“I could’ve sworn we forgot somethin’,” said Nana, scratching her head.

“Nana, you’d forget your dentures if you even had dentures,” Dusty Bass bluntly commented. “I remember you losing an entire damn drumset a few months back.”

“It ain’t muh fault,” said Nana. “I blame raiders.”

“We were out in the middle of the patch between Ponyville and Manehattan,” mentioned Dusty. “Hardly anyone is out in between those two places.”

Applejack wasn’t too keen on the arguments. They’d start up every so often, with much of it ending with Nana being confused and forgetting what the argument was about. Because of her memory, they didn’t last very long, so there was at least some relief to it.

Along the way, Applejack would catch a few details of how things were in the past, as Nana would sometimes even start rambling about her adventures with “an old flame” of hers. There were some details that Applejack would have preferred not to hear about.

Applejack would never look at a rope the same way ever again.

Fiddler and the others were simply fine with it. It didn’t seem to bother them, not even a bit. It reminded Applejack of her own family’s tolerance with Granny Smith. Sure, Granny would ramble on about some things, but it didn’t really bother any of them.

“I can tell you’re a little disturbed by Nana’s stories,” observed Fiddler. “I hope she’s not sharin’ too much?”

“Ah think we’ve gone past that,” Applejack replied with a nervous smile. “Ain’t gonna bother me much if Ah get used to it.”

“Well, that’s good, I think,” said Fiddler. “Hey, real quick question, how good are you with a gun?”

Applejack hiked an eyebrow. “Ain’t those the doohickeys you guys were talkin’ about when we went past that crumbled buildin’ near the start of our walk?”

“Smooth Rhythm’s piece isn’t exactly the best,” said Dusty. “I’ve been tryin’ to get her to swap out for something a little more reliable, but she keeps hangin’ onto it cuz it was her ma’s.”

“Ah don’t know nothin’ about them, really,'' claimed Applejack. “Ah just started hearin’ about ‘em a few hours ago.”

“Well, they’re pretty useful around these here parts,” Fiddler pointed out. “We ain’t some fancy steel ranger group, but we can hold our own pretty well.”

“That’s another lie,” said Smooth Rhythm. “We’ve been backed into a lot of corners before. Sure, we can get out, but we definitely can’t take on anymore than a few raiders.”

Applejack leered at Fiddler with a hint of annoyance. “Why do you gotta keep fibbin’ all the time?” she asked him.

“It’s just a habit,” he replied. “It’s helped me out many times.”

“Just ‘cuz it helped ya once, don’t mean it’ll help all the time,” said Applejack. “We’re gonna have to work on your honesty.”

“I can be honest if I wanted to,” fibbed Fiddler. Applejack could definitely tell that this habit would be a pain in the neck to deal with.

As they walked through the many streets, Applejack could see a lot of posters with ponies in fancy-looking armor, the equines covered from head to hoof in metal. What made her feel uncomfortable was the very fact that she was on some of these posters, an older version of herself looking much more serious than Applejack would have liked to be.

Applejack looked to Fiddler and asked, “So, uh, this war y’all have been talkin’ about… How’d it go down?”

“I don’t really know all that much about it,” said Fiddler. “I know it started with some terrorist attack, then things went downhill when Princess Luna took over. Other than that, you could say I’ve lost the memory for it.”

“Princess Luna took over?” Applejack asked, a bit bewildered at the claim. “That don’t seem right. What about Celestia? Didn’t she try anything?”

“I remember something about Celestia being a huge pussy and handing down the throne to her sister,” said Dusty. “In my opinion, it’s Celestia’s fault that we lost. If she’d have just stayed, we could’ve fared better.”

“Ain’t her fault,” interjected Nana. “Littlehorn wasn’t exactly a cakewalk for her.”

Applejack wasn’t too keen on hearing any badmouthing of either of the princesses. Though, she didn’t really say anything about it. Since Applejack was probably in the future, a lot of things must’ve happened. If she could find her friends, maybe they could all figure out exactly what happened here.

On the way there, they came across an old, abandoned record shop. As Fiddler went inside, Applejack stayed close behind him, not really familiar with the place. Fiddler seemed to know his way around here.

“So, how many times have ya been here?” asked Applejack.

“Been coming here for the past four years, at least once a month,” he answered. “For some odd reason, there’s always somethin’ new here to find, and I don’t think I can explain why.”

Applejack was curious. “New?”

Fiddler reached into a pile of old records, pulling out something from beneath. Upon second glance, it was a record with one of her relatives, Fiddlesticks. Fiddler grinned the moment he picked it up, saying, “I’ve always wanted to play like her, ya know?”

“Who, Fiddlesticks?” asked Applejack.

“Yeah,” Fiddler replied. “Ever since I was youngin’, I’d listen to an old record that’d have her playin’ her best tunes. It’s actually what made me wanna pursue a career in music-makin’.”

Applejack could see a bit of Fiddlesticks’ own ambition in Fiddler, making her wonder… Was he---

“Hey, Fibber! Hurry up!” shouted Smooth. “We don’t got all day!”

