New seeds for Stable two

It was already late, so we decided to spend the night here. I had emptied one of the large crates and respectfully prepared the body of Pegasus K38 inside. The wings covered its upper body. With silent prayers, I closed the lid. I had looked around and noticed that all the deceased here were buried just as meticulously as I was doing. He had been a victim, but with a strong faith. I opened the lid once more briefly and asked Luna to give this poor soul one last gift on his journey to her. My horn glowed in the moonlight on my forehead and enveloped his forehead. There appeared the same crescent moon as mine. "Sleep well, brother, may you find your way to Luna."

I closed the lid for good this time. In another crate were fabric pieces that were probably used for practice with fabric over the head. I took a long dark blue piece of fabric and draped it over the crate. There was enough dirt there to paint Luna's crescent moon on it. I asked Appletree to push the coffin with the others; I could hardly stand, let alone push the heavy crate. I added the inscriptions that already adorned the room: Here lies the Children of the Night Eagle Eye, a victim of the Equestrian Ministries. May Luna guide you to your path in the eternal dream and the Garden of Shadows. I muttered some more prayers, and my heart leaped as Appletree tried to join in, but it only half worked. We had prepared our camp for the night, and I had decided to cuddle up to my sister. She wrapped her forelegs around me as I did, and after a minute, we engaged in a snoring duel. The next morning, at least, I felt somewhat better.

Lili had scouted ahead after repairing Appletree's legs. We now knew a few things: 1. This plain would lead us to the base's vehicle depot. There, 2. was the exit, and 3. there were still functional carriages that would help us move faster, as Appletree could use her full running speed with them. The only downside was a small gang of Raiders who had chosen the vehicle depot as their new home. One of them even had an old suit of power armor he must have found there. But we were not defenseless; there were plenty of weapons in the crates here. Not so much ammunition, but I grabbed a laser rifle - I liked energy weapons, they weren't so horribly loud. But for now, I focused on breakfast; we had warm Sugar Bomb porridge. That way, we all got something from the two packages we had left. Appletree was the cook. She added Mutfruit and BlamCo Mac & Cheese to it. I had started the fire; magic is a handy thing for situations like this. It tasted surprisingly good, and the Geiger counter clicked only softly. After eating, we set off through the winding corridors of level three. When we came to double doors labeled "Vehicle Depot," we cautiously peered through the door. Many transporters were parked here, some destroyed, others still intact. The Raiders had built a small fortress out of three of the remaining intact vehicles and a wall. It was surrounded by barbed wire, and I saw a sickly-looking earth pony mare with a yellow mohawk and dirty armor placing a turret. She was cheerfully whistling one of the radio songs and seemed perfectly at ease.

We knew that we would only make it through this situation by either talking to these lunatics or eliminating them. As the sickly red mare began to leisurely decorate the wagons with body parts, the decision had already been made - Pop, pop, pop, pop. First, the mare fell dead backward, then the turret exploded. Appletree rushed forward as the Raider stallion in power armor charged at me with a Gatling gun. He opened fire, perforating Appletree's right hind leg. There was a clunk as she simply discarded it; the other landed in the helmeted face of the Raider. I aimed with my new laser rifle. The rifle was much better suited for aiming, and it had much better range. I shot several holes in the armor of a stallion with disgusting yellow fur. Ferrax pelted the last one in the group with his Gatling gun and played with her; then it was over. The yellow stallion had drawn a revolver, and the shot landed...right in my left front hoof. I felt the bone break. It was over - I didn't want to kill him; he should suffer! It seemed like it was the Shoot-Little-Dusty-in-the-Hoof Day. My cold anger took over, but there was more; I felt a shadow, and my eyes felt strange. I made the yellow pony dance, and not just him. The stallion in power armor who was near us and the mare, too. I hadn't even realized that Ferrax had unintentionally put himself in the range of my lightning. After one or two minutes, I don't remember exactly, my vision turned blue. Yes, blue, not black. I had lost one or two minutes. I came to when I looked down at the floor - from above. I was hanging in the air and being gently shaken. The two Raider stallions lay dead on the ground, but I could see the mare crawling through a window. My eyes widened. "No, don't, stop her!" I cried out, exhausted. It was too late; Lili's shots were now only hitting the wall. I looked around to see where I was and what was shaking me.

