze’s temper threatened to build up before she relented with a nod. “Alright, it’s a small gift for the road. And apparently, the next greatest thing to walk this land,” Blaze grunted out, taking a gentle sip before blinking, and looking at Skyfire. “What’d you put in this? It’s edible.”

“Nothing! That’s why I’m happy. This is a dark roast,” Skyfire giggled before sighing and sipping her second cup. Her ears fell back as she took quick sips. “It’s a nice pick me up. And something I will happily invest good bits into making sure we have something warm to help wake us up. Now. I uhm.” Skyfire sheepishly looked around. The early shift guards watched them openly. “I think we might want to finish these before walking, only one of us can levitate them.”

“I’ll go buy a few supplies myself,” Grease commented quietly, finishing her cup with a happy sigh before smirking. “Like reusable cups so captain caffeine over here can get her fix every day.”

That left Skyfire sputtering, spitting a bit of her drink out as she sheepishly nodded. “G-good idea!”

Misty Sparks giggled and sat down properly to start going through her bags. “You know, we’re not supposed to be out that long, but I packed extra healing potions and medicine, in case-”

Blaze snorted and coughed out a bit of her drink as she grunted, “In case I fuck up or do something stupid. I know.”

“No actually,” Misty Sparks retorted, looking hurt. “In case anypony tries to do anything stupid to us, I want everypony to have an extra potion. Both of us aren’t exactly the most popular right now,” The unicorn commented softly, her smile fading as she looked past Blaze to see more glowering faces on the guards.

“I suppose we can both take solace in the fact that ponies are happy to see us go,” Blaze sighed after a moment of thought.

“Hopefully we don’t have anypony trying to kill me because they found one of my feathers.” Skyfire quipped with downcast eyes. “I’m glad Steel found me this cloak, I dislike my wings being so bundled up, but it beats getting shot on sight. We truly are an odd bunch.”

“Then there’s me!” Grease chuckled, already back, her saddlebags looking rather full. “The regular one who happens to be friends with all three of you. I guess that makes me uniquely the normal one here!”

“You’re the one they’ll ask questions to when one of us does something stupid,” Blaze snorted, “Or if I don’t shape up I suppose.”

Skyfire leaned over to boop Blaze quietly with one of her wings, shifting to stick out her tongue. “You’re out here, you’re already shaping up. And you’ve got this air to you that’s different. You got this, Blaze.” She smiled, finished up her cup of coffee, and hummed. “I think we’ll be fine. Now.. uhm..” The pegasus looked around, “Didn’t you say there was a wagon?”

“In a moment Feathers,” Blaze admitted, the lightest flush covering her face as she sipped away at her coffee to avoid blurting things out. A hot moment passed as the earth pony managed to enjoy the drink before speaking, “You gave me a gift, it’d be rude to rush it. Yes?”

Grease giggled quietly at that and shook her head, “Yes it was, but you were definitely hiding something with that.”

“Shut up!”

Misty Sparks leaned over to Skyfire and nudged her. “This is legitimately tasty… and I’m proud of what we’ve managed to do with this. The coffee you have here is actually consisting of the ripe seeds of coffea arabica, a proud export of ours we managed to save and continue growing. It’s best grown in a greenhouse because it needs to be tropical, and definitely can’t stand frost!” The unicorn started vibrating herself, a faint blush on her face as the pegasus focused directly on her, leaning back into Misty Sparks to listen.

“A-And! At first, we have to make sure it’s entirely dry, which you have to be careful about because we dry it with heat…. But that’s just the roasting process. The interesting part is that the caffeine you love is only roughly two percent of the seed! Imagine how much more intense your coffee could be if we could double that!” The unicorn giggled excitedly, sipping the coffee again before snorting. “The flavor is an interesting but common reaction called the Maillard Reaction! It’s when amino acids react with carbo-”

A sandy hoof semi-forcibly pushed Misty Sparks’ mouth shut. The little unicorn squeaked as Blaze leaned over, her eye twitching. “Sparky, that sounds fascinating, you really are having fun talking about it. But uhm, perhaps we can do it while we’re on the road?” She asked diplomatically, “Else it might become a full-day lecture, which well, we’re out here for a reason.”

“Right! I can uhm, talk about it on the road when we’re walking on it with the wagon. The one by…?”

“The jailhouse, they held it for us so we could keep it safe,” Grease interjected with a soft smile, “Come on though, you can walk with your drink at least. Let’s help get Blazed hooked up.”

Rhythmic clattering as wooden wheels rolled over broken asphalt had quickly threatened to lull the tired mares into a stupor, only the caffeine in their veins keeping them alert. The first length of their journey had been blissfully uneventful as if the wasteland wanted to keep on sleeping until more sensible hours. The first interruption had been a flock of large birds that hissed when the mares had passed their nests along an irradiated pond. Misty Sparks had quickly identified them as geese and ordered the group to leave as swiftly as possible. Blaze had laughed, the idea of being afraid of a bird absurd. Her armor now had tomia marks from the furious mother goose.

Hours had stretched into one another with the kind of peace that made Blaze paranoid. She kept glancing to the horizon and checking her EFS as if some beast would manifest from their nightmares. No such thing had come, save the geese, and that only set the mare more on edge. Light conversation passed the time, mostly stories about work the last few days for the mares who hadn’t been restricted to the infirmary. Blaze half-paid attention, staying alert instead.

The hills of Stable 36 extended for some distance. Mucky dirt and ruined homes comprised the majority of the scenery. Periodically there would be something to break up the banality. A pond, a particularly fascinating-looking tree, or a former public attraction like a park or building. Grease kept checking her Pip-Buck as they walked, making annotations to her maps. For the most part, the wasteland was what the three stable-raised mares expected. To Skyfire, it was an entirely new world.

“Ponies used to live in those?” Asked Skyfire with a shrill gasp as she pointed to a complex half sunk into the ground. Most of their surroundings were in such a state, reduced to rubble or half consumed by the very dirt they walked on. More than once they’d had to detour around a segment of the road that had suffered such a fate.

“Yup,” replied Blaze, “apartments I think.”

“It’s a bit like a dormitory,” Skyfire said, “like we have in Neighvarro.”

“I think everypony had their own home in there though,” Misty Sparks jumped in, “rather than an open space of bunks.”

“That sounds… lovely,” whispered Skyfire. “Like the stable.”

Grease nodded, squinting at the roof that was painted white. Now reduced to streaks along shale, something caught her attention. The mare looked at her Pip-Buck as her lips scrunched with thought, before shouting. “Yes! That has to be it!”

The other three blinked at her as Grease took off in a gallop. Skyfire immediately took flight while Blaze shouted, “Stick to the road! I can’t take this wagon off easy!”

Cutting in front of her friend, Skyfire gave a wide-eyed smile. “What is it?” Her hooves touched long-since dead grass. The cracked concrete sidewalk was splintered from nature slowly reclaiming Equestria.

Grease strained to look over Skyfire at the building, beside herself with excitement. “My dad gave me his maps, all the annotations he made on his expeditions! That building is where he took shelter from a radstorm. He said there was a safe inside that nopony on his team could get open. I’ve always wanted to give it a try!”

Purple eyes calmed and Skyfire patted Grease’s head. “Don’t just go running off like that, silly. I’m sure we can look inside. Salvaging for supplies is important, right?” She peered back at Misty Sparks and Blaze who were unfastening the bulky mare from the wagon.

“I don’t like it,” protested Blaze, “it looks unstable.”

“I’ll admit caution too, but moreover for our timetable,” Misty Sparks added. Grease’s ears fell back and she frowned. “But… we built in rest breaks and I suppose we’re due for one. Half an hour okay?”

Squealing, Grease jumped into action. “At least wait for us!” Shouted Blaze.

Skyfire gave a half-salute with her wing and followed Grease inside. The entryway had collapsed, leaving only a lobby with slanted stairs ascending to the upper floors that were now not nearly as impressive as they were before. Shag carpet that had molded scrunched underhoof and with a frown, Skyfire began to hover. Grease ignored the filth as she scaled the stairs. The ruined apartment complex was striking to Skyfire. She had gotten used to the clean, sharp angles of Stable 36, and even the surface town. Now the walls sagged and timber groaned with every passing breeze, a trickle of water somewhere she couldn’t quite narrow down. Checking her EFS, she was relieved to only see the green dot of Grease who was headed down the hallway. The apartment numbers had mostly vanished, paler marks on the wallpaper the only sign they were once there. Each step Grease took caused a low creak and Skyfire found herself wondering just how right her friends were on the stability of the building.

