Chapter 10: Silverhoof

“Never let a serious crisis go to waste. ... It's an opportunity to do things you thought you could not do before.”

- Rahm Emanuel

Our kiss was cut short by the imminent threat of death.

Red energy weapon fire screamed through the diner, ripping through the plywood that boarded up the windows. Several bolts sizzled through the dried-out vinyl-covered furniture, setting a bench and a couple chairs on fire. As we took cover behind the bar, I saw that the wall and ceiling behind us were covered in scorch marks. A tile from the drop ceiling fell, spreading dust and debris everywhere.

Before I could even reach for a weapon, Rose had levitated both her rifle and pistol out of her bag and whipped around to return fire on our unseen attackers. I quickly slammed the ammo can shut, worked the latch, and threw it in my saddle bag. We were in a cramped area, too small for my axe, and we were pinned down by energy weapon fire. I drew my knife because I couldn’t think of what else to do.

“Fuck!” Rose cursed as she ducked down behind the bar to reload. “Where the fuck did they come from!? They came out of nowhere!” She slid six more rounds into the pistol, then jumped back up to return fire.

“It was Silverhoof raiders that took your mother from us. That town’s not safe anymore…”

The words of my father came to mind, and I thought about the frantic wagon ride, the ponies clad in black, their black helmets and gas masks… only one of them had an energy weapon that night, and that’s all it took to incinerate my mother. Rose and I were easily facing a half dozen, and just like all those years ago, I was basically useless.

Part of the bartop broke off, falling to the ground in a smoldering heap. An errant bolt whizzed through the diner and struck Rose directly in the shoulder, melting through the edge of a reinforced plate and burning through her stable suit. She yelled, then dropped back down behind the bar.

“Shit!”

My mind was reeling to catch up. We entered through the front, but was there another exit? A kitchen door maybe? A window that wasn’t boarded up? Damn it. We had gotten ourselves pinned because I was too excited and didn’t check my exits or make sure we had an escape plan. Stupid!

Without warning, the laser fire stopped. The fire had spread to more furniture and started creeping its way up the wall as smoke gathered above us and seeped out through the multitude of broken windows. From beyond the fire and smoke, we heard a stallion’s voice call out.

“Anypony left alive in there?”

The voice sounded amplified, as if it was played back through a speaker.

“You are in possession of government property. We want it back.”

Government property? What government? The Ministry of Wartime Technology stopped being a thing when the balefire bombs fell. He couldn’t possibly mean my parent’s stash, could he? But what else? I looked at Rose, who was digging through her pack. “What are you doing?”

She grabbed the pack of drugs that we had taken from the raider camp yesterday, popping a Mint-al and one of the orange Buck pills into her mouth. She also grabbed one of the Dash inhalers. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course, but–”

“When I attack, you run. Go out the back, stay low. I’ll be right behind you.”

I shook my head. “Rose, I won’t–”

The front door was kicked open so hard the hinges ripped off the wall and it fell sideways into a burning pile of furniture. The force kicked up a cloud of burning embers that floated lazily in the air as a nightmarish shadow emerged in the front entry.

He was a black-clad armored pegasus who donned a full-coverage helmet with an integrated gas mask that made his head look almost insectoid in nature. A battle saddle was strapped to his back, two laser rifles strapped to either side. His tail also seemed to be mechanical in nature, made of metal links that twitched like a cat’s tail, topped with a deadly bladed “stinger” of sorts.

“I can hear two of you talking in here,” he said with an even, disinterested tone. “Return the government property to us and we might let you live.”

Rose put the inhaler to her lips and I readied my knife. I wasn’t going to leave her. We were either going to fight and win together, or get turned into ash together. My mother died because I couldn’t fight. I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen to Rose.

She pressed the button on the inhaler and took a deep breath…

Suddenly, she bolted upright and charged sideways, guns blazing at the soldier standing in the doorway. She moved as fast as a feral ghoul’s charge, bolting around the bar and working the trigger mechanisms on her weapons at incredible speed. She hit the soldier several times, but he returned fire almost as quickly. He stumbled sideways but kept firing, slowly catching up to Rose as she weaved around the edge of the room.

I took the opportunity to charge him from the side with claws and knife. I grabbed the side of one of his laser rifles, burning my foreleg slightly, and stabbed at his neck. The blade deflected off one of the plates in his armor, leaving a small rip in the uniform, but leaving him otherwise unharmed. I dropped my knife and grabbed my axe just as his line of fire caught up to Rose.

