New seeds for Stable two

Chapter 5 - Children of the Night
We had decided to follow the rails in a northwestern direction. Using them as a guide was a pretty safe bet. Ferrax had some fun with a few ghouls just a few miles further. He turned them all into funny mounds of pink dust with his magical Energy Gatling Gun. He stuck sticks and stones into the piles in the shape of a smiley face and called them dust ponies. It was a desolate road. Many stations that once belonged to small villages had collapsed - just like the villages that were near the tracks. Appletree continued to diligently collect all sorts of plants and catalog them professionally. It was a night and day difference when I thought about the animal that came out at night to hunt. I was a little worried about Bubbles. I hoped her mother could keep her under control, but she was just a kid.

As evening fell we arrived at a forlorn complex of buildings. The sign said: Hoofburgh Military Training Center. Ferrax's eyes widened "there must be so many weapons in there to tinker around with" he squeaked almost ecstatically. So we went to the site. It was quiet... too quiet. My E.F.S. piped up just before pain filled my hind legs. Someone had hidden an old turret under an old box. Out of fright, I teleported myself behind a box for cover, more bullets flew as Appletree ran towards the thing, fuming. Two more towers came alive and fired on Appletree and Ferrax, who was just closing in on the first tower. At first, only a few bullets hit Appletree's legs, which she didn't mind. But then she got a whole load neatly lined up like our mother's chain into her side. She staggered just before reaching the first tower and hydraulically propelled it against the nearest wall, where it exploded and shattered. Ferrax got off much better. He blazed his horn and wrapped himself in a green shield before his Gatling whirred to life. He punctured the other gun's cover first, turning it into a smoking piece of junk while laughing insanely. I shattered the last gun with a blast of energy from my horn; well, okay, there were seven. I can do a lot of spells, but only a few really well. I removed the bullets from my leg, screaming in pain.

The tears didn't make it any easier to attempt a healing spell afterwards, but it worked. Ferrax was busy plundering the turrets. I levitated a healing potion to Appletree, she had already cleared the bullets from her side with a deep growl. Then she pulled weird purple berries out of her saddlebag with her grasping claws, crushed them and rubbed them on her wound and sighed with relief. She lay down on the rubble and rested. Smiling softly, she shoved the healing potion back in my direction. I still padded over to her, cursing a little in pain. "Are you alright sis?" I was worried; not greatly, but a little. Those berries looked unhealthy, but she knew plants. She nodded and looked deeply relaxed.

"Yes everything alright. Spikeberries are one of the basic ingredients of health potions. And I found a few earlier.” She smiled dreamily. "The problem is, left untreated, they make you way too relaxed and tired." She said, yawning. Shortly thereafter, Ferrax came back and grinned happily, "Well, now we have more ammunition and components. Are you two ok?” I nodded and Appletree smiled tiredly. I looked at my pipbuck map. We would be leaving the New Appleloosa area tomorrow. And my path marker was no more than 500 meters away. I wondered what the temple might be like. "Rejoice, little wolf, tomorrow night you can hunt again" I said with a smile and stroked her mane. Then I undid her braids and brushed her mane. I gently floated the large bow over into her hooves.

Now Ferrax actually spoke up curiously. "Tell me, how is it with your funny timberness? Does the transformation hurt you? It doesn't do that for me. And what do you grasp? How do you experience the world?” Appletree looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Well, it does hurt a bit, especially when the jaw deforms. Worse than any dentist visit. Well, the world is more intense. I see in the dark like during the day but hear and smell more intensly.” Ferrax lifted his hoof “How do I smell and how does your sister smell and how does Bubbles smell?” At the word Bubbles she looked down melancholy. "You smell like friend and like pack. Dusty smells like family, sister and pack and well…" She was silent for a moment and looked down a bit dejectedly again "Bubbles smelled like friend and pack until last night. She just smells like family now and like she's my daughter. With her, it's more than just the smell. I feel that we have a connection to each other. I want to protect and teach her. I want to see her grow up." A few tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm totally overwhelmed with it. I don't know about maternal feelings. It overwhelms me, but it's also beautiful at the same time.” Ferrax nodded thoughtfully. I finished brushing her and braided her mane and tail again. Then I started a question, "How does it feel to hunt?" I asked curiously. Now she blushed again and whispered "Beautiful, at least from what I can really tell." I looked at her confused when Ferrax spoke up again "Are you brushing me too?" I looked at the Changeling in confusion. “Just the fur? You don't really have a mane.” He nodded eagerly and I just continued with him.

