Fallout: Equestria - The Spark of Life

Chapter 4: Dark Revelations

Oh, boy. I hate epic adventures.

It was the same dream, but at the same time it was different. I drifted listlessly, pelted by the raging storm. All around me, dark laughter echoed across the skies. A raging torrent of water rushed at me from all directions. I tried as hard as I could to escape it, my wings flapping as hard as they could. The water crashed over me, dragging me down to the dark depths below.

Usually by that point, the dream had ended. It didn’t this time. I floundered in the water, struggling to breathe. My lungs were on fire. I began to pass out. A bright light washed over me, filling every inch of the water with its brilliance.

I began to hear a voice in the distance calling my name. It was almost… familiar. Was I dead? I remembered being thrown forward into the void in Klugetown, but not much more after that.

The voice called out again and I struggled to listen. It was calling my name. It was calling for me to… wake up? I strained to see where the voice was coming from.

All I could see was a brilliant blur of purple. And then nothing more.

* * *

“Star, dammit wake up!” I heard Violet shouting from above me. “Star, come on…”

“V… Vi?” I weakly uttered, coughing up some dust. I tried to get a sense of what was going on, but couldn’t see much beyond my marefriend’s face.

I ignited my horn, giving us some light, but not much. All around us was rubble. Wood and concrete rubble. Above us was nothing but dark cold stone. The building must have collapsed on its side. My mind raced as I glanced over at Violet.

“You’re… you’re okay,” I coughed out. “Where…?”

“Trick and Sunshine are fine,” Violet said. “They’re trying to find a way out that isn’t going to bring down this entire structure on top of us. We got lucky. At the very least we only lost our anti-smog gear, it got busted on the trip down.”

“What about…?” I asked, groaning again.

“Bright Ember. We could hear him, at least until about thirty minutes ago. He’s trapped behind some fallen stone,” Violet said. “You were pretty banged up still from before so you were out cold for a few hours.”

I winced. My rib still felt very tender. I moved to push myself to a sitting position, grimacing as I did so. “What happened?”

“Something hit the building,” Violet said.

“The rest of the city was uninhabited except for that smog shit,” I said. “And that certainly didn’t do this.”

Sunshine reappeared out of the darkness, her horn glowing brightly. “Oh good, she’s awake. We think we can free Bright Ember, but we’re going to need Star’s magic.”

“She’s still all sorts of fucked up here,” Violet said, raising an eyebrow. “There’s no way she can…”

“Vi… I have to try,” I said, panting hard as I stood. “We can’t just stick around here. We’ll die if we lose too much air.”

Violet sighed loudly and looked down at her hooves. “You’re right,” she said. “I hate when you’re right.”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t happen that often,” I said with a small smirk before looking at Sunshine. “Lead me to him.”

We carefully walked across the broken overturned building to another section where Trick Shot was waiting. He looked a little beaten up himself, but otherwise fine. He was standing in front of a pile of stone blocking the wall next to him.

“We think we can move some of the stone,” he said as we made our way to him. “But we can’t move enough of it to get through without possibly compromising the stone above.”

“What can I do?”

“We need you to focus your magic on the ceiling and keep it steady while we work,” Sunshine said. “You’re the strongest telekinetic here. If you can keep it up until we can build a proper brace then we should be okay.”

I nodded. If Bright Ember was in trouble, I felt compelled to help as best as I could. I reached out with my magic, wrapping the stone above us in a cold pale blue light. I strained as I held it in place. Sunshine and Trick took no time at all, each of them beginning to move stones and pieces of wood away from the wall. I felt the ceiling shift several times, and I struggled to keep my magic in place. Sunshine moved some of the rubble to each side, turning it into braces that wedged up into the ceiling, adding a bit of her own magic to the mix with some vines to strengthen them.

In the void beyond, Bright Ember lay on his side. Trick quickly pulled him from the dark space and out. Violet moved to his side and checked his vitals as I released the ceiling onto the braces that Sunshine had fashioned.

“He’s unconscious,” she said. “He must have lost a lot of air in there calling for help. I think he’s going to be fine though, but somepony is going to have to carry him.”

“Strap him to me,” I said, grimacing. “I’m the only one physically capable of carrying him, and we’re going to need all of our magic to get out of here.”

“Getting out of here is going to be an even crazier proposition,” Sunshine said, scowling. “We don’t know how far the building fell. It’s possible we’re not even above ground. There isn’t much light. Our only way out is directly upwards.”

“And we don’t know how much rubble is directly above us,” I said. “Or what state this building will be in when we cut through.”

Sunshine nodded. I growled under my breath.

“I could try to teleport out,” I said. “I can reasonably teleport to places I’ve been, and I’ve certainly been outside in this stupid city.”

“You’re in no shape to be teleporting anywhere, and we still don’t know what hit the building,” Violet chided. “That would be a very bad idea in general.”

I cursed out loud and put my head against the cold stone wall. Violet was right. If something was out there, and it hit the building, then chances were it was still out there.

“T-t-t-tunnels…” a voice croaked from below us. It was Bright Ember. He groaned and pushed himself up before falling back. He managed to croak out one last thing before passing out again. “There’s… there’s tunnels below the city.”

“Tunnels?” Sunshine said. “I think I like the idea of being outside much better.”

A grinding sound erupted from somewhere above us, and I could hear the thundering sound of hooves. Whatever had hit the building was still out there and it was directly above our location. I listened closely trying to get a sense of what it was.

“We should move,” I said. “The tunnels are probably safer than whatever’s up there, but we need to head towards where the building is separated to move down safely.”

“You don’t think it’s…?” Violet started to say.