It was Appletree - she had grabbed my tail with her talons and was shaking me gently. She looked at me with concern. "Dusty, are you yourself again?" I nodded cautiously, and she set me back on the ground. My hoof hurt like hell, and I gasped. "What happened?" Ferrax, Lili, and Appletree looked at me with more than concern. "Your eyes looked like Nightmare Moon's, only in black and pink. Your lightning turned pink, and you started screaming at the Raiders in Old Ponish. Then I grabbed your tail and shook you until you became normal again." I pointed at the dead Raiders. "Did I do that?" Appletree gently shook her head. She went to the corpses and pointed to deep cuts in their carotid arteries. "I finished them off. Your lightning did shake Ferrax quite a bit, but it left me alone." I nodded slowly as my eyes widened. "No, now the whole wasteland will know that I'm an evil witch." This idea made me infinitely sad; I wanted to be something good for the wasteland. A healer, a strong shoulder to cry on - not a witch possessed by Nightmare Moon. I just sank to the ground and curled up under silent prayers. I had felt the shadow but realized too late what it was. Nightmare Moon had seized my weakness to take control. So that was our burden; the burden of the Children of the Night. I already knew why I was currently trying to focus more on healing spells; can you heal someone to death? Well, for now, I rested in my fetal position. Appletree took me by the hoof after her leg started working again and said softly, "You're not a witch. You did what was necessary to protect us."

I watched as Appletree walked the row of wagons and received advice from Lili. She tried out some of the wagons, harnessed herself, and pulled them testingly. After about an hour, she had chosen a military truck with a seating section for herself. It was well armored but unarmed. She laboriously pulled it over to us. "So, we still need to find some spare parts from the other vehicles, and then we can start the wild ride," Lili said excitedly. She and Ferrax cheerfully looted other wagons while I sat on one of the seats. I was glad to have some Med-X left. The injection felt so good, and I didn't feel my broken leg anymore. I asked Lili to gather some scrap for me to build a splint. I had found a spell in Helpinghoof's book that could also do the same, but it was far beyond my healing magic skills. So I tried to learn physical healing on myself - from myself. I had also found a recipe in the Zebra magic book. It increased regeneration and bone growth. I didn't like that it required Brahmin meat, but there was no other choice. I sat down in front of our cooking pot and levitated the ingredients inside. I noticed how Appletree stared at the meat, and I tossed a piece to her, extra bloody, of course. Fortunately, the soup didn't require blood. She chewed happily, and I raised an eyebrow. "It's not even nighttime yet, and you're behaving like a little monster." I wiped her mouth. "Little pig," I said, smiling and shaking my head lightly. "I can't help it if it tastes good. I don't even have to be one with the spirit to notice that." She lay down next to me, and we watched the others work. Then the soup was ready. I levitated it into my mouth by spoonfuls; it was spicy and warmed me up. To my surprise, the pieces of meat were wonderfully tender and juicy. I could see Appletree grinning. "Well, it doesn't seem to taste that bad," she said with a giggle. I levitated a spoonful to her as well. Her eyes filled with happiness. "Zebras are really good cooks," she said, sighing. I had to agree; they certainly were.

It was afternoon when everyone was ready. Appletree maneuvered the carriage onto an elevator, and we ascended with a rumble to the surface. Ferrax, Lili, and I had made ourselves comfortable in the seats. Together with Lili and Ferrax, I gazed at my silver horseshoes. They were made of a metal unlike any we knew. Lili began to tell us about the eerie stories of the Evil Stars of the Zebras. However, she fell silent when she realized I had turned away, feeling offended. "Dusty, everything okay?" she asked, puzzled. "Zebras lump Nightmare Moon and Luna together - and that's wrong!" Lili gave herself a facehoof. "I'm sorry, Dusty, I didn't think that would hurt you as a devout priestess. I'm sorry," she said, red-faced and sheepish. "I know they're two different ponies; I mean, I've talked to both of them and seen them in the same place. They're connected, yes, but they're not the same person!"