Then I turned back to Appletree with my questions, "You're not experiencing all of it?" I was curious. Whether that was a magical side effect or her inner timber wolf. She thought for a moment. "When you're around, I remember everything. I really only have impressions from hunting. The adrenaline from scenting the prey, the endorphins from catching it, and the wonderfully delicious taste of flesh and fresh blood.” The last part made me feel a bit nauseous. Especially since she said that with such a dreamy bliss that I had to shake.

We ventured further into the building. There were many old terminals and office facilities. I found a few intact books which I pocketed. And as we walked through the reception area that was in front of the office I saw guns on the ceiling again. They started firing as soon as we entered the room. I teleported myself behind the desk, panting. The old still functional terminal caught my attention. I connected my Pipbuck to it and went into the data streams to hack it. It didn't take long, about a minute, until I had worked my way through the jumble of data far enough to find the individual parts of the password. It was ‘cheesecake’. I had to imagine a cake made entirely of cheese and giggle. I got into the control subroutine for all of the building's turrets and disabled them. With another subroutine I deactivated something that was marked as a guard bot in the system. Then I did some digging through the terminal's data while Ferrax flapped around the guns.

He had turned his one front hoof into a screwdriver and was unscrewing from the ceiling, humming happily. I found a map and more importantly, the location of the Two Sisters' Chapel. It was behind the garage and was unlocked. Unfortunately there was nothing further to the building. So I left the terminal again after downloading the terrain map. The rest of the building we were in was nothing more than a bunch of broken offices, as well as a partially filled Sparkle-Cola machine. In the garage, which was located next to the main building, there were more problems. Cockroaches, and not too few. It took 20 minutes and most of my magical reserves to solve the problem. Thanks to my Shield spells, Appletree’s claws, and Ferrax’ Gatling, we managed to do it without really hurting each other. I was just disgusted when Appletree sat lost in thought and started eating the things. It took 2 minutes to bring her out of her trance. There was a faint green glow in her eyes and her fangs were slightly extended. Now I was really worried. Also in the back of the garage there was a Guardian Bot. Ferrax danced like a colt to Hearth's Warming eve. When he was done dismantling it, it got dark. I heard the familiar creaking. I tethered Appletree next to the cockroach massacre and she started eating disgustingly happily. The sight and the noise made me sick and I needed fresh air. I stood behind the garage and that's when I saw him.

One door at the side of a hill showed Luna's Cutiemark, the other Celestia’s. It was time, I felt it. I didn't know what to wear for such an occasion as I didn't have anything appropriate. So I got rid of everything except my necklace which was a crystal with Luna's and Celestia's Cutiemark and my Pipbuck. I wished Appletree and Ferrax good night. My sister rubbed her head against mine one more time before I started.

I was nervous. I could see the last rays of Celestia's sun going down. I knew in my heart it was time. The chapel had survived the time perfectly and undamaged, there was not even dust in the room, which was about fifteen meters long. The eastern half was in white marble and the bright colors of Celestia's mane, the western in black obsidian and lapis lazuli. I walked towards the altar and began to sing. I didn't know exactly why, but it felt was right. Luna illuminans noctem IIT lucis Et ego dabo vobis devotionis offerimus: et sanguis meus, vita mea. Ut astra tuus confidebat, me duce quondam fuerunt”. I walked towards the altar, behind which rose a round stained-glass window.