After clambering up what felt like an eternity of stairs, the earth pony stopped outside room 65. A flash of light came on from her Pip-Buck, casting a low amber tone across the area. “This is it…” She whispered so softly Skyfire barely heard her.

“What, scared now? We’ve already rushed in,” Skyfire asked as she caught up to her.

“Uh, sorry,” Grease said with a shake. She pushed on the door only for it to strain. “Blocked. Fuck.”

“We could ask Blaze for help,” suggested Skyfire.

“No, no there has to be another way in. Dad wouldn’t have been able to block it on his way out after all.” Grease began looking around, waving her light to help. Skyfire shrugged and joined in. Old paintings with faded scenes of windswept hills and beautiful beaches were checked behind. A ratty rug was pulled up to no avail. Once Skyfire tried peeking behind a trash can their search was rewarded.

Skyfire pulled the large can out of the way with a few huffs. She half didn’t want to know what refuse was inside it given the stench it was producing. “Hey, look here, your dad isn’t that big a guy, right?.”

A half-rusted hatch led into the wall, a series of locks on it. Grease smiled. “Oh, okay I can take care of that.” She settled down next to the hatch which they’d have to crawl through once it was open, and pulled out a set of bobby pins and a screwdriver. “Go find the others and bring them up here yeah? This might take me a bit. Why did he lock it five times?”

“Maybe he thought there was something extra good inside?” Suggested Skyfire as she began to flit down the hallway.

Grease gave an unsure murmur, her focus shifting entirely to the obstacle. The first lock clicked open by the time Skyfire had reached the collapsed stairs. Her ears swiveled as she tried to hear where her friends were, only for a furious shout and sloshing noise to quickly point them out. She flew over the debris of the stairwell and arrived on what was once the second floor. The sight she found made her chuckle. She was quick to hide that humor.

Halfway through the floor, Blaze cursed rapidly as Misty Sparks tried to pull her free with telekinesis. Her armor was wet, mane stuck to her brow, and the splashing noise was enough to clue Skyfire in on what happened. “Grease didn’t have that problem,” said Skyfire as she kept aloft. Misty Sparks shot her a frustrated look but said nothing.

“Well sorry, I’m a giant!” Snapped Blaze. “Fuck, something’s got my hoof. Can’t get it free.”

Skyfire grabbed the mare’s shoulders while Misty Sparks kept pulling with magic, teeth gritted with strain. They heaved together, Blaze doing her best to shake free. A wrenching noise preceded sudden momentum, all three of them crashing into the wall. The earth pony huffed and shook herself. “Ew,” she muttered as she looked at her hoof. A pale red substance was stuck to it. Glancing at the hole she was now free from, she grimaced.

The other two gasped. “Is that a head?” Shouted Misty Sparks.

“Oh I’m going to be sick,” whispered Skyfire, her face paling as she turned away, starting to heave.

“Some poor sod got stuck between the floorboards,” said Blaze as she peered closer. The agape mouth of a highly decomposed pony floated along the water’s surface. It was more bone than flesh now. “Been here a while by the looks of it.”

Skyfire once more began to fly. It only stung a little to sustain it. “We’re safe though, right?”

“It’s probably someone from when the building collapsed,” said Blaze with calmness the other two lacked.

Nodding hesitantly, Misty Sparks averted her gaze. “Without animals to eat the corpse, it would decompose much slower in water than on the surface. I hope there aren’t many others here.” She then blinked at Skyfire and frowned. “Where’s Grease?”

“Upstairs, picking a bunch of locks.”

“Bunch?”

“Yeah. She found the room her dad stayed in. Come on, I’ll show you the way.” She started flapping back over to the stairs only to pause. “Should I… try to carry you?”

Emeralds squinted. “I’m not a fatass,” Blaze growled.

“I’m not saying that, but it’s a bit, er, unstable.”

“I’ll help too,” offered Misty Sparks.

Blaze stiffened further, and then with a growl pushed past both of them. “I’ll be fine!”

Creaking wood with an ominous squelching noise made the smaller mares wince, but they followed behind, Skyfire pausing for a moment, “Should we… bury them?”

Misty Sparks blanched and shook her head, lowering a hoof towards the water. That eerie ticking ‘pleasantly’ alerted them of another factor. “Aaaand it’s radioactive…. I don’t think it’s safe either way. Sorry.”

Skyfire’s gaze drew back to the corpse in spades, her shuddering and shaking her head. “I abhor the idea of dying somewhere nopony would ever find you… but we can’t risk joining them trying to give them a proper send-off.”

Lime eyes shimmered and the short mare stood up to hug Skyfire gingerly. “I can understand that sentiment, but we’re likely to join them if we pull them out. Let’s go.” Misty Sparks murmured, gingerly starting to walk again.

The hatch was unlocked and there was no sight of Grease when they arrived on the sixth floor. More than once Blaze had cracked a step on the way up. Skyfire led them to the apartment and poked her head into the hatch. The amber light of Grease’s Pip-Buck shifted inside, casting the mare’s shadow across the peeling wallpaper. It wasn’t too hard for Skyfire to crawl through and even easier for Misty Sparks. When it was Blaze’s turn however she simply stared at the hatch, squatted down to look through at the others, and laughed. “Fuck no.”

“Come on, you can do it,” Skyfire encouraged.

“Don’t you patronize me.”

“I’m not!”

Misty Sparks arched a brow. “I am.”

“Fuck off Sparky. Come on, what’s wrong with the door?” Blaze demanded.

“Barricaded,” Skyfire replied, squinting at the dresser blocking its path.

“Okay, stand back,” Blaze warned before moving over to it. Skyfire and Misty Sparks shuffled over to where Grease was, hunched behind a flipped-over bed frame, the mattress making a musty roof to the small space. The rest of the apartment was equally trashed, with broken wood pieces and split linoleum flooring in the kitchen. It was for the most part a single-room space, with a bathroom on the far side. An explosion of debris came from the door, wood splintering like confetti. Skyfire eeped and shielded herself and Misty Sparks with her wings.

When the dust cleared, Blaze stepped through the collapsed door and over the dresser’s remains. Grease ignored all of them, focused entirely on the safe she was cracking. “Shit place,” Blaze remarked, “What makes it worth looking in?”

“Her dad came here,” Misty Sparks said.

“So?”

“I know you’re grumpy I’ve detoured,” Grease said as she broke a lockpick and tried again. “But have a seat and rest. Maybe you can find some good salvage here. Whatever’s in the safe has to be worth something though.”

Blaze huffed and quietly listened, perusing through the broken furniture for anything of worth. Skyfire and Misty Sparks did the same, rummaging mostly fruitlessly. Then a satisfying click came from the safe and Grease cackled. It opened with a hissing creak and she shined her Pip-Buck’s light in, casting its interior in soft amber. Immediately she frowned. She reached in and grasped a note with her name on it. “Grease,” she read aloud, “if you’re reading this then you’ve broken into that safe I said I never got open. Whoops, I lied. I always hoped you’d follow in my hoofsteps one day, even if you’ve got a knack for repairing things. Expedition parties need repair ponies too you know? I left everything in here for you, plus a pouch of rifle ammo. You always were eyeing it so I bet you have it right now. You’ll go far kid, and make sure you hit those other stashes I left behind. Love, Brass Tacks. PS. If you’re not Grease, please leave this safe alone. I can’t reward you obviously, but you’ll get good karma for it.”

Tears brimmed in her yellow eyes as she lowered the note, a broad smile pulling across her face. “That old scoundrel,” she chuckled. “Sounds like we might have some extra supplies scattered around we might be able to make use of.”

“Sounds like a worthwhile detour to me,” Skyfire said, “and your dad sounds sweet.”