The red energy bolts ripped into Rose’s barding, melting steel plate and piercing through her stable suit. The force of being hit by two automatic energy rifles at once pushed her violently back against the wall, cracking the plaster. She grit her teeth and fought to return fire, but even in this drugged up state, she couldn’t last forever against the onslaught of energy bolts, and her telekinesis failed. Her weapons clattered to the floor and her horn went dark.

I brought the axe down with all my might towards the soldier’s head, but he stopped shooting and twisted at the last second. My axe caught the edge of the soldier’s helmet, tearing part of it off before the blade lodged itself in an armor plate on his shoulder.

“Agh, fuck!”

In an instant, his scorpion tail slashed across my face and I jumped back. My vision filled with blood as he turned on me, ripping the axe from his armor and throwing it to the ground. I knew I was dead.

“You–” he started, then paused. “You’re coming with me.” Behind him, I could see two other highly armored soldiers step up to the doorway.

I looked over at Rose. She was covered in burns and scorch marks. The laser rifles had shredded her stable suit, despite the enhanced protection that Iron Jade built into it, and her entire body was smoking. She was slumped against the wall, her pleading eyes locked on mine, her mouth twitching as if she was trying to say something.

She was going to die. She was going to die and I couldn’t do anything to save her. Just like my mom. Just like my dad. And probably just like me. Tears filled my eyes and mixed with the blood, obscuring my vision even more.

“Let’s go,” said the soldier, firmly. He aimed his rifles of death at me and motioned for me to walk through the door.

I looked outside at the other two soldiers. They both wore the exact same armor; they’d both be just as hard to kill. I was fucked. I could try again to take one of them down and probably get myself killed immediately, or I could go with them, leading them away from Rose and maybe– by some miracle– she might survive. I closed my eyes tightly, lowered my head, and took a step towards the door.

I suddenly heard a weird popping noise and saw a spray of blood and gray matter from outside. The head of one of the two soldiers out front had violently exploded into pieces without warning. As his body crumpled to the ground, I heard a distant bang rumble through the air like sharp thunder.

“Incoming!” yelled the other soldier, wheeling around and aiming his battle saddle to the sky as he moved laterally. The ground where he had just been standing erupted with a blast of dirt and debris that flew up into the air. After a moment, I heard another bang echo in the distance.

“Move and you’re dead,” ordered the soldier closest to me as he inched towards the door and looked up at the sky, angling the guns on his battle saddle. Whoever was out there had some serious firepower, enough to take out one of these super soldiers with a single well-placed shot.

The smoke inside the restaurant was pouring out of the broken windows now as the fire had grown. I thought about trying to grab Rose and dragging her out of a back exit, if there was one, but I knew it would take too much time and make too much noise. I also thought about grabbing my axe from the floor, but I knew the soldier would be on me the second he heard me pick it up. What else could I do? I couldn’t just stand here and wait…

My wingblades! The one weapon that the soldier wouldn’t expect. I hoped that I was strong enough and that Iron Jade’s work could hold up against the soldier’s armor. I knew I couldn’t cut through the plates, but it looked like the helmet had some tubes that connected it to the rest of the armor– maybe cutting those would fuck him up enough to even the odds?

I took a breath, then extended my left wing and spun with all my weight, slamming my wing blade into the side of the soldier’s helmet. The aluminum-steel alloy ripped into the tube with a cascade of sparks and I felt tendrils of electricity arc into my wing, causing it to spasm.

At the same time, I heard a loud thud from the roof as several ceiling tiles fell to the ground. The roar of energy weapon fire and large-caliber pistol rounds shook the building and I heard the soldier outside cry out.

Fuck it.

I shoved against my attacker as hard as I could, causing both of us to tumble out the front door of the diner. Without hesitation, he rolled to his feet and turned on me. From somewhere on the roof, another loud pistol shot roared again and the soldier’s front left hoof exploded into bits of cartilage, bone and blood.

“Fuck!” he screamed, stumbling again, then extending his wings. “Fall back! Fall back now!”

Both of the black-clad soldiers turned tail and took to the sky. They were fast flyers, even injured, and they wove through the buildings and alleyways of Silverhoof with military precision, disappearing from view in an instant.

I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. One threat was gone, but now I had a new one: whoever, or whatever, on the roof of the diner. I was unarmed aside from my wing blades and my vision was blurry with blood, smoke and tears. I forced myself to stand up and extend my wings.