Fiddler hurried out with the record in his mouth, putting it in the saddlebag on Dusty’s side. Dusty looked in the bag, then at Fiddler, and asked, “Really?”

“What?” asked Fiddler.

“This is the third time you’ve brought one of these out. We can’t keep clingin’ to ‘em all,” argued Dusty.

“Dusty, c’mon,” pleaded Fiddler. “It’s what keeps me goin’.”

“You said that about mares three months ago,” Dusty pointed out.

Fiddler put a hoof up in front of Dusty’s mouth, looking back at Applejack. He gave a nervous smile, he looked to Dusty and said, “Look, I’ll make it worth your while. I could easily pick up some of the tunes from this one, and we could be the talk of the town if we play these!”

Dusty took a deep breath, then said with a sigh, “I’m tired of your bull, but we’re also going to be late. Let’s keep movin’.”

“Thanks, bud,” said Fiddler as he ran back towards the front of the group.

Applejack sped up her pace a little and caught up to him, asking, “What was that all about?”

“Oh, Dusty just doesn’t like it when my records take up space in his saddlebag,” explained Fiddler. “I’m a bit prone to collectin’ my fair share of music.”

“Y’all certainly argue like a family,” Applejack commented. “It’s almost like how Ah used to be with Big Mac.”

"Yeah, well, it’s just how we interact,” said Fiddler. “Ya get used to it.”

“Well, Ah sure hope so. Even though me and Big Mac used to fight, we eventually settled things,” Applejack responded. “Ah feel like maybe this is just a rough patch for y’all.”

“Got doubts about that, but I’ll take yer word for it,” he said.

“Ah think we’re comin’ up on Tenpony,” stated Applejack. “You said it was the big tower, right?”

“Yep,” said Fiddler as he eyed the building up ahead. “About five more minutes. Good thing, too. This is usually around the time when Nana starts ranting abou--”

Suddenly, Nana started up again. “Have I ever told you about the time I attended the senior prom back in my school days? We knew how to party. I even met a stallion who--”

Fiddler rolled his eyes. “She’ll be goin’ on for the rest of these five minutes.”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Trixie wasn’t liking her time here one bit. Shot at, almost eaten, and now being forced to trudge through rubble in an abandoned city. There had been a huge pile of concrete in their way, and the only way around at the moment was to climb it.

“Starlight, can’t you hover us over?” whined Trixie.

Starlight gave Trixie a deadpan stare. “No magic, remember? It’s gone.”

Trixie groaned, eventually making it to the top of the rubble. Looking ahead, she could see the tower nearby. "It looks like we’re pretty close,” she said.

Starlight slid down the other side, doing her best not to topple over. Trixie did the same, but didn’t do it as gracefully, tumbling down. Landing on her side, she groaned in pain. As she got back up, she could already see Starlight holding out a hoof.

Trixie, however, rejected it, getting up on her own. She wasn’t sure what was going on in her own mind, but the constant feeling of judgement kept raining down on her mental state. She felt the same way she did back before she met Starlight, and she didn’t know why.

Regardless of taking the hoof or not, Trixie said, “Thanks…”

Starlight looked at Trixie with puzzlement in her expression. “Are you okay?”

“Just a weird feeling,” said Trixie. “Like… I haven’t gotten over my first defeat by Twilight.”

“That’s… odd,” stated Starlight. “You know you’ve redeemed yourself, right?”

“I do,” said Trixie, “but… I dunno. The feeling keeps coming back, and it’s like I never did any of the things that helped me redeem myself.”

“That’s really strange,” said Starlight. “Maybe you hit your head back when we went down the sewers?”

“Maybe,” muttered Trixie. At that moment, images flashed in Trixie’s mind, the blue unicorn holding her head in her hooves as she felt brief moments of pain. She could hear voices, thoughts, thoughts that weren’t her own.

Starlight reached out and touched Trixie’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Trixie shook her head, saying, “I feel like there’s someone else in my head…”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

“The Goddess has returned!” Rusty Caravan shouted, causing Celestia to look behind herself at her.

“Excuse me?” asked Celestia.

“The Goddess!” repeated Rusty. “I felt her! She’s here! She’s here!”

“Who is this Goddess?” asked Celestia.

Standing on the rooftops, Celestia didn’t expect Rusty to act so strange and so suddenly. The green alicorn’s mane seemed frazzled, her eyes were wide with excitement. From what Celestia could tell, this alicorn wasn’t all there right now, well, even less so than usual.

“She’s the Goddess!” replied Rusty, her wings spreading out. “She’s… she…”

Celestia leaned back a bit. “I think you should go and sit down.”

“No! We must find her!” Rusty said. “She’s here in the---... I… can’t feel her anymore.”

Rusty’s wings ruffled, twitching as they slowly folded back into place, the frazzled alicorn looking disappointed. Celestia felt a twinge of pity, because although she couldn’t understand what this alicorn was talking about, she understood faces. It was part of her job as princess to be able to sympathize with her ponies.

...Was.

“How would you like to sit next to me?” asked Celestia. “We could look out for the others should they arrive.”