Grease wiped her eyes dry. Blaze looked away while Misty Sparks grimaced. “Yeah, he’s the best. Now let’s see what he left us.” She began pulling out the safe’s contents. First was a bag of bits, totaling thirty. They weren’t entirely worthless, but certainly not as valuable as they were pre-war. A bottle of rad-x, three health potions, and the aforementioned rifle ammo came next and they stored the medicine in Misty Sparks’ saddlebags. At the very back was a model toy of a sky carriage, hoofmade by the look of it with a name stenciled on the bottom, Skyheart.

“Hey, that’s a similar model to what we’re looking for. This is a CT-30, a really common sky chariot back in the pre-war days.” Skyfire said as she peered at the toy. Her muzzle was close to Grease’s ear as she got a better look. If they were lucky, there would be a chariot like this one at the industrial complex, with a long fuselage and rear engines to assist the pegasus team. It was akin to a bus with passenger windows. The paint on the toy was chipped, cracking along where metal rivets would be on the real one. “It’s funny in a way, the engine to our scout prototype was the same model used in modern families. It was way over-engineered. And perhaps secretly designed to be to military specs. Though that was a rumor.” Skyfire winked gently, caught up in geeking about engineering details.

“And this might be your cousin, long lost Skyheart,” Grease nickered with a wink.

A whinny escaped Skyfire as she pulled back, ears flopping. “W-what, no! I just mean…”

“That’s the kid,” said Blaze, interrupting the teasing. “I found uh, some photos. Skyheart was their filly.” She held out a photo frame. A purple unicorn filly with a lilac mane smiled up at her parents, similar-looking unicorns. One of them wore an engineering uniform with a logo emblazoned on the collar, a golden hoof with a singular wing. Misty Sparks immediately recognized it.

Lime magic enveloped the frame as Misty Sparks levitated it closer. “That’s the logo of the factory, Good Wing. They must have worked there.”

“I wonder if they might have something that could help us then,” said Skyfire with a shake of her wings. “Keys maybe?”

Blaze scrunched her nose and started searching more carefully. They quickly set to the task, poking their snouts into every nook and cranny. After ten minutes of searching Blaze stomped a hoof, breaking the floorboard beneath her. “Nothing,” she declared. “You guys?”

“Nope,” Grease said with a sigh.

“Same,” Skyfire admitted and scuffed the floor.

Misty Sparks shifted as she checked under insect-eaten clothing. “I think… Here we go!” She pulled out an employee badge and smiled at the others. “This might help with security systems. I heard pre-war factories had a lot of insane security measures to prevent zebra espionage.”

Blaze tilted her head and appraised her cousin. “Good find Sparky. Okay, that’s enough time spent here. We have to get moving.”

“You don’t want to scavenge the rest of this place?” Grease protested.

“Thirty minutes, remember?”

Misty Sparks snickered as she tucked the badge away and looked at the other two. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Blaze grimaced and tapped a hoof. “I just… Ugh, forget about it. Do what you want.”

“No no, talk to us,” Skyfire said. She put a wing on Blaze’s back and the mare slowly relented. “What’s on your mind?”

The large mare lowered her gaze. “We had a rather… specific timetable set for this. I don’t want us to be late getting back with the parts. Aunt Flare will panic if something delays us too much and maybe not let you mares keep doing this. I… Don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand us being careful and taking our time versus rushing into things,” Skyfire soothed.

A quick nod came from Misty Sparks. “Oh yeah, big time. She’ll understand when we explain. Maybe though… this place is falling apart. Let’s get a move on for now, okay?”

Blaze gave a faint smile and nodded. “Yeah, okay. Uh… Good find Grease. It wasn’t a waste of time at least.”

Grease chuckled and gave Blaze a playful shove. “Of course it wasn’t, Dad wouldn’t steer us wrong! Now stop worrying, it’s a weird look on you.”

“Shut up,” growled Blaze.

“Don’t break the rest of the place on our way out!” Grease taunted. Blaze huffed and stepped after her, only for another floorboard to crack. “No seriously, please...”

“... Float me out the fucking window.”

The collapsing apartments grew smaller as the team continued down the road, a landmark soon to be swallowed by the hills. Skyfire’s ears perked up as she looked over at Grease, a thought lingering in her mind. “Say Grease, you seem like the pony who gets along… with most everypony, right?”

“Well yes, I’m pretty good at using my head to not get into stupid situations,” Grease nickered with a wink, glancing back at a huffing Blaze before tilting an ear. “Why do you ask?”

Purple eyes focused on her green friend as the pegasus picked up the pace enough to walk alongside her. “Well I suppose, I’m curious. About your parents. Blaze doesn’t have the best relationship with her dad, but you talk fondly about yours all the time.”

Lime and emerald eyes went wide as Blaze and Misty Sparks both held their breath. Grease’s yellow eyes narrowed and her jaw tensed. “I uhm… well it’s a bit complicated,” the earth pony murmured distantly, her gaze going down the road, not meeting Skyfire’s.

“Complicated?” Skyfire asked, narrowing her eyes. When Grease continued to avoid her gaze, she glanced back at Misty Sparks and Blaze who both wouldn’t answer her curiosity. Blaze’s ears pinned themselves back and Misty Sparks chewed on her lip.

“Well it’s complicated, but there’s not much to say, I uh….” Grease shook her head. “Some other time? I want to focus on the mission right now.”

“S-sure,” Skyfire said back with a nervous gaze. Her pace fell short, letting Grease take the lead, Grease obliging her quietly.

An uneasy silence lingered for the next while before Blaze coughed and picked up again, nickering playfully. “You know we’d be even farther now if we weren’t matching shorty-mc-short-shorts over here!” Blaze teasingly ribbed her cousin.

“Well I never, I’ve been keeping up with you this whole time!” Misty Sparks blushed faintly. “If I was any taller you couldn’t make the short jokes!”

“Well maybe you should grow up so I can find something a little bit more meaningful to tease you about, Cos’, you got plenty of things you can rib me about.” Blaze stuck her tongue out and dodged a rock lazily tossed in her direction. It rolled off into dead bushes, a crow taking off and startling all of them.

They watched the bird circle around before darting off into the horizon. For a moment they remembered just how vast an area they were in, alone from anypony else. Shaking the pang of fear, Skyfire tried to lighten things up just as Blaze had. “Maybe one day she’ll have a really late growth spurt and be as tall as me. You know, her shortness has helped her when she didn’t want to be caught, something your larger size struggles with.”

“I often don’t care if I’m caught!” Blaze defended with a brave smirk. It faltered when Misty Sparks giggled profusely.

“I don’t know Blaze, you’ve been seen running down the hall more than once trying to avoid security catching you out after curfew.” Misty Sparks winked before yelping as Blaze picked up the pace, forcing her to start trotting. Skyfire and Grease both let the eager earth pony take the lead and watched.

“You know if you’re really gunning to go this fast… we could just put her in the cart. It is empty right now.” Grease offered with a smirk, watching Misty Sparks nearly have to canter to keep up.

Hooves clacked loudly on the road. “Or we could go at a reasonable pace! It’s not a race!” Misty Sparks whined out, watching the cart gain distance, Blaze pushing into her own canter with a snort.

“She’ll never get stronger if she doesn’t push herself!” Blaze declared with a laugh. Squeaks rose from the cart as she went faster, wheels clattering over broken asphalt in a manner that made Skyfire yelp.

“And we’ll never get anywhere if you break this rickety cart!” Skyfire protested, dashing in front of Blaze using her powerful wings to speed up and forcibly slowing the mare down by controlling her pace. “I don’t want to be repairing a two-hundred-year-old cart!”

“Fine, fine!” Blaze groaned as she slowed back down, watching Misty Sparks nearly run into the cart. She caught herself at the last moment and cursed under her breath. “At least Sparky can run a little bit if she needs to,” Blaze drawled moments later. She gasped as a series of rocks flew over her head. “But she needs to aim her rocks better, still can’t hit anything.”

Words were muttered darkly behind Blaze. “Oh, I’ll hit something soon.”

One ear flicked at the threat but Blaze otherwise paid it no mind. Misty Sparks rarely made good on such threats. They kept moving at a pace the unicorn could keep up with easily, slowly adding more distance between themselves and Stable 36. After fifteen minutes the bending hills flattened out into a clearing. The earth pony squinted her eyes before gasping softly, slowing down ever further to a near stop. “I suppose this road has been traveled before. Or at least attempted. Milky Boys… more than a few ones.”