“Stormy!” called a familiar voice from beyond the smoke. A moment later, an armored griffon with two very large pistols and a battle saddle with a monstrous rifle attached to it emerged from the smoke and landed in front of me. I had never in my life been so happy to see a bartender on the battlefield.

“Sterling!” I exclaimed, folding in my wings and wiping my eyes on my foreleg.

“You’re hurt,” he said, taking a step towards me.

“Rose is worse. Come on.”

I raced inside and started rummaging through both my and Rose’s saddlebags. Rose’s eyes had rolled back into her head and she was shaking violently. I grabbed one of the Med-X syringes and popped the cap off, but stopped, my claws shaking.

“Where the fuck do I stick this?”

Sterling rushed to my side. “Give it to me an’ hold her down. Stabilize her head.”

I did as he said. He felt Rose’s neck with a talon before inserting the needle. He pulled back on the plunger and I could see blood mix with the fluid in the syringe. He injected the mixture and put pressure on her neck as he removed the needle. After a moment Rose stopped shaking, but she was still badly burned and slick with sweat and blood.

Sterling took Rose’s saddlebags and helped me lift her onto my back before grabbing my axe and knife. We raced out of the burning building and stopped for a moment as Sterling quickly cut the dead soldier’s pack off of him and affixed it to himself. He also ripped a velcro patch from the soldier’s shoulder and shoved it in his bag.

“Come on,” he said, and I followed as he led me further into the city. Rose felt like dead weight on my shoulders, barely moving or making a sound. I was terrified she’d die on my back.

“Where are we going?”

“I know a place.”

I didn’t push for any more details. Sterling was one of the most capable creatures I knew. If he had a plan, we’d be safe. I trusted him completely.

We weaved through the streets until we came upon a run-down old yellow brick building covered in graffiti and dead ivy. The windows were long with a gentle arch on top. The first floor windows were barricaded– boarded up and reinforced with piled stones, while the second floor had hardwood boards nailed in place. We stepped into a covered entry that protruded from the side of the building that had a metal door with a chain and padlock on it. Sterling worked the lock with his pick, then ushered me inside.

A musty smell assaulted my nares as I stepped into the dark building. Several small shafts of light shone through cracks in the stones in the windows, but not enough to see where I was going. Sterling flipped a switch and several dim lights that had been wired around the perimeter walls came to life, illuminating the area in an ominous orange light.

Several large industrial vats and tanks covered in rust and cobwebs filled the room. A multitude of pipes and taps came off of them at odd angles and sets of short metal stairs led up to inspection points on the machinery. Bottles and broken glass filled the floor beneath the tanks as if they had been swept out of the way and piled there.

Sterling secured the door with a large steel bar that slid in place, then led the way to the basement. Rows of stone walls stretched out across the room, built in long graceful arches, while metal sheeting and grids of rebar lined the outside walls. Light bulbs hung from metal conduit and several keg barrels were stacked on shelves. There were a bunch of old mattresses and cots strewn about on the floor and Sterling helped me lower Rose onto one.

She was still breathing and her eyes were no longer rolled back into her head, but her lids were heavy and she didn’t move. I spoke to her quietly, “Rose, you’re gonna be okay. Stay with me okay?”

I turned to Sterling. “What do we do?”

He had already rummaged through a cabinet and took out a metal box that he started removing things from. “We’ll need to cut her armor off, treat the burns an’ keep her hydrated an’ drugged up.” He pointed with a claw. “You work on the armor, I’ll prep the IV.”

I barely noticed at the time, but it was weird seeing Sterling in such a serious state. He was no longer the smooth-talking griffon bartender from Ophir; he was a griffon mercenary, giving orders and taking care of his team. And honestly? I was thankful for the merc at that moment.

I slid my talon between Rose’s skin and her stable suit, slicing a clean line back from the nape of her neck to her flanks. I also cut the sleeves on her forelegs, so I wouldn’t have to pull it down over them. I started to peel the armor off of her right side, but there were several spots that the stable suit had melted to her coat and she moaned in agony as it pulled at her skin. My heart ached at the sound and tears once again filled my eyes.

Sterling came over with an IV, a blood bag, gauze and some sort of paste. Seeing the tears in my eyes, he put his claw on my shoulder. “Her moanin’ is a good sign, Stormy. She’s alive. She’s fightin’. This is gonna suck, but we need to get it off of her to treat her.”

He gently peeled the right side of the stable suit off as I strategically cut fur and skin that had melted to the fabric. Rose’s cries grew louder and more agonizing as the last of it was cut free.

“Just one more side, Rose,” I said, placing my claw on her cheek. “You’ll be okay.”