I felt the shadow creep into my soul again as I grew angry, and my voice alternated with that of Nightmare Moon. Ferrax put his hoof on my shoulder. "Dusty, calm down, your eyes are pink again." I blinked and looked at the reflection in the window. Ferrax was right; the whites of my eyes were as black as nothingness, with a bright pink glow in the irises. I trembled; it looked wrong but also beautiful. The image changed; I was taller and wore a helmet. It resembled that of... I gasped - Nightmare Moon. But this one had long points on the sides. My mane billowed like light, and stars sparkled within it. Wings of pure void extended just above my back, and I wore a star-shaped breastplate. I collapsed onto the seat, trembling, and closed my eyes with a soft whimper. Ferrax and Lili embraced me. Nightmare Moon's voice in my soul sounded bored, saying, "That's you when you let my power flow completely into you. You will be the void that consumes everything. You will be Void Nova." The shadow retreated from my soul. I looked at the others. "Did you see that in the reflection too?" Both shook their heads, saying, "Only you with strange eyes. What did you see?" Lili asked, now concerned. I was silent for a moment. "What happens when Nightmare Moon has complete control over me. Then I become Void Nova, the one who tears everything into the void." Lili and Ferrax's jaws dropped when we suddenly came to a halt. I opened the front hatch and stuck my slightly teary head out.

"Is everything okay, Appletree? Why are we stopping?" Appletree pointed at a floating metal object in front of her. "That thing wants something from Lili." Lili joyfully rushed out and cuddled the metal thing. It looked like a Bloatsprite. "Hello, Watcher, it's been ages since we've seen each other," Lili said cheerfully. Ferrax and I had also gotten out to examine the object more closely. I hobbled over. "Ah, the witch, the madman, Queen Mango, and the little wolf. Nice to meet those of you I didn't know." My gaze dropped to the ground, and I became sad, feeling frustration gnawing at me. So, it's finally happened, no more priestess - just a witch. You can get a bad reputation quickly in the wasteland. A tear rolled down my cheek, and I tried to put on a normal face. The metal thing seemed to have noticed that the term hurt me. "Oh, I'm sorry, is witch not right for you? I mean, the raiders are really afraid of you; you can tell, almost as much as they are of Security in Hoofington." I looked sadly at the robot. "I don't want to be an evil witch. I can't help it when I lose control sometimes. I don't want to kill them, I want to punish them for what they do and help them learn from it - but it seems like they don't know anything other than violence." It fell silent for a moment. "You think like Security. Alright, how about Night?" I nodded. We chatted about what was happening in this area. Watcher could now enter this region because we had reactivated the relay station. He also asked us to check on a place called Hope. A Raider gang had apparently taken up residence there, threatening caravans and collaborating with the slavers of New Appleloosa. Now, my jaw was on the floor. "But the ones in New Appleloosa aren't slavers, are they?" I gasped.

I started worrying about Bubbles again, and I saw that Appletree was just as concerned. She growled in two voices, her eyes briefly flashing green when the slavers were mentioned. The bot turned to Lili. "You didn't tell them, did you?" Lili shook her head. "Why would I? I only met them in New Appleloosa and thought they would figure it out themselves. Everyone knows it's one of Redeye's favorite trade partners." Then the bot stared at Ferrax for a long, at least a minute, and then its mechanical voice began, "I haven't seen someone like you in ages; I thought you were all extinct - with so little love in the wasteland." Ferrax looked sadly to the ground. "What love are you talking about here?" I looked confused, as Ferrax pointed to Appletree and me. "Sibling love. It's not as strong as the love between two bonded hearts, but strong enough to keep me alive." I turned pale, and Appletree just looked puzzled. "You feed on our love for each other?!" I gasped, and Ferrax turned slightly green. "Well, yeah. Your love and care for each other release an energy. That energy is what my people feed on - but don't worry, it doesn't disappear or weaken as a result." He raised his hooves reassuringly. I did calm down, saying only, "So, to make you feel really good, you need a romantic or sexual relationship between two ponies?" He nodded. "So, if a mare ever likes me that much, I'll let you know." I said with a smile. "You're a lesbian?" Lili asked shyly, and I just nodded shyly. "And you, Lili?" She scratched her head in embarrassment. "I don't know; I've never been in love." Now we both looked at Appletree, who hid behind her hooves. I smiled and teased her a bit. "Come on, little sister, spill the beans - what do you like? Strong stallions or elegant mares?" She blushed and whispered, "Both." Now, I was taken aback; I had always thought she was heterosexual. Then we all looked at Ferrax, who was already scratching his head thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, I don't know either. I don't even know if we can because we feed on it. I know I love my mom, even though I've never seen her except in my dreams. My two dads who raised me." That was an interesting response. It raised the possibility of interponic research.