“Milky what’s?” Skyfire murmured as she examined the clearing. Her ears fell back with a gasp, “O-oh, skeletons. A lot of them.”

“Oh come on… it’s like… ten maybe,” Blaze huffed and continued walking. “It happens out here, they look old. Nothing left but bone… Must have been a fight or… I don’t know. Something! Skeletons happen!” The earth pony tried to play it down, waving a hoof.

“Yeah, but these ponies had a story.” Misty Sparks frowned as she stepped close to the skeletons. “It seems they never even got to get buried properly. No honors were given. If we weren’t on a mission I’d want to try and help lay them to rest.”

“I’d be happy to help if we have time in the future,” Skyfire offered a sympathetic smile, flinching as Blaze snorted and stomped a hoof down.

“The way I see it, they probably were a group of raiders, and their kind doesn’t treat each other with respect. It’s probably best we do-” Emerald eyes widened as she noticed a tiny skeleton partially laying on the road, held by a larger skeleton. She stared at them, her heart sinking fast. A clicking filled her ears and she began to breathe heavily. Blaze stepped back, hind bumping into the cart. She felt trapped. “O-okay. Maybe they weren’t raiders,” she whispered.

Skyfire offered with a sympathetic smile and fluttered down to pat Blaze’s shoulder. “Would you want to join us sometime?”

“Raiders probably got them though, bones are picked clean but not gnawed on,” Blaze said, not quite hearing Skyfire. A crack in the foal’s skull rooted the large mare in place.

Grease stepped into her line of sight, blocking the grim image. Blaze blinked rapidly and looked away. “Maybe they were good or bad ponies, but they still died, and a road to nowhere is not the best place to lay for all eternity,” said Grease.

“Fiiiiiine. I would at least want to be tossed in a hole when I die.”

Misty Sparks gasped and narrowed her eyes. “Blaze!”

“It’s progress at least. Remember when Blaze didn’t even talk about death?” Grease commented. Skyfire frowned as she scanned the clearing.

“That’s because I still don’t fear it! So why talk about it!” Blaze protested half-heartedly shaking her head as she picked up speed, getting past the skeleton pile with extra haste. The others were slower to follow. Skyfire lingered, torn between a quick burial or keeping up. “Come on! They’re not getting any less dead!” Blaze shouted without stopping.

Sighing, Skyfire caught up and they continued their journey.

The next time they stopped, Grease was cursing up a storm. “It’s supposed to be here!” She shouted, looking from her Pip-Buck to the crumpled tree stump in front of her. The other three watched with apparent confusion. “Who fucking destroyed it?”

“Destroyed… what exactly?” Skyfire squeaked.

“Another cache! Dad left a marker that there should be a cache in this tree stump, but-” Her words were strangled in her throat as she swung a hoof at the destroyed stump. The mare buried her head in her hooves with more primal noises.

Blaze sniffed, glancing back at the others curiously. “Is this what I’m like?”

“Yes-”

“No-”

Misty Sparks and Skyfire squinted at one another. “Yes,” Skyfire said again, “very loud.”

“You’re louder, actually,” Misty Sparks cut in. “And more physical.”

“She’s literally kicking the stump,” Blaze deadpanned, waving a hoof over towards the somehow angrier earth pony. Grease had taken to violence, and what remained of the stump was soon nothing more than splinters. “Don’t shift your weight like that, you’ll strain something.”

Grease shot her a glare. “Are you correcting my form?”

“Yes.”

“What a bitch, I can’t even be mad freely,” Grease’s voice was edged with laughter.

Blaze smirked and the fellow earth pony calmed with a few more kicks at the long-dead tree. “I can show you some tricks later. Now, what was this one supposed to be?”

Skyfire and Misty Sparks approached while Blaze remained on the road with the cart. Grease let out a heavy sigh and found a section of bark. A thunderbolt so distinct was engraved in it that Skyfire froze. “Dashite,” she whispered.

“Yeah, an old Dashite cache,” Grease confirmed, “they leave supplies for others in all sorts of hidden places like this. The stump was hollow according to my dad, but now…”

“Think someone smashed it up for a reason then?” Asked Blaze, tapping her hooves against the road. If there weren’t so many fallen logs she would’ve joined them, but that’d require unhooking from the cart.

Skyfire stared at the mark. She’d only ever seen it before in history books, the mark of the traitor. It made her skin crawl and she swallowed dryly. “Dashites are… I don’t know anymore. It all makes me uncomfortable. I’ve heard the stories, but also…” Her voice trailed off into a somber silence, eyes lost in thought.

Misty Sparks frowned and stepped closer to her friend. Skyfire was trembling. “Sorry, should we move on?”

Grease glumly started back to Blaze. The pegasus shifted her weight, feeling every feather against the cloak. She lifted it so she could see her cutie mark, grateful the cog and wrench still adorned her flanks. As much as Dashites had been taught to her as traitors and selfish ponies, she never thought stripping their cutie marks was right. To take away the very thing that made a pony a pony was horrifying. The black and white world she had known above the clouds felt so grey beneath them, muddled hues intertwining into something difficult to even see let alone understand.

For a moment she could taste the clean air and feel the warmth of the sun on her feathers. She could taste sunlight itself. Skyfire closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, trying to hold onto that feeling. The softness of clouds against her hooves. The chill of moonlight, enveloping all within sight. She was floating, lost, and yet exactly where she needed to be. Then Blaze coughed and it all whisked away. Brown mud sucked at her hooves. Muggy air absent of the sun’s warmth made sweat trickle down her skin and crimson stick to her face. It was heavy and oppressive, cast in grey from an endless cover.

Skyfire focused on their faces, tight smiles, and fallen ears. Misty Sparks stepped closer only to hesitate. Grease held no such uncertainty and drew near. Her muddied hoof fell on Skyfire’s shoulder, grounding her. “You alright?” Grease asked.

She was where she was supposed to be. Skyfire shook the homesickness off and began to join her friends. Grease walked at her side. They were just as dirty as her, just as cast in grey, but they smiled and cared for her. Her forelimb was heavy, a machine of great power granted to her by those who she was trusting were sincere in their intentions for her. “I’ll be okay,” she said with a grimace. “Thanks though.”

“Radio Raven?”

“What?”

“Radio… Raven?” Skyfire repeated, squinting at something in the corner of her vision. She waved a hoof as if pawing at something in front of her. “I just… I saw something. Text. It said a new radio signal was found, Radio Raven?”

The mares blinked, before looking at their own HUDs. “Oh, yeah,” Grease said, “We must have entered their broadcast range.”

“I think I’ve heard of Radio Raven,” Blaze said with a thoughtful hum. “In the bar.”

Misty Sparks scrunched her nose. “Radio is kinda risky, they could be news or music.”

“News would be useful,” Skyfire replied. “Especially with how big and empty everything is out here. Where do they broadcast from?”

The largest mare shrugged as she continued walking, the others following by instinct. “Baltimare I think. Hills around Stable 36 mostly block it out. We’d need to build like, an antenna or something to get a better signal but since radio has music sometimes it’s a no-no.”

“Please don’t start this argument again,” grumbled Misty Sparks, dragging her hooves.

Blaze arched a brow. “I mean… Is it really an argument or just you being a stubborn mule?”

An indigent whiny was her only response. Skyfire rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re outside the stable and have to survive, so it seems silly to me to reject potential intel.”

“You’re just saying that because you want a chance of music coming on,” teased Grease. Skyfire flushed. “You’re not wrong though.”

“Hah! Hear that Sparky? We just outvoted you!” Blaze cackled.

A hoof stomped the broken asphalt. “This isn’t a matter up for a vote,” Misty Sparks rejected. “We’re still a Stable 36 expedition, we abide by the rules.”

“I’m an exile, remember? I can do what I want now. Feathers put it on!”

Skyfire blanched at the mix of gazes on her. Misty Sparks was frowning so deeply she looked like she’d eaten something sour. Blaze meanwhile was egging her on, intense emeralds encouraging the deviant behavior. Grease simply shrugged. “Intel is intel and could save our lives. We could just… turn it off if a song comes on?”