“I, yes,” said Rusty, no longer seeming concrete in her thoughts. “I suppose…”

After awkwardly walking over, Rusty sat next to Celestia and looked at the city before them. Celestia wanted to help ease Rusty’s pain, but wasn’t sure what was going on in the crazed mare’s mind. All she could do right now was to try and keep Rusty calm.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

As Applejack and the rest of her group approached the back of Tenpony Tower, she saw a white-coated mare with a blonde mane standing there, looking at her expectantly. Holding what looked to be a cider bottle on one hoof, the mare slowly blinked. She then stepped aside, then motioned her head to the door.

As Applejack walked up to the door, she asked the mare, “Are you okay? Ya seem… out of sorts.”

“Just questioning life decisions,” replied the mare, staring ahead into the distance.

“Hope ya get things straightened out,” said Applejack.

“I won’t,” said the mare. “Alright, Miss Yeehaw. Follow me.”

With befuddlement, Applejack followed the blonde mare with the rest of her group. Heading into the building, Applejack noticed a lot of pegasi. They were mostly all in groups or in pairs, walking around the building in an orderly fashion, all dressed in fancy armor.

“Never did like Enclave,” whispered Fiddler to Applejack.

“No one does,” said the mare, having somehow heard him. “I don’t like us, either.”

“Well, then--”

“Why do I work here?” The mare finished for Fiddler. “Gee, I don’t know. I was born up in the clouds. There aren’t many jobs that pay enough in the city itself. Government work is usually the kind of labor that guarantees a living, and I do indeed like to live.”

Applejack looked between the two, asking, “Ah don’t understand. What are y’all talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Obviously, according to your friend, he doesn’t like the Enclave,” said the mare. “According to me, no one likes the Enclave. It’s pretty clear if you piece things together like someone with a brain.”

“Ah’m pretty new ‘round these here parts,” said Applejack. “Ain’t never really been in a place like this.”

The mare shrugged. “Well, lucky you have me,” she said with a huge hint of sarcasm. “Good evening, I’m Study Guide, and I’m your guide to the Wasteland.”

Applejack got the feeling she was being made fun of, but she wasn’t sure if that was really the case or not. “Could Ah just ask if you’ve seen another group of ponies who--”

“Are seemingly back from the dead?” finished Study. “Yes, I have.”

Applejack was confused. “Are you referring to--”

“Miss Sparkle and the rest of her band of misfits? Yes,” replied Study. “They’ve been driving me up the wall lately.”

As they stepped into the elevator, only Applejack and Fiddler could step in, as there seemed to be a weight limit. Study Guide pushed the third floor button and they began going up. Applejack could hear a familiar voice over the radio of the elevator, but she couldn’t fully recognize who it was.

Fiddler seemed to recognize the tune, humming along with the song. It was pretty catchy, as Applejack could seemingly discern a pattern in it. She tried to hum along, but to no real success, as she couldn’t seem to catch on completely.

As the elevator doors opened, Applejack was surprised to see the amount of dirt-covered ponies in the room. They all wore tattered rags, with some having notable injuries, makeshift casts wrapped around a leg or two.

“What happened to these folk?” she asked.

“This is what happens when you live in the wasteland,” said Study. “Ponies have a tendency to fight each other for survival. These are just some of the lucky ones who decided to reside with us in the meantime. We act as a shelter at the moment until Enclave officials say otherwise.”

“Well, at least yer helpin’ ‘em out,” said Applejack. “Ah’m pretty sure they can appreciate it.”

“Doubt that,” said Fiddler with a smirk. “Ain’t no one gonna just thank the Enclave after what it’s done before. Trust me. It’s a loooong list.”

As Study guided them down the room, they came across what looked to be a pony with a strange-looking tail, one that looked rather dangerous with its pointed end. Applejack hiked an eyebrow in curiosity as she asked, “Uh, what is that?”

“That’s Taipan, a scorpony,” said Study. “Pay it no mind.”

"I don't care what you think about friend. Friend isn't Zebra,” the scorpony argued with a guard. "Zebras don't have tails like that, nor do they listen to ponies."

The guard, a bored-looking male pegasus, simply replied, “If it’s got stripes, it’s a yikes. No entry.”

Looking around, the scorpony pulled what Applejack thought looked to be some dirt from a small bag on the itswaist and proceeded to paint stripes on the guard. "Now you have stripes."

The guard, not expecting this sudden assault, stumbled back. “Hey, hey, hey! Stop that! I’m warning you, bug! I’ll squash you!”

Applejack walked over, unable to simply ignore the situation. “What in the hey is goin’ on here?”

"He won't let friend in," Taipan huffed, slamming her tail on the ground.

Applejack looked over to the guard and asked, “Why can’t her friend come in?”

“‘Cuz it’s a filthy stripe, that’s why,” said the guard. “Our policy on zebras is concrete, and we ain’t about to bend to the will of some small filly.”

“That’s a fully-grown mare,” Study Guide pointed out. “Female scorponies don’t typically grow any bigger than the average pony filly.”