Tears rolled down her face as she looked up at me, fighting to keep her eyes open and focused.

Sterling helped me roll her to where we could peel the other side of the suit off of her. Thankfully, she took the brunt of the fire with her right side and so the left came off much easier. I looked to see if her PipBuck had some sort of release mechanism, but I couldn’t find any way to remove it, so I left it on.

Rolling her back, Sterling inserted the needle for the IV and hung the blood bag on the edge of a nearby table. I cradled her head in my claws and tried my best to comfort her as Sterling worked to spread the paste on her burns and cover them with gauze. She moaned occasionally as the salve was applied, but nowhere near as much as before.

“That’s it,” Sterling said, placing the gauze to the side. “That’s all I can do for now. We’ll give her another dose of Med-X in a bit, but it’s up to her now.” He paused for a moment, then asked with concern, “How are you?”

I looked up at the griff. He was unlike I had ever seen him before: haggard and sweaty with bags under his eyes, and he wore a worried look that made me uneasy.

“I’m… okay,” I stammered.

“Let me look at your face.”

He inspected the slash across my face, then grabbed some water from his pack and a bit of gauze, carefully dabbing at the wound. “How’d you get this?”

I winced as my face stung. “The weird tail thing that the soldier had. Whipped it across my face when I attacked.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t lose an eye. Those scorpion tails can do some nasty work.” He examined the gash on my face. “You might need stitches, but I suck at that. Probably do more harm than good. I got some strips though. Might do the trick.”

He grabbed some adhesive plastic strips from the medkit and carefully stuck them to my face in such a way as to keep the wound closed. I was thankful for his medical training, however limited it may be. It was still far more than I could do, especially for Rose. If it weren’t for him, she’d probably be dead.

“Sterling… Thank you. If it weren’t for you…”

He shook his head and tried to smile, but it looked more like a worried grimace. “Just doing what I can.”

His words were casual but his demeanor wasn’t. He seemed like he was thinking about something important, but couldn’t find the words to express it. Even more unnerving, he seemed… afraid.

He looked at Rose for a moment, then back to me. “Stay with her. Let me know if she gets worse. I’m gonna make sure the safehouse is secure.”

With that, he made his way back up the stairs.

Rose’s eyes had closed and she was breathing steadily. I laid down on the floor beside her and watched the rise and fall of her chest… I thought she was going to die today– right before my eyes. I was useless in the fight against the soldiers and Rose knew it. She was going to sacrifice herself so I could escape…

I brushed her raven mane to the side. It had grown longer from when we had first met and had a habit of falling into her eyes now. It didn’t seem to bother her, but it made her eyes seem all the more intense– not that I could see them at the moment. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, breathing naturally. So different from when she was slumped against the wall, her body smoking, her eyes pleading, her mouth twitching… That moment will forever be burned into my memory: the instant that I knew she was going to die; the hopelessness that I felt. I saw it every time I closed my eyes.

I knew that I had to get better, because I was never going to let something like this happen to her again.

* * * * *

It wasn’t long until exhaustion turned into a restless sleep. My dreams were a feverish montage of the best and worst moments from the past couple days. I’d see Rose’s mischievous grin, then horns would protrude from her eye sockets as she morphed into the mutated ram in the valley; I’d see Sterling emerge from the smoke, before mutating into a black armored supersoldier who would vaporize me with energy weapons; and I’d kiss Rose in the diner, the arcs of electricity coursing through my veins, until I’d open my eyes and see her slumped against the wall as a corpse, her eyes murky and vacant, staring lifelessly off into the distance.

I awoke to a dull pain in my foreleg. I forgot that I had burnt it during the struggle with the soldier and had been inadvertently laying on it. I was still beside Rose, who was sleeping soundly, and I had a blanket; Sterling must’ve slipped it over me when I passed out.

“Nightmares?” asked the griffon. He was sitting at a table with a glass of amber liquid and several boxes of ammo and magazines.

“Yeah…” I muttered, moving over to the table to sit with him. “What are you drinking?”

“Bourbon. I also cracked open a cask of ‘Silverhoof’s Finest Amber Ale’.”

“How was that?”

“Pretty much the opposite of ‘fine’. Tasted like sour piss. Can’t say I’d recommend it.”

A ghost of a smile crept across my face. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad I found you.” He grabbed one of the two additional glasses he had sitting next to the bottle and poured me some of the bourbon. “Here. I know it’s not what you prefer, but–”

The whiskey burned my throat, but it was also nice and smoky and reminded me a bit of what my father would drink. “It’s fine.”

