Fallout Equestria: Half Breeds

Azure was a little shocked that they had found Blitz, after all the time of walking down in the sewer. They were coming back over to Sharpened Death, due to Gretzky hiding a secret supply stash below his house, somewhere that the raiders wouldn't have gotten to, allowing him to have more supplies for not only himself, but the entire settlement, which was a big game changer to have some more supplies. Azure saw that Blitz dropped his shield, allowing the ghouls to come closer to them, Azure knowing well and good that Blitz had some sort of plan, due to him always being one step ahead of the competition. Azure was not wrong, making him smile from ear to ear, being proud that he knew the changeling that he called a friend very well.

Blitz charged up his horn, before seeing all of the ghouls charging at him. He wasn't going to have his friends get hurt by some ghouls, not while he was around to protect them. Azure closed his eyes for a second or two, before seeing that Blitz was about to explode. Blitz unleashed his magic that he was holding, shooting off a bright light blue looking beam, covering the entire system from top to bottom and vaporizing them all, the ghouls instantly turning to dust, like they had just been cremated, which didn't only shock the rest of the group, but as well as the ghouls, as they were trying to get away from the bright blue beam, but to no avail, as Blitz made sure that they were not able to get back up.

Blitz stopped casting his spells, before sitting down and looking at all of the dust that was littered all over the floor of the sewer. Blitz closed his eyes, before hearing a clicking noise come from a Pipbuck. Blitz opened his eyes slowly, before going to turn around and check who the pony was who was so close to him. Blitz received a hug from the pony, before seeing that it was Azure, the pony that he had come close to within his time in the Wasteland. Blitz could only hear clicking from the Pipbuck and saw that Azure wasn't going to back off, making Blitz shoot him away with an orb of black magic, which confused himself and the rest of the group. Azure had nearly died of radiation poisoning, due to hugging the bug that had been rolling around in the remains of a balefire bomb, which was not healthy for the others that might have been around, especially Azure.

Gretzky shoved Azure over to the wall, before giving him some radaway, forcing him to drink it, which he did, not being happy about it at all. All Azure wanted to do was to hug his friend, was that too much to ask? Yes, yes it was, due to Blitz having just too much radiation on him. Blitz walked a little bit back, allowing himself to get some distance away from the group, allowing them to not get any radiation on them. Blitz went to speak, before stopping and remembering the things that he had left behind.

“My son Shifty is on his way to the settlement, along with somepony called Zavier, who apparently you have already met. I convinced Death to part ways with me for now, due to his mind probably going insane if he was to come with me down in the radiation. He is one to watch, so keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't corrupt Shifty for me.” Blitz demanded, going to the side to see the building that he was after. They followed him, before he shut the door and locked it from the inside, allowing nopony else entry from the outside world. Staring through the window, they saw him vapourise everything within the room, before seeing a ladder going down to the area that he was to explore. The ladder was hidden behind the wall that Azure thought was a little funny when him and Roselight came down into the sewer. Blitz looked at them all, before Azure noticed that something had been added to his inventory, a named item. They watched as Blitz disappeared down the hole and then Azure went instantly to his Pipbuck to see what the new item was. He saw that he had a sword within his inventory, which was the same sword that he had originally when fighting the hydra. The sword had a different name, which Azure read aloud.

“Meet you at Inspiration Peak!” Azure read out, before smiling, knowing that all was going to be okay with Blitz. Radiation was beginning to leak out of the sealed door, which was bad, so they decided to run away from the area, heading to the hole that Blitz came down, due to it being open. Azure looked back at the building before smiling. “Meet you there, buddy!” He muttered under his breath.

They all climbed out of the little hole, before closing it and making sure the top of it was blocking all of the radiation that was coming through, which gladly, it was, due to the quick thinking of the group. They were in Sharpened Death and noticed that there were no buildings that they could make out, making most of them sad to see what their settlement had succumbed to, which was just some brute force and destruction, which none of them were happy to think about.

They all travelled as a group, hoping that there was not going to be something that was going to hop out of the shadows and grab them. They didn't notice anything around the area, apart from a couple of decayed bodies, some of which they thought were their former friends. Azure thought about that for a second, before remembering what Blitz stated. Azure thought back to the exact words that Blitz said to them, before getting the group to look at him by making some noise. He stood on a mound of rubble and looked over the rest of the group.

“I’m thinking that we get back to the settlement to greet Blitz’s friends and see how they are doing. There isn't really too much to do here in the lines of searching, but we can have another little look around to see if there is anything that we could recover or take.” Azure stated aloud, getting a nod from every single one of them, making him feel like an actual leader. They all spread out and looked around, apart from Roselight, who was thinking about what was happening around here, as well as having something else on her mind. Azure walked up to her and looked at her bluntly, not knowing what exactly was up with the mare, but being smart enough to know that something was not right, for her at least, making Azure worry a little bit.