Luna and Celestia circled the center showing Equestria. Then a ray of moonlight shot through the window at me. I then heard a second voice, also singing something "Sol et custos flamma, ruptor est hodie Et donec putabam vos gladio, et fides cordis." I remembered Nightmare Moon's words: "You only ever come in pairs". Sunny was also in the process of initiating. I walked measured steps to the altar as I sang. The moonlight enveloped me as I knelt in front of the altar. In the center of the window I saw Sunny doing the same in a large room lined with huge pillars. She smiled at me. Now, out of the moonlight, Luna and Nightmare Moon appeared in front of me, just like Celestia and Daybraker turned to Sunny in the window. "Are you ready to be my little Stardust, my first priestess in over 100 years?" Luna smiled kindly and gently. "But consider that you also have to live with my burden. And I will always try to seduce you into the darkness.” Nightmare Moon said. I bowed my head and said, “So be it; in your name I will help heal the wasteland of Equestria and ease the pain in the souls of its inhabitants.” I felt myself lift into the air and spread out my front hooves. Carried by the magic of Luna, Nightmare Moon and the moonlight. A small silver crescent formed under my horn, a small crown appeared on my head: it was Luna's crown. Slippers made of silver like moonlight appeared on my hooves, and a necklace like Luna's appeared around my neck, expanding into a cloak that looked like pure stardust. I could also see what happened to Sunny at the time. Armor stood in the background, now turning to gold, clothing her. The great tiara of Celestia manifested itself on her head, her horn was surrounded by a ring of golden triangles. We both sank back to the ground. Before me, on the altar, a book had appeared. It bore Luna's cutiemark and underneath it read: Luna's Vademecum. I looked at Luna questioningly and she smiled. “Each of my priestesses gets a book like this. There the liturgies and ceremonies will appear within when you are ready for them. It's also a song book. It's yours and you can't lose it. You can summon it with your magic or send it away.” Luna smiled, looking happy. "I'll do my best to keep my promise." I said, smiling at them both. Luna's smile was beautiful. But now my blood froze in my veins when I saw that Nightmare Moon smiled so beautifully and kindly. Both vanished like the picture in the window when clouds again hid the moonlight. Luna's last words I heard were, "The one I send you as a descendant of my chosen people is waiting for you outside."

I stood there, alone again, still shaking slightly. Did that just really happen, was it a dream? I grabbed my forehead. My new shoe touched the little crescent under my horn. It had grown into my skin, I could tell. Then I heard the door creaking; I turned around abruptly. There was a Pegasus with fangs and the ears of a bat pony and... My eyes widened. She was wearing a Pipbuck and a number 111 Stable jumpsuit. She gave me a shy look; it could have competed with Appletree. She began to speak timidly, "You must be the one Luna showed me. I am to assist you in your quest and be your guide in the wasteland.” I trotted over to her and looked at her. She was cute, especially because of her ears. Her dark gray fur was well groomed, her light gray and white mane too and her purple eyes were just beautiful. I just grabbed her hooves on some impulse. She squeaked and tensed until she realized it was a loving, kind, and friendly gesture. "My name is Stardust and we are on our way to Manehattan to get to Fillydelphia from there. Who are you?” She answered somewhat hesitantly, “…My name is Lili, you are also a stable mare.” She said and pointed to my Pipbuck. "Which stable are you from?" she asked now more curiously. "Number two, and nice to meet you, Lili."

We trotted back to the others. Appletree and Ferrax froze in awe as I entered the room. Appletree knelt and bowed her head respectfully. Ferrax just said, giggling, "You look snazzy, Dusty." I smiled when I realized Lili had stopped in the doorway. She stared at Appletree in panic. She had her weapons - two sniper rifles on a special combat saddle - attached and loaded. I spoke my first liturgy. "Et cessabit meus puer nihil ventura sunt vobis in nomine luna" I felt the moonlight from the small crescent moon on my forehead dancing around my horn and enveloping Lili in a silvery glow. She calmed down a bit. Then she pointed to Appletree, "You...you're the wolf, aren't you?" Appletree nodded in agreement. Then she looked at me "Well, I know you're definitely the priestess, but who is that?" She pointed to Ferrax. He just waved and said "Hello, I'm Ferrax."