My mind flashed back to Hope Hollow. Was it the raiders from there? Did they follow us all the way here? What kind of reach did this Master of their have? I was sure I was going to find out sooner or later. In the meantime, we needed to move. I fastened Bright Ember to me as best as I could and we started to make our way through the maze of the ruined building. The grinding noises continued above us and I could have sworn at some point I heard shouting. We were running out of time and we needed to find a way down below if there was one.

The area that must have been directly below us but was now in front of us was a ruined stairwell, the stairs themselves rotted out and broken up from the crash. We maneuvered through the field of sharp metal as carefully as we could for what felt like forever, feeling the building shift every so often as it settled. We finally made our way to what looked like where the building broke off before seeing the outside. It was dark out. The haze of the smog permeated the air above us but thankfully remained there as we stepped onto the ruined ground floor. The grinding noises were louder now that we could hear them without the stone muffling them.

As we moved into the darkness towards a door leading down into a basement, something big and black moved to intercept us. My eyes widened as I took in what it was. It was another one of those things that Breeze had called a Storm Guard. It held a long pike in one hand and a shield in the other. It’s eyes pierced into my very soul and held me there for a second.

“Star! Come on, we’ve got to move!” Violet shouted, unleashing two bolts of magical energy from her battle saddle mounted rifles.

The creature moved to dodge the bolts of energy, lowering its pike to fire a bolt of energy from the tip. I growled under my breath and lifted a shield to deflect the bolt away. It sizzled and dissipated against my shield instead, making me feel rather queasy as the magic fell away.

Trick Shot fired as well, hitting the thing in its shoulder. Blackened blood spurted from it, knocking it to the ground.

“Run! Down!” he shouted.

I nodded and moved past him as he continued to fire shot after shot into the creature. It didn’t have time to dodge them, so great was Trick’s skill with a rifle. It dropped back to the ground, howling in pain as it struggled to move. Trick grimaced and lowered his rifle, moving to follow us down the stairs.

“I put it down but there’s sure to be more,” he said. “We need to hope this isn’t a dead end or we’re digging in to fight.”

Sunshine threw open the door at the bottom of the stairs with a flash of her horn, vines forming to rip it apart. The basement was wide open, having survived the crash of the building above intact. At the far end through the rotted debris was another door that looked like it led downward still. We’d gotten lucky, but only just so.

We made it halfway across the basement before there was shouting behind us and gunfire. I quickly tried to make a shield, but only just barely got it up before it dissipated again. Whatever energy that Storm Guard’s bolts had transferred combined with my own healing injuries was affecting my magic.

*BLAM* *BLAM*

Trick Shot’s rifle came up again and the two raiders that had been following us lost their lives along with pieces of their skull. Sunshine and Violet had continued moving forward, reaching the door in no time at all. Sunshine began working on the door as fast as she could, pulling it open to reveal a darkened tunnel deep into the ground below. We funneled in, closing the door behind us.

“Sunshine, can you seal it behind us?” I called out.

“What if we trap ourselves down here?” she asked, panting heavily. She was absolutely drenched in sweat.

“I’m willing to take that shot,” I said. “We have to do something to slow them down.”

Sunshine nodded, grimacing as she shimmied past me towards the door. With a flare of her horn, magical vines sprung into existence, closing the gap and bathing us in darkness. From the other side I could hear more shouting.

“That oughta hold them over until we can get deeper in the tunnels,” she said as she ignited her horn, giving us a bright pinkish light to go by. “Now, let’s see where we are.”

We moved down the steps carefully, going deeper and deeper until we found ourselves in a larger tunnel. It smelled rotten down here, like death. I didn’t care for it, especially in my condition. I looked back at Bright Ember, strapped to my body. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing. I counted small blessings from the Goddess for that. I still couldn’t believe that someone seemingly as nice as he was could turn into such a dangerous creature.

“It looks like this tunnel loops around and branches off multiple paths,” Sunshine said, returning from walking ahead a little bit. “It’s hard to tell which way is the right path.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “I really wish Bright Ember was awake. He might actually know where to go.”

“We can’t sit for too long. Sooner or later, they’re going to get through if they’re resourceful enough. Shit, what the fuck was that thing I shot anyway?” Trick Shot said. “Does this have something to do with that army you were talking about?”

I nodded. “The pegasi in charge of the army called them Storm Guards. Vicious and deadly. Fast. But not faster than you it seems,” I said.

“I wasn’t at the top of my class in marksmanship for nothing,” Trick Shot replied.

“Trick is right. We shouldn’t dally too long,” Violet said, panting. “We’re all tired as hell, but we have to keep moving.”

“Stick close then. We’re just going to have to pick a route and double back if it’s a dead end,” I said with a grimace. “We can’t split up down here.”

We started walking deeper into the tunnel, coming across the openings that led into three different paths. I stepped up to each one, trying to visualize the city above as best as I could. Violet stepped up next to me, doing the same. We both arrived at the tunnel on the left.

“You sure about this?” I asked Violet.

“Pretty sure,” Violet said with a nod.

I motioned for the others to follow behind us as we filed into the tunnel. It opened up into a much wider tunnel that looked like more worked stone. Something had built this up. My eyes widened as the wide tunnel turned into an open air cavern system. Gemstones gleamed all around the walls. Large pieces of mining equipment lay here or there, long abandoned.

“Whoah,” Sunshine said. “Who set this up?”

I scowled, glancing at one of the drills. It bore a symbol I was becoming increasingly frustrated with. “Hippocampus Energy,” I said. “What were they doing down here? They’ve been everywhere since we left Equestria.”