Nodding, Skyfire brought her Pip-Buck to her face and kept walking on three hooves, an awkward gait that threatened to make her trip on the shoddy road. After a bit of fumbling with the toggles to select the radio, she tuned in and made sure her volume was at max so all could hear. Immediately the soft noise of a piano dying out danced in the air, five seconds at most of a somber tune before it faded into static. It was beautiful and Skyfire nearly cried at the simple notes. She’d almost forgotten what a piano sounded like.

Then there was a crackle, a shifting of something against a microphone, and the sharp inhale of a pony preparing to speak. “Gooooood morning everyone! I hope you’re awake now because that song nearly put me back to sleep. Beautiful one though, don’t you think? For those of you just tuning in, it is a dim and cloudy day with a high chance for rain and an even higher chance of violence. This just in, Baltimare is once more undergoing a drastic shift. I’ll remind you all again, stay out of the flooded tunnels. I know I know, you wanna find that good shit washed away after the bombs dropped. But when the fish-mutes get you, that loot ain’t gonna do you any good. According to my Eagle Scouts, three more buildings sunk into the bay yesterday, following a minor earthquake. I’d keep moving inland if you live along the coast, though what kinda ya-hoo is these days? Ghouls only I think, that water is way too irradiated if you’re not prepared.”

Cautious glances were shared between the mares. “Did he say… fish-mutes?” Grease asked.

Before any of them could answer, the DJ continued. “Next up in your morning news, missing cases. Now before you start tuning out what I’m about to say, yes, ponies go missing daily. Yes, so do non-ponies. And yes, it’s just a fact of life in the desolate hellhole we call home. But we can’t act like it’s okay. Normal, sure, but okay? Nah.” He cleared his throat and there was a shifting of papers.

The energy in his voice was more subdued as he spoke next, “Pasturenack Garrison has reported three more missing ponies, two pegasi and one earth pony. They’re all in their golden years, so it’s odd for slavers to take them. They’re also all stallions. If anypony has heard of or seen a Wild Ace, Onyx Bolt, or Mister Dare, please call the Eagle Scout Hotline via your radio on 640 AM or 1240 AM. Sherrif Denton is offering a reward of 500 caps for any useful information, each. These three make it a total of seven to disappear in the last month, and it’s getting downright concerning.”

They’d slowed down, listening intently to the ominous newscast. Misty Sparks wet her lips. It was horrifying to think of seven of her stablemates simply disappearing. She glanced at the others and saw similar discomfort. “Oh! And Radio Raven would like to give a big shoutout to whoever keeps throwing shit at my windows! Go fuck yourself. Tune back in on the hour for your next news segment. A little bit of friendly advice before the music comes back, don’t piss off your local radio jockey. This was Axel Rod, and up next is Talk to Me by Koa.”

A low whistle of a bird was followed up by a crack of a whip, and then a spirited ukelele kicked off accompanied by percussion and claps. Before the first word had even been sung, Misty Sparks’ magic turned off the radio. The others blinked at her. “News on the hour,” she said firmly. “No music.”

“B-but," Skyfire started, her voice falling suddenly like the music cutting off. Skyfire stared down at her Pip-Buck. The brief transmission still clung in her thoughts, things felt different. She was connected again in a way. She couldn’t say anything, but she could listen again like she often did in the clouds when there was free time. The pegasus fiddled with the Pip-Buck to look over a surprisingly decent list of past radio stations. It helped connect this lost pegasus again. The world felt so much larger again, and she was in the middle of nowhere, but for a moment she wasn't lost.

The names of missing ponies and a settlement she had no idea existed before swirled in her head. Ten minutes of walking had passed before Skyfire spoke up. “Do you think they’re alive?”

Blaze shook her head. “Elderly stallions wandering off most likely. Minds go when you get old.”

Misty Sparks tensed and looked at the horizon. “Grandpa Speckle is…”

Her cousin huffed. “Look, you either die young, die old, or fucking disappear. That’s the way things are. Your dad’s parents are still around, my mom’s parents got cancer and died. I’ll probably die way younger than them or wander off. You’ll live to the ripe old age of ancient.”

“What about me?” Grease interjected.

“Old.”

“Me?” Skyfire asked.

“Old.”

“Everypony but you then?” She challenged.

Blaze walked without a pause, eyes dead ahead. She ignored the concerned faces around her, the way Misty Sparks stared with a frown or Grease shook her head. “Yup. I’ll be crazy, cursed, or downright dead.”

Sighing, the pegasus gave a shake of her head, crimson framing her weary face. “I do hope you’ll change your mind someday soon.”

“What, it’s better than me wanting to off myself, right?” Growled Blaze, jaw taut.

“Marginally,” Misty Sparks replied, walking closer. Blaze lifted her head to keep the short unicorn out of her vision. A huff told her how effective that was.

“Baby steps yeah?”

Misty Sparks grumbled but said nothing, picking up the pace. The others followed.

When they crested the last hill, the mares were all tired. Twelve hours of walking, even with rests, was a lot of exercise. Misty Sparks sat down with shaky legs the moment Blaze told them to rest. “I… don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” she said as she floated out a canteen.

Skyfire stretched a few feet away while Grease sighed and flopped down beside the little unicorn. “Reminds me of Basic,” she said, “and it was another reason in the long list of why I wanted out.”

Blaze huffed, “It’s just walking. I’m the one hauling the cart.”

“The mostly empty cart,” Grease countered, “you’ll be feeling it later if we’re lucky.”

“So then you definitely have nothing to complain about,” Blaze snorted. The two earth ponies stepped towards one another with flattened ears.

Waving her canteen between them before they could start arguing, something that had been unfortunately common on the journey so far, Misty Sparks cleared her throat. “Look, we made it. On time too, more or less. 1646 hours.” She looked over her Pip-Buck with a small smile. “We even made up some time from our pitstops.”

Her cousin glanced over at her and then gave a half-shrug. She turned away from Grease who was happy to do the same. “How about a fifteen-minute rest then we head in?” Suggested Grease, pulling out her own canteen.

“Sure,” Misty Sparks replied. The other two voiced their agreement. “We can scope it out from here and make a plan while our bodies recover. I’ll take the first look while you stretch and rest a moment.” The lack of a complaint was agreement enough for her.

She stood up, wincing at the way her legs ached, and then moved to the edge of the hill. For the most part, it was a barren area, the usual destroyed buildings, and old burned trees all that decorated the landscape. Down the hill was their target, the Good Wing factory. She floated out a pair of binoculars and lay against the hilltop. Struggling sprouts of grass and cracked rocks concealed the silver mare.

It was just as much a ruin as the rest of the wasteland. High chainlink fences were reinforced with barbed wire at the top, rusted from centuries of exposure to the elements. A gate large enough for supply chariots was shut, large sheets of metal concealing anything on the other side. From the elevated position, she could make out the three buildings that composed the industrial complex. The largest was on the east side, the factory proper she suspected. Sections of the roof were collapsed or its interior struts were exposed like the ribs of a beast. The wall facing the fence looked reinforced as if at one point or another someone had attempted to live there. There was an exterior stair that led into a side door on the north side, half concealed by rubble.

Opposite the factory was a warehouse, its innermost corner also heavily damaged. She was half reminded of a tin can with the lid pulled back, revealing the bones of the structure. In the southeast corner was an L-shaped building that rose four stories, progressively collapsing the higher it went. The further from the stairwell in its corner, like a hinge, the more deteriorated it was. She guessed it was once the administrative building, judging from how many desks she saw rotting on the upper floors. Thick pillars held what was left up, stitching limbs together the best they could.

With the remaining sections of the factory’s roof, it was impossible to see much into the spaces between the buildings, though she suspected it was more rubble and detritus. The walls were once pleasant blue and white colors. Now they were faded, and cracked, the logo of the company barely visible in some places. There was no smoke, lights, or even sounds of ponies living down there. Neither did she spot any turrets, though a section of the ground outside the fence looked disturbed. She wondered if it were ponies who had circled the place, trying to find any entry point only to give up. There were no obvious defenses aside from the imposing fence. It looked abandoned.