Applejack was a bit surprised to learn that this small creature was a fully-grown adult, but what was more surprising was the opinion on zebras displayed here. “Why in Equestria wouldn’t you let a zebra of all creatures in?”

“It’s simply Enclave policy,” said Study. “I don’t like it, but I gotta listen. The guy above me here is pretty racist, too, so if I gave the word that the zebra could come in, the guy above me could easily order a kill on her just as effectively.”

"I challenge alpha!" the scorpony shouted, slamming her tail once again.

“Challenge denied,” stated Study. “Go talk to Fluttershy.”

Taipan seemed reluctant to follow the order, but did as she was told. There was no point in starting a fight in here where lasers were the common weapon.

“Hard to believe ponies are really actin’ like this over a zebra,” said Applejack. “You’re really startin’ to make me question yer ‘good intentions’, cuz this ain’t right.”

“I’m sorry,” said Study in the most sarcastic way possible. “Did I offend you? Do you want that apology in a thirty-two document paperwork format or should I just start kissing your ass?”

“You’re not very nice,” stated Applejack.

“Last name, Sherlock. First name, No Shit,” said Study Guide. “Don’t get me wrong. Normally I’d be willing to let her in, but because of circumstances outside of my control, I can’t.”

Applejack had never heard of such hogwash before. “Well, fine,” she said. “But Ah just wanna let ya know this ain’t exactly makin’ ya look any decent.”

Study continued leading Applejack and Fiddler without any problem with what Applejack had said, the pegasus mare obviously not wanting to deal with any of it. As they went down the call, Applejack could hear a familiar bubbly voice.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, we could find some kind of giant robot! We’d call it Harmony Prime, and we’d go on a mission to save the Wasteland!”

Another voice responded, “Ponk, did you take your meds today?”

Pinkie replied, “Why do I need meds?”

Applejack entered the room, eyeing Pinkie and her friends with a smile on her face. “Well, howdy! Good to see y’all are okay!”

“Applejack!” Pinkie shouted, tackling the orange mare. “Did you see any giant robots on your way here?!”

Applejack got back up. “Nuh-uh,” she said. “There ain’t much o’ anything out there.”

Study Guide looked at Taipan, who was standing by Fluttershy. “You,” said Study. “One more outburst like earlier and you’re out of here. Commander’s gonna blow a fucking gasket if he hears about this.”

Fluttershy looked over to the Taipan and asked, “Oh, my. What did you do?”

"Defending friend.” the scorpony huffed as her chest swelled with pride.

“Oh,” said Fluttershy. “Okay.”

Study gave Fluttershy a bit of a glare. “At least discourage it.”

Fluttershy looked at the scorpony and then said, “Um, maybe try doing it in… another way?”

"Oh, like what?" Taipan asked, her frustration evident.

“Maybe try appealing to the commander,” said Study Guide. “Without attempting to challenge or attack him.”

Taipan scratched her chin as she asked, "Appeal, how? Have his kit?"

Study Guide attempted to refrain from throwing the creature out the window. “No,” she said. “Strike up a conversation. Not everything is ritualistic.”

"That seems hard," Taipan sighed. "If no other way, then blaaaa, I don't wanna."

“You’ll do it if you want your friend inside,” said Study. “Do it for her.”

"Never said I wasn't. Just don't wanna," Taipan said as she left the room.

Study looked to the rest of the ponies. “I feel like this is going to be a real hassle, possibly more than it’s actually worth.”

“We really mean no trouble,” assured Twilight. “We’re only trying to get back home. Of course, we might stick around and try to help out, but I don’t know what we can do for a place like this.”

“Understandable,” said Study. “We’ve been attempting to ‘fix’ the Wasteland for nearly two centuries. Science and magic can only get us so far.”

“Any idea how it all really went down?” asked Dash. “I feel like there’s more to the story that we’re not getting here.”

“I think I’d rather wait for your final friend to arrive before explaining,” said Study. “Don’t want to repeat myself.”

“Well, what about a search party?” asked Applejack, “We could send out ponies to look for her. No offense to her, but Ah’m not sure she could handle it out here.”

“I have no authority on assembling Enclave forces,” replied Study Guide. “I only have my own personal lab team, and most of them don’t even know how to fire a weapon.”

“Well, what do we do?” asked Fluttershy.

“I suggest waiting for now until your friend finds her way over here,” said Study.

After saying that, a beep came from her coat pocket, followed by a voice. “We’ve got a situation by the main door. Alicorns are going crazy out here, and I don’t know how long we can keep them from attacking anyone.”

Study blinked slowly before simply leaving the room. It was always something in this hellish place. As she made her way to the back entrance, she saw two unicorn mares, both surrounded by a dozen or so alicorns.

Noting that one of the two unicorns looked like the infamous Trixie, Study Guide took a small flask from her lab coat, then proceeded to chug, a tear leaving her eye as the alcoholic liquid burned on the way down. She wasn’t paid enough for this.

After downing the entire flask, she tossed it aside, the bottle landing next to a pile of other discarded alcoholic potables. “Step away from the unicorns,” Study commanded.