“I’m worried for Blitz and his well being. He didn’t exactly look happy with everything that was going on. What if he dies down there?” Roselight panicked, getting agitated and snapping, before Azure placed his hoof on Roselight’s shoulder, making her calm down just that little bit more than was needed, which was always a good thing. Roselight took a huge intake of air, before sighing heavily, allowing her mind not to race as much, allowing her to relax about the entire thing. Azure was making sure that he was ready to help his friends, if they required either a little bit of emotional support, or physical support.

Azure knew that Roselight cared for everypony and probably blamed herself for Blitz’s torture within stone, but she was not at fault, due to her getting to know Blitz a little bit more and liking him more and more, until he probably became on of her friends that she told nobody that she liked. Azure seemed to think that the best medicine that he could provide with no medical equipment, was relaxation, allowing him to put their minds to rest and allow them to focus more on themselves. Azure was wanting to know his friends a little bit more, so he walked around and tried to gain a little bit more of a conversation going. First of all, he walked up to Gretzky, seeing that he was looking through some rubble around the entrance area, trying to see if he could have seen something that could have been useful for him or the rest of the group.

“I never really got told your origin, Gretzky. May I be able to hear it, since I haven’t learnt too much about my friend’s backgrounds?” Azure asked, wanting to know more about his feathered friend. Gretzky turned around and looked at him with a blank stare. He was pretty sure that Azure was just a little bored, hence the reason why he wanted to know a little more about him. Gretzky tried to remember as much as he could from the top of his head, but needed to take a minute to really evaluate his life and what he had done. He took a couple of minutes, before answering the question that he had been asked, being careful about the words that he chose.

“Well, I was born in Equestria and within the Wasteland. My ma gave birth to me and sadly passed away giving birth to me, so I never really got to know my ma that much. As for my father, I could tell you story after story about him. He was a kind gryphon and one of the most respected ones in Equestrian history, due to the generosity that he gave to others, treating others better than he did himself. He taught me to do all of this and helped me sustain life, before he died of old age, which was a sad time for me. He only left me a couple of caps and a note which said ‘Go and do what I showed you, son…” Gretzky stated, a little tear coming to his eye. Azure walked over to him and gave him a hug, before seeing Gretzky’s wings wrap around Azure encasing them both. “Thank you!” Gretzky said silently, before enjoying the hug for a couple of seconds, before going back to it and focusing on his task at hoof. Azure didn't move away, making the gryphon a little confused. Azure wanted to know what his backstory was about growing up, rather than his youth.

“What was it like growing up, I mean?” Azure asked, wanting to get to know him more, being on a personal level that allowed him to know the ins and outs of his friends. Gretzky thought again, remembering the day that he had growing up, which were a lot of days to remember. Azure waited patiently, before seeing him come up with an explanation.

“I focused on trading and always either wanted to help ponies and creatures, or wanted to increase my amount of caps and suppliers. I used to be some sort of wandering trader, but I really didn't enjoy sitting out in a tent all the time, getting cold and wet half the time. I moved to Sharpened Death for a fair while, getting to grips with all of the ponies and creatures that were within the settlement and it made me feel right at home, then you came around and spiced up my life that little bit more, which I don’t mean in a bad way, of course.” Gretzky stated, before going back to what he was doing, losing his train of thought for a couple of seconds. Azure thanked Gretzky, before going away and looking for somepony else, trying to burn time, since he had nothing else to do in the area and it being more Roselight’s idea, rather than his.

Azure walked around, before finding Roselight and Petalbreeze talking to each other, before they both looked at him with a smile. They thought that he was coming over to them because he wanted help, but they were somewhat wrong. Azure wanted to ask them the same thing that he had asked Gretzky, but Azure noticed something behind the two mares, making him a little curious to try to find out what it was. Azure began to walk over to the thing that was getting clearer and clearer, before he stopped, seeing somepony within the bushes, aiming a gun at them. Azure walked back slowly, before running and sliding to cover, making the two mares do the same out of instinct. Azure pointed to the bush, making the two mares know where to aim. Azure peaked his head around the corner and was met with a bit of debris, due to the bullet from the weapon hitting the wall he was behind, making him recoil and hold his cheek with his hoof, seeing that he had blood all over his hoof. Azure looked around and saw a shard of glass, before picking it up and trying to use the reflection of light to see himself, which he eventually did, seeing a massive gnash on his cheek, bellowing out blood. Azure threw the piece of glass over the wall that he was hiding behind, hoping that it had the figure in the bush. An explosion set off in the figure’s direction, making Azure peak around the corner to find that there was a hole where the figure should have been, behind the bush which was no longer there too. Azure looked at the other two, before seeing that Petalbreeze had a grenade in her mouth, getting ready to throw another one. Azure sighed, before seeing that the other two were looking wide eyed at him, seeing the wound that he had gotten from the debris of the wall that he was now sitting behind.

“Are you okay, Azure?” both of them called out in unison, getting the same nod that he always gave, which signalled that he was okay. They both rushed to his side, before seeing that there was something off about him, knowing that something was getting him down a little bit.

“What backstory do you two have?” Azure asked, trying to get the backstory of the mares that he enjoyed so much, while they fussed over him, trying to stop the bleeding from happening.