Now, we all looked at Watcher, and Lili grinned. She flew to him and, for some reason, plugged her PipBuck cable into the bot. "So, to keep you from just hopping out of the channel and annoying us with tuba music, my little mechapony." There was a mechanical grumble. "Am I that predictable?" Lili simply nodded, and the bot sighed mechanically. "Alright, I guess it's both, satisfied?" Lili nodded. After exchanging information and sending greetings to Pip, Sunny - whom he had already met, and, which was somehow important to me, to that Security with a request for a conversation, the bot left us with patriotic tuba music. We continued to drive until evening and made a stop. The wagon was spacious, and we reported back home. Our parents were moved to tears that I had fulfilled my wish. The Overmare was also there and showed me her terminal screen. There was my record - and she did something very rare and smiled while filling in the "second profession" field with the word "Stable Caplan." The system asked if she was sure because there had been no corresponding test result in the last 100 years, and she confirmed it. I couldn't hold back the tears and snuggled into Appletree's forelegs. It became even more emotional when Appletree spoke an almost coherent sentence. "I miss you." Mom, Dad, and Honeydrop had tears in their eyes. "We miss you both too," my mother said. "And Dusty, please take care of your hoof until you're better. Your friends will surely protect you. Oh, by the way, show them to us; you always talk about them but haven't shown them to us yet." I blushed at my mother's statement - she was right. Ferrax happily hopped in front of the camera and waved. Everyone was briefly startled, but it faded as Ferrax said, "Hello, I'm Ferrax. So, you're the family of the two, and you're this strange Stable Queen. Your children are great! And you," he pointed at Honeydrop, "You sing beautifully." I could see a slight blush under her veil. Then Lili timidly appeared in the frame. "Hello, I'm Lili. I'm the guide for your children out here, and I take care of the mechanics of Appletree." Now, the Overmare chimed in. "You're a Stable mare too; which Stable are you from? Are they all okay there? What's your Overmare's name?" Lili smiled. "Stable 111 near Manehatten. We were a cryo-stable, our Overmare is named Blue Spark, but our Stable has been empty for five years. It wasn't designed for long-term living. We were all in cryosleep for two hundred years and now live in Tenpony Tower. If you'd like, I can give Blue Spark your PipBuck ID, and you can communicate with her." The Overmare nodded happily, and we ended the transmission with a big "See you tomorrow."

Now, I looked at Appletree. "What are the rules?" Appletree sat on her hind legs. "Rule 1... Don't eat... ponies... Rule 2... be back in... two hours... Rule 3... Don't eat livestock." I smiled and stroked her mane. "Good hunt, little one, and if you find any ammo or medical supplies, will you bring them back?" She grinned happily, showing her fangs, and licked my cheek. "Of course." Then she looked thoughtfully at the ground. "Would you like some of the loot?" I thought about it; it seemed to mean a lot to her, and I had to take what I could get out here. "Sure, as long as there's some vegetables too." Appletree nodded and howled into the night as she went off to hunt. Now, I turned to Lili. "So, the two of us have a very special date now." I emphasized it slightly seductively to tease her, as she now knew that I preferred mares. Her eyes widened, and she held her tail pressed to her front hooves. I had to laugh. "Lili, calm down, I don't want to sleep with you, even though you're quite cute." We both blushed, and I did look at her in a more romantic way. Plushy, smaller than me, and those ears... When we had calmed down, I said, "I want to introduce you to the Goddess and Nightmare Moon." Lili looked skeptical. "Is it that easy? You're a consecrated priestess, I'm only partly related to a batpony." I smiled gently. "I'm inviting you into my dream." So, we rolled together, I recited the liturgy, and we were there - in the Garden of Shadows.