“It’s the Goddess!” one alicorn claimed.

“She lives in flesh!” another shouted. “Flesh and blood like the rest of us!”

Trixie was very uncomfortable, seeing all these alicorns surrounding her and calling her a literal goddess. “Uh, Starlight? Do we know these ponies?”

Starlight rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous chuckle. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

Study Guide motioned for the two unicorn mares to come into the building, and as Trixie and Starlight walked in, Study Guide stepped in front of the alicorns who tried to follow.

“Don’t,” said Study. “I swear, if you cause any trouble, I will have you all thrown off the premises.”

The alicorns all gave Study Guide the same ominous glare, staying in place as Study slowly closed the door. Muttering to herself, Study led the two unicorn mares up to the third floor via the elevator, then led them back to the room where Twilight and the gang were.

“Starlight! Trixie!” shouted Twilight.

“Twilight!” exclaimed Starlight. Trixie merely huffed and walked up to Twilight. “I’m tempted to say this is your fault, since you dragged me into this.”

“Trixie,” scolded Starlight. “Now isn’t the time.”

“I think it’s the perfect time!” Trixie shouted back. “Whatever the case was, if we hadn’t followed Twilight, we wouldn’t have ended up here!”

“Trixie, I didn’t know any of this would happen,” said Twilight.

“I almost became lunch!” said Trixie. “We’ve been attacked by very rude ponies, we saw sk-skeletons, and we found a horror factory where unicorns’ horns were cut off!”

Twilight stared in a bit of horror and disbelief. “I had no idea you went through that!”

“Well, now you do,” said Trixie.

Starlight chuckled nervously. “It hasn’t been a good day,” she said. Her fake smile then went away as she rubbed her horn. “My magic’s been suppressed, and now I can’t use it.”

Twilight was surprised. “What?! How?!”

“Some stupid magical negator gate or something,” answered Trixie. “Honestly, that whole place was a nightmare.”

“Where were you?” asked Twilight.

“Some underground bunker called a stable,” replied Starlight. “Ponies were living underground!”

Twilight looked at her friends, seeing puzzled expressions across all their faces. “There’s something really freaky going on here.”

“Speaking of freaky,” said Dash, “did you guys see any zombie ponies? Those were freaky.”

“You, too?!” shouted Twilight.

Applejack was a little confused. “Zombies? Ah ain’t seen no zombies on muh way over here.”

“I think she’s referring to the ghouls, like Nana,” explained Fiddler.

“Oh, right!” confirmed Applejack. “Ah almost forgot!”

“HOW DO YOU FORGET ABOUT ZOMBIE PONIES?!” asked Dash, getting up in Applejack’s face.

Applejack, pushing Dash away, said, “Now, hold on! It ain’t like she was ravenous or nuthin’! She still acted pretty normal to me!”

“So it wasn’t a feral,” said a red-maned, oyster-colored mare. “Most ghouls you’ll see these days are feral. You were lucky, I guess. Oh, I’m Dusk Feather, by the way.”

“I’ve met a few tame ones,” said a young abyssinian with a grin. “They’re not all bad. Also, I’m Tricks!”

“I beg to differ,” said Study Guide. “Ghouls aren’t a subject I like to stray into, but I need to give you my word that most will eventually turn feral. Even if they don’t mean to, there’s almost a hundred percent chance that if they live long enough, they’ll lose what they keep their sanity for.”

“Their sanity?” queried Twilight.

“Ghouls can only remain sane if they have something they feel they can live for,” explained Study. “I’ve seen ghouls lose their minds after losing the things most precious to them. Once they hit that line, there’s no more reasoning with them. They simply cease to be sentient.”

“That’s… horrible,” said Fluttershy. “Ghouls must have such a hard life.”

“I’m not a big fan,” said Study. “I only work with them when I have to.”

“How often do you work with ghouls?” asked Tricks.

“Once, maybe twice a year,” said Study. “It depends on whether or not command wants to be stupid.”

“Ah feel there oughta be some kinda protection with ya if’n yer actually gonna be dealin’ with undead ponies, right?” assumed Applejack.

“It’s true, they don’t let me go out there alone,” answered Study Guide. “There’s a protocol to everything, and in the case of ghouls, extra soldiers are indeed a requirement.”

Applejack turned to see another equine walking in. At first, it appeared to be a zebra, but when her latter half entered the room, Applejack was surprised to see a dragon’s tail attached to the zebra. Next to the zebra hybrid stood the scorpony from earlier.

“Oh, Zone! Hello!” greeted Fluttershy.

“Hello, Miss Shy,” said the zebra named Zone, smiling. “It would appear that Taipan was able to convince the commander to let me in.”

"Yes, me was able to convince Alpha to let friend in," Taipan happily proclaimed.

Applejack wasn’t quite sure how it was possible, because from what Study Guide said, it seemed like the commander would’ve almost certainly never let Zone in, given her status as a zebra. “How’d ya do that?” she asked.