After we finished with the pleasantries of introductions, Lili began looking curiously at Appletree's legs. "Did you build that yourself?" Now she seemed extremely curious and no longer shy. Appletree shook her head and started to talk. It made a strange, tormented, throaty sound that, with a lot of imagination, could be compared to the word Littlepip. Appletree blushed and sank back onto her bed, hiding behind her apple pillow. I let her levitate a particularly bloody piece of brahmin meat in front of her snout, which she ate with relish. “The maintenance department at Stable 2 was trying to get my little sister out of a wheelchair. So, poking around began as the operation went on. Someone had found a comic where something similar had happened and the pony had been given implants. It was pure luck that everything had worked properly. They had raided the entire robot parts store, used parts of experimental power armor, and then worked closely with the clinic ponies - and me as an expert on various spells. The hardest part was actually connecting the nerves to the legs.” I stroked Appletree's metal spine. "May I show her your cables for a moment, little one?" I asked, smiling. Appletree tapped her Pipbuck on her leg slightly and part of the anchorage broke loose from the armor as she lay still on her stomach. Lili's eyes widened. Where the armor disappeared into the fur, you could still see a remnant of the backbone that merged into a massive cable harness that disappeared inwards at the level of the butt. You could also see the small motor Appletree needed to move her tail. Only then did I see that Lili had pulled out a camera that was connected to her Pipbuck. She took pictures and then pulled out a small screwdriver.

Appletree jumped and frantically tapped her Pipbuck and the armor hissed closed again. Then she pointed to a text file. "Lili please don't show these photos to anyone, I'm embarrassed!" was written there. "And screwdriver away from my nervous system!" Lili let the screwdriver sink back to the ground disappointed. "But you are so gifted. I want to know how this works exactly. I'm an electronics technician after all.” She pointed to her thunder cloud Cutiemark. Appletree mused, then wrote, "You may look at my legs as long as you put them back together working." Lili's eyes widened, as did Ferrax's. He lifted his hoof "May I have a closer look at that?" He giggled again a little madly and rubbed his hooves happily. Appletree hesitated, then wrote, "Only if you bring me fresh, bloody meat now. The pre-packaged is delicious too, but fresh is better and the cockroaches don't taste so good.”

Ferrax nodded eagerly and disappeared into the night while Lili got to work. "Tell me, how long have you two been out of your stable?" Lili asked us while she was working, taking notes and drawing schematics in her Pipbuck. "A few days, and you?" Lili sighed, "About five years. But well, my stable wasn't designed for real life either, so that's fitting.” I looked at her confused and she smiled “How old do you think I am?” she asked slightly shy. I took a closer look at her and had to force my abdomen to rest. She was fluffy and cute but didn't look much older than me. "Well, I'd say you're like me, early twenties." I said, smiling. She smiled shyly. "220, but two hundred years of that I've spent in cryosleep. I'm from Equestria before the war.” I couldn't believe my ears and just stared at her. She blushed and hid her face behind one of her wings. When Ferrax came back with a dead wheel mole. Appletree munched happily and Ferrax too looked at the schematics and photos on Lili's Pipbuck. I smiled sheepishly as everyone got ready to sleep. "Sister, may I try one of my new liturgies on you?" Appletree raised a skeptical brow and looked at me questioningly through her green eyes. "I want to visit your dream." She thought for a long time, blushed briefly, but then nodded. And I began to let the moonlight dance around my horn.

I was in the atrium of our stable. There were many here that I knew. Our family, Littlepip and Velvet were also there. There was a catwalk in the middle and I couldn't believe my eyes. My sister stepped over it in a gorgeous dress and styled mane. Something else made my eyes wide like Luna's butt. She had her biological legs. It was a little pang in my heart when I saw that she was missing her legs. I remembered the time before the accident. We always met there on Wednesdays for a mini spa day. Mud mask, delicious apple juice and mutual hooficure. We hadn't done that since the accident, because with the metal hooves it's of no use. I smiled sadly as our eyes met. She smiled at me and the room blurred. We sat in my room and I was just taking care of Appletree’s hooves. She smiled with her timber wolf face. I smiled back and continued with her hooves, taking a sip of apple juice. Her voice was a little resonant as she spoke, "So that's what it's like to have visitors in your dreams. That's funny.” She smiled. I nodded and smiled back. But I had little time to enjoy it.