She was a batpony, and so was I. I didn't quite understand why we were wearing armor, but it was still a dream, and dreams can be weird sometimes. I started to flap my wings and took off clumsily. Lili began to giggle and asked me to land. "Dusty, could it be that you've only had these wings recently?" I nodded shyly. "Then come, I'll show you how it's done." She showed me some basics, like how to push off with enough force and how to angle the wings correctly. She had learned this from her dad, as she had feathered wings, and he was a batpony. Then we flew to Luna, who was already waiting for us. She lay on the edge of the clearing, tail entwined with her counterpart. This time, she was playing with a different helmet, and I suddenly felt nauseous. She was playing with my helmet. I immediately recognized the pink orb with fins on the sides. When she saw me, she just grinned self-assuredly. Lili nudged me in flight and whispered, "Is that her? Is that Nightmare Moon?" I was about to answer, but Nightmare Moon was faster. "Yes, little Lili, that's me. You can speak directly to me as well; you have my permission." Lili turned bright red, and we landed between the two of them. Following Lili's instructions, I managed to land gracefully. "Good evening, my little ones. What can I do for you?" Luna smiled gently. I looked at her a bit skeptically, confused and smiling when she took us under her wings. "Hello, Princess. I wanted to prove to Lili that you and Nightmare Moon are not the same pony, but that you are only connected to each other. And why are we wearing these armors?" Luna giggled and whispered in my ear, "I know your dreams, my little Stardust. I thought you'd like it, well; you do have a thing for mares in uniform. As for your question, it's more complicated. The answer is a clear 'yes and no.' I was Nightmare Moon, but six brave ponies separated us. She is a part of me - she was once me, but that was a long time ago." I nodded. That was a complicated answer. Then I looked at her with uncertainty. "Today, I saw a monster in the mirror - a monster that I become when I let her," I pointed to Nightmare Moon, "take control. How can I best prepare against that?"

Luna now looked angrily at Nightmare Moon. "Moony, at least give her some time to learn how to fight you. That's unfair; she's the first in over 100 years, and you have to seduce her right away. Give her some time." Then she paused for a moment. "Has her form already manifested?" Moony as a nickname for Nightmare Moon, I had to giggle like Lili. Then I felt the helmet being put on me. I grew, my body and skull changed shape, and my legs and back spread apart. I was now eye to eye with both of them, and Luna looked at me with horror. "Oh no, that's why she did it." Luna put her wings around me. "Be careful, my little Stardust, or rather, my Little Void Nova. Moony did the same to me when I was seriously injured by my sister. It's a power that you can only use in the direst emergencies!" She now stared at Moony with a stern look.

"What abilities have you given her, Moony?" Moony just grinned arrogantly. "The power over the Void, black holes, and such. It seemed fitting for someone in whose soul such power is slowly awakening, Lulu." I started to cry; my tears were black and sparkled. Lili and Luna both took me in their hooves. I looked back at Moony, but she had flown away. Somewhere further up the mountain. Lili now looked at Luna, "You really are not her and at the same time you are, please explain that to me. The zebras are so afraid of you." Luna looked sad, "She is sort of my big sister, born out of pure manifested sorrow, depression, and emotional injury - long before Tia and I, as unicorns, came into the world." I was puzzled. "You used to be unicorns? I always thought you created the universe." Luna laughed again. "I am thirteen hundred and thirty years old, not ten thousand." I blushed. "Yes, Tia and I grew up as ordinary unicorns. Until, with the help of the great Starswirl the bearded, we managed to control the sun and moon, which had previously only been accomplished by the greatest magicians. After that, we became Alicorns, our souls connected with the sun and moon. However, at that time, they had already absorbed all the negative emotions that the peoples of this planet had sent to them. The decisive factor, though, was the star metal. It created Nightmare Moon in her current form. Everything attached to the moon also joined in, and you know the rest of the story."