“Star, look,” Violet said, pointing up at the cavern ceiling.

I glanced up. Power cabling ran across the ceiling, held in place with massive brackets bolted into the stone. It went back and forth across the cavern, ending in a large terminal on a cliff in the distance. A large elevator led up to the terminal, and a door sat in the stone beyond the terminal on the cliff.

“That’s our way out,” I said. “Everypony head for the elevator. I have a sneaking suspicion where that door goes.”

“I’m going to guess Hippocampus Energy for a hundred caps,” Sunshine said.

We started walking across the cavern heading for the elevator and had nearly made it three fourths of the way there when I heard shouting from behind us. I quickly dove behind one of the large drilling tanks, grabbing Violet. Sunshine and Trick Shot followed suit.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered as I heard the grunts and growls of Storm Guards in the room. I glanced back up at the elevator. “Can’t really make a break for it.”

“Then we dig in,” Trick Shot said. “How’s your magic?”

My horn glowed softly. “Feeling a little better. Sunshine?”

“I’m good,” the pink unicorn said with a grin. “Let’s dig in and show these fuckers who they’re dealing with.”

I nodded, pulling Bright Ember off my back and settling him behind some debris so that they couldn’t see him. I was going to need to be able to move if I was going to fight. I accessed my magic again, trying to form my blade. My body was still healing but I was able to form at least a passable blade. It would have to suffice.

We positioned ourselves behind some of the nearby drilling tanks and I glanced out. There were at least three Storm Guards combing the room, spurred on by two floating pegasi and three raiders. Eight in total. I scowled.

“Okay, Trick. Your bullets seemed to catch the Storm Guards unaware. Keep them busy and keep them guessing where you are,” I said softly. “I’m going to deal with the pegasi, but I’m going to need a little help from Sunshine.”

“Got it,” Sunshine said.

“Violet, I want you to focus on the raiders. They have the worst looking armor, so your energy weapons should make quick work of them,” I said to my marefriend.

“I can do that,” she said.

“Good. Now get ready, because Trick… you’re going to kick things off as soon as I fly out,” I said.

The ghoulicorn nodded and floated his rifle out next to him. He glanced up and climbed up slowly onto the tank, positioning himself so he could see out throughout the cavern. I took the cue and launched myself in the air, allowing the pegasi to see me.

“Yo, feather brains!” I shouted. “Looking for me?”

“Get her!” one of the pegasi shouted as several beams of energy came my way.

I dodged to the side as quickly as I could, still taking a grazing shot along my side that hurt like hell. Chaos erupted and several things happened all at once. Trick Shot’s rifle blared to life in the cavern, filling the air with raucous sound as his bullets tore into the Storm Guards. They appeared to be disoriented and fell backwards, bleeding profusely from several wounds. At the same time, Violet’s energy rifle also broke the silence, smacking into the raiders. They dove behind some cover and Violet kept them pinned down.

As for the pegasi, they got close enough to try to hit me again before two large vines erupted out of the ground below them and latched onto their legs, pulling them down and swinging them about to collide with one another. I took the opportunity and brought my blade to bear, using it to sever their armor’s power matrix with a well placed blow to the panel where it was located. Both fell stone cold to the ground, unmoving.

The Storm Guards were recuperating, but they didn’t seem to be pressing the attack. Instead, they retreated out of the room entirely. Something didn’t fill me with hope that this was all they had sent. As I turned my attention to the raiders I saw three glowing puddles of silver goop, Violet standing triumphantly over them.

“That was a lot easier than I expected,” she said, panting.

“They were testing us,” Trick Shot said as he climbed down from his vantage point.

At that I heard rumbling coming from the tunnel beyond. What emerged was the most insane thing I’d ever seen. It looked like a Storm Guard, but it was much bigger and silvery instead of black. It was covered in bristly spiked armor and looked to be enhanced with cybernetics, complete with what appeared to be a breathing apparatus attached to its face. It held a massive pike in both hands, covered in spikes. It roared in challenge, a garbled mess of sounds that didn’t sound pleasant.

“Fuuuuuuuuuck,” I said to myself. “All of you, get to the elevator! I’m going to try to hold this thing off to give you time.”

“You’re still tired, Star!” Violet said. “That thing will crush you in ten seconds flat.”

“Honey, I beat Wrath. I can beat this thing,” I said with a grin.

Violet stopped for a moment and smiled back at me. She nodded and grabbed Sunshine and Trick, pulling them back to where we’d stashed Bright Ember. She looked up at me as she uncovered where he’d been hidden and there was… nothing? Where had he gone?

“Just go! I’ll find him!” I shouted before Violet could come back. “GO!”

Violet and the others quickly scampered away, heading towards the elevator. I heard it begin to creak as I turned back to the monster at hoof. It roared again, lowering its pike as if to charge. Its spikes gleamed in the low light of the cavern as it launched itself across at me. I yelped loudly, teleporting away into mid air as its cruel weapon struck down where I’d been. The creature wasted no time, glancing up at me with its deep blue eyes. It leaped into the air at me and I barely had time to engage Shining Armor’s shield spell before it slammed into it, falling back to the ground.

The creature stood, watching me carefully, gauging my strength. Somehow I knew it was figuring out just how long I could maintain my shield. The pinkish bubble winked out of existence and the creature leaped into the air at me. I brought my blade to bear, slicing at the beast, but it wasn’t enough. The blunt force of its body struck me, sending a spike right into my shoulder. I howled in pain and dropped like a stone. I struck the ground and groaned, struggling to get up. I spat blood. I needed to move or I was going to die.