“Well, we are sisters, so there is that, but we grew up in a different part of the Wasteland and continued to move about from place to place. This is the first area that Roselight considered home and that settlement that you came with Blitz and got me from was my first taste of a home, but then you made me find my sister after being so far from her for years on end. Anywhere that she is confident calling home, I can too!” Petalbreeze announced, being proud of her sister, making Roselight chuckle. Roselight came over to them and ruffled Azure’s mane with a hoof, treating him like the child that she never had. Azure pouted slightly, not really liking the ruffle of the mane, but appreciating the gesture nonetheless.

“Yeah, I kind of agree with her. I don’t want to be one of the ponies that move from place to place anymore, due to doing it so much anyway. I want to be able to place my hoof in the ground and stand in one location. I think that I have been travelling so much that I will just do a final stand at Inspiration Peak, when the time comes that is.” Roselight announced, getting an angry look from her sister in the process, making her wear a sheepish grin on her own face. Roselight stopped with the talking, before Azure looked at them both, seeing that they both had conflicting opinions on that matter, making Azure want to let them have some space between them both, so he walked away, before he started getting them into more personal topics than were needed.

Azure remembered that Blitz said that his son and Zavier were heading over to the settlement, making him want to catch up to them to see what all of the fuss was about with sending them away. If his son was a changeling like him, why would he not want Shifty going along with him? That confused Azure a little, but Blitz knew what he was doing, which made Azure smile, just a little. He needed to get everypony together and head back to the settlement, but he figured that he would let the rest of the group do what they wanted to do, giving them some time away from all of the fighting and the travelling and instead, allowed the others to know what had become of the settlement.

Azure had an idea which made him want to go to the building that him and Blitz stayed in and making him also want to go and investigate the area.Azure travelled over there and started seeing things, making him seem uneasy and making him slow down a little, before he saw things begin to flash within his vision, making his heart beat faster. The death of Crimson and Lavender played out one after another, along with Abyss’ death too, being the most disturbing one. Azure shook his head, which did nothing to stop the display of images within his mind. Although Azure could see, he was battered with different feelings and images that kept playing over and over again. He stopped, before placing his hooves over his eyes, trying to block all light that was around him and hopefully getting rid of all of the illusions that were troubling him. It seemed like it was working for the most part, before he saw it try to ramp itself up, making him shake his head, bringing a couple of tears to his eyes.

Azure rubbed his eyes with a hoof, before walking over to the building that was in shambles, being the same building that him and Blitz had lived in for a short while. There was a feeling of hope that seemed to irradiate from the area that Azure was around, due to him realising that his friend was still alive, making his body feel almost unfamiliar, due to how much better he was feeling about himself, although he was still crying about the visions that he was seeing. The amulet that Azure was wearing seemed to light up as soon as a tear reached it, falling down his cheek and grazing the amulet slightly, before it did something that Azure couldn't see.

Azure’s mind seemed to clear itself when he looked at the amulet, replacing each one of the bad memories with a good one of the ponies that he had seen perish. Azure’s mood instantly got better, due to those memories flooding his mind, overlapping and giving him the confidence to smile, before searching around the area and looking for anything that remained, due to what the raiders had done to his home settlement. Azure could see that there were a couple of walls standing, making Azure look to the inside to see which ones they were. One of the walls had the Project Chimera picture still on it, but it was pinned through the glass, to the wall. Azure sighed, knowing a little bit about what it was, due to the books that he had been reading in Inspiration Peak. It was a project to give ponies different body parts, mainly robotic, to give them an edge over the limitations of pony anatomy, which was something that shouldn't have been messed around with in the first place.

Lumia and Delta made their way over to Azure, sneaking up behind him and noticing that he was looking at something that Delta knew all too well, making him shake his head slowly, disapproving of the project that Azure was a little sceptical about.

“Nothing good can come from changing a pony’s natural form. There might be some benefits, like increased fighting and attacking power, but it comes with too many negatives as a result. The only way that it might have been viable is if a pony has lost a limb or a vital organ, hence the reason that the Ministry Of Peace were looking into investing into it, to give ponies with no limbs a second chance, where the healing potions would not help out at all.” Delta explained, showing his insider knowledge to the other two ponies that were around him. Lumia nodded, agreeing with the professor and looking over to the potion. “You do realise that you were made possible because of the technology of that plan, right?” Delta added, looking to Lumia and smiling softly. Lumia was slightly confused about what he was saying, due to him hating the corporation who created the project, as well as the project itself.

“I thought you hated it?” Lumia lashed out, turning instantly and looking to Delta, making Azure turn to him as well, seeing something glow out of the corner of his eye as he turned. Delta nodded, before opening a power panel on the back of Lumia, showing some advanced battery of some kind. Lumia turned her head like an owl, which spooked Azure, due to never seeing her do that before, before taking a couple of steps forward and seeing inside the robotic mare. There was some sort of massive battery that was showing a counter, constantly going up and down with the time that it would have taken to run out, due to something charging her every second.