The road up to it would provide little cover, only a few destroyed chariots running up to the gate. Nothing filled her EFS, though it was too far to be of any real use. Misty Sparks hummed as she sat up. “It might be safe,” she said.

“Might?” Questioned Skyfire, glancing curiously at her friend.

Misty adjusted and took another hard look, shaking her head. “It’s hard to tell. It looks unoccupied but there could be basements or the sort.”

Skyfire trotted next to her and fanned a wing over her eyes to block the cloud-filtered sunlight of the late afternoon. Misty Sparks blushed as crimson feathers tickled her cheek. “Should I give it a flyover?”

“No,” Blaze grunted, “if anypony is there they’ll see you then. That collapsing building could have a sentry hidden inside we can’t see. You’ll be easy pickings for any sort of an ambush.”

The pair nodded thoughtfully. “It’s best we stick together. If somepony is there, we might be able to trade with them. Scouting it like that might make them think we’re looking for targets,” Misty Sparks said as they started walking back from the hillside.

Grease was pulling on her battle saddle and arched a brow at Misty Sparks’ deadpan. “What? Better ready than not. We brought this, and I’d rather explain why we walked in armed than get caught naked.”

“I suppose. Yes. Just keep your mouth off the trigger if we find somepony to talk to,” she ordered.

The green mare gave a playful bow. “Yes ma’am, whatever you say.”

“She’s not Overmare yet!” Snarked Blaze. “Stop treating her like she is!”

Snickering, Grease stuck out her tongue. “So, how we going in?”

“Well either we break our way in through the fence somewhere, or we go through the front,” Misty Sparks said. “Given Blaze has the wagon, and we don’t want to break in to a potential base, I vote for the gate.”

Blaze nodded dramatically and stomped a hoof. “Fuck squeezing this bitch through chainlink.” Nods were given by Skyfire and Grease. “Alright, we good?”

“I think so,” Misty Sparks said. Tension ran along her spine and she swallowed her growing nerves down. “I just hope this goes smoothly.”

Her cousin chuckled lowly as she started walking. The wagon rattled over rocks and twigs, something about the noise striking Misty Sparks’ heart. “You know that ain’t gonna fucking happen Sparky. Let’s be ready for when it doesn’t.” The little unicorn gulped.

With a heavy clank, the gate came open, pulled back by all but Blaze who awaited in the middle of the road. Nothing had changed in their approach to the complex. The lack of bullets or fierce words emboldened them. Once it had opened just enough for the party to enter they continued on. Heavy rubble blocked most of the path, making them curve around with an uncomfortable stench rising from the debris. It took a few times for Blaze to wiggle through the gate, the wheels of the wagon catching in the grooves. She cursed at every instance of it getting stuck.

Skyfire crinkled her nose and muttered a few words to herself. Wings flapped ahead. A low buzz intermixed between, not one of electricity. The mares froze in place, ears swiveling. Their EFS had a few green dots ahead, shuffling around. Quick looks for silence were passed around, and they advanced carefully. A caravan was a few yards further in, brahmin slaughtered with luggage still attached. Fresh corpses littered the road. Flies buzzed about bodies, a few birds pecking at flesh between ruined armor.

She could smell the rotting corpses with a single, sharp breath. A churning in her stomach once more made her want to vomit, the pegasus staggering to cover her mouth as she fought the urge to retch. Purple eyes stared as the scavengers ripped meat from former ponies. The squelching noise shot through Skyfire. She took a step back. Her hoof caught the edge of a rock and it went rolling.

Immediately the birds began to squawk, warnings echoing out. Black feathers flashed in threat, sharp beaks, and keen eyes stared back at the group. Their flesh was exposed in places, tumors riddling their small bodies. Blood dripped from their maws as they screamed. “Fuck off!” Blaze shouted back.

The birds puffed up further, hopping around their lunch. The EFS in Skyfire’s vision turned red. Her body wouldn’t move, rooted in place as she stared at the macabre avian feast. An eyeball had been pierced, milky fluid intermixed with blood. It became a visceral quilt of guts the further down the body she looked. The mounting disgust solidified as her gaze fell on the barrels of the dead ponies.

They all had wings. “Fuck fuck fuck.” Skyfire squirmed, is this what Jolts would have smelled like had she stuck around? Would they even get the dignity of a burial? This place screamed at her senses to turn around and run until her hooves fell off.

A surge of movement snapped her into reality. She recoiled further, wings fluttering up beneath her cloak. Blaze charged the birds who immediately scattered. They did not go far, settling on the collapsing roof of the warehouse nearby. They were watching, waiting. “Brave shits,” Blaze cursed. She caught Skyfire’s gaze. “Hey uh, you okay?”

“N-n-n-n-”

“It’s uh… different when they’re fresh,” Blaze tried to comfort her, but even she looked unsettled by the scene.

Misty Sparks leaned into Skyfire’s flank. They could feel one another trembling, seeking comfort. Her eyes were wide, fixated on the slaughtered caravan. “Blood,” she whispered, her body tensing, muscles twitching as she fought to stay calm.

“Yeah there’s a lot of it Sparky,” Blaze deadpanned.

She lifted a hoof and guided the others’ vision. “Trail.” One of the pegasi had tried escaping into the factory. They’d nearly made it, only a yard short when they’d fallen. Their guts had trailed behind their failing body and clearly had been pecked at by the birds. Skyfire lurched away with a spasm, face pale white before she puked into a patch of scraggly grass.

Grease was sat at the edge of the threshold. The usual openness of the mare was gone. In its place was a cold mask. She couldn’t hide the way her hooves shook or her tail flicked. Only Blaze remained in control of herself. “What the fuck happened?” Grease squeaked, ears pinning back in disgust.

“An ambush,” Blaze said. “Get me unhooked, now.” Without a word Misty Sparks obeyed. Her telekinesis made short work of the latches and Blaze quickly grabbed her sledgehammer. Like a trained dog, Blaze sniffed the air and examined the bloody scene. The other three were staying as far away as they could. “Bullet wounds. Given the runaway, likely from the warehouse. We should avoid there for now.”

“Or leave?” Suggested Grease, eyeing the way they had come in through, the chance to slip out still there.

Blaze shook her head. Her voice came out clipped as she stepped onto dried blood. “These bodies are days old. They could be gone. This engine is too fucking important to give up and walk twelve hours back empty-hoofed. I don’t like any of this either, but we came here to do a job. We’ll do it, safely as we can. We all knew this had risks, and you know I’m here to be your meat shield”

A small nod came from Skyfire. She gargled water from her canteen to clean out her mouth. With quick words, she kept her gaze off the corpses. “It is… without it we can’t do anything for the Skyhawk. A-also Blaze, you’re more than a m-meat shield, you’re a friend, even with the exile.” The pegasus tried to maintain a semblance of confidence, her voice shaking in waves.

“We knew this shit would be dangerous,” Blaze replied, “but we haven’t been shot yet. So either we’re safe…” She lifted her head and scanned the horizon. Nothing moved other than the birds who impatiently awaited their chance to resume eating. “Or we’re being watched.”

“The admin building?” Suggested Grease, squinting across the complex at the collapsing structure. The top floor looked like one strong gust of wind might blow it over, but it appeared unoccupied. “A good place for a sniper.”

“Why not shoot already?” Blaze questioned, the gears in her head working. “Either there’s nopony up there, or they’re waiting for us to make the wrong move.”

Grease exhaled slowly, willing her nerves to calm. “And just what would that be?”

“Guns out,” ordered Misty Sparks, her voice sounding distant even to herself. “Blaze stay ready. We remain cautious, but not aggressive. The caravan could have… initiated violence. We need to get out of this plaza, now.”

Weapons drawn as commanded, the four mares began moving to the factory where the fleeing pegasus had failed to escape to. The earth ponies flanked the unicorn, instinctively shielding Misty Sparks while Skyfire went ahead to scout, loaned pistol gripped tightly in her mouth as she had been trained. A grey hoof raised to push open the factory door, lingering on the blood, when she pulled back. “L-ess hek-he se,” she suggested, stumbling with the words, gun in mouth before coughing. She took the gun out of her mouth and cleared her throat, “Let’s check the side.”