You’re probably going to die anyway from that much blood loss, I thought to myself as I watched the creature approach from my peripheral vision. Fuck… I’m sorry, Violet. I couldn’t pull myself out of this one after all.

The creature kept inching forward closer, trying to determine if this was some trick. If I could have talked without coughing up blood I’d have told it that there was no trick. I was really bleeding out here.

The creature raised its pike over my head, intent on bringing it down through my skull. It growled and for a brief second I really thought this was the end. I coughed blood and prepared to die.

Then something slammed into the creature so hard that it went flying backwards into one of the cavern walls. A roaring green flame erupted in the space before me and I felt my wounds begin to close up, the byproduct of magical radiation filling me with intense warmth. Standing above me was a glowing figure with a resplendent mane of fiery green. It took my eyes a few seconds to realize it was Bright Ember.

His eyes glowed fiercely with green fire and he uttered a roar that reminded me of the Nirik we’d taken down just outside of the Badlands. He didn’t even look at me, instead focused on the creature in front of him. The other thing appeared to be sizing up Ember, not understanding clearly what kind of creature the Nirik was. It lowered its pike for a charge and started towards the Nirik.

Ember shifted, turning his tail around in a blaze of green flame that wrapped itself around the pike as it came within range. I heard a hissing sound of metal as it vaporized under the intense radioactive flames. The creature fell backwards, its weapon reduced to nothing more than slag. It studied the Nirik for a few more seconds, and then started pulling away as if to retreat. Ember made to move towards it.

“Wait,” I coughed out, finally able to speak as my wounds slowly dissipated. “Let it go.”

Ember seemed to stop for a second, growling under his breath. The creature took the opportunity to scamper away, headed for the tunnels. It disappeared.

I grunted, pushing myself to my hooves. Bright Ember seemed taken aback by just a smidge at the fact that I could move, but I was feeling stronger with each passing moment spent in the area of the Nirik’s radioactive glow.

Bright Ember growled again as I reached out to him with a hoof. He moved to lash out at me and I moved in closer, pulling him towards me in an embrace. With a flash of powerful magic, the radiation in the air died away in a steam cloud and I felt nothing but fur and mane.

“It… it happened again,” Bright Ember said finally after several long moments of silence. “You see what I have to deal with. I’m dangerous to everyone else but myself.”

“You also saved my life,” I said, the glow subsiding from my own body. “Your transformation healed me, and you stood up to that thing.”

“I couldn’t let you… let you die,” Bright Ember said. “You risked your own lives to save mine. I… I had forgotten what it felt like.”

“Caring for another?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Bright Ember nodded. “Positive emotions keep the Kirin in control,” he explained. “Powerful negative emotions… they cause us to transform. I was angry and hurt. I wanted that thing dead.”

“You would have probably killed it if we hadn’t let it go,” I stated matter of factly. I tested my limb strength as we stood there. I felt good, cleaner than I had all day. The excess radiation had already managed to bleed away and I was in tip top shape.

“Why did you… let it go?” Bright Ember asked.

“Because… you’re not a monster,” I said softly. “I was afraid you might never come back from something like that. It was defeated, that was enough.”

“I… I… Thank you,” Bright Ember said in reply.

“You’re welcome. Now let’s go find the others,” I said, pulling up the PipBuck tag for Violet’s PipBuck. The indicator showed that she was up, possibly out of the elevator. She wasn’t moving. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not yet. I glanced up at the terminal and door. The door was open. “I think you’ll find Klugetown less than hospitable at this point.”

“I think you’re right,” Bright Ember said. “Besides… I think perhaps I could show you the way to Abyssinia. Help you find your way to Mount Aris.”

“You aren’t afraid of transforming again?” I asked as we walked towards the elevator shaft. I pushed the button once we got there and heard the cranking as the elevator started to come down.

“I’m always afraid of that,” Bright Ember said. “But maybe… maybe I can learn to control it. I did just use it to help you. Maybe there’s something good about my Nirik side.”

I smiled to myself as the elevator dropped into place in front of us. We stepped onto it and I pressed the button, pulling us upwards. The elevator stopped after several moments, depositing us in front of the terminal and metal door. I stepped outside, breathing a sigh of relief as Violet and the others reappeared from just inside the door.

“Star! You’re okay!” Violet squealed, rushing into my waiting embrace. “We thought…”

“I’m fine… thanks to our new friend here,” I said, motioning to Bright Ember, who waved meekly.

“Ember! You’re okay!” Sunshine exclaimed. “We thought one of those things had gotten you.”

“Ember saved my life,” I said with a grin. “Stood up to that thing.”

“I saw it all from up here through my scope,” Trick Shot grunted. “You managed to control the Nirik.”

Ember grimaced. “I did what I had to do… you all showed me kindness when you didn’t need to. I’m going to guide you to Abyssinia, help you get to where you’re going. Besides.. It’s not like I can stay here.”

Trick Shot looked a little pissed, and I had an inkling why. Niriks had been dangerous creatures that had attacked his caravans. The dangers of traveling with one were apparent. If Bright Ember got angry or something happened that triggered his state, Sunshine and Violet could be cooked alive by the resulting flare in radiation.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” I said hurriedly to clear the air. “That thing got away, which means it’s probably reporting to its superiors what it saw. We’re still in danger here as long as we stay put. We’ve gotta get out of Klugetown and fast.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I scouted ahead,” Sunshine said with a wry grin. “This tunnel goes up right into Hippocampus Energy’s offices here.”

“Good. Let’s get the flipping fuck out of here,” I said as we started up the tunnel and out of the darkness.