“I used some flaws on the old battery that was used in Project Chimera to create something that is extraordinary! It is a battery that had never run out of power, not even after I was gone after those fabled years. I started with you on about ten seconds, and now, it has grown to a number that is unimaginable. That’s why I told you to dance if you ever feel like you are going to pass out, due to the battery getting charged for everything that you do. From breathing in and spinning a fan that is behind your mouth, to the compression of a spring in your legs creating the tiniest amount of power. It all adds up over time, as you can clearly see. Sleeping creates more power than doing things in the day, so I’m glad that you got so much of that done Lumia!” Delta explained, making the robotic mare smile, which produced energy somehow. Delta placed the panel back on her and took the panel off his stomach area, which revealed the same system. “I sneakily created the same system for me, allowing me to not run on those oversized batteries they call fusion cores. What am I, some power armour?” Delta joked, making the other two laugh, before Azure turned back to the picture, seeing the same flash of light that he had originally when he turned around, making him want to investigate what the item was. It was something that was behind the picture in the Project Chimera picture.

Azure walked up to the picture that had been pinned to the wall with some sort of arrow, before trying to wiggle the thing that was behind it, somewhat working, making Azure try to wrench the arrow out of the image, just in time to see Delta grab him with a metallic wing, pulling him away from the arrow, before he pulled out one of the rifles that he was carrying, He shot a single bullet at the tail of the arrow, making it blow up like a bomb. Azure was amazed to see that somepony in the Wasteland was using arrows, explosive ones too. The image was on the ground, more of the glass being cracked, before they walked over to the image on the floor, which was somewhat still not as damaged as they would have expected, making them lean more towards something being important within the frame than they would have predicted.

Delta picked up the frame and moved some of the glass out of the way, before going over to one of the walls and hit the frame with the image still being within the frame. It was a strong piece of metal, which made Delta bash it a little more, wanting to bend the metal so that he could get all of the glass out that was blocking them from finding what was behind the image. Delta kept smashing the item on the concrete that remained of the house, making him feel a little defeated when he saw that there was little to no change to the item in regards to damage. Delta dropped the item, before going over to his rifle and picking it up, before returning to the item and shooting down at the glass, which did little to nothing with his weapon.

Delta got moved out of the way by Lumia, who used her horn to summon a ball of what looked like magma, which she carefully moved over the metal. Azure watched as the metal turned to butter, allowing Lumia to get rid of the ball of very hot liquid, before using her magic to move the hot metal out of the way, revealing an area that she could have used to move the glass out of the way, which was exactly what she did. She pried open the frame and got the glass out, seeing that there was a key within and a little note written on the key chain that the key was attached to, making them all look at each other as Lumia pulled it out. They were all thinking the same thing, until they were able to read the note that was written out.

“This key is for the final part of our plan. Use the artifacts that we get from those pesky ponies to smash open a door that is below ground nearby and let loose our final goal by using the key to create the biggest boom the Wasteland has ever seen!” Azure read aloud, making the other two gasp and look at the note again, not believing what they were seeing. Azure was speechless, knowing where the door was located, which was exactly where Blitz was going. Azure didn't know where it was exactly, but those areas were hidden for a reason, making Azure question what Blitz was going to do, down in the hole that he had climbed down.

Azure looked at the other two, who were trying to make light of the situation, but failing at it horribly, which made Azure feel a little uneasy at the situation they had. They needed to get rid of the key, but they needed it to keep it in case there was an option to disable the explosive that would have been hidden underground. Azure was a little bit on the panic side, but tried to relax as much as he could, before taking in a deep breath and focusing. The others came over to investigate what the others were making so much noise about. Azure walked to the side, trying to get his mind off the subject, before he thought of a plan that he was coming up with on the fly. Maybe they needed to get somepony to scout it out down there, buth Azure realised that Blitz went off exploring, meaning that that part was already in motion and active. Until he got word back from Blitz, he wouldn't think on the topic again. There was definitely something being hidden beneath the settlement and the sewer and Azure was curious to know what could have made the entirety of Equestria go boom.

Azure regained focus on the world around him, before seeing the two robots showing the rest of the group the key with the little message. Azure shook his head and looked around a little more, coming to the conclusion that something was definitely going on. Blitz looked down at his hooves and sighed, before wandering off with little to no care about what was going on behind him. He walked a tiny way out of the settlement, before sitting down and looking at his face in some radioactive. He nearly didn't recognise his own reflection for a second, before chuckling sadly at himself, almost like he was unhappy with himself. He stayed there for a minute or so, wanting something to happen so badly, but sadly it didn't, which hurt him a little more than it should have, due to him wanting only one thing to happen, for his mind to get off the topic of bombs being below them.