“Probably because the commander has more sympathy towards hybrids than purebloods,” answered Study. “Skewed perspectives are everywhere.”

“I’m surprised you went ahead with simple talking,” said Dash. “You don’t act like the type to just talk out your problems.”

Taipan looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Hey, you not wrong, but also me want to live to see tomorrow." she said, then noticed the wings on the cyan mare. "You cloud walker, too?"

Dash grinned. “Uh, yeah. One of the best,” she bragged, a hoof to her puffed-out chest in pride.

Dusk gave Rainbow Dash a bit of a sour look. “Why are you bragging?”

“Why not?” asked Dash.

“I… never mind,” said Dusk, looking the other way.

Something then suddenly came to Applejack. “Hey, where are the others?” she asked Fiddler. “Weren’t they supposed to join up with us?”

“Elevator may have broken down again,” said Study. “It’s been doing that, so they may have to take the stairs.”

"Moving box stuck after me got done with chat with alpha," Taipan infomed Study Guide as she inspected Rainbow dash.

Twilight’s brow raised in offense. “I don’t mean to be rude,” said Twilight, “but is your Ponish okay?”

“Her what?” asked Tricks.

“Ponish. The language,” clarified Twilight. “I’m sorry to point it out, but… it’s kinda bothering me a little… a lot…”

"Me still learning,” said Taipan. “Not as good as alpha, but getting their."

The Scorpony poked Rainbow with her tail. "Not best,” said Taipan.

“What do you mean, ‘not best?’” quizzically asked Dash, narrowing her gaze.

Slamming her tail, Taipan announced, “I challenge you."

Twilight’s eye twitched. “Oh, now she speaks proper Ponish.”

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Tech Wiz looked over the data on her clipboard while the scientists worked to repair the machine. With the data she had gathered up after the initial explosion, she was surprised to find that the machine shouldn’t have been able to handle the stress for as long as it did. It was as if there was another magical force at play that kept it from blowing apart in the first minute.

Looking over to the machine, her eyes wandered over the monitors, the text changing every once in a while to indicate a new feed of data, mostly passive electromagnetic readings that would allow them to determine when and where the machine would be able to pull someone in from another universe.

That was especially odd to her, because from her studies, electromagnetism had nothing to do with interdimensional travel. It was like the feature was only added to make it fit some child’s fantasy, or simply some bad science-fiction novel.

She had many questions to ask Hindsight, because she was, quite frankly, offended by his lack of respect for her field of expertise, choosing to put his faith in a being no one could see or hear. Tech Wiz was usually a pegasus mare of pure science, even favoring it over magic at times.

Suddenly, the machine beeped, gaining her attention. “You boys fix it?” she asked.

One scientist looked back to her, saying, “We haven’t even removed all the heat damage to replace the wiring.”

“That’s… not right. It shouldn’t be attempting any operations,” she said, walking over to the monitors. The text appeared to be scrolling by faster and faster, multiple P.R.O. tags displaying themselves across the screen as they went up.

Looking up to where the shattered glass dome was, she asked, “Could we get Hindsight in here?”

“I believe he’s out with his new scientist friend,” said Arcane Vast, walking into the room. “The two together are beginning to annoy me, and so is this brat.”

Puppysmiles quickly ran into the room, staying close behind Arcane. “He’s not very nice,” she said to Tech Wiz. “He doesn’t like hopscotch, either.”

“Well, maybe I can bring my daughter over later and you two could play some games?” suggested Tech. “Do you like board games?”

“Sometimes, yeah!” replied Puppysmiles, her grin spreading across her face, the filly much more excited now. After getting to know Puppysmiles, Tech Wiz had lightened up around her, seeing her as a mere child who was simply looking for her mother. Tech Wiz pitied her, hoping Hindsight could return Puppysmiles to her universe so she could find her parents.

Tech Wiz looked up at Arcane Vast, asking him, “Did you guys input any tags while I was away…?”

“I don’t mess with the machine-half of this stupid project,” said Arcane. “My job is to be a negotiator with the magical artifact.”

“That’s a little disturbing,” said Tech Wiz. “There’s multiple tags on the monitor, and I don’t remember inputting any of them.”

“I know absolutely nothing about ‘tags’, nor do I care,” replied Arcane with a bored look. “I’m just in here to dump this brat onto your hooves.”

“But, that’s not my job,” argued Tech Wiz.

“It’s not my job, either,” said Arcane. “I’m sure you can see the predicament we’re in.”

Tech looked at Puppysmiles, who appeared to be bothering one of the scientists. The filly was asking him unending questions about his lab coat and what he was doing. Tech Wiz, with a tired sigh, said, “Come here, sweetie. Don’t bother him, please.”

“He looks like a doctor from a hospital!” exclaimed Puppysmiles.

“I’m sure he does,” replied Tech with fake enthusiasm. As a mother, she knew how to speak to children, to keep their interests off the more fragile and important things. “Tell me, do you have a game you like to play when your mother wants you to give her a bit of alone time?”

Puppysmiles looked up at the ceiling, the filly thinking hard. “Uhhh, I don’t think so.”