* * *

It seemed that nopony had thought to even go into Hippocampus Energy, because the main floor of the office was seemingly deserted. A thick layer of dust showed that nopony had touched this place in a very long time. There weren't even any security robots to speak of. In fact, the whole place was kind of creepy if you really sat down to think about it.

I was trying not to think about it.

We made our way across the office quietly, keeping our eyes on the doors. Klugetown outside was quiet. I wondered how many of the ponies sent here were affected by the smog. I wondered if the Storm Guards could even be affected by it. I wondered if we were going to get out of this place alive.

I tried not to think about that as well.

It was still dark outside. I grimaced. Moving in the dark would help us not be able to be seen, but the way these things attacked seemed to utilize the darkness well. Perhaps waiting until the morning came was correct. Perhaps even, they would assume us to be lost in the tunnel system, and would move on.

I didn’t think anything I thought was true.

I communicated my reasoning to the others, a reasoning born not only out of safety but also out of curiosity. Hippocampus Energy seemed to be at the center of something big in the Badlands. Some sort of massive power infrastructure. If Equestria could harness that kind of infrastructure it would be incredibly helpful to the ponies there. In order to do that, I had to understand what the infrastructure was being used for.

That meant my least favorite thing to do… research. If this was a main campus, there had to be something here on the company’s presence in the Badlands and to a greater extent Klugetown. The others agreed and we began to move as one through the facility, checking drawers and terminals. For the most part, everything was empty, and most of the terminals had been broken beyond repair. The fact that there was zero security here made me wonder. What exactly had Hippocampus been doing here? Wouldn’t they have had the same near paranoia held by most Equestrian companies over their secrets? Something didn’t add up.

We made our way to the facility’s second floor where the executive offices seemed to be located. A massive doorway sat smack dab in the center of the floor, the lights in front of it pulsing with glowing energy. We moved past it carefully and found ourselves in front of what we assumed to be the executive suite.

A single terminal sat inside the room on a beautiful oak desk, untouched by time. The terminal glowed softly, still functioning. It sat at a login. While Violet sat and did her thing, I looked around the rest of the room. A bookshelf held several books on various scientific subjects including power conversion through magic, and there was a safe peeking out from behind a long destroyed piece of art along the back wall.

The other thing that caught my eye was a corkboard on the other side of the wall, filled with sheets and sheets of decayed paper. It didn’t take long for me to realize that these were schematics though, as bits of the printings bled through.

“Whatever they were working on down here was massive,” I said aloud.

“But for what purpose?” Trick Shot said from next to me.

I glanced back at Ember and Sunshine. They were keeping watch over Violet and were out of earshot. I looked back down at Trick.

“I know you don’t like this,” I said under my breath. “But I think he can really help us.”

Trick Shot scowled. “He’s a liability and dangerous… but he did save your life,” he whispered back. “If he thinks he can control the Nirik… then he can stay. But the first outburst that he can’t control and I’ll put the bullet in his head myself.”

I nodded with a grimace. I had other plans for that situation. Mostly they involved lots of hugging and RadAway. I suspected that Ember’s transformation was rooted mainly in pain and anger, and that by taking away those emotions one could control the transformation and return back to their normal Kirin form. This was merely speculation though, so hugging it was. It was the only way I could think that I could get Ember to stop being angry.

“We’re in,” Violet said. “Check the safe. It should be open now.”

I nodded, walking over to the safe. I floated away the painting and pulled it open. Inside was a bag of Equestrian bits, several data discs labeled “Minerva Project” and a memory orb. I carefully pulled the memory orb out and then floated the data discs over to where Violet was sitting.

“What’s Minerva Project?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with these schematics? This power infrastructure?” I asked aloud. “Can you read them with the terminal?”

Violet picked one up and put it inside the data receptacle on the terminal. A flashing red light came up on the screen.

“They’re encrypted with a password,” she said with a groan. “I don’t know if I can break it or not.”

“See what you can do. I’m going to go take a look at this memory orb,” I said, producing the memory orb so that she could see it. “Perhaps it can help us out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Violet replied. “I’ll keep toying with the terminal, see if I can find anything else on it while the decryption program tries its thing.”

I nodded, turning around and settling in next to her. I lowered my horn to the memory orb and the world fell away into nothing.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Dust kicked up all around my host as I became aware of the fact that I was inside the body of a unicorn. My eyes adjusted to the desert sun as I glanced up at the dirty town all around me. Klugetown hadn’t really changed all that much it seemed since the end of the war. Well, except for the mind-fucking smog that littered the streets. At least this smog seemed to be regular old smelly ass smog.

I walked alongside several other ponies, all decked out in Equestrian military gear. The streets of Klugetown were full of a wide variety of races from fish people to even several Kirin I could see. Several cat-like creatures prowled the alleyways, watching intently as my entourage passed through.

Our destination was expected. Hippocampus Energy. I watched from the mind’s eye as my host stepped into the main office. The receptionist earth pony working the front desk looked up, her eyes wide.

“G-G-G-General?” she stammered. “We were not expecting your visit so soon.”

“Get Clover for me,” my host said, her voice cool and calm. For some reason, it sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “We need to talk.”

“Of course, General. Right away,” the mare at the desk said, pulling a device up and placing it in her ear. “Sir? Yes, she’s here. Oh, you know? I’ll send her right up.”

My host nodded slightly at the mare as she was pointed to an elevator. My entourage moved along into the elevator, waiting patiently as it moved up to the second floor. Within moments we were standing in this very office. A male earth pony, decked out in a fancy suit, sat at the same desk that Violet was attempting to crack the decryption on.

“General, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company on this fine day in Klugetown?” the earth stallion said, giving a small grin.