Azure looked down at the amulet that was around his neck, holding it slightly, before he yanked it off and threw it into the puddle in front of him. Azure began to cry, tears streaming down his face and flowing into the puddle in front of him, some of them landing on the amulet, making something happen. Hologram Blitz was back for Azure, making Azure feel a little more upset than he was before. He didn't look at the hologram, wanting it to just go away. Azure turned back and saw that not only was the hologram gone, but the amulet was as well, making him a little worried. He splashed about in the water to try and find it, before realising that it was actually gone, just like the hologram had taken it away from Azure. He looked down in shame, before feeling a familiar chain around his neck. The amulet was around his neck again, making Azure turn around and see the hologram trying to get the amulet back to where it was, being around Azure’s neck. Azure straight up hugged the hologram, making him a little confused that he was able to interact with something that was just an illusion, but then Azure looked a little closer.

Blitz had a different appearance, being slightly taller and having a different posture. There was something that was off about Blitz's form though, which baffled Azure for a couple of seconds, before it made itself clear. This version of Blitz had different eyelashes, making him look more like a female changeling than anything. The female version of Blitz chuckled, making Azure hear a different voice entirely, suggesting that it was most likely not Blitz’s hologram.

“You would be right to think that, Azure.” The feminine voice stated, being more accurate to a mother’s voice, as if she was taking care of her little filly or colt. “Exactly! That might be the hint that you need Azure, to work out who I am. As if it wasn’t simple enough.” She explained, waiting on Azure to work out the most simple of answers. Since he had been battling with his emotions, it wasn't the easiest of riddles to solve, but then it hit him who’s amulet he was wearing, making him instantly go to a pony that… “Bingo!” She stated, extending her hoof to shake Azure’s. All of the pieces had come together to make Azure actually realise who he was actually speaking to. Azure extended his hoof, before shaking Blitz’s mother’s hoof, making him feel honoured.

Shadow chuckled, before rolling her eyes at him and giggling some more. Azure did feel a little stupid, but there was nothing wrong with getting a little confused, especially due to the fact that he was sad, so he wasn't in the figuring out mood and mindset, so it was bound to be a little harder to predict who she was.

“So what is this? Is this like that Blitz and Death combo, where you are bound to me till I die or something.” Azure asked, being a little bit confused about the entire necklace thing. Shadow nodded somewhat, being a little confused by how it worked too, but not questioning it. If it worked, it worked. Azure looked back at the ground, before feeling something within him change. There was a little feeling of hope within him that was growing and growing, due to seeing Blitz’s mother and talking to her. Shadow smiled, knowing that he was gaining his confidence back from talking to her and having the couple of tears that everypony would eventually show, alone or with a friend.

“I still can’t believe that my form for Blitz is a timberwolf, thanks to that fuck that calls himself Death! I’m really angry at him for that, but now i can’t get in contact with him, due to me not being able to speak, cause I am a fucking wooden wolf.” Shadow explained, being a little happier that she could have a conversation with somepony for a change, without having to stay silent and observe.

“Wait, so you’re Anti? Since the start when me and Blitz first met?” Azure asked, matching all of the pieces together. Shadow nodded, before being a little bit angry at Death. Azure realised that Shadow didn't want to attack Blitz or his friends, because she cared about them, but did want to attack Death, but couldn't because then he would have done something to Blitz, which meant that she was being a slave to Death, making Death a slaver. Shadow nodded, before looking down into the puddle and creating an image.

“Death only cursed that amulet, not this one, so thank you Azure.” Shadow thanked, being happy that someone close to Blitz had the amulet that she was inside. “I bet you are wondering how I got into the amulet anyway, right? Well, let's just say that I split my soul between two amulets thanks to somepony called Rarity, one of the ministry mares. I had a shorter life in my body, for a longer life in an object. I died before the raiders knocked me out, meaning that they didn't kill me, I killed myself, due to the spell.” Shadow explained. Azure thought about it for a second before noticing something that Blitz said.

“Didn't Anti go with Death?” Azure asked, questioning her a little, making her smile, showing Azure the answer that he was not expecting.

“Blitz does not know that I am Anti, which is the problem.” Shadow explained, before looking to the side, seeing that one of Azure’s friends were next to him. Azure turned and saw that Roselight was there, questioning what Azure was doing and why he was talking to himself. Azure opened his mouth, before closing it again and looking down at the amulet, pointing at it and looking back up at Azure, making her somewhat understand. Roselight chuckled before using her horn to flash the area, revealing Shadow to her, and only her for a short period of time.

“You don’t need to explain yourself Azure, I have something of the same thing for that excuse, due to me talking to others that can’t be seen as well. In a normal world, that would seem weird, but this ain’t no normal world. Also, hello madam changeling!” Roselight greeted, seeing the changeling that Azure was able to see, due to the spell still working. Shadow was a little confused, but could now see that she was visible to Roselight as well, knowing the spell that she used, due to her using it before the bombs hit with her own mother as well. Shadow instantly paused, before a smile crossed her face, making Roselight become a little confused to what she was smiling about.

“I realised that I remember you. Weren’t you the one who was originally corrupted by those nightmare things?” Shadow asked, being pretty confident that she was, which didn’t surprise her when she saw Roselight nod slightly, not really wanting to bring the topic back up. Shadow started to nod slowly, before turning back to look at Azure. “Didn’t Blitz mention something about a little bug named Shifty. I need to see that he is alright!” Shadow worried, caring about her grandcolt. Azure was certain that they were okay, but then his mind lingered back on the bombs that he was trying to get out of his head.