This wouldn’t be easy. Regardless, as Tech Wiz looked back to the monitor, she took note of several of the tags.

S.I.L.
P.S.A.
M.U.R.
H.E.N.
W.A.N.

Tech Wiz could see other tags whizzing by, but she didn’t really care to read the rest anymore. She’d need to talk to Hindsight when he came back. She looked down at Puppysmiles and put on the most convincing grin she could. “Hey, would you like to play a game?” she asked. If she had to foalsit this filly, she might as well bring out some old board games from her own childhood.

“Yeah!” replied Puppysmiles as she jumped up and down. “I like games!”

Tech Wiz’s grin faded a small bit, then she led Puppysmiles to her assigned room, where they would remain for the next few hours, keeping the filly busy.

. . . M e a n w h i l e . . .

Dusty Bass walked up the stairs, carrying a tied-together drum set on his back, the sturdy pony not too keen on climbing heights today. But, since the elevator didn’t seem to be working, he had to do what he could to keep the schedule moving smoothly.

Speaking of Smooth… Smooth Rhythm didn’t seem to have a care in the world, marvelling at the architecture and decorations of the building. She stayed surprisingly quiet, taking in the scenery and relaxing.

Nana had a bit of trouble with the guards. Luckily, Dusty was able to convince them to let her keep her head, the stallion having a bit of a knack for talking his way out of tricky situations at times, especially when it came to convincing someone that Nana was completely harmless.

After all, a ghoul like her was weak and frail, having already been old by the time she had turned. In fact, Dusty was still surprised to see that Nana could still stand on her own after two whole centuries. She certainly had some leg strength from someone her age.

“Darn Enclave,” Nana muttered. “Can’t they just leave an old lady alone? I’ve got more manners than any o’ these ‘gentlecolts’ combined.”

“It’s Enclave, Nana,” said Dusty. “We both know their feelings towards anyone from the Wasteland.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t shoot Fiddler to death all those years ago,” Smooth commented. “Remember when he tried to talk up that pegasus?”

Dusty snorted, nearly bursting into laughter. “Fuckin’ idiot’s always tryin’ to get in between some mare’s legs. We literally had to speak on his behalf to save his lyin’ ass.”

Nana smiled. “Oh, he’s just got a lot to learn,” she said. “One day, he’ll find someone, and maybe it’ll be that special someone, too.”

“Doubt it,” said Smooth. “Guy’s got no respect for any kind of female.”

After they finally made it to the third floor, they set down their equipment, taking a rest. Dusty looked at all the ponies who were waiting patiently to be assigned a room, a guard coming along every once in a while to give one of the ponies a keycard.

“Looks like Enclave’s got their hooves full here,” observed Dusty. “Seems like everyone’s flockin’ here for shelter these days.”

“Well, hey, it’s free,” said Smooth. “Why not come here?”

“Just don’t feel right,” said Nana, squinting her eyes. “Feels like somethin’ troublin’s ahoof here, but I can’t figure out what. Ain’t no way the Enclave is gonna just set up a shelter for ponies like us.”

“You might be right, Nana,” said Dusty. “Just keep quiet about it for now, though. We don’t wanna be attractin’ too much attention. It’s already bad enough since yer a ghoul.”

Nana grumbled to herself until they heard a loud clattering noise coming from the opposite end of the large waiting room.

“Are you fucking insane?!” shouted Study Guide.

Dusty gritted his teeth the moment he saw some random scorpony attacking an innocent pegasus. Well, maybe innocent. “Damn it. How’d that thing get in here?” he asked himself.

Study Guide simply stood back, looking at the nearby guards and motioning her wing for them to hold their fire. She didn’t want a sudden firefight in here. She then turned to Dash and said, “You two had better not fucking injure anyone in here!”

“I don’t understand why she’s just suddenly like this!” shouted Dash.

“It’s instinct,” stated Study Guide. “She sees you as a potential threat to her goal. “She’s not trying to hurt you. She’s just trying to assert dominance. Unfortunately, that involves a shit ton of stinging.”

"Stop running coward!" Taipan screamed as she fired her pin-missile attack.

Meanwhile, Discord sat on one side of the room, chewing on yet some more popcorn. “Wasn’t this bit supposed to be about Applejack?” he muttered to himself. “Once a background pony, always a background pony, I suppose.”

Dash was immediately hit in the flank, the pony yelping in pain as she felt the sting radiate a throbbing pain through her body. “Ow!” she shouted. “Could you not do that?!”

Applejack, watching from the sidelines, said, “Ya know, you shouldn’t have bragged about bein’ the best. Now look where it gotcha.”

“Can’t you just use your country pony skills to lasso this thing away from me?!” asked Dash as Taipan jumped on her, screaming like a madmare.

Applejack gave Dash a deadpan stare. “Are you serious right now? Ah can take a lot of insults, but that one, although unintentional, was probably the worst. Also, I don’t wanna think about rope right now.”

Nana couldn’t help but cackle, the old mare remembering the story she had told Applejack on their way to Tenpony. “Y’all are such wusses these days. Back in my day--”

“Ah was back in your day!” Applejack clarified.