A few moments later we were sitting in a moonlit clearing. In front of a small lake. Appletree was completely transformed. When I looked into the small pond in front of us, I was startled; I was, too. My legs were covered with birch like Bubbles'. Appletree spoke again. "Now I want to show you what the spirit offered me. Just go with it. You know it's just a dream and you won't hurt anyone.” She smiled and licked her teeth. I hesitantly replied, "G... well, let's hunt, sis." I flinched a little. My voice also had this reverberation. We howled at the moon together when a lighter howl joined our chant - it was Bubbles. I smiled as she padded over to Appletree and snuggled into her. I could now use a timber wolf's sense of smell and smelled them both, they both smelled like family. Like sister and niece. So this strange change of smell affected the whole family.

After we had finished howling and Bubbles had come over to cuddle with me, the wild hunt for some Brahmins in the forest began. I began to understand what Appletree appreciated about this activity. The feeling of freedom and the knowledge that hunger would soon be satisfied. The wind in your mane and the adrenaline from the race. But also another feeling - the thirst for blood and death arose in me; I cautiously accepted the desire for blood. I wanted to understand my sister better. I also had to get to know the unpleasant sides. Appletree and Bubbles had the Bramin backed into a corner. I jumped down on it from a raised rock and killed it with two quick bites into its throat. I looked questioningly at Appletree, my muzzle covered in blood, and smiled proudly. I guess I wasn't the worst hunter. “Eat, Dusty, it feels good. You deserve the first bite.” I started tearing pieces out of the side of the Bramin and was overwhelmed by the taste of the delicious meat and the intoxicating feeling of the blood in my snout. My new instincts knew exactly where to find the best pieces. Then I enjoyed it, I didn't feel sick like the first time I saw and heard this. I smacked my lips, chewed and just enjoyed it. Endorphins washed over me like a waterfall. Being part of my sister's pack, hunting with her and sharing the prey just made me happy. Then I briefly caught myself thinking about letting her bite me when her spirit had the strength to give birth to a new one. But I gently let the thought pass. If I wanted, I could always visit Appletree's dreams and hunt with her. I smiled at the others covered in blood, whereupon Appletree pulled out a tissue and Bubbles used her magic to clean my muzzle. "You're a little piglet too," Appletree giggled, put her head on mine and just said, "It's time to get up." She gently licked my cheek once. I looked at her sadly, but then I asked her a question. “Can I hunt with you in your dreams again?” I felt myself blush slightly at the question. I was kind of embarrassed. She grabbed my claw with hers and hugged me. “I was hoping you would ask that. Yes, of course - it's much more fun together in a pack. Besides, for once I am the actual big sister here.” She smiled happily and I woke up.

It was morning, at least the cloudy sky let the light shine overhead in all its glory. And at least the air was fine. Today's goal was to explore the rest of the area. "If we can find a bigger wagon that still works, I can get us to Manehatten and Fillydelphia much quicker" Appletree said while we ate breakfast - All, Except Ferrax; for some reason he usually didn't want to eat anything. He just kept getting suspiciously close between my sister and me at dinner. The next interesting thing was that Lili also had a plush pillow. Only hers was orange. "Hey, Lili, I was wondering - is your pillow an orange?" I smiled. Fruit maniacs were always a little funny. Then she shook her head. "That's a mango," she said seriously, adding shyly, "I love mangoes, but there haven't been any since the war." She snuggled sadly into her pillow. Appletree smiled softly and wrapped her hoof around her. "In Fillydelphia there is a large seed vault in the Stabletec headquarters, there are probably mango seeds in there too. Then I'll help you grow your own mangoes. The Lili mangoes.” Appletree grinned and Lili's eyes almost popped out of her head, then she stammered, “Tha… tha…tha…that works? You can do something like that?” Appletree smiled again in embarrassment, blushed a little and said timidly, “I am a trained botanist and farmer, of course I know how it works. One of my specialties is observing and preserving the genetic purity of plants." Lili cocked her head. "Oh, I actually thought you were more like Stardust's bodyguard, although you're way too cute for that." Now Appletree hid behind her apple pillow.