“We really should get moving!” Azure stated, feeling like the leader of the group, getting a nod from the actual leader of the group, that being Roselight, before she turned around and grabbed the others. As Roselight was walking away, Shadow stood next to Azure, before going to give him a hug, falling straight through him. Azure moved back and tried to help her up, but his hoof kept going through her, making him chuckle and feel down at the same time, due to not being able to show affection to anyone. Azure waited for her to get up, before pretending to hug her, before she did the same to Azure. If they could not hug for real, they could at least pretend to, for Shadow’s sake.

It must have been hard for her, knowing that she was just a projection now. Azure knew that he couldn't live that way, knowing that he would be as useless as bringing a pickaxe to a farming school, knowing that there would be some use for him, but not being immediately useful like he always wanted to be, due to his life wanting to have meaning to it, which was exactly what it had to his life at that time. He had the ability to change the world, almost being closer than anypony could have ever believed, making his confidence grow with every step he took and got closer to their… no, his destiny!

“I’ll find a way to make you seem useful Shadow, don’t you worry about that. There is definitely some use that you have within this little necklace!” Azure stated, prompting Shadow to smile and actually feel happy and excited about something, due to her doing nothing for the longest of times. Roselight’s spell faded away, making Shadow do the same for her, making her a little sad that the spell wasn't permanent. Roselight didn't want to keep recasting the same spell over and over again, every minute, but if she had to, she would have. “It might be worth you going to see Delta and catching up with him.” Azure added, seeing Shadow brighten up.

“Is that Professor Windflair Delta that you are on about?” Shadow asked, getting her hopes up, but knowing that it probably wasn't him, due to her knowing a couple of other ponies being called Delta. Azure nodded, but looked a little bit confused as she stared at him, making her also a little confused. “Umm, is everything alright Azure?” Shadow asked, being a tad bit concerned for the pegasus with the stripes.

“Is his first name really Windflair?” Azure asked, smiling a little bit. Shadow nodded, before looking around and seeing more ponies coming towards them, making her point to them for Azure to notice their approach. Azure turned to see the rest of the group, everypony who came to help him being ready to go back to the settlement. Azure felt good about himself, before seeing Delta was looking at him, which he was. Azure looked back at Shadow, before closing his eyes and taking off the necklace, feeling something grasp onto him, not allowing the necklace to go. Azure passed the necklace to Delta, before Delta just looked at him, then down at the necklace. Azure nodded, before Delta placed the necklace around his robotic form, before seeing her there, making him gasp.

“Umm, what is he seeing?” A couple of the group called out.

“Shadow, one of his old friends and Blitz’s mother.” Azure stated, calmly, making them all want to see the mare or the bug, whichever she wanted to class as. Roselight cast the spell again, this time allowing the entire group to see Shadow, before Roselight nearly passed out, getting caught by Azure in the process. She looked at Azure, before smiling at him and planting a kiss on his cheek, thanking him for saving her, which made him chuckle a little bit.

They all turned to look at the mare that was standing in front of them all, the changeling mare that nopony had seen before, scaring them a little, due to how sudden her appearance was. Shadow just looked at all of them and they did the exact same back to her. They didn't know what to say to the changeling that was the mother of one of their friends and family, until Delta stepped forward, bowing down to her like she was a queen or something, which made her chuckle a little.

“Why are you bowing?” Shadow asked, being a little confused by Delta’s actions. Azure was a little bit confused as well, seeing all of the others look to her like some sort of celestial being. Shadow rolled her eyes, before backing away from Delta, making him stand up and nod to her, getting an instant nod back. “Welp, this is about all there is about me. I also double up as of now, a timberwolf by the name of Anti, which Blitz named me. At least with that form, I get to interact with things and keep my little bug safe. We all need to start heading back to the settlement, otherwise…” Shadow stated, before disappearing from everypony’s view, not being the best area to insert a comedic cut. They all looked to Delta, before seeing what she was going to finish off her sentence with.

“...Otherwise the war will come quicker!” Delta stated, before looking around at the group, seeing that they all were a little bit confused, but the ones that understood the sentence, those being Azure, Roselight and Gretzky, looked on in pure horror and shock. Something was most likely targeting them, meaning that they needed to get back to the settlement as soon as they possibly could. Roselight ordered them all to start heading off, which they happily agreed to do, covering more ground per minute than they did on the journey to follow Azure. Delta passed the amulet to Azure, stating that Shadow wanted to speak with him. Azure put on the amulet, before noticing that Shadow was trying to ride his back, being eternally bound to being unable to interact with anything, but she was at least able to talk, which was something that Azure could have used to speak his way out of situations that before he couldn't have dreamed of doing, which made him grateful that Shadow was able to at least speak to them, being somewhere else, rather than in their world.

“I want you to save my boy Azure! I want you to make him as happy as you did when you both were together, when you both enjoyed each other's company, when you found yourself with him! I don’t care who he ends up loving, as long as he is happy, I am happy too, but the only pony that I have seen his spirits rise from, was you. I don’t think you understand how important you are in his life.” Shadow stated, before stopping with her actions, standing still and waiting for something else to happen to her or the world that she was trapped within.