“You can drop the act, Clover. I’m not a General, and you know it. You know why I’m here,” my host said urgently.

The earth pony named Clover grimaced, his entire mood seeming to change right before my very eyes. He nodded, and pulled a set of papers out of his desk. “Everything related to the current state of Minerva,” he said. “This is an ambitious project. What does the Princess want out of this?”

“Everything,” my host said. “If this project works… it will mean an end to the war. But we need the power grid to boost the facility at Mount Aris in order to make it work. That’s where Minerva comes in.”

“Yes, yes, I get the power aspect of all of this. The grid across the Badlands will suffice. It’s been up and running for weeks now. So why do you need the info on Minerva?” Clover asked.

“I’ve been asked to secure the information on the project and take it into Abyssinia for safekeeping. It’ll only be a stone’s throw away from Mount Aris,” my host said, a green glowing magic reaching out and pulling the documents into her bags at her side. I caught a mere glimpse of my host’s hoof as she did. She was a deep purplish maroon color. “Minerva is the function that ties the power grid to the shield wall protecting Mount Aris. The zebra must not know about the existence of the facility there. If they did… the results would be catastrophic. The only way in and out is through the portal in Abyssinia’s capital of Panthera.”

“Do you really think that zebra saboteurs could be here in Klugetown?” Clover asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” my host said. “What matters is the security of this project.”

Clover sighed and looked down at his hooves. “I gotta tell ya, Fizzy, this whole thing is pretty fucking crazy. First you come down here and tell us we need to build some power grid, and now we’re expected to build a system that provides power to something massive you won’t even tell me about? What’s down there in Mount Aris? What needs protecting so badly?”

“If I told you that, Clover, I’d have to kill you. You know that. Also, while we’re here, you need to use my codename. I’ve told you that numerous times,” my host said.

“Of course… my apologies General Shadow,” Clover said.

Tempest Shadow?! I was in Tempest Shadow’s body?? How was she connected to what was going on with Hippocampus Energy? What exactly was Minerva? I didn’t understand any of this other than the fact that I understood that the only way into Mount Aris was through a portal in Abyssinia’s capital city of Panthera. It wasn’t because of the radiation to the south. It was because someone had constructed a massive wall around the island that was impossible to break through. I had to wonder if such a thing was still functional today, but I had seen much of the infrastructure down here already, and it was still quite intact and providing power across this massive grid. I let my mind wander as I realized my hosts were still talking.

“...I’m slated to arrive at the Mount Aris facility within the next two weeks,” my host continued. “Once I’m there I’ll send a message to start up Minerva. Be ready for it.”

“Of course, Tempest. We’ll make sure that everything is on schedule,” Clover said. “Are you sure that this is a good idea? We haven’t even really told Hippocampus main offices back home what is going on down here. They just think we’re establishing power conversion facilities.”

“You’re operating under the orders of Princess Luna, Clover,” my host replied. “Once this is all over, you’ll probably get a medal. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have a journey to Abyssinia to prepare for.”

“Good luck, Tempest… and Goddess be with you,” Clover said, as my host stepped towards the door.

My host scoffed slightly. “I don’t believe in the Goddess,” she said more to herself than anything. “I do believe in myself.”

oooOOOoooOOOooo

The world returned to normal and I shook myself out of the haze of the memory. Whatever Hippocampus had been doing down here was tied directly to whatever this project that Tempest Shadow had been working on for the Princess. Was that why she left the military service?

I looked up at Violet, sitting at the same desk that Clover had sat at hundreds of years ago. Beyond her, Trick Shot stood guard at the doorway while Bright Ember and Sunshine Sky sat off to the side quietly talking.

I stood and walked over to Violet, who was still hard at work on the decryption. It appeared to be almost done.

“Anything interesting in the memory?” Violet asked. “This decryption routine has been decidedly… uninteresting.”

“Well, I didn’t learn much about this so-called Minerva Project, but I did learn that Tempest Shadow was a part of it,” I said softly. “She was working on something for Princess Luna. This entire power grid was part of it.”

“Goddess,” Violet said to herself. “What could have been so important that it required so much secrecy?”

“Mount Aris,” I said. “We’re on the right track, Violet. Something is hidden at Mount Aris. But we’ve got another problem.”

“Which is…?”

“There is a wall around Mount Aris or at least, there was during Tempest’s time. She mentioned that there is a portal in the capital city of Abyssinia called Panthera,” I said with a grimace.

The terminal softly made a sound indicating that the decryption routine had finished, interrupting our conversation. Violet scowled and pulled up the contents of the data disc. Schematics, hundreds of them, of not just the power grid that we’d already ascertained we’d find more hints of on the way down, but also of some vast communications array in the city of Panthera. It was labeled Minerva.

“Minerva was a communications protocol? What were they using it for?” Violet said as she tapped at the keyboard. “Star… this is extensive. This is talking about using communications arrays as magical devices to transport matter.”

“The portal device in Panthera,” I said matter of factly. “It has to be. Does it say where it is?”

“Based on these schematics, the portal was installed in the royal palace of the Abyssinian rulers, right in the center of the city,” Violet said.

“It’s a death trap,” Bright Ember said as he and Sunshine walked over to us. Trick Shot joined shortly after, convinced it seemed that there was no immediate danger to us here. “The palace is very dangerous.”

“More of those Equestrian experiments?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Possibly, but no one knows for sure,” Bright Ember said. “Anyone who goes into that place… never comes back out. Whatever is inside of there… you can hear the grating, the gnawing sounds as you travel around the outskirts of the palace. Nothing living exists there, for certain.”