I noticed that Sterling still looked incredibly tired and was wringing his claws while staring at the bottle. He was also miles from Ophir, and while flying a straight line was always faster than walking, it was still a long journey. He had to have left only a day or so after we did and with the way he was acting…

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Sterling gave me a long look and nodded. “Veritas learned that his brother had been executed and he came back to Ophir.”

I remembered the battle we had with Veritas in the Ophir Post building. The incredible illusions and misdirection he was capable of, and the magical energy he summoned that blackened our bodies when I tried to fight him claw-to-hoof. He was a dangerous unicorn.

Sterling wrapped his claws around his glass and stared deeply into it.

“He was angrier and more dangerous than ever, and he didn’t come alone– he brought a military detachment with him… He razed the town, he–”

Sterling paused to take a long pull of his bourbon, his talons shaking.

“I watched The Grotto burn down; I saw ponies that we had saved burnin’ in the street; I saw a foal immolated by an energy weapon blast… and all the while Veritas bellowed ‘bout his brother and how the townspeople were murderers.”

I swallowed, thinking about how scared and suspicious the townspeople were when we first came to Ophir and how free and happy they seemed once Ino, Vino, and Veritas were taken care of. The town was finally breaking free from the oppression they had been under for a while, and just a few days later, Veritas returned to crush that hope and kill everyone…

Sterling looked at me with tears in his eyes as he spoke, “The people of Ophir ain’t murderers. They were just tryin’ to make a life in the one place they could find that wasn’t a shithole… and so was I… I tried to save some of ‘em, but I hadn’t seen an attack that vicious since I was out east. We weren’t prepared.”

I placed my claw on his. “You did what you could. There’s only so much one griff can do, especially against a crazy unicorn and an army.”

Sterling shook his head. “It wasn’t enough… but that ain’t even the worst of it. Veritas was also screaming ‘bout somethin’ else… the ‘Child of Invicta’.”

My blood ran cold. Those were the words that Veritas had hissed at me during our battle, right before Sterling put a round through his eye socket.

“He wants me.”

“And that’s why I’m here,” Sterling said, looking at me with fire in his eyes. “I knew where you were headin’, and I knew if I flew day an’ night I might be able to get to you before he could. I grabbed my old merc gear and ran. I couldn’t help the people of Ophir, but I knew I might be able to help you… I didn’t count on the Enclave finding you before me though…” He trailed off as he looked down at the table. “I was almost too late.”

I moved around the table and hugged the griff. He buried his face into my neck as he shook from stifled sobs and I held him tight.

“But you weren’t. I’m here because of you. Rose is alive because of you.”

“But you almost weren’t. When I saw those Enclave soldiers lightin’ up the diner, I thought you were already dead. When the one went inside an’ the other two moved to flank the entry, I saw an opportunity. If there was any chance you were alive, I needed to get you out. I tried to take out both the soldiers outside the diner with my anti-machine rifle, but they were too quick. I circled ‘round an’ landed on the roof of the diner an’ was able to get a drop on the other one thanks to the smoke. That’s when I saw you an’ the third one tumble out of the front entry.”

I thought back to the fight with the soldier. “I was able to slice one of the tubes leading to his helmet and push him out the door. It was a last ditch effort. I just wanted to get him away from Rose.”

A ghost of a smile spread across Sterling’s face. “That’s very intuitive of you… you targeted the weakest part of their armor.”

“Wasn’t enough though. I was useless in that fight. Rose did most of the work.”

I suddenly heard a weak voice from behind. “Did not.”

Rose! I scrambled to her side and Sterling followed. She struggled to open her eyes and lift her head, but I gently placed a claw on her cheek. “Shh, don’t move.”

Rose spoke in a slow, labored voice, “You were… supposed… to run.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, not just from the obvious pain in her voice, but also from the thought of running away and leaving her to die.

“I wasn’t going to leave you.” Suddenly, my inner Rose kicked in. “Especially not after such an explosive kiss.”

Sterling arched an eyebrow, then gave me a sly grin. “Now that is a story I gotta hear.”

The corner of Rose’s mouth curled up and she coughed. “Ow… I thought that was… a dream.”

I shook my head and smiled. “Nope. One hundred percent real.”

“Good.”

Her eyes were barely open as she spoke, but they closed fully as she drifted back off to sleep. Sterling must’ve been able to tell I was worried, because he placed a claw on my shoulder.

“She’ll be okay. The more she can sleep right now, the better. Now, why don’t you tell me ‘bout this ‘explosive kiss’?”