“I’ll have a little conversation later about Blitz, if that is alright with you Shadow?” Azure stated, getting a gentle nod from the mare, making him smile back at her, before looking to the rest of the group, who were already waiting to get back to the settlement, being excited to meet Blitz’s son, along with Shadow being excited to be able to speak to her grandson, but there was something that she had to remember, which was a little concerning to her, which was the fact that she had to keep herself away from Death at all costs, due to him originally corrupting Blitz’s original amulet, making her turn into a timberwolf whenever she tried to talk to him. She would eventually get a message to Blitz, even if it broke the amulet that he soul was bound to.

They all got back on their way to making it back to the settlement, trying to not be too slow, due to them needing to get back to the settlement and checking on its own condition, knowing that they had three factions that were now probably merging into one, looking for their settlement as they spoke, convincing all of them that they needed to get back quicker to start putting some serious defences on their base, their settlement, their home. Gretzky and the rest of them knew that they were going to have to make some sacrifices to allow themselves to prepare for the rest of the Equestrian Wasteland bombarding their home, so they were going to prepare to be able to fight off not only death, but sink their settlement into Equestrian history.

Shadow teleported beside Azure, before telling him to slow down and fall behind a little bit, before nodding his head at her, slowing down a little bit, before looking back over to her, seeing that she was a little concerned and taken back. Azure looked at her dead in the eyes and saw something that he didn't wish to see in any one of his friends and family, which was the look of fear, the same fear that Blitz had originally when they first met and fought the hydra. Something was up and Shadow knew it.

“What’s up Shadow? What has got you so tense and disturbed?” Azure asked, getting a look from a couple of ponies up ahead, before they looked back forward after seeing that he was talking to the changeling mare that they had all talked to earlier. Shadow didn't say anything for a short while, before looking up at Azure and then down at the necklace.

“Didn’t Blitz state that Shifty had Death within his head now? If that is the case, we have to wait for Death to either leave Shifty’s mind or we have to forcefully remove that demon. He is not actually Death, he is the same type of curse that the nightmare is, due to his form when inside Blitz’s head, meaning that a brute force on a pony would allow Death to escape, but I don’t want anypony going after my little grandcolt, so that option is out of it.” Shadow explained, giving Azure some insight into the likes of Death and what he actually was. Azure thought about it more and more, before closing his eyes, forming a plan that would surely help them understand what to do about Death.

It took them a little while longer to get to a point at which they could see the settlement, seeing that it was okay and undamaged, but something felt off to Azure, almost like something that was there that shouldn’t have been. They ventured back and walked over to the gate, before seeing that no friendly face greeted them, that being Saber. Roselight and all of the others carried Zeke over the wall, allowing him to stand on the top of it. Azure flew over too, seeing that the settlement had fallen still, due to there being a bug that was cackling to himself, almost looking like he had gone insane, due to a certain Death that was plaguing his mind. They all watched him carefully, before moving around him, pointing their guns around the little bug. Something was up with him, making him tick and cackle like he was, which was the most disturbing part of it.

Azure shook his head, before approaching the little bug that seemed to scare everypony else, making them look from a distance at the scene that was going to play out before them, making them all a little bit anxious. They didn't know what was making Shifty act that way, but Azure, Delta and Roselight all knew. Death was plaguing his mind with emotions that he shouldn't have been feeling, making him believe everything that he was being told. Azure felt really, really bad for Shifty, not wanting anypony else to suffer like he was right then and there. Shadow spawned next to Azure, before looking at her grandcolt, before closing her eyes and sighing, making Azure look over to her.

“Everything alright?” Azure asked, getting Shifty to turn to look at Azure’s location. Shifty spotted the necklace and so did Death, needing it more than anything else in the world. Shadow looked at the ground and shook her head. “Death is going to die. Blitz is going to fucking…” Shadow stated, before seeing Azure getting bucked in the chest by Shifty, making her eyes go wide. “...kill him.” she finished off, teleporting back into the amulet and seeing if there was some way that she could have helped Azure, which sadly, there wasn't. She scrambled to think of some way that she could have helped Azure, while keeping herself safe, but there was nothing that she could do with her power, due to her being an object, not being able to output magic because she had no horn, which was the problem with her doing anything.

Azure ran around, making the rogue bug follow him, darting around the buildings of the settlement. Death was using Shifty’s body, due to him not being in the mindset to believe that Blitz was still alive. He forced his way to get inside of Shifty’s head, making him submit to all of the torture that his mind could no longer withstand. Azure slowed down, making it so that Shifty was close enough to him, before flying directly up, hearing the drone do the same, hearing the sound of his wings as he flew, making a buzzing noise, just like a radiated wasp. A beam of magic came over and hit Azure, making him scream in pain, as his wing burned with the wrath of Celestia’s sun. Azure got caught by Lumia, before she soared away, taking the bug away from the settlement, only to be taken back to the center of the settlement, where all eyes were on them, making them all feel uneasy. There were eyes peeping from the houses behind them, suggesting that the others were alright, before one of them disappeared, appearing in front of Shifty.