After we finished breakfast, and the fruit discussions, we continued. Our goal was a bunker. The interesting thing was the antenna system on the roof. I looked questioningly at Lili and Ferrax, "Is that a relay station?" They both nodded and I began to smile happily. Lili tapped her pipbuck, was lost in thought, and then started to grin. "It’s not active. If we get these working again, Dj Pon3 owes me a drink at Strawberry Sunrises Bar.” She rubbed her hooves in anticipation. "Then let's turn it on," I said happily. "Would you like a drink from Dj too?" asked Lili, grinning. But I shook my head. "We report back to Stable 2 every night so our family and the Overmare don't worry too much. But soon we're too far away for Appletree’s mini-relay station to transmit the signal.” It was fascinating how good Lili was at making her eyes pop out of her head. Then Lili looked at Appletree expectantly. "Ok, show me, I want to see that!" I giggled. They had dissected Appletree's "most boring" leg last night and not the rest. Appletree tapped her Pipbuck; the antenna with the small satellite dish extended and turned in circles, beeping happily. "I hope you are encrypting and masking your signal?" Lili asked skeptically now, while Ferrax examined the small circling bowl very closely. I shook my head, "I'm good with terminals, but I don't know anything about that." Lili just nodded before taking her Pipbuck cable and plugging it into Appletree's Pipbuck. Appletree looked skeptical. "Whatcha doing, little Mango?" Lili started tapping on her Pipbuck, which took about ten minutes. "I encrypted your signal, little Apple," she said, somewhat embarrassed. I had to bite back a giggle - fruit ponies amongst themselves.

We entered the bunker, in the reception room itself there were some boxes and shelves, a desk and a terminal that glowed green. Nothing really mattered on the shelves or boxes, only within the desk I found a small tin box labeled Mint-Als / Mentats with a zebra on it. I plugged it in and used my magic to levitate my Pipbuck's cable to connect it to the terminal when it clicked. I bumped into Lili's cable, who was about to do the same. She let me go first and I took a look at what the terminal had to offer. It was just a list of who had visited this facility and when. Lots of names I didn't recognize except two - Ministry mare Applejack from the Ministry of War Technologies and Apple Bloom, co-founder of Stabletec. I made a little happy hop. "Appletree, great-great-... Grandma Applebloom has been here and so has Applejack." Lili looked at us confused. "You're descendants of Applebloom and A.J.?" she asked, slightly uncertain. Appletree and I nodded. Then Lili smiled again in embarrassment, "I knew that your ribbon looked familiar to me, little Apple. I knew both. When we're in Tenpony Tower, I can tell you all about them in Strawberry's Bar.” She smiled sheepishly and now Appletree’s and my eyes nearly fell out of our heads. After five minutes of calming down, we got into the elevator, which was the only other exit from the room. Lili had gotten it running again. The relay system control should be located on the fourth basement level.

We made our way slowly, weapons drawn and claws out, down the first hallway and then down a flight of stairs. We paid particular attention to the ceiling and viewing height. The only thing we didn't pay attention to at the beginning was the floor - and that was the mistake. I felt myself pinch a cord to the ground and a searing pain immediately shot through my front leg. I heard sizzling in the air. Over the small passage in the ceiling in a blind spot was a kind of mine that shot lightning. It had badly burned my right front leg. I teleported backwards, startled. Lili calmly flew around the lightning bolts and gave the mine a powerful kick out of the air. The thing fell to the ground with a clatter. Ferrax pocketed it and grinned, "We'll get something useful out of this." The hallway ahead led us into a rectangular room. In front of us and on the right was a single door, on the left we could see a double door. Behind the right door I saw the light of a terminal. The door was locked but had no lock. Above the door it said: Relay Control Unit. The problem was also that the terminal used to open the door had been removed. I looked at the door and thought. Are the circuits trying to connect to the top terminal? Lili would definitely manage that. Then Appletree just walked up to the door and I listened to the hydraulic battering ram at work. The door flew inward with a crash, just missing the terminal. This time I left the terminal to Lili, who stared spellbound at Appletree at first, as Appletree’s eyes were rolling white and twitching as her spark generator began to work. The room was full of systems and monitors that I didn't understand. “This will take a few minutes, folks; you can have a look around.”