* * * * *

I learned from Sterling that this safehouse was an old brewery– a factory that produced beers and ales back during and before the war. According to Sterling, the quality of ales before the balefire bombs dropped would’ve been easily tenfold what they are now, even compared to what he served me in Ophir. Apparently whiskey and rye kept pretty well though. The irony that Sterling had brought us to a safehouse that was a brewery also wasn’t lost on me. When I brought it up, Sterling just laughed.

“Complete accident,” he said, “but I’m not surprised. Merc safehouses are always stocked with the two A’s: alcohol an’ ammunition. Makes sense they’d use an old brewery.”

“I thought you said you knew this place?”

“I knew a place. When I first came out west, I did some jobs for local merc groups to get by, before I found Ophir. I knew there was a safehouse in the Distillery District, but not exactly where or what it was. I spotted the Wildland Mercenaries symbol in the mess of graffiti on the outside of the building.”

He traced the outline of the symbol for me. It looked like abstract lines at first, but he explained it had the basic form of two hatchets: one facing up and to the left and the other inverted so together they formed a ‘W’ shape.

I learned that a lot of mercenary groups used symbols to mark safehouses, drop points, or weapon and ammo caches. Since no merc can memorize every location in every town, it’s important to have a way for them to find important resources, especially if separated or in a high-stress situation.

Rose continued to sleep and heal with the aid of the Med-X injections, which I learned was way more complicated than I had ever thought: I needed to find the jugular vein in the neck, hold it off two talons-widths below the injection site, insert the needle with the beveled edge facing me, pull back to make sure I see blood slowly fill the syringe (too fast means I hit an artery), then inject. Sterling assured me it got easier the more I did it, but the first time he had me try, I was terrified I was going to hurt Rose.

I knew that the battle at the diner could’ve easily been a slaughter. Rose did most of the work and was very nearly killed. I had to develop my skills, and while first-aid was part of that, I needed to be more versatile in combat as well.

“Hey Sterling?” I asked, a bit sheepishly.

“Yeah?”

“Can you… teach me to shoot?”

A wide grin spread across his face and he puffed out his feathers happily. “O’ course I can! But I thought you hated guns?”

I thought back to the slaver’s wagon: my father stealing the revolver from the slave leader, dropping it when he got shot, me picking it up and trying to aim…

“I do… They’re loud and clumsy, and–”

I paused momentarily, thinking back to the moment before I blacked out.

“And I may have killed my dad with one… I don’t know. He was being held hostage– I tried to aim, took a shot, then someone smashed me over the head and I blacked out. I never saw him again.”

Sterling gave me a sympathetic look and moved to sit next to me. “I’m sorry, Stormy. Not a lot of us have parents in the Wasteland– it must’ve been tough to lose him like that.”

I sighed. “It was… Rose could tell you. I lost it for a bit. But I want to learn to shoot for her. I don’t ever want to be useless in a fight again because all I can do is whack things with a big axe.”

Sterling’s gaze was filled with sympathy and he gave me a slight smile. “I can very much understand wantin' to protect those you love.”

Love!? The comment gave me pause– did I love Rose? I cared for her greatly and she was my best friend, but…

“Alright,” Sterling said, interrupting my thoughts. He stood to my side. “First thing you should know is there’s two types of trigger mechanism– the kind that ponies shoot an’ the kind that griffons shoot. Well, three if you include battle saddles. The guns that Rose uses are meant for ponies– the trigger is pulled by clampin’ your teeth down on the bit, right?”

I nodded.

“Battle saddles work the same way, but the guns are mounted on the saddle. There’s still a bit to clamp down on, ‘less you’re a unicorn. Now these–”

Sterling pulled one of the pistols from his shoulder holster and held it in his claw.

“These are meant for a griffon. Or really, any creature that has talons or claws. They feel better, they’re more versatile, an’ you can wield two of ‘em at once if you’ve got good balance on your hind legs.”

He dropped the magazine and racked the weapon to empty the chamber, then passed it over to me. While it was heavy, it didn’t feel quite as awkward as the slave leader’s revolver did, and I liked that I was able to swing it around and maneuver it without the neck strain.

“The sights work the same way– look through the two pegs on the rear sight an’ line the front sight up at the same height. You’ll hit whatever is right above ‘em, give or take dependin’ on the distance. Once you get used to findin’ that sight picture, you can work on keepin’ both eyes open an’ lookin’ at the target an’ the sights at the same time.”