“Great, so we’ve got a real problem then. Because that’s exactly where we need to go,” I said. “You were right about one thing, Ember. The path to Mount Aris is in Abyssinia, but it’s not a way we can just go around the radiation. There’s a portal in the palace that will take us right there.”

“A portal? Why…?” Trick Shot started to say before I put a hoof up to explain.

“Whatever they were doing down here in the Badlands, it was all connected to whatever Tempest Shadow did after she left the military service,” I said, noting Trick’s surprise. “She was in charge of some project down here, and it involved this device known as Minerva that transported matter. They built a shield around Mount Aris. Some sort of super top secret thing that they didn’t want the zebra to know about.”

“Is this what you ponies do all the time, rush blindly into danger?” Bright Ember whispered loudly enough that we could all hear it to Sunshine.

I chuckled, the joke actually somewhat breaking up my serious mood before turning to the terminal. “We don’t really have a choice, but first things first, we have to get out Klugetown before these Storm Guards and their friends find us. I can only imagine that they’re probably looking for whatever it is we’re looking for, which means we were right. There is something powerful inside Mount Aris, and it’s something we can use against these creatures.”

“The tunnels won’t take us back out of the city. We’ll have to brave the streets from here, and unfortunately I don’t have any more gas masks to keep the smog out of your nostrils,” Bright Ember said.

“I should be able to help with that,” I said. “I’m feeling much stronger now, and now that I know what it is, I should be able to use my shield spell to keep us all safe from the smog. At least until we can clear the city.”

“You can do that?” Bright Ember asked with awe.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure? I was technically supposed to be the conduit for the spirit of Twilight Sparkle after all. The magic’s there, for sure,” I said, not feeling super confident in being called out on my ability to manage this.

“Sweetie, you’ll do fine,” Violet said, patting me on the shoulder. “I believe in you.”

“If we’re going to move, we should move,” Trick said. “The sun is coming up. I have a feeling our friends haven’t left the town just yet.”

I nodded, motioning to Violet to collect the data discs up from the terminal. There would hopefully be time later to review them further once we got out of Klugetown. I also scooped the memory orb into my bag to give to Trick later to look at. He deserved to see this mare he obviously had affection for.

We made our way cautiously back down to the main floor and towards the entrance back onto the streets of Klugetown. Nothing but the haze of the smog hung around the slowly brightening plaza in front of the building. It seemed quiet. Possibly a little too quiet.

I carefully accessed my magic, bringing forth Shining Armor’s shield spell into existence around each of us individually, except for Bright Ember who had said the smog seemed to just ignore him. It was rough to maintain it while we walked, but it was necessary to stay alive long enough to get clear of the smog. We stepped outside into the hot morning air, glancing about to see if the coast was clear.

A loud grinding noise indicated that the coast was most assuredly not very clear as a massive tank looking thing with two large grinders on the front came right out from the ground in front of us. I scowled. They knew we were here and they were just waiting for us to come back out. The hatch on the grinder opened up and an earth pony wearing a suit of black armor popped his head out. I could only see his eyes through the gas mask that protected him from the smog’s effects. Several Storm Guards appeared on each side of the grinder tank.

“You are surrounded,” he called out. “Surrender and things will go much better for you.”

“Things will go much better for you if you just turn around and walk away,” I called back angrily. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with here.”

“Radiant Star. Former Ministry Mare, now simply a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse,” the earth pony said matter of factly. “An alicorn of some renown. We know exactly who you are.”

“You have me at a disadvantage then. I have no idea who you are,” I said with a scoff. “Or why you’re so interested in me and my friends.”

“That isn’t information I’m authorized to give you,” the earth pony replied casually, almost as if we weren’t being surrounded by ponies trying to kill us. “My name however is Captain Swift Step.”

“That isn’t very helpful,” I said angrily, continuing to hold the shield in place as best as I could. We needed to move and we needed to move fast. “Why should we come with you? Your Master tried to have me killed at Hope Hollow.”

Swift Step shrugged, offering little else. “Unfortunately, I can’t give much more. Surrender your arms and yourself now, or you will be destroyed.”

“So… Do you want to be destroyed now or destroyed later?” I said with a grin to the others. “I can’t decide.”

“I can probably take that cheeky son of a bitch out in a few seconds,” Trick Shot replied, his gravelly voice giving off a little bit of humor.

“It would be helpful if we could get our hooves on some of that protective gear,” I whispered. “Sunshine, any tricks up your sleeve?”

“Oh, I’ve got a good one. They came from the underground. I rule the underground,” the pink unicorn said with dark glee.

“She… she scares me just a little,” Bright Ember admitted. The Kirin looked sheepish as Sunshine grinned at him.

“We’ve got to make it to Mount Aris,” Violet said. “We’ve got your back, Star.”

I grinned widely, turning back to Swift Step. “You’re going to have to inform your forces that unfortunately, my friends and I are about to kick your asses back to your Master.”

Swift Step’s eyes narrowed and he said nothing, lowering himself back into the grinder tank, which started to whine loudly as it started up. I hoped and prayed I had made the right decision here, but the decision was made. The grinder tank started to move forward and then immediately began to lurch as something grabbed hold of it. I glanced back at Sunshine, her horn glowing fiercely as several vines came up from the hole that the grinder tank had come out of and had latched onto its treads.

“Take out the Storm Guards,” I said to Trick Shot as all hell broke loose.

Shots rang out from the buildings around us, striking the shields I had erected around the others and dissipating as they hit. I lifted a wing to deflect a stray shot headed towards Bright Ember, and went ahead and extended a shield around him as well.