I still had pain in my hoof and was sad about my singed fur, but it was bearable. I just treated myself to a pack of pre-war sugar bombs. Sweet and yummy, now I had to think about Sugar again and then very quickly thought of something else when I felt myself warming up. I started levitating the Zebra Alchemy book out of my bag and started reading. Ah, a potion that improves your healing, not a direct healing like that of a healing potion, but overnight. Or one that sped up your regeneration if you were a unicorn. Then my eyes widened again and I beamed with joy, the talisman of bloodwings. I had a chance to be a little closer to Luna's chosen people, if only for about an hour. Because this talisman gave you wings that looked like those of a bat pony. I marked the ingredients for all three recipes in my pipbuck. Lili's grumbling snapped me out of my thoughts. "We have to go through the double doors over there. I unlocked it, the generator on the lower level isn’t working. We have to get it running again first.” I nodded and we marched towards the door.

We were greeted by two turrets in the ceiling. The familiar hum sounded as Ferrax, laughing madly, turned the first one into a smoking heap of scrap metal. I shot the second one with my plasma pistol. I still remembered the bloat sprite I had barely hit, so I activated my S.A.T.S. and targeted the turret. I fired two shots in slow motion and the turret caught fire; but his bullet charge hit Appletree, Lili and me. I squeaked. Exactly the same place on the front hoof... damn it. Lili gave the thing the final blow with a soft, almost a "plop" sound. I knew it was getting more dangerous in here than outside, so I also activated the E.F.S. of my PipBuck. I knew the function, but I had never actually used it and had therefore simply forgotten about it - except for that one time in Ponyville. Then I saw Appletree's eyes briefly flash green again. She sniffed and then looked with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "Did you smell something?" I asked cautiously. She nodded slowly and shuddered in disgust. "I smell pony brains, and I would almost say some kind of gel. It's really gross. Be glad you can't smell it! But it's only brains and the gel, no other parts of ponies except us."

We moved cautiously along the wall. The room was high enough to give Ferrax and Lilly room to fly. We tried to be as quiet as possible. Piles of debris were scattered everywhere on the floor, and it was dark. I let my horn glow slightly so that we could see anything at all. We followed a few thick blue pipes protruding from the dirty wall. Two hundred years without maintenance had taken their toll on even military-grade materials. We sneaked around a corner, and I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a pony, but at the same time, not quite. It was a robot, but I could see a pony brain in its head - and the tips of magical energy weapons at its side. I was about to retreat around the corner when there were two quiet "plops," the robot's head exploded, and it slumped to the ground. We approached the spot where it had stood, and Ferrax was already salvaging. "Brainbots, a really creepy invention. Knock out the brain, and they shut down. I don't think there was much pony left in that brain anyway," said Lili seriously and sadly.

I levitated the brain out of the casing and found an empty first aid kit on the wall. I telekinetically placed the brain inside. Beneath the three butterflies, I drew Luna's crescent moon with some dirt and placed the kit in a corner that seemed fitting for the soul of this poor pony. Lili gave me a look I couldn't interpret. We continued to make our way into the land of brainbots. Ferrax was having a field day; he shot down at least five more of them and several turrets. Appletree stayed out of the fights this time, as she didn't see any danger. At first, I thought it was due to pain, but the bullets had only grazed her back fur. She was mainly our battering ram for stubborn doors or piles of debris. Her strength was definitely more practical here than her claws. I had a different problem myself. I was running out of makeshift coffins for the brains. One had ended up in a tin can, and another in an empty chip bag. I just wanted to lay them to rest somehow.