I noticed that I had closed one eye while trying to line the sights up properly and did my best to try to look at an empty bottle across the room while also looking at the sights. My eyes struggled to focus, but I got it for a split second before I lost it.

“I like how this feels much better,” I said, passing the gun back to Sterling, who grinned.

“I thought you might.” He inserted the magazine and racked the slide before coolly dropping it back into his holster. “You’ve grown up workin’ with your claws. Only makes sense to use a firearm that fits your anatomy an’ skills. Let me see what I can find.”

He searched through a locker and a filing cabinet in the brewery basement that contained a stash of firearms and ammunition, then started looking through the drawers of a desk before something caught his eye.

“Aha!” he exclaimed, pulling a small pistol with a stainless steel barrel and a wooden grip from the desk. He racked the action back and handed it to me. “That oughta work to get you started. It’s chambered in .22 Long Rifle, so you won’t be able to take down anythin’ too big, but there’s tons of ammunition out there for it an’ you won’t blow your eardrums out shootin’ it. I know that’s important to you.”

I smiled. Sterling knew me well. I looked the pistol over and found an engraving on the barrel that read “22 LONG RIFLE - BUCK MARK - MADE IN EQUESTRIA WITH PRIDE”. It was light compared to Sterling’s pistol and I liked how well it fit my grip.

“Thank you, Sterling. For everything.”

“My pleasure. Now, let’s see if we can find you a holster. We can drill the basics while we’re here, but you’ll need to get some live fire practice with radroaches an’ radrats to really get better.”

I nodded. It might not have been the biggest, flashiest, or deadliest weapon, but it was a way for me to gain experience and develop my skills, and I was thankful for it.

* * * * *

It was hard to tell exactly how much time we spent holed up in the safehouse. Sterling continued to teach me about firearms and combat as Rose rested. The healing salves were working wonders on her burns, and she no longer needed Med-X to sleep. Sterling insisted we stop using it as soon as we could to prevent addiction. The scar on my face had crusted over and was starting to heal as well.

From what we could see, there were no signs of additional Enclave patrols or Veritas Azure. Sterling had suggested they’d scan the ground from the skies and we likely wouldn’t see them on-foot. I figured that was also why they seemed to come out of nowhere at the diner and why they didn’t show up on Rose’s E.F.S. until the last second.

It was during a particularly boring stretch of quiet that I heard Rose rustle and then get up. I ran to her side and Sterling followed.

“Hey! Don’t rush it! You don’t need to get up, I can–”

Rose stuck her hoof in my mouth. “Storm Mist?”

“Hrm-mm?”

“I need to piss like a racehorse. So unless you’re really into that kinky golden shower shit, get out of my way and let me pee.”

Sterling laughed as I blushed and hastily moved out of the way. Once Rose had relieved herself, she returned and we all sat down at the table. Rose eyeballed the bourbon and the three glasses. “You saved me a glass?”

“Of course,” Sterling said in his regular suave demeanor, “I would never deny a lady her whiskey.”

Rose levitated the bottle, pouring a glass for herself and I looked to Sterling. “Is that a good idea?”

Sterling shrugged. “She’s off the Med-X now, so she’ll be okay so long as she keeps drinkin’ water as well.”

She gave me the stink eye as she levitated the glass over to herself. “How dare you suggest that alcohol is a bad idea. What kind of monster are you?”

“The kind that cares about you immensely.”

The words just kind of rolled off my tongue before I could even think, and Rose gave me a look of surprise that broke into a smile. “That’s fair, I guess.”

Sterling poured what was left of the whiskey into two glasses, sliding one over to me before Rose spoke again.

“So what’d you find in the ammo can?”

“Haven’t looked yet,” I said with a grin. “I was waiting for you.”

Rose gave me a broad smile while Sterling just looked confused. I pulled the ammo can from my saddle bag and set it on the table before cracking open the latch. I removed the two photos of my parents and explained who they were to Sterling before continuing to dig in the can.

Inside, I found two faded white “Ministry of Awesome” key cards that had printed barcodes and serial numbers on the sides; a paper with the numbers “7-8-6-7-6-9” written on it; a map of Western Equestria with several locations circled, including one that was in Silverhoof; a small burlap bag that had been packed with rice; as well as a note that had apparently been written by one of my parents.

Sterling eyed the items suspiciously. “Not exactly what you’d expect to find in a stash. Usually there’s caps or weapons.”

“What does the note say?” asked Rose, leaning over the table to get a better look.