I looked sadly at my silver-shod hooves. "Am I a monster now?" Luna just smiled and summoned a mirror. I saw myself as Void Nova; Luna smiled and turned into Nightmare Moon. "As much as I sometimes become it when our big sister can't stand loneliness and wants to be free." Suddenly, I heard a click. Lili had taken a photo of us. She looked at it on her Pipbuck. "Come on, smile." I had to smile at the absurdity of it all. Luna in the form of our sister did the same. "Fly a bit more, you two, I'll check on Moony." I looked at her confused, "Why?" She smiled gently, "Because she's hurt. She's a lonely, broken construct made of so many negative emotions and extraplanetary material that probably lives. She needs me not to do something truly evil. What she gave you, she sees it as a gift - and you didn't like it and are afraid of it. Well, that's understandable; she always does something like that. Every Children of the Night has such a form. So, fly nicely." She flew toward the mountain. I spread my wings of pure emptiness and tried to take off, as Lili had taught me. It worked wonderfully, and I enjoyed being a disturbingly powerful Alicorn for a while. Lili and I decided to test the powers so that I could use them correctly if necessary. She threw an apple at me; my horn glowed pink, a small black hole appeared in front of me - I directed the apple through the void and through a small black hole behind Lili; the apple hit her on the back of the head. I giggled at the wonderful expression; I felt that I had my own voice, just deeper and echoing. I halved the second apple with a black hole. Now I tried to imagine which weapon I should use in this form. I could use all my spells, only stronger - even the healing spells. As I thought, a weapon appeared next to me from a black hole, which I took in my telekinetic grip. Somehow, it didn't surprise me that it was a scythe. The blade was a crescent moon, and the handle was dark. I swung the scythe a few times, then we landed again. I saw that Luna and Moony were trotting back to us and sitting down. Moony actually had a sad expression. "Lulu and I are playing chess now; you're welcome to watch," she said in the tone of a little child insisting. We did until our awakening. It ended in a draw.

The next morning arrived, greeting us with an Appletree snoring diagonally above us, two dead raiders in front of the entry hatch, some dead radmoles, a couple of boxes of ammunition, and a basket of vegetables. I turned on the radio while stretching and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Unfortunately, the pleasant feeling of stretched wings was absent. The news was for once not about us, but a fiery speech by DJ Pon3 against slavery and how bounties paid on raiders were seen at Tenpony Tower, much like the raiders themselves. The trigger was that someone had apparently placed a very high bounty on Security. Then there was music by Sweetie Belle. I really would have liked to meet her, but I only knew her grave. Like all other graves in our stable, it was an urn grave. Every deceased pony was cremated and placed in an urn in a very long corridor, laid to rest behind a picture frame with a beautiful image of the respective pony and its cutie mark at the bottom center of the frame. This brought me back to the question of what must have happened to Apple Bloom during the war. We knew pretty well that we were her descendants, but she didn't belong to Stable Two. I would have liked to tell stories to her ashes; I always did that with the ashes of our great-grandparents. Then my thoughts drifted back to the radio while the others had breakfast. I wanted to make the wasteland better. I had even thought about leaving the stable regularly after the mission to be there for the other believers and those in need outside. But well, I wasn't a big hero, I thought. Security took out tons of raiders and freed slaves - and Pip, she did similar things; me? I was present when a relay station was brought back into operation, and well, the hellfire bomb was a heroic deed, I could agree on that. I wanted to be a heroine, even if I wasn't Pip or Security or - I had almost let them slip from my thoughts - Paladin or Sunny. I wondered what Security's real name was. I would just ask Sunny, she was there, I believe. Then I saw my sister take out a pack of Sugar Bombs she had found, pour them into an old bowl, and fill it with Nuka-Cola. I grimaced; I hated the taste of oranges. "Appletree, what are you doing?" She looked up with the spoon still in her mouth. "Breakfast?" she simply said. "You're having Sugar Bombs with Nuka-Cola? That's gross and wasteful." She shook her head. "Firstly, it's super delicious, and secondly, I hunted near radioactive junk, and I don't want a fifth leg growing or something." Just the thought made me laugh.