Lili was our guide. She compared the layout of the corridors with the ones she had from previous "bunker clearing tours." After an hour of dead brainbots, we reached the generator room. There was one of those robots constantly plugging a cable into the generator and removing it. And it kept repeating, "Error. Error." One shot from Lili, and the ordeal was over. She reconnected the generator to the power grid for good this time, then checked the generator's condition. "Alright, it should run now." She smiled. "Means drinks for everyone at Strawberry's." I was relieved to find a whole stack of unfilled first aid kits here. There were enough for all the brains. On the way back, I collected all the brains, cradled them gently, and stacked them where we had found the first one against the wall, like in a necropolis. I had painted Luna's moon on the wall and left an inscription: Cemetery of the victims of brainbots, May you find your way to Luna.

We returned to the control station. Lili was typing diligently, and the facility came to life. Appletree immediately adjusted her station to the main system. Then Lili typed a bit more, grinned, and turned on the radio in the facility. "Hello, my little wasteland ponies. It's your DJ Pon3 with the news again. It seems we have an extended broadcast range - the old relay station in the Hoofburgh military outpost seems to be working again. So, hello to all ponies east of New Appleloosa. I'm DJ Pon3, your voice of the wasteland. I bring to you music and news. But now, let's talk about the group that made this all possible. No, it's not the little one from Stable 2. It's the other two girls from Stable 2 - and our Mangoqueen. Our dear tech support pony from Tenpony Tower, Lili. And she's written me some interesting things. She'll continue traveling with them, so keep your devices in good condition until she's back. And now, we can truly call the Children of the Night that name, as she's received her big moon-kiss under Luna's horn. So, dear wastelanders, if something's on your mind or you can't sleep, keep an eye out for a unicorn mare with a cloak that shines like the stars and a crescent moon under her horn. Also, the Church of Celestia has spoken up. A golden-armored unicorn mare has liberated two villages near Manehattan from raiders. It seems she's an ex-Steel Ranger and is accompanied by a zebra sniper. Do you believe that, folks? A Keeper of Day and a Children of the Night - all in the same week? I'm curious to see how they'll change the wasteland in the name of the goddesses. May Luna and Celestia bless you all, the priestess and the little wolf, the paladin and the zebra, as well as the Stable dweller with her Pegasus companion. And now, the weather." Lili turned off the radio and giggled. I couldn't stop laughing. "If he only knew that we ALL come from a Stable, he'd probably look at us all silly."

Relieved from laughter, we headed back to the elevator when I heard a strange noise from the shaft. It almost sounded like a string instrument with one of its strings about to snap. Then there was a loud scraping, a crash, a hiss, and a clang. Lili looked uncertainly at the elevator door. "I have a really bad feeling about this..." She pressed the button for the elevator door, but nothing happened. She resignedly rested her head against the button. "I think the elevator crashed." She sighed. "Appletree, can you open the door? But please push, don't kick it." Appletree flexed her mechanical muscles and pushed the door open. We looked into a dark elevator shaft. Right above us, a mitral valve blocked the ascent. I floated a small light sphere into the shaft, and we saw a dead Rad Mole about 20 meters below on the elevator, which seemed to have gnawed through the cable. Lili sat down next to the elevator and thought. "Okay, no panic, we'll get out of here." She began softly. "These hatches are made of solid steel, they're supposed to prevent this kind of thing." She pointed down the shaft. "So, we need to check if there's an emergency release on this level." We all nodded and set off. I started in one of the generator corridors, and after about half an hour, I had worked my way to the control center. Naturally, I hadn't found anything, but the itching in my bandaged forehoof was making it hard to think. I envied Appletree for being able to simply turn such sensations off. Somewhat irritated, I rested my head on one of the control panels when I noticed something. A draft of air. It was faint, but it was there. I examined the computer cabinet and realized that it was the only device not functioning here. I tried to lift it with my telekinesis - and indeed, it was hollow. Behind it was a passage in the rock. "Hey, guys, I found something!" I called out to the others. Everyone trotted over, and we examined the interior.