Trick Shot leaped out to the side, pulling his rifle out and laying into the approaching Storm Guards with sheer precision. He focused on their mobility first, by removing their ability to get around via putting bullets right through their kneecaps. One of them glowed a bright orange color before dissolving into a pile of goo. Violet grinned as she continued to fire in every direction as best as she could.

The grinder tank was starting to loosen up from the vines as Sunshine’s strength began to wane. Her control over the vines faltered and it pulled away, rumbling along right for me. Swift Step had correctly identified me as the primary threat, but with needing to maintain the shield spell I couldn’t do much else. I dodged to the side as the grinder sped at me, narrowly missing having a wing clipped by the front grinders. We had to do something to take it out.

The thing turned on a dime, roaring back around at me. Where in the wide world of Equestria had these supposed Raiders gotten this kind of tech? None of this made much sense at all. Several shots rang out behind me and I heard more sizzling coming from Violet’s energy rifles. In the midst of it all, Bright Ember clung to me desperately, trying to find a place to stay safe.

“Ember, go to Sunshine, make sure she’s okay and get her to safety,” I shouted.

The Kirin nodded meekly and detached himself from me, heading across the battlefield to grab onto Sunshine. Both the Unicorn and the Kirin made a break for it, heading past Violet and Trick to a place of safety.

“Trick, get after them!” I called out as I dodged another roar of the grinder’s engines. For as quick as this thing was, it was pretty easy to dodge.

Trick nodded, letting loose another barrage of bullets into the buildings around us. The shooting stopped temporarily as the sharpshooters there either died or needed to reload before beginning again. Trick scowled and followed after the other two.

“Violet, you need to get going too,” I said as I ended up next to her. “Once you’re free of the smog, I can lower the shields. It won’t affect me anymore.”

“You are crazy, you can’t take all of these ponies on, let alone those things. No… I’m staying with you and we’re getting out of here together,” Violet said angrily.

“But… Vi…” I started to say. My eyes went wide.

“Don’t you but me!” Violet said, her cracked horn glowing a blazing green. It crackled with energy. It was angry energy, but it was beautiful and intense on every level. “I’m not letting you face anything alone ever again, Star. I’m with you to the end.”

And just like that, her horn exploded, sending a blaze of green crackling energy into the air that consumed everything it touched. The grinder tank struggled against the wave of powerful magic before faltering just enough to run right into the side of one of the buildings. It stopped entirely. I felt Violet grab my hoof and pull me towards the road where the others waited. As we watched, the building the grinder had run into had started to collapse down under the weight of itself as the grinder tore away its support systems.

The building came down in spectacular fashion, and any shred of resistance from the Storm Guards chasing after us melted away as it hit, completely decimating the entire city block. We kept moving until we were far out of the city and I was able to let the shields down. I stopped, breathing heavy from the exertion.

“Holy shit did you see what I did, Star?!” Violet exclaimed loudly. “I used magic! I actually did it!”

I slumped over next to her and smiled. “You did. You saved us all. I can’t believe we made it through that.”

“Again I have to ask if this is normal for you ponies,” Bright Ember said. “Do you spend all your time running around and getting shot at?”

“Not always,” Trick Shot said with a laugh. “Sometimes it’s ghouls.”

“I hate ghouls,” Ember said, shuddering.

“Sunshine, you alright?” I asked, remembering the pink unicorn’s faltering of her spell.

“I’ll be okay. Burnt out a little. Haven’t had that happen in a while. Must have been taxing to use the vine spell through the shield spell,” she said, slumping next to us.

“We can’t stay here,” I said with a loud groan and pushing myself to my hooves. “We’re too close. We have to get to cover.”

“You really think they’re going to come after us after what just happened?” Violet asked.

“I do,” I said. “They’re after the same thing we are. Which means we have to get to it first. Thankfully, I don’t think they know about the portal.”

“That gives us a head start then, let’s get going,” Trick said with a grin.

* * *

We trudged on, the desert eventually giving way to a forest at its edge. Thankful to be out of the heat of the day and under some shade, we set about putting together a camp. As the fire roared and we sat resting, I floated out the memory orb and handed it over to Trick.

“What’s this?” he asked. “The memory orb you picked up at the Hippocampus Office?”

I nodded. “The host of this memory is Tempest Shadow,” I said. “I thought you would want to see it.”

Trick hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded and smiled, thanking me. I sat nearby while he watched the memory and when he came out of it he looked… morose.

“So… she quit the military to pursue some sort of special project directly for the Princess?” he asked quietly. The others around us had already started heading to sleep. “And she got Clover to do the dirty work.”

“You knew him?” I asked. I had sensed that there was a level of familiarity there with the pony named Clover in the memory and Tempest. I hadn’t imagined it extended beyond that.

“Clover was also ex-military. Army. Fizzy and I used to hang out with him. Our operations were staged out of the same base near Canterlot,” he said. “Then he left to go work for Hippocampus. Now I kind of wonder…”

“If Tempest got him the job so that it would be easier to convince Hippocampus of this project?” I asked.

Trick Shot nodded. “What was so important about Mount Aris? The more we come across, the less sense any of this makes, Star.”

“I don’t know, but I suspect once we get through that portal… we’ll find out,” I said, looking up at the night sky.

Trick thanked me and headed to keep the first watch. I settled in next to Violet, amazed at the raw talent my love had shown earlier that day. She had proven that she would not let her magical ability disappear, just as it seemed Tempest Shadow had done.

Tempest Shadow. The mare was still an enigma to me. She was a fighter and a skilled tactician, not a project manager. Whatever she was working on, it had to be exceptionally important.

I just hoped whatever it was wouldn’t be the death of us all by the end of this.

Author's Note

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