The others nodded. Skyfire flapped over to the edge of the factory where the fence ran parallel. A small alleyway with debris was vacant of any ponies, but a rickety set of stairs rose to a platform about one story up. With a flick of her tail for her friends to follow, she rounded the corner. The gentle flapping of her wings was masked by the banal drone of a light fixture. A wave of uncertainty rippled through the mares. Power was equally a benefit and danger to them. Pressing forward, Skyfire landed on the platform and gave a cautious tug to the rusted door.

“Locked?” Grease whispered up at the rattle. Skyfire nodded vigorously and hovered so Grease could take care of it. As the average-sized mare climbed the stairs the wood creaked and yawned. The mare winced and was careful of the remaining steps. It only took her a minute to pop the lock and it slid open with a soft hiss. Skyfire entered first, followed by Grease. Next, the cousins ascended the failing stairs. The large mare suppressed a stream of curses when one of the planks cracked loudly and she nearly fell through. A familiar green glow of magic saved Blaze’s chin from impacting and with a begrudging mutter of thanks, Blaze allowed Misty Sparks to lift her to the platform.

Once all four of them were inside a dimly lit entryway, Skyfire pushed open the next door. Immediately golden light flooded out, enveloping the pegasus first before trickling onto the others behind her. She blinked at the shift in illumination, and then again at what was basked in those warm tones. An office space once likely filled with desks and terminals was now a sleeping quarter, ratty bedding piling up haphazardly across its dirty shag carpeting, pressing into grimy windows one could hardly see through.

Resting on some of those beds, little more than blankets piled together, were the filthiest ponies she had ever seen. Their clothes were splattered in blood and dirt, their fur patchy or matted, scars smattering their coats in equal amounts as bandages. Piles of spikey armor lay next to the wounded ponies, no pegasi amongst them. To Skyfire, they looked like they were in need of help, perhaps sheltering from whoever had killed the caravan outside.

However, to Blaze, they were precisely one kind of pony. “Raiders,” she hissed lowly, advancing towards one with her sledgehammer drawn.

“Raiders? How do you know?” Whispered Skyfire in shock, the word making the other two stiffen. Grease turned back to the way they’d come, guarding for any followers. Blaze glared at her to be quiet. Her hooves crossed as lightly as they could carry her, scraps of paper and empty bottles like auditory landmines. The rotting carpet absorbed any sound she made. Misty Sparks pulled a rope from her saddlebag. When she looked up at her cousin, intending on floating it over to her, she nearly screamed.

Blaze had switched to her knife, a glint in her eyes.

Telekinetically thrown rope smashed into Blaze’s face. She stumbled and dropped her knife to bite into it, assuming it was an unseen attacker. When she realized what it was, she scowled and spat it out. Misty Sparks had already crossed over to her, moving the potential sources of sound rather than creeping around them. Skyfire simply flew over. None of the ponies asleep stirred as the three immediately began to argue in hushed voices.

Misty Sparks took the knife in her magic and floated it to Grease. Blaze sneered and reached after it but the unicorn’s magic was too swift. “What the fuck are you doing?” Misty Sparks demanded in as quiet a voice as she could manage.

“Wait, were you just going to kill them?” Skyfire questioned in a whisper-shout, the pistol back in her hooves to talk.

Blaze arched a brow. “Yes.”

“What!?” They balked in unison.

A fetlock hoof pointed aggressively at the unicorn covered in blood, sleeping just as fitfully as when they’d arrived. “Raider.”

Misty Sparks dragged back Blaze’s accusing hoof with a hiss, ears pinned back. “We don’t know that!”

“Yes- we do!”

Before there could be any more questioning, a door clicked open from the factory’s side. They were all suddenly keenly aware of the red dots in their EFS. “Who the fuck are you?” Shouted the new arrival. They were dressed in the same armor as what lay on the ground, nothing but sharp edges and leather. Six ponies flooded the room at the same time Misty Sparks cast a bubble shield, instinct overriding every other thought. Grease spun around, left unshielded but with her battle saddle, she was far from unprotected.

Neon green light overpowered the centuries-old lightbulbs, enveloping the unicorn’s horn like a beacon. Her limbs trembled and her eyes were stretched as wide as they could, jumping from the new threats that fanned out to block the factory entrance. The pounding in her chest was as fast as Skyfire’s panicked breathing in her ear. Blaze growled more like a dog than a pony, sledgehammer in her mouth and splintering beneath the force of her bite.

The pony who discovered them, a stallion unicorn with a cutie mark of a skull proudly on his flank, stepped closer with a growing jeer. His compatriots all had weapons of their own drawn, knives and pistols in equal measure, all trained on the shielded mares. “Now what exactly are a bunch of stable-dwellers doing in our factory?”

Skyfire and Blaze looked to Misty Sparks. It took her a moment to realize they were waiting on her to speak. Clearing her throat, the little unicorn tried to straighten out of her reflexively defensive posture. It was impossible for her to project the level of calmness her mother did in a situation like this. “Scavenging,” she said, “do you live here? We thought it uninhabited until now.”

“Live, yeah sure,” laughed the stranger. “And you’re trespassing. What were you about to do to my friend there?” He pointed at the pony who remained asleep. Their wounds were severe to be unconscious still.

“We were figuring that out, actually,” she admitted.

“Figuring…” The stallion repeated before his face cracked into an uncomfortable smile. “You have no idea what you’re doing. What a bunch of soft idiots you are.” His friends snickered ominously, their strained voices echoing around the filthy quarters.

“We don’t have to fight,” Misty Sparks stated. Blaze put more of herself between the stallion and Misty Sparks. Skyfire stood behind her, not cowering but unable to hide her fear at so many weapons pointed at them. “We could perhaps trade, or simply leave. Save us all a lot of trouble.”

“Perhaps save you trouble,” he drawled as he pressed his horn against her bubble shield. Neon flared, crackling as a spark of magic came from his horn. “Not so much us.”

Forcing herself to not back down from what was likely their last chance at diplomacy, Misty Sparks tilted her head back. “We have a battle saddle.”

“We outnumber you.” An air of smug confidence radiated from the group, smirks and grins weighing their chances with a battle saddle-clad mare.

Grease shouted from the back, “And I have a fucking battle saddle!” The mare cycled the bolt loudly for emphasis.

There was a wickedness to the leader’s eyes that sent ice down Misty Sparks’ spine. A feral intensity she had only seen in the worst of her clients. “I am a medic,” the words sprang forth with an edge of desperation. “There are dead ponies outside, and injured ones here. I’ll heal you all if you let us trade and leave.”

The stallion’s smile faltered, and he considered it for a moment. Bloodshot eyes roamed over the four mares, contemplating. She pleaded silently for him to take her offer, to choose a path of nonviolence. When his smile returned it was horrible, twisted like barbed wire. “I’d rather just slap a collar on you and make you do that anyways.”

Gunfire erupted in the office space with an overwhelming boom. Misty Sparks lowered herself and focused on her magic. The neon barrier warbled as a barrage of bullets impacted it but did not crack. Grease shouted as she came around the side. Her words were lost to the hail of bullets that followed, her battle saddle roaring. Immediately one of the slavers dropped. Crimson splattered over the new corpse. Another raider dove behind them and threw their former comrade with a powerful shove. Grease narrowly dodged it, furniture cracking behind her.

“Fuckin’ subdue them, you idiots!” Shouted the leader as he stabbed the barrier with his horn. Magic crackled around it, consolidating into a lance that tore right through Misty Sparks’ barrier. It fizzled out around them. Exposed, Misty Sparks stumbled backward. Blaze didn’t wait for a second. Her sledgehammer met the unicorn’s jaw, a single note of pain escaping him before his neck snapped. He fell in a heap.

Shouts of fury resonated around the room, three earth ponies charging with knives drawn. Hind hooves kicked one away while the other two closed the distance. With a frightened cry, Skyfire opened fire. One of them stumbled as a bullet tore through their leg. The last knife-wielding slaver jumped around Blaze, aiming for Misty Sparks. In unison, Blaze and Skyfire attacked the stallion. A rending sound followed the stallion’s curses as Blaze smashed him with her sledgehammer. Armor and flesh both pulled free from his shoulder. Skyfire’s desperate attack missed by a wide margin, instead knicking one of the unconscious slavers still asleep in their rotting bed.