Saber was struggling, before Shifty… Death cackled loudly, seeing the look of Roselight change from being scared, to somepony who wanted to murder a colt. Roselight raced forwards, before seeing Death push her back. Death looked at Saber with a smile, painted on Shifty’s face. Roselight tensed up, seeing that Shifty had a tear running down his face, suggesting that he was not in control of his actions anymore, being only able to watch as his body was used, almost being similar to a different subject that would have been even worse. Azure and Roselight both noticed the tear, before Death snapped the neck of Saber with his magic, making a loud pop noise and making him fall limp, also making Roselight scream out in anguish. Death threw the lifeless body over in their direction, making Roselight run over to it, before seeing that Death was going to grab her with his magic that he had from Shifty, but that was not going to happen.

Azure stood in front of her, making himself get captured within his magical grasp, telling her to run, before looking at Shifty dead in the eyes, seeing even more tears flowing down. Death was torturing him as much as he could, making him regret living in the first place.

“He’s only a fucking colt! Why are you punishing him like this?” Azure asked, as the air within his airways got less and less, due to the constant pressure that was going down on his throat, making him want to pass out, but staying strong for the little bug that didn't want any of this.

A bright light flashed right next to them, summoning a giant green blob of radioactive mess, which made them all look, before seeing a pony come out of the blob. He stood there, sparks zapping everything around him, before they could barely make out who the pony was, due to being just bones and a little bit of chitin. Blitz stood there, before he saw Shifty with tears in his eyes, forcing him to pull one last heartstring. Blitz reared up, before running and teleporting, before teleporting again and again, picking up speed, before he launched himself out of a portal and lit up his horn and phased through Shifty, taking Death and the nightmare with him, sprawling over the floor and having no power whatsoever. They were all in physical form, allowing them to get struck by attacks. Death realised this and used his magic to teleport away, only he didn't have any magic right there and then, none of them did, making him and the nightmare freak out. Blitz got back to all fours and raced towards Death, before seeing Anti closing in from the left of him, making him slow down.

Death realised that Blitz had slowed down, before looking back at him, turning from the right, not seeing Anti coming over to him because of the way that he turned. Azure was gasping for air, before Blitz turned and walked over to him, forgetting about Death for a moment, before screaming could be heard. They all looked over to see the nightmare getting her throat ripped out by Anti, making the display seem gorier that it was, actually no, it was pretty gory. Blitz ignored her screams and told the others to do the same, due to him letting Anti have this. Blitz looked back at the body of the nightmare, before seeing that it had turned to dust.

“Good girl Anti, last one!” Blitz muttered under his breath, making sure that Death could hear him. Death began to run, before trying to flap his wings to get off the ground, but he didn't have any strength to do so. Death fell over before looking back, seeing Anti stalking closer, as well as Blitz walking over to him at a normal speed. A ghostly figure made itself known to Blitz’s side, looking both like the nightmare and Death in structure, but also being pure white. Death looked in horror as the demon that he was fighting against made himself known, making Death try to gather the strength to get up, but to no avail. “I did say that if you hurt him, mentally or physically, I would end you!” Blitz shouted, so that the others could hear it. They all walked a little closer, before looking at the figure that Blitz was stood against, Blitz leaning on him for some reason.

“You! I had everything going for me, then you… you… you took it away from me!” Death roared, pointing his hoof at the figure beside Blitz. Anti growled at him, before she slowly moved closer, ready to end him like she wanted. Blitz looked down at Anti, before seeing her ready to end him. He didn't do anything right then and there, but waited for the demon to speak.

“I didn’t take anything away from you, I just had Blitz remove his memory before he met you in full, meaning that you would have had no idea that I originally met him first. Anti being a timberwolf because you decided to mess with the kid then was pretty cute within the first chapters of Blitz’s story within the Wasteland with a friend, but it only worked in my favour when I talked to Anti to hear that you did this. Blitz was able to handle your manipulation, but poor little Shifty wasn’t, you fucking lowlife. There was a reason I turned from being bad like you two, but in the end, although I didn’t didn’t enjoy it, I knew it was the better choice, because now, I get to be a major part of this story, you don’t… brother!” the demon said, before Blitz nodded to Anti, making her take the final chomp that ended the so called ‘Death’ and his lies. Blitz changed into his form, not being his original, due to being just bones and chitin at that point and turned around to look at the other, while Anti went mental on his body, making Blitz turn back around and tell her to stop, which she did.

“Thank you mother, but let me tell you all how this played out, not only before I found the wall, after I climbed down below…” Blitz stated, before looking around and grabbing Shifty, Azure and Anti in and wrapping them in his arms tightly, before sitting down on the ground and telling them the story. The demon cleansed Blitz of his radiation and gave him his magic back, before being able to watch Blitz as he told his story to the rest of his family, making the demon smile a little, knowing that he had done some good.