The next morning arrived, welcoming us with Appletree snoring diagonally above us, two dead raiders in front of the entry hatch, some dead radmoles, a couple of boxes of ammunition, and a basket of vegetables. I turned on the radio while stretching and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Unfortunately, the pleasant feeling of stretched wings was absent. The news was for once not about us, but a fiery speech by DJ Pon3 against slavery and how bounties paid on raiders were seen at Tenpony Tower, much like the raiders themselves. The trigger was that someone had apparently placed a very high bounty on Security. Then there was music by Sweetie Belle. I really would have liked to meet her, but I only knew her grave. Like all other graves in our stable, it was an urn grave. Every deceased pony was cremated and placed in an urn in a very long corridor, laid to rest behind a picture frame with a beautiful image of the respective pony and its cutie mark at the bottom center of the frame. This brought me back to the question of what must have happened to Apple Bloom during the war. We knew pretty well that we were her descendants, but she didn't belong to Stable Two. I would have liked to tell stories to her ashes; I always did that with the ashes of our great-grandparents. Then my thoughts drifted back to the radio while the others had breakfast. I wanted to make the wasteland better.

I had even thought about leaving the stable regularly after the mission to be there for the other believers and those in need outside. But well, I wasn't a big hero, I thought. Security took out tons of raiders and freed slaves - and Pip, she did similar things; me? I was present when a relay station was brought back into operation, and well, the hellfire bomb was a heroic deed, I could agree on that. I wanted to be a heroine, even if I wasn't Pip or Security or - I had almost let them slip from my thoughts - Paladin or Sunny. I wondered what Security's real name was. I would just ask Sunny, she was there, I believe. Then I saw my sister take out a pack of Sugar Bombs she had found, pour them into an old bowl, and fill it with Nuka-Cola. I grimaced; I hated the taste of oranges. "Appletree, what are you doing?" She looked up with the spoon still in her mouth. "Breakfast?" she simply said. "You're having Sugar Bombs with Nuka-Cola? That's gross and wasteful." She shook her head. "Firstly, it's super delicious, and secondly, I hunted near radioactive junk, and I don't want a fifth leg growing or something." Just the thought made me laugh. After breakfast, we discovered a few more features of our vehicle. It had a built-in E.F.S. and an intercom between the driver and passengers. I went back to studying the Healing Spells collection by Helping Hooves. I actually tried to mend my bones, even though it was risky, and my healing magic was not that great in knowledge and application. However, I used a few tricks; I employed some reinforcement spells that I bound to a few practice gemstones I found in my coat. If there was one thing I could do, it was metamagic. It was complicated, and the curious and skeptical looks from the others didn't make it any better. I focused my magic on the amplifiers and directed them, following a predetermined pattern, through the magical matrix of my horn into my forehoof.

There was a nasty crack, and I screamed in pain. A bone spike now protruded from the exit hole. My hoof was whole again, but too whole - the bone spike was bloodied and firmly fused with my skeleton. I stared at it as if I had just grown a fifth leg. The skin and fur around the leg had closed around the protrusion. I stared at it and tapped it gently; it didn't hurt, but it looked very strange. "Um, yeah, okay, that should be looked at by a doctor," I said, scratching my head awkwardly. The others nodded, still somewhat disturbed. The journey was uneventful until evening, but on my Pipbuck, I saw that we were slowly approaching Hope. I turned on the radio again. I had spent the whole day trying to improve my expertise in magical and physical healing. I improvised splints and asked Lili and Ferrax to play patients for me. Ferrax, in particular, had enjoyed simulating wounds. Then I heard DJ Pon3 again. Pip had apparently found Velvet and razed Old Appleloosa to the ground - that's what I call a heroine, tearing apart a whole city of slave traders. Then came a message from New Appleloosa that I found very interesting. "And now something from New Appleloosa. The Mayor's Sheriff Department now has a new bloodhound. Tracks missing ponies even after a week within a twenty-mile radius. And it's a pony - well, half at least. Dear Bubbles stole her Timberwolfliness from the little wolf. So if you're missing someone, come to New Appleloosa; they can help. And I think her Timbermom, as she calls the little wolf, would probably like to help too."