The letters had faded a bit, but it was still legible. I read it aloud:

Dear Storm Mist,

If you're reading this, we're probably dead. Well, more dead. We did our best to keep you safe and give you a normal life– or at least, as normal as it gets in the Wasteland. We always wanted to do right by you.

If you've learned about your past, we're sorry for our part in it. We didn't know at the time what we were getting into and the balefire bombs dropped before we could even finish the mission. If you still don't know– good. It's better if you keep it that way. Get out of Silverhoof as fast as you can. It's not safe for you here.

We love you more than you can imagine. No matter what, you're our son. Please stay safe out there.

Love,

Evergreen & Carbon

My voice wavered a bit at the end, but I managed to get through the whole thing without crying. I had no idea what my parents could have done before I was put in stasis, but I doubt it could’ve been anything that bad. They were the best parents anyone could’ve asked for.

Rose rested her head on her hoof. “Well that raises more questions than it answers.”

Sterling looked at me. “So, what are you going to do?”

I looked at the assortment of strange items in front of me and thought about what they could all mean. My mind raced with possibilities. Maybe the key cards still worked and the circled locations were old government facilities? Maybe I could find out more about my parents and what they were working on during the war?

But also maybe not. Rose almost died following me as I searched for answers, and here I was finding nothing but more questions. These could just be relics of the past and I might be thinking way too hard. Maybe I should do what the note suggested and get the hell away from Silverhoof… But Ophir was burned to the ground, and Veritas and the Enclave were after me. There really wasn’t anywhere out there that was safe anymore.

I shook my head. “I think… I’m going to make some rice.”

I grabbed the bag of rice and dumped it into a small cooking pot that was kept beside a portable gas stove. Just as I was going to add water, a glint of something metallic caught my eye. Within the rice, I found a small glass vial with a spiral metal casing, filled with a cloudy, dark green liquid.

“What’d you find?” asked Rose, who was watching me intently.

“I have no idea…”

I searched the rice for any more hidden items, but found nothing. I added water and covered the pot, letting it heat up on the stove. I brought the little vial over to the table and the three of us stared at it for a moment.

“Super soldier serum,” said Rose, nodding sagely.

Sterling shrugged. “Could be, actually. With a place called ‘The Ministry of Awesome’, anythin’ is possible, right?”

“The Ministry of Awesome wasn’t a single place,” Rose said, putting on her proverbial teacher’s hat. “It was one of six government institutions that were established by Princess Luna during the war. They were created after Princess Celestia abdicated the throne. They were run by a group of mares called the Elements of Harmony, who each headed up their own ministry.”

She pointed at the ammo can. “M.W.T. means Ministry of Wartime Technology– it was headed up by an earth pony named Applejack. The Ministry of Awesome was led by a pegasus named Rainbow Dash.”

Sterling gave Rose a funny look. “Dash… Like a Dashite?”

“Maybe? I’ve never heard that term before.”

“I worked with a pegasus once back east who was a Dashite. He was former Enclave, kicked out an’ banished to the Wasteland for his beliefs. They branded over his cutiemark with a storm cloud an’ a lightnin’ bolt an’ called him a Dashite. He wore the title proudly, though.”

Rose’s eyes lit up. “That’s her cutiemark! They’ve gotta be related somehow… Information about post-war events is basically non-existent, so I don’t really know what happened to her. That’s really cool though!”

Rose caught me staring and shrunk back slightly. “Sorry, nerd stuff.”

I shook my head and smiled. “It makes me happy to see you excited about something. Plus every time you talk about the past, I learn something new.”

She returned my smile and sat up proudly. “So it’s decided then?”

I gave her a questioning look.

“We keep going. We dig into your past, find out what happened to Rainbow Dash, figure out what that weird serum is, discover the crazy underground bunker of super soldier cyberponies, become their ruler, then destroy Veritas, the Enclave, and every raider in the Wasteland, returning peace and balance to Equestria.”

Sterling raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that. Sounds like fun!”

I stared at the unicorn and griffon before me and realized that I had somehow managed to befriend the weirdest creatures in the Wasteland, but despite their apparent insanity, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

I raised my glass as well.

Footnote: Level Up!

New Perk: Basic Marksman
You can now handle a weapon without shooting yourself or your companions. Better late than never, right? Your skill with pistols and rifles has increased.

Author's Note

Sterling Silver has joined the party.

I'm very excited to have gotten to this point in the story, because things are about to get weird! Plus, we got the trio back together and they get to figure out how to work together effectively.

Thanks again to Rebel Beats and Artimae for their support!