Stomping hooves became a cacophony that deafened Misty Sparks. Her legs refused to move as she watched her friends fight. Magic flared around her horn, desperate to throw up another shield, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the dead leader. His eyes were fixated on her. Something brushed along her side and she flinched. Grease had joined them, shooting in rapid succession at the melee slavers scrapping with Blaze. Skyfire pressed into Misty Sparks’ other side, the pair defending her. Yelping with each shot, Skyfire tried to hit the remaining pistol-wielding slaver, but she couldn’t hit her mark.

“SATS!” Grease shouted in a break of fire.

“Waf?” Skyfire asked back, still shooting.

“Use your SATS! You have a Pip-Buck!”

Realization clicked in Skyfire’s eyes, and she slipped into the Pip-Buck’s spell matrix. With lightning speed, she fired a trio of shots into the slaver’s chest. They fell with wheezing breaths, still alive but out of the fight.

The heavy crack of bones breaking filled the beat of silence that followed Skyfire’s attack. Two slavers were down now, limbs bent in all the wrong ways. A shriek came from Blaze as she descended on one of them, not letting them crawl away. She bit their tail and pulled them back, dragging them to the other. “Fucking! Pieces! Of! Shit!” Came a flow of hate.

“On your right!” Warned Grease as she charged into the last slaver, out of ammo. Sharpness filled her lungs, the knife glancing her neck. Blaze bellowed a beastly challenge and forgot her injured prey. Whirling with singular intent, Blaze forced Grease out of the way and pounced upon her attacker. He screamed as her teeth sunk into flesh. That scream gargled into incomprehensible gurgles as she ripped back, spitting out his throat. With a heavy thud, the last slaver fell.

“Sweet Celestia, Blaze!” Shouted Skyfire as she lowered her pistol. “Was that really necessary?”

Heaving, Blaze looked up at her with a bloodied maw. She said nothing and instead spat out blood. Shuddering, Grease turned to their leader. Misty Sparks hadn’t moved. She looked like she was barely breathing. “Fuck, Sky can you-”

“On it!” Skyfire said as she lowered herself to meet Misty Sparks’ gaze. The moment the horrific stare of the dead unicorn was gone, the silver one blinked. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s done. It’s over.”

Gulping, Misty Sparks shook her head a few inches. “No,” she whimpered, “it’s not.”

“It is. We didn’t kill all of them- Blaze!” She snapped away from Misty Sparks as Blaze stomped past her. “Stop!”

“Slavers don’t get to live! They’ll come back and fuck up more communities, steal fillies, and murder their parents!” Sneered Blaze as she readied herself.

“We’re better than that!” Argued Grease.

Blaze huffed, pausing only because she heard the soft whimper of her cousin. “I broke their legs. This one is bleeding. If we don’t kill them now, the Wasteland will take them.”

“Then it’s the Wasteland who took them, not us,” Grease countered. “We don’t have to kill them.”

“If anything I’m giving them mercy,” Blaze growled. “And what about the ponies outside? They had to be the ones who killed them! They’d have killed us too!” Her legs shook from the fight, but not with fear. She wanted more. Bruises speckled her hide where she’d been hit, only a few spots exposed.

Skyfire held Misty Sparks with her wings, trying to calm the panicked mare. “We’re not murderers,” she said. “Please. We can heal them and tie them up. They won’t hurt us.”

“Y-yeah!” One of the earth ponies with broken legs said, “Promise!”

Snorting, Blaze shook her head. “A slaver’s word means nothing. They’ll just hurt somepony else either way.”

Horror washed over the maintenance mares. She was right. “No- no I promise! I’m done!” The same earth pony pleaded. His companion barely managed to say the same, crying through the pain. “Please spare us!”

The large mare loomed toward them. She drew her sledgehammer and looked back at her cousin. The trembling unicorn met her gaze. Struggling to speak, Misty Sparks examined the room. Such a short and bloody conflict had barely changed the interior. It was just as filthy as before. “Why did you attack the ponies outside?” She asked, voice sounding distant.

“What?” The slaver balked.

“Why?”

“For cargo!”

“Were you going to sell them?”

“No. Maybe. Some probably. What else would we do with them?”

Lime eyes fell on one of the corpses, the one Grease had shot at the start. They couldn’t have been much older than the mares were. “Life means… nothing to you, doesn’t it?”

“I- uh-” They fumbled. Blaze stepped on one of their broken legs and they screamed. “Shit- Please! Stop!”

Grease and Skyfire shouted in unison, “Blaze!”

The soft radiance of magic formed on Misty Sparks’ horn. “I want to believe you, that you would change,” she said as she rose to her hooves. “But we gave you a choice. You choose this.” The light grew and spread out to the three living slavers. Immediately their eyes glazed and they drooped, a peacefulness to their faces. “Put them down, Blaze. Quickly.”

With a happy smile that unnerved the mares, Blaze quickly crushed their skulls. Each meaty, crunchy squelch echoed in the mares’ ears. After the last one, Blaze cleaned her sledgehammer off on some rags. None of them looked at the grotesque remains. Skyfire looked at Misty Sparks with horror. “What did you do?”

“I made it painless,” replied the unicorn, “more than they deserved.”

“But- we-”

“It’s a fucked up call,” Grease sighed, “but I guess it’s the right one.”

Blaze nodded. “They killed those ponies, Feathers. It’s justice at the very least.”

Skyfire shook her head and moved over to the door, trying not to puke again. “This… How could you do it so easily? So happily?” She balked at Blaze.

She shrugged, picturing a mutineer. “Isn’t my first time killing.”

“What?”

“Slavers attack Stable 36 from time to time,” Blaze growled, “they’re worse than raiders if you ask me. Raiders, they’re fucked in the head. But these bastards though? They just don’t care. They want caps, or power, or a fuck-slave. They’re not insane, they’re just evil. Raiders sometimes get my sympathy, life sucks. You go insane. Slavers make a choice. If given the chance, they’ll do it again.”

“I don’t want to kill ponies,” whispered Skyfire, looking down to her hooves, sighing “I will if they force me, but I really wish these ponies could listen. Th-this feels exactly like what the Enclave said, ponies like this that don’t value other ponies beyond the caps they can get out of them.”

“I don’t want to kill either,” Misty Sparks said as she crossed over to Skyfire. There was an edge in her eyes that hadn’t been there before, a cold distance that alarmed the pegasus. She looked like Flare. “But these ponies weren’t ponies anymore. They were monsters.”

Crimson locks swayed as Skyfire shook her head. “That… isn’t our call to make.”

“Maybe. But I can’t live with myself knowing that they were spared and hurt more ponies.”

“We- we could’ve spared them,” she replied, not really believing it herself. There was no way to know for sure if the slavers would’ve done better. It would have been cruel to leave them injured or prolong their suffering. Releasing them to harm others was equally cruel. “I… I don’t like this.”

Grease gave a slow shake of her head as she reloaded her battle saddle. “Welcome to the Wasteland, Feathers. There’s nothing to like about it.”

Grey haunches slide back as Skyfire sat down, pouting for a moment, ears pinning back. “You’re right that… we couldn’t have known what they would do. You all took a chance with me, what made-”

“You for one didn’t enslave ponies,” Blaze grunted, interrupting her. “You also were given a chance to show your colors, like Sparky here tried her absolute best. I wanted to fight right away, to crush their skulls. Part of me wished her silver tongue could have gotten them to give up the fight.” The mare spat on one of the dead bodies. “But at least we stop one more foalnapping today.”

“You…” Purple eyes clouded up before she looked over to Misty Sparks who nodded somberly. “You’re right on that. Come one… let’s go check for any living. They’re slavers, so there must be ponies out there alive.”

Grease gave Skyfire a quick hug, patting her back, “There’s probably more inside, they would keep more important ponies away from the radvultures.”

“So what, going from liberating some scrap to liberating some souls?” Blaze asked as she threw her sledgehammer into its barding loop.

“I guess,” Skyfire said slowly, nodding. “I- I like that at least.” They all looked at their leader, whose face was a stony mask.

“Let’s go,” Misty Sparks said without ceremony.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, college, and life happened!

We wanted to make sure this was a good chapter and not rush things!