Study Guide walked up to the two tumbling ponies. “Alright, I think it’s obvious now that the scorpony wins. Could you please get off the pegasus?”

Taipan huffed from exhaustion got up, leaving the now-black-and-blue mare alone. "Beta," she called Dash.

Dash stood up weakly, groaning, her gaze on Taipan. “Jeez…”

“Now that we’re done with that, can we please go back to what we were doing?” asked Study Guide.

“Which was?” asked Applejack.

“Me going back to my office to drink and you guys staying in the guest room,” answered Study. “I’m not a foalsitter. I’m a researcher.”

Dash walked back to the room with the others while Applejack stayed in the lobby, walking over to Dusty, Smooth, and Nana.

“How y’all holdin’ up?” asked Applejack.

“I’m doin’ fine,” said Dusty. “Nana’s feelin’ a bit cranky, but that’s normal when we’re on these trips.”

Smooth looked over at Study Guide, then said to Applejack, “Not gonna lie, but she looks like she’s about done with life.”

Applejack, not looking back, said in a quiet manner, “Yeah, Ah don’t really like her all that much, but Ah’ll tolerate her at least.”

“More than what I’ll do,” said Smooth.

“Your friends are here?” asked Dusty.

Applejack smiled. “Yeah. They’re here. Though, one is missin’, and Ah dunno if she’s gonna make it here. Ah might have to ask Twilight if we could go out lookin’ fer her.”

There was a brief pause. Applejack was a little worried. Fluttershy was one thing, but Rarity was another. Rarity wasn’t the kind who liked to get dirty, and Applejack also wasn’t sure if Rarity could figure out that the others were over here.

Dusty pulled himself up with a groan. “Any place we can place these instruments?”

“Ah think we could just set ‘em in the room we were assigned,” said Applejack, leading Dusty and the others to where Twilight and the rest of the gang was.

“This room looks… crowded,” said Dusty, noting all the ponies inside. “You sure we ca--”

“Of course, Ah’m sure,” replied Applejack.

Dusty attempted to scoot in, eventually reaching the corner and carefully setting down everything, the occasional sound of cymbals ringing out. He then sat down next to the pile, looking at the strangers around him. “So, these guys are your friends?” he asked.

“Yep,” replied Applejack. “Well, half of ‘em are. The others are those who helped them get here, apparently.”

Dusty blinked. “Alright,” he said.

Dusty was approached by a drover-yellow mare with conifer-green, poofy hair, and one green eye, her other eye covered by an eyepatch. “‘Didn’t you play at my casino one time?”

“Yeah,” said Dusty. “Fiddler was the one who secured the deal.”

And, speak of the devil, there Fiddler was, walking into the room. “So, I was walkin’ around the hallways, and I couldn’t help but notice there’s some stairs leading to the upper levels that are blocked off.”

The drover-yellow mare looked over to Fiddler, her face turning sour. “Oh… him.”

Applejack looked to Fiddler and asked, “You know her?”

“That’s Lucky Break,” Fiddler replied. “We played at her casino one time, but I got so drunk, I got a little too into the music.”

“He almost broke my late ma’s piano,” said Lucky Break, looking very unamused, her gaze boring through Fiddler’s head.

“I get pretty clumsy,” admitted Fiddler.

“Idiot doesn’t even know where he’s going when he’s drunk,” said Dusty. “Sometimes he’ll just stumble forward with such force, he’ll knock me onto the ground, and I’m about the same weight as that piano.”

“Well, you’re not playing at the casino ever again,” stated Lucky. “In fact, you can’t even drink in the casino ever again. Actually, don’t even look at the casino again.”

“Ain’t that a little harsh?” asked Dusty. “Ain’t our faults he’s such a drunkard.”

“Oh, you can play in the casino,” stated Lucky. “He, however, can’t.”

“Oh, okay,” said Dusty, completely fine with that.

Fiddler rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, at least I ain’t throwin’ dirt at your employees,” he said, referring to Taipan.

“What employee mean?” Taipan asked.

Fluttershy leaned in, whispering, “It’s someone who works for the manager of a business.”

“He means the guard you threw dirt at,” stated Study. “He’s saying at least he doesn’t throw dirt at Lucky’s employees.”

“Dirt help keep pest away very well,” Taipan said sagely while nodding her head.

Lucky Break simply disregarded it, going back to her key argument. “You need to straighten up,” she said to Fiddler.

“Don’t you owe caps to someone?” asked Pinkie.

“Quiet, Ponk,” said Lucky. “I’m busy bein’ a hypocrite right now.”

Applejack silently stepped away from the argument, not really wanting to get in between the two. She had had a long day, and didn’t want to deal with any more of the bickering. First with Nana, then with Taipan and Dash, and now with Fiddler and Lucky Break.

As she stepped out into the lobby, she looked out one of the big windows, wondering where Rarity could possibly be out in that urban mess. She was likely to hate it, probably.

Author's Note

Here you go, guys. Dylan's story is getting updated next after this.