Then the wagon suddenly stopped. It was already dark, and I could hear Appletree sniffing strenuously. The intercom chimed in. "Dusty, please help me out of the harness; it's important!" She could now speak normally, which made communication much easier. I got out and saw that she was already undoing things. "Can't you wait to hunt?" I grinned. She shook her head. "Bubbles is here!" She was totally excited. I helped her out of the harness as quickly as possible when I saw the two green dots on my E.F.S.; one was approaching like a rocket, the other was trotting behind at a leisurely pace. Appletree also started running, and halfway, the strange "mother-daughter duo" met. Then I felt warmth in my groin again as I saw who was coming after them - Sugar Crush. Bubbles had cuddled up to Appletree, and they chatted. Bubbles had also learned to speak as a wolf and wore her collar; now with a pendant with a bronze sheriff's star. Appletree fumbled in her pocket for a moment and produced one of her ribbon bows, making a big one for Bubbles too. She squealed with joy. I only had eyes for Sugar Crush. She gave me a gift from Pip, the Wasteland Survival Guide, written by Dizzi Doo. I thanked her and let the book float into the wagon. In all our haste in New Appleloosa, I hadn't thought about shopping anymore. "It's very nice of you to bring us this. But why?" She blushed a little and smiled shyly, but her look already told me that there was more behind it. "Well, Bubbles wanted to see her Timbermom again before you're too far away, and well, I think you're not currently looking for a relationship, but well, I wanted..." She fell silent and tapped her front hooves together. I grinned; I knew exactly what she wanted. I didn't have the Timber scent, but I smelled it anyway.

"Guys, Sugar and I have something important to discuss, we'll be back soon." We moved away about half an hour from the others. When we were alone, she pounced on me, and I just enjoyed it. She was definitely more dominant than I was, and I liked that. She liked me, I could tell, especially when we had completely swapped clothes in the midst of it all. When we returned after two and a half hours, we were both as relaxed as ever. We had silently agreed that, if our potential future partners didn't mind, we would repeat it when we were near the others. She just giggled and said, still blushing, "You really have a thing for mares in uniform. I have a pre-war officer's uniform for next time, Dusty," she said gently and kissed me on the cheek.

Both would stay until breakfast and then head back home. When we lay down, Sugar cuddled under my blanket and fell asleep in my hooves; Appletree just whispered giggling, "You're a howler." I turned fox red. "How did you hear that?! We were easily two or three kilometers away!" She giggled and pointed to the leaf in her ear. "I can sometimes hear things even farther away, and I know what your voice sounds like. And you clearly enjoyed it." She licked my cheek and just said, "Sleep well, my little dripping mare cave," giggling. In the morning, Bubbles enthusiastically told us about how her Timbermom had started teaching her how to hunt. She had even killed a radmole but could only eat half of it; Appletree had finished the rest. She blushed and hid behind her hooves - it was visibly embarrassing for her, but behind the hooves and the deep red face, I also saw a happy smile. Sugar and Bubbles soon set off, but not before Sugar dragged me behind the wagon for five minutes to kiss a bit more before saying goodbye. They headed south, while we continued north. The road was in a miserable state, and we bounced up and down in the wagon. I was glad not to hit my head. Hope should soon be in sight. "Lili, what do you know about Hope?" She thought for a moment. "It's right next to the Everfree Forest, a small collection of buildings. There's an Ironshod Firearms factory and a solar panel for power generation, but well, for logical reasons, it doesn't work anymore." She said, pointing to the sky, which was as always covered in clouds. "Why are there always clouds? Was it like this before the war?" I asked, tilting my head in question. Lili shook her head. "The Enclave tries to protect all Pegasi from radiation." My gaze became skeptical. "Then the Enclave is a heretic, as it deprives the ponies under the cloud cover of Celestia's warming sun, Luna's soothing moon, and the stars! I crossed my front hooves over my chest. This bone growth had a single advantage; it was good for scratching my nose. Another task in the wasteland revealed itself to me, a gesture to Luna and Celestia themselves: to disperse the clouds and let all beings in Equestria experience the grace of the goddesses."